Onto Japan.
Hi Gang...
I AM off to Japan/Nihon for a month. The approval came through on Tuesday evening and I've since been 'rushing' around spending money and time gathering the necessary stuff that I seem to think I'll need for a successful month in Japan.
I leave on the 0930 flight to Tokyo tomorrow morning, which will be Sunday at 1730 for you guys. I only know some very offensive words in Japanese, which I will not be using while there. The rest will be picked up along the way. In a lucky twist of linguistic fate, Japanese is not tonal, so I shold be able to pick up more language during this trip than if it were tonal.
Love you guys! Take care and I'll run from all the bears.
Safe!!
Discovery and her STS-121 crew, in all their exploratory glory are down and safe! With the spectacular double sonic boom proudly announcing her homecoming, Discovery, under the steady command of Steve Lindsey and Mark Kelly, graced the skies over the the Yucatan Peninsula and Florida panhandle to a beautiful touchdown on runway 15 at the SLF at Kennedy.
Wonderful!
Completeing closeouts and safing the vehicle for egress and post-landing activities, in the process of shuting down all APUs.
Space!
First Landing Attempt.
You may have heard about some slight APU anomalies on board, but there's no problems that any of the managers or team members have expressed. STS-121 is currently go for landing, but there is some marginal weather that may scrub the first landing attempt today scheduled for 0914 EDT. There is one more attempt possible, 90 minutes later. They are not targeting any of the other landing areas at this time - today is a KSC only day. If they don't get down this morning, then tomorrow they will include Edward's Air Force Base as a secondary. Deorbit burn, weather permitting, is scheduled for about 13 minutes from now.
I'll let you know how it goes.
In other news, I stirred up a hornet's nest getting travel approval for Japan. They have the ball rolling to completely scrap the 6 months no-travel policy, all on account of me and my powerful friends!
TTYL
Landing Prep
Everything is set for a landing at KSC on Monday morning! The time is in flux right now, but nominally NASA is expecting a landing at 0907 EDT. The STS-121 crew spent the past flight day undocking, which went flawlessly, flying over the ISS before performing the separating 1.5 ft/sec burn to formally move from the vicinity of the ISS. They will remain close enough, however, to re-dock if the Mission Management Team decides that it is unsafe to attempt landing, pending findings of the last inspections of the Thermal Protection System. These inspections were set to occur yesterday with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) being used to laser image the starboard leading edge and the nose cone RCC tiles for micrometeoroid damage sustained during flight. They also performed close-out and final berthing activities of the OBSS and Shuttle Arm. Today's activites are cabin stowage, flight control system checkouts, interviews, and prep for tomorrow's deorbit burn and landing.
I've had to cut back on my NASA TV viewing as we're more than halfway through the bandwidth allotment on our broadband internet connection and it's only halfway through the billing period... I love this stuff...
Spent today cleaning the house. I know I'm setting precedent, but I've discovered that if I don't do it, no one else will and I especially don't like living in my roommates' dirty kitchen. Just can't handle the ick they leave on the floor. Plus it's good exercise. Also, for fun, I did yard work in the little patch of real Earth that sits outside my front door. Picked up all the rubbish and cigarette butts risking certain death by spider bite, what with shoving my hands so deep into those bushes.
Rented Gothica and Schindler's List this weekend. Signing up for video store memberships always makes me laugh: they needed two pieces of government ID (license, health care card, etc.), some formal mail showing your address, a password if you forget your membership card, and a signature. Didn't have any mail with me when I went though, so they took a $20 deposit instead, refunded when I brought in some mail showing my address.
If you haven't seen Schindler's List, you should. This is the first time I've seen it and I can understand why it received so many awards. Really excellent. Gothica is really creepy - the premise is: Halle Berry plays a criminal psychologist who works in an asylum. She drives home one night, then wakes up some time later to discover she is now a patient in her own institution charged with a murder she doesn't remember committing. Ick...
Orbiter 'Up'date
The last full day of docked operations are happening now. Thomas Reiter and Jeff Williams are spending the next little while completing close out activities in preparation for unberthing of Leonardo and they are currently working through the procedure to depressurise the space between the ISS & Leonardo Common Berthing Modules (CBMs). The rest of the crew are occupied with other clean up type stuff like stowing space suits, etc. Then ISS's arm will be used to do the reberthing activity.
Undock is scheduled for Saturday; landing Monday on what will be a beautiful day. If the weather and everything else is good, landing is sheduled for 0907 EDT at KSC Monday 17 July. YESSS another early morning for me!
