A Pale Blue Dot

Pale Blue Dot: An Alien View Of Earth : NPR

NASA - Shuttle Silhouette

Very cool pic from NASA.

Click for larger image.

The rise of Private Spaceflight

Alan Boyle reports over at Cosmic Log.

No, the biggest shift had to do with who would be in charge of providing the successors to the space shuttle fleet, which is currently due for retirement by the end of this year. Instead of having its own human spaceflight program to service the space station, NASA said it would buy rides in private-sector space taxis. In Nelson's words, "the commercial boys" would be in the driver's seat.

"If the commercial boys don't work, then we are stuck for upwards of a decade relying on the Russians ... and that is not a good position to be in," the senator said.

Never fear, Senator. I'm sure Washington will ensure the proper regulation and oversight is in place so that private interests are able to compete with... the Russians.