An interesting excerpt from a new book on Henry Morton Stanley. There are some lessons in here that will be valuable to space colonists.
Category Archives: Space
Changing The Conversation
I agree with Stephen Hawking that it is important to expand humanity into the universe, but…:
Stephen Hawking says the colonization of outer space is key to the survival of humankind, predicting it will be difficult for the world’s inhabitants “to avoid disaster in the next hundred years.”
The renowned astrophysicist explores some of the most remarkable advancements in technology and health with the new U.K.-Canadian series “Brave New World With Stephen Hawking,” debuting Saturday on Discovery World HD.
Before its premiere, he discussed the earth’s most pressing concerns in an email interview with The Canadian Press from Cambridge, England, declaring space exploration to be humankind’s most urgent mission.
“We are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history,” said Hawking, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease, leaving him almost completely paralyzed and unable to speak.
Please stop using the E-word as though it’s synonymous with space settlement. It is not. It is a means to an end, and as long as the focus stays on “exploration,” it is easy for opponents of sending humans into space to say, “it’s cheaper with robots.” Unless you believe that robots will be our mind children (as some do), humanity is not going to settle space with robots. Every time you are about to say the phrase “space exploration,” stop yourself, and replace it with “space settlement.”
As an aside, for those who followed the link to Wikipedia, Jimmie Wales is not Hans Moravec. He’s not a douche, either. Or maybe he is. That one’s a matter of opinion, I guess. Anyway, as The Oatmeal points out, you get some pretty hilarious Wikipedia pages when Wales is doing a fundraiser. He should move his face over to the right side of the page, or something.
Congress To NASA
[Update a couple minutes later]
NASA is unsure how long commercial crew will be delayed:
NASA officials say the reduced funding for the commercial partnership to replace the space shuttle will delay the program two years and maybe longer.
So, at $450M per year to the Russians, the geniuses on the Hill have just increased out-year expenditures by almost a billion dollars to save half a billion next year. This is why the budget is a mess.
Multi-Layer Insulation
Jon Goff has a good blog post on it, if you want to geek out.
Is SpaceX Changing The Rocket Equation?
A long piece on the company by Andrew Chaikin.
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.