NASA Throws a Yard Sale

NASA announced today that since they don't need them anymore, they are GIVING AWAY their space shuttles. All you have to do is pony up for the shipping and handling. That might be around 30 million bucks. Oh...you have to be a museum to qualify and the Smithsonian already has dibbs on Discovery.

The last big aviation give away was when the Concorde retired. That was easy. There are 13 Concordes left...only three shuttles are on the block. The Government is involved with the shuttles.

Shuttle expert and author Dennis Jenkins was quoted to say:

"The current competition is going to be stupider than Concorde was because the government is involved. Congress will immediately go into an uproar and un-decide for them."

As Shuttle retires there are no plans to replace it. Once again that leaves good ol' Soyuz, the only taxi you can take to get to the International Space Station. U.S. plans to go to Mars and return to the Moon have been scrapped. So if you have kids, you might want to break it to them that they don't have a hoop in Hell of becoming an Astronaut. Maybe their kids will. In the meantime they can play "Community Organizer and Health Care Coordinator".

Shuttle Fini Flights

The Shuttle Atlantis blasted off for the last time yesterday for a planned 12 day mission (STS-132).
There are two remaining flights in the program. Discovery (STS133) will fly on or about 16 September, 2010. Endeavor (STS134) will be the last Shuttle in orbit in mid November, 2010.

I got to see Enterprise at an Edwards AFB air show back in 1977. During the entire course of the program I am sad to report that I never got the chance to see a Shuttle launch nor landing. Damn.Enterprise Roll Out, Edwards AFB, 1977.

Max Launch Abort System

NASA's Max Launch Abort System Test from PopSci.com on Vimeo.

This is a test of a proposed escape system for the Orion Spaceship. Oriion will be the next manned system to replace the Shuttle if it survives budget cuts. The Orion design currently has an escape rocket similar to the Apollo system. MLAS is an alternative answer. Testing of MLAS will continue because it's a separate budget item for NASA. Whether or not Orion goes forward, MLAS will probably be seen on future spacecraft.

Apollo 11

Where were you on 20 July, 1969? I was fishing at Pinto Lake, California with The Boy Scouts. We listened to the landing on the radio. When it was announced that the crew would skip their crew rest and go directly yo the EVA (the moon walk) we beached the boats and haul assed home to be there to see it on TV.

In Honor of the 40th anniversary of the flight of Apollo 11, the First Moon Landing, we humbling offer the following:

The only watch worn on the Moon as an Omega.

The Apollo 12 Lunar EVA checklists featured pictures from Playboy magazineSee check list here.

The lives of Armstrong and Aldrin were saved when Aldrin used his pen to reset the Ascent Engine circuit breaker. It was a Fisher Model AG7E.

Fisher Pens spent $2 million to develop a pen that would work in zero gravity. The Soviets used a pencil.See proof here.

Dr. Eugene Shoemaker, the person who trained the Apollo astronauts in Lunar geology has his remains interned on the moon.

The only person to have golfed on the Moon was Commander Allen Sheppard. He sliced a six iron.

Eugene Cernan was the last person to leave the Moon's surface.

"Tell Cernan, BEEP-BEEP my ass!"
Al Shepard's (Apollo 14)response whenever one of the crew patches for the back-up crew would float out of a locker. Cernan, Evans and Engle had taken care to stash away patches in every single locker and compartment in the spacecraft.

Sheppard was the oldest Astronaut when he commanded Apollo 14.

NASA Celebrates 50th Anniversary

In honor of the 50th anniversary of NASA, I humbly offer this story.


Good Luck Mr. Gorsky

When Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, he not only gave his famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" statement but followed it by several remarks, usually com traffic between him, the other astronauts and Mission Control. Just before he re-entered the Lander, however, he made the enigmatic remark:

"Good luck Mr. Gorsky."

Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs. Over the years many people questioned Armstrong as to what the "Good luck Mr. Gorsky" statement meant, but Armstrong always just smiled.

But, on July 5, 1995 in Tampa Bay FL, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26-year-old question to Armstrong. This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had finally died and so Neil Armstrong felt he could answer the question.

When he was a kid, he was playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a fly ball, which landed in the front of his neighbor's bedroom windows. His neighbors were Mr. & Mrs. Gorsky. As he leaned down to pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky, "Oral sex! You want oral sex?! You'll get oral sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!"

Apparently a true story.