Reactions to NASA's Fiscal Year 2011 proposed budget

[BGSlopy]

Just fund the russian engineers and researchers they tend to get the job done whit a lot less money .You are constantly using their cheaper and more reliable space planforms enyway .

[dcb1138]

YOU ALL WANTED CHANGE.....well here it is suckers

[darkhalo116]

how a bout we revive and update apallo

[spacevidcast]

@darkhalo116 That's basically what Ares and Orion sort of were going to be. If we were to literally bring back the Saturn V and Apollo components, it would be nearly impossible, because a lot of the blueprints of the hardware was lost.

[Airclot]

Honestly, I think the biggest problem is having science illiterate politicians making decisions that affect the march of science. There should be created new breed of politicians, Scieticians. A hybrid of both worlds. People capable of understanding the science, but not blinded by it into making blind decisions.

[DarPower1]

@Airclot Which one do you wanna chip a bit to get money for the gaping economic hole made by bush?

Military: Our protection.

Space: its just the spaceshutles, thats such a little part of Nasa.

Tax: Hell no.

The answer is obvious,

[granddad2002]

Returning to the Moon has a lot of uses. Doing it commercially makes more sense than a federal program. Using time-lines outside of the standing President's term of office tells me that Obama sees very little political capital in these ventures. Rather than no man date and you don't get burned for failures. Nixon was known for holding his breath when an Apollo would head for the Moon... Not a good legacy in the History book if Americans die on his watch.... That was Johnson's problem.

[dravarian26]

Why does everyone want to go to mars? If there were projects being made for something similar to a colony or base and this is a test I could get it. But if it's just going there and coming back like with the moon, that just seems like a waste of money, and no it doesn't have to spent on military. I would much prefer it go to education and other nice things.

[ELM1941]

@dravarian26

"Why does everyone want to go to mars? If there were projects being made for something similar to a colony or base and this is a test I could get it. But if it's just going there and coming back like with the moon, that just seems like a waste of money"

The whole point of exploring Mars now is to develop the capability to stay, live, and work there for longer periods of time so that in the future we CAN live on Mars if we want/need to. (As well as push science forward in general.)

[monokhem]

@dravarian26 because proving humans can survive on mars will lead for the nessisary funding for a perminant base. All Mars plans i have read leave a substantial amount of infrastructure behind for a more perminant presense.

[dravarian26]

@monokhem okay thanks for answering...better late than never!

[BigBearSpaceAdmin]

Kennedy:

"we choose to go to the moon in this decade, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard"

Obama:

"ohhh no space exploration sounds too difficult and expensive, cancel it all, lets just dump more money into a pointless war"

[monokhem]

@BigBearSpaceAdmin acctually:

Obama: "more Americans in space and the future of the space program is more important than the concerns of myopic people who value what they know more than leadership in the new space economy."

[Cod4Paradox]

My idea:

1. Get a new president (this one extremely lacks ambition)

2. I want to see Canada, USA, China, India and Europe all work TOGETHER if

we even want to get close Mars, or the Moon or beyond

3. Step up private space companies (competition baby)

4. Why not have military cuts, and NASA budget INCREASES?

Most of these will never happen due to today's ignorant rulers, but there is always the future, right? Right?

[spacevidcast]

@Cod4Paradox America can go to the moon and Mars on it's own if it wanted, and private industry could contribute to it, as could commercial (if we built propellant depots, someone needs to haul the fuel to them afterall). NASA can't get budget increases unless the PUBLIC wants Congress to give NASA more money. This is why spacevidcast exists; to get you and your friends and family excited for space. Write your congressman. Tell them you feel NASA should get more funding and why.

[Cod4Paradox]

@spacevidcast No doubt United States could get to Mars with current technology, but the funding will never get there (at least not for another 50 years). It's is to bad I'm Canadian (CSA is pretty shitty), I would be writing to congressmen every day! Anyways, do you think the public want billions of dollars poured into secret military funding?

[Winner8501]

@Cod4Paradox

International cooperation is feasible and it can be even advantageous - once a plan for something (the ISS or a future mission to Mars) is agreed, put on paper and RATIFIED, it becomes essentially an international treaty. These things are usually a LOT harder to cancel on a whim of a bunch of politicians in the US.

