tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20554551766635422922024-03-09T04:15:27.531-06:00Tranquility BaseTranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-91806562640002233252013-09-24T18:12:00.000-05:002013-09-24T18:12:06.086-05:00Valley Forge on the Moon?This past July, U.S. Congresswomen Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) sponsored an unusual house bill. If passed, H.R. 2617 would designate as National Historical Parks the half dozen Apollo lunar landing sites plus the wreckage of the third stage of Apollo 13's main rocket. Folks seem to think that it's highly unlikely that the bill will ever pass.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZYBrWJacHrV_szfmx5YYESkkSGUtvW5Mp1w6AT5sZLkidkv6dywpKkJi37TpWhYeHpiBrVleEAu52URJo2tn3BwAj4rn5yOW5fGasNw3E9ecqRfVfCgJLvgKh-WJgkAkm-0tpmyJ3wcK/s1600/Apollo+landing+sites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZYBrWJacHrV_szfmx5YYESkkSGUtvW5Mp1w6AT5sZLkidkv6dywpKkJi37TpWhYeHpiBrVleEAu52URJo2tn3BwAj4rn5yOW5fGasNw3E9ecqRfVfCgJLvgKh-WJgkAkm-0tpmyJ3wcK/s400/Apollo+landing+sites.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future parks?<br />
Source: Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.</td></tr>
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The bill's stated aims are to educate the public about the history of the Apollo program, and protect the Apollo sites from meddling by future commercial and scientific missions. The Department of the Interior would be required to draft a plan for the protection of the sites, funded by the federal government or donations from private or foreign entities. The Secretary of the Interior would also be obliged to apply to the United Nations for UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the parks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2anbEpBBYU2NaPeXi4EnhlAlE0tL7nWveDz2LPesfcXQBjvpKt94VieVWkB2FS4U6F_RcFHHPWiRoxWiFxnMJdJKJxC5rG4rBpj1BEGWPy1OpM77enEXie75ei-qoyGx1iFINPBrALAlR/s1600/Dengfeng.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2anbEpBBYU2NaPeXi4EnhlAlE0tL7nWveDz2LPesfcXQBjvpKt94VieVWkB2FS4U6F_RcFHHPWiRoxWiFxnMJdJKJxC5rG4rBpj1BEGWPy1OpM77enEXie75ei-qoyGx1iFINPBrALAlR/s400/Dengfeng.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Apollo sites wouldn't be the first space-related UNESCO sites. <br />
The Chinese Dengfeng Observatory was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.<br />
Source: UNESCO.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7o6pzYv-7cW7GR47HOVHlbhQBEyf-VjvqK3-ThqlIwhVrO6kXfEff2F3E2Yma2j9kS53LLB6SQ9oBw6ItnGRnHlr5PS2lUpm3EYaCZE3u2-mg-XiUNf7UKA2hPj5sQ0Iz-7AThauVhpb/s1600/The+Jantar+Mantar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7o6pzYv-7cW7GR47HOVHlbhQBEyf-VjvqK3-ThqlIwhVrO6kXfEff2F3E2Yma2j9kS53LLB6SQ9oBw6ItnGRnHlr5PS2lUpm3EYaCZE3u2-mg-XiUNf7UKA2hPj5sQ0Iz-7AThauVhpb/s400/The+Jantar+Mantar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Earth's other astronomy related UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Observatory at Jantar Mantar, in India.<br />
Source: UNESCO.</td></tr>
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The bill has been criticized from two main angles. First, there's the fact that it wouldn't fund NASA or the U.S. National Park Service to do any of the required activities. The only way you'd end up with park rangers bouncing around on the moon is if someone donated tons of money to the Department of the Interior to make that happen. So the bill couldn't really have a practical effect. Second, if enacted the bill would pretty clearly violate international law and would be unconstitutional. That's because under the national park system's authorizing legislation, national historic parks fall under U.S. federal jurisdiction. So a national park on the moon would be under American control: policed by U.S. park rangers and governed by U.S. federal law, just like Valley Forge National Historical Park.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxc6pWuubRwVPh-z9eg5fjMkjTW7Z2n5mD96KTWvAINe-lkurjN2iWfJXFDuGoDFl56-1Qfh4Yts7XQvPXjNinoK2PNl3za6xenBwTnTUn_FgzMjhx6GdXMWGHFUzYTvVUmcg1nQoSbXu/s1600/Valley+Forge+winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxc6pWuubRwVPh-z9eg5fjMkjTW7Z2n5mD96KTWvAINe-lkurjN2iWfJXFDuGoDFl56-1Qfh4Yts7XQvPXjNinoK2PNl3za6xenBwTnTUn_FgzMjhx6GdXMWGHFUzYTvVUmcg1nQoSbXu/s400/Valley+Forge+winter.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The March to Valley Forge, painted by William Trego, 1883.<br />
Source: Michner Museum.</td></tr>
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Article II of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty is pretty clear on this point: no part of the moon can be subject to the sovereign claim of an Earth nation. The United States has ratified this treaty, and under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, ratified treaties are the supreme law of the land, trumping all federal laws. So that is the end of that. There won't be any legal national parks on the moon unless the Outer Space Treaty changes.<br />
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So why did Reps. Edwards and Johnson bother to propose H.R. 2617 in the first place? I don't think it was just a quirky attempt to claim U.S. sovereignty over the moon. Both women have scientific backgrounds: Rep. Johnson is a registered nurse; Rep. Edwards, an attorney, worked for a NASA contractor before being elected. Both women have campaigned on behalf of NASA and STEM education. Both women sit on the House's Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (Rep. Johnson is the ranking member).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywyTwvY8PFx-fqYW4hbO4RMdt46b5NNjfUkn02HhuUXwtUzb6f4I9Akuhkgfr5IlIxCB6uZgTfIiaCjUZWNCisRFBErgBZ0rKVI_88lW5YcHybwAkfcqYyCX7gAlB6E-6gk5SO12cH4_R/s1600/Representative+Donna+Edwards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywyTwvY8PFx-fqYW4hbO4RMdt46b5NNjfUkn02HhuUXwtUzb6f4I9Akuhkgfr5IlIxCB6uZgTfIiaCjUZWNCisRFBErgBZ0rKVI_88lW5YcHybwAkfcqYyCX7gAlB6E-6gk5SO12cH4_R/s400/Representative+Donna+Edwards.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rep. Edwards.<br />
Source: Raw Story.</td></tr>
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Creating an unconstitutional park wouldn't be Rep. Edwards' first foray into illegality in support of a cause she cares about. Back in 2009 she and several other congresspeople chose to be arrested protesting at the Sudanese Embassy, in order to draw attention to genocide in Darfur.<br />
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So, what was the true aim of H.R. 2617? As I mentioned, aside from protecting the Apollo sites, H.R. 2617's stated goal was to educate the public about the Apollo program. The Washington Post, CNN, and many other mainstream news outlets covered the story of H.R. 2617 and the Apollo sites. So maybe Rep. Edwards accomplished at least half of the aim of the bill, without it even passing? And at no cost to taxpayers, beyond the expense of writing an 8 page long bill!<br />
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Sources: Discovery; H.R. 2617; 16 U.S.C. 1a-5; U.S. Constitution; Wikipedia; the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-74268366269735073742013-09-13T09:56:00.000-05:002014-01-07T15:23:53.151-06:00Salvage Law in the Space AgeMuch of the Apollo hardware that brought astronauts to the moon never returned to the Earth. Pieces of Saturn V rockets and <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-wasnt-apollo-10-first-mission-to.html">one lunar module</a> are orbiting the Earth or Sun, having been jettisoned <i>en route </i>to and from the Moon. One such example is the "mystery object," J002E3. It's a piece of space junk that NASA is pretty certain must be the third stage of Apollo 12's Saturn V rocket. Discovered by an amateur astronomer in 2002, it was originally assumed to be just another asteroid. But then astronomers charted its crazy orbit for a little over a year:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgve-ws1X6y5CtYLvSyKHiRAMlZeQoFmfuvKs1nrUR59tcnnpqMscipH-bul2h91-9RsLdMg-si9mqhiV_fG04RBQyaoc9VAwBwrBT44gzk3oEocPS-nh-JzAVyLOCvTh64TeU12w8VD__l/s1600/j002e3d+gif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgve-ws1X6y5CtYLvSyKHiRAMlZeQoFmfuvKs1nrUR59tcnnpqMscipH-bul2h91-9RsLdMg-si9mqhiV_fG04RBQyaoc9VAwBwrBT44gzk3oEocPS-nh-JzAVyLOCvTh64TeU12w8VD__l/s400/j002e3d+gif.gif" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asked if J002E3 might be an alien spaceship, a NASA official responded, "if it is, the aliens aren't good pilots."<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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And they realized that the object must have been captured by Earth's gravity relatively recently; an orbit like that wouldn't persist over a long period of time. Further, a reading of the spectrum of sunlight reflected off J002E3 indicated it was white... in fact, painted white with the titanium dioxide based paint that was used on the Saturn Vs. Calculating its orbital pattern back in time indicated that it had likely entered an unstable Earth orbit sometime around 1971. But since all Apollo 13 and 14 hardware is accounted for,* it seemed it must be from a slightly earlier flight.<br />
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* There's a chance it's one of the panels that covered the Apollo 14 lunar module <i>en route</i> to the moon, but the color is wrong so probably not.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX90bQP4OEXaer_MN5gOw-k9AJ1Vr_54zlFRFr4j6c55TN0_aPxbt8nhFE5dmAgJiR6JbX6Um_yA6ejqsGzUDCOjTud94jREIhRLUHpdFxHzIqU1-yTtn52kMoWgCGSJY5LiReg7Gkm_hv/s1600/Apollo+V+rocket+3rd+stage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX90bQP4OEXaer_MN5gOw-k9AJ1Vr_54zlFRFr4j6c55TN0_aPxbt8nhFE5dmAgJiR6JbX6Um_yA6ejqsGzUDCOjTud94jREIhRLUHpdFxHzIqU1-yTtn52kMoWgCGSJY5LiReg7Gkm_hv/s400/Apollo+V+rocket+3rd+stage.jpg" height="400" width="321" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apollo 12: the bit orbiting the Earth.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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That's how NASA concluded that J002E3 is most likely the third stage of Apollo 12's Saturn V. But why did that rocket end up as a mystery object in an erratic orbit? The Apollo 12 mission plan was for the astronauts to jettison the nearly used up third stage on the way to the moon. After jettisoning it, Mission Control would remotely triggered the stage to ignite and burn up the last little bit of remaining fuel, powering the rocket into a stable solar orbit. Something must have gone wrong with that final burn, and this is the result.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyg9XfILyFd8ZeyNr8BTeXCyGmOt-s7wH2QfZEVarTiheWaBxbCW2FL3Je1R5aHUpJStcXoDpg5PIPwiWruFLb_FBGRqiMKPIdWgpGx2elFBGPQ3PLg6BiG7E4i-q-4hodSqwL3edyTdt/s1600/Saturn+V+on+the+launch+pad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyg9XfILyFd8ZeyNr8BTeXCyGmOt-s7wH2QfZEVarTiheWaBxbCW2FL3Je1R5aHUpJStcXoDpg5PIPwiWruFLb_FBGRqiMKPIdWgpGx2elFBGPQ3PLg6BiG7E4i-q-4hodSqwL3edyTdt/s400/Saturn+V+on+the+launch+pad.jpg" height="400" width="373" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apollo 13, on the launch pad.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Reading about this Apollo relic got me thinking: what would happen if an interplanetary salvage crew towed the third stage back to Earth to sell it to the highest bidder? Apollo artifacts bring good money, especially those that actually flew in space. Once commercial spaceflight really gets underway, what is stopping folks from salvaging and selling Apollo gear left in outer space? Well, it turns out that would be illegal... Apollo-era rocket parts left in outer space are the property of the U.S. government.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90yzGU9gMzHo6maQAPmw-IW1gTsav9wBI5mRPr_-Oerplmn8ab4657YmWbHoyYuUHKMftbc6sqbNOEhEpyYGry41cMYIPEA3tznBbk7FtCq8yq8hRdM1kYYiKSWV9k86OKWNMJjKYPR_x/s1600/F1+rocket+nozzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90yzGU9gMzHo6maQAPmw-IW1gTsav9wBI5mRPr_-Oerplmn8ab4657YmWbHoyYuUHKMftbc6sqbNOEhEpyYGry41cMYIPEA3tznBbk7FtCq8yq8hRdM1kYYiKSWV9k86OKWNMJjKYPR_x/s400/F1+rocket+nozzle.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An F-1 rocket nozzle on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.<br />
Source: Bezos Expeditions.</td></tr>
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A few months ago Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sponsored a space age fishing expedition: Bezos Expeditions located, and then salvaged, parts of Apollo 11's engines from the Atlantic Ocean. These engines ("F-1" engines), powered the first stage of the Saturn V rocket that propelled Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon. News accounts of the marine salvage operation (which was no small feat- the engines recovered were more than three miles underwater!) noted that the engines were still U.S. government property. That's clearly true under international law: Article VIII of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which the United States has ratified, states that objects launched into space remain the property of the treaty signatory state that originally registered the object. This is true regardless of where the property is located.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30L5g0t4u5UDwCWYUsRpypnSt3q6dEXJ_d7JN_8WzEvPTcfdQ9MPCfKFmqpe-1Bz-wP2VTjc-6_PXalJME0HyR53Voj7L4zn6Zx8et9fLJvznQzoHQ_9E3ynnU2drTDHjAptiO2g405yb/s1600/Cleaning+off+the+F1+rocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30L5g0t4u5UDwCWYUsRpypnSt3q6dEXJ_d7JN_8WzEvPTcfdQ9MPCfKFmqpe-1Bz-wP2VTjc-6_PXalJME0HyR53Voj7L4zn6Zx8et9fLJvznQzoHQ_9E3ynnU2drTDHjAptiO2g405yb/s400/Cleaning+off+the+F1+rocket.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning off an F-1 Rocket.<br />
Source: Bezos Expeditions.</td></tr>
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The Apollo relics that Bezos recovered are also U.S. government property under maritime law. Since NASA didn't abandon its claim to the F-1 rockets, they are still NASA property, even under several miles of water. This principle was recognized in U.S. federal court, in a case before a U.S. Court of Appeals in 1992 (<i>U.S. v. Richard Steinmetz</i> 973 F.2d 212 (3rd Cir. N.J. 1992)). The court held that the bell recovered off a sunken Confederate States of America warship remained property of the United States, even after it was salvaged from the wreck.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OTSqwdVGrj9m1ideyiY7gAOxIOVCLU5zJgA1X4W2rOYs6cOvtEBea7g7aZKZRNnbhzPQR2lbMjwl1mA0LCsRvZ9hJ3XYtwaHc3Ombl20Mn6piI60LYliKs89t-hYp35v1de2uF4iFlxX/s1600/Saturn+V+parts+under+the+Altantic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OTSqwdVGrj9m1ideyiY7gAOxIOVCLU5zJgA1X4W2rOYs6cOvtEBea7g7aZKZRNnbhzPQR2lbMjwl1mA0LCsRvZ9hJ3XYtwaHc3Ombl20Mn6piI60LYliKs89t-hYp35v1de2uF4iFlxX/s400/Saturn+V+parts+under+the+Altantic.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of a Saturn V rocket.<br />
Source: Bezos Expeditions.</td></tr>
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The decision's author, Judge Dolores Sloviter, seems at times to be making only a modest effort to reign in her excitement at writing on such a Clive Cussler worthy topic. Her opinion <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/973/212/386226/">(available here</a>, and definitely worth a read) delves enthusiastically into the full tale of the warship, the C.S.S. Alabama. It's quite a story!<br />
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From 1862-1864, the C.S.S. Alabama roamed the seven seas, sinking Union merchant ships. Then she was sunk in battle off the coast of France in 1864. Her bell was recovered by a British wreck diver in the 1930s, who sold it to a London pub, in exchange for unlimited drinking privileges. A few years later, the pub was destroyed in the blitz. When the bell was dug up from the rubble of the pub, it was sold and resold a few times before ending up in the possession of the antiques dealer who became the target of the U.S. government's lawsuit.<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWUAuTgAGzJq1V1aZ5RcNhAructzOxrkbala0zYRGvy8EdY1LRLYNxc1l8bRCs6xYqqlGymVj5w9U96wmpKQDrigfIq4ttNq4WSyMD2zePBp-YuzOLUl912SoXXauVb3BtN-o3ibocmTH/s1600/%C3%89douard_Manet-Kearsarge-Alabama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWUAuTgAGzJq1V1aZ5RcNhAructzOxrkbala0zYRGvy8EdY1LRLYNxc1l8bRCs6xYqqlGymVj5w9U96wmpKQDrigfIq4ttNq4WSyMD2zePBp-YuzOLUl912SoXXauVb3BtN-o3ibocmTH/s400/%C3%89douard_Manet-Kearsarge-Alabama.jpg" height="400" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French impressionist Edouard Manet painted the scene of the Alabama's final battle.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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As for Judge Sloviter's legal analysis... her conclusion is firmly rooted in maritime law and longtime international practice. The United States government (the successor to the bell's original owner, the Confederate States of America) did not deliberately abandon the wreck and bell. Previous Supreme Court cases had held that some explicit statement of abandonment, maybe even congressional action, is necessary for the U.S. government to relinquish legal ownership. Since no abandonment occurred, the bell remained federal property.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8EMyk62JIoWS25s7ALyHv2dxOZwvbPbFlAOreTG4iBj7JxdK0npCumc7F2t_q9m9K33o8uwhj6HGPoMqGqGRWHrm8L0PV5eYm1a1Xc6CKPIcUAgQW6oqW65z5z91KC2Y0BSPGGoE87db/s1600/C.S.S.+Alabama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8EMyk62JIoWS25s7ALyHv2dxOZwvbPbFlAOreTG4iBj7JxdK0npCumc7F2t_q9m9K33o8uwhj6HGPoMqGqGRWHrm8L0PV5eYm1a1Xc6CKPIcUAgQW6oqW65z5z91KC2Y0BSPGGoE87db/s400/C.S.S.+Alabama.jpg" height="307" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C.S.S. Alabama. It looks like a sailing ship, but it also had a steam-driven propeller.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Judge Sloviter goes on to explain that maritime salvage law isn't always quite that simple; older U.S. naval vessels (i.e., pre-Civil War era ships) are sometimes considered abandoned because of the long passage of time. But U.S. government property that was sunk in oceans after 1860 is pretty clearly still U.S. government property.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnfrD3XAzT05aAG5r1aZnntIgV_uzrwWW2LpU0d5n2lQBJlMxcDdOoXc2mVSo-oPVxoZwuzJitXvhTyqEYKxIQeJMUbmPpbqLO6TzGyOpL3nFhOTKc0Db7XHrX-uRHST2lbWhC7H4anWU/s1600/Apollo+11+landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnfrD3XAzT05aAG5r1aZnntIgV_uzrwWW2LpU0d5n2lQBJlMxcDdOoXc2mVSo-oPVxoZwuzJitXvhTyqEYKxIQeJMUbmPpbqLO6TzGyOpL3nFhOTKc0Db7XHrX-uRHST2lbWhC7H4anWU/s400/Apollo+11+landing.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apollo 11, post-splashdown.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So, under international law and maritime law, all Apollo hardware launched into space is U.S. government property, regardless of where it eventually ends up. Does that mean the U.S. National Park Service can set up a new national park on the moon, preserving for posterity the Apollo landing sites? I will answer that question in my next post! :-)<br />
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Sources: Bezos Expeditions; The Space Review; <i>U.S. v. Richard Steinmetz</i> 973 F.2d 212 (3rd Cir. N.J. 1992); 1967 Outer Space Treaty; NASA.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-34144303616909097532013-08-29T22:40:00.001-05:002013-08-30T14:39:13.079-05:00Wet Feet or Dry Feet?There seems to be an endless supply of bizarre legal questions involving jurisdiction and outer space. Here's a particularly William Gibson-esque scenario: The world's first Cuban cosmonaut, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, launched into orbit in 1980 aboard Soyuz 38. The U.S. had no functional, manned spaceships in 1980... but imagine it had. What if Cosmonaut Méndez had donned a jet pack and flew from the Soyuz over to an American spaceship? On arrival, could he have claimed asylum in the United States under the "wet feet, dry feet" policy?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QRRDjvbeZPrFcaf02b0zOIBUvB4ALgrNIVGK6r68zpEFlPsSYY6k7fcwyVlorbKmAfIil1afHstpreJvgZX6aSzc8P47ekcbbUG5o0MSR5pI9E4rKv-VAKcqBMsE56y305B03PqnyTc7/s1600/Soyuz+38+crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QRRDjvbeZPrFcaf02b0zOIBUvB4ALgrNIVGK6r68zpEFlPsSYY6k7fcwyVlorbKmAfIil1afHstpreJvgZX6aSzc8P47ekcbbUG5o0MSR5pI9E4rKv-VAKcqBMsE56y305B03PqnyTc7/s400/Soyuz+38+crew.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew of Soyuz 38, pre-launch.<br />
Source: Scoop News.</td></tr>
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Here's what I mean by "wet feet, dry feet": apparently Cubans seeking asylum in the United States are treated differently than other nationalities under U.S. immigration law<span style="background-color: white;">. It seems they are generally eligible to apply for asylum by virtue of the fact that they are Cuban; there is no need to provide detailed documentation of persecution. But, the Cuban must reach the United States before claiming asylum. Un</span>der a 1992 Executive Order, Cubans intercepted on boats <i>en route </i>to the United States are repatriated. But under federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1225), a Cuban who "arrives in the United States" can apply for asylum. So a Cuban who makes it to shore in the U.S. (or arrives at the U.S. border) can apply for asylum.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiClwLnaiqU1wmShkhxzwMsGQcDgdpKBMScVnK0muwdgYmmAGW3colvwvrpdiW0C80tJHryaY-f2zz3oqeOGh3TRxTOrGKksOi4J1r_AcObqfAFKq5X17__K7qUn9zY66DdaU1iQxYhMl/s1600/The+Vinales+Valley,+Cuba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiClwLnaiqU1wmShkhxzwMsGQcDgdpKBMScVnK0muwdgYmmAGW3colvwvrpdiW0C80tJHryaY-f2zz3oqeOGh3TRxTOrGKksOi4J1r_AcObqfAFKq5X17__K7qUn9zY66DdaU1iQxYhMl/s400/The+Vinales+Valley,+Cuba.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Vinales Valley, Cuba.<br />
Source: Get in Travel.</td></tr>
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What counts as arriving in the United States? Under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Article VII, countries have jurisdiction over the objects they launch into space. The United States has ratified this treaty. Would Cosmonaut Méndez, safely aboard Skylab or a Space Shuttle, have "arrived in the United States" within the meaning of federal law?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUh8OkEEwEW9LITgujnXkx1ArHwJ3rXnKbps1E66wEzKFkMiM9RQ4H9I0dsT77O-29KvccOerY-qeftNdkTiFjNqGJH1ZKXWAo29tOrD504QmYviyZ1EgkrYIwQY-EJ0eGx8v26SU0xQ2c/s1600/Negotiating+the+Outer+Space+Treaty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUh8OkEEwEW9LITgujnXkx1ArHwJ3rXnKbps1E66wEzKFkMiM9RQ4H9I0dsT77O-29KvccOerY-qeftNdkTiFjNqGJH1ZKXWAo29tOrD504QmYviyZ1EgkrYIwQY-EJ0eGx8v26SU0xQ2c/s400/Negotiating+the+Outer+Space+Treaty.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Negotiating the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: United Nations.</span></div>
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Of course, I haven't seen any evidence that Cosmonaut Méndez would have been remotely interested in testing this legal theory. Soyuz 38 landed safely in Kazakhstan after a little over seven days in orbit. Cosmonaut Méndez is now a retired Brigadier General, still living in Cuba. In 2011, the newly opened Havana Planetarium held an event in his honor, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the historic flight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtbhsRUQn8KrkwSgk6ayYkjvFc9-xiK51T_zNftfjSSSUa9Ol8PJD7B6BZqyFRt_BEt4WLF7IpXFsOjZDDrerXzvQu6imxe8TKtE5KgpodnGCAUD0Y951SSnCyH9AxnZM9tGHZHHhv8vm/s1600/Havana+Planetarium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtbhsRUQn8KrkwSgk6ayYkjvFc9-xiK51T_zNftfjSSSUa9Ol8PJD7B6BZqyFRt_BEt4WLF7IpXFsOjZDDrerXzvQu6imxe8TKtE5KgpodnGCAUD0Y951SSnCyH9AxnZM9tGHZHHhv8vm/s400/Havana+Planetarium.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Havana Planetarium.<br />
Source: Juventud T<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">é</span></span>cnica.</td></tr>
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But based on a 2006 federal court decision, we have some idea of how this bizarre hypothetical would play out. In 2006, 15 Cuban refugees (including two children) made the perilous sea voyage from Cuba to the Florida Keys, landing on an abandoned bridge before being discovered by the U.S. Coast Guard. Seven Mile Bridge no longer fully linked to land, though it was still owned by a Florida state agency. The Coast Guard claimed that the Cubans had "wet feet" since the bridge was an "artificial structure without its own territorial sea." The Coast Guard supported its position with a 1907 court decision that defined landing in the U.S. as coming to the shore from a boat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEeMTMUz08Nd2N5_-PYUI1Cy8K6Pr23Y2eKqYnq84xgqV4qbj_1Rat2ZZt3C8Qp6037Zokfnw8JbSzNUnKinSH_-PaY9-e6hA8YmVMsur2UtQCRWsZQec6GXn3fn_7onxz1ptaK1oTmGB/s1600/Seven+Mile+Bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEeMTMUz08Nd2N5_-PYUI1Cy8K6Pr23Y2eKqYnq84xgqV4qbj_1Rat2ZZt3C8Qp6037Zokfnw8JbSzNUnKinSH_-PaY9-e6hA8YmVMsur2UtQCRWsZQec6GXn3fn_7onxz1ptaK1oTmGB/s400/Seven+Mile+Bridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seven Mile Bridge.<br />
Source: Lonely Planet.</td></tr>
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But when the case was appealed to federal court the judge decided differently: arriving at Seven Mile Bridge counted as arriving in the United States; the Cubans were eligible for visas.* The judge noted that the U.S. Coast Guard's website even states that reaching rocks or bridges or piers suffices; just because a bridge is not connected to land did not mean it is not the United States. Fourteen of the fifteen Cubans chose to apply for asylum. For them, an extremely difficult journey has hopefully had a happy ending.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZrvW0hijSOBah9IQT6Yd96YiUmRcSUQSAC80R-g8nwGFdOgdW_2p8n4Lm8LJDEod5Xdet7zKKarZhghYkmbVuccP7SKUZnxf5KbRjUTjnIjC1xn-SAu1c7WIfjepDBnrzrUsFT9ZSBOC/s1600/Seven+Mile+Bridge+-+old+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZrvW0hijSOBah9IQT6Yd96YiUmRcSUQSAC80R-g8nwGFdOgdW_2p8n4Lm8LJDEod5Xdet7zKKarZhghYkmbVuccP7SKUZnxf5KbRjUTjnIjC1xn-SAu1c7WIfjepDBnrzrUsFT9ZSBOC/s400/Seven+Mile+Bridge+-+old+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seven Mile Bridge, back when it was new.<br />
Source: Friends of Old Seven.</td></tr>
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* = The judge added a bizarre footnote to the decision: if you've seen the Arnold Schwarzenegger film <i>True Lies</i>, you've Seven Mile Bridge get blown up! Apparently the movie producers rebuilt the missing part, reconnecting it to land, <u>just so they could blow it up for the movie</u>(!) So for a few weeks in 1993, Cubans could have landed on the bridge and applied for asylum without any legal dispute.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt21NYH7j9EV2unO6NiNAMQN7MMX3E_GlAnFhjrk9tGUDlNfD9SUDjRRJzk74ecGMs_dxE-NBXZKhC2TivWL_GPvFIfxyeohkX5HoS7PpT_voRogfEdRrmeMAo7qtPQUfgPK3gzrNFO7n/s1600/Cuba+street+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt21NYH7j9EV2unO6NiNAMQN7MMX3E_GlAnFhjrk9tGUDlNfD9SUDjRRJzk74ecGMs_dxE-NBXZKhC2TivWL_GPvFIfxyeohkX5HoS7PpT_voRogfEdRrmeMAo7qtPQUfgPK3gzrNFO7n/s400/Cuba+street+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Havana.<br />
Source: Top Travel Lists.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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While it presents an interesting set of facts, the Seven Mile Bridge case is sobering, isn't it? It's terribly frightening to imagine being one of the fifteen people on that bridge. At best, you are starting over in a new country where you don't speak the language, don't have a job, don't know anyone. You many not get see your family and friends back home again for years, or decades, or ever. At worst, you could be sent home, facing danger, and having spent all your savings, risked your life, and endured God knows what to reach the United States.<br />
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<b>Sources:</b> <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2007/10/01/4377142-more-cubans-arriving-with-a-dusty-foot?lite">This compelling news story</a> describes the plight of a few relatively fortunate Cuban asylum seekers, giving a human dimension to a political issue. Additionally, I drew on 8 USC § 1225; Latinamericanstudies.org; <i>Movimiento Democracia, Inc. v. Chertoff</i>, 417 F. Supp. 2d 1343, 1344 (S.D. Fla. 2006); Executive Order 12807 (1992); the 1967 Outer Space Treaty; and Wikipedia.<br />
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<b>Disclaimer: </b>This blog does not constitute legal advice, or form an attorney-client relationship.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-8637810405501148142013-07-08T18:31:00.000-05:002013-07-11T10:26:27.575-05:00Carnival of Space, Week #309!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Welcome to the 309th Carnival of Space! This is my fifth time hosting the Carnival; you can find my first Carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/carnival-of-space-271.html" style="color: #e06666; text-decoration: none;">here</a>, my second carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/carnival-of-space-284.html" style="color: #e06666; text-decoration: none;">here</a>, my third carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/carnival-of-space-week-292.html" style="color: #e06666; text-decoration: none;">here</a>, and my fourth carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/carnival-of-space-week-299.html">here</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The Carnival is a weekly round-up of space stories from around the internet. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">If you've got a space-related blog, you too can join the Carnival of Space. Email carnivalofspace at gmail dot com to host, share a story you wrote, and to get to know other space bloggers!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzTHX_5nYVpTXu8W23EMOa_OFTsimiy0cdmbQTixKkpu3ICAryaNmkVk_8oMg9NPANpVSTeFgu_rwYIa83T098yzBq11ZpMbkvTw8CODMPo0luZkfXTVpvNT0AfFh7Zd0qB7olts01W1d/s1600/Vintage+rocket+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzTHX_5nYVpTXu8W23EMOa_OFTsimiy0cdmbQTixKkpu3ICAryaNmkVk_8oMg9NPANpVSTeFgu_rwYIa83T098yzBq11ZpMbkvTw8CODMPo0luZkfXTVpvNT0AfFh7Zd0qB7olts01W1d/s400/Vintage+rocket+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: darkroastedblend.com.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.urban-astronomer.com/">Urban Astronomer</a> shares news of <a href="http://www.urban-astronomer.com/Urban-Astronomer-Updates/scopex2013">Scopex 2013</a>, a telescope and astronomy expo starting July 20th in Johannesburg, South Africa. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Next Big Future</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> features a recently released study demonstrating</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> that the number of potentially habitable planets orbiting red dwarfs may be </span><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/07/larger-habitable-zone-suggests-60.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">double what we previously believed</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Also over at </span>Next Big Future<span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> there's news from the United Kingdom: funding proposals are moving forward for a super-fast, prototype rocket plane, the </span><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/06/skylon-spaceplane-full-prototype-engine.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Skylon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #00002e;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://chandra.si.edu/">Chandra X-Ray Observatory</a> has posted some <a href="http://www.chandra.si.edu/blog/node/445">dazzling photos of supernovas</a>, along with a few interesting facts that scientists have learned about these explosions.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3qoCCPA3Mx7mbJyxE98Abbq4z06ACDdIGsve8ffM_AunoUQBnaUIJfhN0CrV3EXOGQ5BL-WUDGT6Le3pIO_S3J04s5ojuxeXK7DaKVJRekKFOpn_H-vJP7mbUzQQXRhePgcHnz3yao7Y/s1600/Vintage+rocket+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3qoCCPA3Mx7mbJyxE98Abbq4z06ACDdIGsve8ffM_AunoUQBnaUIJfhN0CrV3EXOGQ5BL-WUDGT6Le3pIO_S3J04s5ojuxeXK7DaKVJRekKFOpn_H-vJP7mbUzQQXRhePgcHnz3yao7Y/s400/Vintage+rocket+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: darkroastedblend.com.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #00002e;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">We've found some <a href="http://themeridianijournal.com/2013/06/more-of-those-weird-bubbles-seen-by-curiosity-rover/">odd new rocks on Mars</a>... the <a href="http://themeridianijournal.com/">Meridiani Journal</a> shares photos and speculation on these "weird bubble" formations.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/">Astroblog</a> features some <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/images-from-saturday-nights-aurora.html">beautiful photos of the Aurora Australis</a> taken last month in Australia and Tasmania. </span></span><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Astroblog also shares the names of </span><a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/plutos-newest-moons-named-now-get-them.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Pluto's most recently discovered moons</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">, and features a story on the </span><a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/asteroid-5099-iainbanks-with-celestia.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Asteroid 5099 Iainbanks</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">!</span><br />
