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Thursday, 29 June 2006
Editorial Note
Blogging will be light over the next few days as I go watch it rain on the space shuttle.If possible, I'll post updates about the trip.
Space Cat-Fight!
Per The Register:A most unusual cat-fight broke out last night at the NASA Ames center here, as two women battled to learn when they will be able to take cheap flights into space.
SpaceDev founder James Benson had plowed through the majority of his presentation on space tourism opportunities when the cackling broke out. "Will you sit down. I can't see the screen," barked one woman. "Well, I can't hear the lecture. We came hear to listen to Mr. Benson not to hear you gossip," replied an older Asian lady not much more than 5 feet tall. The squabble escalated from there with both sides agreeing that they despised each other's lack of social graces.
Eventually, the bitching match devolved into a playground-level spat with both of the ladies verging on yelling, "I know you are but what am I?" A dose of comic tension filled the NASA Ames conference room, and then the two ladies quieted down.
Taking The High Road
This week's new Hatbag is now online.
STS-121 Update
Weather still looking very iffy.Official countdown is in a planned hold at T-27 hours.
Lunar Support
The Vision for Space Exploration got a huge vote of support in the U.S. House yesterday, when representatives voted 259-163 to reject a proposal by Barney Frank to shut down plans to send man to Mars.At least, that's the way the story puts it. Reading it, I'm assuming he's really talking about the plans that would, more immediately, return humans to the moon; but there's no reference to the moon in the article. My guess, and this may be unfair, is that Frank's move was part of the uninformed "we don't need to spend money on Mars" attitude that you see from people who have a knee-jerk reaction without really knowing what they're talking about.
Another vote yesterday, by a more narrow margin, also rejected a proposal to shift almost a half-billion from the Vision to local law enforcement. While the 236-185 vote was closer than the one on the Frank proposal, it was a slightly wider spread than a similar vote last year.
Clouded Vista
Per MacNN:Microsoft has cancelled one of the most anticipated features in its next Windows operating system, code-named Vista, which is slated for release next year. Microsoft previously planned to ship the WinFS file system shortly after Windows Vista. In a weblog entry on Friday, however, Quentin Clark -- an executive of the project -- wrote that WinFS would not ship separately, and that some of the feature will be included in a later product. Investors considered WinFS the crucial feature that would encourage upgrades to Vista when Microsoft separated the technologies in 2004 in order to complete Vista by 2006, according to Bloomberg. The cancellation marks the latest change involving Windows Vista, which required Microsoft to restructure portions of the operating system and drop some features.
And, in the interest of equal time, also from MacNN:
American Technology Research senior analyst Shaw Wu said he believes new versions of Apple's video iPod and iPod nano could be delayed by up to six months. "We previously believed that new Nanos and the widescreen video iPod could ship in Q3 and Q4, respectively," Wu wrote in a research note. "However, we now believe that both could be delayed by a quarter or two."
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
STS-121 Update
The clock is ticking.The countdown is officially, right now, at 38 hours, 54 minutes. And counting.
STS-121 Update
If I've counted correctly, this is my 41st "STS-121 Update" post since I started posting them on August 12.I don't know how many "RTF Update" posts I made because I started them on the old blog, but from the time I moved over here, I count 66 from Aug. 26, '04 until the landing in August of last year.
I'm looking forward to the day I don't have time to post quite so many updates between launches.
But that day's not here yet.
Today's news:
There's only about six hours left until the official countdown starts at T-43 hours.
Dick Cheney will be attending the launch.
And, per Florida Today's Flame Trench blog:
The shuttle launch team is working no technical issues that would prohibit an on-time liftoff on Saturday afternoon from the Kennedy Space Center.
Jeff Spaulding, the NASA test director on the launch team, says Discovery could get up to four launch opportunities over the five days beginning Friday. After that, the team would have to take a day or two off before preparing the vehicle for another round of launch attempts.
So it's all about the weather at this point.
Kathy Winters, the weather officer, says afternoon storms are the worry for Saturday, Sunday and Monday launch attempts. The chance of acceptable launch weather all three days is just 40 percent. Winters says conditions could actually worsen next week, though it is far too early to give specific forecasts.
"While they sound a little gloomy, we have certainly launched with a higher-percentage no-go than we have for Saturday," Spaulding said.
More on the weather can be found here.
Supes Confession Day
In honor of the premiere of the new Superman movie, here's my incredibly geeky Superman confession:I proposed to Nicole while wearing a "Daily Planet" t-shirt.
How's that for romantic? It wasn't entirely intentional, though (the outfit, that is; not the proposal, which was planned for literally hours in advance.)
