WILL AN ALIEN PRESENCE HINDER PRIVATE SPACE FLIGHT?

Like so many others, I was awed and amazed at the progress a few privately owned companies made in the race for the X PRIZE, formally known as Ansari X PRIZE for Suborbital Spaceflight. The hard-fought competition was won by a partnership between Scaled Composites and Microsoft´s co-founder Paul Allen with a ship named SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne was launched from underneath an aircraft platform named the White Knight, and reached an altitude of 100 kilometers, generally recognized as the edge of space.

This amazing achievement meant that, from that point on, NASA was not the only ballgame in town on the American continent. Now, private companies will soon be able to carry passengers to space. Sounds great, right?

A great bit of buzz has been made of a secret "relationship" between NASA and possible extraterrestrial visitors, one that has only tolerated orbital flights since the cancellation of NASA´s Apollo Program, which landed man on the moon in 1969. Noted researcher Richard C. Hoagland has made a strong case for the existence of artificially manufactured debris on the moon, some in the form of robotic heads, some resembling devastated glass domes and buildings.

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin reported seeing a large base, mining operation, and what appeared to be spacecraft on the surface of the Moon´s far side. One was even overheard exclaiming into his microphone to NASA´s Mission Control in Houston, Texas, "These babies are huge, Sir! Enormous! Oh my God! You wouldn't believe it! I'm telling you there are other spacecraft out there, lined up on the far side of the crater edge! They're on the Moon watching us!" [emphasis added]

Armstrong would later be heard admitting that one extraterrestrial craft approached Apollo 11 and behaved in a manner suggesting that the astronauts were being warned away from the area.

Mercury and Gemini astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper spoke of seeing fresh photographs of an extraterrestrial spacecraft landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, minutes after it happened!

Cooper was so adamant about the existence of UFO´s that he spoke in front of a United Nations panel discussion on the UFO phenomenon in 1985, saying, "I believe that these extraterrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which are a little more technically advanced than we are on Earth. I feel that we need to have a top level, coordinated program to scientifically collect and analyze data from all over the Earth concerning any type of encounter, and to determine how best to interfere with these visitors in a friendly fashion."

Edgar Mitchell, ScD, the sixth man to walk on the Moon, has made it his mission to convince the world that Mankind is not alone in the universe. There are others who have visited and continue to visit this planet we call home.

When considering that there are representatives of other civilizations in the space around Earth, colonizing our Moon, and many astronauts have broken their silence and admitted as such, and considering that NASA has not sent a manned mission (as far as we know) beyond Earth´s orbit since the cancellation of Apollo, what does that bode for the upcoming generation of new, private astronauts?

There is a reason that the most powerful country on Earth submits itself to the desires of an alien race. Typically, it would suggest an imbalance of military power favoring the alien visitors. Not wanting the American public and the rest of the world to know that a Earth spacecraft had been shot down or aggressively disabled, preventing it from continuing its voyage to its intended destination, whether that be the Moon or elsewhere, would be paramount.

Another possibility would be that of political power. If it became known that the American government and American military establishment had knowledge of the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization(s) and withheld that knowledge from its citizenry, severe loss of faith, trust, and credibility in government could possibly result. After so many years of denying the existence of "flying saucers and little green men", and impugning the credibility of the many witnesses to alien activity who have stepped forward, government would never regain the trust it once had. This is reason enough to kowtow to an alien power!

IF the alien threat is as menacing as some believe, it is unlikely that there will be many publicly known, private spaceflights without at least experiencing insurmountable impediments.

These impediments can take many forms, and will probably consist of a variety of natures. One method could be official government interference, such as a revocation of operating licenses and flight clearances, forcing a company to stop operations.

Another might be less formal, such as a series of unfortunate incidents that seem to suggest that space flight might not be the most opportune business venture.

A suggestive warning to cease and desist might also be in the works.

Lastly, there is the possibility of a confrontation between the aggressive and repressive alien presence and a private spacecraft. Such a confrontation would inevitable lead to public disclosure, as it would be difficult for those in power to encourage secrecy upon the occupants of the private spacecraft, who are most likely affluent tourists, while at the same time successfully discontinuing further civilian flights.

How private industry progresses in the arena of civilian, for-profit space flight will be a prominent telltale indicative of whether there really exists an outside (really far outside!) interference to Mankind´s innate need for exploration and adventure.

References and Sources:

What Would Possess Them by Bass, Steven S., 2008

Incredible News No One May Hear by Bass, Steven S., 2008

SEE THIS AND MUCH MORE IN THE JOURNAL OF FRONTIER SCIENCE, THE PREMIER CASE STUDY/PEER REVIEW, HISTORICAL, AND EDUCATIONAL ONLINE UFOLOGY MAGAZINE. www.FrontierScience.us

Obama picks former astronaut to lead NASA

Nineteen years after helping launch the Hubble Space Telescope, Charles F. Bolden Jr. has been nominated by President Obama to serve as NASA's next administrator.

Bolden, a former combat pilot and Marine Corps major general, is also a veteran space shuttle commander.

Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator for policy and plans and a space policy adviser to the Obama campaign, will serve as Bolden's deputy.

"These talented individuals will help put NASA on course to boldly push the boundaries of science, aeronautics, and exploration in the 21st century and ensure the long-term vibrancy of America's space program," Obama said in a statement Saturday.

Charles F. Bolden Jr. in a NASA space shuttle crew photo.

(Credit: NASA)

Bolden, the third African-American to fly in space, had met with Obama at the White House on Tuesday, the day the Hubble Space Telescope was relaunched from the shuttle Atlantis. The five-spacewalk overhaul marked NASA's fifth and final visit to the storied telescope since Bolden helped launch it in 1990.

