Back to the Moon, back to the future, and this time, back to stay

I read, why go back to the Moon, been there done that!

I don't think so, --- we went to the Moon to prove we could put humans on the Moon and bring them back safely.

This was sort of a game of one up manship.
Russia had sent a satellite around the Moon and taken pictures of the far side before the USA.
They had landed a spacecraft on the Moon before the USA.

Now --- having landed a few times on the Moon and spending a few days there is an accomplishment, but it is not the establishment of a new frontier where humans will learn how to live off world and develop the resources of space.

Having played king of the hill a few times we turned to learning how to fly a shuttle and go around Earth at LEO for a number of years.

The space station was going to be a test bed for living in space, learning the effects of the lower pull of gravity that might be found on the Moon or Mars and see if it would be detrimental to humans. A centrifuge would be installed and the space station could be used to build space transport vehicles.

Not everything has gone as originally planed. No centrifuge launched, but the mock up made for great public relation tours at Ames. Not all the habitat racks made it to the space station and the space station itself has taken longer to build than expected. We have gone around Earth a goodly number of times and have had some great views looking in towards Earth. How about looking out to the stars?

For a time the idea of living off world and going back to the Moon was not in the everyday vocabulary. Going around and around Earth in LEO with International partners helped public relations but an overall plan to develop space with human occupation seemed out of reach.
President George H. W. Bush in 1989 proposed going back to the Moon to stay. It didn't happen, but folks were talking again.

-------------------------------------------

http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=712&year=1989&month=all
snip
In 1961 it took a crisis -- the space race -- to speed things up. Today we don't have a crisis; we have an opportunity. To seize this opportunity, I'm not proposing a 10-year plan like Apollo; I'm
proposing a long-range, continuing commitment. First, for the coming decade, for the 1990's: Space Station Freedom, our critical next step in all our space endeavors. And next, for the new century: Back to the Moon; back to the future. And this time, back to stay. And then a journey into tomorrow, a journey to another planet: a manned mission to Mars.
snip
-------------------------------------------

It was deemed to be too expensive. The need for humans to learn how to live off world not a priority. More important things happening down here on Earth. Maybe too much money being spent on black ops.

There was a 10 week summer study in 1984 sponsored by NASA and later in 1992 NASA SP-509 'SPACE RESOURCES' was put together. There is a lot of information in this boxed set, even if the time lines have shifted.

It looked like maybe the ideas in NASA SP-509 might be put to the test with the new push to go back to the Moon was announced by George W. Bush.
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/bush_vision.html

Once again it looks like time lines will need to be slid, extended, and blurred until we see the necessity and advantage to putting humans permanently off world. We still have all of our eggs in one basket and subject to surprises from space or exhausting of limited resources.

As we adjust to what can be done for now, it still should be beneficial to look at the material that is discussed in NASA SP-509.

I will see what I can find to share as I look through the the books I have. You can look along with me as the books are on-line as well.
http://www.nss.org/settlement/nasa/onLineSSB.html

Take a look at the 'Overview' and feel free to let me know what interests you.
- LRK -

--------------------------------------
http://www.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresource84/toc.html
http://www.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresource84/preface.html

NASA SP-509
SPACE RESOURCES
OVERVIEW
Preface
p. vi

[Our report does not represent any Government-authorized view or official NASA policy. NASA's official response to these challenging opportunities must be found in the reports of its Office of Exploration, which was established in 1987. That office's report, released in November 1989, of a 90-day study of possible plans for human exploration of the Moon and Mars is NASA's response to the new initiative proposed by President Bush on July 20, 1989, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon: "First, for the coming decade, for the 1990s, Space Station Freedom, our critical next step in all our space endeavors. And next, for the new century, back to the Moon, back to the future, and this time, back to stay. And then a journey into tomorrow, a journey to another planet, a manned mission to Mars." This report, Space Resources, offers substantiation for NASA's bid to carry out that new initiative.]

snip
--------------------------------------

It doesn't have to represent an authorized Government view and it doesn't need to be an official NASA policy for you to be interested in helping this journey into tomorrow. Wouldn't it be exciting to learn how to live on another planet?

A lot of preliminary work needs to be done. We have been fortunate to have rovers on Mars and rovers on the Moon could help as well, especially if they were being used to scout resources for a lunar base.

