by Regan Bervar | Dec 16, 2022 | Main Articles
“Space has the ability to produce a triple bottom line, or ROIII: Return on Investment, Innovation, and Inspiration.”
by Luke Schmaltz
NASA’s Artemis I rocket launched on November 16, 2022, with re-entry and splashdown on December 11, 2022. This demonstrated the first major goal of bringing a human-rated spacecraft to space.
The Orion Capsule is perched atop the Artemis I Space Launch System. Image: eandt.theiet.org
The towering monstrosity of hardware stands at 90 meters (322 feet) and was built to the tune of $40 billion, a number projected to double in the next few years as the project moves forward. The growing aerospace economy is made possible, to a large degree, by a contingency of Colorado-based companies making space exploration possible. The imminent objectives of the Artemis 1 project involve an unmanned mission to the moon, followed by manned missions designed to establish a populated base camp near the south pole of Earth’s celestial sister. This will provide the necessary research and lay the groundwork for a similar mission to Mars.
Mankind’s last trip to the Moon was in 1972, aboard the final Apollo 17 mission. In the 50 years since, aerospace technology has transformed amid revolutionary innovation. The current landscape of the industry presents a hybrid collaboration of government agencies and private sector companies working together to return humans to the surface of the Moon.
Lockheed Martin Space
Atop the towering Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) sits the Orion capsule — primarily built and engineered by Lockheed Martin Space, a Denver/Boulder-based company. This spacecraft has been specifically developed to take human beings deep into space. State-of-the-art technology includes advanced propulsion, communication, navigation, radiation protection, and life support systems. The capsule also features the biggest heat shield ever built which will protect astronauts as they re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. Currently, the company is contracted for six Orion missions with a potential six more on the table. In the upcoming Artemis III mission, Lockheed’s Orion capsule will enable the first woman and the first African-American to set foot on the Moon.
Maxar
Once the Orion capsule reaches the Moon, it will dock into Gateway, an orbiting spaceship which will serve as a communication hub and staging area. A Westminster-based company, Maxar, develops the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) which makes altitude control, movement, and maneuvering possible through electricity-generated bursts of ionized atoms. This sustainable approach removes chemical propellants from the equation as astronauts use the Gateway module to make their final descent to the lunar surface.
Advanced Space
Lunar Outpost’s MAPP rover will help establish wireless 4G/LTE lunar communications. Image: moonmarkets.moonvillageassociation.org
Humanity’s return to the Moon is largely empowered by Colorado companies. Image: pbs.org
Based in Westminster, this team of innovators recently launched CAPS, the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System. According to the company website, this piece of orbiting technology will “serve as a pathfinder for NASA’s Artemis program, and demonstrate our proprietary peer-to-peer navigation capability…” The unorthodox orbit of the microwave oven-sized module will provide uninterrupted communication with Earth by passing within 1,000 km of the Moon’s surface at the South Pole and then traveling in a twisting elliptical path to as far as 40,000 km from the Moon’s North Pole. Proper and precise execution of this near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) will act as a pathfinder for the Gateway spacecraft and ensure it maintains a constantly unobstructed view of earth.
Lunar Outpost
NASA’s lunar astronauts will eventually be establishing a manned base at the Moon’s South Pole, at which time on-site communications infrastructure will be essential. This Golden-based robotics company leads the private sector in the potential monetization of lunar infrastructure (the cislunar economy) while positioning themselves to be a successful NASA partner. Currently, they have partnered with Nokia’s NASA Tipping Point project along with Intuitive Machines to build, establish, test, and integrate the first ever 4G/LTE network on the surface of the Moon.
In late 2022, Intuitive Machines will deliver numerous payloads via their Nova-C lander. This will be remotely operated to install a low-latency, long-rage, wireless communications network. This system will include transmission modules and antennas, which will be deployed by Lunar Outpost’s M1 MAPP (Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform) rover — a surface vehicle the size of a small dog which will be operated remotely from Earth.
These companies represent the tip of the Colorado-based aerospace iceberg. An estimated 180+ additional companies are working to contribute to revolutionizing humanity’s interaction with space in one way or another. While lunar exploration seems to have gone out of style over the last 50 years, there’s a new attitude on the horizon. The cislunar economy is once again inspiring the aerospace industry to shoot the Moon.
by Valley Gadfly | Dec 16, 2022 | Main Articles
Voters Favor Ordinance 307 By Slim 55.2%; Initiative Will Cost Homeowners $110 To $1,000 Per Year, Based On Sidewalk Frontage
by Glen Richardson
Unstoppable: Colorado’s new “Safety Stop” law allows bicycle riders to treat a Stop Sign as a Yield Sign. The law is creating hostility and resentment among motorists. Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat
Cyclists Vs. Pedestrians: Bicyclists seek to have walkways and streets designed with both in mind, yet many riders show little concern for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Mobility Muscle: Support for Denver’s Transportation & Mobility Fund by Denver Streets Partnership may result in as much as $9.5 million transferred to sidewalk construction.
