/sci/ - Science & Math

bump

Saganbump for great justice.

I think I have already told as many people as I could possibly have. I might just jump into a random IRC channel and try to convince a few people to do this, but I'm not sure how effective that may be.

sum up that wall of text in one sentence that makes me give a shit

>>1627292

NO on H.R. 5781, YES on S. 3729!

H.R's bill kills NASA by cutting everything.
S.'s bill saves it by giving money to stuff that matters.

>>1627292
Commercial funding:
Senate - $2.6 billion, House - $164 million

Rocket/spacecraft:
Senate - New HLV by 2015
House - Continue work on Ares, Orion as planned. MLV by 2018, HLV in late 2020s

Main Goals:
Senate - Private space industry develops multiple LVs and establishes serious infrastructure in LEO, NASA focuses on missions to deep space, asteroids, and eventually moons and surface of Mars.
House - Scrap commercial space plans in favor of going back to the Moon Apollo-style a couple times in the next 15-20 years.

>>1627333

This pretty much.

Senate got it right with NASA, but the House is so goddamn fucked up in the head.

If this thread has to be bumped 50 times it will whether those posts are all mine or not.

Commencing slow Saganbump.

astronomy sucks

I already got a letter back from my rep saying he's going to oppose the House bill in September

>>1627419

Thank you for helping NASA.

Helping with sagan bumps

I live in Canada but I'm supporting with a bump

I'm requesting that this gets stickied.

I will continue to bump it all night if I have to.

>>1627506
If you know any Americans, you can help by convincing them to write their congressmen

>>1627524
Will do!

>>1627506
Me too, but it sure as fuck ain't Canadia that's going to go on Mars. Bumping so we can get NASA funding so they can work on that shit. Fuck America, this is what's best for mankind.

The Open Space Movement still has not taken off, but I think it has potential. A lot.

We bought the Internet. We made the difference between EXPERTS saying "Maybe there will be a global market for five or so computers" and having billions of people connected to the Internet every day.

We bought the Internet. Space is next.

Carl Sagan would be proud.

>>1627573
OSM has potential... but frankly I think they're wasting it by putting all their eggs in the Copenhagen Suborbitals basket. I know there aren't a lot of options until the big boys like SpaceX and BA open to public trading, but come on - Tycho Brahe amounts to sticking someone in a steel barrel and mounting it on top of a missile.

tinysagan bump

>>1627596

I know, and I lol'd. I'll just wait to see how it develops. Right now it doesn't have anyone, but as people add up they might have enough to justify getting grants and then do something significant.

I'd donate, but I'm an underageb&.

Pic related it's the Saganmobile in an atomic blast.

world needs moar space

I wrote my Representative
Hopefully he will Email back

>>1627689

I wrote both Manzullo and Sacia.

>people work hard for a better, more efficient future

>beurocrats fuck all shit up because they don't want change, they want the money without working.

Sad.

NASA's budget is not and will never be about the science.

It all comes down to what party controls the legislature and funds money to its districts' pet projects. Funding pours out of red states and into blue states when the Democrats control the legislature, and then back to red states when the Republicans take over.

The actual merit/worth of scientific programs involved are unrelated the movement of funding.

>>1627705

Come to think of it Canada should have some kind of space program, but they don't.

Canada has a space program, it just doesn't do anything.

Canada put a robotic arm in space, and then the rest of the world attached a space station to it

bumping

wrote to my rep yesterday (or whenever this was posted)

>>1627808
>>1627800
>>1627792

Kill Obama for killing the Constellation program.

>>1627808
Oh Canada!

>>1627844

I have already argued enough with you.

Next time some of you trolls/fuckers says that I'm going to quietly side-step your bullshit and link you to this, that way I know I've won without typing anything again.

http://pleasegodno.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/obama-nasa-and-the-future-of-manned-spaceflight/

>>1627855
A wordpress blog isn't a valid source.

>>1627844
>Throw Obama a parade for killing the Constellation program.
Fixed that typo for you

>>1627867
A wordpress blog is written by an author.
A wikipedia article is written by an author.
A news article is written by an author.
An official statement from NASA is written by an author.
Scientific papers are written by an author.

What's your point?

