Earth Discovery Center takes shape

Once complete, the center will provide five times the classroom space and serve more than twice as many visitors each year. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Once complete, the center will provide five times the classroom space and serve more than twice as many visitors each year. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/

First Published: The Flyer, October 20, 2006 12:56 pm

By Jerry Battiste

INDIANAPOLIS — Excitement is building at Eagle Creek Park as construction on the new Earth Discovery Center enters its final phases.

Buried in the forest overlooking the reservoir, the building blends nicely with the surrounding greenery, despite the mud and construction equipment. In front, sidewalks are being poured; the parking lot will be next and the landscaping will follow shortly after that. By December, the center will be complete and programming is expected to be in full swing by spring of 2007.

Jim Weir is executive director of the Eagle Creek Park Foundation, a non-profit group formed in 1978 to support the park through volunteer and fundraising work. Membership now numbers more than 2,000. That’s twice as many as they had in 2001, but Weir said he expects that number to grow as the park continues to make itself more attractive to guests of all types.

Eagle Creek Park is already a popular destination for boaters, anglers and naturalists, but Weir said they want it to be a destination for everyone seeking an outdoor adventure in an urban setting.

“As we started to look into this, we discovered one of the larger user groups at Eagle Creek are runners and joggers,” Weir said.

Drive through the park just about any clear day, he said, and someone can be spotted cruising the paths. And regardless of the weather, someone is likely fishing somewhere too, he said. In fact, most of the members of the foundation are themselves regular users of the park who turned to volunteer work as a form of penance.

“One member told me he spent so much time at the park, every day riding his bicycle up and down the trails, that he felt guilty not doing something to help,” Weir said.

At 5,200 acres, Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the nation and the only Indianapolis park tasked with funding itself. A $4 daily admission fee only goes so far, Weir said.

What foundation members felt they needed was a world class facility to build on its existing nature programming. The only question was, what sort of facility should it be?

Weir said the old Visitor Center at the park would see about 40,000 guests every year, half of which were school children from kindergarten to fifth grade. With this in mind, they set about designing the new Earth Discovery Center to better serve that group, and anyone else interested in having a learning experience during their visit to the park.

The foundation formed focus groups and queried local educators on what type of facility would best suit their needs. Soon, a plan was created and fundraising work began in earnest. Foundation members have so far secured more than $3.5 million for building the new center, but are still seeking another $1 million to cover the cost of programming.

Walking through the nearly-finished center, Weir makes no effort to hide his enthusiasm for the project. Students at all levels, from kindergarten through college to those attending adult-learning programs, are expected to study the environment using the park as their living laboratory.

“We call it ‘come in and get out’ because they can come into one of our labs, the wet lab or the dry lab, learn about a sector of the environment like the wetland, then go out into the park and actually experience that environment firsthand,” he said.

In the $650,000 exhibit area, four habitats will be represented: The forest, meadow, wetland, and reservoir. Lab tables and equipment for group study, interactive computer displays and remote cameras for observing specific park habitats up close, provide a variety of learning tools for teachers and students alike. It is expected the new Earth Discovery Center will see more than 100,000 visitors each year.

The old nature center, which sits along a protected bird sanctuary, will become an ornithology center, focusing specifically on the abundant species that call the park home.

Weir said the new center will be “much more science oriented as opposed to the traditional park nature center” but stopped short of calling it a school. Currently, the park offers a variety of learning programs but only has the capacity for one class at a time. The new center will have room for up to four simultaneous classroom groups. Student attendance at park programs is expected to rise from 22,000 visitors a year to closer to 50,000.

“We don’t expect to have that many students right at the get-go,” Weir said. But he said he expects the center “will easily reach that number” once the programming is in full swing.

The new center is a subtle addition to the quiet forest in which it sits, but Weir hopes it will be a powerful force in the community.

“It is the first of its kind,” Weir said of the center and the proposed programming. “But what we believe is that once finished, it will become the model for what a nature center should be at parks all across the nation.”

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.

Indianapolis airport terminal on schedule

Eventually standing six stories high, the glass enclosed Civic Plaza at the terminal is expected to be a central gathering poing. Jerry Battiste/ Flyer photos

First Published: The Flyer, December 12, 2006 03:13 pm

By Jerry Battiste

INDIANAPOLIS ’ The people responsible for construction of the new Indianapolis International Airport want everyone to know the $1.07 billion project is on budget and on schedule.

During a recent media tour of the unfinished facility, John Kish, project director for the Indianapolis Airport Authority, said the new airport was having an impact on everyone in the community, regardless of whether they were even aware of the project.

