[extropy-chat] NASA administrator says space shuttle was a mistake

Elaine Walker elaine at ziaspace.com
Wed Sep 28 20:06:50 UTC 2005


BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:

>>> Asked Tuesday whether the shuttle had been a mistake, Griffin said,
"My opinion is that it was. ... It was a design which was extremely 
aggressive and just barely possible." Asked whether the space station had 
been a mistake, he said, "Had the decision been mine, we would not have 
built the space station we're building in the orbit we're building it in."

>>> The shuttle has cost the lives of 14 astronauts since the first flight
in 1982. Roger Pielke Jr., a space policy expert at the University of
Colorado, estimates that NASA has spent about $150 billion on the
program since its inception in 1971. The total cost of the space
station by the time it's finished ~W in 2010 or later ~W may exceed $100
billion, though other nations will bear some of that.
-------------

> So, what might they have done with 25 years and 250 billion dollars?????

> BillK


Research and development with regards to humans-in-space, like they were 
supposed to!

The shuttle quickly turned into an operational venture - not research & 
development. The station has often had only two or three astronauts on it 
which is only enough to keep it in orbit and do very little science. The 
Russians are still ahead of the US (as far as experience & knowledge) when 
it comes to long term human spaceflight.

The shuttle & station use 80% of NASA's budget and that is the entire 
"humans in space" budget. Once that is freed up they can do some real 
research & development and pay for the back-to-the-Moon program (as messed 
up as it is - at least we won't be circling the earth indefinitely).

-Elaine

----------------------
Elaine Walker
elaine at ziaspace.com

Mars Projects Manager and Advocate
Space Frontier Foundation
http://www.mars-frontier.org
http://www.spacefrontierfoundation.org

Region 8 Chapters Organizer
National Space Society
http://www.nss.org

U.S. Groups Team Leader
Space Program Advisor
Extropy Institute
http://www.extropy.org

Pro-Space-Pop Music
http://www.ziaspace.com/ZIA



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