NASA lands final Shuttle

Earlier this morning the Space Shuttle Program came to an end.

Atlantis landed around 6 AM Eastern this morning. If you missed the landing here are a couple of videos courtesy of NASA.





A great question was just asked at the NASA press conference. Do you think we will appreciate what the Space Shuttle did or it will go the way of Mercury and Gemini which have been somewhat forgotten as Apollo gets the recognition. Will the Shuttle get overshadowed by whatever comes next? As amazing a vehicle as the Space Shuttle is I have a feeling we will look back and respect it more looking back at it. It certainly was way ahead of its time. I honestly don't believe we will see a spacecraft with its capabilities in my lifetime or that of my kids.

When do you think NASA will send astronauts into space again? Will we ever go back to the moon? When will we get to Mars?

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JFK's Challenge to NASA

By 1961 the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union was well under way but even then few would have dreamed of what ended up happening by the end of the decade. On this date in 1961 John F. Kennedy put forward a goal for NASA and the country to chase. You can find an 8 minute clip of the speech on the JFK Library website.

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.

It is one of the iconic quotes in American history and is meaningful even today as America ponders its future in space. Former Apollo commanders Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Eugence Cernan have penned an open letter voicing their disappointment about the future of NASA.

While the future of manned space flights from NASA is far from set in stone they did announce a plan earlier today to explore Asteroids starting in 2016.

Earlier today the JFK Library also released audio of JFK discussing the space program with NASA officials.
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Space Shuttle Challenger

At roughly this moment 25 years ago Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff killing all 7 on board. It was the first time NASA has suffered casualties during an actual flight. The 3 deaths on board what was later dubbed Apollo 1 happened as part of a training mission. Space Shuttle Columbia exploded in 2003. All 3 missions are remembered by NASA each January. 

Monument at Arlington National Cemetery

Barack Obama released a statement this week honoring the men and women who have lost their lives on NASA missions. 

We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye, and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

That afternoon President Reagan addressed the nation from the Oval Office. The State of the Union was scheduled for that night but wasn't delivered. Reagan mentions in this video that he changed his mind and decided to not deliver it that night but a NBC news clip embedded below says congressmen told them they were not interested in politics that day. I really want to read up more on this. 

The Shuttle fleet will be retired later this year. As I have mentioned in the past, I am a big suppoter of manned space flights. 

As I have also mentioned in the past, I almost got to see a shuttle launch from very close to Cape Canveral. I was in Florida (in Orlando to be exact) in the week leading up to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing and was not able to attend any of the festivities at Cape Canaveral. Even the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour that I went to see ended up being called off 5 minutes before launch time. That wasn't even the worst of it, the 40 minute drive back to Orlando took us 4 hours because of the traffic backup exiting from the vicinity of Cape Canaveral. I did mange to catch the launch of the Shuttle from the airport. A huge crowd gathered at the airport gate as we all looked out the window and saw the orange glow shooting towards the sky. It was an amazing site watching all the planes grounded on the runway as they waited for the shuttle to clear their airspace

YouTube has CNN's original live broadcast. They also have CBS and NBC News coverage. They are all in multiple parts but I have embedded the first part of each video below. You can access the rest from there. 





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On this date 41 years ago....

Anyone who knows me knows about my fascination with the Apollo Program.

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Today is the 41st anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon and Neil Armstrong taking the most famous first steps in the history of mankind. Are Neil Armstrong's first words from the surface of the moon the most famous quotes in history? Hard to argue against it right? What else would rank up there? "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind" simply can not be topped. Right?

One of my biggest regrets in life will always be that I was in Florida (in Orlando to be exact) in the week leading up to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing and was not able to attend any of the festivities at Cape Canevral. Even the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour that I went to see ended up being called off 5 minutes before launch time. That wasn't even the worst of it, the 40 minute drive back to Orlando took us 4 hours because of the traffic backup exiting from the vicinity of Cape Canevral. I did mange to catch the launch of the Shuttle from the airport. A huge crowd gathered at the airport gate as we all looked out the window and saw the orange glow shooting towards the sky. It was an amazing site watching all the planes grounded on the runway as they waited for the shuttle to clear their airspace.

