OF SPECIAL INTEREST
OF SPECIAL INTEREST NEWS
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE! I hope you all enjoyed the total lunar eclipse on 3/14! Alas, I got clouded out in Colorado Springs.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy to Retire: He grew up behind the Iron Curtain, and like many young people, he became enamored with aviation at an early age. To him, flying not only seemed “cool,” it symbolized freedom. He became remarkably successful in the airliner leasing business, and “paid back” his success with a very sizable donation to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, to inspire future generations with flight. The NASM facility at Dulles Airport is named in his honor.
Aviation Week has an interesting article about his illustrious career here: https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/aircraft-leasing-pioneer-udvar-hazy-announces-retirement.
Aviation Week Podcast: Could the U.S. Lose Its Leadership in Space? “Is the United States in danger of losing its enviable leadership position in Space? As Space becomes an increasingly contested domain and US adversaries field new capabilities, the alarm bells are growing louder by the day. Make no mistake, the US Space industry is still on the cutting edge. The concern is whether the federal government is equipped to harness innovations that are being rolled out at a breakneck pace.” For more on this important topic, see: https://aviationweek.com/podcasts/check-6/podcast-could-us-lose-its-leadership-space.
JPL Relief Fund: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s campus was spared direct fire damage (barely), but the Eaton Fire devastated the surrounding area. Over 200 JPL employees lost their homes. A Relief Fund has been set up to help them recover. The following is from the Fund’s announcement: “The Caltech and JPL communities—our dedicated staff, faculty, and students—have been greatly impacted by this week’s devastating fires in Southern California. Thousands in our community have been displaced under mandatory evacuation orders, and hundreds including their families have lost their homes in the fires. In response to this crisis, we have established a special Caltech and JPL Disaster Relief Fund to support our affected colleagues and students. Every gift to this fund will support individuals whose lives have been interrupted by this tragedy, whether they've lost their homes or are experiencing some other dire situation due to this crisis.”
A most worthy cause, indeed!
OF SPECIAL INTEREST FYI
Past A+StW Items of Note
Sunday, March 16, is the 99th anniversary of the Robert Goddard’s launch of the first liquid-fueled rocket, a major innovation. For more about it, see here.
Sunday, March 16, is also the 59th anniversary of the launch of Gemini 8, with Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott (both future Moonwalkers). They performed the first orbital docking, and were nearly lost when a stuck thruster forced a dangerous mission abort. Find out more about the Gemini 8 mission here.
Monday, March 18, is the 60th anniversary of the first “walk in Space,” by Alexei Leonov. Leonov would later command the Russian half of the “Handshake in Space” mission. For more information about him and the HiS, see here.
Tuesday, March 19, is the 61st anniversary of the start of Geraldine Mock’s round-the-world flight in a Cessna 180, the first solo aerial circumnavigation by a woman. For more about her and the event, see here.
Wednesday, March 20, is the 93rd anniversary of the first flight of the Boeing XP-26 “Peashooter” fighter plane. Find out more about the Peashooter here.
Friday, March 22, is the 84th anniversary of the activation of the USAAF 99th Pursuit Squadron, aka the “Tuskegee Airmen.” For more about this gallant group, see here.
Monday, March 25, is the 370th anniversary of the discovery of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, by Christiaan Huygens. For more about him, see here.
Tuesday, March 26, is the 85th anniversary of the prototype of what would become the C-46 “Commando” combat transport aircraft. It could carry more cargo than the C-47 (military version of the DC-3), and was instrumental in ferrying cargo “over the Hump” in WWII. Find out more about it here.
Wednesday, March 27, is the 48th anniversary of the deadliest commercial airplane crash in history, where 583 people died. Find out more about this horrible event here.
Saturday, March 30, is the 83rd anniversary of the U.S. Army acceptance of the Sikorsky XR-4 "Hoverfly" helicopter prototype as its first service helicopter. Find out more about it here.
Sunday, March 31, is the 106th anniversary of the conclusion of the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic, by Albert Read in the NC-4 flying boat. Find out more about it here.
For Those of You in the Colorado Springs Area: The Space Foundation Discovery Center on Garden of the Gods Avenue has been undergoing a significant expansion and updating, and has reopened as of June 1. 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. 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!
OF SPECIAL INTEREST LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION
IN THE NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
I recently had the privilege of visiting the National Air and Space Museum, both the original building on the National Mall, now undergoing renovation, and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy building at Dulles Airport, where a number of planes and other artifacts normally downtown are now on display. A number of Docents and museum staff get A+StW, and I thought I could expand the Of Special Interest section to include info relating to NASM programming, collection, and research. I hope the new material makes you want to made the trip to see NASM in person!
NASM’s Bong P-38: Richard I. Bong, the highest-scoring American fighter pilot in WWII, came back to the U.S. before the end of the War. In addition to his appearing at bond drives, he became a test pilot. He was a Wright Filed outside Dayton on April 16, 1945, slated to fly a P-338 with an experimental control system. The test went awry before it began, when the right engine exploded. Major Bong was able to land the aircraft without further difficulty. That very aircraft is now on display in the Hazy Center today! For more information on Dick Bong, see the Item of the Week in this installment. For more on the NASM P-38, see: https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lockheed-p-38j-10-lo-lightning/nasm_A19600295000.
NASA Research Experience for Undergraduates internships: See: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs. The American Astronomical Society also has info about REU programs; see: https://aas.org/careers/internships-summer-jobs.
Vintage Aviation News recently posted a piece about the changes being made in NASM’s Pioneers of Flight Gallery. NASM folks already are familiar with this, but those of you waiting to see the National Mall Building of NASM after its ongoing renovation will want to check this out: https://vintageaviationnews.com/aviation-museum-news/pioneers-of-flight-gallery-at-the-national-air-and-space-museum.html!
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.