Collective failure of the imagination
Finally, Someone at NASA Admits the Truth…
NASA Chief Technologist, Robert Braun, admitted in a interview with Physorg.com that it would be at least 10 years before NASA can develop and fly humans on a new ship.
“But with spending squeezed and NASA at odds with lawmakers over a 2016 timeframe for building a new heavy-lift rocket and crew vehicle to replace the 30-year-old shuttle program, Braun said that developing the future mode of travel could take longer than Congress, or the US public, may want to hear.
“Let’s call it — think about it as a decade if you want to put a time stamp to it,” said Braun, who gathered along with a host of veteran astronauts, politicians andspace enthusiasts at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday to witness the final blastoff for the Discovery space shuttle.”
Finally, someone there told the truth. I have been arguing for quite some time on this blog and in various interviews that when the last Space Shuttle flew, it would be at least 10 years before you would see an American astronaut fly on an American ship.
Mr. Braun does say later on (to cover his backside?) that during that ten year period, commercial space (SpaceX) would be transporting humans back and forth from the ISS, but SpaceX has admitted in their update dated January 17th, 2010, “The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to fly at least 11 more times and the Falcon 9 launch vehicle is scheduled to fly 17 times before the first Dragon crew flight.” Since SpaceX averages about 2 flights per year as they learn how to launch and fly rockets, that would mean it would take at least 8 more years before they fly an American astronaut. That’s without any problems cropping up and that’s with 6 years already invested in their program. Constellation, the real HSF that was killed by Mr. Obama, Senator Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Kosmas (fired by KSC workers November 2010 election) on April 15th 2010, would have flown an American astronaut by 2015 at the earliest.
It’s nice to know that at least someone in a senior position at NASA will tell the truth, even if it’s by accident. Shame he probably won’t get to keep his position at NASA for long for doing so.
Tags: Bill Nelson, Constellation, Human Space Flight, International Space Station, ISS, NASA, Obama, Robert Braun, space shuttle, Suzanne Kosmas
Category Space |
The preceding article was written by Greg Cecil, a former tile tech at NASA, general lay-about/ne’er-do-well and my oldest son. His articles about space flight and life in general are on rv-103.com and a good read. He is an avid space-flight supporter and welcomes civil comments.
Perhaps there might be a economic necessity for this situation, I’m thinking. Unfortunately, with all the swindling that was/is done with our economy by the wall street gang, George Dubbya’s commitment to bankrupt us playing “let’s get Saddam for Daddy” and President Obama’s stuff too, I could see how the space program might be put on the back burner for quite some time.
Shitty deal… but we’ve had some shitty things that we’ve allowed to happen to necessitate it.