astrobenl-blog

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Space Shuttle Columbia slips the surly bonds of gravity on October 22 1992. The mission of STS-52 launched from Launch Pad 39B in Florida and lasted a duration of 10 days. The crew comprised of 6 NASA astronauts and a Payload Specialists. Have a great day! #takeoff #spaceshuttle #spaceshuttlecolumbia #columbia #sts #launch #launchpad #liftoff #sts52 #nasa #clouds #florida #wearego

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Have you ever gone on a holiday to another country, or maybe even another continent? Earth is a huge place, isn’t it? Or is it…?

Here’s what the earth looks like from the ISS:

You can’t see borders from 400 km up!

From the moon, the closest celestial body to earth, all you see is a ball of blue and some green.

From Mars, it’s just a dot.

Can you find it?

It’s right there:

What about the farthest image ever taken from earth?

Taken by Voyager 1, the “Pale Blue Dot” as this picture is called, shows our little planet from a distance of 6 billion kilometers. Earth’s size in this picture is less than a pixel!

Voyager 1 has now left the solar system, so it must be really far now, right? Well, it’s currently (2016) at a distance of 20.5 billion, or 20,500,000,000, kilometers. But how does that compare to the size of our galaxy, the Milky Way?

It’s about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers across. That means that Voyager traveled 1/50,000,000 of the diameter of our galaxy in 39 years. It won’t come close to another star for another 40,000 years.

The Milky Way is just one of many galaxies like these:

Yeah, earth is a big place. It’s just that space is even bigger. A lot bigger.

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Test chat

Testing 1-2

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That may have been one small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me!

Pete Conrad, Pilot Gemini V, Commander Gemini XI, Commander Apollo 12.

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"How many plain coloured fashion No-NO's can we get in one room?!". Hello everyone and welcome back to a Saturday and another Apollo In Focus for Apollo 14! Now, if you recall, in the last photo we saw the LM Antares atop the S-IVB Upper Stage ready for extraction and docking. This is the view in the Manned Spaceflight Center's MOCR 2 of the event with live TV coverage via the screen on the right courtesy of CM Kitty Hawk. The teams on the ground were dealing with a docking anomaly as detailed in my last post and so were trying to enable 14 to safely land on the moon (which it did). This is part of my series with @exploringthespace, as usual, go check him out! Also, after Apollo 16 what posts do you want to see? I will be doing my Duke Of Edinburgh's award and going to Cork in the coming weeks so I might be able to post my weekend "Holiday Snaps"!!! Please comment below if you would like a Mercury or Gemini in Focus, or maybe a patch of the day, which is something I will start doing in the near future. Thank you as always for your continued support for my account and I wish all of you a very good day/night, wherever you are. Godspeed! #moon #nasa #astronaut #commandmodule #commandmodulepilot #sturoosa #lunarmodule #lunarmodulepilot #edmitchell #commander #alanshepherd #missioncontrol (at Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center)

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JCSAT-14

The JCSAT-14 launch event will begin at 5:00 UTC n

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JCSAT-14 Launch

Hello and Welcome to The JCSAT-14 Launch Event! Please follow Along from 5:00am UTC for LIVE launch Updates!

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"Close but no cigar, Dick, Close but no cigar". Hello and Welcome back to Apollo In Focus: Apollo 12. Here we see the Lunar Module Intrepid, seen by Command Module pilot Dick Gordon. During this mission phase he could cover up 7-8 Billion people with his thumb, and also just two, who were on a voyage to the moon. This picture perfectly captures the job of the command module pilot, in this case Gordon. He was essential to the mission, yet he travelled all the way to the moon just to be stuck inside a tin can. Gordon was also in line for Apollo 18, where he would walk on the surface. But there never was a Apollo 18. Godspeed Dick Gordon! Godspeed Apollo 12! This is part of My Apollo in Focus Series of images in partnership with @exploringthespace. Give him a follow! #apolloprogram #moon #space #commandmodule #lunarmodule #yankeeclipper #intrepid #peteconrad #dickgordon #alanbean #albean #apollo12 #ccwilliams #cliftoncwilliams (at The Moon)

