This is not a NASA Website. You might learn something. It's YOUR space agency. Get involved. Take it back. Make it work - for YOU.
Congress

Human Spaceflight History According to Rep. Olson

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
October 11, 2012
Filed under , , ,

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

19 responses to “Human Spaceflight History According to Rep. Olson”

  1. richard schumacher says:
    0
    0

    Maybe it’s true, in the alternate reality that most Republicans seem to inhabit these days. 

    Meanwhile, how ’bout that SpaceX! Woo!

  2. jski says:
    0
    0

    When it comes to politicians (of any ilk), all I ask is that they be interested enough to support the effort.  Anything more is unrealistic.

  3. dnkmkk says:
    0
    0

    Olson is a passionate advocate for human space exploration. Must have been a staff screw up. http://blog.chron.com/txpot

    • dogstar29 says:
      0
      0

      A bill to “depoliticize” NASA sponsored by Olsen and three other Republicans who specifically excluded any Democrat from collaborating on the bill? Sponsored by Bill Posey, who introduced a bill to eliminate all NASA climate research because he believes global warming is a liberal plot?  Or Frank Wolf, whose radical beliefs about China are well documented in Wikipedia, and who threatened to  slash the NASA budget if NASA took any action to communicate with China, one of only two countries that can currently launch humans into space?

      Tell me again why these honorable men so concerned about changes in NASA policy wih every new administration did not object when George W. Bush discarded decades of work and ordered Shuttle and ISS abandoned to pay for “Apollo on Steroids”?

  4. Tom Sellick says:
    0
    0

    Hey thats one heck of an acheivment for the Apollo 7 crew!

  5. hikingmike says:
    0
    0

    In other news, today is the 9000th anniversary of the birth of the Universe.

  6. Ben Russell-Gough says:
    0
    0

    The worrying thing, of course, is that Olsen probably didn’t even send this tweet; such marketing is beneath his attention.  It was likely sent by some PolSci graduate in his office who probably knows even less about human spaceflight than this tweet suggests. 

    • Steve Whitfield says:
      0
      0

      Could be.  Olson was born when the Project Mercury was happening, so by the time he was old enough to understand anything about space flight, Mercury and Gemini would have been finished.  If some grad in his office wrote this, he/she would have been born long after Apollo was finished.  All the same, anyone who can’t spend five minutes checking their facts doesn’t seem like a great choice for that kind of responsibility.

      Steve

  7. Ralphy999 says:
    0
    0

    Well, at least he’s not spouting anti-science. And his enthusiasm does have a certain misplaced charm to it.

    • HyperJ says:
      0
      0

      Agreed, it is a bit silly to make such a big deal out of something that was a simple mistake.

    • hikingmike says:
      0
      0

       Very true. I did make fun of it but the enthusiasm is definitely appreciated and never a bad thing.

  8. Fred says:
    0
    0

    I still think Democrat rep from Houston Sheila Jackson Lee  tops Olson’s line hands down. She was at JPL shortly after Pathfinder landing on Mars and said “Jackson Lee had asked NASA officials whether the Mars Pathfinder photographed the U.S. flag that Neil Armstrong
    had planted on Mars. When this incident was reported, her chief of
    staff wrote a letter to the editor suggesting that it had been racist to
    point out the congresswoman’s error.” 

    • Ralphy999 says:
      0
      0

      I think it is worthwhile to point out that Sheila Jackson Lee’s congressional district is next door to the Johnson Space Center and she takes an active interest in it. Her predecessor, Craig Washington was against NASA for some strange reason, and lost to Sheila. No, Shelia is not perfect BUT she represents a predominately racial minority district and supports NASA. I would also say that Shelila is not anti-science either, despite Rush Limbaugh’s fondness for Stories of Sheila.

      The JSC is in Pete Olson’s district and naturally, he is a cheerleader for JSC. He had better be buddy, or he will suffer the same fate as Craig Washington. IIRC, Pete is a Tea Partier.  

      • Andrew Gasser says:
        0
        0

        Sheila Jackson Lee understands space.  I know, I have talked about it in her office in DC.  Yes, TEA Party in Space visited the gentle lady from Texas.

        The meeting was very productive.

        Respectfully,
        Andrew Gasser
        TEA Party in Space

        • Fred says:
          0
          0

           Andrew please clarify what you mean by “Sheila Jackson Lee understands space”. Do you mean she understands the politics of what it means to her reelection campaigning or she understands the importance to the Nation?

  9. Andrew Gasser says:
    0
    0

    Congressman Olsen,

    I will happily join your staff an ensure your space policy is more inline with current thinking and capability.  Addionally, since space is my passion I will ensure silly mistakes like this one do not occur.I am sure you will find my work well written, sourced, and fully prepared.  Moreover, I will ensure the policies you put forward not only benefit JSC, but NASA and the American taxpayers as well.

    Resume’ upon request.

    Respectfully,
    Andrew Gasser
    TEA Party in Space
    [email protected]

  10. DTARS says:
    0
    0

    Humm?  The number 7

    I wonder ??

    The first American orbital space flight

    http://history.nasa.gov/fri