Has This Model Been Discontinued?

I don't have a personal story about having met Neil Armstrong. Let's just say our circles didn't overlap. Unlike many others who met him or idolized him, he wasn't my hero either. But he was certainly a person of high achievement and great integrity. He accomplished an extraordinary task, one unlike almost any other in the history of mankind, yet he never 'traded' on its significance. Most extraordinary. And for that (as well as his incredible ability to perform in the highest pressure situation ever known), I laud him.

Many would say that his passing marks the very tail-end of a remarkable era, that of the Greatest Generation. NBC News icon Tom Brokaw coined the term to describe those men and women whose personal needs took a far backseat to the formidable task of defeating Germany and Japan in the Second World War. For Armstrong, his assignment as Commander of Apollo 11 was never about the individual but always about the goal and the team that would make it possible to achieve the goal. He was a finely tuned instrument that would help make it possible for America to achieve the greatest technological challenge ever known to humankind. We didn't know very much about Armstrong when he came to the assignment and even after he played his part in accomplishing the goal of landing a man on the moon, he purposely made it almost impossible to know much about his life. It was never about him, it was about the mission to which he was assigned and its successful accomplishment.

Are there still people like this in the today's world? Undoubtedly, there are quiet 'heroes' all around us but the world has changed. Now one can be famous just for being famous. You don't have to do anything challenging, dangerous, civilization-advancing, or intellectually remarkable to be famous. Cmdr. Armstrong's deeds made him famous. The world tried to make Cmdr. Armstrong a famous personality but he wouldn't allow it. And again, for that, I laud him.

My one story about Cmdr. Armstrong is so tangential. In the earliest version (2002) of a space science exhibit here at Franklin Institute entitled Space Command, we had on display memorabilia of one of the men who worked in the 'white room' for Apollo missions. The 'white room' is the area at the top of the rocket launch tower at Kennedy Space Center where astronauts enter the spacecraft and the space craft doors are closed and locked from the outside(in the Space Shuttle era this room was called the 'close-out' room). Over the years, this 'white room' worker collected all kinds of images and signatures from the astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and even Space Shuttle programs. One of his items we had on display was a personal check. It was written out to him by Neil Armstrong. Apparently Neil owed him $10.00! The account names printed on the check were Neil and his then-wife Janet and it was signed by Neil, but – get this – it was dated July 16, 1969, the day the crew of Apollo 11 blasted off atop the Saturn V, headed for what became the most historic journey ever.

Among all the other things Armstrong needed to be concerned with that day, he pays off a $10. debt? Was it really that important?  Or was it a practical joke of some sort? Not likely. Armstrong didn't seem to be that kind of guy. Maybe it was an unusual way to mark the day in a special way for a special friend? Did he think there was a chance he wouldn't return so he squared all his accounts? I never got the real story. The materials belonged to a guy who bought them from a friend, a NJ dentist, the son of the guy who worked close-out for Apollo missions. The father and son hadn't been on speaking terms, the father died, and the son just wanted to get rid of the stuff. When offered to us to purchase, we declined since we are not a collections museum. I have no idea where the stuff is today, probably sold into a private collection. But I always thought that check might tell a story of one man's great integrity.

Ad Astra Neil.

T-24 Hours To Mars!

 At the time of this post, our latest effort to look for life on Mars is just one day away from landing. Traveling now at 8,039 miles per hour and closing from 215,000 miles, the Mars Science Lander is on course and working perfectly.  When it enters the Martian atmosphere MSL’s speed will have increased to 13,000 miles per hour because of the pull of Mars’ gravity. To say it will be a challenge to get rid of all that velocity and land safely is this years’ greatest understatement. Even the engineers who designed the braking system will sit on pins and needles waiting for The Signal. Landing time: Monday Aug. 6, 1:31 A.M. EDT.

DSN Parkes 64-meter radio dish in New South Wales, Australia

NASA will use all of its listening resources including the three satellites already in place orbiting Mars, and the Australian branch (the side of Earth facing Mars at landing time) of the Deep Space Network to catch the signal indicating MSL has landed.

While the NASA engineers are biting their nails down to the quick tomorrow, here’s how you can stay on top of this most exciting event since Armstrong and Aldrin stepped on the moon in 1969.

