Ay Cap'n...she's about to blow!

Regardless of whether it was a failure I personally am to happy to see that research in aviation at a national level is showing some signs of blossoming again.

"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster."

The Six Billion Dollar Man (inflation).

Was it made in China?

Ugh... the science and the technology bad. Me no likey.

It's unfortunate that simpletons do not recognize the value that this sort of technological research provides. Let's gut NASA and the military and give people who don't do sh!t free cell phones, housing, childcare, etc... instead. Or we can direct the funds toward sensitivity training and some sort of outreach program to this week's Victim of the Week. Tests like this are good things for all of us; even when they fail.

Soooooooo... when do we get our money back?

All I want to know is how much?

why can't people just be happy with a safe flight to anuwhere, why the need for speed?

In fact, over 700 people were let go due to obama's defense cuts. Glad to see he's working on job creation.

Then explain to me why his last defense budget proposal was more than what congress initially was asking for. Matter of fact, it was a record amount. Political hate leaves peopole blind to facts.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/02/us-obama-budget-pentagon-idUSTRE6103C520100202

The truth shall set you free.

And for all of you decrying wasteful spending on this project, throw out all electronics and anything born from pushing the technological envelope, as your opinion is that it's all a waste to advance our abilities as a species.

Simpletons...that's called keeping it simple. Our $ is sooo messed up. Let's open factories that make things we need instead of buying from China. What will we get out of Mars? Oh boy, there was life .... BFD ... the Martians probable starved to death and had no health care too...

defense contractors once again flushing our taxpayer $$$ down the drain. UGH!

This is why it's called TESTING, people!

$140 million down the toilet.

Yeah, I think about all the money the government could have wasted during the Second World War on that useless and expensive boat anchor they called the computer. Good thing we never needed them.

And then they could have blown a lot more money developing an infrastructure to connect them all together. Thank God that never happened, either.

ugh fire! fire bad! fire mean gods angry!

why don't we cut the truly wasteful programs? like the social welfare programs that have been trillion dollar failures since their introduction decades ago?

@Max^108--you are incorrect. if your intent is to get rid of your enemies blowing them up is quite productive. and satisfying too.

Loki,

Stop trolling! We heard your point the first time. As someone else who has worked for and with defense contractors for over 10 years, the amount of waste, abuse, and down right fraud with most (not all) is incredible! We were told to go on exclusive "business" trips and hire zombie workers (paid employee to sit around for $20-30/hr) to make sure to burn the whole budget. The Industrial Military Complex is the largest organization in the world, except they don't accrue actual earned realized revenue; they just get guaranteed checks for work that doesn't even have to be successful. It is the only industry that is guaranteed money for work/services that doesn't have to delivery on any of it's promises, and is still fully rewarded for trying!!!

Also Obama hasn't passed any legislation that has directly effect defense (as of yet) in present or past time, these are only for hypothetical scenarios and future projects in the pipeline, so if your company is laying off the people, they're just another group that's part of the defence contractor's pac to help in Obama not getting reelected!

~Ind

Bummer! But if hypersonic flight was dead easy we'd be able to buy or steal the technology off someone else. Such are the costs of being first.

@direct - mind your own business and you will have no enemies...

You know, like the Swiss, or Finns, or so many other countries that do not stick their nose into other people's affairs.

First NASA with the lunar lander exploding and now the Air Force... Wheres all the patriotic Americans talking junk like when this happens to Russia, North Korea or Iran? lol... When it happens to us thats what tests are for, when it happens to them they are idiots and pathetic half-humans. Fat Romans were just like us right before they all got slaughtered. I worry for us as a country.

So, How is the safety record for this "vehicle"? Didn't Air France ground the remaining Concords? I believe they flew at mach 2, and we had problems keeping them in the air. why would you need to go mach 5?

Max: The Finns allied themselves with Nazi Germany, fighting the Russians, then changed sides and fought the Germans, as allies of the Russians (and us).

The Swiss are the whores of Europe: They took money from everybody, stashed it away in their secret banks, and in many cases, refused to give it back. (For example, they still have millions from Jews and the Nazis who killed them.)

Who was minding whose business?

The Concord didn't have safety issues, it cost 10,000 dollars for a one way flight. Not enough customers to keep them in business.

What was Concorde? Weren't they superfast too?

Anyhoo, was that hypersonic craft that did not perform as expected for military or commercial use?

How about super highspeed rail? Isn't our skys and roads congested enough yet?

