I am sorry for the long delay in posting to RV-103. Gypsy and I have been busy enjoying the State of NY and I now finally have some time to sit down and write.
We have been doing some hiking in two local state parks, Letchworth and Stony Brook. I’ve written about Letchworth before when RV-103 was on her first mission, but this is the first time we ever did any hiking there.
Letchworth is known as the “Grand Canyon of the East” and earns that title. We took a seven-mile hike down the gorge and viewed two of their three large falls up close. We then looped around through the woods and back to where we started. While we were in the woods, we saw a fox, deer, and I even got a picture of a coyote! The wildlife is quite abundant here and the scenery is beautiful. We plan on returning soon to do some more hiking and exploring in the near future. Below are some pictures I took during our last visit there.
Do you see the train crossing over the first falls?
View from above the first falls
Genesee River
Second falls
Another view of the second falls
See the stone bridge?
"Two paths diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost
The coyote didn't like his picture taken...
...but the deer didn't mind.
Time to take a break!
Stony Brook State Park is hidden away just outside of Dansville NY. Driving by the park entrance and over the little brook would never give you a clue as to how steep and deep the actual gorge is. During the late 1800’s, this place was a private resort and many people would travel to this place for privacy and relaxation. There are two trails, the Eastern Rim and the Western Rim. Each trail is only about 1 mile long, but very steep in places. As you climb up one of the rim trails (I recommend ascending the Eastern Rim and descending the Western Rim) you can overlook the gorge in various places. It surprising how quickly you rise in elevation. Thankfully there are steps in place at the most difficult places thanks to the Civilian Conservation Corps from the 1930’s.
As you descend the Western Rim, you can choose the trail that follows Stony Brook and wade in the water for refreshment, or you can take the upper Western Rim Trail to overlook the gorge again. We have done both and found each route has its particular beauty. Though it is only a two-mile hike, the steepness of the climb and descent will make it feel much longer. Stony Brook has three falls in the gorge, with the biggest being over 45 feet high.
Next up: RV-103 travels to the 18th and 19th centurys for some wine.
RV-103 is proud to announce the RV-103 Lecture Series. The RV-103 Lecture Series is designed to present to civic groups, schools 5th grade and up, and scout troops what it is like to be involved and work in Human Space Flight, specifically the Space Shuttle Program.
The first series of Lectures is titled:
What’s It Like to Work on the Space Shuttle-The Misadventures of a Space Cadet.
Any interested schools or civic groups that may be interested can contact Rocketman at Rocketman@RV-103.com for rates and availability.
Currently, RV-103 and her crew are conducting a mission in the Western New York Twin Tiers Region, but may be coming to your area soon.
I was going to do some RV type posts today, but then this story came up on Fox News that just blows my mind. It is said, ”Reality is stranger than fiction,” and stories like this prove that cliche’ so true.
It seems that NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden thinks not only we should forgo true exploration and the Moon and instead get “religion”, and not just any old religion, but a full partnership with the Muslim world. Give me a break!
Charlie Bolden on Al Jazeera Television
“When I became the NASA administrator — or before I became the NASA administrator — he (Obama) charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science … and math and engineering,”
Credit: IBDEditorials.com/cartoons
(If you notice he said he was asked to do this before he became NASA administrator. So now we know that was part of the interview process for getting the job. Now we know why there were a ton of names mentioned before anyone got the job! None of them wanted the job under those terms!!!! – sb023 comment on NasaWatch.com)
(Why worry about getting moon or Mars? After 2 more shuttle flights we will not be able to go anywhere, for maybe dozens of years. Has anyone noticed that none of the 3 things Bolden has been charged to do involves actually launching things or flying in space? Is it too much to ask that NASA be charged with space exploration. Why is making Muslim nations feel good about themselves, NASA’s mission? Shouldn’t that be up to the Muslim nation. Obama is US president and NASA is US agency, shouldn’t they do something to make thier own citizens feel good? – Mungo comment on NasaWatch.com)
It is true that Middle Eastern Nations contributed in the distant past significantly, especially to astronomy and mathematics, prior to the establishment of the Muslim religion, but they have done nothing to improve science or math since then.
I am beginning to seriously wonder if this man was ever fit to command a Space Shuttle in the past, let alone administer America’s Human Space Flight Program. I have never in my life seen a man sell his soul and integrity so completely as Charlie Bolden has done to Obama. Good Lord! In the Muslim world, he would be known as a dhimmi and rightly so.
Charlie Bolden also said in the interview, “…the United States is not going to travel beyond low-Earth orbit on its own…” I guess Mr. Bolden forgot that we did travel beyond Earth orbit 9 times between 1968 and 1972 (Apollo 8, 10, and 13 orbited the Moon while 6 Apollo missions actually landed on the Moon.) to the Moon on our own and still remain the only nation to do so. Does he want the Muslim nations to provide magic carpets so we can fly beyond Earth orbit? I think he and Obama have watched Disney’s Aladdin once too often.
Obama and Bolden Fly On Their New Magic Carpet
I keep pinching myself hoping to wake up from this insanity that has infected NASA and our nation.
“President Obama likes to say ‘if we could put a man on the moon’ we can do anything, from socializing medicine to abandoning fossil fuels. That’s nonsense on stilts for a host of reasons. But it’s also ironic, given that we can’t even put a man on the moon anymore. Not when NASA’s foremost priority is boosting the self-esteem of children and Muslims.” –columnist Jonah Goldberg
“Lets take the word “Muslim” out of the equation. If he said that his foremost priority was to do outreach to Canada what would we do? I would say my reaction is the same. That is not NASAs mission. There are 3 possibilities here: 1)Charlie really believes this is NASA’s main priority, 2)He does not but is being a loyal soldier, or 3)He is incompetent and was not authorized by the Whitehouse to say what he did.
In 2 of the 3 cases above, he should be fired or resign. If he does not believe what he said, then resign and tell the world why. If he is incompetent he should resign as he would no longer have the backing of Obama. Since he will not resign, I assume he truly believes this BS. In that case, NASA is lost. As I stated on a previous thread, his butt should be in DC working the new plan. Everything else, is a waste of time/money.
