Discovery of New Flaws

I am glad to read that Discovery had another successful mission to the International Space Station last December. However, I am still puzzled with the news stories stating the mission was almost scrubbed because the shuttle could not fly during the New Year. It seems the shuttle's computers are not designed to go from one year to the next. Yes, while NASA boasts the space shuttle is "the most complex machine every built" with a "robust capacity," it cannot seem to deal with the complexities of the calendar. God forbid we also lose a coffee maker mid-flight.

James Webb Space Telescope?

Now that the Hubble has been saved (read more here) until 2012, we will not go blind anytime soon. But I recently read that the next generation telescope will be called the James Webb Space Telescope. While some have been critical of the naming of a NASA item after a "bureaucrat," Mr. Webb was always a strong supporter of a balance between a manned program and robotic craft that could do the necessary science. As NASA notes, "Webb's vision of a balanced program resulted in a decade of space science research that remains unparalleled today. During his tenure, NASA invested in the development of robotic spacecraft, which explored the lunar environment so that astronauts could do so later, and it sent scientific probes to Mars and Venus, giving Americans their first-ever view of the strange landscape of outer space."

My only concern is that this telescope will be put into an orbit where it cannot be visited and repaired. Maybe we need to consider the lessons from the Hubble telescope and ensure we have a backup plan.

Noogle

So, NASA and Google are cooperating. Does this mean more NASA work with some extra money, or less openness with the space program? Only time will tell, but given NASA budget situation - trying to fund a mission to Mars while also maintaining its science programs - every dollar will help. However, the funding aspect is still somewhat vague. Some of the benefits of this marriage may be 3-D maps of the moon and Mars and even real-time tracking of the International Space Station and shuttle (hopefully better than what you see on the airplane as you cross the Atlantic). Here is the NASA press release: "This agreement between NASA and Google will soon allow every American to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of Mars," said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin at Headquarters in Washington. Of course, I remember doing this on my home computer 15 years ago with a private sector package.