More on the future of NASA

[unixronin]

smandal pointed me at this excellent analysis on Ars Technica.

Regarding the initial news reports, I don't know that it's so much that the reports were intentionally slanted, so much as that they were written from the viewpoint of the general news media's typical appalling ignorance about science: they don't even know enough about the subject to know what parts are actually important.  They don't understand why in-space refuelling matters.  Heavy lift capability is funny science words to them.  They don't understand the technical shortcomings of ARES.  But "The entire Constellation program is cancelled"?  THAT, they understand.  So that's what they reported.

Comments

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

The US news media has been letting go reporters at a great rate. Science reporting has been hit especially hard, see here (http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/science_reporting_by_press_rel.php) (Columbia Journalism Review.) So, we get bad science reporting.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Good point. What's that line about crap always rolling downhill....?

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

First Rule of Plumbing. It rolls downhill.

Second Rule, Payday's Friday.