Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

Friday, April 8, 2016

BEAM Prototype Habitat, Bigelow's Plans

The BEAM Bigelow Aerospace habitat module, will be launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) today: if all goes well.

BEAM is packed in the Dragon spacecraft's unpressurized section. This cargo run also carries supplies for the ISS crew, and for several dozen of the roughly 250 experiments planned for Expeditions 47 and 48. (SpaceX press kit)

After getting attached to the ISS and inflated, BEAM will mostly just sit there for at least two years: empty except when someone in the ISS takes samples and swaps out radiation sensors. I think that's a good idea, since BEAM is testing technology for Bigelow Aerospace rental properties in low Earth orbit.
  1. BEAM: a Bigelow Aerospace Inflatable Habitat Comes to the ISS
  2. Commercial Research in Orbit?
  3. Robert Bigelow: "Foretastes of the Space Age"
As I'm writing this, Thursday evening, spacexstats.com says that SpaceX CRS-8 will lift off at 20:43 UTC Friday, April 8, 2016.1 SpaceX has a webcast at spacex.com/webcast.


Update 00:10 UTC April 9, 2016

The SpaceX first stage landed successfully, and the Dragon spacecraft is on its way to the ISS.



Philosophers and Engineers



(From NASA, used w/o permission.)
(Part of the International Space Station.)

I've mentioned the aeolipiles — steam-powered rocket engines — of Vitruvius and Hero of Alexandria before. (October 10, 2014)

About two millennia later, folks living north of the old Roman imperial frontier learned how to make steam engines that don't explode: at least not often. A little later folks started building spaceships, which raises an interesting point: why didn't Athens build space stations?

I think it has something to do with economics, and a lot to do with attitude.

I agree with folks who say that the ancient Greek upper crust didn't think much of manual labor: that they saw it as something slaves did. Small wonder their philosophers carefully avoided finding practical applications for their theories.

Romans didn't have quite the same delicate sensibilities. They were top-rate engineers, given the limits of their numbering system. Try dividing LCX by XVII some time, and you'll see what I mean.

I gather that Romans often recognized that they weren't as "cultural" as the Greeks: but if a wealthy Roman wanted culture, he could buy a Greek, so that wasn't much of a problem — for the Roman.

On the 'up' side, Roman slaves could earn their freedom and become Roman citizens: an idea the Greeks didn't adopt.

By the way: slavery is a bad idea, and we shouldn't do it.

Having private property is okay, and the universal destination of goods is another topic. But treating humans as property is emphatically not okay It's "...a sin against the dignity of persons...." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2378, 2401-2406, 2414)

After about 19 centuries of reminding folks that loving God, loving neighbors, and seeing everyone as a neighbor2 is a good idea, a few countries stopped practicing slavery.

As I've said before, things often take time. Particularly when change means giving up long-established privileges. (July 5, 2015; January 18, 2015)

Where was I? Hero of Alexandria, steam power, Spartacus. Right.

Science, Pure and Otherwise



(From Bigelow Aerospace, used w/o permission.)
("...When fully expanded, the hull thickness will be approximately 0.46m (18in) and offer ballistic protection superior to that currently afforded to ISS. The hull will also feature at least four large UV protection coated windows that will offer unparalleled earth viewing from orbit...."
(Bigelow Aerospace))

I'm a Norwegian-Irish-Scots-American living in the Upper Midwest, so I'm neither ethnically nor geographically "Yankee:" but I think "Yankee ingenuity" is still a defining American trait.

I suspect the trait may be more common among first- and second-generation immigrants than among many 'real' Americans. When folks stop wanting to move to America, then I'll start worrying about my country's future, and that's yet another topic. (November 17, 2015; July 6, 2014)

I'll be talking about the Bigelow Aerospace BEAM module, and what that company may be doing in the next few years. It's an American outfit: but don't get the idea that aerospace enterprises are strictly "American."

I've talked about Reaction Engines Limited's Skylon project before. (May 2, 2014)

The last I heard, the Japanese Rocket Society's Kankoh-maru is still trying to get off the ground, financially and literally.

Starchaser Industries, a British firm, is hoping to get part of the nascent space tourism industry; Zero2infinity, a Spanish company, is developing high-altitude launching platforms; and ISC Kosmotras, an international outfit, is using modified R-36 missiles as satellite launchers.

ISC Kosmotras vehicles got the Bigelow Aerospace Genesis modules into orbit, and I'll get back to that.

We've long since gone past the point where space travel is "pure science," a strictly theoretical affair with no practical applications.

I see that as a good thing, but some have conniptions when business and science intersect.

Sometimes there's a real ethical issue buried under the rant. Sometimes — I'll let the Lemming, an online alter ego, speak for me:
"...The Lemming remembers watching a terribly serious thinker sputtering after the Russian space program launched a satellite.

His problem wasn't that the Russians had practical launch vehicles. He seemed offended because those people had put an advertisement on the rocket. Imagine!! That was an affront to science, apparently.

The Lemming's understanding of the situation was that the Russian space program was short on funds - and sold advertising space on their launch vehicle to help cover expenses. Which, to the Lemming, made sense.

Maybe it would be nice if exploration of space could be a 'pure' pursuit: an occupation of gentlemen; unsullied by mere commercial concerns.

