Amid uncertainty, NASA plans for Ares 1-X test flights.

Story written for CBS News by William Harwood. As the incoming Obama administration considers whether to accelerate development of the Ares 1 rocket that will replace the space shuttle- or possibly change course and switch to a different system or even extend shuttle operations-NASA is pressing ahead with plans to launch a critical sub-orbital test flight to show off the new rocket and collect valuable engineering data."One test is worth a thousand opinions," said Jon Cowart, a ground systems manager at the Kennedy Space Center. "It's brand new, it's a long, thin rocket. We want to make sure we can guide this thing. Balance a broomstick on the end of your finger, you'll get some idea of what we're dealing with here."

Because the unmanned test rocket features a dummy upper stage and a less-powerful version of the shuttle-heritage solid fuel first stage intended for the eventual manned rocket. Space insiders and myself feel that the $330 million test flight is little more than an expensive show to see if they can balance a broomstick on the edge of their fingers. What is your opinion? Please comment.

NASA to award $1 billion-plus contract for GOES weather satellite.

NASA next month will award a $1 billion contract for a GOES weather-observation constellation satellite to one of three aerospace companies. Boeing Co., Lockheed-Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. are locked in a pricing battle to build the next-generation GOES system. There are currently over 3,500 weather satellites in orbit, why do we need another unit that will cost $1 billion-plus. Why doesn't NASA use that amount of money into research finding an alternative fuel that will not deplete the ozone layer after every launch? How will another weather satellite help in predicting the weather? NASA and the other 45 countries that are launching some type of satellites every 3.7 days are the culprits that are causing the disastorus climate changes throughout this planet.