Obama cancels moon missions

[Leonaerd]

Maybe you should see if your laptop will fit up your ass, sideways.

[Keverian FireCry]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[*~*stragi*~*]

nick: sylvus: jice: winnow: stragi: kilmoll: sylvos:

i hope this helps guys

what about me tt

[Nick]

Oh shit two VV heavyweights have rode in their twin horses, sanctimony and pretentious, and are here to deliver the truth to the savage fucking irishman.

What a fucking embarrassment you both are.

No, silly, our twin horses' names are similar parts of speech!

That's a funny joke!

Just so we're clear on this, I hope you know that I don't hold anything against you because you're Irish, far from it.

Cool.

We have douchebag college students who think they know everything over here in the good ole' prisoner-torturin', war-mongerin', space-fearin', can't-do-anything-right U. S. of A.

Oh I see we're playing this game. Well done!

They're just like you and I don't care for them, either.

I'll be losing sleep over this.

It has nothing to do with any generalizations, I prefer to dislike people on an individual basis.

Cheers mate!

And kudos to you for providing another cogent argument!

Thanks!

You're really starting to sway opinions there, Professor. How could anyone not agree with gems like:

Asshole

hurr hurr, obama is killing the space program so he can invade third-world countries

check out this hardcore zinger, sylvus. i'll use sarcasm in an hilarious manner in this third post in the thread that i created to further avoid presenting a reasonable critique of the subject i brought up, or any point or counterpoint whatsoever. don't need to waste time on that shite when you're as learned as i am!

thanks, fairweather, but didn't you read what i just told sylvus?

drolgin: owned! WHO ELSE WANTS SOME?!?

stfu drolgin, even when i'm not actually saying anything, i'm winning the debate. and now, in my sixth post in my thread, i'll take some time to provide a thoroughly flaccid fisking of jice's opinions, countering them with my own, much more authoritative opinions![ed. note: at least he's providing an opinion here, that's better than he did on the whole first page of his thread!]

[ed. note: this is his 7th post in the thread]boy, miir, i thought you were one of us; erudite. how could you stoop so low beneath yourself?

i've actually got the balls to call others pretentious and sanctimonious after my whole posting history in general and specifically my last (the 7th) post in this thread, either of which could be used to teach middle schoolers the meanings of the words "pretentious" and "sanctimonious". in fact, just to reiterate these qualities that i so well embody, "What a fucking embarrassment you both are."

Ah! Paraphrasing. Well done you! You're a big boy! You've understood the concept of taking statements, minimalising them to suit your preferred dribbling cognizance (which we all know is really respected round these here parts) and turning them into a severe and devastating internet zing!

Man, when you actually go through and re-read someone's posts word-for-word, it really helps illuminate why they are the proverbial "nails on the chalkboard". You are cartalas with a thesaurus, Nick. I finally understand it. I wonder when you'll start pm'ing me to ban yourself?

I wouldn't worry about that mon ami, I don't hold you in enough regard to assume you hold any legitimate sway on this, or any other forum in regards to banning fellow members of IGN Veeshan Vault. Why not sign off your next post with ***KISSES HUGS *** and complete the 7 year circle!

For reference, I thought you were a decent chap, evidently you're just a cunt. Go you "Sylvus"

[Jice Virago]

Another insightful and well thought out topical post by the Cartalas of the far left.......

[Fairweather Pure]

Reading people respond to him in this thread reminds me of an old Adam Sandler skit he did on his first CD. He talked like a retard and everyone around him treated him as if he was completely normal, ignoring the fact tht he was obviously retarded. They took his simple retarded phrases and constructed meaningful and even insightful responses to them. Seriously, that's all I can think about, lol!

[Wulfran]

I have to confess the irony of this thread amuses me.

We have a bunch of lay-people discussing what should be the future of space exploration, and while we may not be totally ignorant (I'll stroke our collective egos by saying we're perhaps better informed than most of society), we're not scientists involved in these areas of research. Its not really so different from the politicians who are ultimately making the calls on the future of the programs, who again aren't scientists (for the most part they're bloody lawyers) or experts, and who are relying on what they percieve is the best advice from their scientific advisors... and of course always with an eye on the pork-politics of who gets to make what where.

