Like Whatever
All things Gen-X. Take a stroll down memory lane, drink from a hose, and ride until the street lights come on. We discuss the past, present, and future of the forgotten generation. Come on slackers, fuck around and find out with us!
Like Whatever
Hubble, Shuttle, Toil & Trouble: 80s Space Antics
What happens when the thrill of an Eagle's victory meets the captivating mysteries of space exploration? Our latest episode takes you on a nostalgic trip through teenage dreams, from the adrenaline rush of football games to the awe-inspiring world of rockets. Join us as we relive the nail-biting win of the Philadelphia Eagles and brace ourselves for their upcoming face-off with the Commanders. Then, buckle up as Heather's love for space ignites a lively discussion, sprinkled with humor, about SpaceX's recent "rapid, unscheduled disassembly." We also share the simple joys of stumbling upon powdered Nesquik, much to the delight of an eight-year-old chocolate milk fan.
Have you ever found yourself laughing at the absurdity of true crime documentaries? Our lighthearted banter takes a darkly humorous turn as we explore the quirks of the ID channel's crime scenarios. While we emphasize the importance of common sense, we reflect on our podcast's growth and how genuine support from our listeners fuels us. We touch upon significant occasions like Inauguration Day and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day while carefully avoiding political tangents, giving a sneak peek into our exploration of NASA's wonders, guided by Heather's insightful contributions.
Why does the universe captivate us with its infinite mysteries? From the mesmerizing images provided by NASA's telescopes to the intriguing tales of space shuttle missions, our conversation promises a delightful mix of science and personal stories. We reminisce about historic milestones in space exploration and the bittersweet memories of the Mars rover singing "Happy Birthday." As we remember iconic figures like Sally Ride and the emotional impact of space tragedies, our episode invites you to ponder the allure of space, offering practical tips for stargazers and a heartfelt appreciation for the brave souls who venture beyond our world. #genx #nasa #80s #spaceshuttle #space
Two best friends. We're talking the past, from mistakes to arcades. We're having a blast. Teenage dreams, neon screens, it was all rad and no one knew me Like you know. It's like whatever. Together forever, we're never the best ever Laughing and sharing our stories. Clever, we'll take you back. It's like whatever.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Like Whatever a podcast for. By and about Gen X, I'm Nicole and this is my BFF, heather. Hello, so what's?
Speaker 3:new with you? What is new with me? How about them? Eagles Whoo.
Speaker 2:How about them eagles?
Speaker 3:Oh, my God.
Speaker 2:They do love to make it painful don't they?
Speaker 3:I am lucky that my TV still remains in one piece this week. That was a very frustrating Win. It was a win.
Speaker 2:It was a frustrating win. I'm very worried about next week.
Speaker 3:I am a win. It was a frustrating win it was. I'm very worried about next week.
Speaker 2:I am too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a worst case scenario situation.
Speaker 2:Yes, the commanders are coming in hot To play an in-division rival.
Speaker 3:Yes, for a third time. Yes, it's very.
Speaker 2:I know we split the season with them, but you know, yeah, and my boss is a commanders fan, so I texted him last night. I was like see you next week yeah, it's gonna be.
Speaker 3:Uh, yeah, yesterday was rough. Yeah, thank god I had off today, because, man, I would have been stressed out all day today. Yes, uh, what else? Oh, yes, what else. Oh, did you see this is going to tie in with our theme for today? But the SpaceX, I did not Explosion.
Speaker 2:No, the only thing that I saw was that they successfully landed one. They did, so what?
Speaker 3:they do is. Oh, by the way, this episode is going to be Heather's ode to being a nerd, yeah, so prepare yourself, for we love nerdy Heather for nerdness.
Speaker 3:So what they do is they have Well, it used to be the rockets that launched it, the rocket boosters. They used to just fall in the ocean and they were not reusable. Spacex reuses, so they have them where they land on a platform and they recapture them. Okay, and they have been successful for the most part. And they did successfully land this one. A lot of them have been. I don't know if this is the first one that they've landed on land, but most of them are like on a, um, a barge at sea and it comes yeah.
Speaker 3:It is actually really cool to watch it happen. I have definite feelings on SpaceX, very conflicted about SpaceX.
Speaker 2:Of course it's your favorite thing in the world. It is.
Speaker 3:And so I think that giving space exploration to private companies is probably the best thing that can happen because, it's the only way it's going to advance forward, because you know NASA doesn't make a profit, much like I don't know the post office doesn't make a profit and isn't expected NASA to make a profit, nor is the military expected to make a profit, because they're both services of the government. I don't know like a post office would be a service that the government provides and why it has to turn a profit. I don't know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, but that's that about that, um anyway spacex so you know I'm not a big elon musk fan he's, but you know I'm not a big Elon Musk fan he is. But you know, giving it to private companies is probably the only way we're going to move forward. I agree, and I have seen numerous We'll get into that later but I have seen a few SpaceX rockets go up, anyway. So it blew. The booster came back, but the rest of it did, came back in pieces. It was unmanned, so it's not. Oh, that's good. Yeah, but they announced. They said that they had lost comms, which is communication. They lost comms and then they noted a and this is my new favorite term of all time they noted a rapid, unscheduled disassembly, which is a great way to say the fucker blew up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and from now on I also am going to have rapid, unscheduled disassemblies I just, I just thought that was just the greatest thing ever I just whatever oh man, leave it to spacex to come up with a new term for real how was your week?
Speaker 2:uh, good, good um. Got some help in the podcast room from my little niece and nephew no, it's looking really good, thank you. Thank you, it's coming along. I'm happy with it. I don't know. Let's see, I did turn my nephew he's eight onto powdered Nesquik, keeping with the chocolate milk theme Lord. He is a big chocolate milk fan, right, and so he wanted some the other day and I didn't have syrup. So I was giving him the powder and he was like what?
Speaker 2:is that and then so we had it and he was like this is so much better than the syrup. I was like I know right. So he drank like seven glasses of chocolate I'm. He was saying I'm out now I have to get more.
Speaker 3:See we just at the end of our gallon, like there'll be like maybe a quarter of the gallon left. We just add syrup to it, make a chocolate shake it all up in there. That's smart. I like it, and that's how you get the extra out of the syrup container when you just throw a little milk in there. Out of the syrup container, when you just throw a little milk in there, joe drinks it straight out of the chocolate container squirts it like a sports bottle oh.
Speaker 2:Lord yeah, we're big milk drinkers.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we are here too, but yeah, and today we are recording video, we are We'll see how that goes. We're giving it a go. We're going to see how it goes. We're giving it a go. We're going to see how it goes. We're going to just do snippets. I know that I dolled myself up. I even shaved my legs.
Speaker 3:Oh, I don't know why you can't see.
Speaker 2:Well, I know. So that's why I have to tell everyone, so I get credit. Good job, I mean, it's the middle of, I don't even want to talk about that. It'd keep you warm, right? Yes, it does. That's our winter coat. It's like 10 degrees outside today. It's our winter coat.
Speaker 3:It is cold. It was snowing my whole way up here, yeah.
Speaker 2:It snowed, was that yesterday?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it snowed on my way here Pretty hard. Today is also Inaugurationuration day and I promise we're not going to get political about it. But no, yeah, yeah, this, we're just avoiding it altogether today yeah, no news, just like murder docs on the id channel.
Speaker 2:Maybe some sports stuff.
Speaker 3:Okay, the husband always did it. I just want you to know that.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, yeah, we watched an episode while we were eating Heather's banginess chicken salad that she brought us for lunch. Yeah, and they were like oh, she committed suicide by stabbing herself 55 times, 55 times, and her husband's a wreck. You don't no that's not the way it goes. I don't care who you are.
Speaker 3:That is a terrible way to commit suicide.
Speaker 2:I don't care what drugs you are on, I don't care. No, you're not stabbing yourself 55 times, it's not happening.
