a) an impenetrable mess
b) an interesting clash between technology and people
c) something scarier than sausage making
For those who think politics is messy or scary, I agree. But it makes for good reading. And when you read space politics, you also get nice logo-like images like this one.
I've covered some of the 'people' issues abut space exploration, most recently in . But I'm focused on just getting my lil' old satellite up. What's the picture for getting people, space stations, nuclear reactors, and kitchen sinks into space?
You should take a peek at Marcia Smith's SpacePolicyOnline.com. Yes, policy is messy, but it's also highly relevant if we're ever to get off this mudball, and she provides an unbiased clearing house for tracking what's going on.
Her categories: Home, Civil, Military, Commercial, International, Space Law. Her slogan? "Your first stop for news, information and analysis about civil, military and commercial space programs". A little verbose, but catchy!
She also recommended the editorial site SpacePolitics.com. They have a way snappier tag line, "Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway..." And they have a cooler set of random evocative images.
And if you want NASA-specific policy with an editorial slant, there's always NASAwatch.com. Their waaaaay too verbose tagline: "This is not a NASA Website. You might learn something. It's YOUR space agency. Get nvolved. Take it back. Make it work - for YOU". A little harsh, a little foaming, much like the site itself. But their reporting is excellent and their commentary is interesting and often salient.
For a while, there was a very interesting nasawatch.net (or was it .org?) site, that was, err, a site that watched NASA watch for errors. Really, shouldn't it be called nasawatchwatch? In any case, it's dead, and NASAWatch owns the domain, and yes, I'd love to know the politics of what went down in that backstory!
Who watches the watchmen? Well, right now, you can. And then decide-- is the barrier to space the technology, or the paperwork?
Alex
Tuesdays at The Satellite Diaries and Friday at The Daytime Astronomer (twitter @skyday)
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