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| | | :: Friday, February 28, 2003 :: |
Remember...
This is a long post, so I apologize. I wrote this one month ago today. Four days later, it became an entirely different piece. To be honest, I have not gone back and read it since, not even today as I'm posting it here. But I think it not only has things to say, it even has new things to say that it didn't when I wrote it. Anyway, here goes...
I always feel a twinge of guilt on January 28.
I remember where I was when I heard. I wasn't born when Kennedy was assasinated, but like most of my generation, I remember where I was when I heard that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded.
I was in the boys' locker room for the gym at Huntsville Middle School. I was in P.E. when it happened, so I didn't watch it. It was not until later in the day that I would first see those indelible images, and thankfully knew what to expect by the time I finally saw them. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to watch that as it happened.
I was in the boys' locker room for the gym at Huntsville Middle School. We were getting ready, as the news began to spread. The boy that told me had not actually seen it, he had heard from someone else. Who in turn had no doubt heard from someone else. But the person who told me had no emperical knowledge, just the word of mouth he had heard.
I don't feel the twinge of guilt because I initially scoffed at him. I feel the twinge of guilt because I think I actually did reassure him.
That he was wrong. That he had heard wrong, or the person who had told him was wrong.
Because it could not happen. It simply couldn't.
The Space Shuttle ... the Space Shuttle, among the greatest of man's creations ... does not just blow up.
It doesn't.
I mean, for heaven's sake, it's the Space Shuttle.
It couldn't happen.
But it did.
I feel a twinge of guilt every January 28 at the thought that that student, whoever he was, had to find out twice that day that Challenger had exploded.
It would be over two and a half years before Americans returned to space. Two and a half years.
But the two and a half years to take that next step, to try again, was nothing compared to the healing time. The healing still is not finished, the scars are still fresh.
Today is January 28, 2003. It has been 17 years since that tragedy.
It has been 17 years, and in November, NASA will complete the goal of Mission 51-L.
It has been 17 years, and in November, 2003, NASA will launch a teacher into space.
The healing, after 17 years, still continues.
Today is January 28, 2003. It has been 17 years since the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986.
Seventeen years before that, the length of time between then and now, was 1969.
Man was preparing to for the first time set foot on the moon.
In 17 years, we went from the prelimary steps of Apollo, to landing on the Moon (six times), to our first Space Station, to the first joint international mission, to the creation of a new reusable spacecraft, to actually doing science on the Space Shuttle.
Seventeen years later, Columbia is in orbit right now ... doing science on the Space Shuttle.
That's not entirely fair, of course. Also above our heads right now, three men, two Americans and one Russian, are living aboard the International Space Station, their home for four months. Their work there marks the realization of a vision already eyed during that time 17 years before Challenger was lost. And though ISS orbits in Earth's backyard rather than taking humans "out there," it is a major step in the right direction. For the first time in two decades, we are doing things in manned spaceflight that have never been done before. Putting together parts from 16 nations, assembling them 200 miles above the Earth, we are, as John F. Kennedy wanted, doing the things that are hard.
And the resting giant may be beginning to awaken.
Seventeen years ago, when Challenger was lost, I was a schoolchild. Since then, I have marked the anniversary for several more years as a student, and then just as a fan.
Today, for the first time, I mark the anniversary from my desk at Marshall Space Flight Center.
From NASA.
And so maybe it's just the change of perspective, but the momentum seems to be gaining.
In November, a teacher will fly into space.
In February 2004, the first phase of the International Space Station will be complete.
Work has begun on the creation of a new type of spacecraft, an Orbital Space Plan, to aid in Space Station residents' commute into space.
And plans are in place to get serious, very serious, about a new type of propulsion. To get us "there" faster, whereever "there" may be.
And to me, that is what today is all about.
Remembering heroes means honoring their legacy.
When those seven men and women agreed to strap themselves to tons of highly volatile fuels, they did so knowing what the price might be, knowing that they could give their lives.
But they were willing to do so.
They were willing to do so, to open new doors.
