NASA

Arlington at 150 — Celebrating America's Heroes

By John Bretschneider on May 23, 2014 Afghanistan, Arlington National Cemetery, Army, Iraq, Memorial service, NASA, Navy

Since the first military burial on May 13, 1864, Arlington National Cemetery has become the final resting place for more than 400,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and their families. Those who on Sept. 11, 2001, died only a few hundred yards away at the Pentagon are buried here, as are the Challenger astronauts. Fifteen thousand soldiers from the Civil War — Union and Confederate — rest in Section 27 and Section 13, known as the Field of the Dead. Four thousand freed slaves, many identified only as “Citizen,” and two presidents also are buried at Arlington. Section 60 is the…

Google wants to pay to upgrade and save Hangar One

By admin3 on December 12, 2011 NASA, Naval aviation, Navy

Hangar One, built in 1933 at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif., is currently in a state of undress. That’s because the corrugated siding covering the massive hangar, deemed toxic to the environment, is being replaced. Just to note, it’s a Navy hangar, but NASA is footing the bill to take care of it. This project has been ongoing since May, but news broke on Friday that Google is offering to pay 100 percent of the costs, that’s $33 million, associated with renovating Hangar One. So what’s the catch? Google would like to use two-thirds of the hangar’s space to…

50 years ago, a Navy pioneer

By Bill McMichael on May 5, 2011 Admirals, NASA, Naval Academy, Naval aviation, Naval aviation centennial, Photos, Space travel

A tip of the hat to the Navy and its Facebook notifications for the reminder that today marked the 50th anniversary of an event frozen in the minds of many Americans of a (ahem!) certain age: the day Navy Cmdr. Alan Shepard became the first American launched into space. His feat captivated the nation, and won back some American pride bruised by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin beating him into space by 23 days. The Naval Academy grad and jet test pilot had in 1959 become one of the original Mercury astronauts — the guys with the “Right Stuff,” as Tom…

Hello from space!

By Dave Brown on March 9, 2011 Facebook, NASA, Navy, Video

Let’s face it: Taped messages can be kinda lame. You’re at boot camp, you’re tired and confused, and someone wheels in a TV to give you a mini-speech by someone you’ve never heard of. Then Scoop Deck saw this: a video of astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly that was posted on the U.S. Navy’s Facebook page. Kelly addresses recruits from the International Space Station, traveling 17,000 miles per hour and 220 miles above the Earth’s surface. No matter what he has to say, it’s more than a little cool to get a message like that. And be sure to check out…

Arizona shooting hits close to home

By Gidget Fuentes on January 10, 2011 NASA, Navy, Washington

The congresswoman seriously wounded in Saturday’s mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., is a Navy spouse. Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, D-Ariz., is one of 13 survivors in the shooting that left six dead at a supermarket shopping center, including an aide. Giffords was shot in the head by the gunman as she met constituents at a “Congress on Your Corner” event and, as of midday Monday, remained in intensive care. Giffords, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, in 2007 married Navy Capt. Mark E. Kelly, a naval fighter pilot and NASA astronaut. It was a match that led former Labor secretary…

A piggybacked peek into the future

By Bill McMichael on December 16, 2010 Aviation, Historical, NASA, Science and technology

A few lucky travelers passing through Lambert International Airport in St. Louis Dec. 13 may have caught a glimpse of aviation history in the making — and of military aviation’s future — when Boeing’s Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system hitched a ride on NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The flight was a test to check the in-flight performance of the SCA while flying with the Phantom Ray and a special adapter before making the much longer trek to California for test flights at Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. And it marked the first time in 33…

Career advice from a Navy legend

By Lance Bacon on April 13, 2010 Diving, Historical, NASA, Naval Academy, Navy, Science and technology, Submarines

Scoop Deck spent an awesome morning with retired Capt. (Dr.) Don Walsh, pilot of the bathyscaphe Trieste, which recorded the deepest dive any man has made. He and Jacques Piccard on Jan. 23, 1960 dove 35,797 feet (6.8 miles) into the deepest known part of any ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. (Navy Times has some special coverage regarding that dive in the upcoming edition.) Walsh, a submariner by trade, shared another interesting story: how he got his doctorate. The Naval Academy grad didn’t finish on the top rungs of his class. In his words, he was “officially stupid.” After…

Navy leads way, again

By Gidget Fuentes on April 5, 2010 NASA, Navy, Science and technology

It’s the rare space shuttle that doesn’t shoot toward space without the Navy aboard in some form or fashion. Monday’s predawn launch of Space Shuttle Discovery – officially it’s STS-131 mission – from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center came with two military officers at the helm, including shuttle commander and Navy Capt. Alan G. Poindexter, 49, along with pilot, Air Force Col. James P. Dutton, Jr., 41. The seven-member crew, which includes three women, is on a 13-day mission and the 33rd shuttle trip to the International Space Station. Poindexter, a veteran F-14 Tomcat and test pilot, joined NASA in 1998,…

It's take 3 for space shot

By Gidget Fuentes on July 10, 2009 NASA, Navy, Officers, Science and technology, SEALs

It’s probably a good thing that NASA’s pool of astronauts include quite a few military officers. Who better to understand the “hurry up and wait” lifestyle that is the military? We told you last month about preparations for the planned June 13 launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, whose seven-member crew of space sailors, including only the second Navy SEAL to ever venture into space, will do a 16-day mission that will haul parts of Japan’s Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station. But hydrogen leaks in a gas vent line leading to the exterior fuel tank forced NASA…

Military space geeks, take note

By Gidget Fuentes on June 5, 2009 NASA, Officers, SEALs

Today marks the final week counting down to the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour, whose seven-member crew of space sailors is yet another “purple” multi-service representation, including a Navy SEAL. Endeavour is scheduled for a 7:17 a.m. EDT liftoff on Saturday, June 13, from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The 16-day mission of STS-127 marks the final flight hauling parts of Japan’s Kibo Laboratory to the International Space Station. One of the mission specialists is Navy Cmdr. Christopher Cassidy(below), a SEAL and decorated Afghanistan veteran who will ride Endeavour on his first flight into space. Hooyah!…

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