I have commented several times that Bush II is clearing sub-orbital, orbital and near-earth space for military purposes. And, in the recent diaries here that have become epitaphs for Hubble, I predicted that the Space Shuttle and the ISS was next.
Today's NY Times proves me right in spades: NASA planning to retire Space Shuttle.
Turns out that now, with the former Star Wars project leader and military contractor in place as head of NASA, the Bush Administration has created a special "group" devoted to scheduling the retirement of the Shuttle in 2010, with the ISS to be decommissioned in 2017 (both could happen sooner if for instance, the group decides that the Shuttle is unable to complete the ISS in this decade).
This follows on news that the public will by-and-large be prevented from watching Shuttle launches from now on, and that, in a bid to create a new X-Files series, Shuttle flights will now land in New Mexico.
Why you should care on the flip......
Keeping your eye on the ball during the Bush Administration is not easy. First, you have to admit that these muppets toss many balls in the air. Then, they have all those mirrors to exaggerate the number of balls. Finally, there's all that smoke.
Here's what's happening: the best battlespace in the world is not in our world, it's above us. And, the US military is taking it. Right now.
They are clearing out all programs that could possibly get in the way. Most important, there will be no "international" programs when they are done. It will be our military and the Chinese.
Now, there are plenty of tinfoil reasons to dislike this. In comments to the Hubble diaries, I identified one area that I think is particularly interesting: terraforming, weather monitoring and weather control. This is no longer the stuff of a mid-60s Bond film. It is possible and in our most recent period of American glasnost the military published papers on it in the late 90s. Needless to say, such material is no longer unclassified.
I believe that strong evidence exists that terraforming is occurring. But that's the subject of another diary. The reason most Americans should be concerned now about NASA's "retirement" of the Shuttle and ISS is because we will lose our last unadulterated and uncontrolled public eyes in the sky.
Hundreds of researchers now have access to data obtained from a position high above us. They act as a check on military operations in the area and as a check on what is going on in our earth's atmosphere. There is no substitute for this.
Another (non-tinfoil) reason to oppose current efforts to clear out public, scientific use of the upper atmosphere is that we are losing a great example of international cooperation in space. Once the military takes our orbital space, they will not give it up. You can bet we will not see another orbital example of global cooperation. And, it will be incredibly destabilizing, with China seeking to maintain parity up there. This will be the next Wild West, and it has the potential for catastrophe.
Senate Democratic leaders recognized this recently when they disclosed the amounts being spent on the military's and the CIA's supersecret new satellite programs. Their disclosure was probably illegal, but they did it anyway. I believe they are patriots. But, that doesn't mean they are effective.
Stay tuned...