Mulligan

So it has been brought to my attention that my last post kinda sucked. Particularly so after considering how eventful that trip was. So here is my apology. In blog form.

I think I've mentioned before when we go over to Kennedy (Space Center) it's so impressive just how big everything is. The scale of everything is so far off what I'm used to that it can be a little disorienting. Recall the rocket we were testing is over 300 feet tall. And It was sitting on a 3-story launch platform. Propped up on about 20 feet of posts. Waiting for a million pound crawler to tote the whole stack away. Now recall that the whole thing I just described... was indoors. Housed in what is called the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building). If you've looked at my pictures you've seen the inside and outside... but have you seen the top? We were lucky enough to ride the elevators to the top of the 500 plus foot building and take some team pictures on the roof. How cool is that? The view was pretty good.

Hovik, Paul, Jeff, and me: on the VAB roof!

And while that and the night launch (previous post) were pretty cool, they don't quite measure up to sending your name up into the outer atmosphere. We had a few hours to spare before the testing started up so our man Paul (who was pretty much responsible for getting to see all the cool things we did on our trips there) took us for a climb up into the vehicle. We started at the bottom of the dummy upper stage and worked our way up the ladders all the way into the crew module (top section before the pointy thing on the end) where we all got to sign our names. Inside the actual rocket that will be launched in a matter of weeks. Yeah. Awesome.

Upper stage: that platform is where we climbed in;
then went up a series of ladders to sign our names in the top module.

So here ya go, Mom.

Rockets' Red Glare

I see it's been some time since my last post, but I have a good excuse. Unfortunately for you, you'll have to wait until the next post to read about it. OK, so pretty much everyone who reads this page already knows what it is, but indulge me for a moment, won't you?

Just before I left for my excuse, I headed out for the last in a series of visits to NASA for an experimental rocket program. It was the last in a series of tests, and this one was for the whole solid-fueled enchilada. Over 300 feet of rocket standing straight up on it's tail. For me this was an extreme departure from the small structures I usually get to work on.

I will spare you all the nerdy detail (check it out here), but once again while I was there I got lucky and was able to see another shuttle launch. Only this one was at night, what is planned to be the last night launch in the shuttle program. Check out the video.

STS-128 Launch from Ryan Tuttle on Vimeo.

I don't have much more to say about this, but here are the rest of the pictures. I've been super busy since my excuse so I'm still collecting blog data from it; you'll have to wait a few more days until the first post. Sorry.

Also on the trip: mating manatees, sweet tour of the museum courtesy of Paul B., and long, long nights.

The Fourth Time Is the Charm

Recently, I spent a long (hot) week of work down at Kennedy Space Center working with NASA on the booster portion of the proposed shuttle replacement system. We (well, most of us - too bad, Jeff) got a nice perk for all of our hard work that week in the form of watching the shuttle launch. Truly an awesome spectacle; I feel very fortunate to have been able to witness that. For nerds like me who watch a computer screen all day long, it can be hard to really wrap my mind grapes on the very scale of the things we are dealing with - not to mention the idea that those very things will be pushed into space by a controlled explosion more or less. These trips to KSC are an excellent reminder of just what an amazing achievment reaching space is.

Even being there on site, it's difficult to put things in perspective as everything around is magnified in size to support these huge vehicles - wrenches, carts, hoists, yes, even... bugs. OK, maybe that's more due to the warm, humid climate, but still. I'm just sayin'. (For those of you that know me, you're probably laughing thinking about: how much I'm sweating in that heat, and how out of control my hair is there. Yes, it's ridiculous, but not quite as bad as in New Mexico, Vincents.)

For instance, take a look at the facility we're looking in. In the picture below, the tip of that needle-looking thing poking out of the bottom-left corner is about 70-some feet or more off the floor. You might notice that the roof of the building is a just a bit further up.

inside the VAB

As I wrote earlier, we did get to see the shuttle launch as well (after 3 scrubs due to weather). Here's a shot just after liftoff:

yep, pretty cool

The engine fire got so bright that I could no longer focus manually at one point and had to switch over to the autofocus. Pictures alone don't do the sight justice. You really need the sound. Fortunately I've got a video (thanks to Shannon for taking this).

STS-127 Shuttle Launch from Ryan Tuttle on Vimeo.

As I said, a long week, but a pretty fun trip. Thanks to all our friends at NASA for their hard work and getting us out to see some really cool stuff. All the pics from this trip here, and a previous trip over here.

post-launch beans and cornbread