ESA works like that. Once a programme is approved (which I admit is THE problem with ESA), member states are committed to see it through to the end, no excuses.

[baillou2]

@spacevidcast Propellant depots are really not a good idea, at least according to Zubrin. They require heavy insulation and even then a large percentage of the fuel will burn off and leak. The better idea would be an all-in-one lift and throw method.

[monokhem]

@baillou2 how many times has Zubrin been in space? Is his PHD in astronautics? I'm sorry I like the guys enthusiasm, but he isn't the most qualified to advocate specific courses for Mars missions. I'll take Buzz Aldrin over him any day. Lift in throw might be OK for a stunt, but it doesn't make a perminant presence economicly feasable, and it doesn't draw a commercial presense into space, which means everything will have to be paid for by governments.

[baillou2]

@monokhem I think he does have a PHD in austronautics in fact. I think Zubrin is a little crazy, but he has some good points.

[monokhem]

@baillou2 It's in Nuclear engineering or something like that. I think he has a lesser degree in astronautics. I just think there are other people with better ideas.

[ELM1941]

@spacevidcast "Write your congressman. Tell them you feel NASA should get more funding and why. "

Yes, and maybe consider participating in space exploration citizens' groups as well? The Planetary Society, the National Space Society, the Mars Society, the Moon Society, etc. I definitely like the idea of writing letters to elected officials.

[ti994apc]

@spacevidcast I think they can easily go to the Moon and beyond with the current budget. They just need to stop making space welfare programs, stop using the same Shuttle contractors with open ended costs, and start using fixed costs. They also need to be smarter. We don't have to have one giant Rocket for a single lift like Skylab or Apollo. We make ISS in small pieces and it makes sense to make a deep space vehicle with smaller launches rather than a single giant launch.

[ELM1941]

@Cod4Paradox "4. Why not have military cuts, and NASA budget INCREASES?"

This! The government wastes so much money. The idea they don't have any money for a manned mission to Mars and for science is just ridiculous. Take note of how much money they shower the military and the banks with, and keep that in mind when you hear some wishy-washy politician trying to persuade you that the money just isn't there for space exploration.

[DarPower1]

@ELM1941 No, they dont have money for the mission to place men on the moon for a very long period of time with extra bases. They are saving up to go to Mars,

[fuunguus]

We don't really need a moon base... We could easily assemble ships in orbit, ships powered only by VASIMR ion thrusters, with nuclear reactors as power source. With such ships, and with sufficient radiation shielding we could go anywhere in the solarsystem, even to pluto. IMO the inner asteroid belt should be the main goal, not Mars. Mars is equally hazardus to living in space. 1% the atmosphere of Earths, lots of cosmic rays, and one major downside; gravity. We should go for space not planets.

[andymission]

Creatpr pwms a dios tha scared the nighttime ufo sight. 2011ufo sight around westen partof the equator. 44th a nd 8th SHakI it will be reduced right now.. its going to be easy. pull out of the mornining it will be ok. Fozen"

[tappakeggaday1]

And I thought Bush Jr. was a moron with a low rating.The answer is simple really,if things in Government arn't working stop spending money on it to try to make it work.Kennedy had a time frame for nasa to have a manned moon mission.we've been in low earth orbit long enough.either make things happen or stop wasting tax payer money on astronauts who play around with water bubbles.watch the movie the mars underground

[grantlo321]

good video, straight to the point. i am completely against Obama's decision and have lost a tremendous amount of respect for him. His approval rating is already a sloping -22%, you can add a -1 to that equation from me now. what a waste... i work at NASA, i see the technology, i hear the ideas and i bust my ass (electrical, mechanical and software engineering) so that maybe i can live to see humans on Mars! for 4 billion years life has been stuck on earth, i want to help change that!! GO NASA!!!

[Ramshobraja]

We have now handed over space to china. Sad day.

