Category Archives: NASA
Wrong Stuff
In his State of the Union, Obama referred to our Sputnik moment. It was an attempt to rally the nation to “win the future” or do something or other. The one thing it was not was an attempt to deprive the Russians of a monopoly on manned space travel.
Mission: Moon, Mars, Muslims
Thought this was a parody when I first saw it. NASA chief, Charles Bolden, says Obama’s foremost charge to him is to help Muslim nations feel good about their historic contribution to science, math and engineering. Here’s the whole interview on Al Jazeera. And here’s Charles Lane in the Washington Post with more links.
Wrong Stuff
Neil Armstrong feels Obama has made a giant leap in the wrong direction by canceling the NASA Constellation program. The president says he’s still spending astronomical sums on space and plans on a mars landing by the mid 2030s. A convenient getaway before social security goes broke in 2041.
Walter Cronkite RIP
Walter Cronkite made his giant leap to eternity during the week of the 40th anniversary of the first real moonwalk. The most trusted man in America was closely identified with the moon landing. Here’s an interesting column by Howard Kurtz about the change in the media since then.