WebFire;700327 wrote:Then tell me why? Like I said, I get some of it. And if it's useful, then it's money well spent. But what do moon rocks and pictures of a far away galaxy do for us?

Ha they want to make it a company eventually...for commercial flights and stuff so it becomes a moneymaker

gerb131;700124 wrote:Wondering why anyone would live in Huntsville! JK Huntsville is an up and coming area. My bro and my bad both live in Bama Calera and Pelham areas around B-Ham.

We live in the Madison area and absolutely love it!!!

WebFire;700327 wrote:Then tell me why? Like I said, I get some of it. And if it's useful, then it's money well spent. But what do moon rocks and pictures of a far away galaxy do for us?

Advance science and if you can't see the benefit of that, then no one is going to be able to explain it to you.

We always hear about how the U.S. is falling way behind in science and math yet people want to get rid of NASA. Their budget is $18B, not even 1% of the total budget yet some think they don't offer anything for that price. How are we going to make a big deal about falling behind India and China in math and science, yet at the same time get rid of our one big math and science agency? Doesn't make sense to me.

tk421;700342 wrote:We always hear about how the U.S. is falling way behind in science and math yet people want to get rid of NASA. Their budget is $18B, not even 1% of the total budget yet some think they don't offer anything for that price. How are we going to make a big deal about falling behind India and China in math and science, yet at the same time get rid of our one big math and science agency? Doesn't make sense to me.

I understand your feelings but considering our nation's financial condition even NASA is subject to scrutiny.

I'm of the opinion that it's time to allow the private sector to take over the space program particularly when it comes to launching beneficial satellites like communications and weather spacecraft. If there's a need and money can be made in doing it, then the private sector can do it and probably do it far more efficiently.

Manned space travel you may ask? When I was a kid I was intrigued with NASA's moon flights. But since becoming an adult and with an understanding of our current economics, I cannot see any reason for it with the exception of missions to repair orbiting satellites...and that, too, can be privatized.

I'm all for allowing the Russians, Europeans, and Chinese take the reigns on manned space "adventures." I could care less if the Chinese end up putting humans on Mars first.

America paved the way. Now it's time to let other nations burn resources on it.

believer;700382 wrote:I understand your feelings but considering our nation's financial condition even NASA is subject to scrutiny.

Exactly. Some feel so strongly about getting rid of unions for public sector to save 1/3 of a billion dollars, but no one seems to care about a failed rocket falling to the sea for more than that amount in one shot.

tk421;700337 wrote:Advance science and if you can't see the benefit of that, then no one is going to be able to explain it to you.

Advanced science? Such a broad answer.

"Sir, people are starving and the economy is bad. People need jobs. What should we do with our alloted budget?"

President "Well, we have to have a billion dollars for space exploration regardless of those issues. Like.. duh!"

"Good point sir, that is vital."

OK, let's get rid of NASA completely. Let's lose the 23,000 jobs and the thousands of other supporting jobs that are involved. Let's not have a national space program in this country. No more benefits from NASA. The government "saves" 18 billion dollars. What are they going to do with that money?

http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/benefits.html
http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/20/public-reaps-benefits-of-nasa-research/?page=1

Hmm, less than a penny per dollar. Seems like a real big waste of money to me.

Blue October said it best. Into the ocean, end it all

"We shot a rocket
Into the air
Where it landed
We know not where
Thought we were aiming
For the moon
The Chinese claim
We hit Kowloon"

Shakespeare!

tk421;700488 wrote:OK, let's get rid of NASA completely. Let's lose the 23,000 jobs and the thousands of other supporting jobs that are involved. Let's not have a national space program in this country. No more benefits from NASA. The government "saves" 18 billion dollars. What are they going to do with that money?

http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/benefits.html
http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/20/public-reaps-benefits-of-nasa-research/?page=1

Hmm, less than a penny per dollar. Seems like a real big waste of money to me.

Way to take it to the extreme. :rolleyes:

tk421;700488 wrote:
Hmm, less than a penny per dollar. Seems like a real big waste of money to me.

So we shouldn't make any cuts anywhere because that one thing won't pay off the deficit? No wonder this country is in such great debt.

WebFire;700553 wrote:Way to take it to the extreme. :rolleyes:

How is that taking it to an extreme? NASA does support many jobs. For example, do you think NASA makes all the parts needed for a space shuttle? Ummmm, no. Those are dependent on outside companies to make.

WebFire;700555 wrote:So we shouldn't make any cuts anywhere because that one thing won't pay off the deficit? No wonder this country is in such great debt.

I think the point is NASA serves a purpose in the US and does so at a reasonable cost. Now, could it use some reduction in its allotted budget? Absolutely, but you could say that about anything.

GoChiefs;700568 wrote:How is that taking it to an extreme? NASA does support many jobs. For example, do you think NASA makes all the parts needed for a space shuttle? Ummmm, no. Those are dependent on outside companies to make.

It's an extreme because I don't think anyone said to shutdown NASA and eliminate everything. If they did I missed it.

It's not a matter of if, but, rather when we leave planet Earth. Therefore the space program is necessary. There will also be a day when there are more humans living off of Earth than on it, barring something wiping out the human race first. I'm not sure that's debatable.

Steel Valley Football;700622 wrote:It's not a matter of if, but, rather when we leave planet Earth. Therefore the space program is necessary. There will also be a day when there are more humans living off of Earth than on it, barring something wiping out the human race first. I'm not sure that's debatable.

I'll have some of whatever you are smoking.

iclfan2;700624 wrote:I'll have some of whatever you are smoking.

Haven't you ever seen Futurama? Star Wars? It's gonna happen dude!

I really don't understand how anyone with marginal intelligence could advocate the paring down of NASA which, frankly runs on a shoe string budget as it is. Space is, after all the final frontier. Seems some of you would rather we as Americans sit on our porch strumming a banjo waiting for Ma to get done cooking that there opossum. Space exploration is the one thing this country still leads the world in. We lead we don't follow. SMH

You're not going to save shit by cutting the damn NASA budget, you bitch and moan about a shitty rocket that did a splashdown a little early, so what. It's on TV, the news and on the web...small ass potatoes. You want to cut things to make yourself feel better, cut some dead wood, some line items that cost little until you total all the lines, a few million barrels of pork, the shit that isn't front and center making a splash in the big drink. Don't cut intellectually motivated endeavors like some backwoods hick.

Cut unions and military, but don't touch our space rockets!

iclfan2;700624 wrote:I'll have some of whatever you are smoking.

GoChiefs;700627 wrote:Haven't you ever seen Futurama? Star Wars? It's gonna happen dude!

You can't debate it because I've named no time line. Go ahead and try.

Steel Valley Football;700702 wrote:You can't debate it because I've named no time line. Go ahead and try.

I can't wait until I'm brought back from the dead and can jump into a phone booth and travel back in time 10,000 years! I didn't name a time line, so you can't debate that either, right?

I did a report on NASA and found a statistic that said the US government has made $7 off of taxes from sales of its inventions for every $1 it has spent on NASA.

Do all of you "oh god government spending!" Tea Party folk think the perfect America would be like all of us living in the woods alone in seclusion without any form of government spending? Jusgt a couple of families and some rifles and Ameria, damn it. I mean it isn't fucking 1790, a lot of what the government does is good.

Tobias Fünke;700735 wrote:a lot of what the government does is good.

How hard was it to not laugh when you said this??