Random thoughts on politics, current events, popular culture, and whatever else interests me.
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Monday, December 30, 2024
Sunday, December 29, 2024
I remember on election day, 1980, standing in line at the polls when an older woman proclaimed that, “We are here to save our country.” She encapsulated neatly the mood of most voters that day.
I have mixed feelings about the passage of former President Jimmy Carter to the afterlife. On the one hand, he was the author of a great many disasters that still plague us, including the fall of the Shah of Iran, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an energy crisis and the attendant economic calamity of the late 70s. However, in the spirit of having something good to say about the dead, I offer the following. I may have something ill to say later.
Jimmy Carter’s space policy and the saving of the space shuttle
The year 2024 is drawing to a close. Here follows a list of some of the most significant space events of the year that was.
The year 2024 is drawing to a close. Here follows a list of some of the most significant space events of the year that was.
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Friday, December 27, 2024
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Monday, December 23, 2024
The transition team has been discussing possible elements of an executive order or other policy directives. They include:
Establishing the goal of sending humans to the Moon and Mars, by 2028
Canceling the costly Space Launch System rocket and possibly the Orion spacecraft
Consolidating Goddard Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama
Retaining a small administration presence in Washington, DC, but otherwise moving headquarters to a field center
Rapidly redesigning the Artemis lunar program to make it more efficient
Sunday, December 22, 2024
The story of Alfredus Gaudianus, the inn keeper
By Mark R. Whittington
Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, of course because of presents under the tree and stuffing oneself silly with turkey and all the trimmings. Everyone knows the story of Mary and Joseph not finding room at the inn and being forced to birth the Baby Jesus in a stable. Then the shepherds and the Three Magi show up with gifts and words of worship. But until now no one has heard the story of the inn keeper.
It just so happens that the inn keeper in question was one of my dearest wife’s many ancestors, a retired Centurion in the Roman legions named Gaius Alfredus Gaudianus. After over 23 years of service under the Eagles, he decided to retire and open an inn in Judea, a land that he had grown fond of.
Alfredus felt sorry for the couple he was obliged to put up in the stable among the animals. He managed to find another guest, a physician named Gregorius Domus, to help Mary to give birth. Then it occurred to him that the family might like something to eat. So, he whipped up a dish based on a recipe from his beloved mother back in Sicily that consisted of noodles mixed with butter, cheese, garlic and cream and brought it personally for Mary and Joseph to eat.
However, with all the shepherds and wise men and so on showing up, Alfredus started to run short. It was then that the Christ Child, new born as he was, performed his very first miracle, know as the multiplying of the pasta. All, therefore, had enough to eat to celebrate the birth of the King of Kings.
Later, Alfredus heard, from his contacts with King Herod’s Roman guard, that the order had gone out to murder all the first born. He quickly spirited away Mary, Joseph and Jesus to Alexandria, Egypt, where they would be safe.
Alfredus lived to a ripe old age, having converted to Christianity but also avoiding the various persecutions. The early Christians would often celebrate the birth of Jesus with the pasta dish he served. The custom fell out of favor, though, with turkey, goose, and ham being served instead for Christmas dinner.
There is a rumor that Alfredus is up for sainthood in the Catholic Church. There is an account of more than one miracle when a chef, running out of ingredients, prayed to Alfredus and then, finding them in some out of the way cupboard.
By the way, the pasta dish in question is called fettucine alfredo
That’s my story, anyway, and I’m sticking to it.
One of the next private companies to attempt a moon landing in the new year will be the Japanese iSpace, due for a launch no earlier than January 2025. Its first attempt met with failure in April 2023. The January launch will take place on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in a ride-share with Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander and will take several months to reach the moon.
Saturday, December 21, 2024
Friday, December 20, 2024
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Monday, December 16, 2024
Sunday, December 15, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur and private space traveler Jared Isaacman to become the next NASA administrator. It came as a surprise to many, as Isaacman was not on anyone’s short list. But, on close examination, the decision should not have come as a surprise.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Friday, December 13, 2024
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
I suppose this is consolation for not being Kamala Harris' NASA administrator. On the one hand, Garver knows space policy backwards and forwards and has the industry and government contacts that Atmos will find useful. On the other hand, she is a radical leftist that may prove to be a problem.
Monday, December 09, 2024
Sunday, December 08, 2024
Recently, NASA selected the SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch the Dragonfly aerial probe to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.
The selection constitutes another win for Elon Musk’s launch company. It also proves SpaceX’s growing contribution to NASA’s planetary science-oriented missions to destinations such as Europa, a moon of Jupiter (launched in October) and to 16 Psyche, a metal-rich asteroid (launched in 2023).
Brought across to undeath in the 15th Century, the Contessa Gabriella Doria has walked the night, feeding on the blood of the living. However, on occasion, she had faced foes far more formidable and certainly more evil than a vampire.
Saturday, December 07, 2024
From Book 1: July, 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 has triumphantly returned to Earth. In this alternate history thriller, President Richard Nixon puts into a motion a scheme to ramp up the space race to pressure the Soviets into making diplomatic and military concessions. Thus begins a story of high adventure on the final frontier and of low intrigue in the corridors of power back on Earth. It will prove to be the fulfillment of a dream for Wendy Pendleton to be the first woman to walk on the moon. It will be a nightmare for Cal Lauren, a political operative determined to stop the space race at all costs to fund the social programs he holds dear.
Children of Apollo: The Space Race Gambit continues with Children of Apollo: The Hard Road to the Stars and concludes with Children of Apollo: The First Woman on the Moon
Friday, December 06, 2024
I'm going to be on The Space Show podcast later today at 2 pm EST, 1 pm CST. Whatever shall we talk about?
My space policy books: Why is it So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? (How America went to the moon, stopped, and is returning again) #CommissionEarned
Why is America Going Back to the Moon(How America went to the moon, stopped, and is returning again) #CommissionEarned
A Brother on the Moon (Stories of Alternate History by Mark R. Whittington Book 1) #CommissionEarned
Patton in Palestine (Stories of Alternate History by Mark R. Whittington Book 2) #CommissionEarned
Thursday, December 05, 2024
Wednesday, December 04, 2024
From Scott Pace: “Excellent choice. He has the technical, management, and business skills NASA needs, plus personal spaceflight experience. He’s walked the walk. Not just talked about space.”
From Jim Bridenstine: “Jared Isaacman will be an outstanding NASA Administrator and leader of the NASA family. Jared’s vision for pushing boundaries, paired with his proven track record of success in private industry, positions him as an ideal candidate to lead NASA into a bold new era of exploration and discovery. I urge the Senate to swiftly confirm him.”
Monday, December 02, 2024
Sunday, December 01, 2024
Having survived World War II and returned to America, General George S. Patton is given a new assignment by President Harry Truman. He is to travel to the British Mandate of Palestine, where a bloody war is brewing between Jews and Arabs, and give his evaluation to the President. But Patton's tendency to exceed his orders may prove a problem for the United States government. Moreover, a dark secret from his past will threaten to derail his mission entirely.
A stunning work of alternate history that places one of the 20th Century's greatest soldiers in the midst of the founding of the State of Israel.
NASA is in need of new leadership and guidance lest a bedrock of its programs, the increasing reliance on the commercial sector to accomplish tasks in a timely and cost-effective manner, including the Artemis program, fail.