Space Shuttles

2012 Summer Guide: Summer in the City

Endeavour Crew Stabs Houston in Back (Sorta) Over Getting a Retired Shuttle

Mike Fincke: What can you expect from a Steeler fan?​Houston, still smarting over missing out on a retired space shuttle, now gets to hear NASA astronauts going on and on about how the decision was a great one. Members of the Endeavour crew were in Los Angeles recently to take part in the Cal ... More >>

An Amateur Lands The Space Shuttle

Boyd MeierKym in the sim​Be sure to check out our pics from the Atlantis astronauts' homecoming at Johnson Space Center. You often hear the expression "a once in a lifetime experience," and while this may or may not always be true, for those lucky enough to participate in a NASA Tweet-up, not ... More >>

Shuttle Era Ends: A Look Back At Our Coverage

Mission patch FAIL​With what we fervently hope is a flawless landing, the last mission of the space shuttle ends this morning when Atlantis touches down in Florida. The final flight evoked a lot of memories, and we tried our best to spark some. In case you missed our varied posts on Atlantis ... More >>

Intergalactic: A Playlist For The Space Shuttle's Last Flight Home

NASA/Hair BallsNo more cool pictures like this for a long time :(​If you're an astronaut, you recently might have awoken you from a sound night's rest on the space shuttle to the sounds of U2, Beyonce, Electric Light Orchestra, Aaron Copeland, or even some old Coldplay. On those more unlucky d ... More >>

Atlantis Wake-Up Music So Far: Ranking The Good, The Bad & The Ugly On The Last Shuttle Trip

What's with all the damn Coldplay?​NASA, always on the lookout for good publicity, has made a cottage industry out of the wake-up music it uses to rouse crews orbiting the earth. They recruit artists to record messages that are played after the song, because the first thing you want to hear ... More >>

The Shuttle's Souvenir Load

20,000 flags and 10,000 patches aboard

15 Unfamous But Great Space Shuttle Photos

Even if it's not today, at some point Atlantis will lift off and eventually finish the last of the space shuttle missions. There are plenty of famous, even iconic, NASA photographs of the program; we pulled some highlights of lesser-known ones. 15. Almost a rocket ship This makes the shuttle look ... More >>

Shuttle Atlantis' Souvenir Load: 22,000 Flags, 10,000 Patches, A Very Small Painting And More

Atlantis: Last chance for souvenirs​If you're making the last-ever trip on the space shuttle, you want to make it count. And if the list put together by collectSPACE.com is any indication, this last flight is taking along enough souvenirs to outfit a small army. Almost all the items are put ... More >>

Shuttle Atlantis: Its 10 Weirdest Mission Patches

In May, as it prepared to take off, we offered a list of the five coolest mission patches of the shuttle Endeavour. We wish we could do the same for the Atlantis, scheduled tentatively to go up on the last shuttle mission Friday, but it appears the ship did not provide as much inspiration as the En ... More >>

Cover Story: Austin Fires Back

Feelings have been hurt​So I'd gotten up at 5 a.m. and spent the day at NASA's Mission Control, where along with about fifty other writers, talking heads and camera crews from Houston, New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, I'd been granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the final full- ... More >>

In Run-Up to Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch, NASA Allows Rare Peek Behind Mission Control Curtain

Photos by Troy Fields​Check out our pictures of the final round of space shuttle simulation training at NASA's Mission Control. Space. If you are anything like me, you've probably started to take it for granted. Save for disasters like the Columbia explosion in 2003, the country as a whole no ... More >>

Cover Story: Air Hockey Reigns Supreme (With Video)

As the space shuttle program winds down, people will be reflecting on all the contributions to society NASA has made. Among them: Air hockey. The game was developed by NASA contractors, and it remains huge, especially in the Houston area. Our cover story this week, "Hover Boards," examines the ph ... More >>

Latest Space Station Video: Someone Provide A Soundtrack, Please

NASA released a nice photo yesterday of the shuttle Endeavour docked to the space station; today they've released the video. It's seven minutes or so of the shuttle attached to the station as they hurtle through space. It's also silent, and so it needs a soundtrack. Classical? Something by Yes or ... More >>