An announcement naming Bolden, 62, as Obama's candidate to head the civilian space agency came four months after the departure of former administrator Mike Griffin, a rocket scientist appointed by the Bush administration to oversee the shuttle's 2010 retirement and a planned return to the moon.

"The president could not have made a better choice," Griffin told CBS News. "Charlie Bolden is an accomplished pilot, a veteran astronaut, and an old friend. He has spent his life in the service of his country, and our nation is the better for it. NASA will be in good hands."

The Obama administration struggled to find an acceptable replacement after deciding not to ask Griffin to stay on, reportedly considering several candidates before settling on Bolden.

Insiders pleased
Widely respected within NASA for his engineering judgment, leadership skills, and no-nonsense approach to thorny technical issues, Bolden's appointment was broadly welcomed by space agency insiders.

"I can't imagine anybody that would be a better choice than Charlie," said Jay Honeycutt, former director of the Kennedy Space Center. "He knows the business of flying in space, as well as knows how to navigate his way around Washington. He has a good relationship with Congress, as well as the guys in the administration."

John Logsdon, space policy analyst at George Washington University and a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, called Bolden "an extremely good choice." "First of all, he's not that much of an outsider to Washington. He's been on the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and the National Academy of Engineering space board, so he's really up to speed with what's going on with the program," Logsdon said.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., flew with Bolden during a 1986 shuttle flight and has been lobbying Obama for weeks to put Bolden in charge of NASA at a particularly critical time in the agency's history.

"In all the problems that are facing the president, it's hard to get attention on this one little agency," he told CBS News. "He certainly hears it from me, but he'll hear it then from his own administration (after Bolden is confirmed). And I believe then we've got a chance of getting us really back into the glory days."

In a statement released Saturday, Nelson said that Bolden will face "budgetary constraints, technical issues, the remaining shuttle launches and the pending retirement of the shuttle program. And, restoring the wonder that space exploration can provide, and to make sure the president's mission is carried out."

"Charlie is the kind of dynamic leader I believe the president was looking for and I know he'll meet these challenges head on," Nelson said.

Challenges ahead
NASA is struggling to complete the International Space Station during the final eight shuttle missions between now and the end of 2010. At the same time, the agency is trying to develop a new rocket system for the Bush administration's Constellation program, which is aimed at resuming moon flights in 2020.

The Constellation architecture, calling for development of a new heavy lift unmanned Ares 5 booster, a lunar lander, and a smaller Ares 1 rocket to boost Orion crew capsules into orbit, has come under fire from critics who claim alternative rocket systems can be developed faster at lower cost.

Complicating the political picture, the Ares 1/Orion system intended to replace the space shuttle will not be available until 2015, forcing NASA to buy seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the space station. Griffin repeatedly warned Congress about this so-called "gap," but the money needed to accelerate development of Ares 1/Orion never materialized.

The Obama administration's first budget supported the Constellation program in general, endorsing shuttle retirement in 2010 and a return to the moon by 2020. But the administration's 2010 budget, while boosting near-term NASA funding, slashed spending by $3.1 billion between 2011 and 2013. If that money is not restored, Ares 5 development will suffer and landings on the moon will be delayed if not eliminated.

Earlier this month, Obama ordered a 90-day independent review of NASA's manned space program headed. Options for how best to proceed will be presented to the administration later this summer. Depending on what the Augustine commission determines, some or all of the lost money could be restored to NASA's long-range budget.

Or none at all.

Despite the uncertain outlook, Nelson said he doubts Constellation will go away.

"That's just not going to happen," he told CBS. "You're not going to throw away four years of work on the Ares. So I'm not concerned about that. I think the Augustine commission will bless the Ares. The thing I am concerned about is to what extent Ares 5 will be rapidly developed so we can end up doing the lunar lander here and all of that on a target for 2020. And a lot of that's going to come out of the Augustine Commission.

"Even though we've got this concern, that the numbers are lean in the out years, I still have some optimism about us increasing that," Nelson said. "I think politics will play a part of it, because candidate Obama will be a candidate again in 2012 and I think Florida will be important. Florida will be bigger then, it will be 29 electoral votes and I believe...they'll pay attention to us. So I'm concerned, but I'm not panicked about the out years."

Bolden's shuttle history
Bolden's first space flight came when he and six crewmates, including Nelson, took off aboard the shuttle Columbia on January 12, 1986. It was the last successful shuttle mission before Challenger's fatal January 28 launch.

Bolden took off a second time on April 24, 1990, when he served as pilot of the shuttle Discovery to ferry the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.

It is a given in the astronaut office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston that any flight assignment is a good flight assignment. But the Hubble Space Telescope, one of the most expensive civilian satellites ever built, was in a class by itself, and Bolden clearly relished a chance to play a role in the showcase mission.

"Astronomy captivates everybody," he said in an interview at the time. "A kid in the ghetto, a kid on the farm, everybody at one time or another happens to glance up at the nighttime sky and they see these things we call stars and every once in a while a planet.

"You'd just have to be a non-human being not to go 'what the heck is that?' It has a fascination for everybody."

Bolden flew in space a third time as commander of the shuttle Atlantis for an atmospheric research mission that took off March 24, 1992. His fourth and final space mission was a historic flight as commander of the shuttle Discovery in 1994, a mission that included cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian to fly on a space shuttle.

The Russian space program is now critical to NASA, providing the transportation to and from low-Earth orbit while the U.S. agency develops its shuttle replacement.

William Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News. He has covered more than 115 shuttle missions, every interplanetary flight since Voyager 2's flyby of Neptune, and scores of commercial and military launches. Based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Harwood is a devoted amateur astronomer and co-author of "Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia."