Astronaut pleads, headline writers harumph
November 11th, 2009 | Aviation Blogs NASA Science and technology | Posted by Phil Ewing
After a scandal that was out of this world, the Lisa Nowak story has returned to Earth, much as the space shuttle Discovery landed in December // NASA
Reporters, editors, bloggers and late-night comedians are losing an icon this week — the most infamous astronaut of all time, Capt. Lisa Nowak, closed out the story that has brought NASA its most public attention since the moonshot.
Nowak pleaded guilty to assaulting a fellow astronaut, Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, in a crime for the ages: Nowak drove more than 1,000 miles, from Houston to Orlando — geared up with a steel mallet, a wig, a BB gun, a knife, latex gloves, rubber tubing, garbage bags and pepper spray — and attacked Shipman as she tried to get into her car in a parking lot.
The motive? Nowak was apparently jealous that Shipman stol’d her man, Cmdr. Bill Oefelein, who was at the center of the astronaut love triangle. Other sensational elements? The infamous diapers. The e-mails. Just when you thought there were no other ridiculous ways for the story to go, there they were.
That’s all over now. But The Register isn’t wasting the last chance for this sort of thing — its headline today was “Astronaut love-dustup mace space ace Nowak cops plea,” with the sub-hed: “Anger management classes for wiggy carpark catfight.”
It’s take 3 for space shot
July 10th, 2009 | NASA Navy Officers SEALs Science and technology | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
It’s probably a good thing that NASA’s pool of astronauts include quite a few military officers. Who better to understand the “hurry up and wait” lifestyle that is the military?
We told you last month about preparations for the planned June 13 launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, whose seven-member crew of space sailors, including only the second Navy SEAL to ever venture into space, will do a 16-day mission that will haul parts of Japan’s Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station. But hydrogen leaks in a gas vent line leading to the exterior fuel tank forced NASA officials to twice scrub the flight and delay the mission.
Space Shuttle Endeavour sat at Launch Pad 39A Friday as storm clouds loomed overhead. NASA-TV photo
On Friday morning, though, NASA gave the STS-127 mission a “go,” with a scheduled launch time of 7:39 p.m. Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But at this point, NASA says, it looks like weather might be the decider on that evening launch time and date, since the forecast includes scattered thunderstorms throughout the weekend. NASA predicted a 40 percent for conditions good enough to launch on Saturday.
Endeavour’s crew for this planned flight has a strong, multi-service, “purple” representation: Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Army.
Mission specialists including Cmdr. Christopher Cassidy, a Navy SEAL and Afghanistan veteran who will ride Endeavour on his first flight into space if all goes well with the weather and barring any other delays. Again, we say hooyah! Cassidy will follow on the heels of his mentor, retired Capt. William M. Shepherd, the first Navy SEAL to ride a shuttle into space. The Air Force is represented – shuttle commander Mark Polansky is a retired test pilot and veteran of two shuttle missions, STS-98 and STS-116 while mission specialist Dave Wolf[cqgf] is a former flight surgeon. So, too, is the Army, as mission specialist Col. Tim Kopra, a helicopter test pilot, will leave on his first flight and remain on the space station as he swaps out with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will return to Earth with Endeavour’s crew. A Marine will be at the controls when Lt. Col. Doug Hurley, the shuttle pilot, goes on his first spaceflight.
If the weather clears up, once the shuttle takes off, you’ll be able to track each of the day’s work on an interactive site. You also can read about what favorite tokens astronauts will take with them for their space ride. Cassidy is carrying several coins and patches from SEAL units.
You can even reach them on Twitter. Polansky, the mission commander, is “Astro_127.” “We’ll have our L-1 day shuttle systems review and launch weather briefing at 2000 EDT,” he wrote Friday evening. You can track him on MySpace and YouTube.
Let’s hope the weather cooperates.
Military space geeks, take note
June 5th, 2009 | NASA Officers SEALs | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
Today marks the final week counting down to the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour, whose seven-member crew of space sailors is yet another “purple” multi-service representation, including a Navy SEAL. Endeavour is scheduled for a 7:17 a.m. EDT liftoff on Saturday, June 13, from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The 16-day mission of STS-127 marks the final flight hauling parts of Japan’s Kibo Laboratory to the International Space Station.
One of the mission specialists is Navy Cmdr. Christopher Cassidy(below), a SEAL and decorated Afghanistan veteran who will ride Endeavour on his first flight into space. Hooyah! Cassidy will be the second SEAL to go into space, a feat previously done by his mentor, retired Navy Capt. William M. Shepherd, who was the international space station’s first commander.
Endeavour’s shuttle commander, Mark Polansky, is a retired Air Force test pilot who’s done two shuttle missions, STS-98 and STS-116. Veteran mission specialist Dave Wolf is a former Air Force flight surgeon. The shuttle pilot is Marine Lt. Col. Doug Hurley, going on his first space flight. Army Col. Tim Kopra, a mission specialist also on his first flight, is a helicopter test pilot who will stay aboard the space station while Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will hitch a ride back to Earth.
The shuttle crew will be quarantined at the Johnson Space Center in Houston starting tomorrow until they return to Florida Tuesday to prepare for the flight. NASA officials gave the mission a “go,” although bad weather could delay the launch. Space buffs can track the mission online or on NASA-TV. There’s also a cool interactive site to track each day’s work.
You can even reach them on Twitter. The mission commander is “Astro_127.” Twittering won’t end when Endeavour reaches orbit. Folks can query the crew via video tweets — they must be less than 30 seconds — posted on YouTube, with the video link sent to his Twitter account. NASA will pick questions for him to answer live on NASA-TV. We’ll have to wait for his reponse to this question already posted: “What would happen if you fly into a black hole?” Let’s hope we won’t find out.