[mquiroz90]

their gunna make the shuttles different are they huh

[flightdeckreviews]

@mquiroz90 no there actually canceling the shuttle program all together. =( I actually I kinda liked Obama but with like four programs canceled in a single press conference I actually hate him know. R.I.P Space Shuttle You served you 30 years well. =(

[spacevidcast]

@flightdeckreviews The shuttle program was scheduled to be canceled in 2003 after Columbia was lost. They were going to cancel the STS after ISS construction was complete. It had NOTHING to do with Obama. It's time for a new design because of the age of the orbiters. Some of the companies that made the hardware don't even exist anymore.

[KrellLab]

Obama's NASA budget perfectly captures the difference in spirit between Kennedy's liberalism and Obama's.

Kennedy's was an expansive, bold, outward-looking summons. Obama's is a constricted, inward-looking call to retreat.

Fifty years ago, Kennedy opened the New Frontier. Obama wants to shut it.

Canceling NASA's moon-exploration program will put the U.S. behind other nations in terms of space exploration and technological development.

[lostintheapplasauce]

people still have the false impression that space travel / exploration are functions of the government. we dont need to go back to the moon or to mars. it was important during the '60s to prove the possibility and to show the soviets our superior civilization. now there is just no point. down with nasa! (but not space)

[donniesview]

well that blows...

[lane83180]

there are ideas out there that put us past the galaxy................we need to go for it

[chadfredrickson1]

skate im with you

[PenscratcherG]

We still need a heavy lift launch vehicle Ben.  I have nothing but respect for your news casts every thursday night but waiting another fifteen years before we reach Mars is crap. This is not a downward spiral for NASA but it puts the entire organization on hold until we get a president dedicated to space.

[SpammiMammi]

Somewhere over the rainbow I suppose :P

[zeeshan55]

thought u were kool obama -.- interest in space > obama

[dks13827]

still waiting on the specs for you spaceship. please. lay them out.

[VendettasD]

It needs one thing:

A big assed rocket, some nukes, and a portal.

The portal is created by using a quantum singularity produced in ways nobody can do and is in all likliehood a VERY bad Idea but who cares as long as we have stupid ideas floating around lets just consider an implausible space elevator while we are at it.

-shakes head- I liked constellation to be honest. I felt it was a good natural progression using proven shuttle technologies and computer arrays. Needed little comm overhaul

[dks13827]

I have no vested interest in Constellation, as such. But it was a reasonable plan that

had gotten approval ( hard to get !! ). fyi in the Augustine meetings they stated that March 2015 was still a valid launch date, at that time. Lockheed Martin said Orion would be ready by that time without difficulty.

[dks13827]

I really wonder about people who are completely in a dream world. Totally. They must wish that things were like magic. must be true.

[dks13827]

the closest reality to the magic spaceship was a shuttle concept that had a gargantuan winged booster that returned to launch site after boosting the winged shuttle. I give them credit for trying, but it proved not realistic. It was bigger than you could ever imagine.

[dks13827]

A magic reusable space ship !!! wonderful. sounds great.

[dks13827]

younger americans ( which I am not, younger, that is ) seem to think that purple and silver winged rockets to orbit and back are real............ they are NOT !!! they arent real !!!

[dks13827]

Scott Horowitz says that reusability is really a pipe dream, it doesnt pencil out. And, alert alert... he is no dummy !!!

[SuperMagnetizer]

No bucks, no Buck Rogers. It's just that simple. During the height of the Apollo program, NASA was getting 4.5% of GDP, now it's about one-tenth that much. Reinstate Constellation, but also work on a 100% re-usable, sustainable space access systems for the future. Congress, are you listening?!?!

[dcarrera01]

Does anyone here realize that Obama actually increased the NASA budget?

The Augustine Panel found that there is no way that the Ares I would be ready on time to service the ISS and that Constellation would not get us to the moon for decades - and all we'd get is a repeat of something the US did half a decade before.

Obama is following the advice of the Augustine Panel. Increase NASA's budget, rely on the private sector more, and give it a realistic mission that matches the available funds.

[dks13827]

Steve, I would give anything to hear your design !! please,, please... what is it ??

[dks13827]

Obama hates excellence, that is for sure. Did you know they plan to layoff ( or transfer ) most of the astronauts ? The end, and a very sad and wrong one.

