Grim Anniversary

Thirty-seven years ago, I was a sophomore in college and dating a computer science major who dearly loved NASA and even had simplified schematics that were in available for the shuttle. He was pole-axed by the explosion, and we watched it over and over as it was replayed for hours. He pointed to a section of debris as it fell and said that it was the crew cabin and that they were alive during that part of the fall. He was right--that came out some time later.

Remembering those who died that day: F Richard Scobee [Commander], Michael J Smith [Pilot], Ronald McNair [Mission Specialist], Ellison Ozinuka [Mission Specialist], Judith Resnik [Mission Specialist], Gregory Jarvis [Payload Specialist], and teacher Christa McAuliffe [Payload Specialist]. Because McCaullife was participating in the Teacher in Space Project, children were watching the launch on television all over the world and saw the explosion live. I did not, I'd been in a lecture, but heard about it at the Student Center at UK and went straight to the TV room with my boytfriend. The Space Shuttle programme was paused for years, resuming eventually until it was finally shelved for good after the Columbia disaster in 2003.

The three worst disasters in the American space programme all happened within a single week in different years. The Apollo 1 fire killed three astronauts in a test on January 27 (1967). The Challenger happened on January 28 (1986). The Columbia shuttle, which broke up on re-entry was on February 1 (2003). We are approaching the 20th anniversary of the Columbia disaster.

Remembering the men and women who sought to touch the stars and their loved ones at this time.

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.

My computer will start a tune-up in three minutes, two, one...

So here's a brief post before going to bed.

On my mind today, January 28th

1986--I spent the day in shock watching the Challenger disaster over and over again; I still mourn those lost.

2000--The loss of my beloved grandfather, at peace after a long and terrible battle with emphysema.

2014--Was saddened to hear of the death of Pete Seeger, who lived his life by music and trying to make the world a better place.

Also had a great dental cleaning and picked up some donated books to take to the hospital where I work from a store halfway to the next town. Then spent time with YKWIA and A, and watched 'The Originals' and 'Supernatural'. Now it's time to go to bed. Good night.

Nearly 28 years later, and these photos take me back to the same emotions of that day

Never Before Seen Photos of the Challenger Disaster

I was 18 and a sophomore in college when the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred. My boyfriend was obsessed with the space shuttle programme and was studying computers in the hope of joining NASA. I watched that dream die that day, and the horror of it all make an indelible impression on me second only to the 9/11 tragedy. It's one of those things where you remember exactly where you were when you found out, what was said, how the day was spent. In my case it was glued to the TVs in the student centre watching it happen over and over, questioning how this could happen.

Even now, each year I think about the tragedy as the anniversary nears. So I was interested when I saw the link to this story. Each step of the climb, and its terrible conclusion, were captured in the series of photographs that make my throat catch and my eyes tear for those lost, and for that dream that was lost as well.

I think primates are much smarter than people give them credit for

I don't think we're on the verge of Planet of the Apes, mind you, but still. The evidence of various monkeys and non-human apes using tools is one example. And of course there are the various language skills that have been taught in captivity, although those can sometimes be controversial.

I do have a problem with keeping apes and other primates in captivity, I have to admit. I'm not saying we should go liberating them from zoos. I do have particular issues with some medical experiments and the psychological and physical indignities that the animals endure. That can be said of any lab animal, of course, but given that we are close cousins to other primates, it seems worse.

Mandrill monkey makes 'pedicuring' tool

A crude "pedicure" carried out by a mandrill at Chester Zoo suggests the monkeys are capable of more advanced tool use than previously thought.

Scientists from Durham University, UK, filmed the mandrill stripping a twig and using the resulting tool to clean under its toenails.

They published the findings in the journal Behavioural Processes.

Mandrills are the fifth species of Old World monkey seen deliberately modifying tools.

Non-human apes, including chimpanzees and orangutans, can adapt basic tools for specific jobs.

On a lighter note, one person I know on Facebook posted the following to his status: "When the space shuttle gets back from its last mission, it would be hilarious if we were all dressed as apes."