In a year from now, when we still have no clear direction in HSF, remember why. Elections have consequences and what we see in this administration from healthcare to the oil spill reaction is amateur hour. It would be funny were not so serious.
Keith’s note: excellent point. This issue has nothing to do with Muslims. He could have easily said French-speaking or German-speaking nations; countries with lots of Tibetan buddhists (Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and India) or some other non-American group of people. While it is great for NASA to be thinking of things in a global context at the end of the day it is an American space agency first and foremost.”
One final word from me before I close out this post:
From a email I wrote to a friend about this whole mess of Obama’s and Boldens.
What is the old army saying? Promote a competent person until they reach their level of incompetency? I think that is what has happened to Charlie Bolden. He can command a shuttle mission, but make him administrator and a buffoon as his boss (Obama) and he’s way out of his league.
As for the news article, and the plans that are being floated out there, they all sound good but when it’s coming from a known liar like Obama and Bill Nelson I just have to take it all with a large grain of salt. I want to believe and I want to have hope but if you watch Obama’s actions instead of listening to his words, you find he’s not honest.
Constellation may not be the best option but I do truly believe it’s the only one. It has $9 billion and 6 years worth of work done already. That’s quite a foundation compared to all those other “plans” out there, real or not. It sure is a mess isn’t it?
Although Obama and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden have tried since January 2010 to push Obama’s Power Point plan as America’s new Human Space Flight Program, calling the matter “settled”, seven months later it is far from settled and a Civil War has broken out within NASA being led by the folks at Johnson Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center.
There are basically two sides to this civil war: Obama, NASA Senior Administration officials, and a few “Obamanauts” who wish to kill America’s Human Space Flight Program vs many mid-level NASA managers, employees, and contractors who are fighting for Constellation and our Human Space Flight Program. As with all civil wars, this war is going to be more damaging in the long run compared to other wars.
Congress, during the last year, had passed a requirement that NASA had to get approval from Congress before canceling Constellation. There were fears that though Obama had promised during the election campaign he would support our Human Space Flight Program and our setting up a base on the Moon by 2020, he might be lying and would try to cancel Constellation and our Human Space Flight Program. For once, Congress did something very forward thinking and prudent though Obama and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden don’t seem to be that concerned about the law unless it’s in their favor.
Credit NasaWatch.com
On May 27th, Jeff Hanley, Constellation’s Project Manager was removed from his job by Charlie Bolden for doing his job in promoting Constellation! Charlie Bolden felt that Mr. Hanley needed to lose his job because he “was “conflicted” and had become a lightening rod for controversy,” per the Huntsville Times. Funny, since Constellation is still on the books as America’s official Human Space Flight Program and Obama’s plan has not yet been approved by Congress, who is the “lightening rod for controversy” Mr. Bolden?
But Obama and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden weren’t done yet. Charlie Bolden and his legal team dug up a 140 year old law (Yes I said a 140 year old law created before Jules Verne had written his fictional account of man going to the Moon) called the Anti-Deficiency Act. The Anti-Deficiency Act requires money to be set aside to cover termination costs in case a government contract is cancelled. Bolden wanted to use this 140-year-old law to force the contractors working on Constellation to lay off the workers and use the funds to prepare to shut down Constellation and America’s Human Space Flight Program. “NASA told Congress this week it intends to start shutting down its moon program despite legislation prohibiting the agency from terminating Project Constellation without the approval of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.” “It also comes despite rulings by both the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals that places all termination liability on the government rather than contractors.”
Stonewalling Congress is another tactic being used to kill Constellation. Congress has been getting frustrated with Obama’s plan lacking any detail and has ordered NASA to hand over data and material that would explain the plan better. But, “Word has it that the White House views this request as a matter of Executive privilege. As such it is unlikely that NASA will be allowed to provide much of what the House members are demanding to see.” – NasaWatch article titled “House Gets Firm With NASA Over Data Request.”
NASA officials did throw a bone to the people wanting to return to live on the Moon by announcing a new video game (part of Obama’s new space program?) called Moonbase Alpha. Instead of us really going back to the Moon to live and work, we would do it online in a video game. Oh the genius of this!
NASA’s senior administration also went on the offensive to try to explain why people didn’t “understand” Obama’s new plan. In the article titled Malice, Mischief and Misconceptions in the Smithsonian’s Air and Space online edition, the writer discussed this attempt; “The latest attempt to explain NASA’s new direction is an article published in Space.com by Clara Moskowitz. She tries to “correct” some alleged “misunderstandings” about the Obama administration’s new direction and budget for NASA. Her article quotes several space luminaries, who opine that the new path is simply “not understood” by a few petulant detractors who stubbornly refuse to accept Flexible Path as advertised.” In other words, we are too stupid to understand Obama’s plan, including the tens of thousands engineers, technicians, aerospace professionals, Congressmen, Senators, and nearly all of the retired astronauts that are free to speak up including Neil Armstrong, and Gene Cernan.
Personally, I think the Cartoon series called South Park does a fine job explaining Obama and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden’s new “plan.” ***Language Warning***
Credit: NasaWatch
But, the Pro-American Human Space Flight people haven’t been idle. Mr. Dale Thomas, who replaced Jeff Hanley as the Constellation Project manager, continues the fight. “Dale Thomas has simply picked up where Jeff Hanley left off and has told his staff that this is what he is doing. Nothing has changed and JSC still operates in open defiance of NASA Headquarters – starting with its center director.”
Though Charlie Bolden is trying to use the 140-year-old law, The Anti-Deficiency Act, to shut off funding for Constellation, various NASA centers and mid-level managers are still obeying the Congressional directive and 2010 budget requirements and fund Constellation work. “…Mr. Bolden in recent weeks issued directives intended to immediately halt or sharply curtail funding for continued work on some big-ticket projects. They include the family of Ares rockets being developed by Alliant Techsystems Inc. However, midlevel NASA contracting officials in the past few days released more than $160 million to Alliant. Andrew Hunter, a NASA budget official, said Wednesday the action was intended to prevent Alliant from being forced to abruptly stop all Ares work and lay off employees. Lockheed Martin Corp. also got the green light to receive $80 million for other work related to a crew capsule.” Wall Street Journal (6/24)
Even Mr. Bolden’s press spokesman defended this defiance of Obama and Mr. Bolden in a recent article titled Obama Space Plan Under Continuous Assault. “Asked about providing continued funds for Ares work, Bob Jacobs, a press spokesman for Mr. Bolden, said Tuesday: “Whether or not it fits the priorities” previously mandated by Mr. Bolden “is kind of up for interpretation.” The spokesman said “a commitment was made” by NASA earlier to provide the money.”