How better to honor them, than to see where those doors lead.
Than to explore.
This Week At NASAexplores
New this week at NASAexplores is an article about magnetorheological fluids, fluids which respond to magnetic fluids, allowing them to do things like change shape and crawl around tables. They're used in a ton of ways today, and future uses may include things advanced robotics.
Also new on the site this week is an article about ways in which NASA has improved the world of agriculture--including the agency's contributions to the robotic pig.
| | | :: Thursday, February 27, 2003 :: |
Daily Hatbag
This strip is regularly one of the most viewed on the Hatbag.net site, apparently because its title is one of the search terms that most often leads people to the site, "Naked Nintendo."
Those people are probably disappointed with what they actually get, but I prefer to believe they're pleasantly surprised.
Not Your Father's Space Shuttle
Anyone who believes we're flying all this 30-year-old technology on the Space Shuttle, as do some members of Congress and others compelled to share uninformed opinions, should click here.
People Are Morons
'Nuff said.
It's been interesting watching the congressional hearings this morning. The number of times members of Congress have asked questions that I could answer easily, or that had ALREADY been answered that morning, was phenomenal. Pay attention, people!
It's also presented examples of an issue that I was already griping about yesterday. I came across an e-mail yesterday sent to a NASA site from a woman who said that back in the Mercury through Apollo eras, she knew about the astronauts and who they were, etc., but now she doesn't. Her argument is that this is NASA's fault, and that NASA should dedicate part of its Web site to information about astronauts.
Of course, Johnson Space Center has an entire section of its Web site listing every astronaut, past, present, future, living, dead, and "passengers." And, yet, her apathy is somehow NASA's fault.
Certainly, one could easily make the arguement that the agency does work to improve its publicity and public awareness efforts. But, to some extent, all we can do is make information available. I don't think it would be much appreciated if we started spamming people with astronaut biographies just in case they wanted them.
A similar question was raised during the hearings this morning, from a congressman who didn't know about what the benefits for spaceflight are, and didn't hear about them like he used to, and wanted to know what the spin-offs of NASA's efforts are, if any.
Again, the agency has TONS of info about this. Trust me, I know, because I've helped write some of it. It's just a couple of clicks away. Again, I don't see where the apathy that kept him from looking it up (or more likely, assign a staffer to look it up) is our fault. We can't beam the information straight into his head (as far as the general public knows, anyway).
What Happened?
Supposedly, an answer is coming soon on the cause of the Columbia disaster.
Was it the foam? Reading the media, it looks like it very well might be, but then the media latched onto that very early on and many have stood unwaveringly by it since then. Supposedly, (according to the often anti-Shuttle SpaceDaily, a computer model showed that the damage from the foam impact could have caused enough damage to cut completely through the tiles. The release of e-mail discussions predicting essentially the scenario that occurred also supports this theory. It sounds like these e-mails may indeed greatly speed up the investigation process, if what occurred is determined to be the same as what was predicted.
Of interest, though, is the wing section found in west Texas that appeared to have suffered a collision, and was marked with orange specks. I have yet to hear whether those orange specks are consistent with the orange of the External Tank. If not, then you're looking at another collision later in the mission.
It shall be interesting to see what comes out of this.
Good Advertising
Engrish.com, a wonderful site, has this picture of what must be a popular pharmacy in Japan. Check it out, and look around--there's some real gems on this site.
The One Tower
It was announced yesterday that the new World Trade Center will consisted of several buildings with one tall spire serving as the centerpeice.
I personally preferred the design that was more reminiscent of the twin towers (and frankly, wouldn't have minded seeing them rebuilt as they were).
2-Man Crew
During his testimony before Congress, this morning, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe confirmed that a two-man ISS crew is very likely at this point, and that Expedition 6 will return via Soyuz soon.
Interestingly, the only American to land on Earth in a Soyuz capsule previously bought his seat--space tourist and California businessman Dennis Tito. Expedition 1 commander Bill Shepherd (and possibly others) rode up on a Soyuz, but returned home on the Shuttle.
