More evidence SLS and Orion are on the way out
An article today by a local Fox station in Orlando calling NASA’s decision to fly the next Artemis mission using the Orion capsule as a return to the bad culture that caused both shuttle accidents is strong evidence that the political winds are now definitely blowing against the future of both NASA’s SLS rocket and its Orion capsule.
The article interviews former NASA astronaut Charles Camarda, who expressed strong reservations about NASA’s willingness to make believe the failures of the Orion heat shield on its only test flight could be dismissed.
“The way they’re attacking the problem is echoes of Challenger and Columbia, using exactly the same bad behaviors to understand the physics of the problem,” [former astronaut Charles Camarda] said. “They’re not using a research-based approach.” Camarda worries NASA is pressing ahead with the current heat shields because he says “a lot of the engineers are afraid to speak up, and that’s a serious problem.”
The point is not the article itself, but that a mainstream propaganda news outlet is publishing this perspective. This fact suggests that there is a growing willingness within the political community to end both SLS and Orion, and articles such as this are used to strengthen that narrative. Politicos in DC have a great fear of canceling big projects, and for them to agree to do so requires a great deal of groundwork to make sure the public will accept the decision. Articles such as this one are thus published in the propaganda press for exactly this reason.
In other words, the Washington swamp has now begun its own campaign to cancel SLS and Orion.
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It’s hard to call a launch date that’s over a year away as “Go Fever.” “Slow-Go Fever” maybe.
Camarda is retired. He doesn’t have to be worried that the Astronaut Office will blackball him. I have blamed the Astronaut Office for it’s passivity for years.
He said the pictures looked bad. Have any astronauts even seen the actual heat shield?
It seems that the astronauts so incredibly gaslighted by NASA that they will put their lives at even further risk.
NASA says “trust us” but hasn’t released the report. Astronaut Office says “OK”.
Let’s ask Hoot Gibson how much he trusts NASA after the STS-27. I saw that bird myself and I really could not believe that they didn’t stop the program after that. It looked like some rednecks with a shotgun used it for target practice for a couple of hours. Try to find some pictures of that to show Camarda and see what he says.
I want to see that report! Has anyone submitted a FOIA request?
Anotherreason I have no use for the MSM…and Starship doesn’t have TPS issues?
I was very encouraged by NASA’s response to Starliner. Of course, there is no such thing as “NASA”. I doubt the Starliner folks and the Orion folks even know each other’s names. It’s not the least bit surprising that they would have different judgement.
Jeff Wright,
Starship has TPS issues alright. What it does not have is production and cost issues that preclude another test flight before the first flight with actual crew on the bird is scheduled to take place. Apples. Oranges.
I just looked this up. Holy Schmackeral!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-27