CONTENTS
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Tomorrow Steven Hirshorn Presents on Life Lessons from the Columbia Tragedy and NASAâs Return to Flight
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This Thursday: Julie Klinger Presents on âChinaâLatin America Space Cooperation: A Brief Historyâ
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New NASA History e-Book Now Online:
The Wind Tunnels of the NACA and NASA
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Remembering Eric Jones, Founder of the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
Tomorrow Steven Hirshorn Presents on Life Lessons from the Columbia Tragedy and NASAâs Return to Flight
Tuesday, July 22 at 12:00 pm EDT / 11:00 am CDT / 10:00 am PDT
This week we mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of STS-114, the Return to Flight mission launched two and a half years after the Columbia tragedy. The NASA History
Office is pleased to be joined by Steven Hirshorn, who will be presenting about his new book in the NASA History Series entitled Ascension: Life Lessons from the Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy for Engineers, Managers, and Leaders.
Hirshorn, currently NASAâs Chief Engineer for Aeronautics, will discuss his experiences as the mission operations representative to the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project Office
on the day Columbia and its crew were lost, NASAâs sobering work in search of answers in the wake of the tragedy, and the crucial technical and organizational changes that needed to take place for the Space Shuttle Program to resume.
With technical expertise and deeply human, visceral insight, Hirshorn gives simply stated life lessons valuable to those advancing human spaceflight today.
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This Thursday: Julie Klinger Presents âChinaâLatin America Space Cooperation: A Brief Historyâ
âChina-Latin America Space Cooperation: A Brief Historyâ
Julie Klinger (Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and University of Delaware)
Thursday, July 24 at 2:00 pm EDT / 1:00 pm CDT / 11:00 am PDT
Neither the evolution of global space politics, nor the evolving nature of China-Latin America relations can be understood without considering the roles played by Latin America's and China's space programs
in national, bilateral, and multilateral engagements. This talk provides a brief historical overview of bilateral outer space cooperation between China and Latin American countries. Multilateral engagements by all parties shaped the dawn of the space age in
the 1960s, while bilateral engagements date back to 1984.
Julie Michelle Klinger is currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, and an Associate
Professor in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Klinger and her research team conduct in-depth field-based and global-scope research on competing uses for energy-transition metals, materials, and infrastructures.
She has published numerous articles on rare earth elements, natural resource use, environmental politics, and outer space, including the award-winning 2018 book Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes. She holds a PhD in
Geography from the University of California, Berkeley.
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New NASA History e-Book Now Online:
The Wind Tunnels of the NACA and NASA
Until now, no comprehensive anthology of NACA and NASA wind tunnels existed.
Wind Tunnels of the NACA and NASA answers this need. In this encyclopedic reference work, the unique facilities that have been an essential tool for aeronautical research and have contributed to the development of iconic U.S. aircraft and rockets are
described. Each wind tunnel has its own listing that describes its history and its significance alongside detailed physical and operational descriptions and supporting archival imagery. In many cases, this publication is the only readily available account
of the facility.
This new publication serves as a technical reference book for engineers, a documentary account for historians, and a compreÂhensive history for the general public.
Remembering Eric Jones, Founder of the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
It is with deep sadness that we remember Dr. Eric M. Jones, founder of the
Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (ALSJ), who passed away on July 5, 2025, at the age of 81. From 1989 to 1993, Jones conducted in-depth interviews with ten of the twelve Apollo astronauts who walked on the
Moon, recording their discussions as he led them through each moment of their time on the lunar surface. He then produced complete annotated transcripts for each mission, accompanied by the astronautsâ comments, and his own commentary that explains details
of the events, procedures, and equipment.
David Woods, editor of the
Apollo Flight Journal, shared his heartfelt tribute:
Sad news arrived of the passing of a gentleman who had a profound and wonderful effect on many folk, and I was honoured to be able to call him a friend.
Eric Jones created the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal in the earliest days of the World Wide Web. The ALSJ is a complete account of humankindâs first exploration of another world. Eric not only created
comprehensive transcripts of the Apollo programâs time on the lunar surface, he added enlightening commentary throughout, and brought ten of the twelve moonwalkers to add their recollections. To his huge credit, he generously allowed others to offer their
assistance. My contribution was to create a companion site, the Apollo Flight Journal. I dedicated my first book to Eric in recognition of the life-enhancing influence he had on me.
Ericâs work stands as a unique account in human history; rich, insightful, and comprehensive. He will be missed.
Jonesâs meticulous work on the ALSJ and its companion websites has left an indelible mark on space history. In 2023, he was honored for his invaluable contributions with the NASA Distinguished Public
Service Medal. His legacy will continue to inspire future generations of space enthusiasts and historians.
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