Oh, gosh.
Trolley To Heaven
Mr. Rogers died during the night. He was 74.
The article I read did not say whether the show would continue. He had been retired for some time, and not shooting any new episodes. In fact, for his last episode, he refused to do anything special, just turning in one more solid "normal" show that could be played in rotation forever just like the others. It would be fitting that he continued to live for millions of children watching his show every day.
| | | :: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 :: |
Up, up, and away!
One of my long-term goals for my time here at NASA is to work to get astronauts to be more specific about how they are flying around the International Space Station. Astronauts invariably refer to flying around ISS "Superman-style" but what is that supposed to mean. Is it the classic Christopher Reeve one-arm-outstretched flying? Flying arms-at-chest John-Byrne-style? Maybe early Golden Age single-leap bounding? Or possibly that thing he does whenever he visits Luthor where he sort of flies in a standing position? The public deserves to know!
Man Versus Beast
This site was set up by my fellow NE science writer Maggie Griffin to chronicle the battle against a superior (gopher) intellect.
From the NASA Image eXchange
Ah, remember those heady days when NASA used to use Mercury-Redstones as pace rockets for Saturns?
More Space Probe News
The next rover to go to Mars is arriving at Cape Canaveral this week (and may already be there), and a second will arrive in three weeks. The two rovers are scheduled to be launched on May 30 and June 25, and are designed to help determine whether there is, or ever was, life on Mars.
Happy Anniversary
I've now been blogging for one whole week. In celebration, free access for everyone to the blog archives, which you'll notice have appeared on the left (actually, the blog archives are always free, it's just coincidence that I just now got them working).
Say, for example, that you were wondering if I have a blog. With the archive, you can go back to my very first post from a week ago, which has now fallen off of this column, and read that I wrote that I do now, have a blog. Pretty cool, huh?
On a side, note, it is in fact, also my wedding anniversary (Nicole and I have been married three years today). So, happy anniversary to her, too.
Deep Thoughts About Deep Impact
This discussions a little dated, but it just want to away. During an asteroid conference earlier in the month, a grad student made a comment that was apparently taken out of context to mean that if a "extinction-level" asteroid were going to strike Earth, that it would be best not to notify the public, so as to avoid the panic. Now, there are numerous flaws with this arguement, such as its core assumption that nobody not in on the conspiracy would notice the asteroid. That said, what do you think? Should the public be told? Would you want to be told?
While you're thinking, check here for your daily dose of Hatbag.
Face2Face
For those in the Huntsville area (or anyone interested in a trip to N. Alabama), the Face2Face improv group will be putting on two shows in Decatur on March 14. Nicole and I have been to one of their performances, and it's good stuff. Megan Green, the daughter of my co-worker JoCasta, is a new member of the troupe, though she likely won't be performing for this show. For more information, click here.
To Pluto, If We Must
Formal approval has now been granted "forcing" NASA to send a probe to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. The sometimes-farthest planet is the only one in the solar system that has yet to be visited by a spacecraft. NASA and President Bush initially opposed the push for the probe, but Bush last week signed the bill sent him by Congress which included the funding for the "New Horizon" mission.
Why the opposition? NASA's arguement was that it's not time yet for the mission, which would launch in 2006 and arrive at Pluto in 2015. One has to wonder, though, if part of that has to do with the planned Project Prometheus, a proposal to create faster, more powerful spacecraft through the use of nuclear power. By waiting a little longer, it might have been possible to create a probe that not only would have been able to do more upon arrival, but could actually arrive before New Horizons will, though launched much later.
O, Pioneer
At a distance of roughly 7.6 billion miles (or 11 light-hours) from Earth, it is believed that the Pioneer 10 space probe has now reached the point, due to distance and a weakening power source, where its signals will no longer be able send signals capable of reaching its home planet. Originally designed for a 21-month mission, Pioneer 10 has sent back information for more than 30 years, since it's launch on March 2, 1972.
