OrlandoSentinel.com: Space: "Poll tells NASA to keep sending ships into space
WASHINGTON -- Sixty percent of Americans are willing to spend what it takes to build a new type of manned spaceship to replace the aging shuttle, according to an Orlando Sentinel poll.
Despite the Columbia disaster and a highly critical report released last week by the accident's investigators, public support for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration remains high. The survey found that 81 percent of Americans consider space exploration very important or somewhat important to the country's future.
That's a 7-point increase from a February 2002 survey -- and a 6-point increase from a poll taken immediately after Columbia broke up over Texason Feb. 1. Washington-based Ipsos-Public Affairs conducted all three national polls for the Sentinel.
More important, the new poll shows Americans are prepared to support NASA with their pocketbooks. Besides their willingness to foot the bill for a new manned spaceship, 73 percent of respondents want to increase the agency's funding or at least keep it at the current level of roughly $15 billion a year. Those saying NASA deserves more money jumped to 29 percent -- the highest level in a decade -- up from 9 percent in February 2002.
The poll, which surveyed 1,002 people nationwide Aug. 27-28, has a margin of error no more than 3.1 percentage points.
"The support for the program is unshaken," said Thomas Riehle, president of Ipsos, an international survey research firm. "It is as strong as ever, even in the aftermath of the event and the report. It's in our blood as Americans."
Public support for space exploration could prove crucial as Congress begins hearings this week to examine the future of the shuttle program. Besides helping determine the path for the shuttle fleet's return to flight -- which NASA has tentatively scheduled for next spring -- the hearings could influence the direction and funding of U.S. human spaceflight for years.
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Replacing the shuttle
One of the poll's most-significant findings is the public's willingness to spend tax dollars on a shuttle replacement. According to some estimates, that effort could cost more than $10 billion before a new spaceship is on the launchpad.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's final report concluded the shuttle should be replaced as well.
"Because of the risks inherent in the original design of the space shuttle, because that design was based in many aspects on now-obsolete technologies, and because the shuttle is now an aging system but still developmental in character, it is in the nation's interest to replace the shuttle as soon as possible," the report said. "It is the view of the board that the previous attempts to develop a replacement vehicle for the aging shuttle represent a failure of national leadership."
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he wasn't surprised by the poll's findings but added that any effort to build a new vehicle likely would require the backing of the White House.
"I think this is where NASA has to have leadership, and it has to come all the way from the top, at the president," Nelson said. "If that kind of leadership is demonstrated, I think Congress would go along."
Several attempts to build a new manned launcher all failed during the past decade. The most recent, NASA's troubled X-33 program, cost government and industry almost $1.3 billion before being abandoned in 2001. The goal was to develop a cheaper, safer ship that could reach orbit without jettisoning spent fuel tanks or boosters and land like an airplane after the flight.
NASA pulled the plug because the materials and technologies needed to make the vehicle work weren't ready.
NASA's latest effort is called the Orbital Space Plane, which would ferry astronauts to the international space station. But unlike the shuttle, it wouldn't be able to carry heavy cargo or large satellites into orbit. It also won't be ready to fly until at least 2008, if then.
"We need to decide as a nation what it is we want to do," said Harold Gehman, the retired admiral who chaired the Columbia investigation.
NASA priorities
Polling shows that what Americans want from their space program has changed little, if any, from February 2002 to today.
NASA's primary mission should be research and development for U.S. industry, according to 33 percent of those surveyed in the latest poll and 35 percent in February 2002. Close behind was research in low-Earth orbit aboard the shuttle and space station, cited by 26 percent in both polls. Unmanned exploration of the universe ranked third, with support increasing from 16 percent in February 2002 to 19 percent in the latest poll.
And Americans still think the shuttle program is worth the roughly $3.1 billion a year NASA has been spending on it. The percentage who think that way increased from 54 percent in February 2002 to 57 percent in the week following last February's shuttle accident to 63 percent today.
But more-ambitious human spaceflight plans don't have widespread support. Respondents continue to take a dim view of a much-discussed manned mission to Mars, although opposition has slightly decreased since February 2002. Those who somewhat or strongly oppose such a mission dropped from 62 percent to 55 percent.
