NASA and Space Station Alliance On Shaky Ground 73
coondoggie writes "Even as the latest shift of astronauts arrived at the International Space Station, challenges with the orbital outpost on the ground are threatening its future. Those challenges include the pending retirement of the space shuttle but also the way NASA and the ISS are managed. A report issued this week by the Government Accountability Office said NASA faces several significant issues that may impede efforts to maximize utilization of all ISS research facilities."
SpaceX to the rescue (Score:5, Interesting)
Current estimates suggest they will lower the cost of cargo to the ISS from $46,000/kg to $20,000/kg. The Dragon capsule will serve as a lifeboat too, increasing the number of crew that can be permanently stationed at the station.
Re:No human spaceflight can't help (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, NASA always has the option of building an alternative launch system [directlauncher.com] for a lot less money than the ARES craft. The beauty is that all of the engines are already built and tested, and the J-130 can loft about 30-40 metric tons of payload (say, an MPLM [wikipedia.org] along with the Orion module.
Re:No human spaceflight can't help (Score:4, Interesting)
jpmorgan, you need to keep up on the news, good and bad
"Reporting on a White House and NASA meeting last Wednesday, sources say that the President has decided to give NASA an additional $US1 billion in 2011. The extra funding will serve to create a new heavy lift rocket, as well as to increase the fleet of satellites controlling Earth’s land, oceans and atmosphere.
The objective is to have the heavy rocket ready for a 2018 launch"
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/12/obama-gives-nasa-bigger-budget-backs-new-rocket-cancels-ares-1/ [gizmodo.com.au]
Can't agree with tomhath either, looks like this administration is willing to invest in the future
The first two points (Score:4, Interesting)
The first two points in the article cancel each other out. To paraphrase, they are:
1. It costs too much, so no one flies experiments, and
2. There are too many experiments for the crew to handle.
No one goes there anymore, it is too busy. -- Yogi Berra
If the ISS is kept running for 5 years, we will get more out of the fifth year than we did the first year. If it is kept running 10 years, we will get more out of the 10th year than the 5th year. Launch cost will be dropping regardless of the fate of Ares, and as current research opens up new research the demand for space launch capabilities will increase. Remember, in the absolutely most boring future, the Russians could build a second Progress assembly line. The probable success of SpaceX just makes that better (notably in the "return of material" area.
Now, is any of this worth it? That's more of a policy decision than a technical one. I think it is, half for the science and half for the global cooperation required. Remember, this International Space Station represents the efforts of 2/3 of the planet (land area-wise, heh, not population). When is the last time that has happened without there being a war in progress?
Re:No human spaceflight can't help (Score:3, Interesting)
its time to INNOVATE and IMPROVE technology not be like the USSR and just keep using the same thing day in and day out never improving
Then Ares should be nixed as well. My view is that the problem isn't the insufficient sexiness of the technology, it's the feeble economics of space launch especially as practiced by NASA. The single most important economy of scale is launch frequency yet NASA has yet to use that economy of scale.