Obama’s policy is most notable for the lack of his visibility in it. One gets the sense that his officials came up with it and he just went along, if indeed he gave any attention to it at all.
One has to wonder about a “Progressive Movement” that just wishes the entire Space Age would just go away. “Hope and Change” for space policy seems to have become “give up and stay the same”.
The one big advancement (no not the Mars manned landing – that’s just a mirage) is the commitment to encourage commercial space launches. – But to what purpose? What is the goal here?
More information: Space Policy Institute.
www.jacklemoine.com
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
Our goal in space should be what Western Civilizartion
Doc Holliday (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 5:32AM EST (link)has always done. It is to explore new worlds and learn knew things. It we stop trying to break boundaries, we will end up in stasis and decline. I think you are wrong about Mars, we must set high goals.
Obama and the left probably don’t want space “polluted” by humans, certainly not Americans. Now he is learning that he will get pushback and that the space program is in his liberal world view a government jobs program. Just like the military, space seems to be the only government jobs program liberals don’t like.
Molon Labe!
Mars And A Return To The Moon Have Been Possible For Decades
Ausonius (Diary) Wednesday, March 10th at 8:22AM EST (link)I believe that among the few failures of the Reagan Administration was to go beyond the space shuttle, and to set a plan for a return to the moon – with the intention of building a base there for Mars – in the 1980′s.
The technology was available: engineers have told me that Mars was attainable years ago.
On the other hand, we now have something not available 20-30 years ago, thanks to the efforts of Franklin Chang-Diaz, former NASA astronaut:
“Ad Astra has bigger plans for VASIMR, such as high-speed missions to Mars. A 10- to 20-megawatt VASIMR engine could propel human missions to Mars in just 39 days, whereas conventional rockets would take six months or more. The shorter the trip, the less time astronauts would be exposed to space radiation, which is a significant hurdle for Mars missions. VASIMR could also be adapted to handle the high payloads of robotic missions, though at slower speeds than lighter human missions.”
See:
http://www.physorg.com/news174031552.html
Philosophically we know why MAObama and the Left hate space exploration: it is not necessarily the money.
Exploring outer space proclaims the United States as a leader on the planet, and that they cannot abide!
Ausonius: 310-395 A.D. Teacher, Poet, Consul, General, Farmer.
Personal Tutor to the future St. Paulinus of Nola and to young Gratian, heir to the throne during the turbulent final years of the Western Roman Empire. When his former student Gratian was assassinated, Ausonius threw up his hands and retired to his farm in Gaul. Rome was captured by barbarians 14 years after his death.
Cato@rock.com
Interesting
Jack Le Moine (Diary) Sunday, March 14th at 1:56AM EST (link)This is interesting info. BTW, wasn’t Ad Astra once the L-5 Society?
Jack Le Moine
http://poljournal.blogspot.com/