Makes sense to me

I know i've been away from here for a while. No real reason for the distance.

Here are a few items you might find entertaining.

Missile Guidance 101

and

Brain Surgery vs Rocket Science

And yes, i represent this...

10 Years

The International Space Station has been the home to a permanent human presence for 10 years now. In fact, it has just surpassed the old record of the Russian Mir space station. I am proud to say that I've been with the space program for better than 10 years now. There have been headaches, long nights, countless hours of work that seemingly goes unnoticed...but there have been moments of awe, satisfaction, and sheer enjoyment. We work hard. We are making progress. You haven't seen the fruits of our labor yet. But one day you will. We are not done yet...

I have made many friends along this 10+ year journey. I have friends in Japan and Russia. Never would I have imagined that I would get to do the work that I do and meet the people that I have met. I am truly lucky to have had these experiences. I am saddened by those that are no longer with us on this journey...those that have gone before us and those that departed not on their own accord. But remember, that those people had a role in getting us to where we are now. Be proud of that fact.

Ten years. We are not done yet...

Hodgepodge

Yes, go ahead and berate me for not posting. I deserve it. Truth be known, i grew tired of blogging. I find that facebook is a better outlet for my different moods and, frankly, didn't involve so much time to prepare.

So, now, i give you a hodgepodge of topics to read about...in no particular order.

Finding Reason...I'm sure, by now, you have realized that you haven't seen much from me with regards to Finding Reason (either here or on Facebook). Well, the reason for that is that I am no longer a member of Finding Reason. I was replaced by someone with more talent than myself. Yes. It's true. The band that I help start released me of my duties at the beginning of June. Yes, it sucks. And yes it hurt. I miss playing with those guys. There were no creative conflicts or personality issues. I just wasn't playing to the level that would take the band to the next level. It was a business decision. I have no hard feelings towards those guys, although i do wish things were different. Will I make a return to the music scene? Unlikely. However, i do hope to find some time to take some lessons to help me get better.

Sticking with the music theme, i recently saw a sold-out Lady Gaga show. It's been quite a while since i've been to a mainstream live music act. Normally, i would do a complete show review, but since it's been a while, i wouldn't be able to do it justice. I will say that I'm glad i did get to see the show. I called it a popera. pop + opera = popera. Essentially, Lady Gaga told a story and incorporated her music into the production. The stage setup changed with the different scenes. And of course, Lady Gaga herself had many wardrobe changes. And yes, her outfits were just bizarre. If you'd like to see her show, too bad...the next Houston performance is already sold out for April 2011. Lady Gaga was just a little too preachy for me, but it was an entertaining show...i think that was my first pop show.

Shifting gears...In July, i celebrated my 10th year in the manned space flight business. It's hard to believe that. I have seen and done a lot in that amount of time. I've gained so many friends here and on two different continents (Europe and Asia). Coming out of college...or heck, even high school, i never would have imagined that i would travel to Moscow, Russia (5 times) or to Tsukuba, Japan...or accumulate over 3500 hours of console time flying the International Space Station. The space station contract has been extended to at least 2020. Will i spend another 10 years in the human space flight business? Only time will tell...but i hope to be engaged in that for a while. It has been challenging of late (mostly due to management), but I aim to stay put for a little while longer.

Speaking of Moscow and Japan, I was in Moscow in April and then Japan in June. Both were for work. That was my 5th trip to Moscow and my first to Japan. Interestingly enough, these two countries are 180 degree apart in almost every way. It was great to experience both and to make new friends. This is one of my most favorite parts of my job. The flight to Japan was much more pleasant than the flight to Moscow...even though it was 2 hours longer. I tried sushi for the first time ever...and it is not for me. Maybe future blogs will contain pictures...

Well, i don't want to overload you on this first post in over 3 months. I will end it here. I have more items to share with you, so i will be back...

Pictures & More

Here are a few pictures from the STS130/20A mission. All pictures are courtesy of NASA.



