Richard Garriott has the best geek cred, ever. Not only was his father an astronaut, but also he earned a not-so-small fortune writing videogames. Garriott plays with the most awesome toys (he owns a freakin’ Sputnik), lives in the coolest house (featured on HGTV and MTV’s Cribs), and has the most fun of anyone you’ll ever meet.

On March 25, 2010, at a private showing at New York City’s Core Club, Richard Garriott screened his documentary, Man on a Mission, about his experiences as a spaceflight participant.

Let’s say you’re looking for work. You have a 4-year degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Astrophysics, or a related medical field, plus experience with a government space agency, and perhaps you have trained as a Payload Specialist with some extra-vehicular activity. Didn't find anything? If not, maybe you should check out the latest listing for "Astronauts" at CareerBuilder.com.

Who better to write a book about space development than Douglas Mallette, a systems engineer working for a Houston, TX company providing technical services to NASA for the Space Shuttle?

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden discussed the importance of private industry, as well as motivating the younger generation, in a speech to the National Association of Investment Companies.

by Carol Pinchefsky with G.B. Leatherwood

By Carol Pinchefsky and G.B. Leatherwood

The announcement that Richard Branson has sold a 32% stake in Virgin Galactic to Sheikh Mansour for $280m, reported on Bloomberg and widely in the press, puts a valuation on a space tourism company into the public domain for the first time and gives the nascent industry a higher profile in the financial world.

Here on planet Earth, we’re suffering from an energy crisis: we need gasoline to power our cars, and we need electricity to power our homes. Alternative sources of energy, such as solar and wind power, can only provide a fraction of what we need, and nuclear power has inherent risks. Of course, space enthusiasts see the answer to our problems beyond the planet. By capturing the limitless energy of the sun and transforming it into electrical energy we can use, the world will have the energy it needs without being drained of its finite resources.

Years ago actors Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland popularized a now-famous show business cliché: “Let’s fix up the old barn and put on a show!”