No more shuttles?

[fix-the-spade]

EDIT: 2 so it seems that Obama has cut the budget for NASA to save money, but I'm not sure to what extent yet.

Obama has cut NASA's budget, but the Space Shuttle was canned during Bush's administration, it's only now that the program of missions is drawing to a close.

The Shuttle program was over when Columbia blew up, two out of five units destroyed and 14 astronauts killed is too much for a space program.

More importantly maintanence was getting too high and wasn't properly planned for, Endeavor was literally built out of spare parts to replace Challenger. The four surviving orbital shuttles have been kept working by stripping parts out of Enterprise, non of Enterprise was ever meant to go into space. The Space Shuttles were becoming increasingly held together with improvisation and the youngest airframe is twenty-ish years old now.

Bascially the Space Shuttles have been worn out, I don't know about the future of NASA's space program but the end of the Shuttle program has been a long time coming, it isn't some knee-jerk political thing.

 

[Shock and Awe]

We are replacing them, they were sold as cost effective back in the day, but all the work they require has nullified that. We will probably start using rockets similar to the older models.

 

[tomtom94]

Yes, let's pour millions into space research so we can screw up some other planets without dealing with the issues on our own one first.

This is, in the circumstances we're in currently, not merely a good thing but a necessity.

(As someone who grew up after the space program ceased to be a big, new, revolutionary thing, this will continue to be my policy. And if your argument is "But it looks pretty!" or some variation thereof, you will not be acknowledged.)

Space exploration can fix just about every problem we have on Earth.

I can understand that we can potentially use space to fix some problems. I gather that we can potentially use satellites to provide the earth with electricity, and we can potentially terraform other planets to use for agriculture.

Problem is, there's a lot of potentially there, and I personally think that given the problems that America and other countries pursuing space exploration have as is (and it has many) cutting the funding from space exploration to try and fix some of them is a good thing.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Space exploration can fix just about every problem we have on Earth.

You mean it'll stop us being human?

 

[Wintermoot]

they retired the shuttles due to age (most shuttles where build in the 80,s) but there is still a probability a other agency (like ESA) will develop a successor (also why couldn't Obama cut costs on something else like the Army?)
they would still send astronauts to stations (like the ISS)

 

[Anarchemitis]

Artist's impression of a Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Vehicle, still using the not-yet-obsolete Booster Engines and external fuel take system.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

What exactly does America gain from sending shuttles to space and putting another man on the moon? I know that NASA is responsible for a tonne of useful technology, rumour has it they have created a super-efficient PV-cell (solar panel) but all this research can be done on earth, in a lab. Why do they need to spend millions sending a bloke into space to float around for a while, sure he does some experiments in zero gravity, but what actually happens up there must be extremely limited.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Yes, let's pour millions into space research so we can screw up some other planets without dealing with the issues on our own one first.

This is, in the circumstances we're in currently, not merely a good thing but a necessity.

(As someone who grew up after the space program ceased to be a big, new, revolutionary thing, this will continue to be my policy. And if your argument is "But it looks pretty!" or some variation thereof, you will not be acknowledged.)

Space exploration can fix just about every problem we have on Earth.

I can understand that we can potentially use space to fix some problems. I gather that we can potentially use satellites to provide the earth with electricity, and we can potentially terraform other planets to use for agriculture.

Problem is, there's a lot of potentially there, and I personally think that given the problems that America and other countries pursuing space exploration have as is (and it has many) cutting the funding from space exploration to try and fix some of them is a good thing.

Perhaps, but NASA already gets a minuscule budget.
.53% Of the US budget.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

 

[Neonit]

how about we concentrate on earth for a while? there is a lot of interesting stuff going on here too you know? id rather have well-funded education system, than well-mapped galaxy ...

besides, im pretty sure a lot of other countries are working on their space program. let them book some success as well.....

 

[crimson5pheonix]

It was Barack,he cut NASA's funding.

No, he fought congress to renew the funding to NASA. Congress disagreed. The president doesn't control shit.

Almost, he fought congress to cancel Constellation and to put NASA into some sort of middle east teaching thing. Congress disagreed. Constellations fate is kinda up in the air. But if they don't make the Ares rockets, they'll make the Bares rockets WHICH ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND DON'T YOU QUESTION IT!

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

They already had that mapped out. The moon would be colonized first. We are not talking star wars settlements, but rather small pioneer colonies that look more like shanty towns compared to say Corusant. However all that planning went up in smoke thanks to uncle sam and his military fetish. NASA is only 1% of the budget while military is 40%. What a joke. At least other nations are catching up, and realize space's true potential.

