Details of Space Shuttle Columbia crash exposed.

Columbia crew had no way to survive. This was the headline in Wednesday's, December 31, 2008 St. Petersburg Times newspaper. The 400 page report was issued by NASA after almost 5 years after the disaster that occured on February 1, 2003. In short, Columbia's astronauts were quickly doomed and most likely never knew what was happening. The report stated that if certain safety measures had been taken, the crew could haved lived longer, but ultimately the accident was not survivable, the report concludes.

Why weren't the astronauts instructed to take a space walk around the shuttle when it was docked to the International Sace Station and look for any type of damage to the heat absorbing tiles? Wouldn't that safey measure have been more important than the one stated above? When will NASA put the astronauts safety first, ahead of all the other procedures that they conduct? How many more accidents and lives must happen before NASA realizes what Dr Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon stated; "I praise NASA's leadership for the report, even though it says, in some ways, you guys didn't do a great job." Incidently, astronaut Laurel Clark, one of the 7 astronats that lost their lives on the Columbia disaster was Dr. Jonathan Clark's wife.

$3.5 billion in NASA contracts sparks private industry.

In a Florida Today article; NASA has awarded $3.5 billion in cargo contracts to two companies in a continued effort to encourage development of a private-sector commercial space industry cabable of providing the agency rockets that can carry passengers to the International Space Station and, eventually, to the moon. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne, Calif., and Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., will provde a total of 20 flights to the space station.

Wonderful! NASA has just wasted another $3.5 billion of our taxpayers money along with encouraging two more space agencies to continue expanding the ozone hole beyond the cureent 16 million square miles. When will NASA and the other 45 countries space agencies realize that they are aware of ozone depleation, disastrous climatic weather and global warming? They know what they are doing to this planet, but their greed for money is more important than the conservation of this planet. GREED on their part will be the devastation of this planet if we the people don't put a stop to what they are doing. Comment, and I will tell you what we can do to stop them.

More snow , ice vexes travelers in northern states

More snow and ice fell Wednesday, December 24, 2008 in the midwest, where the National Weather Service said up to 4 inches was possible in Chicago. The Northwest faced more snow and sleet early Wednesday, up to 20 inches in the Cascade range. And more snow and ice spread over the entire Northeast. Hundreds of holiday travlers spent the night in the nation's second busiest airport and others faced delayed or canceled flights and highways chocked by snow and ice as storms kept up the assault on all the northern states from Washington to New England.
On December 23, 2008 there were two rockets launched. #1 was a Long March 3A weather satellite launched from Xichang Spaceport in China. #2 was a Bulava SLBM (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile) From the Russian Navy, launch area was not disclosed. There is a third launch planned for Christmas, December 25, 2008. The launch is a Russian Proton-M/DM-2 from the Baikonur Cosmodrone in Russia, with 3 navagation satellites being deployed. Be prepared for additional violent snow, ice and wind storms throughout our nation and the rest of the world. Three launches in three days, how much more ozone damage can transpire and emit more solar winds and flares into our planet?

Bitter cold,snow and wins sweep nation.

A cold front with winds, of 70 mph, snow and ice hit the state of Washington on Saturday, December 20, 2008. The front continued east through the midwest and into new England. Weather forecasters have issued a warning that another cold front is directly behind the first one. On Monday, December 15, 2008 China launched a Long March 4B Remote Sensing satellite fromTaiyuan spaceport. On Saturday, December 20, 2008 the European Space Agency launched an Ariane SECA COMSAT (Communications Satellite) from Kourou Sapceport in French Guiana located in Northeast section of South America. With these two additional holes poked through the ozone layer letting in large solar winds driving the jet stream berserk. That is what developed the cold fronts with extreme winds, snow and ice.

Obama team wants NASA to account for spending.

An aricle written in the Los Angeles Times on December 19, 2008 stated: When reporters last month questioned why a normal tool bag "dropped" in space by astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper should have cost $100,000.00, a NASA spokesman replied simply, "Space flight is expensive." But for the incoming administration, that answer is not enough. On a list of 74 questions submitted to the space agency by president-elect Barack Obama's transition team, more than half dealt with budget and spending issues.

I certainly hope that one of the questions by Obama's transition team was; "Where does the money go from all the experiments conducted for companies in outer space weightlessness at a $1,000,000.00 an experiment"? They conduct from 5 to 15 experiments per flight!

A Gloomy Forcast. By New York Times Syndicate-The Economist.

