(12-23-2019, 10:16 AM)homebiscuit Wrote:

(12-23-2019, 09:25 AM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote: The shuttle program shut down and NASA essentially became a ghost town  on Obama's watch in 2011 and Trump has righted yet another wrong and has given kids a reason to dream again.

The work of a true Russian asset.

Discontinuing the shuttle program was a Bush decision. NASA and the U.S. government screwed the pooch on preparing properly for such a decision by not spearheading a replacement human-certified launch vehicle long before the last shuttle launch. 
I suspect it was an effort to help keep the Russian space program funded so that their low paid scientists, engineers and technicians don’t sell critical information to the really bad guys. This is not unprecedented. The U.S. poured billions into Russian space, nuclear and technology programs after the fall of the Soviet Union for that very purpose.

The Russians see the writing on the wall. Both the U.S. and them have been relying on 60-year-old Soyuz technology for too long. When the SpaceX Dragon 2 capsule docked with the ISS and their cosmonaut was able to get a close look, the Russians became very alarmed. The yawning technology gap between ours and theirs is immense. Coupled with rampant corruption and a doddering economy, their space program is about to become completely outdated and a worrisome source of research and technology sell offs to China, Iran, and North Korea. Our advancement comes at a cost.

Yep. We have reason to believe that North Korea's most powerful rockets were mainly made from Soviet designed components that they purchased from corrupt Ukrainians. 
The good news is that the Ukrainians are not making more of this type of rocket engine, and it's unlikely that the North Koreans would be able to build a working copy.

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