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.thevenustransit.com/">The Venus Transit</a> recalls the history of <a href="http://www.thevenustransit.com/2013/07/israel-first-satellite.html">Israel's first satellite launch</a>, which occurred 52 years ago last week.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/">Universe Today</a> reports that there's<a href="http://www.universetoday.com/103311/avalanche-risk-higher-than-thought-for-asteroid-landings-study/"> a risk that landing a spacecraft on an asteroid could create an avalanche</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.fi/">Links Through Space</a> shares news of the <a href="http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.fi/2013/07/european-week-of-astronomy-and-space.html">European Week of Astronomy and Space Science</a>. It's the annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society, occurring this week in Finland!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1i2NxvlsoEZj7iVKvgx_ZbQINyRDJ63lsLlYCEOTSTFXRZBTmMmpWQbJyi_dwViPPpJipxlsdSpQTD20LUU9AvoASDx7q6pk5Z9fLMJltwFdat990xzc_T_PMOP7Yk_06kILZvXJkse5M/s1600/vintage+rockets+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1i2NxvlsoEZj7iVKvgx_ZbQINyRDJ63lsLlYCEOTSTFXRZBTmMmpWQbJyi_dwViPPpJipxlsdSpQTD20LUU9AvoASDx7q6pk5Z9fLMJltwFdat990xzc_T_PMOP7Yk_06kILZvXJkse5M/s400/vintage+rockets+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Tumblr.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Thanks to all of this week's excellent posters! Stay tuned for next week's Carnival, over at the <a href="http://www.chandra.si.edu/">Chandra X-Ray Observatory Blog</a>...</span></span>Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-25087228356829777832013-05-27T14:55:00.000-05:002013-05-28T10:16:31.760-05:00Do You Need to Wear a Spacesuit on the Moon?Surprisingly, no! With a few caveats: you'll have to wear warm socks and shoes, a mask hooked up to an oxygen supply, and you better keep on the dark side of the moon (or the shadows of the light side). You won't be comfortable... but the temperature, radiation, and vacuum won't kill you immediately.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnI20NnPjgs-VmgMHvAu_Xv_LW-M1REiWPAYhjZPG4ztaDLSXhJ9LgvoG2rLDyi9NjZjVQ1a1J0FH2kFugE8S7ns_uww_SuoXveQ4QwZIcks0zoNyQ3yNFKj6zQ7Wp2qn05q-K93X5PCd/s1600/DSC_1778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnI20NnPjgs-VmgMHvAu_Xv_LW-M1REiWPAYhjZPG4ztaDLSXhJ9LgvoG2rLDyi9NjZjVQ1a1J0FH2kFugE8S7ns_uww_SuoXveQ4QwZIcks0zoNyQ3yNFKj6zQ7Wp2qn05q-K93X5PCd/s400/DSC_1778.JPG" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil Armstrong, partially suited up.<br />
From a stain glass panel at the Naval Museum in Valparaiso, Chile.</td></tr>
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Since the moon doesn't really have an atmosphere, there's nothing insulating its surface from wild temperature swings. It gets as cold as nearly -250 Fahrenheit in shadow or on the dark side and up to nearly 225 Fahrenheit in t<span style="background-color: white;">he sun. On Earth, either extreme would quickly be fatal to an unprotected human. And on the light side of the moon, heat radiating from the sun would be dangerous. But the dark side of the moon is a different story. In the near-vacuum of space, your body is far slower loosing heat than here on Earth, because there is no air to conduct heat away from your body. That's why -250 Fahrenheit in the near-vacuum of space would not feel horribly cold. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">However, if you touched anything at the ambient temperature of the dark side of the moon, you'd feel quite a chill, because matter will conduct heat efficiently, unlike the vacuum. So, you'd just need to wear boots with well-insulated soles, otherwise the bottoms of your feet would quickly freeze and would conduct away heat from the rest of your body too. Well-insulated gloves would also be a good idea if you plan to pick up any moon rocks!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcEBuXfMloJAAHq1J0WUee9sb3d4tdd85OA15T9pArie6ctixzjbSuVC61SFhVuhup52UCUgUscjz173cN3Joaxw5r6qZp-Er18w9zjoq7Sxefq8NbHJgmWF87lePpdt9LtjmIHF-xC_r/s1600/Astronauts+geology+training.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcEBuXfMloJAAHq1J0WUee9sb3d4tdd85OA15T9pArie6ctixzjbSuVC61SFhVuhup52UCUgUscjz173cN3Joaxw5r6qZp-Er18w9zjoq7Sxefq8NbHJgmWF87lePpdt9LtjmIHF-xC_r/s400/Astronauts+geology+training.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Al Bean, Neil Armstrong, and Roger Chafee completing pre-mission geology training.<br />
You could dress like that on the dark side of the moon! (For a while at least...)<br />
Source: senior-crown.tumblr.com.</td></tr>
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As long as you can breathe, the vacuum does not pose as big a risk to the rest of your body as you might think. We regularly experience changes in air pressure here on Earth, by swimming underwater or climbing a mountain or flying in a plane. Walking around in an absolute vacuum would draw fluid to your skin, breaking some small blood vessels at the surface and bloating you. But in the short term, you wouldn't inflate like a balloon or explode or anything gross, you'd just look puffy and feel uncomfortable.<br />
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Preferably, your breathing apparatus would cover your eyes, nose, and mouth. Otherwise the moisture in your eyes, nose, and mouth would evaporate quickly into the vacuum. And, your exposed skin would dry out uncomfortably. Eventually, radiation would become a concern, too.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyREaNdBbW7p34Tmlww-kmjGY_HNZznGzcNaEa_zxWWcRQjPAWLfafkYuEg5WKUuKT8ICxqfR-hdbL7GH_mru7h8FnBovRnKn4HEItWJ1iBNAEek09_jDHQk6Y6wBqefnrKqNuES-51vDB/s1600/Joe+Kittinger+jump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyREaNdBbW7p34Tmlww-kmjGY_HNZznGzcNaEa_zxWWcRQjPAWLfafkYuEg5WKUuKT8ICxqfR-hdbL7GH_mru7h8FnBovRnKn4HEItWJ1iBNAEek09_jDHQk6Y6wBqefnrKqNuES-51vDB/s400/Joe+Kittinger+jump.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During a record-breaking high-altitude jump, Colonel Joe Kittinger 's right suit glove depressurized in near-vacuum.<br />
His hand didn't explode, but it did swell up painfully.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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So for all those reasons, and because anyone in sunlight would overheat without insulation, astronauts on the moon or on spacewalks wear spacesuits. These bulky, heavy, mobility-limiting pressurized suits (including life support systems, the typically extravehicular activity suit weighs over 300 pounds!) insulate astronauts as they move between shadows and sun. They also provide some radiation protection, and they prevent skin from swelling up uncomfortably.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2vkrlHo4ujN9fL9QthG2urtWarcxJOT69kxo4KpxtiuwGWW4DjoNCQjaTmyMjYLaOQPa1nNDSc8ifiu2vv1KMDbLqZGH2vttc7ygeSjaM8K0pOTFZ70XxbGUttvTywUpCPbxXLwt6XWjR/s1600/Hard+space+suit+by+Litton+Enterprises.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2vkrlHo4ujN9fL9QthG2urtWarcxJOT69kxo4KpxtiuwGWW4DjoNCQjaTmyMjYLaOQPa1nNDSc8ifiu2vv1KMDbLqZGH2vttc7ygeSjaM8K0pOTFZ70XxbGUttvTywUpCPbxXLwt6XWjR/s400/Hard+space+suit+by+Litton+Enterprises.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An alternative to the type of spacesuit astronauts use today is a "hard" spacesuit:<br />
The whole suit is pressurized, but since it is hard, rather than soft, it does not puff up and make joint mobility difficult, and can also be more pressurized than a "soft" suit.<br />
Source: mlkshk.com.</td></tr>
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But there is an alternative to the traditional, fully pressurized spacesuit we're used to. Astronauts could wear a mostly unpressurized spacesuit. The entire suit body could be unpressurized, except for the helmet and maybe the gloves and boots. The main function of an unpressurized spacesuit is to provi<span style="background-color: white;">de insulation, radiation protection, and </span>prevent vacuum-induced swelling. It does these things not by creating an atmosphere inside the suit, but by mechanically compressing the whole body. This is why the unpressurized suit's gloves and boots are still pressurized- all the small joints in the hands and feet make it hard to compress their surfaces evenly and thoroughly.<br />
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Back in the 1960s, NASA first worked on creating an unpressurized suit, but that program was discontinued around when the Apollo missions ended. Here's a prototype of the unpressurized suit engineers were designing:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64W2ue9rWIeiE_uXQRBVDeC92g5SJ2oxMF0ZHfiiDPNI1yMZm6HDP2V6q_Kra300nGcYcRQuzeMjAmO6zBK_1BpBB0-4dsdqLYDIhlQHz4jziECk9NfltMy5hNLtdoA_bk3clv7tlY68O/s1600/Space_activity_suit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64W2ue9rWIeiE_uXQRBVDeC92g5SJ2oxMF0ZHfiiDPNI1yMZm6HDP2V6q_Kra300nGcYcRQuzeMjAmO6zBK_1BpBB0-4dsdqLYDIhlQHz4jziECk9NfltMy5hNLtdoA_bk3clv7tlY68O/s400/Space_activity_suit.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A prototypical unpressurized spacesuit, which compresses the body mechanically.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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NASA revisited the notion of the unpressurized suit recently, funding the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's development of the "bio-suit." MIT Professor Dava Newman, the lead scientist on the project, models the suit her team designed:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiViWBn8k4ga0aYq-vn5b6CWtIyKBHR_68lvQgRVCzcWuBzLBXWcQcw9s9E49rKywD8MXxEqjthqZxp7eN-X3aM8srVwxjgR1z71L5wDWKLPOyzcOedgHRuXPW0f2fETJTePpps-Zu8hTr/s1600/Biosuit+Dava+Newman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiViWBn8k4ga0aYq-vn5b6CWtIyKBHR_68lvQgRVCzcWuBzLBXWcQcw9s9E49rKywD8MXxEqjthqZxp7eN-X3aM8srVwxjgR1z71L5wDWKLPOyzcOedgHRuXPW0f2fETJTePpps-Zu8hTr/s400/Biosuit+Dava+Newman.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Professor Dava Newman models the bio-suit.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Needing to design a suit that would compress the body rather than be airtight, Prof. Newman drew on the experience of an Italian manufacturing company that produces carbon-fiber racing suits for European race car drivers. Unlike the unpressurized suit designed during the Apollo program, the bio-suit's material has elasticity. It stretches with the wearer, and it doesn't overly-compress a person wearing the suit in a pressurized atmosphere. The old-fashioned Apollo era unpressurized suit had no elasticity. Thus it would squeeze the wearer so tightly that if he or she wasn't in a vacuum, the circulation of blood would be constricted and he or she would pass out in less than a half hour!<br />
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While the bio-suit has to be modeled specifically to fit each individual wearer's body, its materials and construction are so much simpler than pressurized spacesuits that it could still be dramatically cheaper to produce. And, as you can see from the above photo, the bio-suit allows normal movement. Unlike the Apollo astronauts, whose suits allowed only partial movement of the knees, elbows, and torso, a bio-suit wearer has a fairly normal range of motion.<br />
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A puncture in the bio-suit won't threaten the air supply, either- you can just patch it with a bandage-like wrap. And, the bio-suit could weigh just a small fraction of the weight of a traditional, fully pressurized suit. Even without the air supply, an extravehicular activity suit still weighs over 100 pounds- which isn't a problem in micro-gravity, but would be a serious encumbrance to walking around on a planet like Mars.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UlN5JbK22FovNMnjoIP5snGcoXhgB6wQS0yDr0eAzhrLFH75D1sUF5ZBRLL8Zhe4tzmUkhloog_-Deqxc8Jyab7okl7di5bYstr62JZS6VQyuHDKXrJ8iKKmKFdCoTBeuzdpuD6DwjLF/s1600/Professor+Dava+Newman+bio+suit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UlN5JbK22FovNMnjoIP5snGcoXhgB6wQS0yDr0eAzhrLFH75D1sUF5ZBRLL8Zhe4tzmUkhloog_-Deqxc8Jyab7okl7di5bYstr62JZS6VQyuHDKXrJ8iKKmKFdCoTBeuzdpuD6DwjLF/s400/Professor+Dava+Newman+bio+suit.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The suit looks really futuristic, doesn't it? Not that how it looks matters, of course!<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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I think the bio-suit is so neat! But like so many amazing ideas for space exploration, Prof. Newman's project is not fully funded. Her team has not yet produced a prototype that could safely be tested by actual astronauts in outer space. All research on the suit to date shows that it is a workable, useful concept. So, I hope one day folks can test it out in Earth orbit or beyond!<br />
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Sources: NASA; Wikipedia; MIT; Slate; Spectrum.ieee.org; damninteresting.com.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-111943221764752582013-04-28T21:12:00.000-05:002013-04-29T13:36:51.580-05:00Carnival of Space, Week #299!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj39sx4DiAHw5ePk6Tz9osB3wo-v_LaglmAS8ZnmRJtw-sOjItnRfTLnfS8OuGjX6luU2PuWI3mWTNcmMJzFQwY2w6iLMedbopF6_OXnrrifOPWbRatY2MBHZMNrjaGad3YB3nGdtNlKoSs/s1600/the+sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj39sx4DiAHw5ePk6Tz9osB3wo-v_LaglmAS8ZnmRJtw-sOjItnRfTLnfS8OuGjX6luU2PuWI3mWTNcmMJzFQwY2w6iLMedbopF6_OXnrrifOPWbRatY2MBHZMNrjaGad3YB3nGdtNlKoSs/s400/the+sun.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The Sun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Source: Wall Street Journal.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21px;">I am hosting the Carnival of Space again this week!! This is my fourth time hosting the Carnival; you can find my first Carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/carnival-of-space-271.html">here</a>, my second carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/carnival-of-space-284.html">here</a>, and my third carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/carnival-of-space-week-292.html">here</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21px;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21px;">The Carnival is a weekly round-up of space stories from around the internet. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21px;">If you've got a space-related blog, you too can join the Carnival of Space. Email carnivalofspace at gmail dot com to host, share a story you wrote, and to get to know other space bloggers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This week's Carnival of Space explores our solar system and beyond, and includes a lot of news about spaceships! Read on for some interesting stories...</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvsSktQyf9BbCiyzPwHGOC5s4dIapIgqnhwH6B45gSqu3AhS2aZZp2wZ_d9e4yoAbf-HtCKT80vN3YI4NaSrArkdpskjOcENdvbiR7bFkH6pyz5pZao5rq2_IclHiNMSqK5QVJm8tQB4w/s1600/Mercury+NASA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXvsSktQyf9BbCiyzPwHGOC5s4dIapIgqnhwH6B45gSqu3AhS2aZZp2wZ_d9e4yoAbf-HtCKT80vN3YI4NaSrArkdpskjOcENdvbiR7bFkH6pyz5pZao5rq2_IclHiNMSqK5QVJm8tQB4w/s400/Mercury+NASA.jpg" width="390" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Mercury.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Source: NASA.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.urban-astronomer.com/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Urban Astronomer</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> shares news of a recent discovery by NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope: </span><a href="http://www.urban-astronomer.com/Urban-Astronomer-Updates/milkywaysurroundedbyhotgas" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a huge halo of super-hot gas that surrounds our galaxy</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Folks in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia might have seen last week's partial lunar eclipse, which was the briefest lunar eclipse that will occur this century. Gadi Eidelheit of </span><a href="http://www.thevenustransit.com/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Venus Transit</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> shares his photos of the </span><a href="http://www.thevenustransit.com/2013/04/partial-lunar-eclipse-25-apr-2013.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">partial lunar eclipse</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The </span><a href="http://themeridianijournal.com/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Meridiani Journal</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> shares </span><a href="http://themeridianijournal.com/2013/04/theres-a-lot-of-water-in-jupiters-atmosphere-thanks-to-comet-impact/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">news about Jupiter's atmosphere</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: it's got lots of water, thanks to the impacts of comets over the years!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjTfB6vpdK_NPH_7qH-Wmj6B_y9nfuuLtevqz093ZVPgazEBkmfeG5aaOGFzwLLsVOJWfkP_ClUH6dSLhZo0HwOn3k3Iot9PlQcOXxBjBFE2E-X7EDQ84sdMxuPVBt96jDhrzHFTgwg0S/s1600/Saturn+One+Minute+Astronomer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjTfB6vpdK_NPH_7qH-Wmj6B_y9nfuuLtevqz093ZVPgazEBkmfeG5aaOGFzwLLsVOJWfkP_ClUH6dSLhZo0HwOn3k3Iot9PlQcOXxBjBFE2E-X7EDQ84sdMxuPVBt96jDhrzHFTgwg0S/s400/Saturn+One+Minute+Astronomer.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saturn.<br />
Source: One Minute Astronomer.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://epod.usra.edu/blog/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Earth Science Picture of the Day</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> features a </span><a href="http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2013/04/chondrites-and-chondrules.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">beautiful photo of a chrondrite meteorite and chrondrules</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, as well as an explanation of their composition and origin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Paul Spudis of </span><a href="http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Once and Future Moon</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> explains </span><a href="http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2013/04/thin-crust-moon/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">what we've learned about the composition and formation of the lunar crust</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> from the Apollo and GRAIL missions.</span></div>
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<a href="http://spacer.pamhoffman.com/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Everyday Spacer</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> shares </span><a href="http://spacer.pamhoffman.com/around-town-beginning-of-may-2013/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">some space-related activities you can do locally or online</a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">. Reading Everyday Spacer is a great way to find out about many different space exploration themed events that you can do- often, right in your hometown!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.cheapastro.com/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cheap Astronomy</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'s fascinating recent podcast tells </span><a href="http://www.cheapastro.com/podcasts/CA168_Increments.mp3" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the story of seven lesser-known astronauts</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: the "increment astronauts."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Over at <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/">Astroblog</a>, Ian Musgrave shares some neat amateur space photos: the <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/comet-c2012-f6-lemmon-in-stereo-april.html">Comet C/2012 F6 Lemmon</a>; the <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/a-cloudy-occultation-of-zubenelgenubi.html">occultation of the star Alpha Librae</a> (also called Zubenelgenubi, which means "southern claw" in Arabic); and photos of <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/pictures-of-cloudy-partial-eclipse.html">last week's partial lunar eclipse</a> as well. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6STZOoyA3-eBLsbDPfdyh_ip9THwlfmvthPy569-IcGdZPgOFKYX70MVuifxB_68w9BEQdJbpHd35QASwPtj53pX8gk1RFyqOqTxR-gukrfhZVzEVmSsPWwqVHG8GDmZ6fBD60Q8fOn89/s1600/jupiter2storms_gemini_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6STZOoyA3-eBLsbDPfdyh_ip9THwlfmvthPy569-IcGdZPgOFKYX70MVuifxB_68w9BEQdJbpHd35QASwPtj53pX8gk1RFyqOqTxR-gukrfhZVzEVmSsPWwqVHG8GDmZ6fBD60Q8fOn89/s400/jupiter2storms_gemini_big.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Jupiter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Source: elf_leon.livejournal.com.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The </span><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next Big Future</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> shares recent some exciting recent developments in spaceflight. It features news from the </span><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/04/harvard-business-review-looks-at-spacex.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Harvard Business Review, which examined SpaceX's process for cost innovation</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in spacecraft development, and how SpaceX can serve as a model for other businesses. In more SpaceX news, the Grasshopper recently flew 820 feet straight up in a test flight, and </span><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/04/spacex-grasshopper-flew-250-meters-into.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next Big Future features a video of the flight</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. Virgin Galactic's </span><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/04/spaceshiptwo-could-have-supersonic-test.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">SpaceShipTwo is going to embark on a hypersonic test flight sometime in the next few days</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">... and then hopefully it'll be headed into space later this year! The Next Big Future also shares news about the </span><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/04/is-this-century-we-begin-to-build.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Starship Century Symposium, which is coming up in a couple weeks</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">; attendees of this conference will discuss whether this will be the century we travel beyond our solar system. I wish I could be there, it looks like it's going to be so, so cool!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lastly, on my blog, </span><a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/were-go-on-that-alarm.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I told a story about the Apollo Guidance Computer</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, and a computer glitch that could have derailed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's moon landing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14ZszKtA_sPOjF729Iaao2eg_4YRtME2RWG-RMFa2lsIojcU08UvPyglT5vsCzHIAed1vb4cju3gc4zIbhN0-mvdeNzYI79IYmuJgEVxiLD9RbIzusYJVL1sRUrLTR66AnmlUzkpw5Hl1/s1600/Neptune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14ZszKtA_sPOjF729Iaao2eg_4YRtME2RWG-RMFa2lsIojcU08UvPyglT5vsCzHIAed1vb4cju3gc4zIbhN0-mvdeNzYI79IYmuJgEVxiLD9RbIzusYJVL1sRUrLTR66AnmlUzkpw5Hl1/s400/Neptune.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Neptune.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Source: NASA.</span></td></tr>
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Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-85240451035082360692013-04-24T20:08:00.001-05:002013-08-26T23:18:12.247-05:00Tech Support On the Way To the MoonIn honor of Boston, this week I'm telling a little story about the Apollo Guidance Computer, which was designed and built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Apollo 11 lunar module, just after undocking from the command module.<br />
Source: National Geographic.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The Apollo Guidance Computer* gave Apollo astronauts the data they needed to pilot the command module and lunar module during lunar landing, ascent, and docking. There was so little room for error in these tasks that the precision afforded by a computer was necessary. When the Apollo Guidance Computer was built, it was a technological feat... but it is roughly comparable in terms of processing power to today's graphing calculators. Nowadays, if you have some programming expertise and a lot of spare time, <a href="http://klabs.org/history/build_agc/">you can actually build your own Apollo Guidance Computer</a>, no MIT degree or MIT lab facilities necessary. I wish building a Saturn V rocket was that easy!<br />
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* = Actually, there were two Apollo Guidance Computers aboard every flight to the moon. One aboard the command module, one aboard the lunar module. Plus, there was a launch computer inside the Saturn V rockets and an abort computer in the lunar module.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5SPBgIoRu4OPGxAU0Dv5yHUq6AFtNesirzuWTsneXXb0DoOyqz5ukdGrok5bmTPd2-zWq8PmIBnxUjAgdXOtLqlEu5emPGJ6CepsotC7WVLSY1Ooq6ib71MPj_mXlgMGqbtL75FkQh0I/s1600/Apollo+guidance+computer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5SPBgIoRu4OPGxAU0Dv5yHUq6AFtNesirzuWTsneXXb0DoOyqz5ukdGrok5bmTPd2-zWq8PmIBnxUjAgdXOtLqlEu5emPGJ6CepsotC7WVLSY1Ooq6ib71MPj_mXlgMGqbtL75FkQh0I/s400/Apollo+guidance+computer.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An engineer with a mock-up of the Apollo Guidance Computer interface.<br />
Source: MIT.</td></tr>
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While shockingly simple compared to today's computers, the Apollo Guidance Computer was a very capable piece of equipment. It could multi-task, performing up to eight different calculations at the same time. It could also prioritize its memory as needed. And, it was relatively small and lightweight, an important design feature on a mission that was already consuming nearly a million gallons of fuel just to leave Earth's gravity. At a time when room-size computers were common, the Apollo Guidance Computer weighed 70 pounds and occupied about one cubic foot of space.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVaEuu6VU06u7IA0rvP_g4i8vDJvQGyFMs4RcW9Ce-w29Zn1ELo2FG2061ZH_lh_OIacSjC13R23UnLYgQRKf6_llUEhAZIc0Mj0QRf_VqQgyNpjj77kmWxr2KFV4hVSNl1NfwscEi53x/s1600/MIT+Apollo+Guidance+Computer.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVaEuu6VU06u7IA0rvP_g4i8vDJvQGyFMs4RcW9Ce-w29Zn1ELo2FG2061ZH_lh_OIacSjC13R23UnLYgQRKf6_llUEhAZIc0Mj0QRf_VqQgyNpjj77kmWxr2KFV4hVSNl1NfwscEi53x/s400/MIT+Apollo+Guidance+Computer.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An MIT Instrumentation Lab engineer runs tests on the Apollo Guidance Computer.<br />
Source: MIT.</td></tr>
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Like any modern computer, the Apollo Guidance Computer didn't always work perfectly. Any number of problems would trip it up, and it would respond by producing an error code. There were many, many possible error codes. Some error codes signaled computer malfunctions, some required immediate corrective action, and some could just be ignored. Astronauts and mission control staff devoted considerable training time to learning what each error code meant, and how they should respond.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimY_UXSH3SPthi6lDUvfC1UeSC-8Fk2fIsupSj_D_zU57XHgUer_ZYCIH_8n5ZFBk69pSWCUcrXn0DY7YsXnN2oOLYQepDD-wMCCbJAFkJ6ZsOA1DoGHxvSdT4mFV0Tu1oIxv3jX09BkkS/s1600/Apollo+11+astronauts.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimY_UXSH3SPthi6lDUvfC1UeSC-8Fk2fIsupSj_D_zU57XHgUer_ZYCIH_8n5ZFBk69pSWCUcrXn0DY7YsXnN2oOLYQepDD-wMCCbJAFkJ6ZsOA1DoGHxvSdT4mFV0Tu1oIxv3jX09BkkS/s400/Apollo+11+astronauts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew of Apollo 11, and the "moon."<br />
Source: ontheunspeakable.tumblr.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz's autobiography, <i>Failure Is Not an Option</i>, tells an interesting story about these error codes. Astronauts and ground crew spent weeks and weeks practicing mock missions in advance of the Apollo flights. They'd run through these fake missions just like they were the real thing, with Simulation Supervisors throwing problem after problem at them. Sometimes, mission control would work out a solution in time to salvage the moon landing and save the fake flight. Sometimes they wouldn't figure out a solution in time and the simulation would end with a fake disaster.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM8Lz0ZgzS6Spl8Ohh7RnyOoqM0HMewkp_g327GnF21m6rYFCU-_SOYhLWoWAyJjfxelgttrLsochVmP0-YY0PkNaJouF7qFkkqA-WihAVfw08mVSa5X4iQoZ6yD718O0rVcvmHaKyMWL/s1600/A+view+inside+the+Apollo+7+simulator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM8Lz0ZgzS6Spl8Ohh7RnyOoqM0HMewkp_g327GnF21m6rYFCU-_SOYhLWoWAyJjfxelgttrLsochVmP0-YY0PkNaJouF7qFkkqA-WihAVfw08mVSa5X4iQoZ6yD718O0rVcvmHaKyMWL/s400/A+view+inside+the+Apollo+7+simulator.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fisheye view inside one of the Apollo lunar module simulators.<br />
Source: howstuffworks.com.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The Simulation Supervisors were always relentless, with one exception. They gave mission control a relatively problem-free flight for the final pre-launch simulation. That way, the practice runs would end on a high note, with mission control engineers feeling that they were completely prepared for the real flight.<br />
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So, a few days before the launch of Apollo 11, Kranz and his crew went into the final scheduled lunar landing simulation expecting an easy flight. During the practice descent, the Simulation Supervisor sent the lunar module's Apollo Guidance Computer a "1201" error code. Not a single engineer in mission control knew what this code meant. Without any idea of what had gone wrong, the only safe choice was to abort the landing.<br />
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Richard Koos, the Simulation Supervisor, gave mission control the bad news: calling off the landing was the wrong decision. The 1201 code just meant that the Apollo Guidance Computer was temporarily overloaded; it did not indicate an impending computer crash or any other mission-critical problem. Kranz and mission control had just (in pretend) wasted the Apollo 11 flight and ruined their chance at a moon landing because they hadn't known what the 1201 code was.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ruAF2cGijj8/UXhJ_UU1asI/AAAAAAAAD6Y/eB1-AnI9I0E/s1600/apollo+11+crowds+watching+the+moon+walk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ruAF2cGijj8/UXhJ_UU1asI/AAAAAAAAD6Y/eB1-AnI9I0E/s400/apollo+11+crowds+watching+the+moon+walk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowds in Grant Park, Chicago watch the first moon walk.<br />
