Effects of the State of the Union speech on NASA.

[surlalune]

Terrible news... it's all been CANCELLED!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100201/tbs-us-scraps-moon-missions-in-budget-cu-327c223.html

Ohh, I was looking forward to them!

[spacecat27]

I was feeling a little encouraged yesterday.....
today, DIScouraged is an understatement.   

[Bob B.]

Here's another article:

White House Confirms Course Change for NASA

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is canceling NASA's current space shuttle replacement- and lunar exploration-plan and is prepared to fight any congressional effort to save it, the nation's top budget official said Jan. 31.

"The president's budget, officially sent to Congress Monday morning, confirms what officials had stated during a teleconference with reporters one day before: White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag and White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer stated Obama's plan to kill NASA's Constellation program, a five-year-old effort to replace the aging space shuttle fleet with new rockets and spacecraft optimized to return astronauts to the Moon.

[Bob B.]

Factbox: NASA's 2010 Budget

Funding Highlights:
 *  Adds $6 billion to NASA's budget over five years and draws upon American ingenuity to enable us to embark on an ambitious 21st Century program of human space exploration.
 * Initiates flagship exploration technology development and demonstration programs of "gamechanging" technologies that will increase the reach and reduce the costs of future human space exploration as well as other NASA, government, and commercial space activities.
 *  Embraces the commercial space industry and the thousands of new jobs that it can create by contracting with American companies to provide astronaut transportation to the Space Station — thus reducing the risk of relying exclusively on foreign crew transport capabilities.
 *  Ends NASA's Constellation program, which was planning to use an approach similar to the Apollo program to return astronauts back to the Moon 50 years after that program's triumphs.
 *  Extends the International Space Station and enhances its utilization, bringing nations together in a common pursuit of knowledge and excellence in space.
 *  Enhances the Nation's global climate change research and monitoring system, including reflight of a satellite that will help identify global carbon sources and sinks.
 *  Provides for a robust program of robotic solar system exploration and new astronomical observatories, including a probe that will fly through the Sun's atmosphere and an expanded effort to detect potentially hazardous asteroids.
 *  Revitalizes and realigns NASA to put in place the right workforce and facilities to function as an efficient 21st Century research and development agency.

The President's Budget cancels Constellation and replaces it with a bold new approach that invests in the building blocks of a more capable approach to space exploration that includes:

  *  Research and development to support future heavy-lift rocket systems that will increase the capability of future exploration architectures with significantly lower operations costs than current systems—potentially taking us farther and faster into space.
 *  A vigorous new technology development and test program that aims to increase the capabilities and reduce the cost of future exploration activities. NASA, working with industry, will build, fly, and test in orbit key technologies such as automated, autonomous rendezvous and docking, closed-loop life support systems, in-orbit propellant transfer, and advanced in-space propulsion so that our future human and robotic exploration missions are both highly capable and affordable.
 *  A steady stream of precursor robotic exploration missions to scout locations and demonstrate technologies to increase the safety and capability of future human missions and provide scientific dividends.

[Lemguy]

From this Canadians view it looks there isn't going to be a return to the moon in my lifetime. Axing the program at this time might be the right thing to do from a financial point of view, but couldn't have Ares have taken us to the ISS ? This way the US would had a way to get into space if they really needed to. NASA said in a question asked by a Canadian reporter that they were looking for more parters. Now I'd like to ask a question of my own. More partners for what ? Obama seems to have gutted everything that could be gutted. It seems he condones the wasting of money. By axing Ares and Constellation he seems to saying its ok to waste money - the program was already running.

NASA seems destined to exist - but only as a shadow of its former self. Bolden wanted something meaningful to do. It looks like the only meaningful thing he can do is walk out the front door, and to keep walking.

I bet Gene Cernan is really cheesed off tonight knowing he'll die before Americas returns to the moon. By putting the brakes on now Obamas grandchildren might see an American on the moon, but his kids won't.

I really feel sorry for the US right now.

[ijuin]

We are so close to the point where Boeing or Lockheed-Martin would be able to produce space capsules for commercial use (i.e. to sell to all comers instead of only to the US government), but we are not quite there yet. If efforts such as Bigelow's orbital hotel ever get going, then the market for such craft will be there.

Only 3 years to man-rate the Delta-IV? That's actually SHORTER than the expected timescale to man-rate the Ares I.

[LunarOrbit]

Buzz Aldrin has endorsed the new direction.

http://buzzaldrin.com/statement-from-buzz-aldrin-a-new-direction-in-space/

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

[LunarOrbit]

Miles O'Brien wrote a great article on his blog today. In addition to reflecting on the Columbia accident, he also commented on the new NASA budget and it's future.

http://trueslant.com/milesobrien/2010/02/01/remember-the-columbia-7/

NASA will get more money – good news in a tough fiscal environment. But not nearly enough to fund the audacious – yet nostalgic – Moon program Bush envisioned. So today, we will hear it is all being scrapped. NASA will spend the money that is freed up to bolster efforts to study our own planet and its climate, for aeronautics and to keep the International Space Station in business until at least 2020.

