Today is the first anniversary of the Space Video of the Day, so I figured I'd bring back a blast from the past. When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I was a little too young at the time to appreciate the way Erin Gray was dressed on the show, but my dad sure took notice. What really got me was all the space stuff, which I was just nuts about, and I suppose still am to this day. Here is the very first episode of BRit25C, presented in two parts.
All of the mathematics involved in space flight can be reduced to a few relatively simple equations. One of these is the Rocket Equation. For a multistage rocket, a rough approximation of the rocket equation is that as the payload gets heavier by a little bit, the rocket itself must get bigger by a lot. Therefore, it makes sense to have the payload be as small as possible, in order to make the rocket as small (and inexpensive) as possible. What if we applied that idea to the size of the astronaut at the top of the rocket? With a smaller astronaut, and matching smaller capsule, a smaller rocket is needed to get the astronaut to space than would be required for a larger astronaut. Today's space video of the day is the first episode of Rocket Girls, which uses this idea as a justification for making teenage Japanese girls into astronauts. The show actually manages to get most of the science right, and teaches the viewer about such things as the rocket equation, transfer orbits, Max Q, mechanical counterpressure spacesuits, and other rocket science concepts, while also managing to be quite entertaining.
Is there life out there in the universe? Over the last little while, I have been showing Carl Sagan's excellent TV series Cosmos as the space video of the day. Today's video is episode 12, Encyclopedia Galactica. Episode 11 is actually the next one in the series, but that episode isn't about space; instead it is about the brain. If you want to watch that episode too, you can find it here.
Today's space video of the day is episode 9 of Cosmos, entitled the Lives of the Stars. Those who have only recently started watching these space videos might think that I had skipped episode 8, but I posted that episode back in February.
Today's space video of the day is the fouteenth - and final - episode of Firefly, entitled Objects in Space. Even though Fox showed the series out of order, moved it around the schedule, and pre-empted it several times before finally cancelling it, the show still developed a huge following. Pressure from the fans, marshalled with the help of the internet, convinced Fox to continue the story in the form of the movie Serenity, which will be shown here sometime next week.
Back in 1980, Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan created one of the best astronomy-themed TV shows of all time, Cosmos. This is episode 1, the Shores of the Cosmic Ocean, introduced by Ann Druyan.