The Lemming doesn't think that's how it's going to happen...."
(Apathetic Lemming of the North (May 16, 2011))

1. BEAM: a Bigelow Aerospace Inflatable Habitat Comes to the ISS



(From Julie Jacobson/AP, via Wired, used w/o permission.)
("Bigelow Aerospace founder and president Robert Bigelow answers questions from members of the media during a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in Las Vegas."
(Wired))
"NASA Is Finally Sending a Hotel Magnate's Inflatable Habitat to the ISS"
Sarah Scoles, Science, Wired (April 4, 2016)

"When humans leave Earth for good, they're going to need somewhere to stay. Somewhere spacious, and safe. Portable, but comfy. Lightweight, but robust to the dangers of space. Something like a big bouncy castle for kids, but built to house astronauts and solar system colonists and tourists looking for an out-of-this-world vacation.

"It sounds like a sci-fi fever dream, but it's becoming reality. On Friday, SpaceX will launch a so-called 'expandable'—a prototype called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module—to the International Space Station. (ISS) It will remain there, attached to the Tranquility module, for two years. Bigelow Aerospace hopes its time in orbit will prove the technology worthy of inhabitants...."
Sarah Scoles did a good job of research, taking readers on a quick tour of inflatable satellites and proposed off-Earth business ventures — including the Echo Mylar balloons, Barron Hilton's Lunar hotel, and a Goodyear inflatable space station.

The hundred-foot-diameter Echo satellites made it into orbit, but the Goodyear prototype didn't. "2001: A Space Odyssey" featured a Hilton hotel in the (fictional) Space Station V, and folks stopped visiting Earth's moon after the Apollo 17 mission.

Scoles' assertion that America's Congress ordered NASA to abandon the TransHab project because "a new, airy space station" would add problems to the over-budget and past-deadline ISS is plausible. Whether or not it's true: I don't know.

Whatever Congress had in mind, "in the 2000 NASA Authorization Act, Congress canceled TransHab. The housing bubble burst," as Scoles put it.

Bigelow Aerospace bought NASA's TransHab patents.

I don't mind a bit: particularly since B.A. actually did something with the research.

Empty, Mostly



(From Bigelow Aerospace, via Wired, used w/o permission.)
(BEAM)
"...For most of its stay, BEAM will be empty, except for the air it shares with the rest of the ISS. 'Currently there is no plan to use the BEAM module as a storage closet,' said Dasgupta. BEAM's empty space should have basically the same internal environment as the rest of the habitat. 'It might be a little cooler,' he said, by which he definitely meant a lot hipper, and also quieter because its walls absorb sound better than the station's metal.

"But four times a year, the station's astronauts will get to actually, you know, inhabit the place—for three hours at a time. With battery-operated flashlights, they will collect data about the module's temperature, pressure, general well-being, and radiation, and switch out radiation sensors. They will also swab samples of surfaces to see what weird life might be growing there, before going back to their regularly scheduled program and habitat.

"The balloon will protrude from the Space Station's side for two years. Then, the robotic arm will swing back around and unhook BEAM, its job complete. Cast into its own decaying orbit, the module will spiral back toward Earth, burning up in the atmosphere 290 days after its ejection...."
(Sarah Scoles, Science, Wired)
Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis I and Genesis II test modules have been orbiting Earth since 2006 and 2007, launched by ISC Kosmotras, a multinational commercial freight service using one-use converted Dnepr rockets.

We're still years — at least — from spaceplanes like Skylon, and I'm drifting off-topic.

Apparently BEAM's two-year scheduled attachment to the ISS is strictly a test of the tech's spaceworthiness.

I figure that keeping BEAM empty except for scheduled maintenance gives researchers 'clean' results: any changes will come from exposure of the outside to near-Earth space, or the inside's exposure to the ISS atmosphere.

Besides, at a tad over 400 kilometers, 250 miles, above Earth's surface; depending on comparatively untested tech isn't the safest option.

The half-dozen folks living and working there have other pressurized modules with a total volume about the same as a Boeing 747's. Considering that much of it is packed with equipment and supplies, it's probably not as spacious as it sounds.

2. Commercial Research in Orbit?



(From Biegelow Aerospace, via The Space Review, used w/o permission.)
("An illustration of Bigelow Aerospace's BEAM module attached to the ISS. While BEAM is a step towards commercial space stations, what types of customers they'll attract remains uncertain."
(The Space Review))
"The challenges of commercializing research in low Earth orbit"
Jeff Foust, The Space Review (April 4, 2016)

"On Friday afternoon, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station, the first resupply mission by the company since a June launch failure. Included in its cargo is the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), an inflatable (or expandable, as Bigelow Aerospace prefers to say) module that will be attached to the station. If all goes as planned, by late May the BEAM will be installed and expanded to its full size, enabling tests of the technology.

"Bigelow is just the latest in a wide range of companies to make use of the ISS for technology demonstration, satellite launches, and research of various types. Bigelow, though, has plans to develop its own space stations as well, and sees BEAM as the next step in those plans.

" 'A free flyer is absolutely a goal of Bigelow Aerospace, and the BEAM, which will be the first time that an astronaut steps inside an expandable habitat, is a very important milestone moving forward towards that vision,' said Mike Gold, director of DC operations and business growth, during a panel session March 30 at the National Academies that was part of a day-long examination of the commercial prospects for activities in low Earth orbit...."
Wikipedia's list of private spaceflight companies has separate lists for "Launch vehicles" and "Crew and cargo transport vehicles.

The former are mostly single-use expendable rockets; although it includes the SpaceX Falcon 9, which has a still-experimental reusable first stage. (December 24, 2015)

The latter includes (now-bankrupt) Rocketplane Kistler's K-1 planned reusable launch vehicle.

I'm not sure what the rationale is for placing vehicles in one or the other of those two lists.

