A Sad Day For NASA

Deja vu all over again...

I’m a little too young to have watched or listened live to President Kennedy’s challenge that NASA “land a man on the moon before the end of the decade.” The result was the Mercury, Gemini, and finally six Apollo lunar landings beginning in July 1969 and ending in 1972.

Tom Hanks and every young boy (and many girls) including myself imagined growing up and following Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins into orbit or onto the lunar surface. By the way, I wrote all of these names down from memory without doing a Google search, something few people under the age of thirty years can do today.

Yes, it has been that long ago…

Since that proud time NASA has had to absorb a variety of mission redefinitions resulting from public apathy and congressional budget cuts. As a result, with the aging shuttle fleet grounded, the USA can’t even launch a man into orbit let alone toss a couple of tons of humans and equipment all the way to the moon. We have invested billions in a so called “international” space station that we have to rely on the Russians to deliver people and supplies to.

It's truely a Sad Day For NASA, in my book.

Today NASA announced their plan to develop “Apollo on Steroids” with a goal of having humans back on the moon by the year 2018.

What I want to know is, what kind of pansy assed stuff has NASA been smoking to come up with this retarded brainfart?

In my estimation, I'd say it’s more like Apollo with hemorrhoids. Ouch!!

What the hell are they thinking?

After all the time and money we have spent on rockets and space travel since 1961, now they’re telling us that all NASA can muster in a thirteen year time frame is a rerun of an old Apollo type capsule riding on top of a bunch of surplus left over space shuttle engines and boosters?

OK, where are my big boots???

Where’s my calculator and note pad???

It looks like I’m going to have to come out of retirement. Any other good engineers with me on this?