Copyright by RFB dba American Admiralty Books 2012,& 2017 &2018, 2019 ,2020 with changes
PROTOCOLS: MUST BE REPLACED WITH UPDATED VERSION DATED 3/30/2020
LESSONS FROM THE EUROPEAN RECOGNIZANCE FOR WHEN WE NEXT MEET NEW LIFE.
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| NASA IMAGE |
Writing in "THIS NEW OCEAN" (ISBN 0-679-44521-8) author William E. Burrows, based on my reading and understanding, clearly identifies "two space ages" or at least "two space races". The logic seems to me clear. He saw a big difference between the Mercury , Gemini, Apollo missions culminating in the moon landings and the work leading up to the "Space Shuttle" as separate and distinct eras in the history of man's exploration of space. Burrows leads his readers through a long and very detailed history of space exploration (about 700 pages) beginning in ancient times , through the early twentieth century advances in rocketry, to the International space station. We have to agree that to the conventional mind the moon landing was a culminating achievement of "early" space flight and an event of singular significance, proving that man , even back in the day of mostly analog technology could reach and walk about on another planet. Over the course of the Apollo moon landings American Astronauts walked, took rock samples, and expanded their moon surface exploration through the use of wheeled vehicles, and in the best American tradition; left behind a plaque, flags , and junk cars.
As seminal as the moon landing was the opening and operation of the International space station was of approximately equal importance. Since the opening of the International space station through this writing not a single night has gone by without humans in Space. If I read him correctly Burrows views this earth orbital station as one of two markers of the end of one era of space exploration and the start of another. The other marker he describes is the now defunct Space Shuttle which marked the return of wings to space. Looking at space exploration through the lens of nautical history we tend to look at hardware, mostly vessels. Mankind was centuries paddling, rowing , and when the wind was favorable square sailing around the coasts of the world. The vessels in common usage during this era were trading canoes, and galleys . The main propulsion system was human oarsmen. Not only did the oarsmen take up a lot of room but the "fuel" for these vessels was food sufficient to keep the oarsmen efficient at the task. Space for paying cargoes or passengers was very limited. As long as man was in the era of the galley ocean exploration was very limited. When we compare the present era including the moon landing and the space station we see the space equivalent of the galleys in the capsules and planes used to date. We don't see the importance of "wings in space"making any difference in the progress of space exploration. Capsules which we are returning to manned space flight in now, decades after the first space shuttle flight; and "space planes" are still galleys. The exploration and mapping of the planet during the era of the "EUROPEAN RECOGNIZANCE" had to wait centuries for the appearance of the "high aspect ratio sail" and the hull and rigging form known as the "caravel. " (See "PROTOCOLS" Essays ESSAY NUMBER 4 "SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION...THE AIR FOIL AND THE ASCENT OF MAN" and Essay No.5 "
"THE LONG PAUSE : BETWEEN THE LONG BOAT AND THE CARAVEL, BETWEEN THE SPACE SHUTTLE AND THE STAR SHIP").
While Mr. Burrows identifies two space eras in his book, and we disagree with his era changing markers based on the parallels with ocean exploration history. He describes an equally important first stage of the "space age" in his first chapter "Bird Envy". He describes it but doesn't identify it as a Space era. We recognize this stage as the conceptual stage and instructional stage. Man envisioned space exploration from very ancient times. Mr. Burrows gives us a quite detailed look at the more than a thousand years when the star struck were describing the heavens, exploring it with the naked eye and later telescopes . Most importantly these people so often ridiculed as "dreamers " stood up to skeptics often at great personal risk. They published everything from scientific papers to science fantasy, as distinguished from science fiction which has more real science including science speculation behind it. Some were burned at the stake for their efforts. Mr. Burrows spent the better part of 35 pages chronicling the evolution of space writing and academic presentations from ancient times to the eve of the Russian launch of the first man made satellite. From that point on no one had to be convinced that space travel and exploration was a possibility. The work of the people that Mr. Burrows describes in his chapter called "Bird Envy" was absolutely necessary. Without it very few tax payers ,or university officials, or government officials would have been willing to fund the advancement of the space related sciences. Those sciences had reached critical mass by 1957, the eve of the first great power space race . "Bird envy" drove both aeronautics and rocketry and was an affliction shared by the great minds that first envisioned flight and travel in space.
About some of these astronomers , thinkers and writers who fought long and hard to legitimize the study of space Mr. Burrows wrote:
"Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo changed mankind's concept of its place in the world. So would Isaac Newton"
So with a nod to Mr. Burrows and all that he did to generate understanding and appreciation of the great minds that first conceptualized space in "Bird Envy" ( chapter 1 of "THIS NEW OCEAN"), we have to take our leave and revisit space exploration in our own post moon landing era and compare it with the long evolution of ocean shipping. Mankind had to wait centuries for the caravel to leave the shallows. We should not be surprised that we seem to be on a long pause between the capsules and space planes and the anticipated arrival of the star ship. The star ship will come and it shouldn't take centuries. Computers and open publishing make the gathering and use of the necessary knowledge much faster than the slow evolution of the caravel. We have the know how to build star ships today. No, not warp drive galaxy exploring star ships, but big comfortable sub light speed ships that can get us about the solar system, Yes, some voyages will take 9 months to 2 years or more. But the history of ocean exploration tells us that humans can and will endure such voyages. What is in the way of our first star ships? Short sighted politicians, bureaucrats, and an emerging private space industry with an eye on the low hanging fruit of earth orbital missions and the moon and Mars hopping. Nothing new here, the resistance will pass as it always does. The delay might be on the order of 50 years but not the thousands of years it took for the Caravel to arrive.
So we pick up our thread of history after the moon landing and the generations of Star Trek fans . We no longer have to defend the idea of space travel. The successors of the ancient space popularizers now are movie makers as well as writers able to present visions of the future in previously unimagined detail and realism. The present generations just assume we will explore our solar system and in time our galaxy. We pick up our space progress checking in the modern era yet we look back to an era centuries ago when man first began to explore a "new ocean". The parallels and lessons are amazing. No wonder here are so many nautical /naval practices evident in the fictional star ships of Star Trek and Star wars. There are also warnings of what not to do out there. Things that didn't work for us then and could be disastrous now,
THIS NEW OCEAN : THE STORY OF THE FIRST SPACE RACE by William E. Burrows ISBN 0-679-44521-8Available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=THIS+NEW+OCEAN+by+William+E.+Burrows&ref=nb_sb_noss
Our re-reading of this classic led to our redoing of the prologue to our own Protocols we were particularly influenced by Mr. Burrows first Chapter "Bird Envy". We realized upon reading "Bird Envy" once again that our exploration of the parallels between space exploration and the great oceanic explorations and charting of the planet during the age of maritime discovery ( starting in the 1480s) was in terms of space exploration focused on the post moon landing era. In our earlier introduction essays we had focused on the influence that STAR TREK and similar TV and Movie science fiction had on generations of tax payers. Today's tax payers are quite at home with the idea of space exploration and are quite willing to fund the exploration with their tax dollars. In "Bird Envy " Mr. Burrows reminds us that people had been writing about space travel and exploration for centuries before Jules Verne. It took a long time for science fantasy to evolve into science fiction. In the rest of the Book Mr. Burrows describes the development of the space capable rocket from its earliest 20th century days. Since NASA we Americans tend to forget that the only funding for rocket research much before 1929 was by clubs of amateur rocket enthusiasts often viewed as crack pots by the science community of their day and completely ignored by their governments. In the 1930s the only change in negative government and tax payer attitudes was the sponsor ship of rocket science by the German government. The Germans at that point in history were interested in rockets as weapons of war, and most talk of rockets as launching systems for space exploration stopped in Germany. By the time of the end of WWII, American attitudes towards rockets was focused on weaponry. At last, some Free World government funds were getting pointed towards rockets. Talk of space travel picked up again as rockets became more socially acceptable thanks to government participation and the new science fiction writers of the day.
Then came the "Cold War " and the famous Russian launch of Sputnik. The first "space race" was on. We agree with Mr. Burrow on this. There was a first space race and it was on going when STAR TREK first aired. since then generations have been raised with a very clear vision of space travel and a social consensus has been reached that space exploration is worth government expenditures. Mr. Burrows writing makes us realize the long struggle for the public imagination. Only the threat of Russian domination in space spurred the formation of NASA and eventually propelled us to the moon. But somewhere between Alan Shepard's sub orbital flight and our landing on the moon the public caught up with and eventually surpassed the government in interest in space exploration. We maintain that a major driving influence was the cinematic presentations of a space future based on real science tempering the science fantasy. Audiences could now see and hear sometimes in 3D writers visions of a future where space travel was a given. What THIS NEW OCEAN , especially in the First Chapter "Bird Envy" describes is the centuries long struggle to make space exploration something that the science community, government and tax payers could accept.
This book is an excellent history of the the first space race It takes the reader deep into the early "rocket clubs" and fleshes out the main characters who most of us only know as names in a history book and vaguely associate their names with "rocket science". He does the same throughout the era he examines through the time of the space shuttle. We agree with his assessment that the space shuttle and International space station mark a turning point, and that we are now, fifty years after the moon landings starting into a "Second Space Race" as we now compete with China to get to the moon again before the world forgets that we did that fifty years ago. But we think Mr. Burrows puts too much emphasis on wings in space as some sort of key note change in technology. Our exploration of the parallels between space exploration and European exploration of the planet by sea causes us to see in terms of eras not races. The push into space has always involved "fits and starts". What we see and describe in "ESSAY NUMBER 6 of PROTOCOLS is that we are still in the same era, the era of space capsules and space planes. In Essay number 6 of our "PROTOCOLS we note in that CAPSULES AND SHUTTLES ARE BOTH LONG BOATS .
In other essays we noted the centuries long development from long boats such as galleys that required dozens of rowers and storage space for them to live and eat. And the caravel, the vessel used by Columbus capable of transoceanic voyaging. The"long boats" we described as capable for moving about the shallows, voyaging off the beach to offshore islands, coastal voyaging, but they were unsuited for transoceanic exploration. The caravel by contrast had a viable sail plan and did not need oarsmen. The capsules and space shuttles that we have used to exploit near earth orbits and land on the moon , in our view are more akin to the galleys than the caravels. We can put people in earth orbit or go to the moon. However, it is clear that any real ships designed to explore even our solar system must be built in space from parts that are somewhat pre-assembled . We await not the appearance of another International space station. but the first space "shipyard" to signal a change in era. Yes we are in a second "Space Race" but it is about better long boats not caravels. A technological "race" is not the same as an era. It took thousands of years to evolve the Caravel, the little ship that changed history. The evolution sped up once the European nation states began to compete with each other on discovering and colonizing for better or worse , the world. We offer two lessons from our comparative study of space and oceanic exploration. First these things seem to advance by fits and starts, second real trans-formative change can take at least decades if not centuries, to come to fruition.
We highly suggest reading THIS NEW OCEAN its not a new book but is still available in print at Amazon and elsewhere. In its 700 pages a story of real people working across centuries emerges, a story that the post STAR TREK generations need to learn. It seems to them that we are just moving too slowly toward the Star Trek vision of a space faring society. In fact the space movement has been moving against societal resistance for about two thousand years. This era of widespread
public acceptance of space exploration is the key new development allowing us to fly into space. In PROTOCOLS we examine the parallels between this era of space exploration and an earlier period of planetary exploration cautioning patience. If past is prologue, we are going to be improving space travel for at least a thousand years.
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TO BE PUBLISHED IN BOOK FORM EVENTUALLY. Follow on line to see it develop
INTRODUCTION: This is an anthology of posts edited from originals that first appeared in the American Admiralty Books Blog under various titles, the most common of which was "SPACE AS AN OCEAN. Unfortunately we now think that this phrase "Space as an Ocean" may be somewhat encumbered as a title. Apparently the similarity of space to an ocean, perhaps first articulated by William E.Burrows ("This New Ocean") has drawn the attention of a number of writers in recent years. Not all of the similarities have been cataloged much less detailed in print. But a number of maritime professional journals and periodicals have used the phrase and some have used it as a title for a featured article. Our intention is to explore two particular aspects of this similarity of space to an ocean, so any encumbrance of the term "space as an ocean" is not of too much concern as that phrase as a title would be a bit presumptuous given the limited intent of this anthology. We've settled on PROTOCOLS . We want to discover through historical comparisons those policies we should reexamine or prepare before we "meet the Yoda".
The two similarities between space and an ocean for our purpose are in the realm of human activity involving extended effort over generations, and great distances. First we want to explore the parallels between the "European Recognizance" of earth by sea, and our own on going explorations of outer space. We want to look at the vessels of the "European Recognizance" and the ages that preceded the European exploration by ocean vessel of the planet and compare them to the vehicles of space exploration of yesterday, today and foreseeable into the near term future. In comparing our space exploration efforts to date with the events that have come to be known as the " European Recognizance" we hope to develop a clearer image of where we are in terms of the ultimate exploration of our galaxy. By examining the time line of the "European Recognizance"and perhaps the development of flight we hope to at least outline the process of identifying a time line for galactic exploration and obtain a better feel for just how far along we are, and a crude but educated estimate of how long it will take to evolve a fleet of space vehicles capable of galactic exploration.
Second we want to examine some of the problems that befell our planet when we finally and deliberately linked on a regular basis continents and islands once widely separated by vast oceans of water. Not only did cultures collide but also distinct sets of animal and plant species. The process has been referred to as the "Colombian Exchange" . While the Colombian Exchange in many ways enriched the world, it also caused much damage. Now as we set out to explore nearby space and eventually push out into the wider galaxy is a good time to pause and plan to avoid the problems created the last time man linked life forms long isolated from each other by vast spaces. Clearly the "European Recognizance" offers us some unique insights into the protocols we should establish before venturing much farther out with any vehicle intended to return such things as soil samples. Certainly, should we encounter intelligent life sooner rather than later, the "European Recognizance" is one of the few places we can look to for models. mostly those we'd like to avoid, in establishing protocols for "First Contact".
Given the new information that is available today in genetics, anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology and especially in marine archaeology we now know that there was an exchange of cultures, ideas, pathogens, disease, and domestic animals long before Columbus. The evidence mounts that the Americas were visited by Asian and European seafarers multiple times before Columbus. That evidence also indicates that some of the negative events associated with the exchange of living organisms that we associate with the "Colombian Exchange " also occurred at various points in these earlier exchanges. But we focus on the "Colombian Exchange" because unlike prior contacts between cultures in the Americas and Asian and European cultures things accelerated after the voyages of Columbus, frequent visits and explorations begat colonies, not the first colonies in the Americas, but the first to maintain continuous contact with their "mother countries" down to the present day. Post Colombian voyages were repeatable and eventually evolved into regular commercial shipping services. After Columbus the swapping of plants, animals, and pathogens reached unprecedented proportion. There is mounting evidence particularly in the case of China that some multi ship expeditions under both commercial and government auspices made it to the American shores. Some flotillas or squadrons may have been wrecked on our shores. China once a great seafaring power, burned their own fleet and turned insular before 1492. So while the European Recognizance was not the first "Discovery of America" it was the dawn of truly global awareness of the global geography. It was the start of a global trade that continues and intensifies to this day. Unfortunately, all that exchange of genetic material beneficial and harmful was well under way before we understood "germ theory", ecology, or what happens when cultures collide. We may understand these things today but history and current events indicate that we aren't managing the continuing Colombian Exchange any better for knowing.
Unfortunately, just as we are starting to realize that we could have done a better job managing the negative effects of the Colombian Exchange we are starting to explore our solar system, and even the far reaches of our galaxy. Looking at the way we handle returning astronauts and soil samples we don't seem to have learned much from the negative experiences of the Colombian Exchange. Then we had a couple of what should have been wake up calls. First we found on earth a meteor fragment traceable to Mars which is thought to have possible micro fossils of microbiotic life. Then Russian cosmonauts found aboard the exterior of the International Space Station living ocean plankton outside in a sheltered corner of the space station. While radio astronomers seek out intelligent life in outer space the probability of microbes out there and very near us is increasing. Yet it appears that we have not reexamined reentry protocols since the Apollo missions. Our experiences with ocean exploration and commerce since 1492 have much to tell us about when worlds great and small collide. While earlier explorations and commerce may also have much to tell us, the records after 1492 are extensive and readily available. We have been off the planet for some time now. We think it is time to pause and take stock. Part of that process should certainly include a look back and comparison of our most recent era of world exploration. We do believe that "Space is an ocean". There are many parallels with the vast water oceans that separate the land areas of the earth and were once a much more formidable barrier than what they are today, for better and for worse.
Given the new information that is available today in genetics, anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology and especially in marine archaeology we now know that there was an exchange of cultures, ideas, pathogens, disease, and domestic animals long before Columbus. The evidence mounts that the Americas were visited by Asian and European seafarers multiple times before Columbus. That evidence also indicates that some of the negative events associated with the exchange of living organisms that we associate with the "Colombian Exchange " also occurred at various points in these earlier exchanges. But we focus on the "Colombian Exchange" because unlike prior contacts between cultures in the Americas and Asian and European cultures things accelerated after the voyages of Columbus, frequent visits and explorations begat colonies, not the first colonies in the Americas, but the first to maintain continuous contact with their "mother countries" down to the present day. Post Colombian voyages were repeatable and eventually evolved into regular commercial shipping services. After Columbus the swapping of plants, animals, and pathogens reached unprecedented proportion. There is mounting evidence particularly in the case of China that some multi ship expeditions under both commercial and government auspices made it to the American shores. Some flotillas or squadrons may have been wrecked on our shores. China once a great seafaring power, burned their own fleet and turned insular before 1492. So while the European Recognizance was not the first "Discovery of America" it was the dawn of truly global awareness of the global geography. It was the start of a global trade that continues and intensifies to this day. Unfortunately, all that exchange of genetic material beneficial and harmful was well under way before we understood "germ theory", ecology, or what happens when cultures collide. We may understand these things today but history and current events indicate that we aren't managing the continuing Colombian Exchange any better for knowing.
Unfortunately, just as we are starting to realize that we could have done a better job managing the negative effects of the Colombian Exchange we are starting to explore our solar system, and even the far reaches of our galaxy. Looking at the way we handle returning astronauts and soil samples we don't seem to have learned much from the negative experiences of the Colombian Exchange. Then we had a couple of what should have been wake up calls. First we found on earth a meteor fragment traceable to Mars which is thought to have possible micro fossils of microbiotic life. Then Russian cosmonauts found aboard the exterior of the International Space Station living ocean plankton outside in a sheltered corner of the space station. While radio astronomers seek out intelligent life in outer space the probability of microbes out there and very near us is increasing. Yet it appears that we have not reexamined reentry protocols since the Apollo missions. Our experiences with ocean exploration and commerce since 1492 have much to tell us about when worlds great and small collide. While earlier explorations and commerce may also have much to tell us, the records after 1492 are extensive and readily available. We have been off the planet for some time now. We think it is time to pause and take stock. Part of that process should certainly include a look back and comparison of our most recent era of world exploration. We do believe that "Space is an ocean". There are many parallels with the vast water oceans that separate the land areas of the earth and were once a much more formidable barrier than what they are today, for better and for worse.
The essays in this anthology did not necessarily appear in the same order as they were first published in the American Admiralty Book Blog. We've rearranged and edited them a bit in order to make the points about the parallels between space exploration and the European Recognizance of the earth by ship make better sequential logic. Our observations and conclusions as they are presented here did not occur to us as we explored the comparison between the "European Recognizance " and "Space as an Ocean" piecemeal via the individual essays. Our observations and opinions described in this work came to us after an examination of the whole of the original collection of essays over time.
Some of these essays are not attributed to a specific author and a few are attributed to a 3,000 year old giant Japanese Catfish and retired "demigod" named Namazu. Namazu's writing style is quite different from some of the other posts, but we will admit here for the first time that there is but one very human author of all of the posts. That human author is a veteran of active service with the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and as a licensed officer of the U.S. Merchant Marine, a former nautical arts and science teacher, and serious student of maritime history and law. The author was also an analyst of maritime threats with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security but wishes to point out that none of his official or academic duties ever touched on maritime colonial history or space exploration. The author's opinions are simply his own and do not reflect any views of any US Federal agency or department that he ever worked for nor any research conducted on government time. Of course Namazu the former Japanese demigod giant catfish has been around for 3,000 years. While the human author has adopted Namazu's persona on occasion, Namazu remains in the public domain.
Some of these essays are not attributed to a specific author and a few are attributed to a 3,000 year old giant Japanese Catfish and retired "demigod" named Namazu. Namazu's writing style is quite different from some of the other posts, but we will admit here for the first time that there is but one very human author of all of the posts. That human author is a veteran of active service with the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and as a licensed officer of the U.S. Merchant Marine, a former nautical arts and science teacher, and serious student of maritime history and law. The author was also an analyst of maritime threats with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security but wishes to point out that none of his official or academic duties ever touched on maritime colonial history or space exploration. The author's opinions are simply his own and do not reflect any views of any US Federal agency or department that he ever worked for nor any research conducted on government time. Of course Namazu the former Japanese demigod giant catfish has been around for 3,000 years. While the human author has adopted Namazu's persona on occasion, Namazu remains in the public domain.
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CHAPTER 1 CASTING OFF
INTRODUCTION:
An anthology of essays that compares the age of space exploration with that great period of earthly exploration by sea known as "The European Recognizance".
NASA IMAGE
Photos Public Domain (by age image created 1893)
Photos Public Domain (by age image created 1893)
CHAPTER 1 "CASTING OFF"
In October of 2012 we began to publish some of the essays that follow as blog posts in a series alternatively titled "SPACE AS AN OCEAN" or "PROTOCOLS". The series is re-posted as reworked below.
Chapter 1 contains essays on the process of "casting off", the start of any voyage by sea. In space exploration the equivalent is the launch of the space "vehicle". Men and women have "cast off" or launched on distant voyages many times in our history. Sometimes these voyages were part of a migration, sometimes part of an exploration. Occasionally, as was probably the case with the original peopling of the Pacific Islands voyages combined elements of exploration with migration. NASA plans for Mars as currently discussed seem to blend these purposes.
CHAPTER 1
For our purposes we pay scant attention to speculation based on some solid looking evidence that the Chinese reached America before Columbus, even centuries or mellinia before. The point is that when the Eunuch Admiral He returned to China the new rulers didn't follow up. The same was true for the Viking North American colonies which disappeared and contact broke off, as was the case for claimed explorations by Egyptians, Polynesians, and others. It was the Europeans who explored, recorded, left colonies, and repeated voyages, and for better or worse started what some now call the "Global Village" and gave us the lessons we will contemplate in this series.
WE WILL CAST OFF
Why are we so sure that we are going? Because the results of our first tentative explorations tell us that it will be worth the trip. Prior to 1969 men on the moon were a science fiction invention. Today decades after Neil Armstrong's historic first step, we've had it, we've been there, we left behind junk cars to memorialize our passage! In the decades since that historic landing we learned a few things about moon dust. Based on samples brought back from the moon we found a fairly large supply of nearly identical mineral formations in the northern United States. This allowed experimentation in quantity. We found that with sufficient technology we can extract many useful elements from moon dust and rock including water! Long term basing on the moon is therefor possible. But why would we want to base anything in that forsaken landscape? Two other late twentieth century discoveries make it desirable.
It is a bit unusual for a ship's master, but I once taught in a high school. I taught nautical arts and sciences so it wasn't that much of a stretch, and the high school system owned a 65 foot training vessel that I also served as Captain on. So even if my presence in the high school didn't seem that mysterious to me, the maritime world was a near complete mystery for my "merchant marine cadets" in the first weeks of class. The early weeks of class were a lot like the early weeks at the Harry Lundburg School of Seamanship, which is to say these weeks were a lot like a sort of civilian version of boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center but done on the installment plan. My goal was to instill paramilitary discipline while inspiring and motivating the all volunteer vocational / technical career path students to really want to become mariners. So after the basic introduction I began with a question.
CHAPTER 2
ESSAY NUMBER 2
One example of this type of vessel found in the early Mediterranean was the Trireme, which by the fifth century had become the capital ship of the Mediterranean powers. Some were as much as 100 feet long and carried as many as 160 oarsmen. These were real ships, capable of real voyages, and quite impressive in their day. But the long boat at the height of its development was inadequate for repeated trans Atlantic or Pacific crossings and returns. The long boat , in all of it's variations , was a coast wise vessel. One would occasionally survive a remarkable open water voyage, but no sailor in his right mind had any inclination to repeat such voyages. With its square sail and shallow keel, and primitive steering sweep which precedes the true rudder, it could only sail in the most favorable of winds. With it's dependence on oars , and thus human muscle power, the caloric needs of the crew put severe limits on it's range. It's limited cargo capacity restricted its' commercial utility. Its' relatively low free board and open construction made it vulnerable to heavy seas. The advent of routine transoceanic voyages had to wait the development of a more suitable craft. That craft would be a long time in arriving on scene and would develop from several different sources, ultimately to be perfected by a most unlikely source. The vessel that would open the seas to systematic exploration and commercial usage would be the caravel.
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We came to realize that mankind's search for the calculus of complexity, the math gateway to a new physics that will open the door to extra-solar, galactic, and even intergalactic travel and communication was going to require a lot of fuzzy algorithms along the way. Since first publishing on this subject we have been drawn into the confidence of a Louisiana Company called Helios Ruehls, which is hard at work on a new fuzzy algorithm in a different maritime application. It again involves an interface between a fractal form and some older linear Newtonian based technology. Another fuzzy algorithm will be needed but Helios Ruehls' efforts reveal a stunning future where these fuzzy algorithms give way to an eventual holistic and symmetrical calculus of the complex.
Mandelbrot sometimes referred to the Geometry of the Fractal as "the measurement of roughness". Notice that only a few years ago what we now refer to as "Complexity theory" was called "Chaos Theory". The "roughness" and "chaos" is already falling away as practical needs drive searches for fuzzy algorithms as links between existing technologies and aspects of complexity theory that offer quantum leaps in performance, reliability, and speed. When the calculus of complexity emerges in its eventually to be revealed elegance and symmetry totally new vice the near future hybrid technologies will emerge that will seem like magic to 21st century minds. When we examine the history of flight including space flight in comparison with the history of marine transport we discern a speeding up of the technological and theoretical processes compared with the evolution of marine transportation. . Being allowed to peak into the secret lab work of Helios Ruehls has convinced us that the gateway to the all important Calculus of Complexity is closer than we ever thought. Perhaps the engineer who designs the first extra-solar manned craft that doesn't require the crew to commit to a life time aboard is already born.
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Photo U.S. Air Force
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U.S. Navy sailors rig rat guards on the mooring lines of a war ship. Here they rig the chaffing gear over which a metal disk will be fitted that the rat can not climb over. This practice still carried out by the U.S. Navy, and once enforced on all visiting merchant ships in U.S. ports is hardly observable in the U.S. ports today since the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) "Ship Sanitation Officers were eliminated in a budget cut during the Regan Administration. Official U.S. Navy Photo.
A UNIQUE ENCOUNTER ON A NEW ORLEANS WHARF
A few years ago I was descending the gangway to a wharf in New Orleans and was confronted by something I had never seen before. Near my foot was a small lizard under a foot long that looked vaguely like our own native "Carolina Anole" which is common all over Louisiana and can change colors at will from various shades of green to various shades of brown. Generally our native "Carolina Anoles", sometimes sold commercially as pets under the misnomer "Chameleons", are relatively slow and un-aggressive. The creature at my foot was larger , heavier, with coarser scales and an aggressive attitude. Instead of fleeing before me, a creature thousands of times larger than itself, it stood its' ground making threat displays. Obviously the creature was not a native because every native species of everything knows that a Cajun will skin , coat in red pepper, blacken, and eat anything. I merely found it curious, and it didn't look too tasty, but I knew I wasn't looking at a native species. I studied it a bit memorizing its features and then stepped forward, and of course the smaller critter then ran away. What happened next in this late 1980s encounter illustrates the way things were in the earlier part of the 20th century relative to guarding our borders from invasive species and how things have changed for the worse and continue unimproved.
I recall when Reagan era budget cuts closed down the marine hospitals run by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) eliminating free medical services for the U.S. Merchant Marine. Its been nearly 33 years since and many maritime employers in the Jones Act fleet still don't provide health insurance for crew men. But along with the marine hospitals mariners also noticed the daily presence in the ports of the USPHS marine sanitation officers. They were unmistakable in their navy like uniforms and showed the insignia of Warrant Officers. They were seen frequently on the wharf from the 1930s through the 1970s then disappeared with the marine hospitals. Back when New Orleans was a banana port we'd see them sometimes leading groups of civilian workers with butterfly type nets in trying to capture some strange creature or other that had hitched a ride on a bunch of bananas. While these ship sanitation officers were about, woe to the general cargo ship that didn't have properly deployed rat guards on the mooring lines.
USPHS UNIFORMS, THE SHIP SANITATION OFFICERS WERE COMMONLY SEEN ON THE WHARF IN THE KAKI WORKING VERSION AND THEY INDEED WORKED, CLIMBING UP AND DOW ACCOMMODATION LADDERS AND ALL OVER THE SHIPS AND WHARVES LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF INVASIVE PESTS OR VECTORS OF DISEASE AND TAKING FAST REMEDIAL MEASURES. THE USPHS IS STILL AROUND BUT THEY ARE NOT SEEN IN THE PORTS OFTEN ANYMORE. THEY LED THE FIGHT AGAINST INVADING PESTS AND PESTILENCE WITH MILITARY RIGOR.
THEIR LEADERSHIP ROLE WAS SUPERSEDED AND THE PESTS ARE WINNING (Official USPHS PHOTO)
In the days of the USPHS ship sanitation officers it was clear that the USPHS was a partner with the agriculture department, and the very visible and militant leader of the effort to close our border to pests and pestilence. Exotic invasive species weren't unknown in those days but they were relatively few. The Kudzu, the vine that ate Mississippi, didn't slip past the barriers of the USPHS and Agriculture Department inspectors, it was deliberately imported to help control erosion around the time of the Dust Bowl. The fire ant got past the defenses, but an ant can be a hard thing to detect. But all things considered most of the nonnative species in America until the demise of the USPHS sanitation officers were introduced in the earliest days of the Colombian Exchange. By the 1800 the Great Plains were full of wild horses, but there were no native horses (there is some evidence of possible ponies of Chinese origins scattered about in a few places) when the first Europeans began settlement. The much of the population of wild horses, wild boar, wild burros, English sparrows, pigeons and quite a number of plants run wild in North America were early accidents of the Colombian (or earlier) Exchange that frankly is still in progress. However these intrusions happened back in the days when no one understood the long term damage that exotic intrusion into an ecosystem, agricultural system, or urban landscape could do. Today the total global damage caused by invasive species, an uncontrolled continuance of the Colombian Exchange is estimated at $1.4 TRILLION or about 3% of the global economy.
REPORTING THE INTRUDER:
In the old days when we saw something strange running around the wharf we often bumped into the USPHS ship sanitation officer within minutes. We just told him what we saw and answered a few intelligent questions and often if we passed back the same way within the hour the guys with the butterfly nets were out and about.
After my encounter with the aggressive little lizard at the end of the gangway, years after the budget cuts, I of course, didn't bump into any uniformed guardians of our border of any variety. Once home I called the USPHS thinking I should report the sighting in case it was an exotic intruder and maybe a first sighting. I had to go through many rounds of calls and buck passing within the USPHS before finally being referred to agriculture, then another agency, and another. I don't even remember which of the now more than 12 agencies with some piece of the responsibility for preventing invasive species entry finally put me in contact with an actual knowledgeable person who identified my sighting as a Caribbean Anole, a larger more aggressive cousin of our native species. I was told that some had gotten off ships in Gulf Ports and were busy establishing themselves on the Gulf Coast at the expense of native bug eaters. There was apparently no attempt being made at eradication, just as there had been no attempt at prevention of the entry of this species. I was left with the clear impression that exotic intrusion was now everybody's business (as in 12 plus agencies) and so no body's business.
No wonder the Mississippi and Ohio river systems are over run with Zebra mussels and flying carp are damaging recreational boats on the same waters. No wonder Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia are on the look out for the Asian Walking Catfish north bound out of Florida which is over run with iguanas, pythons, and even monkeys. No wonder fire ants require constant eradication efforts on my lawn, and spring brings fear of Formosan termite swarms if we leave the light on. Of course I'm talking about Southeast Louisiana where there is no killing cold in the winter. If you live in North Dakota you don't have as many problems with exotic invaders but if you overstay outside between December and March you could be quick frozen to death. I've thought about it and personally I rather brush the five foot long iguanas aside to get in the door than have to shovel my way out of the house just to get to a frozen wider community. But still these pests aren't just disturbing our lives in paradise , they cause billions of dollars in damages all over the nation including the Great Lakes fisheries.
So lets examine this issue, which is very much maritime in nature because most of the pest plants and animals arrive by ship.
Extinctions of species as well as societies, and the spread of disease as well as of useful plants and animals occurred when the Old and New Worlds met. Parallels could occur in space exploration. We need to examine existing protocols and past protocols from the moon missions and how well they worked. Such an examination suggests that much work is needed in this area before our first encounter with extraterrestrial life.
South America exported the potato to Ireland which some think was a mixed blessing at best. Europe received corn from the Americas but to this day utilizes it mostly as animal feed. Unlike Americans of European descent today's Europeans have yet to raise or purchase the "sweet" varieties of corn that Americans consume without first passing it through a bovine digestive system for conversion to beef. Europeans reintroduced the horse to the Americas and while mounted on them drove a number of native civilizations to extinction. Microbes were exchanged, some beneficial like those needed in the processing of yogurt and wine, others like small pox, the natives would have been pleased to have avoided. This entire two way traffic in living stuff we call "the "Colombian Exchange" and it is still ongoing. As we discuss the pros and cons of such exchanges and the needed protocols to control and mitigate the undesirable changes we will simply refer to any such exchange whether between the Americas and Europe, or Asia, or Earth and outer space or other planets as a "Colombian Exchange". We aren't the first to coin that term, perhaps we are the first to use it as a generic term for similar events past and future.
Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an "organism".(See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Are Viruses Alive? http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ). Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there. The whatever else is particularly unsettling when we consider some of the unusual ideas of Sir Fred Doyle, Chandra Wickramasingle and others who propose that on extremely rare occasions genetic material not of this earth reaches here.
While this is not a mainstream scientific idea, there is some serious science in their arguments and most of the main stream scientific community falls a little short calling the idea impossible. So lets consider just for a minute that Doyle might be right. Lets consider that in the light of the loss of Gus Grissom's first space capsule in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day we don't know why upon return to earth the hatch of the capsule blew open and almost drowned Grissom, allowed the capsule to fill with sea water, and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the cradle of life on this planet. Like Doyle's critics we don't think there was a serious chance that the exterior surface of the capsule would have picked up a virus like "organism" and that it would have survived the fiery entry of the capsule, but suppose the such a capsule had samples of Mars soil on board? Why was all of the post landing inquiry focused of what exactly happened to cause the door to malfunction vice how do we assure that in a landing gone wrong stuff that could be harboring extraterrestrial life does not come into contact with environment?
During the Apollo era astronauts returning from the Moon were kept in isolation as a precaution against their carrying virus like pathogens from the surface of the moon. The length of time of their isolation was based loosely on known incubation periods for known pathogens on earth. It doesn't look like anyone asked if non earth evolved pathogens might have a longer incubation period. Moon soil samples likewise didn't seem subjected to any really out of the box sanitation measures. Despite recent discoveries here on earth of life forms at the bottom of the sea in sulfur vents, and hot springs that don't seem to be subject to the environmental conditions once thought essential to any type of life , we haven't seen a broad spectrum isolation protocol come out of NASA with our recent robotic probes of Mars. When we do return a soil sample what will be our sanitary protocol?
We don't have to meet ET to be exposed to really deadly pathogens. In fact it is far more likely that the first life we encounter out there will be microscopic. If some Buzz Lightyear of the future gets eaten on an alien world by an extraterrestrial version of a T-Rex we're out one astronaut. If an astronaut brings back an alien virus for which we have no resistance or cure, it could be the end of all life on earth. But then again microbes aren't the only hazard. Ever seen parts of Mississippi over run by Kudzu? The Kudzu vines looks vaguely like a creeping ivy. Its not native to the U.S. Deep south, but it sure likes it. This at first seemingly harmless item of exchange in the Colombian Exchange didn't hitch hike here on some banana boat. We brought it here for the hoped for beneficial effect of erosion control in areas of very sandy soil and heavy rain. Road cuts in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were eroding faster that nature could heal them and it was thought the fast growing Kudzu could put a stop to it. Well the Kudzu liked the Deep South just fine and not only covered the road cut scar but continued right up into the pine forests clear to the top of the trees and then spread a canopy from tree to tree until, almost before anyone noticed it, a hundred acre forest could be smothered , cut off from light and killed. But the emerald green Kudzu looked happy draped across trees dead or alive. If we find a plant out there are we going to bring it back? You can bet on it. Do we have sufficient protocols in place to insure it stays in isolation and never gets out into Earth's natural environment? We're not so sure on that.
Alien Face or Bio hazard mask? 
Ask your self this. Is that image pictured above supposedly an artist's approximation of an alien "face" as described by many "witnesses" so often it has almost become our standard image of a space alien actually a face or could it be a bio barrier mask. Are those big eyes with no pupils or dark protective lenses? How could any creature breath through nostrils that tiny or get enough to feed an energetic biped over five feet tall through that tiny slit of a mouth? Might it be that what has been seen, assuming that anything has actually been seen, is the air intake and exhaust of a bio hazard safety mask? Have you ever noticed in the descriptions of these beings there is never any mention of real clothing, nor of any sex organs or secondary sexual characteristics? Could it be that we are seeing something like a thin wet suit and mask designed to keep micron sized pathogens out of the suit and to keep the personal kooties of who ever is in there locked in? Wouldn't that be a nice courtesy. The Aztecs and Mayans would certainly have appreciated such thoughtfulness from the Spaniards. Maybe if we are being visited, our visitors are far more courteous and safety minded than the history of our last wave of first contact experiences.
Another troubling parallel between our maritime experiences and our space experiences is the possibility that government protocols applicable to government run missions may not be nearly enough. We are already developing a space launch and flight industry. There are private satellite launch services operating already and private "space planes under development. There is just about no doubt that by the time we are pushing manned flight beyond our solar system there will be a lot of non government commercial traffic in our solar system. When Columbus headed out for the unknown western Atlantic the Western World had about 5,000 years of maritime trade development behind it. There were international norms in the process of ship "entry" the process of a ship formally and peacefully entering a port to engage in trade, there was considerable international uniformity in the process of "Pratique", meaning the conditions that a ship was expected to adhere to once it was formally entered and granted official permission to hold communications with the shore. Finally the process of "clearance" was very uniform through out the European Atlantic and Mediterranean world, that process where in a ship presents proofs that it adhered to the conditions of its pratique while in port and is cleared by the port authorities for its next destination. Despite the experience that European merchant captains had with such a system, they ignored the evidence that the Mayans had such a system and just barged right on in.
Now more than 500 years later our own maritime practices of entry, pratique, and clearance are still adjusting especially in the way of ship sanitation. The lamprey and the zebra mussel have caused major changes in our rules about the ballast water discharge. Our sanitation measures failed us completely in the realm of rat guards, the Norwegian rat is now a universal pest. Despite our best efforts fire ants got off the boat at Mobile and are over running the American South. Centuries after the start of the Colombian Exchange and we are still struggling with the creation of regulations, regulatory agencies to try and slow the processes of exotic intrusion and native flora and fauna stress, and frequently our own economic distress. Maritime history is ripe with examples of those who deliberately side stepped the established safe guards and profited by increasing the stresses of the Colombian Exchange. We are heading out into space with an already evolving private transport industry without any development for the entry, pratique, or clearance of cargo carrying traffic.
We have a remarkable lack of protocols for where we are going. Our maritime technologies and institutions had thousands of years of development before the European Recognisance and we still ended up eliminating entire civilizations, major human populations, hundreds of plant and animal species, and spread disease all over the globe. Yet the average world citizen today would vote for the continued globalization rather than to go back to the era when great civilizations went for centuries with little knowledge of each other. Going into space involves big risks and big rewards but our maritime experience points to the necessity to proceed with caution and to develop serious, detailed, protocols. If ET has been watching us as so many Ufologists suspect, his people have been watching us for a good thousand years or more. Yet there is no official contact. If they are real could it be they have learned through bitter experience to be very careful on first contact with any sort of life? We need to avoid doing anything rash.
This is the heart of "PROTOCOLS" are we prepared for our first encounter with extraterrestrial life be it microbes, viruses, or Yoda? We think that not only our experience with maritime exploration but our recent and planned delivery of soil samples from the Moon and Mars point to gross inadequacy in these sanitary protocols. A cosmic version of the negative parts of the Colombian Exchange could be more than annoying and economically damaging. Such an exchange could be planet killing.
RE: SPACE AS AN OCEAN SERIES / JUST COMPLETED EXOTIC INTRUSION SERIES.
First Mars Soil Samples May Come Sooner Than Expected.
NASA Artist's illustration of a Mars Rover.
Considering the almost absolute lack of protection from dangerous animals, insects, plants and micro organisms that our nation presently has against such pests and pestilence entering the nation by ship, how would we deal with an outbreak of microorganisms originating from Martian soil? Considering the billions of dollars of damage we already suffer annually from exotic intrusion and our poor record of mitigation, how would we deal with micro organisms that prove harmful that aren't related to any life form we presently know. Could spores, viruses, etc. from microorganisms formerly common on Mars (assuming it ever harbored life) be surviving on Mars now? Remember we have already found forms of life living in volcanic vents at the bottom of the sea. There we once supposed it too dark, too hot, too oxygen deficient, too high in sulfur content for any form of life to survive. Then our unmanned deep diving robots turned the lights and cameras on at the location and we found a community of life unlike anything we had ever imagined not only surviving but thriving around these deep sea hot sulfur vents.
NOAA Photo of a Deep Sea vent Do you see the potential parallels with returning soil samples from Mars? With a 75% probability of an at sea landing for the samples, and history of at least one lost space capsule at sea do we have the fail safe protocols to prevent the loss of a returning Mars soil sample in the sea? Do we have the protocols in place to assure the sealed integrity of the container no matter how rough the landing until it can be opened in a secure environment? What constitutes a secure environment? Frankly, if we don't start seeing major improvements in the way we are handling our existing 511 year old Colombian Exchange, still out of control ,we really have to doubt our ability to start dealing with a potential second one from outer space. Why are we particularly concerned with the return of soil samples from Mars? Well consider that a few years ago a big news story was that meteor fragments had been found on Earth and identified as being of Martian origin and arguably contained fossil evidence of microbial life forms. This sparked the entire theoretical discussion of the possibility that life first evolved on Mars and that the Earth was "seeded" at some point as Mars was bombarded by meteors sending chunks of the surface to us as meteors. We are all for progress and especially space travel and eventual colonization. But as mariners whose professional ancestors once linked "worlds" long separated by vast oceans, as the profession that inadvertently launched the Colombian Exchange for better and worse, we feel especially impelled to ask; where are the protocols?
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Chapter No. 5
ESSAY NUMBER 3
Public domain image courtesy of http://pnt.gov/public/images/.
Editor's Note: We first published this essay as part of a serial E-book about a year ago. The entire book may be read in the "MARITIME LITERATURE SECTION" just scroll down past the book reviews. Recently the Huff Post Science Section published an article titled " 'ALIEN EARTH' STUDY SUGGESTS MILKY WAY GALAXY HOLDS 45 BILLION EARTH LIKE PLANETS". When we published the essay below our definition of "Earth Like" was quite different from the author of the above referenced article, Mike Wall who apparently first posted it on Space.com .
The planets the study refers to as "Earth Like" are simply somewhat near earth sized, with orbits around their sun that are roughly similar to Earth's. The study doesn't reveal anything about these planets rotation about their own axis or changing pole orientation which cause the day night and seasonal aspects of our own climate, nor do these studies indicate that any of these planets even have atmospheres. Most of these "new planets" are "estimated" planets meaning that they haven't actually been sighted but are estimated to exist based on a sampling of similar stars studied that had such planets. These "new earth like" planets are products of statistical analysis and subject to all of the errors inherent in statistical projection using small samples.
These "new" planets are not revolving around yellow suns like our own but around "Red Dwarf" stars with surface temperatures roughly in the 2,000 degree Fahrenheit range cooler than our sun. Obviously, there will be some differences in types of radiation coming off a red dwarf as well as the radiant heat difference. There is no mention of the presence of moons or large outer "guard planets" as exist in our solar system to reduce the frequency of impacts with meteors and comets, there can't be, these "new planets" are not observed but products of statistical analysis. Finally as we observed in our original analysis we exist on an outer radial arm of our spiral shaped galaxy, a uniquely comparatively tranquil place in the galaxy in terms of meteors, comets, asteroids, and other naturally occurring space objects that can and do impact planets. By contrast the inner parts of the galaxy are a much more violent place.
Even if evolution had more time there as the report suggests, it is the time between massively destructive events that count. One of these objects whacked the dinosaurs which gave mammals a shot at reaching the apex of the biomass, but we had enough time between celestial body bombardments to evolve. For that to happen in the center of the galaxy the "earth like planet", and by that we mean a lot more than just roughly size and orbit distance from its star; would have be positioned in a unique solar system with an extraordinary collection of "outer guard planets". When we published our estimate of the chances of another space traveling civilization in our galaxy we based it on a much closer definition of "Earth Like". We don't think this latest study and statistical projection change our estimate of the chances of industrial and space-faring civilizations at all. Though subject to all of the potential error inherent in small sample statistical analysis, the study does suggest that the probability of at least microscopic life is higher than previous estimates and possibly not confined to planets circling yellow suns at the thought to be, appropriate distance.
A link to this report on the latest estimate of "Earth Like" planets in our galaxy is posted below, just remember "Earth Like" has different meanings in different contexts. In this latest study it refers only to relative mass, composition, and distance from the star orbited. Below the link is a reprint of our original posting, and below the reprint of our original posting are extracts from this latest study with comments from the author of our posting.
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CHAPTER 6
ESSAY NO. 1A
YODA WHERE ARE YOU
side view as prepared by NASA /COBE
FROM: Alien Earth Study Suggests Milky Way Holds 4.5 Billion Earth Like Planets by Mike Wall published in Space . Com 2/6/2012 and the Huff Post Science Section 2/7/2016
" Astronomers have calculated that 6 percent of the galaxy's 75 billion or so red dwarfs — stars smaller and dimmer than the Earth's own sun — probably host habitable, roughly Earth-size planets. That works out to at least 4.5 billion such "alien Earths," the closest of which might be found a mere dozen light-years away, researchers said."
AAB Note: This is a study of Red Dwarfs which are significantly different from our own sun, to start with their surface is thousands of degrees cooler. "Earth sized" is a long way from being "Earth like". We think it takes a leap of logic to assume similar sized planets circling very different types of stars in an optimum orbital zone are "alien earths".
"In the new study, Dressing and her colleagues re-analyzed the red dwarfs in Kepler's field of view and found that nearly all are smaller and cooler than previously thought.
YODA, Star of stage , screen, toy manufacturing, action figures, and outer space, photo from Star Wars.com
Yoda, the Star Wars character that we refer to as our euphemism for extraterrestrial intelligent life might more accurately be referred to as "Yodas", plural. It is highly unlikely that intelligent life on some unknown planet in this galaxy or one "far far away" evolved into a single intelligent individual. But even if on some as yet undiscovered planet intelligent life evolved into an intelligent species, the odds are that the entire species is already dead, or will be before we can discover them. While generating life in the universe may be more uncommon than often thought, sustaining it long enough to evolve into intelligent space faring civilizations is probably exceedingly rare. Indeed in our own case we are far from being able to evacuate a large portion of humanity from the planet should the planet cease to be able to support life as apparently Mars and perhaps Venus did. Without any intervention by an intelligent species based on their industrial processes, the evidence is wide spread that planets with warm wet climates, routinely change to hot and dry or cold and dry, and quickly lose oxygen rich atmospheres. In short the universe is probably pretty friendly towards microbiological life, but not so much for intelligent species or even fair sized mammal like creatures.
The jury is still out on us humans. We've made it past a couple of important mile stones but still are not capable of space migration. To evolve and survive intelligent species need billions of years of life sustaining climate. There is mounting evidence that such conditions are rarely even long lasting in geologic terms much less permanent.
The visible universe may well be filled with "habitable planets" in terms of what we usually think necessary to support mammalian life. However, increasingly, we've seen evidence that such conditions are temporary, and rarely last long enough for intelligent life forms to evolve, much less to evolve to the point of space faring civilizations. Early life forms such as microbes, perhaps fish and amphibians are very fragile, so the current line of reasoning is that they evolve fast in order to survive. We have seen examples of earthly sea plankton found surviving on an exterior surface of of the International Space Station, and found meteor fragments thought to be from Mars, with evidence of microbial fossils. Some astronomers think they have detected clouds of what may be virus in deep space. So one might already concur that the universe is widely "seeded" for life, but for life to last long enough for civilizations of intelligent life to evolve requires extraordinary circumstances. A planet where life can evolve all the way to intelligent beings must be extraordinarily stable in terms of its atmosphere. Most aren't.
While there are billions and billions of planets just in our own galaxy alone, the center of a galaxy is a very violent place. Planets in the spiral heart of our Milky Way Galaxy frequently collide with space objects including other planets. Our planet exists in a relatively quiet outer arm of the galaxy. We enjoy the protection from collision with space objects by way of large gas giants orbiting at the outer entrance to our sun's gravitational influence area, and a small planet like moon circling our planet. Merely being positioned in the "Goldilocks Zone" is not enough. No matter how much microbiological "seed" the center of the galaxy spews out, it must find protected soil. One look at the moon, the surface of Mars, or Venus or our own planet's surface tells us that even in our relatively quiet radial arm over time there are a lot of things crashing into planets. We have encountered some game changers over geological time, but no life extinguishers. The fact is that planets able to sustain the evolution of life to the level of intelligent civilizations need very special locations, and more than a small amount of luck.
The folks who are professionals in the search for alien intelligent life sometimes refer to this situation as the "SETI-Fermi paradox." It sort of boils down to the question of "If the universe is so full of life and potentially life sustaining planets....where is everybody?". The mathematical odds appear to indicate that they are probably dead. The odds of two intelligent civilizations evolving on two different planets and then meeting are astronomical. Where is Yoda? We hope not , but the odds are that if he ever existed he is probably dead.
THE LATE GREAT YODA?
Editor's Note: We first published this essay as part of a serial E-book about a year ago. The entire first rough draft of the book may be read in the "MARITIME LITERATURE SECTION" just scroll down past the book reviews. Recently the Huff Post Science Section published an article titled " 'ALIEN EARTH' STUDY SUGGESTS MILKY WAY GALAXY HOLDS 45 BILLION EARTH LIKE PLANETS". When we published the essay below our definition of "Earth Like" was quite different from the author of the above referenced article, Mike Wall who apparently first posted it on Space.com .
The planets the study refers to as "Earth Like" are simply somewhat near earth sized, with orbits around their sun that are roughly similar to Earth's. The study doesn't reveal anything about these planets rotation about their own axis or changing pole orientation which cause the day night and seasonal aspects of our own climate, nor do these studies indicate that any of these planets even have atmospheres. Most of these "new planets" are "estimated" planets meaning that they haven't actually been sighted but are estimated to exist based on a sampling of similar stars studied that had such planets. These "new"earth like" planets are products of statistical analysis and subject to all of the errors inherent in statistical projection using small samples.
These "new" planets are not revolving around yellow suns like our own but around "Red Dwarf" stars with surface temperatures roughly in the 2,000 degree Fahrenheit range cooler than our sun. Obviously, there will be some differences in types of radiation coming off a red dwarf as well as the radiant heat difference. There is no mention of the presence of moons or large outer "guard planets" as exist in our solar system to reduce the frequency of impacts with meteors and comets, there can't be, these "new planets" are not observed but products of statistical analysis. Finally as we observed in our original analysis we exist on an outer radial arm of our spiral shaped galaxy, a uniquely comparatively tranquil place in the galaxy in terms of meteors, comets, asteroids, and other naturally occurring space objects that can and do impact planets. By contrast the inner parts of the galaxy are a much more violent place.
Even if evolution had more time there as the report suggests, it is the time between massively destructive events that count. One of these objects whacked the dinosaurs which gave mammals a shot at reaching the apex of the biomass, but we had enough time between celestial body bombardments to evolve. For that to happen in the center of the galaxy the "earth like planet", and by that we mean a lot more than just roughly size and orbit distance from its star; would have be positioned in a unique solar system with an extraordinary collection of "outer guard planets". When we published our estimate of the chances of another space traveling civilization in our galaxy we based it on a much closer definition of "Earth Like". We don't think this latest study and statistical projection change our estimate of the chances of industrial and space-faring civilizations at all. Though subject to all of the potential error inherent in small sample statistical analysis, the study does suggest that the probability of at least microscopic life is higher than previous estimates and possibly not confined to planets circling yellow suns at the thought to be, appropriate distance.
A link to this report on the latest estimate of "Earth Like" planets in our galaxy is posted below, just remember "Earth Like" has different meanings in different contexts. In this latest study it refers only to relative mass, composition, and distance from the star orbited. Below the link is a reprint of our original posting, and below the reprint of our original posting are extracts from this latest study with comments from the author of our posting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/alien-earth-milky-way-galaxy-earth-like-planets_n_2631063.html
YODA WHERE ARE YOU
FROM: Alien Earth Study Suggests Milky Way Holds 4.5 Billion Earth Like Planets by Mike Wall published in Space . Com 2/6/2012 and the Huff Post Science Section 2/7/2016
" Astronomers have calculated that 6 percent of the galaxy's 75 billion or so red dwarfs — stars smaller and dimmer than the Earth's own sun — probably host habitable, roughly Earth-size planets. That works out to at least 4.5 billion such "alien Earths," the closest of which might be found a mere dozen light-years away, researchers said."
AAB Note: This is a study of Red Dwarfs which are significantly different from our own sun, to start with their surface is thousands of degrees cooler. "Earth sized" is a long way from being "Earth like". We think it takes a leap of logic to assume similar sized planets circling very different types of stars in an optimum orbital zone are "alien earths".
"In the new study, Dressing and her colleagues re-analyzed the red dwarfs in Kepler's field of view and found that nearly all are smaller and cooler than previously thought.
The Polynesian sea migration was based on prior historical experience that the vast ocean was in fact dotted with islands. So the voyageurs were willing to shove off feeling the odds were in their favor of finding a new home. In a similar vein our probing of the cosmos for earth like planets may one day produce enough information to spark such a space voyage if we complete the research before anyone discovers the secret of faster than light propulsion. However we must keep in mind that biological research here on earth informs us that many forms of life exist in environments that we never imagined could support life here on earth such as the cold dark recesses of the bottom of the sea, at the mouth of subsea volcanic vents, in saline hot springs in local earth atmospheres devoid of light, over heated, or below freezing. And so we continue the cautionary message of our book PROTOCOLS. Space is an ocean, learn from our ocean history, don't repeat the worst errors of the "Colombian Exchange". Be prepared that "first contact" with alien life may be with deadly toxic microbes. Where are the Protocols for this event?
CHAPTER 5
IS TRAVEL AND COMMUNICATION ACROSS TIME POSSIBLE
Greetings Bipeds! I read with interest the recent post on FUZZY ALGORITHMS AND THE SEARCH FOR WARP SPEED." Benefiting from 3,000 years of close observation of scientific progress as I do I wanted to elaborate a bit on the subject that underlies that blog post, namely complexity theory, and to comment on a subject that is related to both interplanetary travel and the evolution of the calculus and geometries of complexity, formerly "chaos". That subject is time travel and across time communications. If time space is not malleable then the much desired "warp drive" can't happen. The emerging understanding of "Complexity Theory" and the slow development of complexity calculus and geometries presents strong evidence supported by existing physics and math that the "fabric" of space time is indeed at least somewhat "plastic" and "malleable".
Is communication across time possible? The epiphany of the Iroquois: When the Iroquois first met the Jesuits writing and clocks were the most impressive "magic" that the Jesuits seemed to possess. The Iroquois being possessed of an advanced orally transmitted culture soon observed that the Jesuits could communicate in conversational detail across great distances and time by sending letters and other correspondence. The Iroquois immediately realized that writing , real writing of a live spoken language allowed people who possessed it the ability to send messages to the future and receive messages from the past. The Jesuits wanted the Iroquois to learn to read and write so that they could study the bible and the catechism. The Iroquois wanted to read and write for their own purposes so they valued this particular "gift" of the Jesuits. The Iroquois had learned to measure the passage of time in moon phases and other celestial observations. Their measurements were highly useful in terms of seasons down to about roughly a month. They could of course count days and had computed the approximate length of a year. They were known after contact with the Jesuits to sit for hours watching a clock. The Iroquois were quite aware that the clock measured with precision, more exacting than they had ever known, the passage of time. European and Asian cultures may have advanced far beyond American cultures in the development of writing and measurement of time but it was the Iroquois who excelled at the appreciation that these developments are demonstrations of the malleability of time.
RE: SPACE AS AN OCEAN SERIES / JUST COMPLETED EXOTIC INTRUSION SERIES.
First Mars Soil Samples May Come Sooner Than Expected.
NASA Artist's illustration of a Mars Rover.
Considering the almost absolute lack of protection from dangerous animals, insects, plants and micro organisms that our nation presently has against such pests and pestilence entering the nation by ship, how would we deal with an outbreak of microorganisms originating from Martian soil? Considering the billions of dollars of damage we already suffer annually from exotic intrusion and our poor record of mitigation, how would we deal with micro organisms that prove harmful that aren't related to any life form we presently know. Could spores, viruses, etc. from microorganisms formerly common on Mars (assuming it ever harbored life) be surviving on Mars now? Remember we have already found forms of life living in volcanic vents at the bottom of the sea. There we once supposed it too dark, too hot, too oxygen deficient, too high in sulfur content for any form of life to survive. Then our unmanned deep diving robots turned the lights and cameras on at the location and we found a community of life unlike anything we had ever imagined not only surviving but thriving around these deep sea hot sulfur vents.
