Summary Neil Armstrong's statement on Human Spaceflight (Youtube) www.youtube.com
655 words - YouTube video - View YouTube video
n/a Mister chairman, members of the committee, I wanna express my sincere appreciation for being invited to present the views, on NASA's new plan for human spaceflight. New nonclassified national program concepts are typically accompanied by substantial review and debate in a number of venues. That process is occasionally frustrating, but it is assures that all the major issues, performance, cost, funding, safety, schedule, and so forth, will be examined in some detail prior to a public proposal. After the tragic loss of Columbia and its crew and the completion of the accident investigation, admiral Gaiman, the chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, noted that NASA needed a long term strategic guiding vision. President Bush after reflection proposed such a vision, finish the International Space Station, return to the moon, establish a permanent presence there, and venture onward toward Mars.
n/a As this committee well knows, That vision was analyzed, debated, and improved upon with the congress for nearly 2 years. You then concluded nearly unanimously that it was the appropriate policy for our country. 3 years later after a change in congressional control. The policy was once again approved, although it was still not adequately funded. With regard to president Obama's 2010 plan, I have yet to find a person in NASA, the defense department, the air force, the national academies, industry, our academia that had any knowledge of the plan prior to its announcement.
n/a Rumors abound that neither the NASA administrator nor the president's science and technology adviser were knowledgeable about the plan. Lack of review normally guarantees they will there will be overlooked requirements and unwelcome consequences. For this plan that is worrisome. America has invested substantially for more than half a century to acquire a position of leadership in space. But for any organization, a public utility, an airline, a university or an NFL team to maintain a leadership position requires steadfast determination and a continuing investment in the future.
n/a That investment must be made wisely. I believe that so far our national investment in space and our sharing of that knowledge gained with the rest of the world has been made wisely and has served us very well. America is respected for its contributions that is made in learning to sail on this new ocean. If the leadership we have acquired through our investment is simply allowed to fade away. Other nations will surely step in where we have faltered.
n/a I do not believe that would be in our best interests. I'm very concerned that the new plan, as I understand it, will prohibit us from having human access to low Earth orbit on our own rockets and spacecraft until the private aerospace industry is able to qualify their hardware under development as rated for human occupancy. I support the encouragement of newcomers toward their goal of lower cost access to space. But having cut my teeth in rockets more than 50 years ago, I am not confident. The most experienced rocket engineers with whom I have spoken, believe that it will require many years a substantial investment to reach the necessary level of safety and reliability.
n/a If these experts are correct, United States will be limited to buying passage to the International Space Station from Russia and will be prohibited from traveling to other destinations in low earth orbit, such as the Hubble test telescope or any of the frequently mentioned destinations that are out on the space frontier. As I examine the plan, as stated during the announcement and the subsequent explanations, I find a number of assertions which are, at best, demand careful analysis, and at worst, do not deserve any analysis. I do believe if the national space plan is subject to the normal review process of this congress, the aerospace industry and the reliable experts that we know in the military and the aerospace community. America Will Be Well Served. Thank you, mister chairman.