Curiosity's Descent to Mars

Via the Los Angeles Times, "Stunning Video Shows Curiosity's Descent to Mars."

Neil Armstrong, Earth's First Moonwalker, Dead at 82

At the Air Force Times, "Moonwalker, former Navy pilot Armstrong dies."

And the Los Angeles Times, "Astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on moon, dies at age 82" (via Memeorandum).

VIDEO HAT TIP: Weasel Zippers.

Red Rover

At LAT, "Mars rover Curiosity can vaporize rocks, roam the Red Planet."

And NASA's viral video, "We're NASA and We Know It (Mars Curiosity) Satire."

BONUS: At New York Daily News, "Britney Spears tweets Mars rover — and Curiosity tweets back."

Ho-Hum, Sally Ride Was Lesbian

I cracked open the hard-copy version of the Los Angeles Times this morning with my coffee. Sally Ride's obituary is front page news, "Sally Ride dies at 61; first American woman in space."

It's a straightforward obit, but getting to the end of the piece we have this:

Ride is survived by Tam O'Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years; her mother, Joyce; her sister, Karen, known as "Bear"; and a niece and nephew.

I thought, great, she's lesbian and decided to keep her personal life private while she pursued her career. She was married in 1982 but divorced five years later with no children. That would be 1987, and in fact, it's quite possible that she left her husband, astronaut Steven Alan Hawley, for a woman. Now that would have been news! She could have caused a sensation, struck a blow against the patriarchy! Women of the world unite! But no, she was at the pinnacle of her profession and decided to continue achieving. She could have come out as lesbian any time after that. Why not? Who knows? But it's not like there wasn't a massive homosexual rights campaign raging all those years. I think she just thought better of it, and went about pursuing her dreams without all the gay extremist showboating. Frankly, just being a woman in space was f-king pathbreaking. No doubt she thought busting through one glass ceiling was enough, at least in her case. Indeed, according to the Times, Ride saw the rights of women as the key civil rights struggle:

In 2001, she founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, to encourage women and especially young girls to become interested in science. She also wrote five children's books encouraging an interest in science.

So it turns out when I logged onto Memeorandum, I found the big headline from the sensationalist BuzzFeed, "First Female U.S. Astronaut, Sally Ride, Comes Out In Obituary." Looks like everyone else wanted Ride out of the closet except Ride.

And here's this at excitable Andrew Sullivan's page, "America's First Woman In Space Was a Lesbian":

Now talk about a buried lede! The only thing preventing the NYT from writing an honest obit is homophobia. They may not realize it; they may not mean it; but it is absolutely clear from the obit that Ride's sexual orientation was obviously central to her life. And her "partner" (ghastly word) and their relationship is recorded only perfunctorily. The NYT does not routinely only mention someone's spouse in the survivors section. When you have lived with someone for 27 years, some account of that relationship is surely central to that person's life. To excise it completely is an act of obliteration. I'm afraid the Beast's tribute is worse. Lynn Sherr manages to write an appreciation which essentially treats Ride as a heterosexual.

The horror!

Homophobia! It's homophobia!

Isn't it always?

Notice that the New York Times "buried the lede!" Imagine what that would been, "Rockin' Sally Ride, First Butch to Blast Into Space, Dies at 61."

And for more humorous pleasure, notice how Towleroad missed the part about Ride's lesbianism, and the readers go batsh*t crazy in the comments: "Towleroad jumps the shark - every hour, on the hour." And note Joe. My. God., "Sally Ride Outed In Obituary," which includes Twitter embeds bemoaning the awful, just awful situation where Ride's partner, Tam, would be "denied" federal survivor's benefits. That would be a monstrous inhumanity, except that according to the Sally Ride Science homepage:

Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy is the COO and Executive Vice President of Sally Ride Science and a Professor Emerita of School Psychology at San Diego State University. Dr. O'Shaughnessy has been interested in science since she was a little girl.

