Page 489 - Space Program News Today

>> especially if they are spending things on that are not going to get us anywhere. >> do you think the public wants a big space program? because i dont think they do. why is it that there isnt that much interest in going into space these days? >> well, because, theres not much that exciting about a big machine called the shuttle. up, back down again, finding what, well, ways to talk about what you see a selfie. >> do you think they should go to mars? >> explore something new, different. >> with...

>> well, yes, they happen to get more attention than the robots do. the robots have gotten a lot better in the last 45 years. >> what are you doing about this? you have a plan, i know, to get interest revived in the space program. what are you doing? >> well, first thing you need is an ultimate destination. not just pushing it off, but a time of achieving that. and then a plan. nasa has developed what they call a design reference mission to go somewhere. its what you need to assemble, what you n...

Effective and more responsive to the american people. >> this gets to the whole va mess there is an argument that liberals make and its a good one, when you use the analogy of the space program, the government will take on tasks that are simply too big or too risky for businesses. they would not entertain. that only the government could have gotten us to the moon. working again with private enterprise. we know that involved quite a few private contractors. but that and the military are proof the...

>> congress is weighing more fundsing for nasa in the latest budget proposal, proposing 17.9 billion, which is up from what the white house proposed. thats a change of course. how needed is that money? >> thats great. weve gone through very rough years during the recession. theres a lot out there. the solar system is infinite. theres always more to explore and discover. i think it captures the curiosity of everybody. we want to get out there and get the information and get it home to earth. that...

Increasing the rate at which we can transmit that information. >> and in recent years, you say this will push the space program forward but there have been severe cuts over and over again to the space program. we dont even have a shuttle anymore at this point. where are these lasers going to go? >> these lasers are going to go in the deep space armatta of space craft. and in the future they are going to carry along these laser communication systems. it can increase the date it rates from those l...

This new laser technology, 3.5 seconds. america has cut space spending again and again and again. can this or any other innovation spark excitement again? joining me now is matt abrahamson. thank you so much for joining us, this is very cool. >> yes, it is. good morning. last night we transmitted a high definition video from the space station down to the ground on a laser beam. were very excited about that. >> what can this practically achieve for nasa? >> this is going to open up the solar syst...

Moon. and the united states cannot even put our own astronauts at our own $100 billion space station. >> reporter: thats because, for now, with the space station program on ice, nasas primary means for sending astronauts into space is by way of hitching a ride on russian-led space flights. aldrin says its short-sighted and does nothing to foster leadership. he says faulty goal setting and insufficient funds have forced nasa off a winning path. >> given the current events happening and the tensio...

>> well get into that, but well stick on the science for a minute. it was 3.4 degrees. >> 3.6. >> being the tipping point. when you look at this report and you look at that tipping point number, do you think what this report is recommending is the solution to avoid hitting that number? >> these are policy questions. but from an engineering standpoint, which is what we need is energy storage. by that expression i mean bat ris. we need a better battery of some kind. to do that we would invest and ...

Commitment to human space exploration is limping along. budget cuts and lack of focus. astronaut buzz aldrin refuses to give up on the future. and he has been devoting his life to keeping americas space. >> this country was the inspiration of the world. >> right. >> in the 60s and 70 s. and we need to recover that if we expect this nation to be exceptional. >> astronaut buzz aldrin has been on a relentless mission of putting america at the forefront of human space exploration. for this legend wh...

High-level briefing for families . that might include experts from china. might that help? >> i think the chinese families need to hear it from more than the malaysian government. if you have a multi-national incident, you include your partners as soon as possible include them in the investigationant t investigation and the study. china has a space program. they certainly have the mathematical expertise that could have provided additional assistance in making these calculations. inmarsat is a pr...