blog My personal Space- and NASA-based blog entries If you can’t be good, be colorful Always be COLORFUL! Per Aspera A review of "Ad Astra" with a focus towards the deeper plot. A woodpecker did WHAT? In 1995 on STS-70, a woodpecker brought the US space program to a sudden halt. Apollo 50: Go for the Moon. It's finally here: the full video of "Apollo 50: Go for the Moon" projection show! Next Giant Leap It's time for that Next Giant Leap. Back to the Moon and on to Mars. One Giant Influence Celebrating that "One Giant Step" and the personal influence it had... Restore, but don't remove. Restoration of the Apollo 11 MCC shouldn't mean the removal of the rest of that room's history. The Cathedral An acolyte's journey to being ordained in "The Cathedral of Manned Spaceflight". My last FDO Console Log Book entries Recently, I was back at JSC and got to see some old Manned Spaceflight artifacts - including the FDO Console log book from my last flight. Please be informed... A remembrance from the Apollo 8 Mission Control Center - 50 years ago today. First Meh My review of the movie "First Man" - read at your own risk. 😉 Witnessing History - SpaceX If you're fortunate to live long enough, you'll have numerous events that may seem historic at the moment that actually stand the test of time and retain that cherished "Historic Moment" description. Now what? Be the one who recognizes... Remembrance For those of us who have been intimately involved with Manned Spaceflight or if you have been interested and valued supporters from outside the program, the week from January 27 - February 1 is a particularly somber time of the year. Greater than the sum... A review of the movie "Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo" OV-102 and me My first up-close-and-personal experience with a true spaceflight artifact! 30 years on: Lessons from Challenger Personal and professional lessons from Challenger and the Foundations of Mission Operations. Saving Interstellar Private Watney My review of "The Martian", the film adaptation of Andy Weir's excellent book of the same name. 50 years of Mission Control Celebrating a half-century of NASA's Mission Control Center - the heart of manned spaceflight operations! Remembering Discovery Memories and tons of photos from being a part of the Space Shuttle Discovery delivery and installation in the Udvar-Hazy National Air & Space Museum. Remember. A first-hand memory of the STS-51L Accident, by former Flight Dynamics Officer Roger Balettie. Experience a little bit of space history for yourself... As a movie, “Apollo 13” captured this event really well… but nothing can truly replace hearing/re-living exactly what happened. Gravity - it's not just a suggestion... A critical review of the movie "Gravity". Some good... some not so good. Progress marches on... but it still can be sad sometimes Seeing the new MCC-21 (21st Century Mission Control Center) project evoked some memories. Chris Kraft pulls no punches A great summary by Chris Kraft on the direction of the US Manned Spaceflight program Noctilucent Clouds and you A nice video of Noctilucent Clouds and a reflection on their impact on Shuttle Flight Operations. Orbital Velocity... and great analogies A great example from the xkcd web comic on orbital velocity ... and a quick analogy with Shuttle operations. The Free Frontier Bill Whittle pulls no punches ... and gives an honest assessment of our space exploration program. One-Way Astronaut My thoughts on the "One-Way Astronaut" proposal Meanwhile... on the surface of Mars... An amazing set of images, showing the tracks of the Mars Curiosity Rover! New COSMOS trailer Originally... thrilled with the new COSMOS trailer. Update ... not so much. The End Reflections on the end of the Space Shuttle program Atlantis debuts in her "forever home"... The Space Shuttle Atlantis debuts in her new "forever home" at KSC. SCIENCE! Buzz Aldrin and Thomas Dolby sing a live version of "She Blinded Me With Science!" Has America lost its "exploratory compass"? Neil DeGrasse Tyson asks some pointed questions about our space exploration efforts. Where have they gone? Comments on an article about former Space Shuttle Flight Controllers. TALLY HO on PANSTARRS! Awesome... got my first glimpse of Comet PANSTARRS tonight! Comet PANSTARRS Comet PANSTARRS will soon be seen in the northern hemisphere! Decide in your heart... A great comic strip about Astronaut Chris Hadfield, from the Zenpencils website "Mission Control" just ain't what it used to be... If you're in a Mission Control Center - Act like you've been there before. Pioneers! O Pioneers! Walt Whitman's classic poem "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" Write a book? Should I write a book? Some thoughts about some people who did some stuff... As the last Space Shuttle mission comes to a close, I have some thoughts about the men and women of Mission Control. The end of an era... Reflections at the end of the Space Shuttle era.
