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It's time for the US to partner with China in space

The future of America's space program is at a critical point in time; decisions are being made that will affect our ability to successfully maintain our leadership in human space flight, our national security and our capability to successfully compete with the international community in the commercial use of space.

What does the future hold for U.S. human spaceflight? The United States had been the undisputed leader in space exploration for several decades, until recently.

With the completion of its last flight in July of 2011, the space shuttle has been arbitrarily retired. And today, Russia is the only partner in the International Space Station program that is able to transport astronauts and cosmonauts to and from low Earth orbit (LEO).

The space shuttle amassed an impressive record of achievement during its lifetime, culminating in the very successful assembly of the space station. It was a very versatile spacecraft that allowed the crews to perform extravehicular activities (EVAs), assemble structures in space, repair satellites and perform spacecraft retrieval missions.

In addition, the shuttle was also a superb research platform, especially when equipped with a Spacelab or Spacehab module. It could carry a cargo of 60,000 pounds (27,000 kilograms) to orbit or return a cargo of equal weight to Earth.

In its place the U.S. is developing Orion, referred to as a Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). Orion returns the nation to flying capsules that return to Earth via parachutes using technology from the 1960s. It has no capability to carry cargo, support EVAs, do structural assembly in space, accomplish satellite repair or retrieval missions. It returns to Earth by parachute, landing in the water, as Orion is too heavy to be recovered on land.

The MPCV is supposedly being developed for exploration missions beyond Earth orbit but it provides no protection from space radiation for the crew. The first planned human flight is currently scheduled for 2021. That date is dependent upon the availability of a new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that is yet to be developed.

Currently, only funds for research, development and risk mitigation have been awarded for SLS, which raises the question of whether or not the launch system will ever be developed at all.

NASA is also providing funding to three commercial space endeavors. Some impressive achievements have been made. Most notably SpaceX having succeeded in its first operational cargo delivery mission in October 2012. These commercial enterprises, with one exception, also employ 60s technology capsules returning by parachute to water landings. These programs at best are several years away from Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for manned flights. And they are all currently dependent on being funded by the government.

Thus, we can expect that "The Gap" in U.S. human spaceflight capability that started with the end of the last space shuttle mission in July 2011 will likely last another five years or longer. In the meantime, fortunately, Russia continues to fly and support the flights of American astronauts to space.

When considering the future direction of NASA one point is quite clear. The construction of the ISS is now complete and the United States should maximize the utilization of the station. Research aboard ISS will help answer the questions and provide solutions that will enable future long duration flights out of Earth orbit.

One of the primary reasons for bringing the Russians into the station program was the desire to have dual access to the station. The dual access provided by the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz is the only reason we have a space station flying today. The shuttle was able to fulfill a need when Russia experienced launch vehicle problems, and the Soyuz, in a similar fashion, fulfilled a need when the space shuttle was unable to fly.

Dual access is critical to ensure the maximum utilization of the space station.

This year China demonstrated manned rendezvous and docking, flying a crew of three (which included China's first female astronaut) to their crew-tended Tiangong-1 orbital vehicle. China plans to launch the larger Tiangong-2 in 2013 and Tiangong-3, a Zvezda-class core module in 2020.

The U.S. is at a decision point. On its present course, the United States will lose at least the perceived leadership role in human space exploration. But there is an alternate path and one that would again provide for dual access to the space station.

The U.S. could lead the way to bring China into the ISS program, and lead the work to adapt the Shenzhou spacecraft to be compatible with the ISS. The U.S. would continue funding the three commercial space endeavors to supplement and support the logistic needs of the station.

This path would allow the U.S. to retain its leadership position in the current human spaceflight program (on the ISS) while it re-evaluates the real needs of an optimized exploration program. A program that would transition the ISS partnership, with all its capabilities, to a beyond-LEO program with the United States remaining as the lead partner.

Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency has already stated that ESA plans to hold a series of meetings with the China National Space Administration and explore closer cooperation in the areas of astronaut training, spacecraft docking and developing life support systems. ESA would also like China to become a member of the ISS program if U.S. objections can be overcome.

