Category Archives: Space Exploration

The Tall Towers

John F. Lindner February 28, 2020 8:14 PM

In 1945, science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke published “Extra-Terrestrial Relays – Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?” in Wireless World magazine. Clarke calculated a special orbit, about 36 000 km above the equator with a period of one … Continue reading →

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Intrepid-Surveyor

John F. Lindner November 20, 2019 11:43 AM

Fifty years ago, Apollo 12 landed within sight of another spacecraft, a dramatic demonstration of pinpoint landing capability. While Dick Gordon orbited Luna in the command module Yankee Clipper, Pete Conrad and Al Bean left the lunar module Intrepid and … Continue reading →

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Stainless Steel Starship

John F. Lindner September 29, 2019 11:28 AM

Welders in a Texas swamp have built a starship. But don’t bet against SpaceX. Starship is a prototype upper stage for a next-generation, fully reusable, two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle designed to enable the human exploration of the solar system and the … Continue reading →

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After the Moonwalk

John F. Lindner August 31, 2019 6:45 PM

Iconic is Neil Armstrong’s photograph of Buzz Aldrin during the first moon walk, with Armstrong reflected in Aldrin’s visor. Much less well-known is this pair of photographs taken just after the moon walk. To my eyes, Armstrong seems exhausted but … Continue reading →

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“Contact Light”

John F. Lindner July 20, 2019 8:05 AM

Our TV is broken, so Aunt Nora invites us to her apartment. (Aunt Nora isn’t really our aunt, but she introduced our parents to each other, so that’s what we call her.) My brother Jim and I lie on the … Continue reading →

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Black Hole Radii

John F. Lindner April 10, 2019 9:42 PM

I set the alarm for 8:55 AM. Brutal, but I wanted to watch live the National Science Foundation Event Horizon Telescope news conference. I was expecting the first image of a black hole, and the EHT team did not disappoint. … Continue reading →

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Dr. Rendezvous

John F. Lindner October 9, 2018 1:23 PM

Edwin Aldrin earned his PhD from MIT in 1963 with a thesis titled, “Line-of-sight guidance techniques for manned orbital rendezvous”. Just three years later in 1966, Aldrin was the pilot of Gemini XII, the last flight of the Gemini program, … Continue reading →

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Moon Dance

John F. Lindner June 1, 2018 9:49 PM

I ran up the stairs to Studio Art. Justine was already rolling out the treadmill, so I climbed another flight of stairs to the old running track and let down both ends of the steel cable, one end connected to … Continue reading →

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Falcon Heavy

John F. Lindner March 1, 2018 10:23 AM

I was supervising Jr IS, but as I circulated around the lab, I watched the clock. Everyone was working quietly. Just before launch, I snuck back to my office and closed the door. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy was surrounded by … Continue reading →

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The Cupola

John F. Lindner September 1, 2017 2:57 PM

In the sky is a castle, built in free fall, brick-by-brick, where the sun rises and sets every ninety minutes. The castle derives its energy from sunlight and recycles its water. Sealed against a vacuum, its inhabitants float and glide … Continue reading →

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