But the timestamp from 0 to 86,399 seconds is critical for many technical operations. Such is the case for operations on a Mission Control Team that tracks satellites.
In S*T*C, one of main characters, Sam Clark, with her co-workers John McHenry, Tan Ho, and Enrique Rodriguez, get a tour of the Mission Control Complex on their first day on the job.
Their lead Paul Coleman, also known as PC, introduced to them to the timestamp:
Sam pointed to the large red neon display reading 1984.040:76879 with the lowest digits incrementing.
“And what do those numbers mean?”
“It’s a fancy clock.” PC explained, “Nineteen eighty-four, the year. Forty, the Julian day. That’s February ninth, since it’s been forty days since the New Year. After the colon there, 76891 is the time in seconds.”
PC looked at his watch. “Which is…approximately 2122 in military time. For us civilians that’s 9:22 at night.”
Sam looked puzzled. “But it’s going on 1:30 in the afternoon.”
“Ah!” Paul raised a finger. “But it’s almost 9:30 p.m. in England. And all our times are recorded in Zulu time.”
“Zulu?” Enrique piped up. “Man. I loved that movie. A classic with Michael Caine—”
PC grinned. “Zulu is the phonetic alphabet term for the Zth time zone. It’s the same as Greenwich Mean Time. GMT. Or Universal Time. UT. All the scientists as well as the military use it. Close to shift change…that’s four o’clock in the afternoon here…Pacific Standard Time…the clocks all roll over to quad zero. Or 0000z.”
PC pointed to the red clock. “And that clock will roll over from 040:86399 to 041:00000. A new day.”
“Why 86—” Tan had forgotten the rest of the digits in the five-digit number.
John chimed in, “Because there are 86,400 seconds in a day.”
“But, ah! Except when we have to adjust for the leap second.”
Then PC looked to the senior PA ensconced at an F2 console. “Ned?” he asked. “Will you explain what y’all are doing here?”
“Good question, PC. What am I doing here?”
Then Ned Gaubert gave a quiet sigh and turned around with his mouth askew. “This is called a pass. And it’s not what we make at girls.”
“Good thing.” Sam returned a sidelong smile. “I’m married.”
Smith, S K. S*T*C (pp. 35-36). Kindle Edition.
For a feel of the times, 1984-1986, especially for women breaking into space programs, please feel free to check out:
continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering : STEADFASTNESS
These qualities capture the essence of the latest NASA mission to Mars. Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of the agency's Science Mission Directorate, explained:
"Yes, it's curiosity that pulls us out there, but it's perseverancethat does not let us give up."
"We choose to go to the moon," the president said. "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."
After World War I, Eddington had secured an expedition to West Africa to observe the total solar eclipse. The results showed starlight was displaced along the sight line near the sun. Just as Einstein had predicted.
Curiosity killed the cat But satisfaction brought her back
Curiosity and Perseverance
In the world of science, these attributes can lead to breakthroughs. Rewrite text books. Create paradigm shifts in our thinking.
Let's spotlight two prominent physicists of the late 20th century, who exemplified those qualities.
* Dr. Stephen Hawking * Dr. Richard Feynman
Stephen Hawking is considered one of the greatest physicist of recent times. And he passed away this year (2018) on March 14th, the same day as Einstein's birthday. [reference: Stephen Hawking ]
Yet perseverance helped him overcome the physical challenges of ALS. With perseverance and curiosity, he pursued a distinguishing career in cosmology and theoretical physics, as shown below:
Likewise, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman was driven by curiosity. Which drove him to learn new things. Get out of his comfort zone. Search for answers. Solve nature's puzzles. Connect the dots.
While a graduate student days at Princeton, Feynman developed a method that served him well. He started with an empty notebook titled -
NOTEBOOK OF THINGS I DON’T KNOW ABOUT.
He filled the pages as he reorganized his thoughts in the concrete form of pen and paper. Trying to find the essential kernel of each branch of physics. This discipline may have paved the way to his Nobel Prize.
An intriguing spot to observe the solstice is in England.
Stonehenge
Many gather there for various reasons to observe and experience the turning point of the seasons. For the Solstice can not only be reduced to a scientific fact. But also one of myth and lore and wonder.
The video below relives the longest day of the year at Stonehenge with sunset on 20 June and sunrise on 21 June, 2017.
As a baby boomer, I grew up during the Cold War. Part of that battle for superiority in the minds of the world was the US/USSR Space Race to the moon. And the battleground spread to children's television. Remember Rocky and Bullwinkle? Classic Cold War politics.
On the space theme, my favorite Saturday morning show back then was the SciFi - Fireball XL5 (1962-1963).
Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol commanded the spaceship--you guessed it--Fireball XL5. (Wikipedia explains its name was inspired by a brand of motor oil--Castor XL--with the "5" added for some jazz.)
Other crew: The glamorous Dr. Venus with an exotic accent, a blonde doctor of space medicine and Steve's romantic interest. Robert, their co-pilot, a transparent robot with a synthesized voice, kind of like Dr. Stephen Hawking. Professor Matic whose looks and voice are reminiscent of Walter Brennan of The Real McCoys. And others assigned to Space City on mission to patrol Sector 25 of Interstellar Space.
The actors were puppets, animated via the latest in Supermarionation. And through my black and white TV, snowy reception from our aerial antenna, and resolution of a cathode ray picture tube, it looked wonderful to my young eyes. As would Star Trek when it came along in four more years.
I thought Venus was really, really cool as she rode her levitating bike into the spaceship, then rocketed about the universe with Steve. She was my role model. And infused me with the love of space and science.
This show encouraged children in STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering, Math. Long before we thought it was a problem in our education system.
And the ending song, "I wish I was a spaceman" (lyrics here) has the sweet innocence of the 1950s love songs. Not to mention the term - "spaceman" would not be considered politically correct these not so innocent days. Fifty years later
STEM follows SciFi.
Elon Musk, visionary, genius, businessman, pioneer in hi tech, has created a version of Fireball XL5 through his commercial space company SpaceX. Their rockets are reusable. Though they don't launch from a mono-rail, but shoot straight up and land back to earth. Vertically. Amazing. (For an extended biography of Elon Musk and his accomplishments, check out this video: Elon Musk Biography: Shaping All Our Futures)
Its payload was a red Tesla Roadster with a mannequin in a spacesuit. He's called Starman. And now, though the modern marvels of technology, we can check up on Starman. Live:
But it was pursuing the American dream. A culture based on capitalism. Freedom. That may have attracted South African Elon Musk to immigrate to Canada, then to America.
He pushed the envelop of private launches into space after our government seemed to give up after the Apollo missions and retiring the Space Shurttle.
From the SciFi Fireball XL5 to the real rocket science of the Falcon Heavy.
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