The Thrill Is Unavailable In North Alabama
I was unable to watch the B.B. King Homecoming special I mentioned a while back because, um, it turns out, um, that we don't, um, actually, get Mississippi ETV in Huntsville. Gee, who woulda thought...
Anyway, if any Mississippians caught any of it, I would love to hear your thoughts.
A Little Harsh?
As you drive onto Redstone Arsenal through my gate, one of the billboards you pass is for one of Huntsville's "adult goods" stores, which bills itelf on the sign as the "One Stop Romance Shop." As the sign has aged, however, the two top corners have begun coming off, leaving a billboard that proclaims in huge letters, "Stop Romance." Talk about self-defeating advertising.
| | | :: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 :: |
Star Whoops
I believe I may have made a mistake in one of my very first posts from last week, when I said that the Star Wars: Droids cartoon was the original prequel. In retrospect, I believe that "The Ewoks Adventure" TV movie also was set prior to the trilogy, and pre-dated the cartoon series (Although it may actually have only been set prior to ROTJ, which would make it more of a companion piece than a sequel). Someone with a better memory than mine, feel free to jump in at any time.
To Mars, Via Russia?
Following up on my post from the other day about the ISS crew situation, I found out that the longest anyone has ever spent continuously in orbit is the 437-day record of cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent the time onboard Mir. At the end of his flight, Polyakov was able to walk out of the landing capsule by himself.
And while I still have not found a definitive answer as to why radiation exposure levels on ISS are more significant than anticipated, I did find that Mir orbited at an altitude of about 155 miles, about two-thirds of the altitude of ISS.
Proud Day For Rocket City
Huntsville is in the national news today for an incident in which a man shot four other people to death in a fight over a CD player at a temp agency. He fled, but police tracked him down with the address he had put on forms he had just filled out. At the moment, they have him holed up there.
And to think, I left the Delta for this.
For more info, check The Huntsville Times.
A New Hope
Sometimes, just sometimes, I believe there may actually be some small modicum of hope for this world. I've had the opportunity today to go back through e-mails sent to two of NASA's youth- and child-oriented Web sites, and it's just very gratifying the number of children who have written in since Feb. 1 to say that they want to become an astronaut. Some of the messages are almost literally, "I'm so sorry the shuttle blew up. How do I become on astronaut?" If children like that hold onto that attitude, and become the leaders of tomorrow, maybe there's hope for us yet.
There Be Whales Here
Just a reminder, only one week until Star Trek IV comes out on DVD. Follow the link for a review of the disk.
Space Suit Sox
Members of the Expedition 6 crew tried changing clothes by themselves to help determine the future of the Space Station, according to CNN.com.
After One Week...
Let no one say I am not a trendsetter. (Thanks, Lain)
STS-107 Memorial items
The NASA Exchange Space Shop at Marshall has STS-107 memorial items available for order currently, including patches, lapel pins and commemorative coins, all available as either the standard mission patch or special commermorative designs. Prices run from $1.50 to $6 (shirts and jackets for $35-$40 are also available). If anyone is interested in ordering anything, I may can get a limited amount of extra stuff, so let me know.
One For Jesse
Trent Lott is on a tour of New York, and ends up drinking at this bar way up in a skyscraper with Simon and Garfunkel. While they're drinking, this guy comes up, obviously intoxicated, and starts talking to Trent about how strong the drafts are between all the skyscrapers. Trent, who's never been in a building taller than the King Edward Hotel, is just amazed with this guy starts telling him how a guy could actually jump out a window from their 40th story bar, and the air currents between the building would actually be strong enough to carry him back up.
Trent's pretty skeptical, but sure enough, the guy goes to the window, and jumps out. Trent watches in horror as the guy falls like a stone for like 25 stories straight down, but, sure enough, about 150 feet up, he starts slowing, until about five stories off the ground, he starts floating back up. The guy floats back in through the window, and walks back over to where Trent's waiting.
"Wow, that was amazing," Trent says, "I've got to try that." So, sure enough, Trent jumps out the window, and, sure enough, he falls like a brick 40 stories down to the pavement below.