As far as the actual programs, a lot of astrophysicists and astronomers that I have read/seen interviewed don't like manned missions at all: they get more hard data for their research from the unmanned "probes" that get sent out. These scientists view manned missions as an overexpenditure in terms of the payback in hard data, but I think they're also limited by professional blinders: we do need manned missions to determine effects of travel/feasibility of off-planet habitation, if our goals are ever going to be off planet colonization or industry of any sort, which is straying from the baliwick of "true" space exploration. As far as what the Obama admin. is doing, from what I have seen, I think they're doing the right thing and the only reason this didn't play well in the media is, as was stated, a lack of lead time for NASA to sell people on what is happening.

[*~*stragi*~*]

i'm actually a space scientist wulfran but you didn't know that so i will forgive you.

[Nick]

"The cartalas of the left."

That's ok Jice! I forgive you mate. In truth I'd always thought you went for overt verbosity over saliency. So congratulations on your hilarious non sequitor, it's a shame we don't have a ranking for meaningless "i like the smell of my own farts" kind of posts eh?

Maybe next time.

Retard.

[Keverian FireCry]

NASA is still going strong!

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/n ... o_approach

[vn_Tanc]

"The cartalas of the left."

That's ok Jice! I forgive you mate. In truth I'd always thought you went for overt verbosity over saliency. So congratulations on your hilarious non sequitor, it's a shame we don't have a ranking for meaningless "i like the smell of my own farts" kind of posts eh?

Maybe next time.

Retard.

What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?

[Leonaerd]

"The cartalas of the left."

That's ok Jice! I forgive you mate. In truth I'd always thought you went for overt verbosity over saliency. So congratulations on your hilarious non sequitor, it's a shame we don't have a ranking for meaningless "i like the smell of my own farts" kind of posts eh?

Maybe next time.

Retard.

What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?

We look very small from up there.

[Nick]

oh the fucking irony!

[*~*stragi*~*]

im callin u out nick its a flame war

we shall duel to the death with our words

IN SPACE

[*~*stragi*~*]

haha nub if u knew anything u'd know you cant talk in space theres no air wow what an easy duel *unwraps 3 day old subway and takes a bite in delight*

[Bagar-]

I was taking a shit, just like 5 minutes ago, and I came up with a fucking BRILLIANT idea.

What if Ireland had a space program?

And then we could bitch about what Ireland did with Ireland's space program even though we have fuck-all to do with Ireland or Ireland's government or the decisions made by Ireland's government or with Ireland's space program, but we could pretend to be an authority on what Ireland should do with Ireland's space program anyhow.

Although I don't think you can fuel a rocket with whiskey, potatoes, or pointless religious hatred, so I suppose that's just not realistic.

[Kilmoll the Sexy]

You definitely could fuel a rocket with whiskey and potatoes. Whether you could get it out of our atmosphere or not is Ireland's problem.

[*~*stragi*~*]

I was taking a shit, just like 5 minutes ago, and I came up with a fucking BRILLIANT idea.

What if Ireland had a space program?

And then we could bitch about what Ireland did with Ireland's space program even though we have fuck-all to do with Ireland or Ireland's government or the decisions made by Ireland's government or with Ireland's space program, but we could pretend to be an authority on what Ireland should do with Ireland's space program anyhow.

Although I don't think you can fuel a rocket with whiskey, potatoes, or pointless religious hatred, so I suppose that's just not realistic.

i kind of already posted that you are just trying to bite my style

[Bagar-]

It would appear that you did .

That's what I get for skimming.

In an effort to make up for my transgressions, nudes are being PMed to you right now. Enjoy. Please keep them private, though.

[Winnow]

Fight back! Don't let Obama ruin our future!

Bill calls for NASA to continue push to Moon

Legislation would halt space shuttle retirement and continue human space flight plan

Sharon Gaudin


March 4, 2010 (Computerworld) President Barack Obama's proposal that NASA scrap its plans for a new manned mission to the moon and to contract with commercial companies to build space taxis is meeting with some resistance in Congress.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) yesterday introduced a bill that would undo NASA's plans to retire its aging space shuttle fleet later this year. The bill would also require that NASA continue on with its Constellation program, which calls for building rockets and spacecraft to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and further into space.

"We must close the gap in U.S. human space flight or face the reality that we will be totally dependent on Russia for access to space until the next generation of space vehicle is developed," said Sen. Hutchison, in a statement. "If the space shuttle program is terminated, Russia and China will be the only nations in the world with the capability to launch humans into space. This is unacceptable."

Hutchison introduced the bill just a little more than a month after the president released his 2011 federal budget proposal, which would eliminate NASA's plan to return humans to the moon by 2020.

