Unmanned Rocket Explodes in Virginia

For those of us who remember the two space shuttle tragedies, this news gets you at first. Then relief that there was no loss of life.

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Unmanned supply rocket for space station explodes on liftoff in U.S.

An unmanned Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff from a commercial launch pad in Virginia on Tuesday, marking the first accident since NASA turned to private operators to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. . .



Read more at: MSN

Science is Cool: Lunar Eclipse, Full Moon on Solstice

We've never seen this before. I'm serious, it's been over 400 years!

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Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Image from source, NASA

. . .The luster will be a bit "off" on Dec. 21st, the first day of northern winter, when the full Moon passes almost dead-center through Earth's shadow. For 72 minutes of eerie totality, an amber light will play across the snows of North America, throwing landscapes into an unusual state of ruddy shadow. . .

Read more at: NASA

Quote of the Day: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

"Can't wait to see how long it takes before some ultra-right lunatic whines that Obama shouldn't be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when he's bombing the moon."

--Robbie at Joe.My.God

JFK, 9/11, Obama's Birth Certificate and the Moon

Image from source, AOL News

Conspiracy theories come in many flavors, and theorists com in all political stripes. As far as I know, people who don't believe the "official" story on John F. Kennedy's assassination don't fit any particular political beliefs as a whole. "9/11 truthers" are likely mostly left-wing, though I'm sure there are a few libertarians in there. The people who claim that Barack Obama is not a "natrual born citizen" (known as "birthers") are mostly conservative. Make that far right wing, as I'm not sure they fit the traditional definition of conservative.

The politics of moon landing deniers aren't at the forefront of their movement. But their belief in the theory that the moon shots were faked is every bit as fervent as some truthers'* or birthers' beliefs. And today, it would seem that we have proof that we really did land on the moon. The question is, will the conspiracy therorists believe it? Or will they just add a whole new chapter (on how this was faked too) to their theory?

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Apollo Sites Spotted by Lunar Scout

For stubborn folks who still believe the Apollo astronauts never landed on the moon, NASA has new images — definitive proof — that clearly show the Apollo 11 lander that carried the first astronauts to the lunar surface 40 years ago. . .

Read more at: AOL News

*Full disclosure: Of these theories, the only one I have any adherence to is the 9/11 Truth movement, and only to parts of that. I don't like to assign my own storyline to 9/11, and I don't think the planes were fake, or any of that. I just don't buy the official story as written. So I guess I'm a "Truther Lite."

Red State Update: Do Aliens Exist?

I thought I'd finish out the month with a humerous post, devoid of politics. And even though the ridiculously funny Red State Update is usually political, this time they take on last week's story about an astronaut that thinks aliens exist. Enjoy.

Astronaut Claims Alien Cover-Up?

Image from BuddyTV

Wow. Aliens. Really? Cool. Let's hope they're the friendly E.T. type, or even the American Dad Roger type, and not--ohhhh--War of the Worlds.

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Moon-walker claims alien contact cover-up

FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist.

And he says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions - but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades. Dr Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview that sources at the space agency who had had contact with aliens described the beings as 'little people who look strange to us. . .'

Read more at: News.com.au

NASA Workers Getting Cancer

Back in 1956, The Conquerer, a movie starring John Wayne as Genghis Kahn (!) was released. It was a commercial failure. But the strangest thing about the film is that over the years, an inordinate number of its cast and crew came down with various forms of cancer. There is much speculation that the film's location--downwind from the Nevada Nuclear test site--was the cause.

Now, at NASA, we have this story. An inordinate number of workers there are coming down with various cancers. They don't know why, and neither do I, but it is a strange story. So here it is.

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40 NASA Workers On Same Floor Diagnosed With Cancer

There are 40 cases of cancer among people who work in the same building at NASA Glenn Research Center.

Dozens of the employees fear that their cancer was triggered by years of working in the developmental engineering building, NewsChannel5 reported.

The union that represents hundreds of scientists and other workers said nearly half of the 100 employees on the third floor of the building have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer in the past three to four years. . .

Read more at: News Net 5

Science is (Still) Cool: Space Race 50th Anniversary

Photo from source, CNET News

Just a little while ago, I posted a Science is Cool post, highlighting one of the latest examples of our space program's accomplishments. What I didn't yet realize, is that today is actually the 50th anniversary of the US entry into the "Space Race." Of course, the space program had been up and running at least long enough to get a satellite ready to go, but it was launched on January 31, 1958.

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Golden anniversary--U.S. enters space race

After some spectacular failures, the United States successfully launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, into Earth's orbit on January 31, 1958. It was an important step for the United States in the Cold War and its first response in the space race after Russia had successfully launched two satellites. . .

Read more at: CNET News

UFOs: A Uniter or Divider?

Photo from source, AOL

I find this story interesting, because I'm not sure if it could ever be spun into a right-wing vs. left-wing story. We are a deeply divided nation, at least partially intentionally by political Machiavellis like Karl Rove. We need a huge news story that unites, rather than divides us.

Even the California wildfire stories landed in right-left world. Questions about preparedness flung the topic into "Bush's Fault/How Dare You Say it's Bush's Fault" territory, not to mention comparisons to Hurricane Katrina.

But UFOs? If we had proof of UFOs, could we possibly turn that into a right vs. left story? Wouldn't humanity be united, either in awe of the possibilities, or in defense of earth against invasion? Might we not turn our weapons out into space, rather than at each other?

Oh, who am I kidding. The religious would be in full denial mode, pointing out that nowhere in the Bible does it mention Alf. Anti-religionists would be pointing out the same thing, only as proof of the Bible's errancy. Hard-core right-wingers would call any believers in UFOs loony moonbats, and left-wingers would decry the right's inability to see reality. In short, same old story. Ah, well. . .

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NASA to Search Files on UFO Incident

NASA has agreed to search its archives once again for documents on a 1965 UFO incident in Pennsylvania, a step the space agency fought in federal court. The government has refused to open its files about what, if anything, moved across the sky and crashed in the woods near Kecksburg, Pa., 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. . .

Read the whole story at: AOL

NASA Withholding Airline Safety Study Results

Photo from source, News.Yahoo.com

EEK! My Mom just bought me tickets for a long weekend back to Ohio, but that was before I read this story. It's rather strange. Apparently, NASA funded the study, and it is so disturbing, they cannot release it because it would freak us all out. That fact, you idiots, possibly freaks me out more than the report would have!

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NASA won't disclose air safety survey

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - Anxious to avoid upsetting air travelers, NASA is withholding results from an unprecedented national survey of pilots that found safety problems like near collisions and runway interference occur far more frequently than the government previously recognized.

NASA gathered the information under an $8.5 million safety project, through telephone interviews with roughly 24,000 commercial and general aviation pilots over nearly four years. Since ending the interviews at the beginning of 2005 and shutting down the project completely more than one year ago, the space agency has refused to divulge the results publicly. . .

Read the whole story at: News.Yahoo.com