>>1627855

That blog sucks, dude doesn't even know why they chose the Shuttle

>>1627867

herpderp

>Sources, for all you picky guys:
>http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=20100415
>http://www.spacex.com/falcon9_heavy.php
>http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigelow_Aerospace
>All the links in this page: http://www.planetary.org/programs/pr…_advocacy.html

I know I'm getting trolled, but at least this will bump this thread.

Canadarm- those wacky Canadians!

Why not just dismantle NASA and let the private sector take over?

>>1627957
Because there isn't any magic space gold out there. It isn't a profitable business. The only way it works is threw taxpayer funding.

>>1627957
Private sector will only do things that will make them money, so no interstellar space exploration for a long time.

We need NASA to lead space research and exploration.

>>1627962
There should be plenty of gold in space, getting to it is another matter.

>>1627963
>interstellar space exploration
>implying throwing endless amounts of money at NASA will ever get us out of our solar system

No.

>>1627963
you really think elon musk is doing it for the money?

It's not about how much funding the space program gets, it's about how that funding is spent. And right now the debate has come down to two options:

Working with private spaceflight companies to develop multiple LVs so we can launch more often for less, developing real infrastructure in LEO, and focusing on new goals and destinations.
vs
Dumping another $20-25 billion over the next five years on staying the course with Constellation (and who knows how much more the rest of the decade) in a sad attempt to recapture the glory of the Apollo days in another 20 years.

Is the Senate bill perfect? Fuck no. But it's still easily the best piece of space legislation in years

Fuck nasa, why would we spend all that money on going to space when we could be spending that money helping people who actually need the money

>>1627855
/Argument Invalid/
Wordpress.

Well, I wrote to my congressman. This is actually a good idea. Thanks for the info.

bump for SCIENCE

Saganbump.

>>1628037

>>1628008
Ah yes, the ol' "solve all our problems down here before going up there" argument. Because that's not the oldest of old-hats.

>>1628145
I don't see you providing a counterargument. Whereas, improving our technology on Earth will greatly enhance our successes in space.

>>1628152
Improving our technology in space will greatly enhance our successes on Earth.

prove me wrong faggot

Manned space missions are just pointless with the current technological level.

We should be focusing our funding on more science missions, such as exploration rovers and telescopes. At the same time, also fund research into realistically putting humans in space for the long term: like artificial gravity, cheaper methods of space travel, etc.

Sending a man to an asteroid or Mars is idiotic considering the huge amount of money it would cost. We could do so much more with less if we just use robots for now.

>>1628173
Translated:
>I have not made any attempt to follow the debate over the new space policy. If I had than I obviously would have noticed that both the Obama and Senate proposals include billions in new funding for scientific research, technological development, and robotic missions.

>>1628202
Then things are as they should be.

Tyson bump

Iowans representin' with a Van Allen bump

6 billion.

That's like 12 stealth bombers ripping brown people's babies to pieces in one night.

Carl Sagan:
Astronomer, educator, space enthusiast, and possible Timelord

a sticky would be nice

>>1628549

>Carl Sagan

>Doctor Who

Makes sense.

bump

bump

For science!

>>1627263

Just going to ask, when does the House bill come to them? Very soon?

>>1629272
The House reconvenes first or second week of September, and the budget has to be approved before the start of the next fiscal year, which I believe is Oct 1. That gives them about two weeks to complete debates on the new US budget, and they'll probably get stuff like NASA out of the way early so they can focus more on "bigger" budget issues.

>>1629355
Correction, I just checked and the House version of the bill is already on the calendar. It was originally scheduled for debate in late July/early August but was not brought to the floor before Congress went on recess. This means it will probably be one of the first things the House does when it comes back in September. The Senate version of the bill (which was passed unanimously by the Senate) has been sent to the House but has not yet been scheduled. They will more than likely bring up both bills at the same time.

>>1629186
I fucking knew you were crow/ego/aether

Fuck it, no more Sagan on this partition, this should do the trick.

Nini /sci/, stay sexy.

bup

bump

>>1629712

I would totally write to my representative but I'm not very bright and I'm afraid I would just come off as an idiot who hasn't a clue what he's talking about.

If anyone could list me a few good points to make (and research a bit) I'd get on it right away.

>>1629816

i think this may suffice:
>>1627855

Captcha: 1543-1623( sciparde
>sciparde
>sci

OKAY WHAT NOW

>>1629712
NOOOOO NOT THAT PICTURE AGAIN

>>1629712
Behold! The wonders of genetic engineering!