Wonder what would have happened if that money was spent repairing, upgrading our roads and bridges and even maybe putting back tram systems in cities like they were used in the past before the proliferation of cars?

How about upgrading that electric grid...suppose the frequent black outs and the recent one on the East Coast that happened during a heatwave is ok with some folks. Wonder if that money was used to bury those electic lines would have made a difference.....

How about a desalination plant or two? Wonder what is going to happen if next year we have drought again?

How about upgrading and repairing our water and sewer pipes?

What about r&d into coal? Perhaps there is a way of producing a cleaner burn and safer conditions in mines and to prevent black lung disease in miners...

Oh well, those down to earth things are not as sexy.....

On the other hand, there is probably a lot of technology that was put in these hypersonic crafts that can or will be adapted for other commercial use.... Just because it did not work in the way they wanted it does not mean the technology cannot be used in other ways or in other types of aircrafts etc.... maybe even in cars.

Anyway, if at first you don't succeed.... try again, but at least make sure there is actual cost effective and commercial need for your products in the final analysis.

Peace.....

Loki, your posts suggest you are being a "troll".

The United States Congress funds defense spending, not the President of the United States. Despite your ridiculous finger-pointing of blame, you cannot identify $1, not a single dollar, in "defense cuts" in the past 3 years 8 months since the beginning of the current Administration affecting the company you say that you work for, and the 700 jobs you say your company has lost.

Your claim is a complete fabrication, and you know it, and everyone reading your words also knows it. You are fabricating and laying anonymous accusatory claims on the Internet hoping that others will be foolish enough to buy into your nonsense, and perhaps even pass it on to others (just like the thousands of other lies, and fabrications and distortions and dissembling about this administration).

That's really quite pathetic. Does your behavior give you pride in yourself. What admirable words can YOU think of which describe a person who consciously prevaricates, and distorts. You might want to repair your moral compass, because it has certainly caused you to lose your way.

PS. The name of the President of the United States, just like every other person, is capitalized. It appears you are being intentionally disrespectful, which really only causes your readers to perceive YOU as immature. Is that what you were going for?

Be respectful of the office of the presidency of our country, by addressing and referring to the elected holder of that office with appropriate respect.

President Obama currently holds that office because he received the votes of 53% of the popular votes cast in the election, 9-1/2 Million more votes than his opponent, who received less than 46% of the votes cast. And Mr. Obama received 68% of the Electoral college votes.

You disrespect our Representative Democratic Republic and the will of its electorate, the American people, when you deliberately disrespect our elected leader.

Cast your vote, not your aspersions. Demonstrate that you are mature enough to be deserving of your suffrage. Participating in America's democratic elections and her civic processes is a privilege, not a right. Be respectful.

Romney and Ryan 2012

I honestly believe we need to eschew technology and go back to the horse and buggy. Though I do see this hypersonic travel as militarily important. Therefore, I propose developing a hypersonic horse buggy. Actually, wouldn't it just be easier to leave the atmosphere and go 25,000 mph?

To Max and other Luddites:

Ironically you are complaining on the internet about wasteful R&D. What I don't expect you to know is that the net is an offshoot of a military project to decentralize computer systems (ARPANet).

And yet nobody cries about how much both sides spend on campaigning. Talk about ridiculous.

so let me get this straight. sending a complicated machine to mars and lowering it down from a rocket boosted platform via ropes all accomplished automatically by computers is no problem--but simply flying a real fast missile here on earth was?

Good for Obama !! Who the hell needs to fly at 3600 mph !? Should have saved this 140 million instead of blowing it on another piece of space junk !!

Isn't it ironic how when you talk about ending the wasteful spending on green energy the liberals get all up in arms over the jobs that will be lost but have no such concerns about eliminating wasteful defense spending?

Loki-2000501 Comment collapsed by the community

defense contractors don't just get by on your tax $$$. Some programs are privately funded. I happen to work for a defense contractor. We are currently down to a skeleton crew working for peanuts thanks to obama.

Oh, sure, go ahead and blame Obama -- even though it ain't his fault that WALL STREET has been robbing the U.S.A. blind. That's right, WALL STREET with all of its "too big to fail" multi-million dollar bonuses for all those CEOs Greedmeister Coroporations took more than $1 BILLION in tax-payer-funded BAILOUTS.

How about you start laying the blame where it really belongs for once?

Sorry Loki, but you should know by now that government doesn't create jobs. If you are not happy, complain to repubs.

