Early This Morning

[JKL]

Very early this morning a significant rocket launch occurred. After a couple launch scrubs due to correctly followed safety checks and protocols, as well as a few Florida weather delays, the Artemis I mission had a flawless launch. The launch, boosters and core stage separations, the orbit around the Earth, and the second stage Translunar Injection burn sending Orion to the moon all went perfectly. I’ve been working on the SLS (equivalent to the Saturn V for Apollo) for the past decade. Now as I head toward retirement in a couple years, these images really mean more than I realized they would. Orion’s flight around the moon will continue for the next couple weeks leading to a splashdown in early December. I encourage folks to follow its progress.

[Michael_Mark]

Dude! I didn’t know that about you… that’s rad. Thank you for your hard work. What a sight to behold.

[Mark_Rocka]

That’s really cool! So you’re the person to ask this question to, because no one I’ve asked on Facebook knew the answer… What’s the ultimate goal of this mission? I had literally not heard anything about any of this until this morning. Brings back those astronaut dreams of childhood.

[JKL]

Hey, Mark (@Mark_Rocka), sure I can answer that. The quick answer is that we are going back to the moon, but this time to stay. NASA has several related programs in progress. Gateway will be similar to the International Space Station, except it will orbit the moon and provide docking for lunar missions. The Human Lander System (HLS) will ultimately be docked with Gateway to allow Astronauts to ferry back and forth to the lunar surface. By setting Gateway as an orbiting station, we’ll be able to build habitats on the lunar South Pole where ice has been detected. Ultimately all of this will support manned missions to Mars. Also, the added power of the Space Launch System (SLS)—the first and second stage rocket that supports Artemis missions—can shorten deep space missions if chosen for those. They typically last an entire career, but SLS can enable two such missions per someone’s career. Holler if you want more info.

[JKL]

And I forgot to mention that all the space business folks—Boeing, Lockheed, SpaceX, etc—are all players in these efforts.

[Flatpickin_Libby]

Hmmmmm……

[JKL]

Hey Libby (@Flatpickin_Libby). I have a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State, but I’m also a Christian. The more I understand science, the more impressed I am with God’s grand design. Only egotistical scientists believe that their limited understanding overshadows a belief in God.

[Flatpickin_Libby]

Glad you’re a Christian. Good for you!

And I ain’t sayin’ a word. I’m just thinkin’.

[Michael_Mark]

Ain’t talkinnnnn, juuust walkiiin…

[Mason_Crone]

@JKL Cool stuff!

[Mark_Rocka]

That’s all incredibly interesting! Thanks for taking the time to share.

Based on your reply to Libby, I bet you’d enjoy the book Evolution 2.0 by Marshall Perry. A ridiculously short summary of it is, “You can believe in entropy or Darwinian evolution theory. Not both.”

[JKL]

I’ll look that up. Thanks.

[Stuart.Gamble]

Congratuations @JKL and that entire team! That for sharing some of the info.

[Simone]

That’s awesome Jeff !!!

[BanjoBen]

That is too cool! Proud of you @JKL!

[BanjoBen]

“You can believe in entropy or Darwinian evolution theory. Not both.”

This realization is what solidified my creationism in latter undergrad. I was taking a very high level morphology class taught by a brilliant doc. As he explained Darwinian theory, it just clicked–meaning, the contradiction. I raised my hand and asked, “How can a non-intelligent non-prescient organism choose to become more complex throughout generations?”

This brilliant doc was simply silent. I thought surely he had considered this glaring issue and had a planned answer, but he didn’t (not saying they don’t exist). At the time I was a wandering dude. I’d grown up in church but never had my brain challenged, never exposed to apologetic arguments. This was the first time I could connect something solid and intellectual to the stuff I’d been told as a kid. It was the first step in a long journey that has been incredible.

[Flatpickin_Libby]

So true! It’s amazing how clearly logical God’s creation is and how perfectly it agrees with both His Word and our God-given knowledge. The truth about the world makes the most perfect common sense to the open mind. It’s the lies of this godless system that are complicated beyond understanding; you need the math facts and the “science” to make them sound smart, because the “facts” are so absolutely backwards.

[BanJoe]

What I find so very interesting is a side observation that adds evidence to my theory: You gotta be a rocket scientist to play the banjo!

[LorenDB]

@JKL That’s awesome! I’ve personally done a little hating on Artemis for being overbudget and behind schedule, but all rockets are cool and this one is absolutely no exception. Here’s hoping for another set of good launches and some Starship action for a lunar landing soon!

[JohnM]

I think I know what you’re thinking - flat moon or round moon?