Here's a report that says the astronauts are confident that the Space Shuttle is safe.
"There has been so much testing done that our confidence has gone way up," said Air Force Col. Eileen Collins, commander of the mission aboard Discovery. She noted that she and her crew have been "very, very heavily involved" in the day-to-day flight preparations and decision-making.
"I am confident enough that we're not going to have a hole the size of what Columbia had" because of improvements to the fuel tank to prevent foam shedding, she said. "If that does happen, we will know it. In fact, if we have a very small hole or a very small crack, we'll know that, too, and if that happens, we have the potential repair
techniques."The seven astronauts will also have the international space station as a haven, if their shuttle is damaged beyond repair by fuel-tank debris. Collins, the only woman to command a space shuttle flight, said: "It's time for us to go fly."
I pray she is right when she says they have repair techniques. The failrue to repair is another seven dead astronauts.
Bush Plan To Boost Private Space Industry
I know some people think we are critical of the current Bush presidency across all fronts. This is demonstrably not true. Bush has been very progressive when it comes to space policy, and while we have objections to some of the details in the plan, on the whole we see his presidency as being space-exploration friendly.
His administration is now seeking to increase commercial markets for the fledgling private space industry.
In a policy statement released on Thursday, the White House said a big decline in the market for commercial launches had weakened the U.S. space-transportation industry. Major changes were needed in the government's role to ensure America's access to space and protect vital security and economic interests.
"The U.S. government must capitalize on the entrepreneurial spirit of the U.S. private sector, which offers...opportunities to open new commercial markets, including public space travel," it said. The new policy comes only months after the
world's first privately funded manned spacecraft soared into space while the space shuttle program remains grounded after the Columbia disaster in 2003.In the new policy, Bush directed the secretaries of Commerce and Transportation to "encourage, facilitate and promote" commercial space transportation including human space flight. The policy calls on the government to use American-made launch vehicles and other commercial services when possible and would limit the use of surplus military missiles in space launches. It would allow private companies to compete for government missions.
This seems totally appropriate given the current state of affairs. Tick!
- Art Neuro
1 comment:
Just to add a note to clarify my position because it is significantly different to Chris', James' or db's... :)
1) John Kerry presented a managerially driven, 'tighten budgets, run it more efficiently and get the shuttle working again' as his planks of space policy.
Clearly it was insufficient to the task of space policy and I objected to it. However i don't believe db, James or Chris thought that plank was any good.
2) I don't like Bush's plan as it invests heavily in returning to the Moon, which is going to be energy and cost negative going into the future, eternally. the place is only ever going to cost us energy and resources with little in return.
Going to Mars Direct is going to pay of a lot sooner.
I believe 'our consensus' is still in support of Mars Direct and the colnisation of mars as a priority.
Having said that, for my money the Bush space policy is a far superior commitment to space than what Kerry presented in as much as space exploration was concerned; I thought it was much better than the Democrat plank (see above)
3) I personally do not agree with everything George W. Bush's administeration is doing. This is no secret. I support the war on the Taliban in Afghanistan without hesitation. I can see why the said Administration felt compelled to do Iraq, but I don't agree with it.
I think db, Chris and James strongly disagree with the Iraq campaign far more than I do. That difference however, is not as big as it might look as we quibble about fine points of policy execution.
More importantly, my lame-ish objections to the War in Iraq has never made me throw out the baby of Bush's space plan with the bathwater.
4) I support the development of a private space industry. here and around the world. Based on the experience of the Space Shuttle, I actually think government-led projects like it are doomed to be inefficient and slow to develop. Bush's policies clearly support the development of markets for the private space industry. It is good; and also consistent with what I think is a good way to go.
5) For the record: Do I like George W. Bush? No. But to be fair I also have not met the man so I might be bieng rash.
Do I like all of his policeis? No.
Do I dislike all of his policies? No.
Do I like living in a world where he is President? I haven't enjoyed the last 4 years much. Going forwards with 2 wars on is not making me happy.
Does it make it 'contradictory' that I object to some parts of his Administration's policies and not to others? I don't believe so. But there are plenty of idiots on the planet who just support a candidate or party for irrational rooting interests, rather than proper policy discussion.
That's not to say I don't have irrational rooting interests; I just confine them to sports where they belong (Yay Yankees, boo Red Sox).
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