Off Topic - My other hobby - Page 5

"Umm, fish?" · 03/07/2009, 02:52 PM

Congratulations, Stu! Do you get to come home anytime soon?

stugray · 03/07/2009, 03:25 PM

zombiereef,

"woo hoo!"

that is the #1 most frequent sound you hear on the video we took.

sscherin & Jerry Gonzales,

thank you ;-)

"Umm, fish?"

I'll be back on Monday to help with turning on the science instrument and getting it pointed in the right place.

I have been away from my tank for over two months now.
It will be cool to see what growth I have had in that much time.
I have been monitoring with a AC3Pro & webcams, so I know the corals are alive & all the fish are accounted for.

Mike's team at Aqua Imports has been looking after the tank & have done a fantastic job while I have been gone.
I would recommend them to anyone who needs maintenance.

They even helped to diagnose a problem with my 5Gallon bucket skimmer & got it off line before I had a 'non-linear-catastrophic-structural-exasperation' resulting on massive WOF syndrome.

( I am sure that he will be glad when I get back as he has not gotten paid yet...... I will make it up to him ;-)

Stu

jasonh · 03/08/2009, 09:00 AM

Congrats on the successful launch, Stu!

I'm sure you can't wait to get back

stugray · 03/21/2009, 06:16 PM

jasonh,

just so you know... we have taken a LOT of data using the Photometer with the 'dust cover' on & with the S/C at an attitude to minimize the stray light inside the instrument.

The scientists are trying to calibrate what a 'true black' is for all of the various sensors.

Next week we release the dust cover & image some real stars.

Stu

jasonh · 03/21/2009, 11:22 PM

Sounds cool. So once it's fully operational, I assume you guys are done with it and onto the next fun thing?

stugray · 03/22/2009, 01:55 PM

jasonh,

Yeah, once it is 'commissioned' and gathering the real science, it is only checked on about once a week with high rate data downloads.

We ARE the highest rate data downlink, KaBand ,deep space mission yet ;-)
We can get ~4.3 Mbps encoded. Thats about half of a 10Mbps ethernet connection.

After this I move on to the WISE mission:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide-fi...urvey_Explorer

It is to replace the WIRE spacecraft that screwed up.
It is a 'sky survey mission' that is intended to find interesting IR targets, but not to image them like Spitzer (SIRTF) or JWST can.

Stu

stugray · 04/16/2009, 11:36 AM

For those that are interested, we deployed the dust cover and took our first images.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ke.../20090416.html

They are not that impressive except to the scientists.

Some are saying that Kepler is the second most accurately pointing spacecraft NASA has ever built.

The only one better is Hubble.

Stu

mlundstrom · 04/16/2009, 01:58 PM

to make sure that your package made it safely into orbit. We will continue to deliver your packages on time and in one piece.

Sincerely

ULA

stugray · 04/16/2009, 02:16 PM

mlundstrom,

Very nice ride indeed!

All except for the failure of the second stage separation system ( luckily the second string worked ).
Oh... and the little timer issue that separated us from the third stage a little early and left us spinning at 3 sigma rates
( which consequently caused us to overcharge the battery and drop into safe mode ).

Other than that it was perfect

Stu

03/07/2009, 02:52 PM	#101
"Umm, fish?" Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 4,112	Congratulations, Stu! Do you get to come home anytime soon? __________________ --Andy "And chase the frothy bubbles, / While the world is full of troubles. . . ." --W. B. Yeats Current Tank Info: ~480 gal. display, ~1,400 gal. system

03/07/2009, 03:25 PM	#102
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	zombiereef, "woo hoo!" that is the #1 most frequent sound you hear on the video we took. sscherin & Jerry Gonzales, thank you ;-) "Umm, fish?" I'll be back on Monday to help with turning on the science instrument and getting it pointed in the right place. I have been away from my tank for over two months now. It will be cool to see what growth I have had in that much time. I have been monitoring with a AC3Pro & webcams, so I know the corals are alive & all the fish are accounted for. Mike's team at Aqua Imports has been looking after the tank & have done a fantastic job while I have been gone. I would recommend them to anyone who needs maintenance. They even helped to diagnose a problem with my 5Gallon bucket skimmer & got it off line before I had a 'non-linear-catastrophic-structural-exasperation' resulting on massive WOF syndrome. ( I am sure that he will be glad when I get back as he has not gotten paid yet...... I will make it up to him ;-) Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.

03/08/2009, 09:00 AM	#103
jasonh Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, CO Posts: 1,365	Congrats on the successful launch, Stu! I'm sure you can't wait to get back __________________ Jason http://www.jasonhight.net Current Tank Info: Nothing right now. When I stop being poor, I'll set up another.

03/21/2009, 06:16 PM	#104
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	jasonh, just so you know... we have taken a LOT of data using the Photometer with the 'dust cover' on & with the S/C at an attitude to minimize the stray light inside the instrument. The scientists are trying to calibrate what a 'true black' is for all of the various sensors. Next week we release the dust cover & image some real stars. Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.

03/21/2009, 11:22 PM	#105
jasonh Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, CO Posts: 1,365	Sounds cool. So once it's fully operational, I assume you guys are done with it and onto the next fun thing? __________________ Jason http://www.jasonhight.net Current Tank Info: Nothing right now. When I stop being poor, I'll set up another.

03/22/2009, 01:55 PM	#106
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	jasonh, Yeah, once it is 'commissioned' and gathering the real science, it is only checked on about once a week with high rate data downloads. We ARE the highest rate data downlink, KaBand ,deep space mission yet ;-) We can get ~4.3 Mbps encoded. Thats about half of a 10Mbps ethernet connection. After this I move on to the WISE mission: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide-fi...urvey_Explorer It is to replace the WIRE spacecraft that screwed up. It is a 'sky survey mission' that is intended to find interesting IR targets, but not to image them like Spitzer (SIRTF) or JWST can. Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.

04/16/2009, 11:36 AM	#107
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	For those that are interested, we deployed the dust cover and took our first images. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ke.../20090416.html They are not that impressive except to the scientists. Some are saying that Kepler is the second most accurately pointing spacecraft NASA has ever built. The only one better is Hubble. Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.

04/16/2009, 01:58 PM	#108
mlundstrom Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Centennial, CO Posts: 40	It was our Pleasure to make sure that your package made it safely into orbit. We will continue to deliver your packages on time and in one piece. Sincerely ULA __________________ Mike The Oceans of the World are our inheritance to protect for all time. -Jacques Cousteau Current Tank Info: 125G Allglass - empty (sniff!!)

04/16/2009, 02:16 PM	#109
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	mlundstrom, Very nice ride indeed! All except for the failure of the second stage separation system ( luckily the second string worked ). Oh... and the little timer issue that separated us from the third stage a little early and left us spinning at 3 sigma rates ( which consequently caused us to overcharge the battery and drop into safe mode ). Other than that it was perfect Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.