NASA appears to no longer be shooting for the stars

[n2doc]

By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times
July 17, 2010 | 7:29 p.m.

Reporting from Sandusky, Ohio — In a cavernous structure at NASA's Plum Brook Station near Lake Erie, a concrete chamber five stories high rises from the ground. Its walls are 2 feet thick to withstand the blast of powerful gas-operated horns strong enough to destroy human organs.

The $150-million facility was built to contain the next-generation manned spacecraft for the Constellation program, NASA's project to send humans back to the moon. It is the largest acoustic test chamber in the world, created to buffet the spacecraft with intense sound waves, simulating the stresses of launch.

The only problem is that the Constellation program almost certainly will be dead within months.

Despite the apparent kiss of death, construction continues at Plum Brook Station and other NASA centers and at private aerospace companies across the nation, where more than 14,000 people are still working on Constellation. Under pressure from Congress, NASA has been spending an average of about $9 million a day on the project.

After accomplishing so much in space for half a century, the nation now appears to lack not only the resources to mount a major human space program, but also the political will to eliminate the thousands of jobs connected with it.

more

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nasa-future-20100718,0,7365444.story

Sorta like the war industry....can't kill it, can't change it, get nothing of value from it....

[SunnySong]

1. Well when the head of NASA claims the number one goal is cultural outreach

rather than space exploration its time to stick a fork in it.

This is one of the greatest disasters of the Obama administration.

[Phoonzang]

2. While the White House/Senate compromise bill cuts constellation

it still keeps the Orion capsule and mandates the development of a Heavy Lift Vehicle that can take the Orion beyond Earth orbit (that includes the moon) by 2016. Hopefully Congress will force the Obama admin to stick to the plan and not let them wiggle out of the human spaceflight business.