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Lee R. Scherer
Lee R. Scherer was appointed
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11/13/08
| Description |
Lee R. Scherer was appointed Director of the NASA Flight Research Center on October 11, 1971, a position he held until January 28, 1975. Mr. Scherer first worked with NASA in 1962 while still on active duty with the U.S. Navy as a Captain. Prior to his arriving at the Flight Research Center he was at NASA Headquarters' Office of Space Science and Applications, as Director of the Apollo Program for the scientific aspects of lunar explorations, Assistant Director of Lunar Programs, and Manager of the Lunar Orbiter Program from its inception in 1963 through its successful completion in 1967. Scherer graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1942. Most of Lee's 25-year Naval career was spent in aviation, including a tour flying carrier- based fighters and flight test experience with helicopters. Prior to entering the Naval Academy, he attended the University of Kentucky for one year. He received a second Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1949 from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and his Master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1950. Lee also attended the Summer of Industrial Management Studies program at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1949. Awards he has received include the NASA?s Exceptional Service Medal in 1967 and NASA's Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1969. |
| Date |
11/13/08 |
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Journey's Last Leg
With the large Vehicle Assem
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12/16/08
| Description |
With the large Vehicle Assembly Building in the distance, space shuttle Endeavour nears the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Visible on Endeavour is the tail cone that covers and protected the main engines during the ferry flight from California. Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller Dec. 13, 2008 |
| Date |
12/16/08 |
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Endeavour's Home
Space shuttle Endeavour is t
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12/16/08
| Description |
Space shuttle Endeavour is towed into the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After landing in California to end the STS-126 mission, Endeavour returned to Kennedy on a piggyback flight atop a shuttle carrier aircraft. In the processing facility, Endeavour will begin preparations for its next mission, STS-127, targeted for May 2009. Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller Dec. 13, 2008 |
| Date |
12/16/08 |
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Reporting to the Launch Pad
The payload fairing carrying
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2/16/09
| Description |
The payload fairing carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory arrives at Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft will launch aboard Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket, being erected at left. Image credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB Feb. 10, 2009 |
| Date |
2/16/09 |
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Going Horizontal
Enclosed in its payload fair
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2/16/09
| Description |
Enclosed in its payload fairing, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory is lowered to a horizontal position before it is moved into an integration tent at Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Image credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin Feb. 10, 2009 |
| Date |
2/16/09 |
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Taurus Stands Tall
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Obser
…
2/20/09
| Description |
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, OCO, upper stack is lowered onto the Stage 0 motor of Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL vehicle. The vehicle and spacecraft will launch from Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Image credit: NASA/Richard Nielsen Feb. 19, 2009 |
| Date |
2/20/09 |
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Liftoff!
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Obser
…
2/25/09
| Description |
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory and its Taurus booster lift off Feb. 24 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4:55 a.m. EST. The satellite ultimately did not reach orbit when the payload fairing failed to separate properly. Image courtesy of Orbital Sciences Corp. Feb. 24, 2009 |
| Date |
2/25/09 |
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Special Delivery
The NOAA-N Prime spacecraft
…
1/6/09
| Description |
The NOAA-N Prime spacecraft is offloaded from a C-5 aircraft after arriving at Vandenberg Air Force Base Airfield in California. NOAA-N Prime was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company for its Advanced Television Infrared Observational Satellites -N series. The satellite will be launched from the Western Range at Vandenberg AFB by a United Launch Alliance two-stage Delta II rocket managed by NASA's Launch Service Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image credit: NASA/Jerry Nagy, VAFB Nov. 4, 2008 |
| Date |
1/6/09 |
|
On a Roll
The NOAA-N Prime spacecraft
…
1/6/09
| Description |
The NOAA-N Prime spacecraft arrives at NASA's Hazardous Processing Facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Image credit: NASA/Jerry Nagy, VAFB Nov. 4, 2008 |
| Date |
1/6/09 |
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Moving In
Workers move the NOAA-N Prim
…
1/6/09
| Description |
Workers move the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft into NASA's Hazardous Processing Facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The satellite will be launched from the Western Range at Vandenberg AFB by a United Launch Alliance two-stage Delta II rocket managed by NASA's Launch Service Program at Kennedy. Image credit: NASA/Jerry Nagy, VAFB Nov. 4, 2008 |
| Date |
1/6/09 |
|
Readied for Flight
The NOAA-N Prime satellite s
…
1/28/09
| Description |
The NOAA-N Prime satellite stands in the payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Image credit: NASA Nov. 11, 2008 |
| Date |
1/28/09 |
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Processing Under Way
The NOAA-N Prime satellite i
…
1/28/09
| Description |
The NOAA-N Prime satellite is displayed in the payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Image credit: NASA Nov. 11, 2008 |
| Date |
1/28/09 |
|
Liftoff!
