Obama cancels Moon return project

Obama cancels Moon return project

news.bbc.co.uk

President Barack Obama has cancelled the American project designed to take humans back to the Moon.

The Constellation programme envisaged new rockets and a new crewship called Orion to put astronauts on the lunar surface by 2020.

..

[the] President's budget request plans an investment of an additional $6bn in Nasa over the next five years - an overall $100bn commitment to the agency (its budget for 2011 would be $19bn).

(visit the link for the full news article)

Interesting news, on the one hand, encouraging privatisation of space over government ownership sounds like a good thing (whoever is most responsible...). On the other, that sounds like an awful lot of wasted money, but who knows how far off the project is from success.

It also makes me think "OK, they're cutting a major project, but still need more money? What's that going into?" Another funding increase just to 'keep the space station running for another five years'.

I guess you could argue it's just a good way for Obama to try to save a little money. But put it in perspective against the billions if not trillions wasted in certain other activities, and you might think it pales in significance to something as important as (IMO) human space travel...

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 1-2-2010 by AR154]

Anyone else think NASA was behind this? Imagine how foolish thy would look failing to make it to the moon (with all of our technology since the 60s). The rest of the world has the capability to watch for themselves, unlike before where everyone just had to take NASAs word for it. If they really want to go and save money, why not dust of the crap in the Smithsonian, and retrofit it... Anyone else find it strange we were going to the moon on an annual basis, and now nothing?

[edit on 1-2-2010 by kingofmd]

Well [*SNIP*]!

Ya ya ya...watch the money, spending freeze, etc etc...stupid budget!

BUT, do we as a nation not need a dream to follow? do we not need something to achieve and build upon...dammit...I wanna go back to the moon!!!!!


grrrr


ok...fine...Microsoft...get to building your windows spaceship then!



Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 2/1/2010 by AshleyD]

Actually, I think I like the word snip better than the previous word anyhow.
...and makes more sense in the context of the thread

[edit on 1-2-2010 by SaturnFX]

Originally posted by SaturnFX
BUT, do we as a nation not need a dream to follow?

Our country is so out of whack that it's best to dream of more important things, such as not becoming a 3rd world nation. Because if that happens (and I see a real possibility of that), you can kiss plasma vents of any space program.

Originally posted by SaturnFX
BUT, do we as a nation not need a dream to follow?

Yes. I have a dream to get our economy back on track and take care of this planet. THEN we can start exploring out there.

I'm glad about this decision.

I seriously do not understand the logic with this decision. The Europeans, Indians, Russians, Chinese and the Japanese want to go to the moon - even talking about creating a multi-national lunar base. America decides otherwise.

A very sad day for space exploration. Little Earther's ruin yet another dream..

Until we develop a environmentally friendly, economical,propulsion system, travel to the stars will be left to Sci-fi.

NASA is just a money wasting government agency.

This in my opinion is the only decision that Obama has made that shows any leadership.

The real reason man has never again reached "escape velocity" to push out of the atmosphere and travel to the stars.

In our enthusiasm to travel to that rock we see in the sky,we used hydrogen
as the fuel source.

It is the only thing that will create the largest amount of thrust to get beyond "escape velocity" needed to break away from the earths gravity.

The exosphere is the area defined as the last layer of the atmosphere that protects all life from the dangerous ultra-violet and infra-red effects of the solar system.

The third stage hydrogen powered rocket engines were burning the hydrogen in the exosphere.Scientists determined it was a permanent effect.

Irreparable during anyone livings lifetime.

If the space flights were to continue it would have created an extinction event for all future occupants of the planet.

The ultra-violet and infra-red rays not being blocked and absorbed would kill us,and all other living things.

As it is now the damage done to the exosphere has increased the incidents of skin cancer and glaucoma.

That is why all MANNED space exploration done since then has been near earth orbits only.

All those smaller unmanned exploration rockets we shoot off this planet don't burn very long to get past escape velocity.

This was explained to me a while back by a old rocket scientist that had worked on the Apollo Project.

I have no idea if what he said is true. But there has to be a logical reason why man stopped going.

Maybe earth really is a Prison Planet.

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Well [*SNIP*]!

Ya ya ya...watch the money, spending freeze, etc etc...stupid budget!

BUT, do we as a nation not need a dream to follow? do we not need something to achieve and build upon...dammit...I wanna go back to the moon!!!!!


grrrr


ok...fine...Microsoft...get to building your windows spaceship then!

 

Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 2/1/2010 by AshleyD]

Actually, I think I like the word snip better than the previous word anyhow.
...and makes more sense in the context of the thread

[edit on 1-2-2010 by SaturnFX]

in another thread on exactly the same topic you posted :

This thread is already posted...

"incidently, what do you object to? that the government is scrapping a incredibly large bill with little/no value? "

[edit on 1-2-2010 by MR BOB]

Obama has no plan for space!!! He has no vision. No HOPE!

