News Archive

Friday, September 12, 2003 Space Bill in Congress U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson has reintroduced the Space Exploration Act of 2003. It has 26 Sponsors. It would be great news if it passes. Write your Congressperson and voice your opinion:) Here are some quotes from the bill's writer, Rep. Lampson. I believe that they summarizes what we need to do to with space exploration. "America's human space flight program is adrift, with no clear vision or commitment to any goals after the completion of the International Space Station. The intent of the Space Exploration Act of 2003, is to provide a vision and a concrete set of goals for the nation's human space flight program after the International Space Station. This legislation sets forth specific incremental goals that are challenging, exciting and that build capabilities and infrastructure needed for an ultimate human mission to Mars. "The real obstacle we face in overcoming the drift in the nation's human space flight program is not technological and it's not financial — it's the lack of commitment to get started. We don't need another national commission to come up with goals for human space flight beyond low Earth orbit. What we need is a national commitment to carry out any one of the many worthy goals that have been articulated to date." I personnel like section 4, clause 4: "(4) Within 20 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans from low Earth orbit to and from Martian orbit, the development and deployment of a human-tended habitation and research facility on the surface of one of the moons of Mars, and the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans from Martian orbit to the surface of Mars and back." (More info: Space Daily) @ 15:58 EST