Retro Thing

Listening In On The Apollo 11 Astronauts... From Home

Back in July 1969, amateur radio buff Larry Baysinger managed the impossible by listening in on transmissions from the Apollo 11 astronauts during their historic lunar landing. 

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported, "Thanks to some homemade electronic equipment, including a rebuilt 20-year-old radio receiver from an Army tank and an antenna made of spare pieces of aluminum, nylon cord and chicken wire, a small band of Louisvillians was able to 'eavesdrop' Sunday night on the American astonauts' conversation directly from the moon.

The odds and ends of equipment recorded only 35 minutes of conversation between astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on the lunar surface and their orbiting companion Michael Collins. But the signals were received directly from the moon, over a quarter of a million miles away, not through Houston Space Center."

Brilliant stuff. I wish we could recapture the excitement of the space race instead of squandering trillions of dollars irradiating vast swathes of desert with depleted uranium.

Read: Lunar Eavesdropping in Louisville, Kentucky [via Make]

The Loneliest Space Shuttle

I was looking through some photos of Baikonur Cosmodrome the other day when I came across this shot from 2003. A gigantic ISS-bound Soyuz TMA-3 dominates the foreground, while a forlorn Buran shuttle mock-up sits forgotten in a field, lamenting the time when it was the future of the Soviet manned space program.

Technik Museum Speyer rescued a similar shuttle in 2008 and installed it as a permanent exhibit.

Baikonur Cosmodrome [The Big Picture]

Cosmonauts paid less than McDonald's employees

The breakup of the Soviet Union had many unintended consequences. The fabled Russian space program has been one of the most high profile victims of the nation's shift to capitalism. Simon Saradzhyan at Space.com recently wrote, "A career as a cosmonaut—once the dream job of a lifetime for millions in this country—is increasingly less attractive because it is no longer the ticket to international fame or a fortune. As a result, the pool of qualified candidates for positions in Russia’s cosmonaut corps is shrinking."

There are currently 37 Cosmonauts on active duty in Russia and each is paid less than 20,448 Rubles (US $775) per month, plus flight bonuses. The Cosmonaut program is still popular with military pilots because it offers a higher salary, but many others opt for more lucrative careers in the private sector.

There is one benefit of the reduced competition to become a Cosmonaut. In the past, qualified Cosmonauts sometimes retired without ever flying in Space. The reduced size of the modern space program means that there's a much greater likelihood that participants will get to travel to the ISS, although the current wait time is 10 to 15 years. And you have to admit that riding a rocket into orbit beats flipping even the best of burgers.

Cosmonaut Careers: Russian Interest in Homegrown Spaceflyers Flags

Related:
Buran: The first Russian shuttle to reach space
The Scent of Moondust

Look What's Waiting At Kennedy Space Center

"For the first time in more than a quarter-century, a new space vehicle stands ready in the Vehicle Assembly Building." (via twitpic)

Ares I is the crew launch vehicle for NASA's Constellation Program. The first suborbital flight test is slated for late 2009. Her sister ship, the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, is scheduled to enter service in 2018 and should be capable of lofting 188 tonnes into low earth orbit. That's a lot of Tang.

NASA's New Spacecraft: Ares and Orion

NASA's Lunar Orbiter Photographs Apollo Landing Sites

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched in June. Its primary mission: to create a high resolution map of the lunar surface from a distance of approximately 50 km.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, investigators at Goddard Space Flight Center have released the first images of Apollo lunar landing sites captured by the orbiter. NASA is quick to point out that these images were captured before the LRO reached its final mapping orbit; future images from these sites will have two to three times greater resolution.

The timing couldn't be better. According to survey results published recently in the Telegraph, a quarter of Britons believe the Apollo 11 mission moon landings in 1969 were an elaborate hoax, and almost half thought the Apollo missions were a waste of money. I doubt these new images will do anything to discourage the conspiracy theorists -- nothing will ever provide sufficient "proof" for the tinfoil hat brigade.

However, perhaps NASA's renewed focus on lunar exploration will encourage a new generation of young researchers and push all of us to look beyond the inconsequential blue marble we call home. And if that fails, I'm sure there's gobs of money to be made strip-mining it.

