Stumble It!
Paul Spudis gave his views, positive and negative, on NASA's implementation of President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration at the ISDC 2007. Here is a simplification:
Pros:
- RL-10 engine can use in-situ lunar propellant
- Building an Outpost on the lunar south pole
Cons:
- Lack of Robot Probes
- Lunar orbit rendezvous instead of an Earth-Moon L1
- Ares
But the biggest complaint was that NASA's lack of a single complete mission.
1 comment:
I respect Spudis, but Ares and the lack of Robotic probes are pros, not cons.
Ares V is needed for future mega module assembly of simpler space stations. Delta II and IV are not good enough for Mars sample returns, where Ares V can land a craft on Europa.
Pointy headed planetary scientists are just used to the Golden era habit of chain-smoking Delta IIs that Dan handed out like lollypops, while new LV development suffered--with EELVs being little better than the extinct Titans in capability.
I wanted Magnum, but the pointy heads wished for New Horizons. Some wanted X-33, while others wanted Webb. Some wanted OSP, while other wanted MRO.
As usual the scientists got everything they wanted: the engineers? Nothing.
Time after time, the pointy heads get what they want, while LV people get the shaft.
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