[dks13827]

News alert: 1.  Bolden just blows smoke, he lies. 2. He is a stand in admin until Lori Garver can take over !! watch and see.

[A86]

It's funny watching right-wingers claim he's cutting this to give money to unions and welfare. Actually he's cutting Constellation to escalate the wars and spend more money bailing out corporate America. His solution is to hand space travel over to the private sector. Even though private launchers have no plans for anything about LEO for the foreseeable future. Turning the US into a space taxi nation only.

What a dumb plan. I hope Congress votes his proposal down.

[lostintheapplasauce]

@A86 i hope congress takes ur citizenship

[A86]

@lostintheapplasauce - Well, they won't. Too bad for you.

[Antiworld23]

This is what liberals do, cut programs that advance our position in the world where it matters, like the F-22 Raptor, probably the F-35, missile defense, and now NASA's moon mission. Then they piss it away on bullshit like ACORN, welfare, entitlements, trying to expand the dependant classes.

This asshole needs to be nothing more than a bad memory by 2013.

[snoopyloopy]

what amuses me the most about this proposal is that here we have liberal proposing to scale back a government program and turn it over to the private sector. that's the quintessential conservative wet dream right there....and they're all crying about it! why is that? is there actually a belief that the government is doing a better job than the private sector would? or is it simply because a liberal is proposing it?

[Antiworld23]

I don't find it amusing at all.

The left only cares about scaling back projects that are defense related. How 'bout axing the ATF, EPA, eliminating section aid housing, privaizing SS, and reducing far more expensive entitlement programs.

He is doing this beacuse he is a manchurian candidate, his goal is to impede our progress militarily and economically so that foreign nations can catch up.

[snoopyloopy]

and the defense portion of the constellation program is...? our military is already the standard to meet, and with obama's interest in bettering education, especially in STEM areas, your argument that he is trying to impede us looks a bit flimsy.

private ss would be a nightmare, because for one, which company would manage it? two, what happens when we have another 2008?

we might as well provide subsidized housing bc that's cheaper than jailing the people.

epa tends to be more necessary than not.

[Antiworld23]

There were many shuttle missions launched from Vandenburg AFB that we're not given a lot of media attention. They were not NASA missions but were under the control of the USAF. What they did had to do with spy stats ect...don't have/can't give all the details...but the point is, the sucess of NASA and our manned space program is vital to national defense. You realize GPS, SATNAV are vital to they way our forces operate...where do you think that capabiliy comes from?

[dks13827]

the Shuttle never launched from Vandenberg, not once. where do folks get this info ?? it is not hard to find out.

[snoopyloopy]

yea i'm well aware that gps is a usaf technology that they decided we can use. and yea, we really need these details on the vandenberg shuttle launches bc it was originally supposed to be a second launch site and was built and tested accordingly, but a launch never actually happened. and the shuttle isn't even built for operation at the orbits spy sats are in, so launching them on the shuttle makes no sense at all.

[dks13827]

the President does not care about 'education', he cares about teacher's union buddies. if he cared, he would fire the bad teachers. sorry. :(

[snoopyloopy]

i agree that ineffective teachers should be encouraged to find another career path. but what exactly is a good metric for deciding how good a teacher is?

[rollprogramhouston]

I like how Charlie "Obama" can twist words... Enough said.

[CharmingLordSausage]

I thought that LEO would be given over to commercial companies and deep space exploration would be handled by the government? I didn't think that Obama would try to abandon the government funded program COMPLETELY! This is unprecedented. Even the 70s had the STS! And what's with these innovative new technologies that are being talked about? Yeah, we had NERVA before, but they pulled the plug? What use is a hyperdrive if no one is willing to build the starship Enterprise?

[dswynne]

It's funny how the Constellation program is too expensive, when: a) Obama is proposing tax increases, and, b) he's proposing spending increases. He has acesss to 500 billion dollars in "stimulus money", and the cuts that he is proposing in NASA's wil put MORE people out of work. How's that hope and change coming along?

[LKizzy01]

WTH!!!!! commercializing space???!!!! thats just bull! going back to the moon has scientific reasons. commercializing space has none!

