Now that we are at the end of 2021, it is time to look back at this year’s material published on Drew Ex Machina and see which of the new essays I posted during this site’s seventh year online, along with earlier published material, proved to be most popular to my readers. In addition to satisfying my curiosity, this exercise is an attempt to figure out what kinds of articles my readers prefer so that I can focus my attention on similar topics over the coming months when possible. What follows is a review of the Top Ten most popular articles on this site during 2021 based on a raw tally of their page views. If you are interested in checking out any of these articles for yourself, they can be accessed by clicking on the titles or the feature images in the reviews that follow.
This is a view of Gemini 7 which was launched on a two-week mission on December 4, 1965 with NASA astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on board. (NASA)
#10 Gemini 7: Two Weeks in the Front Seat of a Volkswagen
As many of us around the globe have been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic by isolating ourselves at home for two weeks (or more!), I was reminded of some of the early long-duration space missions – the ultimate example of long-term isolation. In December 1965, NASA astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell spent a fortnight in orbit on board Gemini 7 under conditions which were described by the press at the time as like spending two weeks in the front seat of a Volkswagen Beetle. The #10 most popular article on Drew Ex Machina for 2021 took a detailed look at the Gemini 7 mission which set a space endurance record which would stand for almost five years.
Here we see NASA astronaut Ron Evans with the crescent Earth visible in the distance during his deep space EVA of December 17, 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission. (JSC/NASA)
#9 A History of Deep Space EVAs
With NASA and its partners preparing to return to the Moon, it is inevitable that deep space EVAs will be performed during the course of these new missions of exploration. This likely explains the renewed interest in the deep space EVAs performed during the last three Apollo mission to the Moon as part of the more ambitious J-series. The #9 most popular article on Drew Ex Machina for 2021 took a detailed look at the deep space EVAs of Apollo 15, 16 and 17 which were meant to retrieve photographic film containing detailed mapping images and other data of the lunar surface while Apollo was in orbit around the Moon.
The launch failure of Juno II Round AM-16 at Cap Canaveral on July 16, 1959 (NASA)
#8 The Spectacular Launch Failure of Explorer S-1 – July 16, 1959
The early years of the Space Age witnessed more than its share of rocket failures as scientists and engineers tried to perfect many new technologies. One of the more spectacular (and better known) of these failures occurred on July 16, 1959 when Juno II Round AM-16 failed immediately at launch ending hopes of orbiting NASA’s latest Explorer satellite designated S-1. The #8 ranked article for 2021 took a detailed look at this particular infamous launch failure and its cause.
A view of Saturn 500F at Pad A at dawn on June 22, 1966. (NASA/KSC)
#7 The Saturn 500F: The Moon Rocket that Couldn’t Fly
A half century ago, NASA was gearing up for the final push to land astronauts on the Moon. One of the key milestones to reach that goal was the completion of the facilities at Launch Complex 39 where the Apollo-Saturn V would be assembled, checked out and launched. On May 25, 1966 NASA rolled out a non-flight model of their Moon rocket called Saturn 500F to check out the newly completed VAB and Pad A at LC-39. This post on Drew Ex Machina, which also ranked #3 in 2019, tells the story of the Saturn 500F and the various tests that were performed during the summer of 1966. Immediately following the disassembly of Saturn 500F, work began on the first Saturn V flight article for the Apollo 4 test flight of November 1967.
A montage of photos from my first visit to KSC in July 1981. (A.J. LePage)
#6 A Tour of Kennedy Space Center – July 1981
Growing up in the 1970s, I followed every NASA mission I could with increasing interest – Apollo, Skylab, Mariner, Viking, Voyager and more. One of my dreams at this time was to visit Kennedy Space Center (KSC) where most those missions were launched. That dream finally came true for me 40 years ago on July 15, 1981 when I made my first visit to KSC at the age of 19. The #6 most popular article on Drew Ex Machina for 2021 was my post where I shared my photographs and experiences during that visit to KSC when the experience was very different than it is today.
