The Moon, taken by the Apollo 8 crew – Courtesy NASA, Wikimedia Commons. Outside of space enthusiasts, Apollo 8 is an almost forgotten mission. On December 21, 1968, three astronauts launched aboard a Saturn V rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Just 68 hours later, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders became the firstContinueContinue reading “February 2026 – Back to the Moon”
Tag Archives: technology
December 2025 – Occupy Space
ISS Transiting the Moon – Courtesy Andrew McCarthy on X @AJamesMcCarthy On December 4th, 1998, Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off carrying some very special cargo: Unity, the first U.S.-built module of what would become the International Space Station. Two days later, NASA astronaut Nancy Currie skillfully maneuvered the shuttle’s Canadarm to capture Russia’s already-orbiting ZaryaContinueContinue reading “December 2025 – Occupy Space”
December 2024 – Rockets, Satellites, and Acronyms
The media was abuzz in November with Congressional Hearings on UAPs. As governments do, this new acronym was created to better describe unknown objects as “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” as opposed to our classic UFOs or “Unidentified Flying Objects”. One early “UFO” that was soon identified was the CCCP’s Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite toContinueContinue reading “December 2024 – Rockets, Satellites, and Acronyms”
The Backyard Astronomer 