It's a little sad to see the space shuttle programme wind down. I feel sorry for those who gave their all and are now getting pink slips, although of course they have known it was coming and at least were able to hopefully prepare. One of my friends works for NASA, but she is in the division that studies Mars.

The first time I saw a space shuttle, it was the prototype Enterprise, which was being moved back and forth at Edwards Air Force Base on Boeings when I was a kid there. A couple of years later, the first of the working shuttles launched after I'd already moved, so I didn't get to see it land firsthand. That would have been great.

Later, there were the setbacks of Challenger and Columbia. Challenger was especially a shock. Up to 9/11, I would say it was the the most intense tragic nation-wide event I'd experienced. At the time, my ex-husband, whom I was dating, had planned to go into NASA. He was devastated, and we sat and watched the news for hours.

But there was so much success as well. I hope NASA continues to get funding so that we can reach beyond Earth's orbit and take the necessary steps to get us out into space. It feels odd to not have a hand in getting people and supplies to the International Space Station, too, after being a frontrunner in space for so long.

I wish the astronauts and support crews well as they transition to other things. It was a great run. Hopefully private enterprise can take up the mantle, and NASA can concentrate on 'infinity and beyond'.

The last person spacewalked in a space shuttle payload bay today

Final spacewalk in the space shuttle era is complete

Today's spacewalk was the 160th devoted to space station assembly and maintenance, the ninth so far this year, the seventh for Fossum and the fourth for Garan. Total space station EVA time now stands at 1,009 hours and nine minutes, or 42 days. Fossum, with 48 hours and 32 minutes of EVA time, moves up to seventh on the list of most experienced spacewalkers while Garan's total increases to 27 hours and three minutes.

Because Atlantis was launched with a reduced crew of four to accommodate possible rescue scenarios, today's spacewalk was carried out by station flight engineers Garan and Fossum to reduce training time for the shuttle crew. As such, the EVA was considered an Expedition 28 spacewalk, but it was the final outing by any astronauts with a space shuttle in orbit.

In case you missed the last space shuttle launch (I was at work, and did)

Yay!



Or here's the NASA TV version, which is better in terms of sound and where it starts (not so much on the launch pad; it goes from right before launch), but which can't be embedded.

Here's to a safe trip and return.

Almost time for the penultimate ride

Endeavour's Final Trip: Veteran Astronaut Crew Gears Up for Last Ride

The second-to-last space shuttle mission is set to go, barring delays, tomorrow at 3:47 (1947 GMT). It will be commanded by Mark Kelly, the husband of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from being shot while at an event to meet with her constituents. Giffords is going to attend the launch. Kelly is a twin. His brother is also an astronaut. :)

Here's hoping for a safe trip and lovely weather.

The only time I ever saw a Space Shuttle in person was Enterprise, the prototype, which was on a Boeing and also on a tower when I lived at Edwards AFB. That was before any launches. But it was still really neat to see.

25 years ago, and it still feels just as raw

I was 19 years old, dating someone who at the time was obsessed with space exploration and was studying computers with the hope of working for NASA. One of his friends came up to us in the student centre at the University of Kentucky and said that it had blown up. We didn't believe him, thought he was making a very unfunny joke, but there the evidence was in the TV lounge. We stayed there maybe three or four hours, watching it disintegrate over and over, in shock. I remember my boyfriend pointed at a spot on the screen and explained that it was the crew cabin. He insisted that they were alive at that point. From everything that came later, he was right.

So every year at this time, I still pause to remember them. Every moment, every single time (and there were many, as I worked) that I wrote '1/28', I remembered. I remembered the images of hope, and exploration, and tragedy. And I remembered the men and women who lost their lives reaching for space.

The following is a tribute I found someone had put online that really touched me. It has music from a band I loved at the time (Mr. Mister) and I found myself back in that TV lounge, watching the screen in disbelief. My boyfriend gave up his dream. Something shattered in him that day, or died. I'm glad others didn't give up. I'm glad there are education centres that are set up in memory of the crew. I actually have a friend who is an engineer at NASA, and I think she has one of the coolest jobs on the planet.

