On Wednesday, Nov. 7, WKTV will be featuring the launch of the ICON satellite, otherwise known as the Ionospheric Connection Explorer.
The Ionospheric Connection Explorer will study the frontier of space: the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where Earth weather and space weather meet. Here, the tenuous gases are anything but quiet, as a mix of neutral and charged particles swirl in giant winds.
Coverage begins at 2:45 a.m., with a 90-minute launch window opening at 3 a.m. Release from the Stargazer Aircraft is anticipated for 3:05 a.m.
Stay tune for the release of the JAXA HTV-7 Cargo Craft from the International Space Station. Coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. with the release scheduled for 11:50 a.m.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
A view of a Kounotori from the International Space Station.
Kelly Taylor
WKTV Staff
On Friday, Sept. 14, WKTV will be featuring the Rendezvous and Capture of the JAXA “Kounotori” HTV-7 Cargo Craft at the International Space Station. Coverage will begin at 6 a.m., with the capture scheduled at 7:40 a.m. Stay tuned for the installation of the cargo craft at 11 a.m.
The Kounotori is an unmanned cargo transporter. It is designed to deliver up to six tons of supplies including food, clothes, and experiment devices to the ISS in orbit at an altitude of about 400 kilometers and return with spent equipment, used clothing, and other waste material.
The Kounotori with waste material is incinerated when it makes a re-entry into the atmosphere. This transport operation involves a rendezvous with and docking to the ISS, in a situation requiring a highly reliable transfer vehicle.
A Kounotori cargo craft
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
Expedition 56 Flight Engineers Oleg Artemyev (left) and Sergey Prokopyev, both cosmonauts from Roscosmos, work on maintenance activities activities inside the International Space Station’s Columbus laboratory module from ESA (NASA/European Space Agency).
By Kelly Taylor
WKTV Program Director
On Wednesday, Aug. 15, WKTV will be featuring coverage of the Space Station Expedition 56 Russian Spacewalk at the International Space Station. The spacewalk is scheduled to being at 11:58am and will last approximately six hours and 50 minutes.
Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev have been reviewing the translation paths to their work sites on the outside of the station’s Russian segment. During the nearly seven-hour excursion, the space walkers will hand-deploy four tiny satellites, install antennas and cables on the Zvezda service module and collect exposed science experiments.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) is hosting a special evening planetarium event Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Astronaut, including a special spotlighted showing of Space School and opportunities for attendees to relax, socialize and learn more in-depth about astronomy.
Take part in the full astronaut experience on August 2, Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Astronaut? will test your skills and knowledge of space flight. Start the evening in the planetarium watching Space School, a new documentary based planetarium show, to learn the incredible story of how astronauts train underwater to live and work in space. Missions will be given to participants to see if they can complete the tasks and reach their destination!
After Space School, visitors can take command of space vehicles through video game technology in the Museum’s summer exhibition, Be The Astronaut. In a special guided-tour with an expert, visitors will chart their course to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The exhibition features detailed digital recreations of actual places in the solar system built using data from NASA space probes.
Tickets are $8 for Museum members and $12 for non-members. GRPM doors open at 7 p.m., with the planetarium show beginning at 7:30.
The GRPM will host another evening planetarium show, Night Sky Trivia, on Thursday, September 6 to learn about the night sky and test your astronomy trivia knowledge!
September 6 – Night Sky Trivia
Explore the night sky inside and out! Start by learning end-of-summer constellations and current astronomy events in the GRPM’s Chaffee Planetarium. Participate in an extended version of the Under Scorching Skies live show to delve into the current astronomical events.
Following the planetarium show, venture outside for telescopic observations with the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA). See what you can find in the night sky above the city, with a star chart and astronomy experts to guide you. Participants can plan to see Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, as well as some of the very brightest stars such as those that make up the Summer Triangle.
*Outdoor observation is weather-dependent, and alternate indoor activities will include a trivia tournament in the newly renovated Meijer Theater.
Tickets for Night Sky Trivia are $8 for Museum members and $12 for non-members and can be purchased at grpm.org.
The Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK) Cygnus commercial space freighter with its cymbal-like Ultra-Flex solar arrays and the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft are pictured in this fish-eye lens view from a window on the International Space Station.
The Northrop Grumman Cygnus CRS-9 Cargo Craft will be returning to earth on July 15 after a six-week stay at the International Space Station.
Coverage of the departing cargo craft will start at 8:15 a.m. with the craft scheduled to depart at 8:35 a.m. The entire departure can be viewed on WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and AT&T U-verse Government Channel 99.
The cargo ship, which was dubbed the S.S. James “JR” Thompson after the fifth director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, brought a myriad of science investigations in both commercial and academic fields. Those included biomolecule extraction and sequencing technology, a cold atom laboratory, ice cubes facility, and microgravity investigation of event solidification.
For the past several days, the current crew of the International Space Station have been packing the Cygnus with trash and old gear in preparation for its return to Earth.
For more information about the departure, NASA TV or the International Space Station, visit www.nasa.gov.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 4:30 p.m. EDT, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft. On its 14th commercial resupply services mission for NASA, Dragon will deliver supplies, equipment and new science experiments for technology research to the space station. NASA/Tony Gray, Tim Powers, Tim Terry
It is not another satellite or a Tesla but rather a toy dog named Seaman Jr. that will be heading to space this Friday.
Seaman Jr. heads to the International Space Station.
In celebration of NASA’s 60th anniversary and the National Trail System’s 50th anniversary, the two organizations have joined up by sending the toy dog. Seaman Jr. is a replica of Seaman, the Newfoundland working dog owned by Capt. Meriwether Lewis and accompanied Lewis and William Clark on their famous expedition to the West.
Seaman Jr. will travel on the SpaceX 15th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Coverage for this launch is set to being at 5:15 a.m. Friday, June 29, with the launch from the Kennedy Space Center targeted for 5:41: 42 a.m.There will be additional post coverage of the launch at 8 a.m. The coverage will be on WKTV Government Channel 26 on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
Packed with more than 5,900 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. About 10 minutes after launch, Dragon reaches its preliminary orbit, at which point it will deploy its solar arrays and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the International Space Station.
