vincent Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House Friday overwhelmingly endorsed President Bush's vision to send man back to the moon and eventually on to Mars as it passed a bill to set NASA policy for the next two years. The bill passed 383-15 after a collegial debate in which lawmakers stressed their commitment to not just Bush's ambitious space exploration plans but also to traditional NASA programs such as science and aeronautics. There is some tension between Congress and the White House over the balance between Bush's vision for space exploration and other NASA initiatives. Originally, the measure would have shifted $1.3 billion in funds from exploration to other NASA programs. But after administration objections lawmakers added the money back to the budget for exploration during floor debate. That was done by adding to the bill's bottom line -- now at $34.7 billion -- not at the expense of science and aeronautics. Democratic Rep. Bart Gordon of Tennessee said Bush's ambitious moon and Mars missions "should not be done by cannibalizing other NASA missions.'' The bill is the first NASA policy measure -- its budget is funded by a separate bill -- to pass the House in five years. It advanced as the space agency tries to rebound from the Columbia disaster in February 2003 with the launch of the space shuttle Discovery next Tuesday. The measure permits but does not explicitly endorse retiring the space shuttle fleet by 2010, as the administration would like to do. It directs the agency to launch a new crew exploration vehicle -- which would lack the full capabilities of the shuttle but could travel to the International Space Station -- as close to 2010 as feasible. NASA's plans call for a new vehicle to be ready by 2014, which unnerves lawmakers who do not want the United States to have to rely on other countries to catch a lift to the space station. A companion Senate measure approved by the Commerce, Science and Transportation panel last month would bar NASA from retiring the shuttle before a replacement vehicle is ready. Both House and Senate bills also endorse a servicing and repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Without such a mission, the Hubble will fail when its gyroscopes and batteries wear out in the next few years, but the agency has not announced whether to let the telescope fail or whether it will undertake a costly manned repair mission. "Congress endorses the President's Vision for Space Exploration,'' said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y. "The United States will work to return to the moon by 2020, and then will move on to other destinations.'' The full Senate has yet to act on the NASA measure. Regardless of the ringing endorsement Friday, NASA must still compete with other agencies for its budget in the annual appropriations process, which moves on a separate track. That promises to make it difficult to fulfill all of the policy recommendations made by the House on Friday. Still, there was one lone voice against the bill. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., questioned spending billions to go to Mars when "day after day ... we're told we can't do enough for housing and we can't do enough for health care.'' "This is a fundamental debate the country ought to have ... about whether or not to commit these untold billions ... at the expense of other important programs,'' he said. Bush plan FAQ Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b mitchell Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 Amongst the bickering on this forum, this make me smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincent Posted July 25, 2005 Author Share Posted July 25, 2005 Amongst the bickering on this forum, this make me smile. 586266629[/snapback] Same here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boffa Jones Veteran Posted July 26, 2005 Veteran Share Posted July 26, 2005 This is awseome, I can't wait to see colonies on on or either of those planets even though it is probably not going to happen any time soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koding Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Awesome news and on the same day as a beautiful shuttle launch!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boffa Jones Veteran Posted July 26, 2005 Veteran Share Posted July 26, 2005 lol I got less than 4 hours of sleep so i could watch that. Amazing stuff. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LispyGlitter2 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 we don't have enough money to pay teachers decent salaries and yet we have enough money to pay for space travel? **** you Bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boffa Jones Veteran Posted July 26, 2005 Veteran Share Posted July 26, 2005 we don't have enough money to pay teachers decent salaries and yet we have enough money to pay for space travel? **** you Bush. 586276286[/snapback] Space is an important venture and a very worthwhile pursuit. To halt the advancement of humans to pay for teachers salaries would be rediculous. If you want to cut costs cut war spending as it is exponentially more expensive and wasteful than space travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincent Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 we don't have enough money to pay teachers decent salaries and yet we have enough money to pay for space travel? **** you Bush. 586276286[/snapback] You have a point, however where would mankind be at today if we never had explored in the first place? What if that caveman never journeyed to that other side of the mountain? What if that sailor never decided to trust the stars and go out onto the open sea? What if Lewis and Clarke never decided to journey to the othe side of the U.S? What if all the exploring we had done, that we decided it would be good to stop now? How sad would that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b mitchell Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 The space program gave us velcro. I rest my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LispyGlitter2 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 I'm not saying sending people into space is stupid. I just wish we could find more productive ways with our money than