I would tap dat feline ass with the force of a thousand suns...

>>1629824

>>1629824

bump

>>1629824

Lol I remember when Colonel Coffee Mug turned you into a furry.

Good times, good times...

bymp

Kucinich is my representative. The most fucking liberal guy on the planet. I love him.

Now someone tell me what a fucking '4 digit extension' to my zip code is and I'll send him a message.

>>1629867
HE DID NOT TURN ME INTO A FURRY

>>1629893

prove it

>>1629897
I have never fapped to furry.

>>1629901

But you know you want to, I saw how you reacted when CCM posted the human-leopard hybrid woman thingee. You were all like "SHOULD NOT WANT".

You know you want her.

*creepy ear to ear perv smile*

>>1629885
What is a 4 digit zip code extension.

>>1629913

My plan has succeeded. This sibbly-wibbly argument will keep the thread bumped for quite a while. I can now give myself an imaginary pat in the back.

Also Inurdaes you know you would. You know you would hold her ass, pulling it closer while at the same time very carefully and slowly licking her nipples as she presses your chest against your face. You know you would.

This time nini, honestly.

>>1629923

CCM, stop turning every thread into a furry thread!

>>1629944

>My plan has succeeded. This sibbly-wibbly argument will keep the thread bumped for quite a while. I can now give myself an imaginary pat in the back.

bump

bumo

>>1629885
Getting back on topic. If you know for sure Kucinich is your rep, you can probably find all the contact info you need on his site.
http://kucinich.us/
Hope this helps

>>1629885
Getting back on topic. If you know for sure Kucinich is your rep, you can probably find all the contact info you need on his site.
http://kucinich.us/
Hope this helps

for those of us to lazy to wright our own some delicious copypasta
>>do not vote for H.R. 5781. If the House passes this bill there will be no commercial replacement for the shuttle, and no NASA lift vehicle for another seven or eight years. NASA's scientific research, unmanned missions, and technological development will continue being cut, delayed, and stalled. the Senate's version of the NASA Authorization bill S. 3729 is, while more expensive, far more realistic and necessary to the continuation of nasa's work. The bill authorizes an additional $6 billion in NASA funding over the next five years, including $2.6 billion for developing commercial spaceflight over the next three years. It also authorizes a second shuttle mission in 2011, extends operation of the ISS through 2020, funds new technological development programs, and scraps Constellation in favor of immediately starting work on a new heavy lift vehicle.

Here is mine you can also use as copy pasta. I didn't read the full bill yet, so I used a lot of what OP was talking about, I hope it's factual

Dear Mr. Kucinich,

Bill S. 3729 will be sent to the House in September. This is a very important bill to pass, because it is increase NASA's funding by $6 billion over the next 5 years. Along with this bill, it authorizes a second shuttle mission in 2011, keeps the International Space Station in work until 2020, and funds many other programs which will improve NASA significantly. It is a very scientifically important thing, and the community of NASA needs this bill to pass to continue functioning properly and developing well-funded scientific progress.

However, the House Committee on Science and Technology has created its own bill, which is H.R. 5781. This bill will cut funding to a small $150 million. This is very effectively delaying and ruining many NASA-run programs. There will be no replacement shuttles. NASA's scientific progress will be also very cut and damaged.

I believe that you should vote yes for Bill S. 3729 and no to bill H.R. 5781. Scientific research should always be funded because it is very important and benefits everyone!

Thank you for reading.

Some advice on writing to your congressman.

1. Introductions. Tell them a little bit about yourself. You're in their district, so tell them what city you're from. If you're a student, where you're going to school. Make sure to mention that you've been following this issue carefully and how important it is to you, and definitely mention that you've always been a big supporter of theirs (even if you haven't been). Don't tell them your life's story, a couple sentences is more than enough.

2. Get to the point. Be informative but don't ramble. Your letter/email should never be more than 1-2 pages long. Don't weigh the body down with a lot of rhetoric, you should be able to make your case without it. Refer to bills by name and number (eg HR 5781, NASA Authorization Bill, etc) at least a few times in the body, although once you've established what legislation you're talking about it's okay to refer to it informally. Lay out the facts of the legislation you're referring to, but keep it short and simple. Make sure you've got your facts straight. If you're going to write about a bill, make sure you've actually read it yourself.

