I really don’t talk about my job on here, except when it frustrates me. Which is not fair.
I’d like to talk about it now.
Huntsville, Alabama is my hometown. You’ve probably not ever heard of it before, because.. well.. it’s in Alabama. But in reality? We have a very large piece of the nation’s space program centered here. The Saturn V vehicle was designed here. We’re known as The Rocket City.
So I grew up with space. Space Camp was a field trip for us, being in our backyard and all. It wasn’t Christmas until the lights were up on the model rockets at the museum. Every piece of the International Space Station (also primarily designed here) was huge news and a cause for celebration.
The FY2011 budget that was just released .. well .. a nice way to put it is that it redirects NASA’s vision. My program, the program I and thousands of other people have been busting our ass for for the last three to five years, was cut entirely from the budget. I wouldn’t mind that so much, honestly, if there was an obvious alternative.
But one isn’t obvious yet. And I’m insanely concerned with the nation’s space exploration now.
This GREAT video details the work we’ve done. Primarily it details WHY we’ve done it.
I’m not naive enough to think that a video can stop Congress from passing this budget as it’s written right now. I sincerely doubt Constellation will ever see the light of day again. But? This is a great reminder for us to show our kids when they look up and wonder why we stopped looking.
