Campaign '12

Cain repeats his criticism of Obama’s space policy

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, on the campaign trail in Georgia Saturday, again mentioned space policy, putting the blame for the current state of the nation’s civil space program squarely on the Obama Administration. The AP reports that Cain, addressing young Republicans in Atlanta, contrasted President Kennedy with Obama, calling Kennedy a “great leader” for pushing to send humans to the Moon while criticizing Obama for “canceling a major part of our space program.”

Cain also criticized the administration for forcing the US to rely on Russians to access the ISS for at least the next several years. “I can tell you that as president of the United States, we are not going to bum a ride to outer space with Russia,” the AP quotes Cain as saying. “We’re going to regain our rightful place in terms of technology, space technology.”

The AP article does some factchecking, noting that the decision to retire the Space Shuttle dates back to 2004 and President George W. Bush. However, it’s not clear that Cain was referring to the decision to retire the shuttle, as the quotes in the article don’t explicitly mention the shuttle, only that President Obama had canceled “a major part of our space program.” While Obama did not cancel the shuttle, he did announce plans to cancel Constellation in February 2010, a decision affirmed by Congress in the NASA authorization act of 2010. Cain also did not discuss what he would do differently if elected president: “Cain did not explain how he thinks the United States should explore outer space and did not take questions from reporters afterward,” the AP article noted.

This is not the first time Cain has made such comments. Speaking in Alabama a couple weeks ago, Cain also blamed President Obama for having to “bum a ride with the Russians”. Last month he also vowed that he would “relaunch our space program” to eliminate reliance on Russia, but in neither case discussed any details about how he would do that.

48 comments to Cain repeats his criticism of Obama’s space policy

  • ROBERT OLER

    Cain is running a campaign which is geared to a non intellectual base which wants to see the world as it suits them not as it is. In their world America is this giant teenager doing one stunt or military action after another to prove, in absence of substance that it is great.. And that is why Amon/mars/ something race has enormous appeal to his base. And of course Obama is responsible for everything bad and bush did nothing goofy.

    This plays to the ever isolated GOP base but it’s clear from the 2011 election reults that base is only so large but it is the nominating force today in the GOP

    As I have said for sometime Cain, and newt should be taken seriously as alternatives to Willard. Mitt cannot move above 25 percent or so, the rest of the GOP field is fading..and it will turn to a two person race someone and Willard soon.

    Gingrich is going to get a second run at it as I have been predicting here and at other places..

    Cain will flounder in a general though. His “facts” can’t prevail past the GOP base and unlike the GOP base in the general facts matter.

    Cains space comments are like the rest of his statements just baseless..

    If Herman really cared about space politics/policy. He would have one of his own… He doesn’t

    RGO

    Sent from my IPAD

  • Ben Russell-Gough

    A Presidential term is four years. I admit to being interested to see if he really could get a US-indigenous crew launch capability operational by 2016 and, if so, how much it would cost an already debt-ridden country to do so.

  • Doug Lassiter

    According to Mr. Cain, we should regain our rightful place in believing illusions about affordable space transportation architecture. There aren’t many countries that are capable of believing the illusion we once believed in. American exceptionalism demands that we return to believing these illusions, Mr. Cain seems to be saying.

    “Bumming a ride” we most certainly aren’t. We’re paying for that ride. Does Mr. Cain not understand that? It’s a shame that we have to pay another country for a ride, but we’re certainly not bumming anything. We’re paying full cost (and probably somewhat more). Oh, I get it, it was just a joke.

  • Majormajor42

    “Obama also blamed President Obama…”? Jeez, get in line and wait your turn, Obama.

    There’s a pretty good chance that commercial crew will launch by Nov 2016, that’s five years from now. In a game of reverse hot-potato, whoever is sitting in office next term can declare themselves the victor! As long as they, or congress doesn’t scrap the program.

  • Coastal Ron

    You would think that Cain should be a staunch Commercial Crew supporter, since it encompasses all the things that he and the Republican Party supposedly support (i.e. private industry not government, competition vs government-run, lower cost vs government bloat, etc., etc.).

    I doubt we’ll hear him actually come out and say that though, since it was Obama that has actually pushed for CCDev funding, and no Republican likes to publicly agree with Obama, not matter how right he may be.

