With Halloween less than a week away, here is the final part of my list of scariest things to happen in space.
The Time an Astronaut Wore a Gorilla Suit
In his autobiography, Scott Kelly (twin brother of astronaut and senator Mark Kelly) revealed that he thought it would be humorous to pull a prank on his coworkers on the International Space Station. That wish was granted as Scott was sent a gorilla costume in a resupply mission. His brother had sent it to him for his birthday.
He was spending a year in space, so why not have some birthday fun!
During his downtime on February 21, 2016, Scott donned the costume and hid in a large zip-up bag. He proceeded to pop out and chase coworker, Tim Peake through the ISS. Thankfully, he seemed to have a good sense of humor about it.
While it must have made for an interesting day, it’s hard to imagine a large ‘space gorilla’ flying after you.
Credit: Scott Kelly’s Twitter/X.
Water in Spacesuit
Imagine being out in the vacuum of space on a spacewalk when suddenly you cannot see or hear.
That’s what happened to Luca Parmitano.
Luca’s coworkers rush to get him out of the leaking suit. Photo by ESA/NASA.
What may have been a clogged filter caused the spacesuit to spring a leak. Being in microgravity, the liquid floated up towards his head – pausing everything.
Italian astronaut, Parmitano said of the experience, “I started going back to the airlock and the water kept trickling. It completely covered my eyes and my nose. It was really hard to see. I couldn’t hear anything. It was really hard to communicate. I went back using just memory, basically going back to the airlock until I found it.”
The universe beyond Earth – space is terrifying. Still, we send our best equipment and bravest people out to explore. Space is unforgiving and the smallest error can change everything. With Halloween on the way, I present to you a few space close calls that are nightmare material.
Hubble’s Trouble
Imagine a world with no Hubble images.
Launched in April of 1990 in the payload bay of the space shuttle Discovery, the Hubble Space Telescope has brought us numerous stunning views of faraway stars and galaxies. Named after Edwin Hubble, the telescope is responsible for the many of the beautiful space images we take for granted. The telescope has provided views free from the obstruction of Earth’s atmosphere. These images and data changed so much of what we know about our universe.
The Hubble Space Telescope in orbit. Photo by NASA.
We almost got a nightmare situation instead. After release from Discovery’s payload bay into orbit, trouble was encountered.
Hubble was being developed since the 1970s. A failure would not only be the loss of a ton of money, but a loss of years of effort. It had to be a success!
The telescope was designed to be serviced by astronauts. Those trained to work on it had a huge responsibility: Do not break the telescope. Astronomers and engineers watched their every single move as they worked on Hubble.
The crew controlled the Canada arm to carefully move Hubble out of the payload bay and into orbit. After Hubble seemed to be successfully in orbit around Earth, they crew headed back.
A month later, the first image came in. Something seemed off, yet it was another month until it was confirmed. A problem was evident. Hubble had an imperfection in one of the mirrors, affecting the sharpness of the images.
The before and after photos from Hubble. The same target was imaged before and after the mirror fix. Photo from NASA.
The problem with Hubble: the curve was off by just 1/50th the width of a human hair. This left astronomers and the public with blurry images. As engineers and astronomers scrambled, much of the public laughed or were outraged that tax dollars were spent on “a joke”. That had to be a really bad at work!
Despite the imperfection, a wealth of data was gained from these blurry images. The camera still had to be fixed, and in late 1993, the new camera was ready.
In December of 1993, a crew of STS-61 (Space Shuttle Mission 61) launched to conduct Servicing Mission 1. A tension filled spacewalk was conducted to install the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 as well as Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement. All eyes were on these spacewalkers as they carefully worked on the space telescope that took so much effort. It had to be a success.
One of the deep field images from Hubble. These are galaxies! Photo by NASA.
In January of 1994, the almost 4-year nightmare came to an end. More images were captured by Hubble revealing crisp and clear views of galaxies and stars. The images that proceeded were the stunning ones we have come to take for granted.
Imagine a world where Hubble was never fixed. That is a scary thought.
Apollo 13
When launching into space on April 11, 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert had no idea they would not be making it to the Moon. They also had no idea they’d be fighting for their lives in the harsh environment of space.
Apollo 13 launched on a Saturn V rocket. Photo by NASA.
Shortly after launch, a scare happened. The second stage’s J-2 engines shut down prematurely, prompting the additional burn of the third stage to get the capsule into space. This worked and the crew was on their way to the Moon.
Everything seemed normal and mission control even started they were “bored to tears”. With spaceflight – do not ever wish for action.
While the crew of Apollo 13 was 2 and a half days into their voyage, an Oxygen canister onboard suddenly burst, dispelling much precious breathing air into the vacuum of space. Never arriving, the third mission stated to land humans on the surface of the Moon was over. A rush to save the lives of the three astronauts onboard began.
