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Culberson As Chair of NASA Fundng Subcommittee Makes Europa Mission More Likely
MarkWhittington writes: As many have expected, Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) has been elevated to chair the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, and Science. The subcommittee has charge of NASA funding, something of keen interest for the congressman, whose Houston district is close to the Johnson Spaceflight Center. Moreover, Culberson's enthusiasm for space exploration goes far beyond what would be expected from a Texas representative.
Culberson is a champion of a mission to Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Europa is an ice-covered moon that is thought to conceal an ocean of water, warmed by tidal forces, which might contain life. Using the heavy-lift Space Launch System, NASA could launch a large-scale probe to study Europa and ascertain whether it harbors alien life or not. Culberson's elevation makes such a mission far more likely to occur.
Culberson is a champion of a mission to Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Europa is an ice-covered moon that is thought to conceal an ocean of water, warmed by tidal forces, which might contain life. Using the heavy-lift Space Launch System, NASA could launch a large-scale probe to study Europa and ascertain whether it harbors alien life or not. Culberson's elevation makes such a mission far more likely to occur.
The only thing you need to know is that this guy is a big fan of the Space Launch System, perhaps the most pork fueled missionless NASA project going.
They are DESPERATELY trying to come up with a mission to justify the $18B in development costs (likely costs are $10B per launch over 4 launches for a total of $40 BILLION!)
Every failure of this program under government cost reimbursement and cost plus contracting rules results in more PROFIT to the contractors.
Meanwhile, politicians are trying to force SpaceX away from pay per performance and the low costs that come with that and the lowered risk that comes with that for the taxpayer into these cost plus contracts "to make sure they spend their money efficiently." Trust us, the last people we expect to help spend money efficiently are politicians.
Culberson's enthusiasm for space exploration goes far beyond what would be expected from a Texas representative
Okay submitter, what do you expect from a Texas representative?
Well, Louie Gohmert is at best eccentric and at worst stupid beyond belief. The fact that he keeps getting re-elected really says a lot about the voters in his district. Do a search on his name plus the words "terror babies" for one of his most, ahem, "interesting" fears. He's never gotten less than 61% of the vote while running for Congress.
Ron Paul is about as crazy as they come, unless you're a Libertarian, in which case he makes perfect sense and everybody else is insane. He's not a current member of Congress, but he inflicted his idiocy on D.C. for years. He didn't lose re-election - he simply retired or else he'd still be promoting his wacko ideas in DC today.
Sheila Jackson Lee is infamous for her use of staffers to do personal errands for her. One staffer was told by his doctor to quit or he would die from the stress. She has proposed more failed legislation than any current member of Congress according to one source. She's been in the top 3 every year in a poll of the meanest members of Congress to work for.
These are just a few of the "distinguished" representatives from Texas.