Space Spies & Soviet Era Spaceships to Fly Commercial Missions Now

Well, time to get back to the main focus of this blog - Aerospace Technology. Cruising through the Space.com website this weekend, I uncovered four articles that I thought were worthy of mentioned.

First was a recent posting by Space.com writer Tariq Malik about a commercial company going to re-use several Soviet-era Reusable Return Vehicle (RRV) that they used to fly up to their military space stations-the Almaz class space station in the 1970s.

Made up of two sections, the cone shape RRV can carry three people. A commander and two passengers. The RRVs will be updated with modern equipment and technology.

The announcement was made at the Moscow Air Show in Russia. Price per ticket has yet to be revealed.

That company, Excalibur Almaz Limited, based out of the Isle of Man, has managed to get a hold of several RRVs that were in storage.

Next, Robert Bigelow to the rescue to save Project Orion! He is proposing a "stripped" down version of the Orion capsule known as Orion Lite. He even had a private meeting with the White house-charted panel on the future of the space program.

Quoting that article: In a July 30 interview with Space News, Mike Gold, director of Bigelow's Washington office, said he believes a low Earth-orbit optimized version of Orion could be ready to launch atop a human-rated version of the Atlas 5 within three or four years — much sooner than NASA's discredited March 2015 target for the first crewed launch of Orion and its Ares I rocket.

Gold said the Bigelow capsule would have the same outer mold line as NASA's 16-foot (5-meter) wide Orion and possibly the same internal pressure vessel, but little else in common."

A unique twist to this proposal is the mid-air capture of the Orion lite instead of letting it splash down in the ocean. Quote: One of the biggest deviations from NASA's Orion design involves the vehicle's landing system. Whereas NASA plans call for Orion to make an Apollo-style splashdown in the ocean, Bigelow is considering midair retrieval as a safer and more economical means to land the spacecraft following atmospheric re-entry.

"Air-capture is a strategy that has been implemented many times in the past, but never done at weights as high as a capsule," Gold said.

Midair capture was used by the military during World War II to recover gliders and during the 1960s to catch film canisters dropped from Corona spy satellites orbiting overhead.

The third bit of news is now more than a year old. There was a documentary (that I never heard about sadly) about Soviet and American military space flight operations and proposed spaceflight activities. Photo attached to this post is from www.deepcold.com showing the MOL in action.

You really need to read this article and check out the www.deepcold.com website. Somehow, reading through all that - I was thinking about the Mattel 6" tall action figure known as Major Matt Mason. And the fact that the U.S. Air Force went to the trouble to have "blue" color spacesuits made for their cancelled MOL(Manned Orbital Laboratory-1965) and Dyna-Soar orbital interceptor projects. How do we know this? Because NASA uncovered them in a long-sealed room at Cape Canaveral, FL, by accident in 2005. The program was aired on PBS as "NOVA: Astrospies."

Finally, there was this article by Bill Christensen posted on February 15, 2006, entitled "Anti gravity Propulsion System Proposed."

Dr. Franklin Felber presented a paper at the 2006 Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF) that was held in Albuquerque, NM, February 14, 2006.

Quote: Dr. Felber's paper states that a mass moving faster than 57.7 percent of the speed of light will gravitationally repel other masses lying within a narrow 'anti gravity beam' in front of it. This "beam" intensifies as the speed of the mass approaches that of light.

The link to his actual paper appears to be broken now. So I was unable to download it to read it in detail.

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Ref. Space.com "Soviet-Era Spaceships to Fly Commercial Space Missions" by Tariq Malik, August 18, 2009. (http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090818-excalibur-almaz-spaceships.html).

Space.com. "Nevada Company Pitches 'Lite' Concept for NASA's New Spaceship." by Amy Klamper. August 14, 2009. (http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090814-orion-lite.html).

Space.com "Space Spies Revealed in New Documentary" by Tariq Malik. February 12, 2008. (http://www.space.com/entertainment/080212-astrospies-mol.html).

Space.com "Antigravity Propulsion System Proposed" by Bill Christensen. February 15, 2006. (http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060215_technovel_antigravity.html).

One Year and One Month in the Blogosphere

WOW-

I cannot believe that I overlooked my one year anniversary in the blogosphere!

