Samuel Benjamin

06/06/2026

06/06/2026

Workers at KSC lead the way as Orbiter Endeavour, on an orbiter transfer vehicle, rolls from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be mated to the external tank and solid rocket boosters in high bay 1. Space Shuttle Endeavour is targeted for launch on mission STS-99 Jan. 13, 2000 at 1:11 p.m. EST. STS-99 is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. The SRTM consists of a specially modified radar system that will gather data for the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled. SRTM will make use of radar interferometry, wherein two radar images are taken from slightly different locations. Differences between these images allow for the calculation of surface elevation, or change. The SRTM hardware will consist of one radar antenna in the shuttle payload bay and a second radar antenna attached to the end of a mast extended 60 meters (195 feet) out from the shuttle. Photo credit: NASA. 1999-12-02

06/06/2026

The Space Shuttle Endeavour/STS-99 orbits Earth with its lengthy SRTM mast at work (out of frame). Part of the SRTM payload is silhouetted in the cargo bay. Airglow effect of Earth's atmosphere makes for interesting light and color display. Photo credit: NASA. 11-22 February 2000

06/06/2026

Go behind the scenes of a research vessel! 🤩⁠
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Join us on World Ocean Day (June 8) for a video tour of R/V Atlantis! You can also watch the 16-ton Alvin submersible load onto the ship and wish the crew "bon voyage" as they depart for sea trials off Bermuda.⁠
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📲Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get invited to the video premiere: go.whoi.edu/whoi-yt

06/06/2026

NASA provides update on space station leak... https://go.nasa.gov/4e5oC5k

06/06/2026

Roman just can't wait to start seeing stars!

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now scheduled to launch August 30 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

06/05/2026

"Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"
-William Blake

06/05/2026

Edge Of Paradise at Trees Dallas.

06/05/2026

On May 5, 1944, the destroyer es**rt USS Buckley—part of Task Force 21.11—formed around the USS Block Island, patrolling off the Cape Verde Islands. It was dispatched to a radar contact from a TBM “Night Owl” Avenger.

The target was approximately 20 miles ahead, and the Buckley closed on the target in 45 minutes at full speed with the assistance of the Avenger. As the Buckley approached, the captain saw U-66 running on the surface, charging her batteries. The captain called general quarters and dropped a “Foxer” acoustic decoy to confuse the submarine’s torpedoes if fired upon.

The Buckley slowed, attempting to mimic the German supply ship for which U-66 was waiting. The gambit worked, and the U-boat set off red signal flares. The Buckley continued to close, and at 4,000 yards, the U-boat realized this wasn’t their supply ship. U-66 fired a torpedo from the aft tubes, and the Buckley turned into the sub as the torpedo passed on its starboard side.

U-66 continued trying to escape, but the Buckley closed in. At one point, the two combatants ran parallel, a mere 20 yards apart, as the Buckley raked the sub with fire. At approximately 3:30 a.m. on May 6, Lt. Cmdr. Brent Abel ordered hard right rudder, and the Buckley came to a stop on top of the forward section of U-66.

When the raiding party made it onto the ship, the Buckley’s crew members met them. They were ready to brawl.

While a boatswain’s mate shot and killed one German with a .45, the rest of the crew armed themselves with whatever they found. Two sailors threw coffee cups at the enemy, which were located at the ready gun station. One of the 3-inch gun crews started throwing shell casings, and one of the Germans who made it to the ship’s wardroom took a coffee pot to his head.

The only Buckley crewman injured sustained a bruised fist when he punched an invader off the ship. The fight only lasted a couple of minutes as the Buckley reversed engines and backed off the U-boat, leaving five German crew members behind. A crewman armed with a hammer led the five below deck.