3 June 2020

Space Shuttle Concept Art of the 1960s and 1970s

The idea of a spacecraft returning from space to a horizontal landing had been around for decades before the first operational space shuttle flight in 1982. A proposal had been submitted to NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA’s predecessor) in 1954, just eight years after the Second World War. That proposal would ultimately become the X-15 aircraft but classified studies in to the next generation of space transportation systems continued.

An important part of these studies was the production of concept art which could help senior military and political figures (as well as, later, the general public) to visualize the potential shape of things to come. Some of the concept art is remarkably prescient while others are more than a little off the mark. Now historical documents, the drawings for the space shuttle, created before the age of computer aided design, offer a fascinating insight in to how things may have been – as well as how they actually turned out.
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2 February 2013

Eyes on the Stars


Eyes on the Stars may well bring a tear or two to your own.  It tells the story of the day the nine year old Ronald E. McNair was drawn to his local library. Yet his attempts to borrow some books led with disapproval and denial – the library was 'not for coloreds'.

Nevertheless this young boy persevered and was destined to become only the second African-American in space.  McNair was selected as one of thirty-five applicants from a pool of ten thousand for the NASA astronaut program.

On January 28, 1986, the day which was to be McNair’s second journey on the shuttle, the NASA Challenger mission STS-51-L ended in tragedy when it exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. McNair was killed along with the six other astronauts on board.

This story is told by his brother, Carl.  It was created by Story Corps, a truly amazing organisation which provides Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of their lives.

Eyes on the Stars is a wonderful tribute to McNair (left) and, indeed, all those others like him who strive to better themselves and those around them through education and then go on to break new ground.

14 October 2012

Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Last Journey: Los Angeles, We Have a Problem

It orbited the earth close to five thousand times, traveling over a hundred million miles in the process. Yet for the Space Shuttle Endeavour the journey to its final resting place at the California Science Center proved a rather more laborious expedition. However, the site of a displaced space shuttle in the middle of Los Angeles is not something you see every day.

 Thousands of people turned out to watch the shuttle’s trip. Yet for many the day ended with disappointment as, due to delays, the shuttle failed to materialize at their place on the route at the allotted time.  Although the 12 mile journey from LAX to the California Science Museum started well, glitches, technical and otherwise, made it run hours behind its schedule by the end of the day.
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7 April 2012

Distance


If you like engineering of all kinds, then you will probably love Distance.  I have to admit to being quite entranced by it and its creator, James Linehan, freely admits that his inner nerd was given free rein in its creation.  You can tell – this could only have been made by someone who loves his subject matter so much.

Not only is Linehan (who is currently a broadcast designer for Oxygen TV) a cool animator he also created the soundtrack to go along with this animation (I looked for the band name thinking it was by a well known group of artists but to my surprise discovered it was made by the animator!).  Sit back and take this in – you will at some point come across your favorite mode of transport somewhere in here!

10 July 2011

Last Space Shuttle Launch Ever - STS-135 Atlantis in Pictures

8 July 2011

The Space Shuttle Through the Decades


As we say farewell to the marvel of human engineering that was the space shuttle, it is time to reflect on the achievements of the missions that the shuttle undertook. Over three decades, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour flew more than 100 missions. NPR takes a look back at some of the momentous video that came out of NASA's space shuttle program. Thanks for the memories!

Below, the last Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-135 is launched from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Wow,

15 August 2010

Robonaut 2 Heads in to Space – With his own Twitter Account

A Terminator in space? He looks more like C3P0 on steroids than a Terminator and if he was a Cyberdyne creation you could easily escape any homicidal intentions he might develop as he has no legs.  However, just as the Daleks had so much trouble getting up the stairs for so long, so Robonaut 2 (or R2 as he is known to friends) will overcome this shortcoming soon in the weightlessness of space.


R2 – and that’s a name you can’t help but love – is being sent by NASA to the International Space Station in a few months and will effectively become the seventh crew member, such are his duties.  He will be making history as the first robot with a humanoid form in space. Above is a visualization of how he might look on a space walk, but that won't happen for a good while yet.

NASA developed R2 in conjunction with General Motors, though both organisations are being very coy about how much he cost to build.  That means it was a lot.  He is certainly eye-catching though and weighing in at twenty one stone he is something of a heavyweight too.  Those immense arms look as if he has spent a little too much time in the gym but they are that size for some good reasons.


His strength certainly gives a Terminator a good run for its money. Those arms are strong enough to carry twenty pounds in our earth gravity.  Combine that strength with his dexterity – his fingers are almost as responsive as ours – and you have potentially a very useful addition to the ISS crew.
The Space Shuttle Discovery is coming out of mothballs to deliver R2 to the ISS on 1 November and once he is there he will be put through various routines to gauge how the weightlessness of space might effect his ability to operate. The mission, STS-133, will be Discovery's 39th and final mission.  The commander will be Steven W. Lindsey and the pilot will be Eric A. Boe.  There will be four mission specialists accompanying R2 to the ISS, Benjamin Alvin Drew, Jr, Timothy L. Kopra, Michael R. Barratt and Nicole Stott.  Although it is R2's first space flight it will be the second for the rest of the crew, except for Commander Lindsey, for whom it will be the fifth.


R2’s human shape is not an attempt at above atmosphere anthropomorphism. He looks like a human only because he is designed to operate like one.  Yet some might be forgiven for attributing characteristics to him that he doesn’t really possess.  After all, R2 has a twitter account and he will be using this to keep us informed about his outer space escapades.  Does this make him the first robot with a twitter account (answers on a postcard please)?  You can find his Twitter account  @AstroRobonaut.

When he gets to the ISS, R2 will be working in the Destiny lab but he may have access all areas in the future if he is modified.  He will not be returning to earth to a hero’s welcome, however.  This is a one way ticket for R2.  It will be fascinating to see him do his first space walk (or space shuffle, after all, he has no legs) and as a companion to the astronauts he will be able to perform some duties deemed too dangerous for those living and breathing.

That won’t be for a while, however.  As he is a prototype, R2 is not yet equipped with adequate shielding to function at the exterior of the ISS.  It’s so cold out there that his hydraulics would seize up.  However, before he makes the leap in to space he first needs to be tested to see how well he operates in microgravity.  There is also electromagnetism and radiation for him to contend with too.

However, it is hoped that R2 will be of great benefit up at the ISS. We can only keep our fingers crossed that the other crew members don’t complain about him being legless all the time.

Keep up to date with R2's Twitter feed here or click the image above.