NASA chooses deep space travel vehicle, not everybody happy – Poll

by Chris Owen on

The deep space travel vehicle that will be the future of America’s space program was announced by NASA this week. That’s good news for Lockheed-Martin who will develop it but some legendary astronauts disagree with the direction of the program.

“As we aggressively continue our work on a heavy-lift launch vehicle, we are moving forward with an existing contract to keep development of our new crew vehicle on track,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

The new capsule, now called the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), will be based on the Orion space craft that had been part of the Constellation return-to-the-moon program, with landing on an asteroid by 2025 and on Mars by 2035 as a new goal. Effectively canceled by President Obama in 2009 when his proposed 2011 budget did not include funds for the inherited program, developer Lockheed-Martin calls it a New Era of Space Exploration.

In a highly-critical answer to the NASA announcement in USA Today, legendary astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan look back to the beginning of the U.S. space program for answers.”Obama’s advisers, in searching for a new and different NASA strategy with which the president could be favorably identified, ignored NASA’s operational mandate and strayed widely from President Kennedy’s vision and the will of the American people” the astronauts said in the USA Today post.

The former commanders of moon missions note diligent work by Congress to steer NASA’s program back towards Kennedy’s goals in spite of a reduced budget but question the reality of efforts to partner with industry for future development.

“Entrepreneurs in the space transportation business assert that they can offer such service at a very attractive price – conveniently not factoring in the NASA-funded development costs. These expenditures, including funds to insure safety and reliability, can be expected to be substantially larger and more time consuming than the entrepreneurs predict.”

Finally, noting the apparent demise of NASA’s human space flight program and what appears to be a lack of direction or a solid plan to maintain leadership in space exploration, the astronauts draw a sobering conclusion:

“Kennedy launched America on that new ocean. For 50 years we explored the waters to become the leader in space exploration. Today, under the announced objectives, the voyage is over. John F. Kennedy would have been sorely disappointed.”

Are you disappointed? Vote in our poll and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Flickr photo by Futurilla

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Brooklyn Bridge celebrates 128th anniversary

by Meg Nesterov on


If you are in New York today, consider paying homage to one of the city’s most venerable landmarks: the Brooklyn Bridge, which turns 128 today. The iconic bridge opened in 1883 after 13 years of construction. As is common with mid-week birthdays, the main celebrations happened over the weekend, including a special offer to get a $28 tattoo of the Brooklyn Bridge from a local tattoo parlor. Brooklyn Tattoo illustrated 60-70 proud Brooklynites in 2010, and inks another dozen or so each month. That’s a lot of bridge enthusiasts!

Should you not want such a permanent souvenir, you can always celebrate with a walk across the bridge and a picnic at the newly-expanded Brooklyn Bridge Park (where yours truly got married 7 years ago), but forget the Champagne – no alcohol is allowed on the bridge or in the park.

Photo of Langley aircraft carrier under the Brooklyn Bridge courtesy San Diego Air & Space Museum archives.

The four locals you don’t want to take your picture

by Tom Johansmeyer on


So many of my pet peeves really do find their roots in personal experience.

I was walking up Broad Street last week, right by the New York Stock Exchange. This part of New York offers an interesting mix. There are plenty of professionals dashing from one meeting to the next, traders from the exchange (identifiable by their jackets) outside for a chat or a smoke, tourists with their cameras out the ready and even the occasional street preacher.

In a hurry, I was darting up Broad to get to the Wall Street subway station. I was short on time and patience. It’s not laudable, but it does happen. And as usual, I found myself running the tourist gauntlet so I could catch a train. One unfortunate soul stretched his arm out in front of me, camera in hand, and asked me to take his picture. I sidestepped his arm, declined and kept going.

Once I got on the 3 train, I had time to reflect on the experience. Many of us have been on both sides of that experience. We’ve been tourists looking for a helping hand, and we’ve been busy locals, trying to get from Point A to Point B with minimal headache. It’s mutually frustrating … and it’s just part of life and travel.