@Agnon Memavia Facebook

Coroporations took more than $1 BILLION in tax-payer-funded BAILOUTS.

Out of curiosity, who GAVE them those bailouts and why is that peron not equally, if not more so, accountable? Don't know many people who would turn down government money if it was handed to them.

Any simplton can see the problem is that the government hands out far too much money to far too many people.

Keep trying guys. You'll eventually get it. This is a big goal and it's not going to relent so easily. Sorry for this loss and I'm sure it's a real costly one.

But when you get it, and you will, this will give the US strike capability the rest of the world can't match for another 50 years.

Loki

You've been chastised ebough so I need not add to it.

To those wondering about the scramjet and the problems. The X-15 was able to go over 4500 mph about 30 years ago, but it was a rocket. The trick is not to go that fast, we do it all the time, but to have an engine that will work at supersonic speeds. In all other jets, the air has to be slowed to subsonic speeds before it is combusted to make thrust. This is tremendous drag at high speeds (drag goes as the 4th power of the speed!) and limits air breathing aircraft to ~M3.5 and only at very high altitude and with really crappy mileage. If a scramjet can be realized, the high speed would be available for very high speed transport and even to act as the first stage for orbit and more economically that present. The scramjet has been very difficult. In fact in some of the designs, the airplane itself is the engine. Note that the B-70 was a waverider (it rode on its own shock wave) but it had conventional turbojets for propulsion and consequently lousy mileage.

Yeah, too bad the first application will be a cruise missile, but we still could use the technology.

And it was the republicans who would't yield and caused sequestration which will be the bane (not a pun) of the defense budget.

@Mark Johnson 2007

But when you get it, and you will, this will give the US strike capability the rest of the world can't match for another 50 years.

Newsflash--- We've got that now.

GOOD tired of them polluting my world

Captain, you can't mix matter and anti-matter cold!

I completely cracks me up that people whine about the "entitlement state", then complain that we are cutting defense contractor funding. Why isn't the extreme amount of funds that we spend on national defense contractors hand outs? If your argument for defense contractors is jobs, you are part of the entitlement argument.

Research is never wasted and it's better to have this thing fail in testing than when it is in service where human lives would be lost. Let's consider Apple and one of their recent releases of the iPhone. Remember the one where the antenna was placed so that you couldn't get a signal because your hand covered it? I mean, there was a waste of money to customers who paid $500 or so for that useless thing. It could have definitely benefited from more research before going to market. They tested it, but not by actually having people using it and holding it like they would hold it in actual use. Luckily, it didn't explode in people's ears! But even so, people still purchase from that company as well as other companies who've sold substandard products time and time again.

@ Ophotfoot:

I worry for our country too when people like you are still breathing what precious little oxygen we have left. Now shut up and sit down before I export you, par avion, for being a dumb ass.

Were they having the parts made in China like our Olympic uniforms? Oh, and like Obama's green job windmills??

Speaking of China - there are more than a few countries that have weapons in space.

What better way to announce to the U.S., and the rest of the "super powers," that you have a powerful new weapon, than using a "laser beam" from a satellite to disable a test aircraft... ?? !!

Stay tuned for more strange incidents...

Uh, maybe some of you can set aside your ridiculous back-and-forth political banter and have a little national pride that our country is working towards leading the charge in breaking a new technological barrier?

Our history is filled with expensive failed military and related experiments. Big deal. Used a microwave lately? Flown in a jet? Worn sunglasses with UV protection? Watched DirecTV? Noticed that our country has helped win two world wars?

@S&W 45

"Captain, you can't mix matter and anti-matter cold!"

You are exactly right about that. And to mix a "Schuster" cocktail properly, you FIRST add 1 ounce of matter, THEN add a dash of Angostura bitters, THEN 1 ounce of anti-matter, and LAST the ice.

And whatever you do, DO NOT shake OR stir it, and be careful to EASE the olive into it, rather than dropping it in.

Trust me, this is a cocktail you really want to get right every time!

Max^108 Who were we at war with on 9/11?

Even being at war with terrorists does not justify pissing away money like a drunken sailor. Russia is a bigger country than US and has all kinds of terrorism problems (mostly internal), yet they spend less than 10% on defense than we do. And still nobody messes with them. Building a $100,000 fence around your property where a $10,000 fence would work just as well is just plain stupid and wasteful. And that is exactly what we do.

stoopid

so let me get this straight. sending a complicated machine to mars and lowering it down from a rocket boosted platform via ropes all accomplished automatically by computers is no problem--but simply flying a real fast missile here on earth was?

