It looks like Barack Obama is backtracking on interrogation reform and indefinate detention. Lovely what happens when reality collides with campaign promises.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches

The space shuttle Endeavour launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 7:55 PM on Friday, November 14th, with a cargo module filled with supplies and additions to the International Space Station that will enable the crew of ISS to expand from three to six.

Dick Morris is, of course, aghast at the idea of a Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Has the birthplace of civilization been found?

The elaborate temple at Gobelki Tepe in southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, is staggeringly ancient: 11,500 years old, from a time just before humans learned to farm grains and domesticate animals.

According to the German archaeologist in charge of excavations at the site, it might be the birthplace of agriculture, of organized religion — of civilization itself.

Dude, where's my flying car? Maybe, because of this Pentagon project, that will no longer be a rhetorical question.

It looks like that Lori Garver and Roderic Young is working on Obama transition issues at NASA headquarters. Garver is a natural pick, due to her knowledge and experience on space issues. Roderic Young, however, is a public relations guy and, even though he had been press secretary to Dan Goldin, his inclusion is a curious one. It could be, as "Vladislaw" suggests in the comments section here that his job will be not so much to make policy as to sell it.

Rand Simberg has a long post in which he discusses wrangling over destinations (mainly Moon vs Mars) and then goes into the vision thing. Rand decides to quote himself

I have a vision of hundreds of flights of privately-operated vehicles going to and from low earth orbit every year, reducing the costs of doing so to tens of dollars per pound. Much of their cargo is people who are visiting orbital resorts, or even cruise ships around the moon, but the important things is that it will be people paying to deliver cargo, or themselves, to space, for their own purposes, regardless of what NASA's "vision" is.

At that price, the Mars Society can raise the money (perhaps jointly with the National Geographic Society and the Planetary Society) to send their own expedition off to Mars. Dr. Spudis and others of like mind can raise the funds to establish lunar bases, or even hotels, and start to learn how to operate there and start tapping its resources. Still others may decide to go off and visit an asteroid, perhaps even take a contract from the government to divert its path, should it be a dangerous one for earthly inhabitants.

That's all very nice and sort of derives from Heinlein's old saw about being in orbit is being halfway to anywhere. But things are a little more complicated than that.

Travel to the Moon, not to mention to Mars or asteroids, is geometrically more challenging that travel to Low Earth Orbit, which is proving challenging enough for private business. The effects of radiation and long term exposure to microgravity, not to mention survival on rather inhospitable celestial bodies compound the technical and economic hurdles to lunar and interplanetary travel.

In other words, private businesses that are delivering people and cargo to and from Low Earth Orbit facilities are not automatically going to blast off across the solar system, at least with any amount of ease or urgency.

That is not to say that eventually someone won't undertake such voyages. But the cost must be low enough and the benefit great enough to motivate a commercial entity into doing the Moon or Mars.

In the meantime, some country (Russia or China perhaps) without an antipathy toward big, bad government space programs will go ahead and will wind up on the Moon and/or Mars decades ahead of the hypothetical commercial entity.

Indeed, one suspects that under that scenario, the first thing the heroic private expedition will have to do upon reaching the Moon and/or Mars is to present a visa to some unsympathetic bureaucrat and answer the question about what they have to declare.

ISS the Opera? Well, ok, but the term "operatic" and ISS are not two words I would ordinarily put together. Now, Apollo 11 was very operatic. IMHO.

Planet Formalhaut B Imaged by Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first visible picture of a planet circling another star. The planet is named Fomalhaut b, circling the star Formalhaut which is twenty five light years distant from Earth.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?

Media reports are suggesting that the Barack Obama transition team is mulling over none other than Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Other candidates include Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar and Governor Bill Richardson.

The Chandrayaan-1 impact probe has crashed into the Moon successfully.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?

Addendum: Richard Lugar Should Top an Obama Secretary of State Short List

It seems that the Monty Python dead parrot joke has an ancestor in a book of jokes from the 4th Century. Via Donna Calcote.

