Bay Area Houston

A spokesman for SpaceX said an “unscheduled rapid disassembly” is SpaceX code word for “It blew up”.

After 14 years of exploding vehicles, SpaceX blew up another one yesterday. At least this one didn’t have a crew and it didn’t blow up the launch site. There comes a point when you have to ask if there is a systemic problem associated with all of these failures. It’s not rocket science. NASA has been flying for over 60 years. They know what works and what doesn’t, and how to avoid them in the future.

It’s easy to say after a failure, and SpaceX did, that this was a successful flight (up until it blew up). Science includes learning from your mistakes, miscalculations, poor designs, and reckless development. In the early days of space flight there were accidents, the most notable, Apollo 1, which took the lives of three astronauts. It took 1.5 years to get back to flying after a complete analysis and modifications to the vehicle to prevent another similar accident. That was 60 ago.

Yes human space flight is risky. We know that. We’ve known it for over 60 years. It’s nothing new. Repeating the mistakes of the past is not science. Unfortunately NASA will not be in charge of the Root Cause Analysis and the mistakes and lessons learned will not be made public like the reports from NASA failures.

I have a theory about this. 

William Gerstenmaier, the longtime associate administrator for human exploration at NASA, has been reassigned to a new role as special adviser to NASA’s deputy administrator. The move signifies something of a demotion for Gerstenmaier at the agency. As head of the human exploration division, Gerstenmaier has overseen many of NASA’s biggest projects for human spaceflight, such as the operations on the International Space Station; the development of NASA’s next big rocket, the Space Launch System; and the Commercial Crew program, an initiative to launch astronauts to the ISS using commercial spacecraft.

Going from managing billions in project assets and hundreds of employees to an “advisor” means something wasn’t right. Gerstenmaier was the modern day “Right Stuff”. He knew what he was doing and was well respected. And he probably told the truth about a trip to the Moon by 2024.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), who chairs the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee said it very well. 

The Trump Administration’s ill-defined crash program to land astronauts on the Moon in 2024 was going to be challenging enough to achieve under the best of circumstances. Removing experienced engineering leadership from that effort and the rest of the nation’s human spaceflight programs at such a crucial point in time seems misguided at best. 

I will be more blunt. Going to the Moon by 2024 is not safe. We do not have a lander. We do not have a heavy lift vehicle. We do not have a service module. We don’t even have a completed Command Module. Going to the Moon with that schedule and the current resources means cutting corners and it’s not safe.

Gerstenmaier has been replaced with a yes man. That isn’t safe either. Returning to the moon safely is not an option. It is the mission.

I’m surprised there hasn’t been more reporting on this.

During a static test of SpaceX Crewed Vehicle, Dragon, the vehicle exploded. A leaked video and commentary was posted on the web before SpaceX could stop it. The media referred to the explosion as an “anomaly”. You can watch the video below.

This was suppose to have tested the abort system on the crewed vehicle. SpaceX was scheduled to put humans into this vehicle for their first manned trip to the Space Station in late 2019. I can only hope the root cause of this “anomaly” will be found, corrected, and re-tested before any human being puts a foot into it. They have successfully launched the crewed vehicle without a crew and docked with the Space Station earlier in the year.
This is not the first vehicle that blew up on the pad for SpaceX. In 2016 an unmanned vehicle was destroyed along with the payload. In 2015 they had another “anomaly” which destroyed the payload and vehicle. Payloads can be replaced. Humans cannot. This isn’t pushing the envelope technology. Escape systems were developed over 50 years ago. “Anomalies” like this should concern everyone. Especially the crew.
BTW. NASA successfully tested the Launch Abort System for the Orion Crewed Vehicle being developed by Lockheed back in 2010. 

From SpaceRef

During a Senate hearing our Texas sized idiot, Ted Cruz, said the following concerning NASA and the Space Force:

“Pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space.

“In this same way, I believe we too must now recognise the necessity of a Space Force. To defend the nation, and to protect space commerce and civil space exploration.”

Yes. He said that out loud. Beside the fact there is no space commerce and there will never be any space commerce, there are no pirates in space. Never has been. Never will be. Trump’s Space Force is a Farce. It’s another reason to sink more money into the military budget. It also gives a good reason to make a fool out of yourself. Ted Cruz did just  that.

But….there was once a group of pirates at Johnson Space Center back in the 90’s working on a rescue

Ted Wolverine Cruz

vehicle called X-38. They adopted the skull and bones flag and called themselves pirates, getting the job done, ignoring bureaucracy and the NASA model historically used for vehicles that would carry crew members. They were free spirited led by someone who enjoyed the spotlight, standing on tables in the conference room during meetings, yelling for his staff from the opposite side of the building, and removing technical people from his project when they would question the technical decisions being made. NASA management and the legal office never liked the pirate label. It gave the appearance that they were pirating software or breaking established rules and federal laws as well as safety regulations.

The X-38 was eventually cancelled by Bush Jr. and the pirate vehicle was sent to Nebraska for display. Yes. Nebraska.

Texas Congressman Brian Babin has finally realized he is in a race to keep his job. He started a twitter account and he is posting on Facebook, even though he is factually incorrect. From his latest concerning NASA:

With the Russian Soyuz spacecraft grounded indefinitely and no other options available, American astronauts now have no way to get to the ISS.

And/Or DUH! Babin has been lost in space ever since being elected to Congress. He has neglected the agency until this year, touring NASA/JSC with others afraid of losing their jobs, like Ted Cruz. He has spent less time working for NASA than John Culberson whose district is in Katy. Under Babin’s watch NASA/JSC lost a Shuttle as a museum piece. Major integration and test facilities were sent to other states. He has been working hard to take NASA’s money and distribute it to others, others as in non-Texans.

Someone has to pay for the tax cuts.

These cuts have been talked about for over a year but now there is growing concern and distain for government employees that may make these cuts real. Also the great tax cut for the rich has created a huge $1Trillion deficit with no end in sight. Somebody has to pay for this and it looks like Federal employees (NASA included) may end up donating $143.5 Billion to the cause. Trump justified his cuts:

“Everyone knows government employees are lazy, some are incompetent, and we can’t fire them. They do half the work the private sector does for twice as much money. They have golden retirement pensions, months of free vacation, and free health care that we all pay for. And what do we have? Nothing. It’s a disgrace. Believe me.”

Actually he didn’t say that but he will. Believe me. In typical trump fashion he will demonize federal employees and turn the public against them to justify his cuts. The proposed cuts will affect current employees, future employees as well as those who have retired. From the Washington Post:

• Eliminating supplements for Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuitants who retire before being eligible for Social Security benefits. [affects early retirees]
• Reducing federal pensions by basing them on workers’ basic pay five-year averages instead of three years. [less pension]
• Increasing employee retirement contributions with no increase in benefits. The plan would sharply boost the 0.8 percent of basic pay most FERS employees contribute. The letter makes the impact on federal retirees clear. “Under this proposal, FERS employee deduction rates will increase by 1 percent per year until they reach 7.25 percent of basic pay. … This proposal would require FERS employees to fund a greater portion of their retirement benefit.” [7.25 cut in pay with less pension]
• Reducing or eliminating retirement cost-of-living adjustments. The administration plans “to reduce the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) by one half of one percent and to eliminate COLAs under the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) for current and future retirees.” [no COLA for retirees]