Category Archives: Technology and Society
NASA Adrift
Eric Berger has Part 3 of his series up now:
Working with engineers at Johnson Space Center, as well as five other field centers, and using same tools NASA uses to estimate costs, Miller says, “We found we could put astronauts on the moon within a decade, inside the existing budget.”
The plan used the commercially available Delta IV Heavy rocket to conduct a steady stream of missions to the lunar surface, allowing humans to begin tapping into the moon’s resources.
“We briefed it to all the key NASA human spaceflight centers, giving them a chance to challenge the conclusion,” Miller said. “I thought it was a tremendous result for human spaceflight. We could have a plan that flies early and flies often.”
NASA never published the study and Miller’s contract wasn’t renewed.
Not enough opportunities for graft.
Slowing Medical Costs
It’s not happening as a result of ObamaCare.
I’m also worried about a slowdown in innovative medical tech. And of course, a lot of people predicted it.
Driverless Cars
How will they change America?
It may be as revolutionary as cars themselves were.
Flight 232
What happens when a DC-10 loses hydraulics.
I remember this incident very well, because I was about to get on a flight from Omaha to LA as it was happening (I had been briefing SAC on the potential applications of X-30. Yes, I know, I know).
The MH17 Shootdown And Spaceflight
Will it expand the crisis?
It sure won’t help.
The Apollo Cargo Cult
Over at USA Today, I say that after four lost decades, it’s time to end it:
After over four decades, it is time to stop awaiting a repeat of a glorious but limited and improbable past. We must, finally, return to and embrace the true future, in which the solar system and ultimately the universe is opened up to all, with affordable, competing commercial transportation systems, in the way that only Americans can do it.
I’ll have some other stuff up later, in other venues.
3-D Printing In Space
Has it been overhyped?
Probably some, but it is going to be a very powerful tool.
Safety In Space
“…is not negotiable”?
A bunch of hooey from Doug Cooke.
I love this:
Some critics attempt to trivialize the transition from cargo to human transportation, suggesting that designing a lower-cost vehicle at the expense of crew safety is perfectly acceptable. It is not. In fact, accident investigations and legislation have consistently dictated that crew safety should be the highest priority in the development of any human-rated spacecraft, reflecting concerns from past accidents.
Hey, we have to be stupid. It’s the law!
The New Malaysian Airliner Loss
The Russian rebels have shot down other planes in the past few days, so this was probably inevitable unless the airlines had routed around that region. I assume they’ll start doing so now. What this means for the war remains to be seen, of course. But on the up side, maybe CNN will finally cover Ukraine.
[Update early afternoon]
The Pentagon is apparently claiming that the missile originated from Russian territory.