Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member 🖖🏻

19 replies on “Reaching Those Who Are Unreachable”

    2. What part of NASA employees have no smartphone, I wonder? Surely a smaller number than 21%?

      1. I would hope so. If not than providing smart phones for those employees without ones would be one order of business for NASA. And it could probably be done now if needed with home delivery to those who need them. Of course the RFP would take a while…

  2. Actually, NASA and Administrator Bridenstine “need” to focus their attention on protecting lives and ensuring continuity of operations. This post is the height of irresponsibility during this pandemic.

    1. Perhaps when it comes to NASA TV. But it seems like most of the health-related information to NASA employees (and their contractors) is going out over the internet. I hope there is some provision for getting those messages out to the employees without the internet or a smart phone.

      1. Are there any such employees? That seems like a question that could be answered. If there aren’t.. then what are they doing wrong?

        1. Which they do you mean? I think it’s pretty likely the better paid NASA employees have high speed internet at home. But NASA employs a whole lot more people than scientists, engineers and skilled technicians. I’m not sure about the NASA centers, but staffing for JPL’s cafeterias is outsources, and the staff are (as I understand it) paid wages which aren’t much better than the minimum. And janitors aren’t traditionally paid well; NASA probably isn’t an exception. Worse, those low paying jobs are often the one which require physical presence, so they can’t work from home, and may not be getting paid at all at the moment. Food and rent tend to be higher priorities than internet access.

          [Edit: Corrected a double negative. I think I’ve read too many government documents…]

  3. Youtube carries nasatv, I know that doesn’t fix the interwebs access problem. But those connected can easily access youtube.

    1. If you only have cellular data plan for internet access you can burn that up in a very short period of time watching YouTube.

  4. Kids in homes without high speed Internet have no chance of keeping up with school when it moved to all online due to COVID-19. High speed Internet needs to be available to all, just like land line telephones. If we don’t do this, we’re creating yet another barrier that keeps the poor from succeeding in their own public education.

    1. It is not just the poor. High speed Internet is often not available to those living in rural areas of North America even when folks have the money to pay for it. That is the purpose of the Starlink Constellation astronomers are trying so hard to stop, to make it available to everyone!

      1. So Elon is giving it away for free, eh … not likely. Has there been any indications on how much he’s going to charge for this?

        1. I suspect it will be competitive with urban providers of high speed Internet. But once the infrastructure is in place it’s just a matter of finding ways to pay for it. That would be in the realm of non-profits and government programs to help rural students and families.

        2. You might be surprised. I’m sure SpaceX won’t be giving things away for free on a regular basis. But Tesla has, on special occasions. I don’t own one of their cars, so I didn’t pay much attention to the details, but I remember some stories around the time of a hurricane hitting Florida. If I understood it correctly, there is more driving time between charges than many drivers get to use. There is a software enable or something, which is not a standard option and many people don’t pay for. During an evacuation, Tesla reportedly gave that away for free to everyone in the area and with the correct models.

          1. Yes. in addition to the 1200 ventilators from China he gave Free to hospitals SpaceX also has its life support workers making masks, face shields and hazmat suits for medical workers. Pity folks never priase him when he does good.
            https://www.teslarati.com/s…

            SpaceX is aiding in efforts to mitigate crucial medical supply shortages

            By Amy Thompson
            Posted on March 26, 2020

  5. I know a few NASA retirees without Internet connections, and have burned a lot of content to dvd’s to deliver to them. One complaint I have heard is they miss their NASA newsletters in the mail, which have since gone digital-only delivery for retirees. To many that is their only remaining connection to the Agency where they devoted their time, to learn about new accomplishments or the unfortunate news of the passing of an old colleague.

  6. Our local comcast carries nasa tv only for its higher tier offerings. I do not understand this as it is free to them. I don’t need so many cspan channels!! Use smart phone almost always on wifi.

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