“Take Back Your Space Program!” Will Fight For Reforms on Capitol Hill
The Space Frontier Foundation called on Congress to back the courageous leadership of President Obama and NASA Administrator Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden as they rescue the US space program from certain failure in its ill-conceived effort to return to the Moon. The Administration is charting a new course based on common sense and a more normal relationship between the government and private sectors that will not only save billions of dollars but will help the US establish a NewSpace industry and eventually human settlements on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
“Everything we know of the plan so far is great!” said the Foundation’s Rick Tumlinson. “This new path will open space faster, cheaper and in a way that will pole vault US companies back to the front of the trillion dollar global space race. It will allow NASA to get back to the job of exploration – and yes, even return to the Moon, go to Mars and all the rest – but now we will be able to go to stay, and make it pay.”
The Foundation believes this new plan will help NASA do more at lower cost while transforming the US space industry back into the global force it once was. The Foundation asks: Do we cling to thousands of 20th century government-funded jobs for a few more years or enable millions of private sector 21st century jobs? The role of government in a free society is to enable and regulate the private sector, not to compete with it – as has been the case so far in many areas of space, especially transportation.
“Government astronauts should not be driving trucks in Low Earth Orbit or on the Moon,” continued Tumlinson. ”They should be the vanguard of solar-system exploration, constantly looking over the next horizon, in the tradition of great American explorers like Lewis and Clark or the inspirational heroes of fiction like James T. Kirk – with the rest of us following and creating new wealth and opportunity. Maybe now, after spending decades literally going around in circles, America can pursue its true destiny: To boldly go where no one has gone before.”
The Foundation recently announced “Take Back Your Space Program!,” a year-long campaign in which citizens will visit Congressional leaders to advocate for policies that advance a free and open space frontier.
“Contrary to the hype from vested interests, these changes will help us take back our space program, resulting in more jobs, rather than fewer, in the aerospace industry,” said project manager Mike Heney. “This is a major turning point, the chance of a lifetime to have an impact on America’s civil space policy. The time is now to make your voice heard. Don’t miss it.”
“Take Back Your Space Program!” begins with First Flight, scheduled for the week of February 7-12, 2010. During First Flight and later events, volunteers from across the US will visit Congressional offices to express their support for the bold leadership of President Obama and NASA Administrator Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden.
Citizens who want to help open the space frontier are invited to join the group for First Flight. All volunteers must be US citizens 18 years or older. Volunteers must commit to attend training on Sunday, Feb. 7 and participate in at least two of Congressional office visits during the week. For more information and registration, visit the “Take Back Your Space Program!” website.
Space Frontier Foundation Applauds NASA’s Bold New Direction [pdf]
We are transforming space from a government- owned bureaucratic program into a dynamic and inclusive frontier open to people. We are determined to convert the image held by many young people that the future will be worse than the present, and we reject the idea that the world's greatest moments are in its past. 
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when i first heard that thay cuttng Ares and giving 6 billion to the commercial space to develop a heavy launch vehicle
i thought this could be a good thing companys like SpaceX are at the point of testing thar falcon 9 in a month or two manrating it will take some time but not as much ans a paper
rocket going this route is scary but could get thar faster than undfunding Ares just look what happin to the space shuttle when thay undfunded and add more requirements we got this remarkable reusabl space transport but cost of runnig could have ben a lot less if thay what the funding. if we do not fund the development it going to cost more later on. and i do not see us doing that so giving commercial space a chance mayby worth triing
but now i here that it all of constellation the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Summary and more importantly The Altair lander are on the path that NASA should be on. working on life support space to space transport
You are sick!
Obama allocates $5.9 Billion over 5 years. First to pay for the Space Station, only then to the COTS people.
The money goes through NASA. Do you think that you will see any of it?
It will ALL go to Russia for Soyuz flights!
If you want commercial spaceflight and you are a true-believing Capitalist then why are you sniffing around Washington?
Build your own spaceships – no one is stopping you!
NASA will not (cannot) take one penny away from Soyuz until COTS is up there.