Hmm.
WASHINGTON -- Sixty percent of Americans are willing to spend what it takes to build a new type of manned spaceship to replace the aging shuttle, according to an Orlando Sentinel poll.
Despite the Columbia disaster and a highly critical report released last week by the accident's investigators, public support for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration remains high. The survey found that 81 percent of Americans consider space exploration very important or somewhat important to the country's future.
That's a 7-point increase from a February 2002 survey -- and a 6-point increase from a poll taken immediately after Columbia broke up over Texason Feb. 1. Washington-based Ipsos-Public Affairs conducted all three national polls for the Sentinel.
More important, the new poll shows Americans are prepared to support NASA with their pocketbooks. Besides their willingness to foot the bill for a new manned spaceship, 73 percent of respondents want to increase the agency's funding or at least keep it at the current level of roughly $15 billion a year. Those saying NASA deserves more money jumped to 29 percent -- the highest level in a decade -- up from 9 percent in February 2002.
The poll, which surveyed 1,002 people nationwide Aug. 27-28, has a margin of error no more than 3.1 percentage points.
"The support for the program is unshaken," said Thomas Riehle, president of Ipsos, an international survey research firm. "It is as strong as ever, even in the aftermath of the event and the report. It's in our blood as Americans."
Public support for space exploration could prove crucial as Congress begins hearings this week to examine the future of the shuttle program. Besides helping determine the path for the shuttle fleet's return to flight -- which NASA has tentatively scheduled for next spring -- the hearings could influence the direction and funding of U.S. human spaceflight for years.
>
Replacing the shuttle
One of the poll's most-significant findings is the public's willingness to spend tax dollars on a shuttle replacement. According to some estimates, that effort could cost more than $10 billion before a new spaceship is on the launchpad.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's final report concluded the shuttle should be replaced as well.
"Because of the risks inherent in the original design of the space shuttle, because that design was based in many aspects on now-obsolete technologies, and because the shuttle is now an aging system but still developmental in character, it is in the nation's interest to replace the shuttle as soon as possible," the report said. "It is the view of the board that the previous attempts to develop a replacement vehicle for the aging shuttle represent a failure of national leadership."
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he wasn't surprised by the poll's findings but added that any effort to build a new vehicle likely would require the backing of the White House.
"I think this is where NASA has to have leadership, and it has to come all the way from the top, at the president," Nelson said. "If that kind of leadership is demonstrated, I think Congress would go along."
Several attempts to build a new manned launcher all failed during the past decade. The most recent, NASA's troubled X-33 program, cost government and industry almost $1.3 billion before being abandoned in 2001. The goal was to develop a cheaper, safer ship that could reach orbit without jettisoning spent fuel tanks or boosters and land like an airplane after the flight.
NASA pulled the plug because the materials and technologies needed to make the vehicle work weren't ready.
NASA's latest effort is called the Orbital Space Plane, which would ferry astronauts to the international space station. But unlike the shuttle, it wouldn't be able to carry heavy cargo or large satellites into orbit. It also won't be ready to fly until at least 2008, if then.
"We need to decide as a nation what it is we want to do," said Harold Gehman, the retired admiral who chaired the Columbia investigation.
NASA priorities
Polling shows that what Americans want from their space program has changed little, if any, from February 2002 to today.
NASA's primary mission should be research and development for U.S. industry, according to 33 percent of those surveyed in the latest poll and 35 percent in February 2002. Close behind was research in low-Earth orbit aboard the shuttle and space station, cited by 26 percent in both polls. Unmanned exploration of the universe ranked third, with support increasing from 16 percent in February 2002 to 19 percent in the latest poll.
And Americans still think the shuttle program is worth the roughly $3.1 billion a year NASA has been spending on it. The percentage who think that way increased from 54 percent in February 2002 to 57 percent in the week following last February's shuttle accident to 63 percent today.
But more-ambitious human spaceflight plans don't have widespread support. Respondents continue to take a dim view of a much-discussed manned mission to Mars, although opposition has slightly decreased since February 2002. Those who somewhat or strongly oppose such a mission dropped from 62 percent to 55 percent.
Hmm.
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