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| | | :: Saturday, July 31, 2004 :: |
Daily Hatbag
 Yo.
Could You Hear Me Then
 These are kinda cool.
Secrets Of The iPod
 According to Wired's Cult of Mac blog, the newest iPods have mysterious new chips that serve an as-yet-undetermined function.
Fortune Favors
 Per Fortune:
Windows vs. Mac? These days I'd definitely vote for the Mac OS, which is less susceptible to crashes and viruses. Windows is more popular, but seems perpetually to be on orange alert. You don't want to hear, "A virus ate my term paper."
| | | :: Friday, July 30, 2004 :: |
Daily Hatbag
Guess who's back...
Thanks
For some reason, Wednesday and Thursday were, I'm pretty confident, the biggest traffic days on hatbag.net ever, with about three times my usual visits Thursday. I have no clue why, but I appreciate it.
Today In History
 On this date in 1971, the lunar rover landed on the Moon for the first time in the Apollo 15 mission.
Updating!
 UPI's Frank Sietzen has a good piece summarizing what is going on to support the Vision for Space Exploration. It's all speculative at this point, but it's pretty interesting. Plus, it's cool reading an article that uses the phrase "the new fleet of atomic-powered spacecraft" that's not science fiction.
The "Leak"
 Spaceref.com has a good post-mortem on the Kerry-NASA bunny suit photo controversy. The best part--despite accusing NASA of a leak, Kerry's staff gave the photos to the press.
Spin Doctors
 Revisiting a debate set aside 40 years ago, NASA is soliciting proposals for the use of artificial gravity in missions to Mars.
Expedition 10
 Expedition 10 commander Leroy Chiao and cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov are hoping that their increment on the International Space Station, which begins in October, will include a duty not performed since November 2002--welcoming visiting Space Shuttle crew members to ISS.
The Sea Of Smurfquility
 There's a Blue Moon tomorrow night.
Mercury Rising
 NASA's MESSENGER Mercury probe will begin its 6 1/2 year voyage to the innermost planet early Monday morning.
Bat-trailer
 Wanna see a couple of seconds of Batman? The trailer's posted, with lots of Christian Bale talking, and a few frames of Batman.
| | | :: Thursday, July 29, 2004 :: |
A missed opportunity
The ribs, man, think of the RIBS!
Today In History
 On this date 19 years ago, the launch of Challenger's 51-F mission resulted in the only abort-to-orbit of the Space Shuttle program.
This Week At NE
 This week at NASAexplores, I've got an article about how thermal control radiators maintain the temperature aboard the Shuttle and Space Station, and Maggie's got a story about the Constant Volume Engine.
Daily Hatbag
Here's a timeless classic that works almost as well if you don't know that it was inspired by Billy Brewer.
| | | :: Wednesday, July 28, 2004 :: |
Sweet, Sweet Sarah McLachlan
OK, this post could have turned out better.
Daily Hatbag
So what exactly is going on with Generic Girl's eyes in the last panel. Is she surprised by something?
Today In History
On this date 31 years ago, the second crew of Skylab launched to dock with the station.
In 1969, the movie “Marooned” told the story of an Apollo crew who were stranded by a thruster malfunction during a long-duration mission, leading to the staging of a rescue mission to save them. The fictional story came close to seeing a real-life retelling four years later. As the second crew of Skylab prepared to rendezvous with the station, Pilot Jack Lousma spotted what looked like a thruster nozzle floating past his window. The object was not a nozzle, but rather a piece of ice which had formed inside a nozzle and thus bore its shape--symptomatic of another problem: a leak in one of the quads of maneuvering thrusters. The crew secured the malfunctioning quad and continued the rendezvous with the crippled command and service module. Commander Alan Bean piloted the craft with only a portion the maneuvering authority the vehicle should have offered, while Science Pilot Owen Garriott sat in the center seat, rapidly performing the calculations that would allow for a safe docking.
