Happy 48th Anniversary Apollo 8

It was 48 years ago today, Dec 21, that the Kennedy Space Center in Florida roared to life with the liftoff of the Apollo 8 craft. It was shortly after 7:00 am EST (4:00 am PST) that the whole nation was treated to the sight of three brave astronauts as they waited in the Apollo 8 command module, that sat on top of a 110 foot tall Saturn V rocket, as we listened to the countdown to launch. The viewers all held their breath as they heard 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...liftoff. Then there was a cheer as the engines came to life, at 7:51 am EST (4:51 am PST), and carried the rocket into space. For the next three days viewers eagerly watched as these brave men journeyed to the moon where they would go into a lunar orbit.

On Dec 24 (Christmas Eve), 1968 they reach their objective when they took up a lunar orbit. For the next 20 hours they would make 10 orbits of the Moon. Approximately million television viewers watched as we were able to see the lunar surface for the first time and what the Earth looked like as viewed from space. On that evening we were also treated to the voices of our astronauts as they read the first 10 verses of the book of Genesis from the Bible. The three astronauts took turns reading one verse for each orbit. Once that of the mission was over they started the 3 day journey back to Earth.

For the next three days we held our breath and watched as these men rocketed back to Earth. On Dec 27, 1968 at 10:51 am EST (7:51am PST) we were able to let that breath out as the Apollo 8 command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. From there the command module would be recovered by the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. The astronauts would have to wait 43 minutes before frogmen from the USS Yorktown would reach the module to bring them the crew and capsule on board. The three men were then welcomed back to Earth and taken back to dry land. That year Colonel Frank Borman, Major William A Anders, and Captain James A Lovell were honored as Time “Men of the Year”.

Apollo 8 was the second time that Frank Borman and James Lovell were partnered on a space mission. The two were also paired for the Gemini 7 mission were they would perform the first orbital rendezvous. In that mission they would link with the Gemini 7 craft that was launched into Earth's orbit 14 days earlier. After both missions James A Lovell would go on to command the infamous Apollo 13 mission that was never able to fulfill its mission of landing on the moon. Frank Borman retired from NASA after the Apollo 8 mission. William A Anders would be named as part of the back-up crew for Apollo 11 but never go on another mission.

Today we lost one of the great ones

Today; December 8, 2016; is a day of remembrance as we reflect back on the life of one of the truly great Americans; former Marine, Astronaut, and United States Senator John Glenn. Mr. Glenn passed away after battling an undisclosed illness that had hospitalized him twice in the last month. He had honorably served his country for almost 6 decades out of his 95 years of life.

Mr. Glenn began our country in 1942 when, as my Americans, heard the call to service after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though he had enlisted in the United States Army Air Corp it was the United States Navy that took him for flight training. Near the end of his flight training he transferred to the United States Marines where, in 1943, he was assigned to the VMF-353 squadron where he flew transport. Being a man of action he transferred to the VMF-155 squadron where he flew 59 combat mission in the south Pacific. After World War II his service continued fling patrol mission in the Pacific and then as a flight instructor. In the Korean war Mr. Glenn service two term of duty where he flew 95 combat mission.

After his service in two wars Mr. Glenn became a test pilot taking new military jets to their breaking-point. On July 16, 1957 he earned his 5^th distinguished fling cross when he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight. At the time of the flight he set a record time of 3 hours and 23 minutes from California to New York.

In 1958 Mr. Glenn began the third phase of his career when NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Agency) put out the call for astronauts. He applied for the new agency along with 507 other military test pilots. Early the following year he found out that he had made the final cut and was introduced to the rest of the country as one of the “Mercury Seven” astronauts. On February 20, 1962 he became the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 capsule. Two years after that historic flight Mr. Glenn announced his retirement from NASA to start a career in politics. The following year he also retired from the United States Marines with the rank of Colonel.

After a few setbacks Mr. Glenn started his political career in 1974 when he won his first term as an United States Senator for the state of Ohio. In 1984, during his second term as Senator, he made an unsuccessful run for the Presidency. He then returned to the floor of the Senate where he won two more terms before NASA came calling once again. In 1998 he became the first United States Senator to go into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery. He left politics when his term expired in January of 1999.

Four steps you should take to Winterize your garden

It has been a plenty of work but a productive year in the garden. We started in early Spring months with weeding, adding nutrients, and aerating garden. Then we planned out what to grow and purchase all of the plants and seeds. Finally, it was time to plot out where every would go and get it planted.

In the later Spring months and throughout the Summer there was plenty of weeding, water, fertilizing, and pruning. In the early Fall months we were finally to benefit from all of that hard work as harvest time came around. Now that most (if not all) of the plants are dead and Winter is approaching there is still plenty of work to be done be the frost comes:

1. Getting rid of all the dead plants, weeds, and other debris will both reduce our preparation work next Spring and help keep down the spread of fungal diseases caused by decaying plant matter.
2. Dig up and re-pot all of your perennials to store them for the Winter. Remember to keep them moist during storage.
3. Once you cleaned up the garden, add some fertilizer, mulch, and/or compost to replenish the nutrients in the soil, and turn it all into the garden.
4. Cover the garden with landscape cloth, plastic, or paper to keep down weed growth.

It was a wild one in the west

Last night's Sunday night match-up between the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks was the most bizarre game of the NFL season. It was only the third game in the history of the NFL to end in a 6-6 tie. Yes, you read that right a 6-6 tie between the two titans of the west. That the game ended in a tie is not as strangest as how got to that point.

The first quarter of the game set the tempo as Seattle's defense hand their hands full with the Cardinals high powered offense but managed not to break. On the other side of the ball the Arizona defense was making quick work of Seattle's banged up an sluggish offense. The quarter ended with no score but the Cardinals were marching to Seattle's end zone.

The second quarter started with the Cardinals driving down to Seattle's 21 yard line before being stopped. They would attempt a field-goal only to have Seattle's Bobby Wagner hurdle the line to block the kick attempt. After the blocked field-goal Seattle was only able to advance the ball to their own 44 before having to punt the ball back to the Cardinals. Starting at their own 11 yard-line the Cardinals drove down the field and were stopped at Seattle's 28 yard-line. This time the field-goal attempt worked to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. After the kick-off the Seahawks were not able to advance the ball very far before punting once again. The Cardinals made their way down the field but were stopped on Seattle's 32 yard-line as time ran out in the half.

The Seattle Seahawks started the second half of the game with a good drive that was stalled with penalties that put them in a hole too big to overcome. The Cardinals put together a great drive only to turn the ball over on downs as the Seahawks stopped them in the red zone. The rest of the third quarter ended up being a back-and-forth slug-fest. The quarter ended with the Cardinals still leading 3-0.

