Restricting Space Travel

For John, BLUF:  This is over a month old, but the story has not gotten better with time and now SpaceX has sued the California Coastal Commission over obstruction based on Mr Musk's political views.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Biden Admin to SpaceX:  Drop Dead!

From Vodka Pundit, by Stephen Green, September 11, 2024, 10:00 AM.

Here is the lede plus three:

It isn't a joke whenever I say that the new space race is Elon Musk versus the rest of the world, and I'm not joking now when I tell you that his company's biggest competitor isn't China — and it certainly isn't Russia — but the Biden-Harris FAA.

SpaceX's Starship promises to revolutionize spaceflight by reducing launch costs by two orders of magnitude — that's a 99% savings — and vastly expanding current limits on the size and mass of what can be lifted into orbit and deep space.

If SpaceX can get permission to perform the necessary flight tests, that is — and the FAA is dragging its feet.

"Starships are meant to fly," the company reminded the Biden administration in a lengthy statement released on Tuesday. "We recently received a launch license date estimate of late November from the FAA, the government agency responsible for licensing Starship flight tests. This is a more than two-month delay to the previously communicated date of mid-September. This delay was not based on a new safety concern, but instead driven by superfluous environmental analysis."

"Starships are meant to fly."  That is correct.  There is, however, an apparent tension between our free enterpise approach of exploring space and the desire of progressives to protect the environment by constraining free lance exploration that damages our enviroment and could damage enviornments on other worlds.

My sense is that a cheap trick now will cost us later.  We need to let ingenuity roam free and count on self interest to ensure we do not act, in the long run, in stupid ways.  Early constraints on such exploration is reminiscent of China in 1405 to 1433, which had conducted seven voages by its treasure fleet, only to back away from it all and eventually fall into a period of decline, finally pulling out recently.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Musk Frustrated in the Golden State

For John, BLUF:  California Bureaucrats are acting to strangle Mr Elon Musk's ingenuity and initiative.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

California officials reject more SpaceX rocket launches, with some citing Musk's X posts

From The Los Angeles Times, by 11 October 2024 at 2:35 PM.

Here is the lede plus five:

SpaceX's plans to launch more rockets from the California coast were rejected by a state commission this week, with some officials citing Elon Musk's political posts on X and raising concerns about the billionaire's labor record at his companies.

The plan to increase the number of rocket blasts into space up to 50 a year was rejected by the California Coastal Commission on Thursday despite assurances from Space Force and Air Force officials that they would increase efforts to monitor the effects that rocket launches have on nearby wildlife.

The military also vowed to mitigate the reach of sonic booms that often span across 100 miles of coastline, an issue that has caused controversy.

Members of the California Coastal Commission commended Space Force and Air Force representatives for reaching an agreement, but some cited their concerns about Musk, the owner of SpaceX, before rejecting the plan.

Among the issues raised were Musk's decision to insert himself in the presidential race, his spreading of conspiracy theories, the labor record of his companies and derogatory comments he has made about the transgender community.

"We're dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race," commission Chair Caryl Hart said.

We are talking about shutting down an operation that just recaptured a first stage back onto a gantry, ready to refuel and relaunch.  For the first time.

Is there any question about why firms are leaving California?

This kind of action in California adds to the swirl around if the Federal Government is out to get Mr Elon Musk.  I hope this is just internet misunderstandings.

Regards  —  Cliff

Kudos to India

For John, BLUF:  Following closely on the heels of Russia's failure to pull off the same event, India has demonstrated great competence.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

India becomes the 4th country to successfully land on the moon (Update)

From Hot Air, by Reporter John Sexton, 23 August 2023, 1:00 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

India just became part of an exclusive club. With the successful touchdown of its Vikram lander today, it is now just the 4th nation to soft-land a spacecraft on the moon.

The entire mission was called Chandrayaan-3 which means “moon craft” in Sanskrit. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrate the achievement from South Africa where he is participating in the BRICS meeting.

