KenMankoff

Astronaut Rejection Part II of II

Yesterday I received my second astronaut rejection letter. The first was a few months ago from ESA and this one was from NASA. I am not surprised but still sad. The nine new astronauts (called AsCans as they are Astronaut Candidates until their first flight) selected by NASA are introduced here.

In related news, as of July 1st I am officially a PhD. student at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Eight New Astronauts

The European Space Agency (ESA) has just announced and introduced their six new astronauts. The biographies testify to an impressive lot. I think even if I had completed my PhD when I was trying out for these slots, it does not look like I had much of a chance. Four of the six are pilots: one fighter, two test, and one commercial.

Canada CSA also recently announced their two new astronauts (one fighter pilot, one doctor + astrophysicist).

Within a few months Japan (JAXA) and the U.S. (NASA) will announce their new astronaut corps too.

Looks like I have some studying to do in order to prepare for the next round in about a decade.

P.S. Tim, keep up the good work so I can just buy me a ticket if it comes down to that. I’d really prefer orbital to suborbital.

Two Shuttles

There is an October 10 launch scheduled for STS-125, and a November launch for STS-126. Both shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time, a very rare event. STS-125 is going to rescue the Hubble. Here are amazing pictures of the preparation.

Automatic undocking from the ISS

At the end of its six-month mission, Jules Verne ATV undocked from the International Space Station on 5 September 2008 at 21:29 UT.

It has now embarked on the last leg of its journey which will end with a controlled destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on 29 September. If you happen to be flying to NZ or AU from the US you have a chance to see the fireball. Click the image for a video simulation of the re-entry.

An Historical Climate Model

I just found some old (1973) global climate model (GCM) documentation lying around the office. The document describes the GISS GCM at some stage between the UCLA parent and Model I. Model I evolved into Model II which became the foundation for EdGCM. I have scanned the document and submitted it to the History of Atmospheric GCMs website.

It is a beautiful document describing all aspects of the GCM: Numerics and dynamics, punch cards, grid schemes, physical equations, tables and tables of variables and units, etc. These two images (click for large version) show the punchcard order for the old GCM, and the grid scheme at the poles. I like the pole graphic because it reminds me of last year when I was at the South Pole.

The oldest paper I know of that discusses human induced climate change is from 1896, by Svante Arrhenius, titled On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground (PDF, 4413KB).

@article{Arrhenius:1896b,
        Author = {Svante Arrhenius},
        Journal = {Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science},
        Month = {April},
        Number = {41},
        Pages = {237 -- 276},
        Title = {{On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air
                upon the Temperature of the Ground}},
        Volume = {5},
        Year = {1896}}

@manual{Tsang:1973,
        Author = {L. C. Tsang and R. Karn},
        Month = {October},
        Institution = {Goddard Institute for Space Studies},
        Organization = {Computer Science Corporation},
        Title = {{A documentation of the GISS nine-level
                atmospheric general circulation model},
        Year = {1973}}

Astronaut Rejection Part I of II

I previously wrote about applying to NASA to be a astronaut. I haven’t heard back from them yet, but I’m highly confident about what the reply will say.

I didn’t mention it here but I also applied to ESA. I got accepted (OMG!!), went to DLR in Hamburg, Germany for the first round of psychological testing, and even qualified for the second round in Cologne. But that is as far as I made it…

The NASA selection process is fairly secretive. I haven’t found much about it online. ESA is too, and I cannot discuss any details as I signed an NDA, but they still post a lot online. At the ESA Astronaut Selection Site you can view the full schedule, learn about what they are looking for, and even take a bunch of tests that are similar to what I took as part of the Psych I evaluation.

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. I guess I won’t be an astronaut… for now. I haven’t given up hope entirely yet. I know what I need to do to strengthen my application for the next time I can apply. Hopefully it is within a decade or I might not pass the age limit requirements. And of course, I’m still counting on Tim…

Astronauts

NASA has just posted a job opening for an Astronaut Candidate. I applied this evening. I'll post more when I hear back from them…