NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his “foremost” mission as the head of America’s space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. Fox News.

This is too mind-boggling for the NIP to comment upon, so we’ll let you make your own judgement after watching the June 30th interview:

Obama, being sensitive to criticism, scheduled his trip to Florida today to not only shore up support for his NASA cuts but to shine the spotlight away from thousands of Tea Party protests all over the country on this tax day. NASA is one of the many non-entitlement programs that Obama is cutting to finance his socialistic dream.

I interviewed Dick Gordon, command module pilot of Apollo 12 today after the President’s speech. When asked what he thought of the speech he answered, “Not much. The President was long on rhetoric but short on specifics. Wait until the Russians are the only game in town. Their $50 million fee to the space station will escalate.”

Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon was interviewed today by Neil Cavuto after the speech. Cernan stated, “I have concerns about the future of this country. I’m not on board with Obama’s transformation of America. The President’s vision is a vision to nowhere. Nothing has changed today after I heard the President. You can take parts of his glib presentation today and add them up and there is no defiinition, no detail, there’s no real destination, no focus.”

Cernan wrote an open letter to President Obama with Neil Armstrong and James Lovell that graphically warns us of the dire consequences of the decisions made by this administration:

The United States entered into the challenge of space exploration under President Eisenhower’s first term, however, it was the Soviet Union who excelled in those early years. Under the bold vision of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, and with the overwhelming approval of the American people, we rapidly closed the gap in the final third; of the 20th century, and became the world leader in space exploration.

America’s space accomplishments earned the respect and admiration of the world. Science probes were unlocking the secrets of the cosmos; space technology was providing instantaneous worldwide communication; orbital sentinels were helping man understand the vagaries of nature. Above all else, the people around the world were inspired by the human exploration of space and the expanding of man’s frontier. It suggested that what had been thought to be impossible was now within reach. Students were inspired to prepare themselves to be a part of this new age. No government program in modern history has been so effective in motivating the young to do “what has never been done before.”

World leadership in space was not achieved easily. In the first half-century of the space age, our country made a significant financial investment, thousands of Americans dedicated themselves to the effort, and some gave their lives to achieve the dream of a nation. In the latter part of the first half century of the space age, Americans and their international partners focused primarily on exploiting the near frontiers of space with the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.

As a result of the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, it was concluded that our space policy required a new strategic vision. Extensive studies and analysis led to this new mandate: meet our existing commitments, return to our exploration roots, return to the moon, and prepare to venture further outward to the asteroids and to Mars. The program was named “Constellation.” In the ensuing years, this plan was endorsed by two Presidents of different parties and approved by both Democratic and Republican congresses.

The Columbia Accident Board had given NASA a number of recommendations fundamental to the Constellation architecture which were duly incorporated. The Ares rocket family was patterned after the Von Braun Modular concept so essential to the success of the Saturn 1B and the Saturn 5. A number of components in the Ares 1 rocket would become the foundation of the very large heavy lift Ares V, thus reducing the total development costs substantially. After the Ares 1 becomes operational, the only major new components necessary for the Ares V would be the larger propellant tanks to support the heavy lift requirements.

The design and the production of the flight components and infrastructure to implement this vision was well underway. Detailed planning of all the major sectors of the program had begun. Enthusiasm within NASA and throughout the country was very high.

When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding, substantial research and technology development, an extension of the International Space Station operation until 2020, long range planning for a new but undefined heavy lift rocket and significant funding for the development of commercial access to low earth orbit.

Although some of these proposals have merit, the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating.

America’s only path to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station will now be subject to an agreement with Russia to purchase space on their Soyuz (at a price of over 50 million dollars per seat with significant increases expected in the near future) until we have the capacity to provide transportation for ourselves. The availability of a commercial transport to orbit as envisioned in the President’s proposal cannot be predicted with any certainty, but is likely to take substantially longer and be more expensive than we would hope.

It appears that we will have wasted our current $10-plus billion investment in Constellation and, equally importantly, we will have lost the many years required to recreate the equivalent of what we will have discarded.

For The United States, the leading space faring nation for nearly half a century, to be without carriage to low Earth orbit and with no human exploration capability to go beyond Earth orbit for an indeterminate time into the future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature. While the President’s plan envisages humans traveling away from Earth and perhaps toward Mars at some time in the future, the lack of developed rockets and spacecraft will assure that ability will not be available for many years

Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity. America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space. If it does, we should institute a program which will give us the very best chance of achieving that goal.

Neil Armstrong, Commander, Apollo 11

James Lovell, Commander, Apollo 13

Eugene Cernan, Commander, Apollo 17

It’s time we stop listening to politicians and start listening to those in the know.

Today's Discovery launch, photo courtesy NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL: Early this morning NASA launched the space shuttle Discovery, one of the last launches of our shuttle fleet. Only 3 shuttle missions remain this year before the retirement of the most successful takeoff and reentry vehicle in space history.

Considering that our entire communications infrastructure depends on satellites, our administration is taking an enormous risk. Discontinuing the shuttle program before a replacement vehicle has been put into service has severe repercussions:

• USA held hostage to Russians to enter space
• International Space Station is turned over to Russians
• No emergency repairs to communications satellites
• No more repairs to Hubble Telescope
• No entry into space to counter potential Chinese offensives
• No defensive military use of space shuttles
• Our entire communications grid is at risk
• NASA will experience a “brain drain” as engineers leave the program

The “International” Space Station was built almost entirely with US funds. Now it is hands of the Russians. Private space exploration is far from being able to take over for NASA. Virgin’s new commercial space flight has nowhere near the power necessary to project a spacecraft into orbit. Only massive boosters like the space shuttle’s can do that.

On March 23 the NIP interviewed Richard F. Gordon, command module pilot of the Apollo XII mission to the moon regarding potential dangers of discontinuing the shuttle program:

I share your concern, certainly. I don’t know where this administration is coming from at this particular time.  My concern in terms of manned space flight is what is going to happen. I don’t have a answer that I can react to yet. There are several folks in my category that are deeply concerned about it. It’s frustrating. I can’t believe that this country will ultimately have to rely on the Soyuz vehicle and the Russians for access to the space station and low earth orbit.

Gene Cernan warns us in the following video that the US is in danger of becoming a third world country in space. The Obama administration has cancelled the planned moon program, opting instead for some unspecified Mars mission. As any 5th grader could tell you, the moon is on the way to Mars and needs to be used as a base for continued exploration.

We need more great Americans like Gene Cernan and Dick Gordon, but without a viable space program the best and the brightest of our youth will never step up to take their place. The money needed to successfully fund our space program is trivial in comparison to the massive entitlement spending of this socialist Congress. This is one more way the administration is mortgaging our future to gain votes from a constituency that doesn’t know any better.