NOAA Photo of a Deep Sea vent Do you see the potential parallels with returning soil samples from Mars? With a 75% probability of an at sea landing for the samples, and history of at least one lost space capsule at sea do we have the fail safe protocols to prevent the loss of a returning Mars soil sample in the sea? Do we have the protocols in place to assure the sealed integrity of the container no matter how rough the landing until it can be opened in a secure environment? What constitutes a secure environment? Frankly, if we don't start seeing major improvements in the way we are handling our existing 511 year old Colombian Exchange, still out of control ,we really have to doubt our ability to start dealing with a potential second one from outer space. Why are we particularly concerned with the return of soil samples from Mars? Well consider that a few years ago a big news story was that meteor fragments had been found on Earth and identified as being of Martian origin and arguably contained fossil evidence of microbial life forms. This sparked the entire theoretical discussion of the possibility that life first evolved on Mars and that the Earth was "seeded" at some point as Mars was bombarded by meteors sending chunks of the surface to us as meteors. We are all for progress and especially space travel and eventual colonization. But as mariners whose professional ancestors once linked "worlds" long separated by vast oceans, as the profession that inadvertently launched the Colombian Exchange for better and worse, we feel especially impelled to ask; where are the protocols?
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Chapter and essay number unknown
DOES ANYONE BESIDES US SEE THE BIOHAZARD HERE?
Our SPACE AS AN OCEAN E-Book morphed into PROTOCOLS once we examined the COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE. We felt certain that our first encounter with life in outer space would be microbial, and in fact we've seen previous evidence that something like this could happen.
Photo U.S. Air Force
Extinctions of species as well as societies, and the spread of disease as well as of useful plants and animals occurred when the Old and New Worlds met. Parallels could occur in space exploration. We need to examine existing protocols and past protocols from the moon missions and how well they worked. Such an examination suggests that much work is needed in this area before our first encounter with extraterrestrial life.
South America exported the potato to Ireland which some think was a mixed blessing at best. Europe received corn from the Americas but to this day utilizes it mostly as animal feed. Unlike Americans of European descent today's Europeans have yet to raise or purchase the "sweet" varieties of corn that Americans consume without first passing it through a bovine digestive system for conversion to beef. Europeans reintroduced the horse to the Americas and while mounted on them drove a number of native civilizations to extinction. Microbes were exchanged, some beneficial like those needed in the processing of yogurt and wine, others like small pox, the natives would have been pleased to have avoided. This entire two way traffic in living stuff we call "the "Colombian Exchange" and it is still ongoing. As we discuss the pros and cons of such exchanges and the needed protocols to control and mitigate the undesirable changes we will simply refer to any such exchange whether between the Americas and Europe, or Asia, or Earth and outer space or other planets as a "Colombian Exchange". We aren't the first to coin that term, perhaps we are the first to use it as a generic term for similar events past and future.
Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an "organism".(See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Are Viruses Alive? http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ). Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there. The whatever else is particularly unsettling when we consider some of the unusual ideas of Sir Fred Doyle, Chandra Wickramasingle and others who propose that on extremely rare occasions genetic material not of this earth reaches here.
While this is not a mainstream scientific idea, there is some serious science in their arguments and most of the main stream scientific community falls a little short calling the idea impossible. So lets consider just for a minute that Doyle might be right. Lets consider that in the light of the loss of Gus Grissom's first space capsule in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day we don't know why upon return to earth the hatch of the capsule blew open and almost drowned Grissom, allowed the capsule to fill with sea water, and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the cradle of life on this planet. Like Doyle's critics we don't think there was a serious chance that the exterior surface of the capsule would have picked up a virus like "organism" and that it would have survived the fiery entry of the capsule, but suppose the such a capsule had samples of Mars soil on board? Why was all of the post landing inquiry focused of what exactly happened to cause the door to malfunction vice how do we assure that in a landing gone wrong stuff that could be harboring extraterrestrial life does not come into contact with environment?
During the Apollo era astronauts returning from the Moon were kept in isolation as a precaution against their carrying virus like pathogens from the surface of the moon. The length of time of their isolation was based loosely on known incubation periods for known pathogens on earth. It doesn't look like anyone asked if non earth evolved pathogens might have a longer incubation period. Moon soil samples likewise didn't seem subjected to any really out of the box sanitation measures. Despite recent discoveries here on earth of life forms at the bottom of the sea in sulfur vents, and hot springs that don't seem to be subject to the environmental conditions once thought essential to any type of life , we haven't seen a broad spectrum isolation protocol come out of NASA with our recent robotic probes of Mars. When we do return a soil sample what will be our sanitary protocol?
We don't have to meet ET to be exposed to really deadly pathogens. In fact it is far more likely that the first life we encounter out there will be microscopic. If some Buzz Lightyear of the future gets eaten on an alien world by an extraterrestrial version of a T-Rex we're out one astronaut. If an astronaut brings back an alien virus for which we have no resistance or cure, it could be the end of all life on earth. But then again microbes aren't the only hazard. Ever seen parts of Mississippi over run by Kudzu? The Kudzu vines looks vaguely like a creeping ivy. Its not native to the U.S. Deep south, but it sure likes it. This at first seemingly harmless item of exchange in the Colombian Exchange didn't hitch hike here on some banana boat. We brought it here for the hoped for beneficial effect of erosion control in areas of very sandy soil and heavy rain. Road cuts in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were eroding faster that nature could heal them and it was thought the fast growing Kudzu could put a stop to it. Well the Kudzu liked the Deep South just fine and not only covered the road cut scar but continued right up into the pine forests clear to the top of the trees and then spread a canopy from tree to tree until, almost before anyone noticed it, a hundred acre forest could be smothered , cut off from light and killed. But the emerald green Kudzu looked happy draped across trees dead or alive. If we find a plant out there are we going to bring it back? You can bet on it. Do we have sufficient protocols in place to insure it stays in isolation and never gets out into Earth's natural environment? We're not so sure on that.
Alien Face or Bio hazard mask?
Ask your self this. Is that image pictured above supposedly an artist's approximation of an alien "face" as described by many "witnesses" so often it has almost become our standard image of a space alien actually a face or could it be a bio barrier mask. Are those big eyes with no pupils or dark protective lenses? How could any creature breath through nostrils that tiny or get enough to feed an energetic biped over five feet tall through that tiny slit of a mouth? Might it be that what has been seen, assuming that anything has actually been seen, is the air intake and exhaust of a bio hazard safety mask? Have you ever noticed in the descriptions of these beings there is never any mention of real clothing, nor of any sex organs or secondary sexual characteristics? Could it be that we are seeing something like a thin wet suit and mask designed to keep micron sized pathogens out of the suit and to keep the personal kooties of who ever is in there locked in? Wouldn't that be a nice courtesy. The Aztecs and Mayans would certainly have appreciated such thoughtfulness from the Spaniards. Maybe if we are being visited, our visitors are far more courteous and safety minded than the history of our last wave of first contact experiences.
Another troubling parallel between our maritime experiences and our space experiences is the possibility that government protocols applicable to government run missions may not be nearly enough. We are already developing a space launch and flight industry. There are private satellite launch services operating already and private "space planes under development. There is just about no doubt that by the time we are pushing manned flight beyond our solar system there will be a lot of non government commercial traffic in our solar system. When Columbus headed out for the unknown western Atlantic the Western World had about 5,000 years of maritime trade development behind it. There were international norms in the process of ship "entry" the process of a ship formally and peacefully entering a port to engage in trade, there was considerable international uniformity in the process of "Pratique", meaning the conditions that a ship was expected to adhere to once it was formally entered and granted official permission to hold communications with the shore. Finally the process of "clearance" was very uniform through out the European Atlantic and Mediterranean world, that process where in a ship presents proofs that it adhered to the conditions of its pratique while in port and is cleared by the port authorities for its next destination. Despite the experience that European merchant captains had with such a system, they ignored the evidence that the Mayans had such a system and just barged right on in.
Now more than 500 years later our own maritime practices of entry, pratique, and clearance are still adjusting especially in the way of ship sanitation. The lamprey and the zebra mussel have caused major changes in our rules about the ballast water discharge. Our sanitation measures failed us completely in the realm of rat guards, the Norwegian rat is now a universal pest. Despite our best efforts fire ants got off the boat at Mobile and are over running the American South. Centuries after the start of the Colombian Exchange and we are still struggling with the creation of regulations, regulatory agencies to try and slow the processes of exotic intrusion and native flora and fauna stress, and frequently our own economic distress. Maritime history is ripe with examples of those who deliberately side stepped the established safe guards and profited by increasing the stresses of the Colombian Exchange. We are heading out into space with an already evolving private transport industry without any development for the entry, pratique, or clearance of cargo carrying traffic.
We have a remarkable lack of protocols for where we are going. Our maritime technologies and institutions had thousands of years of development before the European Recognisance and we still ended up eliminating entire civilizations, major human populations, hundreds of plant and animal species, and spread disease all over the globe. Yet the average world citizen today would vote for the continued globalization rather than to go back to the era when great civilizations went for centuries with little knowledge of each other. Going into space involves big risks and big rewards but our maritime experience points to the necessity to proceed with caution and to develop serious, detailed, protocols. If ET has been watching us as so many Ufologists suspect, his people have been watching us for a good thousand years or more. Yet there is no official contact. If they are real could it be they have learned through bitter experience to be very careful on first contact with any sort of life? We need to avoid doing anything rash.
That's not likely in the case of the Middle Kingdom Dragon Space Force. If we look at the history of the Dragon in the commons of the South China Sea and elsewhere we should expect them to make territorial claims. We should also expect the Dragon to pointedly ignore prior US space actions that could have nuisances of territorial claims. The United States took the high road over 50 years ago and declared the solar system a commons and eschewed any territorial claims. What is going on now in space is a repeat of the dispute between the Catholic European seafaring states and the English and Dutch . Simultaneously. the Europeans were exploring the planet by sea, making claims to lands already occupied by other civilizations, and disputing the status of the seas
themselves as a commons. and on an off making war on each other. The European Recognizance was a very busy time.
In 1494 two years after the first voyage of Columbus Pope Alexander VI published a "Papal Bull" creating an imaginary dividing line of the world on a north south axis. In his Papal Bull Pope Alexander VI used this dividing line to divide the world between Spain and Portugal. The Pope in his bull, 'Inter caetera" decreed that all lands west and south of a meridian line 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands rightfully belonged to Spain. The rest of the world went to Portugal. This set off a debate in international law between two schools of legal thought. The papal theory has come to be known as the Mare Clausum which is legal Latin for "closed sea". Today the term is used in international law to describe a sea or arm of the sea under the jurisdiction of a state and not accessible to others without specific permission of the state in possession.. In modern usage until challenged by the Dragon most bays were considered part of the inland or insular waters of the surrounding or adjacent state., while larger bodies of water bordered by multiple states were considered the "high seas" or "Mare Liberum" ( free sea ).. The China seas, north and east are bordered by many states such as the Philippines and their neighbors. The Dragon's "nine dash line" representing their claim of sovereignty over these international seas at one point runs almost to the mean low water mark for certain Philippine beaches. The dragon bases its claim on ancient writings and charts. So far when tested by the International court ( on a complaint by the Philippines ) such evidence has been rejected soundly as being a basis for redrawing territorial waters and exclusive economic zones created by international convention and neighboring states treaties within the bounds of the convention. Expect this rejection to be cited when the Chinese try to enforce their first territorial grab on the moon or mars. Our landing on the moon
We suggest the below publication available to read free on line, link below , as a 72 page primer on the international law of the sea: https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/p/authoritative-literature.html
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a link to a story in the
SOME NEW NAVAL SUPPLY VESSELS WILL BE RE-DESIGNATED "WAR SHIPS" FOR THE SEA BASING MISSION
SEALIFT STILL LAGS / MARAD RESERVE FLEET TEETERING
We must look at space operations beyond our present geocentric orbiting devices,and the moon, earth orbit and a moon base or even a Mars Colony will not deter the Dragon's very clear territorial intentions. The task that current space assets perform—supporting military operations on the surface of the Earth is vital today and will be for years to come. Unfortunately the Air Force today seems as institutionally unable to envision operations of access and denial in deep space as once the Army Air Corps was reluctant to embrace the idea of a separate air force. The Air Force, out of which Congress thinks it will get most of the assets for a Space Force sees the Space Force as projecting power through air, space, and cyberspace, from basically our geocentric orbiting devices and stations. The Air Force institutional understanding precludes space beyond our geocentric orbits . If the Space force is ever going to become our sixth armed service in reality it has to find the missions now that make a big difference to our national security and can be afforded on a shoe string budget. We agree entirely with General Kawst's overall view,.but we don't see the Congress or the Air Force changing their position any time soon. The Dragon intends to occupy the solar system, we will need a force that can operate beyond earth orbit and the moon. Like it or not, we are in an arms race in space.
Of course, any high altitude nuclear detonation over the United States would knock out not only our space based navigational systems, but also a big part of our communications infrastructure and even much of our motorized transportation system. Here again in cooperation with other services a Space Force could lead the way with cheap but effective earth based protective measures.such as the Faraday cage . Just place an electrical generator and a radio into a Faraday cage and you have a communications device that is highly resistant to attack.
Now suppose the Navy started with a Space Force inspired and coordinated event involving only three initial Faraday Cage protected radios and generators. One could be placed in the Pentagon,. one in San Diego, one on board a flag ship heading up a test flotilla. out ward bound from San Diego. Other radios could be silenced as the Navy demonstrated the ability to communicate over long distances after an enemy high level nuclear detonation. Communications between the flag ship and other flotilla vessels would be by visual signaling as it is often done today for security of tactical information. Give the Ships crews liberty in Hawaii and tell the local press what the mission was all about .
The Dragon watches the local press in Hawaii. They will drive themselves crazy to find out the scope and depth of the experiment. That is a good thing, possibly even a drag on research. into the attack we already fear from the Dragon.. As for the Dragon learning the extend and depth of the development all we need do is continue to expand on the system by putting more and more vital communications and response equipment into Faraday cages. The Space Force will be able to get a lot of help in spreading this earth based space capability protection. The Army Signal Corps comes to mind as they have the skill sets to construct even large Faraday cages capable of protecting motor vehicles and small power generation plants.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a group of ham operators who have global reach already . Many of their radios and generators can readily be protected by equipment presently sold on Amazon. Imagine the effect on Chinese naval intelligence if a net work of CG Auxiliary Ham operators were to light up after our Test Flotilla reached Hawaii. This earth bound protection against the dreaded high altitude nuclear detonation may be implemented quickly or evolve over time depending on the cooperation of the sister services and Congress. However as long as it is clear to the Dragon that it is being implemented its very existence is a deterrent against rash action. Remember that the U.S. came out on top in the Cold war largely because we broke the economic back of the Soviet Union in an arms race they could not afford. Yes, we can spend a lot, but also frugality and simplicity and net working have a role to play in making our defenses a deterrent. We can spend billions less on very effective earth based rapid recovery of space based capabilities than what the Chinese will have to spend to build attack systems that will never have the effect they are hoping for. Whether working the low tech or high tech , high end deterrent systems a successful Space Force should have as its highest goal the same goal as the Department of Homeland Security ... make sure nothing happens.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States.
As for the Dragon its intelligence services will learn eventually that we have growing protection from loss of space based services via almost impossible to knock out low tech, earth based arts and systems, The Dragon will learn that we have arranged these back up programs with the express intent of having lots of surviving and effective naval fire power in the event of preemptive attack. Whats a Dragon to do? Invest in a still larger Navy? Invest in more expensive orbital systems? A program such as this initial survey, inventory, and organizational redirection does not force much in the way of immediate expenses on us, but an aggressor will be facing a higher bar. Such an approach sends the focus of this seemingly most expensive arms race back down to earth, particularly to the naval realm, re-enforcing and prolonging the concept "that he rules the seas rules the world." and delaying any real warfare in space for a while longer. It falls in line with what ought to be the Space Force's reason for existence; making sure nothing happens.
Having said all that , the programs out lined above would not be the end of Space Force assistance to the Naval Establishment. While a return to paper navigation skills assure us of the ability to place naval firepower where it needs to be this is not a navigation system for a single seat fighter bomber, In Vietnam the Coast Guard operated LORAN systems. When LORAN appeared to be becoming obsolete the USCG proposed the OMAGA system, The OMAGA system was supposed to provide global electronic navigation services using only eight earth based stations, The Space Force could again provide a serious contribution by urging the Coast to reexamine the OMAGA system. Receivers for any non space based navigation system, operable by a pilot or flight officer should be installed and tested on some flight leader manned air craft. By providing encouragement and possibly some funding assistance with the early testing and development phase.the Space Force again drives naval improvement at low cost during a time when the Navy's brass are struggling to keep a minimum ship building program going in the face of a hostile Congress..
There are of course space capabilities that we need which don't lend themselves to the low tech solutions that we have outlined for naval navigation and communications losses. Some of these will require expensive solutions such as hidden orbital replacement satellites, and ready on the launch pad replacement orbital systems, These are the immediately needed high end.portion of the Space Force's defense contribution. Unfortunately this part of space capabilities reconstruction forces do not appear on the budget agenda in the immediately foreseeable future. The Air Force has some of these types of assets but will only let go of them to the Space Force gradually.
What about the totally necessary ability of the Space Force to project power in space beyond earth orbit and the moon? The Space Force needs time to build up competencies and resources and a public image before expecting Congress to provide funding. The Space Force presently envisioned by the DOD, especially the Air Force lacks these essential; capabilities. "Correspondingly, the Defense Department and Congress think that the Air Force should build the Space Force. So far, this has amounted to the Air Force planning to improve the current Satellite Command incrementally and call it a Space Force. It is not planning to accelerate the new space economy with dual-use technologies. It is not planning to protect the Moon or travel corridors in space to and from resource locations—raw materials worth trillions of dollars are available within a few days’ travel from Earth—and other strategic high grounds. It is not planning to place human beings in space to build and protect innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the physical environment. It is not developing means to rescue Americans who may get stranded or lost in space." Steven L. Kwast, a retired Air Force general
Our Analysis suggest that the wisest course for the new Space Force right out of the box is an acceptance of the limits the Air Force is placing upon it. The Air force will be controlling much of the budget in the first years. However the Space Force should adopt in a quite public manner a "joint forces approach" and start with some highly effective but low costs assistance to the Navy. Marine Corps, Coast Guard team.The Air Force will have a difficult time being critical of the new service's immediate orientation towards space capabilities RECONSTRUCTION PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION. As we mentioned earlier while the Navy seems open to the reestablishment of traditional paper chart based navigation, they will want to cut costs where they can. Then there is the question of how do you carry a drafting table, charts , book sized references. and all the traditional instruments into a life boat? You don't: enter another low cost Space Force service to the Navy.and Coast Guard approval of certain navigational instruments. The Coast Guard has an unfunded mandate to examine and approve navigational equipment. Instruments such as sextons and marine sector navigational instruments modified for aviation and space use might well become the first regulatory duty of the Space Force. An armed service doing regulatory work faces constitutional hurdles in the United States . But it is done. The US Coast Guard enforces all Federal Laws on the High Seas and territorial waters of the United States. The Coast Guard regulates the safety of our Merchant Marine from vessel inspections to the licensing of officers and the certification of the ratings. I order to do these things the Coast Guard is housed away from the Department of Defense. There exists legal fast tracks to make the entire service a separate and distinct service within the Navy , or to "second" particular personnel and or vessels, or air craft to Navy in times of national emergency, or as a matter of routine when serious DOD need for Coast Guard services arise.The evolving Space Force will soon find itself involved in some major regulatory situations based on the long range mission plans for the service.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States but the global space based systems would be out of order..
Some of these assets are designed to be self guided, others require guidance from space. Here a cataloging chore is needed. Minus our naval weapons guided from space capabilities that we are likely to lose in the face of a preemptive attack how much residual controllable fire power do we have tn the fleet. How should the knowledge of this affect future development and acquisitions? In all cases we want to have serious punching power coming out of a preemptive attack. The preliminary work of research and survey is a great starting point and cost little for a lot of impact. A change in naval weaponry acquisition focus could emerge from such a study decreasing our naval dependency on space based ordinance guidance systems, However it is not realistic or even desirable that all such dependency be eliminated.
Enter Rapid Recovery Systems:
Rapid recovery systems involve hidden orbital replacement assets and on, or close to, the launch pad replacement systems. These are on the high end of space based missions favored by the Air Force. These are some of the big budget, near term missions for the Space Force not likely to draw institutional fire from the Air Force. All of these missions address near term threats to our ability to control armed conflict on earth which is where the Air Force focus is at the moment. But the President had much more in mind in terms of tasking for the Space Force. As we mentioned earlier the eventual missions of the Space Force will go beyond earth orbital, Moon and Mars related activity. Among the eventual missions envisioned beyond the near earth missions :
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THE ENDURING PRINCIPLES OF MARITIME INTERNATIONAL LAW
it has become subject to modification in recent decades. The discovery of offshore oil
and the necessity to effectively manage certain fisheries led to first, an expansion of the Territorial Sea from 3 miles off shore to 12 miles, then the recognition of exclusive economic zones (EEZ). The exclusive economic zone does not confer on the recipient ownership but rather an exclusive license to do certain things within this area of the "commons" such as establish oil wells. Within the EEZ the EEZ holding state with the EEZ privilege must exercise management of all benthic (bottom contacting) fisheries and manage in accordance with relevant international convention certain migratory fish populations when they pass through the EEZ waters., Managing an EEZ is not, nor was it meant to be an exclusive right to do anything the EEZ nation wants, or to limit access except in the cases of dredges, or mobile offshore drilling vessels type craft. The water surface and water column are in the international commons and are open to navigation. The only restriction that the EEZ state may put on foreign shipping is the requirement to use certain safety fairways that the EEZ state is obligated to establish and maintain between their oil drilling operations, wind farms, aquaculture operations etc....
China has a large EEZ by existing law. Their existing EEZ is up to 200 miles seaward from their shore line. They have a legitimate exclusive claim to certain of the resources, and obligations of good stewardship over a bit less than half the area they now claim but were rebuffed in international court. They are now trying to enforce by astute and limited naval force the sovereign rights they claim over other peoples EEZs and in the case of the Philippines almost to their western beaches. SEE: Congressional Research Service Report On The Chinese Navy https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2019/09/congressional-research-service-report.html
_as_they_arrive_in_Pearl_Harbor.Chinese_Sailors_man_the_rails_aboard_the_destroyer_Qingdao_(DDG_113)_as_they_arrive_in_Pearl_Harbor.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*)
Chinese sailors at Pearl Harbor, the place their government has publicly announced that they would drive us back to. (Official U.S. Navy Photo)
ESSAY NUMBER 1:
ROOTS OF THE "GLOBAL VILLAGE" WHERE WE ARE CASTING OFF FROM
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
Humans had migrated over all of the continents of the earth and established civilizations great and small long before Columbus set sail. Humans also launched voyages of discovery and colonization before Columbus. Migrations are quite different from voyages of discovery or colonization. Migrations rarely involve government sponsored ships or commercial goals for quick profit. Before Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Great Britain began to compete with each other over the exploration by sea of the globe, other governments had, on occasion, attempted to sponsor such expeditions. It was the Europeans starting in the late 1400s who completed and repeated such voyages and planted colonies with continuous communications with "motherlands" and forged alliances around the globe. For better or for worse that began the "global village". So in this series of essays we ignore the question of the voyages of the Chinese admirals, the Viking voyages to America, the Minoans and other pre- Colombian sailings to look for the lessons, positive and negative that have come from the still on going "Colombian Exchange" , the movements of peoples, goods, plants, animals, and microbes about the planet from the places where they had evolved to where ever they could survive. We also want to look at how official explorations differ from, but sometimes lead to migrations and compare the "European Recognizance" of Earth by ocean with the ongoing and deepening exploration of space.
Now just in case your are interested in exploring the Chinese claim for the discovery of America in 1421 here is a suggestion; 1421 THE YEAR CHINA DISCOVERED AMERICA by Gavin Menzies a Paper back of some 672 pages published by William Morrow Paperbacks (June 3,2008), ISBN-10 0061564893 and ISBN-13 978-0061564895 . You might also want to look at WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA by Gavin Menzies and Ian Hudson ISBN 978-0-06-223675-3 also published by William Morrow. In that book Menzies and Hudson explore evidence of protracted contacts by sea between the Americas and Asia and other areas over a period of centuries, even millenia before Columbus. Pay no attention to the critics who call Menzies a writer of "pseudo history". We found that charge grossly adversarial and basically untrue. No one has to agree with all of his theories, but he is pretty careful to distinguish theory for evidence. He presents his evidence, which we found very credible, and then presents his theory of what the evidence infers. Menzies and Hudson are far from the first to suggest that the Americas had "foreign" contacts, visitors, and colonists before Columbus or that America may have sent out voyagers who helped people the Pacific Islands. Remember KON TIKI by Thor Heyerdahl which recounted his 1947 experimental raft voyage? If you would rather learn about pre Colombian seafaring and settlement from sources that are not under attack by traditional academics just turn to the extensive bibliography ( pages 264 -281) in WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA for scores of scholarly papers and books by academics not under attack from their fellows. We see the main reason for the attack of certain academics against the books of Menzie as simply a sort of class sobery. Mensies is a retired British Naval Officer not an academic. Save yourself a lot of time and read Menzie and get the gist of all those academic titles. You'll save hundreds of pages of reading. Menzie only has to be right in a broad general sense to generate a criticism of our work unless we acknowledge all of the his work and those he cites. We picked the "European Recognizance" for the reasons stated not because we believe all the elements of what we examine as the Colombian Exchange didn't exist.
Let's resume our previous line of thought. Beginning with the first voyage of Columbus; people, objects, plants, animals, ideas, and microbes started to cross the Atlantic with growing regularity. Other explorers like Vasco de Gama had rounded Africa and entered the Indian Ocean. They too were starting a two way exchange that would grow, and eventually other European merchant men would enter the Pacific. But for the sake of convenience and convention, we'll refer to the whole ensuing traffic that evolved over time and continues to this day as The Colombian Exchange.
When Columbus landed in the Americas there were probably 500 nations already thriving in this "undiscovered land". In this series we will not examine pre- Colombian times through initial contact or subsequent history all the way to the 1890s at Wounded Knee. We are most interested in examining "first contact", what happened when the European seafarers met the Native Americans, and later others, such as the Polynesians. Yes there was quite a world before the "European Recognizance", but it would never be the same afterward. Let your mind wander and envision a world so vast that great civilizations existed with suspicions about the existence of each other or without any knowledge of each other. For Thousands of years the seas kept mankind apart and the relative isolation fostered the separate development of languages, laws, customs, agriculture, whole civilizations. As long as the seas remained unconquered it seemed the "World" would always be vast, and rather disconnected. Then Prince Henry the Navigator put seamanship, navigation, and geography on a systematic, even scientific basis. The Spanish, the British, the Dutch all began to compete in exploration and in only about two hundred years the world became a much smaller place, the great barrier of the oceans became a highway and the world is still reeling from the effect.
Yet even while we still stagger under the problems and opportunities created by the resulting "Colombian Exchange" that followed the" European Recognizance" we have already embarked upon a new ocean that connects a universe. It has been a long time since July 20, 1969 when man first planted a flag and left foot prints on another planet . Even as we write this, robotic explorers are on Mars. We seek the return of more samples of outer planet soils to the Earth. We are already embarked on a second recognizance and we haven't absorbed the lessons from the first. We are already repeating some of the same initial mistakes. In this anthology a seafarer/scholar who has participated in the Colombian Exchange as a trader, and combated some of its ill effects as a regulator, will provide to you a series of free standing essays looking at the similarities between space and the oceans, and between our present entry into space exploration and our past exploration of the planet by sea.
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CHAPTER 1
ESSAY NUMBER 2 WE WILL CAST OFF
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
Unlike the last great age of exploration the present age was not preceded by eons of migration. Migrations of humans are often radically different from explorations. Migrations generally are random and uncoordinated events. Though random, migrations can generate profound changes. On Earth man migrated from the tropics to the rim of the Arctic and peopled every land mass on the planet except Antarctica before the final age of terrestrial exploration began. Migrations can both precede and follow great ages of exploration. Migrations are often the result of cumulative individual decisions. Explorations are most often important undertakings of states. The present age of space exploration began as a competition between states and is already evolving into a mostly cooperative effort of multiple states. We are preparing to leave the planet. It will not be a migration, no random individual decisions to leave at first. It will be a cooperative international effort, organized in great detail and at great cost. Migration will probably follow at some point but we are going, of that there can be no doubt.
Why are we so sure that we are going? Because the results of our first tentative explorations tell us that it will be worth the trip. Prior to 1969 men on the moon were a science fiction invention. Today decades after Neil Armstrong's historic first step, we've had it, we've been there, we left behind junk cars to memorialize our passage! In the decades since that historic landing we learned a few things about moon dust. Based on samples brought back from the moon we found a fairly large supply of nearly identical mineral formations in the northern United States. This allowed experimentation in quantity. We found that with sufficient technology we can extract many useful elements from moon dust and rock including water! Long term basing on the moon is therefor possible. But why would we want to base anything in that forsaken landscape? Two other late twentieth century discoveries make it desirable.
First, we now know for certain that other planets circle other suns.some as close as 38 light years from us and some we already know have atmospheres. The Hubble telescope ( the first telescope orbiting our planet in space) and other unmanned probes that we have sent out have confirmed that water, especially in the form of ice is much more common in the universe than previously suspected. We discovered non oxygen dependent life forms on this planet at the bottom of the sea in sulfuric vents and possible DNA evidence in rock from Mars. In 1969 we did not know for certain that other suns had planetary systems and the universe was popularly thought of as most probably a dust bin. We will go on to fully explore our own solar system and beyond because we now know for a fact that our chances of discovering new and inhabitable real estate are in fact excellent. Just as the Europeans in the 1400s caught wiffs of knowledge and even maps of far lands across the seas. our unmanned probes and observatories tell us the galaxy is not a dust bin. We also now know that the earth's viability as an inhabitable place is not indefinite. Even if we escape man caused environmental collapse, nuclear disaster, or catastrophic asteroid collisions, the sun has an expiration date and with it goes Earth. As a self aware species we will seek to survive. This fact drives both the now beginning age of exploration, and waves of migration that will follow.
As a society the Western World already seems prepared to accept that our outward search may reveal new potential trading partners, competitors, prior claimants or even enemies. If life is now not only possible but probable in the universe out there, so is intelligent life with all that is implied by that term. We must be prepared before going, to deal with encounters with unique and quite different life forms and perhaps even intelligent beings. What possible experience could the human race have from which to draw lessons for such an eventuality? We suggest that we have in our collective history an age quite similar to the impending age with many parallel events from which we can draw lessons. Once, only a few hundred years ago, the shape of the world was largely unknown or known only to those who kept state secrets. Human and animal populations were separated by vast, seemingly uncross-able oceans. Human societies were incredibly diverse and strange to each other. Creatures great and small from the far reaches of the planet seemed wondrously strange and alien. Into this unfamiliar world would come the mariners of Western Europe. In their wake would come eventually the concept of the "Global Village", but first would come wars, pestilence, and extinctions , in unprecedented numbers. By studying the mistakes and successes of the great age of European maritime exploration we can decipher lessons of great utility in the age of space exploration. Now is the time do to do this for at the moment we are in a relatively long pause before the next human visit to a distant planet. But the pause will not hold. The time is short, the need vital, so let us begin.
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CHAPTER 1
ESSAY NUMBER 3:
ORIGIN OF THE WILL TO CAST OFF
ORIGIN OF THE WILL TO CAST OFF
SPACE AS AN OCEAN
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
SOMETIMES MYTH HAS A PROFOUND EFFECT ON HISTORY
SOMETIMES MYTH HAS A PROFOUND EFFECT ON HISTORY
Today, young adults have a very detailed vision of the coming age of faster than light space travel, exploration, trade and development via the televisions series related to the Star Trek franchise and movies going back as far as ET and Star Wars. While these visions are very fanciful, they are also incredibly detailed through the magic of cinematography. Undoubtedly these visions enliven the imaginations of countless future astronauts, physicists, astronomers, and taxpayers. There is no doubt that present and future generations have been and will be reaching for this fanciful but detailed vision of the future and make something happen. (Note: Italian laboratories accelerated micro waves to 30 times the speed of light, and an American lab accelerated light itself to 200 times its natural speed about a decade ago. So the "warp drive" of Star Trek while not even close developmentally is none the less now theoretically possible and young people know this.)
Read More: FASTER THAN LIGHT: SUPERLUMINAL LOOPHOLES IN PHYSICS by NICK Herbert. ISBN -0452263174 and ISBN 978-0452263178
- Looking at the science fiction media today, one theme that comes through a vast body of work is the naval like organization and society to be found on "star ships". This is not a surprise since we have only one model of society aboard a small vessel, engaged for prolonged periods in voyages of discovery. That model is from ships of oceanic exploration and is of necessity naval in character. The model while somewhat evolved over the centuries,served us well in the period of oceanic exploration known as the "European Recognizance" and every indication is that it will continue to serve us well as it evolves in space exploration.
Today, young adults have a very detailed vision of the coming age of faster than light space travel, exploration, trade and development via the televisions series related to the Star Trek franchise and movies going back as far as ET and Star Wars. While these visions are very fanciful, they are also incredibly detailed through the magic of cinematography. Undoubtedly these visions enliven the imaginations of countless future astronauts, physicists, astronomers, and taxpayers. There is no doubt that present and future generations have been and will be reaching for this fanciful but detailed vision of the future and make something happen. (Note: Italian laboratories accelerated micro waves to 30 times the speed of light, and an American lab accelerated light itself to 200 times its natural speed about a decade ago. So the "warp drive" of Star Trek while not even close developmentally is none the less now theoretically possible and young people know this.)
- Looking at the science fiction media today, one theme that comes through a vast body of work is the naval like organization and society to be found on "star ships". This is not a surprise since we have only one model of society aboard a small vessel, engaged for prolonged periods in voyages of discovery. That model is from ships of oceanic exploration and is of necessity naval in character. The model while somewhat evolved over the centuries,served us well in the period of oceanic exploration known as the "European Recognizance" and every indication is that it will continue to serve us well as it evolves in space exploration.
The vision of the future offered by the Gene Roddenberry(s) of our time is the stuff that myth is made of. It is a filling in of the unknown details from imagination fueled with the possible and probable. Society engaged in such myth making long before the advent of the modern electronic media. Sometimes such myth took on the wide spread perception of truth. At least once in the period just before the great age of oceanic exploration such a myth helped drive reality. The myth itself influenced real events in very unexpected ways. It is worth a few minutes to examine this power of myth. We will not engage in an exhaustive study. Let us simply review a single myth from the early age of European oceanic exploration and the actions of a single naval intelligence agent.
PEDRO de COVILHAO, AND THE SEARCH FOR "PRESTER JOHN"
Pedro de Covilhao was born into a world partly unknown. The known world of his time and culture had been at war for centuries before his birth. That known world was divided into two religious based alliances, one Christian, and the other Muslim. For centuries these two loosely organized powers fought over the Holy Land. The Christian understanding of the world beyond their own borders was limited by partial Muslim blockage of their communications with Eastern powers broadly thought of as "India", and a vast, trackless, and as yet uncrossed ocean to their west. Hundreds of years before the birth of Pedro de Covilhao the Christian world came to believe in a Christian kingdom in the eastern rear of the Muslim world anxious to link up with the western Christian coalition and retake the Holy Land. Belief in this kingdom lasted for generations. The West referred to the sovereign of this unknown kingdom as "Prester John". The belief in, and hope, represented by the myth of "Prester John" , along with the desire for the riches of the East helped fuel the the search for the routes to "India". "India" in the time of Pedro de Covilhao meant virtually everything beyond the Muslim World other than Sub- Saharan Africa. Mohammedan forces conquered the Holy land in 637 AD. They allowed the lucrative Christian pilgrimage trade to continue and Christian missionaries to pass through to "India", until the occupying forces of Caliph Hakim leveled the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 1010 AD. This act predicated the launch of the first of the Crusades and Jerusalem would fall to Christian forces in 1099 AD.
Jerusalem would periodically change hands as Europe attempted to expel the forces of Islam from the Mediterranean world. In 1145 a strange rumor would spring up concerning a Christian king of great military power living beyond the eastern borders of the Mohammedan Empire. This priest-king would come to be known as "Prester John". The myth of the priest -king, possibly the result of an Islamic disinformation operation, would have a profound effect on the course of the Christian Islamic conflicts and subsequent history. Great efforts would be made in attempting to make contact with him. Attention would be diverted from efforts at converting the Islamic rear, based on a belief that there was already a Christian power there. In the end the desire to make contact with the mythical priest-king would provide no small part of the incentive for the voyages sponsored by Henry the Navigator, though the original "Prester John" would of course be long since dead and buried, the Europeans believed in dynasties and presumed the realm continued. In the end only one Westerner, the Portuguese naval intelligence agent Pedro di Corvilhao , would ever stand before any priest- king behind Muslim borders centuries after 1145 AD.
How the myth of the priest-king came about is a marvel of the power and errors associated with oral tradition, possibly nudged in particular directions by written disinformation which may have even been of Islamic origin. History now demonstrates that in the Islamic rear were basically pagan powers, some of which practiced a high level of religious tolerance. Mixed in with these pagan populations were both Nestorian Christians and Islamic converts. In the beginning of the 12th century a presumed Nestorian Christian Chieftain known as Yeliutashi reached considerable power
as the leader of a tribe called the Kara-Kitai. In 1141 Yeliutashi defeated an Islamic Seljuk army near Samarkand, Turkestan. These facts filtered and confused by distance, time, and perhaps Islamic "spin control" formed the factual basis for the evolution of the myth of "Prester John."' Yeliutashi died in 1144 AD and his empire faded almost immediately after his demise. The Mohammedans had no reason to fear a second front from any real "Prester John". Yet religious tolerance in their rear, coupled with some sincere invitations to Christian missionaries by Moguls and others opened the possibility of a large scale conversion and the creation of an actual enemy. The best course of Islamic action, given their informational superiority about conditions in their rear may well have been a disinformation campaign. Send the Christians searching for a nonexistent "Prester John" and distract them from efforts at creating one.
Largely ignored by the Islamic powers , a Christian king did exist in the rear, and Pedro de Corvilhao would one day find him. The first documentary evidence of a "Prester John" or an islamic disinformation forgery, arrived in 1145 AD. A Syrian Christian Bishop informed one Otto Fresing, a historian in the service of the Pope, of a Nestorian King who had defeated the Meades and the Persians. It was believed that the King intended to lend his army to the support of the Christians at Jerusalem. Supposedly this King encountered difficulties in crossing the Tigris and was forced home where he intended to regroup and again march on Jerusalem. The "News" electrified the leaders of Europe, but the ongoing crusade failed and no help came from the East. Then in 1165 letters were received by the Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa, the Emperor Manuel Comnenus of Constantinople, and the Pope. The sender of these letters described himself as "Johannes Presbyter...."/
The letters mostly introduced "Prester John" and described his Christian kingdom. The Pope dispatched an emissary with a responding letter in 1177 AD but the emissary was never heard from again.
In 1221 the Bishop of Acre wrote to the Pope. In his letter he described a "King David" "by the people called "Prester John". Supposedly this "Prester John was about 15 days march from Antioch and intended to take Jerusalem. In fact there was a King David. He was a Georgian and defeated a large Islamic army, but he was not on the march and may have been dead by the time the West learned of him.
The Mohammedans had borders and contacts with the Europeans and so undoubtedly had agents in the European camps and capitals. They had the means , the motive, and greatly benefited from the disinformation concerning "Prester John". Is it such a stretch of the imagination to consider that the Mohammedans themselves were the source of the "proofs" (letters and detailed reports about "Prester John"). If the myth of "Prester John" was created by Islamic informational warriors, their side benefited in the short run. But the myth of "Prester John" may have partly driven another force of history that would ultimately shift the locus of power to the North Atlantic nations.
Enter, Henry the Navigator. By 1415 Christian and Islamic forces were still engaged in parts of the Mediterranean world. There were rumors and widespread belief in a "Prester John"(the 5th no less). The "modern age" with it's shift of the locus of power to the North Atlantic regions and away from the Mediterranean Basin began in 1415 when the Portuguese took Ceuta on the coast of North Africa opposite Gibraltar. With Ceurta secure the Portuguese began the great period of exploration that would ultimately lead to the colonization of the New World. This era, however, began not with a push out into the Atlantic but with a southward push into Africa. South of the Sahara, the 15th century kings of Portugal hoped to find some vitally important objectives; gold, silks, spices, and a communications link to "Prester John".
In 1787 Covilhao's monarch John II of Portugal would make a full court press for "India". First he would dispatch Covilhao on a secret mission to reconnoiter "Indian" as well as Muslim ports, and later make contact with "Prester John". That same year he would dispatch Bartolomeu Diaz with three ships to circumnavigate Africa.
Pedro de Covilhao spoke fluent Spanish and Arabic and had undertaken secret missions for his King previously to Morocco before he received his most important and final orders from the sovereign of Portugal. On May 7, 1487 he would embark on a naval intelligence gathering operation from which he would never return to his native Portugal. In the process he would see much of the world beyond the borders of Christendom, provide valuable naval intelligence to his sovereign, and live out the rest of his life in the court of a king the Christian world thought of as the legendary "Prester John".
Covilhao was forty when the King dispatched him and a companion, Alfonso de Paiva , another agent fluent in Arabic on a mission to "India" and Africa . Their tasking was to visit all important ports in Arabia, East Africa, and with making contact with the "Priest King', "Prester John".
On May 7, 1487 Covilhao received his credentials from his sovereign and a purse of 400 cruzados. (By 1457 the Cruzado was a gold coin, previously it had been silver. The probable value of Covilhao's purse was about $680,000 in today's dollars , possibly much more.) When Covilhao and Paviva reached Lisbon they exchanged their purse for a letter of credit from the Italian banker Marchioni. By horseback they traveled to Valencia and then to Barcelona. At Barcelona they embarked in a ship for Naples. from Naples they embarked in another ship for Rhodes. In Rhodes they stayed with two Portuguese Hospitallers. The Hospitallers advised them to continue their journey disguised as merchants. As part of his merchant cover Covilhao bought a shipment of honey and crossed over to Alexandria with it. Once in Alexandria both Covilhao and Paiva became seriously ill. While they were ill the honey shipment disappeared and they were told that the Sultan's Chamberlain had confiscated the shipment because he believed they would not recover. Covilhao persuaded the Chamberlain to pay a reasonable price for the honey. With the money Covilhao purchased other trade goods and pressed on to Cairo. In Cairo Covilhao courted the company of other merchants and eventually made friends with a pair of Moroccans bound for "India" and sailed from Egypt in their company. The first port they reached was Tor on the Sinai Peninsula. From there they went to Aden where Paiva was to embark for Abyssinia on his own to attempt contact with "Prester John". Meanwhile Covilhao still with the Moroccans, joined a pilgrim ship returning from Mecca and sailed with the south west monsoon across the Indian Ocean to Cannanore on the Malabar Coast of India. In Cannanore he was told that nearby Calicut (near modern day Calcutta) was the richest port in all of India and that the shipping there was controlled by Islamic merchants. Covilhao proceeded to Calicut where he observed that ships arrived in August and September with European goods, and left in Winter on the north east monsoon with cinnamon, cloves, spices, silks, porcelain, pearls, and precious stones. From Calicut, Covilhao traveled north to Goa and then crossed over to Africa visiting many ports. While in Africa he became convinced that Africa could be circumnavigated and near the end of 1490 Covilhao returned to Cario where he was supposed to meet Pavia.
Instead he was met by a messenger of the King. Pavia had died before completing his mission of contact with the "Priest King" and Covilhao was to complete Pavia's mission. Covilhao was to find "Prester John" in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Kingdom of Abyssinia . Covilhao wrote a dispatch to his sovereign describing his travels and observations and sent this back via one of the messengers. The other messenger was a rabbi, Abraham of Beja. Before contacting the priest king Covilhao was to take Rabbi Abraham to Ormuz. In his dispatch Covilhao described ports of India, Arabia, and Africa that he had visited. He described "Moon Island"(Madagascar) and most probably expressed his belief that Africa could be circumnavigated.
The vision of the future offered by the Gene Roddenberry(s) of our time is the stuff that myth is made of. It is a filling in of the unknown details from imagination fueled with the possible and probable. Society engaged in such myth making long before the advent of the modern electronic media. Sometimes such myth took on the wide spread perception of truth. At least once in the period just before the great age of oceanic exploration such a myth helped drive reality. The myth itself influenced real events in very unexpected ways. It is worth a few minutes to examine this power of myth. We will not engage in an exhaustive study. Let us simply review a single myth from the early age of European oceanic exploration and the actions of a single naval intelligence agent.
PEDRO de COVILHAO, AND THE SEARCH FOR "PRESTER JOHN"
Pedro de Covilhao was born into a world partly unknown. The known world of his time and culture had been at war for centuries before his birth. That known world was divided into two religious based alliances, one Christian, and the other Muslim. For centuries these two loosely organized powers fought over the Holy Land. The Christian understanding of the world beyond their own borders was limited by partial Muslim blockage of their communications with Eastern powers broadly thought of as "India", and a vast, trackless, and as yet uncrossed ocean to their west. Hundreds of years before the birth of Pedro de Covilhao the Christian world came to believe in a Christian kingdom in the eastern rear of the Muslim world anxious to link up with the western Christian coalition and retake the Holy Land. Belief in this kingdom lasted for generations. The West referred to the sovereign of this unknown kingdom as "Prester John". The belief in, and hope, represented by the myth of "Prester John" , along with the desire for the riches of the East helped fuel the the search for the routes to "India". "India" in the time of Pedro de Covilhao meant virtually everything beyond the Muslim World other than Sub- Saharan Africa. Mohammedan forces conquered the Holy land in 637 AD. They allowed the lucrative Christian pilgrimage trade to continue and Christian missionaries to pass through to "India", until the occupying forces of Caliph Hakim leveled the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 1010 AD. This act predicated the launch of the first of the Crusades and Jerusalem would fall to Christian forces in 1099 AD.
Jerusalem would periodically change hands as Europe attempted to expel the forces of Islam from the Mediterranean world. In 1145 a strange rumor would spring up concerning a Christian king of great military power living beyond the eastern borders of the Mohammedan Empire. This priest-king would come to be known as "Prester John". The myth of the priest -king, possibly the result of an Islamic disinformation operation, would have a profound effect on the course of the Christian Islamic conflicts and subsequent history. Great efforts would be made in attempting to make contact with him. Attention would be diverted from efforts at converting the Islamic rear, based on a belief that there was already a Christian power there. In the end the desire to make contact with the mythical priest-king would provide no small part of the incentive for the voyages sponsored by Henry the Navigator, though the original "Prester John" would of course be long since dead and buried, the Europeans believed in dynasties and presumed the realm continued. In the end only one Westerner, the Portuguese naval intelligence agent Pedro di Corvilhao , would ever stand before any priest- king behind Muslim borders centuries after 1145 AD.
How the myth of the priest-king came about is a marvel of the power and errors associated with oral tradition, possibly nudged in particular directions by written disinformation which may have even been of Islamic origin. History now demonstrates that in the Islamic rear were basically pagan powers, some of which practiced a high level of religious tolerance. Mixed in with these pagan populations were both Nestorian Christians and Islamic converts. In the beginning of the 12th century a presumed Nestorian Christian Chieftain known as Yeliutashi reached considerable power
Jerusalem would periodically change hands as Europe attempted to expel the forces of Islam from the Mediterranean world. In 1145 a strange rumor would spring up concerning a Christian king of great military power living beyond the eastern borders of the Mohammedan Empire. This priest-king would come to be known as "Prester John". The myth of the priest -king, possibly the result of an Islamic disinformation operation, would have a profound effect on the course of the Christian Islamic conflicts and subsequent history. Great efforts would be made in attempting to make contact with him. Attention would be diverted from efforts at converting the Islamic rear, based on a belief that there was already a Christian power there. In the end the desire to make contact with the mythical priest-king would provide no small part of the incentive for the voyages sponsored by Henry the Navigator, though the original "Prester John" would of course be long since dead and buried, the Europeans believed in dynasties and presumed the realm continued. In the end only one Westerner, the Portuguese naval intelligence agent Pedro di Corvilhao , would ever stand before any priest- king behind Muslim borders centuries after 1145 AD.
How the myth of the priest-king came about is a marvel of the power and errors associated with oral tradition, possibly nudged in particular directions by written disinformation which may have even been of Islamic origin. History now demonstrates that in the Islamic rear were basically pagan powers, some of which practiced a high level of religious tolerance. Mixed in with these pagan populations were both Nestorian Christians and Islamic converts. In the beginning of the 12th century a presumed Nestorian Christian Chieftain known as Yeliutashi reached considerable power
as the leader of a tribe called the Kara-Kitai. In 1141 Yeliutashi defeated an Islamic Seljuk army near Samarkand, Turkestan. These facts filtered and confused by distance, time, and perhaps Islamic "spin control" formed the factual basis for the evolution of the myth of "Prester John."' Yeliutashi died in 1144 AD and his empire faded almost immediately after his demise. The Mohammedans had no reason to fear a second front from any real "Prester John". Yet religious tolerance in their rear, coupled with some sincere invitations to Christian missionaries by Moguls and others opened the possibility of a large scale conversion and the creation of an actual enemy. The best course of Islamic action, given their informational superiority about conditions in their rear may well have been a disinformation campaign. Send the Christians searching for a nonexistent "Prester John" and distract them from efforts at creating one.
Largely ignored by the Islamic powers , a Christian king did exist in the rear, and Pedro de Corvilhao would one day find him. The first documentary evidence of a "Prester John" or an islamic disinformation forgery, arrived in 1145 AD. A Syrian Christian Bishop informed one Otto Fresing, a historian in the service of the Pope, of a Nestorian King who had defeated the Meades and the Persians. It was believed that the King intended to lend his army to the support of the Christians at Jerusalem. Supposedly this King encountered difficulties in crossing the Tigris and was forced home where he intended to regroup and again march on Jerusalem. The "News" electrified the leaders of Europe, but the ongoing crusade failed and no help came from the East. Then in 1165 letters were received by the Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa, the Emperor Manuel Comnenus of Constantinople, and the Pope. The sender of these letters described himself as "Johannes Presbyter...."/
The letters mostly introduced "Prester John" and described his Christian kingdom. The Pope dispatched an emissary with a responding letter in 1177 AD but the emissary was never heard from again.
In 1221 the Bishop of Acre wrote to the Pope. In his letter he described a "King David" "by the people called "Prester John". Supposedly this "Prester John was about 15 days march from Antioch and intended to take Jerusalem. In fact there was a King David. He was a Georgian and defeated a large Islamic army, but he was not on the march and may have been dead by the time the West learned of him.
The Mohammedans had borders and contacts with the Europeans and so undoubtedly had agents in the European camps and capitals. They had the means , the motive, and greatly benefited from the disinformation concerning "Prester John". Is it such a stretch of the imagination to consider that the Mohammedans themselves were the source of the "proofs" (letters and detailed reports about "Prester John"). If the myth of "Prester John" was created by Islamic informational warriors, their side benefited in the short run. But the myth of "Prester John" may have partly driven another force of history that would ultimately shift the locus of power to the North Atlantic nations.
Enter, Henry the Navigator. By 1415 Christian and Islamic forces were still engaged in parts of the Mediterranean world. There were rumors and widespread belief in a "Prester John"(the 5th no less). The "modern age" with it's shift of the locus of power to the North Atlantic regions and away from the Mediterranean Basin began in 1415 when the Portuguese took Ceuta on the coast of North Africa opposite Gibraltar. With Ceurta secure the Portuguese began the great period of exploration that would ultimately lead to the colonization of the New World. This era, however, began not with a push out into the Atlantic but with a southward push into Africa. South of the Sahara, the 15th century kings of Portugal hoped to find some vitally important objectives; gold, silks, spices, and a communications link to "Prester John".
In 1787 Covilhao's monarch John II of Portugal would make a full court press for "India". First he would dispatch Covilhao on a secret mission to reconnoiter "Indian" as well as Muslim ports, and later make contact with "Prester John". That same year he would dispatch Bartolomeu Diaz with three ships to circumnavigate Africa.
Pedro de Covilhao spoke fluent Spanish and Arabic and had undertaken secret missions for his King previously to Morocco before he received his most important and final orders from the sovereign of Portugal. On May 7, 1487 he would embark on a naval intelligence gathering operation from which he would never return to his native Portugal. In the process he would see much of the world beyond the borders of Christendom, provide valuable naval intelligence to his sovereign, and live out the rest of his life in the court of a king the Christian world thought of as the legendary "Prester John".
Covilhao was forty when the King dispatched him and a companion, Alfonso de Paiva , another agent fluent in Arabic on a mission to "India" and Africa . Their tasking was to visit all important ports in Arabia, East Africa, and with making contact with the "Priest King', "Prester John".
On May 7, 1487 Covilhao received his credentials from his sovereign and a purse of 400 cruzados. (By 1457 the Cruzado was a gold coin, previously it had been silver. The probable value of Covilhao's purse was about $680,000 in today's dollars , possibly much more.) When Covilhao and Paviva reached Lisbon they exchanged their purse for a letter of credit from the Italian banker Marchioni. By horseback they traveled to Valencia and then to Barcelona. At Barcelona they embarked in a ship for Naples. from Naples they embarked in another ship for Rhodes. In Rhodes they stayed with two Portuguese Hospitallers. The Hospitallers advised them to continue their journey disguised as merchants. As part of his merchant cover Covilhao bought a shipment of honey and crossed over to Alexandria with it. Once in Alexandria both Covilhao and Paiva became seriously ill. While they were ill the honey shipment disappeared and they were told that the Sultan's Chamberlain had confiscated the shipment because he believed they would not recover. Covilhao persuaded the Chamberlain to pay a reasonable price for the honey. With the money Covilhao purchased other trade goods and pressed on to Cairo. In Cairo Covilhao courted the company of other merchants and eventually made friends with a pair of Moroccans bound for "India" and sailed from Egypt in their company. The first port they reached was Tor on the Sinai Peninsula. From there they went to Aden where Paiva was to embark for Abyssinia on his own to attempt contact with "Prester John". Meanwhile Covilhao still with the Moroccans, joined a pilgrim ship returning from Mecca and sailed with the south west monsoon across the Indian Ocean to Cannanore on the Malabar Coast of India. In Cannanore he was told that nearby Calicut (near modern day Calcutta) was the richest port in all of India and that the shipping there was controlled by Islamic merchants. Covilhao proceeded to Calicut where he observed that ships arrived in August and September with European goods, and left in Winter on the north east monsoon with cinnamon, cloves, spices, silks, porcelain, pearls, and precious stones. From Calicut, Covilhao traveled north to Goa and then crossed over to Africa visiting many ports. While in Africa he became convinced that Africa could be circumnavigated and near the end of 1490 Covilhao returned to Cario where he was supposed to meet Pavia.
Instead he was met by a messenger of the King. Pavia had died before completing his mission of contact with the "Priest King" and Covilhao was to complete Pavia's mission. Covilhao was to find "Prester John" in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Kingdom of Abyssinia . Covilhao wrote a dispatch to his sovereign describing his travels and observations and sent this back via one of the messengers. The other messenger was a rabbi, Abraham of Beja. Before contacting the priest king Covilhao was to take Rabbi Abraham to Ormuz. In his dispatch Covilhao described ports of India, Arabia, and Africa that he had visited. He described "Moon Island"(Madagascar) and most probably expressed his belief that Africa could be circumnavigated.
Covilhao escorted Rabbi Abraham to Ormuz and then, contrary to his sovereign instructions, took ship for Jidda across the Red Sea. From Jidda he accompanied some pilgrims to Mecca where he wanted to see the sacred Kaaba, the black stone believed to have fallen from heaven long before the arrival of the prophet. After Mecca he proceeded north to the monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai. Covilhao's delays in proceeding to Abyssinia seemed almost a premonition of his fate at the hands of the "priest -king".
Finally in 1493 Covilhao arrived at the court of the Negus in Abyssinia. While treated well, Covilhao was detained against his will and prevented from sending any dispatches to Lisbon. The legendary "priest king"so long sought by the Christian alliance turned out to be the sovereign of a poor and virtually powerless kingdom. It was the Negus who needed and sought an alliance with the West, precisely because of the weakness of his position. The West was interested for two reasons, the "priest-king's" position in the rear of the Muslim world and his legendary strength. If his weakness became known, the West would quickly lose interest. Covilhao would be detained for life in a sort of gilded cage. A Portuguese ambassador would finally visit him in 1520 and reported that Covilhao was still alive, married to an Ethiopian woman, and held in high esteem with the court of the Negus. Covilhao died in Abyssinia, one of the earliest documented cases of a naval intelligence agent who never came in from the cold. Even if the West had learned of the weakness of "Prester John"in 1493 interest in the route to "India" around Africa was about to take second place in Western navigational interests.
On March 4, 1493 Christopher Columbus arrived in Restello, Lisbon's outer harbor. The attention of Europe would turn westward across the Atlantic. The quest for "India"and Christian / Muslim conflicts took a back burner to the exploitation and development of the "New World". Covilhao's astounding mission with its potential for changing the balance of power , would be relegated to a curiosity of history. Undertaken a few years earlier and Covilhao might have been one of the few naval spies who changed history.
On March 4, 1493 Christopher Columbus arrived in Restello, Lisbon's outer harbor. The attention of Europe would turn westward across the Atlantic. The quest for "India"and Christian / Muslim conflicts took a back burner to the exploitation and development of the "New World". Covilhao's astounding mission with its potential for changing the balance of power , would be relegated to a curiosity of history. Undertaken a few years earlier and Covilhao might have been one of the few naval spies who changed history.
And so we see the tremendous effect on reality that widely held myth , particularly myth with some remote basis in truth can have on history. The new physics and astrophysics tells us that the universe and physical laws are more complex than either the Newtonian clockwork universe, or relativism; possibilities appear infinite. In the mind of our youth the "warp drive" (space propulsion systems capable of breaking the light barrier) are just around the corner, a myth with some basis in truth. In the mind of our youth the universe has in relative abundance water, oxygen, heat, and planets do circle distant stars; all of this we now know to be true. Some of these children will become heads of state and government, and others officers. One day one or more of these children will send another out to learn just how close to myth is the reality. The children have no obsolete views of the universe as a clockwork or a dustbin to unlearn. Aided by cinematic vision, a compelling myth has formed and is widely held. Driven in part by the power of this myth, like the searchers for "Prester John" the Children will reach for the stars. The lessons from the era of 1415 through 1542 ,if well studied, could help them avoid repeating the mistakes of the last era of great exploration. There are of course other reasons for this coming exploration. But the power of the myth fuels those unschooled in physics and astrophysics, or disinclined to read volumes of technical data. The myth of the resource filled and lively universe is clear and detailed as Hollywood special effects could possibly make it. More over, as was the case several times with the myth of Prester John, facts keep coming in supporting the myth. This myth isn't just something for the scientifically educated. It is firmly planted in the minds of future tax payers all over the world. This generational myth will propel action. Mankind is space bound.
