Despite the grandiose visit to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) president Barack Obama’s space plan is still being divisive even with the announcements of a 2025 asteroid goal and a 2035 mission to orbit, but not land on, Mars
In the video above Buzz Aldrin says he wish he could have spoken to his ex-Apollo astronaut colleagues before they sent a letter condemning Obama’s plan
Florida Today lists a series of reactions from notable people here, as does NASAWatch with its report here; qouting media organisations including Time magazine and Fox News. Below SpaceX’s founder Elon Musk tells Bloomberg tv NASA’s Constellation programme was uneconomic. Here the Orlando Sentinel reports that Musk spoke to Obama during his KSC visit. You can find here Musk’s long statement endorsing Obama’s plan
While Utah Senator Orrin Hatch continues to take issue with the Obama plan. Hatch met with NASA administrator Charles Bolden and was not at all happy with the outcome
Talking of Bolden, watch his 15 April space summit conference overview spiel below
Yet despite all the media coverage of the event Clark Lindsey’s Hobbyspace reports that the US public still know very little about what is going on
This blogger often uses the “taxi driver” test. This simply test involves asking a taxi driver if they have heard about subject X. At the height of the president George Bush Constellation programme none of the drivers knew about it. Neither did they know about the Space Shuttles retirement
For more international reactions to NASA’s situation go here for one-time UK astronaut hopeful Kevin Fong’s article in UK national daily The Guardian newspaper and here for Al Jazeera’s take
Time has passed. The debate is over and Obama won. You can like his policy for the next 30 years in space or you can dislike it, but you can’t propose an alternative. If you don’t think much of Obama’s space policy, you’re automatically deemed a supporter of Mike Griffin’s Constellation program — which simply isn’t going to happen. If you’d like to suggest there might be a third option … huh, did you say something? Didn’t hear you, can’t hear you, guess you didn’t say anything.
Game over.
I think you`re wrong there. Not only has the Obama plan won the debate but it has left the Republicans and a few Obama Haters looking a little foolish. I think most space fans realize that when costs come down it is going to mean more space travel not less. Even the people who aren`t space fans can see that if costs come down that means more money in their pockets. For example with Constellation cancelled they won`t be paying twice as much as the shuttle`s 1 billion dollar price per trip to put half as many people in space with no room for cargo. As Norm Augustine said not only will we be going to all these other places we will still be able to go to the Moon anyway. This is something that should have happened in 1970. It is only some ill informed media who think there is still some debate here. We live in truly exciting times.
Let’s see to what degree Congress agrees.
Buzz Lightyear has been bought out.
Give him an ear for his pet project (daydream) and he will walk the walk. (I would for mine too – Ares VI).
To all the Garys and Mikes:
Yes. to be heard is an issue. Also not to be tarred by the Mike Griffin brush.
But he didn’t damage Orion much so that can (must) continue.
Heavy-lift must (will) go back to its’ origins – a shuttle-derived vehicle – two launches to farther space with Earth Orbit rendezvous.
There is NOTHING cheaper about COTS. As soon as the money is waved in their direction their prices will increase ten-fold.
This is all about Obama stealing CONTROL of the agenda.
Nonetheless, Americans – please write to your Congressman. Now is the time.