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Hang On, Just need to take a phone call... David Scott performs an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) on the Apollo 9 mission. He was videoing his EVA counterpart, Rusty Schweickart, perform tests of the Apollo pressure suit. This photo was taken from the Lunar Module (LM), Callsign Spider, by Jim McDivitt, and shows both the docking adapter tunnel as well as the Command Service Module (CSM), Callsign Gumdrop. This was the first time NASA allowed astronauts to name their spacecraft after Gemini 3 being named the "Molly Brown". This Mission, Apollo 9, Was commanded by Veteran Astronaut Jim McDivitt, who flew previously on Gemini 4. His Command Module Pilot, David Scott, flew on Gemini 8 with Neil Armstrong and thus had adequate rendezvous experience (following the Near-Fatal rendezvous and docking with the Agena target vehicle). His Lunar Module Pilot was Rusty Schweickart, and this was his only Spaceflight. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 9! #davidscott #eva #extravehicularactivity #spacewalk #apollo9 #video #apollo #apolloprogram #pressuresuit #russelschweickart #rustyschweickart #lunarmodule #callsign #callsignspider #lm #commandmodule #commandservicemodule #gumdrop #callsigngumdrop #nasa #gemini3 #mollybrown #jimmcdivitt #gemini4 #edwhite #gemini8 #neilarmstrong #agena #agenatargetvehicle #godspeedapollo9 #godspeed (at Low Earth Orbit)

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Today was the birthday of Astronaut David Brown. David joined the Astronaut corps in the class of 1996 and completed his two years of ASCAN training very successfully. After completing training, he was assigned to a ISS payload development position and later as a "Cape Crusader": an astronaut responsible for ensuring that the cockpit is ready for flight and helps in the strapping in and recovery of the astronauts. His first and only assignment came in 2003, STS-107. The mission was plagued with technical difficulties, including a launch scrub, but it eventually flew. That mission was a Spacehab science mission, STS-107, him and his other crew members performed over 80 experiments. The flight ended 16 minutes prior to a scheduled landing at KSC as the orbiter Columbia disintegrated over the skies of Texas and Louisiana. Hail David Brown. Hail Columbia. Godspeed! #davidbrown #astronaut #astronautbirthday #astronautcorps #nasaclassof1996 #ASCAN #astronautcandidate #payload #iss @iss #capecrusader #capecrusaders #cockpit #launchscrub #technicaldifficulties #sts107 #spacehab #columbia #orbitercolumbia #columbiadisaster #texas #louisiana #godspeeddavidbrown

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Hello there all! Today, I thought that in addition to my normal posts, that I might even post a... Shock Horror... GOOD IMAGE!!! Anyway, here is the International Space Station over a sunrise. Enjoy! (at Upper Earth Orbit)

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Today is the Birthday of Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (Михапл Корниенко). Kornienko is classified as a living legend in Spaceflight and Cosmonautics. He served in two backup crews, Expeditions 8 and 15, before being given the chance to blast off into space. That came onboard the Soyuz TMA-18 vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 2 April 2010. He spent six months on board the ISS as part of the expedition 23/24 crew. He performed one spacewalk during his time up on the station. After 2 Years, it was announced he was to be the Roscosmos representative on the Year In Space Mission. The mission joined the crew of expedition 43 and left to allow expedition 47 to begin. During his stay, he performed vital experiments in order to help humans cope with future long duration Spaceflight, such as a mission to Mars. The work of Kornienko has helped all of humanity break down the borders between us, both on Earth politically, and metaphorically on our way to the red planet. Godspeed Mikhail Kornienko! Счастливого пути Михапл Корниенко! I have Tumblr! Check me out In the link in my bio. Go on. You know you want to. #mikhailkorniyenko #mikhailkornienko #МихаплКорниенко #spaceflight #cosmonautics #expedition23 #expedition24 #expedition8 #expedition15 #expedition43 #expedition44 #expedition45 #expedition46 #ISS #МКС #роскосмос #journeytomars #themarsgeneration #godspeedmikhailkornienko #СчастливогопутиМихаплКорниенко @nasa @roscosmosofficial

