NASA Sues Astronaut Over 40-year-old Camera

[cookoy]

40 years ago: "you're our hero. we are forever grateful for the services you've rendered. how can we ever repay you"
now: "no way you're selling that thing. give it back or else"

 

[Guest]

So after 40 years of NASA not caring about it, Mitchell decides to auction it and suddenly its the property of NASA. That is quite a load of BS.

If it did not belong to him then NASA should have seen to getting it back 40 YEARS AGO.

 

[g3d]

I don't think NASA had the right to "give" the camera in the first place. Its government property right? If I were in-charge of fighter planes, I couldn't give parts of it away as going away gifts. If I did, I would be stealing from the American tax payer. I'm sure if NASA transferred the camera to a new owner, there would have been paperwork accompanying the item to include name and serial number. Other wise the person who "gave" the camera had no legal right to do so.

That being said, I do believe it was given to him but again, I don't think the person who approved it followed proper procedure for transferring ownership of the camera. So now its a "he said she said" situation.

 

[wild9]

After all this time..and suddenly they want it back. On behalf of all those disgruntled NASA employees and those sick of this Obama Zombie administration..boo hoo! Hopefully when Obama is voted out/unseated/bored people to death we can get some kind of Space Race back in flow, and put America back on the map instead of on a toilet wall.

 

[FloKid]

I think they want to give it another shot on Mars

 

[Maxor127]

[citation]NASA should spend less time and resources on a silly little camera, and more time on actually getting the USA back on the moon. Priorities![/citation]
Because NASA's lawyers are critical to planning missions. And NASA really needs to waste their time flying back to a floating rock.

 

[jasonpwns]

Can we sue NASA for using our tax dollars on worthless space projects that we didn't even approve of? Oh wait you all seem to forget that.

 

[abdussamad]

As a Muslim I am glad to see how you Americans treat your heroes. You are destroying yourselves from within. Keep it up!

 

[mikewong]

Nope, no more NASA now that China has sent the first Chinese to space...

 

[sseyler]

[citation][nom]alidan[/nom]is it just me, or can you see someone loosing paperwork at the bureaucratic nightmare that is nasa?nasa has its head up their ass, for the most part. they p@#$ away tens of billions yearly when the private space program is being funded for under 500million total before profits come in. i can see them giving away the camera to the guy, after all its not really useful after it was on the moon than back to earth, just assuming that the optics are kind of messed up alone.[/citation]

I will certainly agree with you that NASA has problems with its budget, but you can't directly compare private space programs with NASA for the following reason: NASA still funds academic research through grants that provides the funds necessary for many professors (and graduate students) to do research in fields ranging from plasma physics to fluid dynamics.

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

In that case, that probably isn't something that NASA should be handling. Or at least that should be examined to see if there is a more cost effective way.

 

[Zingam]

The first question is: "How many porn pictures did Mitchell make with this camera?"

The second question is: "Is there an undeveloped film inside with young, hot, naked chicks?"

If the answer is "yes", maybe that's why NASA wants the camera so badly!

 

[apache_lives]

why would they want to go back to the moon? THERE'S NO OIL THERE!

 

[marquis]

i can only wonder how much the camera cost back 40 years ago ... everything built by NASA is hugely expensive ....

if he took the camera after the space shuttle mission , by todays standards he could be charged with a felony ( theft over 1,000 dollars ) ...

i don't know all of the details and i'm sure this will be sorted out , but why would he be given a camera if the space program was still in effect ? i get the feeling from the way this is written that he pocketed the camera on return back to earth ... wouldn't the need the camera again for other missions ?

we paid for that camera , there's no telling how much it cost us the tax payers ...

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Like they didn't know he had it..what a joke!
The guy risked his life for NASA AND THIS IS HOW THEY PAY HIM BACK!

 

[K-zon]

Rather to say if the Camera even belongs to NASA is probably hard saying if there was even any records of it, but of it at least that to say if rather it is worth getting on bases of any historical points or not is probably debatable of course, rather spelt correct or not too. Given it would only be of such significant purpose of such. Even though they use different cameras today rather they have much difference in anything of worth is hard saying against what was used then. So to say again rather they was or is a NASA camera of whatever is probably hard placed.

Given also rather a interest of where money could be spent alot of interest has taken place too on the idea of things of interest into where NASA might spend money or has for whatever kind of efforts or in efforts. Given the retiring of the Shuttle against a time period of lose use, but on an addition of that of something new though if im not mistaken against the issues of old. Might have its place again for what is of considerable means of whats not of considered interest. Right?

 

[f-14]

meh, i think nasa's funding is too high if it has money to waste on this lawsuit. best gut nasa's budget again until the united states can escape the same fate of the U.S.S.R.s banruptcy
14.4 trillion dollars is far less then what destroyed the biggest and most powerful nation in the history of the world.

 

[nikorr]

I think NASA has problem with him selling for profit , instead of keeping it or donate it.

 

[RodolfoKSP]

"He deserved it, and most of us would have done the same thing" he don't that was really sad. NASA knows this man had the camera for years, i bet they thought well he is "the" astronaut he wont do anything silly with the camera it is his pride/honor. And they are letting him have the camera, in a team, and he changes it for €€ to me it doesn't make sense. Opinions opinions opinions ...

 

[archange]

I think there is infinitely more profit in space exploration than in the recovery of that camera. That's what NASA should concern itself with, instead of ridiculous nonsense.