A Video of the Final Push to Get the Space Center Up and Running for Monday's Reopening, and the Earth as Seen from Space

Megan and Connor Flight Testing the Phoenix

Hello Troops,
We are down to the wire.  The Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center opens for field trips on Monday.  Staff and volunteers have been in and out all week working to reassemble, clean, repair and prep the Magellan, Phoenix and Galileo for our grand opening.  Some things have gone smoothly.  Understandable, some things haven't.

Rich and Mark. Guinea Pigs

Rich, wondering what all the fuss was about

Rich and Mark thinking  their way through a complex set of instructions

Our simulators have personalities of their own and don't take kindly to long periods of inactivity.  The staff call this form of anthropomorphous "The Space Center law of Entropy".  The Space Center Law of Entropy states that the nature of our equipment and computer programs tends to move from order to disorder in our isolated systems.  How many times have we returned from long Christmas and summer breaks only to find out that one or more of our five simulators had contracted some kind of malignancy involving a major computer, sound or computer programming issue? I expected the same from this prolonged dormancy.  I wasn't disappointed.  Our simulators have lived up to their reputation, and more.

The Magellan Control Room Getting Put Back Together

Zac trying to figure out how to put the sound system back together, and this - the last working day before our reopening

I took out my camera to immortalize this afternoon's rush to get things ready for Monday.   Starring in our much anticipated video are:  1)  Megan Warner, playing the role of a Phoenix damsel in distress  2)  Zac Hirschi, playing the Sheriff of Magellantown  3) Connor L., playing the boy with the gimpy leg who loves dogs  4)  Jon Parker, playing the village Know it All  5)  Mark S., playing the village bully and general miscreant  6)  Rich S.,  playing the boy who epitomises the hope of America, and   7)  Me, the village idiot.

The Magellan.  Waiting for its Red Lights

The Magellan

 

The video starts in the Phoenix.  Megan and Connor are seen taking the simulator through her flight tests.  Mark and Rich are the guinea pigs inside the simulator.  They are to push buttons on command and provide intelligent responses when prompted.  From the Phoenix, the camera takes us into the Voyager, giving you a behind the scenes look at the simulator which, at one time, was the pride of the Space Center Fleet.  The Magellan / Discovery is our final stop on our video tour.  You'll see Zac and Jon engrossed in a typical water cooler conversation.  Even our unsinkable staff need a few moments of down time to gossip and solve the world's economic, political and religious problems.

The Discovery Room

Jon, doing a bit of video editing

My apologies for the shaky and jerky cinematography.  My apologies for covering the microphone from time to time with my index finger.   My apologies for converting it to a lower quality, 12 frames per second video, in an effort to save a bit of my Friday night.  My heck, I should just apologize for making it!

And now, without further ado, may I present my short video (filmed this afternoon) showing what we have accomplished, and what we have yet to accomplish for Monday's Opening of the Space Center (for field trips only).  Again, we are working on a way to offer private parties and summer day camps.  Stay tuned for further developments.

Mr. W.


Space News

An amazing photograph of the Earth and Moon as seen by the Messenger Probe from a distance of 114 million miles (remember, the Earth is 93 million miles from the Sun).  This image was taken in May of 2010. Using that fact, everyone reading this post today can be found somewhere on that little spec, along with everyone you currently know (assuming they are less than 3), living out their normal day-to-day life. Can see yourself?
 

An Email from an Old Troubadour and Space News.

Hello Troops,

Tonight I'm posting an email I received from Brooklyn Welch, one of our old Troubadours, who left our merry Space Center company to join the armed forces as a field medic.  Brooklyn is stationed with the Army in Afghanistan.  Many of us fondly remember Brooklyn for her optimistic attitude and great smile.  She always gave 110% and never stopped trying, no matter what. 

Whether or not you know Brooklyn, I'm sure you will find this email interesting because of its description of Afghan life and culture.  By reading it, you'll get to see what life is like for our soldiers on the ground in a strange and far away country.

Mr. Williamson

 Friends and Family,
     Things have really started to slow down here lately with the recent snowfall and cold weather....I know you're thinking "hey, she's in the middle east. That's supposed to be like 130 degrees." But, Afghanistan is actually quite a bit like Utah. It's about a couple feet higher in elevation than Utah, and has a lot of mountains everywhere. We've put a halt to any new construction, so we've instead been spend quality time together as a platoon family. This often leads to needing a medic, but it's a good thing I'm almost always involved.
     I went to the local Bazaar ( outdoor shopping area) recently, and found my favorite shop owner, Achmed. He's always very generous when it comes to offering to have one of his wives, or his son make any clothing, so I asked him to make me a purse, or more specifically, to have his son finish the purse he was working on. Achmed asked me to come back next week, and when I did, his son had added a lot of intricate beading to the purse. It's pretty amazing that such a young kid ( about 8 yrs old) could already have such a great skill. I was just getting ready to leave the shop, when Achmed stopped me and starting asking me about my personal life. He asked if I had any kids, or a husband, and I told him no just to see where he was going with this. He then went on to tell me what a great husband he is, and all his does for his other two wives....at this point, I began to realize where he was going with this. He then just flat out asked if I would like to be a wife, topping off the deal by saying there are only two others. I was about to tell him that if he threw in a couple sheep in the deal, I would say yes, but I could tell he was being serious. I politely turned him down, but I'm still considering if I should say yes....I mean who wouldn't want to be one of 3 wives, and have to wear burkha's all day ;)
     We began to realize just how accustomed we have become to life here in Afghanistan as we watched some new units move in a few days ago. ( Mom, don't read this part) The base I'm at had a mortar round fired at it, and rather than running for the bunkers, and screaming like the new guys, we just watched it go across the fob, (and miss the fob...how they can miss something this big is beyond me, but oh well) and then went about our regular lives....at least until we were told that, yes, we did still have to go to the bunkers just like every other time. It's interesting to see how in just 7 months, we can go from being the guys running to the bunkers, to where we are now. Kinda crazy how we learn to adapt to new situations.
     Most of us have started the countdown to going home by now ( about 70 days), and it's going to be very nice getting back to all the nice things we have back home, like painted walls, or bathrooms in our houses. As we get to this point of the deployment, its about time I have to ask those of you that have shown so much support this whole time, to stop sending letters or packages. We have just enough time to let the mail already sent get to us, but thank you for all the treats and letters and emails throughout this.
Brooklyn

