NASA and Diversity

The United States may lose its leading position in space exploration, if
it fails to replace quickly its ailing shuttle fleet with a new reliable
space vehicle, the head of NASA has said. *Michael Griffin, head of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told Congress on Thursday
that such a move would not be possible without in turn sacrificing some
valuable science programmes.The warning came as the House of
Representatives Committee on Science pondered options in the face of the
continued grounding of the space shuttle fleet. NASA put an indefinite
halt on shuttle launches after a chunk of insulating foam fell off
Discovery's large external fuel tank during lift-off last July. NASA is
also troubled by a large exodus of experienced engineers and technicians
retiring or leaving NASA for other pursuits.
*

*
OPINION-
We all know "Diversity" is politically correct terminology for NO
HETEROSEXUAL WHITE MALES OVER 40 (You know the people who got us to the
moon in 1969) Is Diversity really cloaked Reverse-Racism?

*

http://www.diversitybusiness.com/Res...Divlists/2005/

*
Any connection maybe to the failures and problems at NASA?
*

* America's Top Organizations for Multicultural (Anything but White
Male) Business Opportunities - 2005

*
Rank
Top Government Agencies

1 UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (USPS)
*2* * National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)*
3 Small Business Administration
4 Minority Business Development Agency
5 Department of Transportation
6 U.S. Navy
7 Department of Defense
8 U.S. Army
9 U.S. Air Force
10 Defense Logistics Agency
11 General Services Administration
12 Department of Veterans Affairs
13 Department of Housing and Urban Development
14 Department of Commerce
15 Department of Justice
16 Agency for International Development
17 Department of Health and Human Services
18 Department of Agriculture
19 Department of Education
20 Department of Energy

On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:25:00 -0500, DILLIGAF
wrote in
::

The United States may lose its leading position in space exploration, if
it fails to replace quickly its ailing shuttle fleet with a new reliable
space vehicle, the head of NASA has said. *Michael Griffin, head of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told Congress on Thursday
that such a move would not be possible without in turn sacrificing some
valuable science programmes.

Well, if some Texas cowboy hadn't squandered the federal surplus he
inherited from the Clinton administration, there'd be adequate funding
for science and education. :-)

Oh well, at least we've got 1,300,000 of our sons and daughters in
Iraq and a new (if nonfunctional) Department of Homeland Security.
Don't you think the money is better spent on that sort of thing than
education and science?

"DILLIGAF" wrote in message
...

Don't post in HTML. It makes you look like a fool. Oh, wait. You are a
fool.

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...

http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - President Clinton on Monday proposed paying off
the national debt by 2015 after issuing a new budget outlook that
adds $1 trillion more to the overall budget surplus over the next
15 years.

You do realize that those 15 year number really are the silliest estimates
in the world. Even the old USSR had the since to only make a 5 year plan
which changed every year.

Well, if some Texas cowboy hadn't squandered the federal surplus he
inherited from the Clinton administration,

It was sure nice of Mr. Clinton to have invented this internet stuff
for us such that federal revenues would grow. However, I'm not sure why
he didn't choose to stop 9/11. Ah well, at least we know the president
controls everything.

-Robert

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
ups.com...
Well, if some Texas cowboy hadn't squandered the federal surplus he
inherited from the Clinton administration,

It was sure nice of Mr. Clinton to have invented this internet stuff
for us such that federal revenues would grow. However, I'm not sure why
he didn't choose to stop 9/11. Ah well, at least we know the president
controls everything.

-Robert

Gore invented the internet, Clinton invented altrernative uses for cigars.

Larry Dighera wrote:


Well, if some Texas cowboy hadn't squandered the federal surplus he
inherited from the Clinton administration, there'd be adequate funding
for science and education. :-)


This is an utterly ridiculous statement. The amount spent by NASA is tiny -
miniscule. Double tiny and you still have tiny.

Bush, through the Fed coordinator, just submitted a request for 4.2 billion
for Katrina:

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=5426

And he'll most likely get it. All of which shows that if the will exists to
spend the money, the money can be found. This is true for the Space program
and science and as well. $4.2 gig is about a quarter of the NASA budget.

There's a whole flamewar all unto itself regarding the dollars spent for
education but I point out one fact to you:

the US spends the most per student and we get the mediocre results.

Fact is that there isn't the political will to spend 20, 40 50 billion more
on the space program. Neither in the public nor the government.

Besides, NASA isn't the place to spend that. And as a Disclaimer I work on a
NASA project: The CHANDRA X-Ray Orbiting Observatory. I don't work for
NASA, but the Smithsonian Institution Center for Astrophysics.

NASA was at it's best when it was NACA - researching, Demo'ing, and
proofing technological ideas and hardware. Then letting other institutions
(including private) use the technology. This was synergistic: private
capital wasn't sunk into risky technological research, and NASA wasn't
managing projects more efficiently managed by private institutions. But I
admit, this is my opinion only.

No sensible business would have kept the Shuttle going after it failed, at
the outset, to deliver the performance. And especially not the safety.

So spending billions on a NASA-based space program is, in my opinion,
wasteful. And I'm talking as one who would like to see Constellation-X fly
someday (project just got stretched out).

There's hope though:

We are seeing a replay of the 20's and 30's. there's work on rocket powered
air racing; the X-prize was won and Diamandis is working on another more
lofty (pun intended) goal. This is one way aviation technology leaped
ahead in the past, and how space technology may leap ahead in the future.
Note that these are private enterprises.

"Saville" wrote

We are seeing a replay of the 20's and 30's. there's work on rocket
powered
air racing; the X-prize was won and Diamandis is working on another more
lofty (pun intended) goal. This is one way aviation technology leaped
ahead in the past, and how space technology may leap ahead in the future.
Note that these are private enterprises.

You have to be kidding! If you think that the present proposed rocket
racing is going to lead to new advances, you are badly out of touch with
reality.
--
Jim in NC

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net wrote in message
...

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...

http://money.cnn.com/1999/06/28/economy/clinton/
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - President Clinton on Monday proposed paying off
the national debt by 2015 after issuing a new budget outlook that
adds $1 trillion more to the overall budget surplus over the next
15 years.

You do realize that those 15 year number really are the silliest estimates
in the world. Even the old USSR had the since to only make a 5 year plan
which changed every year.
Quite so.

The CNN report is dated June 28, 1999. Eight and a half months later, in
March, 2000, the dot.com boom, that fed the tax coffers, collapsed. Caused
in part by the FCC's idiotic regulations on the telecoms (to support the
internet craze), it was exacerbated by the tax increases that strangled a
quick recovery.

Well, if some Texas cowboy hadn't squandered the federal surplus he
inherited from the Clinton administration,

Someone's been reading that clueless, pathological liar and idiot Paul
Krugman.