#The Cape Canaveral Story

[kwebtv]

Series Premiere

Behind Closed Doors - The Cape Canaveral Story - NBC - October 2, 1958

Drama / Espionage

Running Time: 30 minutes

Written by Paul Monash

Produced by Sam Gallu 

Directed by Paul Wendkos

Stars:

Joe Maross as Wayne Hollister

Jacques Aubuchon as Charles Meyers

Peter Whitney as Edwin Getty

Bill Henry as Herb Goodwin

Virginia Christine as Julie Hollister

Kathleen O'Malley as Sue-Ellen Goodwin

Marc Snow as Captain

Gabriel Curtiz as Russian Scientist

Rear Admiral Ellis M. Zacharias as Himself

[gemini-enthusiast]

Was able to get some way better pictures of some of the launch complexes et al visible from the Apollo-Saturn V Center at KSC with my new phone camera. Now I'm pretty sure I got all these right but I mix them up sometimes so let me know if I did lol.

From top to bottom:

LC-39B: One of two launchpads used at KSC, LC-39B was constructed during Apollo and was sparsely used, the only Saturn V launch being that of Apollo 10. It was then used to launch Saturn IB Skylab missions and Apollo-Soyuz. After the Apollo program wrapped, LC-39B was used for Shuttle missions, with the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster being the first launch from the complex. The launchpad was most recently used for the Artemis I launch, and will continue to support launches of upcoming Space Launch System launches.

LC-39A: Every human mission to land on the moon was launched from LC-39A. The Saturn V launch of the Skylab space station and a majority of shuttle launches lifted off from LC-39A, making it an incredibly storied launchpad. Now, it is leased to spaceX for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.

SLC-41: This launch complex is one of the many located on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (formally Patrick AFB) and has been used throughout history for Titan launches, being used to launch the Voyager probes amongst a myriad of others. The pad is now utilized by ULA, who launches their Atlas V and Vulcan rockets from the pad. The latest use of the pad was to launch the Starliner Crewed Test Flight on an Atlas V.

Vertical Integration Facility: This building is a facility used by ULA and its partners to support launches. Similar to NASA's VAB, the vertical integration facility is used to stack rockets and prepare them for flight.

[frank-o-meter]

JAMES BOND in DR. NO

When I was in high school I read many of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. But I mostly remember them from the Sean Connery films. Recently I came across some BBC audio dramas based on the books and I’ve listen to Dr No and Goldfinger. They are both pretty good.

The audio dramas follow the plots from the novels and are also set in the 1950s when the early books were written. Toby Stephens, son of Maggie Smith, plays Bond. He’s good and could have been great as 007 in a movie. Instead Stephens’ played a Bond villain, opposite Pierce Brosnan, in Die Another Day (2002).

I’m not sure if I ever saw the Dr No film (1962). If I did, I don’t remember many details - mostly that the Chinese villain was played by a white actor. And the first appearance of Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder rising out of the ocean in her white bikini. This scene would be recreated twice in later films. First by Halle Berry as Jinx in Die Another Day (2002) wearing an orange bikini. Then again in Casino Royale (2006) with Daniel Craig wearing snug blue swim trunks.

In the audio drama David Suchet played Dr. No. Suchet is famous for playing Hercules Poirot, his best role. I absolutely did not recognize his voice in the audio drama. Suchet’s Dr No is very creepy.

This week I decided to rent the Dr. No movie on Amazon Prime. Sean Connery is incredibly handsome in it. Immediately you understand why he became so popular.

Between the 1960s and 1990s, Bond films were famous for the Bond Girls. And that was all introduced in Dr No. Connery has sex with at least 3 women:

Sylvia Trench, a beautiful woman he meets in a casino early in the film (she was originally intended to be a recurring girlfriend in the Bond films.)

Miss Tao, a double agent in Jamaica. Bond has sex with he even tho he knows she was plotting his death.

Honey Ryder - the beautiful bikini clad sea shell hunter played by Ursula Andress.

But there are several other women (receptions, hotel clerks, and Miss Money Penny of course) who swoon at the very sight of Bond. A couple make a point of checking out his butt as he walks away.

I used Wikipedia to compare the plot of the book to the audio drama and to the film. Most of the changes involve the villain Dr No. But they all agree on his main effort - he uses radio waves to disrupt rockets launched from Cape Canaveral.

