Tag: General

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.

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

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