Teachers' Night Out

Teachers' Night Out at the Cosmosphere is set for November 12. It's free. Contact laurieg@cosmo.org to reserve your spot. Sponsored by Kansas Gas Service, a division of ONEOK.

Trivia Contest - Lunar Rovers

Our email newsletter trivia question was:

On which missions were lunar rovers used?
Answer: Apollo 15, 16 and 17

The first correct answer came from Betsy C. Ross.

If you'd like to play future trivia games, you can
sign up for the email newsletter and have a chance to win prizes, too.

Congratulations, Betsy!

Buz Carpenter Back at the Cosmosphere by Popular Demand

Former SR-71 pilot "Buz" Carpenter will be making a return visit to the Cosmosphere by popular demand on November 6. Carpenter flew the Blackbird now housed at the Cosmosphere and will speak about the plane and his experiences piloting it. He will speak November 6 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. It is free and open to the public. He will sign autographs following the presentations.

Carpenter accrued 777 hours flying SR-71 planes, including 961, which resides at the Cosmosphere. He flew Blackbirds as an aircraft commander and later as an instructor pilot, with over 60 operational missions. He also flew in the C-141, RF-4C, and T-38 planes, flying 150 combat hours in Vietnam. The Cosmosphere also has a T-38 on display.

Carpenter worked in the Pentagon and served as Wing commander at Ramstein Air Base in German during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He retired as a Colonel after serving as the 2nd Air Force Vice Commander, responsible for all the USAF Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance flying assets. He is currently a docent for the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Only 32 Blackbirds were ever made, and they were in service from 1964-1998. Despite over 4,000 attempts to shoot them down, none of the planes were lost due to enemy fire. However, 12 of them were destroyed in accidents. The plane was designed to be one of the first planes not detectable by radar. Unfortunately, radar technology was advancing at a rate that outpaced that particular design feature.

The great defensive ability of the plane was its high speed and altitude. Standard evasive action was just to accelerate, which made it almost invulnerable to the attack technologies of the time. The top speed of the plane was mach 3.3 (2,200 miles/hour or 26 miles/minute). In 1990, during a speed test, an SR-71 flew from LA to Dulles Airport in 64 minutes. They flew faster than a bullet from a standard 30.06 hunting rifle.

The SR-71 was American's first "stealth" plane, and was the last one designed with a slide rule. At cruising speeds, the aircraft skin reached average temperatures of about 600F. This caused the aircraft to grow 3-4 inches in length and 1-2 inches in width. The engine area was 3200F, with the coolest parts of the plane being about 450F. The 2.5 inch thick laminated quartz glass pilot window was 620F.

Pilots wore pressure suits derived from the Gemini designs through the mid 70s. The replacement pressure suit in the late 70s served as the initial Space Shuttle suits for test flights.

The Blackbird generally leveled off around 75,000 feet, and as fuel burned off would climb up around 82-85,000 feet. At 80,000 feet, you can see the curvature of the Earth about 500 miles in all directions.

Rocketober-Fest at Cosmosphere October 23

Rocketober-Fest at the Cosmosphere on Saturday, October 23, is an afternoon of fun for the entire family. It's from 1-4 p.m.

Activities will include making buttons and solar system bracelets, experiencing the 4-G simulator and watching weird science demos. Kids will also be able to launch their own air rockets and enjoy liquid oxygen ice cream, as well as other activities.

Come in your space or alien-themed costume and enter the costume contest. Downtown Hutchinson and Walmart are providing gift cards for the winners. Register for the contest by 2 that day.

Some items require a Rocketober-Fest ticket, and some are free and open to the public.

Free Science Demonstrations during the day

Ticket Prices are as follows:

Red tickets - get 7 tickets for $1
each of the following activities require one ticket
button
solar system bracelet
temporary tattoo
coloring
ornament
liquid oxygen ice cream
air rockets

White tickets cost $2
One white ticket required to get your photo taken in a space suit

Blue tickets cost $4
One blue ticket is required to experience the 4-G simulator

Tickets will be available at the door.

