A Wanderer Dancing The Dance Of Stars And Space - The Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1097

The Space Shuttle Columbia

Pause today to remember the Crew of STS-107, who all died on this day 13 years ago, February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia became unstable and disintegrated on re-entry over Texas.  The Crew:

The Flight Commander was Rick D. Husband, a U.S. Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer, who piloted a previous shuttle during the first docking with the International Space Station on STS-96.

The Pilot was William C. McCool, a 1983 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and U.S. Navy commander.

The Payload Commander was Michael P. Anderson, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel.  He was also a physicist and mission specialist who was in charge of the science mission.

The Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon was a colonel in the Israeli Air Force and the first Israeli astronaut.

The Mission Specialist was Kalpana Chawla, an Indian-born aerospace engineer who was on her second space mission.  She was the first Indian woman in space.

The Mission Specialist was David M. Brown, a U.S. Navy captain trained as an aviator and flight surgeon. 

The Mission Specialist was Laurel Blair Salton Clark, a U.S. Navy captain and flight surgeon. Clark worked on biological experiments.

The Space Shuttle Columbia was named after the poetic designation for the United States of America.  This poetic name (based on Christopher Columbus, thought then as the sole discoverer of America) was meant to be both inclusive and a little bit nostalgic, in the sense that America could be embodied in a name.  Clearly these seven astronauts and mission specialists embodied the best spirit of America, the inclusion of an Indian and Israeli the strongest symbol yet of what America can accomplish when unified to a common purpose. Special thought to William McCool, graduate of the USNA-I pass almost daily the ‘McCool Marker’, a memorial on the grounds of the USNA golf course to celebrate his achievements both as a Naval Aviator but also his accomplishments as a Midshipman, where he served as Captian of the Cross Country team his senior year.  The marker is placed on the cross country course 16 minutes from the finish line of his fastest run on the Navy course.

Large Magellanic Cloud

Well now I know what I would be doing if I won the lottery...

So you want to go to space ?

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the earth. I put my thumb and covered one eye and my thumb blotted out the planet earth.

- Neil Armstrong

And ergo ‘Space’ became a part of my vocabulary from a very young age. All that i wanted to do was to become an astronaut and wander the oblivion space that lies beyond our wildest comprehension.

But how much is the ticket?!?

I hear if you try to buy it on a Tuesday at 2am you will get a GREAT fare!

Alright all jokes aside space travel is becoming available to regular citizens, well maybe regular isn’t the right word, wealthy citizens.

But just how wealthy do you need to be? How many banks should you plan on robbing before you pack your bags?

Well it depends on where you are going. ;)

Do you want to go on a spaceplane?

This is at about 60 miles above the Earth’s surface.

If Virgin Galactic does continue with SpaceShipTwo they had set their cost at $250,000 or about 6 bank robberies.

(Since the crash of an earlier version of SpaceShipTwo (due to pilot error) they are instead shifting their time and money towards practical launchers. HOW LAME!!)

If XCOR finishes up the Lynx they have set their ticket cost at $100,000 or 3 bank robberies.

But what about a trip to the International Space Station (ISS)?

Well I have good news for you because private citizens have already paid for trips there. No waiting around for a spaceplane to be built.

Space Adventures has put people in space since 2001. They make the travel arrangements for civilians to ride the Russian Soyuz capsule to the space station.

The cost is over $20 million or 435 bank robberies.

How about walking in space?

For an extra $15 million (327 bank robberies) Space Adventures will organize for you to do a spacewalk during your stay on the ISS.

If this all seems a little too pricey for you maybe you should think about the space simulators!!

Zero Gravity Corporation sells tickets on NASA’s “Vomit Comet” (a plane that makes you feel like you are weightless) for $136,000 BUT it is for you and 35 of your closest friends!

Talk about a party!!!

They do offer for you to pay an individual price but that all is on a case by case business. However if you are a struggling student I have some good news for you.

NASA offers undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct experiments on reduced gravity flights. They also have flights for educators too so definitely check out their programs!!

Did you enjoy the post?

If you did, please take a second to follow the author - Marielle ( A Rocket Scientist ) 

who runs her own website - missaerospace / on twitter and also has her own tumblr. Her posts truly appeal to the space geek in every one of us.

Have a good day!

PC: Dangerouslee Space.com Oleg Kotov Takes a Picture During a Spacewalk by NASA Johnson

The loneliest of galaxies

“The more I look at Earth, and certain parts of Earth, the more I feel like an environmentalist. It’s just a blanket of pollution in certain areas. We can fix that if we put our minds to it.“

-Astronaut Scott Kelly, whose one year long mission in space ended today (01/03/2016)

Size of nebulae

The night sky. 09/03/15 Watch as the colour of the sky changes due to the rising Moon. This was a 4 hour time lapse recorded last night from 21:00-01:00.

This is incredible!

The Mystical World Of Mushrooms Captured In Photos

Most people consider mushrooms to be the small, ugly cousins of the plant kingdom, but theirs is  surprisingly beautiful and wonderful world waiting to be explored. These beautiful mushrooms, captured by enthusiastic nature photographers, are a far cry from the ones you find in the woods or your local grocery store.

Most mushrooms, as we know them, are actually just the reproductive structure of the fungus they belong to – their fungal networks expand far further underground, and some fungi don’t even sprout the sort of mushrooms that we’re used to seeing. In fact, depending on your definition of “organism,” the largest living organism in the world is a fungus – there’s a honey mushroom colony in Oregon that occupies about 2,000 acres of land! ( Bored Panda )