Forty years ago this week an event occurred that changed the history of mankind forever.
An event so monumental that the memory lingers on, even though the venue where the event took place has been, shall we say, "repurposed".
But we're not here to talk about the time that Minnesota Twins Manager Billy Martin appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Instead, let's talk space.
NASA is forever trying to interest the world in space exploration...and forever struggling to come up with the money to get things done.
Well, I'm not a scientist, nor an engineer, and I don't assemble rocket vehicles...but I am a fake consultant, and if NASA took my advice, I'd bet my fake paycheck that money would be a lot less of a problem.
The next day after the STS-127shuttle mission was postponed, NASA moved its focus to a different launch pad, hardly missing a beat. In a wonderfully choreographed negotiation between the two different projects, within hours two unmanned lunar probes were launched, riding on a single rocket. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is now in orbit around the moon, mapping the way for a subsequent and long-awaited manned mission to the moon. The media coverage follows:
STS-125 -- The next NASA shuttle mission is scheduled for 11 days in space beginning October 8, 2008. This mission to service the Hubble telescope is on track to be able to meet its scheduled launch date. To quote NASA:
Texas is an interesting place to live. Women here are multi-talented, and sometimes go against the grain of conventional wisdom. My late mother-in-law could make the best plate of fried chicken anywhere, and she was very independent for her time. And Texas women have a reputation for being sassy, Molly Ivins, for example. The founders of the state were often people who did not fit in somewhere else. And, fortunately, we are not all Republicans. Today's post is an amalgam of the anachronistic, a digest of digression, a roundup of news from and about talented women from Texas that might be of interest to you, too.
People have all been explorers at one time or another. We have a fascination with seeing what is new over the mountain, with climbing the peak itself. Inner and outer space comprise the newest frontiers for humankind's next risky endeavors. In so-called "developed" countries, we use technological, intellectual and physical breakthroughs to help us go beyond where we have been able to go before. And we do these things as trusting and interdependent members of groups. Today's post will lay out this particular "Space Nut's" fascination with Space.
Shuttle launches are always "Whiz-Bang" for us space nuts, but for me it has been more about the people than the hardware.
If the weather cooperates the STS 120 launch will happen tomorrow. NASA TV's coverage begins tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM (CST).
The crew is shown in the picture. Left to right: Commander Pamela Melroy, Pilot George Zamka, mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephanie Wilson, Douglas Wheelock, European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli of Italy and mission specialist Daniel Tani.
(Image: NASA) NASA's shuttle, "Endeavour" lands for the first time in several years in this picture. The STS-118 mission was a big success, despite intermittent problems aloft. According to NASA,
"The mission has lots of angles," Matt Abbott, lead shuttle flight director, said. "There's a little bit of assembly; there's some resupply; there's some repairs. And there are some high-visibility education and public affairs events. It's a little bit of everything."
When I heard that Endeavour had suffered an accident similar to the one that caused the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia over Texas a few years ago, I was concerned not just about Endeavour but the entire space program should we have another shuttle destroyed.
Think about it. We only have two shuttles. We lose one more, and there is no way that NASA will fly the fourth one except in extreme emergency. The shuttle program would be halted. The next shuttle-type vehicles aren't ready, which would mean that we won't have space exploration by humans for a while (of any nation) except the space station - which would be impacted because it relies partly on shuttle missions for fuel and transfers. The destruction of the Endeavour would've had serious consequences!
I mean, that's some serious drama! C'mon, world! Tell me you understood what was at stake! Tell me it was worthy of a naked Britney Spears photo or at least an American Idol semi-final?? PLEASE.
Yawn. That's how the media - and much of the world - responded. Guess we need an astronaut love-triangle or a shuttle to explode to get the media to pay attention.
But any time we have a serious disaster at NASA where lives are lost and expensive equipment (like a shuttle) is destroyed, we get tons of people from around the country wondering why we even have a space program. It's a real shame that NASA does such a poor job of marketing itself or no one would ever ask these questions. People never ask why we have the military. Even the most liberal of progressives can see some need for a defense force (key word: defense) in this complex and sometimes violent world.
But sending people to the moon? Launching billion dollars probes to Uranus? What good is that doing for me down here?
I've heard this nonsense from conservatives, liberals, exasperated social workers looking to fund after school programs, and just nutcase redmeat guys who wouldn't know what a satellite was if it was launched up their Uranus!
I greatly sympathize with social workers and low-income aid workers who are trying to find funding for their programs especially in this corrupt and heartless administration. However, the space program, which gets a tiny fraction of the funding other programs (like the military), is not to blame for the neglect of our children and Americans. Blame politicians like those in the White House which talk about going to Mars (to raise his ratings) and then cuts the budgets of the space program (along with other social programs).
I know most people think NASA's only given us the Tempur-pedic bed, but in fact NASA has been responsible for some the biggest technological improvements the world has known. It has been pivotal to much of the research and innovation that allowed American companies to dominate the world and has been key to keeping America a world leader.
It is no suprise to me that America is slipping at exactly the same time that funding for scientific groups like NASA is slashed.
That computer you're using right now? Wouldn't be around without NASA's help. Fancy modern airplanes wouldn't exist if NASA didn't refine aircraft controls. Many of you ate baby food that came about because of NASA. You and your kids can swim in your pool free of algae and bacteria b/c NASA. And all you damn uppity golf players can thank NASA for giving ya clubs and balls that carry further than you had any right to expect!
In short, damn it, ALL Y'ALL OWE THE SPACE PROGRAM BIG TIME!!! Now git on yer knees and beg for forgiveness for taking them for granted!
In the end, yes, space exploration can be dangerous and difficult work. Very few people fully fathom the difficulty of sending a manned vehicle the size of a semi-truck millions of miles away and returning it safely to Earth. To do it without any accidents is unrealistic.
That's why when an accident like the one that occurred to Endeavour occurs, it's so important to understand and appreciate the great job done by those NASA engineers who support these missions.
They never get the glory they deserve or the groupies, but they deserve your praise. And more of the media's attention than does the latest Paris Hilton saga.
News of national interest sometimes comes out of Texas. It is often covered at S/SW on Mondays. Texas has the most workers benefitting from the upcoming minimum wage hike. It also has a large population of illegal immigrants, some of whom will soon be leaving because they are real criminals. Texas' Halliburton Company has already left, but it continues to do well. No one is surprised. Astronauts regularly leave Texas and come back to kudos from all over the world. Here is today's digest of these Texas tales.
Many of us are collectors. We put our treasures in lots of places, including beautiful boxes, and our blogs and hard drives. Today's post, under the "Spirit-Psych-Personal" label at South by Southwest, features a number of small info-bits I found worth collecting for the past few months. The items include a "plug" for one of my old posts, brain research information, a funny YouTube video, a poem, and a beautiful image. I would be curious to learn whether any of my readers are collectors of the same widely varying kinds of "stuff."
Texas is one of the most populace states among the 50 in the United States. Thus it faces a big educational challenge as a state. And it is also home to the National Aeronautics and Space Agency headquarters in Houston, with its cadre of highly educated astronauts. Today's post gathers a number of current articles on space and education making the news.
