Why We Need NASA

Last week, the Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down for the final time, effectively bringing an end to America's manned space program – at least for now. For many of us, this was truly the end of an era, and with no clear cut plans for a replacement program, it seems like space exploration has been put on the back burner.

At the moment, the U.S., like most of the world, is embroiled in an economic malaise. The country is dealing with high unemployment rates, a shaky housing market, and federal budget crisis that threatens to make matters even worse. Because of this situation, many people have been saying that we need to cut NASA's budget even further and concentrate on fixing problems here on planet Earth. Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson has an answer to those people in the video below, in which he tells us exactly why we need NASA, both now and in the future. It's a great message about exploration, technology, and inspiring a whole new generation that seems fitting at the moment.

STS-135

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

On July 20, 1969 10:56 PM EDT, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. landed on the Moon.  The fulfillment of a commitment to human space travel by President John F. Kennedy:

For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the Moon and the Planets beyond.


We Choose to go the Moon in this decade and do the other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that challenge is one we are willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win.

John F. Kennedy 12 September 1962 Rice University

It has been 42 years since the first Moon landing and 49 years since President Kennedy spoke those moving words.  Yet recently President Barack Hussein Obama not only cancelled the Constellation program, scrubbing the US return to the Moon and then Mars.  And has saddled the US with an enormous cost to send our astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).  The Russians will do it for $50 million dollars each astronaut.

President Obama claims that his plan will create jobs.  He is right.  Jobs for Russians, not Americans as the people of NASA will be downsizing and 1/3 of the NASA work force will be out of work tomorrow.



Ironic isn't it.  When President Obama first took office he was compared to John Kennedy as the second coming of JFK.  I can now paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen with accuracy:

Mr. President, you're no Jack Kennedy!

Indeed not!  Leadership is not his forte.  He has no idea what it is to inspire an nation, to unite a nation, to make us dream.

I was going to make this post one that would look back on the last 30 years of the shuttle program.  Instead I have changed this into a harangue against Obama's NASA policy.  The typical Progressive policy of destroying those programs that don't give funds directly to his cronies (SEIU).

I will leave you with this last landing ever of the Shuttle:

As the Space Shuttle has pulled into port for the last time, an era has come to an end.

When will America send her best and bravest back into space?  How long will it take?

The Space Shuttle Lands For The Final TIme

At 5:56 AM ET, the Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down at Kennedy Space Center for the final time, bringing to a close the shuttle era. The video below shows that final landing, and although it is a little on the dark side, you can still catch history in the making. It could be my imagination, but it seems that even the announcer is a bit choked up.

I have been fortunate enough to visit the Kennedy Space Center and see the shuttle on the launch pad in all of its glory. A few days later, I was luck enough to witness a night launch as well. For most of my life, the Space Shuttle has represented exploration and a quest for knowledge, and I'm sad to see it go. Lets hope the next era of space travel isn't as far off as it seems at the moment.

NASA Unveils Next Generation Space Vehicle

With just one space shuttle mission still on the docket, the current U.S. space program is quickly coming to an end, and soon the venerable workhorse shuttle will be put in mothballs and sent to museums. Until today, it was unclear as to where NASA would go with its next generation space vehicle, but earlier they announced a new system that will carry astronauts back into orbit, and beyond.

The new craft is dubbed the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and it springs from a design that originated at Lockheed Martin. That aerospace company created the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, which puts a small capsule, not unlike the Apollo spacecraft that pre-date the shuttle, inside a multifunctional system that is built to put man in space in a far safer, and cheaper, manner than we currently are capable of.

The MPCV offers room for four crew members, down from the eight that were possible on the shuttle. It also lacks the shuttle's giant cargo bay, which means satellites and sections of the International Space Station will have to be delivered by other means. The crew can live aboard the MPCV for up to 21 days, inside its 316 cubic-foot cabin. There is room aboard for small projects and experiments, but otherwise, it'll be a rather cramped living quarters.

The new system is lauded for the fact that it suppose to be ten times safer than the current shuttle launch vehicle, which seems likely considering the issues that NASA has had in that regard. It also expected to be far less expensive to operate as well. But what has most space enthusiasts excited is that the MPCV can leave low orbit, something the shuttle wasn't capable of, and climb further out into the reaches of space, perhaps even to the moon at some point.

To read more about NASA's new project, click here.

The End Of An Era: Shuttle Discovery Flies For The Last Time

It was a historic day, and the end of an era, earlier when the Space Shuttle Discovery touched down for the final time. This is the last of the scheduled space shuttle missions, and effectively brings an end to America's space program, at least for the foreseeable future.

Discovery landed back at Kennedy Space Center after making one last journey to the International Space Station to deliver supplies and provide maintenance to the ISS. Upon landing, the odometer on the shuttle reads 148 million miles and 365 days in orbit. Over 27 years of service, the Discovery was a workhorse indeed. The next stop for the Discovery is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

As I've mentioned earlier, I'm a bit sad that the shuttle program has come to an end. While the craft have gotten outdated over the years, they're still the best spacecraft that man has ever built. We're also years away from a true replacement and I hate the thought of a generation of astronauts grounded and waiting for their next flight. Lets hope that next flight comes sooner than later, but we've got years of design and testing to go through before we see anything close to the space shuttle again.

