Universe Today - December 21, 2001
A note from Fraser... Santa's on the Radar
Did you know that NORAD tracks ol' Saint Nick every year. As bizarre as this might sound, the North American Aerospace Defense Command claims to follow the path of Santa Claus as he travels around the Earth at high-speed, delivering presents to every girl and boy. As if tracking your UPS package on the web wasn't enough, now you can see where the big guy is during every moment of Christmas eve. Now, I'm not going to jump into "is there a Santa Claus" debate, I'll just pass the link along to you.
Although I personally find this tradition a little peculiar, it could be fun for the kids.
So, just in case I don't get any more editions of the newsletter out before December 25th, I wish all of you a happy holiday (or non-holiday depending on your part of the world). Celebrate by watching Lord of the Rings 10 times. I know I will.
Fraser Cain, Publisher - Universe Today
P.S. I'm planning on running a special edition before the end of the year looking back and what I consider to be the top 10 space events of the year. Before I make my mind up, send in your suggestions and I may add them to the list. Leonids, Dennis Tito, NEAR/Eros, Mir :-(, etc...
 Syracuse University |
Senate Confirms O'Keefe as NASA Chief
The senate approved President Bush's nomination of Sean O'Keefe, a former Navy secretary and Defense Department comptroller, to head NASA on Thursday. O'Keefe has stated his intentions for NASA to the US government, and said that he plans to deal with the agency's budget overruns while maintaining its committment to scientific progress. O'Keefe replaces former administrator Dan Goldin who stepped down on November 17th. |
 NASA |
NASA Advisory Council Recommends Station Cutbacks
The NASA Advisory Council recently announced that they recommend scaling back the International Space Station program, as "its huge cost overruns cannot be excused and must not be ignored". The council recommended that NASA reduce the scope of the station, and only make it large enough to hold three astronauts - not a crew of seven, as originally planned. Although the council's recommendations aren't binding, they do carry considerable weight.
Original Source:
NAC Report
Other Coverage: BBC News - SPACE.com - Spaceref Similar Stories: Space Station Related Sites: NASA Related Books: NASA |