Mark Whittington has further (uncharitable) thoughts about the late Senator Proxmire. It’s a harsher obituary than I’d write, particularly seeing as the body has barely cooled off, but then, I’ve never been as enamored of large federal space budgets (particularly considering how ineffectively they’ve been spent, for the most part) as he is.

Aleta Jackson writes that XCOR’s EZ-Rocket flew home to Mojave today, piloted by Rick Searfoss, from its record-breaking trip to California City. It finished its taxi to the hangar the same way it took off–under rocket power.

It was apparently its last journey. It’s now achieved (and probably exceeded) all of its original technical and marketing objectives, and its final destination is now a well-deserved display area in an aviation and space museum.

Thomas James wants to go to McDonalds on Mars.

In response to the new Virgin Spaceport in New Mexico, I suspect that Mojave will have to market itself a little harder in California–how about calling it the “Little Bit Slutty Spaceport”? It’s closer to Vegas, too…

In response to the new Virgin Spaceport in New Mexico, I suspect that Mojave will have to market itself a little harder in California–how about calling it the “Little Bit Slutty Spaceport”? It’s closer to Vegas, too…

In response to the new Virgin Spaceport in New Mexico, I suspect that Mojave will have to market itself a little harder in California–how about calling it the “Little Bit Slutty Spaceport”? It’s closer to Vegas, too…

Out Of The Cradle (a site that I’ve also added to the space blogroll) has an interview with David Livingston, in which he decribes how he almost didn’t do his dissertation on space tourism, and how The Space Show got started.

They also have the first part of an interview with John Powell, of JP Aerospace.

In my opinion, the most important thing that NASA is doing right now, in terms of ultimately opening up space for the rest of us, is their first tentative steps toward procuring commercial orbital services. Michael Mealing seems to agree, and has set up a new blog to monitor progress, or lack of it. I’m adding it to the space blogroll.

[Update at 9:20 AM EST]

Michael Belfiore has some industry reaction to the announcement.

Short answer–t/Space is pleased.

Jeff Foust notes that there’s surprisingly little opposition to the RTGs in the upcoming New Horizons Mission (with some interesting discussion in his comments section).

I think that his take is right–back in 1997, when Cassini launched, loony leftists didn’t have a lot of better things to do, but now they’re so consumed with the war and George Bush that they don’t have the time or energy to focus on non-issues like this. As I pointed out in comments over there, when even perennial loony tune Bruce Gagnon doesn’t have time to organize anything against it, no one else will, either.

[Update a few minutes later]

Thomas James (Bruce’s occasional nemesis) has more New Horizons info.

Leonard David writes about space sports, an activity that many have thought about for years, but now seems much closer to coming true.