It's Hockey Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They've put in a new video board, it's really impressive.

Preds vs Ducks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been quite a while since our last Predators game, but we're back!

Week End

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole Georgia clan together, relaxing before the long drive back home.

Latesgiving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures of the meal itself, but our guests arrived today and we settled in for an excellent meal. Before they got here of course, there had to be entertainment to keep a homesick someone occupied with her Dad on the way.

Smallgiving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A small Thanksgiving with just Mari, Dad, Mackenzie and me. Steak and hamburger provided by G's Meat and Dad's barbecue.

The Parade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Thanksgiving, and even though we're putting of the main meal until Saturday when Lonnie and Payton can be here, you still have to do the traditions. Can't miss the Macy's Parade!

Candy Hut

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the glue not holding they house become more of a hut, still cute though.

Fun Build

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the most important thing is the fun that was had!

Messy House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With decorating pretty much done, Mari and Mackenzie moved on to a little gingerbread house building. Though it turned out to be a bit messier than expected as the frosting "glue" that came with the kit didn't seem to work so well.

Caroling

 

 

We even got a little caroling to go with our decorating.

 

Back To Decorating

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a fun night of lights we're back to getting the house decorated for Christmas.

A Brilliant Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Zoolumination crew celebrating a fun night!

Dragontop Dream

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final frontier.

A Rein Horse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Mackenzie and her horses.

Two Foos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guarding the way out.

Light Bridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A point on the horizon.

A Horse Horse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A horse is a horse of course of course.

Silk Village

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some light dumplings.

Dragon On

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into the final stretch, the dragon walk.

Side Mission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Mari and Dad rested for a minute I took Mackenzie through the indoor display area, featuring frogs, snakes, bugs and other critters like this crocodile.

Mountain Theme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The princess and the phoenix.

Pretty In Pink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flamingos were out, wandering in a purple haze.

Butterfly In The Sky

 

 

 

Not sure if I can fly twice as high.

Burning Bright

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The silk tigers were amazing, but somehow seeing the real thing makes you realize try as we might, man can't improve on nature.

Tiger Glimpse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the animals were away for the night, but they had some they were walking around the park for people to see like a porcupine and a couple of goats. Then in the tiger den one had decided to come right up the glass while we were there. It was amazing to see and I wish I had gotten a better picture but I was too caught up in the moment. I guess better to live the experience than be obsessed with snapping it. Still before it left I got this shot of it walking off.

Many Tailed Tales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nine-tailed fox spirit it one of the most common in Chinese folklore.

Dorsal Doubletake

 

 

Unfortunately I must have missed the sign explaining what Chinese myth this relates to, but this was my favorite display of the night. The beautiful winged whales, the vibrant colors and the way it all reflected in the mirror still water.

A Deer Horse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being a lover of all things horse, Mackenzie wanted her picture take with anything even vaguely horse-like.

Taking Shrooms II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad on the Mushroom Way.

Taking Shrooms I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mari and Mackenzie on the Mushroom Way.

And Stars Are Born

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rings.

Planets Align

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well maybe not the universe, but at least a galaxy.

Vitality

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cranes, deer, and pine trees are never wrong.

Of Mountains And Seas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are called Win Fish, fish with wings who make calls like mandarin ducks. They appear very rarely, but when they do it means a flood is soon to happen.

Latern Path

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The universe awaits.

Peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doves.

Light Crafting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese artists come over and hand make all of these, though to be fair some of them are reused year after year. Still the results are amazing and makes you think about what a world we live in. These artists from a country we are rivals with, sharing their culture and showing we can all get along.

Silk Sights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing that these are all made of silk coated in a special resin.

Zoolumination 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We bundled up and hit Zoolumination 2022 at the Nashville Zoo. We hadn't been since 2019. It was fun back then but this year was much better.

Christmas Is Go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not knowing if she will be able to come back for Christmas (and wanting to keep her busy) we decided we'd decorate for Christmas a little early so Mackenzie could get the full Greer House At Christmas experience (TM). Let the unboxing begin!

Draw Draw Draw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It takes a village to keep an energetic four year old entertained, with pitching in from Great Grandpa Gene.

Thankskenzie Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mackenzie is here to stay the week, dropped off by her Mom and culminating in a slightly delayed Thanksgiving when her Dad and Payton come up next weekend.

Better Blue But Still Red

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We attended another drinks with dems event. This was was better, you could hear people, but mostly it was better because we did so well in the midterms! Not in Tennessee of course which is turning into an ever redder political cesspit. But hey, we'll take what joy we can in the good results for the rest of the country.

Time Well Spent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a great trip. We ended up spending almost 5 hours at the museum. I had looked forward to seeing a Blackbird and of course Dad's Hexagon system, but I really enjoyed every bit of the museum from hanger to hanger, seeing the evolution of flight from sticks to space. Well worth every moment of the journey and getting to spend time with Dad!

