The End of an Era

This morning, Lynn and I watched the Space Shuttle Atlantis make it's,
and the Shuttle program's last launch. It was bittersweet to me because
it seems to be the end of an era. The Shuttle has been the backbone
of America's space program for just over thirty years. This is the
equivalent of 2/3 of my life. I can't remember what class I was in
at the time, but back in April of 1981, I had a teacher at Hebron High
School that had the foresight to know that the first shuttle launch
was something important. We were all crowded into the balcony
above the Gym to watch this momentous occasion. Besides being
home to all the weights the school had, I think it was the only place
in the entire school where there was a television set where we could
watch it. How times have definitely changed since then.
Little did I know then, that thirty years would go by before
the last shuttle would launch. In between, there were highs and
lows. I was a Junior in college when the Challenger exploded and
my professor spent the entire class period talking about the
ramifications of the incident. Flash forward and I was in Antarctica
when the Columbia was destroyed on re-entry. What's next for the
U.S. Space Program? I hope great things. When I was young, we
all thought we'd be visiting Mars and having the chance to live on
the Moon by now. It's taking a little longer obviously, but I still think
we can reach new horizons. I'm old enough to remember the last
Moon landing. I hope that I'll still be around the next time we go
there. I think I will be.

Chicago...From Space

Photo courtesy of NASA

Click on this photo for a larger, more impressive version.

While perusing blogs I read, I found this very cool photo of

Chicago (including Northwest Indiana, where I grew up) taken

from the International Space Station. I've seen photos similar

to this before, but I think it's very interesting that the space

station is shown in the photo as well. Gives it real perspective

and makes you think what it would be like to actually be looking

down to earth from this height, from a man made object.

Radome Repairs Gone Bad!

Walking on the Moon

This winter, NASA, in conjunction with the National Science
Foundation (NSF) is testing an inflatable Lunar Habitat at
McMurdo and it's right behind the SSC (Science Support
Center). I walked over to it last night and took some
photos, but for the most part, it's out of sight, out of
mind for most people. I suppose that that isn't such a
bad thing because we can't go inside since they're measuring
the atmosphere inside with sensors


The inside is heated, insulated and is pressurized. There's
384 square feet of living space and has a eight foot ceiling so
I'm guessing it's fairly comfortable inside. It doesn't look
that cozy, but add a couch, coffee table, wide-screen plasma TV
and it would be quite the hangout pad.


NASA is looking into this type of structure (along with many others)
as a type of shelter for humans once we go back to the Moon. The
NSF is looking at alternative structures to send out to field camps
in the Antarctic that are easy to transport, set up, and have high
tolerance to damage.

So as I walked away from the habitat, I glanced back at it. There was
no wind, very still and very cold with lots of light coming from a
nearly full Moon. It felt other-worldly indeed.

Play Ball!

I've been thinking about baseball this week. A lot!
The major league season starts this week and I hope...
yes I really hope, that this is my team's year. I've
put a whole lotta faith in the Cubs winning it all
this year. Last year's disappointment in the playoffs
taught me nothing. I fear I'm setting myself up for
more disappointment. I fear that a World Series
Championship is a very long distance away from me.
It only seemed fitting that I ran across this really
cool map comparing the size of the Apollo 11 landing
site to a typical baseball diamond. We fly 238,854
miles to land on the Moon and our exploration area
is a barely a line drive into the Right Field Gap!
We haven't been back to the Moon in 39 years. The
Cubs haven't won the big one in 99 years. Although
I'm baffled that we haven't been back to the Moon
since, I hope the Cubs win the Series before we go
back to the Moon. NASA employees will have to look for
employment elsewhere...I'm feeling greedy.