World Space Week

Posted on October 4, 2019 by vanbraman

Today was the start of World Space Week.

Friday seems like the wrong day to start a week of commemoration, but October 4 is a significant date in Space history.

Sputnik, Scrapbook, Clippings, First Hand AccountSputnik was launched on October 4, 1957.

Above is a clipping from the newspaper that was pasted in one of my Grandma’s Scrapbooks.

She also wrote some of her own thoughts in the scrapbook:

This “moon” had an odd beep it came in over the radio several times. It was very high pitched on a very even beep. This radio of ours is a combination battery and electric portable. Went over several times. The Queen Elizabeth and her husband from England made a flying trip over and the U.S. President conferred with them. Her diplomat came over later. Everyone in high politics are worried about all this.

Mercury 7, Space Flight, NASA, Virgil GrissomIt was not long before men were being launched into space.

The caption above came from an article my Grandma saved about The Mercury 7.

The first of the Mercury 7 to fly into space was Alan Shepard. In May of 1961 he flew in Freedom 7 which made the first sub-orbital flight.

Glenn Orbits Three Times Headline - First Orbital Flight - John Glenn - Friendship 7 - GeminiJohn Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth in February of 1962 in Friendship 7.

The Gemini program then helped prepare the US space program for the next big goal.

Moon Landing - Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong - Coffee Can - Butternut Coffee - Space ProgramThe moon was the next big goal, and Apollo 11 fulfilled that goal.

After the moon landings was the brief Skylab program with three crews spending time on a space station in orbit.

U. S. News and World Report - Challenger Tragedy - MemoriesThen came the Shuttle program which I was really excited about when I was in school.

Unfortunately there were several major tragedies in the Shuttle program. I have vivid memories of the Challenger Disaster.

During the Shuttle program the International Space Station was built and today we continue to have a presence in space.

Night Sky - Constellations - Orion - StarsOf course the manned space programs are not the only space exploration that is taking place. There are many unmanned missions in progress and telescopes are continually looking outward into space and exploring what is around us.

Hmm, this post wandered a bit from what I originally planned on writing. But, this just makes me think of exploration. We sometimes just have to follow our thoughts to discover things that we normally wouldn’t.

Steven

 

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German Unity Day

Posted on October 3, 2019 by vanbraman

Today was German Unity Day. I know this because I had to look up why all my German colleagues were taking the rest of the week off.

Germany Unity Day commemorates the formal reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990.

Berlin Wall, Topgraphy of Terror, Germany, Berlin, November 9, 1989Since I work for a German company I have traveled to Germany many times since the late 90’s.

Berlin Wall, German Reunification, Berlin, 25th AnniversayI have been in Berlin and saw the remains of part of the wall that divided Germany there. The wall started to come down about a year before formal reunification.

Berlin Wall Segments, Berlin, History, 25th Anniversary, GermanyIn Berlin they have preserved some of the graffiti covered wall segments as a memory. There are also segments of the wall in other places in the world. I first saw wall segments at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas before I first visited Germany.

Topography of Terror, Berlin Wall, Berlin Wall Remains, Museum, Berlin, GermanyThey have preserved some sections of the wall in Berlin and you can walk along them and learn about their history.

Berlin Wall Marker, 25 Years Ago, Berlin, Germany, Tumbling WallIn other places the wall location is simply marked with a row of bricks as a memory.

As I look back through the years I can remember seeing changes in what was East Germany. The city that I visit the most has had major changes with buildings being renovated and many investments in business and housing. It has also been interesting to watch the changing culture as the generations age.

It has now been 29 years since reunification in Germany, so it is even more important today for them to take time to remember their time of separation. When I first visited Germany it was still fresh in their memories.

Steven

 

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