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September 28, 2005
14 Lives and $250 Billion Later
- The space shuttle and International Space Station nearly the whole of the U.S. manned space program for the past three decades were mistakes, NASA chief Michael Griffin said Tuesday.
In a meeting with USA TODAY's editorial board, Griffin said NASA lost its way in the 1970s, when the agency ended the Apollo moon missions in favor of developing the shuttle and space station, which can only orbit Earth.
Asked Tuesday whether the shuttle had been a mistake, Griffin said, My opinion is that it was.
It was a design which was extremely aggressive and just barely possible. Asked whether the space station had been a mistake, he said, Had the decision been mine, we would not have built the space station we're building in the orbit we're building it in.
But now the space program is back on track, says Griffin. Apparently, were just supposed to let bygones be bygones and treat NASA like a mischievous little boy who's learned his lesson and can now be trusted:
- [Griffin] announced last week that NASA aims to send astronauts back to the moon in 2018 in a spacecraft that would look like the Apollo capsule.
Maybe space entrepreneurs will already be on the moon to welcome the NASA crew.
Some background:
- The shuttle has cost the lives of 14 astronauts since the first flight in 1982. Roger Pielke Jr., a space policy expert at the University of Colorado, estimates that NASA has spent about $150 billion on the program since its inception in 1971. The total cost of the space station by the time it's finished in 2010 or later may exceed $100 billion, though other nations will bear some of that.
Article here.
Recent, related article of mine here.
(And let's wait and see if Griffin issues a face-saving "this is what I really meant to say" statement.)
Posted by tedb at September 28, 2005 12:31 PM
I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a loss. Nothing seems important. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days.
Comment by: Sten19321 at January 6, 2007 06:21 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten11207 at January 8, 2007 05:44 PM
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I just don't have anything to say. Not that it matters. Eh. I've just been staying at home doing nothing, but I don't care. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten76925 at January 10, 2007 02:47 AM
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Not much on my mind right now, but it's not important. I've just been letting everything happen without me. I just don't have anything to say right now.
Comment by: Sten45188 at January 10, 2007 08:58 PM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.
Comment by: Sten98971 at January 13, 2007 05:30 AM
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I just don't have anything to say. Not that it matters. Eh. I've just been staying at home doing nothing, but I don't care. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten46543 at January 14, 2007 06:28 AM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.
Comment by: Sten41136 at January 18, 2007 05:23 PM
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retty much nothing seems worth thinking about. My life's been completely dull , not that it matters. I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen.
Comment by: Sten30651 at January 23, 2007 04:55 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten23437 at January 26, 2007 03:38 PM
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I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a loss. Nothing seems important. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days.
Comment by: Sten71407 at January 27, 2007 04:30 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten14667 at January 28, 2007 04:34 AM
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Not much on my mind lately. My life's been completely boring these days. I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. So it goes.
Comment by: Sten88303 at January 28, 2007 07:52 PM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten17473 at January 29, 2007 12:57 AM
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I haven't been up to anything these days. So it goes. I can't be bothered with anything these days.
Comment by: Sten83392 at January 29, 2007 06:36 PM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten44482 at January 30, 2007 05:37 PM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.
Comment by: Sten34054 at January 31, 2007 09:38 AM
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I haven't been up to anything these days. So it goes. I can't be bothered with anything these days.
Comment by: Sten82045 at February 1, 2007 12:11 AM
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I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a loss. Nothing seems important. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days.
Comment by: Sten94156 at February 1, 2007 03:29 AM
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Not much on my mind right now, but it's not important. I've just been letting everything happen without me. I just don't have anything to say right now.
Comment by: Sten28598 at February 1, 2007 03:46 AM
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retty much nothing seems worth thinking about. My life's been completely dull , not that it matters. I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen.
Comment by: Sten27975 at February 1, 2007 05:25 AM
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I haven't been up to much today. I've just been letting everything happen without me. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I just don't have anything to say right now. More or less nothing happening.
Comment by: Sten1698 at February 1, 2007 08:14 AM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten88552 at February 1, 2007 12:22 PM
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I just don't have anything to say , but shrug. So it goes. Not much on my mind recently. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten2124 at February 1, 2007 05:15 PM
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I haven't been up to anything recently, but so it goes. Such is life. What can I say? Pretty much not much exciting going on to speak of. I haven't gotten much done lately, but I don't care.
Comment by: Sten53825 at February 1, 2007 09:40 PM
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Basically nothing noteworthy happening right now, but eh. Today was a complete loss. I haven't been up to much recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten19130 at February 2, 2007 03:37 AM
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I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a loss. Nothing seems important. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days.
Comment by: Sten78644 at February 2, 2007 07:15 AM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but shrug. I just don't have anything to say recently. I haven't gotten much done recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about.
Comment by: Sten25550 at February 2, 2007 12:02 PM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.
Comment by: Sten48814 at February 2, 2007 04:41 PM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten68009 at February 2, 2007 08:49 PM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten11415 at February 3, 2007 12:21 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten84761 at February 3, 2007 01:09 AM
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Not much on my mind lately. My life's been completely boring these days. I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. So it goes.
Comment by: Sten5761 at February 3, 2007 05:37 AM
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I haven't been up to much today. I've just been letting everything happen without me. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I just don't have anything to say right now. More or less nothing happening.
Comment by: Sten39346 at February 3, 2007 10:42 PM
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I just don't have anything to say right now. I haven't been up to anything recently, but it's not important. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen, but shrug.
Comment by: Sten74816 at February 4, 2007 06:41 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I guess it doesn't bother me. Shrug. I haven't been up to anything. I haven't gotten much done today.
Comment by: Sten61552 at February 4, 2007 11:59 AM
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I haven't been up to much lately. I've basically been doing nothing , but it's not important. I can't be bothered with anything recently. I've just been letting everything happen without me lately.
Comment by: Sten3219 at February 4, 2007 04:44 PM
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Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.
Comment by: Sten64006 at February 4, 2007 08:32 PM
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I just don't have much to say these days, but so it goes. Today was a total loss. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten3220 at February 4, 2007 10:54 PM
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I haven't been up to much today. I've just been letting everything happen without me. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I just don't have anything to say right now. More or less nothing happening.
Comment by: Sten97478 at February 5, 2007 06:47 AM
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retty much nothing seems worth thinking about. My life's been completely dull , not that it matters. I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen.
Comment by: Sten20915 at February 5, 2007 10:01 AM
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I just don't have anything to say , but shrug. So it goes. Not much on my mind recently. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten48786 at February 5, 2007 07:01 PM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but shrug. I just don't have anything to say recently. I haven't gotten much done recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about.
Comment by: Sten84909 at February 5, 2007 10:36 PM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but shrug. I just don't have anything to say recently. I haven't gotten much done recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about.
Comment by: Sten76867 at February 6, 2007 03:22 AM
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