Wednesday, February 03, 2010

YouTube Video Aims To Save Constellation

An impressive "Save Constellation" video is posted at YouTube and links to it have been making the rounds out here at Kennedy Space Center.

The video introduces Constellation to the American public, covers the accomplishes of the development project and encourages supporters to contract their congressional representatives to express their views on the future of U.S. human spaceflight.

Take a look:

Save Constellation



28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does it cast adoration upon Obama? Does it explain how he can attach huge tax burdens on the people? Is there a way his buddies in Chicago can make a buck? Does it blame the US for global warming? Does it somehow involve working with countries we cannot rely on? If not, he's not interested.

Anonymous said...

Beyond cool...

Gaetano Marano said...

--
the Orion/Ares-1/5 LOBBY (inside and outside NASA) has 99% of guilt of the DEATH of NASA and Constellation because they (Griffin, the Ares-1 guys, ATK, LM, etc.) have promised in 2005 to develop, build and launch the Ares-1 and Orion within 2012 with a total budget of ONLY $5 billion for the Orion and $5 billion for the Ares-1
--
then, they have changed the design of the Ares-1 to earn $3 billion ONLY to add a 5th segment to the standard SRB and the whole program costs has grown to $35 billion for the Ares-1 and $9 billion for the Orion (+ further costs overruns...) while the first manned launches of the Orion/Ares-1 has been shifted to 2017 or LATER
--
this is a giant failure of the Orion/Ares-1/5 LOBBY that FORCED the President Obama to cut a program that has become more CRAZY every day with costs close to the GDP of several countries of the world!!!
--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29
--

Anonymous said...

I've been checking around on opinions at newspapers around the country. There is not much support for the Constellation program. Reasons given are: too expensive, too slow in getting man back on the moon, and it was underfunded during the Bush years which brings up questions as to why?

Several comments stated that it might have taken off if we hadn't wasted $1trillion+ on destroying then rebuilding Iraq... which many people think was just a way for oil companies to get drilling contracts while Americans had to foot the bill.

Anonymous said...

Well produced video. I see it was made by a United Space Alliance contractor.

I missed the part at the beginning where Obama promised to keep Constellation - can someone point that out?

The promises I did hear in the video intro:
"We may extend an additional shuttle launch."
Okay, that one is kept.

"By continuing to support NASA funding."
Okay, that one is kept too.

"By speeding the development of the shuttle's successor."
Sure could be argued that this one is kept too.

"We need a real vision for the next stage of space exploration."
Per Bolden, sounds like that is underway too:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/leadership/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222600942


I think the 5th promise is more vague, but may be the one this USA contractor has hung his argument on:
"I'm going to close the gap, ensure that our space program
doesn't suffer when the shuttle goes out of service."

Not sure this promise was kept, but I also do not see why not canceling Constellation is the way to keep it.

WordsmithFL said...

The non-partisan Augustine Panel found that Constellation was over budget, behind schedule, badly managed and unlikely to launch a lunar mission until 2028, if ever.

NASA Administrator Bolden in yesterday's press conference pointed out there are far more efficient ways to get to the Moon. One might be to create a fuel depot in low Earth orbit where human vehicles could refuel before leaving for the Moon.

That approach means we just need a simple LEO vehicle, a capsule atop a rocket, to get to the fuel depot. After that, nudge the vehicle with a lander towards the Moon.

That's not Constellation. Constellation was an attempt to do Apollo again using old technology. It was obsolete. Time to try something different.

Anonymous said...

So everyone is upset at the loss of jobs at KSC. Blame Bush for that roadmap. We are right on the schedule he set. Congress has failed to fund the Constellation program. The US could not launch another manned expedition after the shuttle retires until 2018 with the Ares program. Man rating the Delta 4 and Atlas 5 will be quicker and cheaper. The Ares 1 had problems with lift capacity and the Orion capsule had to be lightened by several thousand pounds. Space X has a rocket and capsule well along in development and may be ready by 2014. Obama certainly isn't talking about ending the USA space program, just transforming it. And yes, I do believe in that change.

