The Voyager's New Brig Activation System. Jon as the Ferengi in Cry from the Dark. Space News. 50 Years Ago. The Imaginarium

See the Voyager's New Brig Force Field in Action.  An Added Bonus. Watch Jon Parker Play the Ferengi. Classic

Watch a short video showing off the Voyager's new brig force field activation system. Isaac Ostler got it to work.  Cool is the word for it. The ship's security officers feel the coolness in every swipe of the card.

Also, I watched Jon Parker tell one of my favorite stories A Cry from the Dark. I couldn't resist filming the Ferengi part. Jon does my Ferengi character to a tee. A perfect, flawless rendering of the original. Jon is a great flight director. Seeing him tell my mission was another of those moments that reminds me why I'm in this business.

   

Space News
by Mark Daymont
spacerubble.blogspot.com

50 Years ago: Lunar Orbiters Scout for

 Landing Sites

Lunar Orbiter Engineering Mockup.

Fifty years ago, in February 1967, NASA pressed on with the preparations for the Apollo missions despite the recent deaths of the Apollo 1 astronauts. The purpose of the Lunar Orbiter spacecraft was to photograph potential landing sites for the Apollo missions expected to occur within the next few years. This particular spacecraft, Lunar Orbiter 3, blasted off from pad LC-19 at Cape Kennedy (Canaveral) on February 5, 1967. 

Lunar Orbiter 3's ride: Atlas-Agena D.

The Atlas rocket was basically the same as those which powered America's first orbital manned missions. The Agena second stage was a fueled and powered-up version of the Agena target vehicles used during the Gemini program. The orbiter itself was built at the Langley facility in Virginia, recently featured in the movie, "Hidden Figures."

Liftoff from Pad LC-19.

Blast off took place before dawn and the rocket lifted the Agena into position where its motors pushed the spacecraft fast enough to defeat Earth's gravity. The Orbiter reached the Moon on February 8. The camera recorded lunar images from February 15 to 23. Over 500 images were taken.

Image from Lunar Orbiter 3.

Image quality was very good, so much so that one image managed to pinpoint the landing spot for Surveyor 1. The spacecraft stayed in orbit in a gradually decaying orbit when it struck the lunar surface in October 1967.

The Imaginarium

February's Honor's Night at the Space Center. Jordan Receives a Five Year Award. Farpoint's New Programming Club. Imaginarium Theater.

The Faithful Gather for the Party Conference

Jordan Smith Receives his 5 Years of Service Pin

     Sadly Mr. Williamson missed February's Honor's Night at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. I was aboard the USS Voyager on a dangerous mission to the outlands of space with the Farpoint Club's 5th Grade Lion Squadron at Renaissance Academy.
While we defended the virtues which made our Federation great, the staff and volunteers of the CMSEC met to honor their best and brightest.  
     The Troubadour wants to thank Lissa for stepping in and recording the event for the Space Center's historical record kept religiously here on The Troubadour. 

     Jordan Smith received his 5 Years of Service Pin from Space Center Director James Porter.
     Jordan started volunteering at the Space Center during my reign way back in the winter of 2012. Yesterday he reminded me that he was the first in his family to volunteer, not his big brother James. Jordan was a quiet 14 year old back then; so quiet that I poked some fun at him when he got his Phoenix Pin from Mr. Dave Daymont back in June 2012

From The Troubadour. June 2012

Jordan in June 2012

This is Mr. Daymont congratulating young Jordan Smith on the occasion of his receiving a Phoenix Pin.  Jordan is one of those volunteers who never stops talking.  He talks and talks and talks and talks - almost non-stop.

"I can never get a word in edgewise," Mr. Daymont confided in me just last week.  "What do I do?  You've got to help me.  He knows something about everything.  I bring up a subject I'm sure he knows nothing about and OFF HE GOES throwing out facts, figures, prose, poetry and dialog."  

I promised Mr. Daymont I'd figure out a way to contain Jordan's abundant, vocal, and demonstrative enthusiasm.  I could be rich if his energy could be bottled and sold as an elixir for diminished attentiveness.  

     Finally, having known and worked with Jordan for five years, I want this history to record that of all the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers and staff I've had the pleasure of working with over the last twenty-six plus years, Jordan ranks at or near the top when it comes to those qualities which make a person truly likeable and genuine; kindness, generosity, warm heartedness, and dedication. If these deep space missions were real, Jordan would be on my must have list of bridge officers.  
     Congratulations Jordan on your 5 year CMSEC anniversary. 

Mr. Williamson

Other Honorees at February Honor's Night

     This is Scott. Scott earned his long overdue Magellan Pin (considering he's been working as a Magellan supervisor for the past little while; little while because I don't remember when he got that coveted blue shirt).  Scott's a great guy and hard worker. Dedication is his middle name. I'll bet you didn't know that.  

     Victoria was happy to get her 100 hours of volunteering patch, AND to make the evening even sweeter, Mr. Porter threw in her Apprentice Badge for good measure.  Victoria has one of those names you never forget; classy, distinct, and regal.  When you hear it, your respect for whomever carries the name increases tenfold.  Funny how I get that same reaction when people hear my name....
     Victoria is in the running for the friendliest staff / volunteer at the CMSEC.  Her competitors in the field are Lindsey and Audrey.  On one of my Saturday visits to the Space Center I'm going to call ahead and have the three of them meet me in the lobby for a "Who Gives the Warmest, Friendliest, and Believable Sincere Greeting".  It's one of those events I think Mr. Porter could sell tickets to as a fund raiser. Who wouldn't want to see that?

   This is Audrey getting her Magellan Pin.  Audrey and Victoria share the same bubbly personality and cheerfulness.  Audrey has been a role model of volunteering and staff perfection since her first days at the Space Center. Her excitement for the CMSEC's mission knows no bounds.  She would be an excellent poster child for the program if one existed.         I need Audrey working beside me in my math classes at Renaissance Academy - not because of her math skills (I don't know what they are). Instead, I need her to stand in the doorway as my 80 students arrive throughout the day and get them hyped for figures, operations, variables, expressions, powers, factors, multiples, percents, circumferences, etc.  I know my SAGE course would trible with her cheering the students on. Congratulations Audrey.

      And with the awards given and the honorees honored, the event closed with bombardment in the gym I'm sure.

Mr. Williamson

The Farpoint Space Education Center at Renaissance Academy's Programming Club.
Class II. Music and Sound.

Our 34 new programmers at work Saturday morning

     The Farpoint Space Education Center at Renaissance Academy, Lehi started its second programming class on Saturday.  Thirty four Farpoint Cadets ranging in age from 9 to 15 years old are enrolled in the class. Google provides the curriculum.  This eight week course follows Farpoint's first class which ended last Saturday. The previous class taught programming through story creation. This course is focused on programming music and sound.  Visit spaceguard.org for more information on Renaissance Academy's Farpoint Space Education Center.    

Watch our Young Coders at Work