Pelosi, human spaceflight, costs and all that

I would take a wild guess that the Speaker of the House will more likely back the White House in an Obama/Bolden vs Congresspersons-from-Constellation-project-states battle over Ares I:
/-- Pelosi not a 'big fan' of manned space; Bolden and Obama meet - The Write Stuff/Orlando Sentinel - Dec.16.09
/-- House speaker questions more NASA funding, Mars trip - Florida Today - Dec.16.09

Rand Simberg thinks Pelosi has a point about costs: In Which I Agree With Nancy Pelosi - Transterrestrial Musings.

As I mentioned the other day, when it doesn't really matter, the Shelby types can protect a project like Ares I by slipping it under the radar of the other members of Congress. However, there could easily arise a situation in the next year or two where a coalition of liberal non-fans of HSF and conservative deficit hawks see Ares I as a plum target to kill and score points with a public scared about deficits and debt. This could result not with Ares I being replaced by something useful but with its money simply disappearing from NASA's budget. By blocking reforms of Constellation now, Shelby et al are exposing NASA to big risks later.

Posted 12/17/09 | 02:15:12 by TopSpacer | Filed under: Space policy

Comments

i totally agree with that. That is what the Direct (Ross) has been saying. They are playing poker with a weak hand which can could be a double or nothing and NASA space centers (incl. MSFC) could very well end up with nothing :-(

Posted by phillip at 12/17/09 03:49:44

> However, there could easily arise a situation in the next year or two where a coalition of liberal non-fans of HSF and conservative deficit hawks see Ares I as a plum target to kill and score points with a public scared about deficits and debt. This could result not with Ares I being replaced by something useful but with its money simply disappearing from NASA's budget. By blocking reforms of Constellation now, Shelby et al are exposing NASA to big risks later.

Sure, but Shelby will probably have been re-elected by this time, so it doesn't really matter to him. If Shelby gets re-elected in 2010 his senate seat will be safe for another 6 years.

Posted by Neil H. at 12/17/09 05:58:12

1) Constellation plagued with hardware issues and singled out by the Augustine panel as insolvent.
2)Augustine panel delivers Obama and the progressives exactly what they wanted..."Flex Path" a non-committal stall game to delay and leave the HSP adrift, goalless, and directionless for many years to come.
3) Obama can now cleverly allow MSP to die a slow and quiet death while giving lip service to demonstrate his continued support…what a hero!
4) Our MSP ended on December 17, 1972 AD when Cernan stepped into LEM for the last time. What we've had since is merely a facade to support entitlement pork programs. It appears that is all we will continue to have for the foreseeable future. Hopefully at least some commercial involvement will expand affording some profit, growth, experience and tech transfer to those companies.

Yes it’s a slippery slope, be carefull what you wish for …meanwhile.

Pelosi is smiling as she is sharpening her axe, another progressive victory…and perhaps in the long run it is better to simply put MSP out of its misery than to allow it to continue to degrade the contributions and accomplishments of the past.

Posted by Doug at 12/17/09 15:33:37

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