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A Crack Opens in the Ethiopian Landscape, Preparing the Way for a New Sea | 80beats

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Ethiopia-cracks In 2005, the earth cracked open in Ethiopia. Two volcanic eruptions shook the desert, and a 35-mile-long rift opened in the land, measuring 20 feet wide in some places. Now a new study adds weight to the argument that the opening of this crack marks the first step in the formation of a new sea that may eventually separate East Africa from the rest of the continent. Says lead researcher Atalay Ayele: “The ocean’s formation is happening slowly, likely to take a few million years. It will stretch from the Afar depression (straddling Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti) down to Mozambique” [ABC News].

The study, to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, explains that the seismic movements observed in Ethiopia are very similar to the changes wrought by faults and fissures on the seafloor, where the processes that move tectonic plates usually begin.

Seismic data from 2005 shows that the rift opened in a matter of days. Dabbahu, a volcano at the northern end of the rift, erupted first, then magma pushed up through the middle of the rift area and began “unzipping” the rift in both directions, the researchers explained in a statement today. “We know that seafloor ridges are created by a similar intrusion of magma into a rift, but we never knew that a huge length of the ridge could break open at once like this” [LiveScience], says study coauthor Cindy Ebinger.

The active volcanic region in Ethiopia’s Afar desert sits at the boundary of the African and Arabian tectonic plates, which have been gradually spreading apart for millions years; the new study shows that large-scale seismic events can speed up that process. The gradual separation has already formed the 186-mile Afar depression and the Red Sea. The thinking is that the Red Sea will eventually pour into the new sea in a million years or so [LiveScience].

Image: University of Rochester

The Politics of Addiction | The Intersection

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

The faces of addiction come in every color and gender. The disease creeps into the lives of those from a wide spectrum of socio-economic levels, backgrounds, and experiences. It crosses continents, latitudes, and longitudes. That’s the thing about addiction–it doesn’t discriminate. Neither should politicians. Particularly when it comes to funding the research to help those who need treatment most.

Jessica’s got a thoughtful post up over at Bioephemera on double standards, politics, and drug treatment research. Having spent two years as a AAAS fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, she understands the gravity of the issue. Jess writes:

..research to help smokers quit is generally portrayed as necessary and important, [while] increasingly, I’m seeing politicians complain that research to help other drug addicts quit is a waste of money.
Maybe it’s because these other addicts are meth addicts, or potheads, or heroin addicts – probably not people you relate to or approve of. That makes it pretty easy for the media to take cheap shots at crack, etc. addicts, and question whether we should waste money trying to help them. But we should get angry about these cheap shots…Tobacco is still a significant public health problem, and I want to do all we can to help smokers (like my mom) quit, but crack, meth, etc. utterly destroys families and communities. We should be leveraging scientific research every way we can to help these people – not throwing them away or taking shots at them because they’re “bad,” or because we can’t relate to them. They’re real people. They have families.
Nevertheless, people routinely and cynically use drug treatment research as a political football.

Of course it’s not news that politicians bash science research to score points with the voting public: Sarah Palin notoriously mocked fruit fly studies along the campaign trail while John McCain took issue with grizzly bear research and the Adler Planetarium. And the truth is that this tactic probably continues to win votes since science remains such a partisan issue. But when it comes to people–and finding the means to treat those most in need–a political agenda is unquestionably not acceptable.

Lots of us like to imagine there are justifiable reasons we’re the most deserving of the best care when sick. The truth is that better treatment and attention should not come as a result of wealth, location, or the social acceptability of a disease. Like Jess, I agree we must let doctors and scientists continue to study drug abuse and test treatments in the real world. That’s the way research progresses and results are achieved.

I’ll leave you with this illuminating video Jess posted that demonstrates the problem:

Space: A Waste?

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

NASA Facebook fans are a chatty bunch. We (NASA) post something of interest going on at NASA. Fans talk about it. They like it. They dislike it. They have an idea for how to change it. But, for the most part, they’re supportive of our efforts. It is, after all, a “fan” page. Lately I’ve noticed a few unhappy folks who post little “This is a waste of time” zingers. I really find it fascinating. If the information we’re posting is a waste of their time, why do they spend time on the NASA fan page?

I’m intrigued by the “waste of time” mentality.

When someone writes “This is a waste of time” on NASA’s Facebook wall about the Timbuktu image above, I have to wonder…as compared to what? Their frame of reference would be so telling. Wouldn’t it? For instance:

Reading a book is a waste of time when you could be fishing.
Fishing is a waste of time when you could be working.
Working is such a waste of time when you could be spending time with family.
Family time is such a waste when you could be traveling.
Traveling is such a waste of time when you could be volunteering.
Volunteering is such a waste of time when you could be making money to donate.

Look at the context in these examples. One choice is pitted against another. We tend to do that, don’t we?

Don’t we make judgments about choices others make based on our own value-based choices?

Here’s what I notice: we humans often expect others to share our views and values. If they don’t, we like to cast them as our enemy. We’re good. They’re bad. That simple. But really, it’s not simple at all. Just because I value something doesn’t mean you have to value it too. Yes, I’d LOVE everyone to agree with me on EVERYthing. But, I’m no less valid in my choices or opinions than you are in yours. (You’re probably shaking your head right now, thinking how I’m idealistic and unrealistic I am. You won’t be the first to think it.) Hear what I’m saying.

