NASA Mars 2020 Launch

Today we watched the Mars 2020 mission launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Mars 2020 mission includes the Perseverance rover and a helicopter that will be the first vehicle to fly in the thin Mars atmosphere. We watched the launch from Hanger's Beach.

The Mars 2020 mission launch

 

Space X Falcon 9 Booster B1058.2

Today Andrew and I went on a little off-Friday adventure up to Port Canaveral to see B1058. B1058 was first used to launch the Crew Dragon Demo-2 capsule, which carried Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the Space Station in May (See my previous blog story). More recently, it carried the South Korean ANASIS-II satellite to orbit. B1058.2 (the “.2” indicates its second flight) earned a place in the history books for having the fastest turnaround between launches of any space vehicle; a record previously held by Space Shuttle Atlantis, of 54 days.

Early this morning, B1058 arrived back in the port on the drone ship Just Read The Instructions. When we arrived, the workers were preparing to install the lifting cap, lift the landing legs, and move the booster to the transport vehicle.

The park we were in was strangely empty of the typical SpaceX fans. As the day stretched on, we saw a familiar face show up. We were certain who he was because he started Tweeting and posting pictures on Twitter. We walked by and said “Hello” and told him we knew him from Twitter. He then asked, “Who do you think I am?” We answered correctly and he commented that he is sometimes mistaken for one of the several other SpaceX supporters who Tweet.

It was after 1:00 and we were pretty hungry. We walked a short distance to Rusty’s and ordered a Chicken Fingers Basket to go. When we returned, we got to see the crew lift B1058.2 off the drone ship and swing it over the dock to its mount. As the crane rotated it around, we all caught a glimpse of the NASA "Worm" logo and "meatball", still visible under two layers of return-to-Earth grime.

Around 4:00, we decided to go home. Although we didn’t get to see the crew lift the landing legs, it was still a good day at the Port.

Below is a video that Andrew created of B1058.2

Below is a video that Andrew created of B1058.1 returning to the Port on June 2, 2020.

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

For the past week, we’ve been reading a lot about the NEOWISE comet. On Sunday morning, Susan and I got up and on the road before 4:30 AM. We went to  Hangar’s Beach in hopes of seeing the comet. Unfortunately, the sky was too cloudy near the horizon, which is pretty unusual. Every day this week, we checked the sky conditions before dawn and after dusk to see if we might have a chance to see the comet. It was looking pretty bad, until tonight.

Tonight, the sky was clear overhead, so we jumped in the Honda and drove to Lake Washington to try our luck again. We weren’t the only ones who thought of this. I’ve never seen the park so crowded after sunset (but then, I'm usually not there after dark). We quickly parked and walked towards the waterfront. With COVID-19 being an issue, we steered clear of the crowd and kept our distance. Within seconds of pulling out the binoculars, Andrew said, “There it is.” I was like, "No way." Sure enough, it was plainly visible in the binoculars.

Now it was time to try to capture the perfect shot. I set up the tripod and camera and started shooting long exposure shots. Since the comet was just barely visible with the naked eye, it was impossible to see through the view finder. I guesstimated the location and kept shooting. After a while of having no luck, and getting eaten alive by mosquitos, I was finished. Andrew fastened his Pixel 3a phone to the tripod and shot a picture in Night Sight mode at one minute exposure. Then he shot another with a three minute exposure. Both turned out amazing.

NEOWISE comet from Lake Washington. Photo by Andrew

Don't be confused by the streak; that's a long exposure airplane. The comet is below and to the right of the plane.

DJI Osmo Mobile

A few weeks ago Andrew and I started talking about video cameras and camera quality. For aerial shots, he has a DJI Mavic Pro drone that captures 4K video at 30 frames per second. For ground based video he has a Canon PowerShot SX520 HS and a Google Pixel 3a phone. He was considering several digital SLR cameras, but they were all pretty expensive. Somehow we got to talking about stabilized video. This lead to discussions about cameras and gimbals, including the DJI Osmo Pocket and the DJI Osmo Mobile 3. The Pocket has a built in camera, whereas the Mobile has a mount for a phone. Both can do really cool things, like Stabilized Video, Active Track, Motion Lapse, Hyper Lapse, and Dolly Zoom.

We started comparing the pros and cons of the Pocket versus the Mobile. The Pocket has a nice camera that can capture 4K video at 60 frames per second. Unfortunately, it is about three times more expensive than the Mobile. The Mobile allows you to attach any phone, so it is “upgradeable” with newer phones with better cameras, and it is relatively cheap.

Finally, we decided to go with the Mobile. When it arrived, Andrew started experimenting with it. Today, we went to Lake Washington and shot the sunset using the Motion Lapse feature. Note how the camera smoothly moves from a user-defined start point to a user-defined end point while capturing video at 1 frame per second, which causes the video to look sped up.

I think you’ll agree that the Osmo Mobile 3 is pretty amazing.

Thought of the Day

While on a "Celebration of Life" call yesterday, the counselor used the term bandwidth. That got me thinking. What is bandwidth? To me, it is the product of time and energy. To accomplish a task, one must use bandwidth. To maximize efficiency, one must put in full energy over the time it takes to achieve the desired result. If one puts in less of either, the other must increase to get the same results. We are allotted a limited amount of each.

The counselor also talked about connections and relationships. These also require bandwidth. If one provides only time to a relationship, there may be no substance. There must also be energy. Some connections can be extremely strong with very little time spent, if the energy given is great enough.

My goal is to try to keep my bandwidth levels high, in all areas of life. Work, unfortunately uses a lot of time and a lot of energy, leaving little left for other things, but it is worth it because it returns a pretty big reward - job satisfaction and financial stability. Relationships can be harder, given the lack of time; especially now when we can't see those whom with we wish to stay connected. Time can be and usually is very limited, so I must try to maximize the energy I put into relationships and activities. The extra effort will maximize the bandwidth and make the connections and memories strong.