SPACE POLITICS - INTERESTING BLOG SITE - LRK -

Space Politics: "When a space race can be a good thing
While I have been skeptical of claims of an imminent US-China space race, others, like Mark Whittington, have not. However, a more important issue might be the perception of competition, Dwayne Day argues in a new article from The Space Review. Increased spending on civilian space activities, such as manned spaceflight, takes funding and other resources that could be used for other activities, notably military programs. This can even be accomplished without even the perception of competition, by instead engaging China in cooperative ventures. It's a compelling argument, although one could counter that China could manage to fund both civilian space and military programs fully by taking money from other areas, although that too could have consequences.
Posted by Jeff at 11:37 PM | Comments (1) "

OK, YOU WANT TO GO HERE - CHECK OUT THE COMENTARY LINK - LRK -

Space Entrepreneurship Network: "Space Entrepreneurship Network

Now accepting short story submissions!

NASA put the first humans on the moon in 1969- an impressive feat with the technology available at the time. It is now over 30 years later, and where are we? With the exception of a few temporary government-sanctioned and taxpayer-funded excursions into space, we are still Earth-bound.
We can do better.
This site is dedicated to the prospect of actually going to space in our lifetimes. Because in the free market, 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' is not the catch-phrase of the week. It is the ultimate standard by which ideas, products and services prosper or perish.
Welcome to the future of exploration and development of space."
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SPACE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB - spacetoday.net - LRK -

spacetoday.net: space news from around the web: "Report: Boeing under new scrutiny by investigators
Posted: Tue, Apr 27 1:17 PM ET (1717 GMT)
Boeing is facing additional investigations by federal prosecutors for alleged improper use of a competitor's proprietary documents when bidding on launch contracts, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Investigators with both the Pentagon and the Justice Department are looking into claims that a Boeing employee, who formerly worked for Lockheed Martin, provided his managers with proprietary documents from his former employer dealing with the costs of its Atlas launch vehicles. Boeing reportedly used that information to prepare bids for Air Force and NASA launch contracts, including a large Delta 2 launch contract the company won in late 2002. The renewed investigation comes just as Boeing and the Air Force have been working out an agreement to end the company's suspension from bidding on military launch contracts. That ban was imposed last summer after a previous investigation turned up evidence Boeing used proprietary Lockheed documents when preparing its bid for the first EELV contracts."
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THE SPACE REVIEW - WHAT IT IS ABOUT -LRK -

The Space Review: about us: "About The Space Review
The Space Review is an online publication whose focus is on publishing in-depth articles, essays, editorials, and reviews on a wide range of space-related topics. The Space Review is not a space news site that will publish short news articles on a daily basis; there are plenty of other sites that do that. (Please check out our affiliated site, Spacetoday.net, for links to dozens of space news articles published online each day.) Instead, we plan to focus on articles that will provide a deeper examination of key space issues, events, history, and related topics."
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WHAT WILL OUR FIRST MISSION BACK TO THE MOON LOOK LIKE? - LRK -

The Space Review: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: the cornerstone of the vision: "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: the cornerstone of the vision
by Taylor Dinerman
Monday, April 26, 2004
Scheduled to be launched sometime in 2008, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) project is quickly approaching the point where some basic decisions have to be made. Given the time it takes for missions such as the LRO to be designed, built, tested, and certified, the need to get the requirements right, and to do so fast, is an early test of Code T and Admiral Steidle�s ability to change the way things get done at NASA."
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A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION AND LINKS - LRK -

The Space Review: essays and commentary about the final frontier: "What is The Space Review?
The Space Review is a new online publication devoted to in-depth articles, commentary, and reviews regarding all aspects of space exploration: science, technology, policy, business, and more."
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DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN - THE ISS WAS STARTED? - LRK -

Human Space Flight (HSF) - Space History: "

The first proposal for a manned station occurred in 1869, when an American novelist told the story of how a 'Brick Moon' came to orbit Earth to help ships navigate at sea. In 1923, Romanian Hermann Oberth was the first to use the term 'space station' to describe a wheel-like facility that would serve as the jumping off place for human journeys to the moon and Mars. In 1952, Dr. Werner von Braun published his concept of a space station in Collier's magazine. He envisioned a space station that would have a diameter of 250 feet, orbit more than 1,000 miles above the Earth, and spin to provide artificial gravity through centrifugal force."

