All of the entries from this site have been imported over to the new blog. New posts will only be available on the new blog, there will be no further updates here.

Thanks for following us and checking out our new home.

Plus he took some time to sign a few books for some special guests.

The highlight was astronaut Jim Newman’s (my previous post on Newman) presentation. For around an hour he talked about his four missions into space and then spent over an hour and a half signing autographs (he had to leave at 1:00 pm but he stayed until 2:00 pm because he is that nice). Additionally, he added his signature next to Sally Ride’s and Tracey Caldwell’s on our Space Shuttle cockpit.

Now it is time to relax and maybe start thinking about Space Day 2011 (maybe).

Check out more photos or add your own to our Flickr Photo Group.

From Tajikistan To The Moon: A Story Of Tragedy, Survival And Triumph Of The Human Spirit,

His story of escape from the Nazi invasion and then from Soviet oppression was fascinating. He then immigrated to the U.S., penniless with little English, but went on to graduate from college, work on multiple space programs (Apollo Lunar Module simulators, Lunar Surveyor, and GRO), and raise a family of geniuses (3 out of 4 have PhDs).

His soft-spoken presentation kept me engaged as he showed us pictures of his childhood in the Soviet Union and Europe up through his career in the aerospace industry. The best image was of a letter he sent to a family member that had a stamp of approval from the Soviet Union officials because the letter contained no subversive or anti-government writing.

I have yet to read his book, but luckily, the Museum has purchased a copy. I hope it is half as good as his presentation.

You can find out more about Robert Frimtzis and his book by clicking here.

Dr. James Newman

While the name Newman might not be the most popular to fans of Seinfeld, to space fans, it is a good one. Astronaut Jim Newman will be attending Space Day tomorrow to give a presentation and sign autographs. I thought it might be useful to provide you with some biographical information.

Dr. Newman was the first spacefarer born in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (now the Federated States of Micronesia), but he considers San Diego to be his hometown. He graduated from La Jolla High School. Go Vikings! (I did not go there, but saying that seemed appropriate)

In 1990, NASA selected him as an astronaut. Three years later, in 1993, Dr. Newman flew as a mission specialist on STS-51 (1993) aboard the Shuttle Discovery. During STS-51 he performed his first spacewalk.

Two years later, he later flew on STS-69 (1995) aboard the Shuttle Endeavour. His second flight on Endeavour, STS-88 (1998), was the first shuttle mission to the International Space Station. During the mission, he and the rest of the crew attached the American module, Unity, to the Russian module, Zarya. Dr. Newman is therefore one of the first people ever to enter the space station.

Dr. Newman performed two spacewalks to help repair the Hubble space telescope during STS-109 in 2002. This mission was the last successful flight of the Shuttle Columbia. On its next flight, the spacecraft and crew were lost.

During his four space flights, Dr. Newman logged in an impressive 43 days in space, which includes a total of 43 hours and 13 minutes over his six spacewalks.

Now that you know his space-life story, make sure to hear him speak around 11 am tomorrow, 8 May, at Space Day.

For the entire month of May, Museum members will receive the following discounted admission to our latest special exhibition The Science of… Aliens:

$5 Adult members for Aliens

$4 Youth members for Aliens

This is an offer that is out of this world! (sorry, I just had to)

A collection of models by Dennis Gerber

One of the great things about working at a Museum is you never know what new thing you will see when you walk into work in the morning. A few days ago, a modeler named Dennis Gerber, who has been written about in Fine Scale Modeler magazine, donated a bunch of great looking models to the Museum. I took a few pictures to share with you.

These first picture is of an imaginary German jet-fighter from World War II. Seems like something the group Luft ’46 would make.

This next model is a Northrop YB-35. Designed as a flying wing heavy bomber with the payloads carried in the wings, only prototype and pre-production aircraft were ever built before the company moved on to the jet-powered, YB-49.

In the 1950s, the Air Force wanted a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) aircraft. Below is a model of Mcdonnell’s proposed design, the XV-1 Convertiplane.

This last one is of a gunner ready for action. This just looks cool.

Many other models of tanks and planes were donated. I just did not want to create a post two miles long. However, if they were not so valuable, I could easily see myself playing a game of war with them.

Allison 1710 V-12 Engine inside of the Curtis P-40

The best thing about the engine and the P-40 itself, is that they both flew during World War II (at this time I cannot tell you if it saw combat, but it did fly) making it an artifact definitely worth preserving. So every few years, the curators change the preservative oil in the engine.

The whole process involves removing the cowlings and the valve covers and then connecting a pump to the oil pan to remove the old. Once the all old oil is drained, the new preservation oil is pumped in by turning the engine. You can see the turning of the engine below.

They then spray the valve train and rockers with oil and put it all back together. Most visitors never get to see the inside of the P-40, so I have posted some pictures of the process on our Flickr photostream. You can see those images by clicking here.

Karen's (on the far right) Last Lunch

We wish her the best at her new position at the Museum of Man and hope that she will return for a visit (She is only a ten minute, at the most, walk away).