Space Shuttle First Flights: Challenger (January 28,1986)
On the eve of the Space Shuttle Challenger launch the Morton Thiokol engineering team protested the decision to launch. They were overridden by NASA
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Space Shuttle First Flights: Mike Mullane (Don’t Eat Yellow Snow)
Space Shuttle Discovery’s flight in 1984 dumped an unexpected “payload” in orbit.
Space Shuttle First Flights: Launch Of Discovery (STS-41D): August 1984
After Space Shuttle Discovery recovered from a dangerous launch abort in June 1984, the second try was flawless and spectacular.
Portal – An Original Scripted Drama Premiere
I belong to several online groups through Facebook and other various media, as I’m sure many of you do, too. I came across in one of these groups dedicated to those of us who feel […]
Space Shuttle First Flights: Discovery Launch Abort (June 1984)
The maiden voyage of Space Shuttle Discovery was scheduled for June 25, 1984. The first-ever main engine shutdown launch abort scared the crap out of us.
Space Shuttle First Flights: Judy Resnik (“Best Wishes”)
Mike Mullane offered me a personal memento from Judy from their first Space Shuttle flight. I still have it.
Mundos paralelos: “El arcoíris del tiempo”
A critique of Ecuadorian author Maximo Ortega’s novel The Rainbow of Time
One World – One Web?
Shades of the X15: OneWeb & VirginGalactic want to bring the internet to EVERYONE
Space Shuttle First Flights: Judy Resnik (First Encounters)
Shuttle astronaut Judy Resnik was a pilot, a classical pianist, and had a PhD in Electrical Engineering. And she was a terrific emissary for NASA, as I found out when I invited her to speak to the IBM Shuttle Software team.
Space Shuttle First Flights: Mike Mullane (“No Place for Civilians”)
Astronaut Mike Mullane knew Shuttle was an experimental spaceship sitting atop highly volatile explosives. When NASA allowed civilians to ride they were implying it was safe when it was not. Unfortunately, he was right.
Space Shuttle First Flights: STS-1 (Columbia) The First Orbital Flight
Our Shuttle flight software team had the “distinction” of hearing Walter Cronkite describe, live and on national television, whether we’d done our work correctly.
Space Shuttle First Flights: Dick Truly – The Approach and Landing Tests
I had visions of the Space Shuttle Enterprise getting jostled during separation and colliding with the 747’s vertical stabilizer – which would definitely make for a bad day all around.
Dragon Training
Torso Boy is slowly stumbling his way about Dragon NaturallySpeaking to judge if it’s easier than coping with a standard keyboard.
Apollo 8 (Christmas 1968)
The crew of Apollo 8 delivered a special Christmas message from the Moon forty-six years ago this week.
WHA…? JOHNNY CASH and SF? I FELL INTO A BURNING RING OF…
Steve gets all excited over a shared-universe anthology series. And tells you where to get FREE SF!
Space Shuttle First Flights: John Aaron (“Exceptional” Flight Software)
NASA’s John Aaron set high standards for IBM, and Space Shuttle onboard software came closer to “error-free” than any large, complex software ever built.
Space Shuttle First Flights: John Aaron (Software Failure Is Not An Option)
I met with John Aaron to explain why IBM couldn’t fulfill a Shuttle software contract that required zero errors. His answer changed my mind.
Rewind: Interview with Award-Winning Author Kim Stanley Robinson
We’re visiting Kim Stanley Robinson again
Space Shuttle First Flights: John Aaron (Error-Free Code?)
NASA required IBM’s Space Shuttle software to be delivered “error-free”. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the likelihood of that was extremely low.
Space Shuttle First Flights: Phil Shaffer (Again)
During the Apollo Program, NASA’s Phil Shaffer had subjected me to what I’d describe today as a version of “Shark Tank”. I wasn’t looking forward to presenting to him again on Shuttle.
The True Cost of Space Exploration
The true cost of space exploration cannot be measured in dollars. It must be measured in human lives. For those who paid the ultimate price, we thank you and salute you. Those who understand the importance of your sacrifice will not forget. Godspeed on your next adventure.
The Antares Rocket Explosion: October 28, 2014
An eyewitness account of the explosion of the Antares rocket: it looks very bad on TV. Close up it was horrific.
Space Shuttle First Flights: Ten Pounds in a Five Pound Sack
The first version of the Shuttle flight software had two serious problems: it couldn’t fit in the computer, and it ran way too slow. IBM was two years into the contract and basically nothing worked. All hell broke loose.
Post Populares de Septiembre
A summary for our spanish speaking friends of our most popular items from September
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