Space Medicine Associates Blog

plane based launcher

2011-12-13T20:55:00.000-05:00

China Manned-Space Program Moves Forward

2011-10-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

According to an article posted on the English version on PeopleDailyOnline, the Chinese space program is moving forward. They are currently choosing astronauts for Shenzhou 8 and Shenzhou 9 missions planned for next year.

They will be working on maintenance and docking tasks as well as testing and measuring physiological and psychological changes which occur in space. It would be interesting to know what measurements and tests they will be performing and to see the results of these tests.

It looks like the Chinese are stepping up their program at a time when the United States seems to be in a holding pattern. Maybe this activity will spur those in the US, both private sector and NASA to step up their game.

To read the article in PeopleOnlineDaily, click here.

Why Do We Need To Go To Space?

2011-09-30T14:12:00.000-04:00

We need to go to space for several reasons. We are explorers. We need the jobs. We need the medical research.

Humans have always been explorers. From the earliest point in time we have been on the move - across continents, across oceans, under the seas, through the air, into space. We need to see, we need to feel, we need to know. We have google-mapped the planet and we still need to know more. We have been to the moon, we have sent probes to the planets and we still need to know more.

We need the jobs. People balk at the large price tag for space exploration. And that is a good thing. But, the vast majority of the price tag goes to salaries. And those salaries go to people right here on earth. Those salaries pay for mortgages, car loans, groceries, movie tickets, cable bills, internet bills, hair cuts, and much more. Every dollar spent for space explorations circulates through our economy several times and keeps many businesses going. Cut space programs and jobs dry up quickly.

Yes there are probably more cost effective ways to do medical research, but there is some research which requires the special environment found in low earth orbit. Cancer research, osteoporosis, chromosome analysis are just a few of the places benefiting from research done in space. For more of these benefits read this ABC News article.

Yes the budget will be cut. That is the political climate in Washington these days. Let's hope they make intelligent cuts. Cuts that make sense. Cuts that don't hamstring NASA's ability to explore, create jobs, and conduct vital research.

Flying Blind in Space Long-Term?

2011-09-28T14:20:00.002-04:00

In a September 2nd article on the website MedLine Plus, a site run by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, being in space for extended periods of time can affect your eyesight.

"The new study, of more than 300 astronauts in the U.S. space program, found that almost 50 percent of those who served on long missions -- six months or more -- reported experiencing new problems with their ability to see objects near to them while in space and for some time after returning to Earth. Roughly 23 percent of astronauts who spent shorter periods in orbit reported problems with their near vision during their missions and after getting home."

Yikes! I hope we can find a solution for this. Otherwise, we will not be able to see what we discover when we go venturing away from the planet.

Studying this and other space health issues should be something we are doing on the International Space Station. After all, we don't even know what the health effects are for someone staying in space for as short as two years. Hey, NASA, let's put some money into this please.

To view the entire Medline Plus article, click here.

Science Fairs are Coming

2011-09-24T22:43:00.000-04:00

Calling all Science people! Science Fair season in coming up in the next month or two. I have already received two emails inviting me to judge at science fairs this fall. If you think you might like to judge at a science fair, don't be afraid. It is fun, easy, and you are helping to support the future.

Don't know where to start? Contact your local high school, middle/junior high school, or local board of education. Let them know that you would be interested in judging. They can put you in touch with the teacher or science coordinator in charge.

Then show up and spend 3 to 4 hours talking science with students. Granted some of the projects will be duds, but when you see the work done by students who "get" it, you will be glad you showed up.

Do it now, you know you want to do it!

Happy Moon Day!

2011-07-20T06:00:00.010-04:00

When I moved out to West Virginia about 13 years ago, I started a tradition. Almost every year since then, I have sent an email to my good friend Dr. Eleanor O'Rangers celebrating what we call Moon Day. That day, July 20th is the Anniversary of when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out onto the Lunar surface.

Usually I rant for a few paragraphs on the lack of direction this country now has in space. This year I want to try something different. A few positive thoughts (or at least non-negative) might be better.

First I have a link to a blog post written by someone I went to high school with. I guess I did not know him as well as I thought. Turns out he is a "space" guy as well. In this post he talks about going to the launch of STS 135. The title is "Space Shuttle Launch: Joe's Personal Experience" published online via "The Boone Examiner". I just wish I had gotten to see one of them launch too.