I'm not gonna lie about the budget. Even I would love to see some changes done to it. That said, colonization would cost much more then what we could possibly give them and it is a big risk. Things don't always go as planned and a colony would take time to raise. Not to mention that there isn't much profit to be made in colonizing outside of Earth. What could you possibly create from on the moon that could not be created here? There would be no monetary gain from it. Sure, the Human Race would benefit from it through experience, but no one is gonna back something when there is no benefit to be made other then that.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

They already had that mapped out. The moon would be colonized first. We are not talking star wars settlements, but rather small pioneer colonies that look more like shanty towns compared to say Corusant. However all that planning went up in smoke thanks to uncle sam and his military fetish. NASA is only 1% of the budget while military is 40%. What a joke. At least other nations are catching up, and realize space's true potential.

I'm not gonna lie about the budget. Even I would love to see some changes done to it. That said, colonization would cost much more then what we could possibly give them and it is a big risk. Things don't always go as planned and a colony would take time to raise. Not to mention that there isn't much profit to be made in colonizing outside of Earth. What could you possibly create from on the moon that could not be created here? There would be no monetary gain from it. Sure, the Human Race would benefit from it through experience, but no one is gonna back something when there is no benefit to be made other then that.

We actually don't know. There might be alloys that can only be made in low/micro gravity. Or compounds. Space made materials could be very lucrative.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

They already had that mapped out. The moon would be colonized first. We are not talking star wars settlements, but rather small pioneer colonies that look more like shanty towns compared to say Corusant. However all that planning went up in smoke thanks to uncle sam and his military fetish. NASA is only 1% of the budget while military is 40%. What a joke. At least other nations are catching up, and realize space's true potential.

I'm not gonna lie about the budget. Even I would love to see some changes done to it. That said, colonization would cost much more then what we could possibly give them and it is a big risk. Things don't always go as planned and a colony would take time to raise. Not to mention that there isn't much profit to be made in colonizing outside of Earth. What could you possibly create from on the moon that could not be created here? There would be no monetary gain from it. Sure, the Human Race would benefit from it through experience, but no one is gonna back something when there is no benefit to be made other then that.

We actually don't know. There might be alloys that can only be made in low/micro gravity. Or compounds. Space made materials could be very lucrative.

Or they could be inferior to Earth made metals. You said before that they were out of the info gathering phase, but it looks like there is still some missing portions of data.

Look, I would love to see the human race move past the boundaries they've been given, but right now may not be the best time to fund it.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

They already had that mapped out. The moon would be colonized first. We are not talking star wars settlements, but rather small pioneer colonies that look more like shanty towns compared to say Corusant. However all that planning went up in smoke thanks to uncle sam and his military fetish. NASA is only 1% of the budget while military is 40%. What a joke. At least other nations are catching up, and realize space's true potential.

I'm not gonna lie about the budget. Even I would love to see some changes done to it. That said, colonization would cost much more then what we could possibly give them and it is a big risk. Things don't always go as planned and a colony would take time to raise. Not to mention that there isn't much profit to be made in colonizing outside of Earth. What could you possibly create from on the moon that could not be created here? There would be no monetary gain from it. Sure, the Human Race would benefit from it through experience, but no one is gonna back something when there is no benefit to be made other then that.

We actually don't know. There might be alloys that can only be made in low/micro gravity. Or compounds. Space made materials could be very lucrative.

Or they could be inferior to Earth made metals. You said before that they were out of the info gathering phase, but it looks like there is still some missing portions of data.

Look, I would love to see the human race move past the boundaries they've been given, but right now may not be the best time to fund it.

I didn't say we were out of the info gathering phase (that was Ultratwinkie). Everything is about gathering information and I can see going to space as only being helpful.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

They already had that mapped out. The moon would be colonized first. We are not talking star wars settlements, but rather small pioneer colonies that look more like shanty towns compared to say Corusant. However all that planning went up in smoke thanks to uncle sam and his military fetish. NASA is only 1% of the budget while military is 40%. What a joke. At least other nations are catching up, and realize space's true potential.

I'm not gonna lie about the budget. Even I would love to see some changes done to it. That said, colonization would cost much more then what we could possibly give them and it is a big risk. Things don't always go as planned and a colony would take time to raise. Not to mention that there isn't much profit to be made in colonizing outside of Earth. What could you possibly create from on the moon that could not be created here? There would be no monetary gain from it. Sure, the Human Race would benefit from it through experience, but no one is gonna back something when there is no benefit to be made other then that.

