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.
Remote camera image taken of Starship clearing the tower. Image by Richard P Gallagher
Spaceflight aficionados, like many sports fans, love memorabilia. Space-related apparel, books, mission patches, stickers and other items sell at a brisk pace, and that’s just the bottom end of the market. The most valuable pieces are “flown” — meaning that they were either a part of or aboard a given mission. Many of those pieces are well out of reach for the common man – they are relatively rare and often quite expensive, at least for artifacts with certain authenticity. Others are affordable, at least to a dedicated collector, and can be bought for a few hundred dollars or less.
The maiden underwater flight test of the Trident II D-5, was an utter fiasco that very nearly resulted in serious damage to the launching submarine, the USS Tennessee, which is just below the surface in this photograph. The timing of the failure could not have been worse: Congress, skeptical that the program could get back on schedule, was prepared to shift its production funds to another project. Credit: U.S. Navy
In the world of aerospace engineering, even the smallest miscalculation can lead to catastrophic failure. And in the past few years, a phrase has emerged as a humorous way to describe those unfortunate events: “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” often shortened to RUD. This technical-sounding euphemism, often deployed in the aftermath of rocket explosions, has become a staple in modern spaceflight jargon, is widely used when a rocket fails and has entered into common vernacular. But where did the phrase come from?
A depiction of the “Bardin Booger” via Jaxlore.com
Florida, known for its sunny beaches, theme parks, vibrant wildlife, and nightlife, has a rich tradition of eccentric lore of ghostly legends and even cryptids — animals that resemble humans but often have ape-like characteristics as well.
As expected, the FAA is requiring an investigation into Blue Origin’s New Glenn’s first stage failure during its descent towards an attempted landing in the Atlantic Ocean, and SpaceX’s Starship breakup over the Caribbean Seas. Both events occurred on January 16, 2025.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center on January 15, 2025. Photo: Richard P. Gallagher / FMN
A SpaceX Falcon 9 roared off the launch pad at 1:11 AM EST this morning from Kennedy Space Center carrying two lunar landers into orbit and on their way to the moon.
Starlink 6-71 ascending towards low Earth orbit on January 6, 2024 Photo: Ed Cordero / FMN
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit today from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 aboard a Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 3:43 PM ET (2043 UTC) after several pushbacks in the window, presumably due to windy weather from an approaching cold front expected to arrive this evening on the Space Coast.
Flamingos in their natural habitat. Photo: Elilicht, CC 3.0
Rep. Jim Mooney, a Republican from Islamorada, has filed a bill (HB 81) that would make the Flamingo Florida’s state bird. If passed, flamingos would replace the Northern mockingbird, which has been the state’s bird since 1927.
FMN’s Ed Cordero caught the flight of Thuraya-4 near Orlando International Airport Friday night. A landing airplane added to the photo as it approached MCO’s runway. Photo: Ed Cordero, FMN
SpaceX launched the Thuraya-4 satellite for Yahsat / Space 42 this evening from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff was at 8:27 PM EST (0027 UTC) on a cool evening on the Space Coast.
Tonight’s launch was the first from the Eastern Range in 2025 in what is expected to be another record year for launches from the combined facilities of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center.
After two previous delays, including an abort-at-ignition and a booster swap, SpaceX launched the ‘From One To Many’ payload for Astranis tonight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 12:00 AM EST (05:00 UTC) under broken skies on the Space Coast.
SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying Astranis ‘From One To Many’ lifts off on December 29, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Despite no rockets heading to space this weekend from the Eastern Range, it was still quite a busy weekend for both SpaceX and Blue Origin at Cape Canaveral.
Falcon 9 / Astranis ‘From One To Many’ standing at the launch pad early Friday evening at Space Launch Complex 40.
Photo: Charles Boyer / FMN
Vast, the aerospace company best known for building one of the first commercial space station segments, announced today that they have secured a deal with SpaceX for two Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station…
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have had their missions extended yet again, this time until at least March, and possibly April 2025. Originally planned as an eight-day mission, Williams and Wilmore’s straightforward task was to take Boeing’s Starliner on its debut flight with crew, dock at ISS for a brief visit before returning home. That was not meant to be.