  • SpaceColonizer

    Crazy thought:

    Maybe Cain knows enough about space policy that he thinks if he just leaves NASA alone and lets current policy continue, American commercial options WILL be ready by 2016. Then he can claim credit because he said he’d do it! I mean, c’mon… if he’s going to blame Obama for something something the previous president did, he just might be crazy enough to try and take credit for something the previous president did.

    I hope he’s daring the media to get him started on space., I really do. If he drops it one more time I can see it coming up in a debate. Would love to see the question posed to all the candidates, too.

    Say… you know what I think might get a space question asked at a debate? Maybe? If Obama were to give a policy speech on the subject. Why not sign this petition so we can find out:

    wh.gov/boF

    We need to get 150 signatures for it to become publicly searchable. We have until Dec. 9th to get 25,000 signatures. If you believe that the commercial crew program is a great investment, then ask yourself why it’s not worth a few minutes of your time to try and get out president to push harder for it.

  • Mark R. Whittington

    Actually Newt Gingrich has publicly agreed with Obama, at least on the commercial space subsidies. Of course he also once supported cap and trade…

  • Mark R. Whittington

    As for Cain, the only aspect of his statement that bears criticism is his blaming Obama for the space shuttle cancellation. Everything else is spot on.

    Oler should be ashamed of himself, by the way. I suspect that he doesn’t realize that Cain was actually a rocket scientist employed by the Navy, a service he once claimed to have the rank of Captain in. Hardly an anti intellectual, IMO.

  • Coastal Ron

    Mark R. Whittington wrote @ November 12th, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    Oler should be ashamed of himself, by the way. I suspect that he doesn’t realize that Cain was actually a rocket scientist employed by the Navy…

    Actually no one but you “realizes” that, since it’s not true.

    Cain work for the Navy when he had a B.S. in Mathematics, doing work as a ballistics analyst. He stopped working for the Navy after he finished his Masters in Computer Science. Maybe you could call him a “Ballistic Scientist”, but not a rocket one.

  • amightywind

    Nice post on slashdot for Mark Whittington. Cain’s strong words give me hope that the nightmare of Obama, Holdren, and Garver’s stewardship of NASA will soon be over.

    The AP article does some factchecking, noting that the decision to retire the Space Shuttle dates back to 2004 and President George W. Bush.

    Its Bush’s fault! You forgot to mention that President Bush planned to shutdown ISS by 2015 and have the Ares I/Orion flying well before that date. Cain is spot on in his criticism of NASA’s feckless policy and irresponsible reliance on Russia.

  • ROBERT OLER

      Mark R. Whittington wrote @ November 12th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
    As for Cain, the only aspect of his statement that bears criticism is his blaming Obama for the space shuttle cancellation. Everything else is spot on.

    Oler should be ashamed of himself, by the way. I suspect that he doesn’t realize that Cain was actually a rocket scientist employed by the Navy, “/////

    Herman was no more a “rocket scientist employed by the Navy” then you are someone who can read..BUT thanks for making my point

    You (and the majority of the GOP base are more then happy to see the world and events and people as you want to see them not as they really are. Herman was a ballistics analyst. Only you turn that into rocket scientist, goofy.

    What I wrote is not that Cain is anti intellectual WHAT I WROTE is that Herman is running a campaign to a base that is anti intellectual. This is a base that believes lots of WMD was found in Iraq, that Obama is the one that shut down the space shuttle or that Cx was viable or affordable. You think that it was even after spending three times what the actual Gemini program did.

    But you believe what you want to ..

    Robert

  • Coastal Ron

    amightywind wrote @ November 12th, 2011 at 6:59 pm

    Its Bush’s fault!

    Call it what you want, but undeniably it’s a fact – unless, apparently, you’re Herman Cain.

    You forgot to mention that President Bush planned to shutdown ISS by 2015 and have the Ares I/Orion flying well before that date.

    Everyone knows that, along with knowing that Michael Griffin ignored that date and pretended that taxpayer money grew on trees. A bipartisan Congress didn’t like what he had done with the Constellation program, so they agreed to kill it. Don’t you hate it when Republicans agree with Obama?

    Cain is spot on in his criticism of NASA’s feckless policy and irresponsible reliance on Russia.

