Kennedy and Apollo

There has been speculation over the years that John Kennedy had become disenchanted with the space program as he watched its costs rise. Some suggest that, had the President lived, he would have scaled back Apollo, and perhaps pursued creating a joint lunar program with the Soviets. An audiotape of a meeting between Kennedy and NASA Administrator James Webb in September, 1963, released recently by The Kennedy Library, sheds some new light on that question.

On the tape, President Kennedy was clearly concerned about the amount of money being spent on space; Republicans, and some Democrats, had begun to question Apollo. However, his concerns seem to have been tactical. He wanted Webb to build a political case to support the spending; he did not, at that time, seem to support cutting spending.

What might have happened had Lee Harvey Oswald sneezed at a critical moment is a matter for science fiction writers, not historians. We do know, though, that the speech Kennedy intended to give in Dallas on November 22, 1963, included a sentence reaffirming his support of the space program.

Scrap NASA?

Former Apollo astronaut and Moonwalker and former U. S. Senator from New Mexico Harrison Schmitt says NASA should be dismantled and replaced by a new agency focused on space exploration. Schmitt acknowledges NASA has some remarkable achievements to its credit, but argues that after fifty years a new start for a new era would be best.

NASA should be reformed and refocused, but replacing it and starting from scratch would probably waste money. It's not obvious, after all, why Congress would give more money to a new space exploration agency than it gives NASA. The problem isn't NASA. The problem is that Congress doesn't give space exploration a high priority. There is also the matter of staffing a new agency. Because of the specialized skills and knowledge required for space exploration, a new agency would probably be peopled by many ex-NASA hands. It's not clear, therefore, what advantage a new agency would have over a rejuvenated NASA.

Training For Space

The FAA has certified the Zero-G Corporation, home of the "Vomit Comet," to offer microgravity simulation flights as part of the training for future private space crews.

The flights will obviously focus on exposing candidates to some of the physical challenges of spaceflight-- functioning in microgravity, enduring rapid acceleration and deceleration, understanding spatial orientation, etc.

This is one more small step down a long road leading to the creation of a truly spacefaring civilization.

New Name For MPCV

It seems NASA agrees with this humble blogger that the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, or MPCV, doesn't cut it for what will hopefully be an historic spaceship. So far, NASA has been focused on getting the engineering of the new manned spacecraft right, but the agency says it will soon turn to finding an appropriate name for the program.

How that will be done wasn't specified. NASA could simply come up with a name itself, or it could run a contest and let the American people name it-- which might generate more interest in and support for the program-- or it might establish a process that combines both of those approaches.

Hopefully, the naming will not be left to Congress.

So Long, Spirit

NASA has stopped trying to contact its Mars rover, Spirit, thus ending a spectacularly successful mission. Spirit has been trapped in a kind of sand pit for two Earth years and hasn't communicated with its handlers for months. Before becoming trapped, however, Spirit produced remarkable science for years, science that changed our view of Mars.

NASA's other Mars rover, Opportunity, is still going strong.

MPCV

Yesterday, NASA unveiled the new spacecraft it will use in future manned deep space missions. Dubbed for now the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, it is essentially the Orion capsule of the old, canceled Constellation program. That makes sense, as NASA was already well along in developing Orion. Hopefully, NASA will run a contest to come up with a better name for the new program. Whatever the eventual name, however, when MPCV goes on long duration missions, it will rendezvous and dock with a larger habitation module, to give the crew of four more living space.

NASA also announced it will develop its own heavy lift launcher. That is in line with current law, but it would also seem to be a blow to the emerging commercial space industry. Perhaps, however, if companies like SpaceX can quickly establish their rockets as reliable and get them man-rated, NASA may still be able to forego building its own.

NASA Plans

Later today, NASA is scheduled to announce its plans for a space transportation system that will be used to pursue the nation's human spaceflight goals over the next couple of decades. Currently, as set by President Obama, those goals are reaching an asteroid by 2025, and a mission to Mars in the early 2030s.

Given those goals, the development of a heavy lift launcher might be on the agenda. That is controversial, both outside and inside NASA. Some argue it's too early to commit to any specific heavy lift design, while others suggest using several launches of smaller rockets might be preferable for virtually any mission in any case.

Learning how much NASA sees itself depending on commercial launch services will also be interesting. There might not be a viable market beyond NASA for huge rockets, but if NASA makes it clear it intends to rely on launchers such as the SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy it could be a nice boost for commercial space.