Whitney Dail spends most of her time daydreaming about space, especially anything sixties Space Age. She rides her bike almost every day, loves researching and staying informed about current issues in contemporary art, enjoys watching road-cycling races (grand tours), and has a vast knowledge of British subcultures. Whitney is currently seeking her masters in Arts Administration at SCAD.
My favorite comic book artist (besides Jamie Hewlett) is drawing female astronauts. These are all by Philip Bond. Bond worked on many Vertigo comics titles including Kill Your Boyfriend, The Invisibles, Hellblazer, Deadenders, Shade the Changing Man, etc. He was also part of Deadline magazine and collaborated on Tank Girl too. I hope to eventually own one of his comic pages.
Valentina Tereshkova orbited the Earth 48 times during her three day spaceflight in Vostok 6 in 1963. First woman in space!
Svetlana Savitskayabecame the second woman in space when she flew the Soyuz T-7 to the Salyut 7 space station in 1984. First woman to perform a spacewalk!
The third woman in space, and the first American woman in space. Sally Ride rode the Space Shuttle Challenger on the STS-7 mission in 1983.
Delta Tau Delta sweetheart Judith Resnik became the fourth female astronaut when she flew as mission specialist aboard the maiden voyage of the Shuttle Discovery in 1984. Judith was killed during the launch of her second spaceflight aboard the Shuttle Challenger in 1986.
Kathryn Sullivan flew alongside Sally Ride aboard Shuttle Challenger mission STS 41-G in 1984. Fifth woman in space!
Metallocarbonane enthusiast Anna Fisher flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-51-A in November 1984. Fisher became the sixth woman in space. Bonus: first mother in space!
Margaret Rhea Seddon flew as mission specialist aboard Shuttle Discovery flight STS-51-D in 1985, the first of her three spaceflights. Tennessee native and seventh woman in space!
Born in Shanghai to missionary parents, Shannon Lucid became the eighth woman in space when she flew aboard the Shuttle Discovery mission STS-51-G in 1985. Shannon made four more spaceflights including the 1989 Atlantis mission to launch the Galileo probe to Jupiter, and a stay aboard the Russian Mir station saw her break the record for the longest time spent in orbit by a woman. 188 days in space!
Bonnie Dunbar served as mission specialist on Shuttle Challenger’s STS-61-A flight in 1985, becoming the ninth woman in space. Bonnie flew on a total of five shuttle missions and is now president of the Museum Of Flight in Seattle.
Mary Cleave became the tenth woman in space when she flew aboard Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-61-B in 1985.
Ellen Shulman Baker flew aboard Shuttle Atlantis mission STS-34 in 1989, which deployed the Galileo probe to Jupiter. New York Queens Zoo’s resident bald eagles Mel and Claire are named after Ellen’s parents. Eleventh woman in space!
NASA’s 2011 Budget: Obama Kills Human Space Exploration
It is a new era for space exploration. Today, NASA unveiled a new budget plan for the 2011 fiscal year. If you followed the Augustine Committee this past summer, you know of the great space debate. As of today, the NASA we all know and love is on the brink of a pivotal transition to develop over the next five years. The 2011 budget focuses on discovering new technologies and updating the current means of exploration.
In order to explore new frontiers, we are launching a vigorous new technology development and test program that will pursue game-changing technology development that can take us further and faster and more affordably into space. —from NASA’s 2011 Budget Overview
Sounds OK, right? But the new plan restricts us to low orbit and replaces astronauts with robots. How can you expect to inspire and renew the public’s interest in exploring our solar system with a focus on robotic probes? It is invariably apparent that “new” programs will replace the old when it comes to President Obama’s initiatives—this applies to more than just NASA.
In addition to the removal of human spaceflight, Obama proposes to globalize NASA’s efforts while partnering with other governments worldwide and commercializing space technology. Although it was inevitable, opening space technology up to the private sector for the purpose of lower costs is a mistake. Why replace NASA’s expertise and history of problem solving spaceflight? Furthermore, human spaceflight will no longer be an American legacy. Countries like China, Japan, India and even Iran will grab the torch. Also, how does this affect the local economies nationwide that are already involved in NASA production?
In place of the Moon mission, Mr. Obama’s vision offers, at least initially, nothing in terms of human exploration of the solar system. What the administration calls a “bold new initiative” does not spell out a next destination or timetable for getting there.
I strongly believe that NASA is now more unfocused than ever. You can’t pull the wool over my eyes.
Listen to the entire teleconference here and read the projected budget changes here. What do you think?
“ENDLESS (ARIANNE)” - 2002 (EXPLORER), (LUNAORBITER), (VOYAGER) LAMBDA PRINT ON ALUMINUM. 60 X 60 CM A series of images of well-known rockets configured into imaginary structures. These “remixed” forms convert their represented movement into a non functional rotation the implications of which raise questions as to the rockets’ real nature, the meaning of their mission, and the confidence people have in technology. (via Artists’s Website)
"The one good thing about space being the same as time is that if you travel to the outer reaches of the universe and the voyage takes three thousand earth years, your friends will be dead when you come back, but you will not need Botox."
— From the short story “Strung Out” by Woody Allen. Read it here.
"We now have reason to believe that billions of such planets must exist and that they hold the promise of expanding not only the scope of human knowledge but also the richness of the human imagination."
Moon dust is rare and collectors crave the commodity. They can go as far as purchasing moon dust and rocks on the black market. Why not purchase it legally and buy this limited edition watch? Romain Jerome made watches out of space parts from Apollo capsules and spacesuits. The watches are in a collection called Moon-dust DNA. An epic concept? How about an epic cost that’s totally out of this world: from $15,000 to $500,000. Just like MoonFire, the watches are limited to an edition of 1969. It makes me wonder… who handed over the spacesuits and capsule parts? Spacesuits are kept under lock and key in Suitland, Maryland. Does NASA approve? It looks like they need to start writing up official licensing agreements. I’m not sure how these watches fair on the current market, but I know a few watch collectors and enthusiasts. Personally, this watch better suits my needs.
If I could ask Santa for one thing alone, it would be this book: Norman Mailer’s MoonFire. I caught wind of this from Katie while she was at Art Basel. Yes, it’s $1,500. But it’s worth it! Artnet tweeted about it too. Only 12 come with an actual moon rock (though I’m not sure how legal that is). However, prices vary depending on the size of the rock. Another selling point for buying the moon rock edition is that you get dinner with Buzz Aldrin! AND… the normal edition is limited to 1969. Nice touch, eh? Keep it in mind. Hint hint. Just saying.
An inside spread from the book. Image courtesy of Taschen.
A view of the book in its limited edition stand for the book and an actual rock up for sale with the edition. Image courtesy of Artnet’s twitter.
