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In the past month, we have been blessed with numerous leaks from NASA of various study documents relating to the new boosters that will be needed to carry out the new manned moon program. I've been monitoring the large volume of Web chatter about these plans, and have noticed a disturbing theme therein. Many Space Cadets are expressing dissatisfaction with these leaked NASA plans. They say that the Shuttle-derived boosters are too primitive, too expensive to develop, too expensive to operate, and not inspiring enough. They can't understand why we will be returning to the Moon with rockets and space...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- New observations by the international Cassini spacecraft reveal that Saturn's trademark shimmering rings, which have dazzled astronomers since Galileo's time, have dramatically changed over just the past 25 years. Among the most surprising findings is that parts of Saturn's innermost ring -- the D ring -- have grown dimmer since the Voyager spacecraft flew by the planet in 1981, and a piece of the D ring has moved 125 miles inward toward Saturn.

The best thing about N55 is that is co-opts the military-industrial power complex and appeals to rocket hobbyists. This polyethylene and laughing gas-powered system is made to carry a 2-kilo payload of political pamphlets or superweeds that could be spread over GMO crops. This site offers step-by-step instructions for building the rocket (payloads are optional) Relatively advanced technology is normally only available to concentrations of power such as governments or corporations, or a few highly specialised individuals. The N55 SPACE PROGRAMME, and the N55 ROCKET SYSTEM, is part of an effort to distribute and give persons in general access to...

As I wind down my time here in Iraq, I have had time to ponder and reflect on what I have seen, done and been a part of here at Balad. War is an interesting thing, as when you leave for it, you have grand dreams of doing your part and being a part of something bigger than yourself. Being able to come home and tell war stories or be a hero to those who know you. When you leave, you have a very different outlook, not wanting to talk about what went on, and feeling unworthy of any praise...

7/17/05 Today was a day of mixed emotion. Like every day here, we hear about the wounded and dead who come through Baghdad. Last night around 4:30 we lost another brave soldier to an IED (Improvised Explosive Devise). She was brought in with mortal wounds and didn’t make it through the surgery. This morning two more of our soldiers were hit by another IED at the north gate and both were killed. I could list the injuries of the wounded who have come through Balad since I have been here, however, I don’t have the time or the paper to...

7/13/05 Not much to report today except that I had the day off today. I went to the exchange, but that was an adventure because its about a mile and half away. Normally that’s not an issue, but today it was around 125/126 degrees. I broke into a sweat before I ever took a step. Attached is a photo of the thermometer to show you the temp today. I am starting to plan my return home… It is really exciting to start talking to everyone about my return, and getting my job lined up again and what I am going...

Recently I found myself reliving my misspent youth while cleaning out my old university office. Among the documents that turned up was the 1977 magazine which led me to become an asteroid scientist and space activist, along with reports from the "Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy", an offshoot of the old L-5 Society. Today's space activists are superficially more presentable than we were in the 1970s. It has been a long time since anyone tried to lobby the US Congress while wearing Starfleet uniforms and rubber Spock ears like some of my L-5 Society friends did. But when...

7/11/05 Today was a good day, and I want to share with you an experience I had on sacrifice this morning. A fellow Petty Officer came into the office, and he and I have a great rapport. On this day though, he seemed out of touch and in deep thought, about what I had no idea. As he sat down at the computer, you could see his face tense and heavily burdened with something. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, “My wife and kids are in the path of the hurricane and I haven’t been able to...

July 7, 2005 Today was a day off. What does a day off mean in Balad, Iraq? Well, first of all, its not really a day off, as we call them stand-by days. My stand-by day could be any day of the week and is hardly consistent, but I am extremely grateful when I get one. They tend not to be full days, as I am often asked to come in to do this or that, but today happened to be a full day. The day started late as I was able to sleep in until about 6:00am. I had...

July 5th, 2005 in Iraq... The weather over the past couple of days has been horrible. The dust has been so thick, you can barely see 100 feet in front of you. When you go anywhere, whether it be to work or the the chow hall, you are covered with a fine layer of sand and have grit in your mouth. It wouldn't be so bad if it were not for the suffocating heat, as being outside for any length of time cause your uniform to wilt and your body to be soaked with sweat. Add the two of these...

