A long piece on the company by Andrew Chaikin.
Category Archives: Space
Oh, The Places We Could Go
A review of a new exhibit on space settlement and development at the Museum of Natural History.
We Have To Make Space Relevant
Some thoughts on the current policy mess from Dennis Wingo.
Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish On NASA
Over at Open Market, I have some thoughts on the NASA appropriations that are coming out of the minibus negotiations this week, and the implications for space development and the taxpayer.
Did I Get Results?
Remember this post about the headline on Ken Chang’s story about the ISS flight? Well, the story’s been republished with a different headline. Note the fine print at the bottom: “A version of this article appeared in print on November 13, 2011, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: NASA Hitches a Ride on a Russian Craft, and Begins a New Dependent Phase.”
[Update a while later]
What? They changed it back to the original headline? I didn’t get a screen shot, but I swear (as Clark’s link says) when I first saw it this morning, the headline was “NASA and Russia Begin New Chapter in Space.”
Federal Requirements
A story from Wayne Hale.
How Crony Capitalism Is Undermining The Space Program
I have a piece up on the subject over at The Weekly Standard.
I Hate This Phrase
No, NASA is not “hitching a ride” from the Russians. “Hitching a ride” implies that we are getting it for free. We are paying for taxi services, and because they are a monopoly provider, we are paying too much. But the problem isn’t buying rides, it’s that we’re paying too much for them, and not purchasing them from American providers. This is something that could be fixed within three years, but the Congress is cutting the funding to do so so that it can build a giant (in both size and cost) unneeded rocket that won’t fly for at least a decade.
[Update a couple minutes later]
I should note that the headline is probably not Ken Chang’s fault — copy editors come up with headlines. But I do think he should have pointed out that the same Dragon capsule that could start delivering cargo to ISS next year could also be delivering crew in the next three or four years.
The Rise Of Newt
Some thoughts. Regardless of his other attributes, he would be the best president ever in terms of space policy, if he could get the congressional porkers under control.
The Problem With Herman Cain
…isn’t just that he is clueless about space policy. After all, he’s clueless about most everything other than 9-9-9. The real problem is that none of the candidates, with one exception, are any better.