posted 02-01-2010 07:19 PM               

• Will this impact your artifact acquisition strategies?

• How will it alter the enjoyment you derive as a space historian?

• Is this going to change the way you reach out to the community about your passion?

posted 02-01-2010 08:01 PM               

It will, of course, alter our collection strategies, as the shuttle/ISS programs find their place in history. The Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs take on even more significance in the absence of any firm plan to return to the moon in the near-term.

I also think that Constellation memorabilia might take on a unique place in the collections of some, as a symbol of how much hard work was accomplished and how quickly it can be erased.

Next time around, maybe we'll get the hardware paid for and underway first, then come up with the fancy patches and such when it's time to fly.

posted 02-01-2010 08:42 PM               

As far as my collection is concerned, the same is true. I envisionned myself sharing one day later in life the history of the first phase of lunar exploration while the second phase would be taking place... It saddens me to know that it might not happen that way...

posted 02-01-2010 10:23 PM               

The Wright Flyer, the Bell X-1, Friendship 7, Columbia, and soon, all three remaining space shuttles serve as reminders of what mankind has accomplished in his endeavour to conquer the skies.

I have grown up visting these places. I was there the day they opened the doors at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. I was there the day they opened the doors at the NASM Dulles facility. I have seen countless aviation and space heroes come to these places and share their experiences first-hand.

I often think of making it to retirement and enjoying my days speaking to young visitors at the museum about all of the spacecraft, spacesuits, satellites, and rockets in the collection. Maybe one of those kids would go to Phobos, Deimos, Mars, or Europa.

My hope was that by the time I was doing this, there would be much more to talk about, but it seems that will not be the case. The last "new" addition I saw to the museum was Spaceship One, and that was really cool, but it remains to be seen if Spaceship Two will fulfill the promise of the X-Prize dream. I am much more confident that this project will be successful than I am of this "lack of a plan" proposed by the current administration.

I fear that once the Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour join the collection, they will be the other bookends on the era of American manned spaceflight.

There are many obstacles that may stop this "experiment" dead in its' tracks, and that will give the politicians in power the excuse they want to pull the plug on the whole thing. One technical mistake causing an accident, one cost overrun, one stray piece of space junk disabling the ISS, and it is all over.

posted 02-01-2010 11:53 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by 328KF:
And that will be a sad thing to explain to the kids.

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posted 02-02-2010 12:54 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Rob Sumowski:
Does anybody else here feel really jerked around?

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That's a pretty good way to put it. I guess I should have known better.

posted 02-02-2010 04:04 AM               

As for my collecting, I don't exactly have the budget of some people here. As such, I don't strive for pieces of flown history or a lot of autographs. I do like memories though and sharing them with others. Maybe that is why I like building models, photography and writing. If a piece of my collection helps me to connect with something I remember, then it does the job it was meant to. Any monetary value is secondary.

If Constellation is gone, then the memories of it will be a combination of happy ones (Ares 1-X flying) and sad ones (this day). Combining that with the last flight of the space shuttle and to me it will seem even more sad is it seems we've no longer decided to take worthy risks anymore.

I do have some trinkets to remember Constellation by, such as the ones from Spacefest that Robert gave out, the ones I got at the Ares 1-X launch and a kitbashed model I built of the Ares 1 which I had some of the Ares 1-X managers sign after that beautiful white rocket flew. We all felt history was made that day and it would be the start of something new. Who knows, maybe it still is, or maybe it will lead to such a new thing. Too soon to tell though.

Will it alter my strategy? Probably not as like I said my budget for this stuff isn't great. I will likely still collect the same stuff I did before.

Will it alter my enjoyment? Perhaps it might a little. But time helps to heal all wounds. I still like to visit space museums and look at the artifacts, or pictures of the hardware as I try to figure out what I am seeing.

posted 02-02-2010 06:02 AM               

My collection and interest has focused up to the moon landings and Skylab (I don't purchase too much).

The Shuttle and ISS is something I have little interest in.

posted 02-02-2010 08:09 AM               

As 'OLDIE' says though there is still China, and once they decide to go to the Moon I'm positive the U.S. will find funds from somewhere!

posted 02-02-2010 10:18 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by garymilgrom:
I'd like to ask the space workers who read these forums if this will impact their employment plans.

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This is all emotional. The reason I started my comments by thanking the Constellation team is because you have to understand, everybody has had a death in the family (chokes up), to people who are working on these programs, this is like a death in the family. Everybody needs to understand that and we need to give them time to grieve and then we need to give them time to recover.

I have an incredible workforce of civil servants and civilians. They have been through this before. This is just part of the life of being in NASA. And everytime we manage to pull through it and we manage to recover and we go off and do great things. And this time will be no different.

