Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Monday, December 28, 2020
Wonder Woman 1984 has proven off-putting to a lot of people for many reasons, not the least of which has been the unfair treatment the movie delivers to Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. However, the movie would have made a lot more sense if the villain had been based on Joe Biden, the president-elect of the United States. Indeed, some might even think that Biden’s election as president of the United States could be the result of a wish-granting idol. It certainly wasn’t the result of any merit or effort on the candidate’s part.
When he lost a race for the United States Congress in Tennessee, Davy Crockett famously declared, “You all can go the hell; I’m going to Texas.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Almost 190 years since Crockett won deathless glory at the Alamo, a lot of people and companies seem to be sharing his sentiment, especially those residing in California. Hewitt Packard and Oracle are scheduled to move their headquarters from high tax, high regulation California to business-friendly Texas. Now Elon Musk, of Tesla and SpaceX fame, seems to be the latest to shake his fist, metaphorically speaking, at California and move to Texas.
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Space Policy Online reports that NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have concluded an agreement that, among other things, would include a Canadian astronaut on the Artemis II mission, envisioned to take four astronauts around the moon in 2023. The Artemis II would precede the Artemis III mission to land on the moon the following year, even though most believe that date to be unrealistic.
Saturday, December 26, 2020
When Patty Jenkins, the director of both 2017’s Wonder Woman and the newly released Wonder Woman 1984 announced that the film’s big baddy, Maxwell Lord, was based on Donald Trump, one could hear the groans coming from sea to shining sea. Why would Ms. Jenkins insult half of her audience by doing a thing like that?
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Here is the money quote
"Yet when Maxwell grants the Reagan stand-in his own wish, he asks for MORE nuclear weapons to outgun “Russia” (didn’t we call it the Soviet Union at the time?)"
"Three-plus decades later, Hollywood is still slamming Reagan as a war monger."
Really? REALLY? Patty Jenkins is not the first Hollywood lib to not get Reagan. If anything, the Gipper would have asked for a working SDI system. Indeed, one would imagine that he did get his wish: the fall of the Soviet Union.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Monday, December 21, 2020
Sunday, December 20, 2020
The iconic Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which has been making scientific discoveries for 57 years, not to mention serving as the backdrop of such films as Contact and Goldeneye, has collapsed. The radio observatory had already been slated for decommissioning when two cables snapped and it was judged too dangerous to repair. Now the Arecibo is little but rubble.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Friday, December 18, 2020
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Recently, SpaceIL, an Israeli private group that crashed a probe on the lunar surface last year, announced that it would undertake a second attempt to land on the moon, the Beresheet 2, to take place in the first half of 2024. Interestingly, SpaceIL is seeking financial support from the United Arab Emirites for its second moon shot, according to the Times of Israel.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Monday, December 14, 2020
Sunday, December 13, 2020
ec. 9, 2020 may well go down as a crucial day in America’s space history because of two separate but related events. One took place at the Kennedy Space Center. The other occurred in the skies over Boca Chica, Texas.
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Friday, December 11, 2020
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Wednesday, December 09, 2020
Chaser: “Israel is going back to the Moon,” announces SpaceIL co-founder
Similarly to the first attempt, the spacecraft will be designed and built by Israel Aerospace Industries, with local and international funding, including private donors such as businessman and billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. Israel is expected to partner with countries such as the United Arab Emirates, who recently launched a craft of their own, and signed a peace agreement with Israel in September. The project is estimated to cost $100 million.
Tuesday, December 08, 2020
By all accounts, the Chinese Chang’e 5 sample return mission to the moon has been a complete success. The space probe landed on the lunar surface, drilled and scooped up a quantity of soil and rock, and took off again. The success of the mission undertaken by the communist country has elicited some tired but often repeated suggestions that world peace could be created with joint space missions between China and the United States.
Monday, December 07, 2020
Sunday, December 06, 2020
As a result, under President-elect Joe Biden, the alliance that the government has with SpaceX is likely to end. Government will assume its accustomed role as an adversary to the commercial sector. SpaceX will likely be required to go through the environmental impact process all over again.
