Why the United States will beat China in the new moon race or why audiences in Beijing might be triggered by the raising of Old Glory on the lunar surface First Man omits American flag raising on the lunar surface
From the Hill: We really are going back to the moon and then on to Mars Related: The Moon, Mars, and Beyond
Neil Armstrong’s Sons, Director Damien Chazelle Defend Absence of Flag-Planting Scene in ‘First Man’ In other words, the film makers are doubling down on stupid. Instead of apologizing for the slight and offering to fix it, they are lecturing people who were affronted by the omission of the flag raising that they are the problem.
Neil Armstrong Movie Starring Canadian Ryan Gosling Doesn’t Feature American Flag
Addendum: A Modest suggestion. Instead of boycotting the movie, go and when the moon landing sequence starts, break out American flags and wave them. If those Canadian filmmakers are too squeamish to show Old Glory on the moon, let's bring our own.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
It looks like the movie about Neil Armstrong has bought itself some controversy. First Man omits American flag raising on the lunar surface
My lengthy appreciation for the late Paul Spudis: Lunar geologist Paul Spudis has passed away Also The Once and Future Moon
and The Value of the Moon: How to Explore, Live, and Prosper in Space Using the Moon's Resources
and The Value of the Moon: How to Explore, Live, and Prosper in Space Using the Moon's Resources
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
I just got word that Paul Spudis has died. I never met him in person, but we exchanged numerous emails as he encouraged me in my opinion writing in support of a return to the moon. He was one of the world’s leading experts in lunar geology and the use of the moon’s resources to facilitate space exploration. He was a passionate advocate for lunar exploration and thus will be sorely missed. My condolences to his wife Anne and his family and friends. Now the return to the moon becomes a monument to his memory.
Related: PAUL SPUDIS PASSES AWAY
The mother of all conspiracy nut theories or at least someone having too much time on their hands Did Vladimir Putin Rescue an Injured Donald Trump from the Viet Cong During the Vietnam War? This might make a great alternate history story.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Monday, August 27, 2018
and 
Sunday, August 26, 2018
From the Hill: We really are going back to the moon and then on to Mars
The significance of Vice President Mike Pence’s recent speech at the Johnson Spaceflight Center was not that it made any new news, but the fact that it was made at all. One of the failings of the deep space exploration programs of both presidents Bush was that, after the initial speeches that announced them, going back to the moon and on to Mars were hardly mentioned at all. President Trump, to his credit, rarely makes a campaign speech without mentioning NASA, not to mention his proposed Space Force.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
One of my favorite stories about John McCain, the larger than life war hero and American original, concerns an incident that took place when he was being held captive in the Hanoi Hilton. One of the ways the North Vietnamese tortured the American prisoners was to subject them to speeches being given by antiwar activists denouncing them and the United States efforts in South East Asia.
However, one day, the exercise backfired. The speech had a line, McCain later recalled, that went like, “We can put a man on the moon but Nixon can’t end the Vietnam War.”
The slight detail that Americans had landed on the moon had been kept from the American pilots. The accidental revelation caused a sensation and an up swelling of pride and patriotism. At least that one day, for those brutalized and tortured men, was a good day.
Senator, I understand that sentiment perfectly. Here is hoping that your afterlife is the end of all woe and struggle and that bliss be your measure forever more.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
A woman lost a NASA scholarship after getting into Twitter beef with a member of NASA's space council Related: Girl Loses NASA Internship Over Insult to ‘October Sky’ Legend—He’s Still Helping Her Homer Hickam is a class act and I hope the young lady takes the lesson to heart,
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Monday, August 20, 2018
Why the United States will beat China in the new moon race
A 21st century version of the race to the moon is taking place. Few people realize it. No one, least of all the president of the United States, has proclaimed a space race with the ringing tones of a JFK. Yet, the race has started, and the winner may well own the future.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Homer Hickam gives NASA its marching orders for the return to the moon Related: Why is it So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?