As the crew was getting ready for their farewells, they took a moment and delivered this message:

It's Done

More than a year's worth of work is just about complete. Yesterday was my last shift of my second lead flight (STS130/20A). It was a bittersweet moment. Mated missions are a physical and mental drain. So, we were all looking forward to the end of our support. The end of this mission also means that was the end of my front room support for the shuttle program. So, while I was ready for this mission to end, I wasn't ready for it to be over.
Being a lead for a mated mission is probably the most rewarding thing that a flight controller will ever do in their flight controller career. It's amazing to spend a year or more planning, working the intricate details that many will never see, replanning, going to endless numbers of meetings, replanning, participating in simulations, and then finally watching it all unfold as you planned, er, replanned it. The smiles always seem to be more frequent at the end of it all, especially when things go smoothly.
Although, things won't go smoothly without a great team to support you. I had the pleasure to work with a superb team. They did an incredible job to keep the mission going. I know there were times when there wasn't much to do or they were tired of planning, but they kept on going. Awesome! So, many thanks to Moose, Nik, Melissa W.,Erin R., Cory, Melissa G., Kevin, Greg, and all folks in the GNC MER, especially Ford. And thanks to Ed and Chris for getting us ready for the tasks at hand.
I won't call this a successful mission until Endeavour and her crew are at "wheel stop". I have several pictures that i will share with you, but i forgot to get them before i left console. I'll post them early next week. I also have something to share with you that was a surprise to me on our last shift.
Stay tuned...

Nine Going on Ten

Yesterday was my 9th anniversary working in the space business. It's hard to believe that it's been that long. I've seen quite a bit during my time here...and I've learned a lot too. I've made a lot of friends (here and 5000 miles away in Russia). Those friends are probably the dearest to me. I've been privileged to participate in many historic events here. Each day is another historic milestone. I've been privileged to actually lead some of those historic milestones. Not too shabby.

The job in itself is still interesting and challenging. It is still fun...to a certain degree. I will admit that things have been a bit more challenging (that's my PCness there) over the last year or two.

But I must remember that i am one of a select few that can do the job that i do...and that makes it even more intriguing. And that is probably what keeps me going...

I wonder what the next nine will bring??

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Ok...here's a fun one for you.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

I know you are wondering how the heck i stumbled across this word? Well, it started out in a very long meeting at work. Several of my co-workers noticed the lady across the table was wearing some sort of clown broach. It was a little disturbing. And we somehow got on the topic of phobias...fear of clowns (Coulrophobia, by the way). Well, Melissa G. went searching for a phobia list...and this is what we found:

www.phobialist.com

I can't vouch for the accuracy of some of these fears...cause some sound completely made up.

So, what is your fear?

Four of Seven

I received my last flight assignments today. Of the seven remaining shuttle flights to the ISS, i will be taking part in 4 of those. Here are the remaining flights and my participation in those:

1) 2J/A -- off
2) 17A -- off
3) ULF3 -- supporting from Moscow (November-ish)
4) 20A -- my next lead flight (February '10)
5) 19A -- supporting as Team 4 (Team 4 attends meetings and is used as an additional body during the flight) (March '10?)
6) ULF4 -- off
7) ULF5 -- backroom support (May/June '10?)

It's quite surreal to think of the end of the shuttle program. It'll be somewhat somber and perhaps a little bittersweet to see the end of the program. It will be an honor to finish out the program.

But the good news is that the ISS will continue to fly even after the end of next year. We will just move on to the next program...eventually.

My Part Is Done

I am waking up from a short 3 hour nap. What a nap in the middle of the morning, you say? For the past 10 days or so i've been working the dreaded overnight hours for the current mission to the ISS. So, the nap was necessary in making an effort to get back to normal sleeping hours. I am very groggy right now.

Here are a few pictures from this mission.







Don't let the "thumbs up" fool you. It was a hard mission!
I know am ready to rest...

My shuttle brethren still have a few days left as Discovery isn't due to land until Saturday.

