Interview: Meg Tuma, Scientist and Mentor


In the course of doing my job, I frequently get to work with a lot of very smart people, among them Margaret L. (Meg) Tuma, Ph.D., one of the engineers ("rocket scientists") at Marshall Space Flight Center.


What do you do at Marshall Space Flight Center?
I’m the project lead for the Ares I Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Test. That’s a mouthful – and means I’m responsible for the modal test on the new Ares rocket. We need to understand the natural frequencies and damping of the Ares V vehicle in order to adequately control the vehicle during ascent and flight. My responsibilities include getting the test rocket hardware from each of the rocket component elements (First Stage, Upper Stage, Upper Stage Engine, and Orion), coordinating transportation to MSFC and the Test Stand, getting the Test Stand (4550) ready for testing, the hydrodynamic stands (ie big shock absorbers), stacking the hardware, conducting the test, and disassembling the vehicle.




What degrees do you have? B.S. Physics, M.S. Physics, Ph.D. Electrical Engineering
Did you pursue these degrees with space in mind? Always in the back of my mind, but not my ultimate goal. I really didn’t think I had a chance to work at NASA, so when I got the opportunity, I jumped on it!


When did you know you wanted to work in a scientific or technical field?
In high school. I always liked math and science and in high school was challenged in physics and calculus and realized that’s what I wanted to pursue in college.


How did you make the switch from research to management?
I was in the NASA Professional Development program in 2000-2001. During that year, I worked at JPL, a University, and HQ. These experiences broadened my horizons and made me realize my talents would be put to better use if I shifted from research into project management. It was a fairly smooth transition. Although, I miss research from time to time. I still work on one of my inventions in my “spare” time. It’s a miniature light bulb (aka a “light bulb on a chip”) that can be used as a calibration source for spectrometers on satellites or remote terrestrial applications.



What's the biggest difference between science and engineering?
Engineering is much more applied. Science is a broader field trying to understand nature at its core (forces, electricity, etc.) Engineering takes science and applies it to make things work.



What advice would you give to young women interested in pursuing STEM careers?
Study study study! In groups if you can find a good study group. Take an internship or summer job in the field you are pursuing to “test drive” it. It’s much easier to change a major to match the career you’re interested in. Get a mentor. This is really important. There are several mentoring programs. One is MentorNet – an online mentoring program.



You participate in a mentoring program through the University of Akron. What can you tell me about that experience?
It’s wonderful! Each year I’m paired with one or more students and meet with them in person monthly usually at a social event (bowling, touring a museum, etc) and via email on a weekly basis. In fact, I’m still in contact with students I mentored 10 years ago! I was able to help them with class choices, provide career advice, and just listen to their problems when they needed to talk. I like helping others so I find it very fulfilling. I’m also a charter member of MentorNet – an online mentoring program where I’m paired with a graduate student in the US and we communicate via email a few times a month. My current mentee is in California and had a side project working on research for microwave popcorn. It was very interesting. I’m also involved in the “Adopt-A-Physicist” program. Twice a year I get paired with 2 or more high school classes from across the US and communicate via email. They ask lots of questions! Like, what made me decide to go into my current career, my favorite class, most interesting work experience, toughest work experience, etc. I was mentoring 3 classes during the Ares I-X launch, and they were tracking the progress and stopped their school work to watch the launch. It was neat to share that excitement with so many young students.



In addition to technical knowledge, what skills have you found the most valuable in your career?
People skills! It is so important to understand how to manage a team and understand your team’s personal dynamics.



What's been the coolest moment in your career so far?
Ares I-X launch. Followed by aero flight tests. And riding in the vomit comet.


Where do you go from here?
The moon! Still trying to be an astronaut. Hopefully we’ll have a replacement vehicle for the shuttle to take us there.

Potpourri CVII


My fellow (and much higher-profile) space blogger friend Jeff Foust has a great lineup of editorials today on The Space Review. Topics include:

• The potential impact of "ClimateGate" on NASA's scientific reputation.
• A good defense of the Ares I-X flight test and a plea for civility in the pro-space community.
• A discussion on safety and the Ares I crew launch vehicle based on Jeff's observations of the House subcommittee re: space safety last week.
• An editorial discussing other uses of the soon-to-be-happening suborbital spaceflight industry besides space tourism.

There's a Washington Post article on the environmental impact of rockets.

Speaking of the Washington Post, they wrote an article recently on a competition the Department of Defense created to see how social networking could be used to gather information. This is pretty wild.

This appears to be a clearing house page that provides links to a variety of astronomy-related blogs.

A Popular Mechanics reporter recently visited Marshall Space Flight Center and got access to a lot of the work the Ares Projects has been doing.

The White House is pushing for more math and science. Good. Where's the money coming from? Though I suppose one could ask the same thing about NASA, NSF, and the rest of the stimulus. Hate it when my conservative spending habits get in the way of my scientific/space habits.

Potpourri CV

First, from my buddy Dauna at Science @ NASA, a great article on the benefits gained from the Mars Spirit rover getting stuck in the Martian sand.

From my NASA PAO feed:

NASA will host a media teleconference with Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager, at 1 p.m. CST on Thursday, Dec. 3. Ess will provide reporters with an update gathered during the test flight of the rocket, which took place October 28 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

New from Hu: A story from PR Newswire on processes used to develop the tank dome for the Ares I upper stage.

For the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE): Kiwis in spaaaaaaace! And from the DUDE, a link to the company itself.

Also from the DUDE: Green politics is now considered a religious faith and so subject to the same protections in the UK.

That's about it for now. Ciao!

Potpourri CXII

First, I need to get this out of my inbox because it hit there about 12 times. For those of you not in the know--or not Time Magazine subscribers--the Ares rockets were named Time's Invention of the Year. Apparently there's a voting process, though, so go to the site here and work with their system and cast your vote. Nice to have a little moral support, even if the aerospace press is trying to write off Ares as dead on arrival.

