The news isn't good...

Hubble stopped transmitting science data on Saturday night. The control unit/science data formatter was to safe the payload computer after errors were detected within the data formatter. Resetting the formatter and trying to obtain a dump of the computer memory were both unsuccessful. It's not entirely catastrophic. This happened on side A, and there is a redundant side B. All the data modules will have to be transitioned to side B first before a final pronouncement can be made on Hubble's health.

A consequence of this is delay of the Hubble servicing mission, which apparently Hubble needs. Initially Hubble's state and health must be determined before the mission can be rescheduled. And there is the hope that if transitioning to side B fails, a back-up replacement system could be taken on the servicing mission for installation.

A full and complete demonstration of the need for humans in space as repair personnel as long as we are flying such telescopes. It will also be yet another attestation of the ability of humans to work successfully in space. A moment of "oh no" will be righted to "oh yeah!" by the crew of STS-125 in 2009. Long live Hubble.

A new week

I began again on Saturday.

It was wonderful. Frustrating too, I must admit. It has been a few years after all. And all thoughts of jumping in with both feet and being at home immediately faded rather quickly.

Okay, okay. Too mysterious. Oil painting. It was the first medium I used when I began art lessons and was my favorite. I eschewed all other media, except pen and pencil, for the wonderful oils. It was much easier when I was taking lessons and I only had to show up with my bin of oils and supplies. When the art lessons shut down, still a group of us met to paint and it was a bit more tedious to drag along that big easel and all the other necessities. Still it was good and fun and relaxing. Then interest died off and we began painting at home. That takes a bigger commitment and more patience. And room to set everything up and leave it set up. Either that or the constant moving and storage of easel and wet canvas. And so, sadly but realistically, I turned from oil and began working in other media, particularly pastels and color pencils. While these present their own satisfaction, it is not the same as painting.

It has been about five years, or so. But I went out this past weekend and supplied myself with fresh paints and brushes and cleaner, etc. And I sat down Saturday night...to paint. Ahhh...the pungent scent of the paints brought back a rush of memories, of fun and creative rushes and satisfaction of a picture finished. I could hardly wait! And I had myself fooled into thinking it would be like picking the brush up the day after I'd completed my last oil.

I was disabused of that idea immediately. Before I put brush to canvas, I had to re-learn paint mixing. Oh no, this was not going to be so simple as I'd mis-led myself to think! But that's okay though. It was very much like the beginning lessons in oils.

And I enjoyed it so very much. It was great to have my hands in paint and the aromas of linseed and oils in my nostrils again. That helped relieve the frustrations. Soon I was slinging paint on the canvas and happily forming the sky and horizon line.

I'm happy and grateful for the inspiration that "NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration" provided which moved me back into this medium once more. I'll never be a part of the NASA art program, but I enjoy still all of the paintings that NASA's achievements have moved me to create. And I look forward to many new worlds to engrave in the paint.

Wonderfully Stunning

What an image. As one of my good friends says, it doesn't look real. Saturn and its lovely rings seen from above, image taken by the Cassini satellite. Oh, Cassini? Well, he was a mathematician and astronomer born in the 17th century. You can read about him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Domenico_Cassini

And you can read so much more about the Cassini satellite and its mission and enjoy a ton of other amazing photos.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/index.html

http://www.nasaimages.org/

This web site is a new addition to the internet. To quote the "about" page...

NASA Images is a service of Internet Archive ( www.archive.org ), a non-profit library, to offer public access to NASA's images, videos and audio collections. NASA Images is constantly growing with the addition of current media from NASA as well as newly digitized media from the archives of the NASA Centers.

This is a great service. NASA has produced miles of film and video footage, photos galore and enough audio to fill many, many iPods. The biggest problem in making it available to the public is manpower. If you think it's hard for NASA to get money to keep the shuttle flying, just consider how they might be able to fund all those unnecessary things, such as staff to establish a web accessible archive. However, now with Internet Archive on the job, this rich melange of NASA history and universal beauty is very accessible. It's easily searched and simple to navigate. You can create a workspace to play in before you make decisions on downloading. For the professional and the amateur, it's a delight and something past due.

