Browsing Posts in Ministry of Science

It looks like the problems with Space Shuttle Discovery’s external tank have been understood and are well underway to being fixed. Discovery is scheduled to roll out to the pad on February 1 and launch on February 24. I changed my flight (for the third time — I love Southwest’s easy change policy. I never [...]

Russia launched 31 of the 74 space launches this year. The US and China each launched 15. This cool montage of their launches shows their secret. Santa is working for the Russians. Thanks Universe Today!

Although Discovery did not launch in November, I had an amazing trip and met a great group of people. I took a ton of pictures (3000+) and really enjoyed my 100-400mm lens rental. Anyway, my photo set can be found here. Enjoy!

Absolutely stunning videos! You may want to pop this video into its own window and watch in high definition.

I am really focused on this right now. Obsessed, perhaps. Link. DATE…….WINDOW OPEN…IN PLANE……WINDOW CLOSE..DOCKING 11/30/10…03:57:46 AM…04:02:44 AM…04:07:44 AM…Flight Day 3 docking ………………………………………………………..04:10:54 AM…FD 4 12/01/10…03:35:12 AM…03:40:12 AM…03:45:12 AM…FD 3 12/02/10…03:12:36 AM…03:14:30 AM…03:19:30 AM…FD 3 ………………………………………………………..03:22:40 AM…FD 4 12/03/10…02:46:58 AM…02:51:58 AM…02:56:58 AM…FD 3 12/04/10…02:26:17 AM…02:27:11 AM…02:31:17 AM…FD 3 ………………………………………………………..02:34:26 AM…FD 4 12/05/10…01:58:44 AM…02:03:44 AM…02:08:44 AM…FD [...]

I’m in Florida for the last launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. I was selected (presumably at random) by NASA to participate in a Tweetup. We’ve had a few launch delays caused by mechanical issues and weather but we are all hoping that tomorrow at 3:04:01 PM EDT Discovery will roar off the pad and we [...]

I discovered Watching the World Wake up a few months ago and love this blog. The author is based in the Salt Lake City area and often writes about the geology, botany, and what ever else grabs his interest. Like me, his interests are very eclectic and wide ranging and he often runs down tangents [...]

After finding a site to view the launch and marking in on the GPS so we could find it again on Monday morning, we drove east from Titusville across to Merritt Island. Merritt Island is home to the Kennedy Space Space Center. In most cases where the government needs large tracts of land for safety [...]

Caroline, Andrew and I stayed in Cocoa, Florida for the the next few days. It was a cheap motel, but perfect for our needs. My first order of business was to find a good spot to view the launch. We drove to Titusville and found a park you can see the launch pads and massive [...]

Great video of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupting. I suggest watching the video in full screen and watch for some spectacular lightning at the end during a plinian eruption (named after Pliny the Elder’s observations of Vesuvius burying Pompeii). This video was shot for British Channel 4 News. Blogger Dean Armstrong has been in that valley [...]