Curiostiy did a controlled FALL, This was meant to be controlled FLIGHT

Why?!?!?! Failures happen when you are developing new technologies, this is nothing new. I hope that this does not cause a cancellation of this program. This technology has the potential to greatly reduce travel times between cities around the globe. For someone like me who has trouble sitting for long periods due to back problems, this technology could allow me to do the traveling I would like to do. Yes, the initial uses might be military, but this is without a doubt a prime example of the type of dual use technology that we should be spending money on. You get a lot more bang for the buck when you develop technologies with multiple uses both in the military and civilian world. Imagine what holding the patents on a working version of this technology would do for this country's aerospace industry and for the economy of this country as a whole.

Really, seriously? Pushing the envelope of flight performance is not something you just go out and do. It entails trial, error, learning, and improvement over time. They are pushing into areas of flight that have never been explored. They are learning what they ddn't know before and will use that to improve and move to the next level.

You would have had more than just back problems had you been riding on this turd yesterday.

That's a really strange comment to make. I don't know how you were raised, but it sounds like you had some issues.

Scott M,

Evidently, some of Cheech and Chong's funniest and most memorable lines predate your arrival on the planet. Sorry for you.

I wonder if that "Made In China" part is still under warranty? Dammit, #3, beat me too the punchline. Thumb up for his Superior wit. And for the record, what kind of gas mileage does that thing get?

Not all experiments and tests are successful. Ask any one who develops new technology, or does basic science failure is an option and is often the way real advances are made. A true scinetist or development engineeer will learn as much or more from a failure than from a success, so long as the failure is seriously investigated.

Penicillan came out of a failure - just an example of using what goes wrong and learning from it.

Thomas Edison: "I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work."

Nah. The "X" stands for experimental.

Technological advancement marches along a bumpy road and setbacks are to be expected. Perseverance is the key to success and 40-50 years from now (possibly sooner) we all would wonder how we ever got along without such technology.

take it from a Hughes, failures are part of progress

Why? Thats why they test things. The Boeing company has a lot invested in this also so the military use of the vehichle is secondary and when you are travelling at such speeds one small thing can ruin your whole day. They take the thing up get it going as fast as they can then shoot it on top of a rocket to get it up to speed so they can ignite the engine in it. Everything has to work perfect for it to even fly.

trust2112

I wonder if that "Made In China" part is still under warranty? Dammit, #3, beat me too the punchline. Thumb up for his Superior wit. And for the record, what kind of gas mileage does that thing get?

Highway 1... City.. 0!

Actually.. At 2500Mph.. Probably gets like 300Mpg!?

JSinSD; can you afford to ride the SOB?this country is trillions in debt, and you think it's ok to spend millions more . Shows what a jerk you are, most likely a 'bama baby.

cowtowntrucker,

I ain't no 'Bama Baby...I'm a Republican. And I agree with JS in SD.

I want to go back to the America where we once dominated in science and innovation. We're a long way from that, but it has to start somewhere...and can't stop. Costly failures aren't just unavoidable...they're a necessary part of achievement.

We were first to put a man on the moon. That endeavor didn't put any food the tables of anyone not associated with NASA and cost billions of dollars (and human lives, like Grissom, Chaffee and White of Apollo 1 in 1967).

But it *did* give us a sense of national pride, and the technological advancements made *did* put food on the tables of folks who didn't carry NASA security badges.

I'm with you on government waste. I'm tired of my tax dollars (a whole hell of a lot of money) being pissed away at every turn on nonsense.

But I hesitate at curtailing projects like this. There's an awful lot of irresponsible spending that bleeds much more...for much less.

cowtowntrucker... Can you say "Popular Vote?" You do know what that means, don't you?

@JS in SD

This technology has the potential to greatly reduce travel times between cities around the globe. ... Yes, the initial uses might be military, but this is without a doubt a prime example of the type of dual use technology that we should be spending money on. You get a lot more bang for the buck when you develop technologies with multiple uses both in the military and civilian world.

I doubt this will ever have any civilian application, that seems to be little other than an excuse to fund a new cruise missile. The Concorde proved beyond doubt that there simply isn't a market for supersonic commercial flight. Sure things change but what sort of change will occur by the time that this could become availible that would make people willing to pay 20-30-40 times as much in order to reach their destination 6-7 times faster? And without a viable market prices will never come down a la Concorde.

