December 31, 2015

Please Donate


Your donation will be greatly appreciated. 

Dear space advocate,

2015 was an exciting year with important space accomplishments, including Space X's successful landing of the Falcon 9, amazing images from Pluto, and a greater NASA budget which advances key components for manned space exploration.

Let's look ahead now and help make 2016 the year that a strong space supporter is elected president--no matter who wins.

Here's how: Save Manned Space's non-partisan educational campaign will educate candidates on the immense benefits of remaining the leader in space exploration, and why we must go to the Moon and Mars.

Please donate now to help educate candidates on the space program.

Allowing opponents of the space program in the media and politics to set the agenda could result in a repeat of 2012 where Newt Gingrich was attacked by other candidates and the media for supporting a bold new space program.

The stakes are too high to allow the next administration to be anti-space, uncaring, or content with allowing China and Russia leading the new space race. We can--and must--go to the Moon in the early 2020s, learn how to safely live on another world, and go to Mars in the early--not late 2030s.

Many people, much less politicians and candidates for president, don't understand that the space program returns far more to the economy in new inventions ('spinoffs') than the investment. And that's not counting the job creation, advances in science, inspiration for students to go into STEM careers, and even greater international respect.

Step one for the next president is to cancel the nearly-useless Asteroid Redirect Mission, and replace it with the exciting "Apollo 8 for Mars," the 2021 Mars-Venus flyby, which can be accomplished with hardware already being built and tested--including the mission habitat which NASA will complete in 2018. This should be enacted in early 2017, while the new president formulates the long-range national space strategy which will in fact make NASA's "Journey to Mars" a reality, not just a slogan and hashtag.

Please donate now to help Save Manned Space educate candidates, lobby and conduct educational projects for a bold new space program to take us to the Moon and Mars! Donations are not tax deductible.

Thank you very much for your support.


More information about the Coalition:
http://www.savemannedspace.com/p/about-coalition.html

December 30, 2015

Can YOU go to Iowa and New Hampshire to Advance Space Exploration?

The Road to Mars Begins in Iowa and New Hampshire

Are you in, or can you visit Iowa, New Hampshire, or any of the other primary states?

The candidates and their senior staff are there now. They are greeting people in coffee shops and diners, and hosting small forums--and they WANT to talk to you.

Please read the linked article: Given current plans and a lack of strong leadership, NASA might not land Americans on Mars until the late 2030s or even into the 2040s.

However, every accomplishment we strive for in space exploration--landings and bases on the Moon and Mars, and much more all could be accomplished in the 2020s and 2030s. It all depends on leadership and willpower, and what we as space advocates do here and now.

From Mercury to the Apollo 11 landing on the moon took Americans just eight years, and with the amazing advances in technology since the 1960s, we should be able to make progress much faster.

The only reason NASA currently has no plans during the next ten years for deep space exploration other than a single test flight of Orion and the nearly useless Asteroid Redirect Mission is a lack of leadership or desire to lead the world in space exploration.  It's not a function of technology.

Here's the vital point: the next president will have the opportunity to put us on track to great accomplishments in space--if the candidates hear from you now.

This is the time to go to Iowa, New Hampshire and the other primary states, and have serious talks with the candidates or their senior staff about why remaining the leader in space exploration is essential to our economy, high tech competitiveness, national security, as well as inspiring students for STEM careers. Why exploring the Moon and Mars will reap great benefits for all Americans. Why space exploration is 'American exceptionalism' defined. And why replacing the Asteroid Redirect Mission with the inspirational and essential 2021 Mars-Venus flyby will put us back on track for a serious space program.

Some candidates might have no position or interest on space exploration, or even feel it is just a waste of funds. They may not understand the great return to our economy and high tech competitiveness. If candidates understand the value, they will confidently out-bid each other in support for the space program, rather than act defensively to ridicule it.