In addition to bringing research and Seaman Jr. to the station, the Dragon’s unpressurized trunk is carrying a new Canadian-built Latching End Effector or LEE. This new LEE is being launched as a spare to replace the failed unit astronauts removed during a series of spacewalks in the fall of 2017. Each end of the Canadrm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships. They also enable main truss.
It will take three days for the SpaceX to reach the space station. It is scheduled to arrive Monday, July 2. Coverage of the rendezvous and capture of the SpaceX CRS-15 Dragon Cargo Craft will begin at 5:30 a.m. July 2 with the capture scheduled for 7 a.m. Once again, the coverage will be on WKTV Government Channel 26 on Comcast and AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
The Lewis and Clark Pups, from the left, Harper, Dakota, Rocky, and Keelie.
Seaman Jr. will be abroad the International Space Station through November 2018. You can follow Seaman Jr.’s journal on the Newfle News blog www.nps.gov/lecl/newfle-news.htm. The site also follows the Lewis and Clark Pups, Rocky, Harper, Dakota, and Keelie. The pups will travel more than 3,700 miles to to commemorate and protect the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, visit www.nasa.gov.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) is pleased to announce that it will open a new show in the Chaffee Planetarium on Saturday, June 16. The show, titled Space School, is a new documentary style show that features astronauts training underwater for working in space. The show will begin in conjunction with the Museum’s summer traveling exhibition – Be the Astronaut.
Space School will provide visitors with a rare glimpse of NASA astronauts training for walking and working in space by spending time in underwater environments here on Earth to learn how to manage and work in the microgravity of space. Visitors will see a breathtaking close up view of astronauts training for what promises to be the greatest of human adventures – traveling to distant planets and exploring other worlds – in our continuing effort to discover who we are and where we came from.
Space School will be part of the regular show schedule at the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, beginning on Saturday, June 16. Space School can also be reserved for school groups and field trips. Planetarium shows are $4 with general admission and $5 for planetarium only. Museum members receive free admission to planetarium shows.
The Making of Space School
Filmmaker Jonathan Bird, host of the syndicated Public Television series Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, shot the film for projection in full dome theaters using the latest technology from RED, the ultra-high-definition 6K RED Dragon. With the cooperation of NASA, Bird and his team filmed astronaut Chris Cassidy training for space walks at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, and astronaut Jeannette Epps practicing techniques for exploring distant asteroids and planets at the Aquarius Reef Base in Florida.
At the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Cassidy and fellow astronaut Jeff Williams are lowered into a giant pool while wearing a full size space suit, breathing through an umbilical tube, as they would in space. Divers adjust each astronaut’s weight so they achieve neutral buoyancy inside the pool. Here they practice repairs to the International Space Station on life size mockups. Working in this environment, astronauts can practice maneuvering in their awkward space suits using the same tools they would use during an actual spacewalk, anchoring themselves, as they must in space to gain leverage and prevent themselves from floating away.
In Florida, Jeannette Epps spends over a week living with other astronauts in the Aquarius Reef Base. Here astronauts learn to live together in isolation for long periods of time, a requirement of space missions. At Aquarius the astronauts practice going on excursions and use specially designed drills to gather soil and rock samples, practicing methods required to explore distant planets and asteroids.
Aquarius is like a space mission in another important respect. Astronauts cannot simply leave and go home when they want. The reason, in the underwater environment, is a phenomenon called nitrogen saturation. After just a few hours underwater, the astronaut’s blood becomes saturated with nitrogen held there by water pressure. If the astronauts were to suddenly go to the surface where the pressure is less, the nitrogen would come bubbling out of their system to disastrous consequences. To safely make it to the surface, divers must be slowly decompressed to allow the nitrogen to dissipate.
Space School is among the first digitally-filmed live action dome format films. The RED Dragon is the first commercial camera to offer high-resolution images suitable for projection on a dome. The film was also shot at 60 frames per second, more than twice the frame rate of conventional film, creating an amazingly life-like experience. “Live action in the dome format at a high frame rate is just like being there,” says filmmaker Bird. The film is distributed by Sky-Skan, the world’s largest full dome film distributor.T
On the far right is Astronaut Roger B. Chaffee with his crew. Photo courtesy of NASA
By David Thompson
A full-sized bronze statue of Apollo Astronaut Roger B. Chaffee will be unveiled in his hometown of Grand Rapids at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. Chaffee’s widow Martha and daughter Sheryl Lyn plan to attend the event, taking place at the corner of East Fulton Street and Sheldon Avenue NE, near the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum.
Chaffee was born and raised in Grand Rapids, where he was a 1953 graduate of Grand Rapids Central High School. He went on to become a U.S. naval aviator who flew missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1961.
In 1963, NASA selected Chaffee for its third group of astronauts. In 1966, he joined the crew of AS-204 (Apollo 1), which was to be NASA’s first three-man flight. Chaffee, along with his crewmates Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Ed White, died on January 27, 1967, in flash fire during a launch pad test at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
His parents, Donald and Blanche Chaffee, had moved to the City of Wyoming where the former Kent County Airport landing strip was renamed the Roger B. Chaffee Boulevard. Also the American Legion Roger B. Chaffee Post 154 is located in City of Wyoming.
The Michigan Military Preservation Society (MMPS), together with the Lowell American Legion Post #152, raised the funds for the statue. MMPS is a non-profit organization of veterans whose vision is to honor historical contributions made by West Michigan vets.
CMDR David L. Thompson, USN (Ret.) chaired the project, with MMPS board members Dan Pfeiffer and Bud Vierson. This group chose respected sculptor and Grand Rapids native J. Brett Grill to undertake the project.
“We conducted a nationwide search to find the absolute finest possible sculptor to handle this commission,” said Thompson. “We wanted an artist who worked in bronze, and who could create a lifelike work of art. To our delight, we found Brett Grill, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the final product.”
Roger B. Chaffee Photo courtesy of the Grand Rapids Public Museum
Grill has become a highly sought-after sculptor, who recently returned to his hometown to open a Grand Rapids studio. In recent years, Grill has sculpted several likenesses of President Gerald R. Ford, on display in Grand Rapids and distinguished locations around the country.
Additional commissions, including Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel, Michigan Football Coach Glenn E. “Bo” Schembechler, L. William Seidman and others are displayed in well-known locations in Grand Rapids and around the state.
