At first I thought this was going to be a thread about a new kind of contact-lenses for use by astronauts. <img src="/images/icons/shocked.gif" /><br /><br />Then I actually read it. <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /><br /><br />I'm glad to see that Raytheon and Northrup Grumman are being kept in the loop. Northrup in particular has been miffed at the way the DoD has been perceiving only two aerospace companies worth doing business with (Boeing and Lockheed). Maybe the best thing to come out of space exploration in the short term is the chance for companies OTHER than the two giants to show their mettle and grow in the business. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em> -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>