A report on global warming paints a grim picture for some Latin American countries. More destructive hurricanes, shrinking forests, melting glaciers, disappearing animals: the prospective damage to Latin America and the Caribbean from climate change makes for grim reading. A new World Bank report, timed to coincide with a United Nations conference in Poland, tries to put numbers to the potential economic cost. ("Low Carbon, High Growth: Latin American Responses to Climate Change" by Augusto de la Torre, Pablo Fajnzylber and John Nash.) By taking the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's predictions for what the planet might feel like in 2100 and then overlaying data from several thousand farms situated in regions of varing heat and dryness, it is possible to make some informed guesses about what the effect on crop yields, and therefore on GDP, would be if temperatures rose and rainful fell. Some places in the southern cone of Latin America would gain from such a change. But more would lose out: The authors reckon that left unchecked, climate change might cause a fall of 15-20 percent in far revenues by the end of the century. According to another study, this could mean an annual cut in GDP of 0.23 to 0.56 percent. This would worsen rural poverty. It would also entail the shrinking of a number of habitats, whose eventual disappearance would in turn speed up the process of global warming. Four are in the front line: Mexico's Gulf Coast wetlands; the Andean glaciers; parts of the Amazon; and Caribbean coral reefs (they expel tiny algae when sea temperatures rise, which eventually kills them). An increase in malaria in rural areas and dengue fever in cities completes a gloomy picture.

The simple solution to stop all of the above problems from transpiring. Stop or reduce by a significant number the space launchings by NASA, Russia, the European Space Agency an the other 43 countries launching staellites. As I suggested in my book, if all 46 space agencies stopped launches for one year, the ozone hole would close from 10 to 25 pecent. This would reverse the global warming effect.

Ice melting across globe at accelerating rate, NASA says.

Melting across globe at accelerating rate, NASA says
Story Highlights. About 2 trillion tons of ice have melted in Greenland, Antarctica, Alaska since 2003 Lost amount of water could fill up Chesapeake Bay 21 times, NASA scientist says
Most came from Greenland, where losses raised global sea levels .5 mm annually
Scientist says sea levels rising 50 percent faster than 15 years ago
Next Article in Technology »
By Emanuella GrinbergCNN
(CNN) -- Between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion tons of ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted at an accelerating rate since 2003, according to NASA scientists, in the latest signs of what they say is global warming.
Using new satellite technology that measures changes in mass in mountain glaciers and ice sheets, NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke concluded that the losses amounted to enough water to fill the Chesapeake Bay 21 times.
"The ice tells us in a very real way how the climate is changing," said Luthcke, who will present his findings this week at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco, California.
NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, mission uses two orbiting satellites to measure the "mass balance" of a glacier, or the net annual difference between ice accumulation and ice loss.
"A few degrees of change [in temperature] can increase the amount of mass loss, and that contributes to sea level rise and changes in ocean current," Luthcke said.
The data reflects findings from NASA colleague Jay Zwally, who uses different satellite technology to observe changing ice volume in Greenland, the Arctic and Antarctica.
In the past five years, Greenland has lost between 150 gigatons and 160 gigatons each year, (one gigaton equals one billion tons) or enough to raise global sea levels about .5 mm per year, said Zwally, who will also present his findings at the conference this week.
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GRACE measured that mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska lost about 84 gigatons each year, about five times the average annual flow of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, according to NASA.
"Every few extra inches of sea level have very significant economic impacts, because they change the sea level, increase flooding and storm damage," said, Zwally, ICESat Project Scientist. "It's a warning sign."
Melting ice, especially in Greenland and the Arctic, is also thought to contribute to global warming, Zwally said. When the vast ice sheets and glaciers melt, they lose their reflective power, and instead, oceans and land absorb the heat, causing the Arctic waters and the atmosphere to warm faster.
"We're seeing the impacts of global warming in many areas of our own lives, like agriculture," Zwally said.
As an example, he cited the pine beetle infestation of this summer in the forests of Colorado and western Canada.
"They were believed to be spreading because the winter was not cold enough to kill them, and that's destroying forests," he said.
In the 1990s, Greenland took in as much snow and water as it let out, Zwally said. But now, about 15 years later, sea levels are rising about 50 percent faster, making the global climate situation even more unpredictable.
"The best estimates are that sea levels will rise about 18 to 36 inches by the end of the century, but because of what's going on and how fast things are changing, there's a lot of uncertainty," he said.

Just think of what we have to look forward to in the near future. Notice that NASA or any of the other 45 space agencies that are depleating the ozone layer, causing global warming and the melting ice mention why the pace is accelerating. Could it possibly be that they (All 46 agencies) are averaging a launch every 3.7 days? You better believe it.

Junk in Space. An article in the St. Petersburg Times on Monday, December 15, 2008.