Speaker 3:There are way better ways to do it than stabbing yourself 55 times.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like stabbing yourself once. I mean, that's all it really will take if you're alone. Yeah, just hit the right spot. Exactly, yeah, just hit the right spot.
Speaker 3:Exactly, I swear I watch these and I'm just like how is it 2025 and you still don't know how to commit murder? Yes, Not that I ever would. On this publicly noted podcast.
Speaker 2:Just saying. However, with the knowledge we have gathered from all of the research that we have done, with all the documentaries that we have watched and listened to, it actually seems not that difficult of a thing to do. It's not, and there are really just some basics.
Speaker 3:Don't leave your DNA. Don't leave DNA. Don't stab somebody 55 times.
Speaker 2:Don't shoot somebody in the back. Don't put them in your car and then think you're going to clean the blood out of it when you dump them somewhere.
Speaker 3:Don't dump them down the drain.
Speaker 2:Nope, nope, they test all that. Word to the wise yeah.
Speaker 3:A probably shouldn't kill people.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I guess.
Speaker 3:But if you have to, if you do, if it's what drives you, then know, do it smart.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, common sense goes a long way. Murder smart uh, what else do you want to talk about? Um man, I don't know, I can't think of anything. I did have something in there. Now I have been working on social media lately trying to reach out and get the word out about us to more people, because we are fucking hilarious.
Speaker 3:We are so fucking funny, we're doing such a disservice by people not knowing where we are, and that's you people's problem too, I mean.
Speaker 2:But I'm doing my best to share, so If you haven't, done.
Speaker 3:So I'll just say for real quick that I won't have to do it later, but I will do it later. Haven't done so I'll just save her real quick. Yeah, then I won't have to do it later. But I will do it later. Yeah, just hop on down in your little app and where there's like those five empty stars.
Speaker 2:Just hit that fifth one yeah, and then it lights up so pretty yep, and then boom, you don't even have to write anything. Nope, we're fine, just hit those five stars.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and also listen, because we think you like it yeah it's all right, I only listen once when I edit yeah, which I don't have to edit that much actually, so you get to pretty much hear everything that happens here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just edit out All of the rantings of our beautiful signs.
Speaker 3:I do edit a little bit out, Like maybe, like. Oddly enough it's only about like two minutes and it's just really long pauses in between or you can definitely tell when I'm about to make a like a, when I'm trying to figure out what I want to say politically correctly and not just what rolls through my tiny little brain yeah, oh, we should also mention today is, uh, dr martin, luther king day.
Speaker 2:Yes, today is dr martin. Thank you, dr, for all the amazing things that you did. It's about now to be ruined your strength.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how ironic, huh, I know.
Speaker 3:They should. Whatever, I can't. Yeah, it's neither here nor there, no, so how about we just move on, yeah, yeah, and let's fuck around and find out about NASA? Oh shit, mm-hmm. Walk around and find out about NASA? Oh shit, the majority of this comes from Heather's brain. And NASAgov, that makes sense? Yeah, they are. If you ever have like a minute or two and you're looking for something to do, nasagov is really cool.
Speaker 2:It's got like literally everything that you could ever want in your space exploration. Yeah, I've never been on it.
Speaker 3:Um, it's really cool. It's got a lot, a lot of the um, the photos from the telescopes, and I do love those.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're really, they're really especially when they find like new galaxies that are born and stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and they are gorgeous I know it's so funny because my poor husband, he does not know much about space.
Speaker 2:Fair enough.
Speaker 3:So when he is forced into watching any of the space programs, he's just dumbfounded. He's like what I blew his mind away when I said most of these stars are like. A lot of them are not there anymore. And he's like what do you mean? And I'm like because they are bazillions of years old and bazillions of miles away. Yep, so they are. By the time the light gets here, they, they might be gone. I'm blown away, did not?
Speaker 2:did not? Space is a hard thing to wrap your brain around it is it really is. I mean, it's just well, it's infinite, so it's well.
Speaker 3:There is theories that it's done, expanding and starting.
Speaker 2:It's starting to come back, come back, it doesn't even make sense to me.
Speaker 3:So when the big bang happens, it goes out and then it will eventually hit and then come back.
Speaker 2:It can only get so thin yeah.
Speaker 3:And then it's almost like a. I mean, I guess it depends on the theory that you believe in, or because there's strength Anyway. Yeah, so it expands, and then they think at some point it's going to stop expanding and then start to come back, and of course that will be the end when it does come out. But we're not going to be here for that. Yeah, there's no need to worry. Yeah, I think the biggest concern is like the moon flying at us, but I don't think that's going to happen either. Yeah, that would be bad, Because one fact about the moon, which also blew my so when we go to the Smithsonian because you know it's my favorite place to go- Me too.
Speaker 3:They have a. They did. I don't know what they have there now, but their show in the planetarium was how the Earth was, you know, the Big Bang and how it was formed and stuff and how we got the moon. And he was just blown away by the fact that the moon is just a big hunk of the earth, that something slammed into us and blew a chunk off and then it just started rotating around. And then he's like I did not know that. He's like did you know that?
Speaker 2:And I'm like oh yeah, he thinks you're a genius, he does. He thinks I'm the smartest person on the planet, and most of the time I just lie to him.
Speaker 3:my husband thinks I'm smart too either they believe anything I can just tell him whatever, and he'd be like really, yep, yep, swiss cheese. So I'm gonna, um, this is, like I said, gonna be the heather. Get to know heather better episode and I'm gonna really try my very hardest to not make this a seven hour episode, because I do still love all of this and I do. I do still watch every. A lot of passion, I do have a lot of passion for it. I don't know as much as you know old age gets in there and really you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do know it gets a little murky after a while. Well, what do you think? And I just you know, I lost not passion, but, I guess, time to put into. I mean, when I was a kid, I literally had, we used to build model rockets and I had the little globes, one of the moon, one of the solar system and one of the earth, and I just, I just knew all of it Now.
Speaker 3:I don't. That's so fun, no, but you know, there are great apps on your phone that you can hold up and it'll tell you, like, if you're like, what the hell is that star? You can hold it up and it'll tell you, really, oh, that's cool. There's Stellarium, google Sky. There's a lot of good ones that are that are really cool, and then you can also I don't know if you care to do it is a really cool thing spot the station you can google.
Speaker 3:If you google it, you can be alerted of when the space station is going over your house and the first time you see it you're like how in the fuck have I never noticed?
Speaker 2:that thing going over? Yes, yes it's so obvious it's so cool too. Like the first time I remember this was probably like at least 10 years ago, maybe more. Um, we heard it was flying over and it was going to be a peak time, a clear night, everything was the stars aligned, if you will. So my husband and I took a blanket out and just went and laid it in the backyard and just watched it.
Speaker 3:And you do. The first time you see it you're like how did I? The way it moves across the sky, it's super cool. It comes around like once a month or so it flies the same and you can see. It just depends on whether it's coming over at night or during the day, or whatever, and uh, how it tells you how high up in the sky it tells you exactly which direction. It's really cool, that is cool.
Speaker 2:We've seen it numerous times since then, but I remember that is my first time.
Speaker 3:But yeah, it's, it's it's spot, the station it's, it's, it's pretty cool. And then there's other apps that you, apps that show you what satellite is where, and that gets into more jumbled up.
Speaker 2:I need to look up some of those because my great nephew, who is four, I believe he is super geeked out on space like you and he always has been Like before he could even talk he was all about it. So he's got all the planet stuff and the and the solar system and he can name every, like I. I saw him last summer, so he was even younger then and he could just sit there and go through his little model and name every planet in order.
Speaker 2:He could point to one randomly and it's not like he just had to memorize in order like he's really, really into it, so I'll need to let my nephew yeah, it's really good about it and and a lot of them it'll will have um the one I have.