George Abbey, without a doubt the most hated Director of the Johnson Space Center who ever lived, cowrote a position paper on space for the left wing group run by John Podesta, Center for American Progress. John Podesta runs Obama's transition team, which leads Rand Simberg to offer a nightmare scenario, NASA Administrator George Abbey.
'

George Foreman Deep Fryer

George Foreman is just as well known for the line of fat reducing grilling machines as he is as a boxer. George Foreman is now presenting a kitchen gadget called the George Foreman Lean Mean Spin Frying Machine.

The Planetary Society, not surprisingly, wants to "defer", i.e. abandon, going back to the Moon in preference to flights to the Lagrange Points and Near Earth Asteroids in preperation for Mars. In short, a nonstarter.

Global warming, about which everyone from Al Gore to Barack Obama seem to be all concerned about, will likely avert the next ice age.

Sarah Palin Africa Story a Hoax

The story that Governor Sarah Palin did not know that Africa is a continent appears to have been a hoax. What's more, the alleged source of the hoax, a "senior McCain advisor" named Martin Eisenstadt does not exist.

Bob Zubrin returns to Mars:

2012 Teaser Trailer Now Available

The teaser trailer for Roland Emmerich's upcoming epic movie, 2012, has been rolled out. There is very little to it, except a depiction of giant waves inundating the Himalayas while a Tibetan monk bangs desperately on a gong.

The Republican Party is launching another legal assault on McCain-Feingold.

Ralph Peters is afraid that the new Obama administration will be addicted to talking our enemies to death. Our deaths.

The idea of Bobby Kennedy Jr. as head of EPA continues to cause consternation.

Batman, Turkey, Sues Warner Brothers, Chris Nolan

Mayor Huseyin Kalkan of Batman, Turkey, is suing both Warner Brothers and Vhris Nolan, the director of Batman: The Dark Knight for using the name of his town without permission. On the face of it, this seems like another silly lawsuit.

Ted Nugent is going Rino hunting.

Some Somali pirates took on the Royal Navy and then very soon wished they hadn't. The British have seemed to have learned from the HMS Corwall fiasco.

Sam Nunn Joins Obama Transition Team

The Obama Transition team has added former Senator Sam Nunn as an advisor on Defense policy. Sam Nunn used to be Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, so he would seem to be a good fit for the position. There are a couple of problems, though.

Apparently the Obama transition team is contemplating a congestion tax on all cars at one cent a mile, along with an increase in the gas tax and a one percent sales tax on cars. These taxes would, of course, fall heaviest on the middle class.

Sarah Palin for Senate? I predicted it a few days ago.

With the defeat of the McCain/Palin ticket, Sarah Palin goes back to her duties as Governor of Alaska. Her first major task will be what to do about Ted Stevens, the senior Senator from Alaska and a convicted felon. Remarkably Ted Stevens won reelection to his Senate seat. Nevertheless, if Ted Stevens loses his appeals and is convicted on schedule in February 2009, he will have to resign his seat.

This will provide Sarah Palin an opportunity, According to Alaska law, if a Senate seat is vacated in such a way, a special election must be held to fill it. Sarah Palin could run in that special election and would very likely win the race in a walk. Thus Sarah Palin would be able to serve in the US Senate and get some Washington experience. And that would position her neatly to not only be a voice of opposition to Barack Obama but also the ability to run to replace him in 2012.

John McCain Speaks to Jay Leno

Senator John McCain made his first post election appearance on the Jay Leno Tonight Show on November 11th, Veterans Day. It was John McCain's fourteenth appearance on Jay Leno and he was gregarious and relaxed, happy one suspects for the campaign to be over.

American Humanist Society Calls for Godless Holiday

Just in time for Christmas, the American Humanist Society, an atheist group, is launching a $40,000 ad campaign calling for a "godless holiday," according to the AP. The campaign will consist of ads placed on Washington DC buses.

Paul Broun: Barack Obama to Establish Marxist Dictatorship

Paul Broun, a Republican Congressman from Georgia, is accusing President Elect Barack Obama of plotting to establish a Marxist dictatorship. Hotair's Ed Morrissey suggests that Paul Broun is suffering from "Obama Derangement Syndrome."