Source: Washington Post.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Recounting the story in his autobiography, Kranz tells how furious and ashamed he was. Kranz, along with Jack Garman (the engineer charged with keeping track of Apollo Guidance Computer codes), Chris Bales (a guidance officer) all had that particular series of alarm codes seared into their brains. They would never forget what a 1201 (or a related code, 1202) meant.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhsNYByhQjVI8w1kkMRVkWRCi9DYoyi-BKThKH7rpwDiuRXKWSNIpIe1npM2OcFIMlW1Dohy1tPQ9WfnVzCJgAxzFy-4JDtGT9xvG4S70IUMI67aEGZ8o9LgOB5s-lg71ny7dZCfSzQxh/s1600/Apollo+11+mission+control.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhsNYByhQjVI8w1kkMRVkWRCi9DYoyi-BKThKH7rpwDiuRXKWSNIpIe1npM2OcFIMlW1Dohy1tPQ9WfnVzCJgAxzFy-4JDtGT9xvG4S70IUMI67aEGZ8o9LgOB5s-lg71ny7dZCfSzQxh/s400/Apollo+11+mission+control.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astronauts Charlie Duke, Jim Lovell, and Fred Haise in mission control during Apollo 11.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A few days and a few hundred thousand miles later... the real Apollo 11 lunar module was descending to the moon with less than 10,000 feet to go when the Apollo Guidance Computer produced a 1202 alarm code, and then a 1201 alarm code. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin asked mission control what the alarms meant. Thanks to the final simulation, Kranz, Bales, and Garman knew the answer right away- they were "go" on the alarm! Capcom Charlie Duke told them they could ignore the alarms and keep descending. Just a couple minutes later the Eagle landed safely in the Sea of Tranquility!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTW9ia8cvOL-Y8ZP_uhOQmPZhf_-djcWUCYhWKhIeBjzkrQSg-KiB7JDHdOZ7770Q6IkBQ0rct1ZM6WFoxS-veJk0y5eFdYGUsH0VRMUgLM8vmpdoDf05xOJFf3YX7O_UjZVzPqbwZZ-nX/s1600/Apollo+11+celebration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTW9ia8cvOL-Y8ZP_uhOQmPZhf_-djcWUCYhWKhIeBjzkrQSg-KiB7JDHdOZ7770Q6IkBQ0rct1ZM6WFoxS-veJk0y5eFdYGUsH0VRMUgLM8vmpdoDf05xOJFf3YX7O_UjZVzPqbwZZ-nX/s400/Apollo+11+celebration.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating after the Eagle landed.<br />
Source: wallcoo.net.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What caused the 1201 and 1202 alarms? The Apollo Guidance Computer was receiving too much radar data. Buzz Aldrin (an MIT grad!) had asked MIT engineers to design the computer to be able to track both radar readings from the lunar surface and the command module. This would allow a quick decision to land or return to the module. But the Apollo Guidance Computer couldn't properly track both sets of data. So at the stage in lunar descent when the alarms occurred, the computer was getting simultaneous readings from both radar systems, and it was causing brief system overloads. </div>
<div>
<br />
Sources: American Space; Popular Mechanics; NASA; doneyles.com; Gene Kranz, <i>Failure Is Not an Option</i>; Air & Space's The Daily Planet blog; Computer Weekly; Wikipedia.</div>
</div>
Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-8859805124306417632013-04-06T18:28:00.001-05:002013-04-07T02:13:03.548-05:00What Laws Apply In Low Earth Orbit? (Besides Newton's Laws!)A couple weeks ago I was revising a manuscript on comparative intellectual property law, and I came across a little quirk in the United States' patent law. 35 U.S.Code Sec. 105 gives the United States patent law jurisdiction over inventions made in outer space, so long as one condition is met. The invention must have occurred on a space ship that is "under the jurisdiction or control of the United States."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoU3LOiC4A62VaYyct9u0jzzYFFcXmGcrNU5syzOsZQRHUcUwA9ltioPK3H8KCdhRVJj3aXv8zhq8sipD2T67OgFlt9aYeLn0cPehKKLHaBTi6u4gSK_6WJXMb2ORYtA01Wp4Ijyj7V_ti/s1600/Romulan+warbird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoU3LOiC4A62VaYyct9u0jzzYFFcXmGcrNU5syzOsZQRHUcUwA9ltioPK3H8KCdhRVJj3aXv8zhq8sipD2T67OgFlt9aYeLn0cPehKKLHaBTi6u4gSK_6WJXMb2ORYtA01Wp4Ijyj7V_ti/s400/Romulan+warbird.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under 35 U.S. Code Sec. 105 Romulan cloaking technology is not subject to U.S. patent law.<br />
Source: Memory Alpha.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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U.S. law says a bit more on the subject, but the bottom line is that if you invent a patent-able product and you're aboard a U.S. space ship, U.S. law applies to your patent claim. American courts can therefore hear interplanetary patent cases! (Though there haven't actually been any such courts cases just yet.)<br />
<br />
Finding this interesting fact got me wondering how Earth laws apply to the International Space Station. The station is a completely international endeavor, as it is constructed of modules built by the Russians, the European Space Agency, the United States, and the Japanese. The current crew consists of a Canadian, two Americans, and three Russians. What if one of them commits a crime affecting another nationality- what country's law applies?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOc7ZZPR3rH_ZDx8boG7sFRoKH2dj9MoD1DWMpDBqQE62g3gRFiZN96-EKq0rWeV_bgfQcMVVKKhgQagFAiL4coxJ9lmfKuJTSnsGj32ftl8ptZPT_-Csrq2FsO0aoM4fjo7OYOcc2gqK/s1600/Q+Encounter+at+Farpoint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOc7ZZPR3rH_ZDx8boG7sFRoKH2dj9MoD1DWMpDBqQE62g3gRFiZN96-EKq0rWeV_bgfQcMVVKKhgQagFAiL4coxJ9lmfKuJTSnsGj32ftl8ptZPT_-Csrq2FsO0aoM4fjo7OYOcc2gqK/s400/Q+Encounter+at+Farpoint.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Judging humanity since 2364.<br />
Source: ragnerdrok.com. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In 1998, the fifteen countries that built the ISS signed a treaty, the ISS Intergovernmental Agreement, that explains (among other things) who has criminal jurisdiction aboard the Station. This treaty is just one of a number of international agreements between various countries that establish cooperation in the construction and use of the ISS.<br />
<br />
Article 22 of the ISS Intergovernmental Agreement sets forth what happens if a crime were to occur on the Station. If the crime affects just one country (for example, a U.S. astronaut damaging an American-built space station module) then the affected country prosecutes its own astronaut-citizen for the crime. But what if more than one country's astronaut or property is involved?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVf8LXXkwNIrpSbDXU98WWzRl1VMCHa5AnOBPCmQw2FV8V2MF1WTY0BAIeyG9v-nwhhZu8kJdZZC4Hkd7IjHdsRamezEAgV5R7a1Ru2wjaDhiCAMp5XDExtstH4w-npfE93xZC6Q_yzsJ/s1600/Kirk+wrestles+Gorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVf8LXXkwNIrpSbDXU98WWzRl1VMCHa5AnOBPCmQw2FV8V2MF1WTY0BAIeyG9v-nwhhZu8kJdZZC4Hkd7IjHdsRamezEAgV5R7a1Ru2wjaDhiCAMp5XDExtstH4w-npfE93xZC6Q_yzsJ/s400/Kirk+wrestles+Gorn.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who has jurisdiction?<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Here's a little hypothetical showing how jurisdiction would work for a crime committed aboard the ISS involving multiple nationalities. (As is probably obvious, I recently discovered Star Trek, the original series, on Netflix.)<br />
<br />
A Canadian astronaut (I'll call him "Captain Kirk") and a Russian cosmonaut (I'll call him "Ensign Chekov") get into a heated argument in the American-built <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny_(ISS_module)">Destiny module</a> aboard the ISS. The subject of the argument is Ensign Chekov's latest scientific experiment: he's breeding tribbles inside the Destiny Module. There are too many of them, they smell bad, their fur is clogging the station's air filters, etc. Captain Kirk wants to send all the tribbles to Earth on the next Dragon X flight; Chekov objects. The argument escalates. There's some yelling, some pushing and shoving, things get more heated, and before you know it, Captain Kirk has fired a phaser,* wounding Chekov and causing several million dollars worth of damage to the Destiny Module.**<br />
<br />
* = No one has actually invented a phaser yet... but if Captain Kirk invented it in an American-built ISS module, he'd be subject to U.S. patent law!<br />
<br />
** = Lucky for Kirk, the Ensign didn't have "<a href="http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/01/08/why-do-we-have-guns-in-space/">Chekov's pistol</a>." :-D<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsIsOVLG5hhi-8qu4TY5B9wEWqtkKAPGmniQD1NyZZloTITtYvsP2Oq4fO7I7RyBlida5nfJJSdagbiFEWhSU-uQghO6dlYB_fvfSDBwhZIAUxlVpjClnOzFRAu-KXyo4m2-ebAPYeAOL/s1600/Kirk+and+tribbles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsIsOVLG5hhi-8qu4TY5B9wEWqtkKAPGmniQD1NyZZloTITtYvsP2Oq4fO7I7RyBlida5nfJJSdagbiFEWhSU-uQghO6dlYB_fvfSDBwhZIAUxlVpjClnOzFRAu-KXyo4m2-ebAPYeAOL/s400/Kirk+and+tribbles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trouble with tribbles.<br />
Source: www.guineapigtoday.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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What happens next? Under Article 22, the two victimized countries (the U.S., which suffered damage to Destiny, and Russia, whose national was wounded) are obliged to negotiate with Canada until either (1) Canada agrees with whatever the U.S. and Russia want regarding jurisdiction over the crimes or (2) Canada begins to prosecute Captain Kirk's for his alleged crimes against U.S. property and a Russian national. The three countries have a predetermined amount of time for either of these two events to happen. After that time expires, Russia can prosecute Kirk for the crime against Chekov, and the U.S. can prosecute Kirk for the damage to the Destiny Module.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_j1hXkrseZuVd7Hv00PEb2-YlNhnnrfYAOln7hrblW0pfg4ytSGuO9BGkfN1HJZFFWWHWiz4vadKP6mkMwZ3g26tmYQVcuz3lOy7G5ecwvx-wKRKVp6iS5Ge76TTY-gukKquEDhzpkWWK/s1600/Parners+to+the+signature+of+the+1998+Intergovernmental+Agreement+on+the+ISS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_j1hXkrseZuVd7Hv00PEb2-YlNhnnrfYAOln7hrblW0pfg4ytSGuO9BGkfN1HJZFFWWHWiz4vadKP6mkMwZ3g26tmYQVcuz3lOy7G5ecwvx-wKRKVp6iS5Ge76TTY-gukKquEDhzpkWWK/s400/Parners+to+the+signature+of+the+1998+Intergovernmental+Agreement+on+the+ISS.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Senior governmental officials at the Kennedy Space Center, in the early days of ISS cooperation.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The ISS Intergovernmental Agreement even provides a process for the alleged criminal's country to extradite him or her to the victim country. Presumably, extradition happens after the alleged criminal returns to Earth... the treaty doesn't contemplate imprisoning someone of one nationality in the victim country's ISS module!<br />
<br />
But, there are plans in place for immediately handling unrest or violence aboard the station. Astronauts are subject to an ISS Code of Conduct while in orbit. And, a crew disciplinary policy applies in the event of a violation of the Code of Conduct. Under this policy, Code violations are to be addressed as necessary by the ISS commander. The commander should first issue a verbal warning, then, if necessary, a written reprimand. Finally, he or she is authorized to remove from duty anyone threatening to damage the station or endanger the crew.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftuSBeXWFvH8HLLXY-jiuI1od9SgOsMM-tSnrSrtkpeUZMO1x6aSjxJNb3lEpmrAq4Fz8eBJfcDrWT5j7mkBBHwUgTymNkXeVZqwlZsLxZhRh03trc-fC29mCc-x5Qpf7C6WLyco-O9d_/s1600/Odo+Star+Trek+Deep+Space+Nine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftuSBeXWFvH8HLLXY-jiuI1od9SgOsMM-tSnrSrtkpeUZMO1x6aSjxJNb3lEpmrAq4Fz8eBJfcDrWT5j7mkBBHwUgTymNkXeVZqwlZsLxZhRh03trc-fC29mCc-x5Qpf7C6WLyco-O9d_/s320/Odo+Star+Trek+Deep+Space+Nine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Did someone mention space stations and crime?<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Sources: The European Space Agency; NASA; The International Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement; Stacy Ratner, <i>Establishing the Extraterrestrial: Criminal Jurisdiction and the International Space Station</i>, Boston College Int'l and Comp. L. Rev. (1999); Spaceref.com; Space.com.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-47310972837406162162013-03-23T21:41:00.000-05:002013-08-26T23:16:00.267-05:00Around The World The Hard Way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On December 2, 1941, a Boeing 314 seaplane departed Treasure Island, California. Called the <i>Pacific Clipper</i>, the plane and its ten crew members were under the command of a veteran Pan Am captain, Robert Ford. They were scheduled to make a round-trip commercial passenger flight to Auckland, New Zealand. Along the way to Auckland, the plane proceeded with scheduled stops in San Pedro, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Kanton Island, Kiribati; Suva, Fiji; and finally Noumea, New Caledonia. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6weBe-5o-Vnw3WTdUPR0BaQzC9kHKdllDWRTQe1NsFaPHgsDAckbi6k-LOQwKQMPzo5nl2g1-cu6hD6-ne3Y25kuQzobFrhPIzYQVo_LwCOqN_5Q9-aKLnbuJE1oGWkDRnKBdoo6NjIrO/s1600/Treasure+Island+in+1939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6weBe-5o-Vnw3WTdUPR0BaQzC9kHKdllDWRTQe1NsFaPHgsDAckbi6k-LOQwKQMPzo5nl2g1-cu6hD6-ne3Y25kuQzobFrhPIzYQVo_LwCOqN_5Q9-aKLnbuJE1oGWkDRnKBdoo6NjIrO/s400/Treasure+Island+in+1939.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treasure Island in 1939. <br />
The island is man-made, created off the coast of San Francisco between 1936 and 1937.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On the morning of December 7, 1941, the <i>Pacific Clipper</i> left New Caledonia for Auckland. A few hours into the flight, Radio Operator John Poindexter received a coded message: the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. The <i>Pacific Clipper </i>crew (and the rest of the United States) were now effectively at war. The clipper was not armed, so the crew could only hope to avoid an encounter with Japanese forces. They turned off the radio and steered a few dozen miles off their planned route. Two crew members were stationed in the navigation cupola at the top of the fuselage to watch for Japanese aircraft. Captain Ford took out his revolver.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fFkbF9HtDoW-Bjui0jmP2hyphenhyphen-F8BZ-pOv9XRG9xWwIyrrhekyqnbpmWpvTNxWX5_xiPssTdt_iEIjZe2dS930jYBAzH6YwVs5565XIWibtUXIj9ye09VjoShbRZseJdA6-7kqz5QfK6z-/s1600/Kanton+Island.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fFkbF9HtDoW-Bjui0jmP2hyphenhyphen-F8BZ-pOv9XRG9xWwIyrrhekyqnbpmWpvTNxWX5_xiPssTdt_iEIjZe2dS930jYBAzH6YwVs5565XIWibtUXIj9ye09VjoShbRZseJdA6-7kqz5QfK6z-/s400/Kanton+Island.png" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny Kanton Island. Before the jet travel era, it was a common refueling station for commercial and military flights.<br />
Back then, it had a population of over 1,000. Nowadays, the population is less than 50.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Fortunately, no attack came, and the plane landed safely in Auckland a few hours later. But that left a larger issue to resolve: what would happen to the clipper?<br />
<br />
The <i>Pacific Clipper </i>was owned and operated by Pan Am, and its<i> </i>crew were all civilians. But the plane was a valuable military asset. Only twelve such seaplanes existed in the whole world. Their engine design was quite advanced; and they were the only aircraft with such heavy-lift, long-distance, and high-speed capabilities belonging to the Axis or Allies. While a propeller-driven seaplane that must make refueling stops to travel between California and New Zealand may seem primitive in 2013, back in 1941 it was cutting edge. If necessary, the clipper crew would have to destroy the plane to keep it out of enemy hands. Ideally, though, they could return it safely to the U.S. so it would be able to contribute to the war effort.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q9xsFBcdRraU3Bh-nFJ3iJJ41uOwQZeK-zT-rtsYarJeIgWd4jstfjmLNZvNJNmsL8dg4vr1anAduNnCxgsT3oB3cA3NHGSP8LFQs-A8eCbUgj5ln39gzQFfbnyMsJcWK20GzJul0QNr/s1600/On+the+flight+deck+of+a+Boeing+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q9xsFBcdRraU3Bh-nFJ3iJJ41uOwQZeK-zT-rtsYarJeIgWd4jstfjmLNZvNJNmsL8dg4vr1anAduNnCxgsT3oB3cA3NHGSP8LFQs-A8eCbUgj5ln39gzQFfbnyMsJcWK20GzJul0QNr/s400/On+the+flight+deck+of+a+Boeing+314.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the flight deck of a Boeing 314.<br />
Source: The Flying Boat Forum.</td></tr>
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Upon arrival in Auckland, Captain Ford sent a message home via the local U.S. consulate, asking what to do with the clipper. But the U.S.'s imminent entry into World War Two meant that hundreds of coded messages were flooding the consulate. It took a full week for backlogged staff to decode Captain Ford's instructions: he was told to bring the plane home safely to the U.S.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3r4HrqwpsHs7RORCvv_y82zI5jstM19jZMzjTfHAgLG8SoNIOCm0LUJRERNBlJ4iwy8x6y8383yTDUe4U-QC9mYA5Hbhksm0YjK6L5aobX7p8zv4ZwNmriParPJ4EfodSf95D2Fj0K9la/s1600/A+Pan+Am+Clipper+over+San+Francisco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3r4HrqwpsHs7RORCvv_y82zI5jstM19jZMzjTfHAgLG8SoNIOCm0LUJRERNBlJ4iwy8x6y8383yTDUe4U-QC9mYA5Hbhksm0YjK6L5aobX7p8zv4ZwNmriParPJ4EfodSf95D2Fj0K9la/s400/A+Pan+Am+Clipper+over+San+Francisco.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Pan Am Clipper over San Francisco.<br />
Source: http://willigula.tumblr.com/.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This presented a problem. The <i>Pacific Clipper</i> could not just retrace its path back east to California. The Japanese had effectively cut off that route, as so many small islands throughout the South Pacific were now under attack or under evacuation orders. That left one alternative: Captain Ford and his crew were to head west instead of East. This would mean a 23,000 mile trip, circumnavigating a world at war.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ixNF4zrhrhbjdw-dnmhCDdVatCFwsePO24kNTg1ct0JiqUu1GyV5Po0tCBfLRf9Y_k3aoKTyfAE3ry6UhNukKrgsSZYDONRSUQWV08Xq2cHgwrmSQCQ3BW2CQSOA_bQPeAm48FSzDhPG/s1600/Winston+Churchill+aboard+a+Boeing+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ixNF4zrhrhbjdw-dnmhCDdVatCFwsePO24kNTg1ct0JiqUu1GyV5Po0tCBfLRf9Y_k3aoKTyfAE3ry6UhNukKrgsSZYDONRSUQWV08Xq2cHgwrmSQCQ3BW2CQSOA_bQPeAm48FSzDhPG/s400/Winston+Churchill+aboard+a+Boeing+314.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winston Churchill aboard a Boeing 314 during the war.<br />
He traveled to the U.S. aboard a clipper several times during the war.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Given the situation, the clipper crew would be without ground support for much of this long trip. Pam Am staff in Aukland would help them pick their route home, choosing bodies of water they could land in, but it would be up to the clipper<i> </i>crew to procure spare parts and fuel along the way. There would be no weather forecasts (no weather satellites, too, of course!) and no military escort. Before leaving Aukland, a local Pam Am staffer, Bill Mullahey, collected all the navigational charts, maps, and even geography textbooks that he could find, and he and Ford planned the route. The crew painted over the plane's Pam Am logo and serial number in gray camouflage.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvwJPrRK1W03uxQl4LPKZGvEICAXVJvxibwUYXTJoRhYmso63dNQx9Tq3wiGbiyOWh6KtrWkxxga0sSp19tohHCDOxTVw4pqaeCPn-Lp55F26D3HIPqYGWb0U5-15X_VPur2gmDDk76tq/s1600/Boeing+314+model+cutaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvwJPrRK1W03uxQl4LPKZGvEICAXVJvxibwUYXTJoRhYmso63dNQx9Tq3wiGbiyOWh6KtrWkxxga0sSp19tohHCDOxTVw4pqaeCPn-Lp55F26D3HIPqYGWb0U5-15X_VPur2gmDDk76tq/s400/Boeing+314+model+cutaway.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The forward compartments in a Boeing 314 model cutaway.<br />
At the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at Dulles.<br />
Source: travelforaircraft.wordpress.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Before setting out for home, the clipper needed to retrace its steps a bit, to evacuate Pan Am staff and their families from New Caledonia (which never fell to Axis powers, though it did become key to the allied war effort in the South Pacific). On December 16, the <i>Pacific Clipper</i> flew back to Noumea. Upon landing, Captain Ford gave local Pan Am staff and their families one hour to pack. Then, with the twenty-two passengers aboard, the plane headed to Gladstone, Australia. From there, the next day the clipper crossed Australia, landing in Darwin, in the northwest of the country. The crew fueled the plane, slept for four hours, and set off again, bound for Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2fS7vt-i4sHc_cj71Ro9QhvKN5G43AuYhXNXtSL5-a_kUymO-a8ceHp8Z-PrnJtWP2njLY0Axn7f5PDToixN_QvR4nXqHlrywBssvaPn-57vuFBD2dkSEvdZzPi0O1EMOiPp7WKlElc5/s1600/Surabaya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2fS7vt-i4sHc_cj71Ro9QhvKN5G43AuYhXNXtSL5-a_kUymO-a8ceHp8Z-PrnJtWP2njLY0Axn7f5PDToixN_QvR4nXqHlrywBssvaPn-57vuFBD2dkSEvdZzPi0O1EMOiPp7WKlElc5/s400/Surabaya.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surabaya today. The city was occupied by the Japanese between 1942 and 1945.<br />
Source: Trekearth.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On approach to Surabaya, four British fighter aircraft flew out to meet the Clipper. Over the radio, Poindexter could hear the fighter pilots talking among themselves, trying to figure out what to make of this unmarked, never-before-seen plane. The clipper's radio wasn't working quite right, so Poindexter couldn't hail them. Several tense minutes passed while the British pilots debated what to do. Eventually one of them spotted the faint outline of the painted-over American flag on the plane's tail, and they decided not to attack. Instead the four fighter planes escorted the clipper till it landed in the mined waters off of Surabaya. That evening, Captain Ford encountered the pilots in the officer's mess. He recalled later that the four were very young and very trigger-happy. The<i> Pacific Clipper's</i> crew was lucky not to be shot down that day.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgyUcYSHPFQurBF2h6QcE_Os0tghz-zYUFq_P6A370Kajn1pdAO55-wrPDnwEOqQUHIgUf1yC474SunoDikXcgo4FqFCdYUVGP7lmRvEg4-SD0Hjznbp8TlBBph1MTJ2vZdH6Y20oRL4E/s1600/Center+section+of+a+Boeing+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgyUcYSHPFQurBF2h6QcE_Os0tghz-zYUFq_P6A370Kajn1pdAO55-wrPDnwEOqQUHIgUf1yC474SunoDikXcgo4FqFCdYUVGP7lmRvEg4-SD0Hjznbp8TlBBph1MTJ2vZdH6Y20oRL4E/s400/Center+section+of+a+Boeing+314.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Center section of a Boeing 314.<br />
Source: travelforaircraft.wordpress.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In Surabaya, the crew encountered their first mechanical challenge. Clippers were built to run on 100 octane aircraft fuel, but there wasn't any 100 octane gas available in Surabaya, so the plane had to be refueled with just automobile gasoline. According to Captain Ford, "we took off from Surabaya on the 100 octane, climbed a couple of thousand feet, and pulled back the power to cool off the engines ... then we switched to the automobile gas and held our breaths. The engines almost jumped out of their mounts, but they ran."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvWbSk2IGdHGl38T_jYPYs_eRntZB-XwJRNiYOQAAdj121SGm4UjTZkQcMPynpwjrIEmi_8fB2DtbKph2UY2hQz0Lu8KW-Z4Omy83lFDh2rwrDNIhXIiHiy-bpZebgfwVLxuvGDQr8nYG/s1600/Aft+compartments+of+boeing+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvWbSk2IGdHGl38T_jYPYs_eRntZB-XwJRNiYOQAAdj121SGm4UjTZkQcMPynpwjrIEmi_8fB2DtbKph2UY2hQz0Lu8KW-Z4Omy83lFDh2rwrDNIhXIiHiy-bpZebgfwVLxuvGDQr8nYG/s400/Aft+compartments+of+boeing+314.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The aft compartments in a Boeing 314 model cutaway.<br />
Source: travelforaircraft.wordpress.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The clipper made it safely to the harbor at Trincomalee, Celyon (nowadays Sri Lanka). Flying under the cloud cover so that they would not miss the island, the <i>Pacific Clipper </i>accidentally buzzed a Japanese submarine patrolling off shore. The submarine crew was out sunning themselves, and they scrambled to anti-aircraft gun when they saw the clipper. Ford pointed the nose up and throttled the engine, climbing out of range.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgab5RieWlqAWC9awoOEN7LRFzOr-9qzfT5JjOPzNgwWOBlPXViv9lwdyHue7gYcuPg2WssSnF0qD1ZVn3uvQgSxwG_O0E3DBP7LS9DNQfw2Nv816mV-sJbJGlIaYLxl89YVqP5NBWrWnrA/s1600/dining+aboard+a+boeing+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgab5RieWlqAWC9awoOEN7LRFzOr-9qzfT5JjOPzNgwWOBlPXViv9lwdyHue7gYcuPg2WssSnF0qD1ZVn3uvQgSxwG_O0E3DBP7LS9DNQfw2Nv816mV-sJbJGlIaYLxl89YVqP5NBWrWnrA/s400/dining+aboard+a+boeing+314.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buffet dinner aboard a pre-war clipper.<br />
Source: The Flying Boat Forum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The <i>Pacific Clipper</i> left Trincomalee on Christmas Eve, and almost immediately one of the engines started leaking oil. The crew turned the plane around and headed back to the harbor. The two flight engineers, Swede Rother and Jocko Parish, took apart the broken engine and fixed it, using tools borrowed from a British warship in the harbor. The plane set off for Karachi, India (now Pakistan) on Christmas day, flying across the subcontinent and landing safely. The crew got a few nights' rest at the Carleton Hotel in Karachi, setting off for Bahrain on December 28.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOD45s5mW7AylFJ_XHrN9Hyif3mVaDw3zMzZ9NPAqGdzUC5_9PAEPaWOGszRVzIranY6LbC1pRqXzUAvvG3s3NilIjERRjyiqBpNbeG9BZHbqVYB48KkllTXBcx4LDgFE0pYJgpq7dXUY/s1600/The+flight+deck+of+a+boeing+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOD45s5mW7AylFJ_XHrN9Hyif3mVaDw3zMzZ9NPAqGdzUC5_9PAEPaWOGszRVzIranY6LbC1pRqXzUAvvG3s3NilIjERRjyiqBpNbeG9BZHbqVYB48KkllTXBcx4LDgFE0pYJgpq7dXUY/s400/The+flight+deck+of+a+boeing+314.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flight deck of a Boeing 314.<br />
Source: The Flying Boat Forum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Upon landing safely in Bahrain, the crew again couldn't obtain 100 octane aircraft fuel, and had to refuel using automobile gasoline instead. They set off across the Arabian Peninsula, with the engines knocking and sputtering, and landed on the Nile in Khartoum, Sudan. The <i>Pacific Clipper </i>couldn't head north from there, since that would take the plane right into the middle of the war. They couldn't head due west, since a long trip across the water-less Sahara desert would have been too risky. Instead, the <i>Pacific Clipper</i> headed southwest to the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). They had some engine trouble soon after take-off, but decided to press on, since there weren't spare parts in Khartoum anyway.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDE8QLNPrV7Mz-C-_GZxGVlMA9BFn2aif16fjiOoVIn6xi-2hm70VW6ydPsGesSKOsarYd8eKmyf5PwOoL7x36TJjOJC-rZm0A8stVpiy8erdD_iVvNiUhoFUO6KdQnKWYdJwXLqEVBxO8/s1600/A+Boeing+314+landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDE8QLNPrV7Mz-C-_GZxGVlMA9BFn2aif16fjiOoVIn6xi-2hm70VW6ydPsGesSKOsarYd8eKmyf5PwOoL7x36TJjOJC-rZm0A8stVpiy8erdD_iVvNiUhoFUO6KdQnKWYdJwXLqEVBxO8/s400/A+Boeing+314+landing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Boeing 314 operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The crew navigated across Africa by matching rivers and other landmarks to features on their maps, landing on the Congo River in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) on New Year's Day. Pan Am ground crew greeted the <i>Pacific Clipper </i>crew with cold beers, "one of the high points of the whole trip," according to Captain Ford!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_ioyGzfzU_0_LNPnWQI1drdr1KV9jxbJIM7hDRuffmyTdseZfd1JbKtcipNlnw8MvwtLjQid4lPx2ohqcpZYrQM_ZcLIBtgbpCfoLB_CsEI9xB-e5bh3XyF6Opji-S8gczm4284xR-9S/s1600/Boegin+314+catwalk+in+wing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_ioyGzfzU_0_LNPnWQI1drdr1KV9jxbJIM7hDRuffmyTdseZfd1JbKtcipNlnw8MvwtLjQid4lPx2ohqcpZYrQM_ZcLIBtgbpCfoLB_CsEI9xB-e5bh3XyF6Opji-S8gczm4284xR-9S/s400/Boegin+314+catwalk+in+wing.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The catwalk inside of Boeing 314 wing.<br />
Source: The Flying Boat Forum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The next leg of the journey, across the Atlantic, was by far the longest, so the <i>Pacific Clipper</i> was filled to the brim with fuel when it took off from the Congo River. The heavier-than-usual, fuel-laden aircraft lifted out of the water slowly, just before it would have plummeted over a waterfall at the end of the "runway." Captain Ford steered the craft along the African coast for a little while, monitoring the engines to make sure everything was running smoothly. Satisfied that it was running fine, he steered the clipper out over the Atlantic. 3,583 miles and just under 24 hours later the plane landed in the harbor at Natal, Brazil. There, they refueled and were robbed, loosing their maps and all the various currencies they'd collected from the stops along the way. The clipper spent just four hours in Natal before departing for Port of Spain, Trinidad.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxujjiwgIQF_OWO93XI6VGBQT-N0j51s7MNu7gxmjB23hXD4BhkAEnGwmnXVKPk8H3HIb_1wQ8Sxr5wITxIwkcZxOX69KQoryzjSmrgUhp1gSKumTj8-_rwub0muiHYCwssbnvUfJTZUc/s1600/Stewardess+aboard+a+Boeing+314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxujjiwgIQF_OWO93XI6VGBQT-N0j51s7MNu7gxmjB23hXD4BhkAEnGwmnXVKPk8H3HIb_1wQ8Sxr5wITxIwkcZxOX69KQoryzjSmrgUhp1gSKumTj8-_rwub0muiHYCwssbnvUfJTZUc/s400/Stewardess+aboard+a+Boeing+314.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A stewardess in the galley of a pre-war Boeing 314.<br />
Source: The Flying Boat Forum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Trinidad to New York was the last leg of the trip. On the morning of January 6, 1942, air traffic control at La Guardia in Long Island, New York received a radio message: <span style="background-color: white;">"</span><em style="background-color: white;">Pacific Clipper</em><span style="background-color: white;">, inbound from Auckland, New Zealand, Captain Ford reporting. Due to arrive Pan American Marine Terminal LaGuardia seven minutes." </span>The <i>Pacific Clipper</i> had made it home, flying 31,5000 miles since it left Treasure Island!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrDK6Vhhar53DCZE0WNR-NvtGacB7rWdrFnVP7l_rvljYz8LyFp0XIrwi4ZvASnGJ8TwANBJV3NFHqfnZfVVch0QtDBJEj3bRbz1VmQpPeDTIvAKqubO9NkYVJ3kzWByGXDdhFVboN2F5/s1600/Pan+Am+clipper+flight.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrDK6Vhhar53DCZE0WNR-NvtGacB7rWdrFnVP7l_rvljYz8LyFp0XIrwi4ZvASnGJ8TwANBJV3NFHqfnZfVVch0QtDBJEj3bRbz1VmQpPeDTIvAKqubO9NkYVJ3kzWByGXDdhFVboN2F5/s1600/Pan+Am+clipper+flight.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entire 31,500 mile long route.<br />
Source: http://geoscience.wisc.edu/~maher/pacclip.html.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What became of the <i>Pacific Clipper</i> and the other Boeing 314s after 1941? During World War 2, the planes often flew military missions, while crewed by civilian Pan Am employees. A clipper flew President Roosevelt to the 1943 Casablanca Conference; they made military flights from the U.S. to locations as distant as Russia and Liberia. Nine of the twelve planes survived the war intact. By the time the war ended, the clippers were no longer cutting-edge craft they were in 1941. Lockheed Constellations and Douglas DC-4s rendered seaplanes obsolete.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5K606h3pK-nIH9N2A3XLMqrQDh0LrIsKrGV3tn9zpSN2DLgZwcZ7y0W5wL-9gapZHTFiA5rztIr3BKLPjByhuGFZtwRUkMcj2lNYPP2WyACceG8P3VzyogTTQV0FsWyzCNcVNIjiXwlN/s1600/A+DC-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5K606h3pK-nIH9N2A3XLMqrQDh0LrIsKrGV3tn9zpSN2DLgZwcZ7y0W5wL-9gapZHTFiA5rztIr3BKLPjByhuGFZtwRUkMcj2lNYPP2WyACceG8P3VzyogTTQV0FsWyzCNcVNIjiXwlN/s400/A+DC-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A DC-4. Looks pretty much like any modern airplane, doesn't it?<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The U.S. Navy bought the <i>Pacific Clipper </i>from Pan Am in 1946; then sold it to Universal Airlines. Soon after that, it was damaged in a storm and sold for parts. In fact, all of the remaining clippers were sold for scrap by 1951, and none exist today. Aircraft technology was evolving so quickly at that point that the Boeing 314s had become out-of-fashion relics, apparently not thought to be worth preserving in a museum.<br />
