Note: Either they're fighting for budget, real progress is being made, or someone has woken up to the importance of the space program on the psyche of the nation. Regardless I'm seeing more and more info coming out on the Orion Spacecraft.
I've heard that NASA wants essentially their own Soyuz-style ship/rocket. The Soyuz is small, cheap, and simple. Russia has got the monopoly on manned space flight right now because of the Soyuz. They jacked up the price for rocket launches of cargo and crew. I think this has a lot more to do with being less reliant on Russia. The whole Snowden issue certainly isn't helping the political dynamics we have with them.
I have come to think some one made a decisions somewhere in the halls of power a few years back. With the Orion under development that would return the US civilian programs to manned flight with strength. The X37 potentially gave the US Air Force unique options. The you factor in that Boeing, Orbital, and Space X were all developing cargo insertion capsules, with Space X and Boeing actually looking at making commercial manned versions of theirs. Then if Sierra Nevada can get their Dream Chaser space plane to work as another commercial space craft, you suddenly have a lot of options on the table.
Somewhere I really believe someone decided to take a gamble to retool the American space presence, with a hope that some of the above would bear fruit. If they all bear fruit by 2015 America will be sitting back in the space race with a huge lead.
Grayburst: i'm still trying to wrap my head around what they're hoping to accomplish with a civilian program. do they think space tourism has a future? it might but not in the near term. do they want the civilian sector to do the work of space exploration? not enough money in it. not until we get mega corporations like they had in the Prometheus movie. do they think they can "bend the cost" curve by getting more launch vehicles? not likely. if the USAF can't do it cheaply then affording the bill to launch sats privately will be a nonstarter. so i don't understand the reasoning. and i hate the dream chaser concept. all it is is the space shuttle light and we've been down that road. capsules are what we need, all the rest is simply development fantasy that will lead to no improvements until we get something better than chemical rockets.
I'm starting to think that this has some unknown military application and it is going to get accelerated due to the Snowden incident. Putin basically gave the US the finger and it makes us look really weak that even after that we need to rely on them for manned space travel.
I'll be astonished if we see one of the crawlers take anything to the pad in the next ten years. When you consider the only reason the administration even funded the Ares IX launch was because it was cheaper to dispose of it in the ocean than to scrap it, it tells you all you really need to know about this administration's view of space. NASA did "reach out to the Muslim world" though. How'd that work out?
I've heard that NASA wants essentially their own Soyuz-style ship/rocket. The Soyuz is small, cheap, and simple. Russia has got the monopoly on manned space flight right now because of the Soyuz. They jacked up the price for rocket launches of cargo and crew. I think this has a lot more to do with being less reliant on Russia. The whole Snowden issue certainly isn't helping the political dynamics we have with them.
ReplyDeleteI have come to think some one made a decisions somewhere in the halls of power a few years back. With the Orion under development that would return the US civilian programs to manned flight with strength. The X37 potentially gave the US Air Force unique options. The you factor in that Boeing, Orbital, and Space X were all developing cargo insertion capsules, with Space X and Boeing actually looking at making commercial manned versions of theirs. Then if Sierra Nevada can get their Dream Chaser space plane to work as another commercial space craft, you suddenly have a lot of options on the table.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere I really believe someone decided to take a gamble to retool the American space presence, with a hope that some of the above would bear fruit. If they all bear fruit by 2015 America will be sitting back in the space race with a huge lead.
I'm an admitted fan of the Dream Chaser.
DeleteGrayburst: i'm still trying to wrap my head around what they're hoping to accomplish with a civilian program. do they think space tourism has a future? it might but not in the near term. do they want the civilian sector to do the work of space exploration? not enough money in it. not until we get mega corporations like they had in the Prometheus movie. do they think they can "bend the cost" curve by getting more launch vehicles? not likely. if the USAF can't do it cheaply then affording the bill to launch sats privately will be a nonstarter. so i don't understand the reasoning. and i hate the dream chaser concept. all it is is the space shuttle light and we've been down that road. capsules are what we need, all the rest is simply development fantasy that will lead to no improvements until we get something better than chemical rockets.
DeleteI'm starting to think that this has some unknown military application and it is going to get accelerated due to the Snowden incident. Putin basically gave the US the finger and it makes us look really weak that even after that we need to rely on them for manned space travel.
DeleteI'll be astonished if we see one of the crawlers take anything to the pad in the next ten years. When you consider the only reason the administration even funded the Ares IX launch was because it was cheaper to dispose of it in the ocean than to scrap it, it tells you all you really need to know about this administration's view of space. NASA did "reach out to the Muslim world" though. How'd that work out?
ReplyDelete