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International Space Station: Canada to the Rescue?
Apostata writes "The following story from the Globe and Mail outlines a proposal of the head of the Canadian Space Agency to seek renewed funding for the recently stripped-down NASA budget for the ISS. He makes an interesting point that - contrary to the belief that the ISS is a NASA brainchild/braintrust - many countries have poured $billions$ into it's development and should thus have a say in whether there should be any cutbacks.
Read all about it here."
And don't let America's generosity in the past get in the way of financing these things in the future yourselves. We have to let you sink or swim on your own at some point. Don't worry, we'll be right next to you the whole way.
Welcome to the new NASA. Dubya is dumping Golden (love him or hate him, he WAS an engineer) to bring in a guy that is 100% bean counter. From a recent newspaper article (I think Houston Chronicle):
""...No one really knows what a finished station would cost. NASA said earlier this year that it faces a $4.8 billion shortfall over the next five years. Sean O'Keefe, nominated by President George W. Bush to become NASA administrator, testified Friday that he had no confidence in that number or any other estimate he had heard so far.
At the close of the hearing Friday, Mr. O'Keefe was asked an open-ended question: "What is your vision?"
.
Mr. O'Keefe spoke for several minutes about "prudent management principles," reinvigorating "the entrepreneurial spirits" of NASA, the importance of collaboration with other elements of the federal government, the need to be mindful of safety and the possibility of taking advantage of this moment when NASA is at a crossroads.
.
He did not mention space."
The different parts that were to be supplied by the nations involved in the ISS were agreed in a treaty document signed by all members. So far the US has reneged on this deal in three areas :
1)The crew return vehicle
2)The engine necessary to sustain the orbit of iss (instead we're relying on the shuttle for this)
3)The number of supply flights
I haven't heard of anybody else not supplying what they agreed to (sure the russians were late with one component but they came through in the end). So therefore the concerns raised by Canada, Japan & Europe seem to be valid.
Why should the other nations pour more money into it when they've already seen their scientific programs destroyed by the US dragging their feet.
If we want the lead role on this project it's we're going to have to pay the price for having the lead role.
> But to those who believe in the right to bear
> arms up here - we can't.
We can bear arms. We don't consider it some sort of fundamental right. What, exactly, about being human confers the inalienable right to posses objects whose primary purpose is to kill other humans? You may want that right, but that doesn't mean the majority of people agree with you.
> To those who believe
> that we have freedom of speech? Freedom of the > press? Not in Canada. The government can
> censor you if they so choose.
What in the gibbering fuck are you talking about?!
From The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.
Read it yourself
Kyoto was never ratified by the US Senate, the landmine treaty was never signed AFAIK and certainly was never ratified, and the ABM treaty had provisions for withdrawl which were followed.
I don't agree with all of the steps Bush has taken, but he hasn't violated any treaty.
Good luck starting a station with Russia, BTW. Their inability to complete on one of the huge ISS modules is a big reason why the project was overbudget and FUBAR, and why it's biting NASA in the ass now.
What a joke. Nothing, and I mean absolutely NOTHING, is preventing Russia, China, Canada, Japan, et all from doing this RIGHT NOW. It's easy to kick the US when we're in a recession, involved in a war and just suffered billions in unilateral damages; and yet we are still the major funding for the ISS. I would be overjoyed if other nations would actually DO something other than bitch, like you seem content to do. Russia, for their part, have done extraordianary things with ISS (not to mention Mir), and I applaud them.
Legislation in the USA changes from year to year just like in other nations, Everyone Knows Best(tm) how to spend the GNP, and NASA is just one such agency. Personally, I would love to fund NASA much more than it currently is funded, but I live in a democracy and I realize that my priorities don't coincide with many other Americans (much less with Canadians or Japanese). In short: there is no conspiracy, we don't rise every day thinking "How can I screw the rest of the world" -- the reality is quite the contrary.
The sad thing is, in other forums we hear the exact opposite, but coincidental rant: "Why does the US spend so much god-damned money on NASA, they should be spending all that money on AIDS research" or the ever-classic "The space program just pollutes, we could spend that money on more green technologies that will benefit everyone." It is tiresome, to say the least.
The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.