When Canada hosted the ISS Heads of Agencies Meeting on March 1 in Quebec City, Canada, Jean-Jacques Dordain, director-general of the ESA, told reporters, "I am in favor of seeing how we can work together with China. It will take some steps, but it will come, I am sure."

Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, also said the day will come when China and India will work together with the five current partners — the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and the ESA. "We are not a closed club," he said. "Our doors are wide open."

A partnership with China could be developed along the same lines as was done with integrating the Russian space program into the ISS partnership. Using this model, no military-sensitive technology would be transferred. China's economy would allow for it to fully fund its own efforts. Thus there would be little increased expense to the United States for developing this advantageous relationship.

As Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College and author of numerous books on space, including "Heavenly Ambitions: America's Quest to Dominate Space" (University of Pennsylvania Press), told CNN on June 20, prohibiting NASA by law from working with China makes no sense:

"If one believes that China and the United States are not inherently enemies, then working together on space projects — with technology transfer controls — will benefit both countries. If one believes that China is inherently a threat to the United States, then the adage "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" comes to mind. The script for U.S.-China relations — and space relations in particular — is constantly evolving. The United States can influence the direction, but only if we engage and persuade the Chinese to engage with us. It's one way of preventing a scenario of a galactic Wild West in which China has become the world's leader in space."

It is clear the United States' international partners see the benefits of working with the Chinese on the space station; it is time for the United States to provide the leadership to make it a reality.

George W.S. Abbey is the Baker Botts Senior Fellow in Space Policy at the Baker Institute, at Rice University. From 1996 to 2001, he served as the director of NASA Johnson Space Center. His NASA career spanned the US human spaceflight program from Gemini and Apollo, through the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.

Dr. Leroy Chiao is a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander. He served as a member of the 2009 Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, and is the special adviser for human spaceflight to the Space Foundation. He holds appointments at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University.

Msn.com

Apple CEO Cook redesigns executive ranks

Apple CEO Tim Cook is "remapping" Apple's organizational chart.

The company that prides itself on meticulous products has shown the door to failed Maps chief Richard Williamson in part of a broader redesign of the company under Cook.

Widespread consumer outrage over Apple's wonky Maps software put Williamson in the hot seat. That led to Cook lieutenant Eddy Cue, senior vice president at Apple, firing the senior director of its iOS mobile software division, according to Bloomberg News.

The move underscores a series of management shakeups, a major shortcoming in a core Apple utility — Maps — and Cook's preparedness in cleaning house.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment.

New leaders need to come in and clear out "dead wood," says Vivek Wadhwa, vice president of academics and innovation at Singularity University, of recent management changes under Cook's regime. "Tim Cook is bringing his own guys in. He knows where the doers are."

The booting of Williamson comes on the heels of last month's ouster of mobile operating system chief Scott Forstall. The former executive in charge of iOS, Forstall served as a longtime lieutenant under Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and was seen as a likely successor and rival for the top spot.

He was also a polarizing figure. Forstall was reportedly at odds with Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design and close Jobs confidant, whose role as taste-maker has been since elevated to span software and hardware.

Cook is "doing the right thing. He's less concerned about the public perception than getting the product right. Jobs tried to manage the media and perception more aggressively," says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

Along with ejecting Forstall, Cook oversaw the exit of retail chief John Browett. The former leader at U.K.-based Dixons Retail, who didn't even last a year, was seen as a bad fit from the start. His focus on cutting costs vs. customer service raised flags among analysts.

Executive expulsions alone won't be able to fix Apple's Maps blunder. "People below them are the critical ones," says Wadhwa.

Apple fans have vented across social media about misplaced landmarks, streets and incomplete directions. A lack of public transit information had many calling for people to avoid updating their software.

Yet Apple's ill-fated move to displace Google Maps as the provider of its mapping technology is part of a growing rivalry between the technology giants for Internet services. And giving that business over to Google — massive Web traffic — was just no longer an option.

The problem is that coming even close to Google Maps could take a long time. The search giant has spent years tweaking Google Maps in widespread efforts that suck in data that include staff images from Google Street View crews and Google Map Maker, crowd-sourced maps made by people, says Mike Dobson, president of TeleMapics.