How much junk is out in space? The U.S. Space Surveillance Network is tracking more than 17,000 pieces of "orbital debris" with the size of 4 inches. Some of those objects are considerably larger, such as the tank of coolant that landed in the South Pacific earlier this month. It was described as about the size of a refrigerator. More than 300,000 pieces are larger than a half-inch and are detectable but not being tracked, so we don't know where they are at any particular time. For interesting photos and computer models of the debris, check out this NASA Web site: orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/photogallery/photogallery.html.

NASA chief refuses to cooperate in transition, paper says.

The Orlando Sentinel newspaper reported on 12/11/08: Reportedly fearful over the future of the Constellation program, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin is refusing to cooperate with the transition team appointed by President-elect Barack Obama. Griffin has demanded to speak directly to Obama after charging that transition chief Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator, is "not qualified". A NASA spokesman denies the report, insisting, "We are working extremely well with the transition team".

Who can we trust or believe in the NASA organization? NO ONE!

Storm cuts power to more than 1 million residents in new England.

Storm cuts power to more than 1M in New England
Published - Dec 12 2008 12:31PM EST AP
By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI - Associated Press Writer
An ice storm knocked out power to more than a million homes and businesses in New England and upstate New York on Friday, and authorities say it could take days for all of them to get service back. The storm brought rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow through the night, and in some areas, including hard-hit New Hampshire, the miserable mix was continuing Friday.
The governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire declared states of emergency Friday morning, and schools were closed and travel disrupted across the region. New Hampshire's court system canceled all hearings and trials for the day.
"I urge all New Hampshire citizens to take sensible precautions and heed all warnings from public officials," Gov. John Lynch said. Fire departments were responding to reports of transformer explosions, wires and utility poles down and trees falling on homes. Utility crews were so busy dealing with public safety hazards like live power lines that they weren't immediately able to begin restoration efforts. Utilities reported 392,000 homes and businesses without power in New Hampshire, including 300,000 served by the state's largest utility, Public Service Company of New Hampshire. The outages there far surpassed the infamous ice storm of 1998, when some residents spent more than a week in the dark.
In Hampstead, N.H., Mark Cegelis, 36, said things were hectic at his neighborhood gas station, which was jammed with people trying to get gas for home generators.
"It's kind of lawless out there right now. There's a lot of people very frustrated, stacking up at the gas stations. It's pretty ugly."He bought 21 gallons for himself and tried to deliver some to some friends in Derry but couldn't get there because of downed trees blocking roads. So his friends came to him instead, and were expected to hunker down until power was restored.
Gov. Deval Patrick's emergency declaration in Massachusetts would enable the governor to take further steps, such as mobilizing the National Guard, if needed as the day wore on, officials said.
Car and driver are stopped in Derry, N.H. on a road littered with fallen trees and wires after an overnight ice storm Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. The ice storm knocked out power to more than a half-million homes and businesses in New England and upstate New York, and authorities say it could take days for all of them to get service back. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

Shall we blame mother nature for this ice storm or is it another coincidense that this strom developed due to the 4 launches mentioned on December 11, 2008 that caused the unexpected snow fall in Louisiana and Missisippi. You, the public be the judge.

Rare snow covers Louisiana and Missisippi

Published - Dec 11 2008 03:44PM EST AP
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN - Associated Press Writer

A rare snowfall blanketed south Louisiana and parts of Mississippi Thursday, closing schools, government offices and bridges, triggering crashes on major highways and leaving thousands of people without power. Parts of Louisiana were expected to get up to four inches of snow. Snow also covered a broad swath of Mississippi, including the Jackson area, and closed schools in more than a dozen districts. The National Weather Service in Jackson said up to 8 inches was possible in the southern and eastern parts of the state. A heavy band of snow coated windshields and grassy areas in New Orleans, where the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning. Office workers stepped out of high-rises to catch a snowflake, snap pictures with cell-phone cameras and swap snow stories. At a park in New Orleans' Uptown neighborhood, Sara
Echaniz, 41, snapped photos and dodged snowballs thrown by her son, 3-year-old Sam. "He didn't believe it was snow until it started sticking to the ground," said Ecahniz, a native of Rochester, N.Y., who was pregnant with the child the last time it snowed in New Orleans, in December 2004.

In Alabama, heavy rains prompted forecasters to issue a flood watch for parts of the state. Wintry precipitation also was possible later Thursday as temperatures were expected to drop.
Flood watches were issued through Thursday night for much of North Carolina ahead of the storm system. Colder air behind the front could produce snow late Thursday and early Friday in the mountains.

In Louisiana, nearly 7,000 power outages were reported in south-central parishes as falling tree limbs snapped under the weight of ice and snow. Some flights at Louis Armstrong International
Airport outside New Orleans were delayed and canceled. Airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut said deicing equipment was being used on planes. Cleco Corp., one of the state's largest power providers, said the number of outages was expected to grow. Forecasters said the mix of sleet and snow was expected to diminish later in the day as the weather system moved east.

