Today: Iraq

[kandrathe]

The reality as I've seen it analyzed is that there is only a meager increase to NASA's budget until 2013.

That is when our current fiscal commitments to the space station end, and all the shuttles will be too old to fly. So unless the private sector finally rises to the challenge, again, we will be behind and needing to catch up. So, in 2013, as I understand the proposal, we will start to build the next generation of reuseable space vehicles to replace the shuttles.

I did a study while at the University about 20 years ago for a futeristics class. This was prior to the huge scale downs in space funding during the 80's, when NASA's big plan's included trying out things like;

1) a reusable space vehicle that would take off and land like an airplane.
2) a nuclear moon base and mining/manufacturing colony to collect aluminum and make lightweight structural components
3) a railgun launching system to cast pods with components from #2 towards a collection point near the space station
4) a permanent space station with shuttles running back and forth from the moon base
5) expeditions to mars and nearer asteroids.

I suspect this announcement has more to do with positioning candidate Bush for the 2004 election.