Speaker 3:It's sky something I don't have to look it up again um sky map or something like that.
Speaker 3:It's a little on the more cartoony side, okay, um, but some of them are not cartoony like, not actual, I don't, maybe they're actually, but they anyway most of them have the constellations in them also, so then it's easier to see. You know where the big dipper is, where the little dipper is, the north star and all that and um, it'll show you where the sun is, and and so it's a lot easier. It's very easy because you just point to where you're looking and it'll.
Speaker 3:You know, it's technology. It sounds cool. Yeah, it is. So I did spend the first half of my life well, probably not half, but the first quarter because I'm old.
Speaker 2:Now the first quarter of my life.
Speaker 3:I wanted to be an astronaut. I had it all planned out I was going to graduate high school, which I did, so check with honor.
Speaker 3:Well, with honors, not official honors, but I was top anyway, there's only 20 of us so it's hard to not be in the top um I was going to get into the naval academy that was not a check, uh and I was going to become a navy pilot and then I was going to train to become a mission commander on a shuttle, which we don't do that anymore, but so irregardless my dream would never come true, because I would not have been able to get on a shuttle, then Navy, mostly because Navy pilots are the ones typically that and you have a better shot at becoming a shuttle pilot if you are a Navy pilot.
Speaker 3:I don't know if it's because you get to land on this cool yeah, yeah, whatever.
Speaker 2:The aircraft carriers, the aircraft carriers.
Speaker 3:See, I can't even remember what they're called. That's what I'm here for. So unfortunately, that dream was cut short due to many factors. The number one is that I cannot do math.
Speaker 2:And there is a lot of math involved a lot, a lot of math, and I am really bad at it.
Speaker 3:Um. The second is because my parents did not send me to space camp, which still is very bitter yeah, my parents never put me in dance class, so I feel your pain.
Speaker 2:Look, I was supposed to be a rocket, so whatever, that's true, yeah.
Speaker 3:I would have absolutely hated space camp. I mean, I would have enjoyed the space part of it, but the camp part would have been just.
Speaker 2:I don't like People would have wanted to be your friend, I know, and that's gross.
Speaker 3:You'd have to sleep over and with strangers, and I don't even like sleeping with like, not strangers. I mean I would get a hotel room. Yeah over staying with somebody somebody's.
Speaker 2:I hate staying at people's houses I hate staying with other people.
Speaker 3:I just hate it. Yep, and my mother. Every time I bring up that they did not let me go to space camp, she's like you would have hated it. I'm like that is not the.
Speaker 2:It's not. That was for you to decide if you hated it or not, exactly.
Speaker 3:I mean, I know that. I would have but she always says it's too expensive and blah blah blah.
Speaker 3:But, like I saw, she still has the brochure, by the way. Oh yeah, I couldn't find it when looking for it, but yeah, she still has the brochure and it was like 300, which, okay, in 1985 was probably a lot of money. But I mean, at that time I had grand. I had grandparents who actually gave a shit about me. The other ones didn't, but my grandparents did. I had an aunt and uncle. I'm sure everybody could have pitched in a hundred bucks and gotten my ass to space camp but, no, it was never meant to be, I know so here.
Speaker 2:I am not going to space camp.
Speaker 3:Um, all right, nasa was formed and october 1st 1958 I'm just going to give you like a brief, like I'm not going to go into. Okay, all that, okay, nasa's got a lot going on, but yeah it's a brief timeline. Okay, um may 5th 1961, alan shepherd became the first american in space. Of course also, this is just american stuff.
Speaker 3:Um, the russians beat us to pretty much everything, right, um, except walking on the moon um, and I, as far as I know, do not think that any other country has actually walked on the moon other than americans. Uh, because that's what we do colonize february 20th 1962, john glenn was the first american in orbit. Again, they beat us um. As an aside. The first woman in space june 16th 1962, was Valentina Tereshkova.
Speaker 2:Russian, Russian. I was going to say that's crazy that they let a woman go into space.
Speaker 3:They actually had a lot of women that went into space.
Speaker 2:Yeah, probably they were better test dummies than men. That's what I was thinking.
Speaker 3:They sent dogs and stuff up too, monkeys. June 3rd 1965, was the first American spacewalk. So the Russian spacecraft Luna on February 3rd, Luna 9, February 3rd 1966, as actually the first craft on the moon. So they did beat us to the moon, but we got first humans on it. If you believe that we actually got humans on the moon, If you believe which I do.
Speaker 2:They put them in Because, like how?
Speaker 3:does that many people humans on? If you believe that we actually got humans on the moon. If you believe which which I do because, like, how does that many people? Okay, we're not even gonna go into that. Yeah, insanity the earth is round and we landed on the moon. Okay I'm just gonna write out the gate. Yep, yeah, yeah. Um january 27th 1967 was the accidental fire on the launch pad, and I'll get to that later.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Where we lost three astronauts. Okay, july 20th 1969, of course, was the moon landing of Apollo 11. April 11th 1970 was Houston. We have a problem.
Speaker 2:Apollo 13.
Speaker 3:Yep, July 30th 1971, they drove a rover on the moon. It's still there. Because we like to junk up again, we're just going to junk every fucking thing up.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:December 11th 1972 was the last time a human being was on the moon. Okay, may 14th 1973, we launched Skylab. May 14th 1973, we launched Skylab. Our first joint mission with Russia was July 17th 1975, in the Apollo-Soyuz, also now, well before SpaceX started in. Between the shuttle and SpaceX sending up actual people, because SpaceX only sent up resupply missions Okay, then they started adding people. We did only go up in the Russian crowd and I still think that they used the Soyuz.
Speaker 3:I think that that is still the preferred method of getting up to the space station.
Speaker 2:That's interesting.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they said hey, if it works the space station, that's interesting. Yeah, they said hey if it works.
Speaker 3:April 12th 1981 was the first shuttle, columbia STS-1. April 4th 1983 was the second space shuttle, challenger was launched. June 19th 1983, sally Ride was the first American woman. January 28th 1986, which is the anniversary of that, is this week it was the explosion of the Challenger, which I am not going to talk about. That hurts my feelings a lot. I really had. I can't watch it now. I mean, I'm going to talk about it a little bit, but not what happened. If you're still listening to this and you don't know what happened to Challenger, like Google it, but don't, Because I still since 1986, I have not watched the footage.
Speaker 3:I turn it off as soon as it gets. I can't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just can't.
Speaker 3:Because it's just so fucking, it's just ugh. August 24th 1990, we launched the Hubble, which had all kinds of issues. So in December of 93, they fixed the Hubble Because they put the wrong lens on it. Seriously, yes, that was the problem. They had two. It was either two concave ones or two convex, when they needed one of each, and then, once they fixed the problem, it just was beautiful. Now they don't have the Hubble anymore. It's another one I can't remember the name of it.
Speaker 3:October 29th 1998, john Glenn became the oldest man in space. They sent his ass back up. John Glenn became the oldest man in space. They sent his ass back up. November 20th 1998, they began to assemble the space station international space station, which is actually going to be coming down soon. Yeah, they're ending it. Oh yeah, they're crashing into the water. I don't remember when, but it's coming. They're ending it. Oh yeah, they're crashing into the water. I don't remember when, but it's coming. They're going to bring it down, which, okay, here's the thing about that. Like everybody wants to go to Mars, right, that's the big thing. You cannot get to Mars without stopping somewhere in between here and Mars. You just can't. You cannot pack that much fuel to get out of the Earth's atmosphere and make it to Mars. You just can't. So you have to have a midway. Well, not a midway, but you have to have a stop.
Speaker 2:You got to have a layover somewhere.
Speaker 3:And I think that the space station was either put up to I mean, obviously it was there to study, you know, humans in space and blah, blah, blah, but I think it was there to help that process and then it's just not feasible. A because of the orbit that it's in, they have to keep pushing it back up because it keeps trying to fall, Keeps getting hit by shit. They did have to evacuate at once. Not evacuate, but they had to go to it. They got hit. It gets hit all the time.
