In January we set personal goals for the year, make resolutions in some cases, throw a Hail Mary pass at a difficult problem. Lose weight, find your new relationship or solve both and join the gym, a Hail Mary pass for sure. Making realistic, specific, measurable goals requires a plan. The plan can create change; […]
Have a Healthy Disregard for the Impossible
Have a healthy disregard for the impossible. My early introduction to computers started with a college summer job in 1968 at the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO), our equivalent of El Paso Electric. Punch cards were just starting to be used on their payroll system and I was told, oh boy, I could have a […]
The Orion Space Capsule
America’s first human space program began in 1959 with the Mercury Program. The Mercury Program’s 3rd mission carried Alan Shepard in the Freedom 7 space capsule one hundred and sixteen miles to space at a speed of fifty one hundred and eighty miles per hour, mission duration was fifteen minutes. That flight took place on […]
When the going gets tough, that’s when the tough get going
Be Proactive, Put First Things First, Start with the End in Mind. These three directives are concise instructions for project manager. They come from Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. They can apply to any project, large or small, short or long term. A key word in the book title is effective. One […]
Take time to show compassion to the Virgin Galactic employees here in our community
Take time to show compassion to the Virgin Galactic employees here in our community. When I started working in the space industry 26 years ago, I was unfamiliar with its vocabulary. My boss was critical of any misuse of the “technical” language which did not help me to continue to experiment with new vocabulary. Using […]
Pat Hynes: Network of spaceports needed to advance space industry
New Mexico Governor Jack Campbell was a visionary. In 1963, he sent a letter to President Kennedy asking him to “support the establishment of the first inland aerospace port.” Today, 51 years later, the state of New Mexico is committed to evolving its role in the commercial space transportation industry. Spaceport America is one piece […]
Private industry takes lead in return to space station
On Tuesday, Sept. 16, NASA administrator, Gen. Charlie Bolden, announced the selection of Boeing and SpaceX to be the first American companies to launch our astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Simply stated, when NASA shut down the shuttle program, it was no longer the best way for our country to invest taxpayer dollars […]
So You Want To Build a Spaceport
Article was published in Space News, 9.8.14
Making Little Bets on a Big Future
Are you willing to try little bets, maybe a thousand times and fail most of the time in order to succeed? I am and I have failed plenty of times. How about you? Early in my sales career, one of my mentors said No, means sell me again. The loudest NOs I hear are in […]
Sitting on the sidelines is not an option
NASA may make the announcement this week on the final selection of the private company or companies they will work with to return American astronauts to the International Space Station on space vehicles Made In America, not Russia. This is part of the NASA Commercial Crew Development program. I have written about women from New […]