The Soviet Union launched the world's first space station, Salyut 1, in 1971 - a decade after launching the first human into space. The United States sent its first space station, the larger Skylab, into orbit in 1973 and it hosted three crews before it was abandoned in 1974. Russia continued to focus on long-duration space missions and in 1986 launched the first modules of the Mir space station.

In 1998, the first two modules of the International Space Station were launched and joined together in orbit. Other modules soon followed and the first crew arrived in 2000.
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41st Space Congress at Radison Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral

Space News from the Space Coast: "April 25, 2004

Space plan spices up yearly event

BY CHRIS KRIDLER
FLORIDA TODAY

CAPE CANAVERAL -- The future is a sparkling universe for the speakers at Space Congress this year.

President Bush's plan to develop moon and Mars missions, along with such news as China's first human space flight and the shuttles' push to fly again, gave the annual conference a keen sense of purpose.
'The vision people, they definitely told us, 'Oh great, we want to get the message out,' ' said NASA's Jack Fox, program chair for the congress and chief of the Strategic Technology Formulation Office at Kennedy Space Center"

41st Space Congress - Check out the Schedule - LRK -
Space News from the Space Coast: "
Radisson Resort at the Port, 8701 Astronaut Blvd., Cape Canaveral

Registration: Convention Center lobby at Radisson; call (321) 799-4845.
Some sessions free to public as noted; other costs:
Inclusive conference package (including meals) $250
Single-day inclusive package (including meals) $100
Conference registration (excluding meals) $140
Tuesday luncheon $30
Tuesday reception $30
Wednesday luncheon $30
Wednesday reception $30
Thursday luncheon $30
Single session $25
Golf (each person) $50

Youth Science Fair
IMAX Exhibition Hall, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Free to public; tickets to the Visitor Complex available at registration or at will call windows 1-4 at the Visitor Complex.
Hours:
Tuesday, April 27 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 28 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 29 9 a.m.-noon
Friday, April 30 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 1 9 a.m.-4 p.m.


Space Congress schedule
at Radisson Resort at the Port"

RESOURCES ABOUT THE VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION - LRK -
title: "
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA History Office

Resources About The Vision for Space Exploration

Fact Sheet on the 'Spirit of Discovery' Space Exploration Program A January 14, 2004 fact sheet on President Bush's Space Exploration Program vision.

President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program: Remarks by the President on U.S. Space Policy
This speech by George W. Bush was given at NASA Headquarters on January 14, 2004.

White House background on George W. Bush's January 14, 2004 announcement from the White House.

NASA's website on President Bush's Space Exploration Program.

Budget Chart Chart prepared by NASA outlining the program's new strategy.

The Vision for Space Exploration NASA document outlining President George W. Bush's plan.

Links to information on the Wednesday, January 28, 2004 Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Full Committee Hearing on NASA's Future Space Mission.

Links to other key historical space policy documents including President George H.W. Bush's Space Exploration Initiative.

Link to information on the Presidential Space Exploration Commission

Link to the President's Commission on Moon, Mars, and Beyond Website.


Updated March 24, 2004
Jennifer Troxell, Author
Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator
Steven Dick, NASA Chief Historian
For further information E-mail histinfo@hq.nasa.gov

WRITTEN IN 1985 - LOOKS AT WHAT PROBLEMS WILL CONFRONT US ON LONG JOURNIES IN SPACE - LRK -
contents: "LIVING ALOFT: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight


...the early phases of a science require...a certain disregard for the formalisms and pedantic, creeping construction of the ultimate scientific edifice. Perhaps what is essential is a foundation of sensible, if vague, ideas and orienting attitudes- correct in their broadest sweep if not in their precise predictions.

Jack P. Hailman
Science, 168, 701 (1970)

- Table of Contents - "

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GRAVITY PROBE B - A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING - LRK -

Gravity Probe B: "LAUNCH UPDATE & HIGHLIGHTS FOR 20 APRIL 2004:
GRAVITY PROBE B LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY TODAY!

