"U.S. space pioneer John Glenn said Thursday that President Bushs space exploration plan 'pulls the rug out from under our scientists' and might waste too much money to ever put astronauts on Mars."
Posted by jburk at March 4, 2026 03:12 PM | TrackBackI do agree with John Glenn's thinking that cutting existing programs is a bad way to fund the Presidents iniative and that we should not anger our space partners in doing so.
Posted by: Harold LaValley at March 5, 2026 05:16 AMUnless the President (both current, and the next couple) finds a way to convince Congress to fund both the SEI and the other NASA initiatives - some tough & unpopular calls will be made (Hubble, anyone?)
Don't get me wrong: I would love to have both SEI, ISS and all the rest, just like Sen. John Glenn. But if you had to choose between having ISS on one hand and SEI on the other - which would you choose?
Or else: How do you (politically) sustain doubling NASA funding to around Apollo levels (2% of the national budget) through several terms of office?
How about making SEI part of the Air Force budget ... they stand to benefit (in terms of technology) a lot from SEI for their new space iniatives as well.
Posted by: Daniel at March 5, 2026 08:00 AM(let me preface my opinion by saying that I've only read the MSNBC article - I'm eagerly awaiting video archives to be posted to moontomars.org).
What we really need to do, Mr. Glenn, is to get back to the roaring 90's when we sent 70-somethings to LEO to fleece (er, I mean "inspire") the American taxpayer.
Real leadership has nothing to do with consensus building, or with making everyone happy. Real leadership requires tough decisions. If you believe that continuing the old vision for ISS is going to bring *any* more supporters under the space exploration tent, you are sadly mistaken.
Posted by: Dave K. Smith at March 5, 2026 12:28 PMDid anyone listen to the 2:15 3:00 p.m. Management Techniques for a "System of Systems" by The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin (invited) and Northrop Grumman (invited). I missed that time slot and was curious as to what they would present to the commision. I guess I will also have to wait for the transcripts as well. Since there seems to be no news stories from the hearing.
Posted by: Harold LaValley at March 5, 2026 12:38 PMSorry Harold - I missed that part as well. Moontomars.com normally posts the video as well - so it should be online soon. (Hopefully)
The media coverage is really anemic. Glenn and the AF Generals got some coverage - but even the Mars "Big Announcement" got shafter for more petty terrestrial stories.
Posted by: Daniel at March 5, 2026 01:13 PM