Dr No is played by Joseph Wiseman. He isn’t even mentioned by name until 35 minutes into the story. And he doesn’t appear on screen for another 30 minutes. He has one scene where he monologue’s his nefarious to Bond. On the whole, Wiseman forgettable (David Suchet in the audio drama made a much stronger impression.)

Bond also meets up with his CIA counterpart - here played by Jack Lord (who would later become famous for the Hawaii 5-0 TV series). Lord had been asked to return for Goldfinger but he wanted a lot more money. He didn’t realize how easily he could be replaced. (BTW - Felix Lester was played by 5 different actors between 1962 and 1973.)

Here’s another piece of trivia… Ursula Andress’ voice was dubbed. Although she had been in Hollywood for nearly 10 years before the movie was made, she still had a heavy Swiss accent.

Is Dr. No as great Bond movie? Truthfully no. While Connery is good, the pacing is slow, too much time is spent on procedural stuff, the fire breathing “dragon” is laughable, and the villain is weak. But if you are a Bond fan, Dr. No is worth watching, to see how the building blocks evolved.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Monday

SpaceTime 20241007 Series 27 Episode 121

Scientists discover planet orbiting the nearest single star to the Sun

Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting Barnard’s star, the closest single star to the Sun. The newly discovered exoplanet has about half the mass of the Earth and orbits its host star in just over three Earth days.

Hera mission slated for launch today

The European Space Agency’s Hera planetary defence mission is slated for launch today. The spacecraft will launch aboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida on a two year journey to the near Earth asteroid Didymos and its tiny moon Dimorphos.

A ring of fire around the Sun

People in the eastern South Pacific and South America have been treated to a spectacular annular solar eclipse.

The Science Report

Why the Tonga volcano blast was so powerful.

New Ozempic and Wegovy treatment involving a once a month rather than weekly injection.

Why people use cutesy ‘puppy voices when speaking with their pets.

Skeptics guide to psychic detectives

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Google Podcast, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. Gary’s radio career stretches back some 34 years including 26 at the ABC. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. He was part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and became one of its first on air presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.  The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[vnd5lain88]

what hurts the most regarding jotaro in stone ocean's finale when they're in cape canaveral is when jotaro is going on about how he is the only one who's able to stand up against pucci when they're in a close enough range. :( it's almost pathetic, he's crawling over to him with a slit throat but knows that once again he is the only person who can withstand the danger that is threatening his loved ones. in egypt everyone had to count on him, in morioh everyone had to count on him, and once again here. every single time his thinking of "i'm too much to protect, i can't let myself hurt others by letting my guard down, i'm the one who has to shoulder all this weight" is Enabled by the story like imagine that. imagine the very events of your world fueling this thinking of yours further and further shu tup dont even talk tome... dont even talk to me

[capsarcastica]

Fly Me to the Moon Review

It's really two good movies put together that don't really mesh well. One is a standard rom-com set against the Apollo 11 launch. The other is a fun look at the supposedly fictional fake moon landing. Each is well done and interesting on its own, but they're not integrated well.

There's nothing about the rom-com story that is all that new. In fact, all the characters are pretty standard for stories like this.

It's the faked landing story that's the real meat of the story. I wish this was the entire movie and not just something they introduced in the second half.

All of the actors are good and well cast. The standouts are Channing Tatum as the overly serious NASA guy and Scarlett Johansson as the wily con-artist turned media specialist. They may not be Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, but they play well off each other. They're at their most fun one-upping each other, though Kelly is often played as too smug.

Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson are great in their supporting roles. Romano has some of the more heartfelt moments. Harrelson has some of the funniest. Of course, it's Jim Rash as the self-absorbed film director who steals the movie. He upstages everyone every time he's on screen.

The film looks good. The stuff film at the actual Cape Canaveral is gorgeous, and the classic buildings are shot with plenty of reverence. The launch itself looks great, even if it doesn't quite match the spectacle of 1995's Apollo 13.

It's a good movie for what it is. It's entertaining and well-made. But it would've been better if the two stories were more integrated or if it was split into two separate movies.

[mrbensonmum]

TV Shows - 3 Body Problem X

In the eighth episode, we’ve reached the finale, but nothing is going as it should.

