Monday, December 22, 2008

Santa on the International Space Station...


Rolex on the International Space Station at Christmas

Recently I was doing research in the NASA Archive and I came across this image of Dr. Leroy Chiao taken during Christmas onboard the International Space Station in 2004. Dr. Chiao flew on three Space Shuttle Missions prior to being the Commander of Expedition 10. 

I wrote a detailed article that included a fascinating podcast interview with Dr. Chiao which you can see by clicking here. Beyond his incredible career as a NASA astronaut, Dr. Chiao is an amazing man of incredible achievement!!!

Of course Dr. Chiao is sporting his Pepsi GMT Master on the jubilee bracelet. I also think I see an HP iPaq Pocket PC floating around above the IBM Thinkpad in the upper right hand corner of the photo. We sure have come a long way in 4 years from the iPaq to the iPhone.

Rolex in Control at NASA in 1965


Rolex in Control at NASA

Dr. Wernher von Braun is pictured below at NASA ground control in 1965 during the testing of a Saturn rocket. Dr. von Braun is wearing a yellow gold Rolex and Dr. Kurt Debus who was the director of the Kennedy Space Center is also wearing his Rolex in this photo. Both men were former German rocket scientists.

Ironically, Dr. von Braun was the principal designer of the German V-2 rocket weapon as well as the Saturn V Moon rocket that put NASA astronauts on the Moon.

Pictured from Left to Right: Dr. Kurt Debus Werhner von Braun