Also they will never let you dock to the US segment of ISS. You will have to float around until the Canada Arm 2 grapples you and berths you.
What is the NASA market? If you are ready by 2015, NASA needs 8 seats a year for 5 more years. That's a total market of 10 flights!
The US has NO LEO MISSIONS AFTER ISS.
Thanks Gabe, I'd forgotten about paying the Russians. When I first saw the figures for the new NASA budge I thought to myself that that's barely enough to keep the lights on and pay the bureaucrats. If you want a good example of how the government handles money and administrating of it just check out how well it's doing with the $7.2 billion for high-speed Internet projects in last year's stimulus package. They should have just shut down NASA and put it out of its misery instead of leaving a "false front"…..
Statement by NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/420994main_2011_Budget_Ad…
"Now let’s discuss the Constellation Program. The Program was planning to
use an approach similar to Apollo to return astronauts to the Moon some 50
years after that program’s triumphs. The Augustine Committee observed that this
path was not sustainable, and the President agrees. They found that
Constellation key milestones were slipping, and that the program would not get
us back to the moon in any reasonable time or within any affordable cost. Far
more funding was needed to make our current approach work. The Augustine
Committee estimated that the heavy lift rocket for getting to the moon would not
be available until 2028 or 2030, and even then they found “there are insufficient
funds to develop the lunar lander and lunar surface systems until well into the
2030s, if ever." So as much as we would not like it to be the case, and taking
nothing away from the hard work and dedication of our team, the truth is that we
were not on a path to get back to the moon's surface. And as we focused so
much of our effort and funding on just getting to the Moon, we were neglecting
investments in the key technologies that would be required to go beyond"
Statement by NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/420994main_2011_Budget_Ad…
"…Now let’s discuss the Constellation Program. The Program was planning to
use an approach similar to Apollo to return astronauts to the Moon some 50
years after that program’s triumphs. The Augustine Committee observed that this
path was not sustainable, and the President agrees. They found that
Constellation key milestones were slipping, and that the program would not get
us back to the moon in any reasonable time or within any affordable cost. Far
more funding was needed to make our current approach work. The Augustine
Committee estimated that the heavy lift rocket for getting to the moon would not
be available until 2028 or 2030, and even then they found “there are insufficient
funds to develop the lunar lander and lunar surface systems until well into the
2030s, if ever." So as much as we would not like it to be the case, and taking
nothing away from the hard work and dedication of our team, the truth is that we
were not on a path to get back to the moon's surface. And as we focused so
much of our effort and funding on just getting to the Moon, we were neglecting
investments in the key technologies that would be required to go beyond.
So this budget cancels the Constellation Program, including the Ares I and V
rockets and the Orion crew exploration vehicle. NASA intends to work with the
Congress to make this transition smooth and effective, working responsibly on
behalf of the Taxpayers…"
To: Charlie Bolden
Be brave. Chin up. The trick is for you to retain your credibility after this disaster.
I did send you a while ago my proposal for ARES VI which would maximize salvage of previous Constellation expenditure, as well as Shuttle components and embodied the principle of maximum efficiency (Isp and structure).
More appropriate possibly today would be to maximize EXISTING infrastructure and tooling (e.g. retain ET diameter and reuse KSC facilities).
If NASA is not allowed to build Orion then Lockmart can build it. All Constellation experience, hardware and paper should be available to the commercial sector.
I'm pretty sure that your thinking is already in this direction.
Good luck.
The Joke ( the complete elimination of ALL US MANNED SPACE FLIGHT CAPABILITY) has gone too far, the time has come to act.
Fire Lori Garver for her role in creating and putting out this policy.
Fire the entire top echelon of OMB for their continued usurpation of elected executive responsibility for national decisions.
Impeach President Barak Husein Obama as the author of the Joke.
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Well, The Augustine Committee estimated that the heavy lift rocket for getting to the moon would not be available until 2028 or 2030, and even then they found “there are insufficient funds to develop the lunar lander and lunar surface systems until well into the 2030s, if ever."
