White House Decides to Outsource NASA Work

[Duppers]

JANUARY 24, 2010, 10:50 P.M. ET

The White House has decided to begin funding private companies to carry NASA astronauts into space, but the proposal faces major political and budget hurdles, according to people familiar with the matter.

The controversial proposal, expected to be included in the Obama administration's next budget, would open a new chapter in the U.S. space program. The goal is to set up a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying U.S. astronauts into orbit—and eventually deeper into the solar system.

...

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who heads a key subcommittee, has blasted the notion of shifting money to outsource transporting astronauts to the international space station. Unless Congress makes the NASA budget a higher priority, Rep. Giffords said during a hearing last month, there won't be enough money for robust manned exploration efforts of any kind and U.S. human space flight could be "on hold for the foreseeable future."


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704375604575023530543103488.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular

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Except for some important biotechnical advances, most of our knowledge doesn't come from manned flights. How important is medical research in 0-gravity?: http://ipp.nasa.gov/innovation/Innovation_75/ftre.htm
(This is a '99 article, but I'm too tired this morning to find a more recent one.)

[atreides1]

1. Why not outsource it all

Congress, Supreme Court, and the White House!

[lib2DaBone]

3. Yes.. Put the entire mess for sale on E-BAY

[lib2DaBone]

2. Let me guess... all the rockets will be made in China....

..all the computers and IT Work will be in India...

[Duppers]

4. I think their intent is to help the US economy

by letting these contracts to U.S. companies.

[snagglepuss]

5. Of course it is but that is the problem because costs will increase to

insure profit and that cost will be borne by taxpayers.

[LiberalFighter]

6. It doesn't say anything about US companies. So it could go anywhere.

[LiberalFighter]

7. Who has the contracts now? Unless the work is not being done in the U.S.

it isn't going to help our economy.

[Duppers]

9. good question

I'll have to research this later (including asking hubby who works for NASA).

I know some major corporations have some big contracts, such as Boeing, Honeywell, etc. But I don't have the specifics on hand.

[Lorien]

8. Privatize, privatize, privatize...if the GOP did it we'd be up in arms

but privatizing NASA and public schools is just dandy if a DLCer does it. Did NO ONE learn anything from Enron?

[TZ]

10. Ummm most NIH jobs are now outsourced to private contractors actually

And it works fine. NIH still does high quality research. This is something that saves the government good money AND usually gets better employees than the government hires (and THAT IS personal experience)
On edit: Private contractors can also fire incompetent and dishonest people, soemthing the government has a hard time doing.

[TZ]

11. Medical Reserch in Zero G is VERY important

NASA and NIH and other scientific agencies have done a lot of work together.