Its kind of difficult to develop the Altair lunar lander with– no money! And its kind of difficult to develop a heavy lift vehicle to take you to lunar orbit with– no money! If you check the NASA budget, you’ll see that there’s been no serious funding for the development of the Altair or the Ares V. Its all gone to the Ares 1 and to the Orion and continuing to fund the current space shuttle and ISS programs. So NASA has been pretty much funding its return to the Moon program with high hopes– but with hardly any cash.

“When Constellation came online, NASA was supposed to find a way how to do exactly this.”

They did! They were going to cancel the current shuttle program in 2011 (saving them $3 billion a year) and cancel the ISS program in 2016 (saving them $2 billion a year). But all of a sudden, no politician or space veteran wants to cancel anything! So if they want NASA to do it all then they have to give NASA some– do it all money!

NASA’s big mistake was taking the risky chance of trying to put a manned space capsule on top of a brand new solid rocket booster. Both ideas were totally unnecessary expenditures.

After Bush canceled the X-33 program in 2011, NASA should have gone immediately with a Shuttle C or DIRECT type of shuttle derived concept. If we had, we’d probably already have our new heavy lift vehicle to return to the Moon and our replacement shuttle.

Clearly the United States Government and the US Military, in particular NASA, have been actively obstructing civilian and commercial space flight for years.

1. Trying to fund the replacement for the shuttle program
2. Continuing to fund the current shuttle program
3. Funding an international space station ”

When Constellation came online, NASA was supposed to find a way how to do exactly this. O’Keefe’s spiral was the BEST approach. Griffin’s ESAS was a suicidal gamble. NASA chose. That is a FACT. Period.

“NASA had a budget during the Apollo era that was almost twice as much as the NASA budget is in today’s dollars and they only had to do one thing– go to the Moon!”

Irrelevant and it’s not coming back. Nor would it make any difference. Cash is not the answer to every and any thing. Get over it.

Sorry, its not hard to send people back to the Moon. But it is hard to send people back to the Moon while also:

1. Trying to fund the replacement for the shuttle program
2. Continuing to fund the current shuttle program
3. Funding an international space station

NASA had a budget during the Apollo era that was almost twice as much as the NASA budget is in today’s dollars and they only had to do one thing– go to the Moon!

It is rather tragic that you keep trying to insinuate that it is a functional vehicle.

Two great passes of Oscar 7 tonight.

Robert G. oler

How much did that baby cost do ya think?

Yeah digging and dumping dirt that weighs six times less than it does on Earth is real hard:-)..

if that was the sum of it…but now for reality…no bulldozer in the world works at the temperature extremes on the Moon…now for the power source…show me something that can equal a cat diesel and we can talk

Robert G. Oler