"Foot Soldiers of Space"

Today at work, my division got the opportunity to hear the one and only Mr. Gene Kranz speak on "Failure is Not an Option". The man is an excellent speaker and his passion for manned space flight is still very prevalent in his speech. Mr. Kranz took us through his career including the now famous Apollo 13 experience. Pretty nifty stuff.

This is not the first time i've seen Gene give a speech in person. Several years ago, my company invited him to some talk at one of our awards banquets. Mr. Kranz and I arrived at the same time and i was able to chat with him for the short walk to the function. And as a surprise we received autographed copies of his new book, "Failure Is Not an Option".

Anyway...back to the title of the post. In the question and answer session following the speech today, one young flight controller asked how would you educate the public about the importance of NASA? The question was actually worded differently, but you get the idea. Mr. Kranz responded that it starts with the "foot soldiers of space"...those that are passionate about space...those that work in the space business...go out and talk to the community and spread the passion. From there it will perpetuate to the masses.

It's no secret that i'm passionate about the job i do...and i'll talk to you about it for hours if you let me.

I'm a foot soldier of space...are you?

Name that Node!!

Here's your chance to pick a name for NASA's last US module to be added to the International Space Station. This so happens to be the cargo on my next lead flight. 20A/STS-130 is my next lead flight and is scheduled to fly in Feb. of 2010.

Have fun with it.

Node 3 and Cupola.

Passion and Pee Water

Oh, i know you are intrigued with the title of this post!

I've added a few new blog links to the page. A couple of my friends have joined the blogosphere.

But the one blog i wanted to point out is Wayne Hale's NASA Blog. I can't really say that Wayne is a friend of mine for i have never met him. I've been in meetings with him though...does that count? no...i suppose not.

Wayne has a wonderful way of expressing his passion for space exploration. And his words are unmatched by others. Those that are truly passionate about space exploration will definitely be excited about his words. Take some time...read the blog...and get a sense of the passion Wayne has. It is a passion that i share.

Now on to the pee water. As you may have heard in the news lately, the ISS just received a new water recycling system. This new system is takes urine and converts it to drinkable water. This system is will eventually be used in long duration space flights to the moon and mars. Water is a valuable commodity and not easily transported to the station or other spacecraft. So, everything needs to be recycled. And yes, this includes pee.

Yesterday i sampled some water that was once pee. This sample came from the system being used on orbit during its testing phase on the ground. The water wasn't quite bottled water quality. It did have a slight iodine taste to it...but not enough to make the water undrinkable. In fact, i've had tap water that has tasted worse. So, the system seems to work pretty well. Now if we could keep this system working on orbit. Right now it seems to be working. Test samples will be returned on earth for testing before we'll give the go astronauts the go to start consuming that water.

Passion and Pee...

Happy Birthday ISS

Today marks the 10th birthday for the ISS.
The first module was launched on this date back in 1998.

There is a cool animation here: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2008-11-19-issassembly_N.htm

I joined the space business in July 2000. So, i've seen quite a bit in my time. I'm proud to have been involved this historical engineering feat. And it keeps getting larger and more complex. And with all the new science coming on board hopefully the research done on ISS will yield some ground breaking cures for earth's tragic diseases...

Happy Birthday ISS.

"Small" Party

Last night, Mike & Molly hosted a farewell party for the Russians. With the work completed, it was time to get together and be merry.

Enjoy the pics...

ADCO/TOPO/Russian Party

Last night Cory (ADCO) and Erin (TOPO) hosted a party for the Russians. The neat thing about this party was that our (ADCO) Russian counterparts are in town for a two weeks worth of meetings. And the TOPOs Russian counterparts are also in town. So, it was decided to have a party. A good time was had by all!

Barrier No More

I finally knocked down that 4 mile barrier. Today's run took me a new personal best...4.17 miles. I guess a new barrier has been built. I'm sure i'll knock that one down too. But I don't see me knocking down too many barriers in the running world.

On another note...There is something so wrong about having 33 hours (of a 40 hour work week) on Monday. I am completely exhausted. A few more days of work to go though...i'm not quite done for the week.

