Hubble Archives

September 16, 2011December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Even Small Galaxies Can Have Big Black Holes

Astronomers detected supermassive black holes in 28 distant, low-mass galaxies, including the four shown in these Hubble Space Telescope images. Image credit: A. Koekemoer, Space Telescope Science Institute.

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The Hubble Space Telescope has done it again. By utilizing a slitless grism, the Wide Field Camera 3 has uncovered evidence that supermassive black holes are right at home in some very small galaxies. Apparently these central black holes began their life when their host galaxies were first forming!

“It’s kind of a chicken or egg problem: Which came first, the supermassive black hole or the massive galaxy? This study shows that even low-mass galaxies have supermassive black holes,” said Jonathan Trump, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Trump is first author of the study, which has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

It’s another cosmic conundrum. As we’ve learned, large galaxies are host to central supermassive black holes and many of them are the AGN variety. But the real puzzle is why do some smaller galaxies contain them when most do not? By taking a closer look at dwarf galaxies some 10 billion light-years away, astronomers are reaching back in time to when the Universe was about an estimated quarter of its current age.

“When we look 10 billion years ago, we’re looking at the teenage years of the universe. So these are very small, young galaxies,” Trump said.

If your mind is still wondering what a “slitless grism” is, then wonder no more. It’s part of Hubble’s WFC3 infrared camera that provides spectroscopic information. Thanks to highly detailed information on the different wavelengths of light, the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) team could achieve separate spectra from each sector of the candidate galaxies and identify emissions from black hole sources.

“This is the first study that is capable of probing for the existence of small, low-luminosity black holes back in time,” said coauthor Sandra Faber, University Professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz and CANDELS principal investigator. “Up to now, observations of distant galaxies have consistently reinforced the local findings–distant black holes actively accreting in big galaxies only. We now have a big puzzle: What happened to these dwarf galaxies?”

It’s possible they are forerunners of the massive galaxies we see today. “Some may remain small, and some may grow into something like the Milky Way,” Trump said. But this theory is a juxtaposition in itself. According to Faber, “To become big galaxies today, the dwarf galaxies would have to grow at a rate much faster than standard models predict. If they remain small, then nearby dwarf galaxies should also have central black holes. There might be a large population of small black holes in dwarf galaxies that no one has noticed before.”

But these distant little dwarfs aren’t quiet – they are actively forming new stars. According to Trump, “Their star formation rate is about ten times that of the Milky Way. There may be a connection between that and the active galactic nuclei. When gas is available to form new stars, it’s also available to feed the black hole.”

But the Hubble wasn’t the only instrument interested in the 28 small galaxy studies. The team also employed x-ray data acquired by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. To help refine their information on such small, faint objects, the data was combined to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

“This is a powerful technique that we can use for similar studies in the future on larger samples of objects,” Trump said. “Together the compactness of the stacked OIII spatial profile and the stacked X-ray data suggest that at least some of these low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies harbor weak active galactic nuclei.”

Original Story Source: University of Santa Cruz News. For Further Reading: A CANDELS WFC3 Grism Study of Emission-Line Galaxies at z~2: A Mix of Nuclear Activity and Low-Metallicity Star Formation.

September 12, 2011December 24, 2015 by Jason Rhian

Book Review: A Dictionary of the Space Age

A Dictionary of the Space Age covers most aspects of space flight but is somewhat lacking in detail. Image Credit: John Hopkins University & Alan Walters/awaltersphoto.com

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Writing a dictionary is not the same as writing a novel. While it might seem difficult to mess up a dictionary, even one with terminology that is as complicated as that used within the space industry – getting it right can be challenging. For those that follow space flight having such a dictionary can be invaluable. While A Dictionary of the Space Age does meet the basic requirements easily it fails somewhat in terms of its comprehensiveness.

When normal folks, even space enthusiasts watch launches and other space-related events (EVAs, dockings, landings and such) there are so many acronyms and jargon thrown about – that it is extremely hard to follow. With A Dictionary of the Space Age on hand, one can simply thumb through and find out exactly what is being said, making it both easier to follow along and making the endeavor being witnessed far more inclusive. That is as long if you are only looking for the most general of terms. The book is far from complete – but given the complex nature of the topic – this might not have been possible.

