Ultra Cool 360 Panoramic Of The Shuttle Discovery Cockpit

Click the pic to go to the 360 panoramic of Discovery's cockpit (tilt, pan and zoom)

 
 So here we are living in the vacuum of no active NASA manned spacecraft program for the first time since Alan Shepard was the first American in space over 50 years ago. The private ventures that have the goal of manned spaceflight may well succeed, in time, but the lack of a direct NASA manned program says a lot of about the state of America. You can point to NASA mismanagement as part of the issue, but I believe ultimately it's a result of the massive and overriding weakening of the financial condition of the nation... and that's not NASA management's fault, that's the fault of the politicians in Washington who spend more than they take in and seem to have no real understanding of how wealth is generated. They seem to think our individuals pockets are a bottomless pit rather than realizing that it's 'productivity' that generates the wealth that can in turn be taxed. Until we put productivity ahead of spending, it's only going to get worse. I'm hopin' for real some serious change in Washington in November 2012, if you get my drift.

 Ok, enough with the frustrating stuff... the point of this post is an excellent 360 panoramic experience that you can have in the cockpit of Shuttle Discovery. Click the pic above or click here to open a new window with the panoramic image that can be tilted, panned and zoomed (controls are centered at the bottom of the image in the panoramic) - it's an amazing look at the complex front office of the Shuttle. 

 Discovery's last flight (STS-133) landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, 2011. This panoramic image was captured during the decommission process in the months that followed, which means it's a pretty recent look at Discovery's cockpit. So take a few minutes and poke around inside one of the most amazing cockpits on Earth... or in space!

CoolPix: Lean & Mean North American X-15 (1961)

(click pic for hi-res)

 I was born the same year this photo was taken of the #3 North American X-15 sitting on a dry lakebed, and I gotta say it was pretty cool growing up with the X-15 program still operational. This image seems to say it all when it comes to how cool the X-15 is. It's lean, mean and so secure in what it's designed to do that it didn't even need wheels on the main gear! It's part Batman and part astronaut all rolled into one.

 This is the #3 aircraft (the last one built) - and tragically, it's the only one totally lost in the program. On November 15, 1967 Michael James Adams lost his life when the X-15 went out of control and broke apart. Accident details from his wiki entry: Adams' seventh X-15 flight, flight 3-65-97, took place on 15 November 1967. He reached a peak altitude of 266,000 feet (81 km); the nose of the aircraft was off heading by 15 degrees to the right. While descending, at 230,000 feet (70 km) the aircraft encountered rapidly increasing aerodynamic pressure which impinged on the airframe, causing the X-15 to enter a violent Mach 5 spin. As the X-15 neared 65,000 feet, it was diving at Mach 3.93 and experiencing more than 15-g vertically (positive and negative), and 8-g laterally, which inevitably exceeded the design limits of the aircraft. The aircraft broke up 10 minutes and 35 seconds after launch, killing Adams. The United States Air Force posthumously awarded him astronaut Wings for his last flight.

 The other two X-15's remain today with #1 at the National Air & Space Museum and #2 at the Air Force Museum. The X-15 represents brave men courageously exploring the boundary of earth... and the risks that came with it.

Video: Virgin Galactic Shows More Of SpaceShipTwo In Flight

 Here's a recent showreel video from Virgin Galactic with some stellar views of both WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo in flight. Impressive stuff... and fun to watch : )

 

Video screenshot of SpaceShipTwo looking fabulous in a glide test

The Mega Mothership Space System From Stratolaunch

A new space launch system named Stratolaunch introduces the mega mothership

 Yesterday Paul Allen announced an ambitious space launch project called Stratolaunch... it takes the high-altitude mothership launch system concept seen in his 2004 collaborative effort with Burt Rutan on SpaceShipOne to a massive new scale.

 In fact, this mothership, to be built by Scaled Composites, will have a wingspan of over 380 feet making it by far the largest aircraft in the world based on wingspan. Possibly more amazing is that the largest aircraft by this measure is still the Howard Hughes H-4 Hercules (Spruce Goose) built in the mid 1940's which has a wingspan of just a tic under 320 feet. This mothership will also come close to being the heaviest aircraft on earth with a projected gross weight of over 1.2 million pounds, but the An-225 at 1.323 million pounds and the A380 at 1.3 million pounds will have it beat on the scales.

 The basic launch configuration looks very much like a scaled up version of Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital system, logically so because Burt Rutan is directly involved in the Stratolaunch project. His success in using a mothership to launch a spacecraft at high-altitude in both the SpaceShipOne and Virgin Galactic systems is being taken to a new massive size that should make space access far more economical than traditional launch systems.