Much of the fourth quarter was again a back-and-forth game with the defenses keeping the to short gains. With just under 5 minutes left in the game the Seahawks blocked a punt at the Carinals 38 yard-line. The Seahawks offense was only able to advance the ball to the 22 before having to settle for a field-goal to tie the game. The last 4 ½ minutes were more back-and-forth play and the game ended tied at 3.

Overtime started with the Cardinals receiving the ball and marching down the field before having to settle for a field-goal. The Seahawks took the ball and marched down the field before being forced to settle for a game tying field-goal. With time still remaining in the overtime quarter the Cardinals once again marched down the field only to have their kicker hit the in a failed field1-goal attempt. The Seahawks then put on their most impressive offensive drive. On a 2^nd & 10 at Arizona's 10 yard-line the Seahawks opted to kick a field-goal only to have Stephen Hauschka hook it wide to the left. The Cardinals took over and ran out the final few seconds for a 6-6 tie.  

Orbital Science makes a triumphant return to space flight

Yesterday, Oct 17, was the first time in almost two years that the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia's Wallop Island was the sight of an Orbital Science's Antares rocket. On top of the rocket was a unmanned Cygnus craft filled with more than 2 and a half ton of supplies destined for the ISS (International Space Station). The mission would first for Orbital Science since the October 2014 explosion of an Antares rocket shortly after lift-off.

At 7:45 pm ET (4:45 pm PT) the ground crew on Wallop Island and those watching the live feed were thrilled at the sight of the engines roaring to life. There was cheering as the rocket lifted-off and started its accent. Within seconds much of the northern half of the east coast was able to witness the sight of the rocket as it soared into the stratosphere.

A few minutes after launch the Antares rocket broke into a low Earth orbit where it would separate with the Cygnus craft that would continue on its mission to the ISS. It will take 5 and a days for the Cygnus craft to rendezvous with the ISS where it will then be captured by the stations robotic grappling arm and brought in to dock. Then over the next few weeks the crew of the ISS will unload the 5,000+ pounds of supplies. Once the craft has been unloaded it will then be filled back up with 3,000 pounds of trash before it is released to fall back to Earth.

The Seahawks beat the 49ers to go 2-1

Yesterday, Sept 25, the Seattle Seahawks showed that they are still one of the elite teams in the NFL as they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 37-18. The game though was not as close as the score would indicate. The Seahawks thoroughly dominated the game from the opening kick off to the final whistle.

The first quarter started with Seattle receiving after the 49ers won the coin toss and elected to defer, On the first play from their own 25 yard line quarterback Russell Wilson threw an incompletion to running-back Christian Michael Sr. On the next play Mr. Wilson looked back to form as he completed a 34 yard bomb to wide-receiver Doug Baldwin. Mr. Michael followed up with a 41 yard run into the end zone for a touchdown. The three play drive only took 34 seconds off of the clock and was capped off with an extra point kick by Steven Hauschka to give the Seahawks a 7-0 lead.

Mr. Hauschka kicked off and the football went through the end zone for a touchback. The 49ers went to work from their own 25 yard line. They where soon forced to punt though as the Seahawks defense limited the to only 7 yards. The punt gave the Seahawks the ball at their own 30 yard line where they went to work on their drive. The second did not nearly go as fast. It took the Seahawks 14 plays, of a mixture of passes and runs, to come up to a second touchdown for the Seahawks. An extra point kick by Steven Hauschka gave the Seahawks a 14-0 lead with just over 4 minutes left in the first quarter. The two teams both had drives that ended in punts as the first quarter expired.

The second quarter started with the 49ers having ball. They were held to a small gain before once again punting to the Seahawks. On the 4^th play of the drive receiver Jimmy Graham fumbled a 9 yard pass. The 49ers came up with the fumble for a 1^st & 10 at Seattle's 30 yard line. The 49ers were held to just an 8 yard gain and had to kick a field goal to make it a 14-3 game.

After the kick-off and a 19 yard return by Paul Richardson, Seattle started their drive at their 27 yard line. 4 plays later the drive ended with an 18 yard pass to Jimmy Graham for a touchdown. An extra point by Steven Hauschka gave Seattle a 21-3 lead.

After the ensuing kick-off the 49ers went to work once again. This time they put together an impressive drive that stalled at Seattle's 35 yard-line. The 49ers tried a field-goal but came up short. The Seahawks took over at their own 43 yard-line. They drove down the field before stalling out at the 15 yard-line of the 49ers. Steven Hauschka kicked a field-goal to give Seattle a 24-3 lead with just over a minute left in the half. That would be the last score of the half after the next drive of the 49ers once again ended with a punt.

The 49ers started off the second half of the game. The drive was quickly stalled to force the 49ers to punt. The Seahawks did not fair much better as they had to punt. The 49ers were again held to a short gain and would punt the ball back to Seattle. Tyler Lockett had a marvelous 62 yard return to give Seattle a 1^st & 10 at the 49ers' 26 yard-line. The Seahawks drive fizzled out at the 14 yard-line where Steven Hauschka kicked a field-goal to make it 27-3.

The 49ers next drive would end at their own 27 yard-line when Bobby Wagner intercepted the ball. Trevone Boykin took over for Russell Wilson after a knee injury. He lead the team down the field before the drive stalled on the 49ers' 4 yard-line. Steven Hauschka kicked a field-goal to give Seattle a 30-3 lead.

Another 3 & out by the 49ersgave the ball back to Seattle. 3^rd quarter woul come to an end with Seattle marching down the field. Shortly after the 4^th quarter started Doug Baldwin caught a pass from Trevone Boykin for a touch-down. An extra point by Steven Hauschka gave Seattle a 37-3 lead.

After the kick-off, the 49ers would come to life as they marched down the field. Their 11 play drive would take the into the end-zone for their first touch-down. A Phil Dawson extra point would cut Seattle's lead to 37-10.

After the kick-off Trevone Boykin would have the Seahawks marching down the field until an interception at mid-field would give the ball back to the 49ers. It would take the 49ers 8 plays to drive 48 yards for a touch-down. A 2 point conversion would cut Seattle's lead to 37-18 with just under a minute to go in the game.

Russell Wilson & Trevone Boykin would combine to complete 22 passes for 308 yards with 2 touch-downs and an interception. Doug Baldwin had 146 yards on 8 receptions and scored a touch-down. Jimmy Graham ended with 100 yards on 6 receptions and scored a touch-down. Christian Michael ended with 106 yards rushing and scored the first 2 touch-downs of his career.  

