Thoughts from Bob Zubrin. I haven’t read yet, but I’ll have some of my own over there tomorrow, I think.
[Update a few minutes later]
OK, I read it. I disagree with his diagnosis of the problem, but I absolutely agree that we need to have a serious national discussion of why we have a government-funded human spaceflight program. That hasn’t happened in half a century. Until we do, we’ll continue to flounder, and be hostage to the whims of the rent seekers in Congress.
Bill Simon and I are going to be on tomorrow, at noon Pacific, to discuss our ceremony to commemorate the first moon landing, on the 45th anniversary. Boy does that make me feel old.
I just got back. Saw a lot of old (in both senses of the word, unfortunately) friends. It was quite religious, at his Presbyterian church out on the peninsula. I hadn’t realized how devout he was. He seems to have a wonderful family. His younger son’s eulogy was part sermon. Also, it turns out that he is one of the attorneys who won the Hobby Lobby case.
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.
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).
Will it expand the crisis?
It sure won’t help.
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.
Has it been overhyped?
Probably some, but it is going to be a very powerful tool.
“…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!