The crater Tsiolkovsky photographed on 4/14/1970 by the Apollo 13 crew. The three crew members were almost to the Moon when an oxygen canister onboard exploded.
Engineers and scientists worked together using a capsule mockup to find a solution. The team on Earth worked tirelessly to get the crew home quickly and most importantly, alive.
Breathing carbon dioxide in freezing cold temperatures, the crew drifted towards Earth in the lunar module: now a ‘space lifeboat’. The lunar module had oxygen to spare, yet CO2 scrubbers were not compatible in it.
As the Apollo 13 movie adaptation version of Gene Kranz stated: “Failure is not an option”.
Once the uncomfortable ride through space came to an end, a battle to repower the command module began. The crew had to get the command module powered up enough to safely land on Earth.
After much tension, it happened. The crew of Apollo 13 safely splashed down and lived to tell the story.
Scared of space travel yet? Part 2 coming soon!
*Note: As I wish to keep this blog sensitive, I will only include stories with a positive outcome.*
This weekend I thought I was a teenager again. Flying to Colorado to cover some sample capsule falling down from a spacecraft with a precious asteroid sample. That is – before the spacecraft flew off to visit another asteroid and change its name.
I cannot comprehend how I ended up here.
Whoa. Wait, let’s back up.
Okay. It all started in 2016. My life was in a vastly different situation than it is today. Passionate about space, I still had no time or energy to devote to it. Casually following Space.com and NASA, there was news about a spacecraft traveling to an asteroid to retrieve a sample to bring back to Earth.
No time, energy and my life being in a dark place, that news did not stay in my mind for long. It was long forgotten after launch. Forgotten it stayed, even as my life changed and I became a science communicator.
Among the chaos of the pandemic in 2020, OSIRIS-REx collected a sample from the asteroid Bennu with its TAGSAM. The surface of Bennu was vastly different than scientists predicted with loose regolith jumping upward as the TAGSAM sample return mechanism bumped into Bennu. The gravitational reaction sent the spacecraft back outward into space – luckily with a large sample of the surface material.
Mostly everyone was under a non-space rock as the Covid crisis raged on.
Come this year, news of a sample return from Bennu stirs. Lockheed Martin, the contractor that built the spacecraft and operates it decided to have its first ever in:SPACE influencer event, inviting about a dozen space communicators to cover the sample return for social media.
This sounded amazing, yet I had little hope I’d get accepted. I was wrong. They invited me, A Brook(e) of Stars, to come out to their Denver campus on the weekend of the sample return.
The first group of in:SPACE influencers!
On Friday, September 22nd, I flew to Denver, CO to meet with the great team at Lockheed Martin as well as many other invited influencers.
Goodies Lockheed Martin Space gave us.
After a tour on Saturday that left me speechless, we were ready to cover the main event on social media. After staying out late stargazing with some new space friends, we were all faced with showing up at 3 am Mountain Time to prepare for the news of the sample return. Mostly all were running on adrenaline and nerves – because we are talking about space.
The presentation room is beautiful!
After a tour of a mission command center, our group of influencers watched the NASA live stream from a conference room.
Everything looking nominal (good!) the sample capsule successfully detached from the spacecraft. As the capsule headed for Earth, the spacecraft headed off into space to meet another asteroid, Apophis. So began a great reuse of space hardware and tech – the Apex mission.
Employees and family wait for news on the mission the morning of the sample return.
As the sample capsule made it way into Earth’s atmosphere over the next few hours, everyone waited on pins and needles. There was no room for error. Luckily, as the capsule began to plummet towards the Utah desert, the parachute deployed, slowing the capsule down.
The sun rises over the mountains the day of the sample return.
Now a toasted marshmallow from its rough ride through the atmosphere, the sample capsule with the precious Bennu material lay on the desert floor. It was shown in all its glory from a NASA helicopter right on the LIVE stream as mission control from NASA and Lockheed cheered, breathing a sigh of relief.
The sample capsule on the ground in Utah. Photo by NASA.
A whirlwind of content creation and media interview recording followed.
There is so much we do not know about space or even the history of us. These samples are expected to shed light on the formation of the solar system and even our Earth.
Happy return day in mission control!
As I type this, the samples are at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Huston, TX.
While experimenting with AI a few weeks back, I discovered just how close to accurate it can get.
The following blog was not at all written by me. It was AI generated by pulling from various sources on the internet.
An AI generated image from Canva Text to Image that I cleaned up. AI image generators are fascinating yet far from perfect.