The most potent weapon that is starting to be used in this civil war is the political awakening of the Human Space Flight workforce. Most aerospace workers didn’t give a hoot about politics, but they now realize that their dreams of Human Space Flight and their jobs are dependent upon a politician’s whim and they don’t like it. They now understand that elections do have consequences and when you elect a man that has never managed a McDonalds, how can he manage a country let alone Human Space Flight?
This large body of tens of thousands of Human Space Flight workers, a sleeping giant so to speak, has awakened and they are ticked off. They are calling their representatives in Washington, showing up at town hall meetings when the democrats are actually brave enough to hold one, and becoming politically active. The first politicians that will feel their wrath this November and November of 2012 are the ones that sold them out and supported Obama killing America’s Human Space Flight Program. Politicians such as Senator Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, and Congressman Allan Grayson, all from Florida.
Credit: Florida Today
Meanwhile Congress is getting into the debate. Sixty two Congressmen recently sent a letter to Obama “expressing concern that the decision to cancel the Constellation Program could mean that the United States would cede its leadership in human space flight to other countries.”
Maryland Congressman Ruppersberger recently met with the workers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, which is far more than I can say of Obama, Nelson, and Kosmos not meeting with Kennedy Space Center workers, but hiding from them last April. According to the Huntsville Times June 21st issue, Congressman Ruppersberger is “concerned about ending” Constellation saying, “It gives a head start to a lot of our competitors, especially the Chinese, and I don’t want to give any country a head start when it comes to controlling the skies and controlling space.”
Elderly Senator John Glenn even got into the act, but took the tack arguing that the Shuttle Program should not be shut down until a reliable replacement is ready. Senator Glenn is about 6 years too late for that argument though the very late effort is appreciated. At least he’s not doing “Dancing with the Stars” and “World Wide Wrestling” like the only Apollo astronaut to support Obama is, 80-year-old Buzz Aldrin. It’s easier to take the elderly Senator Glenn more seriously than poor old Buzz.
It appears that even the Russians are starting to think it’s a bad idea to be left as the only ride to the International Space Station. In an article dated 6-26 in the Parabolic Arc titled Chinese Shenzhou Vehicle Eyed as ISS Backup to Russian Soyuz, “Roscosmos chief Anatoly Perminov said the International Space Station partners are awaiting a response from China on an invitation to join the project. The interesting aspect is why the offer was made: Russia doesn’t want to be solely responsible for crew transport once the space shuttle retires.
“This is rather dangerous, any expert recognizes that. There must a backup for the Soyuz.We wish some country would have it, and we contacted China with its human spaceflight program mature enough to maintain crew transportation in the program, asking to join the ISS partnership. However there was no response,” Perminov said.
Oh, I can’t imagine this going over very well with Congress. Not. At. All. NASA issued a formal statement about this story on Friday: “We checked and confirmed with the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency human space flight program that Russia has not issued an invitation to China to join the International Space Station Program.” Personally, I think NASA is lying and trying to do some damage control before Congress finds out the truth.
Probably another thing that glaringly shows why Constellation should not be cancelled and our Human Space Flight program be handed over to private companies is the commercial companies themselves. Six years ago, Space Ship One made history as the first privately built spacecraft to achieve sub-orbital flight. They did two flights that year and none since then, though they were to be transporting tourists who pre-paid $200,000 apiece by now. SpaceX has had 4 flights with their Falcon 1 rocket that failed 3 times and one flight with their Falcon 9 rocket, which had mixed results. (See SpaceX Post) Those are the only two private companies that I know of that have put anything into space on their own besides the big boys such as Lockheed and Boeing. Though the commercial industry supports Obama’s plan and the money that would come with it, they are probably the best hostile witness out there that shows they are not ready to take over the role of transporting our astronauts to low earth orbit or to the ISS.
This fight for our Human Space Flight is far from over. But the damage Obama and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden have done already to NASA and our country’s aerospace community will take a long time to heal. I was asked by a space blogger I respect very much if I thought NASA would recover from this division. My answer, I don’t know. I do fear that if our HSF is destroyed, that NASA will become irrelevant in a very short time. Sometimes I think it’s only the contractors that still believe in the dream of our HSF program and America’s leadership role. I fear that NASA’s administration has lost that dream due to their lust for titles, power, and influence and therefore lost their direction and purpose.
Please go to www.Congress.org and use the contact information to contact your Senator and Congressman. Ask them to support and save our Human Space Flight Program by saving Constellation.
I just realized when I made this post that it is the 100th post of RV-103. Wow! I thank you all for following this website and inputing your comments along the way.
I also want to thank the USA Educational Department for calling me on this auspicious occasion. I really enjoyed talking with you all this evening.
We had a weather front come through yesterday and things cooled down. By the time we were ready to go to bed, I commented to Gypsy that I was cold. I shut the windows and checked on our weather station that monitors the temps inside and outside RV-103. It was 36 degrees outside! 4 degrees above freezing! I have never seen it this cool in the summer, especially this far into summer.
On June 4th, 2010 SpaceX “successfully” launched their Falcon 9 rocket for the first time. For that accomplishment, I give them my congratulations. To launch a rocket and achieve orbit is a massive undertaking and very few nations can do that let alone private companies.
The reason I put the word “successfully” into quotes is because SpaceX has never, to my knowledge, released their mission goals or milestones they hoped to achieve during this inaugural launch of their Falcon 9. Unlike NASA, Space X does not seem to have to release this information because they are a private company.
I would be more apt to say they had “limited success.” Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, would only say that his rocket achieved orbit within one mile of their intended goal of 100 miles. There is also the question of the first stage failure to land safely in the ocean to be recovered and the unusual spin the second stage experienced during flight. That spinning stage was witnessed over Australia 45 minutes later resulting in numerous UFO calls to authorities.
