Poor Attitude Cost Apollo 7 Crew Rightful Recognition and Perhaps Trip To The Moon October 12, 2010

The Brave and Successful Men of Apollo 7 Paved The Way For Man's Walk on the Moon But They Never Flew in Space Again

Apollo 7 Flight-Tested A Significant Amount of Never Before Used Equipment and Procedures Including the Saturn IB Rocket at Liftoff on Oct 11, 1968

On This Date In History:  Our old neighbor, Walter Cunningham, on this date in 1968 was in orbit as part of the Apollo 7 crew that launched the previous morning  and marked America’s return to manned spaceflight following the fire that killed the Apollo 1 crew about a year and a half earlier.   Cunningham, Donn Eisele and Wally Schirra were undertaking a very dangerous mission.  It was the initial test flight of the Apollo spacecraft and, from top to bottom, it was a brand new machine that had never been flown before.  The mission was open-ended to some degree with no conclusion time scheduled except for the maximum of 11 days.  The flight featured numerous tests to systems and procedures and the results allowed for crucial developments that led to the successful first landing on the moon less than a year later.  Cunningham said that, “We launched on the longest and most ambitious engineering test flight in history, testing the spacecraft systems, verifying the operating procedures, checking out the worldwide tracking network, and that’s not to mention testing our crew.”   Wernher Von Braun said that ” The Apollo 7 performed… as nearly perfect as one can rightfully expect a development flight to be” and NASA’s Apollo Program Office Director General Samuel C. Phillips said,  ”Apollo 7 goes in my book as a perfect mission.  Our official count is that we have accomplished 101 per cent of our intended objectives.”   However, the crew of Apollo 7 did not receive NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal as all other Apollo flight crews.  Instead, they were given the Exceptional Service Medal. 

My Old Neighbor, Walter Cunningham, Hard At Work During the Mission of Apollo 7

Now, Cunningham and his family lived around the corner from us. I went to his house a few times as he had a son named Brian who went to my school. I never saw Brian’s father at home, though I did see him when he visited our school once in the early 1970′s.  It never occurred to me why he was available to come to an elementary school but I always wondered why he never flew again.  The official NASA recount of Apollo 7 gives no reason.  But, other accounts reveal circumstances that NASA may have preferred stayed lost to history.   The reason was that he and the crew was grounded.  The little known story behind the successful and crucial Apollo 7 mission was that the crew were deemed to be uncooperative and “grumpy.”  It began when Schirra developed a cold a day or so into the mission.  It spread to the other crew members, though Cunningham wrote in his 1977 book (updated 2003)  The All-American Boys only that he felt a little “blah” by the 3rd day.  In space, there is no drainage from the head of mucus accumulation that fills the nasal passages,  The only relief is to blow hard and in space that can be quite painful to the ear drums.  Hence, this is the reason behind the grumpiness of the crew, in particular Schirra. 

Not Only Equipment But Also Critical Procedures Were Tried For the First Time On Apollo 7 Such As Lunar Module Rendevous Methods

Schirra was one of the original Mercury 7 and had flown in in the Gemini program so one might think, as a NASA veteran, he would know what was kosher and what was off-limits.  Then again, perhaps as an original American space hero, he had a little issue regarding hubris.  Or maybe, it was just the cold.  In any event,  the crew members complained about the sleep schedule, which did not correspond to normal earth conditions.  They complained about the sleeping arrangements; clasps that held the sleeping bags in place were apparently in inappropriate places.  They complained about the food.  Following his Gemini mission, Schirra vowed to take coffee with him if he ever flew on Ap0llo; he did.  They complained about noisy fans in the environmental control.  And, to be fair, I have not read about any complaints about something that would cause anyone to complain but it had to cause irritation.  The defication bags were cumbersome and the whole process took some 40 to 60 minutes with malodorous consequences.  Hence, the crewmen tended to hold off on releasing body wastes as long as possible.  There are all sorts of issues that arise with a test mission and they had to contend with every one.  But, it was their reaction to the problems that got them in trouble.

Schirra and Crew Clowned Around While On TV But Their Mood Was Anything But Fun

Some problems may have been kept in-house but the crews demeanor became known throughout the NASA hierarchy when Schirra decided unilaterally to cancel one of several scheduled television hook ups with the world.  Remember, NASA and the United States was really into the publicity of the efforts of the space program in the midst of the Cold War.  Donald “Deke” Slayton was also one of the original Mercury 7 and was in charge of crew assignments,  He tried to talk Schirra out of his decision but was tersely told by Schirra that there would be no TV show that day.  Eventually, they did broadcast from space  several times with the first live TV down-link from space with the crew appearing to have great fun as they managed to hide their discomfort from the world-wide audience. Schirra even shouted “Yabbadabbadoo!” like Fred Flintstone.  But, the colds persisted and the  complaints continued even as they prepared for their return.  They feared that they would not be able to blow their noses during the re-entry process and that pressure build-up might cause their eardrums to burst.  Therefore, the crew refused to wear their helmets as they returned to earth.   Once again, Slayton tried to convince Schirra to wear the helmet and once again Schirra dug in his heels.  The crew took decongestants and returned to earth safely without any problems with their ears.

There Might Not Have Been An Apollo 11 Success Story of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins Had It Not Been for Apollo 7

Schirra was a space veteran and hero and undoubtedly he was in a good spot to receive a mission to the moon.  Cunningham and Eisele would also have certainly merited consideration considering the technical success of their dangerous and imperative mission.  Nevertheless, Flight Director Chris Kraft wrote in his 2001 memoir that “I told Deke (Slayton) that this crew should never fly again.”  None of the men of Apollo 7 did go into space following their return.  Cunningham described himself as “NASA Hero, Second Class” in his book,  a reference to the lesser honor bestowed on the crew and their subsequent unofficial grounding.  But, in 2008, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin looked back at the accomplishments of the Apollo 7 crew and, while acknowledging the decisions by his predecessors, decided that the crew deserved more.  So, on October 20, 2008, Forty years after flying NASA’s first manned Apollo mission, the crew of Apollo 7 was honored  with the space agency’s highest award, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.  Schirra and Eisele had both passed away at the time of the ceremony but my old neighbor Walter Cunningham was on hand as was Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr and Neil A. Armstrong, the first men on the moon as well as fellow lunar astronaut Alan Bean.  By video link, the crew of the International Space Station attended and video tributes were received from President George H. W. Bush, Wayne Newton and Houston Mayor Bill White.  Everyone acknowledges that the space program may never have gotten off the ground successfully following the Apollo 1 disaster had it not been for the bravery and efforts of Wally Schirra, Walter Cunningham and  Donn Eisele…not matter how “grumpy” they were.

