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Air Force Museum Joins Ongoing Battle To Nab A Space Shuttle

Last summer we learned that the Museum of Space Flight is angling to get one of the three space shuttles that will be available to museums around the U.S. but another contender is the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

NASA hasn't determined which museums across the U.S. will receive one of the three shuttles - the Enterprise, Endeavor or Atlantis. The Discovery is going to the Smithsonian which will in turn release the Enterprise, the shuttle prototype, to another museum. Any shuttle-ready space has to be completed this year in order to be considered. NPR reports that The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is hoping to tempt NASA with the fact that the museum has free admission, free parking and its location means that much of the American population can reach it with a day's drive. The museum is actually part of the Air Force and is on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The original Wright Brothers' flying field is nearby making this area a must-visit for flight lovers.

The Air Force wants a shuttle orbiter as part of an exhibit that will highlight the partnership between the Air Force and NASA. The shuttle would have plenty of company, the museum has over 300 exhibits including an Apollo space capsule. The museum is raising money for a new space gallery which could include a shuttle. It already has a Missile and Space Gallery which opened in 2004. The silo-like structure display missiles including the Titan I and II and Jupiter vertically so that they can be observed from the ground level or from an elevated platform. The gallery also showcases the Apollo 15 Command Module, Mercury and Gemini capsules, rocket engines, satellites and balloon gondolas.

Tags: air force museum, nasa, national museum of the air force, space exhibits, space shuttle, usaf

The Search For Missing Moon Rocks

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Have moon rocks gone missing? Recently the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam announced that a rock it thought was a moon rock turned out to be petrified wood raising questions of how moon rocks are accounted for. During the Apollo 11 and 17 flights to the moon rocks were collected by the astronauts. The AP reports that around 270 rocks were given to foreign countries by the Nixon administration and that the fate of some of those rocks may be unknown. The article quotes Joseph Gutheinz, a University of Arizona instructor who says that he believes that some of the gifted rocks have been lost or stolen and are now secreted in private collections. Moon rocks aren't of particular value in mineral terms but their rarity and the obvious difficulty in attaining them has made them precious. A website called CollectSpace.com is working on compiling a list of where the stones are.

The AP report seems to indicate that many stones given to embassies made it into national museums but others may have gone missing long ago. Of an estimated 134 rocks brought back in the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 only around a dozen can be immediately located.NASA turned over the samples to the State Department to distribute and there is, according to the State Department historian, no record of what became of the rocks. At the time when the rocks were distributed no one imagined that it would be the last trip to the moon for decades.

Most of the material gathered by the Apollo missions remains under NASA lock and key. They give away small samples to researchers and lend rocks out for exhibitions.The gift rocks which were given out were very small and encased in plastic globes. Collectors are often interested in moon rocks but should know that buying the moon rocks from the Apollo missions is illegal. Anyone trying to sell you moon rocks is either lying about the provenance or has obtained the rocks illegally.

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Tags: moon rocks, MoonRocks, museum, nasa

Airocide, Another Way Of Fighting Cork Taint

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The latest weapon in the battle against the dreaded cork taint is something called Airocide. Airocide is a process designed by NASA scientists in the 1990s to remove airborne contaminants and keep fruit and vegetables fresh on a space station. It turns out that it can also eliminate TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole), the chemical that causes cork taint in wine. Decanter explains the process which involves sucking air through a box containing a 'bed' of titanium dioxide catalyst which is irradiated by UV bulbs, oxidizing any organic contaminants. UK wine laboratory Corkwise performed the trials on behalf of Airocide. It could be used in wineries and warehouses and is already used in food storage.

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Tags: cork taint, CorkTaint, nasa, wine

Google Founders Get Yet Another New Jet

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Those Google guys must really be into over-sized private jets, because they're at it again! Apparently having 3 private jets, including a Boeing 767, with landing rights on NASA's Moffett Airfield wasn't good enough for them as they've now added a Boeing 757 to their ever-growing fleet.

Although smaller than the 767 they already have, obviously the 757 is still a large aircraft. Why does Google need so much in the way of wings? Who knows really, but a move like this sure is to get people talking.

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Tags: 757, 767, air, airplane, boeing, boeing 757, boeing 767, Boeing757, Boeing767, google, jet, jets, NASA, plane, private, private jet, private jets, PrivateJet, PrivateJets

The Google Private Jet Gets to Park on NASA's Runway

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Google is getting more and more famous for spoiling and splurging on its employees every day it seems. A couple of years ago the two founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, made headlines when they purchased a used Boeing 767 which they converted to a large customized private jet. Now they're making headlines again as they have negotiated a $1.3 million deal to with NASA to both use the Moffett Field runway and to have parking spaces for Google's over-sized private Boeing jet and 2 other smaller jets. The Google execs get an exclusive parking spot within mere minutes of headquarters, and NASA gets both the annual income and the chance to put scientists on board Google flights for research purposes.

All the other high rollers in the area are just drooling with envy.

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Tags: boeing, boeing 767, Boeing767, google, jet, larry page, LarryPage, NASA, plane, private jet, PrivateJet, runway, sergey brin, SergeyBrin

Luxist Crystal Ball: Wings 2006

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

It's been an exciting year for aviation and 2006 looks to be a break-out year. The aviation market seems to be moving in two opposite directions. First of all there are the megaplanes, led by the behemoth doubledecker Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777. These larger planes lead to the need for increased runway size. In fact several airports have had to lengthen runways in order to accommodate the A380. And while they are making the runways larger they are also making the airports more luxurious as well, adding additional features like better restaurants, spas, luxury shopping and lounges worthy of wiling away a few hours.

On the flip side are the little planes: the Eclipse, the Mustang, the Adam A700, and the Javelin are just some of the planes we have been tracking and which should end up taking to the skies in large numbers in 2006. Because many of these planes are geared for short distances we could see a rise in air taxi services and private ownership. There has already been an increase in private plane clubs. Fractional ownership, which we noticed was big last year, has increased even more and we have also seen the rise of fractional clubs for those who are interested in being pilots instead of passengers (a trend born out by celebrities likeAngelina Jolie taking to the skies). All this small jet activity has also led to the rise of more and more private airports, posh private hangars with amenities that resemble boutique hotels and even homes which are designed so that you can park your plane in the driveway.

What's in the future? As we've seen by the latest moves from Richard Branson and Virgin Galatic space flight is definitely on tap for the next few years. "Space tourism" is currently still pricey but it is expected that the prices will fall eventually. And with the creation of the Rocket Racing League, we may well have NASCAR in the skies. But what I am really excited about for next year is the VTOL, that is the Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicles. The most-talked about is the Moller Skycar which made the pages of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book this season but there are other vehicles such as the Bell/Augusta "impossicopter" and the Carter Copter that offer the advantages of a plane and a helicopter. And NASA is still offering that $250,000 prize for a flying car. Could this be the year of the flying car? Let me know your predictions for 2006 in the skies.

Tags: airplane, airport, eclipse, fractional ownership, nasa, private planes, sky car, space, trends, vtol, wings