The latest, from Anatoly Zak.
If they don’t know why the explosion occurred, they won’t be able to fly until they figure it out. Also, if I were NASA, I’d still be nervous about the May 26th Soyuz flight.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
Charles Pooley Of Microlaunchers
He was supposed to give a presentation at Space Access. He didn’t show up.
Over at Arocket, Ed LeBouthillier (his collaborator on his book
I just got a call from the Las Vegas coroner’s office.
Apparently Charles has passed on and is no longer with us.
May the rocket gods look kindly on his soul. May he join his family, friends and ancestors in the family hall with honor.
Sorry to hear that. I didn’t know him well, but I’d talked to him a few times. RIP.
NASA Promoting Junk Science
I don’t know how recent this is, but it’s appalling. At least they don’t say that 97% think it’s catastrophic, or that we have to take action (as many ignorant, or demagogues do). But it cites the long-discredited Cook paper. Shameful.
#Gamergate
Some thoughts on journalistic ethics.
Merlin 1-D
#ExplorationDelendaEst No, it’s not an engine designed for “human space exploration.” It’s an engine designed for human spaceflight. I had a mini-rant about this at Space Access Saturday. #
Carly Fiorina
This is brutal.
As I noted on Twitter, there’s a visceral hatred of her by many in the tech community, even among people otherwise willing to vote for a Republican. But she’ll make a good attack dog on Hillary.
If I had to choose between Carly Fiorina and a robot infused with Hitler’s DNA running under the slogan "KILL ALL HUMANS"…I’d vote robot.
— Lee Hutchinson (@Lee_Ars) May 4, 2015
Mainly because the robot would just kill us and be done with it. Carly would make it ***hurt.***
— Lee Hutchinson (@Lee_Ars) May 4, 2015
Our Future In Space
Lee Billings reviews what looks to be interesting new book
Social Media In Iran
The leader’s bizarre Twitter feed:
Iran’s ruler is doing what the Soviet Union used to do and what Hugo Chavez did more recently. Both used the West’s language of human rights as weapons against the West while resisting everything Western human rights activists stand for. Partly they were just being cynical, and partly they were pointing out the West’s supposed hypocrisy.
You could argue that I’m just doing what Khamenei is doing by saying the other guy has no clothes, but there’s a difference, and it’s crucial. I actually care about human rights, not just for Americans, but also for Iranians and everyone else. Plenty of Iranians care about human rights, too, but it’s safe to say that pretty much none of them are fixtures in the Iranian government.
He thinks Americans are stupid. And of course, he’s right, at least about the ones with whom he’s “negotiating.”
Amending The Space Act
Dana Rohrabacher has introduced his proposed legislation to amend the Space Act, in order to redirect NASA toward space settlement and development.
Space Access
I’ve arrived at the conference. Looks like a great turnout, and a lot of familiar faces. A lot of seem to be getting older. Will Pomerantz gave an overview of future plans for Virgin Galactic, and took a lot of questions at the end. Still unclear what the future of propulsion is for SS1, though he said he thinks that they’re going back to rubber. Follow Doug Messier (@spacecom) for more details. Many of the questions were his.