4th, 2005 in Iraq... Thomas Paine wrote, “We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in.” Is the right of freedom an exclusive right? Is the right to live without fear or oppression meant only for those fortunate living in the United States? Why am I here in Iraq? What is my purpose, my goal, my motivation? My hope and prayer is that I am here because freedom isn’t exclusive and all people should be able to live in a world free of oppression and...

To My Six Man Family, I will try to provide daily updates as far as life over here in Iraq. Here are my last four days, and I will try to update daily. God bless you all, Coach Horne (Hill Country Christian School of Austin) U.S. Navy Customs Balad AB, Iraq Friday, July 01, 2005 Abraham Lincoln said "To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own." I have to admit, the past few days have been pretty tough on me. Wanting to go back to Kuwait, missing family and feeling as though its an eternity until I return. My...

Japan (SPX) Jun 10, 2005 Vast genetic resources – "blue gold" on the international deep sea floor – need protection from unfettered commercial exploitation, warns a new report from the Japan-based United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS). Increasingly recognized as important to humankind for their potential medical and other uses, deep sea resources are now more accessible and vulnerable than ever because of rapid advances in exploration technology, the report says. Known as "extremophiles," the genetic make-up of organisms of the deep that live in extreme conditions of pressure, temperature and toxicity is drawing enormous interest from scientists...

Some western parts of the Rio Grande are nearly dry and U.S. officials blame it on Mexican farmers diverting water for irrigation. Water flow from Presidio to El Paso has nearly stopped, and water officials claim that a makeshift earthen dam about 50 miles upriver from Presidio is the cause. Ken Rakestraw, chief of water accounting with the International Boundary and Water Commission in El Paso, said that very little water is flowing on that segment of the river. "They (Mexican farmers) pushed dirt across the river near Candelaria and there is very little water coming down right now," he...

Scientists at the Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico have accelerated a small plate from zero to 76,000 mph in less than a second. The speed of the thrust was a new record for Sandia’s “Z Machine” – not only the fastest gun in the West, but in the world, too. The Z Machine is now able to propel small plates at 34 kilometers a second, faster than the 30 kilometers per second that Earth travels through space in its orbit about the Sun. That’s 50 times faster than a rifle bullet, and three times the velocity needed to...

Climate science questioned The Kyoto Protocol, which sets binding targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions on average 5.2% below 1990 levels, went into effect on Feb 16. The U.S. and Australia, the most visible holdouts, have taken the brunt of international criticism for taking a stand against a treaty that seeks to regulate what some scientists believe is a phantom phenomenon—human-caused global warming. The Wharton School of Economics says signing on to Kyoto would double the cost of energy in the U.S. by 2010. How did we get here? A decade ago, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental...

Space Watch: Spacefaring By Bureaucrats Bureaucrats have been handing out art prizes to aerospace corporations to dream up space fantasies for decades.... by Robert Zimmerman Washington (UPI) Mar 17, 2005 After more than a year of preparation, NASA has formally released its request for proposals - the detailed specifications for contractors to follow - bidding on the right to build the Crew Exploration Vehicle, the spacecraft the agency plans to use to explore the solar system in the coming decades. A close look at that RFP, however, raises questions about whether the resulting effort will produce a spacecraft capable of...

Scientists issued a fresh warning today: The northern Caribbean may be at a high risk for a major tsunami, based on historical records that date back to Columbus’ arrival in 1492. A tsunami in this region could affect more than 35 million people on the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles and along the east and Gulf coasts of the United States. The danger has been highlighted in previous research. The major source for past tsunamis in the northern Caribbean has been movement along the boundary between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. This fault line stretches 2,000...

A new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates that two natural atmospheric processes in 2004 caused the largest decline in upper stratospheric ozone ever recorded over the far Northern Hemisphere. According to Research Associate Cora Randall of CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide gases in the upper stratosphere climbed to the highest levels in at least two decades in spring 2004. The increases led to ozone reductions of up to 60 percent roughly 25 miles in altitude above Earth's high northern latitudes, said Randall. "This decline was completely unexpected," she...

Hydro's Dirty Secret Revealed Hydroelectric dams produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, and in some cases produce more of these greenhouse gases than power plants running on fossil fuels. by Duncan Graham-Rowe London, UK (SPX) Feb 25, 2005 Contrary to popular belief, hydroelectric power can seriously damage the climate. Proposed changes to the way countries' climate budgets are calculated aim to take greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs into account, but some experts worry that they will not go far enough, reports New Scientist. The green image of hydro power as a benign alternative to fossil fuels is...