The best space websites: the Super 7

Ready to do some space exploration? Here's the Super 7, a cybernaut's tour guide to some of the best space destinations on the internet.

The Super 7 designation refers to the traditional launch countdown procedure number: SOOO7.  Pronounced SUE-7, or sometimes, in older days, called "triple ball 7", the launch countdown designation has carried down through NASA history.

Here's a bit of insider history: at one point, NASA wanted to change over the number when it moved on to the newer "V" series for launches. Space workers, who tend to pick up traditions, firmly said "no!"And it stayed.

• Hubblesite: *the* destination to learn everything about the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble's been in the news this week for problems with the primary data controller, but the entire story of Hubble, over 18 years of service, is a universe of beauty and science.  From basic astronomy to the best of Hubble, with resources for students, teachers, and space fans, Hubblesite is a five-star destination in anyone's tour guide.


• Mars Exploration at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: everything about Mars missions. From the plucky little  Phoenix Lander that found snow on Mars to every Mars mission, this website is sure to delight and educate. Again, great resources for everyone, and like Hubblesite, a seemingly-endless menu of multimedia, from images to movies.


• Golden Years: NASA's 50th Anniversary: the portal for NASA's celebration of its founding on Oct. 1, 1958. Check out one of the hottest, newest galleries: 50 images, 50 years. If you want the ultimate launchpad to start exploring everything NASA, this is it.


• Real-Time Satellite Tracking:  wnat to know when the International Space Station will fly over your house? Interested in finding out just what satellites and spacecraft are in our skies, and where? This website will help you track what's up there.


• Imaging the Universe: an interactive compendium of hot-shot images from every aspect of space. The website offers two different, easy-click ways to access the images, including an interactive timeline of space. And that timeline includes the early days of aeronautics testing, including test pilot days from when the sound barrier was cracked enroute to space.


• PlanetQuest: Exoplanet Exporation: sail out beyond our solar system to join the hunt for exoplanets. From the people behind the science to the actual instruments, this stellar website offers a chance to ponder--is there life out there? If so, where's the most likely place to find it?


• What's Up at the Space Station: check out daily operations on the International Space Station and then choose an orbit: educational, scientific, multimedia. Take a tour of the orbiting outpost with the Interactive Space Station Reference Guide.

I'll keep these links on a launchpad for you, on the right-hand side of the column. Visit anytime, click once, and you're on your way!

Photo: astronaut Michael Gernhardt working on a robot arm in space.