MarkWhittington - Slashdot User

Submission + - NASA faces lack of leadership, direction, and funding for 2013 (examiner.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Monday December 31, 2012 @04:07PM

MarkWhittington writes: "With the National Research Council report that concluded that President Obama’s plan for a mission to an asteroid has no support, either inside NASA or anywhere else, the space agency faces a decision point in 2013. The NRC suggested that the administration, Congress, NASA, and other stakeholders in space exploration come to a consensus behind a new goal. But the space agency’s problems run deep, caused by a lack of direction, a lack of leadership, and a lack of funding."

Submission + - Petition to Build a 'Death Star' May Not Be so Fanciful After All (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Monday December 10, 2012 @02:57PM

MarkWhittington writes: "The petition created at the White House site, "We the People," for the United States to build a "Star Wars"-style "Death Star" seems, at first glance, to be another example, like secession, of people using the petition process to engage in whimsy.

However, while the concept of building space based military platforms the size of a small moon, as depicted in "Star Wars," may seem grandiose, the idea of weapons systems in space is based on mainstream military thinking."

Submission + - What If Apollo 17 Had Not Been the Last Moon Landing? (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Friday December 07, 2012 @03:26PM

MarkWhittington writes: "Apollo 17, the last expedition to the moon, launched 40 years ago. The final three scheduled Apollo moon landings, Apollo 18, 19, and 20 had been cancelled due to budget cuts.

The question arises, what if Apollo 17 had not been the final moon landing? What if at least some of the planned missions had been carried out?"

Submission + - Golden Spike Company Plans Private Missions to the Moon by 2020 (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Thursday December 06, 2012 @08:03PM

MarkWhittington writes: "The Golden Spike Company has revealed plans to mount a private manned expedition to the lunar surface. This enterprise is designed to create a transportation service to the moon. The cost of the private lunar program is estimated to be $7-8 billion. Golden Spike intends to make money by selling seats on their lunar missions to nations, corporations, and individuals. The cost of each lunar mission would be $1.5 billion"

Submission + - National Research Council finds fault with Obama NASA asteroid exploration goal (examiner.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Wednesday December 05, 2012 @03:01PM

MarkWhittington writes: "The National Research Council issued a report on Dec. 5, 2012 that concludes that a national disagreement over NASA space goals has proven detrimental to the space agency budgeting and planning efforts. The report called into question President Obama’s stated goal of sending NASA astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, which has not garnered any support."

Submission + - Golden Spike Co. may announce private lunar expedition at December 6 event (examiner.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Sunday December 02, 2012 @05:01PM

MarkWhittington writes: "A mysterious space enterprise, called the Golden Spike Company, is going to make an announcement about its future plans at a press conference at the National Press Club on December 6. Golden Spike is reported to be the commercial space company that plans to undertake a private expedition to the moon by 2020."

Submission + - Engine breakthrough by British company points the way to single stage to orbit (examiner.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Sunday December 02, 2012 @03:40PM

MarkWhittington writes: "Reaction Engines, a British aerospace firm, has achieved a technological breakthrough in the development of a hybrid jet/rocket engine called the SABRE which the company hopes will power vehicles that can fly to any point of the globe in four hours or to low Earth orbit."

Submission + - Researchers build objects with 3D printing using simulated moon rocks (examiner.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Wednesday November 28, 2012 @07:30PM

MarkWhittington writes: "t has been a truism among space planners that future space settlers will have to build things on other worlds out of as much local materials as possible, saving the cost of transporting things from Earth to the moon or Mars. Two professors at the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University have taken a step forward toward developing that technology using laser enabled 3D printing using simulated moon rocks to create simple objects."

Submission + - Google Lunar X Prize teams now in a race with China as well as each other (examiner.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Wednesday November 14, 2012 @05:41PM

MarkWhittington writes: "The Google Lunar X Prize rules of competition has a clause that reduces the $20 million grand prize to $15 million for the first private group to land a rover on the lunar surface should a government funded rover land first. The first scheduled government funded rover to land on the moon is the Chinese Chang’e 3. It is slated for a 2013 landing."

Submission + - Some in Austin Want to Secede from Texas (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Wednesday November 14, 2012 @04:56PM

MarkWhittington writes: "The nationwide secession movement, which has featured petitions to the White House "We the People" site has taken a strange twist with a petition being offered by some in Austin, requesting permission to secede from Texas in the event that the Lone Star State becomes the Lone Star Republic again."

Submission + - NASA Planetary Science Budget Cuts Sparks New Humans vs. Robots Debate (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Friday November 02, 2012 @02:50PM

MarkWhittington writes: "The recent budget cuts imposed by the Obama administration in NASA's planetary science budget has sparked a new humans vs. robots debate, but with a twist. Some are now suggesting, since humans make better field geologists than robots, that a robotic sample return mission should be bypassed entirely in favor of a human Mars mission"

Submission + - 'The Zombie Apocalypse' is a Strange Campaign Issue (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Monday October 29, 2012 @06:07PM

MarkWhittington writes: "In an election that has featured Big Bird, binders full of women, bayonets, Romnesia, and the creepy yearnings of Lena Dunham, one can be forgiven for wondering if self-confessed Hollywood liberal Joss Whedon is serious in his snarky video.

Whedon, the creator of iconic TV shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" and the director of "The Avengers" accuses Mitt Romney of wanting to bring about the Zombie Apocalypse. His theory is that the election of out of touch, evil rich guy Romney will spark economic turmoil, social unrest, and general chaos that will in turn lead to the rise of the undead."

Submission + - NASA Engineers Build Mockup of Deep Space Station (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @09:07PM

MarkWhittington writes: "NASA engineers at the Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Ala., are building a mockup of what appears to be a deep space habitat, though it could also be part of an interplanetary spacecraft. The purpose is to do human factors studies to find out how to sustain astronauts on lengthy deep space missions."

Submission + - NASA looms large in Houston Chronicle's endorsement of Mitt Romney (examiner.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Monday October 22, 2012 @04:52PM

MarkWhittington writes: "In its Friday edition on Oct 19, 2012, the Houston Chronicle officially endorsed Mitt Romney for president. President Barack Obama’s policy toward NASA loomed large in determining this decision. The Chronicle had endorsed Obama in 2008. This and a similar endorsement in Space News has elicited some vehement reactions."

Submission + - Bill Nye 'the Science Guy' Urges Letters to Obama to Restore NASA Budget Cuts (yahoo.com)

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MarkWhittington

on Saturday October 13, 2012 @09:38AM

MarkWhittington writes: "Bill Nye, once known as "The Science Guy" for his 1990s PBS educational television show, has cut a YouTube video in his current capacity of CEO of the Planetary Society urging people to write to President Obama to restore cuts to planetary science. The budget cuts were enacted by the president last February, causing consternation in the scientific community."

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