It is still unclear what will replace it and how, if at all, NASA will return to manned flights in general and reach the moon in particular * The magic word repeated by the head of NASA during his visit to Israel last week is also valid for the budget proposal: private industry
We lost the moon, but did we get the entire solar system and give the private space industry a boost?
"The budget proposed by President Obama includes the cancellation of the Constellation program and its replacement with a new approach of investing in building blocks with a greater capacity for space flights" is how the person responsible for NASA's budget for 2011 is quoted. The information on the budget published so far does not provide a specific goal for humans in space, So while there are those who see this as just a correction in direction, others see it as the end of the game and fear that with the extension of space station activity until 2020, humans will be stuck in low earth orbit for at least another decade.
According to the budget, the development of the Ares missile will be canceled, and there is currently no other decision on heavy launchers necessary to launch humans beyond low Earth orbit. NASA has been instructed to continue researching to find such tools that will increase the capacity of future space flight architectures while reducing the launch cost compared to current systems - which will almost certainly take us farther and faster into space. However, in the proposed budget, which must be approved by Congress, NASA will allocate resources to commercial space companies so that they can build systems that will fly astronauts to and from the space station. After the shuttle program ended, NASA agreed to pay Russia 50 million dollars per seat. Private companies will be able to offer a seat for less money, but their tools have not yet been tested, and certainly have not been approved for transporting people.
It is true that the Constellation program exceeded the budget and fell behind the schedules, and it also lacks innovation due to the inability to invest in new critical technologies, but the 9 billion dollars invested so far in the development of Ares launchers and the Orion passenger spacecraft and many more have been withdrawn due to the costs of canceling the contract with Boeing, ATK and Rocketdyne.
Supporters of Obama's budget proposal say that moving toward using commercial companies would create more jobs per dollar because government investment would be leveraged by millions of dollars of private investment.
NASA has already signed with the companies SpaceX and Orbital Sciences to carry out cargo launches to the space station. SpaceX is also developing a spacecraft that will take astronauts into orbit and land them back.
Although some members of Congress have said they will fight the budget proposal, Senator Bill Nelson suggests standing up and fighting for NASA and for the thousands of people who are about to lose their jobs.
The budget proposal also includes:
- 183 million dollars for the purpose of extending the life of the space station which was previously budgeted until 2016. NASA will install a new experimental facility in the station where scientific experiments will be performed and new technologies will be tested. Such new capabilities will include, among others, centrifuges to support research in the fields of human physiology, inflatable space facilities and a follow-up program to upgrade the capabilities of the space station.
- $600 million to complete the last five flights of the shuttles, and enable their safe retirement even if the schedule slips into the 2011 budget year.
- 1.2 billion dollars for the development of technologies in collaboration with NASA, private industry and academia that could spin off technologies and potentially develop new industries.
- 150 million dollars to accelerate the development of new satellites for Earth exploration.
- $170 million to replace the Carbon Mission, a spacecraft designed to identify the sources of carbon emissions and absorption, a mission that was lost when its launch vehicle exploded in 2009.
- $500 million for contracts with industry for the provision of astronaut launch services to the International Space Station, to reduce reliance on Russia and accelerate a new commercial sector that will also be a significant provider of jobs.
- Additional budgets will be earmarked for new missions to explore and understand the solar system and the universe:
- $3.2 billion in research grants and dozens of missions and telescopes that will explore the planets and stars, including a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, missions to explore the moon and two new missions to Mars.
- 14 million this year (and 420 million over five years) for missions to explore the sun, including a spacecraft that will fly through the sun's outer atmosphere to understand how it heats and how it emits the plumes of charged particles known as the solar wind.
NASA may also win a budget to discover asteroids that could cause a fatal impact on Earth. Also in the budget is an increase in NASA's participation in programs for high school studies by NASA, for contracts with aerospace companies, universities and other educational institutes.
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This is much more than public relations!!!!!! It pushes technology to develop, and to remind you the last time this happened, the United States was declared unofficially but clearly as the winner of the Cold War. Surely the computers would not be even close to the state they are in today if it were not for this investment. And a flight to Mars in general can improve tourism, technology and commerce in the USA. And if there is tourism there is work to guide tourists and if there is work there are no layoffs and the economic crisis is over, I know the system is not that simple but still at its base it can be said that technological progress equals economic growth!!!!!
http://www.pjtv.com/v/3026
send a man to the moon? He was already there, wasn't he?
What benefit would a manned flight to the moon be?
In my opinion, only public relations!
True, it is important, but it costs a lot of money.
Isn't it better to invest more in scientific research? I think so.
Obama is really without insulting - ignorant and of the people of the country!!!! Really stupid. And the head of NASA made a terrible decision, space becomes culture!
