Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Secret Spaceplane, Sun-Powered Spaceships, and Bill Nye the Science Guy Inspiration


Atlas V AFSPC-5 Launch - May 20, 2015

Late spring mornings make for great launch days! I was up at the Cape to witness the ULA Atlas V launch of the AFSPC-5 mission, also known as the Air Force's secretive Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle spaceplane. It was flawless.

I'll admit a weakness of mine: I have no sense of direction. I was staring at the wrong pad when this bird took off. By the time I realized it, the rocket was too high in the sky to get the pretty landscape shot I wanted. Next time! I do love rocket trails, though.

Late spring mornings are also lovely times to sunbath in the water. Some tourists speaking a foreign language pointed this big alligator out as I drove along the NASA Causeway and I couldn't resist pulling over for a look. I must admit, peeking out to watch the launch from the water sounds wonderfully refreshing.

Can you spot the gator eyes?
This rocket also carried the Planetary Society's LightSail spacecraft. When I was working at Marshall Space Flight Center, I had the pleasure of knowing a NASA scientist working on solar sail technology and touring his lab. Light is make up of photons, and these energetic photons can exert pressure known as radiation pressure. Photons from our Sun, for example, can push a spacecraft similar to how wind pushes a boat's sails, hence the name solar sail.

Future LightSail mssions will test this propulsion method. Today's launched LightSail spacecraft will test the satellite systems in preparation for the real thing, hopefully in a year. I had the pleasure of meeting the Chief Operating Officer of of the Planetary Society on Sunday who is in town for the launch. I wish the Planetary Society all the best!

The Planetary Society's more public face, Bill Nye, is in town as well, though I didn't catch him this trip. I've met him twice or thrice before, most recently at a Planetary Society gathering for the MAVEN launch to Mars in 2013. Admittedly I've never seen an episode of The Science Guy and had never even heard of the show until a few years ago, so I see Bill Nye as educator rather than a celebrity, but it's still neat to see how he inspires others.

In November 2013, Bill Nye gave a talk at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex before we Planetary Society visitors and guests gathered on buses for a Cape tour and up-close look at MAVEN's Atlas V. He had quite a crowd gathered around him at all times, people of all ages! That same evening I gave a public science talk at the Planetary Society's Science Cafe event following Bill Nye's impromptu remarks, and he's a hard act to follow! It's a beautiful thing when science celebrities can inspire the public. I may not know his TV personality, but I admire his dedication to science education and advocacy. 

MAVEN / Atlas V on the launch pad - Nov. 17, 2013

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