Advent 2011

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, a time of preparation for the coming celebration of our Savior's coming at Christmas. To mark the beginning of this season, here is a video (~23 min) of a group from Christendom College singing on the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome. (Thanks to RealCatholicTV.)

Curiosity Heads to Mars

Photo Credit: NASA

The Curiosity/Mars Science Laboratory was launched yesterday. Curiosity is the most sophisticated robotic probe ever sent to Mars to look for evidence of conditions favorable for the existence of life there. The Atlas V launch was provided by United Launch Alliance, a commercial launch provider whose customers include NASA and other US gov't agencies.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A special day set aside in our nation to give thanks to God for all His gifts to us.

Thanksgiving has a long history in our country, but the theme of giving thanks goes much further back in history, as recorded in the Bible.

Have a good time with family and friends and don't eat any more than I would. ;-)

Circus on the Severn Wreaks Havoc Out of Season

The Maryland General Assembly is meeting in special session this week and it looks like it has approved Gov. O'Malley's extremely gerrymandered Congressional redistricting plan. If this plan is actually implemented, it looks like I will be in one strand of a district that resembles a dissected amoeba.

I'm Back

It's been a month since I've last posted here. I've downloaded Mozilla Firefox and am using it to get around a couple of glitches between IE and Blogger that complicate publishing and updating posts.

A lot of serious stuff has been going on since I've last blogged. There was the thwarted attack by Iran on Washington, DC and the Occupy Wall Street or whatever demonstrations that have been chaotic in message and sometimes offensive and even destructive in practice, especially as they've spread to other nations. (A particularly disturbing example here)

So let's look at a happier event that occurred today, the dedication of the new spaceport terminal in New Mexico. (Clark Lindsey provides multiple links here.) Here is a video of part of the dedication ceremony with the theatrical flare Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson is known for



and one portraying VG's space tourism services.

MD Renaissance Festival

Today was pleasantly cool, so I really enjoyed my day of food, drink and music at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Cold War 'Big Bird' Comes Out Of Hiding

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) declassified two cold war era reconnaissance satellites this week. One of these, the KH-9 Hexagon (sometimes nick-named for the Sesame Street character 'Big Bird'), was put on display today at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center in Dulles, VA for one day only. I drove over for this rare opportunity and took pictures, a few of which are posted below.

These satellites were highly classified during the cold war and played a hidden but decisive role in providing information that helped preserve the free world and that was possibly critical in averting a nuclear war during those perilous times.

In Remembrance of September 11, 2001, 10 Years Later

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael W. Pendergrass

Ten years ago tomorrow morning, I overheard a coworker down the hall from my office telling someone else about planes hitting the World Trade Center. I checked in on the Internet and on news radio for reports on what would develop into the the modern era's day of infamy. We know of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but there was also the attack that did not occur because of the heroic actions of the passengers on United Flight 93.

Ten years of daily living, along with increasing domestic rancor, may have dimmed the feelings of shock, horror, and outrage and the response of prayer, compassion, and resolve that united the people of America and most of the world. However, terrorist activity around the world should serve to remind us that the threat is still real.

This tenth anniversary has stirred abundant remembrance and reflection and many stirring pictorial and video items have appeared on the web and on Facebook. I still find this audio/visual Internet presentation developed by a New Yorker shortly after the attacks as one of the most powerful portrayals of those times. The sequence is ~15 minutes long and some of the images and sounds are quite disturbing, others are inspirational. Use the browser View/Zoom function and adjust the scroll bar to enlarge the slide show.

It is important that we remember, not only to honor those who died and those who acted heroically that day, but to remain constantly aware of the ongoing dangers, of the presence of real evil in the hearts of some men, and to maintain constant vigilance and a determination to defeat this evil. Finally, we must always remember to trust in God and his mercy during trying times. The story of the cross formed by two beams found among the ruins of the twin towers is recounted here.

GRAIL Off to the Moon

Photo credit: NASA/Kenny Allen

NASA's GRAIL mission, using a pair of robotic spacecraft to investigate properties of the Moon, was launched this morning from Florida.

Irene Coming

Well, first there was an earthquake around here on Tuesday and now Hurricane Irene is heading up the coast. Gonna be an interesting weekend. Be safe.

World Youth Day 2011

Up to a million pilgrims are expected to join Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid for World Youth Day 2011 now occurring to energize the world's young people for Christ. (Despite the title, it is actually a several day event.)

Here is the official web site. The site has been subject to hacking attempts, showing that some are afraid of the spiritual power of this event. WYD is also being covered by EWTN and by Fr. Robert Barron's Word on Fire blog.

On to Jupiter!

Photo Credit: Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- NASA

The NASA Juno spacecraft was launched today on its mission to orbit and investigate the planet Jupiter.

Summer of Mercy 2.0

The presence of a late term abortionist has reinvigorated the prolife movement in the normally liberal Maryland suburbs of DC. For more background and information on what is happening this week, please see the Summer of Mercy 2.0 web site.

Debt Clash Resolved (For Now)

After weeks and months of fierce debate, national debt limit was raised today when President Obama signed the bill agreed to by the House and Senate. There are a range of opinions among conservatives as to whether this was a wise agreement (and perhaps even greater angst among liberals).

My take is that it is far from perfect but that we have begun to "turn the tanker" around to a more sensible direction, even as some of the crew and the captain are resisting the turn. The need is to pick up more crew members and a captain willing to make the turn in November 2012.

Meanwhile, regardless of the debt limit deal, today's stock market tumble indicates serious problems with the economy. Challenging times ahead.

I'm not attending the NewSpace 2011 conference in person this year, but I am following the sessions via webcast at Spacevidcast. Also, here is the conference Twitter feed.

It's Been Quite a Ride!

The Space Shuttle Program concluded this morning with the safe landing of Atlantis in Florida. The occasion was observed in various ways. At Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, a group picture was taken to include all those who had any involvement in the Space Shuttle Program during their careers. (I've been involved with Shuttle payload missions during much of my career.)

While it is a day for emotion and nostalgia, it is not a time for despair but a time for renewed determination to bring to reality the potential for more engagement of the commercial space sector while gaining more definition and commitment for NASAs role in leading human exploration beyond Earth orbit.

Anniversary Day

NASA

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 pioneering expedition to the lunar surface, the day human beings first made landfall on another world. Check out Rand Simberg's ceremonial commemoration of that epic voyage. Also, Clark Lindsey has several links, including this poetic video piece by Rick Tumlinson.



Today is also the eighth anniversary ('blogiversary') of the launch of this humble blog. Here is the inaugural post (Note that I was too inexperienced to think of giving it a title.) on Life at the Frontier.

Dawn at Vesta

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

NASAs Dawn spacecraft has entered orbit around the large main belt asteroid Vesta. Continuing updates on this mission can be found on the Dawn mission web site.

Atlantis Departs Station for Home

The last Space Shuttle to visit the International Space Station (ISS) departed for home early this morning. Atlantis is scheduled to land in Florida on Thursday morning.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to land the first men on the Moon. Here is a (10 min) video of the final minutes of the countdown and the first few minutes of flight. Relive the moment, or experience it for the first time.