40 years ago today, an explosion crippled the Apollo 13 spacecraft 200,000 miles from Earth on its way to the Moon. “Houston we have a problem,” was the message radioed to mission control from Commander James Lovell. I recently had the chance to interview Lovell about the mission’s anniversary. ...

The Reuters news agency conducted a poll recently and asked whether people believe in space aliens.  The response may surprise you.  One in five people globally believe aliens not only exist but also live among us here on Earth. Reuters surveyed 22.000 people in 22 countries and found 40% of people...

President Obama plans to increase NASA’s budget but will scrap plans to return to the moon. Expect the announcement next week. NASA will get an additional $5.9 billion over five years and some of the money will be used to extend the life of the International Space Station. A White House official...

The World Meteorological Organization says a 253 mph gust on Australia’s Barrow Island during Cyclone Olivia in 1996 is the fastest wind gust ever recorded on Earth. New Hampshire’s Mount Washington set the old record of 231 mph in 1934.  The WMO named the new record after reviewing extreme...

IOC President Jacques Rogge will meet with USOC leaders next month during the Winter Olympics to improve relations between the two organizations. In the wake of Chicago’s failed bid for the 2016 Olympics, Rogge hopes to improve ties and bring the USOC back into the international fold. Rogge says...

The White House says the meeting held earlier this week between President Obama and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was an information-gathering session only.  The White House says Mr. Obama made no decisions about the future of the nation’s space program, specifically whether to continue the...

What are the odds of a white Christmas in Chicago? Historically, the answer is about 38-40% But this year? Forecasters say it’s about 50%  A winter storm could bring snow to the area on Christmas eve 2009.  By the way, the Christmas Day with the most snow on the ground in recorded history was...

The U-S Astronaut Hall of Fame has announced its class of 2010. The four NASA astronauts selected include the nation’s first African-American in space. Guy Bluford was a member of the STS-8 mission in August 1983 aboard space shuttle Challenger. The 67-year-old Bluford flew four missions between...

NASA launched its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) earlier today on a mission to map the entire sky in infrared light. Almost everything in the universe glows in infrared, so WISE has a big job. It will catalog near-Earth asteroids, stars and other objects. NASA says hundreds of millions of...

STS-129 post landing news conference underway. Atlantis landed right on time earlier today at KSC. Chicago surgeon Robert Satcher onboard. During a post landing news conf, Satcher told reporters he feels fine but does have heavy arms and legs caused by the return to gravity.

COPENHAGEN (WBBM) — WBBM’s Steve Grzanich is in Copenhagen with the Chicago 2016 delegation, reporting for Newsradio 780. He’s filing live reports and, in between his on-air reports, he’s on Twitter.   Get Steve’s latest Tweets here. Here’s a summary of Steve’s...

Steve Grzanich Some IOC members remain undecided and said they will make their choices after hearing the final presentations…turning up the heat for Fri. 3 minutes ago from TwitterBerry SteveGrzanich IOC members are keeping their cards close. Several I talked with said this is the closest competition...

With four days and counting until the selection of the 2016 Olympics host city, a new ranking of the candidate cities is out and shows a very close race between Rio de Janeiro and Chicago. Rio de Janeiro surged to the lead in the latest Around the Rings.com Olympic Bid Index with a total score of 84. ...

The new Prime Minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama announced today that he will fly to Copenhagen to support Tokyo’s Bid to host the 2016 Olympics. “He brings with him the support of more than 100 million passionate sports fans in our nation and total guarantees for the IOC, which we know are extremely...

As Chicago moves closer to “decision day” in its quest to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, it’s worth remembering Chicago has been in this position before. Chicago was actually chosen as the host city for the 1904 Summer Olympics but then the games were moved south to St. Louis, at least...

Mayor Daley who is already in Copenhagen issued this statement: “President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama symbolize the hope, opportunity and inspiration that makes Chicago great, and we are honored to have two of our city’s most accomplished residents leading our delegation in Copenhagen. Who...

It’s official, President Obama will travel to Copenhagen to help Chicago lobby for the 2016 Olympics. The president’s participation will a major boost for Chicago’s bid and historic too. This will be the first time a sitting U-S President has taken such a direct role on lobbying for the Olympics....

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says bidding on the 2016 Summer Games was worth it, even if Chicago doesn’t get the Olympics. Daley says the city has benefited because more people around the world know about Chicago now. And he says there will be other lasting benefits, like a commitment to youth sports....

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will travel with the United States Delegation to Copenhagen in support of Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. LaHood, a native of Illinois, said: “I’m honored to play a role as a member of President Obama’s team in persuading...

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will open the IOC Congress in Copenhagen with a keynote address to the Olympic family. The Congress will be held under the theme of “the Olympic Movement in Society”. Participants will discuss the current status of the Olympic Movement and projections...