Watching the high darkness . . .

And BOOM, there it was! Up in the sky, right on time. Precisely on time.

Late evening, 8JUN2008. I was set up on the tool box of my truck, 8x40 binoculars in hand, glancing at my watch occasionally. Then, there was a BRIGHT light peeking out from behind a tree, kind of, no, Exactly to the northwest. Moving? Yes, moving FAST. I fine tuned the focus of my glasses. I couldn't make out any detail - - It was just a very bright, white light. Did I say it was fast? I've seen jet aircraft at low altitude go across my sky faster, but never with any altitude. I watched it the entire sweep. I was a little close to the trees to my immediate SE, but the light was dimming rapidly at that point. I lost it behind the trees about the time it got too dim to see.

I had seen the International Space Station, with the Space Shuttle Discovery docked. Real time, no video, no film - - live action from outer space, boys and girls.

Total duration of this viewing? Maybe 40 seconds, perhaps over 50. Who cares? I saw it. It was very worthwhile. My thanks to Elder Son for giving me the time and spotting information. I was kind of, sort of, uh, PROUD, in a strange way. I've been quietly advocating for the space program since before we really HAD such a thing.

I've been disappointed that the effort got stalled for so long. But this, this was tangible, visible evidence that we DO have human beings up there, out beyond the atmosphere. Okay, maybe not in way far, DEEEEP Space, but, right on out there. And the dream lives on.

I climbed down from my truck bed and headed into the house. I was smiling.

I hope your evening went as well.

JPG

Space Shuttle Columbia and Destination Moon

Over at Elder Son's blog, Better and Better, he reminds us of the significance of this date, five years past. He especially celebrates the efforts and projected goals of the the space program in general and the space shuttles in particular. That is a worthy read, and it inspired me to write this post. To better understand my references, I suggest you click the link and read Matt's post. I'll be referring to it. Go ahead, we'll wait right here.

Okay, now - - Personal and historic tie-ins. On 1FEB2003, while Matt was writing his police reports, Holly and I were motoring down Interstate 35. We'd gotten underway early, wanting to arrive at my brother Jerry's place in Georgetown in time for lunch. The music CD in the player ended, and my Belovéd Bride was selecting another. While she did, I punched a few presets on the radio. I heard something about the tragedy which had befallen the space shuttle and immediately turned up the volume. I more or less drove on autopilot while we sat and listened to the tragedy and the news medias' attempts to unravel the available information.

Our arrival in Georgetown was delayed, due to my driving slower while concentrating on the radio reports. Our tardiness went unnoticed, as Jerry and his wife Barbara were glued to the TV screen. I'm certain we had some kind of lunch that day, but I recall nothing of it. The details of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster have been well documented, both on that day and in the ensuing years, and I'll not try to recapitulate them here.

I am struck by a couple of points. Matt closed his post with, "When the ship lifts, all bills are paid. No regrets." This is a quote from “The Notebooks of Lazarus Long,” a segment of the novel, Time Enough for Love, by Robert A. Heinlein . It is precisely suited as a fitting memorial for those brave souls who died while pushing the envelope of space travel, with all that implies.

It is significant that Heinlein, the author, was an active participant in the development of the US space program. He was been called the Dean of Science Fiction and The Grand Master of Science Fiction. His writings from the 1930s onward urged the human spirit forward, beyond the bounds of Earth, first toward the planets, and thence to the stars.

Heinlein's activism was well known and led to his participation in the production of the first scientifically feasible space travel motion picture, “Destination Moon,” 1950. He wrote the screenplay, based on his two 1947 publications: the novel, Rocket Ship Galileo and the short story, also titled “Destination Moon.” Heinlein also served as a technical advisor on the film.

It should be mentioned here that Heinlein was himself an engineer and scientist, having graduated the US Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1929. He served actively on destroyers and aircraft carriers for five years. Found to have tuberculosis, he was discharged. It is arguable that Heinlein's writings and the movie especially, influenced many budding young scientists and fliers who would one day strive to work in the space program.

As a child, I saw "Destination Moon" in theater release and was utterly enchanted. It was decades later when I saw it again, and I must confess I missed the historical significance of a certain scene. When Doctor Charles Cargraves stepped onto the surface of the moon, leaving the space vehicle (Oh, hell. It was 1950. THEY called it The Rocket Ship.) He said, “By the grace of God, and the name of the United States of America, I take possession of this planet on behalf of, and for the benefit of, all mankind.”

Then, in 1969, the following line echoed across a quarter million miles of space when the Apollo 11 crew read aloud the plaque they left behind on the moon: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."

