Tea Party In Space praises Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein.
Hey, it’s the best thing they’ve ever done for the space program (a low bar for them, or California Democrats in general), though they’re certainly doing it at the behest of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park and Aerojet in Sacramento, not because they care about space. I hope this throws a mighty wrench in the Senate Launch System works.
It looks like the “two-phase” approach to the Senate Launch System, which would have resulted in a rocket that flew only four times for billions per flight, is dead. The problem is, they still have to operate within the absurd design constraints imposed by the porkers on the Hill.
I’ll probably try to update the post itself over there, but I’ll also note here that, since the publication of my piece yesterday, I have been reliably informed that the United Launch Alliance has no budget for this sort of thing, and if it did, it would spend it more effectively than on the sort of second-rate hackery put out by Mr. Thompson.
Their desperation continues.
Over at Space Politics in comments, in response the moonwalker editorial yesterday, “Major Tom” once again lays out the numbers:
Continue reading The Continuing Constellation Underfunding Myth
Over at Tea Party in Space, there is a lengthy analysis of the fraudulent and misleading numbers from Congressional staff for yesterday’s hearing.
…stuck in the past. My thoughts on Wednesday’s USA Today piece by the Apollo astronauts, over at the Washington Examiner.
[Update a couple minutes later]
I see that the White House and NASA have responded as well, over at USA Today.
Doug Mohney over at Satellite Spotlight has noticed how much hardware that we rely on needs Russian engines.
Based on the Twitter feed, it looks like the committee continue to be (as Michael Mealling tweets) asshats, but at least it was an opportunity for Gwynne to explain costs to them. There are lies, damned lies, and Congressional cost estimates (note in comments at the link “Edgar”‘s analysis — I wonder if that’s Edgar Zapata?). I’ll be curious to see Jeff Foust’s report later, though we probably won’t see it until Monday, at The Space Review.
[Update a few minutes later]
More on the cooked books from Keith Cowing. I’m guessing the culprit is Ken Monroe, head staffer.