A Delta II rocket climbs int
…
2/6/09
| Description |
A Delta II rocket climbs into the dark, pre-dawn sky at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket successfully propelled the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft toward its polar orbit around Earth. Image credit: Carleton Bailie/United Launch Alliance Feb. 6, 2009 |
| Date |
2/6/09 |
|
OSTM Taken Off Plane
The shipping container with
…
5/21/08
| Description |
The shipping container with the OSTM/Jason-2 spacecraft inside is offloaded from the aircraft at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The OSTM, or Ocean Topography Mission, on the Jason-2 satellite is a follow-on to Jason-1. It will take oceanographic studies of sea surface height into an operational mode for continued climate forecasting research and science and industrial applications. This satellite altimetry data will help determine ocean circulation, climate change and sea-level rise. OSTM is a joint effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales and the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation. OSTM/Jason-2 will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320 from Vandenberg on June 15. April 29, 2008 Photo credit: NASA/Steve Greenberg, JPL |
| Date |
5/21/08 |
|
X-1
E49-001 The Bell Aircraft Co
…
09/05/49
| Description |
E49-001 The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1-2 sits on the Rogers Dry Lakebed at Muroc Air Force Base, California in 1949. Some airplane characteristics are: Fuselage length, feet 31.0Wing span, feet 28.0Horizontal tail width, feet 11.4Vertical tail height, feet 8.02 above center line of plane. 1949 NASA Photo |
| Date |
09/05/49 |
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X-1
E51-593 The third X-1 46-064
…
11/04/51
| Description |
E51-593 The third X-1 46-064, known as ''Queenie,'' is mated to the EB-50A 46-006 at Edwards AFB, California. Following a captive flight on 9 November 1951, both aircraft were destroyed by fire during defueling. This particular X-1 only flew twice, the first flight occurring on 20 July 1951. Bell pilot Joseph Cannon was the pilot on both flights, although the second flight was only a captive flight. Cannon was injured in the fire. Nov 1951 NASA Photo |
| Date |
11/04/51 |
|
X-1
EC96-43611-1 What started as
…
01/11/96
| Description |
EC96-43611-1 What started as a hobby for four rocket fanatics went on to break the sound barrier: Lovell Lawrence, Hugh Franklin Pierce, John Shesta, and Jimmy Wyld the four founders of Reaction Motors, Inc. that built the XLR-11 Rocket Engine. The XLR-11 engine is shown on display in the NASA Exchange Gift Shop, NASA Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California. This engine, familiarly known as Black Betsy, a 4-chamber rocket that ignited diluted ethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen into 6000 pounds or more of thrust powered the X-1 series airplanes. 1996 NASA Photo |
| Date |
01/11/96 |
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X-1A
E-1758Cowboy Joe NACA High-S
…
09/04/1955
| Description |
E-1758Cowboy Joe NACA High-Speed Flight Station test pilot Joseph Walker and his steed Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A A happy Joe was photographed in 1955 at Edwards, California. The X-1A was flown six times by Bell Aircraft Company pilot Jean ''Skip'' Ziegler in 1953. Air Force test pilots Maj. Charles ''Chuck'' Yeager and Maj. Arthur ''Kit'' Murray made 18 flights between 21 November 1953 and 26 August 1954. The X-1A was then turned over to the NACA. Joe Walker piloted the first NACA flight on 20 July 1955. Walker attempted a second flight on 8 August 1955, but an explosion damaged the aircraft just before launch. Walker, unhurt, climbed back into the JTB-29A mothership, and the X-1A was jettisoned over the Edwards AFB bombing range.1955 NASA Photo |
| Date |
09/04/1955 |
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X-1A
E-1764 The Bell Aircraft Cor
…
03/05/1955
| Description |
