Association Of Catholic Bloggers

I've said it before. This isn't the world I grew up in. Today's focus on safety, for example, feels over-enthusiastic. But then, I'm one of those people who launched rockets in the basement. With the permission and cooperation of my father.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Two paperclips, two matches, a scrap of aluminum foil, and a pin. A happy memory involving a basement and time with Dad.)

Only 3,000 or so of Nova's 3,500 on-site drones were in the air at any one time during the Vatican's "Grace for the World" Saturday evening concert (September 13, 2025). LEDs on those 12-ounce mini-helicopters can display 16,000,000 different colors. I don't know how many the Nova team used during the concert. Colors, I mean. The 3,000 drones airborne with 500 recharging at any given time is pretty clear. However many colors they used, the show made quite an impression on folks in St. Peter's Square.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (My response to the first Vatican drone show, a short video by someone attending the concert: and how I see drones, art, and being human.)

One thing I like about families — the one(s) I'm in, at any rate — are the legacies. In my dialect of English a "legacy" is generally money or property handed down from one generation to another. Legacies of that sort matter. My wife and I are in the process of updating our will, I suppose it'll be wills, and that's another topic. But the legacies I'm thinking of aren't worth much, in terms of taxable assets. Although each of us is a unique individual, we also inherit whatever's in the genes of our biological parents: along with the experiences, attitudes, habits, values, and stories of the folks who raised us.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Legacies matter: the values and stories of our families. I note the basics of being a Catholic family: and an interest a great-grandfather and I share.)

San Francisco's BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system wasn't the world's first automated transit system, or even the first in this country. But it was among the first all-new American rapid transit systems designed in the 20th century. BART was also, I gather, among the first with trains that didn't need drivers. Or, rather, didn't need a human at the controls. An Automatic Train Control (ATC) system ran each train, and the network as a whole. 1 Today I'll be taking a quick look at how news media covered a BART accident that wasn't particularly serious, and talk about what happened when a train and its driver didn't communicate — plus whatever else comes to mind. The Fleetingly Famous Fremont Flyer ROBOT TRAIN RUNS AMOK! CHAOS RIDES THE RAILS! The Train That Left Its Human Behind Daft Kids and Open Doors WAIT FOR ME! Seriously? Humans: A Brief Meditation on Kids, Commuters, and Molten Ice Cream More at A Catholic Citizen in America ....

...I could take many routes, talking about what that bunch of crazy college kids did yesterday (October 20, 2024) in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Taking my cue from Sixties sensibilities that I still retain — to an extent — I could ponder the perils which their launch posed to the fragile desert biome. Or I could complain that they didn't focus on some sorta-now, sorta-wow, social protest. Instead.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A 79 second YouTube video of the successful University of Southern California rocket launch of October 20, 2024. Plus a news excerpt and my reaction.)

I've been watching NASASpaceflight's YouTube channel's coverage of the SpaceX Starship sixth test flight. Maybe they don't have the polish of old-school broadcast media, but I thoroughly enjoy what they do. That's partly because they're frankly nerdish. And partly because they actually know what they're talking about. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Watching the SpaceX Starship test flight, November 19, 2024. Why I think it matters, and how I see space exploration.)

Sooner or later, I figure someone will develop a spaceplane that takes off from places like Tampa International Airport, carries passengers and cargo to low Earth orbit, and flies back: either to the airport it came from, or the next stop in its flight schedule. It might be a next-generation version of Dawn Aerospace's Aurora, or an advanced Radian Aerospace model. But it won't be Reaction Engines Limited's Skylon. Developing their two-mode SABRE rocket engine ended up costing too much and taking too long. I'll take a quick look at Skylon. After that, I'll take a longer look at Seattle-based Radian Aerospace's PFV01 spaceplane. PFV01, a prototype of Radian's Aurora spaceplane, is the one that's been making test flights near Abu Dhabi. Closing the Book on Skylon Radian Aerospace PFV01: Another Step Test Flights Living With and Working Around Rules Rocket Sled — — To the Stars More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Reaction Engines Ltd. de...

