IMG_7964.JPG. Single Hourse

John Glenn to NASA: Keep shuttles flying - Technology & science - Space - Human spaceflight | NBC News

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37817608/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/john-glenn-nasa-keep-shuttles-flying/


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Letter From Astronauts and Apollo Veterans Regarding Space Shuttle Retirement and Risk to ISS Operations

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=37583


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Lost in space

emptiness of America's space vision

The Hubble Space Telescope makes the point. Twenty-five years ago, on April 25, the space shuttle Discovery put the Hubble into orbit around Earth. In its quarter century of star gazing, Hubble has significantly altered the world's perception of the cosmos and furthered humankind's understanding of the universe. It has revealed previously unattainable properties of space and time. It is a unique scientific facility that continues to provide new views of the heavens and opens the door to discoveries.

But Hubble is more than just an outstanding science facility. It is living testimony to the value of humans in space and an incredible example of how humans and robotics can complement each other to achieve spectacular results.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lost-in-space

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Unique capability

Lost in space

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lost-in-space


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View from space— shuttle launch

View from space

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fus-east-1.tchyn.io%2Fsnopes-production%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2Fphotos%2Fspace%2Fgraphics%2Flaunch1.jpg%3Fresize%3D500%2C622&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.snopes.com%2Ffact-check%2Fshuttle-launch-from-space%2F&docid=NI78CnYHjooxCM&tbnid=cF0CJoXis3ZF7M%3A&vet=12ahUKEwjeuuv0rdjaAhUp5YMKHTxBBkc4yAEQMyhbMFt6BAgAEF4..i&w=500&h=622&client=safari&bih=727&biw=1024&q=shuttle%20pictures&ved=2ahUKEwjeuuv0rdjaAhUp5YMKHTxBBkc4yAEQMyhbMFt6BAgAEF4&iact=mrc&uact=8


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Abbey, Kraft & Aldrin said keep Shuttle

Read lost in Space by Abbey, letter from Astronauts to O & aldrin's Evolve& Use Shuttle, all made a strong case to keep Shuttle!!

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The Lunacy of the Left – The Daily Conspiracy

https://thedailyconspiracy.com/2018/04/20/the-lunacy-of-the-left/


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Celestron 5 inch ‘scope

Set up my 50+yr-old Celestron 5-inch 'scope.
Serial #69..contacted Celestron & they confirmed. Puchased 'scope at an action last June 15th 2015 for $160.00
Lunar images taken by me, handholding my S8 cellphone, though my 5-inch Celestron
Location: # Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory; Gilbert AZ Apr 21 2018
No automatic alt text available.
Image may contain: people sitting

American Space Renaissance Act – To permanently secure the United States as the preeminent spacefaring nation.

http://spacerenaissanceact.com/


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Bridenstine To Be Sworn In On Monday - NASA Watch

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2018/04/bridenstine-to.html


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Trump’s NASA Nominee, Jim Bridenstine, Confirmed by Senate on Party-Line Vote - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/science/jim-bridenstine-nasa.html


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American Space Renaissance Act – To permanently secure the United States as the preeminent spacefaring nation.

http://spacerenaissanceact.com/


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Get capability back, or pay big price

Why Sierra Nevada's owners are betting big on Dream Chaser - SpaceNews.com

http://spacenews.com/why-sierra-nevadas-owners-are-betting-big-on-dream-chaser/


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Need capability

Boeing: CST-100 Starliner

Read Abbey comments on CCP. Do we need three capsules with limited capability?

http://www.boeing.com/space/starliner/


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Spent big money, & just threw Away— gross waste

Space Threat Assessment 2018 Report from CSIS - NASA Watch

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2018/04/space-threat-as.html


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NASA, Boeing add option for extended Starliner Crew Flight Test - SpaceFlight Insider

An inadequate system, suppose to be flying in 2015. All experts said keep Shuttle, which made the USA a space power, now we have to pay Russia for a ride! Illustrates inept leaders!

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/boeing/nasa-boeing-add-option-for-extended-starliner-crew-flight-test/


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Secretive X-37B Military Space Plane Wings Past 200 Days in Orbit

Re Abbey's recommendation on upgrading x37b to X37C

https://www.space.com/40227-x-37b-space-plane-200-days-in-orbit-otv5.html

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Fwd: VSS Unity’s first powered test flight

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Kent Castle <kent.d.castle@hotmail.com>
Date: April 7, 2018 at 3:33:42 PM CDT
To: Madsen Ron <ronstar@pdq.net>, Books Mark <mebooks2012@gmail.com>, "Martin Bobby" <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: Fw: VSS Unity's first powered test flight

---

From: Gary Johnson <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Sent: Saturday, April 7, 2018 10:20 AM
To: Gary Johnson
Subject: FW: VSS Unity's first powered test flight

 

Photos: VSS Unity's first powered test flight

April 6, 2018 Stephen Clark

These images captured by photographer Gene Blevins show Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo space plane making its first rocket-powered test flight Thursday over California's Mojave Desert, then gliding back to a runway landing.