*

From Lin, several articles on the "progress" of nationalized healthcare and other activities by the Obama administration. I must confess I've stayed tuned out from the news and even talk radio for awhile now. It improves the mood, and I've got more fun things to do with my free time like exchange text messages with Dr. OZMG. Anyhow, if you are interested in such things, here you go:

• An editorial by Thomas Sowell (part 4--no doubt parts 1-3 are available online as well).
• An Investor's Business Daily article on the state of the financial industry.
• A Michelle Malkin editorial on the tactics used by ACORN.
• A Forbes.com editorial on the state of capitalism.

*

This might actually be a bigger story than Ares I-X, but what the heck, my work priorities come first: the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) impactor has produced data indicating the presence of water ice on the Moon. This is HUGE. As I indicated in a previous posting on the day of the impact, if we find water ice on the Moon, we can build long-term bases and permanent settlements there. Human civilization can expand this one world with its limited resources and at-risk biosphere. Bravo to the LCROSS team for this historic find!

*

On a completely personal note, I spent some time with a "planned giving" counselor from my Lutheran church synod setting up an outline for a will. No, I'm not planning to die anytime soon, but then neither did a young couple I worked with at Disney 15 years ago, and their affairs were left entirely in the hands of their respective families as the two died without a will. The end result was that the couple were buried in separate states. Do the deceased care? Probably not, but human beings tend to be sentimental about such things; and the only end result was probably a lot of bad blood between the survivors. Now being a single guy I don't have inlaws to argue with, nor do I have a particularly complicated or dire financial state. But there are things I would like to do for my family and friends in the event I shed this earthly coil. It's really a simple process, so if you haven't done it and you're no longer living in your parents' home, you should probably have a will. Here was a general overview of the items we discussed:

• Assets - what kind I have and what they're worth.
• Debts - what kind I have and how much I owe.
• Beneficiaries - whom I want to get what out of my estate; in my case, members of my family would get the bulk of my estate, with specific items going to other individuals, as I see fit.
• Distribution - which assets it makes most sense to give to whom; for example, it's better to distribute the items with the largest monetary value and lowest tax rates to those highest on your priority list and to work your way down from there.
• Planned Giving - how much of my estate I wish to donate to charitable causes (in my case my local church and the Wisconsin Synod in general).
• Terminal Care Instructions - What sorts of statements I want in my will regarding "terminal care" in the event I'm incapacitated.

No, this isn't particularly fun to think about, but it is useful for assessing the state of your life and your priorities. Next up: talking to a financial planner about increasing my assets so there's more for me on this side of death and more for my inheritors afterward. Jeez, this turning-40 thing is so...adult.

Potpourri CX

Friday night, and I've got an inbox to clear out. Consider yourself warned.

What has the space program done for you lately? Check out the NASA Spinoff site.

Extra credit info from Hu: The X-37B is scheduled to fly in April 2010.

Want an opportunity to help the space program? The letter posted here is being passed around Capitol Hill to get members of Congress and President Obama to support a markup of $3 billion to NASA's human spaceflight budget. This is necessary if we are going to get the Constellation Program on the right track. Truth be told, NASA needs an extra $3B per year for the next 20-30 years or more to develop a truly useful exploration program that pushes the boundaries of technology and sends humans to really cool places. But heck, you've got to start somewhere.

This press release from my NASA PAO feed deserves to be quoted in full:

From: NASA News [mailto:hqnews@mediaservices.nasa.gov]
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 5:52 PM
To: NASA News
Subject: NASA and X Prize Announce Winners of Lunar Lander Challenge

Nov. 02, 2009

Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761
sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 09-258

NASA AND X PRIZE ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF LUNAR LANDER CHALLENGE

WASHINGTON -- NASA will award $1.65 million in prize money Thursday to a pair of innovative aerospace companies that successfully simulated landing a spacecraft on the moon and lifting off again.

NASA's Centennial Challenges program will give a $1 million first prize to Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif., and a $500,000 second prize to Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Tex., for their Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge flights. The competition was managed by the X PRIZE Foundation.

The Northrop Grumman Corporation is a commercial sponsor that provided operating funds for the contest to the X PRIZE Foundation. An awards ceremony for the winning teams will be held at noon on Nov. 5 in room 2325 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Journalists should contact Sonja Alexander at 202-358-1761 for more information about the ceremony.

The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge involves building and flying a rocket-powered vehicle that simulates the flight of a vehicle on the moon. The lander must take off vertically then travel horizontally, flying a mission profile designed to demonstrate both power and control before landing accurately at another spot. The same vehicle then must take off again, travel horizontally back to its original takeoff point and land successfully, all within a two-hour-and-15-minute time period.

The challenge requires exacting control and navigation, as well as precise control of engine thrust, all done automatically. The rocket's engine must be started twice in a short time with no ground servicing other than refueling. This represents the technical challenges involved in operating a reusable vehicle that could land on the moon.

The prize purse is divided into first and second prizes for Level 1 and Level 2. Level 1 requires a flight duration of at least 90 seconds on each flight and Level 2 requires a duration of at least 180 seconds. One of the landings for a Level 2 attempt must be made on a simulated lunar terrain with rocks and craters.

Masten Space Systems met the Level 2 requirements by achieving accurate landings and captured the first place prize during flights of their "Xoie" (pronounced "Zoey") vehicle Oct. 30 at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Masten also claimed a $150,000 prize as part of the Level 1 competition.

Armadillo Aerospace was the first team to qualify for the Level 2 prize with successful flights of its Scorpius rocket Sept. 12 in Caddo Mills, Tex. Armadillo placed second in the Level 2 competition, earning a $500,000 prize.

The average landing accuracy determined which teams would receive first and second place prizes. The Masten team achieved an average accuracy of 7.5 inches while Armadillo Aerospace's average accuracy was 34 inches.

The events of the past two months have brought the four-year Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge to a conclusion. All $2 million in prize money has been awarded.

"The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge has had its intended impact, with impressive performances by multiple teams representing a new generation of aerospace entrepreneurs" said Andrew Petro, NASA's Centennial Challenge program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These companies have demonstrated reusable vehicles with rapid turnaround and a surprising degree of precision in flight, and they have done all this at a much lower cost than many thought possible."

Four teams had been in pursuit of the 2009 Lunar Lander Challenge prizes during the competition that opened in July. The BonNova team dropped out of the competition last week. Unreasonable Rocket, a father-and-son team from Solana Beach, Calif., conducted flight attempts during the final days of the competition but did not complete any qualifying flights.

