A Near Miss: When Three Apollo Astronauts Were Nearly Killed on Reentry
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project On July 24, 1975, six years to the day after the Apollo 11 crew returned safely to Earth, reaching the zenith of America’s space race program, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project crew returned to Earth. It was to be the last hurrah of the Apollo era....
Ferrying the Shuttle – Part Two: The Orbiter is the Ferry
It did not take long to figure out that the concept of ferrying the shuttle like an airplane between ground destinations was not going to fly. The numbers just were not adding up, but the risk factors were rising. The idea was to install six airbreathing jet engines beneath...
The Politics of NASA – What History Has Taught Us
Every political season brings the same old ideas about what government should do and how it should operate. This election brings a decision between operating government like a business and the discipline it requires, or operating it as an entity that transcends the typical rules of budgeting, balancing, and...
Liberty for All
Much public attention has been given to America’s lack of a capability to launch astronauts into space. When the space shuttle touched down for the last time the die had already been cast for our near term future in space. America would become dependent on Russian resources to fly...
A Triumph for the American Space Program
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives defied the wishes of President Bush and by a wide margin of 409-15 approved an extra $2b dollars for NASA. The rare, almost unanimous support sends a strong message that the space program is vital to America and still the most visible sign...