South again
We headed north back to the study area for a couple of days and the scientists tried to get as much done as they could. Unfortunately, we are headed south again, to wait out another storm. This big deal storm sits right where we want to go. I think the blue dot near the bottom is where we are heading, with slightly calmer seas. The forecast says we may not have a feasible route to Lyttleton NZ until after December 2. They are seriously talking about abandoning the rest of the planned science, which is a real shame. The scientists have been working toward this trip for years and they may only get half of their work done.
One day when I was on the bridge, third mate Trevor came over to chat. He wasn’t sure whether we had talked about this before, but he was interested in whether anyone had calculated the position of the NBP in relation to the international space station. He can’t have mistaken me for a mathematician but since I’m in IT maybe he thinks I’m adjacent to brainy people. Trevor thought that at some points, the closest people to the ship would be on the ISS when it passes by overhead. The ISS is only 250 miles away and it goes over the ocean in the general area of where the ship sometimes travels. He thought someone would have to have better information than is available publicly to be able to calculate orbits and match to the ship position. He showed me a fancy navigational tool that he could manipulate to show where the vessel might go, and distances between ship and land.
The ISS doesn’t go below 51 south and the vessel would have to be somewhere in that transit area for the ISS to pass overhead. Also far away from any other land/people. There is location called Point Nemo, which is the “oceanic point of inaccessibility”, the place farthest from any land. It is about 48 south, 123 west. In theory the ship could be near that place sometime.
I brought up this question in a group meeting because we do have a pretty mathematical person. She thought it was an interesting question and she threw out a bunch of terms and data sites to consider when calculating. As if I would take up the challenge. Another person said she was in contact with a previous ship employee, who is an actual rocket scientist, with a PhD in astronautical and aerospace engineering from MIT. Long story short, the PhD said the NBP would never be the closet people to the ISS, and gave suggestions and links to do more calculating. I printed out his information and an article about Point Nemo, to give to Trevor. He still thinks it possible and he will ponder and imagine as he goes about his night watches on the bridge.
Here’s a picture of one of the science contraptions being brought back on board. It was a beautiful morning, around 3:30am.
