Category Archives: Space

This Is Unusual

Normally, the selection of a NASA administrator is low priority in a presidential transition, because (as I point out often) space is not very important, politically. That may be different this year, though. The GAO has identified Shuttle retirement as an urgent transition issue.

Which brings up an interesting point. In addition to the snow princess, who are “Hefferen, Ladwig, Whitesides, and Monje“? I know that “Ladwig” is Alan and “Whitesides” is George, but I’ve never heard of the other two.

I will also say that I am somewhat reassured by the involvement of Lori, Alan and George in the transition, if they are, because they all understand the importance of commercial solutions. I would also add that if President-elect Obama wants to (at least for bipartisan appearance’ sake) appoint some token Republicans, NASA would be a good ostensibly non-political place to do it. I wonder what Alan Stern’s political affiliation is?

I Have To Confess

I have never thought of Lori Garver as a snow princess.

Will she be the next administrator, though?

I also have to say that I found this comment disturbing:

Seems highly likely Orion will become ISS only for now.

Let’s sincerely hope not. That would be a major blow to commercial services. Better to just end it, and ramp up COTS.

[Afternoon update]

She’s married, with kids. Shouldn’t she be the Snow Queen (not to be confused with the Ice Queen)?

Not Just A Wind Problem

There’s a good article over at NASA Spaceflight on the lift-off drift problem of the Ares 1.

Safe, simple, soon. Scam.

[Update a couple minutes later]

More at the Orlando Sentinel, on the Congressional Budget Office finding that the vehicle can’t hit its IOC date without billions more. And there will still be a gap.

Billions of dollars to develop a new vehicle we don’t need, when we could have been flying something by 2010 or 2011 with Steidle’s original plan.

It’s Getting Harder And Harder To Surprise

The Orion spacecraft program was reviewed with the wrong configuration. There’s more here:

So an older, immature design of the Orion capsule is brought up for review and passes muster, when it fact it lacks many of the features a flight worthy capsule would have (e.g., a weight that would be liftable, a means of landing that won’t kill the occupants) along with several that a real vehicle wouldn’t have (e.g., extra amounts of hot water for BroomHilda’s cauldron).

That’s not the way the process is supposed to work.

Unfortunately, the IG’s office, not known for their brilliance or their ethics, took the ESMD Viceroy’s non-concurrence with their findings and said, “ok, so sorry to have bothered you,” and moved on.

Can’t anyone here play this game? How much longer before this misbegotten program augers in?

Government Space Programs

Clark Lindsey points out the inherent problem:

I’ve certainly always believed that NASA can get anything to fly with enough time and billions of dollars. The issue is cost-effectiveness. This vehicle, which is obsolete for the 20th century much less the 21st, is simply not going to pay off in terms of making space exploration cheaper or safer.

Ignoring its gigantic price tag for the moment, if Ares I were just one of several competing commercial rocket vehicle projects funded in a COTS type of program, I have no doubt that NASA would have been canceled it long ago just on technical grounds and missed milestones. Unfortunately, when a large project is developed internally, it becomes virtually impossible to stop, especially in a case like this where the top management is so deeply invested in it. The next administration might take another look at Ares but unfortunately the battle for Florida votes has left both candidates committed to it as a jobs program. Such is how a promising vision for space exploration finds itself hung by a boondoggle.

While I agree, I have to say that the last sentence sounds painful. And at least psychically, it is.