Early primary dates:
February 1:
  • Iowa Caucuses
February 9:
  • New Hampshire Primary
February 20:
  • South Carolina Primary
February 23:
  • Nevada Democratic Caucuses
March 1:
  • Alabama Primary
  • Alaska Republican Caucuses 
  • Arkansas Primary
  • Colorado Democratic Caucuses
  • Georgia Primary
  • Massachusetts Primary
  • Minnesota Caucuses 
  • North Dakota Republican Caucuses 
  • Oklahoma Primary
  • Tennessee Primary 
  • Texas Primary
  • Vermont Primary
  • Virginia Primary
  • Wyoming Republican Caucuses
Consult this list of primary dates for the balance of the primary season.

Be aware that talk of humanity becoming a spacefaring species or colonizing Mars will scare away politicians and backfire. That was the lesson from the 2012 campaign, when Newt Gingrich was attacked in the media and by other candidates for talking about a Lunar colony. Keep it realistic and focused on what politicians can accept and what the media can't attack.

Your action can help candidates realize the importance of a strong space program, and help result in a pro-space president, no matter who wins.

We will post specific talking points soon.

Contact us for more information, and let us know of your meetings and results.

December 24, 2015

Christmas Greetings from Apollo 8



Forty seven years ago today, on Christmas Eve, 1968, Apollo 8 took man for the first time around the moon. One of the most famous photographs of all time is the "Earthrise" over the moon, shot by William Anders.

Watch the Christmas Greeting from the Moon:
A Reading of Genesis by Apollo 8 Astronauts

As they orbited the moon, the three astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, took turns reading from the book of Genesis. Watch the above video for their historic broadcast.

From NASA.gov: "We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice," recalled Borman during 40th anniversary celebrations in 2008. "And the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."

"The first ten verses of Genesis is the foundation of many of the world's religions, not just the Christian religion," added Lovell. "There are more people in other religions than the Christian religion around the world, and so this would be appropriate to that and so that's how it came to pass."
Christmas Greetings from the Moon

Jim Lovell: "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth."

William Anders:
"For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you".
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

Jim Lovell:
"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Frank Borman:
"And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."

Frank Borman: "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth." 

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas from the Coalition to Save Manned Space Exploration

Photo and video credits NASA

Historic Space X Rocket Landing

Falcon 9 Landing
Space X made history this week with its successful landing of the Falcon 9 first stage after boosting eleven Orbcomm satellites to orbit. 

The significance of landing and reusing rockets can not be undervalued. Once the return and reuse of rockets becomes routine and dependable--and critically--as safe and reliable as new rockets, the cost of launches will drop dramatically.
Reusability has always been the 'gold standard' for the ideal rocket. Early designs for the space shuttle offered full reusability, though the 'bean-counters' chose a cheaper hybrid design that in the long run probably cost more per launch. More than 20 years ago, the X-30 National Aerospace Plane was almost built in the 1980's to replace the shuttles with a runway-to-runway reusable spaceplane. The DC-X was another important stepping stone. Blue Origin successfully landed their rocket a few weeks ago, and now Space X brings the light of dawn to reusability.

There may be many great successes and failures to come as the technology gets perfected, but at the end of the rainbow may be reusable rockets as dependable as new ones, as is the case with airplanes. 

The stresses of spaceflight and landing may limit the number of times a rocket can be reused--the comparison with airplanes is similar, however the forces are greater and possibility of crashes due to high winds or mechanical failures will be greater for the near future. 

Lessons to be learned over the next few years will include the amount of refurbishing necessary to assure a dependable relaunch. With the space shuttles, there was a always great deal of refurbishment, so we should not expect short turnarounds with minimal work. Also, for the near future Space X will be focusing on recovering first stages, and not the second stage.  

One day, you might ride on a reused rocket system to orbit, the moon or Mars for a fraction of the price imaginable today. And perhaps one day too disreputable used rocket lots will appear on the wrong side of the tracks, offering worn out 'fixer-uppers' to the handyman astronaut or the uninformed.

