Comments on: House appropriations committee to review NASA this week

By: Ferris Valyn

Ferris Valyn — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:21:17 +0000

I agree with Space Cadet.

The way you have a positive effect on an agency is to start by figuring out what you really want that agency to do. Get smart, intellegent, and able leadership, get a realistic budget needed to do so, and then spend the money. Assuming an automatic budget decrease (or increase for that matter) will have a positive effect is expecting to get blood from a stone.

By: Space Cadet

Space Cadet — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:02:29 +0000

Budget cuts don’t have positive transformative effects on an agency. If anything, they tend to make it more disfunctional rather than less, as the agency generally isn’t allowed to or willing to descope its mission in the same proportion to the budget cuts. They end up promising to do the same job or a tiny bit less with much less resources. The prospect of layoffs causes the loss of the best people in the organization, as everyone in the organization looks for other jobs but only the best are successful in finding them in a difficult job market.

As an example, see the message some members of the authorization committees sent back to NASA in response to their report on heavy lift, essentially: You don’t get the message, we want you to lie and say you can build X capacity with Y $ on Z schedule. We don’t care if you succeed; we just want to keep the money flowing to our states and districts.

By: Ben Russell-Gough

Ben Russell-Gough — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:47:23 +0000

@ Justin Kugler,

It’s quite simple. Almightywind’s view of NASA is that its only proper function is launching astronauts on BFRs to the Moon and elsewhere. All other projects are ‘non-core’ and should be transferred to the NOAA and others.

By: NASA Fan

NASA Fan — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:01:42 +0000

We’ll see this coming Monday, the 14th, what the President has in store for NASA as that is the date for release of the White House’s 2012 Budget. In addition, watch the FY 2011 CR process for budget cuts as well. Between the two of these budgets, I expect more than HSF is going to get whacked.

By: James T

James T — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 02:06:09 +0000

I’m afraid I have to agree that I would welcome a NASA budget cut, assuming that it would cause the end of the SLS. It really is a rocket to nowhere, without any defined mission beyond ISS crew transportation, which will be available for less by the private sector by the time any HLV could be completed. Focusing on technology development will open doors not available to us now, making the next generation of missions possible. Let’s start doing more with less so we can do much more with more.

As has been said before… it’s going to be a wild year.

By: Justin Kugler

Justin Kugler — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:14:17 +0000

Peter, I do actually agree that a budget cut may be what NASA needs to transform itself and get back out ahead. I just don’t find that at all congruous with amightywind’s stated support for the BFR approach to space exploration.

By: sftommy

sftommy — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:10:14 +0000

Cut NASA’s budget and give it a mission?
as opposed to…
Increase NASA’s budget and give it a mission to develop commerce’s access to LEO and to study earth’s climate?
***************
That line of reasoning ends with cutting NASA and rolling all space dollars into DoD missions, where HSF has no justification. T-Partiest might even fund space-dev at that level.

By: Peter Lykke

Peter Lykke — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 21:10:57 +0000

@Justin
Much to my surprise I find that I agree with almightywind here: NASA needs a big cut and a clear mission. And the reason why? Then, and only then will Congress understand that things have to change. The Apollo/Gemini way of operating has to change.
And sadly, a lot of good people will lose their job. There is nothing to be done about that, I’m afraid.

But look at it this way: It must be hell working in NASA now. You work your butt off, and all you can hear is people screaming “Pork”!.

Anything will be better than continue this calamity an extra couple of years.

By: Michael from Iowa

Michael from Iowa — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 21:07:44 +0000

NASA’s overarching goals are clear – a new focus on technological development, cooperating with commercial space to facilitate the growth of an American spaceflight industry, and once a suitable replacement for the shuttle is developed reaching out to new destinations, it’s just the details that need to be worked out.

This is a crucial time for NASA, the last thing they need right now is cuts.

By: Space Cadet

Space Cadet — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:56:59 +0000

Space Blahger

â€œWelcome NASA folks. Thanks for attending this committee hearing. Now letâ€™s talk about how you are spending the money we intended to send you, but never got around to appropriatingâ€¦.We see nothing has happenedâ€¦what is wrong with you people!?”

Great comment!

Sadly, no joke though. I’ve been in just that situation, chewed out for not making progress with funding that hadn’t arrived yet.