Life is all about balance.

We each bring to the table different and unique attributes for the greater whole. Synergy! The same goes for NASA. So, let’s explore how the federal government works, shall we?

Civics 101: The government exists to provide the public good. We fill the gap between:

the needs of the common man, and
profitably ventures attractive to commercial entities.

The pursuit of knowledge (i.e. NASA endeavors or basic science) isn’t profitable. But once we pursue the unknown, gain knowledge, and share what we’ve learned, THEN the opportunity exists for someone to take it and run all the way to the bank. For instance, what we’re learning about humans existing in long-duration space onboard Space Station, may help address the debilitating effects of osteoporosis on here on Earth. A drug company MAY use this information to manufacture sell an “antidote” to brittle bones. Yay for them! We discover knowledge that leads to a product that meets a need someone is willing to pay for. Or, IF the need is worthy and a commercial entity can’t make a profit, we’re back to the government providing it. The cycle circles back on itself.

Society = balance of public good + commerce.

In reality, the argument boils down to managing the appropriate balance among the nations’ priorities to best bring about public good.

Civics 101, Part 2: The White House and Congress determine the nation’s priorities.

The White House sets the agenda, and
Congress holds the purse strings.

NASA receives less than 1% of the federal budget. Even if I do say so myself, we accomplish aMAZing feats with that partial penny on every dollar given us by Congress.

What can YOU do with less than a penny?

So back to the question, is space a waste? Again I ask: as compared to what? Personally, I feel the time and energy I spend exploring unknown places or books or foods or experiences is never wasted. Every time I learn something new, I know more than I did the moment before. Even when the experiences are painful, I’m still wiser than before. Can that knowledge ever be wasted? What if I share what I learned with you, and it:

saves you time,
streamlines your effort,
prevents harm, or
gives you insight on places or people you’ll never see?

What we discover at NASA changes textbooks! Generations upon generations of humans will benefit from the sacrifice our nation made to fund the space program, in an effort to learn what we don’t know. In the meantime, our government also took care of housing for the homeless, education for students, subsidies for farmers, benefits for veterans, security of our borders, and so much more. We can debate the balance of funds distributed, but it was ALL in an effort to bring about the public good…as determined by the White House and Congress.

Civics 101, Part 3: Citizens, if you disagree with how your tax dollars are spent, you speak loudest through your right to vote (as opposed to a fan page on the internet).

In the meantime, I’ll see you on Facebook!

Crosspost on Bethbeck’s Blog.

Making NASA Cool

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Recently the NASA Langley Center Leadership Council created a mid-term strategic objective of ‘Making NASA Cool’. They actually set several objectives along this same vein, looking into the merits Participatory Exploration, STEM education and Telling the NASA Story. Teams have been formed to make recommendations to center leadership on what the center, and what the agency can do to work towards these goals.

So far the ‘Making NASA cool’ initiative has hosted a whiteboard session, posted a blog on OpenLaRC seeking recommendations, and created wiki for ideas on how to communicate the cool things that NASA does on a daily basis to the public. Some of the recommendations are included in the attached presentation, though it is only a start. Comments are welcomed and the feedback will help to craft an action plan of how to move forward.

Making NASA Cool

View more presentations from rorycollins.

Engaging JSC’s Next Gen: A Leadership Analysis

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

A little over 18 months ago, a group of about 30 young professionals at JSC were assembled in a conference room off-site and tasked with developing their own vision for the Center, as well as an associated strategic plan (1 year) to get closer to realizing this vision, over the course of a 2-day workshop. A response to the Gen Y Perspectives presentation that previously made the rounds within the agency, the JSC 20-Year Vision development effort was specifically designed to engage young professionals at the center and allow them to provide their own perspective of where they collectively hoped to see the Center in 20 years.

The team recognized at the end of those two days that its task was daunting enough to need extra work, and so the team members set out to accomplish their task. The result, after a little over a month of diligent work, outlined their vision for the JSC of 2028 and provided 5 suggestions of “immediately” implementable ideas that would, in the end, help realize this vision (presentation can be found in the Documents section of this website).

In recognizing the value of documenting and analyzing the leadership lessons learned throughout this experience, a subset of the team worked to compile the following paper. We are, of course, anticipating updating and adding to this paper as we chat more about our collective experiences. In the mean time, we hope that it can provide some more insight on the activities over the past year and a half and spark some interest in the dynamic leadership model that was utilized by the 20-Year Vision Team.

The paper can be found at the following link: Next Gen at Johnson Space Center - Boldly Expanding the Frontiers of Human Space Exploration

Dumpster Diving for Rockets

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Excalibur Almaz has done something cool by using old Russian manned modules and dusting them off to do more missions with them.

According to Wikipedia, there are a few dozen Titan 2 rockets waiting to be scrapped or “turned into monuments” in Tucson Arizona.