We have heard that oxygen can be extracted from the lunar rocks. It would be nice to see it happen for real. We have been told there are a number of other gases that can be captured from the regolith as well. We need to know how to do this without losing these resources to the vacuum of space while crunching around on the surface and doing mining activities. Can this be done with machines operated from Earth by remote control or will humans be required? It shouldn't take a heavy lift rocket to get some interesting projects to the Moon. Lunar Prospector went to the Moon using an Athena II.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena_%28rocket%29

Going past the Moon is not so hard to do. Pioneer 10 back in March 2, 1972 weighing in with a light 260 KG, using an Atlas/Centaur/TE364-4 combination, past the distance to the Moon in just 11 hours and past the Mars orbit, about 80 million kilometers (50 million miles) away, in just 12 weeks.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/missions/archive/pioneer.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/history/pioneer.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10

So will space be the final frontier for profit?
http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/lunar/featured-article/space-the-final-frontier-of-profit
http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/

Maybe if there is a profit to be made there will also be a need for humans to teak the machines.
There will be a need to supply the machines and outfit the humans.
Sharpen you pick hammer and check your dosimeter.
Take a note of the space weather.
http://spaceweather.com/

Who will be first to the far side of the Moon?
Who has the map to the nearest Lunar Lava Tube?
http://news.discovery.com/space/moon-lunar-lava-skylight.html

Alright, for now let us check out those Space Resources in NASA SP-509.
http://www.nss.org/settlement/nasa/onLineSSB.html


Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

=============================================

Larry Kellogg Reports - Or Not!

I thought we were going to go to the Moon and soon we would see this view as shown on inside of the NASA SP-509 boxed set of books compiled from the NASA Space Institute 1992 Summer Study. Some number of years back the books were scanned and made available on-line. I thought we would be reporting on the results of the ideas discussed and see them unfold in real time.
- LRK -

Now it doesn't look so promising. See what we are missing out on.
http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/reports.html

LarryKelloggReports# - has been frozen in time.
Updated some dead links and maybe you can use them to view on-line.
http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/LarryKelloggReports.htm

If you want the boxed set of NASA SP-509 you might buy one from Univelt for $130. :-)
- LRK -

-----------------------------------------------
http://www.univelt.com/univeltdist/NASAoopb.htm
snip
SPACE RESOURCES, Edited by Mary Fae McKay, David S. McKay and Michael B. Duke, 1992, 942p., in an Overview Plus Four Technical Volumes, NASA SP-509, Soft Cover $130.00
This volume is a must for those wanting a background on, and help in understanding, how Space Resources must be used to support life in space, including on the Moon and in exploring Mars. It emphasizes the concept that space travelers must apply their high technology tools in using local resources away from the Earth.

The concept for this report was developed at a NASA-sponsored summer study held at the Scripps Campus at U.C. San Diego, 1984, under the auspices of the American Society for Engineering Education; and was jointly managed by the California Space Institute and NASA Johnson Space Center under the direction of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) at NASA Headquarters. Many individuals, who are experts in the various disciplines of space sciences/astronautics participated in this study and contributed their expertise in preparing this written report which incorporates the latest research concepts current just before the date of publication of the report.

This Space Resources report is divided into a brief overview and four detailed technical volumes:
Vol. 1, Scenarios;
Vol. 2, Energy, Power and Transport;
Vol. 3, Materials;
Vol. 4, Social Concerns.

The volumes cover how space resources can be used in the development of future space activities, and define the necessary research and development that must precede the practical utilization of these resources. Space resources considered include lunar soil, oxygen derived from lunar soil, material retrieved from near-Earth asteroids, abundant sunlight, low gravity, and high vacuum. The direct use of these resources, the potential demand for products from them, the techniques for retrieving and processing space resources, the necessary infrastructure, and the economic tradeoffs are analyzed. The central conclusion is that near-Earth resources can indeed foster the growth of human activities in space.

Numerous Illustrations included.
-----------------------------------------------

If you want to learn how to launch rockets here and to the Moon, there are some early books written by Martin Marietta back in 1963.
(NASA SP-33 and NASA SP-34 to name two)

These have been scanned and are on the NASA Technical Reports Server but I found them hard to down load as the server often times out or takes too long to connect. If you want to try here is the link to the Develop Space net - Astrodynamics Library where the pdf files have been listed.
http://wiki.developspace.net/Astrodynamics_Library

Here is a link to NASA SP-33 Orbital Flight Handbook Part 1 that can be read on-line.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8532290/NASA-Orbital-Flight-HandbookPart1
[Didn't find Part 2 or Part 3 on line. - LRK - ]

and

Space Flight Handbooks. Volume 2- Lunar Flight Handbook. Part 1 - Background Material, NASA-SP-34
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24339724/Space-Flight-Handbooks-Volume-2-Lunar-Flight-Handbook-Part-1-Background-Material-Nasa-sp-34-Pt-1
Space Flight Handbooks. Volume 2- Lunar Flight Handbook Part 2 - Lunar Mission Phases, NASA-SP-34,
http://www.scribd.com/Space-Flight-Handbooks-Volume-2-Lunar-Flight-Handbook-Part-2-Lunar-Mission-Phases-Nasa-sp-34-Pt-2/d/24341707

We could update Larry Kellogg Reports but I don't know what we should report on.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
============================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

============================================

Hydrogen solid storage - Are we going to hear more about this?

