From cewcew at mac.com Wed Jul 23 12:46:12 2008 From: cewcew at mac.com (Craig E. Ward) Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:46:12 -0700 Subject: [oasis-members] Manned spaceship design unveiled Message-ID: <10470952325229629415360669937067335731-Webmail2@me.com> More possibilities for a crewed vehicle? The article mentions a ESA/Russian design and an alternative ESA design. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7519723.stm -- cewcew at mac.com From James.Spellman at travis.af.mil Wed Jul 23 13:54:58 2008 From: James.Spellman at travis.af.mil (Spellman, James Civ USAF AMC 60 MDG/PA) Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:54:58 -0500 Subject: [oasis-members] Manned spaceship design unveiled In-Reply-To: <10470952325229629415360669937067335731-Webmail2@me.com> References: <10470952325229629415360669937067335731-Webmail2@me.com> Message-ID: <25B18F255801C248937447511E2E5DC7D8B107@AMCW3VN507.amc.ds.af.mil> Guess the Times still hasn't heard of NOAA. . . ~JS~ Looking at Mars McCain is onboard for Bush's space mission; Obama may be more down to earth. July 23, 2008 We know how John McCain and Barack Obama are polling in the red states, the blue states, Europe, the Middle East, China and around the world. But how are the presidential candidates polling on Mars? Red Planet policy turns out to be one of the areas in which McCain and Obama present bright, clear policy differences. In short, McCain supports the vision for space exploration that President Bush articulated in 2004, which committed NASA to returning human beings to the moon by 2020, with a vaguely defined ambition to send astronauts on to Mars before 2050. This vision has since coalesced into NASA's Constellation program, intended, among other things, to replace the retiring space shuttle. And the Democratic contender? Earlier this year, in a 15-page position paper detailing his ideas for education, Obama sneaked in the following line at the end: "The early education plan will be paid for by delaying the NASA Constellation program for five years." Who's right? There's something to be said for pulling the plug on Constellation. The space agency should take a fresh look at its goals and practices, possibly even giving up its role as a driver in human space exploration and becoming a paying passenger on vehicles built and operated by foreign and private-sector organizations. This would leave NASA with more funds for the robotic exploration that has brought such vast rewards on a relatively small budget (and without risk to life and limb). But where your taxes are concerned, nothing is ever simple. Bush's 2004 vision, announced shortly after the landings of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars, brought with it a surge of interest in robotic science in the inner solar system -- which could be promoted, accurately or not, as the necessary prep work for human exploration. The bulk of NASA funding still goes to human exploration and thus tends to end up in Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Alabama. But Los Angeles County could be an ancillary beneficiary of Constellation, because the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the most important player in robotic planetary exploration. Fiscal realities and NASA's commitment to keeping its $17-billion budget flat already seem to be putting a limit on Constellation, but Bush's, and now McCain's, vision nicely balances realism and ambition. Yet it's Obama who is sounding like the more realistic, market-oriented candidate. His campaign said recently that Obama hopes to enhance NASA's role "in confronting the challenges we face here on Earth, including global climate change" and "to reach out and include international partners and engage the private sector to increase NASA's reach and provide real public economic benefits for the nation." -----Original Message----- From: oasis-members-bounces at oasis-nss.org [mailto:oasis-members-bounces at oasis-nss.org] On Behalf Of Craig E. Ward Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:46 AM To: oasis-members at oasis-nss.org Subject: [oasis-members] Manned spaceship design unveiled More possibilities for a crewed vehicle? The article mentions a ESA/Russian design and an alternative ESA design. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7519723.stm -- cewcew at mac.com _______________________________________________ OASIS-members mailing list OASIS-members at oasis-nss.org http://oasis-nss.org/mailman/listinfo/oasis-members_oasis-nss.org Visit the above URL to update your email address or subscription options. From DRh9811850 at aol.com Thu Jul 24 00:31:38 2008 From: DRh9811850 at aol.com (DRh9811850 at aol.com) Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:31:38 EDT Subject: [oasis-members] Manned spaceship design unveiled Message-ID: We won't even have a functioning manned LEO-capable (or higher) anything before at least 2012 -- public or private. After 2010, we'll have to hitchhike with the Russians -- or the ESA -- until Orion or one of the private vehicles is up to speed. I think the ESA/Russian collaboration is interesting from the standpoint that neither of their proposals (at least as mentioned in the article on BBC world service) include our wants, like giving us a ride up there. Also interesting that the Russians are insisting to their partners that the vehicle launch solely from their new spaceport. Diane Rhodes ************** Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for FanHouse Fantasy Football today. (http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020)