Friday, August 17, 2018
James Morhard answers questions concerning his nomination to be NASA Deputy Administrator. Related: NASA needs Janet Kavandi if we’re going to make it back to the moon — then Mars
Thursday, August 16, 2018
India's taking another shot at making it to the moon Also China says it will launch 2 robots to the far side of the moon in December on an unprecedented lunar exploration mission and This 'Sparrow' lunar lander may soon make Israel the 4th country ever to land the moon Related: A Brother on the Moon
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Nelson's narrow lead with Florida Latinos worries Democrats Is it too soon to suggest that Senator Ballast is going down? Related: Winners and losers from Jim Bridenstine’s confirmation as NASA administrator
Monday, August 13, 2018
It was only a matter of time before the Space Force brought out the race baiters: Trump's "Space Force": More "Whitey on the Moon" For a somewhat differing view: The First Black Astronaut and America’s Secret Outer-Space Spy Program as well as A Brother on the Moon and Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
and Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Sunday, August 12, 2018
From the Hill Newspaper: Why you should take Trump’s Space Force seriously
The presence of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis was the most significant visual that accompanied Vice President Mike Pence’s Space Force announcement at the Pentagon. Mattis introduced Pence, which suggests at least publicly, he has fallen in line behind the establishment of the United States Space Force.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Friday, August 10, 2018
is a fine alternate history of the Apollo program. Related: Thursday, August 09, 2018
My latest from the Hill: Entering the dawn of commercial human spaceflight
"-the dawn of commercial human spaceflight is at last drawing nigh. Much of the perception that the United States has lost its space leadership stems from the fact that, since the last space shuttle mission in 2011, American astronauts have had to hitch rides with the Russians. Russia, under Vladimir Putin, has increasingly become a hostile foreign power, placing at risk the space partnership first forged in the 1990s. When Americans start flying American-made spacecraft from American soil, a lot of policymakers will breathe easier. American access to space will no longer be held hostage to the whims of the Kremlin.
Wednesday, August 08, 2018
Tuesday, August 07, 2018
Ted Cruz asks Trump to campaign for him in Texas Here is a chance for Trump to rent out Rice Stadium, sell the return to the moon and the Space Force, help Ted Cruz, and own the libs just as I suggested in this: It is time for Trump to start selling space exploration Also NASA doesn’t have the funds to get to Mars alone, Ted Cruz says
Monday, August 06, 2018
Sunday, August 05, 2018
Saturday, August 04, 2018
This summer, citizens of the world’s first space nation gathered in Austria. But is the society they hope to build in orbit really a utopia?
Friday, August 03, 2018
The Emperor's New Clothes (2004) | Trailer | Film4
I recently saw a 2001 film entitled “The Emperor’s New
Clothes” that stars Ian Holm as Napoleon Buonaparte. The premise is that
Napoleon slips away from St. Helena, having been substituted with a double,
with the intention of going to Paris, overthrowing the Bourbons again, and
plunging Europe into war a third time. Things do not go as planned, obviously,
but Napoleon finds out the old adage that sometimes God will not get you what
you want, but may grant you what you need.
Clothes” that stars Ian Holm as Napoleon Buonaparte. The premise is that
Napoleon slips away from St. Helena, having been substituted with a double,
with the intention of going to Paris, overthrowing the Bourbons again, and
plunging Europe into war a third time. Things do not go as planned, obviously,
but Napoleon finds out the old adage that sometimes God will not get you what
you want, but may grant you what you need.
Make the moon a refueling station — then head to Mars
Recently, the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Competitiveness, chaired by Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas) held a hearing on “Putting American Boots on the Surface of the Red Planet.” According to Space Policy Online, the committee doesn't agree with NASA’s space exploration priorities.
President Donald Trump and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine have stated that America is going back to the moon. Cruz and Democrats Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida) argue it should be Mars that NASA concentrates on. The moon, if it should be visited at all, should not be allowed to interfere with the Mars goal.