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Author
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Topic: U.S. President Obama and space exploration
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Mercury7
Member Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 03-20-2009 12:11 PM
  
NASA / Pentagon merger story today, not sure on sources but find it interesting this keeps reemerging as an option. |
Mercury7
Member Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 03-20-2009 12:33 PM
I was catching up on this thread and over the last week there was quite a bit of discussion about the worthiness of the shuttle and iss programs. I just wanted to add my perspective to this. I think I was around 16 or 17 when I first started reading about the shuttle program. I was excited because it looked so cool and was really marketed as being a cheap way to get to space... and yes it was referred to as a space truck even back in 1979, but I also remember my extreme disappointment when I read that it was designed to operate only in Earth's orbit. From the beginning people like me asked why in the world would they design such a backwards vehicle considering what we had accomplished with Apollo.As far as ISS goes... in my opinion that was always a political beast, it was known to be overly expensive from the start, I supported it and ultimately Congress did because at the time it helped provide stability in Russian/U.S. relations, it saved Russian engineer jobs that would have gone to work in Iran, North Korea etc.. I am not trying to over simplify the reason ISS exist but I truly believe that is where the yes votes came from to keep it alive. ISS was almost killed by a margin of just 1 vote in Congress. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-23-2009 11:10 PM
President Obama will call the crew of STS-119 on Tuesday, March 24. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 03-24-2009 09:16 AM
How absolutely cool is it to hear the President leading a call to the ISS with a room full of kids and Congressmen?! This was absolutely wonderful to listen to. It was pure and simply a fun conversation. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-24-2009 10:37 AM
If you missed it this morning, video of President's call to the space shuttle and space station crews has now been posted. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-01-2009 03:10 PM
 NASA's STS-119 space shuttle crew from left; Joseph Acaba, Tony Antonelli, Lee Archambault, John Phillips, Richard Arnold, Steve Swanson, present President Barack Obama, fourth from left, with a montage in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 1, 2009, in Washington. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls  President Barack Obama, third from left, meets with NASA's STS-119 Space Shuttle crew from left; Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Richard Arnold, NASA's Acting Administrator Christopher Scolese, Steve Swanson, Lee Archambault, and Tony Antonelli in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 1, 2009, in Washington. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls |
Mercury7
Member Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 05-05-2009 09:30 PM
Lots of news articles tonight, President Obama is suppose to be making a major announcement Thursday. Looks like the Constellation program may be in for major changes. The articles say he is announcing a review but I was under the impression that was what the transition team has been doing for the last six months. - Huntsville Times:
Space shuttle replacement Ares rockets to be under White House review Rep. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, confirmed the White House directed review of Ares, but said the program was still healthy. "The Ares I and V vehicles have been through several studies and reviews and I am confident that any additional study will show that the Ares program is our best option to take our astronauts safely to the space station and beyond," Griffith told The Times. - Universe Today:
Obama to Re-examine Constellation Program The White House is expected to announce on Thursday that they will order a full review of the NASA’s Constellation program. The reason for the review is to determine whether the Ares I rocket and the Orion crew capsule are the best options for replacing the space shuttle. According to the Orlando Sentinel, this announcement will coincide with the release of the Obama administration’s $18.7 billion spending plan for NASA. - Orlando Sentinel:
Is Ares I adequate? Obama administration to order a new study "I think the people who are going to oversee this want to take another hard look at this. And there are people in some quarters, not all, who that say the study done in 2005 might have been shaded in such a way to lead you to the current architecture and they [the administration] now wants to take a look at whether [Constellation] is the right answer," said Roger Launius, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum.
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-05-2009 09:37 PM
Why must a study equate to "major changes"? The study could just as easily find that the current plans are the best path forward, or it could recommend that minor changes are all that is needed to proceed. In any case, it serves no good purpose to try to predict the outcome of the study before it has even had even had a chance to begin... |
LCDR Scott Schneeweis
New Member Posts:
From:
Registered:
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posted 05-05-2009 11:10 PM
The game is rigged and the outcome predetermined. I think from the outset the Obama administration had every intention of killing Ares 1... otherwise Griffin, the biggest proponent of the architecture would have been retained - at least in the short run (there is similar precedent with the SECDEF). Not necessarily a bad thing IMO provided it leads to a launch vehicle which is actually capable of fulfilling the original vision of Constellation. |
Mercury7
Member Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 05-05-2009 11:24 PM
I kinda have to agree with Scott. The silence from the Obama administration has made me feel that something has been going on behind the scenes. I just think they got the advice to at least do a study before making changes.In my mind Ares 1 is now dead. Just curious now if Jupiter Direct or DoD rockets will take its place. Seems like Jupiter will save the most jobs and possibly keep us on track for the moon landing. I still have not heard a good argument against Jupiter Direct, every time I read something about it, it always leaves me thinking it is a natural evolution from our experience flying the shuttle. And all those jobs are important right now. If I were in charge though, I think the Delta Clipper/DCX program is the path to the future. |
spacecraft films
Member Posts: 802
From: Columbus, OH USA
Registered: Jun 2002
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posted 05-06-2009 12:32 PM
