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| I spy with my little eye... A big chunk of America's space program! |
We'd planned on heading to the National Mall for to see the sights, tour the monuments and such, but the weather, she did not cooperate. But hey, we're on the Mall. Can anyone say...
SMITHSONIAN!!
(I knew you could.)Anyhoo, while searching for those C-121 photos I shared the other day, I also found this treasure trove of many things NASA. Seems I spent a lot of time in that foyer, snapping many pictures with my little old digital camera. Stuff is a bit blurry, don't blame the camera, blame the photographer. It was, shall we say, a target rich environment. I went to rapid fire, assuming that quantity has a quality all its own. (That is, I was afraid I'd miss something!)
Enjoy, feel free to identify as many of the aerospace vehicles as you can, there are Shrute bucks in it for the top three contestants. (Dinna scoff at the Shrute bucks, ye'll get yer name inscribed on The Shrute Buck Vault and Redemption Center. Yeah, I know, big deal... Still, it's something, innit?)
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| Why yes, it is rocket* science... |
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| We had a civilian kid who worked with us at SAC, he really had glasses with Coke-bottle lenses. His nickname was, you guessed it, "Hubble." (Hey, don't judge, he loved the nickname!) |
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| Engine with wings... Manned missile? |
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| The old birds look on in wonder. Remembering when they were high tech! Without them, nothing else would have followed... |
As you might guess, I can't wait to get back there. Loves me some old flying machines I do. So amidst the gloom and nastiness of the political season, I think of flying and of aircraft. Beats moping about.
*In the interests of full disclosure, I originally had this as "rocker science," which alert reader B.D. brought to my attention with this comment over at the Book of Face: " Is that old men sitting in their favorite chairs resurrecting their boyhood dreams of being astronauts?" Um, um, why yes, yes it could be!
I wonder if that one is a Fiesler V-1, or a LOON?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Smithsonian's website that is a V-1, technically a Fi-103 or FZG-76. The Smithsonian does have a JB-2 Loon out at Udvar-Hazy. (Hhmm, back to the archives to see if I have a picture of that one. I think I do...)
DeleteIf you don't have a Loon pic, let me know and I'll send you one.
DeleteAnd this time, I promise not to send a photo of Rosie O'Donnell.
This time?
DeleteThe photos you've posted of the Apollo-Soyuz capsules brought back a memory. My step-father, an engineer at RCA, was at a meeting with the NASA people involved with the planning of that mission. They spoke of the Soviet's reluctance to compare hardware so it could be mated. They had the impression that it wasn't because of anything secret but more because their equipment was not as sophisticated as was ours and they were slightly ashamed of the difference. (By me, here's the rub . . . they're still flying and we're not.)
ReplyDeleteBack as far as I can remember Soviet equipment wasn't as sophisticated as ours. The same was true in WWII, German equipment was a lot more sophisticated than what the Soviets had. But the Russians built stuff that the average goober just off a collective farm could quickly learn to use. Russian equipment always had a certain rough, simple, but reliable look and feel.
DeleteThe big difference these days is that the Russians got rid of their Socialist/Marxist overlords.
While we elected some.
DeletePrecisely.
DeleteThe time the Apollo-Soyuz hooked up will stick in my mind forever. I was on my way to Vernal, UT when an eagle eyed Utah trooper spotted my out of date inspection sticker. While he had me pulled over, I was listening to the event on the car radio. He told me to turn off the radio. I told him to f#$k off. History was being made and he could wait five minutes to give me a ticket. Suggested he listen too. To my surprise he did (and still gave me a ticket).
DeleteAmazing.
DeleteI likes the Douglas World Cruiser.
ReplyDelete'Tis cool, fer sure.
DeleteApollo-Soyuz. Deke and Alexi. Five words that say wonderful things about the potential of the species.
ReplyDeleteThere's hope yet.
Delete