Daily science stuff

[justTripn]

Hey, let's repurpose the military budget and personel and give them to NASA.

(I know, I am highly unrealistic, stupid, and Terra Prime's gonna mark me for a hit)

Ha ha, that's a good one.

[Silverbullet]

Linda, If the Military, or other government agencies for that matter, got a handle on costs it would go a long way to solving the Problem. Prices the Military and government in general, pay for items is outrrageous. Cost overuns. The air force accepting dollar averaging and getting screwed by it.(Put in everything and add two or three large items that would never be replaced but would drive up the average cost per item and you get Screws that tcost not Pennies but dollars. A Radio would not be a unit but each part would be charged individualy so a radio as a unit may cost 400 dollars but broken down per item would cost 1200. Things like that are what gets the Axe for programs that are not Important to the national security.")

I may have told this before. but when I wsa a commuhications Officer in a consulate located in Hamburg Germany. I was asked to proivde an Answereing machine by one of the agencies located in the Consulate. I did not have one on stock so I asked Embassy to send me one. I was advised to use the authorized Supplier in D.C. I called and asked the price. 1200 dollars. I got the brand, model and specs for this item. I then went in to the city of Hamburg and found the sme thing for 35 Dollars. Bought it, installed it. I then sent message to all the other consulates in Germany advising them to buy liocally. got a message from embassy that I was to use the authorized supplier and not to buy locally. Even after I said I had saved the Government over 1100 dollars I was again told to use authoirzed supplier.

So, until someone stops that NASA is going to lose out.

[Alelou]

This is Congress's fault. They're always authorizing spending that the military and whatever administration is in power doesn't even want. You never saw lobbyists who live larger than the military contractors' lobbyists, as they shower the right congressmen (of either party) with money and favors. We knew a guy who did that for awhile and his stories were absolutely mind-boggling. (And this is only going to get worse after the recent Supreme Court decision that says corporations have the same rights to free speech as individuals.)

[Linda]

I have heard rumors of these outrageous costs charged the military by suppliers. And this has been going on for ages! I don't know why there hasn't been a stop to it. I really can't understand the greed of some people.

Damn. We are never gonna get to Mars, let alone Vulcan.

[Asso]

Damn. We are never gonna get to Mars, let alone Vulcan.

Vulcans will come to us.

[Linda]

Logically, it is so. Thanks for reminding me of that, Asso.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Also, as for the moon, and manned space travel, I'd like to see how much we can do with robots first. You can do almost everything with robots or remotely controlled space vehicles, including look for life on mars and move asteroids. It is also MUCH MUCH cheaper. I would wait until we've found out all we can using robots then worry about manned space travel. More bang for the buck.

Bah! Robots just aren't the same thing, the success of the Mars rovers notwithstanding. There are simply things man can do that robots can't, especially considering the time lags for any interplanetary missions. Besides, I'm not just interested in poking around some selected spots in space. I want us to have a continuing and expanding presence out there, beyond low Earth orbit. That's a human vision.

Where's that old JFK spirit "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."?

I truly saddened. This will be a lost opportunity to do something new and exciting as the impasse that was the space shuttle is winding down...

[Distracted]

It's the money, pure and simple. The current administration has other plans for it. Why should the space program be exempt from contributing to the Bottomless Pit Into Which We All Throw Money? (Also called the U. S. federal government.)

[Alelou]

Of which the space program is a part.

[Distracted]

Yep. It's called diversion of resources.

[Elessar]

I definitely need to consider diversifying my career interests

I knew this was going to happen, though... it's just a product of the times. When the belt gets tightened, this kind of stuff is the first to go. Sadly, these mammoth items like the defense budget aren't even considerable. I mean they're not even on the able for discussion, as far as "oh maybe we don't need a squadron of 20 more F-22 Raptors at $1.2 billion a piece". You could cut out a single F-22 and increase the "Near Earth Object" search program's funding by a factor of like 200!

Then again, I shouldn't rag on the F-22. If China ever decides to throw all the dice onto the board and see where they fall, the F-22's status as a 3rd-generation stealth air superiority fighter will be VERY useful in tackling China's "largest airforce in the world".

By the time I finish my Masters in Aerospace Engineering, I may have a better idea of whether this is such a good field to even go into right now. I'm thinking that at that level, my education should still be applicable to a career in ballistics for a gun or ammunition company like Heckler & Koch or Fabrique Nationale.

I'm really worried about my friend, Corey, though . He lives in Houston and works at a NASA subcontractor, and they were afraid this was coming. He may be lookin for new work sooner than he realized

[Distracted]

No, Elessar. You and your friend need to start your own civilian company and make rockets to transport astronauts to and from the space station. I'll bet you could design a better one for a quarter of the price NASA is paying right now. You could be the Bill Gates of the aerospace industry. Then once you're rich enough, finance your OWN moon landing.

[Silverbullet]

Ellesar, When the chinese reach Parity with the U.s. Navy they will come after us. Navy, right now is what is stoppping them we can intercept, sink, troop Transport which the chinese would need for a landing, foothold and then ferry more troops. couldn't do it by air as our Airfoce could stop that.

What worries me is that China is still in the Space Program. An attack from space would be almost impossible to stop so if they orbit Nuclear bombs (I know, by treaty that is not to be done) but since when has China ever abided by treaty if it is not in their intersts.)

NASA should approach the Space Program as part of the National Secuirty. that tmight get them a little more Money. Congress loves tossing money at that.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Well, I for one welcome that private companies (like SpaceX and Branson's Virgin Galactic) get into the launch business. However, for the foreseeable future, private enterprises will only be able to launch smaller rockets into low Earth orbit. But to get beyond that, to the moon and Mars and further, we still need a government funded space program. I see no way that private enterprises can do that unless that road has been travelled before by NASA. The costs are just too high. In 50-100 years maybe but not now.

The great thing about Project Constellation is (was?) that it was going to establish an infrastructure of continuous manned presence in outer space, with flexible launch vehicles ranging from the smaller Ares 1 to the heavy lift rocket Ares V. And they were going to use shuttle technology already developed, like the engines, boosters and the shuttle tank, to save development costs. Now that will be scrapped, just like the Saturn V rocket was. That's just destruction of capital, and there's already been spent 10 billion $ on the project.

In the meantime we might get a Red Moon when the Chicoms land, and we'd be caught with our trouses down. Ugh!

[justTripn]

Who is "we"? The Chinese are Humans, so we Humans will be on the moon.