At 9:57:24 AM PDT today, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in South-central California. The countdown went smoothly, and at the moment of launch, a packed auditorium here at Stanford University broke into cheers and applause. The launch is proceeding perfectly,exceeding all of our expectations. The initial visual images from the various tracking stations were heart-warming and beautiful to behold--surpassed perhaps only by the extraordinary images from the two cameras on-board the second stage, which showed the separation of the spacecraft from the launch vehicle more than 300 miles above the Earth."
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AT LEAST SOMEONE IS GOING UP. - LRK -
DELTA Mission Heading To ISS With Dutch ESA Astronaut: "

STATION NEWS

DELTA Mission Heading To ISS With Dutch ESA Astronaut

the ultimate Russian train trip
Paris (ESA) Apr 19, 2004
The DELTA mission, with European Space Agency astronaut Andr� Kuipers, and the ISS Expedition 9 crew lifted off today in the Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft on flight 8S to the International Space Station. The launch took place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 09.19 local time (05.19 Central European Time)."
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INTERESTING ARTICLE WITH MUCH TO PONDER. - LRK -
The Bush Space Initiative: Fiscal Nightmare or... Fiscal Nightmare?: "The Bush Space Initiative: Fiscal Nightmare or... Fiscal Nightmare?

by Jeffrey F. Bell
Honolulu - Mar 17, 2004
The new space initiative announced by President Bush has the odd distinction of being criticized both for costing too much and costing too little. Many commentators have denounced Plan Bush an insanely grandiose program that will waste $1 trillion dollars of tax money.
At the same time, another group of critics says that it is a trivially small program whose funding level is utterly inadequate to achieve its announced goals of manned flights to the Moon and Mars. John Pike goes so far as to call the Bush Plan 'a roadmap for the quiet and orderly phase-out of manned space flight.'
Surely, at least one of these schools of criticism must be based on politics, or the commentator's personal agendas, or simple stupidity. They can't possibly both be right -- can they?"
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WE NEED A CHEAPER WAY TO SPACE - SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HELP THAT - LRK -
Cal Poly Space Systems, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo: "While still on an emotional high from the success of the
StarBooster� project, the 2003-2004 school year for CPSS
promises to reach higher and farther than ever before for
CPSS. In addition to the continued work on the StarBooster�
project, CPSS will be heading in a new direction this year called
Rocketoon.
Check out our project page for more details."

WE WENT TO THE MOON IN 1998 - WE NEED TO GO BACK AGAIN - LRK -
PDS Geosciences Node Data and Services: Lunar Prospector: "Lunar Prospector
Lunar Prospector (LP) was a spin-stabilized spacecraft, operating in a 100 km circular, polar orbit around the Moon during its Primary Mission in 1998. The orbit was lowered to 30 km for the Extended Mission that began in January 1999. The mission ended on July 31, 1999, when the spacecraft was targeted to impact a crater near the lunar south pole to try to vaporize part of the suspected water deposits.
The science goals of LP were to map the Moon's surface composition and its magnetic and gravity fields, to determine the frequency and location of gas release events, and to search for polar ice deposits. To meet these objectives, LP had five science instruments located on three booms: a gamma ray spectrometer, a neutron spectrometer, an alpha particle spectrometer, a magnetometer, and an electron reflectometer. In addition, Doppler tracking data was used to derive gravity measurements.
The preliminary science results from Lunar Prospector have been published in the September 4, 1998 issue of Science. Also, a detailed description of the Lunar Prospector spacecraft is available in the LP Mission Handbook document (Adobe Acrobat format file; 760 KB). "

WE NEED SOME MORE MISSIONS TO THE MOON SO VIKTOR CAN ADD THEM TO THIS NICE PORTAL - LRK -
Viktor's Home Page: Deep Space Probes: "Deep Space Probes
Even as you read this, there are several man-made probes serving as our remote eyes throughout the Solar System. Some perform useful and valuable observations on a daily basis, such as the Solar and Heliocentric Observatory, monitoring the Sun 24 hours a day. Others are living relics from the dawn of space exploration, including the longest-living space probe ever made, NASA's Pioneer 6. Well, maybe this isn't exactly Arthur C. Clarke's vision of the year 2001, with a nuclear-powered manned spaceship en route towards Jupiter, but we are getting there... at least some of our faithful remote outposts are out there already, as a first step towards what I hope will be our eventual conquest of the Solar System and beyond.
These pages provide summary information on all 'live' probes that operate away from the immediate vicinity of the Earth. In other words, probes that are either going somewhere, or are 'looking up', not down."

