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Vision Impaired, Paul Spudis, Air & Space
"I have previously discussed what I perceive as the most significant problem with FP, namely, that it is activity without direction. The administration's budgetary version of this path confirms this perception. Much verbiage is thrown around about multiple missions to all sorts of destinations, blazing new trails with new technology, trips to Mars that last weeks instead of months, and "people fanning out across the inner solar system, exploring the Moon, asteroids and Mars nearly simultaneously in a steady stream of firsts." But nowhere in the budget documents or agency statements is there anything about the mission that we are undertaking. So we're going to an asteroid. What will we do there? Why are we going there? What benefit accrues from it?"
Plan for NASA lacks vision, editorial, St. Petersbrug Times
"But the 2,000 jobs the administration expects private companies to create in Florida under the plan is far less than the 12,000 NASA and private jobs that Florida's east coast expects to lose when the shuttle is retired."
Give NASA Back, The Crimson White
"Most importantly, this achievement of the International Space Station proves, definitively, the existence of the worlds' potential for cooperation. Nations can peacefully work together towards a common goal--not unlike, say, Obama's goal of eradicating nuclear weapons. If NASA were to go commercial, as Obama hopes, the country would lose its ownership, and cooperation between multinationals--only concerned with their bottom lines and profits--wouldn't be nearly as idealistic as the cooperation between nations we have now."
Abandoning human space flight is shortsighted, Rep. Pete Olson, The Hill
"The administration would like to foster commercial providers with our human space flight capabilities. Commercial participation is a good thing, and something that everyone agrees with, but it's simply not ready to take humans into space safely, and should not be the sole means for our country's access to space."
Space to thrive, The Economist
"Much has been made of the fact that NASA will, as a consequence of Constellation's cancellation, have to rely on private firms to send its astronauts to the international space station once the space shuttle is withdrawn. In many ways, though, this is the least interesting aspect of what is happening, for what Mr Obama proposed is actually a radical overhaul of the agency."
One step back for mankind, Financial Times
"That is what makes the debate over Constellation symbolic. The decision to abandon moon exploration has "decline" written all over it. Americans often profess astonishment that the Chinese of 600 years ago failed to take full advantage of their technological superiority. They invented gunpowder and, on the eve of Columbus's discovery of America, their ocean-going vessels were bigger and more seaworthy than Europe's."
Shuttle's end has been coming for several years. It was possible for some of that time to have extended missions or to have decided on an indefinite continuation, but it is no longer possible without developing a truly Shuttle-derived heavy lift booster, so that supply lines could be reopened. This was analyzed and identified by Augustine. NASA could have made other decisions over the last 5 years. NASA decisions were poorly made, not carefully thought out, and not adequately questioned by the NASA management that has been in place or by Congress or others. They created that current situation and not Obama or Bolden.
Constellation was a poorly laid out mission concept from the start, not meeting the requirements set out by the Vision. Not meeting even the original program requirements (which seem to change on whim). Constellation really fell significantly short of what the Vision intended.
Even this shortsighted concept was poorly implemented, wasting technical resources, personnel experience, time, and money, and as illustrated by the current situation of Orion and Ares, both still early in the design phase, neither ready to fly for many years, likely until the close of the decade, illustrates this better than anyone blogging can do.
Again the poor implementation is a result of the last 5 years of poor leadership and management first within Constellation, but then by the overseers at higher levels who failed to take corrective action when Constellation failed to make milestones.
Don't blame the poor implementation of Constellation, Orion or Ares on Obama or Bolden.
I believe that the US can have a new 'built in the USA' crew vehicle and launcher within 3-5 years, with the right people working on it. It does not need to be a $100+ billion, 10 year development effort, but it will not happen with the NASA Constellation/Orion management now in place.
There are NASA people who could have done the job but they were kept out. Several have now left the Agency for the FAA, other agencies, for teaching, and for other positions.
If you don't have and cannot put adequate NASA people in charge, then it is time to turn it over to industry, who, if there is a profit incentive, can get the job done. They will find and hire the people with the right stuff.
NASA still has some better people available, but the human space flight management has become so politicized that people are being placed based on organizational and individual allegiances and not based on past experience and success. This is what ended Constellation.
I believe that NASA is being given an opportunity with the new initiative to recover the Vision and put in place a new series of programs. But it is up to new NASA leadership, management, and support people to establish the right new track.
What Obama and Bolden are establishing is not yet the programmatic implementation. That will need to be developed. Right now we just need to reset the manner and direction in which we were proceeding and which was not getting us anywhere.
NASA human space flight has a relatively short window in which to re-establish the nation's efforts. If it fails this time, I think you can look for NASA as we know it to be split up and eliminated as a separate governmental entity.