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******************************* ******************************* ******************************* March 24 – Moscow interview with Jim on economic crisis impact on their space program ******************************* March 11 – Jim’s comments on Russia’s role in the ESA Exomars mission ******************************* ******************************* Bigelow’s “Expansion Module” on ISS -- Where did it come from? ******************************* No, Apollo-10 DIDN’T hear ‘alien space music’ on the back side of the moon ******************************* December 17, 2015 – Jim explains purpose of mysterious missile tests in Russia *******************************New North Korean Rocket Launch PlanSpectrum article just posted (outside the paywall) Four years ago I was at the launch site with a Western news media group, my findings are here for those interested in on-the-scene reportage Recent analysis of icbm design changes ******************************* Yet ANOTHER KapYar to Sary Shagan warhead test -- Dec 24 ******************************* BRIT DOCUMENTARY USES ACTOR TO PLAY "YOUNG JAMES OBERG" IN SECRET SOVIET SPACE ARCHIVES!! Amusing new stage in my television career – “Conspiracy”, a program series created by Channel5 in London, has created a dramatic reenactment of some of my discoveries of 'missing cosmonauts' photographs way back in the 1970s, and this involved showing an actor playing me being shown into a Soviet-era archive where "I" was allowed to inspect hidden photographs. They used some young geeky-looking guy with a moustache to play me -- too bad George Clooney was out of their price range. It was fun working with them on this but I had no idea they would do the reenactment. It was pretty fanciful, but it's never been done for me before, so I got a kick out of it. Here's a shot of the real me from the episode, and of the faux-me. It's a British production company and there's no word on when it airs in the US [it's already aired in Britain]. It's called "Conspiracy" -- Episode 9, Faking the Moon Landings", and spends two thirds of the hour debunking theories the landing was faked, with some recent interviews with conspiracy-promoter Bart Sibrel and a very clear video of Buzz Aldrin punching him in the face some years ago. It then segues into claims the Russians faked some early flights, or covered up disasters, and I come on as an expert debunking the stories that some Italian radio amateurs heard dying cosmonauts in secret broadcasts. Then they spend about eight minutes describing my discovery of the 'erased cosmonaut' forgeries [with the actor's dramatization of me turned loose in a Soviet space center storeroom], and then a dramatization of Nelyubov's drunken brawl that led to his expulsion from the cosmonaut program and eventual suicide -- again, cute, and wildly fanciful.
Further reading: My full story of finding the 'erased cosmonauts' My skepticism about the 1960's 'Italian brothers space eavesdropping' My debunking the 'Apollo was a hoax' nuttiness -- here and here Description of the Channel5 series here ******************************* OLDIES BUT RELEVANT AGAIN Debunking the ‘Black Knight’ phantom satellite [1979] March 2001 - Scientific American, “A Bus Between The Planets [Mars Cycler Station]”, w/ Buzz Aldrin DOWN IN FLAMES [true hazards of crashing hydrazine tanks] New Atlantis [2009] In-depth review of Jim’s book Starcrossed Orbits [2002] ******************************* ******************************* SECRET SPACE ESCAPES hits the Science Channel [Jim a consultant and commentator] Jim’s 2002 book chapter on the Mir fire and NASA’s inept handling of it ******************************* December 2015 marks 50th Anniversary of First Orbital Rendezvous ******************************* RUSSIA’S DEFENSE-PENETRATING “KYSST” MISSILE FLIES AGAIN [NOV 17, 2015] ******************************* MISSILE FREAK-OUT IN CALIFORNIA [NOV 7, 2015] ******************************* AEROSPACE AMERICA [OCTOBER 2015] cover story New Challenges Ahead of Russian Space Industry ******************************* JIM’S RAVE REVIEW FOR ‘THE MARTIAN’ ******************************* *******************************  Jim serves as LEAD RENDEZVOUS AND GUIDANCE PROCEDURES OFFICER in the 'Trench' in Mission Control, 'Polaris Team', STS-32 LDEF satellite retrieve mission, 1991. ******************************* August 22, 2015: NEW MYSTERY MISSILE TEST *******************************
******************************* 2005: Jim at Baykonur for another Soyuz dawn roll-out to the pad
******************************* July 2015 – The Pluto Perspective ******************************* The Russian Space Partnership April 2015 NASA Needs A Backup Plan for Russian Unavailability for ISS September 9, 2014 MSNBC July 2015 Russians Fulfill Jim’s Warning April 2015 -- US Tense as Russian Satellite Full of Toxic Fuel Falls Air Force Watching Falling Russian Satellite Background: Genuine Hazard of USA-193 [2008] Down in Flames : Media ‘Space Experts’ Flub the Shoot-Down Story “New Atlantis” Spring 2009 Sense, nonsense, and pretense about the destruction of USA 193 Space Review, March 3, 2008 Feb 17, 2015 – New ‘Angara’ Booster an Impressive Russian Space Success April 1, 2015 – NASA Needs Backup Plan if Russia Drops Out of ISS Program Report: ISS Astronaut Observes SECOND Russian Rocket Launch
******************************* Crisis in US-Russian space partnership? Click here for links to Jim's current coverage and past predictions regarding US Russian relations. “Epitaph for the Russian Space Agency”, A poem of despair, by Sergey Zhukov (February 2015) Concern over secret Russian space robot rendezvous tests
September 9, 2014 MSNBC May 2014 Russian cartoon -- Frantic American astronauts: "Houston, what's this about going ON FOOT? What the hell kind of sanctions?" May 2014 Russian newspaper cartoons -- one photoshops Apollo picture to show Russian flag on Moon instead; other alters same photo to show cosmonaut urinating on US flag. (click image for full size)
