Comments on: Presidential Panel: Space Travel Plans Are Broken

By: The Mikeness

The Mikeness — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:27:42 +0000

If there’s anything I’ve learned from modern history, American particularly, it’s that dumping money you don’t have into projects to create jobs is clearly the best way fix a broken economy, or rather the only one worth trying. You guys gave the auto industry and the banks how many billions and for what, abandoned mortgages and valueless derivatives?

Why not throw a few dozen billion at NASA and see if they can finally give us hovercars or something?

By: Shaking head

Shaking head — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:47:43 +0000

Agreed kiyomi. But it’s like the piper says most people simply aren’t worried about space or somewhere that isn’t their immediate thoughts.

By: Kiyomi Yamashita

Kiyomi Yamashita — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:48:19 +0000

Enough of this already!
NASA (and the other research agencies) are amongst the most underfunded government organizations. Welfare agencies, Medicare, Medicaid are amongst the most overfunded and wasteful groups. How come no one complains about “streamlining” them?
The money spent on research is what makes possible our way of life from advanced medicine to the internet, not the money sent to people on welfare. Why do these idiots keep having kids they can’t look after on their own?
So increase the R&D budgets (including NASA’s), trim back, slash, or cut funding for welfare and the country will eliminate the federal deficits, be paying off the national debt, and have the basis for a robust economy.

By: The_Piper

The_Piper — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:41:29 +0000

With the attitude of the majority, it’s actually a wonder that humans have civilization.
Most people are more concerned with what they look like and if the people around them like them.
You won’t invent much thinking about your face and your social standing.
Ask the Neanderthals. Oh yeah…

By: Jockaira

Jockaira — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:10:43 +0000

Robot is right…any politician willing to give NASA meaningful funding would probably lose his next election based on the mistaken notion that money given to NASA is “Lost In Space.” I’m sure that everyone here knows that NASA money pays dividends in technological development way past the simple paychecks it writes in the aerospace industry…but we gotta go along with morons who believe that somehow NASA’s money is spent somewhere in space, possibly at Han Solo’s cosmopolitan watering hole on Tatoöine.

Just for the record, a study on this subject revealed that NASA funding is returned more than six times over in the profits from tech development. As such, it is the rare government program that shows a profit for everyone involved, except for politicians nowadays who would be hard put to defend NASA. It is likely that the money spent on NASA is supporting (by its profit development) several other government programs that otherwise might be cancelled or defunded.

Robot is wrong about the sanity of this decision…getting totally behind NASA and manned exploration would give this country a shot in the arm, just like the one it got from the Apollo Program in the 60’s…That is the sanest decision!

By: Shaking head

Shaking head — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:48:32 +0000

@ robot: Why are you on this site if you do not belive in new discovery? Or maybe that it is not that you don’t belive in it but rather can’t afford to be inquisitive? Most people who read this site hopefully do not share your opinion. Otherwise discovery magazine should not exist.. It’s obviously far too exepensive to be overly curious. The general people who read here have a natural curiosity or care for our surrounding environment and unfortunatly for you they will pay money to fund the research and findings which are displayed here on discover magazine.

By: robot makes music

robot makes music — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:52:52 +0000

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, America is flat broke. We need to stop talking about extra funding that these ‘critics’ are whinging on about and start coming in under budget, and make this space program sustainable.

It’s not NASA that’s bankrupted our country, not by far, but pouring money into that when millions of Americans are jobless and encroaching on homeless just isn’t a sane decision.

By: Casey

Casey — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:30:07 +0000

Where’s my damn space elevator? I was promised a space elevator!

By: jimbo73

jimbo73 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:12:38 +0000

bring on the private companies.