What's Busy Like?

Okay, so I don't get to post here as often as I'd like. That's just as well because I couldn't guarantee the quality of the posts if I posted more often. Here's what busy feels like in my world:

Day Job: NASA
Ignoring for the moment that the current Continuing Resolution is due to expire a week from tomorrow, I've got one proposal in work, two more in the queue, untold others waiting in the wings, all due between now and...

Free Time Job #1: ISDC
The International Space Development Conference is zooming along. Ten weeks out, and we're about 80% of the way through filling our programming tracks. Lots of cool speakers we're waiting to confirm, and some we already have (check the web site). Or, consider some of the following:

• "Getting Things Done" Panel: Everything you always wanted to know about how space policy is made in Washington, featuring legislative, administration, and other people responsible for getting space issues and budgets signed into law.
• Building Sustainable Support for Space: Overcoming Myths and Misconceptions: Is it possible to obtain long-term support for space activities? If so--how?
• The Google Lunar X Prize: Teams from across the nation and around the world are competing for a $30 million prize to place a working lander on the Moon. Learn from the teams themselves what they are doing and how.
• Workshop - "How Do I Get My Payload on the International Space Station?": This will be an A to Z tutorial on the process and paperwork needed to get science, academic, and commercial payloads onto ISS.
• Military Space Track: What's happening in military space--on space-based surveillance to orbital debris and planetary defense? Learn from the officers making it happen.
• Space Launch System Mission Planning: The US is on a course to build a heavy-lift launch vehicle. What is its status, and what will we do with it once we build it? Listen to and offer suggestions for this next-generation centerpiece of space exploration.
• Earth and Planetary Science: Learn about the latest developments on Earth, the Sun, and other bodies in our solar system and how they could affect our future in space.
• International Cooperation: How will the ISS expand in the coming decades as we work more closely with our international partners? What more needs to be done?
• Space Based Solar Power Symposium: Learn the latest developments about SBSP--an energy technology that becomes ever-more relevant every time the price of gas increases!
• Education and Outreach: In an ever-more-competitive marketplace of ideas, what can the space community do to engage young people and the general public in humanity's greatest adventure? What works? What doesn't? What hasn't been tried yet? That's what this track is all about.
• Biotechnology and Space Biology: What do the discoveries of arsenic-based life tell us about life beyond Earth? What developments in biotechnology can help us live and work in space? Huntsville is home to the HudsonAlpha Biotechnology Institute, which will be sending speakers to ISDC to talk about the intersection between biotech and space tech.
• Living in Space: How will people live and work in low-Earth orbit? On other worlds? What constraints will shape their lives? This track covers the cultural side of the future of space.
• Book Fair and Author Discussions: Renowned space authors talk about their latest works and share their thoughts on the future of space--10 years or 100 years from now!
• Governors Dinner and Gala: It's not often that you get to dine beneath an actual Saturn V--Huntsville has two! Join us at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center as we celebrate the latest achievements in space.

At least we can't be faulted for lacking ambition. The tracks are a mix of practicality and idealism, and that's about par for the course for the space business: big dreams, hard realities. Too bad I'll be running around with my hair on fire for five days: it should be a fun conference to attend.

 

Free Time Job #2: Science Cheerleader.com

The Science Cheerleaders will be appearing at a Women@NASA event next week in Washington. I can't attend due to lack of leave and funds, dagnabbit, but the SciCheers will no doubt do their usual fine, fun job of "bustin' down the stereotypes." I've been working paperwork and writing tasks behind the scenes, as is appropriate for the Cheer Operations Ninja. Goooo Science Cheerleaders!

 

And now I must sleep. I'm at least doing what I can to keep myself balanced and healthy: smacking golf balls, quitting caffeine for Lent, and getting eightish hours of sleep per night. There are worse ways to live. And, as my manager pointed out to me recently, "You hate being undersubscribed." True, that. More adventures ahead, folks. Stay tuned.

The Drama Continues

Why do I stay in this business? I do wonder sometimes. Obviously out of love for the topic. Gosh knows I've had more than my share of ups and downs in the last two years. Sort of reminds me of all the uncertainties my family dealt with while working at Eastern Airlines in the '80s, when I first started paying attention to the world of work. My dad, stepmom, aunt, and uncles held in there pretty much until the end of the airline--out of hope, out of desperation, out of love of the airline and the people they worked with.

The latest ratcheting of tension comes in the deceptive form of a reprieve: the Congress passed another two-week budget while cutting that ~$300 million from the "Cross-Agency Support" line of the NASA budget. What's Cross-Agency Support? Other industries call it G&A (General and Administrative) or overhead. In short, they cut the non-technical bureaucracy, of which I am a part. Has my particular job been directly threatened? No...not yet. But jeez, I'm starting to wonder if I should reach behind by back to see if someone's attached a "Stress Me" sign back there.

Is any other industry really much more secure? I don't know. I DO know, however, the following things:

• Any job--civil service or contractor--dependent upon government funding is subject to politics, votes, and annual budget fights. It's not for the faint of heart or tense of stomach.
• NASA/space exploration is not a national priority, and has not been since two weeks before I was born, when we won the race to the Moon against the Soviet Union. NASA is now 0.4% of the U.S. federal budget and dropping.
• Space activities will not be a priority until one of two things happen: 1) an asteroid is heading directly for the Beltway, or 2) we discover alien life in the solar system or--more likely--beyond this solar system. And then, if it's option 1), it becomes the province of the Department of Defense, and if it's option 2), it's the State Department's problem (if the aliens are sufficiently advanced)...or DoD if State doesn't do its job right.

I was explaining to a friend today that a couple things trained me well for being a space advocate: I grew up in a family that cared little to nothing about space, and I'm a Cubs fan.

Just wait 'til next year!

Didn't We Just Leave This Party?

Okay, so it's February again, and that means it's time for the President to submit his budget for the coming fiscal year. Regular readers might recall that last year's budget was a bit traumatic for those of us in NASA's human spaceflight community, as the administration announced the cancellation of the Constellation Program. The ramifications of that decision have taken more than a year to unfold, but here in Huntsville that's translated into 700 people being laid off. Your Humble Narrator, while still employed, is no longer working Constellation/Ares, but is instead supporting Marshall Space Flight Center in whatever writing capacity he is needed: reports, speeches, white papers, whatever, dude. I'm there. Mind you, the silliness for fiscal year (FY) 2011 isn't over yet because the previous Congress and the current Congress have yet to pass a budget beyond March 4.