With the command module safely docked and the crew aboard Skylab, the situation seemed to be behind them. Until, that is, the sixth day of the mission, when one of the astronauts, observing an aurora from a window noticed snow outside. Snow being a rare occurrence in space, the crew realized that something must be wrong. And indeed it was--a second set of quad thrusters had developed a leak. With no idea what was causing the leaks, ground controllers feared that they might be linked, and that the same problem might affect one of the service module’s other quads during the remaining 50 days the crew was scheduled to remain in orbit. While they were confident the crew could return to Earth with the two maneuvering quads they still had, additional malfunctions would jeopardize their safe reentry. And so, efforts began to plan a rescue mission to bring the astronauts home.
Skylab had been designed to accommodate just such a rescue mission. The multiple docking adapter featured ports for two command modules. If the Apollo spacecraft that had carried the crew to the station could not be used to bring them home, a second vehicle could be launched, and could dock with the adapter’s second port. The crew would return to Earth aboard the second Apollo, and the one they rode into orbit would be deorbited. Engineers had figured out a way to modify the three-person Apollo spacecraft to carry five people. Were a rescue necessary, a two-person crew would pilot the rescue craft to Skylab, and then all five astronauts would ride it back home. For the Skylab II rescue mission, astronauts Vance Brand and Don Lind were selected as the rescue crew, and even had an official crew portrait made. While they were awaiting the order to launch, Brand and Lind began looking into whether the crew would be able to return safely. The two rookie astronauts joked that they were working their way out of their chance for a spaceflight. (Both would later get their chance to make flights).
Ultimately, it was decided that since the rescue mission could not be flown until day 43 of the Skylab II mission, there was no reason to order an early termination; a decision which suited the second crew just fine. There were no further malfunctions, and on the 60th day of their mission, the crew returned to Earth safely in the command module aboard which they launched.
Oh, Please
 NASA Watch has a good response to the "leaked" Kerry photo brouhaha. (NASA Watch, for whatever weird reason, doesn't provide permalinks, so you'll have to scroll down 'til you see the picture I've posted at right.) I would go on to point out, though, that both sides are being silly about this--Kerry's camp for acting like this is some sort of conspiracy, and the Republicans who are acting like these pictures provide some sort of ammunition against him.
Fumbling Towards Nashville
 Just FYI, Nicole and I are going to Nashville this evening for a Sarah McLachlan concert, and then to Birmingham tomorrow evening, meaning that I'll be away from regular computer access tomorrow. But check in anyway--Lain has said that if he sees anything that needs to be blogged, he'll blog it, and I'll post updates if opportunity allows (I'm taking the iBook, and the hotel promises internet access). Also, there's a chance that you'll see me on the Tutor Kitty Kam tomorrow evening.
By Jove
 The Project Prometheus-powered Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter is a step closer to reality, with conceptual artwork having now been created by NASA and Boeing. I think the Boeing proposal included stuff other than artwork, but the pictures are pretty.
Eyes On The Prize
 The endgame has begun: Scaled Composites has announced that SpaceShipOne will try for the X Prize with a first prize attempt flight on September 29.
Waiting in the wings, though, in case SSO is unsuccessful, is Canada's da Vinci Project, which will unveil its Wild Fire spacecraft on August 5. (Note: This has nothing to do with the Da Vinci Code, which is probably the best book of all time.)
God Speed, John Glenn
 Per The Onion:
WASHINGTON, DC—John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth and the oldest man ever in space, is being honored by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which has installed the former U.S. senator as the centerpiece of its upcoming Milestones Of Flight exhibit.
"John Glenn's life has been a living testament to the power of human vision," NASM director Gen. John R. "Jack" Dailey said at Sunday's dedication ceremony. "Generations of Americans will be inspired by his nobly dangling form, which so eloquently evokes both the wonder of physical flight through the air and that even greater flight—of the human spirit."