Anyway, that Wikipedia page also lists Space mining and Space manufacturing separately: although Infinite Space Dynamics, Shackleton Energy Company, and Deep Space Industries show up in both. I talked about Deep Space Industries a few years back. (January 25, 2013)

Deep Space Industries' focus is on asteroid mining: which has the advantage of avoiding legal issues rooted in the Outer Space Treaty of 1966.

Shackleton Energy Company may be counting on world leaders to change their minds — or maybe they have really good lawyers. (February 5, 2016)

The Space Review's article focuses on "commercial prospects for activities in low Earth orbit."

Looking Beyond the Lab



(From Stephanie Schierholz/NASA, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(BEAM (Bigelow Expandable Activity Module) at Bigelow's Las Vegas facility last year (March 12, 2015))
"...What emerged from that discussion is that the technical infrastructure needed for performing research in LEO, particularly by people, is finally coming together. Orbital ATK and SpaceX have vehicles to transport cargo to and from the ISS that can also be used commercially, while Sierra Nevada Corporation is developing its own cargo vehicle that will be ready in a few years. Boeing and SpaceX, meanwhile, are making progress on commercial crew vehicles that are scheduled to make test flights next year. And Bigelow has its B330 modules that the company says will be ready once commercial crew systems enter service.

"What was less clear from that discussion, though, was the demand for those systems: who will want a commercial space station, particularly when the commercial viability of LEO research remains uncertain?

"NASA argues that it is trying to stimulate that demand now on the ISS, with the goal of having sufficient demand to support commercial suppliers by the time the station is retired in the 2020s. 'Private industry is the driver for the development and the sustainment of the supply,' said Sam Scimemi, ISS director at NASA Headquarters, describing the agency's vision for commercialization in LEO.

"The demand for those commercial facilities, Scimemi said, could include NASA, but only as one customer of many at most. 'We expect that the majority of the demand will be private-sector driven,' he said. 'The majority of the NASA focus will be on beyond low Earth orbit.'..."
(Jeff Foust, The Space Review)
I'm not surprised that "the commercial viability of LEO research" is problematical. There's not all that much demand back on Earth, at least not yet.

We didn't have Earth-based research parks until the 1950s. These days we've got hundreds, which sounds like a lot: but that's hundreds total on the planet, including about 170 in North America.

They're generally associated with a previously-existing university: and I'd be astonished if we're within a generation of seeing the first orbital university campus.

My guess is that folks who are "chasing long-held visions of using space not just for research but also for manufacturing" are on the right track.

This is still speculation, but we're discovering that some materials, behave differently in free fall:
"...Current technology indicates that a microgravity environment has enabled researchers to grow three-dimensional tissues that have characteristics similar to body tissues and to produce protein crystals to aid in novel pharmaceutical development...."
("Fields of Research," International Space Station Payload Information Source, via Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
I'd love to give examples of some specific drug that can only be made in low Earth orbit, or another manufacturing process that makes economic sense there. As far as I know, there isn't one. Not today.

"Needs" Change




(From Cmglee, Geo Swan; via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(Orbits of GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Compass (medium earth orbit) satellite navigation system, International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and Iridium constellation.)
"...'What can we not do without that we have to get from space?' asked Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK's space systems division, about that search for a killer app for LEO research. 'We don't have that yet.'..."
(Jeff Foust, The Space Review)
"What we can not do without" has changed quite a bit since I started noticing things — communications satellites, for example.

The International Telegraph Union became a United Nations specialized agency in 1947. Now we're calling it the International Telecommunication Union, and one of its functions is sorting out disputes between folks who want their satellites in the similar orbits.

I remember when Telstar satellites were experimental, and when a live transatlantic broadcast was international news. We still don't "need" communications satellites: but we certainly notice when a live video feed from another continent isn't as crystal-clear as local coverage.

Weather satellites predate Telstar by a few years. Collecting data from remote areas, and Earth's ocean, helped make weather forecasting a whole lot more reliable than in my 'good old days.'

As with communications satellites, maybe we don't "need" accurate weather forecasts the way we need food and water: but knowing the odds that a tornado is coming is nice.

So is having National Weather Service who aren't afraid to tell us. I really do not miss the 'good old days.' (January 16, 2015)

FAQs



(From NASA, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(BEAM mockup interior (2014))

Like most of the rest of the ISS, Bigelow's BEAM module has no windows: and doesn't need them, since it's there to 'flight test' Bigelow Aerospace inflatable habitat technology.

I'm fascinated by this sort of thing.

Your experience may vary: but if your day won't be complete without a learning more, I put a link list of resources at the end of this post.3

Here's an excerpt from a FAQ I didn't include in that list.
  • In its packed configuration, the module will measure approximately 8 feet in diameter.
  • In its expanded configuration, BEAM's internal dimensions provide 565 cubic feet of volume.
  • BEAM's mass is approximately 3,000 pounds.
  • BEAM is composed of: two metal bulkheads, an aluminum structure, and multiple layers of soft fabric with spacing between layers, protecting an internal restraint and bladder system. It has no windows.
  • BEAM will be attached to the aft section of the Tranquility Node on the International Space Station.
  • BEAM's mission duration is two years.
  • BEAM is outfitted with various sensors and radiation monitors.
    (Source: "BEAM Facts, Figures, FAQs," NASA (July 17, 2015))

3. Robert Bigelow: "Foretastes of the Space Age"



(From Michael Friberg, Bloomberg Businessweek; used w/o permission.)
("A cutaway showing the interior of the Olympus habitat, which has a volume more than double that of the International Space Station"
(Bloomberg Businessweek))
"A Las Vegas billionaire plans to build a real estate empire in space"
Adam Higginbotham, Bloomberg Businessweek (May 2, 2013)

"Robert Bigelow was no more than 9 years old when he heard his first atom bomb explosion. He was upstairs in his bedroom, in a two-story brick house in Las Vegas. There was a low rumble in the early hours of the morning; a bright flash seared the horizon. 'All of a sudden,' Bigelow remembers, 'it lights up like daytime.'...

