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Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age

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Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age Overviews

The daring, revolutionary NASA that sent Neil Armstrong to the moon has lost its meteoric vision, says journalist and space enthusiast Greg Klerkx. NASA, he contends, has devolved from a pioneer of space exploration into a factionalized bureaucracy focused primarily on its own survival. And as a result, humans haven’t ventured beyond Earth orbit for three decades. Klerkx argues that after its wildly successful Apollo program, NASA clung fiercely to the spotlight by creating a government-sheltered monopoly with a few Big Aerospace companies. Although committed in theory to supporting commercial spaceflight, in practice it smothered vital private-sector innovation. In striking descriptions of space milestones spanning the golden 1960s Space Age and the 2003 Columbia tragedy, Klerkx exposes the “real” NASA and envisions exciting public-private cooperation that could send humans back to the moon and beyond.

Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age RelateItems

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Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age CustomerReview

This is a book of anecdotes, many of which feature an anthropomorphized NASA as the villain. In the first few chapters this seems overdrawn, but then it becomes clear Klerkx doesn't entirely agree with the NASA-bashers he portrays, pointing out in "The Belly of the Beast" that there is "no 'NASA'; or rather, there are multiple 'NASA's", over which even the administrator has little control. Some NASA centers are particularly targets of Klerkx' concern. The most sympathetic portrait in the book is probably of Pascal Lee, Klerkx' SETI institute colleague, who has worked tirelessly with NASA staff and the Mars Society on Devon Island. For most of the rest of the space advocates, entrepreneurs, organizations and bureaucrats described here, one feels like shouting, "can't we all just get along?"

But there are legitimate grievances that trace one way or another to NASA as a self-protecting entity: the demise of Mir, the Industrial Space Facility, DC-X, the waste that was the SLI and X-33, the rise and fall (and rise again now?) of the Alternate Access to Space Station program, the treatment of Dennis Tito. Klerkx describes a disturbing pattern of NASA officially embracing potential innovators, only to later de-fund and bankrupt them. Klerkx discusses the general loss of the O'Neill vision of space development for all people, as opposed to the "virtual theme park" we have now. Most damning are Klerkx' details on the incestuous relationship between NASA and the two major contractors, Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Current arrangements seem almost guaranteed to suppress innovation, rather than foster it. Ideally Klerkx sees innovation coming through growth of large numbers of smaller companies, but he also sees a vital role here for NASA as endorser, encourager, and provider of technology support. NASA needs to accept a lesser role than the full control of human spaceflight it has had; the lack of progress described in Klerkx' text leaves one almost depressed for the future.

The X-prize competitors, Kistler and Elon Musk's venture, SpaceHab, and many other small space companies are featured, along with Russian privatization efforts. A remarkable number of these small companies seem to be employing former NASA engineers or managers in one capacity or another; Klerkx describes the "brother-in-law" problem that seems to require direct NASA connections for a commercial venture to have any hope of success. Klerkx also describes the history of a number of Space advocacy organizations in some detail, including the National Space Society, Space Frontier Foundation, and the Mars Society.

Given the near comprehensive coverage I was a little surprised Klerkx left out some orgnanizations actually launching things - for instance the Planetary Society's Cosmos-1 solar sail. Perhaps no single person can be familiar with the entire worldwide range of government, commercial, and nonprofit space activities at this start of the twenty-first century. And things change fast enough that what we thought we knew may no longer apply. The gaps in Klerkx' book are perhaps less significant than the fact that, although Klerkx covers Columbia's loss and the accident report, the book was finished well before the January 2004 presidential vision statement.

Refocusing NASA should address Klerkx' criticisms, particularly if it helps change relationships with the private sector. But those working on changing NASA need to review this book if they want to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.




*** Product Information and Prices Stored:Feb 25, 2010 03:06:39

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