Nasa Astronauts

[mikester]

Sadness...

I was talking to a friend of mine in the Navy over the weekend and we got on the subject of NASA, the space shuttle and I mentioned how the Navy had the most astronauts. She said 'Not any more, with no more space shuttle they didn't need the Astronauts any longer and were sending them back to the fleet.'

I was depressed for the rest of the day and it's still lingering days later.

I'm sure NASA has a few left in a consultative capacity but with the last shuttle flight complete and nothing on the horizon...

This world is starting to suck more and more. I may just have to enter politics just to get some of the USA awesomeness back!

I told her that I wasn't going to tell my nearly 3 year old that for the time being - there are no more astronauts (which is what he has wanted to be ever since he saw his first shuttle launch at about 18 months old).

[cmccuist]

Isn't some development going on privately? I wonder what's going to happen to the NASA space center in Houston.

[red-beard]

Layoffs. Lots of layoffs.

[sammyg2]

Here's an idea, how about you personally fund NASA? That would be awesome and make you FEEL really good. $20 billion a year isn't really that much if it helps you keep your emotions in check.

Just write them a check, that way they won't have to take money out of my wallet to fund that waste of money program that's evolved from a covert military program to the point where it's now nothing more than welfare for engineers.
Yeah, that'd be great.

Or, you could go into politics with the sole intent of blowing tax money. You'd get some tards to vote for you but very few with a brain would.

Remember in 2004 when Burt Rutan put a vehicle into orbit and brought it back safely for $10 million and won the Ansari X prize?
I do, that was awesomness defined.
NASA couldn't make a pot of coffee for $10 million.

Maybe all the astronauts should go to work for Burt Rutan instead of the taxpayers having to pay their salaries.

[mikester]

I'm not pleased with this turn of events but I am trying to remain hopeful that the private sector will pick up the slack.

The problem is that with NASA there was a cooperative government agreement to take those military aviators and turn them into astronauts. Will there be such a program for military aviators who are by definition the best of the best to move to the private sector? Or will the private sector have to find their own experienced but not 'old' (no offense meant there) pilots? I mean retired military pilots might not be the ideal candidates but mid-career pilots in the military might not be willing to leave when they are far along in their career; have significant opportunities within the military outside of space exploration and forgo the retirement benefits they are currently earning.

Going to to the private sector when you're close to 20 in the military with a Commander/Captain/Major/Lt. Colonel or full bird rank is pretty sketchy to say the least.

Granted - there will be those who will say 'hell yeah!' and walk away but I am not so sure we will have as many as we want to do this.

That NASA/Military cooperation was a very valuable program.

[sammyg2]

BTW, if anyone really thinks that NASA's budget is getting seriously cut, think again.

It went up about $250,000,000 from last year, and it's projected to go up another $450,000,000 next year.
So if they're laying off so many people, what are they planning to do with all that money?

PAR-TEEE! WHO HOOO, BONUSES FOR EVERYONE!

[mikester]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Here's an idea, how about you personally fund NASA? That would be awesome and make you FEEL really good. $20 billion a year isn't really that much if it helps you keep your emotions in check.

Just write them a check, that way they won't have to take money out of my wallet to fund that waste of money program that's evolved from a covert military program to the point where it's now nothing more than welfare for engineers.
Yeah, that'd be great.

Or, you could go into politics with the sole intent of blowing tax money. You'd get some tards to vote for you but very few with a brain would.

Remember in 2004 when Burt Rutan put a vehicle into orbit and brought it back safely for $10 million and won the Ansari X prize?
I do, that was awesomness defined.
NASA couldn't make a pot of coffee for $10 million.

Maybe all the astronauts should go to work for Burt Rutan instead of the taxpayers having to pay their salaries.

Here's an idea - how about you stop throwing your bad attitude around and ruining perfectly civil conversations.

Welcome to my ignore list.

NEXT!

[RichMink76]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Here's an idea, how about you personally fund NASA? That would be awesome and make you FEEL really good. $20 billion a year isn't really that much if it helps you keep your emotions in check.

Just write them a check, that way they won't have to take money out of my wallet to fund that waste of money program that's evolved from a covert military program to the point where it's now nothing more than welfare for engineers.
Yeah, that'd be great.

Or, you could go into politics with the sole intent of blowing tax money. You'd get some tards to vote for you but very few with a brain would.

Remember in 2004 when Burt Rutan put a vehicle into orbit and brought it back safely for $10 million and won the Ansari X prize?
I do, that was awesomness defined.
NASA couldn't make a pot of coffee for $10 million.

Maybe all the astronauts should go to work for Burt Rutan instead of the taxpayers having to pay their salaries.

Actually NASA doesn't make anything. They sub everything out and create jobs, like mine. Granted, within NASA there is alot of fluff but it isn't all bad.

[cairns]

Geez sammy you're out of sorts today.

But I'm sure you're right exploration isn't inherently governmental.

I'm sure Vasco De Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus, Sir Frances Drake, Jan van Riebeeck, Abel Tasman, James Cook, Lewis and Clarke, Burke and Wills, Yuri Gagarin, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong Would have done just fine without any government help.

NASA, IMO and experience, is one of the best run agencies the government has. It has made significant acheivements, greatly increased our overall body of knowledge and has even improved our daily lives. Not many other agencies can claim all that. Is there waste and fraud there? I'm sure.

But if you really want to cut spending (and I do too), let's try starting with ridiculous things like the Director of African-American Media at the White House and then work on serious money- like entitlement spending and Defense.

I think NASA can go a lot farther down on the list. Besides, Burt Rutan wouldn't know sh *t about composites if it weren't for NASA.

[M.D. Holloway]

How about Terranaughts and Aquanaughts? I think we have much of the Earth and Oceans to understand first.

[KNS]

As much as I admire Burt Rutan, he didn't put any ship into "orbit". It was basically a sling-shot into the lower edge of space. Orbit is a different enchilada.

[Tervuren]

NASA does have its share of waste, but I also consider that what they do has its benefits. There are probably a lot of other things that I would rather see cut first.

If our government leaders would actually balance the budget somewhat - I'd send an extra check NASA's way to help support it. As things are though - any extra taxes I volunteered to pay go straight to allowing more overspending, so there is no point.

[Hawktel]

Scaled Composites hasn't put a man into orbit.


Yet.