This is a tremendous enginnering feat and it marks India's move into the upper tier of nations.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Where We Came From

For John, BLUF:  There are still a lot of mysteries to be learned in science.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

We Have Even More Evidence Life's Building Blocks Came to Earth From Space

From Science Alert, by Writer Conor Feehly, 27 APRIL 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

We still don't know just how the first life emerged on Earth.  One suggestion is that the building blocks arrived here from space; now, a new study of several carbon-rich meteorites has added weight to this idea.

Using new, extremely sensitive analysis techniques for these meteorites, a team led by scientists from Hokkaido University in Japan detected organic compounds that form the very backbone of the nucleic acid molecules common to all life as we know it – DNA and RNA?

I still favor the Garden of Eden version, but we should be open to all possible understandings.

Regards  —  Cliff

We Have Even More Evidence Life's Building Blocks Came to Earth From Space

Living on Mars

For John, BLUF:  Mars is not just like Earth, but without breathable air.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

The Speed of Sound on Mars Is Strangely Different, Scientists Reveal

From Science Alert, by Writer Michelle Starr, 24 March 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

Scientists have confirmed the speed of sound on Mars, using equipment on the Perseverance rover to study the red planet's atmosphere, which is very different to Earth's.

What they discovered could have some strange consequences for communication between future Martians.

This is very iinteresintg and shows that going to other planets will not be exactly like living on Earth, but with your own oxygen supply.  Not a reason not to go, but rather a challenge to do it sooner and learn and grow.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Final Frontier, Deferred

For John, BLUF:  William Schatner is going into space, the final frontier, but democrats wish to ground his space force.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Dems Plan To Scuttle Space Force

Here is the sub-headline:

Jared Huffman, Rashida Tlaib aim to 'abolish' military branch

From The Washington Free Beacon, Mr Jack Beyrer, 23 September 2021, 4:30 pm.

Here is the lede plus two:

House Democrats on Wednesday introduced a measure in the 2022 defense budget to eliminate the Space Force.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D., Calif.) led a resolution, cosigned by fellow Democratic representatives Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), and Jésus García (Calif.), to "abolish" America's newest military branch.  The measure received support from the Koch-funded National Taxpayers Union and radical anti-war groups such as Peace Action and Demand Progress.

"Since its creation under the former Trump administration, the Space Force has threatened longstanding peace and flagrantly wasted billions of taxpayer dollars," said Huffman.  "It's time we turn our attention back to where it belongs:  addressing urgent domestic and international priorities like battling COVID-19, climate change, and growing economic inequality.  Our mission must be to support the American people, not spend billions on the militarization of space."

Oh great, just when everybody gets the new uniforms, we force them back into their previous uniforms.

I wonder to what degree this was thought out.  I fear it is like much of the Democratic Party plan for 2021—not thought out beyond the first step.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

What Makes an Astronaut?

For John, BLUF:  This is a tempest in a teapot, but it is being stirred up, perhaps as a way of diminishing the accomplishment of those who paid for a flight out of our atmosphere.  I envy them.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Is it time to create the designation of non-governmental astronaut?

by Michael Listner Monday, August 16, 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

The flights of Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin with their respective founders has reinvigorated the debate as to what an astronaut is and, specifically, whether non-governmentals are indeed astronauts.  Nevertheless, these two flights open a broader discussion as non-governmental space activities increase in measure and scope how they will be looked upon and treated by international law, especially as outer space activities expand. What is an astronaut? By and large, the term “astronaut” has been thrown around by the media and the providers of the launch and reentry flights without thought of what the term really means.  A popular reference to the term that is overused is found in the definition provided by the Merriam-Webster dictionary:  “a person who travels beyond the earth's atmosphere also : a trainee for spaceflight.”

Given the etymology of the “astronaut” predates the era of spaceflight, the usage of the word applying this definition is understandable.  Certainly, there are variations of this definition that one could quibble over; however, in the context of outer space activities, including activities by non-governmentals, the term astronaut is not a defined term but rather a legal status that confers rights and benefits and invokes duties and obligations to states under international law.  This means whether one is an astronaut is determined by a legal test and not a dictionary definition.  While international law does not specifically define the term, three tests have been proffered.  Of the three, it is the test offered by Professor Yasuaki Hashimoto that is the test that best harmonizes with international law through the Outer Space Treaty.

