Cut backs at NASA

Oh no!! How could you?



The world really needs to continue it's push into space, and the USA has always led the way. Look at the myriad of things that now pervade our society, that have had their Genesis in the space program. Those technologies have contributed to the US'S affluence. If new technologies continue to be developed through the space program, then the US will be able to maintain its technological and therefore economic lead.



You've got a problem!

You don't think you can afford the luxury of the space program in the current economic climate. This, however,is just the time you need to prepare for the next economic surge with new technologies and capabilities.



There may be a solution!

Many people in the aerospace industry seem to think that NASA is part of the problem. If my reading of it's history is correct it started out, and still continues, doing basic research into aerospace engineering.This should be maintained and if anything expanded to stimulate the industry. But to run space programs now? Maybe not.
The Ansari X prize has shown what can be done by the private sector with some encouragement.
Burt Rutan and Virgin Galactic are pressing ahead to bring sub orbital flight to paying customers. Is NASA able to offer anything as progressive as that? No!
Private sector programs can be undertaken for much lower outlay because the acceptable risk is so much higher.The Politics involved in a Government run program makes it virtually unable to take risk.
Innovative ideas are developed in competion with one another rather than being eliminated from plans at an early stage.
This duplication may seem, at first, to be wasteful with uncompetitive programs failing, but these efforts still produce valuable intellectual property.

What I suggest

Rather than finance the outmoded NASA model, put the funds towards prizes for various steps to return to the Moon and onto Mars. There is historical precedent for this process. One example that comes to mind is the prize offered by the British Admiralty for the development of the marine chronometer.
This multiplies the effect of the Governments funds by drawing in private sector money.No need to outlay outrageous sums to the contractors upfront, no need for the bureaucracy to manage such a complex project. Look at what the X prize achieved with very little money in the pot.
The commercialisation of space will be boosted because those involved will have to make money out of it. As it should.


Why?

If as a species, on what has suddenly started to look like a finite resource, we wish to continue a growth in population and increase in affluence for that population, then we need to look to new areas to exploit. This planet is rapidly becoming insufficient for our needs. We have no more land to farm, in fact to maintain our atmosphere at a state that will not create greenhouse conditions, we need to re afforest allot of what we now farm. Fresh water is short. The seas are over fished. Oil is running out. The system is out of balance NOW!! The effects are largely still to come. And yet we breed like we live in an open ended system. Which of course we do when you include the exploitation of space.

We need to look at our history. Look at the momentous changes in both population and technology that have happened in the last 300 years.Both these are increasing in their growth rate. We need to start getting ourselves ready for the next expansion, or we will be doomed to fighting each other over the scraps like starving dogs.

Life will go on. Maybe without us if we are too stupid to see what is rapidly approaching.