Charles Phillips
Worked in the Space business since 1978, both in the Air Force assignments and at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Worked in various assignments in the US Air Force since 1978 doing space operations, communications, and aircraft engine repair. Retired from the Air Force Reserve after 28 years of service in the Air Force (Active Duty, Texas Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve). Stationed at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex (changed to Cheyenne Mountain AFS since then), Clear AFS (Alaska), Wright-Patterson AFB (Ohio) where I went to the AF Institute of Technology. Then down to Houston, Texas where I am today :-(
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BS in Physics from Angelo State University in Texas, MS in Space Operations
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Displaying Results 1 - 60 (of 60) for All Content
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First Person: High-Tech Training, Years of Experience -- but no JobsAfter working in the aerospace business for many years, I am caught in the retirement of the Space Shuttle and turmoil of the business, and have had to go look for new work. It sounds easy but is not. -
Starting a Small Commercial Aerospace Business in Houston, TexasA business can be a good way to do pursue your goals but there are a lot of preliminary things you need to do before you can start. I saw a market for aerospace services and so have started a business: now I have begun marketing to try to get customers. -
Space Debris Created by Rocket Fragmentation in OrbitA failed Russian rocket stage, circling the Earth, exploded when fuel apparently mixed and scatted many pieces of junk in space. What could these pieces do to other satellites?
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100 Year Starship Symposium Results Begin to Trickle Out?The third meeting in a century-long initiative - to prepare the planet to send people to another star - was held in Houston. The effort does seem to be very low key and some very preliminary directions for research seem to be identifiable.
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100 Year Starship Symposium – a Disappointing First DayA report on the first day of a Symposium that intends to create the conditions to allow people to travel to another solar system within a century.
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100 Year Starship Symposium – What is This About?An eclectic group of technology visionaries, sober Defense researchers, and entertainers will gather to discuss how to get people to another solar system within 100 years.
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International Consortium Operates Heavy Lift Aircraft for European CountriesNATO, along with Sweden and Finland, has formed an airlift wing, at an airbase in Hungary, which meshes 13 allied nations. This wing flies both multinational and sovereign missions, and they can support military operations or humanitarian relief.
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Naval Exercise Brings Many Black Sea Navies TogetherExercise Sea Breeze 2012
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Pacific Military Exercise Unifies Disparate NaviesRIMPAC 2012 is a huge exercise for navies that operate in the Pacific and regional waters. Approximately 45,000 people as well as ships, submarines, and aircraft are rehearsing operations together as well as hosting fleets in their harbors.
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Independence Day from a Veteran’s PerspectiveHow would a veteran see the Fourth of July that might differ from a civilian? Both have devotion to their country but a veteran might have seen former enemies up close, cooperating on today's conflicts.
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A Transition from the Military to Civilian LifeThe military is a group that has a overall goal, and military units work together to achieve that goal. As a civilian, most people need to adjust to a more competitive world. Suddenly you will have to convince people to use your product. -
28 Eight Years of Service Taught Me Many ThingsAfter growing up on military bases, and serving for 28 years in the Air Force, I have learned a lot about how to run an organization. Hopefully this story will help others understand what lessons we could draw from those years.
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Veterans, Your Presidential Choices Are Not GreatWhile the candidates debate what they did in high school and who should marry whom, why does the Federal budget get so little attention? We need to have confidence that it can be passed by October and will be sufficient.
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India Air Force Fighter Upgrade Yields Better CapabilityIndia has decided to retire all of its problem plagued fleet of MiG 21s, now that more capable European aircraft are arriving. This will greatly improve their combat capability, and may cause their neighbors to buy more sophisticated aircraft.
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Photos of Afghan Abuse Are Valid (If Unfortunate) NewsThe recent release of new photos of U.S. troops in Afghanistan show that young, inexperienced people deployed to a high stress environment can make mistakes. Where were their leaders at that time?
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Student Band Salutes Space Shuttle TeamThe space shuttle team was serenaded recently at the NASA Johnson Space Center, by an Intermediate school band that has several members which are family members of the shuttle team. The band played an original composition. -
India Buying Wider AircraftCountries seldom publically reveal their strategic plans, but the aircraft that they purchase can give many indications about what that strategy might be. What does the recent purchase of aircraft tell us about the capabilites of the Air Force of India?
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India Buys an Aircraft, and Maybe a ConflictWhen the Indian government bought the Dassault Rafale strike aircraft to replace their Dassault Mirage-200 intercepters, does that indicate that they wanted to be ready to be able to launch a deep strike mission?