Hydrogen and Oxygen, burned to make a lot of hot steam to provide thrust for a rocket - to where? Well, that is a question yet to be answered.

Getting back to a more down to Earth use of Hydrogen, we hear about using Hydrogen to fuel cars. It is hard to compress and store hydrogen and finding ways to make it easier for the everyday person to use Hydrogen in a fuel cell would be good. Hydrogen solid storage - Are we going to hear more about this?

Google started a new service, "BUZZ" and I was looking at some posts by folks on my Gmail List.
I noticed a comment about a video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com - where it talks about a way to make Hydrogen in your home and store it in a solid form that can be used to free up Hydrogen to use in a fuel cell that in turn can produce electricity to run a motor.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2010/02/07/lustout.hk.hydrogen.car.cnn

If you watch the video you will see the products from the company, Horizon, and a demo of using stored Hydrogen in a small radio controlled car.

Here are a link to information about the 'HYDROSTIK' refillable solid-state hydrogen cartridges, the 'HYDROFILL' home hydrogen refueling unit for the HydroSTIK, and a MiniPAK "Personal Power Center", that can be used to recharge our many electronic gadgets.

----------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.horizonfuelcell.com/electronics.htm

HYDROSTIK - The fuel cartridge used in the MiniPak called HydroSTIK has a battery-like form factor and contains a special metal alloy that allows hydrogen to be stored in a solid-state, as part of the metal alloy matrix inside the cartridge. In contrast with ordinary compressed hydrogen tanks, the pressure inside the canister is very low, making this device the safest and most practical means of storing hydrogen. The HydroSTIK has the additional advantages of being refillable (from pressurized gas bottles, or from water-electrolysis based devices), non-toxic, eco-friendly, and competitive on cost/performance with existing battery devices. Each HydroSTIK can store 15Wh of energy, enough for 2 to 3 charges of a 3G smartphone, or 4-6 charges for average cellphones, which is more than what present primary and rechargeable batteries are able to offer at equivalent cost.

HYDROFILL - The HydroFILL is a "world-first" small-scale home hydrogen station that allows consumers or retailers/distributors to refill solid state canisters in a simple way, using water and electricity as only input. By adding water, and plugging the HydroFILL into a electrical wall-socket (or a solar panel), consumers can generate hydrogen and store it in a solid form automatically in HydroSTIK cartrridges. Once full, the battery-like "solid-state"HydroSTIKs can be unplugged from the HydroFILL and placed into the MiniPak (or other fuel cell devices) to deliver power via a USB port.

----------------------------------------------------------------

And this is about a company in the USA that has a number of 'Green' products including storing Hydrogen in a solid form.
http://www.ovonic.com/pdfs/new_fuel_cell_presentation.pdf
http://ovonics.com/
- LRK -

----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ovonic.com/PDFs/featured_solutions/ovonic_hydrogen_fueled_car_092805.pdf
Hydrogen Hybrid Vehicle Powered With Ovonic® Solid State Hydrogen Storage
A practical first step on the road to a hydrogen-fueled future Rochester Hills, Mich., September 21, 2005

There is no doubt that hydrogen is one of the most promising fuels of the future. The only remaining questions are how and when America’s transportation fleet will make the leap to this clean, renewable energy carrier. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) (NASDAQ: ENER) is convinced that the when is soon and the how is by means of a methodical transition from today’s fossil-fueled vehicles to cars and trucks engineered for hydrogen propulsion. To take a long stride forward on this path, ECD Ovonics and its partners successfully completed a demonstration project to modify a commercial gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle to run on hydrogen utilizing a new low-pressure, metal hydride hydrogen storage system developed and manufactured by Ovonic Hydrogen Systems, LLC.

snip
----------------------------------------------------------------

Some more information just to make sure the word gets out that there are ways to store Hydrogen that may prove to be useful to the general public.
- LRK -

----------------------------------------------------------------
http://ovonics.com/ib_hy_hydrogen_portablecanisters.cfm

Ovonic Hydrogen Systems is proud to be the first manufacturer of metal hydride storage systems authorized by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to offer a family of portable canisters that can be transported with hydrogen. This authorization allows ready-to-use charged canisters to be shipped to and transported by you and your customers. A copy of our DOT special permit must accompany shipment of the canisters.

