Farewell To America's Moon Landing Program

[Sonic Glitch]

Thanks to Trekmovie.com we now have 2 excellent editorials on the cancellation of Constellation; One by Producer and Science Adviser Andre Bormanis, who almost convinced me it was a good idea until i read This one by Mike and Denise Okuda. Read at your leisure.

[Tyyr]

Damn work filters. Any chance of posting the substance here?

[Sonic Glitch]

Damn work filters. Any chance of posting the substance here?

Ask and ye shall receive:

Editorial: President Proposes Bold New Approach to Exploring the Final Frontier February 6, 2010
by Andre Bormanis , Filed under: Editorial, Science/Technology , trackback

In 2008 Star Trek writer/producer and science advisor Andre Bormanis wrote an editorial here at TrekMovie about the presidential campaign and the future of NASA, advocating the Constellation program. Barack Obama (a Trekkie) went on to win the election and this week his administration announced a major shift in NASA policy, including the cancellation of Constellation. Today Andre is back with his thoughts on the new NASA.


President Proposes Bold New Approach to Exploring the Final Frontier

by Andre Bormanis

The announcement of the change of policy for NASA came with Monday's submission of the NASA's FY 2011 budget, which opened with the following statement (full of Trek-isms).

Today we are launching a bold and ambitious new space initiative to enable us to explore new worlds, develop more innovative technologies, foster new industries, increase our understanding of the earth, expand our presence in the solar system, and inspire the next-generation of explorers.
- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, February 1, 2010

The bad news is, the Constellation program has been cancelled. The good news is, the Constellation program has been cancelled.

Constellation was initiated in 2004 by the Bush Administration to return American astronauts to the moon. The intention was to build an Apollo-style capsule that would accommodate up to six astronauts, riding atop a new launch vehicle, Ares-I, largely derived from Space Shuttle booster technology. Eventually a heavy-lift launcher and Moon landing vehicle would be developed as well.

After six years and roughly $9 billion, Constellation has produced a couple of mock-up capsules and test articles, and only one test flight, of just the first stage of the proposed Ares-I. This is mostly the fault of the previous Administration and Congress, which never funded the program at the level it needed to keep on schedule, and get crews to the Moon by 2020. Even if it were fully funded today, no one believes that a Moon landing would happen by 2020, and accomplishing this goal - essentially a repeat performance of what we did with Apollo over forty years ago - would cost on the order of $100 billion. It would further drain money from space science and unmanned exploration of the solar system at a time when our robotic emissaries are so brilliantly demonstrating their exceptional capabilities.


Artist rendition of (now cancelled) Constellation program Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit

President Obama has instead chosen to end Constellation, but also to add money to the NASA budget to develop advanced propulsion systems, automated rendezvous hardware, orbital fuel depots, and other technologies that will be needed to get humans beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). The job of ferrying astronauts to and from LEO will be given to private industry, with about $6 billion in new NASA funding over the next five years.

Critics of this approach cite two immediate concerns: one, private space ventures have yet to demonstrate that they can reliably send people, not just payloads, into orbit. This is certainly true, and there is probably greater risk in handing this task to the private sector than in giving the job to NASA (as lead contractor - private industry has always built space hardware).

Secondly, as a couple of friends recently reminded me, technology development in the absence of a clear and specific goal often leads to a lot of fancy hardware that never gets used. Constellation, whatever its faults, at least had a clear goal: get Americans back to the Moon.

Although no specific goals were laid out in their plan, NASA's chief did make comments to the press about where he sees the new vision leading:

Imagine trips to Mars that take weeks instead of nearly a year, people fanning out across the inner solar system, exploring the moon, asteroids and Mars nearly simultaneously in a steady stream of firsts.
- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, February 1, 2010

Personally, I think President Obama made the right decision. Although I initially supported Constellation, the program has become, at best, a slow road back to the Moon, and that road is almost certainly a dead end, not a stepping-stone to more distant journeys. I do hope that in the coming months Obama will articulate a specific set of destinations for NASA beyond LEO - the Lagrange points, a near-Earth asteroid, possibly the Martian moons - that can pave the way to an eventual human landing on Mars.

Yes, it's a risk to give up Constellation and turn the reins to LEO over to the private sector, and yes, it's a risk to develop new technologies before specific missions with the necessary political support have been established. But as James T. Kirk once said, "Risk is our business!"