Weather Bottom Line:  Our best and only chance of rain in the forseeable future will be on Wednesday with the passage of a cold front.  It’s not a huge chance and won’t be a drought buster but we need all we can get as we will return to exceedingly dry, but lovely, conditions for the rest of the week through the weekend.

From Abraham Lincoln to Sputnik to the B-52s October 4, 2010

Today's Recon, Weather and Communication Satellites are descendents of Sputnik

Lincoln liked Lowe's Balloon But Some of his Generals Did Not

On This Date in History:  President Abraham Lincoln observed a balloon demonstration near Washington DC on this date in 1861 which was intended to show the value of using balloons to gain military intelligence on the battlefield. Both sides tried them for awhile but abandoned the practice after a few years when it was decided that they were too dangerous and unreliable. An advocate was Thaddeus S C Lowe who was in charge of the Union balloon corps. But he resigned after his pay was cut 40% when Union Commanders Joe Hooker and Ambrose Burnside were convinced that balloons gave inaccurate information. Bright guys, those Union Commanders. In the 20th century, aerial reconnaissance became a staple of military intelligence information.

Explorer I

In an ironic twist…On This Date in 1957…the Soviet Union put the first satellite into orbit. It was called Sputnik I but also was known as a “baby moon.” This was because it was a small round sphere that orbited around the earth putting out a little beeping noise via radio waves. Americans being as they are turned it into a political football and Democrats charged the Republican Eisenhower administration with allowing the Soviets to get ahead in technology. It was fearsome because it showed that they had missle technology to deliver nuclear weapons or even build space platfoms from which they could drop bombs on the US!   There also was the question of using a satellite as aerial reconnaissance…something Union generals Joseph “Fightin’ Joe” Hooker (For whom inaccurtely say the slang for prostitute is named)  and Ambrose E. Burnside (for whom sideburns are named)  had tossed aside nearly 100 years before.  So, President Eisenhower started leaning on the space program and by January 31,1958, the US successfully launched its own satellite, Explorer I and the space race was on.

Hmmmm....A Sputnik/B-52's connection?

This all really went back to 1952 when the International Council of Scientific Unions established July 31, 1957 to December 31, 1958 as the International Geophysical Year since scientists knew that solar activity would be at its height during that time. They used the opportunity to promote putting up artificial satellites around the earth. The Americans started off with their Vanguard program which was to put a 3.5 pound object into orbit. But the Soviets beat the Yanks to the punch with the beachball size, 184 pound Sputnik. Now I’m not sure what Sputnik did except scare people and get the Americans off their keesters and prove that the theory of satellites was practical. They turned to Werner Von Braun to develop the Explorer program. Unlike the Soviets and their mini radio station, the Americans included a small data collection system and Explorer I not only showed that “anything you can do, I can do better,” but also discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the earth, which took the name of its primary investigator, James Van Allen. The Van Allen Belt later was displayed prominently in “there’s a moon in the sky (called the moon)” by the B-52′s. Now that is progress…Sputnik to Explorer to the B-52′s.

Weather Bottom Line:  We have a weather pattern that looks simliar to the winter.  There is a big fat low spinning around to our Northeast.  Think of it as having spokes on a wheel.  These spokes I refer to as Vortlobes, or lobes of disturbed weather resulting from a pool of cold air aloft.  As these lobes rotate around, they tend to produce clouds as they proceed, particularly in the daytime.  In the winter, this often results in snow showers.  As it stands, our air is so dry at the surface, we don’t get much rain from the passing disturbances but the temperatures do get chilly with the cloud cover but the mercury jumps in the dry air when sunshine is added.  This pattern will slowly change this week as the upper low moves east and a surface high to our west moves eastward.  Toward the end of the week, we will get into a more southerly flow and temperatures will respond by still having relatively cool to mild nights but afternoon highs will get into the low 80′s.

America Could Have Been First In Space Had the Shackles Been Removed September 20, 2010

What Would Have Happened Had the Imaginations of Von Braun and Disney Been Allowed to Develop to The Max?

Von Braun Happy Being Captured by Americans

On This Date in History:  According to Wernher Von Braun, he was forced to join the Nazi Party in 1937.   Some sources claim he joined as early as 1932.  But, Von Braun said that “ My refusal to join the party would have meant that I would have to abandon the work of my life. Therefore, I decided to join. My membership in the party did not involve any political activities …”  Von Braun was perhaps the world’s leading scientist involved in rocket theory and design and the deal was that he had to be a party member if he was to continue his work.  And, that work was dedicated to weapons development and not the venture into space as Von Braun desired.  Nevertheless, his work advanced rocketry.  When the war was over, Von Braun surrendered to the Allies, figuring that he’d get a better post-war deal from the Americans than from the Soviets.

Redstone Medium Range Ballistic Missile

On June 20, 1945 Secretary of State Cordell Hull approved the transfer of Von Braun and his colleagues to America following a procedure that used paperclips to indicate the transfer paperwork.  Hence, the process became known as “Operation Paperclip.”   This program allowed people like Von Braun who were once considered as war criminals or security risks to work in the United States; mostly for the government.  In Von Braun’s case, not only did he go to work for the US Army, he also contracted with Walt Disney to develop educational films.   He and his associates were transferred to Fort Bliss, TX to work with US personnel in training and developing military uses for rockets.  In 1950, Von Braun and his team were sent to Huntsville, Alabama where the former Nazi Party member led the Army’s rocket development team at Redstone Arsenal where they eventually developed the Redstone rocket.    Von Braun became a US citizen in 1955. 

1953 Collier's Sparked Space Interest But Didn't Inspire the Press to Look Forward

Much as he had been with the Nazi’s, Von Braun was trapped in the military world, yet, he still dreamed of a world in which rockets would be used in space exploration.  In 1952, he published a series of articles in Collier’s Weekly titled Man Will Conquer Space Soon!  He wrote about a 250 foot in diameter space station orbiting at 1075 miles above the earth as it rotated to provide artificial gravity.  In spite of his successful development of the Redstone rocket, The first half of the 1950′s were extremely frustrating for the space dreamer.  You see, while he and his mates were focusing on military applications of rocketry, scientists in the Soviet Union were pushing forward with their Sputnik program.  Beginning in 1954, Von Braun lobbied the Eisenhower administration to look beyond the earth’s atmosphere.  He contended that the Redstone rocket could place a satellite in orbit.  In 1956, he even demonstrated the Redstone’s capability when a Redstone blasted 3000 miles over the Atlantic Ocean to an elevation of 600 miles.  Had the rocket carried additional fuel instead of a payload of sand in the upper stages, Von Braun said he could have achieved orbit.  Nevertheless, on this date in 1956, the Eisenhower administration denied Von Braun permission to use a missle to launch a payload into orbit. 

