Think Different.

My apologies to those trying to see this at school. The District filter is labeling this Apple commercial narrated by Steve Jobs as "R" rated. I have to chuckle sometimes at how the filter categorizes web content. Regardless, all YouTube videos are filtered so please watch it at home.

Here I Am, Waiting Out Parent Teacher Conferences.

Hello Troops,
You may not agree, but this cold rainy weather really brightens my mood. Day after day of unrelenting sunshine and warm temperatures take their toll on people like me who enjoy a bit of variety in their weather.

It is 6:34 P.M. I'm at my desk, putting in my parent teacher conference time. Did you know I still teach the advanced 6th grade math class every morning before the field trips arrive? So, I sit here twice a year waiting for parents to come by and talk about their gifted young mathematicians. I sit, and sit, and sit....... and sit. I usually see one or two parents. The rest pretty much know how their kids are doing (I send home regular progress reports etc). I'm really not bothered if they don't stop in. I'd only have good things to say about their kids anyway. Besides, it gives me time to work on other projects, like writing this and boring you.

So, what's happening right now at the Space Center? Stacy (Galileo Set Director) is sitting to my left working on something diabolical. Kyle (Maintenance) is in the Voyager hallway removing the extra ladder leading to the Captain's Lounge Loft. Dave (Phoenix) just finished a private mission. Christine (Odyssey) is running a five hour mission and the odd child pokes his or her head around the corner to say hello.

I can't think of anything of interest at the moment other to say that I can go home in 43 minutes. How about a few items from the Imaginarium?

Inside every small body likes a great spirit.

Fantastic! You gotta love the artful application of imagination in this door sign.

Toy Story taken to the next level. This is film I'd like to see.

Finally, a snapshot of the young Godzilla with his friends. He lived a happy, carefree, misunderstood life, until.

Who knew back then that these same happy children would grow up and turn on their cuddly little friend, leaving him no choice but to lay waste their cities and remove them prematurely from this life without remorse?

Lindon Elementary's Overnight Camp tomorrow night, our first official OV camp for the school year season!

Mr. W.

International Space Launches

Proton Rocket Blastoff.

Your Space News Update
by
Mark Daymont

Well, it seems the Russians feel everything is safe to resume launches again. International Launch Services (ILS) launched their Russian-made Proton-M rocket to carry a satellite into orbit. Blasting off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, the rocket lifted the QuetzSat-1 communication satellite into orbit for the Mexican government.

Promotional Poster for Mexican Satellite.

A satellite for Europe, the EutelSat, was lifted into orbit on Saturday aboard a Zenit 3SL rocket. This unusual launch occurred thanks to SeaLaunch, a company that uses the sea itself as it's launchpad. From a ship located at the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, the Zenit rocket is lowered into the water from the boat and uses buoyancy and stabilizers to position the rocket for launch.

From the waters of Earth to the vacuum of space...

SeaLaunch recently recovered from bankruptcy to rebuild their company and restart operations again. Looks very successful so far. By using a ship to launch the rocket, SeaLaunch can send its rockets aloft from any water space on the planet and meet its customers' needs.

By far the most impressive launch recently shows that the Chinese are indeed serious about progress in space exploration.

China televised launch of their first space lab.

Credit: Chinese television

Using a Long March 2F rocket, on September 29th China sent up an unmanned space lab module to orbit. The Tiangong-1 lab is not intended for permanent occupation, like the ISS, but will instead be man-tended. Chinese astronauts will practice rendezvous and docking with the lab, and occasionally visit it to keep experiments working. China plans to first send a couple of unmanned capsules to dock with the lab, followed by Shenzou-10, a manned mission, which may include the first Chinese woman astronaut.

Illustration of potential docking.

Credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office.