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Rocketry: An Unexpected Sign of Progress
Dec. 13th, 2011 01:34 pmI was reading "New Launch Hoops," an article by Amy Butler in Aviation Week's 17 October 2011 issue. I quote:
The article went on to describe a "coordinated strategy" signed by three agencies* to streamline the entry of new competitors into the the market for government launches.
In the article, the following people were quoted:
Under Secretary of the Air Force
Principal Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office
Deputy Administrator of NASA
President of SpaceX
Suddenly I realized that all of them are women.
The U.S. has jumped through a few hoops itself, if we have arrived at a point where women simultaneously occupy three such government positions; the majority of their predecessors must surely have been male.
Or rather than "arrived at," I should say, "if we are passing through a point," for there is more progress yet to be made. But it is a small reason to be proud of my country.
*Here's a PDF of "Coordinated Strategy among the United States Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for New Entrant Launch Vehicle Certification."
The three U.S. agencies responsible for purchasing launches of government payloads into space are agreeing on long-awaited criteria that for the first time pave the way for new rocket companies to penetrate a national security launch sector now dominated by the United Launch Alliance, a Lockheed Martin and Boeing joint venture.
The article went on to describe a "coordinated strategy" signed by three agencies* to streamline the entry of new competitors into the the market for government launches.
In the article, the following people were quoted:
Under Secretary of the Air Force
Principal Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office
Deputy Administrator of NASA
President of SpaceX
Suddenly I realized that all of them are women.
The U.S. has jumped through a few hoops itself, if we have arrived at a point where women simultaneously occupy three such government positions; the majority of their predecessors must surely have been male.
Or rather than "arrived at," I should say, "if we are passing through a point," for there is more progress yet to be made. But it is a small reason to be proud of my country.
*Here's a PDF of "Coordinated Strategy among the United States Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for New Entrant Launch Vehicle Certification."