Anybody else have a shameful Superman confession?
Shuttle Trivia
Here's an interesting bit of space shuttle trivia I just learned:The shuttle, of course, burns its main engines for about eight minutes and 40 seconds to reach orbital velocity. During that time, though, I didn't realize it will reach its apogee at the 5:32 mark, and then actually descend about three and a miles before beginning to ascend again shortly before main engine cut-off. At MECO, the shuttle's altitude is still under 70 miles, but it's traveling at 17,606 miles per hour.
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
Song Challenge!
I'm bored. Here are some song lyrics. Can you name what song's they're from? (Without resorting to search engines) (more)
STS-121 Update
The STS-121 crew is expected to arrive at Kennedy Space Center in about half an hour of this writing to prepare for Saturday's launch.The official countdown clock will start tomorrow 4 p.m. CDT at the T-43 hour mark. Then, at midnight, the process begins of getting the dorman shuttle ready to come to life.
Super Poll
So the new Superman movie opens tonight. When are you planning to go see it?Tuesday late premiere (0 votes)
Opening day Wednesday (3 votes)
By opening weekend (1 votes)
Probably sometime later (1 votes)
Probably not in theaters (2 votes)
Too Much Stuff
Turns out my house has a couple of things in common with the International Space Station -- they both have the equivalent of three bedrooms, and they're both filled with too much stuff.There's so much stuff on the station that it blocks access to storage cabinets, fills up rooms and makes losing objects easy. And the overflow is about to get worse. NASA plans to have space shuttle Discovery drop off 5,000 pounds of supplies next week. The shuttle will haul items back but will leave behind more than it takes away.
If No Rumors
If no news, send rumors.If no rumors, send impressive mock-ups.
So, would you want one of these, were they real?
Monday, 26 June 2006
STS-121 Update
Lacking for actual updates, here's a link to a profile of Mark Kelly, who is the one astronaut on the STS-121 crew whom I've actually met.In the history of the astronaut program, there have been three people selected with the last name Kelly, and they were all brought in as part of Group 16. (A big coincidence, but not as odd as Group 7, which included two men named Gregory Johnson.) Two of the three Kellys were are twins, Mark and Scott. When I met Mark, the story was that one of the twins had a mustache, but that you couldn't really use that to tell them apart, because it wasn't always the same one. At any given time, one did and one didn't, but they would take turns shaving and growing it out. That may be apocrophyl, but it's a good story.
On an only semi-related note, it's looking now like I may be heading down to the launch, due to peer pressure.
Progress Towards ISS
The International Space Station is about to be the Grand Central Station of space, currently preparing for the first of two arrivals in as many weeks.A Russian Progress spacecraft will dock with the station today at 11:30 a.m. CDT, after launching on Saturday. The ISS crew will unpack only critical items this week, leaving the rest until after the STS-121 crew leaves.
Two other spacecraft are already docked to the station -- the crew's Soyuz and the last Progress, which docked on April 23.
Next Stevenote
Apple is giving me a bit of a birthday present by scheduling the next Stevenote for August 7 at the WWDC in San Francisco.The announced topic will be a Leopard preview, but I'm sure the rumors about what else he will discuss will soon begin in earnest.
Saturday, 24 June 2006
Tomorrow Is Doomsday
Per Metafilter:
In 2003, Paramount proposed redoing the special effects for the original "Star Trek" series and rereleasing the episodes as "Star Trek Enhanced". Two CGI firms redid the effects for the teaser, the opening credits and title, and the first two acts of The Doomsday Machine as a proof-of-concept with no changes to the acting or the story. Paramount ultimately decided not to pursue the project, but it's interesting to see how two different CGI firms handled the transporter, phasers, and starship effects.
Version One
Version Two
STS-121 Update
It's now less than a week until launch.Cool, huh?
Friday, 23 June 2006
Return To The Moon
Apollo 17's Harrison Schmitt will be signing copies of his book, Return to the Moon, at Rocket Town next month, and signed copies can be pre-ordered now. Schmitt's cut down on his signing in the past few years, so it's really a great opportunity.
(If any ATW readers who know me personally are interested in this, let me know, and I'll sweeten the pot a bit.)
Chasing Dreams
I do understand why, in many ways, the space shuttle was a flawed vehicle, doomed by the very hubris of its creation. I also understand why, for moving ahead with space exploration, for once more traveling beyond low Earth orbit, a completely different architecture is extremely advantageous. I'm looking forward to the return to a straightfoward capsules-and-big-rockets system.That said, having lived with the shuttle basically my entire life, I do like the idea of the still being a spacecraft flying that is vaguely shuttle-esque.
