posted 03-12-2008 11:52 AM            

Why not invite a Chinese taikonaut to fly on the final US Shuttle mission? In exchange a NASA astronaut could be trained to co-pilot a Chinese Shenzhou for a docking mission to the ISS?

posted 03-12-2008 11:56 AM               

I know the Shenzhou is comparable with the Soyuz. Would the docking mechanism work with the ISS?

posted 04-01-2008 02:06 PM               

In response to a question about NASA funding, Clinton said the budgets of many scientific programs have either stayed flat or been cut. She pointed to Bush's veto of stem cell research bills.

"We don't know what we have lost under this administration," she said.

posted 04-09-2008 01:33 PM               

The space program is of minor concern to most Americans and the candidates will speak to the audience.

If it is space enthusiasts like we have here, they would be for it until they are against it when speaking to some other group.

Kennedy chose space as pure political move and had little interest in it. The russians were moving forward, he had a political fiasco with the Bay of Pigs and he needed to change the story.

Until the Chinese actually pull off something original and threatening to the US dominance in space the politicians will do little to support the cost.

posted 04-09-2008 02:14 PM            

Back on topic, I agree that you can't trust politicians in election season. Even Kenndey's vision was under attack following Apollo 1. I do wonder if our culture posesses the fortitude it takes to explore the unknown. Kennedy's sale of the plan relied heavily on national pride.

Are we truly a nation of couch potatoes, or will there be a groundswell of people that catch the grander vision of humanity in space? Say what you will for international cooperation (I'm for it, but I'm also a realist); someone has to take the lead. From a technology and infrastructre standpoint, the US is best positioned at the moment to do that. Given another 25 years, another developed nation may take the lead if we don't.

posted 04-09-2008 03:29 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr Meek:
Miss Clinton's response is in line with someone who believes something can't happen unless the federal government is involved. (Not an attack, just an observation) Restrictions weren't placed on private research or funding; and as further research has proved, we don't necessarily need embryonic stem cells to do the wonderful things stem cells can do.

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posted 04-09-2008 03:56 PM            

Simply put, there are many things a human can do that a robotic probe cannot. However, adult iPS cells can do just about everything an embryonic cell can, while avoiding the sticky ethical controversy. I can guarantee you that Ms. Clinton's remarks were referring to embryonic stem cell research, and not the general topic (which continues to be funded by both federal and private sources).

posted 04-09-2008 04:05 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by jimsz:
Until the Chinese actually pull off something original and threatening to the US dominance in space the politicians will do little to support the cost.

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posted 04-23-2008 06:52 PM               

• Popular Mechanics: How Clinton, Obama and McCain Could Change U.S. Space Policy: Geek the Vote Guest Analysis

  The post-Bush breaking point seems simple enough: A new administration will either support the current direction of NASA or strike out on a new path. But with the space shuttle’s retirement set to free up funding in two years for the already complex Ares and Orion shots at manned orbit and lunar landing—not to mention the expanding private-space industry and struggling economy—our next decade in space remains decidedly undecided.

  What are the chances that a President McCain, Clinton or Obama will support NASA’s plan as is? Based on an evaluation of campaign talk thus far, the smart money is on a delay, at best.

• American Thinker: Obama's Plan for NASA

  As the legend goes, when the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez landed in what is now Mexico in 1519, he ordered the boats that brought him and his men there to be burned. Obama seems to have something similar planned for NASA.

  Although the MSM has largely ignored Barack Obama's plans for NASA, the issue is likely to bubble up during the general election campaign, if he's the Democratic nominee. Here's why.

posted 04-26-2008 10:15 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by LCDR Scott Schneeweis:
...which reported on the ascendancy of the Chinese Space Program, ramifications for the US and the presidential candidates position.

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Early in the segment, the point is made of listing how many rockets were launched by the U.S., Russia and China during 2007. Looking past the fact they got the count wrong (by at least three launches for the U.S.), for the layman watching, they might assume (a) that all the launches were space exploration focused and/or (b) that all were government funded (and therefore in the purview of the candidates' policies), but neither is true.

It then points to a Chinese lunar orbiter (without mentioning that Japan did the same, or that the U.S. did so within the past decade) and makes the leap to suggest that China is making any serious (as in funded) strides toward Mars (and of course, it is well within Bob Zubrin's interest to foster that idea, though even his comments are so brief that they could have been taken out of context).

Then it mentions China's ASAT test, as if that would be a reason why exploration efforts would be better funded and brings on a CNN analyst with a toss away comment.

We then finally get to the candidates, but instead of using the past three quarters of the segment to go into depth about the differences in their polices, we get less than the Cliff Notes version, which makes each sound better about the issue than any really are.

posted 04-27-2008 11:29 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
We then finally get to the candidates, but instead of using the past three quarters of the segment to go into depth about the differences in their polices, we get less than the Cliff Notes version, which makes each sound better about the issue than any really are.

