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Herb Baker

Featured Book

From Apollo to Artemis: Stories from My 50 Years with NASA

From Apollo to Artemis: Stories from My 50 Years with NASA

The author shares behind-the-scenes stories of the triumphs and challenges that helped shape the course of space exploration.

2024

Stories

Pinned

Herb Baker

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May 9, 2024

I’m Trying to Learn at Least One New Thing Every Day

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

I’m Trying to Learn at Least One New Thing Every Day

Pinned

Herb Baker

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Jun 22, 2023

The Astronaut Who Almost Drowned in Space

In 2013, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano experienced a life-threatening incident during a spacewalk when a significant leak of water into…

The Astronaut Who Almost Drowned in Space

Pinned

Herb Baker

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Dec 8, 2023

The Woodpecker in Heat that Attacked and Delayed a Space Shuttle

The most unusual, and most humorous, reason for a Space Shuttle launch delay happened with the STS-70 mission in the spring of 1995. The…

The Woodpecker in Heat that Attacked and Delayed a Space Shuttle

Herb Baker

·

Nov 30, 2024

Tampons, Underwear, & Makeup in Space

NASA astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on Space Shuttle flight STS-7 in June 1983. She had been one of 35 new…

Tampons, Underwear, & Makeup in Space

Herb Baker

·

Nov 6, 2024

The Frustrated Astronaut Who Threatened to “not go back” on a Shuttle Flight

A strange episode occurred on Shuttle mission STS-51-B in early 1985. For obvious reasons, there has been little reporting on the subject…

The Frustrated Astronaut Who Threatened to “not go back” on a Shuttle Flight

Herb Baker

·

Nov 2, 2024

Why the Skylab 3 Crew Ran Out of Underwear at the End of Their Mission in Orbit

The Skylab 3 crew splashed down about 230 miles southwest of San Diego on September 25, 1973. Their 59 days in orbit were more than twice…

Why the Skylab 3 Crew Ran Out of Underwear at the End of Their Mission in Orbit

Herb Baker

·

Oct 29, 2024

How My Mother Helped Save Skylab After It Was Damaged During Its Launch in 1973

A short five months after the Apollo Program ended, NASA launched Skylab 1 on May 14, 1973. The vehicle was seriously damaged during…

How My Mother Helped Save Skylab After It Was Damaged During Its Launch in 1973

Herb Baker

·

Oct 26, 2024

How an Apollo Astronaut’s Wedding Ring Was Miraculously Saved After Almost Being ‘Lost In Space’

Apollo 16 flew to the Moon and back in April 1972. The crew consisted of Commander John Young, Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly, and…

How an Apollo Astronaut’s Wedding Ring Was Miraculously Saved After Almost Being ‘Lost In Space’

Herb Baker

·

Oct 26, 2024

Why the Apollo 7 Crew Never Got to Fly in Space Again

The first crewed flight of the Apollo program was Apollo 7, which launched on October 11, 1968, and splashed down in the North Atlantic…

Why the Apollo 7 Crew Never Got to Fly in Space Again

In

Cogito Corner

by

Herb Baker

·

Jun 2, 2024

Why I Always Listen to My Inner Voice When it Tells Me “Just Do It!”

It was dark and raining that October morning when my alarm woke me up around 6 AM. The Association of Space Explorers (ASE), an…

Why I Always Listen to My Inner Voice When it Tells Me “Just Do It!”

Herb Baker

Herb Baker

Book Author

Friend of Medium

Worked for NASA for 42 yrs. Now on NASA Alumni League Board of Directors; acted in 22 theatre shows. Recently published my memoir. herbbaker.space/

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