Denver’s scrappy band of die-hard cyclists and activists who have proliferated painted bike lanes on Denver streets — and will add another 125 miles by 2024 at a cost of $13.4 million — created and advocated for the new tax that allows the City of Denver to regulate and improve sidewalks. The advocates — known as the Denver Streets Partnership — say the tax, “will give parents, children, people with disabilities, and those that don’t drive, the independence to move about Denver freely and safely rather than walk next to big trucks, navigate cracks, and take detours to find a safe route.”
Costs will be based on how much of the property owner’s land faces a street, and what kind of street is adjacent to the land. Fees will run from $2.15 per linear foot on a residential street to $4.30 per linear foot on downtown streets. Albeit, whatever property owners will be forced to pay, it removes their responsibility for patching-up adjacent property owners’ unrepaired sidewalks and places the responsibility on the City of Denver. The city’s Department of Transportation & Infrastructure is expected to be responsible for implementing the plan.
The annual fee for the owner of a typical 50-foot-wide lot was estimated at about $110 a year by the Streets Partnership and was the number widely quoted during the election. Denver District 2 City Councilman Kevin Flynn, however, told Channel 7 News during the campaign that some of his constituents in Harvey Park, “could pay close to $1,000 a year under 307.” Whatever the figure, owners of larger lots — especially on corners — will have fees significantly higher than $110 a year.
A Fast Fix?
Fees could be deferred until property owners sell, and that would amount to about $40 million a year in new revenue, which the Denver Streets Partnership says can be bonded against to raise $850 million upfront. That would enable Denver to fix or build a “complete sidewalk network” within nine years, the organization claimed during the election.
City officials, nonetheless, conversely contend, “that it will take closer to 30 years and cost billions more,” despite the Streets Partnership’s prophecies.
Moreover, many within the city worry that the government and citizens will push property owners beyond their limit. “If a resident is struggling to afford groceries, why and how can they be expected to spend $100 or more to fix their sidewalks?”
Or Sure Failure?
Denver Streets Partnership — the weight behind the initiative — insinuated during a Sept. 2021 “Sidewalk Palooza” event highlighting the issue, claimed the sidewalks in front of many Denver homes and businesses have turned into tripping hazards that are also barriers or obstructions to wheelchairs and strollers. Likewise, they maintained, “47% of city streets in low-income neighborhoods have substandard or missing sidewalks forcing walkers into the streets, where the risks of a tragic accident increase.”
Opposed to the tax throughout the campaign cycle, Councilman Flynn argues that, “As written the program will fail.” He contends there’s not nearly enough funding or time in the new tax law, and the cost burdens are inequitably spread. Nonetheless, he believes the city will somehow find a way to make the program work.
- Skyler McKinley, AAA Colorado Public Affairs Director, submits that the new sidewalk law has crafted what is apt to become a “10-year question.” Just how the law will be im
Peloton Push: Cyclists turned politicians found enough air pressure to get Denver voter approval for Ordinance 307, taxing homeowners to fund the patch-up of city sidewalks.
plemented is “a little fuzzy now,” he says. As a result, he suggests, “sidewalks will become an important issue in next year’s race to replace outgoing Mayor Michael Hancock. Candidates will have to become proficient on the issue and campaign on how they will implement the program.”
Condo, Renter Shock
Although condo owners and renters likely weren’t as concerned by the tax campaign as were homeowners, most won’t be absolved from the new tax’s impact now that it has been approved.
HOAs will receive the tax bill, but families that own condominiums will have their share of the fee passed onto them. Remember, the association’s covenants give HOAs the legal powers to place a lien on units or impose fines.
Furthermore, renters are not off the hook either. While the owners of rental properties will be billed for what will potentially be considerably higher fees, they will surely pass the costs on to tenants as they ratchet rent prices up.
Peddle-Pushing Politics
Pricey Place: Owners of larger lots — especially on corners — will pay fees significantly higher than the projected average of $110 a year. Large lot fees could be close to $1,000 per year.
If sidewalks are for pedestrians, why did Denver’s bicycle lobby campaign for the sidewalk tax? Fundamentally, the bicycle-lobby is pushing the city and state to reevaluate street space and design corridors with cyclists and pedestrians predominantly in mind.
