On September 11, 2001, I was about three miles from the Pentagon going through some training that the company I worked for had sent me to. I was in a computer lab, learning some new software and on a break around 10:00 a.m. someone said that a plane had flown into the one of the World Trade Center Towers. People started checking online and then all of sudden we heard fighter planes flying above us. I went outside and saw three fighter planes flying real low and smoke coming from the Pentagon. Everything was cancelled immediately. I still have a grainy picture on my phone of the military jets flying above Virginia.
The world changed that day for all of us.
Since then I’ve been to the World Trade Center site and back to the Pentagon. One of my resolutions for this year, is that I will make it to the Shanksburg, PA memorial.
Whatever you’re doing today, let us all never forget.
The portion of a new high voltage power cable (as seen in red) that is proposed from the U.S.-Canadian border to New York City is planned to run underground through the Town of Dresden. (Click image to see full scale.)
The Champlain Hudson Power Express is a proposed power transmission line that is anticipated to bring clean energy from the U.S.-Canadian border to New York City. The line will be a high voltage direct cable that will be placed in waterways or buried along railway routes to minimize impacts to local communities and the environment.
The proposed project extends 333 miles from the U.S. — Canadian border to New York City. Plans call for two, 5-inch diameter cables to be placed underwater or underground. The underwater portions of the preferred route include Lake Champlain and the Hudson River between Albany and Manhattan.
Presently, the proposed route for the transmission cable brings it out of Lake Champlain and through Dresden along Route 22. Basically, it would exit Lake Champlain north of Clemons and run alongside Route 22 all the way to the South Bay Bridge crossing Lake Champlain.
The developers of the line are still in the process of obtaining approvals but hope to begin construction in 2014. Dresden could potentially receive additional tax revenue because the cable could be considered an “improvement,” increasing the assessed value of the land that the cable is placed upon.
The developers claim that the project will cost approximately $2 billion and the goal is for the cable to be in service by the fall of 2016. The $2 billion project represents one of the largest investments in New York State history and will create an average of more than 300 jobs during the 3 ½ year construction period.
NASA Administrator Statement on Neil Armstrong’s Death
The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden regarding the death of former test pilot and NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong. He was 82.
“On behalf of the entire NASA family, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Carol and the rest of the Armstrong family on the passing of Neil Armstrong. As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own.
“Besides being one of America’s greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all. When President Kennedy challenged the nation to send a human to the moon, Neil Armstrong accepted without reservation.
“As we enter this next era of space exploration, we do so standing on the shoulders of Neil Armstrong. We mourn the passing of a friend, fellow astronaut and true American hero.”
Martian Mega Rover, premiering tonight at 10PM on the National Geographic Channel, tells how the gripping, inside story of the ambitious plan to land Curiosity on Mars collided with enormous technical challenges and setbacks that doubled the budget and forced the launch date to slip more than two years.
The four main pieces of hardware that arrived on Mars with NASA’s Curiosity rover were spotted by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera captured this image about 24 hours after landing. The large, reduced-scale image points out the strewn hardware: the heat shield was the first piece to hit the ground, followed by the back shell attached to the parachute, then the rover itself touched down, and finally, after cables were cut, the sky crane flew away to the northwest and crashed. Relatively dark areas in all four spots are from disturbances of the bright dust on Mars, revealing the darker material below the surface dust.
One of the first images recorded by the Curiosity rover after a successful landing on Mars early this morning.
NASA’s most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation.
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack.
“Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. Curiosity, the most sophisticated rover ever built, is now on the surface of the Red Planet, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed on Mars — or if the planet can sustain life in the future,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “This is an amazing achievement, made possible by a team of scientists and engineers from around the world and led by the extraordinary men and women of NASA and our Jet Propulsion Laboratory. President Obama has laid out a bold vision for sending humans to Mars in the mid-2030’s, and today’s landing marks a significant step toward achieving this goal.”
Curiosity landed at 1:32 a.m. EDT Aug. 6 near the foot of a mountain three miles tall and 96 miles in diameter inside Gale Crater. During a nearly two-year prime mission, the rover will investigate whether the region ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.
“The Seven Minutes of Terror has turned into the Seven Minutes of Triumph,” said NASA Associate Administrator for Science John Grunsfeld. “My immense joy in the success of this mission is matched only by overwhelming pride I feel for the women and men of the mission’s team.”
Curiosity returned its first view of Mars, a wide-angle scene of rocky ground near the front of the rover. More images are anticipated in the next several days as the mission blends observations of the landing site with activities to configure the rover for work and check the performance of its instruments and mechanisms.
“Our Curiosity is talking to us from the surface of Mars,” said MSL Project Manager Peter Theisinger of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “The landing takes us past the most hazardous moments for this project, and begins a new and exciting mission to pursue its scientific objectives.”
Confirmation of Curiosity’s successful landing came in communications relayed by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter and received by the Canberra, Australia, antenna station of NASA’s Deep Space Network.
Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools are the first of their kind on Mars, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking elemental composition of rocks from a distance. The rover will use a drill and scoop at the end of its robotic arm to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into analytical laboratory instruments inside the rover.
To handle this science toolkit, Curiosity is twice as long and five times as heavy as Spirit or Opportunity. The Gale Crater landing site places the rover within driving distance of layers of the crater’s interior mountain. Observations from orbit have identified clay and sulfate minerals in the lower layers, indicating a wet history.
