On May 31, 2010, NASA may send Space Shuttle Missions STS-133 to the International Space Station, which, if launched, will end all manned space flight by NASA until 2015 at the earliest, leaving the US without any manned space flight capabilities for a minimum of five years.
In order to get astronauts to the Space Station, NASA would have to rely on Russia's Soyuz Launch vehicle during this time period. However, the Iran Non-Proliferation Act generally forbids anyone from buying space technology from Russia, unless the President decides Russia is trying to prevent Iran from expanding its nuclear program.
Previously, Obama said he would cut NASA funding to fund education, but the only program to be affected would be the program to build a replacement for the space shuttle that can also take us to the Moon again, where we would establish a research base like the one in Antarctica. It would have been delayed five years, which some say is as good as it being canceled, based on the idea that "we can always go back" when Apollo was canceled.
I'm a proponent for space exploration, on the basis that it increases the chance of survival in the wake of inevitable Earth annihilation, but at least in the short term, it allows us to learn more about our own planet by studying environments that are similar, if only in individual characteristics. Titan has liquid lakes of methane, and probably rivers. Enceladus has geysers of water. Io has volcanoes covering the entire surface, painted red, yellow, and green with varieties of sulfur compounds.
Ok, I am now doing penence for my eariler diaries questioning Obama about space. But I could use your help. Between last week, and this week, there were a series of articles that talked about Obama, and his space stance.
George W. Bush articulated a visionary space policy but then has refused to fund it adequately. John McCain insists on staying the course, spending billions on NASA and yet not really getting anything worthwhile for all that money.
Obama, however, has a plan. Titusville 08/01/08:
At the end of this diary, I shall argue that this plan should include Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon.
Obama has indicated he might look at NASA, and NASA's manned program. This isn't fair. Kennedy said we go to the Moon, we went to the damn Moon. Kennedy wasn't around, but we knew he wanted us to go to the Moon after he was shot, so we did. George W. Bush wants us to go back to the Moon and then to Mars. And he'll even be around to appreciate it! He'll say, "See? We did it! I knew we could!" Here's the rule: President says we go somewhere, we gotta go there. He's the President!
But there's a lot of people who say we don't need the manned space program any more. Stupid people. Question: how will we get people into space without the manned spaceflight program?
You undoubtedly heard that the Phoenix Mars Lander this week confirmed the existence of water ice at the location of the lander. News, yes, but as others have noted, scientists have had little doubt that there was water ice on Mars for quite some time.
In my last blog I wrote about my thoughts on the future of energy. I said I wanted to detail some of my views in upcoming blogs.. However, A subject has arisen that I think needs discussing sooner rather than later due to the upcoming election.
In the past a massive rocket topped off with 2 spacecraft with a computer no more powerful than a bargain bin calculator for a buck today. Lifted off and sent mankind to the moon! The year? 1969... Almost 40 YEARS ago!
So one can see why so many are angry that the best we can seemingly do is tinker around with Hubble.. Launch a space station who's science is easily beaten on earth 90 percent of the time. And deploy a number of probes....
Sadly, Likely clockwork.. Bush and his advisers launched a scheme to help him win the election by announcing a BIG new moon effort.. Too bad it turned out to be total crap in my view. Yes, it is only a matter of time before the new congress will shut down the Ares program...
NASA has found that there's real water ice right at the surface of Mars. Nobody seems to be saying anything about the potential impact of such a discovery .. it's on MSM but just as an announcement followed by a smarmy remark like "Gee, Gwen, pretty soon you'll be able to buy it bottled at the grocery store! Hahahaha" right before a commercial break.
What this really means is that it's now possible for extended missions on Mars! Follow me over the jump for my reasoning ...
RETRACTION: When I searched Google for this, I found nada from America, but when I specifically tried "Fox News Edgar Mitchell" I found it.
So, no media blackout, just a UFO story like any other. Sorry to waste peoples time (I am not a believer in this stuff but I like to read about it sometimes).
Two days ago (July 23rd), a respected NASA astronaut, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, said in an interview in Britain's Kerrang! radio (a rock music station), that "I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real."
He continued: "It's been well covered up by all our governments for the last 60 years or so, but slowly it's leaked out and some of us have been privileged to have been briefed on some of it."
You'd expect tabloids to be interested in this kind of news, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. certainly was - the story was printed in Britain's Daily Mail and Austrailia's Daily Telegraph. But given that the astronaut was American, why not print it in the New York Post? Why no mention on Yahoo News' "Odd News" feed?
Through inaction, distraction, and just plain stupidity, BushCo has sold, privatized, and given away the economic strength of America to foreign governments.
But, the problem began with Reagan. If the leaders of the free world concern themselves only with enriching their friends and supporters, a lot of stuff can slip through the cracks. They have provided welfare that allowed corporations to maintain self-destructive models, destroyed the working class, and sold America to the highest bidder.
Now we see what may be the final indication of the Republican dismantling of the science and technology strength of the United States, Reuters is reporting that NASA is negotiating with Japan for the purchase of the next generation of space craft.
Space policy made a pretty decent splash at Netroots Nation. We had an excellent panel on space policy, and an excellent platform meeting. For those of you who don't remember, we had Andrew Hoppin moderating, and Chris Bowers, Lori Garver, Patricia Grace Smith, and George Whitesides all speaking. You can about the panelists here.
Thought I'd let you know I'm going to the Netroots Nation Convention (formerly Yearly Kos) in Austin Thursday-Sunday. I've been planning it for a long time and am really excited. There are a lot of great panels and discussions being offered and an opportunity for me to meet some of the people I've been blogging with for the last year. If you have any issues you'd like me to explore, write about, relate to the other bloggers or to some of the politicians who will be there (Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, Wes Clark, Rick Noriega, and more), let me know. I've posted a link to the convention program below.
I figured now would be a good time to remind everyone (again) about some upcoming space events, that would be worth going to. We have a couple of major events this week, as well as future events upcoming. I promise reports to any and all I attend, and I suggest that you attend as well
Generally, when I do a diary about space, its either about current events, proposing good space policy, or remarking on the fact that Senator Obama hasn't fully developed a space policy. But today's is a little different - its actually not about space, so much as reaction to 1 line, I wrote, about Senator Obama. What was the line, and who reacted? Well, come over to the flip side, and you can find out (although you can probably guess who was doing the reacting
Human life is important. We in the progressive space advocacy community believe in the mission of human space precisely because - if cause and effect can be deliberately confused - consciousness is practically the purpose of the universe, and worth elaborating upon ad infinitum. Yet space is so big and impersonal, terrifying the animal hindbrain beneath all our pretenses, that our reaction is highly emotional when danger in theory becomes catastrophe in fact. Something in us quails at the notion of death in space above and beyond death itself, and has in ways both subtle and overt held back progress on this most important frontier. I would like to argue for a fundamental change in emphasis in our approach to these risks, and raise some red flags about how space is being sold by our most promising entrepreneurs.
I thought I had lost hope. In 1968, I was convinced that if we could just elect Bobby Kennedy, all would pan out into an age of peace, prosperity and love. But we lost him.
Instead, we got Richard Nixon. Then I told myself, once we got rid of Nixon, the world would pan out into . . .