For the legal status of “astronaut” to apply under Professor Hashimoto’s test the person must be:

1. in an object located in space
2. conducting their activities for the benefit and in the interests of all countries
3. regarded as an envoy of mankind in outer space.

Obiously the folks who have gone into space of late meet Test 1, but not Test 2.  The author contends they don't meet Test 3 either, but I would content that if they met and interacted with Extra-Terrestial folk while in space that they would, de facto, be envoys of mankind in outer space.  How else would they be classified?

The author sums it up:

This means absent legislative action, non-governmental personnel would not have any legal status in the eyes of domestic and international law.

Who cares?  They have gone there.  The drafters of laws have not.  I would assert that we, the People, can designate these folks as astronauts.  We do that by saying they are astronauts.  We give them the title by aclamation.

Don't let the lawyers push you around.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

To Space Without Wings

For John, BLUF:  In a move that seems petty and woke and bureaucratic, the Federal Aviation Administration has changed the rules for issuing "Wings" to those who soar to 50 miles above the earth.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Rare FAA rules change means Blue Origin crew may not get official 'wings'

From United Press International, by Mr Kyle Barnett, 23 July 2021, 8:27 AM.

Here is the lede plus two:

Federal aviation regulators have made a rare change to the requirements for its Commercial Astronaut Wings Program, meaning Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos may not officially be recognized for his spaceflight this week.

The Federal Aviation Administration changed rules for the program on the same day Bezos, his brother and two others made their historic first commercial spaceflight on Tuesday.

For the first time in 17 years, the FAA updated its Commercial Astronaut Wings Program.  Before the change, all that was required to be recognized was to fly to at least an altitude of 50 miles.

Give me a break!

On the other hand, Mr Bezos has done something none of those FAA Weenies have done—gone into space.

It isn't the "wings", ...

... it is the adventure.

Here is the take from Law Professor Glenn Reynolds.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Making Space Flight Practical

For John, BLUF:  We have come a long way since Professor Robert Goddard, at Clark University, was doing early rocket experiments (and inventing the Bazooka), around the time of World War One.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

In a Huge First, SpaceX Just Launched Astronauts to The ISS on a Recycled Rocket

From Science Aert, by Reporter Issam Ahmed, 23 April 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

SpaceX launched its third crew to the International Space Station an hour before sunrise Friday, recycling a rocket and spacecraft for the first time.

The Crew-2 mission, the first involving a European, blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 09:49 UTC (5:49 am Eastern Time).

"Endeavour launches once again - four astronauts from three countries on Crew-2, now making their way to the one and only International Space Station," announcer Gary Jordan said to loud cheers and applause.

A nice article by the Reporter.

The impressive thing about this launch is that Launch Company owner Elon Musk is recycling its equipment; in that both the Falcon 9 booster and Crew Dragon capsule were deployed on previous missions.

A translation note.  Where the Agence France Presse says "around 100 experiments in the diary during their six-month mission" the word diary means agenda.

The rendezvous with the Internation Space Station works because everyone involved believes 2 + 2 = 4, always.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Our Magnetic North Pole

For John, BLUF:  If you want to worry about the Environment, worry about this.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Earth's magnetic field flipped 42,000 years ago, creating a climate 'disaster'

From Space, by Reporter Mindy Weisberger, 22 February 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

A reversal in Earth's magnetic field thousands of years ago plunged the planet into an environmental crisis that may have resembled "a disaster movie," scientists recently discovered.

Our planet's magnetic field is dynamic and, numerous times, it has flipped — when the magnetic North and South Poles swap places.  In our electronics-dependent world, such a reversal could seriously disrupt communication networks.

But the impact could be even more serious than that, according to the new study.  For the first time, scientists have found evidence that a polar flip could have serious ecological repercussions.  Their investigation connects a magnetic field reversal about 42,000 years ago to climate upheaval on a global scale, which caused extinctions and reshaped human behavior.

This could be a global catastrophy.  We could see extinctions, as species fail to adapt.  Life could be very hard for several hundred years.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Mass Migration Sanctioned?