Crewed, unmanned, military space efforts and satellites – all have key terms addressed within the pages of this book.

The book is published by The Johns Hopkins University Press and was compiled and written by aerospace expert Paul Dickson. One can purchase the book on the secondary market (Amazon.com) for around $12 (new for around $25). The dictionary also has a Kindle edition which is available for $37.76. Dickson’s previous works on space flight is Sputnik: The Shock of the Century.

Weighing in at 288 pages, the book briefly covers the primary terms used within the space community. In short, if you are interested in learning more about space flight – or wish to do so – this is a good book for you.

September 2, 2011December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Galaxy Bets On A Pair Of Black Holes

How X-rays Work — This main image is a composite of X-rays from Chandra (blue) and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope (gold) of the spiral galaxy NGC 3393. Meanwhile, the inset box shows the central region of NGC 3993 as observed just by Chandra.

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About 160 million light years away in the constellation of Hydra, spiral galaxy NGC 3393 has been keeping a billion year old secret. It might have a poker face, but it has a pair of black holes up its sleeve…

Using information obtained through NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory combined with Hubble Space Telescope imaging, scientists have uncovered first time evidence that NGC 3393 is harboring twin supermassive black holes. Residing only 490 light years apart, the duo may have been the product of a “minor merger” – where a small and large galaxy met. Although the hypothesis of two black holes within one galaxy isn’t new, it has been difficult to prove because the results of two galaxies combining material would result in a rather ordinary looking spiral.

“The current picture of galaxy evolution advocates co-evolution of galaxies and their nuclear massive black holes, through accretion and galactic merging.” says G. Fabbiano, lead author of a recent Nature paper. “Pairs of quasars, each with a massive black hole at the centre of its galaxy, have separations of 6,000 to 300,000 light years and exemplify the first stages of this gravitational interaction.”

If scientific calculations are correct, a smaller galaxy should have contained a smaller mass black hole. This leaves us with an odd situation. If both of these newly discovered black holes have similar mass, shouldn’t the merging pair also be of similar mass? If so, how could a minor merger be the answer?

“The final stages of the black-hole merging process, through binary black holes and final collapse into a single black hole with gravitational wave emission, are consistent with the sub-light-year separation inferred from the optical spectra and light-variability of two such quasars. The double active nuclei of a few nearby galaxies with disrupted morphology and intense star formation demonstrate the importance of major mergers of equal-mass spiral galaxies in this evolution.” says Fabbiano. “Minor mergers of a spiral galaxy with a smaller companion should be a more common occurrence, evolving into spiral galaxies with active massive black-hole pairs, but have hitherto not been seen. The regular spiral morphology and predominantly old circum-nuclear stellar population of this galaxy, and the closeness of the black holes embedded in the bulge, provide a hitherto missing observational point to the study of galaxy/black hole evolution.”

Lay down your bets, gentlemen… It seems the game changes each time it is played!

Original Story Source: Chandra News. For Further Reading: A close nuclear black-hole pair in the spiral galaxy NGC 3393.

September 2, 2011December 24, 2015 by Jason Rhian

James Webb Space Telescope Nearing Completion

The James Webb Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA/JPL

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The James Webb Space Telescope or JWST has long been touted as the replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope is considered to be the one of the most ambitious space science projects ever undertaken – this complexity may be its downfall. Cost overruns now threaten the project with cancellation. Despite these challenges, the telescope is getting closer to completion. As it stands now, the telescope has served as a technical classroom on the intricacies involved with such a complex project. It has also served to develop new technologies that are used by average citizens in their daily lives.

Although compared to Hubble, the two telescopes are dissimilar in a number of ways. The JWST is three times as powerful as Hubble in its infrared capabilities. JWST’s primary mirror is 21.3 feet across (this provides about seven times the amount of collecting power that Hubble currently employs).

The JWST’s mirrors were polished using computer modeling guides that allowed engineers to predict that they will enter into the proper alignment when in space. Each of the mirrors on the JWST has been smoothed down to within 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair. The JWST traveled to points across the country to assemble and test the JWST’s various components.

