New Cornyn, Peters Bill Will Usher in New Era of Space Exploration, “U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Gary Peters (D-MI) today introduced the Advancing Human Spaceflight Act, which would extend the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030, direct NASA to develop a next-generation spacesuit to enable human exploration beyond low earth orbit, and establish the goal of permanent human presence beyond Earth as national policy. “The only way to […]
Canada Is Going To The Moon, SpaceQ “Today Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed what many had hoped for by committing Canada to participate in the NASA led effort to return to the moon. Canada will contribute a smart robotic system to the NASA’s Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G) program. The smart robotic system includes a next-generation robotic arm, which is already being called the Canadarm3, other unnamed equipment, and specialized tools […]
Obituary of Dr. H. Frank Hicks Jr., The Union “Dr. H. Frank Hicks Jr., 95, of Fort Myers, FL passed away on February 21, 2019. Frank led the design and manufacture of America’s first high resolution reconnaissance satellite cameras starting in 1958 a few months after the Soviets launched Sputnik. Presidents Johnson and Reagan both spoke about the critical contributions that these spy satellites made to preventing nuclear war. The […]
Thomas J. “Jack” Lee “Thomas J. “Jack” Lee, 83 of New Market, died Sunday at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Wedowee, AL, he was the son of John Tom Lee and Virginia Hodnett Walker. Mr. Lee graduated from the University of Alabama in 1958 with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Mr. Lee […]
NASA could see a 5 percent budget cut next year, official says, Houston Chronicle “President Donald Trump is expected to propose a 5 percent cut to NASA’s budget next year, a decision that stands in stark contrast to the president’s pushed to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972. The proposed cuts — part of sweeping cuts to non-defense discretionary spending in every agency — was […]
OIG announces an audit that will evaluate NASA’s management of the Ground and Flight Application Software. — NASA OIG (@NASAOIG) February 26, 2019
The National Enquirer’s Publisher Says The White House Had No Influence On Its “Space Force” Magazine https://t.co/dNsXByKUlw #SpaceForce pic.twitter.com/DBdE28K0LS — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) February 26, 2019
New “NASA Science Live” Program Premieres This This Week “NASA invites you to take a behind-the-scenes look at how the agency explores Earth and outer space with a new monthly television series that premiers this week. The inaugural episode of “NASA Science Live” will air at 3 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 27, on NASA Television, the agency’s website, Facebook Watch, YouTube, and Ustream. Viewers will be able to submit questions […]
Keith’s 23 February note: Last thursday NASA HQ issued a press release “NASA-Funded Research Creates DNA-like Molecule to Aid Search for Alien Life“ which notes that “this new molecular system, which is not a new life form, suggests scientists looking for life beyond Earth may need to rethink what they are looking for. The research appears in Thursday’s edition of Science Magazine.” Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA […]
Keith’s note: NASA has completed its Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for the SpaceX Demo-1 fight of its crewed Dragon. The flight is scheduled for 2 March and will use a vehicle identical to the one which will eventually fly with humans with some sort of SpaceX dummy on board (think Starman in the Tesla). The only real issue that was mentioned had to do with software and one of the […]