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Rocket Launches Are Dangerous to People Below ThemRussian and Chinese launches, for the most part, fly over sparsely populated land but accidents do expose the people below the flight path to extreme danger. So far they have not seriously objected, how will it affect us when they do?
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Government Space Capsules Compared (Historical Apollo vs. New MPCV)The United States is now trying to recover our capability to put people into space, NASA is developing the MPCV (it was called the Orion) capsule. This is the second in a series of articles that compares the various vehicles, this one compares the Apollo to MPCV.
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Space Vehicles in Development for Crew TransportThere are several vehicles being designed to replace parts of the capabilities of the shuttle, but what are they and how do they compare? What kinds of vehicles will they be and how to they compare to the Apollo vehicles?
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Federal Budget and Military Systems – Information We NeedWith the effort to control the Federal budget, trade offs between competing aircraft systems could produce savings. What are the two main Navy fighter programs, and what do they cost?
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Space Art Series Gives International Students Chance to Influence Future Space ExplorationStudents from many countries have created the first of a series of art collections, the intent is to allow them to speak to the experts who guide space exploration. The art has been demonstrated and shown to several meetings and this is their story -
Federal Budget and Military Systems -- Comparing Costs of Three Aircraft TypesThe third of a series of three examinations of Air Force aircraft programs - bombers, cargo, and fighters. Which ones have seen the most cost growth? Which aircraft have proved their long term worth? Which technologies have proved themselves?
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Federal Budget and Military Systems -- Comparing Costs of Aircraft ProgramsMilitary aircraft programs are a large share of the military budget, which is a big part of the Federal budget. How do various aircraft programs, and their costs, compare?
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Federal Budget and Military Systems -- What Are We Spending Money On?What are the current Air Force fighters and how do they compare in capability and price? Could we make some changes to save money, and so reduce the Federal budget and associated deficits?
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Camouflage – Could We Find Savings in There?The military has issued uniforms with many different camouflage patterns over the last twenty years, and this has cost a lot of money. Could we just standardize on one and gain efficiency?
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International Student Art Exhibition Inspires Space EnthusiastsA recent student art exhibition continues to inspire space exploration enthusiasts from all over the world, as a part of an art catalog was presented at Space Center Houston on October 5, 2011. -
New International Space Station Cargo Vehicle to Debut SoonThe International Space Station has several vehicles that bring people and cargo up to it, and soon a brand new one will join the fleet. It will also be the first time that a commercial company has brought cargo to a space station.
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Anwar al-Alwaki from a Military Point of ViewAnwar al-Alwaki was killed by the US, was the method legal? What is the basis for US military action, and does this case meet the test of a legitimate military operation?
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Afghanistan's Daily Danger Has Brought Us Together HereThe stories of LTC Rich Phillips (U.S. Army) and Chief Warrant Officer John Galliker (U.S. Marines) illustrate the motivation of the allied forces who have operated in Afghanistan for ten years. They went not to plunder their wealth but to help people. -
Can We Get Our Rocket Scientists to Build a Schedule?The third in a three part series which is looking at the barriers to meeting the Obama Administration's goal of sending a crew to an asteroid by 2025
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Going to an Asteroid -- Developing Deep Space Vehicles is Not EasyA second part of a review of the challenges to sending people to an asteroid, which is the current NASA plan. The Obama administration made this a goal but is it actually possible on their schedule?
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Is the World Ready to Send People to an Asteroid?There are many significant problems to overcome before we could seriously talk about sending people on a mission to explore an asteroid, and this is the first of several articles covering the subject.
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Science Careers -- More Flexible Than You Might ThinkGoing into college, I had no idea what do. Astronomy and space were fascinating, but how to get started in that area? A class in physics, to see if they talked about astronomy, got me started on a career tracking satellites and working in the space field.
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Service Academies to Be Tougher – to Get IntoThe military trains new officers in three programs - the high profile service academies, the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and the Officer Training School. Getting in these programs are getting more difficult as shown in this example.
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Southeast Houston Scout Troop Holds Third TriathlonA Scout Troop in Clear Lake, southeast of Houston, hosted 42 Scouts from area troops and Cub Scout Packs in a fun triathlon. -
Military Money, Modernization and MissionThe military budget is a large and tempting target in this day of financial uncertainty. The military will almost certainly have to cut costs, but will this necessarily mean that the mission will be compromised?
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Evolution of Spacelab Missions, with Eventual Cooperation with MirAs the Apollo program came to an end, a new competition emerged. The European (and to some extent the Japanese) astronauts were in demand. They flew on both the US and Soviet programs, beginning with the US Spacelab missions and Soviet Salyut missions.