26 years ago Ken Griffey Sr. & Jr. made history

It was 26years ago today, Sept 14, that fans at Anaheim Stadium witnessed a feat that has never been seen before or since in baseball. It was that day that the father and son duo of Ken Griffey Sr. & Ken Griffey Jr. hit back-to-back home runs. The two home runs gave the Seattle Mariners a 3-0 lead in the first inning of a game that they would end up losing 7-5.

It was the second game of a short road trip that would see the Seattle Mariners play four games against the California Angels. Since the Mariners were the visiting team they started off on offense. Second baseman Harold Reynolds stepped up to the plate first and drew a walk from Kirk McCaskill. Left-fielder Ken Griffey Sr. was up next to the plate. Kirk McCaskill had him 0-2 before the senior Griffey hit a home-run to left-center field to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead. Center-fielder Ken Griffey Jr. was the third player up to face Mr. McCaskill. The pitch count was 3-0 and Griffey was given the green light to swing. In what would become a familiar sight to Mariners fans, he connected with the ball hitting the sweet-spot of the bat. It was a high fly ball that seemed to just keep picking up momentum as it traveled over the left-center field wall in almost the exact spot that his dad's home-run just cleared. The Mariners would only have two more runs in that game and lose to the Angels.

It was mid-August when Ken Griffey Sr. was let go by the Cincinnati Reds' manager Lou Piniella, who would become the Mariners manager in 1993. In what was seen by many as a publicity stunt the Mariners signed the senior Griffey to play next to his son as the first father and son duo in baseball. Then on Aug 31in a game against the Kansas City Royals he made his debut in the line in the number two spot. The move turned out to be much more that just a mere stunt as Mr. Griffey would finish the season hitting .377 for the Mariners. He retired the following yer after playing 30 games for Mariners where he had a .282 batting average.

Ken Griffey Jr. debuted in 1989 for the Seattle Mariners as a 19 year-old. He would go on to play a total of 22 years for three teams (13 years with the Mariner, 8+ years with Cincinnati, and part of a season with the Chicago Whitesox). In his career he played in more than 2600 games racking up 2781 hits,630 home runs, 1836 RBI's, and a .284 batting average. He also won 10 gold gloves and appeared in a dozen all-star games. 5 years after he retired Ken Griffey Jr. was elected to the baseball hall of fame with the highest percent in history.  

Seahawks pull out squeaker at home

Yesterday, Sept 11, was the day that Seattle Seahawks fans have been waiting 9 months to watch. The Seahawks take to the field for their season opener against the Miami Dolphins. At 1:00 pm they all turned on their televisions to see Russell Wilson lead the Seahawks on to victory.

Since the game would be at Centurylink field in Seattle and the recent history of both teams it was suppose to be an easy victory for the Seahawks. The Dolphins though didn't seem to read the same script and came in ready to make it rough on the boys in blue and green.

The Miami kicked the ball off to the Seattle Seahawks and they started at their own 25 yard line. The first drive started well for the Seahawks with Russell Wilson completing a 7 yard pass to Doug Baldwin and two 6 yard passes to Tyler Lockett. After those three completions he ha two incompletions to Lockett that brought up a 4^th & 4. Jon Ryan then came on field and made a 37 yard punt to pin the Dolphins on their own 19 yard line.

Ryan Tanneball and the rest of the Dolphin offense came out on the field for their first drive. That drive would be short though as the Seahawks defense limited them to a 3 & out gaining only 5 yards. That would bring out Matt Darr who kicked a 43 yard punt down to the Seahawks 32 yard line.

The Seahawks took the field for their second drive. Despite a penalty and sack the Seahawks were able to march down the field. The drive stopped at 21 yard like where Steven Hauscha kicked a field goal to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead.

The Dolphins started their second drive at their own 20 yard line. They were able to march down the field. It look as though they would tie or take the lead in the game but it was not to be. On a 4^th & 1 at Seattle's 17 yard line the Dolphins elected to try for a 1^st down rather then kick a field to tie the game. It turned out to be the wrong choice when the Seahawks defense stop them.

The next drive for both teams ended up in punts. The forth drive for Seattle ended up with Russell Wilson throwing an interception that gave the Dolphins good field position. Ryan Tanneball came back out and took the Dolphin down the field where they were able to get a game tying field goal.

The next few drives for both teams were filled with penalties, incompletions, and some sloopy playing. In the final 2 minutes of the game Seattle finally put together a good drive that ended in a field goal for a 6-3 halftime lead.

The second half of the game starts with a kickoff by Steven Hauscha and a return out to the 41 yard line of Miami. The Seahawks defense once again held Miami to a 3 & out. After a punt the Seahawks started their drive at their own 19 yard line. The drive seemed to be going well as the Seahawks gained two 1^st dawns.

On the next play the entire crowd and Seattle's bench all gasped in horror as Russell Wilson was sacked and his ankle was stepped on by Miami's Ndamukong Suh. Mr. Wilson's foot twisted and when he was able to get to his feet it was obvious he was in some pain. Instead of leaving the field he decided to continue the drive. When he attempted his next pass it was obvious that the injury was hampering his play. The pass was incomplete and forced another punt.

Sloppy play and penalties for the rest of the third quarter and most of the forth quarter. At just over halfway through the forth quarter the Dolphins put together a good drive and march down to score a touchdown for a 10-6 lead.

With just over 4 minutes left in game Russell Wilson showed that even banged up he was the comeback kid. The drive didn't always look good but with each play Mr. Wilson seemed to be getting better. After a few plays Seattle was faced with a 4^th & 4 that threatened to kill the comeback. After a timeout Russell Wilson completed a pass to Doug Baldwin for a 1^st down. With just just over 2 minutes in the game the Seahawks continued their march to score the go ahead touchdown. Steven Hauscha missed the extra point so it was 12-10 Seahawks.

With 31 seconds left in the game the Dolphins took the field. They were determined to go down the field to kick the winning field goal. It was not to be as an incomplete pass and two sacks ended the game. Seattle survived to get a narrow victory at home.  

A Falcon 9 rocket exploded today in Forida

This morning, Sept 1, Cape Canaveral, Florida was rock when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded at a few minutes after 9 am ET. The rocket had been wheeled out to the launched pad for testing in preparation of this weekends mission. Shortly after re-fueling some yet unexplained mishap occurred to cause the rocket and its payload blow-up.

"Cause still unknown. More soon," Elon Musk, founder and CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla Motors, said on Twitter.

