The Watering Hole: April 6 – Early Bird

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HoR has requested more science in the daily’s. This is my first effort:

Arthur C. Clarke observed that the Moon orbited the Earth in about 28 1/2 days while a near-Earth satellite would do the same in about an hour and a half. Somewhere in between there had to be a a happy medium where an orbit would take exactly one day. That is explained by the formula:

a=\sqrt[3]{\mu\left(\frac{P}{2\pi}\right)^2}

where a=semi-major axis, P = orbital period (One day), μ = geocentric gravitational constant which yields about 42,164 km or 26,199 mi for a at the Equator for a satillite of mass significantly less then that of the Earth.

Early Bird

With all of that science set aside, the first Earth-orbit commercial synchronous communications satellite was placed into orbit on this very date in 1965. It’s formal name was Intelsat I, but its informal name was Early Bird. It was in active service for about 4 1/2 years. It was fired back on in 1990 for a brief test on its 25th anniversary.

This is our open thread. Please feel free to offer your own comments on this or any other topic.

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38 thoughts on “The Watering Hole: April 6 – Early Bird”

  2. I think I’ll issue a duplicate comment also.

    Death toll in West Virginia mine blast rises to 25

    I remember Rachel reporting that seven were confirmed dead and nineteen were unaccounted for, when I watched her last night. I woke up to the 1AM repeat of her saying the same report, but with the chyron “25 Killed After Explosion…” underneath. Looks like four are still not found.

    This what I think about when I hear the term clean coal. Now I’m too mad to sleep.

  3. On MSNBC, Contessa Brewer was interviewing author Homer Hickam, from here in Huntsville, via Skype, about the West Virginia mining disaster. Hickam grew up in West Virginia and worked in coal mines, according to Brewer’s introduction. He has written several books about coal mining, and is an authority on the subject, in addition to his career at NASA.

  4. Well HoR does live somewhere near Huntsville I think, more rocket scientists per sq mile than anywhere else? Very appropriate.

    Read a couple of times before I realised Clarke was musing on geosynchronous orbit. Aha. Clarke is not just a snappy writer, he comes up with interesting stuff too. Better than Crichton in his day… maybe?

  6. …more rocket scientists per sq mile than anywhere else?

    Most of my former customers preferred to be called propulsion engineers, rather than rocket scientists. Some were structural engineers, and some were payload specialists, as well.

    One favorite customer was with Rocketdyne when Boeing bought them, so he said he was now employed by Boeingdyne. He would try to do work on his own car from time to time, before bringing it to me to fix what he started. His explanation for needing me, was that he reached a new level of incompetence. That’s how I feel with some of Walt’s more technical explanations, like that math formula above.

  7. My son TommytheTurtle is a rocket scientist…. that was his second grade project, we proceeded to the firework/parachute kind later that summer. I think he’s also considering a career in the NSA judging by the snooping device he installed in his bedroom to annoy his sister.

  8. The Chinese coal mine disaster and now WV – time to bring all miners above ground to concentrate on ‘alternative’ energy.

    “Though the cause of the blast was not known, the operation run by Massey subsidiary Performance Coal Co. has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas, safety officials said.”

    Greed, pure and simple caused these deaths.
    This company should have been made to shut down all operations until the violations were corrected.

  9. Going back many decades, when most houses had b/w tvs – one of my brothers and his friend built a ‘color’ tv. Well we called it the ‘tint’ tv as there really was no true color, but subtle hints of pastels.
    Some one had to be the ‘antenna’ holding on to the back of the set and the vertical hold.

  10. Thanks to Carl, Christine and Thom at KPOJ.

    Comcast wins suit vs. FCC rules on Internet

    A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down regulations meant to prevent Internet-network operators such as Comcast Corp. from blocking some forms of traffic by customers. The Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to regulate network-management practices, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled.

    The decision could reignite a simmering debate in Congress over whether new laws are needed to ensure that the Internet remains open, an issue known as “Net Neutrality.”

    Obviously new laws are needed, but this ruling leaves the control of the internet in the hands of the providers, and not the people. Big business will be able to pay the providers, while small businesses will be excluded from the marketplace. The free market is only free for those who can pay to play.

  11. ebb, you might want to be a bit careful of wishing to bring all the miners above ground. That seems to be one of the mountain top removal claims. I’d rather see strong safety regulation enforcement even if it means lower profits. It is time we made companies accept that being responsible for their actions is a part of the cost of doing business.

  12. “It is time we made companies accept that being responsible for their actions is a part of the cost of doing business.”

    Agreed, hooda – but that seems to be the big problem: holding them accountable and making it stick. The numerous safety violations is appalling.

    Haven’t delved into deeply but be willing to wager that if all the safety rules and regs were followed this disaster wouldn’t have happened.