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Is There a Future for Winged Space Flight?A quick look at capsules and winged vehicles, a few advantages and disadvantages of each. If you wonder if a vehicle will orbit the Earth, re-enter the atmosphere, and land on a runway this would be interesting information.
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In Her Words: A Marine Family in Peace and WarLeah Galliker is the wife of John Galliker, a Marine currently deployed to Afghanistan. John is in volatile southeastern Afghanistan while Leah holds her family together. But just how does she do it? -
Two Commercial Space Companies Are Working to Put Americans Back into SpaceOf the companies that are working to revive the ability of anyone besides Russia to launch people into space, two companies stand out with very different backgrounds and corporate approaches. How do Boeing and SpaceX work? -
Space Debris and Some of the Complications for Getting Rid of ItThe topic of space debris is getting more attention now, many stories about it have appeared in various news sites. Some proposals for eliminating the debris have been made and the author looks at the difficulties of doing that.
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What is the Future of Social Security?The program we know as Social Security depends on having more workers than retired people, collecting benefits, and that is about to not be the case. Can Congress find a solution?
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An Inside Look at NASA's Handling of a Complex Mission -- the Tethered SatelliteA description of how the Shuttle team prepared for a challenging mission and how it overcame problems to go on and accomplish the engineering and science goals. -
What is the Mission of the Military -- Defense or Jobs?The US is currently trying to find economies in the Federal budget, one thing we could do is find units that do not apparently have a mission and retire them. Fort Greely, Alaska has an anti-ballistic missile unit but the justification is very nebulous.
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The Families Behind Space FlightHeike Schlegel is the wife of a senior ESA astronaut, Hans Schlegel, and tells us what it is like being a part of the entire flight preparation process, though landing. The families have a large part of the responsibility for flight success. -
Space Debris Could Cripple CommunicationsMany of our activities depend on satellites - even though we may never realize it. And those satellites are vulnerable to pieces of junk that also orbit the Earth. This tells us why it matters to us, and about attempts to better understand the problem.
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The Space Shuttle Was a Program, Not a CareerPeople's expectations and appreciation for programs will change as events occur and they understand more. This is how the program affected a person who was deep in the middle of it.
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Will We Miss the Space Shuttle?The Shuttle had a diverse but cooperative team that included European, Japanese, and even Russian crew members. The ISS has grown from that program but presents new challenges.
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Houston Area Swim League Teaches Swimming and ConfidenceThe Clear Creek Swim League is a non-profit organization that runs swim meets in an area to the south and east of Houston, Texas. It promotes safety by hosting swim competitions for various ages of kids.
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Art Contest Demonstrates Hope for Future Space ExplorationYoung artists from around the world exhibited artworks at the International Academy of Astronautics meeting, and the distinguished members comment on the results.
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Retiring Space Shuttle Leaves Hole in Exploration EffortsThe space shuttle is retiring, taking its remarkable capabilities with it. Will the shuttle be remembered as a failed experiment or as a vehicle that was ahead of its time? Maybe it will be some of both.
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Space Industry Veterans Find New Uses for ExperienceThe ability of the US to launch astronauts is almost gone, as the number of flights gets smaller - fewer support engineers are needed. So now the skills are dispersing to other industries.
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Houston MetroRail - a Great Way to Entertain and Educate the KidsLooking for a fun and educational way to spend some time with your kids? Consider taking a short ride on a commuter rail train. The kids will see how a city works and how transportation moves people.
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Stealth Aircraft - Increased or Decreased Military Capability?Stealth technology is an example of a recent advance in technology, but does this particular technology improve our military or is it a dead end?
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A Look Back at the Precursor to the International Space Station - the Spacelab MissionsThe Space Shuttle is about to retire, but it was a major reason that the International Space Station was developed. Spacelab missions, flown with the Space Shuttle, exercised the teams that would go on to operate Space Station.
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University Students Review Designs with NASA in Houston, TexasNASA gives Texas universities a list of current problems and the Universities find student of engineering to propose solutions to those problems.
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Houston Area Swim League Getting Ready for the Summer SeasonSwimmers ready to go - Joel Phillips (without a swim cap), an unidentified swimmer, and Scott Phillips (in black swim cap with blue goggles).
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Should US Military Members Be a Part of an Allied Unit?US Forces have gained significant advantages from years of joint operations and training, though this could be threatened by careless comments of political figures. People with military experience understand the utility of working with trusted Allies.