Forty-two years have passed since man first set foot upon the moon. If I have my numbers right, that means most Americans have been born since that event. As a kid growing up, I had thought that we would have a space station and that we would be refueling spacecraft there. And that those spacecraft would be taking us to the other planets, and maybe, just maybe, to some distant star. I hope kids growing up today feel that same awe and wonder as the space shuttle flies it's last. I hope they dream of building spacecraft, robots, and space stations too. I hope one of them discovers a way to allow our fragile bodies to conserve muscle and bone to allow long space flights. I hope one of them discovers better propulsion and better life supports systems. I hope one of them makes a computer breakthrough which allows us to fully map our solar system's weather allow us to predict events hazardous to our astronauts and plan for their safety.

I think someday soon, they will.

Happy Moon Day Eleanor, and everyone.

Dangerous Shuttle and ISS Events

2011-07-08T18:57:00.002-04:00

Since the last space shuttle mission lifted off this morning, I thought I would share a link to a Scientific American article and slide show entitled:

The 10 Most Dangerous Moments in Space Shuttle and Station History

Most of them I remember, but a couple of them snuck in under my radar. Let's just hope NASA and the commercial companies springing up these days learn from these problems.

Enjoy and have a great day!

Death in Space - Kira Bacal & Kieran Smart

2011-06-04T05:07:00.000-04:00

Spaceflight magazine

2011-05-29T07:43:00.002-04:00

Virgin Galactic SpaceShip two release and landing

NASA MPCV

2011-05-25T13:37:00.000-04:00

MPCV

CEV lives on

2011-05-25T13:33:00.000-04:00

CEV lives on - MPCV

The Dream is Dead?

2011-04-25T23:28:00.004-04:00

Cosmos Magazine recently published an article discussing the "reality" of human spaceflight. That is, physical (rocket technology) and chemical (the frail human body) make it nearly insurmountable to practically roam into the vast stretches of deep space successfully. Sadly, this is true, no matter what the Star Trek enthusiasts want to think (and I'm one of them!)

Are we doomed to remain bound to earth-- or, at best-- to continue to make the equivalent of sortis into LEO and maybe... if we're lucky.... to a NEO or the moon? Is human exploration of Mars simply impossible (sorry Bob Zubrin)?

I have to admit, when you consider the limitations of the human body, space radiation (for starters) and the fact that we simply don't know the dose of the "gravity prescription" (as one colleague has noted on several occasions), you have to wonder. Is it all a pipe dream?

What do you think?

Mars suit tested

2011-04-25T14:23:00.002-04:00

Mars suit tested

SpaceX proposed Crewed flight in 2014

2011-04-25T14:21:00.002-04:00

spacex-will-send-a-man-to-space-in-three-years

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13124924

2011-04-18T22:14:00.002-04:00

NASA and the Shuttle replacement

drugs lose effectivness in space

2011-04-17T21:14:00.002-04:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13092523

Virgin

2011-03-31T14:46:00.000-04:00

inside Virgin's Passenger vehicle

Orion unveiled

2011-03-24T20:53:00.000-04:00

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/24/lockheed-martin-shows-off-orion-spacecraft-new-underground-lair/

UK Invests in space

2011-03-23T10:19:00.002-04:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12833654

Astronaut Garrett Reisman Joins SpaceX

2011-03-04T19:29:00.000-05:00

" Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is proud to announce that NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman is joining the company as a senior engineer working on astronaut safety and mission assurance.

“We’re excited about the great team that we are building. Our talent is the key to our success. Garrett’s experience designing and using spaceflight hardware will be invaluable as we prepare the spacecraft that will carry the next generation of explorers,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Technology Officer.

Dr. Reisman will join former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox’s team in preparing SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts. In December, Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully return from orbit. In the coming years, NASA will use Dragon for at least 12 cargo missions to the International Space Station, creating strong flight experience before the first manned mission.

“I am excited to help SpaceX because I care deeply about the future of human spaceflight,” said Dr. Reisman. “I see commercial spaceflight as our country's best option for a robust and sustainable human spaceflight future.”

Beyond safety, Dr. Reisman’s experience as an operator of both American and Russian spaceflight hardware will help SpaceX in the development of human interfaces including controls, displays, seats, suits and environmental control systems.

“After the Space Shuttle's last flight later this year, America will be dependent on our Russian partners for getting NASA astronauts to space. NASA's commercial crew development program is our only hope for a quick, safe and affordable alternative, and SpaceX is well-positioned to lead this effort given the strength of their performance during the NASA COTS program,” said Reisman.

Both the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft have been designed from the start to one day carry astronauts.

