The Starman Walking in the Sky

Some people actually look forward to reading my next Apollo 50th Anniversary Moment. So here it is–just a bit about Gemini IV and the first U.S.-conducted spacewalk–all in the monthly “Space Watch:” Gemini IV: There’s a Starman Walking in the Sky. For those who don’t know, NASA’s Gemini program was a “bridge” program. Most of what […]

“Hold your fire.” SpaceX’s “Escape Pod”

When I first saw images of SpaceX’s test of their Dragon capsule’s pad abort test, the obvious nerd-quote going through my mind was “Hold your fire. There’s no lifeforms.” Which was true for the test. And if you don’t get the reference, please just search on the net, roll your eyes, and sigh. For the […]

Amazoom? Blue Origin launches a rocket

Blue Origin is one of those rocket companies that’s been fairly secretive in its activities. But it’s very difficult, unless you’re Russia or China, to secretly shoot a rocket 307,000 feet (58 miles) into the sky. But launch is just what Blue Origin did last week, on 29 April. The company not only tested the rocket, […]

Another 50th Anniversary Apollo Moment, with Gemini

Here’s another article I wrote this month in “Space Watch.” The article is about the Gemini 3 (GT-3 for Gemini/Titan-3) mission flown by Gus Grissom and John Young. It’s an important mission for Apollo, as most Gemini missions were intended to be, full of interesting tests for processes, technology…and food. This latest article shows the hungry […]

Baikonur Cosmodrome

I found this 2001 Air & Space article during my research about Sputnik-1, the world’s first artificial satellite. It’s a very good first person account of a visit out to the Baikonur Cosmodrome and some of the run-ups and rituals for launching from there. The writer was there for a launch of the first permanent International Space […]