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Sources: <a href="http://geoscience.wisc.edu/~maher/pacclip.html">Pacific Clipper's Round-the-World Flight</a>; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Clipper">Wikipedia</a>; <a href="http://patterico.com/2010/04/07/wwii-and-the-story-of-pan-ams-pacific-clipper/">Patterico</a>; <a href="http://blog.nasm.si.edu/aviation/december-7-1941-and-the-first-around-the-world-commercial-flight/">Smithsonian AirSpace Blog</a>; <a href="http://www.flyingclippers.com/postflight/6580-X.html">Flying Clippers</a>.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-85879246600178546782013-03-10T23:57:00.000-05:002013-03-11T00:04:26.050-05:00Carnival of Space, Week 292!<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Welcome to the Carnival of Space! This is my third time hosting the Carnival; you can find my first Carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/carnival-of-space-271.html">here</a> and my second carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/carnival-of-space-284.html">here</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The Carnival is a weekly round-up of space stories from around the internet. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">If you've got a space-related blog, you too can join the Carnival of Space. Email carnivalofspace at gmail dot com to host, share a story you wrote, and to get to know other space bloggers. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyNDhRufFekhT6yT2tQHX5ZuCpPpKwtYNAMF4adSqkruOorlNXyUOPSHHKDj0_8v3p-96auXzQTVHheXtbBnxd0uVTnLaR5k3C3bo_IhjJnW5ghnLVIa_QwWpAoWS7NQNuniZu8Z9LAzP/s1600/Cassini's+view+of+Saturn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyNDhRufFekhT6yT2tQHX5ZuCpPpKwtYNAMF4adSqkruOorlNXyUOPSHHKDj0_8v3p-96auXzQTVHheXtbBnxd0uVTnLaR5k3C3bo_IhjJnW5ghnLVIa_QwWpAoWS7NQNuniZu8Z9LAzP/s400/Cassini's+view+of+Saturn.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cassini's view of Saturn.<br />Source: NASA.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This week's carnival of space is rather dramatic! Read on to learn strategies for galactic domination... to see storms on Saturn and the Sun... to learn about threats facing the Earth (sequestration) Mars (a possible collision with a comet?) and Europa (sharks?! Well, maybe...) </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://weareallinthegutter.wordpress.com/">We are all in the Gutter</a> explains how <a href="http://weareallinthegutter.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/starcraft-science/">video game data can help use decide which galactic domination strategy is best</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://chandra.si.edu/">Chandra X-Ray Observatory blog</a> shares recent <a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/node/427">discoveries in probing extreme matter through observations of neutron stars</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">There's big news this week from one of Jupiter's moons! <a href="http://themeridianijournal.com/">The Meridiani Journal</a> and <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/">Yahoo News</a> reports that <a href="http://themeridianijournal.com/2013/03/more-evidence-that-europas-ocean-is-similar-to-earths/">Europa's oceans appear to be somewhat similar to Earth's .</a>.. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-europas-ocean-similar-earths-may-contain-life-193800878.html">the chemical composition may be able to support marine life</a>.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLVJo2q4Ej39j9RJVn70DSa79He78JsDg8vlYJlMrjBUpUblqS8bDZB5r2TZ_i6rxKW1otMPDqINnfss0UskmfNmKKU_pR2P74qDucb7l-19v96zxYkeAyf5jAy9my9nfCv97eVCYuw-N/s1600/Europa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLVJo2q4Ej39j9RJVn70DSa79He78JsDg8vlYJlMrjBUpUblqS8bDZB5r2TZ_i6rxKW1otMPDqINnfss0UskmfNmKKU_pR2P74qDucb7l-19v96zxYkeAyf5jAy9my9nfCv97eVCYuw-N/s400/Europa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cracks on Europa (possibly reaching down to a subsurface ocean?)<br />
Source: Space.com.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">In an interview this past week, NBC News anchor </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/nbc-s-brian-williams-disappointed-america-i-feel-we-ought-to-be-space?cid=db_articles" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Brian Williams expressed disappointment in the U.S.'s limited commitment to manned space flight</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">. </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The Examiner</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> reports that Williams wants to see a U.S. role in exploration beyond the International Space Station and unmanned missions.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The Earth isn't the only planet in our solar system threatened with extraterrestrial collisions these days! </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The Examiner</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> reports that </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/a-comet-could-hit-mars-oct-2014?cid=db_articles" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">a comet may his Mars next Octobe</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">r.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqB1wTPl5tMeawoP2K32XBWk94h98Bbvm70bJItQnL5eqqeRuSUSQlk7jSgygwfVFvR3vtnQiSI7_pdlRcKbwq02IqsWE6VpZnLA26vKjl1KfuxJa_jJ6OafqRTgseu309OnPErnb9sVay/s1600/Riding+with+Robots+gullies+in+the+mist.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqB1wTPl5tMeawoP2K32XBWk94h98Bbvm70bJItQnL5eqqeRuSUSQlk7jSgygwfVFvR3vtnQiSI7_pdlRcKbwq02IqsWE6VpZnLA26vKjl1KfuxJa_jJ6OafqRTgseu309OnPErnb9sVay/s640/Riding+with+Robots+gullies+in+the+mist.png" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mist rising from gullies on Mars.<br />
Source: Riding with Robots on the High Frontier.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">What effect will sequestration have on NASA? </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Yahoo News</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> examines </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/house-scrambles-mitigate-effects-sequestration-nasa-180400439.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">a House bill to ensure funding to NASA's commercial space program and Space Launch System</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Does news of the sequester make you want to leave our planet? </span><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Universe Today</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> shares </span><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/100577/join-the-golden-spike-video-contest/" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Golden Spike's announcement seeking crowdfunding for its planned commercial missions to the moon</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #00002e; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the charms of a trip to the International Space Station is the beautiful view. <a href="http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/">Astronotes</a> shares <a href="http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/10-amazing-photos-taken-from-the-international-space-station.html">ten amazing photos taken by the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS</a>.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqW8VFSB8VgrkxYCyBrGDh6OswL7Cf2QKqvUqw1jrYW71aGO_Db7GsNugglZ1sGpgn5JBnoWY8a-8o1YuR0AmjRVWkYeZXppV9G8JYoUlORiMMLm3PeIZmdyx2wMVJAkjxBVttxxkTq4CL/s1600/long+exposure+photo+of+the+ISS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqW8VFSB8VgrkxYCyBrGDh6OswL7Cf2QKqvUqw1jrYW71aGO_Db7GsNugglZ1sGpgn5JBnoWY8a-8o1YuR0AmjRVWkYeZXppV9G8JYoUlORiMMLm3PeIZmdyx2wMVJAkjxBVttxxkTq4CL/s400/long+exposure+photo+of+the+ISS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful long-exposure photo from the ISS.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">SpaceX is developing a new spaceship that will be reusable and can land anywhere on Earth, similar to a helicopter <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/">Next Big Future</a> reports that <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/03/spacex-grasshopper-flies-and-hovers-at.html">this craft, the Grasshopper, successfully completed a short test flight this past week</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://fraknoi.blogspot.com/">Andrew Fraknoi: Exploring the Universe</a><span style="color: #00002e;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> shares a video recorded by a Sun-observing spacecraft, showing a <a href="http://fraknoi.blogspot.com/2013/03/rain-on-sun-remarkable-video.html">massive solar eruption and a resulting rain of hot particles</a>. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently the Cassini space craft has been watching <a href="http://www.weirdwarp.com/2013/03/cassini-sees-massive-storm/">a huge storm on Saturn</a>. <a href="http://www.weirdwarp.com/">Weird Warp</a> reports on this storm, and shares beautiful time lapse photo of the disturbances in Saturn's atmosphere!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4LGGtjaXVehMlPdDXRLNSCgs5nlsAQmLYJ0dmdvkYVOlXicS3YQ1ai6evdfngqxHsDgfY7GNltJrySY6IdIFUbvrXB5TacYjaERr75tcRPZuKA95jsKzfIPYV5kIXC8OAngfcdLinNYE/s1600/Hubble+infared+of+Saturn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4LGGtjaXVehMlPdDXRLNSCgs5nlsAQmLYJ0dmdvkYVOlXicS3YQ1ai6evdfngqxHsDgfY7GNltJrySY6IdIFUbvrXB5TacYjaERr75tcRPZuKA95jsKzfIPYV5kIXC8OAngfcdLinNYE/s400/Hubble+infared+of+Saturn.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An infrared photo of Saturn, by the Hubble Space Telescope.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">After all the impacts, storms, and sequester drama, are you left thinking you better learn a bit more about our chaotic universe? Then you c</span><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">an check out </span><a href="http://www.cheapastro.com/" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Cheap Astronomy</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">'s latest podcast, which </span><a href="http://www.cheapastro.com/podcasts/CA164_DearCA005.mp3" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">answers tricky questions about outer space</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">For more answers to interesting space questions (e.g., "Does the landscape of the Moon include cliffs?") check out </span><a href="http://www.dearastronomer.com/" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Dear Astronomer</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">'s post </span><a href="http://www.dearastronomer.com/2013/03/08/reader-question-lunar-geology/" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">responding to readers' queries about lunar geology</a><span style="color: #00002e; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNIo-9NP94zgs3OtyrFBrdAKsia4M0DDGIWYtmHeuZmceS488Xtl87adMLaQ_-owFn1S7bdEu153b2HIT99nYF18vNoeFFm2Bqg49tQMjoD8-mWhaMi4as5BNZSRe8SQRN2fieYjw85KQ/s1600/The+Moon+in+Minnesota.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNIo-9NP94zgs3OtyrFBrdAKsia4M0DDGIWYtmHeuZmceS488Xtl87adMLaQ_-owFn1S7bdEu153b2HIT99nYF18vNoeFFm2Bqg49tQMjoD8-mWhaMi4as5BNZSRe8SQRN2fieYjw85KQ/s400/The+Moon+in+Minnesota.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Moonrise viewed last month in Minnesota.<br />
Source: Astrobob.</td></tr>
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Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-22968190488279560552013-02-10T18:53:00.000-06:002013-08-26T22:32:32.270-05:00A space-themed dinner and a bill for $312,421.24In 1999, Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell and his family opened a steakhouse in the northern suburbs of Chicago: <a href="http://www.lovellsoflakeforest.com/">Lovells of Lake Forest</a>. I'd been wanting to try it out since reading <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/96831/shrimp-with-a-side-of-space-history-visiting-lovells-of-lake-forest/">Elizabeth Howell's review over at Universe Today</a> a few months ago. So the boyfriend and I went a few weeks ago to celebrate my birthday, and it was a space nerd's dream come true.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqhVEnByS9mCVxP5hS3vMwhGe3wsNV7kkTVC367O_CjX_IwpYbohHkg1TjqmbVaxoDKcKJ0ENdceXmel5rg2tzp_1SGQJG5evhsK__Bqx_fXcZjFcz7hYUgUi5W1XCXHkKnoHtvu1qclC/s1600/Gene+Kranz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqhVEnByS9mCVxP5hS3vMwhGe3wsNV7kkTVC367O_CjX_IwpYbohHkg1TjqmbVaxoDKcKJ0ENdceXmel5rg2tzp_1SGQJG5evhsK__Bqx_fXcZjFcz7hYUgUi5W1XCXHkKnoHtvu1qclC/s400/Gene+Kranz.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gene Kranz, lead flight director during Apollo 13, chows down.<br />
Source: Vintage Space.</td></tr>
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The restaurant is full of Apollo and Gemini memorabilia, including a giant mural called <i>Steeds of Apollo</i>, painted by Luman Winter in 1969 for the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. The hotel auctioned the painting off when remodeling a few decades later. The Lovells wanted to buy it, but were outbid. Turns out that a family friend, Tom Hanks (a.k.a., <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112384/">Commander Lovell in Apollo 1</a>3!) had put in the winning bid, to give the mural to them as a present! Now, it hangs behind the bar in the restaurant.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7GZhpCYNOGIh5_Z5ZH0R5flKBN2Ol2EvpsYCv3nX8x3_uHE71hKOLVJoZrov8-gJ9LGqqTNoCjTzramGU_hCauSkFVTG1iIjWuJpIFISsls5matV9pEC0tfDvtjuLbrvgV4vxqkIjCzs/s1600/DSC_1509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7GZhpCYNOGIh5_Z5ZH0R5flKBN2Ol2EvpsYCv3nX8x3_uHE71hKOLVJoZrov8-gJ9LGqqTNoCjTzramGU_hCauSkFVTG1iIjWuJpIFISsls5matV9pEC0tfDvtjuLbrvgV4vxqkIjCzs/s400/DSC_1509.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Steeds of Apollo, at Lovells of Lake Forest.</td></tr>
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Our meal was delicious- I had pasta and a Greek salad; the boyfriend had a rack of lamb. For dessert I ate cheesecake and he had crème brûlée. Oh, and I had a "heatshield martini" - basically a Bloody Mary, but with an outer space themed name!<br />
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After we ate, we wandered around looking at the photos and NASA-themed trinkets. The maître d' told us that a few weeks before we visited, Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17 and thus the last man on the moon, came to Lovells for dinner. (We were wondering- do Apollo astronauts eat for free at Lovells?) Cernan was checking out the memorabilia and came across this photo:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjjnfxvxCpo0E7Q_gxXOeGltTon9idK8g3LvPopaVfqdoR0sxG9rD4Wvw0xR2AuN8F9yuFOxg5iSQmqLpaYqxRPStubU_lBcwbJd0MNoChLVGkRqQnwqgFhg-4pq5EEmsC93WN-zF7_vXK/s1600/aaaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjjnfxvxCpo0E7Q_gxXOeGltTon9idK8g3LvPopaVfqdoR0sxG9rD4Wvw0xR2AuN8F9yuFOxg5iSQmqLpaYqxRPStubU_lBcwbJd0MNoChLVGkRqQnwqgFhg-4pq5EEmsC93WN-zF7_vXK/s400/aaaa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Earth from Apollo 17, at Lovells of Lake Forest.</td></tr>
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Cernan told the restaurant staff that something was wrong with the picture. Can you see the mistake he found? The photo I took is a little washed out, but if you look closely at the landmass beneath the clouds, you'll see that Africa is upside down. Well, technically there isn't really an upside down or right side up for our planet, but according to Cernan, Africa was facing the other way when he took the photo, and Lovell hung his photo upside down. This is what the not washed-out, right side up version of the same photo looks like:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadzYSy9L0INTvRbaD88jQf77uEHhlHUssvhXl6mAbPFpmH2CTUtpZ6bErUwI0A-UMJqSTFH4CVWBYvTXndXlWp6VX5CSF6quELtMSEavPgAL351swVzHQ2zYJVR_Zp8eYFw0ZXRVRZpD0/s1600/The+Earth+from+Space+Apollo+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadzYSy9L0INTvRbaD88jQf77uEHhlHUssvhXl6mAbPFpmH2CTUtpZ6bErUwI0A-UMJqSTFH4CVWBYvTXndXlWp6VX5CSF6quELtMSEavPgAL351swVzHQ2zYJVR_Zp8eYFw0ZXRVRZpD0/s400/The+Earth+from+Space+Apollo+17.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Earth from Space, viewed by the Apollo 17 crew.<br />
Source: MSNBC.</td></tr>
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The story of the Apollo 13 mission is an amazing story, perhaps humanity's best true space adventure story so far. I loved Jim Lovell's book (<i>Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13</i>) and I loved the Tom Hanks movie. Between those sources and a trip to Lovells of Lake Forest, I figured I'd exhausted the wealth of Apollo 13 trivia available to me. But then today I came across the story of the Apollo 13 tow truck prank...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOIL7STImLQ6AOtr6KpBktYjYYxzSOy7BLqyNMyODjhsOOUXiiNvUvALB4Co70GUYTTQ3SbgeyyMKvyYoAd8sGPMecgE4UuhNbEgsh28gsAA12SqbBRnBEeqLopwEcTWxOGQAQO217Qt2/s1600/Commander+Lovell+reads+about+his+safe+return.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOIL7STImLQ6AOtr6KpBktYjYYxzSOy7BLqyNMyODjhsOOUXiiNvUvALB4Co70GUYTTQ3SbgeyyMKvyYoAd8sGPMecgE4UuhNbEgsh28gsAA12SqbBRnBEeqLopwEcTWxOGQAQO217Qt2/s400/Commander+Lovell+reads+about+his+safe+return.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commander Lovell reads about his safe return, after the fact.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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The tow truck prank is a goofy footnote to Apollo 13's amazing story. Moon-bound Apollo spacecraft were comprised of three main parts: service, command, and lunar modules. A little over two days into John Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise's trip to the Fra Maru highlands, an oxygen tank exploded in the spacecraft's service module, severely crippling it. This left the command module without adequate oxygen and power for the duration of the trip back to Earth. So, the three men powered down the command module and defunct service module, slingshotting around the moon in the lunar module, with the command module and crippled service module attached.<br />
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Once they returned to Earth, Lovell, Swigert, and Haise jettisoned the lunar modules and service modules and descended in the command module. Effectively, the lunar module served as their lifeboat for the period of time between the explosion and when they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. Without it, there would have been zero chance for a safe return to Earth.<br />
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The lunar module was so helpful because its systems (of course) have to be able to operate independently of the command module and service module. With some creative fixes stretching out resources meant for a shorter trip to the moon for two men, it had enough power and supplies to keep the three men pressurized, warm enough (they were still very chilly), and breathing during their voyage home.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyJYWhUod1Up10km5lKd-Wz3linHR3PODyzLbEC6tmBQJh6TRpb8X8qBeFJQg6rYw7vibuIAmigs4yP-2qM905gTpnMTR2XCb47blcxm3HWIrY0R1o60bqjUZerrCTj9HWLnsP4HaJwYD/s1600/Damaged+Apollo+13+service+module.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyJYWhUod1Up10km5lKd-Wz3linHR3PODyzLbEC6tmBQJh6TRpb8X8qBeFJQg6rYw7vibuIAmigs4yP-2qM905gTpnMTR2XCb47blcxm3HWIrY0R1o60bqjUZerrCTj9HWLnsP4HaJwYD/s400/Damaged+Apollo+13+service+module.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the damaged Apollo 13 service module. <br />
The instrumentation on the right side shouldn't be visible: the explosion blew the panels off the side of the craft.<br />
Source: Universe Today.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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All of the Apollo lunar modules were built by a private contractor, Grumman Aerospace. The service modules and command modules were built by a different contractor, North American Aerospace. No doubt Grumman staff were very proud of the lunar module's critical role in rescuing the Apollo 13 crew... and following Apollo 13's safe landing, a few Grumman employees pulled a prank: invoicing North American for the cost of towing the command module and service module back to Earth!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErtkblm19NgCMUywtl1fvMmQ-0ekJ5ePZUuFZypYPTsPrVZLtH-Af8UWhr8WNXjmKJLGmuXrnaPyoaVw5tgwhpA1yRrS_i6cFMHcxSqvEPgwBE6li2Cp_aG1a_FqiWa3Ik-RTx8DMVCwz/s1600/Grumman+Towing+Fee+for+Northrup.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErtkblm19NgCMUywtl1fvMmQ-0ekJ5ePZUuFZypYPTsPrVZLtH-Af8UWhr8WNXjmKJLGmuXrnaPyoaVw5tgwhpA1yRrS_i6cFMHcxSqvEPgwBE6li2Cp_aG1a_FqiWa3Ik-RTx8DMVCwz/s400/Grumman+Towing+Fee+for+Northrup.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grumman's invoice.<br />
Source: Sarah's Geek Blog.</td></tr>
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Anyone unfortunate enough to have their ride break down won't be surprised to learn that Grumman charged North American for a few extras beyond the base towing rate:<br />
<ul>
<li>400,001 miles at a cost of $4.00 for the first mile and $1.00 for each additional mile, adding up to a total of $400,004. </li>
<li>Jumping the command module's batteries prior to reentry: $4.05.</li>
<li>$10.00 per pound for 50 pounds lunar module oxygen: $500.00.</li>
<li>$8.00/night for 4 night stay by an unexpected guest, Fred Haises, who should have been orbiting the moon during the lunar module's trip to the surface: $32.00. (Note: the invoice lists a check-out time of noon on April 17th, 1970).</li>
</ul>
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Generously, Grumman threw in a few freebies: no charge for use of the lunar module's water, no charge for baggage transfer between the command module and lunar module, and no gratuities. On top of that, a 20% "commercial discount" and an extra 2% discount for payment made in cash was offered. No tax was added, since the whole project was arranged via government contracts. Grumman also did not charge extra for the costs associated with an expected lunar module trip to the moon: air conditioning, a radio, and a room with a view(!) </div>
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The total cost, with discounts, added up to $312,421.24.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyw4B5qF61p-NlpgMVkW9izWWHn_lxCd3XxBdpm3uEmKp6ocCZ2wFJIZ-_uF9x_MgEczNN8awm9WqjqZVsfjAcrYrdtpOWrEfNwg950kGjdrLUwFkEs93gDGVwPotmLPS5rYJNdI5E7S_M/s1600/Recovery+of+the+Apollo+13+command+module.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyw4B5qF61p-NlpgMVkW9izWWHn_lxCd3XxBdpm3uEmKp6ocCZ2wFJIZ-_uF9x_MgEczNN8awm9WqjqZVsfjAcrYrdtpOWrEfNwg950kGjdrLUwFkEs93gDGVwPotmLPS5rYJNdI5E7S_M/s400/Recovery+of+the+Apollo+13+command+module.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recovering the Apollo 13 command module (at no extra cost to North American Rockwell!)<br />
Source: Wired.</td></tr>
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The staff of Grumman's Flight Control Integration Lab was responsible for writing up the invoice. Their joke was leaked by Sam Greenberg, a Grumman employee who was fired for his trouble... and then personally reinstated a couple hours later by Grumman's president, Lou Evans. North American responded to the prank with a press conference. They demanded payment from Grumman for the command module and service module's role in towing lunar modules to the moon during Apollo 10, 11, and 12!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopUaxu3UM3YA8-u8ShlNxCmCYAn3mNZog91DJTCv9QdjcqzB7njni-R3mJW8l_CUaLkTh8dH1zU3nrPCpzAvn0UMTEOTCsEOvJa2Vf2sRjGWU4y1ao73YeOOB_Cvjc3-jS3f32eWj-bGR/s1600/Apollo+13+splashdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopUaxu3UM3YA8-u8ShlNxCmCYAn3mNZog91DJTCv9QdjcqzB7njni-R3mJW8l_CUaLkTh8dH1zU3nrPCpzAvn0UMTEOTCsEOvJa2Vf2sRjGWU4y1ao73YeOOB_Cvjc3-jS3f32eWj-bGR/s400/Apollo+13+splashdown.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Apollo 13's command module splashes down.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Sources: Lovells of Lake Forest; Everything2.com; Sarah's Geek Blog; Wikipedia.<br />
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Note: Speaking of Gene Kranz and Apollo 13, I finished Kranz's autobiography, <i><a href="http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B005I5JBPM&source_code=GO1DG9048SH080912&mkwid=plaB005I5JBPM&gclid=CKz4_unYrLUCFYk7MgodxGsA-w">Failure is not an Option</a></i>, a few weeks ago. I highly recommend it! He's got the inside scoop on decades worth of NASA missions, and he's a friendly and thorough narrator.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-9849728551459762522013-02-03T21:00:00.002-06:002013-08-26T22:24:10.018-05:00A long fall to Earth and a short tumble downhillIn the history of manned spaceflight, there have been only two high-altitude rocket accidents. In 1986, an o-ring seal failed at launch, allowing pressurized gas to escape one of Challengers's solid rocket boosters. The leak compromised the integrity of the solid rocket booster and the external fuel tank. Challenger, its rockets, and the fuel tank broke apart just 73 second after launch. All seven astronauts aboard died.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9arLoMYVy5enCSxQaqHXC-sF3D0uBAd17QVOsk9synrVtDU3f0W3sqKToN_weagTzbRExrw-AvanvGnWZfzFr5pU_53_aGAKX2yRRJQl-KgvsbDDQoW9qto6H0EktWCDVUVBheyqCmPyj/s1600/Challenger+launch.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9arLoMYVy5enCSxQaqHXC-sF3D0uBAd17QVOsk9synrVtDU3f0W3sqKToN_weagTzbRExrw-AvanvGnWZfzFr5pU_53_aGAKX2yRRJQl-KgvsbDDQoW9qto6H0EktWCDVUVBheyqCmPyj/s400/Challenger+launch.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Challenger's last flight, moments after lift-off.<br />
Source: Universe Today.</td></tr>
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The crew of Soyuz 18a, Cosmonauts Oleg Markov and Vasili Lazarev, experienced the other high-altitude rocket accident in April 1975. Less than five minutes into their flight to Salyut 4 (one of the Soviet Union's <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-cold-war-instead-of-space-war.html">early space stations</a>) the second stage of the craft's rocket failed to fully separate from the third stage. The third stage fired with the second still attached, straining the booster and causing the Soyuz to fly off course. This triggered an automatic abort, detaching the launch/re-entry capsule from the service module, orbital module, and rocket, and sending the capsule straight back down to Earth.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJfWtbzyAjGs_U1VUhXxCEWmKQFPZ2Qf8b24JRiMQ5Zp7vdTFseteFiRBkdMLxVjHA7lWR7ayt4VbRtvvqC6wNStTqQjhNVi2NFb0WVTn00mdz40PiX6_vv7ukm8kWgAwpZhtyHrY7otC/s1600/Soyuz+18a+crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJfWtbzyAjGs_U1VUhXxCEWmKQFPZ2Qf8b24JRiMQ5Zp7vdTFseteFiRBkdMLxVjHA7lWR7ayt4VbRtvvqC6wNStTqQjhNVi2NFb0WVTn00mdz40PiX6_vv7ukm8kWgAwpZhtyHrY7otC/s400/Soyuz+18a+crew.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Markov and Lazarev.<br />
Source: spacefacts.de.</td></tr>
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An abort early in Soyuz flight is a rough ride under ideal conditions. Typically cosmonauts would experience 15Gs on their ride back to Earth. But Soyuz 18a's capsule was pointed straight down at Earth when the abort was triggered, making the descent even more severe. During the worst of it, the two cosmonauts experienced 21.3 Gs (which I wouldn't have thought survivable...). Amazingly, both men lived through the G-forces, the parachute worked, and the capsule landed in one piece. The G-forces were enough to break their ribs, though, and Lazarev in particular was pretty badly hurt. Markov went on to fly in space again several more times after Soyuz 18a, but Lazarev never did.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbh8El39ZS7QV1xrKEiYUBlx2kbltKqc7eqkcZf2xPv3AX6vZ0ltc73YG8oek89AwZUa75lYRKzIzBCroNlFQXBq76i1gu22D_dPG0FU4yFVnqlstLd_soA7XM0bQroVekr1lH9WO5R0V/s1600/Soyuz+launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbh8El39ZS7QV1xrKEiYUBlx2kbltKqc7eqkcZf2xPv3AX6vZ0ltc73YG8oek89AwZUa75lYRKzIzBCroNlFQXBq76i1gu22D_dPG0FU4yFVnqlstLd_soA7XM0bQroVekr1lH9WO5R0V/s400/Soyuz+launch.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Soyuz being transported to the launch pad.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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If its flight to Salyut 4 had gone as planned, Soyuz 18a's crew would have spent 60 days in space and then landed on the empty plains of central Kazakhstan. The aborted mission ended up landing hundreds miles further west than this intended target, though. The capsule impacted on a snowy mountainside in the Altai Range. It had fallen 90 miles in about 15 minutes, and Sir Isaac Newton wasn't quite done yet.<br />
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Upon landing, the barrel-shaped spacecraft began to roll down the mountainside! Luckily, its parachutes got snagged on surrounding trees; otherwise Soyuz 18a it would have rolled right off a 500 foot cliff that was just downhill from the spacecraft's impact site!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HvnIPQBWE6FuJ7So8KA1T8IMTGI1U3UFbv-HLw6VsD0L9G3jjdZ2WsGXJOUbxU79ReH3m1lk3OaIvRi_0nWmcX9GytAtFXP23u-B9uwY-24VMgUh_UFjs_7oqyT5Ayi8Vte5Kvt-X_di/s1600/Soyuz+18a+crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HvnIPQBWE6FuJ7So8KA1T8IMTGI1U3UFbv-HLw6VsD0L9G3jjdZ2WsGXJOUbxU79ReH3m1lk3OaIvRi_0nWmcX9GytAtFXP23u-B9uwY-24VMgUh_UFjs_7oqyT5Ayi8Vte5Kvt-X_di/s400/Soyuz+18a+crew.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Markov and Lazarev.<br />
Source: spacefacts.de.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Even though the spacecraft came to a stop, the danger wasn't quite over yet. The wildly off-course flight could have landed Soyuz 18a in Western China instead of Eastern Kazakhstan. That would mean trouble for Markov and Lazarev. In 1975, Sino-Soviet relations were icy. The cosmonauts would most likely have been imprisoned by the Chinese government.<br />
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Markov later recalled that the injured crew was joined after landing by curious folks from a nearby village who'd seen the capsule parachuting down. He knew they were finally safe when he heard the approaching crowd shouting at them in Russian, not Chinese. Soyuz 18a stop short of plummeting down a cliff, and stopped short of crossing the Chinese border.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjA2pSU_0yupRhV5hO9jfUNjOFnPmKALyxEmCjd_rzUywcWYyUcBuyrlQovrl7F7pL5kbCK1seQY57gELJPSYmcVApC6b_uwifUYtnKdSCME8KcZyuYizOOsuWKHPoylxNzerSMJxl4CY/s1600/The+Altai+Mountains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjA2pSU_0yupRhV5hO9jfUNjOFnPmKALyxEmCjd_rzUywcWYyUcBuyrlQovrl7F7pL5kbCK1seQY57gELJPSYmcVApC6b_uwifUYtnKdSCME8KcZyuYizOOsuWKHPoylxNzerSMJxl4CY/s400/The+Altai+Mountains.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the Alati Mountain Range.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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A few months ago I wrote about another Soyuz mission that encountered <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/drama-on-lake-tenzig.html">high drama after landing</a>. But I don't want to give the impression that Soyuz spacecraft are particularly dangerous- they've flown over a hundred times, and haven't experienced a fatal accident in over 40 years! Launching and falling to Earth in a capsule has proven safer than flying in a shuttle. A serious rocket accident during a Soyuz launch may well be survivable, since each Soyuz has a launch abort system. A rocket accident during a space shuttle launch would not be survivable. Even with the escape system added to shuttles after Challenger, astronauts could only survive bailing out of the shuttle during a controlled glide below 50,000 feet and travelling slower than 230 miles per hour.<br />
