SpaceX's Dragon capsule captured by ISS

[R.Nkolo]

Obama ... tried to scrap all human spaceflight but was unsuccessful ...

In his own words Obama about Nasa and Space.

Obama: It's Time for NASA to "revamp" its vision

http://youtu.be/FjXkl-LNAhk

At Twitter town hall, President Obama says it's time to find "the next frontier."

[GIThruster]

I have to say, whenever I see/hear Obama speak, I like what he says. He's just a completely and thoroughly likable guy.

He's also a lying sack of shit.

Everyone knows that during the primaries he proposed ending the human spaceflight program, looting NASA for $5B and giving that money to education. Everyone knows he had no intentions of building SLS or anything else--it's only being built because powerful senators have vested interests in seeing a space program. Everyone knows we are NOT investing in the kinds of next generation technologies that Obama here says we are investing in. We're simply not. VASIMR was just cut. TRITON still not funded. No serious development funds for Nautilus-X. No NASA funds going into composites research despite half a dozen companies continue on with it out of pocket since X-33 was closed down.

http://www.compositesworld.com/articles ... r-cryogens

I'm sorry but in order to have and provide "vision" you have to do more than sound good in answer to a softball thrown you by an adoring press.

[ScottL]

I have to say, whenever I see/hear Obama speak, I like what he says. He's just a completely and thoroughly likable guy.

He's also a lying sack of shit.

Personally, I'd have gutted NASA too. It's a failed branch that relies on it's 30-40 year old past successes to sustain it's current culture. Privatize the space race through a regulatory agency (NASA) and piggyback on private rockets. Seems like a cheap no-brainer to me.

[Skipjack]

All of COTS was begun in 2006. Obama had nothing to do with it. Likewise, you can't congratulate Obama for SLS. He tried to scrap all human spaceflight but was unsuccessful. Finally, I will remind you, when you say "Obama's vision was what gave us commercial crew" you are pretending once more you're an American, and you're not. Your tax dollars are not going toward COTS, so your opinion here is not required.

How many times do you need to be told that it is offensive for you to continue to pretend you're an American, and therefore your opinion matters in things that are entirely American, when in fact you are not? You have no right to criticize our Senators. Just who is it you think you are?

First of all, as of this week I am paying taxes in the US
Second, spaceflight is important for mankind and as a human, I do care about advances in it.
Third, you cant read, can you. I said that Obama DID NOT give us the SLS. I hate the SLS. It is a gigantic waste of money.
Obama never intended to end human spaceflight. How do you get that idea?

it's only being built because powerful senators have vested interests in seeing a space program.

Because powerful senators are getting paid off by ATK and other lobbies involved wiht the giant pork rocket SLS.

We're simply not. VASIMR was just cut. TRITON still not funded. No serious development funds for Nautilus-X.

Thank congress for that. They insist on wasting billions on the SLS. The money is now missing for above projects.

[R.Nkolo]

...
He's also a lying sack of shit.
...

We should stick to what the Man(Obama) actually says and does(the facts):
- VASIMR is a private project started a long time ago before Obama came to office, they have an agreement with Nasa to fly a 200KW test article to the ISS in 2014.
- SLS is a job program too expensive and like constellation will end badly
- Obama's budget proposals for nasa over the years have been steady.
- With SLS (senate launch system) you can't fund anything else (Nautilus-X).
- Over the years, all requested allocations to private space by Obama, have been cut in half by congress.

President Obama promises to veto bill that would cut NASA budget

Yesterday, President Obama declared that he would veto a bill, the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act 2013, passed by the House of Representatives due to, among other things, clauses in the bill that would cut NASA's funding. Of special concern to the president: cuts to NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which aims to have at least two privately-operated types of spacecraft flying by 2017 with NASA funding.

[GIThruster]

- With SLS (senate launch system) you can't fund anything else (Nautilus-X).

That's true. Point is that if Obama had the priorities he stated he has in the vid linked above, we would be funding TRITON and Nautilus-X instead of SLS. Obama failed to lead so the senators stepped in to protect the jobs in their states.

[Skipjack]

That's true. Point is that if Obama had the priorities he stated he has in the vid linked above, we would be funding TRITON and Nautilus-X instead of SLS. Obama failed to lead so the senators stepped in to protect the jobs in their states.

He would have loved to do that, but thanks to goons like Hutchinson, Hatch, Shelby, Wolf and Nelson, he cant.
In case you have not realized it yet, but congress is where the real power is and if they insist on an SLS over TRITON and Nautilus-X, then there is nothing Obama can do. The original plan of the administration talked about a potential heavy lifter further down the road, but wanted to have a real technology development programe for that first. It also wanted more funding for commercial crew, which congress has severely cut in order to funnel even more money to the already billions for the SLS (senate launch system). In fact it is congress that is severely cutting the budget for everything else in order to fund the SLS. The SLS is a rocket without a mission and without a purpose. It is a complete waste of money.

[GIThruster]

You have your facts slightly mixed up. OBama proposed a significant cut to NASA's budget but congress decided that wasn't going to happen. It wasn't "if they insist on an SLS over TRITON and Nautilus-X, then there is nothing Obama can do". That's nonsense you made up. If POTUS had decided to lead boldly, congress and the country would have followed him, even if it meant the new distributions of funding went to different states (which is very unlikely--FL, TX and AL get the lion's share and they're not going to move the NASA centers just because they scrap one program and start another.)

[Skipjack]

OBama proposed a significant cut to NASA's budget but congress decided that wasn't going to happen.