With the limited knowledge of the launch goals we have, let’s break down just how “successful” this launch was. Are they ready to climb another 150 miles and deliver supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station? I’ll let you decide.
First of all, there is the failure of the 1st stage to splash down in a controlled manner and be recovered. These things happen. Even in the Shuttle Program, occasionally the solid rocket boosters land a bit hard and are damaged. During the Ares 1-X launch, the first stage had a parachute failure resulting in the stage being damaged during splashdown.
Second, was the unusual spin on the second stage. Though the Falcon 9 achieved orbit, spinning end over end spewing out fuel from the side of the rocket is not good. In 1966, Gemini 8 commanded by Neil Armstrong, had a thruster stick causing the spacecraft to violently spin out of control nearly killing the crew with one rotation occuring every second. Armstrong shut off the thrusters and brought the spacecraft back to Earth saving the crew and the spacecraft, but without completing the mission objectives. This occurred 44 years ago and NASA corrected the problem. As far as I know, NASA never experienced such a problem with their spacecrafts again (with the exception of Apollo 13 that was due to an explosion on board). End over end spins are dangerous and can lead to the loss of the spacecraft, cargo, and more importantly the crew. SpaceX just experienced what NASA has dealt with and corrected 44 years ago.
Gemini 8
The original purpose of SpaceX was to launch payloads in orbit for a cheaper price. They also became part of the Commercial Orbiter Transportation Services (COTS) program done by NASA to set up a way to supply the International Space Station with cargo during the gap between the Shuttle Program and Constellation. NASA at first, had no intention of using SpaceX to deliver crews to the ISS, for that was to be one of Constellation’s tasks (besides carrying crews to the Moon and back). Obama changed all that by putting SpaceX into the role of being the one and only agency to transport human crews. Considering SpaceX youth, inexperience, and a failure rate of 60% out of 5 total launches (Falcon 1 and Falcon 9), there are questions if this company is truly ready to take on the mantle and responsibilities of America’s Human Space Flight Program.
From a recent article on SpaceNews.com, “Roger Tetrault, a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) formed in the wake of the February 2003 space shuttle disaster, has joined the chorus of critics of NASA’s plan to cancel the Moon-bound Constellation program and rely on commercially oriented firms like Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to fly astronauts to the international space station.
“America’s path is now threatened by the decisions being proposed in the NASA budget,” Tetrault wrote in a May 27 letter to U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas), a critic of President Barack Obama’s proposed human spaceflight overhaul. “We are cancelling a program built around the findings and lessons learned from Columbia. There is no clear mission or direction given to NASA, and the use of proven-technologies is being shunned. Further, the choice to commercialize our launch capability provides insufficient safety for the brave men and women that will be asked to ride these rockets. Surely, they deserve the best we can provide.”
“…the new entrepreneurial space transportation companies” should first demonstrate they can be counted on to deliver cargo before they are trusted with NASA’s human spaceflight mission.
“Only after they have proven that they are mature and safe enough, should they be allowed to step up to the much harder task of carrying humans…”
SpaceX has also not dealt with NASA as contractors such as United Space Alliance does everyday. NASA requires “complete accountablity” from it’s contractors when it comes to Human Space Flight. This means that every nut, bolt, screw, etc must be accounted for on the ship. USA has to provide where they got the parts, who made them, who installed them, who signed off on it, etc. The oversight and paperwork tracking all these parts and work done on the shuttles are immense and time consuming, but for good reason; the safety of the ship and the crew. SpaceX has chaffed in the past over the Air Force’s regulations concerning range safety at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station which is next door to Kennedy Space Center.
“Musk said the decision to launch Falcon 9 from the Cape was a big contributing factor to the launch delay because of the huge volume of regulatory work that has to be completed to conduct a launch from the Cape.
Air Force rules and regulations at Cape Canaveral are increasingly being identified as big obstacles to Florida attracting more space business to the Cape. The costs, security demands and rules for launching rockets from the Air Force rocket range…”
I have no idea how SpaceX will accept and comply with NASA’s oversight when and if they start launching crews.
I do hope for SpaceX’s continued success, but I do not think they are a viable replacement to Constellation, no matter what Obama thinks. They do not have the decades of expertise, and institutional knowledge that contractors such as USA, Lockheed, and Boeing have. SpaceX is just not ready for Prime Time yet nor will be for many years in my humble opinion.
See my past posts about Obama’s new plan here and here.
It’s really ironic if you think about it. We spent about 4 months in CA and experienced rain and high winds, but not much else. We have to come to New York for me to experience my very first earthquake!
Around 1:52 pm today I was sitting on one end of the couch watching TV while Gypsy was taking a nap on the other end. The next I know, the RV starts rocking side to side waking Gypsy up. I looked outside the window expecting to see the trees bending from a strong wind gust, but they were standing straight up without a single leaf fluttering. The rocking went on for a good 10 seconds.
“What’s going on?” asked Gypsy.
“I don’t know! It’s not the wind.” I replied in a puzzled tone.
I went outside to see if a group of people was pushing hard on the RV, but there was no one around. I came back in and Gypsy suggested that maybe it was an earthquake. After a few minutes, the Drudge Report put up a story of a earthquake in Ottawa Canada, nearly 460 miles away.
Sure enough that was what we felt. The USGS reports that the quake was a 5.0 quake and was felt all the way east into Massachusetts, as far west as Wyoming, and as far south as Cincinnati OH over 1200 miles away from Ottawa.
Commander Merlin of course showed her coolness during this earthquake. She was sleeping on the bed and never twitched a ear.
“You might not even think about it when you see an RV lumbering down the road, but there are about 30 million people in this country who regularly go traveling with a home on wheels.”
“RV’s first started rolling around the country in 1910, not long after automobiles came around. “As the automobile was invented and became popular, Americans determined how to put beds and kitchens behind their automobiles, and it evolved in RVs” says historian Hal Hesselbart.”
Michelle Malkin and her family are traveling for the first time in a RV and have made this great post about their adventures so far.
