Space

What We’re Reading: Waiting for Spaceships

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This is a slightly different version of a story we first prepared for The Points Guy site. All images courtesy Ted Heutter

In “Waiting for Spaceships: Scenes from a Desert Community in Love with the Space Shuttle,” photographer Ted Huetter documents the thousands of people who would gather to welcome home the space shuttles on their return to Earth.

For thirty years – from April 12, 1982, to July 21, 2011 – these were the five orbiters that flew in space for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Space Transportation System (STS), or space shuttle, program. (A sixth space shuttle, Enterprise, was a test vehicle that didn’t go into space).

As NASA proudly notes, the space shuttles flew 135 missions and not only repeatedly carried people into orbit, but they also “launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station.”

While all the space shuttle missions took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, more than 50 of those missions landed in the Mojave Desert at Edwards Air Force Base in California, about 100 miles from Los Angeles.

And, as photographer Ted Huetter documents in Waiting for Spaceships: Scenes from a Desert Community in Love with the Space Shuttle, thousands of people would gather to welcome the space shuttles on their return to Earth.

“Some spectators came because they had helped build the shuttles,” while many viewers came from greater Los Angeles and “adventurous retirees from around the country made Florida to California treks in the recreational vehicles, bookending the trips with the shuttle launch and landing,” Huetter writes.

But he also notes, “The only snag was that they had to watch [the landings] from a harsh patch of desert about three miles from the runway.”

To accommodate the enthusiastic and dedicated spectators, a day before each scheduled shuttle landing the Air Force would open an authorized viewing site where people could set up camp.

At that remote site, the military directed traffic and supplied tanks of potable water, portable sanitary facilities, generators, streetlights, a first aid station, and a command post, Huetter reports, “but generally kept a low profile and a friendly presence.”

Huetter was working in Los Angeles and made the trek to the desert to camp with the shuttle aficionados for eight of the space shuttle landings during the 1980s, beginning with STS-4, the fourth mission for the Space Shuttle Columbia, which landed at Edwards Air Force Base on Independence Day, July 4, 1982. STS-4 was also the fourth shuttle shuttle mission overall and the final test flight before the program was deemed officially operational.

“I was there as a fan like most of the people at the public landing site, to experience some spaceflight history,” in person instead of watching it on TV, said Huetter.

For each shuttle landing adventure, Huetter packed his camera gear along with his camping gear. And the photographs he took during those trips not only document a unique slice of the space age but also of the viewing site and of the people who gravitated to it year after year.

His images, taken with film in the pre-digital camera era, show the landing runways, but also the diverse range of RVs and tents, the food and souvenir vendors and the diversity of people waiting, mingling, enjoying themselves, and, finally, welcoming the shuttles home. His selected shots are organized to create a composite of twenty-four hours at the campsite, from the arrival of the first campers to the touchdown of the shuttles.

Here’s where you can see the retired Space Shuttles

Space Shuttle Atlantis is at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merrit Island, Florida, where the vehicle is displayed in flight, along with dozens of interactive exhibits about the history, technology and impact of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program.

Space Shuttle Discovery is on view at the National Air & Space Museum’s Steven Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

Space Shuttle Endeavour is at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California but is off view while construction of a 200,000-square-foot addition to the main building is underway.

Space Shuttle Enterprise, NASA’s prototype orbiter, is at the Intrepid Museum in New York City.

Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986. Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated returning to Earth on February 1, 2003.

Not everyone is excited about the total solar eclipse

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Our story “Many can’t wait for the eclipse. Some can’t wait until it’s over,” appeared first on NBC News

Months of planning have gone into the handful of minutes it will take for the moon to pass in front of the sun on Monday. Dozens of towns and cities in the solar eclipse’s path of totality have arranged packed schedules of celebratory events and viewing sites, preparing to welcome legions of enthusiastic visitors like Michael Howard.

The 62-year-old is flying from Baltimore to San Antonio, Texas, and then driving about 65 miles northwest to Kerrville — where he’s all but certain to hit eclipse traffic.

“I wouldn’t say anyone thinks I’m crazy for doing this, but I do know plenty of people who just don’t think it’s worth the trouble,” said Howard.

On the other side of the state, Greenville’s community engagement director, Micah McBay, has been fielding pushback from residents who feel similarly to Howard’s detractors.

“Some people can’t grasp that the eclipse is a huge event and think it’s just a bunch of hullabaloo and nonsense,” he said.

The small city of some 30,000 to the northeast of Dallas is celebrating 4 minutes and 10 seconds of totality with multiple free concerts, watch parties and other festivities. But the efforts have lately drawn a wave of negative commentary on the city’s Facebook page and other social media platforms.