E-1764 The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A 48-1384 is photographed in 1955 sitting on the Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards, California. This view of the right side of the aircraft shows a middle section that contrasts quite distinctively with the over-all white paint scheme of the X-1A during its NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station tenure. The extreme cold of the liquid oxygen used as a propellant along with alcohol and its deleterious affect on paint dictated that the fuselage area next to the tank be left unpainted. The X-1A arrived at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on January 7, 1953. Bell test pilot Jean ''Skip'' Ziegler made six test flights between 14 February and 25 April 1953. Air Force test pilots Maj. Charles ''Chuck'' Yeager and Maj. Arthur ''Kit'' Murray made 18 flights between 21 November 1953 and 26 August 1954. NACA test pilot Joe Walker made one successful flight on 20 July 1955. During a second flight attempt on 8 August 1955, an explosion damaged the aircraft shortly before launch. Walker climbed back up into the JTB-29A mothership, and the X-1A was jettisoned over the Edwards AFB bombing range.1955 NASA Photo |
| Date |
03/05/1955 |
|
X-1A
E-2490 The Bell Aircraft Cor
…
07/01/1953
| Description |
E-2490 The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A 48-1384 returning from an Air Force test flight over Edwards Air Force Base, California in late 1953. A North American F-86A Sabre as chase plane will follow the X-1A to touchdown. The Rogers Dry Lake is the whitish area under the planes with the airfield at the edge of the dry lake. Bell test pilot Jean ''Skip'' Ziegler made six flights between 14 February and 25 April 1953. Air Force test pilots Maj. Charles ''Chuck'' Yeager and Maj. Arthur ''Kit'' Murray made 18 test flights between 21 November 1953 and 26 August 1954. NACA test pilot Joseph Walker made one successful flight on 20 July 1955. During a second flight attempt, on 8 August 1955, an explosion damaged the aircraft shortly before launch. Walker, unhurt, climbed up into the JTB-29A mothership, and the X-1A was jettisoned over the Edwards AFB bombing range.1953 NASA Photo / NASA photo |
| Date |
07/01/1953 |
|
X-1A
E55-01799 The Bell Aircraft
…
06/04/1955
| Description |
E55-01799 The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A 48-1384 is photographed in July 1955 sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. This view of the left side of the aircraft shows the change to the X-1A canopy from the X-1s see photo E49-0039 under XS-1 The nose boom carries an angle-of-attack and angle-of-sideslip vane, along with a pitot tube for measuring static and impact pressures. The fuselage length is 35 feet 8 inches, with a wing span of 28 feet. The X-1A was created to explore stability and control characteristics at speeds in excess of Mach 2 and altitudes greater than 90,000 feet. Bell test pilot Jean ''Skip'' Ziegler made six test flights in the X-1A between 14 February and 25 April 1953. Air Force test pilots Maj. Charles ''Chuck'' Yeager and Maj. Arthur ''Kit'' Murray made 18 flights between 21 November 1953 and 26 August 1954. NACA test pilot Joseph Walker made one successful flight on 20 July 1955. During a second flight attempt, on 8 August 1955, an explosion damaged the X-1A shortly before launch. Walker, unhurt, climbed up into the JTB-29A mothership, and the X-1A was jettisoned over the Edwards AFB bombing range.1955 NASA Photo |
| Date |
06/04/1955 |
|
F5D-1 Skylancer
E-6475 The big block letters
…
04/05/62
| Description |
E-6475 The big block letters ''TEST'' on the upper fuselage of this Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer Bu. No. 139208/NASA tail number 212 denoted the craft as a test plane which was one of the fleet stabled at NASA Flight Research Center from 1961 to 1963, redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1976. The calibration hangar, with the door partially open, is shown in the background while nearby the flight technicians are preparing the airplane for another research flight. In 1963 the F5D-1, NASA 212, was transferred to Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, where it was flown on miscellaneous research projects including supersonic-transport landing studies. The F5D-1 was used to collect data on sink rates and approach characteristics. This particular F5D-1 was retired after several years, and in December 1975, it was loaned to Victor Valley College.1962 NASA Photo |
| Date |
04/05/62 |
|
Discovery Comes Home
The Boeing 747 Shuttle Carri
…
9/22/09
| Description |
The Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, with space shuttle Discovery on top, is towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility's runway 33 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after touching down on Sept. 21 at 12:05 p.m. EDT. The two-day return flight from Edwards Air Force Base in California began at 9:20 a.m. EDT Sept. 20. After three fueling stops that included an overnight stay in Louisiana, the piggybacked shuttle had to navigate through a line of showers across Louisiana and around Kennedy. Discovery had landed at Edwards Sept. 11 after the 13-day STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. Landings at Kennedy were waved off on two days due to inclement weather, leading to the landing at Edwards. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett Sept. 21, 2009 |
