After attending the funeral for my uncle Rick
Blattenberger at Arlington National Cemetery (he was a decorated Army Ranger during the
Vietnam era), Melanie and I drove to the nearby Udvar-Hazy Center annex of the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum. It has been nearly two decades since we last visited the
NASM in Washington, D.C., so I do not know what it looks like now, but the UHC is an
incredibly densely packed collection of awesome artifacts from America's aerospace endeavors.
Having another appointment meant only being able to spend about two hours there, which
is nowhere near enough time to even come close to taking in all there is to offer. Other
visitors must have thought I was a deranged lunatic because of my roaming at a rapid
pace, with my head continually rolling from trying to see everything, jaw hanging down
out of amazement, drool running down my cheek from a Pavlovian response to the intellectual
food all around me, and unintelligible sounds being uttered as I quickly read informational
placards half out loud.
These are the electronics and computers that were on display at the time. Many more
were there, of course. Someday, I hope to return and do a much more thorough capturing
of the items, and with a much better camera.
 Entire Experimental Payload
 Mass Spectrometer
 Heliostat Payload
 X-Ray Telescope
_small.jpg) Aerobee Rocket Payload Electronics |
 Workstation
 Power Supplies |
 Electronics Cabinet
 UNIVAC 1232 Computer |
Posted February 23, 2014
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