The first Apollo landing site photos [NASA]

Travel To The Moon With Only Your Ears

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the first US landing on the moon. There are lots of ways to study the historic adventure, but one of the most interesting is to experience it all in real-time. Check out wechoosethemoon.org. The site is playing back the audio of the moon mission in its entirety, counting down to the moment of the actual landing 40 years ago. You can follow along with the many accompanying diagrams and animation that illustrate where we are in the mission at any one time.

The audio helps reveal just how complex a mission this was, as well as how professional and surprisingly mundane it all sounds. We've all heard the historic audio from the moment of the landing itself, but now is your chance to hear all the important chatter that led up to that moment. I'll have the website open over the next few days on my computer's desktop so that I can follow along on this historic odyssey. You can even stream the audio alone via a popup player (great while you're doing other things with your computer), Shoutcast, and get updates via Twitter & more.

Feel free to share your thoughts & memories in the comments section of this post, or chat with other Retro Thing readers on our forum.

link:
We Choose The Moon webcast and interactive website

related:
Apollo mission commemorative matchbooks

NASA Unveils Restored Moon Landing Video, Original Tapes Still Missing

Apollo 11 launched from Cape Canaveral exactly 40 years ago today. It would be another four days before the iconic video of Armstrong and Aldrin stepping onto the surface of the moon would be broadcast back to earth. The slow-scan B&W video feed captured images at 10 frames per second with a mere 320 lines of resolution.

Sadly, the original tapes have been lost for decades.

NASA Revisits The Moon In High Definition

The 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing is less than two weeks away. In anticipation of this milestone, here's a look at NASA's shiny new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The LRO launched on June 19, 2009 - NASA's first lunar mission this century.

The spacecraft will spend a year in a low polar orbit approximately 50 km above the lunar surface. Its primary mission is to compile high-resolution 3D maps that could help to identify landing sites for future surface exploration. NASA will also be on the lookout for life-sustaining water and potentially lethal radiation.

Video: LRO/LCROSS Atlas 5 Launch
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: NASA's First Step Back To The Moon

Brilliant 1950s Space Fleet Collector's Cards

Skelly Gas issued an imaginative series of All American Space Fleet collector's cards in the 1950s. It appears that space exploration was exclusively a male pursuit in those days -- ships were crewed by countless rugged spacemen, crewmen, ore men and radar-men.

However, there were a few positions open to eager young ladies as Junior Stewardesses. After all, someone had to prepare the evening space meals and change the anti-radiation urinal pucks while wearing form-fitting spandex leggings and cotton gloves...

All American Space Fleet Cards [via Nerdcore]

Explosion of Sun Overdue

 
Here's a cheery bit of anonymous research from the April 1933 issue of Modern Mechanix. Let's hope it doesn't happen for the next hundred thousand years or so; most of my clones should be off-planet by then.

Orbiter Space Flight Simulator: Do You Have The Right Stuff?

Martin Schweiger's Orbiter lets you try your hand at launching a space vehicle, although you should expect your first attempts to end in disaster. In fact, the FAQ includes questions like, "Why can't get into orbit?" The current version includes the TransX module to set up interplanetary routes, should you wish to try your hand at reaching Mars.

"Launch the Space Shuttle from Kennedy Space Center to deploy a satellite, rendezvous with the International Space Station or take the futuristic Delta-glider for a tour through the solar system - the choice is yours.

The emphasis is firmly on realism, and the learning curve can be steep. Be prepared to invest some time and effort to brush up on your orbital mechanics background. Good starting points are JPL's Basics of Space Flight, and R. Braeunig's Rocket & Space Technology."

Orbiter Space Flight Simulator

46 Years of Satellite TV

The Telstar 1 communication satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 10, 1962, ushering in the modern age of intercontinental broadcasting and telecommunication. It was owned by AT&T and developed at Bell Telephone Labs as part of an international project sponsored by the USA, UK and France. Its $3 million trip atop one of NASA's Thor-Delta rockets was the first commercially sponsored launch.

