A Bold Approach for Space Exploration and Discovery

[Balstrome]

This new plan:
• Advances America’s commitment to human spaceflight and exploration of the solar system, with a bold new vision and timetable for reaching new frontiers deeper in space.

• Increases NASA’s budget by $6 billion over 5 years.

• Leads to more than 2,500 additional jobs in Florida’s Kennedy Space Center area by 2012, as compared to the prior path.

• Begins major work on building a new heavy lift rocket sooner, with a commitment to decide in 2015 on the specific heavy-lift rocket that will take us deeper into space.

• Initiates a vigorous new technology development and test program to increase the capabilities and reduce the cost of future exploration activities.

• Launches a steady stream of precursor robotic exploration missions to scout locations and demonstrate technologies to increase the safety and capability of future human missions, while also providing scientific dividends.

• Restructures Constellation and directs NASA to develop the Orion crew capsule effort in order to provide stand-by emergency escape capabilities for the Space Station – thereby reducing our reliance on foreign providers.

• Establishes the technological foundation for future crew spacecraft needed for missions beyond low Earth orbit.

• Increases the number of astronaut days in space by 3,500 over the next decade, extends the life of the International Space Station, likely beyond 2020, and enables the launching of astronauts on new vehicles from the Kennedy Space Center 1- 2 years sooner.

• Jumpstarts a new commercial space transportation industry to provide safe and efficient crew and cargo transportation to the Space Station, projected to create over 10,000 jobs nationally over the next five years.

• Invests in Florida, adding $3 billion more for the Kennedy Space Center to manage – a 60 percent increase.

• Makes strategic investments to develop critical knowledge, technologies, and capabilities to expand long-duration human exploration into deep space in a more efficient and safe manner, thus getting us to more destinations in deep space sooner.

• And puts the space program on a more ambitious trajectory that pushes the frontiers of innovation to propel us on a new journey of innovation and discovery deeper into space.

Obama Plan for Space Exploration.pdf

 

[Jabberwocky]

yay Obama!

Glad they want to do more human space missions... was afraid that the rovers would make manned space flights obsolete and too expensive.

 

[Balstrome]

Check out Mars by 2030!!

 

[Geriatrix]

Good job Armstrong and co.

 

[spiff]

about time.....so maybe now we can get a moon base too

 

[ruan567]

I'm very happy he decided on doing this - I remember not too long ago there was talk of scrapping the space program completely. Thumbs up Obama!

 

[porn$tar]

about time.....so maybe now we can get a moon base too

According to these loons, the moon is taken already.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceship_Moon_Theory

 

[Balstrome]

yay Obama!

Glad they want to do more human space missions... was afraid that the rovers would make manned space flights obsolete and too expensive.

Do we really need to loose trained astronauts for a initial mission to Mars, I think that we should only use them when we are ready to make a permabase there. We can do anything man can do with AI and robots, and not have the problem of human weaknesses

 

[porn$tar]

We can do anything man can do with AI and robots, and not have the problem of human weaknesses

Robots will take over Earth before we get to send them anywhere.

 

[Balstrome]

Robots will take over Earth before we get to send them anywhere.

Joking aside, I doubt robots will ever do that, true AI just see to far fetched, and we would know when they becam

 

[Jabberwocky]

Do we really need to loose trained astronauts for a initial mission to Mars, I think that we should only use them when we are ready to make a permabase there. We can do anything man can do with AI and robots, and not have the problem of human weaknesses

Isn`t the whole point of space exploration to boldly go where no man has gone before? Why should robots have all the fun?

 

[porn$tar]

Isn`t the whole point of space exploration to boldly go where no man has gone before? Why should robots have all the fun?

Here's a better idea, send man to Mars inside giant robots.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Here's a better idea, send man to Mars inside giant robots.

Now THAT I could live with!

 

[Crusader]

Do we really need to loose trained astronauts for a initial mission to Mars, I think that we should only use them when we are ready to make a permabase there. We can do anything man can do with AI and robots, and not have the problem of human weaknesses

Actually that was similar to the first thing I said when I read an article on the new direction for NASA. 99% of the risk will be in getting the astronauts to Mars. What's the point of having them take a 9 month trip to Mars and just orbiting round it. We've already got probes doing a fantastic job, providing high-resolution images of the whole surface. Nothing humans can contribute there.

They need to LAND on Mars and establish a base there. That's where humans are needed. The Rovers are fine, but they are slow and cumbersome and can't do everything a human could do. I read somewhere (can't find the link/book) that human explorers would be able to do the same work the Mars rovers took 2 years to do in a couple of weeks.

 

[Balstrome]

Easiest way to go to Mars, is make a ship factory between earth and the moon, and shuttle supplies up to the factory, from earth, then gravity launch these full ships to mars and allow them to crash land by the dozens, so that went the manned teams get there all the building material is already there, waiting to be used.