3. Be respectful. The header of your letter should refer to them as The Honorable (their name here) followed by their contact information. Open the letter with Dear Congressman. When you get to asking them what you want them to support/oppose use phrases like 'respectfully ask' or 'humbly request'. You don't need to go overboard, but just keep in mind that politicians have egos like everyone else. Just like with any manager or supervisor, kissing a little ass can go a long way to getting them to take a good look at what you have to say

4. It's okay to use what others write as inspiration, but never outright copy it. Congressional staff can smell form letters and copy/paste jobs a mile a way, and they're the first thing to get thrown out and ignored after the spam.

>>1630117
Fact check, both bills increase NASA funding by about $6 billion.
The $2.6 billion and $150 million figures are for commercial and COTS funding for the senate and house bills (respectfully)
Commercial funding, launch vehicle plans, and long term goals seem to be the big differences between the two bills.

If you guys want, I'll dig up the links to both bills so you can look them over.

>>1630266
ok, ill have to fix that then

>>1630117

Christ /sci/, do all of you guys have such atrocious writing?

>>1630275
Yeah , I'm not good at writing, and English is almost like my 3rd language.

But I can still edit it

>>1630117
I am disappoint

>>1630344
Let's see your letter

If you want to learn something about NASA watch this

http://www.disclose.tv/members/action/viewvideo/52396/Mike_Bara__dark_missionpart_1/

atrocious letters, please send them

fuck NASA

most worthless money-spending scientific organization ever after the AGW alarmists

fuck carl sagan too, not even worth capitalizing his worthless name

>>1630375
Fuck you!
>>1630344
So what, I made it better, kinda
I'm not good at composition, but what's wrong with the letter? it's pretty straight to the point to me.

>>1630379
No! Fuck YOU!

You guys do realize it would have cost less money to send up 3 brand new Hubble telescopes (instead of fixing the old one) via a unmanned launcher than launching the original one?

NASA supplies a lot of grants however, (including the one paying me) so more money is good.

>>1630379
Grammar and general style sounds like it was written by a 5th grader.

Which is ok, mind you, for a non-native speaker. Just want to be more formal in a letter to your congressperson

>>1627263

tl; dr

Could someone please give me a tinfoil version of this if it can be translated that way? Like the dark future or lack of that awaits if A occurs and the brighter future if B occurs.

Any conspiracies here? No, this isn't /x/ but it just would help the attention span this late at night...

>>1630403
... huh?

>>1630432

anon wants to troll his congressman with some fox-news worthy fearmongering

>>1630434
Hmm... might work, depends on the congressman. Who is it?

>>1630432
>>1630434

No I wouldn't troll an actual govt official in a negative way but I just need this issue brought to life. Enliven it with some dark juicy jolting conspiracies in there. Like, is someone on the inside trying to wreck NASA? There was this thread about the Constellation program where some anons were alleging that axing the NASA budget and even constellation itself were akin to a crime. And a libertard was saying no no no you gotta spend on social services. I wish I'd saved that thread but I didn't. I'd like to see this thread touch that angle too

>>1630457

Dan Lipinski. But then again I'm from the state that produced the mighty one so I donno if any effort in that direction could be fruitful.

bump

>>1630403

Did conspiracy cat kill the thread?

>>1630796
Of course not. If a little tinfoil was all it took to kill /sci/ threads, /x/ would have wiped us out months ago.

bump!

bump

OH GOD DONT YOU 404 ON ME
>mfw NASA asks for money
HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT

>mfw H.R. 5781 passes
WE NEED A STICKY HERE MOOT

I'd donate to nasa if they told everyone the truth...

Cesar Milstein bump

bump for sticky!

oh jeez what is wrong with this link you gave us OP I CANT USE TAB TO INDENT NOW THE POLITE AIR OF MY LETTER SHALL BE SOILED WHEN I HAVE TO USE SPACES

bumpin before I go take a shower, bumpin again when I finish

Bump.

and Im back from a shower, and I'm bumpin it up again

WHEREFORE ART THOU MOOT WE NEED A STICKY FOR SCIENCE'S SAKE!!!!!
also did anyone else feel a little like Hank Hill when they were writing to their representative?

bump

>>1627263
Scoot mcgook

We have flying saucers.

We do not need to pay taxes to go to the moon.

bumping this shit

has anybody emailed moot?

Shouldn't have to sticky this if it's that important.