In the Level 1 competition, Armadillo Aerospace previously claimed the first place prize of $350,000 in 2008. Masten Space Systems qualified for the remaining second place prize on Oct. 7, 2009, with an average landing accuracy of 6.3 inches. Because there were no other qualifying Level 1 flights this year, the Masten team will receive the second place prize of $150,000.

NASA's Centennial Challenges program's goals are to drive progress in aerospace technology that is of value to NASA's missions; encourage participation of independent teams, individual inventors, student groups and private companies of all sizes in aerospace research and development; and find innovative solutions to technical challenges through competition and cooperation.

The Northop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is one of six Centennial Challenges managed by NASA's Innovative Partnership Program. The competition was managed for NASA at no cost to the taxpayer by the X PRIZE Foundation under a Space Act Agreement. NASA provided all of the prize funds.

For more information on Centennial Challenges, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ipp/innovation_incubator/cc_home.html

Congratulations to Masten Space Systems!

Did you know Mercury had seasons? That's just one thing the Mercury MESSENGER probe has been discovering during its flyby missions.

Speaking of planets, it's getting crowded in the sky--32 new extrasolar planets (that is, planets outside our solar system) have been discovered.

A Look At NASA’s Social Media Program
http://searchengineland.com/a-look-at-nasas-social-media-program-28932

From Doc: This is just wild...someone has taken the time to do a visual diagram of the primary characters in several epic movies or movie series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.) and their proximity to each other over the course of the story. The character lines for Twelve Angry Men are just a hoot.

There's an educator's conference on Apollo at the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, November 10.

After all the fun we had with triboelectrification on Ares I-X, this t-shirt was pretty funny.

And that, as they say, is that. Have a splendid weekend. Please pray for the families of those shot and killed at Fort Hood.

The Entire Ares I-X Flight

From liftoff to splashdown...as seen from one of NASA's Cessna observer aircraft.

Potpourri CIX

I've got about a week's worth of random links to clear out, so I might as well get cracking.

Might as well start with this email I got from myself courtesy of FutureMe.org:

Dear FutureMe,

You've been to Europe and--hopefully--seen the Ares I-X flight go up by now. You had three weeks to yourself; what did you learn? What did you do for others? What did you come back with (hopefully nothing contagious)? What contacts/friends did you make? What did you learn from the launch?

Now get writing!

/b

If you're interested in sending messages to your future self, FutureMe is kind of fun.

From Cliff, a unique take on how to compare Obama's deficit spending with George W. Bush's deficit spending.

From Father Dan, a 1948 cartoon on freedom and what it means to have it taken away. Ten minutes long, but worth the watch.

From Dom, a flow chart of "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. No, really.

From Lin: an indication that the Obama administration might've exaggerated a little on the number of jobs created by the stimulus. I'm shocked, shocked...

From me, a list of the Ares I-X blogs posted up to and during launch:

• Following Ares I-X on Launch Day (summary of all the different ways/sites people can use to get information on I-X) http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256637046961.html
• One on One and Another on the Other (discussing the significance of Ares and Atlantis on the launch pads) http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256642619884.html
• The Pulse of the Public (videos of spectator reactions at KSC)http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256645425971.html
• Pulse of the People, Part II (more spectator reactions—a hoot!)http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256648140578.html
• Flight Rules and Triboelectrification (What the heck is that?)http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256648398611.html
• The Pointy End of the Rocket (discussion of the five-hole probe)http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256648957643.html
• When is a Rocket Launch Like a Soap Opera? (summary of our various challenges during the day) http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256653671613.html
• Not Today (brief comment on the scrub) http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256657433409.html
• Whatever Happened to the Five-Hole Probe?
  http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256733950658.html
• Why a Four-Hour Launch Window?
  http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256735155402.html
• Triboelectrification Questions? Try This.
  http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256743468990.html
• Liftoff!
  http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X.blog/posts/post_1256749357624.html

NASA has an iPhone application.

From work, a series of 3D images of the Ares I-X rocket. Yowza! (Note: Java required to run.)

• Ares I-X on 39B 10/23.2009 at 10am from MLP side 3 (North side)
  http://nasatech.net/Ares1-XPadBMLPNE091023/
• Ares I-X on 39B 10/23/2009 at 10am from MLP side 1 (South side)
  http://nasatech.net/Ares1-XPadBMLPSo091023/
• Ares I-X on 39B 10/23/2009 at 10am on 295 foot level
  http://nasatech.net/Ares1-XPadBlvl300_091023/
• Ares I-X in VAB High Bay 3 as viewed from Mobile Launch Platform
  http://nasatech.net/Arex1-XStack090823/
• Ares I-X in VAB High Bay 3 as viewed from High Bay 4 16th level crossover
  http://nasatech.net/Ares1X-hb4lvl16Stacked090823/
• Ares I-X in VAB High Bay 3 as viewed from F Tower C Platform Catwalk
  http://nasatech.net/Ares1-Xupper091015/
• Ares I-X in VAB High Bay 3 as viewed from E Roof South
  http://nasatech.net/Ares1-Xmid091015/
• 39B ready for Ares I-X ---- modified to accommodate Ares I-X
  http://nasatech.net/PadBmod300_091014/
• 39B ready for Ares I-X ---- modified to accommodate Ares I-X (235 foot level)
  http://nasatech.net/PadBmod235_091014/

Antarctic ice loss might have been overestimated.

An article on NERVA, among other things.

Even if the U.S. government has a hard time explaining why it needs a space program, the European Space Agency does not.

From Dea, a little graphic that amused me because it occasionally hits close to home. The scary part is that meetings in this job can go 4-8 hours...WAY off the scale for this chart.

Oh yeah, speaking of Ares I-X, Fox News posted a slide show from the mission.

I think I've found my next tax haven: a floating city!

And I guess that will do for now. Thanks for reading...or not.

First Impressions of Ares I-X


I will no doubt have more to say about the very successful Ares I-X mission today, but I reserved my first-person, first-impression thoughts for a special posting to ScienceCheerleader.com, while the feelings were still making my typing fingers quiver. Click here to have a look.