Force Of Newtons
 Even though I'm still a complete tyro, I've been exposed to the Newton community long enough now that this is kinda funny.
| | | :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 :: |
Aerospace iCal
For the Mac users out there, I've created a iCal calendar of aerospace events. Ongoing maintenance will be based entirely on use, so if you use it and like it, let me know.
Daily Hatbag
The problem with letting minor characters run the strip for a week is that they do things like get intimated and stare at the camera the whole time instead of looking at each other.
Addendum: Just fixed the strip so that it was the one I meant to post, not the one I posted yesterday.
There's A Giant Black Spot On The Sun Today
 Sunspot 652 is now wider than Jupiter.
Where's Lloyd Bentsen When You Need Him?
 Once again breaking my usual avoidance of politics, but Kerry is really just begging for this sort of commentary.
Per The AP: With a famed astronaut at his side and majestic rockets towering outside the window, John Kerry spoke Monday of how America's space program embodies the imagination, ingenuity and fortitude that made the country great.
Yet the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, during at town hall meeting at Kennedy Space Center, didn't once mention NASA, the federal agency that makes those rockets fly.
Per Florida Today: But in the heart of a community where more than 20,000 people work on space programs, the Democrats' candidate for president met with a roomful of voters without commenting on President Bush's proposal to send astronauts to the moon and Mars or offering a specific vision of his own for exploring space.
"I'd like to know more," conceded Murray Hill, of Cocoa, a machinist who works on the shuttles for contractor United Space Alliance.
Per The Daytona Beach News-Journal: But he stayed grounded on Earth at the start of a busy campaign week and never mentioned future space travel.
Per The Houston Chronicle: "He'll probably forget to mention that he voted to cut NASA funding and introduced a bill to terminate the international space station program, calling it an 'uncertain and risky' venture," Feeney said.
NASA Watch has more on Kerry's "support" for NASA, in the form of repeated votes to cut funding (though even I will admit it's a somewhat one-sided presentation. But, hey, if Michael Moore can claim to report truth just be presenting accurate facts, then this story is 100 percent true).
Budget Update
UPI's Frank Sietzen has a good piece with some background information about the current battle over NASA's budget.
That's No Moon! Wait, Yes, It Is!
 Cassini has taken new pictures of the Saturnian moon Mimas. Not really anything too fascinating, but I'm blogging it anyway 'cause Mimas is one of my favorite-looking objects in the solar system, for obvious reasons.
RTF Update
 NASA has begun a fix for the Return To Flight issue most closely linked to the physical cause of the loss of Columbia, the bipod foam ramp. The agency has signed off on a new system which replaces the foam with heating rods, which will serve the purpose of preventing ice from forming in the bipod area.
Hello, Moto
 I'm mildly surprised at the Apple-Motorola deal. It seems uncharacteristically open-minded of Steve Jobs to support a non-Apple portable music player, no matter how little competition for the iPod it poses. Still, it nice for sentimental reasons to see Apple software running on a Motorola processor.
| | | :: Monday, July 26, 2004 :: |
Attention, Robots!
Logic is a little birdy that goes tweet tweet. Logic is a pretty flower that smells bad.
Congratulations, Jonathan And Erin
So my brother's married (the middle one, at least. Probably be a while on the youngest.) More pics, including some of yours truly in a tux can be found on the photographer's Web site.
Daily Hatbag
There will be little to no HATBG in this week's 10th anniversary Hatbag strips.
Alternate Future
 I may have blogged this before, and if so, I apologize, but it's kinda cool: Man Conquers Space, a "science fiction" movie in which the exploration of space unfolded in a way more like the path von Braun outlined in the '50s.
Budget Update
On the bad news side, the House Appropriations Committee approved the subcommittee recommendation to cut NASA's FY05 budget request on last week.
On the upside, OMB, which has often served as an advesary for NASA budget requests, has said that they would recommend that the spending bill be vetoed because of the cuts.
Per UPI: This is the first time any U.S. president has threatened to veto a spending bill because it contained too little space money.
