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I live down here on the Space Coast. I live about 20 miles from Cape Canaveral. I watched the first manned shots go up from my front yard. All the tecnology was here in Brevard County until LBJ became the Prez and moved most of it to his home state of Texas.
Yes the shuttle era is ending but there will still be shots from the Cape. They will be rockets instead of the Shuttle. Some have already lost jobs and some are being retrained. This will not be easy on Brevard County. But like everything else, things change. They change all the time. We, like others will just have to adapt.
I live down here on the Space Coast. I live about 20 miles from Cape Canaveral. I watched the first manned shots go up from my front yard. All the tecnology was here in Brevard County until LBJ became the Prez and moved most of it to his home state of Texas.
Yes the shuttle era is ending but there will still be shots from the Cape. They will be rockets instead of the Shuttle. Some have already lost jobs and some are being retrained. This will not be easy on Brevard County. But like everything else, things change. They change all the time. We, like others will just have to adapt.
Are you suggesting that the aging fleet continue to fly so small businesses nearby can do better?
No, I'm suggesting two things actually one I already posted, the other is, if the Govt. is interested in Stimulating the economy then they only need to look at the Shuttle model and see how many PRIVATE industries a program like it creates in order to justify creating real Stimulus. When given the chance to actually do things like this, the Govt. actually has suggested cutting the program that will be the follow-on to the shuttle. What I suggest is that real Stimulus is not just looking for shovel ready road projects that may or may not be built but supporting programs that create long term economic jobs, pubilc and private.
I thought that a lot of folks were against "make work" programs.....
Is this one of those spend a million so a $50,000.00 job doesn't end?
Is the jobs thing related to the way people voted?
Brevard has been red for three elections now!
No, I'm suggesting two things actually one I already posted, the other is, if the Govt. is interested in Stimulating the economy then they only need to look at the Shuttle model and see how many PRIVATE industries a program like it creates in order to justify creating real Stimulus. When given the chance to actually do things like this, the Govt. actually has suggested cutting the program that will be the follow-on to the shuttle. What I suggest is that real Stimulus is not just looking for shovel ready road projects that may or may not be built but supporting programs that create long term economic jobs, pubilc and private.
I thought that a lot of folks were against "make work" programs.....
Is this one of those spend a million so a $50,000.00 job doesn't end?
Is the jobs thing related to the way people voted?
Brevard has been red for three elections now!
For example, out of a $2.4 trillion budget for 2005, less than 0.8% was spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. And not much has changed from then except that the technology improvements keep coming.And that last point is key!
Most people do not know the tremendous advancement of environmentally friendly technical advancements (and other technology advancements) that are a direct offspring from the US Space Program. This article has been written to highlight these facts.
It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on Research and Development in the US Space Program, it receives $7 back in the form of corporate and personal income taxes from increased jobs and economic growth.
Besides the obvious jobs created in the aerospace industry, thousands more jobs are created by many other companies applying NASA technology in non-space related areas that affect us daily.
The US Space Program Benefits by Chuck Clayton
As mentioned above Contessa , I'm not advocating keeping the Space Shuttle as a make work project, but to advocate cutting manned space flight or scaling back of a follow-on such as the ARES I because some do not see a benefit, then I suggest they are not looking very far. These are not make work projects, they are a matter of national interest, surely you don't think that we should just abandon space and outsource it to China like we do everything else are you? A lot of advancements we take for granted today are a direct result of the manned space flight program, some of which I listed above. There are not just Govt. Jobs these are private industry jobs, long term one's that support everything from advancements in aviation fuel you use in the airlines you fly, to the food you eat. I have heard over and over again how National healthcare is a funtion of the General Welfare well, I ask you, is not helping to promote the advancement of technology for the benefit of mankind, and creating an atmosphere for the creation of long term jobs doing just that? I will also remind you that NASA is not just a red state issue, and will tell you that cutbacks in manned space flight will effect thousands of jobs across the nation red and blue alike.
It is amazing the shuttles lasted as long as they did. They go through amazing stress with each flight.
They were truly remarkable technology
Although I know there have been some good stuff developed for us here on the ground by the things NASA has done to put men into space, I have never been a great big fan of the whole "space exploration" endeavors. While the photos from the Hubble Telescope are beautiful and they have shown us lots of stuff, putting a man on the moon was indeed a national pride builder, and all the wonderful things the Space Shuttle Program has done, I think we could use a break in all of this - especially with the economy being in the shape it's in right now. We lived on this planet for almost 2000 year without going into space so I don't think a 10 or 15 year slow-down on the money spent on the space program would hurt us very much. I think we can use our money elsewhere with more benefit.
Although I know there have been some good stuff developed for us here on the ground by the things NASA has done to put men into space, I have never been a great big fan of the whole "space exploration" endeavors. While the photos from the Hubble Telescope are beautiful and they have shown us lots of stuff, putting a man on the moon was indeed a national pride builder, and all the wonderful things the Space Shuttle Program has done, I think we could use a break in all of this - especially with the economy being in the shape it's in right now. We lived on this planet for almost 2000 year without going into space so I don't think a 10 or 15 year slow-down on the money spent on the space program would hurt us very much. I think we can use our money elsewhere with more benefit.
