Space future

If we can get to space, if we can establish a long-term presence - and we can do both - there is business to be done there. The International Space Station is demonstration of all of this. 

Space offers some conditions, no gravity for example, which may give us opportunities we don't have in abundance on the planet.

One company exploring the possibilities is Tethers Unlimited, Inc. Here is the CEO doing his TED Talk:

NASA Chief

NASA Chief Jim Bridenstine gave an interview to space.com after the cancelling of yesterday's intended mission. After worldwide attention and excitement for it, the flight was cancelled because there was too much electricity in the atmosphere. Everyone is disappointed.

But Bridenstine hits the right tone. He says it was a great day for NASA and a great day for SpaceX - and they made the right decision to delay. The parameters for go/no/go were set ahead of time and the two teams (SpaceX and NASA) worked impressively together.

As you know, this mission is historic because it's the first time in nine years that America is putting its own astronauts into space. But it's also the very first time that NASA is purchasing their ride from a private-sector U.S. company. Instead of building their own space vehicles, NASA is a customer (in this case) of SpaceX.

Chief Bridenstine is enthusiastic about private companies going into space for several reasons. One reason is that it may be possible to create eye retinas in the microgravity of space.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Scrub

Unfortunately today's launch of Demo-2 Mission was scrubbed due to weather issues - clouds and lightening. 

Saturday, May 30, is the next open window at 3:22 p.m. EDT. Use the links in today's post to watch live on Saturday.

Note: boosting Crew Dragon into space for this mission is the Falcon 9 rocket, which has a track record of about fifty successful launches. Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules are both re-usable for multiple missions, but for this one they are new and unused.

Launch day

This is a big, big day for SpaceX. Today's mission is Demo-2, the second demonstration of Crew Dragon. Upon successful completion of this mission, SpaceX will be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station.

From their website: "SpaceX is returning human spaceflight to the United States with one of the safest, most advanced systems ever built, and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is a turning point for America’s future in space exploration that lays the groundwork for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond."

To watch NASA's livestream, go here. To watch with SpaceX, go here.

If the launch cannot go forward today as planned at 4:33 p.m. EDT, I will post the re-scheduled date and time.

Pre-launch 1

NASA invites you to participate in the excitement of tomorrow's launch.

Launch is still scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, tomorrow at 3:33 p.m. in the Midwest (that's 4:33 p.m. EDT, Eastern U.S.). NASA will keep you informed and updated if you register with them at #LAUNCHAMERICA.

You don't have to register, though, to get a lot of information. Tour Launch Pad 39-A. See a mock-up of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Experience the careful docking of the capsule with the International Space Station via simulator.

There's much more available to you at this NASA page, including a link to view the official streaming of the launch.

NASA tv will start live coverage at 11:00 a.m. Midwest time (noon EDT) which will include watching the two astronauts driven to the rocket in a Tesla Model X.

Gold Star

Memorial Day honors those who have fallen while on active duty in any of our military branches. 

Families who suffered the loss of a loved one in this way are called Gold Star families. While the rest of us try to honor and remember our fallen soldiers on this special holiday, the families are in no danger of forgetting. They live with it every day. Memorial Day is personal to them.

U.S. Army Spc. Christopher Neiberger was killed in action August 6, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq. His sister, Ami, keeps his memory alive this way:

"My brother died three days after his 22nd birthday. I try to honor and remember him by sharing photos of what his life was like, and I usually visit his grave site in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery. I also help other families honor their loved ones by assisting with the Memorial Day Flowers Foundation and their efforts to honor our fallen troops with flowers, which is helping bring back the original meaning of Memorial Day. The holiday used to be known as Decoration Day, and families would bring flowers to the cemeteries to decorate the grave sites of their loved ones."

this story and more at The Stream

SGN 6

Host John K. says that he only delivers the good news . . but "you ARE the good news!"

ISS 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Construction of ISS, the biggest structure ever placed in space, was done 1998-2011 by multiple nations. Eighteen different countries have had someone on board, with duties lasting up to a year at a time. 

A primary goal of duty on the ISS is long-term research into human health in a space environment. Microgravity produces change in human muscles, bones, cardiovascular systems, and eyes. Astronauts report that their vision changes permanently, and so far they don't know why.