Rendering of the Stratolaunch high-altitude launch system in action

 It would seem pretty basic that it would require less energy and complexity to launch a spacecraft horizontally from an aircraft at 30,000 to 50,000 than it does to literally go directly against gravity from the ground with a ballistic launch system like we have used for years - like with the Space Shuttle. The amount of horsepower (and unimaginable amounts of fuel to feed that power) make the task incredibly difficult and expensive. High-altitude launching just seems to make a lot of sense. It also allows potentially faster turn around times with far simpler systems to prep (and the ability have multiple, affordable motherships), and it offers the ability to travel some distance once airborne to find the best weather for launch.

 SpaceX will be building the approximately 120 foot long spacecraft and multi-stage booster for the Stratolaunch system. Initial efforts will be focused on delivering unmanned cargo into space in the 10,000 lb class, with manned spaceflights taking place once safety and reliability have been proven. The timetable for all of this is obviously difficult to project, but Stratolaunch hopes to have the mega mothership built and flying by 2016. Former NASA administrator Mike Griffin is on the Stratolaunch board (as is Burt Rutan), and former NASA manager Gary Wentz is CEO/Chairman. Watch for more info and systems details to be posted in the future.

Learn more at Stratolaunch.com

CoolPix: X-15 Pilots... Does This Spacesuit Make My Butt Look Big?

(click pic for hi-res)   NASA X-15 pilots showing some early space humor in 1966

 I was 5 years old in 1966 when this NASA picture was taken. I definitely remember the North American X-15 being part of my culture growing up from about age 7 on - what an amazing time in aviation and aerospace history! In all, three X-15's were built, with the first of the programs 199 flights taking place in 1959. The program officially ended in December 1970. This high altitude rocket plane, which was launched into flight from a B-52 mothership, was an essential part of the research and development that put Americans into space. Can you even imagine that at its maximum, the X-15 flew up to 354,200 feet (67.08 miles) and at a speed of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) - Wow!

 This CoolPix is a whole lot more about the pilots tho than the airplane. Given how much these guys were pushing the envelope of flight, it's no surprise that they also knew how to ham it up a bit. It's also interesting that this group of guys represents exactly half of the total number of X-15 pilots. One of them not in this picture was Neil Armstrong. You might have seen the CoolPix of Neil with the X-15 that I posted in February 2010. These are some amazing historical images to be sure!

 Of the three X-15's built, one was tragically lost along with pilot Michael J. Adams in 1967, one is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, and the one pictured here with the playful pilots is on display at the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio. That's my cue to mention that a second annual AirPigz meetup at the Air Force Museum is now in the works... it'll most likely take place in late January 2012, and I'd like to encourage some of you to consider meeting up with 10 or 15 of us avgeeks to experience the amazing aviation history on display there.

 I'll be posting more info as we move into December, but if you're interested in being on an email list for more details, send me a quick note at mcc@airpigz.com to let me know. Museum admission is free, and of course there's no charge for the AirPigz meetup on Saturday and/or Sunday. I'll also be planning to take in the behind-the-scenes tour on Friday again (the only day they offer the tour), and I highly recommend you join that experience too, it's amazing. And seeing this X-15 is another example of a piece of aviation history on display there that's worth the trip : )

Welcome Home Atlantis - The Shuttle Era Comes To A Successful End

 This is a long version of the Atlantis STS-135 pre-dawn landing at Kennedy Space Center this morning... the landing that brings the Space Shuttle Program to a close.  If you're short on time, bump up to the 4:30 mark for the final approach, including some fabulous views looking down the lighted runway from the pilot's seat.

 The Space Shuttle has served America very well. Even with the Challenger and Columbia tragedies, and with leadership in Washington that sometimes seems confused about why we go into space, I know I'll always look at the Shuttle as a magnificent accomplishment of the American spirit.

 Thank you to each and every of the thousands and thousands of people who have made the Shuttle Program a reality over the last 30 years. You have done amazing things and made us proud.

The Space Shuttle Program commemorative patch signifying 30 years of service

Atlantis STS-135: The Sentimental Journey Begins (CoolPix + Must See Video)

(click pic for hi-res)                                                               (photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

 I'm a little late to the launch party today because I've been working all day trying to make some much-needed cash. Space Shuttle Atlantis left earth earlier today at 11:29 am EDT on the last scheduled Space Shuttle mission, STS-135. It's a sentimental journey to be sure. I think it'll definitely feel like something is out of place when our only active manned space system is parked for the last time.

 But right now it's all about this current mission and the successful launch today. This beautiful picture taken by Bill Ingalls for NASA shows Atlantis with her nose pointed at the heavens with her tail on fire for the last time. Be sure to click the pic to see it in a big CoolPix size.

 If you haven't been paying attention as these last few missions have been flown in the last year, you might find yourself suddenly aching for more Shuttle. If so, I highly recommend you watch the lengthy and very informative video below. It's full of stunning slow motion video of a range of Shuttle launches from a wide variety of up-close views... plus it has friendly and comfortable commentary to take you on a journey into the inner workings of the launches like you've never seen before. It's simply awesome. It's well worth you finding the 45 minutes it takes to watch it all. Especially now that the Shuttle program is truly coming to an end.