An allie in Von Braun’s efforts could have been the press but, instead of considering the material Von Braun published in regard to a potential space station, the media focused on his past membership in the Nazi Party and the slave labor used to build his V-2 rockets during the war.   The administration had budgetary concerns.  The snoozing boys in the press room and the folks in the administration were suddenly awakened October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into orbit called Sputnik.  It was apparent for the entire world to see just how far the Americans were behind the Soviets in rocket capabilities.  The US Navy developed an inconsistent  and largely unsuccessful Vanguard rocket that was not acceptable so, suddenly, Werner Von Braun and his team was transferred to NASA, which was established on July 29, 1958. 

Unleashed Von Braun Produced the Saturn V

Eventually, the Americans surpassed the Soviets in the ”space race” with the ultimate achievement being man first setting foot on the moon on July 20, 1969.  It was made possible by Von Braun’s design of the giant Saturn V rocket that propelled the astronauts to the moon.  At the time, Von Braun said that the Saturn V could be developed further and that missions to Mars would be possible by the 1980′s.  But, budget concerns once again came to the forefront and the press once again lost enthusiasm and Von Braun’s dreams died with him on June 16, 1977.    I wonder what might have  been had Wernher Von Braun’s unlimited imagination not been prohibited from reaching its full potential.

Weather Bottom Line:  Some hope lies ahead for some rain and temperatures will eventually get back to seasonal levels after autumn officially begins on Wednesday.  On that day, a front will come down close enough to perhaps trigger some t’storm activity on a scattered basis.  But, it won’t move through.  So, we’ll still be talking about the low 90′s until the weekend.  Wednesday’s front backs up in advance of another system…that one will come through.  Look for rain and a threat for t’storms on Friday evening and night and the weekend looks great with highs in the low 80′s.   Be patient…the calendar says that summer is almost over and Mother Nature may, in fact, be paying attention.

Will Pioneer 10 Ever Phone Home or Return with Some Friends? June 13, 2010

The Close-Up Picture Taker of Jupiter Not Only Left the Building, it left the Solar System

Pioneer 10 Says Good-Bye To Earth With Nixon in the White House

On This Date in History:  When the space probe, Pioneer 10, was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral on March 3, 1972 its primary mission was to encounter Jupiter in December 1973.  Pioneer 10 met the challenge of its mission as earthlings stood spellbound watching the images sent back from the tiny spacecraft.  For the first time, from up close, people were able to see the “Great Red Spot” that had fascinated and perplexed earthbound observers since it was first observed.    It was during the encounter between the mosquito Pioneer 10 and the Giant Jupiter that it was confirmed that the mammoth planet consisted of liquid hydrogen without a solid surface below the thick clouds that envelop it.

Pioneer 10 Kept Going and Going

In reaching Jupiter, Pioneer 10 also proved that it was possible for a spacecraft to navigate through the asteroid belt as on July 15, 1972 it was the first man-made satellite known to do so.  Pioneer 10 also answered the question as to whether a spacecraft could handle the powerful radiation belts of Jupiter.  Pioneer 10 truly lived up to its moniker as when it got done with its Jupiter observations, it just kept on going.  It became the first spacecraft to cross the orbits of Uranus, Pluto and Neptune.  On this date in 1983,  over 11 years since it first left the earth, Pioneer 10  left the solar system using a first ever used nuclear power plant.  

NOMAD Thought that Kirk was the Creator

Now, Pioneer 10 was not alone.   Its twin, Pioneer 11 was launched about a year after Pioneer 10 shoved off from earth.  Pioneer 11 got the first close up views of Saturn and its rings, unlocking more centuries old mysteries.    The two Pioneer spacecraft paved the way for the more sophisticated Voyager probes 4 years later.  The Voyager probe became the premise for the original Star Trek movie, but that too had been more or less an expansion of a story told during the original series.  (Remember the one with “NOMAD”  the wayward 20th century probe that was looking for the creator?) 

Pioneer 10 plaque designed by Frank Drake Carl Sagan and Jon Lomberg. I'm Not Sure How Any Alien Could Make Sense of It.

When men first landed on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left behind a plaque with a greeting from President Nixon in which he said “we came in peace for all mankind.”  I think that there were also some symbols or maps or something, just in case any aliens couldn’t read english.  Well, America felt like it had to say something in the event that their little probe might wander into the hands of someone else so on both Pioneers, there is a plaque. In fact, most human probes into space have plaques.   The two on the Pioneer spacecrafts are but 6 inches by 9 inches and each plaque is designed to show any intelligent life that may come upon them where they came from and who sent them.  There is a diagram of a man and woman along with some basic scientific symbols along with a  diagram of the solar system.  Never mind that the vast majority of the humans living on the earth could probably not recognize the solar system and certainly not the scientific symbols, any space men might think that we’re all that smart.  Scientists have noted that the plaques represent a “mark of humanity that might survive…the Solar System itself.”    One thing that they don’t say is that one of the Pioneers just might fall into the hands of someone who can decide that there is a pretty primitive civilization out there that is easily invaded and is so dumb that it provided an road map related to how to invade it.  If you look at the diagram, then you see how really far fetched it is because it seems pretty random to me, but then again, presumably, an alien would have a little more going on.  Either way anyone who finds Pioneer 10 would have a long way to come to bring it home.  The last signal received from Pioneer 10 was on January 22, 2003 or 30 years after it was launched. I think the American taxpayer got its money’s worth on a gizmo that was only supposed to last 21 months.  At last contact, Pioneer 10 was 7.6 billion miles from earth and it took over 11 hours for the faint radio signal traveling at the speed of light to reach the earthbound listeners. 

Who Knows Who May Bring Back Pioneer 10. They'd have to Be pretty advanced to figure out the schematic invented by Carl Sagan

Maybe far fetched but, how different is it really to the American Indians.  Here they were  minding their own business when from across the ocean comes some beings that look similar but different from them.  They have tools and machines that they did  not have and they just kept coming and coming from somewhere.  Would not natives of any particular region of the world look at exploring or invading Europeans much in the same way that we would view aliens from another world?  After all, even the Europeans called North America “the New World” even though it wasn’t new to the Indians.  In any event, wherever Pioneer 10 is today, 27 years after it left our Solar System, it is well beyond the imagination of those who struggled in covered wagons across the continent in the 19th century.  In fact, if you think about it, the frontier of the United States was considered closed in 1890 and  just 93 years later, man had left the Solar System.  Perhaps this is symbolic of a society whose technology is developing faster than its humanity.