Anonymous said...

Either way I knew I was going to lose my job. We will see, in a few years all of this will be different, we'll be further behind and still have no direction. In NASA history only during the moon landing push did they have a clear cut vision. Since Apollo it has been changed up so many times they couldn't get anything done through completion. The new idea will turn out the same, except it is going to do a lot of damage economically along the way.

Anonymous said...

WordsmithF - had we stuck with Apollo and NOT gone to the shuttle we would be further along in space than we are now. Old technology <> bad technology. As some have mentioned, in a disparaging way, look at the Russians. Reliability is what we need, consistency, and support to finish a project through and actually stick to the plan. No administration since the 60's has done that. This one will be no different and the next will change it yet again.

Anonymous said...

They haven't kept the promise of an extra mission. STS-135 is cancelled:

Anonymous said...

The U.S.A. is broke.

Obama's not wiping out NASA, he's just changing the game. This space race (no one is really racing much anymore) business needs to start turning a buck. We're paying for some very smart people to design and manufacture vehicles we cannot sell to anyone. Too expensive.

It's time for private industry to take over.

Remember, NASA didn't pay for Lindbergh, the Wright Brothers or Galileo...

The little video is a great memorial to an expensive program that went over budget and ran out of time. At best, it was going to provide the fun of the year 1969 to a bunch of people who enjoy virtual reality more than touching a piece of the moon.

Times have changed and so must the NASA contractors who have made so much money since the 1950s. Go earn some money like the rest of us do... by being cheaper, faster and better than the competition. Competition... it requires sacrifice, not selling cost over runs to NASA.

Anonymous said...

I feel that after the shuttle program the Constellation is a step backward. Yes, a re-hash of the Appollo program. All the launch/re-entry vehicle technology from shuttle will not be of much use here. If the new commercial option the government is now proposing comes to fruition, the winged vehicle proposals may be viable given shuttle technology. Unfortunately, the limited dollars available for the one year study phase probably won't result in much success.

Anonymous said...

"They haven't kept the promise of an extra mission. STS-135 is cancelled:"



The extra mission is the AMS mission, STS-134.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/332/add-another-space-shuttle-flight/

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/aug/HQ_09-187_STS-134_crew.html

Anonymous said...

Without casting blame on any one person or president or whatever, it is true that if we are to continue a space program of any kind, and I believe we will, it makes a lot of sense to pick a program and go with it. Bounding around from plan to plan will get us nowhere.

I would rather spend money on any space program that creates jobs in the USA where those jobs in turn create others than to send several billion dollars overseas where the money is gone forever and never does any of us any good. We've sent how many billion to Haiti over the past 10 years.....and for what? Did a lot of good, didn't it? That money is just plain gone.

Anonymous said...

This is on the Lockheed Martin Home Page.

Lockheed Martin Responds To The FY2011 NASA Budget Proposal To Cancel Orion

We are keenly disappointed in the Administration's budget proposal for NASA that would cancel Project Orion as part of an elimination of NASA's Constellation Program. Orion’s maturity is evident in its readiness for a first test flight in a matter of weeks. In fact, Orion can be ready for crewed flights to low Earth orbit and other exploration missions as early as 2013, thus narrowing the gap in U.S. human space flight capability when the shuttle is retired later this year.

Significant investment has already been made by the nation and private industry in Orion, which is human rated to provide a level of safety unmatched by any previous or currently proposed crewed vehicles. Nearly 4,000 people at more than 500 commercial companies and hundreds of small business suppliers across the country have worked diligently on the Orion project to support the nation's human space flight efforts. New facilities have been built and others upgraded. Innovative technologies such as a launch abort system, autonomous rendezvous and docking, closed-loop life support systems, state of the art solar power and avionics systems have been incorporated. And the next-generation of engineers, scientists, teachers and students, so critical to America's future, has been inspired. Cancellation of Orion would sacrifice these capabilities and accomplishments.

