Started sixty years ago, introducing the American public to the coming age of space. It later led to a series of Disney short animations, shown on Sunday nights.
Category Archives: Space
The North Korean “Satellite” Launch
Heading for a polar “orbit”? Well, if so, at least it won’t overfly Japan.
Bigelow Aerospace
…is starting to hire again. Not sure what it means.
Bernard Beard
Some of you may recall numerous comments on statistics and physics here by commenter “bbbeard.” Sadly, I just received notification that he died over the weekend:
Where: Memphis Botanical Gardens (in the Japanese Garden)
750 Cherry RoadMemphis, TN 38117
Phone: 901.636.4106Date: Saturday, April 21, 2012
Time: Gathering at 10:00am with Service to begin at 10:30am. Lunch to follow, ending at 1:30pm
Donations can be made to either of the following:
Keystone School
119 E. Craig Place
San Antonio, TX 78212
Phone: 210.735.4022Donations Link: https://websvr.keystoneschool.org/cc/misc_fund.asp
Or
MIT Department of Physics
77 Massachusetts Ave., Bldg. 4-309
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
Phone: 617.452.2807
Donations Link: https://giving.mit.edu/givenow/browse-designations.dyn?categoryId=DP,DPPH
He was a former colleague of mine at the ARES Corporation (though I never worked with him). The comments section here (as well, of course, as his friends and family) will miss him.
The Rings Of Earth
What would they look like from the surface?
The Coming Helium Shortage
Because we’re wasting it on party balloons. It really is a critical strategic resource; it’s nuts to be selling off the reserve. It’s vital for a lot of rocketry.
But here’s my question, that a quick search doesn’t answer. With the increase in natural gas production from fracking, are they capturing the helium along with it? Does this solve the problem? Or is the artificially low prices making it not worthwhile to do so? The other question is, are there places where it’s easy to mine in the solar system? For instance, how practical would it be to skim Saturn’s atmosphere for it?
SpaceX Prepares Dragon
Via Christian Garcia, who has had a change of heart:
I once told a #SpaceX investor that human spaceflight was too complex for a startup. It’s awesome that I was so wrong http://on.mash.to/AzUIQb
Now if we can just turn around Neil Armstrong. I’m encouraged, after seeing him in Palo Alto a few weeks ago. Cernan may be a lost cause, though.
The Rocket Isn’t The Point
An interesting interview with Jeff Greason by Irene Klotz at Space News.
The Moon Treaty
Michael Listner says it isn’t dead yet.
In a couple weeks, I may be making an announcement that could help kill it, though.
Smart Diplomacy
The administration has been played (again) by North Korea. I doubt that it is a satellite launch, but it’s actually a lot easier to launch a satellite than to deliver a warhead (which is what they really want to learn how to do).
[Update mid afternoon]
A missile launch would be “a deal breaker for the administration.” Yeah, right.