"...As he grew up in the Las Vegas of the early ’50s—then still a small town—foretastes of the Space Age transfixed him: exotic jet planes screaming overhead from Nellis Air Force Base and stories of UFO sightings recounted by friends and family. At 12, Bigelow decided that his future lay in space travel, despite his limitations. 'I hated algebra,' he says. 'I knew I was no good at it.' So he resolved to choose a career that would make him rich enough that, one day, he could hire the scientific expertise required to launch his own space program. Until then, he would tell no one—not even his wife—about his ultimate goal. It took more than 40 years...."
Robert Bigelow is a few years older than I am, looks quite a few years younger, is a great deal richer. About the latter two: I don't mind.

Folks like him, Jacques Cousteau, Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, and Sir Isaac Newton are among the reasons I do not mind uneven distribution of wealth. As I've said before, being rich or poor is okay. What matters is what we do with our lives. (January 25, 2015; November 16, 2014)

Differences between folks isn't the problem: it's unjust differences. I've talked about the universal destination of goods, social justice, and Beaver Cleaver, before. (January 17, 2016; May 3, 2015)

Bigelow's sometimes called a "hotel magnate," which means that he owns Budget Suites of America: and has been developing hotels, motels and apartments since the late 1960s.

He's talked about hotels in space, maybe because that's likely to spark interest. He also sees other possibilities: like mining Helium-3 on Earth's moon. It's used in cryogenics and MRI machines, and (theoretically) could be used in fusion reactors — eventually.

The ESA and China have been talking about He-3 lunar mining:
Maybe that pesky Outer Space Treaty will finally get scrapped. Or ignored.

Space for Rent: Looking at Numbers



(From Michael Friberg, Bloomberg Businessweek; used w/o permission.)
("The B330 can be deployed by multiple launch vehicles and features an architecture designed with modular expansion in mind. A single B330 can be joined in orbit by multiple vehicles, in addition to other B330 and Bigelow Aerospace spacecraft."
(Bigelow Aerospace))
"...Although he'll be quite happy to sell habitats outright to his customers, he points out that for NASA—or the agencies of any other newly budget-conscious nations with ambitions beyond earth's atmosphere—leasing is by far the more affordable option. For only $51.25 million, Bigelow's sales brochure suggests, a client can travel to the Alpha Station and enjoy dominion over 110 cubic meters for 60 days.

" 'The main thing is trying to save them a lot of money on good quality hardware,' he says. Bigelow's intention is to become the first full-service landlord in space. 'Bring your clothes and your money. We provide everything else.'..."
(Adam Higginbotham, Bloomberg Businessweek)
Let's look at the numbers: 110 cubic meters, 60 days, $51,250,000 U.S. dollars. At first glance, that looks like a lot of money: and it is, for someone like me. We're making our own laundry detergent and growing produce out back to make ends meet.

But let's say that I want, or could use, two months in low Earth orbit; and had a company in Ohio with an annual revenue of between $10,000,0000 and $1,000,000,000.

That's a "middle market" company, according to Ohio State University's National Center for the Middle Market.

It's still a lot of money, but at middle market's high end, it'd be very roughly 1/20th of the company's annual revenue.

Let's see how much room that gets me. 110 cubic meters is just over 3,884 cubic feet.

A standard 40-foot intermodal container — that's one of those big metal boxes you see on container ships, railroad flatcars, or hauled by semitrailers — holds 3,040 cubic feet, or 86.1 cubic meters. That's about as much as a really small American studio apartment.

If it was job-related, I can imagine living in something that size for two months: even if equipment and supplies took up much of the volume. Bear in mind that I spend 12 to 14 hours a day at my desk, virtually plugged in to my computer. My idea of  'roomy' and yours may not be the same.

If Mr. Bigelow's "everything else" included air, water, food, power, and basic furniture, that $854.17 per day price tag doesn't seem so extravagant.

I checked, and that 'per day' rate is a bit less than I'd pay for one day at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Pennsylvania) Chateau Lafayette Club Suite on a summer weekend or holiday.

I think Bigelow Aerospace may take off: literally and financially.

Even if that company doesn't, I'm quite sure that other folks will continue humanity's old habit of heading for the horizon:
1 I talked about UTC, 'Earth time,' last year. (July 10, 2015)

Briefly, "UTC" stands for Coordinated Universal Time, an acronym that happened when folks speaking French and English couldn't agree on an acronym.

UTC is based on International Atomic Time: a time standard set by the weighted average of over 400 atomic clocks in more than 50 laboratories at various spots at or near Earth's surface — coordinated by GPS and two-way satellite time and frequency transfer.

2 My faith's basic 'to do' list is quite simple. I should love God, love my neighbors, see everyone as my neighbor, and treat others as I'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1789)

Acting as if that's true: that's what gets hard.

3 Background, far from exhaustive from:
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Sunday, February 28, 2016

Names and THE Name


(From USCCB, used w/o permission.)

Depending on whether or not folks are going through RCIA, we could be hearing either Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; and Luke 13:1-9 — or Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; and John 4:5-42 during Mass today.

The first set is the usual Year A readings for the third Sunday of Lent, the other are the set for today's Year A Scrutinies. Scrutinies are part of RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, a reboot of ancient procedures for processing adults into the Church.

Today's RCIA goes back to 1972, "as part of the liturgical renewal mandated by Vatican II."1 Before that we'd been using a Rite of Baptism introduced in 1614: which was just baptism.

