Author: nasaedge

On January 8, we had the privilege of covering NASCAR Thunder at the Daytona International Speedway for our upcoming NASA EDGE vodcast on the Daytona 500.  In case you don’t know, 2008 marks the 50th running of the Daytona 500 and it’s NASA’s 50th anniversary.

We had the pleasure of working with Astronaut Drew Feustel.  He’s part of the STS-125 mission that will service the Hubble Telescope in August.  Drew had a chance to meet some of the drivers, pit crews, and hang out with fans at the event.  Initially we thought that Drew would not get much attention because how can you compete with the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, and Kurt Busch?  We were wrong.  Drew had his own entourage following him asking for autographs and pictures.  Everyone was excited about his upcoming flight in August, especially the drivers themselves.   

Check out some of these cool pics.

Chris, Blair, and Drew change a tire in under 16 seconds. 
Credit: Ron Beard/NASA EDGE

The 15th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race held at the US Space and Rocket Center/NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL was amazing.  Hats off to all the winners, competitors, organizers, volunteers and everyone who helped contribute to this awesome event.

Both the high school kids and the college kids showed tenacious ingenuity in their battle against the elements and circumstance.  For example, on a couple of starts chains were popping off within a few feet.  Some were able to get their buggies up and running quickly, others were off to the pits to make corrections for a second run.  All of which took place under cruel rainy conditions. 

And the obstacles took their toll as well.  We named several obstacles (the NASA EDGE – giving you an inside and outside look at your buggy if you hit the obstacle poorly, Keyke’s Corner, the infamous Shackelton Crater, and the San Antonio Sand Trap.)  The NASA EDGE obstacle was particularly fun because of the look on the faces of the drivers as they hit it.  They seemed to know it was going to be wild, but they were compelled to tackle it with full force.  No obstacle, however, was easy.  I’m actually cramping up just thinking about it.  Must change subject….

One other really cool thing about the race was seeing the volunteers who happen to be engineers just chomping at the bit to get in there and help modify designs and share ideas.  They didn’t, but they had that gleam of inspiration in their eyes.  My suggestion is to have a Hall of Fame Day added to the competition that would allow retired engineers try their hand at this challenging event.

Until we post our NE@ Vodcast of the race, please enjoy the following pics.  They certainly don’t tell the entire story, but they do give you an idea of some of the intense action.

According to Jacky Cortez… “We’re all winners!”  Credit: Ron Beard


Important Note: Unfortunately, due to internal regulations, we cannot accept posts that include any links to another website.  

We just arrived in Daytona long enough to stop by the NASA exhibit for the combined anniversaries for NASA and the Daytona 500.    It should be a very exciting weekend.  Tomorrow we are planning to talk to people in and around Daytona about NASA, and Sunday we are going to meet Astronaut Michael Good.  Hopefully I can get a quick interview about becoming the first medianaut between his busy Q & A schedule.

Stay tuned…

Blair
The Co-Host

Important Note:  Unfortunately due to internal regulations we can’t accept posts that include a link to another website.  We apologize for the note but even NASA EDGE must follow the rules.

NASA EDGE shoveled their way to Buttermilk Mountain through extreme conditions yesterday to talk to X athletes about the huge amount of support it takes to get them to an awesome competition like Winter X.  Just like the astronauts, Winter X athletes have thousands of people working behind the scenes to make their missions successful.  And we’re seeing it up close here at Winter X.

I have to tell you that my “outsider” status is in serious jeopardy.  I’m going to meetings, hobnobbing with engineers and researchers, and basically becoming an Orion expert.

Chris actually slipped up the other day and asked me a direct question about NASA’s return to the Moon.  The times, they are a changing.

So, here are a few select shots from my daily Orion briefing that I thought you might enjoy.

(Viewer note: I find these pictures even MORE interesting if you hum the theme from the “The Right Stuff” while viewing)


Engineers put the outer skin on the Pad Abort Version of the Orion. Credit: NASA


It takes a very steady hand.  Credit: NASA


The folks working on Orion are NASA EDGE Fans.  Credit: NASA


I wouldn’t believe if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.  Credit: NASA, Photoshop retouching: anonymous.

More “Inside” information soon.