| Date |
9/22/09 |
|
Fires in California
Forest fires in Northern Cal
…
8/12/08
| Description |
Forest fires in Northern California were slowly being contained in the first weeks of August 2008. Many of the fires started in the first week of summer when a rash of lightning strikes ignited hundreds of fires in the state. The image above was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on August 10. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fire are outlined in red. According to the National Interagency Fire Center's report for August 11, the Iron and Alps Complexes had a combined acreage of 95,171 acres. Other large fires included the Siskiyou Complex (61,404 acres), the Panther Fire (21,802 acres), and the Ukonom Complex (49,929 acres). > Unlabeled larger image Image credit: NASA's MODIS Rapid Response Team Text credit: Rebecca Lindsey, NASA's Earth Observatory |
| Date |
8/12/08 |
|
Fires in California
A combination of smoke and c
…
8/15/08
| Description |
A combination of smoke and clouds obscured the Coast Ranges of Northern California on August 14, 2008, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the area and captured this natural-color image. Places where the sensor detected active fire are outlined in red. According to the morning situation report from the National Interagency Fire Center on August 15, 2008, the three fires labeled in this image were affecting nearly 200,000 acres. Fires have been burning in the area since the first week of summer, when thousands of lightning strikes occurred during intense thunderstorms. Image credit: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response TeamText credit: NASA/Earth Observatory |
| Date |
8/15/08 |
|
Fires in Oregon and Northern
…
A handful of large fires wer
…
9/17/08
| Description |
A handful of large fires were burning in Oregon and Northern California as fall approached in 2008. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite shows the two states on September 15. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked with red dots. According to the National Interagency Fire Center report on September 16, the Rattle Fire was an estimated 5,733 acres and 25 percent contained, and the Lonesome Complex was 5,886 acres and 15 percent contained. Structures were threatened in both locations, and some evacuations were in effect. The Klamath Complex was an estimated 182,693 acres and 75 percent contained. Some of the fires in the Klamath Complex had been burning since the first weekend of summer. Image credit:Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA's MODIS Rapid Response team Text credit: Rebecca Lindsey, NASA's Earth Observatory |
| Date |
9/17/08 |
|
Ikhana Resumes Fire Mission
…
NASA's Autonomous Modular Sc
…
9/22/08
| Description |
NASA's Autonomous Modular Scanner mounted on the Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft captured this thermal-infrared imagery during two passes over the Hidden wildfire during a flight over the southern Sierras about 30 miles northeast of Visalia in Central California on Sept. 19, 2008. This false-color, three-dimensional image shows unburned vegetation in green, smoke and bare areas in bluish-white and fire hot spots in yellow and red, overlaid on a Google Earth Digital Globe terrain image. Text credit: NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center > Read more about the Ikhana mission |
| Date |
9/22/08 |
|
Santa Ana Winds Fuel Califor
…
Powerful Santa Ana winds sto
…
10/14/08
| Description |
Powerful Santa Ana winds stoked several major wildfires in Southern California on Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, when instruments on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image. As of October 14, the blazes had scorched nearly 12,000 acres, destroyed dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of neighborhoods in suburban Los Angeles and northern San Diego County, according to fire officials. Firefighters had little to no containment of any of the fires early Tuesday, and reported winds blowing at 50 mph in parts of the affected area. Wind gusts of up to 80 mph are possible in higher elevations later in the day. Image credit: NASA's MODIS Rapid Response Team Text credit: Laura Motel, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Date |
10/14/08 |
|