The budget plan aims to turn the agency's attention to developing new engines, in-space fuel depots and robots that can venture into space.

NASA administrator Charles Bolden has repeatedly said since the budget plan was proposed that the Constellation program is behind schedule, and projected to ultimately be over budget. He said he feared that NASA's Constellation program would sap funding and attention from developing new technologies.

Sticking with the plan would also drain funds from the space spation program, and would force NASA to withdraw its support from the international effort as early as 2015, he added.

The Obama administration's new plan calls for NASA to work with commercial aeronautics companies to design and build so-called space taxis that could take astronauts to the space station and eventually into outer space.

Obama's plan - and the fact that it could lead to job losses in both Florida and Texas -- got a pretty chilly reception in Congress this week. Bolden faced a vigorous round of questions in front of Congress earlier this week about the space agency's missions and what the new budget plan means for NASA.

The Wall Street Journal reported late yesterday that Bolden has asked senior managers at NASA to draw up an alternate plan in case Congress shoots down Obama's proposal. The alternative would be a compromise that would include ideas from both the administration and Congress, according to the Journal.

Sen. Hutchison's bill is designed to enable NASA to postpone the retirement of the space shuttle fleet until work is complete on a next-generation American spacecraft.

[Kaldaur]

Yes, because planning a multi-billion dollar mission to the moon using technology that has been around for forty years is a sound strategy.
You know the best way to get to Oregon? By a fucking wagon, that's how. Why invent the car when we've got oxen?

The space shuttle is old. It falls apart, and has a tendency to explode and extinguish the lives of the tiny little astronauts inside it. We haven't changed our ride in thirty-five years. It's time for something new, and this plan helps push us in that direction. What that article doesn't tell you is that Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who just got smacked around in a Texas gubernatorial primary, was holding this legislation back as a way for her to come out of the gate after her getting thrashed. It's easy to put a bill on the table that tells NASA to keep using the space shuttle when you're not actually the one going up in it. It's another thing to actually listen to the experts who say the things are ten or fifteen years past their prime, and that all the manufacturers who once provided the technology and parts that assemble the shuttle have either closed or stopped producing. But let's go ahead and keep sending some of our brightest pilots up in LEO with something that isn't even safety-rated.

[Winnow]

Who was throwing around names saying the Apollo astronauts were behind Obama's policy changes? Um, no.

Obama was at least supposed to help the US advance in the non military areas. He's been a complete failure!

Obama's plans for NASA changes met with harsh criticism

By Joel Achenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Harrison Schmitt's credentials as a space policy analyst include several days of walking on the moon. The Apollo 17 astronaut, who is also a former U.S. senator, is aghast at what President Obama is doing to the space program.

"It's bad for the country," Schmitt said. "This administration really does not believe in American exceptionalism."

Schmitt's harsh words are part of a furious blowback to the administration's new strategy for NASA. The administration has decided to kill NASA's Constellation program, crafted during the Bush administration with an ambitious goal of putting astronauts back on the moon by 2020. Obama's 2011 budget request would nix Constellation's rocket and crew capsule, funnel billions of dollars to new spaceflight technologies, and outsource to commercial firms the task of ferrying astronauts to low-Earth orbit.

The new strategy, however, has been met with outrage from many in the aerospace community. The entire congressional delegation from Florida, Democrats and Republicans alike, has sent a letter of protest to the president. Doubters fill op-ed pages and space blogs.

The administration apparently senses that it is losing the public-relations battle. On Sunday, the White House announced that the president, who has said almost nothing in public about his NASA strategy, will headline a conference on NASA policy April 15 in Central Florida. Obama will be heading into what has become hostile territory.

"They made a mistake when they rolled out their space program, because they gave the perception that they had killed the manned space program," said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who disagrees with that perception but wants the Obama plan modified. Nelson said the president should declare during the Florida conference that NASA's goal is to send humans to Mars. Nelson noted that the Interstate 4 corridor through Central Florida is critical for national candidates. "I think it has a lot of repercussions for the president. If a national candidate does not carry the I-4 corridor, they don't win Florida," Nelson said.

Congress must approve NASA's strategic change. Lawmakers in Florida, Alabama and Texas, states rich in space jobs, have sharply criticized the Obama plan as a job-killer. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) says that under Obama's strategy "America's decades-long dominance of space will finally come to an end."

