Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Likens SLS To The MV Titanic
California Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who sits on
the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, issued a
statement Wednesday strongly critical of the NASA FY 2013 budget
request released by President Obama.
“The administration’s FY’13 budget includes
almost $1.9 billion for continued pursuit of the SLS Titanic, a
‘monster rocket’ based on 40-year-old Space Shuttle
technology in an attempt to recapture the glory days of the Apollo
Saturn V,” said Rohrabacher (pictured). “By
NASA’s internal estimates, the SLS and other components
won’t be ready to launch astronauts to an asteroid until
2028, after we have spent over $130 billion towards the mission. By
those same estimates, NASA has shown how they can accomplish the
exact same mission with our existing fleet of launch vehicles four
years earlier and at less than half that cost.
“If I had someone come to me and say they wanted to spend
well over a hundred billion dollars when they knew the task could
be done more quickly and less expensively, I'd say, 'You're
fired,’” he said.
Rep. Rohrabacher said that, as expected, the President did not
request an additional $1 billion above last year’s
appropriation, which NASA’s plans seem to require. Of course,
even that funding level would have fallen about $2 billion short of
what NASA would need next year to keep the SLS Titanic on
schedule.
“I am pleased the President requested $830 million for
Commercial Crew programs, which is America’s single most
important near-term civil space project. But cutting the Technology
budget while increasing the Earth Science budget – a function
that doesn’t even belong in a space exploration agency
– and continuing to shovel resources into the SLS money pit
is a travesty. Any more of this kind of “leadership”
and soon NASA’s entire budget will be consumed by JWST and
the SLS, two things that won’t have made it off the launch
pad ten years from now.”
More News
Inversion to Launch Reentry Vehicle Demonstrator Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 This fall, the aerospace startup Inversion is set to launch its Ray reentry demonstrator capsule aboard Spac>[...]
"We are excited to accelerate the adoption of electric aviation technology and further our journey towards a sustainable future. The agreement with magniX underscores our commitmen>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
Aero Linx: OX5 Aviation Pioneers Each year a national reunion of OX5 Aviation Pioneers is hosted by one of the Wings in the organization. The reunions attract much attention as man>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]