The Essence of Our Own Brand of Magic.

“We have 400 of our crew dead!” Capt. Marcus shouted to the overnight crew of the Phoenix over his crackling subspace radio. His ship was hit by the full force of a supernova explosion. Somehow, by some miracle having nothing to do with the skill of the young Phoenix crew, the mighty Phoenix held together through the Tsunami of radiation.
“Well that sucks,” was the response of one of the eleven year old Phoenix officers.

I was sitting at my desk computer writing the final sentences to my Cloverdale post when I heard his matter of fact summation of the Romulan’s plight. There was something about what he said or maybe how he said it that made me laugh. His expression was so uncaring. Kind of like,
“Oops, I spilled my drink,”
“Well, that sucks.”
It was said with about the same emotion. On the Phoenix screen was a montage of disaster. Romulan bodies sailing across the screen as the warbird was tossed to and fro in the wash of hot plasma. Green blood dripped from their faces. Smoke filled their ship. Sparks from dozens of broken wires illuminated the carnage. And in all of that, our nonempathetic young crew member said,
“Well that sucks.”

I started laughing. It just caught me off guard. How British of him. You know - stiff upper lip. Can’t be bothered. Vulcan emotional steel. This youngster was the kind of person you’d want beside you in a crisis. I can see him on the Titanic.
“Sir, We’ve hit an iceberg. The ship is going down. We don’t have enough life boats for everyone. Its women and children first. We haven’t a chance!”

To which this young man would reply, “Well that sucks. Now how about a nice cup of tea?”

It was just one of those things that happen at the Space Education Center on any given day. That’s what makes working here Magic. We have our good days. We have our bad days. We have days where our crews amaze us with their intellect and others where its like pulling teeth to get them to say or do anything. Each day is the same and each day is different. Just another day in paradise at the second happiest place on Earth.

Our week at the Space Center ends. Sunday off, then back in the saddle again on Monday. I will once again take the Flight Director's seat on Monday to fly the 5th grade missions for Central School. My time away from the hot seat was necessary to recharge my batteries. So, recharged and more than ready - here I come.

"Engineering to the Bridge. Engineering to the Bridge. You've got Tex. Captain, I'm your chief engineering aboard the USS Voyager NCC 1990. I've been asked to take a minute and introduce you to some of the people that work for you aboard this ship........"

Bring it on Younglings. Elvis is back in the building.

Mr. Williamson

Shuttle Returns!

Dust from the runway swirls into the wingtip vortices.

STS-128 comes to an end as the shuttle Discovery was directed to land at Edwards AFB in California. There were two additional opportunities to land at Cape Kennedy in Florida, but weather restrictions put an end to that. Next up for the shuttle is a ride atop the ferry 747.

Mark Daymont
Space Center Educator

Busy day for Space projects

Solid Rocket Motor ignites!

It was a busy space day. Not too far from the SpaceRubble Command Bunker, ATK and NASA test-fired the solid rocket motor assembly that will be the basis of the first stage for the Ares I rocket for the Constellation program. This rocket vomits out a tremendous amount of power and flame, and it sure looked like a successful test on my side of the monitor. This would have been a great event to attend if I'd been able to.

Ares I-X being assembled in the vast Vehicle Assembly Building

Currently NASA is assembling the first actual test rocket for the program in its VAB facility at the Kennedy Space Center. This test flight keeps getting delayed. To be honest, I am not sure that there will be any test flights after this one, given the gloomy budget analysis by the government's Augustine Commission - but that's another story.

Japan's H2 rocket and HTV payload prior to launch

Meanwhile, congratulations are due to Japan's successful launch today of the HTV cargo carrier into orbit. The HTV is similar in purpose to the European ATV, which is designed to carry supplies and equipment to the ISS in Earth orbit. The HTV is scheduled to rendezvous with the ISS on or about September 17. Japan has worked very hard to get the H2 heavy lift rocket operational, and I am sure there are many celebratory parties still going on across the Pacific. This really helps Japan get in the ISS game. Remember, Japan recently had a successful satellite orbit of the Moon, and earlier this year got their astronaut Koichi Wakata back from a long stay on the ISS. Glad to see their success!

At last word tonight, two attempts at a landing in Florida for mission STS-128 have been scrubbed due to developing storms. There will be two more early evening attempts Friday, and if that is scrubbed, NASA will look at a possible landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Of course, they don't want to do that, due to the incredible high cost of then shuttling the shuttle on the back of the 747 back to Florida.

Mark Daymont
Space Center Educator
From his Blog: Spacerubble.blogspot.com