4,300-Year-Old Pyramid Found in Saqqara, Egypt

A 4,300-year-old Egyptian pyramid has been discovered at Saqqara, twenty kilometers south of Cairo near the site of the ancient city of Memphis, according to the CBC in Canada. It is thought to be the burial site of Queen Sesheshet, mother of Pharaoh Teti, founder of the Sixth Dynasty.

Armistice Day Ninety Years On

Ninety years ago today, on November 11th, 1918, the guns fell silent on the Western Front that stretched from Belgium in the northwest to the Swiss border in the southeast. On the "11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" the "War to end all Wars" ended.

The problem with government bailouts is that sometimes they don't know when to stop, as with the proposal to give lots of cash to the car companies.

Well, Obama hadn't been president-elect for more than 72 hours before he suggested that auto-industry executives descending on Washington to plead for a bailout might get it. Can we save corporate dinosaurs that have been mismanaged for decades? Yes, we can!

The mission of the Mars Phoenix has concluded.

Happy birthday, United States Marines. Semper fi.

Obama's Change.gov Site Undergoes Changes

Now that Barack Obama has been elected President, the task of reconciling campaign promises to objective reality lays before him. An indication that the Obama team is aware of this occurred when the detailed agenda vanished from Change.gov.

Barack Obama Executive Orders

Barack Obama, following the traditional practice of incoming Presidents, plans to put his own stamp on the United States by issuing a series of executive orders that will have the force of law. The choice of the executive orders is illuminating.

Dear President Elect Obama - Don't Govern from the Left

Dear President-Elect Barack Obama,

First of all, congratulations on a hard-won victory in a hard-fought campaign. Now, as the cliché goes, comes the hard part. You get to govern in an era of economic distress during a time of war.

An Obama National Holiday?

A group of Barack Obama supporters, no doubt still delirious over the victory of their man in the recent Presidential race, are rallying to create a Barack Obama National Holiday. This is not a parody from the Onion. This is really happening.

Joe Biden Booed at Philadelphia Football Game

Vice President Elect Joe Biden hasn't been much in the news lately. Joe Biden was watching the Philadelphia Eagles get beat by the New York Giants from the safety and comfort of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie's box when he got into the news again.

Jeff Foust examines the various space policy choices facing the incoming Obama Administration. Dwayne Day touches on the problems facing military space. Taylor Dinerman exposes the threat posed by a possible Secretary of Transportation Oberstar to commercial space. Nader Elhefnawy begins his warning of a Russian space resurgence.

The sanity of Chris Matthews is being question, with good reason.

Russian Submarine Nerpa Suffers Fatal Accident

An accident aboard a Russian nuclear submarine, the K-152 Nerpa, has killed twenty people. The accident, which involved the accidental release of Freon gas used by the fire suppression system, took place as the Nerpa was undergoing sea trials.

Speaking of committments, will Obama follow through on the ones he made concerning NASA?

There seems to be some confusion over whether Obama will honor the committment to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe.

Addendum: A case of telling the Poles one thing and the public another? Obama had better get out of campaign mode and realize that he is, actually, going to be President and his decisions have real world consequences.

Chandrayaan 1 has entered lunar orbit.

Mini nuclear reactors capable of powering up to twenty thousand homes available in five years.

Addendum: More on Hyperion Power Generation and the Nuclear Power Module

A company called Hyperion Power Generation Inc has developed a kind of nuclear battery, just about the size of a small shed, that can power twenty thousand homes. Hyperion is already taking orders and will be delivering in five years.

Team Sarah - the 2012 Campaign Begins

Proving that it is never too early to start a campaign for President, the Team Sarah website, originally set up to support Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President, is now shifting gears to support Sarah Palin for President in 2012.

Boycott Utah, Same Sex Advocates Urge

Gay activists and other opponents of California's Proposition 8, which banned same sex marriage, are urging a boycott of the state of Utah out of anger over the Mormon's Church's role in the passage of the amendment.

