October 17, 2024 Quick space linksCourtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- NASA officials hint it might no longer maintain a continuous human presence in space after ISS
They say this is because they are unsure the commercial stations will be ready for continuous occupation when ISS is retired. While that is likely a factor, a more important factor is NASA itself. When those commercial stations are flying private customers, NASA’s presence — which for decades has accomplished far less than it should have — will become increasingly irrelevant. A permanent human presence in orbit might not be continuous initially in the 2030s, but that gap won’t last long, as long as freedon and competition is allowed to flourish.
- The countries who have signed the Artemis Accords are compaigning for new countries to join
These comments were made by representatives from Estonia, Canada, Italy, Australia, and NASA. While expanding the alliance has advantages, the comments all indicate no interest in the accords’ initial purpose, to get around the limitations to private ownership imposed by the Outer Space Treaty. Instead, they seem focused on “building on the treaty,” a very bad sign for the future of capitalism and private enterprise in space.And to prove my analysis, NASA’s official even said that China could sign the accords if it wished. So much for defending freedom, capitalism, and private ownership.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- NASA officials hint it might no longer maintain a continuous human presence in space after ISS
They say this is because they are unsure the commercial stations will be ready for continuous occupation when ISS is retired. While that is likely a factor, a more important factor is NASA itself. When those commercial stations are flying private customers, NASA’s presence — which for decades has accomplished far less than it should have — will become increasingly irrelevant. A permanent human presence in orbit might not be continuous initially in the 2030s, but that gap won’t last long, as long as freedon and competition is allowed to flourish.
- The countries who have signed the Artemis Accords are compaigning for new countries to join
These comments were made by representatives from Estonia, Canada, Italy, Australia, and NASA. While expanding the alliance has advantages, the comments all indicate no interest in the accords’ initial purpose, to get around the limitations to private ownership imposed by the Outer Space Treaty. Instead, they seem focused on “building on the treaty,” a very bad sign for the future of capitalism and private enterprise in space.And to prove my analysis, NASA’s official even said that China could sign the accords if it wished. So much for defending freedom, capitalism, and private ownership.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
I see no reason for concern about a future lack of continuous NASA human presence in LEO. In the mostly private sector space future I foresee, the vast majority of a growing continuous human presence in LEO will be of private sector employees and tourists, not people with GS ratings..
The Biden regime’s general neglect of space – other than some low-wattage efforts to woke-ify NASA – will, one fervently hopes, end along with its squatter occupation of the White House on Jan. 20 next year. After that, one looks forward to Donald and Elon sticking a Roto-Rooter up the backside of the entire Executive branch bureaucracy and dialing the speed up to 11. Getting rid of all the socialist fifth columnists on the Federal payroll will leave no one left to try bending the Artemis Accords into a revisionist leftist pretzel.
I always hear – and still hear – about the science that’s being done on ISS, and the science that will be done on the ISS that justifies the ongoing expense.
But it’s never explained WHAT science is being done. ????
I can imagine there’s some _engineering_ being done, e.g., ongoing analysis of the various failures of parts or capability, and figuring out why they failed, in order to inform future designs.
But what’s the science?
(Case in point: The two Starliner astronauts stranded for 6 extra months or so: It was said earlier when it happened that “no problem, they’ll be doing _science_. So … WHAT science are they doing?)
David Bakin: There is legitimate research being done on ISS, all revolving around the effects of weightlessness on all things. Much of it is related to the human body to determine if it can withstand long peroids without gravity. Some relates directly to curing diseases on Earth, such as bone diseases.
Other research of course is engineering and developing technology not only for building future interplanetary space ships, but learnign things that can be applied, for profit, back on Earth.
Having said that, NASA has done overall a poor job in running the station in this manner. For example, I have talked with many scientists who preferred dealing with the Russians to get their experiments on board, because the bureacracy was less.
A fleet of private space stations will accelerate this work, exponentially.
Spaceflight should focus on infrastructure…LEO station, GEO platforms, Moonbase., etc.
Bezos talks a good game–he seems more interested in LEO.
“……one looks forward to Donald and Elon sticking a Roto-Rooter up the backside of the entire Executive branch bureaucracy…. ”
I am praying fervently that the above statement goes from Dick’s keyboard to God’s browser.
” Bezos talks a good game–he seems more interested in LEO.”
He seems more interested in his Brazilian girlfriend to me.
“He seems more interested in his Brazilian girlfriend to me.”
Not gonna lie: I don’t blame him.
Clark – Me neither. It has to distract him tho’. I know that would distract any man.
Jeff Wright wrote: “Spaceflight should focus on infrastructure…LEO station, GEO platforms, Moonbase., etc.
Bezos talks a good game–he seems more interested in LEO.”
I think that commercial spaceflight should focus on wherever a space company can make a profit. That is where the interest is, and that is where the usefulness of space is. The advantage of having many companies doing business in space, rather than a few national space programs, is that each company can find its niche. With a large number of companies, there can be a large number of niches.
Bezos has long shown an interest in returning man to the Moon, which is why he was so disappointed (upset, really) at having lost NASA’s manned lunar lander contract. He was even prepared to put a billion of his own dollars into the project, and he had already designed and unveiled the landing module a few years before.
Back in the bad old days, when only governments funded space projects, there was a debate over whether we humans should go to Mars or go back to the Moon first. With commercial space funding its own projects, we can now do both simultaneously. Musk focuses on Mars, and Bezos focuses on the Moon. Bezos also believes that we can reduce pollution on Earth by moving most of our manufacturing into space, which may be why some think he concentrates on low Earth orbit. Bezos may be right about the pollution, but we still will have that pesky problem with governmental abhorrence of plastic straws.
“Bezos also believes that we can reduce pollution on Earth by moving most of our manufacturing into space”
Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTc2SeHSdRc
“and the Earth is clean as a Springtime dream no factory smokes appear, for they’ve left the land to the gardener’s hand and they all are circling here”
Doubting Thomas,
Thanks for the kind words.
Just a note: Lauren Sanchez is American, not Brazilian. Her parents were immigrants from Mexico. She is certainly distracting. She has been on my Goddess List for better than two decades.
Edward,
Ditto.
Mike Borgelt,
Ah, the great Leslie Fish.
A lovely sentiment, but I’m afraid she and Jeff B.’s vision of an industry-free Earth is a pipedream. The Earth uses millions of tons of metals annually, much of it recycled. Metal recycling is an irretrievably heavy industry. Perhaps much of current Earthly mining and primary smelting may one day be superseded by lunar operations, but there would still be significant environmental impacts merely from the entry of so much ingotry through Earth’s atmosphere to the surface where it could be retrieved and further worked. Space resources will vastly enhance the total wealth of humanity, but only trivial quantities of such will find use on Earth. Nearly all will be used in space.