Constellation program at "high risk," NASA reports

The headline above and report below was posted in the Wall Street Journal on April 21, 2009.
NASA says it is $1.9 billion short of the funding it needs to achieve an initial launch of the Constellation program by September 2014. The space agency's most pessimistic report to date is seen as strengthening the hand lawmakers who want to extend the life of the space shuttle beyond its scheduled 2010 retirement.

The lawmakers that want to extend the space shuttles life beyond 2010 to save the cost of $1.9 billion of the Constellation program, have they contemplated what the cost would be if one of the three shuttles is destroyed? What would be the cost for the lives of seven astronauts? I realize that the revenue NASA would lose in those four years of not doing experiments for companies in weightlessness would be costly, But look at the alternatives. There would be no risk in possible disasters with any of the three space shuttles and it would reduce climatic weather disasters as well as the ozone hole recovering by a couple of millon miles or more.

Global warming gases harmful, EPA declares.

Title above was on page 2A of the St. Petersburg Times newspaper on Saturday, April 18, 2009. The agency's move clears the way for madatory cutbacks on greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and five other emissions that scientest believe are warming the planet when they concentrate in the atmosphere: Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC's), Perfluorocarbons (PFC's), and Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). These findings confirm that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations the report noted.

Greenhouse gas releases contribute to about ten percent (10%) of the global warming problem. The other ninety percent (90%) has to be attributed to the world's forty six (46) Space Agencies. They are the culprits that are continously depleting the ozone layer, emitting over 10,000 degrees F of heat/flames at every satellite launch. Not to mention the 70 tons of clorine that these satellite launchings release at every launch that now average every 2.7 days. Curtailing the release of just greenhouse gases will not stop global warming. Reduce or stop the numerous launches, THAT WLL slow and stop global warming.

Earthquake in Italy & Rocket launch in North Korea!

A devastating 6.3 earthquake that hit on April 6th in L'Aquila, Italy killing 235 people, injuring 1,255 and leaving between 17,000 and 25,000 others homeless. There are still many missing people that are unaccounted for. The region continues to receive violent aftershocks 42 hours after the main quake hit. The last earthquake (5.2) in this region occurred over four decades ago.
North Korea launched a satellite on Sunday, April 5, 2009. There have been many debates if the launch was sucessful or not. two thinngs are for sure; first, the thunderous force of over 5,000,000 lbs. of thrust emmited from launching the rocket generated vibrations that caused breaking and shifting of rocks along thousands of miles of fault lines. The location of the North Korean launch was located near the 38th parallel, go east a few thousand miles at that same parallel level and where are you? L'Aquila, Italy. Earthquakes are sometimes caused by shaking or trembling of the crust of the earth, generally caused by underground volcanic forces or by breaking and shifting of rock beneath the surface. Second, whether or not the staellite reached orbit, the rocket went high enough (45 miles) in the stratosphere that it poked another hole in our ozone layer. That means we received a double dose, a devastating earthquake and climatic weather disaster patterns throughout the world.

U.S. space industry not yet seeing economic slowdown.

An aricle in REUTERS said that the U.S. economy is in recession, but the satellite industry's prospects are still flying high -- at least for now, military officials and industry executives said on Tuesday. Space industry revenues were up $6 billion up to $257 billion in 2008, up from $187 billion three years ago. "Space activity has intergrated itself so throughly into broader business activity, with an array of services vital to communication,travel, broadcast and other industries, that the space industry is now part of the mainstream economy," the report found.


Wonderful news for the space industry. Disastrous news for weather patterns around the world. Compare the $257 billion profits made by the space industry in 2008 to the $557 billion in losses from the weather disasters that occurred throughout the world due to excessive space launchings This does not include the loss 220,000 of lives due to these weather disasters in 2008. What cost do we put on lives? What is more important and necessary, being greedy and making tons of money launching additional satellites, (now 0ver 18,000), or reduce launches, save lives, lessen property damages and costs, reduce ozone depleation and stop global warming?