NASA Blames Congress for American Dependence on the Russian Space Program

[GhostZ06]

The American space program has technically been defunct since 2004, but our astronauts are still on the ISS as a result of a tenuous arrangement with Russia, who allows us to use their space shuttles. This week, NASA administrator Charles Bolden sent a testy letter to Congress, stating that NASA was extending their contract with Russia once again. We will pay them $490 million for ISS missions, for the simple reason that lawmakers aren't giving NASA enough funds to maintain their independence.

Human spaceflight and exploration are important activities for this Nation. The broad scope and bold goals of our human spaceflight program set our Nation apart from all others. Human spaceflight is both an exploration program beyond low-Earth orbit comprised of the Space Launch System and the Orion crew vehicle as well as the ISS and the private sector crew transportation systems necessary to support our research and technology development on the ISS

 

[andnowweknow]

The fact NASA has been gutted is a national travesty. It should be funded...and funded well. Our priorities are way out of wack.

Our future is in exploration and knowledge... Not weapons we'll never use and bloated self serving beurocracy.

 

[Natty Dread]

Unreal that Nasa isn't funded as it should be.

 

[jefferz]

Great video with Neil deGrasse Tyson on NASA and future funding.

 

[Nihongi]

U.S. Politics treat space exploration more like a dick measuring contest and less like the scientific enterprise it should be. But don't worry, if China plans on putting a man on the moon by 2025 we'll put one up there by 2022, always gotta one up the competition and all.

 

[Thunderflash500]

When you read what could have been accomplished with money spent on the iraq war it just hurts your brain. We could have funded a generation of students to get degrees. We could have done so much for science. But instead we spent it on death.

 

[second sight]

When you read what could have been accomplished with money spent on the iraq war it just hurts your brain. We could have funded a generation of students to get degrees. We could have done so much for science. But instead we spent it on death.

the US spent $664.84 billion on "overseas contingency operations" ...that was for one year, after the Iraq war. The Iraq war cost 1.7 trillion over 7 years, times 670 billion times 7 years

 

[Adamant]

The fact NASA has been gutted is a national travesty. It should be funded...and funded well. Our priorities are way out of wack.

Our future is in exploration and knowledge... Not weapons we'll never use and bloated self serving beurocracy.

Could not agree more.

NASA needs to be brought back to prominence how it was under JFK and Reagan. Back then, NASA inspired a nation, brought about innovation, exploration, and imagination.

As it is now, no one thinks about or gives a shit about NASA. It's so fucking sad.

 

[no fat chicks]

ugh, just so much ugh. I can think of a thousand things being funded that are not worthy of nasa

 

[SouthoftheAndes]

The fact NASA has been gutted is a national travesty. It should be funded...and funded well. Our priorities are way out of wack.

Our future is in exploration and knowledge... Not weapons we'll never use and bloated self serving beurocracy.

Well you have to look at it like this. What is more important bringing peace to the world and setting up a more integrated system in which we can get a long or funding space explorations which do NOT address the current day to day problems on earth?

Weapons have a purpose as do much else we spend on. NASA can wait.

 

[GhostZ06]

So stupid, that they bitch about how evil Russia is, but we pay them our money to take us to the space station? The most advanced nation in the world and we can't build our own fucking rockets? And we still have no space shuttle or any replacement ? Congress bitches about our space program not being logical for america, yet they just saw an asteroid that was worth 1.5t that we could mine for pressures metals fly over, an they still don't rush to develop a more robust space program to figure out how we can mine and set up lunar city's? The reason WHY we are so powerful is because our space dominance, yet they pretty much are throwing that advantage down the toilet. Absolutely fed up with how are congress does this.

 

[octopus]

Well you have to look at it like this. What is more important bringing peace to the world and setting up a more integrated system in which we can get a long or funding space explorations which do NOT address the current day to day problems on earth?

Weapons have a purpose as do much else we spend on. NASA can wait.