SO WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO ACTUALLY MAKE IT HAPPEN - BACK TO THE MOON? - LRK -

Testimony of Hon. Harrison H. Schmitt: Senate Hearing on "Lunar Exploration" | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference: "STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Thursday, November 06, 2003

Source: Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Testimony of Hon. Harrison H. Schmitt: Senate Hearing on 'Lunar Exploration'
RETURN TO THE MOON
A return to the Moon to stay would be at least comparable to the first permanent settlement of America if not to the movement of our species out of Africa.
I am skeptical that the U.S. Government can be counted on to make such a 'sustained commitment' absent unanticipated circumstances comparable to those of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Therefore, I have spent much of the last decade exploring what it would take for private investors to make such a commitment. At least it is clear that investors will stick with a project if presented to them with a credible business plan and a rate of return commensurate with the risk to invested capital. My colleagues at the Fusion Technology Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Interlune-Intermars Initiative, Inc. believe that such a commercially viable project exists in lunar helium-3 used as a fuel for fusion electric power plants on Earth. Lunar helium-3, arriving at the Moon as part of the solar wind, is imbedded as a trace, non-radioactive isotope in the lunar soils. There is a resource base of helium-3 about of 10,000 metric tonnes just in upper three meters of the titanium-rich soils of Mare Tranquillitatis. The energy equivalent value of Helium-3 delivered to operating fusion power plants on Earth would be about $4 billion per tonne relative to today's coal. Coal, of course, supplies about half of the approximately $40 billion domestic electrical power market. "
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http://www.larryrussellkellogg.net/moon.html

WILL BE HELPING JUDGE THE ENTRIES FOR THE SPACE SETTLEMENT DESIGN CONTEST - 4/20/04 - LRK -
Space Settlement - Larry Russell Kellogg: "Annual Space Settlement Contest. This annual contest is for 6-12th graders (11-18 years old) from anywhere in the world. Individuals, small teams of two to six, and large teams of seven or more (often whole classrooms with teacher leadership) may enter. Grades 6-9 and 10-12 are judged separately, except for the grand prize. Students develop space settlement designs and related materials. These are sent to NASA Ames for judgement. Due date is 31 March 2004."

NASA Ames Research Center Annual Space Settlement Contest

THE COMMENTS BEING MADE AT THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON THE MOON ARE BEING COMMENTED ON AS WELL. HOPE WE SEE MORE THAN COMMENTS AS TIME GOES ON. - LRK -
President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond: "President's Commission on
Moon, Mars and Beyond"

News
Entertainment Industry, Robotics, and Education Experts to Testify in San Francisco

Experts from the fields of education, entertainment, and robotics will appear as witnesses before the President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond in a public hearing to be held in San Francisco, April 15 and 16, 2004. [more]

Events
Public Hearings

April 15-16, 2004
Galileo Academy of Science and Technology
1150 Francisco Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

May 3-4, 2004
The Asia Society
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021

see science @ NASA stories - http://science.nasa.gov/
-LRK-

Who We Are?: "The Science@NASA web sites bring you stories describing the diverse and exciting world of NASA scientific research. Many of our readers have asked about the people who bring this service to you.

The Science@NASA websites' stories range from astronomy and astrophysics to living in space to Earth science to physical sciences and biology. From microscopic scale, to human scale, to astronomical scale, NASA science covers them all! Cutting edge physics for space transportation beyond rocketry and computer applications to improve weather forecasts. Our goal is that the Science@NASA team will be here to give you the context and background of what you hear from other sources.
We answer many questions each month from our readers. Many of you ask about the people who put these web sites together. So here are some of the key people on today�s Science@NASA team. These are the people who work every day to keep the stories interesting and web pages functional.
"
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Moon Society: Moon Society Lunar Mission Update #1: "Moon Society Lunar Missions Update - #1, April 2004
Prepared by Arthur Smith

The past few months have seen greatly increased attention to the Moon, accompanied by an upsurge in mission proposals and announcements. One trigger seems to have been China's success with their first Shenzhou manned mission, and subsequent publicity from Luan Enjie and Ouyang Ziyuan, respectively director of China's space agency (CNSA) and chief scientist of China's lunar programs. China's plans for a lunar program have gradually trickled out over the past couple of years, but only recently in much detail. The Chang'e program as now proposed will consist of three robotic phases: orbiter (launching December 2006), lander (by 2010), and sample return (before 2020), followed by a human landing in 2020. News reports recently announced a robotic rover as one mission in the lander phase, scheduled for 2012. "
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A LOT OF LINKS TO THE APOLLO MISSIONS - LRK -
NASA - JSC History Portal: "Apollo: 1963-1972
The Apollo Program landed humans on the Moon and brought them back safely to Earth. After 16 uncrewed vehicle-testing missions and the tragedy of the Apollo 1 launch pad fire, the Earth-orbiting Apollo 7 and 9 missions tested the Command and Lunar Modules. Apollos 8 and 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photography of the lunar surface. Six lunar landings (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples. Apollo 13 did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction. Three planned Apollo missions (Apollo 18, 19 and 20) were cancelled."

