USA cuts NASA Funding?

[Pavel]

NASA has ended plans to replace its space shuttles with the new Orion spaceship by 2013. The agency said its decision was based on a lack of funding.

http://www.newsoxy.com/nasa/cuts_new...icle11073.html

NASA's first manned test flight of the Orion spacecraft that will replace the retiring U.S. space shuttles won't launch until 2014, a year later than the agency hoped, due to funding and technical concerns, program managers said Monday.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402100,00.html


I want to pay your attention that this is not some "virtual" long-term space project, like Moon or Mars program - this is something from today, which is business and military oriented for the everyday country's requests..
Looks like a very bad sign for me.

[Carlo]

Bush set high goals to NASA in 2004, specially with manned missions to the Moon and Mars. But he increased the budget slightly, so it is not surprising that NASA can't cope with these projects. And remember that the Orion spacecraft is not a completely new design, but a heavy upgrade of the Apollo capsule that took the first manned missions to the Moon. And the Ares rocket uses technologies from the Space Shuttle program (its first stage is almost identical to the booster rocket of the Shuttle) and the Saturn V rocket (it uses the J-2 liquid hidrogen engine developed in the 60's).

[Pavel]

Still, looks like in 2010-2014 period USA will stay without any space transport as long shuttle will be retired? Or I'm not getting the situation?

[Carlo]

Originally Posted by Pavel

Still, looks like in 2010-2014 period USA will stay without any space transport as long shuttle will be retired? Or I'm not getting the situation?

You are right. That is why, in this period, NASA will be using the Soyuz. They already reached an agreement with Russia on this, they will pay quite a big money.

[Pavel]

Wow. This one I didn't know.

[Carlo]

WASHINGTON, July 4 (RIA Novosti) - NASA is planning to conduct in spring 2009 the first test flight of a new carrier rocket with an advanced launch vehicle to replace the outdated space shuttle, the U.S. space agency said in a statement.

"NASA is developing new spacecraft, the Ares rockets and Orion crew capsule, to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and send them on their way to the Moon," the statement said.

The prototype rocket, known as Ares I-X, is scheduled for launch in spring 2009 before the "retirement" of the space shuttle fleet in 2010.

"The Ares I-X flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle," the agency said on its website.

NASA is planning to complete the testing of the Aries I by 2013 and send astronauts on board the new launch vehicle to the ISS in 2015. Until then crew rotation and cargo delivery missions to the ISS will be tentatively carried out by Russian Soyuz spacecraft and Progress space freighters.

Russia currently charges around $50 million for each American astronaut delivered to the orbital station.

The reusable Aries I rocket is part of the ambitious Constellation program developed by NASA to maintain a U.S. presence in low Earth orbit, to return to the Moon and establish a base there, and to lay the foundation to explore Mars and beyond in the first half of the 21st century.

A new generation of spacecraft for human spaceflight under the Constellation program consists primarily of the Ares I and Ares V carrier rockets, the Orion crew capsule, the Earth Departure Stage and the Altair lunar lander.

NASA earlier said U.S. astronauts could be back on the Moon by 2020.

[sicsok]

I spent about thirty years in (well, suburbs...) Washington DC. And I do not remember ever a moment when NASA-funds were not "cut". Standard phrase for business as usual. I admit: folks at other places may have difficulties to grasp it.
But during 1973 (Tricky Dick last ...) traffic was strange too.

[Graywo1f]

LOL!!! get out of his way!!

i dont see why so much funding keeps getting cut they could be doing so much!!!! if its because of the risks thats lame. ITS space! of course their are risks!

[sicsok]

I just said what I have seen and lived through. Not a matter of opinion or upsetness, just the facts ma'm. That doesn't mean I liked the situ any better than others did.
Furthermore: Why worry about NASA only? If the ENERGIA has been used as planned long ago-we would have space-cities up there (minima calcula), not museum and junkyard-artifacts traded.