Tag Archives: Human spaceflight
To the Moon? I think not, Alice….
[youtubevid id="8bjcl14OC6s"] (ed. note: these remarks are part of my testimony to the Senate Committee on Science and Transportation hearing “Challenges and Opportunities in the NASA FY 2011 Budget Proposal” on February 24, 2010) Washington – we have a problem … Continue reading
Tagged Cold War, Earth, Human spaceflight, International Space Station, John Glenn, NASA, Space, Space exploration, Space Shuttle, Technology, United States, Vision for Space ExplorationCongress Holds the Purse Strings
The debate is by no means over – it just will shift venues. Congress holds the purse strings – and the Constellation program has some very powerful supporters on both sides of the building and both sides of the aisle. … Continue reading
Tagged Alabama, Bill Nelson, Florida, Human spaceflight, Richard Shelby, Space, United States, United States CongressFlexible Path 'Lite'
There was something else that further cemented this deal – it was the work of the Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, headed by veteran aerospace executive Norm Augustine. The group delivered its list of options to the Obama … Continue reading
Tagged Augustine Committee, Barack Obama, Committee, Human spaceflight, Leroy Chiao, NASA, Norman Ralph Augustine, Obama Administration, Presidency of Barack Obama, United StatesGood Night Moon
No bucks – no buck Rogers – Our sources tell us NASA is no longer headed back to the moon – or anywhere else for that matter. After spending upwards of 9 billion dollars to design the Ares 1 rocket … Continue reading
Tagged Ares I, Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, Human spaceflight, Lockheed Martin, Low Earth orbit, NASA, Orion, SpaceMusk Fires Back
Even though the Augustine Commission did not pick a vehicle or a destination when it issued its report on the future of human Spaceflight to Obama - it was clear from reading the tea leaves in their report that the … Continue reading
Tagged Ares I, Elon Musk, Falcon 9, Human spaceflight, Low Earth orbit, NASA, Skype, Space, SpaceX"This Week In Space" – Part 1
Welcome to the premier of “This Week In Space With Miles O’Brien,” a new show dedicated to keeping space lovers up to speed on the stories and issues making news off the planet. This is Part 1 of 3, and … Continue reading
Tagged Human spaceflight, International Space Station, Mars, Mars rover, NASA, Space, Spirit rover, Technology"This Week In Space" – Part 2
Welcome to the premier of “This Week In Space With Miles O’Brien,” a new show dedicated to keeping space lovers up to speed on the stories and issues making news off the planet. This is Part 2 of 3, and … Continue reading
Tagged Astronaut, Human spaceflight, International Space Station, NASA, Nicole P. Stott, Nicole Stott, Space, Technology'This Week In Space' – Part 3
Welcome to the premier of “This Week In Space With Miles O’Brien,” a new show dedicated to keeping space lovers up to speed on the stories and issues making news off the planet. This is Part 3of 3, and features … Continue reading
Tagged Human spaceflight, International Space Station, Mars, Mars rover, NASA, Space, Spirit rover, TechnologyWanted: Space Cadets with Open Minds
be Norm Augustine, the man who is leading the White House scrubbing of NASA’s post-shuttle plans, has apparently selected a group of experts who have not made up their mind about the future of space exploration in this country. They … Continue reading
Tagged Ares V, Constellation, Human spaceflight, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Space, White HouseO'Brien BLOG »
Science for Sale »
posted March 13, 2013 by Miles O'Brien
HINKLEY, Calif. – We all love a neat, tidy Hollywood ending to a David and Goliath story. Sadly, in the real world, they are hard to come by. More often than not, the little guy might win a battle, but Goliath prevails over the long haul — winning the war.
Before I went to Hinkley, I did, of course, watch the movie once again. As it turns out Erin Brockovich is accurate in many respects.
You might remember the woman who gets a big check at the end of the movie after the down-on-her-luck, crusading legal assistant has brought a giant utility to its knees for polluting the groundwater beneath the tiny desert town half way between L.A. and Las Vegas.
In the movie, she was known as Donna Jensen (and played by Marg Helgenberger). There is no real-life Donna Jensen — the details of her story are a composite of several real-life travails.
But Roberta Walker was the main inspiration. Naturally, it was not long after I met her that I asked her what she thought of the movie.
Read the rest of the post and see the video story here.
About Miles
Miles O’Brien is a veteran freelance broadcast and web journalist who focuses on science, technology & aerospace.
He is the Science Correspondent for PBS NewsHour, and a regular correspondent for the PBS documentary series FRONTLINE and the National Science Foundation Science Nation series.
For nearly seventeen of his thirty years in the news business, he worked for CNN as the Science and Space Correspondent and the anchor of various programs, including American Morning.
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