Wayne Hale's Blog: After the Barn Burned Down

Churchill never wavered in reminding his people what was important.

Comment:  POTUS took Churchill's bust and sent it back to England.  Evidently, Obama doesn't get much inspiration from Churchill.

•  Then, as now, a number of folks propose that the current administration reverse the old administration’s decision to stop flying the shuttle. But even in the summer of 2008, it was too late. Not technically impossible, but already past the point of financial feasibility to resurrect the program. Then I wrote “the horse has left the barn”. Now the barn has burned down. 
• What we all agree is lacking is a clear expression of why space exploration is important to the nation, to the economy, and to the future of humankind. Just why the nation should care about the manifest destiny of space when there are so many problems surrounding us. [ comment: Why not challenge the notion that there is a tradeoff of any kind?  Why can't space help us with our problems on the ground?] 
•  The leadership of our country just doesn’t seem to care. [ comment: Don't look for leadership from the leadership.  Just take the bull by the horns yourself.]
• The commercial guys can’t seem to sell it. [ comment:  It would seem that if NASA won't support what commercial interest that already exists, then all we have are the commercials.  If the commercials can't support it either, there is no hope whatever.  May as well shut it down, if what he says is true.  Is the situation really that dire?]
• So I will repeat Churchill’s question: what are we made of? Sugar candy? [ comment:  It isn't courage that we need, but a better attitude.  We are all acting like cavemen, so we will get cavemen results.  You don't have to bash skulls in order to get things done.]

 That's what my blog is about:  there are solutions, but not if the problem is seen as being other people.  In that case, it becomes caveman mode, and we are all bashing each others' skulls in.  If we all would just put our heads together, we can get a solution.  It may sound too naive, but there it is.  You can change your attitude, or you will run a far greater risk of failure.  The choice is yours.

Update:

One more thing about the blog, "We have a solution" relates to Apollo 13.  Everybody has heard the phrase "Houston, we have a problem."  The astronauts at that time and the people on the ground at that time didn't bash each other heads in blaming and pointing fingers when things went wrong.  They pulled themselves together and got out of the mess they were in.

If such an analogous situation exists today, everyone will have draw inspiration from that.  Unless everybody pulls together, we won't get through this.  That is all I am trying to say by turning that phrase.  The solutions are out there.  You can make the square peg fit the round hole when you have limited time and materials provided that you are willing to work the problem through as if your very life depended upon it.  Which, in terms of the space program, that may well be the case.

Update:

I pulled up this video of the mission: