Buzz Aldrin Supports Obama's NASA Plan

When it comes to NASA, it's politics, politics, politics. Companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin are afraid of losing their government contracts, states are afraid of losing workers, politicians are afraid of not getting re-elected if they don't fight for space projects. No one thinks about what's good for the nation. What should the space program be accomplishing?
Then there's the politics of Obama's people coming in and changing the old ways of doing business, which causes flack. Some astronauts say Obama's plan is bad. Buzz Aldrin says it's good. For nearly two years, ever since Obama took office and Lori Garver took over the space transition program, NASA people have been complaining. Somewhere, there is a truth. Obama will be talking about NASA's future tomorrow at 2:50 pm eastern. Here is a fact sheet of Obama's NASA plan. Aldrin's statement via Politico:

“As an Apollo astronaut, I know full well the importance of always exploring new frontiers and tackling new challenges as we explore space. The simple truth is that we have already been to the Moon – some 40 years ago. What this nation needs in order to maintain its position as the 21st century leader in space exploration is a near-term focus on lowering the cost of access to space and on developing key, cutting-edge technologies that will take us further and faster – while expanding our opportunities for exploration along the way. The President’s program will help us be in this endeavor for the long haul and will allow us to again push our boundaries to achieve new and challenging things beyond Earth. I believe that this is the right program at the right time, and I hope that NASA and our dedicated space community will embrace this new direction as much as I do. By so doing we can together continue to use space exploration to help drive prosperity and innovation right here on Earth.

“I also believe the steps we will be taking in following the President’s direction will best position NASA and other space agencies to ultimately send humans to Mars and other exciting destinations as quickly as possible. To do that, we will need to support many types of transformative technologies that NASA and its partners will be developing in order to reduce the costs, expand the capabilities, and increase the options for exploration. The quick decision promised on a heavy lift architecture – one that can leverage the knowledge gained through our propulsion and flagship R&D efforts – is a key part of this new plan and one that will help us achieve these ambitions in an expeditious yet still careful way. I also believe that the decision to pursue a crew escape capsule for the Space Station (in a way that takes advantage of work already performed on Orion) is a laudable step that will both make prudent use of our hard-earned expertise and provide a U.S. capability for meeting this important safety requirement.

“Finally, I continue to be excited about the development of commercial capabilities to send humans into low earth orbit and what this could ultimately mean in terms of allowing others to experience the transformative power of spaceflight. I can personally attest to what such an experience can do in creating a different perspective regarding our life on Earth and on our future. I applaud the President for his boldness and commitment in working to make this worthwhile dream a reality.

“Buzz Aldrin
April 14, 2010”

White House Astronomy Night Video

The "stars" in the house: science administrator John Holdren, Buzz Aldrin, NASA administrator Charles Bolden and his assistant Lori Garver, Sally Ride, Mae Jeminson, the first black female astronaut, and John Grunsfeld, the Hubble repairman. Obama looks at a "double double" star 160 light years away:

Astronaut Sally Ride answers questions:

Obama Meets With Apollo 11 Crew Video

Obama says he wants to make math and science cool again:

Obama Hosts Apollo 11 Crew at White House July 20

Full moon inspiration

Update July 19: Obama will meet with Apollo 11 crew and Charles Bolden, the newly confirmed head of NASA, at 2 pm eastern, following a statement on health care at about 1:05 pm. Expect some live streaming at cnn.com or msnbc.com.

President Barack Obama will host the Apollo 11 crew on Monday, the 40th anniversary of man's first landing on the moon.
A senior administration official confirmed the plans to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they had not yet been announced.

The event is one of only two that will feature the entire Apollo 11 crew. The other is a lecture at the Smithsonian Institution Sunday night.

Two of the crew members, Neil Armstrong who took the first step on the moon, and command module pilot Michael Collins, do not make many public appearances. The second man on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, appears frequently in the media. Aldrin is 79; Armstrong and Collins are 78. AP

Recently confirmed head of NASA--and former astronaut--Charles Bolden should also be part of the festivities.
Like we have the Birthers, some people still believe we didn't land on the moon.
Here's an interesting tidbit: most Americans think the space program is worth the money. Walter Cronkite talks about the first moon landing:

Apollo program veterans talk about the program:

NASA Satellite Crash Wastes $270 Million

This is not a good time to be crashing $270 million satellites.
Seems to me, NASA has spent more time crashing expensive machinery than progressing science. NASA needs an overhaul. Here's an update, Buzz Aldrin says NASA is rutterless. 

National Geo: The rocket carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) suffered a technical glitch early this morning that caused the satellite to crash into the ocean near Antarctica.

In development for nine years, the observatory was meant to orbit Earth and monitor global carbon dioxide emissions.

Data from the satellite would have helped researchers better understand distribution of the greenhouse gas, possibly improving climate models. (Get the facts on global warming.)

NASA officials are now calling the $270-million mission a total loss.

"Certainly for the science community, it's a huge disappointment," Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington, D.C., said this morning at a briefing.

"OCO was an important mission to measure important elements of the carbon cycle."