OF SPECIAL INTEREST
OF SPECIAL INTEREST NEWS
Return to Venus
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has hosted an “Exploring Space” lecture series for many years. The upcoming installment, “Return to Venus” is of particular interest, because understanding why Earth’s twin is so different from the only place humans can live is incredibly important. Find out what’s in store for future study of this most important planet on the evening of May 7. The program is live in DC and available on-line. For more information, see: https://airandspace.si.edu/whats-on/events/return-venus!
NASA is “Cool Again”
A recent Aviation Week “Check 6” podcast was recorded at the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, delving into the latest developments in space exploration and defense.
“The hosts discuss the energy and excitement (at the Symposium), particularly following the Artemis II mission. Key topics include the Department of the Air Force's new contracts for space-based air moving target indication satellites, a significant step for the Space Force.
“The conversation also highlights NASA's efforts to capitalize on the Artemis mission's success to boost budgets across the space community. The hosts note the rapid pace of contracting and partnerships, such as NASA's collaboration with the Italian Space Agency for a moon habitation module.
“The symposium is described as a pivotal moment for both defense and commercial space sectors, with a notable international presence, though China was absent. The discussion touches on the competitive dynamics with China, particularly in the context of lunar exploration and military space capabilities.
“The episode concludes with reflections on the symposium's impact and the enthusiasm it generated among attendees.”
Hail Mary
By now, more than a few of you will have seen the movie, Hail Mary. It’s a science fiction story, of course, but one with more science than usual. It exposes the public to SETI, panspermia, time dilation, and other astrophysical concepts. What do astrophysicists think about it? See: https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hail-mary-hard-science-astrophysicist.html and https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hail-mary-wrong-astrophysics.html.
How NASM Will Celebrate America’s 250th
The National Mall Building of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) was dedicated on July 1, 1976, part of our Nation’s Bicentennial celebration. The Viking 1 spacecraft, comprising both orbiter and lander components, was then in orbit around Mars.
NASM had a replica of the lander’s sampling arm, and a signal from Viking was used to cause it to cut the ribbon at the Dedication Ceremony. President Ford, Vice President Rockefeller, Chief Justice Warren Burger, Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, and First NASM Director, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, were all in attendance.
The National Mall Building, after 42+ years and 360 million visitors, needed some major TLC, and has been undergoing an amazing transformation. The entire building has been affected; to date only seven galleries remain under construction.
Fifty year later, to the day, NASM will celebrate again! On July 1, 2026, five of the new galleries will be opened to the public: Flight and the Arts Center, Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air, the U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe, RTX Living in the Space Age, and Textron How Things Fly. The At Home in Space Gallery will open on October 30, and the Modern Military Aviation Gallery will open on Veterans’ Day (November 11).
For more on this exciting development, see: https://www.airandspace.si.edu/newsroom/press-releases/national-air-and-space-museum-announces-plans-celebrate-50-years!
Sad News
A very valuable education resource is going away! The Annenberg Learner website will sunset on July 1, 2026. AL has been providing all sorts of educational support books, multi-media resources and more. One of my favorite items was their 20-minute documentary, A Private Universe (https://www.learner.org/series/a-private-universe), about otherwise-outstanding Harvard students continued to hold confused ideas about basic science concepts, particularly in astronomy. You can still access APU from the Annenberg site, but that will be going away. There are copies available on-line if you search.
OF SPECIAL INTEREST FYI
China Expands Military Space Capabilities: Aviation Week’s Military Space Editor Vivienne Machi posted an article recently on this important topic, here: https://aviationweek.com/space/budget-policy-regulation/hide-seek-orbit-china-expands-military-space-capabilities. And although it isn’t a direct military threat, she notes that China plans to launch a constellation of over 200,000 satellites to LEO… And the FCC just authorized SpaceX to make an expansion of its Starlink system. [Why am I having an Olber’s Paradox flash-back?]
OF SPECIAL INTEREST LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION
“How the U.S. Space Force Aims to Avoid a Second Sputnik Moment” is an interesting piece by Vivienne Machi, the Military Space Editor for Aviation Week. See it here: https://aviationweek.com/space/budget-policy-regulation/how-us-space-force-aims-avoid-second-sputnik-moment.
For Those of You in the Colorado Springs Area: The Space Foundation Discovery Center on Garden of the Gods Avenue has undergone a significant expansion and updating. Find out more about it at: https://discoverspace.org and more about the Space Foundation at: https://www.spacefoundation.org. In addition, the Planetarium at the U.S. Air Force Academy offers a variety of public programs; for more information, see: https://www.usafa.edu/facilities/planetarium. But be advised that the Academy has new stringent requirements to enter. The Academy also has great STEM outreach programming for students and teachers, see: https://www.usafa.edu/research/stem-outreach.
Jack Cross: I have met an interesting fellow on-line via one of NASM’s wonderful Docents. His name is Jack Cross, and he proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1950 to 1954 as a Bosun’s Mate. He was on a series of warships at first, then he moved over to the USS Yellowstone, a tender that served the Navy’s Sixth Fleet. He joined the Navy and saw the world!
Now retired, Jack has put together a series of picture-rich PowerPoint presentations. He kindly gave me permission to post three of them already, one about D-Day, one about “A Day of Mercy in the Sky,” and one about his Navy career, which gives a real interesting look at what Navy life was like at the start of the Cold War. Check all three out on the Archive: Other Stuff page of the website! Thank you, Jack!
DOCENTS (and all others interested in Solar System exploration history): If you don’t have an on-line copy of Fordham University’s Asif A. Siddiqi’s fabulous book, Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, you should. You can find it at: https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/beyond_earth_detail.html.