WM – good eyes, Bill, but I think Charlie “Pat” Vick spotting the N1 launch tower was the first public break.

pathfinder – My current guess is that China will go for fly-back re-usability to lower launch costs, and a modular architecture.

V4: You mean the peasantry that engaged in over 80,000 protests over the sale of their land to developers with inadequate compensation? Seriously, spend some time there. China is a complex country and for us to commit the majority of the NASA budget to a symbolic attempt to re-enact project Apollo because of a simplistic perception of China as another USSR would be a terrible mistake. We won’t get the money back.

Bush managed to kill all US human launch for a much greater period with no complaints from Republicans.

So you don’t think we’ll have commercial crew by 2013? It’s been a while since grade school, but I think 4 is bigger than 2.

Bush failed to fund Constellation or even discuss its real cost, even when the GOP had both houses of Congress.

Is that a bad thing?

Romney laughs at the very idea of moon colonies and plans to radically slash government spending.

So let me get this straight. Beijing, despite her decade long statements of intent and success in meeting every milestone along the way, isn’t committed to putting men on the Moon, but Romney–whose laid out no specific plan to cut outlays–will “radically slash government spending.”

They strived, so therefore they met the requirements of the law. Guess no one is going to jail.

Precisely what point are you trying to make?

“President Obama signed a major NASA act today (Oct. 11) that turns his vision for U.S. space exploration of asteroids and Mars into law.

The signing makes official a NASA authorization act that scraps the space agency’s previous moon-oriented goal and paves the way for a manned mission to an asteroid by 2025. A manned mission to Mars is envisioned for some time in the 2030s. “

It is my understanding when a new President issues their national space policy it over rides the previous national space policy?

I don’t think space policy “laws” carry a whole lot of weight. NASA is MANDATED, by law, to utilize to the maximum extent possible all commercial services. They are also supposed to actively look and try and create commercial providers. This has been an official law for NASA since 1984 and congress has routinely ignored it for three and half decades and have keep the pork train fully funded that whole time.

Bush managed to kill all US human launch for a much greater period with no complaints from Republicans. Bush failed to fund Constellation or even discuss its real cost, even when the GOP had both houses of Congress. Romney laughs at the very idea of moon colonies and plans to radically slash government spending.

“Public Law No. 109-155.”

Did you read it? It says:

“(2) MILESTONES.—The Administrator shall manage human space flight programs to strive to achieve the following milestones (in conformity with section 503)—

(A) Returning Americans to the Moon no later than 2020.”

They strived, so therefore they met the requirements of the law. Guess no one is going to jail.

Would have been nice to put Michael Griffin on the stand though to find out why he was so incompetent managing the Constellation program…

What law? Can you point to the legal code for it?

Public Law No. 109-155.

“VSE remains law, Obama’s managed to kill any substantive progress towards lunar return for almost four years.”

What law? Can you point to the legal code for it?

Regarding Constellation, Griffin gets credit for mismanaging that thing so badly that the peoples representatives (i.e. Congress) agreed to kill it.

If there were an enforceable law regarding the VSE, which there isn’t, then Griffin should be the first one prosecuted.