Chrome Speed Theme

This is a link to the "Speed" (really: Space Shuttle) Chrome browser theme on the Chrome Web Store. This theme was on one of the demo computers used at the Google Live Chrome event on December 7, 20101.

Astronaut Van Brand speaks to club.

This article from the Valley Press covers Astronaut Vance Brand who was the pilot on Apollo Soyuz, as well as commanding the Columbia and the Challenger. Mr. Brand spoke to the Sertoma Club in Lancaster. I think he works now at Dryden Flight Research Center.

Astronaut Gordon Fullerton's Final Flight

The Antelope Valley Press link above shows Astronaut Gordon Fullerton retired at NASA Dryden on Friday. Long ago I attended reviews for the Pegasus launch vehicle when it was a DARPA project. It was one of those pinch myself "I am lucky to work at Edwards" moments. Here I am in a cool review about a new space launch system with a NASA Astronaut. Mr. Fullerton was the pilot for the B-52 launch aircraft 008 which was air-launching the Pegasus. Now Orbital Sciences has the L-1011 launch aircraft.

Several years ago we watched the same B-52 fly over the house in Rosamond on the way to Point Magu. This time to launch the X-43. Mr. Fullerton was the B-52 pilot for that launch.

Over the last couple of months I have been listening to this MIT open courseware class on the Space Shuttle's Systems Engineering. Session 22 features Mr. Fullerton discussing test flying the Space Shuttle. It is a great talk about cockpit design and the approach and landing tests of the Space Shuttle. Also the abort-to-orbit incident that occurred on one of his shuttle launches was interesting