Remembering the Moon Landing, 45 Years Later

Last month we explored the future of space exploration, but this month we remember the past. 45 years ago today, the Apollo 11 Moon landing took place. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first human beings to set foot on the Moon, took their historical “giant leap for mankind” on July 20, 1969. This moment signaled a sea change in the history of humanity, our first venture to another world.

The Apollo 11 mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. The crew consisted of Aldrin, Armstrong, and Michael Collins. After launching with a Saturn V rocket, the three astronauts undertook the three-day journey to the Moon. Once in orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin used the Lunar Module to land on the surface of the Moon, leaving Collins in the Command Module orbiting the Moon. The two astronauts spent about 21 ½ hours on the surface of the Moon, 2 ½ of which was spent outside the spacecraft. They collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material before returning to the Command Module, which carried all three explorers safely back to Earth.

Buzz Aldrin [Photo Credit: www.latimes.com]

Aldrin recently held an informal interview on Reddit to commemorate the event. In his interview, Aldrin detailed his vision for the future of space travel. “OUR resources should be directed to outward, beyond-the-Moon, to establishing habitation and laboratories on the surface of Mars that can be built, assembled, from the close-by Moons of Mars,” he wrote. He sees these future missions to Mars as permanent journeys to be undertaken by committed, lifelong pioneers. His own pioneering was much briefer, but took a great deal of courage and commitment.

Calmont provides NASA with custom aerospace wire and cable, which contributes to the future of space exploration. Will we make it to Mars as Aldrin predicts? No one can know for sure, but our custom wire will surely be onboard any spacecraft that undertakes this daring mission.

Space-Age Custom Wire and the Future of Space Travel

[Photo Credit: www.latimes.com] The SpaceX Dragon V2 capsule is reusable, making it ideal for future commercial flights into space.

Calmont has long supplied custom wire for applications by NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the European Space Agency, and a variety of other aerospace organizations. In the past, the only entities that were able to successfully launch missions into space were government agencies. But now, with recent announcements from SpaceX, it seems that commercial space travel may be a real possibility sooner than anyone could have predicted, at least in recent memory.

In the 1960s, when we first put a man on the moon, many Americans imagined a not-too-distant future where they would vacation up there. Unfortunately, the push to send more manned missions into space lost some of its drive along the way and, although we have continued to launch rockets into space, we have yet to achieve the dream of regular travel beyond “the surly bonds of Earth.”

The new advances by SpaceX are inching us closer to the future envisioned by Americans in the ‘60s and, appropriately enough, the technology looks like those original Apollo space capsules. SpaceX’s Dragon V2 is a 21^st-century space capsule equipped with its own rockets, allowing it to land safely upon its return to Earth. This allows the capsule to be reused for future flights; the disposable nature of the Apollo vehicles made the cost prohibitive for commercial use.

As we take the next step in space exploration and travel, Calmont’s custom wire is sure to be there. Our aerospace wire and cable is designed for maximum design flexibility, allowing the engineers who build these spacecraft to make their vehicles durable and lightweight. With our focus on weight reduction, strength, small diameter, and flexibility, our wire and cable is sure to be a part of many future missions into space. It’s an exciting time for scientific exploration, and we are proud of our continuing role within that field.

Calmont Congratulates Graduates

For some time now, Calmont has been working with universities, labs, and students to provide them with the industrial wire they need to do the much-needed work of scientific innovation. Although these brilliant scientists and engineers work all the year round, the end of the academic year is very rapidly approaching. So here at Calmont, we want to extend our congratulations to all the graduating college students we have worked with this year.

Our University “Give-Back” Program has been a rousing success, with countless students getting the wire or cable they need to complete their various projects. We have seen firsthand what some of these brilliant young minds have come up with, and we know the level of dedication that goes into studying engineering and technology. That’s why we have been so delighted to give a helping hand along the way. We have even helped some of these students come up with specific solutions and ideas, contributing in our own small way to the advancement of technology.

If you aren’t among those students walking this year, that just means that you have at least one more academic year to take advantage of our program. The same goes for all of you professors and other educators out there. If you work in the STEM fields at a university, we are always interested in hearing from you. Contact us and let us know how we can help you in your pursuits. And, once again, congratulates to all of you soon-to-be grads out there.

Keeping the Lines of Communication Open

When keeping the lines of communication open is important to you and your organization, you want to know that the cables carrying your data are up to the job. In today’s high-tech environment, communications and data equipment are more important than ever. If the hardware that carries your data from one place to the next breaks down, the repercussions can be devastating to your organization. Fortunately, Calmont Wire & Cable can create a custom communication cable for whatever application you need.

Environmental

Does your situation call for protection against abrasion? Are your communication cables likely to be exposed to corrosive or reactive chemicals? What temperatures will they be exposed to? The beauty of custom communication cables is that they can be made to withstand any environmental factors needed. Rather than settling for cables that are made for general applications, you can be sure that your lines of communication are made to withstand the challenges they are most likely to face.

Shielding

Interference from other electronic devices can wreak havoc on your communications equipment if they lack the proper shielding. Signal interference can be as problematic for your communications as a severed cable. If your system is complex and transports a lot of data, custom cabling is the way to go.

Customization goes beyond protection, however. Wire gauges can be made to meet your specific needs. Conductor counts and twisted pairs can also be made in any configuration best suits you. Fiber optic cable, Ethernet, and telecom cable are just a few of the wide variety of communication cables available. Transferring data is crucial to almost every industry and organization around. With custom communication cable, you can make sure that your organization is prepared.

Exploring the “Cosmos” with Custom Wire

Here at Calmont, we have been working with NASA, JPL, the European Space Agency, Lockheed, L-3, and many other space exploration and aerospace organizations for many years. So you can imagine how excited we were to witness the reboot of one of the all-time great space exploration shows: “Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey.”

Last Sunday, host Neil deGrasse Tyson picked up where science luminary and host of the original series Carl Sagan left off. Beginning with a discussion of our cosmic address, our relative place in the universe, Tyson then took viewers on a journey across time and space in the iconic Ship of the Imagination.

Combining breathtaking video and digital renderings of the cosmos and dramatizations of historical events, the series is introducing a whole new generation to the wonders of science and space exploration. We hope this show inspires more young people to pursue careers in science and technology, taking the human race to the next frontier and beyond. After all, we provide the wire that helps keep satellites in orbit; without new advances in space exploration, who would we provide custom wire to?

We could just imagine producing the custom wire for the Ship of the Imagination. With our aerospace wire – which provides reduced weight, increased strength, smaller gauge, flexibility, and purity – we have been outfitting aircraft, spacesuits, satellites, and other advanced aerospace equipment for years. And we couldn’t be prouder to contribute to the continuing advancement of human knowledge, at least in our own small way.

Cable Purity and Audio Fidelity

High quality sound is not just the most important thing for the professional audio industry; it’s the only thing. The best recording and output equipment is important, but all your money may be wasted if your cables are of inferior quality. That’s why it’s so important to understand the value of truly pure copper wire.

High purity forms of copper wire, usually referred to as four-nines or six-nines copper wire, indicate that the copper is free from impurities. Four-nines copper is 99.99% pure copper, whereas six-nines is 99.9999% pure. Copper is an unparalleled conductor of electricity. The purer it is, the less likely you are to have interference with your quality audio.

Calmont Wire & Cable produces the highest quality copper audio wire available on the market today. Six-nines copper wire is unequaled when it comes to pure audio fidelity. In addition, it performs at optimum capacity even in the coldest temperatures. This is especially good news if you need to run wires outdoors. The best pro audio technicians use the best pro audio equipment. And six-nines copper wire is the best being produced today.