NASA Boulder Retrieval Briefings: Look But Don't Touch
White House, NASA to Discuss Asteroid Redirect Mission’s Importance for Journey to Mars, Planetary Defense
“NASA will provide three virtual updates on two planned Asteroid Redirect Missions (ARM) Wednesday, Sept. 14 at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA Television will provide coverage at 11 a.m. EDT of the first briefing to discuss ARM’s contributions to the Journey to Mars and protection of our planet.”
“This event will be streamed live for virtual participation only. The stream will be accessible starting at 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 14: http://connect.arc.nasa.gov/arm-update-2016/. The public and media are invited to watch the virtual update online, and submit questions throughout the event. … Social media followers can watch live and submit questions online.”
Keith’s note: In other words news media will not be allowed to interact directly with Holdren or Bolden or anyone else. Questions will be screened by NASA PAO before the are asked. In other words: do no expect any news. This is called “running out the clock” here in Washington. In the waning days of an administration you say only what you want to say and make it all but impossible for anyone to dispute what you say. But you make it look like you are saying something because innocuous, safe questions are asked.
ARM participants who will not be taking questions from media in attendance – since there are no media in attendance pic.twitter.com/zZtgEOW25i
— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) September 14, 2016
So a “virtual update” is like an update but where you present virtually nothing?
Or does “virtual” refer to the fact that it’s online, as if that means it’s not a “real world” update. In my world, presenting using online tools is par for the course and they are just called meetings or updates or whatever.
:shrug:
Somebody is still working ARM? I thought it died in its sleep.
I am watching the presentation now. After watching it, I have to say that the participants in the robotic portion of the mission seem to take it seriously and are convinced it will occur. There did not seem to be a lot of discussion of the launch vehicle for the robotic probe. Several questions from observers were answered; the focus seemed to be on university researchers who were interested in submitting proposals for secondary payloads. The human portion of the mission was mentioned but not discussed in detail.
Did they mention a date for when this fantasy mission will take place?
There was urgency in the 60’s to beat Russia to the moon. There was urgency in the 70’s to approve, build and fly the Shuttle. There is urgency at Space X to fulfill on Musks vision.
There is no urgency for ARM. Never has been, and never will be.
The first question would be along the lines of “Didn’t you just launch an unmanned sample return mission to an asteroid?” OSIRIS-Rex just makes ARM look even more backwards to everyone than when it was first proposed.
ARM only exists as a concept because we’re too cheap to build a lander to go someplace interesting. ARM gives SLS/Orion something to do in lieu of landing somewhere — it serves no other useful purpose.
F. NASA-ESA’s Int. Space Univ. Dean Prof Pelton proposes a similar to the Boeing TESTED* Laser Plasma Shield that CAN REPEL asteroids and threatening excessive electricity of space superstorms, that may blow up all nukes (as we escaped in July 2012)!
BOEING https://www.youtube.com/wat…