Cyclists regard themselves as “vulnerable users,” the same as pedestrians. As they’ve gained political power, they have increasingly pushed the city and state to reevaluate street space. They want walkways and streets designed with cyclists and pedestrians in mind, not motorists. The Streets Partnership, for example, strongly supported Denver’s new Transportation & Mobility Fund. The fund — made possible by an increase in parking meter fees last year (2022) — is expected to transfer about $9.5 million, allowing for a significant increase in sidewalk construction.
At the state level, the biking lobby helped get Colorado’s statewide “Safety Stop” law adopted, allowing bicycle riders to treat a Stop Sign as a Yield Sign and a Red Light as a Stop Sign. Now, anyone age 15 or over who rides a bicycle, eBike, e-scooter, regular scooter, skateboard, or one-wheel on Colorado public roads, has the law on their side when approaching stop signs, red lights, and other forms of traffic. It became law on April 13, 2022. Furthermore, state law now gives cyclists priority when passing turning vehicles. Also, the Highway Code now gives priority to cyclists on roundabouts.
by Charles Bonniwell | Dec 16, 2022 | Editorials
Winter is just beginning but come spring the quadrilateral event of electing a new mayor for the City and County of Denver will arrive. Denver almost never throws out an incumbent mayor so it’s the only chance a person seeking the position will have for the next 12 years. The incumbent mayor Michael Hancock is almost universally deemed the worst mayor in the city’s 164-year history beating out even Mayor Wolf Londoner who was removed from office for corruption in 1891. Nonetheless, we Denverites have elected him three times including once unopposed. Thus, once you are elected as mayor of Denver you are unlikely to leave office with the exception of term limits.
Since this is a once in 12-year opportunity, 22 individuals have announced their candidacy covering an extraordinarily diverse group, including a Republican. City politics is basically a Democrat only event these days. The candidates are divided between the corporatists who backed Hancock for three terms, and the radicals who helped elect various councilmembers two years ago.
The radicals have a large group to pick from, including: Lisa Calderón, the Executive Director of Emerge Colorado, an organization that promotes left-wing women candidates for office, and who ran four years ago for mayor; Deborah Ortega, a term limited councilwoman for the city at large who has served in government for almost 40 years; and Leslie Herod, a term limited state representative from Denver.
The leading corporatist candidate is Kelly Brough, the former longtime President and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and former chief of staff for then mayor John Hickenlooper. To the great annoyance of Channel 9News’ Marshall Zelinger, some white men have also announced they are running, including: Chris Hansen, who represents both Denver and Glendale in the state senate; and Mike Johnston, who also has represented northeast Denver in the state senate and ran for governor until John Hickenlooper entered the race. Zelinger indicated that he did not feel “comfy” with white men running when women and persons of color had already entered the race. More than a few Channel 9News viewers noted that, as a white man himself, Zelinger should resign to provide an opportunity for women and persons of color to occupy a “comfy” position at Channel 9.
Do any of the candidates care about the ever-increasing cost of living in Denver beyond housing? Do any of them care about the quality of life for the average Denverite and not just the ever-growing army of the homeless? Do any of them care about the ever-diminishing parks and open space? Do any of them have any plans to bring back downtown from the wreckage that it has become?
Denver was once a beautiful city with an enormous number of parks and open spaces, as well as wonderful neighborhoods. Denver was far from perfect, but it took only 12 years of Hancock to destroy much of it. Will the next mayor be just another mayor like Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, or another developer whore like Hancock? Or will someone arise who is better and different? Over the next 90 days we will be looking intently if such a person exists and we hope you will do the same.
Thomas Wolf
Lisa Calderón
Terrance Roberts
Leslie Herod
Deborah Ortega
Chris Hansen
Kelly Brough
by Jessica Hughes | Dec 16, 2022 | General Featured
by Jessica Hughes
Bird walk leaders at Bluff Lake Nature Center. Pictured from left to right: Jason Bidgood, George Ho, Steve Hebert, and Lisa Pera.
Thousands of snow geese flock to the reservoirs and farmland of the Eastern Plains. Photo by Jessica Hughes
Colorado is home to over 400 species of birds that either live here year-round or pass through during seasonal migrations. But when is the best time to see them? While most think of birding during warm-weather months, birdwatching is a year-round activity, with winter being one of the best times for viewing.
“Colorado winters are full of sunny, mild days which allow birders to enjoy the outdoors. Plus, the lack of leaves on the trees allows for better viewing of the birds,” says George Ho, Bluff Lake Nature Center Bird Volunteer/Monthly Bird Walk Leader. “Winter is great for birding.”
“There are plenty of ducks, geese, and raptors that migrate south to our parks and lakes to spend the winter in our (relatively) warm climate,” says Ben Jacques, Bluff Lake Nature Center Outdoor Explorers Program Coordinator. Also, since they must keep their bodies warm, they spend a lot of time moving around searching for food. This makes them easier to spot and hear through the bare foliage.”