In southeast Louisiana, temperatures were above freezing so accumulations were not expected to linger much beyond Thursday. An inch was forecast for New Orleans. The wintry weather is rare in south Louisiana, though the state's northern parishes see it about once a year. New Orleans' last snowfall, in 2004, was a dusting that came nine months before Hurricane Katrina struck. The record snowfall for the city is about 5 inches, recorded Dec. 30, 1963. The weather service said the previous earliest date for measurable snowfall in New Orleans was Dec. 22, 1989

Does all the rare weather mentioned above coincide with four (4) launches? Yes it does. On December 5, 2008 there were three (3) launches. #1 A VS-30-Orion U.S./Norway rocket was launched from SvalRak, an Island off the Norwegian coast near the Artic Ocean. #2 A Polaris (STARS) rocket was launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska. #3 A GBI (Ground Base Midcourse Defense) was launched from Vandenberg AFB in California. The fourth occurred on December 10, 2008. A Proton-M-Briz-M rocket was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia. These 4-launches produced additional holes in the already depleted ozone layer, causing more solar winds and flares to enter and drive the jet stream crazy. The end result, Rare weather disasters all over the world.

Weather delays Endeavour's return to Florida

The Space Shuttle Endeavour will not return to Florida until Tuesday, December 9, 2008 due to bad weather over Texas. Problem with the shuttle's flight tail cone have already delayed by one day the $1.8 million piggyback transfer atop a modified jumbo jet. Why didn't NASA select to keep Endeavour in orbit one additional day and save the cost of the piggyback ride back to Florida? The weather was fine in Florida the following day after Endeavour landed in California. These type of decisions tells me that NASA has no considerations for costs. They have an unlimited budget at the tax payers expense. Thanks to congress and Predident Bush.

The Most Expensive Thing Ever.

An article in the St. Petersburg Times on Sunday, December 7, 2008 stated: The Most Expensive Thing Ever. How big is the bailout? Winning World War II cost us $3.6-trillion in today's dollars. Here are the others: The Marshall Plan, $115.3-billion. The Louisiana Purchase, $217-billion. S&l Crisis, $256-billion. The Korean War, $454-billion. The New Deal, $500-billion. Gulf War II/War on Terror, $597-billion. The Vietnam War, $698-billion.
Now get ready for these two: Race to the Moon, $237-billion and NASA (cumulative), $851.2-billion. The later two totaled are $1.088.2 trillion. The total mentioned is only second to World War II. Why doesn't congress divert that amount of money that would save both Social Security and Medicare? As I have mentioned before, this is the only planet in this galaxy that can support human life. Why venture into othe areas (galaxy's) that can not support life and continue to deplete our ozone layer?

Obama's stimulus plan could benefit space program

NASA's effort to build the next generation of space-fairing vehicles could be sidetracked by a new administration coming in amid economic crisis or it could benefit from a planned stimulus package expected to rival the recent $700 billion financial bailout. What would the amount be of scheduled launchings estimated at $500 to $700 billion? The ozone hole will be depleated to an area of 20 million square miles-plus. Both Artic and Antartic ice caps will be completly melted down by 2012. Melenoma cancer will explode throughout the world, crops will burn up, climatic weather disasters will triple. Barack Obama and the new administration must consider reducing the funds to NASA in order to save this planet from eventual disaster.

Missile-tracking satellite failing in orbit, sources say.

Reinforcing rumors that a year-old missile-defense satellite is falling in orbit, the Air Force has requested proposals for a new, quick-delivery missile warning system. Defense Support Program satellites detect heat plumes from ballistic missiles, tracking their location and trajectory. But the DSP satellite launched last November has been drifting from its original orbit, according to amateur satellite trackers. The DSP failure increases pressure on Lockheed-Martin Corp. to launch its troubled Space-Based Infrared System satellite, now scheduled for 2010. How many more satellites must be launched incorrectly then fall to earth and possibly killing people before realizing the correct orbit trajectory at the initial launch? How many more holes have to be poked through the alredy depleted ozone layer before these launches are reduced or stopped?

Endeavour's re-entry "Iffy" due to weather in Florida

An Associated Press article stated that Mission Control informed the seven astronauts that Endeavour had been cleared for re-entry following analysis of data beamed down from final thermal survey of their ship. The space shuttle was found to be free of any serious defects caused by space junk (over 10,000 pieces) that could jeopardize the decent back to earth. The shuttle had to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California due to bad weather in the eastern United States. How many safe re-entrys can future shuttle missions accomplish before one of those 10,000 pieces of space junk hit and damage the protective tiles? What can these future astronauts look forward to, another Columbia disater?