Engineer in Houston

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• Commented on The Senate NASA Compromise: A Hinge of History?

  I think the Senate "compromise" is largely meant to save jobs. I don't think this compromise is aimed at moving us forward. I do see that someone really wants a BFR (large rocket). The mission should be defined first -...

• Commented on Save Constellation Supporters Respond

  And ... where is the money coming from?...

• Commented on ESMD Gets Back To Basics

  Steidle is a solid leader. I would love to have seen what could have been done under his leadership....

• Commented on NASA Is Embracing Open Source

  Bravo!...

• Commented on Nelson's Compromise Emerges

  AnObamanaut wrote: "au contraire... no track records in successful hsf design or ops" United Space Alliance is heavily relied upon for HSF operations expertise. AnObamanaut wrote: "no track records in successful hsf design or ops - that was North American...

• Commented on Nelson's Compromise Emerges

  RC - I sense that you are being facetious. But, just in case: of course all of companies you listed don't have to succeed, just some of them. And some of them have already been successful for many years as...

• Commented on A HotFire for Falcon 9

  Wow. Has it been six months already?...

• Commented on New NASA Policy = Higher USAF Launch Costs?

  What? So, say NASA selects an EELV to launch an Orion Lite. That would *increase* launch costs to the USAF? What kind of logic is that?...

• Commented on New Space Policy: Radical or Necessary?

  In fairness, I should have written that though NASA does not actually fabricate manned spacecraft and human rated launch vehicles, it does carefully develop requirements, investigate its own concepts, and works closely with its contractors throughout the entire process. The...

• Commented on New Space Policy: Radical or Necessary?

  NASA should stay in the business of building spacecraft? Stay? Which manned spacecraft has NASA *built*?...

• Commented on How Do We Do Grand Things In Space Again?

  Last year there was a lot of anguish about Ares-1. Now, there are a lot of people slamming the new plan. I just have to shake my head at all of this. I do wish that a more concrete direction...

• Commented on Hesitation or Common Sense From Inside JSC?

  There's something wrong with this article. The experience that NASA has resides in the people who have worked and do still work within NASA. The individual skills are portable. Whatever work is transferred to the private sector will be in...

• Commented on And The Children Shall Lead

  Not a completely terrible speech, but surely the wrong venue....

• Commented on Unions Are Also Split on Obama's Space Plan

  Of course, what you describe is what we'd like, to see happen. Unfortunately for many who are working shuttle launch processing at KSC, now, there won't be nearly enough jobs to go around. As for the "1000 jobs" SpaceX will...

• Commented on Unions Are Also Split on Obama's Space Plan

  Jobs may be created ... eventually. I have serious trouble seeing how private enterprise is going to provide many jobs at all for years - well after the current workforce is dismantled and off doing other things....

• Commented on Precursors to a Paradigm Shift

  Dinerman's article is quite one-sided. He mentioned Beal Aerospace. Dinerman did not mention that Beal did actually get to the point of test-firing the largest privately financed liquid propellant rocket engine (810,000 lbs. thrust) since the F-1. He closed the...

• Commented on You Know You Messaging Plan Is Not Working When ...

  "Our fondest desire would be to keep NASA on the very frontier of space activity, letting commercial providers fill in for those activities which are not frontier activities. We will be putting some money where our mouth is." - Michael...

• Commented on Too Close to NASA For Comfort?

  "In some ways this whole affair is bitterly disappointing to me. Arguments about the future of HSF should be resolved by debate, data and facts." Yes, but that's not the approach Ms. Giffords took when she rudely slammed the Augustine...

• Commented on Avatar

  Taking my family to see it today - and looking forward to it....

• Commented on Avatar: A Stunning New World That NASA Is Ignoring

  Ravine - thanks for the information about Cameron's role with MastCam. That's fascinating. It would be great if the original MastCam could be completed....

• Commented on Alabama Hates Norm

  Possum: Commenting *only* on the cost figure you gave: I've seen SSP development costs for the period 1972-1982 consistently listed in current year (2009) dollars at close to $46 Billion....