“Plus, with shorter sunlight hours, good winter birding doesn’t require a 4 a.m. alarm,” says Jacques.
So, what should you expect to see? From the admired bald eagle to song sparrows, there is a variety of winter fowl to catch your eye. “Bald eagles are more plentiful in the winter here in Colorado because they come south to us from the north. Waterfowls like ducks are abundant in winter as well,” says Ho. “Winter sparrows are also popular to see. These include the white-crown sparrows and the juncos as well as the year-round song sparrows.”
He also says birds of prey are abundant, including owls like the great horned owls, hawks like the ferruginous, and the year-round red-tailed hawks, plus falcons like the prairie falcons and the American kestrels.
The best part is you don’t have to travel too far to see these beautiful birds in flight. Below are a few places close to home that make a great afternoon outing or a fun family day trip.
Bluff Lake Nature Center
Within Denver’s city limits, Bluff Lake Nature
A Red Tail Hawk swooping in on its prey. Photo by George Ho at Bluff Lake Nature Center
Center is one of the best places for birdwatching in Denver. The 123-acre nature preserve has spotted 226 different species of birds according to their active community of birders who record their encounters.
For the beginners and families, the center offers bird walks throughout the year. Led by an expert guide, discover how and where to spot certain birds and learn about the different species you can find in Colorado. The walks are free, but you need to sign up in advance on their website. Download their printable birds of Bluff Lake checklist and keep track of what you spot.
Visit their birding page to learn more at www.blufflake.org/birdwatching
Cherry Creek State Park
Cherry Creek State Park is one of Colorado’s most popular parks due to its plethora of summer activities, but most may not think of it as a top birding spot. There are plenty of birds you can see year-round but in winter, soaring bald eagles perch high in cottonwood trees, while gulls meet around the marina and swim beach area. The reservoir eco-system also attracts raptors species including golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, and ferruginous hawk. Because the reservoir typically remains un-frozen throughout the winter, waterfowl and shorebirds are popular to see as well.
Barr Lake State Park
With more than 350 species of birds spotted, Barr Lake State Park is the metro area’s premier birding lake. About 30 miles northeast of Denver, Barr Lake offers one of the best set-ups for winter birdwatching. Walk the 8.8-mile trail that circles the lake, with several wildlife viewing stations and the wildlife refuge at the southern end of the lake. The lake’s large number of bald eagles, including a pair that nests there every year, are what draw in the birding crowds, both amateurs and experts.
Eastern Plains
Beyond Denver and the Front Range, the Eastern Plains create the ideal environment for bird watching in Colorado. The High Prairie and surrounding areas welcome over 40
The Red-winged Blackbird is just one of many birds to spot this winter. Photo by Lisa Pera
0 species of birds including warblers, snow geese, grosbeaks, mountain plovers, and buntings. They make their homes amongst the grasslands, craggy outcrops, isolated ponds and reservoirs, plus rivers lined with cottonwoods and willows. There are 20 birding trails on the Eastern Plains featuring a variety of sites where you can view wildlife.
One of the most significant annual migrations in the state is the Snow Goose migration. Every winter, in January and February, the wind-swept plains and open-water reservoirs near Lamar, Colo., turn white, not with snow, but a swirl of 200,000+ snow geese descending upon the High Plains of Colorado. By way of the Western Central Flyway, the annual migration lasts up to two weeks and can be seen within state wildlife areas, local reservoirs, and area farms where they stop to feed.
High Plains Snow Goose Festival
In celebration of this migration, Lamar County hosts the annual High Plains Snow Goose Festival, taking place Feb. 3-5, 2023. As one of the largest birding festivals in Colorado, the event hosts a variety of programs, tours, and seminars that highlight the area’s landscape and unique birding heritage. Sign up for birding tours, shop the local craft fair, and listen to lectures to learn more about the migration and other local fowl. The event is free but tours and lectures require an advanced purchased ticket. For more information visit highplains snowgoose.com.
Birding Tips
The bird walk leaders at Bluff Lake Nature center say the best time to see birds is when they are most active, at dawn and dusk, when they are feeding. Patience and a good pair of binoculars are essential to get the most out of bird watching. “Plan your bird watching around a bird’s basic survival needs (food, water, and shelter) and you’re bound to get some birds in your binoculars,” says Jacques.
Jacques also suggests if you are new to birdwatching there are many beginner-friendly groups around Denver to join. The Denver Field Ornithologists, Denver Audubon, Bluff Lake Nature Center, Tuesday Birders, and multiple bird feeding stores run free bird walks in the area. Or download the free Merlin bird ID app by Cornell Lab for a great field guide on your phone.
