The Art Neuro Weblog

I'd Leave Too
Just as STS 114 is going through it's practice run, I read these couple of headlines from over at spaceflight.com... Astronauts Scott Horowitz and Duane Carey are leaving NASA.
Here's a bit on Horowitz:

A veteran of four Space Shuttle flights, Astronaut Scott J. "Doc" Horowitz, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, has left NASA for a position with private industry.

Horowitz traveled more than 16 million miles in space on four Shuttle missions, leading activities in science, satellite maintenance and Space Station assembly as a commander and pilot. He served as pilot on Shuttle mission STS-75, a mission that performed microgravity and tethered satellite science in 1996. He next flew as pilot of STS-82, a maintenance mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997. His third flight was as pilot on STS-101 in 2000, an International Space Station assembly mission. In August 2001, Horowitz commanded STS-105, a Station crew exchange and assembly mission.

Here's a bit on Carey:

After fulfilling one dream to pilot a Space Shuttle and see the world from space, Astronaut Duane G. "Digger" Carey (Lt. Col, USAF-Ret) has left NASA to pursue another -- to see the planet up close from the open road.

Carey plans to begin a motorcycle tour of the United States and eventually the world, camping along the way. He and his wife, Cheryl, are moving to Colorado Springs, CO, to prepare for the trip. They plan to launch their travels with a break-in expedition to Alaska. Selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996, Carey served as pilot of Space Shuttle mission STS-109 in 2002, a maintenance flight to the Hubble Space Telescope. STS-109 orbited the earth 165 times, traveling about 3.9 million miles.

The thing is, knowing the risks of Shuttle flight, I'd count myself very lucky to be alive after 4 flights. Think about it: In 100 or so flights, you've had 2 birds down. In AD&D terms, that's like rolling on 00 roll and trying not to roll 01 or 02. :)

I suspect they wanted to quit after they read the CAIB report but were told to hold on until shuttle flights recommenced. I have no proof, but I do have my suspicions.

Deep Impact, Coming Soon
The Deep Impact probe, designed to smash into a comet, is scheduled for launch on 30 December.

The Deep Impact spacecraft is designed to launch a copper projectile into the surface of comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 133.6 million kilometers (83 million miles) from Earth. When this 372-kilogram (820-pound) "impactor" hits the surface of the comet at approximately 37,000 kilometers per hour (23,000 miles per hour), the 1-by-1 meter projectile (39-by-39 inches) will create a crater that could be as large as a football field. Deep Impact's "flyby" spacecraft will collect pictures and data of the event. It will send the data back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep Space Network. Professional and amateur astronomers on Earth will also be able to observe the material flying from the comet's newly formed crater, adding to the data and images collected by the Deep Impact spacecraft and other telescopes. Tempel 1 poses no threat to Earth in the foreseeable future.

So that's what we're getting for Christmas this year! :)

A Star Trek With A Dash of Jane's Addiction
Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chilli Peppers fame, and William Shatner a.k.a "TJ. Hooker" have booked flights on SpaceShipOne. With a $210,000 price tag, the flight is probably celebs-only for a long while yet. No quotes from Cap'n Quirk were forthcoming.

- Art Neuro