Why does the world need space programs? It is time for everyone to know and understand the ways that space programs are absolutely critical for solving the largest problems that all people living on our planet now face. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and President George W. Bush are welcome to share this list with the American people and members of the U.S. Congress who ask, "why do we need a space program?"

Prevention of environmental disasters: Remote sensing satellites allow us to monitor the ozone hole, global warming, air, water and ocean pollution, the effect of oil spills on the melting of the ice caps, the loss of rain forests and other environmental threats to human survival. These systems can help us trace our recovery from the worst environmental threats and improve our quality of life.

Creating a global network for modern communications, entertainment and networking: Advanced satellites provide global connectivity by means of the telephone, fax, the Internet, radio and television. Such connectivity extend far beyond the reach of fiber optic cables. Eleven thousand television channels are now available via satellite and well over 200 countries and territories are linked via satellite.

Global education and health services: Over 2 billion of the 6 billion people in our world today lack formal educational systems, health care services, potable water or power. The only way to provide global education and health care services in coming decades at reasonable cost and broad coverage is via space-based communication systems. Socrates once said, "there is only one good: knowledge, and only one evil: ignorance." In an age of terrorism and great intolerance, the need for global education is ever more important.

Cheap and environmentally friendly energy: NASA scientists and engineers already have gone a long way to developing space technology that can provide unlimited low cost energy from space. The operational systems, however, still need to be developed and proven in practice.

Transportation safety: The 6,000 commercial airplanes that are aloft at one time during peak periods in the U.S. depend on satellite navigation for safe operation. New systems can provide better fuel efficiency, earlier warnings of safety hazards and alert of terrorist attack. This is but one of the ways that future space systems can provide greater transportation safety in decades to come.

Emergency warning and recovery systems: The ability to warn populations of pending dangers from hurricanes, monsoons, tidal waves, fires and earthquakes are increasingly dependent on space-based systems. Further rescue operations, from emergency communications to disaster assessment to recovery operations, are dependent on satellite networks as well. Protection of our information networks from cyberterrorists: Many of our current electronic information networks that control transportation systems, energy grids, banking systems and governmental databases are vulnerable. Public key infrastructure systems are in need of upgrade. New types of security systems based on GPS location and encryption systems are dependent on space-based systems.

National defense and strategic security: Space has been called the high frontier. National security systems are increasingly based on smart technologies and instruments that operate in outer space. Ever since Operation Desert Storm, military operations are based heavily on space systems and future systems will be even more so.

Protection against catastrophic planetary accidents: It is easy to assume that an erratic meteor or comet will not bring destruction to the Earth because the probabilities are low. The truth is we are bombarded from space daily. The dangers are greatest not from a cataclysmic collision, but from not knowing enough about solar storms, cosmic radiation and the ozone layer. An enhanced Spaceguard Program is actually a prudent course that could save our species in time.

Creation of new jobs and Industries -- a new vision for the 21st century and a mandate to explore truly new frontiers: Most of the economically advanced countries such as Japan, Canada, Australia and Europe, not to mention China, India and Russia, use their space programs to stimulate their economy, expand their educational and health care networks, improve their agriculture, upgrade their information networks, enhance their entertainment networks and create new jobs. In this respect the U.S. space program now spends precious little of its resources in these areas, but it once did and it could again. These are only some of the ways that space programs could help create a better future for generations yet to come, but it is an impressive list that impacts every American. Space is actually our future. Some would argue that space is the next great step forward for a pioneering nation that sees the need for advancement and discovery. In Nebraska a historical display dedicated to the pioneers that went out West notes that the cowards stayed home but the brave died seeking a better tomorrow. Now is the time to assess our values and our aspirations. It is time to truly ask some key questions:

Why explore space and why send humans into space?

Why does the U.S. space program spend the money it does?

Why does the U.S. space program use the resources it has the way it does?

What is the U.S. space program’s role in terms of education, health care, energy and job creation?

Why is there not more international cooperation in space activities?

Should the U.S. government, at all levels, not realize it needs to do a better job telling us why space and space research, exploration and applications are key?