’With the scope and cost of this project, it’s as if we are spending $1 million a day for three years,’ he said. ’And 75 percent of that money is staying in Indiana.’

Construction on the project began in earnest in 2003 when the Federal Aviation Administration and the IAA broke ground on the new air traffic control tower. This past summer all operations were transferred to the new tower, the third tallest in the nation, and the old tower was recently demolished in a controlled explosion.

The new 1.2 million square foot terminal building is scheduled to open in late 2008 and is expected to serve the air transportation needs of the state for the next 30 years.

Kish said weather could still be a factor in estimating the exact completion date, but if the facility cannot be opened by October of that year, airport officials would likely wait until 2009, after the holidays pass, before holding a grand opening.

More than 1,000 doors, 10,000 light fixtures and 11,000 tons of steel are required for the project. The state-of-the-art facility will have 10 moving sidewalks and 23 elevators and escalators.

Kish said a glass enclosed ’Civic Plaza,’ with a ceiling six stories high, abundant retail space, and room for public gatherings is the jewel of the new terminal.

’This will truly be a facility we, as a city, can be proud of,’ he said. ’With the new Civic Plaza, passengers can sit in a beautiful area, with the best view of downtown around, and have a latte while they wait for their plane.’

More than 7,000 parking spaces will spread across 2.5 million square feet of available parking and a ground transportation hub will provide commercial shuttle, bus, and limousine service to and from local hotels.

This is the first commercial airport built in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the extensive changes to FAA airport regulations that followed. New guidelines, like a new baggage terminal with a special room for workers to immediately pull and isolate any suspicious packages, have been incorporated into the plan. Also, an underground fuel delivery system will mean fewer fuel trucks on the taxiways.

Chris Walter, project safety director for Hunt/Smoot, tasked with completing the Midfield building, said despite the new security measures and the pressure of building the first airport under stricter FAA guidelines, the job is much the same as any other building project.

He said most of the workers hired for the project are local contractors, people who have grown up in central Indiana and have a stake in the community. They know how important the airport is to the local economy, what the project means for their friends and family, he said, but they are more concerned about doing the best possible job than they are about dealing with imagined pressure.

’Most of these guys don’t even know it’s the first airport being built since 9/11,’ Walter said. ’Working on a big project like this means taking a certain sense of pride in what you do, and they have that. But to them, it’s just another project ’ nothing out of the ordinary.’

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.

Barnstorming Red Barons delight air show crowds

Pilots Jayson Scott Wilson (left) and Bryan Regan discuss the flight path before taking a group of reporters for a short flight. (Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo)


Soaring over cornfields, the view is similar to what barnstorming pilots saw in the 1920s. (Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo)

By Jerry Battiste

First Published: The Flyer, August 25, 2006 02:36 pm

MT. COMFORT — Just two decades after the Wright brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, barnstorming was sweeping the nation, elevating daredevil pilots to the heights of celebrity.

Today, few aerobatics teams of this type remain. Of course stunt pilots abound, but true barnstorming has all but vanished from the landscape.

But not quite. Barnstorming lives on in the 21st century, compliments of an unlikely sponsor: Frozen pizza.

The legend goes something like this: Prior to the 1970s, pizza was considered a purely ethnic food, so giving your product an Italian sounding name made good business sense. Then Tombstone Pizza came along and changed that business model, opening the door for companies to call themselves whatever they wished. As it happened, one of the Red Baron Pizza founders was fond of biplanes, and saw a potential marketing bonanza. So the company bought and refurbished a few vintage aircraft, hired some pilots, and started pulling banners through the skies above every outdoor event they could. A few years later, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron team started doing aerobatics displays at air shows nationwide, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today Red Baron Pizza is owned by the Schwan Food Company, but the squadron remains an integral part of the company’s marketing plan.

Since 1979, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron has been astounding crowds with fantastic displays of aerobatics showmanship. It now boasts a team of four fully restored Boeing Stearman biplanes built between 1941 and ‘43. During World War II, U.S., Canadian, and European pilots trained in these exact aircraft. In fact, more pilots have trained in a Stearman than in any other type of plane.

In the past 27 years, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron has logged more than six million miles and lofted more than 80,000 passengers, taking awe-struck guests through a lightning fast series of loops, hammerheads and barrel rolls; flying formation just a few short feet apart, sometimes with wingtips overlapping, dangerously close but never quite touching.

