The End of an Era
3 years ago
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
more snow!
It kept snowing all day today, and we have a big snowdrift in our back yard. We have had about two feet of snow the last two days. Doug worked from home today and yesterday. Here he is behind/ in the snowdrift. 
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
joe and katie visit
Joe and Katie came to visit this weekend. The guys went fishing Saturday, and Katie and I went for a walk with Chris at Chatfield. We played several rounds of hand and foot (Brownings and ladies win!) and celebrated Doug's birthday, which is this Friday. 
Friday, October 23, 2009
turned over
Chris turned over front to back. . . and I missed it! I put him down on his belly for tummy time, then went around the corner to the kitchen to get a drink. When I came back, he was 90 degrees from the orientation I had put him down, and he was on his back looking happy! I put him back on his belly, but he didn't repeat for me. I didn't think I would miss anything as a stay at home mom!
shelley and janice
Two of my friends from med school, Shelley and Janice, were in town, and we went up to Denver to visit yesterday. Chris proved himself to be a ladies' man, showing off his moves during tummy time. He still doesn't lift his head very high, but he arches his back and throws his legs up in the air. 
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Work Trip to CCAFS
Ok, so a few weeks ago an old roomate of mine who will remain nameless begged me to start contributing to the blog in order to infuse some testosterone into the Browning story. Although I've never been much of a blogger I figure I can add an update now and then. To kick things off I figure there's no better place to start than my own proud little corner of the military industrial complex: kick ass rockets.
Last week I traveled to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) for the start of my Delta IV launch support training. I'm basically learning to do on-site vehicle inspections of the propulsion system before we give the go-ahead to light the candle. This trip was the first of many in the next phase of my job.
Before I go further it's important to make this announcement: Florida is too damned hot and humid. The temp was in the mid 90's the whole week and the humidity levels fluxuated from 100% in the morning to 80% in the afternoon. It basically drains all desire to do anything outdoors. Here is a picture from my hotel room in the morning. It's so damned humid that you can barely see.
The first day was mostly spent doing safety training and getting all the security stuff squared away before gaining access to the Delta IV launch pad at Space Launch Complex (SLC) 37. Much of it revolved around things like oxygen sensors and donning emergency life support equipment and getting the hell out of dodge if warning sirens go off but it also included a long list of dangerous area inhabitants including large numbers of alligators, rattlesnakes, poisonous spiders and even panthers. Once all the training was done I still had several hours left in the day so I set out to explore the base.
For those not familiar with the Cape here is a map.
This place is full of history and is a very surreal area. All of the launch pads from the last 60 years are basically small areas carved out of the jungle. Once a pad is decommissioned it's mostly just left for the jungle to reclaim and only a few of the oldest areas have been maintained. It reminds me of what I think the world will look like if some super germ were to wipe out humanity: rusted steel, crumbling concrete and overgrown foliage full of life. The entire area is also a wildlife preserve which adds to the dichotomy. I drove around for hours and probably only saw 5% of the base. A few areas are restricted but most of the base is simply inaccessable by the broken spider web of roads and paths. I took a crap load of pictures but here is a sampling (with descriptions below each pic).
CCAFS has miles and miles of secluded beaches that are serene and relaxing.
The space shuttle vehicle assembly building as seen from the eastern causeway.
Space shuttle sitting on the pad at SLC-39A as seen from the eastern causeway.
The pad on SLC-34 where the Apollo 1 fire took 3 lives during a ground test. Later the pad was used for Apollo 7 as the first manned Apollo mission.
Memorial plaque for the astronauts killed in the Apollo 1 fire. The plaque is attached to the base of the pad.
Monument to the first manned orbital flight by John Glenn in 1962.
Old de-commissioned pad from the Atlas-Agena days.
Much of the Cape looks like this with old crumbling roads cut through the swamp that are barely maintained. This is one of the nicer ones.
Trident missile launch complex
Cape Canaveral lighthouse
Various rockets and missiles on display with the active Delta 2 launch pads in the background
.JPG)
For obvious reasons I didn't take any close-up pictures of the Delta IV or Atlas V launch complexes. Both are active programs and would be inapproprate to post my pics here. The vehicle walkdowns went well and it was a great experience. Also, the view from the top of the Delta IV Mobile Service Tower is awesome. You can see for miles. The space shuttle is currently sitting on the pad and SLC-37 is just across the water from SLC-39A. It would be the perfect place to watch a shuttle launch.
