Results tagged “spacecenter”

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Chester Miles, the missing Houston minister, has been found in a hospital recuperating from stab wounds. • The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch today at 2:21 pm from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. UPDATE: Today's launch has been scrubbed and will not be rescheduled until sometime in January. • An off duty reserve constable shot and killed a 19 year... more ›

If you are looking for someway to enjoy the outdoors this weekend, check out the 2007 Ballunar Festival in Clear Lake at the Johnson Space Center. The festival started in 1993, when Steve Lombardi (head balloon pilot for RE/MAX) wanted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of man’s first flight at the location of today’s most technologically advanced flight operations. 14 years later the Ballunar Festival is still going strong, with over 60 Balloons registered... more ›

More people made it through last month in Houston than last April, according to unofficial HPD statistics. This April recorded 30 homicides, compared to last year's 31. That brings the 2007 total to 119, also down from last year's 123. Within that number, only about 2 each month involved Katrina evacuees, compared to the 20% of last year's total number. But every silver lining has its dark cloud. While the number of homicides has decreased... more ›

You've probably never thought that building training equipment for astronauts is so easy that high school students could do it. Turns out, though, that it is. Several Houston high school students were given the opportunity by NASA to help build equipment that will be used to train International Space Station crews. The program, High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH), was created by a Johnson Space Center engineer who wanted to create... more ›

Good morning, Houston. We're happy to report that we've found out the AIA and Google have combined two of our favorite things: architecture and Google Earth. Now there's a Google Earth layer featuring 3-D models of some of the structures on the AIA's list of America's favorite architecture, which brings desktop tourism to a whole new level. Among the buildings on the AIA layer: Pennzoil Place, the Astrodome and the Williams Tower, the three... more ›

William Phillips, 60, is the accused perpetrator of the murder-suicide at Johnson Space Center last Friday. Phillips, a JSC employee who feared being fired after a poor performance review, smuggled a revolver into the building and barricaded himself with his hostage. The security team at the space center had reassessed their security procedures in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings prior to this incident. The reassessment found that no major changes were needed, but... more ›

The gunman who caused an evacuation at Johnson Space Center's Building 44 earlier today killed a hostage before killing himself, the New York Times is reporting. The gunman somehow got a revolver past security and barricaded himself in the building, which contains communication and tracking equipment for space shuttles. The gunman has been identified as William Phillips, 60. David Beverley, the dead hostage, who was shot in the chest, was a civil servant who worked... more ›

Building 44 at NASA's Johnson Space Center has been evacuated this afternoon because of reports of gunshots and an armed man in the building. KPRC reports that the alleged gunman has been confirmed as working for Jacobs Engineering, a NASA subcontracter. more ›

Good morning, Houston. If anyone out there's looking for a show idea to pitch to MTV, may we suggest The Real World: Monsatery? Based on the statements of Hugh Brian Fallon, a monk from Blanco, The Christ of the Hills monastery would fit right in with the Real World drama: Fallon told authorities that fellow monk Samuel Greene encouraged sex among the monks, offered people marijuana when they were having problems and faked tears... more ›

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Feel Good Recycling Techs & Trainers is a non-profit organization that recycles old computer equipment, rebuilds systems and then offers them for a nominal fee to those with special needs. You can help by donating your unwanted computers and accessories or volunteering your own specialized assistance. HTC Blood Drive The Houston Technology Center is having a blood drive on April 13 from 7-11am. Get out from... more ›

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. Looking back, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 18th century poem may have been a bit progressive. As the world rallies around water preservation this month, Houston is doing our part, to make sure our H20 stays safe. Starting tomorrow (Friday) morning, the Dow Chemical Company, in partnership with the Blue Planet Run Foundation are sponsoring a 36-hour, 240-mile, overnight relay event around the Houston area to help raise... more ›

Lindsay Perth is a transplanted Canadian artist who now resides in Scotland. She is one of the artists whose work is exhibited in the Never Been to Houston show. On the right is one of her photographs from the exhibit. Lindsay answered a few questions about Houston and the show for us. Read on: What was your perception of Houston before you started this project? My perception was of lots of glass and reflections and... more ›