Fortunately, all personal had already been cleared from the launch area so that there were no injuries. The only casualties of the explosion were the Amos-6 communication satellite, the Falcon 9 rocket, and the launch pad.

The explosion will most likely ground any future SpaceX launches until the cause and any needed fixes are made. The last time a Falcon 9 exploded was shortly after launch in June of last year. After that explosion it was 6 months before the necessary upgrades were made to resume launches. As a result SpaceX had a much improved Falcon 9 rocket that had 9 successful missions and 6 recoveries of the first stage.

Today disaster is also a setback for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his plan to bring Internet service to remote areas of Africa. The plan had been in the works for over a year before Facebook and France-based Eutelsat paid $95 million dollars on a 5 year lease of the Amos satellite array.

“We are disappointed by the loss but remain committed to our mission of connecting people to the Internet around the world,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.

Mark Zuckerberg was in Africa promoting the mission when he heard the news of the explosion.

“I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent,” he said in a Facebook post. “We remain committed to our mission of connecting everyone, and we will keep working until everyone has the opportunities this satellite would have provided.”

Happy 61st anniversary to Gemini 5

It was 61 years ago today, Aug 21, that Gordon Cooper Jr and Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr blasted-off into space on the Gemini V mission. The main objective of the mission was to test a new type of fuel cell that would later be used on the Apollo Moon missions. As part of that testing they also would set a record as they spent almost 8 full days in space (approximately how long a round trip to the Moon would take) and made 120 orbits of the Earth.

It was 1:58 pm UTC (9:58 am ET) when the crowd gathered at Cape Kennedy, Florida cheered when they heard the roar of the engines. Then the hold claps released as they all watched the rocket lift-off from the launch-pad at control center 19. They looked up as the rocket kept rising while it carried the two astronauts into space.

About 4 and a half hours into the mission it looked as though they might need to return to Earth before carrying out their objective. One of the two fuel cells dropped from 850 psi (pounds per square inch) of pressure to 65 psi. Mr. Cooper turned off the malfunctioning fuel cell and that left the capsule short of the power it would require to complete it mission. With fate of the mission in doubt the ground crew back at NASA worked on a solution to the problem. The only solution seemed to be turning the fuel cell back on and testing it. When the crew of Gemini turned it back on the fuel cell tested out as stable enough to carry out the rest of the mission.

On the 120^th orbit the crew of the Gemini V fired their retros over the Hawaiian Islands. The capsule then descended into the Atlantic Ocean where the craft would be recovered by the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain.

Previous to the Gemini V mission Mr. Cooper flew the Mercury 9 mission. The Gemini mission would turn out to be his last mission when he retired after being bumped from the Apollo 13 mission.

Gemini V was the first mission for Mr. Conrad. He later severed as part of the Gemini XI, Apollo 12, and Skylab 2 missions. He retired in 1973 and later awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter.

After the mission Gordon Cooper would call the mission “8 days in a garbage can” in reference to the cramped seating area in the capsule.  

SpaceX successfully launches satellite

On Aug 15, 2016 the skies above Florida were lit up as the privately owned Hawthorn, California-based company SpaceX successfully carried off a pre-dawn launch of a Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket blasted-off at 1:26 am ET (5:26 am UTC) to carry off its two-fold mission of deploying the JCSAT-16 communication satellite and land the first stage of the rocket on a drone barge.

When the engines of the rocket rocket roared to life there was a large roar from the launch center. Within a few seconds the rocket accelerated and cleared the launch towers on its way to space.After a couple of minutes the rocket broke into space where the first and second stage separated.

The control center then took over control of the first stage to attempt bringing it back in for a landing on the drone barge "of course I still love you". As the control center brought the first stage in for a handing everyone watching held their breath in anticipation. For those of us watching the live feed it was extra suspenseful as the feed froze just as the first stage approached the drone barge. Soon there was a cheer and the feed resumed showing that the first stage did indeed land. This was the 4th time that SpaceX has made such a landing since the first one took place in December of 2015. They also made 2 landings on solid ground earlier this year to bring the total to 6 landings overall.

After the separation, and landing of the first stage, the second stage of the Falcon 9 traveled on to finish the primary part of the mission and deploy the JCSAT-16 satellite into orbit 36,000 miles above the Earth. Once in a geostationary transfer orbit the satellite will become part of an array of satellites that provide a vast array of types of communications to Russia, the Middle East, Asia, North America, and other areas.

Review: The Vilcabamba Prophecy

The Vilcabamba Prophecy by Robert Rapoza is a thrill packed action/adventure/fantasy that will keep the reader rivoted from beginning to end. The thrill-ride starts in the first few pages rigt after we meet Dr. Nick Randall when he becomes missing on an archeology expedition in Peru. His darghter, Dr. Samantha Rndall, is soon called in to locate him snd she finds herself in the same type of danger as her missing father. Now, both doctors and their expedition parties find themselves running form their persuers. Over the next few chapters they find themselves invoved in kidnappings and gun battles as they try to find each other and the acient city of Vilcamba. Even when you think they are out of danger do not blink because it is not over.

The main characters in the book are well devolped and very believable. There is Dr. Nick Randall, the adventurous archeologist and academic with some contraversial theories; his daughter Dr. Samantha Randall; Frances Dumond, the head of the alliance; Colenel Ackers, leader of the mercinary forces; and several others. The interaction of all of the characters mesh together very well throughout the book.

The dialog between the characters has been well thought out and fits in very well with the characters and situations they find themselves in at the time. One of the best examples of this is when father and daughter are reunited and Samantha says, “I thought you were dead, Is it really you?”.

Some of the things the author does well in the book are maintaining the suspense and use of details. Mr. Rapoza keeps the suspense going in two ways. First, he use ciff-hangers at the end of chapters but does not make us wait too long before finding out what happens next. The second way is that just when we think the main characters are in the clear he puts them in danger once again. With the description he gives us plenty of detail to picture the characters, structures, and action without falling into the trap of going too far in detail.

I would recommend this book to any that loves the Indain Jones series, Allan Quartermain movies, or shows like Anceint Aliens and Expedition Unknown. I think has elements of all of these that blended along with elements drawn from the authors own imagination that will keep the focus of all readers. I give it 4 out of 4 stars.

What is next for Marissa Mayer?

Now that cellular giant Verizon has acquired Yahoo one of the big questions is what will be fate of current Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer? The short-term answer is nothing. She will hold on to her post for the next 6-9 months as she oversee the transition as the company she ran for 4 years is picked apart and integrated with AOL (American online). Once the transition is complete Ms. Mayer hopes that she will abe to stay on in some capacity.

