50 Years Ago Today - Ranger 3 Misses the Moon

Artist idea of Ranger probe traveling through space. This replica of Ranger was used at the Parade of Progress Show in Cleveland Ohio in 1964. I would love to find out where this is today. Perhaps the Smithsonian?

Fifty years ago on January 26, 1962, NASA launched an Atlas-Agena B rocket from Cape Canaveral. Lifted beyond Earth orbit, Ranger 3 was set on course to begin our epic reconnaissance of the Moon. On board were not only experiments to test the functionality of the Ranger series of probes, but also a Seismometer capsule which would roughly land and begin studying moonquakes. The craft itself was intended to crash into the surface of the Moon, as engineers had not yet devised a way to softly land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. A camera would send images of the lunar surface back to Earth before the expected crash, and instruments would make radar reflections of the surface, measure the altitude from the surface, and study gamma rays while in space.

Side view or Ranger 3.

Power for the craft was provided by two solar panel wings providing energy to a 1000-watt capacity battery. A large communications antenna was attached to the base. In a way, Ranger 3 appeared much as most of our satellites of the period would look.

Atlas-Agena B lifts off from Cape Canaveral.

The Ranger 3 mission did not go as planned (surprise!). The booster guidance system suffered a malfunction which caused the spacecraft to speed up beyond the planned acceleration. The mid course correction failed, and the spacecraft was unable to relay data and information clearly. Ranger 3 missed the moon by about 22,000 miles. Eventually, some data was received that helped engineers fine-tune the design for the next mission. Ranger 3 itself kept on flying- it eventually began to orbit the Sun, and remains out there to this day.

Science fiction fans may remember that the TV series "Buck Rogers" used a space-shuttle derived design as Buck's spaceship, which was named "Ranger-3."

Posted by Mark Daymont
From Spacerubble.blogspot.com

A Dark Tuesday

Hello Troops,
Some people say the sun stopped its forward motion toward night. Others reported seeing strange objects in the sky. Psychics worldwide stopped whatever they were doing for the briefest of moments. Each heard the same something - an unnatural whispering in the fabric of human consciousness.
"There is a disturbance in the mechanisms of the universe" one psychic from Montreal texted to a friend in Wolverhampton, England.

Scientists are reporting these strange phenomena are the result of a massive solar storm spewing radiation across space at 4 million miles per hour.

"The solar radiation is coming in contact with Earth's magnetic field. This contact is causing worldwide feelings of incompleteness," a scientist from the National Academy of Sciences said during an interview on tonight's NBC News with Brian Williams. "It is the way the radiation affects the firing of the brain's nerve cells."

St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City had twice the number of people in attendance at evening Mass. "I haven't been to Mass in years," one woman explained. "There is something about this night that bothers me and I think the best place to be is church."

What happened during the early evening hours of Mountain Standard Time to cause so much uneasiness? How was the normal universal routine altered? The answer may surprise you.

Mr. Williamson left the Space Center at 5:20 P.M. !

I'm sorry if this unannounced and abrupt change in my daily routine upset so many. It was never my intention to do so. You see, today was one of those weird rare days at the Space Center. We didn't have any after school missions. Not one of our five ships had a booking. No bookings meant I could actually leave the school having put in ten hours instead of my normal eleven. The whole thing seems to fantastic to be true, but I promise it is. I left the Space Center at 5:20 P.M. I can't believe it myself.

Perhaps there are no absolutes in this universe.

And How About a Few Things from the Imaginarium?

"Run for your lives, the Dalaks are coming!"

Rachel's urgent Facebook Message.

You must forgive Rachel. Yes, I'm talking about our Rachel. The Rachel you know who flight directs the Odyssey and Galileo. She has evidence that two of science fiction's greatest human nemesi are making appearances - perhaps in your neighborhood.

What is causing our normally calm and unflustered Rachel to panic so? See for yourself below.


This Dalak sits and waits for the arrival of The Doctor. If the boy had any smarts, he would high tail it out of there. Who in their right mind would ever purposely put himself between The Doctor and a Dalak? It is suicide, pure and simple.



This English city's council government was smart enough to put up warning signs to alert the people of their pending extinction. A Dalak on the loose is a recipe for community disaster on a monumental scale.


If Dalaks on your doorsteps aren't enough of a bother, what about the latest bellows from Rachel's Watchtower? Yes, the Weeping Angels are on the loose in some of our cities. Don't blink. Trust me on this. Don't Blink! And whatever you do, don't look away.

Yet More for Tonight

Many of you good readers of The Troubadour know my one great weakness - my adoration of the Human Imagination. Tonight I pay tribute to two wonders of modern imagination.

Behold what the human mind is capable of doing when given freedom and incentive.

Always take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. Exercise your imagination whenever possible. Step out from the teaming masses. The air is fresher and the view, breathtaking.

And Finally, The Other Mary Poppins
"Scary Mary"

Solar Storm Hits Hard Today

False color image of Sun. Solar flare developing in upper right section.

A massive CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) should be hitting the Earth right now. Traveling at about 1400 miles per second, the solar energetic particles are hitting the Earth's magnetosphere (our shields) and interacting with high-flying orbital satellites. A storm this strong hasn't hit the Earth since 2005. There were concerns that some aircraft traveling at high altitude over the Arctic circle would have to divert. Our main concern is that some satellites may suffer damage or loss of signal quality during the event. Skywatchers with clear skies can be looking for magnificent aurora.

Posted by Mark Daymont
From his Blog: Spacerubble.blogspot.com