And for a refresher, here's where the budget stands now: the previous Congress passed a series of continuing resolutions (CRs) to keep not just NASA but the entire government operating, but at 2010 budget levels. NASA's 2010 budget also included specific wording that said it could not shut down the Constellation Program. A CR means NASA must continue to operate under that law, but it did get some guidance that it could start planning work on the Senate version of the Administration's future plans (commercial crew/cargo to the International Space Station, building a new heavy-lift launch vehicle). Constellation exists, then, but rather in zombie mode, since we know it's to be cancelled, but the budgetary laws forbid NASA from doing so outright.

In the meantime, Congress did pass a new Authorization Law for NASA, which gives the agency its new direction. An Authorization Law says, "This is what we want you to do." An Appropriations Law signs the check and says, "Here's the money, go do it." All the agency has is an Authorization, not an Appropriation. (For a snarkier version of this story, see this YouTube video.) The current appropriation for FY11, again, is a CR based on the 2010 budget and Authorization, and it is valid through March 4. If one operates under the theory that misery loves company, NASA employees can take some small comfort that they are not alone--the entire U.S. government is operating under these CR rules.

This year promises to be challenging as well because we now have a new Congress which, rightly, is trying to rein in spending. However, some of them are more eager than others, and NASA has always made a big, juicy target. This is what my more savvy political-observer friends call the "posturing" phase of the budget. One member of Congress is proposing a 25 percent cut of NASA's budget. The President will announce his budget requests February 14. What will FY12 look like? Well, given that Congress hasn't been able to pass a budget for the remainder of FY11, which ends September 30, it's almost impossible to predict.

The best bet is that NASA and the rest of the government will receive a CR for the rest of FY11. FY12 will most likely be tight, as Republicans impose serious budget cuts...and really, I voted for 'em, so I can't complain. If the government takes in $2 TRILLION in taxes and continues to spend $3 TRILLION, something's seriously awry. My mother has a phrase for that sort of behavior, and it's called "Living beyond your means." Individuals go bankrupt doing that if they keep it up long enough. But then comes the pragmatic planner in me, who asks, "If you're going to cut, why not cut larger parts of the budget where there is obvious waste going on--Defense, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, and the like?" Those budgets are in the hundreds of billions while NASA's is a paltry $19 billion, and unlike most parts of the government, actually produces high-technology hardware and universe-spanning knowledge. However, I am not an elected official. I don't see things as they do. They see NASA and consider it ALL pork, even the stuff and people that actually work (like me, I add humbly). They see bright, shiny objects flying into space before a crowd of thousands at Cape Canaveral and figure that it MUST be expensive and wasteful. 

Anyhow, in reality, the 25 percent cut probably won't happen, but NASA could get kicked back to 2010 or 2008 levels (around $17 billion). That's not exactly huge in the cosmic scheme of things, but it's not small change, either: that'd be a 10 percent cut, and it would mean cutting back missions: Shuttle, ISS, science, you name it. That translates not just into hardware not built, but jobs cut. What does that mean? This article from the UK crystallizes the effects on the area around Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Yet is NASA nothing more than a jobs program for engineers? I think if you ask the average American how they feel about the Space Shuttle or our nation's other exploits in space, you'd get a different answer.

I honestly don't know what direction space activities will take from here. I know what the plans are, but that doesn't mean the plans will come out as intended. Will the private sector truly be able to launch astronauts to ISS on the timeline NASA wants? I hope so. But what will become of NASA's fabled history of sending human beings into space for exploration? Will we leave the Moon to China, Russia, and India because our elected officials aren't able to pass a budget for more than a few months at a time? You can't run a railroad that way, much less an ambitious space program. If you are upset that your nation isn't doing great things in space, don't blame NASA--write your congressman/woman. As the saying goes, "No bucks, no Buck Rogers." And in a time of general pessimism, we need Buck Rogers more than ever.

Potpourri CLVI

Doing a little electronic housekeeping today. Let's just reach our hands into the bucket and see what sort of scary stuff comes out of it, shall we?

First, a little mayhem and humor courtesy of Allstate (via The Deastroyer).

I like these. I shouldn’t, but I do: Killhouettes.


This past week aviation buffs celebrated the 107th year of powered flight by the Wright Brothers. Others, more impressed with mass transportation, celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3.


Bored? Have some skill with electronics? You, too, can program your Christmas lights to indicate when you have incoming messages.
 
Know a geek you'd like to overspend on this Christmas? Consider one of these gifts.
 
For reasons that elude me, Liberty University decided to put together a choral version of Antoine Dodson's "Hide the wife, hide the kids" rant. Maybe they'll take on the Double Rainbow guy next?
 
Ever felt the urge to drop an asteroid on the planet and see the results? Well, now's your chance. Purdue University has a site made just for you.
 
More YouTube goodness from Father Dan:

• Silent Monks "sing" the Hallelujah Chorus.
• A six-minute video about unbelievable courage and persistence in battle: "Tango Mike Mike." Absolutely worth watching.

From Charlie: a guy who watched Ocean's 11 and learned all the wrong lessons.
 
Awhile ago I tried to explain why it's impossible to calculate the odds of one's employment continuing at NASA. An email I received this morning sort of crystallizes the matter nicely:

Congress has passed a continuing resolution through 12/21 and the President is expected to sign today. We have been advised by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer at NASA Headquarters that all ongoing NASA operations should continue at least through 12/21/10. Additional information will be provided as subsequent funding actions are enacted.

Basically NASA, like the rest of the federal government, is subject to the political debates and whims of elected officials in Washington...which, at present, consists of the lame-duck Democrat-controlled Congress trying to push through as much stuff as they can before the next, Republican-controlled session can take place. New laws are apparently more important than passing the budget, so the budget gets passed in days-at-a-time increments. If the lame-duck Congress can't come to any sort of agreement on what to do with the rest of Fiscal Year 2011 after December 21, the government will "shut down," meaning nonessential personnel like me will be kept at home on furlough until a more complete budget IS passed. Wacky times.

And since it's that season, here's an Irish version of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Here's something interesting...a demographic map of darn near every city in America.

I mentioned the Make A Wish Foundation a few days ago. If you've got some serious spare change, you can buy a Stormtrooper helmet autographed by various Star Wars cast members, with the money going to M.A.W.F. No, really.