“I was deeply humbled to receive this commission,” said Grill. “Roger Chaffee is a hometown hero whose sacrifice helped ensure that mankind successfully reached the Moon. While a street and a building in Grand Rapids bear his name, his story may be less well known. For these reasons I’m immensely proud to be a part of its telling.”
The bronze statue alone stands over seven feet tall. Sitting atop a stone base adds another 36 inches. “Roger Chaffee will stand tall over this high traffic intersection in the heart of Grand Rapids for generations to come,” added Thompson.
The MMPS has also commissioned a documentary produced by West Michigan filmmaker Daniel Joel Deal. The program will track the arc of the project, starting with selecting Grill as the artist. It includes Grill’s detailed research of Chaffee and his lifelong passion for flight, visiting the NASA archives, creating the initial clay sculptures, right through to the foundry casting and installing the final bronze work.
MMPS plans to make the film available to schools, and talks are underway to air this fascinating story on television.
“For a statue of this caliber, it was critically important to me that every detail is accurate,” added Grill. “For a space suit that never flew on a mission, that meant doing some serious digging to learn some of the details needed to recreate Roger in his pressure suit and holding his helmet.”
This accuracy can only add value to a statue that will reside on the NW corner of East Fulton Street and Sheldon Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids, near the entrance of the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. Beginning on May 19, children and adults alike will have a chance to see the man from Grand Rapids who played an important role in achieving humanity’s goal of walking on the moon.
Spacewalks at the International Space Station have been scheduled for May 16 and June 14.
By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org
Wednesday, May 16, two NASA astronauts are scheduled to venture outside the International Space Station for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk, all of which area residents will be able to watch on WKTV Government channel 26. The spacewalk begins at 8:10 a.m.
Expedition 55 Flight Engineers Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold will be conducting maintenance needs and upgrades for the International Space Station. The two will move a component called a Pump Flow Control subassembly (PFCS) from a spare parts platform on the station’s truss “backbone” to the Special Purpose Dexerous Manipulator (Dexter) robotic arm. The PFCS drives controls the flow of ammonia through the exterior portions of the station’s cooling system. Robotics controllers on Earth will use Canadarm2 and Dextre to perform final installation on the port-side truss for checkout. The spacewalkers will remove a failed PFCS and return it to the spare parts depot. They’ll also replace a camera system on the Destiny Laboratory and a communications receiver.
A second spacewalk has been planned for June 14 in acceptation of the May 24 arrival of the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft. The ninth Cygnus cargo mission is scheduled to launch May 20 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The launch will be aired on WKTV Government channel 26. Coverage begins at 4:30 a.m. with the launch scheduled at 5:04 a.m.
Stay tune for the development of the Solar Arrays on the Pribital/ATK Cygnus Cargo Craft at 6:15 a.m. followed by a Post-Launch News Conference at around 7:30 a.m.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, go to www.nasa.gov.
NASTA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches May 20. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is pleased to partner with the Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship Board and the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) to bring one of the members of the latest class of NASA astronauts to Grand Rapids on May 9 and 10. Nicole Aunapu Mann, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S Marine Corps, was among eight candidates selected for future space missions in 2013. She completed Astronaut Candidate training in 2015 and is now qualified for assignment.
On Wednesday, May 9, Lt Col Mann will give a presentation titled “The Sky is Not the Limit” at 7:30 p.m. in the Meijer Theater at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The event is free and open to the public.
In the presentation, Mann will recount pre-astronaut experiences that put her on a path to the appointment, and then turn to the rigorous training required to fly into space. Mann has undergone intensive instruction about International Space Station systems, robotics, and space walking in the event she is assigned a mission to the orbiting laboratory. Mann is currently training to be part of an Orion mission to the moon in 2022, the first human flight back to the Earth’s satellite in a half century. She will also look ahead to proposed missions to Mars. For more information, please visit grpm.org.
Visitors will have a second opportunity to hear Lt. Col Mann at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 10. Mann will be the featured speaker at the annual banquet in honor of the 51st recipient of the prestigious Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship, this year honoring Patrick Clark Morgan of East Grand Rapids High School. In this talk, Mann will highlight her upcoming space travel in “Back to the Moon and Beyond.” Tickets to the banquet are $55 and can be reserved by calling 800-237-0930 by April 28, or e-mail: dave@mpi-invest.com.
Mann was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in United State Marine Corps in 1999. She began her active flying career in 2004 and was involved in a number of high profile test flights and missions. She accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours in 22 types of aircraft, 200 carrier arrestments and 47 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
During her two-day visit to Grand Rapids, Mann will also be speaking to students at Innovative Central High School, the same building where Roger Chaffee attended high school in the early 1950s, Burton Elementary, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum School.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced today tickets are now on sale for the newest traveling exhibit, Be the Astronaut, opening June 16. Visitors will experience what it is like to be an astronaut including the challenges and excitement of spaceflight!
Visitors take command of futuristic space vehicles, chart their course to the Moon, Mars and beyond and land and explore highly detailed digital re-creations of actual places in the solar system built using data from NASA space probes.
Be the Astronaut teaches STEM based content via a fusion of the physical exhibit with state-of-the-art video game technology. Visitors have their own crew of virtual experts throughout every stage of the exhibit. These digital characters will help visitors learn what’s needed to fly a spaceship, pilot a lander, and drive a surface rover — then will be there as visitors climb in the simulators to actually perform these feats, in a thrilling narrative adventure that spans the solar system.
“Through STEM based hands-on activities that are scientifically verified by NASA experts, this exhibit let’s our community travel to space from right here at the Grand Rapids Public Museum,” said Dr. Stephanie Ogren, Director of Science at the GRPM.
Tickets are now on sale for Be the Astronaut, and can be purchased by visiting grpm.org/Astronaut or by calling the Museum’s front desk at 616-929-1700.
Admission to Be the Astronaut is $12 for adults, $7 for children, $9 for Kent County resident adults, $4 for Kent County resident children, and $2 for all Museum members! Tickets include general admission to the Museum.
In each space capsule, a monitor serves as the ‘windshield,’ giving visitors a first-person view of their adventures. Touch-screens and an industrial-quality joystick put visitors in command.
