/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.3566794]

So, optimistically the budget supercommittee will only cut $3-5 billion from NASA's budget. While that's terrible, could there be a silver lining to this possibility?

A recent report from NASA on the cost and timetable for developing the congressionally-mandated SLS low-balled an estimate of $40 billion or more over the next decade, several times what Congress has allocated to its development, and that's just to have one manned SLS/MPVC flight before 2020.

If substantial budget cuts are in NASA's future could this finally be enough to convince Congress to abandon the SLS program and get behind the move towards fully privatized LEO operations?

[снайпер No.3566814]

No. Because Congresscritters use NASA to fund porkbarrel projects in their states.

They have no actual interest in science or space exploration. Nor do they care if the rocket even works. They just want jobs in their district.

[Anonymous No.3566820]

Hahaha, Americans. The $1000 war bankrupts the country, so they cut from the $1 space program. You just can't make this shit up.

[Anonymous No.3566826]

>>3566814
>They just want jobs in their district
I think you mean "swimming pools"

[Anonymous No.3567322]

It's possible. While most congressmen will typically defend pork-projects with their lives, the budget committee is going to be hard-pressed to come up with a trillion dollars in cuts without digging to much into mandatory programs like social security and medicare

A $40 billion dollar jobs program that won't actually produce any jobs for a few years is going to be a pretty juicy target for getting cut. But then, so is a telescope that's a few billion overbudget.

While this may be what kills the SLS program, it will certainly come at a high price... the space program will be wounded, but at least with SLS out of the picture it has a chance to recover.

[Anonymous No.3568819]

bump