ASTRONOMY (THE MOON): "FACTS ABOUT THE MOON
(NASA, 'The Solar System,' ASEP, 1989, p. 4.) "
* First spacecraft impact on the Moon: Luna 1 (USSR), 1959.

* Discovery that the lunar farside consists almost entirely of highland regions, with no maria (large dark basins): Luna 3, 1959.

* Investigation of the details of the lunar surface by the U.S. Ranger 7, 8, and 9 spacecraft in 1964-1965 revealed a gently rolling terrain with no sharp relief; there is a layer of powdery rubble, with rocks and craters down to at least one meter in diameter everywhere.

* Diana, or Luna, is the Roman goddess of the Moon, animals, and hunting.

* The Moon is the Earth's natural satellite.

* The Moon's average distance from the Earth is 238,328 miles.

* The Moon has only one-sixth of the Earth's gravity.

* The Moon's diameter is 2,155 miles.

* The Moon's surface is either hot or cold.

* The Moon has no magnetic field.

* The Moon has light and dark areas (highlands and seas).

* Huge meteorites bombarded the Moon's surface and left hundreds of thousands of impact craters.

* The Moon passes through phases as it travels around the Earth.

* Human beings have landed six times (12 men) on the Moon.

* Eight hundred and forty-two pounds of rock and soil samples have been returned from the Moon.

* No life, no water, and no oxygen have been found on the Moon.

* The Moon has also been studied by the unmanned Ranger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter and Russian Luna landings.

* High and low tides on Earth's oceans are affected by the Moon's gravitational pull.

* The question "Where did the Moon come from?" has not been answered.

When Do We Go Back To The Moon?: "With all this talk about unknown craters, the following freeware program might be handy:
'Virtual Moon Atlas' by Christian Legrand and Patrick Chevalley. It is available at http://astrosurf.com/avl/UK_index.html
and features the a 3D real time display of the moon (including lighting conditions), but you can also set an arbitrary date to display. It contains an extensive database of features including all landing sites (Apollo, Surveyor, etc.). It also contains >1000 pictures of formations from the 'Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon'.
It supports OpenGL for graphics performance (but doesn't require it). About a dozen languages (apart from English) are supported via language packs.
All those features take up some space, so it's a rather big download (about 31 Mb)
Sorry, the program runs on Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP only."

SEE A LIST OF WHY THIS IS GREAT YEAR FOR SPACE - LRK -

Monterey County Herald | 04/11/2004 | SPACE DAY: "Posted on Sun, Apr. 11, 2004

SPACE DAY

Celebrate a galaxy of stars on May 6

By MARCIA ABRAMSON

Knight Ridder Newspapers


The annual celebration of Space Day falls on May 6 this year, but so much has been going on out there, you could call 2004 Space Year. Look at everything that's happened so far for space exploration:
� NASA's rovers are sending back evidence that there was once water on Mars."

AND MANY MANY MORE - GO TAKE A LOOK - LRK -

X P R I Z E

ASSOCIATED PRESS
APRIL 7, 2004


FAA LICENSES SPACESHIPONE AS FIRST PRIVATE ROCKET
By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The government announced Wednesday that it has issued the first license for a manned suborbital rocket, a step toward opening space flight to private individuals for the first time.

The Federal Aviation Administration gave a one-year license to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., headed by Burt Rutan. Rutan, who hopes to make affordable space travel a reality in a decade, is best known for designing the Voyager airplane that made the first nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world in 1986.

"This is a big step," FAA spokesman Henry Price said.
snip

http://www.xprize.org/index.html

SEE THE OFFICIAL RELEASE - PERMISSION GRANTED - LRK -

FAA Issues License for Historic Sub-Orbital Manned Rocket Launch: "Press Release

Contact: Henry J. Price
Phone: 202-267-3883
APA 13-04
Date Posted: April 7, 2004

FAA Issues License for Historic Sub-Orbital Manned Rocket Launch

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department
of Transportation today announced it
has issued the world�s first license
for a sub-orbital manned rocket
flight.

