Odd, how the government is basically dumping NASA saying private industry
can do it better and cheaper. But government can do healthcare better and
cheaper. Just seems odd.
All NASA does these days is administer contracts. The current shuttle design
has been in service for damn near 30 years with a planned lifespan something
like 20 years and a goal of a low cost delivery system to near earth orbit.
It has proven to be the most expensive delivery system available and is more
sensitive than a teenage girl. And more dangerous. NASA has had 30 years to
come up with a replacement and has fallen on it's collective ass.
A good friend and former Air Force Commander once told me that "the current
NASA generation couldn't put a man on the moon to save thier lives and we're
spending $4 billion a year (mid 90s, 8 launches @ $500 million per) to light
fires in an oxygen rich environment and watch rats f*ck".
Check out a crew list. Aside from the pilots, you'll see a gaggle of people
who have no friggin clue as to what they're supposed to be doing up there,
that's why they go thru so much training. If you really wanted to get the
job done, NASA would send Navy mud divers instead of engineers and school
teachers. Divers already know how to work in a weightless environment, they
know life support systems and how to work with tools
NASA, like FEMA have become stagnent social programs that cannot perform
thier missions. Flush them and start over.