New Mars Forums

BWhite

Member

From: Chicago, Illinois

Registered: 2004-06-16

Posts: 2,635

Re: The VSE and politics

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mp … 44681]This article reminds me of comments I posted at NewMars after President Bush first announced the VSE as well as comments made by some people on the Aldridge Commission.

When VSE funding is assured by Tom Delay dropping the hammer in the back room, how do we survive transitions in administrations?

"Congress has never endorsed, in fact has never discussed, the vision," House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., said in reference to President Bush's January 2004 declaration that the United States would return humans to the moon in the next 10 to 15 years and ultimately launch manned flights to Mars and beyond.

Boehlert said he "stood and applauded" when the president made that speech, but that he was concerned that NASA was trying to do too much at once and not answering some basic questions about the future of the Hubble, the International Space Station, and the space shuttle.

"Congress has never endorsed, in fact has never discussed, the vision. . ."

Not the best way to build a sustainable program.

---

Give someone a sufficient [b][i]why[/i][/b] and they can endure just about any [b][i]how[/i][/b]

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,017

Re: The VSE and politics

So true,

"Congress has never endorsed, in fact has never discussed, the vision. . ."

IMO the first steps may have been started if they are continued though on. That being is the right sizing of Nasa facilities and there realignments.

I would also like to see more seperation of those things that are space related from those things that are not in terms that these items should be placed under the other organization or agencies that the work is preformed for and that they are funded by them.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,017

Re: The VSE and politics

From the NASA work force safe for now; But after late 2006, 2,000 positions might be lost

NASA's 18,000-person work force will remain intact, at least for the next 19 months, a space agency official said Thursday.

After that, as many as 2,000 NASA positions could be eliminated, according to James Jennings, an associate deputy administrator who appeared Thursday before the House Science Committee.

He told worried lawmakers there is enough money in the budget to maintain current employment levels until Oct. 1, 2006.

We all know that it is not a good thing when one losses there jobs but who amoung us can say that there job has been as safe to keep as those that work for Nasa.

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., the committee's chairman, said: "I don't think NASA should be our top budget priority. In a budget as excruciatingly tight as this one, NASA probably should not get as much as the president has proposed."

The 2.4 percent increase Bush requested for NASA stands out in a budget where most other non-defense agencies are having their budgets cut or held flat.

So we can not always get what we want for funding but at least try to compromise.

While emphasizing his support for NASA, Boehlert offered one of his most critical assessments of the agency, which he said is at a crucial juncture as it attempts to return its shuttle fleet to flight.

"There are a lot of fundamental questions that NASA still isn't ready to answer," Boehlert said.

Among them:

What research will be performed aboard the International Space Station?

How many more shuttle missions will fly to the space station?

How many people will the new Crew Exploration Vehicle carry?

Very good questions but there are lots more where those came from not to mention those from all of us here at newmars.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,017

Re: The VSE and politics

NASA contractors start layoffs linked to budget Dozens of workers lost their jobs at Langley last week, and more will be let go in the near future.

Jacobs Sverdrup, a Tennessee-based company with 450 local employees, is expected to lay off as much as a third of its work force on or before March 1. Starting with About 50 contractors, these were laid off at NASA Langley Research Center on Thursday, with more layoffs expected this week.

So it would appear that contractors are the first layer of Nasa cuts and Not actual Nasa employees.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,017

Re: The VSE and politics

Along with the vision comes the cancellation and down sizing of projects thou some should not end up on the chopping block.
NASA Science Funding Cut In FY 2006 Proposal

However, the Human Systems Research and Technology (HSR&T) program within Explorations Systems is slated for a cut of nearly $200 million dollars, from $1003.9 million in 2005 to $806.5 in 2006. Within the budget's five year plan, HSR&T would receive $796.7 million in 2007, $812.4 million in 2008, $818.5 million in 2009, and $815.8 million in 2010.