NAM Called for Over 1.5" of rain from 8P to 2AM Saturday Night..It Was WRONG!!

Weather Bottom Line:  This weekend is a great example of why one should not get too married to a particular model or make grand pronouncements.  I had explained all of the caveats related to the forecast and the various solutions of the models.  I had said that there would be disturbances coming through the flow from time to time but that the timing and exact track of each would be tough.  I had guessed that late Saturday night and early Sunday morning was the best chance for heavy rain with a secondary chance early Saturday morning.  I left myself a lot of wiggle room.  Well, I saw on local TV the station that is supposedly “rated most accurate” on Friday.  The guy then had a grand pronouncement of “Local Flooding” for Saturday.   Not a percent chance or heavy rain but, “Local Flooding.”  I told Snow White that was not very wise as it was possible, but not necessarily probable and that was an awfully long limb to be on. If he was right, he’s a hero, if he’s wrong (which was the most likely scenario) then he’d look like a goat and people would definitely remember it.  In TV y0u’re usually doing well if your mistakes are not highlighted.  Even in my scenario of heavy rain on late Saturday night, the wettest models were only throwing out 1.5 to 2 inches of rain over 6 hours and I don’t think that would cause “local flooding.”  Beside that, it was possible that the main storm track would be to our North.  Some of the models did have that.  Another thing that bothered me about the forecast that I saw was the depiction of a low sitting right in the middle of a high pressure ridge.  Made no sense…but then again I had the sound turned down so maybe the error was pointed out or there was some other explanation…a supposed upper low, perhaps? I dunno.  Twas confusing to me.

SPC Severe Outllook Monday-It's obvious where the expected storm track resides

Anyway, on Friday night, the lead shortwave was mainly to our North with an appendage sticking down bringing some pretty decent rain across the area.  As I had suspected, when that guy got farther east, the sun was coming up and it got pretty rough in Eastern Kentucky and Western Virginia.  We were in the wake of that one which would provide subsidence or sinking air behind it and therefore it would  be tough for afternoon heating to overcome that resistance.  Nevertheless, Snow White was at a wedding and reported that they saw someone on in the afternoon saying that storms would be prevalent until 5 pm.  I told the brides father that if we got anything it would be well after 5 pm and to go ahead and take the photos out side. 

SPC Monday Severe Weather Probability

I believe what we have is a couple of folks looking at computers and not bothering to look and see what is really happening or not having the ability to know what is going on.  In this case, the computers were wrong.  It was not a bad forecast to call for a healthy chance for t’storms or rain Saturday evening or Saturday night.  It was wrong headed to call for “Local Flooding” 24 hours before anything ever happened.  That’s either sensationalism, ignorance or foolishness.  By Saturday afternoon, it was apparent that there was not going to be much in the way of storms in the region beyond isolated activity.  Again, its either foolish, ignorant or attempts to scare people to continue give a forecast based on what a computer said it was supposed to do instead of looking out the window and seeing what is really going on.  As it turns out, about 11pm on Saturday night…our big shortwave did come across the Ohio Valley…trouble was it was farther north, taking an Indy-Cincy route and any appendage sticking down faded out before it got to Louisville.  So, as I had feared, the models were right about the upper disturbance and even the timing, but the exact route was off by about 90 miles, which isn’t too bad given that the earth is 25000 miles around. 

Tuesday SPC Severe Outlook

So, what the hell does this have to do with anything?  We will stay in this pattern which is unsettled.  There will continue to be a trof out west that will be kicking out small pieces of energy from time to time and it will continue to be tough to know exactly where and when these guys will be tracking until they actually show themselves.  It will continue to be hot and humid.  Therefore, it will continue to be a situation in which we are just loaded with energy.  If we get a good spark in here under the right conditions, and we could see some rough weather.  But, with nothing real specific to hang your hat on, its pretty tough to give anything of reasonable certainty.  I can say that it will be unstable, hot and humid and each day there will be a risk of t’storms at least through Wednesday.  I would say that, if we do get storms in the afternoon or early evening, stay tuned to local tv or radio because there would be a fair chance of any afternoon/evening storms being trouble maker.

What If An Astronaut Just Said No? June 3, 2010

Famous and Spectacular Photo of Ed White Taking a Walk

I Love This Movie

On This Date in History:  If you recall the movie The Right Stuff based on Tom Wolfe‘s book of the same name, the original Mercury astronauts are portrayed as tough, independent thinking, test pilots.  As part of the space program, the test pilots were controlled by NASA engineers and administrators by appealing to their duty as military officers as well as their patriotic duty.  In time, however, the astronauts realize that, without them there was no program.  NASA had created heros in the minds of the public and, in doing so, inadvertantly created monsters.  In one scene, the movie shows the astronauts joining together and influencing the design of the spacecraft so it would have a window and also an explosive hatch.  Later, it even suggests that they influenced decisions regarding flight assignments.  I don’t know the exact veracity of the movie but I do know that Tom Wolfe wrote an excellent book and he is well respected for the research he devotes to any given subject.  So, I am certain that there was some truth to the notion that these astronauts were extremely independent.

1st to Walk In Space Leonov Had His Record Smashed By White

Much of the movie takes place in the 1950′s and early 1960′s at the outset of the US manned space program and the beginning of the space race with the Soviet Union.  By 1965, the astronaut corps had expanded and missions had become of a longer duration and the crew size had doubled.  However,  in general, NASA was typically slightly behind the pace set by the Soviets during the early years.  So, when astronauts Ed White and Jim McDivitt completed the Gemini IV mission and recorded 66 orbits of the earth, it was an American duration record but short of the Soviet mark.  More notably, Gemini IV focused on America’s first space walk.  As had been the case with other milestones, when Ed White left the confines of the Gemini IV capsule on this date in 1965, a Soviet had already accomplished the feat.  Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov was the first person to venture into open space  during the Voskhod II mission on March 18, 1965.  

In Space, which way is up?

But, it was still a big deal and White found it quite exhilerating.  White had floated out of the spacecraft at 3:41 pm EDT dangling from a 30 foot line that not only provided life support and communication, but also was his only tether to the remainder of humanity.  It was scheduled to last but 12 minutes.  This was science.  This was serious.  This was dangerous.  This was a military man serving his country.  This was a situation that requried complete control by mission administrators.  White found out that it was also fun.  For  NASA mission specialiists, it was too much fun for White.    You see, near the end of the window for the walk on top of the world, NASA  controllers told McDivitt, “They want you to get back in now.”  McDivitt, in turn, relayed the instructions of White who was having great fun floating freely while whizzing along at about 17,500 mph.  White told McDivitt, “I’m not coming in…this is fun.” 

