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ARCHIVE
Month: August 2009
Finally: The True Apollo 11 Story Can Be Told

Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong Moon Landing Was Faked, The Onion “LEBANON, OHIO–Apollo 11 mission commander and famed astronaut Neil Armstrong shocked reporters at a press conference Monday, announcing he had been convinced that his historic first step on the moon was part of an elaborate hoax orchestrated by the United States government. According to Armstrong, he was forced to reconsider every single detail of the monumental journey after watching […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 31, 2009
Waiting for Norm (Update)

Augustine commission delays report release, Orlando Sentinel “An independent space panel won’t release its report on American human spaceflight today as expected. Instead the commission is shooting for a release in mid-September, said NASA’s liaison to the 10-member panel, led by retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine. The committee, however, aims to send a draft of their executive summary to NASA and the White House sometime in the next 36 […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 31, 2009
Checking in on Obama's Campaign Promises on Space

Barack Obama Campaign Promise No. 345: Enhance earth mapping, PolitiFact.com “In its Fiscal Year 2010 proposed budget, the Obama administration sought $120.6 million for LDCM through NASA accounts and $40.2 million through USGS accounts. Between July 14, 2009, and July 17, 2009, a preliminary design review was held in Linthicum, Md. NASA described the event as “successful” — an early milestone for the program. LDCM won’t be ready to launch […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 31, 2009
JAXA's Lunar Jazz

Moonbell: Making The Moon Sing, OnOrbit “According to this unusual website “Moonbell” that JAXA has set up “moonbell transforms the topography of the moon into sound”. Once you click the open button, you see a small satellite or probe orbiting the Moon. As it passes over the varied topography of the moon (visualized in the upper right hand corner) music is played (also visualized – in the lower right hand […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 31, 2009
What Bolden Actually Said at Stennis About Ares

Keith’s note: This is from a NASA Watch reader – and is a partial (unofficial) transcript of what NASA Administrator Bolden said at the Stennis All Hands meeting with regard to Ares. This was the last question asked: “QUESTION: Ares 1-X is stacked and it’s ready to go. Are we going to launch it? BOLDEN: That’s a good question – and that is a question that I know everyone is […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 31, 2009
The Flames Are Getting Very Close to JPL

Keith’s note: These photos were sent in by a reader who works at JPL. You can clearly see how close the fire has gotten to JPL. You can see larger photos here. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Status for Monday, Aug. 31 “Fire conditions around JPL have continued to improve throughout the day, and the Lab is no longer threatened by the Station Fire. However, there has been heavy smoke in […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 31, 2009
No Bucks = No Buzz Lightyear

To the moon, NASA? Not on this budget, experts say, AP “NASA has been like a star athlete that’s broken world records back in the 1960s and is stuck in the bleachers ever since, unable to suit up for what it does best,” said space scientist Alan Stern, who quit last year as NASA’s associate administrator for science. But, as has been the case since about 1971, money is holding […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 30, 2009
Astronauts On NASA Stability

NASA needs stability and resources, Houston Chronicle, opinion by NASA astronauts Jeff Ashby, Michael Bloomfield, Bob Crippen, Roger Crouch, Jan Davis, Brian Duffy, Jim Halsell, Steve Hawley, Rick Hieb, Scott Doc Horowitz, Bruce McCandless II, Don McMonagle, Pam Melroy, Charlie Precourt, Ken Reightler and Kent Rominger “We believe that America’s space exploration program has positively impacted the world perhaps more than any single national endeavor during the last half century. […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 30, 2009
OIG: NASA's National Security Systems

NASA OIG: Final Memorandum on the Audit of the Reporting of NASA’s National Security Systems (IG-09-024, August 28, 2009) “We found that NASA did not comply with FISMA requirements for the reporting of national security systems for FYs 2007 and 2008 because NASA had not clearly assigned this responsibility to a specific NASA office. Further, NASA had not formally designated an entity with appropriate resources to complete the annual independent […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 29, 2009
Steve Cook Departure Update

NASA Internal Memo From Jeff Hanley Regarding Steve Cook’s Departure “Steve’s departure places a new challenge on all of you. That challenge is to support Teresa in the same manner as Steve has enjoyed, and to keep moving the ball down the field. The best way to honor Steve’s service is to press forward with resolve. To those who wish to ‘read something into’ Steve’s departure, I say this… The […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 29, 2009