Played soccer today in what is turning out to be a traditional Friday afternoon event (procrastination-socialisationfest). It was a lot of fun - I was concerned that I would seriously suck because I haven't played soccer in ages and I'm not running very strenuously until I get my knee fixed. But, it was great! Kicked, got kicked, chased the ball, ran ahead of the ball, ran behind the ball, totally a good way to spend Friday afternoon. What I did discover was that I have delicate feet. The running, stopping, starting, and darting took their toll on these tootsies and caused some bleeding and broken toenails, and blistered soles (who gets blisters on their soles?). And, I'm not that unfit, which is pleasing because I hate the rather low energy-use state that has settled upon me. I kinda sit in my chair and vibrate all day. It's very difficult to focus on a paper when it's moving up and down all the time. I get about 5 to 10 mintues of focus, then I have to do something. Kinda have a lot of things on hold until I get back from Japan, though. I'm working off the assumption that everything will appeal successfully and I'll be headed out soon. Then when I get back, on tap are: flying!!! and conversion activities, gym membership, Air Force Cadets, lab TA-ing, etc.
Had fun housesitting - I watched a series called The Planets, which was done by the BBC. There's 8 episodes that guide you through all the planets, the Sun, atmosphere, and our destiny in space. It's a really amazing series, especially for you know who. Did you know that the first person to reach space (well, 103000 feet anyway) did so in a balloon? The exciting bit is that he followed that feat with the world's most freaking awesome skydive. Seriously... he was screaming into the Earth at the speed or sound (or greater) as he plummeted away from his balloon. I think it was something like 12 minutes of freefall or something sick like that. He said that he didn't really think he was falling that fast until he turned himself on his back and looked back up at his 'spacecraft' and saw it flinging away from him. I'd like to do that, wouldn't you?
Yesterday night I picked up Andy's wife at the airport, which was great. I love airports.
Wah-hoo.
Last Walk.
Last space walk is done. The repair material they were testing is called Noax, which essentially amounts to 1700 degree C caulk. They massaged it into predamaged reenforced carbon-carbon tiles, which simulate those on the highest heat areas of the orbiter, and worked it into the cracks with a spatula. Apparently Piers Sellers dropped a spatula and now it's 'gone, gone, gone.' 17,500 miles per hour of gone, gone, gone, I'd say. They also tested an infrared imaging system that can image any damage that occurs on the inside of any tiles damaged by impact, but which may not be apparent from the outside. This kind of damage is called 'spalling'. I think I've seen that kind of thing before on glass panes that have been shot through with a bullet. If they don't shatter, there's this cool crater on the opposite side of the glass from the bullet impact.
The last couple of days of docked operations are scheduled to be continued reloading of Leonardo, followed by reberthing and then undocking of Discovery from ISS. Everything is set for a landing on 17 July at KSC.
Didn't hear about the duct tape fix, what was it?
In other news, the Monash Research Graduate School has refused permission for me to travel to Japan. Approval from the Head of Geoscience and the Dean of Science notwithstanding. Appeal is in process, but it's got to happen fast.
Miss you all.
Starry Night.
With the second space walk complete and the Mobile Transporter system now fully operational again, the ISS is ready for the next phases of construction. Astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum performed a ~6.8 hour space walk on Monday and everything went very smoothly. The big event was changing out a cable reel for the Mobile Transporter.
Yesterday was spent reloading the Leonardo Logistics Module for return to Earth. The module is scheduled to be reberthed in Discovery's payload bay on 14 Jul. Wednesday's event is the third space walk where they will be testing the functionality of tile repair compounds and procedures.
Other than that, not too much else is new. I'm gearing up to go to Japan soon for my first field work. A professor in Japan has been very helpful providing me with all kinds of geological and topographic maps, papers, and advice. I can't read Japanese, which is a shame because there is quite a lot of it on my maps and envelopes and even some of the papers. I still don't know exactly what I'm doing, but when have I ever anyway? I toured up to Bruce and Helen's on Sunday, then took Monday and Tuesday as work from home days. All I had were papers to read, so I figured I wold save the fuel and stay out in Tecoma. The cat thanks me, I'm sure.
I have more pictures and stories of past travels coming soon. In the meantime, I have only heard the stereo from next door during daylight hours ever since our little fight. In answer to a question I got about which song Toby Keith sang for me: the song was Honkytonk U, which seems fitting since everyone in the complex is a student.
Ed: It was funny watching all the bleary eyes during the Soccer World Cup because all the games were on at strange hours here. Then, of course, the Shuttle goes up and now I'm the one with bleary eyes... NERD!
Quote of the Space Walk...
Astronaut Mike Fossum about two hours into the walk:
'I'm in a dream; nobody wake me up.'
Space Update.
Astronauts Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers are currently enjoying the best view in the world, well above the world, and have just fixed a cable feed system of the mobile transporter base for Canadarm2 on the Z-1 Truss.
The mobile system has been stalled since February because the primary power and data cables were inadvertently cut. The backup cable system was there, but was itself rerouted to protect it from inadvertent cutting. With what is arguably the world's most valuable bolt, the cable cutter on the backup system is now blocked from inadvertent activation, and the cables have been rerouted to follow their design pathway, allowing the mobile transporter base to move freely again.