Right. I'm sure Dr. O'Shaughnessy will live out the remainder of her life in crushing destitution, or at least that's what the idiot progressives would have you believe.

Frankly, Sally Ride is one more example of a great American, a great American who happened to be lesbian. She made a life for herself and her partner and thrived. I mean, what held her back? Nothing. But don't tell that to the hate-addled homosexual progressives currently attempting to dismantle decency and respect in this country.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Mysteries of Saturn: New Photos From the Cassini Spacecraft

A fascinating piece, at London's Daily Mail, "Mysteries of Saturn revealed: Nasa probe captures clearest views of planet's rings - and the tiny 'mini-moons' swimming inside them."

Also at Independent UK, "A ringside seat to see Saturn and her moons."

SpaceX Splashdown

At the Los Angeles Times, "SpaceX's mission ends with a splashdown in the Pacific."

Also at Daley Gator, "SpaceX Dragon Capsule Splashes Down In Pacific, Ending Historic Test Flight (Video)."

Riding the Rocket Booster

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

Flying Over the Earth at Night

Via Atlas Shrugs:

Felix Baumgartner Lands Sky Jump From 71,580 Feet Above Roswell, New Mexico

This is wild, via Theo Spark:

And read about it at CSM, "Sky diver, after free-falling 13 miles, sets sights on record 23-mile jump."

Why We Should Keep Reaching for the Stars

From Neil deGrasse Tyson, at Foreign Affairs, "The Case for Space":

In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama articulated his vision for the future of American space exploration, which included an eventual manned mission to Mars. Such an endeavor would surely cost hundreds of billions of dollars -- maybe even $1 trillion. Whatever the amount, it would be an expensive undertaking. In the past, only three motivations have led societies to spend that kind of capital on ambitious, speculative projects: the celebration of a divine or royal power, the search for profit, and war. Examples of praising power at great expense include the pyramids in Egypt, the vast terra-cotta army buried along with the first emperor of China, and the Taj Mahal in India. Seeking riches in the New World, the monarchs of Iberia funded the great voyages of Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan. And military incentives spurred the building of the Great Wall of China, which helped keep the Mongols at bay, and the Manhattan Project, whose scientists conceived, designed, and built the first atomic bomb.

In 1957, the Soviet launch of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, spooked the United States into the space race. A year later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was born amid an atmosphere defined by Cold War fears. But for years to come, the Soviet Union would continue to best the United States in practically every important measure of space achievement, including the first space walk, the longest space walk, the first woman in space, the first space station, and the longest time logged in space. But by defining the Cold War contest as a race to the moon and nothing else, the United States gave itself permission to ignore the milestones it missed along the way.

In a speech to a joint session of Congress in May 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the Apollo program, famously declaring, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” These were powerful words, and they galvanized the nation. But a more revealing passage came earlier in the speech, when Kennedy reflected on the challenge presented by the Soviets’ space program: “If we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take.”

Kennedy’s speech was not simply a call for advancement or achievement; it was a battle cry against communism. He might have simply said, “Let’s go to the moon: what a marvelous place to explore!” But no one would have written the check. And at some point, somebody has got to write the check.

If the United States commits to the goal of reaching Mars, it will almost certainly do so in reaction to the progress of other nations -- as was the case with NASA, the Apollo program, and the project that became the International Space Station. For the past decade, I have joked with colleagues that the United States would land astronauts on Mars in a year or two if only the Chinese would leak a memo that revealed plans to build military bases there.

The joke does not seem quite so funny anymore. Last December, China released an official strategy paper describing an ambitious five-year plan to advance its space capabilities. According to the paper, China intends to “launch space laboratories, manned spaceship and space freighters; make breakthroughs in and master space station key technologies, including astronauts’ medium-term stay, regenerative life support and propellant refueling; conduct space applications to a certain extent and make technological preparations for the construction of space stations.” A front-page headline in The New York Times captured the underlying message: “Space Plan From China Broadens Challenge to U.S.”

