United Launch Alliance Completes Critical Milestones Toward Certifying Atlas V for Human Spaceflight “United Launch Alliance (ULA) today announced the completion of two key milestones leading toward the certification of the Atlas V launch vehicle for human spaceflight. ULA has successfully completed the third and fourth milestones of its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA). In December, ULA conducted a series of detailed reviews that reflected the […]

To the moon? It’s not that loony, MSNBC “GOP hopeful Mitt Romney says that he’d fire anyone who suggested spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build a moon colony — but what about tens of billions of dollars? A former NASA adviser says he and others at the space agency drew up an approach that could put astronauts on the moon for $40 billion, as a “Plan B” for […]

Gingrich: Terrible President on Earth, Great One in Space, opinion, Huffington Post “Take just about any issue on Earth and I disagree vehemently with Newt Gingrich’s policy position. His disingenuous expressions of anti-elitimism infuriate me daily, and his runaway hypocrisy embodies everything that’s wrong with the political process. But the man said he was going to build a moon base, and for that, he’s just about got my vote.” Tea […]

Matt Reed: Newt’s awesome space plan shields a bad candidate, Florida Today “How Gingrich led the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998 for lying about an affair — even as Gingrich had cheated on his wife for six years. I despised Gingrich by the time he took the stage in Cocoa on Wednesday. Then, Newt seduced me with one of the best speeches on space I’ve ever heard.” A […]

Romney Mocks Gingrich’s Plans For Moon Base, CBS “Gingrich promised that “By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American.” Gingrich, the former House speaker, told an overflowing crowd gathered on Florida’s space coast Wednesday that he wants to develop a robust commercial space industry in line with the airline boom of the 1930s. He also wants […]

Keith’s update: At the first event in Florida today, Newt Gingrich called for setting aside 10% of the NASA budget for prizes (which would be awarded tax free), that there’d be a human base on the Moon by the end of his Administration flying an American flag, that progress on a trip to Mars would be made using propulsion that would dramatically reduce travel time, that there should be 5 […]

Gingrich plans major speeches, including one on space, CNN “Riding the momentum of his South Carolina win on Saturday, Newt Gingrich said Sunday he planned a week of big speeches offering “big solutions for a big country.” “I’ll be at the space coast in Florida this week giving a speech — a visionary speech — on the United States going back into space in the John F. Kennedy tradition,” the […]

Romney, Gingrich talk spaceflight at latest Republican debate, Foxboro “Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich stressed the importance of space exploration for the United States, saying a strong space program helps develop key technologies and inspires young people to study science and engineering. But during the debate, held at the University of South Florida in Tampa, neither candidate said giving NASA more money was the right way forward.” GOP contenders […]

Gingrich calls for ‘bold’ space program, opens Orlando campaign office, Orlando Sentinel “Gingrich said NASA must be “more realistic about risk taking,” both for itself and in encouraging the private space industry, including offering large cash prizes to entrepreneurs willing to invest in new space technology, including a private space station, moon colonization and a trip to Mars. “People take risks to climb Mt. Everest. People take risks to hang-glide. […]

Gingrich is right about the space program, Daily Caller “I’ve made fun of Gingrich before. There’s a lot to make fun of. But zapping him on the space program is shortsighted pandering. Our presence in space is a strategic necessity. But it’s more than that too. Last spring, a Marist poll found that kids no longer want to be astronauts. That’s a generation no longer inspired to reach for the […]