In my continuing series of gastronomical challenges, I'm including this link from Yohon on the "worst foods in America."

Jerry Pournelle has had some very thought-provoking essays lately on the recent debates re: renewing the Bush-era tax cuts. He manages to get beyond the rhetoric and consider what sort of society we really want...and what we want the economy to do. Any decision has consequences. Let the tax cuts expire and you make a bad economy that much worse by taking money that belongs to productive citizens and giving it to government. Soak the rich (however you define them), and eventually those folks will either run out of money or take what resources they have and LEAVE the country. Pournelle has other thoughts that, again, are worth thinking about.

I saw these in my internet "travels":

• A Victorian book on how to write fiction, and the then-perceived problems thereof.
• The U.S. Navy has a new gun--and you really don't want to get hit by this one.
• Cold weather isn’t good for electric cars, either.
• Holiday greetings from Jabba the Hutt.
• Googling America…look up a state on Google, and here’s what comes up. Funny!
• C-3PO and R2-D2 swimsuits. Um. Wow?
• While BoingBoing.net finds this letter "thin-skinned," after awhile, you've got to say enough is enough and get the prankster's attention. "Not just no, but heck no!" obviously didn't do it.

From Tracy:

• National Geographic released images of the top most unusual animals discovered in 2010. Some are goofy-lookin', others gross, one or two fascinating. The discovery of these creatures begs the question: how do we "know" how many species exist or have really gone extinct on our planet if new beasties keep creeping up (so to speak)?
• An NPR story about Neil Armstrong and why we should go to the Moon.

From Lin: a two-part article on the role of males in a post-industrial society. I'll read the whole thing eventually, I promise.

 

Potpourri CXLV

Laissez les bon temps rouler...

Culture

It was "Embrace Your Geekness Day" at the New York Stock Exchange today. Get in touch with it, y'all!

NASA is sponsoring a science fiction writer's workshop. Hmmmm. Of course I had some snarky individuals tell me that I have been writing science fiction for the last four years, as I was writing for Constellation. That's just mean.

I think I've found a birthday gift for Doc: a coffee cup that combines Twitter and Cthulu.

Disney's new version of The Sorceror's Apprentice has a Facebook contest where you can win a trip to Disneyland and a chance to be an "Imagineer for a Day." Cool. Unfortunately, my stepmom still works for Disney, so I believe that makes me ineligible. Dagnabbit!

There's a place offering ninja training as a homeowner benefit. Weird.

From Father Dan: What's the future of furniture? Check this out.

Flight Global commemorated the 70th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain this week.

This was just cool: Art Deco trains from yesteryear.

Ever kissed an octopus? Me, neither. But some folks have. Blecchh.

Suggestions for making soccer more exciting (good luck with that): http://www.sciencecheerleader.com/2010/07/soccer-fever/#more-3040. My buddy Anika suggested to me that some folks view soccer as the equivalent of war. Well, okay, but if so, they need to work on their tactics. I actually watched the last 30 minutes of the World Cup, after napping through the first 90, and I noticed that while defensive formations/maneuvers tended to have 2-1 or better advantages, offensive efforts toward the goal tended to be singular, one-on-one play. When on defense, teams seem to fill their side of the field, but when it comes to scoring goals—you know, the point of the game—the offense only sends 3-5 players across midfield. Is that on purpose? Are those part of the rules of soccer? That, and perhaps the teams were too big for the game. Doc suggested that the field was too big—you can see higher scores in (for example) American high school games because they’re playing on an American football field. A smaller field tends to increase the likelihood of contact between teams. Anyhow, there are options for making the games more exciting (e.g. higher scoring). It’s very difficult to convince American audiences that “competitive” games that end with a 0-0 score are exciting. More scoring at least give one a sense of drama, rise and fall, changing fortunes, what have you. When a game goes on for nearly two hours and the most suspense you can muster is whether someone will score, that, my friends, is a recipe for a channel changing. Or a nap.

Here's an impressive, but vertigo-inducing hotel to see if you're ever in Singapore.

Science, Technology, and Space

From Tracy: an historical review of the NASA budget early in the Constellation Program. She made the point that there wasn't enough money for Shuttle and ISS at the time, which goes a long way toward explaining why there wasn't enough for exploration. Hm.

What do futurists actually do for a living? Check this out.

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation has a Frequently Asked Questions document out to address "myths" regarding commercial space launch providers. For the most part, the document is on point. However, they neglect to address "human rating" standards, which are basically a bunch of extra bells and whistles that NASA adds to space hardware to ensure that astronauts have a better chance of surviving an emergency.

NASA has three new "Centennial Challenges" out there for competition.

This item made me a little crazy: some writer is advocating for the ending of air conditioning in the name of global warming. Brings to mind Jimmy Carter's suggestion that people turn down their heat and wear more sweaters when the fear was global freezing. My sarcastic response is, "You first, pal. Good luck with that." On a more practical note, people are about four times more likely to die from heat-related complications than freezing to death (see the Center for Disease Control here and here for the stats).

Brevard County, Florida (home of Kennedy Space Center) has its own version of Huntsville Space Professionals at work.

Paul Spudis has an article this week on NASA that's worth reading.

The future of composite repairs. This will become a bigger and bigger concern, as more and more aircraft have a larger percentage of their airframes made from composites.

From MIT: The Never Ending Drawing Machine


Graphical comparisons of the Gulf oil spill to other historical spills. While ugly, it’s not the worst (yet), by a long shot. http://www.fastcompany.com/1657758/infographic-of-the-day-the-gulf-oil-spill-isnt-the-biggest-but-itll-be-the-costliest-by-far and http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/three-decades-of-major-oil-spills.html.

Senator Nelson is looking to revive the Constellation Program at the expense of commercial-space launches. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/os-nelson-overturns-nasa-plans-20100711,0,2094998.story. NASA could be in for a long summer, waiting for its budget to come in.

 

Foreign Affairs

The bad guys are still out there. An al Qaeda-affiliated group from Somalia killed a bunch of people watching the World Cup in Uganda when South Africa's security proved too tough.

Education

This article deals with both education and creativity, and the state of both in this country. One interesting note: while this country is trying to "get back to basics," other nations are trying to copy our model.

