The United States is not just cutting costs on its space program, but is cutting them so much that it is not yet clear what will happen to it next. While the flight program is calculated until 2016. For several years, American astronauts will travel to the ISS on Russian ships. Even all the latest space developments of American young scientists are economical and down-to-earth.
The twin of the legless roboticaut (who is now settling on the ISS) has been put up for discussion of its capabilities in the US Congress. This robot with a golden visor is exactly a symbol of time: it is he who will return to the moon instead of a man - it is cheaper.
“You can learn how to operate a robot in just half an hour - it's a very intuitive system,” says Ron Difetler, NASA's head of department.
The motto of the exhibition in the US Congress can be excellently served by the expression "the cheaper, the better": instead of a man into space, young scientists propose to send robots, instead of satellites - mobile phones. The Obama administration is quite open about saving money on space, winding up one program after another. The joint Russian-American project - the launch of a satellite to Jupiter - is under threat; all other international interplanetary research programs may also be closed. William Gertstenmeier, the second person at NASA, speaking to the senator about the future of the US space program, says: "I will answer you in 3 months. Maybe private traders will be thrown into orbit."
"We will use commercial cargo spacecraft Space X and Orbital. There are also other private companies that will help us make up for the opportunities for the delivery of astronauts into orbit that are lost with the shutdown of the shuttle program, and this will reduce dependence on Russian partners," says NASA's deputy head for manned missions, William Gerstenmeier.
Dragon ship of private company SpaceX
Orbital, mini shuttle
In June 2011, the last shuttle will make its last flight, after which the US astronauts are transferred to the Russian Soyuz. Negotiations on the delivery of 12 astronauts to the ISS by 2016 between NASA and Roscosmos are already underway.
“These are good examples of partnership between Russia and America: this is business and scientific cooperation, not political, which has always been important. We know that Russia is making serious investments in improving its spacecraft, we welcome this, because we will depend on these ships, says Senator Marco Rubio.
NASA's flights will depend on Soyuz until its own rocket is built. But for now, the questions of what this rocket should be (capacity, carrying capacity), on which routes it will fly, are in the background. At the moment, senators and scientists are more concerned about the fate of the 7,000 employees of the Kennedy Space Center, the last flight of the shuttle may serve as the reason for their dismissal.
"We are trying to figure out what kind of space system we are building. Most likely, it will be a universal ship that would meet many requirements," says Senator John Buzman.
The flight to Mars, which American astronauts have dreamed of since the time of Bush Sr., also remains only a dream so far. At one time, Bush Sr. announced - we will fly, but when he saw the estimate - 400 billion - he changed his mind. His son approved the Constellation program, an ambitious space project that first planned to land astronauts on the moon, build a base, and only then head to the Red Planet. They were going to land in 2037, but the project was rejected by Barack Obama.
Closing the shuttle program, abandoning its other space programs, the United States, for the first time in 40 years, found itself in a situation where NASA is unable to send its astronaut into orbit.
The same applies to all other space plans: in a situation when the White House cuts expenses, NASA cannot even clearly formulate - where and on what this money can fly and whether it is possible at all …
