The first step, I think, is to sideline the politicians and careerists and put the dreamers back in charge. Those who believe have generally produced better results than those who count beans through history anyway.
The problem really is not “bean counting.” One constantly hears “Give us more $’s and we can accomplish xyz and zyx…” But recent history proves otherwise with this agency. $16B a year carries a responsibility to the funding taxpayers. Just because other organizations don’t produce is not an acceptable excuse for a once proud agency to make it’s mantra.
One needs to retool the front offices with visionary leaders…to get visionary yet achievable programs. If the front office is not being retooled… then perhaps congress does not want the effective NASA of yore, but a “device” that will redistribute that $16B where congress wants, how congress wants and without much benefit for the taxpayer sponsor. Because of congress, NASA may be past its’ prime.
A sad commentary on the state of space exploration today. Unfortunately, NASA hasn’t ever put forth a credible long-term plan for human exploration that is compatible with what the public is willing to invest. It has devolved to nothing but a jobs program.
You forget that the public has yet to show any long term interest in space exploration. NASA shares some of the blame for the current state of affairs but so also does the public and their elected officials.
Mosty to blame are the elected officials and a Public System that encourages pork spending, with companies being encouraged to lobby to help their bottom line. I think NASA has done a great job concidering the environment in which they live. NASA has found a way to help game changing R&D after all 🙂 25 hours to go to the next big Cots NASA flight 🙂
I think the film makes a valid point with an astronaut who cannot speak clearly to the public. NASA gets $16B every year. That’s real money even today. We even have a major advantage over NSF in that we can produce practical technology.
We need realistic planning, affordable costs, and long-term vision. We need to serve real customers in industry and the public, not just other NASA programs.If we are going to have human exploration, we need to know the cost, and who is going to pay for it, and why.
If we want programs to be supported with tax dollars we need to explain directly to the public why they should pay higher taxes to support them instead of getting tax cuts. We can’t do expensive things just because we think they’re cool or because they create jobs in some congressional district.
NASA has no plan at all for Human Space Flight. Read the recent Houston Chronicle series on NASA, aptly titled Adrift: http://www.houstonchronicle… Especially look at the comments of the long time NASA HSF leaders, Kraft, Thompson and others. They have lost hope in NASA leadership, rightly so I’d say. A lot of people say that the NASA leaders just do whatever Congress tells them. It never worked that way in the past. It was ALWAYS NASA LEADERSHIP that figured out a path forward and then ‘sold’ it to Congress, the President and the People. I think the current NASA HSF leadership has been a dismal failure.
Too bad Elon Musk does not see value in going to the Moon in as much as SpaceX is making outstanding progress towards space industrialization. Working on the Moon will achieve space infrastructure and continuous operations that is considerably more feasible in the short term then a perpetual colony on Mars.
At any rate, I predict private enterprise will return to the Moon and as a result of those activities, people as part of a work force, will return some time later. Automation first, then people is how the Moon will be populated. I predict automation will be established in 20 years and a manned ( this includes women by definition ) presence, in 40 years. So somewhere around 2050 to 2060. Alas, I will be 100 years old by then.
The first step, I think, is to sideline the politicians and careerists and put the dreamers back in charge. Those who believe have generally produced better results than those who count beans through history anyway.
The problem really is not “bean counting.” One constantly hears “Give us more $’s and we can accomplish xyz and zyx…” But recent history proves otherwise with this agency. $16B a year carries a responsibility to the funding taxpayers. Just because other organizations don’t produce is not an acceptable excuse for a once proud agency to make it’s mantra.
One needs to retool the front offices with visionary leaders…to get visionary yet achievable programs. If the front office is not being retooled… then perhaps congress does not want the effective NASA of yore, but a “device” that will redistribute that $16B where congress wants, how congress wants and without much benefit for the taxpayer sponsor. Because of congress, NASA may be past its’ prime.
A sad commentary on the state of space exploration today. Unfortunately, NASA hasn’t ever put forth a credible long-term plan for human exploration that is compatible with what the public is willing to invest. It has devolved to nothing but a jobs program.
You forget that the public has yet to show any long term interest in space exploration. NASA shares some of the blame for the current state of affairs but so also does the public and their elected officials.
Mosty to blame are the elected officials and a Public System that encourages pork spending, with companies being encouraged to lobby to help their bottom line. I think NASA has done a great job concidering the environment in which they live. NASA has found a way to help game changing R&D after all 🙂
25 hours to go to the next big Cots NASA flight 🙂
I think the film makes a valid point with an astronaut who cannot speak clearly to the public. NASA gets $16B every year. That’s real money even today. We even have a major advantage over NSF in that we can produce practical technology.
We need realistic planning, affordable costs, and long-term vision. We need to serve real customers in industry and the public, not just other NASA programs.If we are going to have human exploration, we need to know the cost, and who is going to pay for it, and why.
If we want programs to be supported with tax dollars we need to explain directly to the public why they should pay higher taxes to support them instead of getting tax cuts. We can’t do expensive things just because we think they’re cool or because they create jobs in some congressional district.
NASA has no plan at all for Human Space Flight. Read the recent Houston Chronicle series on NASA, aptly titled Adrift: http://www.houstonchronicle… Especially look at the comments of the long time NASA HSF leaders, Kraft, Thompson and
others. They have lost hope in NASA leadership, rightly so I’d say. A lot of people say that the NASA leaders just do whatever Congress tells them. It never worked that way in the past. It was ALWAYS NASA LEADERSHIP that figured out a path forward and then ‘sold’ it to Congress, the President and the People. I think the current NASA HSF leadership has been a dismal failure.
Too bad Elon Musk does not see value in going to the Moon in as much as SpaceX is making outstanding progress towards space industrialization. Working on the Moon will achieve space infrastructure and continuous operations that is considerably more feasible in the short term then a perpetual colony on Mars.
At any rate, I predict private enterprise will return to the Moon and as a result of those activities, people as part of a work force, will return some time later. Automation first, then people is how the Moon will be populated. I predict automation will be established in 20 years and a manned ( this includes women by definition ) presence, in 40 years. So somewhere around 2050 to 2060. Alas, I will be 100 years old by then.