Saul narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by self-driving cars, only to be interrogated and protected by Da Shi. It’s immediately clear that Da Shi knows more than the audience or Saul himself. Together, they travel to the United Nations, where Saul is appointed as a Wallfacer. This raises a lot of questions, even though they explain what a Wallfacer’s role is. However, both the audience and Saul barely have time to process this because, right outside the building, Saul is shot in an assassination attempt.

What I only understood after reading the books is the behavior of everyone around Saul after he becomes a Wallfacer. It was a big mystery to me, and honestly, a bit frustrating. People treat him differently because the status of a Wallfacer can never be taken away, so everyone assumes that Saul’s actions are just part of his Wallfacer role. On top of that, there was very little information given about the whole Wallfacer concept, leaving me feeling a bit lost. On one hand, this approach creates suspense, especially for those who haven’t read the books. But on the other hand, it’s risky. If there’s too much time between the first and second seasons, this confusion could become really annoying. It makes me wonder if people will even want to rewatch the first season before the next one arrives.

The second storyline focuses on launching the capsule and saying goodbye to Will, even though only his brain remains. In the book, this event happens much later, after a lot of time has passed, but in the show, it’s moved up significantly. I think that was a good choice, otherwise, it could have dragged on too much.

Everyone is devastated, and before Jin leaves Cape Canaveral, Wade whispers something in her ear. I would have loved to know what he said.

Jin and Saul sit in a motel, trying to drown their sorrows, until Da Shi shows up. He can’t stand seeing them so miserable, so he takes them to a lake or swamp full of insects. The San-Ti had referred to humanity as insects at the end of episode five, and Da Shi reminds them that humans have tried to get rid of insects too, yet the insects are still here. With these motivating words, the episode ends, showing the three of them getting back to work.

But that’s not quite the end—Sophon contacts Wade, telling him that she will always be there, and that she won’t leave his side until he dies. To make sure he doesn’t forget, she gives him a hallucination of his own death.

On one hand, after this episode, you want more—so much more—because it’s such a well-written and well-made sci-fi story. On the other hand, it’s a good ending, with enough loose ends to leave you really curious and excited for the next season.

And if you think I forgot about Auggie, I didn’t. There’s a brief scene where she uses her nanofibers as a filter to clean a water source. Even though she gets a call, she ignores it because what she’s doing now is what she’s always wanted, and at that moment, it’s more important.

If I’m not mistaken, this is also the end of Auggie’s (Wang Miao’s) character. He doesn’t play a bigger role in the book, though he’s mentioned a few times. Whether they’ll handle Auggie the same way remains to be seen, as all the characters have slightly different roles in the show compared to the book.

What am I looking forward to the most?

How will they depict the future in the next season? This will surely take a lot of effort, and if an episode already costs $20 million, it could get even more expensive here.

How far will the characters deviate from their roles in the book? How will the concept of the Dark Forest be portrayed?

If I remember correctly, there are fewer Wallfacers in the series than in the book. So how will they handle the Wallbreakers, and will they also meet in the game?

I’ll admit, even though her storyline is supposedly over, I’d love to see more of Auggie. Eiza González does a fantastic job, and I’m really happy she got a more demanding role here (I only knew her from Bloodshot). I know she was also in Alita: Battle Angel, but I couldn’t remember her (I looked it up, and she played Nyssiana. I would’ve never recognized her!).

Much of the story will shift from Earth to space, and I hope they stick to the book here and maybe take some inspiration from the CGI series. But that’s wishful thinking, and I suspect they’ll come up with something new and innovative.

[moonwatchuniverse]

December 2023 PHILLIPS NY auction Rolex Space Dweller Although the Rolex "Space Dweller" never made it into space , it's a wonderful wrist watch with an interesting history. Here's the story how it might have originated:

