Tag Archives: public policy

Gerard K. O’Neill and the Great Disappointment

Posted on September 16, 2016 by launiusr

Disappointments must not be forgotten. One of the great disappointments of those interested in the use and development of human space capabilities has been the inability to colonize the solar system. Emerging from the Apollo program of the latter 1960s … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space | Tagged 1960s, ames research center, Apollo, Gerard K. O’Neill, Hans Mark, History, James C. Fletcher, L-5 Society, NASA, NASA's Advanced Programs Office, politics, Princeton University, public perceptions, public policy, U.S. Civil Space | 5 Comments

Visualizing Apollo’s Exploration and the Idea of Progress

Posted on August 12, 2016 by launiusr

For all but a handful of space travelers the voyages of exploration into space were events participated in vicariously by the billions of humans living on Earth. It has brought a connectedness and reinforced a common set of values among … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Cold War Competition, History, Space | Tagged 1960s, Apollo, History, NASA, public perceptions, public policy, U.S. Civil Space | Leave a comment

Wednesday’s Book Review: “Atmospheric Science at NASA”

Posted on August 10, 2016 by launiusr

Atmospheric Science at NASA: A History. By Erik M. Conway. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. Acknowledgments, list of abbreviations, illustrations, notes, index. ISBN: 9780801889844. Hardcover with dustjacket. 416 pp. $57.00 USD. During the first decade of the Space … Continue reading →

Posted in Earth Science, History, Space | Tagged Army Corps of Engineers, Atmospheric Science at NASA: A History, climate change, Columbia University, Earth Observing System (EOS), Earth science, Erik M. Conway, Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP), Goddard Institute of Space Studies, Goddard Space Flight Center, History, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Press, Leadership and America’s Future in Space, Mission to Planet Earth, NASA, public policy, Sally K. Ride, science, Seasat, space science, Tiros, U.S. Civil Space, U.S. Geological Survey, William Stroud | 4 Comments

The Space Shuttle and the Expansion of the Astronaut Cadre in Space

Posted on July 29, 2016 by launiusr

The Space Shuttle has proven itself one of the most flexible space vehicles ever flown. Most assuredly, the range of possibilities for operations in orbit expanded dramatically with the launch of Columbia in 1981. Through the end of the program … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged challenger accident, Christa McAuliffe, columbia accident, Don Nelson, Guion Bluford, Jake Garn, John Glenn, NASA, public perceptions, public policy, Sally Ride, space shuttle, U.S. Civil Space | 1 Comment

Wednesday’s Book Review: “Safe is Not an Option”

Posted on June 15, 2016 by launiusr

Safe is Not an Option: Overcoming the Futile Obsession with Getting Everyone Back Alive that is Killing Our Expansion into Space. By Rand Simberg. Jackson, WY: Interglobal Media, LLC, 2013. 242 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0989135511. $19.95 USD, paperback. Rand Simberg may state … Continue reading →

Posted in Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged American exceptionalism, Apollo, History, Interglobal Media, International Space Station, NASA, politics, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, Rand Simberg, risk and reward, risk aversion, Safe is Not an Option: Overcoming the Futile Obsession with Getting Everyone Back Alive that is Killing Our Expansion into Space, space shuttle, U.S. Civil Space | 4 Comments

A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 – by Isao Hashimoto

Posted on June 13, 2016 by launiusr

Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a truly fascinating–as well as undeniably scary–time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions which have taken place between 1945 and 1998, beginning with the Manhattan Project’s “Trinity” test near Los Alamos in 1945 and concluding … Continue reading →

Posted in aeronautics, aviation, History, Politics, Science, World War II | Tagged cold war, Department of Defense, History, international relations, JFK, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, World War II | Leave a comment

Setting Course for the Red Planet: Early Flyby Missions to Mars

Posted on May 9, 2016 by launiusr

Robotic exploration of Mars has been one of the persistent efforts of the space age. It began, just as lunar exploration had, in a race between the United States and the Soviet Unionto see who would be the first to … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, Science, Space | Tagged 1960s, cold war, History, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mariner 4, Mariner 6, Mariner 7, Mars exploration, Mars Science Laboratory, NASA, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, Soviet Union, space science, U.S. Civil Space, William H. Pickering | Leave a comment

Space Navigation: Looking to the Stars

Posted on April 4, 2016 by launiusr

For centuries mariners have looked to the stars to cross the oceans. Mariners at sea carried instruments such as cross staffs and sextants to determine the position of celestial objects in the sky. When combined with an accurate time reference, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space | Tagged 1960s, Deep Space Network, Goldstone, History, Mariner 10, NASA, politics, public policy, science, space navigation, transportation, U.S. Civil Space | 4 Comments

What Happened to the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003?

Posted on February 1, 2016 by launiusr

NASA personnel and leaders had a celebration planned on February 1, 2003, for the return of Columbia and its crew after the successful completion of STS-107. STS-107 had been launched from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on January … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr., Air Force Space Command, Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), David Brown, History, hubble space telescope, johnson space center, Kalpana Chawla, Kennedy Space Center, Launch Complex 39A, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, Michael D. Leimbach, Mission Commander Rick Husband; Pilot William “Willie” McCool; Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, NASA, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, politics, President George W. Bush, public perceptions, public policy, Rick Husband, Sean O'Keefe, space shuttle, STS-107, Tom Ridge, U.S. Civil Space, U.S. Joint Forces Command, U.S.S. Cole, William “Willie” McCool | Leave a comment

Recalling the Challenger Accident Thirty Years Ago

Posted on January 29, 2016 by launiusr

Thirty years ago on January 28, 1986, NASA and the nation suffered loss of the space shuttle Challenger during launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Many Americans had been excited about this mission, even more than those that had gone before, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged challenger accident, Chandra X-Ray Telescope, Christa McAuliffe, Department of Defense, Discovery, Flight Readiness Review Board, Galileo, Gamma Ray Observatory, Magellan, Morton Thiokol, NASA, O-Ring, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, Rogers Commission, Ronald Reagan, Solid Rocket Booster, space shuttle, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, U.S. Civil Space, Ulysses, William P. Rogers | Leave a comment