This should be the headline, one day soon, in a world where these decisions are primarily technical and think long term. At no extra cost, while we wait for lunar landers, Artemis II uncrewed and Artemis III as the first flight of SLS/Orion with crew, would close out all non-lander risk. Artemis IV, with the … Continue reading “Artemis II will launch without crew, and Artemis IV will be the crewed lunar landing”
Tag: news
Checking the balance in your NASA account
If NASA were your bank account, investments, or 401K, after seeing the headlines, would you check your balance more often or less? Our very human “negativity bias” says we might check more often, an overreaction to possible danger. It’s what got us here. You and me. We are the children of creatures that spooked more … Continue reading Checking the balance in your NASA account
Physics, budgets, and Scotty
I published this piece over at LinkedIn as an "article". Re-posting here. “I canna’ change the laws of physics, Captain!” -Scotty, Chief Engineer in Star Trek You have all seen it, the news about NASA. The layoffs, the plans for budget cuts to science, technology and R&D, and to cancel the SLS and Orion projects … Continue reading Physics, budgets, and Scotty
Skinny cows and skinny budgets
“Next, seven skinny, bony cows came up out of the river. I have never seen such terrible looking cows anywhere in Egypt. The skinny cows ate the fat ones. But you couldn’t tell it, because these skinny cows were just as skinny as they were before. At once, I woke up.” –Genesis 41: 19-21 On … Continue reading Skinny cows and skinny budgets
Though much is taken, much abides (Transitions Part III).
As an app, the first NASA plan to return astronauts to the Moon, twenty years ago, would have been labeled version 0.3.2.6. A year earlier, the Space Shuttle Columbia and all seven crew were lost during her return to Earth. The days of low Earth orbit as a sole destination were to draw to a … Continue reading Though much is taken, much abides (Transitions Part III).
Zapata Talks NASA 