My first blog - Aerospace, Technology, Paranormal and UFOs news was created on July 26, 2008.

So this posting is actually the 1 year, and a few days shy of its 1 month anniversary for this blog. Just goes to show you that live and time moves on and one is caught up in the day-to-day struggles of living in what passes for the 21st century now.

We STILL have not sent anyone BACK to the moon nor landed humans on the planet Mars yet. Due to the recent findings of the President's commission on returning humans to the moon and the answer we got back that at current budget levels - we'll never get anyone back to the moon by 2028 even let alone 2020. This is the primary reason that I posted the "Gone" Barack Obama countdown clock widget on my blogs. Plus the fact that the political party in the United States that were (formerly) known as the Democrat Party - have taken the path of self-destruction by trying to force this country to move into the Socialist camp. Maybe I ought to say Socialist Labor Camp.

As for my personal life - still "officially" homeless. Working full time and cannot even afford a so-call cheap apartment in a city like Lubbock, Texas. If I ever get into a apartment - I'm more scare of not being able to ever have enough money saved up to get back into my own house again. I will become a permanent member of the wage-slave class. Like I'm not apart of it already - but play along with me for now ok?

I still plan on getting a repo mobile home if I can just get a bank to back me up. I don't want to keep spending my money to make other people rich. I want a house back on my own land again. A place that I can stay home all day. Sleep in late on my days off. To be able to watch a DVD whenever I damn well wish too. To have a fenced in yard to once again have a dog as a pet. It is amazing the simple pleasures one misses when they are gone.

As it is now, on my days off. I have to make plans to visit several bookstores or restaurants that have wi-fi capability to let me go online. Or visit friends to use their shower. As it is now, that is actually using up more cash than having my own place to stay in.

A real vicious Catch-22. Which is part of the reason that I totally forgot about the one year anniversary of this blog.

I now return you to your regulary running blog.

Thank you!

P.S. After I posted the above article, I thought about checking on how much money I have earned with google so far since this blog (and the others) were created. For the past year, the combine total of all three blogs have genereated the following amount... $5.69. And I will not get paid until I reach the $100.00 dollar mark. At this rate, I'll be 65 years old by the time I get that first check. Just a FYI.

USAF getting Back into COIN Fighters

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is overcoming the "Legacy" pros in the Air Force. aka the jet fighter jocks who still are fighting World War Three instead of the Counterinsurgency operations it has found itself in over the past few decades. With the Stop order in place to end procurement of the F-22 at 187 airframes, the USAF now has some money to actually spend on other projects.

Such as their recent request to launch a program to buy 100 small, light fighter aircraft for strike, armed reconnaissance and aircraft training duties that can support Irregular Warfare.

What are the possible candidates for this USAF 100 palne buy?

(1)Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano

(2)Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Texan II

(3)Korean Aerospace KO-1 Wong Bee

(4)Pilatus PC-9M.

(5)Air Tractor AT-802U (outside chance - but I like it)

(6)Revive the old Piper "Enforcer" (aka a upgraded P-51)

While researching this article, I came across an osting on www.wired.com about (former) Blackwater private security contractor (now known as "Xe"); was also getting into the COIN airforce picture. However, that was back in 2007. Nothing new so far in 2009 if Xe getting into COIN ops.

Did discover a photograph on Danger Room on April 10, 2009 that I wanted to post with this article. Its a photograph of a F-22 parked on the ramp and in the background, the typical "Air Raid: Pearl Harbor" airshow was taking place. A AT-6 converted into a Japanese Zero for the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora" lays down a fake smoke trail after a Kate has "dropped" a bomb in the background. I view this picture symbolic of what the USAF is actually facing in the world today.

Its a COIN World and you need some "slow, low" movers to haul bombs to drop on the enemy than the sleek machine parked in front.

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REf. Wired.com/Danger Room "Air Force Stalled for Years on New 'Light' Fighter" by David Axe. August 19, 2009. (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/air-force-stalled-for-years-on-new-light-fighter/).

Wired.com/Danger Room "Air Force to Get New "Light' Fighter. by David Axe. August 11, 2009. (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/air-force-to-get-new-light-fighter/).

Wired.com/Danger Room, "Blackwater Buying Counter-Insurgency Aircraft (Updated)" by Sharon Weinberger. August 27, 2007 (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/08/blackwater-buys/).

