No. 1 Story

ACCC clears Optus to scrap HFC network and use NBN instead

The ACCC has cleared, provisionally, the proposed deal between Optus and NBN Co under which Optus is to be paid around $800m to shut down its HFC network and transfer customers onto the NBN. read more

Beam holiday greetings to Space Station

Science - Space



NASA states in their December 12, 2008 article Space Station Crew Exchanges Seasons Greetings with Earth," “The e-mailed greetings can be sent through Jan. 5, 2009. Last year, thousands of messages were sent to the Expedition 16 crew from throughout the world."

The NASA article continues, “The current station crew, Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineers Sandra Magnus and Yury Lonchakov, will celebrate this holiday season 220 miles above Earth. Fincke and Lonchakov have been on the station since Oct. 14, and Magnus joined the crew Nov. 16. The main focus of their mission is to prepare the station to house six crew members for long-duration missions beginning in May 2009."

These are the holiday greetings my wife and I sent to the crew members onboard the Space Station:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Bill and Delores in sunny but cold central Illinois. We hope you joy and happiness during your Christmas in space.

As a former flight controller at the Johnson Space Center, I (Bill) welcome our international cooperation as we grow into a global community on Earth and in space.

We both wish for peaceful and prosperous times to all peoples of our planet Earth.

And, remember to leave one of the docking modules open for Santa (Ded Moroz: "Grandfather Frost") on Christmas eve.

Season's greetings!