The 10 Coolest Shuttle Atlantis Pictures

Next month will bring the final space shuttle mission ever, and the vehicle that will take that last ride will be the Atlantis. The Atlantis has taken 32 trips to space so far, and like every shuttle, stunning photographs have been part of the deal. Here are 10 of Atlantis' best. 10. Leaving that ... More >>

Comment of the Day: A New Motto For NASA

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

Shuttle Endeavour in Hi-Def: Its Final Liftoff

NASA has released hi-def video of the shuttle Endeavour's final liftoff, from cameras mounted at various points on the outside of the vehicle. Your tax dollars at work! Enjoy.

Space Shuttle Endeavour: Its Five Coolest Mission Patches

Monday, barring yet another delay, the space shuttle Endeavour will take off on its 25th and final mission. Each mission gets its own patch, of course, designed with input from the crew. The five coolest mission patches Endeavour has had: 5. STS-49, May 1992 Endeavour's inaugural flight paid tribu ... More >>

TV Party: With The Shuttle Gone, Whither Space City?

​On the latest "Between The Lines" segment on CW 39's Newsfix, I unloaded about the horror of Houston not receiving a space shuttle, now that the NASA program is over with. Hopefully Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York will make do with these retired spacecraft. It's not like any of the ... More >>

Houston Responds to Space Shuttle Shun.

​On the latest "Between The Lines" segment on CW 39's Newsfix, I unloaded about the horror of Houston not receiving a space shuttle, now that the NASA program is over with. Hopefully Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York will make do with these retired spacecraft. It's not like any of the ... More >>

Space Shuttle Blues: County Commissioner Calls for a Congressional Investigation

Answers are demanded, even though they're obvious.​You know what the Space Shuttle fiasco needs? Congress getting involved. At least that's the thinking of Harris County Commissioner Jack Morman. He's introducing a resolution at next week's meeting demanding Congress investigate "Nasa's deci ... More >>

Space Shuttles: Ten Ways Los Angeles and New York Can Show Theirs Off, Dammit

Bi-wing airplanes...pfft. Try this on for size, Kong.​This week, we learned that Houston, essentially the birthplace of the space shuttle program, will not be given one of the four remaining shuttles. Two of the four cities receiving them are both deserving and appropriate: Washington D.C. (fo ... More >>

Gabrielle Giffords: No Media Appearances If She Goes to Husband's Shuttle Launch

Expected to go to Florida for shuttle launch.​Staffers for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, recuperating here after her Tucson shooting, say she still plans to attend the April 29 launch of her husband's space shuttle mission. But if she does, there will be no press interviews or public stat ... More >>

Space Shuttle Battle: City Hall Rally to Demand Houston Gets a Used Orbiter

Proposed Houston home for a shuttle.​As we've noted before, Houston is in a life-or-death battle to get one of the two retiring space shuttles that have flown missions, and they need all the help they can get. The solution: A City Hall rally, complete with Mayor Annise Parker, County Judge Ed ... More >>

Astronaut Plays Jethro Tull Flute In Space

Rocks Off has been trying to come up with a "space rock" joke all day, but we can't, so we'll just say this is pretty cool. Today we got an email from Austin nonprofit Dart Music International with a link to the above video, which premiered during SXSW. It's astronaut (and musician) Cady Coleman ... More >>

Gabrielle Giffords: Docs Say Progress Amazing, Though Shuttle Launch Trip No Done Deal

John Nova LomaxThe doctors face the press for an upbeat update​U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords has her personality back, is speaking in full sentences and has made continuous neurological improvement, her team of TIRR Memorial Hermann doctors said at a news conference at the Texas Medical Center t ... More >>

Retired Space Shuttles: Will Houston Get Shut Out?