Eventually the mirrors were then sent to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Once there they measured how the mirrors reacted at extremely cold temperatures. With these tests complete, the mirrors were given a thin layer of gold. Gold is very efficient when it comes to reflecting light in the infrared spectrum toward the JWST’s sensors.

jwst1 — A comparison of the primary mirror used by Hubble and the primary mirror array used by the James Webb Space Telescope. Photo Credit: NASA

The telescope’s array of mirrors is comprised of beryllium, which produces a lightweight and more stable form of glass. The JWST requires lightweight yet strong mirrors so that they can retain their shape in the extreme environment of space. These mirrors have to be able to function perfectly in temperatures reaching minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit.

After all of this is done, still more tests await the telescope. It will be placed into the same vacuum chamber that tested the Apollo spacecraft before they were sent on their historic mission’s to the moon. This will ensure that the telescopes optics will function properly in a vacuum.

175675main_JWSTModel_lg — A life-sized model of the JWST was placed on display in Seattle, Washington - it was several stories tall and weighed several tons. Photo Credit: Rob Gutro/ NASA

With all of the effort placed into the JWST – a lot of spinoff technology was developed that saw its way into the lives of the general populace. Several of these – had to be invented prior to the start of the JWST program.

“Ten technologies that are required for JWST to function did not exist when the project was first planned, and all have been successfully achieved. These include both near and mid-infrared detectors with unprecedented sensitivity, the sunshield material, the primary mirror segment assembly, the NIRSpec microshutter array, the MIRI cryo-cooler, and several more,” said the James Webb Space Telescope’s Deputy Project Scientist Jason Kalirai. Kalirai holds a PhD in astrophysics and carries out research for the Space Telescope Science Institute. “The new technologies in JWST have led to many spinoffs, including the production of new electric motors that outperform common gear boxes, design for high precision optical elements for cameras and cell phones, and more accurate measurements of human vision for people about to undergo Laser Refractive Surgery.”

The James Webb Space Telescope encapsulated atop the Ariane V rocket tapped launch it, next to an early image of the telescope. Image Credit: NASA

If all goes according to plan, the James Webb Space Telescope will be launched from French Guiana atop the European Space Agency’s Arianne V Rocket. The rationale behind the Ariane V’s selection was based on capabilities – and economics.

“The Ariane V was chosen as the launch vehicle for JWST at the time because there was no U.S. rocket with the required lift capacity,” Kalirai said. “Even today, the Ariane V is a better tested vehicle. Moreover, the Ariane is provided at no cost by the Europeans while we would have had to pay for a U.S. rocket.”

It still remains to be seen as to whether or not the JWST will even fly. As of July 6 of this year the project is slated to be cancelled by the United States Congress. The James Webb Space Telescope was initially estimated at costing $1.6 billion. As of this writing an estimated $3 billion has been spent on the project and it is has been estimated that the telescope is about three-quarters complete.

August 31, 2011December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Hubble Movies “Star” Supersonic Jets

Astronomers have combined two decades of Hubble observations to make unprecedented movies revealing never-before-seen details of the birth pangs of new stars. This sheds new light on how stars like the Sun form. Credit: Hubble/ESA

[/caption]Don’t you know that you are a shooting star… Thanks to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of scientists led by astronomer Patrick Hartigan of Rice University in Houston, USA, has done something pretty incredible. Using photos and information gathered from the last 14 years of observations, they’ve sewn together an unprecedented look at young jets ejected from three stars. Be prepared to be “blown” away…

The time-lapse sequence of “moving pictures” offers us an opportunity to witness activity that takes place over several years in just a few seconds. Active jets can remain volatile for periods of up to 100,000 years and these movies reveal details never seen – like knots of gas brightening and dimming – and collisions between fast-moving and slow-moving material. These insights allow scientists to form a clearer picture of stellar birth.

“For the first time we can actually observe how these jets interact with their surroundings by watching these time-lapse movies,” said Hartigan. “Those interactions tell us how young stars influence the environments out of which they form. With movies like these, we can now compare observations of jets with those produced by computer simulations and laboratory experiments to see which aspects of the interactions we understand and which we don’t understand.”

