Here’s an interesting bit from Will Whitehorn’s (of Virgin Galactic) testimony this morning on the Hill:
Mr. Chairman, let me now turn to the question the Subcommittee asked about what preparations we presently are undertaking for the use of the spaceships we plan to purchase from Mr. Rutan. We are focused on complying fully with the letter and spirit of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. Scaled Composites will have sole responsibility to certify the spacecraft. However, together, we are engaged in an active dialogue with the Federal Aviation Administration on other aspects of our business.
Emphasis mine.
This does not compute. If he complies with the CSLA, there will be no spacecraft certification–just a launch license. So the question is, was this a deliberate attempt to insert the C-word into the discussion (since Burt has been agitating to do this for some time), or was it simply sloppy usage by someone who doesn’t know better? One would think that company lawyers would vet a submitted Congressional testimony from someone representing a company like this, but it could be that they didn’t realize the significance of it. And in fact, it may have no significance at all, and I’m just being hypersensitive.
Sorry I didn’t notice this earlier, but Clark Lindsey has been live blogging this morning’s commercial space hearing. There seems to be a common (and worthy) theme here–reform ITAR.
Some commenters in this post (and over at Little Green Footballs) are (unaccountably, to me) skeptical about Laura Mansfield’s tale of the mosque. I emailed her to ask if she wanted to respond, and she wrote:
I did not provide details as to the location of the mosque or the date of the visit simply for safety reasons. They do not have my full name. However if I provide the date and the name/location of the mosque I might as well walk back in, hand the imam a copy of the article, and wait for the backlash.
I do not have the weight of a governmental agency behind me; I have had to redact certain information for security purposes.
Let me also add that the sessions were audiotaped – not broadcast quality but certainly understandable.
I suspected that was the situation, as I noted in previous comments. People will, of course, continue to believe (and disbelieve) as they choose.
Perhaps we should extend National Self-Defense Day to make it a two-day holiday. April 20th is the anniversary of the killer rabbit incident. The poor defenseless president had nothing but a canoe paddle.
I don’t know if they read this or not, but Virgin Galactic appears to be taking money.
I got the following link in an email confirmed for all to see here.
Go quick. $20,000 refundable deposit only costs about $1200 in interest costs at today’s money market rates. No word if the deposits are transferrable.
It occurs to me that, since April 19th is fraught with so much history with respect to the right to bear arms, and the consequences of losing that right, perhaps the NRA (or better yet, Congress) should declare it National Self Defense Day.
A rabbi and a Nazi duked it out at the Kansas City Airport.
[Update at 3:40 PM]
Maybe this was just a little replay of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which today is also the anniversary of (sixty two years ago). An interesting coincidence that we have two anniversaries today demonstrating that gun confiscation is a flawed policy. Well, three, actually, if you count Waco.