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Posted by Joel at 08:01 PM in NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Finally some good news from NASA:
A successful launch is great news, but this comes at a time when the entire manned space program is under review. I'd like to feel good about this launch but I don't. The political winds are turning against NASA. Where are NASA's supporters in Congress? Who is speaking out for the U.S. space program? It's all about to be shut down, thousands thrown out of work, and expertise and skills lost that can't be quickly recovered. The U.S. is on the verge of sitting out the next stage of the space race just as other countries are starting to ramp up their efforts. I'm at a loss to explain it.For first time since 1981, the rocket that took off Wednesday from a launching pad at the Kennedy Space Center here was not a space shuttle. With a clearing in a partly cloudy sky, the Ares I-X rocket — a prototype of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s next-generation Ares I rocket — zipped off at 11:30 a.m., heading east over the Atlantic Ocean. [...] For the NASA team working on the Constellation program to send astronauts to the Moon and beyond, the flight was a moment of smiles and joy, if not quite vindication. Critics have described the Ares I, which would be the first Constellation rocket to fly, as too expensive and technically flawed.
Posted by Joel at 10:52 PM in Hardware, NASA, Politics | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Joel at 11:47 AM in NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Joel at 09:40 PM in NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
What an amazing week this was for lunar news, the headlines screamed: Water on the Moon!! Ok, no, they didn't. I know that reporters really wanted to use that headline, it's catchy, after all, but their editors had to pull them back into more restrained (or worse) headlines, like this one from the AP: It's not lunacy, probes find water in moon dirt. This is a perfect example of how the mainstream news media is challenged by science reporting. They want the short sensational headline and more often than not, science does not fit the required format. Yes, water has been discovered on the Moon. No, it's not pools of standing water, it's not even chunks of ice. The story required a bit of background, some science facts, some explanation, maybe lots of explanation, all before you get to the punch line: this is very good news for the human development of lunar bases. But even there, once we get to that point in the story, we have to provide the usual scientific disclaimer: more study is needed. We don't know how much water is on the moon, exactly where it is, or how concentrated or dispersed it is, and the answers to those questions will take more time, more study, and hopefully some hand-on investigation. So even if we didn't get Water on the Moon!! as a headline, we did get the following:
Photo Credit: ABC News
Posted by Joel at 11:00 PM in Colony, NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Joel at 09:34 PM in NASA, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I've been doing a bit of traveling, so I apologize for the lack of posts. It's not due to a lack of interest, just a lack of time. I was actually out of the country last month during the anniversary of the Apollo landing and I really regretted that at the time. I say "at the time" because I'm not really sure I would have wanted to witness the media overload on all things Apollo when we are apparently at a moment when our country is about to turn against the ambitious plan George W. Bush put into place to return us to the Moon and then go on to Mars. Instead of signing on to this plan and providing for it in the budget (which would have been by far the easiest thing to do in political terms), President Obama created a non-partisan committee to provide recommendations on how NASA should go forward. Early indications are that this panel is charting a course away from the Moon, Mars and Beyond vision, at least according to this report in The New York Times:
I can't deny that it makes sense for a new president to ask for an impartial assessment and to carefully examine options before going forward, but students of politics and history know that presidents create special committes and commissions when they need political cover to make unpopular decisions. And since there was little need for political cover to continue with the Vision as originally outlined, I can only conclude that massive changes are afoot and that Change Has Come to NASA, but it won't be anything like we expected. Do I sound pessimistic? I am. I think the writing is on the wall, and the likelihood of Americans standing on the Moon or Mars in the next 20 years has greatly diminished. I'd like very much to be wrong and for the committee to conclude that an ambitious and vigorous human space exploration program is warranted, but I don't see that as the likely outcome. Why can't we just fund the Vision for Space Exploration and call it a bailout? After all, it's worth far more to us in the long-term than cash-for-clunkers.
