Thursday, October 31, 2019

The PC Speech Police Are Coming For Space Colonies

Bill Nye, the so-called former “science guy,” is warning future space settlers that they had best guard their speech against politically incorrect language.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Who will be first on the moon? NASA or SpaceX?

A lot of things have to go right for anyone, SpaceX or NASA, to land on the moon in 2024. However, the world has the happy prospect of a new kind of space race in the early 2020s, not between two super powers, but a public versus private variety.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

NASA leader presents former Rep. John Culberson with medal

One of the great tragedies of last year occurred when Lizzie Fletcher, an anti-science mean girl, toppled science nerd Culberson from his House seat. Things would be different if he were running the appropriations subcommittee funding NASA and not Jose Serrano.

How Forceps Permanently Changed the Way Humans Are Born

As a personal note, I am told that I am blind in my left eye because a doctor was a tad too enthusiastic with the forceps.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

China is not going to be America's space partner anytime soon

At a recent panel discussion presented by the International Academy of Astronautics, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin gave some sage advice about how NASA’s Artemis program to return to the moon might be improved. Among other things, he suggested that China be invited as a partner to the undertaking, as part of what he called the “Space Exploration Alliance.”

The very next day, in a speech before this year’s International Astronautical Conference, Vice President Mike Pence seemed to disagree. According to Space.com, Pence presented a vision of an international space exploration effort that was wide of the one Aldrin proposed.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Remembering Alexei Leonov, the first human being to walk in space

Alexei Leonov was the first human being to walk in space on March 18, 1965. He was outside for just over 12 minutes before reentering to the Soviet Voskhod 2 capsule.

Leonov also came very close to achieving the distinction of being the first human being to die in space. While he was outside the Voskhod, his suit inflated so much that he could not get back inside his spacecraft. He released enough oxygen from his suit to barely make it back inside alive.

Friday, October 11, 2019

How to stop million-dollar satellites from becoming space junk

When a satellite is launched and placed into Earth orbit, whether it is for communications, GPS or a reconnaissance, it continues to operate as long as it has fuel or until something breaks down. Then the satellite, often worth hundreds of millions of dollars, becomes space junk, colliding with other dead satellites and becoming a hazard to space navigation.

Tuesday, October 08, 2019

‘Ad Astra’ Is A Voyage Beyond The Heart Of Darkness

Is outer space a “heart of darkness” in terms of both the physical environment and the human spirit when it is challenged and changed by exploration? A new movie, “Ad Astra,” examines that question.

‘For All Mankind’ Creator Ronald D. Moore On AppleTV+, Space Race Series & Dreams Coming True – New York Comic Con

Early end of the Vietnam War. No Yom Kipper War. No energy crisis. Early smartphones. Early Internet. I have to say that continuing the space race would have been a good thing.

Speaking of which.