In 1957, when the USSR launched Sputnik, it began a new era in the Cold War. The Race to Space. Senator Lyndon Johnson worried the commies could rain nuclear bombs down on us from the high ground, making him the perfect guy to run NASA and because it was a military concern it got funded. Only later it became a human exploration issue and much later became a science one. read...
read moreIn the midst of CNN's non-stop coverage of a deceased singer whose biggest career hit was a cover of a Dolly Parton song, there may be a ray of rational sunlight shining down on a person worthy of our time; an accomplished military veteran, test pilot, Mercury astronaut and Senator named John Glenn. 50 years ago the 40-year-old Marine lieutenant sat atop a building-sized rocket stuffed with...
read moreSince 2011 is nearing its end, you are already sick of those top 10 lists about the best X Of The Year. I'll keep it simple and stick to just one. My favorite photo of 2011 was not taken by me and it wasn't anything elaborate, like Osama Bin Laden getting capped or a science miracle or two kids making out on the street during riots in Vancouver. No, my favorite photo was taken last...
read moreScience 2.0 favorite Lawrence Krauss of ASU tackled the James Webb Space Telescope issue on the Richard Dawkins website and a commenter there linked to my rationalization that canceling it might be okay, with the hasty disclaimer that he does not agree with what I write - the Dawkins site moderators, and perhaps Dawkins himself, have made their distaste for anyone outside the echo chamber well...
read moreWith the end of the space shuttle, we may also be seeing an end to manned space travel as a science endeavor. I am not saying we shouldn't send people into space, we certainly should, but it should be just that - a bold voyage into the unknown and not rationalized with science, where it is not a very good one. Robots are cheaper and better and the Congressional hearings are less messy...
read moreThe Redemption of Gus GrissomThe 50th anniversary of Alan Shepard's flight, the first American in space, was something of a big deal in pop culture. The 50th anniversary of John Glenn orbiting the Earth, arriving this winter, will likely be a much bigger deal because Sen. Glenn has a lot of name recognition.But between them in aerospace history, chosen to be among the "Mercury 7" test...
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