RTF Update
 The Shuttle Discovery is being prepared for Return To Flight, with roll-out scheduled for January. The story states that the vehicle manager for Discovery says she is confident the agency will be able to meet the March target launch date.
ISS Acceleration
 Per NASA:
The new ISS configuration is planned for completion by the end of the decade and will accommodate on-orbit elements from each of the ISS Partners. The configuration will enable increased utilization and will provide early opportunities for an enhanced crew of greater than three people.
Space.com has additional info (and questions) about how the crew size increase will be accomplished.
Sign For Nine
 I am signer 20784 of the petition for Paramount to revive Deep Space Nine as a movie (though I added a comment saying I'd love to see a miniseries, too), and encourage all ATW readers to sign also.
Ironically, I was just griping about this to Nicole last night. We were watching The 4400, the new USA miniseries which reunites DS9 scribes Ira Behr, Robert Wolfe and Rene Echevarria, and which is kicking butt in the ratings. I'm not sure exactly where all that attention came from, but imagine that at least some of it has to be from people like me, DS9 loyalists who heard about its connection to that show and hope that it recaptures some of the magic. (It's pretty good stuff, too--a better live-action comic book than any adaptation of a real comic book I've ever seen.)
Addendum: Forgot to mention, on a related note, that today is Nana Visitor's birthday.
Revenge Of The SE
 More Star Wars news, per DVDfile:
...But also announced at the show by Lucasfilm head of Fan Relations Steve Sansweet was the arrival, sometime in 2005, of three other Star Wars properties long requested by fans: The Clone Wars and Droids animated series, plus The Ewok Adventure and Ewoks & Droids Adventure Hour television movies. ...
So for those fearing (or hoping) that Lucas would again make extensive changes to the classic first three movies in the saga, you will get your wish. Everything from less readily apparent changes - sound effects to the color of a lightsaber - to more substantive additions, including Ian McDiarmid (the evil Emperor) replacing Clive Revill in The Empire Strikes Back, to Anakin Hayden Christensen's face (badly) added to the body of Sebastian Shaw at the end of Return of the Jedi, or a chorus of cheering Gungians (or whatever those Jar Jar things are called) also tacked on to the finale of Jedi, will be found in the new DVDs.
The Circle Is Complete
 So, yeah, Revenge of the Sith. Could be worse. Certainly better than The Creeping Fear.
| | | :: Saturday, July 24, 2004 :: |
Updating
In Memphis for my brother's wedding, so won't really be posting much. (And thus why I didn't post much yesterday)
Also, the domain name for hatbag.net has expired, and thus blog access is kind of iffy. I've paid the renewal fee, but it may take it a little while for the address to repropogate.
Which also means that my home e-mail account is temporarily down as well.
Pardon our technical difficulties, and keep checking in. We'll be back as soon as possible.
| | | :: Friday, July 23, 2004 :: |
Today In History
 On this date 5 years ago, Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle commander on Columbia's STS-93 mission to deploy the Chandra X ray observatory.
Two Steps Closer
 Per The AP:
NASA has met two more recommendations that are required for the space agency to return to flight, but remains stymied on inspection and repair methods for shuttles in orbit. ...
Despite the lingering hurdles, there is no reason to believe shuttle flights won't resume next March or April, said Richard Covey, a former shuttle commander who is chairman of the task force overseeing NASA's progress following the Columbia disaster.
(PS Yeah, I'm engaging in lazy, cut-and-paste blogging today. I'm busy. Sue me. [Note for the overly literal minded--don't really])
Going Back Out
 Per SpaceDaily:
The crew of the International Space Stationwill conduct a spacewalk on August 3 to install equipment for next year's scheduled arrival of a european cargo vessel, the space flight control centre said Friday.
| | | :: Thursday, July 22, 2004 :: |
No Zod
 Well, forget my Zod speculation. Per The NYT: (regreq)
The two liked what they heard: the story did not explore Superman's origins nor did any survivors from Krypton reappear.
