He laid out the main points of the post-shuttle plan:
Rely on the Russians and other partners for resupply of the International Space Station, at least until U.S. companies can finish work on the
space vehicles they're developing with NASA's backing
. The first commercial cargo craft could be flying to the station by the end of this year, and U.S.-made "space taxis" could be taking on astronauts by 2015.
Continue work on the Orion crew vehicle, which should be capable of carrying four astronauts on more ambitious trips beyond Earth orbit. Orion had been canceled as part of the Constellation back-to-the-moon program, after $5 billion had been spent on the program, but it was
essentially resurrected
as NASA's "multipurpose crew vehicle," or MPCV.
Build a
new Space Launch System
, or SLS, which will be based on shuttle-era and Apollo-era rocket technology. The design for the SLS has not yet been announced, which is why members of Congress are so frustrated. Bolden said it could take until the end of summer or even longer to get the SLS plan through its financial review. Congress passed a law calling for the MPCV spaceship and the SLS rocket to be
ready by 2016
, but Bolden said the 2017-2020 time frame was more realistic.
NASA is aiming to send astronauts to a
near-Earth asteroid by 2025
, and to Mars and its moons by the mid-2030s. Other stopovers, ranging from the moon to gravitational balance points in outer space, may be added along the way.
Evolving by far and about to hit a golden age of Space exploration now that the government isn't involved. Take government out of things and they seem to work so much better!
They have larger and faster ships. They can carry much more cargo to the space station. they will be the first to Mars. Here are a lot of videos on previous flights and future plans.
Right now the Russians have the corner of the market on space travel (and it pisses me off!). We have our own domestic problems and I want to see them solved in a way that cuts Gubment spending but still funds the programs that are important to our population.
Enjoy the luxury of microwaving a meal in a couple of minutes instead of having to cook it from scratch? Thank NASA, they pioneered the technology that brought us the microwave oven. Love your GPS unit and being able to drive to an unfamiliar address by punching in a street address? Thanks to NASA and the DoD you have that technology.
I want one, this seems like an ideal zombie killing weapon plus you can fire multiple varieties of ammo out of the same weapon so it is extra versatile!
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." - Henry Ford
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges; When the Republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus
It's evolving. Evolution means change and that is what is happening. As V pointed out, shed the government and you will see major progress. It's going to take a little time, but it's going to work out just fine.
Don't know what the Russians are doing, but it's my thought that space will become a global rather than individual country effort. Forced, in that direction because current costs remain extreme. Significant technological advances must be made to propulsion systems. First it's needed to get off the ground, and second to reach the planets and beyond.
I am a big fan of manned space exploration but it is expensive and Obama has decided currently we have more pressing concerns.
While I appreciate that robots can do some exploration having men actually go to Mars would reveal so many more of the planet's secrets.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
You know what I am beginning to think my cynical old age? That the whole space program hype, with it's literally starry-eyed approach to humans reaching out into the galaxy was just a big fat fake.
No, I don't mean I've turned into one of those conspiracy nuts who think the moon landing was faked in some film studio.
I mean I think they knew all along we weren't going out into the galaxy or even farther into the solar system, they just wanted us to "dream big" so we would be willing to "pay big". All I think the government has really been interested in regarding space is the ability to circle the globe with plenty of surrveillance and communication sattelites with military applications plus the ability to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.
I can't decide if we got good value for our dollars on space exploration either. I like having GPS and satellite music and transmissions but at one time NASA was 4% of the nation's budget, and they say the clandestine Air Force space program is still spending huge amounts.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Rockdoc Franz wrote: It's evolving. Evolution means change and that is what is happening. As V pointed out, shed the government and you will see major progress. It's going to take a little time, but it's going to work out just fine.
Don't know what the Russians are doing, but it's my thought that space will become a global rather than individual country effort. Forced, in that direction because current costs remain extreme. Significant technological advances must be made to propulsion systems. First it's needed to get off the ground, and second to reach the planets and beyond.
AV, progress has been slow because we haven't been truly motivated or used our capabilities to their full extent (and exploration takes time). Given our current economic woes, it's hard to justify, but IMO essential to continue (which is why I personally like the private efforts). If we cease looking to push our boundaries and explore outside our world, we risk becoming insular, even more short-sighted, and trapped within the confines of our planet's resources (which, unfortunately, we have yet to demonstrate restraint and an ability to live sustainably, maybe we'll get there yet?).
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
The space program as we have known it is dead as a doornail.
Obama made darn sure of that. Nasa could have extended our only launch vehicle program until we get the next one developed. Yes money needs to be saved- but if any government program has contributed to advances in technology it was the space program. I would not have cut it before cutting the "sex habits of the yellow footed frog" program or the ethanol subsidy program or those billions of dollars were giving to Egypt and Pakistan.
NASA is dead. It's new mission was clearly defined by it's Obama oppointed head - Nasa's new mission is "to reach out to the muslim world and make them feel good about their contributions to the world". I do not dislike the private space companies- but they are not NASA.
With the end of NASA's only space launch vehicle go thousands of experts in all areas of space technology. All of that IQ will be diluted, and those skillsets scattered about. In 10 years it will all be lost to history.
The Russians are far ahead of us in space- they have at least half a dozen active launch vehicles- we had one. We will now need to depend on russian technology to get us to and from space. Not a good sign for America.
In a world of priorities- I'd rather have seen 500 other budget items disappear before de-funding NASA. But that's the way it goes when you vote in a guy like Obama who believes that "no nation should be elevated above another".
Industry will find profitable applications and then space travel will really take off. Government control has bottlenecked all the possibilities. Now I can once again visualize space stations that will offer tourist accomodations, medical labs, light industry- wow, the mind boggles!
