# From Orbit, You Can’t see America Sliding Backward into Mediocrity **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [April 15, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422 "2010-04-15T12:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/21 "2010-04-16T06:03:43Z")
Granted we’re not scrapping NASA even though it’s certainly more fun to assume that as reality and get really angry. 🙂 Hell it got me all fired up yesterday until I read a little more. > NASA budget is $100 billion over the next five years, an increase of $6 billion, and its primary focus will be robotic exploration, scouting missions, increased earth-based observations, and extending the life of the international space station. Yes Joe, it is rather sad that so many republicans as so caught up in their populist anger that they forget about their own ideals. > The administration’s new free-market approach of designing and operating spacecraft could mean big business for a handful of U.S. companies in what will decidedly be a lucrative new market. > > “NASA is getting out of the space shuttle business, and this change unleashes the private sector,” said Dale Ketcham, director of the private think tank Spaceport Research and Technology Institute. “This creates new opportunities for companies to compete for this work. We can tap into our entrepreneurial innovation to fill this gap.” They really have become the party of no (as in NObama? Dave? :poke: ) if they can say no to their core beliefs in action. Smaller government and privatization of industry anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Onyx\_Z32](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/onyx_z32/32/7581_2.png) [@Onyx\_Z32](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Onyx_Z32)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 7:34am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/22 "2010-04-16T07:34:44Z")
Fry, you’re missing a HUGE point here. Privatization of the space industry has been happening for years now, although slowly because why would the private sector bother to go into space when there isn’t any serious way to make money off of it? (yet) The shuttle program was set to be canceled anyway and replaced with the constellation program. The constellation program was supposed to be a bridge between the shuttle and private sector programs. Obama canceled the constellation program. So people are upset that the only way into space between now and whenever the private sector gears up is though the Russians. And until human space exploration becomes more than just a money pit, the private sector has no reason to speed up their development to fill the gap left by Obama canceling the constellation program. That leaves our science & research in the hands of other countries. You can’t just pull the government out of something and expect the private sector to jump right in when there isn’t any money to be made. Saying Republicans are hypocrites on this issue is just silly when you put this into context. ---
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/23 "2010-04-16T08:07:17Z")
No, your context is silly. The Constellation program got privatized and NASA’s overall budget got bumped $6 billion over the next 5 years. So we let our private industry do what we already know how to do (using the Russians to bridge the gap), while using government resources to focus on doing NEW things. _cough_r&d_cough_ > All that has to change. And with the strategy I’m outlining today, it will. We start by increasing NASA’s budget by $6 billion over the next five years, even – (applause) – I want people to understand the context of this. This is happening even as we have instituted a freeze on discretionary spending and sought to make cuts elsewhere in the budget. > > So NASA, from the start, several months ago when I issued my budget, was one of the areas where we didn’t just maintain a freeze but we actually increased funding by $6 billion. By doing that we will ramp up robotic exploration of the solar system, including a probe of the Sun’s atmosphere; new scouting missions to Mars and other destinations; and an advanced telescope to follow Hubble, allowing us to peer deeper into the universe than ever before. > > We will increase Earth-based observation to improve our understanding of our climate and our world – science that will garner tangible benefits, helping us to protect our environment for future generations. > > And we will extend the life of the International Space Station likely by more than five years, while actually using it for its intended purpose: conducting advanced research that can help improve the daily lives of people here on Earth, as well as testing and improving upon our capabilities in space. This includes technologies like more efficient life support systems that will help reduce the cost of future missions. And in order to reach the space station, we will work with a growing array of private companies competing to make getting to space easier and more affordable. > **[President Obama’s Remarks on the Space Program (Published 2010)](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/science/space/16nasa_text.html?pagewanted=1)** > > President Obama’s speech on space exploration at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![drvnkd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/drvnkd/32/109615_2.png) [@drvnkd](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/drvnkd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/24 "2010-04-16T08:17:47Z")
I hope the pace of the R&D exceeds the abilities of other countries to do it for less. Should I read this as Moog will be hiring soon? ---
**Author:** ![Onyx\_Z32](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/onyx_z32/32/7581_2.png) [@Onyx\_Z32](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Onyx_Z32)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:27am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/25 "2010-04-16T08:27:57Z")
> [@Fry](#): > > No, your context is silly. > > The Constellation program got privatized… Constellation got privatized by who? Name the private company stepping into the gap? > [@Fry](#): > > So we let our private industry do what we already know how to do (using the Russians to bridge the gap) What private company is going to _“do what we already know how to do”_ given that there isn’t any profit motive? The Russians don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![n20junkie](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/n20junkie/32/7396_2.png) [@n20junkie](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/n20junkie)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/26 "2010-04-16T08:28:38Z")
Its the democrat way. Remove money from military, nasa and the likes. Give to baby mammas and daddies, those that deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:32am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/27 "2010-04-16T08:32:15Z")