Criticism has fallen on navigation company TomTom for providing Apple the data it uses. TomTom has defended its maps data. "My belief is those are Apple's problems, not TomTom's data," says Dobson.

The fix will likely require massive hiring and human interaction with data, he says. "They thought it would be good enough, but the reality was it was not good enough. It was real sloppiness."

Usatoday.com

Friday, August 17, 2012

Merkel Backs European Central Bank

PARIS — Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has returned from vacation with an endorsement of the European Central Bank’s conditional support for Spain and Italy, but a Finnish official has suggested that euro zone leaders are preparing for the worst, including a possible breakup of the currency bloc.

Speaking late Thursday at a news conference in Ottawa with Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, Ms. Merkel backed a statement by Mario Draghi, the president of the E.C.B., that the bank would do whatever it took to preserve the euro.

In contrast to some members of the German Parliament, Ms. Merkel expressed no objections to plans by the E.C.B. to buy bonds to hold down borrowing costs for stricken countries, if certain conditions were met.

While her statement left room for interpretation, Ms. Merkel appeared to be showing her openness to such action by the E.C.B. and the euro zone rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism. A benign attitude toward bond interventions by Ms. Merkel could be significant. Germany has been the main obstacle to efforts to take financial pressure off countries like Spain and Italy, because many Germans believe they would wind up paying for the irresponsible spending behavior of others.

Political leaders have been expressing the same resolve for more than two years, Ms. Merkel said in Ottawa. “European heads of government also feel a duty and have a duty to do everything possible to preserve the common currency,” she said. “In that respect the European Central Bank, despite its independence, is fully following the same line.”

Mr. Draghi’s professed determination to act has helped to restore calm to the fragile nerves of euro zone investors who feared that the problems of Spain and Italy would overwhelm the bloc’s resources.

But there is widespread skepticism over whether Europe can muster the political will to save the euro.

“We have to face openly the possibility of a euro breakup,” Erkki Tuomioja, Finland’s foreign minister, told The Daily Telegraph in an interview published Friday in Britain.

The issue of bailing out weaker euro zone members has been a divisive one in Finnish politics, with one euro-skeptic party, the True Finns, gaining almost one-fifth of the seats in Parliament by virtue of its opposition. While Finland could in theory block new bailout measures, so far officials have been content to criticize anything that smells of a weakening of will on demands for austerity before falling in line with Germany.

“It is not something that anybody — even the True Finns — are advocating in Finland, let alone the government. But we have to be prepared,” said Mr. Tuomioja, a member of the Social Democratic Party, one of six parties in the governing coalition. “Our officials, like everybody else and like every general staff, have some sort of operational plan for any eventuality.

“But let me add that the breakup of the euro does not mean the end of the European Union. It could make the E.U. function better.”

In response, Finland’s European affairs minister, Alexander Stubb, a member of the National Coalition Party of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, told Reuters on Friday that Mr. Tuomioja’s “speculation does not reflect the government’s position.” The euro, Mr. Stubb added, is “an economic and political project to which we are 100 percent committed.”

Bond purchases by the E.C.B. have been criticized by the Bundesbank, the German central bank. But Ms. Merkel appeared to take a softer position, noting that the E.C.B. had made it clear it would only buy bonds if political leaders did their part.

This month, Mr. Draghi said the E.C.B. was prepared to intervene in bond markets if the European Stability Mechanism acted first, and if political leaders kept promises to reduce deficit spending, overhaul their economies and build stronger European institutions.

News from Spain on Friday served as a reminder of how the euro zone’s problems continue to grow as economies weaken further. The Bank of Spain said problem loans held by Spanish banks reached record levels in June as the real estate market continued to decline.

Loans classified as nonperforming, meaning those in or near default, made up 9.42 percent of banks’ portfolios in June, up from 8.96 percent in May, the central bank said. In June, Spain was granted a financial-sector bailout of €100 billion, or $124 billion, and is expected to ask for the first disbursement of that aid within weeks.

But the property sector, which boomed during the years of easy credit, has much further to fall, analysts say, boding poorly for the banks’ near-term prospects.

Nytimes.com
David Jolly reported from Paris.

Xiaomi Phone 2 : 4.3-inch 720p IPS, quad core and Jelly Bean for just $310

Engadget.com