having it all on as Boffa said, the war and other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starcom826 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Space exploration is an excellent idea, if only we didn't have such a large debt. Space exploration and money towards NASA is always good in the name of advancing science, we're just at a time where we need to decrease spending, and exploration isn't at the top of my list. Once we get our debt down and we get off oil, it would be much better then to resume major space initiatives. I also think that we need to realign our priorities and get back to education, engineering, and sciences. We've reformed our education systems before, and we're about in line for another one. Bear in mind, funding for organizations like NASA allows them to develop technologies that enter the civilian market as well as all the educational organizations that NASA itself dontates to and funds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Veteran Posted July 27, 2005 Veteran Share Posted July 27, 2005 we don't have enough money to pay teachers decent salaries and yet we have enough money to pay for space travel? **** you Bush. 586276286[/snapback] Only about 10% of State's education budget is federally provided, so if you think your State's teachers are under paid (I will argue that they most likely aren't) take it up with your State budget - it has nothing to do with Bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starcom826 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Only about 10% of State's education budget is federally provided, so if you think your State's teachers are under paid (I will argue that they most likely aren't) take it up with your State budget - it has nothing to do with Bush. 586277767[/snapback] Yes, but I think his point is still valid (in a way). It would probably be wiser to scale back some defense spending and reallocate it to educational purposes (although I would argue that NASA would be half defensive and half educational). Education does everything. It supports the workforce and would help deal with our outsourcing problems. It promotes technological superiority which has a direct impact on economic prosperity. It provides engineers and scientists for health and medical research, defense research, consumer technology, etc. Education really is about as close as anything comes to a cure all. So while teacher's salaries may not be Bush's fault, I think he could pay much more attention to education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashel Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 ^^Good point Armeck. The measure permits but does not explicitly endorse retiring the space shuttle fleet by 2010, as the administration would like to do. It directs the agency to launch a new crew exploration vehicle -- which would lack the full capabilities of the shuttle but could travel to the International Space Station -- as close to 2010 as feasible.NASA's plans call for a new vehicle to be ready by 2014, which unnerves lawmakers who do not want the United States to have to rely on other countries to catch a lift to the space station. This concerns me the most. No new craft untill 2014 and the four year gap in between. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3xis Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 first off, what the hell are we going back to the moon for? we can't even take care of the earth. been there, done that. as for mars, i can see us going there but we don't need to blow vast amounts of money on it when we can't even pay off our national debt (and never will). i completely agree with lispyglitter2. going to mars and/or the moon should be at the very bottom of the list of things to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b mitchell Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 first off, what the hell are we going back to the moon for? we can't even take care of the earth. been there, done that. as for mars, i can see us going there but we don't need to blow vast amounts of money on it when we can't even pay off our national debt (and never will). i completely agree with lispyglitter2. going to mars and/or the moon should be at the very bottom of the list of things to do. 586280328[/snapback] Apparently you dont know much about our plans for space travel, so I will answer one of your questions. The reason to go backto the moon is two fold. First, it would be the testing ground for long range space vehicles. Second, it could be and may be used as a jumping off point on the way to Mars. The space program over the years has brought us countless innovations. With the distance needed to travel to mars and the current costs on conventional spacecraft, starting up this initiative would be great. It would force a change-over to a newer, better fuel system that may be used here on Earth. One point I think you are issing is how many innovations from the space program has directly or indirectly affected our lives over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3xis Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Apparently you dont know much about our plans for space travel, so I will answer one of your questions. The reason to go backto the moon is two fold. First, it would be the testing ground for long range space vehicles. Second, it could be and may be used as a jumping off point on the way to Mars.The space program over the years has brought us countless innovations. With the distance needed to travel to mars and the current costs on conventional spacecraft, starting up this initiative would be great. It would force a change-over to a newer, better fuel system that may be used here on Earth. One point I think you are issing is how many innovations from the space program has directly or indirectly affected our lives over the years. 586280610[/snapback] i see your point, but why can't we design our own testing ground and why does it take us leaving the planet to find a new fuel system? yeah, it's a great idea and all but it's just not practical. the only fuel system set on the american government's mind right now is how, where, and when it's going to get its oil supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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