Newt Gingrich in 2012? Bob Novak thinks it could happen and I think it would be a fascinating race, depending on what the world situation is four years hence.

Klansmen wearing Abercrombie polos and Birkenstocks?

It was like being at a klan rally except the klansmen were wearing Abercrombie polos and Birkenstocks. YOU N----R, one man shouted at men. If your people want to call me a F----T, I will call you a n----r. Someone else said same thing to me on the next block near the temple...me and my friend were walking, he is also gay but Korean, and a young WeHo clone said after last night the n----rs better not come to West Hollywood if they knew what was BEST for them.

So much for unity in the Age of Obama. The mind boggles.

Bill Nelson is telling Obama to keep Mike Griffin at NASA for now. My personal choice, almost certain not to be made by the new administration, is Pete Worden.

Of course Rand Simberg is very unhappy.

Barack Obama's Press Conference

Barack Obama conducted his first press conference as President Elect, with Vice President Elect Joe Biden and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel at his side and his economic advisors, looking appropriately dour and serious, standing behind him.

Addendum: Obama has apologized for the slam at Nancy Reagan.

Impeach Obama?

Barack Obama was not elected for a single day when Impeach Obama groups started to pop up all over Facebook. It would seem to be somewhat premature to make such an Impeach Obama effort. Obama doesn't even get sworn in until January 20th.

Rand Simberg looks at the Obama transition team's work on space policy, and finds it curiously lacking, except where it concerns space based weapons, which Obama is against, even if deployed by the United States.

It looks like that Rahm Emanuel is tied to the collapse of Freddie Mac.

Rand Simberg reacts with understandable horror at the idea of James Oberstar as Obama's Secretary of Transportation. Oberstar, as a member of Congress, wanted to impose safety regulations on commercial space that were so draconian that the commercial space sector would effectively be killed.

Addendum: On the other hand, Jeff Foust is not particularly worried.

The Obama cult of personality is slightly creepy says Newsweek's Evan Thomas. You think?

Anonymous McCain Staffers Trash Sarah Palin

The defeat of John McCain is not even a couple of days old, and disgruntled and anonymous McCain staffers are already trying to place blame, not on themselves, mind, but on the one bright spot of the campaign. It seems that Sarah Palin is a doofus.

Impeach Barack Obama? That didn't take very long. One problem. We get Slow Joe Biden in that event.

Is the Obama Campaign, by all accounts awash with cash, stiffing their workers of their pay.

Some folks are starting to wonder whether Barack Obama will keep his space policy promises or not. I'm on record as suggesting not, though I am willing (and in fact eager) to be proven wrong. Some groups calling itself the Obamanauts proposes to become "watch gods" to make sure Obama keeps his promises?

Or they'll do what, precisely?

Meanwhile some of the Internet Rocketeer Club is becoming even more unhinged. Lori Garver as a "snow princess?" I've looked askance at some of her political and policy choices, but that is just plain insulting.

Here is what might happen. Obama actually does present a budget that is pretty generous to NASA. Then the House, led by people like David Obey and Barney Frank, carve it up like a Christmas turkey. No more VSE. No more COTS. Orion does become an ISS only vehicle. The Senate may or may not object, but it will be to no effect. The House version is pretty much what comes out of conference.

Then Barack Obama, not wanting to clash with his guys in Congress over what he'll regard as a trivial issue, signs the appropriations bill.

In the meantime, by the way, Obama's appointee to the FAA slaps a lot of safety regs on the nascent commercial space industry that will either kill it or drive it off shore.

So, Obamanauts, again, what are you prepared to do?

Barack Obama's first foreign policy test may well be a the deployment of missiles by Russia on the borders of NATO. If Obama follows his stated policy, he will fold disastrously.

Has technology made the Fairness Doctrine obsolete? Of course, but that doesn't mean they'll not try to impose it anyway.

The 2008 election as a cover for an Oceans 11 style jewel heist. Sweet. And I loved Sarah Palin with the British accent and the Emma Peel style cat suit.

