Tag Archives: space

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Abandoned Control Tower, Hangar One

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Abandoned Control Tower, Hangar One - An abandoned control tower in front of the skeleton of historic Hangar One, stripped of its outer skin, at the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield.
An abandoned control tower in front of the skeleton of historic Hangar One, stripped of its outer skin, at the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield.

Abandoned Control Tower, Hangar One. NASA/Ames Moffett Field, California. September 21, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An abandoned control tower in front of the skeleton of historic Hangar One, stripped of its outer skin, at the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield.

Moffett Field (now officially called “Moffett Federal Airfield”) is an iconic landmark in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. Located along highway 101, in sight of thousands of drivers who pass every day, the most obvious features are the three very large hangars that were once built to house lighter-than-air craft. The largest is the so-called “Hangar One,” which is shown in this photograph. When I was a child, my family used to go to Moffett Field (then “Moffett Naval Air Station,” if I recall correctly) on “Armed Forces Day” (which seemed to be a big deal back then) to see the annual air shows, often featuring the Blue Angels and more. Visiting Hangar One was always a high point. The thing is huge! The wikipedia entry reports, among other things, that it is large enough to hold six football fields.

In the 1990s the airfield was decommissioned and then turned over the NASA Ames Research Center. Not long after that it was discovered that the lead paint used in the structure and perhaps other elements, too, were polluting the waters of the San Francisco Bay, which lie at the end of the runway. To make a long story short, the steel panels that formed the outer shell of the hangar were stripped off as part of the work to fix this problem. I’m unaware of the ultimate plan, if there is one, for the hangar, though its historic status creates some hope that it might be refitted at some point. I made this photograph on September 21, 2012 while waiting for the flyover of the Endeavor on its flight to Los Angeles. Even without the skin, the massive skeletal structure is quite a sight.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Textures

September Sky Number One

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September Sky Number One - Sky above the San Francisco Bay Area, September 21, 2012
Sky above the San Francisco Bay Area, September 21, 2012

September Sky Number One. Above the San Francisco Bay Area, California. September 21, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sky above the San Francisco Bay Area, September 21, 2012

There probably isn’t a lot to say about a photograph of a small section of the September sky above northern California. I made the photograph while waiting (for three hours!) for the Space Shuttle Endeavour flyover at the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Field. Fortunately, it was not a typical perfect blue sky California September day – instead there were some beautiful high clouds of various sorts that were probably connected to the passage of some tropical moisture. Standing around with a bit lens on the camera and nice clouds overhead – why not photograph a few of them? :-)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Events, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Northern California

I Swear He is Smiling

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Smiling pilot of the carrier aircraft - Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyover - NASA Ames Moffett Field, California. A smiling pilot is visible through the cockpit window of the space shuttle Endeavour during its flyover of the NASA Ames Moffett Field
A smiling pilot is visible through the cockpit window of the space shuttle Endeavour during its flyover of the NASA Ames Moffett Field

Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyover – Smiling Pilot. NASA Ames Moffett Field, California. September 21, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A smiling pilot is visible through the cockpit window of the space shuttle Endeavour during its flyover of the NASA Ames Moffett Field.

Just for fun… this is a 100% magnification crop of a section of one of my photographs of the flyover by space shuttle Endeavour, mounted on its 747 transport aircraft. I made the photograph on September 21, 2012 as it flew over the NASA Ames Moffett Field in the San Francisco Bay Area. While working on the original photograph I was looking closely at it when I realized that the face of the pilot (co-pilot?) is visible in the cockpit window… and I swear he is grinning! :-)

(Since I know some will ask… Canon 5D2 with Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS, handheld.)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Northern California

Departure – Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyover #4

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Space Shuttle Flyover - Moffett Field #4 - The space shuttle Endeavour departs after flying over the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield
The space shuttle Endeavour departs after flying over the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield

Departure – Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyover #4. NASA/Ames Moffett Field, California. September 21, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The space shuttle Endeavour departs after flying over the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield.

Although I continued to shoot as the shuttle flew to the south and out of the San Francisco Bay Area, this is the last shot in the sequence that I’ll share. Although many in the ground hoped (dreamed?) that the shuttle might circle around and make a second pass – there had been rumors of a 200 ft. altitude flight down the runway – it seemed pretty likely that this was the end of the show, though what a show it had been!

In some ways I like this photograph the most, even though it certainly does not reveal as much of the detail of the space vehicle or its transport plane. On the other hand, it seems to me to be a bit more evocative of the end of this era in American space flight – the shuttle flies away in into an almost empty sky.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.