(Oh, and, hey, for the sake of full disclosure, I own stock in SpaceDev, which is developing the vehicle; but that has nothing to do with this post, inasmuch as I didn't even make the connection until I was about to save it to the blog. Still, that's kinda cool. [Although it would be much cooler if I hadn't lost money on them; albeit way less than I've lost on Apple and Space Propulsion Systems. This whole buying stock thing isn't working out nearly as well as I'd hoped.])
Steve Versus Hollywood
The first time I read it, it seemed like such a non-story that I didn't bother posting it. After all, it's just the latest version of something we've been reading all year, at least.But, it's been all over the place, so -- Apple's apparently having tough negotiations selling Hollywood on putting movies on iTMS.
It seems pretty obvious, but one interesting point is that it's pretty much now taken as a given that Apple is working to do this. I wonder how intent Apple is on working toward the iTunes music launch format -- almost everybody on board from the outset -- versus the TV show format of getting people involved when their ready to come. It seems hard to believe they couldn't even convince a studio or two and do the latter, but maybe not.
Thursday, 22 June 2006
SuperQueue
But, it gets even better -- We're proud to announce the release of the first Hatbag collection!
"Bagged & Bored" collects all of the Hatbag strips from 2005, along with the Easter egg strips and other bonus material. You can buy a copy online here.
Also, we got our first fan art!
And, as always, vote Hatbag!
Moons Get Names
The two recently discovered moons of Pluto have been given names. Like Charon, the two names fit with the mythology of the planet -- Nix after the Greek goddess of night and the mother of Charon, and Hydra after, of course, the Hydra, which guarded Hades. The names are also a tip of the hat to the spacecraft currently heading towards the Pluto system; the first letters of the two moons are also the initials of the New Horizons mission.With all the debate about the naming of 2003 UB313 (aka, sigh, Xena), I have to say that I really like these names.
Kirk, Bourne Again
So apparently the Kirk-casting rumors have moved from Ben Affleck to his pal Matt Damon.Per AICN:
theINSIDER is reporting that J.J. Abrams & Co. are smitten with the notion of Matt Damon as James T. Kirk in their forthcoming theatrical relaunch of STAR TREK.
The article also says Abrams has already received Kirk progenitor William Shatner's blessing on this.
It's an interesting, and remarkably solid, casting choice to be sure -- although I'd prefer someone a little less identifiable in the role (which, admittedly, might challenge the project's commercial viability in the eyes of The Powers That Be).
I'm going insane trying to figure out who out there might make a good Spock (rumored to appear in the film as well). Harry says Affleck, which is either genius, or insanity.
Wednesday, 21 June 2006
Space Museum
I'm not entirely sure of the logistics, but, let me just say now that if, for some reason, Discovery had to be abandoned in flight, I would hope that every effort would be made to keep her preserved in orbit rather than deorbited.
Of Gods And Men
Star Trek: New Voyages has the scoop, though, frankly, I'd be more impressed with the New Voyages folks if there were less talk and more Trek.
Another Box
I like the Battlestar Galactica.Shocking news to regular readers of this blog, I know. I do not like, however, their DVD policy. The next box set was just announced -- Season 2.5 will hit shelves on Sept. 19.
I respect the desire shows have to get one season out on DVD before the next one starts. And the gap in the middle of Season 2 was long enough that it seemed like the second half was a different season. But, really, with the series on iTunes, it wasn't really necessary to get the first half of the season on DVD before the second half aired. Kudos on the quick turn-around and all, but not the greed factor of pricing each half like it was a full season.
So, yeah, their decision to release the season in two 10-episode boxes, priced at $50 each, I don't approve, and it's going to cost them my money. I bought Season One, but I'm not going to buy two boxes of Season Two. If they ever release it as one set, priced like Season One, I'll consider it.
Tuesday, 20 June 2006
All These (Financial) Worlds
I don't know how long it will be up, but I made the Google Finance pages today.On the stock report for IBM, they have a section of blog posts about the company, and the thing I posted this morning about the comic strips is listed there right now. Cool, huh?
(A thought I had as I was typing this -- I wonder if their crawler will add this post. How meta would it be if they post my post about them posting my post?)
Pearls Before Swine
Jonathan was kind enough to point out this comic strip to me yesterday.
(Here's today's, btw.)
Pam's Turn
Much was made in the press around last year's Return to Flight STS-114 mission about Eileen Collin's status as the first female shuttle commander. Her recent retirement from the astronaut corps, however, meant that the population of female commanders had gone back from one to zero.Now, however, that's changed, as Pam Melroy has been named as commander of the STS-120 mission, which will carry Node 2 to the International Space Station.
