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Protected by a PICA-X heat shield in this artist's rendition, the Dragon spacecraft reenters the Earth's atmosphere at around 7 kilometers per second (15,660 mph), heating the exterior of the spacecraft as high as 2,000°C (3,620°F).
NASA + SpaceX Work Together

By Andrew Chambers and Dan Rasky   NASA is committed to working with private industry to develop the next generation of space-transportation technologies.

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Peer Assist: Learning Before Doing

By Kent A. Greenes   Faced with challenging projects, teams call on colleagues with relevant experience. Knowledge workers in NASA work on the edge, carrying out complex projects that have never before been attempted.

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Interview with Wayne Hale

By Matthew Kohut   The former shuttle program manager talks about career-long learning and what the Columbia accident taught the agency. Former Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale’s career roughly paralleled the life cycle of the Space Shuttle program.

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On the Cover — Issue 40, Fall 2010

Contrails are seen as workers leave the Launch Control Center at Kennedy Space Center after the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery and the start of the STS-131 mission. After its nearly thirty-year history of human spaceflight achievements, the Space Shuttle is nearing its final planned launch. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

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The Knowledge Notebook by Laurence Prusak
The Knowledge Notebook: What’s Right About Being Wrong

By Laurence Prusak   A number of years ago I was asked by some clients to come up with a rapid-fire indicator to determine whether a specific organization was really a “learning organization.”

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From the Academy Director: Change Management and Adaptive Challenges

By Ed Hoffman   What do we mean when we talk about change management? Change is an inevitable part of the life of an organization. Regardless of why it happens, it is always difficult and painful for many people. One metaphor that’s helpful for understanding change in an organizational context comes from evolutionary biology.

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In This Issue by Don Cohen
In This Issue (ASK 40)

Don Cohen, Managing Editor   Spaceflight is hard, Wayne Hale reminds us in the interview in this issue of ASK. His discussion of a long career devoted to the Space Shuttle touches on the sources of the shuttle program’s many successes and its few painful failures.

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ASK Interactive 40
ASK Interactive (ASK 40)

NASA in the News NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet began setting records with its first launch on April 12, 1981.

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