Monday, December 30, 2019

China's next moonshot could decide who owns the future

In regard to the narrower race for which side will be first to return to the moon and establish a base or settlement, China is clearly ahead. Since the moon is the gateway to the rest of the solar system, who will be the first to do those things is a very serious question. The answer could determine who owns the future, China, ruled by a tyrannical government, or the United States, with its traditions of freedom and tolerance.

Saturday, December 28, 2019

I hesitate to even mention this since the newsletter that quotes me extensively is a publication of the Lyndon Larouche organization. Lyndon Larouche was a perennial presidential candidate who was also a raving loon and a conspiracy nut. He believed that the Queen of England is a drug kingpin and that Henry Kissinger was trying to take over the world. Hr also had an interest in space exploration and fusion energy, hence my inclusion in their journal. I am, needless to say, embarrassed.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Apollo 8's Christmas Eve 1968 Message





For all the people on the good Earth, Merry Christmas.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Congress greenlights NASA's crewed moon lander — sort of

The good news is that the NASA spending bill for the current fiscal year, passed months late, has enough money to start the development of a crewed lunar lander. The bad news is that Congress is being stingy with the amount of money it is allowing the space agency to spend and has added conditions.

Monday, December 16, 2019

The Space Force has gone from joke to reality

The United States Space Force transitioned from joke to reality recently when the House authorized its establishment as part of a defense authorization bill. Remarkably, a considerable number of Democrats voted for the bill that contained the Space Force. They did so in return for a provision that allowed for a 12-week family leave for federal workers. Thus, a space-faring, war-fighting military service was born, thanks to good, old-fashioned backroom wheeling and dealing.

Monday, December 09, 2019

Doug Loverro's job is to restore American spaceflight to the ISS and the moon

Doug Loverro, whose space experience has been primarily military, has taken his place as the NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate or HEOMD. Loverro is in charge of sending human beings to the International Space Station as well as the moon and, eventually, to Mars. He has a difficult job ahead of him.

Wednesday, December 04, 2019

I just got the best news of the current century.

I'm not gonna die of cancer!

After an ultrasound and then a biopsy, we discovered that the two masses on my back are benign cysts after all and not something that might kill me. The masses come out a week from Friday, but in the meantime, suck it, Death! Not today.

Monday, December 02, 2019

Russia's status as a space power will end with the start of NASA's commercial crew

Barring any more unforeseen developments, it looks like NASA’s commercial crew will become operational by as early as the summer of 2020, according to a recent report of NASA’s Inspector General. The event will, among other things, signal the beginning of the end of Russia as a space power.

Sunday, December 01, 2019

Week Eight: Fire Drill Friday Featuring Young Sheldon Star Edition

The real Sheldon Cooper would dispose of climate change hysteria fast, quick and in a hurry because (a) he knows the science and (b) he likes being obnoxious to the woke.