Coffee at the Cosmo October 21 - Man on the Moon on the Move: Lunar Rovers

Coffee at the Cosmo on Thursday, October 21, is entitled, “Man on the Moon on the Move: Lunar Rovers.” It is at 9 a.m. at the Cosmosphere and is free and open to the public.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld joked, “Only a man would go 240,000 miles and take a car to drive around some more.” While he thought it was to try and impress women, come to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center and hear the real reasons we took a “car” to the moon, learn how it operated, and as always, see fascinating artifacts directly related to the Lunar Rover.

Coffee at the Cosmo is an ongoing series of free presentations at the Cosmosphere. It’s the third Thursday of every month at 9 a.m. and is always free. Enjoy coffee and pastries, meet new friends, and learn something new.

Upcoming Topics Include:
November 18, 2010 “To Boldly Go Where No Product Has Gone Before: Brand Names in Space”
December 16, 2010 “Barbie Loves Buzz: Space Toys”
January 20, 2011 “The Sacrifice of Exploration: Tragedy in Space Flight”

The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing patrons' knowledge of space exploration. Educating people from around the globe, the Cosmosphere boasts the Hall of Space museum, one of the most significant collections of U.S. and Russian space artifacts in the world; the Justice Planetarium, a dome-shaped classroom where attendees learn about astronomy; Dr. Goddard's Lab, a live demonstration of early rocket technology; the Carey IMAX® Dome Theater, one of the first ones built in the world; and summer astronaut training camps. For more information visit cosmo.org.

Trivia Contest - The Blue Marble

Our email newsletter trivia question today is:

On what mission was the famous "blue marble" photo of Earth taken?

Answer: Apollo 17

Congratulations to: Kent Wolfe who had the first correct answer

The crew of Apollo 17 took the photo on December 7, 1972 at 4:39 a.m. CST, a few hours after launch. The astronauts thought Earth looked like a glass marble, which led to the name.

The Blue Marble is probably the most widely distributed image in human history. It was the first clear image of an illuminated face of Earth.

The photograph's official NASA designation is AS17-148-22727. It is credited to the entire Apollo 17 crew of Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Jack Schmitt. They all took photos with the on-board Hasselblad. Jack Schmitt probably took the famous image, but that cannot be verified. It was taken with the south at the top of the photo, but was rotated before being released.

This was the last time any human has been at a range where taking a whole-Earth photograph such as The Blue Marble would be possible.

The original caption read:
"View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew traveling toward the moon. This translunar coast photograph extends from the Mediterranean Sea area to the Antarctica south polar ice cap. This is the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the south polar ice cap. Note the heavy cloud cover in the Southern Hemisphere. Almost the entire coastline of Africa is clearly visible. The Arabian Peninsula can be seen at the northeastern edge of Africa. The large island off the coast of Africa is Madagascar. The Asian mainland is on the horizon toward the northeast."

If you'd like to play future trivia games, you can sign up for the email newsletter and have a chance to win prizes, too.

Free Admission to the Hall of Space Museum on September 25 during Smithsonian Museum Day

The Cosmosphere is participating in Museum Day on September 25. Sponsored by Smithsonian Media, this is the sixth annual Museum Day. Participating museums across the country open their doors for free to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket.

As the only Smithsonian Affiliate in Kansas, the Cosmosphere is proud to participate by offering free admission to the Hall of Space Museum on Sept. 25.

The Museum Day Ticket provides free admission to the Hall of Space museum for one person, plus a guest.

Please note that due to space limitations, other venues at the Cosmosphere; including the Carey Imax Dome Theatre, Dr. Goddard's Lab and the Planetarium, are not part of the free admission. Tickets can be purchased separately for those venues.

• One ticket per household

• A ticket will gain entry in only one museum and only participating museums

• Only an official Museum Day ticket is eligible for free entry.

