Why not let (extraorbital) US Manned Spaceflight die for now?
Before you reply, consider for a moment the relative gains we have gotten from things like Hubble, Cassini, the mars rovers, Japan's Hinode solar satellite, etc, to what we have achieved with the ISS and the projected goals of Orion, versus the costs of the programs.
I have a strong knee-jerk reaction against letting manned spaceflight die too; dammit, I *want* people to walk on Mars. But the fact is, we are learning a hell of a lot from unmanned missions at a tiny fraction of the cost.
We can resurrect the idea of extraorbital manned missions at any time; would it make sense to shelve them for now though?
Also, I wouldn't frame the argument for manned spaceflight as "will of the people" if I were you; what you and I want in this respect is likely quite different than the (general) "will of the people".
Actually the budget deficits were not manageable; they were simply pushed back.
This is not a partisan issue at all; increases in the national debt are public record and there for anyone to see, be it on wikipedia or
The Reagan administration borrowed more money than all the presidents before him, combined. Basically, it was the same idea as living "well" by maxing out credit cards and getting new ones when you fill up the old ones. Fun while it lasts, but someone has to pay for it eventually.
So, we get to where we are today, with the interest on the national debt being more than 20 times NASA's annual budget. Granted, a lot of that came from both presidents Bush too, especially the latter. GHWB kind of inherited a problem there from Reagan.
Anyway, remember that when you look back to the Reagan years as some kind of boon for the space industry. Short term, definitely; long term, not so much.
While it is unfortunate that Sony gave into a patent troll company (vibrating cellphones, pagers, rumblepak anyone?), this should benefit all PS3 owners and should give developers the go-ahead to incorporate rumble into their games.As part of the agreement reached between the two companies, Immersion will be granted the full amount dictated by the District Court — this includes damages, pre-judgment interest, and legal fees. The agreement also provides Sony with expanded rights with respect to Immersion's patents.
Can this country really allow something like this to happen? Why isn't there general outrage on the front page of every newspaper? Why aren't those responsible being flooded with calls and emails from angry citizens?"Julie Amero was a victim of a school that couldn't be bothered to protect its computers, of a prosecutor without the technology background to understand what he was doing, a police "expert" who was not, and a jury misled by all of them. "Miscarriage of justice" doesn't begin to describe it."
"Experience has proved that some people indeed know everything." -- Russell Baker