"Wow! In a world
devoid of critical thinking and
awash in meaningless sound bites, this Mr.
Oberg is like a breath of fresh air. If I ever realize my goal of becoming
Earth's Dictator for Life, I promise to empower Mr. Oberg with the
authority to go around slapping any news people caught spreading
nonsense or found culpable in the dumbing down of America."
-- YouTube viewer comment from "Get the Story Straight"
Space Stories to Watch in 2009
Surprises
and Shocks
NEW
DISCOVERIES
NEW
PLAYERS APPEAR
FALLING
SATELLITE CRISES
RANDOM
FAILURES
HUMAN
WEAKNESSES
STRANGE
SIGHTINGS
November
21, 2008 -- Tenth Anniversary of First Space Station Launch
Are you
going to Russia’s Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to attend the
launch of a manned ‘Soyuz’ spaceship, a commercial communications
satellite, a scientific probe, or any other reason? The long-mysterious
and super-secret spaceport has become a mecca for ‘space tourists’ of
the 21st Century, but understanding what you will see, or even what you
are actually seeing once you get there, is hindered by decades of
secrecy, by the fog of cultural barriers, and by the impenetrability of
“technical jargon” associated with “rocket science”. Now a solution is
available – a world expert on penetrating “Soviet space secrets” is
available to expand the value of your experience. Jim Oberg can triple
the appreciation of your experience by careful pre-trip organization
and briefings, and as desired by personal interpretative and
explanatory services on site. For
more details, go HERE.
Coming Up: Fortieth Anniversary of Apollo
Moon Missions
"October 15, 2004 -- Falling
Chinese satellite smashes through roof of apartment in Penglai,
Sichuan, showing that 'unlikely' space-related events still can happen.
Jim’s
Speaking Program for 2009 Filling Up
Conferences,
conventions, industry seminars, university activities, private groups,
educational and hobby programs, and other audiences of any size seeking
entertaining and informative talks on various aspects of outer space
(particularly on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the birth of
the Space Age) are encouraged to contact Jim Oberg soon for their
necessary scheduling of talks in the coming academic year. His expanded repertory of topics now
includes several new offerings and updated old favorites.
These programs can be tailored to specific length and focus needs.
September 1, 2008 -- 25th
Anniversary of KAL-007 Shootdown, Shuttle Spying Allegations
In recent years, press coverage in Moscow suggests a reversion to the
Soviet-era "spyflight" accusations, and Putin has proclaimed he's had
enough "history that casts Russia in a bad light", but expanded
Moscow-Seoul contacts would argue against retrograde Russian officials
from making a big deal of reopening this wound.
Jim Is
First American Journalist at New ‘Yasniy’ Launch Site in Siberia
On June 28, 2007 Jim was at the new 'Kosmotras' satellite launch base
at Yasniy, Orenburg Region, Siberia, to watch a 'Dnepr' rocket carry
the Bigelow Aerospace "Genesis-II" space module prototype into orbit.
He will be writing about this experience for several magazine clients
in the months to come.
Novosti,
February 27, 2007: New Kourou Launch Pad Can Conduct Manned Flights
News item (my translation), quoting Anatoliy
Perminov, head of the Russian Space Agency, while visiting the European
launch center at Kourou, French Guyana: "Yes, of course, over the long
term, the ‘Soyuz-ST’ [booster] which will be launched from Kourou can
be used also for manned launches. This promising manned transport
system, developed now together with the European partners, can be used
for organizng, from Kourou, the launches of manned spacecraft."
Jim returns from triumphant 'Earth Orbit' educational program for
American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY).
This program
involved fourteen travelers who visited the Hayden Planetarium, the
NASA Goddard Space Center, the National air & Space Museum,
Capa Canaveral
and the Kennedy Space Center, then Russian space sites such as various
museums (including some usually closed to
the public), the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, and the Baykonur
Cosmodrome, where they attended the Soyuz TMA-7 blastoff on October 1.
A more
detailed report is in preparation but here are a few photos from the
expedition courtesy of Josette Dominguez.
(Sep 22)
With Story Musgrave at the Saturn/Shuttle ‘Vertical Assembly Building’
(VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida
(Sep 26)
Examining SFOG canister (‘Solid Fuel Oxygen Generator’) inside Mir
mockup at ‘Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center’. A unit like this one
malfunctioned in February 1997 and nearly killed six crewmen, including
a visiting american astronaut.
(Sep 26)
Peering into Soyuz ‘Orbital Module’ trainer at ‘Gagarin Cosmonaut
Training Center’, Star City, NE of Moscow
(Sep 29)
At edge of Soyuz flame pit an hour after booster installation on the
launch pad, two days prior to blastoff. L-R: Jim, Jo Dominguez, Doug
Grimes (MirCorp Travel), Alicia Stevens (Discovery Tours, AMNH).
Oberg testifies before
Congress on Chinese moon plans
"Tuesday,
Jul. 19, 2005, 3:00 PM // Wisconsin Public Radio, "Ideas Network" Ben
Merens: While NASA engineers continue to examine the Space Shuttle, Ben
Merens and his guest examine the planned mission, as well as the
history, and future of the shuttle program.
Guest: Jim Oberg, former Space Shuttle mission control engineer."
New Oberg presentation for industrial safety
conferences:
“Flaws in the ‘NASA Safety Culture’ and
Their Lessons for Earthside Safety”
This
presentation shows how many notorious space disasters were not due to
inherent hazards of space, but were due to violating well-known
principles of hi-tech safety. It provides explanations for the
Challenger and Columbia shuttle catastrophes and for the 1999 Mars
robot fleet disaster... More...
"Curmudgeon's Corner" space blog names Oberg
"best space reporter" of 2004.
Mark Whittington at 'Curmudgeon's Corner', a blog that
covers technology and spaceflight and other topics, put together his
year in space awards for 2004, and the full text is on his home page.
"Best
space reporter. James
Oberg, for actually knowing of what he writes and talks
about,
which is not necessarily true for all reporters on the space beat."
“Toward a
Theory of Space Power”, James Oberg, remarks delivered May 20, 2003,
Washington Roundtable on Science & Public Policy, sponsored by
the George C. Marshall Institute, Washington, DC. 28 pages. $10.00
postage paid ($12.00 outside North America). A recent book by Everett
Dolman, Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age, speaks of
the importance of space and space-faring nations and has high praise
for Oberg’s work. Dolman writes, “Strategy, grand strategy in
particular, is not simply the efficient military application of force.
Since grand strategy is ultimately political in nature, that is to say
the ends of national strategy are inextricably political, yet the means
or dimensions of strategy are not limited.” He goes on to define six or
seven things that make up a grand strategy, and concludes by saying,
“To date, only James Oberg’s Space Power Theory [now out of print with
an expanded version in preparation], a comprehensive effort
commissioned by the United States Space Command, approaches the
requirements laid out above.”
Astronomy magazine monthly column.
Jim writes a monthly column for ‘Astronomy’
magazine that discusses upcoming events in space exploration. ADOBE
PDF FORMAT
