ASA's two flagship space programs--the space shuttle and International Space Station Alpha--are chronicled in exacting detail on its Human Spaceflight web site.
Current news and headlines grace the front page, offering astronaut profiles, mission updates and space facts. Casual fans can find histories of NASA's manned space efforts, including the glory days of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, as well as modern accomplishments like the shuttle-Mir missions.
Diehard enthusiasts will find much more, though. The site's real-time data section includes a Java applet that lets folks predict when the shuttle or space station will be passing overhead, so they can go outside and eyeball it for themselves. Another applet mimics the big orbital data projection screens at Mission Control and shows exactly where the space station (and the shuttle, if it's spaceborn) is in its current orbit. There are also links to NASA TV, which includes live coverage of events like space walks. It's a feature that's gotten even cooler now that they broadcast views from the cameras mounted on the astronauts' space suits.
The site does a great job of organizing a tremendous amount of information in an attractive, easy-to-use design that tames (well, partially at least) NASA's historic love of jargon. It's well worth visiting any time the shuttle takes off or there's a crew on the space station.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- April 30, 2001
he stylized signature is unmistakable to any lover of fantastic artwork: sensual glyphs with a vaguely Oriental/Middle Eastern cast to them. The famous last name enshrined in the sinuous strokes? The one and only Frazetta. This bold signature is the first icon to capture your eye when you visit www.frankfrazetta.com. But the visual wonders and hard data that lie behind the signature are manifold.
First comes an engagingly written biography of the artist that must approach monograph-length, copiously illustrated with charming family photos and examples of work from all stages of Frazetta's life, including rarities seldom before seen. Divided into decades from the 1940s to the 1990s, this captivating life story recounts how a talented Brooklyn youngster born into very average circumstances pursued his vision through years of struggle in the fields of comic books, newspaper strips, paperback illustrations, movie posters and album covers, finally reaching the pinnacle of having a museum dedicated to his work. (The absolutely newest information on Frazetta is contained in the "News" section, archived from month to month.)
The Frazetta Museum itself--newly opened this April, though an official celebration is still scheduled for June--can be explored via another link. (An earlier incarnation of the Museum closed after a fire, which fortunately spared all the artwork.) The Museum is located on the grounds of the Frazetta family estate, and consequently visiting hours are limited. This portion of the site offers a handy means of confirming the times of entry.
A storefront offers everything from inexpensive calendars and bookmarks through moderately priced lithographs to high-end original paintings. And paid memberships to this site--ranging from Trial ($15.00) through Exclusive ($40.00) to Premier ($75.00)--bring a host of online and purchasing advantages.
-- Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week -- April 23, 2001
ike any innovation, online SF magazines come in a number of shapes and sizes, all with varying levels of quality. One of the most promising of the many new publications on the Web, though, is definitely Strange Horizons.
This site is set up beautifully, and offers fans a choice selection of reading material. There are author interviews, book reviews and articles of general interest to SF readers. One especially meaty piece provides in-depth analysis of Ted Chiang's excellent SF story "Seventy-Two Letters," which appeared in the Ellen Datlow anthology Vanishing Acts. The article is doubly a pleasure to read because it gives a deserving work of fiction the sort of attention usually reserved for novels alone.
Needless to say, this Web page also offers fiction, and plenty of it. Contributors including Bruce Holland Rogers, Cecilia Tan, Jennifer de Guzeman, Joe Murphy and D.K. Latta all spin tales for browsers' enjoyment. Exploiting another of the great potential strengths of online magazines, the Strange Horizons back issues are archived, which means there is a growing number of these stories available to readers for a potentially limitless window of time.
Strange Horizons operates on a donor system. Visitors may read anything they wish. If they like what they see, a quick click leads to a page outlining many ways to support the magazine, from cross-linking to a personal web site to putting down cold, hard cash. With so many good stories, illustrations and articles to choose from, this is indeed a site worthy of such support. More importantly, it is one that readers will want to visit regularly.
-- A.M. Dellamonica
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