Published inThe Vintage Space·Mar 14, 2021A New Look At John GlennMercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War, Jeff Shesol, 2021 One hundred and one years ago, there were no space travelers on planet Earth. One year later, there were a number of them. In case you think I am talking about space aliens…John Glenn4 min readJohn Glenn4 min read
Published inThe Vintage Space·Oct 14, 2020Gay Astronauts: A Final FrontierBy Francis French From the very beginning, human spaceflight has been about firsts as much as technology. Space exploration is, after all, a product of the Cold War — a “Space Race” where beating the other superpower was the justification. Sending the first person into space, carrying out the first…15 min read15 min read
Mar 11, 2020A Walk With A HawkBy Francis French Heading east from San Diego, it doesn’t take long until you’re in the Cuyamaca Mountains. The beaches and palm trees give way to forested peaks, with an occasional dusting of snow. There, in the chaparral-covered foothills, I’m having a remarkable experience. If you’ve ever seen a bird…Birds5 min readBirds5 min read
Jan 22, 2020The Evidence by the FreewayIf I leave my house and head towards the Pacific Ocean, within a few minutes I’m driving west on San Diego’s 54 freeway. There’s a certain spot I pass not far from my home that always gives me pause. …Mastodon5 min readMastodon5 min read
Published inThe Vintage Space·Dec 19, 2019A Review, And A ReflectionA Review, And A Reflection “Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight,” Amy Shira Teitel, 2020. I’m going to talk about this intriguing new book by Amy Shira Teitel, I promise. But first I’m going to digress into some background stories, because this is a…Space9 min readSpace9 min read
