NASA Unveils Sweeping New Programs For Next 5 Years 278
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that after terminating the Constellation program, which was to develop rockets to return humans to the moon, NASA has announced that instead it will focus on developing commercial flights of crew and cargo to the ISS and long-range technology to allow sustained exploration beyond Earth's orbit, including exploration by humans. 'We're talking about technologies that the field has long wished we had but for which we did not have the resources,' says NASA administrator, Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr. 'These are things that don't exist today but we'll make real in the coming years. This budget enables us to plan for a real future in exploration with capabilities that will make amazing things not only possible, but affordable and sustainable.'"
"Among the new programs is an effort known as Flagship Technology Demonstrations, intended to test things like orbital fuel depots and using planetary atmospheres instead of braking rockets to land safely, a program that will cost $6 billion over the next five years and will be run by the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Kennedy Space Center in Florida is to get $5.8 billion over five years to develop a commercial program for carrying cargo and astronauts to the space station. These new programs will be 'extending the frontiers of exploration beyond the wildest dreams of the early space pioneers,' added Bolden."
Meh (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Better space stations going a bit farther (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Inspiration (Score:3, Funny)
Money is important. I live in a country where there is so much shortage of engineers that we can just laugh and choose from whatever job we want. We are paid quite well. On the other hand, the country is full of lawyers, economists, and humanities students that just cannot get a job.
Now, suddenly, the whole society started to respect engineers, and now the girls all know that we have good salaries, and presto! -- we can have girlfriends, finally! :)
A 5 year mission ... (Score:2, Funny)
... To explore strange new worlds; To seek out new life, and new civilizations; To boldly go where no man has gone before.
Re:What's the point? (Score:2, Funny)
So lets reform welfare laws so that they only provide money and support for unemployed residents of Mars or Alpha Centauri. As lazy as they are, many welfare recipients are quiet resourceful, I bet they could McGuyver some kind of spacecraft and extrasolar tenement housing. This solves so many of our societies problems that I am amazed that we haven't pursued this before.