I suppose some folks are upset that we changed something that'd been around since the year Pocahontas married John Rolfe and the Siege of Osaka began. Tokugawa Ieyasu became the next shogun, and yes: there are worse things than American presidential elections. My opinion.

By the way — if this post seems a bit more scattershot than usual, you're quite right.

I've been beset by a swarm of minor frustrations, or been unusually poor at managing my time — more likely a mix of both, plus getting downwind of the butterfly effect on steroids.

Butterflies on steroids?

That's a mental image that'll stick with me, and I'm not going to get distracted by gonane, cyclohexane rings, cyclopentane structures, bicycles, and entomology — etymology, yes, and I'll get back to that.

Still with me?

Okay — Make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your flight.

Councils


I'm not upset that we're not trying to revive the 'good old days' of 1972, 1962, or 1614.

But I realize that ecumenical councils like the Second Vatican Council, First Vatican Council, and Council of Trent, deal with global issues; and that we no longer live in the 20th, or 16th, century.

I'll grant that the First and Second Vatican Councils happened pretty close together: 1870 and 1962–1965.

Instead of wringing my hands how fast the world's changing, I'll point out that the First Council of Niceaea, First Council of Constantinople and Council of Ephesus, convened in 325, 381, and 431. The seventh ecumenical council happened in 787, back in Nicaea.

What's more remarkable, I think, are gaps when these councils didn't meet, like 870 to 1123 and 1563 to 1870.

This world keeps changing, so I see the Church making occasional adjustments in how we present the deposit of faith as routine. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1, 24, 84-87, 172-175, 302, 1511-1513, 1200-1206)

Where was I? Exodus, Niceaea, Pocahontas. Right.

"What am I to Tell Them?"


There's a lot going on in Exodus 3:1-15: sandals and holy ground, being afraid to look at God, and diffidence over getting orders directly from the top.2

It's also when we learned God's name, or title. One of them, that is:
"...'But,' said Moses to God, 'when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?'

"6 God replied, 'I am who am.' Then he added, 'This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.'

"God spoke further to Moses, 'Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. 'This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations...."
(Exodus 3:13-15)
I've talked about what happened centuries, maybe a millennium, later. (October 18, 2015; April 5, 2015)
"24 Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.'

"So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area."
(John 8:58-59)
Getting back to that interview with I AM; also names, language, and culture.

John, Jesus, and Me


Names mean things, or did at some point. Some examples —

Brian, my given name, harks back to Irish and Breton languages. It may come from an Old Celtic word for "hill" or "high place," and by extension mean "high" or "noble." I'm named after Brian Boru, High King of Ireland about a millennium back.

That's not what we'd mean these days by 'king of Ireland,' and I'm not going to get distracted by the Battle of Clontarf. My surname, Gill, means gully or ravine; or, if it's the word incorporated in Gilchrist, servant or slave. "Noble Gully/Slave?" There are worse names, I suppose.

Some names, like the Latin-derived Victor, still mean something in my native language. Others, like Benjamin, don't: and predate Western civilization's current iteration.

David is my language's version of דָּוִד, "beloved." An Ethiopian version is Dawit, and that's another topic.

John/Giovanni/Juan/Johann/Jens/Ieuan/Seán/Ivan/Janez/ יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān)/יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhôḥānān) — means "YHWH has been gracious." That explains Gabriel's message for Zachariah in Luke 1:13. I've talked about Gideon, Gabriel, Mary, and guts before. (December 21, 2014)

Several decades back, I heard "Jesus Loves Me" sung by a Chinese child: discovering that our Lord's name in her language is Yasu — which is closer, I think, to the original ישוע (Yeshua) than my Germanic language's "Jesus."

I like English, but will admit that it's not the most euphonious language on the planet.

Anyway, Yeshua was a common alternative to יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Joshua) when Gabriel had that interview with Mary.

I've read that "YHWH Saves/[is] Salvation/[is] a Saving-Cry" are not-unreasonable translations: and am inclined to see 'all of the above' as accurate. The denotative distinctions aren't all that disparate — alliteration happens — I suspect "God Saves" isn't far from the mark.

So, what about Ehyeh Ašer Ehyeh and Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, "I am who am" and "I AM" in my translation of Exodus 3:14?

"...Tell the Israelites..."


First off, my hat is most respectfully off to the millennia-old custom of avoiding uttering the Names of God. My own beliefs don't require it: and I'll find out soon enough if that's a problem.

I've talked about particular judgment, sin, and long-term planning, before. I hope that, at the end of all things, folks who wear tefillin get special commendation for following instructions to the letter, and that's yet another topic. (November 1, 2015; August 12, 2015; March 8, 2015)

Next, let's remember that Exodus 3:14 recalls something that happened — most likely after the Late Bronze Age Collapse and before Philip II of Macedon hired Aristotle as Alexander III of Macedon's tutor.

Back then, folks in Sumer and other Mesopotamian regions had an extensive roster of gods: like Anu/An, "Lord of the Constellations, Spirits and Demons;" and Ereshkigal, ruler of Irkalla, the underworld.

Today, several millennia later, we've gotten into the habit of using phonetic approximations of ancient names: and tend, I think, to forget that the names meant something, like "Victor" does today.

Someone who understood Sumerian, but hadn't heard of Anu, wouldn't have had trouble guessing what Anu's sphere of influence was. "An" means "sky" in Sumerian.

Ereshkigal, , means "queen of the great earth:" which isn't far from "queen of the underworld."

I suspect Moses understood at least some implications of "I am who am" and "I AM:" even if he hadn't realized that God is God and everyone else isn't.