Lt. Col. Edward H. White Nov 14, 1930 - Jan 27, 1967

McDivitt then ordered White back into the spacecraft with a paternal, “come in.”  White ignored him.  In fairly short order, NASA informed the astronauts that they had just 4 minutes of light left before they reached Bermuda, which was the boundary of the dark side of the earth.  Like a little kid not wanting to come in for dinner, White remained outside the craft.  So, McDivitt turned to a more pleading approach.  “Come on.  Let’s gt ack in here before it gets dark.”  White simply said, “it’s the saddest moment of my life.”  McDivitt reminded White that he had gotten himself in the dog house.   You see, while mission control personnel had very little control over the astronauts and had little recourse if an individual went rogue, eventually any bad boy had to come home.  McDivitt told White, “Well, you’re going to find that it’s sadder when we have to come down with this thing.”

A Rather Interesting View of White Walking in Space

NASA controllers were beside themselves.  Their space walker was floating about, the hatch was still open and the dark side of the earth in less than a minute.  “Gemini 4! Gemini 4! Get back in…you getting him back in?”  McDivitt answered, “he’s standing in the seat now and his legs are below the instrument panel.”  Naturally, only McDivitt and White knew for certain if White was indeed nearly back in but NASA was nonetheless somewhat relieved when it responded, “Okay. Get him back.  You’re going to have Bermuda in 20 seconds.”  White and McDivitt got back safely, though they did miss the splashdown spot by some 80 km.  Nevertheless, White’s refusal to follow orders not only did not hurt his career much, but instead his hero status was greatly enhanced in the eyes of the public.  You see..White’s walk was scheduled to last about 90 seconds longer than that of Leonov.  White unscheduled extension resulted in a spacewalk of around 21 minutes which more than doubled the duration of Leonov.  White may have been second to walk in space but he had smashed the efforts of the Soviets and America loves a winner.

Perhaps McDivitt Took A Photo of White When He Said, "No"

McDivitt went on to command Apollo 9, which was an important lead-up mission to man’s first walk on the moon with Apollo 11.  He retired from the Air Force and NASA in 1972 as a Brigadier General and after serving as Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program and program manger for Apollo 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.  It is possible that White was in line for even greater glory than his space walk and the achievements of McDivitt.  White was assigned to the first Apollo mission along with astronaut Roger Chaffee and Mercury veteran Gus Grissom.  Today, Ed White’s name can be found as the title of elementary. middle and high schools around the country, though the moniker’s have nothing to do with his space walk.  White’s name is included with Grissom and Chaffee for the sacrfice of their lives in the effort to reach the moon.  In one of those very odd and eery historical instances, Grissom remarked prior to the initiation of the Apollo program,  ”If we die, we want people  to accept it.  We’re in a risky business and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program.  The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.”  

American Heroes Forever: Ed White, Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee

White, Grissom and Chaffee were all killed when a flash fire swept through their Apollo I capsule during a launch pad test on January 27, 1967.  Grissom would have been pleased in that they did not die in vain.  As a direct result of the tragedy, safety flaws on the spacecraft were revealed and a safer design for future astronauts was adopted.  There was a relatively brief delay but not enough to prevent the nation from reaching its goal of putting a man on the moon and returning him safely by the end of the 1960′s.    Roger Chaffee had never flown in space even though he had been part of the space program for 4 years.  He never did go into space but is an American hero.  Grissom had been one of the original astronauts and White had made that very long space walk.  So, for them, both were American heroes twice which is a tough, dangerous trick that requires dedication, honor, integrity and ultimately immortality.  For Ed White, it also required the ability to have some fun.

Thursday Severe Threat

Friday Severe Threat

Weather Bottom Line:  Been under the weather and I’m not too enthused with this but, as I had said several days ago, Thursday is the risk for severe weather around here with a quasi stationary boundary nearby.  I suspect that the focus will probably be south and east of Louisville but I’m not really paying that much attention.  Gusty winds, maybe hail…that would be the biggest threat I would think.  I’d be more cocerned with rain totals in local places as there will probably be locally heavy rain.  The actual cold front will be flopping just to our north so the focus of strong storms will be just to our north.  Weekend should be fine.  Pop up storm at best on Saturday.  Highs mid to upper 80′s.  Humidity will probably a little more tolerable.  I’m done.

20 Years Old: Hubble Telescope No Longer a Teenager April 24, 2010

The Hubble Space Telescope Has Had a Few Makeovers But Is Still Going Strong At 20 years of age

Hubble Has a Unique View of Saturn

On This Date in History:  The Space Shuttle program had its roots in the heads of engineers in the late 1960′s.  By 1975, construction began on Columbia, the first space shuttle to fly in space.  The first flight of Columbia (STS-1) came on April 12, 1981 with veteran astronaut John Young in command and Robert Crippen as pilot.  After 36 orbits, the shuttle returned safely to earth and the age of the “space truck” was upon us.  Part of the mission of the shuttle was to provide a vehicle to ferry cargo to and from space.  Part of its mission was to help in the construction of a space station, which has come to fruition in the form of the International Space Station (ISS).  One of the more noteworthy pieces of luggage taken into space was the Hubble Space Telescope, which was delivered to orbit on this date in 1990 by the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS 31). 

Hubble "Butterfly" Planetary Nebula NGC 6302

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is in an orbit about 380 miles above the earth and has provided spectacular images for both the trained and amateur eye.  That location provides it a huge advantage over earth bound telescopes in that it doesn’t have to deal with the earth’s atmosphere.  The physics of the atmosphere results in diffraction of light and the very nature of the atmosphere is that it is in constant movement.  Between diffraction and an atmosphere in motion, objects in the sky appear to jiggle and the diffraction gives the twinkling affect of stars, which results in blurred images.  The HST is free some such nuisance.  With a clear line of sight and a 94 inch mirror, the HST is able to provide clear images of extremely distant objects.  It also can view ultraviolet and infrared light that is otherwise blocked by the earth’s atmosphere.   Infrared light is a longer wavelength than visible light and is associated with cooler processes such as the formation of stars from dust clouds.  The HST can see it.  Ultraviolet light has a shorter wavelength than visible light and is present with very energetic events, such as exploding stars or the formation of disks around black holes.  The HST can see it.

