Thursday, January 28, 2010

If We Were Meant to Fly, We Wouldn't Have Trains

NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there. When the White House releases its budget proposal Monday, there will be no money for the Constellation program that was to return humans to the moon by 2020. The Ares I rocket that was to replace the space shuttle to ferry humans to space will be gone, along with money for the Ares V cargo rocket that was to launch the fuel and supplies needed to return to the moon. There will be no lunar landers, no moon bases.

However, Obama is releasing $8 billion in funding for high-speed rail lines. After all, there are no voters on the moon.

I can't help but feel that the benefits in new technology from returning to the moon would far outweigh anything we will learn from bullet trains. And, mark my words, contracts will be given to foreign companies because they have "expertise" in this field. So, how many taxpayer dollars will be spent in Asia and Europe instead of America? Wait and see.

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