Joe is NASA

NASA is going to launch the Space Shuttle Discovery, again, on July 1st. Despite the fact that pieces of it keep falling off. Despite the fact that pieces falling off was what exploded Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003.

Good thinking.

But, hey, maybe the problem is fixed. The problem? Heat shielding is falling off. NASA's solution? Take the heat shielding off. Yeah.

"Reuters news agency, citing officials, said Nasa's top safety official and lead engineer both opposed the flight."

"I can't possibly accept every recommendation given to me by every member of my staff, especially when they all don't agree," said NASA administrator Michael Griffin, who approved the flight. "We do not believe we are risking the crew."

Good going, Mike. Way to be thinking outside the box. Upper management everywhere should take a lesson. Don't listen to your experts, especially when people's lives are on the line.

Now, probably nothing bad will happen. God, I hope it doesn't. It's quite possible that Mr. Griffin is just stupid enough to get lucky. On the other hand, the astronauts on the Discovery probably aren't. Brave, though. You've gotta hand it to 'em.

So what happens to the space program when Discovery crashes? NASA gets more money from the government? I think not. People in America get more excited about the moon base? I think not. Companies out there like LiftPort that are trying to get private funding together to make some real progress will get more investment dollars? Try again.

So you've gotta start asking? Does NASA (Joe) really want to go to space? Or are they trying to talk us out of it?