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Good thing NASA's replacement for the space shuttle is a capsule, featuring a launch abort system!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzblFZtz41yAiV6yw4bqSMEjm_kWlCuUcPITRj5CeoOWPqBHsPuhVfGZbJafz8NhSQL6UTEolkOzkCj9e1adfzB4twUO4-b9B-HDcdnzHTBvfD0lXUlor7_8VwH0AWFniURhTG-Sf554y/s1600/Orion+during+the+2013+inaguration+parade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzblFZtz41yAiV6yw4bqSMEjm_kWlCuUcPITRj5CeoOWPqBHsPuhVfGZbJafz8NhSQL6UTEolkOzkCj9e1adfzB4twUO4-b9B-HDcdnzHTBvfD0lXUlor7_8VwH0AWFniURhTG-Sf554y/s400/Orion+during+the+2013+inaguration+parade.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orion on parade, during the 2013 inaugural festivities!<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Sources: Christ Jones, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Too-Far-From-Home-Story/dp/0385514654">Too Far From Home</a></i>; The Once and Future Moon; Wikipedia; CollectSpace.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-13830057026420844112013-01-27T16:00:00.001-06:002013-08-26T22:16:32.976-05:00A last minute mission with a fairy tale endingColumbia's ill-fated final mission, STS-107, launched in January 2003, while Expedition 6's crew of three was living aboard the International Space Station. STS-107 was one of the last space shuttle missions that did not dock at the International Space Station. So, with the exception of the world's first long-distance extraterrestrial chess match between Station and Shuttle crew members, there was little interaction between STS-107 and Expedition 6.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaepoJY7C3qU4Xm6-Qw-kn35zyzfOH-uFhjebCR0NMl38vjLqagHKX_En6GDSCN7hpvi1PlhFrdHyPAwZTRAEd0SAAfrSzpI7QkSq-syoaCCRkTnhdQatLxQvvy0nIIb_LJJmLOPhtlYcM/s1600/3+dimensional+chess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaepoJY7C3qU4Xm6-Qw-kn35zyzfOH-uFhjebCR0NMl38vjLqagHKX_En6GDSCN7hpvi1PlhFrdHyPAwZTRAEd0SAAfrSzpI7QkSq-syoaCCRkTnhdQatLxQvvy0nIIb_LJJmLOPhtlYcM/s400/3+dimensional+chess.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">ISS crew member Don Pettit and Columbia pilot Willie McCool started (but of course never finished) a match, played on velcro chess boards</span></div>
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Source: Wikipedia.</div>
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However, the tragic Columbia accident had an immediate, serious effect on Expedition 6's mission. The disaster grounded the space shuttle fleet indefinitely, so the three astronauts' expected ride home - the Space Shuttle Atlantis - did not come to pick them up in March 2003. In fact, it was over two years before another space shuttle mission would fly again.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDx_boz7AklEd82_9j7bHP7Dw0q6S4ZTX6vXQ40KMWAQCdG6O76Xg7HkgZoQb4rHEQonHzWEJJON1fRODb0P9qAfdm7vq04nozB84pI5a7Anks391LEYeeiZIvxq16zr492WVdvc1Dwwj/s1600/A+half+moon+and+the+international+space+station,+viewed+from+Yosemite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDx_boz7AklEd82_9j7bHP7Dw0q6S4ZTX6vXQ40KMWAQCdG6O76Xg7HkgZoQb4rHEQonHzWEJJON1fRODb0P9qAfdm7vq04nozB84pI5a7Anks391LEYeeiZIvxq16zr492WVdvc1Dwwj/s400/A+half+moon+and+the+international+space+station,+viewed+from+Yosemite.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The trail of the ISS across the sky, and a full moon, viewed in Yosemite National Park.<br />
Source: Space.com.</td></tr>
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Without space shuttles launching, Don Pettit, Ken Bowersox, and Nikolai Budarin's only option for getting home was the Russian Soyuz escape capsule docked to the ISS. So the three men spent an extra month and a half in space and in May 2003 they hitched a ride home on the Soyuz, landing safely in the hills of central Kazakhstan.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfaHJPSCSplwm4iqvRIFD-9ZjxpemxwDTbBa9zQd-_gP3xZL0aMedXD0b2SRfMUkRApflqlIiKwB9hACY44ewv7AwQIvveaRM20T0ck5Q-JbBrE0wvgkg-qoN50jMLGsLVz2R5hw-hPxh/s1600/Expedition+6+just+after+landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfaHJPSCSplwm4iqvRIFD-9ZjxpemxwDTbBa9zQd-_gP3xZL0aMedXD0b2SRfMUkRApflqlIiKwB9hACY44ewv7AwQIvveaRM20T0ck5Q-JbBrE0wvgkg-qoN50jMLGsLVz2R5hw-hPxh/s400/Expedition+6+just+after+landing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Expedition 6, soon after the recovery crew arrived.<br />
Source: Spaceref.com.</td></tr>
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The ISS can't stay untended for long, so NASA and the Russian Space Agency had to cobble together a last-minute Expedition 7 to replace Pettit, Bowersox, and Budarin. Even with the ISS's amazing recycling capabilities (every drop of water aboard the station -- the vapor the crew exhales in each breath, their urine, water evaporating from drying laundry -- is recycled) the station still requires constant resupply of hydrogen, oxygen, food, and space parts.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiM0dZmu4jPX9H34s7BM5HFJTuOan9eK7zwa_jx4COvYUd1NCWDj4KHaWyefuELwjgFqtDNEw46cnWNbfJbGy0liTEXr5Ld54oeFQQrnTdcjens_00XKOGcn4pV7JahCdpF-fWXPt90vL/s1600/Long+exposure+photo+of+stars+from+the+ISS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiM0dZmu4jPX9H34s7BM5HFJTuOan9eK7zwa_jx4COvYUd1NCWDj4KHaWyefuELwjgFqtDNEw46cnWNbfJbGy0liTEXr5Ld54oeFQQrnTdcjens_00XKOGcn4pV7JahCdpF-fWXPt90vL/s400/Long+exposure+photo+of+stars+from+the+ISS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Long-exposure photo of stars taken on board the ISS.<br />
Source: Time.com.</td></tr>
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As an aside, I should mention that even though the Station is dependent on Earth, it does recycle enough hydrogen and oxygen to save $700 million a year in the cost of replenishing supplies. Chris Jones' <i>Too Far From Home </i>provides an example of just how this recycling works in practice: Pettit's favorite snack in orbit was bread and honey, and he'd use a disposable wet wipe to clean up the sticky mess after eating. Before throwing away the used wet wipe, he'd leave it out to dry for a few hours. That way, the ISS recycling system could reclaim the tiny bit of water in the wet wipe!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIcxub6X4_o-uoDHs20rulfzpSn86lWctxIDdrGe4seCGigXyLoq39dOjlpDdQ7wivJFRhj1sSl7-G89gVdWFg9_nWf0sZuMphin5q2ByCkNHTWb9J721wUTCWFM0E1X7gTkcVk6muL87/s1600/International+Space+Station+Expedition+6+crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIcxub6X4_o-uoDHs20rulfzpSn86lWctxIDdrGe4seCGigXyLoq39dOjlpDdQ7wivJFRhj1sSl7-G89gVdWFg9_nWf0sZuMphin5q2ByCkNHTWb9J721wUTCWFM0E1X7gTkcVk6muL87/s400/International+Space+Station+Expedition+6+crew.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">International Space Station Expedition 6 Crew.<br />Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Without the space shuttles flying, there weren't as many supplies being ferried up to the station. This meant that Expedition 7 was crewed by only two men instead of the usual three: Astronaut Ed Lu and Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. Both men were veterans of multiple past missions, and had flown together (and gotten along quite well) during a 2000 Atlantis mission. After they were picked, Ed had just a few short weeks to train for his unexpected Soyuz launch.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUatvAU_2wSGZVPmDvOmQdprobPICcLOOoyRGqj9rqnLHlE6aDbQ_g9I3rT7G3P6fZILJYu-iduGLk9giiVA78XR_Dh_TmkUr65LEYu80eviOBsENld2q38OHMWH_V824SMiK9nsAkRcuq/s1600/Expedition+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUatvAU_2wSGZVPmDvOmQdprobPICcLOOoyRGqj9rqnLHlE6aDbQ_g9I3rT7G3P6fZILJYu-iduGLk9giiVA78XR_Dh_TmkUr65LEYu80eviOBsENld2q38OHMWH_V824SMiK9nsAkRcuq/s400/Expedition+7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Expedition 7. Lu added an STS-107 mission patch to his suit before the launch, in honor of Columbia's last crew.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Launching in April with a bunch of extra supplies, the two men spent just a just a few days on the Station with Pettit, Bowersox, and Budarin before Expedition 6 returned to Earth. Then, for the next nearly five months, it was just Lu and Malenchenko in Earth orbit... except for a few hours on October 15, when they were joined in outer space by Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei, whose capsule orbited 40 miles below the Station.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRTCEc5PqhK4GXkOnTCubIzb8gJW-2zoxoOKB0zA4ZfASrVoMKxxyvISeM2OHzorxBpZQu9wLCo8h_yYgvOV-BqDNltDBj1lqD06sojqSsd3wzmiVqmwOaVkq-r5kAVWuL_IXE_gpyPWf/s1600/Yang+Liwei+on+landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRTCEc5PqhK4GXkOnTCubIzb8gJW-2zoxoOKB0zA4ZfASrVoMKxxyvISeM2OHzorxBpZQu9wLCo8h_yYgvOV-BqDNltDBj1lqD06sojqSsd3wzmiVqmwOaVkq-r5kAVWuL_IXE_gpyPWf/s400/Yang+Liwei+on+landing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astronaut Yang, after completing China's first manned space flight!<br />
Source: nowscape.com.</td></tr>
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Lu and Malenchenko shared something in common that I don't think any other spaceflight crews have: they were both engaged to be married when they went into space! Lu had proposed to his fiancee, Christine Romero, in Star City a week before he launched. Malenchenko had also recently gotten engaged when he was picked to fly. Lu and Romero were married a year after the launch, in May 2004. Malenchenko, however, was married in August 2003, <b><u>while aboard the International Space Station</u>(!!!)</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBZ3F0UxGFnkB4XjaTgZ0Op5Scsmfz4smVL61JaB9yGAZyZKwJsEwPlMKySG7alEOqjfOClDc5tNatDlSiKAEb2c2mUz0w7-HWNa4Vc12v4uutPvgL5MRwAZ9uxfOLxUfJT8uo0NrdicG/s1600/Ed+Lu+and+Christine+Romero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtBZ3F0UxGFnkB4XjaTgZ0Op5Scsmfz4smVL61JaB9yGAZyZKwJsEwPlMKySG7alEOqjfOClDc5tNatDlSiKAEb2c2mUz0w7-HWNa4Vc12v4uutPvgL5MRwAZ9uxfOLxUfJT8uo0NrdicG/s400/Ed+Lu+and+Christine+Romero.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed Lu and Christine Romero, back at Johnson Space Center after Expedition 7's return.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Malenchenko and his fiance Ekaterina Dmitrieva took advantage of a quirk of Texas law that allows a wedding to proceed by proxy with one party absent. Kat Dmitrieva, a Russia-born Texan, walked down the aisle of an auditorium at NASA's Johnson Space Center in front of several hundred guests. Meanwhile, floating about 240 miles above New Zealand, Malenchenko hovered in front of a video camera and TV screen, with Ed Lu, his best man and only witness, floating beside him. Lu played "here comes the bride" on the station's electronic keyboard. Following the ceremony, everyone (except Malenchenko and Lu) enjoyed a wedding reception at a fancy restaurant nearby.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcOpo8ywCIVauUYMv7ECJ-a0zOcYHKtldzmQpLLB3y63W7w6UwNyECVfuZnPDy5-BySovqsfaDSlNNNTxShd7jFnSAn6HaTYYNoB1VfyAbcX9ml0pXD1XxlMTcMvm8utca4-YD9j44NjA/s1600/Space+wedding!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcOpo8ywCIVauUYMv7ECJ-a0zOcYHKtldzmQpLLB3y63W7w6UwNyECVfuZnPDy5-BySovqsfaDSlNNNTxShd7jFnSAn6HaTYYNoB1VfyAbcX9ml0pXD1XxlMTcMvm8utca4-YD9j44NjA/s400/Space+wedding!.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A lifesize cardboard cutout of Malenchenko, bowtie added, attended the wedding reception.<br />
Source: MSNBC.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The extraterrestrial couple's road to the alter was not without a few bumps. Apparently the Russian Space Agency was a little iffy about allowing the wedding to proceed... Malenchenko is a military officer, and there are restrictions on marriages between officers and foreign citizens. But eventually they gave the wedding their go-ahead. The couple will celebrate their ten year anniversary this July; they have one son. Lu and Romero are coming up on their ninth anniversary, and also have a child.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuKbRsKNSCTky28dP14MemPiDvk52rtn2YL7CHAluylB-iIyOREYE-P07sUH8xYZeJ0pTEL_y7oWCK1T-qobFPYE1AvL7h7LqsrdKnhyuM58HEdPokQ4DdQzeX7piee2J6SAjEB8mqsGj/s1600/International+Space+Station+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuKbRsKNSCTky28dP14MemPiDvk52rtn2YL7CHAluylB-iIyOREYE-P07sUH8xYZeJ0pTEL_y7oWCK1T-qobFPYE1AvL7h7LqsrdKnhyuM58HEdPokQ4DdQzeX7piee2J6SAjEB8mqsGj/s400/International+Space+Station+wedding.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wedding chapel with a view.<br />
Source: zmescience.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Sources: </b>MSNBC; Florida Today; Wikipedia; and a great audio book I've been listening to lately: Chris Jones's <i><a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002V0LTS4&qid=1359180646&sr=1-1">Too Far From Home</a></i>, the story of Pettit, Bowersox, and Budarin's time on the international space station following the Columbia disaster.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-61561839594207028192013-01-21T18:15:00.000-06:002013-01-21T18:15:09.128-06:00The Space Shuttles' Faithful FriendsFor over thirty years, a small fleet of airplanes made possible each space shuttle flight. <span style="text-align: center;">First, there's the Northrop T-38 Talon. The T-38 is the world's first supersonic jet trainer, and the longest serving, as T-38s are still in use today. During the heyday of the space shuttle program, NASA operated a fleet of over 30 of these little airplanes, which were used to train astronauts and employed as chase planes during the first space shuttle landings and space shuttle transport flights.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEb3LR3_MRakD5D5JuBK5I5bIpWFBdnqcBTlLFvnKKGUAS15b5DeZuwIqVphDdKWTcvml9EYFcCD3ZbBJlPIyVsZhMRo5a9m-YYrJqb7_sviJmlr69Ds1PKMyzy-1AsdyTN7qs-OMEIRxb/s1600/T-38s+fly+over+Enterprise+space+shuttle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEb3LR3_MRakD5D5JuBK5I5bIpWFBdnqcBTlLFvnKKGUAS15b5DeZuwIqVphDdKWTcvml9EYFcCD3ZbBJlPIyVsZhMRo5a9m-YYrJqb7_sviJmlr69Ds1PKMyzy-1AsdyTN7qs-OMEIRxb/s400/T-38s+fly+over+Enterprise+space+shuttle.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five T-38s fly in formation over the Space Shuttle Enterprise, in 1977.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Astronauts have relied on T-38 jets for transportation between Cape Canaveral, Houston, and a myriad of other training destinations. Access to these jets also kept military pilot astronauts' flying skills sharp. But in the early days of manned space flight, T-38 crashes killed a stunningly high fraction of NASA's astronauts. Of the first 30 astronauts hired by NASA in the late 1950s and 1960s, four died in T-38 crashes: Theodore Freeman, Elliot See, Charlie Bassett, and C.C. Williams. The high fraction of T-38 fatalities likely says more about the amount of time the astronauts were spending flying T-38s (a whole lot of time) than any other contributing factor.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx389OuXu6ml4E6HcedSOknPdQg8GWDoZ5mRFD7dz-gfaAucIqMvmrTTdjV6G2CLEaIpIWiJNFgWIMqAoubAh_fip-Acz6wWMfjkB2_tYOpi6nYElD_IM1B5vxMeSPj46w9R57FjHHEkZQ/s1600/Theodore+Freeman+biking+to+work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx389OuXu6ml4E6HcedSOknPdQg8GWDoZ5mRFD7dz-gfaAucIqMvmrTTdjV6G2CLEaIpIWiJNFgWIMqAoubAh_fip-Acz6wWMfjkB2_tYOpi6nYElD_IM1B5vxMeSPj46w9R57FjHHEkZQ/s400/Theodore+Freeman+biking+to+work.jpg" width="373" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astronaut Theodore Freeman, biking to work at Mission Control in Houston.<br />
Source: lightthiscandle.tumblr.com.</td></tr>
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Despite that grim statistic, many astronauts think the T-38 is a nice plane to fly. It is relatively predictable, with few unusual difficulties. But... only experienced pilots can fly the T-38. According to what I've read, NASA currently only allows astronauts who are military pilots (on active duty, not retired) to fly its T-38s. It's not a forgiving aircraft, especially at slower speeds. It is relatively hard to handle on landing because of its high stall speed.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzDCjDqkLdnT0FYBHELk50Ncupwm132CADC3LWPpmSnr2hftA6p_JF31VRFxI2oHNUkMdGl4N0uX04NcLyeQLHpgNYMiN5j3TD965WBZntT9q4_EKZcz1tOEP-NGnZ1lYQRdSYotmU21c/s1600/nasa+t-38+in+flight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzDCjDqkLdnT0FYBHELk50Ncupwm132CADC3LWPpmSnr2hftA6p_JF31VRFxI2oHNUkMdGl4N0uX04NcLyeQLHpgNYMiN5j3TD965WBZntT9q4_EKZcz1tOEP-NGnZ1lYQRdSYotmU21c/s400/nasa+t-38+in+flight.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">One of NASA's T-38s in flight.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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In addition to being used for crew training and transport, T-38s were used as chase planes, to observe early space shuttle flights (the first seven shuttle flights or so). T-38 crews would fly behind the shuttle as it approached the runway, confirming that the spacecraft's landing gear has been extended and gathering data on the craft's performance.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLi940Who0YuOBHNcIlDjHm7r2W7-EqtyvBg_zokSEkaaAQ4P75GialYNIO6NgAGLRjj0tbvE8fpy2mYxTOb6VhRmMzvXTWZBCt4YfjehPaJYyUsJd1SMVndaSYbGQou0x7mlIURfTw2Vv/s1600/t-38+discovery+landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLi940Who0YuOBHNcIlDjHm7r2W7-EqtyvBg_zokSEkaaAQ4P75GialYNIO6NgAGLRjj0tbvE8fpy2mYxTOb6VhRmMzvXTWZBCt4YfjehPaJYyUsJd1SMVndaSYbGQou0x7mlIURfTw2Vv/s400/t-38+discovery+landing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A T-38 chases Columbia on the shuttle's inaugural landing in 1981.<br />
Source: astrosaur.us.</td></tr>
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As I mentioned, the T-38 is part of a whole fleet of aircraft that supported shuttle missions. There were two modified Boeing 747s that served as Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA); these are perhaps the most well known NASA planes. The T-38s have worked with them too, for example accompanying the shuttles and SCAs as chase planes on the final shuttle flights last year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Kl3ofKkan705UNXbbx5Paeq45dBPzv0sU8teUrm2nAVPPg09X5MJCMFhnZgnMq_Z5RGbb3WogE4lPXD5pFSXRzf8Toj0EHi70v5eE2obu-8RXkZ-13KScZZ-puMNuJF3-9LWQfhBdaES/s1600/Atlantis+being+mated+to+the+shuttle+carrier+aircraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Kl3ofKkan705UNXbbx5Paeq45dBPzv0sU8teUrm2nAVPPg09X5MJCMFhnZgnMq_Z5RGbb3WogE4lPXD5pFSXRzf8Toj0EHi70v5eE2obu-8RXkZ-13KScZZ-puMNuJF3-9LWQfhBdaES/s400/Atlantis+being+mated+to+the+shuttle+carrier+aircraft.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantis, being mated to a shuttle carrier aircraft.<br />Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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There were four modified Gulfstream II aircraft used to train shuttle pilots with simulated shuttle landings. They were also occasionally used in place of T-38s to transport shuttle crews. I talked in more detail about how that training worked in <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-dirt-road-landing-at-white-sands.html">another blog post</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8fjm_5tQpGa1EVBG6G9_FqZEmW58v6e2K7MKp4tdMYDwfZw8pSfgCtihvtb_6XoqiLtErMENQThNlYdTFpvK9NYx8JuUAqplGAnx6pBgIq291hxLLlKyosK344n0OtvxSt8h5YTapF1C/s1600/Interior+shuttle+training+aircraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8fjm_5tQpGa1EVBG6G9_FqZEmW58v6e2K7MKp4tdMYDwfZw8pSfgCtihvtb_6XoqiLtErMENQThNlYdTFpvK9NYx8JuUAqplGAnx6pBgIq291hxLLlKyosK344n0OtvxSt8h5YTapF1C/s400/Interior+shuttle+training+aircraft.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shuttle controls are on the left; regular Gulfstream II controls are on the right.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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NASA also operated two Martin WB-57Fs, called NASA 926 and 928. NASA 926 and 928 are unique in that they the only two Martin WB-57Fs still in service anywhere in the world today. These aircraft served as chase planes during each shuttle launch. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zLsSh3AYtFY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">STS-114, Space Shuttle Discovery, launching. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The view from one of NASA's WB-57s.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: Youtube.</span></div>
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They were modified to carry a special high-definition camera, and could cruise at a high altitude, tracking the launch. Historically, 926 and 928 been used not just to observe shuttle launches, but for other scientific purposes, as they are equipped with a range of sensors and can carry very large payloads.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKvAWf6QJlN7ptnamv82SSjzrMMUJSbkWNGYHJSGLPPS4L55NY8BR3JnaI9rFB3-0FVEa8X3A_nDzrR1FVyn4vWLqSFHgMnirrIxOMlGQJ6Y48bSTseo5Qg2ypDCFgfEwobc6d8Xeulkn/s1600/NASA+928+WB57F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKvAWf6QJlN7ptnamv82SSjzrMMUJSbkWNGYHJSGLPPS4L55NY8BR3JnaI9rFB3-0FVEa8X3A_nDzrR1FVyn4vWLqSFHgMnirrIxOMlGQJ6Y48bSTseo5Qg2ypDCFgfEwobc6d8Xeulkn/s400/NASA+928+WB57F.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">NASA's 928, back in the space shuttle days.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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As is true for the other aircraft I've discussed, NASA has less use for the 926 and 928 since the shuttles stopped flying. But while NASA may not be using 926 and 928 these days, someone else is. These two planes started showing up at airbases in Afghanistan and elsewhere a few years ago, with new low-profile paint jobs. Presumably, they are in use by another government agency, on a not-space-related, secret mission.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2D4Qnlty8QLAMgYegcvv7wx9q3q_4qTAY9iv3kp1blcQ6Y1ytsfxZFc1GZVO9oUNYpbnSSwCkdvsBCqL0yU2UKLVJGFMwFmcpPAzQbtWukv0SY52Cs4D6ZtxIuNgLE88jJanATYoOngN/s1600/NASA+928+repainted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2D4Qnlty8QLAMgYegcvv7wx9q3q_4qTAY9iv3kp1blcQ6Y1ytsfxZFc1GZVO9oUNYpbnSSwCkdvsBCqL0yU2UKLVJGFMwFmcpPAzQbtWukv0SY52Cs4D6ZtxIuNgLE88jJanATYoOngN/s400/NASA+928+repainted.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 2012 photo of NASA 928, repainted.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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It seems a little sad that these two airplanes, the last of their kind, are no longer tasked with observing launching spaceships. NASA 925 was retired in the early 1980s, sits at the Pima County Air Museum in Tuscon, Arizona. One of the four Gulfstream II trainers has also been retired, since 2011 it has sat at the Texas Air & Space Museum in Amarillo. NASA is set to retire half of its T-38 fleet by 2015.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdcYdLCtdc1u_PiYxgRPn3X4RPndbA1QqGXA-XphJ29oxKWeuZnANv-i-9kLBN2O3jF_czUsRRcRDP7hrRGG-iJDJNbcgv3rE-D_Q8gosTf6x6lXgjMJJEeyNhaL1aogcXuubJPp3Ui_W/s1600/NASA+Boeing+747+shuttle+carrier+aircraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdcYdLCtdc1u_PiYxgRPn3X4RPndbA1QqGXA-XphJ29oxKWeuZnANv-i-9kLBN2O3jF_czUsRRcRDP7hrRGG-iJDJNbcgv3rE-D_Q8gosTf6x6lXgjMJJEeyNhaL1aogcXuubJPp3Ui_W/s400/NASA+Boeing+747+shuttle+carrier+aircraft.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NASA's two shuttle carrier aircraft.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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What's next for NASA 928 and 926, the three remaining Gulfstream IIs, and what's left of the T-38 fleet? Are they all destined for museums, scrapyards, or re-purposing in a few years? Or, as the United States begins launching manned space missions again, will there be a renewed role for these veteran airplanes?<br />
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Sources: NASA; Arlington Composite Squadron; Collect Space; Astrosaur; Wikipedia; theaviationist.com.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-76163931487807486922013-01-13T16:51:00.000-06:002013-01-13T16:51:48.498-06:00Carnival of Space #284!Welcome to the Carnival of Space! This is my second time hosting the Carnival; you can find my first Carnival <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/carnival-of-space-271.html">here</a>. <span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The Carnival is a weekly round-up of space stories from around the internet. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00002e; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">If you've got a space-related blog, you too can join the Carnival of Space. Email carnivalofspace at gmail dot com to host, share a story you wrote, and to get to know other space bloggers. </span><div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6BBoe8gYvWiEzyt2ZokiWC8CwCf0OEqszEC3fmhvK4iy_7s1vaCxWmalaRWH4x2FveXBKxm-wBMMEuGBGzQslQEHE1EfCvezMiAvhNGT7GYql9ny-UWa1Y-bCj_PzDcjpT9zYaLo4MGZ/s1600/Space+City+USA+Theme+Park.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6BBoe8gYvWiEzyt2ZokiWC8CwCf0OEqszEC3fmhvK4iy_7s1vaCxWmalaRWH4x2FveXBKxm-wBMMEuGBGzQslQEHE1EfCvezMiAvhNGT7GYql9ny-UWa1Y-bCj_PzDcjpT9zYaLo4MGZ/s400/Space+City+USA+Theme+Park.JPG" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: pintrest.com.</td></tr>
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This week's carnival will take you on a voyage around the world; into outer space; to the distant and not-so-distant past... and will explain how you can get there!</div>
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<b>Travel to the Sahara Desert: </b><a href="http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.fi/">Links through Space</a> shares the story of the <a href="http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.fi/2012/12/morocco-asteroid-4179-toutatis-redux.html">Astronomy Club Toutatis's recent trip to Morocco</a>, where club members viewed the club's namesake asteroid, Asteroid 4179 Toutatis, in the night sky over the Sahara. More stories on their trip (and photos!) can be found <a href="http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.fi/p/blog-page_1.html">here</a>.</div>
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<b>Watch our moon travel in front of the star Spica, and watch an asteroid fly by the Earth:</b> <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/">Astroblogger</a> shares photos and details on his observations of the <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/occultation-of-spica-by-moon-6-january.html">moon's recent occultation of the blue giant Spica</a>. Also on Astroblogger, you can read the good news that imaging of <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/asteroid-apophis-9-january-2013.html">Asteroid Apophis</a> on its recent flyby proves that that asteroid definitely won't hit Earth in 2036. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLhluOZ62q0c1y19YH9F9sZWdQMQPlwj0MJQ0KEK_teIPkrBtipHEzo4HqMXn0yFONdC1HbDBaTRlDLJ80AYvfqd03mPzhirx2lZkb06a5bjlSeJuSI8wmjeSOFjkFdjkg_JxnGcJzWaS/s1600/Morocco+travel+poster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLhluOZ62q0c1y19YH9F9sZWdQMQPlwj0MJQ0KEK_teIPkrBtipHEzo4HqMXn0yFONdC1HbDBaTRlDLJ80AYvfqd03mPzhirx2lZkb06a5bjlSeJuSI8wmjeSOFjkFdjkg_JxnGcJzWaS/s400/Morocco+travel+poster.JPG" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: ebay.</td></tr>
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<b>Travel to Canberra, Australia:</b> <a href="http://www.cheapastro.com/">Cheap Astronomy</a> is dedicated to exploring outer space for free (or nearly free). They've posted a podcast <a href="http://www.cheapastro.com/podcasts/CA160_DearCA004.mp3">answering listeners' questions</a> on a variety of topics.</div>
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<b>Secretly fly into low Earth orbit: </b><a href="http://www.weirdwarp.com/">Weird Warp</a> reports on last week's launch of <a href="http://www.weirdwarp.com/2013/01/air-forces-secretive-x-30-7b-space-plane-blasted-off-again/">the U.S. Air Force's secretive X-30 7B space plane</a>. It's a very interesting overview of what's known of the craft's missions and specs.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElruYVNSkjOM3ODK0n8hSetB-Xw0gc2JCaVf40i_0HPfOmjBQ3TPZOkClh_ksL6GshYNzxmUS-xo5LZxS-RyRONhAKMCgy0eKzMQ1onrwMsUHex0qW4shItVXLNBZ-ypVMAKmC_tjiyVB/s1600/tomorrowland+travel+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElruYVNSkjOM3ODK0n8hSetB-Xw0gc2JCaVf40i_0HPfOmjBQ3TPZOkClh_ksL6GshYNzxmUS-xo5LZxS-RyRONhAKMCgy0eKzMQ1onrwMsUHex0qW4shItVXLNBZ-ypVMAKmC_tjiyVB/s400/tomorrowland+travel+poster.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: pintrest.com.</td></tr>
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<b>Voyage to the Winking Demon: </b>Hablo español?<b> </b><a href="http://www.vega00.com/">Vega 0.0</a>'s Spanish-language post explains how to observe <a href="http://www.vega00.com/2013/01/posible-eclipse-de-las-componentes-y-b.html">a stellar eclipse in the Algol star system</a>. (An Algol is a demon, hence the system's creepy nickname, "winking demon.")</div>
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<b>Travel almost a thousand light years away: </b><a href="http://chandra.si.edu/">Chandra X-Ray Observatory</a> shares observations of the <a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/node/418">Vela Pulsar</a>, a relatively young pulsar that's a little less than 1,000 light years away. You can also <a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/node/417">watch a movie</a> of the Vela pulsar spinning! It is turning at a rate of over 11 rotations a second- which is faster than a helicopter rotor!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gL0tEhk5G9_Vn7mgDPSLrkKt__pYRBjxhxDeMObM0BX6lKbvZyfBa1CUhaEv5v7NGF3AgElVhJghnWRUE050Sny3vftUC0p_lW7Hd_PSWxyEzkBR15mBDRnD1rEVqZ45MaE9L8wk_k1x/s1600/Tomorrowland+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gL0tEhk5G9_Vn7mgDPSLrkKt__pYRBjxhxDeMObM0BX6lKbvZyfBa1CUhaEv5v7NGF3AgElVhJghnWRUE050Sny3vftUC0p_lW7Hd_PSWxyEzkBR15mBDRnD1rEVqZ45MaE9L8wk_k1x/s400/Tomorrowland+poster.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: juxtapost.com.</td></tr>
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<b>Journey into NASA's past: </b>NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center might be renamed in honor of Neil Armstrong. But who was Dryden, anyway? <a href="http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/">The Once and Future Moon</a> shares <a href="http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2013/01/hugh-l-dryden-and-the-american-space-program/">the story of Hugh Dryden's life</a>, and his significant contributions to aeronautical engineering.</div>
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<b>Time travel into the ancient past: </b><a href="http://supernovacondensate.net/">Supernova Condensate</a> takes readers a few billion years into the past, to examine new evidence that <a href="http://supernovacondensate.net/2013/01/07/ancient-mars-another-blue-world/">ancient Mars may have been a watery, Earth-like world</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpT8CdEMK_1cJMKeP1MwfgI54ijY0gsc6lQYXtuWmHqGn-FP8oz0OKU_T0GuEjV0fUx9rTUAQfrzT35WjJXoakiP8UfLnQQw-w8sLeuWK3chCnsYnJx-Rwx3W9dkez5APY-p4bwTplGWy/s1600/vintage+Mars+travel+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpT8CdEMK_1cJMKeP1MwfgI54ijY0gsc6lQYXtuWmHqGn-FP8oz0OKU_T0GuEjV0fUx9rTUAQfrzT35WjJXoakiP8UfLnQQw-w8sLeuWK3chCnsYnJx-Rwx3W9dkez5APY-p4bwTplGWy/s400/vintage+Mars+travel+poster.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: tentimesone.com.</td></tr>
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<b>How might we voyage beyond our solar system?</b> <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/">Next Big Future</a> covers the work of researchers seeking to <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/01/reviewing-woodward-book-making.html">use the Mach Effect to create propellant-less space travel</a> and possibly even to travel via wormholes. Also at Next Big Future you can also read about the <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/01/a-one-kilometre-long-electric-sail.html">electric sail</a>, a propulsion method that features electrically charged metal tethers that interact with solar wind.</div>
