U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana opened this morning's ceremony celebrating the delivery of NASA's last shuttle external tank by ripping President Obama's "radical" proposals for the space agency. "You all deserve better, and the nation deserves better," he told an audience of hundreds of NASA and contractor employees at the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, earning loud applause.
Vitter, who is running for re-election, is the ranking Republican on the subcommittee that oversees NASA policy, led by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat. Vitter has been a vocal critic of Obama's proposal to cancel the Constellation program since it was announced earlier this year.
He said the Obama plan to turn over the transportation of astronauts and cargo to low Earth orbit to commercial companies would sacrifice U.S. leadership in human spaceflight and lengthen the gap in U.S. flights after the shuttle program ends.
He also criticized NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden's recent interview with Al Jazeera, part of an administration effort to reach out to Muslim communities.
"Call me old fashioned, but I certainly don't want (NASA's) primary purpose to be outreach to Muslim countries to make them feel good about their science [inaudible]," he said.
Congress has not yet approved NASA's 2011 budget proposal, and may not until after this fall's elections are over.
7 comments:
Well i think Mr Vitter is correct there on Obamas plan (what plan)?. Constellation is a GOOD LONG TERM PLAN,but they just can't or more likely won't se it.I mean your country has in vested 10 billion dollars in it,so far.!!. THAT IS A WASTE,you should be seeing it through to completion and getting the returns on the investment .Not cancelling it .
Though I'm a registered Democrat, I'll be voting against Dem's this year. Or shall I say, I'll be voting against ObummerSpace. We need to rebalance Congress in November if we want to salvage any of the distruction our Muslim loving president has done.
For that stunt of selling the space program to Central Florida and then dumping us? I will NEVER vote for that liar again.
Constellation was not a good plan. But it could have been fixed following the plan laid out by the Direct team. Obama has no plan. The fool's choice of Constellation as is or Obama's non-plan is not what should be done. Fix Constellation and Michoud would not become a mostly idle relic.
Just have them learn Russian, that should work just fine.
I Agree with Congressman Vitter, The Orion capsule is a very solid and viable project worth completing, now! The Ares 1 was a joke from teh start. The Ares V looks very promising in the future. Right now NASA should complete Orion as a 6 person capsule, and use a proven launch vehicle like the Atlas V to launch to leo to ferry astronauts "our" space station. This could be completed and flying in the next couple years. Why pay Russia more than it would cost us to fly our own people. Let's get this done then invite ESA, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia and anyone else interested to fly to "our" space station on our rockets and charge them for the rides. Hmmm, this makes too much sense! I guess no one in this administration would have thought about this, because they were too busy codiling this nations enemies and not working on a solid plan for NASA! Let's get to work everyone (Congress, the administration and NASA) and get a solid plan together that can be completed in a short time and keep the USA flying and the front runners in space. Not just has been losers looking to hitch a ride!
I am heartened that there is some rebellion occurring in Congress. NASA head Charles Bolden's interview with Al Jeezera without telling Congress and stating that one of the most important missions of NASA is to reach out to Muslim Countries to thank them for their contributions to mathematics and science to help them feel good is laughable at best. Everyone at NASA knows that its head, Charles Bolden, is incompetent and is nothing but a boot-licking toady to the President. He actively participates in the dimantling of thousands of jobs; he perfidiously lies to NASA workers; he then openly tauts giving contracts to the private commercial space industries with no regard for existing contracts that NASA has with other contractors. I would assume that Charles Bolden has plans to help to the Buddhists feel good, the Roman Catholics to feel good, Jewish people to feel good, my Native American cousins of which I am part to feel good, and let's see if we can name a few other groups...interestingly many groups are here in the U.S. and Bolden is on Al Jezeera. What a joke and what a loser NASA has as its chieftain.
I wonder what Congressmen Vitter says when standing before a Tea Party crowd hell bent on cutting the budgets of everything.
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