The seven Red Baron Squadron pilots are among the most highly-trained in the world, with nearly 50,000 hours of flight time among them. The planes themselves are never trailered from site to site. Pilots fly them cross country, about 250 miles between fuel-ups, landing at small airstrips in small communities and meeting the local folks like a barnstormer would have done in 1927.

The most noticeable changes in barnstorming are all safety related: Pilots train rigorously throughout the year and each crew chief maintains the highest rating granted by the FAA; Performance standards are among the highest in the world.

Twenty years ago, lead pilot Bryan Regan had a little college money left over and was itching to take flying lessons. He said he doubted at the time that it would lead to anything, but felt it was something he just had to do.

“I never dreamed I would make an occupation of it,” Regan said. “It was just something I had wanted to do my whole life. I really thought I would do it and get it out of my system, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

Regan wound up getting his license, taking a side job at a local airport, and meeting some people starting an air cargo service. A pilot job flying cargo led to his meeting and piloting for some folks doing a wing-walking act, which in turn led to his meeting the Red Baron Squadron and joining the team.

That decision, he said, was a no-brainer.

“Once you get in one of these airplanes, you realize they’re pretty spectacular,” he said.

Pilot Jayson Scott Wilson flies the left wing position for the squadron. Wilson’s father and an uncle both flew crop dusters professionally. He spent 23 years as a military pilot, flying three combat tours with the U.S. Army. Wilson has led squadrons as large as 260 aviators in both combat and non-combat situations. He is also the director of operations for the squadron, ensuring proper safety and professional standards are maintained during and between shows.

Despite his impressive resume, Wilson is coy about his time as a pilot.

“I’ve only been flying since I was about 11,” he said with a smile. “I’m 43 now, so I guess that’s a while.”

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.

Challenger Center welcomes astronaut and the community

Former NASA astronaut Ken Reightler posed with fans and answered hundreds of questions about the past, present and future of space travel. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Nathan Shirley pauses at the NASA display table loaded with astronaut equipment, food, and actual pieces of the shuttle heat shield. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Brad Roberson and his daughter, Amanda, 7, use a step-ladder to test experimental aircraft during Saturday’s Open House. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Volunteer members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. provided children with hands-on instruction in practical science. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/

By Jerry Battiste
First Published: The Flyer, November 15, 2006 05:43 pm

BROWNSBURG — Ken Reightler, former U.S. Navy test pilot and NASA astronaut, has been around the world more than 200 times, literally, but last weekend was his first visit to Brownsburg.

Reightler, currently the president of Lockheed Martin Space Operations in Greenbelt, Md., was in town for an open house at the Brownsburg Challenger Learning Center. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Challenger Shuttle disaster which inspired the creation of the center.

Hoosiers drove from near and far to shake hands with the astronaut, learn about space exploration, and have some fun with science. The open house began at 10 a.m. and lasted until 4 p.m., and throughout the day children and adults learned about space science from a variety of resources.

Brad Roberson brought his daughter Amanda, 7, and his son, Travis, 10, from Cloverdale for the day-long event. As Amanda built and tested experimental aircraft, Travis was getting a lesson in practical science from local members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Roberson said they knew in advance the event would be well worth the trip.

“The kids came up here once on a field trip and ever since then they’ve been wanting to come back,” he said.

IEEE member Blake Buescher was among the half dozen or so members volunteering their time to instruct children in how to build a flashlight, a rubberband racer, or a mission sample bag. Buescher said the group hoped to inspire future engineers by creating hands-on experiments that demonstrated practical scientific principles: Wind up a rubber band and store energy that can be controlled and channeled to a wheel for motion.

It all seemed like fun and games to the children, but the engineers hope it will leave a lasting impression.

“We are trying to give the kids a better idea of what engineering is and what it is an engineer does,” Buescher said.

Dave and Renee Shirley brought their son, Nathan, 10, from Whitelick to experience the hands-on space science. Mingling with Reightler and getting a close-up look at some actual NASA equipment was an added bonus.

Nathan, who said he wants to be a video game designer when he grows up, also harbors a secret desire to travel to space one day, but only if he knows he can come back home when he’s done.

“It’s pretty interesting, but I don’t want to go if there’s a chance it might explode,” he said.

In his two talks at the open house Reightler addressed some of those very concerns. As part of Lockheed Martin, the company responsible for designing and building the new Crew Exploration Vehicle, he is intimately aware of the pressure to make space travel as safe as possible and the importance of inspiring future generations of space explorers.

The new CEV, he said, will not even need a pilot. In the future, he said, working in space will be more about having a skill that can be used out there, rather than simply having the skills to get there.