During missions, the entire cockpit comes alive with animated lighting effects, game visuals, and sounds that make visitors believe they are astronauts. Special companion robots will move about the hall and interact with visitors.
The focus of the exhibit is on the concepts common to all space flights and invites visitors into a futuristic storyline as the framework to communicate these ideas.
The experience is scientifically verified by experts at NASA for accuracy and feasibility.
This exhibit will run from June 16 through Sept. 16.
Be the Astronaut was designed and produced by Eureka Exhibits, LLC. – A NASA Space Act Agreement Partner Company.
Be the Astronaut is sponsored by The Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation, Meijer, David & Carol Van Andel Family Foundation, STAR 105.7, BDO USA, LPP, Chris & Kim Branoff, Cascade Engineering, Jim & Barb Haveman, Lacks Enterprises, Inc., Williams Kitchen & Bath and Holiday Inn Downtown Grand Rapids.
This exhibit is brought to you by the citizens of Kent County and the voter approved millage.
At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 55 crewmembers Drew Feustel of NASA (left), Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos (center) and Ricky Arnold of NASA (right) pose for pictures Feb. 21 during their final day of crew qualification exams. They will launch March 21 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft for a five-month mission on the International Space Station. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center/Andrey Shelepin and Irina Spektor
Wednesday, March 21, NASA TV will be featuring the launch of the ISS Expedition 55-56 crew to the International Space Station, which area residents will be able to watch on WKTV Government 26.
NASA astronauts A.J. (Drew) Feustel and Ricky Arnold and cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will launch on the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft to the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch is scheduled for 1:44 p.m.
On Friday, March 23, tune back in to WKTV Government 26 for the docking of the ISS Expedition 55-56 Crew to the International Space Station. Coverage begins at approximately 3 p.m., with the actual docking scheduled for 3:41 p.m.
Next will be the hatch opening with a Welcoming Ceremony for the ISS Expedition 55-56 crew., Arnold, Feustel, and Artemyev will join Norishige Kanai from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Commander Anton Shkaplerov, from the Russian space program, and NASA Astronaut Scott Tingle all of whom are already on the International Space Station. Coverage of this event will begin at 4:45 p.m., with the hatch opening scheduled at approximately 5:20pm.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced it would host a second year of Roger That! featuring retired NASA Astronaut Guion “Guy” Bluford to celebrate of space exploration and the life of Roger B. Chaffee. Roger That! is a multi-day experience starting on Feb. 16 with activities for school field trips and an academic conference, and Saturday, Feb. 17 with a public celebration. “Roger That!” is planned in partnership with Grand Valley State University (GVSU).
On Saturday, Feb. 17, “Roger That!” will include exciting and educational exhibitions and activities throughout the GRPM including docent-led presentations about the early life of Roger B. Chaffee, telescope demonstrations with the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA), hands-on activities including solar system bracelets and planispheres, and more. As part of this celebration, all planetarium shows on February 17 will be $2 off!
A special presentation by former astronaut Guion “Guy” Bluford will take place in the Museum’s Meijer Theater on Saturday, February 17 at 11 a.m. Guy Bluford will present Flying in Space: The Space Shuttle and Beyond. Bluford flew four missions for NASA from 1983-1992, and is best known as the first African American to fly in space, during his first flight, STS-8, on the Challenger. After retiring from service as an astronaut in 1993, Bluford entered the business world, and he continues to give talks throughout the country about his experiences with NASA and the future of America’s space program. Tickets to this presentation are $2 for GRPM members and $10 for non-members, and can be purchased at grpm.org/Roger-That. Tickets include general admission to the Museum for the day.
Visitors on February 17 can also learn about the future of space exploration through student-submitted projects. Student design challenge submissions will be on display in the GRPM’s Galleria.
Field Trips – February 16
Local students will have an opportunity to learn about space exploration through a series of programs and a presentation at the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium at the GRPM on February 16! Hands-on activities include Magformers workshop, exploring the GRPM’s space-related artifacts including tektite, meteorite, and a sample of a space shuttle tile, learning more about Roger B. Chaffee, creating their own solar system necklace, engineering activities led by area engineers and educators including bridge building, robotics, water treatment and more. Schools interested in booking a field trip can reserve at grpm.org/schools.
Academic and PublicConference
The GVSU conference, “Roger That! A Celebration of Space Exploration in Honor of Roger B. Chaffee,” will take place February 16-17 at the DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Roger B. Chaffee was an astronaut and Grand Rapids native who died during testing on Apollo I in 1967.
The conference will kick off with a presentation, “Art/Space: NASA Space Art Program and Beyond,” by Grand Valley illustration professors Durwin Talon and Guin Thompson, followed by breakout sessions featuring a variety of science, art and society topics related to space exploration. The conference is free and open to the public; register by February 11at www.gvsu.edu/rogerthat.
Apollo Tragedy
On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck NASA’s Apollo program when a flash fire occurred in command module 012 during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle being prepared for the first piloted flight, the AS-204 mission. Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, a veteran of Mercury and Gemini missions; Lt. Col. Edward H. White, the astronaut who had performed the first United States extravehicular activity during the Gemini program; and Grand Rapids Native Roger B. Chaffee, an astronaut preparing for his first spaceflight, died in this tragic accident. The Grand Rapids Public Museum renamed its planetarium to the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium the same year.
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is an invaluable, publicly-owned institution that is home to more than 250,000 unique artifacts that tell the history of Kent County and beyond, houses the only planetarium in the region, and is responsible for protecting the Norton Indian Mounds, a national historic landmark. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, with its main location in downtown Grand Rapids, MI at 272 Pearl Street, NW. For additional information including hours of operation, admission fees and exhibit/event listings, please visit www.grpm.org.
WTV Government 26 will be broadcasting two special live events next week, the launch of ISS Progress 69 Cargo Ship and a spacewalk from the International Space Station.
On Sunday, Feb. 11, NASA will cover the launch of the Russian ISS Progress 69 Cargo Ship. The unmanned Progress 69 cargo craft will launch to the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Coverage will be begin at about 3:30 a.m. with the launch scheduled at 3:58 p.m.
