President Obama’s plan to refocus NASA has a lot of people seeing red, not least of whom is retired NASA engineer Homer Hickam, author of the memoir “Rocket Boys” that was the subject of the film October Sky.
Last week, he wrote directly to NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and OSTP Director John Holdren demanding that they resign. He repeated the demand in a letter to Bart Gordon, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
Harley Thronson and Ted Talay describe some of the studies that have been done on the “Flexible Path” architecture and what could be a major element in the approach.
Jeff Foust reports on the proposed changes to NASA and the reaction to them, and how this could be the beginning of a far more fundamental change for the agency.
Bob Clarebrough offers some rebuttals to common objections about cooperation between private enterprise and government in human space exploration.
NASA’s 2011 budget proposal would begin a major redirection of the agency from being driven by destinations to being driven by capabilities. Jeff Foust reviews a book by one space policy analyst who argues that is exactly the right direction the agency should be moving in.
Defying Gravity may no longer be on the air, but fans of the show can watch it again on a newly-released DVD set. Dwayne Day reviews the set, providing an opportunity to revisit the series.
A taikonaut emerges from China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft after a successful orbital flight
Some critics fear that by abandoning a goal to return humans to the lunar surface by 2020, President Obama is ceding a new, undeclared moon to up-and-coming space powers such as China.
RIA Novosti about Russia’s future human spaceflight plans, which include a spacecraft capable of sending cosmonauts into Earth orbit and to the moon.
Russia intends to keep up with the U.S. in the space race and launch a new manned spacecraft by 2017, a senior Russian space official said on Tuesday.
“We plan to enter the market in 2015 with an unmanned spacecraft and are likely to launch it from the new Vostochny space center. In 2017, a piloted spacecraft should also be developed,” Vitaly Lopota, the head of Russia’s Energia space corporation, said.
President Obama’s new direction for NASA met with some mixed reactions from Florida officials, who are uncertain how the state — reeling from the impending end of the shuttle era – can best take advantage of the plan’s focus on commercial space.
Monday, February 8, 2010, 2-3:30 PM PST: We welcome back Bob Zimmerman to discuss the new space policy proposal by our Administration.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010, 7-8:30 PM PST: CLASSROOM: This Classroom sessions welcomes guest panelist Paul Breed to discuss the rocket equation. Co-hosts Drs. Logan and Jurist will be with us.
Friday, February 9, 2010, 9:30-11:30 AM PST: Kris Kimel of Kentucky Space is back with us regarding exciting new space programming.
Sunday, February 14, 12-1:30 PM PST. Happy Valentine’s Day To All! We welcome back Brent Sherwood to discuss the NASA Flexible Path which he authored.
RIA Novosti has a very interesting article about the Kazakhstan government’s apparent intention to invest about $100 million in bankrupt Sea Launch.
The article quotes Talgat Musabayev, head of the Kazak space agency Kazkosmos, as saying the government wants to acquire shares in the rocket company, which is a joint venture of Boeing (US), RSC Energia (Russia), Kvaerner (Norway), and Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (Ukraine).
On February 27, Zero Gravity Corporation’s (ZERO-G), G-FORCE ONE will take off from LAS Airport offering fliers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to defy the laws of gravity. Guests will have the unique opportunity to float freely in complete weightlessness during ZERO-G’s weightless flight. ZERO-G is the first and only FAA-approved provider of commercial weightless flights.
markmolendo: Kazakhstan Investing in Sea Launch? | Parabolic Arc: RIA Novosti has a very interesting article about the Kazakhst... http://bit.ly/br5jDL