AI Wrote About Space Flight
The universe has always captivated the human imagination, with its mysterious planets, stars, and cosmic phenomena. The exploration of space has been a remarkable feat of human achievement, driven by curiosity and the desire to unravel the secrets of the cosmos. In this comprehensive article, we will embark on a journey through the history of human spaceflight, from the early days of the space race to the modern-day collaborations that have expanded our understanding of the universe. Join us as we delve into the incredible facts and milestones that have shaped our exploration of space.
The Birth of the Space Race
The era of human spaceflight began on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit around the Earth. This momentous event marked the start of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, as they competed to achieve technological supremacy and explore the cosmos. The launch of Sputnik sent shockwaves through the United States, leading President John F. Kennedy to declare a bold vision for the nation’s space program.
Project Mercury: The First Steps into Space
In response to the Soviet Union’s early successes in space, the United States established Project Mercury, the first program aimed at putting humans into space. Between 1961 and 1963, Project Mercury conducted a series of missions that paved the way for future space exploration. The objectives of Project Mercury were to orbit a human spacecraft around the Earth, investigate the human body’s ability to function in space, and ensure the safe recovery of astronauts and spacecraft.
One of the most iconic moments of Project Mercury was the flight of Alan Shepard aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft on May 5, 1961. Shepard became the first American to travel into space, embarking on a suborbital flight that lasted 15 minutes and 28 seconds. This historic achievement was a testament to the determination and ingenuity of the American space program.
The Gemini Program: Testing the Boundaries of Space
Building upon the successes of Project Mercury, NASA launched the Gemini program, which aimed to test long-duration space flights and develop the necessary techniques for lunar missions. The Gemini spacecraft, aptly named after the Latin word for “twins,” was designed to carry two astronauts and serve as a stepping stone to the Apollo program.
One of the most significant milestones of the Gemini program was the first American spacewalk, which took place on June 3, 1965. Astronaut Edward White became the first American to venture outside of the spacecraft, floating in the vastness of space for approximately 20 minutes. This historic moment demonstrated the feasibility of extravehicular activities and opened the door to future spacewalks.
The Apollo Program: Landing on the Moon
Eight years after President Kennedy’s challenge to land a man on the Moon, the Apollo program achieved one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface. Armstrong’s famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” echoed across the globe, symbolizing the triumph of human ingenuity and the spirit of exploration.
The Apollo program consisted of a series of missions, each building upon the knowledge and experience gained from previous flights. Apollo astronauts conducted scientific experiments, collected samples of lunar rocks and soil, and expanded our understanding of the Moon’s geology and history.
Skylab: Living in Space
Following the success of the Apollo program, NASA launched Skylab, America’s first space station, into orbit in 1973. Skylab provided astronauts with a unique opportunity to live and work in space for extended periods, conducting experiments and observations that furthered our understanding of the Sun and its effects on Earth.
One of the most significant achievements of Skylab was the observation of a solar flare, a violent eruption on the Sun’s surface. Astronauts aboard Skylab captured stunning images of the flare and collected invaluable data that helped scientists study the Sun’s influence on our planet.
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: A New Era of Cooperation
In the 1970s, political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union began to ease, leading to a historic collaboration in space. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, launched in 1975, marked the first joint mission between American and Soviet spacecraft. This groundbreaking mission symbolized a shift from competition to cooperation in space exploration.
During the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, American and Soviet spacecraft docked in orbit, and astronauts from both nations conducted experiments and shared experiences. This mission laid the foundation for future international collaborations, such as the International Space Station, and illustrated the power of unity and shared goals in advancing our understanding of the universe.
Modern-Day Human Spaceflight: Expanding Our Horizons
In recent years, human spaceflight has evolved into a collaborative effort involving multiple nations. The International Space Station (ISS), a remarkable feat of engineering and international cooperation, serves as a research laboratory and a platform for long-duration space missions.
Astronauts from different countries live and work aboard the ISS, conducting experiments in various scientific disciplines, including biology, physics, and astronomy. The ISS has provided invaluable data on the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body and has paved the way for future missions to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
An image generated by Canva Text to Image. This was what I asked for, but far from perfect. See the hand on the woman’s waist.
The Future of Human Spaceflight: Pushing the Boundaries
As we look to the future, human spaceflight continues to push the boundaries of what is possible. Private companies, such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, are playing increasingly significant roles in the space industry, developing innovative technologies and aiming to make space more accessible to a broader range of people.
NASA’s Artemis program, named after the Greek goddess of the Moon, aims to return humans to the lunar surface by 2024. This ambitious mission will lay the groundwork for future exploration of Mars and other destinations in our solar system.
Furthermore, advancements in space tourism are on the horizon, with companies like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX planning to offer commercial space travel experiences to private individuals. These developments promise to make space more accessible and inspire a new generation of space enthusiasts.
