Word: spaces
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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NASA recently held a poll to pick a name for the newest module in the International Space Station, hoping to build public excitement for its imminent completion. But instead of “Legacy,” “Earthrise,” or other sterile, optimistic names suggested by NASA, the winning name was “Colbert.” Television personality Stephen Colbert had encouraged his fans to write in his last name, even though, as he joked, “Houston may have a problem with...
...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...
...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...
...scientific 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...