Monthly Archives: October 2017

Education, History

60 years since Sputnik 1 reach orbit

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Sixty years ago today, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. The news electrified the U.S. and set off a sequence of events that eventually led to the Apollo 11 landing of two astronauts on the Moon 12 years later.

Here are some details of the story of how the Soviet satellite came to be:

Here is a CBS TV news report from October 1957:

To get an idea of the impact that Sputnik had on American society, I recommend Homer Hickam’s autobiographical book Rocket Boys. He recounts how as a youngster in a remote coal mining town he was so inspired by Sputnik and the US efforts to get to space that he and his friends began building rockets of their own. They were soon demanding that their high school teach advanced physics and calculus. Hickam later became a rocket engineer at NASA. Homer is featured in this video about the “Sputnik Moment” and the huge influence it had on US education:

From 1957 till the mid-1960s, there was a wave of intense interest and support in technology and science across American society. College entrance exam scores reached record highs. Many young people growing up during that period went into scientific and engineering fields outside of space but they credit space with first inspiring them to study science and math.

There were, however, some drawbacks to the crash program mentality that was set off by Sputnik. Here is a commentary on how Sputnik and the Space Race that followed between the US and the Soviet Union created a false view of how space can and should be developed: Sputnik at 60: How Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Started a New Space Age | Rand Simberg/The Weekly Standard.

Mars, Solar Sci-Fi

“Pioneer” – A space science-fiction novel from Robert Zimmerman

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Space historian and journalist Bob Zimmerman has released a science fiction book called Pioneer, which he actually wrote in 1982 but it portrays a future of space settlement very relevant to what is happening in the space world today: Pioneer | Behind The Black. Here is a press release about Pioneer:

Riveting First Alien Contact Novel By Award-winning Space Historian Portrays an Exciting Future
The body of a man who disappeared 46 years earlier on an asteroid near Jupiter is found on Mars,
with proof of alien life. How did he get there, and who were the aliens?
To find out will require a journey that skims the Sun and flies beyond Saturn.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oct. 3, 2017 – PRLog — Before he became an award-winning space historian and science journalist, Robert Zimmerman wrote a riveting science fiction novel, PIONEER, about humanity’s first contact with aliens, set two hundred years in the future. Though it was written more than three decades ago, the book remains amazingly authentic in its portrayal of the future settlement of the solar system, based on what has happened the last decades of 20th century as well as the exciting emergence of a private commercial space industry now in the early 21st century.

That book has now at last been published.

The year is 2183. Fifty-six-year-old Saunders Maxwell is a stubborn old space-farer who has spent his entire life in space. He has commanded the Moon-Mars shuttle and led exploration missions beyond Mars. Later he turned to asteroid mining, captaining a small ship and crew on repeated trips to the asteroid belt, bringing back minerals or even small asteroids to sell so that the Mars colony could harvest them for the needed resources.

As he and his pilot Harry Nickerson fly over the vast slopes of the giant volcano Olympus Mons on their way home from one such mining mission, Maxwell spots a strange glint below, a glint that is not natural and should not be there.

When they land they discover something entirely unexpected and impossible, the body of man who had disappeared on a distant asteroid almost a half century before. Sanford Addiono had been on one of the first manned missions to the asteroid belt when he and a partner had vanished. Nothing was ever heard from them again. Even more baffling, two later missions to that asteroid found that it had disappeared as well, no longer in orbit where it was supposed to be.

Now, 46 years later, Maxwell finds Addiono’s body on the surface of Mars. How Addiono had gotten to Mars from a distant lost asteroid–without a spaceship–was baffling.

That riddle was magnified by what Addiono had brought back with him. Among his effects was a six-fingered robot hand that had clearly been made by some alien civilization, along with a recorder and memo book describing what Addiono had seen.

Here was a mystery that would rock humanity, the first alien contact. And at that moment Saunders Maxwell decides that he is going to be the person to solve that mystery, even if it takes him through hell and back.

Unfortunately, that is exactly where that journey takes him.

The vision that Zimmerman paints of vibrant human colonies on the Moon, Mars, the asteroids, and beyond, indomitably fighting the harsh lifeless environment of space to build new societies, captures perfectly the emerging space race we see today.

He also captures in Pioneer the heart of the human spirit, willing to push forward no matter the odds, no matter the cost. It is that spirit that will make the exploration of the heavens possible, forever, into the never-ending future.

About: Robert Zimmerman is an award-winning science journalist and historian who has written five books and innumerable articles on science, engineering, and the history of space exploration and technology for ASTRONOMY, AIR & SPACE, SCIENCE, NATURAL HISTORY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY, WIRED, INVENTION & TECHNOLOGY and a host of other publications. He also reports on space and science news at his website, BehindtheBlack.com (http://behindtheblack.com). His classic book, GENESIS, THE STORY OF APOLLO 8 (Mountain Lake Press: http://behindtheblack.com/books/genesis-the-story-of-apollo-8/), describes the epic family and political tale behind the first manned mission to another world. It remains a steady bestseller twenty years after its first publication.

