'Politics and science' Category
Can you lend a hand?
By way of Thoughts from Kansas comes a worthy plea for help. I’ve already pitched in, now can you?…
Fear of flying
I’m amazed that this news seems to be getting very limited coverage outside of the usual space-related sites, but it appears that NASA is falling down on the job again when it comes to safety. But this time, the mess isn’t over astronaut safety — it’s over the safety of the traveling public in the U.S….
Casual Friday — math quiz!
Could you pass 8th grade math?
Episode 12 — Getting to Sputnik
Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Earth’s first artificial satellite — Sputnik 1. Lots of news sites are covering various aspects of this anniversary — mostly dealing with what’s happened in space in the intervening 5 decades, and what we may see in the future. What seems to be getting far less coverage, though, is the twisted path that led to the launch. Sputnik’s launch didn’t take place in a vacuum (no pun intended), after all — a number of social, political, and technical forces were at play. Tune in this week, and I’ll fill you in on all of the good “deep background” information that’s often lost in the shuffle.
Dead horses and NASA and such
Here’s an example: the U.S. house is trying to increase NASA funding for aeronautics, education, and science — and the White House has announced Bush will veto the increase if it makes it onto his desk:The Administration supports the House’s full funding for NASA’s Exploration Systems and Space Shuttle. However, the Administration does not endorse funding in excess of the request for Aeronautics, Education, and Science…So, as I’ve pointed out before, NASA’s funding for aeronautics, education, and science has been thrown under the train in the interest of funding the development of the Ares I launch vehicle (which duplicates capabilities that commercial launchers already have).