    Considering that the Ares 1/Orion combo was mismanaged by Griffin so much that it wouldn’t have been ready to support the ISS until AFTER we had sold it to China, it would have been pretty useless.

    So far all Cain has offered is rhetoric, and no plan or even suggestions. If he wants to support private industry and getting NASA back in control of it’s astronaut transportation, then he should come out loudly for Commercial Crew. Anything else will just be politics as usual.

  • By the end of January, Cain will be finished, so we can ignore him and get on with the real candidates.

    In any case, space issues will mean nothing during the Republican primaries and caucuses. The candidates will go into Huntsville and Houston and Brevard County to smear Obama, they’ll drop vague hints that they’ll bring back Constellation and Shuttle, but outside of those relatively small population areas no one gives a fig about NASA.

  • With the exceptions of Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, Republicans traditionally view NASA as a branch of the military. And Republicans rarely vote against spending more tax money for the military.

    If Obama wanted to change Bush policy and continue the Shuttle program, he had plenty of time to do so. But he chose not too.

    The fact that Obama’s lack of vision for NASA (particularly his harmful words about returning to the Moon) and its relatively tiny budget has allowed Republicans to portray his support for Commercial Crew development as anti-NASA in the critical swing State of Florida has to be one of the dumbest political decisions of all time. Listening to his science adviser, Holdren, on this issue could cost Obama re-election. And running against the space legacy of John F. Kennedy is always bad politics for Democrats.

    Its going to be a very close election. And the vote in Florida itself will probably also be pretty close. So Obama needs every vote he can get in Florida including every vote he can get from Florida’s Space Coast. But if Obama loses Florida, he probably loses the election which was also the case for Kerry and Al Gore in previous elections.

    With all of the enormous economic problems that Obama has, it would be extremely ironic if Obama managed to lose the election because of his lack of vision for a spaced program with a relatively tiny budget that’s probably the easiest thing for him to solve on a bi-partisan basis with the least amount of Federal expenditures!

  • ROBERT OLER

      Marcel F. Williams wrote @ November 12th, 2011 at 9:03 pm

    Its going to be a very close election. And the vote in Florida itself will probably also be pretty close. So Obama needs every vote he can get in Florida including every vote he can get from Florida’s Space Coast. But if Obama loses Florida, he probably loses the election which was also the case for Kerry and Al Gore in previous elections.”

    Why do you keep repeating analytical bs?

    There is not a single (or it’s very few) people/persons who did not vote for Obama in 08 who would vote for him today or in12 based on his space politics policy…and there are as many people who will not vote for him in 12 because of his space policy who were inclined to vote for Obama anyway. There is not a single poll that lends credence to your statement. It’s goofy.

    RGO. Had a great time at the Marine Ball in Vegas
    And got some good space tours briefings

    SENT FROM MY IPAD

  • ROBERT OLER

      Stephen C. Smith wrote @ November 12th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
    By the end of January, Cain will be finished, so we can ignore him and get on with the real candidates.”

    Stephen

    Hmm maybe but not so sure I agree with tha.. It will depend on how Cain rides out the sex charges..the GOP only cares about character it seems when it is an issue with Dems. …

    I don’t know if Cain will survive but I am not so sure he won’t..it is possible that newt is going to get a second run at it(I’ve thought he might all along). Newt has ideas and ideals. I don’t agree with them but he does have one thing the rest of the GOP field lacks…well maybe two

    He has a realization that the Government needs to be reorged in a serious manner, a notion of what things are possible, (ok three) and some serious thoughts about how to do it

    His NASA notions are illustrative of this ..a nd Newt is. Today a far better pol then he was in the 90s and might be positioning himself well.

    Cain has mostly the very unsophisticated basis of the GOP base going for him..it is going to be fascinating to watch the anti Willard..I still think Willard is next but we could be witnessing the breakup of the GOP with a move toward a base candidate…and defeat in e general..RGO

    SENT FROM MY IPAD

  • Coastal Ron

    Marcel F. Williams wrote @ November 12th, 2011 at 9:03 pm

    If Obama wanted to change Bush policy and continue the Shuttle program, he had plenty of time to do so.

