In case you haven't seen it, there is a report over at the Wall Street Journal. The title of the article isWhite House Decides to Outsource NASA Work. However, I feel the article probably should've been White House Decides to Privatize NASA work. Or a better title would've been White House Decides to use NASA to Launch a New Industry
Join me over the fold...
The controversial proposal, expected to be included in the Obama administration's next budget, would open a new chapter in the U.S. space program. The goal is to set up a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying U.S. astronauts into orbit—and eventually deeper into the solar system.
The idea of outsourcing a portion of NASA's manned space program to the private sector gained momentum after recommendations from a presidential panel appointed last year. The panel, chaired by former Lockheed Martin Corp. Chairman Norman Augustine, argued that allowing companies to build and launch their own rockets and spacecraft to carry American astronauts into orbit would save money and also free up NASA to focus on more ambitious, longer-term goals.
Anyone who has been following the Augustine Committee know this was one of their big suggestions.
However, the real battle for it will be in the Congress..
The White House's budget is bound to spark a battle with Congress because NASA would have to kill off big chunks of its existing manned exploration program in order to finance some of these new initiatives in the coming years. ...
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who heads a key subcommittee, has blasted the notion of shifting money to outsource transporting astronauts to the international space station.
Now, I have no doubt that there will be many who latch onto this as another example of Obama selling us out. Before anyone does, I want everyone to take a deep breath, and listen to a story.
That, as you probably figured out is the Ares I-X launch. In theory, it is suppose to be a test flight of some of the Ares I hardware. Now, consider the following points.
- Ares I uses a 5 segment SRB for its first stage, while Ares I-X uses a 4 segment SRB (with a 5 segment mass simulated)
- Ares I has a working second stage. Ares I-X - no second stage
- Ares I has a crew capsule and escape system. Ares I-X - no crew capsule or escape system.
- Ares I uses a brand new guidance system. Ares I-X uses an Atlas V derived guidance system.
Total cost of Ares I-X - $445 Million. And what did we actually test for that $445 M? A lot of it was "Validating existing models" Now, I am a firm believer in hardware testing. But if you are testing hardware, you have to, you know, actually use the hardware you are testing.
And then there are other issues that need addressing. Like, what are we actually getting if we fund Constellation as is? Does it get us new resources? New industries? Does it bring us closer together with a former enemy? Does it demonstrate our greatness to the world?
In a word, no, it doesn't. We need to do something different. This is that something different. Having NASA develop this market will create new companies, and new industries. And these industries will help us get out of the current economic mess.
You can be mad at Obama for Bernake. You can be mad at him for Mass, for the lack of HCR. But this, this is a good call
EDIT
Should've included this in my first post - there is a group of people trying to help on this, by lobbying congress. I'll be among them, and I encourage everyone to check them out. Join us in DC for First Flight, and take back your space program