"Ice Age: The Meltdown" released 2006

Ice Age: The Meltdown, the sequel to the wildly popular first Ice Age movie, was released March 31, 2006.  The movie featured the return of the main characters Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger (Denis Leary).  Scrat returns as well. 

Manny, Sid and Diego realize the Ice Age is coming to an end and must leave the valley before it is flooded.  On the way, they meet another mammoth, Ellie, voiced by Queen Latifah, proving that Manny is not the last one.

It was the first 2006 movie to surpass the $100M mark and is the 66th highest-grossing film of all time.

Luna 10 launched 1966

Luna 10, launched March 31, 1966 by the Soviet Union, was the first artificial satellite of the moon.  It entered lunar orbit on April 3, and operated until May 30.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Patrick Forrester!

Patrick Forrester, born March 31, 1957 in El Paso, Texas, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions.

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-105) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in August 2001.  He conducted 2 EVAs with fellow astronaut Daniel Barry for over 12 hours  total.

His second mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as mission specialist to the ISS in June 2007.  He conducted two more EVAs with fellow astronaut Steven Swanson for almost 14 hours.

His third and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist to the ISS in August-September 2009, but he did not do any EVAs during this trip into space.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova!

Yelena Kondakova, born March 30, 1957, is the third Russian woman in space.  Her first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-20 as flight engineer to the Mir space station in October 1994.  After five months, she returned to Earth in March 1995.

Her second trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-84) as mission specialist to Mir in May 1997.

She is married to fellow cosmonaut Valery Ryumin. 

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" wins 4 Oscars + 1 1982

Raiders of the Lost Ark, the mega-hit from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas that turned the movie industry on its head, won 4 Academy Awards plus a Special Achievement Academy Award March 29, 1982.  It had been nominated for eight.

It won Oscars for Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects.  It received the Special Achievement Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing.

It had also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Spielberg), Best Original Score (John Williams), and Best Cinematography.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut, William Oefelein!

William Oefelein, born March 29, 1965 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, went into space once aboard Discovery (STS-116) as pilot to the International Space Station in December 2006. 

The following fellow astronaut Lisa Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando and attacked Oefelein's girlfriend at the time Colleen Shipman.  Both Nowak and Oefelein were dismissed from the astronaut program. 

Oefelein and Shipman married in 2010 and now reside in Alaska.

Soyuz TMA-08M launched 2013

L-R: Chris Cassidy, Pavel Vinogradov, Alexander Misurkin

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-08M, launched March 28, 2013, carried members of Expedition 35 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Pavel Vinogradov (Roscosmos), Alexander Misurkin (Roscosmos) and Christopher Cassidy (NASA).  They docked with the ISS just under six hours after launch, a new record for the fastest docking.

After 166 days in space, they returned to Earth in September 2013.

Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Starship Mine" airs 1993

Another favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation of mine, Starship Mine, aired March 27, 1993.  Many fans thought it should have been named Die Hard, Picard.  I thought it should have been titled Indiana Picard and the Enteprise of Doom.

The Enterprise is docked at space station for a routine sweep to remove accumulated baryon particles, which can be dangerous.  The process for removing baryon particles requires anything with living tissue must be removed.

Picard soon realizes that terrorists are aboard and confronts them with the lethal baryon sweep is approaching. 

Tim Russ, who played Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, and Patricia Tallman, who played Lyta Alexander on Babylon 5, both appeared in guest roles.

Soyuz TMA-16M launched 2015

Soyuz TMA-16M (L-R): Scott Kelly, Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Korniyenko

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-16M, launched March 27, 2015, transported members of Expedition 43 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Korniyenko (both of Roscosmos), and Scott Kelly (NASA).

Korniyenko and Kelly remained aboard the ISS for a year until March 2016, while Padalka retunred to Earth in September 2015, with Andreas Mogensen (ESA) and Aidyn Aimbetov (KazCosmos).

"Amadeus" wins 8 Oscars 1985

Amadeus, the 1984 movie about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his rivalry with fellow composer Antonio Salieri, won 8 Academy Awards at the 57th awards ceremony March 25, 1985. 

