A thousand words

Apollo 11, launched on July 16th, 1969 from Launch Complex 39A on a Saturn V rocket, was the spaceflight which landed the first humans on the moon. It was commanded by Neil Armstrong and piloted by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. The lunar module landed on the moon July 20th, 1969. The first steps on the moon took place six and a half hours after the landing.

The Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida has on display a number of newspaper front pages announcing this historical moment in the United States Space program.

This picture of Space Shuttle Endeavour waiting on launchpad 39A to for her scheduled liftoff on April 29th, 2011 was the closest I have…

A year ago this week, Space Shuttle Endeavour was on launchpad 39A waiting for her final mission. The first launch attempt of STS-134 scheduled for April 29th at 3:47pm was scrubbed at 12:20pm due to problems with two heaters on one of the orbiter’s auxiliary power units. Two weeks later, she launched on May 16th at 8:56 am.

Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson, and Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Roberto Vittori, Andrew Feustel, and Gregory Chamitoff delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was the center of the famous battle sharing its name, The Battle of Gettysburg. The battle fought from July 1st - 3rd, 1863 had the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War. A quiet, peaceful town today, it is full of historical places to visit. Here are some pictures taken in late November with the holiday decorations.

This picture of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum was taken across the street from Ground Zero in New York City. It shows the progress of a very…

Ground Zero in New York City has changed noticably since my visit in 2010, and even more so since 2008. Here are some pictures of the surrounding area and buildings that are being built, taken at the end of November.

Last September, the 9/11 Memorial in New York City opened to the public. A limited number of free timed-entry tickets are given out at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site each day. While the museum is still under construction, visiting the memorial is worth it. When day turns into night, the memorial’s appearance changes into a breathtaking reminder of the tragedy words cannot describe. Here are pictures of the memorial taken at the end of last November.

This picture of the Atlas V 541 rocket with the Mars Curiosity Rover inside was taken at Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force…

Launch Complex 34, another stop on the Mars Curiosity NASA Tweetup tour, was a somber reminder of the risks of space travel.  On Friday, January 27th, 1967 at 1832, a cabin fire during a launch pad test of Apollo 1 killed all three crew members: Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.

Apollo 7 was launched from here on October 11, 1968.  LC-34 was decommissioned and the umbilical tower and service structure razed leaving only the launch platform.