Economy / Jobs

For my Huntsville friends...the following companies are hiring:

• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Davidson Technologies, Inc.
• Dynetics
• Kwajalein Range Services, LLC
• SAIC

First Meeting of Huntsville Space Professionals

One of the advantages of being on a no-overtime type of schedule is that if you work really late one day, you can get out early on, say, a Friday. That's what I did yesterday after kicking it until 10 p.m. Thursday. Since I had the time and might face employment drama after September 30, I decided to attend the first meeting of Huntsville Space Professionals (HSP), a group formed by some downsized NASA folks here in Rocket City, at Chan Auditorium at University of Alabama-Huntsville. The goal of the group is "Preserving and promoting Huntsville's talented human space capital." In short, they want to keep space jobs--or at least the people who filled them--here in Huntsville.

Also in attendance were Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and WAFF TV, Channel 48. (Note to the media: never mind your pushy questions--some people don't like your Very Bright Lights shining in their face--and I was in the back of the room.)

One of the speakers was Lori King-Taylor from Trinity Performance Solutions, which appears to be a staffing company of some sort. Another site she referenced was by the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce. Trinity is helping HSP with establishing a career center, which will assist people with a job search web site, resume writing, interview skills, 401(k) options, entrepreneurship, and counseling. King-Taylor encouraged the crowd: "Keep your head high. This is not your fault. You have done nothing wrong."

Tommy Battle indicated that his office is talking to some of the likely "winners" under the Obama administration's space policy, including firms like SpaceX, Bigelow Aerospace, and Virgin Galactic. There are a lot of smart, space-minded people in Huntsville who would prefer to stay here, thank you very much, and there is a lot of specialized equipment and infrastructure needed to build and test rockets here in Alabama, so the road to space will still go through Huntsville. We'll see if these other companies bite or not. And we still don't know what Marshall Space Flight Center will end up doing under the new policy/budget. In any case, Battle is covering all the bases and working with the Alabama Governor's office as well. He had to go to a meeting, so he wasn't able to take Q&A.

The HSP guys also contacted former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, who is now an "eminent scholar" and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UAH. Griffin was out of the country, but responded to Q&A via email. His general comments were that (unsurprisingly) he was not happy with the new policy, but that he has "no influence over this matter." With regard to people worried about looking for jobs, he recommended that people "look in Huntsville first," pointing to opportunities on the Army side of Redstone Arsenal. For dedicated souls who still want to work for NASA, he recommended reviewing the Space Policy and "go where the money is." On the whole, Griffin hoped that Congress "just says no to the ridiculous space policy advocated by the Obama administration."

After reviewing Griffin's emailed-in responses, the HSP folks reviewed the status of the NASA budget. H.R. 5614, the "Protecting Human Space Flight Act," which was introduced by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) "To impose certain requirements on the expenditure of funds by National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the Constellation Program." More to the point, the point of the bill is to slow down or stop what's going on with Constellation. Otherwise, the NASA budget is entering the "markup" part of budget cycle, where Congress takes what it's been given and starts fiddling with the numbers. The House started its markups June 29, the Senate is due to start theirs July 14. The main difference in the Senate bill is the addition of one more Space Shuttle flight in June 2011. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes "number crunching" going on at the moment, so we'll see what happens. While NASA received a $19 billion budget from the House, they deferred a decision on how to appropriate (spend) that money. We're very likely looking at a Continuing Resolution (CR) come the start of the new fiscal year (October 1).

The HSP guys opened the mike to public comment. There were some questions from the audience on job assistance--the primary reason most folks were there, I'd gather. If the HSP guys were disappointed that more people weren't fired up or getting up to speak, they covered it pretty well. That's not how this town works. Engineers aren't that exciteable, in my observations, and excessive activism is sometimes a political risk.

One gentleman from Southern Capital Management said that he would be willing to share proceeds from a property that he is selling as a commercial property--if folks are willing to put in "sweat equity" to help improve it. Sounds like it'd be serious digging and sweating. He was looking for people with their own Bobcats. Still, the offer's there if you're willing to work...

Otherwise, several Human Resources reps from Technicore, MTS, and United Space Alliance went up to the front of the room to talk to people and collect resumes or other contact information. The HSP guys mentioned that Jacobs was hosting a job fair at the Huntsville Museum of Art 9 a.m. to Noon July 13, and that HSP would be having a meeting at the Monte Sano Lodge next week sometime. Then the meeting more or less broke up.

I am not certain how to rate the effectiveness of this meeting. As I walked in, they were passing out copies of the Obama administration's space policy to make people aware, and they "weren't asking people to take a stand either way." About 50 people showed up, and they managed to get the mayor and the media to show up, so that's a step in the right direction. The HSP guys were looking for feedback on what else they could be doing. I honestly couldn't say. The uncertainty around Huntsville will be around for awhile. "We're caught in a big political game that's going on over our heads," as more than one person said. What happens next is anyone's guess. In the meantime, unfortunately, this group will be necessary for awhile.

Potpourri CXXXVI

Busy world out there...here's the small segment of it I could give my attention to today.

Not sure what you’d call this…maybe a clearing house for the most common/popular NASA Twitter feeds?

From Hu (I'll have more on this in a bit): NASA and Congress slog toward a compromise on the 2011 budget.

Are scramjets the future of spaceflight?


Will the X-37 to be used for spying?

A Japanese solar sail mission will be launched this week. Cool!

Just because the U.S. President doesn’t want to go to the moon doesn’t mean India doesn’t. Boeing is in talks with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to help them with a lunar mission. Sigh. Maybe I'd like it in Bangalore. At least there's not much chance of snow and I know they're serious about going to the moon there.

Senator Shelby (R-AL) has inserted language into an Afghanistan emergency spending bill that would prevent changes or cancellations to the Constellation Program. I appreciate the notion, but I still don’t understand why that wouldn’t or shouldn’t be done on a bill dealing with NASA, not the Defense Department. One thing at a time, ya know?

NASA has converted Space Shuttle flight simulator hardware into an educational tool for students.

Well, now I know where my friend George Whitesides went: he's now CEO of Virgin Galactic. Far out.
My buddy Gwen was at Arlington National Cemetary to visit the grave of her father and found the grave of a Medal of Honor recipient who shared the same last name as her husband. While I don't believe he's directly related to Tim, here's the citation for the gentleman of the grave Gwen observed.
 
This year's Nebula Award winners have been announced. Congrats. Wish to heck I could write that well.
 
Here's a short study in cognitive biases because sometimes such things interest me.
 
There was a Star Wars concert in Orlando last week--good timing for the Shuttle launch.
 