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Generated by AI Article Writer 5.0
Opinion on This:
The generated blog was actually very factual. AI generators claim to be plagiarism free, yet that cannot be trusted.
While AI will be a great tool for productivity, it will not replace human writers anytime soon. This was a topic that has been covered greatly and has much information already available. Technology cannot replace the human thoughts and creativity that writers can artists possess. There is also much that has not been written yet!
Even though not using it to write, I will be using AI to overcome writers block and for fun. Plus, my own experience and opinions can only be generated by my mind.
Have you ever wondered where the early NASA astronauts trained for g-forces before launch?
Long ago, I had a bizarre nightmare that I still remember to this day. I was home in Philadelphia and accidentally stumbled upon hidden NASA history. Well, now it just happened for real.
Flying into Philadelphia – the start of an adventure in history. Space History.
Hidden Space History
Growing up in Northeast Philadelphia as a space enthusiast, there was a well-kept secret that I never knew, yet wish I did.
Preparing to not only visit home for the first time in 5 years, but do NASTAR suborbital spaceflight training, curiosity got the best of me. Randomly googling for information on early centrifuge training, I discovered something shocking. The early American astronauts trained in a centrifuge just outside Northeast Philadelphia in Warminster, Bucks County! It is not only still there, but the original gondola that was attached to it to train the early NASA astronauts is visible off site.
Thank you, curiosity! You just led me to an adventure in history – one well worth chasing.
Why Do Astronauts Train in a Centrifuge?
How difficult is astronaut training? Why do astronauts train for space?
Astronauts are required to withstand the g-forces felt during launch and re-entry. On Earth we are typically experiencing 1 G, or 1X the force of gravity. On launch they experience 3Gs or more. Early rockets were simply not designed for human spaceflight – and still a ride on a rocket is not easy on the human body.
The physics behind the centrifuge are simply this: The speed of rotation and size of the arm = g-forces that are placed on the subject in the gondola.
For example, at 110 pounds, at 6Gs I felt 660 pounds.
Under high g-forces during my own training. Even my side bangs are shoved back!
The Gondola of Heroes
Outside Northeast Philadelphia lies the gondola the original astronauts, such as Alan Shepard, trained in before their flight. It was attached to arm of the U.S. Navy centrifuge, which has been decommissioned but still exists at the Fuge building. The gondola lies on back road, in a fenced off area by a walking trail. The area surrounding it is owned by Penn State University.
Looking at the gondola that trained so many heroes. It lies in a fenced area off a walking trail.
The entirety of the gondola was not visible, as it is covered by a tarp to protect it from the elements, but the shape is unmistakable. Just barely exposed is a bit of the gondola, covered in rust.
The president of the Johnsville Centrifuge Museum, explained to me that efforts are being made to have the gondola moved to a sheltered location or built a shelter around it. Still, they need all the support they can get. Local historians do not want this piece of American history to be forgotten, and I absolutely agree. As humanity heads further into space, we cannot forget the history of those daring enough to fly so many decades ago.
The gondola that was attached to the Johnsville centrifuge to train the original astronauts.
It has been there since 2011, after being brought back up from the Smithsonian archives, where it sat for decades. Had I known this piece of history was coming, I would have been there in 2011 to catch a glimpse of it!
After being stored at the Smithsonian for over four decades, the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum obtained the gondola. On the 50th anniversary of Alan Shepard’s flight in May of 2011, the museum celebrated by bringing the gondola home to Warminster, PA.
I parked my car in a nearby lot and walked on the trail to get closer to the sight. Cutting through the grass, despite my spring allergies, my heart was full of anticipation for a closer look at this piece of forgotten history. There it was, ten feet from me behind a wire chain fence. How I wish I could have gotten even closer, but unfortunately the property owners were not available at the time.
A plaque is in place in front of the sight, describing what the object under the tarp is and its historical significance.
A picture of Alan Shepard in that gondola. This picture is on the plaque off the walking tail behind the area where the gondola sits.
I believe in being respectful of areas I am not invited into; no matter how well my intention. So, I knelled outside the fence and spent some time peering in, basking in this moment. Having gone through NASTAR the previous day, what the early astronauts must have felt played on my mind.
Were they nervous? Excited? I only rode along, but many of those guys were pilots who had a critical role to play while the spacecraft was flying. It’s not only difficult to move under heavy Gs, but it can be hard to breathe. (Read all about my experience training under g-forces here.)
The Centrifuge That Trained the Early Astronauts
In 1950, the U.S. Navy completed a centrifuge in Bucks County, Pennsylvania to train its X-15 pilots to be able to withstand high g-forces experienced while flying aircraft maneuvers. With newly formed NASA – previously NACA – selecting the first American astronauts in the early 1960s, they selected 13 test pilots, yet they would need to train to withstand the g-forces experienced during a rocket launch. The Mercury, X-20 Dynasoar, Gemini, Apollo, and the first shuttle crews all trained at this site. It was unreal to be standing in the same area in which they trained.
