Space Forum / Space History / May 2008

Richard Cook on the American Meltdown
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8854
This certainly puts VSE, ESAS, Constellation, Ares and Orion into a
much better perspective. Nothing else makes any sense, nobody in their

Wikipedia is reporting that Ron Parise, Payload Specialist on STS-35 and
STS-67 (the ASTRO missions) died of a brain tumour on Friday 9th May, aged
56.

First the sound barrier, then the Flame Barrier:
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/05/17/can-we-crash-the-deadly-flame-barrier/
The X-3 isn't only going to fail to breech the flame barrier, but also
the sound barrier.

A concept that Convair/GD pushed for a while in the 1960's was a
flyback version of the Atlas. The core would be structurally
strengthened, the booster engines would be permanently afixed, wings,
landing gear, jet engines and a cockpit would be added.

FINAL DRAFT FOR WORLD WIDE CIRCULATION:
please FWD appreciations to randi@randi.org and
richard.dawkins@oum.ox.ac.uk
SEE HOW WE CAUSED THE PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN ATHEISTS, ELLEN JOHNSON,

Actually, this could be a real problem if they start screwing up the
computers.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleI
d=9086098
Here's some more data on the ants involved:

...used to be around its equator:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514131133.htm
Pat

We've been watching the newly released complete "Get Smart" series,
and I've noticed that there are several awfully familiar artist
renderings of project Mercury on the wall in the R&D. (One is a
cutaway orbital picture showing the capsule interior, and another is a

More info from James Oberg
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/may08/6229
This is interesting:
"However, a suggestive detail in the postlanding photography, a thruster

Marshall Space Flight Center Employees Starting To Crack
under the strain of the WORLD'S DUMBEST ROCKET - Ares I.
http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2008/04/things_are_gett_1.html#more
Ha hahah ahaha hahah ahahha ... SUCKERS!

For a presentation I'm about to hold at my university, I would like to
know the ratio of succesful and failed cargo launches in the history
of spacetravel, but have been unable to find comprehensive data.
From numbers published by The Aerospace Corporation (United States Air

Looks like 3 will take the ride.  Wearing suits that "look like" Orlan
knockoffs but the chinese vehemently deny, and are all newly designed
by Chinese specs.  Also looks like gear for spacewalk including a
EVA man-launched sat. will be contained in the nose of the orbital

I remember reading that LBJ said that, once we'd landed on the moon,
the USA could get to work on domestic problems.   The clear
implication appeared to be that space travel wasn't necessary or
desired.

    I've been watching 'Failure Is Not An Option', about Mission
Control, on the History International channel.  Among the stock footage
used, particularly for Mercury and Gemini coverage, were various bits
of NASA animation, showing approximations to what things like the

I've been writing a computer simulation for a small satellite
launcher, and have discovered a mistake in my code!
The mistake isn't quite relevant to the question I want to ask, but
related.