Courtesy of Space.com

CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE Update... By now, you should’ve all noticed that I’m currently interested in talking mostly about space-related stuff on my journal page, so here’s another space-related update! According to NASASpaceflight.com, engineers were having issues with the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) in that it was 10,000 pounds overweight...meaning that the command and service modules (seen above) were too heavy for the solid rocket booster (the long white "stick" making up the bottom half of the vehicle, seen below) to handle during flight. In the process, engineers obviously began making changes to the CEV, and at the end, pulled off a remarkable feat of eliminating the excess 10,000 pounds from the spacecraft within a short amount of time. In fact, the CEV is now 100 pounds underweight! Sure, that amount is miniscule, but for engineers to be able to shed thousands of pounds from the launch vehicle—and then some—to make it work is astonishing. Again, go to NASASpaceflight.com for more details. (You’ll also see that the image I created below is also used in the CEV article on that website...but that’s not the reason why I decided to talk about the CEV on my page, haha. NSF webmaster Chris Bergin gave me credit for using that image.)


Engineers construct a mockup of the Crew Exploration Vehicle at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (November, 2005).

In terms of naming the CEV, there have been rumors that NASA is close to choosing a name for the command and service modules [Not the Crew Launch Vehicle (the solid rocket booster and orange external fuel tank shown below)...that’s the Ares 1]. The name they’ve apparently selected is Orion. In case some of you are confusing Orion with NASA’s Constellation program (assuming at least some of you are space geeks like I am... Err, hopefully?), the Constellation program is the main organization that is responsible for the CEV project and all other missions supporting the Vision for Space Exploration effort (click here to read more about Constellation). Orion will be the name for all the actual missions...similar to the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spaceflights. Go to Space.com for more details.


An early composite image of an Ares 1 test vehicle being rolled out to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The gray mobile platform that the craft is sitting on will be replaced with a newer, lighter transporter that will be able to move the CEV and its 4 million pounds worth of ground equipment to the launch area.

One last thing about the Crew Exploration Vehicle (for now)... As early as next April, one of the space shuttle launch pads will be transferred over to the Constellation program to begin modifications for Crew Launch Vehicle test flights (I’d mention when the test flights are suppose to take place, but that info came from a section of NASASpaceflight.com that is for paying members only). Operations from Launch Pad 39B—the pad from which the shuttle Discovery lifted off from about three weeks ago—will cease on March 31, 2007. All remaining shuttle missions will lift off from Launch Pad 39A...which as of this typing is undergoing an overhaul that will last for another six months. Click here for more details.


The Ares 1 rocket with the re-designed Crew Exploration Vehicle on top.

UPDATE #2: Well, it turns out that even though NASA has shed the 10,000 pounds that made the CEV/Crew Launch Vehicle overweight, there are other issues that the space agency still needs to deal with during this developmental phase of the program. The issues may be so numerous that NASA has an alternate look for the Ares 1 vehicle in case the current "stick" design doesn't work out...one that'll make it more closely resemble the space shuttle of today. However, this design has so far remained only a concept. Click here for more details.




A comparison chart showing the size of the space shuttle relative to the current Ares
1 'Stick' (left) and the 'Stumpy' (right) design.

STS-115 Update... Around 5:45 (Pacific Daylight Time) this morning, the orbiter Atlantis was rolled out of its hangar and to the Vehicle Assembly Building...where it will be attached to its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. Rollout to the launch pad is scheduled for next Monday, July 31st, and lift-off is being aimed for August 28 (though I currently listed August 27 as the launch date in the countdown at the top of this page, since that’s what space shuttle program managers are aiming for. It’ll either be changed or unchanged depending on what NASA leaders decide on after the Flight Readiness Review on August 16).

"WE'RE BACK, BABY!" Those were the words that astronaut Scott Kelly uttered on the phone last week to his brother, fellow astronaut Mark Kelly, who was the pilot onboard Discovery for mission STS-121. Around 6:14 AM, Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) today, Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida...successfully completing STS-121 and thus the second and final Return to Flight test mission. Assuming everything goes well in the upcoming 6 weeks, the next space shuttle to launch will be Atlantis...on an assembly mission (designated STS-115) to attach the next metal truss segment and solar panel wings to the International Space Station.


