collectSPACE Today In Space History

Rim shot

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:42:45 -0500

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, rounding the Moon in what is referred to as its commissioning orbit, is now undergoing checkouts of its sharp-shooting instruments as they are powered on. Though the highest resolution imaging won't start until LRO drops into a lower orbit, the science team behind the LRO Camera (LROC) plans to begin obtaining photos as early as this weekend and among their early targets may be one or more of the Apollo landing sites. LROC's observations may even help answer a "moonwalking mystery" relating to Cone Crater and how close astronauts came to peering over its rim.

Big book of Apollo

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:44:53 -0500

Taschen, the German publisher responsible for the second most expensive book in history (the $12,500, 75 pound, 700 page tribute to Muhammad Ali, "Greatest Of All Time") has announced the details behind its Apollo 40th anniversary tome, "Moonfire: The Epic Journey of Apollo 11". Limited to 1,969 copies, the oversized (12.8 by 15.7 in.) 350-page book combines the text from author Norman Mailer's 1971 "Of a Fire on the Moon" with the archival photographs from NASA's and LIFE magazine's collection. Each copy retails for $1,000, which includes a framed and numbered print autographed by Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin. Twelve copies (#s 1958 to 1969) also come with a real piece of the Moon -- a lunar meteorite -- encapsulated by designer Marc Newson.

Apollo almond and moon rock mousse

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:12:07 -0500

Moonwalker Charlie Duke, commenting on the lunar dust-rich atmosphere inside Apollo 16's lunar module, radioed "It has that taste -- to me, [of] gunpowder -- and the smell of gunpowder, too." Choclatique, a California-based artisanal confection company, imagined tastier -- and more colorful -- moon rocks for their Apollo 11 40th anniversary tribute. Their Moon Rocks Collection includes 15 hand decorated and hand filled chocolates with flavors including Lift Off Lime, Mission Control Fig, NASA Nuts and Tangy Orange.

NASA names nine new astronauts

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:30:13 -0500

NASA announced the members of its 20th class of astronaut candidates on Monday, following the review of more than 3,500 applications. The nine-member 2009 class will begin their training in August at the Johnson Space Center. Ranging from 30 to 43 years of age, the new ascans are: Serena Aunon, Jeanette Epps, Jack Fischer, Michael Hopkins, Kjell Lindgren, Kathleen Rubins, Scott Tingle, Mark Vande Hei and Gregory Wiseman. They will train for stays on the International Space Station and new exploration missions.

Mickey Mouse's pin-point lunar landing

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:07:37 -0500

The Walt Disney Company had planned to mark the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 with the release of five limited edition pins under their "Disney Pin Trading" program, but the series was canceled for a "variety of reasons" according to the company's website. The pins, which would have been limited to 2,000 pieces each had they been released, would have featured Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Stitch, in scenes from the first manned lunar landing. The canceled set was revealed in connection with an auction of pre-production pins held on Saturday during a trading event at Disney World in Florida.

Twenty-one small steps

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:25:32 -0500

Italian pen maker Omas is commemorating Apollo 11's 40th anniversary with "One Small Step", a white gold-crafted writing instrument limited to 7 roller balls and 21 fountain pens, evoking the date of the first lunar landing (July 21 by GMT). Each hand-sculpted pen features bootprints embossed along its body with a clip that forms a miniature model of the flight's trajectory, from the topaz and diamond-encrusted Earth to the Moon. "One Small Step" retails for $49,000 (35,000 euro).

"Monday note" management

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:13:23 -0500

Every week that rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun led the Marshall Space Flight Center as its first director, his 35 division and project leaders would prepare for him a one-page summary report of their work. These 35 pages would arrive on von Braun's desk each Friday and usually would be returned with his comments by Tuesday morning. These "Monday notes" documented everything from the details behind the development of the Saturn V rocket to the management of the space center within the larger context of NASA and the nation. Forty years later, many historians consider the notes as a rich source of data, so NASA is soliciting for suggestions from the public, academia, and industry as to how to electronically present the papers to ease research.

Re-covering Lunar Module-2

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:15:08 -0500

Visitors to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum this week caught view of a rare sight: an Apollo lunar module undergoing a facelift. Lunar Module-2 (LM-2), which never flew but was one of the original dozen spacecraft built for the lunar landing program, has been on display as part of the national collection since 1970. In preparation for next month's 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, curators consulted with LM restoration expert Paul Fjeld to remove LM-2's aging outer layer of kapton foil and replace it such that the module would better match the appearance of "Eagle," the spacecraft that brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the first Moon landing. In the process of removing the old covering, curators discovered a communications antenna for lunar surface-use that they were unaware was aboard.

Patch preview: Soyuz TMA-16

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:17:29 -0500

When the Soyuz TMA-16 crew -- including Russian cosmonaut Maxim Surayev, U.S. astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Canadian spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte -- launches to the International Space Station this September, their pressure suits will be decorated with a colorful mission patch based upon a contest entry by a 14-year old Russian girl. Nastya Mestyashova's winning logo design includes a cosmonaut holding three large stars, one for each crewmember. In the final version of the emblem, the stem from a growing plant (symbolizing Earth) merges into a ISS-bound rocket's trail, forming the mission's numerical designation ("16"). As the winner, Mestyashova has been invited to be at the launch.

Moonwalker, author, and rap artist

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:17:04 -0500

"All you need is the rocket experience..." Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 moonwalker, "relates" in his first rap, recorded for the site Funny or Die as an mp3 now for sale on iTunes and behind-the-scenes in a video with Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli. "I've been there, now I say it's your turn." Timed to coincide with the release of his new memoir "Magnificent Desolation", "Rocket Experience" abbreviates Aldrin's 40 year old adventure. "It took four days riding on a rocket to set foot for the very first time... I'm going to tell you about the meaning of it all... We came in peace for all mankind."

Disarming Pad 39B

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:19:56 -0500

The bridge over which 53 astronaut crews crossed from Pad 39B's gantry into the space shuttle came down on Saturday to make way for the lift-off of Ares I-X, the first test of NASA's next generation launch vehicle. The 65 foot long orbiter access arm, which supported the environmental chamber or 'white room' that led to the shuttle's crew cabin hatch, was located 147 feet above the surface. Like the pad's 'beanie cap', which was removed earlier this month, the access arm will eventually join the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's exhibits.

Two to the Moon!

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:22:30 -0500

NASA's first mission to return the Moon in more than a decade, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) launched on an Atlas V rocket at 4:32 p.m. CDT Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. LRO will take four days on its trip to the Moon before spending at least a year mapping the surface from a low polar orbit, identifying landing sites and resources for the future manned missions. LCROSS, mated to the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage, will first flyby the Moon and then enter an elongated Earth orbit that will lead to an October 9, 2009 impact at the lunar south pole. LCROSS will study the plume created by the Centaur for evidence of water ice before colliding with the Moon itself.

Shortest spacewalks

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:52:45 -0500

Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and U.S. astronaut Mike Barratt tied a 44 year old record on June 10 for the shortest spacewalk in history though they never stepped outside their spacecraft. Wearing Orlan spacesuits, Padalka and Barratt worked for twelve minutes to replace a hatch with a docking cone on the International Space Station's Zvezda module readying for the addition of a new Russian mini-research module in November. The dozen minute intra-vehicular activity (IVA) was the shortest of the station's 125 spacewalks and took the same amount of time as the first and quickest walk in history as conducted by Alexei Leonov aboard Voskhod 2.