Re: Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I

Leopold Stotch wrote:

Craig Fink wrote:
Jacques van Oene wrote:

Boeing Selected to Build NASA's Upper Stage for Ares I
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been
awarded a NASA contract valued at approximately $514.7 million to
produce the upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This element
provides the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for
the ascent of the second-stage Ares I into low-Earth orbit.

When Ron Paul gets elected in 2008, I would hope he would cancel the
Boeing's contract. The last thing we need from NASA is another white
elephant. Let Boeing spend their own $518 million dollars building their
own upper stage, risking their own money to produce what NASA need to
explore the Moon and Mars. Let Boeing compete in a "free" market with
SpaceX or whoever else want to take product (cargo, people, ...) to
orbit.

Personally, without a highly regulated, really socialist monopoly market
place that manned space flight currently is, I doubt Boeing could compete
with SpaceX. I really hope SpaceX can maintain their own identity when
dealing with NASA, and don't get sucked into the Boeing style contracting
for NASA's monopoly. SpaceX will surely lose to Boeing in the status quo
market place.

A "free" manned space flight market, might even be good for Boeing too.

Congress has the power of the purse, not the President. The President
can't go around canceling contracts.

I would think that someone that professes to hold libertarian views
would appreciate that we live in a representative republic where
government powers are supposed to be specifically enumerated and divided
amongst three different branches. Or perhaps you simply would like to
elect an emperor whom you believe holds views that align with your own.

While I have high hopes for SpaceX you need to remember that they while
they have a lot of good ideas and PowerPoint presentations they have put
exactly 0 lbs into orbit to date.

Yes, power of the purse. When I went to Washington on vacation and to help
campaign for passage of a bill in congress, I took in a Senate Committee
Meeting. I believe it was a Committee chaired by John McCain, he described
what he thought his job was and how it relates to the Executive Branch. It
was, "The President proposes, the Congress disposes." To me, this statement
ignores his own Constitutional duty to his constituents. His constituents
also propose, some whom were at the Committee meeting proposing changes to
NASA's direction, trying to get Congress to include changing our Cold
War "Communist" Space Program into a more "Capitalist" type space program.

This really would have been the best time to make such a change, but John
McCain and all ignored the proposal, in favor of what President Bush and
NASA proposed a few months later. Going to the Moon and Mars with
our "Communist" Space Program. To me, Bush really didn't care about the
whole thing and punted, letting NASA and the status quo continue on for the
next two or three decades. IMO, John McCain is a really poor leader and
should have been leading a Senate Committee that is controlling the purse
strings of NASA. To me, he just doesn't have the leadership qualities, he
is a follower. I really don't think the Committee even remotely considered
what the constituent was saying about not going back to the Moon and Mars
with our "Communist" legacy of the Cold War, called NASA. They were having
too much fun roasting the NASA Administrator about Columbia, reading
Atlantic Monthly while he was testifying.

IMO, President Ron Paul, would most likely be looking to get much (if not
all) of NASA off the federal books. He believes in free markets, so he
might do the "Proposing" required to convert NASA into a more "Capitalist"
type program. One that would have a thriving Manned space "free market",
that would actually reduce the cost of going back to the Moon and Mars.
Right now, Russian and their "Capitalist" space program is poised to beat
us to Mars, and they may even beat us back to the Moon.

I too hope SpaceX does well, they have done a lot more than power point
presentations. Blowing up two rocket is far beyond a power point
presentation, and far ahead of NASA's favorite Kistler (they got a bigger
serving of Communist Pie? didn't they?). Kistler seems to have "experience"
NASA likes? Power Point presentations and going bankrupt? Again? Two
Bankruptcies vs Two launch failures? Maybe, I'll take the time to look up
the links to verify the facts, get the story right, ...

....Later
--
Craig Fink
Courtesy E-Mail Welcome @ WeBeGood@xxxxxxxxx
.

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