NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has shared the space agency’s “revised path forward” for the Mars Sample Return program, a proposed NASA-European Space Agency (ESA) mission to return Martian rock and soil samples to Earth. NASA’s Perseverance rover has been collecting rock and soil samples on the Red Planet since 2021.

The agency is asking “the NASA community,” including its Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other agency centers, to collaborate on “out-of-the-box” designs, using existing technology, that could return the samples.

NASA on Monday released its response to a September 2023 Independent Review Board (IRB) report analyzing Mars Sample Return and its costs. It estimated the mission’s budget at $8 billion to $11 billion, with the high end of that range being more than double previous estimates of $4.4 billion.

Under those constraints, Nelson said, the mission would not return samples until 2040, which he said is “unacceptable.”

“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has ever undertaken,” said Nelson. “The bottom line is, an $11 billion budget is too expensive, and a 2040 return date is too far away. Safely landing and collecting the samples, launching a rocket with the samples off another planet—which has never been done before—and safely transporting the samples more than 33 million miles back to Earth is no small task. We need to look outside the box to find a way ahead that is both affordable and returns samples in a reasonable timeframe.”

Nelson also pointed to Congress’ recent budget cuts as a contributing factor in the agency’s current challenges.

The agency’s response to the IRB report includes an “updated mission design with reduced complexity; improved resiliency; risk posture; [and] stronger accountability and coordination.”

It said it will solicit proposals from the industry that could return samples in the 2030s, with responses expected in the fall. These alternative mission designs, NASA said, would reduce cost, risk, and mission complexity. It is unclear exactly what kind of solution the agency is seeking. But it emphasized leveraging existing technologies that do not require large amounts of time and money to develop.

Without more funding, according to NASA, Mars Sample Return could dip into money allocated for projects at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other centers. Projects such as Dragonfly, a mission to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, could be discontinued, warned Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

Plans for a Mars sample return mission have been proposed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 2001. The samples are expected to help researchers understand the formation and evolution of the solar system and habitable worlds, including our own. They could be used to learn whether there was ancient life on Mars and aid in the search for life elsewhere in the universe.

NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars in 2021 and has been collecting samples since. Originally, the plan was to return them to Earth in 2033 using a rocket, orbiter, and lander. However, the IRB report found that the orbiter and lander likely would not leave the Earth until that year.

A Sample Retrieval Lander would deploy a small rocket to collect samples from Perseverance, using an ESA-provided robotic arm. Sample recovery helicopters—based on the successful Ingenuity autonomous Mars helicopter and also capable of collecting samples—would serve as backup.

A Mars Ascent Vehicle, which would be the first rocket to launch off the Mars surface, would carry samples to the planet’s orbit, where they would be captured by an Earth Return Orbite—also designed by ESA—and brought back to Earth.

The initiative would be the first international, interplanetary mission to return samples from another planet and, according to NASA, would return “the most carefully selected and well-documented set of samples ever delivered from another planet.”

Earlier this year, the space agency marked the 20-year anniversary of its twin Spirit and Opportunity rovers’ arrival on the Martian surface, where they provided the first compelling evidence that the red planet once held water.

NASA’s Curiosity rover is currently surveying a region of the planet thought to have been carved by a river billions of years ago. Its explorations could lead to further discoveries about life on Mars.

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The U.S. and Japan on Wednesday signed a quid-pro-quo agreement to give both countries’ space exploration initiatives a boost.

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have agreed to facilitate missions to the moon using a crewed lunar rover designed, built, and operated by Japan. The enclosed and pressurized rover is designed to serve as a mobile habitat and laboratory for human personnel.

In exchange, NASA will set aside space for two JAXA astronauts on future moon landing missions under its Artemis program. Artemis is essentially the successor to the Apollo program, with the aim of initiating a new generation of lunar exploration.

NASA expects the rover, which will give crews more time to work on the lunar surface, to land on the moon during the Artemis VII mission, which is tentatively scheduled for 2030 or 2031. The agency anticipates it will have a 10-year lifespan and be used on subsequent Artemis missions. Japan will design, develop, and operate the rover, while NASA will provide launch and delivery to the moon.

“America no longer will walk on the Moon alone,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “With this new rover, we will uncover groundbreaking discoveries on the lunar surface that will benefit humanity and inspire the Artemis generation.”

Nelson and Masahito Moriyama, Japan’s minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, signed the agreement Tuesday at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The following day, President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced “a shared goal for a Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the moon on a future Artemis mission, assuming important benchmarks are achieved.”

A crewed, pressurized rover called the Lunar Cruiser has been under development by JAXA and Toyota since 2020. The vehicle uses hydrogen fuel cell technology found in the automaker’s electric vehicles. It could transport astronauts across the lunar surface for up to 30 days and cruise for up to 6,200 miles, providing ample time to perform research and conduct experiments. The partners are further developing systems to automate most of the driving and navigation.

