West Point welcomes home one of their heroes

On the morning of Oct. 2, as he had done so many times before, Bill McArthur arrived early for his mechanical engineering class at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. But this time he wasn’t a student, he was the teacher and he wasn’t wearing the black and gray uniform of a cadet, he was wearing the iconic blue flight suit of an astronaut. Almost four decades after graduating from West Point he had been invited to return to his alma mater as part of the Army’s annual homecoming celebration and NASA’s Hometown Heroes campaign. MORE...

NASA's Driven to Explore exhibit: October activities - see photos

October was a busy month for NASA’s Driven to Explore (DTE) exhibit. DTE was displayed at four venues starting with the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston on Oct. 4 for Free First Sunday Family Day. The exhibit was featured as part of the museum’s Lunar Exhibit, which runs from Sept. 24 until Jan. 10, 2010. Approximately 700 visitors toured the exhibit. Just one week later, DTE was part of the festivities for NASA Day at Rice University on Oct. 10. Astronauts Danny Olivas and George Zamka signed autographs, and a special half-time presentation during the football game featured JSC Director Mike Coats presenting a lunar rock to an ambassador to John F. Kennedy’s family. More than 1,000 visitors learned about the Constellation Program during the exhibit’s participation at NASA Day at Rice University. The next event for DTE was the Re/Max Ballunar Liftoff Festival on-site at JSC, Oct. 23 to 25. Astronauts Ellen Baker and Andy Thomas signed autographs. Nearly 10,000 guests toured the exhibit. The final event for October was the Wings Over Houston Air Show, Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. The air show had nearly 130,000 attendees and approximately 5,100 those toured the DTE exhibit. Astronauts Rick Linnehan, Nick Patrick and Steve Frick signed autographs. -- Follow the trailer by visiting: http://nasa.gov/exploration/outreach/exhibit_Driven_to_Explore_Trailer.html -- You can also follow its movements at: http://www.twitter.com/NASA MORE...

See photos from the 16th Annual Ballunar Liftoff Festival and JSC Open House

On Oct. 23 to 25, the 16th Annual Ballunar Liftoff Festival took place at JSC along Second Street between Buildings14 and 44. This educational family-oriented event included hot air balloon competitions, evening balloon glows, skydiving exhibitions, commercial exhibits, concession booths, food from local restaurants, arts and crafts exhibits, entertainment and various aviation displays. -- The Experience NASA zone and the Driven to Explore exhibit were included as well. Astronauts signed autographs on Saturday in the Experience NASA exhibit at the festival site during the JSC Open House. -- This year the festival kicked off Navy Week in Houston, with special exhibits and the a Navy band performing on Saturday evening. Also included in the festival and Open House was a Salute to Law Enforcement display at the front entry with fire, police and emergency equipment on display and demonstrations throughout the day. -- In conjunction with Ballunar, JSC hosted an Open House on Saturday only. Visitors were invited to Buildings 2N and 2S where the breezeway area hosted JSC's green building initiative and Kids Space Place, along with programs scheduled in the Teague Auditorium throughout the day. Visitors also got to see Buildings 3, 9N, 11, 14, 30S, 220 and the Saturn V complex, which included the space shuttle and station full-scale mockups, robotic exhibits, spacesuits, tools, Building 30 Shuttle Mission Control Center (MCC) and the historic Apollo MCC. In addition, the Lunar Rover, moon rocks, meteorites, exhibits, demonstrations and much more were presented. MORE...

Ares 1-X launch

Constellation's Ares I-X flight test celebrated a successful launch on Oct. 28 from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The Ares I-X rocket launch provided NASA with an opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations while gathering critical data for the Ares I rocket and future launch vehicles. MORE...

A collection of NASA art and images at TAACCL - photos

“From Rice Fields to Rockets” is a jointly sponsored art exhibit by JSC and the Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, running until Nov. 4. The exhibit is a display of NASA art and images. MORE...

Building 11 Gift Shop grand reopening - photos

On Oct. 23, the Building 11 Starport Gift Shop celebrated a grand reopening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. MORE...

Illinois sports crowd hails Hometown Hero Astronaut Lee Archambault

For a former collegiate athlete, making it back to his college to enjoy a football game during homecoming week is a special occasion. However, being honored with a prestigious alumni award and being recognized during the football game’s pregame ceremony is extra special. MORE...