Welcome, space fans, once again to the B~Hive Cafe/Eyes on Space....Like many of you, I'm surprised that I've kept this space column going for almost 2 1/2 years. I'm very proud to bring you this 13th Issue. Enjoy...(Easy Bucky)
Also in this issue, YOU CAN SIGN UP TO WIN A TRIP TO OUTER SPACE, you'll also find updates on our planned landing on Mars December 3rd, links to some great space type contests, the next shuttle launch with some exciting spacewalks to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope again, current missions in outer space, info about a recent near miss with an Earth crossing comet, the Pic of the Month and so much more..
...so I hope you're all ready to kick back in your desk chairs and set for launch aboard the spaceship 'Eyes on Space' to a place where only an amateur space buff could take you...
There's so many things going on in space these days that it's almost impossible to keep up with it. I mean the Chinese are planning to send a man into space any day now....They'll be only the 3rd country behind the Russians and the U.S. in the world to have ever done so on their own. This is not an easy thing people. It's not like we're sharing our technology with these guys. They're figuring this out on their own (or with spying of course, but that's Clintons deal). Japan has a rocket on the way to MARS right now! The communist North Koreans now have the ability to launch rockets into space,(or at least into us) yet nobody seems to know where they got the technology or where they're going with it.
Many people would say 'so what?'. Well, I say that if the USA is going to claim leadership of the world, then we need to be leading the world with space exploration.
What I'm talking about is things like tourism in space (it's closer than you think), mining asteroids and comets for precious or even unknown minerals (it's closer than you think), launches to other planets from the moon instead of Earth (that's why Lunar Prospector was plowed into the moon, hoping to prove that ice exists at the lunar poles), ION propulsion is having some success, half the speed of light travel seems possible in theory.
Just imagine, once we understand Black Holes and can use them in gravity assisted flybys....talk about time warp...
Here's my point...it's important to stimulate our childrens imaginations with science and science fiction, because it's clear to me that the people working at NASA's JPL and KSC etc were all watching TV when Star Trek, Star Wars, Space 1999, and E.T. were on.
These types of shows and our kids active imaginations inspired them to be creative in their jobs and allow us to be leaders in space exploration. We can't allow that to fade away. So let your kids watch TV and get them into computers and onto the internet to surf whatever interests them.
Let them imagine, and when they grow up, let them lead us to discover new ideas, new worlds and let them show us how to get there. Our future success as a species depends on it....(in my opinion)
Now this would be an interesting job. I love stuff like this! Picture it: you're out on a date and your dinner guest asks what you do for a living. You answer her by explaining that your job is to make sure that there's no alligators on the runway at Kennedy Space Center before the shuttle comes back down...
Here's the actual cut'n'pasted quote from the KSC website regarding this issue:
"...While the interactions between man and alligator are few, the biggest problem is during Shuttle landings. Prior to each KSC Shuttle landing, it is the task of a special crew to clear the runway of all debris, including any alligators that might be sunning themselves on the runway surface. ..."
CNN has an impressive all-around Spacepage
All NASA Missions HERE...This is the Mother of all Space Links
Here's a list of upcoming launches at KSC...
http://www.pafb.af.mil/45OG/45Rans/schedule/page2.HTM
I won't be the first to ask but can you believe it?! We actually allowed human error to cause the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter? I'm stunned! Actually, I'm surprised about a couple of things. The first shock comes from the simplicity of the error.I mean, it blows me away that something as simple as converting miles to kilometers slipped by! (Has this ever happened before?)
Secondly, notice how with the media coverage, very little mention was made about the fact that the Mars Climate Orbiter was originally supposed to relay all communication data from the Mars Polar Lander as it orbited Mars? NASA obviously spent a lot of effort downplaying this fact.
Now the Mars Global Surveyor will be doing that job but remember, the MGS has already been at Mars for two years plus, and it's getting old and cold.
My first question is: "How much data from the Polar Lander will we not be receiving, because of this loss, from the Mars Polar Lander?"
...and what'll happen if the MGS fails..?? Will that render the Polar Lander useless? Remember also that the MGS had it's share of problems during aerobraking last year so it's probably not as strong as it should be.
Don't take this wrong folks. I'm a big fan of NASA missions. I am, indeed, very happy that we have spacecraft going there at all! Hell, the supposed Mars Face and Cydonia region was even re-imaged by NASA and the MGS a couple of times this year! This was mainly because the public was very interested and put pressure on NASA to do so. Unfortunately, the results were ambigous at best, but I think everyone would agree, ambigous is certainly better than nothing.