Speaker 2:So are they just going to leave a gas pump hanging out up there? Oh no, they're bringing the whole motherfucking down.
Speaker 3:But I think what they're going to have to do and I don't know, obviously NASA doesn't call me and explain their plans to me which- is stupid If you're listening.
Speaker 3:Nasa I'm here, they're going to, I think, have to build something on the moon, and I think that is the plan currently is to get back to the moon. One of the other problems with privatizing the space program is, yes, you have people like Elon Musk, who, I think, actually does probably want to get us to Mars, but then you have like Jeff Bezos, who just wants us to get from here to there faster, which okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And Richard Branson from Virgin. He's gone up too. I like Richard Branson, so far. I do too. Yeah, he seems to be the most. He hasn't done anything to disgust me. That we know of. Well, that's what I'm saying. I'm sure it's coming.
Speaker 2:But hopefully not. Maybe he's just a nice guy with a lot of money.
Speaker 3:And Jeff Bezos is the one that took William Shatner up. Oh, yeah, yeah, which is good for him, but yeah. So I think that I do think that Elon is the one that's probably going to get us to where we want to be, but you're going to have to get to the moon first. I mean, the moon is definitely going to have to be a stop, a layover.
Speaker 3:And then what happens from there? I don't know. Are we going to colonize the moon? We're destroying this planet, so we're going to have to go somewhere. Oh also, here's the saddest fucking thing ever, and it makes me cry every time I hear it. I think the rover is now dead on Mars. It's not yeah.
Speaker 2:It doesn't.
Speaker 3:It's. Yeah, anyway, every year on its birthday it would sing itself happy birthday. What, I know what and know what? And all you can think of is freaking WALL-E. Yeah, it would sing itself happy birthday.
Speaker 2:That is the saddest thing I've ever heard.
Speaker 3:It's the stupid sad I hate. Every time that comes up in my little blips I'm just like shut up, Stupid ass rover Ugh. Wall-e.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I don't think it's operation. I think they lost contact with it. I think it's.
Speaker 2:It ran its its course, bummer yeah it lasted much longer than they thought it was going to be but something else I would like to add about colonizing another planet, because we're fucking this one up.
Speaker 3:Why don't we take the money and the resources and the brains, because nobody wants to do that.
Speaker 2:Because they all want to go to Mars. We want to throw out the old wife and bring in the pretty young one.
Speaker 3:Well, no, and that's not even the thing. It's not like. Mars is pretty and young. I mean, it is terrible. It's a terrible place. You're going to have to build literally everything on Mars and you'll never be able to go outside.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, no, not for me. So you and?
Speaker 3:yeah, no, you have to build, so you might as well do it here, where you already have air, I mean they don't even have air there, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, if something goes wrong, you can just go outside.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can still breathe and you're not gonna go floating off into space. I mean it's just, it's just whatever I mean yeah, but that's not fun it's not fun, it's not sexy, it's not yep going to mars, it's not.
Speaker 2:It's not the first time somebody did it, no so although, if you want to be the first person to slow down the climate control, feel free or not. Climate control, climate change.
Speaker 3:Change. I mean, yeah, I mean, you know, it is what it is. I guess, I think that would be pretty sexy myself. But what do I know? You clearly do not want to go to Mars, no, I don't want to go anywhere in space.
Speaker 2:Another thing we are opposites on.
Speaker 3:If they told me tomorrow that I could go to Mars, I would.
Speaker 2:And I would be so excited for you I really, really would Because you know you're dying.
Speaker 3:I'd be scared for you. Like you're not coming back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it would suck and I'd be scared, but I would be really happy for you too, you're not coming back Once you go to Mars.
Speaker 3:you're not, if you even make it there, but that's like the greatest way to die ever, like on your way. That's why I'm going to say about the two, three incidents that America has had yes, it is very sad, it is very sad for those people, it is very sad the situation. It's even more sad knowing what you may or may not know about those people in those things, except for the um, the apollo that we lost. Um, I'll get to that. But uh, those people died doing what they, they. They knew when they signed up for it it was a possibility, even though at the point of the shuttle's, space flight was just every day. It was like flying a plane. But planes also explode. You knew it when you signed up for it.
Speaker 2:and they all, they all yeah, you're right, they knew what they were doing, you're right, and you just disintegrate and become a part of the atmosphere, and that's kind of beautiful. You don't, though?
Speaker 3:You don't. That's the thing about it.
Speaker 2:That's why I can't watch it.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, to sing about it. That's why I can't watch it. So, space Station Assembly in 98. February 1st 2003,. We lost Columbia. I can't watch that either. That one's even worse to watch. I'll tell you why in a minute. I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty, I mean I will. July 8th 2011,lantis was the last shuttle to go up. Um, but we're just going to stick to the timeline that we're most familiar with and the shuttle years. The shuttle flew 135 missions with 852 lives on board. Wow, I did not know it was that many people. Columbia was the first in 1981, and the last was Atlantis in 2011.
Speaker 3:It was reusable. Why not? Like a rocket, landed like a plane Super cool to see. I've seen it land. I've seen it take off. It's referred to as the orbiter. It can carry a very large payload. Its payload bay is 57 feet high, 122 feet long and has a 78-foot wingspan, and the payload bay is 1,600 square feet. It weighs as much as a DC-9, and it holds up to seven people. So let's meet the orbiters, alrighty. So first you have Enterprise. Obviously, enterprise never saw space. It was the prototype. It was in Washington DC for a little while. I have seen it.
Speaker 2:Real close.
Speaker 3:It was not fitted with engines, it did not have the heat shield. It was supposed to be named the Constitution. However, trekkies went on a letter-writing campaign and won. Now you know why it's called the Enterprise. Yep had no engine, no heat shield. It was only for testing the gliding and landing. Gene Roddenberry and the cast, except for Shatner, were there when it rolled out on September 17, 1976. Except for Shatner were there when it rolled out on September 17th 1976 why was Shatner not?
Speaker 3:there. I don't know. It didn't say it didn't ask, because he's Shatner. He's the only one who's been in the space, except Gene Roddenberry who is currently in space. They shot him out. Good for him. Yep, he is. I want to say he's orbiting the moon. I think they sent him out into deep space, the final frontier.
Speaker 2:These are his voyages.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so he has been shot into space. Atlantis was named after the research vessel Atlantis. It had 33 missions. The first was on October 3rd 1985. And its final, of course, was July 8th 2011. 1911.
Speaker 2:Went back in time even.
Speaker 3:What's his name was flying it? I guess Marty McFly, yeah, no.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It was the shuttle in the Space Camp movie. It's now at Kennedy in Florida and it spent 306 days in space. Cool Discovery launched August 30th 1984. Discovery is the one that carried the Hubble up. It flew 39 missions. February 24th 2011 was its last mission. It was supposed to be the last one, but they decided they wanted to send Atlantis up one last time. I am going to send you all these pictures, but I saw her get retired at the National Air and and space near dulles. Oh, um, she spent 365 days in space, but they? Um, so they I'll tell you. I think I tell you where all of them are. Um, they all went to different places and they're all on display now. Um, I don't, enterprise was moved out of the one at dulles. Um, so discovery could come in, and it was, so we got up at stupid early in the morning and drove all the way to Dulles to watch it.
Speaker 3:And you could. They sit on top of a plane and then they bring. That's how they flew it everywhere. It rode piggyback and so I have pictures so I'll send those to you so you can get them on the social media of it coming in Nice. It was okay.