I think it's likely that Moses would realize that the God of Abraham ruled: not just the sky, or our world, or some other subset of reality. God, I AM, rules — existence, reality, everything.

We're still, I think, getting used to that idea.
"For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes;

"who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him.

"So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt."
(Deuteronomy 10:17-19)

"Great is the LORD and worthy of high praise; God's grandeur is beyond understanding.

"One generation praises your deeds to the next and proclaims your mighty works.

"They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory, tell of your wonderful deeds.

"They speak of your fearsome power and attest to your great deeds.

"They publish the renown of your abounding goodness and joyfully sing of your justice.

"The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love.

"The LORD is good to all, compassionate to every creature."
(Psalms 145:3-9)

"1 In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets;

"in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe,

"who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

"as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs."
(Hebrews 1:1-4)

(From NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); ESA/Hubble Collaboration; used w/o permission.)

There's more, lots more, including what our Lord said about tower at Siloam, and that's yet again another topic:
1 RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) background:
"...The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), retrieved from biblical and patristic sources and adapted for use by the Catholic Church in 1972, offers possibilities for an agreed expression of our theological understanding and practice. The RCIA was introduced into the Catholic Church as part of the liturgical renewal mandated by Vatican II. It resulted from a revision of the rite of baptism in light of studies of liturgical history drawn from scriptural and patristic texts, especially that of the early centuries. As its name implies, this rite is for the full initiation of a person into the church. The previously existing Rite of Baptism, that came into effect in 1614 as a rite of baptism only, was an abbreviated version of the ancient rite for the initiation of adults and had been used for the most part in the modified form suitable for the baptism of infants. The Rite of the Baptism of Infants, introduced in 1969 to answer the need of a rite suited to infants, follows the practice of the previous rite in being for baptism alone, rather than one of full initiation. The limited scope of this Rite brings into prominence, by way of contrast, the comprehensive nature of the RCIA...."

"...The renewed Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, drawn from the tradition of the ancient church, is intended to guide the person as 'a new creature, an adopted [child] of God, who has become a partaker of the divine nature, member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit' (CCC 1265). Baptismal experience helps a person to grow in faith, hope and love towards God, to live under the prompting of the Holy Spirit and to mature in holiness. Adults also receive the sacrament of confirmation during their initiation, that is, 'the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost' (CCC 1302). This increases the grace of baptism such that their sense of divine filiation or adoption is deepened, their union with Christ is more firm, the gifts of the Holy Spirit increase, the bond with the church is more perfect, and by the special strength of the Holy Spirit they are enabled to witness to Christ by word and action (cf. CCC 1303). Reception of the eucharist in 'first communion' is a sharing in the sacrament of intimate union with Christ that 'preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at baptism". As "the bread for our pilgrimage until the moment of death' (CCC 1392), the eucharist grants the necessary nourishment for continued growth in Christian life."
("On Becoming a Christian: Insights from Scripture and the Patristic Writings with Some Contemporary Reflections," 48, 162, Report of the Fifth Phase of the International Dialogue Between Some Classical Pentecostal Churches and Leaders and the Catholic Church (1998-2006))
RCIA and scrutinies:
"...What are the 'scrutinies?' The RCIA describes them as 'rites for self - searching and repentance and above all a spiritual purpose. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong and good.For the scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.' (#141)..."
(Bulletin Article 1 | The Season of Lent, USCCB (2012))
More from the UCCB:
2 Apparently some historians figure Moses didn't really exist. One of the arguments is that whoever was Pharaoh at the time didn't have scribes and masons memorialize the plagues and subsequent fiery cloud incident. (Exodus 13:21-14:31)

I'm not terribly surprised at the lack of Egyptian documentation. This was pharaonic Egypt, not America after the Freedom of Information Act passed.

It's hard to imaging a pharaoh being eager to record how his decisions resulted in Egyptians going through a sequence of disasters, topping the debacle off by losing a valuable labor force and an elite military unit.

I've talked about Sacred Scripture, culture, and assumptions, before: but not, oddly enough, George Washington's cherry tree:
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Friday, January 22, 2016

DNA, Headless Skeletons of York

We've been learning quite a bit about humanity's family history recently: thanks partly to our increasingly-detailed knowledge of DNA and the human genome.

I'll be taking a look at what scientists are learning about Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxons, and headless skeletons.
  1. English: Anglo-Saxon, and a Whole Lot More
  2. Immigrants in Roman Times
I'll also indulge in an uncharacteristically-terse (for me) explanation of what science is doing in a 'religious' blog.

Using Our Brains: Or Not


I think the universe is billions, not thousands, of years old; Earth isn't flat; Adam and Eve weren't German; poetry isn't science; and thinking is not a sin.

That's because I'm a Catholic.

I think the universe follows knowable rules: which means we can learn how it works — and THIS IS OKAY. We're supposed to study this universe, and use what we learn. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 32; 339, 2292, 2295)

Scientific discoveries invite us "to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator."(Catechism, 283)

I've got free will, so I could decide that I'd rather ignore this wonder-filled creation: or indulge in whatever whims grabbed me. I'm better off if I think about what I do, though, and that's another topic. (Catechism, 1730-1738, 1762-1770)

The folks whose bones were disinterred for this research have been dead for a millennium or two, but the bones are still human remains. I hope what's left of their bodies were "treated with respect and charity." (Catechism, 2300-2301)

I'm not worried about 'Revenge of the Mummy Returns' spooks wreaking hideous vengeance on the Godless scientists. That might make a nifty movie ‐ it has, actually, quite often. And that's yet another topic.

