Boldly going where we have been going for a while now

How cool is it that we have a space station? How cool is it that they're doing all these experiments to see if we can grow veggies with moondust and zero gravity? I find this one of the neatest things in the world. I used to think I'd like to go into outer space, but not so much any more.

We had another successful launch Wednesday night of men heading to the space station.

NASA has a great site with all kinds of information about the astronaut and cosmonauts, what they'll be doing on the station, etc.

The photo below (from AP) shows American NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, bottom, Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov, center, and Russian Yuri Shargin, top, wave just before their launch at the cosmodrome Baikonur in Kazakstan. The crew's Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft is headed to the International Space Station and should arrive sometime Saturday.


After eight days of joint operations and handover activities, Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke will return to Earth with Shargin aboard the ISS Soyuz 8 spacecraft. Fincke will greet his baby for the first time. She was born in June. If you remember, it was his suit that had a problem with the oxygen during a space walk.

Godspeed and safe travels gentlemen.