Issue #6 (March 2014)
Abandon in place: Betty Grissom’s last visit to Apollo 1 memorial?
Is Gus Grissom’s widow herself about to “abandon in place” the memorial vigil she has maintained over the last 48 years since the fiery death suffered by her husband, Astronaut Commander Virgil “Gus” Grissom and fellow astronauts Roger Chaffee and Ed White back in 1967 at Pad 34 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)? They …
Boeing’s CST-100 passes two new milestones in development
The Boeing Company recently announced the completion of more developmental requirements for their Crew Space Transportation 100 (CST-100) spacecraft that includes a software safety test and hardware design review. Passing this phase of testing is considered a milestone for a company that is competing to return flights of astronauts from U.S soil in the coming …
Jupiter: The Gas Giant
Of all the planets that orbit around our Sun there are two that are easily visible and are fascinating objects to view. These are, of course, Saturn and Jupiter. Of these Jupiter is prominent in our night skies at the moment. At magnitude -2.06 it is the third brightest thing in the sky after the …
‘In Saturn’s Rings’: One man’s journey to make a space film
When filmmaker Stephen Van Vuuren first saw images of Saturn retuned by the Cassini spacecraft, he saw something more in them. He not only saw the beauty of the ringed planet, he saw a motion picture camera flying through space. Van Vuuren grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, with dreams of being an astronaut. …
Taking a first look at ‘Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey’
“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” beams onto our television screens on March 9 across 10 U.S. networks, including FOX and National Geographic Channel, with a multi-network simulcast in the United States. Global releases will follow shortly after on National Geographic and FOX branded channels in 180 countries within a week of the U.S. premiere. Fronted by …
Ann Druyan preserves the legacy of Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’ with ‘A Spacetime Odyssey’
How often are you so moved by your job that you actually shed tears? On “Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey,” this was a fairly regular occurrence. It is impossible to work on something of such scale and import without being overcome, now and again, in the exact same way you hope your audience will be. I …