My Coverage of STS-135 in Westfalen-Blatt (Bad Oeynhausen, Germany)

Being a spacetweep is all about outreach and inspiration via social media. When a German twitter follower of mine learned that I was traveling to Florida to witness the last Space Shuttle launch on July 8, 2011, he pointed out that many local Germans don't even know or care about the end of the Space Shuttle program. I decided to contact both papers in my hometown of Bad Oeynhausen to see if they wanted to interview me while experiencing STS-135 in person. Did they ever! I was asked for and promised exclusive coverage to the first paper that responded, the Westfalen-Blatt. I figured if I can reach, inspire or educate just one person in Germany, it would be worth the effort. I anticipated publication with some degree of trepidation and was pleasantly surprised. The journalist who interviewed me, Malte Samtenschnieder, did a great job. I was especially happy to see her translation of my STS-135 launch tweet stream in my hometown newspaper.

If you read German, you can see for yourself (scroll down to PDFs). If you don't, here are the Cliff Notes:

The first PDF page is the transcript of the interview with me a few days before my trip to the Space Coast. It was published pre-launch on July 8, 2011 and the picture on the right is actually of the last launch of Discovery on February 24, 2011 (STS-133). The interview mainly covers how I became a space geek and how NASA's social media activism, especially on twitter, has created a growing global community of spacetweeps and citizen scientists that will help launch the coming era of space tourism, private space exploration and permanent human colonies in low-earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and other solar system destinations. 

I also give a shout-out to Sonja Rohde, who is slated to become the first German space tourist and the first German woman in space. She is from my home state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. There are also sidebars with my biographical info and about the STS-135 mission profile and crew members. The interview was featured on the Westfalen-Blatt's front page.

The second PDF page is a second article by the same journalist published post-launch in the Westfalen-Blatt's weekend edition of July 9/10, 2011. It is a translation into German of my live tweets on launch day. While historic space events tend to cause cell phone and network outages due to overload, I got lucky. All my launch-related tweets got through, without delay. I even composed my launch tweet "...5 ...4 ...3 ...2 ...1 and Lift-Off!" ahead of time, with my finger on the "Send" button and my eyes on the launch pad. (Have I noted recently that smart phones are cooler than tricorders?). 

If you don't read German but follow my twitter feed - or space events, for that matter - you don't need a translation of the second article. I should add that the translation is very good and accurately captures what I was trying to convey. Except for one quibble that only matters to those who read both German and English. I tweeted about how shuttle launch sound waves are something you feel *viscerally*, in addition to seeing and hearing them - a feeling you just don't experience unless you're physically close to a couple million tons of propellants being ignited. The translation of "visceral" ended up as "zu Herzen gehend" (heartfelt), which is an ok translation, but not really what I said in English. It's a tough one, though, so I'm giving the translator a pass :)

Most of all, these articles are symbolic of what space activism and outreach is all about for me: It is about communication, passion, creativity and hope, the transcendence of national borders and cultural differences, and a focus on building a better future for all humankind.

Click here to read about my launch day experience in English.

Yuri's Night 2012

April 12 is International Space Day and a special day for all space geeks.

51 years ago today, Yuri Gagarin became humanity's first astronaut, blasting off into space atop a Soyuz rocket and safely returned to Earth 108 minutes later

31 years ago today, STS-1 Space Shuttle Columbia launched on its maiden flight and circled the Earth 37 times in 54 hours. Columbia's successful landing gave the U.S. its first reusable spaceship.

And finally, today, April 12, 2012, I found a video that I have never seen before - Yuri Gagarin's launch video (presumably from Baikonur Cosmodrome, which in this video still looks only partially completed) with a lot of bonus material on how the Russians handled and reacted to the flight and Yuri's safe return to Earth. One thing's for sure: I have never seen so many Russians so happily exuberant at the same time. 

 

I have become fascinated with this video. The more I watch it and listen to it the more Russian phrases I understand. At least I suspect I understand them. Which is pretty cool.

It also struck me how blissfully, peacefully happy Yuri Gagarin looked right after he returned to Earth. Go to about 3:07 and you'll see what I mean. It is a look of contentment, wonder and awe that all astronauts experience when they see Earth from space with their own eyes. 

This reminded me of a conspiracy theory I came across regarding Yuri Gagarin's untimely death. He was 34 when he died in an accidental plane crash. Officially. Unofficially, the story goes like this: After his historic space flight, Yuri became reluctant to embrace communism and wary of being portrayed as a Socialist hero by the Soviet propaganda machine. He opposed isolationism and escalation of the Cold War. And, of course, people listened to him. So the KGB arranged for a convenient accident, because Gagarin as a dead Soviet hero was much less trouble than a man revered by the Russian people who spoke out against the human rights violations and oppression of a Soviet Union whose government ruled by fear, intimidation and violence. In other words - Don't send a man to space and expect him not to broaden his consciousness and horizons beyond the confines of national borders and ideologies. 

Or, in the words of Arthur C. Clarke: "There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum.

Or, in the words of astronaut Don Pettit @astro_pettit, currently living and working on the International Space Station, who wrote this poem from space:

   

And why the Sun comes up each morn, and why the Earth goes ’round?
I wonder what the Sun on Mars, would bring at dusk and dawn?
 I wonder what two moons would say, from Earth lit sky when Sun is gone  
I wonder if Mars mountain crags would be a sight to hold?
 I wonder if I’d dare to climb, how could I be so bold!  
I wonder when Man’s mind will grow, 
and cease to be so small  
I wonder when we’ll venture forth, I hope before we fall  
I wonder if we’ll never dare, to reach up through the sky 
Forever doomed to live on Earth, and this, I wonder why?

Don Pettit, Node 2, Deck 5, ISS, LEO (International Space Station, Low Earth Orbit)