Thursday, July 30, 2009

The International Space Station...as of July 28, 2009. NASA PHOTOS OF THE DAY... Even though space shuttle Endeavour is no longer docked with the International Space Station (Endeavour is scheduled to land at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center tomorrow), just thought I’d share these two kick-ass images (below) that were taken of the two spacecraft from a ground-based telescope last Sunday. I found these photos on the On Orbit website. A wide shot of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station in transit in front of the Sun. A close-up of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station in transit in front of the Sun. Both images courtesy of Thierry Legault / Look at Sciences

Monday, July 20, 2009

Happy 40th Anniversary, Apollo 11!

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin sets up a lunar experiment after he and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to set foot on the Moon, on July 20, 1969.
NASA

In a bit of timing that pretty much wasn't coincidental, NASA released the images below last Friday...showing 5 of the 6 Apollo landing sites as recently seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. The Apollo 12 landing site should be photographed by LRO in the coming weeks. Before conspiracy theorists out there label these pics as your typical works of Photoshop, LRO has yet to settle into its final and lower orbit around the Moon...which means future photos of these landing zones should have much better resolution than the ones posted below. And hopefully, the future pics will be in color.


The Apollo 11, 15, 16 and 17 landing sites as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) a few days ago.

The Apollo 14 landing site as seen by LRO a few days ago.

All Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images courtesy of NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center / Arizona State University

Friday, July 17, 2009

REST IN PEACE, Walter Cronkite (1916-2009). He passed away at the age of 92 today. Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America," reported on some of the most momentous events in the 20th century...including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr...as well as the Apollo lunar landings.

Walter Cronkite with NASA space capsules behind him.

I obviously don't want a repeat of events like the JFK and MLK tragedies, but who will we turn to next for a spirited commentary when a future generation of astronauts travel to the Moon? Whenever that will be? That question will remain unanswered for a while...

Thursday, July 16, 2009

40 YEARS AGO TODAY, a Saturn V rocket carrying NASA's Apollo 11 spacecraft and its 3 astronauts launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 3-day voyage to the Moon. When we send humans back to Earth's closest neighbor is anyone's guess...

A Saturn V rocket carrying NASA's Apollo 11 spacecraft launches to the Moon on July 16, 1969.
NASA

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

SIXTH TIME'S THE CHARM... Endeavour will reach the International Space Station this Friday.

After 5 previous launch attempts since early June, space shuttle Endeavour finally lifts off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on July 15, 2009.
NASA / Sandra Joseph & Kevin O'Connell

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

FYI, these two awesome pieces of artwork have also been sitting on my Desktop for the past 4 months. To view more kick-ass illustrations like these, go to Mark Waki's website. Later.

Space shuttle artwork #1, by Mark Waki.

Space shuttle artwork #2, by Mark Waki.

Both illustrations courtesy of Mark Waki

Monday, July 13, 2009

THIS IMAGE has been taking up space on my Desktop screen for the past, oh, 4 months or so, so I thought I'd just post this here in honor of the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on STS-127. Whenever the heck that will be... (There's a 60% chance of bad weather scrubbing today's liftoff.)

UPDATE (3:45 PM): Make that a 100% chance of bad weather scrubbing today's liftoff. Florida in the summertime... Speaking of which, next month marks a year since I went on that cruise to the Bahamas.


A space shuttle rolls through morning fog on its way to the launch pad.