NASA

I mentioned this briefly in a post on the 30th, and the Corrupt made a bigger post about it ... well not to be outdone, I need to for even more text.  Seriously though ... I mentioned it briefly and intended to get back to it, which I never did - so here I am.

It seems Corrupt agrees with me on the need for a space program ... which is surprising considering that NASA doesn't give people who don't deserve work money and magically save poor people.  I'm sure they have unions though, so I'm sure it has him all about it.  What Corrupt and I disagree on seems to be the entire Constellation program in its current design - he is not a fan of the Ares rocket, nor the Orion Capsule.

During the Apollo program the United States - and the rest of the world - began to realize that the Apollo could not do everything we wanted/needed it to do - it was just too limited.  So beginning in the 60's NASA began to look into other options.  In fact the 2nd greatest president in the history of our glorious nation (Reagan being the first), Richard M. Nixon, requested the formation of the Space Task Group in 1969 to explore new/better ways to get into space.  But I will spare you all the history lesson.

Basically the shuttle has not lived up to the promises of a reusable spacecraft ... NASA, nor any other space agency, has figured out a way to use a reusable spacecraft cheaply.  It just can't happen with the technologies that we have today.  I have no doubt that if Boeing or Lockheed could figure out a way to do - they would be doing it, and licensing it for a hefty fee to NASA.

So I really don't understand where Corrupt stands ... he wants us to go into space, yet he doesn't like the Orion capsule.  Well ... should we go to space or not?  Because that is where we stand right now.  I mean sure it would be great if every 5 years we could redesign the entire launch system from the ground up (mind you that Constellation won't be ready until about 12 years after its inception), but that isn't really feasible.

Constellation is the technology we have today.  We aren't simply reverting back to an Apollo spacecraft - Orion is quite different (and much larger) ... the only way that it is similar is that we have scrapped the supposed idea of a reusable spacecraft for now - we just don't know how to do it.  When NASA went back to the drawing board to come up with something post-Shuttle, they chose the capsule because they know they can get more people and cargo into space cheaper and safer than they would be able to with a shuttle.  Those are the facts as they stand in 20082009.

Aside from that whole dilemma I think Corr and I are on the same page ... the space program is necessary.  Not only have great inventions come out of the space program (like the wonderfully exciting Space Pen), but its a symbol of national pride.  I look forward to the day when we get back to the moon ... how exciting will it be.

America, it's time we got something straight

2 great reads ...

This morning Thomas Friedman wrote an excellent piece for The Paper of Record; outlining what this country really needs, 'a reboot.'  Friedman couldn't have said what I've been thinking in any better way - granted he is a world-renowned author and columnist, so it is only fitting that he is able to put words together better than I am.  He wonders why we have let ourselves fall so far behind in innovation and infrastructure - while the rest of the world chugs ahead.  

Though I think Friedman's most important point was all this money that is being spent - being borrowed from our futures, and our grandchildren's futures ... we need to make sure it is spent wisely.  We need to avoid letting this money going to its usual places - being spent on pet projects around certain people's districts, or small improvements that really won't make the difference.

As I have said time and time again, education is where we desperately need money - we need money to poured into education.  Somehow we had the greatest educational system in the world in the 1950s and just let it slip away.  We still have the best colleges and universities, but our k12 education is lacking - to the point where it is disgraceful.  If we start investing now, we will start seeing changes in the next five or ten years, and another decade or two down the line - we will finally start seeing the products of our change coming out of these schools.  

So let's join Friedman in saying no to this bailout - and getting ready for a reboot of this country.

Friedman ends with "John Kennedy led us on a journey to discover the moon. Obama needs to lead us on a journey to rediscover, rebuild and reinvent our own backyard," and you should read the article here.

Also on the same page in The Paper of Record, was an amazing Op-Ed by Oliver Morton.  You can read that piece here, and I really suggest that you do so.  It is another thought provoking look at our lives - through our planet, Earth.  Mr. Morton looks at the Earth from the picture Earthrise, taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft while circling around the moon (I have copied the picture below).  It is especially poignant because it shows Earth so small - such a little part of this whole thing we know as 'space' - and yet it means so much to us.

Morton ends the piece discussing the power of the sun - the power that made the picture possible, the power that makes our everyday lives possible - and what that power holds for us.  As we try to rid ourselves of fossil-fuel dependency we have found options in wind power, water power, and solar power -- the latter of which still seems to be one of the most expensive and least pervasive.  Yes, you can put solar panels on your house, and every little bit helps ... but what we really need are fields of solar platforms out in the desert - powering our planet.

Whether you agree that the Earth is warming or not is not important to me, we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels regardless.  Anywhere is a good place to start, but Mr. Morton points out that Solar probably holds the most long term power for us - and we has been the most elusive in terms of our maximizing its energy.  As he points out, we were able to get a man on the moon - this should be easy.

Earthrise, image courtesy of NASA.