2012-05-27
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Scientists study the phases of the moon on lunar models in preparation for an eventual manned flight to moon.
Love those circles-on-globes. Photographer: Fritz Goro.
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Space Suit by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives on Flickr (with contrast modified).
2012-05-25
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Navstar by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives on Flickr:
Providing continuous global coverage in all weather, the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System will give suitably equipped users three-dimensional positioning and velocity information and a precise timing reference in real time. Besides routine navigation, possible applications include search-and-rescue operations, land and aerial rendezvous, and geodetic surveys.
This Rockwell International promotional image presumably predates the launch of the first NAVSTAR satellite in 1978.
2012-05-07
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Tasked with the brief of ‘deep space and nebulae’, Howard Wakefield researched through the collection of Nasa imagery at SpaceImages. While tempted with a nebula called Factory, its name was too good to be true, for it didn’t compare with the more expansive deep blue nebula of Hubble NGC 346 SMC. Peter Saville was keen to see how it could be transformed from being purely documentary, so suggested an inverted, monochrome version.
2012-04-28
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Another couple of pieces of graphic design from Between Channels, “from mid-1970s Practical Wireless”.
2012-04-24
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Charting American vs. Russian Space Projects in 1961
This must be from very early in 1961, since it predates Gagarin’s orbit and Shepard’s suborbital hop. It’s interesting to compare to how the timelines actually shook out, too (someone with better graphic design skills can make that one happen, though).
I assume it’s from either Time or Life; probably Life, but I’m not quite expert enough in their house styles to tell.
2012-04-03
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An illustration of the Vanguard 1 satellite, launched in 1958, by turkeychik.
The image was used in Alice Gorman’s article in The Conversation, Saving space junk, our cultural heritage in orbit:
One of the most significant pieces of “space junk” is the US satellite Vanguard 1. Launched in 1958, this satellite is now the oldest human-made object in space.
Historians argue that the infrastructure set up for Vanguard 1 – including tracking stations in Australia – shaped all subsequent US space programs. That’s a lot of cultural significance packed into an aluminium sphere the size of a grapefruit (as USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev disparagingly called it).
2012-03-29
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Great Britain and Ireland by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr:
This nearly cloud-free view of Great Britain and Ireland was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite on March 26, 2012. Just a few days into spring, most of the land appears green, although not quite as brilliant as the summertime hues that give Ireland the nickname “the Emerald Island”.
London can be seen as a gray circle situated inland on the tan-colored River Thames.
Photograph: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team. Enlarged. via iamdanw. See also: British Isles under snow.
2012-03-26
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Betty Skelton on the cover of Look magazine, January 1960, from her New York Times obituary:
Whether in the air or on land, Ms. Skelton, who died on Aug. 31 at the age of 85, was a celebrated daredevil who shattered speed and altitude records. She was a three-time national aerobatic women’s flight champion when she turned to race-car driving, then went on to exceed 300 m.p.h. in a jet-powered car and cross the United States in under 57 hours, breaking a record each time.
From a Associated Press article from 2008, when she was inducted to the Motorsports Hall Of Fame:
In 1959, at 33, she was the first woman to undergo NASA’s physical and psychological tests _ the same that seven original male astronauts were put through. “I complained that NASA wasn’t giving more thought to women pilots,” she said.
See also: The Mercury 13:
Cobb, already an accomplished pilot, became the first American woman (and the only one of the Mercury 13) to undergo and pass all three phases of testing. Lovelace and Cobb recruited 19 more women to take the tests, financed by the world-renowned aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran. 13 of the women passed the same tests as the Mercury 7.
(picture via)
2012-03-23
Astronomers vs Billboards
From the Arizona Republic, Bill divides electronic-billboard firms, astronomy industry (via, via):
The forces of dark are squaring off against the forces of light in a battle over billboard legislation.
On the side of light — as in vivid, flashing color — is the electronic-billboard industry. It is pushing a bill that would make 70 existing digital billboards along Arizona’s highways legal in the wake of a state Court of Appeals ruling.
The forces of darkness are led by Arizona’s observatories and astronomy industry. They want a statewide standard to ensure “dark skies” protections for areas within a 75-mile radius of observatories.
Since when was astronomy an industry? I suppose if there are enough people based there making telescopes that might be justified, but it seems like odd language. Mind you, it’s the language used in an opinion piece by Angela Cotera, a research astrophysicist at the SETI Institute in Avondale, arguing against the law. Anyway, returning to the original article:
Billboard companies approached lawmakers for a change to state law after the Appeals Court last fall ruled electronic billboards did not comply with the state’s ban on intermittent light.
Meanwhile, this seems a bit surprising:
The Discovery Channel, which is building a new telescope southeast of Flagstaff near Happy Jack, told lawmakers that the limits would help ensure dark skies. Its imaging camera “will be sensitive to even minute increases in sky glow.”
When did TV stations start building telescopes?
Despite a leader in the Republic and letters against the bill (and for dark skies), another leader posted yesterday notes
The Legislature has unaccountably passed a bill that threatens a unique and precious Arizona asset: our dark skies. Gov. Jan Brewer needs to veto it.
and goes on to say
In this intensely competitive economy, Arizona is fortunate to have a major advantage in astronomy and optics. Our clear, dark nights offer a world-class view of the universe. Arizonans count on Gov. Brewer to protect them. Gov. Brewer should push the off switch on HB 2757.