We are not yet at the stage where Virgin Galactic needs to take over the world!!!
NASA is falling apart: note also the previous article here, the title was: NASA raised its hands!!!!!!!
Nooooo!
My Future Career at NASA Stupid Obama He Ruined My Life!
I will have to work with the Chinese, I will never forget their name - bad and disgusting Chinese who destroy every spaceship they build!!!! Why??
Five months ago I sent a letter to Ova about the low budget, but he apparently needs a better clarification!!!
Yes, if they keep it up someone else might get hypophotomonstrous squipedaliophobia.
…..what? Someone had to say something stupid.
followed by commercial companies.
The future is going to look dark, just like in science fiction movies - a world that belongs to huge corporations.
People are dying from serious diseases such as cancer and degenerative diseases of the body's systems.
Research on these issues should be given first priority - even though it is less sexy.
Humanity in general and the US and its allies in particular have priorities. And what to do, space exploration in general and manned flights in particular are not high on this priority list. Let's first solve the economic problems, Islamic and global terrorism and the crisis in education and values in Israel and in the world, and then we can direct resources to research as well the space.
For 19, there is no problem to return to the moon, the problem is that there is no money.
And they proved from Mezan that man landed on the moon, so enough of this nonsense already.
It is not possible that 40 years ago with outdated technology they knew how to fly and land on the moon and today they are not able to.
It's very simple, no man has ever landed on the moon.
It was all a job in America's eyes.
Ron:
I don't have the strength for the nonsense of another truth.
If someone knows about zero gravity technology, let them use it and fly to hell.
Son, increase the budget but reduce the non-essential things that are only designed to make an impression to direct resources to essential and practical things.
Space is man's way of surviving the obligation to increase the budget
Very Good! Giving leverage to what is really important!
Hello Michael Rothschild.
Read the third page in the link I gave in response 8
(Anonymous, I forgot to write my name)
And you will receive ordered answers backed up with evidence material and ordered evidence.
who is hiding
what are they hiding
where are they hiding
And why
Someone has done some ant work here for those interested.
Very good! All the manned programs are just PR, it's time they start sending smart robots to all the stars to explore and send back data, instead of wasting time and money.
This is a mistake that shames the Constellation program on Obama
No……!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am very disappointed to hear about the cancellation of the Constellation program….
I read a lot about it and I was really happy about the plans and goals set by this program
Orion - the late
Ares 1 - Zal
Ares 5 - Zal
Altiyar - deceased
The next 10 years in space and astronomy are going to be boring without the Constellation program
It's time! In Japan, control of space has long been in commercial hands. This is a correct decision because commercial companies will make this industry much more efficient and there is nothing to worry about the presence of humans on the moon. China, India, Japan and Russia have already announced that they will send humans to the moon by 2020 and at least some of them will.
Anonymous:
When you say "have" who do you mean?
Who exactly has such an engine and why doesn't he use it?
Who needs combustion engine/rocket propulsion when you have zero gravity aircraft
50 years already?
NASA is the most expensive cover-up front in human history
They probably decided to save a little... that's also something...
http://www.emetaheret.org.il/?p=2284
The heart is missed.
This cancellation will cost more.
Leaving space open to totalitarian countries like China and Russia that will do everything in order to win the prestige of conquering space from the US.
Unfortunately, Obama is harming the status and interests of the US from a world leader to a leader. This harm not only harms the US but also us in Israel and gives a boost to countries that have been waiting for a decline in the status of the US and Israel.
In my opinion, it makes much more sense to rely on robots for these tasks, especially with the very advanced technologies that exist today and will continue to develop in the coming years, there is no reason or justification to risk human life and prepare an entire shell to protect it, something that also creates a much more cumbersome and expensive system, there is no reason Why shouldn't robots do the work, either automatically (with the help of artificial intelligence) or under control from Earth, and transmit the data back or even return physical samples to Earth, I think it's really unnecessary to send people and it also just takes away expensive budgets.
In short, a very correct decision.
This Obama is a disaster.
Private companies will surely make these processes more efficient.
At the same time, we are saddened to think that soon a man will not stand on the moon - especially now that we have found water there.
On the other hand, maybe there really is no need for a flesh and blood person. In this short and close orbit, it is surely possible to engineer some robotic mobile laboratory (like to Mars) that will go and find out more deeply the details regarding water and the possibility of life. Maybe even something that will take samples and come back here for a deeper analysis.
There is a lot of money there. We see numbers in the billions of dollars. Let's hope that in private companies, where this money really hurts the pocket if something happens to it, or then things will be more streamlined and science will progress faster as well.
Greetings friends,
Ami Bachar
I'm happy.
Private companies will do the job better.
All NASA employees will work in private companies, no need to worry
Nice...who is left to trust now...the Chinese??? Germs live...