Seeing Beyond 2021

Did you receive what you wanted for Christmas this year? A few years ago, I really wanted a Newtonian telescope. I was so happy to wake up on Christmas morning to see my new telescope that would allow me to see beyond the sky, into Space and see the Moon in amazing detail.

Guess what? This year for Christmas, everyone received a new telescope with the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana on Christmas morning. The James Webb telescope will replace the Hubble telescope that was launched aboard space shuttle Discovery in 1990. Unlike the Hubble that orbited Earth, the JWST will orbit the Sun, 1.5 million miles away from Earth at the second Lagrange point (L2).

Joseph-Louis Lagrange, a 18th Century mathematician, calculated the points in which three bodies (Sun, Earth and satellite) could orbit each other and at the same time stay in the same relative position. Isn't that interesting?

The James Webb telescope will take about six months before it is fully deployed and operational, but you can check updates on "Where is Webb" at this link. This will be a game-changer for astrophysicists and cannot wait to hear Neil deGrasse Tyson unfold the universe using data from the James Webb telescope. Happy Boxing Day!

Updated July 11, 2022

Today is the day that we have all been waiting for. I know some of you are saying, "Yes!, It's finally Slurpee Day (7/11)!" Actually, today is the day that we receive the first color images from the JWST, and we finally open the gift that was launched on Christmas day. I guess that this is what is meant by Christmas in July.

The image above is known as Webb’s First Deep Field, with a focus on the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. This is the deepest image of space ever, as there is more defined detail in galaxies beyond SMACS 0723. The JWST will continue to search the Universe for potential habitable planets and take images of stars from 13.5 billion years ago. According to the European Space Agency, "JWST's primary aim is to shed light on our cosmic origins: it will observe the Universe's first galaxies, reveal the birth of stars and planets, and look for exoplanets with the potential for life." More images will be released on July 12 at 10:30 AM EDT. Universe - say cheese!

#JWST #NeildeGrasseTyson #Arianespace

Slow Down

As a space enthusiast, it's not often you hear me say slow down, especially since rocket engines are designed to go really fast. Why it is that we frequently rush through the museum galleries to see everything in the collection instead of taking the time to focus on a single room or even just a few pieces?

Recently, I had the chance to visit The Fort Worth Modern to attend a Slow Art Tour. This particular tour was focused on Ellsworth Kelly but actually only three of Kelly's works, which are always displayed together, so you may even say focused on one work. I have always enjoyed seeing the minimalist artwork of Ellsworth Kelly, but this was a 30-minute masterclass on the artist's work including the shapes and color before me as well as his life and history.

His life story is very interesting. While attending high school, I learned that Ellsworth Kelly was interested in acting and in fact studied under Helen Travolta, the mother of famous actor John Travolta. Imagine if he had become an actor, instead of an artist. Although after high school, Mr. Kelly moved to Brooklyn to study art at the Pratt Institute. The master of color and camouflage was soon inducted into the US Army during World War II (WWII). Mr. Kelly was part of the elite and secretive 23rd Special Troops also known as the "Ghost Army". The Ghost Army would deploy jeeps made out of burlap and wood or inflatable tanks and artillery made of rubber as a decoy to the Axis Forces during WWII. I really love history, so I was really surprised and excited to learn about the Ghost Army while attending an art tour. If you are interested, it appears that the World War II Museum will have a traveling exhibition of the Ghost Army through 2023 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and the Nevada Museum of Art.

And if ever in Texas, I encourage you see Ellsworth Kelly's work at The Fort Worth Modern designed by Tadao Ando, but also visit the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin to see Kelly's AUSTIN (pictured above).

#FWModern #EllsworthKelly #BlantonMuseum #GhostArmy

The New(Space) Reformation

Reformation (noun): a 16th century religious movement marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine and practice and establishment of the Protestant churches. What does NewSpace have to do with the Reformation of the 16th Century?

You may already know, but I really enjoy learning about history. Over the summer, I learned about the Reformation where King Henry VIII went against the long established Roman Catholic Church to establish the Church of England. For some, Space is a religious experience, but I couldn't help think that transition from OldSpace (NASA) to NewSpace (private spaceflight industry) was much like the Reformation.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website, "An FAA license is required to conduct any commercial space launch or reentry, the operation of any launch or reentry site by U.S. citizens anywhere in the world, or by any individual or entity within the United States." Many NewSpace companies are awaiting approval from the FAA with input from the public, governmental and quasi-governmental agencies to launch from private spaceports. There is currently a draft environmental review for the proposed SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy program in Boca Chica, Texas. The deadline to submit a comments is November 1, 2021 by emailing the FAA at SpaceXBocaChica@icf.com. This process could take months or even years, much like the Reformation of the 16th Century, but hopefully not too long. Stay tuned as I will hopefully be providing updates.

Updated June 2022

The FAA has granted environmental approval for orbital launches from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The next Starship Orbital Flight Test is currently scheduled for July 2022.

Updated April 2023

In my very first post, I mentioned that rocket launches teach us flexibility (as well as patience). On April 20, 2023, the two-stage Starship (SuperHeavy stack), also known as SN24, performed it's maiden orbital test flight.

There were clearly established objectives with this mission, including: first stage separation, softlanding of first stage in the Gulf of Mexico, second stage orbit of Earth before second stage hard landing in the Pacific Ocean near Kauai, Hawaii. There is a learning curve with any maiden flight, as systems are fully integrated for the test flight. Every second after clearing the launch tower provides an abundance of data that will help in preparing for future Starship launches. SpaceX will have about four minutes of data collected before the SN24 mission ended in a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) or fiery explosion just before stage separation. As a standard procedure, the FAA is investigating the explosion but confirms that "no injuries or public property damage have been reported"; thus, closing out this chapter in the New(Space) Reformation.

#NewSpace #Space2point0