This isn't what I’ll be talking about this week, but today's (August 27, 2024) planned commercial test flight is — my opinion — a big deal. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A very quick overview of a commercial human spaceflight mission, an excerpt from the news, and an embedded video which may provide live coverage.)

I remember when many folks were getting used to the idea that space travel wasn't just science fiction. Some apparently still haven't gotten the memo, but others have been developing new technologies. Like inflatable space stations. I'll be talking about that, and how I see getting back on the road to the stars. Building Better Habitats: Basket-Weave, and Now: Isotensoids? "...strong, simple, and safe...." Expandable Habitats and Max Space New Technology Built on Old Ideas Perceived Impossibilities and Being Human New Ideas, Old Reactions What a Bishop Didn't Say, and the Wright Brothers' Mother "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." What's Next? More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (New Max Space inflatable space habitat technology may be strong, simple, safe: and less expensive. I look at that, and where we can be going.)

For some reason, I expected Monday's Starliner launch to go ahead on schedule. It didn't, which is probably a good thing. But the delay, and staying up far later than I usually do, waiting for a news conference that I slept through anyway — The long and the short of it is that, instead of focusing on the Starliner spacecraft this week, I decided to start talking about Boeing's reputation, SpaceX, the shift to commercial space travel and exploration; and see where that led me. As usual, I've made a list of links to this week's headings: so feel free to skip ahead to whatever looks most interesting. Or go get a cup of coffee, take a walk, whatever. This post should still be around when you get back. SpaceX Dragon, Working Since 2010; Boeing Starliner, ... Third Starliner Orbital Test Flight, the First With Astronauts "Ad Astra Per Aspera": "To the Stars Through Difficulties" Lilienthal's Letter, a Lunar Plaque, and a Work in Progres...

This isn't what I'm writing about this week, but it's noteworthy:... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (As I write this, Voyager 1 has been outward bound for 46 years, seven months, 18 days and about two hours.)

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good one." (Gerald R. Massie, photographer, following the crash-landing of his B-17 (1944) ( from " Stayin alive — 16 favorite aviation quotes ", Dan Littmann, Air Facts (August 25, 2016) ) So far, this has been a good year for Lunar exploration. Both JAXA's SLIM and Intuitive Machines' Odysseus made good landings. Not perfect: and that's what I'll be talking about this week. Tipped, Tilted and Maybe Tripped: But Successful! The IM-1 Odysseus Mission: a "Spicy" Experience and Serendipity Odysseus: On Target and "Still Kicking" First Successful Commercial Flight, Farthest South Landing SLIM: Another Good Lunar Landing NASA News Conference: In Case You're Interested More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Two successful Lunar landings: SLIM and Odyssey. First successful commercial flight to the Moon, scouting for south polar Lunar base.)

This week I'll be talking about what's changed over the last century, what hasn't, and why I think progress isn't inevitable. On the other hand, I don't think we're doomed. That last may take explaining. Yesterday's Future O Tempora, O Mores, O Wow! Progress is Inevitable Possible "...The Good or Evil Performed by Nations ... in a Cosmopolitical View..." Science, Religion, Progress, and — Maybe — Mything the Point Truth, Facts, Science: and Hope Works in Progress ... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Blind optimism does not make sense. Neither does blind pessimism. I look at what has changed in the last century, what has not: and works in progress.)

This week I'll be looking at: Parts of that "...Progress of the Century..." lithograph A few lines from three poems by Tennyson What's changed over the last couple centuries What hasn't I'll also explain why I don't "believe in" Progress with a capital "P". On the other hand, I'd rather be living today than in 1923 or 1823. That's partly because we've made considerable progress, lowercase "p", on the technology side of our lives. And some remarkable lowercase progress on the social side, too. I've been running a fever this week, so the discussion of P rogress and p rogress is a whole lot shorter than I'd planned. Which may be a good thing. This week's post may be a trifle more digressive than usual. You have been warned. Mottoes and Viewpoints Principles Steam, Reform, and Poisoned Candy A Long-Overdue Change (Optionally) Rational Animals The Candy Man Could "Forward!...