Family History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was incredibly satisfying and really cool to be able to see in person something I had heard so many stories about. To see the parts and how they worked, the physical construction of the satellite, even the airplane that caught the buckets shot back to earth. 

Much Bigger Than A K Cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a breakdown of one of the pods, starting with the ablative shield, then the gold shield, then the actual pod that contains the film and ending with the rocket that would guide it down to earth.

Again for ease of reading and posterity the sign says:

Hexagon KH-9 reconnaissance satellites featured four recovery vehicles or "buckets" that dropped back to earth from orbit carrying exposed reconnaissance camera film for processing. A mapping camera attached for some missions at the front of the satellite added a fifth, smaller bucket. US Air Force aircraft snatched the parachuting buckets in midair over the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

Hexagon film return buckets had to be maneuverable, vacuum-sealed, temperature controlled, lightweight, strong, and recoverable. Once ejected from the Hexagon vehicle, a small retro-rocket slowed the vehicles for atmospheric re-entry, with smaller thrusters providing, and then slowing a stabilizing spin.

The outer cover of high-temperature resin charred away to carry off heat during re-entry. Another thermal cover, plus an array of thermostats and sensors kept the film at the correct temperature in space and during descent. Once the vehicle reached about 50,000 feet, parachutes slowed its decent. Battery-operated radio signal emitters helped aircraft locate the buckets, which could float if they landed in the ocean. McDonnell-Douglas built the KH-9s Mark 8 recovery vehicles, white General Electric made the mapping camera's smaller Mark V vehicles.

Technical Notes

Film load: 52,000 to 77,500 fee of film maximum per vehicle.

Film weight: 500 lbs maximum per vehicle

Vehicle weight: 956 lbs.

Thrust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The maneuvering thruster on the back of the satellite to change course and keep it in orbit, complete with Dad explaining some machination of how it worked.

Snapshots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the two giant cameras, one facing forward and one back to create huge panoramic pictures with details on objects as small as two feet across. Amazing for the time and that these were physical cameras, taking snapshots onto film. hard to imagine in today's digital world, but back then it was cutting edge. The silver balls had helium in them to aid the film train. The film was moving very fast and was very thin so the helium helped keep it light and moving without snapping. An extra precaution because if that happened, there was no fixing it.

Pods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can see the films pods and how they would have been attached beneath the satellite. The white one has the full ablative shielding as it would have appeared in space. The gold is an example of the layer beneath the ablative one, also for heat control and protection. There were four of these buckets and when one filled up it would be shot down to earth and grabbed by the previously mentioned Satellite Catcher.

Hexagon Signage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information about the project and the satellite. For ease of reading and posterity here is what it says:

HEXAGON KH-9 reconnaissance satellites were the largest and last U.S. intelligence satellites to return photographic film to earth. During the Cold War, 19 HEXAGON missions imaged 877 million square miles of the Earth’s surface between 1971-1986.

HEXAGON’s main purpose was wide-area search. Analysts pored over HEXAGON’s photos of large areas, then focused in on potential threats with close-up surveillance from GAMBIT satellites.

The Lockheed Corp. built the HEXAGON vehicle. Its development included creating a very complex camera and film system. The satellite featured two separate cameras, designated KH-9 and made by the Perkin-Elmer Corp., working together to produce stereo images. These so-called “optical bar cameras” on the bottom of the satellite spun on their axes, taking overlapping images to form a very large panoramic picture. Objects smaller than two feet across could be imaged from around 80-100 miles altitude.

Some missions included a separate mapping camera mounted at the front of the satellite. This camera imaged wider areas to make very accurate maps for war planning and featured its own bucket-like film return vehicle.

The U.S. Air Force launched HEXAGON satellites aboard Titan IIID rockets from Vandenberg AFB, California, and provided tracking and control at an Air Force facility at Sunnyvale, Calif. USAF aircraft recovered film return vehicles in midair near Hawaii.

This artifact is on loan from the National Reconnaissance Office (Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance).

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Altitude: 80-370 nautical miles
Mission duration: 124 days average
Panoramic cameras: Perkin-Elmer, 60-inch focal length f/3.0, aperture 20 inches
Mapping camera: Itek, 12-inch focal length f/6.0, 9.5 in film, with two Itek 10-in focal length f/2.0, 70mm film cameras for star-tracking position reference
Film: length 320,000 feet (about 60 miles), width 6.6 inches
Film return vehicles: Four (five if mapping camera used)

The Hexagon KH-9 Reconnaissance Satellite

 

 

Finally, tucked away in the last corner, the real reason we came to the Museum. The project Dad led, the satellite he built and put into space, the KH-9. The only downer was they used ot have a KH-8 on display too, but had recently moved it to storage to make room for a new space exhibit. Still, here it was, the object of so much family history and stories.