11 ms·

The most interesting part to me is that congressional support has increased for funding more than one venture in case one runs into technical difficulties (now

by jobu 12y ago

The most interesting part to me is that congressional support has increased for funding more than one venture in case one runs into technical difficulties (now that the Soyuz option is ending). “The Russians have done NASA a favor in terms of funding,” Caceres said.

makomk 12y ago
Unfortunately, one of the ventures - Boeing's one - is still currently somewhat dependent on Russia. They're doing their testing and integration work with the Atlas V which uses Russian-supplied RD-180 engines that Russia are probably no longer willing to sell. They have enough of a stockpile for a couple of years, but it'll take longer than that just to reach the point where the CST-100 can carry people. They were supposedly intending to support other launchers at a later stage in the project, but don't currently.
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
I think Putin's little war with the West is going to have massive gains for the US spaceflight. Whatever doubts we had about doing business with his regime have now been solidified. I don't think NASA will ever put itself in a position where it requires another nation's permission to get into space. This can only mean good things for the continued funding of the SLS. Also, other boneheaded moves like ULA standardizing on a Russian made engine will be strongly discouraged. Being self-sufficient is the only sane move as petty autocrats like Putin will take their ball and run home if they feel their ego isn't being stroked enough.
- TeMPOraL 12y ago
  > I think Putin's little war with the West is going to have massive gains for the US spacefligt Did I miss something or did everyone just forget that it's the United States that started that 'little war', wrt. space flight?
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - seanflyon 12y ago
    Could you elaborate on how the 'little war' was started? I would say it started when Crimea became a part of Russia, which was not an act of the United States.
    - avar 12y ago
      Russia didn't invade Crimea out of the blue. From Russia's perspective the start this whole thing is closer to when the US helped overthrow Ukraine's government and was actually caught on tape micro-managing some of the government transition[1]. Imagine what the US would do if, for instance, Russia were to help overthrow Mexico's elected government and install parties friendly to its own interests in their place. 1. http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2014/february/06/fstarstark-the-eu-tape-reveals-us-runs-ukraine-opposition.aspx http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2014/...
    - TeMPOraL 12y ago
      I meant the politicizing of space aspect. After Putin annexed Crimea, it was NASA that basically said "hey, we don't like what you're doing with Ukraine, so from now on, we're not going to space together". It's only after that Russia decided not to sell rocket engines to US anymore. Personally, I suspect that some politician pushed NASA to do this as a cheap popularity shot. But regardless, it's the US that escalated Ukraine into spaceflight business, so it's not fair to accuse Putin of politicizing space. Heck, I learned about that NASA stunt here, on HN. People seem to have a really, really short memory. EDIT: for a simple proof and a reminder, just HN-search for "NASA Russia" and "Russia engines". - 5 months ago NASA suspends work with Russia over involvement in Ukraine (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7517679 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7517679) - 4 months ago Russia Bans Rocket Engine Sales to U.S. Military (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7740033 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7740033)

by jobu 12y ago

makomk 12y ago

Unfortunately, one of the ventures - Boeing's one - is still currently somewhat dependent on Russia. They're doing their testing and integration work with the Atlas V which uses Russian-supplied RD-180 engines that Russia are probably no longer willing to sell. They have enough of a stockpile for a couple of years, but it'll take longer than that just to reach the point where the CST-100 can carry people. They were supposedly intending to support other launchers at a later stage in the project, but don't currently.

drzaiusapelord 12y ago

I think Putin's little war with the West is going to have massive gains for the US spaceflight. Whatever doubts we had about doing business with his regime have now been solidified. I don't think NASA will ever put itself in a position where it requires another nation's permission to get into space. This can only mean good things for the continued funding of the SLS. Also, other boneheaded moves like ULA standardizing on a Russian made engine will be strongly discouraged. Being self-sufficient is the only sane move as petty autocrats like Putin will take their ball and run home if they feel their ego isn't being stroked enough.

TeMPOraL 12y ago
> I think Putin's little war with the West is going to have massive gains for the US spacefligt Did I miss something or did everyone just forget that it's the United States that started that 'little war', wrt. space flight?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- seanflyon 12y ago
  Could you elaborate on how the 'little war' was started? I would say it started when Crimea became a part of Russia, which was not an act of the United States.
  - avar 12y ago
    Russia didn't invade Crimea out of the blue. From Russia's perspective the start this whole thing is closer to when the US helped overthrow Ukraine's government and was actually caught on tape micro-managing some of the government transition[1]. Imagine what the US would do if, for instance, Russia were to help overthrow Mexico's elected government and install parties friendly to its own interests in their place. 1. http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2014/february/06/fstarstark-the-eu-tape-reveals-us-runs-ukraine-opposition.aspx http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2014/...
  - TeMPOraL 12y ago
    I meant the politicizing of space aspect. After Putin annexed Crimea, it was NASA that basically said "hey, we don't like what you're doing with Ukraine, so from now on, we're not going to space together". It's only after that Russia decided not to sell rocket engines to US anymore. Personally, I suspect that some politician pushed NASA to do this as a cheap popularity shot. But regardless, it's the US that escalated Ukraine into spaceflight business, so it's not fair to accuse Putin of politicizing space. Heck, I learned about that NASA stunt here, on HN. People seem to have a really, really short memory. EDIT: for a simple proof and a reminder, just HN-search for "NASA Russia" and "Russia engines". - 5 months ago NASA suspends work with Russia over involvement in Ukraine (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7517679 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7517679) - 4 months ago Russia Bans Rocket Engine Sales to U.S. Military (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7740033 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7740033)