Posted by Joel at 10:38 PM in Funding, NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
As the anniversary of the moon landing approaches, I recommend Space.Com's coverage in which they ponder THE MOON: Then, Now, Next:
I like that the coverage is balanced between looking back at the amazing achievement of the lunar landings and looking forward to going back to the Moon and the future of the U.S. space program.
Posted by Joel at 09:48 AM in History, NASA, Pro /Con | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The panel reviewing NASA's plans to return us to the Moon and then go on to Mars recently heard a proposal from within NASA that would dramatically change the plan. The alternative plan is based on the space shuttle hardware, infrastructure and personnel, and promises a cheaper and faster path to the Moon than the present Constellation program. This AP report provides all the details, but check out the amazingly negative way the report is introduced:
From what I've read, the alternative plan (the Shannon plan, formally called the Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle) has merit, but making the plan sound like a used car (that could be a lemon) hardly does NASA any favors. At any rate, you can learn more about the alternative plan in this YouTube video:
Posted by Joel at 09:44 PM in Hardware, NASA, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
NASA provides an overview of the Constellation program in this video:
Posted by Joel at 10:17 PM in Hardware, NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I've been trying to catch up on news and events after being away for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, and it appears that President Obama has nominated former astronaut Charles Bolden to be the next NASA administrator. I'm glad that Obama as finally moved to fill this important position, but I'm dismayed that they waited to announce this over the holiday weekend. It has long been the practice of governments (any administration really) to announce bad news late in the day on a Friday or over a weekend, so as to minimize the impact on public opinion, on the assumption that weekends will call the public away from the news, the internet, the TV, etc. As this is not bad news, I'm a bit confused about why the Obama team would announce this over a holiday weekend. Why not wait a few days and announce it during the week when the usual news cycle can fully explore the issue?
The CNET news report can be found here, and CBS News has a report here. This MSNBC video has additional details on the background of the nominee:
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Posted by Joel at 01:37 PM in NASA, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The budget news out of Washington is not good. President Obama's budget proposal has put the entire Constellation program and the Vision for Space Exploration - Moon, Mars & Beyond - on hold. They plan to fund current operations and the development costs for Ares and Orion, but the project review suggests that the future of the program may be in doubt. According to CNET News:
This suggests to me that President Obama has not prioritized space exploration and that the ambitious program to return to the Moon and go on to Mars may be dramatically scaled back or even eliminated. Is it possible that the U.S. will no longer have a shuttle program or a next generation spacecraft ready to follow the shuttle? In this budgetary environment, I guess anything is possible.
Posted by Joel at 11:17 AM in Funding, NASA | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
This report from the Orlando Sentinel details fears that the plans to return to the Moon are in danger:
Ok, so quick recap: President Obama has not yet named the new NASA Administrator, who will have to make important decisions soon on whether to continue the shuttle program or move along with the Constellation program as planned, and lacking any direction, NASA will proceed on autopilot based on the Bush plan. I think that is an accurate recap of what is shaping up to be a very suspenseful, and no doubt stressful, time at NASA.
Posted by Joel at 10:49 PM in NASA, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Many Americans who are not in the space community are getting their first look at the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. NASA displayed a full-scale model of the vehicle on the National Mall yesterday so people could get up close and personal with the craft that will take us back to the Moon in 2020. Here is a roundup of national media coverage of the event:
CNN - Orion space capsule previewed on National Mall
Reuters - US unveils Orion spacecraft to take crew to Mars
Chicago Tribune - Preview of the Orion crew exploration vehicle
DVICE - Orion spacecraft mockup shows up in Washington
Aviation Week - NASA Prepares Orion Test
io9 - First Look at the Spacecraft That Will Take Humans to Mars
Wall Street Journal - Hard Times on Earth Inspire Some to Look to the Stars
Photo: Straits Times
Posted by Joel at 03:14 PM in Hardware, NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Joel at 01:12 PM in NASA | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)


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