As a star forms in its collapsing cloud of cold gas, it gushes out streams of material in short bursts, pushing out from its poles at speeds of up to about 600,000 miles an hour. As the star ages, it spins material and its gravity attracts even more, creating a disc which may eventually become protoplanetary. The fast moving jets may be restricted by the neophyte star’s magnetic fields and could cease when the material runs out. However, by looking at this supposition in action, new questions arise. It would appear that the dust and gas move at different speeds.

“The bulk motion of the jet is about 300 kilometers per second,” Hartigan said. “That’s really fast, but it’s kind of like watching a stock car race; if all the cars are going the same speed, it’s fairly boring. The interesting stuff happens when things are jumbling around, blowing past one another or slamming into slower moving parts and causing shockwaves.”

But the “action” doesn’t stop there. In viewing these sequential shockwaves, the team was at a loss to understand the dynamics behind the collisions. By enlisting the aid of colleagues familiar with the physics of nuclear explosions, they quickly discovered a recognizable pattern.

“The fluid dynamicists immediately picked up on an aspect of the physics that astronomers typically overlook, and that led to a different interpretation for some of the features we were seeing,” Hartigan explained. “The scientists from each discipline bring their own unique perspectives to the project, and having that range of expertise has proved invaluable for learning about this critical phase of stellar evolution.”

Hartigan began using Hubble to collect still frames of stellar jets in 1994 and his findings are so complex he has employed the aid of experts in fluid dynamics from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment, and General Atomics in San Diego, California, as well as computer specialists from the University of Rochester in New York. The Hubble sequence movies have been such a scientific success that Hartigan’s team is now conducting laboratory experiments at the Omega Laser facility in New York to understand how supersonic jets interact with their environment.

“Our collaboration has exploited not just large laser facilities such as Omega, but also computer simulations that were developed for research into nuclear fusion,” explains Paula Rosen of the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment, a co-author of the research. “Using these experimental methods has enabled us to identify aspects of the physics that the astronomers overlooked — it is exciting to know that what we do in the laboratory here on Earth can shed light on complex phenomena in stellar jets over a thousand light-years away. In future, even larger lasers, like the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, will be able explore the nuclear processes that take place within stars.”

And all the world will love you just as long… as long as you are… a shooting star!

Original Story Source and Video Presentation: Hubble News. For further reading, Rice University News.

August 30, 2011April 26, 2016 by Fraser Cain

Hubble Roadshow Kickstarter Project

I love Kickstarter projects, and I love space. So here’s something that puts them both together: the Hubble Roadshow Kickstarter project. If they can raise $20,000, this group will tour the US in a custom RV showing the new documentary, Saving Hubble. They’ll organize telescopes, parties… even jugglers.

So if this sounds like a project worth backing, go ahead and kick them a few bucks. And then show up and celebrate Hubble when they pass through your town.

August 19, 2011December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Cosmic Collisions Could Eject Habitable Planets

One of 42 new proplyds discovered in the Orion Nebula, 177-341E is one of the bright proplyds that lies relatively close to the nebula’s brightest star, Theta 1 Orionis C. The tadpole-shaped tail is actually a jet of matter flowing away from the excited cusp. Credit:NASA/ESA and L. Ricci (ESO)

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When it comes to solar systems, chances are good that we’re a lot more special than we thought. According to a German-British team led by Professor Pavel Kroupa of the University of Bonn, our orderly neighborhood of varied planet sizes quietly orbiting in a nearly circular path isn’t a standard affair. Their new models show that habitable planets might just get ejected in a violent scenario where forming solar systems mean highly inclined orbits where hot Jupiters rule.

Some 4600 million years ago, our local planetary system was surmised to have evolved from a blanket of dust surrounding a rather ordinary star. Its planets orbited the same direction as the solar spin and lined up neatly on a plane fairly close to the solar equator. We were good little children… But maybe other systems aren’t so hospitable. There could be systems where the planets cruise around in the opposite direction of their host star’s spin – and have highly inclined orbits. What could cause one protoplanetary disk to take on quiet properties while another is more radical? Try a cosmic crash.

