Posted 4/02/2008 05:21:00 PM by Douglas

Transitions are rough. NASA is tasked with finding a way to fly the Shuttle 'till the last wheel-stop, while at the same time they've got to find some talented folks to build the new ship. So it's not surprised that they run a straight scare piece like this.

As many as 2,300 people, most of them contractors, could lose their jobs at Johnson Space Center as the shuttle fleet nears retirement in two years, NASA officials predicted Tuesday.

Well, yes and no. Are the Shuttle jobs going away? Good lord, I hope so. Are most of these folks (if not more) going to get picked up by the Constellation program? Most definitely. But it's too early to bang the gong of NASA/Houston drying up and blowing away. Clear Lake is a diverse area, and very few of my neighbors here in the Gas-Pumper District of Pressboard Estates works for NASA or its contractors.

The bigger question for the area and the country is if we even want a manned spaceflight program. I'm not stupid enough to think that the new President could sink NASA, but Obama would rather spend 0.07% of your tax dollars on school lunches and McCain wants to be in Iraq for the next century. So Mars isn't looking like it's going to happen, politically.

But if it does, I know some really bright, motivated, and dedicated engineers that want to see Old Glory in the Red Dirt in their lifetime. If not, well hell, oil's over $100 a barrel, and they're always looking for engineers. But again, I ask what would you rather see: Your name on a plaque on the Martian lander, or your hard work going towards keeping Exxon's profit share up?