NOAA’s low hanging problem–Part 8

Let’s talk about reality and inertia in a government organization, then. Those two words are why the Independent Review Team’s (IRT’s) satellite “gap-filler” recommendation in its 2013 assessment will turn out to be a lot more taxpayer money spent with miniscule return. The reality is the IRT’s recommendation is to and for the National Oceanographic […]

China’s Long March to the Moon

Looks like China just did what they said they were going to do. They just launched a autonomous rover, the Jade Rabbit, to the moon. You can go to NBC news here for more information. The Chinese are moving quickly. Video of their preparations about five hours prior to launch. Related articles China to […]

Cubesats galore

I’m sure everyone has read, seen, or heard about the latest feat regarding cubesats this November: 29 cubesats were deployed from one rocket launched in the US; and another 33 cubesats were deployed from a rocket launched by the Russians. The US launch was done courtesy of Orbital Sciences from Wallops Island, in Virginia using […]

Eighteen years after its start, SBIRS still not quite replaces DSP (or, the Air Force gets less by spending more)

Sad but true. According to this post on Spaceflightnow.com’s site, prime contractor Lockheed Martin and its customer, the United States Air Force (USAF), are slowly and expensively achieving a goal. That is, they are replacing older USAF Defense Support Program (DSP–and more DSP info here) satellites with Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO satellites. The SBIRS GEO-2 satellite is officially operating as […]

NOAA’s low hanging problem–Part 7

The last post, part 6, went into detail about the problems the Independent Review Team (IRT) brought forward to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regarding its satellite programs. These were the problems the IRT found and documented in their 2012 assessment report: Oversight and decision process, governance, JPSS Gap, programs, and budget. The […]