What's New Robert L. Park 17 Jun 2011

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 17 Jun 2011   Washington, DC

1. LOW-EARTH ORBIT: IT'S TIME TO DO A REALITY CHECK.
Five space-worthy orbiters were built=97two were destroyed in accidents a=
nd=20
two have been retired.  One remains in service pending completion of the=20
final Shuttle mission in July.  It is customary at retirements to review=20
the accomplishments and failures of the retiree, and introduce the=20
successor.  In the Cold War, Apollo was a hard act to follow.  The Soviet=
s=20
had chosen to explore the moon robotically, and from a technological=20
standpoint they accomplished with robots all that we did with astronauts,=
=20
and perhaps a little more.  The world hardly noticed; many people today=20
seem surprised to learn that the Soviets had a sophisticated moon=20
exploration program. The lesson is clear; you gotta put people in space. =
=20
The shuttle was sold to Congress as an economy measure because it was=20
reusable.  On the contrary, it was the most expensive launch system ever=20
devised =96 until now.  Before the project was cancelled last year by=20
President Obama , Orion was being built to return Americans to the Moon. =
=20
Sending humans to the moon served us well in the Cold War, but the Cold W=
ar=20
is long over.  We have a rare opportunity to rethink our space priorities=
. =20
I will talk more about the needs and opportunities in space in coming wee=
ks.

ETHANOL:  AN INEFFICIENT USE OF SOLAR ENERGY.
Driven by a remarkable coalition of liberals and fiscal conservatives, a=20
bipartisan majority of the Senate yesterday voted 73 =96 27 to end more t=
han=20
three decades of federal subsidies for ethanol.  An editorial in this=20
morning's Wall Street Journal saw a supernatural influence in the vote. =20
Some economists doubt that the tax credit is now crucial to the industry,=
=20
but the $6 billion tax break had heretofore been considered untouchable. =
=20
There is little evidence that ethanol from corn produced by modern=20
agricultural practices actually results in a net savings of fuel. =20
Historically, however, there is ample evidence that consumption of ethano=
l=20
rises in stressful times.

SIC ITUR AD ASTRA: I KEEP A LIST OF THOSE WHO SHOULD BE ON THE TRIP.
Speaking of ethanol, the Defense Department is offering a half-million=20
bucks to somebody with a good idea about how to get to another star,=20
according to an Associated Press story yesterday.  What good is it to fin=
d=20
all these extrasolar planets if we can't visit and maybe pick up a few ti=
ps=20
on new weapons?  I'd be happy to have them visit my freshman physics clas=
s=20
this fall.  We take a few minutes in each class session to plan the trip.=
 =20
How far is it?  What should we take with us?  How fast will we need to go=
=20
make the trip in working lifetime?  It all goes pretty well until we get=20
near the end of the semester and calculate how much energy it will take. =
=20
No matter, there are 7 billion people in the world.  One of =91em must ha=
ve=20
an idea.  Otherwise, it's back to the ethanol.

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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