Simon and Garfunkel just shake their heads as the guy walks back towards them. "Dang," Art says, "you're a mean drunk, Superman."
| | | :: Monday, February 24, 2003 :: |
Planet Houston, We Have A Problem
You will Kneel Before Zod!
'Silence' All These Years
Dave Barry on the Grammys:
"I do know how it began: With Simon and Garfunkel, just two balding guys and one guitar, singing Sounds of Silence. They sounded great; maybe a little wavery, but, hey, it's been a while. While I was still enjoying that moment, out came a band that had many instruments, AND smoke, AND people coming down from the ceiling on ropes, AND a singer who had obviously put in many grueling hours thinking about her hair. I was prepared to dislike their music, but when they started playing, I realized that the song they had chosen was really, really ugly.
I know, I know. I'm old."
What America Needs...
Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, known for his role in the big tobacco lawsuits, has announced that he will not be running for re-election or for any other statewide office this year. If it hadn't been for Trent Lott's ouster as Senate Majority leader, I would hope this was a sign they were going to fulfill my dream that they someday run as an all-Mississippi ticket for president and vice-president together, under the belief that what America needs is a Lott-Moore government.
Star T.Rex
In one of his Chronicles, Pettit points out that if dinosaurs could have explored space and colonized other worlds, they would still be around today. All I know is that somebody needs to turn that into a TV series right now!
57 Varieties And Nothing On
I was curious this weekend about the origin of Heinz 57 sauce. Was it really the 57th variety of Heinz product? If so, since other products still carry the "57 Varieties" motto, does that mean Heinz stopped (or at least stopped counting) after making 57 sauce? If so, why?
It turns out that the 57 means nothing.
Deep Blue Something
After accepting a draw with chess computer Deep Junior earlier this month despite having an apparent lead, Kasparov lost to a 15-year-old boy this weekend. I blame Microsoft.
Space Chronicles
Science Officer Don Pettit has been writing a series of "Space Chronicles" during his stay on the International Space Station. While his musings are briefer than the "Letters Home" of his predecesor, Peggy Whitson, he appears to be a little more frequent in his writing (Peggy's letters, BTW, amazingly capture what it was like for her to live for five months in space, and are wonderful reads).
Be sure to check out Pettit's Chronicle #4, in which he talks about the smell of space, which is something I had never heard about before.
Resistance is Futile
According to StarTrek.com, the Borg will be appearing on Enterprise in May. I guess until I've actually seen the episode it would be unfair to say that this sort of cheap publicity stunt strains the credulity of the series (or the viewer... I forget who credulity describes, and am too lazy to look it up at the moment). So I won't.
| | | :: Sunday, February 23, 2003 :: |
Still Orbiting
According to my paper this morning, students, parents, and staff in Las Cruces, New Mexico voted to name their newly-completed elementary school Columbia. I've also read that a school in Israel has been named after astronaut Ilan Ramon, who was a member of the STS-107 crew.
Huntsville currently has schools named after Apollo I astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, and the Space Shuttle Challenger. I am curious to see whether an existing school here will be renamed.
Baker, Baker
This Hatbag strip is celebrating its eighth anniversary today. Happy birthday!
Crazy
OK, so explain this to me: 96 people just died at a nightclub concert in Rhode Island by erstwhile B-list rock band Great White, and the nation does nothing; and yet it only takes seven people dying to call for an end to manned spaceflight? Excuse me?
So where are the calls by members of Congress to put an end to nightclubs, Great White, and possibly Rhode Island? These things are obviously far more dangerous, and I imagine the people that died there had far less understanding of the potential risks.
Glory of the 80s
So I got up yesterday morning, and just out of curiousity, watched like 10 minutes of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, which they had been talking about on the radio earlier in the week. That made me remember two other "new" cartoons I was interested in seeing, but when I checked the TV guide, I saw that Transformers had just gone off, and and He-Man had been on before that.
So, pop quiz: What decade is this, exactly?