The rest of the crew shows NASA's dedication to giving current astronauts a chance to fly before the agency runs out of shuttle seats. Only one crewmember, mission specialist Scott Parazynski, has flown previously. The rest, pilot George Zamka, mission specialists Douglas Wheelock and Michael Foreman, and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli will all be making their first flight.
STS-120 is the last mission that had been manifest prior to the loss of Columbia (thus the upcoming mission, added after the tragedy, being STS-121), when it was originally scheduled for Feb. 18, 2004 and would have marked the ISS reaching U.S. Core Complete status, which was a really big deal back in the day.
PC Cartoons
Lain was kind enough to send me a link to these comic strips last night:
Read Duck and Cover
at the Blue Pyramid.
Despite it's anti-Mac slant, I'm impressed with this cartoon, because apparently the artist must have hit on the "I'm a Mac; I'm a PC" idea that Apple is currently using for its commercials like eight years before Apple did; based on its vintage reference to "disk drives." I'm assuming it must be talking about the old floppy disks people used to use, since Macs have generally been on the cutting edge of optical drives for about that same period of time. Man, remember when "disk drives" were relevant? I can't remember the last time I used the phrase "Double sided, high density." Heh. Good times. I hope somewhere there's another strip boasting how the PC also has so many more options when you're looking for dot-matrix printers and 28.8 modems. Ideally, that last one would use the word "baud." When was the last time you heard someone talk about baud?
Read Duck and Cover
at the Blue Pyramid.
You know, it's kinda funny. Way, way back in the day, before my time, to be honest, Apple made the serious home computer. If you wanted spreadsheets and business apps and stuff like that, you bought an Apple (not a Mac, now, mind you, but an Apple ][). Then, IBM (that's International Business Machines, for those keeping score) came out with their personal computer, and Apple came out with the Mac, and the situation flip-flopped. PCs were the serious home computers, and Macs were seen as the "toys" for artsy types who wanted to play with MacPaint. So when exactly did that flip again? Apple is now the one touting the fact that it's the home computer for people who actually want to, you know, do stuff on their computer (not spreadsheets anymore, but still...), while you frequently see PC devotees going the "Macs can't play games" route. (Note: This is not a general statement about what PC users care about, just a subset that tends to be particularly vocal on the web.)
Monday, 19 June 2006
Better Mileage
To be sure, the fact that the Mars rover Opportunity now has five miles on its odometer and is still going strong, almost two and a half (Earth) years into a 90 (Earth) day mission, is a testament to the importance and value of robotic exploration of our solar system.However, it's just as strong a testament to the importance and value of human exploration. Opportunity's five miles is wonderful, but, when put in the context of the fact that the Apollo 17 crew's lunar rover has about 18 miles on its odometer, accumulated during about 75 hours of exploration by the crew, it's clear that we'll be covering more ground when we finally put a person on Mars.
Re-Boot The Universe
A couple of years ago, as it was obvious that the Star Trek franchise was about to run out of steam, there was an announcement that Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski had put together a proposal to reinvigorate Star Trek.No details came out, other than the fact that JMS had taken the pitch to Paramount, that it would be a completely new direction for Trek and that, for whatever reason, it didn't work out.
Now, JMS's partner in the project, Bryce Zabel, has pulled back the curtain on the project, posting the 14-page pitch on his blog.
At the time, I was, sight unseen, in favor of the project -- I liked B5, and I wanted more Trek, specifically more Trek in the hands of someone other than Rick Berman. Now, though, reading what the project would have involved: Thanks, but no thanks.
In short, it would have been a complete reboot, stripping the franchise back down to a re-cast Kirk, Spock and McCoy on their first five year mission.
To be honest, I wouldn't be nearly as opposed to a Trek re-boot as a lot of people would, though I don't really see a need for it. That said, if it were to be done, create new characters. Go back and do a series in the TOS timeframe about a different crew. Just don't recreate the big three. I'm not even completely opposed to the idea of younger versions of them in an Academy movie, as long as it's a brief look that's clearly in the context of the established versions. I just don't want them rebuilt from scratch.
50 Cent Macs
Per AllHipHopNews:Rap star 50 Cent is entering the world of technology and is currently in negotiations with Apple's CEO Steve Jobs to produce a line of affordable home computers to inner-city residents.
...
"He [Jobs] is setting a new standard in the music business," Lighty added. "Let's just say we get each other."
