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: Science
Fighting fires, Orion, and what are they thinking?
This will sound suspiciously improbable, a story that changed hands too many times, becoming colorful Kennedy Space Center folklore. Unlikely, and untrue. Not so, as my story here today comes first-hand. I was there. Once, at Kennedy Space Center, I was fighting a raging fire. This was a real fire, a blazing two-story fire at … Continue reading Fighting fires, Orion, and what are they thinking?
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
NASA, beyond “the churn”
For anyone who has seen the Sci-Fi TV series “The Expanse,” it is tempting in these times to take a cue from Amos about “the churn.” If unfamiliar with the story, it’s the oft-used trope of (seemingly) ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. Finding yourself acting “above your pay grade” is still a thing, … Continue reading NASA, beyond “the churn”
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
An engineer’s journey in NASA
Space technology and policy on the final frontier It was time. I have published my prior writing in a more unified format as a book – “An engineer’s journey in NASA: Space technology and policy on the final frontier.” It’s difficult to describe the process of looking back and making sense of my years of … Continue reading An engineer’s journey in NASA
Drawing the short straw
"I think it’s fair to say that our review group drew the short straw, and I drew the shortest by having to actually do this presentation." Sally Ride, 2009 Dr. Sally Ride at the 2009 Review of Human Space Flight Plans Committee. It is August 2009, and Sally Ride is about to present charts about … Continue reading Drawing the short straw
What’s old is new again – more on refueling in space
On my shelves sits a childhood book “Planets and Spaceflight,” published in 1957 by General Mills. The front cover is “Planets,” and the rear is “Spaceflight,” full of vivid descriptions and beautiful artwork of the many places to go and how we will get there. The publisher is best known for Cheerios, so I’m sure … Continue reading What’s old is new again – more on refueling in space
The rise, fall and rise again of refueling – in space
Range anxiety was invented by NASA. Well, perhaps not (or Velcro), but space exploration gives new meaning to an obsessive awareness of how much further you can go when there is no charger on every corner. Now imagine that feeling if you are in outer space or back on the ground watching your spacecraft, not … Continue reading The rise, fall and rise again of refueling – in space
Of external tanks and Starships
Iconic orange Space Shuttle External Tanks and shiny SpaceX Starships are uncannily close in scale. I was fortunate to be on the team in the 1990s that checked out and prepared the External Tanks and then on the team that filled and launched them. I could not have guessed that 23 years into my career … Continue reading Of external tanks and Starships
It’s not what it looks like – the cost of ISS per year
There is an oddity to the International Space Station, its name – a station. On Earth this would be fine, a station, as in stationary, not moving. In space, though, “station” is a bit of a misnomer for a facility going once around the Earth every 90 minutes and traveling 15,500 miles per hour. Pictures, … Continue reading It’s not what it looks like – the cost of ISS per year
You can’t always get what you want, but…
The room filled with the usual suspects and small talk. This year, it seemed an unwritten rule that before any presenter could talk about their good work there came this particular chart. It was the late 1990s, exciting times when ever-faster computers, internet connections, and aerospace technology came together to spur dreams of things to … Continue reading You can’t always get what you want, but…
I’m with the AI, and I’m here to help
The same human who helped create the AI had only one task at this moment, move the stone to its place on the board as the AI instructed. The move would seem to be a bad move, except later, when it appeared the AI was playing in a way we humans could learn from. This … Continue reading I’m with the AI, and I’m here to help
X-33 – the middle path?
I was walking under a beached whale, and inside it, and around, the dangling entrails smacking me in the face, an amateur mistake. I should have known how to move around flight hardware carefully. It was early 1999, and the X-33 was taking shape. With its internal rib-like frame, platforms, curved supports, cables holding all … Continue reading X-33 – the middle path?
Zapata Talks NASA 