[FPSPACE] The Real News

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi Keith -

>       Let a political scientist say - complements to NASA & independent
>media.

If you remember, the Lisa Rowe incident led NASA itself to undertake the 
astronaut health review, while the sabotaged computer was caught during 
regular NASA safety checks.  NASA releaased what they found, and all the 
media, not just "independent" media, reported on their findings.
(Of course, from zaire? all our media are independent i.l. privately owned 
and operate under freedoms of the press.)

>Because the claims about drunkeness & sabotaged computers could be
>exposed, they'll both be rectified quicker than under systems where you
>have censorship & cover-ups.

Once again, NASA itself did the exposure, and yes, those problems will be 
corrected, (and the computer sabotage is serious).

BUT THE MAJOR PROBLEMS STILL LOOM BECAUSE OF LACK OF COVERAGE.

>    Others on this lsit might tell us if an STS at liftoff is in fact
>controlled by software & remote control from Houston, not possibly
>drunken pilots & co-pilots, who are there simply to override during
>emergencies.

Calling on others, eh? I think I have enough brain left to tell you about 
this.

An STS has onbaord computers that take over at solids ignition. Five 4bit 
mahines, if I remember right.
Then there is a range safety officer who has a single action control for a 
while,
then the pilto/commander has abort options available.

> >1) The development of Ares 1 is going over schedule and budget,
>leaving the
>
>    gasp. surprise, surprise.

Yeah, that's not too much of a surprise.

> >US with a gaping hole in manned space access.  Administrator Griffin
> >understated both shcedule and budget, [.....]
>
>     goodness. That has never happened before, has it?     :)   :)  :)

No, it has happened quite regularly, which is why private analysts examining 
Griffin's Ares 1/Orion/COTS plans have known that Griffin was operating in 
fantasy land from the very start.

You can see Mark Wade's Blog for an early call.

Or you could have watched  NASA's partners in ISS, the ESA's and JAXA's 
reactions.

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