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On deck with my buddy Erik. We had a great morning crawling all over the floating rocket launch platform.
Beneath our feet is a huge three-stage Zenit rocket being prepped and fueled in a room that is officially part of the Ukraine. 240 Ukrainian and Russian engineers live and work on the boat, so the walk through the living quarters reminded me of my earlier trips to the outskirts of Russia.
The first two stages are Ukranian (kerosene and liquid oxygen), and the third stage is made by Energia in Russia. The third stage was loaded with hypergolics, a binary mixture that explodes upon contact, and the source of Neil Armstrong’s pre-launch nightmares (photo). The payload is an Italian military satellite.
It was surreal to be hearing the chatter of Russian and Ukranian voices, who were nervous about the camera around my neck, while in the bowels of Ukranian territory, and close enough to touch a fueled rocket that’s taller than the Space Shuttle (NASA only let me get as close as the astronauts' families). All this in a harbor serving Los Angeles.
It was also breathtaking to walk around and have the rocket pointing straight at me in a horizontal position. Made me think of Slim Pickens.
“The Russians like to do it horizontal. The Americans like to do it vertical. That’s just the way they are,” I was told, referring, of course, to how they handle a rocket.
To roll the rocket to the pad, they had to import railway lines from Russia to get the sizing right for the transport vehicle. The hydraulic rams that erect the rocket are just huge, a massive overbuild that could have been easily been addressed by placing them farther from the pivot point for more leverage. Brute force and improvised patchwork solutions could be seen throughout, especially in the fueling systems.
And then I learned a fascinating piece of history relayed by the Russian rocket scientists:
For Sputnik, they dragged the rocket out to the launch pad... with horses.
Two balloons being inflated for launching and one that has just launched. From left to right the balloons are Tailwind, Party Time, and Great Balls of Fire.
February 10, 2025 - SpaceX Launch at 6:09 PM from Vandenberg Space Force Base, as seen and photographed from my Home in Long Beach, CA.
Police have launched a ’12 days of Christmas’ pre-emptive strike against offenders causing misery during the festive period.
Today (7 December 2015) is the first of 12 high-profile days of action which will tackle the traditional spike in crime usually seen during this time of year.
The operation, which is codenamed ‘Bauble’, will see up to 1,000 officers take to the streets across Greater Manchester to disrupt criminal activity and stop offenders in their tracks.
Operation Bauble will target a range of offences including burglary, domestic abuse, robbery, handling stolen goods, dangerous and illegal driving and alcohol-fuelled violence.
Local officers will be joined by specialist resources during each of the 12 days, including traffic, tactical aid, ANPR, intercept teams, mounted and dog units. The teams will blitz areas and weed out individual’s intent on committing crime and preying on vulnerable people.
Police are also calling on communities to keep themselves and others safe, report crime and suspicious activity and look out for neighbours, relatives and friends.
Superintendent Craig Thompson said: “We want law-abiding people to remember Christmas for all the right reasons and to make sure this happens we’ll be doing everything we can to take offenders off our streets through Operation Bauble.
“Divisional officers with the support of specialist resources will be targeting local issues to ensure there isn’t a spike in crime and people can go about their daily business safely.
“The community can also do their bit to keep themselves and others safe this time of year by keeping their homes secure, arranging a safe mode of transport after a night out or checking on elderly neighbours to see if they are OK.”
To report crime call Greater Manchester Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency. Alternatively please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 111 555.
Keep up-to-date with news from the Operation Bauble Team by following #OpBauble and #GMPChristmas on Twitter.
Routes 34/35 MAX Launch at Woking - not very well attended. Consisted of a man trying to get people to look inside 3758, a bus people have been riding for ages now! New timetables with MAX bus on front and goodie bags were given out. A bit of a disappointment really - where is Titan the robot?
Derwent Water Launch, heading back to Keswick, passing Rampsholme Island.
Derwentwater (or Derwent Water) is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria.
The lake occupies part of Borrowdale and lies immediately south of the town of Keswick. It is both fed and drained by the River Derwent. It measures approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long by 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and is some 72 feet (22 m) deep. There are several islands within the lake, one of which is inhabited. Derwent Island House, an 18th century residence, is a tenanted National Trust property open to the public on five days each year.
Derwentwater is a place of considerable scenic value. It is surrounded by hills (known locally as fells), and many of the slopes facing Derwentwater are extensively wooded. A regular passenger launch operates on the lake, taking passengers between various landing stages. There are seven lakeside marinas, the most popular stops being: Keswick, Portinscale and the Lodore Falls, from which boats may be hired. Recreational walking is a major tourist activity in the area and an extensive network of footpaths exists within the hills and woods surrounding the lake.
The Keswick—Borrowdale road runs along the eastern shore of the lake and carries a regular bus service. There is a lesser, or unclassified, road along the western shore connecting the villages of Grange and Portinscale.
Derwentwater gave its name to the Earldom of Derwentwater.
The lake is believed to be the last remaining native habit of the vendace (Coregonus vandesius) fish from the 4 originally known sites: Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water in the Lake District and the Castle Loch & Mill Loch in Lochmaben.
Vulcan, United Launch Alliance’s next-generation American rocket, lifts off in this artist’s rendering. The rocket design leverages the proven success of the Delta IV and Atlas V launch vehicles while introducing advanced technologies and innovative features. Vulcan will have a maximum liftoff thrust of 3.8 million pounds and carry 56,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, 33,000 pounds to a geo-transfer orbit and 16,000 pounds to geostationary orbit with greater capability than any currently available single-core launch vehicle. Image credit: United Launch Alliance
Most of the vapor trail is high enough it's still lit up by the sun - including the lowest part, which is clearly reddened!
The bright spot in the middle of the frame, below the trail, is Venus. The one in the thicker part is the previous stage after separation.
Probably launched from Vandenberg, judging by the trajectory, and probably SpaceX, based on the fact that they seem to do a lot more launches than anyone else these days.
Somehow I caught a Tufted titmouse just after it launched itself off of a bird feeder. A great combination of sharp detail on the body with blurred action on the wings.
On a misty, Sunday morning my grandson (22yrs) and I took a bike ride up to Rat Lake from Mill Bay Road at Bamberton, BC (on Vancouver Island).
It was a blast! After an exhilarating bike ride, we put the drone up and got some misty video of the lake from 100ft.
The trail is maintained by the Cowichan Valley Regional District while the land is owned by a logging company. After landing the drone, we rode our bikes up to the lake. The trails are very rough.
Launch Time/Window PST/PDT: 19:21
Vehicle: Falcon 9
Payload: Argentina's SAOCOM-1A Satellite
Pad/Silo: SLC-4E
3S90 missile launcher for Shtil-1 SAM system on the INS Sahyadri (F49) at JMSDF Yokosuka Base, Japan (2015 Oct. 17)
Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, photo taken by Thilo Kranz' remote camera, straight at the pad.
Image Credit: DLR/Thilo Kranz, CC-BY-NC-ND