More Lunar Base Thoughts

Over at Open Market, where I also discuss the Romney advisers.

[Update late afternoon]

More from Doug Messier.

Newt needs to make an issue of this before Tuesday: “Governor Romney, you said that you’d fire someone who came up with a costly plan for lunar activities, and yet you just hired someone as a space adviser who was already fired for doing just that…”

Also, here’s Marcia Smith’s report on the Romney non-event today.

[Saturday morning update]

On the 26th anniversary of the Challenger loss, Byron York has a report on the two candidates’ space policies.

[Update a few minutes later]

“Mitt Romney would have fired Mike Griffin.” I’m guessing that Jim Muncy had some input into this, and that it may become a Gingrich talking point in the next couple days. I just fed Jake Tapper some questions to ask him tomorrow morning on This Week.

7 thoughts on “More Lunar Base Thoughts”

  1. I’ve been pitching ideas to the Romney camp, hoping to get hired on as one of his advisors. Here’s my latest for him.

    “I say we use both the Constellation and the SLS to put the James Webb space telescope ON THE MOON by 2117 at a cost of only $1 trillion or $2 trillion in 2010 dollars, which is only $10 or $20 billion a year. But the private sector can stll play a role, because included in that cost will be a government board that won’t allow any astronaut/astronomers on the moon to use the Webb telescope unless they carry private health insurance, unless they want to opt into a pooled medical system provided through NASA.

    By using this mix of public and private, lunar based astronauts will enjoy the same health care they get now, at lower costs and with a fixed deductible, and the care will be efficiently provided BY ROBOTS made right here in America.”

  2. Mitt Romney supported the Constellation program during his previous attempt for the Presidency and said so on television. And a Moon base was a component of the Constellation program. So Mitt was for a Moon Base before he was against it:-)

  3. Newt needs to make an issue of this before Tuesday: “Governor Romney, you said that you’d fire someone who came up with a costly plan for lunar activities, and yet you just hired someone as a space adviser who was already fired for doing just that…”

    Not bad, but any career politician would easily skate out of this. “Mike Griffin advocated a lunar base in the past, under a different President, with different economic conditions. His views have evolved over time, yadda, yadda, yadda….”

    A better was of phrasing it: “You said you’d fire any advisor who came to you with a costly lunar base plan. Mike Griffin advocated such a plan in the past. Does he still support that plan? If so, will you fire him? If not, what does Mike Griffin advocate today?”

    1. Or, more like Mitt would be, “Mike Griffin is one of a distinguished panel of space experts that I’ve put on my advisory panel, and no one can deny among the most foresighted people in this country. We need to come together to explore space affordably, not slash and burn the aspirations of America as President Obama did when he ripped into NASA after he came into office.”

      In other words, _anything_ deflects a question that in the end no one really cares about except for a few kooks who want to live like rats underground on the moon (which is how one of our local talk show guys characterized a Lunar colony after Newt’s talk the other day).

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