Happy 100th Birthday RV! Here’s to another 100 years!
The only time that Commander Merlin has ever left RV-103 was in her escape craft/shuttle called PC or Pet Carrier. It was time for her to experience her first Extra Vehicular Activity or EVA.
The crew of RV-103 helped Commander Merlin into her harness and tether with minimal blood loss, though the crew did require stitches at the local ER. Then it was outside to new adventures!
As soon as we set Commander Merlin on the ground she fell right over. We stood her up and she fell over again! Obviously she wasn’t going to cooperate for us. After much coaxing, Commander Merlin stood up and walked around a little bit with a “gleeful” look on her face as you can see in the picture below.
I am NOT a dog!!!!!! Someone is gonna die for this!
Later that night, we closed and locked the door to the crew bedroom. We could hear a distinct growling on the other side that sounded a bit like Commander Merlin though none of us had the courage to go and see.
Though Obama and Charlie Bolden are trying hard to kill our Human Space Flight Program, Constellation is still hanging on. By law, which was passed by Congress last year, Constellation cannot be cancelled without congressional permission. Work continues on Constellation though Bolden works hard to sabotage the work by firing and transferring the lead manager on Constellation and trying to silence NASA employees and contractors who fight for Constellation.
Folks, your calls and letters to Congress are making a difference. If you want to save America’s Human Space Flight Program, keep the pressure on your congressman and senators. Call them at least once a week until Constellation is saved and America doesn’t lose it’s Human Space Flight Program. You can find out the contact information for your representatives here.
Recently, Gypsy and I took a short weekend trip out of state to take care of some business. Since we were going to be gone for about four days, we made arrangements with Gypsy’s son and daughter-in-law to look in on Commander Merlin and RV-103.
Upon our return, we found the following letter of reprimand from our fearful leader, Commander Merlin, lying on the table with some new books on vineyards.
We are still scrubbing the floor with our toothbrushes and sleeping outside on the picnic table. Hopefully Commander Merlin will allow us back in before winter.
Atlantis on her final landing at KSC. Credit Larry D. Tanner
Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived home for the last time today. After a picture perfect mission to the ISS, Atlantis safely arrived at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility and was put to bed in OPF 1. Well done OPF 1 and the United Space Alliance TPS crew!
Atlantis returning to OPF 1 for the last time. Credit Darlene Dube
Ken Ham, the Commander of Atlantis’s last flight said, “Walking around Atlantis after the flight I realized I probably just did the most fun and amazing thing I’ll do in my life.” I think the contract workers at KSC can agree with you 100% Commander Ham.
During Shuttle Atlantis mission, amateur astrophotographer Thierry Legault took this picture of Shuttle Atlantis nearing the ISS for docking with the Sun in the background.
Credit Thierry Legault
During re-entry, astronaut Soichi Noguchi on the ISS took this picture from above of Atlantis as she did her fiery descent through the atmosphere over the Pacific.
ISS astronaut Soichi Noguchi captured Atlantis as that fireball, streaking though atmosphere, just as dawn approached. "Dawn, and Space Shuttle re-entered atmosphere over Pacific Ocean. 32 years of service, 32nd beautiful landing. Forever, Atlantis!"
Atlantis was the first Space Shuttle launch I had witnessed when I first moved to Florida in 1996. I was working at the local hospital on night shift and was very excited about seeing the upcoming launch. About 10 minutes before launch, we got very busy on the floor with numerous patients calling for assistance and it looked like I was going to miss seeing the launch.
I was in a patient’s room assisting her when nurses Diane and Tracy came rushing in. They brought another nurse to take over my task and rushed me to another room that overlooked the space center just in time to see the launch pad glow brightly like the sun. The whole area lit up into daylight and I watched in stunned amazement as Atlantis leaped off the pad on a tail of fire towards the heavens. I laid my fingers lightly on the window and could feel the vibrations from the launch though we were about 30 miles away. I have got to see many launches after that, including 5 ½ years worth of launches only 3 miles from the pad, but that first launch was the best and one of the most memorable to me.
Well done Atlantis and thank you for your service over these last 30 plus years.
This was done by the Air and Space Museum during Discovery’s last mission prep and launch. This is my ship and my former co-workers. I think this is the fastest I’ve ever seen them move. Well done OPF 3, TPS, and United Space Alliance.
Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on her last mission after 25 years of service. The launch was flawless and the Atlantis mission to the ISS is to deliver science experiments and a new Russian laboratory. Try to make some time to visit the NASA channel and watch this historic last mission. Only two more launches are left, Discovery and Endeavour, then it’s all over for America’s Human Space Flight Program.
Below is a short history of Atlantis from the NASA website:
“NASA’s fourth space-rated space shuttle, OV-104 “Atlantis,” was named after the two-masted boat that served as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. The boat had a 17-member crew and accommodated up to five scientists who worked in two onboard laboratories, examining water samples and marine life. The crew also used the first electronic sounding devices to map the ocean floor.
Construction of the orbiter Atlantis began on March 3, 1980. Thanks to lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger, Atlantis was completed in about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia. This is largely attributed to the use of large thermal protection blankets on the orbiter’s upper body, rather than individual tiles requiring more attention.
Weighing in at 151,315 pounds when it rolled out of the assembly plant in Palmdale, Calif., Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia. The new orbiter arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 9, 1985, and over the next seven months was prepared for her maiden voyage.
Like her seafaring predecessor, orbiter Atlantis has carried on the spirit of exploration with several important missions of her own. On Oct. 3, 1985, Atlantis launched on her first space flight, STS 51-J, with a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. The vehicle went on to carry four more DOD payloads on later missions.
Atlantis also served as the on-orbit launch site for many noteworthy spacecraft, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo, as well as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. An impressive array of onboard science experiments took place during most missions to further enhance space research in low Earth orbit.
Starting with STS-71, Atlantis pioneered the Shuttle-Mir missions, flying the first seven missions to dock with the Russian space station. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. The missions to Mir included the first on-orbit U.S. crew exchanges, now a common occurrence on the International Space Station. On STS-79, the fourth docking mission, Atlantis ferried astronaut Shannon Lucid back to Earth after her record-setting 188 days in orbit aboard Mir.