Congratulations and best wishes to Space X for the perfect landing, and to all the predecessors who helped pioneer the way.

Watch Space X's great video from launch to landing:

Full Launch and Return

Landing from Helicopter

Photo and video credits: Space X

December 18, 2015

Decision Point: China and Russia are in a Space Race. Should the U.S. Join to Win?

Credit: Chinese space agency
China, Russia, Europe and the United States are all in a space race.

The prizes are not just bragging rights or even who makes the historic 'first steps.' The winners will reap rich rewards in high tech leadership, new inventions, national prosperity and pride, and international respect.

China and perhaps Russia may take advantage of the possible absence of the U.S. and claim the Moon and Mars as their own territories.

Losers will chart a course for irrelevance and retreat in an increasingly technology-centric and militaristic world.

The United States has been absent from the race for almost a decade, but we can lose a race we only pretend to have entered. Under this administration, the plans for returning to the Moon before 2020 were cancelled, as well as the possibility of building the necessary experience to proceed to Mars.

NASA's "Journey to Mars" is at present essentially hashtags and PowerPoints, and the entirety of the next decade as planned by this administration will be spent on just one single crewed mission to Lunar orbit to sample a rock removed from an asteroid--the "Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). This is not because our capabilities are lacking, but it is entirely due to leadership decisions by the White House.

Meanwhile, China and Russia are building their rockets and making their plans to conquer space.

In the news is Russia's announcement that it intends to build a permanent manned Lunar base, and is already building a robotic lander.

Elements of the Russian plan include:
  • Launch a Lunar orbiter in 2024 to select a base site.
  • 6 rocket launches containing habitat modules.
  • Complete construction of the base within a decade (similar timetable to ISS).
  • Permanently crewed starting in 2030.
Russian deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin outlined Russia's ambitions: "We are coming to the moon forever."

Should Putin decide to devote the resources to establishing Russia as the leader in space, there is nothing to prevent him from building this Lunar base, and given his wars and designs on neighboring countries, perhaps nothing to prevent him from challenging China for ownership claims on the Moon.

The above timetable could be accelerated greatly given determination, perhaps to deny exclusive Chinese dominance of the Moon, or to demoralize and discourage the U.S. from resuming a real space program.

Europe, after begging the NASA Administrator to lead a Lunar base construction program, is going it alone with their "Moon village" concept, perhaps teaming up with Russia and China--leaving the U.S. stuck in orbit for another generation.

Meanwhile, China is proceeding in their race to conquer space, quietly building Apollo-scale infrastructure suitable for an Apollo-scale breakout in the near future. This follows their doctrines of deception and covertly building forces until ready to act. Their moon rocket (Long March 9) looks remarkably like our SLS, and their crew capsule also bears a remarkable resemblance to our Orion and Boeing capsules.

"Conquer" may in fact be the correct word for China's space goals, for if the world is to believe they will not attempt to claim the Moon and eventually Mars, then they are setting a poor example by attempting to seize the South China Sea in violation of 400 years of international law and agreements.

China's space program is run by their military, making any U.S. cooperation impossible and dangerous. Their true budget is secret and could be increased at will to accomplish their objectives.  China could land crew on the Moon in the early 2020s if they decide to, for example; and may already have secret plans to do so.

Most Americans who watched the Moon landing would have at that time believed that almost half a century into the future that the U.S. would have thriving Lunar and Martian colonies, and continued reaching for the stars, and that our budget for space exploration would have increased, not been slashed.

The next president will have the opportunity to re-join and lead in the new but very real space race, or to continue the current president's abandonment of our leadership in space. 

A space race could be a very good thing for all nations involved. However, if the U.S. ignores the race and fails to provide the leadership and resources to not just compete, but to win; then the race will leave the U.S. behind, to our great national and economic detriment.

All space advocates should use the campaign to reach out to candidates and their staff in support of a new and bold space program which will actually take us back to the Moon and on to Mars.

Let's join the new space race and see Americans once again on the Moon, and soon after on Mars!