It’s still there as a stunning centerpiece!
Why Pennsylvania? There, some of the most stable bedrock in the country is found. This was critical for the stability of such a powerful and forceful machine.
Today.When it was used to train pilots and astronauts. Photo from the plaque near the original gondola.
This powerful machine has been decommissioned since the 1990s, but it currently preserved at the original site.
The FUGE – The Centrifuge’s Location
With butterflies in my chest, I pulled into the parking lot of “The Fuge”. This event hall, with a fitting name to boast, was once the Navy facility which housed the original centrifuge that spun this historical gondola. The best part – even though the machine itself is not operational, the original centrifuge is still there.
The current gondola on the decommissioned centrifuge.
The company owner agreed to give me a tour of the facility and show me a bit of the history. He disclosed to me that they have found NASA history long hidden within the building! Within the past decade, they even discovered an early pressure suit. It is on display at The Fuge, and safely under glass housing. Staring at this early suit I was amazed at just how far we are coming with space technology. It made me want to research the history of early spacesuits even more; which will be a future blog.
An early pressure suit on display at The Fuge.
The owner showed me what was part of centrifuge mission control. These computers that took up half a room monitored the flight dynamics and health of the trainee inside.
The computers that monitored the astronauts. It is on display at the original location in The Fuge building.
It felt unreal to be standing in the same room that so many of humanity’s heroes stood. It got even more surreal when I was escorted to the platform leading into the current gondola attached to the decommissioned centrifuge.
Oh. Wow. I was standing on the same platform all the early astronauts stood on as they prepared to take their spin in the centrifuge. The same spot shown in the early space race footage.
Sitting in the current gondola – imagining what the astronauts must have felt.
On the floor down below this platform is a nice event hall. Trying to imagine the history, I did my best to focus on the machine itself. My heart jumped in my chest as I climbed into the cockpit.
More g-force training history! The tower that trained early NASA astronauts and pilots for a flight abort. It would launch the trainee up the tower – subjecting them to up to 9Gs. This bit of history is located off the site of The Fuge.
Where Do Astronauts Train Now?
Although decommissioned, the centrifuge itself now has a jet cockpit gondola attached to it. The centrifuge was used up until early shuttle missions, until eventually NASA decided it was best to train space fliers in fighter jets that can pull high Gs. Although not in Pennsylvania, the space agency still occasionally uses a centrifuge to train its astronauts, as revealed by a current astronaut trainee, Deniz Burnham, in a recent social media post.
Spaceflight training at NASTAR the day before. The ETC centrifuge is behind me.
Private astronauts, such as those with Axiom, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and others, train for g-forces at NASTAR and on aerobatic flights.
References:
Blum, G. (2023, May 19). The Jonesville Centrifuge and The Fuge. personal.
Something I craved as long as I can remember is to know what it feels like to launch into space – physically. To have a rocket fire under you, pushing you against Earth’s gravity and out of the atmosphere.
Not a single verbal or written explanation was going to satisfy me. I needed to feel it, and know what it is like to fly into space. To be shoved back into your seat as you fight against the pull of the Earth.
Knowing what I was getting myself into, and that it was not the safest activity to partake in, I was still ready and willing to go. Would it satisfy my curiosity or turn me off from my dream of spaceflight?
A Trip Home
Knowing about the NASTAR training center just outside of Philadelphia, I was not aware until recently that you could book a training session without a spaceflight booked. Training for my greatest ambition just outside of where I grew up? Why not!
The training and flight out to Philadelphia was booked. Not only would I be soon experiencing what I only imagined possible, but I would be returning home after five-long-years. The mixed feelings left me somewhere between excited and emotional.
Spaceflight Training at NASTAR
The only place I know of where you can feel this extreme flight is in a human centrifuge, which will place g-forces on your body by spinning you at various angles. The closest one to me happens to be the NASTAR training facility, located just outside of Northeast Philadelphia. This is where private astronauts, such as those with Virgin Galactic, Axiom, and even the Inspiration 4 and Polaris Dawn crews have trained to fly.
Sitting in the same seat so many private astronauts have before their flight. Can you tell I was a bit nervous? Photo by Glenn King.
Walking into the NASTAR center, it felt almost unreal to tell the receptionist “I’m here for spaceflight training”. Still, it was very real. Excited nervousness filled my chest in anticipation for the experience.
Why Train for Space?
