Buzz Aldrin did not like the Ares 1-X

[vulture4]

We have $200 Billion in TARP money that is unspent. We could buy a new rocket in no time at all. The Stimulus money is not all spent either. There is about $400 billion left there.

These funds are not extra money, all the money would have to be borrowed before it could be spent. The Constellation program, unfortunately, produces no financial returns or practical benefits so it is difficult to justify borrowing to fund it.
However I have noticed that despite the Augustine Commission flatly recommending that the Ares be canceled, NASA is still going full speed ahead with it.

 

[MeteorWayne]

That remains to be seen. The Obama budget proposal (after being massaged by "Congress") will detrmine the ultimate fate of NASA's future. We're a few weeks away from that.

 

[JamesG123]

It is in NASA's and the rest of the US Government's interests to maintain a near monopoly on space travel (or at least restrict it to only a few big players) by making it as expensive and restricted as possible.

 

[docm]

In which case the US companies will probably move launches and other operations offshore and the govt. once again shoots itself in the foot.

 

[EarthlingX]

Which is exactly the effect ITAR had. It's going down:
(ADVANCING THE FRONTIERS OF SPACE EXPLORATION - Barack Obama)
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/policy/S ... _FINAL.pdf

 

[CalliArcale]

Re: Better Vehicles (part I)

Ares I may turn out to be a good vehicle to LEO, I don't know. Buzz is the rocket scientist and has ridden in more rockets than I have. I do know that it will never go to the moon or mars. Something else will be needed. Something more appropriate.

A point of clarification:

Buzz Aldrin is *not* a rocket scientist. He's a test pilot. There is a significant difference.

The main problem facing NASA isn't the Ares 1 (which, BTW, is not supposed to go to the Moon or Mars; it's part of an Earth-orbit rendezvous system, so it only has to get the astronauts to Earth orbit, where they rendezvous with the craft that will get them the rest of the way). The main problem is that NASA will do what Congress directs them to do, and so far Congress has been doing what politicians do, and that's hemming and hawing to avoid making a decision where the best path isn't clear.

Right now, they are doing Ares 1 because they were directed to do so. They know its political future is uncertain, but they can't wait for certainty. They have to carry on and do the best they can to be ready for whatever Congress decides to have them do next year. It's not really an enviable position.