A Pilot's Blog

Falcon 1 - Flight 3

MrPilot — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:28:34 +0000

The 3rd flight of SpaceX’s “Falcon 1″ rocket is scheduled to happen in about 30 minutes. This is the first customer cargo flight, and it’s carrying three pieces of equipment, including a satellite for the US Government.

You can watch a live feed here and see the mission status page from SpaceFlightNow here.

Update @ 7:56p: It appears that the launch has been delayed for some reason. The chatter from Mission Control indicates that the rocket is currently being defueled. Not sure what’s going on.

Update @ 9:10p: The countdown has been reset to 51 minutes and has resumed!

Update @ 11:15p: The launch occurred and seemed to be going normally about thirty minutes ago when the live feed from the rocket suddenly cut out and the SpaceX webcast was abruptly halted with word that there “was an anomaly”. I’m afraid the rocket didn’t make it to orbit. That’s very unfortunate, but hopefully it will have provided some good data to the launch team so that whatever happened can be corrected for the next launch. Sorry guys.

The Eagle Has Landed

MrPilot — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:24:39 +0000

Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July, 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.

These words were on the Apollo 11 LEM Plaque as read by Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969 from the Sea of Tranquility on the Lunar surface.

In memory of all the brave men of the early space program who made the journey first to Earth orbit, and then to the Moon…and those who weren’t able to.

GAO Sustains Boeing Protest

MrPilot — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 03:08:07 +0000

In a stunning development this week, the GAO sustained Boeing’s protest of the Air Force’s decision to award its next-generation tanker contract to Airbus (via middle-man Northrup Grumman). This was widely unexpected as the GAO rarely upholds such protests, but leaves hope for a new bid on the contract that will be evaluated fairly. And if that is the case, then I’m confident that Boeing will eventually win the day. Congratulations Boeing!

Related: The Tanker Deal

STS-124 and Phoenix

MrPilot — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:04:00 +0000

This afternoon in pristine weather the astronauts of STS-124 blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Space Shuttle Discovery on their way to meet up with the ISS and install the Kibo laboratory module. Best of luck to the combined crews of STS-124 and ISS Expedition 17!

Also, major congratulations are in order for NASA, JPL, and the University of Arizona for last weeks picture-perfect landing of the Phoenix lander on the Mars. What a great week for NASA and space exploration!

Final Four Spirit

MrPilot — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:02:20 +0000

I received a very special email last night. The totally amazing people at Bic Media have created a wonderful KU-themed song to get all the Jayhawk fans into the Final Four spirit. They sent it out with instructions to “pass it along to all the KU faithful” - so download it, enjoy, and disseminate! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Update: KU beats UNC and advances to the National Title game. GO HAWKS!
Update II: KU WINS THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

Luv That Crimson Blue 2008 (Final Four Edition)

Luv That Crimson Blue 2008 (Championship Edition)

PoD: Best Seat in the House

MrPilot — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:04:30 +0000

First Class has nothing on these “seats”.

Picture courtesy of Airliners.net.

Most Dangerous Landings

MrPilot — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:29:40 +0000

A blog named ProTraveller has an interesting article up about some of the most dangerous aircraft landings in the world - complete with a few videos. It includes the infamous approach to Princess Juliana Airport on the island of St. Maarten. Oh how I yearn to visit there one day.

The Tanker Deal

MrPilot — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:54:39 +0000

So, since it’s been all over the news lately, I guess I should opine on the recent decision by the Air Force to award the contract for building the next generation of tanker aircraft to Airbus instead of Boeing. I see it two ways. On one hand, above all, I want the Air Force to have the best possible aircraft to do the job, and I want them to get those aircraft as soon as possible. On the other hand, I am an unapologetic Boeing fan and believe that any aircraft they brought to the table would have been the superior one hands down. Now that Congress is investigating the matter it’s coming to light that the judging criteria may have been stacked against Boeing. If this turns out to be true, I hope that they challenge the results and have a chance to bid again, because in a fair bid, I believe they would easily win. But whatever happens, I hope that the Air Force gets their new tankers as expeditiously as possible.

Update: Boeing has decided to protest the decision. Good luck!

Cleared to Land - Look Out for the Cars

MrPilot — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:30:16 +0000

After a certain point in my flight training, almost daily my instructor would pull “engine out” drills and I would have to go through the motions of making an emergency landing. This guy had to do it for real.

A single-engine airplane surprised motorists on I-70 just east of the Greenfield exit Sunday afternoon after the pilot lost power and had to make an emergency landing on the highway, according to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department.

Thankfully the pilot was able to land safely, and after an roadside inspection, was able to take off again from the highway to return to the airport. There’s something you don’t see everyday.

Lunar Eclipse Next Week

MrPilot — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:05:25 +0000

Update (2/20): Overcast. Bleh.

If you’re under cloudless skies this coming week be sure to take a look outside between 8 and 9 pm (Central Time) on Wednesday, February 20th. There is expected to be a beautiful total lunar eclipse which will be visible over all of the Americas. If you miss this one, you won’t have another chance until 2010.

The eclipse will begin when the moon enters the faint outer portion, or penumbra of the Earth’s shadow. The penumbra, however, is all but invisible to the eye until the moon becomes deeply immersed in it. Sharp-eyed viewers may get their first glimpse of the penumbra as a delicate shading on the left part of the moon’s disk about 20 minutes before the start of the partial eclipse (when the round edge of the central shadow or umbra, first touches the moon’s left edge). During the partial eclipse, the penumbra should be readily visible as a dusky border to the dark umbral shadow.

The moon will enter Earth’s much darker umbral shadow at 1:43 on Feb. 21 by Greenwich or Universal time, which is 8:43 p.m. on Feb. 20 in the Eastern time zone, 7:43 p.m. Central time, 6:43 p.m. Mountain time and 5:43 p.m. Pacific time.

Seventy-eight minutes later the moon is entirely within the shadow, and sails on within it for 51 minutes (about average for a total lunar eclipse), until it begins to find its way out at the lower left (southeastern) edge.

The moon be completely free of the umbra by 9:09 p.m. Pacific time or 12:09 a.m. (Feb. 21) Eastern time.

The vaguer shading of the inner penumbra can continue to be readily detected for perhaps another 20 minutes or so after the end of umbral eclipse. Thus, the whole experience ends toward 12:30 a.m. for the East (with the re-brightened moon now sloping down along the high arc it describes across the sky), or during the mid-evening hours for the West.

I was able to see the partial eclipse that occurred in March, and I hope that the weather will cooperate and I will be fortunate enough to see this one. The universe truly is a wonderful and beautiful thing.

Related: Lunar Eclipse