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The following proposal was offered officially during our most recent Vodcast, NASA EDGE: Daytona 500.  I am posting it here in order to officially begin my campaign.

It’s true.  Both Chris and I were on the Mike and Mike show for our 15 minutes of fame.  Ron better sharpen up his ego management skills.  He is going to need it.  We had an absolute blast.

First, everyone at ESPN was awesome.  Golic is every bit the giant that he is rumored to be, and “Greeny” is obviously the brains of the outfit.  From top to bottom both, along with their entire team, were extremely nice and courteous.  Golic even continued to talk to us as he plowed through NASA’s space version of fiesta chicken when the segment went off the air.  Greeny simply asked more and more questions about NASA.  It was awesome.  And I have to admit that I was totally star struck.  These guys are our heroes.

Second, they are very excited about their upcoming interview with Astronaut Ken Ham during STS-124.  Before the show went live, you could sense their genuine giddiness about it.  It was really cool to see their excitement about NASA and NASA’s future, which we try to promote everyday.

I also want to thank Michele Perchonok and all of the folks at JSC that provided the space food.  Golic admittedly doesn’t like tomatoes or fruity deserts, but he still gave them high marks.  Of course, we could find no evidence of the shrimp cocktail or the fiesta chicken by the end of the interview.  Clearly those more than passed the Golic test.  It was quite impressive considering that we didn’t even cook the space food in zero gravity*.

What a Day!

*I recognize that the official term may not be “zero gravity.”  Please accept this term in the spirit that it was intended… to be a punch line directed at our amateur preparation of the food.

It’s true.  Both Chris and I were on the Mike and Mike show for our 15 minutes of fame.  Ron better sharpen up his ego management skills.  He is going to need it.  We had an absolute blast.

First, everyone at ESPN was awesome.  Golic is every bit the giant that he is rumored to be, and “Greeny” is obviously the brains of the outfit.  From top to bottom both, along with their entire team, were extremely nice and courteous.  Golic even continued to talk to us as he plowed through NASA’s space version of fiesta chicken when the segment went off the air.  Greeny simply asked more and more questions about NASA.  It was awesome.  And I have to admit that I was totally star struck.  These guys are our heroes.

Second, they are very excited about their upcoming interview with Astronaut Ken Ham during STS-124.  Before the show went live, you could sense their genuine giddiness about it.  It was really cool to see their excitement about NASA and NASA’s future, which we try to promote everyday.

I also want to thank Michele Perchonok and all of the folks at JSC that provided the space food.  Golic admittedly doesn’t like tomatoes or fruity deserts, but he still gave them high marks.  Of course, we could find no evidence of the shrimp cocktail or the fiesta chicken by the end of the interview.  Clearly those more than passed the Golic test.  It was quite impressive considering that we didn’t even cook the space food in zero gravity*.

What a Day!

*I recognize that the official term may not be “zero gravity.”  Please accept this term in the spirit that it was intended… to be a punch line directed at our amateur preparation of the food.

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

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.  

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.

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.