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Today is the Birthday of Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (Михапл Корниенко). Kornienko is classified as a living legend in Spaceflight and Cosmonautics. He served in two backup crews, Expeditions 8 and 15, before being given the chance to blast off into space. That came onboard the Soyuz TMA-18 vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 2 April 2010. He spent six months on board the ISS as part of the expedition 23/24 crew. He performed one spacewalk during his time up on the station. After 2 Years, it was announced he was to be the Roscosmos representative on the Year In Space Mission. The mission joined the crew of expedition 43 and left to allow expedition 47 to begin. During his stay, he performed vital experiments in order to help humans cope with future long duration Spaceflight, such as a mission to Mars. The work of Kornienko has helped all of humanity break down the borders between us, both on Earth politically, and metaphorically on our way to the red planet. Godspeed Mikhail Kornienko! Счастливого пути Михапл Корниенко! I have Tumblr! Check me out In the link in my bio. Go on. You know you want to. #mikhailkorniyenko #mikhailkornienko #Михапл Корниенко #spaceflight #cosmonautics #expedition23 #expedition24 #expedition8 #expedition15 #expedition43 #expedition44 #expedition45 #expedition46 #ISS #МКС #роскосмос #journeytomars #themarsgeneration #godspeedmikhailkornienko #Счастливогопути МихаплКорниенко @nasa @roscosmosofficial (at NASA's Johnson Space Center)

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Today we just became infinitely smarter. I think Dr. Kraft put it quite nicely there. We discovered that we could launch a winged chunk of metal and land it successfully. But it wasn't just a chunk of metal. It was the Space Shuttle. The same Space Shuttle program that began in the drawing room before we landed men on the moon, had been fulfilled. So, 35 years later, although the program has ended, the memory of Americas doorway to space lives on in the hearts and minds of those who grew up with it. Those who heard Hugh Harris declare liftoff as this beast rose on pillars of fire into the sky. Those who heard the sonic boom over Kennedy or Edwards as the Shuttle gracefully descended from the heavens. Hail Columbia, Challenger, Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour. Hail The Space Shuttle Program. Godspeed Everyone!!! #christopherkraft #chriskraft #wejustbecameinfinatelysmarter #spaceshuttle #spaceshuttleprogram #hughharris #PAO #NASA #columbia #orbitercolumbia #challenger #orbiterchallenger #discovery #orbiterdiscovery #atlantis #orbiteratlantis #endeavour #orbiterendeavour #hailspaceshuttle #godspeed (at Edwards Air Force Base)

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Today was the day the Mission Control was tested. This was not a simulation. A spacecraft exploded in space. On April 13th 1970, the crew finished a TV broadcast and began final checks for the night on their command module, Oddesey, and their Lunar Module, Aquarius. Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise we're on their way to the moon! 9 Minutes later, a sharp bang shook the spacecraft and began a chain of events known as NASA's finest hour. The Famous call came down to CAPCOM and the MCC went into a frenzy. The flight of Apollo 13 WAS NASA's finest hour and something we all aspire to. As a aspiring Flight Director, I look to learn from the lessons learnt from the MCC team and take them forward into the future. WE can overcome great difficulty. WE are The Mars Generation. WE are the future. Godspeed everyone!!! #missioncontrol #apollo13 #explosion #april131970 #commandmodule #lunarmodule #aquarius #oddessey #NASAfinesthour #houstonwevehadeaproblem #mainbbusundervolt #capcom #flightdirector #mcc #themarsgeneration

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April 12th 1981. Space Shuttle Columbia Takes Flight for the First Time. The Orbiter's Flight came on a significant day for Spaceflight. On the same day in 1961, 20 Years Prior, Yuri Gagarin took flight on Vostok 1 and became the first man to orbit Earth. Today, On Yuri's Night 2016, we celebrate those who serve the world in the exploration of Space Today and will do tomorrow. They, We, are the future. Godspeed Everyone! (at Launch Complex 39A)

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Favourite Track from London 2012