In fact, Obama's budget boosts NASA's funding by $6 billion over the next five years. The extra money is less than the $3 billion-a-year hike that a presidential advisory panel said would be necessary for a robust human space flight, but it's still an increase when many agencies are being squeezed.

Change doesn't come easily in the aerospace industry, with its long timelines and abundance of customized technology. Thousands of aerospace contract workers were already going to lose their jobs with the retirement of the aging fleet of space shuttles. Constellation, conceived after the space shuttle Columbia accident in 2003, was designed with architecture that would let some shuttle jobs migrate to the new program. NASA has already poured $9 billion into the development of a new rocket, Ares 1, and a new spacecraft, Orion. Terminating the program and closing out contracts will cost $2.5 billion more, the administration estimates.

After the last shuttle flies -- the final mission is scheduled for September -- the United States will rely entirely on Russian spacecraft to carry astronauts to the international space station. It is likely to take several years, at least, for the commercial firms to produce a safe spacecraft for putting people in orbit.

Nelson wants to continue the testing of solid rocket boosters as part of a fallback plan if the commercial firms can't deliver. Such a move would, in effect, continue Constellation in part, even if under a different name. But, barring an unlikely increase in the NASA budget, any such move would require cuts in other NASA programs. NASA's science directorate, for example, might see trims to the $512 million increase it would receive under Obama's 2011 budget.

"Should science people be nervous if they continue Constellation? Absolutely," a senior NASA official said Tuesday.

The strategic change has been dictated by budgetary realities, the administration has said. An advisory committee appointed by Obama, and headed by former Lockheed chief executive Norman Augustine, determined that under a realistic budget NASA probably wouldn't have a moon rocket until 2028, and still wouldn't have the hardware to land. Ares 1 had little chance of ever having a "useful role," Augustine said in a recent interview.

"The problem with Constellation was that success was not one of the possible outcomes," said Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of SpaceX, a start-up rocket firm that would be in the running for one of the new NASA commercial contracts.

Musk plans to conduct the first test launch of his Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral, Fla., in the coming weeks. He puts the odds of success on the first try at 70 to 80 percent.

"It's trivial to build a rocket. It's incredibly difficult to build a rocket that goes to orbit," Musk said.

The timetable could put the launch very close to Obama's April 15 space conference. That makes Musk nervous.

"It is looking oddly close to the middle of next month. Which is a little scary," Musk said. "I'd hate for any decision here to be informed by some unfortunate situation on our first launch."

[Sylvus]

Who was throwing around names saying the Apollo astronauts were behind Obama's policy changes? Um, no.

That might have been me. Forgive me, I'm not really sure if Buzz Aldrin was an Apollo astronaut or not. He's certainly not one of the big names in astronauteering (again, I'm just an amateur space enthusiast, that might not be a real word) like... hold on a second, I need to scroll back down to your post to copy and paste that name you used... Harrison Schmitt.

Today I wish to endorse strongly the President’s new direction for NASA. As an Apollo astronaut, I know the importance of always pushing new frontiers as we explore space.
The truth is that we have already been to the Moon—some 40 years ago.
A near-term focus on lowering the cost of access to space and on developing key, cutting-edge technologies to take us further, faster, is just what our Nation needs to maintain its position as the leader in space exploration for the rest of this century.
We need to be in this for the long haul, and this program will allow us to again be pushing the boundaries to achieve new and challenging things beyond Earth.
I hope NASA will embrace this new direction as much as I do, and help us all continue to use space exploration to drive prosperity and innovation right here on Earth.
I also believe the steps we will be taking following the President’s direction will best position NASA and other space agencies to send humans to Mars and other exciting destinations as quickly as possible.
To do that, we will need to support many types of game-changing technologies NASA and its partners will be developing. Mars is the next frontier for humankind, and NASA will be leading the way there if we aggressively support the President’s plans.
Finally, I am excited to think that the development of commercial capabilities to send humans into low-Earth orbit will likely result in so many more Earthlings being able to experience the transformative power of spaceflight.
I can personally attest to the fact that the experience results in a different perspective on life on Earth, and on our future as a species. I applaud the President for working to make this dream a reality.
Buzz Aldrin

[miir]

Harrison Schmitt is obviously a Republican.

[Winnow]

Who was throwing around names saying the Apollo astronauts were behind Obama's policy changes? Um, no.