The President's budget proposal will, of course, be reviewed by Congress and ultimately will require Congressional approval. As the budget process moves forward, Lockheed Martin is committed to working with Congress, the Administration and NASA to ensure a safe, viable and robust space exploration program that does not cede U.S. leadership in space.

Anonymous said...

Someone said:
"The U.S.A. is broke.

Obama's not wiping out NASA, he's just changing the game. This space race (no one is really racing much anymore) business needs to start turning a buck. We're paying for some very smart people to design and manufacture vehicles we cannot sell to anyone. Too expensive.

It's time for private industry to take over.

Remember, NASA didn't pay for Lindbergh, the Wright Brothers or Galileo...

The little video is a great memorial to an expensive program that went over budget and ran out of time. At best, it was going to provide the fun of the year 1969 to a bunch of people who enjoy virtual reality more than touching a piece of the moon.

Times have changed and so must the NASA contractors who have made so much money since the 1950s. Go earn some money like the rest of us do... by being cheaper, faster and better than the competition. Competition... it requires sacrifice, not selling cost over runs to NASA."

Ok dreamer...wait until whatever system NASA decides upon before you go cracking off comments about cost over runs...wait until something that is dreamed up actually costs MILLIONS over what was agreed upon, but then again, I guess you don't recall the $1000 toilet seats the government bought!

By the way, it sure is a great gut feeling knowing that America has a space station, and has no way of getting to it once Shuttle is retired...and at $50 million per seat on the Russian rockets (of which have been flying for 40+ years on their basic design) can't wait until the "renegotiation" takes place for our AMERICAN Astronauts to get to the Russian Space Station (previously known as the ISS) as was done for the enriched plutonium/uranium for our deep space probes that was just renegotiated. Remember that possession is 9/10ths of the law...all they have to do is no longer take us up there...

I understand that we have safeguards in place if that were to actually happen...but you never know...

Anonymous said...

After 30 years here, I don't know of anyone that was happy about the constellation platform announced back in 2004 with Bush.. we all shared the same thoughts.. but.. we knew there were other vehicles that were designed like Direct X that would do everything the US wanted to do, MARS included. We all knew that commonality with shuttle would save many billions on this program and we could have kept to the 2016 scheduled return to the moon with ease..

The washington Politics and NASA were the absolute fault in the killing of all other designs and the push for Constellation/Orion.. The contractors wanted Direct... it would have been wonderful.. and it is still available today... this was the plan we were all hoping was going to be announced on Monday..

Now that this President has turned his back to manned space flight outsourcing it out to Russia.. this country will never have the motivation to do it ourself again..

Mr. President, you have effectively castrated the one of the last symbols of pride America stood for.. you have placed our country in significantly more danger to national security... and you have ripped the souls our of our hearts...

We know you are proud of the lies you tell, the twisted truth so people think your on board with them..Your so called biased Augustine panel.. you gave them rules to investigate this knowing the answer before they started... what you did here in Titusville last year and to this country is / was a criminal act, you sir, should be impeached for treason..

Anonymous said...

A great victory for the Tea Party movement, getting the government out of the LEO transport business and allowing private enterprise to take over.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing that the elitist know the mind of every human in existence.

Anonymous said...

It's time for private industry to take over. - you really belive it will be cheaper better and faster? Nope, if the gummint is handing out checks it will become bloated, slow and inefficient. If the companies themselves can bring in income that is another issue, but seeing as no one has a man rated ship waiting for tourists and they have no destination to go I think you'll be waiting a looooong time for your presidents plans to work out. There are already man rated ships in place and others well on their way. Best plan our president can come with is to throw it all out and start over. Sounds logical to me.

WordsmithFL said...

Anonymous wrote:

"... this President has turned his back to manned space flight outsourcing it out to Russia.."