All In All, It Was A Pretty Nice Day
Sadly, that's the lastest I've stayed up in quite a while (like 2:30 a.m.). I'm getting old.
So the concert was really good, but it failed to live up to Dave's Rules For Giving A Concert.
Basically, when I go to a concert, I understand that a musician generally has a new album out that they're really proud of, and want to show of some of the cool new songs from it. And that's fine.
But generally speaking, I feel that you should limit the new stuff to maybe a third to a half of the concert, and then, for the fans, many of whom may only see you once or twice in concert, play a large number of your more popular songs, which realistically are what most of these people came to see.
Probably two-thirds to three-quarters of the concert was stuff from the new album, from which I would have wanted to hear maybe three songs. She did kind of redeem herself at the end, and I got my definitely money's worth, but I'll probably just check that off my list of things to do, and move on, and likely not see her again (not that there's a lot of artists I've seen more than once... B.B. King and Rebecca St. James are the only two that come to mind).
And to give due credit, Tori did perform the one extremely unlikely song I was interested in hearing--a cover of Sweet Home Alabama, as only Tori can.
To be honest, though, this is something that happens to me a lot, I'll go to a concert expecting to hear a handful of songs I really want to hear, and then only know a fraction of what they play. Springsteen and Petty come to mind immediately as examples. In both of those cases, though, I came out of the concert liking a lot of their songs I hadn't been familiar with previously, and in Springsteen's case, became a much bigger fan.
So, feedback... when you go to a concert, are you more interested in seeing an artist perform "greatest hits" live, or are you more interested in getting something new you haven't gotten or picked up on previously?
| | | :: Saturday, February 22, 2003 :: |
Mmmmm...
Why not start off your day with some tasty Monkeybacon.
Chicken? Catch A Tori
It'll be a light day for blogging (lucky you) since Nicole and I are going with Lain Hughes to a Tori Amos concert in Birmingham. A guilty pleasure, but a much-needed adventure. It's weird living in a place where I never need to go out of town. But, trust me, I'm not complaining.
Happiness Is A Smoking Gun
OK, among the things that bugs me most in the reaction to the Columbia investigation is the just deep-seated need by some in the news media to create this image of a "smoking gun" e-mail (I have to say that after a decade as a member of the press, it has been quite illuminating to now be involved in an agency that is on the receiving end of so much media attention, and I've really learned a lot. Number One thing I've learned: We were darned GOOD at what we did in Indianola.)
How many times in the past three weeks now have we seen stories about some new "internal NASA e-mail" that's been played like it's some supersecret document that NASA doesn't want the public to know about that shows that the agency knew that Columbia was going to be destroyed and was too callous or cheap or whatever to care. And then you actually read all the way through, and it's just not so. Heck, some of these supersecret documents NASA doesn't want you to know about were actually released to the public BY the NASA administration.
The ridiculous thing about the ongoing cycle is that there is a complete lack of learning going on. An e-mail is released in the press and made to be this huge smoking gun, NASA explains it, releases even more information beyond that, everybody's happy, and moves on. And then the next e-mail comes along, sometimes saying the exact same thing, and the cycle repeats.
To summarize: Yes, there were concerns about the possibility of damage to the orbiter. Yes, members of NASA looked at the what could happen if that were the case. Yes, there were some "worst-case" scenarios batted around the agency. Yes, people knew things could go wrong. But no, nobody had any idea the orbiter would be lost on re-entry. If you actually read the "worst-case" scenarios that were batted around, none of them dreamed what the actual "worst-case" would be. And I guaranty you, if they had, the agency would have DONE something. Even if they knew of nothing that would have worked, they would have tried. Even if they still ended up losing the craft and crew, they would have tried. Look back over the 40-something year history of NASA, and you know it's true. Heck, watch Apollo 13, and you'll know it's true. That wasn't just a movie, that was NASA.