 Godspeed Atlantis.

My Little Town Seen At Night From The ISS In Space!

Night picture from the ISS over the Midwest looking east - I live inside the blue circle

(click pic to enlarge)

 I saw this pic taken from the International Space Station posted on the Aviation Heritage Press facebook page last night and noticed right away that it was a great nighttime view of Chicago and much of the Midwest. Then I thought, hey, I live in the Midwest!... so I got to looking a little closer and after identifying several larger cities, I found South Bend and Elkhart (pretty much side by side), and then found Fort Wayne.

 Then, seeing the smaller city of Plymouth straight south of South Bend (on a line heading toward the big city of Indianapolis), I then drew an imaginary line between Plymouth and Fort Wayne which represents US Highway 30 (running kinda east-south-east) and there it was! My little town of Warsaw Indiana! It's only about 15,000 people, so I was pretty surprised that it was that easy to see from low Earth orbit. I thought this was cool enough to do a quick screen capture and then I put the circle around Warsaw and posted it on twitpic. I really didn't think anyone would care but it got quit a few views and I got several comments on twitter about it.

 So tonight I decided to see if I could replicate the view in Google Earth. Below is what I came up with to help you better see what the nighttime pic is showing. It's pretty accurate, tho I might be off just a tad. The tilted view is from 259 miles up, and it looks like the ISS runs 173 to 286 miles in altitude, so I may be pretty close to the actual altitude that the pic was taken from. Cool stuff! Possibly the coolest part from the actual pic above is the blue edge line that shows where day is turning into night. It's called the 'terminator', and it's just really beautiful. (click here to see both pix stacked for comparison)

(click pic to enlarge)     Google Earth image of the same view from 259 miles up

 One last thing that makes all this very interesting... the image is actually one of many that's part of a new book coming out this Fall from the Aviation Heritage Press. It's called Lights Of Mankind: The Earth At Night As Seen From Space and you can pre-order it at Amazon. Here's the book description: 'Lights of Mankind' is the story of how we’ve populated this planet as told through inspiring, panoramic photographs of Earth at night. It showcases unexpected and breathtaking photos made possible by the latest light-sensitive cameras and the newly installed Cupola on the International Space Station—pictures that have already awed hundreds of thousands Space Station fans. 

 The book looks pretty interesting to me. I'll see if I can get a copy and review it soon to give you a better idea of what it's all about. From what I see of it so far, I'm inclined to say it's out of this world : )

Endeavour Does The Fast-Gear-Drop For The Last Time (2 Videos)

 The end of the line for Shuttle Endeavour was reached at 2:35am eastern time this morning with a landing in darkness at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The video above gives you a great view of a beautiful landing... and remember, the fire flashes seen near the vertical stabilizer are from one of the auxiliary power units as it does a controlled burn-off of the highly toxic and dangerously unstable hydrazine fuel that powers them. It's all completely normal.

 This last-ever mission for Endeavour, STS-134, was a very successful final mission for the youngest of all of the Shuttles, and it leaves us just one final mission in the Shuttle Program: STS-135 with Atlantis, currently scheduled for launch on July 8, 2011.

 You probably know I like to take a little different look at the way things tick in the world of aviation/aerospace, and I found a video to help me with an interesting point with Endeavour's landing gear. It all starts with the fact that the shuttles are one of the few aircraft to takeoff with their landing gear up, but then extend it for landing. And if you've been paying attention, the shuttles extend their gear pretty fast. I never really gave the retraction side of the gear much thought until I watched the video below. There's not enough info with the video to know if the gear typically fights the force of gravity in such a lazy manner, but really, there's no need for it to go up in a hurry anyway. 

 And it's true, watching a main gear leg retract and the door close behind it for over a minute and a half isn't exactly exciting, but I'm enough of a geek to really enjoy it. If you get bored and wanna bail, hop over and check out the CoolPix I posted from back in February 2010 when Endeavour made another night landing... it's very cool stuff. 

 Welcome home Endeavour, you've served US well.

Got a minute and a half?  Endeavour main gear retraction

Video: GoPro HD Cam Sitting On Top Of The World!

 In 4 minutes and 29 seconds, this video will show you the preparation, the launch, the return and locating of a GoPro HD cam that took a little trip to over 100,000 feet just to get a view from the top of the world. It's a pretty cool low budget effort put forth by some German college students. And in possibly the best observation from the whole episode, it's good to see that Germans seem to get just as much enjoyment from talking funny under the influence of helium as you and I do!

 Cool stuff : )

Video screenshot showing the helium balloon used to get the cam up to over 100,000'