OK, I thought I would take a look at these comments and see if anyone was commenting on any new facts about the new COTS program and what it would look like. I didn't see any so I guess the SFF and its readers don't know any more about the rather vague new program than I do. At this point I don't know whether it is a bold new program or a pending disaster.
I do believe we need consistency and not stopping periodically, tearing up the old programs, and heading in a new direction every few years. I just hope we don't do it again in 2 or 3 years.
Mr Walsh
Please bear in mind that of Obama's increase of 5.9Billion ($) over 5 yrs one-half a Billion ($) each year will go to Russia for Soyuz services.
You read it here first.
The current price is $51million per seat but I estimate the cost (which the Russians intend to recover fully when the current agreement expires in 2012) to be at least $250Million per flight (2 passengers) and Nasa needs 2 a year at least.
You are right in your second paragraph. This happens too often. Anyway, a new trajectory will commence at the latest on January 20th 2013. So hold your breath.
Mr. Kampis
Thank you for your reply. It is the first indication to me that anyone has been even bothering
to read my posts.
It is apparent that when the Shuttle is retired at the end of 2010 the only operating
manned space capability available will be the ability to buy rides from Russia on
the Soyuz and that will give them the opportunity to raise prices.
Yes, I am ignoring the possibility of buying flights from the Chinese. They aren't
there yet and we really have some good geopolitical reasons for not wanting to do it.
Some of these are similar to reasons for avoiding dependency on the Russians
but worse.
However, I note that your posts seem primarily anti-Obama and anti-Garver and I
don't buy the argument that our problem is that the Democrats were elected and
everything has gone bad from there. If you want to go political we would carry this
discussion off in a non-productive side-line so I won't continue that discussion,
Mike Walsh
John F Kennedy was a Democrat and I am ecstatic about him, vis-a-vis the space program. Lyndon Johnston was the head of the program as VP and later he saw the Vision through.
My comment is specifically re the space decision, which is awful, and neither the Man nor the Party.
OK, but a call for impeachment of Obama and firing Lori Garver and somehow assuming
Bolden would rather do something different seems more than a bit partisan.
I might as well state my position, which really means little.
I believe it is extremely important to continue the ISS as both a research station and
as a goal for commercial operations. I do not like canceling the Shuttle before the
U.S. has an operational replacement. I didn't like it under the old plan or the new plan.
I think the shift to COTS for both cargo and personnel transfer to the ISS and other
low earth orbit destinations can be done if provided significant government funding
and if the contractors are held to specific, measured benchmarks.
So far I don't see a plan for deep-space manned exploration although I do read some
rather vague alusions to asteroid missions with no real funding guidelines.
The SFF is a much needed, quite energetic organization, but to me one that seems
to go off on tangents.
"The SFF is a much needed, energetic organization, but one that seems
to go off on tangents. "
I agree.
"Space Frontier Foundation Applauds NASA’s Bold New Direction"
but that's not a tangent ….. it is FULL REVERSE!
Anyone who applauds a policy which closes down ALL U.S. manned spaceflight ………
well, I am at a loss for words.
To define the Obama/Holdren/Garver policy as 'bold' is like being awe-struck by the initiative of the Lion in the Wizard of Oz.
And it will take Americans to the Moon or Mars just as quickly.
A further word of caution … businesses need to measure their market before investing.
The market for US (and contracted Partners) is 2 seats to ISS every six months. Starting from when-ever a proposed TAXI service starts. And ending in 2020 (someone is day-dreaming when they say 2028).
I make that a grand total of 10 missions, Maybe shared by two suppliers.
Go ahead SFF and friends of the new policy…. invest if you dare.
I am against the Nasa budget cut, i think they do a great job
I am definately investing in the new policy
Lol, go for it.
I agree
I think NASA should be able to finance by its own, if they really are so good like they want us to believe.
Do you still need volunteers to work on this program? Me and my brother are seriously interested in it
may be the good thing organizations such as SpaceX are in the purpose of testing thar falcon Being unfaithful inside a a short while manrating it should take time but not as much ans a report
detonate going the following way is intimidating but sometimes receive thar faster in comparison with undfunding Ares simply just glimpse just what happin to the room shuttle when thay undfunded as well as add more requirements we have the following outstanding reusabl room carry nevertheless tariff of runnig would have ben less when thay just what the money. in case and now we don't pay for the growth this going to are more expensive afterwards. i do not discover people performing that therefore offering business room the possibility mayby truly worth triing .