That might have been me. Forgive me, I'm not really sure if Buzz Aldrin was an Apollo astronaut or not. He's certainly not one of the big names in astronauteering (again, I'm just an amateur space enthusiast, that might not be a real word) like... hold on a second, I need to scroll back down to your post to copy and paste that name you used... Harrison Schmitt.

I'm sorry, a political clown that happened to be on the team of Astronauts first to land on the moon holds more weight than an Astronaut that actually did Walk on the Moon? Hmm Buzz was only a lunar module pilot. Schmitt walked on the moon. I understand the fascination with "hollywood" type stars but I'm not sure Buzz Aldrin's opinon should hold more weight.

Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, a former NASA astronaut, University Professor and a U.S. Senator for one term.


He is the twelfth and last of the Apollo astronauts to arrive and set foot on the Moon (crewmate Eugene Cernan exited the Apollo Lunar Module first). However, as Schmitt re-entered the module first, Cernan became the last astronaut to walk on and depart the moon. Schmitt is also the only person to have walked on the Moon who was never a member of the United States Armed Forces (he is not the first civilian; Neil Armstrong left military service prior to his landing in 1969).

Looks like Schmitt also is the only non military Astronaut from the Apollo era. Should be bonus points for you libs!

Looks like Schmitt has quite a few accomplishments under his belt:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Schmitt

[Sylvus]

I'm sorry, a political clown that happened to be on the team of Astronauts first to land on the moon holds more weight than an Astronaut that actually did Walk on the Moon? Hmm Buzz was only a lunar module pilot. Schmitt walked on the moon. I understand the fascination with "hollywood" type stars but I'm not sure Buzz Aldrin's opinon should hold more weight.

Who are the two astronauts on the moon in the picture above?



Who is the one astronaut on the moon in the picture above?

He's also the first astronaut to spacewalk and was the pilot of the first lunar module. "Political clown" indeed.

[Winnow]

Looks like Schmitt actually got involved with teh NASA program after his time in the spotlight.

Buzz? Well lets see:



It's a rap, with 'moon man' Buzz Aldrin and Snoop Dogg

Schmitt is an adjunct professor of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison[6], and has long been a proponent of lunar resource utilization[7][8]. In 1997 he proposed the Interlune InterMars Initiative, listing among its goals the advancement of private sector acquisition and use of lunar resources, particularly lunar helium-3 as a fuel for notional nuclear fusion reactors.[9]

Schmitt was chair of the NASA Advisory Council, whose mandate is to provide technical advice to the NASA Administrator, from November 2005 until his abrupt resignation in October 16, 2008.[10] . In November 2008, he quit the Planetary Society over policy advocacy differences, citing the organization's statements on "focusing on Mars as the driving goal of human spaceflight" (Schmitt said that going back to the Moon would speed progress toward a manned Mars mission), on "accelerating research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth observations" (Schmitt voiced objections to the notion of a present "scientific consensus" on climate change as any policy guide), and on international cooperation (which he felt would retard rather than accelerate progress), among other points of divergence.[11] He has said that "[t]he CO2 scare is a red herring",[12] that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision-making," and that scientists who might otherwise challenge prevailing views on climate change dare not do so for fear of losing funding.[13]

[Kaldaur]

Are you really trying to push some "My astronaut is better than your astronaut" bullshit? Besides, it sounds like that guy quits everything he does. He's the space equivalent of Sarah Palin.

[Winnow]

Are you really trying to push some "My astronaut is better than your astronaut" bullshit? Besides, it sounds like that guy quits everything he does. He's the space equivalent of Sarah Palin.

It appears Buzz fucking Aldrin is somehow better than Schmitt or have you actually been reading the thread?

In November 2008, he quit the Planetary Society over policy advocacy differences, citing the organization's statements on "focusing on Mars as the driving goal of human spaceflight" (Schmitt said that going back to the Moon would speed progress toward a manned Mars mission), on "accelerating research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth observations" (Schmitt voiced objections to the notion of a present "scientific consensus" on climate change as any policy guide), and on international cooperation (which he felt would retard rather than accelerate progress), among other points of divergence.[11] He has said that "[t]he CO2 scare is a red herring",[12] that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision-making," and that scientists who might otherwise challenge prevailing views on climate change dare not do so for fear of losing funding.[13]

He's got my support. Looks to me like he's got the climate change political bullshit pegged.