Fires in California
Gusty winds drove wildfires
…
11/17/08
| Description |
Gusty winds drove wildfires into southern California cities in mid-November 2008. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite shows the Los Angeles metropolitan area on November 16, 2008. Places where the sensor detected active fires are outlined in red. The top image shows smoke spreading far to the west over the Pacific Ocean. According to the National Interagency Fire Center daily situation report from November 16, the Sayre Fire north of San Fernando was 8,000 acres and 20 percent contained. The Freeway Fire was 5,800 acres and 5 percent contained. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey |
| Date |
11/17/08 |
|
Fires in California
Smoke from the recent outbre
…
11/19/08
| Description |
Smoke from the recent outbreak of fires in Southern California can clearly be seen from NASA satellites. The top, photo-like, true-color image, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on November 16, 2008, shows the smoke drifting to the southwest from the Los Angeles basin over the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The lower image shows measurements of aerosols -- tiny particles within smoke -- as observed by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard NASA's Aura satellite, overlaid on top of the MODIS image. In the lower image, aerosol concentrations are represented by an aerosol index, with the highest concentrations in pink, and the lowest in dark blue. The aerosol index is calculated based on the way the tiny particles absorb and scatter light. Specifically, the index is a measurement of the difference between the amount of ultraviolet light the smoke-filled atmosphere scatters back to the satellite compared to the amount of ultraviolet light that the atmosphere would scatter back if it were totally clear. The difference between these two measurements can effectively detect smoke that would otherwise be invisible in photo-like imagery. In the MODIS image, the smoke disappears when it moves over the bright surface of the low-level marine stratocumulus clouds. The OMI aerosol index measurement reveals, however, that smoke is present over the clouds. Such ultraviolet measurements from instruments like OMI are useful to scientists working to understand how aerosols affect clouds. Image credit: Colin Seftor, Aura OMI Science team Text credit: Colin Seftor and Holli Riebeek, NASA's Earth Observatory |
| Date |
11/19/08 |
|
Fires in California
Several days after it starte
…
11/24/08
| Description |
Several days after it started, the Freeway Fire left a sprawling burn scar on the California landscape. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image on Nov. 22, 2008. In this false-color image, red indicates vegetation, tan indicates bare ground, gray-blue indicates buildings and paved surfaces, and dark blue indicates water. The Freeway Fire burn scar, stretching across the middle of the image, assumes a charcoal color. Along its southwestern margin, the burn scar intrudes into the curving suburban streets of Yorba Linda and Brea. Image credit: Robert Simmon, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team Text credit: Rebecca Lindsey, NASA's Earth Observatory |
| Date |
11/24/08 |
|
California Fires Mid-Novembe
…
One hundred eighty-seven hom
…
11/27/08
| Description |
One hundred eighty-seven homes were destroyed by the Freeway Fire in Southern California in mid-November 2008. Driven by Santa Ana winds, the fire exploded out of the Chino Hills into communities at the foothills of the mountains. More than 30,000 acres were scorched by the fire. This natural-color image of the burned area was captured by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite on November 18, 2008. The top image shows the Chino Hills north of Riverside Freeway and west of Chino Valley Freeway, a mostly undeveloped area that encompasses Chino Hills State Park. Small cities and residential areas encircle the mountains. The burned area is charcoal, and it stretches across most of the Chino Hills. The lower image is a detailed view of the edge of the burned area in northwestern Yorba Linda. The fire crossed Telegraph Canyon and made forays southwestward into neighborhoods. One arm of the fire encircled Carbon Canyon Regional Park. Southeast of the Riverside Freeway (shown in the large image), is a part of Chino Hills State Park called the Coal Canyon area. The area has a dull greenish-brown color that is typical for the dry woodland/chaparral ecosystems native to the area. (In this part of California, bright green vegetation is the product of irrigation, for example, golf courses and lawns.) The Coal Canyon area was added to China Hills State Park in 2000, and it was the only part of the 14,000-acre park that was not burned, according to local news reports. NASA image by Robert Simmon, based on data provided by the EO-1 Mission Office. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey. |