Dr. Reisman comes to SpaceX from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration where he has served since 1998. He has flown on two Space Shuttle missions, which include launching with STS-123 and returning with the STS-124 crew, as well as flying on STS-132. During these two missions, he logged over 3 months in space including over 21 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA) in 3 spacewalks. Dr. Reisman served with both the Expedition-16 and the Expedition-17 crews as a Flight Engineer aboard the International Space Station. Early in his time at NASA he was assigned to the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch, worked in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch, and was a crewmember on NEEMO V in 2003, living on the bottom of the sea in the Aquarius habitat for two weeks.

Dr. Reisman holds a B.S. in Economics and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania, a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He is an FAA Certified Flight Instructor. Dr. Reisman is from Parsippany, New Jersey. "

Project Apollo-- a unique convergence of factors, never to be repeated again?

2011-03-02T22:47:00.003-05:00

Jeff Foust (the Space Review) posted his review of the new book entitled, "John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon" by John Logsdon.

Jeff notes that "Logsdon... now believes that Apollo was perhaps something unique, a case where a set of factors 'almost coincidentally converged to create a national commitment and enough momentum to support that commitment through to its fulfillment.' If that's true, then 'there is little to learn from the decision to go to the Moon relevant to twenty-first century choices.' Apollo then, should be treated not as a model for future space efforts, but instead as an amazing achievement particular to the circumstances of its era, including the leadership provided by President Kennedy."

Phew! If I read this right, we were lucky to have witnessed this amazing event no only because of its audacity... but also because it may very well be a singular event in our lifetime. What a depressing thought for the future of interplanetary exploration.

What say you? Are we doomed to mediocrity and no more "giant leaps for mankind?"

The hazards of space exploration... what is our tolerance threshold for handling a death in space?

2011-02-11T22:11:00.006-05:00

A recent article on NPR's blog discussed the realities of space travel and its inherent-- and not insignificant--- dangers. The article went on to also make the case that if and when we commit to interplanetary settlement, we must accept that even death will occur during travel... and that this should not pose a "showstopper" for continued exploration.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2011/02/1333995151/space-travel-will-always-be-dangerous-and-thats-ok

The issue of handling a death in space has been about as taboo at NASA as discussing drinking alcohol on the ISS... or *gasp*... sex in space. These issues must be intelligently considered and anticipated for in long duration missions and especially for interplantery exploration.

What are your thoughts regarding the issues and implications of a death in space? Consider this impacts a mission, its crew, families and the broader spacefaring community...

Science Fairs Rule

2011-02-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

Do you ever wonder where the future of this planet is? Where are the people who will lead the way to tackle the problems facing us? Do you just want to get your geek on? Look no further than your local Science Fair.

For the past three years I have been involved with Science Fairs, at the school, county and regional level. I have to say it is one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. Yes there are some projects at the school level that aren't very good. But then there are a few projects that make you take a step back and go "WOW! This kid gets it!"

Judging at three different levels (school, county, region) there is an opportunity to teach as well as critique. Here in Jefferson County, WV, the Judges are encouraged to provide comments to the students on the back of the scoring sheets. Even if the project goes no further than the school level, the student can learn something and improve their scientific thinking and methods.

This year, I have seen this in action. At the school level this year I was a Judge for the Earth and Planetary Science category. The winner of the category was a project on measuring Sunspots. It was a good project, but not in my view, an outstanding project. I gave the student a half a page of comments on how to correct mistakes, improve the project, and the presentation. When the County Science Fair came around, this student had taken my suggestions. His project had improved, and so did his understanding of the subject. He won Reserve Grand Champion for the Junior High Division. I can't wait to see what the project does at Regionals.

At the County Level this year, I had the honor of being a judge for Senior High Champion. It was tough. My fellow judge and I had to look at 14 category winners and pick the top two to move on to State. The students with the two best projects were head and shoulders above the rest. One had done a study of how a certain protein affects growth of blood vessel cells. The other had measured the efficiency of a radio telescope's reception of signals from High and Low energy sources. Either of these projects, in my opinion, will do well at State.

Sound like fun to you? If you want to Judge or Advise students with their Science Fair Projects, contact your local Board of Education or a Science Teacher at your local junior or senior high school. They are always looking for Judges... and you can get your geek on!

NHHPC Member!

2011-02-05T13:08:00.001-05:00

Space Medicine Associates is a proud member of NASA's Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC).

another variation on a theme

2011-01-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

sierra nevada corp news of a new vehicle

Delivering bad news to astronauts

2011-01-26T10:31:00.004-05:00

A recent article in ScrippsNews posed the following question in the title of their article: "Should NASA deliver bad news to astronauts in space?" This... in the wake of the Gabrielle Giffords tragedy (her husband is astronaut Mark Kelly.)