And so we see the tremendous effect on reality that widely held myth , particularly myth with some remote basis in truth can have on history. The new physics and astrophysics tells us that the universe and physical laws are more complex than either the Newtonian clockwork universe, or relativism; possibilities appear infinite. In the mind of our youth the "warp drive" (space propulsion systems capable of breaking the light barrier) are just around the corner, a myth with some basis in truth. In the mind of our youth the universe has in relative abundance water, oxygen, heat, and planets do circle distant stars; all of this we now know to be true. Some of these children will become heads of state and government, and others officers. One day one or more of these children will send another out to learn just how close to myth is the reality. The children have no obsolete views of the universe as a clockwork or a dustbin to unlearn. Aided by cinematic vision, a compelling myth has formed and is widely held. Driven in part by the power of this myth, like the searchers for "Prester John" the Children will reach for the stars. The lessons from the era of 1415 through 1542 ,if well studied, could help them avoid repeating the mistakes of the last era of great exploration. There are of course other reasons for this coming exploration. But the power of the myth fuels those unschooled in physics and astrophysics, or disinclined to read volumes of technical data. The myth of the resource filled and lively universe is clear and detailed as Hollywood special effects could possibly make it. More over, as was the case several times with the myth of Prester John, facts keep coming in supporting the myth. This myth isn't just something for the scientifically educated. It is firmly planted in the minds of future tax payers all over the world. This generational myth will propel action. Mankind is space bound.
Notes/sources:
* The Caliphate: Muhammad as prophet could not be succeeded. However, the continuity of Islam as a political-social community required succession to his civil and military functions. Upon the prophet's death his father in law was proclaimed "Khalifa Rasul Allah"(Successor of the Apostle of God). As Islam spread and eventually divided into different schools and sects the Caliphate expanded to incorporate regional Caliphs. Dynastic succession introduced stability into the Caliphate during the Umayyard period (661-750 AD). THE PERSIAN GULF STATES A GENERAL STUDY , John Hopkins University Pres. See Also ARABS, ISLAM and the ARAB CALIPHATE by E.A.Beiyaeu.
* For brief biographies and explanations of secular and religious titles see: NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
* "SELJUK refers to the Rulers of Persia circa 1141
"NESTORIAN DOCTRINE became the official teaching of the Persian Christian Church whose missionary activities over a number of centuries were the rival of Rome itself.-New Catholic Encyclopedia
*"Chief of the Kari Kitai or more properly the Kahan of the Kara-Khytay defeated the Seljuk King of Persia in 1141 see p. 92 THE QUEST FOR INDIA by Bjorn Lanstrom and the NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
* For time lines, biographies, etc. see: THE EMPIRE OF THE ARABS by Lt.Gen.Sir John Glubb, HISTORY OF THE ARABS by Philip K. Hiti, and THE ATLAS OF THE ARAB WORLD by Rafie Boustand and Philippe Far
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CHAPTER 2:
The Equipment to Get There:
In these essays we explore the parallels between the evolution of transoceanic shipping and space transport . We've long had the primary breakthrough technology that led to our ability to take off. But getting beyond the moon parallels the sailor's search for a reliable transport vessel "beyond the far horizon"
CHAPTER 2
ESSAY NUMBER 1
Notes/sources:
* The Caliphate: Muhammad as prophet could not be succeeded. However, the continuity of Islam as a political-social community required succession to his civil and military functions. Upon the prophet's death his father in law was proclaimed "Khalifa Rasul Allah"(Successor of the Apostle of God). As Islam spread and eventually divided into different schools and sects the Caliphate expanded to incorporate regional Caliphs. Dynastic succession introduced stability into the Caliphate during the Umayyard period (661-750 AD). THE PERSIAN GULF STATES A GENERAL STUDY , John Hopkins University Pres. See Also ARABS, ISLAM and the ARAB CALIPHATE by E.A.Beiyaeu.
* For brief biographies and explanations of secular and religious titles see: NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
* "SELJUK refers to the Rulers of Persia circa 1141
"NESTORIAN DOCTRINE became the official teaching of the Persian Christian Church whose missionary activities over a number of centuries were the rival of Rome itself.-New Catholic Encyclopedia
*"Chief of the Kari Kitai or more properly the Kahan of the Kara-Khytay defeated the Seljuk King of Persia in 1141 see p. 92 THE QUEST FOR INDIA by Bjorn Lanstrom and the NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
* For time lines, biographies, etc. see: THE EMPIRE OF THE ARABS by Lt.Gen.Sir John Glubb, HISTORY OF THE ARABS by Philip K. Hiti, and THE ATLAS OF THE ARAB WORLD by Rafie Boustand and Philippe Far
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CHAPTER 2:
The Equipment to Get There:
In these essays we explore the parallels between the evolution of transoceanic shipping and space transport . We've long had the primary breakthrough technology that led to our ability to take off. But getting beyond the moon parallels the sailor's search for a reliable transport vessel "beyond the far horizon"
CHAPTER 2
ESSAY NUMBER 1
SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION...THE AIR FOIL AND THE ASCENT OF MAN
It is a bit unusual for a ship's master, but I once taught in a high school. I taught nautical arts and sciences so it wasn't that much of a stretch, and the high school system owned a 65 foot training vessel that I also served as Captain on. So even if my presence in the high school didn't seem that mysterious to me, the maritime world was a near complete mystery for my "merchant marine cadets" in the first weeks of class. The early weeks of class were a lot like the early weeks at the Harry Lundburg School of Seamanship, which is to say these weeks were a lot like a sort of civilian version of boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center but done on the installment plan. My goal was to instill paramilitary discipline while inspiring and motivating the all volunteer vocational / technical career path students to really want to become mariners. So after the basic introduction I began with a question.
I asked the class, called "the ship's company", "what single invention has had the most significant impact on man kind?" I received some of the usual answers like the wheel, fire (hardly an "invention"), the printing press, while a few figured that the answer, given the nature of the course had to be maritime in character so I also was offered the steam ship, the steam engine, and the screw propeller. "No", I answered," none of those" then I went to the chalk board and drew two triangular shapes . "What's this" I asked? "A pair of triangles?"," A sail!', "A wing!'. No I'd say "think generic there is one name for both shapes, indeed you are simply looking at the same shape displayed vertically and horizontally, what is it?" Silence. "It's an airfoil", I'd say. "Deployed vertically this shape is used as a sail and horizontally as a wing. "
More so than any other single invention this simple shape changed and shaped the world. In its' earliest manifestation, the square sail, it gave rowers in the ancient galleys a break when the wind was astern. But once the wing like lanteen sail was invented by the Arabs, rowers were no longer needed. Hard to carry food calories could now be used to support a smaller crew and not to provide direct propulsive power for the ship through a virtual army of rowers. The range of ships and their cargo capacity increased continually and dramatically. Long before the zenith of the age of sail Columbus was crossing the ocean sea on basically a mix of square and lanteen sails. As navigational arts developed in the wake of the physical capacity to sail out of sight of land, long ocean voyages could be repeated at will and trade began to expand into a global enterprise.
More so than any other single invention this simple shape changed and shaped the world. In its' earliest manifestation, the square sail, it gave rowers in the ancient galleys a break when the wind was astern. But once the wing like lanteen sail was invented by the Arabs, rowers were no longer needed. Hard to carry food calories could now be used to support a smaller crew and not to provide direct propulsive power for the ship through a virtual army of rowers. The range of ships and their cargo capacity increased continually and dramatically. Long before the zenith of the age of sail Columbus was crossing the ocean sea on basically a mix of square and lanteen sails. As navigational arts developed in the wake of the physical capacity to sail out of sight of land, long ocean voyages could be repeated at will and trade began to expand into a global enterprise.
Replica of Columbus Fleet constructed in 1893 note that the yards are both horizontal ( for square sails) and slanted for lanteen sails. These vessels were still most efficient sailing with the wind but could tack and thus could return from the far corners of the globe even if the inbound winds were not as favorable as those that bore them out . As more of the world was discovered the demand for more speed efficiency and carrying capacity evolved.
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| Replica of Columbus Fleet constructed in 1893 note that the yards are both horizontal ( for square sails) and slanted for lanteen sails. These vessels were still most efficient sailing with the wind but could tack and thus could return from the far corners of the globe even if the inbound winds were not as favorable as those that bore them out . As more of the world was discovered the demand for more speed efficiency and carrying capacity evolved. |
As global commerce began to take shape and Europe began to plant colonies the demand for higher speed, more efficient sailing, and more cargo capacity began to drive the technological development of sail. The zenith of the age of sail would culminate in the development of the famous "clipper ships" with their global reach and complex rigs.
An American "Clipper" as advanced compared to the ships of Columbus as a modern jumbo jet is compared to a Wright Flyer
| An American "Clipper" as advanced compared to the ships of Columbus as a modern jumbo jet is compared to a Wright Flyer |
Commercial sailing technology would reach its zenith in the late nineteenth century about the same time that steam engines would mature driving railroads and river boats to a point where commercial ship operators were prepared to use them at sea. Man had taken the air foil in vertical deployment about as far as it would go for commercial transport , and the air foil or sail had taken man around the world and back again many times over.
As mariners, ship wrights, naval architects and sail makers studied the function of sail , or the air foil in vertical deployment, it was very early on realized that the sail functions by channeling wind towards the "Luff" which is a fairly narrow area near the mast. High pressure forms on the windward side of the sail and low pressure on the leeward or opposite side. Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. But the sail prevents the high pressure from infilling the low pressure area and a force known as "drive" is created. The mast is set in the hull which is set afloat in the low resistance medium of water. The "drive" exerted near the mast propels the boat forward. Notice that even the square sails on the clipper ship above can be rotated around the mast almost 180 degrees producing at least some drive on all points of sail. In between the square sails are numerous triangular sails which are more efficient sailing closer to the wind. The sail plan was based on a law of averages but consistently produced excellent speeds on all points of sale.
Now every sailor who ever had to furl sail knew that an air foil if it got into a horizontal plane could exert a force known as "Lift". A wing is simply an airfoil deployed in the horizontal mode. Both lift and drive were very well understood by 1903. In 1903 the steamship was dominant in maritime commerce but there were still plenty of square riggers working when the Wright Brothers turned their airfoils into the horizontal position , attached power for a constant source of air flow for the creation of "lift". The Wright Brothers soon learned that control after lift off was the most difficult. At first they tried "wing warping" or changing the shape of the wing to control direction and altitude which was pretty much what sailors did with sails by use of the running rigging such as sheet lines. Soon they opted to change only a portion of the wing's basic shape through the use of ailerons, stabilizers, and the ship's rudder's cousin, the tail rudder. The world began to shrink at a much faster pace. Only 66 years after man's first heavier than air flight we landed on the moon. Truly sometimes a great notion is as simple as a mere shape and may come from someone as simple as an ancient sailor.
I would tell my students after leading them through this exercise that mariners are part of an ancient and learned profession. Our profession's discoveries gave the world, the world; sewed it together and then gave it flight. Then I'd give them this little known fact. When the Wright Brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk the hands that gave their flyer its initial push off were those of sailors of the nearby U.S. Life Saving Service Station, one of the ancestral organizations of the U.S. Coast Guard. Once the ''Wright Flyers" became controllable in flight one of the first purchasers was the United States Navy. If you visit Dalghren Hall on the grounds of the Naval Academy you can see the Navy's original Wright Flyer: suspended from the ceiling.
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ESSAY NUMBER 2
CARAVEL WITH SQUARE SAILS DEPLOYED
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
THE LONG PAUSE : BETWEEN THE LONG BOAT AND THE CARAVEL, BETWEEN THE SPACE SHUTTLE AND THE STAR SHIP
From: Naval Institute PROCEEDINGS, Feb. 1997: February 1997; page 55 "Building the Future Now", an interview with Capt. William F. Readdy, USNR; Commander of Space Shuttle Mission STS-79
We are in a long pause in manned interplanetary exploration, though we have a robot probe on the surface of Mars as we write these lines. We have made in space the equivalent of short coastal voyages, near earth orbital missions routine. We have made some interplanetary voyages to our nearest celestial neighbor, the moon. These missions developed the technology for the launch, repair, and improvement of orbital telescopes like Hubble that allow us to peer to the far reaches of the visible universe. In so peering we have learned that it is a far more vast place than ever before imagined and that planets , with atmospheres and water, are probably much more abundant than once thought only a few years ago. We are standing on the beach and looking out across that vast sea of outer space, with ever increasing knowledge of the far shore coming to us through our space telescopes and unmanned probes. But our long boats can't make the crossing. We await the development of the Caravel.
"Proceedings: Do you think we will live to see a Man to Mars mission?
Capt. Readdy: Without question. If we really wanted to throw money at the problem , I think we could have gone ten years ago. It's no longer a question of technology. At this point , I think we need to focus on advances in propulsion technology rather than spending tens of billions of dollars on a mission that will take the better part of a year to get there and almost the same amount of time to come back. Just as the jet engine eclipsed the propeller in World War II and the rocket engine was the enabling technology for our initial exploration of space , there is going to be another advance in propulsion technology. The science fiction writers , I'm sure, already know what it is. Whatever it is, it will open exploration beyond the Moon."
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| THE CARAVEL BOAT ESPERANCA OF PORTUGAL, LANTEEN SAILS DEPLOYED |
The long boat was known by many names and found in many cultures. The term as used here does not describe only the traditional and well known boat of Viking fame. The long boat refers to a variety of early vessels that were characterized by a single hull, propulsion by oar or paddle, and if sails were carried, these usually consisted of a single square sail. Such vessels made some incredible voyages. Indeed it is widely accepted that Vikings visited North America in their long boats hundreds of years before Columbus. The long boat underwent a long period of refinement under the hands of many nations. Once wealth began to move on the seas with any regularity distinct differences arose between long boats used for commerce and those used to protect or raid commerce, the first warships. An early version of the long boat purposely built for warfare was the Galley.
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| A Trireme among largest and most complex of the Galleys, the long boat at it a high point of development |
The first development that would lead to the evolution of the Caravel would be the lanteen sail. The lanteen sail , is a triangular shaped device similar in appearance to the sail of the popular small recreational sailboat known as the "SUNFISH". The lanteen sail reached its' greatest utility once wedded to a subsurface hull feature such as the extended keel, dagger board, or lee board. the lanteen sail coupled with these submerged hull features allowed a vessel to "tack"before the wind.
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| CLASSIC MODERN LANTEEN RIG SAIL AS USED ON VERY SMALL RECREATIONAL SAIL BOATS |
To Tack is to sail at an angle across the wind., allowing a vessel to make actual progress in an upwind direction via zig zag pattern. The lanteen sail also allowed a vessel to sail off at a wide variety of angles from the wind without the necessity to tack. The first vessels to exhibit those features were the Arabian Dhows. But the Arabian Dhows were not destined to explore the great seas, some additional refinements were still needed. They would come from an unexpected quarter.
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CHAPTER 2
ESSAY NUMBER 3
Among the tools we will need to get out there are some new and still evolving mathematics.
THE PATH TO THE CALCULUS OF COMPLEXITY MAY INVOLVE MANY FUZZY ALGORITHMS AND CONVOLUTED EQUATIONS BUT ALREADY A SYMMETRY IS STARTING TO EMERGE
ESSAY NUMBER 3
Among the tools we will need to get out there are some new and still evolving mathematics.
THE PATH TO THE CALCULUS OF COMPLEXITY MAY INVOLVE MANY FUZZY ALGORITHMS AND CONVOLUTED EQUATIONS BUT ALREADY A SYMMETRY IS STARTING TO EMERGE
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
EDITORS'S NOTE: Back in 2012 and again in June of 201 4 we visited the idea that space exploration beyond our solar system is going to require some physics and math presently not in the books. We predicted a long pause between the present and near future manned spacecraft and any technology that might take us beyond our own solar system. We compared the development of extra solar system manned craft with the ocean exploration transition from the long boat of oars and square sails useful for coastwise voyaging and the appearance of the first truly trans- ocean vessels, the caravels such as the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. The time between these two advances in marine transportation technology was in fact thousands of years. Commercial, political, and military needs drove the technological research.
The same may ultimately turn out to be true of the evolution of extra-solar system manned craft, but we are starting to perceive signs of faster evolution in the necessary areas of math and physics. The physics and calculus of Newton were sufficient to get us into earth orbit and put men on the moon and robotic explorers on Mars, but the path to Alpha Centauri will require the as yet to be developed "Calculus of Complexity". Professionally we first encountered the Complexity theory and the need for complexity related calculation in the maritime problem of electronic based vessel traffic control around bends in rivers. The cure took the U.S. Naval War College about two years to figure out and it was a patch work fix. You see a river is a classic "Fractal" as described by the scientific maverick Benoit B. Mandelbrot. The fractal appears to be the first area of complexity theory that has evolved beyond "fuzzy algorithms" for specific real world practical applications into a literal "geometry of fractals". But to apply the linear binary technologies of computers, radar, and telemetry to objects moving in an infinite variety of arcs up , down, and across a fractal like a river still required a convoluted, complex, application of the old calculus that came to be called "The Fuzzy Algorithm".
We came to realize that mankind's search for the calculus of complexity, the math gateway to a new physics that will open the door to extra-solar, galactic, and even intergalactic travel and communication was going to require a lot of fuzzy algorithms along the way. Since first publishing on this subject we have been drawn into the confidence of a Louisiana Company called Helios Ruehls, which is hard at work on a new fuzzy algorithm in a different maritime application. It again involves an interface between a fractal form and some older linear Newtonian based technology. Another fuzzy algorithm will be needed but Helios Ruehls' efforts reveal a stunning future where these fuzzy algorithms give way to an eventual holistic and symmetrical calculus of the complex.
Mandelbrot sometimes referred to the Geometry of the Fractal as "the measurement of roughness". Notice that only a few years ago what we now refer to as "Complexity theory" was called "Chaos Theory". The "roughness" and "chaos" is already falling away as practical needs drive searches for fuzzy algorithms as links between existing technologies and aspects of complexity theory that offer quantum leaps in performance, reliability, and speed. When the calculus of complexity emerges in its eventually to be revealed elegance and symmetry totally new vice the near future hybrid technologies will emerge that will seem like magic to 21st century minds. When we examine the history of flight including space flight in comparison with the history of marine transport we discern a speeding up of the technological and theoretical processes compared with the evolution of marine transportation. . Being allowed to peak into the secret lab work of Helios Ruehls has convinced us that the gateway to the all important Calculus of Complexity is closer than we ever thought. Perhaps the engineer who designs the first extra-solar manned craft that doesn't require the crew to commit to a life time aboard is already born.
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CHAPTER 4
ESSAY NUMBER 1
WILL WE MEET ANYONE OUT THERE?
Will we meet intelligent life out there? The mariners met humans long separated from the rest of humanity by vast oceans. They also encountered strange animal and plant life. Not all the results were good . We are still experiencing "exotic intrusion" ( invasion of plant and animal life that become pests and cause environmental damage away from their native habitats). Human cultures were destroyed, languages annihilated. The process is sometimes called the "Colombian Exchange" and the planet is still suffering as well as benefiting from it. In 1492 we didn't know much about biology and even if we did profit motives would have caused the governments of the day to throw caution to the wind. We should avoid repeat of the mistakes and damages of the "Colombian Exchange "on a cosmic scale. We need real and enforceable "protocols" for avoiding this kind of damage.
WILL WE MEET ANYONE OUT THERE?
Will we meet intelligent life out there? The mariners met humans long separated from the rest of humanity by vast oceans. They also encountered strange animal and plant life. Not all the results were good . We are still experiencing "exotic intrusion" ( invasion of plant and animal life that become pests and cause environmental damage away from their native habitats). Human cultures were destroyed, languages annihilated. The process is sometimes called the "Colombian Exchange" and the planet is still suffering as well as benefiting from it. In 1492 we didn't know much about biology and even if we did profit motives would have caused the governments of the day to throw caution to the wind. We should avoid repeat of the mistakes and damages of the "Colombian Exchange "on a cosmic scale. We need real and enforceable "protocols" for avoiding this kind of damage.
CHAPTER 4 THE PERILS OF FIRST CONTACT
WHY WE DON'T WANT TO REPEAT THE COLOMBIAN EXCHANGE ON A COSMIC SCALE LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
No matter what propulsion system we may be using at the time, inevitably we will encounter extra terrestrial life. The first time it might be microbes, which in fact might be the most dangerous encounter we will experience. We'll discuss the odds, later but we have to be prepared for the possibility of encountering other civilizations . Again our ocean planet's history can provide some insight on how we should prepare to handle this contingency and how to avoid the mistakes of our past.
WHEN COLUMBUS MET GUACANAGARI The Perils Of First Contact, A Case Study
The first landfall of Columbus in the New World is a subject of considerable academic debate. Wherever the landing actually took place, Columbus called the island "San Salvador". For many years historians generally believed this to be an island known as "Wattling Island"in the Bahamas which later was renamed "San Salvador". At least nine other islands have been seriously examined as possibilities. The most often discussed seems to be Samana Cay. There has been debate over the issue for years and strong cases have been made for other islands as the first landfall of Columbus. Some of the most scholarly debate in terms of forensic navigation have been carried in the pages of the Naval Institute PROCEEDINGS and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. However, the where of the first landfall of Columbus is not as important for an examination of the lessons of the first contact.
The first lesson to be derived from the first voyage of Columbus is the definition of "first contact". Is "first contact" as a matter of gravest concern, the first contact between emissaries of an alien culture and the first inhabitants met? Or is "first contact" the first meeting between the emissaries and the first officials of the culture visited. The first contact between Columbus and native Americans made little impression on the culture of San Salvador, an apparent rural back water but provided Columbus with some vital intelligence. His next contact with a real Chief of numerous villages Guacanagari would set the course for European /Native American relations for centuries. There is a high probability when exploring unknown areas that actual first contact will be unplanned. Let us examine the first days of Columbus in the New World and ask our selves what there is to learn from the Columbus experience if initial contact in our own explorations will be with non official persons. Let us also look for lessons for that first contact with officials; what we might learn that would allow us to be better prepared in the event of an encounter with another civilization in outer space.
Columbus became convinced that he was near land on October 11, 1492. Land birds were seen from his ships and a carved wooden object had been recovered from the sea. However by sundown nothing else had been seen. At 2200 (10 PM) Columbus and crewman Pedro Guttierrez and Rodrigo Sanchez saw a light to the Southwest. The Pinta set course for the light. At 0200 (2 AM) October 12, 1492 crewman Rudrigo de Triana sighted land. Columbus fell to his knees in gratitude to God. To quell a potential mutiny Columbus had agreed to sail westward for only three days more on October 10, 1492. As dawn broke Columbus and his men saw a small green Island. A small boat was launched and the crew with Columbus embarked pulled for shore. While still offshore Columbus observed a group of people come out of the forest. First contact was about to happen. The people came down to the beach and stood looking at the approaching boat. Columbus dressed in his finest for the occasion buckled on his sword and armor when he saw the people on the beach. The sailors were also armed.
When the boat landed Columbus and the sailors disembarked. The people from the forest stood a little distance off while Columbus unfurled the Spanish flag and proclaimed himself viceroy of the island he named "San Salvador". The people from the forest continued to stand a little ways off. Gripping , but not brandishing his sword, Columbus approached. The people proved friendly and curious. They accepted a few trinkets with apparent pleasure and ran off. The crew set out exploring the island. The next day the islanders returned in great numbers. Columbus noticed that some of the natives wore ornaments of gold. Communicating mostly through sign language Columbus discovered that the source of the gold was a large island nearby to the south east. Columbus set sail for the south east where he found another island and more friendly inhabitants, some with gold ornaments. Once again Columbus wast told the gold producing island was elsewhere. Again Columbus set sail. Columbus island hopped for two weeks in the Bahamas meeting people on each island and eventually ended up off the coast of the island that we now call Cuba.
On November 21, 1492 a strong wind separated the PINTA from the SANTA MARIA and the NINA. THE SANTA MARIA and the NINA headed east and arrived off the island of Hispaniola. Here Columbus met the first real native "official" since landing on "San Salvador", a local chief named Guacanagari. Columbus was impressed with Guacanagari who arrived with flourishes and the entourage Columbus thought worthy of a minor Oriental prince; but displayed a friendly , outgoing nature, apparently tempered with great humility. Guacanagari, a chief of the peaceful Tainos in turn was impressed with Columbus. Guacanagari feared the cannibalistic Caribs, Columbus looked like a potentially powerful ally. In turn Columbus would shortly be in need of Guacangari's assistance.
On Christmas day 1492 the SANTA MARIA fetched aground on a reef. The ship did not sink but could not be re-floated. She was so badly damaged that it was clear that the SANTA MARIA would never return to Spain. Now Columbus really needed Guacanagari. Guacanagari provided men to help offload the SANTA MARIA" and strip her of useful fittings. The NINA was too small to carry both crews back to Spain. Columbus would have to leave some of the men with Guacanagari.Columbus had grown to trust Guacanagari and Guacanagari had apparently developed a genuine interest in and apparent affection for the Europeans.
There can be little doubt that the civilized behavior,apparent command of resources, obvious authority, and the gift of a mask made partially of gold by Guacanagari helped convince Columbus that he was on the outskirts of the Orient. It would be to Guacanagari that Columbus would entrust nearly a third of his crew, and to Guacanagari that Columbus would return on his second voyage. The crew must have also been impressed with the Tianos people, Guacanagari, and the climate and terrain of the Bahamas because many crewmen volunteered, even begged to remain. Thirty nine were chosen from an abundance of volunteers. Diego de Arana , the Master at Arms was left in command. With the help of the Tianos the crew built a fort from the remains of the ship and stored it with provisions and weapons. Since the ship wreck had occurred on Christmas Columbus called the fort "la Navidad". After a farewell banquet with Guacanagari Columbus departed for Spain during the first week of the new year 1493.
Shortly after the start of the return voyage the Nina sighted the Pinta. They would separate again in a storm before reaching Spain. The story of Columbus's return voyage from his first visit to the New World, the rivalry between Columbus and the Captain of the PINTA , the intrigue at court after the return of the NINA and PINTA could fill a book. But these details detract from the examination of the events surrounding Columbus and Guacanagari. Consequently we will leave the details of the return voyage and organization of the second voyage back to Guacanagari's island to others and cut to the return of Columbus to "La Navidad".
The sovereigns of Spain authorized a second voyage and issued formal instructions. These formal instructions included a call for the conversion of the natives to Christianity but stipulated that the natives be treated "well and honorably". Communications would be facilitated on this second voyage by the presence of former captive "Indians" who had been baptized, learned Spanish, and could act as interpreters. This second expedition would consist of seventeen vessels and 1,200 to 1500 men. On September 25, 1493 Columbus left the port of Cadiz to great fanfare for a return in force to La Navidad. Before reaching La Navidad Columbus landed on an island he called Guadeloupe. This turned out to be the home island of the free ranging and raiding cannibal Caribs so feared by Guacanagari. No violence ensued because most of the warriors were gone on a raiding party off island. The remaining Caribs, mostly women, old men and a few captives explained this mostly by hand gestures. The Europeans took twelve young women and two boys who had been captives of the Caribs with them as they departed the island.
After leaving Guadeloupe the fleet sailed along the south coast of Puerto Rico to the north shore of Hispaniola. Columbus looked forward to seeing La Navidad and the progress he hoped had been made there in the interval since his departure. He looked forward to seeing Guacanagari who he was certain would impress his fellow adventurers. But when they anchored off the island, there was no answer to their salute. Indeed there was little sign of life. Shore parties found bodies near the remains of the fort which had been burned. Shore parties found bodies near the remains of the fort which had been burned,the first were badly decomposed and could not be identified. Two however were bearded and surely European, What would come to be known as America , had lost its first European colony. Guacanagari sent regrets to Columbus by envoy blaming the massacre on the Caribs. Guacanagari claimed that he had tried to defend the Spaniards and was wounded as a result. Columbus and several men went to visit Guacangari but noticed that he bore no scars. Little by little Columbus learned the truth. The men he left behind had behaved badly, lusting after gold and taking "Indian" women. The Tianos defended and avenged themselves. The first European settlement in the New World came to a bitter end as a bloody massacre. The trust between the Tianos and the Europeans was broken. Though immediate relations between the new landing party and Guacanagari's Tianos were cordial on the surface, storm clouds were gathering.
The first lesson to be derived from the first voyage of Columbus is the definition of "first contact". Is "first contact" as a matter of gravest concern, the first contact between emissaries of an alien culture and the first inhabitants met? Or is "first contact" the first meeting between the emissaries and the first officials of the culture visited. The first contact between Columbus and native Americans made little impression on the culture of San Salvador, an apparent rural back water but provided Columbus with some vital intelligence. His next contact with a real Chief of numerous villages Guacanagari would set the course for European /Native American relations for centuries. There is a high probability when exploring unknown areas that actual first contact will be unplanned. Let us examine the first days of Columbus in the New World and ask our selves what there is to learn from the Columbus experience if initial contact in our own explorations will be with non official persons. Let us also look for lessons for that first contact with officials; what we might learn that would allow us to be better prepared in the event of an encounter with another civilization in outer space.
Columbus became convinced that he was near land on October 11, 1492. Land birds were seen from his ships and a carved wooden object had been recovered from the sea. However by sundown nothing else had been seen. At 2200 (10 PM) Columbus and crewman Pedro Guttierrez and Rodrigo Sanchez saw a light to the Southwest. The Pinta set course for the light. At 0200 (2 AM) October 12, 1492 crewman Rudrigo de Triana sighted land. Columbus fell to his knees in gratitude to God. To quell a potential mutiny Columbus had agreed to sail westward for only three days more on October 10, 1492. As dawn broke Columbus and his men saw a small green Island. A small boat was launched and the crew with Columbus embarked pulled for shore. While still offshore Columbus observed a group of people come out of the forest. First contact was about to happen. The people came down to the beach and stood looking at the approaching boat. Columbus dressed in his finest for the occasion buckled on his sword and armor when he saw the people on the beach. The sailors were also armed.
When the boat landed Columbus and the sailors disembarked. The people from the forest stood a little distance off while Columbus unfurled the Spanish flag and proclaimed himself viceroy of the island he named "San Salvador". The people from the forest continued to stand a little ways off. Gripping , but not brandishing his sword, Columbus approached. The people proved friendly and curious. They accepted a few trinkets with apparent pleasure and ran off. The crew set out exploring the island. The next day the islanders returned in great numbers. Columbus noticed that some of the natives wore ornaments of gold. Communicating mostly through sign language Columbus discovered that the source of the gold was a large island nearby to the south east. Columbus set sail for the south east where he found another island and more friendly inhabitants, some with gold ornaments. Once again Columbus wast told the gold producing island was elsewhere. Again Columbus set sail. Columbus island hopped for two weeks in the Bahamas meeting people on each island and eventually ended up off the coast of the island that we now call Cuba.
On November 21, 1492 a strong wind separated the PINTA from the SANTA MARIA and the NINA. THE SANTA MARIA and the NINA headed east and arrived off the island of Hispaniola. Here Columbus met the first real native "official" since landing on "San Salvador", a local chief named Guacanagari. Columbus was impressed with Guacanagari who arrived with flourishes and the entourage Columbus thought worthy of a minor Oriental prince; but displayed a friendly , outgoing nature, apparently tempered with great humility. Guacanagari, a chief of the peaceful Tainos in turn was impressed with Columbus. Guacanagari feared the cannibalistic Caribs, Columbus looked like a potentially powerful ally. In turn Columbus would shortly be in need of Guacangari's assistance.
On Christmas day 1492 the SANTA MARIA fetched aground on a reef. The ship did not sink but could not be re-floated. She was so badly damaged that it was clear that the SANTA MARIA would never return to Spain. Now Columbus really needed Guacanagari. Guacanagari provided men to help offload the SANTA MARIA" and strip her of useful fittings. The NINA was too small to carry both crews back to Spain. Columbus would have to leave some of the men with Guacanagari.Columbus had grown to trust Guacanagari and Guacanagari had apparently developed a genuine interest in and apparent affection for the Europeans.
There can be little doubt that the civilized behavior,apparent command of resources, obvious authority, and the gift of a mask made partially of gold by Guacanagari helped convince Columbus that he was on the outskirts of the Orient. It would be to Guacanagari that Columbus would entrust nearly a third of his crew, and to Guacanagari that Columbus would return on his second voyage. The crew must have also been impressed with the Tianos people, Guacanagari, and the climate and terrain of the Bahamas because many crewmen volunteered, even begged to remain. Thirty nine were chosen from an abundance of volunteers. Diego de Arana , the Master at Arms was left in command. With the help of the Tianos the crew built a fort from the remains of the ship and stored it with provisions and weapons. Since the ship wreck had occurred on Christmas Columbus called the fort "la Navidad". After a farewell banquet with Guacanagari Columbus departed for Spain during the first week of the new year 1493.
Shortly after the start of the return voyage the Nina sighted the Pinta. They would separate again in a storm before reaching Spain. The story of Columbus's return voyage from his first visit to the New World, the rivalry between Columbus and the Captain of the PINTA , the intrigue at court after the return of the NINA and PINTA could fill a book. But these details detract from the examination of the events surrounding Columbus and Guacanagari. Consequently we will leave the details of the return voyage and organization of the second voyage back to Guacanagari's island to others and cut to the return of Columbus to "La Navidad".
The sovereigns of Spain authorized a second voyage and issued formal instructions. These formal instructions included a call for the conversion of the natives to Christianity but stipulated that the natives be treated "well and honorably". Communications would be facilitated on this second voyage by the presence of former captive "Indians" who had been baptized, learned Spanish, and could act as interpreters. This second expedition would consist of seventeen vessels and 1,200 to 1500 men. On September 25, 1493 Columbus left the port of Cadiz to great fanfare for a return in force to La Navidad. Before reaching La Navidad Columbus landed on an island he called Guadeloupe. This turned out to be the home island of the free ranging and raiding cannibal Caribs so feared by Guacanagari. No violence ensued because most of the warriors were gone on a raiding party off island. The remaining Caribs, mostly women, old men and a few captives explained this mostly by hand gestures. The Europeans took twelve young women and two boys who had been captives of the Caribs with them as they departed the island.
After leaving Guadeloupe the fleet sailed along the south coast of Puerto Rico to the north shore of Hispaniola. Columbus looked forward to seeing La Navidad and the progress he hoped had been made there in the interval since his departure. He looked forward to seeing Guacanagari who he was certain would impress his fellow adventurers. But when they anchored off the island, there was no answer to their salute. Indeed there was little sign of life. Shore parties found bodies near the remains of the fort which had been burned. Shore parties found bodies near the remains of the fort which had been burned,the first were badly decomposed and could not be identified. Two however were bearded and surely European, What would come to be known as America , had lost its first European colony. Guacanagari sent regrets to Columbus by envoy blaming the massacre on the Caribs. Guacanagari claimed that he had tried to defend the Spaniards and was wounded as a result. Columbus and several men went to visit Guacangari but noticed that he bore no scars. Little by little Columbus learned the truth. The men he left behind had behaved badly, lusting after gold and taking "Indian" women. The Tianos defended and avenged themselves. The first European settlement in the New World came to a bitter end as a bloody massacre. The trust between the Tianos and the Europeans was broken. Though immediate relations between the new landing party and Guacanagari's Tianos were cordial on the surface, storm clouds were gathering.
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CHAPTER 4
ESSAY NO. 2
DOES ANYONE BESIDES US SEE THE BIOHAZARD HERE?
Our SPACE AS AN OCEAN E-Book morphed into PROTOCOLS once we examined the COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE. We felt certain that our first encounter with life in outer space would be microbial, and in fact we've seen previous evidence that something like this could happen.
RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS FIND SEA PLANKTON LIVING ON THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
SPACE AS AN OCEAN
Photo U.S. Air Force
Russia's space agency has confirmed that traces of sea plankton and other micro -organisms were found living on the exterior of the International space Station. The microorganisms on the exterior of the International Space Station appears to have been there for quite some time. Not quite as voracious and fecund as barnacles on a ship, but a sort of space barnacle that over time could have similar effects on a Space station to that of barnacles on a ship. Cosmonauts Olek Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov discovered the evidence of a microorganism colony during a routine space walk inspecting the exterior of the station. According to the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS they collected samples and sent them back on one of the supply/crew change capsules for lab analysis. Lab examination confirmed that the samples were micro organisms and micro organic remnants familiar on earth but ruled out that the sea plankton was on anything launched to the station or parts of the station at launch.
Dr. Valadimir Solovyev, head of the Russian participation in the ISS mission said that plankton in the stages of development found on the stations exterior surface may be found on the surface of Earth's oceans. Solovyev speculated that there are rare uplifting air currents that may reach the low earth orbit station .Apparently a variety of earth origin microorganisms can survive zero gravity, freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen,and cosmic radiation. Solovyev called the discovery "absolutely unique". We however saw something like this coming and want to strike a cautionary note.
Photo ISS mission crew-Public Domain
American Admiralty Books Safety & Privacy Policies
As we were researching the portion of our E book PROTOCOLS we became aware of some scientific writings suggestive of the idea that many micro organisms or proto organisms like viruses can survive exposure to space. Their size and low weight don't require the kind of lift to the edge of space that our technology does. Here is the scary part, if there are other planets producing microorganisms they can escape into space too. Moreover there is evidence to support that any such microorganisms that get caught in the earth's gravitational pull are afforded a rather gentle "float down" reentry. Many of the seemingly out of nowhere virus that we see once in a while may actually have originated elsewhere and entered our atmosphere from outer space. Clearly the Russian discovery proves the theory is possible, perhaps even probable.
We think that what happened is the microbes arrived on these atmospheric up wellings and found a neat colony site in near perennial twilight on the station structure. A space station or a pockmarked meteor would have nooks and crannies where there is shelter from full sunlight preventing the microbe from burning up, but enough daylight long enough to prevent hard freezing. No doubt there are microbes that could survive a very long time in such a semi sheltered location. If accorded a reentry opportunity to reach an opportune environment such micro organisms may thrive. Orbits of softball sized meteors that get trapped in earth orbit decay just as artificial satellite orbits decay. When they fall to earth most of their mass incinerates creating the "shooting stars" we liked to watch as kids. However, some microorganisms that may have made it to the core might survive if enough mass survives to reach the planet's surface. There is also the possibility of detachment from the falling object before it reaches heat generating velocity.
OUR POINT IS THAT WE HAVE NOW VERIFIED THAT OUR OWN PLANET OCCASIONALLY SPITS MICROORGANISMS INTO SPACE THAT HAVE SURVIVAL POTENTIAL. IF EARTH CAN DO THAT ANY PLANET WITH AN ATMOSPHERE THAT GENERATES MICROORGANISMS CAN DO IT. Indeed space is looking more and more like an Ocean all the time. But apparently we haven't learned much from the Columbian Exchange. The transfer of the organisms to earth didn't seem to follow much in the way of sanitation / isolation protocols. We didn't know about such things at all during the European Sea Recognizance and lots of plants and animals got spread around and are still being spread and becoming either valued agricultural products , or feral pests. The first exchange in the Columbian Exchange was microbial and it reduced the native population of the Americas by millions in a relatively short time. What our E book asks in comparing the Columbian Exchange with our search for extraterrestrial life is, do we have the sanitation / isolation protocols in place to insure that our first encounter with extraterrestrial life won't repeat the negative effects of the inadvertent and ignorantly conducted still on going Columbian Exchange? Well, we have just discovered for the first time life inhabiting outer space , it may not be extraterrestrial in origin but it was certainly in an extraterrestrial location. It wasn't found by guys searching for life, or on a mission that included specialists for such activity. Basically our first discovery of life in outer space was by two guys doing maintenance. Apparently they just sent it home in a baggie with a note. WE BETTER DO A LOT BETTER THAN THAT WHEN WE ENCOUNTER REAL ALIEN MICROBES. Please read
Dr. Valadimir Solovyev, head of the Russian participation in the ISS mission said that plankton in the stages of development found on the stations exterior surface may be found on the surface of Earth's oceans. Solovyev speculated that there are rare uplifting air currents that may reach the low earth orbit station .Apparently a variety of earth origin microorganisms can survive zero gravity, freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen,and cosmic radiation. Solovyev called the discovery "absolutely unique". We however saw something like this coming and want to strike a cautionary note.
Photo ISS mission crew-Public Domain
American Admiralty Books Safety & Privacy Policies
As we were researching the portion of our E book PROTOCOLS we became aware of some scientific writings suggestive of the idea that many micro organisms or proto organisms like viruses can survive exposure to space. Their size and low weight don't require the kind of lift to the edge of space that our technology does. Here is the scary part, if there are other planets producing microorganisms they can escape into space too. Moreover there is evidence to support that any such microorganisms that get caught in the earth's gravitational pull are afforded a rather gentle "float down" reentry. Many of the seemingly out of nowhere virus that we see once in a while may actually have originated elsewhere and entered our atmosphere from outer space. Clearly the Russian discovery proves the theory is possible, perhaps even probable.
We think that what happened is the microbes arrived on these atmospheric up wellings and found a neat colony site in near perennial twilight on the station structure. A space station or a pockmarked meteor would have nooks and crannies where there is shelter from full sunlight preventing the microbe from burning up, but enough daylight long enough to prevent hard freezing. No doubt there are microbes that could survive a very long time in such a semi sheltered location. If accorded a reentry opportunity to reach an opportune environment such micro organisms may thrive. Orbits of softball sized meteors that get trapped in earth orbit decay just as artificial satellite orbits decay. When they fall to earth most of their mass incinerates creating the "shooting stars" we liked to watch as kids. However, some microorganisms that may have made it to the core might survive if enough mass survives to reach the planet's surface. There is also the possibility of detachment from the falling object before it reaches heat generating velocity.
OUR POINT IS THAT WE HAVE NOW VERIFIED THAT OUR OWN PLANET OCCASIONALLY SPITS MICROORGANISMS INTO SPACE THAT HAVE SURVIVAL POTENTIAL. IF EARTH CAN DO THAT ANY PLANET WITH AN ATMOSPHERE THAT GENERATES MICROORGANISMS CAN DO IT. Indeed space is looking more and more like an Ocean all the time. But apparently we haven't learned much from the Columbian Exchange. The transfer of the organisms to earth didn't seem to follow much in the way of sanitation / isolation protocols. We didn't know about such things at all during the European Sea Recognizance and lots of plants and animals got spread around and are still being spread and becoming either valued agricultural products , or feral pests. The first exchange in the Columbian Exchange was microbial and it reduced the native population of the Americas by millions in a relatively short time. What our E book asks in comparing the Columbian Exchange with our search for extraterrestrial life is, do we have the sanitation / isolation protocols in place to insure that our first encounter with extraterrestrial life won't repeat the negative effects of the inadvertent and ignorantly conducted still on going Columbian Exchange? Well, we have just discovered for the first time life inhabiting outer space , it may not be extraterrestrial in origin but it was certainly in an extraterrestrial location. It wasn't found by guys searching for life, or on a mission that included specialists for such activity. Basically our first discovery of life in outer space was by two guys doing maintenance. Apparently they just sent it home in a baggie with a note. WE BETTER DO A LOT BETTER THAN THAT WHEN WE ENCOUNTER REAL ALIEN MICROBES. Please read
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Chapter 4
ESSAY NUMBER 3
The Border Is Not Secure Against These Invaders Either
THE BORDER IS NOT SECURE AGAINST THESE INVADERS. ITS NOT JUST HUMANS WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT: Part 1 of a Series Updated 1/29/2016
EXOTIC INTRUSION THE INVISIBLE INVASION
American Admiralty Books Safety & Privacy Policies (Attention EU Visitors , possible "cookie" encounter ahead)
U.S. Navy sailors rig rat guards on the mooring lines of a war ship. Here they rig the chaffing gear over which a metal disk will be fitted that the rat can not climb over. This practice still carried out by the U.S. Navy, and once enforced on all visiting merchant ships in U.S. ports is hardly observable in the U.S. ports today since the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) "Ship Sanitation Officers were eliminated in a budget cut during the Regan Administration. Official U.S. Navy Photo. |
| Finished fully deployed rat guard, notice disk around the "chaffing gear' (wrapped canvas to protect the mooring line). Official U.S. Navy Photograph |
A UNIQUE ENCOUNTER ON A NEW ORLEANS WHARF
A few years ago I was descending the gangway to a wharf in New Orleans and was confronted by something I had never seen before. Near my foot was a small lizard under a foot long that looked vaguely like our own native "Carolina Anole" which is common all over Louisiana and can change colors at will from various shades of green to various shades of brown. Generally our native "Carolina Anoles", sometimes sold commercially as pets under the misnomer "Chameleons", are relatively slow and un-aggressive. The creature at my foot was larger , heavier, with coarser scales and an aggressive attitude. Instead of fleeing before me, a creature thousands of times larger than itself, it stood its' ground making threat displays. Obviously the creature was not a native because every native species of everything knows that a Cajun will skin , coat in red pepper, blacken, and eat anything. I merely found it curious, and it didn't look too tasty, but I knew I wasn't looking at a native species. I studied it a bit memorizing its features and then stepped forward, and of course the smaller critter then ran away. What happened next in this late 1980s encounter illustrates the way things were in the earlier part of the 20th century relative to guarding our borders from invasive species and how things have changed for the worse and continue unimproved.
I recall when Reagan era budget cuts closed down the marine hospitals run by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) eliminating free medical services for the U.S. Merchant Marine. Its been nearly 33 years since and many maritime employers in the Jones Act fleet still don't provide health insurance for crew men. But along with the marine hospitals mariners also noticed the daily presence in the ports of the USPHS marine sanitation officers. They were unmistakable in their navy like uniforms and showed the insignia of Warrant Officers. They were seen frequently on the wharf from the 1930s through the 1970s then disappeared with the marine hospitals. Back when New Orleans was a banana port we'd see them sometimes leading groups of civilian workers with butterfly type nets in trying to capture some strange creature or other that had hitched a ride on a bunch of bananas. While these ship sanitation officers were about, woe to the general cargo ship that didn't have properly deployed rat guards on the mooring lines.
USPHS UNIFORMS, THE SHIP SANITATION OFFICERS WERE COMMONLY SEEN ON THE WHARF IN THE KAKI WORKING VERSION AND THEY INDEED WORKED, CLIMBING UP AND DOW ACCOMMODATION LADDERS AND ALL OVER THE SHIPS AND WHARVES LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF INVASIVE PESTS OR VECTORS OF DISEASE AND TAKING FAST REMEDIAL MEASURES. THE USPHS IS STILL AROUND BUT THEY ARE NOT SEEN IN THE PORTS OFTEN ANYMORE. THEY LED THE FIGHT AGAINST INVADING PESTS AND PESTILENCE WITH MILITARY RIGOR.
THEIR LEADERSHIP ROLE WAS SUPERSEDED AND THE PESTS ARE WINNING (Official USPHS PHOTO)
In the days of the USPHS ship sanitation officers it was clear that the USPHS was a partner with the agriculture department, and the very visible and militant leader of the effort to close our border to pests and pestilence. Exotic invasive species weren't unknown in those days but they were relatively few. The Kudzu, the vine that ate Mississippi, didn't slip past the barriers of the USPHS and Agriculture Department inspectors, it was deliberately imported to help control erosion around the time of the Dust Bowl. The fire ant got past the defenses, but an ant can be a hard thing to detect. But all things considered most of the nonnative species in America until the demise of the USPHS sanitation officers were introduced in the earliest days of the Colombian Exchange. By the 1800 the Great Plains were full of wild horses, but there were no native horses (there is some evidence of possible ponies of Chinese origins scattered about in a few places) when the first Europeans began settlement. The much of the population of wild horses, wild boar, wild burros, English sparrows, pigeons and quite a number of plants run wild in North America were early accidents of the Colombian (or earlier) Exchange that frankly is still in progress. However these intrusions happened back in the days when no one understood the long term damage that exotic intrusion into an ecosystem, agricultural system, or urban landscape could do. Today the total global damage caused by invasive species, an uncontrolled continuance of the Colombian Exchange is estimated at $1.4 TRILLION or about 3% of the global economy.
REPORTING THE INTRUDER:
In the old days when we saw something strange running around the wharf we often bumped into the USPHS ship sanitation officer within minutes. We just told him what we saw and answered a few intelligent questions and often if we passed back the same way within the hour the guys with the butterfly nets were out and about.
After my encounter with the aggressive little lizard at the end of the gangway, years after the budget cuts, I of course, didn't bump into any uniformed guardians of our border of any variety. Once home I called the USPHS thinking I should report the sighting in case it was an exotic intruder and maybe a first sighting. I had to go through many rounds of calls and buck passing within the USPHS before finally being referred to agriculture, then another agency, and another. I don't even remember which of the now more than 12 agencies with some piece of the responsibility for preventing invasive species entry finally put me in contact with an actual knowledgeable person who identified my sighting as a Caribbean Anole, a larger more aggressive cousin of our native species. I was told that some had gotten off ships in Gulf Ports and were busy establishing themselves on the Gulf Coast at the expense of native bug eaters. There was apparently no attempt being made at eradication, just as there had been no attempt at prevention of the entry of this species. I was left with the clear impression that exotic intrusion was now everybody's business (as in 12 plus agencies) and so no body's business.
No wonder the Mississippi and Ohio river systems are over run with Zebra mussels and flying carp are damaging recreational boats on the same waters. No wonder Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia are on the look out for the Asian Walking Catfish north bound out of Florida which is over run with iguanas, pythons, and even monkeys. No wonder fire ants require constant eradication efforts on my lawn, and spring brings fear of Formosan termite swarms if we leave the light on. Of course I'm talking about Southeast Louisiana where there is no killing cold in the winter. If you live in North Dakota you don't have as many problems with exotic invaders but if you overstay outside between December and March you could be quick frozen to death. I've thought about it and personally I rather brush the five foot long iguanas aside to get in the door than have to shovel my way out of the house just to get to a frozen wider community. But still these pests aren't just disturbing our lives in paradise , they cause billions of dollars in damages all over the nation including the Great Lakes fisheries.
So lets examine this issue, which is very much maritime in nature because most of the pest plants and animals arrive by ship.
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CHAPTER 4
ESSAY NUMBER 4
ESSAY NUMBER 4
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
WHEN WORLDS GREAT AND SMALL COLLIDE
Extinctions of species as well as societies, and the spread of disease as well as of useful plants and animals occurred when the Old and New Worlds met. Parallels could occur in space exploration. We need to examine existing protocols and past protocols from the moon missions and how well they worked. Such an examination suggests that much work is needed in this area before our first encounter with extraterrestrial life.
South America exported the potato to Ireland which some think was a mixed blessing at best. Europe received corn from the Americas but to this day utilizes it mostly as animal feed. Unlike Americans of European descent today's Europeans have yet to raise or purchase the "sweet" varieties of corn that Americans consume without first passing it through a bovine digestive system for conversion to beef. Europeans reintroduced the horse to the Americas and while mounted on them drove a number of native civilizations to extinction. Microbes were exchanged, some beneficial like those needed in the processing of yogurt and wine, others like small pox, the natives would have been pleased to have avoided. This entire two way traffic in living stuff we call "the "Colombian Exchange" and it is still ongoing. As we discuss the pros and cons of such exchanges and the needed protocols to control and mitigate the undesirable changes we will simply refer to any such exchange whether between the Americas and Europe, or Asia, or Earth and outer space or other planets as a "Colombian Exchange". We aren't the first to coin that term, perhaps we are the first to use it as a generic term for similar events past and future.
Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an "organism".(See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Are Viruses Alive? http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ). Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there. The whatever else is particularly unsettling when we consider some of the unusual ideas of Sir Fred Doyle, Chandra Wickramasingle and others who propose that on extremely rare occasions genetic material not of this earth reaches here.
While this is not a mainstream scientific idea, there is some serious science in their arguments and most of the main stream scientific community falls a little short calling the idea impossible. So lets consider just for a minute that Doyle might be right. Lets consider that in the light of the loss of Gus Grissom's first space capsule in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day we don't know why upon return to earth the hatch of the capsule blew open and almost drowned Grissom, allowed the capsule to fill with sea water, and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the cradle of life on this planet. Like Doyle's critics we don't think there was a serious chance that the exterior surface of the capsule would have picked up a virus like "organism" and that it would have survived the fiery entry of the capsule, but suppose the such a capsule had samples of Mars soil on board? Why was all of the post landing inquiry focused of what exactly happened to cause the door to malfunction vice how do we assure that in a landing gone wrong stuff that could be harboring extraterrestrial life does not come into contact with environment?
During the Apollo era astronauts returning from the Moon were kept in isolation as a precaution against their carrying virus like pathogens from the surface of the moon. The length of time of their isolation was based loosely on known incubation periods for known pathogens on earth. It doesn't look like anyone asked if non earth evolved pathogens might have a longer incubation period. Moon soil samples likewise didn't seem subjected to any really out of the box sanitation measures. Despite recent discoveries here on earth of life forms at the bottom of the sea in sulfur vents, and hot springs that don't seem to be subject to the environmental conditions once thought essential to any type of life , we haven't seen a broad spectrum isolation protocol come out of NASA with our recent robotic probes of Mars. When we do return a soil sample what will be our sanitary protocol?
We don't have to meet ET to be exposed to really deadly pathogens. In fact it is far more likely that the first life we encounter out there will be microscopic. If some Buzz Lightyear of the future gets eaten on an alien world by an extraterrestrial version of a T-Rex we're out one astronaut. If an astronaut brings back an alien virus for which we have no resistance or cure, it could be the end of all life on earth. But then again microbes aren't the only hazard. Ever seen parts of Mississippi over run by Kudzu? The Kudzu vines looks vaguely like a creeping ivy. Its not native to the U.S. Deep south, but it sure likes it. This at first seemingly harmless item of exchange in the Colombian Exchange didn't hitch hike here on some banana boat. We brought it here for the hoped for beneficial effect of erosion control in areas of very sandy soil and heavy rain. Road cuts in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were eroding faster that nature could heal them and it was thought the fast growing Kudzu could put a stop to it. Well the Kudzu liked the Deep South just fine and not only covered the road cut scar but continued right up into the pine forests clear to the top of the trees and then spread a canopy from tree to tree until, almost before anyone noticed it, a hundred acre forest could be smothered , cut off from light and killed. But the emerald green Kudzu looked happy draped across trees dead or alive. If we find a plant out there are we going to bring it back? You can bet on it. Do we have sufficient protocols in place to insure it stays in isolation and never gets out into Earth's natural environment? We're not so sure on that.
Alien Face or Bio hazard mask? Ask your self this. Is that image pictured above supposedly an artist's approximation of an alien "face" as described by many "witnesses" so often it has almost become our standard image of a space alien actually a face or could it be a bio barrier mask. Are those big eyes with no pupils or dark protective lenses? How could any creature breath through nostrils that tiny or get enough to feed an energetic biped over five feet tall through that tiny slit of a mouth? Might it be that what has been seen, assuming that anything has actually been seen, is the air intake and exhaust of a bio hazard safety mask? Have you ever noticed in the descriptions of these beings there is never any mention of real clothing, nor of any sex organs or secondary sexual characteristics? Could it be that we are seeing something like a thin wet suit and mask designed to keep micron sized pathogens out of the suit and to keep the personal kooties of who ever is in there locked in? Wouldn't that be a nice courtesy. The Aztecs and Mayans would certainly have appreciated such thoughtfulness from the Spaniards. Maybe if we are being visited, our visitors are far more courteous and safety minded than the history of our last wave of first contact experiences.
Another troubling parallel between our maritime experiences and our space experiences is the possibility that government protocols applicable to government run missions may not be nearly enough. We are already developing a space launch and flight industry. There are private satellite launch services operating already and private "space planes under development. There is just about no doubt that by the time we are pushing manned flight beyond our solar system there will be a lot of non government commercial traffic in our solar system. When Columbus headed out for the unknown western Atlantic the Western World had about 5,000 years of maritime trade development behind it. There were international norms in the process of ship "entry" the process of a ship formally and peacefully entering a port to engage in trade, there was considerable international uniformity in the process of "Pratique", meaning the conditions that a ship was expected to adhere to once it was formally entered and granted official permission to hold communications with the shore. Finally the process of "clearance" was very uniform through out the European Atlantic and Mediterranean world, that process where in a ship presents proofs that it adhered to the conditions of its pratique while in port and is cleared by the port authorities for its next destination. Despite the experience that European merchant captains had with such a system, they ignored the evidence that the Mayans had such a system and just barged right on in.
Now more than 500 years later our own maritime practices of entry, pratique, and clearance are still adjusting especially in the way of ship sanitation. The lamprey and the zebra mussel have caused major changes in our rules about the ballast water discharge. Our sanitation measures failed us completely in the realm of rat guards, the Norwegian rat is now a universal pest. Despite our best efforts fire ants got off the boat at Mobile and are over running the American South. Centuries after the start of the Colombian Exchange and we are still struggling with the creation of regulations, regulatory agencies to try and slow the processes of exotic intrusion and native flora and fauna stress, and frequently our own economic distress. Maritime history is ripe with examples of those who deliberately side stepped the established safe guards and profited by increasing the stresses of the Colombian Exchange. We are heading out into space with an already evolving private transport industry without any development for the entry, pratique, or clearance of cargo carrying traffic.
We have a remarkable lack of protocols for where we are going. Our maritime technologies and institutions had thousands of years of development before the European Recognisance and we still ended up eliminating entire civilizations, major human populations, hundreds of plant and animal species, and spread disease all over the globe. Yet the average world citizen today would vote for the continued globalization rather than to go back to the era when great civilizations went for centuries with little knowledge of each other. Going into space involves big risks and big rewards but our maritime experience points to the necessity to proceed with caution and to develop serious, detailed, protocols. If ET has been watching us as so many Ufologists suspect, his people have been watching us for a good thousand years or more. Yet there is no official contact. If they are real could it be they have learned through bitter experience to be very careful on first contact with any sort of life? We need to avoid doing anything rash.