First of all of you pre-suppose that the Budget for NASA is so high that it comsumes a majority of funding of the Federal Budget.
2010 NASA Budget 18.6 Billion
DOD Budget 684 Billion
Dept. of Health 80.4 Billion
Dept. of Edu. 46.6 Billion
Dept of Energy 26.3 Billion
Medicare/Medicaid 758.9 Billion
This argument that somehow spending on space or manned space flight is a waste of money is a complete failed argument in terms of budget impact and should be obvious that the spending is offset by the tax revenue it generates from the jobs it creates, to the technology it transfers to the private sector, not to mention the knowledge gained about the planet in which we live. Grandma is not going to go without her check because of NASA anytime soon, in fact the office expenses alone for congress in 2005 exceeded 525 million dollars and I don't hear to many calling for the grounding of Air Force One, or the VIP fleet that carts congress around and expends tax dollars to the tune of 750,000 dollars a month per aircraft just for fuel on the VC-25's and this does not include the C-17's and the many other jets that haul congressional members around the nation yearly. Space capability if vital to not only our commerical interests as a nation it is also vital to our national security interests and while some think it's just a matter of calling up Russia on the phone or China and ordering a rocket like Wal-Mart does a load of shoes, it is a matter of protecting this nation which our Govt. as an obligation to do.
The level of Ignorance in this thread is simply ASTOUNDING. Our very National Defense depends on us remaining in Space. Not to mention all the spin offs we get from space programs.
Go ahead give up Space to the Chinese and the Russians and in 20 years we will be a 3rd rate Country.
First of all of you pre-suppose that the Budget for NASA is so high that it comsumes a majority of funding of the Federal Budget.
2010 NASA Budget 18.6 Billion
DOD Budget 684 Billion
Dept. of Health 80.4 Billion
Dept. of Edu. 46.6 Billion
Dept of Energy 26.3 Billion
Medicare/Medicaid 758.9 Billion
This argument that somehow spending on space or manned space flight is a waste of money is a complete failed argument in terms of budget impact and should be obvious that the spending is offset by the tax revenue it generates from the jobs it creates, to the technology it transfers to the private sector, not to mention the knowledge gained about the planet in which we live. Grandma is not going to go without her check because of NASA anytime soon, in fact the office expenses alone for congress in 2005 exceeded 525 million dollars and I don't hear to many calling for the grounding of Air Force One, or the VIP fleet that carts congress around and expends tax dollars to the tune of 750,000 dollars a month per aircraft just for fuel on the VC-25's and this does not include the C-17's and the many other jets that haul congressional members around the nation yearly. Space capability if vital to not only our commerical interests as a nation it is also vital to our national security interests and while some think it's just a matter of calling up Russia on the phone or China and ordering a rocket like Wal-Mart does a load of shoes, it is a matter of protecting this nation which our Govt. as an obligation to do.
The space program is vital in terms of communications satellites, GPS, weather and intel. These things have a defined cost and benefit. Manned space exploration has questionable benefits in return for the cost involved. If Mars were made of gold, it would not be worth it to send men there to collect it and return to Earth.
Space probes are low cost alternatives to manned exploration. We can still get much of the same information without the risk
The level of Ignorance in this thread is simply ASTOUNDING. Our very National Defense depends on us remaining in Space. Not to mention all the spin offs we get from space programs.
Go ahead give up Space to the Chinese and the Russians and in 20 years we will be a 3rd rate Country.
The level of Ignorance in this thread is simply ASTOUNDING. Our very National Defense depends on us remaining in Space. Not to mention all the spin offs we get from space programs.
Go ahead give up Space to the Chinese and the Russians and in 20 years we will be a 3rd rate Country.
Who said anything about never launching another spy satillite?
Frankly, I think its great all the $$$Billions$$$ that private industry, in every country, including Russia and China has been able to make from our taxpayer supported programs. But this success only Begs The Question: Isn't it about time the space industry is privatized?
As long as we support NASA, we support a government subsidised entity with which private industry cannot compete.
Agreed but a technology that NASA began to to develop too much of a love affiar with and one that never lived up to it's original design intentions. I submit that NASA's mismanagement has put it into the postion where there will be a gap in manned space flight and further enchanced the economic impact of the shuttle programs closure. They have come up with a good design in the ARES and if allowed come to life it will be a good follow-on.
I was never a big fan of manned flights. Loved the Mars rovers and the Hubble telescope. Manned flights for maintenance are fine, but unmanned projects are more cost effective
Do you understand the reason for manned flights?
If you read the entire article you'll see that no one is giving up on space. Rather, they are refocusing on other matters than the shuttle...and the shuttle has outlived its usefulness.
As for the woman who fears her restaurant business will be hurt, I have my doubts. The space coast is the skankiest part of Florida and the tourist industry gets not much of a boost from shuttle watching that I can see. The place is a dive.
