Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jul 28, 2004 6:16:15 GMT -6
In my search for information, I came across links that keep an eye on the activities of NASA.
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Below, you can find some of the latest truly commercial space frontier-enabling articles & press releases. Predictably enough, their essence is usually ignored by our rival NASAWatch.COM (the pride and joy of the tax-leeching bureaucrats' & government contractor media sponsors), and by much of the traditional space media.
After some of these articles, we include our commentary, and after some others we include what we believe that NASAWatch.COM would say if injected with a healthy dose of some truthfulness serum and subsequently prompted to comment.
www.nasawatch.info/
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The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA inspectors charged with making sure space shuttles are safe to fly were forced to buy their own tools and prevented from making spot checks, a Columbia accident investigator says.
The investigator, who spoke with The Associated Press in interviews over several days, said NASA's program that oversees shuttle inspections will "take a pretty big hit" in the Columbia accident report due out in late August.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Duane Deal, one of 13 members of the board investigating the cause of the shuttle accident, says he obtained crucial information by offering confidentiality to the 72 NASA and contractor employees he interviewed over months.
"They'd be fired" if their bosses found out what they confided, said Deal.
He said his findings seemed to indicate that some NASA managers were out of touch with the level of shuttle inspections needed for manned spaceflight.
Deal said that nearly 9 out of 10 workers interviewed said the investigation board should review the space agency's quality assurance program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and other NASA installations.
He called the program "poor" because the number and kinds of inspections have been cut back.
www.technochitlins.com/mt-archives/000174.html
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Everything Must Go!
istorically on the leading edge of technology, NASA now is on the leading edge of government privatization. The nation's premier research-and-development agency is rapidly selling itself off to the private sector, outsourcing everything from desktop computers to rocket science in its efforts to control or cut costs. Although the 40-year-old space agency has often been criticized for standing in the way of free enterprise, the pace, depth and theory of NASA's commercialization go far beyond what would be considered ag- gressive in other government agencies. This is a new frontier in privatized federal government, where almost anything is up for sale and little is considered sacrosanct—inherently governmental, that is.
More here: www.govexec.com/features/0899/0899s1.htm
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has continually demonstrated
its blatant incompetence through expensive and stupid errors over the years. Not only the
disastrous fiasco with the Hubble telescope (which cost many millions to fix) but other
major problems as well. Notably, the problems with Mars exploration in recent years that have led to the loss of billions of dollars worth of equipment and loss of the relevant data promised are particularly vexing both to scientists and science-watchers.
More here: maxpages.com/privatizenasa
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Here is a compilation of various links on this site.
The Privatization of
Space Exploration
or...NASA - whose values does it serve?
www.angelfire.com/pa/sergeman/issues/technology/space.html
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Lost in Space
Judicial Watch Investigates Whether Corruption, Incompetence Brought Columbia Down
www.judicialwatch.org/archive/newsletter/2003/0403e.shtml
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"NASA KNEW MARS PROBE WOULD FAIL"
THE NASA DISASTERS: INCOMPETENCE - OR SOMETHING TO HIDE?
www.davithingye.net/emagazine/vol11/articles/marscoverup.html
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This one rambles a bit, but brings up very good points...
NASA spends $11,500,000 of the taxpayers' money annually and employs 300 press agents to glorify itself. It initially enjoyed immunity from independent scrutiny and criticism.
On the night of January 27, 1967, fire erupted in an Apollo space capsule at Cape Kennedy. Three brilliant young astronauts were suffocated, and our whole program to put a man on the moon was set back a year. NASA attempted to depict the tragedy as simply a bad-luck accident which could not possibly have been avoided
www.the-catbird-seat.net/NASA.htm
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COLUMBIA:
ACCIDENT OR SHOOTDOWN?
www.worldnewsstand.net/MediumRare/23.htm
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Administration’s Space Goals Won’t Fly
President George Bush’s space exploration goals are based on star dust, not rocket science. Once again the incompetence that prevails in the senior NASA human space flight management has trapped a president into supporting a human space exploration plan that is dead before the ink will dry on the first contract.
www.progressiveengineer.com/PEWebBackissues2004/PEWeb%2047%20Feb%2004-2/47editor.htm
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On this site, the author brings up the inexperience of a crew member who may have jeopardized the mission.
NASA's time is over
One day, your product results in the tragic deaths of seven employees. The whole nation watches the sad story unfold on television. The entire world press is riveted to every detail as your company spokesman explain they have no firm idea about what happened – how this tragedy could have occurred.
www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30918
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That is plenty for now, but there are a lot more "unconventional" site out there.