The launch abort of Mercury-Redstone 1 on November 21, 1960. (NASA)
#5 The Infamous Launch Abort of NASA’s Mercury-Redstone 1
After the failure of NASA’s Mercury-Atlas 1 in July 1960, focus turned to the first test flight of the suborbital Mercury-Redstone which would be used to launch the first Americans into space in less than six months. Unfortunately, a malfunction at the launch of Mercury-Redstone 1 on November 21, 1960 led to an unintended abort resulting in a failure to meet the mission’s flight objectives. The #5 ranked article on Drew Ex Machina for 2021 took a close look at NASA’s Mercury-Redstone 1 mission and the causes of its disheartening failure.
Apollo 6 shown during its ascent as debris is seen coming off of its spacecraft launch adapter (SLA). (NASA)
#4 Apollo 6: The Saturn V that Almost Failed
One of the most popular articles on Drew Ex Machina for the past three years, which this year comes in at #4, related the details of the unmanned Apollo 6 mission. Launched on April 4, 1968, the second Saturn V to fly experienced more than its share of problems during its flight culminating with the failure of the S-IVB third stage to reignite to send the spacecraft on a simulated trajectory to the Moon. Fortunately, the causes of the failures were quickly assessed, and fixes confidently identified eliminating the need for a third unmanned test flight of the Saturn V and keeping NASA’s schedule on track to land on the Moon before the end of 1969.
The volcanic plumes of Io were first noticed in this Voyager 1 image acquired on March 8, 1979. (NASA/JPL)
#3 First Pictures: Voyager 1 Images Io’s Volcanic Plumes
Arguably one of the more important discoveries of the historic Voyager mission to the outer planets was the observation of active volcanoes on Jupiter’s innermost Galilean moon, Io. The third most popular post on Drew Ex Machina for 2021 took a closer look at the image taken by Voyager 1 on March 8, 1979 where a pair of volcanic plumes were discovered by Linda Morabito working as an optical navigation engineer on the Voyager program.
Diagram of the Space Shuttle from c1975 showing its major components. (NASA/MSFC)
#2 The Dream of NASA’s Space Shuttle: Artwork of the ‘70s
Following the approval of the Space Shuttle program almost a half century ago, a flood of artwork from NASA and its contractors gave space enthusiasts a glimpse of what to expect in the near future. The #2 ranked article for 2021 provides a sample of this artwork in my personal collection from the mid to late-1970s.
This image shows the solar system’s eight currently-recognized planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun to a common size scale. (Lunar and Planetary Institute)
#1 Practical Limits of Trip Times to the Planets
Frequently the space-related media is filled with headlines about some new propulsion technology which can shorten trip times to the planets to even hours. Of course, such sensational claims deserve a sober review which was the purpose of the #1 ranked article on Drew Ex Machina in 2021. Dusting off some calculations I did as a physics undergrad decades ago, I demonstrated that any conventional cargo would be destroyed by the huge g-forces experienced during a putative half-hour trip to Mars. In fact, barring any unforeseen breakthroughs in physics which allows us to invent scifi tech such as “inertial dampers” or the like, we are not likely to ever see trip times to Mars for human passengers of less than a day. Still, if a propulsion technology is developed that permits the construction of my hypothetical “1-g ship”, calculations show that it would be possible to reach any point in the inner solar system in less than a week or any planet in the outer reaches of our system in just a couple of weeks – far faster than our current technology allows but still fast enough to open a whole universe of possibilities for the exploration (and exploitation!) of the solar system.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the over 109,000 people from around the globe who have taken time in 2021 to read these Top Ten as well as the other 339 essays on Drew Ex Machina. The many comments and feedback on this site as well as in other forums have also been greatly appreciated. I intend to continue posting interesting essays on space-related topics during 2022 and hope that all of you continue reading and enjoying them.
Happy New Year! Drew LePage
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