First, check out what the entry, descent and landing challenges for MSL will be in this ‘must see’ video description of  “7 Minutes of Terror” . http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/videos/index.cfm?v=49

Then follow MSL in a real-time simulated fly-along right down to landing. Since there won’t be real-time live images being broadcast, this will be the best way to have the feeling of being there as MSL lands. http://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/

While you’re away from your computer, your smartphone can keep you in touch through an app called ‘Mission Clock’. This one keeps up-to-the-second, real-time countdown clocks marking hundreds of activities of many different space missions. Available at the App Store.

Because of the great interest in the possibility of life on Mars over 50 years ago, the Franklin Institute’s Fels Planetarium Director Dr. I.M. Levitt, built the world’s first ‘Mars Clock’ in cooperation with the Hamilton Watch Company in the 1950’s. Want to know what time it is on Mars right now? Use this link http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/download_mac.html

to download an online version that will show Mars local times at various locations on the planet.

Once MSL lands, it’ll be another seven minutes before we know for sure whether it landed safely or in pieces. You can be sure NASA will post that news as soon as it comes to earth and you’ll find it at the main NASA Mars Science Laboratory website http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/.

Want to really understand how awesome rocket scientists and engineers can be? Then don’t miss this landing. This is truly a case of “Go big or go home.”

Ad Astra Sally K.!

We need more adventurers like Sally Ride. The first American woman in space, Sally Ride immediately became a household name and a beacon of aspiration for women of all ages when she flew on the seventh Space Shuttle mission. At a time when it seemed that one of the basic criteria for becoming an astronaut was to be male, Ride opened a new chapter as an explorer. Ride's selection as the first American woman in space was a clear indicator of NASA's acknowledgement of the importance of diversity. Since here first flight in 1983, more than 40 women have become NASA astronauts. Clearly, she inspired women to pursue the high call to space and likely inspired scores more to pursue careers in science and technology fields.

Ride was finishing her doctorate in astrophysics at Stanford University in 1977 when she saw a NASA ad calling for astronaut candidates in the Stanford student newspaper. She applied immediately and when selected for astronaut training two years later, was among a group of 35 chosen (including five other women) from over 8000 applicants.

For Ride, when this unique opportunity presented itself, she saw it as a career possibility she couldn't resist. After all, her parents supported her childhood interest by providing a telescope for her; she was 10 years old when Alan Shepard became the first American in space, 11 when John Glenn flew his three orbits and 18 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin  set foot on the moon. So by the time she's studying astrophysics and sees the ad calling for astronaut candidates for the then-new space shuttle program, she realizes this as her chance to be on the cutting edge of space exploration, to participate in the adventure of a lifetime.

Flying on two shuttle missions as a mission specialist, her duties included performing experiments and launching and retrieving satellites. Her third flight assignment was cancelled due to the explosion of shuttle Challenger in 1986. Later, she would be the only person to serve on the disaster review board for both shuttles Challenger and Columbia. Among her many other achievements and appointments, she served as a member of the President's committee on Science and technology and the National Research Council's Space Studies Board.

She was a frequent guest speaker at science museums and conferences around the world. This was probably an outgrowth of her strong advocacy of better science educational experiences for kids, especially for girls. I had several conversations with Ride about ways to improve science education during her visits to the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia where I am Chief Astronomer and a Senior Science Educator. While some have described Ride as an 'absent heroine', I found her to be quite the opposite in that she regularly demonstrated her understanding of being a role model by visiting schools, writing books, giving speeches, and in 2001 founding 'Sally Ride Science', a company 'dedicated to supporting girls' and boys' interest in science, math and technology' and more specifically aims 'to make a difference in girls' lives and in society's perception of their roles in technological fields.' Well beyond the end of her space career, Ride used her knowledge, experiences, intellect, celebrity and influence to help others, particularly children, to better understand and appreciate science.

Today we see a space program much evolved from the time when Ride was flying. We have a fully operational space station; the Chinese have a space station and plans to visit the moon by 2020; private companies now offer flights to the edge of space for $200,000 and NASA is on the verge of 'outsourcing' some of its basic operations. Ride spent over fourteen days in space - not a record by any means, but she leveraged what time she did spend in space to become a truly inspirational leader showing kids, particularly girls, what they can achieve in the exciting fields of sci-tech through desire, education and dedication. She demonstrated that if you want to, you can become an explorer, an adventurer, and can even blaze trails, opening doors for others and that it can all be done in a quiet, dignified manner while maintaining a personal life.

Her legacy carries on well beyond what she could have ever imagined in the lives she changed with her pioneering spirit.

Ad Astra Sally K. Ride!