Musings, Dreams, Struggle, Hope, Possability
The dreams of space.
Those dreams that I often don’t let myself contemplate, for fear that it will take my attention away from the practical steps that I am focused on now that may enable me to achieve those dreams in the future.
When I am contemplative, I sit back and consider the current plans of those who struggle along side me in Man’s efforts to escape Earth and what is on her.
Tell me a story…
Last night, as I drove down NASA Parkway, I glanced towards the dimly lit buildings littered across the Johnson Space Center (JSC) property. A part of an actual Saturn V lay ahead, just past the silhouetted trees of the Memorial Garden, where the heroes and legends of human spaceflight past are honored for their contributions and sacrifices. My eyes traveled a bit further to the right, where a gleaming American flag stood proud and tall, atop a building that holds tremendous significance for those of us who’ve had even a minute aspiration to contribute to space exploration – the Mission Control Center.
JSC is an interesting amalgamation of new and old, a distinct dichotomy of past and present; where many buildings stand, having weathered decades of political, societal, even meteorological storms. Time and technology’s marks have been left on their interiors, which have endured series of renovations and upgrades.
Astronauts-R-Us Tweetup
STS-132: Social media history for NASA. Two tweetups in one mission — one at the Kennedy Space Center for the launch of Atlantis, the other in at the Johnson Space Center for live mission coverage.
Whew! Busy two weeks.
Our innate duty?
Last week, I had the fortunate privilege of meeting a good number of 150 of human spaceflight & NASA’s biggest supporters and advocates. Nope, they weren’t NASA employees; most weren’t even affiliated with the space industry in any way. They came from all walks of life, from across the United States, and even some from across the pond, to marvel at one of mankind’s greatest technological creations, as it soared into the skies, out of our atmosphere, and into the void we call space.
These folks dropped everything they were doing for 2+ days, to fly, drive, walk, run (OK, maybe I exaggerated on the latter two), to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), where they were given the chance of a lifetime to interact with NASA professionals and see the sites where the US human spaceflight program roared to life. Their stay culminated in the witnessing of a now almost historical event: a space shuttle launch.
How to Make NASA Cool (Again)
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
When I was growing up, asking a classroom full of kids that question almost always included the answer “I want to be an astronaut!” Space was cool. Space was something new, innovative and entrepreneurial. Inspiration was clearly NASA’s main value proposition.
Compare that with today.
“Atlantis, you are go at throttle up…”
A little less than 24 hours ago, I stood and watched six of the most intelligent and genial guys I’ve met get hurtled into and out of our atmosphere, to spend a couple of weeks in the void we’ve so aptly named space. They say third time’s a charm, and after attempting to view two other launches in the past (and failing), I’m glad it never worked out for me before and that this was the winning attempt. There’s some factor of emotion and investment when you know the folks strapped on top of such a dangerous, but beautiful machine. The launch (and the subsequent, on-going mission) has been the culmination of months of preparation for the flight crew and teams. And for me, it was a defining moment, the result of not only months of training and support of the crew, but years of dreams, hopes, prayers, passion, and dedication to the human spaceflight industry. I just couldn’t have asked for a better first experience.
I seem to always go back to this when I talk about my space adventures, but seventeen years ago, sitting in the viewing area of the Shuttle Flight Control Room (FCR), I still remember being in awe of the remarkable technological beauty that lay before me. To me, this was the epicenter of space…of everything I’d read and dreamed about for what, at the time, seemed so long. So, when I finally walked through the gates of Johnson Space Center as an employee, I was giddy with excitement.
Perspective
Cross posted from original at The Space Tweep Society
I frequently get asked what I think about the direction NASA is taking. I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago but didn’t post it at the time. I’m not really sure why. This post does not outline my personal take on what we should be doing with our space program; it just provides a little bit of perspective on things from where I sit.
A relevant human space program
In all the debate over who has the best plan for NASA, I think something important has been lost. Right now, I think destinations and architectures aren’t as important as articulating a coherent vision for a space program relevant to America’s needs and values.
Given the shock that has accompanied the pending Shuttle retirement, the continuation of a Space Station that I doubt most Americans know exists, and the proposed cancellation of the Constellation Program (that I think even fewer Americans really knew about), I think it’s clear that we haven’t done that. Instead, we have people arguing back and forth over what largely amount to platitudes. I hear friends and colleagues, who are understandably disenchanted with the political process, wishing aloud that the government would just give us the money to go do what we want and leave us alone.
Why NASA? [Part II of II]
In my last entry, I made what I believe is the fundamental case for space exploration – the fact that the survival of our species ultimately depends on it. Perhaps the world’s most reknowned cosmologist, Stephen Hawking shares this view and, with the help of computer graphics, illustrated it on the Discovery Channel with tonight’s episode of “Into the Universe” – The Story of Everything.
Not only do we have external and internal threats to our continued existence, we have a final time limit of about one billion years. The Sun is in its “middle age,” but it will eventually expand – in about five billion years – into what is called a red giant star. At this point, it will have stopped fusing hydrogen in its core and will only be burning in the outer shells.
Why explore space? [Part I of II]
There is a strong sentiment held by some these days that America doesn’t necessarily need to explore space or that, if it does, we should leave it entirely to the private sector. I’d like to discuss why I think space exploration is important and the role I see for government in that endeavor. For this first post, I’ll talk about the “why”.
The fundamental reason I think we should explore space at all is pretty straightforward, actually. We are almost certain that we know what killed the dinosaurs. Sixty-five million years ago, an object 10-15 kilometers in size impacted the Earth near the present-day town of Chicxulub on the Yucatan Peninsula. For a sense of perspective, this asteroid or comet was almost as big around as the Inner Loop/610.
