Moon Landing Anniversary

 

It was fifty-three years and two days ago, July 20 1969 in which Apollo 11 reached the Moon. The lander "Eagle" would land at 8:17 PM Greenwich time (1:17 PM SL time). It was a triumph of American space exploration, and a high point in human history. 

One can see the kind of rocket used in the Lunar missions, a Saturn V rocket, at Spaceport Bravo in the International Space Museum in Second Life. In 2009, someone made a working Saturn V that went into space.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11

Reader Submitted: At "Tea and Rockets"

 

Taken by Neuralinks Resident at the "Tea and Rockets" event at the Rocket Ring central stage in Spaceport Alpha on Wednesday October 6 as part of World Space Week.
 

Apollo 11 Anniversary

 

It was 52 years ago, July 20 1969, that humans first set foot on the Moon. The Eagle lander from Apollo 11 touched down on the Lunar surface. In Second Life, there are a few reminders of those days. One is the Saturn V rocket at Spaceport Bravo (57/57/38).
 

There was also a display of the Eagle at National Space Society (50/100/3674). 

In the past, there were other exhibits, such as the Saturn V rocket that took off every half hour, taking with it anyone in the crew capsule. And today there was space news as Jeff Bezos took off in the rocket his space company made, which was a leap for private manned space programs.

Happy Moon Landing day

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Celebrating America's Return to Space

On Saturday May 30 was a momentous day for America's space program. The SpaceX Falcon rocket carrying two US astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, launched from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral.

The last such launch was the final mission of the Space Shuttle program, the Atlantis going up on July 8 2011, and landing two weeks later on July 21. That would be the end of the American manned space program for nine years, NASA having to pay Russia to send US astronauts in it's rockets. NASA decided to partner with private companies to get men into space again.

In Second Life, a group had gathered at the National Space Society sim, numbering over thirty at some points. People cheered as they saw the rocket lift off, both on the inworld screen and online in places like Youtube and broadcasts in Space.com and other websites. They saw the rocket go up, separate, and the Dragon capsule go up into orbit as the reusable first stage touched down.

"When I was a child I watched rockets launch in Florida with my grandparents." one woman spoke, "this is amazing to relive that feeling." "It looks so high tech compared to the Mercury Capsules," commented another. A third remarked, "Wow, my stomach had butterflies, I can only imagine what they're feeling!" A fourth felt mixed feelings due to what she felt were lost opportunities, "I resent certain political and corporate forces leeching onto the space program, and the timing, in these dark hours is not ideal, but when I see the Earth like this, the 'Overview Effect' is impossible to resist." Another joked, "I can fly in space just fine. I played Elite Dangerous."

There was also some technical talk about details, and invitations for people to see the exhibits at the International Space Museum in Second Life. For the crowd, it was a proud moment for America and the world, and a welcome change from less pleasant news such as the Coronavirus pandemic and shutdowns, and the rioting going on across many cities in the United States. While the country may be going through troubled times for now, it's future was in space.

To see a video of some of the highlights of the launch, Click Here. To see a longer video from NASA, Click Here (launch at 4:23).

Source: BBC News , NASA 

Correction: I originally thought the event was at Spaceport Bravo. It turned out to be at the National Space Society sim.

Bixyl Shuftan

A Busy Weekend

The weekend offered a number of things to see and do. Among them were the Relay for Life's Ten Days of Relay, in which numerous DJs played to crows, such as Team Sunbeamer's Matt Carlton and Cynthia Farshore. But this wasn't all. On Saturday, a crowd gathered at Spaceport Bravo to watch the Space-X launch at the Kennedy Space Center, America's first launch in nine years. On Saturday, the monthly Homes For Our Troops benefit concert took place, raising over 184,000 Linden Dollars.

Stand by for more news on these events.

The International Spaceflight Museum

It was a week ago that the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing was celebrated. It was a day with much discussion about spaceflight. But it's not just events like those in which people can learn about space. At Spaceport Alpha and Spaceport Bravo is the International Spaceflight Museum, often called just the ISM. Having been in Second Life for well over the decade, it's one of the best-known science areas on the grid

Read the story in Places.