In May 1963, as NASA started recruitment for the Group III astronauts, Mercury astronaut Leroy Cooper made the last solo spaceflight mission of the Mercury program. Onboard “Faith 7” Cooper orbited the Earth 22 times before a pinpoint splash-down near recovery ship USS Kearsarge in the North Pacific Ocean. During this 34 hours long mission, NASA astronaut LtCol John Glenn was stationed aboard the Pacific radio telemetry tracking ship “Coastal Sentry” off the coast of Kyushu - Japan. Between May 10 and 16, John Glenn, the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth, acted as CapCom (Capsule Communicator) with the Project Mercury communication center at Cape Canaveral in Florida. After the mission, John Glenn and his family spent a 13 days vacation visiting Japanese industrial, historic and cultural sites. Glenn’s goodwill tour brought him to Tokyo, discussing space achievements with science writers, and Nihon university where he received an honorary degree. The Japanese youth met him with great enthusiasm as Glenn’s candidness and openness boosted the US image in Japan. This goodwill tour did not go unnoticed to Rolex, as the Swiss company wanted to release a watch in tribute to the spacefarers as Rolex had commemorated legendary explorations to the summit of Mount Everest and the Arctic. In response to the Japanese fascination with astronauts and spaceflight related science fiction, Rolex launched a small production run of the “Space Dweller”, for which the Swiss patent was registered on February 16, 1966 followed by a US patent office registration on November 19, 1968. Basically, the “Space Dweller” was launched in 1967 as a modified version of their Explorer 1016 model. However, it looks like this model remained a Japan-only special edition as it was not released into Rolex’s complete world market. In 2008, Sotheby’s auctioned a set of 4 separate “Space Dweller” dials which more than probably ended up in 1016 cases as case production dates range between 1963 and 1968. (Screenshot: PHILLIPS NY auction lot 23)

[careerarm2-blog]

June 13 - Cocoa Beach

It rained last night, but no too much. I’m watching the weather as Miami had torrencial rain. I hope we don’t run into it.

This morning we left St Augustine for Cocoa Beach. We drove on A1A , the main highway that runs from Northern Florida to the South. It runs through small towns, along the coast. It wasn’t busy at all. Driving south, there are beach towns that have many gates communities as well as huge condo and apartment buildings. Literally, over 15-20 stories high, one after another. The hotels are also built right next to the beach and are quite big too.

We drove through famous Daytona Beach but it didn’t seem worth a stop. It took about 2+ hours to get to Cocoa Beach, which became famous during the 1960s when the space program was first started. Cape Canaveral and NASA are 15 miles from here and a woman told me that when the rockets are launched , people here have a perfect view.

We went to the pier which was built in 1962. It has a couple of fish restaurants and whoosh. Even though it was almost 7 pm, people were still at the beach and in the water. We had sushi at one of the fish places. It was quite good.

The hotel we are staying is pretty big. It has a pool that meanders around which is fun for the kids. It has a 1950-60s vibe, it is no frills but comfortable. There is a laundry, which we used, as well as a bar. It feels like Palmdale on the beach.

[webshootersandwingdings]

A look at Carol Danvers & Mar Vell's relationship

In recent years, and even decades, Marvel has tried to paint Carol Danvers and the original Captain Marvel as a lot more blatantly romantic than was ever actually the case while Mar Vell was alive.

Carol Danvers debuted as a supporting roll in the original Captain Marvel's stories. She was distrustful of the duplicitous Walter Lawson, but near instantly attracted to the heroic Captain Mar-Vell. While Marv constantly pledged undying love for Kree sweetheart Una, he often found himself in the arms of a certain blonde Earth-Woman, whom he was "not without feeling for."

While a few kisses were exchanged, nothing more ever happened between the Cape Canaveral Security Chief and the Warrior from another World. It's implied there was nothing more than mutual attraction, even though Yon Rogg did roast Marv for it.

As Mar Vell's adventures take him off-world, Carol no longer shows up in his comics.

Fast forward to the first time Carol and Mar-Vell meet up again after she gains super powers, and a kiss on the lips and a declaration of friendship is where we leave these two.

During some team books, they are occasionally seen standing near one another, but are almost never seen exchanging words.

Then Mar Vell dies. We all know Carol was, quite cruelly, uninformed. It feels like missed opportunity now, looking back, how uninvolved they were with each other. Mar Vell being completely absent through all of the horrendous trauma Marvel put her through, and her not even being considered when writing his swan song.

But then we fast forward to more modern comics. Carol back on Earth after her adventures as Binary.

When Mar Vell is brought back to life, he almost immediately is shown kissing Carol Danvers passionately. This one is interesting because of the way Carol hints at possibly their not being “together” together before all this. But with that kiss? Who knows.

A clone of Mar Vell was obsessed with Carol, a fact that professional Carol life ruiner, Mystique, exploited.

When Carol and Kamala Khan team-up and meet the real Walter Lawson, Mar-Vell is referred to as a boyfriend and the two were “in love”

In The Life of Captain Marvel, a relationship completely foreign to anyone who read the original Mar Vell stories is depicted. Carol and “Lawson” are implied to be in a romantic relationship before he reveals his Kree nature to her.

