http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2012-02-11T15:54:03+00:00
Hi Julie,

For a long time now folks have been trying to figure out a way to make space a viable commercial venture.

Tourism will no doubt be a part of that, but I think we must balance the "haves" rich enough to spend the money with the "have nots" who don't, through some form of scholastic scholarship sponsored by individual nations.

And before we retire the shuttle, I'd like to see an Iraqi and an Afghan get the chance to grasp the larger perspective of the world we live upon.

It's a question of "inclusiveness" in the common future that has an easy solution.

The other thing I'd like folks to start thinking about is the very serious problem of what to do with high level nuclear waste that is currently stored in cooling ponds and other less than ideal locations.

Call it simplistic, but I can't think of a better way to keep terrorist hands off of it than by launching it off planet in a inert vitified form , placing it all on a platform in GS orbit, and once loaded, boosted out of orbit on a slow decay trajectory into the sun.

We don't have to reinvent the wheel to do this, we have the technology to do this now in a global partnership.

I'm talking about material that is beyond reprocessing and our ability to recycle into nuclear fuel. First order souces of contamination, which to date, have no permanent disposal site available. Just with what is in inventory, we'd need several Yucca mountains.

Globally, nuclear waste is an accident waiting to happen.

The basic objection to such a plan will be the cost involved. Creative minds in both the global nuclear industry and the governments of space-faring nations will have to come to an arrangement, standardize the program using the most reliable delivery vehical available (atlas V ? ) and figure out how to fund it.

I would think that any nuclear plant built would of neccessity also incorperate funds to deal with waste disposal and when a new nuclear plant is funded, the money for waste mngmt. could be immediately tranferred to a global board of directors for disbursement towards disposal off planet.

Here's a real good example of not being able to solve the problem via any one nation's efforts, but is resolvable through combined cooperative methods.

That's where your office comes into this little idea.

NASA has got a number of directions it could go in at the moment, none of which leads to commercial sustainability from what I've seen on the drawing boards.

I think if NASA looked at this, they might just find a way to sustain funding for long term scientific goals and a robust fleet of second generation manned orbital work vehicals over time. Without being subject to the whim of budget cuts.

And to folks like GreenPeace, who may object to the method of disposal as "risky", the current state of affairs is not exactly a situation I would like to see continue while we contemplate solving the question of clean energy.

If anyone wishes to debate this in terms of risk management, and long term cost, remember this must be weighed against the risks and cost of keeping it on planet isolated from the environment, terrorists, and monitored for thousands of years to come.

As opposed to a policy of "Launch it and kiss it goodby." (chuckle)...and I don't mean in the traditional cold-war sense.

EJ]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/diplomacy_supports_space_exploration/ Wed Jul 22, 2009
@ Gabriel M. in Greece -- Gabriel you sound a bit ironic. I may be wrong though. So, Ok! I'll forward you a link posted recently by a friend.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090709-space-internet.html

It works!]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/diplomacy_supports_space_exploration/ Mon Jul 20, 2009
You may Open the case with solar system spatial space exploration metrics for U.S. Space leadership by institutionalize a Space Solar System Orbital Directorate, that will set the space coordinates control framework for Earth like global future positioning systems to other planets. I am telling this because is a key concept for tomorrow space navigation, and it will be better the U.S. to set from now these issues for the moon and for Mars and for Europa, so in the coming years we do not need to have the same with the GPS and Galileo implication cases and for technical mode compliances.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/diplomacy_supports_space_exploration/ Mon Jul 20, 2009