Ed Griffith

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• Commented on SpaceX Organizes NO on H.R. 5781 Effort

  And back on the topic of this authorization, how is it in the best interests of the United States to spend over five times as much to fly NASA astronauts on the Russian Soyuz than to develop an American commercial...

• Commented on Cernan Calls On Bolden To Resign

  This is another case of old astronauts basking in their glory not paying attention for decades to our space program suddenly waking up to fire off a few ill considered comments....

• Commented on Progress 38 Has Telemetry Glitch

  This is a routine telemetry glitch, nothing more. It does not change the argument for or against replacing the shuttle....

• Commented on New Launch Dates for STS-133 and STS-134

  If we are serious about getting astronauts up to the ISS with our own space capability, we should have already funded COTS D with Space X for a small fraction of what we were spending for a 10 year off...

• Commented on White House on Space: Ready, Fire, Aim

  Below is the criticism of the Obama plan. "Without specific goals and dates, the Congress will quickly lose interest, and the funding for all these new technologies will become very low priority (if it is actually possible for it to...

• Commented on Pressing On With Exploration Despite Budget Chaos

  I have more hope for progress through international cooperation than for the US saying, "Screw everyone, we will go it alone with much more ambitious projects which we will start funding seriously ten years from now when all the politicians...

• Commented on Has China Been Formally Invited to Join the ISS Program? (Another Update)

  Nothing to do with the space station advances the Chinese ability to launch ICBMs at us - an ability they have had for decades. Cooperating with the Chinese, on the other hand, promotes peace and opens the possibility for savings....

• Commented on Shifting The Shuttle

  Why on earth would we do this? If the shuttle program is to end, let it end so we can move on. There is nothing at all to be gained by postponing this a few extra months....

• Commented on John Glenn Has Something To Say

  Yeah John, where the hell were you when NASA could have used your voice as we were stuck in low earth orbit for the better part of half a century? Just not paying attention? Being a hero in the 1960s...

• Commented on Space Station Freedom Deja Vu All Over Again

  Keith, thank you for summarizing the true tragedy of Constellation. It is not an evil plot by Obama or some other simplistic explanation. I suggest one problem is NASA administrators have not been advocates for their agency, as the Secretary...

• Commented on Falcon 9 Launch Totally Successful

  There is always room for reasonable people to disagree on policy, but if you are not happy with this then there is something wrong with you. This is a positive development for the United States....

• Commented on Exploring The Outer Solar System With Humans

  "Ed Griffith, a mission to alpha Cen that launches within our lifetime (optimistically 2030 for me) cannot arrive within another lifetime (by 2100)" By another lifetime I did not mean the next lifetime, just another lifetime as we did when...

• Commented on Watching Falcons

  How Space X defines Success: "It's important to note that since this is a test launch, our primary goal is to collect as much data as possible, with success being measured as a percentage of how many flight milestones we...

• Commented on Exploring The Outer Solar System With Humans

  In the middle ages cathedrals used to take up to 300 years to build in a time when the human lifespan was quite a bit less than it is now. People set a goal that lasted generations. We can do...

• Commented on A Gathering Storm Of Opposition Mounts

  Where the hell were these astronauts and legislators earlier when speaking up for a program gone wrong or providing extra funding would have made a difference?!? Keith is right - I want to hear from young people whose future will...

• Commented on Senate Opposition to Obama Space Plan On The Increase

  The hypocrisy of legislators of both parties is breathtaking. To refuse to adequately fund NASA for over forty years and keep us in low earth orbit and then now pretending everything was fine until Obama became president and screwed up...

• Commented on Hearing Reaction

  Because you were brave and competent once does not mean you should be listened to and worshiped forever. We have been in low earth orbit since the early 1970s. Where were the astronauts then as spaceflight was stolen from a...

• Commented on Griffin: Obama Space Policy = Drivel

  Reasonable people can agree or disagree about Obama's space program (though if you are saying everything was great before and Obama destroyed it then the onus is on you to explain the almost half century of being limited to low...

• Commented on NASA's FY 11 Budget: Kicking The Can Down The Road

  Kicking the can down the road is exactly what it is and what has kept us in low earth orbit for the better part of half a century....

• Commented on Do These Words Still Work?

  Words work if they truly describe a mission. If they are just bull for managers then words do not work. When I was a teacher, schools sought accreditation through the a process called WASC where administrators lied extensively with the...

• Commented on Shuttle Mission Delays

  The latest NASA launch schedule has the July launch moved to mid-November. This is not a serious time extension of the Shuttle and has no extra shuttle flights. I think it is a good compromise....

• Commented on Shuttle Mission Delays

  I have long said that skipping the AMS was a foolish omission, but there is no excuse on why they should not be ready. As I recall it was originally supposed to be launched almost a decade ago. We cannot...

• Commented on IFPTE Weighs In On NASA Budget

  The "Show me the money!" saying is particularly relevant. For almost half a century both democrats and republicans have over promised while cutting funding. I would rather see a realistic if disappointing plan that will be carried out than...

• Commented on A Mission to Nowhere

  I do admire the original astronauts for being astronauts, but as Papa said, where in the hell were these guys since 1972? As far as I can see they were basking in their glory while space flight beyond low earth...

• Commented on Space Policy: Everyone Has A Different Opinion

  I am so sick of congress which has deliberately underfunded NASA since the early 1970s, kept manned expeditions in low earth orbit, and canceled ambitious unmanned expeditions like JIMO acting as if Obama is a villain who destroyed NASA....

• Commented on Florida Fires Back

  Where we were going with the shuttle and our space program has been no secret for years, even decades. To suddenly wake up and blame Obama shows at the very least lack of preparation....

• Commented on Space Policy: Lack of Details and Lots of Differing Opinions

  Obama alone slowed down NASA progress?!? Give me a break! From Nixon on we have played games with both democratic and republican presidents and all NASA administrators that we would boldly go into space, just not now. Leave bold for...

• Commented on New Poll Shows Support For Space Funding Cuts

  The blame to me goes to every president from Nixon on which lacked space vision (meaning all of them) and to NASA which has been more interested in pleasing political bosses than having either a mission or a vision. Recent...

• Commented on Should We Be Wary of China in Space? (Update)

  China already has ICBMs armed with nuclear warheads refined with stolen technology from the US in the 1990s. What more is there? the details of the latch on the ISS? our plans for a centrifuge for the ISS which...

• Commented on Buzz Writes: Washington, we don't have liftoff!

  I don't disagree at all, but Buzz, where the hell have you been for 40 years? In good times and bad through republican and democratic administrations funding and dramatic bold progress were put off for later. Now that we are...