When Vox Supreme sends a version of Mar Vell out to ensnare Carol, “Mar Vell” acts romantically toward her.

Also, and I’m not counting this because it’s not canon, but they were a couple in the Marvel Superhero Squad show and it’s hilarious.

So, as you can see... There are some discrepancies!

And I probably didn’t even list everything. But it’s very interesting how Carol is used like this for Mar Vell so often when he has other “loves” Marvel could focus on. And while I think Carol’s feelings for Mar Vell were intense in those original stories, later she was written to have the major love of her life be Michael Rossi. But that’s a whole other post right there.

Now, I actually have a perfect solution to these inconsistencies about just what role Mar Vell played in Carol’s romantic past. Instead of making stuff up that doesn't work within preexisting canon the way The Life of Captain Marvel did, Marvel should do a mini series set between Ms. Marvel (1977) #19 and The Death of Captain Marvel. Let's have these two team up on an adventure where they do, explicitly, have a little romance. Let it end with them parting as friends so it doesn’t disrupt anything. That solves everything and we could get more Mar Vell content. I realize the Secret Avengers interactions between these two kind of fit the bill, but it’s still making leaps in their history, in my opinion.

Having their relationship fleshed out more without the complications of clones, shapeshifters, or resurrections would be very nice indeed.

[lizabethstucker]

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

4 out of 5.

Apollo Murders 1

Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis' future as a test pilot and astronaut selectee is destroyed when a bird strike led to his canopy exploding, the plastic shrapnel causing him to lose his left eye. Five years later he's sent by the U.S. Navy to the Houston Manned Spacecraft Center to be the military liaison for the Apollo 18 crew.

The mission, completely funded by the Department of Defense, will be the first all-military spaceflight whose classified purpose would be determined by the U.S. Air Force. The actions of the Soviet space program, both orbiting Earth and on the Moon itself causes rapid changes in the Apollo mission and schedule. Espionage, romance, science, and a man caught between his life and his past all combine into an engrossing thriller.

NOTE: This has nothing to do with the horror film APOLLO 18.

The main action is set in 1973, with a few flashbacks and jumps from Houston, Texas, to Russia and elsewhere. Chris Hadfield is a man of many, many talents. He's a former fighter pilot, astronaut who was Commander of the Space Station, caught my attention with a YouTube video of him singing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in the Space Station, and numerous talks and non-fiction books. Now he shares his ability to weave an enthralling story of what might've been.

As Hadfield stated in the start of the book, "Many of these people are real. Much of the actually happened." He even provided a partial list of who and what is real in the back of the book. If you're curious, I highly recommend Googling, but be prepared to fall down a rabbit hole.

I do believe it is a bit too long at 480 pages, could've benefited by tighter editing. That said, it was a fun read, one I binged almost all night. It also brought back a lot of memories for me, having grown up just south of Cape Canaveral with a father who worked in the program from slightly before 1959 until 1970. Highly recommend to my fellow space enthusiasts.

[tonberry-yoda]

I do like the SDC AU, but I have a complaint, and that I think Pucci, and Kakyoin should have known each other, since both of them were the only Dio servants to be teens, and also both were going through there own struggles during the series. So IMO I do believe Pucci should recognize who Kakyoin was, and Kakyoin should know who he was when they reunite in Cape Canaveral. I know it may be a little nitpicky, but IMO that was a big missed opportunity on your behalf, but it's still a good story though.

this au isnt really a big part of my blog, so in the nicest way possible, I don't really care

A lot of you come asking me about this AU, which I appreciate, but at the same time, this is an AU I'm literally putting 0 effort into. I just answer questions and request with on the spot thoughts tbh, I don't actually think about this AU outside of when I have to do something for it.

I put more effort into my One Piece modern AU and I barely have time to pump that out.

I haven't actually done fics for this JJBA AU in a while and though it is fun, I put my time into a lot of other things

If you think you can make it better, by all means, write it yourself. There's really no missed opportunity if I didn't feel like taking it in the first place

I really don't want to sound rude, but at the same time, having people tell me how I can change my writing when I'm very busy outside of it just kinda makes me feel meh

I love JJBA with all my heart and soul, but I think Araki wrote it perfectly. I only created the Kakyoin lives AU to make my Kakyoin fans happy and then Yuki appeared, but I haven't wrote anything for him in a little bit and don't plan to

But again, if you think you can write it better DO IT, don't tell me how I can change my writing. I love constructive criticism, but this ain't it.