For John, BLUF:  If you can't control your borders you can't retain your nation.  Just ask Native Americans.  What they did to those before them the Europeans did to them.  Just think about Space Invaders coming here to colonize this planet.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

PC GONE MAD: Criticising migration could become CRIMINAL offence under new plan

Here is the sub-headline:

A LEADING MEP has warned EU citizens they could be “jailed” for criticising migration policies if a new United Nations agreement is acted upon.

MEP is Member of the European Parliament.

From Express (UK), by Reporter Thomas Hunt, 1 December 2018.

Here is the lede plus five:

The United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration seeks to make immigration a universal human right.  MEP Marcel de Graaff said:  “I would like to say some words on the global compact on migration.  On the 10th and 11th of December there will be an international congress in Marrakesh Morocco.  The participating countries are set to sign this agreement and although this joint agreement is not binding it is still meant to be the legal framework on which the participating countries commit themselves to build new legislation.

“One basic element of this new agreement is the extension of the definition of hate speech.

“The agreement wants to criminalise migration speech.  Criticism of migration will become a criminal offence.

“Media outlets that give room to criticism of migration can be shut down.

“The compact for migration is legalisation of mass migration.

“It is declaring migration as a human right so it will, in effect, become impossible to criticise Mrs Merkel’s welcome migrants politics without being at risk of being jailed for hate speech.”

The United States has withdrawn from the United Nations efforts, thus safeguarding the right of Native Americans (First Nation in Canada) to criticize Europeans and Asians) for mass migration to their territories.

On the other hand, this is about Europe, where free speech is nearing extinction.

Hat tip to the Drudge Report.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Grand Solar Minimum

For John, BLUF:  I will be impressed if I am still wearing long handles in June of next year.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Lack of sunspots to bring record cold, warns NASA scientist

Here is the sub-headline:

“It could happen in a matter of months,” says Martin Mlynczak of NASA’s Langley Research Center.

From Ice Age Now, by Robert, 12 November 2018 by Robert.

Here is the lede plus four:

“The sun is entering one of the deepest Solar Minima of the Space Age,” wrote Dr Tony Phillips just six weeks ago, on 27 Sep 2018.

Sunspots have been absent for most of 2018 and Earth’s upper atmosphere is responding, says Phillips, editor of spaceweather.com.

Data from NASA’s TIMED satellite show that the thermosphere (the uppermost layer of air around our planet) is cooling and shrinking, literally decreasing the radius of the atmosphere.

To help track the latest developments, Martin Mlynczak of NASA’s Langley Research Center and his colleagues recently introduced the “Thermosphere Climate Index.”

The Thermosphere Climate Index (TCI) tells how much heat nitric oxide (NO) molecules are dumping into space. During Solar Maximum, TCI is high (meaning “Hot”); during Solar Minimum, it is low (meaning “Cold”).

How low?

Ten times smaller.  I assume that is like one-tenth.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Space Weather Threat

For John, BLUF:  The question is, who funds this?  The Power Companies or the People collectively (i.e.; the Government)?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Rocks Under I-95 Present Odd, and Scary, Threat to Power Grid

From Bloomberg Quint, by Reporter Brian K. Sullivan, 13 June 2018.

Here are the basics:

Here’s something you probably didn’t know you needed to worry about:  There’s a layer of 300 million-year-old rock under Interstate 95 that’s capable of killing the lights from Washington to Boston and beyond the next time the sun erupts in all its fury.

Sound far-fetched? Perhaps.  But not to scientists.  A solar storm is now viewed as enough of a risk in fact that grid operators across North America are working on plans to respond to just such a disturbance.  And a draft of a soon-to-be-published U.S. Geological Survey report pinpoints the Eastern Seaboard as one of the areas most in danger.

That’s because this Paleozoic-era rock doesn’t let the energy from a major geomagnetic storm — a once-in-a-100-years kind of event — pass through it but instead acts as a backstop that sends the surge back up above the ground for a second shot at causing mayhem.

