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Space Buzz: The New High!

The Senate NASA compromise may be our best chance

As an engineer, my first reaction upon reading the proposed Senate authorization bill for NASA was incredulity.  I remain unconvinced of the technical need for a heavy lift rocket and was appalled to see space technology research and development, which I think is essential for developing a true in-space infrastructure, slashed in funding.

I had the opportunity yesterday, though, to sit down with some friends who have a little more insight into what’s really been going on up in DC.  Plain and simple, Senators Hutchison and Nelson quietly formed an alliance in the Senate and even more quietly pre-coordinated with the White House to come up with something that everyone can live with.

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The time has come: leaving the Shuttle Program

Cross posted and adapted from original at the SpaceTweep Society

Note: I am posting this because I want people to see a realistic view of things at NASA, not a sugar-coated version. This is as real as it gets.

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Reactions to the new National Space Policy

The National Space Policy is not a plan.  I think the rumor-mongering and anticipation leading up to its release yesterday show just how disconnected most of us in the technical world really are from how policy is made and what it actually is.  I even saw one person say on Twitter that there was a rumor going around that SpaceX was going to get a sole-source, non-competitive contract for US launches out of it.

The National Space Policy is an outline for the goals, objectives, and guiding principles of all US government activity in space.  It is a high-level executive document that is intended to bring together the various disparate elements under a single framework that generally explains the Administration’s thought process.  Nothing more, nothing less.

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Perspective

Cross posted from original at The Space Tweep Society

I frequently get asked what I think about the direction NASA is taking. I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago but didn’t post it at the time. I’m not really sure why. This post does not outline my personal take on what we should be doing with our space program; it just provides a little bit of perspective on things from where I sit.

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A relevant human space program

In all the debate over who has the best plan for NASA, I think something important has been lost.  Right now, I think destinations and architectures aren’t as important as articulating a coherent vision for a space program relevant to America’s needs and values.

Given the shock that has accompanied the pending Shuttle retirement, the continuation of a Space Station that I doubt most Americans know exists, and the proposed cancellation of the Constellation Program (that I think even fewer Americans really knew about), I think it’s clear that we haven’t done that.  Instead, we have people arguing back and forth over what largely amount to platitudes.  I hear friends and colleagues, who are understandably disenchanted with the political process, wishing aloud that the government would just give us the money to go do what we want and leave us alone.

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Every Ending = New Beginning

In the mid-90’s, I recall a conversation with German Space Agency liaison, Gerhart Brauer – both a colleague and good friend to me. I struggled with a painful chapter in my life, and Gerhart offered this one simple phrase that made all the difference at the time. And even today.

Every ending is a new beginning.

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Thoughts on Obama’s NASA speech

There were no surprises in President Obama’s speech on space policy delivered today at Kennedy Space Center.

He reiterated that NASA will build a Crew Return Vehicle for the ISS based on the Orion capsule, begin development of heavy-lift rockets, expand scientific and robotic research, and begin a series of programs intended to expand the state-of-the-art in space technology and on-orbit operations.

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Midnight on the Causeway

Couple minutes after midnight. Clear sky of stars above, three-quarter moon just over the horizon, launch tower lights dancing across the river.

I’m the lone person on the causeway, standing on the narrow stretch of rock and road crossing the Banana River between the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It’s really just me here. Not another soul in sight. Not even headlights. White folding chairs are lined up in neat little rows in the grass and tents have been erected over empty tables awaiting crowds who will amass here in two days to view a display of fire and thunder and grandeur.

The Falcon 9 rocket, awaiting its maiden voyage and white like an alabaster statue, stares me down from afar.
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