******************************* Aerospace America, July-August 2012 ******************************* General Prospects for Russia's Space Program NY Times [Feb 3, 2013]: Russia must Choose: Low Tech or High? 'Aerospace America' [Aug 2012]: Russian Space Program Staggers, Recovers Sep 11, 2012 -- ADVISORY -- Moscow Announces 'Get Well' Plan for Space Program Crisis ******************************* 01/19/2010 - IEEE Spectrum: Russia's Ailing ICBM Program ******************************* Is the Russian Space Industry Capable of Building the New RUS-R booster? "Aerospace America", October 2011 Op-Ed By James Oberg: Why Is NASA Caving to the Russians On I.S.S.? July 25th, 2011 July 21-- At End of Shuttle, Russians Brag of'Era of Reliability ******************************* November 18 – Jim’s assessment of possible secret Russian ‘killer-satellite’ test For NBC News and in the Moscow Times [English] ******************************* EXCLUSIVE: ISS Crew Accidentally Spots ANOTHER Russian Space Launch [June 15, 2014] ******************************* Jim’s comments on the Philae comet landing drama ******************************* ******************************* ******************************* Jim wins 2014 Journalism Award from planetary scientists. The American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences has selected Jim as the 2014 winner of the Division of Planetary Science's "Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award" to recognize and stimulate distinguished popular writing on planetary sciences. This is awarded annually in recognition for a single story or article published or produced within the previous year. Jim's winning entry was "Torrid Mercury's Icy Poles," in Astronomy magazine's December 2013 issue. The Nominating Committee felt this story expertly explored the history of the search for Mercury's water ice. Read Astronomy Magazine's article about Jim Jim's 2013 Astronomy Magazine Cover story about the Chelyabinsk fireball ******************************* Book Foreward ******************************* Jim's opinion piece on remembering -- and commemorating -- Mike Alsbury as an astronaut. ******************************* Video of Jim's talk at the Mars Society Conference on strategies for internationalization of major space projects. Slides for Jim's Mars Presentation ******************************* ANTARES ROCKET EXPLOSION ******************************* ******************************* September 2, 2014 -- Mystery Rocky Mountain Fireball NOT an 'exploding Russian spysat' ******************************* Mars Comet Near-Miss ******************************* October 17, 2014 Jim’s speculation on mission of X-37B [comments]
******************************* Jim with long-time friend and colleague Dr. Everett Gibson, leading researcher on search for signs of past life on Mars, at Mars Society Conference, League City, Texas
******************************* Jim shows his book 'Mission to Mars' to Bas Lansdorp director of the controversial "MarsOne" Mars settlement project, Tookie's Restaurant, Kemah, Texas, August 9, 2014
******************************* Russia's Mysterious Missile Warhead Tests -- Exposed on YOUTUBE! May 20: ANOTHER Mystery Missile Test on YOUTUBE! News report in the Business Standard Jim's May 20 advisory to news media clients ******************************* EXOTIC SPACEPORTS OF THE WORLD: Jim visits Dombarovskiy ICBM base for Bigelow module launch (PDF Download - 16MB) Jim's lecture on the visit from 2010: Jim visits North Koreas SOHAE satellite launch base for NBC Mojave Spaceport [2004] -- SpaceShipOne reaches space ******************************* September 2013 - Aerospace America: China 2.0 *******************************
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This new book commemorates our small international 'band of brothers' who were in hindsight astonishingly successful at winkling secrets out of the Soviet space program in the 1970s and 1980s. "Cold War Space Sleuths: The Untold Secrets of the Soviet Space Program"
Cold War Space Sleuths - tribute to pioneering work of Jim Oberg Editor Dom Phelan calls him "the man who more than most became the archetypal Cold War Space Sleuth"/ Colleagues label him "provocative, interesting, adversarial, and controversial but he does have a basic respect for the facts...", and added: "What distinguished Oberg's work was a certain flamboyance coupled with assiduous and exacting research. He was also not afraid to tell a good story – although not at the expense of the facts." Cold War Space Sleuths excerpts SLEUTHING SOVIET SPACE SECRETS [1990] 1989: Moscow IZVESTIYA editor praises Oberg 'secret sleuthing' The 'Cosmogram Chronicles' [1983-1992] 1986: Exposing Soviet 'Space Disinformation' Finding the Deleted Cosmonauts
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Women-in-Space Anniversaries: Valentina Tereshkova [50th], Sally Ride [30th]
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Russia’s “Fobos-Grunt” [“Phobos-Dirt”] Debacle *******************************
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Jim does refamiliarization walkabout at Mojave Air & Spaceport ahead of this year's dramatic pioneering flight tests
The Spaceship Company's brand spanking new facility, 'FAITH' -- the "Final Assembly, Integration, and Test Hangar"
Jim with new 'Scaled Composites' president, Douglas Shane.