We actually don't know. There might be alloys that can only be made in low/micro gravity. Or compounds. Space made materials could be very lucrative.

Or they could be inferior to Earth made metals. You said before that they were out of the info gathering phase, but it looks like there is still some missing portions of data.

Look, I would love to see the human race move past the boundaries they've been given, but right now may not be the best time to fund it.

I didn't say we were out of the info gathering phase (that was Ultratwinkie). Everything is about gathering information and I can see going to space as only being helpful.

As do I, but at the moment, the benefits do not outweigh the costs.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

They already had that mapped out. The moon would be colonized first. We are not talking star wars settlements, but rather small pioneer colonies that look more like shanty towns compared to say Corusant. However all that planning went up in smoke thanks to uncle sam and his military fetish. NASA is only 1% of the budget while military is 40%. What a joke. At least other nations are catching up, and realize space's true potential.

I'm not gonna lie about the budget. Even I would love to see some changes done to it. That said, colonization would cost much more then what we could possibly give them and it is a big risk. Things don't always go as planned and a colony would take time to raise. Not to mention that there isn't much profit to be made in colonizing outside of Earth. What could you possibly create from on the moon that could not be created here? There would be no monetary gain from it. Sure, the Human Race would benefit from it through experience, but no one is gonna back something when there is no benefit to be made other then that.

We actually don't know. There might be alloys that can only be made in low/micro gravity. Or compounds. Space made materials could be very lucrative.

Or they could be inferior to Earth made metals. You said before that they were out of the info gathering phase, but it looks like there is still some missing portions of data.

Look, I would love to see the human race move past the boundaries they've been given, but right now may not be the best time to fund it.

I didn't say we were out of the info gathering phase (that was Ultratwinkie). Everything is about gathering information and I can see going to space as only being helpful.

As do I, but at the moment, the benefits do not outweigh the costs.

Considering what all we're doing for how little we put into NASA, I think spending more is warranted.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Probably for the best. It takes a lot of man hours and money to prepare someone for space. You need food, oxygen, water, stuff we take for granted up here is non-existent in space and a unmanned probe can usually get us all the info we need at a much cheaper price.

That's the thing. We are past the "info stage" and are at the colonization stage. Constellation (the new plan) would start the colonization, but the funding was cut.

It would take hundreds of trillions of dollars just to give that plan a fighting chance, and in this time of conflict, no country really has that much money to spare on the Space Race. The only planet anywhere near us where life could even be possible is Mars, and we have yet to get a human anywhere near that planet, and even then, we're still not 100% sure about Mars being a good spot. A space station would also be out of the question due to muscle loss. Until NASA can create a supplement of some sort that negates that loss entirely, colonization via Satellite would be an impossible long term goal.

They already had that mapped out. The moon would be colonized first. We are not talking star wars settlements, but rather small pioneer colonies that look more like shanty towns compared to say Corusant. However all that planning went up in smoke thanks to uncle sam and his military fetish. NASA is only 1% of the budget while military is 40%. What a joke. At least other nations are catching up, and realize space's true potential.

I'm not gonna lie about the budget. Even I would love to see some changes done to it. That said, colonization would cost much more then what we could possibly give them and it is a big risk. Things don't always go as planned and a colony would take time to raise. Not to mention that there isn't much profit to be made in colonizing outside of Earth. What could you possibly create from on the moon that could not be created here? There would be no monetary gain from it. Sure, the Human Race would benefit from it through experience, but no one is gonna back something when there is no benefit to be made other then that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3

It's said that this resource is worth its weight in gold. Industrial applications of zero gravity is limitless as well, and ships may be easily manufactured in space. The moon is a perfect stepping stone for space travel.

While that would be a lovely prize, the article itself says that it is only theorized to be on the moon (And claims that the moon only received them due to Solar Wind.) and even then, its not exactly in plentiful supplies.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

Cutting the shuttle program wasn't that bad of an idea. However, cancelling Constellation was a horrible error. The new technologies could be applied to industry, not to mention we'd be at the forefront of Lunar colonization, something that will be crucial if we ever want to tap Helium-3 as a viable resource. The Indians and Chinese are all over it, and I'm sure the US will blow them away once either of them reports that have access to something valuable up there, but until then, we are on the ground.