How much payload could these send to the moon? Could this be a boon to Google Lunar X-Prize contestants? These can put 277 KG on an escape trajectory. That could get a real lightweight payload to the surface of the moon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(rocket_family)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGM-25C_Titan_II

What other obsolete rockets are moldering about in warehouses?

TEDx NASA

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace are excited to be hosting TEDx NASA - a unique day of ingenuity, beauty, passion, innovation, laughter, creativity, sharing and, most importantly, ideas capable of changing the world – ideas worth spreading.

TEDx NASA – Space to Create will be held on November 20, 2009, at the Ferguson Center in Newport News, Virginia.

Please visit tedx-nasa.org for complete details and ticketing information. Tickets will be available to the public on November 14, more information to follow.
“Space to Create” is the perfect platform to explore new ideas, creativity and innovation. Following the TED (ted.com) model of “riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world,” TEDx NASA speakers will give ‘the talk of a lifetime’ in 18 minutes or less. This fast paced event will have woven into it shorter talks and entertainment featuring truly unique thinkers, musicians, artists, inventors, research students, and creative-types. A speakers list will be available soon; but, as with all TED events, there will be unannounced special guests.
Event:               TEDx NASA
Web site:          tedx-nasa.org
Theme:             Space to Create – ideas worth spreading
Attendance:     1,700 guests
Date:                November 20, 2009
Location:         Ferguson Center at Christopher Newport University
Time:                Day-long event

This Isn’t Your Typical Conference
This is much more than just putting a group of famous, and not so famous, name speakers on a stage to entertain an audience. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events modeled after TED conferences. They are about bringing together a unique group of people, presenters and attendees alike, to join in on extraordinary conversations. At a TEDx event, videos and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. In fact, one of the main reasons to come is to unite with other attendees. It is about passion, laughter, beauty, brilliance, ingenuity, innovation, contribution, and, most importantly, ideas capable of changing the world – ideas worth spreading.

Our Speakers
Our presenters look after some of the Nation’s most valuable assets, teach at some of the best universities, entertain at some of the world’s biggest venues, design some of our most useful products, author inspiring books, research to find solutions to some of our biggest challenges, invent world-changing devices and machines, and create ground-breaking media. They range from rocket scientists to guitar virtuosos. They are a combination of familiar trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses. They will be persuasive, creative, courageous, fascinating, inspiring, ingenious, funny, and informative. We have also sought out some of our local emerging artists, scientists and thinkers, to introduce them to our new TEDx NASA community. For the most part, speakers will stay for the entire event and mingle with the audience.

Our Audience
The TEDx NASA attendees will be just as extraordinary as the speaker line-up; they will include internet pioneers, local technology leaders, movie producers, architects, creative directors, CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, engineers, investors, celebrities, scientists and leading opinion formers of every kind. Indeed, we expect all 1,700 spaces at the Ferguson Center to be occupied.

Program Structure
This year’s theme for our TEDx NASA event is “Space to Create.” For NASA, the word space has one meaning, for others, space can be a studio or a library, or a city park. Each session will contain a great variety of topics.

In the tradition of TED Talks, some basic speaker guidelines will be followed There will be no keynotes – all speakers are equal. There are no panel discussions, no Q&As, and no podiums. Keeping within the allotted timeframe, speakers will clearly communicate the core message agreed upon with the conference organizers.

Generous breaks will be scheduled between sessions to give the audience time to think about what they’ve seen, and to share their thoughts with other attendees and speakers.

Reflections On a Business Trip in Huntsville

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

I’m sitting in front of a rusty gate closed by a chain and padlock. Birds are chirping behind me and I hear crickets in the woods on both sides. I feel a peaceful serenity and solitude at the end of this torn up road. In the distance in front of me, beyond the gate and a row of low trees rise two towers of steel webbed girders, adorned with propellant and oxidizer tanks and cranes that look as if they have been caught in a spider’s web waiting to be consumed and sucked dry. I can not see the base of the towers; they are obstructed by different kinds of trees. A low pitched whirr is coming from the base of the towers, perhaps some sort of refrigeration system? A wren calls out. The road that I am on, at the southern end of Redstone Arsenal and the Marshal Spaceflight center, is cracked and the asphalt litters the road in spots with pebbles. A wasp just performed a flyby of my computer screen. Perhaps he wonders why someone has come here to sit on the hood of his car and type into his computer. The wildlife gets louder. Perhaps they are more comfortable now that I have been here for a while. I wonder how the wildlife reacted when the mammoth F-1 engines were tested at this test stand in the 1960s.
This morning, my manager told me that the engineers had not considered the magnitude of the acoustic shock from the engine, and with no suppressing countermeasures, windows for miles around were broken out by the shockwave. That was the first time the engineers working on that engine had operated something so powerful. Perhaps only weaker than the atom bomb, but the F-1 engines sustained continuous explosion, while a nuclear bomb is over in an instantaneous flash.

I hear a clang. The whirring stops. When the airplane overhead moves on, I expect to hear no man made sounds at all. Only the birds and crickets inhabit this place, along with the inanimate man made objects.

Two walkers approach me from behind, and give me a nod. They reach the gate, turn around, and return back down the winding wooded avenue.

