I'm a NASA kid originally from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo. My family worked for NASA and/or their contractors, and I watched it all as a kid. And what kid doesn't like rockets?
Currently, I am an IT engineer, a recovered R&D scientist that spent time in laser metrology, fiber optic applications and also lightning protection. I'm also a photographer, a writer and a bad musician.
My favorite things are space, boating, sports, music and traveling. You can find me on Twitter as @TheOldManPar.
The plan to develop some of Florida’s state parks with new amenities such as golf courses and pickleball courts has not yet been cancelled, but after overwhelmingly negative feedback from the public and pushback from Florida’s two US Senators, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has rescheduled public meetings and created a web page for the public to offer their feedback.
Artists Rendition of Boeing Starliner Crew Capsule
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced today that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will not return to Earth on Boeing Starliner and will be aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
On Monday, the DeSantis administration announced the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” which includes plans to add golf courses and other resort-type amenities to some Florida state parks. That plan was immediately met with opposition from the general public and from environmentalists alike.
There’s nothing quite like a good, cold beer after a hot day’s work. Whether it’s mowing the lawn on a hot Florida morning or toiling deep in a mine in West Virginia, beer has been the beverage of choice for many — and it looks like that tradition will continue as travelers push into space. Researchers at The University of Florida in Gainesville have been looking into the process of brewing beer in the heavens, and have come up with some interesting results that will inform future brewers.
The Space Shuttle Test Article, parked near a dock in Green Cove Springs, Florida Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Roughly thirty minutes west of Saint Augustine and I-95 in Florida, a Space Shuttle relic sits abandoned in Green Cove Springs near a dock on the Saint Johns River. While not technically a “Florida roadside attraction”, many view it as a pretty neat thing to see…after all, it is NASA history.
A summer thunderstorm approaches the beach and the WWII Watch Tower on August 13. 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now
For the adventurer, Florida is full of lesser known beaches, parks, and roadside attractions. Only a few minutes off of I-95, a lonely tower sits on the beach in a residential part of Ormond-By-The-Sea as a lingering artifact of the Second World War. The Watch Tower, as it is called, is the last of its kind in Florida, and one of the few left from the over 15,200 similar structures on American coastlines.
As seen from Kennedy Point Park in Titusville, Starlink 10-7 rises off of LC-39A on August 12, 2024 Photo: Richard P. Gallagher / Florida Media Now
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying another group of Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center this morning in the predawn hours. Liftoff was at 06:37 AM EDT from Launch Complex 39A.
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifting off from Wallops Island, Virginia in 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now
Rocket Lab, the New Zealand-based small launch services provider, announced yesterday that it had record earnings in the second quarter of this year, resulting in a 71% year-over-year growth for the same quarter in 2023. Rocket Lab has extensive manufacturing and launch facilities in the United States. It current launches out of Wallops Island, Virginia and in its native New Zealand.
Soyuz launch from Russia’s launch facility in Baikonur, Khazakstan Photo: NASA
According to an article in The Moscow Times, times are tough in the Russian space program. After Western countries placed sanctions on Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, said that it had lost nearly 180 billion rubles ($2.1 billion).
Crew Return On Dragon Next Year Among Possible Contingency Plans
Starliner CST-100 in launch preparation, May 31, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Florida Media Now
NASA managers said in a news conference today that they are close to a decision on when and how they plan to bring Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight test astronauts from the International Space Station. The mission was originally slated to run eight days, but the pair have been in orbit for sixty-three days since their June 5th launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard an Atlas V.
