Image Credit: NASA
One of the pictures of the day over at nasa.gov has piqued our space imaginations over here at OWC. The picture shows a very cool pic of the Aurora Australis from space, similar to the Northern Lights known in the northern hemisphere.
Before I watched the Atlantis lift off on Friday, the last time I saw a Space Shuttle launch live as it happened was on a TV cart wheeled in to the classroom when I was in the fifth grade. It wasn’t a common happening – this was a special event… after all, there was a teacher going into space; I don’t think I have have to tell you what happened next…
While I retained a fascination with the space program, there were no more live launches broadcast at school, and as I grew older, the launches just became something that I was peripherally aware of.
More accurately, it was what they did on those missions that caught my attention: launching the Hubble Space Telescope, helping build the International Space Station, repairing the Hubble, cool things happening in Spacelab, and the like. Article Continues…
image courtesy of NASA
So while it appears the U.S. is leaving Low Earth Orbit operations (like the ISS) to the private sector and other countries once the Space Shuttle program is retired later this year, our country is going to “boldly go” into the unknown depths of space.
Finally, some good news from NASA that perhaps can return us to the pinnacle of space exploration!
In a press release dated May 24th, NASA officials announced plans for a new spacecraft designed for deep space exploration. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is based on designs originally intended for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, part of the Constellation Program that was canceled early last year.
“We are committed to human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and look forward to developing the next generation of systems to take us there,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “The NASA Authorization Act lays out a clear path forward for us by handing off transportation to the International Space Station to our private sector partners, so we can focus on deep space exploration. As we aggressively continue our work on a heavy lift launch vehicle, we are moving forward with an existing contract to keep development of our new crew vehicle on track.”
This new spacecraft is being designed by Lockheed Martin Corp., who has been involved with many NASA projects over the years.
With 316 cubic feet of pressurized, habitable space and a rough cone shape, the MPCV resembles a slightly larger Apollo Command/Service Module with a fresh coat of black paint. However, it has been designed for missions up to 21 days, will carry four astronauts, and is supposed to be 10 times safer during launch and re-entry than the Space Shuttle.
Amongst the collective weeping and gnashing of teeth over the difficulties replacing the 2011 iMac’s hard drive, it’s nice to hear that something is finally going well. After multiple delays, Space Shuttle Endeavor finally lifted off today at 7:56 AM CDT marking both its final flight and the second-to-last Space Shuttle mission.
Our friends with The Last Shuttle Project were there with their cameras and other equipment (undoubtedly including some OWC storage-related products) to capture it all. Here are a couple of low-resolutions shots of the Last Shuttle crew setting up their equipment and a rather unique road sign. Article Continues…
OWC Meghan caught up with Cathy Brinkworth of the Last Shuttle Project and Steve Otten, Executive Director of the Challenger Learning Center during OWCs shuttle program commemoration party on April 19 to get their take on the end of the Shuttle age.
With the looming last days of the Shuttle Program drawing closer, the thoughts and memories turned to the entirety of what the program meant, what its contributions were to the world, and what it means for America going forward.
Only two launches remain before the final chapter is written – the next being Endeavor this Friday, the last will be the Atlantis on June 28. Befitting for the end of an era, I think.
Image courtesy of NASA
This nifty little tidbit crossed our desks late last week, but kept getting bumped for other, more time-sensitive articles. However, we definitely weren’t gong to let it slide by without a mention.
A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned NASA’s MESSENGER probe, which was sent to go study Mercury and return the first data about the planet since the Mariner 10 mission in the 1970s.
Well, MESSENGER has reached the innermost planet of our solar system and has started sending back pictures. Space.com has about three dozen pictures in a gallery, consisting of photos sent back by MESSENGER along with artists’ conceptual paintings. The official MESSENGER mission page has a host of other information, including mission details, more pictures, and an FAQ to cover most basic questions.
Obviously, we here at OWC have an interest in this mission; after all, our “Mercury” line of storage solutions and SSDs are a huge part of our product line. Getting a closeup look at its namesake planet (and the first look in over 30 years), is pretty darn interesting to us.
In case you haven’t been following up on these sorts of things: the date of the final Space Shuttle launch is rapidly approaching.
For the last 30 years, the Space Shuttle has served to carry numerous satellites and payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), perform emergency repairs, perform scientific experiments in microgravity environments, and transport personnel to and from the International Space Station.
After June 28, there will be no further Shuttle missions. The Constellation program was scheduled to replace the Shuttle, with a focus not only on missions in LEO but also on a return to the Moon. Unfortunately, that program got scrapped early last year and there is little left to replace it. There are programs, such as the Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle that propose to take up much of the slack of both the Shuttle and Constellation, but they are still many years off. In the meantime, the USA is going to have to depend on other countries and private corporations for its manned space needs.
While the Shuttle may be going away, there’s at least one group of people out there trying to preserve the Shuttle’s legacy for generations to come.
“The Last Shuttle” Projectis a group of professional photographers and cinematographers who have come together to chronicle the last mission of the Shuttle Program. They have unprecedented access “behind the scenes” to show exactly what’s involved in a Shuttle mission from beginning to end. Their focus is on telling the story of the Space Shuttle program, including behind the scenes activities and the people, from plumbers to astronauts, who were involved in making it happen. Article Continues…
Image courtesy of NASA
If you’re an OWC customer, you likely own an OWC Mercury drive…whether it be an optical or hard disk drive solution….or a high-performance SSD. As the theme of this post is a closer look at Mercury (the planet), I thought I’d first give you a little history on how the name Mercury was chosen for our drive line…then blast off into the really cool space stuff.
As you may remember from past posts about space related topics, our founder and CEO, Larry O’Connor started what you know today as OWC back in 1988. Its first branded product was a processor upgrade called the OWC Rocket. In 2000, the Mercury Classic Elite was born. And then nearly every year since, we’ve come up with another drive under that banner name. Larry has always been fascinated by all things space related and when I asked him how he chose Mercury for our drive line, he said it “was a combination of aspects….the Roman God who was known for speed, the NASA program which launched the first Americans into space, and the uniqueness of the planet itself.”
Speaking of the planet’s uniqueness, were you aware that this Thursday you’ll have a first-of-its-kind opportunity to see it up close? Really close?
How does 125 miles away from a surface that can heat up to 800°F when facing the sun grab ya? Hopefully, there’s a happy medium somewhere; on the opposite side, it can dip down to -300°F. Article Continues…