A space shuttle on display​Discovery has landed safely, ending its last mission of a long and fruitful career. It's expected to spend its retirement at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum branch in Virginia. Two other space shuttles are retiring this year -- the Endeavour and Atlantis -- and 2 ... More >>

Space Cowboys: Big Head Todd Serenades Shuttle Crew

​If someone woke Rocks Off up at 2:30 in the morning with a Big Head Todd & the Monsters song, even the band themselves, we might have a few choice words for them. But we suppose it's a little different when you're 220 miles above the Earth. That's what happened earlier today (way earlier tod ... More >>

Discovery 's Last Take-Off: Some Wild Views

NASA has put together an impressive montage of the last take-off of the space shuttle Discovery, using a wide range of cameras on the launch pad and the vehicle. There's about five minutes or so of preflight stuff here, so fast-forward if you prefer.

NASA, Free That Robot Now!!

Discovery's been at the International Space Station for days now, and still no robot action. Even President Obama's getting antsy. He told the astronauts yesterday they should let R2 out of his packaging and allow him to "stretch his legs." (We're sure they had to bite their tongues to keep from bl ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Does the Challenger Explosion Only Resonate in Houston?

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

Challenger Disaster, 25 Years Later: The Five Most Chilling Moments

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, a news event that remains so vivid -- especially to Houstonians -- that most everyone can remember where they were when they learned of it or when they first saw a replay of that launch, embedded above. That day and its aftermath trigger ... More >>

Gabrielle Giffords Fallout: NASA Announces Backup Shuttle Commander, But Her Husband Still Hopes to Fly

Mark Kelly still expects to fly in April​NASA is appointing a backup commander for the upcoming shuttle flight led by Mark Kelly, husband of wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, but Kelly says he still expects to make the mission. Rick Sturckow will be the commander throughout the rest o ... More >>

Space Shuttle Discovery: Five Notable Missions, For Better Or Worse

Godspeed, Discovery​The space shuttle Discovery headed to the pad yesterday for its last trip into space.The 26-year-old craft has seen a lot in its career, some good, some bad, some odd. Here are five highlights:5. Being used as an old-folks' tour busIn 1998 Discovery took John Glenn up to space ... More >>

Screen on the Green: Apollo 13

Houston, ah, we have a big ass problem

NASA Killed A Cancer Cure, Suit Alleges

The world may have known a cure to cancer ... if only that darn Columbia space shuttle didn't disintegrate over Texas six years ago and if only NASA had been a little more careful taking care of the cargo and debris that landed back on earth.At least that's what a Pennsylvania company is arguing.Acc ... More >>

Take Our Shuttle Quiz And See If You're A Space Expert

NASA is back in space, via a dramatic nighttime launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. The mission will expand and repair the International Space Station, and exchange out crew members. NASA has largely dropped from public consciousness -- at least until the "Mars, Bitches!!" program begins -- ... More >>

NASA Has To Deal With Crummy Contractors, Just Like The Rest Of Us

NASA is back in space, via a dramatic nighttime launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. The mission will expand and repair the International Space Station, and exchange out crew members. NASA has largely dropped from public consciousness -- at least until the "Mars, Bitches!!" program begins -- ... More >>

A Blast From Calexico's Past Blasts Into Space

NASA is back in space, via a dramatic nighttime launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. The mission will expand and repair the International Space Station, and exchange out crew members. NASA has largely dropped from public consciousness -- at least until the "Mars, Bitches!!" program begins -- ... More >>

Tom Jones

The author of Sky Walking: An Astronaut’s Memoir definitely believes they put a man on the moon…it was him

“Star Wars”

Luke Skywalker and company land their starfighter at NASA

Up for the Challenger

Luke Skywalker and company land their starfighter at NASA

Thrilled to Death

Riders may get more than they bargained for when they head to amusement parks this summer

Ringing from the Rooftops

Microcinema International gets political

Serious Cinema

Set in 1948, Kedma explores a present-day problem

Coming Down

A "routine" shuttle descent winds up stunning Space City

Coming Down

A "routine" shuttle descent winds up stunning Space City

No Boosters Allowed

Flight directory Chris Kraft has a story to tell

Space Odyssey

Tom Moser wants to put Texas on the map as a commercial launch pad for cargo-carrying rockets

Press Picks

Tom Moser wants to put Texas on the map as a commercial launch pad for cargo-carrying rockets