As the emailer who sent me the link notes, “I understand the need for an ITAR review, however, what we have so far is a blanket ban, with no prescription in place for when and how this issue will be resolved. In the meantime NASA’s vast archive of technical information, so vital to the commercial and private sector has vanished in a single day.”
So where in the days of sequester is NASA going to find the funds to review the data and get it back on line? Just more ITAR madness that has cost the US space industry billions over the past decade and a half.
Stewart Money has an interesting essay on progress in understanding the risks of a Mars flight:
This most recent experience brings to mind another observation Zubrin made in The Case for Mars, once it was foreseen that the oceans could be crossed, people of the era did not wait for the advent of iron plated steamships, they raised sail and headed out into the unknown with what they had available ”iron men in wooden ships.”
Jeff Foust has an article at today’s issue of The Space Review on the recent meeting to remember the failure on the tenth anniversary, with a lot of discussion of the topics of my book.
I obviously disagree, not that I’m that big a fan of Mars missions. I’m always disappointed at whom the press thinks is an expert on space policy. At least he’s an engineering professor, and not a “scientist.”
This sort of stupidity is on a par with calling it an “insurance policy.” Dana has it right:
Last year’s request for this “back-up system” was more than 300% of the appropriated level of the primary system. By acting on this type of faulty logic, we have created a national debt as large as our GDP and still our nation refuses to take its foot off the deficit spending accelerator. SLS is unaffordable, and with relatively modest expenditures on specific technology development, we do not need a heavy lift vehicle of that class to explore the Moon, Mars, or near-Earth asteroids.”
Of course, it has nothing to do with “exploring” any of those places. It’s pork and workforce preservation.
for pre-order. I’ll be getting a cover thumbnail up soon, and I’m working with them to straighten out the reviews.