Saturday, December 30, 2006
Amber Waves of Grain...
That used to be the state of Indiana's slogan. Before that it was There's more than corn in Indiana. I'm not sure what it is nowadays... Anyway, the weather has been very mild up here this Christmas. Two years ago we got 2 feet of snow the day after we arrived, but no snow this year. I was up bright-and-early today with the sunrise. I've seen better, but this one wasn't so bad. I snapped a picture of it even. Nothing much else to report. We'll be home soon.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Face Time
Yet another picture of Molly on console during the space shuttle assembly flight to the International Space Station. Why don't you ever see pictures of me on console? Because I work too many weekends and nights!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Flight Controller Extraordinaire
STS-116/ISS 12A.1 is on Flight Day 7. The original plan was to undock the space shuttle from the space station on Monday, but considering some problems that have come up, there is talk of adding an additional docked day and space walk.
Here is a picture of Molly from a few days ago in Mission Control. Her OJT (On the Job Training) is Cory. Molly's shift is from 5am to 2pm... so, I've been getting into work a few hours before everyone else! You would be amazed how much more productive you can be between 5 and 7 am! Below is a screenshot I took from the NASA channel. Molly is in the front on the left. 
You can see the troublesome Solar Array on the left screen. If I haven't mentioned it before, or if you are curious as to what Molly does in Mission Control, here is the Wikipedia entry for her position, ADCO. My position isn't listed in Wikipedia, but we're mentioned in this article by James Oberg.
Here is a picture of Molly from a few days ago in Mission Control. Her OJT (On the Job Training) is Cory. Molly's shift is from 5am to 2pm... so, I've been getting into work a few hours before everyone else! You would be amazed how much more productive you can be between 5 and 7 am! Below is a screenshot I took from the NASA channel. Molly is in the front on the left. 
You can see the troublesome Solar Array on the left screen. If I haven't mentioned it before, or if you are curious as to what Molly does in Mission Control, here is the Wikipedia entry for her position, ADCO. My position isn't listed in Wikipedia, but we're mentioned in this article by James Oberg.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
New Purchase
Molly and I couldn't resist some of the after Thanksgiving sales, we we broke down and went High Def. We had plenty of spare room, so we went with the Sony Grand WEGA 55", 1080 pixel, Rear-Projection, HDTV.So far we're really happy with it. We still don't have any sort of cable television, and we do not intend on getting it. There are actually quite a few broadcast HD channels that we get - and that's not even including all the religious and Spanish channels!
In other news, the Space Shuttle Discovery (mission STS 116/ISS 12A.1) launched last night. It was quite an impressive night launch. Molly will be working the mission, and if I come across any snapshots of her on console, I'll post them.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Bring on the shuttle
Today's Launch minus 1 (day) Mission Management Team gave the Space Shuttle Discovery a Go for launch which is scheduled for tomorrow, December 7 at 8:35 PM Central Time. This will arguably be one of the most complex assembly missions of the International Space Station yet, and Molly's going to be right in the middle of it! Also, today NASA announced plans to build a permanent moon base. Exciting day!
Here is an Op. Ed. in USA Today from the NASA Administrator:
Opposing view: 15 cents a day - That’s what the space program costs each person in the USA.
USA Today (Opinion Page)
By Michael Griffin
America is a frontier nation. Two hundred years ago, the frontier was whatever Lewis & Clark would see the next day. One hundred years ago, it was in Alaska, labeled as "Seward's Folly" when it was purchased in 1867. Today, the human frontier is space, with the Apollo missions to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the development of the International Space Station today, or future missions to build an outpost on the moon.
Our great-great-grandparents accepted the challenge of their frontier. Will today's generation do less? And if so, why? To save 15 cents per day? To save six-tenths of 1% of the federal budget? Because that is the cost to the average citizen of our nation's space program. Whether we wish to explore space or not, to say that we cannot afford space exploration is ridiculous.Almost four years ago, our nation faced some of the darkest days known to our space program with the loss of the shuttle Columbia and its crew.
In the months that followed, there was an extensive discourse concerning the lack of clear, coherent and compelling goals for the nation's human spaceflight program. We now have those goals. Congress has charged NASA to go beyond the International Space Station, to return to the moon.
Today's investments in space exploration are, like the Louisiana Purchase, a down payment on our future. We are focusing NASA's investments on key technologies that will enable our nation to bring the solar system into our economic sphere and for scientific discovery. The geography of our solar system dictates that our first, halting steps will be to the moon — three days journey away from Earth. A lunar outpost might follow soon afterward, allowing us to exploit the resources and vantage point of the moon.In the coming century, we must make important but careful investments of time, energy and resources when it comes to the exploration of space. Make no mistake: America is still a frontier nation. And space is today's frontier.
Michael Griffin is the NASA administrator.
Here is an Op. Ed. in USA Today from the NASA Administrator:
Opposing view: 15 cents a day - That’s what the space program costs each person in the USA.
USA Today (Opinion Page)
By Michael Griffin
America is a frontier nation. Two hundred years ago, the frontier was whatever Lewis & Clark would see the next day. One hundred years ago, it was in Alaska, labeled as "Seward's Folly" when it was purchased in 1867. Today, the human frontier is space, with the Apollo missions to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the development of the International Space Station today, or future missions to build an outpost on the moon.
Our great-great-grandparents accepted the challenge of their frontier. Will today's generation do less? And if so, why? To save 15 cents per day? To save six-tenths of 1% of the federal budget? Because that is the cost to the average citizen of our nation's space program. Whether we wish to explore space or not, to say that we cannot afford space exploration is ridiculous.Almost four years ago, our nation faced some of the darkest days known to our space program with the loss of the shuttle Columbia and its crew.
In the months that followed, there was an extensive discourse concerning the lack of clear, coherent and compelling goals for the nation's human spaceflight program. We now have those goals. Congress has charged NASA to go beyond the International Space Station, to return to the moon.
Today's investments in space exploration are, like the Louisiana Purchase, a down payment on our future. We are focusing NASA's investments on key technologies that will enable our nation to bring the solar system into our economic sphere and for scientific discovery. The geography of our solar system dictates that our first, halting steps will be to the moon — three days journey away from Earth. A lunar outpost might follow soon afterward, allowing us to exploit the resources and vantage point of the moon.In the coming century, we must make important but careful investments of time, energy and resources when it comes to the exploration of space. Make no mistake: America is still a frontier nation. And space is today's frontier.
Michael Griffin is the NASA administrator.
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