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<b>End your journey back on Earth, landing on a dirt road. </b>My latest post tells the story of the one time <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-dirt-road-landing-at-white-sands.html">a space shuttle landed on the dried lakebed runway</a> at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.</div>
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Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-55301257060908524032013-01-06T21:40:00.000-06:002013-08-26T22:04:43.658-05:00A Dirt Road Landing at White Sands Space HarborI traveled to New Mexico for work a couple months ago. It was my first visit to that state, and it was just a short trip to Albuquerque. I <u>really</u> wanted to visit White Sands Space Harbor while I was there, but it was hours away. So my only space related sight-seeing occurred in the Albuquerque airport, where I perused a few display cases of aviation and space travel memorabilia...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5N_usDSY3DHYgOXaCrtIbSQcVD5vNwuixTTBxt1LErOQDvnDQx55N59NC33d9zZhEIsRPLgZ57L9Hn05d2wR1iBWwE65FVaN87kKShqO2qjLe9rPRbH5FK21XqdmD0TTzK743LQoiooq/s1600/DSC_1205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5N_usDSY3DHYgOXaCrtIbSQcVD5vNwuixTTBxt1LErOQDvnDQx55N59NC33d9zZhEIsRPLgZ57L9Hn05d2wR1iBWwE65FVaN87kKShqO2qjLe9rPRbH5FK21XqdmD0TTzK743LQoiooq/s400/DSC_1205.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The closest I've been to White Sands Space Harbor.</td></tr>
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Someday I'll <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-personal-history-of-space-race.html">follow in my grandfather's footsteps</a> and actually visit White Sands! In the meantime, I've done a little reading about White Sands- turns out that it's a neat little footnote in the history of the space shuttle program.<br />
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Of the 133 space shuttle missions to safely return from Earth orbit, 132 landed at Cape Canaveral in Florida or in California at Edwards Air Force Base. There's only one mission that didn't land in California or Florida: STS-3, Columbia, landed at White Sands Space Harbor* in New Mexico in 1982.<br />
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*: At the time, White Sands wasn't yet called a 'Space Harbor.' Congress renamed the runway facility the month after Columbia's landing, in honor of that event.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDDY2PJHjJSmQFgtpx30H6UYh7gmEEC87A6OqCWk4f4uwAIMb5KK062Awdzo_0MY1pMg2XNCGob15A-ImvDaj3lq81BO-Ob3JwN5RVudpaqPSG1SAtqDxRL_ANrk_KXif11pL1DX2EZD6/s1600/Shuttle+landing+at+Edwards+Air+Force+Base.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDDY2PJHjJSmQFgtpx30H6UYh7gmEEC87A6OqCWk4f4uwAIMb5KK062Awdzo_0MY1pMg2XNCGob15A-ImvDaj3lq81BO-Ob3JwN5RVudpaqPSG1SAtqDxRL_ANrk_KXif11pL1DX2EZD6/s400/Shuttle+landing+at+Edwards+Air+Force+Base.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gliding towards a landing at Edwards Air Force Base.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Any of the other shuttle missions <u>could</u> have landed at White Sands, though. It was an abort site for each shuttle launch. It was also the back-up option for landing if bad weather or some calamity foreclosed a landing at Kennedy and Edwards.<br />
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White Sands Space Harbor contains the ultimate runway: an enormous and flat dried lake bed. It's nearly 7 miles long. The shuttle's landing strip in the lake bed is 300 feet wide, and engineers further leveled the land on both sides of that strip as well, effectively making it 900 feet wide.<br />
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Isn't it funny how a spaceship can end its journey by landing on a dirt road?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qLaInMbz7wmmNVtqJ0JHpEX4a6xJGzgtK2UbYpjRsdi0u5fUQybh7-akum74HeXEv5Xg-33nw_lRrlUNV3lWBeH46QVGq8T95qRd3m5zv6a83F5ZStHTAqnMj-ksEievH8zSI_PdEBKx/s1600/Columbia+landing+at+White+Sands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qLaInMbz7wmmNVtqJ0JHpEX4a6xJGzgtK2UbYpjRsdi0u5fUQybh7-akum74HeXEv5Xg-33nw_lRrlUNV3lWBeH46QVGq8T95qRd3m5zv6a83F5ZStHTAqnMj-ksEievH8zSI_PdEBKx/s400/Columbia+landing+at+White+Sands.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Columbia landing at White Sands, accompanied by T-38 chase planes.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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The shuttle's runways at Edwards Air Force Base were also mainly dried lakebeds. Given the similarities, White Sands was a sensible practice site for shuttle pilot training. Shuttle pilots simulated landings on the White Sands runway in a modified Grumman Gulfstream II business jet launched out of El Paso. They'd do 10 practice landings in one go. The Gulfstream would never actually touch down during the practice runs. It would just drop down till it was cruising 20 feet off the ground, since that's how high off the ground the pilot sits when the shuttle touches down. At 20 feet off the ground, the Gulfstream's autopilot would kick in, and the jet would take back off for another practice run.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvVmD8ZoKd0t0LfEkJBElQ8XlV7iwRXTKi7n62X97rdQKPMjEgZq-JUNg2qJIOXJViy8-ABBZD4sTMpTJdT-TsOQeEhANblL32ChAUOgQn_6SCVQTFHWnPIb8HwPq7NBUZaMVo0Hxi7gO/s1600/STS+3+landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvVmD8ZoKd0t0LfEkJBElQ8XlV7iwRXTKi7n62X97rdQKPMjEgZq-JUNg2qJIOXJViy8-ABBZD4sTMpTJdT-TsOQeEhANblL32ChAUOgQn_6SCVQTFHWnPIb8HwPq7NBUZaMVo0Hxi7gO/s400/STS+3+landing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Folks camping out in anticipation of the STS-3 landing.<br />
Source: jameshohnsonfamily.com.</td></tr>
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White Sands' role as a training facility partially explains why Columbia landed there in 1982. Columbia was scheduled to land at Edwards Air Force Base, like every shuttle flight had to that point. But Edwards' lake beds were flooded, so it wasn't an option. Columbia's crew chose to land at White Sands over Kennedy. They preferred White Sands since all their training had been on that runway. White Sands' runway was also several times larger then Kennedy's, another factor working in its favor. Actually, no space shuttles landed at Kennedy until nearly two years later.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGF3P5QKQPHn1rTrj2fDhuBXxsVtGWY3wkDZgVgc5fLnWBa6jL0KCVDcGnXla6ag5usuCFmq2PxVzWS-5iPYVrHtUG-CuLCFse202rMn_SHcj_PKg9DHOb3zPSIlGOzDBCgtco4ScvIWZl/s1600/The+crew+of+STS-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGF3P5QKQPHn1rTrj2fDhuBXxsVtGWY3wkDZgVgc5fLnWBa6jL0KCVDcGnXla6ag5usuCFmq2PxVzWS-5iPYVrHtUG-CuLCFse202rMn_SHcj_PKg9DHOb3zPSIlGOzDBCgtco4ScvIWZl/s400/The+crew+of+STS-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew of STS-3: Commander Jack Lousma and Pilot C. Gordon Fullerton.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Real-life space travel is (sadly) far more complicated than science fiction space travel. Columbia's crew couldn't just pick their landing spot, touch down, and be done with it like we see on <i>Star Trek</i> or <i>Firefly</i>. Massive ground support is necessary. The switch from Edwards to White Sands was made about two weeks before the landing, and the space shuttle program was still in its infancy. So, White Sands was not fully equipped for a landing. Much of the set-up for a landing at Edwards needed to be moved to White Sands. NASA equipped 40 train cars on two separate trains to move equipment the over 1,000 miles between Edwards and White Sands.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmj8mN-uaial4qXUOKg0wzW-CtuKXRWUp-4lY_Hoib1gUNXUcLhRDIxkPoncbiQE1hhT1tNTebltEGsq23gTKt6KH9bDjjHaNRa4b4kZFfbu_1uvYUK3UUdVj6ceM-Wa2zpjl9rQc3G8n/s1600/Serenity+Firefly+landing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmj8mN-uaial4qXUOKg0wzW-CtuKXRWUp-4lY_Hoib1gUNXUcLhRDIxkPoncbiQE1hhT1tNTebltEGsq23gTKt6KH9bDjjHaNRa4b4kZFfbu_1uvYUK3UUdVj6ceM-Wa2zpjl9rQc3G8n/s400/Serenity+Firefly+landing.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serenity landing in the desert, with much less fuss.</td></tr>
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STS-3's White Sands landing was planned for the seventh day of its mission. Commander Jack Lousma recalls that they'd packed everything, suited up, and were strapped in and ready to de-orbit when ground control scrubbed the landing. There was a bad windstorm at White Sands and visibility was too poor for a landing. So, Commander Lousma and Pilot C. Gordon Fullerton were treated to an extra day in space (as Lousma put it, "an extra day in our world's favorite vacation spot") as they waited for conditions to improve. They needed to land soon; they were running out of consumables.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVo8jrkaQDOvYpjehw2aT6CfwjzjkTrWnI6PYilVAu5bHkU5eXazCuzlclY1LPT-1Uv2U1S1xc04Bcp3vct9yD5jDFac4O4Ln4UsGJl2RmhT4eBU7lJbkLTXaP8EnnxJY5tBrkol0-bQ3/s1600/space+shuttle+lands+at+White+Sands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVo8jrkaQDOvYpjehw2aT6CfwjzjkTrWnI6PYilVAu5bHkU5eXazCuzlclY1LPT-1Uv2U1S1xc04Bcp3vct9yD5jDFac4O4Ln4UsGJl2RmhT4eBU7lJbkLTXaP8EnnxJY5tBrkol0-bQ3/s400/space+shuttle+lands+at+White+Sands.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">STS-3 lands at White Sands.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Meanwhile, on Earth, crash/rescue teams at White Sands ran last minute practice drills. Thousands of people from nearby towns, excited to see a shuttle landing, gathered at White Sands. The crowd was on hand to enthusiastically greet the second supply train when it arrived from Edwards. Winds in the area finally died down enough that a landing was possible.<br />
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So, Columbia landed at White Sands on March 30, 1982. By Commander Lousma's account, the landing went very well and there weren't any complications.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh4mmi30X4SQxwCI8o64ifl1vKi1KEPQiJh_RmoCb-PTnE8wj7vDtF0GXBs048aZsRYJ02pjTQl3gEgXlUG0sJza_CfbjFoP6lIfx_95TvfdTeTO7enO4N28S1UCsWnS08OoOFuTdUPsD/s1600/Marking+painted+onto+the+ground+on+the+White+Sands+runway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh4mmi30X4SQxwCI8o64ifl1vKi1KEPQiJh_RmoCb-PTnE8wj7vDtF0GXBs048aZsRYJ02pjTQl3gEgXlUG0sJza_CfbjFoP6lIfx_95TvfdTeTO7enO4N28S1UCsWnS08OoOFuTdUPsD/s400/Marking+painted+onto+the+ground+on+the+White+Sands+runway.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Markings painted onto the lake bed, creating a runway at White Sands.<br />
Source: Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: New Mexico.</td></tr>
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White Sands was almost used again in 2006, when Discovery's planned landing at Kennedy was nearly rained out. Landing at Edwards was not an option because of high cross-winds. The first window for a Kennedy landing was abandoned, but the second window presented better conditions in Florida, so there was no need to land at White Sands after all.<br />
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The only other time a shuttle ever traveled to White Sands was on the back of a Boeing 747 in September 2012. Endeavor flew over the Space Harbor on its way to its final home at the California Science Center.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CjfDlAgO7BN-Il1mMZ0xOUEJdp9EPc-KC96YK2jBeNIJFUhEpNwg0ys0r1ojFoyob2PHCV805cbVaC72N7PC3zLm_9WWPA7kXaxGH8GsSLJa9z609EA_l0uRKfd0EvSSqcSv4KeZtBGt/s1600/Endeavor+flies+over+Las+Cruces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CjfDlAgO7BN-Il1mMZ0xOUEJdp9EPc-KC96YK2jBeNIJFUhEpNwg0ys0r1ojFoyob2PHCV805cbVaC72N7PC3zLm_9WWPA7kXaxGH8GsSLJa9z609EA_l0uRKfd0EvSSqcSv4KeZtBGt/s400/Endeavor+flies+over+Las+Cruces.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Endeavor over Las Cruces, New Mexico in September 2012.<br />
Source: abqjournal.com.</td></tr>
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Sources: NASA; MSNBC; AP News Archive; Holloman Air Force Base; Johnson Space Center Oral History Project; Wikipedia; El Paso Times.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-22034452867679858512012-12-16T14:51:00.001-06:002013-08-26T21:35:35.829-05:00A Teacher in SpaceWhat a sad week. More than usual I've been thinking about, and grateful for, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/12/15/heroic_teachers_and_staff_protected.php">teachers</a>. L<span style="background-color: white;">ooking for a distraction from the news out of Connecticut, I read about the role teachers have played in space exploration. So, if you're looking for a distraction too, that's what this post is about. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRj-y-jS_-y2g6AXfnfW9qkKK3U0_x2TIYkSoxSIKpOMGFG1H-5bRvibfSdLOnu3I6H-j2uPkyqWfYARNAHHlvQTmNyLtRfxEMtu7eSmhyphenhyphenD2N5aba0PIVVjwYCUuKsE62o23ouaBNq6mIz/s1600/Christa+McAuliffe+and+Barbara+Morgan++2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRj-y-jS_-y2g6AXfnfW9qkKK3U0_x2TIYkSoxSIKpOMGFG1H-5bRvibfSdLOnu3I6H-j2uPkyqWfYARNAHHlvQTmNyLtRfxEMtu7eSmhyphenhyphenD2N5aba0PIVVjwYCUuKsE62o23ouaBNq6mIz/s400/Christa+McAuliffe+and+Barbara+Morgan++2.jpg" width="335" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teachers in Space: Barbara Morgan and Christa McAuliffe.<br />
Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
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<a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/rip-neil.html">Neil Armstrong</a><span style="background-color: white;"> returned home from the moon to teach at the University of Cincinnati, and there are many other examples of college professor astronauts in the years since he walked on the moon. But, today's post explores the history of primary school teachers in space ... aside from their obvious, fundamental role: laying the foundation of </span><span style="background-color: white;">math and science education necessary to become a rocket scientist or astronomer or an astronaut!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">NASA announced its first Teacher in Space project in 1984, to build enthusiasm for space exploration, math, and science among U.S. students. Over 11,400(!) teachers applied to be picked as citizen astronauts in NASA's Teacher in Space program, and two women were chosen. Christa McAuliffe, who launched and died aboard Challenger's last mission, and her backup, Barbara Morgan.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The NASA Teacher in Space Project Logo<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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In pretty much every single photo of Christa McAuliffe I came across while researching this post, she's got a huge grin on her face. It's obvious how excited she was to be picked for the Challenger mission. Christa was a high school history teacher when she was selected in 1985. It's interesting that she wasn't a math or science teacher, isn't it? It sounds like she was picked based on her character more than her background. According to NASA administrators and her former students, Christa's enthusiasm for learning rubbed off on everyone she encountered.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgujZBjkxM2SMXr7CciEQRD5jGVb9CLpzxziJh7RhiNq0IHzy1rzGlRAiKrHfSoHapsFaFUstg9Sflt8U5_7SVysevdSb2SU0aCRE8OzbotTBGZ50LH4VrmlyXH12BuFpqug0K_u6BAyOaD/s1600/Christa+McAuliffe+and+Barbara+Morgan+training.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgujZBjkxM2SMXr7CciEQRD5jGVb9CLpzxziJh7RhiNq0IHzy1rzGlRAiKrHfSoHapsFaFUstg9Sflt8U5_7SVysevdSb2SU0aCRE8OzbotTBGZ50LH4VrmlyXH12BuFpqug0K_u6BAyOaD/s400/Christa+McAuliffe+and+Barbara+Morgan+training.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbara and Christa, aboard a KC-135<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">As a history teacher, Christa had a unique view of space exploration: "</span>I think just opening up the door, having this ordinary person fly, says a lot for the future ... you can always equate astronauts with explorers who were subsidized. Now you are getting someone going just to observe. And then you'll have the settlers, the space station is not too far down the road."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzh0_37Kzgjw2sqd64gM1EP6QLfMhhS5jkJmVWv542MlRiH2czDKvUhUOOLMh1xlr9fYj_7JE4kXLQctD7ZRuwcAOM790_1Fq9AAmOZWURzuGbg-q1Z1g8bYV3s599cNwoidAMkzuxTEpT/s1600/Christa,+Caroline,+and+Scott+McAuliffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzh0_37Kzgjw2sqd64gM1EP6QLfMhhS5jkJmVWv542MlRiH2czDKvUhUOOLMh1xlr9fYj_7JE4kXLQctD7ZRuwcAOM790_1Fq9AAmOZWURzuGbg-q1Z1g8bYV3s599cNwoidAMkzuxTEpT/s400/Christa,+Caroline,+and+Scott+McAuliffe.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christa with her son and daughter, July 1985.<br />
Source: MSNBC.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">As the first private citizen in space, Christa planned to document her trip aboard Challenger with daily journal entries, so that "like a woman on the Conestoga wagon pioneering west, I too would be able to bring back my thoughts and my journal to make that a part of history." And, if she had lived to make it into orbit, the plan was for Christa to teach classes of school kids live via TV from outer space. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikP99T1LRkrPBxPtHjP4xwQzEjxffTk4QlHyet3Y8tBuSNtqVvX7cNJmkr3NeUIgWH5bQ-sk5zngAaydK1st93rRy3JypqIkiN1fRCbqYGX95X565HWkqSiR59XxoZzg3rrHkLme0bHfVz/s1600/Christa+Mcauliffe+in+a+jet+trainer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikP99T1LRkrPBxPtHjP4xwQzEjxffTk4QlHyet3Y8tBuSNtqVvX7cNJmkr3NeUIgWH5bQ-sk5zngAaydK1st93rRy3JypqIkiN1fRCbqYGX95X565HWkqSiR59XxoZzg3rrHkLme0bHfVz/s400/Christa+Mcauliffe+in+a+jet+trainer.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christa McAuliffe in an astronaut jet trainer.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Christa believed that her space flight would be safe. She told a reporter in 1985 that the "space shuttle isn't the type of thing, I think, that anybody really looks at with fear that there's going to be an accident ... I feel, probably, safer doing something like that than driving around the New York streets." Christa's life insurance company had some doubts, though. It cancelled her policy after she was selected to fly. She was only insured when she died because a private aerospace company donated a $1 million dollar policy before her flight.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Others at NASA shared Christa's belief that space travel had become routine and safe. History of course tells a different story: that sense of complacency, along with bureaucratic bungling and a bad decision to launch, killed all seven Challenger astronauts on January 28, 1986.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbXUzdyIKHZcnpHHC3rl1FJTC0AfnKhjOu_2goTSfot1YKd1XfV5kwL53kP6bQQaPnz3zOn-f2p2rBcHDrmL5KwKcv-hHvqoelzF-I1uB_gdJWinv8DsENmkxo-h0uq3f0pD4ilvPVvoV/s1600/Christa+McAuliffe+floating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbXUzdyIKHZcnpHHC3rl1FJTC0AfnKhjOu_2goTSfot1YKd1XfV5kwL53kP6bQQaPnz3zOn-f2p2rBcHDrmL5KwKcv-hHvqoelzF-I1uB_gdJWinv8DsENmkxo-h0uq3f0pD4ilvPVvoV/s400/Christa+McAuliffe+floating.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Christa McAuliffe training for microgravity in a KC-135.<br />
Source: readplatform.com.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">What became of the other NASA Teacher in Space participant, Barbara Morgan? </span><span style="background-color: white;">Barbara left NASA a few months after Christa died, returning home to teach second and third grade in Idaho. But, she was not done with outer space! Over a decade after the Challenger tragedy, Barbara was selected to serve as a NASA Mission Specialist. She began training for a space mission, just like any other astronaut candidate. For several years, she served as CAPCOM, communicating with space crews from Mission Control in Houston. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Barbara flew in space once, on a mission to the International Space Station in 2007. Her primary tasks were operating the shuttle's robotic arm, and overseeing the transfer of supplies between the shuttle and the ISS. In orbit, she also took questions from students in Idaho and at the Challenger Center for Space Science Education.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbara Morgan, a teacher in space.<br />
Source: Collect Space.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">The Teacher in Space program was cancelled a few years after Christa died, but other primary school teachers have flown as educators in space in the years since, as part of subsequent NASA Educator in Space initiatives. These include Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, who was a Washington science teacher when she was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2004. In 2010, she became the first Space Camp alumna to fly in space. :-) Other teacher astronauts include Richard Arnold, a high school science teacher who flew to the International Space Station in 2009, and Joe Acaba, the first Puerto Rican astronaut and the first middle school teacher in space. He has flown several missions to the ISS, including one this year.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Joe Acaba's mission photographs (Expedition 31).<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So in a way, Christa was right after all. She was a pioneer. Others followed after her, and they traveled to a space station. It just didn't work out quite the way I wish it had. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbNpyCxV6DctSOmdxlKpAvsEBEltMOKchyImOn643RbR8JK_0DyFtbjIo0httDDDZOoz5qeiDmzXL9kGYRTaywLx_PkxwebL5HhMBdRDd4CUe5E0XWF_g1gg-Vrwy7yNdH08tNRbnbNRv/s1600/Christa+McAuliffe+watches+STS-51+launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbNpyCxV6DctSOmdxlKpAvsEBEltMOKchyImOn643RbR8JK_0DyFtbjIo0httDDDZOoz5qeiDmzXL9kGYRTaywLx_PkxwebL5HhMBdRDd4CUe5E0XWF_g1gg-Vrwy7yNdH08tNRbnbNRv/s400/Christa+McAuliffe+watches+STS-51+launch.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christa McAuliffe and Barbara Morgan watch the Space Shuttle Challenger launch in October 1985.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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So, that's the story of the first American teachers in space. Writing it was a nice break from the sad reality I've been thinking about all weekend. And speaking of Sandy Hook Elementary, if you're looking for a way to help out, here are a few ideas:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://newtown.uwwesternct.org/">United Way</a> has set up a fund for victims' families. </li>
<li>As always, the <a href="http://www.redcross.org/">Red Cross</a> is helping out in Newtown.</li>
<li>If you support restoring the assault rifle ban and limiting access to guns by mentally ill folks, you can support the <a href="http://www.csgv.org/">Coalition to Stop Gun Violence</a>.</li>
<li>And, there's the <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/gunviolence">Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence</a> named for former assistant to President Reagan James Brady.</li>
</ul>
Sources: NASA; New York Times; Los Angeles Times; Washington Post; Wikipedia; Educationworld.com; <i>Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars</i>.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-5529482449492693982012-12-09T13:32:00.001-06:002013-08-26T21:34:31.293-05:00A Moonwalker Invents a Mars CyclerBefore he traveled to the moon, Dr. Buzz Aldrin completed a PhD thesis exploring <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/dr-buzz-aldrin-and-orbital-paradox.html">how to dock spaceships</a> in the event of instrument failure. Since returning from the moon, Dr. Aldrin has been working to get humans to Mars...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our future?<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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There are <a href="http://www.space.com/3033-report-space-radiation-concern-nasa-exploration-vision.html">many</a>, <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/4221805">many</a>, <a href="http://www.spacecentre.no/English/The_Universe/Mars/Can_we_live_on_Mars+/">many</a> obstacles to establishing a human colony on Mars. One huge challenge is the cost of ferrying people and the supplies they'll need between the two planets. Another challenge is the length of the trip to Mars. It took four days for Dr. Aldrin to travel from the Earth to the moon; it took the Curiosity Rover nine months to travel from the Earth to Mars.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDDM7sWxQ-jKU8zLZM1L5uPfEHizCrV_FlXC1-gntlGkLIpr_f_6Tye7wanxJqqkak9arpdcKpa1FN23lsjya9un3oacsiWSNiWWpjcQaO_wBh0IsqLwh60agrzRXuIxv9ZNKBPY1RFr4/s1600/Mars+Science+Laboratory+on+its+way+to+Mars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDDM7sWxQ-jKU8zLZM1L5uPfEHizCrV_FlXC1-gntlGkLIpr_f_6Tye7wanxJqqkak9arpdcKpa1FN23lsjya9un3oacsiWSNiWWpjcQaO_wBh0IsqLwh60agrzRXuIxv9ZNKBPY1RFr4/s400/Mars+Science+Laboratory+on+its+way+to+Mars.png" width="347" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mars Science Laboratory, on its way to the red planet.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Dr. Aldrin's "Mars cycler" plan comes in handy in addressing both of these challenges. Dr. Aldrin formulated this plan in the mid-1980s. He called for the establishment of a permanent human base on Mars, supplied by a fleet of of uniquely tasked spaceships. Some of these spacecraft would be used to ferry people and supplies between the surface of Earth and Earth orbit; some would transport people and supplies between the surface of Mars and Mars orbit. Meanwhile, traveling between Mars and Earth there would be a continuous cycle of interplanetary spacecraft: "cyclers."<br />
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These cyclers would essentially be space stations orbiting a path that would take them between Earth and Mars every few months. They'd be similar to the international space station, but with heavy-duty rockets attached, more radiation shielding, and maybe a <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-weighty-subject.html">big centrifuge</a> creating artificial gravity. You could have two of these cyclers, with one always going towards Earth and one away. Or you could launch even more cyclers, allowing for more frequent trips between the two planets.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkw7oS4aC8nDGwqngxxMIcyZ5ecv1G3H1OTGwEoYW_Hm2NoVqKzcnVMBEAV6zJhgq3bc4MEngT-pxnbOnOB0cqpHmG8D7deqxOkzRInZ38BzyGJggbsnNU2Y0PkUfcaDNXQ8R7YXrrXp5/s1600/Mars+Cycler+from+Scientific+American.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkw7oS4aC8nDGwqngxxMIcyZ5ecv1G3H1OTGwEoYW_Hm2NoVqKzcnVMBEAV6zJhgq3bc4MEngT-pxnbOnOB0cqpHmG8D7deqxOkzRInZ38BzyGJggbsnNU2Y0PkUfcaDNXQ8R7YXrrXp5/s400/Mars+Cycler+from+Scientific+American.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Mars cycler approaches Mars.<br />
Source: Scientific American, March 2000.</td></tr>
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One upside to the cycler is that it makes a faster trip to Mars than traditional spaceships. In contrast to Curiosity's nine month trip to Mars, the cyclers could make the same trip in just five months. Cyclers are faster because they take advantage of a gravity assist. Meaning, they are aimed for a close encounter with Earth and then Mars, hurtling around each planet before shooting out back towards the direction they came from, picking up a bit of the planet's momentum as they go. Gravity assisted spacecraft (like the Voyager spacecraft) can build up much higher speeds than just firing a rocket.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7HRq3ExhW1PdTyFF-Dh-e1p7uTSoRNRWZe851qBvEsa0iwsbLAGMI-WgdklYYNffWPO7rZtCqkdmY4LxdIx3-lFoXCSQXNhyQqvfnlx5uViwa855GyrH7q2DwwJWWzSAlRhWyHePPzMN/s1600/Voyager+1+and+Voyager+2+gravity+assist.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7HRq3ExhW1PdTyFF-Dh-e1p7uTSoRNRWZe851qBvEsa0iwsbLAGMI-WgdklYYNffWPO7rZtCqkdmY4LxdIx3-lFoXCSQXNhyQqvfnlx5uViwa855GyrH7q2DwwJWWzSAlRhWyHePPzMN/s400/Voyager+1+and+Voyager+2+gravity+assist.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voyager 1 gained the momentum needed to escape the Sun's gravity via a gravity assist from Jupiter and Saturn.<br />
Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
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The cyclers have other advantages. You don't have to pay for the fuel to repeatedly accelerate or decelerate the spacecraft when they reach Earth or at Mars, and you aren't constantly building giant spaceships capable of leaving Earth's atmosphere and landing on Mars. In these multi-stage spacecraft, almost every stage gets discarded after accelerating and decelerating between Earth and Mars.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdTFjjOThCZJzz4pT_hRHbGAVgLJJAq_A0nMQffG_VozJMLtnU5XD4CyVQ-ltD9Immu1IwdB2aDH1-V8lhwarmIBY2-G5zFhhgdi6hRw3l07M7Tn699B2vZpmF-WLwf-vOjZ40mYD7Om6/s1600/Apollo+11+liftoff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdTFjjOThCZJzz4pT_hRHbGAVgLJJAq_A0nMQffG_VozJMLtnU5XD4CyVQ-ltD9Immu1IwdB2aDH1-V8lhwarmIBY2-G5zFhhgdi6hRw3l07M7Tn699B2vZpmF-WLwf-vOjZ40mYD7Om6/s400/Apollo+11+liftoff.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little bitty command module, that I've circled in red, is the only bit of Apollo 11 that made it home to Earth.<br />
Source: Universe Today.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Are there downsides to the Mars cycler? Yes... maintaining the Mars-Earth orbit requires more than just the occasional course correction boost that the International Space Station gets to maintain its Earth orbit. As Dr. Aldrin acknowledges, "moderately large" maneuvers are required at irregular intervals to keep cyclers from smashing into a planet or zipping out of orbit into empty space. But, that said, the cycler is still essentially an orbiting space station: it is not having to expend massive amount of propellant to escape Earth or Mars gravity every time it flies to those planets.<br />
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Another problem is actually reaching the cycler from vehicles launching from Earth or Mars. The launch craft must catch up as the cyclers make their once-every-five-months pass by the Earth or Mars. The cycler could be travelling as fast as 27,000 miles per hour as it encounters Mars. That's close to the fastest speeds that the Apollo spacecraft ever traveled. So, a rocket leaving Mars attempting to rendezvous with the cycler would expend a great deal of energy. Or, alternatively, you could significantly slow down the cycler when it reaches Mars (by aerobraking- dipping into and out of the Martian atmosphere, with the friction of Martian air slowing the craft down). Then, it would be easy for a spaceship leaving Mars to rendezvous with the slowed cycler... though the cycler would need a big rocket boost to speed up and travel back to Earth.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2aVe-xfFLDPYiB6_yEO997Q2ZWPICJ91nKSJ9-hSCbnmfjPFFp424F6VFoOWlC6CzmbQOiTJGG-Mro9YsHN_nPVK4GmF_eGceJ-r3iF7WbpS5NAop3uvFa7r-IkoJ-McaiFjhrj48QiC/s1600/Mars+Reconnaisance+Orbiter+aerobraking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2aVe-xfFLDPYiB6_yEO997Q2ZWPICJ91nKSJ9-hSCbnmfjPFFp424F6VFoOWlC6CzmbQOiTJGG-Mro9YsHN_nPVK4GmF_eGceJ-r3iF7WbpS5NAop3uvFa7r-IkoJ-McaiFjhrj48QiC/s400/Mars+Reconnaisance+Orbiter+aerobraking.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An illustration of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter aerobraking on arrival to Mars.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Will humans ever hitch a trip to Mars on a cycling interplanetary space station? Nearly thirty years after he first proposed it, Dr. Aldrin's cycler idea still seems like a doable approach to establishing a long-term human presence on Mars. So, whether Mars Cyclers come to pass probably depends on our dedication to exploring the solar system. <br />