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What new policy is all about?
So what exactly are the implications here?
They found that
Constellation key milestones were slipping, and that the program would not get
us back to the moon in any reasonable time or within any affordable cost. Far
more funding was needed to make our current approach work.
I look for such article along time, today i find it finally. this post give me lots of advise it is very useful for me .i will pay more attention to you ,i hope you can go on posting more such post, i will support you all the time.
I do believe we need consistency and not stopping periodically, tearing up the old programs, and heading in a new direction every few years. I just hope we don't do it again in 2 or 3 years.
r4i
I do believe we need consistency and not stopping periodically, tearing up the old programs, and heading in a new direction every few years. I just hope we don't do it again in 2 or 3 years.
I wonder when we are actually going to go to mars. I have been hearing talk about this for 20 years but there doesnt seem to be a solid program in place to actually get there . Im hopeing we go in my lifetime as that would be amazing to see.
I and V
rockets and the Orion crew exploration vehicle. NASA intends to work with the
Congress to make this transition smooth and effective, working responsibly on
behalf of the Taxpayers…"
ourse based on common sense and a more normal relationship between the government and private sectors that will not only save billions of dollars but will help the US establish a NewSpace industry and eventually human settlements on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
I do believe we need consistency and not stopping periodically, tearing up the old programs, and heading in a new dierection!
That was awesome and I just love the info by Gabe Kampis.
course based on common sense and a more normal relationship between the government and private sectors that will not only save billions of dollars but will help the US establish a NewSpace industry and eventually human settlements on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
I have been hearing talk about this for 20 years but there doesnt seem to be a solid program in place to actually get there . Im hopeing we go in my lifetime as that would be amazing to see.
You actually make it appear so easy with your presentation however I in finding this matter to be really something that I believe I might never understand. It kind of feels too complicated and very vast for me. I’m having a look ahead on your subsequent publish, I will attempt to get the grasp of it!
Take me back to my dream to go to a space. I wanna do for that space program. Schwinn 460 Review
Just my humble opinion, I believe it is possible to live in Moon and Mars one day when latest technological breakthrough make it feasible.
I have been hearing talk about this for 20 years but there doesnt seem to be a solid program in place to actually get there.
I would certainly want to give this new tool some kind of serial tough test and trials before we can even promote this new product to other media for them to have a good look and trial too if there's a good chance for this application to work as they would.Limo Toronto
I am advocating investing in the new policy if budget allows.
wow, i believe with naza, thanks
i can believe they make it happen
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effort to return to the Moon. The Administration is charting a new course based on common sense and a more normal relationship between the government and private sectors that will not only save billions
This is the best part "“Everything we know of the plan so far is great!” said the Foundation’s Rick Tumlinson. “This new path will open space faster, cheaper and in a way that will pole vault US companies back to the front of the trillion dollar global space race. It will allow NASA to get back to the job of exploration – and yes,
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This is maybe a litle bid offtopic, but this is my biggest dream to make holidays in the space
I know a commercial company in the us sells yet tickets to the space, but it is very very expensive. I think it need min. 20-30 years that many people can pay such tickets, or what you mean?
This is all very new to me and this article truly opened my eyes.Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.
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private sectors that will not only save billions of dollars but will help the US establish a NewSpace industry and eventually human settlements on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
It would be great to duplicate the excitement of when we first landed on the moon, clear back when I was in grade school. If we could get to Mars that would be quite a feat.
What new policy is all about?
At last we have real companies building real rockets mainly (so far) with their own and their investors Real money. And now we are trying to do right by the taxpayers by not wasting their funds while helping get this new industry a boost so it can help us all realize our dreams. All good stuff so far.
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I have been hearing talk about this for 20 years but there doesnt seem to be a solid program in place to actually get there . Im hopeing we go in my lifetime as that would be amazing to see.
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