This new study focuses on the theory of a protoplanetary disk colliding with another cloud of material… not unrealistic thinking since most stars form within a cluster. The results could mean the inclusion of up to thirty times the mass of Jupiter. This added “weight” of extra gas and dust could add a tilt to a forming system. Team member Dr Ingo Thies, also of the University of Bonn, has carried out computer simulations to test the new idea. What he has found is that adding extra material can not only incline a forming disk, but cause a reverse spin as well. It may even speed up the planetary formation, leaving the rogues in retrograde orbits. This inhospitable scenario means that smaller planets get ejected systematically, leaving only hot Jupiters to hug in close to the parent star. Thankfully our path was a bit less disturbing.

Says Dr Thies: “Like most stars, the Sun formed in a cluster, so probably did encounter another cloud of gas and dust soon after it formed. Fortunately for us, this was a gentle collision, so the effect on the disk that eventually became the planets was relatively benign. If things had been different, an unstable planetary system may have formed around the Sun, the Earth might have been ejected from the Solar System and none of us would be here to talk about it.”

Professor Kroupa sees the model as a big step forward. “We may be on the cusp of solving the mystery of why some planetary systems are tilted so much and lack places where life could thrive. The model helps to explain why our Solar System looks the way it does, with the Earth in a stable orbit and larger planets further out. Our work should help other scientists refine their search for life elsewhere in the Universe.”

Original News Source: Royal Astronomical Society News.

August 11, 2011December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Just for You: A Necklace from Hubble

The Necklace Nebula is located 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta (the Arrow). In this composite image, taken on July 2, 2011, Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 captured the glow of hydrogen (blue), oxygen (green), and nitrogen (red). Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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Awww, how nice of the Hubble Space Telescope, providing us all with a little cosmic bling in this great new view of the Necklace Nebula! From the image, it’s quite obvious why this object carries the name it does (and who wants to call it by its technical name PN G054.2-03.4, anyway?). The Necklace Nebula is a recently discovered planetary nebula, the glowing remains of an ordinary, Sun-like star. You’d need to have a fairly large neck to wear this necklace, as the nebula consists of a bright ring measuring 12 trillion miles wide, dotted with dense, bright knots of gas that resemble diamonds in a necklace.

How did this unique nebula originate? A long time ago, (about 10,000 years) in an aging binary star system far away (15,000 light-years from Earth) one of the old stars ballooned to the point where it engulfed its companion star. The smaller star continued orbiting inside its larger companion, increasing the giant’s rotation rate.

The bloated companion star spun so fast that a large part of its gaseous envelope expanded into space. Due to centrifugal force, most of the gas escaped along the star’s equator, producing a ring. The embedded bright knots are dense gas clumps in the ring.

The pair is so close, only a few million miles apart, they appear as one bright dot in the center. The stars are furiously whirling around each other, completing an orbit in a little more than a day.

The Necklace Nebula is located in the constellation Sagitta. In this composite image, taken on July 2, Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 captured the glow of hydrogen (blue), oxygen (green), and nitrogen (red).

Thanks Hubble for the new cosmic jewelry!

Want a larger version of this bling? See the HubbleSite for more info.

July 28, 2011December 24, 2015 by Tammy Plotner

Peace In The Light… An Orion Sunset

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Here the stellar winds are carving out a cavity in a vast reflection nebula. It’s an area of Orion that many of us have seen before – but not like the Hubble Space Telescope reveals it. Located right next door to the famous Horsehead Nebula, NGC 2023 can be glimpsed in a telescope as a tiny patch of light that closely resembles its more famous cousin – the Orion Nebula. Spanning approximately four light years across and located some 1500 light-years from Earth, this awesome visage conjures up a peaceful picture of the setting Sun.

However, there’s no sun slipping beyond a horizon in NGC 2023. Hidden inside is a hot, newborn star illuminating the dusty cloud of gas which is its womb. Radiation pressure runs rampant from this massive young B-type star hidden just outside the edge of this image – its winds blowing the material away from it and forming the fanciful shapes we see. Caught in the act are young proto-stars awaiting their turn to be born.

