Is The Vision for Space Exploration Dying?

Taking it to the Streets (Space That is): Problems with NASA’s Return to the Moon Plan, Dennis Wingo, SpaceRef

“This past week has given me confirmation of something that has been a growing dread and suspicion by many of us in the space community regarding our latest return to the Moon effort. The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) is being suffocated. It is literally having the life choked out of it. …

… For all of these signals of patient ill health, the worst was articulated this week at a panel discussion as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1958 International Geophysical Year. The statement was that the VSE has failed to connect to the American people. That single sentence goes to the heart of the problem, one that is far larger than missed schedules, delayed milestones and a dearth of funding. Despite the fact that year in and year out, Americans typically support the space program by a two-to-one margin, often the rhetoric, like perception, becomes reality.”