The Lunar Cruiser’s tires are made from metal, and an onboard fuel cell uses solar energy and stored water to produce hydrogen and oxygen, generating electricity. The rover can also convert electricity stored in its battery pack back into hydrogen and oxygen.

According to NASA, two astronauts will use the vehicle to traverse the moon’s south pole during Artemis VII. Toyota expects it to be ready for launch by 2029.

“The pressurized rover will be a powerful contribution to the overall Artemis architecture as Japan and the U.S. go hand in hand with international and industry partners to the lunar surface and beyond,” said JAXA president Hiroshi Yamakawa.

The lunar rover arrangement falls under a framework agreement signed between the U.S. and Japan in 2023, which signifies the countries’ “mutual interest in peaceful exploration.”

The agreement covers a wide range of activities from science to exploration and will include Japanese participation in NASA’s Dragonfly mission, which will study Saturn’s largest moon, called Titan, using a dual-quadcopter lander. JAXA will also contribute to the development of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. In return, NASA will help develop JAXA’s SOLAR-C sun-observing satellite.

The U.S. space agency will allocate crew space for a JAXA astronaut on a future Artemis mission to deploy Gateway, a lunar orbital space station. An agreement between the two calls for Japan to supply the space station’s environmental control and life support systems and cargo transportation.

Artemis I—an uncrewed lunar flight test of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion capsule—splashed down in December 2022 after a 25-day, 1.4 million-mile jaunt around the moon and back. However, issues unearthed during the flight have delayed Artemis II, a crewed lunar flyby, and Artemis III, intended to be the first crewed lunar landing in half a century, to September 2025 and 2026, respectively.

Artemis III astronauts would become the first humans to visit the moon’s south pole, where they will collect lunar samples, images, and other data. NASA describes the mission as “one of the most complex undertakings of engineering and human ingenuity in the history of deep space exploration.”

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April 8 may go down in aviation history as the busiest day for GA, as thousands of pilots took to the air to watch the solar eclipse.

According to Flightradar24, a distinct line of aircraft clustered along the path of totality. The aircraft were shown as gold icons, and the clusters on that day were reminiscent of goldfish swarming for food.

But not every pilot who went up was there just to watch the show in the sky. Some pilots were working and providing transportation, and the eclipse was just an extra attraction.

One of these pilots was David Nelson, the captain of a Dassault Falcon 900 EASy who started his day with an 8 a.m. PST launch from Seattle, headed east. Nelson had passengers with meetings to get to, so the purpose of the flight was not necessarily to view the eclipse, but he knew the route would take them across the path of totality.

General aviation traffic tracking #Eclipse2024, beginning at 08:00 EDT this morning. Convergence of most flights in the path of totality happens at 19:00 UTC. pic.twitter.com/pNBSBPGkwz

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 8, 2024

“I had downloaded AOPA’s Eclipse App for ForeFlight, and we had determined that our flight plan would cross the path of the eclipse totality soon after we passed the Fort Wayne [Indiana] VOR,” Nelson told FLYING. “Around South Dakota I took my first look at the sun and could not see the moon at all. Passing through Iowa, I took my next look at the sun and saw that the moon was just starting to cover a bit of the sun.”

Nelson said the crew didn’t really notice any changes in the environment, and at one point they tried to take photographs through a dark lens—but that didn’t work so well.

“As we continued on, it became obvious that it was not a normal flight day as the daylight was dimmer,” he said. “One of the last times I looked at the sun before we began our descent, there was just a sliver left showing. I’d estimate it was 90 percent to 95 percent covered.”

According to Nelson, the celestial event reduced the light in the cockpit as if it was dusk.

“[Only] with the sun still high overhead,” he said. “Also, the stratus clouds were more of a light gray than their normal white as we looked down on them.”

The effects of the eclipse were still apparent when the flight landed on the East Coast as they disembarked in decreased light and cooler temperatures than expected.

“Overall, since we didn’t experience a total eclipse, it was different from what I experienced on the ground in 2017,” Nelson said. “But it was still a unique event and to be able to watch the moon cover most of the sun from 41,000 feet was an experience I’ll remember for a long time.”

NASA’s Eclipse Experiments

NASA sent up aircraft during the eclipse for scientific experiments. The space agency uses three WB-57s because they can fly much higher than commercial aircraft and don’t have to worry about clouds blocking their view.

The altitude flown puts the jets above most of the Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in clearer images that wouldn’t be possible from the ground. Because of the speed at which jets travel, they are able to stay within the eclipse longer than it travels over the ground, basically flying with it as it moves across the Earth.

The post Eclipse by Air: The Pilot Perspective appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

One of America’s most powerful and expensive commercially made space launch vehicles is flying into the sunset.

Tuesday marked the swan song for Delta IV Heavy, a heavy-lift launcher headed for retirement. The spacecraft was built by United Launch Alliance (ULA)—a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing—and is considered one of the most prolific in U.S. history.

Delta IV Heavy, standing 235 feet tall, is part of ULA’s Delta family of rockets, which along with its Atlas family is used primarily by the U.S. government. Tuesday’s launch was conducted in partnership with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which is responsible for designing, building, launching and maintaining U.S. intelligence satellites.

