The Troubadour: Farpoint Clubs Form. Future of Mars Exploration. If the Moon were One Pixel. The Imaginarium.

Farpoint Departments Take Shape

Hello Troops,
It was a rush to get home from chaperoning last night's Discovery Space Center Overnight Camp and get to Renaissance Academy to prepare for this morning's Farpoint general membership meeting. I found two Lehi police cars parked in front of the school when I arrived at 9:00 A.M. Someone had forgotten to properly shut the school's back door. The morning wind caused the door to move just enough to trigger the alarm. The officer in charge asked who I was and what I was doing at the school at 9:00 A.M. on a Saturday morning. I explained how a teacher's job is never done. He agreed, but took my name, phone number and address down anyway. I'd like to say the one minute interrogation was traumatizing so I could claim victimization (a favorite American pastime these days) but I'm too honest.
We had a good turn out, considering this was one of the BYU Boy Scout Merit Badge PowWow weekends. I outlined the Farpoint departments and let the cadets choose the department which best suited their interests and talents.

The Engineering and Technology Department is headed by Matt Long and McKay Hardy.

The Medical Department is headed by Melanie Long and Jacqueline Lystrup (recently returned from her honeymoon, so you may remember her as Jacqueline Wallace).

Farpoint's Science Department will be headed by Aleta Clegg, Mark Daymont and Bill Schuler. Future departments will include the office of the Adjutant General (Legal) and the Procurement Department (accounting and supplies).

Cadets unable to attend this morning's organizational meeting may still join one of the departments. Watch this blog for news and meeting times.

Bombardment in the school's gym took up the last 45 minutes of the two hour meeting. Several exciting games of single and double Bombardment produced March's champions: Matt Long and James L.

Mr. W.

View the Future of Martian Exploration

The multi-center Morpheus Team successfully completed Free Flight8 (FF8) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) on Wednesday, March 5th, 2014. FF8, the 6th free flight of the Bravo vehicle, flew to 467 feet (142m), altitude and then traversed 637 feet (194m) in 36 seconds, including diverting course mid-flight, before landing in the hazard field 56 feet (17m) from its original target (simulating hazard avoidance). Initial data indicates a nominal flight meeting all test objectives. The vehicle flew its pre-planned trajectory flawlessly, as the attached images comparing actual to predicted trajectory shows, reaching a max ascent velocity of 13 m/s, and landing approximately 10in from its intended target 79 seconds after launch. The Morpheus Team again demonstrated engineering and operational excellence, relying upon training, discipline and experience to ensure today's success.

The Right Scale and Distance of

the Solar System

If the Moon were One Pixel.