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Zapata Talks NASA

Space exploration and development – more than numbers

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Month: August 2021

It’s a system

August 30, 2021October 1, 2021 ~ Edgar Zapata ~ 2 Comments

It turns out rocket launches, a possible boil water notice here in Orlando, and hospitals caring for patients with COVID are all connected. Right now, it's about liquid oxygen, but it would not be surprising to find more connections, like in any system. Oddly and often in projects, "it's a system" was an observation that … Continue reading It’s a system

The call, spacesuits, and everything else

August 23, 2021October 1, 2021 ~ Edgar Zapata ~ Leave a comment

"The gift shop is down that way, toward the lobby, past the spacesuit." These are not the directions anyone can give a visitor lost among a run of offices and cubicles. You get away with this in the Kennedy Space Center Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout building, home today to the Orion spacecraft, home once … Continue reading The call, spacesuits, and everything else

Contrasts

August 16, 2021October 1, 2021 ~ Edgar Zapata ~ Leave a comment

There are flying machines that simply stick in the mind, a Concorde, a Shuttle, a Valkyrie XB-70, or a Boeing 747. One machine that hardly flew but does this trick is the 1920s German Dornier X airliner, an early and massive flying boat with 12 engines. Its wings had a crawl space so the crew … Continue reading Contrasts

Not in our stars

August 9, 2021October 25, 2021 ~ Edgar Zapata ~ 1 Comment

The saying “getting your wings clipped” took on a new meaning. It was 2002, and the plan for even a partially reusable replacement for the Space Shuttle now seemed a bridge too far. The debate had already devolved once, from fully reusable to partially reusable. It would devolve again, as all of a sudden, old-style … Continue reading Not in our stars

Parallels

August 2, 2021October 1, 2021 ~ Edgar Zapata ~ Leave a comment

Time is supposed to be the way the universe keeps everything from happening all at once. My wife and I were in London in 2016, and we made a point to see The Fighting Temeraire by Joseph Mallord William Turner. London has endless museums. So for a time, we were taking it all in with … Continue reading Parallels

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