Storming Media.us. a 35 page monograph created in December 2005(A383444) "Back to Basics: An Aviation Solution to Counterinsurgent Warfare" paper by Arthur D. Davis, Air Command And Staff Coll Maxwell, AFB, AL. to order a copy, this is the link (http://www.stormingmedia.us/38/3834/A383444.html).

Photograph from wired.com from article "Obama Asks for Stealth Jets in Iraq, Astan Budget" (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/04/obama-asks-for-stealth-jets-in-iraq-astan-budget/).

Aerospace, Technology, Paranormal, and UFOs News, July 26, 2009 (http://aerospacedreams.blogspot.com/2009/07/return-of-ov-10-what-about-f-7f.html)

Ares 1 Test Vehicle

Well - the grand "Back to the Future" space booster known as Ares 1 has now been fully assemblied and is expected to make its first test flight later this year. The photograph is from the Space Ref.com webpage.

Excuse me while I go off on my usual rant about building the "Super Apollo" program on a budget that will not see anything really done. Case in point the recent findings of President Obama's panel on Human Space Flight Committee. Basically, their findings can be summed up like this... current budget funding levels, NASA cannot go back to the moon by 2020. Maybe not even by 2028. I did my venting on this on my other blog (The Shanks Dimension). I will turn 50 years old come this December, 2009. With this report, there will be no Americans BACK on the moon by the time I turn 69 years old!

This is unacceptible!

If there is to be any hope of Americans travelling in outer space BEYOND Low Earth Orbit for the rest of my life - then it will depend on the Private Sector to get Americans out there. More and more Americans are becoming disalusion with their own government (not country!, But with the sad sacks we end up sending back to Washington, D.C. and the "government" that "they" allow us to have).

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Ref. (http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.rss.html?pid=28988)

(http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2009/08/no-to-the-moon-in-2020-maybe-2028/)

German Politics and the Moon in 2015

I just made a post over on my other blog The Shanks Dimension, about current German politics and just recently announched plans to send a unmanned mission to the moon by 2015. Here is the link (http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2009/08/german-cleavage-and-heading-to-the-moon-in-2015/).

Scale RC Model Warbird Event

Radio Control (Scale) Model Airplanes.

I love them. Especially the Warbirds. The local RC model club in Lubbock, Texas, held an event this weekend up in the neighboring town of Abernathy, Texas, when it was held on that communities airport. These are some of the pictures that I took today. This years event is a two day affair concluding on Sunday, August 9, 2009.

There were some actual jet turbine models such as a A-4 Skyhawk, Mig-15s, F-15s. The regular bunch of World War two fighters such as the P-51s,P-47s, F-4U Corsairs, F6F Hellcats, a Spitfire. A pair of German Stukas that did an actual bomb drop. There were even some World War One airplanes there as well.

UPDATE: August 14, 2009. I have uploaded several videos of the B-17 and B-24 flying together at my YouTube.com page. Follow the link there (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8-A8gBpEKY)

Monolith on Mars Claims Buzz Aldrin

Second man to step out on the moon, "Buzz" Aldrin, claims that there is a "Monument" or "Monolith" (aka shades of the movie "2001 A Space Odyssey"), in a recent photograph release by NASA. One of the reasons Buzz Aldrin is now saying we need to skip the moon and go straight for Mars now.

Check out the article on the British newspaper/website The Sun for more details. There was a special picture taken by the super high resolution camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and a closeup image of the reportedly five meter tall object on the surface of Mars is convincing.

NASA wanted to downplay the report. It is a boulder that has weather and craked in such a way as to appear as the 2001 monolith is basically their take on it.

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Ref. article from The Sun by Vince Soodin, Aug. 5, 2009. (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2572537/Mars-monument-proof-of-life.html)

There Shall Always be a U.S.S. Enterprise

There shall always be a U.S.S. Enterprise - with your help.

Check out this link and online petition to have one the new Gerald R. Ford class nuclear aircraft carrier named Enterprise.

(http://ussntrprs.epetitions.net/).

It must be done. There must be a replacement to carry on this tradition!

I say, "As long as the US Navy sees fit to have aircraft carriers in its inventory - there shall be at least one flattop to carry on with the name Enterprise."