Sunday, 18 June 2006
On The Hattrack
Today's On The Fasttrack amused me, in light of this week's Hatbag.
SuperBunny
Here's a little something to tide you over as you're waiting for Superman Returns:
Yes, it's Superman In 30 Seconds (and Re-enacted by Bunnies)!
Saturday, 17 June 2006
STS-121 Update
The Flight Readiness Review is complete, and the launch date is July 1.Meaning that launch is now scheduled for less than two weeks away.
Friday, 16 June 2006
Reunited And It Feels So Good
A Trek alum is involved in bringing a Harlan Ellison story to TV. I can only hope this will be as entertaining as it should be, and I don't mean the show itself.
Exit Gates
In case you missed it, Microsoft announced yesterday that To be honest, I don't know enough about the power structure at MS to know what this will mean. But there it is.
Thursday, 15 June 2006
Wiki Wiki Wack
Yes, it's Thursday, and, yes, there's new Hatbag.We've also made a few other changes to the site, including a new strip archive and subscription service.
So, go, check it out, and vote Hatbag.
More iPod Rumors
Per MacRumors:During Hon Hai's annual meeting, Chairman Terry Gou made a startling, albeit brief revelation about Apple's iPod plans.
Apple is about to unveil the next generation of iPod, the best-selling music player in the U.S., using a "none-touch" concept, Gou said without elaborating. --ChinaPost.com.tw
Hon Hai manufacturers Apple's iPods among other things. It is unclear what exactly "about to unveil" means, as the rest of the ChinaPost article discusses financial issues up to 5 years out. Also unclear is what exactly Gou meant by a "none-touch" concept, and whether his "next generation iPod" comments were in reference to a 6G iPod (a supposed incremental upgrade of the 5G) or to the rumored 'true' video iPod.
Hatbag In Black
Cafepress has added new black t-shirts, that use a new printing method that makes them last longer: "With Direct Printing, we print direct-to-fabric with no transfers. The result is a matte image that moves with the garment because the ink is actually embedded in the fabric for ultimate wearable comfort. After a few washes, you will notice the great durability of Direct Printing. That means greater image staying power."Anyway, they're running a coupon on them so we went ahead and designed one. Order by June 23 and use the coupon BLKBETA2 to get $3 off.
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Found Comics
I've been exploring some webcomic communities on Livejournal -- more on that later -- and came across a link to this site, which I thought was kind of funny.
Found Comics takes six random pictures, in order, from an image feed, and then captions them to make a cohesive story. The results can be amusing.
Hatbagpedia
A Hatbag entry has been created on Wikipedia, but it's already been marked for deletion.If there are any Wikipedia members in the audience who would like to see the entry stay, we would appreciate your vote.
Comic Book Sequel
One of the popular bits of swag that came out last year associated with the STS-114 Return to Flight mission was the RTF "movie poster." An engineer at Glenn Research Center created the movie-style poster for his friend, 114 astronaut Charlie Camarda, but it proved so popular with those that saw the design that it was turned into an official NASA product.The engineer, Matthew Melis, has taken another shot at it this year, creating a new poster for STS-121. Not content to replicate what he did last year, Melis has tackled another genre this year, capturing the mission scheduled for next month in a comic-book-cover-inspired design.
You can see the new design in its debut on collectSPACE.
Used tags: collectspace, comics, design, movies, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_114, sts_121
STS-121 Update
Per NASA:NASA officials will host a news conference no earlier than 2 p.m. EDT, Saturday, June 17, following a two-day detailed assessment of the readiness of Space Shuttle Discovery for launch. The briefing will air live on NASA TV from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
The news conference follows the traditional Flight Readiness Review, a thorough assessment of preparations for the mission. The June 16-17 meeting is designed to produce a number of key decisions about Discovery's mission, STS-121, including selection of an official launch date.
As of this writing, the ATW countdown clock is at 17 days, 6 hours. And counting. (Though I guess that could change Saturday, huh?)
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
Editorial Note
Yeah, I'm messing with ATW again.I've restored the comment system on the blog. For now it's a survival-of-the-fittest sort of thing; comment wherever you want. There's been some indication that it's easier to discuss blog posts this way; if you feel that way, post here. If you don't, the board's still there.
I'm hoping that things will work themselves out so that both the blog and the board serve some purpose; I've enjoyed having other people post new topics on the board, and would love to see that continue. Also, the Five Words thing doesn't really work on the blog that well, so there's that, too.
If you have any thoughts on the matter, I'd love to hear them.
Also, I've kind of reached a point with the book and some other stuff where it's taking away from the blog. Hopefully before too long I'll be back and invigorated and all that sort of thing.
