Out of the World ISS Musical Experiment

Kudos to Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield who performed and produced an out of this world music video redition of David Bowie's 1969 hit "Space Oddity" while aboard the International Space Station.  The music video was made with the full cooperation of the Canadian Space Agency and has gone viral as it has been played over 11 million times. 

This was the third time that the 53 year old former Royal Canadian Air Force officer has been to space.  This time Hadfield was ISS Commander of the Soyuz capsule as part of Expedition 35's five month mission orbiting the Earth.  

ISS Expedition 35 landing

Even though Hadfield landed in Kazhakstan on May 13th, it may take months for him to enjoy his cosmic celebrity status on the world-wide-web, as Hadfield will require a couple of months of physical therapy to recover from effects of weightessness on bone density and muscle mass. 

Crew of ISS Expedition 35 after landfall.  

A small price to be paid for sitting in a tin-can far above the world and cutting a music video which truly makes Hadfield a renowned Starman. 

The Sounds of Space

The Space Shuttles were retired after 30 years of service in 2011.  Since the surviving shuttles made their final trips to the District of Calamity (sic), New York City and Southern California to rest in museums, there have not been new sounds from the American Manned Space Program.

But NASA has released High Definition video footage taken from the point of view of a Solid Booster Rocket.  The gauge in the upper right corner is the airspeed of the spacecraft.

What really makes this this film interesting is that the sound was remastered by Skywalker Sound. The video dramatically capture the release of a Solid Rocket Booster being released in the atmosphere at 150,000 feet falling to Earth.




The high fidelity audio captures haunting moans and eerie rattling hints of a horror show. But Hollywood has molded us to believe that in space no one can hear you scream.  

Barky at the Moon?

It is interesting that President Barack Obama's tribute to Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, featured himself prominently gazing towards the moon.

It is an odd tribute to a great American who has passed away to use as a vehicle for the President to publicize himself rather than the honoree. 

There is a tremendous irony that one of the few issues where Neil Armstrong left his sphere of privacy was to protest the cuts that the Obama Administration 

It was interesting that our Sun "King" was gazing at a crescent moon. Hermanutically significant or just coincidence?

R.I.P. Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)--Man Who Ushered In the Giant Leap for Mankind

Neil Armstrong, the first human who walked on the Moon, died at the age of 82.  Armstrong had recently undergone surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries.



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Spaced Out View on Manned Space Program

While I suspect that the trash talk about NASA's past was tongue in cheek. The emphasis on private space flight for the future is hyped but leaning in the right direction.



Competition encourages innovations and checks against spiraling costs. May Space-X, Virgin Galactic, XCOR et ali, have a better mission plan than NASA Chief Bolton promoting pride amongst Arabs for past math and space achievements.

Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final Flight Over DC

People between-the-beltways were treated to the sight of the retired Space Shuttle Discovery on its final flight to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport.  The Discovery was the most traveled space shuttle, having made 39 missions which totaled over one service year in space.

Many Washingtonians took a break before 10 am to see this fond farewell to flight by Discovery. The Discovery was piggy backed on top of a modified 747 jet on its trip from the Kennedy Space Center to Washington.  




But it was not a direct point by point flight.  The Space Shuttle made several dramatic pass overs Washington, to fly by the Monuments on the National Mall, the NASA headquarters and Capitol Hill before landing at Dulles.

The flight was a bittersweet moment, as crowds spontaneously applauded when seeing the Space Shuttle, which had served the American manned space program for 27 years.  But it is sad to think that NASA does not have a replacement manned space craft ready.  So American space interests need to be served through Russian Soyuz spacelifts from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the foreseeable future.

These triumphant pictures of the Space Shuttle flying by national landmarks will have an iconic appeal. It seems fitting that there are be photos of the Space Shuttle flying by the  White House, as the Obama Administration has effectively scrubbed the American Manned Space Program.

Now NASA can concentrate on helping Muslims feel better about their contributions to math and science. But on the bright side, Space X is a private American company which is set to make its first payload mission to the International Space Station on April 30th.

These final flights of the Space Shuttle are also a reminder of the politics of allocating NASA museum pieces.  The Atlantis will remain at Cape Canaveral, Washington was a natural pick.  New York and Los Angeles were also chosen to receive Space Shuttles.  Yet Houston, which has hosted the Johnson Mission Control Center for half a century was shut out, as decision makers seemed to be seeing red on electoral maps.

 Next week, the Smithsonian Institution will relinquish the Enterprise, the engine-less prototype Space Shuttle to New York City’s Intrepid Space-Air-Sea Museum, which will build a $100 million hanger for it.  This piggy back Enterprise flight ought to be better received than Air Force One’s joy ride over Manhattan in 2009 which created a panic by stunned spectators.