30 minutes ago I stood in front of the Jupiter C, Redstone, Saturn 1, Hermes, and V2 rockets lined up in a row about a mile north of where I sit. The Jupiter was riveted together, like a vintage airplane with round rivets that protruded from the metal, unlike modern airplanes where the rivets are flush. It looked like something that was put together a long time ago. These rockets weren’t that big, either. I looked up at the Redstone rocket, which carried Allan Sheppard into his suborbital flight so long ago. I could be on top of that, I thought. It’s not even that tall. I did a full walk around the Jupiter C. The V2 Stood next to the Hermes. It’s comical bulbous pointy shape pointed to the sky. “I aim for the stars” was the name of the movie made about Von Braun. “But sometimes I hit London,” a satirist suggested as an addendum to the title. That V2. Here in Alabama. Far from Penuumbre where it was conceived and manufactured. It came to these woods in Alabama with the designers to show the hunters how to begin the ascendance above the atmosphere. This same machine above me at the time served as a beacon along the trail to the stars, whereas if it had been picked before one of the other V2 rockets in the final days of World War Two at Penuumbre it could have been one of the rockets that killed 168 people at Woolworths in New Cross, London. Its brother V2, which actually struck Woolworths, could be the one standing erect at the Redstone arsenal in 2009. Would it feel survivor’s guilt like the Apollo moon walker Eugene Cernan felt guilt for not being shot at in fighter planes over Vietnam because her was flying in space missions to the moon?

The V2 rocket and Von Braun both came here to Alabama to shake their dark past of fatal slave labor from Jews and merciless arbitrary killing against the people of London. They came to Alabama, with no pretentions about their past, but a dogged determination to make good with the evil gift that had been a mainstay of Nazi desperation in the waning days of World War Two. Still, here at the Redstone armory, both Von Braun and V2 were saddled side by side with the development of the nuclear-carrying ICBM missiles. Hitler had pushed rockets for war in the 1940s, and in the 1960s, Von Braun was not free from the clutches of a country that used every advance in space exploration to further the military technology of missiles.

I pondered on the simple calculations that I had done the night before as I took my propulsion midterm exam. Those formulas that I employed to answer the arbitrary questions, did the engineers who built this hardware really know them much better than I did when they were grappling with the Redstone rocket design? I saw the smooth tubular shell of the rockets. “How complicated is it in there?” I wondered. As I looked carefully, I saw a bird pecking about inside the rocket inside the mesh. That bird was more familiar with the inner workings of the rocket than I was. When I draw my sketches on paper for a homework problem, they are so simple. I know that there are mysteries that the engineers had to discover and uncover as they built these rockets. The unseen intricacies underneath the white painted skin are what has become ingrained in these Alabama hunters. It’s that mystery that has been frozen into these steel webbed towers that rise before me. They wait for us to build again.

I hear a rocket firing to my left. It is still going. Is it an engine? It sounds throttled back. The birds complain, breaking out into shrieks. I still hear the sound. It sounds like metal being dragged across the floor. It sounds like a waterfall.

The rocket is throttled up again. It sounds like sparks flying. It sounds like standing under a shower head, echoed through the hilly wooded countryside. I can’t imagine anything other than a rocket test that could make that noise. Now I hear crows in front of me beyond the trees beginning to caw. Perhaps they have had enough. Or maybe they are going to go and see what I can only imagine as I sit here.

These test stands wait here. They stand ready for America to build new engines, to try new technologies never before built by man. These towers are sleeping giants ready to roar to life with the birth of the engineering artifacts that will carry other men’s dreams, other men’s fears, and other men’s pride forward and upward through the atmosphere to unknown worlds and lands..

Men like Von Braun, who walked this very road countless times from the time that the government brought him here to this army base in 1960 with a mandate to put America on the Moon. Some of the Alabama country folk stopped hunting deer in the forests to start building rockets. They never stopped hunting deer, they just moved to other forests. One of the first things that I heard here in Alabama was when I got my security clearance at the Arsenal entrance: A group of locals were standing outside the security post and one said: “When I was gutting a deer this weekend…” in a deep southern drawl. I smiled as I headed to the rental car. These Alabamans didn’t put down their guns when they picked up their tools to construct this oddity in the universe; this portal to change. Where hunters ascend to Knowers. Doers. Makers. Be-ers.

I sit here, surrounded by birds, the very creatures that moved Wilbur and Orville off the sands of the beach in Kitty Hawk. An airplane flies above me now, a creature of man’s making that further moved men to build spaceships and rockets. I sit in front of the towers with their mechanical whirr (it started up again). The towers are creatures that are moving me to some future transcendence. What is it? I can envision interplanetary voyages, as the Wright brothers and Da Vinci envisioned flight when seeing the birds; as Goddard, Oberth, and Braunn envisioned space travel after seeing the airplanes. I see the current day spaceships, the test stands before me right now… I envision permanent settlement on the Moon and Mars. I envision simplified reliable rockets bringing up satellites, experiments, people, and energy into space. I envision a people who identify themselves not with their country, but with their planet and solar system. I envision knowledge spread among the people.