I'm watching Mike Fossum do his prep work for the next stage of the spacewalk through his helmet cam and I can hardly stop gawking and saying 'wow, oh, wow ... wow'. Wow. Frick, unbelieveable.
Hope everything is going well with everyone. I'm housesitting again out at Tecoma and am enjoying the cool air and tall trees. I'd say more, but I'm pretty speechless at the moment.
Miss you all... K.
Successful Dock.
Discovery docked perfectly, as expected, on time this morning with the ISS. How impossibly small is the closure speed between two craft hurtling through Low Earth Orbit at 17,500 miles/hr? How about < 1/10 foot per second? Wow.
Space walkers are getting ready to go and the suits and other necessary equipment have been moved onto ISS in preparation for using the ISS's airlock. They are patching the oxygen source for the suits from the Orbiter, however, to prolong the service life of the oxygen supply systems present on ISS.
Oh, and for Mom, NASA engineers have reactivated Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys as of 30 June. Article
here.
Did you know that Pluto has three moons?! The two new additions are offically named Nix and Hydra as of 23 June. Article
here.
Space!
Contrary to The Worst Sensationalistic Media...
There were no major problems with Tuesday's launch. The foam that did fall off was nothing more than what has fell in previous launches (STS-107 excluded). Don't believe the scare mongering media.
Hear it direct from the Space Shuttle Program Manager's mouth (with RealPlayer):
Video.
Hooray! A return to space!
SYS-121 launched a smashing success this afternoon and is just about to do the OMS-2 burn for post-insertion. How awesome is that?! Discovery's on her way to docking with the ISS, to testing new safety procedures, to delivering new crew and supplies to ISS, and to performing at least 2 spacewalks. Going to be an exciting 13 days.
Always gives me goosebumps to see her launch...
! ! !
This rocks!!! Love you guys so much! I laughed and laughed...
Appropriate boxes (regarding one of the contents from the box): Prick (and Pilot), Sunburnt, Biosphere (all the other phds), Kangaroos and a couple of Shielas, Shower, Drunk IN Witness Protection, Crash, Universities, Perv (have you seen those first years??), Slapped AND Arrested AND Engaged, Exciting but Drunk, Out while going Crazy, Dead, Harem (and therefore Wallet), Humour, In Jail Surrounded by Japanese, Now.
STS-121 is a go for tomorrow. Launch expected at approximately 1438 EDT. All eyes on NASA!!
STS-121 & Canadian News.
First, an update on the launch. The second attempt today (2 Jul) at 1526 EDT was again foiled by bad weather. Now, the next possible attempt is Tuesday at 1438 EDT - after two attempts, the propellant storage tanks near the launch complex need topping off due to boiling loss. That takes a day to do. Ahhh, I love it.
Saw this during lunch today (2 Jul for you guys).
Top news story on CBC.ca: 'N.S. Police investigate Sunday store openings.'
Top news story on BBC.co.uk: 'Hamas threatens attacks in Israel.'
I love Canada!
STS-121
Gang,
Space Shuttle Discovery is on track for a 1549 EDT launch today. Those of you with Internet access who are interested, go to:
www.nasa.gov and click the link to watch NASA TV.
This is the most important/coolest of all things that humans do, so you really should watch! Well, that's my opinion, but you guys know me...
Update: No Go for today. Try again tomorrow (2 Jul) @ 1526 EDT. Good on ya guys - hard decision to make with the world watching.
Fitzroy and Crookhaven with a bunch of places in between
After laughing ourselves out of the town with no exit but lots of cheap poo (Campbelltown), we made our way to a wonderul little place called Avon Caravan Park for our first night. Bob and I went for a little walk, but the civic planners in that community forgot that you need to install unfenced level crossings or bridges to actually get to the
other side of the tracks dividing the town, so we didn't get to explore too far abroad.
The next day, we went through a set of lovely vales with roads sliced perilously into their sides. Our first stop along this route was at peaceful Fitzroy Falls. Everything in Aus tends to desiccate during the summer and the water flows feeding Fitzroy were no exception. It was still flowing, but the wind tunnelling up the valley was enough to blow it to bits before it reached the ground. Kinda neat really to watch a waterfall slither across a rock face. The view down the valley looks a little like the following picture. The mesa terrain is fairly common in this part of the mountains and you can see lots of this flat topped stuff going off into the distance.
The drive continued along the route down to sea level and we made it to Crookhaven Heads, which were, presumably, a haven for crooks in years past, but that's only a guess. It was a beautiful beach land, which describes almost any place in Australia that borders the coast. We spent the evening enjoying the beach and searching for shells. Mom became a mad shell lady and managed to collect a fair quantity with which to decorate the house at home.
Just a short one for this little read, heavy on the pictures. Miss everyone!
