The dark shapes are pine trees. The moving light is the security light at my uphill neighbor's home. The bright light is Discovery space shuttle, heading up to meet the International Space Station. It is moving from right to left, and in a moment or two will burn off a stage, and take off - just a white light streaking into orbit. We can follow it for about 10 minutes with naked eye.
After almost two decades in Florida, I still thrill to see launches from the Cape.
My friend Zoran, a patriotic man who loves the United States as only one born somewhere else can, added the message below to his Facebook page. I share it here with his permission.
Lest We Forget....
So easy these days to be disappointed with the state and direction of our nation...
We seem to not be able to find our bearings... We feel like the greatness of the USA is a thing of the past, while so much of what makes this country great is being taken apart...
Still, glimmers appear here and there, reminding us that while there is a lot to be cleaned up; still, this is the USA that the founders held as worth sacrificing for...
I go out or my way when I see those glimmers, to catch them, understand them, and share them to the best of my ability. They are an encouragement and a reminder that a light shines brightest in the darkest of times.
It may not interest most of you, maybe not even one... Still, I saw glimmer, so here it is...
On January 19th 2006, a launch took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It carried on board a complex 1000 pound spacecraft destined for the far reaches of our solar system. The name of the spacecraft, and the mission, is New Horizons.
At this same Space Center, in 1969, the Apollo astronauts departed on their journey ultimately reaching the Moon's surface... It took them four days to cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon...
The New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft launched by NASA... With top speeds of 50,000 miles per hour, it reached the Moon in only nine hours.
Still, glimmers appear here and there, reminding us that while there is a lot to be cleaned up; still, this is the USA that the founders held as worth sacrificing for...
I go out or my way when I see those glimmers, to catch them, understand them, and share them to the best of my ability. They are an encouragement and a reminder that a light shines brightest in the darkest of times.
It may not interest most of you, maybe not even one... Still, I saw glimmer, so here it is...
On January 19th 2006, a launch took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It carried on board a complex 1000 pound spacecraft destined for the far reaches of our solar system. The name of the spacecraft, and the mission, is New Horizons.
At this same Space Center, in 1969, the Apollo astronauts departed on their journey ultimately reaching the Moon's surface... It took them four days to cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon...
The New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft launched by NASA... With top speeds of 50,000 miles per hour, it reached the Moon in only nine hours.
In 1989 NASA launched its Galileo mission which reached Jupiter in 6 years as its final mission destination.
The New Horizons craft reached Jupiter in just 13 months, used Jupiter's gravity as a slingshot, for a speed boost, and continued on its way to Pluto.
The New Horizons uses no engines to propel itself on its journey to Pluto. It uses the boost from the launch vehicle, combined with a slingshot effect given by Jupiter. A few small engines are used to make minor course adjustments which are only occasionally fired.
The craft only communicates with NASA's control center twice a year, to report any malfunctions, send images and data taken on its journey and receive new commands.
For the remainder rest of the time it uses cameras to navigate itself using position of the Sun and stars as navigational points.
When it reaches Pluto, in 2015, it would have traveled 3,000,000,000 (Billion) miles on less energy that two 100W incandescent light bulbs use in the same time period.
Once near Pluto, in order to accomplish its mission, it will have to stay within a 190 mile wide path, so that it will have optimal position for its measurements and photography.
All of the images and information New Horizons gathers 3 Billion miles away from us will be available to the NASA scientists within 4 hours of it being recorded near Pluto. The best pictures of Pluto will depict surface features about 328 feet across, or the size of a football field.
If you are not in the least bit amazed, this note again... the entirety of the mission was accomplished for $2.30 per US citizen.
Why is the New Horizon a glimmer?
We are constantly told of how many things are just not working in the US: the deficit, health care, illegal immigration, the tax system, education, defense, the list goes on...
We are being told other countries have figured those problems out and we just have to be like them and everything will be fine...
I say no! I say a country whose 300 Million citizens prosper to an average income of $40,000, is the ONLY country whose citizens will reach the Moon in nine hours for $2.30 per person. Try that on an annual income of $500.
The New Horizon is one of those glimmers that seem so rare nowadays. A reminder of how much we are still destined to achieve...
A reminder that the US is the one to achieve it.
Z
The New Horizons craft reached Jupiter in just 13 months, used Jupiter's gravity as a slingshot, for a speed boost, and continued on its way to Pluto.
The New Horizons uses no engines to propel itself on its journey to Pluto. It uses the boost from the launch vehicle, combined with a slingshot effect given by Jupiter. A few small engines are used to make minor course adjustments which are only occasionally fired.
The craft only communicates with NASA's control center twice a year, to report any malfunctions, send images and data taken on its journey and receive new commands.
For the remainder rest of the time it uses cameras to navigate itself using position of the Sun and stars as navigational points.
When it reaches Pluto, in 2015, it would have traveled 3,000,000,000 (Billion) miles on less energy that two 100W incandescent light bulbs use in the same time period.
Once near Pluto, in order to accomplish its mission, it will have to stay within a 190 mile wide path, so that it will have optimal position for its measurements and photography.
All of the images and information New Horizons gathers 3 Billion miles away from us will be available to the NASA scientists within 4 hours of it being recorded near Pluto. The best pictures of Pluto will depict surface features about 328 feet across, or the size of a football field.
If you are not in the least bit amazed, this note again... the entirety of the mission was accomplished for $2.30 per US citizen.
Why is the New Horizon a glimmer?
We are constantly told of how many things are just not working in the US: the deficit, health care, illegal immigration, the tax system, education, defense, the list goes on...
We are being told other countries have figured those problems out and we just have to be like them and everything will be fine...
I say no! I say a country whose 300 Million citizens prosper to an average income of $40,000, is the ONLY country whose citizens will reach the Moon in nine hours for $2.30 per person. Try that on an annual income of $500.
The New Horizon is one of those glimmers that seem so rare nowadays. A reminder of how much we are still destined to achieve...
A reminder that the US is the one to achieve it.
Z
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