New Nasa Program Doomed To Failure, Nasa Should Explain Failures...

[CaptainRAVE]

Nyack, NY, January 12, 2003 – The initiation of NASA's latest space transport program, the Orbital Space Plane (OSP), was challenged today by the Space Frontier Foundation, which estimates the program's chances of success at zero.

 

"Through all its vehicle development programs since the Shuttle, NASA's record has been perfect: they've cancelled every one," said Foundation Board Member John Cserep. "We've seen no reason to believe NASA has learned the lessons of its many failed efforts, and every reason to expect that the taxpayers are going to lose billions of more dollars on another fruitless program."

 

The Foundation called on Congress to demand an explanation of NASA's repeated failures in every attempt to develop a new space vehicle in the last 20 years. In a letter issued this week to the leading members of the space-related Subcommittees in both houses of Congress [see attachment], the Foundation explains its so-far lone opposition to proceeding with OSP until satisfactory answers are forthcoming.

 

NASA's unbroken string of cancelled vehicle programs stretches back to the Reagan Administration's X-30 NASP, and continued with the X-33, X-34, X-38, 2GRLV and, most recently, the Space Launch Initiative or SLI. The two remaining "X-vehicle" programs – the X-37 and X-43 – are both well behind schedule and over budget, making their cancellation likely.

 

"We understand the urgent and legitimate need for NASA to find some new means of crew transport for the International Space Station (ISS); hence, their OSP effort," said Cserep. "But the importance of this requirement does nothing to improve the chances of OSP's success, and only means the danger to ISS will be that much greater if and when OSP fails."

 

The non-profit Foundation intends to propose a series of steps NASA and Congress can take to improve the chances of meeting NASA's transportation needs within current budget realities.

 

The full article is here

 

I wish NASA would try and make some progress

[nova_wolf]

I say cut them a little slack...

 

They are the worlds biggest, best funded and most experience space exploration group...

 

This stuff is big, and may well take time to get working - lets not forget the vast safety problems inherent with commercial space flight!

[Altus_Thrawn]

my thing is: I couldn't design the rockets and stuff better than them...so I am not going to get angry. same with like pro sports, if they mess up...i'm not mad cause i couldn't do better.

[BCanr2d2]

Lets get it more appropriate - I think that NASA did too good of a job creating the Shuttle, that for an appropriate replacement, the numbers are probably too tight....

 

A highly reusable launch craft, there is no way NASA envisioned the shuttle still being around about 25-30 years after it was launched.

 

No one really complains that Boeing hasn't really come up with a real successor to the 747, of the same vintage as the Space Shuttle. If ain't broke, don't fix it..

[Reborn Outcast]

Yea and with the disaster of the Columbia, who can say now what will happen. They might even have to scrap the OSP plans and possibly all the shuttles themselves.

 

And just think about it. Where would the US be without NASA? They have done everything in space exploration for us. I think that everyone should cut them some slack, especially with the tragedy that just happened.

[ShockV1.89]

Originally posted by Altus_Thrawn

my thing is: I couldn't design the rockets and stuff better than them...so I am not going to get angry. same with like pro sports, if they mess up...i'm not mad cause i couldn't do better.

 

Smartest thing ever said on these forums! Woohoo!

[Eldritch]

Plus you have to understand that this is not quite like designing an airplane. There are different sets of rules, and you have to plan for different things to happen.

 

For instance, one plan of action when testing a plane states that if it goes wrong, the pilot has an out (usually a parachute or something similar).

 

A new space vehicle is so expensive to design and build that if it didn't work on its test run, you'd lose the lives of the crew flying it, you'd lose the millions (perhaps billions) you spent on the vehicle, and you'd be back at square one. They have to be absolutely positive that a new space vehicle will work before they send it up - especially now...