Imagine this. You’re sitting in a spacecraft that is being carried up to the stratosphere by a carrier jet. As it’s time to go to space, your ship is dropped, causing you to feel a slight fall sensation. There is a gentle countdown, “3-2-1”. All of a sudden, the rocket fires and you are shoved downward in your seat, downward from your head, as it makes a sharp turn upward to blast vertically upward and off the Earth.
A rocket blasting into space can smack its occupants with up to 6 Gs! Photo by SpaceX-Imagery on Pixabay.com
Once it clears this turn, you are shoved hard back into your seat; pressure building on your chest making it so hard to breathe. You now need to force yourself to breathe to make it through. Thankfully the worse only lasts about 20 seconds.
Learning About G-Forces
Before flying, we started off with a lecture on how the g-forces of spaceflight work and how they affect the human body. Not a fan of anatomy or anything to do with blood flow, I listened a bit squeamish hearing what this experience would do to my body. To sum it up, my blood was going to be pulled downward and away from my head while under high Gs. This thought sent chills through me.
Standing next to the centrifuge that will “blast me into space”. We were even given authentic flight suits to boast!
The worst part was the fact that I may even experience g-LOC (Loss of Consciousness) if not aware and actively working through the high g-force. Here, the fear of the unknown truly set in. It was time to memorize exactly how to handle g-forces. This needed to happen very quickly as I was going into the centrifuge soon to prepare for a Virgin Galactic flight profile.
First up, conditioning flights.
Conditioning Flight –Gz
I was first subjected to pure Gz, which is the g-force that smacks you from head to toe. This is experienced when the Virgin Galactic spaceship drops from the aircraft and the rocket fires up; turning the ship upward before climbing to space.
Basking in the experience while waiting for my flight.
Gz can easily put a space flier (or fighter pilot) into g-LOC! Turning quickly, just like a fighter jet, the Gz force is enough to cause blood to quickly pool away from the head. Vision starts to tunnel, and if not counteracted quickly, the subject will loss vision all together and eventually consciousness as the blood flows from the head. To stop this from happening, one has to squeeze and strain to push blood back up in place. As the door shut behind me for my first flight, I knew this was coming. My heart was racing and I was ready.
First up was 3 Gz, then again at 6 Gz. Squeezing and straining by pushing my legs and squeezing the arm rests, I got though the force with no trouble; just a bit of emotional shock. Spaceflight is not easy on the body!
Conditioning Flight –Gx
Next up was Gx, the force that smashes you back into your seat as the spacecraft goes vertical up into space. There is little risk of g-LOC with this force, and the only thing you can do to counteract is breathe quickly. This is not normal quick breathing; you need to pressure breathe!
3 Gx shocked me! This is not only what you feel going vertically to space on Virgin Galactic, but what astronauts launching to the ISS feel. It too is not pleasant. It affects everyone different, yet I struggled to catch my breath.
As 6 Gx hit me, which is felt on a Virgin Galactic flight during accent and reentry, I had to use the technique of quickly pulling air into my lungs and quickly forcing it out through pursed lips. I was absolutely breathless.
These conditioning flights were hard, and I was now a bit more nervous for the actual flight profile. That would be faced on day two. Thankfully, none of these forces would be felt more than 20 seconds.
Flying to space is not for the faint of heart! It’s not a pleasant, easy flight.
Virgin Galactic Flight – Day 2
As the cockpit door closed behind me, my trainer, Glenn, monitored me from the control room. He asked if I was “ready to go”, as my heart rate increased. “As ready as I’ll be,” I laughed. Truthfully, I wasn’t ready. I was a bit terrified of feeling the full flight; something I have dreamed of for years. Yet, it was now or never.
Getting ready for flight.
I was ran through a warm up with a 3 G Virgin Galactic flight; which to my shock I laughed through. To me, it felt like the best amusement ride ever!
Now….it was time for the full-strength flight profile. I was nervous as I said the words “I’m ready to go”.
The simulation starts, and after being dropped from the mothership, you hear the gentle countdown, which I was absolutely thankful for. “3-2-1”, and the rocket engine fires, forcing the ship into a sharp turn upward, placing up to 6 Gz on your body. Moving into going vertically straight up into space, you feel Gx slamming you into your seat as you rocket upward.
Pressure breathing through Gx!
Even with this being in a centrifuge, the flight felt absolutely real. Along with the visuals, the forces and motion all had me fooled into thinking I was being blasted into space. Laughter came over me. A dream was being experienced and it felt surreal!
Feeling the sensation of flying to space! I look scared, but I wasn’t at this point. It was more of awe. Photo by Emily Apollonio.
Welcome to Space
Finally, the pressure stops. You are “in space”, and the visuals on the screen prove it. My breathing normal, I was left breathless again by the beauty of the view. Below me was the coast of California, and the view slowly shifted away towards the stars in the distance. Among these small dots of light in the blackness was a bright orb. It was our Sun – our own star. My brain felt this was a bit hard to process, as I stared in awe.
