RRJ#2, Billions For NASA, With a push to find new ways into space

¤ Reference

Chang K. (February 1, 2010). Billions For NASA, with a push to find new ways into space. The New York Times (Space&Cosmos). Retrieved on February 2, 2010. From http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/science/space/02nasa.html?ref=space

¤ Summary

President Obama proposed his plan for NASA on Monday. As people expected, Mr. Obama canclled the Ares I rocket, which has been developed for four years, and Orion, the crew capsule, that is the only developed traveling spacecraft capable of orbit of low earth. Some members of Congress consider about the president’s decision. Mr. Obama will spend 18 billion over five years for techologies such as station fuel in orbit and new spacecraft engines. 6 billion of the budget will be spent on transport astronauts to International Space Station from other commercial companies. Mr. Obama’s new space plan will be a big event if it succeeds. But canceling the Ares I is risky, because NASA will have a big problem if commercial companies don’t want to deliver a spacecraft. Also NASA did not say about the safety of commercial companies’ rockets. Another problem is that the decade of knowledge within NASA’s operation spacecraft will be lost and commercial companies knew about this. Dr. Logsdon, the former director of the Space Policy Intitute at George Washington University, said « It is a somewhat risky proposition, but we’ve been kind of stuck using the technologies we’ve developed in the 50’s and 60’s. »

¤ Reaction

President Obama’s decision was a little different than I thought. I think he likes change, because it is a difficult decision to cancel studying the Ares I, that has been developed for four years. NASA is a very important agency in the development of space, not only for Americans, but for every country which likes to develop space in the world. Someone said that Ares I, is not failed it is “a nonstarter”. I don’t know exactly about studying space and cosmos, but I think space is a mystery in many parts. Nobody has been to places like Mars, Jupiter or beyond the solar system. Spacecraft is really complicated and the environment of the Universe is totally different from that of the earth. So developing space is not easy and requires a long time and much study. Four years study is not short time. I’m sure that President Obama also knew these facts and made his decision. So, I hope his decision is correct and a new way to develop space will be succeeded.