So...go, play, enjoy. After all, you helped pay for it. It belongs to you too.

The Davidson Center for Space Exploration

It's an amazing place to visit...one of the few places where one can see actual flight hardware of the Apollo era. The last three flights of the Apollo program were cancelled due to funding cuts. One of the Saturn V launch vehicles from this tragic move on the part of Congress has rested in Huntsville, AL for very many years. Alas, it was left out in the weather to corrode and erode. Until last year that is. That is when the Davidson Center was completed and the Saturn V moved inside in the Rocket Roll. This tribute to our history and technology is now on display in wonderfully restored condition for all to enjoy. It would have been beyond words to allow it to continue to disintegrate.

Standing underneath this behemoth is humbling and awe inspiring. Lifting this baby off the pad was like launching a building. Recall how slowly the thing crawls away from the pad on launch. But it had to generate the power to go a quarter million miles to the moon.

Don't miss the equally incredible mural in the lobby of the Davidson Center. A close up and intimate view of the business end of Saturn V at launch, done masterfully by Paul Calle.

"Power" by Paul Calle. I would like to add the dimensions of the masterpiece, as reproduced, but honestly, I can't recall it, so taken was I by the effect and the artwork. But it's probably a good 20-25 feet wide. A Saturn V of the art world.

There's so much more to see at the space museum, and don't forget Space Camp. But as the newest addition, and the most amazing one, the Davidson Center owned my interest (for days after) and is well worth the visit.

Being a morning person

Being a morning person has a great number of advantages--no matter what my spouse and friends mutter under their breath. But exploring all of them is not in my mind this morning. I have one in particular that I feel like wandering into. When I get to work in the morning, it is quite dark. The NASA center where I work is located on an army reservation. Therefore it is far removed from the city light pollution, and it is the best place in this area to see the sky, and actually see the sky, discounting leaving the city limits by some number of miles. I enjoyed the show this morning, which began with the last quarter moon overhead smiling down on me. Luna was perched just north of Orion, sitting above his right shoulder. Yet another sign that fall has arrived, the appearance of Orion moving into the night sky and Leo moving out. Orion must be one of the most recognizable constellations. So many of my friends know it and Ursa Major...and that's about it. But Orion is a fun one to know. His belt and Betelgeuse make him interesting to watch...and that little haze of the Orion Nebula on his sword.

The recommended time for meteor sighting is quite late into the night, late enough that those who do have to rise for work won't bother. The wee hours of the morning, say about 4 am, reveal some few stragglers as well, particularly in a very dark sky.

Let us not forget the incredible sunrises one is treated to also. Red sky at morning... Well, I have seen the sky burn with the deepest red, fading into rich oranges or pinks and purples as the fire burns into the embers of morning. People come dragging into work or fully awake but oblivious to the world. So few realize the conflagration that blazed on the hill to the east an hour or more before they were even out of bed. The intensity of the show was so brilliant. You can hear the crackle of the fire. How did they sleep through it??

So the fireworks of the early morning sky are one of the reasons why I relish being a morning person. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork...Psalm 19:1.

Twin shuttles

An historic moment Saturday morning. For only the second time in the shuttle program, two shuttles sit on pads A&B simultaneously. Atlantis is on pad A in the foreground and Endeavour is on pad B in the background. Atlantis will be launching 12 October for the final Hubble servicing mission. Hubble is in a different orbital plane than the International Space Station. Hubble is about 27 degrees inclination and ISS is abut 57 degrees. Changing orbital plane is not as simple as changing altitude. It costs a great deal of energy, read fuel, to make such a change. So in the unlikely event that Atlantis might have to seek safe harbor before a landing, going to ISS is out of the picture. Therefore Endeavour has been set up as a rescue vehicle. If needed, it could launch and pick up Atlantis' crew and Atlantis could be brought down by remote control. All that would be very cool, but not what we want to see happen. This is the reason for the double shuttle lineup. A wonderfully cool photo it makes, and something we are a lot less likely to see again this late in the shuttle's career. That is part of what makes it so historic. As neat as it would be to have two shuttles in orbit at the same time, I find it highly unlikely, and not what I really want to see. Go Atlantis go. Endeavour, you'll have your chance later on down the mission list.

