inignoct wrote:
] House Science Committee wants to put the space plane on hold.
]
] IF we're going to keep up manned spaceflight, the shuttle
] needs to be retired. I'm not sure what I think about
] arguments that we give up on manned spaceflight -- if we don't
] keep at it, how will it ever get faster/cheaper/safer?

Personally, I think that the House Committee is losing sight of the reason the OSP is being fast-tracked - crew and supply transfer to ISS without being dependent upon the Shuttle (aging and complex) or the Soyuz/Progress combo (Political-financial issues with Russia).

The OSP will still be required to perform these tasks, even if/when the program receives a new, overriding goal... It makes absolutely no sense to abandon Alpha (baby and bathwater, anyone?) when it is capable of playing a major infrastructure role in next-gen manned space exploration.

Let's remember Dr. Von Braun's ORIGINAL initiative - the moon was only the first stop, a goal set due to Cold War one-upmanship that was a satisfactory technological proving ground. After the moon, Von Braun wanted space stations to provide LEO staging areas to more permanent moon bases. These would be two further technological development programs leading to missions to Mars and beyond.

We finally have a station - only to find that we have a weak link in our infrastructure due to the dependance upon the Shuttle to actually maintain it. The Shuttle has years in it yet as a manned heavy-lift vehicle; the problem actually lies in the "eggs many, basket=1" situation we've found ourselves in.

This is one of the reasons I DON'T like the Shuttle-type proposals for OSP... If we're talking about having a vehicle that needs to ferry 3-7 people to LEO and then stay on station for 6-8 months, why get cute with a lifting-body, add wings design? Don't think of OSP as a Shuttle replacement - think of it as a Soyuz replacement.

However, we do need Shuttle2, in the not-too-distant future. Certainly, our heavy-lift requirements ARE bound to change, should the country be presented with a new oppotunity and new direction - but this is exactly the reason why you purpose-build in a mission-oriented environment.

RE: Not So Fast, Lawmakers Say of Plans for a Space Plane

] As of late October, sources indicate that a central
] recommendation is likely, but not certainly to be
] resumption of manned lunar flights to develop advanced
] technologies that can support U.S. astronauts working
] beyond Earth orbit to not only the Moon, but eventually
] on near-Earth asteroids and Mars.

Holy shit... to be delivered on 17Dec, the Centennial of Flight?

I'm not going to get into anything about Bush space policy right now, but I'm interested to see how the political fires burn around this, if indeed this is the announcement made.

Presidential review on space policy heading to closure | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

] Writing in the journal Science, Lieberman and Eisenberger
] said the brains of the volunteers lit up when they were
] rejected in virtually the same way as a person
] experiencing physical pain.
]
]
]
] "It would be odd if social pain looked like the exact
] same thing as someone-breaking-your-arm pain," Lieberman
] said. "What it does look like is visceral pain."
]
]
]
] In other words -- like being punched in the stomach.

Yahoo! News - Images Show a Snub Really Is Like Kick in the Gut

] BEIJING -- The launch could happen as early as this
] weekend from a remote base in the Gobi Desert. China's
] first manned space flight would carry one "taikonaut" --
] or as many as three. It could last from hours to several
] days.
]
] Other than that, the Chinese government isn't really
] saying.

HoustonChronicle.com - China mum prior to space launch

] With the release of the Columbia Accident Investigation
] Board report, the "timid souls" and risk averse are with
] us once more. Human space flight isn't worth the risk,
] they say.
]
]
]
]
] Bull.
]
]
]
]
] Having humans at the center of space exploration and
] development is what makes it all worthwhile. Anything
] less is pseudo exploration - interesting, but irrelevant.
]
]
]
]
]
] I seldom draw social inspiration from sports writers, but
] Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford hit it on the head in a
] May 28 NPR interview, linking the achievements of Neil
] Armstrong and Edmund Hilary to a sense of purpose for the
] common man or woman: "What Edmund Hilary did 50 years ago
] changed us all, stretched us all, improved us all," said
] Deford. "Why? Well, at last because it was not just it
] (Everest) that was there; because he was there, we were,"
] he said.

Damn Straight.

We must get in our spaceships and go | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

] Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X-Prize
] Foundation, said he expects that one of the two teams
] will launch within the next few months, using rockets and
] spacecraft that are already being tested and prepared for
] the daring venture.

CNN.com - Private space race nears finale - Sep. 29, 2003

The official website of the X Prize competition. The chairman suggests that the Prize could be won in the next few months.

X P R I Z E

] HOUSTON -- In perhaps the most convincing demonstration
] yet that NASA "gets it," the new chairman of the agency's
] mission management team today outlined major changes to
] improve communications among engineers and managers, to
] ensure dissenting views are heard and to correct the
] cultural shortcomings blamed in part for the Columbia
] disaster.

Spaceflight Now | | Shuttle mission management team gets major revamp

] A small team (Appendix 1) was chartered by NASA to make a
] top-level assessment of the viability of using the Apollo
] Command and Service Modules the basis for a Crew Return
] Vehicle, and potentially for a Crew Transfer Vehicle, for
] the International Space Station. This assessment was
] conducted 13-14 March 2003.

Old news, but the push to use the old Apollo CM as a basis for the OSP seems to be picking up speed.

Report on Top-Level Assessment of Use of Apollo Systems for ISS CRV (part 1) | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

] "I really don't have an opinion on Mars, but I do have an
] opinion that the more we explore, the better off America
] is," he said. "I believe in pushing the boundaries."

Dear Mr. President:

Please re-phrase the preceding statement for clarity. Perhaps "I don't have a clue about Mars or space or nuttin' like that, but my people tell me that the same people that sell the planes and bombs make a bunch of money offit. And yeah, I guess everyone seems to like this space crap, so I'm sure we'll think of somthin'."

Bush will wait before setting goals for NASA : OrlandoSentinel.com: Space