A Ketchup You'll Relish

Thanks to those of you who stopped to send good thoughts and positive wishes.  Especially to those who left actual comments.  

The situation here is that by Friday morning I thought my recovery was pretty much done.  I had knocked off the prescription pain killers because the prescription pill didn't seem to be better at relieving pain than plain ole' Extra Strength Tylenol - and it didn't last as long as that cheaper, OTC (Over The Counter), drugstore pill, either.   By Wednesday, I was taking extended release Tylenol, pretty much one dose at bed time, which is one of those pills that is slow to dissolve so that it lasts eight hours.  I wasn't sleeping more than 5 hours on the prescription pain pill and could sleep nine hours on the extended release Tylenol.  Sleep is good.  More sleep is better. 

In the afternoon Friday, I took off the elastic support wrap I had been wearing so I could take a shower, and it was such a tremendous drop in pain that I sat around without it on for maybe an hour.  While sitting around, the skin that had been under the area where the elastic support bandage had two layers, started getting incredibly itchy.   When I looked down at my gut area, I had what looked like a heat rash.  

Basically that led to being very uncomfortable days from Friday afternoon through now.  I haven't really found anything that makes the itchiness go away completely but taking OTC benadryl antihistamine pills and adding some cortisone cream is as close as I've gotten.  Meanwhile, my followup appointment is Wednesday morning, but there's one really big bandage that's looking like one wrong move could make it fall off.   I think I call the surgeon's office with a "HELP" message first thing in the morning.  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. 

Axiom Space's AX-4 mission to the ISS is back on hold with only a nonsense listing of a possible launch date (NET June 2025).  Which covers pretty much any day from right now out to infinity.  

Remember the Psyche mission?  A probe to examine the asteroid by that name (16 Psyche), launched in 2023.  This weekend, Psyche passed one of the milestones in its long trip to the asteroid - which is expected to take up the rest of this decade, making it to the asteroid in late 2029. 

The robotic mission proceeded normally until April 1, when the spacecraft detected a drop in pressure inside the line that feeds xenon fuel to its four thrusters. The craft reacted to the pressure signature by powering off the thrusters.

In the weeks between April 1st and now, they have studied the issue, switched to a backup plan and resumed "full thruster operations" on Monday, according to NASA.

The spacecraft, built by Maxar Space Systems, will operate its electric thrusters for the equivalent of three months between now and November to keep the mission on track for arrival at asteroid Psyche in 2029. 

Artist's illustration of NASA's Psyche spacecraft, as it approaches the asteroid, showing (most of) one of its solar arrays.  Image credit:  NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

One of my favorite quotes I've come across in reading reports on missions like this is from Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Psyche's principal investigator at Arizona State University.  She said when she gets asked what Psyche is going to look like she says "potato-shaped."

"It's not spherical," she said. "I always say potato-shaped because potatoes come in many shapes, so I'm not wrong."