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• Commented on NASA NEO Workshop

  Congress had better initiate a new NASA program to deal with this now. Given our track record for schedule slips and Congress' penchant for underfunding us, we might have something in place in about 170 years....

• Commented on What is the Space Shuttle's True Legacy?

  The Space Shuttle is a technological marvel that will not be surpassed in our lifetimes, probably not even this century at the current rate (don't believe me? the SR-71 is still unsurpassed after 50 years). The Shuttle is not dangerous,...

• Commented on Gordon's Attempt To Shove HR 5781 Through Flops

  The Senate bill is better. It's the best compromise between Obama's budget and the status quo. It preserves commercial crew and cargo, but doesn't rely too heavily on it alone. It develops a heavy lift rocket capable of crew or...

• Commented on Kepler Mess: We Could Certainly Use Carl Sagan Right Now

  Apparently these scientists, and most other NASA employees, are unaware of the fact the we have policy on these and all other types of communications that is intended to prevent such public blunders. NPD 1385.2 (Public Appearances of NASA Personnel)...

• Commented on GAO Sides With NASA on Constellation Decisions

  Jason, The question you should have asked was, "when was the last time Congress took any significant action against NASA, or any other Agency, based on findings in a GAO report?" Things never seem to change even though GAO has...

• Commented on The Cape Week in Review - Next F9 Launch Announced, Discovery Prepped for STS-133

  That wasn't one of the flight objectives for this test flight. Why should they report it as a failure?...

• Commented on STS-135 Is Almost A Certainty

  The majority of the workforce to be protected has skills that we don't need anymore, namely processing Shuttles. The skills being preserved have nothing to do with designing and developing a new Space Launch System. These are the skills that...

• Commented on Here We Go Again: Do More With Less

  $11 billion over 3 years? That will only pay salaries for the NASA and contractor workforce, no money for hardware. The HSF Centers are simply over-bloated with too many people that don't produce an actual product related to rocket development....

• Commented on White House/ Senate Compromise Reaction

  I agree with a lot of people on this thread that I have not agreed with in the past, this is a good plan. It accelerates commercial cargo and crew (though less than the Obama budget which was biting off...

• Commented on Cernan Calls On Bolden To Resign

  Apparently, your technical credibility is somewhat lacking as well. Since Ares I is designed specifically to lift Orion to orbit, it is by definition the rocket that is underpowered and not the spacecraft that is overweight. Had the Orion not...

• Commented on Obama Space Plan Under Continuous Assault

  If you could come up with $50 million, you could buy a Falcon 9 launch, i.e. that is the cost. The fact that they've spent several hundred million dollars to develop and make this product available has nothing to do...

• Commented on Hutchison Supports Glenn Comments on Shuttle

  These people are stupid. It's too late to continue Shuttle. It was shut down a couple of years ago. As for Hanley being an "exceptional" Program Manager, he was an exceptionally bad one. Everyone in charge during Constellation were by...

• Commented on Oil Trumps Space (Update)

  moonman and SpaceTruckin, you both don't seem to realize that NASA HSF no longer has the capability to do design and development. Oh, the Shuttle/ISS ops managers and engineers think they can, but they can't. Too stupid to realize it...

• Commented on NASA Invokes Anti-Deficiency Act

  So you think you're smarter than those making these decisions? Yet you don't seem to understand what the issue here is. The issue is fairly simple. CxP is a billion dollars short this year because of the continuing resolution for...

• Commented on Building Orion

  Well, the Dragon mockup is in orbit and this shell of Orion is sitting on the ground, 7 years away from flight under the best scenario. So you're right, you could say Dragon mockup equals FLIGHT test article. And Neil...

• Commented on Falcon 9 Nails Orbit - First Stage Slams Hard into Atlantic

  I'm not sure this is one of the 3 COTS demo flights paid for by the $278 million COTS contract, I believe this one is on SpaceX. Although the true cost savings over other launchers is yet to be proven...

• Commented on Falcon 9 Nails Orbit - First Stage Slams Hard into Atlantic

  Good job, SpaceX. They are a long way from being fully established, but it's a good start. Recovering the first stage is, in my opinion, a long shot. I would not characterize this as a death knell for big government...

• Commented on Watching Falcons

  You are basically saying that design/fabrication is easy and a given while operations is difficult and the key to success. This is ridiculous. Design and fabrication is by far the most important and requires an engineering degree, operations can be...

• Commented on Jeff Hanley Removed From CxP Management

  We don't need PM's getting OJT to meet their position requirements, we need them to have that experience when assigned to the job. Try applying for a job in the real world and telling them, "I can get the experience...

• Commented on Jeff Hanley Removed From CxP Management

  Jeff Hanley was incompetent for the job he was given. This man had ZERO program/project management experience and he was put in charge of the biggest program in NASA's history. He was a flight director, and probably a damn good...

• Commented on Joint Statement From Closed Space Group Meeting

  You're right, I'm guilty over generalizing again and lumping it all together. Orion is by far the best of what has happened in CxP and much of it's problems are a result of an inadequate launcher. Of course, a 16klb...

• Commented on There Are Several Reasons Not To Fly Any More Ares

  He said he couldn't afford Ares I which is about $30 billion through 2015. Ares 1-X was about $400 million for an existing 4-segment SRB with some plywood and ballast on top. It had a limited amount of people working...

• Commented on An Editorial That Is NOT Written By A Moon Walker

  Columbia was lost due to incompetent program management. The foam from the ET could never have done such critical damage to a new RCC leading edge panel. This is why the commissions test could not reproduce the hole in the...

• Commented on Joint Statement From Closed Space Group Meeting

  I'm sorry, but if these people are leaving, they are not die-hards. Three years invested? The battery in my watch has more time invested than that. Finally coming to fruition? Five years later and you are just now testing the...

• Commented on Kosmas and Hutchison Tag Team on Space Policy

  It is arrogant and naive to think you can force Congress' hand, especially about something as irrelevant to the general public as the space program. We all think it's important, but if NASA were eliminated it would make the news...

• Commented on Welcome to Scott Horowitz's Parallel Universe

  Oh really, Mr. Horowitz? Just like the CxP architecture had nothing to do with technical/programmatic issues and was politically motivated and being driven by a few people in NASA's administration? Horowitz and Griffin are both personally responsible for highjacking the...

• Commented on Kosmas and Hutchison Tag Team on Space Policy

  That would be the universe of reality, which universe do you live in? Constellation was going to abandon the ISS in 2015, a full 2 years before Ares I would even return us to LEO. Oh, but we would have...

• Commented on Kosmas and Hutchison Tag Team on Space Policy

  "One problem in the president's proposal is that it does not address the risk to the station that will result from retiring the space shuttle and canceling the Constellation replacement program at the same time." These pundits just cannot get...

• Commented on Bolden's Take on The Media

  Your opinion. Mine is that the last adminstration has already done everything you claim this one to be doing. We are now trying to recover from the worst administration in our nation's history. But don't worry, you will get your...

• Commented on Orion Launch Abort System Funding Halt

  Good riddance, what an abomination. The LAS was something like 20 percent of the Orion weight. I would be upset over the cancellation of CxP if it were a viable program, but it's not. It is a Rube Goldberg architecture...