No kidding, this was a real contest back when I was a kid. Revell was a thriving business, and boys built zillions of plastic model kits. There were no no computers yet, so this was 3D modeling back in the day! If I had won this, my parents would never have gotten me out of it. The Gemini spacecraft had movie star good looks. Damn, it was sporty!
Archive for the 'NASA/Science' Category
25
Dec
10
No kidding!
25
Dec
10
STS 133 Roll Out
By way of Gary Hutzel, a stunning shot of STS 133 taken by Gary’s friend Tanner. Click and Wow.
01
Nov
10
Think Outside The Circle
Thanks Mike!
(Above) Samples of Andy Probert’s new ap for the Apple iPad.
I am not a Mac evangelist, nor am I a PC evangelist. No platform is perfect, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. I use the platform that works best for what I’m up to. When I am at work at the visual effects office we use PC’s, as they deliver more bang for our buck, but lately when I am reading a book, the newspaper, or just surfing the web, you will find me with an iPad. Talk about futuristic. Who needs flying cars when you can have one of these? It’s the living incarnation of our Star Trek PADD. The iPad is sleek, smart, fast, clever, and stacked. There are thousands of aps, many of them free at the Apple ap store. If you are a lover of science fiction design, search “Andy Probert” and download the amazing one’s new E-book, “Concept 101 – The Worlds of Probert”. In addition. I found an astonishing program called “Star Walk” and had myself an epiphany.
Watch the quicktime below and see Drexler babble like a fool over “Star Walk”. Anyone have a Taser?
19
Jun
10
Eat Your Heart Out, La Forge!
My testimonial for TruFocal glasses. So simple, so clever, so sci-fi\steampunk. Glasses with adjustable focal length like a camera! Bonus! Hear Beaker in the background “urking”.
In the 60′s when spaceflight was in its infancy, there was one constant — Guenter Wendt. He was the last guy to pat young astronauts on the bottom, close the hatch, and watch them fly into the history books.
- Paul Haney, NASA PAO, “The Voice of Apollo”
Guenter Wendt, 85, ‘Pad Leader’ for NASA’s moon missions, dies
(Above) The Altair Moon Lander
Dear Friends:
As long-time supporters of real-life space exploration, Denise and I were disappointed to learn that the proposed NASA budget for 2011 would cancel Project Constellation and the planned return to the Moon. Constellation, as you may know, began in 2004, after the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew. NASA was determined to make spaceflight safer for its astronauts, and it knew that it had to give those astronauts a worthwhile mission: exploration.
Constellation is tasked with developing boosters, spacecraft, and other systems to provide a safer replacement for the Space Shuttle, one that would enable a return to the Moon for the specific purpose of developing the ability for humans to live on another world. Unlike Apollo, Constellation is designed to run on a comparatively constrained budget. Constellation’s Ares boosters are based on Space Shuttle technology, reducing their development costs and improving safety and reliability.
(Below) Lunar Truck designed for Constellation.
Continue reading ‘Constellation – A Message from Mike and Denise’
I realize it’s been a long time since we looked at the classic 1950s Disney series “Man in Space”. This series, along with Collier’s Magazine, convinced Americans that a trip to the moon not only possible, but worth doing. Enjoy, it’s amazing!
For more on “Man In Space” – http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/disneys-man-in-space-series/
Thanks Mike!
23
Dec
09
Reality Check Channel
Thanks to Derek and Maria!
You might think that a new space shuttle would make the mainstream news, but the U.S Air Force has kept tight wraps on the X-37, a junior sized spaceplane that will take on some of the functions of the space shuttle.
In April 2010, the Air Force is scheduled to launch an Atlas V booster from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the newest U.S. Spacecraft, the unmanned X-37, to orbit. The X-37 embodies the Air Force’s desire for an operational spaceplane, a wish that dates back to the 1950s, the era of the rocket powered X-15 and X-20.
“The space shuttle has performed it’s job very well, but you don’t need to launch a Mac truck into space when a Toyota Celica will do,” explains Mark Lewis, a University of Maryland hypersonics expert who recently completed a four year appointment as a chief scientist for the Air Force. It’s possible the spaceplane could have a role in national security, but when Lewis is asked about anything more than the X-37′s aerodynamics he clams up. The X-37 has taken a winding and perplexing path among NASA, DARPA, and the Air Force. Today, call up any of these organizations and say “X-37″ and it’s like spraying a garden hose at housecats.
For the full story, read the Michael Kieslus article at Air & Space Magazine - http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/Space-Shuttle-Jr.html?utm_source=newsletter20091118&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ASMNovember
(Below) Scaled Composites “White Knight” launched the X-37A on three test glides in 2006.
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(Above) The dramatic roll out of the Ares at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Best Invention of the Year: NASA’s Ares Rockets
“Metal has no DNA; machines have no genes. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have pedigrees — ancestral lines every bit as elaborate as our own. That’s surely the case with the Ares 1 rocket. The best and smartest and coolest thing built in 2009 — a machine that can launch human beings to cosmic destinations we’d never considered before — is the fruit of a very old family tree, one with branches grand, historic and even wicked.”
Read more at Time Magazine:
Here’s a Time Magazine video feature on the selection of Ares I as “Invention of the Year.”