We've been flying on Soyuz since the 1990s. The current scheme to use Soyuz full-time once Shuttle retired was made by the Bush Administration five years ago.

The non-partisan Augustine Panel found that Ares I probably wouldn't fly humans until 2017 at the earliest, near the end of the Space Station program. The Moon program wouldn't fly until 2028, if ever.

President Obama is making sure we actually have a U.S. program that *will* take our astronauts into space. We've been using commercial rockets (Delta, Atlas) for decades. It's easier and cheaper. We flew capsules atop military rockets in the 1960s, so it's not exactly hard to do. This frees up money for modernization of KSC and human exploration by NASA beyond low Earth orbit.

Now, that's the truth, and anyone who actually reads the proposal on NASA.gov can see that.

Anonymous said...

This is a great video. Every senators and congressmen and women need to
see it so that they will understand what is at stake. I an a Canadian
and I get it. Do they. I respect the comment from the tea party person, but if you are a true patriot and you whant your country to be
number one at something, then accept to put some tax dollars to it or I garanty you will be the first to complain when another country makes
it to the Moon or worse, Mars before the US.

Anonymous said...

NASA and its contractors are employers, not parents. Working at KSC is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. If KSC employees were not prepared for the end of shuttle and potential cancellation of Constellation, shame on them. When it comes to manned space flight, people think with their hearts, not their heads. Manned space flight was a cold war tool; exploration was a side benefit. No cold war, no need for people in space. The Moon? Been there, done that, planted the flag. Money would be better spent of commercial ventures and developing cheaper propulsion technology. Get the cost per pound to orbit down to $1000 or less. Do that, and we can compete with the Chinese, Russians and Europeans.

Anonymous said...

the last comment may be right, there is no mmore cold war. At least not whit Russia, but last time I checked, China was still comunnist and the US being second to theme in space is simply unacceptable.

Anonymous said...

since I am new at this hole cumputer thing, I do not know how to write to peaple lide the ceos of Boing or Lockeed Martin. but if someone can, then perhaps who knows, this will reach them.

there is a posible solution to saving orion and at least one of the Ares rockets, it is time for both companies to start assuming part of the programs s financing, lest say 15 to 20 percent. Create a private/government partnerchip to continu constalation to its goals, the Moon and Mars, everybodie wins...

P.S. Perhaps this comment can be forwarded to the President and members of comgress to along whith the idea of not cancelling Orion. but simply putting it on top of a More powerful version of the Ares 5 launcher, a four solid rocket booster version for example.

Montreal again, bye

Anonymous said...

The video was produced by an individual who just happens to work for United Space Alliance. He did this at home on his own time.

Anonymous said...

Orion is poorly designed and accomplishes nothing of practical value. It is completely inappropriate for ISS support since it weighs 25 tons and carries only four people and a few hundred pound of cargo. It is more expensive than Shuttle and vastly inferior to it in crew size, payload, capabilities for orbital assembly. FT has several times carried the vague innuendo that the Shuttle is unsafe. if so, FT should call for it to be grounded immediately. Actually, with hundreds of improvements, the Shuttle is safer than it has ever been before.

Anonymous said...

Official Govt way of acquisition; 1. Submit a proposal that is insanely underfunded to beat other companies to taxpayer dollars. 2 Pray to God that some future administration will fund it properly. 3 Spend billions of taxpayers money getting to second base. (4) Have an idiotic president claim it is overbudget. (5) Have same president set up a panel of yes men. (6) Federal Govt employees are all yes men or they are fired. (6) Spend same taxpayers money buying alternatives from some foreign country. (7) President cancel's program so it can be restarted from scratch. (8) Tell the people a bunch of lies to CYOA. As a private citizen I expect the govt to stick to what they promised with constellation. Also, I expect the funding to be increased as each milestone is accomplished. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF DEVELOPING AND EXPANDING A SPACE INFRACSTRUCTURE...oops this has been canceled or proposed to be canceled.