Well that's it for this one.
I'll try to post more regularly in the future.
Last week I traveled to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) for the start of my Delta IV launch support training. I'm basically learning to do on-site vehicle inspections of the propulsion system before we give the go-ahead to light the candle. This trip was the first of many in the next phase of my job.
Before I go further it's important to make this announcement: Florida is too damned hot and humid. The temp was in the mid 90's the whole week and the humidity levels fluxuated from 100% in the morning to 80% in the afternoon. It basically drains all desire to do anything outdoors. Here is a picture from my hotel room in the morning. It's so damned humid that you can barely see.
The first day was mostly spent doing safety training and getting all the security stuff squared away before gaining access to the Delta IV launch pad at Space Launch Complex (SLC) 37. Much of it revolved around things like oxygen sensors and donning emergency life support equipment and getting the hell out of dodge if warning sirens go off but it also included a long list of dangerous area inhabitants including large numbers of alligators, rattlesnakes, poisonous spiders and even panthers. Once all the training was done I still had several hours left in the day so I set out to explore the base.
For those not familiar with the Cape here is a map.
This place is full of history and is a very surreal area. All of the launch pads from the last 60 years are basically small areas carved out of the jungle. Once a pad is decommissioned it's mostly just left for the jungle to reclaim and only a few of the oldest areas have been maintained. It reminds me of what I think the world will look like if some super germ were to wipe out humanity: rusted steel, crumbling concrete and overgrown foliage full of life. The entire area is also a wildlife preserve which adds to the dichotomy. I drove around for hours and probably only saw 5% of the base. A few areas are restricted but most of the base is simply inaccessable by the broken spider web of roads and paths. I took a crap load of pictures but here is a sampling (with descriptions below each pic).
CCAFS has miles and miles of secluded beaches that are serene and relaxing.
The space shuttle vehicle assembly building as seen from the eastern causeway.
Space shuttle sitting on the pad at SLC-39A as seen from the eastern causeway.
The pad on SLC-34 where the Apollo 1 fire took 3 lives during a ground test. Later the pad was used for Apollo 7 as the first manned Apollo mission.
Memorial plaque for the astronauts killed in the Apollo 1 fire. The plaque is attached to the base of the pad.
Entrance to SLC-14 where the Mercury-Atlas missions flew in the early 60's.
Monument to the first manned orbital flight by John Glenn in 1962.
Old de-commissioned pad from the Atlas-Agena days.
Much of the Cape looks like this with old crumbling roads cut through the swamp that are barely maintained. This is one of the nicer ones.
Trident missile launch complex
Cape Canaveral lighthouse
The old and the new. The blast shields are from the early Saturn 1B launches while the building in the background is the Delta IV pad at SLC-37 where I was working. You can just barely see the rocket being readied for flight. One definite advantage of working inside the vehicle is the environmental control they maintain. I love air conditioning.
Another beach view with the Delta IV pad at SLC-37 in the background.
There also is a museum on the base where a bunch of older rockets and missiles are mounted with info plaques. Here are a few pictures of the museum grounds.
Various rockets and missiles on display with the active Delta 2 launch pads in the background
Delta IV booster used for static fire testing, a Polaris submarine ICBM and several others. Again with the Delta 2 pads in the background.
Minuteman ICBM
Titan I ICBM with Delta 2 pads in the background
.JPG)
Mercury-Redstone rocket on the site where Alan Shepard launched to become the first American in space. The service tower has been removed for repairs by the museum.
For obvious reasons I didn't take any close-up pictures of the Delta IV or Atlas V launch complexes. Both are active programs and would be inapproprate to post my pics here. The vehicle walkdowns went well and it was a great experience. Also, the view from the top of the Delta IV Mobile Service Tower is awesome. You can see for miles. The space shuttle is currently sitting on the pad and SLC-37 is just across the water from SLC-39A. It would be the perfect place to watch a shuttle launch.
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