In recent years, Atlantis has delivered several vital components to the International Space Station, including the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, as well as the Joint Airlock Quest and multiple sections of the Integrated Truss structure that makes up the Station’s backbone.”
Well done OPF 1, United Space Alliance, and Godspeed Shuttle Atlantis.
I have observed something interesting about the RV lifestyle and wonder if any of the other full time RV’ers on the site noticed the same.
When we were in CA, I started taking up the chore of doing laundry while Gypsy was working on a contract. That’s when I first noticed that most men I’ve ever met at RV parks are in the laundry room. It wasn’t just limited to the RV park in CA, but at just about every RV park I’ve visited. It was rare to see a woman in the laundry room.
We got the call today that RV-103 is repaired and ready for pickup. We drove down to Ballantyne RV & Marine in Victor NY and paid the bill. After inspecting the work, we prepped RV-103 to depart for our campsite.
I never got to meet Jason who had been my main contact. He was out to lunch when we arrived. He is a good representative for Ballantyne RV & Marine and I wish I had gotten to thank him. I had spoken to Jason about our refrigerator being full of food and that I had it running on propane. He had our RV plugged into main electrical power to save us using our propane and all our food was in good shape and cold. Well done Jason and thank you!
We started out for our campground and the brakes worked fine. We arrived at Maple Lane Campground about an hour and half later and set up camp. It’s good to be back home in the RV.
18 May, 2010 | Author: Commander Merlin | Comments Off
I decided the crew needed to unwind from all the stresses lately, so I took the crew out to the local bar. We had a wonderful time at first and maybe drank a bit too much. I vaguely remember Rocketman was dancing on the table naked wearing deer antlers he had grabbed off the wall while Gypsy was passed out in a corner snoring loudly. The next thing I know a policeman showed up.
“I’m going to have to take you all in for drunkenness and disorderly conduct” he told the crew.
“Yeehaw!” exclaimed Rocketman as he continued his dancing.
I looked up from my bowl of vodka soaked Meow Mix and staggered over to the cop.
“I’m the Commander of this valiant crew. What’s the problem?”, I said with a slurred meow.
“They are drunk and Rocketman is scaring all the customers” said the cop.
“I am the Commander and I am responsible for this crew. Don’t you know this is the crew of the famous RV-103?” I meowed belligerently.
“You are taking responsibility for this drunken crew?” asked the policeman drawing himself up to his full height.
“Of course I am!” as I showed my claws.
“Ok, then you are the one going to jail my little sassy furball.” said the policeman with a sly smile as he whipped out his cuffs.
“Just try it you Barney Fife wannabe.” I said sarcastically with a swish of my tail.
So he did. “Damn!”
I want my lawyer!
The crew is working hard to raise bail as we speak.
We heard from Jason at Ballantyne RV and Marine today. RV-103 had lost the “boots” on the back breaks resulting in complete brake failure in the rear brakes. We also lost an ABS sensor on a rear wheel and since the front brakes had to take all the weight down the mountain, they were “destroyed” too.
Workhorse is the manufacturer for our engine, transmission, and braking system. Jason told us that Workhorse was well aware of the defective “boot” problem but had not issued a recall. Workhorse was going pay for the back brakes, which Jason said was good news since it would have cost us “hundreds and hundreds of dollars.” But, Workhorse said they would not pay for the ABS sensor or the front brakes because they had nothing to do with the “boot” failure in the rear brakes and we would have to cover the cost of repairs which run about $450.
Hmmm….back brakes fail first, but the ABS and front brake failure that occurred right afterwards are not related? Sureeeeeee. I guess Workhorse never heard of “cause and effect.” I think I will be speaking with a lawyer this summer to teach them about it. Their “boots” damn near got us killed.
Anyway, we have been informed by the garage that Workhorse does plan on doing a recall this fall for the brakes. The brake boots and related equipment will be replaced by the same models that failed, and then we will have to bring the RV in this fall after we received the recall notice and have the work done all over again with newly designed parts.
One silver lining having RV-103 in the garage is that it gave us time to check out the campsite we were going to stay at. We drove down to it with the intention of talking with the owners. Once there, we decided we would drive around the campground first.
To be polite, it was subpar. There were many fifth wheels there that stay year round and they were in various states of filth, disrepair, and had cluttered yards with junk and trash. This place struck us more like a low end trailer park instead of a RV park. After looking over the place for about 15 minutes and taking another 15 minutes talking about it, we all agreed that we would not be camping there.
I will not name that campsite or some of the other ones we looked at since we did not stay there. That’s just the fair thing to do.
Other campsites we looked at were either overpriced, out of cell phone range, or similar to the first campsite we looked at.
We finally found a nice campsite in Cuba NY. It is basically a large open field with all the hookups our RV requires, next to an old farm, and very peaceful. They do not have a web site up yet, but I’m told it’s in the works and I will provide it once it’s online. The place is called Maple Lane Campgrounds just off Interstate 86 at the Cuba NY exit. The price for an entire season is only $650, which works out to about $108 per month for the length of our planned stay.
This place, due to not being on the web, is a well kept secret. This is a great place for an overnight or for RV’ers who don’t have children who wish to stay long term. The year round fifth wheels are in good condition and the place is kept neat.
If you do have kids, please note that they do not have playgrounds or pools, but many state parks are nearby and this campground makes a good place to settle down for the night after your day’s activities. We do know that many families with kids do come and the kids bike all around having free reign of the campground. There is also plenty of space to set up volleyball nets, yard games, and room to hit around some golf balls.
Cuba is nearby with its shops and cheese stores. Cuba is famous for its cheeses and is also the birthplace of Charles Ingalls for Little House on the Prairie and Laura Ingalls Wilder book fans.
We are looking forward to getting RV-103 back and settling in there.
Cold and snow today. We have been used to mid 70’s to high 80’s for the last several weeks driving home from CA and traveling up here. It is a surprise to see it actually snow on Mother’s Day. It is supposed to be in the upper 20’s for the next two nights. I guess NY didn’t get the memo that it is now spring time. Gloomy day for a gloomy time.
