Why Has Russia Become America's Space Taxi?

1. 67

   AnnCeeposted 11 years ago

   Is it because the IMF wants them to have an income stream?
   
   
   
   
   
   YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTbdnNgqfs8
   
   
   The IMF forced the United States to turn the Panama Canal over to Panama when they were no longer able to make interest payments on their loans.   This gave Panama an income stream.

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      CHRIS57posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I read John Perkins book many years ago. Quite interesting lecture, but what does it have to do with space flight?
      
      Nothing really, because it is all about cost effective availability of space craft and launch vehicles. The US has long abandoned this business, only focusing on the space shuttle. The European Ariane program (facilities in Guyana) and Russian Space programs (launch site Baikonur) filled that blank spot.
      And Russia with their ongoing development of the Angara payload launch system seems to take the lead, also because European Ariane is full with unmanned payload missions, not dedicated to the ISS.
      
      So all technological, economical issues - no political aspects.

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         AnnCeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         The timing is interesting, Chris, considering Russian was stumbling toward default on their debt during those same years they worked with NASA.  They needed an infusion.  The promise of an upcoming strong place in the space industry probably helped the banks restructure and extend for them.  That's the way it usually works.   Now with a guaranteed income stream, like that realized by Panama through the canal, they can pay interest on their loans.
         
         
         
         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle%E2 … ir_Program

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            CHRIS57posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Talking about dept and default appears to be off track. Compare Russian and American public dept and you will find out Russian dept is only 10% in relative numbers of the US dept. It is more a matter of funding. Now funding requires defining priorities and that is where the US gave in.
            
            Also i think the comment from foreignpress gets close, even though i don´t like his cultural fingerpointing.

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               Doug Hughesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               A single Shuttle launch costs about 450 million.
               
               The deal NASA signed with Russian to ferry astronauts for TWO years is a 115 million less than ONE shuttle launch.

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      qwarkposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Russia is the 2nd largest oil importer.
      They want bankrupt fighting the Afghans.
      Oil has saved 'em.
      Now Iraq and Afghanistan is bankrupting us.
      John Adams was right: ""There are two ways to conquer enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt."
      Qwark

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         recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You all seem to have missed the point that it is the people of the US who are enslaved by debt by your own top 1% - as in Europe, especially the UK, they have removed your pension funds, house value and savings and saddled most people with crippling debt.  Those stupid enough to extend this debt onto loans and credit cards are almost beyond help and are enslaved to the system.
         
         I recently calculated that in my position of having nothing I am better off financially than 63% of the total UK public.

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   TMMasonposted 11 years ago

   Because after 30 years of trying, the Socialist Democrrat Left and Progressive Right have finally sold another one of our greatest assets to their Commie friends. China has more than their share of our wealth industry and tech... but Russia is the old blood kin of the American Leftists, so they get the grand booby prize.
   
   More deciet and treason, is all it is.

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      AnnCeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      http://www.newser.com/story/7367/banks- … loans.html
      
      http://www.albionmonitor.com/9908a/copy … fault.html
      
      http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/07/0 … 1720110707
      
      
      It's about $$$$$$$$$$$.   Always.

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         TMMasonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         http://www.theblaze.com/stories/video-j … -mao-love/
         
         Real lovers of America, they are.
         
         http://www.theblaze.com/stories/america … -race-war/
         
         
         And people on here get mad at me for what I think of Obama... yeah right.

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3. 60

   TMMasonposted 11 years ago

   Tech = money = Politics...
   
   Anything that = massive aounts of money, = politics.

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4. 55

   foreignpressposted 11 years ago

   The United States has changed its priorities. It used to be that education would lead to achievement. Thus the Baby Boomers became extremely literate. Then we started on a diversity kick and allowed in tens of millions of immigrants from all over the world. We became focused on assimilation and nurturing the world's poor at the expense of education and achievement. So we ended up with children who were taught in English when they didn't understand English. Insidious laws like No Child Left Behind ensured these children eventually graduated high school with a fifth grade education.
     A classic example is teachers and administrators in the Atlanta, Ga, school district who erased wrong answers on tests and inserted correct answers. This ensured that students would graduate so the district could show good numbers. A state and federal  investigation into that farce is still ongoing. A similar investigation is now enveloping the Washington, DC school district.
     The point is that China, Russia, and other countries don't have these multicultural problems so they're more focused on stuff like space and the sciences generally. The result is that Russia is America's space taxi while China has bought up all our assets.