Sidebar, 21 Sept was my 27th anniversary with NASA.

Return

He drew in a deep breath. Not just an ordinary breath. The scrubbed and carefully mixed air flowed down into the very depths of the alveoli of his lower lungs, and in fact seemed to flow all the way to the tips of his toes, although he knew that his heightened emotional state caused that sensation rather than the true function of his body.

He sensed those behind him were becoming impatient and yet he would not be hurried. This was too momentous to be rushed and this man was going to savor every millisecond; this would not occur in his career again, though he hoped the equivalent, millions of miles away, would happen in his lifetime. He let the deep breath out slowly, as slowly as possible, one molecule at a time he imagined as he laughed at himself for his over active imagination, fired by what he was about to do.

And then he released the latching mechanism and gently pushed the hatch open. Despite himself, he drew in a quick breath and quickly rebuked himself for it. He had a reliable and controlled air supply he told himself. Stop letting your feelings carry you away! You have to keep your wits about you...or you might really mess this up, or hurt someone.

Slowly he exited and caught his breath as the vista grabbed his complete attention. The landscape was incredibly beautiful, more than he'd imagined even though he'd poured over and over photos. Totally dead and yet so alive with exquisite detail, gleaming in the unfiltered sunlight. And the sky, not black as he imagined. It was quite dark, of course, but not a color he'd call black. That seemed so flat compared to what his eyes beheld.

Forcing himself to be slow, rather than hurrying as his nagging feelings told him, he stepped carefully out on the ladder and began his descent, planting a foot securely on each rung to be certain he didn't take a tumble. No, that would never do, to fall down the ladder with so many millions of people watching. Besides, it gave him a chance to study the gently rolling hills in the near distance.

Finally he stopped at the bottom and involuntarily drew in one more breath before he stepped off. What would he say? He'd thought it through hundreds of times during his training, but compelled himself not to prepare anything in advance. All the phrases he carefully crafted sounded so dull and trite, no matter how clever and erudite he tried to be. No, he was going to ad lib the words as his foot brushed the soft grey surface.

He planted a foot on the moon for the first time in over 50 years and quietly sighed, "We have returned."

Wow...

Just wow. Speechless. I received my copy yesterday of NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration. An amazing book overflowing with enough creative energy to propel us back to the moon. I don't have the words to fully describe the book or all that it represents. I've already run out of adjectives from studying the unbelievable art between those covers. One must experience it for oneself to find the full appreciation of the talent, both artistic and scientific represented, which the NASA art program has dared to try to contain. The only thing more I can say is to buy it for yourself and take a slow and relaxed trip through the pages, being certain to note the media and size of these gems. I'm astounded thinking of the hours that must have gone into covering a 120" x 50" canvas, with great detail mind you, and the minutiae and depth of feeling which could be captured by sometimes gross media. These masters make this very rank amateur feel quite meek...

View from the inside

"You don't really work for NASA, do you?"

"Yes, in fact, I do."

"No. You don't."

"Really, I do. Why do you think I would lie about it?"

"You just don't look like the type..."

"Look, here's my business card. My name, title...aerospace engineer...NASA logo."

"Aerospace engineer? I thought you guys were rocket scientists."

"Well, I know that's the popular term for it, but there's no one subject or area or work that is 'rocket science.' It's a combination of engineering and math and..."

"Whatever. So what do you do?"

"I'm a systems safety engineer."

"I thought you were an aerospace engineer."

"I am. One is my title and the other is my training."

"You trained to be an aerospace engineer and so they made you a safety engineer?"

"It's an area of specialty. Like a medical doctor who specializes in, say, surgery. He's a doctor but he's also a surgeon."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. But what do you do?"

"I do safety analysis for the new launch vehicle that will take us back to the moon."

"Oh that. But we've been to the moon. Why not just go on to Mars?"

"Well, there's more than one reason, but a good reason is that it's a long trip to Mars. Astronauts need to practice in living away from earth and in a weightless or low gravity environment for long periods of time. And they need to learn to deal with contingencies without being able to just run back to earth in a few days."

"What have they been doing on that space station all these years?"

