Opinion of our space program and funding.

[cannonia]

Privatization is the way of the future, but we need to keep NASA or a successor agency around for military purposes.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Moderate Priority.

Whilst I do support the funding of NASA and her many pet projects, such as exploring different worlds, there are numerous of other programs that the Government of the United States should invest her funds too. However, NASA should be a higher priority than some pet projects conceived by the US Government such as the wasteful War on Drugs.

[John Dibble]

I think NASA needs to go away completely....with the exception of mission relating to orbital satellites for weather, communication, etc..

I don't give a phuck if there is water on Mars or if there was life there.

CUT MY GASOLINE PRICES with the savings.

LOL, I doubt there'd be enough to cut your gas prices by any noticeable amount by just gutting NASA.

[Albus Dumbledore]

Privatization is the way of the future, but we need to keep NASA or a successor agency around for military purposes.

The 1980s called. They want you back.

[Erc]

Agree with Ernest on this one...

There is a huge amount of science that can be done in space with a relatively minimal amount of funding.  For the cost of fixing the toilets on the ISS, we could have had a few good unmanned science projects.

If we want to do something serious with manned spaceflight (permanent base on the Moon, for example), sure, we can talk again.  But otherwise, NASA is wasting most of its money right now.

[Albus Dumbledore]

We need to make the space/tech budget be self-financing and indexed to inflation so congress can't cut it or dismantle programs.

[Nym90]

Moderate priority. Certainly important, though not as much as things like health care, infrastructure, education, etc.

[Person Man]

Well, we should consider privatising low-eath orbit operations, because private companies are growing reliable in providing low-earth orbit transportation and infrastructure, manned and unmanned. This includes space to ground infrastructure (sattelites) and space to space infrastructure (habitations and manned and unmanned vehicles). However, Military applications should be taken over by the Air Force (which already has a space program two-thirds the size of NASA's). NASA's deep space, higher earth orbit, interplanetary and interstellar unmanned science projects should be contracted out to Universities. NASA should be maintained as a national research center for space-based purpulsion systems and manned earth departure vehicles. I would say that this is a high priority in funding and law. This opens the possibility of increase economic growth in the present and future.