Who Put the I in ISS?

The crew of STS-127 did a grand job. So did all the support personnel on the ground. And don't forget the ISS crew. There's so much to say, but for the moment I'll leave the profound things and just 'wow' over the fact that there were 13 people in orbit on the same vehicle for the first time. And let's not forget the diverse coverage of countries included in that baker's dozen. That is profound enough on its own.

I have become, recently, a fan of old time radio programs. The big box that people listened to for entertainment before television became ubiquitous. (Sidebar, but interesting: a coworker returned a few weeks ago from a mission trip to Eleuthera. His team worked to repair a tiny shack damaged by hurricane winds in 2008. Yeah, the man had been waiting that long for help. However, to the point. Jon said the man had no bathroom in the house and no outhouse, but he did have cable TV!)

These radio programs are interesting to me for reasons other than only entertainment. They are social commentaries as well, and I am a student of society. Of course my favorite programs would be the science fiction episodes. And the overwhelming majority of them (remember the time frame) paint a very pessimistic picture of humanity's future. Many of them present a world destroyed by nuclear war or under heavy threat of it breaking loose any moment. I'd say 80+% of them present such a future, a hopeless one. That's the most interesting part to me.

Fast forward over half a century. Talks are going on to reduce nuclear arms further. And 13 people from seven nations lived and worked together in the same station for just less than two weeks. Was it perfect harmony? I doubt it. Did everyone drop all their prejudices? I doubt that too. After all, we are imperfect humans. And imperfect humans can destroy each other. However, imperfect humans can agree to disagree, bury differences for a time, and work together to a common goal. And that is one of the important lessons of the International Space Station.

Yes, there is the United Nations, which has worked hard to bring nations together and bring peace to the world. Give it the credit it is due, but also see reality. Again, imperfect humans.

Rise above the demographic boundaries where the earth looks borderless...and the atmosphere seems so thin and fragile. No presidents or ambassadors or councils to debate issues.

Space is the great equalizer. It sees no color or nation or politics. Everyone has the same need, to survive. Thirteen people worked to survive and to explore and to build.

There are great opponents of the ISS, for many reasons. There are those that say it serves no practical purpose, and some say no scientific purpose.

I say they are all quite incorrect.

International Space Station, the real UN.

Stunning

What an image. As one of my good friends says, it doesn't look real. It seems as if from a movie, or an artist's conception. The mind, unfamiliar with the outer reaches of the solar system, retreats to what it is more familiar with...invented images. Saturn and its lovely rings seen from above, image taken by the Cassini satellite. Oh, Cassini? Well, he was a mathematician and astronomer born in the 17th century. You can read about him at Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Domenico_Cassini

And you can read so much more about the Cassini satellite and its mission of exploration of Saturn, and you can enjoy a ton of other amazing photos.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/index.html

Happy Birthday NASA

What an occasion...to celebrate a milestone anniversary of an agency that has done great and amazing things. What is the right thing to say to recognize NASA and the fruits of its labor? Many words have already been spoken by those wiser than I. So I won't try to be clever or profound. I'll just think over my memories of NASA, which date from very early in my life and are responsible for the fact that I now work for this great organization. How far NASA has led us, from a simple sub-orbital flight to the surface of the moon and beyond. Even where people can't currently travel, NASA still sends robots, and peers into the depths of the universe. And it's not only the places they've gone and the things they've seen, though those are unspeakable achievements on their own, it's also what NASA has accomplished on this planet, for let us not disremember the many technologies that pervade our lives which NASA helped distribute from their halls to ours.

But, to take the view of NASA's current administrator, Michael Griffin, there are many ways to justify NASA's existence and programs. However, at the heart of it all is the basic human desire to explore and to know. This NASA has accomplished as the acme. And so, to be succinct and, above all, not to become maudlin, I end this post with an enormous salute to all the men and women who led the way, and now keep that path open, to the stars.