The International Space Station (ISS) in its current configuration (July 6, 2006).


The highlighted parts represent the segments that will be delivered to the ISS on mis-
-sion STS-115: The Port 3/Port 4 truss and solar array wings.


An artist's rendition of the ISS in orbit after shuttle flight STS-115.


How the ISS will hopefully look when it's completed in 2010.


An artist's rendition of the completed ISS.

Below is a timeline of events to take place prior to the August 28th launch of Atlantis (obviously, the schedule may change):

DATE.......EVENT

07/25/06...Atlantis rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building (tentative...now July 24)
07/27/06...P3/P4 Truss payload transported to Launch Pad 39B (tentative...now July 26)
08/02/06...Shuttle stack rollout to Launch Pad 39B
08/02/06...P3/P4 Truss to be installed inside Atlantis' payload bay (tentative...now Aug. 5)
08/07/06...Crew flies out to Kennedy Space Center
08/08/06...Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) begins
08/09/06...Astronaut Q & A at Launch Pad 39B
08/10/06...TCDT ends with dress-rehearsal countdown
08/11/06...Pre-flight briefings at the Johnson Space Center
08/15/06...Flight Readiness Review (FRR) begins
08/16/06...FRR ends; official launch date announced
08/25/06...Countdown begins...now August 24
08/28/06...Launch (now August 27 at 1:30 PM, PDT, because of schedule issues related to a Russian Soyuz flight to the space station in mid-September)
09/07/06...Shuttle launch window closes
Schedule courtesy of SpaceflightNow.com


A photo of the P3/P4 truss structure (right), taken on May 12, 2005. Prior to the
Columbia disaster, STS-115 was originally suppose to be flown on May 23, 2003, on-
-board the shuttle Endeavour. Endeavour is currently grounded for maintenance at
the Kennedy Space Center, and should fly again by next summer (on STS-118).

LIFT-OFF! At 11:38 AM, Pacific Daylight Time, Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off on NASA's first ever manned space launch on Independence Day. The countdown and launch appeared to go smoothly, but I still hate Florida weather. You suck, Floridians. Just not today.

DISCOVERY Launch Scrubbed... Originally, I wasn't gonna post anything if the space shuttle didn't launch today, since the chances of it not getting off the ground because of bad weather was known since the July 1 launch date was first announced on June 17. But G*DDAMN, Florida sucks. Well okay, Florida's weather sucks...but I'm still pretty peeved. It's summer...and looking at the 10-day forecast for the "Sunshine" State online, it's all nothing but scattered thunderstorms till next weekend. Thunderstorms...during the summer. Florida blooows.

At least here in California, it's nice and sunny even if the long-awaited Big One (a giant earthquake, for those of you who don't live here in the Almighty Golden State) was to finally wreak havoc. If Discovery isn't able to launch by July 19, NASA will have to wait till the next launch window to open from August 28 to September 14...which is reserved for the next space station assembly flight (mission STS-115). God, I hate Florida. It blooows. Did you hear me, Floridians? You suck. Anvil clouds and lightning... You guys really suck.


The weather above Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday,
July 1st.

UPDATE (July 3): So not only was Discovery's launch scrubbed for a second time yesterday due to bad weather, but it may not launch tomorrow because of a small crack found on the foam insulating a large pipe outside the external tank. Of course, if Discovery was able to have launched on July 1st or yesterday, the stress caused by the constant pumping and purging of the ice-cold rocket fuel into the tank wouldn't have taken place, and that crack wouldn't have formed. Thank you, Mother Nature. God, I hate you. Let's hear it for urban sprawl and pollution, bitch. I can't believe I just called the weather a bitch. Meh, oh well.

As you can see, I'm one of those people achin' to see the shuttle return to flight. Don't know why, I just do.


This footage was taken during the afternoon on Monday, July 3. Is it
just me but the weather looked pretty damn good for a launch? Eh...
Would've, could've, should've...

UPDATE #2 (July 3): It is 6:00 PM here in Southern California, and many news websites are stating that Discovery will be launched tomorrow as scheduled. YES!


The tower's Rotating Service Structure rolls away...revealing Discovery
as it stands poised for launch as of 12:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time)
on July 4th.