I had a point, lurking somewhere in that verbiage. Got it! Superstition is a bad idea, and against the rules. (Catechism, 2110-2111, 2138)

Respect for the dead doesn't mean that autopsies are wrong. (Catechism, 2301)

I've nattered on about the faith, science, autopsies, and Mr. Squibbs, before. A lot. (August 28, 2015; January 9, 2015; August 15, 2014)

1. English: Anglo-Saxon, and a Whole Lot More



(From Duncan Sayer, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("This triple burial from Oakington, Cambridgeshire, includes metal and amber grave goods"
(BBC News))
"English DNA 'one-third' Anglo-Saxon"
Paul Rincon, BBC News (January 19, 2016)

"The present-day English owe about a third of their ancestry to the Anglo-Saxons, according to a new study.

"Scientists sequenced genomes from 10 skeletons unearthed in eastern England and dating from the Iron Age through to the Anglo-Saxon period.

"Many of the Anglo-Saxon samples appeared closer to modern Dutch and Danish people than the Iron Age Britons did...."
Anglo-Saxons almost certainly didn't call themselves Anglo-Saxons, or didn't until recently.

They spoke Old English for the most part, "Angul-Seaxan" is Old English for Latin "Angli-Saxones," the Venerable Bede called at least some of them Anglorum, and Gildas called them Saxones. They're folks who lived along the western European coast when the Roman Empire broke up.

We're still sorting out exactly what happened. Detailed records from that era of Western history are, understandably, a tad spotty. Apparently British rulers like Vortigern may or may not have invited Germanic troops as reinforcements in conflicts with Picts and Scots.

Either way, the Germanic warriors decided that eastern England looked better than where they'd been living — brought their families over, and were 'allowed' to stay.

Centuries later, Charles the Simple of West Francia struck a similar deal with Göngu Hrólfr.

Folks speaking my language call him Rollo these days: Göngu Hrólfr, I mean. It's what happened when Hrólfr got Latinized, and then spoken by folks speaking post-Elizabethan English. Hrólfr is still a not-uncommon name, but it's spelled and pronounced Rolf now.

Where was I? Anglorum and Saxones, the Venerable Bede, Gildas, Vortigern. Right.

'Anglo Saxons' started moving to England something like 15 centuries back now.

Assorted Germanic folks kept coming, and then from 1016 to 1066 another bunch invaded England: the Danes and Normans. Normans are still running the place, and I've said that before. (December 11, 2015)

Folks from various spots in northwestern Europe aren't nearly as different from each other as some of us imagine.

These scientists focused on a few rare mutations that show up about twice as often in the old Celtic-British population as they do in these upstart Angli-Saxones.

And I am not going to get started on the Verden incident and what happened after folks on part of my family tree started invading folks on another part. (August 9, 2015)

More:

2. Immigrants in Roman Times



(From York Archaeological Trust, via National Geographic, used w/o permission.)
("Geneticists sampled the dense inner-ear bone to extract ancient DNA from the skulls of several Roman-age skeletons discovered at Driffield Terrace in York"
(National Geographic))
"DNA Reveals Far-Off Origins of Ancient 'Gladiators' "
DNA testing is telling scientists more about the origins of a group of headless Romans.
Andrew Curry, National Geographic (January 19, 2016)

"People in the Roman Empire really got around.

"Evidence from a Roman-era cemetery in York, England shows that the city—once a major outpost on Rome’s distant frontier—was home to both locals and to immigrants from thousands of miles away.

"In a paper published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, Trinity College Dublin geneticist Dan Bradley and his colleagues analyze DNA preserved in the dense inner ear bones of seven skulls found in the cemetery. They report that six of the skeletons have DNA matching people living in modern-day Wales. But to researchers' surprise, one of the men came from a long way away—the other end of the Roman Empire, in fact.

" 'The nearest genetic matches were from Palestine or Saudi Arabia,' Bradley says. 'He definitely didn't come from Europe.'..."
The University of Reading's Gundula Müldner analyzed chemical signatures in the subject's teeth — discovering that he was from somewhere "arid and hot," as she told National Geographic. She says the best fit is the Nile Valley, or a very similar environment: certainly somewhere in the Near East.

This isn't the first time someone from elsewhere in the Empire ended up in where England is now. A woman from Africa, wearing an ivory bracelet, was buried in York during the Roman occupation.

Ebocarum, Jórvík, York, and Headless Skeletons



(From York Archaeological Trust, via National Geographic, used w/o permission.)

The decapitated skeletons are from a cemetery on the outskirts of Eboracum, a provincial capital which became Jórvík, ruled by folks with names like Halfdan Ragnarsson, Guthred, and Ragnall ua Ímair. The locals call it York these days.

Two Roman emperors died there while it was still called Eboracum: Septimius Severus and Constantius Chlorus

The fellows headlined by National Geographic weren't emperors.

The odds are pretty good that they were soldiers or gladiators. They were all above average height, more muscular than usual, and under age 45 when they died. Many showed signs of healed injuries, including one who had been bitten by something along the lines of a lion or bear.

They weren't all from the Near East. Earlier analysis of bones and teeth showed that some grew up in colder climates: maybe where Germany and Poland are now. Some of them had eaten millet as children: a grain we think wasn't available in Britain at the time.

This research is a big deal, since it helps us understand how folks who weren't emperors or senators lived during Roman times. One thing we've learned is that folks moved around: a lot, in some cases.

More:
stuff:
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Sunday, January 3, 2016

Jesus, the Magi, and Me


(Our Lady of Angels, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, Saturday afternoon. (January 2, 2015))

Statues of Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar started out across from the nativity scene in our parish church.