Editorial Note II
In case anyone wondered, here's is incontrovertible photographic evidence that my youngest niece is cute. FWIW.
Simpsons Pi
For those who doubt the merit of the amount of tax money spent on NASA, I offer Exhibit A:The Simpsons writers have a perfectionistic streak when it comes to math on the show, even when it's just for a throwaway joke. ... In another episode, Kwik-E-Mart proprietor Apu brags that he can recite pi to 40,000 decimal places. "The last digit is 1," he announces. To get that detail right, the Simpsons writing team faxed a query to NASA, where mathematician David Bailey obliged with the digit in question.
QED.
By the way, that's from an article about math on The Simpsons that is rather interesting.
Monday, 12 June 2006
Concept Cars
Nicole and I went to see Cars Friday night. First, the review: It was good; go see it. I think The Incredibles remains my favorite Pixar flick, though that probably has a lot to do with my own personal biases, but this one ranked right up there with others for me.That said, the one thing I was struck by at one point during the film is that Pixar is reaching the point where they may be getting too good with the CGI realism. There was one scene in particular where it looked like they had put the animated cars on a live-action background. I'm assuming they didn't, but either way, the result was, for me, rather distracting, and pulled me out of the movie for a minute.
Friday, 9 June 2006
iNintendo
MacRumors has a small note about another rumor that Apple may try to merge with Nintendo. While the article notes that they find the rumor unlikely, it does seem to raise a lot of potential. Pretty much all of Nintendo's products overlap to some degree with Apple core competencies -- a living room machine (Wii/Mac Mini), a handheld entertainment device (Game Boy/iPod), software (games/software), and now content download service (Nintendo's planned game download service/iTMS, etc.) While they're not exact matches, new products that included the functionality of both company's products could make them more competitive (and, of course, another thing they both have in common is their shared rival in Redmond).Thursday, 8 June 2006
Mutations
It's Thursday, so this week's new Hatbag strip is now online.Also, vote Hatbag. Please.
STS-121 Update
The external tank currently on the launch pad for STS-121 has received flight certification for the mission, currently scheduled for launch on July 1 at 3:48 p.m. EDT.As of this writing, the ATW countdown clock is at 23 days, 4 hours. And counting.
Alias: Lost Trek Update
Per TrekWeb:Question: I know you can't say much, but is there anything you could even tell us to interrelate you pick a starting point so vast and so rich as Star Trek?
A: There are pockets within the universe, and we know the mythology well, and we are fans of the novels that happen between the movies and all that kind of stuff, which aren't even counted as part of the mythology sometimes and we do know that there is a space to begin to see a lot of the origins of a lot of the things we know and we're going to start there. We're very mindful of being totally true to the mythology and totally true to what's come there, and in a way try to embrace the fact there's such a rich history to it that this is not a case of trying to come in and be so clever that you're going to reinvent everything. It's a case of coming in and using the stuff you know is great and you know really works and not violating anything that's come before it.
Question: So, are we able to say that this is going to be with characters we know or new characters which preceed the characters we know?
A: It will be a bit of both, I think. It will be both.
Wednesday, 7 June 2006
The Once And Future Moon Engine
Per Florida Today:A California company has been awarded a $50 million NASA contract for development of an engine the agency intends to use on two new rockets that will loft astronauts and payloads on missions to the moon and Mars.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc. of Canoga Park, Calif., will build the J-2X, an upgraded version of the engine that powered the second and third stages of the Saturn 5 rockets that launched Apollo astronauts to the moon.
NASA intends to use the J-2X to power the second stage of a new rocket called the Crew Launch Vehicle that will be built to launch Apollo-style capsules that will carry astronauts on missions to the International Space Station, the moon, Mars and other celestial destinations.
The cost-reimbursement contract extends until Nov. 30. The money will be used to start conceptual design of the engine and procure long lead items for the J-2X.
I'm irrationally excited about this -- I just cannot wait for J-2 testing to begin again at Stennis. That, to me, will be one of the biggest signs that we're actually moving towards going back to the moon; when one of the engines that carried us there last time is fired again at its old testing grounds. I'm guessing, also, that the J-2 will be one of the first components of the new system to begin serious testing, or, at least, one of the first non-shuttle-based components.
Partners?
Here's an interesting article about the future of international space cooperation. A reporter on Monday asked NASA administrator Mike Griffin about whether Russia would be welcome to work with NASA on missions beyond the International Space Station. His reply, per the article:Griffin replied that in his travels to Russia since becoming administrator, he also has spent a good deal of time with senior officials at both Roskosmos and the S.P.Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia. With regard to robotic missions, he said, "frankly, we welcome coordination with any of the international partners who want to work with us."
