Another Missed Synergy at NASA

Synergy? I'd be happy if NASA would stick to it's original charter. Just as I've stated before, NASA is so busy trying to be all things to all people (in order to ensure funding and now be a mouthpiece for every social cause) that it is no longer relevant. A once proud and significant engineering and science organizaton dedicated to space exploration and aeronautical research reduced to a smorgasboard of competing interests.

Obama said in his campaign that he was going to "redirect" NASA. Well he has and now we have another sorry step on the path charted 40 years ago.

"...there seems to be little if any concern or coordination in this regard. And then NASA complains that the public does not understand or appreciate what it does for them. Small wonder since none of this is seemingly coordinated."

You are sure right about that! I don't think there is any coordination on the human space side. This one thing killed the Vision as much as anything. No one knew where we were going or why, but we sure had some interesting looking rockets.

The Shuttles run out soon and then no one will have any idea we're still in business.

Miles, the longer the "gap" is, the less the public will think continued space flight is essential to the nation's well being. People might well say-"hey, no manned spaceflight and the sky isn't falling, so...". NASA will slowly fade from the limited amount of news coverage. It could become a self fulfilling prophecy!

There were many years where NASA designed, developed, invented and led the aerospace industry. There was a time when NASA received royalties from Pratt and Whitney for the advancements that NASA engineers made to the JT-8D!

Now we (NASA) talks, and others do the work of inventing, discovering and engineering...

'taint politics in America great!

I agree, get off the front pages, and do the work of the Nation.

We are in the midst of a serious crisis, probably the most serious that human space flight has ever faced.

I know there have been some meetings to discuss what to do, but it sure does not seem like we are moving too quickly towards whatever that new direction is going to be.

NASA360 ... Tries but isn't what the public wants to see but, I give them props for trying to be hip..

LCROSS ... They had a perfect opportunity to grab the public's imagination and between the media's general ignorance ( calling it bombing the moon :|) and the general public's " Was that it?" reaction it did more the hurt NASA pr than help.Then they announce WE FOUND ICE! a MONTH later(sorry to little to late) the public was like " oh cool, I guess?"

LRO ... Great lunar probe the best ever! Rated at 462 gbs per day with a 100 mbs downlink you would think they would be flooding the world with new pictures of the moon! Instead pictures trickle out like an old man with a prostate problem taking a leak. I watch LRO's orbit almost everyday just to see where it is.. they release Nac images 3 months after the picture was taken if at all. Funny thing is this probe has actually lived up to all the cool CGI unlike LCROSS and is anticlimactic impact. It resolves things on the lunar surface that are amazing!Beyond human artifacts like boulders that roam the lunar surface! The ACTUAL huge boulder field that made Niel Armstrong take over and pick a better landing site! You can see tiny rocks man!Land Slides! HUGE LAVA TUBES!Yet where are the images? With LRO NASA has the opportunity to grab kids imaginations and help promote innovation just like Apollo. Sadly not the case.

NASA PR... From the best I can tell Helen Keller has been handling NASA pr for the past 20 years.To my kids I am NASA pr. Thank god for that.

Methuselah(STS) .. All you politicians ( I live in Florida) that want to keep STS on for a few more years are hurting NASA and human space flight not helping it! Its the general consensus beyond LEO is our target for the next phase of human space exploration. That isn't happening with STS. Don't get me wrong. NASA had the first and only Space Fleet ever and it has served us well for LEO kudos!. Its time to look in a different direction. That being said ,the general public seeing a capsule design being part of the "new" NASA space craft seem a little confused.