I sure like seeing what other people do at their jobs, and how they keep shop.
Talk about having a job with a view!
http://www.texasjim.com/NASApix/NASA%20pix.htm
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Replies
Beautiful pictures - Thanks!
I could travel alone to Mars or someplace.. but could NASA build me a small woodworking shop and keep me busy for the trip?
Great Picture!
You know will, you would have so much time, that if you had no more than a pocket knife, you should be able to produce a masterpiece. While they are sending you to Mars, I would rather be heading to Venus. Of course, when I land, I would probably find that Venus is just the Earthling name for the planet Lesbos, Ha.
Thank you for posting those fantastic pictures. I think I will send them to our grandchildren!
G. Mastrangelo
Ever hear of lake effect snow?
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041130.html
Just one more reason I'm happy to not be a Yooper.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Keith,
I have worked at NASA since 1979, and I can tell you that the people in the photos you have posted are not very happy. There is no woodworking equipment which has been space-qualified. All they are thinking about when they are up there is getting back to their shops and making more furniture.
Attached is a photo of me at the launch control center at KSC for the lauch of the Swift spacecraft. Do I look like I want to be there, or be back in my workshop? :-)
Mel
PS just kidding. NASA is a great place to work. I have enjoyed it thoroughly. That day at KSC, the launch of SWIFT was one of the proudest days of my life.
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Hey I saw that ol geezer at Woodcraft! :-)
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
Of course you saw me at Woodcraft. Actually the Launch Control Center is in the back of the store.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Thanks for sharing the photo. I watched a film last weekend called "In the Shadow of the Moon." http://www.intheshadowofthemoon.com/ It is a documentary on the program and people behind getting men on the moon, with a large portion dedicated to interviews with the astronauts. It was one of the most inspirational and touching films I've seen in a long time. America at its best.
HH,
Glad you enjoyed the documentary on the astronauts. You are right. NASA is inspirational. NASA is a government agency. In and of itself, that should make it a dull place to work. BUT it is not. All of the professionals who are here, are here because they really want to be. They are excited (and excitable), and they make things happen. Governmental agencies that are into rulemaking (FAA,etc)and into monitoring (FDA, etc) can be a real drag to work at (IMHO). But at NASA, we are continually doing new things, (that might not work). So people are always scrambling to make it so things that have not been done before will work.
Thanks for writing.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel, I'll bet that is a great place to work. So how does it work, Do you clock in to the clock on the left, and out to the one on the right? Ha, I caught you. Now I know why everything is so expensive there. Ha K
Keith,
Great post. I never thought of clocking in on the clock on the right and clocking out on the clock on the right. I had to look at the photo again to realize what you were talking about. But its a great idea. I will give it a try. :-)
Thanks,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
There is no woodworking equipment which has been space-qualified.
Woodworking in space would be quite simple - no need for dust collection as the dust would just float away;)
Lee
Lee,
You got it.
Space is a vacuum.
And vacuum sucks.
It's the best dust control system going. And it's big, too.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Gee Mel, your in black and white. Have you been working there since before color photography...?I always sensed in your posts that you enjoyed your work, now we know why.Ron
Ron,
Word has it that it was actually Mel who invented the lightbulb! :-)
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Word has it that it was actually Mel who invented the lightbulb!
I heard it was the cotton gin ;)
Lee
Great picture also.BUT you leave us in suspense! What were you doing at that terminal? CAD plans for a wooden shuttle?Someone posted that Mel invented the light bulb. Not true. He worked on the theory that the light bulb gives off light. Mel found that it really sucks in darkness and when it gets full you have to get a new one!I for one thinks the USA wastes way to much money on foolish things. NASA is NOT one of them! Just think what NASA could do if they had the funds spent in IRAQ. PLEASE... I do not want this to turn into a political thing. Just my thoughts.
Will,
Shhhhhsssshhh, Mels trying to perfect the perfect Woody.
He has his Schultemessr all tuned up to cut the veins. Next he has to work on the reentry phisics for when he returns from Washington.
Can he borrow your leaf blower? It seems he needs more air volume.