Perhaps a beer summit held by Obama would solve this. Maybe a little hoops in the White House back yard. So cool! Pimp my ride Obama might actually try to get something done one day instead of try to be the "cool" president. Of course, Buzz fucking Aldrin and his rap buddy Snoop fit right in with the president's current agenda.

[Jice Virago]

Just man up and say "Theres a Nigger in the Whitehouse!" like you want to, instead of all this passive aggressive racist bullshit, you pussy.

[Winnow]

Just man up and say "Theres a Nigger in the Whitehouse!" like you want to, instead of all this passive aggressive racist bullshit, you pussy.

Why are you pulling out the race card? Quit trying to make this a race issue. I could care less what our president's race or gender is if they are competent and do a good job. Please refrain from making your redneck comments. I can see where your mind is. Obama is what he is. He's not some lead figure you can attack with your turpentine and then paint whatever color you choose. Get your head out of fantasyland.

Search for "beer" with google images. See any black people?

Does the inventor of basketball look black to you?

[Zaelath]

Is it irony that the first black guy in that beer search is Obama?

I did find a beer with an afro though:

[Kilmoll the Sexy]

Just man up and say "Theres a Nigger in the Whitehouse!" like you want to, instead of all this passive aggressive racist bullshit, you pussy.

Why in the hell would you pull the race card for an avowed Conservative bashing a President that is a socialist? This fuck is further left than every candidate we have had for the last 30 years and you think it is about race? Either you are completely fucking retarded or you really have no answers for the incompetence and utter stupidity displayed by this administration and have to resort to the "you hate him because he is black" argument.

[miir]

bashing a President that is a socialist

Haha, Obama is a socialist?
Not even fucking close.

In any other country, he wouldn't even be considered left.

[Spang]

Why in the hell would you pull the race card for an avowed Conservative bashing a President that is a socialist?

Obama's a socialist? Are you fucking retarded or just plain stupid?

[Sylvus]

What else would you call a president who wants to reform something that works as well as our current Healthcare system? You don't mess with a well-oiled machine like that...

[Aslanna]

"Socialist" is the mantra that his opposition has been throwing out basically ever since he was elected. It's FUD of the highest order but hey why let facts get in the way of their blind hatred.

[Winnow]

A president that says he wants to reform the Health Care System is the same as a president saying he wants "World Peace"...come on now...lets get real. Obama has been useless as a president.

I'm pretty sure Oprah wants World Peace as well. Maybe she should be our next president.

All talk, no accomplishments.

[Jice Virago]

On that set of criteria he should be your personal hero then, Winnow.....

[Winnow]

On that set of criteria he should be your personal hero then, Winnow.....

I'm pretty sure I have one bronze trophy on my PS3.

[masteen]

I want to drink afrobeers with the President.

[Winnow]

That's right Obama. Back peddle you ass.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday defended President Barack Obama's new space policy after Apollo 11 hero Neil Armstrong and other astronauts called it a step-down that would make NASA's program dependent on Russian goodwill.

Neil fucking Armstrong > Buzz fucking Aldrin

[Leonaerd]

Did you expect a different position from a guy with moon envy?

It's smarter to do things right than to rush into space and explode more people. It's not like we'd be getting to Saturn any faster.

[Drolgin Steingrinder]

Hey Winnow, here's some inspiration for your further posting in CE - I figure you could use some new material:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies

[Xyun]

Hey Winnow, here's some inspiration for your further posting in CE - I figure you could use some new material:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies

LOL! What a great list. I wonder how many of those Winnow has broken. I'll set the over/under at 90%. Anyone taking the under?

[Winnow]

Some more comments from Neil "Fucking" Armstrong on Obama's Space Policy.

http://www.space.com/news/neil-armstron ... 00512.html

Neil Armstrong: Obama's New Space Plan 'Poorly Advised'
By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 12 May 2010
04:10 pm ET

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, blasted NASA's new plans for future space exploration Wednesday, adding that President Barack Obama was poorly advised when he canceled the space agency's previous course for U.S. human spaceflight earlier this year.

Armstrong, who commanded the historic Apollo 11 moon landing mission in July 1969, criticized what he billed as an air of secrecy that preceded Obama's February announcement which cancelled NASA's Constellation program aiming for the moon. That plan, he told a Senate subcommittee, was a surprise to many among NASA, academia and the military.

"A plan that was invisible to so many was likely contrived by a very small group in secret who persuaded the President that this was a unique opportunity to put his stamp on a new and innovative program," Armstrong, 79, said in a statement to a Senate subcommittee reviewing NASA's new space plan. "I believe the President was poorly advised."