Speaker 3:So I have basically seen actually Discovery, because when I was looking up which ones I have seen it is Discovery. I saw Discovery launch. I just saw Discovery land and I have now seen Discovery ride piggyback and to its final destination. I have not been there since they put it inside, but, um, it is something that I have been wanting to do. We just haven't got around to it yet. That's awesome because it's so far. It's like four hours away that's not far, but it is you.
Speaker 3:Endeavor was named through a national competition involving students in elementary and secondary schools. In May of 89, President George Bush announced the winning name. Endeavor replaced Challenger, First flew May 7, 1992. She flew for 24 missions, Launched the final time February 8, 2010. Oh no, this one was supposed to be the last shuttle, but they wanted Lannis to end the shuttle era. Oh okay.
Speaker 3:This one Endeavor. This is cool too. I did watch this on TV because that's who I am. She is at the California Science Center and she spent 299 days in space. And she spent 299 days in space so when they brought her through the streets of LA. But there was a bridge that they had to cross. They have these motorized things that they take them to the launch pad with, and they had to take trees down and everything to get this to where they Anyway. So they had to go over this bridge and the rovers plus the shuttle were going to be too heavy for this bridge, oh God. So they had to go over this bridge and the rovers plus the shuttle were going to be too heavy for this bridge, oh God.
Speaker 3:So they had to have something else, and I don't know if you remember it, but the company that did it actually used it as a Super Bowl commercial, and it is in fact the Toyota Tundra that towed it across the bridge. I don't think I remember that Sometime look it up, a it's kind of cheaty, because the shuttle when they bring them in is stripped of nearly everything like it doesn't actually weigh.
Speaker 3:I mean, it weighs a lot because it's a shuttle, but it doesn't weigh as much as they kind of hyped it up right. It's still very fucking impressive that they have this tiny little toyota tundra pulling it over the.
Speaker 2:It is cool so google it sometime I will, it is.
Speaker 3:It is pretty cool to watch and I remember watching it live. It was like in the middle of the night, obviously for us too, because it was the middle of the night over there um and then yeah they, they hooked it up to the tundra and the tundra pulled it over. So, wow yay, toyota um challenger, toyota Challenger, of course. April 4th 1983 was her first flight. She had 10 missions.
Speaker 3:The first night launch. She spent 62 days in space and her final was January 28th 1986, for 73 seconds. Yeah, okay, let me talk about Columbia first and then we'll get back to Challenger. Columbia first flew April 12, 1981, named for the first American ocean vessel to circle the globe. She had 28 missions launched, the final time 1-16-03, and was lost February 1, 2003,. And she spent 300 days in space. Okay, so, challenger, let's talk about the fact that we, as a generation, had a television wheeled into our classroom because there was a teacher on board classroom, because there was a teacher on board and it had been so. What had happened was um. This space program was lacking um support from the american people it was costing too much.
Speaker 3:The american people did not understand why we were still doing it right. It seemed like they were just going up and down for no reason. It was happening all the time. I mean, at this point they were launching them every couple months, once a year or something like that. So it was just becoming. It wasn't exciting anymore.
Speaker 2:I mean, there wasn't Neil Armstrong anymore.
Speaker 3:You're spending my tax dollars and get off my lawn, yeah, what are you doing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're spending my tax dollars and get off my lawn. Yeah, what are you doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, challenger, they decided that they were going to put a civilian Horrible idea, not because she wasn't trained, she was trained. She won a contest. She was trained for a year before. She did not have anything to do with it.
Speaker 2:But this was not her passion.
Speaker 3:It was no, she was fully, it was yes, and at this time, 1986, so I also I'm going to send you the picture of my certificate of being in the Young Astronauts Club in 1985. So I mean they were really pushing it in school. I mean I don't know about all schools, but they really pushed it in our school. I mean, and I don't know, it could have been my teacher. She was big into the space program and we did a lot of shit involving the space program. I mean I did become a member of the Young Astronauts program.
Speaker 3:So they wheel in a TV so that we could all watch it live. Because that was the whole point they were pushing it, that we could watch it live. 73, 74 seconds in it breaks apart. 73, 74 seconds in it breaks apart, they turn the TV off, wheel it out and then say, okay, let's do math. There was no grieving counselors. I mean we literally just watched seven people explode into to. We watched seven people die, right. So I think that that just goes to say like one of our trauma. I mean we literally watched this thing blow up that we had just been hyping for months about this poor teacher being, and those kids in her class were there. Her whole family was there. I remember on the ground watching it.
Speaker 2:It's burned in my brain. I remember all of it.
Speaker 3:There was no grief count. There was nothing. They just turned it off and we went back about our day. Nobody ever talked, I mean. So it was briefly. I'm sure I don't know if everybody knows what happened, but there's plenty of documentaries on it. Basically, they pushed it to launch when they should not have launched it. It was the O-Ring that did it. They knew the O-Ring was a problem. They had known the O-Ring was a problem. They had been warned that the O-Ring was a problem. They had known the o-ring was a problem. They had been warned that the o-ring was a problem for years. Yep, um, it was too cold that day. They told them it was too cold that day. It had already been scrubbed several times and they just needed it did blow up. Unfortunately, the uh where the crew was did not um, it did remain intact until they hit the water so they were alive for the whole thing were they conscious?
Speaker 3:I don't know, but they were alive until they hit the water. So that is why I can't watch it. Um, they were probably not conscious, hopefully, yeah, but uh, yeah, um, that's that about that columbia. Columbia, um, also shouldn't not have happened. That so the. So the way it worked I don't know if you know how it works or anybody cares how it works. So underneath the shuttle is heat tiles and that's when it comes in. If you can see it comes in like this it comes in belly first and nose up, so the heat shield takes the heat obviously, and nose up, so the heat shield takes the heat obviously. So when it launched, a piece of the foam broke off and hit one of the tiles on one of the wings Like the worst possible. They had lost foam and had hit tiles before, but it was in like a really bad spot. They sent it up.
Speaker 3:They went to the space station really bad spot. Um, they sent it up, they went to the space station, um, so there are different conspiracies maybe, or versions, or some say they did not warn the crew. They knew there was a problem with one of the tiles, but I think some that I read said that they kind of played it down to the crew. I'm not sure I believe that. Well, I'm not sure they went and looked at it. The crew went out and looked at it and they are very smart people because they are astronauts. Yes, and I feel certain that they had a very good idea of what was going to happen due to its location and there is no way to fix it up there.
Speaker 2:So they were taking their chances, knowing they knew.
Speaker 3:Wow, I'm pretty sure they knew. Of course, there are different versions of whether or not, um, they were told how dire it was, right, um, but they but nasa definitely knew it was not gonna make it down. Um, but they but you can't keep it up there forever, honestly, and there's no way to go get them. They gave it a shot, I guess. Um, yeah, so when it reentered the atmosphere, it, uh, it burned up, it blew and, um, those people also were alive until they hit the ground and they know that they were not unconscious.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, uh, happiness now let's move on um, because that's all I don't.
Speaker 3:You know, there's a lot of different stories and you know, will we ever know the truth?
Speaker 2:probably not um, yeah, yeah, no, definitely that's the government.
Speaker 3:For you, right, I have seen two night launches, yes, um, the first one was november 26, 1985. Oh, you were just a little baby, I was. How do I remember this? Because, a, I googled which one was in the around the time and what night launch, because there's only been 34 night launches, um, and I have seen two of them. Um, so I, I looked up the night launches and that, and then I asked my mom and dad, and so here's, here's what happened that day. Um, we went to disney.
Speaker 3:We would go to disney pretty much every year I remember November after my grandparents died and actually, yeah, that was the first Thanksgiving after my grandparents died, so we definitely were away. We would go to Disney all the time and Orlando is like two hours away from Cape Canaveral and every time we would go. I would bug and bug and bug, please, please, please please can we go and my dad finally was like oh my god, will you shut up?
