We lost Fred Drinkwater as well this year in March…

Fred was a Marine Corps aviator and a pioneer of experimental aviation. He began his flight career as a Corsair pilot in Korea, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Upon returning home, he took a position as a test pilot at NASA Ames Research Center. He continued as a pilot in the Marine Corps Reserves, commanding a squadron of A-4s at Alameda NAS. He retired from the Marines in 1986 as a full colonel, and from Ames in 1988 as Chief, NASA Ames Research Aircraft Operations.

During his career at Ames Fred worked on a wide variety of flight programs. He developed flying techniques for the VTOL jet X-14, and worked with fellow Navy pilot Neil Armstrong developing techniques for landing the LEM on the moon. He was in the vanguard of developing landing systems for extreme low L/D flight, precursor to the space shuttle landing scheme; he worked on many V/STOL aircraft and rotorcraft, including the Tiltrotor, precursor to the Marine V-22 Osprey. Other aeronautics projects included numerous flight simulations, aviation safety, accident recreation, etc. Fred also flew NASA airborne sciences projects in high-altitude astronomy, advanced radars, sea ice dynamics, arctic mammal surveys, hurricane formation, and many others.

SCIENCE! Aliens on Mars!
Posted on September 15, 2012 by Bosstiger
Reblogged from Nerdcore Comics and More:

I know what you guys might be thinking but no you are absolutely incorrect sir. I stumbled upon a article that may prove that there could be alien lifeforms on mars. The zinger about it is…..we put them there. A mistake made at N.A.S.A. about putting on the drill of the Mars Rover Curiosity, could have broken containment and let hundreds of thousands microbial stowaways on board.

Read more… 46 more words

Watch Live: Astronauts, Scientists, and Engineers Discuss NASA’s Future
Posted on September 15, 2012 by Bosstiger
Reblogged from :

Join astronauts, scientists, and NASA officials as they discuss the U.S. space agency’s history and its plans for the future, during a Google+ hangout starting at 12 p.m. Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern.

The illustrious crew at the hangout will include Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for NASA Human Exploration; Ron Garan, an astronaut who has spent 178 days on the International Space Station and delivered tons of amazing images from space; John Grunsfeld, a physicist and former astronaut who helped repair the Hubble space telescope, now the associate administrator for NASA’s science division; and Michael Lopez-Alegria, astronaut and president of the

Read more… 39 more words

This entry was posted in NASA and tagged News, Technology, Space, Tech, NASA, NASA News, Space News by Bosstiger. Bookmark the permalink.

(Getty Images)

The retired Space Shuttle Endeavor will pay one last visit to Houston Monday, on its way to its final museum mounting in California. News 92 FM’ s J.P. Pritchard has additional details.

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