NASA SETS BRIEFING ON NEW SPACE STATION SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

F.Y.I. ~Michael Scott


NASA SETS BRIEFING ON NEW SPACE STATION SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will hold a briefing at 1 p.m. EDT,
Sunday, Aug. 23, to discuss new science experiments using the
International Space Station's unique research environment. The
briefing will originate from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida
and will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

[snipped media contact info]

Space shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission marks the start of the
transition from assembling the space station to using it for
continuous scientific research as a national and multinational
laboratory. Assembly and maintenance activities have dominated the
astronaut work time. But as completion of the orbiting laboratory
nears, additional facilities and the crew to operate them will enable
an increase in time devoted to research.

The briefing participants include:
- Mark Uhran, assistant associate administrator for space station,
NASA Headquarters in Washington
- Julie Robinson, International Space Station program scientist,
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
- Jeanne Becker, chief science officer, Astrogenetix in Austin, Texas
- Martin Zell, head of the space station utilization department at
the
European Space Agency

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


For more information about space station science, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st...nce/index.html


-end-

SkyGuide:
The briefing participants include:
- Mark Uhran, assistant associate administrator for space station,
NASA Headquarters in Washington

Insider with vested interest.

- Julie Robinson, International Space Station program scientist,
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston

Insider with vested interest.

- Jeanne Becker, chief science officer, Astrogenetix in Austin, Texas

Paid consultant with vested interest.

- Martin Zell, head of the space station utilization department at
the European Space Agency

Insider with vested interest.

I want to see an independent scientific assessment of science at the
most expensive, most dangerous, most exclusive, smallest, and least
comfortable tourist hotel in the known Universe.

My view, too, is biased, but I have an open mind and that's why I want
an independent report. I would love to change my mind.

Davoud

--
I agree with everything that you have said and everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

On Aug 21, 8:17*pm, Davoud wrote:

My view, too, is biased, but I have an open mind and that's why I want
an independent report. I would love to change my mind.

I am surprised that, at your age, you still believe independent
reports exist!

Picture of SST effect.

http://incendia-site-
files.s3.amazonaws.com/incendia/imagecache/spark_image/files/spark_images/M
oney%20Black%20Hole.jpg

On Aug 21, 12:17*pm, Davoud wrote:

Insider with vested interest.

Since what is noted is merely a news conference to announce the
additional science they plan to do on the ISS... and not, in any way,
something with pretensions to prounounce in a valid and definitive way
on the _merits_ of that science, especially in terms of the value for
money that it provides, I fail to see where this is a valid criticism.

I share your view that the ISS is an expensive boondoggle. Perhaps it
has proved one worthwhile thing, that astronauts can remain in space,
weightless, for the same amount of time as it would take them to
journey to Mars without being either fried by radiation or crippled by
adaptation to microgravity.

John Savard

Davoud wrote:
My view, too, is biased, but I have an open mind and that's why I want
an independent report. I would love to change my mind.

Pierre Vandevenne replied:
I am surprised that, at your age,

I beg your pardon?

you still believe independent reports exist!

Everything is relative. Yes, I believe that it is possible to get an
independent and relatively unbiased review of ISS science.

Davoud

--
I agree with everything that you have said and everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

On Aug 22, 5:00*pm, Davoud wrote:
Davoud *wrote:
My view, too, is biased, but I have an open mind and that's why I want
an independent report. I would love to change my mind.

Pierre Vandevenne replied:

I am surprised that, at your age,

I beg your pardon?

Well, we saw your picture, remember? AFAIC, I find that, the more I
age, the more cynical I become about so called "independent" reports.
That's valid in science, finance, political issues, etc...
But maybe it is only me...

Davoud:
My view, too, is biased, but I have an open mind and that's why I want
an independent report. I would love to change my mind.

Pierre Vandevenne:
I am surprised that, at your age,

Davoud:
I beg your pardon?

Pierre Vandevenne:
Well, we saw your picture, remember? AFAIC, I find that, the more I
age, the more cynical I become about so called "independent" reports.
That's valid in science, finance, political issues, etc...
But maybe it is only me...

I wouldn't know, as I do not find myself becoming cynical as I age. I
try to hang on to the healthy skepticism that I have cultivated from a
very young age, and I find that that sense seems to me more useful than
cynicism, particularly in matters of science, finance, politics, etc.
Further, I am not in the habit of insulting others over their ages, or
even raising the issue. /Politesse/ /oblige/ and all that. But maybe it
is only me....

Davoud

--
I agree with everything that you have said and everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

On Aug 21, 12:40*pm, SkyGuide wrote:
F.Y.I. *~Michael Scott

NASA SETS BRIEFING ON NEW SPACE STATION SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will hold a briefing at 1 p.m. EDT,
Sunday, Aug. 23, to discuss new science experiments using the
International Space Station's unique research environment. The
briefing will originate from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida
and will be broadcast live on NASA Television.....

So, did anyone actually watch the press conference? Any thoughts on
science on the ISS? ~Michael

Why does ISS science attract criticism? Did anyone expect a scientist
at Cern to "invent the internet" and change the entire world?
Who knows what wonders offshoots of ISS science will produce? Wasn't
the arrival of the petrol driven car just as important in toppling the
mountains of horse manure rather than the mere exploitation of a new
means of transport? Is your concern simply a matter of the expense
of building the ISS depriving some other avenue of research more
deserving? Did you criticise CERN for wasting sideline research time
on computing?

The mere existence of the ISS is a constant reminder that we are not
Earth bound. If this weakens the hold of corrupt minds over the many
then every cent will have been well worth it. I'm afraid Davoud is
sounding like a 21st century luddite on this one. How fortunate that
the machinery is well out of reach of the labourers this time. The ISS
will change the world's future in incalculable ways. If private
enterprise makes a killing on patented medicines or new products as a
result then nothing will have really changed. Except that the pressure
will be on for the massive taxpayer's investment in the lab building
to recoup far more of the rewards than hitherto. This itself may bring
about a change in the way medicine is distributed globally according
to corrupt financial reward rather than medical need.

Every intelligent civilisation has to build an ISS eventually. It may
be the vital key to adoption into the society of people's of the Milky
Way. Nobody can possibly foretell where the ISS may lead us. What is
absolutely certain is that every penny went on providing jobs for
somebody somewhere. Even if it only seems as if it trickled down as
crumbs from high above our own modest tables.

Complaining about the recent heavy investment in replacing used cars
with new totally ignores the kick start it gave to a deeply depressed
American economy. The returns are out of all proportion to the
investment. The mobile phone is helping to drag poverty-stricken
Africa up by its own bootstraps and freeing small farmers from price-
fixing, western supermarket dictatorship. Evil political dictators
cannot keep their people silent while they still have access to the
internet. One can never know the global effect of anything new. CERN
and the ISS are examples of international cooperation between (once)
sworn enemies. Anything which reduces the stranglehold of the arms
industry on the global economy is a good thing. You don't make war on
your vital trading partners. So you don't need to spend money, you
don't have, building unsinkable battleships. Only those who
deliberately make enemies need protection from themselves.