Tag Archives: public policy

Redirect: “The Impact of Sally Ride’s Contributions in Space and Education”


On Friday, May 17, 2013, we held at the National Air and Space Museum here in Washington, D.C., a wonderful program on Sally Ride and her place in the history of spaceflight and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. … Continue reading

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Interpreting the Decision to Build the Space Shuttle


Wernher von Braun once supposedly told his colleagues: “We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.” Whether true or not the statement reflects what has been viewed for the last forty years as one of the traditional difficulties … Continue reading

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“Lost and Gone Forever”? Clementine and the Blending of Civilian and Military Space Science


I have been working on a study of the Clementine program, a lunar orbiter that flew in 1994. Here is the abstract for this study. I would welcome any thoughts about it. In the early 1990s, just as the Cold … Continue reading

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Are Humans or Robots the Future of Space Travel?


On February 20 I participated in a NASA “Social,” an event for space observers who tweet, blog, and otherwise electronically communicate to the world about what they see. I talked about the two robots we have in the National Air … Continue reading

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Wednesday’s Book Review: “US Presidents and the Militarization of Space, 1946—1967″


US Presidents and the Militarization of Space, 1946—1967. By Sean Kalic. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2012. I was quite pleased when Sean Kalic’s book, US Presidents and the Militarization of Space, 1946—1967, appeared in the Centennial of Flight … Continue reading

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Wednesday’s Book Review: “Twilight of the Elites: America after Meritocracy”


Twilight of the Elites: America after Meritocracy. By Christopher Hayes. New York: Crown Books, 2012. Is the meritocracy that runs the United States both dysfunctional and corrupt? Is it one or the other? Is it neither? Those are questions that … Continue reading

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Wednesday’s Book Review: “Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age”


Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age. By Matthew Brzezinski. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007. The fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, sparked the publication of … Continue reading

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Reflections on the Loss of STS-107: Ten Years Ago (Redirect)


I posted on the National Air and Space Museum website this morning a reflection of the tenth anniversary of Columbia, STS-107, on February 1, 2003. For those who would like to read this blog post, it is available here.

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Evening Event: “Caution and Boldness: Balancing Risk in Spaceflight” on February 1, 2013


The Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, is holding an event which promises to be interesting—”Caution and Boldness: Balancing Risk in Spaceflight“—on the evening of February 1, 2013. This is an event for the National Air and … Continue reading

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What is the Space Shuttle’s Place in Modern American History?


It began with the desire to ensure a continuous human presence in Earth orbit during the post-Moon landing era. The result of this effort has required a continued access to orbit with the Space Shuttle, giving humans the experience of … Continue reading

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