Astronaut...for an hour.

This week at work, I finally got to play the role of an astronaut. I finally got my ride in the motion based shuttle simulator. The motion based simulator is used to simulate ascent and entry for the crew.

Once strapped in to the the 5-point harness, we were maneuvered into the launch position. The simulator has 6 degrees of freedom and can pitch to the vertical position. So, there we are, on our backs watching the clock slowly click away to zero. Around 6 seconds remaining, the main engines light up to full power and off the pad we jump when the SRBs light up at zero time. There is some vibration as we ascend. And then there is the "noise" of the SRBs. Around the 2 minute mark, the SRBs burnout and are jettisoned...the vibration stops...the "noise" stops. And we are still climbing uphill.

However, in this simulation, we'll never make it to orbit. A system problem forces us back to the cape. The computer maneuvers us to an attitude such that we are burning off the fuel and no longer gaining altitude. This attitude also stops our easterly trajectory and brings us back to the west. We gain velocity towards the west and then dump the ET when it's out of propellant.

Now we become the flying brick. A heavy glider. We come in for the approach and land on the runway and come to a stop on the centerline.

Unfortunately, that was the end of our motion based ride. But the fun was not over. We, the students, got a chance to land the orbiter from 50,000 feet. Well...that was a fun hour.

The reports from the real astronauts are that the ascent portion of the motion based simulator is fairly accurate. There is a bit more vibration and a bit more noise on the real ascent, but the general feeling is the same.

My landing wasn't too bad. I was 4 feet off of centerline and about 130 feet down from the target touchdown point. My approach speed was about 6kts faster than ideal and my sink rate was about 3 ft/sec higher than ideal. Other than that, i was able to bring her to a stop on the centerline.

Here are a few pictures of me in the pilot's seat.

8 Years

I just recently passed my 8th year anniversary in the space business. It's quite unbelievable that i've been here this long. I've seen a lot in those 8 years: Good times, bad times, history making events... I've traveled a bit (California, New Jersey -twice, Moscow-3 times). I've been a flight lead and an increment lead. I've met some great people...

I have an incredible job...sometimes i forget that.

Here's to 8 years...

Horelica House of Music Edition 23

Ok...i know i promised you a post about the new girl, her name, and driving impressions. It'll be here soon. I'm actually waiting on the registration sticker to come in so that i can put the license plates on her. I will reveal her name to you when she gets her plates. That should be soon...as my paper plates expire on saturday. If i don't have the sticker in by tomorrow, i'll have to make a trip to the infiniti dealer to get my paper plates extended.

In the mean time...

Here is the latest edition of the Horelica House of Music.
I know you missed it.



A friend of mine produced this little piece. You can read more about it here.

And to keep in spirit with the seemingly religious theme here is...



I know, Godsmack isn't religious at all...but it seem to fit. Ben always says he wish he could find a vocalist like Sully for the Finding Reason sound. Somehow, i don't think Sully is going to leave Godsmack for Finding Reason. hehe.

I've been extremely busy as of late. Off playing football or getting awards or celebrating the end of a mission. Tonight was the first night that i actually spent at home. This was also my first time in the studio in quite some time. I'm happy to report that i haven't atrophied everything. In fact, i think i did a little better tonight than my last session in here. I think May is going to be the month. I hope May will be the month! Stay tuned...

Caution

Why does it seem to happen that when i work a single shift throughout the week, that something goes wrong...on that single shift? It happened to me tonight. Nearing the end of my shift several cautions went up on the screen. Those cautions were related to my system. Wait. That wasn't supposed to happen. Uh-oh. Those cautions just woke up the crew. Imagine being in a deep sleep...when the phone rings. Don't you hate that? I'm sure the crew didn't appreciate that wake up call.

The failure that occurred tonight wasn't a difficult one to handle. There wasn't anything i could do from my seat. The Russians were able to fix the problem and restore the peace and quiet to the ISS and control rooms. But with nearly 13 hours in the books today, i'm ready to get some sleep.

Goodnight...