NASA discovered a worrisome gouge on Endeavour’s belly soon after the shuttle docked with the international space station Friday, possibly caused by ice that broke off the fuel tank a minute after liftoff. Astronauts may have to patch it during a spacewalk.

Is it any wonder why the Shuttle is facing scuttling? The Ares rocket will replace the shuttle in the near future. Ares is a retro looking rocket design, whose command module is similar to the Apollo command module. Why do I mention this? Because the shuttle was great in concept, a reusable glider that could, well, shuttle cargo and people up to space.

Never worked out quite that way. We’ve had two shuttles and crew disintegrate before our eyes. Costs have been enormous. The shuttles cannot go up as often as originally planned (once a week). In fact, most US sattelites and probes are sent by rockets as they were in the 1960’s.

Ares unlike Apollo will launch in two-parts: Command Module and Lunar Lander that will rendezvous in orbit. Originally, it was thought to send the crew to the space station and then procede to the moon. But that idea has been thrown out.

Ares has a lot of promises, but then again so did the shuttle.

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Was it that Good?An exotic dancer is credited with reviving a client who passed out during a private strip show early Friday morning, police said.

Karnesha Nantz, 25, was hired early Friday morning to perform a personal show for Daniel Karpinski, 46, at Karpinski’s home, police said. When he slumped over, Nantz called 911 and began to administer CPR. Paramedics arrived at the home and were able to revive the 46-year-old.

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Oh ok, first give him the heart attack, and then save him.

There’s a new “Star Trek” episode coming. The imaginative folks at Star Trek: New Voyages are releasing their latest episode, “World Enough and Time. (WEaT)” It stars George Takei as Hikaru Sulu and Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand. WEaT is the most ambitious undertaking by STNV, and boasts more than 700 effects shots. Premiering Aug. 23 on the Internet on a live HD Stream from the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, registrants will also have a chance to win a trip to Hollywood.

Register at:
www.startreknewvoyages.com

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New Horizons is a probe to the former planet Pluto. Launch in 2006, the craft whizzed by the Jovial planet in February 2007 and is gaining speed (now 20.31 km/s or over 45,000 miles/hr). Still the probe will not get to Pluto till 2015. (if you click on the picture, you will go to a website that updates position and speed every 24hrs)

What’s the big deal with going to Pluto? It’s not even a planet (anymore). Well first of all although its not a “planet” it does have an atmosphere. More than half of its time going around the sun the atmosphere is frozen, but for now it is not. Were it to freeze we would not be able to see it again for almost 200 years! Also, this “non-planet” has a satellite Charon.  Passed Pluto, New Horizons will study the Kuiper Belt, the area surrounding our system that produces Comets. We know very little about this area.

Just found out my brother and his wife are expecting twin. This is the second and third child. If they are as cute as Zoe, Texas better watch out.