Unlike our Earthly clouds, the clouds we see here are 5000 times denser than the interstellar medium. It is here where weird green clumps could be Herbig-Haro objects – the product of high-speed gases impacting the diaphanous material and creating shockwaves. Their lives are short – lasting only a few thousand years – but what an image they create! If only they could sing…

“I can’t light no more of your darkness… All my pictures seem to fade to black and white…I’m growing tired and time stands still before me… Frozen here on the ladder of my life.”

Original Story Source: Hubble News Photo Release.

July 25, 2011December 24, 2015 by Jason Rhian

One On One With Space Shuttle Program’s First Pilot, Robert Crippen

Robert Crippen, the pilot on the very first space shuttle mission, STS-1, stopped and talked with Universe Today during the very last launch of a space shuttle on mission STS-135. Photo Credit: Jim Siegel. Image Courtesy of NASA

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CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. – The shuttle program has drawn to a close. Present at the final flight was one of the two men who rode fire on the very first shuttle mission – Robert Crippen. He sat down and shared his thoughts and perspectives with Universe Today regarding this turning point in aerospace history.

Crippen’s space flight career began alongside moonwalker John Young, who served as commander of STS-1. The orbiter for that flight was Columbia and the mission lasted about two days. Despite the mission’s brief time on-orbit it has come to be known as one of the most audacious test flights in aviation history.

Crippen would go on to fly three more missions on board the shuttle on missions STS-7, STS-41C and STS-41G. He would eventually become the Kennedy Space Center Director from 1992 until 1995 before working in the private sector.

Crippen spoke about one of his current efforts, working with the Coalition for Space Exploration to inspire students to follow careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Photo Credit: Jim Siegel - STS-1 image courtesy of NASA.

Universe Today: Thanks for talking with us today.

Crippen: Thanks for having me.

Universe Today: How do you think people will view the legacy of the shuttle program?

Crippen: “You never really know what history is going to say, but when I look back I’m really proud of the shuttle, its done revolutionary things, not just satellites, and the Hubble Space Telescope, but also the International Space Station, just accomplishment after accomplishment – but we had our share of tragedies as well. When I think of what people will think I always go back to a ‘Brooks and Dunn’ song – ‘You’re going to miss me when I am gone.”

20060904165243!Sts-7-crew — Crippen would go on to command three more shuttle missions, including STS-7, the first flight of a U.S. female astronaut - Sally Ride. Image Credit: NASA

Universe Today: The shuttle that is launching today, is it all that different from what you flew on STS-1?

Crippen: “Airline pilots used to come up and tell us that their planes were better than the shuttle,” Crippen said. “You have to understand why they were saying that, when the shuttle first flew the gauges had little metal arms in them and the shuttle was still using cathode ray tubes – so yes, it is very different from I first flew on in 1981.”

Universe Today: What was it like on that first mission? Did you think with all the new technology and this completely new way of launching to orbit that you were going to go when you did?

Crippen: “I honestly didn’t think we were even going to launch when we did. But when those solids lit I had no doubt in my mind that we were going someplace! The best part was that John’s blood pressure stayed really low, like at around 90 and mine was really high, it was up around 130. All John had to say was that he was too old and his blood pressure wouldn’t go any faster.”

Crippen was not sure that his first flight in 1981 would even take place when it did, when the solid rocket boosters ignited however - all doubt was erased from his mind. Photo Credit: Mike Deep for Universe Today - Inset: Marcus Kilman

Universe Today: Bob you work with the Coalition for Space Exploration (CSE) this organization has put out a couple of well-produced Public Service Announcements lately, what are they about and why are they being released now?

Crippen: “Well, these PSAs try to focus on what I call the ‘spin-offs’ of the space shuttle program. The program has helped to produce or improve everything from heart pumps, how to rescue people out of vehicles after accidents and those types of things which, while important, one of the really important things that the space program does – is inspire.”

Universe Today: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us today, we know that you have a pretty tight schedule.

Crippen: No problem, it was my pleasure.

Crippen was kept very busy on launch day and soon he was off to another interview. As he headed out he turned and stated that he was proud that part of STS-1 (one of the Solid Rocket Booster segments) was flying on this final shuttle mission, he also made a prophetic comment concerning the weather. “You never know how the Florida weather is going to work, but I have a good feeling about today.” Less than an hour later, the final space shuttle mission thundered off of the launch pad – and into history.