Addendum: More on South Park: About Last Night

The South Part episode, About Last Night, provided the first laugh since election night. Abut Last Night sent up the 2008 Campaign beautifully, sparing neither Barack Obama and his supporters nor John McCain and his supporters. Spoilers follow.

Meet Barack Obama's real opposition--the Congressional Democrats.

Election 2008 in Texas

Texas was a bright spot for the Republicans in the 2008 election. The McCain/Palin ticket won the state and its 34 electoral votes easily. Republicans met with some success in down ballot races in Texas as well.

What Next for Sarah Palin?

One of the bright spots of the 2008 election, filled as it was with disastrous defeats, is the advent of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as a national figure. Sarah Palin is the front runner to be the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012

Remembering Michael Crichton

My first awareness of Michael Crichton was, as with many people, The Andromeda Strain, both the book and the movie. Michael Crichton has provided uncounted hours of pleasure, on the small and large screen, and with tautly written novels.

Addendum: Michael Crichton's greatest hits and misses.

Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff

President Barack Obama apparently offered the job of White House Chief of Staff to Rahm Emanuel, currently a member of Congress from Illinois. This first appointment had a number of disconcerting implications.

John McCain's Concession Speech

Very little John McCain has done in his life has done him more honor than how he behaved in defeat. John McCain's concession speech was filled with grace and dignity, as contrast with the gross triumphalism of some of Barack Obama's supporters.

The Content of Barack Obama's Character

There is something rather unseemly about the celebration of the election of Barack Obama as the first African American United States President. For one thing, it violates that credo of judging a man by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.

How Barack Obama Will Govern

Now that Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States, the question of how he will govern has started to arise. The answer to that question will determine the shape of the next four years.

Jeff Foust has a couple of good posts about the effects on space of the just concluded election. He discusses the changes in the House as well as the vote in Florida. Even though Barack Obama won the state, he lost the aerospace rich Bervard County. Barack Obama's election year conversion to space advocate seems not to have worked or mattered.

Addendum: One wonders how friendly to commercial space Obama's pick for FAA is going to be.

"Black Panthers" Intimidate Voters in Philadelphia

Things got a little tense in Pennsylvania when two men dressed as Black Panthers stationed themselves outside a Philadelphia polling place. One of the so-called Black Panthers was brandishing a nightstick.

Bob Barr's Libertarian Campaign for President

Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr, a former Republican Congressman, seems to be running not so much to win as he is to send a message to his former party. Considering the tiny number of votes Bob Barr is expected to get, one wonders what that message will be.

"The end of Jewish Domination in the United States"

Jim Moran explains why expecting to keep ones wealth is such a quaint notion:

More stories of voter fraud and intimidation in Pennsylvania.

Chuck Schumer compares talk radio to porn>, hence something the government can regulate.

The Nathan Bedford Forrest High School Controversy

The Duval County School Board in Florida voted five to two to retain the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest as the name of a local high school along racial lines. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate General and perhaps a founder of the Ku Klux Klan.

Obama Sweeps Dixville Notch, Harts Location

Election Day was not even a half an hour or so old when Barack Obama won by a landslide—in the New Hampshire towns of Dixville Notch and Harts Location. Does it foreshadow something for the general election? Maybe, maybe not.

Barack Obama will pay for this lady's gas and mortgage:

Voting fraud already in Pennsylvania.

SpaceX introduces DragonLab:

SpaceX to Host (Invitation-only) Users Workshop on November 6

Hawthorne, CA - November 3, 2008 – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is introducing a new commercial product called DragonLab™, a free-flying, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads to and from space. DragonLab will launch to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

DragonLab provides a platform for in-space experimentation, including recovery of pressurized and some unpressurized payloads, as well as deployment of small spacecraft. As a complete system, DragonLab provides for all aspects of operation: propulsion, power, thermal control, environmental control, avionics, communications, thermal protection, flight software, guidance, navigation and control, entry, descent and landing and recovery.

