We Americans have a lot to worry about these days. We've got wars we're apparently losing, a hollow industrial base, too much unemployment, and a national debt that threatens to swallow us whole. We've also got the Chinese rapidly building up their armed forces and the Russians running interference for the Iranian mullahs. Then, last week, the media ran with another story to add to our worries. The North Koreans were getting ready to launch a rocket into orbit! This surely meant, from the accounts I read, a bunch of crazies were soon going to be able to throw nuclear warheads at us and our allies. Breathlessly, the world waited as North Korean scientists put the finishing touches on their giant rocket. I tuned in and had myself a quiet laugh when it showed one of their technicians on the pad reaching into a hatch on the side of the rocket, apparently pulling at some wires or maybe turning a valve on the plumbing. My good humor was because I recognized the rocket. It was the Unha-3, a derivative of the rocket that North Korea has been trying to get to work since 1998. Based mostly on the old Soviet Scud rocket which in turn was based on the German World War II V-2 rocket, it is an unwieldy conglomeration of clustered engines stacked atop one another. It can certainly be made to work, given enough luck, time, and money, but as a military weapon large enough to carry a nuclear warhead and actually hit a target, the Unha-3 isn't going to make the grade. It came as no surprise to me when it broke up and fell into the sea. Like the Scuds which Saddam Hussein hurled at Israel during the first Gulf War, they tend to come apart at the seams.
Although certainly we've got to keep our eye on the nutty governments out there, it is a fact that rocket technology is well known across the world. Just about anybody can build one. Even as far back as the late 1950's, there were boys in Coalwood, West Virginia (ahem) who were building sophisticated rockets that were flying miles into the sky. We therefore should not be too impressed when North Korea manages to get something off the ground. Nor should we be fooled by why they're doing it. They don't need instruments in orbit. There's nothing an earth-imaging satellite could do for them that a prop-driven airplane with a camera couldn't do by criss-crossing their little country, taking pictures. Or, if they want to see what the rest of us are doing, they could always call up Google Earth. No, they're doing it to scare us into paying attention to them and, for that, the Unha-3 was a complete success. Somehow, we've got to stop falling for the trap of playing their little games and begin focusing on how to make their government fall into pieces like their rockets. For most of us, this is obvious but to figure out the obvious is why, I suppose, the State Department gets three times more money in the federal budget than NASA.
***
On the Issues
[DC]: What do you see for the future of humanity’s exploration of space?
I believe that free enterprise is what will send humans into space to stay. So far, the spacefaring nations have put people into space for national pride or science but neither of those have any staying power in terms of consistent governmental funding. That's why we've seen the demise of American human spaceflight. Our federal government has decided at the highest levels that putting Americans in space is a very low priority in terms of national interest or national security. Although there could be a surge of national pride that will see another NASA program bump, it will always be far less than what it could be with fragile long-term governmental support. Somewhere along the line, however, I see people moving into space for the same reasons they began to move to the the Americas five hundred years ago. They will go to escape persecution for their beliefs, to escape wars and famines, and, most importantly, for commerce. Mostly, as I've written about in Crater, my latest novel, I see mining towns on the moon in the future which will be rough, tough places on the rawest of frontiers. It will be an exciting, amazing time and I wish I could be around to see it.
[DC]: What do you believe it will take to inspire the next generation of leaders to prioritize space travel?
In terms of the movement into space, I believe the young people of the world don't need any inspiration from their elders. Spaceflight to them is commonplace. After all, it's been part of their life since they were born. They're going to figure out their own reasons for going up there. That's why I sign copies of Crater with this advisory: Luna est Vestri. Carpe is! That's Latin, which always sounds high-minded and in this case, it is because it means "The moon is yours. Seize it!"
Homer Hickam, a former NASA engineer, is the author of Rocket Boys (aka October Sky), Paco: The Cat Who Meowed in Space, and, his most recently released book, Crater.
Article photo by Adaptor- Plug (cc).
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's May/June edition.
