bright spots


4 must-see videos after 15 years on the International Space Station

The ISS has been orbiting Earth for 15 years now, since November 2010.  It has been an incredible source of knowledge and exploration in those years.  It’s also been the source of powerful inspiration and success for many so-called rocket scientists! Enjoy these videos that show us the wonder of modern engineering, international collaboration, and […]

ISS Video

AIAA membership by gender

AIAA launches new website and LinkedIn Subgroup for the Diversity Working Group 4

Whether you live in the United States or not, if you study and work in the English language and are pursuing a career in aerospace, you know that it’s a difficult field to enter.  It isn’t easy for anyone, in my honest opinion and experience.  But for many people, there are additional challenges and barriers […]


Two girls launch a balloon into space 6

These two girls from Seattle show us, yet again, that being a rocket scientist is not as distant a possibility as you may think!  Awesome project here with their “Loki Lego launcher.”  Enjoy reading the story and watching their inspirational footage. Here is a link to the 7-minute YouTube video: If you want more background, […]

Loki Lego balloon

Chamber of Commerce

San Antonio is showing the power of Tip #3: Associate with People in the Field

Competition is fierce in the economy.  This applies to us at the individual level, the organizational level, and at the geographic level. For example, there was fierce competition between many cities to obtain one of the initial six FAA-authorized UAV test sites.  Now each of these sites is serving as a regional business incubator and […]


Pluto New Horizons arrival provides 3 career strategy insights for rocket scientists

After 9 and and half years of interplanetary space travel, the New Horizons spacecraft led by NASA, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and Southwest Research Institute has arrived at its primary destination of Pluto! My profound congratulations and admiration goes to everyone involved in the effort.  It takes a special kind of person and effort […]

Pluto photo

weeding and planting seeds

Weeding out vs growing a seed

This week I had the pleasure and privilege of having a thoughtful discussion with two leaders at a local university.  We were talking about education, specifically for aviation and aerospace. One of them, who happened to be the President of this University, made a great analogy to describe two different approaches or attitude in education.  […]


Finding a reason for a STEM banquet

This past week I went to a local elementary school for their Career Day.  The fifth graders had a few professionals from the area come in and spend 20 minutes with each class to talk about their careers and answer questions with the kids.  I talked about aerospace engineering and rocket science.  I showed a […]

STEM banquet example

san diego aerospace museum

Aerospace jobs in San Diego appear to have serious lift

This May 1st, 2015 article from The San Diego Union-Tribune describes several positive forces and trends for aerospace jobs in the San Diego, California metro area: Aerospace makes comeback in San Diego Southern California has one of the most exciting and remarkable histories when it comes to aerospace and aviation.  Maybe that is the place […]


Blue Origin Launch is first public success

There is no such thing as an overnight success in rocket science.  But the Blue Origin news about their successful rocket launch on April 29th, 2015 caught a lot of people by surprise. Here is a video from the company that celebrates the first launch of the Blue Origin New Shepard spacecraft: Here is the […]

Blue Origin launch