That doesn't make an employee at the Kennedy Space Center or the Johnson Spaec Center or Marshall Space Flight Center or a contractor that any of these seven people represent, that doesn't give them a great sense of solace because they are facing reality. What I tell them is, look we're going to get through this.

Stick with us if you can, some of you will decide this is just not exciting enough for you and you want to go do other things and I appreciate the service you have given and allow us to help you in your transition. If at all possible, let us help you find some work somewhere else that is going to be passionate to you.

I am a big person for passion. I'm here because I am passionate about space and exploration, otherwise I would be sitting in Houston, Texas or I would be in San Diego with my three granddaughters. I am here because I am passionate about this. I cry about it sometimes. So what? (chokes up)

This is my life. This is their lives. Give them a little time, they'll come back and they are going to be as great as they have always been. Just bear with them and give them some time.

posted 02-02-2010 03:24 PM               

I am saddened about the jobs, that so many will no longer be working towards a goal. That the mere idea of walking on the Moon will be many more years away than before.

That when and if it next happens - none of the Apollo crews will likely be with us. I have worked in commercial space, I support commercial space - but not at the loss of NASA. The agency is supposed to be the cutting edge leader that commerce is to follow.

My collection has taken on additional value to me, as I was there as a boy to this great accomplishment. The few Constellation pieces I have will stay to show that we still yearn to touch the Moon and Mars.

posted 02-02-2010 08:09 PM               

It's very difficult to put the emotion of the loss into words. As someone who actually makes a living teaching other people how to deal with change, it's always humbling for me to experience the grieving process myself. We'll be in Denial for awhile, and then move into the bitterness and frustration of the Resistance stage. Eventually we will turn the corner, when we start putting the past behind us and begin focusing on how to make the most of the realities of the future state.

Personally, I'm still somewhat in the Denial stage, moving into Resistance. I cling to hopes that this will turn around (denial of reality). The pessimist in me comes out in Resistance, insisting that they'll never be able to salvage the situation.

The image I can't get out of my mind is them decommissioning LC-39. I hope that never happens...but it may.

At the ASF event in November this past year, I overheard a whispered conversation between an Apollo astronaut and a Space Shuttle astronaut. The Apollo veteran asked the Shuttle astronaut if he thought that the manned program could be salvaged. The Shuttle astronaut said he thought it was doubtful - that the only chance rested on whether the President would make a bold statement of direction to cast himself in the same mold as Kennedy. So, the insiders already had an inkling this was coming back in November.

posted 02-02-2010 10:46 PM               

As for Mars, what a disappointment when we have the capability to go there too. The idea that by stopping now for new technology of some kind to be developed, to make it cheap and easy to explore space, is not much more than magical thinking. Our fearless leader(s) have now told us, "I choose not to go to the Moon. Not because we can't but because it is hard."

posted 02-02-2010 11:47 PM               

Governmental vacillations in ISS funding cost me my Houston gallery in 1991. No one in the NASA community knew if they had a job week to week.

I sense a generation gap here. Old timers like me vs. young(er) idealists, who after 30 years of LEO, are disappointed. After Apollo was cancelled, we had only flown a couple dozen men for a little over 10 years.

The President is committed to science. I trust him. This isn't the gutting of NASA, a maddening occurrence that was a congressional staple the past 40 years.

NASA is finally encouraging AND funding private companies, that were a mere annoyance before. Watch 'em go. We'll have Ion-powered spacecraft going to Europa, put together at the space station. An Aldrin Cycler between here and Phobos.

NASA will be imagineering soon. Watch for some pretty radical stuff. Not over-budget, late tests of a man-rated solid booster that's been in service 30 years with a "simulated" fifth segment and inert payload. I found it underwhelming, sorry.

posted 02-03-2010 08:44 AM               

Personally, I would like to see the folks who share their interests here and at similar sites to combine their efforts, lobby Congress and insure the continuation of the program. It is the sudden voices of outrage that can capture the attention of members of Congress and prompt them to change their minds.

posted 02-03-2010 03:51 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Tykeanaut:
Like the mothballing of Concorde, it seems a drastic one large step backward for mankind.

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posted 02-03-2010 06:06 PM               

As far as collecting goes, I personally think the shuttle program will take on greater meaning to my own collection. With the program ending, I knew I would focus more on completing certain aspects of that part of my collection. But with no manned lunar flights planned for the foreseeable future, I think it'll give me even greater reason to focus on the shuttle era and spend time to build up that part of my collection. Perhaps I am starting to better appreciate a program that has long been under-appreciated within the community.

posted 02-06-2010 08:24 AM               

I never felt the track of Ares was a good one. My biggest concern was that NASA's response to problems like the pogo effect during launch was more like a bandaid than an elegant engineering solution. It goes to design philosophy.

Politics has always driven the Space program. The good thing about that is that administrations change, policies change, world events change, you get the picture.