This is for David, although I'm sure he's already seen it as it is a NASA bulletin, and as he has recently done research on astronaut poop. I jsut thought it was funny.
Missed this yesterday, but i feel like it's worth posting here:
Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper died yesterday, at the age of 77. Slowly but surely, all my heros are dying. And very few of the Shuttle astronauts seem to be as charasmatic, or something like that (there are a few very notable exceptions)... Maybe as spaceflight has (had) become so routine, the people who fly seem more mudane and normal. Or maybe it's because there's just a whole lot of Shuttle astronauts, and only seven Mecury astronauts (and small numbers of Gemini and Apollo astronauts as well).
I've always thought that if there is ever an international project to send men to Mars, the U.S. will build the rocket, the British will produce the engine, and the French will contribute a sugar bowl that opens when you remove the spoon from the slot attached to it.
~Calvin Trillian, "The Accidental Luddite" Time Magazine, 10/20/97.
Check out the last NASAexplores summer edition... The Summer Triangle (Mindi and Jeremy write this one, but I did the graphics)... and JoCasta's interview with Leland Melvin, her astronaut crush *grin*
We go back to publishing regular articles and lessons next Thursday *yay*
btw, I'm safely in Memphis... er... Southaven. Trying to figure out how Chad and I are going to celebrate our negative one-st anniversary... Right now it's looking like a cook out and fireworks :-)
Quote from an article online:
Cabrol also said that currently prolonged space travel isn't the best thing for a person's system because of gravity. Such a trip would take at least half a year. It's feasible, but the astronaut would have to recover from the trip once they landed. Luckily, there appears to be some gravity on Mars.
"appears to be some gravity"? Silly me... I thought we had had probes or something land on Mars... I thought we *knew* whether there was gravity there or not, not made some wild guesses based on what *appears* to be true. But you know... I might be wrong.
I hate calling people I don't know. *sigh* but that's life.
So it's Wednesday... and I'm at work. And I'm tired. And I hafta go to church tonight. Because Daddy's sick and can't take the little kids. Maybe I can find a quiet corner of one of the room to curl up and take a nap.... or not... naps might be dangerous. Maybe I can read. Reading is restful.
I feel guilty... because it's raining, and I'm enjoying the rain. And parts of Huntsville are still under water... so the last thing we need is more rain... but I like rain... When it rains, everything is ok. (unless your house is under 2 feet of water, I guess)... *sigh* I'm such an awful person... rejoicing in somehting that causes other people so much trouble...
Oh hey, random space excitement for the week: Be sure the catch the lunar ecplise Thursday night... it should be really visible anytime between 22:14 and 23:07, CDT. At least it should be, if it clears up around here.
Interesting note related to Daddy... My dad may soon become a pothead... or... well... something like it. Several people have suggested to him that medical marijuana might help him when he doing chemo. It's supposed to help a lot with the nausea and the pain... so he's going to ask Dr. Dang about it. What was recommended was the pills, mostly... although someone mentioned marijuana tea. Just an interesting note.
Too funny to not post here... think it'll work for me?
BTW, I blog spasticly at work... I keep a notepad window open, and type whatever comes to mind inbetween like, actually working and stuff. And then i post it all whenever I get a chance... so my post may be a little random. Just a little.
Hey hey hey.... send your name to a comet! How cool is that? Now my name will be on Mars, and on a comet! (I sent my name to Mars last summer). You get a spiffed out certificate, too...
Ah... finally. A "real" assignment. I get to design PawPoint slides for a big NASAexplores presentation. *sigh* The life of an intern is so demanding. *grin*
Quote from an article on FOXNews.com "There's nobody who works at NASA who isn't passionate about it... You work here because you love it, not because it's a paycheck."
Oh yeah... and to quote William (since his blog is password protected):
People that find jokes about what "NASA" really stands for to be funny, need to go somewhere.
and they can take the people that think we should go back to the apollo capsules with them.
