We Can No Longer Afford The Luxury of a Space Program
Dave Gibson
September 23, 2008
Amid crushing federal debt due to the Iraq War, a Congress seemingly bent on bankrupting the nation, and now what will prove to be the costliest corporate welfare bill in U.S. history, we must now consider cutting-out luxuries such as the space program.
In 2005, NASA officials proposed their plan to the White House to spend $100 billion on another manned moon mission. That proposal came less than two weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of our Gulf Coast region, which resulted in massive government spending. Given the timing of NASA´s bloated submission, one would wonder if anyone working for the space agency reads newspapers. However, all bureaucrats seem to believe that their actions take place within a vacuum.
NASA's operating budget for the years 2005-2007 was $49 billion. That includes space shuttle flights, design for a shuttle replacement, and the planning of moon missions, as well as composing symphonies (that´s right symphonies) Remember, this is during wartime.
I simply do not understand why NASA as well as President Bush (who called for a manned lunar mission by 2020), want to send U.S. astronauts back to the moon. It was done 39 years ago!
The purpose of the original space program and President Kennedy's call for "a man on the moon," was to beat the Russians there. We did it, we won the so-called 'space race,' and we did it with 1960's technology. The race to the moon was another battle in the Cold War, and our achievement lifted the nation's collective spirit while demoralizing the Soviets Union. Mission accomplished.
Since the 1980's, the U.S. space program seems to have no real goal or mission (other than to waste taxpayer money). We have spent enormous sums to build a fleet of space shuttles, which do nothing but orbit the earth and launch satellites. Of course, we have also lost two of those shuttles along with their crews in horrific explosions, both due to faulty maintenance work performed by NASA technicians and poor decision-making by their superiors.
We can launch satellites much quicker and cheaper with the use of rockets alone. This method also removes the risk of the loss of life. Considering the fact that each shuttle launch costs $600 million, the use of rockets seems an obvious answer. In fact, every scrubbed launch costs over $600,000 in labor and fuel costs.
Of course, the argument over whether or not the space program is a complete waste of money has been raging for decades. Truthfully, the American taxpayer sees very little or no return on their yearly donations to NASA. Private industry however, has reaped the largest rewards.
Here is a short but rather amusing list of some of the discoveries or 'side-benefits' of the taxpayer-funded space program:
scratch resistant lenses
golf ball aerodynamics
athletic shoe developments
sports bras
fogless ski goggles
cordless power tools
ribbed swimsuit
tollbooth air purification
new wing design for corporate jets
NASA has also been involved in supporting the U.S. Olympic effort, not by becoming a sponsor to the team but by testing swimsuits worn by multi gold medal winner Michael Phelps.
At NASA Langley Research facility in Hampton, Va., a wind tunnel was used to test various fabrics for the new SPEEDO LZR Racer suit worn by Phelps in this year´s Olympics.
NASA scientist Steve Wilkinson proudly proclaims on NASA´s website: "We evaluated the surface roughness effects of nearly 60 fabrics or patterns in one of our small low speed wind tunnels. We were assessing which fabrics and weaves had the lowest drag. The tests have generally shown the smoother the fabric, the lower the drag."
However, NASA does not limit their time to merely developing swimsuits. They also hire artists to write songs dedicated to telescopes!
NASA recently commissioned a highly-respected composer to write a theme song for their GLAST (Gamma-ray Large area Telescope) project. NASA chose Dr. Nolan Gasser of Stanford University, who describes his commission payment on NASA´s official website as "generous funding." Actually, a second composition has been commissioned for GLAST as well, and will premier at next year´s celebration of this telescope to be held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The GLAST music video can now be seen on NASA´s website.
Presidents Clinton and Bush as well as the Congress have all supported the expensive Mars Rover Project. Billions of dollars were spent to retrieve a few rocks and photos from the Red Planet. Besides pleasing lots of techno-junkies, the benefits of the project are tough to find.
How much impact does the discovery of an ancient dried-up stream really have on the lives of most Americans, who are struggling to keep gas in their cars and food on their tables?
President Bush along with both parties in the Congress has bankrupted this country, and de-valued our once sought after currency. We have been forced to spend $500 billion on Iraq, we are running budget deficits of $400 billion dollars a year, and now they are about to give away another $700 billion dollars of money which we do not have to bail-out Wall Street.
There seems to be no end to this government´s generosity with our money. Giving money to a space agency which then turns around and gives it songwriters, is not only wasteful but obscene. That example perhaps like no other, speaks volumes to how little respect our Congress and the bloated bureaucracy that body sustains has for the American taxpayer.
