Today is my birthday. And while numerous space missions were taking place on my birthday (for example, the current ISS Expedition 28), there hasn't been a lot on this day.
NASA Astronaut David C. Burbank was born today in 1961. He is the second astronaut from the United States Coast Guard. He flew on Atlantis twice, in September 2000, on STS-106, and in September 2006, on STS-115, and is scheduled to launch for six months in September 2011, for ISS Expedition 29/30.
On this day in 1972, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was born. He would become the first Malaysian to go into space, launching on October 10, 2007 and returning October 21. He launched as part of the Soyuz TMA-11 crew (who were comprising ISS Expedition 16) and returned as part of the Soyuz TMA-10 crew (ISS Expedition 15). He is an orthopedic surgeon and spent 18 months training in Russia. While he is officially designated a 'spaceflight participant' by English-language materials put out by NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency, he did perform some medical experiments on liver cancer and leukemia cells and microbes; a Russian ambassador called him a 'fully-fledged cosmonaut', while now-retired NASA astronaut Robert Gibson said he was fully qualified as an astronaut and should be called one. The distinction is because Malaysia arranged his flight as a trade for buying 18 Russian fighter jets under the Angkasawan
program.
On this day in 2005, NASA grounded the shuttle program for the third time, after the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and this was because on the launch of STS-114 the day before, debris from the external tank separated from it and hit the shuttle Discovery--the same thing that happened to Columbia. This was the first 'Return to Flight' shuttle mission after the loss of Columbia, and while the mission was a success and returned safely, this grounding lasted until July 4, 2006. (Ironically, Discovery had also been the first shuttle to fly the 'Return to Flight' mission after the Challenger accident.)
Showing posts with label Soyuz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soyuz. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
United Nations Space Police Station
A United Nations Space Police Station was launched on December 2 of an unknown year. The next day, a crew of 8 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome. (Presumably, they launched in either a series of Soyuz capsules, or a shuttle or shuttles borrowed from the United States or various other powers, including Russia.)
The mission was led by Commander James McFadden. He was born in Scotland but emigrated to the United States and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He became a top fighter pilot and joined NASA 3 years ago, when he was 29. His interests include acrobatics, ice-climbing, free-diving, and Chinese ceramics.
Also on the mission were British astronaut Esmee Templeton, 3 more Americans, 2 Russians, and 1 Spanish astronaut.
The mission was to police space and enforce UN space laws. Not long before this, NASA had launched another deep-space probe.
Dating is uncertain, although the book states that the space station was launched from a vessel on the equator at 0300 on 2 December. Personnel were launched on 3 December. No other information about the personnel was given, although it is implied that they were all veteran astronauts in order to be assigned to this posting. While the mission is not the focus of the book, one of the teen heroes does have a signed photograph of Esmee Templeton and is clearly infatuated with her, implying she is attractive. There is supposed to be a massive solar flare around this date, the biggest one ever. In our reality, the biggest one ever recorded by instruments took place on November 4, 2003. Since the book was first published in 2007, I think that we could assign a tentative date no earlier than December 2003 (to account for various inter-universal differences, such as a Big Bang that happened a month later), and no later than December 2006 (to account for enough lead time to write the book and publish it). We are given no information about the design of the station, although I believe it is not a toroidal station (like in 2001) but a cylindrical affair similar to Skylab, based on its shipboard launch.
This mission would be part of the STORM timeline (named for the book series by E.L. Young where it first appeared). See my companion blog, Gordon's Galaxy, for information about the book and a review.
The mission was led by Commander James McFadden. He was born in Scotland but emigrated to the United States and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He became a top fighter pilot and joined NASA 3 years ago, when he was 29. His interests include acrobatics, ice-climbing, free-diving, and Chinese ceramics.
Also on the mission were British astronaut Esmee Templeton, 3 more Americans, 2 Russians, and 1 Spanish astronaut.
The mission was to police space and enforce UN space laws. Not long before this, NASA had launched another deep-space probe.
Dating is uncertain, although the book states that the space station was launched from a vessel on the equator at 0300 on 2 December. Personnel were launched on 3 December. No other information about the personnel was given, although it is implied that they were all veteran astronauts in order to be assigned to this posting. While the mission is not the focus of the book, one of the teen heroes does have a signed photograph of Esmee Templeton and is clearly infatuated with her, implying she is attractive. There is supposed to be a massive solar flare around this date, the biggest one ever. In our reality, the biggest one ever recorded by instruments took place on November 4, 2003. Since the book was first published in 2007, I think that we could assign a tentative date no earlier than December 2003 (to account for various inter-universal differences, such as a Big Bang that happened a month later), and no later than December 2006 (to account for enough lead time to write the book and publish it). We are given no information about the design of the station, although I believe it is not a toroidal station (like in 2001) but a cylindrical affair similar to Skylab, based on its shipboard launch.
This mission would be part of the STORM timeline (named for the book series by E.L. Young where it first appeared). See my companion blog, Gordon's Galaxy, for information about the book and a review.
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