Space News

Earth-like planets, and possibly alien life, may be right in our celestial backyard.

"Confirming what “Doctor Who” fans have long suspected, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA) have found that Earth-like planets, and possibly alien life, may be right in our celestial backyard.
The closest Earth-like planet could be as little as 13 light-years away, the scientists said in a report released Wednesday".  Read On


 ESA Moon Base Plan Could Use 3D Printing & Lunar Soil 

Multi-dome lunar base being constructed, based on the 3D printing concept. Once assembled, the inflated domes are covered with a layer of 3D-printed lunar regolith by robots to help protect the occupants against space radiation and micrometeoroids.

"As if planning to build a moon base weren't enough, the European Space Agency may try to do it with 3D printing.
"Printing" a building out of layers of lunar soil could be much easier and cheaper than bringing the whole structure from earth. And there's even a printer that can do the job -- a device known as the D-Shape, produced by London-based company Monolite UK".   Read On

Space News and The Imaginarium

Space and Science News

 Physicists have created the world’s first multiverse of universes in the lab by using a metamaterial.

Now, before I could possibly hope to elaborate on that, I have to explain a few of those terms. First, it’s very important to understand ...what a ‘multiverse of universes’ is in order to understand the significance of this accomplishment.

The multiverse is basically a hypothetical construct which states that we live in a set of multiple universes. In short, the best description I’ve heard to describe the multiverse principle is to imagine our universe as a bubble. Our universal bubble is drifting around in a space filled with other bubbles. These other bubbles contain their own universes. It’s important to note that these other universes do not necessarily have our laws of physics – in fact, their laws of physics could be very different. Light might be slower, gravity might be stronger or nonexistent, quantum physics might not exist, etc. This is not the same thing as the 'Many Worlds Theory' which is basically the theory of parallel worlds, you know, everything that can happen has happened.

This idea of reality, assuming it’s true that is, could prove to be very exciting (and dangerous). These universe bubbles could collide with each other, something might cause it to ‘pop’, it could even give intelligence from our universe the ability to live indefinitely assuming such a species could figure out how to cross from one universe to another.

On to metamaterials. A metamaterial is an artificial material engineered with specific properties that may or may not be found in nature. Metamaterials aren’t special in the since that they are constructed from engineered elements, but rather in the sense that naturally occurring materials (like metals or plastics) are meticulously arranged in a precise geometry so it affects waves of light or sound in an unconventional manner. A prime example of this is using a metamaterial to create an invisibility cloak of some kind – which has actually been done. For more information on that, see the ‘further reading’ section at the end of this post.

In this case, researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Townson University created a metamaterial that, when shot with a laser, allowed multiple universes to be formed. These universes were formed in a space called Minkowski space. Minkowski space is basically fourth dimensional space, it unifies Euclidean three-dimensional space with the fourth dimension (time) and works very well with special relativity.

The metamaterial of choice for this experiment is a little unconventional, for the substance used isn’t traditionally considered a metamaterial. In this case, researchers used a solution of cobalt in kerosene. Interestingly enough, the scientists on the project discovered that by applying a magnetic field to the solution, the cobalt snaps together to form nice, neat columns. This particular metamaterial possesses the property that, when light passes through it, the space behaves like a Minkawski universe.

For each column of cobalt that is formed, you can create a different universe. By thinning out the solution, allowing for multiple columns to form, scientists were able to create multiple multiverses.

There are really two exciting aspects to this research. First, and certainly the main attraction, is the ability to create other universes. This would allow researchers the ability to create ‘pet universes’ where they could study the affects of different changes in the laws of physics (such as, what happens if photons have mass and light travels much slower than it does here). Second, and equally as interesting, is the discovery of this metamaterial. Since such materials are traditionally hard to create, the idea of having a cheap and self-organizing material could be very beneficial.

All in all, this experiment opens up a lot of potential for new research – types of research we haven’t had access to in the past and, in many cases, haven’t even considered. The true significance of these discovers will be realized as the scientific community does what they do best: ask questions, run tests, and ask more questions.

~Joshua
Source: From Quarks to Quasars


The Imaginarium
 The Imaginarium reminds you to make the ordinary, Extraordinary.  

Chiquita, the Imaginarium's Favorite Banana.

A Clock in an office which reminds the employees that 

it is always 5:00 P.M. somewhere.

Imagination: A

I say that's using your Imagination.

An Awesomely, Imaginative Teacher.

 Stick-it Note War between Office Buildings

 

A creative note from a parent to a child.

 I want for my new office chair.

I couldn't Resist

Thoughts to Live By