An extended set of TED talks from D2 on cancer prevention:
 

I found this TED TALK by Dr. William Li (http://www.angio.org/) very insightful and helpful. It will only take about 20:00 of your time. http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html

The cancer &/or obesity you prevent may be your own - or that of someone you love.

Also, the attached tiff file is a screenshot of the list of AA foods he discusses broadly. It can also be found at: blog.ted.com/2010/02/dr_william_lis.php

Please feel free to share this info with people you know who might be interested. Don't assume I sent it to them. If they already received it, they can delete it. If they receive it several times, maybe there's a message there...

If you haven't yet discovered TED TALKS, you are missing some pretty mind-blowing and mind-expanding experiences!

D2

PS - I discovered some research re: Low Dose Naltrexone as a cancer-preventative, as well as some interesting drug trials in the management of certain inflammatory and immune-system diseases. This opiod-blocker drug is usually Rx'd for managing addictions, of alcohol or certain other opiods, but has show efficacy in LD regimens with cancer, pre-cancerous conditions, HIV, etc. It might be something to talk with your Doc about.

See: www.lowdosenaltrexone.org

Sarah from Across the Pond asked me what was going on with my job. And since I can't explain the status of my job these days without explaining the budgeting process of the U.S. federal government, I thought I'd just repeat what I wrote here:

It's not so much that the President hasn't come to a decision. I don't know how the budget/parliamentary process works in the UK, but here the Pres. submits a proposal for the overall federal budget, then it goes through what's called a "pass-back," where some other part of the government reviews the proposal and kicks it back to the President's people to redo it (usually with guidance on what to cut). And after that, the budget is reviewed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both houses must write a budget law, and those laws have to match. If they don't, they have to go into a conference committee to sort out the differences. Once that happens, the finalized budgets are voted on and sent to the President for a signature.


So far, we're still in the pass-back and Congressional review portion of the process. The Congress hasn't passed a budget on time (October 1, the beginning of the fiscal year) in a few years, so they'll most likely pass what's called a "continuing resolution (CR)," where they pass a budget for part of the year to keep basic services going and civil servants paid until a final budget can be passed. A CR is usually passed at the same spending level as the previous year, and the agencies receiving a CR are told to continue "business as usual" (no new program directions) until a new budget is passed. Sometimes a CR will last for a whole year. That would be fine by me, because that would mean the Constellation Program gets a reprieve for another year. But the Obama administration is still intent on killing Constellation and redirecting the money to other NASA activities, like environmental monitoring or encouraging U.S. private sector companies to build rockets to launch crew and cargo to the International Space Station. I'm not particularly worried about where I'll end up--NASA always needs good tech writers--but for right now the only thing I know for sure is that I'm good through the end of the fiscal year or whenever Congress finally passes the 2011 budget, which would be anywhere from September 30 to February 1. After that, well, I might be writing for something or someone very different. Stay tuned.

And speaking of folks Across the Pond, I got this YouTube video link from Father Dan: a dear 80-year-old Scottish great-grandmother who just belted out "No Regrets" to the delight of Simon Cowell and the rest of the "Britain's Got Talent" audience. Just marvelous.

Woody Allen thinks Obama should be made dictator for awhile and Republicans should “get out of his way.” Yikes. And FWIW, dude: Republicans cannot stop anything Obama does. They don’t have the votes.


Doubleplusungood: Tar balls have been found off the coast of Key West.

Convinced the end is near? You can always buy a spot in a bunker somewhere.

A female lawyer in France got offended at another woman wearing a burqa and tore it off.

A review is questioning the effectiveness of missile defense.

This amused me: the President signed the Press Freedom Act and then refused to take questions from the press. Just because you have the freedom to ask questions doesn’t mean I have to answer them, pal.

A Democratic candidate for Senator in Connecticut has lied about serving in Vietnam. Dude: if you’re gonna lie about something, try not lying about something that is easily checked: you know, like Bush’s National Guard record or Obama’s place of birth (I kid).

For that seriously geeky wedding party: an AT-AT wedding cake.

But what denomination is it? A humanoid robot presided over a Japanese wedding.

I have this app, but have never used it: Shazam has been voted Gizmodo’s favorite iPhone app. My problem with it? I usually want to know the name of a song while I’m driving!

You can get the Joker added to your iPad. You know: if you really want to.

The Euro has fallen to a new low.

Mark Cuban on making money on the internet and why print is not dead.

Social networking and shopping are converging? Yes.

Hotmail is making some improvements to keep up with other web mail services. About bloody time! I’ve been using Hotmail since 1997. I’m due for an upgrade!

I just found this article title amusing: Facebook and Shutterfly are Now In a Relationship.
 
Kids are teaching about time travel on YouTube. They're learning about this via a service called Ignition Tutoring.

From Doc: the U.S. Air Force is doing serious work in testing "fly-back" rocket boosters. About time someone did it. Fly-back units were originally considered for the Space Shuttle, back when they wanted it to be a fully reusable system.

I'm shocked, shocked...too much TV leads to poor school performance. Jeez, they knew this when I was a kid! Have they heard that the Pope is Catholic? That bears...never mind.

The Obama policy presents a conundrum for conservatives according to Jeff Foust and an op-ed in the Orange County Register. The conundrum being that conservatives generally oppose President Obama's spending policies, often going so far as to call them socialist, but here is one situation where he is trying to reduce the government role (Constellation) and actually trying to privatize (by spending more money on commercial launches to the International Space Station)--a standard plank in the GOP platform. However, I don't see this as a problem for conservatives. If space exploration is looked at as an extension of a strong national defense (a standard part of the conservative platforms of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Regan), which it is, then it is fine as a government expenditure. Paradoxically, an increase in government spending on space--Constellation and COTS--would increase the number of U.S. commercial providers of launch services and keep NASA and U.S. space technologies on the cutting edge by continuing the nation's commitment to exploration of other worlds. Crazy as this sounds, if Obama's policy was passed as is but added Constellation, I'd have no problem with it whatsoever. So sayeth this paleocon and "space moderate."

What would make NASA "cool again?" Consider this blog by my fellow space blogger Nick Skytland.

With the recent news of five soldiers getting killed in Afghanistan, this video from Father Dan of joyous family members greeting returning veterans warms the heart.

From Berin: an event called "Can Government Save the Press?" Reminds me of a quip by Ronald Reagan regarding government thinking: "If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it."

And I think that'll about do for this evening. Stay tuned, sports fans. It's an interesting world out there. You never know what we're going to hear next.