It won Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role for F. Murray Abraham, Best Director for Milos Forman, Best Writng, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound and Best Makeup.

Tom Hulce, who played Mozart, received a nomination for Best Actor in  a Leading Role, making Amadeus one of the very few movies to have two actors nominated for Best Actor.

Soyuz TMA-12M launched 2014

Soyuz TMA-12M crew (L-R): Steve Swanson, Aleksandr Skvortsov, Oleg Artemyev

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-12M, launched March 25, 2014, carried part of the crew of Expedition 39 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksandr Skvortsov (Roscosmos), Oleg Artemyev (Roscosmos) and Steve Swanson (NASA).

In May, they transferred to the crew of Expedition 40 upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-11M.  They remained on board until they returned to Earth in September 2014.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle Kenneth Reightler!

Kenneth Reightler, born March 24, 1951 in Patuxent River, Maryland, has been to space twice.

His first trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-48) as pilot in September 1991.  The mission's main goal was to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.

His second and final trip was aboard Discovery (STS-60) again as pilot in February 1994.  The mission carried the first cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev, to fly aboard a Space Shuttle.  The flight carried the Wake Shield Facilty into space.

Atlantis (STS-76) launched 1996

STS-76 crew

Front row (L-R): Ronald Sega, Kevin Chilton, Richard Searfoss

Back row (L-R): Michael Clifford, Shannon Lucid, Linda Godwin

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-76), launched March 22, 1996, was the third Shuttle mission to dock with the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Kevin Chilton, Pilot Richard Searfoss, Ronald Sega, Michael Clifford, Linda Godwin and Shannon Lucid.

Godwin and Clifford performed a space walk on March 27 which lasted 6 hours.  Shannon Lucid stayed on board Mir as part of Expedition Mir EO-21.

The rest of the crew returned to Earth March 31.

"Gamera vs Guiron" released 1969

Gamera vs. Guiron, the fifth installment of the Gamera series in the Showa era, was released March 21, 1969 in Japan.  Daiei Films introduced Gamera in 1965 to compete with Godzilla, but we all know how that went.

Two kids discover a spacecraft that landed near their home with the door wide open.  They go inside despite the bratty little sister threatening to tell Mom.  The doors close and the two boys are whisked off to another planet and Gamera must come to their rescue.  First he has to battle Guiron, a strange creature with a curved blade for a head.

It was featured twice on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Johann Sebastian Bach born 1685

Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the greatest composers of music in any era, was born March 21 (or March 31, depending upon which calendar you're referencing), 1685 in Eisenach in present-day Germany. 

He wrote so many pieces of music it's difficult to condense his life into a few sentences.  He passed away in 1750.

Here is one of my most favorite pieces of music of all time.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yuri Shargin!

Yuri Shargin, born March 20, 1960 in the former Soviet Union, went into space once aboard Soyuz TMA-5 in October 2004 to the International Space Station.  He remained on board for just over 9 days and returned to Earth on Soyuz TMA-4.

Remembering Apollo 15 astronaut Alfred Worden (1932-2020)

Alfred Worden, Apollo 15 astronaut, passed away March 17, 2020.  He was one of 19 astronauts selected by NASA in 1966. He served as Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission.  the Guiness Book of World Records named him the Most Isolated human being for his 3 days alone in the command module.  When he was on the opposite side of the moon from David Scott and James Irwin, he was at least 2,235 miles away from any other human being.

Worden made seven guest appearances on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood between 1972 and 1975.

His memoir Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon rose to #12 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List.

He passed away from a stroke March 17 in Sugar Land, Texas.

Happy birthday, Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang!

Christer Fuglesang, an astronaut for the European Space Agency born March 18, 1957 in Stockholm, Sweden, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights and is the first Swedish astronaut.

His first spaceflight was on Discovery (STS-116) as mission specialist in December 2006 to the International Space Station.  He conducted 3 EVAs during the flight with fellow astronaut Robert Curbeam.  Ground Control played Waterloo by ABBA as one of Fuglesang's wake-up calls.