Crews also repair the  structure when necessary, sometimes involving a spacewalk. The longest lasted over 8 hours. 

Living space for the astronauts amounts to about the size of a 5-bedroom house. Modules of laboratories are connected, with exterior trusses providing structure, all powered by solar panels.

ISS 1

At about 245 miles altitude, the International Space Station is the third-brightest object in the sky and can be seen from earth. You need to know where to look though, so there's an app for that.

Its velocity is 17,500 miles per hour, fast enough to go all the way around the earth every 92 minutes. The moon takes a whole month to go around the earth. Watch below for a quick explanation of the significance of those orbit speeds:



from Space

Crew launch 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, both engineers and test pilots, will be the first Americans to go back to space on American spacecraft since 2011.

They will perform systems tests while Crew Dragon accelerates to 17,000 mph on the way to the International Space Station.In about 24 hours, Dragon will autonomously dock with ISS while astronauts in the station and on board the spacecraft carefully monitor the approach and docking. Behnken and Hurley will serve at the station for an undetermined length of time.

photo

Dragon will then undock and bring them home, with splashdown just off the Atlantic coast of Florida. SpaceX's Go Navigator recovery vessel will pick them up to return to Cape Canaveral.

What is learned on this mission will help lay the ground work for future exploration of the moon and Mars. NASA's Artemis mission will land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024.

from NASA website

Crew launch

Nine years ago the United States sent astronauts into space on the space shuttle for the last time. But Americans have flown up to the International Space Station since then. The U.S. bought their ride to space from . . Russia.

That all changes this month. On May 27, NASA will send two astronauts to the ISS on SpaceX's Crew Dragon. NASA and SpaceX have been working together to design and test the capsule for human flight.

As NASA Chief Jim Bridenstine says, "On May 27, we will once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil!"

Crew Dragon will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket (not the Falcon Heavy), and here is how the mission will go:

(cont'd tomorrow)

SGN 5

John Krasinski hosts a Zoom wedding and invites his old friends, The Office cast, to celebrate with the happy couple.

And his wife Emily tries to steal the spotlight.

Analog church 1

During this quarantine we've been grateful to have Sunday "online church" along with livestream worship and prayer. It's much better than having no church and no connection to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

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But great technology just doesn't take the place of real live church, hugging friends and making eye contact. I don't want to get over-comfortable with digital church and flabby in my people skills. I want to be with people in real time and real space, all of us both flawed and wonderful.

This is a temporary compromise, not a perpetual convenience.

from Christianity Today

(cont'd tomorrow)

Defiant Dr.

This doctor practices what you might call "viewpoint diversity." He thinks medical care can be provided simply - without insurance - and that's what he does.

His practice employs no nurse, no receptionist, no assistant, and patients sign themselves in. Dr. Wong's usual charge is $35.

Less traffic

Over the weeks of shelter-in-place, I've been out driving only a few times but each time I enjoy the lack of traffic. It's one thing I'll miss when we get back to normal.

California has legendary traffic problems in normal time, but that's been reduced during the quarantine too. In fact, a study has been done on it by the "Road Ecology Center" at the University of California, Davis. 

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Less traffic resulted in about 50% fewer collisions, injuries and deaths. That's about 15,000 fewer collisions per month and 6,000 fewer injuries and fatalities per month. “The reduction in traffic accidents is unparalleled,”Uthe report states.

Surprising fact - this big reduction in accidents and injuries is saving California around . . $40 million per day.

from UCDavis

Soap works

There's a potentially-deadly virus on the loose. The good news is that it's not hard to fight it off. Ordinary soap and water, which you already have, do the job.

Covid-19 is a protein molecule covered with a fat layer. Soap has the ability to cut through that fat.

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The virus will then "fall apart "like a house of cards" and become inactive (but not die as they aren't technically alive). Water alone isn't enough . . . because it "'only' competes with the strong 'glue-like' interactions between the skin and virus via hydrogen bonds. The virus is quite sticky and may not budge."

Do you need stronger stuff? Surprisingly not, according to this chemistry professor:

"Disinfectants, or liquids, wipes, gels and creams containing alcohol (and soap) have a similar effect but are not really quite as good as normal soap. Apart from the alcohol and soap, the 'antibacterial agents' in these products don't affect the virus structure much at all."