Scenes From Yuri's Night 2016

Last week on Tuesday April 12, the "Yuri's Night" in Second Life took place. This celebration of the anniversary of the first manned launch into space was attended by a number of avatars, and was held at two locations: Spaceport Bravo and the Sagan Planetarium. Second Life Newser was there, and took a few pictures of  the "World Space Party" in the virtual world.

See the pictures in Events.

Remembering Challenger 30 Years Ago ...

It was thirty years ago, January 28, 1986, in which the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. The event was the greatest loss of life in the pursuit of space travel at the time, matched only by the Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003. For teenagers at the time whom were fans of the US space program (including myself) it was a blow that would weigh on their minds for quite some time. The disaster, caused by the solid rocket boosters' O rings having gotten frozen in the cold winter weather, would put America's manned space program on hold for almost three years. Before the disaster, spaceflight seemed like it was almost becoming routine, safe enough to allow "America's first teacher in space." Afterwards, the program would never be the same again (Wikipedia article).

Here in Second Life, one can see a virtual replica of two Space Shuttles. They're at the International Space Museum at Spaceport Bravo (85, 120, 22).

The Space Shuttles were grounded after July 21 2011 following the landing of Atlantis (SL Newser article), the ships having brought up enough of the Space Station for smaller rockets to finish America's contributions. Since then, US astronauts have been hitchhikers on Russian space launches. With an anemic economy and persistent budget deficits, it may be many years before America once again launches men, and women, into space on it's own.

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Yuri's Night

There's a number of activities this weekend. Among them are those by the various Relay for Life teams. But if you're looking for more, there's "Yuri's Night" by the National Space Society

* * * * *

Yuri's Night is the World Space Party commemorating Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.
See yurisnight.net for more information and other Yuri's Night activities.

"Circling the Earth in my orbital spaceship I marveled at the beauty of our planet. People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty — not destroy it!"
— Yuri Gagarin, 1st human in space.

Celebrate at our event co-sponsored by the National Space Society in SL and the International Spaceflight Museum starting at NOON SL time until 4 pm on Sunday, April 12th at: Spaceport Bravo (108/133/1603)

Join us for music, dancing and conversation about the history and future of human spaceflight.  We'll start out with our "Space Filk & More" audio stream, then Cypress Rosewood, "The Merlin of Music on the virtual grid," will give a special performance from 1 to 2 pm SL time (see http://cypressrosewood.com for more info).  From 2 to 4 pm, Emileigh Stanbrook will DJ.

 At 4 pm SL time we invite you to move on to the Yuri's Night party at Sagan Planetarium:

 Two DJs will be streaming music accompanied by visuals from the scripted planetary tour.  Also space related trivia and costume contests, with the top prize for the costume contest being a Steam key for Kerbal Space Program.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Bravo/108/133/1603

The International Space Museum

Going about Second Life, Wesley's explorations took him to the SciLands, and the International Space Museum. Often called the ISM for short, the location has been popular with space enthusiasts since it was build in 2005, and even after almost a decade continues to wow visitors. Wesley took a look around too see things for himself. So what was his view?

Read Wesley's article in Places.

Remembering Neil Armstrong

Last weekend came some sad news for space fans. Neil Armstrong, the first man who walked on the Moon, passed away. He was 82 years old.

The news certainly got many, including myself, pondering. It was a reminder of how long ago what some consider our high-water mark in manned space exploration was reached. It also got some wondering "What happened to him?" Unlike some astronauts whom stayed in the spotlight, such as Senator John Glenn, he instead went back to Ohio for a job in teaching and bought some farmland.

When his family was asked how should the rest of us remember him, one answered that the next time we see the moon, think of Neil Armstrong, his fellow astronauts, and the journey they went through.

A few years ago on the forty-year anniversary, there was an exhibit in the Second Life Sci-Lands that allowed residents to do just that. Built by a Wicked Quasimodo, it was never quite finished, and went up once an hour, along with any space fan whom was waiting for a ride. As the sim it was on, Space Frontier, is now gone, what happened to it is still unknown. But in Spaceport Bravo, west of Spaceport Alpha, one can still find this Saturn V Apollo rocket. One can just barely see my five-foot avatar at the bottom near the launch platform treads, showing just how big these massive rockets, and their launch pads, were.

Bixyl Shuftan