Hubble Space Telescope Being Deployed

In celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope's 25th anniversary in space, this postcard was made out of a photograph taken by the crew of the STS-31 space shuttle mission on April 25, 1990. The Hubble Space Telescope was suspended above shuttle Discovery's cargo bay some 332 nautical miles or 615 kilometers above Earth. The Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, controlled from in-cabin by the astronaut crew members, held the huge telescope in this position during pre-deployment procedures, which included extension of solar array panels and antennae.

Image and caption source: NASA

Eagle Nebula Pillars

25 years ago on April 24, 1990, Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on mission STS-31 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on board. Fitting with a 2.4-meter or 7.9 feet mirror and instruments observing in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared spectra, the telescope has since recorded some of the most detailed images ever, leading to breakthroughs in astrophysics, such as accurately determining the rate of expansion of the universe.

The Eagle Nebula (NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux between 1745 and 1746. It contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions that became famous when NASA release a HST image "Pillars of Creation" in 1995, capturing three dusty pillars in the Eagle Nebula. HST recently took another photograph at the star-forming pillars with its newest camera, providing much greater details.

In celebration of HST’s 25th anniversary, 32 of the best HST images were competing against each other in a series of head-to-head competitions, with popular votes deciding the winner of each round. Ultimately, with over 17,000 votes the Eagle Nebula Pillars triumphed over all other competitors to become the winner of Hubble Mania 2015.

In this NASA released image that can be made into a 5"x7" postcard under NASA's copyright notice, three pillars of cold hydrogen gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula are shown as the birthplace of new stars, 6,500 light years away. The pillars are bathed in the blistering ultraviolet light from a grouping of young, massive stars located off the top of the image. Streamers of gas can be seen bleeding off the pillars as the intense radiation heats and evaporates it into space. Denser regions of the pillars are shadowing material beneath them from the powerful radiation.

I was fortunate for being able to witness the Space Shuttle Discovery's launch for the 3rd Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission STS-103 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 19, 1999. 

Daylight Saving Time Starts in 2015, But Not in Hawaii

Daylight Saving Time (DST) starts today at 2 a.m. on March 8, 2015 in most parts of the U.S. except in the states of Arizona and Hawaii, and the overseas territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. As clocks "spring forward" one hour, spring is in the air.

Hawaii is in the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone; Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST) is equivalent to GMT/UTC - 10h Standard Time. When the United States enacted the Uniform Time Act in 1966, Hawaii opted out in 1967, mainly because there is not a large variation in daylight hours from summer to winter due to Hawaii's proximity to the Equator. The Territorial Legislature enacted a bill placing Hawaii on daylight saving time in 1933, but the law was repealed three weeks later. According to Wikepedia, during World War II between February 9, 1942 and September 30, 1945, Hawaiian Standard Time was advanced one hour to so-called "Hawaiian War Time." That was the only period when Hawaii was effectively placed on year-round daylight saving time.

Postcard US-3230216 from California shows a NASA image of the entire Hawaiian Island chain as seen from the Space Shuttle. Niihau and Kauai are in the foreground followed by Oahu, Molokai, Lanai and Maui, with the Big island in the distance. The curve of the Earth and the black of outer space can be seen on the top of the card.

Space Shuttle Columbia

Twenty five years ago today, Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off on August 8, 1989 for a five-day mission STS-28. It was the 30th NASA Space Shuttle mission overall, the 4th secret military mission for the U.S. Department of Defense, and the 8th flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. It was also Columbia's first flight since STS-61-C in January 1986, the mission directly preceding the Challenger disaster.

The featured postcard shows Columbia's Crew Insignia for mission STS-4, the 4th NASA Space Shuttle mission overall, and also the 4th flight for Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission, launched on June 27, 1982 and landed a week later on July 4, 1982,  carried numerous scientific payloads and military missile detection systems. The insignia shows the Columbia trailing USA nation's colors in the shape of her flight number 4, representing the fourth and final flight of the test phase. Space Shuttle was officially declared to be operational thereafter.