He said it is a "rare NASA science mission that doesn't have a substantial international component to it," but added that it has been a long time "since the Russians have expressed any interest in planetary explorations, so with the energy dollars that are flowing into Russia, if they are interested in revitalizing their very proud history of planetary exploration, I'd say I'm all for it and we would absolutely look forward to working with them."
Griffin added that on several occasions he has said "the Russians have been great partners on (the International Space Station)." It was a tough learning experience, however, he noted.
"I was on board at the start of that learning experience and it was a tough 10 years," he said, "but the two nations have learned to work together and have forged a very effective station partnership, and the Russians have really stepped up to the plate after our loss of Columbia."
Griffin said he sees "no reason why, in the robotic, lunar and Mars programs, we cannot do the same - and I'm very willing to do that."
So, um, did Griffin really say that comma in the last sentence there? Up until then, all he talked about was robotic exploration, and if you assume that comma is not there, that's still all he's talking about. Fascinating.
Tuesday, 6 June 2006
New U2
Yawn.
Comic Coverage
Even though I'm all too often suckered into reading them, I'm not the world's biggest fan of big comics "events." As much as I oppose them in principal, I find a certain train-wreck appeal to stuff like Infinite Crisis and House Of M, etc.While I may read the actual event series, though, I'm much less likely to read the tie-in stuff; and when I do, it's because I'm interested in a particular story, not because I'm interested in how it fits into said event.
That said, I really do like something Marvel's been doing with their last few events. It started with House of M, for which they published a one-shot that was an issue of the in-continuity publication Pulse, with stories about what was going on written as they would be covered in the comics. Not a new idea -- DC's Death of Superman NewsTime beat it by over a decade -- and, to be honest, not really even that well done, but a cool idea, and worth the 50 cents or whatever they charged for it.
In the post-House-of-M Decimation series, though, they took it one step further, with a miniseries that focused on a reporter covering the post-decimation world. Yeah, there was mutant stuff going on in the book, but it was very much focused on the reporter's point of view.
Now, with the latest big event, Civil War, they're doing it again with the Front Line series, which I'll definitely be checking out.
For whatever reason, newspapers have long been a major part of the world of comic books, but Marvel has really done a great job of using them in their titles -- it's entirely possible that newspapers are more relevant in the Marvel universe than in the real world these days.
Former Future
I went yesterday and took some pictures at the ribbon-cutting for a "CEV" mock-up that LockMart has donated to the Space & Rocket Center here. Turns out, though, that it's not really a CEV, but a leftover Orbital Space Plane test article.That said, I got to have my name and pics on the front page of collectSPACE, and the link was picked up by Fark.com, though the discussion there wasn't much to write home about. (Though it would be easier to take it seriously if it were at all informed.)
Used tags: collectspace, constellation, orion, photography, space, ussrc
Monday, 5 June 2006
Moonport Florida
NASA soon will decide how to start converting Kennedy Space Center back into a moonport, narrowing options for launch pads needed to stage human expeditions to the lunar surface.
The transformation required to launch two new rockets could be subtle. Or it could be sweeping.
A clearer picture will emerge in coming weeks, but this much is certain: The choices will change the face of NASA's prime launch operations center for decades.
...
Coming up first: The selection of a pad for a Crew Launch Vehicle.
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Among options under consideration: modifying one of NASA's twin shuttle launch complexes -- either pad 39A or 39B.
A new pad also could be built. Launch Complex 40, an abandoned Titan rocket pad at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, could be converted.
But pad 39B appears to be the leading candidate.
A May 12 forecast from the KSC Procurement Office indicates NASA is considering awarding contracts in 2007 to demolish the launch tower and a 100-foot-tall rotating service structure at the pad.
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NASA Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said pad 39B could be handed over for modifications next spring.
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Another factor: whether NASA chooses to have a second shuttle ready to fly a rescue mission should something go awry on a Hubble flight. [Which would require shuttles on two pads simultaneously.]
The one thing the article doesn't address is what will be done about a pad for the heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle. Perhaps 39A would be dedicated to the big rocket. A set-up like that, it seems, would limit how frequently you could launch either one, but these are designed to support a different schedule than the shuttle, so that might not be a problem.
Everybody Else Is Doing It...