    Shut the suckers down each and every time a violation is found – then the greedy s.o.b. would get a clue that workers are their best assets.
    Better yet after violations are found, shutting down the mine and making the company pay the wages of the idle miners – until the violations are corrected.

  13. Ok a riddle for you: what is immortal, pays no US tax on $45B profits and can screw you on your street corner at least once a week, while paying an army of US politicians to look the other way including President Obama?

  15. Ding ding ding….. we have a winner. Hmm, that was too easy.

    So now as a person, I’d like the same rights as Exxon – be able to stash money offshore to avoid tax, screw everyone I see at least once a week at the street corner and click my fingers to have President Obama curt me a check or a credity at the local brew pub every now and again….

    …. oh and outlive and out lawyer any Alaskan fishermen who say I can’t get away with it.

  17. Ah yes, should have read ‘screw anyone I want to’ at the street corner….. good catch…. careful what you wish for eh?

  18. A Witch’s Brew Of Violence

    The bricks have been thrown, the death threats made. At some point, the hate speech was bound to produce hateful acts.

    Aside from throwing around the phrase “Witch’s Brew” a bit too loosely (we here know better), this writer says it well about the threats of violence and misplaced loyalty undermining the credibility of the teabaggers.

    • Thanks for that link, House. It’s a truly amazing post.

      Will you then join the Becks and Limbaughs and Hannitys in dancing gleefully in front of your televisions while the rest of the nation – the Real America – mourns for the loss of this wonderful, hopeful and so very good man…and for our country?

      No, I guess many of you will look on in disbelief. You’ll claim that this is not what you wanted, you’ll wring your hands and cry out that this was the act of a madman, the lunatic fringe, and you had no part in it. But your sorrow, your regret and your protest will fall on deaf ears because, frankly, you have no credibility.

      Very powerful.

  19. That was a well-written, from the emotion, piece.
    No author’s name. The site seems to be as ethereal as the name: Letters to the Earth.

    It is startling in the depiction of the ‘baggers and their ilk. Need to double the security on the First Family of our nation.

    Wonder if it is a collaborative effort.

    How did you happen upon it, house?

  20. Jackalope at C&L had it in a comment on the Patty Murray death threat thread (don’t try to say that real fast five times!). I should have put that in the comment. One of the best I’ve read on the subject. I don’t know who that blog is, but he’s a good writer.

  22. Listen to what this racist said on a phone message left for Rep. John Lewis. This was on the Let Me Finish segment from Hardball earlier.

    This follows up that earlier article in my comment. This is censored, but I still wouldn’t call it safe for work or kids!

  23. “Feel the love” – the vileness is spine-chilling.

    At least Chris put out an ‘even the media on the right’ needs to bring this (filth) to the fore.

    You’ve been a busy news hound today House – thanks!

  24. Got one more, 2ebb, then my taskbar is clear.

    Court Drives FCC Towards Nuclear Option to Regulate Broadband

    While this might seem like a win for the nation’s broadband and wireless companies, the ruling could be so strong that it boomerangs on them. For instance, if the FCC is left without the power to implement key portions of the National Broadband Plan — a so-far popular idea — then Congress or the FCC may have to find a way to restore power to the commission. That could leave the FCC stronger than it was before the ruling.

    The option favored by public interest groups is for the FCC to take the drastic course of formally reclassifying broadband as a regulated service, reversing the position it held and defended just a few years ago.

    So one avenue for regulation closes, and the FCC already has a plan B, to keep the oligarchs from total domination of all information media. I would still like to see Congress get a bill passed to strengthen the rules beyond just what the FCC stands for under a Democratic Administration. If a Republican were president, we would have an FCC like under Bush, or worse. They could undo everything gained so far, and any future unwinding of media consolidation we might be able to achieve.

  25. Suffering from ‘idiot news’ overload –

    Must go see a Peregrine about a Columba livia (Rock Dove).

  26. Rachel just cited Think Progress on today’s Massey Energy safety violations thread.

  27. House, appreciate your combing the net to give us interesting and pertinent articles to ‘mull over’.

  28. I have no desire to allow any male to touch my penis. On the other hand …!

  29. Walt,
    My last two physicals were with women doctors for the same reason. The more recent was with a petite Indian lady, whose fingers were so short, I’m not sure the ‘exam’ went deep enough. She claimed it did.

    That part about the Mets going 162-0, I hope Wayne and Jane saw that.

    • It’s funny. I’ve always gone to women doctors because I think they listen better (just my experience!), but I hear about more and more men who are beginning to prefer women doctors as well.

      Maybe it’s the slim fingers. :lol:

      Goodnight, all.

  30. G’nite Zooey.

    2ebb,
    I don’t really ‘comb’ the net, I just stumble over stuff. But thanks just the same.

    Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then.

  32. My urologist is female, my spouse’s gynecologist is male. Does not bother either of us. Just looking for the most skilled practitioner in either case. After all, there are only two basic models!

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