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,49642414001_1937778,00.html
And here’s a Time Magazine gallery of cool Ares I-X photos:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1932999,00.html
Mike – Thanks for sharing!
(Below) NASA workers make pre-launch preparations on launch pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket is part of a family of rockets in NASA’s Constellation program, started in 2005 to go to Mars or the moon. It will also be equipped to fill in for the current aging Space Shuttle.
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Mike and Denise have posted an in-depth report on their trip to the Cape to view the launch of the Ares 1-X on their blog. Check it out!
http://web.me.com/michaelokuda/michael_okuda/Blog/Blog.html
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Denise and Mike at the Cape just last week.
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Greetings from the Okudas!
NASA launched the Ares I-X vehicle from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. The successful Ares I-X Development Flight Test was designed to help NASA engineers gain valuable data to help with the design of the next generation of America’s human launch vehicles. The Ares launch vehicles, teamed with the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicles, will replace the space shuttle and provide safer, more reliable space transport for our astronauts. Eventually, the Ares boosters may be a vital link in returning astronauts to the Moon, then on to Mars and beyond. I worked with the Ares team to develop emblems for Project Ares, as well as the Ares I-X Development Flight Test, and Project Constellation, which is the overall family of exploration systems projects. Normally, NASA doesn’t put project logos on the sides of their rockets, so I nearly fell out of my chair when I learned that the Ares I-X vehicle would carry three of my designs on its exterior.
The launch was pretty awesome, too!
Afterwards, NASA declared the test a success, calling it a “huge step forward for NASA’s exploration goals.”
- Mike
For more info on Ares I-X:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests/aresIx/index.html
Visit Mike and Denise at their web site:
http://web.me.com/michaelokuda/michael_okuda/Mike.html
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(Below) Ares roars off the pad bearing Mike’s mission logos. NASA knows cool.
29
Oct
09
Symphony of Science
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Thanks for sending this Maria! Really wonderful!
Especially love seeing Richard Feynman.
The hot video at CAP\BSG VFX this week. Mind boggling!
08
Aug
09
Life On The ISS
Sent in by Craig “Bink” Binkly, Enterprise prop master.
06
Aug
09
Future By Design.
Sorry! This video was pulled from Youtube! The comments are still here to be enjoyed!
Some of you know that one of my favorite futurists is a gentleman by the name of Jacque Fresco. He is also my friend. Here is a documentary in 9 parts by William Gazecki. Sent in by Pacal!
02
Aug
09
Atlantis 125 \ Ocean’s 11
Hey Rick! Look! Beautiful people in space!
(Above) NASA’s clever nod to the “Ocean’s 11″ movie poster (Below).
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24
Jul
09
Virgin Galactic
Go here and click “view movie”. It will take your breath away!
THIS is the real start!
Three large rockets, 50 crewpersons, heavy machinery, and a serious presence in the solar system.
To help celebrate the moon landing 40th anniversary, more magic pages from Collier’s magazine. It’s 1954, and dreamers with serious plans and serious know-how pitch their visionary ideas to the American public. Fifteen years later, men would indeed walk upon the moon, but in a much scaled back version of von Braun’s blue-sky plan. In these Collier’s extrapolations we go to the moon like we mean it, and we’re there to stay, with a permanent settlement, plenty of hands and lots of heavy gear. I’m very proud of the Apollo program, but oh! If only! When I think of the money we have squandered on useless wars! Even more amazing is that people complain about the pittance we have spent on space exploration… all while enjoying the technology it has made possible.
Click any of the images for a better look.
Just look at what people in their right mind envisioned! Stop the world! I want to get on!
(Above) Causing moon quakes – Rockets with explosive war heads are fired off and scientists check vibration waves caused by distant blasts, to determine interior composition of the moon. Seismograph in foreground is push button controlled and surveying instrument to its left has cupped headpiece, to accomodate hand hooks and helmets of expedition members.
20
Jul
09
Spider
One of my favorite segments in “From The Earth To The Moon”, from the episode “Spider”. Brilliant, funny, inspiring.
The Palmdale VFX crew position the Saturn V model with the help of a crane.
Note the camera on it’s side…to imitate the famous shot of the Saturn V roaring UP past the camera… ALSO note that the criteria for “recreating” famous NASA shots was…that if they either didn’t exist (for story purposes) OR if the existing footage wasn’t of a certain acceptable visual quality, then it got recreated…and as close to the original material as possible. Unfortunately some of the original NASA footage was just poor, and this process was far from arbitrary. As I recall they spent 6 months on the Motion Control stage. My longtime pal Ernie Farino (to who I am indebted for bringing me on this gig) did an amazing job as VFX Director and is just one of the very best in the business. – John Ellis
20
Jul
09
Where were you on July 20, 1969?
Where were you on July 20, 1969? Nearly everyone who was alive on that day can remember where they were when the Apollo 11 lunar module, Eagle, landed on the waterless Sea of Tranquility, and what they were doing when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took those first, amazing steps on the surface of another world. Not just America, but the entire world, joined together to watch these two emissaries of humanity, exploring the Moon in peace for all mankind. - Mike Okuda
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