Here's a really cool download from JPL... http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/files/software/plnwch21.zip
'Would you like to be a tourist in space?' The link here is where you SIGN UP TO WIN A FREE TRIP TO SPACE CAMP AND THEN UP TO OUTER SPACE!
http://www.dole.com/promotions/outerspace/space_index.ghtml
Here's another great space contest online! Do you consider yourself a talented individual?...Then go ahead, enter.. http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Services/Education/SpaceSettlement/Contest/
I heard a commercial on the radio the other day from YO-HOO...the chocolate drink company...They're running some sort of contest where you can win a trip to space...but I looked all over the web and had zero luck finding their website...Does anyone know where it is?
Here's an awesome game...Test your skills of lunar knowledge. You move the Moon around the Earth (with your mouse) and then get tested on it's status!!.This is a way cool learning game!!!
http://www.spaceday.com/phaser/index.htm
Here are some more cool space games you can play. What is it with guys and games, huh?
http://www.spaceday.com/fun/index.htm
It looks like the commercialization of space is well under way and I'm all for it. Here we are killing this poor little planet Earth and we have so many recources out there...spend a little while at this page and you'll see where I'm coming from...
http://www.permanent.com/
I agree with this perspective on Space Hotels vs meager trips to space and back.
...and here's a link to where you sign up for a Space Voyage
http://www.spacevoyages.com/
http://www.permanent.com/p_tours.htm
See the solar system 'LIVE'...now!
http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Solar
Remember...I don't call this Space Debris for nothin'. Sometimes, things float by that have absolutely
nothing to do with space but are definitely woth a mention here.
This link would fall into that category.
It's a crime indentifier. It tells you, on a scale, how your specific neighbourhood ranks, with regards to crime. (AFTER YOU SEE THIS, THAT SPACE COLONY DOESN'T SOUND SO BAD AFTER ALL)
How's your zip code rank?
...and this months Pic of the month was sent in by
So, Earth is about to (or just did, depending on how you look at it) have a near miss with a comet and not a peep in the media. Now that scares me! Here we are about to cross the path of a comet. Cross the exact spot where a comet was only 40 days earlier and most of the world doesn't even know about it...
Here's the actual headline intro..
" The Earth is headed for a close encounter with the orbit of a
newly discovered comet. Found by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) team... "
You can read this breaking story at
www.EarthChangesTV.com
Please, I'm not trying to be sensationalist here, BUT....!!!
I wanna' know this shit!!...and I don't want to have to find it out through newsletters that only 300 or 400 people are subscribed to.
Stuff like this makes me wonder if the government was so scared that it might have been closer than stated and they were afraid to tell anybody, maybe intending to claim they never knew it was coming.
It's kinda' like the solar eruptions we're barely hearing about and the Northern Lights being seen as far south as Michigan in Oct/99. How many of you educated readers know that folks in Detroit who looked up into the night sky two weeks into October witnessed the Northern Lights? How many of you know why they were seen that far south?
The SUN is going crazy right now. No, not crazy like you shouldn't worry about it crazy. Crazy like you should be paying attention! It's being called a solar MEGA-CYCLE. We've known for a hundred years or so that the sun acts up every 11 years. Well, this is way beyond that, which is why, if you scroll to the bottom of this page or go back to my main page, you'll see a live link to solar activity in real time. If a solar flare erupts and it's pointed directly at the Earth...we're screwed!!!.
Granted, we might be lucky and not get struck directly by an X_RAY class solar eruption during this heightened cycle, but if we do, we'll have a maximum of eight minutes warning and I feel pretty confident in saying that that is not enough time.
Again, my point?...Have you hugged your kids today? Told them you love them? Have you been meaning to play a round of golf for the last 6 months but just couldn't find the time?...Haven't taken that vacation because you're just too busy?
Find the time....make the important things happen...
(depressed yet?, scared?...don't be, because I'm going to share with you the transcript from the cockpit of the Challenger as it fell to the Earth....
Ok, folks. It's time to talk about the space shuttle Challenger and the fate of it's crew after the tragic explosion off the coast of Florida in 1986. I'm about to show you a transcript that clearly demonstrates the crew was not killed instantly when the space shuttle blew up, as indicated by NASA, but that they were indeed alive all the way until they hit the water.
Some of you might be thinking "big deal". That was all years ago anyway. Well it is a big deal for two reasons.
If I recall correctly, NASA officials stated on TV that all seven astronauts were killed instantly by the explosion.
You can all decide on the authenticity of this transcript by yourselves. I'm not going to say where I got this transcript from because it was passed on to me by someone who received it from a current NASA employee.