Congrats, Jesse & Carol!
And here's a couple more pictures of DM interest.
This Week At NE
 This week at NASAexplores, there's an article about the Genesis sample return mission, and one of NASA's treehouse detectives.
The Challenge
I was reading a site a while back in which someone was talking about NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. As I recall, I linked to it last year, but didn't know about it until it was already underway or over or something. This year, though, I actually know about it ahead of time.
The concept it this. You write a novel. In a month.
The goal is to write a 50,000-word story between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30.
So, here's the challenge: I think ATW should do this.
I thinks we should write a novel in a month.
I don't even begin to have time to write a novel myself in a month with everything else I'm doing. But I could write part of a short one.
There are 22 weekdays during November 2004. If the writing were divided up between those days, an average of 2273 words would have to be written per day. If four people worked together, each would only have to write 568 words per day. Obviously, the more people involved, the fewer words each would have to write. Any writing done on weekends would reduce the number of words needed on each weekday. Any word over the minimum on a given entry would reduce the total number left.
We did something similar to this once before, way back. The idea would be to take turns writing the word requirement, with each writer picking up where the last left off.
The result would be that we would have a complete novel at the end of the month. Which would be pretty cool.
To quote their Web site:
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
I mention it now so we can start thinking about it. While it would be wrong to start writing, we could start thinking about what it will be about.
This offer is open to anyone. If you've never, or rarely, posted on ATW before, that's cool. Come on.
So, who's with me?
Daily Hatbag
Here's a hard-to-believe-but-true fact: the second panel of this strip is based on Barry Hannah!
Thanks, Web!
Whoops!
(I esp. like this one.)
Space Race
 Per Space.com:
It looks like the flag is being dropped on high-flying competitors vying for the Ansari X Prize suborbital sweepstakes.
A media alert was issued today by the X Prize Foundation of St. Louis, Missouri noting that “several key announcements” are to be made July 27.
The press statement is fueling speculation that the press event is likely to detail actual flight dates for back-to-back shots at winning the Ansari X Prize purse. Teams are to give the X Prize Foundation 60-days notice before attempts to win the prize.
Cold Water In Space
 OK, this amuses me. Jeffrey Bell, one of Spacedaily.com's leading NASA-bashers, has turned from criticizing public sector spaceflight to start a new private sector backlash, going after SpaceShipOne. As usual, he puts together an entertaining mix of grumpiness and quasi-facts. To wit:
It's not a spaceship or even a precursor to one. The energy required to boost SS1 into orbit would be about 50 times what it currently expends to make its short zoom-climb into "space".
It's true that it isn't, and won't be, an orbital spacecraft. Hard to say that it's not a precursor to one, since there are rumors that Scaled is already drawing up plans for an orbital craft. To say that it's not a "spaceship," though, is just a semantics game. Is flying into space enough to make it a "spaceship"? Depends. There are those who argue that the Shuttle is the only manned spaceship ever. And SSO has more in common with what makes the Shuttle a spaceship than it does with non-spaceships like Apollo. Personally, I'm more than content to allow that flying into space makes it a spaceship.
SS1 is really a stuntplane intended to whip up public interest and favorable news media coverage.
Um, why? Rutan's a pretty savvy businessman. What does he stand to gain for building interest if he has nothing to deliver?
It's not even a viable vehicle for the "suborbital tourism" market. SS1 is narrowly designed around the X-Prize competition and lacks many features customers would demand.
It may be true that it's not going to be a tourism vehicle. Certainly, it's very likely the that SSO itself won't, but that doesn't mean that there couldn't be SS2 and SS3, etc., if there were a market for them. Rutan has no interest in being the space equivalent of an airline, he wants to provide vehicles for "spacelines." However, it is not true that SSO was designed around the X Prize, since Rutan was already working on it before the X Prize was announced. It's factual errors like that which make it difficult to take Bell seriously.