"I love Yahoo, and I believe in all of you," Mayer said. "It’s important to me to see Yahoo into its next chapter."

By 2012 Yahoo had already seen a decline and faught off a couple of bids from rival companies. Then, in July Yahoo hired Ms. Mayer from Google to become their new President and CEO. She was hailed as an up and comers of the technoogy industry that would be able to turn Yahoo around. She immediately went to work making changes, such as, a new company logo and a few acquisitions. Over the next 2 years she made 53 acquisitions, the most famous being acquisition of Tumblr in 2014.

“What are they trying to do?” Nicole Ferry, a partner and executive director of strategy at branding firm Sullivan, said. “What is their reason for being?”

It was a good question since the type of companies that Ms. Mayer was acquiring seemed to have the company going in multiple directions. Even though there did not seem to be one clear path Yahoo seemed to be growing as the traffic to their site swell to over 600 million monthly users. Behind the scene it was more evident company was still on the decline as revenues were still dropping and many of the acquisitions were proving to be bad decisions. 

10 of the best Francesca Battistelli songs

When your parents are both involved in musical theater it is only natural for people to assume you would follow in their footsteps. So, it came as no surprise when, at the age of 6, Francesca Battistelli announced she wanted be in musicals. It was not long after that announcement her parents had her enrolled in theater and dance classes. When she turned 15, in 2000, she was putting those lessons to use as she toured with an all-girl pop group in Orlando, Florida. After a few years the band broke up and she started taking up the guitar and writing songs. Around this same she started attending youth ministries and added a spiritual flare to the songs she would right. It was not long before Ms. Battistelli

decided she was ready to strike out on a solo career.

In 2004 Ms. Battistelli started her career when she released the independently produced album Just a Breath. She followed up a few years later with an EP (extended play) of 4 songs on iTunes. In 2008 she was signed to the Fervent record label. That same year she recorded her first studio album My Paper Heart that earned her the first of two dozen Dove and Grammy awards. Over the next 8 years, and still counting, she would go on to record her own style of Christian music that mixes several genres of music for a wide appeal.

10. “Beautiful, Beautiful”: As the title implies it is a beautiful song dealing with God can look through the person you portray and see the person you can become. Ms. Battistelli does a great job as using the level of her voice to take us on the journey with her.

9. “It's Your Life”: An energizing song that as you listen to it you can the sound and words flow through you. In it Ms. Battistelli reminds that the choices we make everyday shape us into the. person that the world will see in us.

8. “Free to be Me”: A gripping song that tells us that we are all far from perfect and should just be ourselves. It earned Ms. Battistelli three Dove award nominations, one of which she won, in 2010.

7. “Angel by Your Side”: A song to listen to in those times of your life that you feel things have spiraled so out of control you can't get through it on your own. This is one of those songs that makes you feel as though you are not alone to carry your burden.

6. “Strangely Dim”: The upbeat rhythm and pop sounds will have you up on your feet as you move to the music. In it Ms. Battistelli speak of how many of us so many big dreams that we feel we can never obtain them. We start doubting ourselves but the moment we let God in that doubt starts to dim.

5. “Choose to Love”: In it Ms. Battistelli speaks about how it is so easy to give in to fear and hate but our lives will be better if we choose love. A good song to have on your list for the times you need that little reminder that even with as bad as the world seems there is still love if we choose to look for it.

4. “Holy Spirit”: A song about the ultimate love that can be obtained by letting the Holy Spirit flow through us. It won Ms. Battistelli a Grammy in 2016 for best contemporary christian performance/song.

3. “When the Crazy Kicks In”: Clap your hands and get out the dance floor where you can let your crazy out. In it Ms. Battistelli speaks of wanting to just have her morning coffee and have a quiet time with God before the craziness of life intrudes.

2. “Write Your Story”: A sweet song about letting God in your heart to write the story of life. Ms. Battistelli earned a Grammy nomination for best contemporary christian music performance/song, in 2015.

1. “Be Born in Me (Mary)”: A song that will rip at your heartstrings as you listen to it. In this song Ms. Bettistelli tells the story of how Mary, mother of Jesus, felt when she found herself the soon-to-be mother of the Son of God.

SpaceX to send a supply mission to the International Space Station

On Monday, July 18, at 12:45 am EDT Cape Canaveral Airforce Base will once again come to life as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will liftoff from launch command 40. The Falcon 9 rocket will be carrying an unmanned Dragon capsule that will be loaded with 5,000 pounds of supplies headed for the ISS (international space station). Among the items in the capsule will be experimental equipment and a landing dock adapter that will be used for the Boeing CST-100 and manned version of the SpaceX Dragon capsule. Both craft are set to go into service next year to carrying astronauts to ISS.

Once the first stage of the Falcon 9 separates the people manning the command center will attempt to land the booster at landing zone 1 at Cape Canaveral. If everything goes as planned this will be the 5^th successful landing for SpaceX. The first was the ground land in December of last year. In April and May of this year they had three consecutive landings on a drone barge before a failure to land the booster last month.

After the seperation the unmanned Dragon will continue on 2 day journey to the ISS. The astronauts aboard the space station will then use a 57.7 foot (17.6 meter) long robotic arm to retrieve the capsule and attach it to the station. The capsule will remain at the station for more than a month while it is unloaded. When the mission is complete the Dragon will be released from the station to plunge back to Earth. The return trip will only take about 30 for the capsule to re-enter Earth orbit. It will then slash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

The top 10 best Elle King songs

Tanner Elle Schneider, aka Elle King, was born on July 3, 1989 in Los Angeles, California to comedian Rob Schneider and model London King. Not long after her birth her parents divorced and she was raised by her mother and 2^nd husband Justin Tesa. By the age of 9-years-old she knew that she wanted to be a musician after listening to a record of the all-girl band the Donnas. The following year she had her first acting experience when she had a small part in dads' movie “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo”. By the age of 13-years-old she was learning to play both guitar and banjo by studying the techniques of some of the biggest artist in rock, blues, and country music. Around the same time she started going to Buck's Rock Camp in Philadelphia where she would hone her craft, star in musicals, and meet other musicians.

In 2011 Elle King signed her first recording contract with RCA. In March of the following year she recorded her first single and was on her way as a singer/songwriter. Since that time her career has been on the fast track to stardom with several movie and television soundtracks on her resume. This year she will be one of the artist featured on the soundtrack of the reboot of the movie “Ghostbusters”.

10. “Where the Devil Don't Go”: Co-written by Ms. King for her 2015 album “Love Stuff” it is a rather dark sound about living such a wicked life that even the Devil won't go where you have been. Ms. King shines in this quick-paced song.