The article can be found here: http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/should-nasa-deliver-bad-news-astronauts-space.

What's your opinion? Should astronauts be shielded from events on earth of a personal nature? What's more important-- keeping a family member informed... or ensuring all systems nominal on a space mission?

Who Knew? A Lot of People According to Neil

2010-12-10T12:17:00.000-05:00

[Hi, I am Leigh Ervine. I am a friend of Eleanor's, a self-professed computer geek, and a long time follower/supporter of Exploring Space. Every now and then I will post something here at SMA. If you like it, let me know. If you don't, let me know. And now for the post.]

I was reading through tweets on my twitter account this morning and came across something from NPR you don't see every day. Neil Armstrong responding to a blog posting about Apollo 11.

Robert Krulwich posted about how far Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled away from the Lunar Module during their less than three hour excursion. Robert was posting about a site (you can find a link in his post) that allows you to map things like lunar landing sites over things like a soccer field or your neighborhood. (Cool stuff for a geek like me.) I wasn't surprised that the distance traveled was so small. What was surprising was the usually quiet Neil Armstrong responded.

You can read the original post with the geeky tool here.

Or you can just skip to the post with the Neil Armstrong response here.

Dragon Launched

2010-12-08T11:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11948329

The Dragon ship was launched from Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket, with the aim of entering a circular orbit some 300km above the planet. After completing a number of manoeuvres in space, the capsule will then target a splashdown in the Pacific.

Dragon and Falcon 9 are both products of California's SpaceX company. It has a $1.6bn (£1bn) contract with the US space agency (Nasa) to provide 12 spacecraft with cargo capacity of at least 20 tonnes to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) through to 2016.

FAA Awards SpaceX First Ever Commercial License to Re-Enter Spacecraft from Orbit

2010-11-23T10:50:00.000-05:00

On Monday, November 22nd, the FAA made SpaceX the first-ever commercial company to receive a license to re-enter a spacecraft from orbit.

Next month, SpaceX is planning to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, and land in the Pacific Ocean a few hours later.

This will be the first attempt by a commercial company to recover a spacecraft reentering from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only 6 nations or governmental agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency.

It is also the first flight under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station and encourage the growth of the commercial space industry. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will make at least 12 flights to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience towards this goal.

China's manned spaceflight program

2010-11-05T18:19:00.005-04:00

So China's kicked off plans for an unmanned lunar landing in 2013.... a manned space station by 2020... and who knows what else. While I applaud whomever has the determination to explore space to "boldly go", it's still sobering that the US will no longer hold the cards for the first "flags and footsteps." Does this bother anyone else on some level? What else are you hearing out there regarding China's growing space capabilities?

Virgin

2010-10-10T22:59:00.002-04:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11511604
Virgin Galactic's suborbital spaceship, Enterprise, makes its first solo test flight, gliding to a runway after being dropped from an altitude of 45,000ft

An inverse relationship?

2010-09-28T20:45:00.004-04:00

Is it me, or does there seem to be an inverse relationship between the decline of NASA and the Constellation Program and reports like the following?

UN Ambassador to Aliens (which is now being denied?!) www.news.cnet.com/8301.11386_3-20017655-76.html

or this gem:

Former Air Force officers discuss UFO sightings www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/09/ap-Former-Air-Force-officers-discuss-UFO-sightings-092710

Alternatively, are we being prepared for something?

What say you?

Space X ready for lift off

2010-09-16T21:33:00.000-04:00

Space X

the beginning of the end
or
the end of the beginning

Space News

2010-09-16T21:26:00.000-04:00

Boeing Space Taxi

Practical ? realistic? commercially viable

More showstoppers for long-duration spaceflight

2010-08-23T23:53:00.003-04:00

Journal of Physiology, July 2010... muscle deconditioning is apparently even more pronounced during long-duration spaceflight than previously appreciated. Once again, I wish we knew how to generate that 1G dosage for the "gravity prescription"...

Summary article from the lay press:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/08/20/trip-mars-turn-astronauts-weaklings/

The news about bone demineralization is a similar story... worse than initially thought.

The news about radiation exposure in space is a similar story.... worse than initially thought.

Are we seeing a pattern here?

The Right Stuff?

2010-07-29T10:54:00.003-04:00

In response to sky and telescope article "The Right Stuff" April 2010.