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North Korean Rocket Science: They're Playing Us
June 7, 2012
We Americans have a lot to worry about these days. We've got wars we're apparently losing, a hollow industrial base, too much unemployment, and a national debt that threatens to swallow us whole. We've also got the Chinese rapidly building up their armed forces and the Russians running interference for the Iranian mullahs. Then, last week, the media ran with another story to add to our worries. The North Koreans were getting ready to launch a rocket into orbit! This surely meant, from the accounts I read, a bunch of crazies were soon going to be able to throw nuclear warheads at us and our allies. Breathlessly, the world waited as North Korean scientists put the finishing touches on their giant rocket. I tuned in and had myself a quiet laugh when it showed one of their technicians on the pad reaching into a hatch on the side of the rocket, apparently pulling at some wires or maybe turning a valve on the plumbing. My good humor was because I recognized the rocket. It was the Unha-3, a derivative of the rocket that North Korea has been trying to get to work since 1998. Based mostly on the old Soviet Scud rocket which in turn was based on the German World War II V-2 rocket, it is an unwieldy conglomeration of clustered engines stacked atop one another. It can certainly be made to work, given enough luck, time, and money, but as a military weapon large enough to carry a nuclear warhead and actually hit a target, the Unha-3 isn't going to make the grade. It came as no surprise to me when it broke up and fell into the sea. Like the Scuds which Saddam Hussein hurled at Israel during the first Gulf War, they tend to come apart at the seams.
Although certainly we've got to keep our eye on the nutty governments out there, it is a fact that rocket technology is well known across the world. Just about anybody can build one. Even as far back as the late 1950's, there were boys in Coalwood, West Virginia (ahem) who were building sophisticated rockets that were flying miles into the sky. We therefore should not be too impressed when North Korea manages to get something off the ground. Nor should we be fooled by why they're doing it. They don't need instruments in orbit. There's nothing an earth-imaging satellite could do for them that a prop-driven airplane with a camera couldn't do by criss-crossing their little country, taking pictures. Or, if they want to see what the rest of us are doing, they could always call up Google Earth. No, they're doing it to scare us into paying attention to them and, for that, the Unha-3 was a complete success. Somehow, we've got to stop falling for the trap of playing their little games and begin focusing on how to make their government fall into pieces like their rockets. For most of us, this is obvious but to figure out the obvious is why, I suppose, the State Department gets three times more money in the federal budget than NASA.
***
On the Issues
[DC]: What do you see for the future of humanity’s exploration of space?
I believe that free enterprise is what will send humans into space to stay. So far, the spacefaring nations have put people into space for national pride or science but neither of those have any staying power in terms of consistent governmental funding. That's why we've seen the demise of American human spaceflight. Our federal government has decided at the highest levels that putting Americans in space is a very low priority in terms of national interest or national security. Although there could be a surge of national pride that will see another NASA program bump, it will always be far less than what it could be with fragile long-term governmental support. Somewhere along the line, however, I see people moving into space for the same reasons they began to move to the the Americas five hundred years ago. They will go to escape persecution for their beliefs, to escape wars and famines, and, most importantly, for commerce. Mostly, as I've written about in Crater, my latest novel, I see mining towns on the moon in the future which will be rough, tough places on the rawest of frontiers. It will be an exciting, amazing time and I wish I could be around to see it.
[DC]: What do you believe it will take to inspire the next generation of leaders to prioritize space travel?
In terms of the movement into space, I believe the young people of the world don't need any inspiration from their elders. Spaceflight to them is commonplace. After all, it's been part of their life since they were born. They're going to figure out their own reasons for going up there. That's why I sign copies of Crater with this advisory: Luna est Vestri. Carpe is! That's Latin, which always sounds high-minded and in this case, it is because it means "The moon is yours. Seize it!"
Homer Hickam, a former NASA engineer, is the author of Rocket Boys (aka October Sky), Paco: The Cat Who Meowed in Space, and, his most recently released book, Crater.
Article photo by Adaptor- Plug (cc).
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's May/June edition.