9. “I Told You I Was Mean”: Ms. King gives the song a folk rock feel with a slow rhythm. Written by Ms. King for her “Love Stuff” album it speaks about having a love 'em and leave 'em attitude that has her latest boyfriend in tears.

8. “Kocaine Karolina”: Ms. King gives the song a country feel with her banjo playing. Another song co-written by Ms. King for her “Love Stuff” album.

7. “Under the Influence”: Another song co-written by Ms. King for her “Love Stuff” album. It shows how well Ms. King can project a range of emotion through her voice in this song that compares longing for a loved one to waking up after being under the influence of alcohol.

6. “Catch Us If You Can”: One of the two songs that Ms. King did for the soundtrack of the 2015 movie “Hot Pursuit”. Ms. King really rocks in this song about running from a corrupt system.

5. “America's Sweetheart”: Jump on your feet and rock out to the sounds of Ms. King as she gives a powerful performance in this song about being the person you are and not trying to live up to what others want you to be. Yet another song co-written by Ms. King for her “Love Stuff” album.

4. “Playing for Keeps”: Ms. King gives a strong performance in this song about giving up everything to gain fame only to be left with an empty feeling. In 2013 this was on the soundtrack for the television show “Enie Backt”.

3. “American Girl”: Ms. King does a superb job of taking this Tom Petty & Heartbreaker song and making it her own. It talks of a girl raised in a sheltered life and told promise of how life is suppose to be only to find a complete different world.

2. “Last Damn Night”: Ms. King can certainly belt out a tune as she gives powerful performance in this song about living life to its fullest. Yet another song she co-wrote for her 2015 album “Love Stuff”.

1. “Ex's and Oh's”: Written by Ms. King for her 2015 album “Love Stuff” this song was also on the soundtrack for the television show “The Mysteries of Laura”. Ms. Kings draws from her own life talking about how several of her past boyfriends keep show up trying to re-kindle the relationship. This has been Ms. King's most successful song to date and earned her two Grammy nominations.

Top 10 Tennessee Ernie Ford songs

Ernest Jennings Ford was born on Feb 13, 1919 in Bristol, Tennessee. He had a fairly typical childhood and sang in the local church choir. As he grew up he knew that his voice would be an important part of his future. So, after he enrolled at the Virginia Intermount College, a women's college but enrolled a few men, where he studied voice. After graduating his teacher and her husband help him get work as radio announcer. Over the next couple of year Mr. Ford had a nice career going in radio but that career was about to be temporary halted. Just like many young men when America was drawn into World War II Mr. Ford enlisted. Once he enlisted he was accepted into the Army Air Corp and was sent to bombardier school along with entertaining the troops. Later in the war he flew a few missions as a bombardier over Japan. After the war he was able to resume his career in radio and even became host of a country music show where he created the persona of “Tennessee Ernie” Ford.

In 1949 Mr. Ford signed his first contract with Capitol Records that catapulted him into a career as a singer, songwriter, and television personality that last or over 3 decades. During his amazing career Mr. Ford had dozens of albums in the country, gospel, and pop genres, hosted his own variety show, an appeared on some of the biggest shows of the 1960s. He was honored with three stars on Hollywood walk of fame in music, television, and radio. In 1984 Mr. Ford was award the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Toward the end of his life Mr. Ford was inducted into the country music hall of fame and then after his death he was inducted into the gospel music hall of fame.

10. “The Ballad of Davy Crockett”: In 1956 Mr. Ford did his own version of “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” that peaked at number 4 on the country charts. His rich baritone voice makes the song about one of Americas' frontier heros come to life.

9. “Milk Em' in the Morning Blues”: This is the song that started Mr. Ford on his way to stardom. His Tennessee Ernie personality really shines though in this song that gives a humorous version of life on a dairy farm.

8. “John Henry”: The sounds of a hammer clanking on steel an Mr. Fords deep baritone voice make this a fun song to listen to. It tells the story of a legendary figure repreenting the hard working people that built our railroads.

7. “Anticipation Blues”: A swinging lighthearted song about a man who is about to become a father for the first time. It peaked at number 3 on the country charts in 1949.

6. “Shotgun Boogie”: Put on your hunting gear and grab your shotgun as we head out hunting with Tennessee Ernie Ford as we listen to this fun song. It was a number 1 hit on the country charts for Mr. Ford in 1950.

5. “Mister and Mississippi”: Mr. Ford bring to life this snappy little tune about growing up and wandering up and down the Mississippi River. In 1951 it peaked at number 2 on the country charts.

4. “The Strange Little Girl”: Mr. Ford shows great range in this song about a mysterious girl that shows up to soothe hurt feeling. As you listen to the song you can almost feel yourself being paced in the song and being in the presence of the strange little girl.

3. “You're My Sugar”: It is time to jump up and do the jive to this fast-paced song by Mr. Ford and Kay Starr. The words of the song give a humorous look at a couple that love each other but don't always get along.

2. “What a Friend We have in Jesus”: No Tennessee Ernie Ford collection would be complete without some of the gospel music he recorded during his career. Mr. Fords' deep, booming voice reaches right out and grabs your soul as you listen to this stirring version of this gospel favorite.

1. “Sixteen Tons”: One of the biggest hits of Mr. Fords' career and the first song most people think of when they hear the name Tennessee Ernie Ford. The song speaks of the lament of the hard working coal miners. It was a number 1 hit on the country charts in 1955.

Microsoft to announce two new Lumina device: pubished 8/4/2015

Last month Microsoft CEO Sayta Nadella announced a large number of layoffs, a write off of the Nokia acquisition, and the departure of Stephen Elope. The announcement started quite a lot of speculation of the company's future in the smartphone business. The talk ranged from the Redmond-based giant cutting back to getting out of the smartphone business altogether. While the first might be true the latter isn't considering the leaked photos and specifications of two Lumia smartphonesthat will officially be announced later this fall.

There has been news of the two new mobile devices, codenamed “Talkman” and “Cityman” (lumia 950 and 950XL), dating back to April. Some of that news has been but much of it has just been speculation of what the Redmond-based company will do based on past smartphones. More recently the picture of what the smartphones will look like became more clear when the Chinese site WPXAPleaked specifications and mock-up pictures. Shortly after WPXAP leaked out the specifications Windows Central confirmed it on their site.