----------------------------------------------------------------

This next link contains information from 2005 and before. It takes time for new technologies to make it to market and of course there needs to be a market. Electric cars have been around since the beginning of car history but they have not made it to the mass market. Now we have been seeing the high price of oil and gasoline so the Hybrid car is gaining acceptance. There is more talk about using Hydrogen as a fuel but handling Hydrogen presents problems, if not real, at least in the public eye. You have watched the shuttle launches with fueling of LOX and un-filling when something isn't just right. Even if using gaseous Hydrogen there is the problem of storing enough in a car's tanking system to have a suitable range. Storing Hydrogen in a solid state looks interesting. Will we hear more about it?
- LRK -

----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.greencar.com/articles/ovonic-h2-prius-showcases-solid-hydrogen-storage-technology.php
Ovonic H2 Prius Showcases Solid Hydrogen Storage Technology

As the “hydrogen highway” vision takes form through incremental technology advancements and demonstrations on many levels, much of the glory is captured by hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. It’s true that they’re marvels of technology and are deserving of this attention. As shared in Green Car Journal’s Summer 2005 issue (“Hydrogen/Where We Are on the Drive to the Future”), automakers have come a long way and these vehicles are so good, they make it seem effortless to drive on this most environmentally positive fuel. But that’s far from the case.

snip
Stanford Ovshinsky
This story begins and ends with Stanford Ovshinsky, an inventor of rarified stature who, many decades ago, made discoveries involving amorphous and disordered materials that created a whole new area of materials science. He was recognized with a Time Magazine “Heroes of the Planet Award” because of this work and how it led to many breakthrough applications, including his patented nickel-metal-hydride batteries (he and the company he founded, Rochester Hills, Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices, hold the patents). As it turns out, this work has also led to the ability to store hydrogen in solid form at low pressure, a technology being developed by ECD business unit Ovonic Hydrogen Systems.

This is no small thing. Before we can buy a hydrogen-fueled vehicle in the showroom, some big technical hurdles need to be overcome in the lab, and one of the biggest is hydrogen storage. A hydrogen vehicle’s range depends directly on how efficiently this fuel can be converted to motive power and, more fundamentally, how much fuel can be stored on-board. Range will be especially important in the early years of hydrogen vehicle commercialization since a refueling infrastructure will still be in its infancy.
snip

Then there’s the approach offered by Ovonic Hydrogen Systems’ solid hydrogen storage, a concept so clever and intriguing it seems improbable…yet it works. A tank containing powdered metal alloys is filled with hydrogen at a relatively low 1,500 psi. Removing heat during the process causes the metal to absorb hydrogen like a sponge, and a new material called a metal hydride is created. Hydrogen stored in solid form like this is in a safer state and can be stored within a tank at a lower 250 psi. On-board systems determine when hydrogen is needed by an engine or fuel cell, providing heat to reverse the process so gaseous hydrogen is released from the hydride and into the fuel system. In an interesting phenomenon, a greater volume of hydrogen can be stored in the same size cylinder with metal alloy than without it, a consideration that provides better driving range.

snip
----------------------------------------------------------------

Well there you go. Happy tanking. If you don't see this again, maybe one will need to look into who controls our energy sources. Just an added thought, could we use some Hydrogen solid storage tanks at a Lunar Base?

Ooops, maybe I shouldn't be thinking such Lunar Thoughts.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
============================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

============================================

Airborne laser shoots down missile in mid-flight

http://www.mda.mil/news/10news0002.html

I subscribe to Jonathan's Space Report and in his latest email he mentions an airborne laser test.
I did an Internet search for - Missile Defense Agency shoots down two missiles with Airborne Laser - and found a number of references.

Just part of the billions spent on Star Wars.

The Christian Science Monitor says that the Pentagon isn’t happy with the price tag, and that Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled the original order for a second airborne laser system, but held onto the original aircraft for further experiments.

Will be interesting to see where the next billions of dollars are spent. Probably not on going to the Moon now that it is a lessor priority.
- LRK -

---------------------------------------------------------

http://www.planet4589.org/space/jsr/jsr.html
Jonathan's Space Report - Latest Issue
The Space Report ("JSR") is issued about twice a month. It describes all space launches, including both piloted missions and automated satellites.

Jonathan's Space Report
No. 623 2010 Feb 13 Somerville, MA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editorial
----------

In an attempt to enter the 2010s, JSR updates are now available on Facebook - look for "Jonathan's Space Report" - and Twitter - follow
"planet4589".

snip
Missile tests
-------------

The DRDO (India's defense missile agency) launched the fourth Agni III missile from the IC4 pad on Inner Wheeler Island in Orissa on Feb 7. It flew south or southwest over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, splashing down in the southern hemisphere after a 3500 km range flight to orbital parameters of around -4070 x 350 km x (80 to 131) deg - the exact direction of the flight is not known.

On Feb 12 the Missile Defense Agency tested the Airborne Laser against a Scud launched from a floating platform in the Pacific and a Black Brant IX launched from San Nicolas I. on the S Californian coast. Apogees of the targets were probably in the 100-200 km range.

snip
---------------------------------------------------------

Here is a snip from the Christian Science Monitor article.
- LRK -

---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0212/Airborne-laser-shoots-down-missile-in-mid-flight
Airborne laser shoots down missile in mid-flight

The US military's airborne laser scores its first direct hit.

