http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/23 ... rake_nasa/

I know we've got a fair bit of interest so I'll post this here... They don't hold back, do they?

Good. The fact US government says it 'can't afford' NASA given what it spends on some other entirely unproductive things needs bringing up on every possible occasion.

Jon

They must make money out of NASA surely, the amount of innovations that have hit the marketplace.

Anyways, it's not as embarrassing as the UKs Space Program.

The what?

When you have whole communities in New Orleans being washed into the Mississippi, I'm inclined to agree that yes, America can't afford a space programme, they should concentrate on Earth, it's the only home we'll ever know.

I'd agree with that. The sun's starting to set on the US's time as a superpower, IMHO. And when that happens, it's time to look inwards and put your house in order rather than having grand schemes for exploration.
What they should be doing is still performing the research and hire out the accumulated expertise of the last 50 years to the nations that can afford a program.
Although, again, that said there's not a nation on Earth with a space program that shouldn't also be putting things right at home.

Now you see thats only true because we don't spend enough money on space exploration.

The one that ended decades ago, the one from which NASA took quite a fair few ideas. For example, in the 1950s ideas were submitted for the type of launch rocket that could be used to launch satellites, ideas that NASA picked up on and used in their Explorer I satellite.

There were countless ideas that came out of Britain from the end of WWII onwards, including those regarding space planes, but it was always deemed too expensive for us to continue.

Perhaps things could have been better if we'd stuck with it and worked with NASA.

The argument about not having enough money to do it is depressing. What is the point of us as a race? It's one thing I've always admired America for. Who knows what results you will get from space exploration?

It's difficult to make a cost assessment when you don't know what you're getting out of it, one thing I know for sure is if we keep looking up our own arse we'll be kissing it goodbye sooner or later.


And developments from the Space Program may be the only thing that will save it.

Yes, after the disastrous events of the 1950's.

On the face of it, yeah, NASA (and anybody else's program) is a waste of money when compared with "worthier" causes.

However, the idealist in me would like to think that reaching for the stars has the potential to provide inspiration and unity to a society with little of either. And that's worth every penny IMHO.

The Space Program has given us all sorts of practical things from heart monitors and laptops to furthering research into hydrogen fuel cells and meteorology to name but a few.

Seriously, will there really be savings in the long run when everything is weighed up I wonder?

The cool inventions amount to a very small fraction of the budget though. if they kept the research into cool gadgets and cut out all the rest, it would be just as beneficial. To be honest, i think we need a way of re-populating our oceans and protecting rainforest habitat before we need a research station on Mars - are there really major benefits from zero gravity experiments? It's a shame we're sort of like fish in a bathtub, carelessly biting holes in the plug and thinking we'll just live in the sink if all the water goes away.

/fish-bathtub metaphor

I'm all for that, cities under and on the sea would be cool.

Doing a quick search I just came across this thevenusproject. I'll have to have a look through that later.