NASA may halt space station research work

[Gman]

Budget shortfalls could shut down projects for at least a year

By IRENE KLOTZ
Reuters News Service

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is considering shutting down all the research programs it conducts aboard the international space station for at least a year to fill a projected budget shortfall of up to $100 million, a top station manager said today.

Space station research was already slashed to just over $200 million last year to help the U.S. space agency pay for Hurricane Katrina losses and cost overruns in the space shuttle program. Less than $100 million was requested for station research for the year beginning on Oct. 1.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4077504.html

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That's another $100 million to go to Iraq with the added bonus of cutting out more science research.

Pretty soon we'll all be on a scale with Afghanistan.

[Submariner]

1. Amazing...shut down the space station for a YEAR

to save the $100 million that is burned up in Irag in 3 to 4 hours. Iraq is costing $9 Billion per month.

[truthisfreedom]

2. is the space station good for anything besides proving we can get along

with other nations?

i believe darth cheney wants to send the message that we don't NEED to get along with other nations.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. Not only that...

Also that other nations need to get along with US, by doing what we tell them to do. America the Bullyfull.

[LastDemocratInSC]

4. Shutting down RESEARCH on the station, not the station itself

The proposal of shutting down research on the station for a year is disgusting and stupid, but you're saying that the station itself is being shut down for a year. That's not true.

[Theduckno2]

3. I wish they could get Congress to increase the space station funding.

Having said that, I think it is most important to finish constructing the space station, especially given the nearly fixed operational timeline of the space shuttle fleet. I think the solar panel arrays still need to be increased to provide more power to the station. My foremost objective is to have a completed, fully functional station.

[w4rma]

5. American scientific reserach has been halted in many areas for six years

now.

[Kailassa]

6. If people in "the Cabal" have there way,

our distant descendants will looks back past the dark ages to the golden days of the 20th cantury, when science was continually expanding frontiers, people were learning about tolerance and equal rights to a fulfilling life, and mankind was full of hope for a better future.

[William Seger]

17. True

... and in terms of priorities, a lot of research with a LOT more potential benefit than the space station has long since been axed. And THEN, we find out that a lot of research that remains gets suppressed and distorted by Bush*Co's political appointees....

[ndw]

7. how much money-> Research costs v. Administration costs?

Do " research programs " include administration costs or are they purely research oriented in origin and purpose? How often and what does the General Services Administration procure on behalf of NASA? Who are the Procurement Executives at NASA (and DoD if there is budget parity) proposing this?

Federal Acquisition Regulation is established to codify uniform policies for acquisition of supplies and services by executive agencies.

"for at least a year to fill a projected budget shortfall"

" ..at least " indicates a quota or mandatory minimum to me. Also, " projected " may mean there hasn't been tallied verification of a final and fully ledgered NASA budget.

On a technology- and comparing states to feds-related note, we found out my state's procurement agency has wasted about 60% of taxpayer revenue on adminstrative overhead yearly; for every $1 only 40 cents goes to pay for computers and shoddy solutions at that. This is just some of the how in the procurement agency getting paid by Microsoft to sign off on Windows products for use in state-owned computers. Is this sort of thing happening on a federal scale at NASA?

We the people MANDATE third party (and non-governmental) audits to follow up on NASA's budget.

[Rex]

8. Good idea, we should just shut it down so China and others can

exploit space first. Good idea, we can outsource to their space stations. Excellent way to help the terrorists er competition, whatever.

Scotty beam me up!

[Mika]

14. Yes! USA MUST lead the way & exploit space first.

We're #1 (with a bullet), and we MUST be first to exploit anything.

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

:sarcasm:

[Rex]

23. If we don't exploit something first then by dam it ain't American!

Yes the American Way is alive and well! Well, not really...we outsourced the American Way to some guy in India. :(

[gulfcoastliberal]

9. What science research? Name one peer-reviewed, refereed publication

from the space station that isn't a NASA press release. They don't do science up there, they waste our taxpayer money. What has the ISS don that MIR didn't already do? Please,name one peer-reviewed scientific article from their antics in the space lab. What a fucking boondoggle. If you want science, you send robotic probes. End rant.

[Warren Stupidity]

10. Thanks.

Saved me the trouble. What a pile of useless expensive shit NASA has become.

[IndianaGreen]

13. The space station and the manned program are a waste of money

The real science comes from space telescopes and robotic missions to other planets, which often have been cut to keep the shuttle flying.

[William Seger]

18. Yep!

[Tesha]

11. Where's the *REAL* space station???

Where's the *REAL* space station???

*THIS* is where we were supposed to be by now, not using some
sixties-vintage jalopy to shuttle up tin cans joined by strings.



But *NOOOO*, we took a breather back in the eighties and nineties to
regress our society by about fifty years in so many ways, but hey!,
it cut taxes for the rich! In any case, they might as well abandon
the ISS; the guy who is trying to open hotels in space will probably
race past it technologically anyway; after all, he's in it to make
a buck, not just make make-work projects for the aerospace (military)
industry.

Tesha

[anotherdrew]

19. agreed. we blew it. we gave up.

probably too late now.

With the amazon rainforest about to go up in smoke I don't think anyone's going to be doing much in space.

the ISS has been so underbuilt it can't do it's real research mission anyway. Talking about cutting this research is near pointless, the thing is barely staying in orbit as it is. Why? we've fucked with out parteners, we've cut funds, we've let shitheads run the space program into the ground.

[Joe Bacon]

12. oh, just let the Christians sell the ISS to China

Why, them Christians don't want nothin to do with such satanic stuff as science. They got to keep the masses dumb and stupid! Sell it to China, since they are the future!

:sarcasm: mode now off

[VegasWolf]

15. Rocket ships are the devils work. If God wanted them they would be in

the Holy Bible!

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:

[Toots]

16. They are only they are called tabernacles

Check out Genesis and the tabernacle that followed the Israelites on their epic journey out of Egypt. It rose in a cloud of smoke and fire every day and led the Jews. If it didn't rise they didn't travel. It rained down Manna when they were hungry.

[anotherdrew]

20. sounds like a landing craft of some sort to me n/t

[stepnw1f]

22. Little Rich Sheltered Neo-Con Dweebs Bankrupt America

because they are always right...:crazy: