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Date:         Sat, 3 Dec 2011 20:20:03 -0500
Reply-To:     frankgrun@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Frank Grunthaner <frankgrun@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Some Comments about a Long Delayed Trip to the Atlantic Coast
              of Central Florida and Places Onward
Comments: To: musomuso@gmail.com
In-Reply-To:  <CAB2RwfhphzySb7S5My6NA_2g9hthNzbuR7hee1jEOOd0zNwiXQ@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Neil

Thanks for your kind comments. Please feel free to share the link with anyone interested.

As you can probably tell, I can get rather emotional about some of these things. While the search for a second genesis has consumed a major part of my life and career, rest assured that Vanagon lore still holds third place after SWMBO and science. Thus far life has been an incredible adventure and as I have often told Alistair, I've been fortunate to have never worked a day in my life. When you are constantly learning new things, understanding previous mistakes and generally partaking of the wonder that can entail interacting with others of our species, well, to me that defines fun! Fortunately I have not had to grapple with politics. Also, as many of you know, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has never had to make a profit!

I hope those I have offended with my simplistic extrapolation of the direction of the country will understand that these are the musings of an unrepentant nerd. I am so concerned that our children may not have the opportunity for the adventure that I have had.

BTW, it is well known among the space science and engineering community that the Russian approach to building both rockets and spacecraft is one of massive size and simple but effective engineering. There is no disrespect in that comment. For example, the Gemini reentry capsule is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington. It is comprised of multiple layers of metal and ceramic insulation all carefully crafted to provide the necessary strength and thermal protection for its human cargo but at the absolute lightest mass possible. The wall thickness is about 0.375 inches thick. A Russian reentry capsule is on display at the European Space Agency Facility in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. The wall thickness of the craft is about 2.5 inches thick and it appears to have been machined out of a solid metal sphere.

The point of that paragraph is this: Standing next to me at the Saturn V Museum at Kennedy Space Center was a famous Russian Planetary Scientist. As he looked up at the array of F1 engines , he said, with a voice full of awe "Magnificent, just magnificent! How wonderful, how amazing, you should be so proud." So this can be my last comment on the subject... WE should all be so proud of what we have done. I look forward with hope to what we will do in the times to come.

Soapbox lights off,

Good night,

Frank Grunthaner

-----Original Message----- From: neil n <musomuso@gmail.com> To: frankgrun <frankgrun@aol.com> Cc: vanagon <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> Sent: Sat, Dec 3, 2011 12:53 am Subject: Re: Some Comments about a Long Delayed Trip to the Atlantic Coast of Central Florida and Places Onward

I realize I'm "over the Friday wire" on this, but....

Long "reads" for me are usually a chore; I'm not a strong reader. NOT the case here. So well written and easy to read.

I assume from the "honeycomb" sound of stereo summed to mono VO (TV?) that you took the time to compress the video. Thanks much for that. Footage from camera looking down the side of the craft showing release of a stage (don't-cha just love my tech terminology? < grin > ), with subsequent cut away to long shot footage of craft, is SO cool. The entire footage had my mind riveted to my iMac display.

It's impossible for me to imagine just how much sweat and emotion went into this project.

You wrote:

"The engineering redundancy and performance margin built into the rover is such that it can be expected to continue to explore the Martian Surface for a decade." ....... "Due to budget cuts and the piecemeal deconstruction of NASA and the Planetary Space Program. There will probably not be another Mars probe within the coming decade. The proposed effort to return samples from Mars for detailed study on earth may never take place. "

If I'm not misunderstanding, such a shame. My heart goes out to you all.

May I share this video link? I assume it's "publicly" accessible, but you may have intentionally not broadcast this link in an effort to reduce bandwidth usage from server where the file is hosted.

Thanks much, and all the best,

Neil.

On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 9:43 PM, Frank Grunthaner <frankgrun@aol.com> wrote:

Apologies for the verbose title, but I wanted to suggest the length of the journey and its possible historicity. Last Friday, my wife, Paula (known to older readers of this list as She Who Must Be Obeyed), and I transited to the Kennedy Space Flight Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, to witness the initiation of an adventure of discovery undertaken by so many of our colleagues in the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory to Mars. The launch was a thing of beauty wrought by science, engineering and technology. Mounted atop an Atlas/Centaur rocket - one of the most powerful launch platforms in the US arsenal, the two ton (1,800 kg.) rover carries the most extensive scientific instrumentation package ever sent outside our planet earth. The rover, built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory by many of our close friends, is designed to rove the surface of Mars for 1 Martian Year or more than 730 earthly days. The engineering redundancy and performance margin built into the rover is such that it can be expected to continue to explore the Martian Surface for a decade.

The launch was spectacular and visceral! The visual beauty and the acoustic power unleashed certainly excited all parts of my conscious senses including the reptilian core of the brain as tears flowed and I had difficulty breathing. I am appending a link to a video made of the launch with the launch cameras. This video shows the full burn of the four solid fuel booster rockets and the jettisoning of same. It also shows the completion of the first stage burn, the ejection of the protective fairing from nose section and the firing of the second stage Centaur rocket. The launch went forward with digital clockwork precision. With the completion of the second stage burn, the trajectory of the spacecraft was so precisely aligned with that required, no near-earth course correction was required.

All of us involved with the Mars Exploration Program were painfully aware of the fact that the delayed (by two years from its originally scheduled launch) launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) may well be the last attempt by our nation to reach beyond the earth in the search for the answer to the question as to "Are we alone in the Universe?" Due to budget cuts and the piecemeal deconstruction of NASA and the Planetary Space Program. There will probably not be another Mars probe within the coming decade. The proposed effort to return samples from Mars for detailed study on earth may never take place. The proposed search for Methane in the Martian atmosphere (joint effort with the European Space Agency proposed for 2016) is about to be cut from the President's budget for 2013. The in situ organic detection experiments planned for ExoMars in 2018 are likewise in jeopardy.

On the two days prior to the launch, I walked the halls, assembly buildings and laboratories of the Kennedy Space Center. It was sobering to seen the extensive facilities standing largely unused. The most exciting thing I saw was the magnificent Saturn V Museum with the rocket that took men to the moon. I felt as though I was touring a section of the Great Pyramid at Giza, seeing the wonderfully preserved artifacts of a previous civilization. A view back to a time when we were a nation of vision and purpose.

Time to retire.

The link for the launch video:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/videos/movies/msl20111126_launchOnNTV/msl20111126_launchOnNTV-1280.mov

I guess I'll check out Disney World!

Frank Grunthaner

-----Original Message----- From: Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA> To: vanagon <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Sat, Nov 26, 2011 9:06 pm Subject: OT but congrats to Frank G. can't wait a week

I beg indulgence from the mods, but I think that congratulations are in order for fellow listmember Frank Grunthaler on the successful launch of the Curiosity Rover. He is part of the team responsible.

He sent me a couple of pics:

http://shufti.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/aaa-around-another-airport-2/

alistair

-- Neil n

65 kb image Myford Ready For Assembly http://tinyurl.com/64sx4rp

'81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco" http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

Vanagon VAG Gas I4/VR Swap Google Group:

http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines


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