Folks I want to thank you so much for reading and forwarding this post I did on Obama’s April 15th speech. It has truly traveled around the world and been seen over 6,000 times now.
Keep the pressure on your congressmen and senators. Ask them to support Constellation and our Human Space Flight Program. It is still possible to save this in Congress, but only if you keep their feet to the fire. You can find the number and address to your representatives at www.congress.org.
Gypsy’s son and daughter-in-law drove down with us to Ballantyne RV and Marine in Victor NY to check on RV-103 and to retrieve a few items we had forgotten. I ensured that the refrigerator was still running on propane and did a quick inspection. Hopefully we will learn something on Monday.
We got up the next morning and proceeded on our way. We had a disagreement with our GPS system. She wanted us to take on some back roads in PA and we thought we should stay on the Interstate. We stopped for lunch and went over the maps trying to decide the best route. We knew we were going to be able to make our campsite in NY that day and were excited to see the traveling come to an end.
To take the interstate route it required us to take an extra 100 miles, making our way east, then north, then back west again. The GPS wanted us to take PA SR 46 straight north almost to the NY border and close to our campsite. We figured that a SR could not be bad, so we went with the GPS recommendation.
One thing about GPS systems: They aren’t driving and they don’t know what you drive. They don’t know the width, weight, or length of your vehicle nor the terrain. They don’t know the quality of the road. All they know are routes and estimated times (which they never get right) in getting there. We have been led wrong before by the GPS and, to be fair, have been led right also resulting in saved time, beautiful scenery, and saved fuel. It’s a judgment call you have to make at times and sometimes it just doesn’t turn out right.
We ended up on PA SR 46 and quickly found out that Pennsylvania’s idea of a State Route is way different from what other states think. It was partially paved and for a large portion of the road, all gravel. We decided to stay on it since the scenery was so nice and it was wide enough for the RV.
Eventually we ended up in Potter County PA. For those of you who have never been to Potter County, it is a wonderful place of raw natural beauty. I had visited this county nearly 30 years ago and never forgot it. This was where I saw my first bear and beaver in the wild. This is where Punxsutawney Phil lives, the groundhog that Groundhog Day is named after. It also has a “Class A” stream with beavers living in it. “Class A”, as it was explained to me many years ago, is a stream rating that indicates the stream is nearly exactly as it was 10,000 years ago, pure and pollution free. Also, due to the mountainous terrain of the area, I have been told it resembles Korea and was once used by the Army to train their troops before deploying to South Korea.
As we were enjoying the scenery, we were descending and ascending some pretty large mountain roads. As we started to descend one steep mountain road I noticed I was having some problems slowing down. The brake pedal was getting “mushy” and soon gave way to the floor. I commented quietly to Gypsy that I was having trouble slowing down and stopping, but I guess I said it calmly enough that she didn’t realize just how serious our problem was rapidly becoming.
This particular hill entailed about a mile long descent on a two lane, partially paved road cut into the side of the mountain with a pretty large drop off on our left. I tried gearing down the transmission, but the RV just kept speeding up. I found that I could pump the brake pedal and get some slowing, but even that was starting to fail.
Our RV weighs about 28,000 pounds, give or take a couple hundred pounds, and behind us is a 650 pound tow dolly with a 2,000 pound SUV on it. Once gravity takes hold of our vehicle, it becomes quite an adventure to wrest control back and that’s when the brakes are good. To say the entire descent was a white knuckle drive is pretty much an understatement. I kept quiet after my initial comment to Gypsy because I was working so hard trying to prevent our untimely deaths and the loss of RV-103.
I finally got her stopped at the bottom of the mountain and pulled off the side of the road in Galeton PA. I got out and went to check on RV-103 and found the wheel wells radiating some serious heat, especially the rear wheels. No brake fluid on the ground or splattered on the wheels. I checked the brake fluid reservoir and found it hot and thin like water, but still full. I went back in tried the brake pedal again. It went all the way to the floor without any resistance.
I then went outside, pulled out a cigar, and sat down with the shakes for about a half hour. At first Gypsy thought my “shakes” were funny, but it soon dawned on her just how shook up I was.
“Why didn’t you tell me how serious it was?” she said.
“I thought shouting out “WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!” was a bit unhelpful at the time and besides I was quite busy just trying to slow down and keep her on the road.” I replied sarcastically in a quivering voice.
We knew we were only 50 miles from our final destination and very briefly (like 20 seconds) debated if we should risk it and finish our journey. Common sense took over quite quickly and we called our roadside service, Freedom Care, and sat down to wait for a tow truck. We waited about 2-3 hours before he arrived and I spent the next hour helping him get RV-103 hooked up. We loaded a few essentials into the car, placed Commander Merlin into the pet carrier/escape craft and locked RV-103 up. I got a bit choked up to see the tow truck take her away not knowing how bad the damage was nor how much it was going to cost me. Since it was a Friday evening, the garage would not even look at her until Monday or Tuesday.
Oh my poor baby!
When your car breaks down, it is an inconvenience. You can borrow a car, use your second car, take a taxi, etc, but you usually find your ability to run around town still intact. Not so for a RV. When it breaks down, especially in another state, you are homeless. All your belongings, clothes, food, etc are with your RV and since your RV is in a garage or on the back of a tow truck, you are separated from them. You go quickly from living the high life to being a street person with just a car.
We called Gypsy’s son and arranged to stay at his and his wife’s place. We got in the SUV and started the last 50 miles towards their place. It was a quiet and worrisome drive.
We got up the next morning and resumed our journey. As we were driving along Interstate 79, we finally saw a black bear. Unfortunately for the bear, it had been hit by a truck and was lying by the side of the road while the truck driver was explaining what had happened to the WV state trooper.
We pushed on and ended up at the Bellefonte State College KOA where once again I used some of my KOA points. Cost for the night was about $15. It was a nice clean RV park and we had no problems or complaints.
Since I don’t post every day, some folks write me after a few days asking if there is a new post on RV-103.com or not. Our website is now linked to Twitter under the account Random230. Every time there is a new post on RV-103.com, a message will be sent out on Twitter.
