Resolved: NASAs Space Exploration Program should be kept open.

NASA is irresponsible, innefficient, and unsafe _____ NASA kills Astronauts Ross 11’ ( Brian Ross, staff writer at ABC news) Did NASA Ignore Damage to Columbia?, published 2/4/11, found 11/28/11,http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=129844&page=1 NASA managers handling the doomed Columbia flight were "professionally irresponsible" in dealing with damage reports early in the mission, a member of the presidential commission that investigated the Challenger disaster 17 years ago told ABCNEWS. John Macidull strongly questions why NASA never ordered a telescopic scan of the underside of the damaged Columbia during its 16-day mission, even after engineers became aware insulation foam from the fuel tank had struck the heat tiles. Damage to the tiles is the leading theory as to what caused the shuttle to break up Saturday over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board. ___NASA doesn’t take neccesary safety precausions Ross 11’ ( Brian Ross, staff writer at ABC news) Did NASA Ignore Damage to Columbia?, published 2/4/11, found 11/28/11,http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=129844&page=1 "I just find it hard to believe that they didn't thoroughly check with every means available to see how much damage may have been done," said Macidull. NASA engineers at Mission Control concluded the damage posed no threat and that there was no reason to take special precautions. "Through analysis and our ability to call back on our experience with tile, it was judged that that event did not represent a safety concern," said shuttle project manager Ron Dittemore. Macidull said that was "wishful thinking," and that NASA has not changed the way it deals with safety problems. __NASA goes overbudget Watson 10’ ( Traci Watson, Leading correspondant for USA today) Major NASA projects over budget, published 8/24/10, found 11/28/11,http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2010-03-25-nasaprojects_N.htm — Two-thirds of NASA's major new programs are significantly over budget or behind schedule, according to the agency's latest report to Congress.NASA's nearly stagnant budget requires the agency to cut projects to make up for unexpected expenses, and cost overruns nearly shut down one of the rovers on Mars— until it got a reprieve Tuesday. They also threaten completion of a climate-change satellite called Glory. Under a 2005 law, the space agency must tell Congress when a major project under development will exceed its budget by more than 15% or fall more than six months behind schedule. Four of the 12 new major projects are over budget, and eight are behind schedule to the point where lawmakers needed to be notified.NASA's procedures "are not what they need to be," says Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., chairman of the House space subcommittee. "They have to be accountable. These are … very significant amounts of taxpayer dollars." ___ NASA projects get more expensive as they continue Watson 10’ ( Traci Watson, Leading correspondant for USA today) Major NASA projects over budget, published 8/24/09 found 11/28/11,http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2009-03-25-nasaprojects_N.htm Last week, NASA's planetary science director Jim Green ordered a $12 million cut to the Mars rovers, which roam the Martian surface collecting geological data. The reason: a newly discovered $170 million rise in the development cost of a new project, the Mars Science Laboratory. That was in addition to a $66 million cost overrun in the program that NASA reported to Congress in February.Green rescinded the cut on Tuesday after he learned it would mean that one of the rovers would have to be turned off. Now NASA will have to look elsewhere to find $12 million in savings.