Image courtesy of me. Ares I-X busting through Mach 1.

Potpourri CIX

An interesting mix of stuff this evening, so let's get started.

This is filed under "humor," for reasons that mystify and horrify me. The guy is joking about the conservative obsession with "freedom" by taking it to ridiculous extremes, but then turns around and makes truly bad ideas (like government-run healthcare) and actually make them sound worse. How, exactly, is this humorous?

A researcher in Australia claims that modern humans are a bunch of wimps. I can hear the Neanderthals now: "You kids had it easy. Why, when I was your age, we had to hunt mammoth for three or four days at a full gallop, in six feet of snow, with glaciers crumbling underneath us...now you kids have it soft with that global warming thing..."

One of my next future vacation stops. Very cool!

If you feel the need to hear one more time how there's scientific "consensus" that "global warming is an absolutel fact," feel free to read the latest brow-beating from the International Panel on Climate Change.

New from Hu: I like this blog on Ares I-X. It sort of crystallizes the moment for me.

Speaking of Ares I-X, Bob Ess (Mission Manager) and Ed Mango (Launch Director) will be giving a mission status briefing on Friday, October 23, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

From Yohon, an article on the new electronic book reader from Barnes & Noble, with the added question on whether I'm ready to trade in my Kindle. Answer: not bloody likely. Besides, I like the idea of keeping my physical book shopping (B&N) separate from my electronic book shopping (Amazon). Competition keeps capitalism thriving and prevents monopoly behavior.

Ares I-X Rollout

I try not to talk about my day job much because quite frankly I like to keep my work life separate from my blogging life, but today is a little different. After three years or so of writing conference papers for the Ares I-X flight test, I watched the rocket actually roll out to the launch pad today and it is now a week away from lifting off. This is a major deal, not just for NASA (or me), but for the country as a whole. We've needed something to inspire us for awhile...something beyond politics, something we could all look upon with pride, as an actual achievement. Ares I-X just might be it--the first test flight (but not the last, if I can help it) of the Constellation Program.

Why is this flight important? Allow me to backtrack a little bit, to when we lost the Space Shuttle Columbia. People in the media, in the White House, and in the general public were asking, "Is going into space worth all the risk? All they ever do is go around in slow-motion circles in that space station up there." The Columbia Accident Investigation Board took the nation and its leaders to task for not doing something more ambitious. After all, if astronauts are going somewhere new and exciting--doing something worthy of a spacefaring nation--then yeah, any heroic losses might be deemed acceptable.

The Bush Administration came out with the "Vision for Space Exploration," which gave NASA the mission of restarting Shuttle (safely), finishing the International Space Station (ISS), building a new crew exploration vehicle, and building a base on the Moon in preparation for more ambitious missions to Mars. They theoretically promised NASA increased funding to do the job, with LOTS more funding after Shuttle retired. In 2005 NASA got a new administrator, Mike Griffin, who put together a study to decide what vehicle types would be best to execute the series of missions Bush tasked NASA to accomplish.

The study came up with new rockets that would eventually be known as the Orion crew exploration vehicle, Ares I crew launch vehicle, and Ares V cargo launch vehicle. Ares I would launch crews into low-Earth orbit (LEO) to support both ISS and missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Ares V, a rocket bigger than the Apollo-era Saturn V, would launch a lander into orbit along with an upper-stage rocket that could send the lander and the crew off to the Moon, asteroids, wherever. This two-launch concept is what NASA has been building for the last four years.

Ares I is the rocket being built now. It's needed first, and soon, because we're planning to retire the Space Shuttle as soon as the ISS is completed. Now there's a lot of debate going on in Washington about whether to keep Ares I, Ares V, Orion, and the rest of what's called the Constellation Program. The Obama administration tasked the Augustine Human Spaceflight Review Panel with reviewing the current plans and making recommendations about what to do next. Will we continue with Constellation? Turn over low-Earth orbit to commercial companies and international competitors? Or something else entirely? The Panel doesn't have the final word--Congress and the President do--so if you care about whether America keeps doing great things with people in space, it's not too late to have your voice heard. The Congressional switchboards are always open. :-)

So where does Ares I-X fit into the picture? Ares I-X is the first development test for Ares I. It's not a full-up launch vehicle, as it lacks an upper stage, a five-segment solid rocket booster for the first stage, and an Orion spacecraft on top. But the point of the test is not to get into space, the point of the flight is to get the beast to lift off and fly in the proper way and direction, under control, within the atmosphere. While the rocket might look like many others you've seen (long and cylindrical, pointy end on top, fire coming out of the bottom), Ares I does in fact have a different design from any rocket tried before. The upper half of the rocket is about six feet wider than the bottom. A human-rated rocket has never flown with only a solid rocket motor for the first stage. So there are a few things that this rocket will test that engineers haven't done before. They need to:

• Fly and control a rocket that is dynamically similar to the Ares I
• Test the separation system that splits the first stage from the upper stage and see how the rocket reacts to that separation.
• Test larger parachutes on a much longer five-segment motor (the Space Shuttle boosters have four segments and are shorter and lighter than Ares I's first stage).
• Control the rocket's roll and also see how much roll a single-solid first stage can create.
• Build and test new ground operations equipment and procedures for a rocket that is quite different from the Space Shuttle.

All of this must be done new for the first time in nearly 30 years. The very first flight of the Space Shuttle had a crew on board because they needed people on board to fly the orbiter home--but that was a huge risk at the time. Development testing allows NASA to go back to the more incremental form of testing that Wernher von Braun favored--where you test part of the rocket, make sure it works, and then test the next stage--before putting people on top of it.

Ares I-X has a four-segment solid rocket motor from the Space Shuttle's inventory and a hollow fifth segment simulator that both simulates the length of the Ares I first stage and houses most of the avionics that control the vehicle. The upper stage, crew module, and launch abort system are all simulator hardware, shaped to look as much like Ares I as was possible when the design was conceived three years ago. The upper sections also have hundreds of sensors aboard that will measure temperatures, pressures, vibrations, noise, winds, and any other forces that could affect this rocket in flight. Some of the data these sensors collect will be transmitted down to the ground "live," and some will be stored on board in that first stage avionics module and will be picked up when the first stage splashes down in the ocean.