Here's the key fact that most people forget: Things do go wrong. It happens, and it's generally not the end of the world. If you're driving your car, and you have a low-oil-level indicator, you're not going to fear for your life and immediately bail out, and you're not going to just assume that you're about to lose the vehicle. You're going to drive it home, or to the shop, or whatever, and do something about it. It's no different with the Shuttle. Just because you have a gauge saying something is wrong doesn't mean you automatically assume the Shuttle's about to disintegrate. It's a tough vehicle. It takes a lot of abuse. It's designed for things to go wrong, and is replete with reduntant systems so that things can go wrong. John Young once flew Columbia home with some of his back-up power systems on fire. But that's why it has back-up systems, and reduntant back-up systems. Heck, the tiles are the same way. The shuttle has lost tiles and pieces of tiles numerous times before. But it's designed so that it can lose tiles. And keep going.
So despite all the smoking guns, the truth is as simple as this: Something unexpected happened. And, you know, that happens sometimes. Maybe it was something they knew about that had undreamed-of consequences. Maybe it was something else they had no way of predicting. We don't know yet. But we're going to find out, fix it, and move on.
It's what we do.
| | | :: Friday, February 21, 2003 :: |
This Week at NASAexplores
Stories on the NASAexplores site this week are:
Off-Planet Plants
When you live on a spacecraft made of metal and plastic, a simple plant can be a treasured reminder of Earth. Experiments being performed in orbit now may lead to entire gardens on future spaceships--or even on other worlds.
and
The Plane Facts
Predicting problems on an airplane before they happen could help prevent many aviation accidents. Researchers hope that someday predicting those problems will be as easy as just asking the airplane.
Plus, you can now check out the still-in-development Rev. 2 version of the site, which will go live next month here. If you do, pardon our mess, and let me know what you think about it.
Hatbag History Brief
Yesterday was the 41 anniversary of John Glenn becoming the first American to orbit the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962.
Daily Garfunkel Update
The Art and Paul Reunion is only a few days away.
Maybe.
"(O'Keefe) recalled the breakup of the craft, and the fact that none of the pieces that rained down on East Texas and Louisiana hurt anyone.
'No one was touched. Nothing short of divine intervention made that possible,' O'Keefe said."
-CNN.com
Staying Still, But Stepping Towards Mars
With the Space Shuttle fleet grounded indefinitely, the partner nations involved in the International Space Station are trying to decide the near-term future of ISS. While all are currently committed to keeping the Station manned continously, fulfilling one of its primary functions, the question remains how best to go about it.
The three men scheduled to serve as the next crew, Expedition 7, have been specially trained for the installation of new Station parts which will be brought by the Shuttle, and which are thus currently also grounded. It is vital the Expedition 7 crew be there when those parts arrive, so it makes sense not to send them to the station until the Shuttles are flying again. So, what to do in the meantime?
One option being seriously considered is to send up a caretaker crew of two people, one American and one Russian, to relieve the current Expedition 6 crew, and man the Station, essentially serving as house-sitters in space. Another possibility would be just leaving Expedition 6 up there. The Exp. 6 crewmembers have said that they would be willing to stay on Station for up to a year. One argument for the caretaker crew is that two people would require fewer resources than the current three-man crew, but that could be resolved by one of the Exp. 6 members returning home, leaving the other two on Station.
So, here's the catch. It's been discovered that radiation exposure on ISS is worse than anticipated, which is part of why crew durations are limited to a maximum of a little over six months. There are also other health concerns involved in long-term spaceflight. While a year on Station would be far from a certain death sentence, it would definitely carry additional risks, particularly for Cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin, who has already served a 7-month stint on Mir (I don't know what the record is, but 19 months would almost certainly have to make him a contender for the all-time space duration record).
These problems are one of the biggest reasons we're not going to Mars right now--we're not going to send people there until we're sure we can bring them back, and right now, no human being has spent as long continously in space as it would take with current technology to go to Mars and come back. That's one of the goals of ISS--to find answers to these concerns. If the Exp. 6 crew were to stay on Station for a year, it would let us learn a lot more about long-term microgravity exposure, but with the potential of long-term health risks for the crew.