By Chris Gaylord / February 12, 2010

Last night, the military officially entered the age of airborne laser weapons. A large laser mounted to the front of a modified 747 jet successfully detected and shot down a ballistic missile while both were in mid-flight.

The airborne laser program – part Star Wars (the sci-fi flick) and part Star Wars (the Strategic Defense Initiative) – has taken years of work and billions of dollars it get here. But the Pentagon can now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station.

"While ballistic missiles like the one [the Airborne Laser Testbed]
destroyed move at speeds of about 4,000 miles per hour, they are no match for a super-heated, high-energy laser beam racing towards it at 670 million mph," says defense contractor Northrop Grumman in a release after announcing the successful test Friday.
snip

In a massive collaboration, Northrop Grumman constructed the megawatt-class high-energy laser, Lockheed Martin designed the firing system, and Boeing tied everything together with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
snip
---------------------------------------------------------

I wonder what civilian firms are going to carry us to space?
- LRK -

---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mda.mil/news/10news0002.html
10-NEWS-0002
February 11, 2010
Airborne Laser Testbed Successful in Lethal Intercept Experiment

The Missile Defense Agency demonstrated the potential use of directed energy to defend against ballistic missiles when the Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB) successfully destroyed a boosting ballistic missile.

The experiment, conducted at Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range off the central California coast, serves as a proof-of-concept demonstration for directed energy technology. The ALTB is a pathfinder for the nation’s directed energy program and its potential application for missile defense technology.

At 8:44 p.m. (PST), February 11, 2010, a short-range threat-representative ballistic missile was launched from an at-sea mobile launch platform. Within seconds, the ALTB used onboard sensors to detect the boosting missile and used a low-energy laser to track the target. The ALTB then fired a second low-energy laser to measure and compensate for atmospheric disturbance. Finally, the ALTB fired its megawatt-class High Energy Laser, heating the boosting ballistic missile to critical structural failure. The entire engagement occurred within two minutes of the target missile launch, while its rocket motors were still thrusting.

This was the first directed energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform. The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers, and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies.

Less than one hour later, a second solid fuel short-range missile was launched from a ground location on San Nicolas Island, Calif. and the ALTB successfully engaged the boosting target with its High Energy Laser, met all its test criteria, and terminated lasing prior to destroying the second target. The ALTB destroyed a solid fuel missile, identical to the second target, in flight on February 3, 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------

Does this mean we can now add to the space debris at the speed of light?
- LRK -

---------------------------------------------------------
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=9815043

Flying Laser Zaps Missile in First for U.S.
Military Experiment Uses Laser on 747 off California to Destroy Target
By Jim Wolf
February 12, 2010

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A high-powered laser aboard a modified Boeing Co 747 jumbo jet shot down an in-flight ballistic missile for the first time, highlighting a new class of ray guns best known from science fiction.

[ Three pages of info that copyright wise not to be redistributed so if interested go to the link and read for yourelf. - LRK -]

---------------------------------------------------------

Well all of that is not about going to the Moon, but then I guess I will have to wait and report about others doing that.
- LRK -


Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
============================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

============================================

THE 2011 BUDGET AND A BOLD NEW APPROACH TO EXPLORATION - hmmmmm!

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jan/HQ_M10-018_NASA_2011_Budget_prt.htm
THE 2011 BUDGET AND A BOLD NEW APPROACH TO EXPLORATION - hmmmmm!
A BOLD NEW APPROACH TO EXPLORATION - hmmmmm!
EXPLORATION - hmmmmm!
So says Jabba the Hutt -
http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/Jabba_Hutt-Sideshow-l.jpg
- LRK -

Jan. 31, 2010

Morrie Goodman
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
morrie.goodman@nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-018

NASA ANNOUNCES TWO NEWS CONFERENCES TO DISCUSS THE 2011 BUDGET AND A BOLD NEW APPROACH TO EXPLORATION

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold news conferences on Monday, Feb. 1, and Tuesday, Feb. 2, to discuss the fiscal year 2011 budget request and announce bold new developments in the nation's civil space effort.

On Monday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Chief Financial Officer Beth Robinson will brief reporters about the agency's fiscal year 2011 budget during a teleconference at 12:30 p.m. EST. This is a change from the previously announced 3 p.m. Monday news conference in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Following remarks, reporters will have an opportunity to ask questions. To dial into the news conference, news media representatives should call:
800-857-5728 or 1-630-395-0025 and use the pass code "NASA"

A limited number of phone lines are available, so people are encouraged to call early. Replays of the teleconference will be available approximately one hour after the call ends. To listen to a
replay, call:
866-431-2903 or 203-369-0952

On Tuesday, Administrator Bolden, Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will introduce new commercial space pioneers, launching a game-changing way of developing technology to send humans to space.