Potpourri CXXXI

I have a bit of a backlog on my "stuff," but I've been trying to put stuff out on Twitter as I get it. In any case, it's time for another dose of Potpourri. As the memos at Disney World used to say, "Read, react, toss."

I subscribe to Foreign Affairs magazine, and they occasionally have some pretty good articles. This one is about universities in Asia, and the efforts by China and India especially to develop "world class" universities to compete with those in Europe and the States. You need a subscription to read the whole thing, but if you have an interest in what foreign policy experts are saying about what our country should be doing, it might be worth the subscription.

This one is a little sad, but a young lady in Vancouver decided to do a blog while she was dying from cystic fibrosis. This isn't too unusual. My pal D2 blogged while undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and Dar referred me to the blog of a friend of hers whose daughter has been fighting leukemia. I'm definitely a believer in writing as catharsis. However, I keep my medical issues off of this blog and out of the general topics of conversation at work or even with the family, if need be, because that's nobody's damn business unless it becomes terminal, and then I'd have to think very hard about what to share and when. (I recall having an argument with a manager about this issue--he asked me what he should say to the troops if I died. I said, "Tell 'em there's a technical writing job open!" I get this from my mother, who's got serious attitudes about privacy.)

The lawyer of a passenger who was behaving erratically on an airplane blamed the man's behavior on Ambien.

Need help starting or funding a new creative project? Consider the Kickstarter site! (This is not to be confused with the MyKickStart site run by my buddy Hu.)

My buddy Dar and her cohorts--who have been trying to increase citizen participation in science and technology decision-making and reviving the Office of Technology Assessment with a citizen component to it--have released a paper, presentation, and new web site to advance their cause. Dar has an excellent blog discussing some of the ins and outs of this effort. The official citation of the paper is:

Richard Sclove, Reinventing Technology Assessment: A 21st Century Model (Washington, DC: Science and Technology Innovation Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, April 2010).

I think I got this link from Joanne Manaster: a list of "brain science blogs." You know: because everyone should have some.

From D2: A Leia-in-slave-girl-outfit car wash. I think Hooters has met its match.

Speaking of D2, NASA has big plans for its R2 humanoid robot. At the rate our nation's space policy is going, robots are about all we'll have in space in a few years.

Water has been found on an asteroid. Why should you care? Well, if we want a civilization beyond this planet, it'd be nice if we didn't have to take all our water with us. Just sayin'.


This sounded kind of fun: using solar sails to pick up space junk.

William Shatner as Governor-General of Canada? I don't think he'd want to take the pay cut.

Can you force yourself to dream? Maybe.

From the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE): What's Deutsch for AIIIGHHHHH!!!!!?

Might there be a ban on burqas in Europe? That would prove an interesting clash of civilizations and priorities: which virtue wins out? Cultural integrity or women's rights? Guess it depends on what's being done to the women wearing said burqas.

From Kate Down Under: A forum on the Battle of Midway. Midway might not be taught in American schools anymore, but it's still a major deal in Australia. During this battle, Japan lost four of its front-line aircraft carriers and afterward lost the initiative in the Pacific, which included plans for invading Australia.

Along these same lines, Father Dan forwarded a YouTube video of a newsreel covering the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. Huzzah!

Speaking of NASA's space policy, my buddy George Whitesides has left the agency. No word on the why, but it'll be interesting to see how things change, if at all, at NASA HQ. And along those same lines, here's an article on public reaction to the change in NASA's direction.

Feel like helping to pick a jingle for a science and engineering festival? Try this site.

From Doc: "A little late for LCROSS, but still..." (Warning: language)

Random link from LinkedIn.com: a site on eliciting the future you want...or something like that.

For those of you concerned about the Zombie Apocalypse, May is Zombie Awarness Month.

The Huffington Post caught the Washington Post confusing our President with Malcolm X. Whups.

From Yenie: A new vineyard to try if/when I ever get out to Oregon.

How fast is Google's new Chrome search engine? Check this out.

Plan to be near Big Ben or the Houses of Parliament in London tomorrow? You could watch the election returns live, projected on the side of the bell tower. Cool!

Need a boost? A walk outside might improve not just your mood, but your self-esteem.

Ever want to be in a Star Wars movie? A JibJab video? Now you can do both.

And as a last note on this post, I have decided to deactivate my Facebook account completely, much to the consternation of a couple of friends. I appreciate the concern, all, but really: I need to walk away from the forum for a bit. There's a lot going on in my life, and FB is a serious distraction right now. I'm getting old, and my bandwidth/ability to handle multiple things at once is just going to heck in a handcart. I'll return when the propitious moment arrives; but that moment is not in an hour, in a day, in a week, or maybe even in a month. Furreal.

The State of Constellation

My workplace is in an odd state, and has been since February 1. On the one hand, you've got the President, whom the agency reports to, proposing a budget that would close down the Constellation Program; and on the other hand, you've got a law on the books, passed by Congress, which says that NASA can't radically change or cancel the program without Congressional approval. And really, the budget process has just begun. What to do, what to think?

The best thing I can do right now is sit back and wait. The debate on the 2011 budget is still in the early phases. The good news is that the Ares Projects have been given marching orders to continue to do the work they'd planned to do for 2010, so I'm probably cool job-wise through at least the end of the fiscal year (September 30). Beyond that, NASA will still need writers, still need engineers and other folks. Perhaps not as many in some places as in others. The places and people that depended on human spaceflight will be hurting. There will be new work (assuming the President gets his way, and it's hard to see how he won't) in technology, which will provide work for some folks, but probably not the SAME people who were doing work on Shuttle or Constellation. Different types of work involved--different skill sets--and those people will have to go elsewhere.

Because I support communication efforts and the Ares Projects' Manager, and also because I'm a bit of a know-it-all, some folks have asked me, "Have you heard anything [about the future state of Constellation]?" or "What do you think is going to happen?" Answer: not a clue, save what I've said above, and all that is pretty obvious. Do I know concretely what will happen to the budget or the workforce? Nope. Just riding it out one day at a time. Stay tuned. No doubt there will be more drama to follow.

Potpourri CXXVII

Been awhile...I've been out of town and tending to various personal matters. Let the madness resume.

Virgin Galactic announced the first captive flight of SpaceShipTwo, "Enterprise." Wired magazine also covered the story. Progress!