Coverage will continue with the docking of the ISS Progress 69 Cargo Ship at 6:30 a.m. with the docking scheduled for 7:24 a.m. The cargo ship will be delivering food, fuel, and supplies.
On Thursday, Feb. 15, NASA will be showcasing the ISS Expedition 54 U.S. Spacewalk #48. This was the spacewalk that was scheduled to take place in January. Astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Norishige Kanai will stow and reposition a pair of Latching End Effectors (LEEs). The LEEs are robotic hands attached to the tip of the Canadarm2 that grab and release cargo ships and external station hardware.
According to NASA, during the 6.5-hour excursion, the spacewalkers will first move an older LEE from a bracket on the Mobile Base System on the truss to the Quest airlock. It was removed from Camadarm 2 during a spacewalk last October. Next, a degraded LEE detached from Canadarm2 during the lat U.S. spacewalk on Jan. 23 will be moved from an external stowage platform to the Mobile Base System.
Coverage will being at 5:30 a.m. and the spacewalk will start at approximately 7:10am.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov. NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
First it was the solar eclipse in August and tomorrow, area residents will be treated to another even rarer phenomenon, a Super Blue Blood Moon.
What is a Super Blue Blood Moon? According to the NASA website, it is when the following three things happen all at once.
Super Moon: For the event to be considered a “super moon,” the moon is closer to the Earth in its orbit, known as a perigee, and appears about 14 percent wider in diameter which makes it look about 30 percent brighter than usual.
Blue Moon: For it to be a “blue moon,” it has to be the second full moon of the month. The first full moon in January was Jan. 1 with the second being tomorrow, Jan. 31.
Blood Moon: Lastly, the Super Blue Blood Moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow to give viewers in the right location a total lunar eclipse. While the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow, it will take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.”
But that all together and you have a Super Blue Blood Moon.
The last time all of these events occurred simultaneously in the Western Hemisphere was 1866. A total solar eclipse is more common, with the next one taking place in North America on April 8, 2024.
Stages of the Jan. 31, 2018 “super blue blood moon” (weather permitting) are depicted in Pacific Time with “moonset” times for major cities across the U.S., which affect how much of the event viewers will see. While viewers along the East Coast will see only the initial stages of the eclipse before moonset, those in the West and Hawaii will see most or all of the lunar eclipse phases before dawn. Credits: NASA
How to see it?
Well if you live on the West Coast, Alaska or Hawaii, you would have a great view, but for us in the Eastern time zone, it could be a bit more challenging. The eclipse begins at 5:51 a.m. Eastern standard time, as the moon is about to set in the western sky and the sky is getting lighter in the east, according to Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
While the Moon will enter the outer part of the Earth’s shadow at 5:51 a.m., it won’t be that noticeable. The darker part of the Earth’s shadow will begin to blanket part of the moon with reddish tint at around 6:48 a.m. The best time for those of us who live in the East, according to Johnson, would be to head outside about 6:45 a.m. and get to a high place with a clear line of sight to the horizon in the west-northwest, opposite where the Sun will rise.
According to Dave DeBruyn, curator emeritus for the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, as the moon moves into the shadow, look for significant darkening along the upper left side of the lunar disk beginning around 6:45 a.m. The sky will still be dark with the moon descending in the northwestern sky with the earth’s rotation.
“Keep watching as the shadow slowly advances,” DeBruyn said. “Simultaneously, the moon will be sinking lower in the sky. By 7:30 a.m., with the visible portion of the lunar disk diminishing to a sliver, the sky in its direction will be brightening with the coming of dawn.
DeBruyn said residents should see how long they can follow the progression of the eclipse as the moon approaches the horizon and the sky brightens. He said to look for a dull but deep red color enhanced by haze in the earth’s atmosphere. Binoculars or a small telescope should be of significant help.
Along with having a Super Blue Blood Moon, 2018 also will have another rare moon cycle, Double Blue Moons. This is when a calendar year has two full moons in two different months. Along with January, March will have two full moons, March 1 and 31. Double Blue Moons only happen about three to five times in a century. The next year that has two months with two Full Moons will be 2037. The last time it occurred was in 1999.
DeBruyn said the next total lunar eclipse is almost a year away, but it will be much better for Michigan viewers. Totality will come overnight Jan. 20-21, 2019, with the moon high overhead, he said.
NASA Television will begin coverage of the Super Blue Blood Moon at 5:30 a.m. You can see that coverage on WKTV Channel 26. For more about it, visit nasa.gov. To follow Johnston’s moon blog, go to moon.nasa.gov.
Global map showing areas of the world that will experience (weather permitting) the Jan. 31, 2018 “super blue blood moon.” The eclipse will be visible before sunrise on Jan. 31 for those in North America, Alaska and Hawaii. For those in the Middle East, Asia, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand, the “super blue blood moon” can be seen during moonrise the evening of the 31st. Credits: NASA
DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN, THIS PROGRAM WILL NOT BE AIRING.
Part of the NASA TV broadcasting this month, which is featured on WKTV 26 Government Channel, will include the airing of two spacewalks –the first for 2018 for International Space Station.
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, we will be showcasing the first of two scheduled spacewalks. Coverage of the ISS U.S Spacewalk 47 will begin at 5:30 a.m., with the spacewalk starting at approximately 7:10 a.m. The spacewalk is expected to last about six and half hours.
Expedition 54 Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA will lead both excursions, joined by Flight Engineer Scott Tingle for the Jan. 23 spacewalk. The objective of the Jan. 23 spacewalk will be to replace one of two redundant latching end effectors (LEE) on Canadarm2, the station’s robotic arm, which has experienced some degradation of its snaring cables. A spare LEE will replace the current LEE B.
Then on Monday, Jan. 29, we will be featuring the ISS U.S. Spacewalk 48. Coverage begins at 5:30 a.m., with the spacewalk starting at approximately 7:10 a.m. This spacewalk is also expected to last about six and half hours.
Vande Hei will be joined by Flight Engineer Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the Jan. 29 spacewalk. This spacewalk will be devoted to securing the degraded LEE B on the station’s Mobile Base System rail car as a spare. Similar work was conducted on the robotic arm’s LEE A during a series of spacewalks last October.