More than anything else, all of this just makes me yearn for the days when we didn't "study" things for years and years, but actually did them. We decided to go to the moon in 1961, and were standing on it 8 years later. As Borman said at the 40th Anniversary Apollo 8 talk at NASM, "Back then we could do things. If they were trying to build the Cape launch facilities today it would take 40 years just to do the environmental impact study!" |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-06-2009 06:02 PM
Senator Bill Nelson (FL) tweeted today some relevant news: White House tells me the president will fly all nine remaining shuttle missions - even if it means flying the shuttle an extra year. |
Mercury7
Member Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 05-06-2009 06:17 PM
Wow, if it meant you were going to lose your job after the ninth mission I wonder how many artificial delays you would/could set up? This is crazy, new prediction: last shuttle flight December 31, 2011. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-06-2009 06:30 PM
It doesn't work that way, Scott. NASA still has a schedule to keep and if someone is not meeting the demands of their job, they will be replaced, retirement deadline or no deadline. |
Mercury7
Member Posts: 360
From: Greenville, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 05-06-2009 06:52 PM
Oh, I don't really think the workers will create the delays, I think the White House/Congress and NASA upper management will. Obama still needs Florida in 2012. It is also the reason I still think Jupiter Direct still has a shot. |
DChudwin
Member Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 05-06-2009 09:11 PM
Orlando Sentinel: NASA rocket study stirs unease at Kennedy Space Center According to administration officials, NASA will announce tomorrow that it will convene a "blue ribbon" panel to examine, among other issues, whether the Ares I rocket and Orion capsule are the best option to send astronauts into orbit by 2015 after the shuttle retires next year. The panel will start as soon as this month and be finished by September. Administration sources say the panel will be chaired by Norman Augustine, a retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. and former president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. |
Fra Mauro
Member Posts: 1586
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 05-06-2009 11:23 PM
Here we go again! Imagine working for NASA these days, no administrator and a President who looks like he is doubtful about your next manned program. Never trust a President! |
cspg
Member Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 05-07-2009 12:28 AM
Administration sources say the panel will be chaired by Norman Augustine, a retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. and former president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. So Norman Augustine will have to come up with a(nother) report? I don't recall the first one (Report of the Advisory Committee On the Future of the U.S. Space Program, December 1990) was, well, anything more than just a report. And that was 19 years ago... |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-07-2009 06:10 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Fra Mauro:
Imagine working for NASA these days, no administrator and a President who looks like he is doubtful about your next manned program.
First, there is an (acting) administrator: Chris Scolese, who by all accounts by the NASA employees I have talked to, is doing a fine job. Many feel they should just drop the "acting" from his title.Second, this study is in support of the next manned program, not against it. The question being posed isn't should we launch Americans to the Moon and Mars, but how, and while many NASA employees still think that answer is Ares, there were some that wanted just such a study to either prove them right or identify another solution. |
jimsz
Member Posts: 616
From:
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 05-07-2009 07:01 AM
The money the President is asking Congress to spend has to come from somewhere. He certainly won't be finding ways to spend more money. He'll contrive some scheme and make others think he is going to be able to do more with less. What it will mean is the Shuttle will be dragged out, the ISS remain a money drain and returning to the moon will end up being pushed another 5 or 10 years. |
cspg
Member Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 05-07-2009 07:55 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jimsz:
He certainly won't be finding ways to spend more money. He'll contrive some scheme and make others think he is going to be able to do more with less.
And that would be a perfect definition of the previous administration!  Apparently some things never change. |
fabfivefreddy
Member Posts: 1067
From: Leawood, Kansas USA
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 05-07-2009 09:36 AM
This discussion is similar to that of the 1960's debate about spending money to go to the Moon. I guess history repeats itself. I hope it gets us back up there soon! |
jimsz
Member Posts: 616
From:
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 05-07-2009 10:05 AM
quote:
Originally posted by cspg:
Apparently some things never change.
Right. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-07-2009 12:34 PM
As the "Review of Human Space Flight Plans" is larger than just the President's relation to space exploration, a new topic has been started for its discussion. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-07-2009 01:55 PM
The FY2010 budget request released today represents an increase of $903.6 million, or 5 percent, above funding provided in the fiscal year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act. All totaled, an additional $2 billion has been added to NASA's 2009 and 2010 budgets under the Obama administration."What does this budget represent? I was surprised, in the last month I've seen the president three times," said NASA Acting Administrator Chris Scolese on Thursday. "And I think that's an indication that NASA is something that this administration really cares about. The fact that we were highlighted in the budget discussions today with the [President's] science advisor is another indication of that. And I think you see it in this first bullet here, a $630 million increase to exploration, a $456 million increase to science and a $264 million increase to aeronautics. Those are significant increases." For discussion of the budget, please see: NASA Fiscal Year 2010 Budget |
328KF
Member Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 06-12-2009 10:27 AM
But now, the rest of the story... In the meantime, the White House Office of Management and Budget has deleted $3.1 billion from NASA's projected budget through 2013. That money is needed to begin development of the Ares 5 moon rocket and without it, NASA managers say, the moon program will be deferred if not eliminated. Administration officials say money can be returned to the projected budget depending on the conclusions of the Augustine review. But for now, the future of NASA's manned space program is uncertain, including use of the International Space Station. As it now stands, U.S. participation in the project will end in 2015 unless additional funding is approved. Let's just "hope" that Augustine comes back with a positive outlook on Constellation and that money is put back into the budget. |
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