My longish print essay at The New Atlantisis now on line.
7 thoughts on “Getting Over “Apolloism””
Rand: Two comments. Can you elaborate on this phrase in your article:
Several early missiles were intensely human-rated, including the Redstone, the Atlas, the Thor-Delta, and the Titan II. Later rockets were designed to be highly reliable, and so the need for the human-rating concept diminished with time;
I was left confused by what you meant by “intensely” human[man]-rated. Did you mean to imply that their designs where scrutinized for reliability issues post-design and modifications made? Or did you mean to imply that they were designed that way from the get go? I don’t believe the latter to be true for the rockets you mentioned, but am not 100% certain of the historical record.
NASA’s predecessor, the NACA, was not an operational agency. It conducted basic research on airfoils, propulsion, and other aeronautical technologies, in response to the suggested needs of the aviation industry. The only airplanes it developed and flew (in conjunction with contractors such as Bell and North American Aviation) were experimental aircraft like the X-15, which were meant to prove new technologies.
The history of NACA achievements and the methods of interacting with private aviation companies (starting with the resolution of the Wright/Curtiss patent fight) vs the charter and evolution of NASA would make a fascinating next book. I even have a proposed title for you: “Mission Is Not An Option” …. 🙂
Oh and by the way, good article!
Has govt. ever opened a frontier? It likes to jump to the head of the parade and proclaim how essential it is, but I’d say the answer is a definite no. The core issues are not technical, but cultural and economic.
Well done article, but there is so much more to be said.
Great article, the six points were dead on. Hopefully a new administration can get some of it through congress and start funding the tools we need to add to the tool belt if we really want to spiral outward and incorporate the inner solar system into our economic sphere of activity.
I fear that how we proceed in space will be entirely determined on which companies will donate the highest percentage of their NASA contract money to the Clinton Foundation. Obviously the endpoint of that race is a single-employee company that gets a $650 million study contract, spends $50,000 on a Power Point presentation, and donates $649,900,000 to the Clintons.
People pretend that slavery is evil while giving it almost full support. It truly is disgusting. By people I am referring to almost everybody.
Tell me, where is this mythical land of the free and home of the brave?
One of your best to date, and IMHO the best single article on what to do and what not to as we move forward.
Rand: Two comments. Can you elaborate on this phrase in your article:
Several early missiles were intensely human-rated, including the Redstone, the Atlas, the Thor-Delta, and the Titan II. Later rockets were designed to be highly reliable, and so the need for the human-rating concept diminished with time;
I was left confused by what you meant by “intensely” human[man]-rated. Did you mean to imply that their designs where scrutinized for reliability issues post-design and modifications made? Or did you mean to imply that they were designed that way from the get go? I don’t believe the latter to be true for the rockets you mentioned, but am not 100% certain of the historical record.
NASA’s predecessor, the NACA, was not an operational agency. It conducted basic research on airfoils, propulsion, and other aeronautical technologies, in response to the suggested needs of the aviation industry. The only airplanes it developed and flew (in conjunction with contractors such as Bell and North American Aviation) were experimental aircraft like the X-15, which were meant to prove new technologies.
The history of NACA achievements and the methods of interacting with private aviation companies (starting with the resolution of the Wright/Curtiss patent fight) vs the charter and evolution of NASA would make a fascinating next book. I even have a proposed title for you: “Mission Is Not An Option” …. 🙂
Oh and by the way, good article!
Has govt. ever opened a frontier? It likes to jump to the head of the parade and proclaim how essential it is, but I’d say the answer is a definite no. The core issues are not technical, but cultural and economic.
Well done article, but there is so much more to be said.
Great article, the six points were dead on. Hopefully a new administration can get some of it through congress and start funding the tools we need to add to the tool belt if we really want to spiral outward and incorporate the inner solar system into our economic sphere of activity.
I fear that how we proceed in space will be entirely determined on which companies will donate the highest percentage of their NASA contract money to the Clinton Foundation. Obviously the endpoint of that race is a single-employee company that gets a $650 million study contract, spends $50,000 on a Power Point presentation, and donates $649,900,000 to the Clintons.
People pretend that slavery is evil while giving it almost full support. It truly is disgusting. By people I am referring to almost everybody.
Tell me, where is this mythical land of the free and home of the brave?
One of your best to date, and IMHO the best single article on what to do and what not to as we move forward.