[skatebmxtom]

This plan put forward by Obama makes Bush actually look good

[DarPower1]

@skatebmxtom How its saving money. Plus thankfully we got rid of thay stupid moon thing. We're laying down plans for Mars. Good, this saves money, thank you Obama. Its just the shuttles, jeez, we still can go to space, shuttles dont go far anyways.

[DarPower1]

@skatebmxtom Because it was Obama who made the economy fall?

[ti994apc]

@skatebmxtom The best thing Bush did was end Shuttle (thank God). The best thing Obama did is cut Constellation (Thank God even more). The great thing both of them have done is start Cots with Bush and continue Cots with Obama. 

[AtlantisSaturn]

This is how a typical Obama voter looks like.

[TOMMYfromPALLETtown]

it will not happen to manny people oppose obamas idiotic idea .nasa is safe

[Antiworld23]

Lord I hope you're right.

[dks13827]

sure do hope you are right !!! :( it's a sad day right now.

[NAMLegolas]

Damn you Obama... Damn you

[mrcrazydudeful]

@NAMLegolas It's time the nation call for an impeachment procedings against President Obama! Or as I like to call him by his accronym! O.B.A.M.A One Big Ass Mistake America!

[NAMLegolas]

@mrcrazydudeful LOL!!!, That just gave me a good laugh! Nice one! :)

[mrcrazydudeful]

You're Welcome! I guess you agree with me!! Thanks for commenting!!

[Australian123Gamer]

agreed there obamas first horrible mistake

[Iff5]

How did a Muslim born in Kenya even become the President of the greatest country in the world?! IMPEACH OBAMA AND HIS COMMUNIST WAYS

[thewebmaster93]

Thanke you for killing my space enthusiasm. De-orbit that ISS shit, it is way way to much, for that money we could have done atleast 2 trips to mars.

WHERE IS MY PINWHEEL SPACE STATION?

[oomblikkies]

Can someone please point me to a list of accomplishments on the ISS which will benefit mankind, either in his understanding of the universe, fundamental research done on the ISS or as serving as a hub for manned interplanetary travel. I cant think of any, but yet a manned mission to the Moon Mars is deemed unnecessary. Bad decision if you ask me.

[Drsharky43]

I guess we go back to being like Cave men, Its so sad that our Man Kind or Human Specie will never evolve off this rock when time comes either by Super Nova of our Sun or Astreroid may be Black Hole. Its Nature of Universe it Blows up and start over. To bad that other evolved specie will never know we were here. Sorry guys, I guess I'm taking news little to hard.

[Nasiar99]

we have no future

[Ironbob2006]

First of all, you morons that say this is technology from the 60s, you're idiots--plain and simple. There's so much more to Orion then there ever was with Apollo. Go learn about the program before you blather on because you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Apollo's capsules never had sustainability in space built in, Orion would, as it sports it's own solar arrays for starters.

[snoopyloopy]

@Ironbob2006 there is a lot more to it than an apollo makeover. but at the same time, it is partly apollo all over again and quite frankly, nasa hasn't done a good job on selling to the public on exactly how the constellation program/orion differs from apollo. add to that the dismal timeline (jfk said we're going to put a man on the moon in THIS decade and it was done. gwb said we'll put a man on the moon...at the end of next decade.) and the lack of public interest makes more sense.

[dks13827]

the public would respond fine once flights started, please believe me. I lived through apollo and it was divine !! :)

[snoopyloopy]

well i'm from a little past that era, but there appears to have been much more hype over the space mission in the 60s than there is now. i mean, the first satellite wasn't even launched until 1957 and 12 years later they had people walking on the moon. and that was way before the age of computers made stuff like cfd and structures testing easy to analyze like they are now.

[dks13827]

you are right on. Constellation was built as an architecture that WOULD enable great missions for 50 years. ( big new projects are few and far between, hence the long term capability was the plan.)

[QuasiRandomViewer]

0:44 -- "Imagine trips to Mars that take weeks instead of nearly a year"

In his presentation the following day at the NPC -- watch?v=e9YvIESqDUk -- 0:48:40 -- he mentioned it again, but this time said "game changing technology enable us to go to Mars in days, not months".