I wanted to attend this event, but I will be otherwise occupied by Yuri's Night: the National MS (multiple sclerosis) Society Walk April 10 in Huntsville. I have two good friends with MS, and the stuff they have to go through is painful and heartbreaking to hear (or see). Donations go toward MS medical research. I don't know any of the teams, so I donated to the American Legion's team.

From Hu:

• A Wall Street Journal story on the NASA leadership's attempt to back away from the rather drastic February 1 budget proposal. The games continue.
• A Florida Today story indicating that Sen. Nelson is pushing Obama to continue building the Ares V heavy-lift rocket to keep jobs going at Kennedy Space Center. Great in theory, but it'll be awhile before anything launchable would be sent to KSC

From Martin:

• "The world's smallest starship by the world's biggest geeks." Hard to argue with that.
• Michael Okuda, former designer for Star Trek: The Next Generation and also designer of the Constellation Program's vehicle and mission logos, has some smart things to say in defense of the program he has helped come to life.

From Twila: An interesting graphic on how the U.S. federal budget breaks out.

From my AIAA news feed: a Jupiter-size planet has been found in a "temperate" orbit, meaning I suppose that if there were an Earthlike world in that orbit, life might be possible there. The universe gets more and more interesting the more we learn about it.

From Kate Down Under:

• Newt Gingrich gets things almost exactly wrong on the Obama space policy. There are things that the policy does right, but Gingrich, as a historian, should appreciate the historical role the U.S. government has played in developing frontiers--physical and technological.
• The Mars Spirit Rover is chillin' out on Mars, but still operational.
• NASA is in the process of shuffling around the last few Space Shuttles.
• A little late for me to post this, but NASA's Goddard Space Flight  posted some excellent pictures of Ireland on St. Patrick's Day.

Also from the other side of the globe, the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE) sends these:

• Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, and Jim Lovell, three of the most influential and powerful speakers from the Apollo Program, are speaking out against the Obama policy to end the Constellation Program. Who better?
• A look at a New Zealand agricultural show.

From Karl: A YouTube video featuring a variety of quotations (and some rather dramatic music) related to freedom.

From D2: A really cool video on how video games could be used to fix real-world problems. In that video the speaker refers to the Institute for the Future, which is worth a look.

A teenager wins a $100,000 prize from Intel for developing a spacecraft software navigation system. Now THAT'S cool!

A NASA fan site comparing the Space Shuttle to commercial space.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is going to investigate whether NASA's internal plans to shut down Constellation violate federal law. Wonder who takes the rap for that if they say yes.

Found this while doing some random surfing: an open-source site on aerogels.

Who knew? My grad school alma mater, University of Central Florida (UCF) has a Spaceport Research & Technology Institute. Hmmmm...

Lurking under the radar, the U.S. Air Force is still planning to launch a former NASA vehicle, the X-37, on April 10.

If the world was to get smacked by asteroids or comets, would we have a space program capable of handling the situation? The dinosaurs already know the answer to that question.

And just in case you're REALLY interested, the details of the proposed 2011 NASA budget can be found here.

Potpourri CXXVI

I'm in the process of remodeling and adding a lot more content to Rhetoric & Rockets (a.k.a. Bartacus), so if you see more than the usual number of book or product reviews, that is on purpose. I'm trying to see how much money, if any, I can make through my Amazon Affiliate activities. Here's the general premise: if I write a good enough review and you are tempted to buy a book/video/product based on said review, click on the product "badge" on the page, and buy it through Amazon. The writer/creator/producer gets the joy of a customer, and I get a tiny piece of the action as a reviewer.

Another week's worth of stuff to plow through, so my apologies if there isn't a lot of commentary attached. In response to a comment from one reader, I do not read EVERYTHING included in these links, but it would probably terrify you to know how much I do read. Shall we begin?

From Hu: The People's Republic of China is studying a Saturn V-class launch vehicle. There is only one practical purpose for such a rocket, and that is to send human beings to the Moon. What do they know that the Obama administration does not, hmmmm?

From Greg A.: In the spirit of the late Senator William Proxmire and his "Golden Fleece" award, here are the most 10 most absurd scientific papers published in recent memory.

From Tracy: A good article on how space was promoted back when our country believed that exploring space was a Good Thing.

From D2:

• A Big Think video explaining the possible psychological bases of political ideologies. This one gets a "maybe" in my truthiness scale, but it's an intriguing notion.
• Another article that will probably be of interest to Dr. OZMG re: the profit motive and keeping animals in captivity

From Science @ NASA: Some interesting things are happening on the Sun.

From Dar, who is visiting the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference this weekend:

• An article on the future of video games.
• Science has become a serious political issue in the UK (about time it was taken seriously somewhere!).

From Hank Campbell: The Open Source Science Project, a page that encourages private citizens to participate in, and comment upon, research in progress.

How did they get that bug in the museum anyway? A 100-year-old mystery solved. I expect to see a CSI episode about this soon, but it wouldn't be the same without Grissom on the show.


President Obama has called for a space summit in Florida April 15. He'd better have really good briefings/message control, because there are a lot of angry people at Kennedy Space Center. Anyhow, there are several articles about this summit, which NASAWatch has conveniently put all in one place:

• http://nasawatch.com/archives/2010/03/florida-space-s.html
• http://nasawatch.com/archives/2010/03/space-policy-an.html
• http://nasawatch.com/archives/2010/03/daniel-in-the-l.html

Jeff Foust also has a discussion about the summit on his Space Politics blog.

Is the Orion crew exploration vehicle being transferred to the commercial sector? This article says yes.

Some interesting stuff from OpenNASA…
http://www.opennasa.com/2010/03/09/heavenly-answers-for-earthly-problems/
http://www.opennasa.com/2010/03/11/open-participation-not-just-open-information/

Also from Jeff Foust's Space Politics/The Space Review blogs...

• Some progress might be made on making export control rules more rational (i.e. not so tight that American aerospace companies cannot compete overseas).
• An excellent analysis of how the unveiling of the Obama administration's NASA budget was rolled out and why they face challenges getting their way in fiscal year 2011.
• What hope does the U.S. or NASA have for getting international partners for future space missions? Taylor Dinerman says the odds aren't great unless some serious structural changes are made. This is easily fixed, by the way. The Department of Defense is able to obtain "five-year" funds to build things like aircraft carriers without having to debate the whole thing every year.

Florida members of Congress are trying to keep the Shuttle flying longer.

Machines capable of reading thoughts? Maybe.