Speaker 3:plus, we were also going from orlando to the keys to meet my aunt and uncle in the keys for thanksgiving. So finally they were like oh, all right, so we go. And, um, we're getting the little tour. And I know we were just in the lobby. Uh, one of the tour guides came up and they said oh, you know, are you, are you here to do the tour? Blah, blah, blah. And we're like, yeah, and she said, um, they're sending up a shuttle tonight. And my god told us where we could go. And um, of course. Then my dad is like fully on board. He's like what.
Speaker 3:And at that time it was only like the second or third night launch that had happened. So he was like OK, bet we're going to be there. So we went and got pizza and she told us you could go, like. You got pizza too. Yeah, it was like, I know, that's how I remember it. Wow, it was Domino's, by the way. So we went and you could go. It was like three miles away or something across the bay and the radio station.
Speaker 3:They do it here at Wallops too, but the radio station does a countdown and then, once they launch it, they play the Star Spangled Banner, and I can tell you that I have never been more patriotic in my life than that moment in time. It is absolutely fucking lutely breathtaking. Wow, it lights the entire sky up like it is daytime. I mean it. You can feel the rumble on the ground. It's just fucking. I mean there are no words to describe that situation.
Speaker 3:Anyway earlier in that day here's another cool fun fact Our family of four, when we were getting ready either going into Kennedy or coming out of Kennedy, got stopped by someone who was shooting a photo for a Winnebago ad. So yes, we are in a Winnebago ad from 1985. And I texted my dad last night about it and I was like, do you remember when that was supposed to be in? It was either an ad for Winnebago or it was in RV, it was an RV magazine. And anyway, he was like no, I don't remember what they said. And he said the only reason that they picked us was because of him. But I think it was because of my sister, because if you ever see pictures of my sister when she was that small, she was stinking cute, horrible human being, but super cute, curly hair for days and mean as a snake.
Speaker 3:So the other one was Atlantis, november 22nd 1989. Oh, no, that one was Atlantis. My bad November 22nd 1989. Oh, no, that one was Atlantis. My bad. November 22nd 1989, also on Thanksgiving, we saw Discovery go up. Okay, because we were there again. We were going to Disney and we were there with my aunt and her oldest son, the second one. She was pregnant with the second one. Oh wow, yeah, that's also how I knew which one. It was. Pregnant with the second one. Oh, wow, yeah, that's also how I knew which one it was. Um, so my dad, well, now, first, I, I really would like you to know that my mom's best friend and her husband, well, her husband specifically, is philadelphia italian they are.
Speaker 3:Philadelphia Italian. They are both Delco Italian Americans.
Speaker 2:Whatever stereotype you're picturing in your head.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, so my dad was my dad actually called Kennedy while we were in Orlando to find out if they were going to send one up and they said oh, lucky for you, we are, and it's going to be a night launch. And my dad was like hot damn, we're going. Wow, yeah, we also got pizza.
Speaker 3:Yay, because that is the international food when you watch a shuttle I will keep that in mind if I ever watch one yeah um, so we drove over and we watch it and again they do the countdown and then they play the national anthem, and I wish we could have recorded his response my aunt linda's husband ray. Their kids are named nicholas and vincent. Vincent is my godson. Um, yeah, uh, just because he had he, he didn't want to go and block, yeah yeah, no you.
Speaker 2:He's a tough guy.
Speaker 3:He's not, and none of them were like why would we want to do this? You, you know he's a tough guy, he's not into and none of them were Like why would we want to do this? You know, my dad was like no, you got, and he will still talk. My I call him my cousin, nick will still talk about it. He was five years old, four years old, and he will still talk about it?
Speaker 3:I mean, it is just so you know, we had pizza and we did that. I saw one land. I don't remember when I can't. They used to only land them in California and then they started landing them in Florida A because it was cheaper to just land it here. Then they didn't have to fly it back over. So, yeah, so I saw Discovery launch land and they're not quite as impressive to see land, they just land like a plane. They don't anymore at all. So let's talk about Space Camp. Okay, don't take my picture. So let's talk about Space Camp. Stop taking my picture.
Speaker 3:Space Camp was founded in 1982. Um, did you always want to be an astronaut but were too old? But are too old for space camp? Well, you can still go, because adult space academy isn't as straight out of the brochure and adventurous weekend experience allowing campers to I don't know what the hell that word is Something. Educational camp in Huntsville, alabama, on the grounds of the US Space and Rocket Center Museum, near NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. It provides educational programs for children and adults on topics such as space exploration, aviation and robotics. It is run by the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission. I bet it's not $300. It is not I did check.
Speaker 3:I still can't afford it, even if everyone chipped in. I can't go. So you can learn what it takes to be an astronaut and um, the the adult one is. Um is uh, an experience for adults. Age is 18 and up. The three-day adult space academy runs from april to september and it is $899. That's cheaper than I thought. That's just there.
Speaker 2:That's not getting there, that's not.
Speaker 3:That's three days for $899. Okay, gotcha. Yeah, that's on-site overnight accommodations for Friday and Saturday. So it's just two nights of camp, even better, all meals, beginning with dinner on Friday evening through breakfast Sunday morning. You train like an astronaut on the multi-axis trainer, which probably would make me vomit at this point. Oh for sure, construct and launch your own model rocket, which I have done, and that would not be worth $899, but that would be my favorite part, uh-huh um learn team building exercises.
Speaker 2:I would, yeah on a on a low elements ropes course right there yeah, there's no exercises and I don't want to team build um, I already built a team at work.
Speaker 3:I'm good um. You can test your engineering skills in designing a protective heat shield. You know what mine would do not be subject to breaking when hit by phone it would not have a rapid, unscheduled disassembly.
Speaker 2:It would.
Speaker 3:It would not I mean, if I built it, probably it would, but it would most definitely be scheduled and and not unanticipated. You participate in a simulated space mission. That part would be awesome. It includes a $50 non-refundable registration fee per person. Now, what should you pack, you ask. So obviously this is like right in the, in the 2020, 2021 era. So what should you pack for your 899 face masks?
Speaker 3:because you know, covid right bed linens so you have to bring your own twin sheet set, pillowcase and blanket that's to take up a lot of space in your suitcase.
Speaker 2:A pillow- oh jeez.
Speaker 3:Towels and washcloths. What yeah? Hand sanitizer, a padlock for your locker, toiletries, sleepwear, casual clothes, active wear Suitable for active pursuits, climate-appropriate outerwear, jacket, rain poncho, because it's Alabama in the summer it's going to be hot as fuck, right Closed-toed, closed-heeled shoes, so you can't be wearing Crocs, even in sports mode. You can't.
Speaker 2:No peep-toe heels, no peep-toe heels, okay, all right.
Speaker 3:No flippity-flop A water bottle For $899,. I feel certain that they could give you a water bottle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and have a water fountain for you to fill it.
Speaker 3:A backpack or day pack sunscreen bug spray. Again Alabama in the summer camera. However, you cannot bring outside food or beverage, alcohol, illegal substances, slash drugs, portable music players, skates or roller shoes. Forget that Weapons of any type, handheld computer games or other expensive items.
Speaker 2:Well, you're bringing a padlock for your damn locker. You can bring whatever the hell you want. Like that's all you got, unless somebody brings some wire cutters and they're going to.
Speaker 3:I mean for $899,. You have to bring your own sheets. That's crazy, I know, I mean come on now, Come on now Space Camp. What if they give?
Speaker 2:you just a big empty concrete room with a cot in it. A twin-sized cot and a little gym locker.
Speaker 3:You know, it's a shame too, because I did have twin sheets that had space shuttles on them, so I covered that.
Speaker 2:Like seriously they couldn't have bought the lockers that have their the locks on them, on them.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but then they'd have to reprogram them every three days. Oh, every weekend, and it's only every weekend. It's not like you can just go midweek.
Speaker 2:I'm sure there are interns there that will do that for free.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess. No, you gotta bring your own sheets and your own towel.