Oh gawd, I need another beer!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I'll pay for that beer or two. I'm not a beer drinker but I love that REAL German warm dark beer!
WG,
Glad you enjoyed the photo. I am sorry you gave away my theory on light bulbs. I wasn't ready to publish it. Now you will get the Nobel prize, and all my work is for naught.You asked what I was doing at the console.
That is an interesting question.
I am a NASA Headquarters guy, not one of the guys at the places where they build the satellites or the launch vehicle. I was the Headquarters guy who was responsible for the SWIFT satellite. They call us "Program Executives". That name tells you nothing. When a satellite launches, the Hdq Program Executive is invited to Kennedy Space Center for the launch. I got there bright and early that morning, and was told that there was a special console in the launch control facility for me. I sat down at this console, which was filled with knobs, dials and readouts. I got a quick briefing, which didn't tell me much. I responded, "Thank you. Don't worry, I wont touch any of these knobs." The guy replied, "Touch them all you want. This console was specially made for the Headquarters person. None of the knobs are connected to anything." I am sure that he got a chuckle out of that line every time he got a chance to use it. Thanks for writing.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my decades at NASA.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
SWIFT satellite.. Study Gamma-ray bursts that are the most powerful explosions the Universe....And all along I thought it was KICKBACK on my tablesaw!
WillGeorge,
I am sorry about that Gamma Ray Burst. Glad you were not closer to the source. Those things can toast a galaxy. Almost as bad as a kickback on a tablesaw.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
One of the greatest tours i have taken was one of KSC! I grew up with the space program and have always followed the really great work you guys and gals do!
Thanks for all the hard work and tremendous effort it must take to get them suckers off the ground<g>
Skip
http://www.ShopFileR.com
Skip,
What a great message! Thanks for writing to me. It is always great to meet another space nut, especially one who is also a woodworker. I have worked at NASA since 1979 and have enjoyed it immensely.
Enjoy,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
KEITH, BREATHTAKING I FOUND MYSELF HOLDING MY BREATH
THANKS FOR SHARING SOMETHING TO SHOW MY KNOWALL FRIEND.
REGDS.BOYSIE sLAN lEAT.
I love watching Nasa feed sometimes on one of the hidef channels on Directv! I have a hidef projector (only 720p, but good never the less), and shined on the wall in my basement is an 120" diagonal picture. Outstanding it will take your breath away! I would absolutely love to make it into space some day!Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
WOW
Do you know if the pictures posted are copyrighted?
I would like to use them for my computer screensaver. NO.. I'm not going to try and sell them on E-BAY! Just for my own use at home.
I don't know the answer to that. I didn't copy these photos myself, I just posted a link to something that was already on the http://www.Would you choose just one, or have it set as a slide show? Anyway, you know it is going to make you feel small. Remember the Steve Martin joke, Lets get small.Speaking of getting small. I have a new camera, with a good macro set-up, and I'm having a blast with it. My smallest image is 5/16 x 7/16" capture size, with 8 mp. Man it is amazing how much more interesting just everyday stuff is when you can pull something that small up on a 20" monitor. It is actually finding its way into my work too. I was up till 2;30 this morning working on a turning which was inspired by the eyes and face of a fly. I am not sure if I should make this know to my potential clients or not. I am working my tail off now to get ready for a new gallery opening in just a few weeks. I will try to remember to share some photos of the new work with y'all when I get past my deadline. gotta go K
I will pick one for the Background and all set as a slide show for a screen saver. If they were posted I would assume OK to use for my personal use as long as I do not claim that I took those pictures... LOL..Macro pictures.. I do that with flowers and bugs! Even tried it with tree bark but they never turned out well.I once had a set of pictures I purchased long ago of images from an Electron Microscope. THOSE were amazing! I have no idea what happened to them.. Just sort of disappeared..
Edited 10/10/2007 1:04 pm by WillGeorge
That reminds me that I have a book called "Microcosmos" that I need to look around and find. It is somewhere around here in my library / office. It might be good inspirations
to see some of those shots again. Thanks
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