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CHAPTER 5
ESSAY NUMBER 1
Are We ready For A Second Colombian Exchange Right Now?
Updated 3/6/2020
ARE WE READY FOR A SECOND COLOMBIAN EXCHANGE NOW?
WILL WE BE READY IN 7 TO 10 YEARS?
RE: SPACE AS AN OCEAN SERIES / JUST COMPLETED EXOTIC INTRUSION SERIES.
First Mars Soil Samples May Come Sooner Than Expected.
Books Safety & Privacy Policies (Attention EU Visitors , possible "cookie" encounter ahead)
NASA Artist's illustration of a Mars Rover.
A Recent video on the Huff Post Science page hints that the planned 2020 Mars expedition could involve the eventual return of soil samples to Earth. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/nasa-2020-mars-rover-life-video_n_3569157.html?ref=topbar The mission as presently proposed is focused on specifically looking for rocks which would be likely to contain proof of microbiological life. Referencing our evolving E Book PROTOCOLS first published as the series SPACE AS AN OCEAN and our recent series of posts on our insecure national border when it comes to containing harmful plants, animals, insects, and micro organisms at the border we have to observe that we are not ready as a nation, a planet, or a species to start a second "Colombian Exchange". .
NOAA Photo of a Deep Sea vent Do you see the potential parallels with returning soil samples from Mars? With a 75% probability of an at sea landing for the samples, and history of at least one lost space capsule at sea do we have the fail safe protocols to prevent the loss of a returning Mars soil sample in the sea? Do we have the protocols in place to assure the sealed integrity of the container no matter how rough the landing until it can be opened in a secure environment? What constitutes a secure environment? Frankly, if we don't start seeing major improvements in the way we are handling our existing 511 year old Colombian Exchange, still out of control ,we really have to doubt our ability to start dealing with a potential second one from outer space. Why are we particularly concerned with the return of soil samples from Mars? Well consider that a few years ago a big news story was that meteor fragments had been found on Earth and identified as being of Martian origin and arguably contained fossil evidence of microbial life forms. This sparked the entire theoretical discussion of the possibility that life first evolved on Mars and that the Earth was "seeded" at some point as Mars was bombarded by meteors sending chunks of the surface to us as meteors. We are all for progress and especially space travel and eventual colonization. But as mariners whose professional ancestors once linked "worlds" long separated by vast oceans, as the profession that inadvertently launched the Colombian Exchange for better and worse, we feel especially impelled to ask; where are the protocols?
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"Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an 'organism'. (See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: "ARE VIRUS ALIVE ?"
http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ).
Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there." -From "Protocols: "WHEN WORLDS GREAT AND SMALL COLLIDE"
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CHAPTER 5 ESSAY NUMBER 2
CHAPTER 5
ESSAY NO. 2
CHAPTER 5 WHO MIGHT WE MEET IN THE MORE OR LESS SHORT TERM
CHAPTER 5 WHO MIGHT WE MEET IN THE MORE OR LESS SHORT TERM
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
COULD WE ACTUALLY BE THE TAINOS TO A MORE BENIGN COLUMBUS STANDING OFF SHORE?
In our other installments we will examine the probability of our meeting extra terrestrial intelligent life. Frankly we didn't give it much of a shot over at least the next 200 years. We even found it more probable than not that the number of space faring civilizations in our galaxy could be counted on one hand, maybe on a single digit. But if there is even one other space faring civilization out there the odds are 50-50 that they are more advanced than us and have mastered inter stellar travel. So what are we to make of the UFO phenomenon? Is someone offshore watching our island? Do they have the experience to stand off and seek just the right circumstances to make contact? Could all these sighting be a way of making us aware and used to, and thus less likely to be threatened by their presence? Are we the TAINOS to a civilization that has already launched multiple Columbus expeditions to us but has the good sense to stand off shore until the time is right for all of us? We truly don't know and neither does anyone else. But if you would like to read about the UFO phenomenon without the dogmatism that clouds the writings of the believers and debunkers alike we suggest :
ANGELS AND ALIENS UFOS AND THE MYSTIC IMAGINATION by Keith Thompson
Here are two quotes from his work that at least keep our mind open to the possibility that we may be someone else's Tainos.
Page 192 "What interests me is that with each new wave of sightings, the social impact becomes greater. Conventional science more and more perplexed, befuddled, at a loss to explain. Pro-ET ufologists become more dogmatic in their propositions. More people become fascinated with space and new frontiers of consciousness. More books and articles appear changing our culture in the direction of a new image of man. Meanwhile, the phenomenon offers occasional rational elements to entice credible researchers, while offering an equal number of ludicrous elements so as to effectively deny itself, annihilate evidence of itself. Ufologists, by and large , remain blissfully unaware of their role in the feedback loop.
Page 193-" 'What we see emerging in the UFO phenomenon is not gradual contact but rather gradual control of our beliefs. expectations, fears, hopes and dreams....We know from behavioral psychology that the best schedule of reinforcement is one that combines periodicity with unpredictability' says Vallee, citing the ongoing pattern of intense UFO activity followed by quite periods when it seems to have gone away entirely. 'Learning is then slow but continuous', he adds. It leads to the highest level of adaptation And it is irreversible. It is interesting to observe that the pattern of UFO waves has the same structure as a schedule of reinforcement"
That's some heavy thoughts uh, Guacanagari?
You can read Thompson and draw your own conclusions, or abstain from making conclusions. We'll look at odds of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations is another series of essays. We'll also look at what happened after Columbus met Guacanagari in terms of biological impacts and the lessons these contacts between peoples and continents long separated by seemingly unconquerable oceans have for us should we make contact with any form of extraterrestrial life.
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Chapter No. 5
ESSAY NUMBER 3
Public domain image courtesy of http://pnt.gov/public/images/.LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
DID COLUMBUS CLEAR CUSTOMS?
Most historians seem a bit perplexed at Columbus's persistent belief that he had reached the Orient. Many credit him with more than a typical share of stubbornness bordering on obsession. In the popular mind Columbus arrives in the Bahamas meets "Savages", encounters no riches associated with the Orient, and inexplicably persists in his belief that he has reached the Orient. But this was simply not the case.
First as we learned in our description of the landing of Columbus as described in preceding pages he didn't find the "Indians" of his "San Salvador" to be "savages" at all, but "peasants". He fully expected to find peasants in Oriental society as he knew them in his own and the Oriental version was described in the account of the travels of Marco Polo with which he was familiar. Moreover these very first peasants displayed small items of gold. When Columbus met Guancanagari he found a society of perhaps some thirty thousand souls with significant organization. His description of his first sight of Guacanagari indicates the trappings and entourage that a European who had never visited the Orient might associate with a minor Royal of a rural part of an Oriental kingdom. With Guacanagari Columbus received more gold and some previously unknown spices, exactly what he anticipated finding in the Orient. But the ship wreck of the SANTA MARIA forced an early return. Columbus was quite well aware that he had but sampled a very few of some offshore islands, that he had good reason to believe were off the Asian mainland. Historians agree that Columbus believed the circumference of the earth to be less than we now know it is, plus he probably believed the land mass of Asia was much larger than what it is, and he had no real way of measuring longitude . When these facts are considered along with an unjaundiced view of exactly what Columbus saw on his first voyage it seems quite reasonable that he believed he had reached the Orient on his first voyage.
His second and third voyages involved mostly establishing a base of operations on Hispaniola and a gold mining operation. His opportunities to explore freely were minimal. He eventually did visit the north coast of South America. He did come to understand that South America was a previously unknown continent far to the south of the Asian land mass. In more northerly latitudes he still expected to find what we now call China and Japan. On his fourth voyage he would actually reach the Caribbean coast of Central America and encounter coastal Mayans, What he would see could only further convince a European of his day that he had reached the Orient.
The Mayan coast lands were long and Columbus must have suspected that he was coasting along a mainland. He could not know how narrow parts of that mainland were or the great Pacific Ocean, an ocean that his world dimensions had no room for, was beyond the distantly glimpsed mountains to the west. But what was of far more significance was that Columbus now encountered a coast with coast wise trading vessels the size of galleys that he was familiar with in his own Mediterranean world. He encountered a coast with ports, some of which had breakwaters, officials, and signal beacons. The vessels were huge canoes with shelters amidships of tightly woven palm leaves. The canoes had large crews and significant weather protected cargo capacities. They were in the charge of well dressed merchants who often had their families along. These trading, coastal large canoes were engaged in regular and organized trade. The ports had official buildings of impressive size made of stone and displayed a strange but advanced architecture. Columbus had come face to face with what could be described as the Mayan Merchant Marine.
Columbus first encountered the Mayan coast wise traders in 1502 near what is now referred to as the Bay Islands of Honduras. In his log he noted:
"There arrived a canoe full of Indians , as long as a galley and eight feet wide. It was loaded with merchandise from the west, almost certainly from the land of Yucatan"
Columbus described a thatched palm shelter midships in the craft sheltering women and children as well as merchandise from both rain and sea. The women and children seemed to be family of the presiding merchants. The crew consisted of nearly twenty five men. Trade goods consisted of high quality cotton cloth of intricate design and many colors, flint bladed tools and weapons, swords carved of very hard wood and a variety of food items. This first encounter was not untypical of a variety of craft that Columbus would observe on his fourth voyage, in fact this particular canoe was a bit on the modest size. Some historical accounts describe Mayan vessels capable of carrying forty to fifty people plus large amounts of trade goods. Most Mayan traders followed the coast line using natural features, shrines and towers as short range aids to navigation. However some Mayan navigators ventured offshore. The Mayans had reached and colonized such offshore islands as Cozumel, the Belize Cays and Bay Islands by 600 to 900 AD.
As the Mayan culture evolved some seaside villages developed into real ports of call and trading centers. One such example was the town of Cerros on Chetumal Bay in what is now northern Belize. This town was located at the confluence of the mouths of the New and Hondo rivers. The port connected the coastal and offshore island trade with the inland regions of the Mayan empire reachable by the two rivers. The Mayan maritime trade made use of many natural harbors but also made artificial improvements where needed. On the northern coast of Yucatan on the island of Cerritos the ruins of docks, piers, and a 1,000 foot seawall can be found. The maritime trade infrastructure of the Maya spread across the whole coastline of Mexico to what is now called Panama and extended inland at every navigable river. Between 900 and 1520 AD this Meso American maritime trade flourished and became sort of international in scope involving not only the seafaring Mayans but also seafaring Aztecs and other peoples. By the time of first contact much of this trade had come to be controlled by wealthy nobles tied to each other through marriage and formal alliances and dominating the economies of these widely spaced coastal communities. This system collapsed shortly after the Spanish conquest and has been largely forgotten. But this was the system that Columbus saw on his fourth voyage. On that voyage he saw people of apparently Asiatic racial stock and of a high order of civilization engaged in an extensive and organized maritime trade from real port cities. Why would he think he was anywhere else but Asia?
Any review of primary sources of the early period of European contact with American natives reveals a "New World" populated by both tribal peoples and what can only be described as "nation states". Columbus sailed into a World of inter tribal and "international" relationships and conflicts. He was first seen by the first officials he encountered as a powerful potential ally against a truly savage tribe harassing a more civilized tribe enjoying no advantage in weapons, tactics, or technology. Columbus and subsequent Spaniards enjoyed a narrow but critical advantage in weapons and transport technology. They were also possessed of a moral code that rendered parts of the preexisting order of the "New World" offensive. Instead of learning and fitting into the existing order the Spaniards would cite certain practices of the preexisting order as justification for conquest, made possible by their narrow technological advantages. They also unwittingly aided and abetted in conquest by microorganisms. The collision between the old and new worlds at the subhuman level will be the subject of other discussions. The purpose of this discussion is to examine how one view of world order was totally eclipsed by another when two radically different cultures collided after years of separation by a vast previously uncrossable ocean.
Columbus and those who followed in his wake entered a world of alliances, conflicts, trade, communications, and some long established rules of order. The Europeans would exhibit no consideration of any of the established rules of order, would exploit conflicts and alliances to their advantage, and manipulate trade to their advantage at every opportunity. In the process the Europeans would struggle with each other and eventually evolve a highly organized body of international law.
As we push out into space, particularly space beyond our own solar system we may be entering a realm where a preexisting legal order may be operative, or operative in certain regions only, or non existent. we may bring important legal ideas to the forum, or our ideas may be viewed as valueless as the Europeans viewed the preexisting order of the Indian nations. For all we know our undisturbed evolution to date may be the result of an existing interplanetary legal order. Before we launch into space beyond our solar system we need to consider the possibilities of interplanetary law. We will probably have to guess at it , but our own experience in the evolution of international law, particularly maritime international law should give us some valuable insights. Unlike the Europeans during the age of exploration we had better not assume we enter the region with any superior codes or the ability or any moral right to impose such. A review of our own maritime international law could provide us with some insights into any preexisting interplanetary order.
His second and third voyages involved mostly establishing a base of operations on Hispaniola and a gold mining operation. His opportunities to explore freely were minimal. He eventually did visit the north coast of South America. He did come to understand that South America was a previously unknown continent far to the south of the Asian land mass. In more northerly latitudes he still expected to find what we now call China and Japan. On his fourth voyage he would actually reach the Caribbean coast of Central America and encounter coastal Mayans, What he would see could only further convince a European of his day that he had reached the Orient.
The Mayan coast lands were long and Columbus must have suspected that he was coasting along a mainland. He could not know how narrow parts of that mainland were or the great Pacific Ocean, an ocean that his world dimensions had no room for, was beyond the distantly glimpsed mountains to the west. But what was of far more significance was that Columbus now encountered a coast with coast wise trading vessels the size of galleys that he was familiar with in his own Mediterranean world. He encountered a coast with ports, some of which had breakwaters, officials, and signal beacons. The vessels were huge canoes with shelters amidships of tightly woven palm leaves. The canoes had large crews and significant weather protected cargo capacities. They were in the charge of well dressed merchants who often had their families along. These trading, coastal large canoes were engaged in regular and organized trade. The ports had official buildings of impressive size made of stone and displayed a strange but advanced architecture. Columbus had come face to face with what could be described as the Mayan Merchant Marine.
Columbus first encountered the Mayan coast wise traders in 1502 near what is now referred to as the Bay Islands of Honduras. In his log he noted:
"There arrived a canoe full of Indians , as long as a galley and eight feet wide. It was loaded with merchandise from the west, almost certainly from the land of Yucatan"
Columbus described a thatched palm shelter midships in the craft sheltering women and children as well as merchandise from both rain and sea. The women and children seemed to be family of the presiding merchants. The crew consisted of nearly twenty five men. Trade goods consisted of high quality cotton cloth of intricate design and many colors, flint bladed tools and weapons, swords carved of very hard wood and a variety of food items. This first encounter was not untypical of a variety of craft that Columbus would observe on his fourth voyage, in fact this particular canoe was a bit on the modest size. Some historical accounts describe Mayan vessels capable of carrying forty to fifty people plus large amounts of trade goods. Most Mayan traders followed the coast line using natural features, shrines and towers as short range aids to navigation. However some Mayan navigators ventured offshore. The Mayans had reached and colonized such offshore islands as Cozumel, the Belize Cays and Bay Islands by 600 to 900 AD.
As the Mayan culture evolved some seaside villages developed into real ports of call and trading centers. One such example was the town of Cerros on Chetumal Bay in what is now northern Belize. This town was located at the confluence of the mouths of the New and Hondo rivers. The port connected the coastal and offshore island trade with the inland regions of the Mayan empire reachable by the two rivers. The Mayan maritime trade made use of many natural harbors but also made artificial improvements where needed. On the northern coast of Yucatan on the island of Cerritos the ruins of docks, piers, and a 1,000 foot seawall can be found. The maritime trade infrastructure of the Maya spread across the whole coastline of Mexico to what is now called Panama and extended inland at every navigable river. Between 900 and 1520 AD this Meso American maritime trade flourished and became sort of international in scope involving not only the seafaring Mayans but also seafaring Aztecs and other peoples. By the time of first contact much of this trade had come to be controlled by wealthy nobles tied to each other through marriage and formal alliances and dominating the economies of these widely spaced coastal communities. This system collapsed shortly after the Spanish conquest and has been largely forgotten. But this was the system that Columbus saw on his fourth voyage. On that voyage he saw people of apparently Asiatic racial stock and of a high order of civilization engaged in an extensive and organized maritime trade from real port cities. Why would he think he was anywhere else but Asia?
Any review of primary sources of the early period of European contact with American natives reveals a "New World" populated by both tribal peoples and what can only be described as "nation states". Columbus sailed into a World of inter tribal and "international" relationships and conflicts. He was first seen by the first officials he encountered as a powerful potential ally against a truly savage tribe harassing a more civilized tribe enjoying no advantage in weapons, tactics, or technology. Columbus and subsequent Spaniards enjoyed a narrow but critical advantage in weapons and transport technology. They were also possessed of a moral code that rendered parts of the preexisting order of the "New World" offensive. Instead of learning and fitting into the existing order the Spaniards would cite certain practices of the preexisting order as justification for conquest, made possible by their narrow technological advantages. They also unwittingly aided and abetted in conquest by microorganisms. The collision between the old and new worlds at the subhuman level will be the subject of other discussions. The purpose of this discussion is to examine how one view of world order was totally eclipsed by another when two radically different cultures collided after years of separation by a vast previously uncrossable ocean.
Columbus and those who followed in his wake entered a world of alliances, conflicts, trade, communications, and some long established rules of order. The Europeans would exhibit no consideration of any of the established rules of order, would exploit conflicts and alliances to their advantage, and manipulate trade to their advantage at every opportunity. In the process the Europeans would struggle with each other and eventually evolve a highly organized body of international law.
As we push out into space, particularly space beyond our own solar system we may be entering a realm where a preexisting legal order may be operative, or operative in certain regions only, or non existent. we may bring important legal ideas to the forum, or our ideas may be viewed as valueless as the Europeans viewed the preexisting order of the Indian nations. For all we know our undisturbed evolution to date may be the result of an existing interplanetary legal order. Before we launch into space beyond our solar system we need to consider the possibilities of interplanetary law. We will probably have to guess at it , but our own experience in the evolution of international law, particularly maritime international law should give us some valuable insights. Unlike the Europeans during the age of exploration we had better not assume we enter the region with any superior codes or the ability or any moral right to impose such. A review of our own maritime international law could provide us with some insights into any preexisting interplanetary order.
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Chapter 6
ESSAY NUMBER 1
ESSAY NUMBER 1
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
YODA WHERE ARE YOU
What is the real likelihood that we'll meet intelligent life out there based on the geography of space?
Editor's Note: We first published this essay as part of a serial E-book about a year ago. The entire book may be read in the "MARITIME LITERATURE SECTION" just scroll down past the book reviews. Recently the Huff Post Science Section published an article titled " 'ALIEN EARTH' STUDY SUGGESTS MILKY WAY GALAXY HOLDS 45 BILLION EARTH LIKE PLANETS". When we published the essay below our definition of "Earth Like" was quite different from the author of the above referenced article, Mike Wall who apparently first posted it on Space.com .
The planets the study refers to as "Earth Like" are simply somewhat near earth sized, with orbits around their sun that are roughly similar to Earth's. The study doesn't reveal anything about these planets rotation about their own axis or changing pole orientation which cause the day night and seasonal aspects of our own climate, nor do these studies indicate that any of these planets even have atmospheres. Most of these "new planets" are "estimated" planets meaning that they haven't actually been sighted but are estimated to exist based on a sampling of similar stars studied that had such planets. These "new earth like" planets are products of statistical analysis and subject to all of the errors inherent in statistical projection using small samples.
These "new" planets are not revolving around yellow suns like our own but around "Red Dwarf" stars with surface temperatures roughly in the 2,000 degree Fahrenheit range cooler than our sun. Obviously, there will be some differences in types of radiation coming off a red dwarf as well as the radiant heat difference. There is no mention of the presence of moons or large outer "guard planets" as exist in our solar system to reduce the frequency of impacts with meteors and comets, there can't be, these "new planets" are not observed but products of statistical analysis. Finally as we observed in our original analysis we exist on an outer radial arm of our spiral shaped galaxy, a uniquely comparatively tranquil place in the galaxy in terms of meteors, comets, asteroids, and other naturally occurring space objects that can and do impact planets. By contrast the inner parts of the galaxy are a much more violent place.
Even if evolution had more time there as the report suggests, it is the time between massively destructive events that count. One of these objects whacked the dinosaurs which gave mammals a shot at reaching the apex of the biomass, but we had enough time between celestial body bombardments to evolve. For that to happen in the center of the galaxy the "earth like planet", and by that we mean a lot more than just roughly size and orbit distance from its star; would have be positioned in a unique solar system with an extraordinary collection of "outer guard planets". When we published our estimate of the chances of another space traveling civilization in our galaxy we based it on a much closer definition of "Earth Like". We don't think this latest study and statistical projection change our estimate of the chances of industrial and space-faring civilizations at all. Though subject to all of the potential error inherent in small sample statistical analysis, the study does suggest that the probability of at least microscopic life is higher than previous estimates and possibly not confined to planets circling yellow suns at the thought to be, appropriate distance.
A link to this report on the latest estimate of "Earth Like" planets in our galaxy is posted below, just remember "Earth Like" has different meanings in different contexts. In this latest study it refers only to relative mass, composition, and distance from the star orbited. Below the link is a reprint of our original posting, and below the reprint of our original posting are extracts from this latest study with comments from the author of our posting.
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ESSAY NO. 1A
YODA WHERE ARE YOU
What is the real likelihood that we'll meet intelligent life out there?
When European man first set out on the great voyages of exploration he expected to reach civilizations. He found both civilized and primitive tribal societies in abundance. Indeed the whole Earth while separated by what seemed like uncross-able seas, was in fact thickly peopled with diverse societies. Yet sea faring European man also found that much of the Earth was only thinly populated, in some cases so thinly as to be considered uninhabited. What are we likely to find in space?
Lets look at some probabilities in light of what some serious students of probability have said, based on the latest available information. For the purpose of simplicity, and keeping the discussion focused on the more immediate future, (the next couple of hundred years vice the next two thousand ) let's limit the discussion to our own galaxy. We shouldn't get beyond this area in the more or less immediate future. If there is going to be a first contact in the next two hundred years it will probably be with folks from our own galaxy.
In our galaxy which we call the "Milky Way". astrophysicist now estimate that we have about 135 billion stars. Presently most theories of stellar formation suggest that planetary systems around stars are common, perhaps the norm. We have certainly been discovering a lot of these planets of late now that we have a better idea of how to detect them from Earth or orbital observatories. Some of these planets have been found in constellations that sailors have navigated by for centuries. So lets follow the line of reasoning of Carl Sagan and some of the numbers provided by Isaac Asimov and Stephen H. Doyle and call the number of planetary systems something just a little shy of 135 billion. Lets assume that each of these planetary systems contains 6 to 12 planets. That gives us "billions and billions" (Carl Sagan) in fact , about a trillion "worlds" in the Milky Way. Now of these somewhat less than a trillion "worlds" some are circling stars much larger, smaller, colder, or hotter than ours. Some are circling twin stars and receiving radiations of sorts that we can only begin to imagine. Some have rotations that are too slow to regulate temperature decently for life, some are too near their stars, some too far. In short the vast majority aren't very Earth like. But near a trillion "worlds" is a lot of "worlds".So the law of probability makes it highly likely that some are indeed Earth like.
Stephen H. Dole and Issac Asmimov applied probability reasoning to the question in PLANETS FOR MAN (Random House 1964). and arrived at an estimate of as many as 640 million Earth like planets , at least in terms of having approximate mass, temperatures, orbit/rotation, chemistry and a sun like star to rotate about at approximate earth like orbital distance. This boils down to only one star out of every 210 has anything even similar to an Earth like planet. Only one planet out of every 4,000 is estimated to be Earth like. Now assuming 640 million Earth like, life generating planets in our galaxy, what does probability theory say about intelligent space faring life being out there? Asimov looked beyond Sagan's cataloging of "billions and billions" of "worlds" to try to estimate the actual probability of some space faring civilizations in our galaxy. Some of his reasoning can be found in
THE PLANET THAT WASN'T.(Double day and Company 1976). Let's follow some of Sagan's, Asimov's and Dole's math here.
As Asimov observed , on Earth life took about three billion years to evolve to its present state . Civilization has existed for about 10,000 years. So the ratio of uncivilized years to civilized is 300,000 to 1. So if we consider Earth to be about average, and consider that life started in different times in different places it should be safe to estimate that civilization exists on 1 out of every 300,000 of these Earth like Worlds at best. According to Carl Sagan' like line of reasoning that would give us an estimated 2, 150 civilizations in our galaxy ranging in technological development from pre-Roman like to far beyond modern day America. (Notice I wrote according to the Sagan line, Asimov injects some new considerations later on.) Now looking at industrial civilization we see Earth has had one for about 200 plus years out of 2,000 years of well documented civilized life. So of our galaxy's estimated 2,150 civilizations, a likely ratio of non or pre-industrial societies to industrial societies would be 50 to 1. That leaves us with an estimated 43 probable industrial worlds out there. Not all of them will be space faring yet. So lets estimate the space farers at 21 societies, figuring ourselves to be the median.
OK, so is it probable that 21 societies in our galaxy are capable of some type of space travel? It's possible, but hardly probable based on our current knowledge. Asimov's biggest dampener on Sagan's estimate is the fact most of these planets on which we based all of the above calculations on are located in the circular portion of our spiral shaped galaxy while we are located on an outer spiral arm. The circular portion is very violent in terms of meteors, asteroids, comets and similar things hitting the planets there. The closer to the middle of the galaxy the more violent the neighborhood. Evolution needs extensive time between cosmic bombardments to evolve intelligent life. So if we ignored this basic fact in calculating a probable 21 space-faring societies in our galaxy, our estimate is wildly optimistic. Considering the facts as we think we know them today, the fact that we are here is astounding. But then the galaxy is a really big place and we truly don't know all of the facts
Lets look at some probabilities in light of what some serious students of probability have said, based on the latest available information. For the purpose of simplicity, and keeping the discussion focused on the more immediate future, (the next couple of hundred years vice the next two thousand ) let's limit the discussion to our own galaxy. We shouldn't get beyond this area in the more or less immediate future. If there is going to be a first contact in the next two hundred years it will probably be with folks from our own galaxy.
In our galaxy which we call the "Milky Way". astrophysicist now estimate that we have about 135 billion stars. Presently most theories of stellar formation suggest that planetary systems around stars are common, perhaps the norm. We have certainly been discovering a lot of these planets of late now that we have a better idea of how to detect them from Earth or orbital observatories. Some of these planets have been found in constellations that sailors have navigated by for centuries. So lets follow the line of reasoning of Carl Sagan and some of the numbers provided by Isaac Asimov and Stephen H. Doyle and call the number of planetary systems something just a little shy of 135 billion. Lets assume that each of these planetary systems contains 6 to 12 planets. That gives us "billions and billions" (Carl Sagan) in fact , about a trillion "worlds" in the Milky Way. Now of these somewhat less than a trillion "worlds" some are circling stars much larger, smaller, colder, or hotter than ours. Some are circling twin stars and receiving radiations of sorts that we can only begin to imagine. Some have rotations that are too slow to regulate temperature decently for life, some are too near their stars, some too far. In short the vast majority aren't very Earth like. But near a trillion "worlds" is a lot of "worlds".So the law of probability makes it highly likely that some are indeed Earth like.
Stephen H. Dole and Issac Asmimov applied probability reasoning to the question in PLANETS FOR MAN (Random House 1964). and arrived at an estimate of as many as 640 million Earth like planets , at least in terms of having approximate mass, temperatures, orbit/rotation, chemistry and a sun like star to rotate about at approximate earth like orbital distance. This boils down to only one star out of every 210 has anything even similar to an Earth like planet. Only one planet out of every 4,000 is estimated to be Earth like. Now assuming 640 million Earth like, life generating planets in our galaxy, what does probability theory say about intelligent space faring life being out there? Asimov looked beyond Sagan's cataloging of "billions and billions" of "worlds" to try to estimate the actual probability of some space faring civilizations in our galaxy. Some of his reasoning can be found in
THE PLANET THAT WASN'T.(Double day and Company 1976). Let's follow some of Sagan's, Asimov's and Dole's math here.
As Asimov observed , on Earth life took about three billion years to evolve to its present state . Civilization has existed for about 10,000 years. So the ratio of uncivilized years to civilized is 300,000 to 1. So if we consider Earth to be about average, and consider that life started in different times in different places it should be safe to estimate that civilization exists on 1 out of every 300,000 of these Earth like Worlds at best. According to Carl Sagan' like line of reasoning that would give us an estimated 2, 150 civilizations in our galaxy ranging in technological development from pre-Roman like to far beyond modern day America. (Notice I wrote according to the Sagan line, Asimov injects some new considerations later on.) Now looking at industrial civilization we see Earth has had one for about 200 plus years out of 2,000 years of well documented civilized life. So of our galaxy's estimated 2,150 civilizations, a likely ratio of non or pre-industrial societies to industrial societies would be 50 to 1. That leaves us with an estimated 43 probable industrial worlds out there. Not all of them will be space faring yet. So lets estimate the space farers at 21 societies, figuring ourselves to be the median.
OK, so is it probable that 21 societies in our galaxy are capable of some type of space travel? It's possible, but hardly probable based on our current knowledge. Asimov's biggest dampener on Sagan's estimate is the fact most of these planets on which we based all of the above calculations on are located in the circular portion of our spiral shaped galaxy while we are located on an outer spiral arm. The circular portion is very violent in terms of meteors, asteroids, comets and similar things hitting the planets there. The closer to the middle of the galaxy the more violent the neighborhood. Evolution needs extensive time between cosmic bombardments to evolve intelligent life. So if we ignored this basic fact in calculating a probable 21 space-faring societies in our galaxy, our estimate is wildly optimistic. Considering the facts as we think we know them today, the fact that we are here is astounding. But then the galaxy is a really big place and we truly don't know all of the facts
| The Milky way our home galaxy as it would appear if viewed from overhead |
side view as prepared by NASA /COBE
Author's notes on recent new study:
FROM: Alien Earth Study Suggests Milky Way Holds 4.5 Billion Earth Like Planets by Mike Wall published in Space . Com 2/6/2012 and the Huff Post Science Section 2/7/2016
" Astronomers have calculated that 6 percent of the galaxy's 75 billion or so red dwarfs — stars smaller and dimmer than the Earth's own sun — probably host habitable, roughly Earth-size planets. That works out to at least 4.5 billion such "alien Earths," the closest of which might be found a mere dozen light-years away, researchers said."
AAB Note: This is a study of Red Dwarfs which are significantly different from our own sun, to start with their surface is thousands of degrees cooler. "Earth sized" is a long way from being "Earth like". We think it takes a leap of logic to assume similar sized planets circling very different types of stars in an optimum orbital zone are "alien earths".
"In the new study, Dressing and her colleagues re-analyzed the red dwarfs in Kepler's field of view and found that nearly all are smaller and cooler than previously thought.
This new information bears strongly on the search for Earth-like alien planets, since roughly 75 percent of the galaxy's 100 billion or so stars are red dwarfs."
AAB Note: Red Dwarfs are about 2,000 to 5,000 degrees F cooler on their surface than our yellow sun, this would indicate that planets orbiting such a star in the zone that Venus, Earth, and Mars circle our sun would on average be cooler, the inhabitable zone might be closer in than we presently think. We don't know what types of solar radiation planets orbiting Red Dwarfs receive compared to the out put of our own yellow sun.
" The researchers determined that 95 Kepler exoplanet candidates orbit red dwarfs. Using this information and their newly calculated stellar (and planetary) profiles, the team calculated that about 60 percent of red dwarfs likely host worlds smaller than Neptune.
Dressing and her colleagues then determined that Kepler has spotted three roughly Earth-size exoplanet candidates in the habitable zones of their parent red dwarfs.
One of these worlds is Kepler Object of Interest (KOI) 1422.02. This candidate's newly calculated size is 90 percent that of Earth, and it circles its star every 20 days. If the planet (and these characteristics) are confirmed, KOI 1422.02 may be the first "alien Earth" ever discovered."
AAB Note: We have no doubt that (KOI) 1422.02 is roughly earth sized, or orbits its star every 20 days in the speculative "best zone", but confirming those two facts don't prove an earth twin. How long is its day night cycle, does it have an atmosphere, what is the composition of the atmosphere, what is the average surface temperature? Is it in an outer spiral of the galaxy or nearer the base of a spiral or the outer rim of the circular section?, Are there outer "guard planets", how violent in terms of cosmic collision objects is its neighborhood. Remember Earth shares the "life zone" with Venus and Mars but is nothing like those planets. Finding a pair or a few characteristics of a planet held in common with Earth is grounds to focus attention on studying that planet. It is a far cry from the discovery of an "alien earth.
ARE WE ALONE? As best as we can tell in terms of other space faring civilizations at the moment that is both possible and probable in terms of our home galaxy, not very probable when we consider all the other galaxies. Is non earth life out there? More probable than not at the microbe level its probably pretty wide spread; mammal like creatures we would only expect on earth like planets in the outer spiral arms and they would indeed be rare. As for non- space faring civilizations of intelligent beings any number between 43 and o would not surprise us. However if indeed there was even one space faring civilization that was significantly ahead of us many less than perfect worlds in the so called Goldilocks zones may have been colonized. In which case all we would remind our future readers that we were only doing an exercise in statistical analysis. Strictly as an exercise in statistical analysis we think our reasoning is very solid. Statistical analysis is a science, but as that famous merchant marine officer , Pilot Samuel Clemens (AKA "Mark Twain" said "...there are lies, damn lies, and statistics."
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Chapter 6
ESSAY NUMBER 2
ESSAY NUMBER 2
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
THE LATE GREAT YODA?
Yoda, the Star Wars character that we refer to as our euphemism for extraterrestrial intelligent life might more accurately be referred to as "Yodas", plural. It is highly unlikely that intelligent life on some unknown planet in this galaxy or one "far far away" evolved into a single intelligent individual. But even if on some as yet undiscovered planet intelligent life evolved into an intelligent species, the odds are that the entire species is already dead, or will be before we can discover them. While generating life in the universe may be more uncommon than often thought, sustaining it long enough to evolve into intelligent space faring civilizations is probably exceedingly rare. Indeed in our own case we are far from being able to evacuate a large portion of humanity from the planet should the planet cease to be able to support life as apparently Mars and perhaps Venus did. Without any intervention by an intelligent species based on their industrial processes, the evidence is wide spread that planets with warm wet climates, routinely change to hot and dry or cold and dry, and quickly lose oxygen rich atmospheres. In short the universe is probably pretty friendly towards microbiological life, but not so much for intelligent species or even fair sized mammal like creatures.
The jury is still out on us humans. We've made it past a couple of important mile stones but still are not capable of space migration. To evolve and survive intelligent species need billions of years of life sustaining climate. There is mounting evidence that such conditions are rarely even long lasting in geologic terms much less permanent.
The visible universe may well be filled with "habitable planets" in terms of what we usually think necessary to support mammalian life. However, increasingly, we've seen evidence that such conditions are temporary, and rarely last long enough for intelligent life forms to evolve, much less to evolve to the point of space faring civilizations. Early life forms such as microbes, perhaps fish and amphibians are very fragile, so the current line of reasoning is that they evolve fast in order to survive. We have seen examples of earthly sea plankton found surviving on an exterior surface of of the International Space Station, and found meteor fragments thought to be from Mars, with evidence of microbial fossils. Some astronomers think they have detected clouds of what may be virus in deep space. So one might already concur that the universe is widely "seeded" for life, but for life to last long enough for civilizations of intelligent life to evolve requires extraordinary circumstances. A planet where life can evolve all the way to intelligent beings must be extraordinarily stable in terms of its atmosphere. Most aren't.
While there are billions and billions of planets just in our own galaxy alone, the center of a galaxy is a very violent place. Planets in the spiral heart of our Milky Way Galaxy frequently collide with space objects including other planets. Our planet exists in a relatively quiet outer arm of the galaxy. We enjoy the protection from collision with space objects by way of large gas giants orbiting at the outer entrance to our sun's gravitational influence area, and a small planet like moon circling our planet. Merely being positioned in the "Goldilocks Zone" is not enough. No matter how much microbiological "seed" the center of the galaxy spews out, it must find protected soil. One look at the moon, the surface of Mars, or Venus or our own planet's surface tells us that even in our relatively quiet radial arm over time there are a lot of things crashing into planets. We have encountered some game changers over geological time, but no life extinguishers. The fact is that planets able to sustain the evolution of life to the level of intelligent civilizations need very special locations, and more than a small amount of luck.
The folks who are professionals in the search for alien intelligent life sometimes refer to this situation as the "SETI-Fermi paradox." It sort of boils down to the question of "If the universe is so full of life and potentially life sustaining planets....where is everybody?". The mathematical odds appear to indicate that they are probably dead. The odds of two intelligent civilizations evolving on two different planets and then meeting are astronomical. Where is Yoda? We hope not , but the odds are that if he ever existed he is probably dead.
THE LATE GREAT YODA?
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Chapter 6
Essay No. 5
Essay No. 5
amendment: Space as an Ocean:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/03/earth-center-milky-way-astronomers_n_3380161.html?ref=topbarEarths position in the galaxy -change in opinion
PROTOCOLS :
Originally : "SPACE AS AN OCEAN"
 |
| PHOTO : NASA |
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
From the Book "PROTOCOLS" (c) 2012 by American Admiralty Books
2/9/2013 YODA WHERE ARE YOU? AN AFTER THOUGHT
Space as an Ocean: 6/5/2013 an update
SPACE AS AN OCEAN
Chapter 6
Essay No.
Essay No.
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
From the Book "PROTOCOLS" (c) 2012 by American Admiralty Books
YODA WHERE ARE YOU
What is the real likelihood that we'll meet intelligent life out there?
Editor's Note: We first published this essay as part of a serial E-book about a year ago. The entire first rough draft of the book may be read in the "MARITIME LITERATURE SECTION" just scroll down past the book reviews. Recently the Huff Post Science Section published an article titled " 'ALIEN EARTH' STUDY SUGGESTS MILKY WAY GALAXY HOLDS 45 BILLION EARTH LIKE PLANETS". When we published the essay below our definition of "Earth Like" was quite different from the author of the above referenced article, Mike Wall who apparently first posted it on Space.com .
The planets the study refers to as "Earth Like" are simply somewhat near earth sized, with orbits around their sun that are roughly similar to Earth's. The study doesn't reveal anything about these planets rotation about their own axis or changing pole orientation which cause the day night and seasonal aspects of our own climate, nor do these studies indicate that any of these planets even have atmospheres. Most of these "new planets" are "estimated" planets meaning that they haven't actually been sighted but are estimated to exist based on a sampling of similar stars studied that had such planets. These "new"earth like" planets are products of statistical analysis and subject to all of the errors inherent in statistical projection using small samples.
These "new" planets are not revolving around yellow suns like our own but around "Red Dwarf" stars with surface temperatures roughly in the 2,000 degree Fahrenheit range cooler than our sun. Obviously, there will be some differences in types of radiation coming off a red dwarf as well as the radiant heat difference. There is no mention of the presence of moons or large outer "guard planets" as exist in our solar system to reduce the frequency of impacts with meteors and comets, there can't be, these "new planets" are not observed but products of statistical analysis. Finally as we observed in our original analysis we exist on an outer radial arm of our spiral shaped galaxy, a uniquely comparatively tranquil place in the galaxy in terms of meteors, comets, asteroids, and other naturally occurring space objects that can and do impact planets. By contrast the inner parts of the galaxy are a much more violent place.
Even if evolution had more time there as the report suggests, it is the time between massively destructive events that count. One of these objects whacked the dinosaurs which gave mammals a shot at reaching the apex of the biomass, but we had enough time between celestial body bombardments to evolve. For that to happen in the center of the galaxy the "earth like planet", and by that we mean a lot more than just roughly size and orbit distance from its star; would have be positioned in a unique solar system with an extraordinary collection of "outer guard planets". When we published our estimate of the chances of another space traveling civilization in our galaxy we based it on a much closer definition of "Earth Like". We don't think this latest study and statistical projection change our estimate of the chances of industrial and space-faring civilizations at all. Though subject to all of the potential error inherent in small sample statistical analysis, the study does suggest that the probability of at least microscopic life is higher than previous estimates and possibly not confined to planets circling yellow suns at the thought to be, appropriate distance.
A link to this report on the latest estimate of "Earth Like" planets in our galaxy is posted below, just remember "Earth Like" has different meanings in different contexts. In this latest study it refers only to relative mass, composition, and distance from the star orbited. Below the link is a reprint of our original posting, and below the reprint of our original posting are extracts from this latest study with comments from the author of our posting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/alien-earth-milky-way-galaxy-earth-like-planets_n_2631063.html
YODA WHERE ARE YOU
What is the real likelihood that we'll meet intelligent life out there?
When European man first set out on the great voyages of exploration he expected to reach civilizations. He found both civilized and primitive tribal societies in abundance. Indeed the whole Earth while separated by what seemed like uncrossable seas, was in fact thickly peopled with diverse societies. Yet sea faring European man also found that much of the Earth was only thinly populated, in some cases so thinly as to be considered uninhabited. What are we likely to find in space?
Lets look at some probabilities in light of what some serious students of probability have said, based on the latest available information. For the purpose of simplicity, and keeping the discussion focused on the more immediate future, (the next couple of hundred years vice the next two thousand ) let's limit the discussion to our own galaxy. We shouldn't get beyond this area in the more or less immediate future. If there is going to be a first contact in the next two hundred years it will probably be with folks from our own galaxy.
In our galaxy which we call the "Milky Way". astrophysicist now estimate that we have about 135 billion stars. Presently most theories of stellar formation suggest that planetary systems around stars are common, perhaps the norm. We have certainly been discovering a lot of these planets of late now that we have a better idea of how to detect them from Earth or orbital observatories. Some of these planets have been found in constellations that sailors have navigated by for centuries. So lets follow the line of reasoning of Carl Sagan and some of the numbers provided by Isaac Asimov and Stephen H. Doyle and call the number of planetary systems something just a little shy of 135 billion. Lets assume that each of these planetary systems contains 6 to 12 planets. That gives us "billions and billions" (Carl Sagan) in fact , about a trillion "worlds" in the Milky Way. Now of these somewhat less than a trillion "worlds" some are circling stars much larger, smaller, colder, or hotter than ours. Some are circling twin stars and receiving radiations of sorts that we can only begin to imagine. Some have rotations that are too slow to regulate temperature decently for life, some are too near their stars, some too far. In short the vast majority aren't very Earth like. But near a trillion "worlds" is a lot of "worlds".So the law of probability makes it highly likely that some are indeed Earth like.
Stephen H. Dole and Issac Asmimov applied probability reasoning to the question in PLANETS FOR MAN (Random House 1964). and arrived at an estimate of as many as 640 million Earth like planets , at least in terms of having approximate mass, temperatures, orbit/rotation, chemistry and a sun like star to rotate about at approximate earth like orbital distance. This boils down to only one star out of every 210 has anything even similar to an Earth like planet. Only one planet out of every 4,000 is estimated to be Earth like. Now assuming 640 million Earth like, life generating planets in our galaxy, what does probability theory say about intelligent space faring life being out there? Asimov looked beyond Sagan's cataloging of "billions and billions" of "worlds" to try to estimate the actual probability of some space faring civilizations in our galaxy. Some of his reasoning can be found in THE PLANET THAT WASN'T.(Double day and Company 1976). Let's follow some of Sagan's, Asimov's and Dole's math here.
As Asimov observed , on Earth life took about three billion years to evolve to its present state . Civilization has existed for about 10,000 years. So the ratio of uncivilized years to civilized is 300,000 to 1. So if we consider Earth to be about average, and consider that life started in different times in different places it should be safe to estimate that civilization exists on 1 out of every 300,000 of these Earth like Worlds at best. According to Carl Sagan' like line of reasoning that would give us an estimated 2, 150 civilizations in our galaxy ranging in technological development from pre-Roman like to far beyond modern day America. (Notice I wrote according to the Sagan line, Asimov injects some new considerations later on.) Now looking at industrial civilization we see Earth has had one for about 200 plus years out of 2,000 years of well documented civilized life. So of our galaxy's estimated 2,150 civilizations, a likely ratio of non or pre-industrial societies to industrial societies would be 50 to 1. That leaves us with an estimated 43 probable industrial worlds out there. Not all of them will be space faring yet. So lets estimate the space farers at 21 societies, figuring ourselves to be the median.
OK, so is it probable that 21 societies in our galaxy are capable of some type of space travel? It's possible, but hardly probable based on our current knowledge. Asimov's biggest dampener on Sagan's estimate is the fact most of these planets on which we based all of the above calculations on are located in the circular portion of our spiral shaped galaxy while we are located on an outer spiral arm. The circular portion is very violent in terms of meteors, astroloids, comets and similar things hitting the planets there. The closer to the middle of the galaxy the more violent the neighborhood. Evolution needs extensive time between cosmic bombardments to evolve intelligent life. So if we ignored this basic fact in calculating a probable 21 space-faring societies in our galaxy, our estimate is wildly optimistic. Considering the facts as we think we know them today, the fact that we are here is astounding. But then the galaxy is a really big place and we truly don't know all of the facts
Lets look at some probabilities in light of what some serious students of probability have said, based on the latest available information. For the purpose of simplicity, and keeping the discussion focused on the more immediate future, (the next couple of hundred years vice the next two thousand ) let's limit the discussion to our own galaxy. We shouldn't get beyond this area in the more or less immediate future. If there is going to be a first contact in the next two hundred years it will probably be with folks from our own galaxy.
In our galaxy which we call the "Milky Way". astrophysicist now estimate that we have about 135 billion stars. Presently most theories of stellar formation suggest that planetary systems around stars are common, perhaps the norm. We have certainly been discovering a lot of these planets of late now that we have a better idea of how to detect them from Earth or orbital observatories. Some of these planets have been found in constellations that sailors have navigated by for centuries. So lets follow the line of reasoning of Carl Sagan and some of the numbers provided by Isaac Asimov and Stephen H. Doyle and call the number of planetary systems something just a little shy of 135 billion. Lets assume that each of these planetary systems contains 6 to 12 planets. That gives us "billions and billions" (Carl Sagan) in fact , about a trillion "worlds" in the Milky Way. Now of these somewhat less than a trillion "worlds" some are circling stars much larger, smaller, colder, or hotter than ours. Some are circling twin stars and receiving radiations of sorts that we can only begin to imagine. Some have rotations that are too slow to regulate temperature decently for life, some are too near their stars, some too far. In short the vast majority aren't very Earth like. But near a trillion "worlds" is a lot of "worlds".So the law of probability makes it highly likely that some are indeed Earth like.
Stephen H. Dole and Issac Asmimov applied probability reasoning to the question in PLANETS FOR MAN (Random House 1964). and arrived at an estimate of as many as 640 million Earth like planets , at least in terms of having approximate mass, temperatures, orbit/rotation, chemistry and a sun like star to rotate about at approximate earth like orbital distance. This boils down to only one star out of every 210 has anything even similar to an Earth like planet. Only one planet out of every 4,000 is estimated to be Earth like. Now assuming 640 million Earth like, life generating planets in our galaxy, what does probability theory say about intelligent space faring life being out there? Asimov looked beyond Sagan's cataloging of "billions and billions" of "worlds" to try to estimate the actual probability of some space faring civilizations in our galaxy. Some of his reasoning can be found in THE PLANET THAT WASN'T.(Double day and Company 1976). Let's follow some of Sagan's, Asimov's and Dole's math here.
As Asimov observed , on Earth life took about three billion years to evolve to its present state . Civilization has existed for about 10,000 years. So the ratio of uncivilized years to civilized is 300,000 to 1. So if we consider Earth to be about average, and consider that life started in different times in different places it should be safe to estimate that civilization exists on 1 out of every 300,000 of these Earth like Worlds at best. According to Carl Sagan' like line of reasoning that would give us an estimated 2, 150 civilizations in our galaxy ranging in technological development from pre-Roman like to far beyond modern day America. (Notice I wrote according to the Sagan line, Asimov injects some new considerations later on.) Now looking at industrial civilization we see Earth has had one for about 200 plus years out of 2,000 years of well documented civilized life. So of our galaxy's estimated 2,150 civilizations, a likely ratio of non or pre-industrial societies to industrial societies would be 50 to 1. That leaves us with an estimated 43 probable industrial worlds out there. Not all of them will be space faring yet. So lets estimate the space farers at 21 societies, figuring ourselves to be the median.
OK, so is it probable that 21 societies in our galaxy are capable of some type of space travel? It's possible, but hardly probable based on our current knowledge. Asimov's biggest dampener on Sagan's estimate is the fact most of these planets on which we based all of the above calculations on are located in the circular portion of our spiral shaped galaxy while we are located on an outer spiral arm. The circular portion is very violent in terms of meteors, astroloids, comets and similar things hitting the planets there. The closer to the middle of the galaxy the more violent the neighborhood. Evolution needs extensive time between cosmic bombardments to evolve intelligent life. So if we ignored this basic fact in calculating a probable 21 space-faring societies in our galaxy, our estimate is wildly optimistic. Considering the facts as we think we know them today, the fact that we are here is astounding. But then the galaxy is a really big place and we truly don't know all of the facts
| The Milky way our home galaxy as it would appear if viewed from overhead |
Author's notes on recent new study:
FROM: Alien Earth Study Suggests Milky Way Holds 4.5 Billion Earth Like Planets by Mike Wall published in Space . Com 2/6/2012 and the Huff Post Science Section 2/7/2016
" Astronomers have calculated that 6 percent of the galaxy's 75 billion or so red dwarfs — stars smaller and dimmer than the Earth's own sun — probably host habitable, roughly Earth-size planets. That works out to at least 4.5 billion such "alien Earths," the closest of which might be found a mere dozen light-years away, researchers said."
AAB Note: This is a study of Red Dwarfs which are significantly different from our own sun, to start with their surface is thousands of degrees cooler. "Earth sized" is a long way from being "Earth like". We think it takes a leap of logic to assume similar sized planets circling very different types of stars in an optimum orbital zone are "alien earths".
"In the new study, Dressing and her colleagues re-analyzed the red dwarfs in Kepler's field of view and found that nearly all are smaller and cooler than previously thought.
This new information bears strongly on the search for Earth-like alien planets, since roughly 75 percent of the galaxy's 100 billion or so stars are red dwarfs."
AAB Note: Red Dwarfs are about 2,000 to 5,000 degrees F cooler on their surface than our yellow sun, this would indicate that planets orbiting such a star in the zone that Venus, earth, and Mars circle our sun would on average be cooler, the inhabitable zone might be closer in than we presently think. We don't know what types of solar radiation planets orbiting Red Dwarfs receive compared to the out put of our own yellow sun.
" The researchers determined that 95 Kepler exoplanet candidates orbit red dwarfs. Using this information and their newly calculated stellar (and planetary) profiles, the team calculated that about 60 percent of red dwarfs likely host worlds smaller than Neptune.
Dressing and her colleagues then determined that Kepler has spotted three roughly Earth-size exoplanet candidates in the habitable zones of their parent red dwarfs.
One of these worlds is Kepler Object of Interest (KOI) 1422.02. This candidate's newly calculated size is 90 percent that of Earth, and it circles its star every 20 days. If the planet (and these characteristics) are confirmed, KOI 1422.02 may be the first "alien Earth" ever discovered."
AAB Note: We have no doubt that (KOI) 1422.02 is roughly earth sized, or orbits its star every 20 days in the speculative "best zone", but confirming those two facts don't prove an earth twin. How long is its day night cycle, does it have an atmosphere, what is the composition of the atmosphere, what is the average surface temperature? Is in a outer spiral of the galaxy or nearer the base of a spiral or the outer rim of the circular section?, Are there outer "guard planets", how violent in terms of cosmic collision objects is its neighborhood. Remember Earth shares the "life zone" with Venus and Mars but is nothing like those planets. Finding a pair or a few characteristics of a planet held in common with Earth is grounds to focus attention on studying that planet. It is a far cry from the actual discovery of an "alien earth".
NOW NEWS THAT DOES AFFECT OUR ESTIMATE:
Our speculation that there are far fewer real "earth like planets" in the galaxy than is estimated in typical journalistic coverage of the search for planets outside our solar system is based on two primary assumptions of fact. First our definition of "earth like" is different than what typical journalist and even some astronomers are using in their public announcements and journal articles. Basically they appear to mean near earth size, and in and orbit from their stars that is the equivalent of the width of the combined orbits of Venus, Earth, and Mars, or what some have called the "Goldilocks Zone". We define "earth like" as starting with the above size and position relative to the star being orbited, but include the elements that help regulate earth temperature ranges like rotation speed and seasonal axis of orbit change. We think that the description of earth like is really stretching things when scientist or journalist use this term for planets orbiting stars like red dwarfs and others not similar to our yellow sun. Finally we noted that our earth is protected from too frequent bombardment from space objects by both the presence of large outer "guard planets" and a moon, and that we are located not at the center of the galaxy but in a remote, small, unusually quiet in terms of meteors, comets, etc.spiral arm.
But now the estimated size of the "sweet spot" that our solar system is located in has to change. Astronomers using the VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array of the National Science Foundation) have found that the area of the galaxy that the earth is located in is actually a fairly prominent feature of the galaxy and much larger than previously estimated. The area where earth is located has been referred to as the "Local Arm", an apt name given the previously estimated relative position and size of our stellar immediate neighborhood. The "Local Arm" was thought to be a tiny spur two large radial strands known as the Sagittarius and Perseus Arms. The new VLBA measurements indicate a quite different status for our "little spur". Here is the new finding straight from the horse's mouth.
""Our new evidence suggests that the Local Arm should appear as a prominent feature of the Milky Way," Alberto Sanna, of the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy said in a statement. Sanna presented these findings at a news conference during the 222nd meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
In fact, the Local Arm looks to be as long as 16,000 light-years wide, Sanna said."
So how does this news affect our previous views of the probability of "earth like" planets by our more narrow definition, and the probability of space faring or industrial civilizations elsewhere in the galaxy? It definitely causes us to have to up our odds estimate somewhat upward in favor of the possibility. If the "quiet neighborhood is much larger than we thought the probability in favor of real "earth like" (by our more narrow definition, remember Mars and Venus qualify as "Earth Like" by the definitions being bandied about today)is somewhat higher than we previously estimated. More over given that we apparently occupy the "quiet neighborhood of the galaxy the probability "earth like" planets exist is most probable in our "neighborhood".
But as we noted previously the odds include a lot of variables such as atmospheric composition, solar orbit, axis rotation, changing axis inclination, moons and outer guard planets. The overwhelming odds are that the vast majority of planets in our "neighborhood" are similar in variety to the planets circling our sun, with the exception of earth. The numbers are too imprecise to offer estimates of the odds of finding a real earth like planet. But the the existence of at least one or more real earth like planets is definitely within the realm of possibility, and the estimate of the probability has to be adjusted somewhat upward from our original. The discovery that our "quiet neighborhood" is larger than we thought raises both the odds that earth like planets exist and the odds that they are in "our neighborhood". This would mean that any such may be within range of multi generational expedition ships capable of less than light speed. On the ocean men have set on voyages of years, especially during the European exploration of the world's ocean. The Polynesians set out on voyages of migration and discovery, knowing they had to leave behind whatever place they set from due to over crowding, or other factors the Polynesians pushed out into the ocean with ships laden with food crops, domestic animals, women and children, not knowing where they were going but not planning on coming back. Once new lands were discovered and settled the evolving navigational skills of the Polynesian communities allowed them to reestablish communications and trade. Ancestral homelands like Tahiti communicated with relatively new settlements like Hawaii. If we take a lesson from non western history, we can see that humans do sometimes set out on intentional multi- generational "voyages" or more properly "Sea Migrations".
The Polynesian sea migration was based on prior historical experience that the vast ocean was in fact dotted with islands. So the voyageurs were willing to shove off feeling the odds were in their favor of finding a new home. In a similar vein our probing of the cosmos for earth like planets may one day produce enough information to spark such a space voyage if we complete the research before anyone discovers the secret of faster than light propulsion. However we must keep in mind that biological research here on earth informs us that many forms of life exist in environments that we never imagined could support life here on earth such as the cold dark recesses of the bottom of the sea, at the mouth of subsea volcanic vents, in saline hot springs in local earth atmospheres devoid of light, over heated, or below freezing. And so we continue the cautionary message of our book PROTOCOLS. Space is an ocean, learn from our ocean history, don't repeat the worst errors of the "Colombian Exchange". Be prepared that "first contact" with alien life may be with deadly toxic microbes. Where are the Protocols for this event?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 7
THE MARITIME WORLD MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO TEACH US ABOUT INTERSTELLAR LAW, ASSUMING THERE IS SUCH A THING.
If there was no awareness there was no apparent intent to try and fit in or gently influence any existing system in new directions. With a narrow but critical technological advantage, the Europeans from the very start, began to impose their own system upon the Americas and elsewhere in the world beyond the Muslim borders that they once thought of as "India". As we push out into space beyond our solar system we may encounter and run afoul of a pre-existing order. We are unlikely to enjoy the technological advantage over any group that imposed an interstellar order. However there is also the possibility that we may encounter a culture with as great a gap in technological development in our favor as that between Columbus and the Tianos or Maya. Will we act like the Spaniards in the New World? What if such a group was already under the protection of some interstellar power? Could we in fact be under such protection now.
Let's consider the evidence for alien contact on our own planet. UFOs have been the subject of investigation for decades. There is ample anecdotal evidence and even some physical evidence in the form of photos of craft of unexplained origin in our skies. There is the abduction phenomenon and thoroughly investigated instances of contact with nonhuman intelligent beings resulting in findings that "something happened" but the investigators never seem to be able to say exactly what. If we are being visited it seems clear that no one is attempting to make official first contact, in fact the evidence tends to indicate that while we may be being studied, official contact is being avoided. If some of the stories of contact are true some of our visitors display an attitude towards us that is not unlike that displayed by Columbus toward the first "peasants" he encountered in the New World.
If some of the popular stories are true, aliens have taken people into temporary custody and subjected them to invasive medical procedures. Yet the alleged victims of these encounters always seem to be returned. So far as we know no one has been hauled off to an interstellar equivalent of the Madrid slave market, which by the way was the ultimate fate of the first friend of Columbus in the New World, Guacanagari. We have found no permanent bases of alien activity on our planet or anywhere in our solar system. Could we be under the protection of some interstellar rule of law that protects technologically inferior cultures? If so can we rely on anyone tutoring us on the specifics of the code before we push off into interstellar space? This would seem unlikely. But a close examination of our own maritime international law may give us a general outline of what we might safely assume to be interstellar good manners and a guide to staying out of trouble until any pre-existing interstellar order is revealed.