“We’ve been accused of blowing everything out of proportion, overreaching, trying to make a ‘money grab,’ and wasting government dollars,” McBay said.

But other concerns are well justified, and authorities around the country are hoping to get through the next few days without incident.

“We’re preparing for the worst and praying for the best,” said Betty Teel-Malone, the mayor of Wolfe City, Texas, 17 miles north of Greenville.

The town of 1,400 has no traffic light, a volunteer fire department and limited public services, “so we’re not planning any eclipse events and not advertising for anyone to come here,” said Teel-Malone. She doesn’t want to outright urge people to steer clear but is warning those who show up that “we can’t accommodate them.”

“There are no hotels, no parks, no camping, no RV parks or anything like that in this area,” Teel-Malone said. Perhaps more importantly, she added, “we don’t have the police to keep whoever does come here safe.”

Even officials with robust public safety resources at their command are taking extra precautions.

Last week, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order warning residents and local leaders about the “massive number of people” heading to the Hoosier State for the eclipse. He urged officials to be “prepared to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public” and be ready to “swiftly and effectively respond to any emergency that may arise.”

In Ohio, where the path of totality extends from Dayton to Cleveland and several major sporting events are also taking place over the weekend, authorities are planning for potential headaches.

“What we’re mostly concerned about is traffic,” said Dan Tierney, the press secretary for Gov. Mike DeWine, who has activated the Ohio Emergency Operations Center to support local communities before, during and after the eclipse.

“We need to make sure our agencies are fully staffed and available to keep people safe, prevent backups and bottlenecking” and be prepared for “any eventuality that might occur,” Tierney said.

In central Texas, aviation authorities are bracing for what could be a grumpy group of travelers testing their operational capacity. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will have extra staff in the terminal “to provide assistance to passengers and to help keep ticket counter and security screening lines organized,” spokesperson Lesly Ramirez said in a statement Friday.

And that’s all when travelers get there. Major roads and highways throughout central Texas are expected to be congested in the hours surrounding the eclipse, and lines at rental car desks could back up.

Ramirez echoed perhaps the most common warning resounding across the state this week: “Prepare to spend more time sitting in traffic.”

(Photo up top courtesy of George Eastman Museum via Flickr Commons)

Astronaut Barbie at the National Air & Space Museum

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The upcoming release of the ‘Barbie’ movie directed by Greta Gerwig is prompting nostalgia for everything Barbie.

The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum is riding that wave, and celebrating Barbie’s long career as an astronaut.

1965 Astronaut Barbie

This Miss Astronaut outfit for Barbie was released in 1965 and included a silvery spacesuit with brown boots.

1985 Astronaut Barbie

This 1985 Astronaut Barbie has two outfits, including this pink miniskirt with silver leggings and knee-high pink boots.

1994 Astronaut Barbie

The 1994 Barbie (above) was issued to mark the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

The Air & Space Museum doesn’t have a complete set of space-themed Barbies (yet), but a recent museum blog entry notes that between 2000 and 2020, seven space-themed Barbie dolls were released including a 2013 Barbie that went to Mars in a white spacesuit with pink details.

(Courtesy Mattel)

Sally Ride, the first American woman, and the youngest American to fly in space, was honored with an Inspiring Women Series Barbie in 2019. (Nothing pink here…)

These Barbies Went to Space

 In 2022, these two Barbies had the honor of being the first Barbies to actually go to space.

They spent several months on the International Space Station but had to leave their accessories on the ground.

Those two Barbies are the newest addition to the Smithsonian’s collection and are currently on display at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, along with the 1965 Miss Astronaut, the 1985 Astronaut Barbie, and the 1994 Moon Landing Barbie.

(All images courtesy Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, except as noted from Mattel)

Monday Musings

Space

We’re up early learning about biscuits, unusual home designs, and a trip to space in a balloon.

And traveling with pets.

https://twitter.com/DesignMuseum/status/1526133391984410624?s=20&t=wC4WknyC6QcgpdCD5jcY0g

Space News You Can Use

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Neil Armstrong’s Space Suit. Courtesy Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

Determined to take a trip to space? We are.

Like us, you may not be able to join SNL’s Pete Davidson and the other civilians getting ready to fly on Blue Origin’s upcoming NS-20 flight on March 23.

But you can send your name into space.

Artemis I will launch later this year and will be the first uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. On this trip, the spacecraft will orbit the moon, but not land on it. However, NASA is willing to take anyone – well, anyone’s name – along for the ride.

On a flash drive.

You can sign up to get your ‘boarding pass’ here.

Here’s what you get when you sign up. Note that the boarding pass includes the mileage that will be earned: a whopping 1, 300, 000 miles.