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5. 82

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   The US didn't develop a vehicle to replace the shuttle, and couldn't keep using the worn out shuttles.  How is that someone else's fault?

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6. 61

   uncorrectedvisionposted 11 years ago

   It is, as many things, a shift in our culture away from the self determined, pioneer, explorer spirit to the dependent, ward of the state trap created by liberalism's insidious nature. 
   
   We can't spend on space exploration because we need that money for hand outs.  We have lost the drive for great things and are led by people who exemplify our lack of courage.
   
   The up side to the shuttle programs demise is the incentive to the ever diminishing number of courageous people, like Burt Ruttan, who are willing to dare the pitfalls of private space exploration.
   
   The Russians are using a space vehicle design far older than the shuttle.  The next great wave of space pioneers will come from private enterprise - for as long as that is permitted to exist.
   
   If you want a future in space protect capitalism.
   
   We see the misdirected silliness at NASA under political leaders.  Global warming propaganda and Muslim out reach programs do not revolutionize propulsion systems for an eventual mars flight.  Or the modest effort, a return to the Moon.
   
   We lack the desire to do the things that are easy let alone the things that are hard.  We have fallen far in 50 years.
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z1DidldxUo

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      Doug Hughesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The Space Program was the result of a democratic visionary, JFK.

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         uncorrectedvisionposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         An anti-Communist, Cold Warrior, Catholic who cut taxes, opposed increasing the central control of the economy and was quoted more by The Club for Growth(know who they are) and Ronald Reagan than by his own crazy, leftist, drunken, womanizing brother.
         
         JFK was a Democrat like "Scoop" Jackson was a Democrat - marginally and by legacy.  The Democrat Party is now the carrier of Marxism in America - not something JFK would have liked.

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         uncorrectedvisionposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Actually, NASA and the space program predates Kennedy. Check your facts.
         
         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasa
         
         NASA/NACA were established by Eisenhower.  The Mercury Program was begun under Eisenhower.  Kennedy did the wise thing for an anti-Communist, signed on to the space race.

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            Doug Hughesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            The commitment to the moon shot was by Kennedy. Previous to that, our efforts were little more than playing with bottle rockets.

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               uncorrectedvisionposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I am sure former Democrat Senator from Ohio and Mercury Astronaut would agree with you. No doubt their efforts were trivial because Doug has decided that they are.

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                  Doug Hughesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I am the last person to revitalize the accomplishments of our astronauts. If you care to compare which presidents committed more money to the space program, lets do it.

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                     uncorrectedvisionposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Your exact words were, "The Space Program was the result of a democratic visionary, JFK"
                     
                     Not the moon shot or the Apollo program but the Space Program.  This is clearly incorrect.  You made no assertion about dollar amounts dedicated to the vast private corporation, NASA cooperative. 
                     
                     Then you said,"The commitment to the moon shot was by Kennedy. Previous to that, our efforts were little more than playing with bottle rockets."  Sounds like trivializing all the hard work that went into laying the foundation for the now abandoned moon.
                     
                     Abandoning space was also a Democrat idea.  Remember mocking GWB when he mentioned Mars.  I would bet you hooted along with all the other Democrat Luddites.  Progress is hardly the province of contemporary Democrats.  The modern American liberal is so interested in hunkering down in the potato line that Mars will be explored by the Chinese and Iranians because the "rich are eating the poor! - PANIC!!!"

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                        KK Trainorposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        And the tens of thousands of good paying jobs being lost because of Obama's lack of vision are going to devastate parts of the Gulf Coast. Dozens of businesses around NASA are closing and the NASA workers will be hard pressed to find jobs to replace the ones they have held for years.
                        
                        Seriously, who cancels a program without having a replacement lined up? Short sighted and ill advised. As soon as we make Russia angry, which could be any day, they could cut our access to the space station that we built. I find it baffling. Guess we know why Bush's missle defense shield isn't being built...

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                           uncorrectedvisionposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           The end of the Shuttle Program, you know the one that came to it fruition while Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were our Presidents, has cost Florida hundreds of good jobs.  Way to go Barry!  Is there a single sector of the economy that hasn't been devastated by Barry's genius.  Oh wait, Barry's keeping Gitmo open, Killing Bin Laden and defiling his body, bombing Libya and Pakistan along with supporting the government of Yemen has, no doubt, created thousands of new terrorists.

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      KK Trainorposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Agree with your wise and thoughtful answer.

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7. 61

   uncorrectedvisionposted 11 years ago

   A little tribute to the pre-JFK space program.
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDEsGZLbio

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