These excursions, U.S. spacewalks 47 and 48, will be the third and fourth in Vande Hei’s career and the first for both Tingle and Kanai. These spacewalks are the first for 2018. There have been 2015 spacewalks at the ISS since 1998. 2007 was the year with the most space walks, which was 20. Last year, 2017, there was a total of nine.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99
WKTV Government 26 will be featuring two special programming events from NASA TV.
On Saturday, Jan. 13, WKTV will be showcasing the departure of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-13 Cargo Craft from the International Space Station. Coverage will begin at approximately 4:30 a.m., with the release scheduled at 5 a.m.
Dragon will return to Earth with about 3,600 pounds of cargo after an approximately one-month stay at the orbiting laboratory. About five hours after Dragon leaves the space station, it will conduct its de-orbit burn, which lasts up to 10 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes for Dragon to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.
Tuesday, Jan. 16, WKTV will be featuring the RS-25 Engine Fire Test from the Stennis Space Center, a NASA rocket test facility. The test will begin at 4 p.m.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 crew members Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, left), Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, center) and Scott Tingle of NASA (right) pose for pictures in front of their Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 5 as part of their first fit check dress rehearsal activities….Courtesy of Roscosmos
NASA set to feature the launch of a new crew to the International Space Station which will be featured on the WKTV Government Channel 26.
On Sunday, Dec. 17, we will be covering the launch of the ISS Expedition 54-55/Soyuz MS-07. Coverage will begin at 1:15 a.m, with the launch scheduled at 2:21 a.m. Footage of the crew’s launch day pre-launch activities will be shown at 1:25 a.m. The crew of ISS Expedition 54-55 is Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Scott Tingle of NASA
Tuesday, Dec. 19, we will be featuring the Docking of the ISS Expedition 54-55/Soyuz MS-07 to the International Space Station. Coverage begins at approximately 3:15am with the Docking scheduled for 3:42 a.m.
Stay tuned for the Hatching Opening and Welcoming Ceremony. Coverage starts at 5:30 a.m. with the actual opening scheduled for approximately 5:20 a.m.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99
The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft is seen on the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad, Thursday, July 27, 2017. Expedition 52 flight engineer Sergei Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, flight engineer Randy Bresnik of NASA, and flight engineer Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 28. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
There is lots of activity taking place next week as NASA launches a cargo craft along with the changing of command on the International Space Station.
On Tuesday, Dec. 12, we will be featuring the launch of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-13 Mission. Coverage will begin at approximately 11:15am, with the launch scheduled at 11:46 a.m. A Post-Launch News Conference will be held at 1:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 13, we will be featuring the Change of Command Ceremony of the ISS Expedition 53/54 on the International Space Station. Coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. with the Ceremony scheduled for 7:40am.
Later in the day, we will cover the undocking of the ISS Expedition 53/Soyuz MS-05. Coverage starts at 11:30 p.m., with the undocking scheduled for 12:16 a.m.
Coverage continues on Thursday, Dec. 14, with the Deorbit Burn and Landing of the ISS Expedition 53/Soyuz MS-05. The deorbit burn is scheduled for 2:44am and the landing near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan is scheduled for 3:38am.
On Friday, Dec. 15, we will be featuring coverage of the Rendezvous and Capture of the SpaceX/Dragon CRS-13 Cargo Craft at the International Space Station. Coverage starts at 4:30am with the capture of the Cargo Craft scheduled for approximately 6:00am. Stay tuned for the installation of the Cargo Craft scheduled for 7:30am
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99
The first Joint Polar Satellite System will launch this month with WTKV featuring coverage of the launch on Friday, Nov. 10. The launch will be from the Vandenberg Air Force Base. Coverage will begin at approximately 4:15am.
The launch will air on NASA TV which can beset on WKTV 26 Government Channel on Comcast and on AT&T U-verse 99 Government Channel 99.
JPSS (short for Joint Polar Satellite System) is a series of high tech satellites that will keep an eye on the weather and environment. These satellites will circle the Earth from North Pole to South Pole 14 times each day as the planet spins below. This allows JPSS to see the whole Earth twice every day!
JPSS-1—the first satellite in the JPSS series—has a suite of advanced instruments to collect information about what’s happening in the atmosphere, on the land, and on the surface of the oceans. From its orbit 512 miles above Earth, JPSS-1 will help:
Create more accurate weather forecasts up to 7 days in advance.
Track how the weather affects plants, including forests and the crops that grow our food.
Monitor ocean health by taking detailed measurements of water temperature and color.
Keep tabs on the atmosphere to create earlier warnings of severe weather.
Watch for volcanoes and forest fires around the world to monitor air quality and enhance public safety.
Also on Saturday, Nov. 11, WKTV will be featuring the launch of the Orbital ATK Antares/Cygnus on the CRS-8 Mission to the International Space Station. Coverage begins at 7 a.m. with the launch scheduled for 7:37 a.m. Cygnus will deliver vital equipment, supplies and scientific equipment to the space station.
On Monday, Nov. 13, WKTV will be featuring coverage of the Rendezvous and Capture of the Orbital ATK Cygnus CRS-8 Cargo Craft at the International Space Station. Coverage starts at 4:15 a.m. with the grapple scheduled for 5:40am. Installation of the Cargo Craft starts at 7 a.m.
For more information on NASA TV or the International Space Station, log on to www.nasa.gov.
In this May 2017 photo, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer works outside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module of the International Space Station. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
WKTV Government 26 will be featuring two special NASA programs this week.
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, American astronaut Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei, both aboard the International Space Station, will embark on the second of three space walks for October.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m., with the spacewalk scheduled to start at 8:05 a.m. The spacewalks may happen earlier if the crew is running ahead of schedule. The second and third spacewalks will be devoted to lubricating the newly replaced Canadarm2 end effector and replacing cameras on the left side of the station’s truss and the right side of the station’s U.S. Destiny laboratory. The spacewalk is expected to last six and a half hours.
The last of the three spacewalks will take place Oct 18 with Bresnik being joined by Engineer Joe Acaba.
On Thursday, Oct. 12, will be the launch of the ISS Progress 68 Cargo Ship to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Coverage begins at approximately 5 a.m. with the launch scheduled for 5:32 a.m. Coverage of the docking at the ISS Progress 68 Cargo Ship starts at approximately 8 a.m. with the actual docking scheduled for 8:56 a.m.