Hubble "Cats Eye" Nebula NGC 6543

The development of the Hubble Space Telescope is as amazing as it’s namesake’s road to astronomy.  Edwin P. Hubble had been interested in science and astronomy as a kid.  But he was no geek.  He was an accomplished athlete, having broken the Illinois State high jump record.  He continued in basketball and boxing at the University of Chicago, but, as a true student-athlete, found time to get degrees in mathematics and astronomy.  His academics outpaced his athletic prowess and he went on to attend Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.  But, this is where it gets weird.  He didn’t study anything related to science.  Instead, he studied the law.  He returned to the United States in 1913 and set up a law practice in Louisville, Kentucky.  Hubble was young enough to realize that he had made a mistake and was able to do something about it.  He closed down his law practice and returned to study at the Yerkes Observatory where, in 1917, he received a PhD in Astronomy.  However, he chose another route after graduation rather than immediately pursuing his passion.  Instead, he joined the army and served for a tour of duty in World War I. 

Hubble "Sombrero" galaxy M104

Finally, after concluding his service to the nation, Hubble went to the Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles where he went to work developing several ground breaking ideas in astronomy.   He came up with a classification system for galaxies and then created Hubble’s Law,  which helped determine the age of the universe and to conclude that it was expanding.   Albert Einstein had already developed his theory of relativity and had concluded that gravity curved space and, therefore, it could expand or contract.  But, he thought he was wrong and revised his theory.  After Hubble’s work, Einstein had to correct his error and in 1931 visited Hubble for the purpose of thanking him for his work in astronomy.  Hubble’s work in determining the expanding universe is the basis for the Big Bang Theory.   

Hubble Planetary Nebula IC 418

As great as the HST has been, nothing lasts forever.  The HST was designed for servicing and at least 4 service missions from the space shuttle have been undertaken.  Perhaps the most famous was when the Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-61) came to the rescue with corrections to a flawed mirror that messed up the optics.  In February 1997, Discovery (STS-82) came to do some work and Discovery again returned in late 1999 (STS 103) and replaced the gyroscopes.  A few years later in 2002, the last of the original instruments on the HST was replaced with some new hardware courtesy of Columbia (STS-109).  In May 2009, most likely the final service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope took place with a visit from Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-125).  The crew of Atlantis replaced numerous instruments and parts and put the HST in an orbit that should keep it aloft until sometime between 2019 and 2032.  It was originally designed to be brought back to earth in a shuttle but the program has been cancelled and the shuttle fleet will be retired soon.  So, the HST will be allowed to die a quick and undigified death with an orbital decay that will eventually end with it being burned to a crisp.  Maybe that’s not all bad. It came in a blaze of glory and will go out the same way, when it gives way to the James Webb Space Telescope.  I’m sure that it will be outstanding…but you can never duplicate the first time.

SPC Moderate Risk for Severe Weather For Parts of the Area Sat AM to Sun AM

Damaging Wind Primary Threat

Weather Bottom Line:  I’ve been talking of the risk of severe weather for this weekend and it’s here. I have to admit some of the numbers coming through are showing something potentially a little more formidable than even what I expected.  Every time that I’ve seen a SWEAT index over 500, something exciting happens.  The models are not in full agreement on this issue but they are close.  The RUC at 5Z was coming in with a SWEAT index of about 502 for 6 pm on Saturday.  The NAM has about 424 for around that time and the GFS is at 491.  CAPE for the NAM top out around 905, the RUC at 1521 and the GFS is more subdued at 406.  The Lifted Index is -3.2 for the NAM, -1.4 for the GFS and the RUC goes bananas at -6.1.  Helicity for NAM is 840 and 600 for the RUC while the GFS is negligible but I have to believe that its just crappy data.

Tornadic Activity is Not Out of the Question at all

So, what does this say.  Guarantee for a widespread severe outbreak?  No, but there is a pretty fair chance for numerous reports.  Now, the timing of this with all three models is about 6-8 pm….closer to 6-7 pm.  You’ll note that the SPC has the highest probability (45%) of the type of severe weather in our area for wind.  The best chances for tornadoes will be well to our south in the Heart of Dixie.  But, if this stuff…perhaps a lead super cell…comes moving through the flow in the afternoon during the heat of the day, it’s not out of the question for there to be enough dyamics to produce a twister or two.  Best chance for that still seems to be from say Owensboro to Bowling Green and points to the Southwest.  A concern that I may have would be for areas to the northeast of that…say toward Springfield or Lebanon.  I would think that Lexington will be too far northeast.

Hail not a huge concern but its still possible

I would get yardwork done early in the day.  We’ll probably warm up nicely with breezy conditions.  Isolated t’storms will start to float through in the early afternoon with more numerous cells by the end of the day.   Any storms that show up in the afternoon should be taken note of as it will have the potential for some monkeybusiness.  As we get toward sunset and after, be aware of the potential for strong winds as storms may be collapsing.  Even before then, storms will be racing along and their sheer momentum will produce strong winds in addition to downbursts.  Hail will also be a possibility but straight line winds will be the focus of concern followed by tornadoes.  Typically, when we get to the evening hours, these types of situations evolve into one of line segments.  When/if that happens, then there will be the potential for wind along bow echoes as well as isolated, short lived tornadoes on the edge of the apex of a bow segment.  Actually, I believe this type of situtation is the more common derivation of tornadic activity in our area rather than super cells. 

SPC Sunday Threat to East but rain potential exists

Rain totals are showed to be at about 1.5 inches by early Sunday morning for the NAM, 1.25 inches for the GFS.  The 5Z RUC only goes out to 6pm so it’s inconclusive but my guess is that it will be coincidental with the other two.  The axis of the main low will be just to our east on Sunday as this guy really gets bogged down.  But, we will still be in the influence of the system such that we can expect slightly cooler but still wet conditions on Sunday with passing showers in the picture.  I believe the GFS even wants to hold the rain chances over into Monday.  The threat of severe weather though will have gone by the way side by around Midnight Saturday night.

The Explosion That Brought Failure, Success and Fame April 13, 2010

The Result of the Explosion that Forced The World to Remember Apollo 13

President Kennedy Challenges Nation Before Congress May 25, 1961

On This Date in History:  The manned space program at NASA currently has an uncertain future as the Space Shuttle program winds down.  In sharp contrast, in the 1960′s the United States made manned space missions a national goal.  Just a few weeks after Alan B. Shepard, Jr.  became the first American in space, President Kennedy on May 25, 1961 set the bar high by saying that the United States would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.   When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough of the space program.  I sometimes wish that I had followed through on my boyhood dream of being an astronaut when I grew up.  In my college years, I won many a bar bet on any trivia question relating to space exploration.  When Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. (Buzz)  Aldrin, Jr.  set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969 the Guinness Book of World Records says that about a third of the global population watched in television.  That was Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 followed and by the time Apollo 13 lifted off on April 11, 1970 the American people, along with the rest of the world, seemed to give a collective yawn.

