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May 1, 2008 / 1:34 a.m. CT (0634 GMT) Departure: One of Canada's original space explorers who flew on STS-85 as a payload specialist, Bjarni Tryggvason is retiring this June after nearly 25 years with his nation's space agency. Tryggvason will continue at the University of Western Ontario, where he's presently a visiting professor. Following his first and only spaceflight, he completed training with NASA as a mission specialist, but took a leave of absence to pursue work in the private sector before returning to the Canadian Space Agency in 2004. During his astronaut career, Tryggvason developed vibration isolation mounts for experiments flown on-board the U.S. shuttle, Mir, and the International Space Station.
May 2, 2008 / 5:02 p.m. CT (2202 GMT) Vladimir Gevorkyan (1952-2008): Chosen for the cosmonaut corps in December 1978 Vladimir Gevorkyan, 55, died on April 13 of brain cancer, reports the Russian-language website astronaut.ru. Though he was never to fly, Gevorkyan trained to serve as an engineer onboard the then-secret Almaz military space stations built by the Mashinostroyeniya bureau. He retired from the program in April 1987, and went on to direct the "Terra" science corp.
May 9, 2008 / 12:01 a.m. CT (0501 GMT) The most wondrous piece of hardware: ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" will be revealing Monday that its panel of experts have selected NASA's Saturn V rocket as one of the '7 Wonders of America'. Built to launch a crew of three astronauts to the Moon in the late 1960s, the 363-foot tall booster will join the ranks of other U.S.-based wonders including the Grand Canyon and the National Mall in Washington, DC. ABC will broadcast live from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Alabama, where one of the three remaining Saturn V rockets is on display.
May 9, 2008 / 12:58 a.m. CT (0558 GMT) Retired tires to roll out for loan: NASA's new Artifact Loan Opportunities Program, designed to reach "untraditional" audiences through the loan of space-flown hardware, hit the road this week with its first offer of space shuttle main gear tires collected from 50 different missions dating back to 1986. Unlike the agency's earlier artifact loan programs, some of the requirements for the preservation of the tires have been waived to permit their use as art, furniture or building structures. Developed to reach beyond just museums, proposals (due by June 11) will be considered from civic groups, schools, and others.
May 11, 2008 / 12:45 p.m. CT (1745 GMT) Ronald A. Parise (1951-2008): Astronomer turned astronaut Ron Parise, who flew as a payload specialist aboard NASA's only two astronomy-dedicated shuttle missions died May 9 of a brain tumor after fighting cancer for three years. On his first flight in 1990, he became one of the first three astronomers to use a telescope in space and the first to operate packet ham radio, both as a result of payloads that he developed. In total, over the course of STS-35 and 67, he flew over 25 days and 10 million miles.
Departure: One of Canada's original space explorers who flew on STS-85 as a payload specialist, 
Vladimir Gevorkyan (1952-2008): Chosen for the cosmonaut corps in December 1978 Vladimir Gevorkyan, 55, 
The most wondrous piece of hardware: ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" will be revealing Monday that its panel of experts have 
Retired tires to roll out for loan: NASA's new Artifact Loan Opportunities Program, designed to reach "untraditional" audiences through the loan of space-flown hardware, hit the road this week with its first offer of space 
Ronald A. Parise (1951-2008): Astronomer turned