“I think one thing Keith is avoiding mentioning is that without a Orion/HLV program (or something like it) NASA (if not the nation as a whole) is striped of anything even related to developing a human space exploration program.”

That’s only because Senator Shelby wants to suppress all other aspects of developing human spaceflight, in order to put certain people in Alabama to moving from GS 13 pay grade to GS 15 before retirement. There a *huge* number of things that MSFC could do for human spaceflight that do not involve getting them out of the gravity well directly. Why doesn’t Shelby allow that? Because his friends need large projects to justify higher GS levels, and a small lander, or a significant ISRU program, will not provide the levels of hierarchy needed to move their GS level upwards, instead of downwards, before they retire.

“With the phase out of the shuttle, space developments off the table for NASA”

No it isn’t. It’s just out of the development of huge vehicles that lift from the Earth’s surface using the segmented boosters from Utah powered by ammonium perchlorate. In the future NASA may well build huge spaceships, but they should be ones that travel from one orbit around one planet to another orbit around a second planet, or an asteroid, or other body.

“R&D has pretty well been gone for a long time”

Then it’s long past time to rebuild it in the areas *needed* for human spaceflight that are *not* being done by commercial companies.

“NASA largely becomes a organization to service the ISS for the internationals, with NASA having to buy flights to the ISS from Russia.”

Until the US commercial vehicles are flying, and until NASA gets money to do something other than raise GS13s to GS 15s, yes. So, …when we gonna start on that?

“At that point its really hard to justify even having a NASA, and now’s not a good time to be high profile dead agency wanting to retain its extremely big budget.”

Indeed, the Senators have stated they don’t care if it’s impossible to build what and when their law demands. They want the money spent as directed whether it puts anyone in Space or not. If NASA can no longer do anything but lobby Senators for pork allocations, then it’s time to stick a fork in it and advance by other means.

Every day they continue their corrupting activities Senator Shelby and his friends bring closer a point within the next 5 years where the majority of the space activist community will have to reconsider, however painfully, Jim Davidson’s old cry,…”NASA, Delenda Est!”

With the phase out of the shuttle, space developments off the table for NASA; R&D has pretty well been gone for a long time; and if you do cut manned space exploration out too – NASA largely becomes a organization to service the ISS for the internationals, with NASA having to buy flights to the ISS from Russia. At that point its really hard to justify even having a NASA, and now’s not a good time to be high profile dead agency wanting to retain its extremely big budget.