Russian Rocket Explodes and our Gutted Space Program

I remember staying up and watching the first steps on the moon by Americans.

HOWEVER –

Thanks to the present administration’s agenda, our once fabulous space program of NASA has been gutted and America is forced to rely on Russia to get to and from the Space Station.

James May, in a recent episode of UK’s Top Gear Show, takes a fascinating look at our new moon rover in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the original American moon buggy.

It illustrates the brilliance of American ingenuity and technical exceptionalism.

James May laments …

… toward the end how the new American President has disabled NASA and will be a disappointment to young people who will never know the thrill of watching new achievements by America in space.

How much more dismantling of America can we stand until the wolves at our door be able to get in and devour us?

– Russian supply rocket lost this week

Thanks to the present administration, the United States has no way to reach into space which means we must rely on Russia to shuttle and resupply the International Space Station.

This week – while the New York based news channels were self obsessed by that little storm, several tons of supplies for the space station went up in a fire ball on top of a Russian rocket that failed.

While the authorities seem to be low key about the situation, this situation begs the inevitable question of just what extent has Obama led us to once again damage ourselves.

This is the same rocket type that will soon carry an American crew to the space station.

The ISS Progress 44 spacecraft and nearly 3 tons of supplies for the International Space Station were lost Wednesday when the launch vehicle experienced a failure during the climb to orbit.

The launch took place as scheduled at 9 a.m. EDT Wednesday from Baikonur Cosmodrome (7 p.m. Baikonur time). However, Mission Control Moscow reported communication with the Progress 44 was lost 5 minutes, 50 seconds after its launch.

“At 1300 (GMT), we lifted off, following 320 seconds of flight there was a failure in the upper stage of the launch vehicle. We lost comm(unications) after a while with the launch vehicle and we did not report stage separation,” said Maxim Matuchen, the head of the Russian Mission Control Center.

International Space Station Program Manager Michael Suffredini held a news conference at the Johnson Space Center discussing the loss of the resupply vehicle and the impact it may have on the program and the crew. There are plenty of supplies to support the crew, and the station is in a good configuration. However, a Russian commission will be formed to investigate the root cause of the vehicle loss which may affect upcoming Russian spacecraft launches.

The Expedition 28 crew continued to prepare for the planned departure of three crew members, although the exact date of that upcoming departure is being reviewed following today’s Progress loss, and continued with science activities.

Commander Andrey Borisenko and Flight Engineers Alexander Samokutyaev and Ron Garan prepared for their scheduled departure on Sept. 7. They stowed gear on the Soyuz vehicle in which they will return to Earth. Mission managers are discussing the possibility of extending their stay on orbit to maintain six-person crew operations on the station as options for the launch of the next three crew members, including NASA’s Dan Burbank, are considered.

Borisenko and Samokutyaev also donned lower body negative pressure suits that draw body fluids towards the feet. This is standard protocol for cosmonauts preparing to return to Earth after long duration missions in space. Garan gathered personal items and clothing for stowage and disposal.

Flight Engineer Mike Fossum stowed hardware from SHERE, or the Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment, after the completion of last week’s experiment runs. SHERE investigates the stress and strain response of a polymer fluid being stretched in microgravity. Fossum also cleaned up storage containers which hold experiment samples inside a science freezer.

Flight Engineer Sergei Volkov set up hardware for the RUSALKA experiment. Utilizing a camera and spectrum analyzer RUSALKA is testing procedures that will measure levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Flight Engineer and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa collected water samples from the Potable Water Dispenser for in-flight processing and analysis. The water will be tested for microbe and coliform detection using tools from the Environmental Health System.

Very soon, Americans will be riding this same rocket type to the space station. Is there a danger we will loose our people now ?

Russian TV put a happy spin on the situation. They mention a “100%” success rate – but there are many situations of Russian rocket failures.

We have to go to Russian Television news to get reports about the crash since American News was obsessed 24 hours a day almost all week with the storm. That storm pales with the severity of hurricanes that hit the southern part of the United States every year as well as the virtually ignored flooding in middle Tennessee and Nashville by the New York based “national” news sources.

Again – Russia TV News makes a happy spin that there is no “immediate” danger to the people where it crashed. Was anyone hit by all that falling debris?

So, thanks to Obama and his administration, America is forced to ride in the left seat. Our important space programs have been gutted and neutered.

It is OUR space program that has pioneered space and led to advances in everything from weather science, to navigation, analyzing crop and food production and on and on.

What future advances have we and the rest of the world now lost because of Obama’s agenda to reduce American Exceptionalism?

“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

– John Kennedy from his Presidential Inaugural Address

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Category: Tony Rollo Blog