KSC at 50 and Fading Away

There was an article in the Washington Post last week that highlights the grim future the Kennedy Space Center faces if America’s political rulers remain silent as Obama works to destroy the one part of the Federal government this country needs in the 21st century.

Obama wants to forcibly create a private market for the space industry by funding private corporations to develop spacecraft.  Not only is this not capitalism, this is not nationalism!  A free market does not work when it’s sustained by the government (I suppose the Obama Administration has short-term memory loss after the Solyndra crisis).

Regardless, NASA has become a part of the American image and has proved extremely beneficial to all American people who enjoy technology like microwaves and velcro (technologies we would not have without NASA).  NASA needs direction.  NASA needs leadership that will stand up to Washington and show the American people how important its facilities are.  If NASA falls apart now it will be almost impossible to put back together in the future, namely because no one will want a job that is not secure.

The American people have to decide if they want to be able to tell their children amazing new stories of space exploration they witnessed in the 21st century, or  that they saw the loss of an American icon because they were too lazy to hold the leaders in Washington accountable for their actions.

Original Article:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/kennedy-space-center-at-50-a-spaceport-in-transition/2012/02/10/gIQA7abHQR_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

MSL Destined to Find New Answers

At 10:02 A.M. on November 26, 2011 the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launched on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

 

 

The MSL is now on a 9 month trip to Mars carrying the rover “Curiosity” to search for signs of life on Mars using an array of instrumentation designed to determine what features on Mars come from a biological or geological source.  Curiosity is projected to land at the foot of a mountain inside Gale Crater on August 6, 2012.

NASA Administrator Bolden Speaks at MSL Launch

NPP Launch

Possibly the Final Flight of a Veteran Voyager

NASA launched the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) weather satellite into orbit at 2:48 A.M. on Friday, October 28, 2011 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.  Though five years behind schedule, this satellite is designed to help NASA gather oceanic and atmospheric measurements around the world.

This launch also marks another potential milestone in the world of rocketry:  the end of the Delta II rocket.  Used by NASA for 50 space missions over 20 years, the Delta II rocket is being considered for retirement as new technology becomes available and upgrades are made.  Only time will tell whether or not this “retirement” will be official or drawn out to save the money it would cost to develop a new rocket.  Currently, NASA administrators remain skeptical about calling this the last launch of the Delta II.

Endeavour’s Last Launch

Blasting Into History

This morning at 8:56:30 the Space Shuttle Endeavour successfully launched from LC-39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its final flight for the STS-134 mission.

The countdown proceeded remarkably smoothly with the heating systems that caused the launch to be scrubbed three weeks ago functioning normally.  Minor tile damage near the hatch was able to be quickly repaired by the APU repair/test team during one of the scheduled breaks in the countdown.

The crew of the STS-134 mission are pictured here arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (left to right - commander Mark Kelly, mission specialists Gregory Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel, European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, mission specialist Michael Fincke, and pilot Gregory Johnson.)

The STS-134 mission has been considered vitally important for the sustainability of the International Space Station (ISS) because of its cargo, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which will gather crucial research data for the ISS.  There is only one other planned space shuttle launch set to take place in early July before retiring the shuttle fleet.

As promised, Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords and some of her staff attended the launch at a private facility to see her husband, Mark Kelly, STS-134 Mission Commander, off on his last flight into space on the space shuttle.

Today went off beautifully (with the exception of a few clouds) and was evidence of the superior American space program.  However, considering that this launch marks the next to last use of the space shuttle, it also serves as a somber reminder that the U.S. has begun to withdraw from human space exploration at least, after the Ares project was scrubbed by President Obama.  One can only hope that things turn around soon.  The Kennedy Space Center and NASA have been icons of American superiority in science and technology for over half a century and it would truly be a tragedy to see that icon fade to a distant memory with so much work still left to do.

Related Articles

A Great Launch, A Challenging Mission Ahead  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

STS-134 Mission Press Packet