| Date |
11/27/08 |
|
Jesusita Fire, California
By the morning of May 8, 200
…
5/12/09
| Description |
By the morning of May 8, 2009, the Jesusita Fire in the hills around Santa Barbara, California, had damaged or completely destroyed 75 buildings, forced the evacuation of 20,000 residents, and threatened the homes of another 16,000 residents, according to ABC News. By the afternoon of May 9, 2009, more than 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of the Jesusita fire at 11:55 a.m. local time (18:55 UTC) on May 8, 2009. The red outlines show locations where MODIS detected fire. Plumes of smoke blow southward over the ocean, and the plume from the western portion of the fire is larger and thicker. Strong, relentless winds doubled the fire's size to 3,500 acres (14 square kilometers) on the might of May 7-8, 2009, and firefighters stated that quick wind shifts sent the fire in all directions, according to ABC News. Along its western margin, the fire jumped Highway 154 near San Antonio Creek Road, but although the expanded blaze threatened hundreds of homes, firefighters managed to limit the damage. One building lost, according to the Los Angeles Times, however, was a century-old building at the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens. The Times also reported that three Ventura County firefighters had been injured in the fire and were receiving treatment at a local burn center. Image credit: Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA's MODIS Rapid Response team Text credit: Michon Scott, NASA's Earth Observatory |
| Date |
5/12/09 |
|
Lockheed Fire
On August 12, 2009, the Lock
…
8/18/09
| Description |
On August 12, 2009, the Lockheed Fire broke out in the mountains southwest of San Jose, California, and burned through an estimated 2,600 acres of brush and timber by the morning of August 14. The fire was burning about 4 miles northwest of the town of Boulder Creek, and at least 2,000 people had been forced to evacuate their homes. This photo-like image of the fire was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on August 13. The red outlines mark the location where the sensor detected active fire. A narrow but dense plume of smoke slices across the mouth of Monterey Bay, stretching past the city of Santa Cruz toward Monterey. The landscape of this part of California is one of redwoods and fir trees, and it appears lushly green in this image. But mixed with these forests are tracts of chaparral (landscapes dominated by fire-adapted, drought-tolerant shrubs and grasses) and large stands of highly flammable knobcone pine. Hot, fast-moving fires are a natural part of this landscape, and people's desire to suppress forest fires around their homes in recent decades has allowed some areas to become unnaturally overgrown and primed for wildfire. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey. |
| Date |
8/18/09 |
|
More Los Angeles Fire Images
Triple-digit temperatures, e
…
9/1/09
| Description |
Triple-digit temperatures, extremely low relative humidities, dense vegetation that has not burned in decades, and years of extended drought are all contributing to the explosive growth of wildfires throughout Southern California. The Station fire, which began Aug. 26, 2009, in La Canada/Flintridge, not far from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had reportedly burned 105,000 acres (164 square miles) of the Angeles National Forest by mid-day Aug. 31, destroying at least 21 homes and threatening more than 12,000 others. It is one of four major fires burning in Southern California at the present time. This image was acquired mid-morning on Aug. 30 by the backward (northward)-viewing camera of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The image is shown in an approximate perspective view at an angle of 46 degrees off of vertical. The area covered by the image is 245 kilometers (152 miles) wide. Several pyrocumulus clouds, created by the Station Fire, are visible above the smoke plumes rising from the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles in the left-center of the image. Smoke from the Station fire is seen covering the interior valleys along the south side of the San Gabriel Mountains, along with parts of the City of Los Angeles and Orange County, and can be seen drifting for hundreds of kilometers to the east over the Mojave Desert. The accompanying plots are histograms that display the heights of the smoke plumes and wind speeds. In this data set, the plume is injecting smoke more than 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) above sea level. MISR observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. This image was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 51601. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The MISR data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team |
