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NASA's Cashflow Problem Puts Moon Trip In Doubt
krou writes "According to the Guardian, the Augustine panel is going to declare that there is simply no money to go back to the moon, and the next-generation Ares I rocket is likely to be scrapped unless there is more funding. The $81B Constellation Program's long-term goal of putting a human on Mars is almost certainly not going to be possible by the middle of the century. The options outlined by the panel for the future of NASA 'are to extend the working life of the aging space shuttle fleet beyond next year's scheduled retirement until 2015, while developing a cheaper transport to the moon; pressing ahead with Constellation as quickly as existing funding allows; or creating a new, larger rocket that would allow exploration of the solar system while bypassing the moon.' All of this means that NASA won't be back on the moon before the end of the next decade as hoped, 'or even leaving lower Earth orbit for at least another two decades.' Another result of the monetary black hole is that they don't have the '$300m to expand a network of telescopes and meet the government's target of identifying, by 2020, at least 90% of the giant space rocks that pose a threat to Earth.'"
... how much could it cost to rent a hollywood studio and some video equipment for a day?
It's in Congress' collective pockets. And going towards fruitless things like corporate bailouts.
I propose a new tax. Hear me out please. Every time a white boy is raised in a loving home in suburbia and thinks he's a bad-ass, hard-ass street thug because he listens to top-40 rap on MTV and carefully rehearses his Ebonics until he speaks like someone who grew up in the Projects, tax half of his income. Put that money towards NASA. There's so many of these otherwise useless bastards that it should take about one year before we have a McDonalds on fucking Mars.
I'm sorry kids, I know I promised it to you, but we're not going to get to go to the moon anytime soon.
(Pause for "Awe but..." and whining)
You see, the thing is, we're on hard times here. The country's not what it used to be. We just don't have the money right now to spend going on trips to the moon and such.
So keep up those grades and -- if you're good -- maybe we'll go to the moon in ten years.
"...irresponsible spending of President Obama and his fellow Democrats."
"Please don't toss out "Iraq""
I'm going out on a limb and saying you're a Neocon or a douche bag.
$4 trillion dollars and counting for the Iraq war. Yeah no one will miss $4 trillion.
$2 trillion for the Wall Street bailout.
Negative job growth.
Yeah George W. Bush did a heck of a job!
Yup, douche bag.
On the other hand, NASA's current budget could definitely pay for a TV studio and competent special effects people. I'm just sayin'...
http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
That's surprisingly insightful.
Add sterilization to the package and we will also have smart people flipping burgers on the martian McDonald's.
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
It seems that if we managed this 40 years ago, we should be able to do it again without making it sound so difficult
Yessure, but don't count on Coppola this time: he's living with E. Presley his golden retire.
I've been waiting for them to make Capricorn 2 for years. I mean they sort of implied it when they called the first one Capricorn 1. Of course, I hear O.J. Simpson won't be available for filming this time.
http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
Roombas in space! And they could clean up all the junk in orbit!
Putting the "anal" back into "analyst"...
I'm sorry, but any solution that kills Bruce Willis but allows Ben Affleck to live simply cannot be allowed to happen.
nobody seriously objects because nobody seriously believes the space elevator could be built anyway
You're talking to a message board that sometimes has very earnest debates about the physics of Star Trek.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.