The battle over the open versus the closed seas likely parallels any existing order in space. One of the first precepts of maritime international law is that the sea beyond territorial waters is a common highway open to all on "innocent passage". Where territorial waters enclose or infringe on international straits and passages linking the seas, an international servitude exists, giving ships of all nations a right of innocent passage. Adjacent coastal states also have various exclusive rights by way of the Outer Continental Shelf Convention and the most recent "Law of the Sea Convention"to regulate certain fisheries and exploit bottom resources, especially mineral resources out to about 200 miles from shore varying a bit with circumstances. But beyond 12 miles from shore all ships have the right of innocent passage. Beyond the various Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) the sea surface, the water column, and the bottom and subsurface bottom are legally in the international "commons". This concept of "freedom of the seas" was not adopted automatically and is still fought by some nations today. Wars were fought over the issue and may be fought again. However the logic of freedom of the seas seems settled and irrefutable. The commerce between nations is carried on the seas. Without freedom of the seas the global economy is impossible to maintain. The vast seas which once separated cultures now unite them. It is likely that the same logic was long ago applied in space if older space faring cultures exists, especially if there are numbers of them. The likely first rule of space is that it is regarded as a common highway open to all.
The Second likely rule of space is similar to the modern maritime concept of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and some ancient Polynesian concepts concerning uninhabited islands. Many , if not most of the islands of Polynesia are simply too small, too low lying, or lack sources of fresh water and were labeled by the European explorers as "uninhabited". But actually these out lying islands with no permanent human inhabitants were in fact owned, tended,and were important food sources for Polynesian societies living sometimes several days sail away on larger fresh water endowed islands. The people of the larger permanently inhabited islands would visit the out lying islands to harvest coconuts, fish including tending saltwater ponds created as a form of aquaculture, and plant, tend, and harvest other crops. The truth was that the larger islands could not support their human populations without these additional crop lands and fishing grounds. One of the reasons we will push out into our solar system is that our ever expanding population on this planet needs the additional resources. So a probable second rule of any interstellar legal regime is that in any planetary system with intelligent life on any one planet, the inhabitants of that planet have the exclusive legal right to develop economically the out lying uninhabited planets. Apparently, if we give credence to astronaut reported UFO sightings, the right of innocent passage for all space faring civilizations remains.
A third probably sure bet is that in approaching anything like the port towns that Columbus saw on the Mayan coast, there will be a regular routine and procedures for formal entry with due notice to the authorities. If we ever find anything looking remotely like a space port we'd better hang well back and attempt to establish contact before attempting to enter or even draw close..
ESSAY NUMBER 1
CHAPTER 5: COMPLICATIONS
IS THERE A SPACE LEGAL REGIME WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT?
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
THE MARITIME WORLD MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO TEACH US ABOUT INTERSTELLAR LAW, ASSUMING THERE IS SUCH A THING.
When Columbus started on his voyage the Atlantic was an unknown sea. Sea trade had been conducted on a regular basis around the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of Europe for thousands of years . Protocols for the entry and clearance of merchant vessels were well developed in Europe. There was a growing uniformity in national laws concerning the rights and duties of ship owners, crews, and cargo owners. There was a growing distinction between navies and the Merchant Marine. Diplomatic officers were being standardized and the rules for their exchange and posting codified. While nations often resorted to war, they also often resorted to arbitration , often through the offices of the Papacy. When Columbus left on his first voyage of discovery the law of nations was already well developed in Europe. When he landed in the New World there was also an existing order in many places that often included resort to war, but generally provided for orderly inter-tribal and even international trade and discourse as we saw in our review of the Mayan coastal trade system. Despite the general familiarity with the concept of international law that was common to European Merchant Marine Officers of the day there seemed to be no awareness of the "Indian " order whether we examine Columbus on the Mayan coast, or Vasco de Gama in East Africa, or much later James Cook in the far Pacific.
If there was no awareness there was no apparent intent to try and fit in or gently influence any existing system in new directions. With a narrow but critical technological advantage, the Europeans from the very start, began to impose their own system upon the Americas and elsewhere in the world beyond the Muslim borders that they once thought of as "India". As we push out into space beyond our solar system we may encounter and run afoul of a pre-existing order. We are unlikely to enjoy the technological advantage over any group that imposed an interstellar order. However there is also the possibility that we may encounter a culture with as great a gap in technological development in our favor as that between Columbus and the Tianos or Maya. Will we act like the Spaniards in the New World? What if such a group was already under the protection of some interstellar power? Could we in fact be under such protection now.
Let's consider the evidence for alien contact on our own planet. UFOs have been the subject of investigation for decades. There is ample anecdotal evidence and even some physical evidence in the form of photos of craft of unexplained origin in our skies. There is the abduction phenomenon and thoroughly investigated instances of contact with nonhuman intelligent beings resulting in findings that "something happened" but the investigators never seem to be able to say exactly what. If we are being visited it seems clear that no one is attempting to make official first contact, in fact the evidence tends to indicate that while we may be being studied, official contact is being avoided. If some of the stories of contact are true some of our visitors display an attitude towards us that is not unlike that displayed by Columbus toward the first "peasants" he encountered in the New World.
If some of the popular stories are true, aliens have taken people into temporary custody and subjected them to invasive medical procedures. Yet the alleged victims of these encounters always seem to be returned. So far as we know no one has been hauled off to an interstellar equivalent of the Madrid slave market, which by the way was the ultimate fate of the first friend of Columbus in the New World, Guacanagari. We have found no permanent bases of alien activity on our planet or anywhere in our solar system. Could we be under the protection of some interstellar rule of law that protects technologically inferior cultures? If so can we rely on anyone tutoring us on the specifics of the code before we push off into interstellar space? This would seem unlikely. But a close examination of our own maritime international law may give us a general outline of what we might safely assume to be interstellar good manners and a guide to staying out of trouble until any pre-existing interstellar order is revealed.
The battle over the open versus the closed seas likely parallels any existing order in space. One of the first precepts of maritime international law is that the sea beyond territorial waters is a common highway open to all on "innocent passage". Where territorial waters enclose or infringe on international straits and passages linking the seas, an international servitude exists, giving ships of all nations a right of innocent passage. Adjacent coastal states also have various exclusive rights by way of the Outer Continental Shelf Convention and the most recent "Law of the Sea Convention"to regulate certain fisheries and exploit bottom resources, especially mineral resources out to about 200 miles from shore varying a bit with circumstances. But beyond 12 miles from shore all ships have the right of innocent passage. Beyond the various Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) the sea surface, the water column, and the bottom and subsurface bottom are legally in the international "commons". This concept of "freedom of the seas" was not adopted automatically and is still fought by some nations today. Wars were fought over the issue and may be fought again. However the logic of freedom of the seas seems settled and irrefutable. The commerce between nations is carried on the seas. Without freedom of the seas the global economy is impossible to maintain. The vast seas which once separated cultures now unite them. It is likely that the same logic was long ago applied in space if older space faring cultures exists, especially if there are numbers of them. The likely first rule of space is that it is regarded as a common highway open to all.
The Second likely rule of space is similar to the modern maritime concept of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and some ancient Polynesian concepts concerning uninhabited islands. Many , if not most of the islands of Polynesia are simply too small, too low lying, or lack sources of fresh water and were labeled by the European explorers as "uninhabited". But actually these out lying islands with no permanent human inhabitants were in fact owned, tended,and were important food sources for Polynesian societies living sometimes several days sail away on larger fresh water endowed islands. The people of the larger permanently inhabited islands would visit the out lying islands to harvest coconuts, fish including tending saltwater ponds created as a form of aquaculture, and plant, tend, and harvest other crops. The truth was that the larger islands could not support their human populations without these additional crop lands and fishing grounds. One of the reasons we will push out into our solar system is that our ever expanding population on this planet needs the additional resources. So a probable second rule of any interstellar legal regime is that in any planetary system with intelligent life on any one planet, the inhabitants of that planet have the exclusive legal right to develop economically the out lying uninhabited planets. Apparently, if we give credence to astronaut reported UFO sightings, the right of innocent passage for all space faring civilizations remains.
A third probably sure bet is that in approaching anything like the port towns that Columbus saw on the Mayan coast, there will be a regular routine and procedures for formal entry with due notice to the authorities. If we ever find anything looking remotely like a space port we'd better hang well back and attempt to establish contact before attempting to enter or even draw close..
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CHAPTER 5
ESSAY NUMBER 2
IS TRAVEL AND COMMUNICATION ACROSS TIME POSSIBLE
Greetings Bipeds! I read with interest the recent post on FUZZY ALGORITHMS AND THE SEARCH FOR WARP SPEED." Benefiting from 3,000 years of close observation of scientific progress as I do I wanted to elaborate a bit on the subject that underlies that blog post, namely complexity theory, and to comment on a subject that is related to both interplanetary travel and the evolution of the calculus and geometries of complexity, formerly "chaos". That subject is time travel and across time communications. If time space is not malleable then the much desired "warp drive" can't happen. The emerging understanding of "Complexity Theory" and the slow development of complexity calculus and geometries presents strong evidence supported by existing physics and math that the "fabric" of space time is indeed at least somewhat "plastic" and "malleable".
EDITOR's NOTE: Fasten your seatbelts, the Great Catfish is about to take you on a fast trip to edge of the unknown. Honestly, we don't know where he gets this stuff.
When we compare interplanetary space exploration with the early European voyages of global exploration we note the common element of long duration of voyages, often years. In space, unless we can finally travel faster than light ("Warp Speed"), simple voyages within our own local spiral arm of our own galaxy could take centuries. So questions of space travel involve questions of time and that in turn always brings up the question of time travel and communications. As we live our lives strapped to our watches and schedules, with work and play events both scheduled at specific times, and our nations divided into synchronized time zones we experience time as "marching on". Late for work or school, that's usually personally costly. Trains, planes and ships rarely wait on anyone. "Time and tide wait on no man". But before it became a priority to run the railroads on time, time seemed much more localized and malleable to our ancestors as recently as the 18th century. Time is indeed more malleable than we commonly think. Let's take a detailed look at what is presently understood about the malleability of time.
Is time travel and communication possible? As it turns out if you ask modern physicists that question it has to be broken down into component parts because the answer is not the same for each part. In a nut shell the component questions are: (1) Is communication across time possible? The short answer to that one is yes and in fact it happens quite a lot. (2) Is time travel into the past possible? While there is some theory that supports the possibility as a very rare occurrence, these are just theories and almost impossible to prove. Until the calculus of complexity is fully evolved the most probable answer is a simple no. (3) Is time travel into the future possible? This one gets a qualified "probably" from modern physics.
Is communication across time possible? The epiphany of the Iroquois: When the Iroquois first met the Jesuits writing and clocks were the most impressive "magic" that the Jesuits seemed to possess. The Iroquois being possessed of an advanced orally transmitted culture soon observed that the Jesuits could communicate in conversational detail across great distances and time by sending letters and other correspondence. The Iroquois immediately realized that writing , real writing of a live spoken language allowed people who possessed it the ability to send messages to the future and receive messages from the past. The Jesuits wanted the Iroquois to learn to read and write so that they could study the bible and the catechism. The Iroquois wanted to read and write for their own purposes so they valued this particular "gift" of the Jesuits. The Iroquois had learned to measure the passage of time in moon phases and other celestial observations. Their measurements were highly useful in terms of seasons down to about roughly a month. They could of course count days and had computed the approximate length of a year. They were known after contact with the Jesuits to sit for hours watching a clock. The Iroquois were quite aware that the clock measured with precision, more exacting than they had ever known, the passage of time. European and Asian cultures may have advanced far beyond American cultures in the development of writing and measurement of time but it was the Iroquois who excelled at the appreciation that these developments are demonstrations of the malleability of time.
Have you ever seen a star in the night sky, written a letter , or read a book? Then you have communicated across time. The light we see from the stars was emitted years, often centuries, even eons before we perceive it. While the star we see today might not even continue to exist the information it transmits is still valuable and available. We use these stars for celestial navigation, and now we study them in our search for planets. We can tell much through spectral analysis about their composition at the time the light was emitted. When we see the stars we are looking at the past. When they emitted the light and its inherent data the stars were projecting into the future. Every time you read an article, paper or book you receive a message from the past. Every time you write a letter, term paper, book, article for publication, post card, recipe, etc. you send a message into the future.
In American and Italian labs light and micro waves have already been accelerated beyond light speed. Micro waves have been accelerated to 30 times the speed of light and light itself has been accelerated to 200 times the speed of light. Our work with the Helios Ruehls projects has put us in close contact with optical physicists who inform us that light is a packet and so called light speed is now understood to be simply an average of the speed of the packet, with some parts of the packet moving faster that others. Modern physics news flash; there have always been things in the universe, of note presently; elements within the light packet itself that move faster than "light speed" which in fact is an average. Now just because we can move subatomic particles faster than light doesn't mean we can move machines and people, we again have to await the evolution of the calculus and geometries of complexity to know if we can ever practically do that. But we are probably very close to the ability to carry communications including the telemetry for robotic probes at speeds that will virtually eliminate the present time lags between Earth and Mars. Indeed, this future capability will allow us to operate within our spiral arm of the galaxy with telemetry time lags now observable in our control of our robotic probes on Mars and the outer planets of our solar system. Time is indeed very malleable in terms of communication and becoming more so. Determining the ultimate extent awaits the evolution of the Calculus and Geometries of Complexity.
So if communications with the past are possible, is time travel into the past possible? Possible perhaps, but not probable. The major roadblock based on present physical knowledge is the second law of thermodynamics, specifically the the rule for entropy. The so called "disorder" in the universe which increasingly is being seen not as "disorder" but "complexity" is not describable in terms of Newtonian physics, the Theory of Relativity, or what is known so far of Quantum Mechanics; is presently termed "entropy". As the universe matures "entropy" is ever increasing. This is so observable on so many levels that it is presently expressed as a law of physics. However increasingly we are perceiving the spread of "entropy" as the growth of "complexity" over time. We have little in the way of non Euclidean geometries and complexity calculus to describe, predict, and articulate laws for this complexity. But the rule as presently perceived is that entropy increases. The problem with traveling backwards in time is that it would require entropy to decrease which violates the second law of thermodynamics, a "dogma" of present math/physics. However even today using only our humble already available calculus we can perceive, but not prove possible exceptions. There is the possibility made famous through the Star Trek series of the "worm hole". Worm Hole Theory arises out of the Theory of General Relativity. General Relativity describes gravity not as a force but a manifestation of the curvature of space time. Under this theory matter bends space time around it sort of like a fabric. Theoretically, a very massive star which dies could warp space time around it creating a sort of matter ,light sucking whirl pool that we call a "black hole". In theory, the black hole could be a connector between two regions of space time. The fact that we can mathematically predict such a possibility in no way means that its exists. For the foreseeable future we know no way of testing the theory. Based on the best scientific reasoning to date we have to rate travel back in time as a very low probability that would require some very rare, and undiscovered, and with one exception as yet imagined exceptions to the second law of thermodynamics. This is probably a good thing in that it is mostly with travel into the past that the nightmares of science fiction relative to time travel are focused. What if you traveled into the past and accidentally killed your own grand father? Travel into the past is no doubt much more potentially problematic and dangerous for us, if we could do it, than travel into the future.
Is time travel into the future possible? This one gets a qualified "probably" from modern physics. Traveling into the future is possible in theory. When a subatomic particle goes really fast ( especially faster that the average of the light packet aka "light speed") time slows down for it. Consequently for a subatomic particle traveling near light speed ( and we now know that can be exceeded) what was one second for something traveling at even the best rocket speeds today could be minutes for the particle. This has been well observed in the case of a subatomic particle called the "Muon". In the lab the Muon has been observed lasting beyond its normal "life expectancy" (time to decay) consistently when accelerated to near light speed. In a very real way a high speed Muon lives longer and travels into the future. Time travel into the future doesn't require violation of any of the present laws of thermodynamics. Presently we'd have to rate it within the realm of possibility, Any practical utility seems a long a way off. There is also the question of the wisdom of traveling into the future. Based on the second law of thermodynamics it looks like a one way trip into the unknown.
The bottom line my biped friends, is that time is clearly malleable which is good news for distant space travel in the future. There is growing evidence that the "fabric of space" is malleable also. But the "warp drive" you seek awaits the evolution of the calculus and geometries of complexity. So those of you who dream of being real space pioneers ...get thee into theoretical mathematics. The first toe in the door of complexity is Fractal Geometry as created by Benoit B. Mandelbrot. Don't just study his math, study his life. Fractal Geometry, the first crack in the door of complexity is the product of a maverick who did not fit the mold of the academic professional mathematician of his day. To push mankind forward into the distant universe you have to think outside the box of mathematics and physics as they presently exist. But when you get outside that box Mandelbrot indicates that you find your self in simply a far larger box that we call "complexity" and not long ago called "chaos". As big and complex as it is there are discernible rules becoming visible already. We only know at the moment a few of them. We must get into the "outer box'. However be forewarned, when we reach the sides of the bigger box that is "complexity" we might find it rests in an even bigger box that we may as well name now..."WONDER".
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chapter & ESSAY NUMBER
Are We ready For A Second Colombian Exchange Right Now?
Updated 1/29/2016 /3/6/2020
ARE WE READY FOR A SECOND COLOMBIAN EXCHANGE NOW?
WILL WE BE READY IN 7 TO 10 YEARS?
RE: SPACE AS AN OCEAN SERIES / JUST COMPLETED EXOTIC INTRUSION SERIES.
First Mars Soil Samples May Come Sooner Than Expected.
Books Safety & Privacy Policies (Attention EU Visitors , possible "cookie" encounter ahead)
NASA Artist's illustration of a Mars Rover.
A Recent video on the Huff Post Science page hints that the planned 2020 Mars expedition could involve the eventual return of soil samples to Earth. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/nasa-2020-mars-rover-life-video_n_3569157.html?ref=topbar The mission as presently proposed is focused on specifically looking for rocks which would be likely to contain proof of microbiological life. Referencing our evolving E Book PROTOCOLS first published as the series SPACE AS AN OCEAN and our recent series of posts on our insecure national border when it comes to containing harmful plants, animals, insects, and micro organisms at the border we have to observe that we are not ready as a nation, a planet, or a species to start a second "Colombian Exchange". .
NOAA Photo of a Deep Sea vent Do you see the potential parallels with returning soil samples from Mars? With a 75% probability of an at sea landing for the samples, and history of at least one lost space capsule at sea do we have the fail safe protocols to prevent the loss of a returning Mars soil sample in the sea? Do we have the protocols in place to assure the sealed integrity of the container no matter how rough the landing until it can be opened in a secure environment? What constitutes a secure environment? Frankly, if we don't start seeing major improvements in the way we are handling our existing 511 year old Colombian Exchange, still out of control ,we really have to doubt our ability to start dealing with a potential second one from outer space. Why are we particularly concerned with the return of soil samples from Mars? Well consider that a few years ago a big news story was that meteor fragments had been found on Earth and identified as being of Martian origin and arguably contained fossil evidence of microbial life forms. This sparked the entire theoretical discussion of the possibility that life first evolved on Mars and that the Earth was "seeded" at some point as Mars was bombarded by meteors sending chunks of the surface to us as meteors. We are all for progress and especially space travel and eventual colonization. But as mariners whose professional ancestors once linked "worlds" long separated by vast oceans, as the profession that inadvertently launched the Colombian Exchange for better and worse, we feel especially impelled to ask; where are the protocols?
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"Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an 'organism'. (See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: "ARE VIRUS ALIVE ?"
http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ).
Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there." -From "Protocols: "WHEN WORLDS GREAT AND SMALL COLLIDE"
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DOES ANYONE BESIDES US SEE THE BIOHAZARD HERE?
Our SPACE AS AN OCEAN E-Book morphed into PROTOCOLS once we examined the COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE. We felt certain that our first encounter with life in outer space would be microbial, and in fact we've seen previous evidence that something like this could happen.
RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS FIND SEA PLANKTON LIVING ON THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
SPACE AS AN OCEAN
Photo U.S. Air Force
Russia's space agency has confirmed that traces of sea plankton and other micro -organisms were found living on the exterior of the International space Station. The microorganisms on the exterior of the International Space Station appears to have been there for quite some time. Not quite as voracious and fecund as barnacles on a ship, but a sort of space barnacle that over time could have similar effects on a Space station to that of barnacles on a ship. Cosmonauts Olek Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov discovered the evidence of a microorganism colony during a routine space walk inspecting the exterior of the station. According to the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS they collected samples and sent them back on one of the supply/crew change capsules for lab analysis. Lab examination confirmed that the samples were micro organisms and micro organic remnants familiar on earth but ruled out that the sea plankton was on anything launched to the station or parts of the station at launch.
Dr. Valadimir Solovyev, head of the Russian participation in the ISS mission said that plankton in the stages of development found on the stations exterior surface may be found on the surface of Earth's oceans. Solovyev speculated that there are rare uplifting air currents that may reach the low earth orbit station .Apparently a variety of earth origin microorganisms can survive zero gravity, freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen,and cosmic radiation. Solovyev called the discovery "absolutely unique". We however saw something like this coming and want to strike a cautionary note.
Photo ISS mission crew-Public Domain
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As we were researching the portion of our E book PROTOCOLS we became aware of some scientific writings suggestive of the idea that many micro organisms or proto organisms like viruses can survive exposure to space. Their size and low weight don't require the kind of lift to the edge of space that our technology does. Here is the scary part, if there are other planets producing microorganisms they can escape into space too. Moreover there is evidence to support that any such microorganisms that get caught in the earth's gravitational pull are afforded a rather gentle "float down" reentry. Many of the seemingly out of nowhere virus that we see once in a while may actually have originated elsewhere and entered our atmosphere from outer space. Clearly the Russian discovery proves the theory is possible, perhaps even probable.
We think that what happened is the microbes arrived on these atmospheric up wellings and found a neat colony site in near perennial twilight on the station structure. A space station or a pockmarked meteor would have nooks and crannies where there is shelter from full sunlight preventing the microbe from burning up, but enough daylight long enough to prevent hard freezing. No doubt there are microbes that could survive a very long time in such a semi sheltered location. If accorded a reentry opportunity to reach an opportune environment such micro organisms may thrive. Orbits of softball sized meteors that get trapped in earth orbit decay just as artificial satellite orbits decay. When they fall to earth most of their mass incinerates creating the "shooting stars" we liked to watch as kids. However, some microorganisms that may have made it to the core might survive if enough mass survives to reach the planet's surface. There is also the possibility of detachment from the falling object before it reaches heat generating velocity.
OUR POINT IS THAT WE HAVE NOW VERIFIED THAT OUR OWN PLANET OCCASIONALLY SPITS MICROORGANISMS INTO SPACE THAT HAVE SURVIVAL POTENTIAL. IF EARTH CAN DO THAT ANY PLANET WITH AN ATMOSPHERE THAT GENERATES MICROORGANISMS CAN DO IT. Indeed space is looking more and more like an Ocean all the time. But apparently we haven't learned much from the Columbian Exchange. The transfer of the organisms to earth didn't seem to follow much in the way of sanitation / isolation protocols. We didn't know about such things at all during the European Sea Recognizance and lots of plants and animals got spread around and are still being spread and becoming either valued agricultural products , or feral pests. The first exchange in the Columbian Exchange was microbial and it reduced the native population of the Americas by millions in a relatively short time. What our E book asks in comparing the Columbian Exchange with our search for extraterrestrial life is, do we have the sanitation / isolation protocols in place to insure that our first encounter with extraterrestrial life won't repeat the negative effects of the inadvertent and ignorantly conducted still on going Columbian Exchange? Well, we have just discovered for the first time life inhabiting outer space , it may not be extraterrestrial in origin but it was certainly in an extraterrestrial location. It wasn't found by guys searching for life, or on a mission that included specialists for such activity. Basically our first discovery of life in outer space was by two guys doing maintenance. Apparently they just sent it home in a baggie with a note. WE BETTER DO A LOT BETTER THAN THAT WHEN WE ENCOUNTER REAL ALIEN MICROBES. Please read: American Admiralty Books Safety & Privacy Policies
PROTOCOLS, Space As An Ocean:
Dr. Valadimir Solovyev, head of the Russian participation in the ISS mission said that plankton in the stages of development found on the stations exterior surface may be found on the surface of Earth's oceans. Solovyev speculated that there are rare uplifting air currents that may reach the low earth orbit station .Apparently a variety of earth origin microorganisms can survive zero gravity, freezing temperatures, lack of oxygen,and cosmic radiation. Solovyev called the discovery "absolutely unique". We however saw something like this coming and want to strike a cautionary note.
Photo ISS mission crew-Public Domain
American Admiralty Books Safety & Privacy Policies
As we were researching the portion of our E book PROTOCOLS we became aware of some scientific writings suggestive of the idea that many micro organisms or proto organisms like viruses can survive exposure to space. Their size and low weight don't require the kind of lift to the edge of space that our technology does. Here is the scary part, if there are other planets producing microorganisms they can escape into space too. Moreover there is evidence to support that any such microorganisms that get caught in the earth's gravitational pull are afforded a rather gentle "float down" reentry. Many of the seemingly out of nowhere virus that we see once in a while may actually have originated elsewhere and entered our atmosphere from outer space. Clearly the Russian discovery proves the theory is possible, perhaps even probable.
We think that what happened is the microbes arrived on these atmospheric up wellings and found a neat colony site in near perennial twilight on the station structure. A space station or a pockmarked meteor would have nooks and crannies where there is shelter from full sunlight preventing the microbe from burning up, but enough daylight long enough to prevent hard freezing. No doubt there are microbes that could survive a very long time in such a semi sheltered location. If accorded a reentry opportunity to reach an opportune environment such micro organisms may thrive. Orbits of softball sized meteors that get trapped in earth orbit decay just as artificial satellite orbits decay. When they fall to earth most of their mass incinerates creating the "shooting stars" we liked to watch as kids. However, some microorganisms that may have made it to the core might survive if enough mass survives to reach the planet's surface. There is also the possibility of detachment from the falling object before it reaches heat generating velocity.
OUR POINT IS THAT WE HAVE NOW VERIFIED THAT OUR OWN PLANET OCCASIONALLY SPITS MICROORGANISMS INTO SPACE THAT HAVE SURVIVAL POTENTIAL. IF EARTH CAN DO THAT ANY PLANET WITH AN ATMOSPHERE THAT GENERATES MICROORGANISMS CAN DO IT. Indeed space is looking more and more like an Ocean all the time. But apparently we haven't learned much from the Columbian Exchange. The transfer of the organisms to earth didn't seem to follow much in the way of sanitation / isolation protocols. We didn't know about such things at all during the European Sea Recognizance and lots of plants and animals got spread around and are still being spread and becoming either valued agricultural products , or feral pests. The first exchange in the Columbian Exchange was microbial and it reduced the native population of the Americas by millions in a relatively short time. What our E book asks in comparing the Columbian Exchange with our search for extraterrestrial life is, do we have the sanitation / isolation protocols in place to insure that our first encounter with extraterrestrial life won't repeat the negative effects of the inadvertent and ignorantly conducted still on going Columbian Exchange? Well, we have just discovered for the first time life inhabiting outer space , it may not be extraterrestrial in origin but it was certainly in an extraterrestrial location. It wasn't found by guys searching for life, or on a mission that included specialists for such activity. Basically our first discovery of life in outer space was by two guys doing maintenance. Apparently they just sent it home in a baggie with a note. WE BETTER DO A LOT BETTER THAN THAT WHEN WE ENCOUNTER REAL ALIEN MICROBES. Please read: American Admiralty Books Safety & Privacy Policies
PROTOCOLS, Space As An Ocean:
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Duplicate? Chapter and essay no. unknown
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
WHEN WORLDS GREAT AND SMALL COLLIDE
Extinctions of species as well as societies, and the spread of disease as well as of useful plants and animals occurred when the Old and New Worlds met. Parallels could occur in space exploration. We need to examine existing protocols and past protocols from the moon missions and how well they worked. Such an examination suggests that much work is needed in this area before our first encounter with extraterrestrial life.
South America exported the potato to Ireland which some think was a mixed blessing at best. Europe received corn from the Americas but to this day utilizes it mostly as animal feed. Unlike Americans of European descent today's Europeans have yet to raise or purchase the "sweet" varieties of corn that Americans consume without first passing it through a bovine digestive system for conversion to beef. Europeans reintroduced the horse to the Americas and while mounted on them drove a number of native civilizations to extinction. Microbes were exchanged, some beneficial like those needed in the processing of yogurt and wine, others like small pox, the natives would have been pleased to have avoided. This entire two way traffic in living stuff we call "the "Colombian Exchange" and it is still ongoing. As we discuss the pros and cons of such exchanges and the needed protocols to control and mitigate the undesirable changes we will simply refer to any such exchange whether between the Americas and Europe, or Asia, or Earth and outer space or other planets as a "Colombian Exchange". We aren't the first to coin that term, perhaps we are the first to use it as a generic term for similar events past and future.
Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an "organism".(See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Are Viruses Alive? http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ). Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there. The whatever else is particularly unsettling when we consider some of the unusual ideas of Sir Fred Doyle, Chandra Wickramasingle and others who propose that on extremely rare occasions genetic material not of this earth reaches here.
While this is not a mainstream scientific idea, there is some serious science in their arguments and most of the main stream scientific community falls a little short calling the idea impossible. So lets consider just for a minute that Doyle might be right. Lets consider that in the light of the loss of Gus Grissom's first space capsule in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day we don't know why upon return to earth the hatch of the capsule blew open and almost drowned Grissom, allowed the capsule to fill with sea water, and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the cradle of life on this planet. Like Doyle's critics we don't think there was a serious chance that the exterior surface of the capsule would have picked up a virus like "organism" and that it would have survived the fiery entry of the capsule, but suppose the such a capsule had samples of Mars soil on board? Why was all of the post landing inquiry focused of what exactly happened to cause the door to malfunction vice how do we assure that in a landing gone wrong stuff that could be harboring extraterrestrial life does not come into contact with environment?
During the Apollo era astronauts returning from the Moon were kept in isolation as a precaution against their carrying virus like pathogens from the surface of the moon. The length of time of their isolation was based loosely on known incubation periods for known pathogens on earth. It doesn't look like anyone asked if non earth evolved pathogens might have a longer incubation period. Moon soil samples likewise didn't seem subjected to any really out of the box sanitation measures. Despite recent discoveries here on earth of life forms at the bottom of the sea in sulfur vents, and hot springs that don't seem to be subject to the environmental conditions once thought essential to any type of life , we haven't seen a broad spectrum isolation protocol come out of NASA with our recent robotic probes of Mars. When we do return a soil sample what will be our sanitary protocol?
We don't have to meet ET to be exposed to really deadly pathogens. In fact it is far more likely that the first life we encounter out there will be microscopic. If some Buzz Lightyear of the future gets eaten on an alien world by an extraterrestrial version of a T-Rex we're out one astronaut. If an astronaut brings back an alien virus for which we have no resistance or cure, it could be the end of all life on earth. But then again microbes aren't the only hazard. Ever seen parts of Mississippi over run by Kudzu? The Kudzu vines looks vaguely like a creeping ivy. Its not native to the U.S. Deep south, but it sure likes it. This at first seemingly harmless item of exchange in the Colombian Exchange didn't hitch hike here on some banana boat. We brought it here for the hoped for beneficial effect of erosion control in areas of very sandy soil and heavy rain. Road cuts in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were eroding faster that nature could heal them and it was thought the fast growing Kudzu could put a stop to it. Well the Kudzu liked the Deep South just fine and not only covered the road cut scar but continued right up into the pine forests clear to the top of the trees and then spread a canopy from tree to tree until, almost before anyone noticed it, a hundred acre forest could be smothered , cut off from light and killed. But the emerald green Kudzu looked happy draped across trees dead or alive. If we find a plant out there are we going to bring it back? You can bet on it. Do we have sufficient protocols in place to insure it stays in isolation and never gets out into Earth's natural environment? We're not so sure on that.
Alien Face or Bio hazard mask? Ask your self this. Is that image pictured above supposedly an artist's approximation of an alien "face" as described by many "witnesses" so often it has almost become our standard image of a space alien actually a face or could it be a bio barrier mask. Are those big eyes with no pupils or dark protective lenses? How could any creature breath through nostrils that tiny or get enough to feed an energetic biped over five feet tall through that tiny slit of a mouth? Might it be that what has been seen, assuming that anything has actually been seen, is the air intake and exhaust of a bio hazard safety mask? Have you ever noticed in the descriptions of these beings there is never any mention of real clothing, nor of any sex organs or secondary sexual characteristics? Could it be that we are seeing something like a thin wet suit and mask designed to keep micron sized pathogens out of the suit and to keep the personal kooties of who ever is in there locked in? Wouldn't that be a nice courtesy. The Aztecs and Mayans would certainly have appreciated such thoughtfulness from the Spaniards. Maybe if we are being visited, our visitors are far more courteous and safety minded than the history of our last wave of first contact experiences.
Another troubling parallel between our maritime experiences and our space experiences is the possibility that government protocols applicable to government run missions may not be nearly enough. We are already developing a space launch and flight industry. There are private satellite launch services operating already and private "space planes under development. There is just about no doubt that by the time we are pushing manned flight beyond our solar system there will be a lot of non government commercial traffic in our solar system. When Columbus headed out for the unknown western Atlantic the Western World had about 5,000 years of maritime trade development behind it. There were international norms in the process of ship "entry" the process of a ship formally and peacefully entering a port to engage in trade, there was considerable international uniformity in the process of "Pratique", meaning the conditions that a ship was expected to adhere to once it was formally entered and granted official permission to hold communications with the shore. Finally the process of "clearance" was very uniform through out the European Atlantic and Mediterranean world, that process where in a ship presents proofs that it adhered to the conditions of its pratique while in port and is cleared by the port authorities for its next destination. Despite the experience that European merchant captains had with such a system, they ignored the evidence that the Mayans had such a system and just barged right on in.
Now more than 500 years later our own maritime practices of entry, pratique, and clearance are still adjusting especially in the way of ship sanitation. The lamprey and the zebra mussel have caused major changes in our rules about the ballast water discharge. Our sanitation measures failed us completely in the realm of rat guards, the Norwegian rat is now a universal pest. Despite our best efforts fire ants got off the boat at Mobile and are over running the American South. Centuries after the start of the Colombian Exchange and we are still struggling with the creation of regulations, regulatory agencies to try and slow the processes of exotic intrusion and native flora and fauna stress, and frequently our own economic distress. Maritime history is ripe with examples of those who deliberately side stepped the established safe guards and profited by increasing the stresses of the Colombian Exchange. We are heading out into space with an already evolving private transport industry without any development for the entry, pratique, or clearance of cargo carrying traffic.
We have a remarkable lack of protocols for where we are going. Our maritime technologies and institutions had thousands of years of development before the European Recognisance and we still ended up eliminating entire civilizations, major human populations, hundreds of plant and animal species, and spread disease all over the globe. Yet the average world citizen today would vote for the continued globalization rather than to go back to the era when great civilizations went for centuries with little knowledge of each other. Going into space involves big risks and big rewards but our maritime experience points to the necessity to proceed with caution and to develop serious, detailed, protocols. If ET has been watching us as so many Ufologists suspect, his people have been watching us for a good thousand years or more. Yet there is no official contact. If they are real could it be they have learned through bitter experience to be very careful on first contact with any sort of life? We need to avoid doing anything rash.
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| A PROTOCOLS ESSAY: THE GREAT CATFISH EXPLAINS THE DRAGON'S INTENTIONS IN SPACE AND HOW THEY PARALLEL RECENT AND LONG AGO MARITIME HISTORY |
| THE GREAT NAMAZU AAB'S STAR POLITICAL ANALYST |
GREETINGS BIPEDS:
As we all now know there is a race to the moon, the US and some allies vs the Chinese . If the Chinese get there first and establish a working base we expect that they will behave no better in the commons of space than they have behaved at sea, which has been despicable. While US bipeds walked numerous times on the moon and even left junked cars behind they claimed to have gone there "for all mankind".
That's not likely in the case of the Middle Kingdom Dragon Space Force. If we look at the history of the Dragon in the commons of the South China Sea and elsewhere we should expect them to make territorial claims. We should also expect the Dragon to pointedly ignore prior US space actions that could have nuisances of territorial claims. The United States took the high road over 50 years ago and declared the solar system a commons and eschewed any territorial claims. What is going on now in space is a repeat of the dispute between the Catholic European seafaring states and the English and Dutch . Simultaneously. the Europeans were exploring the planet by sea, making claims to lands already occupied by other civilizations, and disputing the status of the seas
ENTER THE POPE |
| Pope Alexander VI Leading Proponent of the "Mar clausum ( Closed Sea) |
We suggest the below publication available to read free on line, link below , as a 72 page primer on the international law of the sea: https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/p/authoritative-literature.html
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We Were Advocating For A space Force Years Ago:
SPACE AS AN OCEAN, ANOTHER PARALLEL DEVELOPMENT
US Fears 'Pearl Harbor' In Space
a link to a story in the 
by TOSHIKI YAZAWA, Nikkei staff writer
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/US-fears-Pearl-Harbor-in-space
We have been concerned with this for years. Toshiki Yazawa hits the nail on the head as he explains China's growing space prowess and general lack of concern with adherence to space law. You can read his original story by clicking here: Space Pearl Harbor
We have also proposed from time to time the need for a Space Capabilities Restoration And Replacement Force as a deterrent to Chinese further development of aggressive space weapons. We feel there is no doubt that China works constantly on the capability to shoot down or disrupt the operation of our space based military surveillance, navigation, and communications capabilities. We have advocated for a long time a mix of high and low technologies, and work around procedures to be readily available in the event of an attack that begins in Space. We are signatory to a treaty that prohibits weapons in space but fellow signatories China and Russia could care less. We do not loft weapons into earth orbit but we do enjoy a tactical advantage in terms of intelligence , navigation including precision weapons guidance, and communication in space. We should fully expect that an enemy would attack these space based advantages first, in an attempt to blind us, confuse us, cut off our communications and thus any advantage we might have had in the command and control of our defensive resources. We don't want to start an arms race in space by trying to loft weapons, the fact is we've proven our ability to shoot down objects in low earth orbit from the earth's surface , including from ships on the ocean. Our enemies count on us not having enough arrows in our quiver to hit their space based capabilities an equal blow.
We propose that we make it so difficult to be sure that they have actually taken out any specific capability that they are deterred from trying. This where the Space Based Capabilities Restoration and Replacement Force comes in that we propose.
We were communicating around the world at the speed of light before we had communications satellites. We need a low tech encrypted standby system capable of global communications on immediate stand by so that we are able to communicate instantly with our forces in a secure manner the moment we lose space based capabilities. Some technologies within this system may be quite old such as HAM radio. The key is to have it up and ready 24 /7 with codes for mobilization day that have never been used in drills. We should also have some extra satellites for each military space capability in high orbit and able to move into position to restore service on command. Additional spares should be stored near a ready launch pad. Of course the enemy may be able to shoot down the replacements but each time they do they expose their launch site to detection and retaliation. Making sure our sailors and aviators can perform celestial navigation gives us a back up for satellite navigation that no one can take away. We should also consider some Loran Stations in particular venues and or building the once planned earth based eight station global electronic navigation system once known as OMAGA. We don't mean to outline the entire system here or to suggest that it can ever stop evolving. But if we build a basic system fast, keep expanding it, drilling with it, proving it we create a deterrent to not only using such space based weapons as our enemies already have, but a deterrent to spending the money on aggressive systems that can't really knock out our core capabilities. All aspects of it need not be expensive or high tech. As long as we comprehensively address how we would continue to communicate with our scattered forces, target and guide weapons, with our space based defensive capabilities are wiped out, it is doubtful that the "Space Based Pearl Harbor" will ever happen. Japan didn't catch our carriers in port, all they did in their own words was "awaken a sleeping Tiger". By having , testing, improving and exercising a system of systems that anticipates that we may have to fight "space blind" for a while, we assure would be enemies that we are a fully awake Tiger, more than able to take a licking and keep on ticking.
Time for some out of the box thinking.
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AN OUTER SPACE BUSINESS ON AN OCEAN MODEL
OCEAN SHIPPING HAS HAD NON VESSEL OWNING COMMON CARRIERS (NVOCC) FOR DECADES PERHAPS A CENTURY OR LONGER.
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THERE IS NOW A CRITICAL MASS OF PRIVATE SPACE LAUNCH SERVICES, GOVERNMENT SERVICES SEEKING COMMERCIAL PAY LOADS, AND AVAILABLE PAY LOADS TO SUPPORT AT LEAST ONE NVOCC FOR SPACE CARGO.
The Capital needed to get started are basic living expenses, a phone, an excellent quality computer or two, some sales ability, research ability, and a willingness to study. What a NVOCC does in the world of ocean transportation is to present a "portal" to the world that operates for all practical purposes from the customer's view point as a "virtual" shipping line with departures to all points every day and at most any hour. In fact the NVOCC as the name implies owns no vessels but sells unsold cargo space on as many vessels operating under as many flags, and for as many lines as they can get into their system. The NVOCC tracks and sells available cargo space on both "liners" ( ships operating on regular schedules between set ports) and "Tramps" (ships whose port calls are determined by the available cargoes). The "inventory" of available cargo space and departure / arrival ports, dates and times would change daily. From the cargo owning shipper's experience dealing with a NVOCC is little different from dealing with a liner service directly except that there is an infinitely wider choice of shipping ports departure / arrival times, and choices relative to freight rates. The shipper need not shop around but simply call the NVOCC, tell the agent what he has to ship, where he wants to ship it to, and when it has to be there. The NVOCC sales agent will tell the shipper what is available and the costs. Once the shipper has decided on the carrier represented by the NVOCC he simply proceeds to book the cargo through the NVOCC just as if he was dealing with the carrier directly.
In the space launch business today it is doubtful that the launch services, especially the government launch services would allow that level of agency to a Non (Space)Vehicle Owning Common Carrier for space launch services. This is good and bad news for the would be space launch NVOCC entrepreneur. To the advantage of the entrepreneur there is no need to sign up a bunch of space launch services to an agency contract. The new NVOCC can simply open shop with the publicly available launch schedules of all of the available space launch services, and the publicly available cost estimates per payload weight unit, and the publicly available information for contact points for contracting a launch or a less than full capacity payload aboard a less than "full flight". The Space Shuttle when it was operating carried school experiments and similar private pay loads on a space available basis. For the newly minted space launch NVOCC the revenue source at this stage in history shifts from the transportation provider to the customer. The service rendered is providing the payload owner with information that would ordinarily require weeks of frustrating research. Of course many of the most common pay load providers have existing regular relationships with a launch service. But every day more and more small academic and business entities are evolving things that will need a lift into space both complete satellite launches and small experiments needing transport to the International Space Station or similar destination. These numbers will continue to increase. A space launch NVOCC is basically a web site business that has a potential to grow with the commercialization of space into a real agency model when the commercial launch services become sufficiently competitive. The first space tourism flights are already in the building and flight testing stages. The possibility of becoming the primary web site for space tourist information is there, as well as the probability of eventually becoming a direct ticket agent. Web sites can be supported not only by fee for service activities but also by advertising, and commissioned sales. You might notice that in our series on this subject a frequent advertisement run in conjunction is Amazon's TV service featuring a Star Trek theme.
The day is coming, perhaps less than a generation away when commercial space transportation services will be so competitive that the ocean traditional NVOCC business model as agent for the transportation providers will be viable. There is already a niche for the pay load payee / advertising supported model. Who ever creates the best known and successful pay load payee / advertising supported model that lasts until the traditional transporter agent model or some hybrid organization becomes viable will be viewed as the "old reliable" firm. This will be an advantage in any space service business. Here is another visible similarity between ocean transport and space transport people. While both have certain "pioneering" and daring aspects of character, both populations have a particular "conservative bias. This is especially visible in engineering. Both mariners and astronauts prefer their mechanical engineering to be well tested, filled with redundant, fail safe, and back up systems. They like well tested abandonment and survival systems and damage control systems and they like to have these provided by "tried and true" vendors and contractors.
In maritime law there is little mention of "marine business" or "commerce", often in the case law and older statutes maritime voyages and even businesses are written of as "maritime adventures". The stock owners in the corporations that engage in these "maritime adventures" are often referred to in admiralty law as "backers of the maritime adventure". There is no doubt that space voyaging and ocean voyaging are risky businesses, people with an adventurous spirit are attracted to the games, but these are far from reckless people. When it comes down to purchasing goods and services for the voyage they exhibit a very conservative streak. They like to deal with other "pioneers' with an established record of success. That's why its already time for the first of the space launch NVOCCs to emerge. The best one still standing in twenty years will be the preferred "old line" firm for the next level of development coming in the space launch business.
If we were young people today looking at and interested in space business we'd be looking at space based services provision since for the up coming generation astronaut positions will still be scarce as hen teeth. Where would be the best place to seek a post secondary education for such a career? We recommend one of the Merchant Marine Academies that offer a business major. The more you know about ocean transport business the more directly applicable parallels you will have available in your mental make up for what is coming in the commercial exploitation of space. When you graduate commercial space jobs may be relatively rare, but America and most nations are full of steam ship agencies, freight forwarders, NVOCCs, maritime insurance companies, etc. This gives the new maritime academy graduate a viable parallel job market while awaiting more growth in the commercial space sector, and a fall back market if early opportunities in the commercial space sector bounce the graduate back into the job market.
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Helios Ruehls. Inc presents:
"SPACE FORCE" A PLAN FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION IN A HOSTILE FUNDING ENVIRONMENT
China (The"Dragon") is in engaged to over take us in space. The Dragon doesn't subscribe to the "we come for all mankind","no territorial claims in space, mentality that the United States (The Eagle) does. We know this because China openly says so and their present behavior in the great commons of the sea predicts it. (See: THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND OUTER SPACE). The Dragon is running a full blown Manhattan Project tempo effort to dominate in space and in the space industry on earth. China appears to have no intention of honoring the present treaties against weapons in space. The Dragon also refuses to adhere to the growing international law that makes space part of the commons . In short the Imperial Dragon has territorial ambitions in Space. If the Dragon gains this high ground ; then the Dragon will dictate to the planet using hard military ordinance on target from an unassailable position, or softer economic power. If the Dragon ascends faster than the Eagle in space every nation on earth will be simply a vassal state to China. Yes, we went to the moon over 50 years ago, but since then we have concentrated on manned space flight to and from an orbiting space station unmanned science missions . and the privatization of the space industries. We don't have a 50 year lead on China any more , we have about a three to 5 year lead if the Chinese continue at their present pace and we continue to lag along.
This happened over 50 years ago. We never claimed any territory but our claim that the moon and space generally are a "Commons" will fall if China beats us at building a permanent moon base. The Dragon will arrive possibly in as little as 3 years,The Eagle may be a year or more behind the Dragon's landing (Image courtesy of NASA)
China is leapfrogging over certain steps to a moon landing thanks to the knowledge we left in our wake on our voyage to the moon. They have certainly mastered all of the orbital capsule skills of our Gemini program and more. .
This is where most of our space money and effort on manned space flight went since the moon landing. If we had established a manned moon base in the years following our landing we would be in a better position to get our "Space is a commons of all mankind" policy turned into codified international law. It's not too late but we have to hurry. The Dragon wants to homestead space.Any planet they get to before us they will lay claim to and attempt to exclude us.
Image NASA. unmanned science projects returned information freely exchanged
This happened over 50 years ago. We never claimed any territory but our claim that the moon and space generally are a "Commons" will fall if China beats us at building a permanent moon base. The Dragon will arrive possibly in as little as 3 years,The Eagle may be a year or more behind the Dragon's landing (Image courtesy of NASA)
China is leapfrogging over certain steps to a moon landing thanks to the knowledge we left in our wake on our voyage to the moon. They have certainly mastered all of the orbital capsule skills of our Gemini program and more. .
This is where most of our space money and effort on manned space flight went since the moon landing. If we had established a manned moon base in the years following our landing we would be in a better position to get our "Space is a commons of all mankind" policy turned into codified international law. It's not too late but we have to hurry. The Dragon wants to homestead space.Any planet they get to before us they will lay claim to and attempt to exclude us.
Today the Eagle (USA) and the West generally are focused on unmanned space probes, space based telescopes, and radio telescopes seeking more knowledge of space including beyond our solar system. We share this knowledge freely. We were just now getting back into manned space travel but again only to orbital space stations. Then, the President declared it to be NASA's goal to return to the moon within 5 years. The Democrats control the House where they have obstructed everything this president has tried to do and they appear to hate military, border control, and space endeavors. Citing a maritime parallel, Steven L. Kwast, a retired Air Force general and former commander of the Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas noted in a recent speech; "Today, while America is building lighthouses and listening stations that can see and hear what is happening in space, China is building battleships and destroyers that can move fast and strike hard—the equivalent of a Navy in space." China is winning the space race not because it makes better equipment, but because it has a superior strategy. "The Chinese are open about their plan to become the dominant power in space by 2049, the centennial of the end of the Communist Chinese Revolution and of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong. "
President Trump directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to start the formation of a "Space Force" as our 6th branch of the armed forces in June of 2018. The Congress appeared to approve and provided a small appropriation. But the Congress made it clear that they expected the new service to be carved out of parts of the Air Force and other DOD organizations. The Congress has made it fairly clear that they intend to starve the Space Force as much as they have starved the border wall. None the less there is much that a designated Space Force could accomplish while waiting for the adults to return to power. We must have a distinct "Space Force" because Space is the new high ground and who so ever controls space will control the earth just as it was once and still true : "he who controls the sea rules the world".
Public Domain Image. Artist depiction of a weaponized satellite
Think about it , with our robotic vehicles exploring the surface of Mars, and our space telescopes observing the universe, and our near constant publication of findings; we are giving the Dragon all of the geographic information it needs to select targets and landing sites. The Dragon is not contributing to science. It is using our information, freely shared, to avoid the costs of unmanned space probes, and orbital telescopes and any other contributions to space science. The Dragon is concentrated on orbital satellites some of which can be weaponized, if they already aren't, and manned space flight. The concentration on orbital satellite operations is for the express capability of controlling military conflict to the Dragon's advantage from the seemingly unassailable high ground of orbital space.
The China's concentration on Manned space flight is for being able to launch rescue and repair missions for their orbital hard ware, and to get to the planets of our solar system before anyone else. These the Dragon intends to occupy to the exclusion of any other nation with the skill, technology, and funding to reach them. The Chinese push into space is all about technology, they leave the exobiology, space geography, search for water, and minerals to us. We will tell them where the good stuff is and they will go get it for their exclusive use or control of distribution. We find Gen. Kwask 's assessment of a Chinese Navy forming in space to be an accurate statement following a parallel course that we long ago described in our on line book in progress "Space AS An Ocean"or Protocols
Image PD: We are building and operating these while the Dragon is intent on creating these:
Image from the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Remember: "The Chinese are open about their plan to become the dominant power in space by 2049, the centennial of the end of the Communist Chinese Revolution and of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong." (U.S. Air Force Retired General Kawst)
Enter Our Space Force. The Department of Defense (DOD) envisions a Space Force that provides services similar to certain services now provided by the Air Force. The DOD institutional vision for a Space Force at the moment is one that continues to perform the task that current space assets perform—supporting wars on the surface of the Earth. We need that mission, but we also need a Space Force eventually capable of launching and landing an armed force to the outer most planets of our solar system. and area denial missions far from beyond the dark side of the moon .The enumerated missions of the Space Force include what seems to be a mixture of the two types of services but only support of earth based warfare seems to be getting any funding: Here are the specific missions mentioned in law so far: The Space Force is specifically responsible for organizing, training, and equipping forces for the following mission sets
- Space superiority
- Space domain awareness (military, civil, and commercial)
- Offensive and defensive space control
- Command and control of space forces and satellite operations
- Space support to operations (e.g. satellite communications)
- Space service support (e.g. space lift and space range operations for military, civil, and commercial operators)
- Space support to nuclear command, control, communications and nuclear detonation detection
- Missile warning and space support to missile defense operation
We must look at space operations beyond our present geocentric orbiting devices,and the moon, earth orbit, and a moon base, or even a Mars Colony will not deter the Dragon's very clear territorial intentions. The task that current space assets perform—supporting military operations on the surface of the Earth is vital today and will be for years to come. Unfortunately, the Air Force today seems as institutionally unable to envision operations of access and denial in deep space as once the Army Air Corps was reluctant to embrace the idea of a separate air force. The Air Force, out of which Congress thinks it will get most of the assets for a Space Force sees the Space Force as projecting power through air, space, and cyberspace, from basically our geocentric orbiting devices and stations. The Air Force institutional understanding appears to preclude space beyond our geocentric orbits . If the Space force is ever going to become our sixth armed service in reality it has to find the missions now that make a big difference to our national security and can be afforded on a shoe string budget. We agree entirely with General Kawst's overall view,.but we don't see the Congress or the Air Force changing their position any time soon. The Dragon intends to occupy the solar system, we will need a force that can operate beyond earth orbit and the moon. Like it or not, we are in an arms race in space.
However, fortunately at the moment, the immediate focus is on influencing military operations from space. In the short term the Air Force's view point is important. One of the most important things that a Space Force could do right now is to concentrate on SPACE CAPABILITIES , PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION. This mission set is vital to our defense capabilities, serves as a deterrent and drag factor on the Dragon's ambitions, and cost very little of rare Space Force Money to get started. By concentrating on SPACE CAPABILITIES RESTORATION , PROTECTION , AND RAPID RESTORATION, the Space Force will come out of the gate with major notice, growing public support, decreased Air Force and Congressional resistance, Here are some examples of what we mean by SPACE CAPABILITIES PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION .
The Dragon will target at great expense our GPS navigation systems. This is one reason why the United States Naval Academy re-instituted the study of celestial navigation.
Paper charts and references, sextants, dividers, parallel rulers and Chronometers are very inexpensive compared to GPS systems, or the systems the Dragon plans to Knock ours out with. But if our ship navigators retain their traditional navigation skills.and tools our degree of navigational accuracy., post successful enemy attack, in getting on station to deliver ordinance to target falls from minus 50 feet to plus or minus 200 yards. This is not enough of a degradation to deter us from firing. If anything it could cause a bit more collateral damage for which the Dragon would ultimately have to accept responsibility , This was all we had in WWII and for a long time afterward. The problem with the Navy's approach is in the lack of quantity.
We can't just limit the traditional navigational skills sets to Academy trained officers. Nor can we limit the distribution of traditional navigation instruments, charts, and reference works to just a few flag ships. The Navy and the Coast Guard, have morphed their traditional Quartermaster rates (Navigational assistant) into a more electronically orientated "Operations Rate". Coast wise and celestial navigation should be reintroduced to the Operations Ratings starting at the E-5 level. and culminating with a competent celestial navigator by E-7.
The Space Force should be the primary academic developer of the over all program and primary advocate to the Navy for adoption of the program. The Navy has less interest in slowing the progress of a Space Force and makes a good target for forming an initial alliance within the now widely accepted concept of "jointness". With only one master instructor in traditional marine navigation producing course outlines and lesson plans for use by other services the Space Force eliminates the objections of "Who is going to do this?" The heavy lifting of course development is done by the Space Force at very little cost. The Navy will be developing "Class B" and "Class C" schools for their operational ratings to which Space Force personnel could be sent to develop a small cadre of traditional navigational instructors to spread such knowledge where ever it is needed within the DOD .
The Coast Guard has a very limited budget and many "unfunded mandates". The USCG uses a model of only creating and supporting those schools that are unique to certain Coast Guard missions. For most other training the USCG utilizes existing DOD schools or contractor short courses. It is a lot cheaper to lobby for a few placements within an existing school than to create and maintain a school. After more than a century the U.S. Marine Corps still prepares career officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. By establishing a Space Force career track at the Air Force Academy the Space Force saves millions while waiting for the adults to return to Washington. A Space Force career track within the Air Force Academy also tends to placate the fear within the Air Force that they are being kicked to the side of the road on space missions. None of these considerations however, should stop the Space Force from immediately getting some of their personnel into NASA astronaut training and participation in NASA missions especially those that involve building or repair in space. The Space Force needs its own cadre of experienced astronauts as soon as possible. Riding piggy back with NASA is the fast and inexpensive way to do it.
As we mentioned earlier while the Navy seems open to the reestablishment of traditional paper chart based navigation, they will want to cut costs where they can. Then there is the question of how do you carry a drafting table, charts , book sized references. and all the traditional instruments into a life boat? You don't, enter another low cost Space Force service to the Navy.. There are a number of computerized ( as in micro built in computers) sextants on the market that carry within them cyber memory of a year's worth of the information that used to require paper charts and references. A celestial "fix" can be done with nothing more than one of these computerized sextants. There are issues of quality . While the Coast Guard,has been given the unfunded mandate to "approve" ( for the general public) "Navigational equipment " they seem to avoid the approval process for traditional "navigational instruments"such as sextants or parallel rulers or dividers. There USCG simply relies on old well established market factors to assure that quality "instruments" are available to the navigating public. The case of the computerized sexton involves issues of battery life, general reliability, and ruggedness.Identifying the products on the market suitable for use or specifying the requirements for meeting military requirements could be a job for the Space Force, the USCG would become something a customer.
Of course, any high altitude nuclear detonation over the United States would knock out not only our space based navigational systems, but also a big part of our communications infrastructure and even much of our motorized transportation system. Here again in cooperation with other services a Space Force could lead the way with cheap but effective earth based protective measures.such as the Faraday cage . Just place an electrical generator and a radio into a Faraday cage and you have a communications device that is highly resistant to attack.
Now suppose the Navy started with a Space Force inspired and coordinated event involving only three initial Faraday Cage protected radios and generators. One could be placed in the Pentagon,. one in San Diego, one on board a flag ship heading up a test flotilla. out ward bound from San Diego. Other radios could be silenced as the Navy demonstrated the ability to communicate over long distances after an enemy high level nuclear detonation. Communications between the flag ship and other flotilla vessels would be by visual signaling as it is often done today for security of tactical information. Give the Ship's crews liberty in Hawaii and tell the local press what the mission was all about .
