Astronauts Unite!

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Uniting to support a good cause makes a lot of sense, and a number of astronauts would agree. That is why more than 100 former astronauts have joined to create a nonpartisan organization called Astronauts for America.

What do they believe? They support democracy here in America, and have links on their site to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

Should astronauts really need to join together to repeat what we should already be doing? Apparently so, from what they are saying, which is quite a statement about our current state of affairs. It is not only NASA and the US government that is under attack these days (by the US government, mind you). It is democracy itself.

This letter from the groups says it all:

To Our Fellow Americans:

Looking at the Earth from space, we see what unites us more than what divides us. As former NASA astronauts, that perspective shapes everything we do.

We view our oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution as a lifelong commitment. And today, with the launch of Astronauts For America, we take on a new mission: to reinvigorate American democracy. It’s a critical mission that depends upon all of our vigilance and support.

For decades we’ve seen a steady erosion of our founding values and principles that weakens our democratic systems. The result has been political polarization and subversion of key constitutional and institutional norms, including bipartisan cooperation, executive constraint, and judicial independence.

In spaceflight, ignoring evidence costs scientific advancement, mission success, and even lives. In democracy, it costs trust, stability, international respect, and the health and well-being of the governed.

If you’re like us, you might not be used to talking about politics outside of your home. We didn’t spend time discussing who we voted for when we were working in the NASA Astronaut Corps. We know the importance of respecting one another and speaking up when things don’t look right. We’ve seen what Americans can achieve when we work as a team toward a common goal.

Our new mission is patriotic, not partisan. We are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents from many different backgrounds who share a love of this country. We believe deeply in the principles that have propelled our nation for 250 years, such as the rule of law, constructive checks and balances, equal opportunity, and the peaceful transfer of power. A strong democracy makes all else possible: economic growth, national security, and our rights and freedoms.

Astronauts For America will partner with voters and support leaders, regardless of party, who govern in accordance with the Constitution and work out differences to get things done for the good of the nation. We’ll also take officials to task when they ignore the rule of law or distort and disregard the facts.

We’re calling on all our fellow patriots to join us in this mission and put country over party. As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, remember the democratic values that have allowed our nation to excel. We encourage you to sign the pledge and join our crew at AstronautsForAmerica.org.

We are very grateful for the opportunities provided to us by this great country which allowed us to live our version of the American Dream. Together, let’s ensure that America remains a land of opportunity and a beacon of democracy for another 250 years.

Sincerely,
The Members of Astronauts For America

On the group’s website you can sign a pledge to support democracy and also contribute to their cause.

If we going to plant another US flag on the surface of the Moon in two years, let’s make sure that flag means something that we can be proud of more than 250 years after the founding of the country. And if this group of astronauts can help to make that happen, then I am a supporter.

Space Quote: NASA Budget Hearing and Artemis

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Mila Okta Safitri from Pixabay

“But for all the Artemis II mission accomplished, how we arrived at it was far from perfect, and the decisions of previous administrations that led to these deficiencies deserves careful reflection. Almost the entirety of [the Space Launch System is repurposed decades-old Space Shuttle hardware. I understand why, the Shuttle program was ending, and it was important to look after the industrial base. I will also say that was at a time when we did not have a geopolitical competitor challenging America in the high ground of space, but perpetuating the past does not help us realize a better future. Even after over $100 billion of taxpayer funding to date, and this most recent and successful Artemis II mission, we would not have launched again until late 2028 with the aim of putting astronauts on the Moon under the previous plan. A plan with no hope of achieving this national imperative. You do not fly rockets like this every three plus years and expect success. Further, you do not make each vehicle a work of art by materially changing the configuration. You also do not build a base in orbit above the Moon, when the scientists, the engineers, the astronauts, and certainly the space-loving community want to be on the surface of the Moon, which is hard enough to achieve.”

-Statement by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman at his hearing before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, earlier this week. He was justifying his revamping of the Artemis schedule and elimination of the Lunar Gateway. He also defended the White House’s cuts to his budget, though not everyone in the room was convinced. Ranking Member Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) was not happy with the planned cuts to the Science Mission Directorate, stating:

I think everyone in this room knows that without space science, there is no space exploration. Without space science, there is no new planetary discovery. Without space science, there is no NASA

Pic of the Week: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3137

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3137, located 53 million light-years away. (ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker and the PHANGS-HST Team

This week’s image is from the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows spiral galaxy NGC 3137 in all its glory. We are getting a nice inclined view of the galaxy, allowing us to see multiple arms of stars.

The European Space Agency (ESA) describes what we are seeing in this way:

A spiral galaxy seen close up and tilted at an angle, so that its disc fills the view from corner to corner. Its disc is yellow near to the centre and pale blue farther out, showing cooler and hotter stars, respectively. Thin brown clouds of dust, glowing pink spots of star formation, and sparkling blue patches filled with star clusters swirl through the galaxy. Behind it, small orange dots are very distant galaxies.

Television: Star City

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Apple TV

We are only one month away from the premiere of Apple TV’s Star City.

Premiering on May 29th, the series is a spin-off from For All Mankind, which is an alternative history showing the race to the Moon and then Mars among the Americans, Soviet, and North Koreans. Star City will focus on the Soviet program, just as For All Mankind focused primarily on the American program.

Apple TV describes the new series in this way:

A bold new chapter inspired by the critically acclaimed space-race drama, “For All Mankind,” “Star City” is a propulsive paranoid thriller that takes us back to the key moment in the alt-history retelling of the space race — when the Soviet Union became the first nation to put a man on the moon. But this time, we explore the story from behind the Iron Curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers and the intelligence officers embedded among them in the Soviet space program, and the risks they all took to propel humankind forward.

While For All Mankind was mostly a bombastic show with plenty of American daredevil fun, the Star City promises to be a much darker view of another space program that we only saw in quick glimpses during the first series. Keeping the show interesting and not too bleak may be a challenge.

Will we ever see another spin-off covering the North Korean version of the space race? It is doubtful, yet it would be both fascinating and bleak as well.

I imagine Star City can be a stand-alone series for those who missed For All Mankind, but I think half the fun in watching the new series will be watching where the two stories interweave and discovering what was really happening on the Soviet side.

If history has multiple perspectives, even alternative history, then I look forward to understanding more of the story through more voices.

Credit: Apple TV