Here's the flip side, though: Realistically, these risks are probably no greater than the risks millions accept everyday by smoking. Now, I, for one, would far rather live a year on the Space Station than smoke, and would probably be willing to take the chance, particularly if it meant opening new doors for spaceflight. Plus, as we were all so recently reminded, there are no safety guarantees in spaceflight anyway. I say, if they want to stay, let them stay. But it will be interesting to see what happens.
Shinzon in the Hizzouse
For the Trek fans out there, a street date of May 20 has been announced for the ST:Nemesis DVD, so you'll finally be able to relive the glory of this wonderful film. Since Insurrection was released on DVD, Paramount finally caught onto the concept of putting extra features on the discs, so Nemesis will be the first new Trek movie to come out initially in Special Edition mode.
Known issue
Some of you are seeing the shout-out screen as black text on a black background, which makes it tough to read. I do know it's doing that, I just don't know why. You can still read the shout-outs, of course, by just dragging your mouse over the text, but I will be getting with my tech-guru and seeing if she knows why it's happening. It seems to be platform-related--I see it correctly on two different browsers on my PC at work, but incorrectly in three browsers on two Macs at home. And since most of my audience would be looking at this on computers instead of Wintel boxes, I need to get it resolved. That said, if anybody on a PC is getting the black background on shout-out, or anybody on a Mac isn't, please let me know.
| | | :: Thursday, February 20, 2003 :: |
Buy Now And Save! I Command It!
Visit the Hatbag.net store before Feb. 28, buy $40 worth of Hatbag stuff, use the coupon code PREZDAY and save $5. And if you know of any Hatbag-related merchandise you would like to see added to the store, let me know, and we'll see what we can do.
NE Represent!
And to those readers from the NASAexplores team, I would just like to say, "Santies-fantics Limpopo!"
I just felt that was important.
Cede No Quarter
The State of Florida is holding an online election to choose its state quarter design (and non-Florida-residents ARE allowed to vote). The design currently in first place features the Space Shuttle and a Spanish galleon, with the motto, "Gateway to the Future," and leads the second place design by about 25,000 votes. If you would like to help support the Space Shuttle design for the Florida quarter, click here.
If you would like to support one of the other designs, click here.
Long Live the King
ETV will be airing a special on the annual B.B. King Homecoming concert in Indianola on Feb. 25 and 27 (no doubt intentionally skipping the 26 in honor of our anniversary). Check local listings for times. No date has been announced for the concert this year, but I'm guessing it will be May 30. Well worth going to... you don't get many chances to see someone like B.B. for $5... heck, you don't get many chances to see someone like B.B. at all.
The Right Stuff
To date, roughly 24 percent of the nominations made to the Educator Astronaut program were submitted between Feb. 1 (the day Columbia was lost) and Feb. 4.
You down with OSP?
NASA has announced the Level One Requirements for the Orbital Space Plane, which will become the agency's first new manned launch vehicle in almost 30 years when it is completed around the end of the decade. While some are critical of the agency's ability to complete a new spacecraft, I really think this is going to happen, if Congress will let us. I'm a little bit biased, but it really is an exciting time to be involved in NASA, and, assuming we continue to move on in light of recent events the way we have been, the agency is really poised to build some momentum.
Hatblog
Anyone who watched the Feb. 19 episode of Enterprise no doubt found it startingly similar to this.
Samurai Mace?
According to AICN, Cartoon Network and Lucasfilm have announced a new Star Wars animated series, "SW: Clone Wars," to be set between Eps. 2 & 3. 20 short episodes will air in '03 and '04. The creation team will be led by Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory. We need SW arcana expert Webb Younce to compare it to previous SW cartoon series Ewoks and Droids (the original Star Wars prequel).
| | | :: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 :: |
Ha! I have a blog now! How cool is that! (well, technically, probably not very, but hey...)
Thanks to DeeDee for introducing me to the magic of blogs!
(Though mine's working and her's isn't...pphhhbbbblllltttttt)
OK, that's all I have for right now!
wdh
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