If you can’t be good, be colorful Always be COLORFUL! Per Aspera A review of "Ad Astra" with a focus towards the deeper plot. A woodpecker did WHAT? In 1995 on STS-70, a woodpecker brought the US space program to a sudden halt. Apollo 50: Go for the Moon. It's finally here: the full video of "Apollo 50: Go for the Moon" projection show! Next Giant Leap It's time for that Next Giant Leap. Back to the Moon and on to Mars. One Giant Influence Celebrating that "One Giant Step" and the personal influence it had... Restore, but don't remove. Restoration of the Apollo 11 MCC shouldn't mean the removal of the rest of that room's history. The Cathedral An acolyte's journey to being ordained in "The Cathedral of Manned Spaceflight". My last FDO Console Log Book entries Recently, I was back at JSC and got to see some old Manned Spaceflight artifacts - including the FDO Console log book from my last flight. Please be informed... A remembrance from the Apollo 8 Mission Control Center - 50 years ago today. First Meh My review of the movie "First Man" - read at your own risk. 😉 Witnessing History - SpaceX If you're fortunate to live long enough, you'll have numerous events that may seem historic at the moment that actually stand the test of time and retain that cherished "Historic Moment" description. Now what? Be the one who recognizes... Remembrance For those of us who have been intimately involved with Manned Spaceflight or if you have been interested and valued supporters from outside the program, the week from January 27 - February 1 is a particularly somber time of the year. Greater than the sum... A review of the movie "Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo" OV-102 and me My first up-close-and-personal experience with a true spaceflight artifact! 30 years on: Lessons from Challenger Personal and professional lessons from Challenger and the Foundations of Mission Operations. Saving Interstellar Private Watney My review of "The Martian", the film adaptation of Andy Weir's excellent book of the same name. 50 years of Mission Control Celebrating a half-century of NASA's Mission Control Center - the heart of manned spaceflight operations! Remembering Discovery Memories and tons of photos from being a part of the Space Shuttle Discovery delivery and installation in the Udvar-Hazy National Air & Space Museum. Remember. A first-hand memory of the STS-51L Accident, by former Flight Dynamics Officer Roger Balettie. Experience a little bit of space history for yourself... As a movie, “Apollo 13” captured this event really well… but nothing can truly replace hearing/re-living exactly what happened. Gravity - it's not just a suggestion... A critical review of the movie "Gravity". Some good... some not so good. Progress marches on... but it still can be sad sometimes Seeing the new MCC-21 (21st Century Mission Control Center) project evoked some memories. Chris Kraft pulls no punches A great summary by Chris Kraft on the direction of the US Manned Spaceflight program Noctilucent Clouds and you A nice video of Noctilucent Clouds and a reflection on their impact on Shuttle Flight Operations. Orbital Velocity... and great analogies A great example from the xkcd web comic on orbital velocity ... and a quick analogy with Shuttle operations. The Free Frontier Bill Whittle pulls no punches ... and gives an honest assessment of our space exploration program. One-Way Astronaut My thoughts on the "One-Way Astronaut" proposal Meanwhile... on the surface of Mars... An amazing set of images, showing the tracks of the Mars Curiosity Rover! New COSMOS trailer Originally... thrilled with the new COSMOS trailer. Update ... not so much. The End Reflections on the end of the Space Shuttle program Atlantis debuts in her "forever home"... The Space Shuttle Atlantis debuts in her new "forever home" at KSC. SCIENCE! Buzz Aldrin and Thomas Dolby sing a live version of "She Blinded Me With Science!" Has America lost its "exploratory compass"? Neil DeGrasse Tyson asks some pointed questions about our space exploration efforts. Where have they gone? Comments on an article about former Space Shuttle Flight Controllers. TALLY HO on PANSTARRS! Awesome... got my first glimpse of Comet PANSTARRS tonight! Comet PANSTARRS Comet PANSTARRS will soon be seen in the northern hemisphere! Decide in your heart... A great comic strip about Astronaut Chris Hadfield, from the Zenpencils website "Mission Control" just ain't what it used to be... If you're in a Mission Control Center - Act like you've been there before. Pioneers! O Pioneers! Walt Whitman's classic poem "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" Write a book? Should I write a book? Some thoughts about some people who did some stuff... As the last Space Shuttle mission comes to a close, I have some thoughts about the men and women of Mission Control. The end of an era... Reflections at the end of the Space Shuttle era.
