Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicolas
If you'd cancel Ares 1, you could "scale back" the capsule to nothing at all. After all, who needs a capsule without its launcher?
And how about Ares5? ...
You know what, cancel NASA alltogether. Yes. At least you're sure they run nicely break-even that way.
Sarcasm aside, can they really not think beyond the "cancel" concept to make an agency more money-efficient?
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I don't think the federal govt. is serious about space flight any longer. I agree with the intrepid RCH there. But I part company with him when he talks about an off-budget "dark mission" .
I watched the moon missions in high school, and it's been all downhill since then, except for Voyager, Cassini, and Mars Rovers , which are pretty important. But how much teeth pulling did the involved scientists have to do to even get those funded? Where is President Kennedy literally pushing NASA on, regularly making photo ops big launches, having ticker-tape parades for astronauts like WWII heroes, Rose Garden ceremonies for them? Where is vice president Johnson holding "Texas style" barbecues for the Mercury 7? Where are those days
This year marks the 50th anniversary of lunar exploration, so the "space baby" is now 50 and old enough to join the senior club. Could it be that the novelty is wearing off for the politicians who really just used the scientists for political purposes all along any way?