“It’s an active problem that a lot of people are trying to solve and understand,” said Christopher Balch, space scientist at the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Through a stroke of bad luck, the worst of these rocks basically traces the path of I-95 from Richmond, Virginia, to Portland, Maine, passing through Washington, New York and Boston along the way.

Qu

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Flat Earth

For John, BLUF:  I have played with the "radar horizon", offensively and defensively.  It convinces me the world is round.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Looking for Life on a Flat Earth

Here is the sub-headline:

What a burgeoning movement says about science, solace, and how a theory becomes truth.

From The New Yorker, by Reporter Alan Burdick, 30 May 2018.

I found no key paragraph.  It is a long discussion of folks who think that you can't believe everything the "experts" are saying.  Does this all go back to 1968?

Regards  —  Cliff

Stay at Home, Men

For John, BLUF:  If we don't explore then we become a totally different culture.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

The patriarchal race to colonize Mars is just another example of male entitlement

Here is the sub-headline:

The presumed right to use and abuse something and then walk away to conquer something new is a hallmark of colonialism

From NBC News, by Ms Marcie Bianco, 21 February 2018.

To quote from the Instapundit post where I found the above:

…this does serve as a clear illustration of Camille Paglia’s observation that if women ran the world, we’d still be living in grass huts.  Well, if feminist women ran the world, anyway.

The comment seems a little overboard, but the idea of Ms Bianco that we should not venture beyond LEO seems well over the top.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff
-1, Mon 2.0

Using Diversity For Advantage

For John, BLUF:  "You end up with firms recognizing that cognitive diversity is a strategic asset."  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

How Diversity Powers Team Performance

An interview with University of Michigan Professor Scott Page, author of a new book, The Diversity Bonus:  How Great Teams Pay Off In The Knowledge Economy.

Here is how the article starts out:

Knowledge@Wharton:  What drove you to research this topic?

Page:  It’s a little bit of a C.P. Snow moment.  He was the British academic who said there are two academies: science and arts.  Within the University of Michigan or almost any university, you’ve got people in the humanities and in the arts and philosophy departments talking about the need for inclusion on normative grounds, a sort of moral case for a more integrated society.  Over in computer science and ecology and business, there are all these people showing in a knowledge economy this incredible value from people who have different perspectives, different ways of looking at problems, different tools.

On one side of campus, there’s a whole bunch of people talking about the pragmatic benefits of diversity.  On the other side, people are talking about the normative benefits.  They weren’t communicating with one another.  I saw this as a real opportunity for a fruitful conversation.

Knowledge@Wharton:  Don’t you think this “right thing to do” mindset about diversity feels a little patronizing?

Scott Page:  It does in a way.  We want our firm to look like America or have people that come from all these different categories, as opposed to asking whether we are bringing in people who can help us fulfill our mission or be better at whatever it is that we do as an organization.

Well, he had me at C P Snow, one of my heroes from my youth.

Here is the sum of the argument.  If your job is to take down trees, you want the best ten lumberjacks, regardless of race, creed or nation of origin.  If you are working on a project with a lot of complexity, from designing a new building to developing social media to building a space launch vehicle, you need diversity of input because of all the "what ifs" you have to deal with, including the unknowns that someone from a different background might have a clue about.  And, you need free discussion, so you don't miss the "O Ring" problem.♠

Hat tip to Wharton Knowledge.

Regards  —  Cliff
-2, Sun 0.0

♠  There is a Lowell connection here.

Diocesan Reach

For John, BLUF:  Asking the questions you never thought to ask.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

ASK FATHER: Who is in charge of the Moon?

From Fr Z's Blog, by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, 30 January 2018.

Here is the lede plus one:

QUAERITUR:

It occurs to me that two of the three people on Apollo 11 were in the military at the time of their trip to the moon.  The command module pilot, Michael Collins, and the lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin, were both active duty military at the time of their trip.  Is there an argument to be made that this is sufficient to make the moon part of the Archdiocese of the Military?

Hat tip to Memeorandum.

…as it stands now, it seems that the Moon is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Orlando.

“ORLANDO?!?’, you may be saying.  “Disneyworld?  EPCOT?  THAT Orlando?”

