Mirrors in Space - Oh My! and NASA's New Budget

Scientists to stop global warming with 100,000 square mile sun shade tells that University of Arizona Scientist Roger Angel proposes launching trillions of mirrors into space to shield the sun and cool down the planet.  A huge gun would be used to fire the mirrors into space rather than trillions of rockets.  His plan will be shown on the discover Channel at 7 pm on Sunday. 

Mmm.  We are all entitled to a bad idea at least once in a career.  I have lost count of mine.

In the news are two new NASA budgets.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides roughly $1B of additional funding.  $400M is for exploration, $400M for science, and $150M for aeronautics. 

The 2010 budget allocates $18.7B for NASA.  It funds the space shuttle until completion of the International Space Station and then retires the space shuttle program.  That permits NASA's funding to support a manned return to the moon. The budget is high level, so it does not address the internal controversy NASA has concerning which rocket vehicle is best for achieving that goal.  NASA will continue its new mission of monitoring and analyzing climate change data. 

NASA quotes the President, "When I was growing up, NASA inspired the world with achievements we are still proud of.  We cannot cede our leadership in space. We need a real vision for space exploration...."  I agree completely - let's go to infinity and beyond!