    Griffin had already warned the Congress prior to Obama taking office that the production lines for the Shuttle were already shutting down, so no, Obama could not have just “snapped his fingers” and kept the Shuttle flying – there would have been at least a two year gap.

    And what would we need the Shuttle fleet to do? It’s a great jobs program, but there would have been no payloads for it, and no programs to support.

    You’re just saying nonsensical stuff again.

  • Marcel F. Williams wrote:

    Its going to be a very close election. And the vote in Florida itself will probably also be pretty close. So Obama needs every vote he can get in Florida including every vote he can get from Florida’s Space Coast.

    That’s nonsense.

    The Space Coast is overwhelmingly Republican conservative. It’s a Tea Party hotbed.

    In 2008, McCain beat Obama 54.6% to 44.2% in Brevard County — that’s ALL of Brevard County. Go into north Brevard County, which is the most right-wing part of the County, and I’m sure the numbers will be higher.

    Outside of north Brevard County, nobody in Florida cares about NASA. Within north Brevard County, those people already hated Obama four years ago so there’s nothing to lose here.

    As for those few thousand who lost their space worker union jobs — jobs they were told by President Bush in 2004 they would lose once the ISS was finished — many of them have moved away so they’re not here to vote Republican again.

    A lot of space worker union people here in north Brevard County have a bloated sense of self-importance, that comes from years of telling each other they’re better than everyone else. The notion that they’ll decide the national election is just part of that delusion.

  • John

    Either way, Cain needs to stop complaining and offer a plan for space exploration and a plan to revamp NASA. Everyone knows what Bush, Obama and Congress did but that does not solve the problem. Stop whining and step up to the plate.

  • amightywind

    And what would we need the Shuttle fleet to do? It’s a great jobs program, but there would have been no payloads for it, and no programs to support.

    Two flights a year would have supported the ISS entirely. It was easily performing the mission that CCDev will struggle to perform. If you back ISS, it is hard to fathom how you could be opposed to flying the shuttle for a few more years, even unmanned.

    has allowed Republicans to portray his support for Commercial Crew development as anti-NASA in the critical swing State of Florida has to be one of the dumbest political decisions of all time.

    Agreed. With this and other decisions he has made aboutthe economy, Obama has proven that he is an ideologue to the core. The GOP must take advantage of his abandonment of Florida.

    in 08 who would vote for him today or in12 based on his space politics policy

    Obama will now likely and unnecessarily lose northern Florida. Recall that the region delivered victory to our man President George W. Bush in 2000.

  • Coastal Ron

    amightywind wrote @ November 13th, 2011 at 11:48 am

    Two flights a year would have supported the ISS entirely.

    The Shuttle could carry 9,000 kg of cargo in the MPLM, but at a cost 4X higher than the CRS program. Have you no regard for money?

    And it’s amazing that someone that claims to be a free-market person wants to perpetuate government jobs so much.

    Bush called it right, and the Shuttle has now retired gracefully. Time for the next generation of space vehicles.

  • With the exceptions of Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, Republicans traditionally view NASA as a branch of the military.

    Nonsense.

  • Jim Nobles

    SLS would do little for the economy or the future of America. Commercial Space, if it takes off (ha) has the potential to kick start a whole new industry with America in the front. That’s the way to do it.

    If they must have the SLS Workfare project then let them have it. Or at least try to keep it. Let the Pharohs build their pyramid. It’s probably going to be a waste of money. Or mostly a waste anyway.

    But do try to support the Commercial Space efforts. It obviously has far more to offer America.

  • @Coastal Ron:

    Yeah, Obama was definitely the first President to jump on that whole commercial launch bandwagon.

  • Coastal Ron

    Prez Cannady wrote @ November 13th, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    Yeah, Obama was definitely the first President to jump on that whole commercial launch bandwagon.

    I wouldn’t say that, and in fact I haven’t.

    Regarding modern day commercial space activities, I’ve been consistent in pointing out that Bush/Griffin got Commercial Cargo off the ground (which annoys certain people that want NASA to do everything), but they didn’t do anything to push Commercial Crew. Obama can take credit for that part.

    If Cain wants to finally stop politicking and start talking about solutions, the fastest and least costly U.S. solution is to back Commercial Crew. I don’t know if he’ll make it far enough in the primaries where he’ll be able to put out a coherent space policy, but so far he’s “all hat, no cattle”.