What can you expect to see on this flight? If all goes well--and there are hundreds of people working around the clock at Kennedy Space Center right now to ensure just that--the first stage will ignite just like the Shuttle's boosters, and the rocket will move upward past the tower. It should take about six seconds from the time the hold-down posts release until the aft skirt clears the tower. Once past the tower, the roll control system (RoCS) will rotate the rocket 90 degrees to orient the rocket the way Ares I would fly and to point the antennas so they can send their data to receiving stations on the ground. After that, the rocket will continue accelerating upward and outward at Mach 4.7 (over 3,500 miles per hour) toward the Atlantic, the booster firing for about two minutes, just like Shuttle.

Then, just over two minutes into flight, a ring of explosive charges on top of the first stage will ignite and a set of smaller rockets on the aft skirt of the first stage will fire forward to split the first stage from the upper stage and pull it backward. The upper stage will continue downrange like a cannonball, and eventually fall into the ocean. The first stage booster will fall toward the ocean, and the main parachutes will open when it's about 3 miles above the ocean. Total mission time, just over five minutes.

And that's it? I can hear people ask. Yeah, but anyone who has ever been to a live launch will tell you that that's plenty of excitement for five minutes. And it's a bunch of things we haven't done before with a rocket that has never flown before. Are there dangers? Are there risks? Are there things that can go wrong? Of course, because it's a test, and it's never been done before. But jeez, what's life without a little risk? And if we really want to set America back on the path to being an exploring, spacefaring nation, it's definitely a step in the right direction.

The launch window opens at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (12 noon Greenwich Mean Time) on October 27, and lasts for four hours. Tune in, and have a look at what your space program has been up to while you've been ignoring it. They just might surprise you.

Oh, yeah...I will heading down to Florida to support Ares I-X starting Thursday. Is this a cool job, or what?

Potpourri CVIII

Heads up! The Ares I-X rocket is due to roll out to Launch Complex 39B tonight at 11:01 p.m. (Central Time), assuming the winds hold. If all goes well, the launch window will start at 8 a.m. October 27. Huzzah!

Also in NASA news, much to my surprise, the Augustine Human Space Flight Panel's final report will be made public October 21. We shall see what we shall see. This email (allegedly) from the Constellation Program manager is worth reading if you're wondering what the internal opinion of the Panel at NASA is like.

An article from The Space Review argues that we don't necessarily need a heavy-lift vehicle for exploration.

Here's something completely random from my buddy Gwen: a birthday calculator.

A good editorial from the Wall Street Journal on technologies that can change the future, among them space solar power.

A few links from Claire:

• Want to know what the federal debt was on a particular date? Check this out.
• Here's a GAO report on the outlook for future federal income (taxes) and outlays (spending).
• And if you'd like to know the state of the federal debt right now, there's this site.

That's plenty to make you sweat, if long-term or even short-term economic issues concern you.

Potpourri CVII

Ares I-X is currently scheduled to roll out to Launch Complex 39B Tuesday, October 20, at 12:01 a.m. I will be driving down to work on October 22 and will stay as long as needed. Huzzah! The rollout was delayed by 24 hours due to challenges with a hydraulic accumulator. However, from what I've heard on my end, that work is going well, so we'll just have to see what effect, if any, this has on the October 27 launch date. Looking forward to it! I plan to at least take pictures during the event. Not sure beyond that. Going to have a lot of writing to do, I suspect.

Looking to buy myself a small wine refrigerator. I've heard good things about Sears' Kenmore model. Other suggestions welcome...keep in mind, again, the limited space in my apartment and desire not to go crazy on spending here.

Here are a couple more editorials about the Limbaugh/St. Louis Rams fracas, one by Limbaugh himself, one by someone on the Wall Street Journal editorial board.

Here's an editorial on the Augustine Panel by a group of very smart people.

From Doc, an article on finding and selling old wines in Paris.

From Lin: the Social Security Administration is withholding a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the first time since 1975. I guess I fibbed to my mom back in 2004. I told her then that I didn't think Social Security would cut off in her lifetime, but most likely wouldn't exist in mine. At the rate our government is spending money, it might get cut off in a decade!

NASA is hosting a lunar excavation robotics competition as part of its Centennial Challenges program. This is a very cool thing because it engages young people in practical work and helps NASA get people outside the agency to help them develop hardware that will be needed for future exploration.

Apparently technical writers have among the least stressful jobs in the country. Who knew?

NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has a new map showing our solar system's location in the Milky Way.

An article from The Space Review on the "why" of space exploration. I've been writing a long rant on the dismal state of space advocacy, but I don't think I'll publish it. Why add to the despair?

Merchandising!

If you're interested, the Ares I-X patch is available for sale online. Kinda rude. I thought that was just an internal NASA product...

Potpourri XCIX

Okay kids, let's dig into Bart's bag o' tricks and see what surprises are lurking out there in Cyberspace...

My former Disney IT manager Dalton now has a blog. Dalton has since left Disney and now makes his living as a humorist, lecturer, and voice-over artist. Good for him!

From Yohon, more bad news about the state of television. It seems the CW network (formerly WB) has decided there's an unfulfilled need to revive the Melrose Place franchise. Sigh. Kinda makes me long for Dynasty. At least most of the folks on that show were grown-ups.

A follow-up on the alleged comment by NASA Administrator Bolden on Ares I-X: it seems Keith Cowing might've posted erroneous information (I'm shocked, shocked). Rand Simberg wonders about the comments as well. Much as Ares detractors might hope otherwise, work continues on the flight test and the project.

From Lin, an editorial that claims that Obama has played the "God card," as people who believe in God should believe in his policies.

