SpaceMike
Just for fun.....
There is only one place in our Solar System outside of the planet Earth where an astronaut could stand outside a vehicle/craft without a pressured spacesuit, with gravity close to our own planet, atmospheric pressure equal to Earth at sea level, and carrying only a bottle of breathable air in what could be termed relatively comfortable temperatures (above freezing and below 100 degrees Fahrenheit)? Now, this isn’t a trick question per se, but you do have to read it carefully. There could be other factors like exposure to radiation that might make wearing a protective spacesuit a good idea, but it is possible for this to occur.
"No Go" for Launch
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-
The Wrong Stuff
When the Bush era Vision for Space Exploration was released NASA said "it was going back to the future" for its next generation of space vehicles, they didn’t realize how right they were. They went all the back to 1970. Back to a time when Richard Nixon decided manned spaceflight wasn't a priority anymore. In 1970, Nixon gave a speech on the future of the space program eerily similar to the latest Obama direction for NASA. Outside 
of the speech, Nixon had already established a timetable to end Apollo and use the last of the hardware for Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
The Way of the Pyramids
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Prior to the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project there were several attempts by the United States to engage the Soviets in a joint space effort. President John F. Kennedy was the first to propose a combining of U.S and Soviet resources. Kennedy’s core focus was defusing tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets by working together on a moon landing. His message to Nikita Khrushchev initially laid out specifics on what cooperation 
would entail. Khrushchev had initially responded positively, but then added that “cooperation without disarmament” as a precursor would severely limit the extent to which joint sharing of information or joint missions could take place.
Apollo at Forty
Forty years ago humans embarked on a dangerous journey from which their safety and return could not be guaranteed. Not since humans first journeyed far from the savannahs of Africa or set 
sail across vast oceans has any trip been so defining of the spirit that lives in all of us.
Houston We Have a Problem....Again
"With a few exceptions, we have the technology or the knowledge that we could go to Mars if we wanted with humans. We could put a telescope on the moon if we wanted," "The technology is by and large there. It boils down to what can we afford?"
Norman Augustine
Chairman, Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee
The Presidents and NASA
With the nominations of former astronaut and retired Marine Corps Major General Charles Bolden and former NASA associate administrator Lori Garver as the next 
number one and two to lead NASA President Barack Obama has taken the first step in building a space legacy for his administration.
The Last Great Space Shuttle Mission
As the Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares to return back to earth there is reason to celebrate the work done by the crew of STS-125. After five 
spacewalks totaling nearly thirty-seven hours the Hubble upgrade has by all accounts been an overwhelming success.
NASA Adrift
As a veteran of many a bank mergers and transition where changes in strategy, direction, vision, personnel and operations were the norm I can relate to what NASA is feeling right now as a change in Presidential and organizational leadership has created that sense of being temporarily adrift.
