It was February 1st, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. All seven crew members aboard STS-107 were tragically lost.

Now seven years later, NASA’s Space Shuttle program is almost over. There’s only five more shuttle flights planned before the space shuttle fleet is retired from service. U.S. astronauts will then have to hitch a ride with the Russian Space Agency, whose Soyuz and Progress spacecraft have been participating in the International Space Station program for years.

President Barack Obama is calling for drastic changes in the U.S. space program, taking the $100 billion NASA planned on using to return astronauts to the moon, and redirecting the money into new rocket technologies.

A logical approach especially since the administration has also extended the life of the space station program. In the face of shrinking budgets, it makes sense to redirect our limited funds into earth orbit technology and the space station, giving the U.S. a space platform to work and launch from. The moon will just have to wait a little longer.

Space shuttle Endeavour is getting ready for takeoff on it’s STS-130 mission to the ISS, with launch countdown beginning February 4th.

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I recently discovered a beautiful site. Astrophotography by Anthony Ayiomamitis www.perseus.gr

It’s got a great collection of celestial objects captured in stunning detail; nebula, galaxies, star clusters, comets, plus images from our solar system. The author also talks in great detail about astrophotography and offers tips and advice for the best imaging.

www.perseus.gr

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) officially ends on January 10th.

The closing ceremony will be held in the Aula Magna of the University of Padova, where Galileo taught astronomy and physics, in Padova, Italy. It’s the final event of a year long global celebration of astronomy and its contribution to society and culture.

Official Website: www.astronomy2009.org/

IYA YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/astronomy2009

Follow Live Streaming Video on www.beyond2009.org

The past decade has been pretty exciting in the realm of space exploration. Here’s my look at NASA’s milestones in the past ten years.

NASA 2009 Year in Review

October 2009: water discovered on the moon by the LCROSS mission.

July 2009: 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing

May 2009: Hubble Space Telescope upgraded and repaired. Space walking astronauts from the Atlantis space shuttle gave the aging space telescope several new updated systems. Two new instruments, the Wide Field Camera 3 and Cosmic Origins Spectrograph were installed, while repairs were made to the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph systems. Stunning new images start streaming in.

2008: NASA marks 50th Anniversary.
International Space Station (ISS) celebrates 10th year in space.
Phoenix Lander arrives on Mars.

January 2004: Mars Rover mission lands with planetary rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Initially the rovers mission was three months, but both robotic explorers surprised the scientific community by lasting six Earth years on the Martian surface.

February 1, 2003: In memory of the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. All seven crew members aboard STS-107 were lost.
Commander: Rick D. Husband, U.S. Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer
Pilot: William C. McCool, U.S. Navy commander
Payload Commander: Michael P. Anderson, U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and physicist
Payload Specialist: Ilan Ramon, colonel in the Israeli Air Force and the first Israeli astronaut
Mission Specialist: Kalpana Chawla, aerospace engineer from India on her second space mission
Mission Specialist: David M. Brown, U.S. Navy captain and flight surgeon
Mission Specialist: Laurel Clark, U.S. Navy captain and flight surgeon

October 2000: The first crew, Expedition One inhabits the International Space Station for 136 days.

www.nasa.gov