Thank You, Internet: SpaceX

I've mentioned before, vaguely, the internet as an incredible resource for modern homeschooling. There is a lot available on the internet for homeschoolers, and even more that wasn't intended for lessons, but can easily be adapted. I spend quite a bit of time perusing the vast open space of the internet, looking for ideas and resources, so I thought I would share them with you. I'll post them here, under the homeschool tab, as "Thank You, Internet" posts.

Today, I want to say "Thank You, Internet" for an awesome, live webcast of the SpaceX, Falcon 9/Dragon capsule, International Space Station resupply launch. The girls and I watched it while we had breakfast. And M only told me "this is not exciting" once!  But she's 3-years-old.

Watching the launch opened the floor for discussion about why the fire coming out of the engines changes color when the rocket gains altitude, why fire seems to be what makes the rocket go, and why maneuvering the Dragon outside the atmosphere seems to take so much less work and more precision. Of course, they're 6 and 3, so some of those words were not actually used. But discussions about gravity relative to our planet and outer space are colorful, nonetheless.

SpaceX live webcasts a lot of things. This is the second launch we have watched, but the girls were not as curious last time. The previous launch was followed by a live webcast of the Dragon capsule docking with the ISS, which was particularly exciting because of the protocol in place and the mechanisms used. Unfortunately, from what I'm hearing, this Dragon may be less successful.

According to USAToday, "In a statement shortly after noon [EST], SpaceX said Dragon experienced a problem with a propellant valve after reaching orbit, and that only one of four Draco thruster pods was functioning." Elon Musk is apparently planning to give a statement about the situation this evening. At this point it's not publicly known whether the Dragon will be meeting up with the ISS or not.

I'm excited to see Elon's public release, and the drama here is pretty enthralling. Of course, I'd love to see these things go off without a hitch, but I have to admit that the slow trickle-down of information and the suspense here are far more exciting than any soap opera, at least for the nerd in me.