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S/SW blog philosophy -

I credit favorite writers and public opinion makers.

A lifelong Democrat, my comments on Congress, the judiciary and the presidency are regular features.

My observations and commentary are on people and events in politics that affect the USA or the rest of the world, and stand for the interests of peace, security and justice.

Monday, June 04, 2007

NASA - at the intersections of space, science and war

Astronomy Picture of the Day -
June 3, 2007 (archives)

"Shuttle Plume Shadow Points to Moon"













Credit: Pat McCracken, NASA. To quote the photo caption,
Explanation: Why would the shadow of a space shuttle launch plume point toward the Moon? In early 2001 during a launch of Atlantis, the Sun, Earth, Moon, and rocket were all properly aligned for this photogenic coincidence.
The space shuttle Atlantis is again set to launch this June 8,2007. NASA will start the countdown tomorrow, according to their website's "Breaking News." This launch comes after a months-long delay for repairs to the main fuel tank damaged in a freak hailstorm in February.
For more space news - Space.com is the best resource for the latest objective news about the current space flight mission. One of the best writers covering the space program is Irene Klotz, who covers that beat for Reuters. Her latest is headlined, "NASA opens space shuttle ride for the earthbound."
NASA and science: NASA is not just in the space flight business. Our nation's space agency has had a struggle at times to maintain adequate funding for its pure science aspects. A recent critical mission was an annual trip to Greenland to check the health of Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers, seen as a good measure of global warming. NASA's science work is an essential way that our government can support progress for the nation and safety for our citizens. EurekAlert!'s Atmospheric Science section is another excellent reference for items about global warming/climate change. Scientific American.com pairs space and physics news at their website.
AAAS - For science news in general try EurekAlert!, the website of AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Their Space/Planetary Science section is a good reference for space news. AAAS recently did an interesting analysis of NASA's 2008 budget, which, unfortunately, has to compete with funding the war in Iraq. The White House budget request for FY 2008 was $17.3 billion, a 3.1% increase over the FY 2007 budget.
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