Is this pure imagination, or is he referring to some nascent technology? NASA has funded some anti-gravity research, but he wouldn't be referring to that, would he? Could a nuclear electric rocket achieve this?

[FlightDirDan]

He is talking about the experimental Ion drive which is supposed to allow for ridiculous acceleration.

However, he neglects to tell anyone that kind of acceleration potential is still decades off.

[webbj123]

@QuasiRandomViewer He was talking about a concept known as VASIMR, which is a high power electric propulsion system. What he did not mention was that the idea was pure fantasy. The power conversion technology and heat rejection technology as well as the required specific powers are likely centuries away to make VASIMR work. I just hope he gets realistic and invests in nuclear thermal propulsion which works now, but does not give 45 day trips to mars

[dks13827]

sounds great. days not months. when can we look forward to this ? ( I think a 3 month trip is likely the best that might be obtained.. someday. )

[lokuzzz]

why dont the usa reduce their insanly high military budget to keep constellation going?

imo its a very sad decision.

[snoopyloopy]

@lokuzzz attack the military bc that sounds like a simple solution, but at the same time, realize that the main user of space really is military. first practical rockets (v2) were military. the first rockets to go to space were all developed from icbms. space shuttle looks like it does partly because the usaf insisted on it being that size to be able to transport satellites for them. and the space lift industry would've collapsed practically from inception if it weren't for military customers.

[Antiworld23]

I have a better idea, get rid of welfare and section aide housing for the leeches.

[snoopyloopy]

so you'd rather have them laying around on your lawn? or pay to imprison them?

[spacerock7]

True, it was not the way to go, poor poor Ares 1-x.

[mrmaciejm]

He is right.

NASA would spend money for improving 50years old technology instead of finding new technologies. Maybe the truth is hard, but constellation program was NOT the way to go. Sending humans on lower orbit-expensive, flying to Mars wold take months, establishing base on a moon-expensive and frankly I am glad that finally somebody made this decision.

[dks13827]

you still have to boost tonnage into LEO before you head out !! Nuclear or ION engines for Mars would indeed be fine ( in fact, the only way, is becoming apparent). Note that Bill Anders said as much 40 YEARS AGO. PHYSICS DOES NOT CHANGE.

[ironbob2008]

DUH, gee George, space are hard! So our technologically ignorant President is going to foist business with massive tax increases then tell us they'll take over the space program! Good job buying that garbage.

[TheSpaceGeek]

@ironbob2008 Well said.

[mobius1234]

where can i download (or buy) this music track?

[spacevidcast]

@mobius1234 It is called "Energetic pumping electronic club track" and you can buy it at AudioJungle . net/item/energetic-pumping-ele­ctronic-club-track/48872. However, it is designed for use in videos, so you can only buy it with a license for $12.00

[ralpher05]

lol. great reactions.

I hope somehow Orion makes it way back in the budget. Its the only spacecraft on the table that Earth has to go beyond LEO.

[sillyworx]

I was expecting a lot more rage :)

[ajcool240]

guess i have to rely on china or russia now space aint in the usa future anymore :(

[mobius1234]

@ajcool240 it is, a hiderence to it just got eliminated

[johndalymusic]

how bout a better launch system? how bout ion drive?

the chinese will go to the moon and make a moon base. soon

[dks13827]

ION drive is science fiction !! Maybe later, for deep space missions, fine.

[snoopyloopy]

ion propulsion is not just sci-fi, it's already in use in smaller satellites for altitude keeping or to get a spacecraft to a higher orbit.

[7elmig]

Care for a non-American space-enthusiast take? I watched the Apollos going to the Moon and, as a pre-teen and teen, I believed the whole bs about it all being for mankind's sake (read Frank Borman's interview to NASA's "Oral History"). No more bs. Common-sensical space exploration will either be internationally paid or non-existent. Are NASA's stated intentions worth the saliva secreted stating them? Then again, "NASA's leadership" (no money, no command) is becoming an oxymoron. Bold? Hardly.