Columbia was destroyed on February 1, 2003 during the re-entry of the atmosphere at the end of a 16-day multi-disciplinary microgravity and Earth science research mission STS-107.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Soars over Jupiter Lighthouse

Postcard US-2509951 to Germany shows the view of Space Shuttle Endeavour's launch at Jupiter Lighthouse, 233 kilometers or 145 miles away from the Kennedy Space Center, on November 30, 2000. STS-97, a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS), was noted for the installation of the first set of solar arrays to the ISS.

You can purchase a copy of the postcard from Zazzle.com or a copy of 14"x18" poster from Gallery Palm Beach by the Palm Beach Post.

Space Shuttle's Last Launch

Last Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis

It was the end of an era today two years ago when Space Shuttle Atlantis launched for the last time on July 8, 2011. The mission STS-135 marked the 135th and the final mission of the American Space Shuttle Program. Overall, it was the 33rd flight of Atlantis; 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS); 110th post-Challenger disaster shuttle mission; 22nd post-Columbia disaster shuttle mission, and the 100th daytime launch.

I had seen several launches when I lived in Florida, I decided that I had to be there during the final launch. So, I flew in to Tampa from Las Vegas on July 7, 2012 and drove to Cape Canaveral the next morning. A young family in the crowd told me that they were from Oklahoma and also came just for the event.

The postcard was sent to Finland as US-1740602. Thanks to TouchNote's Challenge in May 2013, I got a copy for myself free.

Today in History: The first American in space

Space Shuttle Challenger on Mission STS-8

On May 5, 1961, Navy Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. became the first American to travel into space on the Freedom 7 space capsule.

On this 52nd anniversary, I found a NASA postcard among my early postcard collections, sent from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December, 19, 1999. We sent the card to ourselves when we went to see the Space Shuttle Discovery launch for the 3rd Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission STS-103. It was launched from Pad: 39B on December 19, 1999, 7:50 p.m. EST. It was a night time launch since the sunset that day was 5:32 PM. It was our second attempt to drive 300 miles round trip from West Palm Beach to see the Discovery launch in two days. The previous day launch attempt on December 18 was scrubbed due to the weather. There were two more canceled launch attemps on December 6 and December 16, 1999 for technical reasons. We were debating whether to go again on December 19 as the forecast had 40% chance for bad weather. However, our determination paid off for an once-in-a-life-time experience.

Interestingly, the Challenger mission, STS-8 shown on the card, was the first night launch of the space shuttle. The nose of the shuttle was positioned away from the sun in order to test the flight deck's performance in extreme cold temperature. Night time launches were banned after the Shuttle Columbia accident in order to better monitor the foam falling off.

Pictorial Postmark at the Kennedy Space Center

The pictorial postmark had a space shuttle image with the text "Benefits on Earth". The stamp was a non-denominated 'H' stamps issued at the 'birthplace' of Uncle Sam in Troy, New York on November 9, 1988. The "H-series" stamp features Uncle Sam's Top Hat with stars and stripes on a white background. The stamp was valued at 33 cents for the First-Class, 1 ounce, letter rate effective January 10, 1999. 

 Where the postcard was bought: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex gift shop

Space Day: the First Friday in May

STS-41C Mission Insignia for the Space Shuttle Challenger

The Space Day was first introduced in 1997. It is the first day in May every year. Space themed postcards are among my favorites. I would like to highlight this US-1999692 card to mark the Space Day for 2013 on May 3rd. The postcard shows the STS-41C mission insignia. Originally numbered as STS-13, it was NASA's 11th Space Shuttle flight, and the 5th for the Shuttle Challenger. It was launched on April 6, 1984 from the  Kennedy Space Center, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on April 13, 1984.

I found quite a few space themed postcards in the Planetarium gift shop at the College of Southern Nevada. Programs are presented on the domed screen very Friday at 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm and every Saturday at 3:30 pm, 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm & 8:00 pm. Check their Event Calendar for the current line up. Weather permitting, the telescopes at the Student Observatory will be open for viewing After the 8pm presentation.

Clare has a blog post on the 10 Stamps for the Space Day. Hope I can collect them all some day.

Where the postcard was bought:  Planetarium and Observatory at the College of Southern Nevada