Looking Upward

On Monday, January 1, NASA administrator Charlie Bolden announced President Obama's proposed budget for the space program through 2015 and the Administration's plan for spending the money.

President Obama proposes to increase NASA's budget to more than $100 billion over the next 5 years, but his plans for spending come with several cuts and refocusing of the program's projects.

Among the projects scrapped will be the Constellation program, a research program focusing on human spaceflight technologies, most notably new spacecraft and booster vehicles to replace the 30 plus year old space shuttles and take astronauts to the moon, and ultimately Mars. Eliminating this program effectively eliminates NASA's manned flight programs to the International Space Station (ISS), the moon, and beyond.

NASA will now be focusing on other projects, including the increase of the life of the ISS until 2020, the development of new unmanned ships, and improvement of advanced robotics. Worthy goals all, but sidelining the development of actual space travel.

With the plan to scrap the out-of-date space shuttles continuing, soon the US will have no means to actually get to the ISS, their largest space-oriented commitment, other than to hitch a ride with other countries. Bolden promised that humans would "[fan] out across the solar system" with the help of "nations around the world," with little hint of which nations he meant.

In addition, NASA is abdicating its role as a developer of new manned booster and spacecraft technologies, instead relying on private companies and suppliers to come up with new rocket ideas, most notable United Launch Alliance (ULA). Although ULA has already been regularly supplying the military with new rockets, they have yet to test manned rockets as a means of space travel. The reliance is risky, and driven by the hope that private companies can move more quickly and cheaply than NASA.

Time Magazine
The New York Times

Former NASA director Mike Griffin deplores the policy, stating, "With this policy the U.S. human space-flight program is grounded indefinitely, because no date for the availability of commercial human spaceflight can be reliably predicted."

No where in his statement did Bolden even attempt to set a deadline or a concrete goal, instead just saying a lot of words that give a vague impression of the future, in which humans span the stars. That's all well and good, but nothing to inspire people like John F. Kennedy's words, "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

I agree that "mothballing" the space shuttles is the correct decision, maybe even a little overdue, since they were designed in the 50's with construction beginning in the 70's, but without a replacement program, we're basically stepping aside to let others do the exploring.

That's not right. I want to get out there, I want to go to space.

As one of my favorite people said, "With everything going on in the world today, some might applaud this approach. Why invest in space when the education system is so underfunded?
To that I would answer: 'To get children excited about learning again.'"

"I want my child looking upwards, never knowing what's there, but knowing that he can find out."