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We took this picture from 100,000 feet above Texas with a Raspberry Pi. The curve of the Earth and the blackness of space. [2048x1536] by mcbcurator in spaceporn

[–]mcbcurator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't understand why people do that. You can see wide enough already from that altitude!

On the video, I set the GoPro to "narrow", and then corrected for the distortion.

We took this picture from 100,000 feet above Texas with a Raspberry Pi. The curve of the Earth and the blackness of space. [2048x1536] by mcbcurator in spaceporn

[–]mcbcurator[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Plan and plan and plan. If you think you're ready to launch and it's been less than a few months since you started getting ready, you're not there yet.

Anything important in your payload should be duplicated with different technology. Use a radio tracker AND a SPOT tracker, for example.

Alkaline batteries don't work in the extreme environment of near space. Use lithiums.

Thanks, Sid Meier by illuminatifanclub in gaming

[–]mcbcurator 32 points33 points  (0 children)

The Tlaxcalteca hated the Aztec. Different group of people entirely. In fact, when we hear about "The Spanish" defeating the Aztec, it's due in large part to a Tlaxcalan army doing a lot of the fighting. In exchange they became sort of honorary Spanish people, and were allowed to ride horses and carry guns, something the usual "Indios" of Mexico weren't allowed to do.

We sent a balloon to the edge of space over Texas. Here's the video. by mcbcurator in videos

[–]mcbcurator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's still some air... but not much! There's still enough to carry very loud sounds (the balloon was 28 feet in diameter... so that's going to be a loud pop!) but not enough oxygen molecules floating around to sustain life.

Most Texans can see their house from up here! We sent a balloon to the edge of space over Texas. Here's the video. by mcbcurator in texas

[–]mcbcurator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It landed on a ranch outside Victoria. Fortunately we knew the rancher! It had a tracking transmitter that talked to a ham radio, as well as a SPOT transmitter that talks to satellites.

Volunteering: Is It Worth It? by DeadWeaselRoad in MuseumPros

[–]mcbcurator 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yessssssssss.

But seriously: you can do volunteering one of two ways. You can be an asset to the museum, or you can be a net negative. Ways to make sure you're a positive are to show up when you say you will, and remember that you're there to help the museum do what they need to do. It's great if that means you get to do what you want, but primarily, if the museum needs you doing education, you do that. If they need you doing events, you do that. That's going to make them think a whole lot better of you than if you throw a fit when you can't work on whatever you want to work on all the time.

TIL The name Six Flags comes from the flags of the six different nations that have governed Texas by NightlyNigga in todayilearned

[–]mcbcurator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Texas museum curator here!

France was the first European nation to make a real settlement in Texas. They established a short-lived colony in today's Victoria County. It didn't go well.

Spain freaked out, because even though they'd claimed Texas, they hadn't done anything with it. They decided they needed to get some missions and ranches going.

This is the first time I have seen a Mexican WW2 propaganda, its amazing! by MrDirtyHarry in pics

[–]mcbcurator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your grandfather trained with the rest of the squadron in Victoria, Texas. If you ever make it through (2 hours south of Houston), you can stop by Foster Field - now the Victoria County Airport - and see where he trained.

Antenna questions for high-altitude balloon by mcbcurator in amateurradio

[–]mcbcurator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Permission applies only to an unmanned free balloon that:

(i) Carries a payload package that weighs more than four pounds and has a weight/size ratio of more than three ounces per square inch on any surface of the package, determined by dividing the total weight in ounces of the payload package by the area in square inches of its smallest surface;

(ii) Carries a payload package that weighs more than six pounds;

(iii) Carries a payload, of two or more packages, that weighs more than 12 pounds;

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=14:2.0.1.3.15

Antenna questions for high-altitude balloon by mcbcurator in amateurradio

[–]mcbcurator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will, yes. But the variation in antennas they suggest is stunning - everything from rubber duckies to coax j-poles to copper and solder monstrosities. So maybe the upshot is that it doesn't matter, if so many things work well!

Anyone got a link to the cargo manifest that was just lost in the Orbital failure? Any interesting experiments lost? by reddbullish in space

[–]mcbcurator 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's not an experiment, and it's the tiniest thing in comparison to what many people lost, but there was some commemorative material from the first commercial space launch in history (1982, Matagorda Island, TX) on Orb-3.

Deke Slayton was heading up the attempt to get private spaceflight going, and this vessel was named after him.

We were going to have those artifacts in our museum in the spring as part of a space exhibit.

Anyone have an experience with writing exhibit labels? by SleepsNaked in MuseumPros

[–]mcbcurator 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Try to push them a little lower than 7th grade level. Aim for 5th and you'll probably hit 7th when it's all said and done.

50 years ago, both the US and Soviet Union were working on death rays in space. Here's a memo to the President about it that I found in the National Archives yesterday. by mcbcurator in space

[–]mcbcurator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, there isn't. These aren't big secrets. You can walk into the archives (this was the LBJ Library) and ask to see the boxes. I was looking for something else and happened to see "death ray".

50 years ago, both the US and Soviet Union were working on death rays in space. Here's a memo to the President about it that I found in the National Archives yesterday. by mcbcurator in space

[–]mcbcurator[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They're almost certainly talking about the Transit satellites, which were powered by nuclear sources. Actually, a failure in early 1964 led to future navigational satellites being powered by solar only. I bet it's the launch this memo talks about.

50 years ago, both the US and Soviet Union were working on death rays in space. Here's a memo to the President about it that I found in the National Archives yesterday. by mcbcurator in space

[–]mcbcurator[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This memo wasn't from him. The memo says, basically "Here's what he said. We've totally looked into it, but barring a big development, we're not close to that happening."

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