Play Space

A collection of toys, models, illustrations, and memorabilia related to space exploration. Just because I don't work in Space, doesn't mean I can't play there.

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I put together a "Perseverance EDL Montage with The Mars movement of Holst's The Planets" on YouTube

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The Mars2020 Perseverance Rover has successfully landed on Mars at Jezero Crater.

The HotWheels version has successfully landed in my connection of space toys.

It's the same mold as the previously released Curiosity rover. The wheels are cast in a different color, and the card details are obviously updated.

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Long time, no tumbling. Still alive and ticking. Here’s an astro-image grab from this evening using the Celestron Nexstar Evolution 6 and Canon Rebel as prime focus. A single frame image. Too dang cold to work harder to capture enough for stacking.

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Tinkering with the new Celestron NexYZ phone clamp. Looks like a usability upgrade from the less adjustable one I've been using.

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Images captured on the 49th Anniversary of the Landing of Apollo 11 on the Sea of Tranquility. Taken with a Celestron 127EQ with 17mm eyepiece. Used a grey filter and an HTC1 clamped to the eyepiece.

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This photo commemorates John Young’s induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1982. It hangs at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogardo. It saddens me to hear that John Young passed away on January 5th, 2018. He was a Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle astronaut. A master of many space vehicles.

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Mannequin Skywalker’s ride to space onboard Crew Capsule 2.0

I’d like a window seat for this flight, please.

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The moment when the Cassini X-band signal dropped away, just moments before the S-band did likewise.  Fare thee well, Cassini.

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The Canberra dish receives the last data from the Cassini probe as it prepares to plunge into the Saturn atmosphere.

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NASA JPL on Twitter

“.@CassiniSaturn Mission Control Update: Loss of signal expected ~4:54am PT (7:54am ET, 1154 UTC). Track the downlink https://t.co/4LgEAWHBrO”

Thanks for your service, Cassini.

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A brassy lass that learned to stick up for herself and others. That goes equally, but differently, for Leia and Carrie. Try not to judge me for having a slave Leia action figure playset.

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Catapulted into fame. Idolized by legions of fans. Overcame many personal challenges to become a spokesperson and role model for others that struggle. My kind of royalty. Rest in Peace, Carrie.

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John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, died on Dec. 8, 2016. He was 95.

Glenn was a military man who flew 149 combat missions during the Korean War. In 1959, the year he posed for this portrait in a Mercury program pressure suit and helmet, he was announced as one of NASA’s original seven astronauts. Pictured here on the cover of the Feb. 2, 1962 cover - MAKING OF A BRAVE MAN. (Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) #JohnGlenn

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An envelope mailed for 4 pennies when John Glenn flew the Friendship 7 in ‘62

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Godspeed, John Glenn

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Shuttle kite in perpetual flare for landing that never comes at Maker Faire.

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On this, the 50th Anniversary of the broadcast of the first Star Trek episode, The Man Trap. This is a 2004 Johnny Lightning version of the venerable 1701 Enterprise.