Bolden Responds To Congress over Constellation Actions

I take issue with his assertion that NASA has not done anything more than "study" what it will take to shut the program down. Take a look at the procurement schedules versus actuals for the truth. This will do nothing to bolster his credibility.

Bolden is making a mistake by entrenching and now going out for an 'all or nothing'. This doesn't bode well for the contractors under the 'new plan' which, and science programs whether implemented or not by 2012, many of which I very much doubt will last much beyond January 2013 (Anyone remember 'Triana' aka 'Goresat'? That didn't take long to get mothballed even though it was already built). The administration better move quickly to find middle ground for a revised CxP or come Jan. 2013 the 'new plan' proponents, and the various 'science plans' may find themselves in worse shape than under the previous CxP as Congress shifts funding to get things back on track.

We should, in my view, keep an accelerated Space-X/Dragon running parallel track with Orion/Ares-IV development (and 2 launcher version vs. 1.5) and postpone Altair, VASIMIR, new engines, etc., until the U.S. there's an OPERATING replacement to the shuttle and THEN Dragon/Falcon and Orion/Ares-IV R&D funding is freed up. A lighter version of Orion should fit on Falcon-9 if Dragon have delays (I don't believe the booster is the weak link. but do worry about the crew capsule).

Finally, I insist, there needs to be some consolidation within ULA. I really don't think three competing commercial lines (Delta, Atlas, now Falcon-9 heavy) are viable. Is it really in the national interest to keep purchasing Russian engines for Atlas? Can't the ULA partners come to an agreement to split the workshare on a SINGLE production line or an 'Evolved EELV' (EEELV?) which could later on transition from RS-68 to a new engine?

I'm pro CxP but, seriously, we can't go on creaming each other for sparse resources. There are some good ideas in the new plan worth considering even from a CxP perspective. As 'space fans' we're a small enough group as things stand, and now we're split in a 'civil war' where in the end everyone loses minus Roskosmos. Also, let's watch out for the Russians as they start launching from Kourou and, essentially, doubling the payload capacity by taking full advantage Earth's angular momentum. Even ESA might end up regretting ceding that old Ariane pad to Soyuz ...

Anyone have links to the 3 page letter from Bolden? I only see links to the EGLS cancellation and the memo TO Bolden. I'd like to read his full response if anyone has it. Thanks!

http://media.cleveland.com/science_impact/other/Bolden%20response%20to%20LaTourette.pdf

Here's a little song I've written that I think captures the current mood, around the HSF parts of NASA anyway:

Hotel Constellation

On a doomed NASA Project, rumors flying anywhere
The threat of cancellation rising up in the air
Up ahead in the White House, I saw a frightening sight
My heart grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop out of fright

There he stood at the prompter;
I heard the fateful plan
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be the end of U.S. space for man'
Then he put up the budget and he showed me his way
There were voices down in Congress,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel Constellation
Such a lonely place
Such a total waste
Plenty of gloom at the Hotel Constellation
Some time this year, you will see the tears

His mind is definitely twisted, he got the merciless axe
He got a lot of phony, phony lies, that he calls facts
How they dance around the issue, making us sweat.
Some dance to dismember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Bold One,
'Please give me a hopeful sign'
He said, 'We haven't had space spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the Hotel Constellation
Such a lonely place
Such a total waste
They’re givin' it up at the Hotel Constellation
What a big surprise, hear their alibis

Mirrors in the budget,
The pink slips will begin
And he said 'You are all just prisoners here, of the Prez’s whim
And in the NASA chambers,
They gathered for the wake
They stab it with their steely knives,
Just how much can we take?

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find a job that’s fun
Like the one I had before
'Relax,' said the Congress,
‘We are programmed to deceive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!’

Standby for a musical version--appearing on a Facebook or You Tube somewhere soon! Enjoy!

Goodness there is so much wrong with this post one does not know where to start!

Let's start with something small: it's VASIMR "Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket"
VASIMR. It's a private operation operating in Puerto Rico and one of the few groundbreaking (space breaking?) research projects by AMERICA on the ISS. And you want to cancel it! Go figure.

Altair is canned already.

Why in Space would Musk want to stick a LockMart Orion on his vehicle when he can manufacture and sell his own!

DOD want the competition: so Atlas and Delta will stay "as is" until the Falcon undercuts them for price and reliability. (Not a given ;)

If a Russian built motor is cheaper use it! Market forces, Capitalism,... Or does "American Exceptionalism" trump common sense?

As to the second swipe at those peski (sic) Ruskies. ESA is buying the Soyuzi (sic) to launch their Galilei (sic) Positioning Satellites and we need a cheap launcher especially if the US decides to shoot them down. And we really need to know precisely where he is! At all times.
Finally we get to the obligatory AGW swipe. Alas the hated "Goresat" after having been canned by the previous admin (for obvious reasons) is back on track for launching.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Climate_Observatory

Check some facts before posting. Then your opinions might be of more value.

Best check YOUR "facts" before calling the "kettle black", for example:
1)I believe the VASIMR works (Chang-Diaz's) are in Costa Rica not Puerto Rico! (Hopefully it will get a demo on ISS)
2)The Altair was "put on hold" not officially canned!(yet)
3)Musk is so far behind Orion toward a truly certifiable (man-rated) crew vehicle that ALL his money and Branson's too, can't possibly allow him to catchup in less than 7 years or more!
4)And, finally, Goresat may alledgedly be back "on track" but it's still an embarassing joke!

Other than that---I agree with some of your points!

'Why in Space would Musk want to stick a LockMart Orion on his vehicle when he can manufacture and sell his own'

As a friend of mine says, "BWAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-Ha-Ha-ha!!!"! Yeah, they're all gonna be lining up to buy them, to compete for all those billionaires who want to vacation at the Bigelow-plex!

Well, thanks for giving me a good laugh (seriously).

Thanks to Orion1 for posting the letter.

Administrator Bolden's remarks seem a bit ... disingenuous... when he states that nothing has been canceled, it is only being studied.

@KSC, was not the EGLS contract competition cancelled?
@JSC, were MOD Cx troops not told to stand down working long hours since the program would end after the PDR in March?

I suppose this is true for some values of the word "studied"?

1/ Thank you for falling into my trap actually meant for Lowly Contractor and any passing Heffalump. (SIGH!)
Actually it's in... Webster, Texas!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_Astra_Rocket_Company

2/ Altair
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/10/bolden-directs-msfc-special-team-to-evaluate-hlv-alternatives/ (See Altair Defunded)

3/ Cargo Dragon is ISS compatible therefore human rated. (vide ATV and HTV.) Just not rated as a human launch vehicle. Yet. Seven Years? How about if the American taxpayer chips in? Although, as an afterthought, if the Rating is under control of NASA's astronaut office: seven years might be right!

4/ Why is an Earth observation satellite that the National Academy of Sciences reckons is: "strong and scientifically vital." a joke?

Perhaps Senators Barbara Mikulski and Bill Nelson should be told?

Loved the Parody BTW :)

And for Noel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsxQypAfCME
Evil Geniuses for a better tomorrow (AIAA 2009)