When it comes to its space programs, China is not in the habit of proffering grand but empty visions. Far from it: the country has an excellent track record of matching promises with achievements. During a 2002 visit to China as part of my service on a White House commission, I listened to Chinese officials speak of putting a man into space in the near future. Perhaps I was afflicted by a case of American hubris, but it was easy to think that “near future” meant decades. Yet 18 months later, in the fall of 2003, Yang Liwei became the first Chinese taikonaut, executing 14 orbits of Earth. Five years after that, Zhai Zhigang took the first Chinese space walk. Meanwhile, in January 2007, when China wanted to dispose of a nonfunctioning weather satellite, the People’s Liberation Army conducted the country’s first surface-to-orbit “kinetic kill,” destroying the satellite with a high-speed missile -- the first such action by any country since the 1980s. With each such achievement, China moves one step closer to becoming an autonomous space power, reaching the level of (and perhaps even outdistancing) the European Union, Russia, and the United States, in terms of its commitment and resources.

China’s latest space proclamations could conceivably produce another “Sputnik moment” for the United States, spurring the country into action after a relatively fallow period in its space efforts. But in addition to the country’s morbid fiscal state, a new obstacle might stand in the way of a reaction as fervent and productive as that in Kennedy’s era: the partisanship that now clouds space exploration.

Video c/o Theo Spark.

Near Earth Objects

A cool piece, at Telegraph UK, "Asteroid near misses and the threats to come."

Figures show about 50 million NEO’s (Near Earth Objects) pass by every day. Here are some previous near misses as well as possible future threats.

NASA Launches New Mars Rover

At Wired, "NASA’s New Mars Rover Launches Successfully":

NASA Launches Latest NPP Earth-Observing Satellite from Vandenberg

It's the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, NPP.

At LAT, "NASA launches satellite from Vandenberg at night." And PC Magazine, "NASA Weather, Climate Satellite Launches Successfully."

NASA Satellite Falls to Earth

I haven't followed this that closely, but it's fascinating.

At WaPo, "As satellite slows, NASA works to peg crash site," and NYT, "It’s Safe to Go Outside: NASA Says Its Falling Satellite Will Miss the U.S."

And at Telegraph UK, "Second giant chunk of space junk heading for Earth."

Glenn Reynolds Talks with Jerry Pournelle

An fascinating interview, adding a lot of information to some of my postings on the Space Shuttle program:

Pournelle was once a professor of political science, and way back in the day, when I used to read a lot of paperback fiction, I read The Mote in God's Eye. More here.

Atlantis Landing Ends Space Shuttle Era

At Los Angeles Times.

Also, "A cloudy vision of U.S. spaceflight."

When the orbiter Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, ending the 30-year-old space shuttle program, NASA will have its sights set on the next big exploration mission: sending astronauts to an asteroid in about 15 years.

But the path to that goal remains poorly defined, jeopardized by a bleak budget outlook and a weak political consensus. It has left a deep angst that U.S. leadership in space flight is in rapid decline and the very ability to fly humans off the Earth is at risk.

"I'm very disappointed about where we are today," said Robert L. Crippen, who flew on the first space shuttle mission and went on to senior leadership jobs in both NASA and the aerospace industry. "NASA's future is very fuzzy right now."

NASA has a complicated plan that would include operating the International Space Station, tapping a private launch service to ferry astronauts to orbit, and building a new launch system to send humans on deep space missions, including an asteroid by the mid-2020s.

Engineers and technicians are busy at plants across the nation, building new crew capsules, testing hardware in vibration chambers and preparing to conduct demonstration flights, all part of supporting the future steps that NASA envisions.

Nonetheless, the overall plan has failed to gain widespread support, reflecting serious concerns about the costs, risks and the lack of detail about the most difficult aspects of the exploration mission.