Official tickets can be found on the Museum Day website.

Read more: http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/index.html#ixzz0vBWjDYYl

For tickets: http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/admission.html?2010

"Aliens of the Deep" Opens September 20 at Cosmosphere

“Aliens of the Deep” takes you to some of the Earth's deepest, most extreme and unknown environments in search of the strange and alien creatures that live there. In this James Cameron film you journey to the ocean floor with a team of young NASA scientists and marine biologists who discuss how the unusual life found there may represent what we might encounter in space. It’s the most alien environment to be found on Earth so good training for those who will be traveling beyond the bounds of our atmosphere.

“Aliens of the Deep” was filmed during multiple expeditions. Visit underwater volcanic regions and see new ocean floor being created. These hydrothermal vent sites create plumes of super-heated, chemically-charged water where creatures never before seen are flourishing.

Six-foot tall worms with blood-red plumes and no stomach, blind white crabs, and a biomass of shrimp capable of "seeing" heat, all compete to find just the right location in the flow of the water. All other life on Earth is dependent on sunlight, but these ecosystems are as close to alien as we’re likely to find on Earth. The environment provides fertile training ground for people destined for space exploration, as they encounter life forms unlike anything they already know.

Coffee at the Cosmo September 16

Coffee at the Cosmo on Thursday, September 16, is entitled, “Like an Old Pair of Slippers: Comfortable In-Flight Clothing in Space.” It is at 9 a.m. at the Cosmosphere and is free and open to the public.

Astronauts have always had special clothing needs. The iconic spacesuit and helmet they used when walking on the moon would be cumbersome and impractical while travelling in space. From the early years of the space program, astronauts have had “in-flight” garments designed for comfort and ease of use.

They have ranged from a modified pair of long underwear used on an early mission, to the jumpsuits, shorts and t-shirts we’re accustomed to seeing on the International Space Station today. During this Coffee at the Cosmo we’ll look at the history of in-flight garments and talk about the challenges presented when trying to keep the astronauts safe and yet allow them to have full range of movement.

Coffee at the Cosmo is an ongoing series of free presentations at the Cosmosphere. It’s the third Thursday of every month at 9 a.m. and is always free. Enjoy coffee and pastries, meet new friends, and learn something new.

Upcoming Coffee Topics Include:
October 21, 2010 "Man on the Moon on the Move: Lunar Rovers"
November 18, 2010 "To Boldly Go Where No Product Has Gone Before: Brand Names in Space"
December 16, 2010 "Barbie Loves Buzz: Space Toys"

The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing patrons' knowledge of space exploration. Educating people from around the globe, the Cosmosphere boasts the Hall of Space museum, one of the most significant collections of U.S. and Russian space artifacts in the world; the Justice Planetarium, a dome-shaped classroom where attendees learn about astronomy; Dr. Goddard's Lab, a live demonstration of early rocket technology; the Carey IMAX® Dome Theater, one of the first ones built in the world; and summer astronaut training camps. For more information visit cosmo.org.

Cosmosphere Starry Night Party August 28, 2010

The Starry Night Party is set for August 28, beginning at 6 p.m. at Hobart-Detter field in Carey Park. Sponsored by the Cosmosphere, the free Starry Night Party includes rocket demonstrations, geocaching, face-painting, an inflatable moon walk and more.

Kids will have the opportunity to make buttons and solar system bracelets, launch water balloons, get gliders and see amazing science demonstrations including a geyser from soda pop and candy. The Cosmosphere will be making liquid oxygen ice cream and serving it at 6:30. Later, Eric Olson of Tucson will be speaking about meteorites, and the evening will conclude with star gazing.

More than a dozen telescopes will be set up so people can see the night sky. The International Space Station will be passing over Hutchinson twice that evening as well. People who have telescopes can bring them out to Carey Park and have Cosmosphere experts demonstrate how to get the most out of them.

