Category Archives: NASA

Poor Taste Humor Tuesdays: CxP Edition

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

This is poor taste, but too funny not to pass along (I apologize in advance to CxP workers reading this). Upon hearing about another CxP element that’s been supposedly defunded, a NASASpaceFlight.com member (Lawntonlookirs) expressed his frustration by creating the … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, Fun, NASA | 2 Comments

Ares-I Ascent Reliability: Still Missing The Point

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I listened in a bit on yesterday’s Augustine Committee discussion.  The debate at the end between Bo and the others reminded me of a point I’ve made a bunch of times on this blog–that when you’re talking about exploration missions, … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, NASA | 23 Comments

Great Question

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Continuing my trend of outsourcing most of my blogging to others with more time on their hands, here’s a great question [from a guy named SpaceXULA] on NASASpaceflight.com: You must ask yourself this question. “Given that NASA is national prestige … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA | 6 Comments

One of the Most Amazing 25 Minutes in (Recent) NASA History [Updated]

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Or at least that’s how Stephen Flemming put it on Twitter regarding Jeff Greason’s presentation at the Augustine Committee meeting today in Florida. To be fair, the rest of the subgroup also did an amazing job, especially Chris Chyba’s wrapup … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, COTS, ESAS, International Space Collaboration, International Space Competition, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA, Propellant Depots, Space Policy, Space Transportation, Technology | 8 Comments

Random Thought: NASA Multi-Launch Hypocrisy

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Just reading some of the comments from the Constellation used-car sale pitch going on in Huntsville today.  One of the topics discussed was how Ares-V enables manned missions to Mars.   The Marshall guys put up a chart showing that depending … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA | 10 Comments

Shameless Self-Promotion: Depot Article on New Scientist

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Last week, right after I finished sending my propellant depot white paper in to the Augustine Committee, I got contacted by David Shiga of New Scientist with some questions for an article he was writing.  The article is now available … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, NASA, Propellant Depots, RLV Markets | 3 Comments

MSFC Competency Bleg

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

I know this may sound mean-spirited, but I’m genuinely curious: does anyone know of any big projects that MSFC has played a major role in over the last 30 years that were actually successful?  I’ve only been paying attention since … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA | 12 Comments

File Under: “Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself”

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Mr X over at ChairForce Engineer has one of the best Apollo retrospectives I’ve seen this week (which is only helped by linking to one of my other favorites from this week, by Reason’s Ron Bailey).  Their points are well-taken.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Space, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, NASA | 7 Comments

Random Thoughts: Pre-Depot 2-Launch Manned Missions Using L2 Swingby

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

Ok, two weeks ago, I mentioned that the “pre-depot” dual EELV launch concept my friend had passed to me could be adapted to do manned lunar missions.  Lunar missions are a lot easier to close if you assume a depot … Continue reading →

Posted in Bigelow Aerospace, Commercial Space, ESAS, Launch Vehicles, Lunar Commerce, Lunar Exploration and Development, MSS, NASA, Propellant Depots, Space Transportation, SpaceX | 13 Comments

The Incredible (Already) Shrinking Moon Program

Posted on June 27, 2009 by Jonathan Goff

A few years ago, I asked the question of “how many crew do you really need for a lunar program?“  The conclusion was that if you could reduce the crew requirements (at least initially), it might allow for a much … Continue reading →

Posted in ESAS, NASA, Space Transportation | 5 Comments