But see, Nicholas de Monchaux, "Spirit of the Spacesuit."

Added: A killer piece at Daley Gator, "Home At Last: Atlantis Makes Historic Final Landing As Nasa’s 30-Year Shuttle Program Comes to An End."

Father and Son Recreate Shuttle Launch Photo 30 Years Later

Saw this first at AoSHQ.

And now at WaPo, "Chris Bray and his father watch NASA history, 30 years ago and four days ago."

That's cool!

The Future of Space

We need a space program. The end of the Space Shuttle Program makes us think about our priorities and world preponderance. America's not relinquishing scientific leaderships just yet, thank goodness.

There's an appraisal at New York Times, "3, 2, 1, and the Last Shuttle Leaves an Era Behind" (via Memeorandum).

Also at USA Today, "Shuttle ends 30-year run, but U.S. will be back":

Though shuttles will have launched 135 times with unique achievements — and two catastrophic failures that claimed the lives of 14 courageous astronauts and reminded a stunned nation of the price of pioneering — the program never did vastly expand the human presence in space.

But fret not. The end of the shuttle is not a signal that America is becoming less adventurous. It is simply the latest indication that technology advances in fits and starts, and rarely along the trajectories projected by the experts.

America will be back with a new manned space vehicle at some point. This may happen for political reasons if China, or some other nation, goads us into action by embarking on an ambitious program of its own. And it will happen for a variety of reasons when engineers overcome the one barrier that has frustrated them — the prohibitive costs of getting the first hundred miles or so off the Earth's surface.

In the meantime, let's step back and consider the extraordinary age that we have created ...

Atlantis Launches on Final Shuttle Mission (VIDEO)

Mashable has video, "Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch Video: The Final Flight."

And at Los Angeles Times, "Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off":

Despite earlier weather concerns, Atlantis is launched on the final flight for NASA's space shuttle program. It is the 33rd flight for Atlantis and the 135th shuttle mission overall.

Reporting from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Atlantis lifted off Friday morning, shooting straight into a brightening sky on a 12-day mission that marks the end of the nation's three-decade space shuttle program.

There was a brief hold in the countdown at 31 seconds because of a glitch seemingly involving a piece of retractable equipment. As millions of onlookers on the ground and via television held their breaths, officials checked and reported that the equipment had, indeed, been moved.

With the last knot in the timeline unsnarled, the countdown resumed and the engines fired, sending the craft upward and out along the eastern coast of the United States.

When it returns, Atlantis will join Discovery and Endeavour as retired vessels. NASA will shift its mission to sending astronauts to asteroids and Mars while private companies take over the more mundane aspect of moving cargo and crews from Earth to orbit.

More at the link above. I'll post YouTube video later.

10:20am PST: Okay, from AP ...

Also, at Wired Science, "The Last Space Shuttle Launches Safely Into Orbit" (via Memeorandum).

The Space Shuttle Program Helped Carry Southern California's Aerospace Industry for Four Decades

At Los Angeles Times, "The space shuttle's Southland legacy."

Amid the odes to a shuttle program that ends with the last mission of the last shuttle, Atlantis, scheduled for liftoff Friday, is an awareness that the space plane helped carry Southern California's aerospace industry for four decades. It staved off decline after the end of the moon landings, bequeathing new generations of aeronautical technology — and jobs — to the regional economy.

"Building the space shuttle fleet enabled a historic chapter in NASA's space program," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander. "Southern California has a strong place in shuttle history as a key site where the spacecraft were built and often landed."

Constructing the shuttle fleet was testament to how advanced Southern California's aerospace engineering and labor workforce had become by the 1970s — and assured that the vast assemblage of brainpower and engineering know-how would not be lost in the Southland.

The history of the shuttle program may be linked forever to the flights of Challenger and Columbia, its two deadly tragedies. But the shuttle era will also be remembered for advancing technology, including reusable rocket engines and computerized guidance systems, that changed manned flight.