You do realize that people drawing pensions now are the ones that were working back in the 60’s/70’s during Apollo and so are the very ones in your mind who made this country great, right?

So, you will be taking pensions away from people like Neil Armstrong.

CCDev certainly was supposed to go into third rounds at the end of this year, though not sure what became of it in the regime of continuing resolutions and following this brouhaha.

AARP would eat you alive.

Really. DoD has plenty of lobbyists and can, well, defend itself.

NASA, however, doesn’t need to put put into a position where it even *seems* to be trampling on the elderly.

“Over 200 SRBs have performed flawlessly since then.”

Then how come they kept flying with ice chunks smacking the orbiter on take-off?

The CAIB had it right when they said that the Shuttle was still an experimental vehicle. The SLS, if it ever gets built, will be in the same situation since NASA has not addressed the fundamental reasons leading up to the Challenger and Columbia accidents.

Instead of relying on a government-run rocket that has no backup, we need to be relying on the open market. Capitalists recognize this, but apparently you don’t.

“You aren’t an engineer, are you?”

Luckily not a software one like you. I’m a manufacturing professional, so I look at the costs of things, and that’s why I know that the SLS will be the worst financial diaster in NASA’s history. It will be the end of NASA’s HSF efforts.

The SLS must die in order for NASA to live…

“The ET program manager @ MSFC – not retired. gone” and not one of the people who made the bad decisions.

“FYI I knew a few of the 14 killed on Columbia and Challenger. No one wanted them killed.”

Lots of laugh. Linda H babbles that all the time as does any small child who does something wrong and most people convicted of every crime… “I didnt mean to do it” as if that is suppose to make us all feel better and do a “V8″ slap and say “wow that all makes it better go and sin no more”

But of course old Linda didnt want to miss her T times.

“Challenger happened after let STS. Columbia when I was working ISS. Had I been a part of STS I would have spoken up. Some did! Remeber that! SOME DID!”

And were ignored…my point exactly

“I have been @ STS and ISS FRRs when the question is asked “is anyone not ready to go”.

Of course more babble “anyone can stop a launch just raise their hands”. it is almost Casablanca like “Sorry Rick I just discovered gambling is going on here I have to shut you down…..your winnings Major”

I am sure in the little cubby holes of MOD and other places people really do believe this RGO

That doesn’t say much as CMMI is mostly useless. The Shuttle flight software group was no doubt very good however. Was, since they’ve apparently been let go.

The SRB joint issue was addressed in 1987. Over 200 SRBs have performed flawlessly since then. Give it a rest. The Space Shuttle Flight software group had the highest CMMI rating possible. Flight software is one of NASA’s great strengths. You aren’t an engineer, are you?

“I have been @ STS and ISS FRRs when the question is asked “is anyone not ready to go”.”

The problem is the NASA doesn’t know how to build and run a transportation system in the first place. It’s not part of their charter, and it’s not what they are staffed to do. Saying “no” may stop a bad launch, but there are a vast number of bad decisions that should have been addressed years before that point.

Why did the SRB’s have cold sensitive joints? Why is it that ice chunks are still striking the orbiter on every launch? Why is there bad software in an operational vehicle? These are not launch day decisions – they should have been addressed years earlier.

NASA does unique missions better than anyone else. But that culture is not the right culture for doing everyday routine tasks safely. Stop forcing NASA to do things that it doesn’t do well.