JD,

This wouldn't be used for majority of commercial flights just like the Concorde wasn't because of the sonic boom created by traveling at speeds faster than the speed of sound. Hence why they only give an example of a New York to London flight.

@ GovHater:

Nobody gave you a guarantee. Always remember, the 'X' in 'X-51' is for 'unknown,' for 'experimental.'

@ Brian:

At the rarefied altitudes a Mach 6 vehicle would have to cruise at, little or no sonic boom would reach the ground.

However, I recall something many years ago in Aviation Week to the effect that even if a commercial hypersonic aircraft could be done, it would likely not operate faster than Mach 5-6, because at higher speeds, even over the longest routes, it would spend too little of its time at cruising speed where its engines would be most efficient (scramjets are best at steady speed, not accelerating...that's why they're of questionable value for orbital spaceplanes), and too much of its time accelerating up to, and decelerating down from it. In a sense, Earth just isn't big enough...

I doubt this will ever have any civilian application, that seems to be little other than an excuse to fund a new cruise missile. The Concorde proved beyond doubt that there simply isn't a market for supersonic commercial flight

Proved no such thing - or at least, only at the Concorde's price point. A more efficient and faster system, such as this, would have its own economics.

If you had to go from LA to London, would you pay $100 more to be able to do it in three hours?

I've blown $140 million in a night before. easily. maybe it was 240

You are probably right !

Headline: "Hypersonic craft breaks up, crashes"

Isn't "crashes" a tad redundant? How many aircraft have broke up and then landed with no issues?

Where is the landing gear in that drawing? I guess it was going to crash eventually.

"Beware of the military/industrial complex." Dwight D. Eisenhower

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." Martin Luther King Jr.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." Albert Einstein

Robert in Oregon.. Thank you.

Shartorius... "We were first to put a man on the moon" And that's gotten us exactly where? Oh, right... it stopped all wars, fed the hungry, paid off the national debt and cured cancer.

Mark440... I remember when "Chinese Junk" meant a type of boat

@Sam

"We were first to put a man on the moon" And that's gotten us exactly where?

Are you seriously considering that exploration and scientific discovery isnt worth doing?

By the way, it's "gotten" us planning manned missions to Mars after multiple succesful probe missions there. It's also "gotten" you the microchip technology for the computer in which you now spew ignorance from.

Actually, computers were invented during WWII. Beyond that, I don't think you can actually make the argument that microchips would never have been invented if NASA didn't exist.

Can you for certain say that that Somali orphan who died of starvation would not have had some revolutionary idea?

It's easy to decry people who talk about human suffering, but please do not pretend that you are doing so out of any high ideals. There is no guarantee that there is only one path to intellectual knowledge.

Of course taxpayers, you dummy. Just where do you think the gov't. gets all it's money? They bleed it out of the little guys like you and me.

That is really one dumb question.

Oh I forgot to tell you, oops we are :0)

Where can I send my $20 cut so they can try it again? They'll get it right eventually, it is American after all.

The 140 million is peanuts compared to the green energy failures. The auto bailouts even more massave. Money the taxpayers will never see again if obama insists on making the chevy Volt. Just a over priced paper weight.

Think about it this way. We pay our congressmen over 93 million dollars a year, and this rocket probably did more for the advancement of this country by failing then congress has done all year. Sad but true.

Frank,

So now Obama is making the Chevy Volt, and not GM? It's a first generation electric car. It's a start in the right direction. The first computer ENIAC I had 20,000 vacuum tubes, so by your logic we should have quit then and there? The first incandescent light bulbs burned for a few days, so we should have stayed with gas lamps right?

Try developing some critical thinking instead of just useless carping.

Boeing design I believe.

The design is beautiful.

whenwillicease... So was the Titanic.

Wait!!! I thought a missle WAS an aircraft*. Idiot errr,dummy. You meant it isn't an "airplane", right?

*as opposed to a ground or sea craft.

"Ground craft"? Isn't that ..um.. ceramics?

Anyway, the point of the episode is that the wheels fell off. This is not a "Made in China" situation, it's pure U.S.A. (So is $140 million in the drink.)

The technology being developed will doubtless be used for a super-fast cruise missile. Sadly, what the military really need is an el-cheapo drone - el-cheapo as in costing less than the 1973 Volkswagen (less than three grand a pop). Fast and fancy is NOT always the best answer.

If it's fast enough and you "target" the right people you could deem that nations nuclear arsenal basically moot.

