Paul Spudis continues to mourn the Vision for Space Exploration. I don’t think it’s lost yet — what was really cancelled was ESAS and Apollo on Geritol. There is not currently a specific goal, but I think that it’s still possible to reform (in the literal sense of that word) the VSE over [...]

…from the Trekkers.
It figures. Of course, most trekkers have no interest in actual space policy, so I don’t expect much will come of it.

I have a longish rebuttal to Tom Jones up at Popular Mechanics.
[Update a few minutes later]
In case you’re confused, there are a couple problems with the piece that I’m trying to get fixed. First of all, obviously, that was supposed to be two billion dollars per launch not two bucks per launch (if only…). [...]

There’s an interesting discussion in comments over at Hyperbola. I do think that people are making a lot of unjustified assumptions about what the architecture will look like. Orion was part of Apollo on Geritol, and the requirements for any beyond-LEO crew system need to be rethought in light of potential new technologies.

This is sort of interesting, if true:
NASA sees China’s strategy for a manned lunar landing as launch vehicle intensive. While America’s notional Constellation moon project centers on a single - and still unbuilt - Ares-V “superheavy” lift booster for a direct ascent to the moon and two “lunar orbit rendezvous” operations, China will likely opt [...]

Hitler is told that Constellation has been cancelled.

Of course, whoever made it falls into the common trap of equating Constellation with the human spaceflight program. I really don’t understand the thinking of people who complain that we will have to pay private industry to get to the ISS, as though Ares/Orion wouldn’t be much [...]

Dick Shelby is being as despicable as any Democrat. If the Republicans were smart, they’d have him stand down. But there’s a reason they’re called the Stupid Party.
[Friday evening update]
For those unfamiliar with his (Democrat) past, it’s useful to know that he was once dinged as “Porker Of The Month.”
Again, if the Republicans [...]

Paul Spudis is unhappy with the new policy, and thinks that the VSE baby go thrown out with the Constellation bathwater. I don’t necessarily disagree with that, but to disgustingly extend the metaphor, the bathwater was so polluted that the baby couldn’t have survived anyway, and it had to be done. We’ll just [...]

The astronaut, not the Welsh singer, doesn’t like the new plan. It’s too late for me to respond (I have more painting, etc. to do tomorrow, and then fly back to LA late afternoon), but I’m sure that the commenters will.
[Update a couple minutes later before hitting the sack]
I will say one thing. [...]

Taylor Dinerman has responded (sort of) to my Corner post. I say “sort of” because it doesn’t really respond to many of my points, and seems to be mostly a regurgitation of the standard flawed Constellation advocate talking points. It’s late, and I’m kind of beat from plumbing and painting all day, so [...]

Here’s another take on the previous sob story. And here’s what’s really going on.
[Via Alan Boyle]

Clark Lindsey has an extensive run down on what happened last year. It was quite a year. This year may be a bigger one, though.
[Update a few minutes later]
I’m back to house renovation in Colorado, and too busy to blog, which is a shame because it’s a news-rich week on the space front [...]

…continues:
For this baby boomer who grew up in the Cold War, the world has gone bizzaro. Here is Jeffrey Manber on Russian TV defending the capability of commercial companies to design and fly manned rockets and disputing Alabama politicians who are attacking such companies and claiming that only a government agency can do such things. [...]

…from Stephen Fleming. Goodby space program, hello space industry.
[Tuesday morning update]
Michael Belfiore, at Popular Mechanics:
I would argue that the new direction is not just the best option for NASA, but the only one. NASA already has no choice but to rely on the Russians for rides to the International Space Station after the shuttle [...]

ATK is unhappy with the plans to cancel Ares.

Alan Boyle has a report on today’s events, and it looks like Bill Nelson is finding his way into the real world, even if other Senators aren’t.

Clark Lindsey took notes. I liked this:
/– How to deal with safety questions on Capitol Hill?
Bigelow: As a client, safety of the lifters is extremely important. We are going to expect well used and understood systems.
Anderson: NASA had astronauts flying on Ares I on its second flight. The commercial rockets will have flown many [...]

Isn’t it always the way with NASA?
This is poignant on at least two levels. If you accept the anthropomorphizing, it’s like something out of Catch-22.

You know, I can think of very few people in whose opinions I have less interest right now, with the possible exception of Mike Griffin, than Scott Horowitz. The sad thing is, he probably actually believes this:
To help address the safety and reliability issues, SAIC was commissioned to evaluate the potential hazards of the [...]

…was for the private sector before he was against it.
The bald political hackery and hypocrisy of this creature is quite disgusting. He even makes politicians and senators look bad.

Jeff Foust (who also has a summary of the current political state of play over at The Space Review today) has some initial budget numbers:
That building block approach includes heavy-lift launch vehicle R&D, “vigorous” technology development work in areas like automated rendezvous and docking and propellant transfer, and a “steady stream of precursor robotic exploration [...]

I have more thoughts on anniversaries, and the new space policy, over at PJM.
[Update a few minutes later]
I would make one other point. If we’ve lost the moon, it happened five years ago when Mike Griffin came out with the ESAS results. Constellation was never going to get us back to the moon, [...]

[Note: KLo offered me some space at The Corner to rebut Jeffrey Anderson's post, but it hasn't gone up yet and I'm not sure when it will. But since it's just a blog post, and not a paid NRO article, I assume there's no problem with cross posting here.]
While I’m not a conservative, some [...]

Over at National Review, Jeffrey Anderson (of whom I’d never before heard) is bewailing the new space policy, saying that Barack Obama is “no JFK.”
It’s been ten more years of going nowhere since Krauthammer wrote these words. Obama now proposes another ten to come.
As Krauthammer has rightly noted elsewhere, the most dangerous part of space [...]

According to this piece at Popular Mechanics, the new regime at NASA seems to be well disposed to DIRECT.
I remain an indifferent agnostic, because I think that any money spent on a heavy lifter is money wasted that would be better directed toward orbital infrastructure. And the big question that I have is [...]

Some thoughts from KSCer Jen Scheer on the end of the Shuttle program.

I sure hope that something comes from this. History indicates that it won’t, unfortunately.

On these anniversaries of Shuttle disasters, I have some reflections on the history of the program, and the future, over at Popular Mechanics.
And yes, before you comment, I know the Challenger didn’t “explode.” I’m trying to get that fixed.

Jeff Manber says we’re long overdue for one.

It was my birthday, and the Challenger was destroyed. I have some remembrances of the event, originally posted eight years ago. That was the beginning of the end of the Shuttle program, less than five years after it started flying, though we didn’t necessarily realize it at the time. It was certainly [...]