The license was issued April 1 by the
Federal Aviation Administration's
Office of Commercial Space
Transportation to Scaled Composites of
Mojave, Calif., headed by aviation
record-holder Burt Rutan, for a
sequence of sub-orbital flights
spanning a one-year period."
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YES YOU MAY - GO FLYING HIGH - IN SEARCH OF THE X-PRIZE - LRK -

Feds Give Private Spaceship Go-Ahead to Expand Flight Testing: "Feds Give Private Spaceship Go-Ahead to Expand Flight Testing
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 02:00 pm ET
07 April 2004

The Federal Aviation Administration's Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) has given license approval to Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, permitting the firm to expand flight testing of SpaceShipOne -- a privately-financed rocket plane to carry passengers to suborbital altitude."
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ONWARD AND UPWARD TO THE X-PRIZE. FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK. - LRK -
BREAKING NEWS! Private Spaceship Completes Second Test Flight: "BREAKING NEWS! Private Spaceship Completes Second Rocket-Powered Test Flight
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 02:25 pm ET
08 April 2004"

UPDATE: Story first posted 1:40 p.m., April 8, 2004

The privately-backed SpaceShipOne suborbital rocket plane made its second powered flight today.

Built by Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, the piloted vehicle was powered by a hybrid rocket motor to over 105,000 feet. The engine burned for 40 seconds, zipping to Mach 2, or two times the speed of sound, according to a source that witnessed the test flight high above Mojave, California skies.

SpaceShipOne's second successful powered flight was piloted by Peter Siebold.
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ANOTHER LOOK WITH A LOT OF HISTORY AND LINKS - LRK -

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope: A Fate Far From Certain | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference: "NASA's Hubble Space Telescope: A Fate Far From Certain
Keith Cowing
Sunday, March 14, 2004

In January 2004, just days after the rollout of the President's new space policy, Sean O'Keefe announced his decision not to proceed with SM4 - the fifth, and last scheduled Space Shuttle Servicing Mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. This mission would have installed new gyroscopes, and added several new instruments to the aging telescope allowing it to operate until the end of the decade."
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A GOOD LOOK AT WHY WE CAN'T RUN UP AND REPAIR THE HUBBLE AT THIS TIME - AND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO IN THE FUTURE. - LRK -

MSNBC - Hubble debatea lot of sound and fury:

COMMENTARY
By James Oberg
NBC News space analyst
Special to MSNBC
Updated: 9:49 p.m. ET March 22, 2004

"HOUSTON - The premature termination of the Hubble telescope's mission is dismaying, even heart-breaking. But even more appalling has been the aftermath of the decision. While NASA made ghastly blunders in announcing and explaining the decision to cancel a needed repair mission, the public furor that has ensued is based on fundamental misunderstandings and misconception mixed with posturing and politics."
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THIS SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ARTICLE TALKS ABOUT SOME OF THE PROBLEMS SEEN WITH GOING BACK TO THE MOON. - LRK -

Scientific American: Fly Me to the Moon [ SPACEFLIGHT ]
Going to the Moon means winners and losers in science

TO THE MOON FOR ITS RESOURCES AND TO LIVE THERE PERMANENTLY - LRK -
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Q&A: Going back to the Moon: "Q&A: Going back to the Moon

Dr Paul Spudis is a scientist who has spent a large part of his career studying the Moon.

Spudis: The Moon can tell us about the early Earth
Now, he sits on the US presidential commission that will direct a new space exploration programme - to go back to the lunar surface, on to Mars and beyond. He told us how he thought the future would develop.
How do you view the commission's role? "

snip

But why go back to the Moon? What is the point?

Fundamentally, the reason you want to go back to the Moon is to use it to create a space infrastructure.

Right now, we cannot go beyond low-Earth orbit. You go to the Moon to learn if humanity can live off-planet - that is the fundamental mission.

One of the things for me that was very encouraging in the President's speech was that he specifically mentioned new technologies designed to extract usable resources out of the Moon. To me, that's the key.

If you can extract resources from the Moon and other objects and places in the Solar System, you've got the ability to create infrastructure in space.

