Apollo 50th: Sharing our Memories of the Space Program
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Continue ReadingTake a trip through time and the universe with a new book about our searches among the stars.
Continue ReadingWritten by a Nasa historian and backed up by detailed diagrams, ‘Spacecraft’ charts the evolution of spaceflight and man’s journey to the stars.
Continue ReadingRemembering the Challenger’s last mission, and what it means to us thirty years later.
Continue ReadingDoes it ever seem like all of the unrelated people in your life are talking about the same thing? For Ruth this week, it’s tears. Tears in True Blood, tears on a space shuttle, and more.
Continue ReadingGeekdads aren’t like other dads. By our very nature we’re passionate about our interests and like to show them off whenever we can—and that means when it comes to neckwear, we like our ties geeky.
Necktie Icons by by Michela Tannoia from the Noun Project. CC BY 3.0.
Continue ReadingAnother day, another great photo from the GeekDad Community – this time Michael Tierney shares an awesome shot of the space shuttle Endeavour, piggybacking a ride on a 747 over California.
Continue ReadingWe’ve got good news for kids still dreaming of being an astronaut: NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) as one of three vendors to test ships that will transport American Astronauts bak into “space,” or at least into low …
Continue ReadingHave you ever wondered how the US got to the point where funding missions to space just isn’t that important? Paul Hildebrandt wondered, and he’s launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary and answer that question.
Continue ReadingI looked into her face for a very long time, and nearly started to cry. There she was. The shuttle that flew into space more times than all the rest.
Continue ReadingI’m guessing when you think of the Nation’s Capital, it’s likely your thoughts steer more towards politics and government, rather than science and engineering. Living in the DC area has always proved to be full of interesting places to visit and sights to see. I will admit that I take for granted the attractions of the […]
Continue ReadingRemember way back when Buzz Lightyear flew to space? Yes, the toy — and yes, really to space! He spent 468 days in orbit between May 2008 and September 2009. During his time on the International Space …
Continue ReadingOne of my favorite memories of this summer is the day I sat with my daughter snuggled in my lap and watched the final space shuttle launch. As Atlantis took to the skies, I wiped away tears and tried to explain to her why Mommy was crying over a spaceship. This is a little girl […]
Continue ReadingThis morning will mark the final launch of a NASA Space Shuttle into orbit around Earth on its way to the International Space Station. At approximately 11:26am EST Atlantis will reach the T-0 mark for the last time and roar into the sky completing a long tenure of scientific discovery for NASA. Atlantis was named after RV Atlantis, […]
Continue ReadingFor as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mom or an astronaut when I grew-up. I think we can blame Star Trek for the astronaut bit. As a small child, I would look up at the stars and dream about what it would be like to explore the vast regions of […]
Continue ReadingFor as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mom or an astronaut when I grew-up. I think we can blame Star Trek for the astronaut bit. As a small child, I would look up at the …
Continue ReadingAs we count the hours (perhaps only 24 hours, perhaps more because of a last minute problem) until the last shuttle launch, many of us are reflecting on memories we have of the shuttle, it’s missions, and the space program in general. From reflections on the Challenger disaster to a rollicking playlist for Atlantis we […]
Continue ReadingOn April 12, 1981, a stark white Columbia broke the surly bonds of Earth when it roared into space as America’s first reusable Space Shuttle. Columbia (OV-103) was named after the American ship Columbia Rediviva which, under the command of Captain Robert Gray in the late 1790’s, explored the US Pacific Northwest and became the first American vessel to […]
Continue ReadingEndeavour is the youngest of all of the orbiters, having been authorized for construction in 1987 as a replacement to the Challenger orbiter. Endeavour (OV-105) arrived to Kennedy Space Center for final check-out and testing in May of 1991. Endeavour name was the result of a national public contest of elementary and secondary school students. […]
Continue ReadingAs GeekMom’s token meteorologist AND military member, in honor of the final shuttle mission planned for next week, I’m thrilled to share with you some insight into the weather forecast preparations for a space shuttle launch. After all, what delays launches most often? The weather, right? I’m not sure if a precise count exists, but […]
Continue ReadingThe Discovery space shuttle was the third space rated orbiter in the NASA fleet after Columbia and Challenger. Before its retirement earlier this year, it was the shuttle fleet’s leader at 39 missions. Discovery was named after three very historic …
Continue ReadingMusic has been the astronauts’ wake-up call on space missions for decades, starting back when Apollo astronauts were serenaded with popular songs by mission control colleagues. Some rollicking travel music should wake the crew of the mythically-named Atlantis, now taking …
Continue ReadingI for one am glad my parents never gave up on me. They continued to expose me to new things despite my apathy, teen angst and surly behavior. When I mock yawned as my dad began reading The Hobbit to me, when I laughed at their collection of Sting music videos (that I would later […]
Continue ReadingWhile reminiscing on the shuttle program here on GeekMom, it was hard not to think about where we were and what we were doing when Challenger exploded. Helene McLaughlin (Me) I was only three and a half when it happened, so I have no memory of the actual event. However, I remember being very young […]
Continue ReadingChallenger… simply the word evokes memories of one of the worst disasters of the NASA space program. While we will always remember that final mission, Challenger’s legacy is so much bigger. In the late 70′s Challenger, then known as STA-099, …
Continue ReadingUnless you have a very specific interest in space program journalism, the NASA news feed is usually on the dry side–headlines like “Crew wraps up flight” or “Guy you never heard of just left his job.” But Monday when I got the NASA email, I got Captain Kirk, because the Discovery crew got to wake […]
Continue ReadingThis afternoon marks a historic moment for NASA’s space shuttle Discovery. Today will be the 39th and final time it will launch from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. After nearly three decades of active service, STS-133 is scheduled for its final launch at 4:50 PM EST. The launch was originally scheduled for last November, […]
Continue ReadingThe Space Shuttle Discovery will be taking its final journey this Thursday (barring the need to call it out of mothballs in the future to divert a marauding asteroid). I love to watch space launches, but where I work I …
Continue Reading“Space,” Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reminds us, “is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is.” Here at GeekDad, it’s probably fair to say we think space is about as cool …
Continue ReadingWelcome to the GeekDad Space Report for the week of May 31st, 2010 (publishing the day after Memorial Day). If you are in the United States, I hope you enjoyed Memorial Day and if you aren’t in the United States, …
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