The final Mars Science Laboratory news briefing prior to the planned landing on Mars of the Curiosity rover, presented an update of the spacecraft’s current status and discussed what to expect after landing.
“Tonight’s it. The Superbowl of planetary exploration. One yard line, one play left. That play is about twelve hours from now. We score and win, or we don’t score and we don’t win.”
Doug McCuistion, Mars Exploration Program director
“We’ll be glued to the edge of our seats for the big event.”
“The flight team is feeling good about the spacecraft.”
“The flight path is looking good.”
Brian Portock, MSL mission manager
“She’s kind of on her own now.”
“Mars is cooperating. The weather (on Mars) is pretty good.”
“For tonight, the atmosphere (on Mars) looks perfect.”
Adam Steltzner, MSL entry, descent and landing phase lead
Curiosity is scheduled to land at 1:31 a.m. Monday, Aug. 6 eastern time.
On August 5, 2012 one of the biggest events of the year will take place as NASA’s next Mars rover, Curiosity, will attempt to land on the surface of Mars.
It may be described as reasoned – even genius – engineering. But even the engineers who designed it agree it looks crazy. Six vehicle configurations, 76 pyrotechnic devices, 500,000 lines of code, zero margin for error. What exactly will it take to land Curiosity, on the surface of Mars on Aug. 5?
The latest video from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory breaks down all “7 minutes of terror.”
Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) made history with his USA-1 push crew of Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas), Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) as the first U.S. pilot ever to sweep the two and four-man bobsled World Championship races. USA-1 held a slight lead of 0.01 seconds after yesterday’s first two heats at Mt. Van Hoevenberg and pulled ahead by 0.50 seconds in the finale to convincingly claim the trophy.
Watch the final run here:
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” Holcomb said. “You work so hard to get there that when you finally do it takes some time to sink in. It’s the first time we’ve won all three events, so it’s a great feeling.”
The U.S. claimed five medals, including four gold, to mark the most successful World Championships for the program. Holcomb swept all three of his events by winning the two-man bobsled and team event titles a week ago from today.
The crew was fueled by “USA” chants at the start before powering off the block for a push time of 4.94 seconds in the third run. Holcomb navigated the BMW sled down the course with ease and pulled ahead of the field by 0.21 seconds after clocking a blazing run of 53.92. Before the finale, Holcomb tweeted: “Solid first run. Need to relax, stay focused, and do it one more time. Let’s bring it home!”
“I was nervous going into the second run,” Holcomb said. “We were ahead by two-tenths, but you know I lost two-tenths in the two-man at the bottom. I had to make sure I was focused the whole way down. The great pushes at the start gave me some room to make some mistakes.”
USA-1 validated their reputation as the fastest push team in the world by again dominating off the block with a start time of 4.95 seconds. Team members and fans cheered at the finish as USA-1 gained time on their competition during their final descent, reaching speeds of up to 130.49 km/h. Holcomb extended USA-1’s lead to 0.50 seconds with a four-run combined time of 3:36.83, and they were greeted with a barrage of hugs and high-fives from team members as they climbed out of the sled at the finish.
“It’s awesome (to hear USA cheers), and it’s great to have a hometown crowd,” Holcomb said. “That is why it’s awesome to compete in World Championships in your home country, because you have all the support.”
Final Results:
1. Holcomb, Olsen, Langton and Tomasevicz (USA) 3:36.83 (54.34, 54.58, 53.92, 53.99); 2. Arndt, Roediger, Kuske and Putze (GER) 3:37.33 (54.19, 54.74, 54.12, 54.28); 3. Machata, Huebenbecker, Bredau and Poser (GER) 3:37.63 (54.38, 54.82, 54.25, 54.18);…13. Cunningham, Beckom, Quinn and Robinson (USA) 3:39.68 (55.21, 55.35, 54.53, 54.59);…Napier, Berkeley, Clark and Fogt (USA) DSQ;
Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) claimed the first two-man bobsled World Championship title ever for the U.S. in the 2012 final in Lake Placid on Sunday.
Holcomb started making history when he won the first four-man bobsled title in 50 years for the U.S. during the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, and then again made history by earning the first Olympic gold medal for the program in 62 years in 2010. His string of record-breaking runs continued on Sunday with world push champion Langton pushing him along.
Here is their final run. (Takes a few seconds to load.)
If you don’t quite understand what all the fuss is about over SOPA and PIPA, this video concisely states why many sites on the Internet went black yesterday in protest.
Watch the entire thing. (If you really love freedom but can’t watch the entire thing, watch the last 3 minutes.)
Starting on Saturday, December 24 at 2:00 a.m. EST, visit www.noradsanta.org to follow Santa’s journey from the North Pole to homes all over the globe.
To see the origins of NORAD Tracks Santa and how Google has brought this to life in Google Earth watch below.
The Montreal Gazette reports that Pope Benedict XVI has deemed Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha worthy of sainthood, so she will be canonized at a ceremony sometime in the future.
Fort Ticonderoga to Study Repair of Walls
The New York History Blog has a story about a grant awarded to the Fort Ticonderoga Association.
For the Holidays: Sistine Chapel in 360 Degrees
The Vatican has put the entire Sistine Chapel on line. (Spin 360 degrees, up and down and drill in.)
During December, Google releases its Zeitgeist report that aggregates “billions of search queries people type into Google” over the year.
Google says that; “with Zeitgeist, we look at the most popular and the fastest rising terms—the terms with the highest growth in 2011—in many categories across many countries around the world.”
Kateri Tekakwitha Rising to Sainthood