They were lurking by the poinsettias during Friday's Mass — the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God — and no, Catholics do not worship Mary. We're not supposed to, anyway.1

Getting back to the statues, they were in place at the nativity scene when I stopped by with a camera Saturday afternoon. Two look like they're kneeling to the Baby Jesus, the third is bowing slightly.

But Friday they were in front of the altar, by the poinsettias you see in that top photo. Two of them seemed to be crouching behind poinsettia leaves; with the third several paces back, leaning out from behind a plant. It looked like they might be getting ready to yell "surprise!"

"For You Gentiles"


The Magi show up in today's Gospel reading. I'll get back to that.

The reason Epiphany is a big deal for folks like me is in the other bit from the New Testament, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6.2

Here's a longer excerpt from that chapter in Ephesians:
"1 Because of this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ 2 (Jesus) for you Gentiles -

" if, as I suppose, you have heard of the stewardship 3 of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit,

"(namely, that) the mystery 4 was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier.

"When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

"which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit,

"that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. "
(Ephesians 3:2-3a)
That's why Epiphany and the Magi are a big deal for me. I'm a gentile, descended from folks in northwestern Europe. The reason I celebrate the Messiah's birth, death, and resurrection, is that Jesus came for all nations. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 13:10; Romans 16:25-26)

At the end of all things, I hope I'll be in the "great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue." (Revelation 7:9)

Like I keep saying, the Catholic Church is pretty much the opposite of an exclusive club. We're literally catholic, καθολικός, universal: a united and diverse people, embracing all cultures and all times. (July 19, 2015)

That's because we're doing what our Lord told us to do, just before leaving. I've talked about Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:10-11 before, too. (April 5, 2015; October 5, 2014)

Matthew 2:1-12 is a tad sketchy about who the magi were: "...behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem," and that's about it. (Matthew 2:1)

Two millennia later, we know a little more about them, and have educated guesses: and that's another topic.3
"...This Feast of the Epiphany is a very ancient Feast whose origins date back to the Christian East and which highlights the mystery of the manifestation of Jesus Christ to all peoples, represented by the Magi who came to worship the King of the Jews just born in Bethlehem, as St Matthew's Gospel recounts (cf. 2:1-12). This 'new light' that was lit on Christmas night (cf. [Roman Missal] Preface of Christmas I) is beginning to shine on the world today, as the image of the star suggests, a heavenly portent that attracted the attention of the Magi and guided them on their journey to Judea...."
("Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord," Benedict XVI (January 6, 2012))

"Know When to Run"



(From Adam Elsheimer; via the collection of Elector Johann Wilhelm of the Palatinate in Düsseldorf,Later in the Mannheim Gallery, photo by The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei, Wikimedia Commons; used w/o permission)
(Adam Elsheimer's Die Flucht nach Ägypten ("The Flight into Egypt") (1609))

Like Don Schlitz's song says: "You've got to ... know when to walk away, know when to run...."

After the magi presented their gifts to our Lord, they were "warned in a dream not to return to Herod," and headed for home by an alternate route. (Matthew 2:12)

That left Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Bethlehem: which was not a safe place any more.

In 2010, Ken Spino called Herod the Great "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." Herod apparently didn't kill off the entire family, since two sons took over after his death.

However, Herod liked being king — even if it was as a Roman client king — and wasn't about to let some upstart take the job. He'd learned from the magi when Jesus was born, research pegged Bethlehem as the place: so Herod sent assassins to kill every boy in Bethlehem under the age of two.

There were a lot of dead kids in Bethlehem that year: but not Jesus. An angel had ordered Joseph to get Mary and Jesus to Egypt ASAP: which he did. (Matthew 2:13-14)

Much later, Jesus ran into trouble with Jerusalem's elite, was executed, and buried in a borrowed tomb. A few days later, he stopped being dead: and that's another topic.
"3 All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be

"through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;

"4 the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
(John 1:3-5)
More about life, death, love, and all that:
1 Mary is important because she's our Lord's mother. I'll get back to that.

Ersatz 'Mary sightings' and 'face of Jesus in a jar of mayonnaise' events occasionally make headlines: mostly on slow news days, I suspect.

What I run into more often are folks who claim to get messages from Mary. One of them took it up a notch and started saying that he was getting inside information straight from God. For the sake of folks like that, I hope they're sincere.

Catholics do not worship Mary. Putting any creature in God's place is a very bad idea, and we shouldn't do it. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2112-2114)
"VENERATION (OF SAINTS): Showing devotion and respect to Mary, the Apostles, and the martyrs, who were viewed as faithful witnesses to faith in Jesus Christ. Later, veneration was given to those who led a life of prayer and self–denial in giving witness to Christ, whose virtues were recognized and publicly proclaimed in their canonization as saints (828). Such veneration is often extended to the relics or remains of those recognized as saints; indeed, to many sacred objects and images. Veneration must be clearly distinguished from adoration and worship, which are due to God alone (1154, 1674, 2132)."
(Catechism, Glossary, V)
As a Catholic, I have to believe that Jesus is human and is God. The mother of Jesus is Mary, so he's human on his mother's side. (Catechism, 484-486, 495)

One of Mary's titles is Mother of God. (495)

That doesn't make her divine: special, yes; divine, no. (Catechism, 411, 487, 971, 2030)

I think this quote sums up Mary's role rather well:
"His mother said to the servers, 'Do whatever he tells you.' "
(John 2:5)
Two millennia later, that's still good advice.

2 Today's readings are Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; and Matthew 2:1-12.

3 More about Epiphany and the Magi:
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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.