[SlightyDisturbedNBK]

This budget will be a total disaster for NASA, I'm all for private space flight but none of them are anywhere near to putting humans in low Earth orbit let alone on or around the Moon. I don't see how NASA can move forward when they have had their wings cliped.

[dks13827]

the commercial guys can put 1,000 pounds into LEO. News flash: pounds into orbit is not easy, nor is reentry. you shall see, in about 8 to 10 years I suspect. ( I hope it is sooner, really).

[snoopyloopy]

try a little more tonnage than that (that's barely half a ton). ula, arianespace, spacex, sealaunch (landlaunch), and russia all put pretty hefty payloads up. (of course, russia and arianespace are govt-back programs but they do still sell launches as well in private sector and russians even sell rides to the iss.)

[dks13827]

I certainly didnt mean the gov. programs like Ariane. Space X, from what I can see, has done about 1,000 pounds and that is  it !!!!! Lets talk reality.

[snoopyloopy]

they may have only done 1000# so far, but i'm all for talking reality. they will be launching their first falcon 9 soon for initial testing flight which has a payload of 23000# from cape canaveral. and seeing nasa selected them to do the resupply missions to the iss starting in 2011, i don't think 1000# shots on a falcon 1e will quite cut it. so barring a catastrophic failure of falcon 9 and bankruptcy of spacex, you might as well count them in as being able to lift more than 1000#.

[mrmaciejm]

Actually I agree. Just have a look at the programs they have. They are doingPersonal flying cars... or something. And instead work, where is the biggest problem (low orbit transport) They waste money for some technology from 60s.

[U5K0]

I was hoping for a jupiter direct heavy lift variant but if we're being realistic, this is a good proposal.

ISS is facilitating a lot of important research as well as technology development and enabling unprecedented international cooperation- it deservs (on its own merits) to be kept.

Constelation was never feesable and a jupiter alternative would not solve the problem, just reduce it.

Bolden's right, the technology we have today just isn't up to the job of meaningful human soace exploration

[Buttmunch5000]

they couldnt have got rid of the ISS as other countries that were involved wanted it to continue especially russia,

the second two points about going around the solar system and new technology just seem like political speech with no clear direction , so NASA is not going to be able to get anything done.

cancelling a design that you have already tested ares 1, and the other designs that will have been in the pipeline is stupid , now THAT is wasted tax payers money!

[Derfglouglou]

Scrapping the constellation program :( How damn sad

[mevfd17]

LMAO!!!

[lestube001]

wake up space nerds.the us is in deep shit. going into to space is not cheap.only a global team will go back to the moon and then onto mars.private company's could sponsor project.like on Defying Gravity'

[FlightDirDan]

They said the same thing back in the 60s. They then realized they needed a central focusing point for this ideal. Why else do you think the Redstone, Atlas, and titan rockets were built? (hint lockheed martin and boeing)

We've had commercial space vehicles for years. What we lack now is national direction.

Also, I do recall an entire environment of socio-political troubles that existed back then. I think it was called.... Oh yeah civil rights, vietnam.Our economy grew from space program.

[Ironbob2006]

DING DING DING! And Dan gets it right! Basically he wants to cancel a vital program so he can squeeze out more money for the union thugs. Plus, it was something Bush did so he has to do away with it. What a crass and pathetic idealogue.

[FlightDirDan]

Not to mention that lovely thing called...the microprocessor. Oh and you know there's this thing they call the internet. Oh and how about satellite technology? All because of a centralized system for space exploration.

I'm just sayin.

[SuperBlorg]

@FlightDirDan Internet was developed for defense purposes.

[FlightDirDan]

@SuperBlorg I am quite aware that the internet was developed for defence purposes. Hence the creation of the ungodly ICMP (lol jk)

[Chrisjr2007]

Looking at all those polls & comments on ABC(Wrong move),L.A. Times(No 60%),Space . c o m(61% NO)..Twitter:WRONG

[Vleesball]

we need a one world government ..nuff said.

And countrys that dont listen need to get nuked..

[FlightDirDan]

Here's my reaction. I recorded it last night just after the announcement.

Yes, I am wearing my ARES Polo.