In addition to his writing, Mr. Zimmerman is also a cave explorer and cartographer, and has participated in numerous projects exploring and mapping previously unknown caves across the United States. It is this activity that has allowed him to actually “go where no one has gone before,” thus providing him a better understanding of the perspective of the future space explorers on Mars and beyond as they struggle to push the limits of human existence.

About eBookIt.com: Since 2010, eBookIt.com (based in Sudbury, Massachusetts) has helped thousands of authors and publishers get their books converted to ebook format, and distributed to all the major ebook retailers, including Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Apple iBookstore, Kobo, Sony Readerstore, Ingram Digital, and Google eBookstore.

 

 

Contests and Games, Education, Rocketry

“Reach for the Stars” rocket competition winners to celebrate at Space Camp/US Space & Rocket Center

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A report from the Reach for the Stars National Rocket Competition on the 2017 results:

Reach for the Stars

~ National Rocket Competition Winners to Celebrate at
Space Camp / US Space & Rocket Center


Contestants in the 11th annual Reach for the Stars ~ National Rocket Competition had to build and launch their own solid-fuel powered rocket at an event held in their area. The Competition promotes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education and is run in memory of Christa McAuliffe / first Teacher-in-Space. Local Competitions were held by schools, scout troops, youth centers, museums, and rocket clubs across the country in this year long event.

In response to the nation’s call for more interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) activities – over 1500 kids across the nation participated in the eleventh annual Reach for the Stars ~ National Rocket Competition. At the end of the competition those who had the “Right Stuff”* were victorious. The annual Competition, for ages ten to eighteen, runs continuously.

Their rockets soar 200 feet into the air to return by parachute. The closest average landing to an on-field target wins the local event. The local winner’s results were forwarded to RFTS Competition headquarters to be compared to all entries received. The closest were declared the national winners.

Jessica Flowers, Lilianna Henry, Kyle Hughes, Sophia Jasso, Victoria Miterko and Jordyn Presley took the top honors this year. Joining the group will be Minnesota Civil Air Patrol cadet, Nathan Jones – one of last year’s winners.

The national winners will be invited to celebrate their success at Space Camp / US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. As part of the celebration they get to launch their rockets from Homer Hickam Field** under an October Sky. The winners will be presented a Space Shuttle Challenger commemorative medal with certificate signed by Astronaut Jon McBride. Captain McBride piloted the Challenger on her early missions.

With their families, the winners will continue their celebration; seeing the Pathfinder Space Shuttle, standing in the world famous Rocket Park, climbing the Mars Wall, riding the Astronaut Simulators and visiting the Challenger Astronaut Memorial – honouring the memories of those lost in the conquest of space.

Competition co-director, Kathy Colpas says,

“We promise the national winners – memories to last a lifetime and bragging rights for generations to come. Launching their rockets from a memorable location and being honored under the historical Saturn V rocket allows us to fulfill our promise.”

Jessica Flowers won her local competition at Prairie Trace Elementary in Carmel, Indiana under the direction of teacher Sandi Johnson.

Lilianna Henry and Victoria Miterko won their local events while competing at Citrus Springs Elementary in Citrus Springs Florida. Tina Hackey was the Competition host.

Kyle Hughes launched at Hockomock YMCA in N. Attleboro, Massachusetts with Associate Director of Children’s Services, Kim Jennings.

Sophia Jasso competed in Santa Ana, California at Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School under the direction of teacher, Andrea Earl.

Jordyn Presley took top honors while launching with Bagdad Elementary in Milton, Florida. This event was run by teacher Tammy Dillard. The Competition at this school was funded by a NASA grant through the Florida Space Grant Consortium.

Nathan Jones, a Civil Air Patrol cadet from the 130th Composite Squadron, Lakeville, Minnesota was one of last year’s national winners. He will attend this year’s celebration.

Several companies have joined together to provide unforgettable memories for the national winners of the annual Reach for the Stars ~ National Rocket Competition.

Without the generosity of these businesses, this winners’ celebration would not be possible.

Sponsors receive national recognition and the satisfaction of – Helping Kids Reach for the Stars. More information is available at www.RocketCompetition.com .

Jack and Kathy Colpas, co-directors of the Reach for the Stars ~ National Rocket Competition are retired public school educators with over 50 years of classroom experience. “Our goal is to give kids the educational experience of building and launching a solid-fuel powered rocket. Our purpose is to foster an interest in model rocketry, STEM subjects and aeronautics. Our mission is to keep alive the memory of the first Teacher-in-Space, Christa McAuliffe.”

* Thomas Wolfe, The Right Stuff – (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) 1979

**Homer Hickam is the author of the inspirational memoir, Rocket Boys which became the movie October Sky.