Someotherguy - Actually it's more of an engine with a minimal airframe used for directional control. And that is what they are testing... new propulsion technology.

Arguably it's a cruise missile (staying entirely within the atmosphere, using aerodynamics), as opposed to a ballistic missile (that largely exits the atmosphere for part of its flight, and has behavior closer to that of an artillery round)...

Today, we mostly think of 'cruise missiles' as subsonic, ground-hugging devices, but the 60's had several long-range, supersonic air-breathing cruise missiles, like the Snark.

Let's see...the ability to travel, ship stuff, and transport objects from New York to London in an hour. So I will get same day delivery on my gizmo from Europe to the United States, or take a quick 2-3 day trip? I would say that this technology is worth the price. You will need to build planes, infrastructure, hire more people...sounds like something that could generate lot's of jobs.

And? Are you also saying hte US Military shouldn't have done research into breaking the sound barrier?

Every technological advance in the 20th century has come from the taxpayer, either through the military, DARPA, or public university [AKA: Government funded research labs].

1 Dollar from every citizen of my United States of America! :)

Supersonic aircraft have been around for half a century. When was the last ime you saw one used for commecial travel? The Concord? Oh yeah, that really turned out well. Don't fool yourselves...this technology has one purpose......get the nukes (or conventional explosives) there in the blink of an eye.

gamer,

No, but they did that in 1947. What I am questioning is our need to get to London in an hour with missiles or airplanes, and the cost to us of doing so. Since developing supersonic aircraft, our enemies have done so as well. When we developed ICBM's, our enemies did as well (granted some are still trying). As McLovin stated above, supersonic transport of civilian flyers has not proven economically feasible in the past, what will make it different now? Finally, like a good conservative, I would like to see a cost/benefit analysis. That would help me determine the projects worth.

Well Dave and McLovin, when our enemies around the world sit down and promise with all their hearts that will stop developing military applications for technology designed to kill us, we should do the same.

Until then, it is in our own best interest to make sure you can protect ourselves and our interests. That is best done through research and development.

You really can't put a cost/benefit analysis this as there are too many unknowns. Of course, being a good conservative, you can always just make some assumptions based upon wild guesses.

What is the security of this country, of your loved ones, of you, worth?

Their security is priceless. That is why i wish we would spend as much on their health care and education as we do on developing ICBM's capable of hitting London in an hour.

Shortsighted. Lightweight composites that we use every day were developed, in part, because of the need to make aircraft lighter/heat resistant in order to break the sound barrier. Without those, we'd still be using Steel or Aluminum for everything.

Don't even try to explain technology to someone like genx

YEP!

thought obamb retired the NASA program. Oh maybe that was another lie!

he is building it for HIS use when he nukes this country.

cowtowntrucker... When people who are honestly mistaken learn the truth, they will either cease being mistaken or cease being honest.

@ cowtowntrucker

"thought obamb retired the NASA program. Oh maybe that was another lie!"

Yes, it was a lie, one told by the post-Shuttle, post-Constellation whiners who would have you believe that those were 'the space program,' and ignore everything else that's still going on at NASA.

And a lie happily passed along by those who simply hate Obama.

(Even though the Shuttle retirement decision was made in January of 2004, and was going to happen on the next guy's watch, no matter who he/she was. And yes, Obama did explicitly cancel Constellation...as indeed it deserved to be. Otherwise we would have spent money in the high double-digit billions [that NASA would have had to gut almost everything else, including ISS, to do, on a static budget] to get slightly better than Apollo capability somewhere in the early 2030's...SLS is little better)

3 excellent examples of technologies created by the military are #1 that nifty GPS system that's in the cars of those who complain about this stuff, #2 the interstate system on which said cars are driven upon (yes, a president created the idea, but for military purposes), and #3 the same internet that these people use to complain about stories that they'd otherwise have to wait days, if not weeks to read in the newspaper. Now these people can go drive their Jeeps or Hummers feeling more informed. You're Welcome.

Hey,BrainiacV, the military isn't funding a damn thing, all the peon little guys who are busting their asses to support their families are funding this dog and pony show. You need to find a new screen name,D.A. You need to read a newspaper once in a while there genius. No private company is going to do this research? Seems to me a private company just got thru sending a supply ship to the International Space Station and retreveing for reuse. No private company is going to do this research? Of course not, because there is no economically sound use for the end product. It's just a bunch of chromedome's blowing taxpayer funds because they are in bed with influential politicians.