Put some space images on the windows and you have most of the suborbital tourism experience for a longer time at a much lower cost. If the suborbital tourism market really exists, why isn't somebody doing this?
Um, they are. Space Adventures already offers Zero-G flights in Russia, and a new company is booking them in the U.S. That said, anybody willing to shell out money for a spaceflight isn't going to be fooled by "space images on the windows." Again, just a wee bit of research would make it easier to take him seriously.
Still Alive, Old Friend
 The Return of James T. Kirk?
| | | :: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 :: |
Isaac Hayesimov
 Let me just point out that this sounds mighty familiar: (since the link is kinda iffy, I'm posting the relevant part below)
Isaac Hayes’ Three Laws of Robotics
A robot must risk his neck for his brother man, and may not cop out when there’s danger all about.
A robot must be a sex machine to all the chicks, except where such actions conflict with the will of his main woman.
A robot must at all times strive to be one bad motha-shutchyomouth.
Daily Hatbag
This strip is one of my personal favorites, largely, I think, just 'cause I love BG and OBG's reaction to the whole thing.
ISS For Less!
 I don't have a link to confirm it, but I've heard a rumor that, if you're wanting to visit the International Space Station, this is your big chance, since, after losing paying passenger Greg Olsen due to health problems, Rosaviakosmos is desperate to book a tourist for the October Soyuz flight, and is willing to cut the $20 million asking price for the third seat down to $15 million.
Today In History
 On this date in 1961, the MR4 spacecraft, Liberty Bell 7, sank to the bottom of the ocean after carrying astronaut Gus Grissom on America's second (suborbital) spaceflight. Having been recovered by Curt Newport, the Liberty Bell is currently on display in Huntsville until September.
Around The World In 90 Minutes
 The first ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle, Jules Verne, has been completed and delivered for testing. The spacecraft will be used, possibly next year, to transfer supplies to the International Space Station.
Setback
So, how did you celebrate the 35th anniversary of Apollo 11? A House subcommittee marked the occassion by cutting funding for space exploration. Classy.
Leggo My... Carbs
 OOoooh... low-carb waffles!
(Actually Nicole can make home-made low-carb waffles now, but frozen waffles are one of those things that are just a different thing entirely from the real thing, making them, while inferior, just as good. I feel the same way about mall Chinese food.)
| | | :: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 :: |
Today In History
Quicktime VR: What Neil Saw
Daily Hatbag
This one was one of mine, and is semi-autobiographical, in that I refused to read a Grisham book until I was assigned to read The Pelican Brief in my poplit class. Not that I had anything against him, really, it's just that I tend to be distrustful of books that are too popular. For instance, at the moment, I'm avidly not reading the Da Vinci Code. Now, I read all of Grisham's stuff as soon as it comes out. The Toys R Us reference was, of course, another little self-homage.
Vision Quest
Per Space.com:
NASA's renewed commitment to human space exploration has a strong support base amongst the American public, according to a new poll released today.
More than two-thirds of those polled supported a stepping stone approach for NASA's space efforts, starting with resumed space shuttle flights and the completion of the International Space Station (ISS), and leading to eventual manned missions to the moon, Mars and beyond.
Countdown Continues
 Per NASA:
Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Mississippi have successfully tested one of the engines that will carry the next Space Shuttle into orbit.
The test today(Monday) was the first on a complete Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) that will be used on the Return to Flight mission. The engine will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center for installation on the Space Shuttle Discovery. The Return to Flight mission, designated STS-114, will launch no earlier than next March and will go to the International Space Station.
The Return To Flight Commission will be holding a meeting Thursday, after which more details will be announced on how efforts are going to meet the NET March planning date.
