There were congressional hearings on the nation's goals in space today, and Keith Cowing was apparently present.

Drs. Griffin, Huntress, and Murray all called for dramatic increases in NASA's budget and a clear, cogent focus on a clear destination in space - going to the Moon/and or Mars featured prominently in their remarks. Dr. Koss semeed a bit unsure of where he stood, and Dr. Roland repeated his assertion that we should slow down and that we retreat from human spaceflight with our tail between our legs.

Not surprising, considering that the lineup of witnesses was the usual suspects. As Clark Lindsey points out, "no alt.space types in this lineup."

And to quote Keith in another context, "Yawn."

Rand - I imagine that one reason there were no alt.space types there is that the members of the Committee were interested in hearing space policy proposals a little more detailed than, "NO!"

That's an amusing strawman, Mark.

Not too far off the mark there at all, Mark.

I was very impressed with Dr. Michael D. Griffin's remarks in "The Future of Human Space Flight." It not only outlined practical goals but also noted possible distractions from those goals. The additional funding proposed was more of a suggestion than a requirement. The main point being to keep a practical focus rather than the drifting policy we have today (ie. the shuttle exists to service the ISS; the ISS exists as a destination for the shuttle.)

While Dr. Griffin might have some negatives in being associated with the NASA culture (not that I have any knowledge or indication of that, but it would certainly be a possibility) I wouldn't let that distract from his well presented ideas.

It would also be beneficial to read Dr. Griffin's statement after SDB's baseball post to put things in the right perspective.