Speaker 2:I mean, come on, that's the worst hotel ever and at this point like you know, okay, we all know it's not 25-year-olds going either.
Speaker 3:It is old people like me from the 80s that wanted to be an astronaut wanted to go to fucking space camp when they were kids and just never got around to it. And now they have $899. Just burning a hole in their 401k, just burning a hole in there 401K. We're talking about a bunch of 50-year-old people sleeping on some cheap ass With their own sheets. But don't bring no snacks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, If you fly in you've got to take definitely a check bag.
Speaker 3:I would have to drive, I guess, to Alabama. I guess. I mean, how much could it cost? I don't know Right, it's expensive, probably, to fly to Alabama, yeah, plus, if you're going to take the cheap airline, then you've got to pay for your bag, right, which is going to weigh 700 pounds, right, for three days. So I will not be going to space camp. Yeah, they're going to to. To make it a lot better than that, a five fucking star situation, yeah, for 899, for sure. And that that was a couple years ago, that brochure, so it's probably up over a grand.
Speaker 3:Now that's crazy. Um so, space camp the movie. Have you ever seen space camp the movie? It's terrible. I don't think so it's terrible, I have not watched in a very long time and I have no doubt that it does not hold up um, I'm not going to say for sure, because I have not seen it in a in a while. But, um, american kids go to space camp during their summer holiday.
Speaker 3:Uh, they learn how to operate the space shuttle, and you know simulators um a team consisting of a guy who just went to meet girls In an 80s movie?
Speaker 2:No way.
Speaker 3:A wannabe astronaut and an instructor who wanted to go on a mission instead of teaching. And they sit in the shuttle while testing the engines. Accidentally, they are launched by mistake. The hilarity ensues. So, yes, they are launched into space. Uh, leah thompson is in it. Kelly preston look, I wanted to be the kelly preston character. I love kelly preston. She was like she had.
Speaker 3:She was like the madonna-esque yeah, she had that right yeah, so I wanted to, but she was very smart because she was a space camp and, however, this was a terrible marketing nightmare because it was released after the Challenger, which I did not realize it was. I remember space camp and that was the reason why I wanted to go to space camp was because I wanted to accidentally be launched into space, but it was long. It was like I think they said it was June or July it was released and Challenger happened in January and there was a significant period of time between Challenger and the next one that went up. It was years. They did not send another one up.
Speaker 3:It was a very long time between Columbia and the next one they sent up also, um, so sally ride, um there's, if you really. I just wanted to key on sally ride because there have been other women that have gone into space, but sally ride was the first american she's definitely the one I remember she was being a little kid pretty much the face of, yeah, of nasa, if you think about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, uh, anyway, sally ride was born may 26 1951 and she died july 23rd 2012.
Speaker 2:She was young when she died? Yeah, she was, it's 61. I know you're trying to do the math. I did and I was like I was reading through here because I have it. There it is, I found it. It's 61.
Speaker 3:She was an American astronaut and physicist. She was born in Los Angeles. She joined NASA in 1978. Okay, and in 1983, she became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Svetoskaya in 1982. That was impressive, thank you, I'm getting good at Russian.
Speaker 2:You are way better at names than I am. I have a Russian stepdaughter.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's right. She was the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space, having done so at the age of 32,. In 2003, she served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board and was the only person to serve on both the panel that investigated the Challenger and Columbia. Oh wow, she died on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61. In April of 2013, the United States navy announced that a research ship would be named in her honor, um the our reset. The rv sally ride was christened um by her longtime partner, tam o'shaughnessy. She's very ir Irish.
Speaker 2:I don't have an Irish stepdaughter.
Speaker 3:No, o'shaughnessy, we'll say Okay, sorry, I just fucked your name up. Bad yeah, on August 9th 2014,. That was when that was christened.
Speaker 3:It was delivered to Scripps Institute of Oceanography in 2016. It was the first vessel in the research fleet to be named after a female scientist. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That was also presented to her partner in a ceremony at the White House on November 20th 2013. Okay, 2013. Okay, on April 1st 2022, a satellite named after ride was launched into space as part of the the alpha one constellation. Oh right, the Cygnus spacecraft used for the NGAT mission was named the SS Sally ride in her honor. It launched successfully on November 7th 2022. And also in 2022, a statue of her was unveiled outside the cradle of aviation museum. In 2023, another statue was unveiled outside of the ronald reagan presidential library. That's awesome, and her longtime partner was there for both good, yes. Um, now I would like to talk about wallops island, because that's where you, yes, go to see stuff.
Speaker 3:I actually can see them launch from my window at home um so wallops island is about 45 minutes to an hour from my house. Um closer as the crow flies, it's just down shentag right up by Schenckentag, Virginia. They have a great free little museum there. It is awesome, it's really cool. It was opened in May 7th 1945. It's in Wallops Island, Virginia, If you're interested. The next launch is in March and the next Antares, which is one of the resupply missions, so it's a big one is in August.
Speaker 3:You can follow them on Instagram and stuff Okay, on Twitter X. They're also Facebook, all of them and so you can see when their exact launch is, and usually they announce it on the local stations too. They're really cool. Most of the time they do like little. A lot of time it's a military base, it's a Navy base, so it's a lot of government stuff that they launch up there, but they do launch some fairly big ones and a lot of little ones and stuff. They had this one. It was really cool, where it launched at like 3 o'clock in the morning and it went up and they sprayed a gas so they could see with the winds and where they ended up spraying the gas was like right over my house and it was red so you could watch it like come out, and then you watched it like this. It was cool.
Speaker 3:That is so cool so you can see them. Um, you can go down there. They have a really big, nice viewing area. I cannot say enough nice things about wallops. It is really cool, it is, and and if you want to go and you don't want to sit at the visitor center, shinkatig, you can go. Sit there has a great view. Um, you can get eat. Go to mr whippies, which is awesome ice cream uh, I just can't say enough about wallops.
Speaker 3:It's, it's really cool. So we went the first and terry's, they launched there. Uh, we went down, my sister and I, because I was like dude, you want to go? And she was like totally so we got and went down um and they launched it and it was awesome um it went up without a hitch.
Speaker 2:It was cool.
Speaker 3:So then they announced they were going to do another one and my sister was like, oh, we're going to bring the kids to this next one and I was like yeah, we really should. So we go First night. They scrubbed it. We went all the way out there, they scrubbed it and we came back Because here's the thing about these launches and I know people get really upset about when they get scrubbed.
Speaker 3:Um, especially there, because they shoot out over the ocean. There's an area that has to be clear and my nephew that night had gone on and he was a little guy, um, had gone on and on about how it was stupid that they scrubbed it because there was boats in the area. Oh, so they can't shoot it off if the boats are there yeah, makes sense. Because it's an active fishing area.
Speaker 3:I mean she could take you know whatever oysters and stuff, but they try and clear them out before Some idiot is always running through there and there's a small window that they can launch these things to get to the trajectory of the round planet that we are on to get it out where it needs to go um so it would be a lot easier if the plane was flat.
Speaker 2:We could.
Speaker 3:It would be you could just take it out to the edge and just no, just any time they wanted, yeah no there are specific windows that they have to use, okay, and it's usually like a 10 to 15 minute window. It depends on what like with something like a resupply, because of when the space station meets up, they have to. Anyway, it's a lot of technical math involved that I don't get. But anyway, so it was scrubbed. Blah, blah, blah. We drive home, scheduled for the next night. We go, we go to the visitor center.
Speaker 2:We bring snacks. They did not enjoy the visitor center as much as my sister and I did.
Speaker 3:So they do the countdown. You can hear it. It's very exciting there. This one was actually full of stuff. The first one we watched was just a test flight. This one was going to the space space station and it was full, and about seven or so seconds after they had to um detonate, they had a rapid, unscheduled disassembly. Oh no, that they had to. They had to pull the plug on it. They blew it um. To say it was a scary experience is really not giving it justice. Because first, of course, you see it, because all right, so it takes off, it takes off seven seconds, like 7, 10, something like that.