Minor Sidebar Update
The STS-114 launch countdown clock in the sidebar just jumped ahead 5 days, when I learned that the target date for the next launch is March 6, rather than March 11 as I had previously believed. (March 11 was an early planning date for this year, when it was still believed it would only take 1 year to get the Shuttles flying again, rather than 2. [March 11 is also the birthday of my friend Elaine Baath {or Elizabeth Baath}, whose name I again mention here on the hopes she'll come across it in a search engine and get in touch with me via the e-mail link at the top of the page.]) I also added a link in the countdown to a page that has info on the RTF status. The link is hidden in the words "launch countdown," cause otherwise it was gonna look funky.
Also updated were the reading and watching boxes, though not listening, 'cause I'm not listening to anything new, so I figured I'd keep promoting Joe. I also added a link in the links section to the Strong Bad e-mail at the Homestar Runner site, 'cause they're funny, and I told Tutor I'd give him the link.
| | | :: Monday, July 19, 2004 :: |
Join The Club
 Lain was kind enough to share with me this story about the Club Ebony in Indianola.
Create Your Own Hatbag
Introducing the amazing "Hatbag Generator"! Make your own Hatbag strips!
(I should note I mainly did this to see if I could figure out the coding. Quality not guaranteed.)
Super Clothing
 When superheroes show up, NASA will have already been working on their costumes. Or something.
Daily Hatbag
Apparently, at some point in the series, student journalist guy got a lot taller, and also lost his arms. Which one would think would make being a reporter a lot harder.
Yesterday In History
 I missed yesterday that it was the 20th anniversary of cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becoming the first woman to walk in space.
Station Keeping
Per The New York Times:
The United States has finished its plans for completing the International Space Station by the end of the decade, including expansion of a science module to accommodate housing for more astronauts, NASA officials said Friday. ...
Among other things, the revised plans call for expanding the use of the United States' Destiny science module aboard the station. Michael C. Kostelnik, NASA's deputy associate administrator for the shuttle and the space station, said that to do as much research as possible, NASA wanted to increase the complement of astronauts working on the station to as many as six, from the current limit of three. This may require having two or more three-person Soyuz rescue capsules assigned to the station at times, and having the American space shuttle dock at the station for longer periods, Mr. Kostelnik said.
The Next Generation
 So, yeah, new iPods. I can stick with mine for a while.
Transform And Roll Film!
 Will Spielberg direct the Transformers movie? Well, it would really surprise me, but apparently he may at least be supporting it.
(And if that doesn't get you excited about the prospect of a live-action Transformers movie, then surely this will.
Trek Gets Schooled
.jpg) So apparently the proposed "prequel" Trek movie I mentioned a while back will be a Starfleet Academy movie, and the team developing it includes one of the masterminds behind the Inspector Gadget movies. Gee, how could this possibly go wrong?
| | | :: Sunday, July 18, 2004 :: |
The Early Years
 While there's a lot of focus this week on Apollo 11 in connection with Tuesday's 35th anniversary of the landing, Dryden Flight Research Center marked the occassion by posting an interesting story about Neil Armstrong's pre-astronaut NASA career.
Is That A Robot In Your Pants
 From the Daveblog one year ago today: Little robots in your pants. (Why am I using that picture with this item? 'Cause it turns out that's the first result you get if you run a Google image search for "robot pants.")
The Next Generation
Two new missions are being considered for NASA's New Frontiers robotic exploration program, a lunar sample-return mission, and a Jovian polar orbiter.
Up Hill Both Ways
 So it turns out that due to its malfunctioning front right wheel, Spirit is now climbing the Columbia Hills backwards.
Daily Hatbag
I'm disappointed in the ATW audience, particularly the one member who's always rather quick to point out my mistakes. I posted the wrong strip yesterday, and nobody asked what the heck it had to do with a Will Smith movie. The strip I posted yesterday actually turned eight today, and this is the strip I meant to post yesterday. Whoops. (So, Will Smith and a Hippie are in a bar...)
| | | :: Saturday, July 17, 2004 :: |
Today In History
 On this date 29 years ago, American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts met in space as their Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft docked.
iPod upDate
 Per ThinkSecret:
Apple will announce new iPod mo | |
