23
Rockets are neat.
It all started because of the 4th of July.
Where I grew up, we had this happy little nexus point of Kansas having some of the biggest boomers you could legally get your hands on. Then, just a little bit down the road in Missouri you could play with smaller, handheld, projectiles.
Where I grew up, we had this happy little nexus point of Kansas having some of the biggest boomers you could legally get your hands on. Then, just a little bit down the road in Missouri you could play with smaller, handheld, projectiles.
Like bottle rockets.
Add in the lovely flavor of the Blue Angels flying over my grandparents house and waving to us kids sitting on top of the hay barn as we watched them line up passes over the airfield. (They were really that close, flying upside down. You could even see a pilot smile.)
Dash of this kid.
And you have yourself a life long love for anything that can fly.
Because I was a “bright” kid I got to go to “space camp”.
Except that my family couldn’t afford to ship my happy ass to, Texas, California, or Florida. Instead I got to go to an Aviation and Aeronautics camp...or some such at the local Air National Guard Base. The certificate is in a box at my folks house... Like most of the things that prove some of this horse poky I’m shovelin'.
Regardless.
There I got to see how aircraft were refueled mid flight, actually toured a refuel-er...twice. We were taught by actual pilots, mechanics, and foot soldiers how these things worked and how people worked around them.
It wasn’t the space shuttle, but it was still pretty freakin’ bad ass.
In middle school we had a pretty amazing class set-up.
I had been moved from “le barrio” (-see: human rights law-) into a school where some of the wealthiest kids in the area went...to say my educational standards had changed would be...a small understatement.
Don’t get me wrong, our family didn’t suddenly become wealthy or anything like that. My folks bought half of a super cheap duplex in a neighborhood made up of decommissioned military housing that had been turned into “an affordable living neighborhood.” Some of it was actually classified “Section 8” housing.
Don’t get me wrong, our family didn’t suddenly become wealthy or anything like that. My folks bought half of a super cheap duplex in a neighborhood made up of decommissioned military housing that had been turned into “an affordable living neighborhood.” Some of it was actually classified “Section 8” housing.
We just happened to be in the Rural district that included two of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the area.
The cool part was that at this new middle school, outside of the regular stuff, I got to pick my classes.
The cool part was that at this new middle school, outside of the regular stuff, I got to pick my classes.
So, genius kid goes from a school with one computer in the library and over sized classes - to a school with multiple computer labs and classes sizes that seemed a little more manageable for the teachers.
Awesome...thing is, I was scared to death.
At this schools “shop class” they had multiple stations to study different career paths.
Aviation, television journalism, radio broadcasting, welding, wood-working, stop motion animation, lasers, cad design... All sorts of crazy shit, and my little sponge brain soaked it all up.
I opted into the class twice so that I could work at all of the stations.
I opted into the class twice so that I could work at all of the stations.
My other electives being music, home-ec, and languages (french, spanish, german...the words are all in there, just need to start using them in conversation. -see: linguistics and musical theory- )
When some of my friends and I made our “10 minute radio broadcast”. (see : radio communication/broadcasting) We did an LP cassette.
Front and Back.
Complete with commercials, the weather, and full length songs.
I love to pad a project.
I love to pad a project.
Back on topic:
That shop class had a full flight simulator setup, complete with controls and instrument panel.
With my scout troop it got even better.
We were able to take flight instruction classes from pilots at the airbase. Then, at the end, two hours up in the air at the stick.
I couldn’t believe it.
After that…-see : aviation -
I still keep up with news that NASA releases and check in about once a year to listen to mission reports. I love pouring over new vehicle designs they're playing with and checking to see how current missions are progressing.
Did you know:
Curiosity (the Rover): at the time of this writing, is on year 4.
2.1 billion dollar investment, outliving, outperforming, and providing information beyond what they imagined....and the little scooter has no plans of breaking down for another 5 years.
And that's out of an average budgetary size of $15 billion a year (and yes that includes the sixties when there were over 400,000 employees (there's only about 30 or so thousand now)
Opportunity: 10 years beyond mission parameters....and still going.
Cost the tax payers: $400 million
Compare that too the 20 billion the military was given to investigate and bring the 9-11 attackers to justice in 2002. Which they failed to do. Then spent an additional 60 million the following year invading Iraq. Neither of those missions succeeded. And, arguably, caused the whole investigation/war to take years longer than necessary...and oh...we're still paying for the consequences and neither of those "wars" have given anyone piece of mind or done anything to heal the rifts between the nations? Quite the opposite in fact. Arguably, the asinine handling of the whole situation set race relations in the U.S. back to the 50's. It's just not all Black and White now...Grr
Where as, NASA's involvement, arguably ended the cold war with Russia, preventing a potential nuclear holocaust. Not to mention the ISS has had a better positive net impact on foreign relations than any "aid package", "military intervention", or "sanction" ever has.
Where as, NASA's involvement, arguably ended the cold war with Russia, preventing a potential nuclear holocaust. Not to mention the ISS has had a better positive net impact on foreign relations than any "aid package", "military intervention", or "sanction" ever has.
So lets' get those people making decisions and give them some money to do it.
The NASA people
Hungry scientists doing the math and the accounting because, to them, it's fun and they like things to balance out at the end. After all, bad math is the difference between vaporizing a 1.2 billion dollar dune buggy in the atmosphere, exploding it on the surface...or having it touch down safely and do it's job well and beyond expectations.
Sorry, I'll put my money with NASA.
Proven track record in the face of astronomical odds.
Developing new, and adapting old, techniques to overcome obstacles with the least amount of collateral damage as possible.
Last time the military had a significant, and publicly trusted victory was WWII. And that was "because of the holocaust"...and also...at the time, half of the country didn't want to get involved because it "wasn't their problem" or openly sympathized with the Nazi's beliefs and actions
Just...just...do your homework. (see : Military History/Strategy)
By the way...there are still other holocausts taking place around the world every day...why haven't we jumped on those?
Also, all of this "cool" tech and stuff people use in modern warfare, and in our everyday lives was developed by NASA peoples, (NASA Peoples : a general name I just made up for a life philosophy dedicated to expanding the frontiers of human intelligence and ability for the sake of knowledge and betterment of the future)>
Then these technologies are appropriated by the military.
-see: DARPA-
Think about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spin-off_technologies
Military Technology : (Wikipedia)
" ...lacks useful or legal civilian uses. Or is to dangerous to use without military training..."
~End Transmission~