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Sources: Next Big Future; March 2000 Scientific American; buzzaldrin.com; NASA; D.V. Burnes, J.M. Longuski; B. Aldrin, <i>Cycler Orbit Between Earth and Mars</i>, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets (1993); Buzz Aldrin et al.; <i>Evolutionary Space Transportation Plan for Mars Cycling Concepts</i>.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-58853732915772212462012-12-01T10:18:00.001-06:002013-08-26T21:30:50.645-05:00Dr. Buzz Aldrin and the Orbital Paradox<i>"In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space, this is dedicated to the crew members of this country's present and future manned space programs. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors!"</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>-- Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin's Thesis Dedication, January 1963</i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRS7p4NMD1_AIxierSPV2UDllzJhBFQ1l3aMp56auujcVWKU414YotcdC7ppdRl7Q6emzdf10C92OBr5_A_rCmdFm0V5suyWnaDh5PIem9LhFC73JoLxk9Bq1lpaW6LYWFELpO3guP8kjZ/s1600/Buzz+Aldrin+on+the+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRS7p4NMD1_AIxierSPV2UDllzJhBFQ1l3aMp56auujcVWKU414YotcdC7ppdRl7Q6emzdf10C92OBr5_A_rCmdFm0V5suyWnaDh5PIem9LhFC73JoLxk9Bq1lpaW6LYWFELpO3guP8kjZ/s400/Buzz+Aldrin+on+the+moon.jpg" width="392" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Buzz Aldrin, after his stroll on the moon.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Dr. Buzz Aldrin goes down in history as the second man to walk on the moon. He was also the first PhD in space. He submitted his thesis in January of 1963; he was selected as an astronaut in October of that year.* Dr. Aldrin's dramatic and sometimes troubled life story (Dancing with the Stars, three divorces, alcoholism, etc...) sometimes seems to overshadow his scientific accomplishments. But, before walking on the moon, he was the first person on Earth to earn a doctorate in the field of astronautics. MIT actually created its astronautics program specifically for him!<br />
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*: Astronaut Jim McDivitt was awarded an honorary doctorate before he flew on Apollo 9, but Aldrin was the first astronaut hired with a ScD (equivalent to a PhD) degree.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0MWJmqcB2jKwLII0bisN0kqy18WmyRfT-RVsAGKyw8u41Bbh9v-plXFzDZX_bYvkGuA6ui46o52iVuCxk6zCA4EoEFkGc98V5MjjjZvtSANDcbLO9cvkCkm63yu9XeQiY9j7m2HLbMcy/s1600/The+Earth+from+Apollo+11,+viewed+at+departure+for+the+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0MWJmqcB2jKwLII0bisN0kqy18WmyRfT-RVsAGKyw8u41Bbh9v-plXFzDZX_bYvkGuA6ui46o52iVuCxk6zCA4EoEFkGc98V5MjjjZvtSANDcbLO9cvkCkm63yu9XeQiY9j7m2HLbMcy/s400/The+Earth+from+Apollo+11,+viewed+at+departure+for+the+moon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from Apollo 11, leaving Earth orbit for the moon.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Astronautics is the study of space navigation. Dr. Aldrin's research focused on the process of docking two orbiting spacecraft. When Dr. Aldrin was completing his coursework, humans hadn't yet docked two spacecraft in orbit. The first docking occurred on Gemini 8, in 1966. Soon thereafter, Dr. Aldrin flew aboard Gemini 12 and was able to follow up on his doctoral work with hands-on experience.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpiun3FI0OXLgcKKkcE9IW82OqoX_BxFp5TducXUlGjJniugbCUJeR_EsWR9sD5C-792l6kbRQ4x-w1rWSDlhGGlAXBN-N2g-L7PRjeDcCzCuWmE8iyIzfQcIB-V7Ta-QGYBGouwFc8iV/s1600/Buzz+Aldrin,+pre-phd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpiun3FI0OXLgcKKkcE9IW82OqoX_BxFp5TducXUlGjJniugbCUJeR_EsWR9sD5C-792l6kbRQ4x-w1rWSDlhGGlAXBN-N2g-L7PRjeDcCzCuWmE8iyIzfQcIB-V7Ta-QGYBGouwFc8iV/s400/Buzz+Aldrin,+pre-phd.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Aldrin in his pre-PhD days.<br />
Source: Time.</td></tr>
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Dr. Aldrin's thesis was titled <i>Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous</i>. It's available for download <a href="http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/12652">here</a>. His doctoral work was the development a procedure for visually docking (as in, using your eyes to guide the spacecraft). That way, astronauts would be able to supplement computer models, navigational chart data, or radar data with their own visual observations. Being able to rely on a visual docking technique in addition to following computer and instrument guidance means that docking is possible even if those sources of data partially failed.<br />
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So, for example, when the rendezvous radar failed during Dr. Aldrin's Gemini 12 mission, he and Jim Lovell docked their spacecraft to the target vehicle using the onboard computer, navigational charts, and their own observations out the spaceship windows. Such was the success of Dr. Aldrin's visual docking techniques that parts of the dissertation became standard operating procedure for NASA.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJ2-EPANp6A-YVZTrbZPi0uVDiEasozEpDbLdzh_dHbHZSZEnGQvNrc9MV0oAzeeHD601mtf9KRAS7OUScsukS5EY3O1voEdxG6-imJHUljbLdY5GX2HufgPVQvKwBLhEOjUkT9Zdrdj6/s1600/the+apollo+11+lunar+module+approaches+the+command+module.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJ2-EPANp6A-YVZTrbZPi0uVDiEasozEpDbLdzh_dHbHZSZEnGQvNrc9MV0oAzeeHD601mtf9KRAS7OUScsukS5EY3O1voEdxG6-imJHUljbLdY5GX2HufgPVQvKwBLhEOjUkT9Zdrdj6/s400/the+apollo+11+lunar+module+approaches+the+command+module.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the Apollo 11 Command Module: the Lunar Module approaches.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Docking spacecraft in orbit poses serious challenges not encountered when docking a boat or connecting two aircraft for a refueling maneuver Like air travel, space travel works in three dimensions. But unlike air travel, there's the added challenge of working with craft that are in orbit. There's also the confusion created by freefalling around Earth without a feeling of "up" or "down." And, there's what Dr. Aldrin terms an "orbital paradox."<br />
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Here's the paradox: If you're trying to pilot your orbiting spaceship to reach a spaceship in a higher orbit, the intuitive course is to (1) aim your spacecraft up, towards the higher orbit, and (2) speed up your spacecraft so it will catch up. Dr. Aldrin describes the surprising result of this maneuver. You'll "end up in an even higher orbit, traveling at a slower speed and watching the second craft fly off into the distance."<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIeT0eWypQlQCW0ht_76HaT6KBxK55mSSdmLnNmI0IBRCC6L6Jm4Fetj1O66CHzij8aqomw2AmwglKJhTn-bfYbcKXPO38BWZ7NPsNVw_Cu6ARiLDC3NlefQ7jjAP6-bMgchSIUw4XX3M/s1600/Gemini+12+and+an+Agena+rocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIeT0eWypQlQCW0ht_76HaT6KBxK55mSSdmLnNmI0IBRCC6L6Jm4Fetj1O66CHzij8aqomw2AmwglKJhTn-bfYbcKXPO38BWZ7NPsNVw_Cu6ARiLDC3NlefQ7jjAP6-bMgchSIUw4XX3M/s400/Gemini+12+and+an+Agena+rocket.jpg" width="393" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Gemini 12 and an Agena Rocket, 15 feet apart.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Or, as Neal Stephenson describes it in his novel <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anathem-Neal-Stephenson/dp/006147410X">Anathem</a>:</i> "Things in orbit didn't behave like we were used to. Just to name one example: if I were pursing another object in the same orbit, my natural instinct would be to fire a thruster that would kick me forward. But that would move me into a <i>higher</i> orbit, so the thing I was chasing would soon drop <i>below</i> me. Everything we knew down here was going to be wrong up there."I won't tell you why the main character in <i>Anathem </i>was headed into space, just in case you want to read the book.... it's a great adventure story!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMf24l0qzDxaLr2szU0bBQYrxYQBsAstIKLB8mYG66d9pzcyc-ohdmML3SByWFzOSjILDXtrAVZ7wXJ0Ai5xitufGA5K3BxSClXTaaMWLsV-r8QoMVU-56M8F9oQMxDcu6vzKJ5qpt7ryu/s1600/Apollo+9+command+and+service+modules+docked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMf24l0qzDxaLr2szU0bBQYrxYQBsAstIKLB8mYG66d9pzcyc-ohdmML3SByWFzOSjILDXtrAVZ7wXJ0Ai5xitufGA5K3BxSClXTaaMWLsV-r8QoMVU-56M8F9oQMxDcu6vzKJ5qpt7ryu/s400/Apollo+9+command+and+service+modules+docked.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apollo 9's command and service modules, docked.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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Aside from PhD dissertations and science fiction, the practical result of the orbital paradox is as follows. When the International Space Station docks with a Soyuz, the Soyuz and the ISS begin their final docking maneuvers at the same altitude and velocity as each other, but with the Soyuz out in front of the ISS. Then the Soyuz will fire its rocket and move towards a slightly higher orbit, because this slows the craft down! Next, the Soyuz will slowly drop back to the lower orbit, moving faster and closer to the ISS the lower it gets. Finally, the spacecraft will back into the ISS, docking with the front of the space station.<br />
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Here's a diagram the boyfriend and I drew to explain how the Soyuz moves to that initial, higher orbit:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufgennTOQJfSgNTIiLmvQv81SRsRpogj_gILs5G5utUKfsJy-U2jjcukHXEuQYIhDp3iIC0J6-EJlnEVbe1RNfCVZq-N8bs793nRUBIh76Ei_OenMgwJ0F91btbK3aZXaFu4sfmsb3n5h/s1600/IMG-20121201-00225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufgennTOQJfSgNTIiLmvQv81SRsRpogj_gILs5G5utUKfsJy-U2jjcukHXEuQYIhDp3iIC0J6-EJlnEVbe1RNfCVZq-N8bs793nRUBIh76Ei_OenMgwJ0F91btbK3aZXaFu4sfmsb3n5h/s400/IMG-20121201-00225.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how the Soyuz fires its rockets so that, if it wasn't in orbit, it would move directly away from the ISS?<br />
But since both craft are in orbit, the effect of thrust in that direction is to move the Soyuz to a higher, slower orbit.<br />
Then, it can drop back down towards the ISS.</td></tr>
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Teaching folks how to achieve orbital docking by sight is not Dr. Aldrin's only academic contribution to space exploration. There's also Dr. Aldrin's novel idea for exploring Mars, called the Mars Cycler. More on that, coming soon!<br />
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Sources: Scientific American; buzzaldrin.com; Neal Stephenson's <i>Anathem; </i>Wikipedia.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-45987923315514071282012-11-25T12:41:00.000-06:002013-08-26T21:27:02.112-05:00The Story of a Noble Gas<a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/zeppelins-stairway-to-heavens.html">Last week 's blog post</a> explored the golden age of airships, and how nowadays they're used to explore outer space. As I mentioned last week, one of the few airship operators in the U.S. is going out of business because helium prices increased <b><u>tenfold</u>(!)</b> in the past few years.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZeXEi1e3prlaVn-XV4BvmSbz7YAK-hmobmcsJQpCHux9MOxqZ2Dvt6MS8oAles0oDLzTQoU0UpzNsVcGeXRVc0aAJHLM4wQrnKWWmximwJ1UtPaA7KnvsqqDdfYH3LYUynOV7VK4eMoJ/s1600/Lemvnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZeXEi1e3prlaVn-XV4BvmSbz7YAK-hmobmcsJQpCHux9MOxqZ2Dvt6MS8oAles0oDLzTQoU0UpzNsVcGeXRVc0aAJHLM4wQrnKWWmximwJ1UtPaA7KnvsqqDdfYH3LYUynOV7VK4eMoJ/s400/Lemvnight.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle: a U.S. military hybrid airship.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe- why is it getting more expensive? The answer to that question can be traced back to the heyday of airships, the 1920s and 1930s. Back then, it looked likely that the wars of the future would be fought by dirigibles. So in 1925 the U.S. government began maintaining a massive stockpile of the helium gas necessary to float these airships. Ever since then, the U.S. government has been siphoning off helium from natural gas extracted beneath Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The helium is stored in the National Helium Reserve just north of Amarillo, Texas.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSih_-vOdgA3TGyZ9qsdBOlHB9mWzvFU3oPh8roL4tRd93tELIXbb0qHqEARjWEhqfyknmPc3tSNVKGpe_ouYjZkXLJE7bxILqmo3dM1TlKbeZvyrLTpZA2Cq2riaIZq4ZknFO6AkF6rt/s1600/federal+helium+reserve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSih_-vOdgA3TGyZ9qsdBOlHB9mWzvFU3oPh8roL4tRd93tELIXbb0qHqEARjWEhqfyknmPc3tSNVKGpe_ouYjZkXLJE7bxILqmo3dM1TlKbeZvyrLTpZA2Cq2riaIZq4ZknFO6AkF6rt/s400/federal+helium+reserve.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Federal Helium Reserve.<br />
Source: Wall Street Journal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Since helium was essentially a war material, the U.S. banned exports of the gas to the Nazi government in the late 1930s. This meant that the Germans used hydrogen to float the Hindenburg Airship; a risky move, since hydrogen is highly flammable, while helium is inert. Infamously, the Hindenburg caught fire and exploded in the spring of 1937. And its destruction was just one in a series of hydrogen airship accidents throughout that decade.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7avRMtpLMR6j09snU4hm7d8ODTousB5hBXyAk0cN5g2T3O2FvgzXCreyAasFNDmtmQA48C_1tesw69cDQ4KEiW81GwsmIMillbuqzP__nKGHm-ja949CQBRnfqiIEEIkihREL-smA2uB/s1600/Hindenburg+explosion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr7avRMtpLMR6j09snU4hm7d8ODTousB5hBXyAk0cN5g2T3O2FvgzXCreyAasFNDmtmQA48C_1tesw69cDQ4KEiW81GwsmIMillbuqzP__nKGHm-ja949CQBRnfqiIEEIkihREL-smA2uB/s400/Hindenburg+explosion.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 6, 1937: the Hindenburg disaster.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Within two years of the Hindenburg disaster, Pan Am began transatlantic passenger flights. Thus ended the demand for transatlantic airship passenger service and mail delivery via airships. <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/zeppelins-stairway-to-heavens.html">The age of airships was over</a>. Demand for helium plummeted.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvls0TF_JWMz0EWND3ZnzJAa83DlAE2hIxvbJQyX16rMIrlXLQH1OO_7AROWKvNqW5rNHi8YohqTUteGcLKDuokVBjoDf3g3KhIXhJKWk3FAOezVNJAdCi_lEzY3Qxkj2xukwZ2D96cQzN/s1600/Helium+sources+in+the+U.S..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvls0TF_JWMz0EWND3ZnzJAa83DlAE2hIxvbJQyX16rMIrlXLQH1OO_7AROWKvNqW5rNHi8YohqTUteGcLKDuokVBjoDf3g3KhIXhJKWk3FAOezVNJAdCi_lEzY3Qxkj2xukwZ2D96cQzN/s400/Helium+sources+in+the+U.S..jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sources of helium in the U.S.<br />
Source: National Academies Press.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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With fewer airships around to fill with helium, the Reserve became a costly government expenditure, subsidizing artificially low helium prices. By 1996 it was $1.4 billion in debt. So, that year the Helium Privatization Act was signed, requiring the Reserve to sell off all its gas and close by 2014.<br />
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The U.S. government's practice of selling helium at cut-rate prices effectively kept any other potential helium producers out of the market. The Reserve was a massive player in the helium market, accounting for a whopping 30% of the world's helium supply. Naturally, its impending closure has destabilized the world helium market. New helium producing plants in Russia, Qatar, Algeria, and Wyoming are coming online, but replacing 30% of the world's helium supply doesn't happen overnight. Hence the price increases.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUgTJIbA8KOOnEdP055enAAyzxRFb-k1topTb9YLW-79foDqsMmMAUjR2YlEDoOkJFPzJTdPuqCBY3MQM1_RAgb1CuD1O4vtBl5yn16-8UWW14z-PbcPtMkQnNOd6UAtyUQCtiHebXZUN/s1600/The+rise+in+helium+prices.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUgTJIbA8KOOnEdP055enAAyzxRFb-k1topTb9YLW-79foDqsMmMAUjR2YlEDoOkJFPzJTdPuqCBY3MQM1_RAgb1CuD1O4vtBl5yn16-8UWW14z-PbcPtMkQnNOd6UAtyUQCtiHebXZUN/s400/The+rise+in+helium+prices.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rise in helium prices, 1999-2011.<br />
Source: Washington Post.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So that's the short-term challenge. But there's a long-term helium shortage too. The Earth is running out of helium! How can that be, since it's the second most common element in the universe? Well... it's also the second lightest weight element. Helium doesn't like to bond with other elements to make heavier molecules. Helium atoms generally stay by themselves, and are so lightweight that they eventually float away from Earth, into space. You can produce helium in a lab, but there's no cost-effective way to do that on a large scale right now. Pretty much the only helium you find occurring naturally on Earth is produced inside the Earth by natural radioactive decay.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2oDG2OfkzAoWEueqEgJK4BbRsRIkgTZ1ap8764gYiju-HKzABpkRlffdzPdNy-DrqV4ZkGo3lkxu-B8Nq48IXImRWwDFyKeEVjN0SlZHU69X-PsXlui6Q8-5Eqs-HkQocCmj-9DF9aSv/s1600/NASA+birthday+party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2oDG2OfkzAoWEueqEgJK4BbRsRIkgTZ1ap8764gYiju-HKzABpkRlffdzPdNy-DrqV4ZkGo3lkxu-B8Nq48IXImRWwDFyKeEVjN0SlZHU69X-PsXlui6Q8-5Eqs-HkQocCmj-9DF9aSv/s400/NASA+birthday+party.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One use for the world's precious helium supply.<br />
Source: helpmeplanit.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A fraction of the helium produced by natural radioactive sources is trapped below the Earth's surface in natural gas deposits. That's why the Federal Helium Reserve is located next to natural gas deposits: we extract helium from natural gas.<br />
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With <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/zeppelins-stairway-to-heavens.html">Airship Ventures closing</a>, who needs helium? NASA has historically been the world's top industrial helium user. Helium was used to pressurize and purge rocket engines. It's used for many other practical purposes, like cooling the magnets used in MRI machines and <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/celebrating-higgs-boson.html">particle accelerators</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHx0GiyudK-1G_8ya2tFjUesewaYHwCBwBtUiM0NrnWkRbsARQvFrQ3tqI0hm5vH8aKuk5owU6j32cQmxvLg1n8xMHnx1kBlzrS_AOx1Wat1fPzZ-_IobFPXndnajHjdKM_NPU_eH6PXYq/s1600/Macy's+Thanksgiving+Day+Parade+1959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHx0GiyudK-1G_8ya2tFjUesewaYHwCBwBtUiM0NrnWkRbsARQvFrQ3tqI0hm5vH8aKuk5owU6j32cQmxvLg1n8xMHnx1kBlzrS_AOx1Wat1fPzZ-_IobFPXndnajHjdKM_NPU_eH6PXYq/s400/Macy's+Thanksgiving+Day+Parade+1959.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helium: It's better than spinach.<br />
Source: Time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Our supply of natural helium will run out when our supply of natural gas runs out. Given that it's not a renewable resource, some scientists have advocated for creating an international body to regulate the supply and pricing of helium. Some folks argue that the price of helium should be set even higher than it has risen, to eliminate waste (see Popeye, above, for what might be considered a waste).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZEIsoIKOcSijLqKW2G1NDfgdUSgAStJtVB5oJyhGsra443WS2XKOfRieA16C0YwZl0KMWaxlXuZMYDzTsNGGzgModeFGbzYSq2Oci33JV6PppMfltVM1KxvxmYhyphenhyphenx9hmrMWVDIQMd1hyphenhyphen/s1600/Night+launch+of+the+space+shuttle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZEIsoIKOcSijLqKW2G1NDfgdUSgAStJtVB5oJyhGsra443WS2XKOfRieA16C0YwZl0KMWaxlXuZMYDzTsNGGzgModeFGbzYSq2Oci33JV6PppMfltVM1KxvxmYhyphenhyphenx9hmrMWVDIQMd1hyphenhyphen/s400/Night+launch+of+the+space+shuttle.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helium in action.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The short term outlook for helium prices is uncertain. This past spring, a Democratic Senator from New Mexico and a Republican Senator from Wyoming co-sponsored a bill that would stabilize the price of helium by pacing the sell-off of the Reserve's supply. But, as of this week, that bill hasn't moved out of Committee. Assuming it isn't brought to a vote in December, it'll have to be reintroduced when the new legislative session begins in 2013.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMX0CGT9GFsGKvqWpSNLdDorsQdwxuJiTI8_bpchmTovS8aax6Jm64VYqYhItiWaYXoj2XQE2rjsdChjT3oXwI_UcN4uko15rvGQxHoebS_2d6RfjaMVa6iOBYtvqwUrHqUv6cLhO63v2/s1600/Ares+1+crew+launch+vehicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMX0CGT9GFsGKvqWpSNLdDorsQdwxuJiTI8_bpchmTovS8aax6Jm64VYqYhItiWaYXoj2XQE2rjsdChjT3oXwI_UcN4uko15rvGQxHoebS_2d6RfjaMVa6iOBYtvqwUrHqUv6cLhO63v2/s400/Ares+1+crew+launch+vehicle.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A future use for helium: pressurizing and purging the engines of the Ares 1.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sources: NPR; American Institute of Physics; U.S. Department of the Interior; Elko Daily; Time; Wall Street Journal; Washington Post; Wikipedia.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-91570927113953556492012-11-19T18:46:00.000-06:002013-08-26T21:24:18.220-05:00Zeppelins: A Stairway to the Heavens?Before the space age, there was the airship age. Dirigibles were so popular in the early 20th century that a mooring for airships was fitted to the top of the Empire State Building upon its completion in 1931!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErGrA3LPmgDuQI0GJh1fg0o0z0dgraKo7AiI48DVulRbBv4WGHDEw0KZXMiCP57zfVHRgn70Fo_7T9DJ6BjG1b6z30KHbLBGnR8H1uVKq9oD_1EPS9L0i8q7q3wBA64tBNTVAp4fClPHk/s1600/Dirgible+docked+to+Empire+State+Building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErGrA3LPmgDuQI0GJh1fg0o0z0dgraKo7AiI48DVulRbBv4WGHDEw0KZXMiCP57zfVHRgn70Fo_7T9DJ6BjG1b6z30KHbLBGnR8H1uVKq9oD_1EPS9L0i8q7q3wBA64tBNTVAp4fClPHk/s400/Dirgible+docked+to+Empire+State+Building.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dirigible docked to the Empire State Building.<br />
Source: ephemeralnewyork.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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But, the mooring was only used once, and only for a couple minutes. It turns out that docking a giant blimp to a building over 1,000 feet tall is nearly impossible; the winds at that height are too strong. Soon after that first brief docking attempt, a Goodyear blimp also tried and failed to dock at the Empire State Building mooring. Its crew did manage to lower a stack of the evening newspapers down a 100 foot long line to the building roof, though! It seems the Empire State Building's airship docking port wasn't considered practical even when it was built. Its construction and attempts to use it were pretty much just a publicity stunt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0RwE7-HEzXjxtxrKKFWAwvC93zqqBdq4Lek6z9zzfnH6N0n3b4CN3d3XhPLLekWzYb9_IeTBeeojU3SJK-lDl7Zq0GErEYRyTF2H_MGfh7JE1ewRe3Vx93g95SstA-2u3ukp-459vicR/s1600/Dirgible+flying+over+Empire+State+Building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0RwE7-HEzXjxtxrKKFWAwvC93zqqBdq4Lek6z9zzfnH6N0n3b4CN3d3XhPLLekWzYb9_IeTBeeojU3SJK-lDl7Zq0GErEYRyTF2H_MGfh7JE1ewRe3Vx93g95SstA-2u3ukp-459vicR/s400/Dirgible+flying+over+Empire+State+Building.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Goodyear blimp flying over the Empire State Building.<br />
Source: New York Times.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The failed attempt to turn the Empire State Building into a dirigible port foreshadowed the end of the airship era. The 1930s saw a rise in airship accidents (e.g., the Hindenburg disaster). Soon, airplanes overtook airships as much faster, more reliable, and safer. Since the 1930s, there's been very little need for airships as a means to transport people or objects. The few airships left in operation now satisfy a small niche market: they're an efficient way to float in place or cruise very, very slowly through the sky... and that's about all.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VuRQyXNHb2_70QbmAcIehjpKoODpu5yEkVGEJgkF_mIsC4jMR41pAdH8Uh_g8fGu8zkx6BtjGIAbs4xPK1MC2A-Sp87lM8U_4ql2c8_9J1yN_zN9pDnkkXp0-FVhRwdF3b7LkW_Vd7Jw/s1600/Airship+Ventures+the+view+out+the+back+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VuRQyXNHb2_70QbmAcIehjpKoODpu5yEkVGEJgkF_mIsC4jMR41pAdH8Uh_g8fGu8zkx6BtjGIAbs4xPK1MC2A-Sp87lM8U_4ql2c8_9J1yN_zN9pDnkkXp0-FVhRwdF3b7LkW_Vd7Jw/s400/Airship+Ventures+the+view+out+the+back+door.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view out the back of Airship Ventures' Blimp.<br />
Source: Airship Ventures.</td></tr>
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The evening I started writing this post on airships I found out that one of the U.S.'s few (maybe only?) private dirigible operators, Mountain View based Airship Ventures, is likely closing. CEO Brian Hall cited the tenfold increase in helium prices since the company's founding in 2007 as one of the challenges the company faced.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx8Ug2adBNfOwPXS01bJyiprHLDAQzFrg9sUOhJp2KAvpt1KZNlOXZ9gidBkJ3QdWLYGZuofwzd82oo7wMMirSk0UGPjQj6510Yhew5hEgNepjWeJsch8tU47s9qXhqo0-Ch9KwmK7P_y/s1600/Airship+Ventures+Blimp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx8Ug2adBNfOwPXS01bJyiprHLDAQzFrg9sUOhJp2KAvpt1KZNlOXZ9gidBkJ3QdWLYGZuofwzd82oo7wMMirSk0UGPjQj6510Yhew5hEgNepjWeJsch8tU47s9qXhqo0-Ch9KwmK7P_y/s400/Airship+Ventures+Blimp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Airship Ventures' <i>Eureka</i> launches.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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I think airships are so neat; I'm sad to see Airship Ventures struggle to make it, much in the same way that commercial passenger space travel struggles to become a viable industry. And speaking of space travel... did you know that airships are actually useful tools for space exploration?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWce8I4E8M4vsvp7tZIIK6SU7IZQFqxeBVA3WQ7gdr1Z28Mq3sLemrFifCkLE3191VLi7MKfCCgi2z9FQg4DRAf7cu6nVAaABwI7LOQPSEUAlHbdFCHAW3DxY-xbaYr6VymMDzGGOhrUs/s1600/Katherine+Board+Airship+Ventures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWce8I4E8M4vsvp7tZIIK6SU7IZQFqxeBVA3WQ7gdr1Z28Mq3sLemrFifCkLE3191VLi7MKfCCgi2z9FQg4DRAf7cu6nVAaABwI7LOQPSEUAlHbdFCHAW3DxY-xbaYr6VymMDzGGOhrUs/s400/Katherine+Board+Airship+Ventures.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Pilot Katherine Board flies Airship Ventures' <i>Eureka</i>. <br />
The only two female Zeppelin pilots in the world flew for Airship Ventures!<br />
Source: Airship Ventures.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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An airship is the perfect vehicle to test a starshade. What's a starshade? It's a large disk that blocks the light from a distant star, allowing for observation of that star's exoplanets. Folks have contemplated launching a starshade to sit 80,000 miles in front of the James Webb space telescope, which will hopefully launch in 2018. An airship-mounted starshade could be tested before 2018. According to a Wired article from this past February, Airship Ventures' <i>Eureka</i> was going to fly a starshade in Spring 2013, to block star light for Earth-based exoplanet observations. With Airship Ventures closing, I guess that won't happen now. :-(<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQM_8svUpvX8ngbE6Rk69RSRRmVgaqbXElz96z7PNJCmo1GUOTk108aROOPhNo0rrOMmmwlPtTL-NiAEAD-tFbi1ojYcUmzmHKFwsozG5xaeBZR-4R9eLUIqPj5XETmtoHoECze39PaP0/s1600/Eureka+launches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQM_8svUpvX8ngbE6Rk69RSRRmVgaqbXElz96z7PNJCmo1GUOTk108aROOPhNo0rrOMmmwlPtTL-NiAEAD-tFbi1ojYcUmzmHKFwsozG5xaeBZR-4R9eLUIqPj5XETmtoHoECze39PaP0/s400/Eureka+launches.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Airship <i>Eureka</i>.<br />
Source: Wired.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Even if the Airship <i>Eureka</i> doesn't fly again, it will have done its part to contribute to space exploration: it has hunted for meteorites! In April of this year, a minivan-sized meteorite exploded over northern California. Researchers were especially eager to collect fragments of the meteorite, since the asteroid it came from was of a relatively rare variety, the carbonaceous chrondite. This type of rock is full of the organic molecules that serve as the building blocks for life on Earth (and elsewhere?).<br />
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NASA and SETI paid to take <i>Eureka</i> out on a five-hour mission to search for bits of the exploded rock. The airship cruised slowly over the Sierra Nevada foothills, and the scientists on board looked for little impact craters, finding a dozen possible sites.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3J-1sI_kLCJ7LFEOsh_K7SFdeKRzPea7WcdqrsNhwj_HX__oK3H32_tcd1iszDguqVtRXoCPFbGmOrBMx0czAb2QICUI2Gxgth68-JoNNpGpjvk-sBlALubxBMH7RCjBsRb0RFdxLVDyZ/s1600/Meteorite+over+Nevada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3J-1sI_kLCJ7LFEOsh_K7SFdeKRzPea7WcdqrsNhwj_HX__oK3H32_tcd1iszDguqVtRXoCPFbGmOrBMx0czAb2QICUI2Gxgth68-JoNNpGpjvk-sBlALubxBMH7RCjBsRb0RFdxLVDyZ/s400/Meteorite+over+Nevada.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April 22, 2012 a fragment of a meteorite over Nevada.<br />
Source: Space.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Circling back to CEO's explanation for why Airship Ventures is going out of business: helium prices have increased tenfold in the past five years. Why is helium getting so expensive? It's a fascinating question, actually. I'll talk about it in my next post.<br />
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*** Addendum: part two of this post, <i>The Story of a Noble Gas</i>, <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-story-of-noble-gas.html">is posted here</a>!<br />
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Sources: Wired; Airship Ventures; Zimbio; SFGate; Wikipedia; Dvice.com; Space.com.</div>
Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-48550180679861735312012-11-11T15:51:00.002-06:002013-08-26T21:20:24.995-05:00A personal history of the space race<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Happy Veteran's Day! One of my favorite vets is my father's father. Born in 1917, Grandfather served in World War II as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. On June 6th, 1944, he jumped into Normandy, carrying his unit's radio on his back. He made it through D-Day unharmed, but on June 7th he stepped on a land mine. He survived, but lost a leg.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4KeKQB6R9BiCJX7mXtlDuEeRuw-0M8poQNHpXnC91nViHKGpm7Exnf1KSXsEvywsYwk7bME5dpCztNsjDJp3OATiWukD1X3kGsMQV-HKM5e6r5YL1PE65si0_pB0lIUbXOzl55hU-qid/s1600/1944-0000+Simeon+Lee+Allen+img411+-+Copy+lt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4KeKQB6R9BiCJX7mXtlDuEeRuw-0M8poQNHpXnC91nViHKGpm7Exnf1KSXsEvywsYwk7bME5dpCztNsjDJp3OATiWukD1X3kGsMQV-HKM5e6r5YL1PE65si0_pB0lIUbXOzl55hU-qid/s400/1944-0000+Simeon+Lee+Allen+img411+-+Copy+lt.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the army, circa 1944.</td></tr>
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Before World War II, Grandfather was studying accounting at a college near his hometown. His wartime job as a radioman sparked an interest in engineering. So, upon returning from Europe, he began a career as an engineer. He worked at Western Electric, and also briefly at Bell Labs. Eventually, at age 48, he graduated from college.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWJsaC9NjZw6qRtl8aXmT2WUI2Bs38x3gH1v3a_E_eRrywu4g-jjT9jV9LHI336cjEOJFP3Vb0gGkblQutLrovfFoZT2BUnSS01zQzCHosXsMaH41JoPHt4tSqchOcIMbsvQaSskERJbn/s1600/1967-0800+Abt+Lee+Allen+Graduation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWJsaC9NjZw6qRtl8aXmT2WUI2Bs38x3gH1v3a_E_eRrywu4g-jjT9jV9LHI336cjEOJFP3Vb0gGkblQutLrovfFoZT2BUnSS01zQzCHosXsMaH41JoPHt4tSqchOcIMbsvQaSskERJbn/s400/1967-0800+Abt+Lee+Allen+Graduation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation, 1966.</td></tr>
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Counting government employees and the employees of private contractors, over 400,000 Americans worked to land 12 Apollo astronauts on the moon. My grandfather spent his career perfecting guidance systems for rockets, but technically he wasn't a part of that 400,000. His focus was primarily Nike Hercules and Nike Zeus rockets, not the rockets that took men to the moon. </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18s-V1GHfWfV_d47pAi-lkMOeLgV3nFE22ObZKwW6SxByokdNU4UvlHlk5IW2LmMwK3bo46ydZQlxNSfrSWmAksJXLnHzJjJN_eB4Mn6ZD6VOsYRCv4OdxFQbLCdllGqj9qrVJxd8NC9U/s1600/1960-0525+Lee+Allen+&+Nike+img414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18s-V1GHfWfV_d47pAi-lkMOeLgV3nFE22ObZKwW6SxByokdNU4UvlHlk5IW2LmMwK3bo46ydZQlxNSfrSWmAksJXLnHzJjJN_eB4Mn6ZD6VOsYRCv4OdxFQbLCdllGqj9qrVJxd8NC9U/s400/1960-0525+Lee+Allen+&+Nike+img414.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Posing at White Sands with a Nike Hercules rocket.</td></tr>