“The vision is, when we go back to the moon, we go to stay,” Reightler said. “So it’s more important to think about it in terms of what you want to do rather than what you want to be. New navigation systems, new communication systems, new propulsion systems ... there are a lot of pieces to this thing.”

Allyson Santner, or Commander Santner as she is known at the center, spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon helping children make space-themed buttons. She said it was “standing room only” during Reightler’s first talk, with children seated on every inch of available floor space.

“The kids have been pretty enthusiastic,” Santner said. “But that’s what we wanted. We’d have been so disappointed if they weren’t.”

Emily Kniffin, 11, and Jamie Thompson, 10, colored their own space-themed buttons. Despite their common interest in coloring, they had decidedly different opinions when it came to space exploration.

Kniffin said she would be interested in giving zero-gravity a try, but Thompson said of space travel, “It’d be cool, but I still don’t want to go.”

Published: November 15, 2006 05:43 pm

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.

Why Do I do This? Stella Felix

To be clear: I have never met Stella Felix, I cannot guarantee she even exists, but I rely upon these sources to be accurate in their storytelling and therefore, I am able to believe at the very least, the essence of her story is true.
She lives in a remote village in Nigeria. She believes space technology will empower her nation to great things. She studies physics by candlelight.

It takes me a fair amount of time to keep blogging. I don't get paid for this. I don't get paid for the stuff I do for SpaceBlogAlpha either.
I have two young daughters now. They take a fair amount of my time as well. I don't get paid for the work that goes into caring for them, but the love is payment enough.
Just to be clear.

I do get paid for my full time job at a newspaper I dare not mention, (though would not take long figure out) and that seems to intrude at the least convenient moments, pushing my schedule further and further back...
There's the wife. She needs attention every now and then. And there's sleep. I need eight hours now, if at all possible. It helps keep my mind clear. Even if I am not sleeping the entire time. Just to be calm and resting.

But it draws me back. This mission. This blog. It draws me back because I have something to say to America: Wake up. Wake up and smell the 21st century. It's a scary place.
But space holds our salvation. It holds endless possibility. It holds a future just like Star Wars, Star Trek and whatever other science fiction inspired future you have ever heard of or dreamed up in your wildest imaginings.
It is also our right now.

China, Russia, the EU, even Nigeria, are investing heavily in space technology. It's like the whole world is in on the secret except.
Oh sure, we have the shuttle. I know, I know. And the new Orion spacecraft on the drawing boards.
And we have SpaceShipOne and Virgin Galactic and Space Adventures, and dozens of other private space launch companies eager to build rockets faster, better and cheaper than ever before.

But they have Stella Felix. And that's a tough act to follow.

All I can do is my best. To keep up the word. To get it out there. Little bit by little bit. Every chance I get...

Guangzhou Needs More LPG Buses--And So Does The Rest of China

I just returned from a two week stay in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. This is my second trip to the region in two years, but the change has been dramatic.

As anyone who travels to China regularly will tell you, the country is undergoing a firestorm of construction. Bicycles still used enmasse, are slowly being replaced by more convenient (i.e., more seating capacity) cars. Vacant lots are turning to forests of townhouses; entire city blocks converted to highrise condos in months. And still there is not room enough for everyone making the move from rural areas to city life; from agricultural living to the high-paying jobs of the cities.
It is believed China must build a city the size of Philadelphia each month just to accommodate its shifting population. I don't doubt that number. It might even be larger than Philly.



Another factor of shifting populations, beside the enormous amounts of raw materials required for all this building, is the environmental impact. Considering 70 percent of China still uses coal to meet its energy needs, and its become the largest oil importer in the world, that impact can be seen in every urban center in the country. Smog.

In Guangzhou, a city in the southern province of Guangdong along the Pearl River, a filthy yellow cloud hovers over the lush tropical locale 365 days a year. The air clings to your lungs, inducing sniffles and coughing and a constant dry throat that no remedy can remove. Even a relentless onslaught of piping hot tea cannot alleviate the symptoms.

Two years ago I breathed the air, heady from the exhaust fumes and felt the burning in my lungs. Now that the city has begun replacing its fleet of buses and taxis with clean burning liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) the air seemed less--well, it didn't actually seem any better, but it's a start. Other cities are following the example, converting their fleets to clean burning alternatives. On my next visit I expect the air will be decidedly different. Things there change fast.


In fact, all of China is embracing clean burning, energy efficient alternatives. Instead of choosing to continue using what is widely understood is a "dwindling natural resource" they are looking toward the future, making a grand attempt at reducing or eliminating their dependence on fossil fuels.