LISTEN TO THE COMPLETE APOLLO 11 MISSION - LRK -

Live365 - Apollo 11-The entire a: "Apollo 11-The entire a (PRO Broadcast)

by apollo_11_oda from Foster City, CA "

DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE MOON OR JUST LOOK AT THE STARS? - LRK -

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Lunar base options divide experts: "Monday, 5 April, 2004, 13:19 GMT 14:19 UK
Lunar base options divide experts
By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor

Scientists are divided about the use of the Moon as a base to develop ways to travel to Mars, according to reports given to the US government.
Some have said the possibility of water-ice existing at the lunar poles would allow a moonbase to use the ice as rocket fuel for a Mars mission.
Others contend that it would be too difficult to extract.
And there is disagreement about whether the moon is a good alternative to space as a base for advanced telescopes.
In January, President Bush redirected the US space effort sending astronauts back to the Moon and then onto Mars. "


Dirt and gravity
A testing ground?
'Immense technical difficulty'

As we look forward to going back to the Moon, you might like to think about or first steps on the Moon and listen to Neil Armstrong talk to the National Press Club about Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century.
- LRK -

Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Twentieth Century: " Engineer Neil A. Armstrong announced the Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century at the National Press Club on February 22, 2000. His speech, entitled 'The Engineered Century,' is presented in its entirety on this webcast."


VIEW THE VIDEO
(RealMedia 28/100k player required)

We are planning on going back to the Moon.

Now, what is the best way to do that and what should be our long range goals?

The President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond is charged with building consensus, providing recommendations to the President regarding moon research activities, increasing young people's interest in space science, and bringing in industry and other countries as space partners.

The fourth meeting is coming up.
-LRK -

President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond: "News
Commission Hearing At Galileo Academy Of Science And Technology
The President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond will hold its fourth public hearing at the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, 1150 Francisco Street, San Francisco, California, on April 15 and 16, 2004. [more]"

snip
- LRK -

As we think about Going Back To The Moon again for real, one might re-read some interesting books that have had us going to the Moon. You may be interested in reading Homer Hickam's version. - LRK -

Homer Hickam official Web site - October Sky/Rocket Boys, The Keeper's Son.:

" Back to the Moon was Homer's first book-length fiction, published in 1999. It is an adult, page-turning scientific thriller with lots of insider information about NASA. Like all of Homer's books, this one also has comic situations that will have readers laughing out loud. But when Homer shifts gears and the drama kicks in, the action is incredible. Back to the Moon, besides being a heart-pounding adventure, is a wonderful, sensuous love story of the near future like only Homer can tell. It is available in hardcover, paperback, abridged audio book, electronic book and Chinese. "

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-LRK -

Earth & Sky : Paul Spudis Profile: "Scientist Profile: Paul D. Spudis,
Lunar Geologist
March 2003
by David S.F. Portree
Paul D. Spudis is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore, Maryland. His specialty is the geology of the Moon. He has also studied the geology of Mars, Mercury, and many other worlds. Dr. Spudis was Deputy Leader of the science team for the Clementine lunar mission in 1994, and has participated in NASA and National Academy of Sciences committees that helped shape future space exploration. "

SEE ARTICLE - LRK -

Congressional Testimony of Paul D. Spudis: Lunar Science & Resources: Future Options | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference: "STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Friday, April 02, 2004
Source: House Science Committee
Congressional Testimony of Paul D. Spudis: Lunar Science & Resources: Future Options
Dr. Paul D. Spudis
Planetary Scientist
April 1, 2004
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me here today to testify on the subject of lunar science, resources, and the US space program.
Recently, President Bush articulated a new strategic direction for America in space, one that includes a return to the Moon and the development and use of off-planet resources. Although we conducted our initial visits to that body over 30 years ago, we have recently made several important discoveries that indicate a return to the Moon offers many advantages and benefits to the nation. In addition to being a scientifically rich object for study, the Moon offers abundant material and energy resources, the feedstock of an industrial space infrastructure. Once established, such an infrastructure will revolutionize space travel, assuring us of continuous, routine access to cislunar space (i.e., the space between and around Earth and Moon) and beyond. The value of the Moon as a space destination has not escaped the notice of other countries - at least four new robotic missions are currently being flown or prepared for flight by Europe, India, Japan, and China and advanced planning for human missions in many of these countries is already underway. Additionally, at least two of these future planned missions (India and China) have advanced their launch dates considerably within the last month, indicating that these nations recognize both the importance and value of the Moon and the urgency of establishing a presence there"

SEE THE REST OF THE ARTICLE. - LRK -