The walkers return again. The same walkers, dressed in sweatshirts and jeans. How many times do they make this trip? I asked them what the noise was earlier. They didn’t even notice. They told me, in their Alabama accents, about how different parts of the arsenal were used to test army missiles and NASA motors. They didn’t notice the sounds. It is such a regular occurrence to them that it only enters their subconsciousness. Those sounds are as natural to them as the birds and crickets.

I set the laptop down and walk down a small street that comes off the dead end where I sit toward the sound that I heard earlier. Perhaps I will catch a glimpse of the source of the noise. Writing on the back of a receipt that I find in my pocket, I make note of these things: The street is covered with dead tree bits. I pass a white blockhouse with a silent diesel generator installed on the side. The blockhouse can’t be larger than 15 feet by 8 feet. Next to it stands a rusty radio tower, consumed with vines. The old-school antennas atop the tower point toward the source of the sound. In big blue letters 4692 is written on the side of the building. A little further down the road, I meet another rusted gate, this one marked with a small white sign with C-12 painted on it, the paint mostly washed away by years, rain and sun. The padlock is rusted, the barbed wire atop the gate is rusted. An old metal mailbox bolted to the gate has been bent to the point that it no longer closes. I see through the open top that the bottom has been rusted out. What type of letters were delivered here, next to the sign that reads “DANGER: Explosives Keep Away.” Perhaps the neighbors dropped off letters asking the workers to keep down the noise. Perhaps the wives of the engineers dropped off lunch in the little box? The gate itself has had vines growing from one side all the way to the other, only to die years ago. The dead vines now cross through the gate, past the padlock, as if to confirm the prohibition of access and the permanency of closure. The road continues past the gate in a straight line, ending in trees far away. Dead branches from the encroaching forest lay in the path, not even causing enough of a nuisance to warrant removal.

When I return to the car, a different walker passes by. He wears mesh shorts and is listening to headphones. He walks decidedly to the gate and taps the little white “C-18″ sign as a token of reaching the end of his lap. And this is the end of my lap.

This is Huntsville. This is the Redstone Arsenal. This is the Marshal Spaceflight Center.

For me it is, anyway.

As I ready to leave, I hear once again the sound of rushing water, sparks, a metal plate being drug along the ground, or whatever it is.

I guess this place isn’t sleeping after all.

Staying the Course

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Anyone who pays half cent’s worth of attention to national news these days will know that NASA is getting more airtime than it normally does. Generally, NASA and it’s employees are content to remain in the national background where they go about their daily professional lives with minimal intrusion from curious outsiders. This is both blessing and curse. While they are allowed a relatively quite environment to go about their brainy work, most people outside of NASA have little to no clue what goes on inside NASA.

It’s funny how being at a crossroads will change things literally over night.

Ever since the HSF Committee (aka Agustine Committee) was officially announced in May of 2009, national attention has been focused on NASA, it’s budget, and how it spends said budget on various projects. Those who are used to this sort of attention (aka those usually not associated with NASA) know that it’s all apart of the process. When a federal agency asks for what amounts to a pay raise, folks start taking stock of how well the agency has performed in the past and if such a hike in money is warranted. This can cause a very large distraction for people working in the agency, especially when they are not used to such scrutiny.

This fact has not gone overlooked by group leads, managers, center directors and the folks at “NASA HQ” in DC. About once a week or so, we the workers at JSC will get some sort of email/briefing/all-hands-meeting/talking to from various members of management at various levels about “staying the course”. In short, they are telling us that while we may be looking forward to the future, past shuttle retirement, into ISS-only operations for awhile, and possibly (hopefully) developing and launching a new capability in space, we still have a job to do. Even though the shuttle program is almost 30 years old, each mission presents it’s own unique challenges and hardships to overcome. There are still new problems to solve (remember the knurled knob in Atlantis?), astronauts to train, facilities to upkeep, and orbiters to process. All of this work requires a uniquely high level of devotion and concentration.

Make no mistake about it; launching shuttles is not your run-of-the-mill activity.

But as I sit here in the NBL taking part of STS-129’s last practice for an EVA activity, I’m very aware of the cocoon that seems to surround the astronauts and their trainers. Sure, everyone is aware that Ares I-X is sitting on the pad just a few miles from Atlantis, but it doesn’t dominate their thinking or their ability to focus on the task at hand. We are dedicated to the work and readying ourselves for the -129 mission.

And it’s just not the -129 crew and trainers that I noticed. Everyone I know that trains, or works in MCC as a flight controller are supremely focused on the successful completion of the shuttle program. Staying the course, it would seem, is definitely not a problem with these folks.

The Economics of Space

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

With the economy being in the current shape (aka, not a good one), many people are noticeably, and understandably, nervous about long-term investments; especially those that don’t return in the same form or currency as the initial buy-in. With the same trepidation, people are wary about spending more money on NASA, particularly the human spaceflight aspect of NASA. Sure, folks seem not to mind sending satellites, probes and robots to explore the vast stellar reaches, but talk about putting a human into space, and some people get noticeably weak in the knees. They talk about risks, and costs, and use the all-too-popular “why not send a robot to do it? They’re just as good and no one cares about them.” And most of them use internet-enabled cellphones while driving GPS-equipped cars while doing it.