There will be money spent to seed a more robust private, commercial space industry and to devise new propulsion systems that will make a trip to Mars faster – and thus more plausible. The idea of developing a plasma propulsion system to take humans exploring deeper into the solar system is enough to get most space cadets pretty jazzed. So it is good news that there will be more money spent here. Bring it on.

That there will be no trips back to the Moon does not bother me that much. JFK famously said “We choose to go to the Moon because it is hard…” Well, frankly, for us, the Moon is not so hard. We know how to do it. I have never heard a really compelling reason to return (including the prospect of mining Helium-3). What is hard is devising a piloted trip to Mars, one of its moons or an asteroid. No one has done that. And that’s what leaders are supposed to do.

But today we will hear no real specifics on where we are headed or how we are going to get there. It makes me nervous. Are we on the brink of something exciting in space? Or is this the end of the beginning? If history is our guide, I fear the answer is “yes” to the latter.

In hindsight, it is safe to say we have missed many opportunities make a real plan for what should happen in the post-shuttle years. And yet politics always got in the way. If only we had the courage and conviction to dream big and then execute the plan…

Space cannot be planned in two or four-year cycles. Let’s hope this time, we take the long view – aim for the stars – and follow through.

We owe the crew of Columbia nothing less than that.

[spacecat27]

First, to avoid pro/anti Obama reporter spin, I downloaded & printed out Bolden's statement of today-
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/420994main_2011_Budget_Administrator_Remarks.pdf

Apparently there will be a further, and hopefully more detailed, presentation at the National Press Club tomorrow.  I'll wait until 'all the wash is hung out' and digest it all before commenting.

Kel, it's up to you but you might consider beginning a new thread under Future or News- as I'm sure we'll all have lots to discuss as this unfolds.

[LunarOrbit]

It seems he condones the wasting of money. By axing Ares and Constellation he seems to saying its ok to waste money - the program was already running.

If Constellation was flawed (and I'm not saying it was, but apparently Obama believes it was) then continuing it would be a bigger waste of money. It would be like if you drove 200km before you realized you were going in the wrong direction. Do you say "Oh well, I've gone this far so I might as well keep going" or do you turn around and get back on the right path?

I don't know what the future holds for NASA. I want it to be around forever and for it to always be a leader at what it does. I don't like the idea of them having to buy seats aboard Russian Soyuz rockets, or paying for commercial services. But I don't think Obama intends to completely destroy NASA. I hope we will learn more soon.

And let's be honest... some of the blame for this mess can be placed on past Presidents as well. As much as I love it, I have to admit the shuttle was flawed from the very beginning. We can blame Nixon for that. A replacement should have been in the works after Challenger exploded. Blame Reagan and Bush Sr. for that. Venture Star / X-33 should have been flying by now. Blame Clinton for that. Bush Jr. should have funded Constellation better... instead he cut NASA's budget after announcing the plan to return to the Moon. Republicans and Democrats both seem to lack vision and commitment when it comes to NASA.

[Johno]

So . . . .

They're cancelling everything.

Clap clap, Obama.  Well done.  NOT . . . .

I know Americans won't say it, so I'll say it for you:

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU GOOSE?!

[Satanic Mechanic]

Believe me, I am pissed off about this.  I can see canceling Ares-I, but shutting down Orion is a stupid mistake.
Last night I turned on the NASA channel to see if the announcement was aired but instead the Apollo 11 launch and landing was aired.  I watched it, shook my head and told my wife that we have fallen far as a nation in the realm of space.

SM

[DonPMitchell]

I was not particularly interested in going back to the Moon (and I don't think Russia and China's claims about such a mission are credible), but the Ares concept intrigued me.  It looked to me like using a solid fuel first stage could result in a highly competative heavly launch vehicle.

Is America priced out of the commercial launch business, with Delta and Atlas, or is the main problem just protectionism?  I know European companies are required to use Ariane.

As for NASA, my biggest personal interest is interplanetary science missions.  These are always in danger, because they lack the melodramatic public interest of manned missions.

[surlalune]

So . . . .

They're cancelling everything.

Clap clap, Obama.  Well done.  NOT . . . .

I know Americans won't say it, so I'll say it for you:

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU GOOSE?!

I agree, it was a big mistake of his. All that looking forward to the future, and it's all gone to waste!

[DonPMitchell]

Buzz Aldrin has praised Obama's new NASA budget:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/buzz-aldrin/president-obamas-jfk-mome_b_448667.html

"The President courageously decided to redirect our nation's space policy away from the foolish and underfunded Moon race that has consumed NASA for more than six years, aiming instead at boosting the agency's budget by more than $1 billion more per year over the next five years, topping off at $100 billion for NASA between now and 2015. And he directed NASA to spend a billion per year on buying rides for American astronauts aboard new, commercially developed space vehicles-that's American space vehicles."