Both smartphones will come with a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera and 20 mega-pixel rear camera. The front-facing camera on Cityman will add a wide angel much like the previous lumia that was dubbed the “selfie”. Both smartphones with have a 1440x2560 resolution on an OLED screen with an iris scanner. Internally, both smartphones will run on Snapdagon processors, have 3 GB RAM, 32 GB of internal storage with microSD slots, and offer wireless charging.

The big difference is the size an the processor. With the smaller (5.2” Talkman) having the 808 Snapdragon with a hex core and the large (5.7” Cityman) having the 810 with an octo core. Both processors sport 64-bit computing to give both phone plenty of power for all your needs.

58-years-ago Sputnik started the space race: originally published on 10/3/2015

On this date, October 4, 58 years ago, the Soviet Unionlaunched Sputnik. It was at 10:29 pm Moscow time that the rocket carrying the satellite blasted off from the Tyuratam launch site in the Kazakh Republic. The ascension of the satellite delivered the first blow in what would become known as the “space race”.

Once in space the 22-inch diameter satellite began orbiting the Earth at a speed of 29,000 kpm (18,000 mph). As it orbited the Earth the radio equipment in the satellite would transmitted a series of beeps & whistles that were picked up by amateur radio operators all over the world. The signals being transmitted didn't mean much to those amateurs but to the scientist that were also following the satellite it provided valuable information about the ionosphere of our planet. After 21days the transmission stopped when the batteries that powered Sputnik wore out.

The satellite remained in orbit for a couple of months after the power ran down. In January Sputnik finally gave up and fell out of orbit on a free fall back to Earth. On January 4, 1958 the beach ball sized satellite burned up in Earth's atmosphere ending the mission of the first man made object to orbit the Earth. Shortly after Sputnik burned up the United States answered with their own satellite, called Explorer, that launched on January 31, 1958. 

Over the next decade this back and forth “space race” would continue and progress from satellites to sending men into space. For much of the race the United State played catch up to the Soviet Union. That changed though in the late 1960's when it was the United States took the front seat when it came to sending a rocket to the Moon.

Amazon opens a brick & mortar bookstore: originally published 11/3/2015

In the Summer of 2011 Borders closed the doors on their bookstores. Many accused Amazon of driving them out of business. The following Spring Amazon was once again being accused of a downturn in bookstore sales. Over the next few years other bookstores and even publishing house have accused Amazon of being a cause of the struggles for brick & mortar bookstores. Given all these struggles, especially if they are the cause, you would never expect Amazon to open their own brick & mortar bookstore.

That is just what they did when at 9:30 this morning, Nov 3, the Seattle-based e-commerce giant opened a physical bookstore in the University district. The bookstore will be called Amazon Booksand look much the same as any other bookstore. The one surprising difference in the Amazon store is there are no prices. The reason for the lack of prices is that the customers will be paying the same prices as online customers.

The bookstore marks a first for the online store that started in the mid 1990's. If this first store shows signs of success the company plans on opening up more bookstores across the country.

“It’s data with heart,” said Jennifer Cast, Vice President of Amazon books. “We’re taking the data we have and we’re creating physical places with it.”

The data she talks about is the top sellers list and the customer reviews posted on Amazon. As she later explains the data will not be the sole source for inventory in the bookstore. They will also use the sources most other bookstores use to figure out what to stock.

NASA's MAVEN gives insight into what happened to the atmosphere on Mars: originally published 11/6/2015

In September of last year NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) orbiter entered Martian space on a mission to find out what happened to the planets atmosphere. Since that day the orbiter has been transmitting data back to Earth where NASA's scientist have been analyzing it to find out what stripped that atmosphere away. According to a press conference on November 5 the answer to the question is it was our own solar system that has been slowly destroying the Martian atmosphere over several billions of years.

“Measurements by MAVEN shed light on how the upper atmosphere interacts with the Sun and solar wind, and the ability of gases to escape to space—both important processes for understanding planetary atmospheres,“ they wrote in paper published in Science magazine.

As an article in the New York Times says 4.5 billion years of these atmospheric leaks that the solar system caused would not be able to totally deplete the planet. The scientist agree and are not saying that this is the sole cause of the atmospheres demise. Some of the other data also suggest that bombardments of particles from the Sun was also a factor in the erosion of the atmosphere.

“What this tells us is loss through space has been an important process,” said Bruce M. Jakosky, a scientist at the Laboratory for Atmosphere and Space Physics at the University of Colorado and principal investigator for the MAVEN mission.

For decades NASA has been sending unmanned missions to Mars. With the last couple of those missions they found evidence that Mars once had an atmosphere not much unlike that of Earth. This evidence prompted the scientist at NASA to begin work on the MAVEN project to find out more about this once thriving Martian atmosphere, what happened, and could we be doomed to a similar fate.

Pluto may have Volcanoes: originally publish 11/13/2015

Back in July NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft made a flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto. This week at the 47th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Science, in Washington, D.C., NASA is talking about what they learned from the data the spacecraft sent back from that flyby. Their findings are surprisingly different from what anyone suspected.

“The New Horizons mission has taken what we thought we knew about Pluto and turned it upside down,” said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in astatement released Monday. “It's why we explore -- to satisfy our innate curiosity and answer deeper questions about how we got here and what lies beyond the next horizon."

The first surprise the scientist had was when they saw what looked like volcanoes. The volcanoes are not the typical ones tht we would find here on Earth that would have either ash or lava eruption. Instead these volcanoes would spew a a mixture of methane, ammonia, nitrogeon, and water. These 'cryovolcanoes' were a real surprise since it was thought that Pluto was no-longer active and could not possible generate the conditions needed to push up these volatile substances and form volcanoes.

“These are big mountains with a large hole in their summit, and on Earth that generally means one thing -- a volcano,” said Oliver White, New Horizons postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif, in the statement. “If they are volcanic, then the summit depression would likely have formed via collapse as material is erupted from underneath.” White also highlighted the “strange hummocky texture of the mountain flanks,” which may represent volcanic flows that have traveled down from the summit region.

A second feature on the surface of Pluto is an area being referred to as 'Tombaugh Regio' or Sputnik Planum. The region is heart-shaped and covered with frozen Nitrogen and Methane. What made the region so unusual though is that it is totally devoid of craters. What makes it so unusual is that normally any area on a planet, or dwarf planet in this case, is do to the crater being wiped away by weather. Since Pluto does not generate ant type of weather it means there must be some yet unknown reason for this region.

One big surprise above the surface is that Pluto has more of an atmosphere than scientist thought. The atmosphere doe have one thing in common with Earth since it is mostly Nitrogen. Pluto's atmosphere is much thinner and spread-out, from lack of gravity, than that on Earth.