Could NASA's new direction be the right path to the final frontier seen in Star Trek?


More to come on new NASA Debate
Tomorrow TrekMovie will have another editorial on this topic from another Trek vet, but with a differing point of view.

Andre Bormanis was the Star Trek science advisor for several years before becoming a full-time writer and eventually producer for "Star Trek: Enterprise". He holds a B.S. in Physics and an M.A. in Science, Technology, and Public Policy, the latter earned under a NASA Space Grant fellowship. He is a long-time space advocate and member of The Planetary Society. Andre is currently a writer and producer for the ABC Studios series "Legend of the Seeker".

Editorial: Going Boldly, or Barely Going? February 7, 2010
by Michael & Denise Okuda , Filed under: Editorial, Science/Technology , trackback

Yesterday TrekMovie presented an editorial by former Star Trek science advisor Andre Bormanis, supporting the new proposed change in NASA's human spaceflight policy that including cancelling the Constellation program. Today we present an different point of view from veteran Trek designers (and active space advocates) Mike and Denise Okuda.



Support Project Constellation

by Michael & Denise Okuda

Dear Friends:

As long-time supporters of real-life space exploration, Denise and I were disappointed to learn that the proposed NASA budget for 2011 would cancel Project Constellation and the planned return to the Moon. Constellation, as you may know, began in 2004, after the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew. NASA was determined to make spaceflight safer for its astronauts, and it knew that it had to give those astronauts a worthwhile mission: exploration.

Constellation is tasked with developing boosters, spacecraft, and other systems to provide a safer replacement for the Space Shuttle, one that would enable a return to the Moon for the specific purpose of developing the ability for humans to live on another world. Unlike Apollo, Constellation is designed to run on a comparatively constrained budget. Constellation's Ares boosters are based on Space Shuttle technology, reducing their development costs and improving safety and reliability.

Since 2004, NASA has made a lot of progress with Constellation. New rocket engines have been designed and tested. A new launch pad has been built at the Kennedy Space Center, and a massive new launch tower has just been completed. Prototype Orion capsules are being tested, even as prototype moon rovers are trekking through the desert. Design work on Altair lunar landers and next-generation space suits is well underway. And last October, NASA conducted the successful first launch of Project Constellation, the Ares I-X Development Test Flight. We're finally on our way back to the Moon, and heading out to Mars.


Artist rendition of Altair lander on the moon

Now, the administration has proposed to cancel Constellation in favor of a "flexible path" of technology development and the use of commercial launch services for astronauts to get into orbit. While technology development is a very good idea, it's not a substitute for an actual mission with a real goal. Without a goal and a specific plan, we believe that NASA, however well-intentioned, will simply end up spending a lot of money without actually going anywhere. It's happened before. We don't want it to happen again. And while we believe that commercial spaceflight will be a reality in the relatively near future, the fact is that no such capability exists yet. Spaceflight is a difficult, dangerous enterprise, and it would be foolish to gamble the future of our nation's space program by abandoning systems that are already well into development. With so much progress already made, we believe that canceling Constellation would be a serious mistake.

The good news is that the proposed budget is just that: A proposal. Over the next few weeks the Congress will review the proposal and will make whatever changes it deems necessary. Constellation can be saved if members of Congress - and the President - see that their constituents want it. That's why we're asking you to support Constellation by writing to the President and to their elected representatives.

Here's a website that we've put together with more information on Constellation, plus resources on how to reach your elected officials.

http://www.supportconstellation.com

Space exploration is vital source of technology and innovation for our society. The space program is one of the most effective means to stimulate economic growth, both in the short term and the long run. And exploration inspires our young people, even as it helps us comprehend the wonders of the final frontier, now and in the future. Please join us in making that future a reality by writing letters and by spreading the word to your friends.

Sincerely,

-Mike and Denise Okuda

February 7, 2010

Besides having worked in the Star Trek art departments, Mike and Denise Okuda are long-time supporters of the space program. Mike has done graphics for NASA including the crew patch for STS-125, the recent Hubble Space Telescope servicing flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis and the department logo for Mission Operations. His work for Project Constellation includes the mission patch for the Ares I-X Development Flight Test. Last year, Mike was honored for his work with NASA's Exceptional Public Service Medal.