Northern Tool has surface sanitizing facts: the virus can stay active on "contaminated objects (24 hours on cardboard, and up to 2-3 days on surfaces like plastic and steel)"

SGN 4

Another episode of Some Good News, where John Krasinski features:

• 8-year-old Caleb, who loves jeeps and had a collaborative birthday
• a NYC firefighter serenading health workers with a guitar solo 
• out-of-the-box graduation celebrations with surprise😲 speakers
• words from Steven Spielberg: Imagination and Innovation

Tesla value

Ford Motor Company, a success story for over 100 years, lost 23 cents per share in this year's first quarter, and is expected to lose more in Q2. The market value of this, the second biggest car making company in America, is far surpassed by a little car company that's only been around since 2003.

Tesla stock has gained a whopping 85% just this year, and the company's market value is now almost 7x the value of the iconic Ford, Inc.

Right in the middle of the pandemic quarantine, its value keeps rising even while its Fremont CA factory is on lockdown. Tesla achieved a six-month average market value of $100.2 billion at the end of April. 

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 This six-month milestone, according to a pay package agreed to in 2018, authorizes CEO Elon Musk to buy 1.69 million shares of Tesla stock at $350.02/share. Theoretically he could then sell it at the current price of about $760 and make close to $700 million profit. 

Quarter 1 of 2020 (January-March) showed a profit, just the third consecutive quarter to do so. They've been closed since March 24 (Musk is pushing hard for the end of it) but seem to be preparing to open back up soon.

Sick economy

Farms, the car industry, airlines, these industries are very stressed. They represent the livelihoods of  hundreds of thousands of people, and they represent the sickening of our national/local economy.

There are people who think "the economy" is simply an academic term with no relation to real life, just an excuse for intellectual debate. But that's not the case. "The economy" is really all the interactions between buyers and sellers, real people with lives and families.

Last night I heard that a woman somewhere opened her hair salon to resume business, and she was arrested. Sounds like she was accused of selfishly endangering her neighbors with Covid-19 just to make money. Her response: "feeding my children is not selfish."

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Let's realize that "the economy" is not just a bunch of numbers. It enables individuals to eat, pay their mortgage, educate their kids, get health care. A sick economy will impair all of that.

A stressed economy means families are stressed with money issues, which lead to potentially big health and relational stress. 

Pray that America (or your country) and your community get back to work soon. Pray for release from the pandemic and return to freedom.

Food destroyed

The airlines and the car industry (yesterday's post) are suffering because of reduced demand. Quarantine has reduced travel and reduced incomes, so customers just won't fly and many will not buy cars.

Farming is affected too, but at the supply end of the economy. Some farmers cannot get their vegetables and animals processed into food that you can buy in your grocery store. Eight major meat facilities in the U.S. have had to stop operation at least temporarily because of the coronavirus,  affecting 15% of our pork processing capacity. 

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Farmers who can't find a processor to buy their ready-for-market pigs are having to destroy them. According to an industry association, Minnesota farmers may have to cull 200,000 hogs.

"Dairy farmers are spilling milk that can't be sold to processors, broiler operations have been breaking eggs to reduce supplies and some fruit and vegetables are rotting in fields amid labor and distribution disruptions."

from Houston Chronicle

New cars parked

So many segments of our economy, the financial lifeblood of our communities and nation, are in big trouble - as you know. The airlines are just one part of it.

Picture this: a huge Nissan cargo ship coming into port on the West Coast bringing thousands of cars  . . and no dealer will take them. The ship's captain was ordered to drop anchor and it floated there for six days until someone could figure out what to do with the SUV's, sedans, and crossovers.

Sales fell off a cliff in April: Hyundai down 39%, Toyota down 54%, Subaru down 47%. A lot of people have changed their minds about buying a car.

aerial photo

from Bloomberg

SGN 3

Actor John Krasinski ("Jack Ryan") once again entertains us with some good news.

As usual, there are guest appearances (mailman Kyle, Brad Pitt, Jonas Brothers, Rainn Wilson, Billie Eilish).

Enjoy the segment from the International Space Station, where astronauts inform us that the earth is still beautiful 👍