Right now there are only a handful of companies that are providing the Aerospace Engineering and hardware capable of any launches.  On the Cape Side, Lockheed Martin and Boeing Corp combined forces to create United Launch Alliance (ULA).  This company launches payloads off of Pads 41 and 37, Atlas V and Delta IV respectively. If any company is poised to pickup the pieces of NASA’s decision to scrap constellation, ULA certainly is.

On Pad 40, there is the Falcon, by SpaceX Corp., while they have an ambitious launch plan, they don’t have any track record of successful launches.

There is the philosophy that we could reuse everything but the shuttle.  Make more tanks and reuse boosters, hence the DIRECT project and Jupiter. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_(rocket_family)

The NASA places forward request for proposal to companies to create the next great thing, but no company is incentivized to expend great money without any possible return on investment.

The fact is that not a single one of these programs is Man Rated, and to add that would create additional expense to any of these rocket programs.  Only NASA has a Man Rated requirement for their payloads, unless we deregulate space.

Right now we must rely on a single rocket program in Russia to service the International Space Station.

The United States has put the most amount of money into the ISS and space exploration.  The director today stated that he is looking to Internationalize the space program.  America needs to be the lead in space.  If we are putting our cash there, then we shouldn’t have to compromise on the direction of the research.

As the director said, only Russian and China will have Human Space Flight programs for an unknown time after Shuttle retires.  It’s unbelievable.  What’s worse is that we have no idea when we will bring one back online.

What is really at risk is Jobs, Science, Leadership and Pride.  When J.F. Kennedy boldly asked us to go to the Moon, we did it as a nation.  It put industry at work providing the tooling and know-how.  40 Years after we put a man on the moon, we have squandered all of it, and no one has a good reason as to why.
———
SailorJ is a pseudonym for a former technician on one of the Unmanned Rocket programs at Cape Canaveral, FL.

Like what I write?  Follow Me on Twitter: @SailorJ and tell me what you think!

There are two dominate platforms emerging in the Smart Phone market, the iPhone (Apple) and Android based (Google).  But unlike the Palm and RIM based machines, these two companies have an ecosystem that stands behind their product.  Let me talk to Apple and Google separately and you’ll quickly see what I mean.

Apple

• Integration using iTunes


• Available on both Mac and Windows based PCs.


• Runs Mobile Safari based on WebKit.


• Has a total developer program to bring applications to the device based upon Mac OS X.


• iPhone operating system based on Mac OS X.

Google

• Integration using existing Google Services (Gmail, Google Voice, Documents, etc.)


• Available on any platform.


• Runs Google Chrome Browser based on WebKit.


• Has an SDK program to bring applications to the device.


• Android OS is unique to the hand held device based on the Linux kernel.

So what is the game plan going forward?  Google believes that Chrome is the future of the desktop.  (That) We will get rid of lots of overhead and push the on button and be online.  Apple on the other hand may have developers that can develop for one and develop for all by keeping some consistency between the way you develop for both the Mac OS and Mobile Mac OS.  90,000 applications is a lot of applications and if that translates to developers for the Mac, it can only be a good thing for Apple.

Because Google mostly sees the Application relying on the browser and on the Internet, that would lend one to believe that people who make web based Apps will have the most success, since they should run smooth on both an iPhone and an Android phone.

I’ve heard it said that business is about making money and yet it is also about getting your products in the hands of users.  It’s still too early to tell who is the David and who is the Goliath, but as we see more of Apple’s business plans come together towards the end of January, we can all be sure that the fun is just beginning.

Like what I write?  Follow Me on Twitter: @SailorJ and tell me what you think!

Well, the biggest hurdle that all SmartPhones have to really overcome is Price.  These are not devices that are going to get into the hands of cost conscious consumers in this economy.  While i’m not a bean counter for Google, and don’t know the big strategy there, but I’ll throw a real stab at what I believe could win the day.

• PRICE, PRICE, PRICE. $50 unlimited Service Plan on a Google phone, this would be the really killer phone.  Make the phone cost $99 or $199.  People will pay it and see value for that.  The key here is that Google needs people to not only be on their OS (android) but on their Hardware/Software.


• The Google Philosophy. The idea is that if you buy into something like this, then you also agree that Google can use lots of data (in an aggregated sense) to create marketing strategies for better future product placement.  This in itself is a revenue source and a vital way to understand the Google User Base.


• It’s a Platform. Second more units sold means more people are going to develop Applications for that App Store.  Apple is seeing a great revenue stream there, and Google could do the same thing if it wants to without stifling innovation.

I own an iPhone, and I love it.  But I’m also a fan of Google’s products and innovations.  Competition is good for everyone, especially dedicated iPhone owners. Without something dynamic and different, it could just become another homogenized Android phone and a blip on the Radar.

So what’s the big deal? What will we do with all this speed? They suggest that people could have their own broadcasting ability, if the upload speeds increase.

With the iPhone providing decent video capture and ease of uploading to the net, (with others to certainly follow); there is no doubt that we will see more Streaming content.

But is that it? Or will more bandwidth mean just more bandwidth, and it will just be something the consumers will eat because it is there?

SailorJ!
—Post From My iPhone

So I’ll use Twitter to comment back, but WP to post actual content to Twitter….  Now what to do about Facebook.

But back to Kennedy, who the Right tends to want to vilify regarding getting off on what they perceive as criminal behavior. I don’t know all the circumstances, and will it really foreshadow the career of the Senator? We will know soon enough. But I’m sure he will be remembered long after his detractors have come and gone.

Just something fun to listen to.

Wrong Number It’s an MP3 file. 2:00 mins  Enjoy!

While Special Effects, Casting, and general feel all seemed pretty good.  This story has really left me pissed off.

Most of us hardcore Trek folk look at the logic of things, and when an event happens in the story, we look at it in the perspective of the entire program and from a scientific theoretical possibility/stand point.

Here’s what Pissed me off!

• The Romulans and Spock pass through a blackhole. (This isn’t Disney’s BlackHole)  We know what happens with a blackhole, it’s a high gravitational area, not a rip in the space-time continuum.


• optical communicationSpock comes back with a machine designed to destroy planets.  (enough red matter to destroy hundreds of worlds)


• The Romulan’s destroy Kirks dad, altering the SpaceTime Continuum, and Old Spock still gets comesback with not altering of the Space Time Continuum.


• Kirk isn’t sent to the Brig but rather ejected off to a distant planet.


• Kirk meets the old Spock, and this doesn’t change the space time continuum.


• Spock meets himself.


• WTF that Kirk becomes Captain of the enterprise as a Cadet.


• If any of these things that break time were to happen then most likely, these poeple may not have become friends the same way.


• The next movie better fix this.  I mean, what would Q have to play with, unless Captain Picard is still out there in space.


• This was much more akin to an episode of Sliders than an episode of Star Trek.  Even in episodes where they travel in time, then never screw with the space time continuum and make out as if the known timeline no longer exists.  It changes way too much of the future that is yet to be written.

NASA screwed up! In a day and age where budgets sway on public opinion, the Colbert Army is a good one to have on your side. These aren’t just your morning drive guys, these are polically motivated 20+ year olds. These are people who actually can make an impact and influence policy.

Now while it looks as if there was no animosity between the two camps, it still proves that Colbert is a force to be reckoned with.

Remember what happened when Colbert wanted to make a point about wikipedia? Where he got people to change information on Elephants. It was big news. In any event, I fail to see a reason why it would not be called the Colbert module. In 10 years from now, are they afraid they would be saying, who is Stephen colbert? Well if he puts the energy and resources onto being their cheerleader then that would not likely happen.