For more information on both of these launches, go to nasa.gov/station. NASA TV can be seen on WKTV 26 Government Channel and AT&T U-verse Government channel 99.
The six-member Expedition 53 crew poses for an official crew portrait at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Seated in the front (from left) are Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos and Commander Randy Bresnik of NASA. Standing in the back (from left) are NASA astronauts Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency. (NASA photo)
Be sure to tune in to WKTV Government 26 for our upcoming Special Programming Event from NASA TV.
On Thursday, Oct. 5, the WKTV Government 26 channel will be featuring the ISS Expedition 53 U.S. Spacewalk. Coverage begins at approximately 6:30 a.m. with the Spacewalk scheduled to start at 8:05 a.m. The Spacewalk is expected to last six and half hours.
For more information on the spacewalk, log on to www.nasa.gov. NASA TV can be seen on the WKTV 26 Government Channel and on AT&T U-verse Government Channel 99.
Expedition 53 crew members: Joe Acaba of NASA, Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos, and Mark Vande Hei of NASA pose for a photograph for the press outside the Soyuz simulator ahead of their Soyuz qualification exams, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. The three are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:17 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 (3:17 a.m. on Sept. 13, Baikonur time) aboard the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Be sure to tune in to WKTV 26 for our upcoming Special Programming Event from NASA TV!
On Tuesday, Sept. 12, WKTV 26 will be featuring the launch the ISS Expedition 53-54/Soyuz MS-06. Coverage begins at approximately 4:15 p.m. with the launch scheduled t 5:17 p.m. Coverage of the Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony at the ISS starts at approximately 12:40 a.m. NASA TV can be seen on WKTV 26 Government Channel.
Two NASA astronauts are among the three crew members poised to launch for a five-month stay aboard the International Space Station, and NASA Television will provide extensive coverage of their prelaunch activities, launch and their arrival on their orbital outpost.
Expedition 53-54 Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba of NASA and Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:17 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 12 aboard the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft. A full complement of video of the crew’s prelaunch activities in Baikonur will air on NASA TV in the days preceding launch.
After their launch, the trio will travel on a fast-track, six-hour path to the space station, where they are expected to dock at 10:57 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12. NASA TV coverage of docking will begin at 10:15 p.m.
Hatches between the Soyuz and the space station will open at about 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13. The arriving crew will be welcomed on board by Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik of NASA and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos and Paolo Nespoli of the ESA (European Space Agency). NASA TV coverage of the hatch opening and welcoming ceremonies will begin at 12 a.m. Sept. 13.
For information on the launch, log on to www.nasa.gov.
Today all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun, and NASA Television will carry it live from coast to coast from unique vantage points on the ground and from aircraft and spacecraft.
Programming begins at noon EDT with a preview show hosted from Charleston, South Carolina. That program is followed by the main show which begins at 1 p.m. EDT.
The main program will cover of path of the eclipse from Oregon to South Carolina. The program will feature views from jet aircraft, high-altitude balloons, satellites and specially modified telescopes. It will also include live reports from Salem, Oregon, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Beatrice, Nebraska, Jefferson City, Missouri, Carbondale, Illinois, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Clarksville, Tennessee and at our home base at the College of Charleston (SC).
NASA TV may be seen on WKTV 26 and AT&T 99 Government. Please note: All content is subject to change in real time and without notice.
On Monday, Aug. 21, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the Sun, and NASA Television will carry it live from coast to coast from unique vantage points on the ground and from aircraft and spacecraft. Programming begins at noon EDT with a preview show hosted from Charleston, South Carolina. That program is followed by the main show which begins at 1 p.m. EDT.
The main program will cover of path of the eclipse from Oregon to South Carolina. The program will feature views from jet aircraft, high-altitude balloons, satellites and specially modified telescopes. It will also include live reports from Salem, Oregon, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Beatrice, Nebraska, Jefferson City, Missouri, Carbondale, Illinois, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Clarksville, Tennessee and at our home base at the College of Charleston (SC).
NASA TV may be seen on WKTV 26 and AT&T 99 Government. Please note: All content is subject to change in real time and without notice.
The launch and docking of the Soyuz MS-04 will be aired on WKTV Government Channel 26 on April 20.
This will mark the transition for the International Space Station Expedition 51 to 52.
At 2 a.m., There will be a showing of the crew’s launch day pre-launch activities. The crew heading to the station includes Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and American astronaut Jack Fischer.
At 8 a.m., there will be video of the pre-launch, launch and post-launch interviews.
Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and American astronaut Jack Fischer preparing to head for the International Space Station.
At 8:30 a.m., will be coverage of the docking of the ISS Expedition 51-52/Soyuz MS-04 to the International Space Station.
At 10:30 a.m., will be the hatch opening and the welcoming ceremony.
Expedition 51 is the 51st expedition to the International Space Station, which began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-02 on April 10 and is scheduled to conclude upon the departures of Soyuz MS-03 in June. Peggy Whitson is commander of the expedition and is the first woman to command two expeditions to the International Space Station, having previously commanded Expedition 16.
Along with Whitson, Yurchikhin, and Fischer, the crew includes Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and French aerospace engineer Thomas Pesquet.
Whitson will be extending her stay through the 52nd Expedition with Fischer and Yurchikhin, returning home in September rather than June. Novitsky and Pesquet will return in June.
The reason for this is Roscosmos’ temporary decision to reduce its number of cosmonauts to two which left a seat open on the return flight. Whitson’s extension will ensure a full complement of six astronauts — rounding out the crew will be U.S. astronaut Randy Bresnik, cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky, and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli — on board the station and increase the amount of valuable astronaut time available for experiments.
“I love being up here,” Whitson said through a NASA press release. “Living and working aboard the space station is where I feel like I make the greatest contribution, so I am constantly trying to squeeze every drop out of my time here. Having three more months to squeeze is just what I would wish for.”
On April 24, Whitson will break the standing record U.S. record of 534 cumulative days in space. She also holds the record for most spacewalks by a female. To follow Whitson’s space station journey, go to http://www.twitter.com/AstroPeggy.
For more on NASA and upcoming missions, visit nasa.gov.
The Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship Fund announced that retired Skylab and Space Shuttle Astronaut Jack Lousma (Colonel, USMC, Ret.) will be the key note speaker at the Scholarship’s annual award dinner to be held Thursday, May 4, at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, main floor, 6 p.m.
Roger B. Chaffee, a Grand Rapids native, perished with his crew mates Ed White and Gus Grissom in the tragic Apollo 1 fire on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy, January 27, 1967. The Scholarship Fund was established in 1967 by family and friends of Roger who graduated with him from Central High School. It is one of the oldest space memorial foundations in the country. The Planetarium at the Grand Rapids Public Museum is named in Roger’s honor.
Astronaut Jack Lousma (Colonel, USMC, Ret.) (Photo by Phil Konstantin)
Col. Jack lusma (Ret.), who also was born in Grand Rapids, was a fighter pilot in the Marine Corps and joined NASA in 1966. He was on of the nation’s first space residents, flying an Apollo capsule to Skylab in 1973. He spent 59 days aboard the first space station, including 11 hours on two space walks. Jack was also the commander on the third Space Shuttle Columbia STS-3 in 1982. Jack has amassed more than 7,000 hours of flight time including 1,600 hours in space. Jack retired from NASA in 1983 and has been active in space-related activities and high tech businesses.
The 50th Roger B. Chafee Scholarship award, presented each year to an outstanding Kent County High School senior, will this year go to Eric J. Pearson, from Northview High School. Col. Lousma will be doing a presentation in the newly renovated Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium following dinner.
The public is invited. Dinner tickets are $55 and space is limited. For reservations or information call Scholarship Director David Pequet at 800-237-0939 or visit the Scholarship website, www.rogerbchaffeescholarship.org. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is located at 272 Pearl St. NW.
Astronauts (left to right) Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, pose in front of Launch Complex 34 which is housing their Saturn 1 launch vehicle. The astronauts died ten days later in a fire on the launch pad. (NASA/photographer unknown – NASA [1] Great Images in NASA Description, Public Domain)By Joanne N. Bailey-Borosma
Whether you have traveled the road, visited the planetarium, or seen the American legion post in your travels through Wyoming, there is a good chance you have seen or heard the name Roger B. Chaffee.
And for some the question during those travels may have been who was Roger B. Chaffee?
Chaffee was one of the first NASA astronauts, who tragically never made it to the stars. On Jan. 27, 1967, there was a fire in the Apollo 1 capsule during a training exercise killing Chaffee and his two crew mates, Virgil “Gus” Grisson and Edward H. White II, who was the first person to perform a space walk.
The inside of the Apollo 1 capsule after the fire. (NASA/photographer unknown – NASA [1] Great Images in NASA Description, Public Domain)This Friday, fifty years to the date of the accident, the Wyoming Roger B. Chaffee American Legion Post 154 will host a dinner and memorial ceremony at the post, 2327 Byron Center Ave. SW. The dinner is at 6 p.m. and the ceremony is at 7 pm.
“From what I know, his father was a member of the post and they asked if they would name it after him,” said Jerry Smith, an adjunct with the post. American Legion posts have a tradition of bringing named after a local veteran.
Chaffee was a Navy officer before being accepted to the NASA program, said Glen Swanson, a Grand Valley State University physics professor who worked for NASA in Houston as the Johnson Space Center’s chief historian. Swanson credits some of his love for space from Chaffee’s parents, Donald and Blanche Chaffee. In their later years, the couple had moved to the city of Wyoming and Swanson would bike over to visit them and talk about NASA and the space program.
A photo of Don and Blanche Chaffee with their daughter after the Apollo 1 accident. The photo is in the ‘Roger That!’ exhibit.
“Don and Blanche were huge supporters of the space program even after their son’s death,” Swanson said, adding the couple would visit area schools to talk about NASA and space and Don Chaffee even wrote a book.
The Chaffee family was from Greenville. Due to Don Chaffee having scarlet fever, Blanche Chaffee was forced to stay with relatives in Grand Rapids until Roger was born. The family later moved to Grand Rapids and Roger attended Central High School.
After graduation, Chaffee would attend Purdue to pursue his passion of flying and earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering. He joined the Navy and in 1962 applied for the astronaut training program. He wold be one of 14 out of a pool of more than 1,800 to be chosen for the Astronaut Group 3, all of who would be part of the Apollo program.
In January 1966, Chaffee was selected for the first Apollo mission, which was a surprise, Swanson said, adding that Chaffee had no previous flight experience unlike his crew mates Grissom and White. None would make it into space as the following year, the fire happened.
The accident also happened shortly after the move of the then Kent County Airport, which was located in Wyoming, formerly Paris Township. The landing strip was being paved and it was decided to name the road Roger B. Chaffee Boulevard.
“There was the local connection and since it was the former runway, it probably made sense,” Swanson said, adding that there was some debate on naming the airport after Chaffee but eventually it would be named after the former president and is now called the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
The ‘Roger That!’ exhibit will be up through Mar. 31 at the GVSU Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids.
Wanting to remember Chaffee’s contributions to the space program, Swanson help put together a photo exhibit, “Roger That!,” on the West Wall Gallery at the GVSU Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids.
“We didn’t want to focus just on the tragedy of what happened, but rather on his life and accomplishments,” Swanson said. The exhibit will be up through Mar. 31.
There was plans to host an event on the actual anniversary, but since family members were booked for the NASA event this week in Florida, GVSU officials instead worked with the Grand Rapids Public Museum to plan a two-day conference and celebration in February, which was Chaffee’s birth month. On Feb. 10, there will be a conference featuring discussions on a variety of space-related topics including science, society, and the arts. The event concludes with a ticketed dinner with Chaffee’s wife and daughter, Martha and Sheryl Chaffee, and the planetarium show “Dark Side: The Light Show.”
On Feb. 11, Brother Guy Consolmagno of the Vatican Observatory and winner of the Carl Sagan Medal for excellence in public communication in planetary sciences will present at 11 a.m. at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, 272 Pearl St. NW. This is a ticketed event. For more on the Roger That! activities, visit www.gvsu.edu/rogerthat.
Swanson said he hopes the activities will not only remind people of who Chaffee was, but encourage others to follow in his footsteps by pursuing their passion whether it be space or something else in the great beyond.
