Commission: Possible 9 year manned flight gap

After the shuttle retires, it may be as long as 9 years before NASA puts another person in space.

The Augustine Commission, which is reviewing ideas for NASA’s future, notes that the Constellation program (the successor to the shuttle) was viable to fly much sooner—but budget cuts destroyed that prospect.

Throw out $100 billion?

NASA didn’t fail; the government did

In other words, NASA did its job, but the government provided insufficient money to execute. This is familiar territory. Its an underfunded mandate. When NASA actually get the money needed to do a job, it does it. (I recall a certain moon landing completed less than 9 years after it agreed to take that on.)

If the government doesn’t provide more money, NASA can get it other ways. For example, they can throw away the International Space Station—a $100 billion project. Believe it or not, some people favor this idea.

Promises, promises

Things seem grim now (in my opinion.) Money is tight and the government always love to talk about great challenges, but forgets to provide the money. They did this twice, when both Presidents Bush proposed a return to the moon and a voyage to Mars. They made big headlines and gave insufficient money for their “initiatives.”

Dare I say? Here we go again.