I started out this morning in a bit of a snit, probably because the Ares-related news was so bad over the weekend. Here's what came to me as I was ruminating over the state of America's human spaceflight program:

This is a story that Robert Zubrin included in The Case for Mars, and it bears repeating. In the late 1300s and early 1400s, the Ming Dynasty in China had the largest and most powerful merchant fleet in the world, calling on ports ranging from Japan to Indonesia to the east coast of Africa. The book 1421 even speculates that part of this fleet sailed around the world. Yet by the 1430s, after the death of the eunuch admiral Zheng He, the voyages of this massive fleet were ended, the ships beached or burned, and China’s international presence diminished. The Mings turned inward, consumed by political machinations and usurpers in the capital. By the 1450s, the first trading ships of the Portuguese had arrived around the Horn of Africa, and by the 1500s were trading on the shores of China itself. Between 1500 and 1900, China became weaker and weaker as it ceased exploring and advancing its
technologies, bringing it eventually under the domination of the European empires.

The lessons for the U.S. should be obvious: if we cease to explore space, others will arise to fill the void. Nations that explore have advantages in technology, trade, and influence that non-exploring nations do not. Nations that turn inward decline and self-destruct, with political horizons focused on tightening control of local politics (tyranny) instead of responding to the needs of international exploration and commerce (openness). Social structures harden, planning and philosophical horizons shrink, government ossifies, and military doctrine turns to defensive measures rather than expansion or attack. “Great nations explore,” NASA is fond of saying; what they neglect to mention is that “Great nations that cease exploring die.”

To which Dan the PAO Man replied, "And good morning to you, too." Still. Just sayin'...

Bob Ess, the Ares I-X Mission Manager, is not taking this negativity lying down. He made it quite clear that the work is continuing.

On a completely different note, the Wall Street Journal has a good article offering a suggested set of conservative reforms which, as I suggested a couple days ago, would reduce the amount of government interference in the healthcare market.

*

On the reading front, I finished The Death of the Grown-Up: How America's Arrested Development is Bringing Down Western Civilization, by Diana West, which I highly recommend but haven't found the leisure to review in full.

I also read The Culture We Deserve: A Critique of Disenlightenment, by the late teacher and scholar Jacques Barzun. This book is a critique of various scholarly maladies afflicting our culture, from literature to history to the visual arts, most of them coming out of the university, but he doesn't do nearly as good a job as Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind in offering remedies for these problems. Far be it for me to slight Mr. Barzun's work, however. I highly recommend Teacher in America, a reflection on his early encounters with American education (he came here as a teacher from France in the mid-1940s) and From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present, which is a masterful overview of some of the great works that all of us should read or should have read to fully appreciate the culture into which Westerners were born.

My most recent reading was Escape from Hell by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Escape from Hell is a sequel to Niven and Pournelle's earlier sequel to Dante's Inferno, both of which I reviewed last October and found enjoyable--or at least as enjoyable as trips through Hell can be. Escape was not nearly as enjoyable, for some reason. I can see why Niven and Pournelle returned to that literary territory. They left a number of loose ends for their protagonist to work out, the most important of which was finding a functional and just reason for hell to exist. Perhaps I need to go back and reread the ending--I finished the book in nearly one sitting, it's that engaging--because the answers Allen Carpenter receives don't seem nearly enough to satisfy.

I'm trying to finish Science Matters: Achieving Science Literacy before I head off to Europe. It's not that I consider myself entirely science-illiterate, but I know there are gaps in my education. And as a fun side note, my pal Dar the Science Cheerleader managed to get the Philadelphia '76ers' cheerleaders to do a cheer for each of the points in this book as a way to encourage people to get a "brain makeover." I don't have nearly that kind of pull.

And so I bid you good night. Salud, y'all. Looking forward to tuning out in 12 days.

Potpourri XCVIII

Must post this stuff, some of it evil, just to get it out of my inbox.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that NASA might have to outsource its crew access to the International Space Station. Well, duhhhh...

NASAWatch's Keith Cowing is reporting that Charlie Bolden (the new NASA Administrator) suggested that it made sense not to launch Ares I-X if Ares I were cancelled. Here's hoping he got the rumor wrong.

Several from Lin:

• "A Justice Department investigation is now apparently investigating whether photos of covert CIA officials surreptitiously taken by the American Civil Liberties Union's "John Adams Project" were unlawfully shown to terrorist detainees charged with organizing the attacks of 9/11."
• "Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA, hospitals can't even ask for a patient's immigration status or ability to pay prior to delivering treatment. They also can't keep such uninsured patients waiting, even if their problem isn't an emergency. Nor can they discharge them until they're fully stabilized and have safe transportation."
• A variety of editorials (the primary link, plus the four-part series cited in the article) by Thomas Sowell on Obama's approach to getting his healthcare program sold.
• Last week President Obama closed down the email address flag@whitehouse.gov, which he asked people to email if they found individuals "spreading lies" about the president's healthcare program. This might sound reasonable, but what it amounts to is a "turn in your neighbor" hotline that allows the White House to know whom to target if they face increasing resistance to their program. Think I'm kidding? Then why did individuals sent to the "flag" email find themselves the recipients of emails from members of the Administration? Well, Obama has thrown the PR firm responsible for sending out the emails under the bus (political speak for "allowed them to take the blame"). If any of you reading this have referred this site to the "flag" email, rest assured that I did not receive an email from the Administration...yet.
• Congressional Democrats are prepared to "go it alone" to get healthcare passed. They could've done this in the first place, but by trying to push for "bipartisanship," the Democrats can get the GOP to share some of the blame when (not if) the plan is passed and screws up the country. If there was ever a time to be the "party of no," this is it. Of course the GOP should have a shopping list of reforms that can be done that don't require massive government interference--and, in fact, reduce government interference in the healthcare biz.
• Sears' web site was the victim of some nasty hacking.
• A web site is stating that Obama's science advisor favors global efforts to enforce population control. I'd heard this on a news report, but the book is here, if you're curious. Paul Ehrlich, his cowriter, was author of "The Population Bomb," a 1970 book stating that we would all be starving by now (2000) thanks to overpopulation. It didn't happen thanks to improvements in technology and agriculture, as well as the expansion of freedom in the former Communist Bloc, but of course no one pays attention to such things now. One wonders what the fate of Al Gore will be in 40 years.

I got this one from Darlene the Science Cheerleader. It's just weird. How does the Internet see you? Based on what sort of content you put out and how you are cited on various sites.