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posted 04-27-2008 11:39 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Mercury7:
...it pretty much made clear that none of the candidates are going to support a return to the moon on the current time schedule.

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posted 04-27-2008 01:46 PM               

When President Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration, it was met with ridicule by the general press (and through them the public) as it came across as a pipe dream at best and a 'wag the dog' distraction at its worst. (Part of this can be blamed on the way it was announced; not as a national priority but a middle of the week, mid-afternoon presser, after much of what was going to be said had been leaked more than a week earlier.)

posted 04-27-2008 02:10 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
The DoD has in its past (if not also its present) assigned more money than NASA's entire budget to space activities and has accomplished far less in that arena.

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posted 04-27-2008 02:19 PM            

Although I have sometimes thought that some of the NASA mission could be at least temporarily reassigned to free up funds for Constellation... at least until the space gap was closed.

posted 04-27-2008 02:24 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by LCDR Scott Schneeweis:
DOD has and continues to accomplish a great deal in space...

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posted 04-27-2008 02:52 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Mercury7:
Is it possible... or even legal for DoD to take on part of NASA's responsibilities on a temporary basis?

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posted 05-28-2008 12:31 PM            

"Obama said he would fund a strengthened space program, including the Orion program, which is designed to return Americans to the moon and later get them to Mars.

"Obama said he wanted to revive the energy the country had for the space program during the Mercury and Apollo programs. The Mercury program launched the first Americans into space, and the Apollo program landed Americans on the moon.

posted 06-06-2008 07:41 AM            

"I am intrigued by a man on Mars and I think that it would excite the imagination of the American people if we can say, 'Hey, here's what it looks like," he said.

posted 06-06-2008 08:16 AM               

John McCain told Florida newspaper editors on Thursday he would support continuing space shuttle missions beyond 2010, when the space flights are now scheduled to end.

But he said the country needs to rethink the way it communicates with Americans about the space program.

"We need to do a better job of getting support of the American people and outlining specific missions for NASA," McCain said, responding to a question from Florida Today executive editor Terry Eberle, whose paper serves Melbourne and the Space Coast.

"Of course I'm disturbed when we have to rely on the Russians or any other country. As you know, the Chinese are getting also very big into the space business," McCain said.

posted 06-07-2008 07:26 PM               

As we gather here today in this historic, magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.

posted 07-30-2008 09:15 AM               

Statement by John McCain on the 50th Anniversary of NASA

"Fifty years ago today, President Eisenhower signed the bill that launched the United States on the magnificent journey to space discovery and exploration. In doing so, he sent a powerful message to the world that the United State would harness its creativity, inventiveness and drive to lead all others into this most distant frontier. Since that time, Presidents of both parties have remained steadfast in guaranteeing U.S. leadership in space. Under current plans, the United States will retire the space shuttle in 2010 after its final mission to the international space station, and thus lose the capability to send on our own, an American to space. While my opponent seems content to retreat from American exploration of Space for a decade, I am not. As President, I will act to make ensure our astronauts will continue to explore space, and not just by hitching a ride with someone else. I intend to make sure that the NASA constellation program has the resources it needs so that we can begin a new era of human space exploration. A country that sent a man to the moon should expect no less."

"Fifty years ago, President Eisenhower officially created the NASA space program, capturing the imagination of generations and inspiring Americans to think bigger, aim higher and believe in a greater tomorrow. When I was young, the astronauts would come to Hawaii after landing in the Pacific Ocean. I remember the incredible inspiration I felt from knowing that these men had gone where few had gone before them.

"In recent years, Washington has failed to give NASA a robust, balanced and adequately funded mission. Though the good people of NASA who work day in and day out on new frontiers are doing amazing things, Americans are no longer inspired as they once were. That's a failure of leadership.

"I believe we need to revitalize NASA's mission to maintain America's leadership, and recommit our nation to the space program, and as President I intend to do just that. We must revive the American ingenuity that led millions of children look to NASA astronauts and scientists as role models and enter the fields of math, engineering and science. Our leadership in the world depends on it."

posted 08-01-2008 10:21 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by ejectr:
Is there somewhere one might read about his rethinking of NASA and Constellation, Robert?

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Develop the Next-Generation of Space Vehicles:

The retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010 will leave the United States without manned spaceflight capability until the introduction of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) carried by the Ares I Launch Vehicle. As president, Obama will support the development of this vital new platform to ensure that the United States' reliance on foreign space capabilities is limited to the minimum possible time period. The CEV will be the backbone of future missions, and is being designed with technology that is already proven and available.