NASA

Yesterday afternoon my husband and I drove down to NASA. My father-in-law retired with NASA nearly 10 years ago. He was an electric engineer that worked on the rocket engines. My in-laws house is filled with NASA memorabilia and don't get me started on their Christmas tree. It has little astronauts and space shuttles on it. It's fun.

Here's a picture of my hubby standing in front of the rocket systems that my FIL use to work on.

My husband and I went down to tour the campus. That's one of the pros of living in the Houston area. We wanted to take the advantage of seeing as much as we could because we do not know the fate of the space programs future. The Obama Administration has made severe cut backs on the space program and the fate is not good. I'm really disappionted and we along with many others in the area have written our Congressmen and Representatives. We have even signed petitions pleading with the President not to do this. I believe that most people do not realize how much NASA contributes to our country. People just think they land on the moon or go into space. Not so. Did you know that NASA is involved heavily in medical research, they work directly with our military (national security), you wouldn't have a cell phone (comminications) if it wasn't for NASA, millions of people would have died in hurricanes if it wasn't for the NASA satelites. It was NASA who developed and is currently working on improving the x-ray machines that detects cancer. NASA started laser angioplasty, pacemakers, voice-control wheelchairs, radiation hazard detector, emergency response robots, firemen's oxygen tanks, emergency rescue cutters, etc.

The United States is currently the #1 leader in space exploration. Houston is the home of the mission control international space station. It is terrible to think that we have come so far in the past 5 decades and to stop now would be...well, it's truly UNAMERICAN!!!

* Crew of Appollo 13- James A. Lovell, John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Fred W. Haise.

Halfway to the moon, a routine flip of two switches, H2 FANS and O2 FANS, set off an electrical shortage that caused the No. 2 oxygen tank to explode. The astronauts felt a jolt and could only watch as their ship fell lame. Fuel cells shut down, maneuvering thrusters lost propellant, the computer crashed and restarted,and precious oxygen vented into space. There would be no lunar landing for Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, only a swing through the moon's gravity and a suspenseful return home. On the ground, the Lovell family gathered with other astronauts to watch the coverage of Apollo 13's return. Seated, from left: Pete Conrad; Buzz Aldrin; Lovell's mother, Blanche; Barbara, Jeffrey, Marilyn and Susan Lovell. Standing at right is Neil Armstrong.

It was Jim Lovell that stated to the mission control room, "Houston, we had a problem." We often hear the quote as, "Houston, we have a problem." It was even used by Tom Hanks in 1995 release of, Appollo 13. Those were the first words the mission control room had heard after they had lost contact with the astronaunts while they emerged around the moon.

Four hours before landing, the crew shed the service module; Mission Control had insisted on retaining it until then because everyone feared what the cold of space might do to the unsheltered CM heat shield. Photos of the Service Module showed one whole panel missing, and wreckage hanging out, it was a sorry mess as it drifted away. Three hours later the crew left the Lunar Module Aquarius and then splashed down gently in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa.

* Celebrating the safe return in Mission Control Room after holding their breaths due to the fear of losing Appollo 13 into space.

* Here we are looking over the Mission Control Room seen in the picture above. They have since moved the Mission Control Room but have retired the original for tourist. If you look closely you'll see the American Flag. That exact flag has been to the moon twice.


Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon on July 16, 1969. The entire country stopped to crowd around televisions to see Armstrong take those famous steps and stick the American flag into the Moon's crust. As he stepped onto the Moon he stated those infamous words, "One step for man, a giant leap for mankind."

Neil Armstrong celebrated his 80th Birthday last year. He's spent most of his time out of the public eye but was seen up on Capital Hill pleading with President Obama not to cut the space program. He's calling Obama's decision to axe future missions to the moon, "devastating."

I encourage all Americans to support NASA. NASA has been a huge pillar of how we've evolved into a great nation we are today. Here is a link where you can sign a petition called, SAVE NASA !!! http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/SaveNASA2010/signatures/200