Good for Mike Okuda: NASA honoree

This just tickles me, and I'm so happy for Mike Okuda: he's been honored with NASA's highest public honor for "civilians" outside the agency.

Here's word via Wired.com that Mike's been awarded NASA's Exceptional Public Service Medal.

I thought *I* was a NASA fan and space junkie long before Trek or any other post-color TV franchise came along (Just ask Mrs. Large how many Apollo mission bulletin boards I talked her into letting me put up in the sixth grade!)

But Mike tops it all by staying a "NASA nut" and helping design logos for the agency, much less fostering goodwill: there's the whole "mutual NASA/Star Trek love affair" thing, for instance, that he helped keep alive all during the modern Star Trek TV run—along with a crewful of help.

And in case you wonder why, visit he and Denise's portfolio site and get plenty of reasons—both in and out of NASA and Trek.

It all flows from the purest joy of exploration, the need to explore and discover and push out—no matter the obstacles, including the human political ones. And it's hardly a spirit unknown to Trek fans...

Good on you, Mike! (And thanks, Denise, for getting the word out).