The Dragon watches the local press in Hawaii. They will drive themselves crazy to find out the scope and depth of the experiment. That is a good thing, possibly even a drag on Chinese research. into the attack we already fear from the Dragon.. As for the Dragon learning the extend and depth of the development; all we need do is continue to expand on the system by putting more and more vital communications and response equipment into Faraday cages. The Space Force will be able to get a lot of help in spreading this earth based space capability protection. The Army Signal Corps comes to mind as they have the skill sets to construct even large Faraday cages capable of protecting motor vehicles and small power generation plants.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a group of ham operators who have global reach already . Many of their radios and generators can readily be protected by equipment presently sold on Amazon. Imagine the effect on Chinese naval intelligence if a net work of CG Auxiliary Ham operators were to light up after our Test Flotilla reached Hawaii. This earth bound protection against the dreaded high altitude nuclear detonation may be implemented quickly or evolve over time depending on the cooperation of the sister services and Congress. However as long as it is clear to the Dragon that it is being implemented its very existence is a deterrent against rash action. Remember that the U.S. came out on top in the Cold war largely because we broke the economic back of the Soviet Union in an arms race they could not afford. Yes, we can spend a lot, but also frugality and simplicity and net working have a role to play in making our defenses a deterrent. We can spend billions less on very effective earth based rapid recovery of space based capabilities than what the Chinese will have to spend to build attack systems that will never have the effect they are hoping for. Whether working the low tech or high tech , high end deterrent systems, a successful Space Force should have as its highest goal the same goal as the Department of Homeland Security ... make sure nothing happens.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States.
Some of these assets are designed to be self guided, However ,others require guidance from space. Here a cataloging chore is needed. Minus our naval weapons guided from space capabilities that we are likely to lose in the face of a preemptive attack how much residual controllable fire power do we have in the fleet? How should the knowledge of this affect future development and acquisitions? In all cases we want to have serious punching power coming out of a preemptive attack..
As for the Dragon its intelligence services will learn eventually that we have growing protection from loss of space based services via almost impossible to knock out low tech, earth based arts and systems, The Dragon will learn that we have arranged these back up programs with the express intent of having lots of surviving and effective naval fire power in the event of preemptive attack. Whats a Dragon to do? Invest in a still larger Navy? Invest in more expensive orbital systems? A program such as this initial survey, inventory, and organizational redirection does not force much in the way of immediate expenses on us, but an aggressor will be facing a higher bar. Such an approach sends the focus of this seemingly most expensive arms race back down to earth, particularly to the naval realm, re-enforcing and prolonging the concept "that he who rules the seas, rules the world." and delaying any real warfare in space for a while longer. It falls in line with what ought to be the Space Force's reason for existence; making sure nothing happens.
Having said all that , the programs out lined above would not be the end of Space Force assistance to the Naval Establishment. While a return to paper navigation skills assures us of the ability to place naval firepower where it needs to be this is not a navigation system for a single seat fighter bomber, In Vietnam the Coast Guard operated LORAN systems. When LORAN appeared to be becoming obsolete the USCG proposed other land based solutions that required fewer broadcasting stations system, One system was supposed to provide global electronic navigation services using only eight earth based stations, The Space Force could again provide a serious contribution by urging the Coast to reexamine such systems. Receivers for any non space based navigation system, operable by a pilot or flight officer should be installed and tested on some flight leader manned air craft. By providing encouragement and possibly some funding assistance with the early testing and development phase.the Space Force again drives naval improvement at low cost during a time when the Navy's brass are struggling to keep a minimum ship building program going in the face of a hostile Congress..
There are of course space capabilities that we need which don't lend themselves to the low tech solutions that we have outlined for naval navigation and communications losses. Some of these will require expensive solutions such as hidden orbital replacement satellites, and ready on the launch pad replacement orbital systems, These are the immediately needed high end.portion of the Space Force's defense contribution. Unfortunately this part of space capabilities reconstruction forces do not appear on the budget agenda in the immediately foreseeable future. The Air Force has some of these types of assets but will only let go of them to the Space Force gradually.
What about the totally necessary ability of the Space Force to project power in space beyond earth orbit and the moon? The Space Force needs time to build up competencies and resources and a public image before expecting Congress to provide funding. The Space Force presently envisioned by the DOD, especially the Air Force lacks these essential; capabilities. "Correspondingly, the Defense Department and Congress think that the Air Force should build the Space Force. So far, this has amounted to the Air Force planning to improve the current Satellite Command incrementally and call it a Space Force. It is not planning to accelerate the new space economy with dual-use technologies. It is not planning to protect the Moon or travel corridors in space to and from resource locations. Raw materials worth trillions of dollars are available within a few days’ travel from Earth, and other strategic high grounds. It is not planning to place human beings in space to build and protect innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the physical environment. The present development plan does not include developing means to rescue Americans who may get stranded or lost in space."
Our Analysis suggest that the wisest course for the new Space Force right out of the box is an acceptance of the limits the Air Force is placing upon it. The Air force will be controlling much of the budget in the first years. However the Space Force should adopt in a quite public manner a "joint forces approach" and start with some highly effective but low costs assistance to the Navy. Marine Corps, Coast Guard team.The Air Force will have a difficult time being critical of the new service's immediate orientation towards space capabilities RECONSTRUCTION, PROTECTION, AND RAPID RESTORATION. As we mentioned earlier while the Navy seems open to the reestablishment of traditional paper chart based navigation, they will want to cut costs where they can. Then there is the question of how do you carry a drafting table, charts , book sized references. and all the traditional instruments into a life boat? You don't,: enter another low cost Space Force service to the Navy.and Coast Guard approval of certain navigational instruments. The Coast Guard has an unfunded mandate to examine and approve navigational equipment. Instruments such as sextants and marine sector navigational instruments modified for aviation and space use might well become the first regulatory duty of the Space Force. An armed service doing regulatory work faces constitutional hurdles in the United States . But it is done. The US Coast Guard enforces all Federal Laws on the High Seas and territorial waters of the United States. The Coast Guard regulates the safety of our Merchant Marine from vessel inspections to the licensing of officers and the certification of the ratings. In order to do these things the Coast Guard is housed away from the Department of Defense. There exists legal fast tracks to make the entire service a separate and distinct service within the Navy , or to "second" particular personnel and or vessels, or air craft to Navy in times of national emergency, or as a matter of routine when serious DOD need for Coast Guard services arise.The evolving Space Force will soon find itself involved in some major regulatory situations based on the long range mission plans for the service.
Enter Rapid Recovery Systems:
These are some of the big budget, near term missions for the Space Force not likely to draw institutional fire from the Air Force. All of these missions address near term threats to our ability to control armed conflict on earth which is where the Air Force focus is at the moment. But the President had much more in mind in terms of tasking for the Space Force. As we mentioned earlier the eventual missions of the Space Force will go beyond earth orbital, Moon, and Mars related activity. Among the eventual missions envisioned beyond the near earth missions :
EVENTUAL MISSIONS OF THE SPACE FORCE KNOWN SO FAR:
- Develop a deterrence capability that will render ICBMs and nuclear weapons useless relics of the past. Remember a primary focus of the Space Force is to help assure that NOTHING HAPPENS.
- Defend Earth against small asteroids like the one that hit Russia in 2013. and eventually large asteroids as well.
- Reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters by managing the eyes of hurricanes and the funnels of tornadoes with energy from space.
- Provide a shelter in space for the protection and preservation of people, seeds, animals and life-saving medicines, so humanity can recover from any unexpected contamination.
- Design space based defense capabilities to preserve our economy, and our population .
We can't just limit the traditional navigational skills sets to Academy trained officers. Nor can we limit the distribution of traditional navigation instruments, charts, and reference works to just a few flag ships. The Navy and the Coast Guard, have morphed their traditional Quartermaster rates (Navigational assistant) into a more electronically orientated "Operations Rate". Coast wise and celestial navigation should be reintroduced to the Operations Ratings starting at the E-5 level. and culminating with a competent celestial navigator by E-7.
The Space Force should be the primary academic developer of the over all program and primary advocate to the Navy for adoption of the program. The Navy has less interest in slowing the progress of a Space Force and makes a good target for forming an initial alliance within the now widely accepted concept of "jointness". With only one master instructor in traditional marine navigation producing course outlines and lesson plans for use by other services the Space Force eliminates the objections of "Who is going to do this?" The heavy lifting of course development is done by the Space Force at very little cost. The Navy will be developing "Class B" and "Class C" schools for their operational ratings to which Space Force personnel could be sent to develop a small cadre of traditional navigational instructors to spread such knowledge where ever it is needed within the DOD .
The Coast Guard has a very limited budget and many "unfunded mandates". The USCG uses a model of only creating and supporting those schools that are unique to certain Coast Guard missions. For most other training the USCG utilizes existing DOD schools or contractor short courses. It is a lot cheaper to lobby for a few placements within an existing school than to create and maintain a school. After more than a century the U.S. Marine Corps still prepares career officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. By establishing a Space Force career track at the Air Force Academy the Space Force saves millions while waiting for the adults to return to Washington. A Space Force career track within the Air Force Academy also tends to placate the fear within the Air Force that they are being kicked to the side of the road on space missions. None of these considerations however, should stop the Space Force from immediately getting some of their personnel into NASA astronaut training and participation in NASA missions especially those that involve building or repair in space. The Space Force needs its own cadre of experienced astronauts as soon as possible. Riding piggy back with NASA is the fast and inexpensive way to do it.
As we mentioned earlier while the Navy seems open to the reestablishment of traditional paper chart based navigation, they will want to cut costs where they can. Then there is the question of how do you carry a drafting table, charts , book sized references. and all the traditional instruments into a life boat? You don't, enter another low cost Space Force service to the Navy.. There are a number of computerized ( as in micro built in computers) sextants on the market that carry within them cyber memory of a year's worth of the information that used to require paper charts and references. A celestial "fix" can be done with nothing more than one of these computerized sextants. There are issues of quality . While the Coast Guard,has been given the unfunded mandate to "approve" ( for the general public) "Navigational equipment " they seem to avoid the approval process for traditional "navigational instruments"such as sextants or parallel rulers or dividers. There USCG simply relies on old well established market factors to assure that quality "instruments" are available to the navigating public. The case of the computerized sexton involves issues of battery life, general reliability, and ruggedness.Identifying the products on the market suitable for use or specifying the requirements for meeting military requirements could be a job for the Space Force, the USCG would become something a customer.
Of course, any high altitude nuclear detonation over the United States would knock out not only our space based navigational systems, but also a big part of our communications infrastructure and even much of our motorized transportation system. Here again in cooperation with other services a Space Force could lead the way with cheap but effective earth based protective measures.such as the Faraday cage . Just place an electrical generator and a radio into a Faraday cage and you have a communications device that is highly resistant to attack.
Now suppose the Navy started with a Space Force inspired and coordinated event involving only three initial Faraday Cage protected radios and generators. One could be placed in the Pentagon,. one in San Diego, one on board a flag ship heading up a test flotilla. out ward bound from San Diego. Other radios could be silenced as the Navy demonstrated the ability to communicate over long distances after an enemy high level nuclear detonation. Communications between the flag ship and other flotilla vessels would be by visual signaling as it is often done today for security of tactical information. Give the Ship's crews liberty in Hawaii and tell the local press what the mission was all about .
The Dragon watches the local press in Hawaii. They will drive themselves crazy to find out the scope and depth of the experiment. That is a good thing, possibly even a drag on Chinese research. into the attack we already fear from the Dragon.. As for the Dragon learning the extend and depth of the development; all we need do is continue to expand on the system by putting more and more vital communications and response equipment into Faraday cages. The Space Force will be able to get a lot of help in spreading this earth based space capability protection. The Army Signal Corps comes to mind as they have the skill sets to construct even large Faraday cages capable of protecting motor vehicles and small power generation plants.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a group of ham operators who have global reach already . Many of their radios and generators can readily be protected by equipment presently sold on Amazon. Imagine the effect on Chinese naval intelligence if a net work of CG Auxiliary Ham operators were to light up after our Test Flotilla reached Hawaii. This earth bound protection against the dreaded high altitude nuclear detonation may be implemented quickly or evolve over time depending on the cooperation of the sister services and Congress. However as long as it is clear to the Dragon that it is being implemented its very existence is a deterrent against rash action. Remember that the U.S. came out on top in the Cold war largely because we broke the economic back of the Soviet Union in an arms race they could not afford. Yes, we can spend a lot, but also frugality and simplicity and net working have a role to play in making our defenses a deterrent. We can spend billions less on very effective earth based rapid recovery of space based capabilities than what the Chinese will have to spend to build attack systems that will never have the effect they are hoping for. Whether working the low tech or high tech , high end deterrent systems, a successful Space Force should have as its highest goal the same goal as the Department of Homeland Security ... make sure nothing happens.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States.
Some of these assets are designed to be self guided, However ,others require guidance from space. Here a cataloging chore is needed. Minus our naval weapons guided from space capabilities that we are likely to lose in the face of a preemptive attack how much residual controllable fire power do we have in the fleet? How should the knowledge of this affect future development and acquisitions? In all cases we want to have serious punching power coming out of a preemptive attack..
As for the Dragon its intelligence services will learn eventually that we have growing protection from loss of space based services via almost impossible to knock out low tech, earth based arts and systems, The Dragon will learn that we have arranged these back up programs with the express intent of having lots of surviving and effective naval fire power in the event of preemptive attack. Whats a Dragon to do? Invest in a still larger Navy? Invest in more expensive orbital systems? A program such as this initial survey, inventory, and organizational redirection does not force much in the way of immediate expenses on us, but an aggressor will be facing a higher bar. Such an approach sends the focus of this seemingly most expensive arms race back down to earth, particularly to the naval realm, re-enforcing and prolonging the concept "that he who rules the seas, rules the world." and delaying any real warfare in space for a while longer. It falls in line with what ought to be the Space Force's reason for existence; making sure nothing happens.
Having said all that , the programs out lined above would not be the end of Space Force assistance to the Naval Establishment. While a return to paper navigation skills assures us of the ability to place naval firepower where it needs to be this is not a navigation system for a single seat fighter bomber, In Vietnam the Coast Guard operated LORAN systems. When LORAN appeared to be becoming obsolete the USCG proposed other land based solutions that required fewer broadcasting stations system, One system was supposed to provide global electronic navigation services using only eight earth based stations, The Space Force could again provide a serious contribution by urging the Coast to reexamine such systems. Receivers for any non space based navigation system, operable by a pilot or flight officer should be installed and tested on some flight leader manned air craft. By providing encouragement and possibly some funding assistance with the early testing and development phase.the Space Force again drives naval improvement at low cost during a time when the Navy's brass are struggling to keep a minimum ship building program going in the face of a hostile Congress..
There are of course space capabilities that we need which don't lend themselves to the low tech solutions that we have outlined for naval navigation and communications losses. Some of these will require expensive solutions such as hidden orbital replacement satellites, and ready on the launch pad replacement orbital systems, These are the immediately needed high end.portion of the Space Force's defense contribution. Unfortunately this part of space capabilities reconstruction forces do not appear on the budget agenda in the immediately foreseeable future. The Air Force has some of these types of assets but will only let go of them to the Space Force gradually.
What about the totally necessary ability of the Space Force to project power in space beyond earth orbit and the moon? The Space Force needs time to build up competencies and resources and a public image before expecting Congress to provide funding. The Space Force presently envisioned by the DOD, especially the Air Force lacks these essential; capabilities. "Correspondingly, the Defense Department and Congress think that the Air Force should build the Space Force. So far, this has amounted to the Air Force planning to improve the current Satellite Command incrementally and call it a Space Force. It is not planning to accelerate the new space economy with dual-use technologies. It is not planning to protect the Moon or travel corridors in space to and from resource locations. Raw materials worth trillions of dollars are available within a few days’ travel from Earth, and other strategic high grounds. It is not planning to place human beings in space to build and protect innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the physical environment. The present development plan does not include developing means to rescue Americans who may get stranded or lost in space."
Our Analysis suggest that the wisest course for the new Space Force right out of the box is an acceptance of the limits the Air Force is placing upon it. The Air force will be controlling much of the budget in the first years. However the Space Force should adopt in a quite public manner a "joint forces approach" and start with some highly effective but low costs assistance to the Navy. Marine Corps, Coast Guard team.The Air Force will have a difficult time being critical of the new service's immediate orientation towards space capabilities RECONSTRUCTION, PROTECTION, AND RAPID RESTORATION. As we mentioned earlier while the Navy seems open to the reestablishment of traditional paper chart based navigation, they will want to cut costs where they can. Then there is the question of how do you carry a drafting table, charts , book sized references. and all the traditional instruments into a life boat? You don't,: enter another low cost Space Force service to the Navy.and Coast Guard approval of certain navigational instruments. The Coast Guard has an unfunded mandate to examine and approve navigational equipment. Instruments such as sextants and marine sector navigational instruments modified for aviation and space use might well become the first regulatory duty of the Space Force. An armed service doing regulatory work faces constitutional hurdles in the United States . But it is done. The US Coast Guard enforces all Federal Laws on the High Seas and territorial waters of the United States. The Coast Guard regulates the safety of our Merchant Marine from vessel inspections to the licensing of officers and the certification of the ratings. In order to do these things the Coast Guard is housed away from the Department of Defense. There exists legal fast tracks to make the entire service a separate and distinct service within the Navy , or to "second" particular personnel and or vessels, or air craft to Navy in times of national emergency, or as a matter of routine when serious DOD need for Coast Guard services arise.The evolving Space Force will soon find itself involved in some major regulatory situations based on the long range mission plans for the service.
Enter Rapid Recovery Systems:
These are some of the big budget, near term missions for the Space Force not likely to draw institutional fire from the Air Force. All of these missions address near term threats to our ability to control armed conflict on earth which is where the Air Force focus is at the moment. But the President had much more in mind in terms of tasking for the Space Force. As we mentioned earlier the eventual missions of the Space Force will go beyond earth orbital, Moon, and Mars related activity. Among the eventual missions envisioned beyond the near earth missions :
EVENTUAL MISSIONS OF THE SPACE FORCE KNOWN SO FAR:
- Develop a deterrence capability that will render ICBMs and nuclear weapons useless relics of the past. Remember a primary focus of the Space Force is to help assure that NOTHING HAPPENS.
- Defend Earth against small asteroids like the one that hit Russia in 2013. and eventually large asteroids as well.
- Reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters by managing the eyes of hurricanes and the funnels of tornadoes with energy from space.
- Provide a shelter in space for the protection and preservation of people, seeds, animals and life-saving medicines, so humanity can recover from any unexpected contamination.
- Design space based defense capabilities to preserve our economy, and our population .
- Other Activities of the eventual mature Space Force would include some activities that are routinely done by other armed forces in concert with other industries. Remember the Chinese intend to not only dominate space physically by 2049 but also to dominate the space industries on earth. Our Space Force must be ready early on to protect its industrial production and supply lines. The present existing armed forces do this in a variety of ways mostly involving assurance of multiple providers, by spreading production work around multiple providers. The other armed forces also monitor economically weak but important providers and try to send them some work in time to prevent closure of production lines. Additionally the older DOD agencies provide research grants This type of cooperation requires no new legislation other than funding. Here are some of the cooperative space industry protective measures that some proponents of the Space Force have proposed:
- Provide fresh water for every human without the need for aquifers or pipes.
- Build a new low-cost internet that is designed to be secure so that every human can connect, share, and learn with assured privacy .
- Deliver unlimited, clean, affordable energy to every human on the planet with less terrestrial infrastructure and dramatically less cost.
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. Early on this would include manufacturing of certain commodities like certain pharmaceuticals that we already know would be greatly improved by manufacture in a low to no G environment.
- BUT IF THE SPACE FORCE IS GOING TO PLAY A KEY ROLE IN ASSURING THAT THE UNITED STATES DOESN'T FALL BEHIND CHINA IN OVERALL SPACE INDUSTRIES IT WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO ASSUME SOME POWERS OF REGULATION. Under the U.S. Constitution it is very difficult to assign regulatory functions to an armed forces but it has been done. The U.S. Coast Guard lawfully exercises comprehensive safety regulation over the U.S. Maritime industries including the licensing of Merchant Marine Officers and the certification of seamen as well as environmental regulation. The Coast Guard is now tasked with enforcing "all federal laws" on the High Seas and navigable waters of the United States. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with navigational and flood control infrastructure building including with "partners" such as industry groups, state and local governments particularly on a cost sharing basis. As a logical out come of this infrastructure work, the Corps had been given certain regulatory authorities over the navigable waters of the U.S. .
- HERE AGAIN ARE SOME MORE OF THE FUTURE COOPERATIVE TYPE VENTURES THAT THE PROPONENTS OF THE SPACE FORCE HAVE DESCRIBED
- Design defense capabilities probably including earth based intelligence programs to preserve our economy, our population, and our infrastructure such as our power lines and terrestrial power plants. .
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. This opens the door to some early on opportunities unusual for an American Armed Force but hardly unheard of elsewhere in the world. We already know of certain products that would be vitally enhanced by manufacture in a low G or 0 G environment. The companies involved can't spare the type of capital it takes for orbital manufacturing sites , or launch services to support delivery of supplies and finished product. However, some of these products are far more valuable than gold. In the case of some pharmaceutical products a shoe box of product is worth more than a truck load of gold. Some spare space in both Space Force stations and service vehicles could open the doors to a unique partnership The Space Force is expected to facilitate the rapid growth of space industries .and could always use the money. Chinese and Russian armed forces engage in this sort of funding activity all the time. The first use of paid advertising in space was when the `Russians launched a rocket with a Dominoes Pizza logo painted on the side, Eventually the early users of Space Force business incubators will be able to afford their own dedicated orbital manufacturing facilities and shuttle services but some space industrial incubator spaces on Space Force stations and vehicles will quickly be taken up by other start ups. More over with other military needs of the force difficult to determine , and space search and rescue definitely on the agenda, extra cargo and passenger room is prudent in such designs. .Take a close look into the U.S Navy's present day "sea-lift" problems::
- Design defense capabilities probably including earth based intelligence programs to preserve our economy, our population, and our infrastructure such as our power lines and terrestrial power plants. .
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. This opens the door to some early on opportunities unusual for an American Armed Force but hardly unheard of elsewhere in the world. We already know of certain products that would be vitally enhanced by manufacture in a low G or 0 G environment. The companies involved can't spare the type of capital it takes for orbital manufacturing sites , or launch services to support delivery of supplies and finished product. However, some of these products are far more valuable than gold. In the case of some pharmaceutical products a shoe box of product is worth more than a truck load of gold. Some spare space in both Space Force stations and service vehicles could open the doors to a unique partnership The Space Force is expected to facilitate the rapid growth of space industries .and could always use the money. Chinese and Russian armed forces engage in this sort of funding activity all the time. The first use of paid advertising in space was when the `Russians launched a rocket with a Dominoes Pizza logo painted on the side, Eventually the early users of Space Force business incubators will be able to afford their own dedicated orbital manufacturing facilities and shuttle services but some space industrial incubator spaces on Space Force stations and vehicles will quickly be taken up by other start ups. More over with other military needs of the force difficult to determine , and space search and rescue definitely on the agenda, extra cargo and passenger room is prudent in such designs. .Take a close look into the U.S Navy's present day "sea-lift" problems::
SOME NEW NAVAL SUPPLY VESSELS WILL BE RE-DESIGNATED "WAR SHIPS" FOR THE SEA BASING MISSION 
See also:
SEALIFT STILL LAGS / MARAD RESERVE FLEET TEETERING 
- ( in the event the hot links malfunction or you rereading this in printed format the complete URL for linked posts are https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/02/some-new-naval-supply-vessels-will-be.html and https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/sealift-still-lags.html
It is also clear that early proponents of a Space Force envision space search and rescue as one of its missions.
U.S. Coast Guard history indicates that their famous search and rescue at sea capacities evolved over time starting with nothing more than permissive authority to engage in search and rescue. That mission now dominates the public image of the US Coast Guard and forms a major part of each annual budget. We are just about certain that something similar will evolve with the Space Force.
We, Helios Ruehls, Inc.; envision one more mission set for the Space Force that seems to be over looked by the early proponents, Space sanitation , the prevention of an outer space based repeat of the "Colombian Exchange" a terrestrial event from 1492 that we are still suffering from. Think of the sea lampreys that have invaded the U.S. Great Lakes, and the flying carp trying to get into the Great Lakes from rivers where they are already well established, the python and iguana invasions of Florida, the walking catfish, fire ants, and kudzu vine. We are going to be bringing back soil samples from other planets very soon with industrial sized shipments following on in the more distant future. For many years a uniformed and para-naval organization had taken over such sanitation duties at U. S. Seaports and air terminals That uniformed service was the U.S. Public Health Service. 
The PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (USPHS) lost most of the sanitation mission set along with the provision of free medical services to the U.S. Merchant Marine during the Reagan administration. With a few decades to look back on we find that the prevention of exotic intrusion ( introduction of plants and animals not considered pests in their native environments but very destructive in new environments ) has become everyone's problem and thus no one's problem. Exotic intrusion is increasing and increasingly destructive while the Department of Agriculture, the Coast Guard, and state and local agencies are all trying to do bits and pieces of the job that the USPHS did comprehensively and with military dedication. One obviously net result is that if you visit any American port today "rat guards "are rarely seen on the mooring lines of ships from all over the world. Rodents get on and off without difficulty and with them all of the insects and micro organisms they carry.
Its called the "Colombian Exchange" and it has been global since 1492. from snakes in Guam, to rabbits in Australia, to lion fish in Florida's coastal waters, It has also been benign to beneficial in terms of domestic plants and wildlife; potatoes from the Andes to Ireland. Corn from North America to Europe, horses reintroduced to North America. However along with the wild horses came feral hogs now destroying wild life habitat all across the South.The flue travels globally annually now. Sometimes seeming new viruses appear as was the case with the C-19 virus that swept the world in 2019-2020. Consider that it has been shown that viruses can survive earth atmospheric entry. Given what we now know about our solar system, a virus is a most likely unwanted hitch hiker on a return soil sample, Early on a Space Force must establish authority for sanitation aboard American space vehicles.be prepared to render international services for nations that request it, become the voice of the United States in forums and tribunals where international law on such matters is being hammered out, if you will, a national lobbyist for space sanitation. Again, unusual for an armed service but, the Coast Guard is our representative before the UN's International Maritime Safety groups and takes a lead role in Arctic councils. Unusual but far from unheard of.
The Dragon has shown its willingness to use "law fare" to attempt to change international law as it applies to the sea. There is no reason that they won't launch an effort related to space. The Space Force must develop and maintain a legal corps well schooled in international law especially the emerging field of Space law. When the Dragon escapes its lair and heads to the international court houses the American Space Force must follow and contest. The American Space Force also shouldn't be above aiming some "law fare " at the Dragon in preemptive legal strikes to keep harmful cases from even being heard. bad behavior at sea predicts bad behavior in space.; 
- ( in the event the hot links malfunction or you rereading this in printed format the complete URL for linked posts are https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/02/some-new-naval-supply-vessels-will-be.html and https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/sealift-still-lags.html
It is also clear that early proponents of a Space Force envision space search and rescue as one of its missions.
U.S. Coast Guard history indicates that their famous search and rescue at sea capacities evolved over time starting with nothing more than permissive authority to engage in search and rescue. That mission now dominates the public image of the US Coast Guard and forms a major part of each annual budget. We are just about certain that something similar will evolve with the Space Force.
We, Helios Ruehls, Inc.; envision one more mission set for the Space Force that seems to be over looked by the early proponents, Space sanitation , the prevention of an outer space based repeat of the "Colombian Exchange" a terrestrial event from 1492 that we are still suffering from. Think of the sea lampreys that have invaded the U.S. Great Lakes, and the flying carp trying to get into the Great Lakes from rivers where they are already well established, the python and iguana invasions of Florida, the walking catfish, fire ants, and kudzu vine. We are going to be bringing back soil samples from other planets very soon with industrial sized shipments following on in the more distant future. For many years a uniformed and para-naval organization had taken over such sanitation duties at U. S. Seaports and air terminals That uniformed service was the U.S. Public Health Service.
The PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (USPHS) lost most of the sanitation mission set along with the provision of free medical services to the U.S. Merchant Marine during the Reagan administration. With a few decades to look back on we find that the prevention of exotic intrusion ( introduction of plants and animals not considered pests in their native environments but very destructive in new environments ) has become everyone's problem and thus no one's problem. Exotic intrusion is increasing and increasingly destructive while the Department of Agriculture, the Coast Guard, and state and local agencies are all trying to do bits and pieces of the job that the USPHS did comprehensively and with military dedication. One obviously net result is that if you visit any American port today "rat guards "are rarely seen on the mooring lines of ships from all over the world. Rodents get on and off without difficulty and with them all of the insects and micro organisms they carry.
Its called the "Colombian Exchange" and it has been global since 1492. from snakes in Guam, to rabbits in Australia, to lion fish in Florida's coastal waters, It has also been benign to beneficial in terms of domestic plants and wildlife; potatoes from the Andes to Ireland. Corn from North America to Europe, horses reintroduced to North America. However along with the wild horses came feral hogs now destroying wild life habitat all across the South.The flue travels globally annually now. Sometimes seeming new viruses appear as was the case with the C-19 virus that swept the world in 2019-2020. Consider that it has been shown that viruses can survive earth atmospheric entry. Given what we now know about our solar system, a virus is a most likely unwanted hitch hiker on a return soil sample, Early on a Space Force must establish authority for sanitation aboard American space vehicles.be prepared to render international services for nations that request it, become the voice of the United States in forums and tribunals where international law on such matters is being hammered out, if you will, a national lobbyist for space sanitation. Again, unusual for an armed service but, the Coast Guard is our representative before the UN's International Maritime Safety groups and takes a lead role in Arctic councils. Unusual but far from unheard of.
The Dragon has shown its willingness to use "law fare" to attempt to change international law as it applies to the sea. There is no reason that they won't launch an effort related to space. The Space Force must develop and maintain a legal corps well schooled in international law especially the emerging field of Space law. When the Dragon escapes its lair and heads to the international court houses the American Space Force must follow and contest. The American Space Force also shouldn't be above aiming some "law fare " at the Dragon in preemptive legal strikes to keep harmful cases from even being heard. bad behavior at sea predicts bad behavior in space.;
THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND OUTER SPACE (https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-dragon-in-south-china-sea-and-outer.html)
A lot of this sounds like science fiction or futurist writing to the average American including politicians. But here at Helios Ruehls , Inc where we keep an eye on emerging technologies including for investment purposes these things look to be anywhere from a few years before emerging as technological realities to a few decades away. Its our opinion that a robust American Space Force is needed as soon as possible and must be overwhelming. We have witnessed the birth of such a corps and negative atmosphere into it which it emerged. This is why we suggest the low tech, low cost initial actions and early partnership with the Navy while support builds for the wide variety of missions that we need a Space Force for. Our examination of the potential of a Space Force suggests that while it must presently operate under largely Air Force imposed conditions, the future developed service more resembles a coast guard in space than a high altitude Air Force element or traditional navy. Immediate contact with and services aimed at the naval establishment as described earlier in this report would render big benefits to the future development of the service. Study of U.S. Coast Guard history and modern organization would be of great benefit to all senior officers.
For Helios Ruehls, Inc
R.F. Bollinger, Analyst
Copy right notes: this "White Paper" has been prepared in the public interest by Helios Ruehls, Inc. for free distribution to Air Force. Space Force, Naval, and academic interested parties. Such parties may use any part of the paper in whole or in part or as modified as they see fit to make a point or counter point under an extension of the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copy right law. Other wise copy right protections apply and if an interested party is not a member of one of the above groups permission will be required to republish.
About the author: R.F. Bollinger is a retired analyst for the DHS where he specialized in maritime matters . He is also a retired Merchant Marine Officer. Anyone wishing to make contact should alert the author via the comment section that follows the blog version of this report.
A lot of this sounds like science fiction or futurist writing to the average American including politicians. But here at Helios Ruehls , Inc where we keep an eye on emerging technologies including for investment purposes these things look to be anywhere from a few years before emerging as technological realities to a few decades away. Its our opinion that a robust American Space Force is needed as soon as possible and must be overwhelming. We have witnessed the birth of such a corps and negative atmosphere into it which it emerged. This is why we suggest the low tech, low cost initial actions and early partnership with the Navy while support builds for the wide variety of missions that we need a Space Force for. Our examination of the potential of a Space Force suggests that while it must presently operate under largely Air Force imposed conditions, the future developed service more resembles a coast guard in space than a high altitude Air Force element or traditional navy. Immediate contact with and services aimed at the naval establishment as described earlier in this report would render big benefits to the future development of the service. Study of U.S. Coast Guard history and modern organization would be of great benefit to all senior officers.
Copy right notes: this "White Paper" has been prepared in the public interest by Helios Ruehls, Inc. for free distribution to Air Force. Space Force, Naval, and academic interested parties. Such parties may use any part of the paper in whole or in part or as modified as they see fit to make a point or counter point under an extension of the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copy right law. Other wise copy right protections apply and if an interested party is not a member of one of the above groups permission will be required to republish.
Helios Ruehls. Inc presents:
"SPACE FORCE" A PLAN FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION IN A HOSTILE FUNDING ENVIRONMENT
China (The"Dragon") is in engaged to over take us in space. The Dragon doesn't subscribe to the "we come for all mankind","no territorial claims in space, mentality that the United States (The Eagle) does. We know this because China openly says so and their present behavior in the great commons of the sea predicts it. (See: THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND OUTER SPACE). The Dragon is running a full blown Manhattan Project tempo effort to dominate in space and in the space industry on earth. China appears to have no intention of honoring the present treaties against weapons in space. The Dragon also refuses to adhere to the growing international law that makes space part of the commons . In short the Imperial Dragon has territorial ambitions in Space. If the Dragon gains this high ground ; then the Dragon will dictate to the planet using hard military ordinance on target from an unassailable position, or softer economic power. If the Dragon ascends faster than the Eagle in space every nation on earth will be simply a vassal state to China. Yes, we went to the moon over 50 years ago, but since then we have concentrated on manned space flight to and from an orbiting space station unmanned science missions . and the privatization of the space industries. We don't have a 50 year lead on China any more , we have about a three to 5 year lead if the Chinese continue at their present pace and we continue to lag along.
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This happened over 50 years ago. We never claimed any territory but our claim that the moon and space generally are a "Commons" will fall if China beats us at building a permanent moon base. The Dragon will arrive possibly in as little as 3 years,The Eagle may be a year or more behind the Dragon's landing (Image courtesy of NASA)
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China is leapfrogging over certain steps to a moon landing thanks to the knowledge we left in our wake on our voyage to the moon. They have certainly mastered all of the orbital capsule skills of our Gemini program and more. .
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This is where most of our space money and effort on manned space flight went since the moon landing. If we had established a manned moon base in the years following our landing we would be in a better position to get our "Space is a commons of all mankind" policy turned into codified international law. It's not too late but we have to hurry. The Dragon wants to homestead space.Any planet they get to before us they will lay claim to and attempt to exclude us.
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| Image NASA. unmanned science projects returned information freely exchanged |
Today the Eagle (USA) and the West generally is focused on unmanned space probes, and space based telescopes, and radio telescopes seeking more knowledge of space including beyond our solar system. We share this knowledge freely. We are just now getting back into manned space travel but again only to orbital space stations. Then, the President declared it to be NASA's goal to return to the moon within 5 years. The Democrats control the House where they have obstructed everything this president has tried to do and they appear to hate military, border control, and space endeavors. Citing a maritime parallel, Steven L. Kwast, a retired Air Force general and former commander of the Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas noted in a recent speech; "Today, while America is building lighthouses and listening stations that can see and hear what is happening in space, China is building battleships and destroyers that can move fast and strike hard—the equivalent of a Navy in space. China is winning the space race not because it makes better equipment, but because it has a superior strategy. The Chinese are open about their plan to become the dominant power in space by 2049, the centennial of the end of the Communist Chinese Revolution and of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong. "
President Trump directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to start the formation of a "Space Force" as our 6th branch of the armed forces in June of 2018. The Congress appeared to approve and provided a small appropriation. But the Congress made it clear that they expected the new service to be carved out of parts of the Air Force and other DOD organizations. The Congress has made it fairly clear that they intend to starve the Space Force as much as they have starved the border wall. None the less there is much that a designated Space Force could accomplish while waiting for the adults to return to power. We must have a distinct "Space Force" because Space is the new high ground and who so ever controls space will control the earth just as it was once and still true : "he who controls the sea rules the world".
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| Public Domain Image. Artist depiction of a weaponized satellite |
Think about it , with our robotic vehicles exploring the surface of Mars, and our space telescopes observing the universe, and our near constant publication of findings; we are giving the Dragon all of the geographic information it needs to select targets and landing sites. The Dragon is not contributing to science. It is using our information, freely shared, to avoid the costs of unmanned space probes, and orbital telescopes and any other contributions to space science. The Dragon is concentrated on orbital satellites some of which can be weaponized, if they already aren't, and manned space flight. The concentration on orbital satellite operations is for the express capability of controlling military conflict to the Dragon's advantage from the seemingly unassailable high ground of orbital space.
The concentration on Manned space flight is for being able to launch rescue and repair missions for their orbital hard ware, and to get to the planets of our solar system before anyone else. These the Dragon intends to occupy to the exclusion of any other nation with the skill, technology, and funding to reach them. The Chinese push into space is all about technology, they leave the exobiology, space geography, search for water, and minerals to us. We will tell them where the good stuff is and they will go get it for their exclusive use or control of distribution. We find Gen. Kwask 's assessment of a Chinese Navy forming in space to be an accurate statement following a parallel course that we long ago described in our on line book in progress "Space AS An Ocean"or Protocols
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| Image PD: We are building and operating these while the Dragon is intent on creating these: |
Image from the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Remember: "The Chinese are open about their plan to become the dominant power in space by 2049, the centennial of the end of the Communist Chinese Revolution and of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong." (U.S. Air Force Retired General Kawst)
Enter Our Space Force. The Department of Defense (DOD) envisions a Space Force that provides services similar to certain services now provided by the Air Force. The DOD institutional vision for a Space Force at the moment is one that continues to perform the task that current space assets perform—supporting wars on the surface of the Earth. We need that mission, but we also need a Space Force eventually capable of launching and landing an armed force to the outer most planets of our solar system. and area denial missions far from the dark side of the moon .The enumerated missions of the Space Force include what seems to be mixture of the two types of services but only support of earth based warfare seems to be getting any funding: Here are the specific missions mentioned in law so far: The Space Force is specifically responsible for organizing, training, and equipping forces for the following mission sets[8]:
- Space superiority
- Space domain awareness (military, civil, and commercial)
- Offensive and defensive space control
- Command and control of space forces and satellite operations
- Space support to operations (e.g. satellite communications)
- Space service support (e.g. space lift and space range operations for military, civil, and commercial operators)
- Space support to nuclear command, control, communications and nuclear detonation detection
- Missile warning and space support to missile defense operation
We must look at space operations beyond our present geocentric orbiting devices,and the moon, earth orbit and a moon base or even a Mars Colony will not deter the Dragon's very clear territorial intentions. The task that current space assets perform—supporting military operations on the surface of the Earth is vital today and will be for years to come. Unfortunately the Air Force today seems as institutionally unable to envision operations of access and denial in deep space as once the Army Air Corps was reluctant to embrace the idea of a separate air force. The Air Force, out of which Congress thinks it will get most of the assets for a Space Force sees the Space Force as projecting power through air, space, and cyberspace, from basically our geocentric orbiting devices and stations. The Air Force institutional understanding precludes space beyond our geocentric orbits . If the Space force is ever going to become our sixth armed service in reality it has to find the missions now that make a big difference to our national security and can be afforded on a shoe string budget. We agree entirely with General Kawst's overall view,.but we don't see the Congress or the Air Force changing their position any time soon. The Dragon intends to occupy the solar system, we will need a force that can operate beyond earth orbit and the moon. Like it or not, we are in an arms race in space.
However, fortunately at the moment, the immediate focus is on influencing military operations from space. In the short term the Air Force's view point is important. One of the most important things that a Space Force could do right now is to concentrate on SPACE CAPABILITIES , PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION. This mission set is vital to our defense capabilities, serves as a deterrent and drag factor on the Dragon's ambitions, and cost very little of rare Space Force Money to get started. By concentrating on SPACE CAPABILITIES RESTORATION , PROTECTION , AND RAPID RESTORATION, the Space Force will come out of the gate with major notice, growing public support, decreased Air Force and Congressional resistance, Here are some examples of what we mean by SPACE CAPABILITIES PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION .
The Dragon will target at great expense our GPS navigation systems. This is one reason why the United States Naval Academy re-instituted the study of celestial navigation.
Paper charts and references, sextons, dividers, parallel rulers and Chronometers are very inexpensive compared to GPS systems, or the systems the Dragon plans to Knock ours out with. But if our ship navigators retain their traditional navigation skills.and tools our degree of navigational accuracy., post successful enemy attack, in getting on station to deliver ordinance to target falls from minus 50 feet to plus or minus 200 yards. This is not enough of a degradation to deter us from firing. If anything it could cause a bit more collateral damage for which the Dragon would ultimately have to accept responsibility , This was all we had in WWII and for a long time afterward. The problem with the Navy's approach is in the lack of quantity.
We can't just limit the traditional navigational skills sets to Academy trained officers. Nor can we limit the distribution of traditional navigation instruments, charts, and reference works to just a few flag ships. The Navy and the Coast Guard, have morphed their traditional Quartermaster rates (Navigational assistant) into a more electronically orientated "Operations Rate". Coast wise and celestial navigation should be reintroduced to the Operations Ratings starting at the E-5 level. and culminating with a competent celestial navigator by E-7.
The Space Force should be the primary academic developer of the over all program and primary advocate to the Navy for adoption of the program. The Navy has less interest in slowing the progress of a Space Force and makes a good target for forming an initial alliance within the now widely accepted concept of "jointness". With only one master instructor in traditional marine navigation producing course outlines and lesson plans for use by other services the Space Force eliminates the objections of "Who is going to do this?" The heavy lifting of course development is done by the Space Force at very little cost. The Navy will be developing "Class B" and "Class C" schools for their operational ratings to which Space Force personnel could be sent to develop a small cadre of traditional navigational instructors to spread such knowledge where ever it is needed within the DOD .
The Coast Guard has a very limited budget and many "unfunded mandates". The USCG uses a model of only creating and supporting those schools that are unique to certain Coast Guard missions. For most other training the USCG utilizes existing DOD schools or contractor short courses. It is a lot cheaper to lobby for a few placements within an existing school than to create and maintain a school. After more than a century the U.S. Marine Corps still prepares career officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. By establishing a Space Force career track at the Air Force Academy the Space Force saves millions while waiting for the adults to return to Washington. A Space Force career track within the Air Force Academy also tends to placate the fear within the Air Force that they are being kicked to the side of the road on space missions. None of these considerations however, should stop the Space Force from immediately getting some of their personnel into NASA astronaut training and participation in NASA missions especially those that involve building or repair in space. The Space Force needs its own cadre of experienced astronauts as soon as possible. Riding piggy back with NASA is the fast and inexpensive way to do it.
We can't just limit the traditional navigational skills sets to Academy trained officers. Nor can we limit the distribution of traditional navigation instruments, charts, and reference works to just a few flag ships. The Navy and the Coast Guard, have morphed their traditional Quartermaster rates (Navigational assistant) into a more electronically orientated "Operations Rate". Coast wise and celestial navigation should be reintroduced to the Operations Ratings starting at the E-5 level. and culminating with a competent celestial navigator by E-7.
The Space Force should be the primary academic developer of the over all program and primary advocate to the Navy for adoption of the program. The Navy has less interest in slowing the progress of a Space Force and makes a good target for forming an initial alliance within the now widely accepted concept of "jointness". With only one master instructor in traditional marine navigation producing course outlines and lesson plans for use by other services the Space Force eliminates the objections of "Who is going to do this?" The heavy lifting of course development is done by the Space Force at very little cost. The Navy will be developing "Class B" and "Class C" schools for their operational ratings to which Space Force personnel could be sent to develop a small cadre of traditional navigational instructors to spread such knowledge where ever it is needed within the DOD .
The Coast Guard has a very limited budget and many "unfunded mandates". The USCG uses a model of only creating and supporting those schools that are unique to certain Coast Guard missions. For most other training the USCG utilizes existing DOD schools or contractor short courses. It is a lot cheaper to lobby for a few placements within an existing school than to create and maintain a school. After more than a century the U.S. Marine Corps still prepares career officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. By establishing a Space Force career track at the Air Force Academy the Space Force saves millions while waiting for the adults to return to Washington. A Space Force career track within the Air Force Academy also tends to placate the fear within the Air Force that they are being kicked to the side of the road on space missions. None of these considerations however, should stop the Space Force from immediately getting some of their personnel into NASA astronaut training and participation in NASA missions especially those that involve building or repair in space. The Space Force needs its own cadre of experienced astronauts as soon as possible. Riding piggy back with NASA is the fast and inexpensive way to do it.
As we mentioned earlier while the Navy seems open to the reestablishment of traditional paper chart based navigation, they will want to cut costs where they can. Then there is the question of how do you carry a drafting table, charts , book sized references. and all the traditional instruments into a life boat? You don't, enter another low cost Space Force service to the Navy.. There are a number of computerized ( as in micro built in computers) sextons on the market that carry within cyber memory a year's worth of the information that used to require paper charts and references. A celestial "fix" can be done with nothing more than one of these computerized sextons. There are issues of quality . While the Coast Guard,has been given the unfunded mandate to "approve" ( for the general public) "Navigational equipment " they seem to avoid the approval process for traditional "navigational instruments"such as sextons, or parallel rulers or dividers. There USCG simply relies on old well established market factors to assure that quality "instruments" are available to the navigating public. The case of the computerized sexton involves issues of battery life, general reliability, and ruggedness.Identifying the products on the market suitable for use or specifying the requirements for meeting military requirements could be a job for the Space Force, the USCG would become something a customer.
Of course, any high altitude nuclear detonation over the United States would knock out not only our space based navigational systems, but also a big part of our communications infrastructure and even much of our motorized transportation system. Here again in cooperation with other services a Space Force could lead the way with cheap but effective earth based protective measures.such as the Faraday cage . Just place an electrical generator and a radio into a Faraday cage and you have a communications device that is highly resistant to attack.
Now suppose the Navy started with a Space Force inspired and coordinated event involving only three initial Faraday Cage protected radios and generators. One could be placed in the Pentagon,. one in San Diego, one on board a flag ship heading up a test flotilla. out ward bound from San Diego. Other radios could be silenced as the Navy demonstrated the ability to communicate over long distances after an enemy high level nuclear detonation. Communications between the flag ship and other flotilla vessels would be by visual signaling as it is often done today for security of tactical information. Give the Ships crews liberty in Hawaii and tell the local press what the mission was all about .
The Dragon watches the local press in Hawaii. They will drive themselves crazy to find out the scope and depth of the experiment. That is a good thing, possibly even a drag on research. into the attack we already fear from the Dragon.. As for the Dragon learning the extend and depth of the development all we need do is continue to expand on the system by putting more and more vital communications and response equipment into Faraday cages. The Space Force will be able to get a lot of help in spreading this earth based space capability protection. The Army Signal Corps comes to mind as they have the skill sets to construct even large Faraday cages capable of protecting motor vehicles and small power generation plants.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a group of ham operators who have global reach already . Many of their radios and generators can readily be protected by equipment presently sold on Amazon. Imagine the effect on Chinese naval intelligence if a net work of CG Auxiliary Ham operators were to light up after our Test Flotilla reached Hawaii. This earth bound protection against the dreaded high altitude nuclear detonation may be implemented quickly or evolve over time depending on the cooperation of the sister services and Congress. However as long as it is clear to the Dragon that it is being implemented its very existence is a deterrent against rash action. Remember that the U.S. came out on top in the Cold war largely because we broke the economic back of the Soviet Union in an arms race they could not afford. Yes, we can spend a lot, but also frugality and simplicity and net working have a role to play in making our defenses a deterrent. We can spend billions less on very effective earth based rapid recovery of space based capabilities than what the Chinese will have to spend to build attack systems that will never have the effect they are hoping for. Whether working the low tech or high tech , high end deterrent systems a successful Space Force should have as its highest goal the same goal as the Department of Homeland Security ... make sure nothing happens.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States.
Some of these assets are designed to be self guided, However ,others require guidance from space. Here a cataloging chore is needed. Minus our naval weapons guided from space capabilities that we are likely to lose in the face of a preemptive attack how much residual controllable fire power do we have tn the fleet? How should the knowledge of this affect future development and acquisitions? In all cases we want to have serious punching power coming out of a preemptive attack..
As for the Dragon its intelligence services will learn eventually that we have growing protection from loss of space based services via almost impossible to knock out low tech, earth based arts and systems, The Dragon will learn that we have arranged these back up programs with the express intent of having lots of surviving and effective naval fire power in the event of preemptive attack. Whats a Dragon to do? Invest in a still larger Navy? Invest in more expensive orbital systems? A program such as this initial survey, inventory, and organizational redirection does not force much in the way of immediate expenses on us, but an aggressor will be facing a higher bar. Such an approach sends the focus of this seemingly most expensive arms race back down to earth, particularly to the naval realm, re-enforcing and prolonging the concept "that he rules the seas rules the world." and delaying any real warfare in space for a while longer. It falls in line with what ought to be the Space Force's reason for existence; making sure nothing happens.
Having said all that , the programs out lined above would not be the end of Space Force assistance to the Naval Establishment. While a return to paper navigation skills assure us of the ability to place naval firepower where it needs to be this is not a navigation system for a single seat fighter bomber, In Vietnam the Coast Guard operated LORAN systems. When LORAN appeared to be becoming obsolete the USCG proposed the OMAGA system, The OMAGA system was supposed to provide global electronic navigation services using only eight earth based stations, The Space Force could again provide a serious contribution by urging the Coast to reexamine the OMAGA system. Receivers for any non space based navigation system, operable by a pilot or flight officer should be installed and tested on some flight leader manned air craft. By providing encouragement and possibly some funding assistance with the early testing and development phase.the Space Force again drives naval improvement at low cost during a time when the Navy's brass are struggling to keep a minimum ship building program going in the face of a hostile Congress..
There are of course space capabilities that we need which don't lend themselves to the low tech solutions that we have outlined for naval navigation and communications losses. Some of these will require expensive solutions such as hidden orbital replacement satellites, and ready on the launch pad replacement orbital systems, These are the immediately needed high end.portion of the Space Force's defense contribution. Unfortunately this part of space capabilities reconstruction forces do not appear on the budget agenda in the immediately foreseeable future. The Air Force has some of these types of assets but will only let go of them to the Space Force gradually.
What about the totally necessary ability of the Space Force to project power in space beyond earth orbit and the moon? The Space Force needs time to build up competencies and resources and a public image before expecting Congress to provide funding. The Space Force presently envisioned by the DOD, especially the Air Force lacks these essential; capabilities. "Correspondingly, the Defense Department and Congress think that the Air Force should build the Space Force. So far, this has amounted to the Air Force planning to improve the current Satellite Command incrementally and call it a Space Force. It is not planning to accelerate the new space economy with dual-use technologies. It is not planning to protect the Moon or travel corridors in space to and from resource locations—raw materials worth trillions of dollars are available within a few days’ travel from Earth—and other strategic high grounds. It is not planning to place human beings in space to build and protect innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the physical environment. It is not developing means to rescue Americans who may get stranded or lost in space." Steven L. Kwast, a retired Air Force general
Our Analysis suggest that the wisest course for the new Space Force right out of the box is an acceptance of the limits the Air Force is placing upon it. The Air force will be controlling much of the budget in the first years. However the Space Force should adopt in a quite public manner a "joint forces approach" and start with some highly effective but low costs assistance to the Navy. Marine Corps, Coast Guard team.The Air Force will have a difficult time being critical of the new service's immediate orientation towards space capabilities RECONSTRUCTION PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION. As we mentioned earlier while the Navy seems open to the reestablishment of traditional paper chart based navigation, they will want to cut costs where they can. Then there is the question of how do you carry a drafting table, charts , book sized references. and all the traditional instruments into a life boat? You don't: enter another low cost Space Force service to the Navy.and Coast Guard approval of certain navigational instruments. The Coast Guard has an unfunded mandate to examine and approve navigational equipment. Instruments such as sextons and marine sector navigational instruments modified for aviation and space use might well become the first regulatory duty of the Space Force. An armed service doing regulatory work faces constitutional hurdles in the United States . But it is done. The US Coast Guard enforces all Federal Laws on the High Seas and territorial waters of the United States. The Coast Guard regulates the safety of our Merchant Marine from vessel inspections to the licensing of officers and the certification of the ratings. I order to do these things the Coast Guard is housed away from the Department of Defense. There exists legal fast tracks to make the entire service a separate and distinct service within the Navy , or to "second" particular personnel and or vessels, or air craft to Navy in times of national emergency, or as a matter of routine when serious DOD need for Coast Guard services arise.The evolving Space Force will soon find itself involved in some major regulatory situations based on the long range mission plans for the service.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States but the global space based systems would be out of order..
Some of these assets are designed to be self guided, others require guidance from space. Here a cataloging chore is needed. Minus our naval weapons guided from space capabilities that we are likely to lose in the face of a preemptive attack how much residual controllable fire power do we have tn the fleet. How should the knowledge of this affect future development and acquisitions? In all cases we want to have serious punching power coming out of a preemptive attack. The preliminary work of research and survey is a great starting point and cost little for a lot of impact. A change in naval weaponry acquisition focus could emerge from such a study decreasing our naval dependency on space based ordinance guidance systems, However it is not realistic or even desirable that all such dependency be eliminated.
Enter Rapid Recovery Systems:
Rapid recovery systems involve hidden orbital replacement assets and on, or close to, the launch pad replacement systems. These are on the high end of space based missions favored by the Air Force. These are some of the big budget, near term missions for the Space Force not likely to draw institutional fire from the Air Force. All of these missions address near term threats to our ability to control armed conflict on earth which is where the Air Force focus is at the moment. But the President had much more in mind in terms of tasking for the Space Force. As we mentioned earlier the eventual missions of the Space Force will go beyond earth orbital, Moon and Mars related activity. Among the eventual missions envisioned beyond the near earth missions :
- Develop a deterrence capability that will render ICBMs and nuclear weapons useless relics of the past. Remember a primary focus of the Space Force is to help assure that NOTHING HAPPENS.
- Defend Earth against small asteroids like the one that hit Russia in 2013. and eventually large asteroids as well.
- Reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters by managing the eyes of hurricanes and the funnels of tornadoes with energy from space.
- Provide a shelter in space for the protection and preservation of people, seeds, animals and life-saving medicines, so humanity can recover from any unexpected contamination.
- Design space based defense capabilities to preserve our economy, and our population .
- Other Activities of the eventual mature Space Force would include some activities that are routinely done by other armed forces in concert with other industries. Remember the Chinese intend to not only dominate space physically by 2049 but also to dominate the space industries on earth. Our Space Force must be ready early on to protect its industrial production and supply lines. The present existing armed forces do this in a variety of ways mostly involving assurance of multiple providers, by spreading production work around multiple providers. The other armed forces also monitor economically weak but important providers and try to send them some work in time to prevent closure of production lines. Additionally the older DOD agencies provide research grants This type of cooperation requires no new legislation other than funding. Here are some of the cooperative space industry protective measures that some proponents of the Space Force have proposed:
- Provide fresh water for every human without the need for aquifers or pipes.
- Build a new low-cost internet that is designed to be secure so that every human can connect, share, and learn with assured privacy .
- Deliver unlimited, clean, affordable energy to every human on the planet with less terrestrial infrastructure and dramatically less cost.
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. Early on this would include manufacturing of certain commodities like certain pharmaceuticals that we already know would be greatly improved by manufacture in a low to no G environment.
- BUT IF THE SPACE FORCE IS GOING TO PLAY A KEY ROLE IN ASSURING THAT THE UNITED STATES DOESN'T FALL BEHIND CHINA IN OVERALL SPACE INDUSTRIES IT WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO ASSUME SOME POWERS OF REGULATION. Under the U.S. Constitution it is very difficult to assign regulatory functions to an armed forces but it has been done. The U.S. Coast Guard lawfully exercises comprehensive safety regulation over the U.S. Maritime industries including the licensing of Merchant Marine Officers and the certification of seamen as well as environmental regulation. The Coast Guard is now tasked with enforcing "all federal laws" on the High Seas and navigable waters of the United States. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with navigational and flood control infrastructure building including with "partners" such as industry groups, state and local governments particularly on a cost sharing basis. As a logical out come of this infrastructure work, the Corps had been given certain regulatory authorities over the navigable waters of the U.S. .
- HERE AGAIN ARE SOME OF THE FUTURE COOPERATIVE TYPE VENTURES THAT THE PROPONENTS OF THE SPACE FORCE HAVE DESCRIBED
- These we mentioned earlier:
- Deliver unlimited, clean, affordable energy to every human on the planet without without increased costs to consumers or increases in related terrestrial infrastructure.
- Design defense capabilities probably including earth based intelligence programs to preserve our economy, our population, and our infrastructure such as our power lines and terrestrial power plants. .
- Provide fresh water for every human with reduced need for aquifers or pipes.
- Build a new low-cost internet that is designed to be secure for military , academic, and consumer activity.
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. This opens the door to some early on opportunities unusual for an American Armed Force but hardly unheard of elsewhere in the world. We already know of certain products that would be vitally enhanced by manufacture in a low G or 0 G environment. The companies involved can't spare the type of capital it takes for orbital manufacturing sites , or launch services to support delivery of supplies and finished product. However, some of these products are far more valuable than gold. In the case of some pharmaceutical products a shoe box of product is worth more than a truck load of gold. Some spare space in both Space Force stations and service vehicles could open the doors to a unique partnership The Space Force is expected to facilitate the rapid growth of space industries .and could always use the money. Chinese and Russian armed forces engage in this sort of funding activity all the time. The first use of paid advertising in space was when the `Russians launched a rocket with a Dominoes Pizza logo painted on the side, Eventually the early users of Space Force business incubators will be able to afford their own dedicated orbital manufacturing facilities and shuttle services but some space industrial incubator spaces on Space Force stations and vehicles will quickly be taken up by other start ups. More over with other military needs of the force difficult to determine , and space search and rescue definitely on the agenda extra cargo room is prudent in such designs. .Take a close look into the U.S Navy's present day "sea-lift" problems::
SOME NEW NAVAL SUPPLY VESSELS WILL BE RE-DESIGNATED "WAR SHIPS" FOR THE SEA BASING MISSION
See also: SEALIFT STILL LAGS / MARAD RESERVE FLEET TEETERING
( in the event the hot links malfunction or you rereading this in printed format the complete URL for linked posts are https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/02/some-new-naval-supply-vessels-will-be.html and https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/sealift-still-lags.html
It is also clear that early proponents of a Space Force envision space search and rescue as one of its missions.
