NASA's Ares rocket dead, but Congress lets you pay $500 million more for it

[The Straight Story]

NASA's Ares rocket dead, but Congress lets you pay $500 million more for it

WASHINGTON — Thanks to congressional inaction, NASA must continue to fund its defunct Ares I rocket program until March — a requirement that will cost the agency nearly $500 million at a time when NASA is struggling with the expensive task of replacing the space shuttle.

About one-third that money — $165 million — will go to Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, which has a $2 billion contract to build the solid-rocket first stage for the Ares I, the rocket that was supposed to fill the shuttle's role of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station.

But under a new NASA plan signed into law by President Barack Obama in October, there's no guarantee that the new rocket required by that plan will use solid-fuel propulsion. And, in fact, many in the agency say a liquid-fueled rocket would be cheaper, more powerful — and safer.

The money to ATK is part of the $1.2 billion NASA will spend on its canceled Constellation program from Oct. 1 through March. Most of the rest will go to Lockheed Martin, which is building the Orion capsule intended to take astronauts into space aboard whatever rocket NASA selects. That program was largely spared by the new NASA plan.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-nasa-ares-rocket-constellation-20101227,0,2096166.story

[backscatter712]

1. Too bad we're still spending money on that boondoggle. Falcon-9 and Dragon are cheaper, safer...

and have already flown.

Both stages of Falcon 9 share the same engine, the second stage is nothing more than a shorter version of the first stage, and the Dragon capsule has had its first test flight, flew perfectly. They're already 98% of the way to launching operational manned flights into space, while NASA's Ares and Orion programs are in the usual death spiral.

[Igel]

2. Continuing budget resolutions are usually bad things.

This is a detail in a mound of badness. The only time they're good is when you really, really don't like the proposed budget and don't have time to amend the shit out of it while keeping a supermajority to override any veto.

We've had a lot of continuing budget resolutions in previous years. The repub Congress was notorious for it, and widely panned by Democratic candidates for not having the courage and cunning to actually pass a budget.

'Nuff said.

[nemo137]

3. Man, I geeked the fuck out when I heard about the Dragon test flight.

Sorry, your comment just reminded me of that.