US plan to return to moon 'is dead'

[m21sniper]

US plan to return to moon 'is dead'

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A plan to return US astronauts to the moon "is dead," a White House advisor on space issues said Friday, confirming reports that NASA will instead focus on developing commercial space transport.

"Constellation is dead," the advisor told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to a program that envisioned returning to the moon by 2020 and using Earth's nearest neighbour as a base for manned expeditions to Mars.

Florida Today newspaper first reported the demise of the program Thursday, saying the plan was doomed by financial constraints in the 2011 budget which President Barack Obama is to present to Congress on Monday.

Reports added that the US space agency will work on finding a commercial solution to ferrying US astronauts to the International Space Station after the scheduled end of NASA's shuttle program in September 2010.

Only five more shuttle flights, including a mission by the Endeavour set for a February 7 launch, are planned.

Astronauts will be able to hitch rides aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but the United States will need a commercial alternative if Congress approves White House plans to scrap development of a successor to the shuttle program.

The administration reportedly plans to hike NASA's budget by 5.9 billion dollars over five years to boost commercial development, with the goal of a first commercial flight to the ISS launching by 2015, the source said.

The Constellation program was launched in 2004 by then-president George W. Bush.

Space expert John Logsdon said the abandonment of the program did not spell the end for US ambitions in space.

"While Constellation is dead, it does not mean human space exploration is also dead," said Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.

He said NASA would probably start to plan with the private sector and international partners for the future of the ISS past 2020.

Getting the cancellation through Congress would be "tough," he added, as lawmakers from Florida and other states with close ties to the space program would oppose anything that threatened local jobs.

News of Constellation's cancellation came as NASA marked its day of remembrance, honoring astronauts who died in the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia space missions.

President Obama released a statement paying tribute to those "who lost their lives supporting NASA's mission of exploration and study of the Earth, the planets and the stars."

"All of humanity has benefited from their courage and devotion," he said.

"We mourn their loss while celebrating their spirit of discovery. May their sacrifice be an inspiration as we continue our nation's work to explore our universe."

[McLovin]

Btdt.

[sammyg2]

Good. Obama finally said no to wasting money.

There is NOTHING to be gained by going to the moon again and it would cost billions.

[Pazuzu]

Although we all knew that he planned on killing this, it's still a sick feeling knowing that he did.

Fortunately people like sammy can be happy, and that's far more important that science.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I have to agree.

Recent discovery of water on the moon is important and (at some point) worthy of investigation for supporting extended human habitat there, but for the foreseeable future I think we've got way too many problems that we need to solve here, before we go screwing up any other bodies in our solar system.

[BeyGon]

A lot of US jobs going down the tubes on this one, some people may think of it as waste but it is no more than his stimulus crap, at least these people are producing something, families are spending that money here and paying taxes. It is still better than his other programs he is implementing. These are "shovel ready jobs".

[m21sniper]

Good point Dean.

[BRPORSCHE]

This is big news where I live. JSC is about 5 min's from my parents place and the local economy is very much tied to the Space industry.

Way to go ZERO.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

No doubt. I'm a longtime supporter of our space program. It's always been (for me at least) a symbol of national pride, innovation and dedication. But the money just ain't there. If we're going to cut these programs, we ought to (hopefully) put the money towards cleaning our $h1t up and not blowing it on stupid crap like bailing out AIG, GM, Chrysler, Citigroup, etc. Unfortunately this is exactly what will happen - or it will be diverted into local pork projects. The total federal government expenditures won't drop by a dime.

Engineers actually produce things of value. Financial types do not. That (to me at least) dictates where our spending priorities should be.

But I have to agree with this decision - it's the wrong move right now to be blasting billions of dollars into finding new ways to screw up other worlds with the lunacy of humanity until we get our own house in order here on earth. I'm okay with cutting or suspending this program - providing it's a bona-fide CUT (in other words, government expenditures drop by this dollar amount, 100%), not just a redirection of funds to somewhere where you just KNOW they'll be used less effectively.

