The SIL sent me this cool behind-the-scenes video of AstroRobonaut. COOL!
Kind of makes you think that maybe there really are viable alternatives to manned space flight. As you can see in the video, this thing has some pretty fine motor skills.
I think we need a whole army of these to be built to fight the wild herd of Space Bigfoots that threaten our freedom.
Our defenders against the Space Bigfoot threat
Here’s my buddy Sam on NASA TV talking about the batteries the latest shuttle mission took up to the International Space Station. It’s ok…I zoned out a little when he was giving the dimensions too. I woke up when I heard about the nickel hydrogen cells. But after that it was all “blah blah blah….lasers….blah blah blah….ball bearings”.
Lasers and ball bearings are what basically run the whole shuttle.
Sam’s a super smart guy–the first person I consult whenever I have a battery question or can’t find my charger.
Just kidding you, Sam. As I’ve said before, I’m pretty much in awe of anyone who work in the space program. To me, it’s as if each of them could build a shuttle by hand all by themselves. Hopefully, the fact that both of my readers will now see this video will help propel you to fame!
We were very lucky Discovery launched this morning, considering there were a couple of no-go periods leading up to liftoff due to some communications issues. In order to make the 6:21 am launch we had to wake up at 2:45 so we could make it through the gates at KSC by 4:30. It would not have been fun to have rolled 8 adults and 2 kids under three out of bed that early for the launch to have been scrubbed. The weather was absolutely perfect–clear skies and just a slight breeze. It also made the waiting a little easier to see the Space Station fly over at 6:04.
The video isn’t as good as NASA will post later, but enjoy!
Special thanks to the SIL for securing an employee’s car pass and to the Brevard Rugby Club for lending us a 15 passenger van so that my parents and the in-laws could all get in to see the launch!
Update — Hi-res photo of Discovery clearing the tower.
Update II — Video that’s only slightly better than our home video at Space Gizmo. 
Prediction — a pretty short speech that’s very abstract on the details (hardly an outline) that is moving and uplifting…until you realize there aren’t any details. I’m guessing this is pretty much a political effort to attempt to keep folks in these parts positive on his plan until after the November elections.
After that, NASA gets poleaxed.
You have to know it’s the secret dream every freshman studying aerospace engineering to one day have the opportunity to fudge climate data. Now they may get their chance.
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has asked him to “find ways to reach out to dominantly Muslim countries” as the White House pushes the space agency to become a tool of international diplomacy.
Hang on a sec…have to look over my shoulder to see if I can figure out where the guys from Candid Camera or Punk’d have hidden their equipment.
I know I didn’t read something that idiotic. Surely we aren’t supposed to take this seriously.
It gets more and more ridiculous by the day.
From Florida Today’s Space Team Blog
President Obama’s plan to end the space shuttle program and cancel the shuttles’ replacement is troubling enough. More worrisome: the White House budget released last Monday shows little sign of a human space flight program beyond the space station this decade or next. There’s no clear goal to go boldly anywere.
According to my sources, the general feelings around KSC are uncertainty and gloom. The uncertainty is probably the worst part.
Ok…I give up trying to take home video of these things that’s good enough to put on the web and be worth anyone’s time to watch. But it was really cool…like the sun rising. Glad I got to see a night launch!!!
I posted my video of the STS 129 launch a couple of weeks ago. The SIL just posted a link to this footage on her FB page. It’s slightly more dramatic than my video. Then again, I didn’t have time to edit.
STS-129 Ascent Video Highlights from mike interbartolo on Vimeo.
Well, clouds were low, so we couldn’t see every second, but it was nice weather to be out at the beach to watch the Atlantis launch for STS-129. And it was so windy that we never actually heard the launch. Here’s a better video from closer up of the July 4, 2006 launch.
Promiscuous dispersal of your email address – "Sure, you'll get a lot of spam, but deleting spam is a lot easier than finding customers." Wow.
Playgrounds From the 70′s – Totally Awsumness
20,000+ Gmail, Yahoo, AOL Accounts Compromised [ALERT] – No one needs your password for anything. Period.
Plot to Stop Using The Dollar? – I was just thinking the other day that I may be better of getting paid in cigarettes, potato liquor and Levis.
Space Program Needs A Plan, And Fast! – Hmm….maybe we should wait a year or two to buy a house here?
Message In A Bottle Found This Weekend – Pretty cool. I hope my Star Wars action figures wash up some day.
Man arrested for tweeting G20 Pittsburgh cops’ location | No Silence Here – If the police don't want you to know where they are, they should wear invisible cloaks. Duh!
No Sympathy For Polanski – Newscoma – I can't believe even one person on the planet would defend this guy. Good for 'Coma!
Driving down last Saturday, I missed the Shuttle launch by a few hours. I was in Macon Ga and could see a small flame going across the sky, but apparently it’s like the sun is coming up when you watch it here.
The SIL had to go to CA this morning in case Thursday’s landing is there, but before she left she pointed me towards this schedule for future launches. No night Shuttle launches on schedule in the near future, but there are some rocket launches coming up!