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Nike Hercules missiles were developed to fire at airborne targets (specifically, bombers) or at targets on Earth. Some of them could be tipped with a nuclear warhead. They were first deployed in 1958, and they were all deactivated by 1979, as the military's concern turned from incoming bombers to incoming missiles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLtgo0wdJv7yhdIyrT75Qj9y4nzf5NWD_-MbZ79U7IqmoRjHI7y25ZqvlkHhEiFsZogk0uK0ggmqorf2A7FJ6ocsplUrYh3c8V85jUQCnHDl0-MSA1Wt2KIiw0hNX_0dmgyKIL6yfHOa0/s1600/Nike+Zeus+launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLtgo0wdJv7yhdIyrT75Qj9y4nzf5NWD_-MbZ79U7IqmoRjHI7y25ZqvlkHhEiFsZogk0uK0ggmqorf2A7FJ6ocsplUrYh3c8V85jUQCnHDl0-MSA1Wt2KIiw0hNX_0dmgyKIL6yfHOa0/s400/Nike+Zeus+launch.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The launch of a Nike Zeus. <br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Nike Zeus rockets were defensive weapons, developed to intercept and destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles. Their first successful launch was in 1959; their first successful intercept was in 1962. They were phased out after the SALT I treaty was signed in 1972. The last Nike Zeus was decommissioned in 1974. Both Hercules and Zeus were replaced with the much more accurate and more mobile Patriot missile systems.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfABwx4My3mHhlpMauvsX8uWBshEwYbVImp2q3YXdEnm5MuXuMSOwxVsPX6ftYpD_DMqBlywNFiqe1gRM2Lj_VnPWdJmhonmZdH3YcDOCHeW3P7dGC-gEfTS0hmhv3eALyllRi1Mp4Sy3g/s1600/1960-0500+Simeon+Lee+Allen+&+Nike+img462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfABwx4My3mHhlpMauvsX8uWBshEwYbVImp2q3YXdEnm5MuXuMSOwxVsPX6ftYpD_DMqBlywNFiqe1gRM2Lj_VnPWdJmhonmZdH3YcDOCHeW3P7dGC-gEfTS0hmhv3eALyllRi1Mp4Sy3g/s400/1960-0500+Simeon+Lee+Allen+&+Nike+img462.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing with another rocket. This doesn't look like any of the Nikes I'm finding online though...</td></tr>
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I can hardly believe how quickly the race to the moon proceeded. It can be measured in terms of one person's career: Grandfather went to work just when the U.S.'s rocket program took off. He retired right after Apollo-Soyuz. While not working directly on the Apollo program, he was fascinated by it. Like many Americans, he followed the space program with great interest. My Dad still has the newspaper clippings Grandfather saved from each NASA launch.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoHL2LzxIUV5W0ZJ7ED4dpPZvDk342LJsbkj_IQr2nWjs31d3LQnpOwcCZgVI5jt312XbcaSEusHG-Rv0fqJtLsXPMbFujG5zWDMh_bjmWJOKD8sqraAjdHJykrtJVG1rOFrOlZGrqDc-/s1600/1960-0500+White+Sands+Radar+Array+img465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoHL2LzxIUV5W0ZJ7ED4dpPZvDk342LJsbkj_IQr2nWjs31d3LQnpOwcCZgVI5jt312XbcaSEusHG-Rv0fqJtLsXPMbFujG5zWDMh_bjmWJOKD8sqraAjdHJykrtJVG1rOFrOlZGrqDc-/s400/1960-0500+White+Sands+Radar+Array+img465.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">White Sands Missile Range, in the late 1950s.</td></tr>
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Folks talk about the Apollo program (and Bell Labs, where my Grandfather briefly worked) as being the golden age of American invention. I've heard people say that we no longer solve problems on the same scale as my Grandfather's generation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQF8x4llwAGzmKzrW3EVxiPQdOTkgHAa31AQO79rUcPaNGlLNXhST6AC7TE_9nmnZyjWJOcL2WZApiD_BEGp6xPahI3f05uBHLA-VR3vJteYKKsxJoOA2kN2RHxu-awowzP1U9KqmW4Kd_/s1600/Jon+Gertner+Bell+Labs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQF8x4llwAGzmKzrW3EVxiPQdOTkgHAa31AQO79rUcPaNGlLNXhST6AC7TE_9nmnZyjWJOcL2WZApiD_BEGp6xPahI3f05uBHLA-VR3vJteYKKsxJoOA2kN2RHxu-awowzP1U9KqmW4Kd_/s400/Jon+Gertner+Bell+Labs.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just started reading this book and I highly recommend it!<br />
Source: Boston.com.</td></tr>
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Grandfather died before I was born, so I don't know his thoughts on the subject. My belief is that the problems we're tackling now are more complicated and thus require far more money and time to solve. The greatest generation took us to the moon, but getting people to Mars or beyond is even harder. I think we will get there, though... eventually.<br />
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Speaking of which, have you seen <a href="http://www.space.com/18380-nasa-moon-missions-obama-election.html">this news</a>?<br />
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Sources: my dad (thanks!); Wikipedia; Space.com; Boston.com.Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-28780798187799264582012-10-28T17:25:00.000-05:002013-08-26T21:18:31.985-05:00The Deep Space Network, Part IITwo weeks ago I asked the question: <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-deep-space-network-part-i.html">how do we communicate with spacecraft operating around our solar system and beyond</a>? The short answer is that we listen and talk to these probes via a network of giant (up to 230 feet in diameter!) radio telescopes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xS1v3gnO7SXkuQAk6gZ46AiI2n7lXmO9gWEMF79-VFTQ3CZOCns7xUwC2ZKq3CoSkCE2_oynz02dNwChsd5e-UVBdDgzN4Kbl6_jqkAcn-AklDcSeWQQAzTsCtJ1zHNSOJEcv5H_eMq8/s1600/Green+Bank+Telescope+in+West+Virginia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xS1v3gnO7SXkuQAk6gZ46AiI2n7lXmO9gWEMF79-VFTQ3CZOCns7xUwC2ZKq3CoSkCE2_oynz02dNwChsd5e-UVBdDgzN4Kbl6_jqkAcn-AklDcSeWQQAzTsCtJ1zHNSOJEcv5H_eMq8/s400/Green+Bank+Telescope+in+West+Virginia.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Green Bank radio telescope in wild, wonderful West Virginia.<br />
Source: National Radio Astronomy Observatory.</td></tr>
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Even knowing that we have dozens of large dish antennae able to work together to receive and transmit data, it is still amazing to me that we can communicate with, for example, Voyager 1. That little spacecraft is 17 <b><u>LIGHT HOURS</u></b> away from Earth! How do you receive a signal sent by a small transmitter hundreds of millions of miles away?<br />
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At this point, there are only two ways to communicate with the Voyagers. Our largest antennae, the 230 foot diameter dishes, are powerful enough to talk to the craft. Or, multiple dishes arrayed together can communicate with the Voyagers. Arraying dishes means aligning individual dishes so that they work together, functioning as an even more powerful device, able to separate the weakest signals from background interference. You can array two dishes at the same Deep Space Network location. You can also array dishes at different locations. For example, dishes at the Very Large Array facility in New Mexico can work together with the dishes at Goldstone, receiving signals that would be too weak for one dish or one facility alone to discern.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAKkm2qzWJeN9Uz6em0OjCbIS0AmkWbvTwjqqvjRrdmLJgYODSgX-QEcP8C_QtUsM7ACLLIAI5zJFQnOvDMAvvU0sSQIlXxgaHLblZska2_u1ZYsg0j0MfqOOd8WH5bX7FRQrtqUCLt_4/s1600/Jodie+Foster+Very+Large+Array.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAKkm2qzWJeN9Uz6em0OjCbIS0AmkWbvTwjqqvjRrdmLJgYODSgX-QEcP8C_QtUsM7ACLLIAI5zJFQnOvDMAvvU0sSQIlXxgaHLblZska2_u1ZYsg0j0MfqOOd8WH5bX7FRQrtqUCLt_4/s400/Jodie+Foster+Very+Large+Array.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Jodie Foster, putting the Very Large Array to good use.<br />
Source: on-walkabout.com.</td></tr>
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According to the Deep Space Network's operations manager, Jim Hodder, recent innovations made to the Network have further improved our ability to talk to the Voyagers. For example, we can now cool a dish antenna's receivers down to near absolute zero (-460 degrees Fahrenheit). This reduces interference with Voyager's radio signal, because any heat above absolute zero knocks electrons out of their lowest energy state orbits, just like radio waves from a spacecraft knock electrons out of their lowest energy state orbits. Less heat means less extraneous movement by electrons. Therefore, it's easier to pick out the one distant radio signal you're looking for.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuIY-mKlvYok9b2yej3VMh-LvP8A90lANRwAAO1ZCnUP3GzcA7hsNxrBnxTHL-fy07hTF2sbvJBtclG8OfhUxEd6jRZt_UUx78WpiSLsjTjQALO5FfH-XC9T2lOvoGPZzbi3yrzlWSCsg/s1600/Voyager+1+launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuIY-mKlvYok9b2yej3VMh-LvP8A90lANRwAAO1ZCnUP3GzcA7hsNxrBnxTHL-fy07hTF2sbvJBtclG8OfhUxEd6jRZt_UUx78WpiSLsjTjQALO5FfH-XC9T2lOvoGPZzbi3yrzlWSCsg/s400/Voyager+1+launch.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voyager 1, back when it was 17 light hours closer to Earth.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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When the Voyagers were launched in the late 1970s, we would likely not have been able to communicate with a spacecraft 17 light hours away. But now, it appears that the Voyagers will run out of the power needed to transmit messages before they leave the range of our radio telescopes!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX38jldm7auGCKqd5wBHMhETnBDknYdDRAbM6nvB2g2IZn5W92eWc6Mf7VdFx5fefr_9vq6AsZSbduLMk1lvDVmhc3Vysfp3y2RHetTPHi5ei0T4FKvK8blRjtVkEswlNe55DlqyjUacBS/s1600/080702-voyager-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX38jldm7auGCKqd5wBHMhETnBDknYdDRAbM6nvB2g2IZn5W92eWc6Mf7VdFx5fefr_9vq6AsZSbduLMk1lvDVmhc3Vysfp3y2RHetTPHi5ei0T4FKvK8blRjtVkEswlNe55DlqyjUacBS/s400/080702-voyager-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Voyager at the edge of the solar system.<br />
Source: Space.com.</td></tr>
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There's one other neat fact I've learned about communicating with spacecraft around the solar system. As I mentioned back in my <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-deep-space-network-part-i.html">first Deep Space Network post</a>, there are three human-made satellites (Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Express) orbiting Mars right now. As a result of this infrastructure in Mars orbit, our communications with the Curiosity rover are a bit more advanced than for the average interplanetary mission.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvNwjk0Ov_121FoYmPLSVjFpvYnu-ORVauU_0h4VTlNbTLEr5Ei5BRiTLl1k_YwW-Ua_Nbu6zH5BQgy85k5CNqnALDIPvFufSu2yJhuxVGb9qClON96rV4yFcA4BiGvUIJFqYIusV0Uvl/s1600/Curiosity+view+on+mars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvNwjk0Ov_121FoYmPLSVjFpvYnu-ORVauU_0h4VTlNbTLEr5Ei5BRiTLl1k_YwW-Ua_Nbu6zH5BQgy85k5CNqnALDIPvFufSu2yJhuxVGb9qClON96rV4yFcA4BiGvUIJFqYIusV0Uvl/s400/Curiosity+view+on+mars.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The base of Mount Sharp, as viewed by Curiosity.<br />
Source: NASA.</td></tr>
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In total, Curiosity has three methods of communicating with its human friends:<br />
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<b><u>One</u>, </b>Curiosity can transmit signals directly to the Deep Space Network through a low-gain antenna. This antenna sends and receives data a slower rate in every direction, so that Curiosity doesn't have to point its antenna directly at Earth. Curiosity uses this antenna to transmit information, and, more often, to receive information.<br />
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<b><u>Two</u>, </b>Curiosity also has a high-gain antenna that it can point at Earth to broadcast information directly there. This can send data at a faster rate than the low-gain antenna. Curiosity uses this antenna most often when it is receiving instructions from scientists on Earth.<br />
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<b><u>Three,</u></b> Curiosity usually communicates with Earth indirectly, via our Martian satellites! It can send and receive information to and from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor, or Mars Odyssey via a UHF (short-range) antenna.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpukI0qJEx6vVx3QF21kh1sqEZF3kwF78nX-s98C0j0qWxggglp9zypSNgDLdyTNRjFXMT9Uh6_tC3mut0GHRxSM21lWyhx-2U9T6IjFKNl-bfyJ_p33Na-uMH-vXTUcojUrPAshUw0_Km/s1600/The+rover+deck+on+Curiosity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpukI0qJEx6vVx3QF21kh1sqEZF3kwF78nX-s98C0j0qWxggglp9zypSNgDLdyTNRjFXMT9Uh6_tC3mut0GHRxSM21lWyhx-2U9T6IjFKNl-bfyJ_p33Na-uMH-vXTUcojUrPAshUw0_Km/s400/The+rover+deck+on+Curiosity.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The deck of Curiosity, with the low-gain and high-gain antennae visable.<br />
Source: JPL.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
This third method of communication is particularly useful. Curiosity expends less energy to broadcast to our Martian satellites than to Earth, since the satellites are less than 300 miles away when passing overhead of the rover. But more importantly, the satellites enable communication with the rover much more often. Mars, like Earth, rotates approximately every 24 hours, and thus half the time the rover does not have a direct line of sight to Earth. So for about 12 hours out of every Martian day, Curiosity cannot use its high or low gain antennae to transmit data directly to Earth. But instead of only having access to Curiosity for only half of every day, thanks to the the three Martian satellites, JPL can contact the rover for about 16 hours out of any given day!</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQ6YldHQpLcWpa5AZxWzVdILjrEMD6KmYOyonuFvW7HxqLruDz2b_d87BOsccf1zawwYkOfJgbe9LpmEzkuSWJZN-g3ePSFlCY1ao3q7pnQzIgVuAoVSuxF-Q8OG4SSWqjviTPayt_uSt/s1600/Avalanche+on+Mars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQ6YldHQpLcWpa5AZxWzVdILjrEMD6KmYOyonuFvW7HxqLruDz2b_d87BOsccf1zawwYkOfJgbe9LpmEzkuSWJZN-g3ePSFlCY1ao3q7pnQzIgVuAoVSuxF-Q8OG4SSWqjviTPayt_uSt/s400/Avalanche+on+Mars.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An avalanche on Mars, as seen from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br />
As a result of these three methods for accessing the Deep Space Network, we can communicate with Curiosity across tens of millions of miles of outer space at up to half the speed of a typical modem in someone's house! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sources: io9, JPL, Wikipedia; Space Today; NASA; Popular Mechanics.</div>
Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-74897622243252726082012-10-21T18:49:00.000-05:002013-08-26T21:16:00.091-05:00A Cold War instead of a Space WarThe International Space Station has pretty much everything you could possibly need while in low Earth orbit. Including its solar panels, it is roughly the size of a (U.S.) football field. Inside, it has as much pressurized space as a Boeing 747 jet. ISS residents have access to two bathrooms, a gym, and, in case they're feeling homesick, a giant window for Earth-gazing.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1f0IjdoRF-BwCIBtTAt31thiVImvGzMCuE6jGaitoOUq4or1pffRL_4OGvm8Hpj6TbcWuQgJlNdX7DXXcd9aeu-R_92jmTSEgZWCx1qJtEUAZam7_OG8xNlFE-YbernQnn7Ku5ubSnlwb/s1600/Astronaut+Tracy+Dyson+in+front+of+the+Cupola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1f0IjdoRF-BwCIBtTAt31thiVImvGzMCuE6jGaitoOUq4or1pffRL_4OGvm8Hpj6TbcWuQgJlNdX7DXXcd9aeu-R_92jmTSEgZWCx1qJtEUAZam7_OG8xNlFE-YbernQnn7Ku5ubSnlwb/s400/Astronaut+Tracy+Dyson+in+front+of+the+Cupola.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astronaut Tracy Dyson, floating in front of the cupola.<br />
Source: Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
The menu for the six astronauts living aboard the ISS is varied and tasty: brownies, sushi, fajitas, and cherry-blueberry cobbler. You have high-speed internet access, your own little bedroom, and once in a while, an <a href="http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20121012/SPACE/310120043/Space-station-crew-throws-ice-cream-social">ice cream social</a>. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_j9hPhJf8xEqgI9Dgt1YWlxXIq8jcp_Gvtqg5DG8Wcci7knlgBMmve0rYubT-rspsI0sDvHnKiuF1dITjy5K-dLKxGi97R16moUusZiCsgo6nC3Q03u3naJo7ZOpwr22A0ElzxKB6cTYM/s1600/Christmas+on+the+International+Space+Station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_j9hPhJf8xEqgI9Dgt1YWlxXIq8jcp_Gvtqg5DG8Wcci7knlgBMmve0rYubT-rspsI0sDvHnKiuF1dITjy5K-dLKxGi97R16moUusZiCsgo6nC3Q03u3naJo7ZOpwr22A0ElzxKB6cTYM/s400/Christmas+on+the+International+Space+Station.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half of the ISS Expedition 26 crew, peeking out of their "rooms" on Christmas morning.<br />
Source: Onorbit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
But... a 1970s Soviet military space station, the Salyut 3, has got the ISS beat in one strange way. What does Salyut 3 have that the ISS is missing? A 23 millimeter automatic cannon, mounted to the long axis of the station.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpG-y4RH28XqCeJJi2ypHHw3cTVTe1v5qoHKuFGavAo7SB3iAuSL7K2bvV32sDYzW6razeC3t0Z-eenFxuwwlwTJjCArOMkwBbV58FLZjl_2Spm69Z8eG87pKDEtW3wDhq08uvqglRwjq/s1600/Salyut+3+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpG-y4RH28XqCeJJi2ypHHw3cTVTe1v5qoHKuFGavAo7SB3iAuSL7K2bvV32sDYzW6razeC3t0Z-eenFxuwwlwTJjCArOMkwBbV58FLZjl_2Spm69Z8eG87pKDEtW3wDhq08uvqglRwjq/s400/Salyut+3+gun.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Nudelman-Rikhter "Vulkan" gun.<br />
Source: dailycosmicnews.blogspot.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Reports on the cannon, and whether it was ever fired, are a bit sketchy. Some sources identify the gun not as a Nudelmann 23 millimeter auto-cannon, but a Nudelmann NR-30 30 millimeter cannon. Despite the gun's existence being declassified after the Cold War ended, it seems that most of the information the world has on Earth's first true space weapon is hearsay and rumor.<br />
<br />
However, the reason for the gun is clear. Salyut 3 was a military space station, meant to be crewed by air force officers and tasked with spying. The station orbited at a low altitude to aid in photographing Earth's surface (about 50 miles below there the ISS usually sits). According to Russian sources, the auto-cannon was installed "for defense against U.S. space-based inspectors/interceptors."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNabGq-MoHvi1EzV-kZCodKFLpjOlCnTJQggZH7Cw5Pbyn-dUFlMShuB93mtYZRRuEp2vnJwctm4RFmGBiOziGR-xbT3tSQZWp09n9T3fBEEmXsWn2ZX4kURXNRwTvprmRpW9jC9NCnYpy/s1600/Salyut+3+cutaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNabGq-MoHvi1EzV-kZCodKFLpjOlCnTJQggZH7Cw5Pbyn-dUFlMShuB93mtYZRRuEp2vnJwctm4RFmGBiOziGR-xbT3tSQZWp09n9T3fBEEmXsWn2ZX4kURXNRwTvprmRpW9jC9NCnYpy/s400/Salyut+3+cutaway.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salyut 3.<br />
It is thought that the dish antenna at the bottom right is for transmitting encrypted data (i.e., spy photographs).<br />
Source: astronautix.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The gun could only be pointed at a target by moving the entire space station to face the target. A periscope peering out of the station served as the gun's sight. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpidm9PlybrAsirDIH7c25qKC803PYt7RJOhaIailQZPjbDHhZ91cYH5noNMocxTAvnlG_zktcH0Br3-8anVZ9zYfOZkBnBFsdyGzLGpYc9JG0Q9j9K2a-TQeURkS1hLZ8utrJmimee_G/s1600/Salyut+3+under+construction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpidm9PlybrAsirDIH7c25qKC803PYt7RJOhaIailQZPjbDHhZ91cYH5noNMocxTAvnlG_zktcH0Br3-8anVZ9zYfOZkBnBFsdyGzLGpYc9JG0Q9j9K2a-TQeURkS1hLZ8utrJmimee_G/s400/Salyut+3+under+construction.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salyut 3 under construction.<br />
Source: Svengrahn.pp.se.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Its construction took into account Newton's Third Law of Motion (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). The station was equipped with special maneuvering engines that would automatically counteract the thrust of the gun firing with engine thrust.<br />
<br />
Just as the cannon's operation didn't violate the laws of physics, its existence didn't violate international law either. At the time that Salyut 3 was launched, the Soviet Union had signed and ratified the 1967 U.N. treaty governing weapons in space, the Outer Space Treaty. But this Treaty only bans "weapons of mass destruction" in space. It seems unlikely that a 23 millimeter automatic weapon would qualify.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5KtrccxFlJ-2zrvmbWvBe7otBECee3kBqyUvB4bzrOAZUsTFNE7_ZaahIXSP5pfbdIugFkA2aq6JHHAWLw6ip2nED22Qec3itMfWdO5OuUoyQiVoendjxW-O1OiZX8uq4uoN2lvdG0BR/s1600/Negotiating+the+Outer+Space+Treaty.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5KtrccxFlJ-2zrvmbWvBe7otBECee3kBqyUvB4bzrOAZUsTFNE7_ZaahIXSP5pfbdIugFkA2aq6JHHAWLw6ip2nED22Qec3itMfWdO5OuUoyQiVoendjxW-O1OiZX8uq4uoN2lvdG0BR/s400/Negotiating+the+Outer+Space+Treaty.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Negotiating the Outer Space Treaty.<br />
Source: www.rocketlawyer.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Was Salyut 3's gun ever fired in space? Probably- though fortunately it was never aimed at any American astronauts. The commander of the only crew to actually use Salyut 3, Pavel Popovich, claims the gun was never fired while cosmonauts were on board. But, it is believed that the gun was tested at the end of Salyut 3's lifespan, while the space station was empty but before it was de-orbited.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6ZCKxz4PFgqPiHRVhVr0W7_7fw5ZxQO2Vu5bWUxMAXUVtJ0hb6Tb_5qw1orQaj0G43fiKn8-LeinyY354dvMRrE8n6FSfyC83YWN-H6fV6yCKKdk1hE0KG3GkglItqnGglhYZufusR_d/s1600/The+only+crew+of+Soyuz+3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6ZCKxz4PFgqPiHRVhVr0W7_7fw5ZxQO2Vu5bWUxMAXUVtJ0hb6Tb_5qw1orQaj0G43fiKn8-LeinyY354dvMRrE8n6FSfyC83YWN-H6fV6yCKKdk1hE0KG3GkglItqnGglhYZufusR_d/s1600/The+only+crew+of+Soyuz+3.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only crew of Salyut 3: Pilot Yuri Artyukhin and Commander Pavel Popovich.<br />
Source: svengrahn.pp.se.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There's one other odd fact I want to share on the subject of armed space stations. While we can all be grateful that the ISS doesn't have a large automatic weapon mounted outside, there are in fact usually two pistols aboard the ISS.<br />
<br />
Each of the ISS's two Soyuz escape pods is equipped with a pistol. Neither NASA nor the Russian Space Agency provide many details on it, but cosmonauts have said that they are the typical sidearms carried by members of the Russian military. Unlike the Salyut 3 auto-cannon, these pistols are not meant to protect against armed space invaders. Their stated purpose is to protect astronauts and cosmonauts from danger they might encounter on landing.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOvPqCvy0PrzziBU0REhJmN6dkyqbhUV1YamtbGgGjKDcvGPIm6AKm9_KdkdAHWNWq7EXak6o-JOwi3ZmmyexX71qtrOElIrylttH_EfZv2k6aifzya03hY4FZgBW_7lPQOQpL8AWyIm8/s1600/Astronaut+shooting+space+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOvPqCvy0PrzziBU0REhJmN6dkyqbhUV1YamtbGgGjKDcvGPIm6AKm9_KdkdAHWNWq7EXak6o-JOwi3ZmmyexX71qtrOElIrylttH_EfZv2k6aifzya03hY4FZgBW_7lPQOQpL8AWyIm8/s400/Astronaut+shooting+space+gun.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Space tourist Mark Shuttleworth training to shoot the Soyuz's gun.<br />
Source: MSNBC.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Which may sound far-fetched... but history records the dangers not just of space travel, but also the dangers one may face after landing. Back in 1965 the crew of the Voskhod 2 landed 200 miles off course, deep in the Ural Mountains. They reported hearing wolves prowling around their space capsule as they waited overnight for rescue.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsyjAguH7gT5dvdEkMrBbaKBUhfvsgMSoks8SGDmKPFnaE0AiyehRl5Px5sgtArVVIZTbdm5vu4a9n2kP3GuHYz62AH2TSd3afztloynlRPTsgPG43IOTNTrM1Gw_2ug6NP460_VLpTkT/s1600/Aleksei+Leonov+-+painting+of+space+walk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsyjAguH7gT5dvdEkMrBbaKBUhfvsgMSoks8SGDmKPFnaE0AiyehRl5Px5sgtArVVIZTbdm5vu4a9n2kP3GuHYz62AH2TSd3afztloynlRPTsgPG43IOTNTrM1Gw_2ug6NP460_VLpTkT/s400/Aleksei+Leonov+-+painting+of+space+walk.jpg" width="338" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voskhod 2 also featured the first ever space walk! <br />
Here's Pilot Alexy Leonov's own painting depicting his walk in space.<br />
Source: blog.matthen.com.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
That's not the only time cosmonauts have encountered danger <b><u>after</u></b> landing their spacecraft. <a href="http://tranquilitybaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/drama-on-lake-tenzig.html">Check this out this story too</a>!<br />
<br />
Source: Fourmilab.ch; spaceyard.blogspot.com; astronautix; langston.com; svengrahn.pp.se; MSNBC; Wikipedia.</div>
Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2055455176663542292.post-57923559894271251542012-10-15T10:49:00.000-05:002012-10-16T09:45:07.060-05:00Carnival of Space #271!Today I'm hosting the "Carnival of Space" for the first time! The Carnival is a weekly round-up of interesting space stories. If you've got a space-related blog, you too can join the Carnival of Space. Email <a href="mailto:carnivalofspace@gmail.com">carnivalofspace@gmail.com</a> to host a weekly carnival, share a story you wrote, and get to know other space bloggers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xCxSpo0Jp2Chposx6buXihyem0GrRgNSUgOSB8ESA4ObQaz4F7T3MUGMXaU5knvam8qIo3YZkgRBVkBM9lBKnpUrRGU6fYunfvc3z400dnQglyubnGjQRy0vMMwy-dV6FTO3CdldnHEs/s1600/Space+Mountain+source+Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xCxSpo0Jp2Chposx6buXihyem0GrRgNSUgOSB8ESA4ObQaz4F7T3MUGMXaU5knvam8qIo3YZkgRBVkBM9lBKnpUrRGU6fYunfvc3z400dnQglyubnGjQRy0vMMwy-dV6FTO3CdldnHEs/s400/Space+Mountain+source+Wikipedia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Carnival!<br />
Source: Walt Disney, via Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://news.discovery.com/">Discovery News</a> shows us a shiny, metallic-looking fragment on the surface of Mars, and asks: is it a Martian reptile? Is it an alien flower? No! It's <a href="http://news.discovery.com/space/curiosity-drops-litter-on-mars-121010.html">(most likely) plastic trash that fell off a Mars Rover</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>At the Smithsonian blog <a href="http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/">Once and Future Moon</a>, Lunar and Planetary Institute scientist Dr. Paul Spudis answers the questions, <a href="http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2012/10/once-in-a-blue-moon/">why is the moon gray?</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.centauri-dreams.org/">Centauri Dream</a>s features guest blogger Stephen Ashworth this week. Mr. Ashworth explores <a href="http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=24996">possibilities for expanding humankind's presence in the solar system</a> (Asteroid colonies! Commercial spaceflight to Venus!) and how exploration of the solar system may lead to exploration of interstellar space...</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/">Chandra X-Ray Observatory</a> is sharing photos of <a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/node/400">four beautiful planetary nebulas</a> imaged by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>This week a potentially hazardous 72 foot diameter asteroid whizzed by the Earth, coming as close as less than 20% the distance between the Earth and the Moon! <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/">Astroblogger</a> discusses our <a href="http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/near-earth-object-2012-tc4-flys-by-12.html">close encounter</a>. He even has photographs of it!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://aartscope.blogspot.com/">Peter Lake</a> hosted a <a href="http://www.aartscope.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/comet-hergenrother-in-outburst.html">Google plus Hangout</a> this week, along with Shahrin Ahmed and Hamant Kumar. They shared photos of the Comet Hergenrother, an interview and commentary by Carl Hergenrother. Dr. Hergenrother discovered of Comet Hergenrother! And, he's the co-lead staff scientist at the University of Arizona, working on the OSIRIS-REx Target Asteroids Mission.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Over at <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/">Next Big Future</a>, you can read about a newly discovered comet, <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/10/comet-in-late-2013-could-become.html">C/2012 S1 (ISON)</a>, which will be headed for a close encounter with Earth in 2013. On Sunday, November 28th, 2013, the comet will show up in the night sky at a magnitude of 16- brighter than the full moon! And, brighter than 1997's Hale-Bopp comet or our next major comet visitor, Comet Pan-STARRS in March 2013.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Also at <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/">Next Big Future</a>, there's a story about <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/10/polaris-robotic-lunar-rover-to-dig-for.html">Astrobiotic's shot at the moon</a> and the $20 million Google Lunar X prize. Astrobiotic is developing a solar-powered landing module and a small rover, as well as rover destined to explore one of the moon's poles and drill for water.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>And, you can read about <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/10/spacex-has-successful-launch-to-start.html">SpaceX's recent mission</a> over at <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/">Next Big Future</a>. This past week the SpaceX Dragon capsule succeeded in resupplying the International Space Station, but failed in its secondary task of launching a satellite.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://docmadhattan.fieldofscience.com/">Doc Madhattan</a> is celebrating the anniversary of the first observation in x-ray astronomy, and commemorating an x-ray astronomy exhibition in Milano, Italy by the Astronomical Observatory of Brea with <a href="http://docmadhattan.fieldofscience.com/2012/09/the-invisible-universe.html">a post about the origins of x-ray astronomy</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://docmadhattan.fieldofscience.com/">Doc Madhattan</a> also shares an<a href="http://docmadhattan.fieldofscience.com/2012/10/martin-rees-from-big-bang-to-biospheres.html"> overview of a public talk</a> in Milano by astronomer Martin Rees. The subject of the talk: the universe, its exploration, and the planet Earth!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Want to learn about <a href="http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.fi/2011/11/11-amazing-things-nasas-huge-mars-rover.html">11 amazing things that the Curiosity rover can do</a>? You can learn about that over at <a href="http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.com/">Links Through Space</a>!</li>
</ul>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BrDOdPv1HwrsIAKIk04yH2DYzEHp-VeWqso-mBSW9A0a8KQHgWv_1hINz3TXOVl5gzycf2P6GOJ8VsFopkEUS_FRvME2nuHLikjjXThISyYNhXEcZx_tH446HEGaYZa-qHzxjrpCK2j5/s1600/Space+City+USA+Theme+Park+Huntsville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BrDOdPv1HwrsIAKIk04yH2DYzEHp-VeWqso-mBSW9A0a8KQHgWv_1hINz3TXOVl5gzycf2P6GOJ8VsFopkEUS_FRvME2nuHLikjjXThISyYNhXEcZx_tH446HEGaYZa-qHzxjrpCK2j5/s400/Space+City+USA+Theme+Park+Huntsville.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently there almost was a real, live Carnival of Space:<br />
<a href="http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/03/space_city_amusement_park_prop.html">The Space City USA Amusement Park, planned but never constructed in Alabama</a>.<br />
Source: The Huntsville Times.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tranquility Basehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16864106534601373743noreply@blogger.com0