So let's be honest: All weekend, you were sitting around thinking, "Sure, I'd like to know who the father of Anna Nicole's daughter is, but what I really wonder is: What's going on with Lisa Nowak?" Fortunately, the media provided a heathy dose of astronaut-related updates over the weekend. Here's what you might have missed: On Thursday, some friends had dropped by Nowak's Clear Lake home for a visit, according to an AP report carried... more ›

Astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak, who's a household name today after news broke about her plan to confront — or, police say, to kill — another woman, is back in Houston this morning as details emerge about what might have driven her to make a cross-country trip armed with a knife, rubber tubing and a BB gun. more ›

Sure, the space shuttle is going to be retired soon, but that doesn't mean NASA's astronauts won't keep us entertained — assuming, that is, that they keep giving us news like Lisa Marie Nowak. Nowak, you might know, is the Johnson Space Center-based astronaut who was arrested yesterday in Orlando, accused of attacking an Air Force captain in one of those bizarre love triangles we've heard about. more ›

Face it. You've been wanting to go treasure hunting ever since you saw the Goonies chasing One-eyed Willy's loot and running from the Fratelli's. Don't lie or we'll make you do the truffle shuffle. more ›

Investigators are looking for the driver of a truck that crashed through a fence and into Clear Lake early this morning — the truck was fished out of the lake, but there was no driver to be found. Maybe. more ›

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? Phillyist is concerned that the war on Trans fats could affect it's beloved cheese steak sandwiches, something for which we should all be concerned.... more ›

Houston has made a respectable showing in Monopoly’s Here and Now edition. If you’ve been out of the loop, millions of internet users cast votes for months this summer to determine not only which landmarks from 22 major cities would make it onto the new Monopoly board, but the number of votes also determined the position of each city on the board. Houston’s Space Center beat out the Museum District and the Kemah Boardwalk by... more ›

A couple of weeks ago, Houstonist told you about your chance to vote for what Houston landmark should end up on the Monopoly board. And as we were reminded today, voting ends tomorrow, so be sure to get your two cents in while you still can. Here's the skinny: This summer, a Monopoly Here & Now version will come out with a game board featuring places from 22 cities. At the Monopoly website, you can... more ›

Ever wished something in Houston was on the Monopoly board? Now's your chance to make that happen: Through May 12, the folks at Hasbro are taking votes for properties on the Monopoly Here & Now version, which will come out late this summer. Voters can pick properties for the board from a list of landmarks in 22 cities — their placement will depend on the number of votes they get. In Houston, the choices... more ›

Just when Houstonist was starting to think think the day's news was all going to be boring, we ran across a story that proved us very, very wrong: the tale of Kenneth Paul Engle III, who took a joy ride in a Pasadena fire truck. No, Engle isn't a firefighter or affiliated with the Pasadena fire department in any way — and what's more, he can't remember anything about driving the truck. Engle, 28, said... more ›

A 15-year-old Cy-Creek student was killed last night when a friend shot him with a gun he thought wasn't loaded Van Gundy to Rockets: Stop making excuses, start playing better Local horse riders are bristling over a new law prohibiting riding on Houston's esplanades The Astros signed closer Brad Lidge and reliever Dan Wheeler to one-year deals NASA's Stardust capsule arrived at the Johnson Space Center today, where scientists will take a first look at... more ›

When Houstonist was little, we took frequent school field trips to NASA's Johnson Space Center. That was before the flashy Disney visitors center — back then, they'd herd us into a circa-1962 wood-paneled conference room and tell us about how space shuttles were going to allow us to kick Soviet butt. Then they'd bring out a tiny fragment of moon rock and make a big deal about how we couldn't touch it. That led to... more ›

It's no secret that Houston and the New York media have had a love/hate relationship over the years — well, OK, mostly hate. So we were interested to see what the NY Times said in yesterday's 36 Hour travel feature on Houston — and it seems writer Dan Halpern actually got it: Houston doesn't have a clear-cut positive reputation, like Austin (the laid-back slacker capital), or even a good nickname, like Dallas (Big D).... more ›