He want's to cancel the manned space program in order to spend money on carbon research. Dosn't that prove that the science isn't in on global warming? If the weather is determined by how many mercury filled toxic lightbulbs we have screwed in then why are we going to kill the manned space program in order to study carbons effect on the climate?

Not to mention the fact that NASA was recently proven to alter data associated with climate change. What a load of BS

Somone in another thread asked what "Buzz" thought about this. Here is your answer.

www.nasa.gov...

I agree with him that turnning some tasks over to private companys is good (doesn't Buzz have his own company and couldn't that be clouding his judgment) but the problem is that Obama has no direction, no goal, no direction. We need something to reach for, a path to follow. Constellation had lots of problems but at least it had a direction. Now we are officially just fool'n around. We aren't shooting for the Moon, but we aren't shooting for anything else either.

Well at least get us to Mars Obama. I know our economy and country is hurting but we just gave so much aid to Israel, the Wars in Afghanistan/Iraq, and Haiti. We could have gotten to the moon with that money.

Maybe we are trying to reconquer Earth or maybe we should rearrange prioities because space would create whole new industries with millions of high-skilled jobs. It could seriously jump start our economy and push us as a species in the right direction.

Maybe with the new supreme court ruling we will get corporations into the government to steal NASA's secrets and disperse them around the private sector. Although, that is a lot to hope for.


[edit on 1-2-2010 by tooo many pills]

He wants some of the extra funding to be used to incentivise private companies, to help them bring forward a new generation of launch systems to carry humans to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

I missed that part. Lets hope NASA does share their secrets with the private industries and they do get some extra funding.

of course he does
must have more money to support illegal aliens
like his auntie living in public housing

reply to post by AmericanDaughter


Hummmm, so HE doesn't want NASA to do the hard yards in going back to the Moon.

Is it money ?????. I don't think so. Well maybe the ISS is "consuming" a truck load of $$$$$ and yet WE don't know WHAT they are doing on the ISS.

The amount of money they are spending on the ISS would support a small country, and yet NOTHING has been said about WHAT they are doing up there.

Forgetting about going back to the moon....hummm follow the money!!!!

surprise Surprise SURPRISE!

NASA - once again - fails to go forward with any REAL plan to go back to the Moon...



Sorry - but that's some unelivable crap - something is going on that we don't know fully about!

My conjectures:

1) We have a Moon facility already
2) We know of alien structures/crafts dealing with the Moon in some way
3) We think going back to the Moon too soon will ignite another ill-concieved space race.

Those are pretty outrageous assertions - I know - but what I don't buy - is that we don't have the money and/or interest in going back - that's a TOTAL Load of Crock!

I don't post often on ATS; however, I am just absolutely DISGUSTED by Obama's decision to cut the Constellation program's funding!

After 49 successful years of accomplishing what no other human has ever accomplished; let's just outsource the space program... This is just the biggest load of nonsense I've ever heard from a President in my lifetime.

What many people don't realize is that the return on investment from monies appropriated into NASA have yielded tremendous returns to this country in the form of national pride, licensing fees on patents, and, above all, technological advances that have enriched the quality of nearly EVERY American's life; I implore any ATS member to give this thought some credence next time they use a microwave oven.

Another public, but not well known fact is that monetary ROIs from NASA science don't go directly back to NASA. The monies goe directly into the coffers of the US Treasury; thus; benefiting the United States.

Here is a NY Times reference article that further details the value of the space program and goes into a bit more detail on these ideas:

Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost?

Yes, the Constellation program had some set-backs; mainly because Bush didn't follow through on funding promises. However, slashing the program's funding is just ludicrous. Especially when this nation is spending close to 10 billion dollars a month in Iraq to "Liberate the country." Compounded by the fact that the Space Shuttle Program is set to be decommissioned at the end pf this year.

I live only an hour away from Kennedy Space Center; I'm certain the 7000 high skill jobs that are now in danger are not going to be good for the local economy.

I'm calling my Congressman today & my two state Senators to voice my dissent

This is NOT the change I had in mind!



I just can't help wondering WHAT REALLY is going on that we don't know about in terms of a possible "secret space program" because what we're being told just does not add up..



[edit on 1-2-2010 by CosmicClearance]

reply to post by AR154


IF there are more important issues to fulfill then spending lots of money on the Orion project then so be it. The Orion project just has to wait ... the moon isn't gonna leave our starsystem right?

Maybe other countries will try to raise the money for a new project ... it's just a matter of time I guess.

Peace!

reply to post by Melyanna Tengwesta


Go back to hippie ville.

Seriously what are these more important things? More failed bail outs? Or maybe you think we should wait for peace on Earth, or for a cure for every disease and problem man faces?

Sorry but not all of us want to sit around in a drum circle and fondle crystals.



Seriously, Obama has done nothing but dismantle this country on piece at a time. He says he wants us to take a lead in science and technology. Give me a break.

reply to post by CosmicClearance


Who said anything about outsourcing? If anything, giving incentives to private corporations who wish to undertake endeavors like this combined with proposed incentives to keep jobs here in America will keep those high-skill jobs busy.