Here's an article on the fact that Twitter knows where you are tweeting from. But really, anyone familiar with the technology already knew this…

Like most large, bureaucratic organizations, the Department of Defense has a love-hate relationship with social media web sites.

This is kind of cool: a Flash feature showing the process/progress of assembling the International Space Station (ISS). Just a gentle reminder, all: there are only four more Space Shuttle missions planned, and once they're done and, if the President gets his way, the Constellation Program, NASA will NOT have a rocket that can fly up to ISS until 2016 at the earliest, leaving us dependent on the Russians to get our astronauts there. If you want to know why, I suggest calling your elected officials and demanding an answer. I already KNOW the answer, but I'm not going to share that. It's more fun for you to call and ask. Trust me.

From Martin: A Russian-language travelogue through a "boomer" (nuclear missile submarine) base. I'd be interested to know if this sub is considered "active," or if it's been retired. If it's been retired, has all the hot stuff--the ship's nuclear reactor and its missiles--been removed? Russian speakers are welcome to enlighten me.

The Echoes of Apollo group is interested in building or enhancing the Deep Space Network, which is a worldwide set of dish antennas used to collect data from satellites and vehicles farther in space. Gosh knows the U.S. system could use an upgrade or two.

From Regina: The European Space Agency (ESA) has upgraded its "Eduspace" web page for space education.

From Father Dan: A very cool map of weather conditions at every airport in the U.S.

From Lin: A new bicycle from New Zealand, the "Yike Bike."

And that will do for now. Your readership and patronage are appreciated!

Potpourri CXXV

Not too much craziness tonight, but let's get right to it, shall we?

Loretta Whitesides has a good piece at OpenNASA.com on perfectionism that resonated with me.

From Martin: If you thought I had too much time on my hands, consider this guy, who created Minas Tirith out of matches. Dang.

From Twila: I haven't watched this yet, but Jay Barbree is a long-time space journalist and fan. He gets things right about 1/3 to 1/2 the time, but what the heck.

From Tracy: A Wall Street Journal article on a possible "Plan B" response to Congress on the NASA budget. I have already complained about this, of course.

From Kristina: There's a new web site for posting events in the Tennessee Valley, just in case you're interested.

From myself, about two years ago. I was clearing out some emails, and I found this bit of whimsy. Someone started doing a Chuck Norris riff on someone I'd never heard of named Anna, and I just added to the mix. Here's what happens when I'm allowed to free associate for ten minutes.

Who is Anna?

No one knows where Anna is from.
Anna swept in mysteriously one night from a place with frozen tundra and only fair pizza.
Anna makes farm animals restless from 50 miles away.
We aren’t 100 percent sure, but we think Anna built the pyramids.
Anna can jam NORAD radars.
Anna raises and lowers meeting room chairs when nobody is looking.
Anna caused sea level to rise, but no one noticed because the land rose the same amount.
Anna’s bullets ricochet off tall buildings.
Despite what you think, Anna did not fix the 1919 World Series.
Anna has 357 unpaid parking tickets.
Anna is the one who steals socks from the dryer.
Anna is secretly running the space program.
Anna keeps 55-gallon drums of bubbles in her office.
Anna knows what happened to Jimmy Hoffa.
Anna knows the true meaning of lagniappe.
Don’t mess with Anna on days when she’s carrying a clipboard.
Anna brought back bell bottoms and disco, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Anna keeps an android of herself that is so lifelike it was declared a national treasure.
Anna knows where the next asteroid is going to hit, and when.
Anna has made Twinkies.
Anna knows the secret ingredients of every food chain’s specials.
If you’re not careful, Anna will steal your leftovers.
Anna defies gravity, and gravity defies right back.
When Anna throws toast in the air, it always lands butter side up.
Anna singlehandedly moved the city of Irvine, California three feet to the left.
Don’t give Anna matches. Ever. No, really. I’m not kidding.
Anna is standing right behind you.

What the heck is a CubeSat? Try this.

From Greg: An audio file that explains how missile guidance systems work. 'Cause you just never know when you'll need such useful information.

From the NASA PAO: A couple of NASA instruments on India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter have detected a LOT more water at the lunar north pole than ever previously suspected. This is awesome news! Too bad the President wants to shut down our human space exploration program, isn't it? Well, maybe the Indians can make something of it when they get there. Or the Chinese.

From D2: A company is now selling personal jet packs. Some things really SHOULD be licensed... 

And lastly, some pictures from Sarah, one of my fellow tourees, of last year's adventure through Europe. Fun!

Begging the General's Pardon, But...

The folks at NASA got an email from Administrator Charlie Bolden March 5 (the full text can be found here) explaining why the "Plan B" budget he asked a couple of NASA center directors to formulate was not, in fact, a plan B. Fine. He can call it what he wants. The part of the email that really frosted me was this:

We in the NASA family know all too well the difficulty of the things we do, and we now want to go to Mars and other deep-space destinations. We all know that we can’t get there with the technology and knowledge base that we have today, and that is why we must aggressively embark on a robust program of research and development. I firmly believe we have a budget that supports the goals and dreams we all share, and that we will maintain our technological leadership as well as our acknowledged leadership of human space flight in the world. I need all of you to believe as I do and pull together as a team to make this happen.

With all respect, General, we don't "all know" that we can't get to Mars with the technology and knowledge base we have now. The Constellation Program has been in the process of doing just that.

If the program had been given a bigger technology budget, they might have been able to build some things that did not rely so much on the existing infrastructure (people, contractors, hardware). Or, here's a wacky idea: let Constellation continue doing what it's doing with the technology that's available now, spend additional money on the new stuff, and when that becomes available, retrofit it onto the existing vehicles. That way, you've got both a human exploration program AND a technology program dedicated to making that program better in the future.

However, Constellation was told to do exploration on the cheap, with little to no "new money," and with the bulk of the money not coming until the Space Shuttle was retired. Nevertheless, given the hardware at hand, Ares, Orion, and the rest of the human exploration projects were developing the tools to get America moving beyond low-Earth orbit again.

Take a look around Johnson, Marshall, and Michoud, as well as other NASA centers. Folks across the country have been dedicating themselves for over five years to use what we have in the service of a new direction ("Moon, Mars, and beyond"), and to do so as quickly as starvation budgets allowed. Pulling together as a team is increasingly difficult if you are going to insult the efforts of the team whose work you will count on to execute your new direction.