Buddhist Monks Love NASA

Recently, I came across photographs of three Buddhist monks during our visit to Kennedy Space Center in Florida back in December, 2012.

Not only did I find the monks terribly photogenic (in a Holy sort-of way), but it reminded me of another three monks my wife and I saw during our visit this summer to Houston Space Center in Texas.

When the monks boarded the tour bus, they sat in the row ahead of us, and seemed terribly interested in all the buildings that make up the adjacent Johnson Space Center. It's a college-like campus where talented people work on all aspects of the United States space program.

The Texas heat got to all of us, so this gentleman can be excused for rubbing his eyes to ward off sleep while we waited to visit Historic Mission Control.

When the tour bus stopped at the rocket garden, one monk rushed ahead, eager to study the engines and other displays. 

Another lingered behind, attempting to capture the Redstone and the other rockets for posterity.

The third snuck his way into my photograph, standing beneath the nosecone of the Saturn V rocket set horizontally within a large aircraft hanger. My apologies if the photo seems a little blurry. He might have been a big guy, but he's puny in comparison to the mighty Saturn V.

I don't know if these two incidents are merely coincidences, or if Buddhist monks are naturally drawn to rockets and spaceships. But right now it seems as if our manned space program is just tippy-toeing ahead, and it'd be great to see it take large leaps instead. Perhaps Buddhist Monks should form a political action group (PAC) that could apply pressure to the President and Congress to speed up our manned space program. 

We all need others to get behind us, and support our efforts, if we wish to reach our highest goals.

Dragon Dave

The Astro Dalek

Rusty: Who are you? And for that matter, where am I?
Astro: I'm Astro Dalek, and I live in your dreams.
Rusty: I was dreaming of the Space Shuttle.
Astro: Yes, and you're disappointed that you'll never get to fly in one.
Rusty: It's not just that. America designed and tested so many different types of space planes. Then we failed to build on the shuttle program's strengths and go on to build more capable models. We'll never know what NASA could have achieved with space planes, had the United States continued to fund that area of research and development.

Astro: Perhaps, but there's still the International Space Station. If you study the right subjects, and get the right training, you might qualify as an astronaut. Then someday you could visit it in an Orion capsule.
Rusty: That would be cool, assuming Orion doesn't get cancelled like the Constellation program did.
Astro: If it does, there's always Russia's Soyuz capsules. Or maybe by that time, the American company SpaceX will have developed their Dragon capsule for Dalek use.
Rusty: I suppose it would be cool to travel into space in a spaceship named after Master's favorite mythological creature.

Astro: See, there's so many reasons to be optimistic. A great future of living and working in space awaits us, if we will all work hard to realize it. And who knows? The space shuttle serviced America's needs for more years than anyone would have anticipated. It proved the validity of the space plane concept. In fact, the Sierra Nevada Corporation is currently developing a space plane called the Dream Chaser.
Rusty: An appropriate name, given the realm in which we're having our conversation.
Astro: Indeed. And what better topic to discuss with another person, than that of our fondest dreams?

Rusty: I guess you're right. We may yet see another space plane era, perhaps even one that eclipses the greatest achievements of the shuttle era. Thanks for talking me around, if only in my dreams.
Astro: I'll be with you always, and with every Dalek who aspires to pursue our great destiny in space.

Rusty & Astro Daleks

Exploring The Space Shuttle

 Rusty: Look, there's the Space Shuttle!

I guess they're working on it. I hope they don't end up with any extra pieces!

From behind, it reminds me of an Imperial Star Destroyer. I wonder if Darth Vader ever rode in one. Maybe I'll sneak inside for a moment. 

These knobs and switches are cool. And all this to preserve the packaged chocolate pudding the astronauts will consume in space. I bet they wouldn't mind if I consumed one before I finished my exploration of the Space Shuttle. I mean, I'd only eat one…

Say, this cockpit is too cool. I can't imagine how the pilots know how to use so many instruments.

Artist: There you are! I was wondering where you had gotten to.
Rusty: Sorry. I guess time got away from me.
Artist: I know what you mean. This cockpit reminds me of the Millennium Falcon.
Rusty: Yeah, Han Solo and Chewbacca would totally dig it.
Artist: Hey, do you smell chocolate pudding?
Rusty: Umm…

Rusty & Artist Dalek

Scott Listfield and the Astronaut

A vision captured by Scott Listfield,
courtesy of the Dunedin Fine Art Center

Many artists eschew cultural and entertainment references in their work.  Scott Listfield welcomes them, knowing they make up who we are, both as individuals and as society.  He could easily stay at home, drawing inspiration from his beloved hometown of Boston, as well as the beautiful surrounding countryside.  Instead he travels the globe, constantly seeking out visions to inspire us.  Of special interest to him is any activity involving astronauts. 

Since the retirement of the space shuttle, America sends NASA astronauts to hitch rides on Russian rockets.  Recently, Scott Listfield traveled through the hinterlands of Russia, where he spotted this lone astronaut awaiting the arrival of the recovery team.  Using special chemicals to prevent his paint from hardening in the subzero temperatures, he faithfully captured the scene.