The announcement will take place at 10 a.m. in the National Press Club's ballroom, located at 529 14th Street NW in Washington.
Reporters attending the event will have the opportunity to ask questions after remarks by Dr. Holdren and Administrator Bolden. NASA Television and the agency's Web site will carry the briefing live.

In addition to the two NASA events, Deputy Administrator Lori Garver will participate with Dr. Holdren in a briefing by the Office of Science and Technology Policy about the federal government's 2011 research and development budget. The briefing will take place at 1 p.m. EST, Monday, Feb. 1 in the auditorium of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The association is located at 1200 New York Avenue, NW, with an entrance at 12th St. and H St. NW.

Reporters who plan to attend must register in advance at:
aaas.org/go/ostp/

The event also can be viewed online at the Web site listed above.

Summary of Events
What: Fiscal Year 2011 budget briefing
When: 12:30 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 1
Who: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Chief Financial Officer Beth Robinson
Where: Teleconference - call 800-857-5728 or 1-630-395-0025 and use the pass code
"NASA"

What: Briefing by the Office of Science and Technology Policy on the federal government's
2011 research and development budget When: 1 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 1 Who: NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Dr. John Holdren, assistant to the President for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Where: The American Association for the Advancement of Science's auditorium, located at
1200 New York Ave., NW, with an entrance at 12th St. and H St. NW.
What: Newsmaker event at the National Press Club
When: 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 2
Who: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Dr. John Holdren, assistant to the President for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Where: The National Press Club's ballroom, located at 529 14th Street NW in Washington
To listen to the news conferences online, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

NASA budget and supporting information will be posted at 12:30 p.m., Feb. 1, at:
http://www.nasa.gov/budget

-end-
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hmmmmm!
While in the Navy I once was REQUESTED to attend a briefing on how I would really like to HAVE to complete 30 years of service in order to retire and then I would LIKE to wait until I was 65 years old to start collecting it. Everyone please nod your head in agreement. It didn't happen. I only did 26 years and started collecting immediately.
Whew!

hmmmmm!
Follow the CONFERENCES and don't forget to nod your head in agreement.
hmmmmm!
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
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Sorry, have this funny feeling in my stomach.
- LRK -
snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Habitats - Geodesic Domes - what now?

I just finished reading "IDEAS AND INTEGRITIES" by Buckminster Fuller written back in 1963 and was thinking about Geodesic Domes for lunar construction and whether they might be of use for providing shelter to the many Haitian survivors of the recent earthquake there.

Buckminster Fuller has a lot to say about how we have been living based on past models and how he felt things could be a lot better if we spent more time and research on making better use of materials, especially for providing habitats for all of those on Space Ship Earth.

He mentions that in holding to the idea of survival of the fittest we spend a lot more on making war machines than we do in providing for peace time use of livable habitats. Only as a secondary by product of all of the technological achievement do we gain by technology transfer the makes it possible to have more with less energy input by human muscle power.

I don't know what the NASA budget will look like for supporting going to the Moon. Will have to wait for next month to see what is being requested and then see how folks adjust.

With that said, let me copy a couple of paragraphs near the end of "IDEAS AND INTEGRITIES" and let you think about where we are going and what individuals might do building on where we find ourselves today.

This from page 307-308, "IDEAS AND INTEGRITIES - remember this is 1963 and we haven't landed on the Moon yet. - LRK -
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We are shooting to get to the moon. What soldiers want is to get the first commanding platform in space. That's what the militarists are after. To be able to send a man to the moon, you first have to be able to give him his own private little earth, and he's been living on an enormous earth with great energy-exchanging patterns he knows very little about. He knows a little about the air he breathes or the gas plants give off. He doesn't know why men's temperatures are ninety-eight and six tenths degrees, Fahrenheit when in good health. He doesn't really know about his extraordinary energy balance.

Our processes are so secret that nobody really knows anything about plumbing. Everything fundamental about our sewage system was invented in India by 2500 B.C. No one has made significant improvements since that time. No architect ever looks back of the purple tiles, no scientist ever studies plumbing. We never hire scientists to look at our homes. Scientists, however, work with weaponry, and its by-products go back into our homes, but it is completely inadvertent. What would happen if the scientist helped us to use everything he and we've learned to make the world a success for man?

This is what is going to happen with our explorations into space, because we can no longer be wasteful. We will have extraordinary energy cycles developed in our behalf by the scientists. We're going to have to give our spaceman enough food--he needs a ton a year, and he'll have to process that. We are going to have to find out how to use that valuable chemistry we have been turning over to Nature's landscape to process for us. While we look the other way the spaceman won't be able to get rid of it. If he spits there is no gravity to take it away. It stays right there in front of him in space. We are not going to send the spaceman out into space to find out what to do with his chemistry to make him survive. If our scientists on earth haven't figured it all out very satisfactorily in every respect, psychologically and esthetically, as well as chemically, before we send that space-boy "out," he'll never com back "in" again--alive.

