The US is back in space. SpaceX, a private space agency, launched the Dragon capsule this week on a Falcon rocket. Today, the capsule intercepted the International Space Station (ISS) and docked. Less than a year after the Shuttle was retired, NASA has an alternative route to space. Dragon is not expected to transport crew until 2016, so it is just an unmanned resupply vessel for the time being. Thus, US Astronauts must still use the Soyuz at $63 million a flight thanks to the Russian monopoly on manned spaceflight.
Pleased as I am, this is low earth orbit (LEO) stuff but it doesn't touch what we were doing 40 years ago. SpaceX can be a great competitor for the Russian Soyuz but it's not Apollo. The Constellation program was supposed to get us back to the moon and beyond but that has been scrapped. Yes, money is tight but retiring the shuttle (very expensive each launch) and using a private contractor for ISS resupply (much cheaper) should allow for the restart of Constellation.
The entire space program from 1959 to 1973 cost $109 billion (adjusted for inflation for 2010 dollars), roughly an eighth of the 2009 Stimulus. NASA's current budget is $18 billion a year (0.5% of the federal budget), which is less than the Department of Energy. DOE has done a great job, tossing taxpayer dollars into wonderful 'investments' like Solyndra (bankrupt), NRG Energy (Bankrupt), and Abound Solar (laying off workers). Or how about the Department of Homeland Security, which has a $55 billion budget. I would be fine with abolishing that department altogether - especially TSA. Use half the cash for deficit reduction and the rest for NASA, provided NASA returns to space exploration and drops the Muslim outreach.
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