We must do both--restart shuttle & design replacement

We must do Both---Restart Shuttle AND Design Replacement!!! How stupid can we be? We take the envy of the world, the Space Shuttle, which we spent over 100 billion on and place in TRASH can. Essentially placing Hubble & ISS in the TRASH TOO. Then to double down on STUPIDITY, we pay Russia .5 billion per year to get to ISS & commence programs that WILL NEVER Regain what we have ( had ) with shuttle. I have listed somewhere between 20 to 30 experts from Chris Kraft, Eugene Cernan, Krantz, Glenn, Armstrong, George Abbey and so on, who stated we should keep shuttle operational until we get a replacement. These people know space & the physics involved. Then we have Dyer (ASAP chairman), Gehman, CAIB chairman, Goldin, Augustine, Boldin, Garver, Griffin , who were anti- Shuttle for no valid reason. The latter seem to either due to low IQ, or a bias against the shuttle desire to " get rid of our capability". They have accomplished that, but this can be reversed!! Let us face it, we can't get the capability back ( in less than 10 to 15 years) without restarting the shuttle. People say too late to restart shuttle. As Don Nelson said, if we can't, then the USA ' s manned capability is over for a minimum of 15 years. The USA , the greatest nation on planet can not allow this to happen. The people involved in shuttle termination from Bush, BHO advisors either have low IQ's or they are desirous of damaging the USA space capability. Why was program terminated per Bob Thompson SPM in early years? My best summary of why the Shuttle program termination was announced in 2005 by President Bush and allowed to occur in 2012 by the Obama Administration would have to combine several factors. No clear rationale for termination was ever given by either the Bush or Obama Administrations that spanned the 7 year phase out leading to the final flight in 2011. The Bush Administration announced in its “Vision for Space Exploration” that the venerable Shuttle would be terminated at a future date (2010) and that we would embark on a Lunar/Mars program. This Lunar/Mars program decision was not well thought out and proved to be a folly. It spawned a program called Constellation that expired due to poor engineering, poor planning, poor execution and lack of funding support. It was properly cancelled by the Obama administration but pieces linger on due to confused support by the Congress and the Obama Administration. Clearly the two fatal accidents led to a perception that the Shuttle was unsafe. Most discussion of cost led to the perception that the Shuttle was too costly. The chronological age of the system led to a perception that the Shuttle was too old. These loose perceptions were never properly responded to by NASA. In fact they were instituted by many key NASA officials. For example when Mr. Griffin became the NASA Administrator he quickly proclaimed that the Shuttle and Space Station were a mistake and he was here to correct this mistake. He promptly wasted about 12 Billion dollars and five years. Therefore perception became fact and the Shuttle program was allowed to fade away gracefully over several years with no responsible study as to why. The Nation quietly found its self without a means for launching people into space. Depending on the Russian Soyuz system was the only option available to continue manning the Space Station. The “Vision for Space Exploration” announcement by the Bush Administration following the second Shuttle accident and the confusion left by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board essentially set the country up for an inadvertent “Bait and switch” situation. Let’s terminate the venerable Shuttle, go back to the moon with an Apollo type throw away system and on to Mars. We can do this within current budget levels. Once the bait was taken the Shuttle was allowed to terminate and the idea of” Apollo on Steroids” disappeared. We are now in a “Down Time” and can hope for commercial to get us back in the space business with some limited capability. This so called “commercial” program started by NASA during the Bush Administration and wisely continued by the Obama Administration should be encouraged and properly supported. It is now May 2012, 42 years after establishing the Shuttle Program as a formal NASA endeavor. We are temporarily out of the manned launch business. We need an Administration that can plan to use our available Space budget wisely. We should continue with commercial and carefully review the reasoning behind SLS/Orion. The budget level for NASA and all high cost program efforts need careful Executive and Legislative Branch understanding. NASA’S Manned Exploration Program is not effectively planned. People who say it is too late for shuttle are wrong. If you listened to some of the shuttle workers interviewed at ksc when the shutdown occurred, they said tell us what you need & we will get it. We have the specs, test data, tools, knowledge, and we designed & built it once, we can do it again. I understand those who say we should spend money on new replacement shuttle, but this path leaves the USA with no manned capability for an unacceptable period of time!! We must do BOTH---restart shuttle & design replacement. Control of Earth Orbit Most Americans do not realize the significance of EO. We now depend on many communication, surveillance, & military systems in EO critical to USA security & our economy. Additionally, we have over 100 billion in assets in EO ( ISS & Hubble) dependent on the terminated shuttle for their well being. We can not get a replacement vehicle built in time to save these assets from destruction due to lack of maintenance. NASA will tell you commercial vehicle known as cots will perform this function, this is incorrect. ISS will be destroyed & Hubble will become useless in the next several years. The only answer is restart shuttle. This is covered by Don Nelson on the site nasaproblems.com. I emphasize , the decision to sacrifice ISS , Hubble by terminating shuttle by Bush, & continued by BHO, was made by space advisors whose IQ 's were exceptionally LOW. The shuttle is also needed to assure the USA maintains control of EO, which will be control by China if the USA does not. It is not too late to revive the Shuttle fleet!!! As SPM Bob Thompson said, NO CLEAR RATIONALE ever given by Bush & BHO as to why shuttle terminated. This is an Absolute Ridiculous decision and it must be REVERSED to assure the USA's Space Capability & our National Security.