Got this little bit of good news on the swine flu in my inbox yesterday:

Marshall Space Flight Center has experienced its first case of what is thought to be H1N1 flu. All employees are reminded that if you experience flu symptoms such as fever, body aches and coughing, you should remain home until 24 hours after you are fever free and not using any fever reducing medications in order to prevent the spread of the flu. Also, you should call the MSFC Medical Center at 544-2390 for illness tracking purposes but should not go to the Medical Center for evaluation or treatment. To fight against becoming infected with the H1N1 flu, employees should frequently wash their hands with soap and water or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer, especially after participating in group activities or spending time in common areas such as bathrooms, conference rooms and cafeterias. According to medical personnel, H1N1 flu has been no more severe than the normal annual seasonal influenza.

Let's be careful out there. And for gosh sakes, wash your hands!

Boeing has successfully tested the Airborne Laser program. The ABL, which will likely get cut under the Obama Administration, is mounted in the nose of a 747. That's a cool and useful toy to have, given the number of hostile countries trying to acquire nuclear weapons.

Here's the web site for the people who plan to cover Huntsville's full-size Saturn V mockup in a quilt made of kids' refrigerator art. The only other argument I can find against this project is just that it's sinfully ugly. Mosaics tend to depict actual pictures or include geometric patterns of some kind. A vague attempt is made to simulate the markings of the Saturn V, but it is, naturally, a patchwork. And did I mention it's ugly? Seriously. It brightened my day not at all to hear that NASA Administrator Bolden favored the project. The best way for NASA (or anyone else) to inspire kids to go into space is to go into space and do something inspiring! Anything else is trying too hard.

And on a completely different note, No wonder I have a complicated job! I was ruminating this morning, and I started listed all of the different items that we need to account for when we’re trying to sell space exploration to the public:

• Technology
  o How it works
  o What level of readiness it has (TRL)
  o Complexity
  o Number of manufacturers
  o Science being performed
  o Materials used
  o Amount of automation
• Politics
  o Federal budget priorities
  o Election cycle
  o Location of NASA centers/contractors
  o Seniority of senators/congressmen in space-related districts
  o State of the world (wars, rivalries, etc.)
  o State of the nation (boom/recession, civil peace/unrest, etc.)
  o National defense/security needs
  o Job programs
  o Public interest
  o Media coverage
  o Advocacy/lobbying activities/effectiveness
  o Other space activities (e.g. commercial)
• People
  o Workforce aging
  o Workforce size/availability
  o Workforce skills
  o Job location (see Politics)
  o Management behavior/practices/personalities
  o Organizational culture(s)
• Programmatic issues
  o Funding/competition for resources
  o Schedule
  o Technical readiness
  o Quality
  o Management structure
  o Public affairs responsiveness

This might explain some of my end-of-day headaches, but it still beat checking in tourists or answering guest letters at Disney World. I still maintain that engineers and physicists have it easy because the laws and factors they deal with don’t change.

Potpourri XCV

First, something to brighten my rather rough week: the Ares I-X rocket has been stacked fully in the Vehicle Assembly Building, all 327 feet of her. Saaaaaa-lute!

Here's the official press release:

NASA COMPLETES ASSEMBLY OF ARES I-X TEST ROCKET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- For the first time in more than a quarter-century a new space vehicle stands ready in NASA's Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. The Ares I-X rocket, its simulated crew module and launch abort system are assembled on a mobile launch platform at Kennedy in preparation for launch this fall.

The final segments of the Ares I-X were stacked on Aug. 13, completing the 327-foot launch vehicle and providing the first look at the finished rocket's distinctive shape. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31.

"More than three years of hard work with the NASA and contractor team has brought us to this historic moment," said Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager. "This flight test is a critical step in continuing our design process for the Ares vehicle and the first flight for the Constellation Program."

The Ares I-X is wired with more than 700 sensors to gather data during the two-and-a-half minute flight test. The launch will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The data collected during the launch will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Ares I rocket.

Now that the Ares I-X is assembled, numerous evaluations will be run on all the rocket systems, including complex instruments that will constantly measure the vehicle's movements as it launches and the first stage separates. The evaluations include a process called "modal testing," which will shake the stack slightly to test stiffness of the rocket, including the pinned and bolted joints.

CEOs should stay quiet on politics? Right. Like Michael Eisner kept quiet about sending money to Hillary…

The Miami Herald has a story on the Augustine Panel…

A dog cloning business has started in South Korea. This is not a good sign. Once again, our technology advances are outstripping the ability of our culture to absorb, slow, or stop them.

Michael Vick has found a new gig in Philadelphia after spending time in jail for running a dog fighting ring from his home. You know, I think the man was punished enough legally. One would have thought that the social stigma and bad publicity about his bad actions would be enough to keep him out of professional football. This not a good sign for the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles, or the culture at large. Shame on them and shame on us. Eagles fans still have a chance to stop this by not showing up for games when Michael Vick shows up to play.

And while I do have concerns about the advances our technologies make, it is nice to see that some tech is being used for constructive (or at least neutral) purposes. This site has some very intriguing work.

From the office, a story on Mars not being an immediate plan, but a goal.

Got this from Doc, and just had to share because it is oh so true about my line of work:

1. Ask engineer how the damn thing works.
2. Deafening silence.
3. Crickets.
4. Tumbleweeds.
5. Just start writing something. Anything.
6. Give this something to the engineer.
7. Watch engineer become quite upset at how badly you’ve missed thepoint of everything.
8. As the engineer berates you, in between insults he will also throwoff nuggets of technical information.
9. Collect these nuggets, as they are the only reliable technicalinformation you will receive.
10. Try like hell to weave together this information into somethingenlightening and technically accurate.
11. Go to step 6.

Sigh...yet another story on the dismal prospects for what might come out of the Augustine Panel. I must confess that even if I understand what options the panel will offer to Obama, I have no clue what option he will take, what its full impact will be, or how long it will take for said course to be taken. I'm just along for the ride, albeit I'm one of the folks at the front of the roller coaster, so I'll see the next curve before some folks, but that doesn't make the ride any more fun.