All of these activities are free. There’s something for every age group. In addition, concessions and a mobile gift shop will be available. Last year about 900 people attended the Starry Night Party.

Cosmosphere Bus Gets Wrapped

Lowen Corporation wrapped the Cosmosphere bus last week. We think it turned out great. Thanks, Lowen!

Starry Night Volunteer Needs

Call Janet Fisher for more information at 620-665-9340, or sign up online at:
http://www1.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=starrynight

Starry Night Volunteer Needs
August 28, 2010 – Hobart Detter Field in Carey Park
Event runs from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Front Gate
Need three people to at front gate to welcome people and get them to sign up for drawings.
5:30 – 8:30 p.m. is the time you need to be available

Moon Walk Inflatable
Need two people to oversee this – making sure not too many kids in at a time.
5:45 – 8:45 p.m. is the time you need to be available

Air Rockets
Need four people to work with education staff. Volunteers will help kids build their air rockets. This will involve gluing on fins and attaching nose cones, then helping package up remaining items afterwards.
6 – 9 p.m. is the time you need to be available

Solar system bracelets
Need four people to work with education staff to help kids make solar system bracelets. Education staff will explain each bead represents a planet.
5:45 – 8:45 p.m. is the time you need to be available

Gliders
Need two people to help hand out gliders to kids. Education will have someone to explain the principles involved.
6 – 9 p.m. is the time you need to be available

Buttons
Need five people to make buttons. Kids will color/decorate the paper, then it will be pressed into a pin-back button onsite. Volunteers will be taught to make buttons (simple process) so they can trade off during the night.
5:45 – 8:45 p.m. is the time you need to be available

Tattoos
Need two people to apply temporary tattoos to kids. They use a sponge with water to put them on. We’ll provide all the materials.
6 – 9 p.m. is the time you need to be available

Water balloon launch
Need five volunteers - 2 to launch, 2 to make balloons, 1 to help kid launch. This is a splash zone job! You will get wet! People can trade off jobs, but we need a couple of people to get started early making balloons.

2 volunteers to make balloons
5:30-8:00 p.m.

3 to launch and help kids launch
6 – 8:30 p.m.

Coffee at the Cosmo August 19

Coffee at the Cosmo on Thursday, August 19, is entitled, “What is that?? Unrestored Components from Liberty Bell 7.” It is at 9 a.m. at the Cosmosphere and is free and open to the public.

Liberty Bell 7 is the only flown spacecraft to be owned by a museum other than the Smithsonian. The Cosmosphere recovered it from the ocean floor in partnership with the Discovery Channel in 1999 and it was restored in Hutchinson. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of this historic mission.

Coffee at the Cosmo is an ongoing series of free presentations at the Cosmosphere. It’s the third Thursday of every month at 9 a.m. and is always free. Enjoy coffee and pastries, meet new friends, and learn something new.

Cosmosphere Flag Flies on Final Mission of Atlantis

The Cosmosphere has received the FATP 25th Anniversary Flag flown on the Space Shuttle Atlantis mission that launced May 14. It just arrived at the Cosmosphere still encased in the fire retardant plastic everything goes up in. The flag is white, but the plastic is pink, which gives it a rosy hue. Around the edges, where it's sealed, you can see the pink more clearly.

Stephen Bowen, a Mission Specialist for STS-132, made arrangements for the flag to go into space on the final flight of Atlantis.



It's item number 47 on this list. It came with a certificate of authenticity signed by Bowen.

Bowen is the first Submarine Officer selected by NASA in July 2000 as a mission specialist. This is his second space flight. His first was STS-126 in 2008. Bowen has logged a total of 27 days, 14 hours, 57 minutes and 39 seconds in space, including 34 hours and 30 minutes of EVA in 5 space walks.



This summer marks the 25th anniversary of camps at the Cosmosphere. Needless to say, we're thrilled to have this flag flown on a mission. The flag will eventually be on display at the Cosmosphere.