Looking back at Earth during flight.
After “floating in space” for awhile, you see your spaceship on the instrument panel moving off the top of the parabolic flight path. Reentry is coming as you hear the countdown again. A gentle “prepare for reentry in 3-2-1,” sounds as the decent to Earth begins. You feel pure Gx slamming you into your seat, leaving you literally breathless.
Laughing during reentry! Pure emotion!
After a slight bump in Gs, the spaceship straightens out to land like an airplane The fun was over.
I survived! I went “to space”!
Involuntary tears formed, knowing I experienced a dream. My eyes were wet, yet the feeling was amazing. To make it even better, the g-forces were not as shocking at the previous day. I knew what to expect, and apparently so did my body. The human body is a great adapter!
I’m so grateful I had this experience. The rest of the day, that view of the Sun among the blackness of space filled my mind. It felt so peaceful, and as if none of my small Earthly problems mattered.
Graduating from NASTAR with Emily Apollonio, who just happened to be there at the same time!
One day I will be using these techniques for a real flight up. This space communicator is ready to be your mission specialist and fly your experiment to space.
Which planet has the largest number of moons? The answer to this question keeps changing.
For a long time, Jupiter has reigned supreme when it comes to the number of moons. The largest planet in our solar system boasted over 80 moons as well as a storm that has been raging on for hundreds of years (the great red spot). A close second, Saturn, has been in close competition with Jupiter when it comes to the number of moons. Then the past week, Saturn revealed it was hiding a secret from us – it actually had many more moons than Jupiter.
Jupiter taken with my telescope in 2022.
Huh? Let’s go back a bit.
Jupiter. The planet with the ‘bands’ and four large moons visible through a telescope. The four large moons we can see from Earth; Ganymede, Calisto, Europa, and Io, have been known since Galileo first laid eyes on them with his telescope on the 1600s. Ever so slowly have astronomer been spotting more over the centuries. Telescopes have become more sophisticated, and computer technology allows for more advanced data observation and collection.
Jupiter and a moon or two through the telescope. Taken the first time I saw this sight.
This means it was far from breaking news when this massive planet was discovered to have another dozen tiny moons in late 2022. These moons were going the opposite, known as retrograde, of the orbit of the others closer to Jupiter. Still, they were moons dancing around the planet. Jupiter now had 92 classified moons, and was surely going to always outrank other planets in our solar system. That meant Saturn.
Then last week – the week of May 7th-13th – astronomers told us to think again. A team led by Edward Ashton were casually stacking images of the area around Saturn. These images came from data collected from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea from 2019 to 2021. What they found turns out to be 62 new moons; this news moving Saturn to the top of the list with 145 moons.
Saturn’s rings (and possibly a moon) taken by the Cassini spacecraft. Photo by NASA.
Yeah. I just told a group of over 50 people a few weeks back that Jupiter had the most moons. OOPS! Sorry, it changes that quickly!
Technology is allowing for better space science and ways to detect planets that were previous not possible. Such cool news, but poor Jupiter! It really has to get back in the game now.
Sources
Who will reign as planet of the moons? Only time (and space) will tell.
Have you ever noticed when the Moon is lower on the horizon that it looks huge? No, the Moon is not larger for this brief time. It is simply an optical illusion.
Driving to work early one morning last week, I was greeted by the Moon sitting low on the Western horizon. A few coworkers also noticed the sight and also stopped to admire. When they spotted me, they excitedly pointed it out; some joking that it will bring out ‘the strange people’.
This was a nice cosmic occurrence that just happened to stir up a fond memory.
The Large Moon
I remember one night when I was around 10 years old. My mom and I were walking back to her house from the nearby strip mall. Looking to the East, I noticed the Moon, yet it looked huge and orange! Being so young and amazed by the cosmos, I had to stop the show so we could take a good look at it.
Because this girl grew up to become a science communicator; let me answer your questions about this sight!
Why Did the Moon Look So Big?
Everything is not as it seems. This is simply an optical illusion, as the Moon is the same size all night long. When on the horizon, the Moon is near landscapes, making it seem possibly larger. Once the night goes on and it moves higher into the sky, there is not much our brains can compare it to, therefore making it appear smaller or ‘normal’.
An illusion that can best describe this is the Ebbinghaus Illusion.
Why Was the Moon Orange?
Most times the Moon will appear orange from pollution in the atmosphere. The Moon itself is not orange – think of it as just a filter effect.
Seeing the Northern Lights has been on my “to-do list” ever since I can remember. How hard is to see the Northern Lights? Where do the Northern Lights appear? These are all questions I desperately wanted my own answers to.
