I shot this short video of Sam biking yesterday with my DJI Mini 2 quadcopter.
Music: https://www.bensound.com
The number of firsts that SpaceX achieved with this Starship SN8 test will mark this as a seminal day in the history of space flight. This is a major step towards putting humans on Mars. It was thrilling to watch this live with Charlie and Sam.
I’m very much looking forward to the continuation of this journey. Go Team Space!
Updated with this amazing 4K compilation from Everyday Astronaut…
And this lovely mini documentary of the launch from Cosmic Perspective:
America is officially back in the space industry lead. SpaceX launched two American astronauts to the International Space Station this weekend from historic Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, ending a 9-year drought for America’s ability to send humans into space. This is the Crew Demo-2 mission by SpaceX and NASA, using a new Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon 2 capsule. The Dragon successfully docked at the International Space Station on Sunday morning.
Above is a zero-g tour of the Dragon capsule, now named Endeavor, by astronauts Bob Hurley and Doug Behnken.
This is an interesting look at how modern rockets expend their fuel and jettison their stages. Saturn V. Space Shuttle. Falcon Heavy. SLS.
Better late than never!
Deer Tick – Mayonnaise
J.S. Ondara – Tales of America
Anders Osborne – Alone
Ian Noe – Between the Country
Of Monsters and Men – Fever Dream
Brittney Howard – Jamie
The Highwomen
Yola – Walk Through Fire
Khruangbin – Hasta El Cielo
Tool – Fear Inoculum
Steve Earle & The Dukes – GUY
Hiss Golden Messenger – Terms of Surrender
Tyler Childers – Country Squire
The DeToffol’s are sheltered at home in Minnesota and plan to stay isolated for the foreseeable future. We are very privileged in that we are currently healthy, are able to shelter in our wonderful home in a safe community, and that I am able to continue to work from home.
This detailed and well-sourced article makes the case that we need to hammer coronavirus with isolation and extensive testing to buy ourselves time. Each of us has a major role to play. We need to stay home.
Coronavirus and Covid-19 information sites:
- Covid Tracking Project
- John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
- CIDRAP Covid-19 Resource Center
- Self-triage Tool
Comic courtesy of XKCD
We got the Simmons SD600 electronic drum kit for Christmas and it has been a lot of fun. I’ve been watching a bunch of drumming videos and this isolated footage of Danny Carey playing on “Pneuma” is my current favorite. Danny is a true master, who obviously loves his art. And this is a great song.
This video gives a decent introduction into why you should secure your devices and digital accounts. Pay special attention to your personal email account. It is the most crucial account to secure as tightly as possible because it is the gateway to all your other accounts.
- Buy products with security built-in. Make sure your software is updated regularly.
- Use a password manager. I recommend Bitwarden, which is free and works across Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.
- Use Second Factor Authentication (2FA). Turn this on for all your important accounts, especially email and financial services. And don’t use SMS to receive the codes if you can help it.
It has been 50 years since the Apollo missions launched humans to the moon. In celebration, there are a multitude of events, documentaries and retrospectives and websites marking the anniversary. I’ll update this list as I find more.
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- NASA’s official Apollo 50th website.
- This amazing NASA document from 1971, before Apollo 13, contains 8 articles describing What Made Apollo A Success?
- Experience Apollo 17 in real-time, with more Apollo missions coming later this year. And now Apollo 11 in real-time is live!
- Interesting trove of documents can be found in the Apollo Press Kits.
- The DeToffol clan saw the amazing new Apollo 11 documentary last week and it was a thrill.
- I’m looking forward to the “Chasing the Moon” and other space related shows coming to PBS this summer.
- The Smithsonian created a 3D virtual tour of the Apollo 11 Command Module.
The Lego NASA Apollo Saturn V 21309 kit is excellent! The set has amazing details and build quality. The boys and I had a great time building and learning about the most powerful rocket ever made.