At first glance, I thought this was going to be one of those "Everybody else is going to the moon, so why don't we?" stories about yet another country deciding to add an entry to the fleet of robotic spacecraft that will be heading moonward in the next few years (or, more accurately, which has already started).Upon further reading, it looks, though, like it's one of those "Show me the money" stories about the Russian space program. This would be very cool if they do it, but I'll believe it when it happens.
Russia's planning a super "Luna-Glob" mission to the moon for 2012, which will consist of an orbiter, 12 impactors and a lander. It'll do everything from gather longitudinal seismic data from the Apollo 11 and 12 sites to check the southern polar region for water ice.
And, as if that' not ambitious enough, it's coming on the tail of a 2009 launch of a sample return flight to the Martian moon Phobos.
Cool stuff, if it happens. (Though a 2009 mission, one assumes, would have to be well into development.)
Thursday, 1 June 2006
Wedding Cashers
It's Thursday, so this week's new Hatbag strip is now online.It's also the first day of the month, so the voting results at the two Web directories we're listed on have been reset; a great opportunity for us to move up the polls some. I also got a report this morning that on the TopWebComics site, where you have to identify a character to prove that you're a human being, Seth was one of the options. I'd submitted him for that a while back, but this was the first time I'd heard about him showing up.
Front Row Cat
It's almost like this video was designed to be ATW fodder -- it features a Mac and a tiny kitty.
STS-121 Update
The STS-121 mission today passed a Debris Verificaion Review, bringing Discovery one step closer to launch.There will be a Design Certificaion Review for the external tank next week, annd the all-important mission Flight Readiness Review is scheduled for June 16 and 17.
At 2:49 CDT today, it will be exactly one month until the scheduled launch. (You'll notice I've started the countdown clock at the top of the left sidebar.)
Thursday, 29 June 2006
Editorial Note
(Read Entry)
Space Cat-Fight!
(Read Entry)
Taking The High Road
(Read Entry)
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
Lunar Support
(Read Entry)
Clouded Vista
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 28 June 2006
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
Supes Confession Day
(Read Entry)
Shuttle Trivia
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 27 June 2006
Song Challenge!
(Read Entry)
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
Super Poll
(Read Entry)
Too Much Stuff
(Read Entry)
If No Rumors
(Read Entry)Monday, 26 June 2006
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
Progress Towards ISS
(Read Entry)
Next Stevenote
(Read Entry)Saturday, 24 June 2006
Tomorrow Is Doomsday
(Read Entry)
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)Friday, 23 June 2006
Return To The Moon
(Read Entry)
Chasing Dreams
(Read Entry)
Steve Versus Hollywood
(Read Entry)Thursday, 22 June 2006
SuperQueue
(Read Entry)
Moons Get Names
(Read Entry)
Kirk, Bourne Again
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 21 June 2006
Space Museum
(Read Entry)
Of Gods And Men
(Read Entry)
Another Box
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 20 June 2006
All These (Financial) Worlds
(Read Entry)
Pearls Before Swine
(Read Entry)
Pam's Turn
(Read Entry)
PC Cartoons
(Read Entry)Monday, 19 June 2006
Better Mileage
(Read Entry)
Re-Boot The Universe
(Read Entry)
50 Cent Macs
(Read Entry)Sunday, 18 June 2006
On The Hattrack
(Read Entry)
SuperBunny
(Read Entry)Saturday, 17 June 2006
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)Friday, 16 June 2006
Reunited And It Feels So Good
(Read Entry)
Exit Gates
(Read Entry)Thursday, 15 June 2006
Wiki Wiki Wack
(Read Entry)
More iPod Rumors
(Read Entry)
Hatbag In Black
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Found Comics
(Read Entry)
Hatbagpedia
(Read Entry)
Comic Book Sequel
New poster for STS-121 inspired by comics. (Read Entry)
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 13 June 2006
Editorial Note
(Read Entry)
Editorial Note II
(Read Entry)
Simpsons Pi
(Read Entry)Monday, 12 June 2006
Concept Cars
(Read Entry)Friday, 9 June 2006
iNintendo
(Read Entry)Thursday, 8 June 2006
Mutations
(Read Entry)
STS-121 Update
(Read Entry)
Alias: Lost Trek Update
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 7 June 2006
The Once And Future Moon Engine
(Read Entry)
Partners?
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 6 June 2006
New U2
(Read Entry)
Comic Coverage
(Read Entry)
Former Future
Pictures of fake CEV at USSRC. (Read Entry)Monday, 5 June 2006
Moonport Florida
(Read Entry)
Everybody Else Is Doing It...
(Read Entry)Thursday, 1 June 2006
Wedding Cashers
(Read Entry)
Front Row Cat
(Read Entry)