Telstar was placed in a medium altitude elliptical orbit that circled the earth approximately once every 2 3/4 hours. This resulted in a short 20 minute window during which intercontinental communication could be established between Andover Earth Station in the United States and Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall, England or Pleumeur-Bodou in France.

Goonhilly became the first ground station to receive a live intercontinental TV feed on July 23, 1962, although the French were the first to receive a patriotic American test image from Andover, Maine.

Telstar 1 was successful but short-lived. High-altitude nuclear experiments by the USA and USSR dramatically increased radiation levels in the Van Allen Belt throughout late 1962 and led to the satellite's premature failure the next February. A flurry of activity followed. The first geostationary communications satellite - Hughes Aircraft Company's Syncom 3 - was launched in August 1964, followed by Intelsat 1 - the first commercial communications satellite - in April 1965.

The Telstar name has stood the test of time, with its most recent namesake - Telstar 18 - successfully launched in June 2004.

As of it's 46th birthday, Telstar 1 remains in orbit, enjoying the view.

GRIN: Download NASA's Photographic Treasures

Great Images in NASA (GRIN) is a stunning archive of high resolution images dating back to the dawn of the US and Russian space programs. Subjects include the X-Series aircraft, many iconic photos from the US and Soviet/Russian manned space programs, plus robotic exploration and space science. The majority of these pictures are available in high resolution versions and are not copyrighted, allowing you to print high quality 8x10 prints at home.

Great Images in NASA library [NASA]

Vanguard 1 Celebrates 50 Years In Space, Forgets To Phone Home

Even though it was the fourth man-made satellite successfully launched into space, Vanguard 1 has earned a special place in history as the oldest spacecraft in orbit. The shiny 1.47kg (3.2lb) spherical spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on March 17, 1958. Scientists originally believed it would remain in orbit for several thousand years, but solar radiation and atmospheric drag have reduced its off-world vacation to about 240 years.

America's second successful satellite (an earlier failed Vanguard Project launch was dubbed 'Flopnik' by thre press) was equipped with two radio transmitters, including the first solar powered transmitter to reach space. The primary battery powered transmitter lasted until the batteries were exhausted in June 1958, while the solar equipped radio remained operational until May 1964. Vanguard now orbits the earth silently once every 132.4 minutes and has traveled a whopping 10 billion kilometers over its lifetime.

Vanguard 1's rudimentary transmitters enabled researchers to determine that the earth was slightly pear shaped. It had a diameter of only 16.5 cm (6.44 inches), causing Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to dismiss it as "the grapefruit satellite." Still, Vanguard's successful launch into a permanent orbit using a three-stage rocket and its pioneering use of solar technology were indeed vanguards of things to come.

NASA's official Vanguard 1 page

related:
More of The Right Stuff: A New Lunar Documentary
Cosmonauts paid less than McDonald's employees

Cool Rockets: Your Very Own Classic Space Ship

We featured Cool Rockets on an RT-TV segment a few months ago, but they're, uh, cool enough to deserve a repeat mention. Bohus and I both harbor a secret desire to get our hands on a collection of designer Jeff Brewer's large scale 5 foot custom models for Retro Thing's secret underground lair. However, until we actually get around to refurbishing an old Titan missile complex, I'll make do with one of Brewer's smaller Fleet Edition ships.

Each Cool Rocket is a resin-cast, hand-finished rocket ship inspired by 1940s and 1950s comic book art. They're reasonably priced - most well under $100 - enabling you to acquire a small fleet for your rocketport (uh, desk). They're all original designs, so there's no danger of mistaking these puppies as Jetsons or Perry Rhodan castoffs.

My favorite is the Jetsonesque 9-inch long Space Bucket, "Everyone’s favorite spaceship runabout! An economical family style vehicle, the Bucket is equally at home visiting the next galaxy or just schlubbing junior out to the mall. Cast in polyresin, hand-painted and aged, on a cool moon base. It is shipped in a sturdy color labeled gift box with a protective plastic inner structure." That said, I'm sure my five-year-old would love the battery-powered Big Boy Fleet Edition lamp... if he could pry it out of my hands.

Visit the Cool Rockets site for a quick spin around the galaxy [inspired by OhGizmo!]