India became the fourth nation to land on Earth's Moon this week. And the first to land near the Lunar south pole. This is a very big deal. So, in a different way, was the "abnormal situation" that turned Russia's Luna-25 lander into an impactor. Humanity is returning to the Moon. I think this is a good thing. I woke up in time to watch ISRO's coverage of Wednesday's historic touchdown near Manzinus crater. Folks in mission control showed more enthusiasm than I did, here in central Minnesota. But they're all younger than I am: so that's no surprise. I was and am delighted at ISRO's successful Lunar landing. And even more pleased about the Indian Prime Minister's upbeat words. Roscosmos, Luna-25, and Russia; Briefly "...The Sky is Not the Limit" "...This Success Belongs to All of Humanity" "... 'The Moon is Only a Tour Away'" Robert Goddard, Opel-RAK, and Missed Opportunities: Another Digress...

Nerd alert! This week I used words like deuterium and magnetohydrodynamics. And I may have gone into more detail that necessary about why we didn’t have fusion power generators in the 1960s. A British company's plans for test-firing a fusion rocket engine got my attention last week. I'd planned on writing about it then, but a dental procedure and household matters got in the way. So I researched and made more notes over the weekend, and when my town's power came back online late Monday afternoon: the notes weren't there any more. That's something I may talk about, sometime next week. Anyway, I re-researched, got stuck and/or distracted a couple times — I'll talk about tralphium and mindsets in a bit — and ended up with this post. Which, as it turned out, included a bit about NASA's interest in UAPs and the serious search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Sunshine, Energy and Mass: Fusion Basics Thermonuclear Weapons, History and Ideas: Ver...

There are times when I almost regret having successfully avoided a conventionally-successful career. Last weekend was not one of them. Partly because I saw what happens when an otherwise-smart person forgets to think. Big-Time Bungle: Bogus References Trust, Assumptions and ChatGPT Two Timelines, a Career and Experience A Little of This, a Little of That Using Our Brains: It’s an Option Common Sense and Other Alternatives A Skunk, a Wood Pile, Dynamite and the Sixties Changing Times, Human Nature THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Bogus research by a chatbot. Technology, common sense and human nature. Using our brains is an option. And a good idea.)

Nations and organizations running the International Space Station agreed to keep supporting it until 2030. That's what I'll be talking about this week. Along with why the ISS won't last forever, plans for either ditching it in the South Pacific or starting an orbiting salvage yard, commercial space stations and something my oldest daughter and I thought of. The (Comparatively) International Space Station Cooperation, Complications, and Doing Science Anyway ISS Support Promised Through 2030 Best Structural Engineering of the 20th century Slow and Careful Docking at the ISS Looking Ahead: Commercial Space Stations Point Nemo, the Spaceship Cemetery and “The Call of Cthulhu” Concerns, Reasonable and Otherwise More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Complications and doing science anyway: ISS support promised through 2030. Commercial space stations, dealing with defunct spacecraft, and a Cthulhu connection.)

I started writing about the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, "one of the colossal engineering flops of history". Or, my opinion, a basically good design that was rushed into service. The Snow Cruiser and Little America III reminded me of imperial ambitions and a massive attitude adjustment, the Collier's "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" series, Moon buggies and Elon Musk. Make that Moon buggies and looking ahead to permanent bases on the Moon and Mars. And why I think living in Minnesota is okay, even if humans aren't "perfectly adapted" to my home state's environment.... ...Loving God and neighbors was important two millennia back, it’s important now, and will be important when Sargon of Akkad, Julius Caesar and Dag Hammarskjöld seem like contemporaries.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (What went wrong with the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, why Antarctica mattered. Mars tractors of 1954, Moon buggies of 1971-1972, Living on Mars: opinion...

Humanity is one step closer to exploring Mars, in person. With people living and working on the surface. And eventually, I think, living there permanently That's going to take time. But like I said, we're one step closer. This week I'll be talking about In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), the NASA-ESA Sample Return Mission, and why we're keeping our spaceships clean. Until they land, at any rate. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Oxygen production on Mars test succeeds. MOXIE broke its old record. ISRU, living off the land on other worlds; and plans for Mars sample return.)