Keith’s note: As was to be expected, the right wing, 50+ year-old, white male space bro fringe chooses the death of President Jimmy Carter to post up manner of insulting jabs and personal grievances. Carter set a humble, nearly half-century long, humanitarian standard for a post-presidency that will be tough for other presidents to ever match. Beati pacifici. You done good Jimmy.
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Keith’s note: President Jimmy carter has died. I posted this a few months ago. Carter set an example of how a former President should conduct themselves. No one has yet to come close to the example he has set. Centenarian Jimmy Carter’s Interstellar Message “Many younger people are unaware of the fact that Carter wrote a letter that is on board both Voyager spacecraft now traversing interstellar space – probably one of the longest messages a human ever sent to the stars.” Ad Astra
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Keith’s note: According to a Blue origin posting: “New Glenn successfully completed an integrated launch vehicle hotfire test today, the final major milestone on our road to first flight. NG-1 will carry a Blue Ring Pathfinder as its first manifested payload and will launch from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, FL.” Social media postings (as yet unconfirmed) cite a 6 January 2025 launch date target (again, unconfirmed). Soon NASA’s SLS will have two immense rockets that can out-compete it in terms of cost, performance, flight rate, and ability to be adapted and revised. And these rockets were built from scratch using 21st century experience and concepts – not a congressionally-mandated shotgun marriage of 1970s, 1980s, and early 2000’s ideas and rocket parts. Stay tuned.
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Keith’s note: I was on Deutsche Welle tonight just after 6:00 pm EST to talk about Parker Solar Probe’s close encounter with our sun [Audio] See video below. I pre-taped a segment for CNN’s Christmas show which aired on Wednesday [Audio]. Update: I was on DW again on Friday to talk about Parker Solar Probe phoning home [Audio] See video below.
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Keith’s note: “How might NASA change under Trump? Here’s what is being discussed” by Eric Berger is worth a read. FWIW I have watched Transition Team “discussions” trickle out for 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and now 2024. Closing centers is a favorite. Poor Ames is always on the list.
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Keith’s note: a friend and former co-worker, Doug Koupash, has died unexpectedly. I worked with Doug at the Space Station Freedom Program Office in Reston, VA. We both worked in Utilization and Ops. I worked with the prospective science users, Doug did logistics – one of our “loggies”. We interacted almost daily and sat through endless (re)design reviews. He was one of the kindest folks I think I ever worked with at NASA. For some reason every time I was at some space event at the Reagan building in DC I’d bump into him in the food court – he went to work there for DHS after NASA. He was always upbeat. For those of you who know what we went through at SSFPO in Reston, we became a very tight bunch. Our Friday BBQ parties at Parkridge III and IV were legendary. The Space Station that is in orbit now carries a piece of every soul who helped design and build it – regardless of what name it was called then – or now. And we can see that legacy fly over our homes at night – true to our PR stuff at the time, it’s often the brightest object in the sky. Ad Astra Doug.
Keith’s note: In typical PAO style NASA is tossing out a bunch of year end reports in a fashion that no one will notice i.e. in stealth mode. And the holiday break will ensure that they remain mostly invisible. In many cases there is no formal agency mention of them to the media. I only learned of these three via a LinkedIn post by Charity Weeden, NASA AA for Technology, Policy, and Strategy: “It’s an OTPS “Hat Trick”! I’m pleased to announce three new reports from NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy:
It’s been a busy and productive year – looking forward to 2025!”
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Keith’s note: Astrobiologist Dale Andersen is back in Antarctica – and Lake Untersee – for another field season of Astrobiology research. Dale’s work is coordinated through the SETI Institute. We’ll be posting his updates here as has been the case since the 1990s. You can find an archive of the reports here. The latest reports:
Keith’s note: In case you did not already notice, the 9th floor at NASA HQ issued these two reports on human spaceflight strategy in less than a week – and yet neither one mentions the other – even thought they overlap and cross-enable. Right? Nor does NASA make any effort to link them together. Why bother. Gotta take all that use-or-lose vacation time.
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