They still have a long way to go, but at least it's a start. And it's far more than is being accomplished in the United States, where automaker's continue to churn out fleets of SUVs with gas mileage little better than it was a century ago; Where Natural Gas is considered an alternative fuel source and its almost impossible to get anyone to use ethanol because--well, I don't know why people won't use ethanol, it comes from right here in the Heartland for cryin-out-loud. In fact, Brazil is poised to convert its entire economy to ethanol. Won't that be a kick-in-the-pants to farmers across the U.S.? They can't hardly give the stuff away at home, but at least they can export it to South America. No wait, Brazil is using their own crops to meet their energy needs. What a novel idea.

China, Brazil--Americans don't need to look far to find the answers to their energy needs. But they do need to open their eyes....

Bush Administration Ultimately Responsible for Sago Mine Tragedy

I said, the Bush Administration is ultimately responsible for the Sago mining accident. Just so we're clear.

It seems a bit ridiculous to believe the President could somehow be responsible for what happened to the workers at the Sago Mine. But I feel it's true. And if you consider my point, I think you'll agree.

Probes are currently be conducted to determined exactly what happened. An explosion in a closed section of the mine, possibly a lightning strike, everything is being considered.
Some have pointed to the sloppy safety record at the mine stretching back years, but the place has changed ownership so many times it will be hard to pin fault on any one organization.

No, blame rests on those who continue to pursue an economic policy based on a fossil fuel infrastructure.

In this country we still burn things to get our energy. Despite the ability to make energy from sunshine, wind and hydroelectric, digging giant holes to extract dirty rocks and sludge to burn is the best method we can think of.
We put meager resources toward the expansion of renewable sources of energy and instead pursue international cooperation on technologies that advance the further reinforcement of the status quo.
Today's SUV gets about the same mileage as Henry Ford's original Model-T. Electric cars are shunned, solar panels and wind turbines are mocked for being aesthetically displeasing by groups claiming to serve the public good.

Then 12 guys die in a coal mine, hundreds of feet beneath the earth. Where only worms and grubs survive these guys give their lives to dig up rocks so the rest of us can burn them for energy.
In the ground. In a coal mine. That's where these guys go to make a living.

Am I the only person appalled by this notion? The fact we continue to use centuries old technology, the burning of coal, to generate electricity in the 21st Century is absolutely shameful.

They say in West Virginia, where jobs are scarce, mining jobs are the best there is for a family man.
I say anyone who thinks that's acceptable for the United States of America is not a patriot. And anyone who thinks it makes good economic sense to keep doing what we've always been doing is a turkey...

Ashden Awards Reward Energy Innovation

It's seems easy for Americans to complain about the cost of gasoline, even as they line up to buy the latest eight-cylinder behemoth offered by one of the Big Three US Automakers. Of course, not as many of us are showing up at US dealerships as they once were, so maybe we are finally beginning to see the error of our ways.

Meanwhile, the US government has done little to offer its citizens any useful power alternatives. And it's not just about the price of gasoline.
It's how much it costs to heat our homes, schools and hospitals; how we have major power outages because it snowed too much and the power lines snapped, or because it was too windy.
How we have all the ugly power lines draped across our beautiful countryside in the first place--through every town, every city, from every church and school and hospital, and how we still don't have enough energy to make available to everyone.

Heating oil, natural gas, coal--every fossil fuel known to man has been tried, tested and integrated into our national infrastructure as surely as "Mom" and "apple pie." All while we look askance at any attempt to make things better. No electric cars or even mass public transportation systems are being floated as possible solutions to the US energy crisis.
And it is a crisis.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has created a fund for wealthier citizens to donate money to citizens unable to pay their heating bills as a way of keeping people from freezing to death this winter. But the city is only facilitating the giving, not offering any solutions to the long-term problem.

At this point people usually ask, "What can the city do?" My answer: PLENTY.

But if you don't believe me, look at what's being accomplished in places we commonly refer to as the "Third World."
Since 2003, The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy have rewarded what they call "developing communities" for devising renewable sources of energy such as, micro-damming projects, solar energy and bio-gas plants.

Some villages in Northern India are now completely solar-powered; prisons in Kigali, Rwanda, totally supplied by renewable bio-gas for cooking; fuel efficient stoves for women in Pakistan; even a small roof-mounted wind turbine developed by a fellow in the UK that produces up to 80 percent of household power usage are all recent Ashden Award winners.

