Michael Listner has the current state of play of US participation. And yes, election-year politics are probably involved. That we aren’t signing on is good news as far as it goes, but there are doubtless other shoes to drop.
Category Archives: Space
Tatooine Planets
There may be a lot of them. I think that this is a good example of how little we know about planet formation.
The Next Dragon Flight
I would never have put money on their launching on February 7th, the current official target date, and now my instincts are confirmed with a brief release from the company:
In preparation for the upcoming launch, SpaceX continues to conduct extensive testing and analysis.
We believe that there are a few areas that will benefit from additional work and will optimize the safety and success of this mission.
We are now working with NASA to establish a new target launch date, but note that we will continue to test and review data. We will launch when the vehicle is ready.
Hard to know if that means a week delay, or a month, or more. But it’s definitely better not to rush it; it’s a very important mission for the future of affordable spaceflight.
The Oldest Member Of Congress
Our space program is in the very best of hands.
The Webb Money Pit
A short video from Trent Waddington.
Anti-Space Idiocy
This guy is stuck in the sixties, and he wasn’t even born then.
The Commercial Space Industry
There’s a story over at IBD about the new players. But has the Dragon flight to ISS slipped already? I though it was February 7th, not the 12th.
Ten Space Trends
…for 2012. I hope he’s right.
The Yankee Institute Weighs In On Space Policy
There’s an interesting piece over at the American Enterprise Institute today bemoaning our lack of progress in space, but it misdiagnoses the problem. I may have an analysis over at Open Market later.
Don’t Pass The Buck, Roscosmos
Some criticism of Popovkin’s weird conspiracy theory.