] HOUSTON -- In perhaps the most convincing demonstration
] yet that NASA "gets it," the new chairman of the agency's
] mission management team today outlined major changes to
] improve communications among engineers and managers, to
] ensure dissenting views are heard and to correct the
] cultural shortcomings blamed in part for the Columbia
] disaster.

Spaceflight Now | | Shuttle mission management team gets major revamp

] A small team (Appendix 1) was chartered by NASA to make a
] top-level assessment of the viability of using the Apollo
] Command and Service Modules the basis for a Crew Return
] Vehicle, and potentially for a Crew Transfer Vehicle, for
] the International Space Station. This assessment was
] conducted 13-14 March 2003.

Old news, but the push to use the old Apollo CM as a basis for the OSP seems to be picking up speed.

Report on Top-Level Assessment of Use of Apollo Systems for ISS CRV (part 1) | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

] "I really don't have an opinion on Mars, but I do have an
] opinion that the more we explore, the better off America
] is," he said. "I believe in pushing the boundaries."

Dear Mr. President:

Please re-phrase the preceding statement for clarity. Perhaps "I don't have a clue about Mars or space or nuttin' like that, but my people tell me that the same people that sell the planes and bombs make a bunch of money offit. And yeah, I guess everyone seems to like this space crap, so I'm sure we'll think of somthin'."

Bush will wait before setting goals for NASA : OrlandoSentinel.com: Space

] In order for the crew of the ISS to increase from a size
] of 3 crew members to a size of 4 - 7 crew members,
] additional crew habitability equipment (CHE) is required
] onboard the ISS. CHE includes: Crew Quarters, Crew
] Galley, Wardroom Table, Waste and Hygiene Compartment,
] and Waste Collection System.
]
]
]
]
] These items are briefly described below. All items will
] have operating lifetimes of 15 years. It is expected that
] all items will fit within and utilize an International
] Standard Payload Rack (ISPR) location. The ISPR locations
] to be used may be located either in Node 3 or in the US
] Laboratory Destiny. (Information about the dimensions and
] characteristics of an ISPR location is contained in Part
] D.) The equipment will allow for periodic inspections,
] preventative or corrective maintenance, restoration to
] original performance, and replacement of components. All
] items will be transported to the ISS using the Space
] Shuttle and must withstand the launch environments.

To paraphrase ... "Let's Grow."

NASA Request for Information: Provision of Crew Habitability Equipment for International Space Station | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

] KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT revolves around the concept that one
] of the most valuable corporate assets is the experience
] and expertise floating around inside employees' heads. In
] order to manage this intellectual capital, executives
] must devise a way to capture and share that knowledge
] with coworkers. If done right, KM is supposed to create a
] more collaborative environment, cut down on duplication
] of effort and encourage knowledge sharing

Stumbled over this looking for information about CereByte, a KM software company in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Ideas - KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT - Magazine - Darwin Magazine

] Although we successfully forced personal computing to
] move to the graphical interface, since then fundamental
] innovation in personal computing has ground to a stop.
] The operating system most computers users work with every
] day is stuck in 1993, with very little fundamental
] improvement in the last decade. The applications on
] users' desktops, bloated beasts like Word and PowerPoint,
] haven't substantially improved in years.
]
] Why? Because they don't have to change. Because
] there's no effective competition. Because Apple failed.
]
] Those of us who use Windows every day at work are
] reminded constantly of our company's failure.
] Unfortunately, the rest of the world is being punished
] along with us.

Apple Computer History Weblog : Who Killed Apple Computer?

] WASHINGTON,DC- After today's House Science Committee
] hearing on returning the Space Shuttle to flight, U.S.
] Rep. Nick Lampson re-introduced his Space Exploration
] Act. 
]
] "Admiral Harold Gehman's Columbia Accident Investigation
] Board (CAIB) report cites the 'lack of an agreed national
] vision for human space flight' over the past three
] decades as an organizational cause of the accident.  The
] report calls on the White House, Congress and NASA to
] honor the memory ofColumbia's crew by reflecting on the
] nation's future in space," Lampson said.  "I couldn't
] agree more.  Even before theColumbiaaccident, the future
] direction of many of NASA's programs such as Space
] Station and Space Shuttle were "To Be Determined.' "

Rep. Lampson Re-Introduces Bill to Restore Vision for NASA's Human Spaceflight Program

] The voice of a black hole is a deep, deep bass, 57
] octaves below middle C and far beyond the hearing range
] of humans. The Chandra X-ray Observatory has picked up
] sound waves for the first time from a cluster of galaxies
] 250 million light years away.
]
] Astronomers at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge,
] England, discovered the sound waves while analyzing the
] Chandra images of the Perseus cluster, an immense
] grouping of galaxies held in formation by the powerful
] tug of a supermassive black hole.

HoustonChronicle.com - Sound of black hole 57 octaves below middle C

] The first U.S. Air Force/Boeing "Delta IV Heavy" Evolved
] Expendable Launch Vehicle, a strong candidate to
] be the next U.S. manned launch vehicle, has been
] assembled here in preparation for rollout to Launch
] Pad 37B for several months of checkout before a
] demonstration flight in May 2004.

Our Next Manned Launch Vehicle? - AWST

] The hellish climate of Venus may have arisen far more
] recently than previously supposed, suggests new research.
] If so, pleasant Earth-like conditions probably persisted
] for two billion years after the planet's birth - plenty
] of time for life to have developed.

Venus possibly habitable for billions of years - New Scientist