Thursday Reads

 Without a single vote being cast, WV's Governor Jim Justice has won the state's US Senate seat now that current senator Joe Manchin has decided to call it quits.

Manchin has indicated he still plans to be a thorn on Democrats' side.

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Obituary:  Astronaut Frank Borman, 95, known for having been among the first three to have circled the moon back in 1968, has died.

A snip:

His discipline and attention to detail are two reasons why NASA selected him to be an astronaut in 1962. He first flew in space in 1965 aboard Gemini 7, a grueling 14-day mission to prove that humans could survive in weightless conditions (in the cramped two-person capsule). Instead of selecting another astronaut with space experience, NASA chose Borman to serve as the mission commander.

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While I am at it, I might as well mention the death of fellow astronaut Ken Mattingly, who was one of the astronauts in the Apollo 16 excursion.  He was 87 years old.

Snip:

Mattingly got his chance to fly to the moon on Apollo 16. As John Young and Charlie Duke walked on the lunar surface in 1972, he orbited in the command module conducting scientific experiments, recording observations and preparing for the trip home.

After Apollo, he stayed on with NASA, helping get the shuttle program off the ground and commanding two missions. It was this part of his time with the space agency that made him most proud. "For me it was the opportunity of a lifetime in my career to be able to be with a project from go-ahead to turning it over as an operational product," he said.

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