I would love to see what you write if you do

Sorry if this was a not so cheerful Tonberry, but I am very very busy outside of this little AU I began due to a request.

Have a good day nonetheless and I apologize for the rant again

[fullyinconsequential]

Okay, everybody relax—I wrote this random crack Steddie fic where Steve was a writer and I wrote this from his point of view and I recently reread it after a long, long time and I was floored so enjoy.

Also it is a present-day set crack fic just to clear up time inconsistencies.

Atlantis.

When I was 10, my parents took me to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at Cape Canaveral, Florida. I’d been to Disney World a hundred times by then, knew what the air would smell like and how the waves would sound licking the shore right beside the needlessly expensive condo we’d rent in Daytona. I expected roller coasters and cotton candy and to be sick with exhaustion by the end of it, trailing behind my booze-ridden parents, watching other kids get lifted on shoulders, fireman carried, cradled. Sometimes I walked slower than I felt, hoping one of them would have grown so annoyed of begging me to hurry, that they would lift me instead.

They never did.

Instead of a theme park, I got space. Thirty-minute presentations of one spacecraft or another—Apollo 8, Apollo 17, Apollo 11, the Challenger, the Columbia. Tears rolled down my face as we wandered through exhibits of dead astronauts, failures, fuck-ups.

But I cried harder at the successes—the cheers of the control room when Apollo 8 successfully launched, the testimonial of Gene Cernan about being the last man to have touched the moon, and Neil Armstrong himself confiding in the camera, all for a silly visitor center.

I cried the entire day. I hadn’t been able to explain it, and my mother took to believing I was scared of it all. She scolded my father the whole hour it took to get back to Daytona, convinced I had been frightened at the implication of the universe being so vast.

She never failed to misunderstand me.

If there was anything I understood, it was vastness. The echoing hallways of our four-story house, my king-sized bed, the hollow place inside me that burned bigger each time my father left for a business trip, mother in tow. At a certain point, they started forgetting to hire babysitters.

Just me and the house, my own black hole.

It’s hard to comprehend how big a super heavy-lift launch vehicle is until you’re standing beneath it. My legs weren’t long or fast enough to run the length of it. I slowed to a jog half-way, and walked to the tip of the launch escape system. Then I turned around to look for my parents, and they were gone.

I didn’t panic. I knew I would find them at the nearest supply of alcohol—but not just yet. For now it was me and Saturn V, this monstrous thing, it’s vastness like a mirror. One, two, three, four, five impossible structures that might’ve fused into one had it been launched, four that might’ve been abandoned, and one that might’ve returned home. A fraction of what it had been.

My mother always turned up drunk, my father, tired. He would say something of being jet-lagged, and retire. My mother would giggle and invite her friends to the house so she could boast of all her thrilling adventures. Sometimes I wondered if they remembered they had a son at all.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has grown in the time since I’ve been there, most notably in their addition of the Atlantis, a spacecraft that traveled in and out of space on nearly 30 round trips. It was the first spacecraft of its kind—reusable. Returnable. Designed with the capacity to come back whole, warm with information, not lacking in love.

I’d like to stand beneath it one day. I’d like to see what I couldn’t when I was ten, to know that these wonderful metal creatures can come back whole.

And that it wasn’t my fault the others could not.

I’m off to cry now, thanks for reading :’)

[erindrifter]

I have a story to tell you. One of the VERY few college stories I have.

So, I took this math class, right? The teacher... Wasn't very good. He was much more interested in telling stories than actually teaching mathematical principles. I actually stopped attending his classes except for tests, and instead just sat in the cafeteria and studied the textbook on my own terms. I got a C. So, I passed.

Anyways. One of the classes, the teacher told a story. Of the Mars Climate Orbiter. My beloved.

NASA wanted to get some more info about Mars, so they teamed up with Lockheed Martin to build a probe designed to orbit Mars and gather information about the atmosphere and climate, and how it changes over time.

So NASA and Lockheed Martin spent the next several months communicating back and forth about this project.

There was actually some importance to this project, due to the loss of the Mars Observer probe. It was sent to Mars, and three days before it was scheduled to enter orbit the probe just vanished and stopped sending back signals. So, NASA kinda needed a win here.

