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Month: December 2008
Repugnant Behavior on the Part of One NASA Employee

Editor’s 30 Dec note: There is a post regarding the release date of the Columbia report on the blog Rocketsandsuch read by folks in and around NASA written by an unhappy employee at NASA that claims “One spokesperson said it was released now to keep the crew’s children from having to deal with questions from their classmates the following morning. Don’t believe that for a minute. No, today’s release was […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 30, 2008
Columbia Report Telecon Notes

NASA Report Reviews Crew Safety Measures During Columbia Accident, Recommends Improvements “A media teleconference will be held at 3 p.m. CST Tuesday to discuss the report. To participate, reporters must contact NASA’s Johnson Space Center newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 2 p.m. Space may be limited. Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio“ Notes: After the CAIB, Bill Parsons and Wayne Hale were informed that a […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 30, 2008
Columbia Report Issued

NASA Report: Understanding Columbia’s Loss, SpaceRef “Accidents are things to be avoided. However, by the very nature of how we currently send humans into space and return them to Earth, there is a substantial amount of risk involved. Much of that risk has been identified and is manageable. But not all of it. Of course, when you hear this discussion, someone inevitably says that the only way to make these […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 30, 2008
ULA Briefings Show that EELVS Can Replace Ares 1

Military rockets: Solution for NASA?, Orlando Sentinel “According to documents presented to Obama’s transition team three weeks ago — including internal studies by the rockets’ manufacturer, United Launch Alliance — upgraded human-rated versions of the military EELVs would have enough power to take NASA’s fully loaded Orion crew capsule into orbit. In fact, the studies say some configurations of the rockets can lift up to 6 metric tons more than […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 30, 2008
Scott Has Been Drinking The Koolaid Again

Mike Griffin’s No. 1 Fan, FreeSpace, Discovery News “Well, a couple of things. One, I’ve never read NASA Watch so I don’t know what’s on it, but I’ll assume that what you’re telling me is true. This petition is about Mike Griffin the man, about the administrator… ” … Just to close the very last step, were you asked, or did the idea of the petition spring solely from you? […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 30, 2008
Today's Video: Dave's Space Disco

From the Discovery Channel: “This week in space: Mars Dust Storms, Spirit Rover Anniversary, SPACEX/Orbital Sciences/NASA Deal, Virgin Galactic.” Video Below

  • NASA Watch
  • December 30, 2008
Foreigners Banned From Baikonur

Kazakhstan bans foreigners from Baikonur, other areas, Novosti “The Kazakh government issued a decree on Friday banning foreigners from visiting four areas of the country, including the city of Baikonur, which services the eponymous space center. Baikonur, the town of Gvardeysk near the former capital, Almaty, and two regions in the Kyzylorda province have been closed to foreigners until 2015.” Editor’s note: Gee, that is certainly going to make it […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 29, 2008
New York Times on Ares Woes and Transition Concerns

The Fight Over NASA’s Future, NY Times “The Obama transition team, in meetings and requests for information from NASA, contractors and others with a stake in the process, has asked whether increased financing can narrow the five-year flight gap by speeding development of the new spacecraft. The advisers have also asked what the costs and consequences might be of continuing to fly the shuttles for at least one or two […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 29, 2008
Text of FAA Approval of Spaceport America

FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation Notice of Approval on a Record of Decision for the Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site “In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of the ROD for the Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site, Sierra County, New Mexico. The ROD provides the FAA’s final environmental determination and approval to support the issuance […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 29, 2008
Change.gov is Open for Questions

Editor’s note: the following was sent out to the Change.gov email list today – I checked and there a half a dozen or so space-related questions already posted. “Dear Friend: We recently launched a new feature on Change.gov called Open for Questions. Thousands of you responded, asking 10,000 questions and voting nearly a million times on questions from others. Now that we’ve answered some of the most popular ones from […]

  • NASA Watch
  • December 29, 2008