Read more about the flight, and see photos at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts132/main/index.html.

Teresa Sindelar Leaving the Cosmosphere for Dream Job as NASA Education Specialist

Teresa Sindelar first came to the Cosmosphere as an 11 year old attending space camp in 1989. Now, she’s headed to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to be a NASA Education Specialist in the Teaching from Space Office.

Growing up in Nebraska, Teresa loved space, and wanted to go to camp. One year she and her mom were shopping in Omaha and Astronaut Tom Stafford was signing autographs in a jewelry store. He told her about the Cosmosphere and the next summer she was at camp. She said, “It was great. I loved every minute of it.”



In fact, she came back a couple of years later for a Level 2 camp, and then worked as a counselor for three years. In 2002 she became a full-time employee in the education department at the Cosmosphere. She left five years later to teach in the Buhler school system while she worked on her master’s degree, but returned to the Cosmosphere in the summers to help with camp. But her dream was always to work at NASA.

Astronaut Clay Anderson, who she got to know when she was working at the University of Nebraska Planetarium, gave her some sage advice. She says, “He told me, ‘Do what you love, and NASA will find you.’”

It was during her first year as a counselor at the Cosmosphere that she says she discovered she had a “natural talent” for teaching. But she says she “never thought I could teach and teach what I love.” In college she learned she was not an engineer or scientist. Although she had wanted to work at NASA for a long time, she said, “I never thought there’d be a job for me. I’m not an engineer. I’m not a scientist. I’m an educator.”

But she didn’t give up. She kept checking job listings and sought at least five different jobs over the years. She says, “I don’t even remember how many times I applied. I applied for jobs at NASA all the time and always got turned down,” most recently in January of this year. She applied for an education job and even though it required a lot of travel, which she wasn’t thrilled about, she wanted it. When they chose someone else she was crushed. “I thought it was done for me. Then this comes along, that’s 150 times better suited.”

"I have a very unusual skill set,” she says. "Everything I’ve ever done has led to securing this job. I don’t think I would have gotten it without my background at the Cosmosphere.” She said when she left the Cosmosphere to teach it was very difficult to leave, but she knew she needed to be in a classroom to get to her ultimate goal. She said the experiences at the Cosmosphere and Buhler made her a different kind of teacher. “Not a lot of people go to school to be an educator for NASA and there aren’t a lot of those jobs. Not a lot of people have that kind of resume,” she says.

In her new position she’ll be working closely with the astronauts, helping develop the curriculum they’ll use when they’re teaching from orbit. Part of her job is to help the astronauts talk to students at an understandable level. She says, “It’s a cool subject. To see kids get excited about it is the ultimate goal.”

Asked if it’s her dream job she says, “It’s pretty darned close. I think this is what I am supposed to do.”

Teresa says her husband, Dan, is alternately excited and not. As she says, “It’s easy for everyone else to say ‘congratulations,’ but his life is being uprooted.” But, she laughs and says, “He knew this. He married this kid who wants to go into outer space.”

Everyone at the Cosmosphere is so excited for Teresa. She will join other Cosmosphere alums now working with NASA.

Congratulations, Teresa!

Best wishes to Teresa, Dan, son Mason and daughter Layla, for their new life in Houston. We’re going to miss having Teresa around the Cosmosphere.

NASA – you’re getting a good one!

Voyager 1 Milestone on July 13

Voyager 1 will complete 12,000 days of continuous operations on July 13, 2010. The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a robotic space probe, weighing more than 1,500 pounds, launched September 5, 1977. Even after nearly 33 years, it still receives commands from, and transmits information to, Earth.

Its original mission was to visit Jupiter and Saturn, and it was the first probe to provide detailed images of the moons of these planets. Voyager 1 is currently pursuing its extended mission to locate and study the boundaries of the solar system.

