The official price tag on fixing Hubble is now stated at US$2 billion. Well, that changes a lot of things, because US$2 billion simply isn't chump change. No wonder the White House balked and no wonder Congress is balking. I'd balk at that too, because for US$2billion, you might consider buying another one or three; brand spanking new with better technology.
While NASA has sent several repair missions, experts say an additional one is needed because the batteries and gyroscopes probably will fail between mid-2007 and 2010.
But with the crash on Feb. 1, 2003, of the space shuttle Columbia, a manned mission to repair Hubble is not worth the risk, said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif. "Some people just want to dive back in and use the shuttle as if these catastrophic accidents didn't happen. ... To the degree that we don't have to use the shuttle, we shouldn't use the shuttle," he said. Experts also are divided about the best course of action.
NASA caused an uproar among scientists last year when the agency said that the safety of astronauts should not be put at risk in order to repair Hubble. A National Academy of Sciences committee concluded in December that NASA should use astronauts, not a robot, for a repair attempt.
"The crew risk of a single shuttle mission to Hubble is very small," the chairman of that committee, Louis Lanzerotti, a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, told lawmakers Wednesday.
But Dr. Paul Cooper, an executive at the company asked by NASA to create a Hubble-repairing robot, said such a trip could be of huge scientific benefit in future repairs of U.S. satellites, particularly for the Defense Department.
Okay. Time for some facts:
The shuttle was originally conceived for doing exactly what we're talking about, which is to go up and repair satellites. It wasn't a great idea in the first place, and having the shuttle has always delayed us from deploying proper geo-sync satellites because they would be out of the shuttle's range. Go figure.
So now the argument is that it would be too costly AND a bad risk to send the shuttle up to do what it's meant to do.
I have doubts as to whether the cost of repairing Hubble really is US$2 billion or whether that number is inflated for the purpose of blocking the repair and pushing for the construction of a new orbital telescope. NASA has a double motive in not wanting to fix this venerable toy that has provided so much fun, joy and information. What I don't quite understand is why they've never had a plan to replace Hubble that would satisfy the community. Or maybe this haphazard process is exactly that process of replacing Hubble. I don't know about you, but NASA's thinking is obviously quite unlcear on this issue.
Spotting Dick-Taters
A friend of mine sent this in this morning, which might be of some interest. It doesn't represent my opinion, nor does it constitute my thoughts on the topic. I'm just putting it up because it might draw a chuckle.
Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia),and Pinochet
(Chile). He found the regimes shared 14 identifying characteristics:1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and otherparaphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate aperceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses, and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear ampaigns against or even
assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
As for analysis, it's pretty idiotic, but it's still a good compendium of checkpoints. Considering there are self-righteous morons everywhere trying to draw conclusions about what is observed as 'results' in politics and what is performed in service in politics and think there is a causal, scientific relationship.
- Art Neuro
No comments:
Post a Comment