Zeitgeist Zephyr

What a year 2009 was for space exploration!  Even better yet, 2010 aims to be a year of achievement and reflection that will rival years past and years to come in spaceflight.  2010 will truly mark a turning point in space exploration.

Augustine Commission and Obama Space Policy

Unless an announcement is made later this year, it is entirely likely that early 2010 will see the creation of a new space policy for the United States following President Obama’s announcement of his official plans for NASA in the wake of the Augustine Commission.  That future is still unknown, but the options could range from extending the shuttle program through the time Orion is available with a flight a year, all the way to scrapping the Orion capsule and Ares I booster entirely in favor of a commercial alternative.  It is simply too early to know what President Obama will decide.  His nievety of the space program makes it difficult to predict the outcome, and it will be a game of wait and see until then.

Space Shuttle Program Ends

As was outlined by President Bush in his 2004 ‘Vision for Space Exploration Speech’, the space shuttles are to be retired this year following completion of the International Space Station, which itself is due to be completed this year.  The shuttles, flying since Columbia made its first flight in 1981, have been NASA’s longest operating spacecraft and are to be replaced by the more modest Orion space capsule around 2015.  There are five flights scheduled, all to the International Space Station.  The flights, designated STS-130 to 134 will carry the remaining modules and supplies to the station to get it ready for the post shuttle era, including the Node 3 module, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a disposable Multipurpose Logistics Module that will be left at the station, and the Mini Research Module 1.

The five year gap between the Shuttle and Orion will be filled by buying tickets on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, in operation since the 1960’s. As stable as U.S./Russian relations may seem now, a NASA/Roscosmos agreement for buying tickets on Soyuz is limited; one by how many tickets the U.S. Congress will buy and two how stable U.S./Russian relations remain.  The hot button issue that could affect American access to space in the years prior to Orion’s first flight is Iran.  If the U.S. and Russia become bitterly divided on the issue, American astronauts may simply have no way to access the International Space Station until the new NASA ship or some commercial alternative is available.  This is a scenario that played out a few years ago when wording was discovered in the Iran Non-Proliferation Act that prohibited NASA from purchasing seats on the Soyuz as part of a Congressional response to Russia’s stance on Iran.  The wording was amended so that NASA could continue to buy seats, as at the time the shuttles were not regularly flying following the Columbia accident.

A shaky and fragile future is ahead for American spaceflight.

China Rising

Current plans on the board have China launching their first space station, Tiangong 1, by years end, followed by the Shenzhou 10 manned flight.  Shenzhou 1o will be China’s fourth manned flight and the establishment of a station would mark yet another milestone for the burgeoning space program.  China is currently building its manned program up to a future Moon landing, a fact that has been frequently overlooked and doesn’t recieve the attention it should from lawmakers in Washington.  However the secretive nature of China’s space program makes it hard to know for sure if Tiangong 1 will be flight ready by years end as many are speculating, but it will certainly capture the headlines and will hopefully be the message that Capitol Hill needs to hear to ensure that NASA receives the funding it needs for its Moon program and for trail blazing missions to worlds beyond.  The space programs of the United States and China are subconsciously in a space race and the time is rapidly approaching that the nations themselves will be in a new space race as well.

The U.S. likes to think that the Moon is won and theirs, but only if a return is made a permanent presence established.  Space conquests, like any on Earth, depend on concrete action, and not just some abandoned landers and flags from 40 years ago.

New Space

Earlier this month, SpaceShipTwo was finally revealed, 5 years after SpaceShipOne made its record breaking flights and captured the X-Prize.  The WhiteKnightTwo has already been put through several tests, but as a duo the test flights slated for them in the coming year will be a first.  Like SpaceShipOne, a series of test flights will commence with WK2 and SS2 taking off, flying around, and landing.  The first individual tests of SS2 will be glide tests, where it will get dropped from WK2 and glide back to a safe landing.  The glide tests will transition to high atmospheric flight tests, utilizing its engines for the first time before moving into test flights into suborbital space.  For the sake of safety, these tests will take as long as necessary.  Current projections have the first paying customers flying into space sometime in 2011, but that date could be pushed back if problems arise.

The milestone for 201o?  If SS2 reaches space, it is entirely likely that, much like 2004, 2010 will be only the second year in history where more manned flights into space were made by a privately built spaceship than by government built ships.  (In 2004, SpaceShipOne flew a total of three flights into space and Russia launched two Soyuz craft to the space station.)  A high goal to reach considering the robust Shuttle flight schedule discussed earlier.

The other milestone everyone will be eagerly watching and waiting for will be the test flights of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spaceship.  As part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services contract, they are required to make three test flights of their vehicle before Dragon is utilized to resupply the International Space Station.  Their contract with NASA has 12 ISS resupply flights between 2010 and 2015.  Astronauts have already been trained to fly the ship and dock it once it comes within range of the station, the remaining question is when the flight will occur.  It is currently scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral in February, a date subject to change.