To say that these are rough economic times is putting it mildly. At a time when this nation is at risk of defaulting on it´s debt, it is not only unsound but immoral to spend billions of dollars on NASA.
The current space program must be suspended. It has become a decadent luxury we can no longer afford.
In 2005, NASA officials proposed their plan to the White House to spend $100 billion on another manned moon mission. That proposal came less than two weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of our Gulf Coast region, which resulted in massive government spending. Given the timing of NASA´s bloated submission, one would wonder if anyone working for the space agency reads newspapers. However, all bureaucrats seem to believe that their actions take place within a vacuum.
NASA's operating budget for the years 2005-2007 was $49 billion. That includes space shuttle flights, design for a shuttle replacement, and the planning of moon missions, as well as composing symphonies (that´s right symphonies) Remember, this is during wartime.
I simply do not understand why NASA as well as President Bush (who called for a manned lunar mission by 2020), want to send U.S. astronauts back to the moon. It was done 39 years ago!
The purpose of the original space program and President Kennedy's call for "a man on the moon," was to beat the Russians there. We did it, we won the so-called 'space race,' and we did it with 1960's technology. The race to the moon was another battle in the Cold War, and our achievement lifted the nation's collective spirit while demoralizing the Soviets Union. Mission accomplished.
Since the 1980's, the U.S. space program seems to have no real goal or mission (other than to waste taxpayer money). We have spent enormous sums to build a fleet of space shuttles, which do nothing but orbit the earth and launch satellites. Of course, we have also lost two of those shuttles along with their crews in horrific explosions, both due to faulty maintenance work performed by NASA technicians and poor decision-making by their superiors.
We can launch satellites much quicker and cheaper with the use of rockets alone. This method also removes the risk of the loss of life. Considering the fact that each shuttle launch costs $600 million, the use of rockets seems an obvious answer. In fact, every scrubbed launch costs over $600,000 in labor and fuel costs.
Of course, the argument over whether or not the space program is a complete waste of money has been raging for decades. Truthfully, the American taxpayer sees very little or no return on their yearly donations to NASA. Private industry however, has reaped the largest rewards.
Here is a short but rather amusing list of some of the discoveries or 'side-benefits' of the taxpayer-funded space program:
scratch resistant lenses
golf ball aerodynamics
athletic shoe developments
sports bras
fogless ski goggles
cordless power tools
ribbed swimsuit
tollbooth air purification
new wing design for corporate jets
NASA has also been involved in supporting the U.S. Olympic effort, not by becoming a sponsor to the team but by testing swimsuits worn by multi gold medal winner Michael Phelps.
At NASA Langley Research facility in Hampton, Va., a wind tunnel was used to test various fabrics for the new SPEEDO LZR Racer suit worn by Phelps in this year´s Olympics.
NASA scientist Steve Wilkinson proudly proclaims on NASA´s website: "We evaluated the surface roughness effects of nearly 60 fabrics or patterns in one of our small low speed wind tunnels. We were assessing which fabrics and weaves had the lowest drag. The tests have generally shown the smoother the fabric, the lower the drag."
However, NASA does not limit their time to merely developing swimsuits. They also hire artists to write songs dedicated to telescopes!
NASA recently commissioned a highly-respected composer to write a theme song for their GLAST (Gamma-ray Large area Telescope) project. NASA chose Dr. Nolan Gasser of Stanford University, who describes his commission payment on NASA´s official website as "generous funding." Actually, a second composition has been commissioned for GLAST as well, and will premier at next year´s celebration of this telescope to be held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The GLAST music video can now be seen on NASA´s website.
Presidents Clinton and Bush as well as the Congress have all supported the expensive Mars Rover Project. Billions of dollars were spent to retrieve a few rocks and photos from the Red Planet. Besides pleasing lots of techno-junkies, the benefits of the project are tough to find.
How much impact does the discovery of an ancient dried-up stream really have on the lives of most Americans, who are struggling to keep gas in their cars and food on their tables?
President Bush along with both parties in the Congress has bankrupted this country, and de-valued our once sought after currency. We have been forced to spend $500 billion on Iraq, we are running budget deficits of $400 billion dollars a year, and now they are about to give away another $700 billion dollars of money which we do not have to bail-out Wall Street.
There seems to be no end to this government´s generosity with our money. Giving money to a space agency which then turns around and gives it songwriters, is not only wasteful but obscene. That example perhaps like no other, speaks volumes to how little respect our Congress and the bloated bureaucracy that body sustains has for the American taxpayer.
To say that these are rough economic times is putting it mildly. At a time when this nation is at risk of defaulting on it´s debt, it is not only unsound but immoral to spend billions of dollars on NASA.
The current space program must be suspended. It has become a decadent luxury we can no longer afford.