This is a funny way to start my reporting from the American Astronomical Society here in St. Louis, but news waits for no one!
1) First, a favor: if you participated in the online workshop on Sunday — even if you just watched the video stream — then we’re asking that you take just a minute […]

Debris, ice or foam, could be seen falling off of the shuttle during lift off. This did not occur during the critical first two minutes, and doesn’t appear to have impacted the orbiter.
Update - NASA officials just clarified that the debris falling from the tank appears to be foam and not ice. Only […]

Shuttle Mission STS-124 with orbiter Discover and a crew of 7 successfully lifted off at 5:02 PM EST. I had the pleasure of witnessing this event first hand from press site here at KSC. There is not much one can say to place such an amazing experience into words. Shortly after lift […]

I had the pleasure of watching STS-124’s make the famous walk to the Airstream bus after donning space suits. I have always wondered what its like to be there a mere feet away cheering on the shuttle’s crew as they prepare for the most amazing journey of a life time. Its like nothing […]

T - 40:51
The press room is completely a buzz with activity. ABC-News recording on my left, Space.com and The New York Times writing in front of me, reporters going rampant keeping posts up to date and servers running properly. Astronaut Mike Foale talking with press members 20 feet away. Did I mention the […]

At approximately 8:30PM est on Friday May 30th the Rotating Service Structure protecting the shuttle on the launch pad was rolled back. You couldn’t have asked for a more majestic evening. Mid 70’s, slight breeze, not a cloud in the sky, and a gorgeous sunset behind Discovery on the launch pad. It […]

I was able to sit in on an ISS National Lab News Conference this morning. Most of the conference was concentrated around a few main subjects including: the continued success of the ISS National Lab, new experimental equipment and experiments being deployed, and increased commercial involvement.
When the installation of the Kibo module is completed […]

The STS-124 Countdown Status Briefing just finished. I am happy to report that everything is looking great, and NASA is currently tracking no issues. The weather is continuing to cooperate with only a 20% chance of interference. Other weather predictions, including for emergency landing sites and SRB recovery, also look promising. The […]

John Chapman, manager of the External Tank Project Office , discussed two major changes to the external tank being implemented in an effort to reduce icing and foam loss. The external tank(ET-128) being used aboard STS-124 is the first tank since return to flight to have improvements incorporated during the manufacturing process instead of […]

KSC’s press center hosted a JAXA briefing this afternoon with Yoshiyuki Hasegawa, Japanese Experiment Module program manager. The conference room was filled with Japanese reporters. It became immediately obvious how excited the Japanese people are about Kibo, Japan’s Experiment Module to be installed aboard ISS. Every news paper, website, and news station […]