The United States is risking losing its role as a leader in space exploration with its new plan, Armstrong said, adding that he was concerned with the looming gap in American human spaceflight.

"Other nations will surely step in where we have faltered," Armstrong said.

NASA's future at stake

In February, President Obama announced his intent to cancel NASA's Constellation program in charge of building the new Orion spaceships and their Ares rockets. Those new spacecraft were envisioned to replace NASA's retiring space shuttles and return astronauts to the moon by 2020 under a space vision laid out in 2004 by former President George W. Bush.

A White House-appointed panel found that the Constellation program suffered from severe underfunding and was not sustainable to push U.S. human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit in the near future.

White House science adviser John Holdren said President Obama's space plan decision "was not hasty."

"The president heard from a lot of people in this process," Holdren told the Senate Committee of Commerce, Science and Transportation Wednesday, adding that the list included himself, NASA chief Charles Bolden and lawmakers, among others. "He got to the best and most balanced program for NASA, including its human spaceflight dimension, that the country can afford."

The Constellation program's cancellation has sparked much criticism from lawmakers concerned over a gap in U.S. spaceflight capability and expertise.

"Our 40-year legacy of leadership in space is on the line," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who represents the home state of NASA's Mission Control. "And we need to have a credible plan to take the next step forward."

NASA's new space plan is aimed at developing new technologies, spacecraft and rockets that would allow the United States to launch astronauts on the first crewed mission to an asteroid by 2025.

A manned mission to Mars would follow in the 2030s, President Obama said during an April 15 speech at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Obama has proposed a $19 billion budget for NASA in 2011 and added another $6 billion over five years onto that in his April speech.

To that end, NASA will retire its three aging shuttles after three more missions (the shuttle Atlantis' final flight is set for Friday) and rely on Russian Soyuz vehicles to send astronauts to the International Space Station — which would be extended to at least 2020 under the new plan — until commercial U.S. spacecraft became available.

The design for a new heavy-lift rocket, vital for launching huge payloads on missions to Mars or an asteroid, would be selected by 2015, Obama said.

While Obama scrapped the Constellation program as part of his 2011 budget request for NASA, he revived the Orion crew capsule to launch unmanned missions and serve as an emergency escape ship for the space station.

Armstrong on Constellation

Armstrong said that while the Constellation program had the benefit of flexibility, it was also going to be costly. At the time of its proposed cancellation, NASA had already spent more than $9 billion on the program.

But the new goal of an asteroid mission and Mars is a stark departure, Armstrong said.

"These are vastly different plans and choosing the proper path is vital to America's continued space leadership," Armstrong said in his statement.

Armstrong and fellow Apollo astronauts Jim Lovell (Apollo 13 commander) and Eugene Cernan, who commanded Apollo 17 and was the last man to walk on the moon, have publicly denounced NASA's new space exploration plan. They called it "devastating" in a statement sent to the media last month.

Cernan also spoke before the Senate subcommittee.

"We (Armstrong, Lovell and myself) have come to the unanimous conclusion that this budget proposal presents no challenges, has no focus, and in fact is a blueprint for a mission to 'nowhere,'" Cernan said in a statement.

Armstrong said he supported the idea of new players in the spaceflight arena, but was skeptical of commercial companies would be able to meet NASA's needs in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

"I support the encouragement of the newcomers toward their goal of lower cost access to space," Armstrong said. "But having cut my teeth in rockets more than 50 years ago, I am not confident."

[Fairweather Pure]

This is Obama's Katrina.

[Zaelath]

This is Obama's Katrina.

I had to laugh at the Daily Show's "this is Obama's ..." collection the other day.

[Neroon]

I don't get these people worried about "losing our place as the leader in space exploration". How does messing around in Earth orbit for 30 years make us the leader in space exploration? The "leader of Orbiting Earth in ships" just doesn't have the same zing I guess.

I'm torn on this issue. I think it's a worthwhile thing to persue, but we are going to collapse if we don't stop spending money. It should be driven by private industry. And don't hamper them with rediculous regulations, no great achievement was ever made by being overly careful. Ships are going to explode. Obviously we need to find some driving force for private industry to take the risk, not a small task.

[Bubba Grizz]

I figured that by now we'd have a larger space station or even a moon base by now. Or at least the start of one. Wouldn't it be easier to launch from space to get to Mars or where ever?