News Obama readies to blast NASA [UnTrue]

[Urwumpe]

NASA needs a better PR department, because I can't really image a US government institution, that achieved more for the dollar invested into it.

 

[T.Neo]

NASA needs a better PR department, because I can't really image a US government institution, that achieved more for the dollar invested into it.

Is there anyone who you would say would come close?

 

[RS-232]

My 2 cents on this issue:
Lets assume that the United States' government is aiming to, for all intense and purpose, get rid of interplanetary launches from NASA. I do not know where I stand on this issue.
Yes, it is true that NASA's history of interplanetary launches has been great. And yes, we have learned an incredible amount about the solar system, the earth, and us, through these launches. However, all this research can only pay off so much.

I do not want to see interplanetary travel go away, but seeing as how the US is facing very bad economic times, cuts have to be made. I'm not saying the cuts should be made to support any bill that Obama proposes; that's a different issue. I believe that, until our country recovers from an economic recession, we should attempt to make cuts to all programs, including NASA, that don't improve the efficiency of the country. I'm not advocating the destruction of NASA, nor am I advocating the destruction of government, or smaller government. But anything that does not allow the US to become more efficient should be cut until our finances allow for some breathing room.

Attack me if you want. Like i've said multiple times, I do not wish to see the disappearance of NASA. I don't want to see interplanetary travel go down the hole. But unless NASA either finds alternate funding, or the US can gather enough resources to throw some at NASA, I think that interplanetary travel is a good place to make cuts.

*dives into the bomb shelter, clutching his Orbinaut license*

This is my opinion also. It is just common sense. Who is to blame? Irrelevant! We are in the here and now. Blaming the political opposition and pointing fingers in this thread will get us nowhere. (There are PLENTY of other threads for this) I think we can all agree the sooner we get this economic mess fixed the sooner we can all get back into space. This is simply a sign of the times we live in. No more no less. It is what it is.

 

[Unstung]

I'm glad I waited for some confirmation articles; reading the original one made me rage but it couldn't be true. Planetary science deserves more funding for more missions if anything. Unfortunately, manned exploration has always been NASA's priority even when it just sucks up funding.

I think we can all agree the sooner we get this economic mess fixed the sooner we can all get back into space. This is simply a sign of the times we live in.

We choose not to sufficiently fund NASA. Cutting the small things like NASA does absolutely nothing, but the excuse of Congress is to subject everything to budget cuts, and the tiny areas of the budget are the most affected. NASA's funding can be reasonably increased with little or no harm to the economy yet contribute major advances in science.

Only a few areas comprise the majority of the federal budget yet I see no lasting cuts in those areas. Check our mandatory spending. Here's a visual:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget

NASA is now down to 45 cents on every ten thousand.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

Well, there is a habit the media (and individuals) have about taking something benign and sensationalizing it.
I work with many people who know that NASA has made great contributions to the world of science. However there are many in my family (mostly in-laws) that think all NASA did was go to the moon and market Tang.
As far as the efficiency of NASA, I'm sure there can be cuts (SLS). But there are far too many other pork projects that can be trimmed or cut completely to save a few billion. Even diverting all of NASA's funding to social services won't make them solvent.

 

[Kaito]

As far as the efficiency of NASA, I'm sure there can be cuts (SLS). But there are far too many other pork projects that can be trimmed or cut completely to save a few billion. Even diverting all of NASA's funding to social services won't make them solvent.

Oh, i know that there are many other pork projects that can be cut. And, in my honest opinion, things like SLS is one of them. Cutting funidng for NASA wont SOLVE the problem, but it's one way to help

 

[Codz]

Oh, i know that there are many other pork projects that can be cut. And, in my honest opinion, things like SLS is one of them. Cutting funidng for NASA wont SOLVE the problem, but it's one way to help

Do propose NASA astronauts wish themselves to the Moon then?

 

[T.Neo]

Do propose NASA astronauts wish themselves to the Moon then?

At the end of the day, it isn't really any different to what they're doing anyway (wishing themselves to X), so it won't hurt much.

Ok, so they might be able to redo Apollo 8... but a Mars mission is just complete fluff at this point.

I hope those astronauts are doing as much wishing as they possibly can. :dry:

 

[Kaito]

Do propose NASA astronauts wish themselves to the Moon then?

No. I want us to go back to the moon as much as any Orbinaut does. However, you must keep in mind the cost vs benefit. SLS will cost an absurd amount of money. If our country can afford it, I'd support it, but we cannot afford to throw money at a system like that.

 

[Codz]

No. I want us to go back to the moon as much as any Orbinaut does. However, you must keep in mind the cost vs benefit. SLS will cost an absurd amount of money. If our country can afford it, I'd support it, but we cannot afford to throw money at a system like that.

Yeah well there are far more useless expensive projects in the US govt than anything NASA has done.

 

[Kaito]

Yeah well there are far more useless expensive projects in the US govt than anything NASA has done.

While I personally agree with you, that's not the subject for debate. Personally, at this current moment, SLS will not improve the efficiency of the country at all. It's too expensive for little gain. Once we get out of this rut, we can start spending money on systems such as SLS.

"Oh, but what about the Saturn V?"
I personally believe the Saturn V was more of a PR stunt for the US than anything. Russia beat the US in 2 key categories, and a manned landing on the moon was one that prove we were "better" than them.

 

[communist]

well,what is everyonse take on obamas space policy so far?

 

[Ark]

So, has anything more substantial than one guy's unverified claim showed up yet?

 

[T.Neo]

If our country can afford it, I'd support it, but we cannot afford to throw money at a system like that.

Being able to afford something, is alone not enough to justify its existence.

Yeah well there are far more useless expensive projects in the US govt than anything NASA has done.

"There are far more useless expensive projects in the US, therefore I say this is not expensive and useless."

Does not make sense to me. :dry:

 

[RisingFury]

Short on money? Cut the military budget. Problem solved.

 

[Urwumpe]

Short on money? Cut the military budget. Problem solved.

Reduce the aircraft carrier fleet by one would be more than enough for some good missions.

If you really want to save money, dismiss a full ICBM squadron - the rat tail of other units needed to support and protect a ICBM squadron is alone the size of many countries armed forces.

 

[Loru]

Reduce the aircraft carrier fleet by one would be more than enough for some good missions.

If you really want to save money, dismiss a full ICBM squadron - the rat tail of other units needed to support and protect a ICBM squadron is alone the size of many countries armed forces.

18 724 000 000$ Nasa Budget in 2010
685 100 000 000$ DOD budget in 2010 including ~100 billion for "overseas contingency operations"

^^ Figures from Wikipedia

Reduce DOD budget by 3% and transfer this money to NASA
(20 553 000 000)

 

[N_Molson]

3% is not a big deal ; I think everything is said above... :goodposting:

 

[Kaito]

Reduce by DOD budget by 3% and transfer this money to NASA
(20 553 000 000)

Um...since when going back to the moon a bigger deal than our military? I do agree that our military could use some cut backs, but transferring that money to NASA? I go back to the efficiency model: How will that increase efficiency?

 

[Urwumpe]

Um...since when going back to the moon a bigger deal than our military? I do agree that our military could use some cut backs, but transferring that money to NASA? I go back to the efficiency model: How will that increase efficiency?

In that case, lets compare how many successful missions NASA had and how many successful wars the DOD had...