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Random Ramjet Ramblings

Various thoughts and musings that tumble from my brain onto Ye Olde Interwebbes.
Last 4 blog posts:
50 Years

50 Years

The Artemis I mission occurred 50 years after Apollo 17. What will it take to not have this happen again?

Becoming Santa

Becoming Santa

Santa Claus. Father Christmas. Kris Kringle. St. Nicholas. Papa Noel. Me.

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-THE TRENCH-
FLIGHT DYNAMICS OFFICER
MISSION CONTROL
BLOG

-THE TRENCH-

The space exploration advocacy website of Roger Balettie, former Flight Dynamics Officer in NASA’s Space Shuttle Mission Control Center.

Select a menu tab to the left for detailed links or one of the main sections below:

FLIGHT DYNAMICS OFFICER

The Flight Dynamics Officer (FDO, pronounced “fido”) is a Flight Controller in the Mission Control Center responsible for the overall trajectory, or flight path, of the Space Shuttle and all related payloads or other space-bound vehicles associated with the Shuttle.

Read about the:

MISSION CONTROL

"Houston… Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Since 1965, the Mission Control Center (MCC) has been the nerve center for America’s manned space program.

-THE TRENCH- blog

Space- and NASA-based blog entries.

Last 3 blog posts:
50 Years

50 Years

The Artemis I mission occurred 50 years after Apollo 17. What will it take to not have this happen again?

Countdown

Countdown

It’s been 40 years since the launch of STS-1, and the excitement of that day never faded.

Hawaii 2007

June 16, 2007 – Day 3a

Early morning snorkeling at the world-famous Hanauma Bay!

Today’s pictures can be found here

PO - Early risers for Hanauma BayThis morning saw an (oh my gawd it was) early departure from the hotel, so that we could be (almost literally) the first people out on the beach at Hanauma Bay.

If you’ve never been, it is this absolute picture-perfect (as you’ll see below) bay, with tons of coral reefs from “knee high” to much deeper depths. It’s a snorkeling paradise, for sure, and they only let a certain number of people in each day before they close it. Therefore… it’s (literally) before sunrise as we head to the east side of Oahu.

We all look surprisingly happy for being there at sunrise, don’t we?


Sunrise at Hanauma Bay (2)The first view is worth it, though…



Hanauma PalmsNo… this is not a scanned post card… it’s my picture:



Hula MelOnce down on the beach, the sunrise behind Mel lets me take a “cool picture”…



PO - Not too early for AndrewAndrew’s ready to hit the water, now that the sun’s up!



I have a couple of digital cameras… my nice Nikon D70 for the majority of my shots, but I also have my old Sony Cybershot for Kathy to take with her… but my Dad also has this camera… and a dive case for it, so I’m able to take it with me under water for snorkel shots!!! This will come into play later this week, too. [smiley8]

PO - Angel fish from above waterThis one from just above the water… never saw him under, though.

There were *tons* of fish everywhere…
Snorkeling - fish (1)Snorkeling - fish (5)



Snorkeling - eelOh yeah… and there was this *EEL* that surprised me a bit… yikes!



Waves and reefJust beyond the reef that formed the bay were some really spectacular waves… the blues of the water and the blues of the sky make this a really nice picture:



Hanauma Bay… and it’s time to go (it’s only late morning!!!!), because next up… we’re heading to Pearl Harbor.

And again, this really is my picture of the incredible Hanauma Bay and not a scanned postcard.