US mocks Venezuelan space plans

[Meshuga]

The Obama administration on Friday dismissed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's suggestion that his country wants to set up a space program with Russian help...

...{The State Department} pointed out that the populist Chavez's government is dealing with potentially more pressing matters for its citizens than 'space travel.'

...'We would note that the government of Venezuela was largely closed this week due to energy shortages,' spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters. 'To the extent that Venezuela is going to expend resources on behalf of its people, perhaps the focus should be more terrestrial than extraterrestrial.'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20100402/us-us-venezuela-russia/

[protocol rv]

1. The US should mind its own economic problems

The US foreign debt is so high Moody's has warned they may lower US bond ratings from the magic AAA band. So one has to wonder, why does the US spend so much money on the space station, if we consider this space station is a worthless flying toilet? I don't think we should be wasting money with a space program either, unless the Russians want to pay for all of it, but that comment by the gringo is really arrogant and stupid. He needs to stick his rockets up his behind.

[naaman fletcher]

2. Ha Ha..

Yes his space plans are stupid, but the U.S. is in position to lecture anybody in finances. How much are we spending each day on stupid wars?

[EFerrari]

3. We should be thankful President Kennedy had no domestic problems

when he kicked off the space program. :)

[Mika]

4. US project manager Wernher von Braun "Mr President, our Germans are better than their Germans!"

He designed and shot Nazi V1 and V2 rockets during WW2. Killing many thousands of civilians.

The US gov smuggled many of these Nazi rocket scientists over to the US and set up further testing of captured and formerly Nazi V2 rockets in Nevada. The Brits were STUNNED when this broke in the news. They wanted Von Braun at Nuremberg and ending up swinging from the end of a rope.

The Russians did the same thing. Their space program was designed and run by a former Nazi also.

The movie The Good Shepherd (with Matt Damon) touches on some CIA ops, like smuggling/protecting wanted Nazi scientists & Drs etc, and the Bay of Pigs ops. Good movie.

:hi:

---

[protocol rv]

5. And what did your manned space program accomplish for the money?

Not really that much. An unmanned space program makes sense for the US. A manned spaced program is just circus for the masses.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. Now we know that the sky is not heaven n/t

[Wilms]

6. That was nervous laughter, I'll bet.

We're not likely talking about a manned VZ space program despite the snotty "space travel" remark.


Let's run down a few other relevant facts:

1. A launch facility near the equator has a lot of advantages. Russia will likely enjoy them as much as VZ.

2. The US plan is to retire the shuttle this year and have no manned flight capability.

3. The US has a contract with the Russians to ferry US personal to and from the International Space Station until the next-generation US spaceship is ready.

4. Oops. The US manned flight program that was being developed just got canceled.

So laugh all they want. Perhaps one day US astronauts will take a plane to VZ to board a Russian rocket and fly to the ISS. :rofl:

[protocol rv]

7. Let's go over your response

1. A launch facility near the equator has a lot of advantages. Russia will likely enjoy them as much as VZ.

Indeed, a launch facility near the equator has a lot of advantages. But Venezuela would not "enjoy" it. We in Venezuela can't afford to build one - our hospitals are a mess, we're having a crime wave, and we got much better things to do with the money.

Russia would not "enjoy" a launch facility in Venezuela because it already has one in Kazakhstan. Evidently one closer to the equator would allow them to lift larger payloads, but I doubt it would pay for them to build in Venezuela - it's far from Russia.

2,3,4. The US manned program is being shifted to have a privately run heavy lift capability. Meanwhile, they plan to use the Russian facilities in Kazakhstan. If the US puts cash into it, they can just pay the Russians to send their boosters to Florida and launch from there - using Russian boosters.

But let's keep in mind something even more significant - the International Space Station is the mother of all pork barrel expenditures. It does nothing really useful and it costs a lot of money. Therefore, the best solution for the USA is to close it down and let it crash into the Pacific Ocean. It should never have been built.

Later, after US private industry develops the heavy lift capability, if the US wants to it can use its private industry to launch whatever it wants to launch. And I am sure the new private lifters will be a lot more efficient than the Russian lift vehicles.

Where would that leave Venezuela? Nowhere. We can't compete with Colombia growing a head of lettuce or a potato, are we going to compete in the space launch business? Not with Chavez in power.

[Wilms]

8. Let's go over yours.

"Blah blah blah I hate Chavez."

That about covers it.

[protocol rv]

10. Sorry, but that doesn't cover it

How do you explain the lousy Venezuelan economy, the high inflation, the high crime rate, the electricity crisis, the lousy shape Venezuelan hospitals are in? Why is PDVSA not paying their debts? Why can't the government get things done right? Why do you think we would like to live in a communist country after seeing what they did in the Soviet Union, North Korea, Cambodia, and Cuba? Do you think your glib remarks will cover up the things that really worry us?

[rabs]

11. May I remind you

"Cada pueblo tiene el gobierno que se merece."

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

So how are things these days at the Parque Central, Edificio Caraota, where I lived for an unfortunate two years during the "Bogote Duro" (Campins) period?

:hi:

[protocol rv]

12. That's right

I don't go for the "blame the yankees" baloney. We got Chavez because we were stupid and voted for him. And now everything is falling apart in a hurry. So how was the elevator service when you lived there?