The Stuff of Dragons and Dreams

MARVELOUS MONDAY:  Today, we took a trip to The Museum of Flight to hunt down a Dragon. Specifically, the SpaceX Dragon capsule that was visiting Seattle this weekend in conjunction with Elon Musk being in town to kick off hiring for SpaceX Seattle!

Apparently we weren't the only ones interested in seeing the spacecraft, which made history in May of 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station. When we arrived at the museum, the entire enormous main parking lot was full, and we had to park across the street in overflow parking. That was fine, as that's where the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery is, and it's where we found Dragon!

It was easy to see the vehicle was used, shall we say. It looked a bit like a toasted marshmallow, with burn marks from the extreme temperatures it endured while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.  

We spent several minutes circling around Dragon, checking out its various parts and chatting with a couple of SpaceX representatives.

It's a good-sized vehicle, definitely bigger than Gemini, Apollo and Soyuz capsules we've seen.

We looked high and low. I was especially interested in seeing Dragon's top, where it connected with the ISS, so we climbed some nearby stairs and took a look down at it.

I guess you could say these are Dragon's teeth. ...

 Presumably, they interlock with an airlock on the ISS.

I wish we could have peered inside the capsule, but velvet ropes kept us a few feet away, darn it. 

The space-flown Dragon we saw was the second such one manufactured by SpaceX. Dragon is designed to transport humans, too. Its first manned test flight expected to take place in 2 to 3 years.

While at the museum, we checked out other sights to see, of course, including the Soyuz in their collection.

It looks positively crispy from its multiple space flights.

Check out this exterior panel - so many cannon plugs!

I noticed the instructions on one part of the craft were in both Russian and English.

By far the largest object in the gallery is the full sized shuttle trainer.

I noticed today that the crew from STS-135, the final flight of any space shuttle, signed a wall inside its nosecone.

We went over to the main building, and checked out the World War I and II exhibits. We're always wowed by the beautiful old planes on display there. O'Reilly's Daughter, a Curtiss P-40N Warhawk, is always a favorite. It's named after a popular Army Air Forces drinking song.

Annabelle took a little time to watch part of a WWII documentary.

And the kids took a 'ride' in a hot air balloon (mock up).

Outside of the museum's main building a new(ish) acquisition to their collection awaited: A Boeing 787 Dreamliner!

Look at how tiny the kids look standing under its engine.

The aircraft is ZA003, the third 787 Dreamliner built, designed as a test/demonstration vehicle. It went on “Dream Tour,” flying round the globe to places Boeing hoped to secure orders. Its first flight  was in March of 2010, its last was Sept. 26, 2014. In all, it flew 880 flight hours.

It really is a beautiful bird.

We circled its exterior, impressed by its enormity ...

not to mention its snazzy paint job!

We got to tour its inside, too. It still has that new car, er, plane smell!

Here are a couple of high tech looking first class seats. 

And here's a peek into the cockpit.

We toured the coach class seats ...

and peered out the windows (which, by the way, have electronic controls allowing passengers to darken them without pulling down a physical sun blocking shade).

Here's a glimpse out a window over the wing.

All in all, an amazing visit to The Museum of Flight!

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed this rig. It almost certainly has to be Dragon's lair while it's in transit.  

BACK TO THE BIG DANCE:  This weekend brought another big football game to the city of Seattle, with our beloved Seahawks playing for the National Football Conference championship!

We had a party at our place, of course. We made a bunch of food, as always, including little blueberry cupcakes with tiny posters atop them.

For most of the game, the crowd here was mostly reserved, if not downright morose. The Seahawks played TERRIBLY for three and three-quarters quarters. But then, with about four minutes left to go in the game, the Seahawks down 19-7, the tide turned. A series of improbable events occurred, and the Seahawks somehow managed to push the game into overtime, where they won the coin toss and scored a touchdown on their first possession, game over. The front page of today's Seattle Times says it all ...

Hawks win, and it's back to the Super Bowl. Amazing.

It was exciting 'round the region - and elsewhere - in the days leading up to the game. Seahawks' fans are 12s (as in the 12th man on the team), and fly their 12 flags proudly.

For instance, check out this photo from U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class George Degener of Petty Officer 2nd Class Travis Curley, an Eastern Washington native who's been stationed in the Puget Sound area for 10 years. Above, Degener stands next to 399-foot Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, which is down at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Cool (literally)!

Go Hawks!