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Dawn liftoff of NASA's Orion -- Exploration Flight Test-1 at Cape Canaveral in Florida -- photo credit Stefanie Payne

I Took a Break from Blogging Because of a Spaceship

Someone asked me the other day why I don’t blog anymore. It’s true — over the last six months or so, I’ve pretty well abandoned this site. But it was for what I think to be a pretty good reason. On December 5, 2014, NASA’s Orion spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. I […]

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The Milky Way over Tenerife. Photo Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado via NASA APOD

Starmus: Space Geeks, Science Peeps and Travel Freaks to Meet at the Canary Islands

Niche travel has many special interests covered — food, wine, literature. I rarely see astronomy and science mixed in with those groups. This isn’t terribly surprising as these are highly specialized interests, and space people typically spend more time inside of offices than they do on the road. I am a traveler, and I also work in America’s human […]

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Happy 45th Birthday to NASA’s Iconic “Earthrise” Photograph

“If you can’t write it better, don’t.”  I wont — reprinted from PetaPixel (this is a great story): NASA Takes You Inside Apollo 8, Recreates Experience of Taking Iconic Earthrise Photo When it comes to iconic imagery, there are few individual photographers who can best NASA. From the pale blue dot, to the blue marble, […]

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Ham, the space fairing chimpanzee c. 1961

7 Animals Who Have Traveled to Space

In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, during the early stages of the Space Race, the Soviet Union conducted scientific and exploration research by sending canines into orbit, the United States sent primates. After dogs and monkeys went spiders, fish, and even a French cat. Who says there isn’t life off of Earth?! This post is dedicated to […]

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Traveling Light: Crucial on Land and in Space!

Just as travelers have limits on how much they can bring onto planes on Earth, there is a weight limit imposed on what can travel with astronauts into space. Most large airlines allow 50 lbs., while smaller in-country flights might accommodate just 10 lbs. To travel to the International Space Station, you get only 3.5 […]

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Passengers board Trans World Airline Constellation aircraft. c. 1940's. (Library of Congress)

The Apple’s of the Skies

My grand-pop had a small plaque on his wall commemorating the day he had flown 100k miles on a commercial plane. In the 1960′s, earning that plaque was an honor. Men and women wore suits and dresses, they drank coffee and wine in gathering lounges—traveling by plane was not only an experience in and of […]

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Space Perspectives

11 Ways That Space Allows a Look at Ordinary, Everyday Things from a New Perspective

The sunrise Astronauts on space station see the sunrise and sunset 16 times a day. On Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011, astronaut Ron Garan used a high definition camera to film the sunrise as space station flew along a path between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fire Gravity is a constant force on […]

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Star/ Trails by Don Pettit

“Star Trails” – Incredible Time Lapse Photos of Space by Astronaut Don Pettit

An earthling’s place in space is made possible through advanced science and technology. But before the great space race, came the imagination needed to get us there. The same faculty that allows humans the ability to imagine also grants our ability to create art. Space isn’t a place only for astronauts anymore, it is a […]

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