NASA at odds? Ares vs. Jupiter Direct

Apparently there is a bit of a tug of war brewing at NASA between the about 60 or so engineers/support staff and the upper management over whether or not the agency is spending tax money on a program that will actually work or whether it is just another good ol' boy 'pet project'. It is alleged that Mr. Griffin is attempting to silence those with-in NASA who are questioning the ARES program with possible termination. It should be noted that Griffin and ex-senior executive for ATK Thiokol Scott Horowitz both had designs and proposals that were strikingly similar to the ARES program today. This is fueling the conspiracy, if you will, that this thing is gonna be built as long as he is in control. (Which as of now he isn't anymore) But I digress, here is the PM articles if you haven't read it already:
PM artcile NASA and it's discontents

PM article Direct team pitches to Obama Admin
Lets see what ATS has to say, Jupiter DIRECT or ARES? And is/was NASA trying to put Griffin's pet project through without regards for cost/time/safety?
Also here is a forum where a number of the engineers post and lurk for your enjoyment:Spaceflightforum.com


[edit on 27-1-2009 by djvexd]

I'm glad Mr. Griffin lost his job. Too bad his wife's pathetic petition to save his job failed miserably

I just hope he didn't set the space program back too many years and that Obi-wan-obama comes up with a good replacement.

reply to post by Zarniwoop

Well if Obama goes through with his ideas, like mounting an orion capsule to be flown by a european launcher that isn't even man-rated yet, then I think we'll all be begging for Griffin to come back. The new director isn't even interested in space exploration. It's just a consolation prize. He probably couldn't really care what happens to Ares or manned space exploration in general. I say we just build one of these suckers and go to mars:

Originally posted by ngchunter
I say we just build one of these suckers and go to mars:

Yikes! Now that's a ride!

The road seems to have been chosen. The arguments will continue. Direct seems like a great idea to me, but I'm not going to be the one sitting on top of it.

[edit on 1/27/2009 by Phage]

Ares I is in danger, apparently Ares V is not.

There is really no competition in the "188 tons to LEO" market LOL...

Ares I may be in danger of replacement by a man-rated Delta or Atlas...

Originally posted by xmotex
Ares I may be in danger of replacement by a man-rated Delta or Atlas...

Or European Ariane 5 or Japanese H2A. That very real possibility scares the living daylights out of me; giving the money to other countries for something we could have done ourselves, just to make the rest of the world "like us."

Originally posted by ngchunter
That very real possibility scares the living daylights out of me; giving the money to other countries for something we could have done ourselves, just to make the rest of the world "like us."

and why not work alongside other countries? as far as i know the first man to step on mars will be human, not american, not german, not japonese, but human.

i felt the same pride when Galgarin was in orbit as i felt when Armstrong touched the moon.

you have to remember that this is not about the sake of a country, a race, or a politic system, it's something that's stands above it all, it's about mankind.

reply to post by Pilas Odor

You know you have a point...however the fact the each country...mostly US and Russia hold thier respective space programs over each others heads pollutes any chance of complete cooperation.I think along your same lines lets get everyone on board becasue this place is starting to suck...lol

reply to post by djvexd


NASA, ESA, and Russia, as far as i know are the only ones capable of achiving the 2030 deadeline to send a mission to mars. We all know that even now, years after the cold war, the relations between the USA and Russia are not stable, and there's still a climate of suspicious between the two superpowers. However, the US as excelent relations with Europe, and Europe knows how to deal with Russia since Russia is part of Europe itself (not the EU yet, but this is not a mere economic factor, and european countries tend to stick together). So a joint venture between the three agencies would be plausible. ESA has the tecnology, the funds, and can act as a diplomat between NASA and the Russians, and both of them have the tremendous experience and man power that ESA lacks. So we could really have a mars mission that would be highly reliable if we just can put all the political problems aside. Maybe Japan would eventualy chip in.

We have the International Space Station, why not an international mission to mars?

thanks for the reply, it's always nice to meet people who can actually set aside our internal diferences and see space exploration has it should be.

Originally posted by Pilas Odor

NASA, ESA, and Russia, as far as i know are the only ones capable of achiving the 2030 deadeline to send a mission to mars.

Pushed 11 years further out eh..so much for Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.'s call for 2019.


Wont happen. If it doesnt take place by 2019 it wont happen even in 2030. It will get pushed further out to the next round number..2050, 2070, then 2100.



Cheers!!!!

reply to post by RFBurns


Do you think that if NASA drops the ball on this, that maybe commercial interests might decide to not wait and lead the way?

reply to post by ngchunter


New director of NASA?

Who is he/she ?