posted 07-30-2007 06:38 PM               

In August 2007, Dr. Lu retired from NASA in order to pursue private interests.

posted 08-10-2007 03:43 PM               

Astronaut Ed Lu Leaves NASA

Veteran International Space Station astronaut and space shuttle flyer Ed Lu has left NASA to accept a position in the private sector. Lu flew on two shuttle missions and lived six months aboard the station as a member of the orbiting laboratory's seventh crew.

"Ed has done an exceptional job as an astronaut during his twelve years of service," said Chief of the Astronaut Office Steve Lindsey. "He contributed greatly to the construction and operations on the International Space Station, particularly in the very difficult period after the Columbia tragedy. Additionally, his involvement in development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle will help NASA tremendously as we look forward to exploring our solar system. He will be missed by the Astronaut Office and NASA. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

Lu's experience includes more than six hours spacewalking. He was the first American to launch as flight engineer of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft as well as the first American to both launch and land on a Soyuz. He has visited two space stations on his missions.

Selected as an astronaut in 1994, Lu first flew in May 1997 aboard Atlantis for the STS-84 mission, the sixth shuttle mission to visit the Russian space station Mir. He next flew in 2000 on mission STS-106, also aboard Atlantis, performing a spacewalk during that flight to help outfit the Zvezda module of the International Space Station, the outpost's living quarters. Launching on the Soyuz, Lu returned to the International Space Station in 2003 as flight engineer and NASA science officer of Expedition 7, the first two-person resident crew.

posted 08-27-2007 07:15 PM               

Ed Lu, who flew on two Shuttle flights and spent 6 months on the International Space Station after the Columbia disaster, will be moving to balmy California to start his next mission at Google.

Google, who has brought exploration to our everyday lives, signed an agreement to build their GooglePlex at NASA Ames, and recently released GoogleSky (with high-res GoogleMoon and Mars to follow), now has its own in-house astronaut.

Lu, who has a doctorate in astrophysics from Stanford University and a strong background in the academic research environment, will have a lot to offer to GoogleSky as well as to GoogleScholar and GoogleBooks. He may also play a role in the NASA-Google Space Act Agreement projects, announced in December 2006.

posted 06-25-2010 06:33 PM               

The former astronaut, who served as the program manager in the advanced products group at the search engine, plans on writing a book on his experiences as an astronaut and space shuttle pilot, he told us during a break at the 2010 Silicon Valley Energy Summit sponsored by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group taking place at Stanford. Lu served at NASA for twelve years and flew two shuttle missions after the Columbia disaster. He also flew a Soyuz mission in conjunction with Russia and spent six months on the International Space Station.

Following that, he worked on a program to develop spacecraft that could deflect rogue asteroids from striking the Earth and causing massive damage...

He left Google about a week ago.

posted 09-15-2011 04:01 PM               

Edward T. Lu, NASA Astronaut and Renowned Astrophysicist Joins Liquid Robotics

Liquid Robotics, Inc., an ocean data services provider and developer of the first wave-powered Wave Glider® marine robot, today announced that Edward (Ed) T. Lu, formerly of Google and NASA, has joined the company as chief of innovative applications.

Tasked with developing new ways to advance our understanding of ocean science, Ed will work with leaders in the global scientific, government and commercial communities to foster new applications for ocean science.

"In the history of science, interesting discoveries and innovations arise when people find new ways to access or measure things," said Ed Lu of Liquid Robotics. "For the first time, Liquid Robotics gives scientists access to comprehensive volumes of ocean data never before available, which will allow for discoveries we may never before have imagined, not to mention new commercial applications that may change the way we interact with the ocean. To me, Wave Gliders are like individual 'spacecraft' circling the globe and helping us to explore our vast oceans."

"I am absolutely thrilled Ed is joining Liquid Robotics," said Bill Vass, CEO of Liquid Robotics. "Having a renowned scientist and NASA astronaut helping us to explore the ocean in ways that will benefit science and commercial markets is exciting. We look forward to Ed applying his inventive thinking and energies to Liquid Robotics."

Prior to joining Liquid Robotics, Ed led the Advanced Projects group at Google, where his teams were responsible for designing the hardware and software for rapid development projects including the imagery behind Google Maps/Earth, Google Street View, and Google Books. His team also developed Google PowerMeter, an on-line service that enables people to see and monitor in near real-time their home energy consumption.

Ed is a former NASA astronaut, having spent 12 years at NASA flying T-38 jets and serving aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and the International Space Station as a mission specialist/payload commander, flight engineer and science officer. Ed has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and a PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford University. Ed is the founder of the B612 Foundation whose goal is to significantly alter the orbit of an asteroid in a controlled manner by 2015.

The Liquid Robotics Wave Glider is the first marine robot to use only the ocean's endless supply of wave energy for propulsion (no manpower, no emissions, no refueling). The Wave Glider employs a multipatented design that allows it to cost-effectively collect and transmit data gathered during missions lasting years, over distances of thousands of miles, or while holding station. Data gathered by Wave Gliders will help us address the biggest challenges our marine environments face -- including ocean acidification, fisheries management, and natural disaster mitigation.

Liquid Robotics, Inc. is an ocean data services provider and developer of the Wave Glider marine robot that functions as a persistent and versatile platform for scientific and industrial payloads. Based in Silicon Valley and Hawaii, the company's Wave Glider vehicle enables dozens of applications and missions never before attainable.

posted 12-11-2012 09:16 PM               

The company is Hover, and it creates advanced real-life 3-D imagery from just about any images: smartphone snaps, drone airplane photography, satellite images, and yes, home movies.