U.S. Coast Guard history indicates that their famous search and rescue at sea capacities evolved over time starting with nothing more than permissive authority to engage in search and rescue. That mission now dominates the public image of the US Coast Guard and forms a major part of each annual budget. We are just about certain that something similar will evolve with the Space Force.
We, Helios Ruehls, Inc.; envision one more mission set for the Space Force that seems to be over looked by the early proponents, Space sanitation , the prevention of an outer space based repeat of the "Colombian Exchange" a terrestrial event from 1492 that we are still suffering from. Think of the sea lampreys that have invaded the U.S. Great Lakes, and the flying carp trying to get into the Great Lakes from rivers where they are already well established, the python and iguana invasions of Florida, the walking catfish, fire ants, and kudzu vine. We are going to be bringing back soil samples from other planets very soon with industrial sized shipments following on in the more distant future. For many years a uniformed and para-naval organization had taken over such sanitation duties at U. S. Seaports and air terminals That uniformed service was the U.S. Public Health Service.
They lost most of the sanitation mission set along with the provision of free medical services to the U.S. Merchant Marine during the Reagan administration. With a few decades to look back on we find that the prevention of exotic intrusion ( introduction of plants and animals not considered pests in their native environments but very destructive in new environments ) has become everyone's problem and thus no one's problem. Exotic intrusion is increasing and increasingly destructive while the Department of Agriculture, the Coast Guard, and state and local agencies are all trying to do bits and pieces of the job that the USPHS did comprehensively and with military dedication. One obviously net result is that if you visit any American port today "rat guards "are rarely seen on the mooring lines of ships from all over the world. Rodents get on and off without difficulty and with them all of the insects and micro organisms they carry. Its called the "Colombian Exchange" and it has been global since 1492. from snakes in Guam, to rabbits in Australia, to lion fish in Florida coastal waters, It has also been benign to beneficial in terms of domestic plants and wildlife; potatoes from the Andes to Ireland. Corn from North America to Europe. Horses reintroduced to North America. However along with the wild horses came feral hogs now destroying wild life habitat all across the South.The flue travels globally annually now. Consider that it has been shown that viruses can survive earth atmospheric entry. Given what we now know about our solar system, a virus is a most likely unwanted hitch hiker on a return soil sample, Early on a Space Force must establish authority for sanitation aboard American space vehicles.be prepared to render international services for nations that request it, become the voice of the United States in forums and tribunals where international law on such matters is being hammered out, if you will a national lobbyist for space sanitation. Again, unusual for an armed service but, the Coast Guard is our representative before the UN's International Maritime Safety groups and takes a lead role in Arctic councils. Unusual but far from unheard of.
The Dragon has shown its willingness to use "law fare" to attempt to change international law as it applies to the sea. There is no reason that they won't launch an effort related to space. The Space Force must develop and maintain a legal corps well schooled in international law especially the emerging field of Space law. When the Dragon escapes its lair and heads to the international court houses the American Space Force must follow and contest. The American Space Force also shouldn't be above aiming some "law fare " at the Dragon in preemptive legal strikes to keep harmful cases from even being heard. bad behavior at sea predicts bad behavior in space.;
THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND OUTER SPACE (https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-dragon-in-south-china-sea-and-outer.html)
A lot of this sounds like science fiction or futurist writing to the average American including politicians. But here at Helios Ruehls , Inc where we keep an eye on emerging technologies including for investment purposes these things look to be anywhere from a few years before emerging as technological realities to a few decades away. Its our opinion that a robust American Space Force is needed as soon as possible and must be overwhelming. We have witnessed the birth of such a corps and negative atmosphere into it which it emerged. This is why we suggest the low tech, low cost initial actions and early partnership with the Navy while support builds for the wide variety of missions that we need a Space Force for. Our examination of the potential of a Space Force suggests that while it must presently operate under largely Air Force imposed conditions, the future developed service more resembles a coast guard in space than a high altitude Air Force element or traditional navy. Immediate contact with and services aimed at the naval establishment as described earlier in this report would render big benefits to the future development of the service. Study of U.S. Coast Guard history and modern organization would be of great benefit to all senior officers.
For Helios Ruehls, Inc
R.F. Bollinger, Analyst
Copy right notes: this "White Paper" has been prepared in the public interest by Helios Ruehls, Inc. for free distribution to Air Force. Space Force, Naval, and academic interested parties. Such parties may use any part of the paper in whole or in part or as modified as they see fit to make a point or counter point under an extension of the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copy right law. Other wise copy right protections apply and if an interested party is not a member of one of the above groups permission will be required to republish.
About the author: R.F.Bollinger is a retired analyst for the DHS where he specialized in maritime matters . He is also a retired Merchant Marine Officer. Anyone wishing to make contact should alert the author via the comment section that follows the blog version of this report.
EDITED 3/22/2020
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THE ENDURING PRINCIPLES OF MARITIME INTERNATIONAL LAW
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------fifty years ago will mean nothing to the Chinese. Our landing of a half century ago will hold no more court precedent than their historical arguments about the 9 dash line. We made no territorial claim and instead declared the solar system a commons of all mankind.The Mare Clausum (closed sea) is an exception to today's international law where the mare liberum (free seas) is the norm. The mare liberum is enshrined in both traditional international law and in codified international law through a number of "conventions" ( treaties agreed to by multiple states),. Today the concept of the mare liberum means that the sea outside the jurisdiction of a state is open for navigation to ships of all nations.
This is the generally accepted principal on what we call the "High Seas", but
it has become subject to modification in recent decades. The discovery of offshore oil and the necessity to effectively manage certain fisheries led to first, an expansion of the Territorial Sea from 3 miles off shore to 12 miles, then the recognition of exclusive economic zones (EEZ). The exclusive economic zone does not confer on the recipient ownership but rather an exclusive license to do certain things within this area of the "commons" such as establish oil wells. Within the EEZ the EEZ holding state with the EEZ privilege must exercise management of all benthic (bottom contacting) fisheries and manage in accordance with relevant international convention certain migratory fish populations when they pass through the EEZ waters., Managing an EEZ is not, nor was it meant to be an exclusive right to do anything the EEZ nation wants, or to limit access except in the cases of dredges, or mobile offshore drilling vessels type craft. The water surface and water column are in the international commons and are open to navigation. The only restriction that the EEZ state may put on foreign shipping is the requirement to use certain safety fairways that the EEZ state is obligated to establish and maintain between their oil drilling operations, wind farms, aquaculture operations etc....
China has a large EEZ by existing law. Their existing EEZ is up to 200 miles seaward from their shore line. They have a legitimate exclusive claim to certain of the resources, and obligations of good stewardship over a bit less than half the area they now claim but were rebuffed in international court. They are now trying to enforce by astute and limited naval force the sovereign rights they claim over other peoples EEZs and in the case of the Philippines almost to their western beaches. SEE: Congressional Research Service Report On The Chinese Navy https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2019/09/congressional-research-service-report.html
Chinese sailors at Pearl Harbor, the place their government has publicly announced that they would drive us back to. (Official U.S. Navy Photo)| ENTER THE POPE , AGAIN |
Pope Alexander VI Leading Proponent of the "Mar clausum ( Closed Sea)
Now when the pope divided the world and its oceans into the private preserves of Spain and Portugal the battle over the Protestant Reformation was in progress. Some of the Great Powers of Europe had left the Catholic fold. The most powerful of these "Protestant nations " ( yea I know they call themselves "Anglican Catholic " ) was Great Britain a sea dependent nation with lots of sailing fire power and no tolerance for being told what they could do or where they could go on the world's oceans. The Pope had of course divided the "New World into two Providences to be run by two reliably Catholic powerful states. The rest of Europe was offended while Britannia and the Netherlands were about to spend big time on ocean exploration and colonization they also began to prepare for war. The Catholic powers felt the pope was the last word on International Law. Indeed his papal bulls are still cited today ( Eximiae devotionis (3 May 1493), Inter caetera (4 May 1493) and Dudum Siquidem (23 September 1493) when argument arise over the legitimate mare Clausum. There are legitimate closed seas but in most cases these are wide bays surrounded on three sides by a single nation, and these were mostly established some time prior to 1494. The Chinese claim to the South China Sea goes way back beyond 1494 to a time when certain Chinese emperors actually had effective control over the area. Many of those old imperial occupied or vassal states became independent nations centuries ago and as such based on modern conventions are entitled to a 12 mile territorial limit and an EEZ of up to 200 miles from their beach. Where the potential EEZ meets a neighbor's propose EEZ line the Convention requires the two coastal states to work out an agreed boundary in good faith. No one else on the particular arm of the sea may dictate EEZ boundaries . So China is pretty much denied a believable role as a disinterested third party for brokering boundary disputes. Everyone in the nations bordering the China Seas knows that if China is given the referee's seat at the bargaining table some how the dragon will walk away with major concessions towards recognition of its 9 dash line claim. So, blocked from its claim by international law , courts, and public sentiment the dragon is making an end run.
The dragon's strategy, is the Cabbage Patch approach and the effective control or settlement legal argument. Under the cabbage patch stratagem China picks out reefs and other partially submerged land forms in the contested sea and at great expense raises these areas above sea level. Sometimes they build structures and declare these artificial islands "light houses", or "fishing stations" They then call in their "naval militia " consisting of armed commercial fishermen, These artificial islands, and often natural reefs as well, are quickly surrounded by many armed Chinese fishing boats. Recently they have carried this activity into the EEZ of neighboring states. Once enough Chinese fishermen are present, and the former owners pretty well locked out, the Chinese Coast Guard shows up to "protect their fishermen". The Chinese formed the world's largest coast guard virtually over night by combining disparate marine law enforcement agencies into a coherent para-naval force with civilian law enforcement powers.. Their coast guard ships are not imposingly large and are lightly armed consistent with most formal coast guards found around the world. The dragon's position is that everything going on as their neighbor state struggles to regain control of their lost areas is a law enforcement matter being handled by the Chinese coast guard and not a naval invasion of anyone's territory.. The worst of all lies is the half truth. It is true that an EEZ is not the territorial possession of the state granted the EEZ. So techno-legally the Chinese action isn't a territorial invasion. This gives a lot of Western states , even those like the United states pause when thinking about punishing China for their maritime land grab. If you have a free standing, vigorous and permanent anti war segment in your population ,as the United States does, they are sure to buy into the half truth and mobilize resistance against any effective punitive action, The dragon will get lots of media coverage for its convoluted side of the argument. The cabbage patch strategy can be defeated without war but it takes some out of the box naval thinking. For an example see:
HELIOS RUEHLS, INC NAVAL STRATEGY WHITE PAPER: CHINA SEAS
THE CHINESE CABBAGE PATCH STRATEGY:
A STUDY IN THE USE OF EMERGING AND DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY IN COUNTERING A NAVAL LAND GRAB. .. . https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/helios-ruehls-inc-naval-strategy-white.html
 
Image by US Navy: this or that .>if you know how to deploy it. Image :by Artist image of an advanced elevating work boat
design from BENNETT OFFSHORE http://www.bennettoffshore.com/3500.html
Going back to developments in the maritime sphere between 1492 and about 1776 the European sea powers attempted to out maneuver each other and for sometimes prolonged periods shoot at each other. All of this pain over the argument between the Mare Clausum and the Mare Liberum. It would take nearly 400 years of English sailors applying pressure and often dying in the process for the Mare Liberum to become the accepted international law. As late as the 1790s and early 1800s the Islamic states of the Mediterranean still didn't conform; remember the Barbary Pirates? Then a young United States stepped forward and enforced the rule. The Mare Liberum is a gift of centuries of English speaking sailors sacrifice. Today it is codified in many ways into international law by wide adoption into the national law of many nations and by wide agreement of multiple nations on international conventions including one called " The law of the Sea Convention" the Dragon would like to scrap this hard won logical and necessary law for a free pass to loot and pillage their neighbors so long as it takes place off the beach,
The companion legal argument to the cabbage patch strategy is a double edged sword consisting of two well known concepts in international law. In assigning sovereignty over previously unknown territories international law recognizes two basis for such assignment effective settlement and effective control. The Chinese are starting to maintain human populations on some of their artificial islands claiming effective settlement. And the Dragon claims that all their coast guard activity amounts to "effective control" . The Dragon's navy also gets into the act by meeting transiting commercial vessels and sometimes even transiting war ships and announcing over the radio a welcome to the South China Sea and notice that the dragon's navy will be providing an escort through "their territory.". Even in the case where ships have tried to avoid this "escort service " the Dragon simply slips into a parallel course at an easy distance off. They have as much right to do that as the transiting ship has the right of peaceful passage and the right to refuse this bogus "escort service".., But the escort "service" even when a sham of just a parallel course always has the potential to develop some useful radio contacts and or photo opportunities that the Dragon can use in an international court at some time in the future.
So this is how they have acted in the oceanic commons. Why would we expect any better behavior in space? look for the Dragon to attack the global consensus that our solar system is a commons like the oceans where no state should be barred from operating. The Chinese will muddy the waters of space exploration and settlement with strident nationalistic and over reaching territorial claims. They re determined not to be a good neighbor in space but rather what they are in their own neighborhood a prowling acquisitive Dragon. If they ever are first to land on any planet in our solar system look for them to claim the entire planet as part of their sovereign territory . The Dragon is going to be trouble in space!
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| I am NAMAZU and I approved this messaged |
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LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
CONCLUSION
We've now come to the end of the line of posts from the book from The American Admiralty Books Blog. This final excerpt which we present as a conclusion for the essays presented in this series is actually from the original book proposal and recounts what the entire series of essays is meant to convey.
There are important lessons to be learned from the age of sail exploration that will be beneficial in the age of space exploration and now is the time to examine these lessons.
Before the dawn of history mankind had migrated to the far corners of the earth , peopled all of the continents except Antarctica and peopled many of the oceanic islands. The migrations were the result of many individual and small group decisions and occurred over thousands of years. Tribes, nations, civilizations evolved in relative isolation separated by vast distances, especially vast oceans. By the time of the European Recognizance entire civilizations existed in relative to complete ignorance of each other. Then these civilizations collided when European explorers such as Columbus and Magellan appeared on scene. In about a century the world went from an age of tentative exploration to an age of colonial conquest and rule. During the age of exploration and the subsequent colonial conquest, entire civilizations, languages, religions, plant, and animal species were wiped out. Both conqueror and conquered became exposed to and died of previously unknown diseases.
Today we have pushed off into space. Space travel at present, is too complex and expensive to anticipate any immanent migratory process. However now at the very beginning of what will probably prove to be a very long era of exploration we have already received some most important information from such efforts as the Hubble telescope. Plain and simply here is that news. Other planets circle other stars, some of these planets have atmospheres, and water is more common in the universe than previously thought. The second news item is that the new theoretical physics informs us that light speed may not be the absolute speed limit in the universe and that faster than light travel actually may be possible. So we are faced with the reality that it is more probable than not that other inhabitable real estate exists in the universe and that we will probably eventually develop the means to find it. But what or who might we find there? Now is the time to think about the protocols of space exploration so that our first encounter with other life be it a microbe, a plant, or an intelligent, self aware being will not turn out like the last time; when worlds, long separated by a seemingly uncross-able ocean collided. As we write, the Colombian Exchange continues mostly unregulated, and increasingly with negative socioeconomic effects. We are really not ready for an interstellar version of the Colombian Exchange. We may not have as much time as we think. A comparison with the European Recognizance by Sea is reassuring that we are a long way from traveling outside our solar system. However, discovery of earth organisms living on the outside of the International Space Station, coupled with near term plans for returning soil samples from planets with water in our own solar systems; make the time for developing protocols for the discovery, but against the proliferation on Earth of alien micro organisms urgent.
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AWESOME TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
https://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k
Departing Space Station Commander Provides Tour of Orbital Laboratory
NASA IMAGE: INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
This is probably the most recent and timely tour of the International Space Station available today.The International Space station was not the first "orbital space laboratory", that was probably "Sky Lab" launched May 14, 1973. But the International Space Station is a quite different milestone in space exploration history. Since it was first manned over 12 years ago, not a night has passed when a few human beings weren't off the planet. That is almost as important to the human exploration of space as the first manned moon landing demonstrating our ability to leave this planet, travel to another , safely land, explore and return to earth. The International Space Station is a demonstration of human ability to function effectively in space for very prolonged periods and keep space facilities located within reasonable travel distances continuously manned.
The Space Station isn't "Star Trek" there are no gravity mats. Weightlessness is obvious, at times apparently fun, but in the long term problematic. Creature comforts are quite Spartan. This is life in the belly of a machine. For AAB staffers who have spent considerable time on Drill Ships and Mobile Offshore Drilling Units there is something very familiar about it. By comparison, life on an offshore drilling unit (MODU) with real food, showers and rest rooms, and honest to God gravity seems luxurious. But it didn't seem so at the time. Duty on a MODU can be exciting but when your two week to one month tour is up you are definitely ready to go home. One of the first things you notice when your helicopter first crosses the beach line is color. Even just a few weeks living largely in the belly of a machine with grey steel all about and a weather deck view of the sea and sky, mostly grey or grey blue with white clouds is enough to give one a malady I call "color deprivation". What is clear about the people who man space vehicles and installations at this time is that they are intimately involved with the technology of their habitat. Life on a MODU is a 12 hour work day and afterwards there are few diversions such as pool tables or TV. To live on a space vehicle under the conditions observed on this video and be in the good humor that the departing station commander is obviously in, the work day must be more on the order of 16 hours a day with people who have a high degree of interest , enthusiasm, for the work.
Your narrator, the departing station commander , a young woman, can only be described as attractive, intelligent, and surprisingly rather bubbly. She seems to exude charm and a sense of fun though she mentions several times that she will be back on earth within about 12 hours of the finish of the video shoot. Sailors have to wonder; is she exhibiting a species of "channel fever" that every sailor knows. Channel fever is a species of euphoria that seizes long deployed sailors as land comes into sight, be it home or a liberty port. Was she that happy and charming three weeks prior to this video? .
Personally I think that before space installations and vehicles can accommodate mission specialists who aren't literally "space happy", they are going to need those gravity mats, a recreation room, better food, and at least a few clutter free spaces with some human friendly color and furnishings that aren't dual purpose parts of the operating system. This will sound very strange but I'm deadly serious with this suggestion. NASA would benefit in planning larger, longer term space facilities and vehicles, requiring larger work forces, some of whom inevitably will view service aboard not as an adventure but as a job; by conferring with maritime union negotiators. If anyone has identified the rock bottom minimum living conditions that a wide spectrum of the human character can live in isolation with for a protracted period it would be our seaman union negotiators. Like all sailors we are realists. Space is an ocean, and it will be explored, traveled upon, and exploited for resources. The work force won't all be as smart, stable, intelligent, good humored, or charming as the people you will see in this video. You can't send up crews forever who are as hand picked as your charming narrator and her "shipmates" in this virtual visit to the International Space Station. As an experienced commander of "Industrial vessels" (ships like MODUs that perform work at sea vice transport across it) and as an officer in charge of a semi isolated military station, my opinion about life on a present day space station is this. There would be at least one ax murder among a typical maritime crew under similar living conditions that austere within the first month.
Our advice to NASA? When you design those larger truly industrial space stations, and long voyage vehicles, or planet colonies, don't ever let living conditions fall below the American maritime unions standards of ship habitability.
Meanwhile click on this link for your tour: https://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k and we hope you enjoy your visit as much as your tour guide obviously enjoyed being your host.
Johnas Presbyter , Editor
Departing Space Station Commander Provides Tour of Orbital Laboratory
DEPARTING SPACE STATION COMMANDER PROVIDES TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
NASA IMAGE: INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
This is probably the most recent and timely tour of the International Space Station available today.The International Space station was not the first "orbital space laboratory", that was probably "Sky Lab" launched May 14, 1973. But the International Space Station is a quite different milestone in space exploration history. Since it was first manned over 12 years ago, not a night has passed when a few human beings weren't off the planet. That is almost as important to the human exploration of space as the first manned moon landing demonstrating our ability to leave this planet, travel to another , safely land, explore and return to earth. The International Space Station is a demonstration of human ability to function effectively in space for very prolonged periods and keep space facilities located within reasonable travel distances continuously manned.
The Space Station isn't "Star Trek" there are no gravity mats. Weightlessness is obvious, at times apparently fun, but in the long term problematic. Creature comforts are quite Spartan. This is life in the belly of a machine. For AAB staffers who have spent considerable time on Drill Ships and Mobile Offshore Drilling Units there is something very familiar about it. By comparison, life on an offshore drilling unit (MODU) with real food, showers and rest rooms, and honest to God gravity seems luxurious. But it didn't seem so at the time. Duty on a MODU can be exciting but when your two week to one month tour is up you are definitely ready to go home. One of the first things you notice when your helicopter first crosses the beach line is color. Even just a few weeks living largely in the belly of a machine with grey steel all about and a weather deck view of the sea and sky, mostly grey or grey blue with white clouds is enough to give one a malady I call "color deprivation". What is clear about the people who man space vehicles and installations at this time is that they are intimately involved with the technology of their habitat. Life on a MODU is a 12 hour work day and afterwards there are few diversions such as pool tables or TV. To live on a space vehicle under the conditions observed on this video and be in the good humor that the departing station commander is obviously in, the work day must be more on the order of 16 hours a day with people who have a high degree of interest , enthusiasm, for the work.
Your narrator, the departing station commander , a young woman, can only be described as attractive, intelligent, and surprisingly rather bubbly. She seems to exude charm and a sense of fun though she mentions several times that she will be back on earth within about 12 hours of the finish of the video shoot. Sailors have to wonder; is she exhibiting a species of "channel fever" that every sailor knows. Channel fever is a species of euphoria that seizes long deployed sailors as land comes into sight, be it home or a liberty port. Was she that happy and charming three weeks prior to this video? .
Personally I think that before space installations and vehicles can accommodate mission specialists who aren't literally "space happy", they are going to need those gravity mats, a recreation room, better food, and at least a few clutter free spaces with some human friendly color and furnishings that aren't dual purpose parts of the operating system. This will sound very strange but I'm deadly serious with this suggestion. NASA would benefit in planning larger, longer term space facilities and vehicles, requiring larger work forces, some of whom inevitably will view service aboard not as an adventure but as a job; by conferring with maritime union negotiators. If anyone has identified the rock bottom minimum living conditions that a wide spectrum of the human character can live in isolation with for a protracted period it would be our seaman union negotiators. Like all sailors we are realists. Space is an ocean, and it will be explored, traveled upon, and exploited for resources. The work force won't all be as smart, stable, intelligent, good humored, or charming as the people you will see in this video. You can't send up crews forever who are as hand picked as your charming narrator and her "shipmates" in this virtual visit to the International Space Station. As an experienced commander of "Industrial vessels" (ships like MODUs that perform work at sea vice transport across it) and as an officer in charge of a semi isolated military station, my opinion about life on a present day space station is this. There would be at least one ax murder among a typical maritime crew under similar living conditions that austere within the first month.
Our advice to NASA? When you design those larger truly industrial space stations, and long voyage vehicles, or planet colonies, don't ever let living conditions fall below the American maritime unions standards of ship habitability.
Meanwhile click on this link for your tour: https://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k and we hope you enjoy your visit as much as your tour guide obviously enjoyed being your host.
Johnas Presbyter , Editor
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AWESOME TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
https://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k
Departing Space Station Commander Provides Tour of Orbital Laboratory
NASA IMAGE: INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
This is probably the most recent and timely tour of the International Space Station available today.The International Space station was not the first "orbital space laboratory", that was probably "Sky Lab" launched May 14, 1973. But the International Space Station is a quite different milestone in space exploration history. Since it was first manned over 12 years ago, not a night has passed when a few human beings weren't off the planet. That is almost as important to the human exploration of space as the first manned moon landing demonstrating our ability to leave this planet, travel to another , safely land, explore and return to earth. The International Space Station is a demonstration of human ability to function effectively in space for very prolonged periods and keep space facilities located within reasonable travel distances continuously manned.
The Space Station isn't "Star Trek" there are no gravity mats. Weightlessness is obvious, at times apparently fun, but in the long term problematic. Creature comforts are quite Spartan. This is life in the belly of a machine. For AAB staffers who have spent considerable time on Drill Ships and Mobile Offshore Drilling Units there is something very familiar about it. By comparison, life on an offshore drilling unit (MODU) with real food, showers and rest rooms, and honest to God gravity seems luxurious. But it didn't seem so at the time. Duty on a MODU can be exciting but when your two week to one month tour is up you are definitely ready to go home. One of the first things you notice when your helicopter first crosses the beach line is color. Even just a few weeks living largely in the belly of a machine with grey steel all about and a weather deck view of the sea and sky, mostly grey or grey blue with white clouds is enough to give one a malady I call "color deprivation". What is clear about the people who man space vehicles and installations at this time is that they are intimately involved with the technology of their habitat. Life on a MODU is a 12 hour work day and afterwards there are few diversions such as pool tables or TV. To live on a space vehicle under the conditions observed on this video and be in the good humor that the departing station commander is obviously in, the work day must be more on the order of 16 hours a day with people who have a high degree of interest , enthusiasm, for the work.
Your narrator, the departing station commander , a young woman, can only be described as attractive, intelligent, and surprisingly rather bubbly. She seems to exude charm and a sense of fun though she mentions several times that she will be back on earth within about 12 hours of the finish of the video shoot. Sailors have to wonder; is she exhibiting a species of "channel fever" that every sailor knows. Channel fever is a species of euphoria that seizes long deployed sailors as land comes into sight, be it home or a liberty port. Was she that happy and charming three weeks prior to this video? .
Personally I think that before space installations and vehicles can accommodate mission specialists who aren't literally "space happy", they are going to need those gravity mats, a recreation room, better food, and at least a few clutter free spaces with some human friendly color and furnishings that aren't dual purpose parts of the operating system. This will sound very strange but I'm deadly serious with this suggestion. NASA would benefit in planning larger, longer term space facilities and vehicles, requiring larger work forces, some of whom inevitably will view service aboard not as an adventure but as a job; by conferring with maritime union negotiators. If anyone has identified the rock bottom minimum living conditions that a wide spectrum of the human character can live in isolation with for a protracted period it would be our seaman union negotiators. Like all sailors we are realists. Space is an ocean, and it will be explored, traveled upon, and exploited for resources. The work force won't all be as smart, stable, intelligent, good humored, or charming as the people you will see in this video. You can't send up crews forever who are as hand picked as your charming narrator and her "shipmates" in this virtual visit to the International Space Station. As an experienced commander of "Industrial vessels" (ships like MODUs that perform work at sea vice transport across it) and as an officer in charge of a semi isolated military station, my opinion about life on a present day space station is this. There would be at least one ax murder among a typical maritime crew under similar living conditions that austere within the first month.
Our advice to NASA? When you design those larger truly industrial space stations, and long voyage vehicles, or planet colonies, don't ever let living conditions fall below the American maritime unions standards of ship habitability.
Meanwhile click on this link for your tour: https://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k and we hope you enjoy your visit as much as your tour guide obviously enjoyed being your host.
Johnas Presbyter , Editor
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That's not likely in the case of the Middle Kingdom Dragon Space Force. If we look at the history of the Dragon in the commons of the South China Sea and elsewhere we should expect them to make territorial claims. We should also expect the Dragon to pointedly ignore prior US space actions that could have nuisances of territorial claims. The United States took the high road over 50 years ago and declared the solar system a commons and eschewed any territorial claims. What is going on now in space is a repeat of the dispute between the Catholic European seafaring states and the English and Dutch . Simultaneously. the Europeans were exploring the planet by sea, making claims to lands already occupied by other civilizations, and disputing the status of the seas
themselves as a commons. and on an off making war on each other. The European Recognizance was a very busy time.
In 1494 two years after the first voyage of Columbus Pope Alexander VI published a "Papal Bull" creating an imaginary dividing line of the world on a north south axis. In his Papal Bull Pope Alexander VI used this dividing line to divide the world between Spain and Portugal. The Pope in his bull, 'Inter caetera" decreed that all lands west and south of a meridian line 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands rightfully belonged to Spain. The rest of the world went to Portugal. This set off a debate in international law between two schools of legal thought. The papal theory has come to be known as the Mare Clausum which is legal Latin for "closed sea". Today the term is used in international law to describe a sea or arm of the sea under the jurisdiction of a state and not accessible to others without specific permission of the state in possession.. In modern usage until challenged by the Dragon most bays were considered part of the inland or insular waters of the surrounding or adjacent state., while larger bodies of water bordered by multiple states were considered the "high seas" or "Mare Liberum" ( free sea ).. The China seas, north and east are bordered by many states such as the Philippines and their neighbors. The Dragon's "nine dash line" representing their claim of sovereignty over these international seas at one point runs almost to the mean low water mark for certain Philippine beaches. The dragon bases its claim on ancient writings and charts. So far when tested by the International court ( on a complaint by the Philippines ) such evidence has been rejected soundly as being a basis for redrawing territorial waters and exclusive economic zones created by international convention and neighboring states treaties within the bounds of the convention. Expect this rejection to be cited when the Chinese try to enforce their first territorial grab on the moon or mars. Our landing on the moon
We suggest the below publication available to read free on line, link below , as a 72 page primer on the international law of the sea: https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/p/authoritative-literature.html
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That's not likely in the case of the Middle Kingdom Dragon Space Force. If we look at the history of the Dragon in the commons of the South China Sea and elsewhere we should expect them to make territorial claims. We should also expect the Dragon to pointedly ignore prior US space actions that could have nuisances of territorial claims. The United States took the high road over 50 years ago and declared the solar system a commons and eschewed any territorial claims. What is going on now in space is a repeat of the dispute between the Catholic European seafaring states and the English and Dutch . Simultaneously. the Europeans were exploring the planet by sea, making claims to lands already occupied by other civilizations, and disputing the status of the seas
themselves as a commons. and on an off making war on each other. The European Recognizance was a very busy time.
In 1494 two years after the first voyage of Columbus Pope Alexander VI published a "Papal Bull" creating an imaginary dividing line of the world on a north south axis. In his Papal Bull Pope Alexander VI used this dividing line to divide the world between Spain and Portugal. The Pope in his bull, 'Inter caetera" decreed that all lands west and south of a meridian line 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands rightfully belonged to Spain. The rest of the world went to Portugal. This set off a debate in international law between two schools of legal thought. The papal theory has come to be known as the Mare Clausum which is legal Latin for "closed sea". Today the term is used in international law to describe a sea or arm of the sea under the jurisdiction of a state and not accessible to others without specific permission of the state in possession.. In modern usage until challenged by the Dragon most bays were considered part of the inland or insular waters of the surrounding or adjacent state., while larger bodies of water bordered by multiple states were considered the "high seas" or "Mare Liberum" ( free sea ).. The China seas, north and east are bordered by many states such as the Philippines and their neighbors. The Dragon's "nine dash line" representing their claim of sovereignty over these international seas at one point runs almost to the mean low water mark for certain Philippine beaches. The dragon bases its claim on ancient writings and charts. So far when tested by the International court ( on a complaint by the Philippines ) such evidence has been rejected soundly as being a basis for redrawing territorial waters and exclusive economic zones created by international convention and neighboring states treaties within the bounds of the convention. Expect this rejection to be cited when the Chinese try to enforce their first territorial grab on the moon or mars. Our landing on the moon
We suggest the below publication available to read free on line, link below , as a 72 page primer on the international law of the sea: https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/p/authoritative-literature.html
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THE ENDURING PRINCIPLES OF MARITIME INTERNATIONAL LAW
it has become subject to modification in recent decades. The discovery of offshore oil
and the necessity to effectively manage certain fisheries led to first, an expansion of the Territorial Sea from 3 miles off shore to 12 miles, then the recognition of exclusive economic zones (EEZ). The exclusive economic zone does not confer on the recipient ownership but rather an exclusive license to do certain things within this area of the "commons" such as establish oil wells. Within the EEZ the EEZ holding state with the EEZ privilege must exercise management of all benthic (bottom contacting) fisheries and manage in accordance with relevant international convention certain migratory fish populations when they pass through the EEZ waters., Managing an EEZ is not, nor was it meant to be an exclusive right to do anything the EEZ nation wants, or to limit access except in the cases of dredges, or mobile offshore drilling vessels type craft. The water surface and water column are in the international commons and are open to navigation. The only restriction that the EEZ state may put on foreign shipping is the requirement to use certain safety fairways that the EEZ state is obligated to establish and maintain between their oil drilling operations, wind farms, aquaculture operations etc....
China has a large EEZ by existing law. Their existing EEZ is up to 200 miles seaward from their shore line. They have a legitimate exclusive claim to certain of the resources, and obligations of good stewardship over a bit less than half the area they now claim but were rebuffed in international court. They are now trying to enforce by astute and limited naval force the sovereign rights they claim over other peoples EEZs and in the case of the Philippines almost to their western beaches. SEE: Congressional Research Service Report On The Chinese Navy https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2019/09/congressional-research-service-report.html
Chinese sailors at Pearl Harbor, the place their government has publicly announced that they would drive us back to. (Official U.S. Navy Photo)
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SOME NEW NAVAL SUPPLY VESSELS WILL BE RE-DESIGNATED "WAR SHIPS" FOR THE SEA BASING MISSION
SEALIFT STILL LAGS / MARAD RESERVE FLEET TEETERING
Duplicates . proposed inclusions, etc.
Extinctions of species as well as societies, and the spread of disease as well as of useful plants and animals occurred when the Old and New Worlds met. Parallels could occur in space exploration. We need to examine existing protocols and past protocols from the moon missions and how well they worked. Such an examination suggests that much work is needed in this area before our first encounter with extraterrestrial life.
South America exported the potato to Ireland which some think was a mixed blessing at best. Europe received corn from the Americas but to this day utilizes it mostly as animal feed. Unlike Americans of European descent today's Europeans have yet to raise or purchase the "sweet" varieties of corn that Americans consume without first passing it through a bovine digestive system for conversion to beef. Europeans reintroduced the horse to the Americas and while mounted on them drove a number of native civilizations to extinction. Microbes were exchanged, some beneficial like those needed in the processing of yogurt and wine, others like small pox, the natives would have been pleased to have avoided. This entire two way traffic in living stuff we call "the "Colombian Exchange" and it is still ongoing. As we discuss the pros and cons of such exchanges and the needed protocols to control and mitigate the undesirable changes we will simply refer to any such exchange whether between the Americas and Europe, or Asia, or Earth and outer space or other planets as a "Colombian Exchange". We aren't the first to coin that term, perhaps we are the first to use it as a generic term for similar events past and future.
Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an "organism".(See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Are Viruses Alive? http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ). Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there. The whatever else is particularly unsettling when we consider some of the unusual ideas of Sir Fred Doyle, Chandra Wickramasingle and others who propose that on extremely rare occasions genetic material not of this earth reaches here.
While this is not a mainstream scientific idea, there is some serious science in their arguments and most of the main stream scientific community falls a little short calling the idea impossible. So lets consider just for a minute that Doyle might be right. Lets consider that in the light of the loss of Gus Grissom's first space capsule in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day we don't know why upon return to earth the hatch of the capsule blew open and almost drowned Grissom, allowed the capsule to fill with sea water, and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the cradle of life on this planet. Like Doyle's critics we don't think there was a serious chance that the exterior surface of the capsule would have picked up a virus like "organism" and that it would have survived the fiery entry of the capsule, but suppose the such a capsule had samples of Mars soil on board? Why was all of the post landing inquiry focused of what exactly happened to cause the door to malfunction vice how do we assure that in a landing gone wrong stuff that could be harboring extraterrestrial life does not come into contact with environment?
During the Apollo era astronauts returning from the Moon were kept in isolation as a precaution against their carrying virus like pathogens from the surface of the moon. The length of time of their isolation was based loosely on known incubation periods for known pathogens on earth. It doesn't look like anyone asked if non earth evolved pathogens might have a longer incubation period. Moon soil samples likewise didn't seem subjected to any really out of the box sanitation measures. Despite recent discoveries here on earth of life forms at the bottom of the sea in sulfur vents, and hot springs that don't seem to be subject to the environmental conditions once thought essential to any type of life , we haven't seen a broad spectrum isolation protocol come out of NASA with our recent robotic probes of Mars. When we do return a soil sample what will be our sanitary protocol?
We don't have to meet ET to be exposed to really deadly pathogens. In fact it is far more likely that the first life we encounter out there will be microscopic. If some Buzz Lightyear of the future gets eaten on an alien world by an extraterrestrial version of a T-Rex we're out one astronaut. If an astronaut brings back an alien virus for which we have no resistance or cure, it could be the end of all life on earth. But then again microbes aren't the only hazard. Ever seen parts of Mississippi over run by Kudzu? The Kudzu vines looks vaguely like a creeping ivy. Its not native to the U.S. Deep south, but it sure likes it. This at first seemingly harmless item of exchange in the Colombian Exchange didn't hitch hike here on some banana boat. We brought it here for the hoped for beneficial effect of erosion control in areas of very sandy soil and heavy rain. Road cuts in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were eroding faster that nature could heal them and it was thought the fast growing Kudzu could put a stop to it. Well the Kudzu liked the Deep South just fine and not only covered the road cut scar but continued right up into the pine forests clear to the top of the trees and then spread a canopy from tree to tree until, almost before anyone noticed it, a hundred acre forest could be smothered , cut off from light and killed. But the emerald green Kudzu looked happy draped across trees dead or alive. If we find a plant out there are we going to bring it back? You can bet on it. Do we have sufficient protocols in place to insure it stays in isolation and never gets out into Earth's natural environment? We're not so sure on that.
Alien Face or Bio hazard mask?
Ask your self this. Is that image pictured above supposedly an artist's approximation of an alien "face" as described by many "witnesses" so often it has almost become our standard image of a space alien actually a face or could it be a bio barrier mask. Are those big eyes with no pupils or dark protective lenses? How could any creature breath through nostrils that tiny or get enough to feed an energetic biped over five feet tall through that tiny slit of a mouth? Might it be that what has been seen, assuming that anything has actually been seen, is the air intake and exhaust of a bio hazard safety mask? Have you ever noticed in the descriptions of these beings there is never any mention of real clothing, nor of any sex organs or secondary sexual characteristics? Could it be that we are seeing something like a thin wet suit and mask designed to keep micron sized pathogens out of the suit and to keep the personal kooties of who ever is in there locked in? Wouldn't that be a nice courtesy. The Aztecs and Mayans would certainly have appreciated such thoughtfulness from the Spaniards. Maybe if we are being visited, our visitors are far more courteous and safety minded than the history of our last wave of first contact experiences.
Another troubling parallel between our maritime experiences and our space experiences is the possibility that government protocols applicable to government run missions may not be nearly enough. We are already developing a space launch and flight industry. There are private satellite launch services operating already and private "space planes under development. There is just about no doubt that by the time we are pushing manned flight beyond our solar system there will be a lot of non government commercial traffic in our solar system. When Columbus headed out for the unknown western Atlantic the Western World had about 5,000 years of maritime trade development behind it. There were international norms in the process of ship "entry" the process of a ship formally and peacefully entering a port to engage in trade, there was considerable international uniformity in the process of "Pratique", meaning the conditions that a ship was expected to adhere to once it was formally entered and granted official permission to hold communications with the shore. Finally the process of "clearance" was very uniform through out the European Atlantic and Mediterranean world, that process where in a ship presents proofs that it adhered to the conditions of its pratique while in port and is cleared by the port authorities for its next destination. Despite the experience that European merchant captains had with such a system, they ignored the evidence that the Mayans had such a system and just barged right on in.
Now more than 500 years later our own maritime practices of entry, pratique, and clearance are still adjusting especially in the way of ship sanitation. The lamprey and the zebra mussel have caused major changes in our rules about the ballast water discharge. Our sanitation measures failed us completely in the realm of rat guards, the Norwegian rat is now a universal pest. Despite our best efforts fire ants got off the boat at Mobile and are over running the American South. Centuries after the start of the Colombian Exchange and we are still struggling with the creation of regulations, regulatory agencies to try and slow the processes of exotic intrusion and native flora and fauna stress, and frequently our own economic distress. Maritime history is ripe with examples of those who deliberately side stepped the established safe guards and profited by increasing the stresses of the Colombian Exchange. We are heading out into space with an already evolving private transport industry without any development for the entry, pratique, or clearance of cargo carrying traffic.
We have a remarkable lack of protocols for where we are going. Our maritime technologies and institutions had thousands of years of development before the European Recognizance and we still ended up eliminating entire civilizations, major human populations, hundreds of plant and animal species, and spread disease all over the globe. Yet the average world citizen today would vote for the continued globalization rather than to go back to the era when great civilizations went for centuries with little knowledge of each other. Going into space involves big risks and big rewards but our maritime experience points to the necessity to proceed with caution and to develop serious, detailed, protocols. If ET has been watching us as so many Ufologists suspect, his people have been watching us for a good thousand years or more. Yet there is no official contact. If they are real could it be they have learned through bitter experience to be very careful on first contact with any sort of life? We need to avoid doing anything rash.
Departing Space Station Commander Provides Tour of Orbital Laboratory
DEPARTING SPACE STATION COMMANDER PROVIDES TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
NASA IMAGE: INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
This is probably the most recent and timely tour of the International Space Station available today.The International Space station was not the first "orbital space laboratory", that was probably "Sky Lab" launched May 14, 1973. But the International Space Station is a quite different milestone in space exploration history. Since it was first manned over 12 years ago, not a night has passed when a few human beings weren't off the planet. That is almost as important to the human exploration of space as the first manned moon landing demonstrating our ability to leave this planet, travel to another , safely land, explore and return to earth. The International Space Station is a demonstration of human ability to function effectively in space for very prolonged periods and keep space facilities located within reasonable travel distances continuously manned.
The Space Station isn't "Star Trek" there are no gravity mats. Weightlessness is obvious, at times apparently fun, but in the long term problematic. Creature comforts are quite Spartan. This is life in the belly of a machine. For AAB staffers who have spent considerable time on Drill Ships and Mobile Offshore Drilling Units there is something very familiar about it. By comparison, life on an offshore drilling unit (MODU) with real food, showers and rest rooms, and honest to God gravity seems luxurious. But it didn't seem so at the time. Duty on a MODU can be exciting but when your two week to one month tour is up you are definitely ready to go home. One of the first things you notice when your helicopter first crosses the beach line is color. Even just a few weeks living largely in the belly of a machine with grey steel all about and a weather deck view of the sea and sky, mostly grey or grey blue with white clouds is enough to give one a malady I call "color deprivation". What is clear about the people who man space vehicles and installations at this time is that they are intimately involved with the technology of their habitat. Life on a MODU is a 12 hour work day and afterwards there are few diversions such as pool tables or TV. To live on a space vehicle under the conditions observed on this video and be in the good humor that the departing station commander is obviously in, the work day must be more on the order of 16 hours a day with people who have a high degree of interest , enthusiasm, for the work.
Your narrator, the departing station commander , a young woman, can only be described as attractive, intelligent, and surprisingly rather bubbly. She seems to exude charm and a sense of fun though she mentions several times that she will be back on earth within about 12 hours of the finish of the video shoot. Sailors have to wonder; is she exhibiting a species of "channel fever" that every sailor knows. Channel fever is a species of euphoria that seizes long deployed sailors as land comes into sight, be it home or a liberty port. Was she that happy and charming three weeks prior to this video? .
Personally I think that before space installations and vehicles can accommodate mission specialists who aren't literally "space happy", they are going to need those gravity mats, a recreation room, better food, and at least a few clutter free spaces with some human friendly color and furnishings that aren't dual purpose parts of the operating system. This will sound very strange but I'm deadly serious with this suggestion. NASA would benefit in planning larger, longer term space facilities and vehicles, requiring larger work forces, some of whom inevitably will view service aboard not as an adventure but as a job; by conferring with maritime union negotiators. If anyone has identified the rock bottom minimum living conditions that a wide spectrum of the human character can live in isolation with for a protracted period it would be our seaman union negotiators. Like all sailors we are realists. Space is an ocean, and it will be explored, traveled upon, and exploited for resources. The work force won't all be as smart, stable, intelligent, good humored, or charming as the people you will see in this video. You can't send up crews forever who are as hand picked as your charming narrator and her "shipmates" in this virtual visit to the International Space Station. As an experienced commander of "Industrial vessels" (ships like MODUs that perform work at sea vice transport across it) and as an officer in charge of a semi isolated military station, my opinion about life on a present day space station is this. There would be at least one ax murder among a typical maritime crew under similar living conditions that austere within the first month.
Our advice to NASA? When you design those larger truly industrial space stations, and long voyage vehicles, or planet colonies, don't ever let living conditions fall below the American maritime unions standards of ship habitability.
Meanwhile click on this link for your tour: https://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k and we hope you enjoy your visit as much as your tour guide obviously enjoyed being your host.
Johnas Presbyter , Editor
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| A PROTOCOLS ESSAY: THE GREAT CATFISH EXPLAINS THE DRAGON'S INTENTIONS IN SPACE AND HOW THEY PARALLEL RECENT AND LONG AGO MARITIME HISTORY An Example Of How Maritime History Often Can Be Used to Predict Certain Developments in Space |
| THE GREAT NAMAZU AAB'S STAR POLITICAL ANALYST |
GREETINGS BIPEDS:
As we all now know there is a race to the moon, the US and some allies vs the Chinese . If the Chinese get there first and establish a working base we expect that they will behave no better in the commons of space than they have behaved at sea, which has been despicable. While US bipeds walked numerous times on the moon and even left junked cars behind they claimed to have gone there "for all mankind".
That's not likely in the case of the Middle Kingdom Dragon Space Force. If we look at the history of the Dragon in the commons of the South China Sea and elsewhere we should expect them to make territorial claims. We should also expect the Dragon to pointedly ignore prior US space actions that could have nuisances of territorial claims. The United States took the high road over 50 years ago and declared the solar system a commons and eschewed any territorial claims. What is going on now in space is a repeat of the dispute between the Catholic European seafaring states and the English and Dutch . Simultaneously. the Europeans were exploring the planet by sea, making claims to lands already occupied by other civilizations, and disputing the status of the seas
| ENTER THE POPE |
| Pope Alexander VI Leading Proponent of the "Mar clausum ( Closed Sea) |
We suggest the below publication available to read free on line, link below , as a 72 page primer on the international law of the sea: https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/p/authoritative-literature.html
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| A PROTOCOLS ESSAY: THE GREAT CATFISH EXPLAINS THE DRAGON'S INTENTIONS IN SPACE AND HOW THEY PARALLEL RECENT AND LONG AGO MARITIME HISTORY |
| THE GREAT NAMAZU AAB'S STAR POLITICAL ANALYST |
GREETINGS BIPEDS:
As we all now know there is a race to the moon, the US and some allies vs the Chinese . If the Chinese get there first and establish a working base we expect that they will behave no better in the commons of space than they have behaved at sea, which has been despicable. While US bipeds walked numerous times on the moon and even left junked cars behind they claimed to have gone there "for all mankind".
That's not likely in the case of the Middle Kingdom Dragon Space Force. If we look at the history of the Dragon in the commons of the South China Sea and elsewhere we should expect them to make territorial claims. We should also expect the Dragon to pointedly ignore prior US space actions that could have nuisances of territorial claims. The United States took the high road over 50 years ago and declared the solar system a commons and eschewed any territorial claims. What is going on now in space is a repeat of the dispute between the Catholic European seafaring states and the English and Dutch . Simultaneously. the Europeans were exploring the planet by sea, making claims to lands already occupied by other civilizations, and disputing the status of the seas
| ENTER THE POPE |
| Pope Alexander VI Leading Proponent of the "Mar clausum ( Closed Sea) |
We suggest the below publication available to read free on line, link below , as a 72 page primer on the international law of the sea: https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/p/authoritative-literature.html
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THE ENDURING PRINCIPLES OF MARITIME INTERNATIONAL LAW
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------fifty years ago will mean nothing to the Chinese. Our landing of a half century ago will hold no more court precedent than their historical arguments about the 9 dash line. We made no territorial claim and instead declared the solar system a commons of all mankind.The Mare Clausum (closed sea) is an exception to today's international law where the mare liberum (free seas) is the norm. The mare liberum is enshrined in both traditional international law and in codified international law through a number of "conventions" ( treaties agreed to by multiple states),. Today the concept of the mare liberum means that the sea outside the jurisdiction of a state is open for navigation to ships of all nations.
This is the generally accepted principal on what we call the "High Seas", but
it has become subject to modification in recent decades. The discovery of offshore oil and the necessity to effectively manage certain fisheries led to first, an expansion of the Territorial Sea from 3 miles off shore to 12 miles, then the recognition of exclusive economic zones (EEZ). The exclusive economic zone does not confer on the recipient ownership but rather an exclusive license to do certain things within this area of the "commons" such as establish oil wells. Within the EEZ the EEZ holding state with the EEZ privilege must exercise management of all benthic (bottom contacting) fisheries and manage in accordance with relevant international convention certain migratory fish populations when they pass through the EEZ waters., Managing an EEZ is not, nor was it meant to be an exclusive right to do anything the EEZ nation wants, or to limit access except in the cases of dredges, or mobile offshore drilling vessels type craft. The water surface and water column are in the international commons and are open to navigation. The only restriction that the EEZ state may put on foreign shipping is the requirement to use certain safety fairways that the EEZ state is obligated to establish and maintain between their oil drilling operations, wind farms, aquaculture operations etc....
China has a large EEZ by existing law. Their existing EEZ is up to 200 miles seaward from their shore line. They have a legitimate exclusive claim to certain of the resources, and obligations of good stewardship over a bit less than half the area they now claim but were rebuffed in international court. They are now trying to enforce by astute and limited naval force the sovereign rights they claim over other peoples EEZs and in the case of the Philippines almost to their western beaches. SEE: Congressional Research Service Report On The Chinese Navy https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2019/09/congressional-research-service-report.html
Chinese sailors at Pearl Harbor, the place their government has publicly announced that they would drive us back to. (Official U.S. Navy Photo)| ENTER THE POPE , AGAIN |
Pope Alexander VI Leading Proponent of the "Mar clausum ( Closed Sea)
Now when the pope divided the world and its oceans into the private preserves of Spain and Portugal the battle over the Protestant Reformation was in progress. Some of the Great Powers of Europe had left the Catholic fold. The most powerful of these "Protestant nations " ( yea I know they call themselves "Anglican Catholic " ) was Great Britain a sea dependent nation with lots of sailing fire power and no tolerance for being told what they could do or where they could go on the world's oceans. The Pope had of course divided the "New World into two Providences to be run by two reliably Catholic powerful states. The rest of Europe was offended while Britannia and the Netherlands were about to spend big time on ocean exploration and colonization they also began to prepare for war. The Catholic powers felt the pope was the last word on International Law. Indeed his papal bulls are still cited today ( Eximiae devotionis (3 May 1493), Inter caetera (4 May 1493) and Dudum Siquidem (23 September 1493) when argument arise over the legitimate mare Clausum. There are legitimate closed seas but in most cases these are wide bays surrounded on three sides by a single nation, and these were mostly established some time prior to 1494. The Chinese claim to the South China Sea goes way back beyond 1494 to a time when certain Chinese emperors actually had effective control over the area. Many of those old imperial occupied or vassal states became independent nations centuries ago and as such based on modern conventions are entitled to a 12 mile territorial limit and an EEZ of up to 200 miles from their beach. Where the potential EEZ meets a neighbor's propose EEZ line the Convention requires the two coastal states to work out an agreed boundary in good faith. No one else on the particular arm of the sea may dictate EEZ boundaries . So China is pretty much denied a believable role as a disinterested third party for brokering boundary disputes. Everyone in the nations bordering the China Seas knows that if China is given the referee's seat at the bargaining table some how the dragon will walk away with major concessions towards recognition of its 9 dash line claim. So, blocked from its claim by international law , courts, and public sentiment the dragon is making an end run.
The dragon's strategy, is the Cabbage Patch approach and the effective control or settlement legal argument. Under the cabbage patch stratagem China picks out reefs and other partially submerged land forms in the contested sea and at great expense raises these areas above sea level. Sometimes they build structures and declare these artificial islands "light houses", or "fishing stations" They then call in their "naval militia " consisting of armed commercial fishermen, These artificial islands, and often natural reefs as well, are quickly surrounded by many armed Chinese fishing boats. Recently they have carried this activity into the EEZ of neighboring states. Once enough Chinese fishermen are present, and the former owners pretty well locked out, the Chinese Coast Guard shows up to "protect their fishermen". The Chinese formed the world's largest coast guard virtually over night by combining disparate marine law enforcement agencies into a coherent para-naval force with civilian law enforcement powers.. Their coast guard ships are not imposingly large and are lightly armed consistent with most formal coast guards found around the world. The dragon's position is that everything going on as their neighbor state struggles to regain control of their lost areas is a law enforcement matter being handled by the Chinese coast guard and not a naval invasion of anyone's territory.. The worst of all lies is the half truth. It is true that an EEZ is not the territorial possession of the state granted the EEZ. So techno-legally the Chinese action isn't a territorial invasion. This gives a lot of Western states , even those like the United states pause when thinking about punishing China for their maritime land grab. If you have a free standing, vigorous and permanent anti war segment in your population ,as the United States does, they are sure to buy into the half truth and mobilize resistance against any effective punitive action, The dragon will get lots of media coverage for its convoluted side of the argument. The cabbage patch strategy can be defeated without war but it takes some out of the box naval thinking. For an example see:
HELIOS RUEHLS, INC NAVAL STRATEGY WHITE PAPER: CHINA SEAS
THE CHINESE CABBAGE PATCH STRATEGY:
A STUDY IN THE USE OF EMERGING AND DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY IN COUNTERING A NAVAL LAND GRAB. .. . https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/helios-ruehls-inc-naval-strategy-white.html
Image by US Navy: this or that .>if you know how to deploy it. Image :by Artist image of an advanced elevating work boat
design from BENNETT OFFSHORE http://www.bennettoffshore.com/3500.html
Going back to developments in the maritime sphere between 1492 and about 1776 the European sea powers attempted to out maneuver each other and for sometimes prolonged periods shoot at each other. All of this pain over the argument between the Mare Clausum and the Mare Liberum. It would take nearly 400 years of English sailors applying pressure and often dying in the process for the Mare Liberum to become the accepted international law. As late as the 1790s and early 1800s the Islamic states of the Mediterranean still didn't conform; remember the Barbary Pirates? Then a young United States stepped forward and enforced the rule. The Mare Liberum is a gift of centuries of English speaking sailors sacrifice. Today it is codified in many ways into international law by wide adoption into the national law of many nations and by wide agreement of multiple nations on international conventions including one called " The law of the Sea Convention" the Dragon would like to scrap this hard won logical and necessary law for a free pass to loot and pillage their neighbors so long as it takes place off the beach,
The companion legal argument to the cabbage patch strategy is a double edged sword consisting of two well known concepts in international law. In assigning sovereignty over previously unknown territories international law recognizes two basis for such assignment effective settlement and effective control. The Chinese are starting to maintain human populations on some of their artificial islands claiming effective settlement. And the Dragon claims that all their coast guard activity amounts to "effective control" . The Dragon's navy also gets into the act by meeting transiting commercial vessels and sometimes even transiting war ships and announcing over the radio a welcome to the South China Sea and notice that the dragon's navy will be providing an escort through "their territory.". Even in the case where ships have tried to avoid this "escort service " the Dragon simply slips into a parallel course at an easy distance off. They have as much right to do that as the transiting ship has the right of peaceful passage and the right to refuse this bogus "escort service".., But the escort "service" even when a sham of just a parallel course always has the potential to develop some useful radio contacts and or photo opportunities that the Dragon can use in an international court at some time in the future.
So this is how they have acted in the oceanic commons. Why would we expect any better behavior in space? look for the Dragon to attack the global consensus that our solar system is a commons like the oceans where no state should be barred from operating. The Chinese will muddy the waters of space exploration and settlement with strident nationalistic and over reaching territorial claims. They re determined not to be a good neighbor in space but rather what they are in their own neighborhood a prowling acquisitive Dragon. If they ever are first to land on any planet in our solar system look for them to claim the entire planet as part of their sovereign territory . The Dragon is going to be trouble in space!
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| I am NAMAZU and I approved this messaged |
Helios Ruehls. Inc presents:
- Last Edit 3/30/2020
- Last Edit 3/30/2020
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"SPACE FORCE" A PLAN FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION IN A HOSTILE FUNDING ENVIRONMENT
EDITOR'S NOTE: We have extensively edited from earlier versions of this essay due to two major events in the evolving history of the Space Force. First the Space Force has made its first satellite launch and has put out a solicitation for a contractor to run a research center. These are note worthy events that no doubt will be commemorated in future historical accounts of the evolution of the Space Force. Our observations and opinions about that evolution have not changed but we found some of our suggestions to be over detailed and we wanted to make room to acknowledge the satellite launch and bid solicitation. Both however were Air Force legacy systems we still maintain that the Space Force is under funded and will likely face funding difficulties for some time into the future. More details on on these tow historical events are the body of the text.
- "SPACE FORCE" A PLAN FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION IN A HOSTILE FUNDING ENVIRONMENT
EDITOR'S NOTE: We have extensively edited from earlier versions of this essay due to two major events in the evolving history of the Space Force. First the Space Force has made its first satellite launch and has put out a solicitation for a contractor to run a research center. These are note worthy events that no doubt will be commemorated in future historical accounts of the evolution of the Space Force. Our observations and opinions about that evolution have not changed but we found some of our suggestions to be over detailed and we wanted to make room to acknowledge the satellite launch and bid solicitation. Both however were Air Force legacy systems we still maintain that the Space Force is under funded and will likely face funding difficulties for some time into the future. More details on on these tow historical events are the body of the text.
