Word: programer
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...Colbert, NASA was an easy target for a prank. It’s hard to imagine a government agency more past its prime. Nearly every major manned program undergone by NASA since the early 1970s has run over budget and been delayed. Now, with the shuttle program ending, NASA will likely have to rely on Russian rockets soon (as early as 2011) just to get American astronauts to the space station...
...NASA had such a dismal track record since the Apollo program? Reduced funding tells part of the story. The space program received around $40 billion a year (adjusted for inflation) in the mid-1960s, which was at least four percent of the federal budget. But, back then, Americans also had a much greater tolerance for risk: The first successful Apollo mission was launched just eight months after the three astronauts in Apollo 1 died during testing. NASA’s tighter leash today means that riskier programs like nuclear-powered spacecraft don’t make it off the drawing...
...That’s why the primary thrust of the current Constellation program, which plans to build a permanent settlement on the moon as a stepping stone to Mars, seemed good on the surface. Its ambition rivals the Apollo program, and its announcement came on the heels of China’s first manned rocket launch, suggesting a new space race was underway. Constellation also seems to have the support of Congress, which this year proposed increasing funding for the program (at the expense of NASA’s science budget) in order to return to the moon...
...value to a permanent moon settlement. Mars is hardly realistic, because the lengthy cruise to get there would severely disfigure our astronauts. Prolonged habitation in zero-gravity environments might permanently cost astronauts a quarter of their skeleton due to osteoporosis. While many Americans view China’s space program as a threat, there is hardly enough political will necessary to fund such an ambitious proposal on a rapid timescale. The Orion capsules that will replace the space shuttle have already been delayed to 2015. It’s only a matter of time before waning interest spurs Congress...
...Perhaps diverting funds from Constellation into unmanned missions makes more sense, as robotic exploration accounts for most of the important science being done by NASA today. The conventional counterargument asserts that the manned space program justifies its expense and its danger because it attracts the most attention, not just to NASA, but to science in general. But, even if that’s true, NASA severely underestimates the appeal of robots. Tiny Mars rovers launched five years ago for nearly half the cost of a single shuttle mission continue to receive nearly constant coverage, even for minor milestones...