Apparently this employee had trouble sleeping at night. I think you'll find it bone chilling and believable. Who could make up something like this?
...but first, for reference, this LINK HERE is a great link to a Quicktime movie clip from CNN's video archive of the explosion. I think it's important to watch this, again, before you read the transcript below. It will help put thing into perspective.
....
...and also, I wanted to show this image of the area in the sky where the Challenger blew up because I've circled where the cockpit was during this transcript. Again, just to help you visualize what these 7 were going through....while you read their experience with death...
Ok....here it is...
.........the last words of the Challenger crew...
The sex of the speaker is indicated by M or F. With their excited voices and the erratic movement of the cockpit, the recording was garbled and difficult to transcribe.
T+1:15
(M)
What happened? What happened? Oh God, no - no!
T+1:17
(F)
Oh dear God.
T+1:18
(M)
Turn on your air pack! Turn on your air...
T+1:20
(M)
Can't breathe... choking...
T+1:21
(M)
Lift up your visor!
T+1:22
(M/F)
(Screams.) It's hot. (Sobs.) I can't. Don't tell me...God! Do
it...now...
T+1:24
(M)
I told them... I told them... Dammit! Resnik don't...
T+1:27
(M)
Take it easy! Move (unintelligible)...
T+1:28
(F)
Don't let me die like this. Not now. Not here...
T+1:31
(M)
Your arm... no... I (extended garble, static)
T+1:36
(F)
I'm... passing... out...
T+1:37
(M)
We're not dead yet.
T+1:40
(M)
If you ever wanted (unintelligible) me a miracle...
(unintelligible)... (screams)
T+1:41
(M)
She's... she's... (garble) ... damn!
T+1:50
(M)
Can't breathe...
T+1:51
(M/F)
(screams) Jesus Christ! No!
T+1:54
(M)
She's out.
T+1:55
(M)
Lucky... (unintelligible).
T+1:56
(M)
God. The water... we're dead! (screams)
T+2:00
(F)
Goodbye (sobs)... I love you, I love you...
T+2:03
(M)
Loosen up... loosen up...
T+2:07
(M)
It'll just be like a ditch landing...
T+2:09
(M)
That's right, think positive.
T+2:11
(M)
Ditch procedure...
T+2:14
(M)
No way!
T+2:17
(M)
Give me your hand...
T+2:19
(M)
You awake in there? I... I...
T+2:29
(M)
Our Father... (unintelligible)...
T+2:42
(M)
hallowed be Thy name... (unintelligible).
T+2:58
(M)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall...not want. He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures...
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil... I will dwell in the
house...
T+3:15
to end..."
None. Static, silence.
...for over 3 minutes, they fell to there deaths...3 minutes and 15 seconds...READ ON for how NASA could have prevented this...
...Here's my source's opinion on the matter and why this is even an issue at all. I mean, if there was nothing we could have done to save their lives...then so be it.
"I found this information...
...and here's a website link with loads of little known and seldom seen images of the Challenger disaster
But obviously, this was not the case....
These are his words:
...the recording was accurate because it
was lifted from NASA by an employee. Exact details could not be
given......as part of an effort to protect the employee.
Now, considering the very nature of the Internet, we'll probably never
know whether or not this transcript is truly authentic, but if you consider
what events would have followed the form of logic, the words certainly
have authenticity. Keep in mind that the situation was
very much like the recent tragedy involving Payne Stewart.....a sudden
decompression, instant lack of oxygen, and a deadly drop in cockpit
temperature. These poor people had only enough time to do one
thing.......bend over and kiss their asses goodbye! They were, however,
wearing space suits, which is why they all would have been alive,
conscious or not, up until the point of impact.
HOWEVER... In 1960, an Air Force test pilot rode a helium balloon up to 100,000
feet, stepped off the platform, and did a free-fall, reaching speeds of
over 700 mph on the trip down. His body actually broke the sound
barrier, and the sonic boom was clearly heard by the ground crew. The
test pilot survived 3 such jumps, and in doing so helped develop a chute
system which would have saved the lives of every single Challenger
passenger.....had mid-ascent escape procedures ever been employed by
NASA.
My opinion is that the transcript is authentic....
Later,%#@&"
...so there's really only one question here, whether you believe this transcript or not.
"Why was this safety feature not employed?"
http://www.rjsullivan.com/chllngr/
...and anything else you could ever have possibly wanted to know about the space shuttle Challenger...
http://www.fas.org/spp/51L.html
...LIFE Magazine expo from Jan. 1996. This the high quality perspective you always get from TIME
http://pathfinder.com/Life/space/challenger.html
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