Paul Allen opens a virtual tour for his computer museum: first publish on 12/3/2015

In October 2012 Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen opened up a hands-on museum where people can learn about thehistory of computers. For the 3+ years since then the only way to get the full experience of touring the museum you had to go to Seattle. That until yesterday, December 2, when a virtual tour went online for the rest of us. Now we can all walk through and see the changes in computer technology over the 50 years.

When you start the virtual tour you will be able to use the arrow keys or your mouse to navigate your way through the Living Computer Museum. As you travel along you will see such exhibits as the DPD-7 mainframe made by Digital Equipment Corporation, the MITS Altair 8800, the Apple IIE, Atari pong, and much more. As you go farther along the tour you will see a classroom setting where you can get some hands-on experience and bookshelves where you will find old manuals and software.

The one drawback from taking the virtual tour is that you will not be able to touch and run all of these working computers or ask the guides questions. To get that part of the experience you will actually have to travel to the museum located 2245 first avenue in Seattle. If a trip to the museum is in your near future you should know the hours are 10 am-5 pm on Tuesday-Sunday and 10 am-8 pm on the first Thursday of the month. The prices for the museum are $6 for adults; $4 for children 6-17. active military, and seniors 62+; and children 5 and under are free.

Blue Origin re-uses history making rocket: originally published on 1/23/2016

On Nov 23, 2015 Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin first made history when they brought their New Shepard rocket back to Earth for a perfect vertical landing. Just 60 days after that historic land they did it again by re-using the same rocket and once again bringing down for a vertical landing. This latest feat once again puts Blue Origin one step ahead of Elon Musk's SpaceX that also returned a rocket back in December.

“Though wings and parachutes have their adherents and their advantages, I’m a huge fan of rocket-powered vertical landing. Why? Because — to achieve our vision of millions of people living and working in space — we will need to build very large rocket boosters. And the vertical landing architecture scales extraordinarily well,” Bezos said in a post-flight statement on Blue Origin’s website, titled “Launch. Land. Repeat.”

On the November flight the New Shepard barely broke the Karman Line, that says outerspace starts at 100 kilometers, at a height of 100.5 kilometers. On yesterdays flight the New Shepard soared to 101.7 kilometers before both the New Shepard rocket and capsule were safely brought down in separate landings in the desert of the wet Texas test site. The capsule gently floated back to Earth when its three parachutes deployed. The rocket booster was then guided down remotely to come in for a soft landing.

“Since New Shepard is the smallest booster we will ever build, this carefully choreographed dance atop our plume will just get easier from here. We’re already more than three years into development of our first orbital vehicle. Though it will be the small vehicle in our orbital family, it’s still many times larger than New Shepard. I hope to share details about this first orbital vehicle this year,” said Jeff Bezos in reference to their next step in development.

These two successful landing are an encourage sign that Blue Origins is on pace to start commercial flights by 2018. When these commercial flights start the Blue Origins' capsule will carry 6 tourist into a sub-orbit around the Earth. The tourist will be treated to a unique view of the Earth that only a few, mainly astronauts, have had the privilege of seeing. There has been no price set on how much it will cost for each tourist to buy a seat on the flight. 

Edgar Mitchell dead at age 85: originally published Feb 7

On Thursday, Feb 4, we lost Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell when he passed away while under hospice care near his home in Lake Worth, Florida. Along with being an astronaut he was also interested in the workings of the mind, an author, and medal of freedom recipient. His death came just one day before the 45^th anniversary of his becoming the 6^th man to step foot on the surface of the Moon.

"On behalf of the entire NASA family, I would like to express my condolences to the family and friends of NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "As a member of the Apollo 14 crew, Edgar is one of only 12 men to walk on the moon and he helped to change how we view our place in the universe.

Edgar Mitchell enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after he graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management in 1952. Once in the Navy he went into pilot training and in 1953 became earned the title of ensign pilot. After becoming a pilot Mr. Mitchell was assigned to Patrol Squadron 29 and deployed to Okinawa. During his deployment he served on a couple of aircraft carriers before going to the United States Naval Postgraduate school where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1961.

It wasn't until late 1962 that Mr. Mitchell started thinking about being an astronaut. It was that year that he heard a speech by President John Kennedy that talked about putting a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. After hearing that speech he went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a Doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1964. Over the next couple of years he served as Chief of the project management division of the Navy field office for the manned orbiting laboratory and trained at the Aerospace Research Pilot school.

In 1966, while still in the Navy, NASA made Mr. Mitchell an astronaut. His first assignment for NASA was as the back-up lunar module pilot for Apollo 10. It was a couple of years later when his shot at being on the main crew came up and he was made the lunar module pilot for Apollo 14. His crew-mates for the mission would be Alan Shepard, the first man in space, and Stuart Roosa.

SpaceX lands falcon 9 booster on drone ship: originally published April 8

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX pulled off the first successful sea landing off a rocket. It was the fifth time the company has attempt to land the booster stage of their Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship. The previous four attempts all ended up in disaster with the boosters either exploding or tipping over.

“This is a really good milestone for the future of spaceflight,” SpaceX’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, told reporters afterward at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. “It’s another step toward the stars.”

The first attempt at landing the first stage of Falcon 9 took place on Jan 10, 2015. On that day they had a successful launch that sent the Dragon supply craft on course to re-supply the ISS (international space station). Even though the launch went fine the attempted landing went wrong when one of the fins used in maneuvering the booster ran out of hydraulic fluid and the Falcon 9 booster exploded on impact with the drone ship.

The second attempt came during an April 14, 2015 re-supply mission to the ISS. Once again the launch went off without a hitch and sent the Dragon spacecraft on its way to the ISS. This time it was a stuck throttle valve on the booster that caused an excess in vertical thrust. The booster ended up landing off balance and tipped over and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.

On Dec 21, 2015 SpaceX did land the first stage of a Falcon 9 but it was on land. The successful land came after a successful launch to put the Orbcomm commutation satellite in orbit. It was the first launch of an upgraded Falcon 9 dubbed the Falcon 9 full thrust.

The third attempt at a sea landing came on Jan 17, 2016 when SpaceX launched the Jason 3 satellite. This time the booster came to a soft landing on the drone ship and everything seemed fine. Unfortunately one of the land legs failed just after the landing and the booster tipped over on the barge and exploded.

The fourth attempt came when SpaceX successfully launched the SES-9 satellite. The day before the launch SpaceX CEO Elom Musk said that they were not expecting a successful landing. His reasoning for such prediction was the larger than normal mass at launch time and a lack of fuel for a successful recovery. The booster did reach the drone but once again it landed to hard and exploded.