Swing A Dead Cat

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• Commented on Video of Today's Solid Rocket Motor Test

  To heck with politics, those puppies put out some thrust with minimal moving parts! I don't get the whole pro-ATK, anti-ATK polarity that exists within the aerospace community. Solids are a pain for the Explosive Safety requirements that must be...

• Commented on Congressional Staffer Ken Monroe Thinks That NASA Is "Run By Idiots"

  The ring of truth in Ken's comments is so very depressing. It is always easy to blame Congress or the White House. But I truly believe that with the right NASA leadership, NASA could accomplish great things in spite of...

• Commented on Cabana: "I see a great future for KSC"

  The JSC Astronaut Office makes some really tasty kool-aid! But seriously...the reign of the Astronaut fraternity is proving quite damaging to NASA and its human spaceflight programs....

• Commented on Watching Falcons

  Fund SpaceX to keep Elon in the game. He's got a ways to go, but his presence is good for the industry. Fund LM to complete a stripped-down Orion capable of LEO. Fund Boeing to human rate the Delta IV...

• Commented on Bolden Stands His Ground

  There is a misconception that commercial crew means SpaceX. Commercial crew means a vehicle not designed/owned by NASA with a service not purchased on a cost-plus contract. The expected front-runners are those with the most experience; LM, ATK, Boeing, ULA,...

• Commented on OSTP Space <strike>Summit</Strike> Conference Update

  What a mess. I fear continuing this fight will only hurt. The White House will unlikely back away from canceling Constellation, and Congress will refuse to fund commercial crew. Everybody loses....

• Commented on Big Slip for STS-131?

  Very very possible that a way will be found to fly without a major repair. The Orbiter is a remarkable feat of engineering with many built-in alternate means of making things work....

• Commented on Can't We All Just Get Along?

  OK Frank, I can hang with levity. The answer is I can't change a light bulb. But I can contract with a Prime to get the light bulb changed and hire a support contractor to confirm it was changed to...

• Commented on Bolden Seeks To Set The Record Straight

  From the Coats email: Steve Robert and I talked to Charlie and he agreed to let us set up a “Plan B” team (my term, since Chairman Gordon asked Charlie about his “plan B” at the hearing) to look at...

• Commented on Public-private Partnership Honeymoon Coming?

  redkamel, I'm good with that outcome as well. I really wish commercial space the best. Government is good for proof of concepts in high risk endeavors, but we suck at making things efficient. I wish there was some obvious way...

• Commented on Public-private Partnership Honeymoon Coming?

  Musk is a business man, a very smart and successful business man, a genius at making money. His SpaceX venture is no doubt another approach in his goal of making money. Nothing wrong with that, it’s how our economic system...

• Commented on Lori Garver's FAA Speech On Space Commerce

  Good speech with good background defining the basis of this proposed approach. I very much hope this works as it will be very painful to turn this ship to its new course. Fortunately for me I am a civil servant...

• Commented on Farewell Full Cost Accounting?

  Communism has already proven to be a failure. Those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. Yes, full cost accounting requires work. Work to be accountable for, and work to keep track of....

• Commented on Bolden on Risk: Quit Treating American Citizens "As if They are Children"

  If only we were children…children have grand dreams, believe in magic, and expect fairness. No, I would say we are more like adolescents, self-absorbed and unable to envision a future beyond the next 5 minutes. And being governed by people...

• Commented on LaRC Management Wants To Know Why People Show Up for Work

  22 years with NASA. I still get a real kick out of my job. We work with some neat hardware doing things that grabs worldwide attention. But if they stopped paying me, would I keep coming in? I've got a...

• Commented on Bolden Meets With Obama

  Hey Spaceman, No argument here that NASA needs a revolutionary realignment. But such a thing would never be accomplished by the DoD. The DoD civil servant side is so incredibly bureaucratic they make NASA look like a lean, mean fighting...

• Commented on Will White House Speak Soon About NASA?

  In my 20+ years of working with NASA, I would have to say that one of its toughest challenges has been the power of its existing stakeholders to prevent progress. Lots of jobs, money, and power are threatened by any...

• Commented on Creating Starfleet Academy (Ongoing)

  I studied Engineering in college and got a degree in Mechanical Engineering. It was a good start, and I think everyone in the rocket business needs a basic engineering education. I have been at KSC for the last 22 years....

• Commented on Beyond Augustine

  A wise man once taught me that no matter how many times you count the people on the bus, you won’t learn which way to turn at the next crossroads. Engineers want a formula and mathematics to tell them the...

• Commented on Ares 1-Y is Toast

  Liability and indemnification are real issues to address in commercial crew transport to ISS and LEO. One consideration is to completely commercialize ISS. Make it a GOCO with contractor astronauts. I imagine SpaceX and others can hire employees willing to...

• Commented on More KSC Layoffs Announced

  Ares 1-Y deleted today....