  • pathfinder_01

    Prez Cannady wrote @ November 13th, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    “Yeah, Obama was definitely the first President to jump on that whole commercial launch bandwagon.”

    Actually it was:

    Regan who signed the commercial space launch act of 1984 which enabled private companies to own and launch rockets. Also a ban on the shuttle doing commercial satellite launches post challenger. With that NASA was out of the commercial launch business. The shuttle wasn’t developed to be a just a manned spacecraft for HSF but to be a spacecraft that would launch everything. By the 80ies it was clear that the shuttle was a disaster in terms of cost (expendables where cheaper and more reliable).

    Bush I who signed the Launch Service Providers Act. Which requires NASA to buy its launch services from the private sector (i.e. No more space probes launched from the shuttle.).

    Bush II created the COTS program and COTS-D would have been manned capability. However thanks to CXP , NASA needed all the money it could get (and then some) and did not invest in COTS-D. Senator Nelson wanted COTS-D by the way. However COTS B (pressurized cargo launch and disposal) and COTS-C (Pressurized delivery and return) are going to be handled by Dragon and Cygnus. Cygnus also has COTS-A (unpressurised cargo delivery and disposal) ability.

    Obama who pushed commercial crew.

    SLS really goes against about the last 20 years of NASA policy. The only reason why the shuttle got out the 80ies was inertia. It was the only manned spacecraft and we spent a lot of money developing and no one wanted to cancel it.

    It is strictly NASA HSF that refused to go commercial until forced. The ISS would have been launched a heck of a lot faster if the shuttle didn’t do about 8 cargo runs with the MPLM and it would have been able to remain fully staffed post Columbia if the shuttle were not the only means of the US launching supply. Apparently the private sector which launches billion dollar satellites could not be trusted to deliver food and water to the ISS!

  • E.P. Grondine

    Translating from fantasy land, “Obama shut down a major part of the space program” is their way of saying that the Congress realized that Ares 1 was a crummy rocket from a crummy company. As a ballistics expert Cain probably realizes this, but he’s looking for points to run on.

    I always asked you here how you though ATK would fare under Romney. Cain is going for the VP slot.

  • Dennis

    Well Russian rockets are back on track as they lofted a new crew to the ISS, I guess to wait for SpaceX and Dragon. NASA said it still needed more programing from SpaceX before they okay the COTS flight. Cant wait to see what happens. Either commercial will be vindicated or desecrated.

  • Coastal Ron

    Dennis wrote @ November 14th, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Well Russian rockets are back on track as they lofted a new crew to the ISS, I guess to wait for SpaceX and Dragon.

    No, they are not “waiting” for SpaceX and Dragon. The Dragon COTS 2/3 flight is just one of many work tasks that the ISS crew has in front of them.

    Cant wait to see what happens. Either commercial will be vindicated or desecrated.

    So if SpaceX has a minor malfunction and they don’t dock with the ISS, you think we should cancel the whole COTS/CRS program? Call up OSC and tell them “sorry, since SpaceX didn’t finish their C2/C3 milestone we’re canceling YOUR contract“?

    Did you feel the same way about NASA after the Apollo 1 fire? The Challenger accident? And the Columbia accident? Do you give up this easily in your life? Weird.

  • Das Boese

    Dennis wrote @ November 14th, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Either commercial will be vindicated or desecrated.

    You keep repeating this statement despite continued attempts to explain to you why it is complete and utter nonsense.

    It’s a test flight. If something goes wrong, they will fix it, which is the entire purpose of testing.
    A child can understand this, why don’t you?

  • Dennis

    Come on now, it isnt that simple. I agree it is a test flight, but if it fails who isnt going to point a finger and say SEE we told U so! That has nothing to do with a child like outlook, but instead human nature. Believe me I wish them only success and probably more than U.

  • Dennis

    come on again, U guys look at all the experience Russia has and they have lost their Phobos probe. Those Gremlins get in somehow. No I do not think SpaceX should quit if this COTS flight has a failure. They should push on and I only hope them the best.

  • Dennis

    U know, they should sell bonds, to help support a space program. Like US savings bonds, Id buy. Keep them until they mature and meanwhile the money goes into a vibrant space program.