The SpaceShipTwo vehicle, named VSS Unity, dropping from the belly of a carrier jet at 9:01 a.m. PDT (12:01 p.m. EDT; 1601 GMT) Thursday over the Mojave Desert in California. With two pilots at the controls, VSS Unity fired its hybrid rocket motor for 30 seconds, reaching an altitude of more than 84,000 feet and a top speed of Mach 1.87, nearly twice the speed of sound.

It was the first rocket-powered flight for VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo vehicle, after seven previous glide test flights. The VSS Unity returned to the Mojave Air and Space Port for a runway landing.

VSS Unity replaces VSS Enterprise, a rocket plane destroyed in an October 2014 crash that killed one pilot and injured another.

For details on Thursday's test flight, read our full story.

Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News

 

Video: SpaceShipTwo rocket plane soars on supersonic test flight

April 6, 2018

Virgin Galactic's commercial SpaceShipTwo rocket plane made its highest and fastest flight to date Thursday, moving the company's space tourism ambitions closer to reality more than three years after a fatal accident suspended powered test flights.

 

© 2018 Spaceflight Now Inc.

 

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Second SpaceShipTwo performs first powered test flight

by Jeff Foust — April 5, 2018

Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, flying in the stratosphere after the powered portion of a test flight April 5. Credit: Virgin Galactic

WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle successfully performed its first powered flight April 5, the first such test flight since a fatal crash nearly three and a half years ago.

The vehicle, named VSS Unity, was released from its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft in the skies about 14,200 meters above Mojave, California, at approximately 12:00 p.m. Eastern time. The vehicle ignited its hybrid rocket motor on what the company said was a "partial duration burn" lasting 30 seconds. The vehicle reached a top speed of Mach 1.87 and altitude of 25,686 meters.

After the end of its powered flight, SpaceShipTwo deployed its feathering system, raising its twin booms to permit a safe reentry before lowering them again for landing. The vehicle glided to a landing at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California a little more than 10 minutes after release.

The flight was the first powered flight for VSS Unity, which the company rolled out more than two years ago. Virgin started a series of glide flights of VSS Unity in December 2016, with the most recent such flight on Jan. 11. Company officials at the time suggested that January glide flight would be the last before the start of powered test flights.

This flight featured a longer burn, and thus higher speed and altitude, than prior powered test flights by the first SpaceShipTwo, VSS Enterprise. In a January 2014 test flight, VSS Enterprise reached a top speed of Mach 1.4 and altitude of more than 21,000 meters.

That flight was the third powered test flight by VSS Enterprise. On the fourth, in October 2014, the vehicle broke apart seconds into the powered phase of flight, killing co-pilot Michael Alsbury and injuring pilot Peter Siebold.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Alsbury had prematurely unlocked SpaceShipTwo's feathering mechanism as it passed through the sound barrier, causing an aerodynamic breakup. The investigation also blamed the vehicle's developer, Scaled Composites, for design elements that contributed to the accident, including its inability to foresee a single-point failure such as a premature unlocking of the feathering mechanism.

The Spaceship Company, originally a joint venture between Virgin and Scaled Composites but now wholly owned by Virgin, had already been building a second SpaceShipTwo at the time of the accident. Virgin leadership, including Sir Richard Branson, decided to continue development of that vehicle, which the company named VSS Unity at its February 2016 rollout. The company also built the rocket motor, using nitrous oxide and HTPB propellants.

This powered test flight is the first in a series of such flights planned by the company to expand the vehicle's performance envelope and to prepare for commercial flights carrying tourists and research payloads. The company has not stated how many such powered tests it expects to fly before the vehicle enters commercial service.

"We're looking forward to having a full 2018 with powered test flights," George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said at a suborbital research conference in December. "We're going to take our time to do it right."

In addition to the test program, Virgin announced a non-binding agreement in October with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia whereby the PIF would invest $1 billion into Virgin's space companies, which also include small launch vehicle developer Virgin Orbit.

Virgin has not provided an update on the status of that investment. However, the company said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud, whose duties include serving as chairman of PIF, visited the facilities of Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company in Mojave last weekend, while the company was preparing for what it only described as an "upcoming" SpaceShipTwo flight test. Photos of the event show the logo for the Saudi Arabian government's "Vision 2030" initiative on the side of WhiteKnightTwo.

Virgin Galactic is "back on track," Branson tweeted shortly after the successful test flight. "Data review to come, then on to the next flight. Space feels tantalizingly close now."

 

 

 

 © 2018 SpaceNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

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Trump Admin might challenge birthright citizenship

http://www.speroforum.com/a/FXWNPZZDYT13/83154-Trump-Admin-might-challenge-birthright-citizenship


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NASA wants to develop Boeing’s first crewed flight to ISS

A little late



https://weekfacts.com/2018/04/nasa-wants-to-develop-boeing-first-crewed-flight-to-iss/


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Lost in space

the shuttle proved its value, able to repair, service and retrieve satellites. It carried to orbit the large modules of the International Space Station and enabled their installation and the overall assembly of the station, the largest man-made structure in space. Abbey

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lost-in-space


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Need equivalent capability

Better get equivalent capability back soon!

Better regain this capability!