| Date |
9/1/09 |
|
Welcome Back, Endeavour
&rsaquo, View Landing Video
…
12/1/08
| Description |
&rsaquo, View Landing Video </br></br> Space shuttle Endeavour kicks up dust as it touches down at Edwards Air Force Base in California to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. Image credit: NASA/Tony Landis Nov. 30, 2008 |
| Date |
12/1/08 |
|
Earth Resources Project
Ames Earth Resources project
…
3/23/09
| Description |
Ames Earth Resources project U-2 aircraft shot this oblique image off the coast of California, USA in 1972. The Golden Gate is in the foreground. As the image looks out across California the blue spot at the top enter is Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center |
| Date |
3/23/09 |
|
On the Tarmac
Space shuttle Atlantis on to
…
6/3/09
| Description |
Space shuttle Atlantis on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is parked on the tarmac of NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The SCA landed at Kennedy after a more than 2,500-mile cross-country ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett July 2, 2009 |
| Date |
6/3/09 |
|
On the Ground -- Again
Space shuttle Atlantis is on
…
6/5/09
| Description |
Space shuttle Atlantis is on the ground at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Workers prepare to remove the hoist from Atlantis that was used to separate it from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, which returned it to Kennedy from California. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller June 3, 2009 |
| Date |
6/5/09 |
|
Back to the Beginning
Space shuttle Atlantis rolls
…
6/5/09
| Description |
Space shuttle Atlantis rolls toward the open doors of Orbiter Processing Facility 1. Atlantis was demated from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, via the mate/demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility. After its May 24 landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, which concluded its STS-125 mission, the modified Boeing 747 SCA carried the shuttle on a two-day ferry flight from Edwards to Kennedy beginning June 1. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller June 3, 2009 |
| Date |
6/5/09 |
|
California Governor Visits N
…
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger v
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7/17/08
| Title |
California Governor Visits NASA Ames Research Center |
| Date |
7/17/08 |
| Description |
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited NASA's Ames Research Center July 17 to see first-hand how the agency is helping firefighters battle the widespread wildfires raging throughout the state. |
|
Picture Perfect Landing
Shuttle Discovery returns sa
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9/11/09
| Title |
Picture Perfect Landing |
| Date |
9/11/09 |
| Description |
Shuttle Discovery returns safely to Earth at Edwards Air Force Base in California. |
|
Landing of Space Shuttle End
…
Space shuttle Endeavour wrap
…
11/30/08
| Title |
Landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour |
| Date |
11/30/08 |
| Description |
Space shuttle Endeavour wraps up its STS-126 mission with a smooth touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base in California. |
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Cruising Over California
Looking for an inexpensive s
…
6/29/09
| Title |
Cruising Over California |
| Date |
6/29/09 |
| Description |
Looking for an inexpensive stay-cation? Join JPL scientist Mike Abrams for a space-based flyover tour of California. |
|
Desert Layover
Space shuttle Discovery is p
…
9/22/09
| Description |
Space shuttle Discovery is parked within the Mate-Demate Device gantry at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Cener prior to beginning turnaround processing for its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discoloration on Discovery's reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap gives evidence of the extreme heating it encountered during re-entry into the Earth' atmosphere prior to landing on Sept. 11, 2009, at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Image Credit: NASA/Tony Landis |