For the first time in history we are employing scientists to work on a little house. It hasn't been thought of, architecturally, as a house, but it's the most important house that's ever been worked on. In America we are spending three billion dollars a year and ain Russia they are spending six billion dollars a year on this autonomous dwelling device--for man.

The little black box that will take care of our sanitation will be more effective than anything that's been used before. Men will control their environment and be very healthy. ....
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Well that is about going to space and the ISS has been doing some of what "Bucky" predicted, but not enough. We haven't learned to recycle EVERYTHING on the ISS and setting up a base camp on the Moon is going to have to consider that.

How about something her on Earth for Haiti?
- LRK -

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http://www.readyforanything.org/?p=1090
GEODESIC AND MONOLITHIC DOMES OFFER BEST SHELTER FOR HAITI’S 1.5
MILLION HOMELESS EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS. I.P.N. WORKING TO CREATE
DOMEBUILDER ALLIANCE.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 by admin

By Aton Edwards, I.P.N. Executive Director

As I post this story at 4:10 AM on Thursday morning, January 21th, the body count in Port-au-Prince is estimated at over 200,000 with over 20,000 people dying daily from untreated injuries alone. Roads to Port-au-Prince from the Dominican Republic are clogged and, rapidly
degrading because of the constant traffic. Hundreds of thousands are still without food & very little clean water is available.

snip

I already knew that there was only one way to house the survivors. Wyclef and his team needed Bucky Fuller’s finest creation, the geodesic dome. All I needed at that point was to design a workable plan that his associates at could make it happen as rapidly as possible, so, I began to develop a workable strategy.

The geodesic domes offer the earthquake survivors disaster resistant, simple to set-up and transport, and relatively inexpensive (when compared to traditional structures) shelters. They come in many different sizes ranging from 16′ to large 90′ structures. All have the capacity to withstand high winds and, can be designed to withstand even the most powerful hurricanes. I knew that Pacific Domes of Oregon manufactured several versatile geodesic dome models that could be used to help solve this enormous housing crisis. So, my first choice was made.

Stage one of the dome building operation would begin with Pacific Domes .
snip

I also knew that more permanent housing would also be needed. Monolithic domes started a special program back in 2009 called One Dome At A Time created up by Haitian born Hip-Hop artist Won-G.
snip
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http://pacificdomes.org/
http://pacificdomes.org/relief_domes.html
Pacific Domes are the strongest portable structures known to man. These highly portable structures are quick and easy to erect with a ratchet! They are engineered to withstand hurricane force winds and heavy snow loads. Many sizes are available depending on the application. The larger domes can be used for warehouses, distribution of supplies, and also for kitchens and food services. Our mid-range domes are perfect for classrooms and medical centers. Smaller domes provide a safe and weather proof shelter for displaced families.
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http://www.monolithic.com/
Monolithic Domes & Eco-Shells can provide the people of Haiti with permanent low-cost disaster resistant homes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm29nmhmQjM&feature=player_embedded
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You may know of others that have plans to provide housing that is quick to erect.

Individuals can make a difference.
- LRK -

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http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/01/gates_foundation_pledges_10_bi.html
January 29, 2010

Gates Foundation Pledges $10 Billion For Vaccines
The $34 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is more than doubling its vaccine portfolio -- already its largest focus.

The Gateses announced today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that they plan to spend $10 billion on vaccine development and deployment over the next decade. "We must make this the decade of vaccines," Microsoft founder Bill Gates says.
snip
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Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
============================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Doctor's Office Hit By Meteorite in Lorton, Virginia

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/national/doctors-office-hit-by-meteorite-0121101264170289032

Here it is January 22, 2010 and I have had my head in books about, or by, R. Buckminster Fuller and contemplating what will be, that might be.

Bob sent me a couple of URL links and I just had to stop and pass this bit on to you.

Lorton, VA., is just south of Washington D.C. and near where my Army daughter is stationed at Ft. Belvoir, VA, so it did get my attention. Meteorite falls through the roof of a doctors office and about the size of a baseball before it broke apart.

They were kind enough to send it to the Smithsonian for study. I wonder where it would have been sent if it had fallen through the roof of the White House.

There is a nice video clip at the link but I haven't seen anything on our local news here in northern California. I guess a baseball size hole in your roof is not the same as a 7.1 earthquake on a nearby island country.

You don't expect earthquakes (unless you live where I do) but then you don't expect rocks to fall out of the sky either. Didn't a 10-meter wide asteroid just fly by two days after it was discovered? (2010 AL30) Now if that had dropped in at the Pentagon it would have raised some eyebrows.

