Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
Engineers have switched Mars Odyssey to its backup navigation equipment in order to save the failing primary system.
Got money to invest? SpaceOps is looking for funds to build its private spacecraft modeled after the American Gemini capsule.
The idea is a good one, as the Gemini capsule was quite capable. Getting almost $100 million from crowd-sourcing however is going to be very tough.
The orbital debris from the exploded upper stage of the failed Proton launch in August now totals over 100 pieces.
Today I am heading to Atlanta, Georgia to give a lecture to Atlanta section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The subject: How the Russians overtook the United States in space.
Because of travel posting might be lighter than normal, though usually when I am in an airport posting is exactly what I do.
The competition heats up: China in 2013: another manned flight and an unmanned lunar landing.
The images don’t provide much information, and most of the article is empty speculation. Nonetheless, China is building something.
Amen! Obamacare is still vulnerable.
One way or the other, this monstrosity is going to crash. Better that we keep fighting to kill it now rather then wait for it to do endless harm and then fail. And since a majority of state governors are Republican, they shouldn’t back down but keep up the fight. Moreover, despite Romney’s loss the election was still close and Obamacare remains deeply unpopular. There is plenty of support for killing it. The Republicans should not back down.
The new America: The impending shrinkage in the healthcare industry because of Obamacare.
The day of reckoning looms: Harry Reid said Thursday that the Democrats intend to raise the debt limit another $2.4 trillion.
The new America: Wall Street stocks plummeted today for the second day in a row.
I wonder why. What happened two days ago that might have shaken the confidence of the business world?
Worlds without end: Astronomers have found a super-earth exoplanet inside its star’s habitable zone.
The planet is large enough that it might be more like Neptune, but if it should have any earth-sized moons they will definitely be capable of supporting life.
Update: The science paper included a wonderful graphic comparing the solar system of this star with that of our own solar system. I have posted this graphic below the fold. HD40307g is the potentially habitable planet.
» Read more
The new America: The maker of “Innocence of Muslims” has been sentenced to a year in prison for parole violation.
It might have been a crappy film and the filmmaker might have been a bum and a liar who did violate his parole. No matter. That is not really why he was arrested. In the new America he was arrested and sent to prison because he dared make a film that offended Muslims and that the Obama administration did not like.
In the new America don’t offend the government, or they will find a reason to jail you.
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot continues to shrink.
Sea Launch is considering moving its base of operations out of the United States.
Hm. The timing of this story, right after the election, is intriguing, is it not?
Boeing to cut 30 percent of its management ranks.
This could be good news for the company. If they do this right, they will reduce their costs without hurting their ability to produce. That they made this announcement today, the day after the election, and that the cuts mostly involve their defense work also suggests it is linked to sequestration, despite the company’s denial.
Five big stories the media will ‘discover’ after the election.
The day of reckoning looms: The federal government is expected to hit its debt ceiling before the end of the year.
The federal government is bankrupting the country, and it will take hard sacrifices to rein in that federal government. I fear that, regardless of how today’s election ends, neither party will be willing to propose those sacrifices, mostly because they will believe the voters are not willing either.
Big Brother arrives: A federal judge has approved the installation of surveillance cameras by the police — on private property without a warrant.
Let me repeat that: The judge said that the police have the right to enter private property, without a warrant, in order to secretly install surveillance cameras so that they can record whatever happens on that property.
Doesn’t that make you feel safe?
The article is focused on the destruction by the Eritrean dictatorship of the country’s scientific and medical communities. I see this act of barbarism as merely a symptom of that country’s overall descent into tyranny.
Sierra Nevada is moving its mini-shuttle, Dream Chaser, into its own facility.
This article isn’t really as positive as I’d like. For one, they haven’t even signed the lease for the building. Instead, it appears that the company is using this announcement, and the subsequent media coverage, to pressure the local city council to provide them subsidies. For another, the article mentions that drop tests of Dream Chaser will occur next spring, a significant delay from previous announcements. Both points make things appear far more tenuous than they should be.
It took Amazon a bit longer than everyone else, but the ebook edition of Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 is now available for Kindle at amazon.com.
And of course, it can also be purchased at all other ebook bookstores, as well as here at Behind the Black.
Update: My Tuesday appearance on John Batchelor has been moved up to tonight (Monday) from 11 to 11:30 pm, during which we will be discussing Genesis, the election, and some space news of the day,
It is very simple: the electorate is no longer tilted Democratic. Sadly, too many pollsters — and liberal pundits — refuse to recognize this fact.
Look for the union label: “We don’t want you unless you’re part of the union.”
The result: no power for people in New York and New Jersey for far longer.
The next launch of the X-37B has been delayed again.
Curiosity has found evidence showing how Mars lost its atmosphere.