HIs second and final flight was on Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist in August-September 2009 to the ISS.  During the mission he conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut John Olivas.

Remembering Lyle Waggoner (1935-2020)

Lyle Waggoner, the heartthrob who starred on the Carol Burnett Show and Wonder Woman, passed away today.  I always enjoyed seeing him on the Carol Burnett Show, with his tall, dark, handsome looks.  I think he was a great Steve Trevor on Wonder Woman.  He won the TV Land Legend Award in 2005 sharing the award with Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Bob Mackie.

Vanguard 1, oldest surviving man-made satellite, launched 1958

Vanguard 1, an American satellite, was launched March 17, 1958.  It was the fourth satellite to be successfully launched, following Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2 and Explorer 1.  Vanguard 1 was the first satellite to have solar electric power.

It transmitted radio signals for over 6 years before contact was lost in May 1964.  It remains the oldest man-made object still orbiting the Earth.  Estimates had Vanguard 1's orbit lasting for 2000 years, but with atmospheric drag and other factors, it's expected to decay in about 240 years.

Kalpana Chawla, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1962

Kalpana Chawla, born March 19, 1962 in India, was the first female Indian astronaut.  Her official birth date was changed to July 1, 1961 so she could become eligible for the "matriculation exam", which is why I have a blog post also celebrating her "new" birth date.  After obtaining her Bachelor's, she moved to the US and completed her Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Her first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-87) as mission specialist in November-December 1997.  The mission continued experiments with the Microgravity Laboratory program.

Her second trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-107) as mission specialist in January-February 2003.  Unfortunately, the shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry and broke up over north Texas, killing all crew members.

Chawla is remembered in a number of ways.  An asteroid has been named after her, as one of seven named after the Columbia's crew.  A studen apartment complex at Florida Institute of Technology here in Melbourne is named for her.  UTA opened a dorm named in her honor in 2004.

Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Night Terrors" airs 1991

The seventeenth episode of the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation Night Terrors aired March 16, 1991.  The Enterprise locates the USS Brittain, which sent a distress call a month earlier and finds the crew all dead, killed at each others' hands.

Soon the crew of the Enterprise realize they are caught in a Tyken's Rift, a rift in space that absorbs energy and cannot escape.  Then they begin to experience hallucinations and paranoia, like the crew of the Brittain. 

Brian Tochi appeared as Ensign Kenny Lin.  He appeared in the original Star Trek series episode And The Children Shall Lead.

I liked this episode even though the cast and crew considered it the weakest of the fourth season.

Gemini VIII launched 1966

Gemini VIII crew: David Scott, Neil Armstrong

Mission patch

Gemini VIII, launched March 16, 1966, was the sixth crewed spaceflight of the Gemni program.  Its crew consisted of Command Pilot Neil Armstrong and Pilot David Scott.

Gemini VIII docked succesfully with the Agena Target Vehicle, but soon after they began to roll.  Armstrong corrected the roll immediately but the spacecraft began to roll again.  They were spinning at a rate of nearly 1 revolution per second.  Armstrong managed to fire the re-entry thrusters in the opposite direction of the roll and brought them under control. 

Since they had used all of the fuel to correct the spin, they had to abort the mission after less than 11 hours.

Janet Jackson wins Best Music Video for "If" 1994

Janet Jackson won Soul Train's Best Music Video for If March 15, 1994.  If is the second release (July 1993) from her album Janet.  The video depicts voyeurism, sexuality and lots of awesome choreography. 

The video also won Best Female Video and Best Dance Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.  It won a Billboard Award for Dance Clip of the Year.  And it was also voted best female video of the decade by Idolator.

ABBA inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2010

Swedish super-group ABBA was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame March 15, 2010.  The Bee Gees Barry and Robin made the announcement.  ABBA released eight studio albums and have won numerous international music awards.

Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad  were on hand to accept the recognition.  Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog are the other two members of the group.

Genesis was inducted the same night.