Well, where do you think all of this stuff came from?

Sure the internet, GPS, and other modern-day technical wonders aren’t NASA-specific developments, but the items that are share a very similar lineage with these items, and that is they were initially funded by a federal program that was funded, in turn, by tax dollars. Then some bright person had an ever brighter idea about taking said applications and making it useful for the broader civilian population. No one complains now about the existence of the internet, GPS, fuel cells that produce clean energy, rechargeable batteries, or other technical marvels, but take away the funding that funded the programs that initially created these, and the world today would be a much different, much less connected place. While some may argue that we could do with a little less electronic connection and a little more face-to-face, the fact of the matter is much of today’s life experience (good, bad, and otherwise), would not be possible without these developments.

Most of the opposition to spending more on spaceflight use the argument that money spent today doesn’t guarantee a technical or financially viable return in the near future. To that I say “well, duh”. Think about spending money spaceflight like spending money in the stock market. You wouldn’t realistically expect to put in $100 dollars today and get out $1,000 tomorrow, next week, or even next year (unless you’re really lucky). You put in your $100 with the knowledge that it will take time to grow, mature, and make earnings and interests over the years. If you apply the same principle to, say, the internet, with it’s far reaching influence over the past decade, you’ll see that the initial dollars spent in the late 50’s and early 60’s (yes, that long ago since a national network of radar sites was created) have literally mushroomed into an unstoppable, life altering force that has affected the lives of billions of people on every continent and in every nation. A lot of the technology that makes this far-reaching capability possible was developed with tax payer dollars with no clear idea of what the future held.

How about satellites? That’s one thing that NASA does better than most, besides launching humans on large rockets. Without satellites, most of the internet wouldn’t be possible. Naiton-wide cellphone coverage wouldn’t be possible. You certainly wouldn’t have access to over 500 channels from Direct TV or the like. Weather prediction would be kinda hard (think about not having advance warning for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Ike) and we can kiss instant news reports from the four corners of the world goodbye as well.

The point is, spaceflight can’t be look at as something that will produce immediate, tangible or financial results (at least this is the case most of the time). Some things will take years to develop. Somethings, like the internet, will take decades before their full potential is realized (and I still think the ‘net has a long way to go). If we spend the money now, our children and grandchildren will reap the benefits of our choices. However, they will also reap the consequences of our inaction. Saving money now doesn’t necessarily equate the ability to fast track technological developments in the future. Space travel is much more than just a bunch of smart guys sitting around trying to figure out how to build rockets and launch people and items into space. It’s where ideas are born, developed, and ultimately transformed into world-changing ideas and concepts.

Also, let’s not forget the commercial applications. Already we have private companies launching satellites , and a few are looking at attempting to reach LEO with science payloads and perhaps even ferrying crews to the ISS. This comes with a need for trained people, which equates to more people being educated to fill technical jobs; jobs that will enable them to spend more on goods and services which, in turn, allows more companies to hire more people, enabling them to buy more…and the cycle continues. Is space travel the answer to the world’s current economic woes? Not by far. But, not spending on space isn’t the correct answer, either, and could do more future harm than future good.

Ideas at Work

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

imagine09_logo_final

How many times have you been to a conference where it feels like the only thing that changed was the venue and location. The speakers are the same, the attendees are the same, the topics are the same! That’s been one of my frustrations with space conferences over the past few years, so I wanted to let you all know about an event coming up in Houston on December 2-3rd that’s going to be a little different. The American Astronautical Society is having their annual conference in Houston, just like they do every 2 years. However, this time, the only thing that will be the same is the fact that it’s in Houston. This years AAS Imagine09 Conference is focused on exploring remarkable ideas that are making a difference in the world and that could transform the space industry (if we choose to apply them). Some of the world’s most creative, productive and compelling individuals will actively engage attendees, providing knowledge and inspiration and encouraging breakthroughs in thought. The event has been designed to both spark imagination and to get people talking. If you have the chance to attend, you’ll hear Disney Imagineers talk about the use of narrative to create strategy and build teams and CEO’s talk about talks about designing the future. The entire list of speakers and topcis is included below. I hope you will be able to make it!

What: American Astronautical Society (AAS) Conference – Imagine 09. Ideas at Work.
When: December 2-3, 2009
Where: NASA Johnson Space Center Gilruth Center, Houston, TX
How to Register: Visit this website (Note: If you are a CS at JSC, use the NASA Satern system and look for announcements in JSC today)
More Information: AAS Website

Armen Berjikly talks about the power of uniting people who can improve each other’s lives - technology start-up entrepreneur, and founder/CEO of The Experience Project.

Steve Boehlke talks about the need for innovators to break (the right) rules - coach to leaders ranging from executives to rural farmers in developing countries, and founder/President of SFB Associates.

Charles Bolden (invited) talks about the importance of innovation to NASA - pilot, astronaut, U.S. Marine Corps General officer, and NASA Administrator.

Christopher Bronk talks about Gov 2.0 and NASA as the next Google - diplomat, Baker Institute Fellow in Technology, Society and Public Policy, Rice University.