Jim at the doorway to Mojave, California, the doorway to personal space travel.
Jim inside the high-security TSC 'FAITH' spaceship assembly complex
Jim inside the XCOR Lynx rocket plane trainer [he FITS!]
Jim recalls his repeat visits in 2004 for the epochal SpaceShipOne launches
Inside the TSC fabrication hall inspecting carbon composite sheet.
Inside FAITH, with Virgin Galactic director of flight safety Jon Turnipseed [right] and 'The Spaceship Company' official Enrico Palermo, Vice President for operations.
With Lee Valentine, Director of XCOR Aerospace. *******************************
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Recent Articles Space Sight: How Can You Prepare to See Earth From Space? Feb 5, TXCHNOLOGIST.com [January 28, 2012] Separating moon from moonshine -- Jim comments on MSNBC re Gingrich proposals
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Space Special Image Gallery
Soviet-era artwork of Buran shuttle docked to Mir
Demise of Soviet Polyus-Skif battle station, May 1986 [As Astra magazine]
Soyuz ascent ground-track – 3-D view
Moscow news graphic of recent space failures
October 5, 1957 -- Sputnik launch headline
November 4, 1957 - Sputnik-2 launch headline
December 1957 -- US 'Vanguard' rocket explodes
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Marking the end of the space shuttle program Goodbye, shuttle. The next generation? Frustration. By James Oberg // USA Today // July 7, 2011 The nimble program showed NASA that in space, we must expect the unexpected. The next generation's designers seem to have forgotten this. Six Things We Lose With the End of the Shuttle Program --The shuttle's all-but-irreplaceable capabilities made it a vehicle that performed in unforeseen situations James Oberg/ July 2011 // SPECTRUM // Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers 12 Space Shuttle Missions That Weren't Nine Astronauts Who OUGHT to Have Been on a Shuttle flight July 23, 2011 The Tenth "Should Have Flown Shuttle" Astronaut *******************************
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| Thirtieth Anniversary of First Shuttle Orbital Flight |
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 Jim's "Ascent Team" T-shirt, displayed shortly after liftoff after the SECOND countdown (note 'eventually') |
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Space Policy Options 06/15/2010 - MSNBC: "How risky is it to rely on Russian spaceflight?" 12/13/2010 - AP: Russia's Soyuz soon to be only lifeline to space 'Spectrum' (April 2010): "Wesley T. Huntress: Author of NASA's New Strategy" MSNBC (Oberg): The right and wrong stuff for space cooperation MSNBC.com (Oberg): "Why private 'space taxis' may not be as hard as many think" 09/11/2009 - Which way for NASA? ‘Flexible
Path’ concept may work out best Final
chapter from ‘Star-Crossed Orbits’
(2002) on perils of partnerships in space 01/14/2004
- USA TODAY: “Think
outside moon-Mars box: Maybe visit asteroid”
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Baykonur Cosmodrome VIP Tours Expert Guidance on Planning, Preparation, and Escorting 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.
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Space disasters still have lessons to teach As shuttle era winds down, future rocketeers must develop safety culture
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Recent TV appearances on national space policy
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Latest Russian Spaceship Upgrade: The "Digital Soyuz"
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Is Russia's Cosmonaut Training Center Collapsing?
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04/2010 - IEEE Spectrum: U.S. Air Force Launches Secret Flying Twinkie
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Jim interviews father-son spacers Owen and Richard Gariott
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Completing the International Space Station
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Russia's 500-Day Mars Mission Simulation *******************************
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“There’s no soy ooze in ‘Soyuz’” (pronouncing Russian space terms)
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09/2007 - MSNBC.com: Satellite to test special deliveries from space [tether!!]
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Aerospace History Controversies Continue Space
History Controversies Revived:
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Jim
summarizes world space activities on ‘Russia
Today’
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Russia To Continue Space Tourism Flights Post-2010 Commercial Space Tourism Advances
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Interesting People
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Interplanetary Exploration
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Preparing for Human Flight to Mars
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Novosti,
February 27, 2007: New Kourou Launch Pad Can
Conduct Manned Flights
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Space Hotel Test Flight Delayed June 6, 2006
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Soyuz
Launch -- Up Close and Personal *******************************
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Jim returns from triumphant 'Earth Orbit' educational program for American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY).
A more detailed report is in preparation but here are a few photos from the expedition courtesy of Josette Dominguez.
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Jim Covers Shuttle’s Return-to-Flight’ for NBC
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Jim
spends an hour on National
Public Radio discussing spaceflight
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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...
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"Curmudgeon's
Corner" space blog names Oberg "best space
reporter" of 2004.
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***Notice to Would-Be Whistleblowers***
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07/06/2004 - Cosmonaut Nikolayev's Body Reported Hijacked By Politician
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Read
the first two chapters of Jim's classic
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See Jim's Latest on MSNBC.COM's Sci-Tech Page *******************************
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NEW
PAMPHLET:
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