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Showing posts from June, 2012

NASA Astronaut Application, SpaceX, and Media Updates

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image credit: SpaceX Two weeks ago SpaceX made history by successfully sending its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) and returning it safely to Earth. Like so many others, I was glued to NASA TV throughout the critical mission phases watching as history unfolded. This marks a real turning point in the commercial development of low Earth orbit. Although this was a cargo demonstration mission, it will pave the way for manned flights in both the private and public sectors, which is good news for NASA astronauts since they need a ride to the ISS. "Dragon took one giant leap last week in restoring an American path to space." That's what Astronaut Tom Jones had to say in a recent Popular Mechanics article . Against the backdrop of the SpaceX achievement, Southern California Public Radio interviewed me for a story titled "Dream jobs: What's it like to be an astronaut?" The 7-minute comprehensive story also includes stateme

My First Microgravity Experience

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When I was in middle school, I had the opportunity to visit Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. The first thing I did when I got there was ask where the zero gravity room was. Unfortunately, it turned out that such a room didn't exist, but I learned that astronauts do train in zero gravity aboard parabolic flights . Ever since I have wanted to get on one of those flights to experience the freedom of floating in microgravity and better appreciate what it takes to train as an astronaut. Now that dream has come true. There are two ways one can get on a parabolic flight. If you have a few thousand dollars to burn, you can purchase a flight as a tourist with the Zero Gravity Corporation for 15 parabolas - or about 6 minutes - of reduced gravity fun. I was tantalizing close to making that happen in 2010, but it just didn't work out. The other way to fly in microgravity is to get involved with a research or education program requiring parabolic flight. If you are a K-12 te