In Afghanistan, where US re-building efforts have seemed to do some good, the entire nation is using wireless communication networks to keep in touch, foregoing the need for wires strung from corner to corner of their mountainous nation. And while they might not have to worry about an errant snow-storm wreaking havoc in the desert, the effort has also prevented terrorist disruption of the communications grid.

It seems to me the US is in a dangerous place: Working so hard to maintain its edge against other "developed nations" it may soon find itself at the mercy of smaller nations with more technologically advanced infrastructure, and therefore, much lower fuel consumption bills.

In the meantime, I will continue my exploration of new, simpler energy alternatives by spotlighting some of the many previous Ashden Award winners at SpaceBlog Alpha. Maybe one of their ideas will appeal to one of my readers, and maybe that reader will revolutionize the way his small town gets its power and that will make neighboring towns jealous and seek to copy their ideas and maybe that will lead to a nationwide energy revolution...

We can only hope.

Welcome to Spaceport USA!

The way people have been talking, it's as if spaceports are suddenly popping up on the American horizon like dandelions after a rainstorm in April.
Wisconsin, Florida, Oklahoma, California and New Mexico have all been in the news lately, announcing plans to pursue the investment of state funds in the development of private spaceports. Each claims the burgeoning "Space Tourism" industry will eventually provide jobs, businesses and tax revenue to states that make the initial investment.
Florida has plans for multiple private structures, plus Cape Canaveral, so let's hope the benefits of this not-even-fledgling (nobody has made a single penny, yet) industry come sooner rather than later.
But all this talk of new development and interest in space technology may be slightly misleading, however, because the United States had a wealth of spaceports before the space-tourism industry was even a dream. In fact, currently the US is crawling with sites to launch just about any kind of rocket, spaceship or experimental aircraft you can imagine.

As we begin the journey from Earth-bound life to being a Spacefaring economy, it's important we not put the cart before the horse. We can't just pin our hopes, dreams and valuable investment dollars on every crazy rocket-scientist who promises they can do it faster, better and cheaper.
Let's see the proof inside the pudding; You've shown me page after page of successful computer simulations, now build one and let's see it fly.
I realize it takes a substantial investment on the part of the designer, millions of dollars in fact, and that this money needs to have a return-on-investment high enough to warrant its risk. But, those risks are associated with successfully launching a craft and bringing it home, not establishing an industry.
How do we know what form this new industry will take? How do we know what type of launch and recovery system it will use? What type of fuel? How many ships will there be? How many will last, how many will fade away? How many spaceship companies can be supported by the people with enough disposable income to book a flight?
And before you attempt to answer any of those questions, consider this:
Currently teams are working to develop a Space Elevator. Even NASA believes the idea has merit. Were this to happen in the next decade, which is part of the plan, then spacecraft design would likely shift to things that don't require a ground-based launch.
They'll only need to build ships that are space-worthy, able to propel themselves through the vacuum, not break free from Earth's gravity. That's a complete paradigm shift from what we are doing now.
Who will use all the spaceports then? Will everyone switch to the new technology? Will we need so many spaceports, in so many places?
With that in mind, it might be wise for every politician eager to build a new spaceport to slow down, take a deep breath and see what happens in the next few years.
We already have an abundance of places to launch the next generation of space ships. What we really need now are the ships themselves....