Did anybody post a link to the bills? I don't feel informed enough to contact my representative about this yet.

bump

>>1633063
Sure thing, here you go.
Senate Bill:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-3729
House Bill:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-5781

Also, I don't know if anyone's email moot about getting a sticky yet. Also also, I got three friends in the physics department to write their reps.

>>1633148

Thanks. That's a bit of a read.

>>1633157
The juicy stuff is in the Appropriations, Human Spaceflight, and Commercial spaceflight sections. The other parts like science funding aren't really that different in either bill.

>>1633157
The juicy stuff is in the Appropriations, Human Spaceflight, and Commercial spaceflight sections. The other parts like science funding aren't really that different in either bill.

bumperoo

Bump, for fuck's sake don't 404 on me.

>my face when i call my representatives about once a week while they're at congress
>also my face when i told my retarded conservative faggot senator "YES ON H.R. 5781, NO ON S. 3729!!"

>>1634328
FORGOT MY FACE

I finished a letter to my rep today, I'll send it out first thing Monday

What is the deadline for this?

>>1634641
i would do it before september because that's when the bills are going up for votes.

If I lived in the US instead of Canada I would certainly try to help. Good luck my US brethren!

>>1634646
see
>>1627524
Non-US anons can help out by contacting any US anons they know and convincing them to write in.

>>1634641
House is scheduled to reconvene on Sept 13th, but may come back earlier. They'll probably try to get through the NAB debate shortly after they come back so that they can cross it off and focus on all the other shit they need to get through before the new US budget is due at the end of the month. So that's... what? Two, three weeks?

bump

WHY IS THIS NOT BEING BUMPED WARBLEGARBLE

bump

I think US should spend the money on military and health issues for the time being. What's the point of going to space when there are already enough problems at hand?

>>1636438
apathy

>>1636541
*cough* bullshit *cough*

>>1636541
particle accelerators cost much more, and the discoveries they help to make are much less marketable than those made by NASA (much more applicable in military).
BUT
they still fund it.

If you don't invest in useless science all the time, we will never go forward and make new discoveries.

>>1636578

And what's the point of going forward in such directiosn while much more humanly things are in bad situations. It's like trying to move a car with flat tires. Get off and fix the tires first, then you can move forward

>>1636541
WHEEL SILLY! WHAT POINT OF WHEEL ANYWAY? DOES NOT COOK MEAT BETTER. DOES NOT APPEASE SPIRITS. BETTER TO WORK ON SPEAR AND ANIMAL SKINS NOW. WHEEL LATER IF HAVE TIME.

>>1636592
but its not the USA's job to fix the world. Most of the time they try "helping" the rest of the world they fuck it up worse then before. I'm also pretty sure that the USA doesn't need to assign 23% of the budget to military spending, over 700bil is just unnecessary

>>1636600

Wrong. Neither wheel, nor fire was such jacobin moves. They were people's needs. Space research isn't. Sure you can fantasise about findings that will change everything again (like an iPhone 4) but I think they have to wait before we stabilise.

The simple fact is that funding for space exploration doesn't amount to jack shit. Best case scenario, NASA's looking at $19 billion for 2011. If you want money to feed all the little hungry kids in shithole countries there are a thousand better ways to get money for it than taking it from the one half of one percent of the federal budget that actually goes to something worthwhile.

>>1636616
space research is needed though, as resources become more and more scarce we'll need to look into mining asteroid/moons/exo-planets. This cant be achieved if we cant reach them due to technology restraints. Suddenly its a need

>>1636600
well, it's true

>mfw people come on /sci/ and argue we should end space exploration in favor of a fucking global welfare program

>>1637332

They are trolling, don't worry. Or we have a prim infestation on the board.

bump

bump

O CANADA IS THE BEST FUCKING SONG EVAR.

>>1628008
>ignores the ½ of the budget spent on war, complains loudly about spave exploration

>>1640300
And americans wonder why they're in debt.

Oh, and this year's budget is something like 2 trillion, not counting that 1trillion bailout

>>1640300
*space exploration

Fatigue+android OSK=errors.

>>1640320
Change, amirite? America voted for socialism and more focus on science and essentially got Bush again, if more eloquent.

>>1640377
hes doing alot better than bush. He ended the war in iraq like a week ago.

