I'm not sure what to think of Obama's NASA policy.

[Writer]

I'm all about the geek. If I could, I would move at least 50% of the defense budget into building better ways for us to travel and explore space. And because I want NASA to develop transporter technologies, too, damn it. I HATE flying!

Anyway, as I understand, he's trying to create a more fiscally conscientious space policy, but he didn't sound too assured about his proposal today, and the response from the group listening seemed lukewarm. I'd prefer to listen to scientists to find out what we need or don't need in regard to space research and exploration and not politicians. To me it feels like Obama is stepping on many toes.

:shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

1. I think he's added 3 Billion in funding.

If that's stepping on toes, he can come step on my toes!
NASA has been underfunded for years.

[Writer]

3. 3 billiion???

Beam me up, Scotty! Transporters, here we come!

Denver to Milwaukee in 10 seconds? Oh, yeah!

[vaberella]

16. You're too bloody funny. n/t

[sudopod]

2. For some reason engineers tend to be Republicans.

who knows why. :/

[Bad Thoughts]

4. Another Bush fail

I feel a little cheap for blaming this one on the last administration, but Ares/Constellation was poorly conceived and over-designed. Sean O'Keefe was particularly inept as administrator.

[SwampG8r]

14. BINGO!!!!

[kentauros]

5. I got a similar lackluster feeling from it.

Also, the reasons everyone's giving for not going back to the Moon first are weak to just plain wrong. The Moon would make a wonderful base of operations for mining and manufacturing. If we're talking about building a ship to get us to and onto an asteroid (well outside the orbit of Mars, I might add) then it's cheaper and easier to get those materials off the surface of the Moon than the surface of the Earth. I have to wonder why no one has explained this, whether to the President or anyone around him.

Teleportation would be great, too, but I'd like to see it used in a way I remember reading in Japanese science-fiction manga: teleportation as a space-drive. The premise was that the technology could only teleport in microscopic increments, but if you sped that up enough, you could travel faster than light :D

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. A wonderful base of operations for mining and manufacturing?

Nonsense.

[BlooInBloo]

7. But... but.... Philip K. Dick said it! It must be true!

[kentauros]

9. I've never read any PKD

but I have worked for NASA contractors and discussed this with the engineers proposing such endeavors :)

[kentauros]

8. Okay, it's easy to say it's nonsense.

How easy is it for you to back that statement up?

[Cleobulus]

17. Well, hate to side with the guy, but the first problem is that its still at the bottom...

of a gravity well, still one-sixth Earth gravity, so yes it would be cheaper to launch materials from the Moon than Earth. But, it would be cheaper yet to capture an Asteroid and put it in stable orbit of Earth to use as an initial base of operations. The best candidates would be Earth crossers(Aten) asteroids and those that are labeled as "potentially hazardous". With virtually no gravity well, and being non-stratified forms of nickle, iron, carbon, etc. they would be cheap as hell to mine as well.

I don't know if that's what HFPS had in mind, he could be a luddite, after all, but this would be more economical.

[kentauros]

18. You're right. That is a much better idea

and one I had either not really thought much about or didn't remember it ;)

As for HFPS, he's no luddite. We just have a very antagonistic online "relationship" :P

[Dr Morbius]

10. It's... wait for it... out of this world? (nt)

[Canuckistanian]

11. I just want my hovercraft, dammit

I was promised one in a 1961 Popular Science magazine, and I want what's owed to me.

I put up with Reagan and TWO Bushes. It's MY turn now.

Fair is fair.

[Clio the Leo]

12. We can either spend money doing what we've been doing or spend it going to the next level...

... we CANT do both.

So which do you pick? The President is simply going with the latter.

[SwampG8r]

13. i live in the space coast as we call it

i am in favor of his plan as it
stops tossing money at technologies without growth potential
the programs stopped represent at best a fine tuning of technologies in use and have no further expansion of capability
it is wiser to apply our money to developing the next wave of post orbit transport than to continue funding manned launches that are essentially ferry rides to and from permanant platforms.

the one thing i know after 50 years in this area is that the offshoot products of NASA far outweigh the space stuff and when we free the rocket scientists to actually think
they think all kinds of great stuff up

[watercolors]

19. I agree with you completely, we have been here since 1963

Husband an engineer at Cape, retired in 95, he is so happy to see a change being made. The program has not made any headway for years, just slipping away. Its a new bigging we need, yes there will have some effects because of job lose, but in the long run hopefully this new start will bring renewed growth to the space program and our local economy.

[impik]

15. He's decades ahead of the country, that's all.

[Bluenorthwest]

20. I love the Space Program. I too, not that sure about this turn of

events. But over the years, I tend to agree with Buzz Aldrin over Armstrong. Buzz is a sharp cat. He likes the Obama plan, and so I tend to think he's probably right. Mars. Her moons. That big one is just 5000 miles from the center of Mars.