US Opts Out of Kyoto Again: We Oughta Be Ashamed of Ourselves

Some of you following the action at SpaceBlog Alpha might have wondered why I wrote a Post, Friday, on the US stance against the Kyoto Protocol. It's a fair question with a complicated answer.
In what amounted to an International incident, at last week's global summit on climate change, U.S. negotiator on climate change, Harlan Watson, walked out of a session designed only to create an agreement on international verbal cooperation.
In other words, the Bush Administration doesn't even want to talk about it. It's a non-starter.
That's a real shame. Especially when you consider much smaller nations such as Singapore, with much more limited resources, are enforcing stricter carbon emission regulations than us and will likely ratify the Kyoto Protocol very soon.
While emissions from the wealthiest nations participating declined about 5 percent over 1995 levels, ours grew by a whopping 13.1 percent.
You might wonder what the Kyoto Protocol has to do with Space exploration. Plenty.
The Kyoto Protocol is meant to deter the creation of new greenhouse gases, eventually reducing their production level to zero. These gases are known Ozone destroyers and trap heat close to the planet, thus creating the very real global warming effect we are currently suffering from. The busiest and most destructive hurricane season on record, no more icy Halloween nights in the Midwest (I know, I live there) and generally poor weather everywhere, all point to one thing: Our environment is changing.
Only Americans seem to have a problem with this scientific fact. They prefer to believe driving an SUV to the mini-mart is as ecologically safe as driving a Hummer, so what's the difference? Complete ignorance.
The sickening truth (as Bush sees it) is this: The net effect of the Kyoto Protocol creates a global economy that is powered by renewable energy sources; no more fossil fuels. Bush believes the US will lower its emissions levels through the use of advanced technologically. Not very likely given his push for more of the same-old, same-old.
It's nice to think you can get up from your computer, hop in your car and go wherever you want, at a moment's notice. But there is a price to be paid for this. Not to mention the incredulous notion that despite the fact 'Peking Man' discovered fire 500,00 years ago, it's still our main and sometimes only, source of energy.
Internal combustion engines were developed two centuries ago, and nobody seems to be able to build anything better--or more appealing; They create fantastic compressed-air cars, and nobody is interested.
This lack of interest in new technology is what keeps us tied to this planet. Launching a Spaceship requires a vast amount of energy, in the form of heavy fuel that costs almost as much to lift as the cargo it's carrying.
The USS Ronald Reagan has a power source on-board that will last 20 years but your car needs a fill-up about once a week. Doesn't that strike you as odd? Which one of those items has more of a direct impact on your daily life?
Not that we shouldn't have the ship--it's just our cars should be able to do the same thing. If we're as technologically advanced as Bush claims we are, we should have both.
Alas, we don't even come close to his promised technological prowess.
Wind, solar, bio-mass, tidal generators, even solar power stations in orbit or on the Moon with microwave beaming stations, these things represent the future, they will carry us to new worlds. Unfortunately it seems the United States is heading in the opposite direction.
Let's face it, the longer it takes us to develop NEW sources of energy--not just new coal mines or oil fields or natural gas reserves, but actual new forms of energy, the longer it will take us to get into Space.
And the more the international community develops the energy sources we ignore, the further ahead of us they will be.

Lights! Camera! Action!: Foam Still an Issue at NASA

SpaceBlog Alpha is officially open for business! Horray!

Now, if we could just get a million hits between now and Christmas, my dreams will come true...

And to that end, I offer this nugget of info for anyone living under a rock: NASA still has foam problems.
I understand the difficulties of engineering the most complex machine ever built by human hands, but give me a break already. After more than one BILLION dollars spent on a retro-fit to keep the insulating foam securely attached to the fuel tank instead of impacting the fragile orbiter, the foam still cracks, breaks and comes loose in large, almost boulder-size pieces.

I don't know about any of you other US taxpayers, but let's do a little comparison shopping. The Russians are flying tourists to the International Space Station for $20 million a pop. That means the entire shuttle crew, all seven astronauts, could have flown on a Soyuz half a dozen times for the same amount of money.
And the Soyuz hasn't had a fatal accident in more than 30 years!

I realize you can't change horses in mid-stream, but this is getting a little ridiculous. It seems to me NASA engineers may be losing sight of the BIG picture, too busy trying to salvage their egos to realize they are fighting a losing battle.
The shuttle, still grounded though it is, is slated to be retired in about five years anyway. If we continue to shovel money at a potentially unfixable problem, all we'll do is put our next generation of Spacecraft in jeopardy: NASA needs to show the world it still matters.

Because right now all they are doing is showing a penchant for extravagance

SpaceBlog Alpha

It takes a lot more to get a new Blogzine going than I once thought.
In the beginning, having met with some small success banging away at it all by myself, I believed it could be done with little or no interruption in the already busy lives of its contributors. But alas, that's not the case.

Not that it matters, we'll get it all together eventually.
You see, I believe in this project. I believe the world needs SpaceBlog Alpha; they need to be taught to care about Space exploration again, to worry about the fact the U.S. went to the Moon thirty years ago but can't put a spaceship in orbit today; that sooner or later someone, some nation, will conquer Space flight, and that nation will lead the world.
It doesn't matter to me who does it, only that it is done; That Space is open to anyone with the guts and the wits and the will to go there, not just a lucky few.
That's as it should be. Because the destiny of all humankind lies beyond the thin blue atmosphere that has blanketed us for eons. Our destiny is out there...somewhere...

Sorry to be gone so long...

Look, I know what you were thinking: The Space Ace is finished. No Posts, no witty criticism of NASA, no insight into the connection between carbon nanotubes and mowing your lawn (robotics) and no updates on the status of Venus Express; Just when you finally got around to saving me in your favorites list, I stop writing.

Well, fear not! The Space Ace is coming back, with a vengeance.