Speaker 2:It didn't get up very high.
Speaker 3:Right, they had to detonate it because um come to find out later, it was it had lost its um, they didn't know where it was gonna go. Right, they were. It had lost its, its communication and and, and they weren't sure if it was gonna go where it needed to go. So they blew it just to be safe. A later my sister told my nephew, and that is why there can't be boats there, because if they have to do something like that or it goes haywire and there's boats out there, it can get hit Right Loss of life. So yeah, they detonated it. First you saw it because light travels faster, and then you felt it. You felt it, you actually could see the shockwave. I think the visitor center is about a mile and a half to two miles away from the launch pad so you could see the shockwave come across the bay.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, that's so cool. Then you felt it, like, literally felt it in your chest, like in your chest, you felt it. And then you heard it. Which my poor sister, god love her, did she think it had exploded again. Yeah, well no, she said, why did I hear it so late?
Speaker 2:and I was like because like, I will rather that down um bless her little heart.
Speaker 3:Then she understood, she's oh, I get it now. Yeah, so it blew and you felt it, you heard it, it was rumble, it was kind of scary, and then you can see it like falling into pieces. It was well away from where we were not in any kind of danger, right. That's why they keep you that far away from it, right, but they wanted us out of there.
Speaker 3:So they were trying to move us along in as orderly of a fashion as possible because A they need to find out what happened, right, and you know they're sad about it because these people spend a lot of time to put these things up.
Speaker 3:So they're like kind of like okay, everybody in an orderly fashion, don't run, but we need you to walk quickly to your car and they had people directing you and then, once you got to your car, they're like pushing you out. So it's a bad cell signal. Anyway, out there and with that many people trying to get out of a very small one lane road in and out of Chincoteague, it was kind of chaotic and there was a lot of yelling and my poor niece and nephew I don't think their feet hit the ground with my sisters just snatching them up and we're both trying to carry them to the car because they're still like what?
Speaker 3:so we, we very much traumatized them with that, because we didn't know why they were moving us out so fast. Like it was like immediate and it was like y'all need to go now, Like, so we're not sure if like, is there going to be debris fall.
Speaker 2:That's what I was thinking. Is it going to be? You could smell it too.
Speaker 3:And you know was the wind you just didn't know why they were moving you out of there so fast and obviously you know they don't want anybody getting hurt and if anything's up, it never got high enough to be a problem. But you know they don't want to get sued. So they're moving us out and my poor niece and nephew were scared to death.
Speaker 3:And then so it had been on TV because it was the first one that went up there of resupply, and we had also hyped it up to my niece and nephew that they were taking stuff to the space station and it was food and the stuff that they need on the so now they think everybody's going to starve.
Speaker 2:Everyone's going to starve.
Speaker 3:My niece is upset, because how are they going to get food now? So we're trying to get out of there. Everybody else is trying to get out of there, everybody's trying to call everybody, everybody. So there's no cell phone signal at all. You could not make a call out, you could not get a call in, and my poor brother-in-law is at home an hour away and his, his, it was on tv they watched it um, he did not because he forgot.
Speaker 3:And his cousin called and said, hey, didn't they go down to watch the rocket launch? And my brother-in-law was like, yeah, and his cousin was like it blew up. And my brother-in-law was like, say what now? And so he's trying to call my sister, because his wife and his two children are down there.
Speaker 3:So, we did not get signal back until Pocomoke. It was bad. It was like 45 minutes to an hour after you just couldn't, and it was bumper to bumper traffic and it went up again. It took them a while because they had to repair the, but it was like maybe a year or so later we were going to go down to see another one and my nephew was like no, I'm good, I don't. My sister was like no, it'll be okay. He's like nope, don't.
Speaker 2:No, that's fair, that's fair. So yeah, we traumatized my niece and nephew. You said they will not love space like you do. They will not, and they still.
Speaker 3:I've tried to get them to go a. No, we're good, we're good, yeah. So today is the 20th of January. Yes, nasa remembers the crews of Apollo 1, space Shuttle, challenger and Columbia during the Day of Remembrance, which will be January 23rd of 2025.
Speaker 3:Okay. So the crew of Apollo 1, that is, the one that never made it off the launch pad Gus Grissom, ed White and Roger Chafee. The crew of the Challenger Ellison Onizuka, michael Smith, chrissy McAuliffe, francis Dick Scobie, gregory Jarvis, judy Resnick and Ronald McNair. The crew of Columbia Rick Husband, calpania Chawla, william McCool, david Brown, laurel Clark, michael Anderson and Elion Ramon. They all were and, to be honest, they were the only Americans that lost their lives in the space program and if you really think about it, in as many years as it has been going on, that is a nominal amount of people. It is sad that they lost their lives.
Speaker 2:But for such a risky thing and a lot of trial and error and a lot of unknowns, I mean you are strapped to a massive bomb that is going to shoot you into a vacuum where there?
Speaker 3:is no air and it's freezing, and it's just. You know, to be honest, it is quite a feat that those are the only people that we have lost, and Russia hasn't lost that many either. I think, um, they're yuri yuri I'm not gonna say his name right either. They're big, famous astronauts they lost also um, it's not been a lot of people that have have been lost so it is.
Speaker 3:It's quite impressive it is you know how many people die in plane crashes For real? I mean, it's not often that that happens, but everybody on the plane dies, so you know, it's an over the time of, it's not a lot of people since the 60s Right, so it's pretty impressive. It is so, yeah, january 23rd.
Speaker 2:Yep, I'll wear all black. I'll wear to think of them.
Speaker 3:Oh, so yeah, january 23rd Yep, I'll wear all black. Be sure to think of them.
Speaker 2:Oh, will you. It's so helpful of you I know what's that?
Speaker 3:Wednesday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, thursday, thursday. So I'll have to remember. Yeah, I'll find my NASA shirt and wear it. Yeah, so that's my love, my small nerdy love of the United States, that small nerdy love of the.
Speaker 2:That was great Because I know how much you love space, but I did not know all this stuff about space. I did.
Speaker 3:I was going to do a whole thing on the Challenger, but again it hurts my feelings and I don't like to. It could have been avoided and I know I told you before but Big Bird was supposed to be on there.
Speaker 2:They wanted to put Big Bird on there thank fucking god, they didn't.
Speaker 3:Could you go imagine?
Speaker 2:no.
Speaker 3:Big Bird blowing up. That would have been awful. It was bad enough that it was a t-shirt and it is sad it is sad, but all of those people died doing something that they loved, and you know it is.
Speaker 2:It is what it is yeah, but thank you so much for all that information that was.
Speaker 3:That was great now I want to go to wallops and watch I'm telling you you got to go if you're anywhere near it it and a lot of the big ones you can see, from like north carolina up to vermont and stuff like that. You can see them if you just keep an eye on when they. They have like a little ring where they show you where you can see it. They launch it from there all the time. It's pretty cool. I don't go down there anymore just because if they do scrub it, it's such a pain to have that come back but you can see it from the Ocean City.
Speaker 2:Inlet pretty well.
Speaker 3:And my aunt lives over by Assateague, so we go there. You can see it there, the end of their street.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, nice, that's it Okay. Yay, you did it. Yay, all right.
Speaker 3:Thanks for listening to me go on and on about my nerdiness. You can like. Share rate review. Don't forget the five little stars. You can find us everywhere that you listen to podcasts. But if you're already listening to this and you already know, you can follow us on all the socials. At likewhateverpod, you can send us an email to tell us how nerdy you are. Tell me all the things I got wrong.
Speaker 2:Likewhateverpod at gmailcom or don't like whatever. Whatever, bye, bye.
