Shuttle’s end leaves NASA with a half billion dollar pension bill
The pork goes on: The shuttle’s end has still left NASA with a half billion dollar pension bill.
Tag: NASA
Memo Marks Official End of Constellation
Don’t bet on it: A memo signed today by a senior NASA official marks the end of the Constellation program.
All this does is make the name change of the program-formerly-called-Constellation official. The pork continues nonetheless!
Republican presidential candidates debate space program’s future at New Hampshire debate
The Republican presidential candidates discussed the space program’s future at the New Hampshire debate last night.
NASA Finally Releases Photos of Endeavour Docked at ISS
NASA has finally released the photos of Endeavour docked to ISS, taken from a departing Soyuz.
Webb telescope disaster destroys NASA astrophysics budget
The James Webb Space Telescope: The disaster that destroyed NASA’s astrophysics program.
Former astronaut calls for the dismantling of NASA
Former astronaut calls for the dismantling of NASA.
The costs of space cargo
This week there was a bit of a political kerfuffle during House hearings over a House report [pdf] that stated that the cost per pound for launching cargo to ISS was much cheaper using the shuttle versus the new commercial companies under the COTS program. This is shown in this table from page 5 of the report:
The problem is that these numbers are a complete lie, as they are based on a yearly cost of $3 billion to operate the shuttle (highlighted in yellow). I have been following NASA budget battles now for decades, and the shuttle operational budget has never, ever been that low. Routinely, NASA figures the cost to operate the shuttle per year, regardless of number of flights, to be about $4 billion per year.
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NASA lunar lander test sparked a grass fire
NASA lunar lander test sparked a grass fire yesterday.
Astronomical Deficit Forces Downsizing of U.S. Telescope Projects
Budget deficits signal a decline in spending for astronomy telescopes, both on the ground and in space, for the next decade.
Asteroid sample return mission on slate for 2016
Asteroid sample return mission on slate for NASA in 2016. The asteroid chosen in 1999 RQ36, which is significant.
The space rock has been classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid, since its orbit brings it close to Earth in the year 2182. There is an extremely remote chance (a recent study pegs it at about 1-in-1000) that the 1,900-foot-wide (579-meter) asteroid could pose a threat to Earth.
Orion must wait for heavy-lift rocket
More evidence to me it will never fly: Orion must wait for heavy-lift rocket.
NASA to abandon trapped rover Spirit
NASA has decided to abandon efforts to contact the rover Spirit, incommunicado for more than a year.