WHAT'S NEW Friday, December 17, 2004

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 17 Dec 04   Washington, DC
                                                                   
1. MISSILE DEFENSE: EXPLAIN TO ME AGAIN WHY THEY WERE TESTING IT? 
The Missile Defense Agency said this week's flop would not affect
the decision to declare the system operational.  In the previous
test, two years ago, the kill vehicle failed to separate from the
booster.  That was unfortunate, but MDA said it didn't affect the
"success rate" because the interceptor never reached the "endgame" 
http://www.aps.org/WN/WN02/wn121302.cfm.  This week, the Missile
Defense Agency tried again.  This time the interceptor failed to
make it out of the silo.  In April, a GAO report said the tests
were not realistic.  The MDA director, General Kadish, director
explained, "you can't operationally test the system until you put
it in place" http://www.aps.org/WN/WN04/wn043004.cfm.  So what's
the problem?  There are now 6 interceptors in place in Ft. Greely,
AK, just hanging out waiting to be tested operationally.

2. NASA: THE SEARCH IS ON FOR SOMEONE TO REPLACE SEAN O'KEEFE.  
General Kadish is said to be high on the list.  Under O'Keefe, top
NASA positions were often filled by military men, but competition
is stiff.  Although several former astronauts are rumored to on
the list, the front runner is thought to be Bob Walker, a former
Member of Congress who was chair of the House Science Committee. 
He predicted the space station would produce a Nobel Prize, backed
cold fusion, and introduced his Hydrogen Futures Act, which in the
initial version violated the First Law of Thermodynamics.  He is
now the Chairman of Wexler & Walker, a Washington lobbying firm
tied to science and space interests.  A member of the President's
Moon-Mars commission, Walker has no science background, but then
neither does O'Keefe, who has just accepted the job of Chancellor
of Louisiana State University.  He says he took it for the money.

3. THE HUBBLE FACTOR: O'KEEFE SHOULD BE GIVEN A MEDAL OF FREEDOM.
O'Keefe bore none of the blame for the Columbia accident, but it
led to the Hubble problem.  The Columbia review called for using
the ISS as safe haven in case of a shuttle problem, but that's not
practical for a shuttle flight to the Hubble orbit.  While O'Keefe
pushed hard for the President's Moon-Mars plan, he decided Hubble
should go.  O'Keefe is going instead.  It's time to start over. 
Put the shuttles in museums, and drop the ISS in the Philippine
Trench, but take care of Hubble till it can be replaced. In the
meantime, if Tenet is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
after telling the President that weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq are a "slam-dunk," why not give one to O'Keefe?    

4. TARGETED PRAYER: "PRAYER WARRIORS" ARE LINKED BY THE INTERNET. 
On ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings there was a report
about Christian prayer teams organized over the internet from the
World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs.  By praying in unison for
specific targets they say the effect is multiplied.  They could
pray for Missile Defense.  It will have as much effect as a test. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.  
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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