I wonder how this will play out in China, who is (for the moment at least) planning a manned moon landing within the next 10 years. Personally I think that program will implode too for lack of money, but we'll see as time goes on.

I think the golden age of human space exploration is gone. Unlikely to return for a VERY long time - there's just not enough money/resources out there. It's going to take a long time for us globally to sort out the present mess to the point where nations will prioritize this.

[BGCarrera32]

I actually can't think of a better project than returning to the moon; in fact the first passenger would be Barak himself...and with a creative metric-english conversion error it would leave him there out of fuel to return.

He's just looking out for himself.

[legion]

But we're not actually saving any money. Obama is taking the money that would have been spent on rockets and redirecting NASA to spend it on environmental research.

[BeyGon]

Jeff, it's still a better project than ANYTHING else he has come up with, keeping this would add to his "jobs created/saved" mentality. Just think of the computers we all use now, helped along because of the space industry.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by legion

But we're not actually saving any money. Obama is taking the money that would have been spent on rockets and redirecting NASA to spend it on environmental research.

Fudged environmental research...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I'm not saying it's a worthless program. But right now we need to be paying down our debts more than we need to be spending more - and that even goes for difficult-to-stomach stuff like killing the space program.

Hell, I'd like a Citation X but I don't have one because I don't have the money for it. Yes, it would be a symbol of personal pride, it would give me some great ideas and would create jobs but the bottom line is I don't have one because there ain't the dollars in my account to pay for it. Gov't shouldn't be any different. It's not about what we want, it's about what we can actually afford that will pay justifiable dividends. Constellation falls short of that mark.

[m21sniper]

How much is that stupid obsolete "high speed" rail line in florida? $8bn? Pffft, i'd rather spend that on a moon shot.

[AFC-911]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

How much is that stupid obsolete "high speed" rail line in florida? $8bn? Pffft, i'd rather spend that on a moon shot.

We got $1.25B.

And just how urgent is it to go back to the moon? It's not worth it because it's not made out of cheese. In all honesty, I'm glad he cancelled it. I'm sure NASA has better things to do than going back to the moon.

[Gogar]

There's so many better things we could be doing with our borrowed Chinese money.

Like the $7.7 MILLION dollars of TARP money spent to buy 11,028 computers for the Austin, TX Job Corps.

Like the $69, 696 to "Pilgrim's Pride Chicken" factory to make 78,000 pounds of frozen chicken in the town of Elijay, GA.

Like the over $86,000 (in three seperate contracts) for picnic tables in the park in Cherokee, IA. Better be some nice fuchin picnic tables.

lIke the $4,387,948,882 to the state of CA "Fiscal Stabilization Fund."

LIke $5,379,000 to the "Jennie-O Turkey Store" in Willmar, MN.

Like the $233,825 to examine exit poll data in Sub-Saharan African countries and determine why certain African ethnic groups vote a certain way.


Yeah, NASA is a waste.

Stimulus Watch: Keeping an Eye on Economic Recovery Spending

[BeyGon]

Or the 50million Boxter/Fienstien got to save some marsh mouse in the Oakland bay.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by AFC-911

We got $1.25B.

And just how urgent is it to go back to the moon? It's not worth it because it's not made out of cheese. In all honesty, I'm glad he cancelled it. I'm sure NASA has better things to do than going back to the moon.

I'm pretty sure they don't.

[beepbeep]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Good. Obama finally said no to wasting money.

There is NOTHING to be gained by going to the moon again and it would cost billions.

Hmm...last time we gained Teflon, integrated circuits, guidance systems, ball-pens, hydrogen fuel-cells and (arguably) foundations of what would become GPS.

Even if "gain" isn't direct, I believe space exploration is good for progress.

Also, they say that moon regolith is full of special Helium-isotope which can be burned in fusion reactors much easier than stuff we have.