Will add a few more informational links for you consideration.
Happy New Year.
- LRK -

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http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/national/doctors-office-hit-by-meteorite-0121101264170289032
Doctor's Office Hit By Meteorite

Updated: Friday, 22 Jan 2010, 2:11 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 21 Jan 2010, 9:39 AM EST

By JOHN HENREHAN/myfoxdc

When Lawrence Reese was cleaning up his sub shop in Lorton, Virginia, late Monday afternoon, he heard a tremendous impact outside.

"Loud. Loud enough [that] you could hear it, maybe, a block or two away," recalls Reese. "I'm surprised it didn't break our glass. That's how loud it was."

Something had come hurtling out of the sky, and crashed through the roof of a nearby doctor's office, landing in an empty examination room.

"I thought something fell in Dr. Gallini's office," explained his partner, Dr. Frank Ciampi. "I thought a bookshelf fell on him, so I ran out and saw that he was okay. And then I looked to the left and saw the debris in the hallway."

The debris was smoldering and metallic. The two physicians puzzled over the items. Whatever had come through the roof had broken into several pieces. The two doctors speculated that part of an airliner had come off and fallen through their roof. A nearly circular hole was punched through the building's roof.

An acquaintance suggested the possibility of a meteorite, so the debris was sent to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in nearby Washington, D.C.

snip
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Here is a link to the MSNBC "Mystery object whizzes past Earth harmlessly" article.
- LRK -
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34826596/ns/technology_and_science-space/
Mystery object whizzes past Earth harmlessly
Scientists debate its origins but conclude it was likely an asteroid
updated 5:50 p.m. PT, Wed., Jan. 13, 2010
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/news.html

A near-Earth object hurtled past us on Wednesday, just two days after its discovery was announced.

Orbital projections indicated that the object called 2010 AL30 flew by Earth at a distance of just 80,000 miles (130,000 kilometers). That's only one-third of the way from here to the moon.

If the object had been on a collision course with Earth, it wouldn't have done any damage anyway. But planetary scientists said the asteroid, or whatever it was, set a new standard: A 10-meter-wide (33-foot-wide) asteroid can be detected two days before it potentially hits Earth.

snip
Note: A link on the page to some MSNBC videos about same and similar.
Gets rather silly. Enjoy if you don't mind viewing a 30 second ad first.
- LRK -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34831765#34738196
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This JPL link has some news about recent Near Earth Objects that have gone by.
- LRK -
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http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/
Small Asteroid 2010 AL30 To Fly Past The Earth
January 12, 2010

Asteroid 2010 AL30, discovered by the LINEAR survey of MIT's Lincoln Laboratories on Jan. 10, will make a close approach to the Earth's surface to within 76,000 miles on Wednesday January 13 at 12:46 pm Greenwich time (7:46 EST, 4:46 PST).
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news167.html

Small Asteroid 2009 VA Whizzes By The Earth
November 9, 2009

A newly discovered asteroid designated 2009 VA, which is only about 7 meters in size, passed about 2 Earth radii (14,000 km) from the Earth's surface Nov. 6 at around 16:30 EST. This is the third-closest known (non-impacting) Earth approach on record for a cataloged asteroid.
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news166.html

Asteroid Impactor Reported over Indonesia
October 23, 2009

On October 8, 2009 about 03:00 Greenwich time, an atmospheric fireball blast was observed and recorded over an island region of Indonesia. The blast is thought to be due to the atmospheric entry of a small asteroid about 10 meters in diameter that, due to atmospheric pressure, detonated in the atmosphere with an energy of about 50 kilotons (the equivalent of 110 million pounds of TNT explosives). The blast was recorded visually and reported upon by local media representatives. See the YouTube video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQBzTkJNhs&videos=jkRJgbXY-90

snip
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Here is the link to Space Weather with more kinds of information and near the bottom a table of near misses that might have brightened your sky if they had been dead on.
- LRK -

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http://spaceweather.com/
What's Up in Space January 22, 2010
snip
Near-Earth Asteroids
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.

On January 22, 2010 there were 1093 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Jan. 2010 Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid Date(UT) Miss Distance Mag. Size
2010 AL2 Jan. 11 11.5 LD 20 23 m
24761 Ahau Jan. 11 70.8 LD 16 1.4 km
2000 YH66 Jan. 12 69.5 LD 17 1.1 km
2010 AL30 Jan. 13 0.3 LD 14 18 m

Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach.
snip
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I have just finished reading R. Buckminster Fuller's "NINE CHAINS TO THE MOON" and "Critical Path". I highly recommend reading if you would like to learn more about what had transpired through out history right up to 1980. I hope someone is writing about the last 30 years because a lot of the behind the doors, using your money for other people's gain, still goes on. He had some suggestions on how that might be changed but I don't see it happening.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrkellogg
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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