Back Stabber In Chief! No More Moon Program
If the Back Stabber in Chief (aka President Barrack H. Obama) gets his way – Project Orion/Aries is toast!
Part of it was expected (try and get private companies to come up with transportation vehicles that seats can be leased out to NASA for a lot cheaper rates than what the Russians are going to be charging the United States of America to send astronauts up to the International Space Station (ISS).
His current plan is NO lunar landers.
No moon bases…
Really, no Constellation program at all. Basically, all he wants NASA to do is Earth-science projects only like monitoring climate change. And to take on a new technology research and development program that will one day make human exploration of asteroids and the inner solar system possible.
Believe it or not, hope actually lies in Congress to revent this outrage!
Quote: Last year, lawmakers prohibited NASA from canceling any Constellation programs and starting new ones in their place unless the cuts were approved by Congress. The provision sends a “direct message that the Congress believes Constellation is, and should remain, the future of America’s human space flight program,” wrote U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., last month.
This blogger likes the idea of private industry taking on the role of taxi service to the space station, other low earth orbit missions. But the ultimate goals of the moon and Mars should still be in the government sights.
The way things are going for the USA right now, China and India will get to the moon before we can go back there. This upsets me personally and should upset ALL Americans. But hey, we CAN NOT interfer with “American Idol” now, can we?!
UPDATE (January 28, 2010): This bit of news came my way today. Also from the Orlando Sentinel, the last paragraph of a article they posted today. Quote: Already lawmakers are preparing to fight Obama’s NASA plan. On Wednesday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R- Texas, said she would introduce a bill that would force NASA to fly additional shuttle flights beyond the final five now scheduled while NASA works on developing the next generation space vehicle.
UPDATE: (February 8, 2010). Check out this latest post of mine relating to this subject matter (http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2010/02/support-constellation/) .
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Ref. Orlando Sentinel, January 27, 2010. By Robert Block & Mark K. Matthews. “Obama amis to ax moon mission”
(http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-no-moon-for-nasa-20100126,0,2770904.story).
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