Charles Chafer talks about the power of public participation space missions - high-tech entrepreneur, pioneer of commercial space, CEO of Space Services Inc., founding partner of Team Encounter, LLC, and co-founder of Celestis, Inc.

Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz talks about looking beyond today’s propulsion technology - astronaut, inventor of the magnetoplasma rocket, entrepreneur, Chairman/CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company.

Nancy Conrad talks about designing the future and what to do when the pipeline is dry - entrepreneur, innovator, philanthropist, founder/CEO of the Conrad Foundation.

Dr. Dan Durda talks about barn-storming the space frontier - planetary scientist, pilot, diver, Senior Research Scientist at Southwest Research Institute.

Dr. Betty Sue Flowers talks about the myths that shape our world - consultant/editor for TV series and book The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell, host of radio series The Next 200 Years, Director of the LBJ Presidential Library, strategy consultant.

Richard Garriott talks about TBA - video game developer, entrepreneur, space tourist, Vice-chairman of the Board for Space Adventures, and a Trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation.

John Gibson talks about “people fusion” and open innovation’s power to solve tough technical problems - President of Halliburton Energy Services, amateur rocketeer, Executive Chairman/CEO of Paradigm Ltd.

Wayne Hale talks about choosing the future - NASA flight director, Space Shuttle Program Manager, blogger, Deputy Associate Administrator of Strategic Partnerships.

Bryan Guido Hassin talks about how, with just a nudge, individuals can change their behavior dramatically for the good of the whole - Head of Global Operations at Poken, technology start-up entrepreneur, CEO of Enistic, Inc.

Thomas B. Pickens, III talks about commercial use of weightlessness to benefit humankind - chairman/CEO for many companies during startup, growth, and turnaround in a challenging environment, President/CEO of Astrotech Corp.

Will Pomerantz talks about revolution through competition - co-founder of SpaceAlumni.com, zero gravity coach, Senior Director of Space Prizes for the X PRIZE Foundation.

Dr. Howard Prince talks about ethics, leadership and spaceflight - U.S. Army General Officer, clinical psychologist, Director of LBJ School’s Center for Ethical Leadership, University of Texas.

Bob Rogers talks about public engagement in 2010, and being careful what you wish for - themed entertainment producer, inventor, futurist, Academy Award nominee, founder/Chairman of BRC Imagination Arts.

Joe Rohde, creator of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, talks about the use of narrative to create strategy and build teams - adventurer, Executive Designer and VP/Creative at Walt Disney Imagineering.

Dr. Evan Thomas talks about sustainable development powered by social innovation and space technology - NASA life support engineer, Engineers Without Borders-USA team member, entrepreneur.

Brett Williams talks about using rockets to teach and inspire high school students - marine biologist, teacher at Fredericksburg High School, founder of SystemsGo student launch program.

Blah Blah Blah – Why We Should Care About Social Media

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

I had an opportunity to participate in a workshop hosted by the JSC Social Media Working Group at NASA Johnson Space Center today and thought I’d share the presentation I gave. What’s interesting about this presentation is not so much how NASA is currently using social media, but how it might use social media in the future. NASA has really embraced social media and is making great strides at engaging people in the NASA mission. What I’m interested in, is how can NASA use social media in the future to further it’s mission. I posed this question to the audience (using an interactive online poll) by asking”What’s Next?” It was a wide open question and I included a few of the answers below. What do you think? What’s Next?

–

“Bridging public to space workers and their environment, i.e., what exactly are you doing? How can I participate?”

“Really engaging in public outreach build connections!”

“Get our current workforce fully involved!”

“Using social media to fish for ideas to solve specific problems.”

“Moderated mission video that highlights several parts of the launch along with real time q&a with viewers and NASA experts”

“Virtual moon lab”

“Distributed telepresence exploration”

“I would love to be able to look at mission control and station consoles real time.”

“Open problems to the public to help NASA”

“Allow people to take space walks virtually”

“Make astronauts the rockstars that they are. NASA is so powerful it could be part of the cult of personality.”

“Public virtual presence on moon, Mars, beyond”,

“Unless the U.S. government gets behind U.S. HUMAN space exploration, the question of using social media is a mute point for space exploration”

TEDxNASA: An Invitation-Only NASA Meeting – Unless You Are Lucky

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Keith's note: TEDxNASA, openly promoted by its organizers (some of whom work at NASA LaRC) as being sponsored by NASA (NASA LaRC is listed as a formal host), have yet to explain how they will be giving out tickets. The tickets will supposedly available on 14 Nov - less than a week before the actual event. By waiting until the last minute, the organizers have all but precluded anyone from other parts of the country from making travel plans.

Apparently, however, a hand-picked select few have been invited - and they are Twittering about it and posting on Facebook. The organizers also refuse to publish any information as to how invited attendess were selected or who will speaking even though they have clearly been lining up speakers.

In addition, since there is limited seating, most taxpayers will not have access to the event as it unfolds. There has been some vague mention of videos being available after the event, but apparently the concept of streaming this event live is beyond their collective skillset. Curiously, the Gen Y digerati at NASA all profess to be supportive of openness, being inclusive, and live blogging and webcasting - everything.

