And return him safely to the earth...

Just back from a few days dealing with children's issues and a short vacation to the Outer Banks, I find these details on the BBC website discussing NASA's new Orion spacecraft. (First, it's interesting that the US papers I perused while out just talked about the really exciting news - THE NAME. As we all know, in the US only the image counts. Who gives a shit if the thing actually works, what it costs, what it really does, how it's designed, etc. Fortunately, the BBC is still under the impression that people who bother reading the news also think about the news.)

I have no scientific background with which to comment. I have only the boomer's experience of watching the first moon landing on TV, growing up fascinated by space and all its new technologies, the initial excitement of the space shuttle. I followed my dreams into a career in the world of computers. Looking with these eyes at the infographic description of Orion this morning, I'm shaking my head.

It appears that the original moon landing mission has been modified. The mission was landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. Orion seems to skip the subordinate clause about that trivial safety issue. Seems like there are so many points of failure in this new methodology - multiple pinpoint dockings required on each flight, numerous complex components all required to operate perfectly, exact timing for each of these components, reliance on 100% computer operated vehicles. The other thing bothering me is the waste - so many of these components are disposable, again. The shuttle was all about learning to reuse hardware in space. We learned nothing from that? Speaking of which, where are the engineers? The 'new' components look like updates to 60's era technology - the rocketry looks pretty much like the same basic launch technology. Aren't there any alternatives worth researching? Space tether anyone? And the triangular crew module which thuds onto dry land is old Soviet technology. This is probably the most reliable return method - if the astronauts can get back to the reentry vehicle. But it's sure nothing new.

Overall, instead of being excited by the next phase of the space program I'm left wondering what the heck is the point.