A flame shoots out from the launch pad's hydrogen tank as the gas is
being burnt off during the filling of Discovery's orange external fuel
tank, on the morning of July 4th.

CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE Update: I’m too lazy to put this in my own words, so I just copied and pasted this from the main NASA website: "NASA has named the launch vehicles that will return humans to the Moon and later take them to Mars and other destinations. The crew launch vehicle will be called Ares 1, and the cargo launch vehicle will be known as Ares 5. Ares is the Greek god associated with Mars, and the "1" and "5" designations pay homage to the Apollo-era Saturn 1 and Saturn 5 rockets that took astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s. The Crew Exploration Vehicle (the cone-shaped capsule at the top of the Ares 1 rocket, shown below), which will succeed the space shuttle as NASA's spacecraft for human space exploration by September of 2014, will be named at a later date."


The Ares 1 Crew Launch Vehicle

Just to reiterate, the name Ares was chosen because it is the name of the Greek god associated with Mars. Sure, Ares is actually the Greek god of war, but do you really think that NASA chose it because the space agency’s full of angry, sadistic people who want to scrap? Being that I don’t work for NASA, of course not. But if I did work for the agency, I’d name the new launch vehicles Reaper...as in THE Reaper. Reapers’ 1 and 5... I like the sound of that.



The Ares 5 Earth Departure Stage

Discovery a "Go" for launch... At 2 PM (Pacific Daylight Time) on Wednesday, June 28, countdown is set to begin for NASA’s second space shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster. Liftoff is targeted for 12:49 PM (PDT) on Saturday, July 1st. Here’s hoping that the launch will go virtually flawless (in the sense that only a few small pieces of foam insulating the external fuel tank will be shed during the ascent into orbit) and Discovery has a safe and successful flight. Should mission STS-121 succeed, space shuttle Atlantis is set to launch on August 28th to resume assembly on the International Space Station (on mission STS-115), and space shuttle Discovery (or possibly Endeavour) is set to launch again on STS-116 this December 14. I hope I’m not jinxing it, haha.

STS stands for Space Transportation System (which is the official, nerdy title for the space shuttle), in case you were wondering. Which I hope at least one of you were. Carry on.


The crew of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-121.

HERE WE GO AGAIN... After a 9-month stay inside the hangar where it was undergoing maintenance following its last flight in July of ’05, Space Shuttle Discovery is once again headed for a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Here’s hoping that it does launch by July 19 (Its first launch window opens up on July 1 and ends eighteen days later. The next two launch windows are in August and mid-December, respectively.), paving the way for construction to resume at the International Space Station later this year. Yep. Later.



UPDATE: 8 hours and 4.2 miles later...

ABOVE: The green line marks the path traveled by the New Horizons spacecraft as of
8:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time, on April 12, 2006. It is 64,884,826 miles from Earth.
Click here to view the official webpage showing where New Horizons is in space.

NEW HORIZONS Update... As of right now, the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft is flying past Mars’ orbit...being at a current distance of 65 million miles from Earth and speeding its way towards an encounter with Jupiter on February 28 of next year. All but one of Horizons’ seven instruments have now been checked out and will begin making observations within a few months [two instruments, the Student Dust Counter (built by the University of Colorado) and the Solar Wind At Pluto (SWAP) device, have already made "first light" observations]. The final instrument to be checked out, the LORRI (LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager) camera, will not open its lens cover and be tested till later this Fall...since the instrument is extremely sensitive to light, and mission engineers don’t wanna risk damaging it if the camera was accidentally pointed at the Sun. In terms of the Jupiter flyby in 2007, the planned observation list for the giant planet will be finalized by October, 2006. New Horizons has already made three trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) to fine-tune its flight path to Jupiter and Pluto...two thruster burns on January 28 and 30, respectively, and the third one on March 9.



In terms of mementos that New Horizons is carrying onboard during its journey out of the solar system, it bears a canister holding the ashes of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh (shown above), a piece of material from the experimental SpaceShipOne vehicle and a Florida coin commemmorating the U.S. space program (both shown below).



Today also marks the 25th anniversary of the very first space shuttle launch. Hail Columbia!