Low-cost Mars Probe Hack: Jugaad To Be Kidding Me

Americans pride themselves on entrepreneurship, independence, ingenuity, and can-do traits. And there’s historical and current evidence of those traits to support that pride. The Indians, however, seem to be quickly adopting these “American” traits, but at less expense. Or maybe the traits have always been present in India, but something was suppressing them for a long […]

SpaceX News: An F9R video and Letters from Senator McCain

Here are two little “love letters” from Senator McCain. One is to the Secretary of the Air Force, the other to the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG). The gist of both is that he takes issue with the United States Air Force’s arguments for cutting down the number of available launches in the EELV contract […]

Why Do DoD National Security Space Launch Programs Costs Keep Rising?

On March 5, 2014, the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee held a hearing about National Security Space Launch Programs. The hearing was a session with SpaceX’s Elon Musk, and the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Michael Gass concerning the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program and contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the program’s rising […]

What’s Old Is New Again

From childhood, I’ve had this weird fascination with dirigibles. Not blimps, but dirigibles. The kind of airships people associate with the words, “Oh, the humanity!!” In spite of the horrific Hindenburg episode, I always thought the zeppelins produced in Friedrichshafen, Germany, were always majestic in movement. It also looked like a relaxing and luxurious way […]