China (The"Dragon") is in engaged to over take us in space. The Dragon doesn't subscribe to the "we come for all mankind","no territorial claims in space, mentality that the United States (The Eagle) does. We know this because China openly says so and their present behavior in the great commons of the sea predicts it. (See: THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND OUTER SPACE). The Dragon is running a full blown Manhattan Project tempo of effort to dominate in space and in the space industry on earth. China appears to have no intention of honoring the present treaties against weapons in space. The Dragon also refuses to adhere to the growing international law that makes space part of the commons . In short the Imperial Dragon has territorial ambitions in Space. If the Dragon gains this high ground ; then the Dragon will dictate to the planet using hard military ordinance on target from an unassailable position, or softer economic power. If the Dragon ascends faster than the Eagle in space every nation on earth will be simply a vassal state to China.
Yes, we went to the moon over 50 years ago, but since then we have concentrated on manned space flight to and from an orbiting space station unmanned science missions . and the privatization of the space industries. We don't have a 50 year lead on China any more , we have about a three to 5 year lead if the Chinese continue at their present pace and we continue to lag along.
This happened over 50 years ago. We never claimed any territory but our claim that the moon and space generally are a "Commons" will fall if China beats us at building a permanent moon base. The Dragon will arrive possibly in as little as 3 years,The Eagle may be a year or more behind the Dragon's landing (Image courtesy of NASA)
China is leapfrogging over certain steps to a moon landing thanks to the knowledge we left in our wake on our voyage to the moon. They have certainly mastered all of the orbital capsule skills of our Gemini program and more. .
This is where most of our space money and effort on manned space flight went since the moon landing. If we had established a manned moon base in the years following our landing we would be in a better position to get our "Space is a commons of all mankind" policy turned into codified international law. It's not too late but we have to hurry. The Dragon wants to homestead space.Any planet they get to before us they will lay claim to and attempt to exclude us.
Image NASA. unmanned science projects returned information freely exchanged
- This happened over 50 years ago. We never claimed any territory but our claim that the moon and space generally are a "Commons" will fall if China beats us at building a permanent moon base. The Dragon will arrive possibly in as little as 3 years,The Eagle may be a year or more behind the Dragon's landing (Image courtesy of NASA)China is leapfrogging over certain steps to a moon landing thanks to the knowledge we left in our wake on our voyage to the moon. They have certainly mastered all of the orbital capsule skills of our Gemini program and more. .This is where most of our space money and effort on manned space flight went since the moon landing. If we had established a manned moon base in the years following our landing we would be in a better position to get our "Space is a commons of all mankind" policy turned into codified international law. It's not too late but we have to hurry. The Dragon wants to homestead space.Any planet they get to before us they will lay claim to and attempt to exclude us.
Image NASA. unmanned science projects returned information freely exchanged
Most recently the Eagle (USA) and the West generally have been focused on unmanned space probes, space based telescopes, and radio telescopes seeking more knowledge of space including beyond our solar system. We share this knowledge freely. We were just now getting back into manned space travel but again only to orbital space stations. Then, the President declared it to be NASA's goal to return to the moon within 5 years. At this writing (March 30, 2020) The Democrats control the House where they have obstructed everything this president has tried to do and they appear to hate military, border control, and space endeavors. Citing a maritime parallel to our space competition with China, Steven L. Kwast, a retired Air Force general and former commander of the Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas noted in a recent speech; "Today, while America is building lighthouses and listening stations that can see and hear what is happening in space, China is building battleships and destroyers that can move fast and strike hard—the equivalent of a Navy in space." China is winning the space race not because it makes better equipment, but because it has a more single minded purpose. "The Chinese are open about their plan to become the dominant power in space by 2049, the centennial of the end of the Communist Chinese Revolution and of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong. "
President Trump directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to start the formation of a "Space Force" as our 6th branch of the armed forces in June of 2018. The Congress appeared to approve and provided a small appropriation. But the Congress made it clear that they expected the new service to be carved out of parts of the Air Force and other DOD organizations. The Congress has made it fairly clear that they intend to starve the Space Force as much as they have starved the border wall. None the less there is much that a designated Space Force could accomplish while waiting for the adults to return to power in Washington. We must have a distinct "Space Force" because Space is the new high ground and who so ever controls space will control the earth just as it was once and still true : "he who controls the sea rules the world".
Public Domain Image. Artist depiction of a weaponized satellite
Public Domain Image. Artist depiction of a weaponized satellite
Think about it , with our robotic vehicles exploring the surface of Mars, and our space telescopes observing the universe, and our near constant publication of findings; we are giving the Dragon all of the geographic information it needs to select targets and landing sites. The Dragon is not contributing to science. It is using our information, freely shared, to avoid the costs of unmanned space probes, and orbital telescopes and any other contributions to space science. The Dragon is concentrated on orbital satellites some of which can be weaponized, if they already aren't, and manned space flight. The concentration on orbital satellite operations is for the express capability of controlling military conflict to the Dragon's advantage from the seemingly unassailable high ground of orbital space.
The China's concentration on Manned space flight is for being able to launch rescue and repair missions for their orbital hard ware, and to get to the planets of our solar system before anyone else. These the Dragon intends to occupy to the exclusion of any other nation with the skill, technology, and funding to reach them. The Chinese push into space is all about technology, they leave the exobiology, space geography, search for water, and minerals to us. We will tell them where the good stuff is and they will go get it for their exclusive use or control of distribution. We find Gen. Kwask 's assessment of a Chinese Navy forming in space to be an accurate statement following a parallel course that we long ago described in our on line book in progress "Space AS An Ocean"or Protocols
Image PD: We are building and operating these while the Dragon is intent on creating these:
Image from the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Remember: "The Chinese are open about their plan to become the dominant power in space by 2049, the centennial of the end of the Communist Chinese Revolution and of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong." (U.S. Air Force Retired General Kawst)
Enter Our Space Force. The Department of Defense (DOD) envisions a Space Force that provides services similar to certain services now provided by the Air Force. The DOD institutional vision for a Space Force at the moment is one that continues to perform the task that current space assets perform—supporting wars on the surface of the Earth. We need that mission, but we also need a Space Force eventually capable of launching and landing an armed force to the outer most planets of our solar system. and area denial missions far from beyond the dark side of the moon .The enumerated missions of the Space Force include what seems to be a mixture of the two types of services but only support of earth based warfare seems to be getting any funding: Here are the specific missions mentioned in law so far: The Space Force is specifically responsible for organizing, training, and equipping forces for the following mission sets
- Space superiority
- Space domain awareness (military, civil, and commercial)
- Offensive and defensive space control
- Command and control of space forces and satellite operations
- Space support to operations (e.g. satellite communications)
- Space service support (e.g. space lift and space range operations for military, civil, and commercial operators)
- Space support to nuclear command, control, communications and nuclear detonation detection
- Missile warning and space support to missile defense operation
We must look at space operations beyond our present geocentric orbiting devices,and the moon, earth orbit, and a moon base, or even a Mars Colony will not deter the Dragon's very clear territorial intentions. The task that current space assets perform—supporting military operations on the surface of the Earth is vital today and will be for years to come. Unfortunately, the Air Force today seems as institutionally unable to envision operations of access and denial in deep space as once the Army Air Corps was reluctant to embrace the idea of a separate air force. The Air Force, out of which Congress thinks it will get most of the assets for a Space Force sees the Space Force as projecting power through air, space, and cyberspace, from basically our geocentric orbiting devices and stations. The Air Force institutional understanding appears to preclude space beyond our geocentric orbits . If the Space force is ever going to become our sixth armed service in reality it has to find the missions now that make a big difference to our national security and can be afforded on a shoe string budget. We agree entirely with General Kawst's overall view,.but we don't see the Congress or the Air Force changing their position any time soon. The Dragon intends to occupy the solar system, we will need a force that can operate beyond earth orbit and the moon. Like it or not, we are in an arms race in space.
Image from the EMPIRE STRIKES BACKImage PD: We are building and operating these while the Dragon is intent on creating these:
Remember: "The Chinese are open about their plan to become the dominant power in space by 2049, the centennial of the end of the Communist Chinese Revolution and of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong." (U.S. Air Force Retired General Kawst)
Enter Our Space Force. The Department of Defense (DOD) envisions a Space Force that provides services similar to certain services now provided by the Air Force. The DOD institutional vision for a Space Force at the moment is one that continues to perform the task that current space assets perform—supporting wars on the surface of the Earth. We need that mission, but we also need a Space Force eventually capable of launching and landing an armed force to the outer most planets of our solar system. and area denial missions far from beyond the dark side of the moon .The enumerated missions of the Space Force include what seems to be a mixture of the two types of services but only support of earth based warfare seems to be getting any funding: Here are the specific missions mentioned in law so far: The Space Force is specifically responsible for organizing, training, and equipping forces for the following mission sets
- Space superiority
- Space domain awareness (military, civil, and commercial)
- Offensive and defensive space control
- Command and control of space forces and satellite operations
- Space support to operations (e.g. satellite communications)
- Space service support (e.g. space lift and space range operations for military, civil, and commercial operators)
- Space support to nuclear command, control, communications and nuclear detonation detection
- Missile warning and space support to missile defense operation
We must look at space operations beyond our present geocentric orbiting devices,and the moon, earth orbit, and a moon base, or even a Mars Colony will not deter the Dragon's very clear territorial intentions. The task that current space assets perform—supporting military operations on the surface of the Earth is vital today and will be for years to come. Unfortunately, the Air Force today seems as institutionally unable to envision operations of access and denial in deep space as once the Army Air Corps was reluctant to embrace the idea of a separate air force. The Air Force, out of which Congress thinks it will get most of the assets for a Space Force sees the Space Force as projecting power through air, space, and cyberspace, from basically our geocentric orbiting devices and stations. The Air Force institutional understanding appears to preclude space beyond our geocentric orbits . If the Space force is ever going to become our sixth armed service in reality it has to find the missions now that make a big difference to our national security and can be afforded on a shoe string budget. We agree entirely with General Kawst's overall view,.but we don't see the Congress or the Air Force changing their position any time soon. The Dragon intends to occupy the solar system, we will need a force that can operate beyond earth orbit and the moon. Like it or not, we are in an arms race in space.
However, fortunately at the moment, the immediate focus is on influencing military operations from space. In the short term the Air Force's view point is important. One of the most important things that a Space Force could do right now is to concentrate on SPACE CAPABILITIES , PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION. This mission set is vital to our defense capabilities, serves as a deterrent and drag factor on the Dragon's ambitions, and cost very little of rare Space Force Money to get started. By concentrating on SPACE CAPABILITIES RESTORATION , PROTECTION , AND RAPID RESTORATION, the Space Force will come out of the gate with major notice, growing public support, decreased Air Force and Congressional resistance, Here are some examples of what we mean by SPACE CAPABILITIES PROTECTION AND RAPID RESTORATION .
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INEXPENSIVE EARTH BASED SPACE CAPABILITY PROTECTION AND RESTORATION:
The Dragon will target at great expense our GPS navigation systems. This is one reason why the United States Naval Academy re-instituted the study of celestial navigation.
Paper charts and references, sextants, dividers, parallel rulers and Chronometers are very inexpensive compared to GPS systems, or the systems the Dragon plans to Knock ours out with. But if our ship navigators retain their traditional navigation skills.and tools our degree of navigational accuracy., post successful enemy attack, in getting on station to deliver ordinance to target falls from minus 50 feet to plus or minus 200 yards. This is not enough of a degradation to deter us from firing. This was all we had in WWII and for a long time afterward. The problem with the Navy's approach is in the lack of quantity.
We can't just limit the traditional navigational skills sets to Academy trained officers. Nor can we limit the distribution of traditional navigation instruments, charts, and reference works to just a few flag ships. The Navy and the Coast Guard, have morphed their traditional Quartermaster rates (Navigational assistant) into a more electronically orientated "Operations Rate". Coast wise and celestial navigation should be reintroduced to the Operations Ratings starting at the E-5 level. and culminating with a competent celestial navigator by E-7. The Space Force should be an open advocate of such moves because this is a low cost earth based, almost impossible to effectively counter rapid restoration of a space based capability.
The Space Force should lend academic development help to the over all program and be the primary advocate to the Navy for adoption of the program. The Navy has less interest in slowing the progress of a Space Force and makes a good target for forming an initial alliance within the now widely accepted concept of "jointness".
The Coast Guard has a very limited budget and many "unfunded mandates". The USCG uses a model of only creating and supporting those schools that are unique to certain Coast Guard missions. For most other training the USCG utilizes existing DOD schools or contractor short courses. It is a lot cheaper to lobby for a few placements within an existing school than to create and maintain a school. After more than a century the U.S. Marine Corps still prepares career officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. By establishing a Space Force career track at the Air Force Academy the Space Force saves millions while waiting for the adults to return to Washington. A Space Force career track within the Air Force Academy also tends to placate the fear within the Air Force that they are being kicked to the side of the road on space missions. None of these considerations however, should stop the Space Force from immediately getting some of their personnel into NASA astronaut training and participation in NASA missions especially those that involve building or repair in space. The Space Force needs its own cadre of experienced astronauts as soon as possible. Riding piggy back with NASA is the fast and inexpensive way to do it.
AN EXAMPLE OF FAST AND INEXPENSIVE EARTH BASED RESTORATION OF A SPACE ASSET
Any high altitude nuclear detonation over the United States would knock out not only our space based navigational systems, but also a big part of our communications infrastructure and even much of our motorized transportation system. Here again in cooperation with other services a Space Force could lead the way with cheap but effective earth based protective measures.such as the Faraday cage . Just place an electrical generator and a radio into a Faraday cage and you have a communications device that is highly resistant to attack.
Now suppose the Navy started with a Space Force inspired and coordinated event involving only three initial Faraday Cage protected radios and generators. One could be placed in the Pentagon,. one in San Diego, one on board a flag ship heading up a test flotilla. out ward bound from San Diego. Other radios could be silenced as the Navy demonstrated the ability to communicate over long distances after an enemy high level nuclear detonation. Communications between the flag ship and other flotilla vessels would be by visual signaling as it is often done today for security of tactical information. Give the Ship's crews liberty in Hawaii and tell the local press what the mission was all about .
The Dragon watches the local press in Hawaii. They will drive themselves crazy to find out the scope and depth of the experiment. That is a good thing, possibly even a drag on Chinese research. into the attack we already fear from the Dragon.. As for the Dragon learning the extend and depth of the development; all we need do is continue to expand on the system by putting more and more vital communications and response equipment into Faraday cages. The Space Force will be able to get a lot of help in spreading this earth based space capability protection. The Army Signal Corps comes to mind as they have the skill sets to construct even large Faraday cages capable of protecting motor vehicles and small power generation plants.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a group of ham operators who have global reach already . Many of their radios and generators can readily be protected by equipment presently sold on Amazon. Imagine the effect on Chinese naval intelligence if a net work of CG Auxiliary Ham operators were to light up after our Test Flotilla reached Hawaii. This earth bound protection against the dreaded high altitude nuclear detonation may be implemented quickly or evolve over time depending on the cooperation of the sister services and Congress. However as long as it is clear to the Dragon that it is being implemented its very existence is a deterrent against rash action. Remember that the U.S. came out on top in the Cold war largely because we broke the economic back of the Soviet Union in an arms race they could not afford. Yes, we can spend a lot, but also frugality and simplicity and net working have a role to play in making our defenses a deterrent. We can spend billions less on very effective earth based rapid recovery of space based capabilities than what the Chinese will have to spend to build attack systems that will never have the effect they are hoping for. Whether working the low tech or high tech , high end deterrent systems, a successful Space Force should have as its highest goal the same goal as the Department of Homeland Security ... make sure nothing happens.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but would welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States.The the fleet could have its space system guided ordnance rendered useless by having our navigational satellites attacked by enemy satellites.Some of these assets are designed to be self guided, However ,others require guidance from space. Here a cataloging chore is needed. Minus our naval weapons guided from space capabilities that we are likely to lose in the face of a preemptive attack how much residual controllable fire power do we have in the fleet? How should the knowledge of this affect future development and acquisitions of both the Navy and the Space Force. In all cases we want to have serious naval punching power coming out of a preemptive attack. A viable space force ahead of the game in space capabilities protection, and restoration can help.
As for the Dragon its intelligence services will learn eventually that we have growing protection from loss of space based services via almost impossible to knock out low tech, earth based arts and systems, The Dragon will learn that we have arranged these back up programs with the express intent of having lots of surviving and effective naval fire power in the event of preemptive attack. Whats a Dragon to do? Invest in a still larger Navy? Invest in more expensive orbital systems? A program such as this initial survey, inventory, and organizational redirection does not force much in the way of immediate expenses on us, but an aggressor will be facing a higher bar. Such an approach sends the focus of this seemingly most expensive arms race back down to earth, particularly to the naval realm, re-enforcing and prolonging the concept "that he who rules the seas, rules the world." and delaying any real warfare in space for a while longer. It falls in line with what ought to be the Space Force's reason for existence; making sure nothing happens.
Having said all that there have been in the last few weeks (This written March 30, 2020 ) some notable Space Force accomplishments. The U.S.Space Force Space and Missile System Center (An Air Force Legacy.) released a solicitation for a 10 year contract to manage the Space Enterprise. Consortium. This is in keeping with the Space Force Mission of " Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space (Promote the growth of the U.S. Space Industry). The Coast Guard and Maritime Administration have a sharp dividing line. The Maritime Administration has the task of insuring that there is an American Merchant Marine. The Coast Guard assures the safety of this critical defense related industry. The net result is a common saying among U.S. Merchant Marine Officers; "The Coast Guard insures the safety of the largest non existent merchant marine in the world." We have little American history of putting the promotion and regulation of a vital defense related industry under a single agency. We should proceed carefully this is new turf.
Also in recent days (this written March 30, 2020), the Space Force launched its first unmanned mission with the help of civilian contractors. A United Launch Alliance Atlas Five rocket carried a U.S. Space Force communications satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Again this was likely an Air Force legacy operation that involved very little Space Force funding, but an important experience for the Space Force and a great PR opportunity if the main stream media had paid any attention.. l .
We expect funding to be scarce for the Space Force as long as Democrats have any say so in the budget process. Thus assistance to the Naval Establishment can yield a lot of good PR within and without the Department of Defense. . While a return to paper navigation skills assures us of the ability to place naval firepower where it needs to be, this is not a navigation system for a single seat fighter bomber. In Vietnam the Coast Guard operated LORAN systems. When LORAN appeared to be becoming obsolete the USCG proposed other land based solutions that required fewer broadcasting stations. One system was supposed to provide global electronic navigation services using only eight earth based stations, The Space Force could again provide a serious contribution by urging the Coast to reexamine such systems. Receivers for any non space based navigation system, operable by a pilot or flight officer should be installed and tested on some flight leader manned air craft. By providing encouragement and possibly some funding assistance with the early testing and development phase.the Space Force again drives naval improvement at low cost during a time when the Navy's brass are struggling to keep a minimum ship building program going in the face of a hostile Congress..
There are of course space capabilities that we need which don't lend themselves to the low tech solutions that we have outlined for naval navigation and communications losses. Some of these will require expensive solutions such as hidden orbital replacement satellites, and ready on the launch pad replacement orbital systems, These are the immediately needed high end.portion of the Space Force's defense contribution. Unfortunately this part of space capabilities reconstruction forces do not appear on the budget agenda in the immediately foreseeable future. The Air Force has some of these types of assets but will only let go of them to the Space Force gradually.
What about the totally necessary ability of the Space Force to project power in space beyond earth orbit and the moon? The Space Force needs time to build up competencies and resources and a public image before expecting Congress to provide funding. The Space Force presently envisioned by the DOD, especially the Air Force lacks these essential; capabilities. "Correspondingly, the Defense Department and Congress think that the Air Force should build the Space Force. So far, this has amounted to the Air Force planning to improve the current Satellite Command incrementally and call it a Space Force. It is not planning to accelerate the new space economy with dual-use technologies. It is not planning to protect the Moon or travel corridors in space to and from resource locations. Raw materials worth trillions of dollars are available within a few days’ travel from Earth, and other strategic high grounds. It is not planning to place human beings in space to build and protect innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the physical environment. The present development plan does not include developing means to rescue Americans who may get stranded or lost in space."
Our Analysis suggest that the wisest course for the new Space Force right out of the box is an acceptance of the limits the Air Force is placing upon it. The Air force will be controlling much of the budget in the first years. However the Space Force should adopt in a quite public manner a "joint forces approach" and start with some highly effective but low costs assistance to the Navy. Marine Corps, Coast Guard team.The Air Force will have a difficult time being critical of the new service's immediate orientation towards space capabilities RECONSTRUCTION, PROTECTION, AND RAPID RESTORATION.
We don't see how the Space Force can promote the U.S. space industries if isn't also involved in their regulation. An armed service doing regulatory work faces constitutional hurdles in the United States . But it is done. The US Coast Guard enforces all Federal Laws on the High Seas and territorial waters of the United States. The Coast Guard regulates the safety of our Merchant Marine from vessel inspections to the licensing of officers and the certification of the ratings. In order to do these things the Coast Guard is housed away from the Department of Defense. There exists legal fast tracks to make the entire service a separate and distinct service within the Navy , or to "second" particular personnel and or vessels, or air craft to Navy in times of national emergency, or as a matter of routine when serious DOD needs for Coast Guard services arise.The evolving Space Force will soon find itself involved in some major regulatory situations based on the long range mission plans for the service.
Enter Rapid Recovery Systems:
Below are some of the big budget, near term missions for the Space Force not likely to draw institutional fire from the Air Force. All of these missions address near term threats to our ability to control armed conflict on earth which is where the Air Force focus is at the moment. But the President had much more in mind in terms of tasking for the Space Force. As we mentioned earlier the eventual missions of the Space Force will go beyond earth orbital, Moon, and Mars related activity. Among the eventual missions envisioned beyond the near earth missions :
EVENTUAL MISSIONS OF THE SPACE FORCE KNOWN SO FAR:
- Develop a deterrence capability that will render ICBMs and nuclear weapons useless relics of the past. Remember a primary focus of the Space Force is to help assure that NOTHING HAPPENS.
- Defend Earth against small asteroids like the one that hit Russia in 2013. and eventually large asteroids as well.
- Reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters by managing the eyes of hurricanes and the funnels of tornadoes with energy from space.
- Provide a shelter in space for the protection and preservation of people, seeds, animals and life-saving medicines, so humanity can recover from any unexpected contamination.
- Design space based defense capabilities to preserve our economy, and our population .
- INEXPENSIVE EARTH BASED SPACE CAPABILITY PROTECTION AND RESTORATION:
The Dragon will target at great expense our GPS navigation systems. This is one reason why the United States Naval Academy re-instituted the study of celestial navigation.Paper charts and references, sextants, dividers, parallel rulers and Chronometers are very inexpensive compared to GPS systems, or the systems the Dragon plans to Knock ours out with. But if our ship navigators retain their traditional navigation skills.and tools our degree of navigational accuracy., post successful enemy attack, in getting on station to deliver ordinance to target falls from minus 50 feet to plus or minus 200 yards. This is not enough of a degradation to deter us from firing. This was all we had in WWII and for a long time afterward. The problem with the Navy's approach is in the lack of quantity.
We can't just limit the traditional navigational skills sets to Academy trained officers. Nor can we limit the distribution of traditional navigation instruments, charts, and reference works to just a few flag ships. The Navy and the Coast Guard, have morphed their traditional Quartermaster rates (Navigational assistant) into a more electronically orientated "Operations Rate". Coast wise and celestial navigation should be reintroduced to the Operations Ratings starting at the E-5 level. and culminating with a competent celestial navigator by E-7. The Space Force should be an open advocate of such moves because this is a low cost earth based, almost impossible to effectively counter rapid restoration of a space based capability.
The Space Force should lend academic development help to the over all program and be the primary advocate to the Navy for adoption of the program. The Navy has less interest in slowing the progress of a Space Force and makes a good target for forming an initial alliance within the now widely accepted concept of "jointness".
The Coast Guard has a very limited budget and many "unfunded mandates". The USCG uses a model of only creating and supporting those schools that are unique to certain Coast Guard missions. For most other training the USCG utilizes existing DOD schools or contractor short courses. It is a lot cheaper to lobby for a few placements within an existing school than to create and maintain a school. After more than a century the U.S. Marine Corps still prepares career officers at the U.S. Naval Academy. By establishing a Space Force career track at the Air Force Academy the Space Force saves millions while waiting for the adults to return to Washington. A Space Force career track within the Air Force Academy also tends to placate the fear within the Air Force that they are being kicked to the side of the road on space missions. None of these considerations however, should stop the Space Force from immediately getting some of their personnel into NASA astronaut training and participation in NASA missions especially those that involve building or repair in space. The Space Force needs its own cadre of experienced astronauts as soon as possible. Riding piggy back with NASA is the fast and inexpensive way to do it.AN EXAMPLE OF FAST AND INEXPENSIVE EARTH BASED RESTORATION OF A SPACE ASSETAny high altitude nuclear detonation over the United States would knock out not only our space based navigational systems, but also a big part of our communications infrastructure and even much of our motorized transportation system. Here again in cooperation with other services a Space Force could lead the way with cheap but effective earth based protective measures.such as the Faraday cage . Just place an electrical generator and a radio into a Faraday cage and you have a communications device that is highly resistant to attack.
Now suppose the Navy started with a Space Force inspired and coordinated event involving only three initial Faraday Cage protected radios and generators. One could be placed in the Pentagon,. one in San Diego, one on board a flag ship heading up a test flotilla. out ward bound from San Diego. Other radios could be silenced as the Navy demonstrated the ability to communicate over long distances after an enemy high level nuclear detonation. Communications between the flag ship and other flotilla vessels would be by visual signaling as it is often done today for security of tactical information. Give the Ship's crews liberty in Hawaii and tell the local press what the mission was all about .
The Dragon watches the local press in Hawaii. They will drive themselves crazy to find out the scope and depth of the experiment. That is a good thing, possibly even a drag on Chinese research. into the attack we already fear from the Dragon.. As for the Dragon learning the extend and depth of the development; all we need do is continue to expand on the system by putting more and more vital communications and response equipment into Faraday cages. The Space Force will be able to get a lot of help in spreading this earth based space capability protection. The Army Signal Corps comes to mind as they have the skill sets to construct even large Faraday cages capable of protecting motor vehicles and small power generation plants.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a group of ham operators who have global reach already . Many of their radios and generators can readily be protected by equipment presently sold on Amazon. Imagine the effect on Chinese naval intelligence if a net work of CG Auxiliary Ham operators were to light up after our Test Flotilla reached Hawaii. This earth bound protection against the dreaded high altitude nuclear detonation may be implemented quickly or evolve over time depending on the cooperation of the sister services and Congress. However as long as it is clear to the Dragon that it is being implemented its very existence is a deterrent against rash action. Remember that the U.S. came out on top in the Cold war largely because we broke the economic back of the Soviet Union in an arms race they could not afford. Yes, we can spend a lot, but also frugality and simplicity and net working have a role to play in making our defenses a deterrent. We can spend billions less on very effective earth based rapid recovery of space based capabilities than what the Chinese will have to spend to build attack systems that will never have the effect they are hoping for. Whether working the low tech or high tech , high end deterrent systems, a successful Space Force should have as its highest goal the same goal as the Department of Homeland Security ... make sure nothing happens.
Once with the help and open advocacy of the Space Force our Navy has demonstrated its ability to communicate with our fleet around the world, and to position our ships to combat advantage after the total loss of our GPS and other space based navigation and communications systems we are ready to address tactical effectiveness and fire control after such losses. The first step is cataloging naval fire power by guidance system.a task the Navy would probably agree is necessary but would welcome outside help in getting the job done. The Navy still carries naval artillery. We put shot on target using pointing. training, computation of high angle fire etc, , computers welcome but not required. However, what about naval missiles, air craft, and drones both water borne and air borne? Remember the fleet at sea is unlikely to be disabled by a high altitude nuclear burst over the United States.The the fleet could have its space system guided ordnance rendered useless by having our navigational satellites attacked by enemy satellites.Some of these assets are designed to be self guided, However ,others require guidance from space. Here a cataloging chore is needed. Minus our naval weapons guided from space capabilities that we are likely to lose in the face of a preemptive attack how much residual controllable fire power do we have in the fleet? How should the knowledge of this affect future development and acquisitions of both the Navy and the Space Force. In all cases we want to have serious naval punching power coming out of a preemptive attack. A viable space force ahead of the game in space capabilities protection, and restoration can help.
As for the Dragon its intelligence services will learn eventually that we have growing protection from loss of space based services via almost impossible to knock out low tech, earth based arts and systems, The Dragon will learn that we have arranged these back up programs with the express intent of having lots of surviving and effective naval fire power in the event of preemptive attack. Whats a Dragon to do? Invest in a still larger Navy? Invest in more expensive orbital systems? A program such as this initial survey, inventory, and organizational redirection does not force much in the way of immediate expenses on us, but an aggressor will be facing a higher bar. Such an approach sends the focus of this seemingly most expensive arms race back down to earth, particularly to the naval realm, re-enforcing and prolonging the concept "that he who rules the seas, rules the world." and delaying any real warfare in space for a while longer. It falls in line with what ought to be the Space Force's reason for existence; making sure nothing happens.
Having said all that there have been in the last few weeks (This written March 30, 2020 ) some notable Space Force accomplishments. The U.S.Space Force Space and Missile System Center (An Air Force Legacy.) released a solicitation for a 10 year contract to manage the Space Enterprise. Consortium. This is in keeping with the Space Force Mission of " Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space (Promote the growth of the U.S. Space Industry). The Coast Guard and Maritime Administration have a sharp dividing line. The Maritime Administration has the task of insuring that there is an American Merchant Marine. The Coast Guard assures the safety of this critical defense related industry. The net result is a common saying among U.S. Merchant Marine Officers; "The Coast Guard insures the safety of the largest non existent merchant marine in the world." We have little American history of putting the promotion and regulation of a vital defense related industry under a single agency. We should proceed carefully this is new turf.
Also in recent days (this written March 30, 2020), the Space Force launched its first unmanned mission with the help of civilian contractors. A United Launch Alliance Atlas Five rocket carried a U.S. Space Force communications satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Again this was likely an Air Force legacy operation that involved very little Space Force funding, but an important experience for the Space Force and a great PR opportunity if the main stream media had paid any attention.. l .
We expect funding to be scarce for the Space Force as long as Democrats have any say so in the budget process. Thus assistance to the Naval Establishment can yield a lot of good PR within and without the Department of Defense. . While a return to paper navigation skills assures us of the ability to place naval firepower where it needs to be, this is not a navigation system for a single seat fighter bomber. In Vietnam the Coast Guard operated LORAN systems. When LORAN appeared to be becoming obsolete the USCG proposed other land based solutions that required fewer broadcasting stations. One system was supposed to provide global electronic navigation services using only eight earth based stations, The Space Force could again provide a serious contribution by urging the Coast to reexamine such systems. Receivers for any non space based navigation system, operable by a pilot or flight officer should be installed and tested on some flight leader manned air craft. By providing encouragement and possibly some funding assistance with the early testing and development phase.the Space Force again drives naval improvement at low cost during a time when the Navy's brass are struggling to keep a minimum ship building program going in the face of a hostile Congress..
There are of course space capabilities that we need which don't lend themselves to the low tech solutions that we have outlined for naval navigation and communications losses. Some of these will require expensive solutions such as hidden orbital replacement satellites, and ready on the launch pad replacement orbital systems, These are the immediately needed high end.portion of the Space Force's defense contribution. Unfortunately this part of space capabilities reconstruction forces do not appear on the budget agenda in the immediately foreseeable future. The Air Force has some of these types of assets but will only let go of them to the Space Force gradually.
What about the totally necessary ability of the Space Force to project power in space beyond earth orbit and the moon? The Space Force needs time to build up competencies and resources and a public image before expecting Congress to provide funding. The Space Force presently envisioned by the DOD, especially the Air Force lacks these essential; capabilities. "Correspondingly, the Defense Department and Congress think that the Air Force should build the Space Force. So far, this has amounted to the Air Force planning to improve the current Satellite Command incrementally and call it a Space Force. It is not planning to accelerate the new space economy with dual-use technologies. It is not planning to protect the Moon or travel corridors in space to and from resource locations. Raw materials worth trillions of dollars are available within a few days’ travel from Earth, and other strategic high grounds. It is not planning to place human beings in space to build and protect innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the physical environment. The present development plan does not include developing means to rescue Americans who may get stranded or lost in space."Our Analysis suggest that the wisest course for the new Space Force right out of the box is an acceptance of the limits the Air Force is placing upon it. The Air force will be controlling much of the budget in the first years. However the Space Force should adopt in a quite public manner a "joint forces approach" and start with some highly effective but low costs assistance to the Navy. Marine Corps, Coast Guard team.The Air Force will have a difficult time being critical of the new service's immediate orientation towards space capabilities RECONSTRUCTION, PROTECTION, AND RAPID RESTORATION.
We don't see how the Space Force can promote the U.S. space industries if isn't also involved in their regulation. An armed service doing regulatory work faces constitutional hurdles in the United States . But it is done. The US Coast Guard enforces all Federal Laws on the High Seas and territorial waters of the United States. The Coast Guard regulates the safety of our Merchant Marine from vessel inspections to the licensing of officers and the certification of the ratings. In order to do these things the Coast Guard is housed away from the Department of Defense. There exists legal fast tracks to make the entire service a separate and distinct service within the Navy , or to "second" particular personnel and or vessels, or air craft to Navy in times of national emergency, or as a matter of routine when serious DOD needs for Coast Guard services arise.The evolving Space Force will soon find itself involved in some major regulatory situations based on the long range mission plans for the service.
Enter Rapid Recovery Systems:
Below are some of the big budget, near term missions for the Space Force not likely to draw institutional fire from the Air Force. All of these missions address near term threats to our ability to control armed conflict on earth which is where the Air Force focus is at the moment. But the President had much more in mind in terms of tasking for the Space Force. As we mentioned earlier the eventual missions of the Space Force will go beyond earth orbital, Moon, and Mars related activity. Among the eventual missions envisioned beyond the near earth missions :
EVENTUAL MISSIONS OF THE SPACE FORCE KNOWN SO FAR:
- Develop a deterrence capability that will render ICBMs and nuclear weapons useless relics of the past. Remember a primary focus of the Space Force is to help assure that NOTHING HAPPENS.
- Defend Earth against small asteroids like the one that hit Russia in 2013. and eventually large asteroids as well.
- Reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters by managing the eyes of hurricanes and the funnels of tornadoes with energy from space.
- Provide a shelter in space for the protection and preservation of people, seeds, animals and life-saving medicines, so humanity can recover from any unexpected contamination.
- Design space based defense capabilities to preserve our economy, and our population .
- Other Activities of the eventual mature Space Force would include some activities that are routinely done by other armed forces in concert with other industries. Remember the Chinese intend to not only dominate space physically by 2049 but also to dominate the space industries on earth. Our Space Force must be ready early on to protect its industrial production and supply lines. The present existing armed forces do this in a variety of ways mostly involving assurance of multiple providers, by spreading production work around multiple providers. The other armed forces also monitor economically weak but important providers and try to send them some work in time to prevent closure of production lines. Additionally the older DOD agencies provide research grants This type of cooperation requires no new legislation other than funding. Here are some of the cooperative space industry protective measures that some proponents of the Space Force have proposed:
- Provide fresh water for every human without the need for aquifers or pipes.
- Build a new low-cost internet that is designed to be secure so that every human can connect, share, and learn with assured privacy .
- Deliver unlimited, clean, affordable energy to every human on the planet with less terrestrial infrastructure and dramatically less cost.
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. Early on this would include manufacturing of certain commodities like certain pharmaceuticals that we already know would be greatly improved by manufacture in a low to no G environment.
- IF THE SPACE FORCE IS GOING TO PLAY A KEY ROLE IN ASSURING THAT THE UNITED STATES DOESN'T FALL BEHIND CHINA IN OVERALL SPACE INDUSTRIES IT WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO ASSUME SOME POWERS OF REGULATION. Under the U.S. Constitution it is very difficult to assign regulatory functions to an armed forces but it has been done. The U.S. Coast Guard lawfully exercises comprehensive safety regulation over the U.S. Maritime industries including the licensing of Merchant Marine Officers and the certification of seamen as well as environmental regulation. The Coast Guard is now tasked with enforcing "all federal laws" on the High Seas and navigable waters of the United States. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with navigational and flood control infrastructure building including with "partners" such as industry groups, state and local governments, particularly on a cost sharing basis. As a logical out come of this infrastructure work, the Corps had been given certain regulatory authorities over the navigable waters of the U.S. .
- HERE AGAIN ARE SOME MORE OF THE FUTURE COOPERATIVE TYPE VENTURES THAT THE PROPONENTS OF THE SPACE FORCE HAVE DESCRIBED
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- Design defense capabilities probably including earth based intelligence programs to preserve our economy, our population, and our infrastructure such as our power lines and terrestrial power plants. .
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. This opens the door to some early on opportunities unusual for an American Armed Force but hardly unheard of elsewhere in the world. We already know of certain products that would be vitally enhanced by manufacture in a low G or 0 G environment. The companies involved can't spare the type of capital it takes for orbital manufacturing sites , or launch services to support delivery of supplies and finished product. However, some of these products are far more valuable than gold. In the case of some pharmaceutical products a shoe box of product is worth more than a truck load of gold. Some spare space in both Space Force stations and service vehicles could open the doors to a unique partnership The Space Force is expected to facilitate the rapid growth of space industries .and could always use the money. Chinese and Russian armed forces engage in this sort of funding activity all the time. The first use of paid advertising in space was when the `Russians launched a rocket with a Dominoes Pizza logo painted on the side, Eventually the early users of Space Force business incubators will be able to afford their own dedicated orbital manufacturing facilities and shuttle services but some space industrial incubator spaces on Space Force stations and vehicles will quickly be taken up by other start ups. More over with other military needs of the force difficult to determine , and space search and rescue definitely on the agenda, extra cargo and passenger room is prudent in such designs. .Take a close look into the U.S Navy's present day "sea-lift" problems and lets avoid their parallels in Space. ::
- Design defense capabilities probably including earth based intelligence programs to preserve our economy, our population, and our infrastructure such as our power lines and terrestrial power plants. .
- Revolutionize manufacturing by acquiring and deploying resources from space and in space. This opens the door to some early on opportunities unusual for an American Armed Force but hardly unheard of elsewhere in the world. We already know of certain products that would be vitally enhanced by manufacture in a low G or 0 G environment. The companies involved can't spare the type of capital it takes for orbital manufacturing sites , or launch services to support delivery of supplies and finished product. However, some of these products are far more valuable than gold. In the case of some pharmaceutical products a shoe box of product is worth more than a truck load of gold. Some spare space in both Space Force stations and service vehicles could open the doors to a unique partnership The Space Force is expected to facilitate the rapid growth of space industries .and could always use the money. Chinese and Russian armed forces engage in this sort of funding activity all the time. The first use of paid advertising in space was when the `Russians launched a rocket with a Dominoes Pizza logo painted on the side, Eventually the early users of Space Force business incubators will be able to afford their own dedicated orbital manufacturing facilities and shuttle services but some space industrial incubator spaces on Space Force stations and vehicles will quickly be taken up by other start ups. More over with other military needs of the force difficult to determine , and space search and rescue definitely on the agenda, extra cargo and passenger room is prudent in such designs. .Take a close look into the U.S Navy's present day "sea-lift" problems and lets avoid their parallels in Space. ::
SOME NEW NAVAL SUPPLY VESSELS WILL BE RE-DESIGNATED "WAR SHIPS" FOR THE SEA BASING MISSION See also:
SEALIFT STILL LAGS / MARAD RESERVE FLEET TEETERING
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- ( in the event the hot links malfunction or you rereading this in printed format the complete URL for linked posts are https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/02/some-new-naval-supply-vessels-will-be.html and https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/sealift-still-lags.html
It is also clear that early proponents of a Space Force envision space search and rescue as one of its missions.
U.S. Coast Guard history indicates that their famous search and rescue at sea capacities evolved over time starting with nothing more than permissive authority to engage in search and rescue. That mission now dominates the public image of the US Coast Guard and forms a major part of each annual budget. We are just about certain that something similar will evolve with the Space Force.
We, Helios Ruehls, Inc.; envision one more mission set for the Space Force that seems to be over looked by the early proponents, Space sanitation , the prevention of an outer space based repeat of the "Colombian Exchange" a terrestrial event from 1492 that we are still suffering from. Think of the sea lampreys that have invaded the U.S. Great Lakes, and the flying carp trying to get into the Great Lakes from rivers where they are already well established, the python and iguana invasions of Florida, the walking catfish, fire ants, and kudzu vine. We are going to be bringing back soil samples from other planets very soon with industrial sized shipments following on in the more distant future. For many years a uniformed and para-naval organization had taken over such sanitation duties at U. S. Seaports and air terminals That uniformed service was the U.S. Public Health Service.
The PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (USPHS) lost most of the sanitation mission set along with the provision of free medical services to the U.S. Merchant Marine during the Reagan administration. With a few decades to look back on we find that the prevention of exotic intrusion ( introduction of plants and animals not considered pests in their native environments but very destructive in new environments ) has become everyone's problem and thus no one's problem. Exotic intrusion is increasing and increasingly destructive while the Department of Agriculture, the Coast Guard, and state and local agencies are all trying to do bits and pieces of the job that the USPHS did comprehensively and with military dedication. One obviously net result is that if you visit any American port today "rat guards "are rarely seen on the mooring lines of ships from all over the world. Rodents get on and off without difficulty and with them all of the insects and micro organisms they carry.
Its called the "Colombian Exchange" and it has been global since 1492. from snakes in Guam, to rabbits in Australia, to lion fish in Florida's coastal waters, It has also been benign to beneficial in terms of domestic plants and wildlife; potatoes from the Andes to Ireland. Corn from North America to Europe, horses reintroduced to North America. However along with the wild horses came feral hogs now destroying wild life habitat all across the South.The flue travels globally annually now. Sometimes seeming new viruses appear as was the case with the Coronavirus (C-19 ) virus that swept the world in 2019-2020. While scientific opinion differs on whether or not virus constitutes a life form, they reproduce and are transported by life forms. Consider that it has been shown that viruses can survive earth atmospheric entry. Given what we now know about our solar system, a virus is a most likely unwanted hitch hiker on a return soil sample, Early on a Space Force must establish authority for sanitation aboard American space vehicles,.be prepared to render international services for nations that request it, become the voice of the United States in forums and tribunals where international law on such matters is being hammered out, if you will, a national lobbyist for space sanitation. Again, unusual for an armed service but, the Coast Guard is our representative before the UN's International Maritime Safety groups and takes a lead role in Arctic councils. Unusual but far from unheard of.
The Dragon has shown its willingness to use "law fare" to attempt to change international law as it applies to the sea. There is no reason that they won't launch an effort related to space. The Space Force must develop and maintain a legal corps well schooled in international law especially the emerging field of Space law. When the Dragon escapes its lair and heads to the international court houses the American Space Force must follow and contest. The American Space Force also shouldn't be above aiming some "law fare " at the Dragon in preemptive legal strikes to keep harmful cases from even being heard. bad behavior at sea predicts bad behavior in space.;
- ( in the event the hot links malfunction or you rereading this in printed format the complete URL for linked posts are https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/02/some-new-naval-supply-vessels-will-be.html and https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/sealift-still-lags.html
It is also clear that early proponents of a Space Force envision space search and rescue as one of its missions.U.S. Coast Guard history indicates that their famous search and rescue at sea capacities evolved over time starting with nothing more than permissive authority to engage in search and rescue. That mission now dominates the public image of the US Coast Guard and forms a major part of each annual budget. We are just about certain that something similar will evolve with the Space Force.We, Helios Ruehls, Inc.; envision one more mission set for the Space Force that seems to be over looked by the early proponents, Space sanitation , the prevention of an outer space based repeat of the "Colombian Exchange" a terrestrial event from 1492 that we are still suffering from. Think of the sea lampreys that have invaded the U.S. Great Lakes, and the flying carp trying to get into the Great Lakes from rivers where they are already well established, the python and iguana invasions of Florida, the walking catfish, fire ants, and kudzu vine. We are going to be bringing back soil samples from other planets very soon with industrial sized shipments following on in the more distant future. For many years a uniformed and para-naval organization had taken over such sanitation duties at U. S. Seaports and air terminals That uniformed service was the U.S. Public Health Service.
The PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (USPHS) lost most of the sanitation mission set along with the provision of free medical services to the U.S. Merchant Marine during the Reagan administration. With a few decades to look back on we find that the prevention of exotic intrusion ( introduction of plants and animals not considered pests in their native environments but very destructive in new environments ) has become everyone's problem and thus no one's problem. Exotic intrusion is increasing and increasingly destructive while the Department of Agriculture, the Coast Guard, and state and local agencies are all trying to do bits and pieces of the job that the USPHS did comprehensively and with military dedication. One obviously net result is that if you visit any American port today "rat guards "are rarely seen on the mooring lines of ships from all over the world. Rodents get on and off without difficulty and with them all of the insects and micro organisms they carry.
Its called the "Colombian Exchange" and it has been global since 1492. from snakes in Guam, to rabbits in Australia, to lion fish in Florida's coastal waters, It has also been benign to beneficial in terms of domestic plants and wildlife; potatoes from the Andes to Ireland. Corn from North America to Europe, horses reintroduced to North America. However along with the wild horses came feral hogs now destroying wild life habitat all across the South.The flue travels globally annually now. Sometimes seeming new viruses appear as was the case with the Coronavirus (C-19 ) virus that swept the world in 2019-2020. While scientific opinion differs on whether or not virus constitutes a life form, they reproduce and are transported by life forms. Consider that it has been shown that viruses can survive earth atmospheric entry. Given what we now know about our solar system, a virus is a most likely unwanted hitch hiker on a return soil sample, Early on a Space Force must establish authority for sanitation aboard American space vehicles,.be prepared to render international services for nations that request it, become the voice of the United States in forums and tribunals where international law on such matters is being hammered out, if you will, a national lobbyist for space sanitation. Again, unusual for an armed service but, the Coast Guard is our representative before the UN's International Maritime Safety groups and takes a lead role in Arctic councils. Unusual but far from unheard of.The Dragon has shown its willingness to use "law fare" to attempt to change international law as it applies to the sea. There is no reason that they won't launch an effort related to space. The Space Force must develop and maintain a legal corps well schooled in international law especially the emerging field of Space law. When the Dragon escapes its lair and heads to the international court houses the American Space Force must follow and contest. The American Space Force also shouldn't be above aiming some "law fare " at the Dragon in preemptive legal strikes to keep harmful cases from even being heard. bad behavior at sea predicts bad behavior in space.;
THE DRAGON IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND OUTER SPACE (https://americanadmiraltybooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-dragon-in-south-china-sea-and-outer.html)
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A lot of this sounds like science fiction or futurist writing to the average American including politicians. But here at Helios Ruehls , Inc where we keep an eye on emerging technologies including for investment purposes these things look to be anywhere from a few years before emerging as technological realities to a few decades away. Its our opinion that a robust American Space Force is needed as soon as possible and must be overwhelming. We have witnessed the birth of such a corps and negative atmosphere into it which it emerged. This is why we suggest the low tech, low cost initial actions and early partnership with the Navy while support builds for the wide variety of missions that we need a Space Force for. Our examination of the potential of a Space Force suggests that while it must presently operate under largely Air Force imposed conditions, the future developed service more resembles a coast guard in space than a high altitude Air Force element or traditional navy. Most closely the future Space Force appear to resemble the U.S. Coast Guard during the Cold War. To insure that "nothing happens" the Space Force must anticipate the enemy's intentions and throw up an effective deterrent, be it political, budget related, or legal. Immediate contact with and services aimed at the naval establishment as described earlier in this report would render big benefits to the future development of the service. Study of U.S. Coast Guard history and modern organization would be of great benefit to all senior officers.
For Helios Ruehls, Inc
R.F. Bollinger, Analyst
Copy right notes: This "White Paper" has been prepared in the public interest by Helios Ruehls, Inc. for free distribution to Air Force, Space Force, Naval, and academic interested parties. Such parties may use any part of the paper in whole or in part or as modified as they see fit to make a point or counter point under an extension of the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copy right law. Other wise, copy right protections apply and if an interested party is not a member of one of the above groups permission will be required to republish.
About the author: R.F. Bollinger is a retired analyst for the DHS where he specialized in maritime matters . He is also a retired Merchant Marine Officer. Anyone wishing to make contact should alert the author via the comment section that follows the blog version of this report.
- A lot of this sounds like science fiction or futurist writing to the average American including politicians. But here at Helios Ruehls , Inc where we keep an eye on emerging technologies including for investment purposes these things look to be anywhere from a few years before emerging as technological realities to a few decades away. Its our opinion that a robust American Space Force is needed as soon as possible and must be overwhelming. We have witnessed the birth of such a corps and negative atmosphere into it which it emerged. This is why we suggest the low tech, low cost initial actions and early partnership with the Navy while support builds for the wide variety of missions that we need a Space Force for. Our examination of the potential of a Space Force suggests that while it must presently operate under largely Air Force imposed conditions, the future developed service more resembles a coast guard in space than a high altitude Air Force element or traditional navy. Most closely the future Space Force appear to resemble the U.S. Coast Guard during the Cold War. To insure that "nothing happens" the Space Force must anticipate the enemy's intentions and throw up an effective deterrent, be it political, budget related, or legal. Immediate contact with and services aimed at the naval establishment as described earlier in this report would render big benefits to the future development of the service. Study of U.S. Coast Guard history and modern organization would be of great benefit to all senior officers.For Helios Ruehls, IncR.F. Bollinger, Analyst
Copy right notes: This "White Paper" has been prepared in the public interest by Helios Ruehls, Inc. for free distribution to Air Force, Space Force, Naval, and academic interested parties. Such parties may use any part of the paper in whole or in part or as modified as they see fit to make a point or counter point under an extension of the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copy right law. Other wise, copy right protections apply and if an interested party is not a member of one of the above groups permission will be required to republish.About the author: R.F. Bollinger is a retired analyst for the DHS where he specialized in maritime matters . He is also a retired Merchant Marine Officer. Anyone wishing to make contact should alert the author via the comment section that follows the blog version of this report.
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Duplicates . proposed inclusions, etc.
DUPLICATE???????
ESSAY NUMNER 20
ESSAY NUMNER 20
LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.
WHEN WORLDS GREAT AND SMALL COLLIDE
Extinctions of species as well as societies, and the spread of disease as well as of useful plants and animals occurred when the Old and New Worlds met. Parallels could occur in space exploration. We need to examine existing protocols and past protocols from the moon missions and how well they worked. Such an examination suggests that much work is needed in this area before our first encounter with extraterrestrial life.
South America exported the potato to Ireland which some think was a mixed blessing at best. Europe received corn from the Americas but to this day utilizes it mostly as animal feed. Unlike Americans of European descent today's Europeans have yet to raise or purchase the "sweet" varieties of corn that Americans consume without first passing it through a bovine digestive system for conversion to beef. Europeans reintroduced the horse to the Americas and while mounted on them drove a number of native civilizations to extinction. Microbes were exchanged, some beneficial like those needed in the processing of yogurt and wine, others like small pox, the natives would have been pleased to have avoided. This entire two way traffic in living stuff we call "the "Colombian Exchange" and it is still ongoing. As we discuss the pros and cons of such exchanges and the needed protocols to control and mitigate the undesirable changes we will simply refer to any such exchange whether between the Americas and Europe, or Asia, or Earth and outer space or other planets as a "Colombian Exchange". We aren't the first to coin that term, perhaps we are the first to use it as a generic term for similar events past and future.
Whenever two populations of organisms that have been in isolation meet there is an exchange of micro organisms right down to the *viral level where scientists aren't too sure they are actually looking at an "organism".(See SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Are Viruses Alive? http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/yellowstone/viruslive.html ). Small pox did more to conquer the Central American civilizations than Toledo steel swords and smooth bore musketry. When visible worlds collide small worlds collide as well, the tiny worlds of virus, bacteria, protozoa and whatever else that we haven't discovered as yet that might be out there. The whatever else is particularly unsettling when we consider some of the unusual ideas of Sir Fred Doyle, Chandra Wickramasingle and others who propose that on extremely rare occasions genetic material not of this earth reaches here.
While this is not a mainstream scientific idea, there is some serious science in their arguments and most of the main stream scientific community falls a little short calling the idea impossible. So lets consider just for a minute that Doyle might be right. Lets consider that in the light of the loss of Gus Grissom's first space capsule in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day we don't know why upon return to earth the hatch of the capsule blew open and almost drowned Grissom, allowed the capsule to fill with sea water, and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the cradle of life on this planet. Like Doyle's critics we don't think there was a serious chance that the exterior surface of the capsule would have picked up a virus like "organism" and that it would have survived the fiery entry of the capsule, but suppose the such a capsule had samples of Mars soil on board? Why was all of the post landing inquiry focused of what exactly happened to cause the door to malfunction vice how do we assure that in a landing gone wrong stuff that could be harboring extraterrestrial life does not come into contact with environment?
During the Apollo era astronauts returning from the Moon were kept in isolation as a precaution against their carrying virus like pathogens from the surface of the moon. The length of time of their isolation was based loosely on known incubation periods for known pathogens on earth. It doesn't look like anyone asked if non earth evolved pathogens might have a longer incubation period. Moon soil samples likewise didn't seem subjected to any really out of the box sanitation measures. Despite recent discoveries here on earth of life forms at the bottom of the sea in sulfur vents, and hot springs that don't seem to be subject to the environmental conditions once thought essential to any type of life , we haven't seen a broad spectrum isolation protocol come out of NASA with our recent robotic probes of Mars. When we do return a soil sample what will be our sanitary protocol?
We don't have to meet ET to be exposed to really deadly pathogens. In fact it is far more likely that the first life we encounter out there will be microscopic. If some Buzz Lightyear of the future gets eaten on an alien world by an extraterrestrial version of a T-Rex we're out one astronaut. If an astronaut brings back an alien virus for which we have no resistance or cure, it could be the end of all life on earth. But then again microbes aren't the only hazard. Ever seen parts of Mississippi over run by Kudzu? The Kudzu vines looks vaguely like a creeping ivy. Its not native to the U.S. Deep south, but it sure likes it. This at first seemingly harmless item of exchange in the Colombian Exchange didn't hitch hike here on some banana boat. We brought it here for the hoped for beneficial effect of erosion control in areas of very sandy soil and heavy rain. Road cuts in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were eroding faster that nature could heal them and it was thought the fast growing Kudzu could put a stop to it. Well the Kudzu liked the Deep South just fine and not only covered the road cut scar but continued right up into the pine forests clear to the top of the trees and then spread a canopy from tree to tree until, almost before anyone noticed it, a hundred acre forest could be smothered , cut off from light and killed. But the emerald green Kudzu looked happy draped across trees dead or alive. If we find a plant out there are we going to bring it back? You can bet on it. Do we have sufficient protocols in place to insure it stays in isolation and never gets out into Earth's natural environment? We're not so sure on that.
Alien Face or Bio hazard mask? Ask your self this. Is that image pictured above supposedly an artist's approximation of an alien "face" as described by many "witnesses" so often it has almost become our standard image of a space alien actually a face or could it be a bio barrier mask. Are those big eyes with no pupils or dark protective lenses? How could any creature breath through nostrils that tiny or get enough to feed an energetic biped over five feet tall through that tiny slit of a mouth? Might it be that what has been seen, assuming that anything has actually been seen, is the air intake and exhaust of a bio hazard safety mask? Have you ever noticed in the descriptions of these beings there is never any mention of real clothing, nor of any sex organs or secondary sexual characteristics? Could it be that we are seeing something like a thin wet suit and mask designed to keep micron sized pathogens out of the suit and to keep the personal kooties of who ever is in there locked in? Wouldn't that be a nice courtesy. The Aztecs and Mayans would certainly have appreciated such thoughtfulness from the Spaniards. Maybe if we are being visited, our visitors are far more courteous and safety minded than the history of our last wave of first contact experiences.
Another troubling parallel between our maritime experiences and our space experiences is the possibility that government protocols applicable to government run missions may not be nearly enough. We are already developing a space launch and flight industry. There are private satellite launch services operating already and private "space planes under development. There is just about no doubt that by the time we are pushing manned flight beyond our solar system there will be a lot of non government commercial traffic in our solar system. When Columbus headed out for the unknown western Atlantic the Western World had about 5,000 years of maritime trade development behind it. There were international norms in the process of ship "entry" the process of a ship formally and peacefully entering a port to engage in trade, there was considerable international uniformity in the process of "Pratique", meaning the conditions that a ship was expected to adhere to once it was formally entered and granted official permission to hold communications with the shore. Finally the process of "clearance" was very uniform through out the European Atlantic and Mediterranean world, that process where in a ship presents proofs that it adhered to the conditions of its pratique while in port and is cleared by the port authorities for its next destination. Despite the experience that European merchant captains had with such a system, they ignored the evidence that the Mayans had such a system and just barged right on in.
Now more than 500 years later our own maritime practices of entry, pratique, and clearance are still adjusting especially in the way of ship sanitation. The lamprey and the zebra mussel have caused major changes in our rules about the ballast water discharge. Our sanitation measures failed us completely in the realm of rat guards, the Norwegian rat is now a universal pest. Despite our best efforts fire ants got off the boat at Mobile and are over running the American South. Centuries after the start of the Colombian Exchange and we are still struggling with the creation of regulations, regulatory agencies to try and slow the processes of exotic intrusion and native flora and fauna stress, and frequently our own economic distress. Maritime history is ripe with examples of those who deliberately side stepped the established safe guards and profited by increasing the stresses of the Colombian Exchange. We are heading out into space with an already evolving private transport industry without any development for the entry, pratique, or clearance of cargo carrying traffic.
We have a remarkable lack of protocols for where we are going. Our maritime technologies and institutions had thousands of years of development before the European Recognizance and we still ended up eliminating entire civilizations, major human populations, hundreds of plant and animal species, and spread disease all over the globe. Yet the average world citizen today would vote for the continued globalization rather than to go back to the era when great civilizations went for centuries with little knowledge of each other. Going into space involves big risks and big rewards but our maritime experience points to the necessity to proceed with caution and to develop serious, detailed, protocols. If ET has been watching us as so many Ufologists suspect, his people have been watching us for a good thousand years or more. Yet there is no official contact. If they are real could it be they have learned through bitter experience to be very careful on first contact with any sort of life? We need to avoid doing anything rash.
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