Training for a sub-orbital flight in a vehicle that is supposedly designed for virtually anyone to be a passenger(the medical requirements are negligible) is a bit of an oxymoron. The idea of doing altitude training (which untold thousands of military have done - so is no biggie, unless you have COPD etc) and a centrifuge ride (3g - please , 6g maybe a bit tough - >9 g is standard for military aircrew) well it makes you wonder what the point of it is except to gather data (of which there is plenty on 'healthy' subjects, but precious little on 'unhealthy' subjects - the passengers with the $). If that’s the standard, then they are going to run out of fare paying (and not too healthy) passengers rapidly. "Harrowing" it isnt , a barrier to passengers - maybe.

Apollo 11 Musings

2010-07-19T23:29:00.002-04:00

For those who don’t know, one of the myriad of things I do to keep busy is volunteering as a docent at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC (if you ever want to come for a tour-- contact me!) I have been a docent since 1995, and I still enjoy making visitors’ experience in our nation’s capital just a bit more special (or at least that’s my hope!)

While I never grow tired of showing the same artifacts over and over and retelling the stories surrounding them to countless tourists, one can being to feel like you are toiling a bit in vain when you see that space exploration is, for the foreseeable future, a veritable non-starter. Nevertheless, while introducing the Spirit of St. Louis and Charles Lindbergh to a tour group this past weekend, I had a participant ask me “So, how did Lindbergh combat vertigo during his flight?” As it turned out, the person posing the question was a student at Embry-Riddle in Orlando, was planinng on obtaining his PhD in aeronautical (or nuclear) engineering, and was also hoping to earn his wings in the Navy, and then to eventually work for NASA or a viable commercial venture. The student was a delight and his enthusiasm was infectious. Indeed, on the eve of the 41st anniversary of Apollo 11, my random encounter with this guy was just the jolt of reinvestment I needed to regain some of my enthusiasm for spaceflight. Gods Speed, Apollo 11 (and the future of manned spaceflight!)

The real legacy of U.S. Spaceflight?

2010-06-03T11:51:00.003-04:00

I read an interesting letter to the editor in "Space News" some weeks back (May 3, 2010). It discussed the usual “justifications” for conducting human spaceflight:

Inspiration
Astronauts as role models: the “best of America”
National pride
Some scientific knowledge is better acquired by humans than robots
Perceived US leadership role in science and technology

What really caught my eye, however, was a followup to this letter in the next issue of "Space News" where the author recalled a conversation he had with Wernher von Braun many years ago where he asked, “Wernher, what did we really accomplish?” in reference to the U.S. space program and lunar exploration.

Take a guess what von Braun’s response was as one of the “great lasting achievements of the space program”, according to the editorialist?

“Hugo, more than anything else, we taught industry the concept of reliability. You know, you take a color television, which is a very complicated device. You take it out of the box, and it works! And it keeps on working. Your automobile, which used to be for repair frequently, almost never sees the shop now. We taught reliability!”

I think it’s ironic that von Braun distills it all down to one pragmatic answer. No lofty platitudes, no pie-in- the-sky dreamy discourse. Just…reliability. Spoken like an engineer through-and-through.

Could this be true? Is that all we have to claim in the end? What happened to "flags and footprints?" National pride? Winning the "space race?"

Did the glory days of U.S. spaceflight all come down to a sophisticated engineering feat with no other real legacy? Have we been bamboozled into thinking otherwise?

What do others think?

George Whitesides and Virgin Galactic

2010-05-19T23:33:00.004-04:00

Looks like George Whitesides has bailed from NASA to assume the CEO role at Virgin Galactic.

As one of my colleagues put it, "this man wants to fly...so... NASA isn't going anywhere soon."

I think the prevailing wisdom is that Virgin Galactic is the pack leader in terms of commercial launch vehicle development. And, doesn't George want to spend his honeymoon on a VG flight?

That may very well be... but I question when any of these commercial carriers are really going to start flying. Any thoughts out there on the real timelines... and whether this "commercial spaceflight market" does-- or will-- exist? Will anyone make any money... or are we listening to a bunch of "PT Barnums"(to quote another colleague.)

2010-05-13T20:17:00.003-04:00

So now that the International Space Station is near completion, here come the platitudes about its value as a research platform being fully realized, etc. Indeed, platitudes abound (particularly promulgated by NASA over the years) regarding the value of space research conducted on the space shuttle as well as the ISS. Some have questioned the "real" return on investment of such research (the IOM report which cited the waste of time that protein crystallization experiments have been is one that immediately comes to mind.)

