Comments on: NASA stimulus funding update http://www.spacepolitics.com/2009/02/09/nasa-stimulus-funding-update/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nasa-stimulus-funding-update Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway... Wed, 17 Sep 2014 13:35:41 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 By: Major Tom http://www.spacepolitics.com/2009/02/09/nasa-stimulus-funding-update/#comment-185181 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:12:15 +0000 http://www.spacepolitics.com/?p=1996#comment-185181 Even with the local JSC, KSC, and MSFC interests in play, it boggles the mind that the Senate wants to send more money down the Constellation drain with the program’s continually mounting problems.

Ares I now has stage recontact issues which, even with more scarce mass dedicated to the vehicle’s ullage and BD motors, are going to be very hard to overcome given the uncertainties inherent in any solid motor shutdown. See (add http://www):

.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/02/08/322197/stage-recontact-is-ares-biggest-performance-threat.html

And the Ares I thrust oscillation problem remains so bad that the Orion cockpit being redesigned (again) around it. Controls will have to be handheld to prevent astronauts from hitting the wrong button on a vibrating instrument panel. See (add http://www):

.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2009/02/nasa-kicks-off-orion-cev-cockp.html

Some homework on the Senate’s part would be welcome before proposing to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a Constellation program with little, if any, remaining technical, budget, or schedule viability. Thousands of jobs may hang in the balance, but they and the taxpayer are better served with a workable program than throwing dollars at a broken one — especially in a stimulus bill when Constellation spending wouldn’t contribute to the stimulus in a timely fashion anyway. Hopefully the House version prevails on this issue.

FWIW…

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