Shall we propose Barbielofting as a NAR event?
Barbie Duration
Barbie Altitude
Barbie Spot Landing
Extra style points would be awarded for outfit and accessories, to be
judged by a panel of pre-teen girls.
Say, would losing the shoes constitute a DQ?
Bill Sullivan
'What are you so nervous about? We went up against the entire Earth
Alliance, and two carrier groups.'
'Yeah, but this is the post office. This could get us in real trouble.'
- Garibaldi to Security Officer, Babylon 5
Losing Barbie results in BONUS points!
Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"
>>> To reply, remove the TRABoD! <<<
Kaplow Klips & Baffle: http://nira-rocketry.org/LeadingEdge/Phantom4000.pdf
www.encompasserve.org/~kaplow_r/ www.nira-rocketry.org www.nar.org
"To enslave men, successfully and safely, it is necessary to have
their minds occupied with thoughts and aspirations short of the
liberty of which they are deprived. A certain degree of attainable
good must be kept before them." Frederick Douglas, "My Bondage and
My Freedom," 1855
I was horrified after seeing the pic of poor Barbie ready to fly....
A blatant disrespect for her personal safety....what the hell would Ken have
to say about this?
It's a wonder he didn't give ya'll a beating!
No leather Cap / Helmet.
No Goggles to protect her sexy eyes.
Her clothing, (As impressive as it is) doesn't look like its very flame
resistant.
And to cap it off.......the worst thing of all.....Her shoe's weren't even
secure!!!
:-)
If you're referring to the Shuttle, don't worry. I'm a well-known
Shuttlephobe. If it was up to me, those tired old hangar queens would
be dragged to the museums where they belong and we'd get on with a real
space program with some new rockets and new spacecraft.
H3
www.homerhickam.com.
would
real
I have. Here's my latest editorial in the Wall Street Journal on that
particular subject, published last month:
New NASA Administrator Editorial
Exclusive for the Wall Street Journal
So now NASA has a new Administrator, a young dynamic rocket scientist
named Dr. Mike Griffin. I don't know Dr. Griffin but I wish him well.
But I also have a message. Most of my NASA engineer friends tell me
they're worn out. The way they see it, the space agency has become a
grindstone where the hopes, dreams, and careers of engineers are
crushed into dust. This has got to change or NASA is heading toward
extinction. My advice to Dr. Griffin is to take two simultaneous
steps: Put the Space Shuttle in the museum where it belongs, and
implement with great urgency the design, construction, and flight of a
new crewed space vehicle. If you don't, I think you could lose every
good engineer you've got left.
I left NASA in 1998 to pursue a writing career. I'm sure glad I did,
not only because I have a passion for writing but because I could no
longer stand to work on the Space Shuttle. Twenty-four years after it
first flew, what was once a magnificent example of American engineering
expertise has become an old and very dangerous contraption. It has
killed fourteen people and will probably kill more if it continues to
be launched. The Shuttle has also wasted a generation of space
engineers trying to keep it flying on schedule and safe. Frankly,
that's just not possible and most NASA engineers in the trenches know
it. Einstein reputedly defined insanity as repeating the same behavior
and expecting different results. The Shuttle is a good bad example of
this. NASA management keeps pushing it in the ring like a dazed boxer
with a glass jaw and too many punches to the head and expecting it to
win the fight. Not likely.
As soon as he's behind his desk, I hope Dr. Griffin recognizes that
his most important job is to protect his engineers and give them
something new and productive to build. After bringing the Shuttle
program to a rapid end (tomorrow would be good), he should implement
with great urgency the immediate design and construction of the new
Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that President Bush announced with some
fanfare last year. From what I hear, the CEV is a higher-tech version
of the Apollo spacecraft that took us to the moon. I know NASA
engineers would love to design, build, and fly such a vehicle. Most of
them have never worked on a program that produced a spacecraft. Never!
Can you imagine being an aerospace engineer and spending an entire
career designing and designing again, but never allowed to actually
build and fly anything? That's the situation with nearly all NASA
engineers except for the relatively few who work on robotic hardware.
But the CEV will need some nurturing from Dr. Griffin. There are
powerful forces within NASA which will protect the Shuttle with a
religious ferocity. If I were in charge, I'd do my best to convert if
possible, or subvert if necessary, these cult-like Shuttle-huggers. It
won't be easy. They are entrenched everywhere up and down the NASA
organizational chart. Ultimately, Dr. Griffin may have to ask
President Bush to step in and personally pull the plug on the Shuttle.
I'll hold his coat.
As of right now, NASA says the Crew Exploration Vehicle won't be ready
to fly until 2014. That's nuts. Putting it off until then is like
saying you're not going to build it at all. And if our technological
edge is so dull we're not actually capable of building it, then let's
just give up and buy the Chinese version. That's not a serious
recommendation, by the way, but it is kind of a wake-up call. Chinese
engineers are doing good, cutting-edge work in space. In contrast, our
space engineers slave over the tired old Shuttle, or do paperwork
exercises, thus proving Einstein was correct, not only about physics
but maybe insanity, too.
Homer Hickam is the author of the memoir Rocket Boys/October Sky. His
latest novel, The Ambassador's Son, is published by St. Martin's Press.
You can see my other editorials about the Shuttle on the "other
writing" page under "Books" on the website. It's been evolutionary
with me. I used to love the Shuttle as much as anybody. Certainly, I
spent a great deal of time around them training astronauts and I was on
the SRB redesign team. But I have reluctantly concluded that if we are
ever to be great in space again, they need to go the way of the old
British Comet, the pioneer passenger jet that was plagued by critical
design flaws that could have been fixed but made more sense to replace
with new designs.
H3
I keep thinking thaqt if the mony NASA spent so far on the future shuttle
had ben given to Rutan, it would be flying already.
Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"
>>> To reply, remove the TRABoD! <<<
Kaplow Klips & Baffle: http://nira-rocketry.org/LeadingEdge/Phantom4000.pdf
www.encompasserve.org/~kaplow_r/ www.nira-rocketry.org www.nar.org
This is a country which stands tallest in troubled times, a country
that clings to fundamental principles, cherishes its constitutional
heritage, and rejects simple solutions that compromise the values
that lie at the roots of our democratic system. -- Supreme Court
Justice Thurgood Marshall, 1972
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