Other tragedies have come and gone--another shuttle lost, the horror of 9/11, but this the first for me, the first shocked moment akin to my parents on the day Kennedy died. A moment when you feel overtaken by history stays with you for your entire life. This was what it was like for me.



Requiescant in pace. May they rest in peace.

Lift off!!!

I just watched the liftoff of Discovery for STS-128, the 128th shuttle mission. It was beautiful, seemingly flawless. There are just six more space shuttle missions left, according to a commenter at spacevidcast.com. Discovery is celebrating 25 years in space. I have only seen the shuttle once in person--when Enterprise, the prototype, was on Boeing 747s and a scaffolding out at Edwards Air Force Base in the late 70s. I always wanted to see a fully-functional shuttle land or lift-off, but I had moved by the time the space shuttles got into space, and oddly enough the only southern state I've never set foot into is Florida. Still, I'm glad that NASA shows the video on the their website.

For more on the mission, check out the NASA page for the Space Shuttle. You can also check out the Wikipedia page.

Here's wishing the crew good luck and safe flying for the rest of the mission.

PS Check out Wired.com's look at the weirdest NASA mission patches.

Poor thing

Although I think it unfortunate that the little bat that clung to the external fuel tank during the space shuttle launch the other day most likely died as the shuttle ascended, you have to admire its tenacity--it looks like it held on for dear life for the entire ride.

Bat's fate after shuttle launch appears grim: Small bat spotted clinging to the back side of Discovery's external fuel tank

Bat Hung onto Shuttle During Liftoff

(Picture courtesy of NASA)

A week of remembrance for space pioneers

January 27, 1967: Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee died in the Apollo 1 fire on the landing pad.

January 28, 1986: The Challenger disaster--where Dick Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith Resnick, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe (meant to be the first civilian and teacher in space) died shortly after lift off.

February 1, 2003: A second space shuttle, Columbia, suffers disaster as it breaks up on re-entry. Killed are: Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown, and Laurel Clark.

All three of the great NASA disasters happened within one calendar week, in different years, of course. I was born the year of the Apollo 1 disaster. Before 9/11, the Challenger disaster is the one galvanising moment in my lifetime, the type where people know exactly where they were when they experienced or found out about an event. I remember that day vividly and the emotions that went with it. The Columbia disaster was equally distressing.

These men and women were pioneers, and their accomplishments should be remembered. Moreso, learning from the tragedies can help prevent further deaths as mankind continues to reach for the stars.

Not sure where I stand on that decision

NASA says no shuttle repairs required

but this made me feel better:

Their worry was not that Endeavour might be destroyed and its seven astronauts killed in a replay of the Columbia disaster; the gouge is too small to be catastrophic. They were concerned that the heat of re-entry could weaken the shuttle's aluminum frame at the damaged spot and result in lengthy postflight repairs.

In essence they decided to not pursue a fix via a risky spacewalk for something not felt to be catastrophic. Still, I hope they're not horribly wrong.

Worrisome

Fears for shuttle safety after debris strikes

Further analysis will lead to a decision to return as is, attempt repairs, or leave the crew on the International Space Station until a rescue mission can be launched in October.

For more on the mission itself, check out NASA's Human Space Flight page.

My thoughts are with the crew in this uncertain time. They are proceeding with their mission admirably, though.

It took 21 years, but by God (and a lot of hard work), she's in space

Shuttle Takes Off with Ex-Teacher On Board

Twenty-one years ago, Barbara K. Morgan, who was the backup to Christa McAuliffe in NASA’s teacher-in-space program, watched as the shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight on Jan. 28, 1986, killing McAuliffe and six other astronauts.

She never let that deter her dream, and went on to join the astronaut corps. Now she's in space, high above.

Like so many others, I watched the space shuttle explode over and over on the news, much like we later viewed the 9/11 attacks. But I was 19 years old and dating someone who's dream was to work for NASA. I watched that dream die that day. I'm so glad Ms. Morgan never let hers. Good luck to them all.

(And even though she works in a totally different area of NASA, let me say 'hi, Tracy' for another person I know who did chase her dream and made it reality.)