Mir From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 19815 posts, RR: 56 Reply 1, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 1510 times:
Tried to see the launch, but clouds were in the way, so all I saw was a tiny bit of the smoke plume.
Best of luck to Dawn on its mission.
-Mir
7 billion, one nation, imagination...it's a beautiful day
GDB From United Kingdom, joined May 2001, 12737 posts, RR: 79 Reply 2, posted (5 years 8 months 3 weeks 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 1477 times:
Congrats to NASA and the team who built the probe.
Another important milestone is solar system exploration, where the oft maligned NASA has been outstanding.
One day, close examination of asteroids might be seen as of vital importance to mankind beyond science/pure exploration.
(The Dinosaurs did not have a space programme).
Thorny From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 4, posted (5 years 8 months 1 week 15 hours ago) and read 1387 times:
Quoting Norlander (Reply 3): For all the grievances I have for NASA (where is Moon Base Alpha!)
NASA can only build what the United States Congress authorizes and funds them to build. Congress has not authorized Moon Base Alpha yet. NASA's first Moon Base plans died in the Budget Disaster of 1967, in which funds for all post-Apollo programs were essentially zeroed out (only SkyLab survived, barely, and at the cost of Apollo 20.) NASA's next serious opportunity to start work on a Moon Base was the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) in 1989, on the 20th Anniversary of Apollo 11. NASA management completely botched that opportunity, adding everything but the kitchen sink to their wish list, which was instantly killed by Congress because of its enormous cost (reportedly $500 billion, but even if half that, it was still far too expensive.) It took fifteen years for NASA to build back up its credibility with Congress and the White House after that fiasco, and in 2004 President Bush again proposed lunar exploration, in the form of the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) now known as Project Constellation.
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