SpaceX will host a DragonLab Users Workshop on November 6, 2008. This workshop will be an opportunity for potential customers to fully explore DragonLab's capabilities, as well as present customer-specific interests and requirements. The workshop agenda includes an overview of the Dragon spacecraft, concept of operations, payload accommodations and cost parameters.

"Just as importantly," said Max Vozoff, Product Manager for Dragon and DragonLab and host of the Users Workshop, "we will hear from potential users about their applications, requirements, and concerns, as well as discuss contracting mechanisms. We will also include a tour of our 550,000 square foot SpaceX manufacturing facility where we design and build all major systems for SpaceX launch vehicles and spacecraft."

SpaceX is currently manufacturing the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 launch vehicle to provide the U.S. with cargo services to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) competition. The maiden flight of Dragon/Falcon 9 is currently scheduled for June 2009 from SpaceX's Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Two subsequent flights will be completed by 2010, culminating with Dragon berthing with the ISS.

Contact dragonlab@spacex.com to request further information or an invitation to attend. All participants must register in advance to attend this workshop.

An in depth study of the "launch drift" problem that has cropped up for the Ares 1 seems to point to a rather simple, albeit a time consuming and costly, solution:

The issue is by no means a showstopper, and can be mitigated via the addition of contingency spacing between the ML and the vehicle during its first few seconds of launch.

This can be achieved by moving the vehicle or moving the tower. Moving the tower would require less ML rework, but that would result in a major redesign effort that would take six months to a year.

Increasing the clearance would also require longer umbilical arms, access platforms and crew access arm.

These longer arms would weigh more and require additional tower structure to support the additional weight.

Additional weight is something the new ML can not really afford, as current documentation shows the vehicle and infrastructure is already at the top end of the existing crawler capacity.

Schedule is also another factor, with actual construction of the new ML was to start with in 90 days. A redesign of the ML at this late date would also add costs to the program.

Barack Obama dazzles with his eloquence as only Barack Obama can:

Did Barack Obama Flip Off John McCain?

Did Barack Obama flip off John McCain during a recent campaign speech? Hotair's Allahpundit doubts it was intentional, concluding that it was an unconscious tick. But there was an incident in which Barack Obama did something similar to Hillary Clinton.

Barack Obama to Bankrupt Coal Plants

Back in January, in a press interview, Barack Obama promised to bankrupt the coal industry should he be elected President. The fact that he said it is remarkable. That he said it is only coming to light the weekend before the election is more remarkable.

Joe the Plumber Death Threat Mars Airwaves

When Joe the Plumber asked Barack Obama a simple question about taxes, he had no idea what he was getting himself in for. From government officials rooting around in his records illegally to media smears, Joe the Plumber has been paying the price ever since.

Mark Levin suggests another way the Left can try to kill talk radio besides the so-called Fairness Doctrine.

Lingerie with a GPS tracking system. The feminists are naturally outraged. So how about a line of mens' briefs with a tracking system as well. Seems only fair.

More money for NASA as part of a new stimulus package. "Refining" the Vision for Space Exploration. The latest news on commercial space.

Which candidate could handle scifi related crises as President? My take, written long ago, on The Presidential Candidates and an Alien Invasion

Barack Obama promises to bankrupt the coal industry:

Ben Affleck Skewers Keith Olbermann on SNL

Ben Affleck hosted Saturday Night Live November 1st. While Ben Affleck is not known as an actor with a very wide range, he did reveal a hitherto unknown talent for comedy and satire when he sent up MSNBC's star Bush hater, Keith Olbermann.

Farewell to Berkley Breathed's Opus the Penguin

Berkley Breathed is bringing to conclusion the career of Opus the Penguin, his iconic comic strip character, for the third time in almost thirty years in order to concentrate on children's literature. This time it may well be for good, mores that pity.

Barack Obama's Aunt an Illegal Alien

Zeituni Onyango, Barack Obama's Kenyan aunt whose existence in a South Boston slum recently came to light, is also living in the United States illegally. The development highlights the issue of illegal immigration in the 2008 election.