Solar System

The Japanese space probe Hayabusa will make its return to Earth in June, marking the end of a mission launched in 2003 to capture and return to Earth a sample from the asteroid Itokawa.  The status of the sample is unknown, but the craft became the first to ‘accidentally’ land on an asteroid and then to take off again.  The probe has been plagued with problems and is currently suffering problems with its ion engines but it is expected to deliver its sample capsule as planned.

NASA’s Deep Impact now (EPOXI) comet probe will  fly by Comet 103P/Hartley in October, marking the second comet it will have visited following a flyby and successful deployment of an impactor in 2005 on Comet 9p Tempel.  It’s original target was to be Comet Boethin, but when the comet could not be relocated Comet Hartley was selected.

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity continue to operate 0n the surface of Mars, but wheel failures and being stuck in a sand dune threaten to end Spirit’s mission.  Talk has started that come January there may be an attempt to revive the Phoenix lander at the Martian north pole as winter ends.  The lander has not been heard from since November 2008 and its health status is unknown.  Its electronics hardware was not designed for the frigid temperatures experienced in the Martian winter, an icy -195 degrees Farhenheit (Phoenix was only tested to -67 degrees Farhenheit).  Cassini continues to orbit Saturn and explore its Moons and New Horizons is continuing its uneventful trek towards an encounter with Pluto in 2015.  NASA’s Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter is continuing to explore and photograph the Moon in unprecedented detail in preparation for missions to come.

2010 looks to be an eventful year for space exploration, especially in the area of space tourism.  I feel 2010 will be looked at as a turning point in space exploration, perhaps more pivotal than 1981 or 1969, because for the first time, space will be well on its way to being accessible to all.  When SS2 begins flying for paying customers in 2011, we will have firmly established ourselves in the Space Age.

First of all, I won’t jump into a blog post paying homage to Asher Roth and his song of the same title of my post, but I will point out that his song couldn’t ring truer to the party culture that many college students embrace today.

No, today in what will be the first real post I’ve had in ages and likely the last one until the Christmas holiday season, I’ll be regaling the college culture that embodies not just the all-too stereotypical party life, but also the larger academic realm, both inside and outside the classroom.

College students today are some of the busiest people in the world.  In no other atmosphere that I’ve discovered is the opportunity given to take on a full time job (plus some) per week in academic classes while simultaneously being encouraged to ‘get involved’ and ‘find your passion.’  All the while, there’s the challenge of meeting new people everyday, sometimes from other corners of the globe, and figuring out how to interact with them.  It’s a delicate balancing act that few can maintain without accruing some form of stress.  It’s an unavoidable side affect.

But sometimes, in the midst of the chaos, there are weeks or even entire semesters where something clicks and everything goes right.  What I’m talking about is when a college student enters the flow, and rather than fighting the current and worrying about what’s downstream, they take on life as it hits them, change course when needed, but generally just sit along for the ride.  They take on a simultaneous role as observer and doer, relishing in every moment that comes their way.

When shown the daily schedule of a college student, some people might be shocked that so much can happen in one day and be accomplished, but the college student takes on sometimes two lives and can gain so much experience in a day that the flood of knowledge simultaneously reaches a level of stress and enjoyment that a divine ecstasy is induced, and the essence of life is, albeit for a brief moment, understood in its entirety.

The life and role that I’ve assumed, for example, gets me out of bed around 6 in the morning when I workout to keep my body in peak health, a necessity for the day that is soon to follow.  But in a general case, once hygienic and dietary needs are met for the morning, some homework is inevitable before the first class of the day.  Spread out as they may be, the interlude between classes is filled with a mixture of studying and socializing, in balance some days, off balance on others.  Following the last class in the afternoon and some more homework and socializing, extracurricular activities take dominance.  Fraternity meetings are held, professional societies convene, and other clubs congregrate and celebrate.  Not an evening goes by that at least one activity is underway by one of the groups, competing for attention by the other groups and the all-necessary homework school calls for.

Consistently though, pushing through the stress of such a schedule, is the personal satisfaction of it all.  Each activity and class filling a void that otherwise leaves a sentient being feeling like something is missing.  At the end of the day, all satisfaction is reached and the fast paced world of the college student pauses, as praise to God is lifted upward for the glory of all that has been presented in their life.

The weekend comes, and the student blows off steam, has fun with friends, and relishes in the week’s accomplishments.  A deserved break indeed!  The college party becomes a release valve critical to maintaining sanity in such a hectic life.  And as that weekend closes, and the trash produced by the parties is cleaned up, the student has some time to reflect before hitting replay.  The conclusion that is ultimately reached?

“I love college.”