Soyuz MS-12 launched 2019

Soyuz MS-12 crew (L-R): Nick Hague, Aleksey Ovchinin, Christina Koch

Mission patch

Soyuz MS-12, launched March 14, 2019, carried the crew of Expedition 59 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksey Ovhinin, Nick Hague and Christina Koch.

Ovchinin and Hague retunred to Earth in October 2019 with space participant Hazza Al Mansouri of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates.

Christina Koch returned to Earth in February 2020 after a record-breaking stay in space.

Happy birthday, astronaut Michael Fincke!

Michael "Spanky" Fincke, born March 14, 1967 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been in space three times.

Fincke's first trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-4 as flight engineer in April 2004 to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 9.  He conducted four EVAs during the mission.  He returned to Earth in October 2004, after over 187 days in space.

His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-13 as flight engineer to the ISS in October 2008.  He was part of Expedition 18 and conducted 2 EVAs during the expedition.  He returned to Earth in April 2009.

His third flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-134) as mission specialist to the ISS in May 2011.  He conducted 3 EVAs during the mission.  He returned wiht the rest of the crew in June.

He has been selected to fly on the first crewed flight of the CST-100 Starliner, Boeing's capsule for participating in NASA's Commercial Crew Development program.  When he does, he will become the first astronaut since John Young to fly into space aboard three different launch vessels.

Grant Woods, Star Trek actor, born 1932

Grant Woods, born March 13, 1932 in Vim, Colorado, played Lieutenant Kelowitz in three episodes of the original series of Star Trek, which is kind of unusual for a character that made little more than cameos.  He appeared in Galileo Seven, Arena and This Side of Paradise.

He passed away in October 1968 from a motorcycle accident.

Grant Woods as Lt. Kelowitz in Galileo Seven

"The Andromeda Strain" released 1971

Michael Crichton's best-selling novel The Andromeda Strain was brought to the big screen by director Robert Wise March 12, 1971.  It starred Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson and Kate Reid. 

It was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Film Editing.

Pioneer 5 launched 1960

Pioneer 5, launched March 11, 1960, was to be the first probe to fly past Venus.  Technical issues delayed the launch until the window of opportunity to Venus had closed.  Instead of waiting another 3 years, NASA sent it into space, between the orbits of Earth and Venus.

It measured solar flare particles and cosmic radiation.  The last signal from Pioneer 5 was received June 26, 1960 when it was over 36 million miles away.

Endeavour (STS-123) launched 2008

STS-123 crew:

Front row (L-R): Gregory H. Johnson, Dominic Gorie

Back row (L-R): Richard Linnehan, Robert Behnken, Garrett Reisman, Michael Foreman, Takao Doi

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-123), launched March 11, 2008, delivered the first module of the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo).  Its crew consisted of Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson, Robert Behnken, Michael Foreman, Richard Linnehan, Takao Doi (JAXA), and Garrett Reisman.

Five spacewalks were conducted during the mission, by Linnehan, Reisman, Foreman and Behnken. 

The crew returned to Earth March 27., the longest space shuttle flight.  Reisman stayed on board the ISS, and astronaut Leopold Eyharts (ESA) returned with the rest of the crew.

Kim Carnes releases "Bette Davis Eyes" 1981

Kim Carnes released her mega-hit Bette Davis Eyes, March 10, 1981. It was the main release from her studio album Mistaken Identity.  It spent 9 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Billboard's biggest hit of 1981.

It won Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year

"Kong: Skull Island" released 2017

Kong: Skull Island, an entry into the Monsterverse which includes Godzilla, was released March 10, 2017.  It starred Tom Hiddleston (MCU), Samuel L. Jackson (favorite!), Brie Larson (also MCU), John Goodman and John C. Reilly (another favorite!).

Taking place in 1973, a group a soldiers, a photographer and a British Intelligence agent explore a mysterious island in the South Pacific and find it inhabited by huge monsters.

It was nominated for an Oscar for its visual effects.  Look for Godzilla vs King Kong later this year!