One oft-cited "factoid" about space research concerns the value of biomedical investigation... and how knowledge of the physiological effects of spaceflight can lead to effective "countermeasures" to mitigate such effects. Nevertheless, has any of this research really led to breakthroughs in true countermeasures? What has the NSBRI been doing all these years? As one colleague has put it, the only effective countermeasure to the physiologic effects of spaceflight is.... a Gravity Prescription. Indeed, man has evolved in a 1G environment... and if taken out of that environment, logic would dictate that replacing that G force is the obvious answer to the deleterious physiologic effects which occur in microgravity.

The problem is.... what IS the Gravity Prescription and how to we "make" it? I'd love to hear some of your ideas and speculations (or frank disagreements with my opinions regarding the "real" value of space research.)

Neil Armstrong on the offensive-- too little too late?

2010-05-12T21:39:00.004-04:00

I have to admit I am a bit shocked that the typically silent Neil Armstrong is so vocal about President Obama's space policy. A little late to open his mouth, in my opinion. Nevertheless, I am also in a bit of a quandary as to whether he and his like-minded former Apollo comrades are right... or backward-looking:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/neilarmstrongobamasnewspaceplanpoorlyadvised

While I want to applaud Obama for throwing the gauntlet down regarding a greater role for commercial space in LEO and perhaps beyond, the reality of the situation is that.... we have no launch vehicles flying yet... or likely in the very near future! And I don't know about anyone else, but does it bother you that we may be hitching rides to the ISS on a very expensive Soyuz (though, admittedly, it probably is a bargain, relatively speaking.)

The question becomes, philosophically, who's right? Is anyone right? Does anyone care? Should we care?

Obama's plans for NASA-- shades of military procurement disasters?

2010-05-06T21:30:00.003-04:00

The Space Review has a provacative article this week which compares the Obama "space plan" to the disasters which have befallen the military in the past with their miscellaneous schema for procurement, project oversight etc:

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1619/1

The horror stories contained within remind me strikingly of the similar idiotic procurement nightmares I deal with daily in the pharmaceutical industry. No surprises there; I'm surrounded!

Thoughts on the legitimacy of this comparision/prediction with the Obama plan?

Facebook | Space Medicine Associates

2010-04-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

Facebook Space Medicine Associates

Can human spaceflight be justified?

2010-04-28T14:24:00.004-04:00

On the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Atlantic Monthly just published a great article in which the following series of questions were posed:

"So in the highly segmented world of NASA, is the Hubble a triumph and justification for human space flight? Or proof that we can be equally thrilled, excited and humbled by our robotic explorations in space...and proof of how much more we can learn from non-human voyages and missions?"

http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2010/04/20-years-later-hubble-humans-and-the-future-of-space-flight/39212/

Former NASA astronaut Story Musgrave has an interesting perspective on these questions.

What's your take?

Enabling safe passage to NEOs

2010-04-28T14:19:00.001-04:00

On April 15, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama, in a speech at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, proclaimed that "By 2025, we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the moon into deep space. We'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history."

A manned mission to a near-earth asteroid is a bold endeavor, and proponents believe that it may represent a more viable deep space target for exploration than a return to the moon. However, the capabilities for sustaining a crew for such a mission are many-fold more complex than caring for astronauts in low earth orbit, which is the bulk of our recent experience with spaceflight.

What issues and hurdles are likely for astronauts to be successfully launched-- and returned!-- from a near-earth asteroid mission? How is crew selection, training and the need for enabling technologies going to evolve to make this all possible? How does a near-earth asteroid mission prepare astronauts for an eventual sojourn to Mars, which President Obama hopes to also see in his lifetime?

Welcome to the Space Medicine Associates' BLOG!

2010-04-02T16:33:00.002-04:00

The Mission of Space Medicine Associates is to provide multidisciplinary space medicine and bioastronautics consultation, training and oversight in support of all aspects of off-world travel. Serving both the commercial launch industry and the personal space traveler, SMA endeavors to safely open human spaceflight to as many individuals as possible.

Consistent with this mission, the SMA BLOG will include discourse on a variety of space medicine and bioastronautics topics relevant to the nascent commercial launch industry and the personal space traveler.

SMA founders, advisors and guest experts will be blogging from time-to-time.

The SMA BLOG is intended to open a dialog regarding medical qualifications and safety for commercial spaceflight with the spaceflight-aspiring public.

We look forward to hearing from you as we begin the conversation!