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

100708bokloresThought 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.

Variation on the theme 100708nasa2

Wrong Stuff

100416boklores

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

090718bokloresWalter 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.

Hubble Trouble

090520boklores

Stripped bolts and stuck socket wrenches… now there’s a mission I can identify with. Except when they were finished, the shuttle astronauts didn’t have any parts left over. What happens if you spray WD40 in space?

Verified by MonsterInsights