(August 5, 2010 at 5:14 am)AnunZi Wrote: 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.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.
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.
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.
(August 5, 2010 at 5:14 am)AnunZi Wrote: 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.
