Vacation

Giving my brain a break, resting my mouse hand and enjoying all the charms of Finland and Estonia. Yes, another jaunt abroad... and it's been far too long!

I’m so excited about my first vacation to Scandinavia! Seeking out science museums and planetariums, naturally... but also intrigued at all the new foods.

Normal activities will resume early next month, though I’m shutting down comments on any blog posts older than 30 days while I’m away (due to recent spam issues).

See ya in March! :)

Fry's Space Shuttle

Yet another tourist attraction hiding in a retail store, of all places! On my quest to see all the space-themed Fry's Electronics warehouses, I guess I just have Space-Shuttle-On-The-Brain right now.

The real shuttles and shuttle simulators will be heading to museums this year, but one handy mock-up has been on display for quite awhile now, and is easy to see… usually with no line!

Shuttle Flight Deck

In 2010, I featured the Fry's Space Station store near Johnson Space Center in Houston, which has full-sized models of the ISS modules; then in 2011 I visited Fry's Space Ship in Burbank, where the local store displays 1950s science fiction movies... mostly space ships, as constructed on a huge scale both inside and out.

I'll go to any Fry's branch and blow a few hours at a time looking at gadgets and hardware, but of course, I think the space stores are the most fun. This one also has various astronaut tributes, and a space-themed "Café Canaveral" where you can get a typically unhealthy American meal. Pass. I'll be in the DVD section for a few weeks, instead.

Playing inside the cockpit

As ever, I'm not promoting or endorsing anything in particular in Fry's Electronics, but I am glad to see them honoring space artifacts and themes; it is fun to see a store chain have a good time in the pop-culture or scientific landscape!

Perhaps someday I'll visit one of the other 30-some-odd sites with international, cartoon or even under-water themes… but I sure wish they would do up one whole store as planet Mars!

I wonder what this button does?

It was my great pleasure to visit this particular outlet with NASA mascot Camilla SDO, dressed for action in her spiffy flight suit! We particularly enjoyed the mission clock details, surrounding shuttle launch films, and the autographed picture of Neil Armstrong.

Click to see the entire gallery over in my collection of Picasa albums!

Shuttle Scuttle Simulator Hustle

Much ado about Shuttles was the retirement theme song last year when NASA announced the new homes for Enterprise, Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis after they are made safe for public consumption. However, less attention was given to the many Shuttle Simulators.

Me with FFT in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility, Feb 2010

While they haven't "flown" in space, they were integral to the success of the entire Shuttle program and may be even more exciting museum show pieces, since people will be able to ENTER and TOUCH them. Real shuttles? Not so much.

And so begins the "Full Fuselage Trainer Retirement Processing". Johnson Space Center's FFT is a full-sized (120-foot long) plywood replica that every Shuttle astronaut utilized in the past 32 years, serving all 135 missions.

Tim atop the 20-ton crane, looking over the FFT, Jan 2010

This huge Space Shuttle Simulator was manufactured by the Technical Services Division in 1979, and features a full-size payload bay with video system, full communication system, breathing air system, and external airlock with cooling water loops for EMU suits.

In November 2011, the FFT was separated into three sections: crew compartment and nose, payload bay, and aft section and tail. Then in January, a ceremony was held to transfer ownership to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, who eagerly await their new prize.

Now pulling apart the FFT in pieces

The cargo bay is being further cut into 30-foot sections and the payload doors will be detached prior to trucking to Houston's Ellington Field – and getting all the pieces there will require removing and lowering street signs and traffic signals to clear the shuttle mockup's height!
Later this spring, it will require up to six flights of NASA's Airbus cargo aircraft, the Super Guppy, to get all the pieces to Washington State.

It's just so strange to think of it NOT being in JSC Building 9 anymore! Also difficult to think of the SVMF having a large, empty space… even just temporarily.

Lifting out the FFT tail

All pieces will be re-assembled inside the new Charles Simonyi Space Gallery. Due to open in June 2012, their interactive "Spaceflight Academy" exhibit will tell the story of how shuttle astronauts trained for missions and how the entire Shuttle program helped prepare our species to explore farther into our solar system by teaching us to live and work in space.

Very special thanks to JSC veterans Mike Allyn (ISS Command & Data Handling) and Tim Reynolds (SVMF Operations Control) for taking and/or being in some of the great photos in today's post! To see Mike's NASA collection, go to his Flickr Photostream. To see my galleries of the SVMF, go to my Picasa Galleries!

Angry Birds In Outer Space!

I fought Angry Birds. I fought hard. But no more... they finally found a way to addict me to a bandwagon I hitherto rejected.

That's right, we shall now be treated to ANGRY BIRDS IN OUTER SPACE!

One small fling for a bird,
one quantum leap for birdkind.

I'm imagining all sorts of interesting possibilities now. Angry Birds terra-forming planet Mars and flinging themselves all around Mons Olympus?

Even better: Angry Birds squawking soundlessly in Low Earth Orbit, crashing through dead satellite hardware for points?

No wait wait wait... Angry Birds being catapulted around a Moon Base, and the little piggies all have Newt Gingrich's face?!

The official game teaser shows only two obvious celestial bodies and a Wile E. Coyote-worthy slingshot, though one may scroll down for a further lack-of-any-real-detail.

Ornithologists Beware

Rovio, the Finnish company behind the oddly, wildly popular game, isn't talking. All they've said so far is they expect the new game to be released in March, and then boasted about their 500 million downloads and 20,000 Angry Bird products.

Not sure how I missed that, but upon checking the Angry Birds online store, I'm tempted to think they're exaggerating slightly. Up until now, being benignly childless, I had only ever seen one product...


...And that would be the single Angry Red Bird who traveled aboard Soyuz TMA-22. No way! WAY.

Selected as a "zero gravity indicator" by cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov's 5-year-old daughter, Kira, red bird's weightless trip marked the last flight of the TMA-class spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Mark your calendars for Angry Birds In Space: MARCH 22nd, we'll be seeing many more birds in the black!