The Future of NASA

[AnunZi]

I remember way back (2006 IIRC) George W Bush made a speech regarding what he called “Vision for space exploration” I remember watching and thinking “Wow, the idiot has done something intelligent for a change” I'm a huge advocate of manned space exploration.
For those who missed it, the basic premise was to get humans back on the moon by 2018 and a lunar bas established by 2025. This got me really exited, we haven’t left LEO since the last Apollo mission in 1972!!
Then Obama comes along and axes the Orion program and announces that the moon is off the cards and he wants NASA to set its goals a little higher, a manned landing on an asteroid then a manned landing on Mars by the mid 2030s.

It got me thinking why he would do this? To me the moon is the logical step for more audacious manned space flight. It gives us a chance to test flight and crew systems closer to earth in an environment that has been extensively studied and explored.
However, the next thought in my line of thinking was this. China. They have only really started there space program and already have put a man in orbit and returned him to earth. That took NASA about 7 years. China did it in 2.
I think this “Lets go to Mars!” announcement may just be a response to the perceived threat to American dominance in space.
Another space race maybe? Could the heady days of Apollo be returning?

[Zen Badger]

Space flight should go commercial.

If we wait for governments to get their shit together nothing will ever happen.

We should have been been on Mars by now.

[Tiberius]

I think Obama realized the economy just couldn't support space flights right now...

[lrh9]

Well... To be quite frank space programs are essentially dead without some breakthrough that would permit ftl or apparent ftl travel.

[AnunZi]

Space flight should go commercial.

If we wait for governments to get their shit together nothing will ever happen.

We should have been been on Mars by now.

I think Obama realized the economy just couldn't support space flights right now...

I agree with these comments.

In fact its one of the things Obama said in his speech back in January. That private enterprise is essential in the future of space exploration. Personally I think if ITER gets off the ground (I know, its been 10 years already and still no real progress) then we will see commercial space flight really take off. I’ll go into details on this point if anyone is curious enough.

Well... To be quite frank space programs are essentially dead without some breakthrough that would permit ftl or apparent ftl travel.

Could you expand on this please? Why do you think FTL is needed for exploring the solar system?
I agree once we have explored our own little corner of space we will need to look into vastly improved propulsion techniques, but at the moment I don’t see how its relevant.

[SleepingDemon]

Honestly NASA has become such a bureacracy that beyond the science part of it, it's almost impotent in regards to space flight. In the 60's, JFK said within 10 years we WILL be on the moon, and we were, however these days it's like, well, by 2100 we are going to land on an asteroid and by 3000 we hope to land on Mars. They are afraid of failing so they put such a massive timescale on it that most people can't maintain interest. Mars by 2030? What the hell are they going to do for the next 20 years? In 20 years the technology for space travel will have leaped ahead again, and whatever rubbish they have been testing for the past 3 decades will be obsolete.

I say privatize space, completely. There are a few things that NASA does really well. NASA has the best labs, the best phycisists, the best technology. So the sciene part of astronomy should be theirs to keep. However the actual space flight and exploration should go to corporations, where there is no red tape, no restraints. In the early 1900's when the Wright brothers flew, everyone was trying to duplicate it. You had every amateur and enthusiast working on some contraption to get themselves off of the ground, that's the kind of atmosphere we need. I am not a fan of multinational corporations. However if we as a species can use their greed to push our species into space permanently, then i'm all on board. We have to get to Mars. We have to get out of this damn solar system. As a species it is imparative that we become at least a 2 planet species to ensure our own survival.

[Minimalist]

I think Obama realized the economy just couldn't support space flights right now...

I agree with you, Adrian, but the decision is more political than economic. Obama is still willing to spend
in order to promote 'green' technology and it is a well-established fact that so much modern technology came out of the early space program that it seems a worthy investment for a country which wants to get its edge back.

BUT.

It's also an easy target for the deficit cutters (and where were they when Bush was driving the deficit through the roof?) to focus on and so what we have here is a pre-emptive strike by Obama to defuse that issue. But it still makes more sense to me to spend money going to the moon or Mars than to try to control a barbarian-infested rock pile like Afghanistan.

[AnunZi]

Unfortunately I'm at work so can’t watch the speech video on youtube right now to confirm but I do seem to remember that Obama said that he was increasing NASA’s budget by 6 billion dollars over the next 5 years……

[lrh9]

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Well... To be quite frank space programs are essentially dead without some breakthrough that would permit ftl or apparent ftl travel.

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Could you expand on this please? Why do you think FTL is needed for exploring the solar system?
I agree once we have explored our own little corner of space we will need to look into vastly improved propulsion techniques, but at the moment I don’t see how its relevant.

I said everything I had to say. You think there is some value in a space program even if that program would never get beyond our own solar system? You go right ahead.

[TheDarkestOfAngels]

I remember way back (2006 IIRC) George W Bush made a speech regarding what he called “Vision for space exploration” I remember watching and thinking “Wow, the idiot has done something intelligent for a change” I'm a huge advocate of manned space exploration.
For those who missed it, the basic premise was to get humans back on the moon by 2018 and a lunar bas established by 2025. This got me really exited, we haven’t left LEO since the last Apollo mission in 1972!!
Then Obama comes along and axes the Orion program and announces that the moon is off the cards and he wants NASA to set its goals a little higher, a manned landing on an asteroid then a manned landing on Mars by the mid 2030s.

It was the only thing George Bush ever said in his 8 year presidency that I could wholeheartedly agree with. Unfortunately, I still think it was just a political push to make his time in office not be a complete disaster.
Plus, I really didn't like NASAs idea of a modern space program being based off of fifty-year-old technology. There have been a lot of blueprints on NASA's desk with interesting methods of making space flight more economical and easier to accomplish, but instead they choose to go with the same rocket design we used in the 60's.
I mean, wtf? I love NASA, but sometimes they just need to, you know, innovate.

It got me thinking why he would do this? To me the moon is the logical step for more audacious manned space flight. It gives us a chance to test flight and crew systems closer to earth in an environment that has been extensively studied and explored.
However, the next thought in my line of thinking was this. China. They have only really started there space program and already have put a man in orbit and returned him to earth. That took NASA about 7 years. China did it in 2.
I think this “Lets go to Mars!” announcement may just be a response to the perceived threat to American dominance in space.
Another space race maybe? Could the heady days of Apollo be returning?

Eh. While I don't agree with Obama's decision, I suppose it might do NASA some good in the sense that some of the private companies might innovate with new technologies and methodologies where NASA has allowed themselves to stunt their growth before reaching the 21st century.
Plus, there are still a lot of domestic issues that he's been charged with dealing with - jobs, the economy, so on and so forth. The USA does a lot better with programs like NASA when we're more economically prosperous than we are now.

So... I'm dissappointed with this whole mess as I'm sure many of you are, but the interest isn't gone for human exploration and commercial spaceflight is already here, so it's really only a matter of time, IMO.