NASA Ares I-X Rocket Launch Wed, 28 Oct 2009

Great Launch! NASA Rocks!

kitten hates droids

Cat on a hot droid dome

911/WTC - View From Space Station

From NASA

Update: I did have a youtube video from space but apparently the Truther's over at Google deleted it. A shame.

Hubble new Pictures

From BBC News here.

The Apollo experiment that's still working

The experiment that Apollo 11 left on the Moon are still working, The Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment. "it studies the Earth-Moon system and returns data to scientific centers around the world, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory".

Three things the experiment has proved:
-The Moon is moving away from the Earth
-The Moon has a fluid core
-Einstein's Theory of Relativity is accurate

University of Maryland physics professor Carroll Alley was the project's principal investigator during the Apollo years, and he follows its progress today. "Using these mirrors," explains Alley, "we can 'ping' the moon with laser pulses and measure the Earth-moon distance very precisely. This is a wonderful way to learn about the moon's orbit and to test theories of gravity."

Here's how it works: A laser pulse shoots out of a telescope on Earth, crosses the Earth-moon divide, and hits the array. Because the mirrors are "corner-cube reflectors," they send the pulse straight back where it came from. "It's like hitting a ball into the corner of a squash court," explains Alley. Back on Earth, telescopes intercept the returning pulse--"usually just a single photon," he marvels.

The round-trip travel time pinpoints the moon's distance with staggering precision: better than a few centimeters out of 385,000 km, typically.

Buzz on Space policy

From Discovery Channel here:

Aldrin urged Congress and the American people to use the memory of Apollo 11 as inspiration to prepare for a space journey to Mars.

"Apollo 11 was a symbol of what a great nation and a great people can do if we work hard and work together," he said.

"America, do you still dream a great dream? Do you still believe in yourself?" he went on to ask. "I call on the next generation and our political leaders to give this answer: Yes We Can!"

Kind of ride on Obama's coat tails eh? But Buzz is right. WE Can go to MARS! We got to the Moon 40 years ago. Let's get started and get to Mars soon!

Logo from 30th anniversary

Apollo 11 crew at Smithsonian Air & Space

Lem seprated from CM

Moon Landing Collectables

Col. Tim Kopra (Go Army)

He is a link to Go Army where you can leave a question for Col. Kopra to answer. He'll tweet from space too!

Neil Armstrong's comments on Cronkite's passing

"For a news analyst and reporter of the happenings of the day to be successful, he or she needs three things: accuracy, timeliness, and the trust of the audience. Many are fortunate to have the first two. The trust of the audience must be earned," said Armstrong.

"Walter Cronkite seemed to enjoy the highest of ratings. He had a passion for human space exploration, an enthusiasm that was contagious, and the trust of his audience. He will be missed."

from Flame Trench here.

NASA Mission Control in Memory of Walter Cronkite

RIP Walter Cronkite

When I was growing up I idolized Walter Cronkite and equated him with the space program. But after his comments about the Vietnam War my views changed about him and the way TV NEWS portrayed National events. (I won't get into that here on this blog.) But he was a great Newsman and CBS Anchorman. And would the space program have done without Walter? My condolences and prayers go out to his family in his memory.

HT from Little Green Footballs here.

WSJ Photo Journal to 40th Moon Landing

Earthrise from Apollo 11

Apollo 11's historic journey here at the WSJ.

LEM Eagle and Buzz

NASA/Neil Armstrong

News to Hoaxer's: We did land on the Moon!

LRO picture of Apollo 11 Landing site

Krauthammer on 40th Moon Landing Aniversary

Yes, we have a financial crisis. No one's asking for a crash Manhattan Project. All we need is sufficient funding from the hundreds of billions being showered from Washington -- "stimulus" monies that, unlike Eisenhower's interstate highway system or Kennedy's Apollo program, will leave behind not a trace on our country or our consciousness -- to build Constellation and get us back to Earth orbit and the moon a half-century after the original landing.

Why do it? It's not for practicality. We didn't go to the moon to spin off cooling suits and freeze-dried fruit. Any technological return is a bonus, not a reason. We go for the wonder and glory of it. Or, to put it less grandly, for its immense possibilities. We choose to do such things, said JFK, "not because they are easy, but because they are hard." And when you do such magnificently hard things -- send sailing a Ferdinand Magellan or a Neil Armstrong -- you open new human possibility in ways utterly unpredictable.

1963 Boeing Ad in Time

Boeing Ad