  • Coastal Ron

    Dennis wrote @ November 14th, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    Come on now, it isnt that simple. I agree it is a test flight, but if it fails who isnt going to point a finger and say SEE we told U so!

    People can point fingers all they want, but that doesn’t change the fact that the COTS program won’t be canceled if SpaceX or OSC have a flight failure. NASA doesn’t pay for the failure, the companies do, so the U.S. Taxpayer is not out much.

    This is related to the “Albrecht: NASA has become a “risk-averse feudal empire”” post, in that you are feeding the fear of failure, which is part of the reason NASA has become “risk averse”. “Failure is not an option” may be the motto for a NASA mission when it’s in progress, but “learning from failure” for everything else has to be acceptable if we are to attempt bold things.

    Nevertheless, if to want to indulge in public angst and handwringing maybe you should be posting to the “Space Worrying” blog instead of “Space Politics”…

  • DCSCA

    Last line in the AP story in the local paper says Cain blamed Obama for cancelling the shuttle when, of course, the program was terminated by Bush. Cain experienced entry interface about a week ago and has been ablating support as his campaign vehicle descends in an uncontrolled reentry. Drogues are due to deploy around Thanksgiving with main chutes around New Years and splash scheduled for the day after the Iowa caucuses.

  • josh

    the same cain that can’t explain his own 9-9-9 plan (“nein nein nein!!!”), that harassed half a dozen women and whose campaign put out the creepy campaign ad with the sleazy chain smoker in it? why are we even discussing this? cain is in the race for the money, his ‘positions’ on the space program (and anything else for that matter) are completely irrelevant.

  • DCSCA

    @Coastal Ron wrote @ November 14th, 2011 at 1:05 pm

    “No, they are not “waiting” for SpaceX and Dragon.”

    Tick- tock, tick-tock, in fact, the terrain of HSF is in the process of passing them by– leaving SpaceX’s play for commercial HSF in the ‘backwash’ of space. Some lead. Some follow. Master Musk simply is getting (or rather being pushed) out of the way.

  • Frank Glover

    @ Costal Ron and Space Colonizer:

    “You would think that Cain should be a staunch Commercial Crew supporter, since it encompasses all the things that he and the Republican Party supposedly support…”

    One wonders if he’s even *aware* of Commercial Crew.

    As for criticizing Obama for “canceling a major part of our space program,” he seems to be among those (some of them right here) whose logic says he effectively ‘canceled’ the Shuttle (and, sadly, the Shuttle *was* ‘the space program’ in the eyes of many) by *not* reversing the Bush cancellation…

    @ Denis:

    “Come on now, it isnt that simple. I agree it is a test flight, but if it fails who isnt going to point a finger and say SEE we told U so! That has nothing to do with a child like outlook, but instead human nature.”

    Sadly, Denis has a point, here. Far too many people have lost sight of the notion of ‘testing,’ and that it means sometimes breaking something (sometimes even intentionally testing to destruction), learning from it, and trying again. Just ask Blue Origin. It’s no wonder they plan to say very little until they have finished products to present. And those who are already critics of SpaceX *will* have a feeding frenzy over even a minor failure that prevents docking…

    “U know, they should sell bonds, to help support a space program. Like US savings bonds, Id buy. Keep them until they mature and meanwhile the money goes into a vibrant space program.”

    And every other government agency will say; “Hey, why not me too? What makes NASA so special as to get this separate revenue stream?”

    I assume that’s the entity you expect to give us this ‘vibrant space program,’ anyway. If not, then who?

    ‘A space program’ is a vague thing that means whatever the speaker wants it to mean/thinks it means. (and, partly for that reason, a phrase I’d like to see us move away from) There never *has* been an item in the Federal budget by that name, you know.

  • vulture4

    The Space Coast is heavily Republican. It’s interesting that they do not blame Bush for cancelling Shuttle but they blame Obama for not restarting it. If they supported Bush’s original decision, they should applaud Obama for not reversing it. .

    However the truth is that Obama had no choice. It was not just a matter of delay; . As long as the Shuttle was flying, it cost relatively little to continue it and it made sense to continue until a replacement was operational. But by 2008, restarting Shuttle would take years and suck up the money that was needed to start a new human launch program. The loss of the original tooling and suppliers meant that the sunk costs would have to be spent again.