I mean really... making jokes about NASA and the Columbia Disaster at this point is a little out of place... A lot out of place. Maybe in a couple of years, it would be less not-ok (it may never be ok)... but right now, when emotions are still raw? You cannot forget the fact that seven people died... seven people who had families... not nameless robots. People. Like me.
And Apollo capsules were not only less efficient, they were still dangerous. and they barely fit three people. And we threw them away after every mission. And started over. Go back to the dark ages where you belong.
This is more or less in response to Brian's latest post... a slightly more personal take on how and why Columbia affected me.
The reason the Columbia disaster affected me so much is because NASA is now, and probably always will be, a signifiant part of my life. NASA is my current job... will probably be Chad's job... and my well be my future job. So anything that potentially hurts NASA, also hurts me, and my family, and affects me as a person. Eveyone I know in Huntsville works in some way with NASA... and for this reason, also affects me.
The Shuttle is a legend... almost sacred. People talk about all our successes, and all of the experiments done in space... and very seldom do we bring up the times that things went wrong... Challenger, and before the Shuttle system, Apollo I. Astronauts are national heros... kids look up to them... Wow, you fly the Shuttle? It's an awesome thing to see... and it's and awesome thing to see launch. And a terrifying sight when somehting goes wrong...
Seven people unexpectedly dying doing something that people you love aspire to do is enough to shake you up a bit... given ten more years and a little bit different set of circumstances, and I could have been waiting out on that runway for Chad to land. I cannot imagine what those families are going through right now...
I'll admit, the feeling while watching the news broadcasts was not the same as 9-11. It wasn't a feeling of terror, where will be struck next, who are these monstors... yada yada... it was a feeling of horror... How could this be happening? what went wrong? Challenger again? A feeling that made you call out Dear God... but left you with no words to follow it. Columbia, unlike 9-11, will not cause classes to be cancelled, or tests to be postponed... but, like 9-11 and Challenger, and the Kennedy assasination... it will be seared into the hearts of everyone who heard about it. We will all know where we were, and what we were thinking when it happened... and hope nothing like it ever happens again.
We lost the Shuttle. For a great deal of time this morning, they didn't know where it was... but it's gone. Columbia is no more. There were no survivors.
What caused it? No one knows, as of yet, but rumors are flying. The media is having a field day... talking about possible terrorist attack, problems with the Shuttle transportation system in general, debris falling from the sky, human remains... until you can't figure out what happened or what's going to happen...
So what does this mean? It means seven people lost their lives... Six of the seven astronauts were married, and five of them had children.
it means NASA will halt for a time while they figure out what went wrong... it may mean a lot of things. Again, rumors are flying. I haven't decided what I think is going to happen... I'm still in shock.
I remember Challenger... unlike most people my age (I was three). I lived in Orlando... I remember seeing it on TV... over and over and over... and not understanding exactly what was going on, but seeing my mother cry... and crying for the pictures to go away... I remember the first time Discovery launched, everyone holding their breath to see if it would make it... and being so excited when it reached orbit. The space program has always been something my family kept track of.... And so my mother called me this morning and woke me up so I could watch the news... and I called Chad... and watched the news all morning. I even watched the president's speech... which was the best speech i think I've ever heard him give...
Here's the text of the president's speech:
My fellow Americans, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country. At 9:00 a.m. this morning, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with our Space Shuttle Columbia. A short time later, debris was seen falling from the skies above Texas. The Columbia is lost; there are no survivors.
On board was a crew of seven: Colonel Rick Husband; Lt. Colonel Michael Anderson; Commander Laurel Clark; Captain David Brown; Commander William McCool; Dr. Kalpana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon, a Colonel in the Israeli Air Force. These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all humanity.
In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket, and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the Earth. These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will miss them all the more.
All Americans today are thinking, as well, of the families of these men and women who have been given this sudden shock and grief. You're not alone. Our entire nation grieves with you. And those you loved will always have the respect and gratitude of this country.
The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on.
In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."
The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home.
May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.
This is my brain..... in part, at least.