While we’d all love to encounter polite locals, sometimes, we do need to be realistic. Not everybody is going to be in a position to help. The first step is to know which people to leave alone when you’re looking to create a memory. Here are four locals to leave alone when you want someone to take your picture for you:1. The busy professional: if you see someone walking quickly and with a focused look – dressed in a suit or not – let him go. He has someplace to be, most likely, and it’s only polite to respect his time. You don’t know what’s on his mind or where he’s going, and while you may want your picture taken, that doesn’t translate to an obligation on his part.

2. The person who won’t make eye contact: this person may be (and probably is) avoiding eye contact for a specific reason. He doesn’t want to get roped into your Kodak moment. This behavior may be a bit rude, but again, the fact that you need someone to hold your camera doesn’t translate to an entitlement.

3. The busy parent: a parent who has his or her hands full really doesn’t need something else to worry about. Show a little respect when mom or dad is trying to deal with the kids. You can wait for someone else to walk by. Really, you can.

4. The homeless guy: trust me, you can do better holding the camera yourself.

When in doubt, look for another tourist to help you. This is what I did at Abbey Road in London – we scratched each other’s backs, so to speak. Or, you could bite the bullet and invest in figuring out how to work the timer on your camera.

It doesn’t hurt to be reasonable. Sometimes, people really are too busy to help you.

[photo courtesy of IR magazine]

Nine groovy retro flight attendant uniforms

by Laurel Miller on

Good looks never go out of style, but (thankfully, in some instances) “air hostess” uniforms do. The Los Angeles Times travel section has published this great photo gallery of swinging stews from the “Style in the Aisle” exhibit at Seattle’s Museum of Flight.

The exhibit, which runs through May 30th, features flight attendant uniforms from the 1930’s through the ’70’s. Couture designers of the day, including Emilio Pucci, helped put fashion forward in the airline industry. Because no one should ever have to serve pretzels without the sartorial security of Go-go boots and a cape.

[Photo credit: The Museum of Flight Collection]

Traveling the American Road: introducing AOL Travel’s Road Trip Across America

by Eva Holland on

[Editor’s note: Paul Brady has replaced Eva Holland as the pilot of the 2011 Explorer due to technical constraints. You can read his intro to the series here!]

There’s something powerful about the American road trip. It’s a travel tradition that’s steeped in history but re-made fresh every summer by families across the country. And it’s a standby in literature and pop culture – from John Steinbeck’s classic Travels with Charley to Smokey and the Bandit through to the recent foul-mouthed buddy comedy, Sex Drive.

In 2011, it’s time to refresh that tradition once again.

Times have changed since Steinbeck and his dog Charley made their way across the country 51 years ago. The interstate system has spread its web across the Lower 48. The internet age has arrived, complete with in-car GPS systems, a blanket of wi-fi and hundreds of travel apps. Gas prices have skyrocketed, and the country is clawing its way out of a brutal recession. But one thing hasn’t changed: A cross-country road trip is still the best way to get into America’s backyard, see its natural wonders and – most importantly – meet its people and tell their stories.Traveling the American Road will take me across the country in a 2011 Ford Explorer. I’ll visit national parks, historic sites, big-name tourist attractions and quirky roadside Americana, and meet the people who make them work. I’ll profile small towns and big cities in recovery, and write about life as a blogger on the road. With blog posts, video, photos, Tweets, Gowalla check-ins and more, I’ll aim to share America as I see it from the driver’s seat.

This is a dream trip for me. Even living north of the border in Canada, I grew up on stories of Route 66, Yellowstone and Yosemite, the World’s Largest Ball of Twine. I’m looking forward to exploring the country by road, and I hope you’ll join me. Follow along on Twitter, Facebook and here on Gadling.

[Flickr photo via Wolfgang Staudt]