Picture Perfect Liftoff April 11, 1970

No one really noticed when the time of the launch on that day took place at 13:13 NASA time, or 1:13 pm CST.  More critically, no one at NASA had any concern over oxygen tank #2 in the service module.  According to NASA, “The No. 2 oxygen tank, serial number 10024X-TA0009 had been previously installed in the service module of Apollo 10, but was removed for modification (and was damaged in the process of removal). The tank was fixed, tested at the factory, installed in the Apollo 13 service module. and tested again during the Countdown Demonstration Test (CDT) at the Kennedy Space Center.beginning March 16, 1970. The tanks normally are emptied to about half full, and No. 1 behaved all right. But No. 2 dropped to only 92 percent of capacity. Gaseous oxygen at 80 psi was applied through the vent line to expel the liquid oxygen, but to no avail. An interim discrepancy report was written, and on March 27, two weeks before launch, detanking operations were resumed. No. 1 again emptied normally, but No. 2 did not. After a conference with contractor and NASA personnel, the test director decided to “boil off” the remaining oxygen in No. 2 by using the electrical heater within the tank. The technique worked, but it took eight hours of 65-volt DC power from the ground-support equipment to dissipate the oxygen. Due to an oversight in replacing an underrated component during a design modification, this turned out to severely damage the internal heating elements of the tank.”

"Houston, We've Had a Problem"

For years the main television networks in America had cut into regular programming to show broadcasts from space.  But, less than a year after Armstrong and Aldrin had put their footprints on the moon, network executives had determined that the public would rather watch their favorite tv show than watch the astronauts.  So, when the Apollo 13 crew broadcast live a few minutes short of 55 hours into their mission, no one saw the 49 minute broadcast from space which concluded with flight crew leader James A. Lovell, Jr say goodnight.  Within 15 minutes the networks scrambled to break into the programming as suddenly they thought the public would be interested. On this date in 1970,  nine minutes after Lovell bid farewell, that oxygen tank number 2 blew up and that caused oxygen tank number 1 to fail.  The goodship and crew was in peril as they were some 200,000 miles from earth.  Lovell called home, giving the infamous understatement of the century, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”  

 Jerry Woodfill makes the case of Divine intervention regarding the timing of the explosion.   He was mission Warning System Engineer and suggests that the time of the explosion was about the only time it could have happened and still gave the opportunity to spare the crew.  Now that is an interesting take on the incident that deserves some consideration.  Perhaps worthy of less examination are what might be regarded as those interesting coincidences of history.  Over time people have made numerous assocations of the third Apollo mission to put men on the moon with the number 13, though some are a stretch.   It departed on April 11, 1970 at 1:13 pm Houston time.   Never mind they launched on east coast time.   Anyway, 1:13 pm is 13:13 in 24 hour clock time. April 11, 1970 can also be written as 4/11/70. Four plus One plus One plus Seven plus Zero equals 13.   Or you can say 4+11+70 = 85 and 8+5 =13. Their last television broadcast was on April 13. They entered the moon’s gravitational field on April 13 and were scheduled to land on the moon on April 13. The failure of the number 2 oxygen tank occurred on Apirl 13th at 3:08:53.555 UTC which in the eastern time zone would be 9:08:53:555. 9+8+53+555=625 and 6+2+5 =13.   If the explosion that caused the damage had occured on earth, it was supposedly estimated to cost $13 million to repair the damage.  Seems like someone had a lot of time on their hands to have discovered all of this.

Splashdown Was Welcome Sight to the World and Mrs. Staple

If you saw the Apollo 13 movie, then you know that the crew made it home safely.  Back in those days, it was unusual  to have a TV set in the classroom but they wheeled one in to ours.  I remember Mrs. Staple being all emotional when we saw the Command Module floating to the sea under the 3 large parachutes.  Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise was assigned to be the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 18 but it was cancelled along with two other missions, leaving Apollo 17 as the last manned moon mission.  Command Module pilot  (John) Jack Swigert went on to be elected to Congress but died of cancer before he could take his seat.  Jim Lovell became one of America’s most experienced astronauts having logged over 715 hours in space during the Gemini and Apollo programs.  Lovell said in a 2009 published article that funding the space program would be a great part of the stimulus:  ”One part of the stimulus could be the space program,” he said.  “First of all it’s a creative program, it creates taxes individual and corporate taxes, all the money is spent here on Earth, not one cent up there in space.  It brings technology that spills over to the private sector.  That’s what happened all through Gemini and Apollo and the private sector now is affected by computer technology and electronic components that were speeded up by our being in space, and that could continue.”

Haise, Swigert and Lovell After Returning from Successful Failure made them more famous than if it ran smoothly

Now, Lovell is certainly qualified and worthwhile to get his opinion on all things space related.  But, the flight experience of John Young eclipses even that of Lovell.   And, of all the moon missions, aside from Apollo 11, no one remembers anything about Apollo 12-17 except 13.  Why? Because it was the successful failure.  It was dramatic.  It’s as if the 5 missions that put 10 additional men on the moon did not matter to the public.  Maybe the TV executives were right; the public had lost interest.  And with the cutbacks at NASA today, it would seem that the government is losing interest as well; that is a mistake.

Weather Bottom Line:  High pressure will drift to the east and temperatures will begin to warm slowly.  Friday evening a little front will come through that will bring a chance of rain or maybe some t’storms but nothing too earth shattering.  That will leave us with a great Thunder Over Louisville weekend though temperatures will be a bit cooler with highs in the mid to upper 60′s, which is closer to where they are supposed to be this time of year anyway.

Apollo 11 May Have Ended in Disaster if not for a Weatherman; Invest 97L Still There July 21, 2009

Invest 97L surviving despite crappy conditions

Liftoff from Moon (LM 17)

We’ve had the hoopla of the 40th annivesary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.  It was a tough trick and had never been done before.  But, no one had ever taken off from the moon either.  They did so at 1:54pm EDT on this date in 1969.  They left behind a plaque, naturally prominently signed by President Nixon, that read “we came in peace for all mankind.”   They spent 21 hours and 37 minutes on the lunar surface and as they prepared for their voyage home, one of their backpacks broke the switch that controlled their module’s ascent from the lunar surface.   Oops.  Yankee ingenuity came into play and the astronauts showed a zero-gravity pen into the broken switch.  Obviously, the make-shift repair worked because they were able to flip the switch and return safely.  Had it not been for their making use of what they had, they would have been marooned.  Previously, when they landed there was only 1 second of fuel left.  Had Armstrong not set down when he did, Michael Collins may have come home alone.