Omg.... Funding space explorations can lead to discovering alternative/abundant sources of energy... Why do we fight wars?

 

[second sight]

So stupid, that they bitch about how evil Russia is, but we pay them our money to take us to the space station? The most advanced nation in the world and we can't build our own fucking rockets? And we still have no space shuttle or any replacement ? Congress bitches about our space program not being logical for america, yet they just saw an asteroid that was worth 1.5t that we could mine for pressures metals fly over, an they still don't rush to develop a more robust space program to figure out how we can mine and set up lunar city's? The reason WHY we are so powerful is because our space dominance, yet they pretty much are throwing that advantage down the toilet. Absolutely fed up with how are congress does this.

you might better read up on this

 

[GhostZ06]

Well you have to look at it like this. What is more important bringing peace to the world and setting up a more integrated system in which we can get a long or funding space explorations which do NOT address the current day to day problems on earth?

Weapons have a purpose as do much else we spend on. NASA can wait.

See rods of god, and the Black-swift space shuttle, project lunex, Project Horizon, also the Solar energy, lunar water, Space-based materials processing. Your acting like this wouldn't benefit the US at all. We can fix the stuff on earth, and work on space colonization which would be VERY beneficial. Do want me to go threw the large amounts of military applications we could gain from this?

 

[Sunni and Shia]

Don't forget the recent INSANE donation to SETI, $100 million over 10 years...from a russian investor!

Edit: Im not contrary to your point and not trying to be (realized my comment could be misinterpreted). Just though it was interesting with the relying on russians angle

Edit 2: Ive had the pleasure of working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena 4 times (installing big ass lab equipment my company makes). The lab ive worked in the most is working on materials that, when you power them, get warm on one side and cold on the other. This tech can be used to make seat-chilling in cars! It's already in use in space for cooling internal parts by the external heating of the sun!

 

[JDragon]

The fact NASA has been gutted is a national travesty. It should be funded...and funded well. Our priorities are way out of wack.

Our future is in exploration and knowledge... Not weapons we'll never use and bloated self serving beurocracy.

Well said.

 

[PEB]

the US spent $664.84 billion on "overseas contingency operations" ...that was for one year, after the Iraq war. The Iraq war cost 1.7 trillion over 7 years, times 670 billion times 7 years

Keep selling wolf tickets second sight about the Iraq war costs. You could put up every chart ever produced about costs of the war and anyone with any common sense knows it's BS. The war costs are far higher then just equipment and dropping bomb costs.

This does not even cover the costs of taking care of 38,000 returning servicemen with health issues "conservative number". Top it off on going war costs and keeping increasingly larger footprint in Turkey and Iraq to boost support in the region.

The larger number is around 4 to 5 trillion dollars actual costs if not more. Nevermind keeping 2 to 3 aircraft carrier groups in the Straits of Hormuz 24/7 at 80 to 90 million a day.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

Republicans don't like NASA reporting facts. Climate change is very real and is almost exactly what Al Gore said it was. Those pieces of shit don't like to hear that.

 

[Adamant]

Republicans don't like NASA reporting facts. Climate change is very real and is almost exactly what Al Gore said it was. Those pieces of shit don't like to hear that.

 

[andnowweknow]

Republicans don't like NASA reporting facts. Climate change is very real and is almost exactly what Al Gore said it was. Those pieces of shit don't like to hear that.

it's real my good man, but I'd say there are some huge question marks over the nature of the anthropogenic role in it. Climate history, VERY RECENT climate history, suggest it's much more prudent to have an open mind here. Humans always put themselves at the center of everything, we certainly add to the carbon footprint and we are affecting climate change, but given the history of this planet (a very clear record we have) we should probably stop with pretending we're for sure the major culprit there. This debate is pretty far from over for anyone who has actually looked at the research and how the climate has changed without human interference on a large scale.

Anyone, most republicans it so happens, that either denies the climate is changing or that we influence it in any way is admittedly uneducated on the topic or plain disingenuous. Another thread.