The problem I see is that in the 60's, NASA could say "Join us, we're going to the moon".
The 70's was "We've been the moon, and we have this cool hardware left over we need to use up and we have this Mars probe that's taken really cool pictures for when we go there in person real soon now, and lookit this cool space plane we're building!"
The 80's was "Well, err, we've been to the moon and we might go back there....someday....and in the meantime lookit this neato space station we're hoping to build someday soon, and we have this cool space plane...oops...well, anyway......."
The 90's was "Well, we've got this really good PR department that keeps capitalizing on the fact we've been to the moon and we've got some aircraft projects that might lead to better and better things if we ever get the funding for it and we've got most of the bugs worked out of our space plane and we hope to build new ones someday."
So far, the 00's have been "Oops! Well, we got the math wrong on some of our Mars probes, but we did get this cool little robot there and we really did go to the moon once and we have a space station we're building out of parts left over from the Russians Mir II programme and we still have this cool space plane....oops.
Back in the 60's and early 70's, being a NASA engineer left one feeling like they were part of something greater than themselves. Today, NASA has a tattered and dingy atmosphere about it, like a retired brothel madam who keeps telling the world that 30 years ago, they were somebody, they were sexy, they were wanted and they'll prove it again Any Day Now if they're just given a chance.....
Problem is that atmosphere is not condusive to getting the best and brighest brains. It's more condusive to getting starry-eyed idealists and carrer buearucrats. NASA no longer has a mission, a goal, or anything to challenge those best and brightest. And they're not going to unless there's a major shift in their focus and goals - or there's something that threatens the US enough to challenege them.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2003-02-11 01:43 pm (UTC)The 70's was "We've been the moon, and we have this cool hardware left over we need to use up and we have this Mars probe that's taken really cool pictures for when we go there in person real soon now, and lookit this cool space plane we're building!"
The 80's was "Well, err, we've been to the moon and we might go back there....someday....and in the meantime lookit this neato space station we're hoping to build someday soon, and we have this cool space plane...oops...well, anyway......."
The 90's was "Well, we've got this really good PR department that keeps capitalizing on the fact we've been to the moon and we've got some aircraft projects that might lead to better and better things if we ever get the funding for it and we've got most of the bugs worked out of our space plane and we hope to build new ones someday."
So far, the 00's have been "Oops! Well, we got the math wrong on some of our Mars probes, but we did get this cool little robot there and we really did go to the moon once and we have a space station we're building out of parts left over from the Russians Mir II programme and we still have this cool space plane....oops.
Back in the 60's and early 70's, being a NASA engineer left one feeling like they were part of something greater than themselves. Today, NASA has a tattered and dingy atmosphere about it, like a retired brothel madam who keeps telling the world that 30 years ago, they were somebody, they were sexy, they were wanted and they'll prove it again Any Day Now if they're just given a chance.....
Problem is that atmosphere is not condusive to getting the best and brighest brains. It's more condusive to getting starry-eyed idealists and carrer buearucrats. NASA no longer has a mission, a goal, or anything to challenge those best and brightest. And they're not going to unless there's a major shift in their focus and goals - or there's something that threatens the US enough to challenege them.