Scott Listfield confronts the dreams of the past with the reality of the present.  His astronauts study our world, comparing mankind’s greatest aspirations with what we love and enjoy.  While our world is filled with wonders unimagined by those who lived even a generation ago, he confronts us with the artifice of convenience and variety.  His paintings ask: should we sacrifice to achieve our greater—and as yet, unfulfilled—dreams and goals, with no certainty of success, when ease and comfort lie so readily at hand?

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Scott Listfield’s website

NASA’s profile on Scott Listfield

The Dunedin Fine Art Center

The Space Shuttle Escape System Test Vehicle

No signs accompanied this curiosity at the Joe Davies’ Heritage Park in Palmdale.  Lacking evidence to the contrary, I assumed it was a mockup to assist engineers during the design phase, or used by the astronauts during preflight simulations.  When I did a little Internet-investigation, I discovered I was wrong on both counts. 

During the Space Shuttle's design phase, NASA conducted numerous safety tests.  In 1977, four years before the first shuttle flight, this test vehicle was bolted onto a rocket sled.  According to Robert Pearlman at Collectspace.com, “The test worked fine with the overhead hatch blowing off and the ejection seat with a dummy shot out and the chute opened.  Then you could see the hatch fly down and slice the dummy in half.  OOPS!”

This, and more great photos, can be found at
Robert Pearlman's forum.

Test crash dummies lead incredibly dangerous lives, do they not?

Due to the way it blasted into and returned from space, NASA chose not to incorporate an escape capsule into the Space Shuttle’s design.  They installed ejections seats on Columbia’s first four flights, though.  And what kind of ejection seats did they use, you ask?  As far as I can ascertain, the ejection seats used for the crash tests, and those they later installed in the Columbia, were modified versions of those in the SR-71 Blackbirds.

Just another way that those beautiful reconnaissance planes served our country.

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Robert Pearlman’s Forum

The Blackbirds of Palmdale

The SR-71 Blackbird, unofficially known as
The World's Most Beautiful Airplane.

I traveled to Edwards Air Force Base because I wanted to see examples of the X-series rocket planes that, had our national leaders decided otherwise, might have led to the development of America’s first space planes.  I also wanted to see some of the heavy lifting bodies, such as the HL-10, that NASA experimented with before they built the space shuttle.  Yet the plane that impressed me most was the SR-71 Blackbird.

The SR in the designation stands for Strategic Reconnaissance, and as the Blackbird was a Black project, a pall of secrecy still surrounds the plane.  I spotted one parked outside the base museum, and its sheer size and shape took my breath away.  I wanted to know more about it.  Unlike the other planes and helicopters, no signage accompanied the SR-71.  When I purchased the toy in the museum, the clerk said, “They’re amazing aircraft, aren’t they?”  With a hushed voice, she also told me that her father had worked on their development. 

After our lunch at the cafeteria adjacent to the NASA Dryden Visitor center, we walked around several more planes, including another of these long, sleek planes.  When the bus arrived, we lined up, and as we climbed aboard, I asked Don, our fact-filled tour guide, what the plane was.  “Oh, that’s a SR-71 Blackbird,” he said off-hand, and seemed inclined to say nothing more.  “It looks bigger than the one outside the museum,” I pursued.  “Oh, maybe it’s the A-model trainer,” he responded.  As others were boarding, I didn’t want to halt those behind me.  I just hoped he’d say something more about them.  He never did.

Try as I might, I couldn't capture the entire side of the plane
with my camera.

I’ve always thought of fighter jets as the most sleek and beautiful of aircraft.  Yet seeing the SR-71 was akin to a person who grows up thinking of the Chevy Camero or the Ford Mustang as the ultimate sports car, and suddenly encounters a Ferrari or Lamborghini.  

Given their sheer size, at first I thought the Blackbirds carried a whole team of people inside monitoring specialized equipment.  Yet the planes just carried a pilot, and even the cockit was cramped.  The speeds at which they shot through the air (in excess of Mach 3, or 2000 miles per hour), the engines that propelled them that fast, and the amount of fuel they needed to stay aloft dictated the size and shape of the plane.

One of the Bypass Turbo (or Turbo-ramjet) engines.
(Despite its size, the SR-71 didn't even carry a starter motor).

This J58 Starter Motor needed two
Chevy 454 cubic inch engines to power it!

After glimpsing these amazing planes at Edwards Air Force Base, we extended our stay in the area to visit the Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale.  I spoke with a former pilot, and a wiring specialist who worked on both the SR-71 and the space shuttle.  According to the wiring specialist, the cockpit and control panels were more compact than those in the space shuttle!

So much plane, so little cockpit.

I’d like to return to Blackbird Airpark after I’ve learned a little more about them, and can conduct an intelligent conversation with the volunteers.  But even if I never learn anything more about these magnificent planes, I’d just like to see them again. 

Did I mention that I thought they were beautiful?

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

Our Visit to Edwards Air Force Base: Part 1

Related Internet Links

Blackbird Airpark