The 3rd Kind

If it exists, alien life is most likely, well, very alien.  That means that it is probably very different than life as we know it here on Earth.  This week, Earthly and unearthly sounds meet, harmonize, and peacefully co-exist, creating a new musical genome.

Direct download: Deedlecast_-_The_3rd_Kind.mp3

STS-∞

The space shuttle, that icon of American space ingenuity, is scheduled to serve its final mission early next year. Known officially as the Space Transportation System (STS), the missions have been more or less sequentially numbered from the first launch on April 12, 1981.

Though the final shuttle mission has not been set in stone, NASA's latest suggests it will be STS-134.

Date: Feb, 2011 *

Mission: STS-134

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A

Launch Time: To Be Determined

STS-134 Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station.

DJDeedle remembers vividly that first launch and successful landing, as well as the two tragic shuttle accidents.  This week's Deedlecast is a salute to the era of the space shuttle and all the brave folks on those missions. The STS program may be ending soon, but the missions will continue forever in our hearts.

Direct download: Deedlecast_-_STS-Infinity.mp3

Space Race

September is all about space on Deedlecast this year. DJDeedle starts off this month-long space odyssey by saluting the space race, that golden age of manned space exploration when the US and the USSR competed to outdo each other and be the first to land a human on the moon. The adventure continued in the 1970s with further Apollo mission lunar landings, the rendezvous with the USSR's Soyuz, and ultimately, Skylab from 1973 to 1979.

Here's to those brave days of manned space flight and exploration, humankind's destiny.

Direct download: Deedlecast_-_SpaceRace.mp3