Here's to one last salute for the Discovery, the entire space shuttle program, and the astronauts that traveled in her. Lets not forget the men and women on the ground who made it all possible.

NASA To Honor Dead Egyptian Bimbo, Not Once Did NASA Honor One 9/11 Victim!

By Findalis

What is with this government?  Every day there is another slur on American Culture, American Values. This time the agency is NASA.  Instead of naming a new rocket after an American Hero or a victim of the 9/11 attacks, they have decided to name the rocket after an Egyptian Whore Bimbo Woman killed in the riots.

The United States space agency NASA has okayed the naming of one of its spaceships after a young Egyptian woman killed in late January during an anti-goverment protest, according to Egyptian daily Al-Masry-al-Youm.

The paper quoted Essam Mohamed Haji, a young researcher at NASA as saying on Thursday he had received approval to put the young woman Sally Zahran's name on a spaceship heading for Mars.

Zahran, a 23 English graduated and translator died after she was beaten about the head on 28 January with a truncheons during clashes with security forces in in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag. Anti-government protesters claim her killers were thugs in the pay of police.

“This is the least we could provide to Egyptian youth and revolutionaries. This step represents transferring the dreams of Egyptian youth from a small stretch of earth to the enormous expanse of space,” said Haji was cited as telling Al-Masri Al-Youm by phone from California.

Egypt on Thursday entered it 17th day of unrest, with many thousands of people taking to the streets in the capital, Cairo and filling its central Tahrir Square.

Doctors, bus drivers, lawyers and textile workers were on strike in Cairo on Thursday, with trade unions reporting walkouts and protests across the country.

The protesters have vowed to keep up their revolt against authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak, who they want to leave office immediately.

Around 300 people have been killed in clashes with security forces and over 1,400 have been injured since the unrest began on 25 January against Mubarak, who took power in 1981 and whom they blame for widespread poverty, corruption and police brutality.

Mubarak, a staunch ally of the west, has said he will not run for another presidential term in elections due in September, but the anti-government protesters want more rapid political and economic change.

He has come under increasing pressure from the US to speed the transition to democracy. CIA director Leon Panetta, in testimony before an intelligence committee of the US legislature on Thursday said there was "a strong likelihood that Mubarak will step down this evening."

State television interrupted all programming to present a message from the high council of the Egyptian armed forces that promised to to take "necessary measures to protect the nation," the military also said it would "support the legitimate demands of the people" and remain in "continuous session".

How nice.  We are learning to be Dhimmis very fast.  Next it will be like Great Britain with Halal only meats sold in stores, blasphemy laws stifling free speech against Islam, then forced conversions.

Here is a strange idea for NASA.  How about these men and women to name the rocket for:

Apollo 1

Crew of Apollo 1

Virgil "Gus" Ivan Grissom, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF

Edward Higgins White, II, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF

Roger Bruce Chaffee, Lieutenant Commander, USN

Space Shuttle Challenger

Crew of Challenger

(front row) Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair; 

(back row) Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik.

Space Shuttle Columbia

Crew of the Columbia

If NASA wants to honor a foreign hero they could honor Ilan Ramon (Israel) who died on the Columbia.

Or NASA could honor the 2,998 victims of 9/11.  They could put all the names in a box and pull out one.

Some of the victims of 9/11

If you find this appalling what NASA is doing you can contact them here.

If they will not listen to the AMERICAN TAXPAYER, you should contact your Congressional Representative or Senator.

NASA is funded only by the American Taxpayer.  It should be the American Taxpayer who has the final say on the naming of our spacecrafts.

NASA Reminds Us Why We Explore

Check out this amazing video that comes our way courtesy of NASA. It is both inspiring and thought provoking at the same time, with plenty of stunning imagery and a fantastic message for everyone who inhabits this little blue rock we call Earth. Great stuff.

NASA Set To Unveil Personal VTOL Aircraft, I Want One!

Ever since the calendar turned to 2010, I've been asking myself where I could find a flying car or personal jetpack. After all, 2010 sounded so futuristic at one point. Sadly, we still aren't living in an age of the Jetsons, and I'm still tethered to the Earth by gravity on my daily commute.

Thankfully, the big brains over at NASA are hoping to change that, as they are set to officially unveil the design for their Puffin personal aircraft. According to Gizmodo, the vehicle stands 12-feet in height, has a wingspan of 13.5-feet, and is powered by an electrical engine that can cruise at speeds of 150 mph and but can top out at over 300 mph when necessary. Reportedly, the aircraft can fly up to 30,000 feet in altitude, and is designed for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).

What's the catch you ask? Well, as a prototype, there is no known costs yet, and because it is battery powered, its flight range is still a bit limited. At the moment, the Puffin is only capable of covering about 50 miles of distance on a single charge. Good enough for that morning commute, but not great for heading to the coast for the weekend. Still, NASA has a pretty good track record with improving on technology, and better, more efficient batteries are in the works. That leaves me with just one question. Where and when can I get one of these?