@EJM1974, the military had nothing to do with developing the internet. Just because the Interstate highway system was developed FOR emergency use by the military doesn't mean it was developed/created BY the military (which it wasn't).

Sprint took the words right outta my mouth, spot on!

@ sprintcarpilot

"...the military had nothing to do with developing the internet."

That which we call The Internet began within a government agency known as DARPA.

Do you know what the acronym 'DARPA' stands for...?

(Hint: The first letter is for 'Defense')

Jim, I agree with you but some clarification is in order. We'll keep thinking up newer and faster ways of killing brown people. That's what we do best with our national treasure.

Tranquil. In our nations history we have killed millions of white people too. Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, WWI, WWII. And had the USA and USSR ever held WWIII, millions of more whiteys. Also, The Balkans were a bunch of white folks too.

Race Baiter!

Of course, all people ARE brown colored. Pigment is brown. Skin color comes from pigment. Unless you are albino, you are brown. There are no white, black, red, or yellow people. All people are different shades of brown. Some are light brown, some are dark brown, most are somewhere in between.

Leave the KKK, Black Panther, NAZI party, and similar hate groups back in the 20th century where they belong.

Not a race baiter. I'll grant you the Balkans but the last few decades have seen our foreign policy morph into a shameless shill for the military industrial complex and the oil companies and we, that's right we, as a nation squander our national resources in an all out effort to appropriate the resources of other nations. We pick the low hanging fruit from third world countries populated almost entirely of arabs and africans and to our eternal shame do it in the name of freedom, liberty and the "sacred war on terror".

Nitpick and parse and twist yourself into little knots about skin pigment, race baiting and hate groups. You just can't handle the truth about how we crap on the rest of the world when we need something.

We crap on the rest of the world? WTF?

Everytime there is some wrong in the world, some dictator taking over a peaceful nation (Kuwait), comitting genocide (Rwanda, somalia, Libya etc.), who does the world turn to and say "Why aren't you do anything? You need to go in there and stop them". Are we supposed to say "Sorry we can't. We've already killed to many brown people this century. Call us when they are white. We haven't made our quota for crackers yet"?

And yes you ARE a race baiter and you can't deny it. Anyone who says "We'll keep thinking up newer and faster ways of killing brown people." IS a race baiter.

IS a race baiter telling the truth - FIFY

ARPA came before DARPA and was created by Universities. It was first called Arpanet before DARPA as well. And most of the uses we have for the internet have come from Private people not the Government. It started out here in California between UCLA and Stanford. Then branched out. But it was an answer to the Russians having Sputnik. Many a geek in a garage made the internet what it is today.

This flight could lead to even more advances in speed with flight. There will always be naysayers about any advancing project. I see more and more private companies doing research to advance space and earth bound flights. To bad this one crashed and burned.

People used to say the same thing about computers, jets, and other common stuff.

Mike. It's a jet engine. Right now, it's inside a missile. But it can be in a commercial aircraft in the future. The first jet engines were not developed so you could fly to Cancun or to visit friends/family. It was developed to fight the enemy. It later went into the planes we take for granted now.

First rocket development was for use as missiles. Now you have them carrying satellites to space that enable the Internet we are using right now, the cell phone you will probably use sometime today, and the cable/dish TV you will probably watch tonight. And, you can use any one of those three technologies to find out what the weather will be like before your next airplane trip thanks to the weather satellites.

People used to say the same thing about computers, jets, and other common stuff.

Today though the right wing has its sheep so tuned into hating the government they have lost touch with reality and their chatter is annoying. Smae people tell you they live in the greatest country in the world yet they hate the government? The need a shrink because that is wierd.

That's how research works. If you had ever tried and failed, you would know that you need to get up and try again. Otherwise you have just quit, which never succeeds.

So you think a control fin/control system capable of controlloing a 3,600 MPH vehicle is proven, Off The Shelf stuff?

Me-2864069, control fin/systems capable of controlling a 3600 mph vehicle most assuredly are proven, off-the-shelf stuff. Space Shuttle had such fins and control systems, well proven at 25,000 mph. Phoenix, Patriot, and SM3 all operate in that speed range, all well proven.

This is like testing an experimental computer and having the table collapse under it.

OK aggie joke,

That is why it is called testing. You do design engineering, build a prototype then test it to see if it can do what it is designed to do. If not, you find the point of failure and fix it. Only a fool expects every aspect of a first test to go exactly as planned. You do not quit - you correct and move on.