The idea is that, back in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, the Diocese of Orlando included Cape Canaveral. Because the journey to the Moon began from the Diocese of Orlando, Orlando had jurisdiction.

There is an anecdote about this.  The late Archbishop Borders, at the time Bishop of Orlando, during an ad limina visit in Rome told Paul VI that he was the bishop of the Moon.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Hat tip to Randy.

Regards  —  Cliff

Cleaning Up Veterans' Health Care

For John, BLUF:  There was a joke, when I was young, that the Vanguard Project should be renamed Civil Service.  The argument was that the rocket couldn't be fired or made to work.  Today that seems a little odd in construction, but it made sense at the time.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

VA firings spiked after Trump signed the new accountability law last year

From The Military Times, Reporter Leo Shane III, 8 January 2018.

Here is the lede plus four:

Employee firings at the Department of Veterans Affairs jumped in the second half of 2017 after new accountability legislation was signed into law last summer, results that administration officials insist show a renewed commitment to cleaning up the agency.

But critics say more firings don’t mean better results for veterans, and the rising rate of dismissals may not be significantly different than past years for the massive government bureaucracy.

“I don’t think this has accomplished what they want it to accomplish,” said Marilyn Park, legislative representative for the American Federation of Government Employees.

In June, President Donald Trump signed into law the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, legislation he has subsequently touted as one of his biggest accomplishments during his first year in office.

Among other provisions, the legislation shortened the appeal time for VA employees protesting their dismissals and expanded VA leadership’s ability to remove most workers, including senior executives, for misconduct or poor performance.

It will take more than a year to tell the full results.  Part of the issue is that there is also Balkanization in the VA, with each Hospital its own fiefdom.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Changes Out There

For John, BLUF:  What might be out there is forever fascinating.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

The 5 craziest things we learned about the universe in 2017

By Lauren Tousignant December 31, 2017.

Here is Item 5:

5.  The fact that the universe shouldn’t even exist

The latest study into the existence of the universe revealed that there’s no logical reason for us to be here.

The Big Bang is believed to have produced equal parts matter and antimatter — but since the only difference between these two is their opposite electrical charges, the reaction should have resulted in a violent eruption.

There is more for this topic, including a link to a larger sub-article.  And the four other topics.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Measure Twice, Cut Once

For John, BLUF:  At least with WAZE you know where you are when you begin, thanks to previous successful launches.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Does anyone remember this?

Mars Probe Lost Due to Simple Math Error

NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from English to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched, space agency officials said Thursday.

This is from The LA Times, back on 1 October 1999, by reporter Robert Lee Hotz.

It has taken 18 years, but I think the Russians have topped it.

Russian satellite lost after being set to launch from wrong spaceport

This is from The Guardian, via Reuters, 27 December 2017.

Here is the lede plus four:

Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Wednesday the loss of a 2.6bn-rouble ($45m) satellite launched last month was due to an embarrassing programming error.

Russian space agency Roscosmos said last month it had lost contact with the newly launched weather satellite – the Meteor-M – after it blasted off from Russia’s new Vostochny cosmodrome in the country’s far east.

Speaking to Rossiya 24 state TV channel, Rogozin said the failure had been caused by human error.  The rocket carrying the satellites had been programmed with the wrong coordinates, he said, saying it had been given bearings for take-off from a different cosmodrome – Baikonur – which Moscow leases from Kazakhstan.

“The rocket was really programmed as if it was taking off from Baikonur,” said Rogozin.  “They didn’t get the coordinates right.”

The rocket was carrying 18 smaller satellites belonging to scientific, research and commercial companies from Russia, Norway, Sweden, the US, Japan, Canada and Germany.

The key to successful navigation is knowing where you are.  The first step, of course, is knowing from whence you started, or having a great update point, but to get there you have to know where you are.  Everything else is dead reckoning.

Check and recheck is a good course of action.

Hat tip to my Middle Brother, who, before retirement was both a buyer and a seller of satellites.  As an aside, my Youngest Brother was a buyer of expendable launch vehicles.

Regards  —  Cliff