Commercial Crew Program - NASA+

An interesting combination of products from different companies that are designed for the "Commercial Crew Program" coming soon. Video from KSC.

Apollo 11, Eagle has landed.

Symphony of Science - Journey to the Moon - Remixes for the Soul - Melody Sheep

The Case For Mars

Symphony of Science has an interesting way to make the case.

NASA describes Santa's Christmas Mission

Santa's journey described NASA style. This will be a classic.
Merry Christmas!

Space Shuttle: The Final Flight

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Theodor Seuss Geisel

1000 days - NASA JSC Project M

With inspired leadership, we could accomplish this in 1000 days from a Presidential "Make it so, NASA."

Obama's Space Policy is "Drivel"

"Former NASA administrator Michael Griffin takes strong exception to most of President Obama's proposed space exploration policy, disagreeing with the major points and calling much of it "drivel."

Mission to Nowhere

The President's Take on NASA's Future: Mission to Nowhere

Tom Jones, Astronaut:

"...The cancellation of Constellation without clear endorsement of a goal to send humans on a date certain into deep space postpones the promise of the future for the brightest of our young scientists and engineers. The space talent pool will begin emptying today, as promising innovators seek careers in other industries. What student would pursue a career in space science or astronautics with the knowledge that the country is turning away from leadership in space..."

Atlantis music video

STS-129 Ascent Video Highlights from mike interbartolo on Vimeo.

Ares I-X Launch

The much anticipated launch of Ares I-X came to fruition on Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at 11:30, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
These pictures of the launch were the view from the Banana Creek VIP viewing area, where many of those who worked tirelessly for over three years to bring Ares from concept to launch, and their guests were gathered to witness the beginning of the next generation of U.S. manned spaceflight.

On the right side of the photos, above the countdown clock, you can see Space Shuttle Atlantis on pad 39A, ready for the STS-129 mission in November.

Clouds, cargo ship made NASA officials call off the test flight on Tuesday.

Here is a short piece of video from the scrubbed mission on Tuesday. Tuesday was the day when we heard the term, Triboelectrification used a lot in the audio feeds we listened to at Banana Creek. The Triboelectrification trouble is explained here, by Astroprof, and here on Wikipedia.

Ares I-X test flight

I'm looking forward to being present at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week to witness the first test launch of America's new next generation space flight system. The launch is scheduled to be on Tuesday morning at 8AM, with a second launch window on Wednesday morning if the weather doesn't cooperate. I hope to have some video and photos to share when I return. Ares I-X is ready to go and is currently waiting on launch pad 39B.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis is also in position on launch pad 39A, being prepared for the STS 129 mission launch to the ISS on November 16. It will be interesting to observe two generations of launchers on the pads at the same time.

NASA's first flight test for the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system, called Ares I-X, will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. You can follow the Ares I-X Twitter feed here.

This Ares Quarterly Progress Report, originally released to the public September 30, 2009, includes progress updates on:

-Development Motor 1 test firing

-J-2X component manufacturing

-Upper stage manufacturing facilities and tooling

-Ares I-X vehicle stacking

Sky watch

The clear sky Wednesday evening made for a wonderful view of the ISS and Shuttle orbital pass. With the Shuttle Atlantis about 90 miles behind the ISS, it appeared to be chasing the station across the sky. The addition of the new solar arrays during this mission has amplified the brightness of the ISS substantially. The view of the two fast moving objects only lasted about 3 minutes, but it was fascinating to watch. With some small binoculars, I could actually make out a fuzzy, general shape of the station's solar trusses, but not so much with the shuttle. I watched most of it without the binoculars, because the view of the 2 manned spacecraft streaking through the dark, star filled sky together was inspiring.
There is another viewing opportunity over Decatur tonight, but we may have clouds obscure the event. Maybe the predicted rain will hold off until late.

ISS / Atlantis
Thu Jun 21/10:13 PM
Tonight, there will be about 2-3 minutes of sighting opportunity beginning at 10:13 PM.
The ISS will appear first, rising from 11 degrees above West, and it will remain visible across the sky until about 22 degrees above SW.
The shuttle, since today's landing was scrubbed, will also be visible again tonight, chasing the station across the same trajectory.
If you get a chance to watch this tonight, weather cooperating, enjoy.