In other space news, India has started an astronaut training center, while Bulgaria's scientists want that nation to join the European Space Agency. So while we're debating in this country if we should even have a space program, dirt-poor former Eastern Bloc countries are trying to do what we seem willing to throw away. Why don't our leaders pay attention to these things? Perhaps it would be worth asking those nations, "What do you know about space that we don't?"

Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI) has a good take on government healthcare on his site.

And that'll do for now.

Potpourri LXXXV

Nothing like getting off to a bumpy start. LaGuardia Airport (LGA) was evacuated for 12 hours after "authorities" (who?) observed a guy carrying a suspicious package. It turned out to be a fake bomb. Stupid.

You can find an image of the first stage of the Ares I-X forward structures on line. The rocket is now about halfway done with its physical stacking. Looks like a giant flashlight right now, but it'll be rocket-shaped in no time! Huzzah!

From Yohon, a Hulu promo clip for the ABC remake of V. Again I must ask: what consumer need is this fulfilling? Or is Hollywood really that bankrupt of ideas?

From Lin: Tired of people yakking on their cell phone while you're trying to eat? You might want to consider this little gadget. Personally, I like the notion of turning off CNN at the airport so I can get some quiet in the concourse.

The state of California is facing major financial problems, which it is trying to shore up by taking money from local municipalities and issuing IOUs to banks. But never mind all that--the state's largest union for government workers has authorized a strike to protest furloughs of state workers. Brilliant. That'll show 'em.

The Democrats in the House have managed to get a health care bill out of committee, which could go to the floor for a vote in September. Time to write my senators and congressman again. I wonder if the House guys actually read the bill this time.

Fox News is reporting that al-Qaeda might have penetrated the British Secret Service (MI5). Whups.

The Japanese are developing a humanoid robot. Also on this video: the Russians are working on plastic surgery to make people taller. Yuck.

Star Trek IV fans may now rejoice: we might soon have transparent aluminum.

And Darlene the Science Cheerleader has some provocative thoughts about women in the science and engineering fields.

Potpourri LXXXI

More interesting stuff coming out of the Augustine Panel. Folks are reporting that the Panel is considering (reviewing?) a really long Shuttle extension...like 2014. Has anyone even looked at the costs of reinstating Shuttle production lines? If they don't reinstate the lines, we're looking at one Shuttle flight per year from now until 2014.

There's also been some talk about a scaled-down version of Ares V.

The Huntsville Times' Shelby Spires is reporting that Ares I and Orion might be delayed.

Okay, this is just gross and terrifying at the same time. Scientists are looking at combining spider DNA with goat DNA to turn goat's milk into spider thread.

Did you know that President Obama was upset about the speed with which the Bush Administration passed legislation? Funny how that doesn't matter anymore.

MIT's technology blog addresses rocket vibrations, referencing an article contributed to by yours truly...

From the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE): Environmentalism as a religion for Western urban elites? I'm shocked, shocked...

From Cousin Andy the Real Rocket Scientist: a virtual tour of the Peak of Eternal Light. Cool! Andy forwarded this link because he was one of my readers for Pilgrimage, a science fiction experiment I wrote but never submitted because I missed a deadline.

Here's an online poll on Obama's handling of the economy. Respond as you see fit and then read the results.

From Da Sis, a possible future vacation destination.

And I'm just adding this video because I like it.

Potpourri LXXX

What's up? Let's have a look...

NASAWatch's semi-legit news service, SpaceRef, is posting a status report on Ares I-X status report.

A video from the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE) on hand-starting a propellor-driven aircraft.

Another item from Lin, this one on technology. Not sure what to make of this one.

Potpourri LXXVI

Lots to type about, so let's get rolling.

NASAWatch is posting an email supposedly from Bob Ess, the Ares I-X Mission Manager, stating that the mission launch date has moved to Halloween. I'd seen an earlier date than that, but these things happen. Guess I'll get to go to Europe AND see I-X fly after all.

Some guys at the USAF's 45th Space Wing put together some incomplete/bad data, added in some bad assumptions, and voila: the Orlando Sentinel gets to pound on Ares once again. This is getting old, guys.

Investor's Business Daily has a series of editorials related to healthcare reform. One is of particular interest because it addresses a fundamental disconnect in President Obama's rhetoric. He's been saying that "If you like your current plan, you can keep it." Which is true. However, if you change jobs, change plans, or go into business for yourself, you'll find that private insurance companies are not allowed to sign new customers on to existing plans--which means, once you get out of whatever plan you're on right now, you have no choice but to take the government's plan. And the government, of course, will ration care any way it sees fit, even if you were willing to pay more. Think very hard before you decide that "nationalized health care" is a bright idea.

Charles Krauthammer, one of the brighter bulbs on Fox News, has a great editorial about Apollo titled "The Moon We Left Behind."

A tribute to Apollo using Elton John's "Rocket Man."

From Father Dan: Mathemagics? Yes!

From Melissa. Haven't reviewed all these yet, so like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get:

• http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/6-men-endure-mars-90648.html
• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=
• http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/PopularScience/4-1939/helmets.jpg&imgrefurl=
• http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/04/21/mechanics-masquerade-as-men-from-mars/&h=2787&w=1890&sz=1433&tbnid=WbBAU7fK0YR-rM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=102&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmen%2Bon%2Bmars&hl=en&usg=__cPXiz_lOkhCGY6zsa8Lzwvpjbhc=&ei=YhlhSqavLOWfmAfjr9SaDw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image
• http://www.scifidimensions.com/Feb01/dennishope
• http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/robotic-exploration/russians-prepare-to-go-to-mars-without-leaving-the-ground

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured photos of all of the Apollo landing sites. Cool! I wonder what the reaction would've been if the descent modules weren't there anymore. More to be found at the LRO site.

CNN decides to report on the "Moon hoax" believers.

And yet another Apollo article from Science at NASA.

WAAY TV in Huntsville posted a report on the friction stir welding going on here at Marshall.

The federal government has a business opportunity for those interested in demonstrating the value of humor in the workplace. Given the government's utter lack of humor when it comes to their little workplace regulations, that really is funny.

Dar also has a fun Apollo-related article, this one related to the American flag planted on the Moon.

From Martin: a YouTube video on laser-powered spacecraft.

Environmentalists are pro-space exploration? Maybe, I say.