No, not the FIRST words uttered from the surface of another planet, but truly momentous. I think they rank right up there with, “That's one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.”

I've been unable to confirm that Robert Anson Heinlein had any influence on the writing on the commemorative plaque. We do know that he was present at many NASA functions and that he was welcome in many project offices.

Yes, I'll toast the memory of Columbia and her gallant crew. And I feel much the same as Matt expressed in his closing. Put another way: “Let us not mourn the fact that they are dead. Let us instead thank God that such people lived.”

1FEB2008

Space Shuttle Challenger

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven of its crew members: flight commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee; pilot Michael Smith; Ronald McNair; Ellison Onizuka; Judith Resnik; Gregory Jarvis; and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
From Charter News

A BBC News report was typical of most news broadcasts, claiming that, “The explosion was witnessed by millions on live TV.”

Nothing can take away from the tragedy of the fiery breakup of the shuttle and the death of the entire crew. These men and women are to be honored for their dedication and courage, and for the very real contributions they made to the Space Program. The seven would be better honored, however, if the information repeated, rehearsed, and rebroadcast for the past 22 years was a little more accurate.

An interesting article by James Oberg, NBC News space analyst, brings together several myths concerning the Challenger disaster and at least partially debunks them. This is no conspiracy theorist spreading wild eyed allegations of sinister plots. It is rather a tale of bureaucracy run rampant, to the cost of the truth. It is a sad fact that in the wake of every tragedy in which there was governmental involvement, there is an immediate scurrying about, putting a bit better spin on the matter, all in the spirit of covering one's ass, and full disclosure be damned.

Mr. Oberg's article confronts seven myths surrounding the Challenger disaster, and seeks to set the record straight. He tells us - - :

1. Few people actually saw the Challenger tragedy unfold live on television.


2. The shuttle did not explode in the common definition of that word.


3. The flight, and the astronauts’ lives, did not end at that point, 73 seconds after launch.


4. The design of the booster, while possessing flaws subject to improvement, was neither especially dangerous if operated properly, nor the result of political interference.


5. Replacement of the original asbestos-bearing putty in the booster seals was unrelated to the failure.


6. There were pressures on the flight schedule, but none of any recognizable political origin.


7. Claims that the disaster was the unavoidable price to be paid for pioneering a new frontier were self-serving rationalizations on the part of those responsible for incompetent engineering management — the disaster should have been avoidable.

Each of these misconceptions perpetuated by the media – with little or NO correction by any agency of the government – is worthy of a lengthy article. I am most interested in the first three points.

1. The shuttle launch was NOT being broadcast as it happened, except for a satellite feed available only to those with the properly configured dishes. Christa McAuliffe, being the “First Teacher in Space,” a live feed from CNN was made available to and viewed at many public schools. The various news sources WERE video recording the launch, and tapes were broadcast within minutes, and perhaps seconds, after the breakup.

2. There was no actual explosion in the sense of a detonation. The disastrous fuel leak led to an immediate fire and huge fireball, causing separation of boosters from the shuttle, and the breakup and destruction of the entire vehicle. A large part of the shuttle itself was virtually intact, though certainly not airworthy.


3. The breakup, a minute 13 seconds after launch, at 48,000 feet altitude, was certainly NOT when the crew died. The crew compartment peaked at 65,000 feet and only then started downward. It impacted on the ocean's surface some two minutes 45 seconds after the fuel tank ignited.

The cockpit voice recordings have never been released, so the general public cannot know exactly how long any of the shuttle crew remained conscious once the breakup began. It IS known that of the four emergency Personal Egress Air Packs recovered, three had been manually activated. At least some of the crew were alive, conscious, and were doing what they could to survive.

The point is moot for the Challenger personnel, for there were no ejection seats and indeed, no personal parachutes aboard. Modified SR-71 Blackbird ejection seats and full pressure suits were used on the first four shuttle orbital missions, which were considered test flights, but they were removed for the operational missions that followed. It was over two years later that the design of a crew bailout system was approved for use on subsequent missions.

Again, these points, and the four others, are not the ravings of some paranoid writer, trying to drum up interest for a new “exposé” book. The sources are NOT super secret and ultra confidential; the data are all available to anyone with Internet access. If you can read this, you can access Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com or other search engines, and research the allegations made in Mr. Oberg's article.

My purpose is not to attack the shuttle program nor the space program in general. I feel it is beneficial to humankind that we continue our questing into space. With such massive sums of our tax money being spent, though, it is not unreasonable to expect open and honest disclosures about the program. Those who die in the service of our country and of mankind deserve no less.