No he didnt. The budget proposal by the administration actually forsaw a small budget INCREASE for NASA.

It wasn't "if they insist on an SLS over TRITON and Nautilus-X, then there is nothing Obama can do". That's nonsense you made up. If POTUS had decided to lead boldly, congress and the country would have followed him, even if it meant the new distributions of funding went to different states (which is very unlikely--FL, TX and AL get the lion's share and they're not going to move the NASA centers just because they scrap one program and start another.)

Well luckily the whole SLS and NASA budget desaster is well documented. My friend Rand Simberg even made several really funny videos about the whole mess at the time. The bloggosphere was full of it.
So all you have to do is look it up.

[ScottL]

You have your facts slightly mixed up. OBama proposed a significant cut to NASA's budget but congress decided that wasn't going to happen. It wasn't "if they insist on an SLS over TRITON and Nautilus-X, then there is nothing Obama can do". That's nonsense you made up. If POTUS had decided to lead boldly, congress and the country would have followed him, even if it meant the new distributions of funding went to different states (which is very unlikely--FL, TX and AL get the lion's share and they're not going to move the NASA centers just because they scrap one program and start another.)

Obama's fault for not leading senators apposed to his ideas and in some cases vehemently opposed to anything he says? Hahahahahahaha you're funny GIT.

[GIThruster]

Scott, NASA is an executive agency. It takes all its direction from the executive branch, directly from POTUS. It is lead by a single person who is appointed by the president. If there is a lack of vision at NASA, it is directly the president's fault--not congress'.

Congress holds the purse strings, and will dicker, debate and bloviate until they get their pet issues met, but this is not what happened with the Obama administration. Obama doesn't care about the space program at all. He said this multiple times when he was first running in the primary and has clearly demonstrated lack of vision and leadership of any kind since taking the White House. Blaming the Senate is therefore misguided. It is not the Senates job to provide leadership to NASA. It is the President's job. That's part of the job description of Chief Executive.

All the Senate is guilty of is looking out for the interests of their constituents. OBama is guilty of gross negligence in his job toward NASA.

[ScottL]

Scott, NASA is an executive agency. It takes all its direction from the executive branch, directly from POTUS. It is lead by a single person who is appointed by the president. If there is a lack of vision at NASA, it is directly the president's fault--not congress'.

Congress holds the purse strings, and will dicker, debate and bloviate until they get their pet issues met, but this is not what happened with the Obama administration. Obama doesn't care about the space program at all. He said this multiple times when he was first running in the primary and has clearly demonstrated lack of vision and leadership of any kind since taking the White House. Blaming the Senate is therefore misguided. It is not the Senates job to provide leadership to NASA. It is the President's job. That's part of the job description of Chief Executive.

All the Senate is guilty of is looking out for the interests of their constituents. OBama is guilty of gross negligence in his job toward NASA.

Sorry GIT, does not compute. The president sets out a vision of what he'd like to see happen, appoints the responsible people to try to make it happen, but that doesn't mean it will happen. Obama can want and want and want, doesn't mean he'll get from those in the House or Senate. As you said they control the funding and he who controls the flow of funds, controls what really happens in the end. The only fault I can blame Obama on is not realizing sooner that the House and the Senate are worthless and his vision would not be carried out.

It's NASA though, who the hell cares? We've got SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, {insert name here}, etc. other private companies to do all the heavy lifting now at a fraction of the cost of rebuilding. NASA should become a regulatory and science endeavoring agency. Let them manage rights to space access over U.S. skies while piggybacking their science experiments at a fraction of the cost on private rockets. The private sector will innovate space technology 100x faster than NASA ever would.

[ScottL]

- With SLS (senate launch system) you can't fund anything else (Nautilus-X).

That's true. Point is that if Obama had the priorities he stated he has in the vid linked above, we would be funding TRITON and Nautilus-X instead of SLS. Obama failed to lead so the senators stepped in to protect the jobs in their states.

Once again, to fund such ideas, you have to get the House and Senate onboard. That won't happen with its current make-up.

[GIThruster]

- With SLS (senate launch system) you can't fund anything else (Nautilus-X).

That's true. Point is that if Obama had the priorities he stated he has in the vid linked above, we would be funding TRITON and Nautilus-X instead of SLS. Obama failed to lead so the senators stepped in to protect the jobs in their states.

Once again, to fund such ideas, you have to get the House and Senate onboard. That won't happen with its current make-up.

You sound like you'll defend your team to the last, Scott, but facts are facts. OBama never provided any vision for NASA. He's letting it die. The reason people call SLS the "Senate Launch System" is because they pressed for it, in the absence of anything else. Obama had the Augustine commission's recommendations and if he had had an interest, he could have started any program he liked.

Apparently golf is much more important.

[ScottL]

That's true. Point is that if Obama had the priorities he stated he has in the vid linked above, we would be funding TRITON and Nautilus-X instead of SLS. Obama failed to lead so the senators stepped in to protect the jobs in their states.

Once again, to fund such ideas, you have to get the House and Senate onboard. That won't happen with its current make-up.

You sound like you'll defend your team to the last, Scott, but facts are facts. OBama never provided any vision for NASA. He's letting it die. The reason people call SLS the "Senate Launch System" is because they pressed for it, in the absence of anything else. Obama had the Augustine commission's recommendations and if he had had an interest, he could have started any program he liked.

Apparently golf is much more important.

Ahh yes the "my team" argument. Unfortunately my team is not represented in the U.S. gov't. so I can't claim him sorry. I do like some of the things he says and does though. As per golf, it's a boring sport from a spectator standpoint.