The Co-Host

NASA EDGE has officially been around since March 19, 2007.  We’ve been to NASA Langley,  NASA Kennedy, NASA Johnson Space Center, NASA Glenn Research Center, and a number of states from California to North Carolina.  You’ve seen Chris, Blair, and Franklin take an inside and outside look at all things NASA.  But what about the NASA EDGE crew behind the scenes?


Franklin Fitzgerald (News Anchor), Ron Beard (Videographer), and Don Morrison (Systems Engineer) working on an ESA segment.  Credit: NASA EDGE

The show wouldn’t be possible without the experience and expertise of Ron Beard (Videographer, Editor, and Set Therapist) and Don Morrison (Systems Engineer).

Ron is the glue that holds our team together.  When Blair, the Goofy Co-host, gets out of line in the studio or out on the road, we call on Ron to reel him back in.  Ron has been working at NASA Langley Research Center for a number of years.  He’s worked on NASA CONNECT and The NASA SciFiles, both Emmy Award winning programs.  He works his tail off to make sure we look decent on camera.

Don Morrison, a systems engineer at NASA Langley, is our audio guru and anything else electrical.  Anytime we have a piece of equipment that is not working properly, he’s there to fix it.  He prefers not to use duct tape to make it work.

So there’s the team.  Oh by the way, we’ve added a behind the scenes secret weapon to the team.  We’ll provide more info later.

Chris
Host

More than any other time in space exploration history, it’s an exciting age for educators and students to be part of. Before the end of the next decade, NASA astronauts will return to the moon.  This time, we’re planning to stay, building outposts and paving the way for eventual journeys to Mars and beyond.  Today’s students will be tomorrow’s explorers.

Running from October 1 through January 4, this competition is open to United States citizens ages 11-18.   Students are grouped into two age divisions: 11-14 and 15-18.  Students in each division will submit an entry in one of two separate categories of their choosing:  audio podcast or video podcast.  First, second, and third place prizes will be awarded in each age group and category within that age group.  An additional “People’s Choice Award”, selected by the public, will honor one podcast for each age division.

Winners will be announced at the 3rd Space Exploration Conference in Denver, CO on February 28, 2008.  Following the announcement, all winning entries will be posted on the competition website.

Lunar Outpost Concept.  Credit: NASA

Imagine it’s 2020 and astronauts are working side-by-side on the moon with robots assembling the first lunar outpost.  Blair Allen, medianaut and host of NASA EDGE, is filming and recording the construction of the outpost from a distance in his own personally designed spacesuit.  Sound like science fiction?  Well maybe Blair being on the moon does; he still hasn’t achieved insider status.  But astronauts will one-day tag team with robots to build the first lunar outpost.
 
In fact, tomorrow we are heading out to the Arizona desert to see the Desert RATS in action.  NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) team will take over the dry dusty desert land of Arizona to test and torment some of the latest vehicles and gear in order to demonstrate operational concepts for lunar outpost assembly.  They also will be testing new spacesuit designs and measure human-robot interaction.

The Desert RATS will be featured in an upcoming show of NASA EDGE where we take a look at some lunar architecture concepts and understand what it will take to live on the moon.  Oh by the way, remember we will be in the desert for quite some time and I am a little worried about Blair.  We need to remind him to drink plenty of water and watch out for the scorpions and tarantulas.  He is still searching for that radioactive spider that will allow him to crawl up buildings.  We may have to put a leash on him.

We’ll post again on September 13 to share our adventures out in the Arizona desert.

Chris
NASA EDGE Host

It’s been a while since we published a new post.  Blair has been studying for his NASA 101 exam the past few weeks.  I thought I would share some pictures with you on future show topics.  I don’t want to give too much away, but check these pics out.

The NASA EDGE Crew with Endeavour in the background.  Credit: Don Morrision

Shaun White practices on vert at X Games 2007.  Blair is in medianaut training and learning from the pros. Credit: Don Morrison

So there you have it.  A sneak peak at what’s to come.  Hopefully Blair will pass his exam and achieve insider status.  It’s starting to get old escorting him around to all these facilities.

All the best,

Chris
Host

NASA EDGE now has a Facebook and MySpace page.  We already have many friends on our site and we continue to add more daily.  It’s great to meet new people who have a strong interest in NASA and space exploration.  I am new to the Facebook and MySpace world but my goofy co-host and marketing director seem to be on top of things.  If you have any advice on how a digital immigrant (host) can turn into a digital native (younger generation) then please pass the advice along.

Chris
Host