Anyways. I don't know how long it took to construct the probe, but eventually it was completed and sent to Cape Canaveral for launch. As a side note of little importance to the story, NASA uses the SI unit of measurement (metric system) and so they design all of their equipment with that in mind. Lockheed Martin, on the other hand, uses United States Customary Units (which are NOT technically imperial units, though it's widely known as that) in all of their designs. So, someone had to specifically translate the measurements between the two systems for each of their correspondences.

Anyways. December 11th 1998. The price is launched. And nothing goes wrong. It actually goes quite well, and the probe is on its long journey to Mars. September 23rd, 1999. The probe arrives at Mars and begins the process of entering Mars orbit.

This process is automated, since a signal would take too long to transmit from Earth. So, EXTENSIVE math was done to ensure that the probe would do all the things at the correct time to enter orbit at the correct altitude. The general idea was to use the Mars atmosphere to help slow the probe down for each pass, so it was planned to arc into Mars's upper atmosphere. Here's a diagram of what I mean:

Anyways. The probe encounters Mars 49 seconds too early, and at a MUCH lower altitude than was planned. This may not seem like too much, but it is CATASTROPHIC in a mission like this. The probe then went behind Mars and the signal was lost. This happens, signals don't usually like going through planets.

The signal never came back. The Mars Climate Orbiter, much like the Mars Observer, was lost.

So, naturally, an investigation was launched.

Remember that anecdote about measurements that I said wasn't important? I lied. It's important.

Just about 2 weeks before the probe made it to Mars, the probe made a course correction. It was supposed to do that. The probe was just lining up to hit the atmosphere at an altitude of about 226 km, as planned.

Some more science jargon time! The Orbiter was planned to be at 226 km, but it had the potential ability to survive being as low as 80 km in atmosphere. The scientists keeping an eye on the probe noticed that the trajectory was seemingly going to be at about 150-170 km. Not good, but survivable. Right before the orbital insertion, it was estimated to be at 110 km. Starting to look bad, but maybe recoverable? Well, the investigation showed that the probe would have hit at 57 km of altitude. Which would have either destroyed the probe completely, or jettisoned it back out into space.

Why did this happen? Well, Lockheed Martin supplied a navigational software that calculated the thrust needed for the maneuvers. The LM system provided numbers in Pound-force seconds. The NASA supplied system designed to predict the location of the craft expected numbers to be in newton-seconds. Nobody performed the needed unit conversion between the two systems, so the course correction sent the probe to a completely different location than the probe thought it was at.

So. Basically, the world should just use a single unified unit system so this stuff doesn't happen.

[thejojolands-moved]

Got tagged by @juuouen

Rules: Tag 10 people you wanna know better

Relationship Status: Single baby 😎.....🥲🕶️🤏 I have been flirting on and off with a girl though but Celibacy

Favorite Color: This gonna be REALLY SURPRISING but red and pink (they are the same to me. Taxonomically)

Song stuck in head: Actually don't have anything stuck in my head ATM! If you want a suggestion I just listened to "What's the Story Morning Glory?" By Oasis again and it's a lot better than I remember. I think I just always remember them for all the people who suck at playing Wonderwall and how much they want each other dead before I think of the music.

3 fave foods: Salmon, Crab, and idk chocolate? I like that specific seafood and I don't have it often but picking foods is rough bc I've been having to cut out more foods I like due to GI upset. Hopefully I can add some back soon.

Last thing googled: 15 variations of the same renp'y/python error. I figured it out without any help though because I'm either a genius or I made such a stupid error I should've caught it sooner.

Dream Trip: I don't know actually! I'm a really odd traveler since I just don't enjoy a lot of typical touristy things, instead sticking to pretty much only museums and zoos and the like. Maybe back to Cape Canaveral once Florida stops being the fucking worst or smth really tame like the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta.

Anything I want right now: For the dog I'm sitting to stay asleep and hopefully a little well behaved 🙏Please, Nash, I'm gonna be here for a week be nice to me and my eardrums.

Ok so this is gonna be fun. You don't have to if you don't want to or if you've done it already. @borderline-purrsonality @astormlikethis @lagomortis @jojosfagdykeadventure @nexter2nd @atomic-rena @tomendthesun @see @rogan-4rcane @morays