According to a rotating notice on the website, NASA Deputy Adminstrator Lori Garver is speaking - this certainly confers a certain level of official NASA HQ support for the event as well. But I have now confirmed that Lori Garver is speaking somewhere else on that date. Yet this message still appears on the website. Meanwhile LaRC PAO has been totally mute on this entire topic.

One would hope that the new NASA Advisory Council subcommittee on education and public outreach would look into events such like this and push the agency toward adopting a uniform policy of openness and full access - and not allow agency resources to be used on events that only a certain, select few people can benefit from.

A NASA Conference That No One Can Register For, earlier post

Close Call For Courtney Stadd

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Former NASA official sentenced to probation, AP

"A former top NASA official has been sentenced to three years probation, six months of electronic monitoring and a $2,500 fine for breaking ethics laws. Courtney Stadd, of Bethesda, Md., was convicted of helping a consulting client get nearly $10 million of the space agency's funds."

Keith's note: Word has it from people who were in the courtroom today that someone from the JSC IG's office flew up from Houston so that he could be sitting in the front row in the courtroom as Stadd was sentenced.

Senate Votes To Restore NASA Budget Cuts

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Senate votes to restore NASA funding House cut, Houston Chronicle

"In a strong show of support for President Barack Obama's vision for NASA and manned space missions, the Senate agreed Thursday to hand over all that he asked for: $4 billion to build cutting-edge spacecraft as part of an $18.7 billion budget. The Senate voted 71 to 28 for a massive spending bill that would restore $670 million cut from manned space exploration by the House in June. The proposed spending still faces a strong test of wills as the Senate and House try to reach a budgetary compromise."

New FAA Regs for Commercial Reentry

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Office of Commercial Space Transportation; Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision (ROD) for Streamlining the Processing of Experimental Permit Applications

"... the FAA is announcing the availability of the ROD for streamlining the environmental review of experimental permit applications for the launch and/or reentry of reusable suborbital rockets. The Federal action selected in the ROD is the FAA's issuance of experimental permits for the launch and reentry of reusable suborbital rockets from both FAA-licensed and non-licensed launch sites using the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Streamlining the Processing of Experimental Permit Applications (PEIS), to the maximum extent feasible, as the basis for determining the environmental consequences of issuing the permits."

USA: Looking For Ways To Hang On

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

NASA shuttle contractor cancels merit raises for all employees, Orlando Sentinel

"United Space Alliance, NASA's main shuttle contractor, told employees today that it will be canceling merit pay raises across the company next year in order to keep costs down as it tries to win new business after the agency mothballs the orbiter fleet in 2011. "The annual merit pay increases for 2010 for performance and things like that, we made the decision not to do that," said company spokesman Jeff Carr. "This really about protecting our rates to be competitive for future follow on work."

Lunar Lander Challenge Prizes Awarded

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

X PRIZE Foundation and NASA Award $2 Million in Prizes to Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace

"Today, the X PRIZE Foundation along with NASA hosted an awards ceremony to culminate the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge (NGLLXPC). Masten Space Systems, led by David Masten, was awarded the top $1 million prize, while Armadillo Aerospace, led by id Software founder John Carmack, took home the second place prize of $500,000. The NGLLXPC was a partnership with NASA funding the $2 million in prize money as part of their Centennial Challenges program while the X PRIZE Foundation managed the competition which began in 2006."

Live Event: NASA-Sponsored Power Beaming Challenge

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

Marc's note: NASA's Centennial Challenge for Power Beaming AKA the Space Elevator Games is now broadcasting live. Three teams are competing for up to $2 million in prize money. It is believed that one or more of the teams will win at least level one and perhaps level two prize money. The Spaceward Foundation organized and manages the event for NASA.

Marc's Update: The KC Space Pirates did not qualify in the morning window for either of the prizes. However Lasermotive of Seattle has officially qualified for the level 1 prize of $900,000 in their first window of the competition this afternoon. They are currently attempting another climb trying to qualify for the level 2 prize of $1.1 million. Other teams will have an opportunity to share in the prize money. To get a share of level 1 teams have to climb the 1 kilometer tether at an average of 2 meters per second and 5 meters per second for the level two prize.

Marc's Update: Competition is done for the day with Lasermotive having qualified for level 1 prize money of $900,000. The competition continues tomorrow through Friday.

Lasermotive Wins Share of the NASA Sponsored Power Beaming Challenge, The Space Elevator Reference (with video)

"The NASA sponsored Power Beaming Challenge, also known as the Space Elevator Games, is guaranteed to give out some prize money this year after a stellar performance by Team Lasermotive in the first day of the competition."

JSC Wants To Build a Replicator

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Danzig

NASA JSC Solicitation: Hardware and Software Supporting the Maker Project

"The Crew and Thermal Systems Division, EVA Tools Branch (EC7) at the Johnson Space Center seeks to acquire contract support for a software/hardware development project for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The project supported is entitled "MAKER" and is pursuing an advanced manufacturing concept being developed and evaluated for deployment in future space exploration architectures requiring manufacturing capability in the spaceflight/mission environment."

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