I have hitched my wagon to a new Blogzine called SpaceBlog Alpha. It seems I am not alone in my quest to make Space news available (and understandable) for everyone. Worldwide.

So stay tuned, keep your eyes open and fear not...

The Space Ace is here. Brought to you by:

SpaceBlog Alpha

It's all about Space, mon

Venus Express To Launch November 9

In today's Space Industry, no launch is a sure thing until it's over. So, when I say the Venus Express spacecraft is scheduled for launch Nov. 9, it means, tentatively, right?
Postponed once, the European Space Agency ship will eventually study Venus' atmosphere and magnetic field, helping unlock the mystery of why it's so darn hot.

Beyond that, it will simply expand our understanding of the worlds around us.

Russia, China Might Team-Up For Mars Mission

It seems likely: Russia and China will join forces to explore both the Moon and Mars. To their credit, the Russians have made no secret of their desire to support anyone else interested in helping pay the bills for a Space mission. So why not China? The mutual benefits would be enormous.
Both countries are agressively pursuing advancements in Space Technology, joining forces means sharing costs and saving money for more missions. Eventually, they'll have an infrastructure in place, and then making a profit will become a whole lot easier.
Whether its mining Helium3 or beaming solar energy down from the lunar surface, somebody will be controlling these ventures. It only remains to be seen which flag that person will salute.

Two More Moons For Pluto

Astronomers believe they have spotted two additional moons in orbit around Pluto, the most distant object in our Solar System. These photos are compliments of the Hubble Space Telescope.
It's hard to determine exactly what is going on at the edges of our Solar System, but scientists are increasingly finding more and more evidence it's much more crowded in the Kuiper belt than we had imagined. Good thing we have New Horizons.
Its mission is to scout Pluto and Charon (and now the two other potential satellites.) It will launch in 2007 and arrive sometime in 2015.
Not soon enough for me. I can't wait to see what new mysteries we discover right here in our celestial backyard...another atmosphere perhaps? Or liquid water in the freezing darkness, created by the tiny planets gravitational tug-of-war with its equally large moon.
Who knows?
We all will in 2015....

Five Year Mission Continues at ISS

Break out the Champagne: Sixteen nations are celebrating the successful habitation of the International Space Station for five consecutive years.
Yes, some people claim it's a waste of money. But if all it ever does it bring nations together, it's still quite an accomplishment.
And just think about what it means. We can survive there, in Space, live in orbit like a character in a novel or movie, or on television. Only it's not just fantasy anymore. It's real, now. We can do it.
And to paraphrase the immortal words of Rob Schneider: We can do it, all night long!
Go ISS!

SSETI Express: Mission Failure?

Come in SSETI Express...come in, over....
Just when everything was coming together, ground controllers have been unable to reach SSETI Express since its launch last week. Engineers suspect a power system problem and will attempt a fix, with results revealed later this week.
An ESA press release states the problem seems to be with the batteries not taking a charge, causing the satellite to shut down.
There were some mission successes: Amateur Radio Operators successfully downloaded a significant amount of housekeeping data, and all three CubeSats launched properly and are operating within assigned parameters.
Let's call it three steps forward, one step back. That's still a better record than most Space programs.

India Joins Elite Five Nations; Builds Cryogenic Engine

Running a successful business ain't rocket science; Understanding the importance of having the capability to build your own parts is just common sense in India.
Hence their development of the nation's first indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine. This makes them the sixth nation, after the US, Russia, France China and Japan, able to build cryogenic engines on their own. It also means they are no longer required to purchase such engines from the Russians, creating new jobs, new industry and new potential for the future of their people.
Cheers to the Indian Space Research Organisation! Keep up the good work...

Asteroid 99942 Apophis To Impact Earth? Maybe Not, NASA Says

It's not every day astronomers identify an asteroid on a near-collision course with Earth. Maybe once a week, but certainly not every day...
The folks at The B612 Foundation have some very real concerns about the potential for what they call an "unacceptable collision" sometime this century. Trouble is, unlike say a 100-year flood when thousands of people lose their homes, an "unacceptable collision" would destroy thousands of miles of coastal areas, possibly destroy a continent or even set our species' evolution back a few hundred thousand years--yep, makes us cavemen again.
NASA (at the urging of Congress) has been relying on the Spaceguard detection program for early detection and tracking of near-Earth objects since 1998.
Of course Spaceguard is only tracking 90 percent of NEAs 1km or larger in diameter.
Anything else is ignored.
Noticing a gaping hole in Space coverage, The B612 Foundation is filling the niche quite nicely.
Thank goodness.