Voyager 1 began photographing Jupiter in January 1979, and continued taking photos of Jupiter and its moons into April that year. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, made a number of important discoveries about Jupiter, its satellites, its radiation belts, and its never-before-seen planetary rings. The most surprising discovery in the that area was the existence of volcanic activity on the moon Io, which had not been observed either from the ground or by earlier probes.

Both Voyagers went on to visit Saturn and its system of moons and rings. In November of 1980 Voyager 1 had its closest approach to Saturn and came within 77,000 miles of Saturn's cloud-tops.

The space probe's cameras detected complex structures in the rings of Saturn, and its remote sensing instruments studied the atmospheres of Saturn and its giant moon Titan. Voyager 1 provided photos of Titan's thick haze and images of Saturn's rings.

On February 14, 1990, Voyager 1 took the first ever "family portrait" of our solar system as seen from outside, which includes the famous image known as the "Pale Blue Dot." NASA turned the camera back toward Earth and took the picture in which it shows up as the "Pale Blue Dot" at the request of Carl Sagan. Sagan used the phrase as part of the title for his 1994 book.

It is estimated that both Voyager craft have sufficient electrical power to operate their radio transmitters until at least after 2025, which will be over 48 years after launch.

On November 17, 1998, Voyager 1 became the most distant man-made object from Earth. It is currently the most distant functioning space probe to receive commands and transmit information to Earth. Provided Voyager 1 doesn't collide with any stellar objects, the newest space probes will not pass it within a human lifespan, despite being launched from Earth at a faster speed than either Voyager spacecraft.

Coffee at the Cosmo - July 15

Coffee at the Cosmo on Thursday, July 15, is entitled, “As Seen on NASA TV: NASA Sources for Spin-off Technologies.” It is at 9 a.m. at the Cosmosphere and is free and open to the public.

The ingenuity required to put a man on the moon resulted in numerous products we still use today. NASA engineers had to “think outside the box” in a major way. If you’re walking around with scratch-resistant lenses in your eyeglasses, have ever had an ultrasound or an MRI, used a TV satellite dish, benefited from Dopplar Radar, dressed your child in fire-retardant clothing, used a cordless power tool, or have a smoke detector hanging in your house you can thank the space program.

By the same token, some things associated with the space race were not actually a product of it. For example, Velcro was invented at the same time, and used extensively by NASA, but it was not developed by or for NASA.

Artifacts not currently on display will be used to illustrate the topic of spin-offs. You’ll have an opportunity for a close-up look after the presentation.

Coffee at the Cosmo is an ongoing series of free presentations at the Cosmosphere. It’s the third Thursday of every month at 9 a.m. and is always free. Enjoy coffee and pastries, meet new friends, and learn something new.

Happy Fourth of July

The Cosmosphere was in the Fourth of July parade in Hutchinson Saturday morning. Happy Fourth!

Nice Things People Say

Jeff Pickard and family enjoyed some time at the Cosmosphere last summer, and wrote nice things about the visit. We love it when people write nice things.

Jeff and his family are obviously astute travelers! Hope they can make a return visit soon.

Voyager 2 Completes 12,000 Days

On June 28, 2010, Voyager 2 completed 12,000 days of continuous operations since its launch on August 20, 1977.

In the summer of 1989, Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe the planet Neptune, its final planetary target. Passing about 3,000 mile above Neptune's north pole, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to any planet since leaving Earth 12 years agao. Five hours later, Voyager 2 passed about 25,000 miles from Neptune's largest moon, Triton, the last solid body the spacecraft will have an opportunity to study.

For nearly 33 years, the venerable spacecraft has been returning unprecedented data about the giant outer planets,the properties of the solar wind between and beyond the
planets and the interaction of the solar wind with interstellar winds in the heliosheath.

Having traveled more than 21 billion kilometers on its winding path through the planets toward interstellar space, the spacecraft is now nearly 14 billion kilometers from the sun.

Traveling at the speed of light, a signal from the ground takes about 12.8 hours to reach the spacecraft.