| Date |
9/22/09 |
|
Homecoming
Space shuttle Discovery sits
…
9/21/09
| Description |
Space shuttle Discovery sits atop the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft as it touched down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:05 p.m. EDT. The two-day return flight from Edwards Air Force Base in California began at 9:20 a.m. EDT Sept. 20. After three fueling stops that included an overnight stay in Louisiana, the piggybacked shuttle had to navigate through a line of showers across Louisiana and around Kennedy. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett |
| Date |
9/21/09 |
|
Happy Halloween
The Cassini team sends "bats
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10/30/09
| Description |
The Cassini team sends "bats wishes" for a happy, healthy and fun Halloween. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Image Credit: NASA |
| Date |
10/30/09 |
|
COBE Satellite Marks 20th An
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NASA's Cosmic Background Exp
…
11/18/09
| Description |
NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite rocketed into Earth orbit on Nov. 18, 1989, and quickly revolutionized our understanding of the early cosmos. Developed and built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., COBE precisely measured and mapped the oldest light in the universe -- the cosmic microwave background. For these results, COBE scientists John Mather, at Goddard, and George Smoot, at the University of California, Berkeley, shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics. The mission ushered cosmologists into a new era of precision measurements, paving the way for deeper exploration of the microwave background by NASA's ongoing WMAP mission and the European Space Agency's new Planck satellite. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/cobe_20th.html. Image Credit: NASA |
| Date |
11/18/09 |
|
Happy New Year!
Wishing all a joyful new yea
…
12/31/09
| Description |
Wishing all a joyful new year, members of the Cassini-Huygens team offer us their views of Saturn and the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini-Huygens, a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, which is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA. The Cassini orbiter (pictured at the top right of this image) and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
| Date |
12/31/09 |
|
History Revealed
More than 12 billion years o
…
01/07/10
| Description |
More than 12 billion years of cosmic history are shown in this panoramic, full-color view of thousands of galaxies. This image, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, was made from mosaics taken in September and October 2009 with the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 and in 2004 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and covers a portion of the southern field of a large galaxy census called the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, a deep-sky study by several observatories to trace the evolution of galaxies. The image reveals galaxy shapes that appear increasingly chaotic at each earlier epoch, as galaxies grew through accretion, collisions and mergers, which range from the mature spirals and ellipticals in the foreground, to smaller, fainter, irregularly shaped galaxies, most of which are farther away, and therefore existed farther back in time. These smaller galaxies are considered the building blocks of the larger galaxies we see today. The image shows a rich tapestry of 7,500 galaxies stretching back through most of the universe's history. The closest galaxies seen in the foreground emitted their observed light about a billion years ago. The farthest galaxies, a few of the very faint red specks, are seen as they appeared more than 13 billion years ago, or roughly 650 million years after the Big Bang. This mosaic spans a slice of space that is equal to about a third of the diameter of the full moon (10 arc minutes). Image Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Windhorst, S. Cohen, and M. Mechtley (Arizona State University, Tempe), R. O'Connell (University of Virginia), P. McCarthy (Carnegie Observatories), N. Hathi (University of California, Riverside), R. Ryan (University of California, Davis), and H. Yan (Ohio State University) |
| Date |
01/07/10 |
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