Vega 2 encounters Halley's Comet 1986

Vega 2, launched in December 1984, made its closest approach to Halley's Comet March 9, 1986.  It first released a descent module onto the surface of Venus in June 1985.  After the Venus encounter, the Soviet spacecraft used the planet's gravity to intercept the comet.  It began its enounter on March 7, 1986 and made its closest approach March 9.  It took 700 images of Halley's Comet.

Contact with Vega 2 was lost March 24, 1987.

Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark" airs 1967

One of the best, and creepiest, epsiodes of Star Trek (The Original Series), The Devil in the Dark aired March 9, 1967.  The crew of the Enterprise is called to the planet Janus VI, where a monster has been killing members of a mining colony.  As the investigation continues, Kirk, Spock and McCoy realize that the "monster" called the Horta, might not be as evil as first thought.

In 1995, Arthur C. Clarke said this was only episode he could recall.  It impressed him because "the idea, unusual in science fiction then and now, that something weird, and even dangerous need not be malevolent."

Many critics consider this episode as one of the best of the original series.  William Shatner said this was his favorite episode.  Leonard Nimoy said it was a "wonderful episode about the fear of the unknown, how we fear and even hate something that we don't know anything about, learn who your enemy is, and it's not, maybe then it's not no longer your enemy."

Uhura and Sulu don't appear in this episode.

Sting releases "Ten Summoner's Tales" 1993

Sting released his fourth studio album Ten Summoner's Tales March 9, 1993, the title of which is a play on his name of Sumner and the summoner from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Cantebury Tales.  It generated two hit singles, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You and Fields of Gold.

In 1994, the album won two Grammys: Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; and Best Music Video, Long Form.  It was nominated for Album of the Year.  If I Ever Lose My Faith In You won Best Pop V ocal Performance, Male and was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

"Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris" released 1999

The third of a trilogy of Gamera movies, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, was released in Japan March 6, 1999.  It follows a girl Ayana discovering an egg in a cave and it hatches, releasing a demon.  She uses her psychic bond with the creature to exact revenge on Gamera with whom she holds a grudge.

It has been praised as one of the best in the Gamera series.  It won an award for Best Sound Recording at the 54th Mainichi Film Concours, a series of film awards sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun, one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan.

Columbia (STS-62) launched 1994

STS-62 crew

Front row (L-R): Andrew Allen, John Casper

Back row (L-R): Charles Gemar, Marsha Ivins, Pierre Thuot

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-62), launched March 4, 1994, was a continuation of microgravity experiments.  Its crew consisted of Commander John Casper, Pilot Andrew Allen, Pierre J. Thuot, Charles Gemar, and Marsha Ivins.

They returned to Earth March 18.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov!

Yury Lonchakov, born March 4, 1965 in Kazakhstan, is a veteran of three space flights.  His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as mission specialist in April-May 2001.  The objective of the mission was to install the Canadarm2 to the International Space Station.

His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-1 to the ISS.  He stayed aboard for almost 11 days before returning to Earth via Soyuz TM-34.

His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-13 as commander to the ISS.  He was part of the crew of Expedition 18.  He returned to Earth in April 2009.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalyonok!

Vladimir Kovalyonok, born March 3, 1942, is a cosmonaut who went into space three times.  His first flight was aboard Soyuz 25 to the space station Salyut 6 in October 1977.  The mission was aborted when the crew of Soyuz 25 was unable to dock with Salyut 6.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz 29 as commander to Salyut 6 in June 1978.  He and fellow cosmonaut Aleksandr Ivanchenkov stayed aboard until September and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 31.

Kovalyonok's third and final flight was commander aboard Soyuz T-4 in March 1981 to Salyut 6.  He and cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh were the last long-term crew on Salyut 6.  They returned to Earth in May 1981.

Soyuz 28 launched 1978

Soyuz 28 crew:  Aleksei Gubarev (seated), Vladimir Remek 

Mission patch

Soyuz 28, launched March 2, 1978, was the fourth mission to the station, the third successful docking and the second crew to the space station Salyut 6.  Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksei Gubarev and Vladimir Remek from Czechoslovakia, the first non-Russian, non-American astronaut.  They made up the crew of EP-2.  They stayed in space about a week and returned to Earth March 10.