Hes sending about half of iraq's budget to afgan. Hes in a fucked to hell position.

also, i'm not a huge an of obama. Hes doing great for a nigger tho. and hes doing just find as someone in his position

DON'T 404 ON ME

>>1641597


Don't worry I'll keep it alive with my trolling.

>U.S. sits on rare supply of tech-crucial minerals

>Recent USGS figures estimate that the U.S. holds rare earth ore reserves of up to 13 million metric tons. By contrast, the entire world produced just 124,000 metric tons in 2009

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35782773/ns/technology_and_science-science/

>>1641597
You remembered :-)

I was going to bump, but you got here first.

>"The United States is sitting on over 100 years of gas supply at the current rates of consumption," he said. Because natural gas emits half the greenhouse gases of coal, he added, that "provides the United States with a unique opportunity to address concerns about energy security and climate change."

>Recoverable U.S. gas reserves could now be bigger than the immense gas reserves of Russia, some experts say.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120204305.html


>U.S. is Saudi Arabia of coal

>According to the U.S. Energy Department, the United States has 267.3-billion short tons of coal reserves, or 26.8 percent of the world total.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/jan/25/rudy-giuliani/us-is-saudi-arabia-of-c
oal/

>The U.S. is sitting on the world's largest, untapped oil reserves

>untapped reserves are estimated at about 2.3 trillion barrels, nearly three times more than the reserves held by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations and sufficient to meet 300 years of demand -- at today's levels --

http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/The_U.S._s_Untapped_Bounty_080630.html

Go ahead and troll most people here are not stupid enough to fall for it.

After all we didn't fall for the obvious trolling when you people accused Obama of killing NASA... Oh wait.

First day of classes, I talked to a bunch of people in my astronomy course, convinced two of them to write in.

:D

First day of classes, I talked to a bunch of people in my astronomy course, convinced to of them to write in.

:D

I guess it's about that time again.

MOOT! STICKY THIS SHIT!

I email moot asking him to sticky this.

I didn't know what else to do know that I have pretty much told everyone I know.

Ah, /sci/, it gets to me, to know that these predator politicians would rather just shrug all this off, how they extract every penny from space exploration to fund their wars over control of a nanoscopic fraction of the resources of this world.

We're like people in an island rapidly cutting all the palm trees, surrounded by other islands that have more. And we have the boats, but we'd rather cut the trees here than get on the boats to then other islands simply because that's how it's been done.

>>1642488

>than get on the boats to then other islands

Correction: Than get on the boats to the other islands to cut the trees and bring them back. Space exploration is not, I hope, a matter of using a world of leaping off to the next.

bump

>Rockefeller

You know who did this, right?

>>1642537

Bumping for sticky

nump

bump

also bump for sticky

bump

MOTHERFUCKING BUMP FOR STICKY

bump bump bump for sticky justice

Do NOT let this thread die, you goddamn fuckheads. I already emailed moot and so did CCM, now you fags do something and keep this shit floating.

>NASA deserves better

actually, no.

NASA is full of pretentious/self-righteous faggots who are lobbying for stupid shit instead of sensible research programs

>>1643951
well ifit wasn't for those self rightous faggots, we wouldn't have several of our technological advances, and we won't know much about space and the heavens.

>>1643951
You seem to have confused NASA with Congress

bump

I'm sorry, I like the idea of commercial space flight A LOT, but isn't the Ares heavy lifter superior to any alternatives proposed thus far in terms of how much shit it can carry?

Imagine the size of the fucking telescopes we could throw up there if we had the ARES V...

>>1645864
1. There is no Ares V yet. Right now the main focus of the Constellation program is finishing the Ares I. The Ares I is designed to launch the capsule and little else. This is at about half a billion dollars per launch mind you.

2. An in-line launch vehicle is still the favored design for a shuttle replacement. The Senate is essentially proposing a man-rated rocket similar in design to the Ares V/Jupiter-246 designs.

>>1645864
SpaceX has plans for a rocket that would carry more than the Ares V.

Since both rockets only exist on paper, and the Constellation program has proven itself to be massively behind schedule and over budget. Why would you want to go with the Ares V?

>>1646047
Well, actually, not quite. Neither the Falcon X nor the XX will be capable of lifting as much as the proposed Ares V (180K-200K kg). Although private options would be much cheaper.

Still what's best for the space program is having as many options as possible, that means public and private LVs.

BUMP YOU MORNS