"Living and working in space. It's true they've had practice with that, but they still have been relying a great deal on the ground. Supply ships have to go up periodically for example."

"I thought they were supposed to grow their own food."

"Well, the space station is not quite big enough to accommodate that sort of set up." Pause. "Have you ever seen television from up there?"

"Yeah, it is kinda small. Why is that?"

"Because they can only take up modules that fit in the space shuttle and they have to join them. It's actually much bigger than it may seem because of all the modules that have been added."

"So...why don't they grow their own food?"

"Well...that isn't one of the objectives."

"Why not?"

"Because the station has to do science that justifies its existence or else a lot of scientists and politicians on the ground talk about how useless it is. It was meant to be a science platform and a place to learn how to really live in space. But then some scientists said it was not needed or useful and testified to Congress about that. So now the station has to satisfy the planners, scientists inside and outside NASA and the politicians."

"Yeah...well... Why don't they go to the moon in the shuttle?"

"The shuttle doesn't have the power to go all they way to the moon."

"Why don't just add an engine or two to it?"

"Because you can't just hang them on the side. And there's the fuel and oxidizer for them. The shuttle is at it's maximum payload carrying capability."

"Just redesign it then! That would be better than going back to regular rockets."

"A redesign would be very expensive and take a long time to design and build. There have been many design studies for a follow-on to the shuttle program. Using existing and proven technology will get us back to the moon quicker and cost less. It may not be the sexiest vehicle, but faster and cost less. It's a good idea."

"You must work for NASA. All those NASA people say the same thing. I know there are other ideas from people who don't work for NASA. I read about them. NASA just wants to control it all. It should be given to private companies."

"If you think a private company would go through the expense and time we just went through on the preliminary safety review that we just did on Ares..."

"They would. They want to be safe."

"As the safety and inspection records for airliners, and cars with their innumerable recalls, demonstrates."

"What about Challenger and Columbia?"

"Full and open investigations were conducted showing all of NASA's warts along with what we did right."

"And airline crashes are fully investigated."

"By the companies? Who is the NTSB connected with?"

"You just want to defend NASA."

"Yes, you're right." Pause. "And where do you work?"

"Oh, I'm a paralegal."

Gee...

I realized this morning that 21 Sept will be my 27th anniversary with NASA. Talk about a long and winding road... Even though I've written of frustrations and discontent, I guess I really wouldn't choose something different even if I could. There have been good times too, and besides, I have no idea what I'd be stepping into if I could change things. I could be heading into something worse.

And so I'll pick back up the celebration of NASA's 50th, which is truly official on 1 Oct. I'll try to embrace that vision of a new era in space travel, and getting in on the beginning of a new launch vehicle design, rather than seeing the dull and dreary day-to-day routine which this can sometimes be. I wish I could re-capture that childhood wonder that I had during the days of Gemini and Apollo. It pokes its head up now and again, but for such short periods. Trying to grab it and hold it is like trying to grasp the wind. It can be fleeting. Of course so many things are different and account for this. Life is not the simple and carefree time that it was back then. Now it is reality, which can be very ugly and difficult...painful. That surely takes some of the joy from many things, not just re-catching the thrill of exploration. Wishing for other days or for lost things may be encouraging to others, but it is a waste to me, since it produces little and lasts brief. So, once more in life, I pledge to take things one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time. I pledge to remember the beautiful sky this morning and the birds singing it in. I pledge to let go and quit holding on so tightly. Perhaps I can become fleeting as well...

Begin terminal countdown sequence

A beautiful full moon this morning, high in the sky, touching the thin cirrus clouds with an outline of silver. Why do we get all romantic and dreamy about that old dead satellite? Something about seeing it hang in the sky so close (astronomically speaking) and yet so very far away... Its dead, cold-hot, cratered surface seems so luminous and inviting from down here. The moon beckons with the promise of so many things that can be dreamed, and then it ducks quickly below the horizon, one last look back with a raspberry of taunting, "You can't catch me!"

It's so attractive because it's so unknown and so unreachable. Ah, but not for very much longer. We shall return to the moon, and we shall live there this time. Consider the deep and lasting impact the Apollo landings had on society. How much more so when humans live there and work there? Even more of an impact than living and working just above the earth's surface. And it will happen in my lifetime. I was a child when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and I will still be around when we return.

