The Space ReviewArticles, essays, and commentary about all facets of space explorationIntroducing the Committee for the Advocacy of Space Exploration- April 14, 2008 One thing the space advocacy movement has been missing for some time is an effective political action committee. Jeff Brooks announces the formation of a PAC for space exploration and how his organization will work to raise the profile of space policy in Washington.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1102/1 Astrospies, corrected- April 14, 2008 PBS recently aired a Nova episode about military space station projects in the US and USSR during the Cold War. Dwayne Day identifies several errors in the program's discussion of the Air Force's MOL project.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1104/1 The Vision for Space Exploration and the retirement of the Baby Boomers (part 1)- April 14, 2008 Even as space advocates seek to increase NASA's budget, the agency itself and the Bush Administration have claimed that budgets that keep pace with inflation are sufficient for NASA to implement the Vision for Space Exploration. However, as Charles Miller and Jeff Foust argue, even that modest budgetary goal may be impossible to maintain given the fiscal pressures the nation will be facing in the years to come.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1106/1 Obama's modest proposal: no hue, no cry (part 2)- April 14, 2008 While presidential candidate Barack Obama has proposed delaying NASA's Constellation program to pay for an early education initiative, the response from the pro-space community has been surprisingly muted. Greg Zsidisin examines why, given the nature of such organizations, that may be the case.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1105/1 Point-to-point suborbital spaceflight and military logistics- April 14, 2008 Although point-to-point suborbital spaceflight holds great promise for opening new markets, there's little private-sector interest in funding the development of such vehicles today. Taylor Dinerman explains how the military could jumpstart this sector in much the same way it did the air cargo business decades ago.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1103/1 Never give a monkey your car keys- April 7, 2008 Should you challenge people making bizarre statements, or simply ignore them That's the question Dwayne Day grapples with as he recounts the reaction to an earlier essay about claims of evidence of alien life on the Moon.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1097/1 So you want to be a rocket pilot- April 7, 2008 If the commercial human spaceflight market emerges as some anticipate, there will soon be demand for a new kind of job: commercial rocket pilot. Jeff Foust reports on how pilots can prepare for such work, and why at least one person things the occupation will be far less glamorous than one might expect.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1099/1 Obama's modest proposal: no hue, no cry- April 7, 2008 Since late last year Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has proposed delaying NASA's Constellation program for five years to help pay for an education initiative. Greg Zsidisin examines what Obama has proposed and what the candidate said to him about it in a recent town hall meeting.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1100/1 They were warned- April 7, 2008 Last week members of Congress wrung their hands over the anticipated job losses at the Kennedy Space Center and elsewhere as the shuttle is retired. Taylor Dinerman argues that the solution is for Congress and the White House to act to provide additional funding to speed up the development of its successor, not to extend the life of the shuttle.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1098/1 Clarke and Kubrick glimpsed the future- April 7, 2008 The recent passing of Arthur C. Clarke came just before the 40th anniversary of the release of "2001: A Space Odyssey". Jim McDade uses these events as an opportunity for reflection on both that seminal work as well as our own prospects for the future.http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1096/1 |