What more is there to say about Apollo 11 that hasn't already been said? I'll direct you to my post from last year on this same subject. We've all seen the clips of Neil Armstrong's first step but one thing I do like to share with people every year is the speech that was prepared for Richard Nixon by speech writer William Safire. It was a speech prepared just in case there was an  accident while they were on the moon and the astronauts could not be brought back to earth. It really is a fascinating read.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

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"Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here..."

"Houston, we have a problem."

Those words were made famous by Tom Hanks starring as astronaut Jim Lovell in the 1995 Ron Howard movie "Apollo 13". It was a great line for Hollywood but the line it was adapted from was just as dramatic and the dangers very real. On April 13th 1970, Jim Lovell and his crew were nearly 200,000 miles away away from earth when he said "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here..." Know one knew for sure what exactly had happened at that point but an unprecedented rescue mission was immediately underway. Everyone involved knew the dangers of manned space flight but up until this point nothing of this nature had ever transpired. We've seen the movie and even read up on it but it is an incident that has largely been forgotten by the world. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that no one died and they did manage to get the 3 astronauts back to earth.

The whole Apollo program was a great advancement for science. Man walked on the moon way back in 1969 but unfortunately we've been no where close to going back since 1971. We've heard all the arguments against space travel. We've heard everything from the economy to funding for other programs. What people fail to realize is that those Gemini and Apollo programs effected technology back on earth too. The money spent on research for those missions had other practical uses for every day life just like any future manned space flights would. For decades every American administration has spent a ridiculous amount of money on national defense. There are so many people working in the military industry whether it is building planes, weapons or body armor. There are so many people working in this industry that war almost becomes a necessity to justify it and so do the ridiculous defense budgets. I mean where would all these people go if the defense budget was cut like every other program? Why can't we redirect some of this money towards NASA and their research?

Earlier today Neil Armstrong who was the first man to walk on the moon, criticized President Obama's space policy. The views do hold some weight as Neil Armstrong doesn't really speak publicly much anymore and for him to do it on this anniversary is pretty significant.

Where do you sit on manned space flight? Do you want to see it happen again? Do you see it happening in your lifetime? 



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Has the United States run out of countries to bomb?

I was reading the Huffington Post and saw the following headline:

NASA To Bomb The Moon

The first thought that ran through my mind.....has the United States ran out of countries to bomb? Check out the article though and if you have access to a telescope you might want to bring it out for this one.

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A Giant leap for Mankind

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Its been 40 years since those words and the more famous "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." were spoken allegedly from the surface the moon. Granted I am a conspiracy theorist from time to time as far as this subject is concerned but I am a big time NASA "fan" as far as manned missions are concerned and have become more of a believer the last few years.

I took a drive out to to the Kennedy Space Center in an attempt to see the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor a week ago yesterday only to have it be postponed due to weather. I did get a chance to see the launch from Orlando Airport when it eventually happened and even from about 50 miles away it was an amazing site to see.

It is easy for people to dismiss the Apollo program and the Space program as a waste of money but it is far from that. The technological and medical advances that came as a result of the space race are still felt today. Who knows what advances a trip back to the Moon or even Mars bring?

Will we ever go back? Everyone knows how much I disagree with George W. Bush on pretty much everything but I applauded his call for a return to the moon as far as manned flights are concerned. I hope to see it happen during my lifetime.

I don't know if you are aware but a speech was prepared for Richard Nixon just in case the mission failed and the astronauts were stranded in space. Take a look at the speech here.

Tune in to the History Channel today. Some really good programming on the way. They are airing the original live broadcast of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. How cool is that? That is followed by a 2 hour show that follows the Apollo 11 crew from training to the end of their mission.

As always you can leave a comment here, reach me by e-mail or contact me via Twitter.

July 20th 1969

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Its been 39 years since those words and the more famous "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." were spoken allegedly from the surface the moon. Granted I am a conspiracy theorist from time to time as far as this subject is concerned but I am a big time NASA "fan" as far as manned missions are concerned.

Will we ever go back? Everyone knows how much I disagree with Dubya on pretty much everything but I applauded his call for a return to the moon as far as manned flights are concerned. I hope to see it happen during my lifetime.