Posted on

You’re not seeing double

I’m a huge fan of the Space Shuttle.  I always have been.  I also have been a large opponent of cancelling the program.  Sadly, President Obama continued former President Bush’s idea of cancelling the program a few months ago.  Look, I get it–the Shuttles are expensive, they underperformed in terms of total flights, and our economy is not right now for more spending.  I get it.

With that said, perhaps I’m sad about my age–I was 6 when Columbia lifted off for the first time, and I remember it.  The program has now ended after 30 years.  I’m now 36 – I’m good at math, ain’t I?’

I’m also sad about the job losses.  Thousands now at NASA are without work.

Lastly, I’m most sad that we do not have an immediate replacement ready to take over where the Shuttle left off.  It’ll be a few years – at best – and in the meantime, we’re relying on our permanent enemies/temporary friends – Russia, China – to handle all of the space-stuff.  I think this is a less-wise decision than cancelling the Shuttle program.

I hope American space progress is not ending.  I hope it’s paused.  And to end, I leave you with a photo of a never-before-seen sight; Shuttles Endeavour and Discovery nose-to-nose, each in a different state of decommissioning.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/08/11/two-shuttles-nose-to-nose/

Posted on

Japan to Launch Commercial MagLev in 2025

The other day I found an article about MagLev trains. Nothing new and exciting, except that Japan is set to launch their first long-distance MagLev train by 2025! Hello!!! This is very big news. It’s very big news, but very disappointing news for those here in the U.S. Why? Because our national train policy is flawed, AmTrak is a mismanaged money-pit, and no one in Washington can look further than a week in terms of developing alternative transportation technology for this country.

People, the U.S. is way behind in a lot of things. Internet connectivity alone, the U.S. ranks 15th in broadband connectivity and penetration per 100 inhabitants, as shown by research from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The U.S.’s electricity grid is strained and working at a capacity level that some people are comfortable with.

Our national road and highway infrastructure is starting to crumble – sure patch work is being done, but there are only so many times one can patch a hole in a sinking ship.

Eventually, at some point in the future, fuel prices will be so high that driving your car, whether it be a short or long distance may not be cost efficient. Flying on a plane may be a right reserved for the wealthy.

The U.S. needs to think about the future, and start developing plans for a better national rail policy. AmTrak can only be propped up so many times, as it consistently loses money. Short trips (Boston to New York to D.C.) need to be made more attractive and profitable.

While other countries like China, Japan, France and Germany spend billions of R&D on MagLev technology for their future, the U.S. is pouring countless billions of dollars into Afghanistan and Iraq to sustain the dependence on oil, to line the pockets of the already-rich, and to further bankrupt this Government.

Time for some changes, my friends. It can be done. People just have to want it to be done. It can be done.

For information on what we are doing in the U.S. as far as commercial, production MagLev technology, please see the following links:

For the link to the article about Japan’s new MagLev designed for use by 2025, see this link.)

Posted on

4/26/07 – 21st Anniversary of Chernobyl

Not that 21 years is a particularly significant milestone, but this post is just to remind us all of the dangers of unsafe nuclear power generation, and the amount of harm it can use to both people and the environment for generations.

Below, I have included some links to photos, photo journals, and information about the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.

Photos/Journals/Links:

http://www.hlswilliwaw.com/GhostTown/html/spring2007.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961336-1,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster
http://www.answers.com/topic/chernobyl-disaster-1
http://www.spaceman.ca/gallery/chernobyl
http://www.helpmearoundtheworld.com/elenafilatova/ghosttownfilm.mpg
http://todayspictures.slate.com/inmotion/essay_chernobyl/
http://www.pixelpress.org/chernobyl/
Google Maps
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18244315
http://insp.pnl.gov/photobook/UK_CH/

Posted on

French Set Rail Speed Record, US Largely Uninterested

If it’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s when a good technology exists and no one rushes to use it to their best ability. More on that in a minute, but for now, kudos to the French for achieving the world record for a rail-based train’s tthe op speed, at 357.2 MPH. This is more than double the fastest of the AmTrak Acela line which is capable of high speed (125mph or so) on only sections the Northeast Cooridor only, a set of track running from D.C. to Boston. This linked article describes the sensations of passengers on today’s train ride. More importantly, the French (and much of the world) realize that high speed trains are a great idea, and something that ought to be implemented. France, England, Germany, Japan, and China are only some of the countries actively researching and developing high-speed rail lines, be it MagLev or traditional rail.

For now, congrats to the French.

It’s time for us in the United States to realize that high-speed rail is one of the best methods of transportation for the future. Surely, it’s not ready now, but we need to be developing fast-rail or MagLev technology. While we aren’t doing much, we are doing a little something. Several localities in the U.S. are either thinking of developing high-speed rail, or are at the Environmental Impact Statement stage of design. For example, California has created the California High Speed Rail Authority. The Baltimore/Washington D.C. MagLev Project seems stalled and going nowhere.

The United States has 300 million people, and growing. Population estimates continue to climb through this century. We simply can not keep building more and more roads to accommodate more and more cars, causing more and more pollution. Granted, in the U.S. we have a much greater east/west and north/south than other countries. France is approximately 600 miles in both east/west and north/south directions. For comparison, France is slightly less than twice the size of Colorado. Given the United States is 3,200 miles east/west, we do have quite a lot of distance to cover. Our infrastructure does require significant investment. Without making this critical investment, we run the risk of falling behind other nations, and in the 22nd century we’ll still have a 20th century transportation system.

Time for us to get our shit together. Limit our driving, increase R&D into light rail for communities and MagLev for city-to-city stops; Boston to D.C., D.C. to Chicago, D.C. to Atlanta, Atlanta to Miami, Atlanta to Houston, Chicago to Houston, Houston to Las Vegas, Las Vegas to San Diego and up the coast to Portland. See, I already have the route planned. 😉

Posted on

Airbus A380 – First Transatlantic Flight

On Monday March 19th, 2007, France’s Airbus A380 – the largest passenger plane ever assembled – made its first transatlantic flight from Frankfurt Germany to New York’s JFK airport. On-board were not real passengers, but rather 500 Lufthansa employees and crew.

The purpose of this flight was to show off the new Airbus plane to markets in the United States.

As wide as a football field is long, Airbus has created the largest passenger plane ever put into mass production. Normally, I wouldn’t make such a big deal about a new plane. However, I do have a certain passion for aviation, and while I’m not totally thrilled with a lot of what France produces, they are doing something right when it comes to flight…

Sadly, a few years ago, after an accident, France retired the Concorde line. But, they’re back now with this new plane.

Posted on

The Doomsday Clock & A Good Idea

If you haven’t heard of the Doomsday Clock, click here for an explanation of it, or check the Wikipedia entry.

This symbolic clock was designed in 1947 to represent just how close the world was to nuclear war. If you see the clock at midnight, that means you probably have about 3 hours to live, as nuclear war would be in the process of being waged. It has fluctuated over the years, and it is currently at 7-mins to midnight. It’s furthest distance from midnight was 17 minutes from midnight in 1991, when the U.S. and the former Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Since then, geopolitical events have pushed the clock back to midnight. It has remained unchanged since 2002.

Anyway, a bunch of people had a good idea. According to this BBC news article, a bunch of people are getting together to make a “Doomsday Seed Bank”, which will contain seeds from all known variants of crops. This will then be stored in a remote, secure location. So, in the somewhat unlikely event of thermonuclear war with 90% of the countries destroyed, or in the liklier event of an ice age, there will be a “time capsule” of sorts burried so if dug up, people can grow crops again.

That, is what I call planning ahead.