Archives for the 'history' Category
Selling Space
Published on 25 Mar 2008 at 8:35 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under history, space exploration.
Yesterday, I saw a news item about space memorabilia being auctioned nearby in Dallas. The auction is being held by Heritage Auction Galleries. What caught my attention was the news headline declaring that patches from Buzz Aldrin’s spacesuit were to be auctioned off. Actually, it isn’t just Buzz Aldrin’s spacesuit patches being […]
David Fabricius
Published on 9 Mar 2008 at 2:07 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under astronomers, history.
There is a crater on the Moon named Fabricius. It is about 2.5 kilometers deep and 78 kilometers in diameter. According to a NASA list of crater names, it is named for the astronomer David Goldschmidt. Who is the Goldschmidt, and why is the crater named for him? I chose to […]
Jules Verne
Published on 9 Feb 2008 at 2:31 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under books, history, science fiction.
One of the first introductions that most people have to science fiction, including myself, is the work of Jules Verne. He was born 180 years ago, yesterday, on February 8, 1828. Though he was originally writing for adults, his work is often seen as children’s fiction. That is a shame, because he really […]
Explorer 1
Published on 30 Jan 2008 at 5:15 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under history, space exploration.
Tomorrow, January 31, marks 50 years in space for the United States.
50 years ago, on the evening of January 31, 1958, a Juno rocket (also known as a Jupiter-C rocket), which was basically a modified Redstone ballistic missile, roared to life on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, in Florida. Seconds later, at […]
2007 –> 2008
Published on 31 Dec 2007 at 7:10 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under history, time.
Happy New Year!
The Earth has completed one more trip around the Sun since my last New Year’s posting. So, we increment the calendar by one year. January 1 has not always been the date marking a new year, but today it is. You can read my post from last year for more […]
JPL 2008 Rose Parade Float
Published on 28 Dec 2007 at 1:09 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under NASA, history.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is located in Pasadena, California. (Actually, only a small portion of the facility is actually in Pasadena. The rest is in the city of La Canada Flintridge. However, the front gate is in Pasadena, and Pasadena is much easier to say than La Canada Flintridge.) Pasadena, though, […]
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You are go for launch!
Published on 8 Nov 2007 at 6:46 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under history, space exploration.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union had planned to launch a satellite during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. The Soviets got their satellite, Sputnik, off first, on October 3, 1957. I wrote about that a little over a month ago. American rocket scientists, of course, knew that the Soviets […]
