Apollo – The Apollo program ran from 1961 to 1972 and was the NASA program that was tasked with sending humans to the moon.
“date by” goal – A means of organization where a goal is expected to be done at a certain period of time. Kennedy’s proclamation that the U.S. should land a man on the moon by 1970 was a “date by” goal.
capabilities-based approach – a means of organization where instead of focusing on having a goal complete by a specific date emphasis is placed on being able to complete a variety of tasks. A capabilities-based approach in NASA would perhaps include being able to reach an asteroid or being able to send humans into space at a certain low cost.
Heavy lift capacity – A country that has heavy lift capacity has a fleet of functioning heavy lift vehicles. Heavy lift vehicles are a class of rocket that can lift the heaviest payloads into space. Human missions into space exclusively have used heavy-lift vehicles, while the launch of merely a satellite could be accomplished with a smaller rocket
Terraform – the idea of transforming another planet so that it more closely resembles Earth, perhaps by introducing Earth species or making a thicker atmosphere
Hysterical – uncontrolled or extreme emotion
Cannibalize – to use resources from one project to fund another. If the ISS is to be cannibalized to fund other programs, the ISS would cease to function and its funds and parts would be used for the other project
Isolationism – a policy of remaining removed from the affairs of other countries
Prosperity – flourishing, thriving, with success or good fortune -
Demographic – relating to the size or structure of a population
Microelectronics – the design and manufacture of microchips and circuits
Satiety – the condition of being full or gratified
Maw – the mouth of an animal, especially a carnivorous one
NASA
STEM
ISS – International Space Station
Answers To: Inherency
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[____] NASA’s budget is increasing on net as a result of Obama’s new plan.
Phil Plait, writer for the Discovery Magazine, 2/1/2010, “President Obama’s NASA budget unveiled”. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/02/01/president-obamas-nasa-budget-unveiled/
As promised, today President Obama released his planet NASA budget for the year. Not too surprisingly, it’s pretty much as the rumors indicated. There’s a lot to say here, and I have a lot on my mind, so please hear me out. The good news for sure is an increase of $6 billion over the next five years. It stresses new technology and innovation (to the tune of over $1.5 billion), which is also good. A lot of NASA’s successes have been from pushing the limits on what can be done. It also stresses Earth science, which isn’t surprising at all; Obama appears to understand the importance of our environmental impact, including global warming. So that’s still good news. The very very good news is that half that money — half, folks, 3.2 billion dollars — is going to science. Yeehaw! The release specifically notes telescopes and missions to the Moon and planets. That, my friends, sounds fantastic.
Answers To: Space Leadership Advantage
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[____] The Apollo approach is outdated and threatens US leadership – a new space strategy is necessary.
Dr. John M. Logsdon, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs; founder and director of GW's Space Policy Institute in 1987, 6/30/2010 “The End of the Apollo Era – Finally?”, 6/30/10, http://www.spacenews.com/commentaries/100630-blog-end-apollo-era-finally.html
There is a coherent explanation of what is being proposed, but NASA has given it little emphasis and it seems not to have registered with those trying to understand the new strategy. That strategy involves a restart — a five-year period of building the technological foundation for the future. That restart would be followed by another five to seven years of developing new systems based on that foundation, then a series of human missions to various destinations beyond Earth orbit. There is no commitment to a specific destination on a specific schedule; that avoids the narrowing effect that was a characteristic of Apollo. To me this is a quite sensible and easily understandable strategy, if the United States wants to be in the vanguard of 21st century space exploration. But it does not follow the Apollo model of setting a date to arrive at a specific destination that gave the United States unquestioned space leadership. It will be a challenge to maintain focus and technological discipline in implementing a strategy without a “date by” goal, but a capabilities-based approach can pave the way to U.S. leadership in reaching all the interesting destinations between the Earth and Mars. To me, the greatest threat to U.S. space leadership would come from our political system insisting on staying with the Apollo-era approach to the future, not from adopting this new strategy.
Answers To: Space Leadership Advantage
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[____] Space leadership is strong in the status quo, Constellation is only a minor setback.
Anatoly Zak, Contributing Editor – Astronomy and Cosmonautics, 2/4/2010, “End of Constellation: It is Not All Doom and Gloom,” http://www.russianspaceweb.com/sei_end.html
Obviously, for every space enthusiast around the world, it would be sad to see any major space exploration effort to be axed in a budget crunch. The frustration of legislators representing congressional districts with heavy involvement into a discontinued federal project is also understandable. However there is a silver lining. Every failure presents a new opportunity and even more so does the inevitable demise of the Constellation program. NASA still can make it right, make it big, and remain a leader in space, if it chooses to do so. First of all, the Obama administration promised to increase overall NASA funding, which along with recovering economy, puts the US space agency in a very strong position for drawing up an aggressive future strategy in space. The goal of going to the Moon itself has not been abandoned but only postponed, likely for a historically insignificant period of time. In the meantime, NASA and all its international partners will be able to send their astronauts to the International Space Station, ISS, to conduct scientific research and built foundation for human ventures beyond the Earth orbit. The fact that US astronauts will temporarily fly to the ISS onboard Russian spacecraft, should bother no one but isolationists and nationalists. It is much more tragic that under funding restraints of the Constellation program, a brand-new space station -- the largest and most complex man-made structure in orbit -- would have to be dumped into the ocean as soon as 2015. Perhaps, it still would not be the most unprecedented waste of taxpayers’ money in the history of space program – just ask the developers of the Soviet N1 moon rocket and the Energia-Buran system. (Both were abandoned practically on the launch pad, after years of colossal efforts.) Beyond the station Before the end of this decade, NASA would have a new manned spacecraft, capable of reaching the ISS and, most likely, the same vehicle would be easily adaptable for lunar missions. Although the potential of the so-called “private sector” to build better, cheaper spacecraft is greatly over-hyped, there is little doubt that the US aerospace industry would be fully capable of building a state-of-the-art spacecraft for the federal government. Hysterical cries in the American press about the loss of US capability to launch astronauts into space are completely unfounded. Hysterical cries in the American press about the loss of US capability to launch astronauts into space are completely unfounded.
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