Yes, we can catch you.

The NASA Art Program

Here is a link. A very interesting link.

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/NASAart_book/

What many...most people don't know is that NASA administrator James Webb instituted the NASA art program in the very early day of the agency. He had the foresight to see not only how significant the space program would be, but also how much it would and could influence our society and culture. Professional artists were invited to NASA facilities and to launches, and they produced magnificent art work which the majority of the public has never seen or is even aware of the existence. This link takes you to a site that has a very small sampling of this wonderful collection. As evocative and beautiful as these selections are, it is only a peek at the rich heritage that art has left us, giving the artist's unique interpretation of that which is reported so precisely and mundanely in the news media. In October 2008 a book will hit the stands which is entitled, "NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration". It's a 176 page presentation of the history of the NASA art program accompanied by a larger look at the collection. No, this is not a commercial for the book, or even for NASA. This is a desire to share the unseen human soul of NASA and of the men and women who have plumbed the depths of it and of their own souls to find the place where humanity, art and science meet.

Whatever

I'm never good with titles. Sir Blog. Baron Blog. Lady Blog. Choose a title. Submit a title. Critique titles.

The sky has lightened considerably, turning from the inky black of a moonless morning to the pale blue of dawn, scattered about with puffy fair weather cumulus which are kissed by the not-yet-risen sun, blushing deep pink in their discomfiture. And in the brief moment taken to tap out those words, the clouds have regained their composure and now stand pale steely grey, serious in their watch over the waking world, sentinels of the new day just breaking. The trees stand at serious attention as well, unfluttered by breeze, lacking even movement of birds to disturb their stationary leaves. The day begins somberly.

And yet furthermore

If that was all there was to it, and if this was all to expect of the much anticipated moment, and if this was all it was cracked up to be, and if this was the proof that all the work was worth it, and if the hokie pokie is what it's all about, and if the quick brown fox always jumps over the lazy dog, always including each and every letter of the alphabet once and only once, and if mothers were always loving and sisters were always true friends, and if life was always equitable and just, and if patience really was a virtue, and if little girls were in actuality sugar and spice and everything nice, and if boys truly consisted of snips and snails and puppy dog tails, then there would, indeed, be no need for the moment.

Well...

Here I am again. A re-beginning. I have come through the fire and survived...singed and burned, but alive. I have re-claimed my life...for the moment. As always, the promised respite has not panned out in reality. Alas, such is reality. Thus the popularity of the internet. It is a place where reality doesn't always exist, and can be so elastic where it does exist. And so I take my first step out of reality and into a world that I can mold to try to recover my wits.

Ares I PDR and Phase I: the worst ever work experience I have had in 27.5 years at NASA. Bar none. Even when we were launching about every 6-8 weeks in 1985, I never worked this hard...or was treated so badly in my career. Excuse me, my job; I no longer consider it a career. It is a paycheck and allows me to live. That is all. People with careers are not treated this way, or assumed to be so dim about an area in which they have specialized for so long. But that is all I will say about the miserable experience. It is over and gone...shoo, go away.

I have lost contact with many friends because of Work, which has owned my soul for so long. Not many have been understanding about the time required, leaving little time for socializing and such. My most wonderful better half and I have suffered because of it as well. Gratefully that bond was strengthened by the experience, not weakened.

I say I will not speak of it further, and yet I continue to refer to "it" even if I do not directly name it. Such is the lasting effect it has had on me. Not quite to the point of PTSD, but not very far away at all. I have endured worse and lived to tell the tale.

So, I endeavour to end on a positive note after all. I had a wonderful 50th birthday in August. I'm just back from a restful vacation. "Holiday season" is upon us and I have a great deal of leave to burn. I imagine it going up in a long, wandering line of sweet smoke like the leaves of fall in the backyard burn pit. And I intend to enjoy it in the same manner, sitting near the warm and aromatic fire, relaxing and contemplating all the creative and useful things I will do as the cool days enclose me in my cocoon of home, away from the world, away from reality.