Plaque Left on Moon

Edwin E (Buzz) Aldrin and Neil Armstrong left behind a piece of the Wright Flyer flown at Kitty Hawk by the Wright Brothers, a disc with messages from 73 VIP’s on earth and a memorial honoring astronauts Grissom, Chaffey and White who had died when a fire swept through their Apollo I capsule.  As a nod toward detente, the memorial also recognized the deaths of two Soviet cosmonauts.  When they splashed down on July 24, 1969 more questions remained.  Since no one had ever been to the moon, there was concern that they may have picked up some bugs…which is odd since it is unlikely that anything could live in space.  But, all precautions were taken and Armstrong, Aldrin and Columbia pilot Michael Collins were whisked away from the deck of the USS Hornet wearing special protective masks. They were taken to this silver camper on one of the decks below in which they were to reside for a 21 day quarantine period.  There were no handshakes and no hugs.  A man followed behind them with a can of bug spray as they walked from the helicopter to the special quarantine location. 

Bad Weather Could Have Foiled Splashdown

All of this may not have come to pass though and there may have been another disaster.  See, there was bad weather but no one really knew about it…or weren’t supposed to know about it.  The Americans had a special cold-war era spy program called Corona which was part of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.  Satellites were placed all around the world in what was said to be a weather reconnasaince mission.   In reality, it was a spying program.  It was not declassified until 1995.  At that time, it was revealed that Capt. Hank Brandi had received a medal of commodation for saving the Apollo 11 astronauts.  He had seen the data from the spy satellites and noted that a storm would be in the landing area, the parachutes from the capsule would get ripped to shreds and the astronauts would plunge into the ocean to their deaths.  Brandi risked his career and the integrity of the Corona program by sharing the information with other officials who eventually altered the landing zone, which was not an easy thing to do, and the mission was saved.

Wednesday Morning

Weather Bottom Line:  Today should be fine though will will see an increase in clouds late in the day as a storm system gathers itself together to our Southwest.  The storm center should be up to around Memphis by Wednesday morning with a cold front extending south to the Gulf Coast and a warm from to its east.  Rain chances will start to go up tonight and carry through much of Wednesday.  Severe chances seem limited though I would not be surprised if there were elevated thunderstorms, particularly to our south.  Then the low will move northeast almost over the top of us before exiting early Thursday to the northeast.  Aside from the rain, I think the most significant thing about this is that our relatively cool conditions will get another shot in the arm once the low passes and high pressure builds in again giving us a northerly component to the flow.

Invest 97L Spaghetti Model 12Z 07.21.09

Invest 97L is still out there.  Nothing much new to report.  The satellite imagery from this morning indicates a blow up of convection but the upper level winds continue to be rather hostile to development.  The thing to watch for with this guy is its consistency.  The wind fields will at some point become more favorable.  When that happens, if it has remained as a viable feature, then the potential for development will be there.  That is a big IF.  Even if it does, my guess is that with the long wave trof expected to remain over the eastern US, it would probably pick up the system and take it north and then northeast, perhaps even avoiding the US mainland all together.  The latest model runs however still had a couple trying to sneak it under the ridge and into the Gulf.   If this guy survives and if this guy doesn’t move too much, then perhaps that will eventually happen.  So many IF’s..this is not a slam dunk situation for development by any means.

97L Spaghetti Intensity graph

Eight models are showing up in the spaghetti run with two keeping it below tropical storm status and one making it a minimal hurricane.  The others are all making Invest 97L a tropical storm.  Many of the runs are coming in exactly like the scenario that I laid out, which is the eastern trof picking up the storm and taking it east of the US.  That makes sense.  Development looks to be problematic given the necessary interaction with land (Cuba) in that scenario.  The tracks into the Gulf seem to be the outlyers and seem using conventional wisdom to be a little tough to verify.  This guy really will have a tough time becoming a problem, but again, its the only show in town.

What Are You Worth? April 17, 2007

On This Date in History The ill fated Apollo 13 crew of astronauts Lovell, Swigert and Haise made it safely back to earth. It was truly a remarkable thing. I recall watching it as a kid and how they wheeled TVs into all of the classrooms and we watched it all. Mrs. Staple, my teacher who was a pretty tough woman, was quite emotional when they came back. I was young enough to not know they could possibly not come back. Failure never crossed my mind. I don’t remember if anyone blamed anyone. They looked to find out what went wrong and then moved on. I think today’s media would have been all over it.

Space is the most inhospitable environment for humans that there is. Today the shuttle is the most complicated machine ever built by man. The astronauts know the risks of flying and that it is not completely safe. However, when something goes wrong, we now have the media looking for someone to blame. It can’t possibly be that we are pushing the edge of our limitations. But, we Americans tend to expect perfection or our “can-do” attitude that came about with the dawn of the industrial age and the closing of the frontier in 1890. We couldn’t very well say “go west, young man” any more. So now we think money and technology can over come anything and if it fails, its time for the blame game. Our marketing and expectations as Americans often exceed reality. The truth is, people do sometimes die from a broken leg. But, who would accept that if their loved one went into a hospital with a broken leg and died? Someone would have their Kentucky hammer out real quick.

Below is a link to a story of how the Columbia astronauts families were awarded $26.6 million in compensation for the deaths of the astronauts in 2003. Certainly, NASA granted the award in lieu of fighting a public lawsuit. But I wonder if the astronauts themselves, who know the dangers and extreme risk, would agree with the lawyers regarding the real merits of the case. An item that did jump out at me in the article was that the families of astronauts with PhD’s received more money than the others. I have degrees in Journalism, Meteorology and Physics and History so I am certainly in the camp that believes in the value of an education.

BUT…does that value extend to the value of a human life? Was one of those brave astronauts life with a PhD really a more valuable life than those with a Master’s degree? A response might be to ask the families if they think one person’s life was more valuable. But I would want to ask those in the legal system of the difficulty they must have looking at themselves in the mirror when they determine that one person’s life is worth more than another. Do they feel worthy to make such a judgement? Who would be the arbitor of the value of their life? A family member or maybe a client who ended up on the losing end of a judgement? It would make a big difference, wouldn’t it? How does one determine the true value of a life? Perhaps Mastercard has the answer: Priceless. But, in this case, maybe King Solomon’s wisdom might be needed, though, in a famous example of his judgement, he chose an equal division.

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/spacecraft/apollo_13_sm.jpg