Posted on 06/23/2011 1:19:53 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
[snip]
NASA plans to announce the heavy-lift plan, formally known as the Space Launch System or SLS, around the time of the July 8 launch of the final space shuttle flight. The decision should keep America’s renowned spaceflight program running, saving the jobs of many of NASA’s hard-to-replace engineers.
Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach spoke frankly about the space effort's future in remarks he made to his launch team at Kennedy Space Center this month, during preparations for the shuttle Atlantis' program-ending mission.
"The end of the shuttle program is a tough thing to swallow, and we’re all victims of poor policy out of Washington, D.C., both at the NASA level and the executive branch of the government, and it affects all of us — it affects most of you — severely," Leinbach told his team.
“I’m embarrassed that we don’t have better guidance out of Washington, D.C. Throughout the history of the manned space flight program, we’ve always had another program to transition into — from Mercury to Gemini, and to Apollo, to the Apollo-Soyuz test program, to Skylab and then to the shuttle. We’ve always had something to transition into.
“And we had that, and it got canceled and now we don’t have anything, and I’m embarrassed that we don’t. Frankly, as a senior NASA manager, I’d like to apologize to you all that we don’t have that. So there you are. I love you all. I wish you all the best.
“We will press on through this flow and this launch in the way we always do. We’re going to play this game to the final out, and we’ll be done. I just wish you all the best, and again Godspeed to you all. Thank you.”
[snip]
you got spacex mixed up with virgin
spacex is building Falcon Heavy, which is heavy lift rocket
SpaceX is playing at rocket building and spending our cash (and stuffing it back into Democrat pockets, while all our space assets crumble). Musk doesn't have clue (couldn't even buy one with all our billions) about what building a program entails.
Stick around. You'll see.
Never happen... and time will prove me right. NASA will be back and one day an American will go to the stars. Bank on it.
LLS
Right on!
LLS
Double right on!
LLS
What does this have to do with NASA’s prime mission of promoting Islam?
Not to worry, it's "notional" -- Translation: ~~~vapor~~~view-graphs~~~international meetings~~~studies~~~vapor~~~~~~~~~~.....
The green and "Islam" outreach is still the mission.
Wow. It is fairly obvious that you do not like Elon Musk. That being said, his company has done a number of impressive things, among them building the Falcon 9, the Dragon capsule and, orbiting the Dragon. That is a big step, and Musk managed to do it for $300 million.
NASA on the other hand, for all its impressive accomplishments, is a command bureaucracy. A fabulously expensive command bureaucracy. They have managed to waste $11 billion on Constellation with nothing to show but some nice PowerPoints. Now comes the SLS, which will likely cost further billions and push manned space further out into the nebulous future.
Musk can put people on orbit. After next month, NASA can’t. This isn’t the fault of anybody but NASA, who have spent their time and efforts protecting and enlarging their bureaucratic turf, instead of putting together flight-capable hardware and flying it.
So the program is canceled and the waste is due to NASA? nice spin there
Musk can put people on orbit. After next month, NASA can’t. This isn’t the fault of anybody but NASA
Here I thought it was due to Congress and the White House. I shoulda known NASA was at fault. But its good that Musk is where NASA was 40 years ago, from a technology view. Yep he's the FUTURE
When?
This is the Obama Administration's directive: Shut down NASA human spaceflight - fund unproven (yet Democrat Party friendly) space access company - and call it "shrinking" government pork and "promoting" capitalism -- eventually pull the plug on Musk or [fill in the blank] when it doesn't fly, schedules get pushed back, a rocket blows up, budget balloons, no market materializes.
Expected result: No more U.S. space program. Lots and lots of Green NASA socialism.
NASA rocket launch from Wallops Island a success
By Cindy Clayton
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 23, 2011
WALLOPS ISLAND
The launch of a NASA Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital rocket was successful this morning.
The rocket, carrying experiments, launched at 6:17 a.m. from the Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore, according to the space agency.
The experiments were built by university instructors and students from across the country through programs conducted with the Colorado and Virginia and Space Grant Consortia.
The next launch is scheduled for Tuesday between 8:28 and 11:28 p.m. and will be an Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying a military satellite.
The evening launch window continues through July 10.
If it was not wasted, then where is the Ares V? $11 billion went right down the hole. No spin, just facts.
Sure NASA did all this 40 years ago. I watched it. I lived it. Sadly, they have squandered all that momentum. The bureaucratic culture does not do anything well, and NASA is but one example of many.
Do you dispute that NASA is simply a bureaucracy? While some of the things they do are quite impressive, they have no concept of efficiency, and have set up this present situation just like any good bureaucrat, as some city manager would cut police and fire personnel before worthless paper pushers. It gets the citizens riled up.
I have endless respect for the engineers who are capable of so much. I live down here in the middle of the NASA community and a lot of those guys are afternoon beer drinking buddies. Hearing what is happening from the ground troops is most illuminating.
As to technology, what else to do? The rocket equation is the same for everybody if you’re using chemical propellant. The Merlin is a good engine, and I’d rather fly with that than some Russian built contraption.
SpaceX will have people on orbit by the end of this year. Other companies are getting in on the act, like Boeing, Blue Origin and Sierra Nevada. There are a host of Davids arising, instead of the single old Goliath.
These guys are the future, and the future is bright.
Space X doesn’t have a heavy lift vehicle.
Their own claim is that they can exceed a Delta 4 medium. They can’t match the shuttle’s payload capacity.
But they have good prices.
I’d rather give SpaceX and their competitors a chance than spend another two decades locked into the flow of SpacePork to Thiokol.
“If it was not wasted, then where is the Ares V? $11 billion went right down the hole. No spin, just facts.”
First of all most of the work they’ve done can be leveraged for whatever program ends up getting funded. Secondly, blaming NASA for getting their funding yanked is like blaming Bush for the crappy economy.
ANY large organization is a bureaucracy. Some of the worst I’ve ever seen were Fortune 100 companies who manage to make money despite themselves. NASA contracts most of its work out. So most of the research and such gets done by private companies.
What counts is results. NASA has done more in many areas than most other organizations to make America great and Americans proud.
I’m afraid that if it wasn’t for SpaceX, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, XCOR and Boeing, there would be no Space Program at all. Just cool looking PowerPoint presentations, vague future launch dates and no hardware. And a big bill to keep it all going.
I beg you to watch this speech by a fellow named Jeff Greason: http://moonandback.com/2011/05/31/jeff-greason-a-settlement-strategy-for-nasa/
Nice to understand who you want feeding at the trough.
Neither does NASA apparently. Eliminate the entire stupid Agency, give the Defense applications to the Air Force and privatize the rest with zero Government subsidies.
I’ve heard Greason’s talk — no need to beg — he has been listening to others about destinations and objectives - Good!
The problem is having a goal (not a one-off shot somewhere) to build up a long-term space infrastructure.
Have you seen one of those architectures?
As for the companies you listed, NASA has been in the business of buying services from corporations. And NASA was spurring commercial before Obama came on the radar.
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