No profit motive? You ever sell anything to the government? They pay well. :pedo: > Who’s who of aerospace firms champing to fill gap > > The usual suspects head up the A-list of beneficiaries, such as a Lockheed Martin (LMT), Raytheon (RTN), Boeing (BA) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). But the next tier, which includes Orbital Sciences (ORB) and Space Exploration Technologies, also stand to cash in. > > Mark Hamel, a senior vice president at Orbital Sciences, said this week at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs that a new, healthy market for the private sector will emerge from the space plan. The Virginia-based company is developing the Taurus II rocket and a cargo capsule. > > Obama, as part of his tour at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, visited privately held SpaceX’s commercial launch facility. The company’s founder, Internet tycoon Elon Musk, is a huge proponent of having NASA go the private-sector route. Musk, the 38-year-old founder of PayPal, was seen speaking with Obama prior to the president’s speech. > **[Stock Portfolio Management & Tracker - Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/portfolios)** > > Track your personal stock portfolios and watch lists, and automatically determine your day gain and total gain at Yahoo Finance ---
**Author:** ![Mixmastermike](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/mixmastermike/32/7314_2.png) [@Mixmastermike](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Mixmastermike)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:32am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/28 "2010-04-16T08:32:24Z")
SpaceX won a contract from NASA to replace the shuttle for resupplying the ISS and is already testing launch vehicles. I’m sure it’s still years away though. It’s supposed to cost 20 times less per astronaut compared to the constellation program. The constellation program was underfunded and had a lot problems so it’s most likely a good thing that it was canceled. The only thing i don’t get is how you say no to going back the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/29 "2010-04-16T08:33:51Z")
> [@n20junkie](#): > > Its the democrat way. Remove money from military, nasa and the likes. LOL YEAH!!! HOW DARE THE DEMOCRATS MAKE GOVERNMENT SMALLER?!?! ---
**Author:** ![AFhockey31](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/afhockey31/32/5086_2.png) [@AFhockey31](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/AFhockey31)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:38am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/30 "2010-04-16T08:38:34Z")
> [@PureXTC](#): > > I visited NASA in Jan. and I was very disappointed. This was supposed to be a highlight of our vacation but when we got there, so many buildings were empty that you were left wondering “Does anything go on here anymore?”. Seems as if we missed the real NASA tour by about 40 years. > > On a side note, if anyone could tell me what the cattle ranch, smack dab in the middle of the complex is for, please do tell. The only thing I could think about with cattle is that in case something happens and they have to lock down, then they have a food source? I know that sounds odd, but when I went through NORAD, they have a full on city with water filtration, livestock etc, so when that 50 ton blast door closes, people can still run the “country” I also toured Lockheed Martin back in Denver and it was pretty impressive, it was where they were building all of the sat rockets etc, and doing testing. They mentioned that the majority of stuff for NASA is outsourced at other plants, an they bring the rockets on need basis. Not sure if this coresponds with what youre talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Onyx\_Z32](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/onyx_z32/32/7581_2.png) [@Onyx\_Z32](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Onyx_Z32)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:46am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/31 "2010-04-16T08:46:43Z")
> [@Fry](#): > > No profit motive? You ever sell anything to the government? They pay well. :pedo: lol, what are they going to sell? Rides to space for a handful of researchers or millionaires who want to experience zero-g? Beyond that what is there? ---
**Author:** ![drvnkd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/drvnkd/32/109615_2.png) [@drvnkd](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/drvnkd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:56am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/32 "2010-04-16T08:56:04Z")
Sure, they could potentially make the money sending rich people into space, but selling stuff to the govt. is a pretty good racket. The government does spend like Walmart customers. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 9:04am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/33 "2010-04-16T09:04:20Z")
Nasa should start selling moon rocks as part of some magic weight loss program in the US. You can’t raise much money selling NASA t-shirts, no one wants them. ---
**Author:** ![drvnkd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/drvnkd/32/109615_2.png) [@drvnkd](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/drvnkd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/34 "2010-04-16T09:37:39Z")
Maybe the govt. should subsidize small businesses so that they can outsource engineering work to NASA instead of India? ---
**Author:** ![Onyx\_Z32](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/onyx_z32/32/7581_2.png) [@Onyx\_Z32](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Onyx_Z32)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/35 "2010-04-16T11:01:01Z")
Regardless of how they’d make money, there currently is no private sector space program. And that’s the problem. We’ve left a gap where some will bitch that the government pulled the plug too soon leaving us to outsource our manned space flight to Russia. While others will bitch when the private sector doesn’t fill in the gap right away. ---
**Author:** ![theblue](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/theblue/32/5074_2.png) [@theblue](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/theblue)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422/36 "2010-04-16T12:23:32Z")
[quote=“drvnkd,post:34,topic:153422"”] Maybe the govt. should subsidize small businesses so that they can outsource engineering work to NASA instead of India? [/quote] you really want to pay the govt. to do a job that the private sector can do cheaper? NASA’s job is to do the engineering that the private sector can’t or won’t do that will ultimately trickle down to the private sector. [Previous page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/from-orbit-you-can-t-see-america-sliding-backward-into-mediocrity/153422.md?page=1)