[FPSPACE] No money to put astronauts back on Moon by 2020; Moonnot a realistic goal--Augustine Panel

[Chuck Donaldson]

Originally the NACA (NASA) was guided more toward aviation science, and some
rocket technologies until Eisenhower responded to Sputnik. Then it became
NASA.
That goal was simply to show that American was just as technologically
capable as the communist totalitarian dictatorship that held Soviet
scientists as slaves and either sent them to the Gulag or killed them if
they didn't behave. Granted that Apollo 11 was the greatest feat of the 20th
century, but America should not have had to land on the moon to show the
world we were better than the Soviet butchers.

Once the Apollo moon project was successful you note that historically the
follow on moon shots were cancelled, derivative Apollo/Saturn projects were
cut and an attempt was made to justify a federal budget to go to Mars. As
all of you know the Shuttle was the remnants of the Mars program rejected by
the Nixon administration. Earth satellite, shuttle supplies to the station
and building the mars expedition manned problems. Once the budget was
approved only Shuttle remained and "costs per pound" became the mantra.

Once Apollo was a success NASA became just another government bureaucracy
trying to keep its budget, its people and tried to create programs to
justify its government sponsorship. It did not go back to its roots, but was
stuck with Shuttle and ended up pouring money to keep it afloat at the
expense of more scientific projects that were not as glamorous as man in
space.

NASA should be folded back to its NACA roots. If people want to go to the
moon, Lagrange points or to Mars let them start bake sales and pay for it
without taxes on top of taxes. Get with Virgin Airlines and see if they will
sponsor a private venture fully paid for by volunteers. 

Scientists, engineers, technicians do not have the right to force the public
to pay for their grand schemes no matter how important they may sound. "We
all live on this Earth." Fine, but don't force me to support your asteroid
projects to "save us all."  Let the poor find their own shelters.

cwdonald

-----Original Message-----
From: fpspace-bounces at friends-partners.org
[mailto:fpspace-bounces at friends-partners.org] On Behalf Of Jens
Kieffer-Olsen
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:15 AM
To: fpspace at friends-partners.org
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] No money to put astronauts back on Moon by
2020;Moonnot a realistic goal--Augustine Panel


-----Original Message-----
From: David Portree [mailto:dsfportree at hotmail.com] 
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 2:08 AM

> I don't think that asteroids - detection and deflection - offer
> a challenge substantial enough to support our space program at
> anything like its present level. In any case, our program
> shouldn't be dominated by any one goal. What space has to offer
> is diverse, so our program needs to be diverse. Of course, we
> can't do everything there is to do. 

 [snip]
 
 Asteroid deflection would constitute a very substantial challenge,
 if Apophis - or a similar-sized mate - were detected to be on track
 to collide with Earth this century.

 Fortunately that scenario is very unlikely, and therefore it would
 be madness to spend money on asteroid deflection any time soon.

 Asteroid detection costs peanuts in comparison, and makes extremely
 good sense to anyone who cares for the well-being of individual humans
 as well as for humanity as a whole. Once a small asteroid is detected
 and the impact area identified, ships can be notified and evacuation
 planned.  

 So yes, I agree with you that space programs should be diverse. For
 one thing ISS offers a platform for experiments related to manned
 space travel. Odd that NASA seems heading for a situation where they
 need the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy to make the small hop up
 there! 

--
Jens Kieffer-Olsen
Slagelse, Denmark

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