The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, is a natural light show that occurs when ions from solar wind smack into Earth’s atmosphere in the upper layers. These light shows usually occur 60+ miles up, and are many times referred to as a “space weather” phenomena.
Aurora. Photo from Pixabay.
The colorful photos we see of auroras are usually with long exposures photos, as they often just appear white to the naked eye.
After almost three decades of patiently waiting, I finally got my answers. All on a night when I least expected it. Good things do come to those who wait!
The Inciting Event
At 2AM on Friday, March 24th, I was sound asleep when I was suddenly woken by my boyfriend. “Go look outside,” I heard him say through my fog.
“Let me guess. It’s snowing?”
“No. People are seeing the Northern Lights!” He exclaimed as he went back to looking at social media, “I don’t want you to miss it!”
My first thought was it couldn’t be here in Northern Michigan. We simply are never far enough North to see them. Quickly checking my phone revealed that it was true; people were seeing the spectacle locally.
This is what I wanted to see. The aurora by the beach. Photo from Pixabay.
Hoping in my car, I took a quick drive to find a spot with a clear view of the northern horizon. All I was met with was a white area of sky, which I believed to be clouds and light pollution. Since I must have missed it, I turned around and went back to bed.
How I Saw the Aurora
Two hours later my alarm ran for work. Thoughts of the lights and my missed chance filled my mind. Exhausted, I quickly looked at Facebook to see the photos pouring in from people who had seen the lights.
“They’re still dancing,” one recent post stated.
Just maybe there was a chance! Still, I would not believe it until I saw it.
Getting ready for work faster than I imaged possible, I took off. With some quick analyzing of the area, I navigated to a park a mile from my work.
Again, I was met with that white “cloud”. I stood disappointed for a minute, staring at the beautiful star filled sky.
That “cloud” rippled, yet I was sure I was seeing things. My attention remained in it for another minute, and to my shock it happened again. This was not a cloud. This was the Northern Lights!
The lights looked just like this that morning. The only difference was that they were white. Photo from Pixabay.
Not even caring if I was late for work, I stood in amazement as I watched the white light ripple and flash with hints of green. A beautiful pillar of light extended upward out from it. It took me with it; right up there to over 60 miles up.
Mentally transported, I stood in awe. The bitter temperatures did not even bother me.
An attempt to capture it with my phone was useless, so I just stayed in the moment.
Vera was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1928. One of her passions growing up was watching the stars move through the night sky.
Philadelphia City Hall. Philadelphia was the birthplace of Vera Rubin; even though the city can be unrecognizable (and much less congested) back in the 1920s.
“My childhood bedroom – if childhood could be about ten years old – had a bed which was under windows which faced north. At about age 10, I started watching the stars just move through the night.”
Vera faced criticism as she grew older and expressed interest in studying astronomy, as that was not seen as a ‘traditional path’ for women at the time. Those around her tried to discourage her by telling her “it’s not a woman’s job.” Thankfully, Vera did not listen and pressed forward with her passion. She believed anyone passionate about science, especially astronomy, should have the right to be involved.
Her father, an engineer, believed in Vera’s ability. He encouraged her by helping her to construct her own telescope in her teen years.
As a girl from Philadelphia who used to watch the stars from her bedroom window and was also told astronomy is not a woman’s career; Vera’s story speaks to me loudly.
Vera was a firm believer that science is for everyone. She was so passionate about including women in astronomy, that she even went on to mentor and include women beginning their careers in her work.
Vera Rubin’s Research
Vera Rubin helped to solve the galactic rotation problem. The stars on the outside of galaxies rotated at a different speed than what was expected. This caused astronomers to question what they knew about physics , as something had to be causing this effect. The answer: dark matter.
Vera Rubin used Kent Ford’s spectrometry (different wavelengths of light) to study the motion of stars around galaxies. To her shock, the stars appeared to be influenced by a kind of matter, yet it did not show any evident in interacting with light. Every single galaxy Vera observed showed this spectacle. It was dark matter!
Picture: AIP EMILIO SEGRÈ VISUAL ARCHIVES, RUBIN COLLECTION/ScienceNews.org Vera Rubin at the Lowell Observatory in 1965.
In the 1970s, Vera published her work, stating that an unexplainable force acts upon galaxies, becoming the first scientist to publish on dark matter.
In 1993, she received the National Medal of Science for her work.
She passed away at age 88, but her passion and hard work led to the continuation of the search to discover the answers to dark matter.
Today, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is being constructed in North-Central Chile. Great things are expected to be discovered with this new observatory, which boasts an 8.4-meter telescope with three mirrors and a 3.2 Gigapixel camera (Vera C. Rubin Observatory, 2023)!
A Brook(e) of Stars 