    Sandy Adams recently made a speech taking credit for the investment being made in commercial crew, a program she opposed. She did not mention that the Administration had anything to do with it. All that counts on the Space Coast is politics. Logic is not the issue.

  • Robert G. Oler

    DCSCA wrote @ November 14th, 2011 at 4:46 pm

    Drogues are due to deploy around Thanksgiving with main chutes around New Years and splash scheduled for the day after the Iowa caucuses.”

    so you dont think Herman is going to win the Iowa caucus? Who do you think will RGO

  • wodun

    Obama could have easily kept the shuttles flying if he acted decisively after being sworn in. When given the opportunity, he opted to keep Bush policies in place, just like he has on so many other issues. I for one am glad Obama followed Bush’s lead with CCDEV.

    Perhaps one of these days, someone who writes about space for a living will actually talk to one of the candidates instead of relying on the AP or some equally unknowledgeable news organization to ask the right questions.

    Remember that whatever ignorance Cain or anyone else has is filtered through the ignorance of the journolister asking the questions.

  • Byeman

    “Master Musk simply is getting (or rather being pushed) out of the way.”

    You have no proof of this. Your view through the knothole and your interpretation of what you see is not reality and is actually, very far apart. Since your only source of info is from the internet, you don’t have a clue what is really going on.

  • wodun wrote:

    Obama could have easily kept the shuttles flying if he acted decisively after being sworn in. When given the opportunity, he opted to keep Bush policies in place, just like he has on so many other issues. I for one am glad Obama followed Bush’s lead with CCDEV.

    You have no clue what you’re talking about.

    The government stopped making external tanks in 2008, before Obama took office. The Obama administration looked at what it would take to restart the assembly line. It would have been three years to produce another tank, and meanwhile NASA would have spent $3 billion a year paying the standing army of contractors to sit around polishing the chrome.

    This also overlooks the basic fact that the Columbia Accident Investigation Board concluded in 2003 that the Shuttle is “a complex and risky system,” which is why the Bush administration decided to shut it down once the ISS was completed. Shuttle had already killed 14 people. CAIB recommended safer and more efficient systems, a recommendation adopted by Bush and continued by the current administration.

  • Robert G. Oler wrote:

    so you dont think Herman is going to win the Iowa caucus? Who do you think will

    The Iowa caucus usually goes to the candidate who can best organize his/her people to turn out and vote. They don’t go to polls. They usually go to a home, school, church, whatever.

    Does Cain have any kind of effective organization on the ground in Iowa? He strikes more as a guy who’s out for publicity than someone capable of organizing an effective political campaign.

  • Robert G. Oler

    Dennis wrote @ November 14th, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    come on again, U guys look at all the experience Russia has and they have lost their Phobos probe. >>

    they dont have all that much experience with long lived uncrewed vehicles…I cant think of a GLONASS or WX sat of theirs that has lasted longer then Phobos had to last to complete its mission. US satellites are quite long lived. commercial and government. RGO

  • Robert G. Oler

    Stephen C. Smith wrote @ November 15th, 2011 at 8:31 am

    normally what you say is accurate…but this year is very very strange in the GOP nomination field. There is the standard establishment candidate, Willard and then their is the candidate of the “base”. Normally this person would lose; but Willard is so unliked and the base of the GOP has shurnk to such a small exclusive club, that they might be able if they can concentrate on a single candidate to have a “base candidate” be competitive.

    it is going to be fascinating to watch the next two to three weeks…If Newt is going to become the anti willard candidate; he will do it then. And in my view he has a good chance of doing that. Herman’s performance with women is not all that important in the GOP ranks…but he is starting to flounder in regular events…like the recent interview on Libya.

    Robert

  • Dennis

    Man all I ve got to say is alot of U guys will be eating crow if Obama is re elected. At least our space program is stll moving forward, with yes money going to commercial, perhaps not as much as we would like, and yes Orion is still being built and readied for a test flight again yes on a Delta. Who knows how this will all work out, but in the end I think we will stll have a space program. Until then we must share our seats with Russians and whomever else can pay their way. Cant blame the Russians for attempting to make a buck, now can U. Isnt that free enterprise?

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