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Members of the cast and creator of the popular TV show Star Trek attending the rollout of the space shuttle prototype Enterprise at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale in 1976. From left, NASA administrator James Fletcher, DeForest Kelly, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, Gene Rodenberry and Walter Koenig. Photo Credit: NASA
Spock’s Brain

The original Star Trek episode “Spock’s Brain” is not as well-ranked or well-starred as the fuzzball populated “Trouble with Tribbles.”

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Artist's Conception- Close Up The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft is the predecessor to the WMAP Project. COBE was launched by NASA into an Earth Orbit in 1989 to make a full sky map of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation leftover from the Big Bang. The first results were released in 1992. COBE's limited resolution (7 degree wide beam) provided the first tantilising details in a full sky image of the CMB. Photo Credit: NASA/COBE Science Team
My Best Mistake: John Mather’s “Recognizing My Limits”

I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and some were instructive.

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Lunar water could be used for drinking or its components – hydrogen and oxygen – could be used to manufacture important products on the surface that future visitors to the moon will need, like rocket fuel and breathable air. Photo Credit: NASA
Pockets of Knowledge

Twenty years ago, Doring Kindersley Publishing–the UK book company famous for the large “DK” logo on its lower spine and its floating art design–announced a new series of reference guides called DK Pockets.

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The SLS’s RS-25 engine undergoes a 500-second test fire at Stennis Space Center. Photo Credit: NASA
A Built-In Heritage of Successful Human Spaceflight

The Space Launch System (SLS), NASA’s powerful new heavy lift launch vehicle, incorporates elements from some of the agency’s most successful past programs.

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WPA work safety poster from the Library of Congress.. Image Credit: Library of Congress
My Best Mistake: Mike Lipka’s “Knowledge Now or Later”

Before I came to work for NASA, I worked as a contractor for the Air Force. My job was to develop and deploy a knowledge management system called “Knowledge Now.”

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The largest part of the James Webb Space Telescope observatory is the Sunshield, which is roughly the length of a tennis court. It protects the telescope’s sensitive infrared instruments, which require extremely cold temperatures to function. Photo Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Government Brief: GAO Reviews the James Webb Space Telescope

With less than four years until launch, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) advises further cost risk analysis for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

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An antenna at the end of the 200-foot mast extending from the Endeavour facilitated 24-hour mapping of the globe. The mast was the longest rigid structure ever deployed from the shuttle. Photo Credit: NASA
This Month in NASA History: The Space Shuttle Mapped the World

Fifteen years ago this month, Endeavour (STS-99) overcame launch delays and on-orbit challenges to capture Earth’s topography in unprecedented detail.

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NASA astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang participate in an extravehicular activity (EVA) on the ISS. Photo Credit: NASA
Examining the Benefits of Commercial Crew Transport in Low Earth Orbit

Affordability, flexibility, and expansion into deep space: NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is poised to support the agency in multiple ways.

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Masters with Masters with Bart Singer and Jennifer Stevens. Image Credit: NASA
Learning Lessons at NASA: A Masters with Masters Interview with Bart Singer and Jennifer Stevens

How can lessons learned from NASA projects and programs guide our projects and programs to better ensure mission success?

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