How many ocean fish etc. are going to die in the pollution of all that un-fired rocket fuel? How many poisoned fish will be on sale next week? Where do I avoid buying fish from next month? Inquiring minds want to know...or maybe...not.

Worried about the evironment stillworking? well I wouldn't sweat a little rocket fuel. Look up the farillon islands off SanFrancisco where our lovely government thought it prudent to dump thousands of 55 gallon drums of nuclear waste.

Yeah the same people that will fine you into financial ruin for letting a little anti-freeze go down your gutter.

How far do you think that nuclear waste has spread over the years in our oceans.

It is only a waste if nothing was learned. If nothing else, we learned that particular part needs to be changed in some way. Knowing this will enable future engineers to not make the same mistake. Billions were just saved.

These are not wasted millions. These are the kinds of programs that allow you to comment on this board with your computer, all of which would not be here without the military and NASA.

"Foolishly wasting millions" is the Bush Era tax cuts and the Haliburton War. R&D for technological advances is money well spent. But I sure would like to see the scientists at NASA doing the work, and not some Pentagon crew with a backpage military agenda.

After reading all these comments on how spending 140 million on something that ended up on the bottom of the ocean was a great way to learn ...I wonder why some of these same people were screaming at how Obama wasted money on a few solar projects that didn't work ?? Didn't they also learn ? or was that again just because it was Obama that ordered that one ?? Hmmm

Johnm, Obama spent money on solar technology that was proven NOT to work.

Or EPA mandated low VOC glue.

Or does the basic design by its very nature fail at the higher speed stresses?

You ARE aware that all that crap is being supplied by the lowest bidder,right? Been doing it that way for a long time and still haven't learned how friggin' stupid that approach is. Never will either.

That is a good question Hollykb. However, given the fact that the crash occured within seconds of launch and before the aircraft had time to reach those speeds, I think the reasonable assumption would be no.

Sprintcarpilot, the government actually has a rating system for contractors now. This means lowest bid is not necessarily the winner now. The government now shops for quality at the lowest price. Every contractor has to register and a running record is kept of all successful projects as well a any failures. However, given that there is little competition in this particular field, Boeing probably won't lose any contracts over it.

TLee, turn in your computer, your cell phone, your tablet, your digital tv, your digital watch and a host of other products, all made from spin-offs of the military or the space program. Take a prop plane on your next flight, make sure it is not a turbo-prop. Get a car made before about 1980, get a rotary telephone, forget the 911 service, direct long-distance dialing, etc. Better yet find the nearest Amish or Mennonite community and learn first hand what putting ATVs on Mars has produced in benefits to you, you ungrateful Luddite.

Neal in Denver - You are absolutely correct!

We have the fattest kids in the world. In fact obesity is one of the primary health threats our children face. So tell me, where are these hungry children? I keep hearing about them but no one has ever actually trotted one out. The last time I actually saw womeone talking about hunger she was grossly obese and hunger didn't seem to be a problem for her...

Chis, Studies have shown that poor kids are fatter than rich kids. Go figure.

Thats because poor kids eat at those great fast food places where cheap food has tons of crappy calories !!

It is all about choices...rich kids have more choices...poor kids take what they get.

All of these programs you mentione were funded long before we were stupid enough to elect a Republican Prez and congress. Nobody ever thought that we would be stupid enough to ever do that again after 1929 but we let it happen and look where we are now.

I like the characterization of the failure on the Comet as "significant". The airframe simply came apart from metal fatigue. An unknown problem at the time. Well known now. Nice to find someone who understands some of the costs of technical progress.

The comet came apart within a year of manufacture from badly designed windows and bad riveting. Metal fatigue was not unknown it was poorly understood but definately not unknown.

Well, Significant is a relative term. More so for the person on the plane at the time. Less so for the person born 20 yrs after its debut.

Of course, we never like failure. We spend lots of resources to get it right on the first alpha. But we often don't. Quitting then is like the kid quitting to ride a bike after the first fall. You never learn to successfully ride a bike.

But falling a few times on a bike don't cost 140 million bucks !!

It might have for that first person, who invented the wheel and other simple machines, giving rise to the bike. They spent time, energy, and other tangibles that their "tribe" could have used elsewhere. If people acted the way you think they should we all need to go find a cave, a club and return to hunting/gathering. You know, pre-technology.

We all know the right wing wants to return us to living in caves!

hmmmm.... interesting comment.. don't know about caves but there are plenty of people living in tents.. and the last i looked the "right wing" wasn't in charge