We got up in the morning, unmolested by any bears, and proceeded on our journey. Our next stop was just outside of Huntington WV at the Foxfire KOA. My oldest daughter is a junior at Marshall State University and we had stopped for the night to visit.
I had told my daughter, DeeAnna that we would call her once we got to the campsite and settled in. Patience is not a virtue of hers and she once again proved it by calling me and informing me that she was right behind me in her car as I was pulling into the campsite. She helped me set up the RV and was full of questions about how everything worked.
Shortly, afterwards, Dee and I left to tour Marshall University. She pointed out all the spots where they filmed the movie We Are Marshall. The movie told the tale of Marshall University’s loss of their entire football team along with many prominent citizens of Huntington WV in a airplane crash and their rebuilding of the team and the school’s morale.
Dee and her Daddy
We then went to eat at a legendary eatery in this little college town called Hillbilly Hotdogs. Hillbilly Hotdogs started out in a old school bus and eventually moved into a small shack that somehow can accommodate about 20 guests. This place takes Hillbilly to the nth degree with dining booths made of tubs, shower curtains, and plungers and another one made in a outhouse. There are many funny pictures all over the place and the warning sign above the men’s toilet warning you not to dive due to shallow water was a hoot. They had a 15 inch hot dog with all the fixings called the Home Wrecker and a 10 lb (yes, I said 10 lb!) hamburger called Bubba’s Double Wide. They have deep fried hotdogs, and about 2 dozen types of toppings for your hotdogs. My friend, Roy G. from KSC would absolutely love this place. After eating, I promptly took a double dose of my cholesterol medicine before my arteries could harden to concrete.
We returned to the campsite and spent a couple hours outside enjoying the evening sun and talking. All in all, it was a good visit. Later that evening Dee left to return to her dorm to finish up some assignments for school. It is finals week. I’m quite proud of her and she seems to be doing well in school. Her major is Math with Music as a minor with the intent to be a Math and/or Music instructor someday.
The Foxfire KOA is a pretty nice park and of course I used some more of my gazillion KOA points. We stayed there for less than $15.
During our travels we have found that we prefer to get our fuel at the Flying J truck stops. Flying J realized that not only do tractor trailers use a lot of fuel, but RV’s. With that in mind, they have created islands at their truck stops that cater to RV’s only. These islands have diesel, gasoline, and propane along with air hoses and extra long window cleaners all in one convenient place. It just makes it so much easier for us when we fuel up. I have not seen any other truck stop chain do this.
I would suggest to Flying J one thing about their RV islands. It would be easier for the drivers if they moved the islands into the tractor trailer area instead of the car area. The car drivers zip in and out and for some reason seem blind to their impending doom as a 37 foot RV turning in front of them trying to exit the truck stop.
Because of our frequent visits, we thought it might be a good idea to become a Flying J R.V. Real Value Member. The brochure says we can save up to 30 cents per gallon and that always sounds nice to me since I’m frequently sobbing uncontrollably into Gypsy’s shirt while fueling RV-103.
After reading over their brochure we decided it wasn’t worth it. You automatically get a 1 cent discount for being a member which means if I filled our empty tank, I would save 75 cents. Big deal…NOT! The only way you can get any substantial savings on your fuel is to make large monthly purchases from their store. For example, to get that wonderful 30 cent per gallon savings, I have to buy $400 worth of merchandise from their store. That’s a lot of chips and dip! And, the discount is good only for the first 100 gallons of fuel for the entire month. I have a 75 gallon tank so I would use up nearly all of my monthly allotment in just one fill-up.
This club is more of a tool to get you to give up information for targeted marketing from Flying J and their “third party” friends. The membership is really not worth the trouble or worth giving up your personal information. I would recommend giving this one a pass, but I am still going to use their RV islands during our travels.
We started our travels again today and drove all the way through SC and NC, finally stopping in Wytheville VA. As we were searching for a campsite, we decided we would cash in some of the gazillion KOA points we had accumulated and stay at the Wytheville KOA. Because of the points, our total cost for the night was only $11. Not too bad considering a KOA would normally cost around $35-40.
Wytheville KOA is an older park that had shorter than normal pull through sites for RV’s. We just barely fit in ours with the RV and the SUV on the tow dolly. I spoke with the owner the next day and found them to be former Floridians. Nice folks and I have to say that their KOA was one of the nicer ones we had stayed at so far. They did have one sign out that gave me pause…watch out for the bears. I guess they have had a little bear problem in the past due to campers leaving food and trash outside. But, the owners are pretty stringent about the campsites being clean and that seems to negate the bear problem. But, just to be safe, I limited my time outside after dark.
I got a call this morning that really caught me off guard. It was from the mysterious Dan C. calling from an undisclosed location at KSC inquiring about my geographic status. On the speaker phone with him were other members of his team and Dan’s current class for that day. Don’t worry, the call was made during their lunch period and they won’t have to charge it to their time card. No auditing required. If you have ever worked at KSC, you will know what that means.
Dan C. is an educator for United Space Alliance at KSC and a very enjoyable teacher with the most unusual and creative sense of humor I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of and a victim of. Also on the phone was Mark S., my Zero G partner, and Irene C, a wonderful friend and good debater who has challenged me many times over the future of the space program. The entire USA Educational Department contributes to our Human Space Flight Program in meaningful ways that the general public is unaware of.
These people have the tough job of keeping the KSC workforce up to date on the the new processes and procedures that are used to work on the Shuttle and Constellation programs, reinforce the current procedures, and ferret out any misunderstandings or problems concerning the processes as it impacts the workforce. This small group of people have the large responsibility to keep a workforce of over 10,000 people “on the same page.” The job requires a person who is flamboyant, witty, and basically a misfit seeking a place within the company to call “home.” Thankfully, the company gives these people a “home” called the USA Educational Department.
We had a nice talk and it really moved me that they took the time out of their day to call. Most times, when you leave a job, life goes on and you are forgotten pretty quickly. In this case, Dan C. and his team reminded me that the old saying, “Gone but not forgotten” is sometimes really true. Thanks guys! You really don’t know how much you made my day with your call.
Wait, I hear the door creaking open to the classroom….Ahem…”Here at the rock…”