The mission, NROL-70, is ULA’s 35th for the NRO and 99th for U.S. national security. Its payload is classified.

NROL-70 also represented the 389th Delta launch since 1960 and the 294th to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It was ULA’s 45th and final launch of a Delta IV rocket and its 16th in the Heavy configuration.

ULA is in the process of transitioning launches from Cape Canaveral and Vandenburg Space Force Base in California to its Vulcan Centaur, the successor to Delta and eventually Atlas. Vulcan completed its maiden voyage in January, carrying a Peregrine lunar lander for commercial customer Astrobotic.

On Tuesday morning, teams at Cape Canaveral reported 90 percent favorable conditions for the launch, which was originally scheduled for March 28. Crews promptly began filling the rocket’s eight cryogenic tanks with 470,000 gallons of supercooled liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.

The tanks power the spacecraft’s three common core boosters, which fuel three RS-68A engines each producing 700,000 pounds of thrust at sea level. The RS-68A is the largest hydrogen-burning engine in existence, per ULA.

The tanks also fuel Delta IV Heavy’s Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS), which is powered by a single RL10C-2-1 engine producing nearly 25,000 pounds of thrust. The DCSS avionics system provides guidance and flight control for the booster.

At 12:24 p.m. EST, ULA received confirmation that weather conditions were “green.” Minutes later, NRO mission director Colonel Eric Zarybnisky gave the final “go” for launch.

ULA began pressurizing the rocket’s tanks and started the launcher sequence, which independently verifies systems are functioning during the remainder of the countdown. Those systems include the hydrogen burnoff igniters beneath the engine, which play a critical role during launch.

Liftoff took place at 12:53 p.m., exactly as planned, enshrouding the launch pad in a ball of fire. That was also planned—Delta IV uses hydrogen gas to cool the rocket down before takeoff, which ignites and burns off during launch. A staggered engine ignition mitigates this process and reduces the burnoff.

After clearing the launch tower for the final time, the rocket could be seen across most of the Florida peninsula, barring cloud cover. About 1 minute and 30 seconds into the flight, Delta IV Heavy broke the sound barrier. One minute after that, it weighed just half what it did at takeoff due to the amount of fuel it must consume.

By the time the booster core and DCSS separated about six minutes into the mission, Delta IV Heavy was traveling 15 times the speed of sound. A few seconds later, the rocket reached space, and ULA ended its coverage.

“For the final time, this is Delta Launch Control, signing off,” ULA said.

At the time of its retirement, Delta IV Heavy is the third-highest capacity launch vehicle in operation, after NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy.

Delta rockets have ferried NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers and other missions to Mars, launched probes that “touched the sun,” and even carried out the first orbital test flight of NASA’s Orion capsule. Orion will ferry astronauts around the moon and back during NASA’s Artemis II mission in 2025.

Delta’s successor, Vulcan, is less expensive than both it and Atlas V, the most recent addition to the Atlas family. It is designed primarily for the National Security Space Launch program. But ULA is also collaborating Vulcan launches with Amazon’s Project Kuiper and other commercial customers.

ULA’s new flagship spacecraft will need to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, which unlike Vulcan are reusable. The company also has 17 remaining launches for Atlas V, the country’s longest-serving active rocket.

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has hinted at the goals for the next integrated test flight of the company’s Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster, which together form the largest and most powerful spacecraft ever built.

Starship’s next mission, IFT-4, will be the massive rocket’s fourth since it made its maiden voyage in April 2023. The spacecraft launched for the third time in March, but it was also grounded by the FAA for a third time after SpaceX was unable to recover the rocket and booster when they reentered the atmosphere.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Musk on Wednesday said SpaceX is now preparing for that fourth test flight. The goal, he said, is for the spacecraft to survive the fireball that forms around it during reentry, when temperatures reach their highest point.

Gwynne Shotwell, chief operating officer of SpaceX, said last week that the flight could happen as soon as early May. It will not have a payload.

SpaceX completed a full-duration static fire test of the Starship upper stage’s six Raptor engines on Monday, less than two weeks after its third voyage. A static fire test involves the loading of propellant and firing of the engines while the rocket is bolted to the launch mount. It is intended to ensure the engine is functioning properly and assess factors like pressure and temperature.

The company on Wednesday completed a second static fire of a single upper-stage engine using the spacecraft’s header tanks. These fuel the engines as they fire shortly before landing, which returns the reusable rocket to a vertical orientation as it approaches the landing pad.

IFT-4, if it goes according to Musk’s plan, would mark the first time Starship and Super Heavy make it to orbit and back to Earth in two pieces. Each of the rocket’s first two test flights ended in explosions. But the third attempt, while still resulting in the loss of the rocket and booster, was comfortably SpaceX’s most successful one yet.

Starship’s six second-stage engines successfully powered on and carried the rocket to orbit for the first time. While in orbit, it achieved several more firsts, including a critical propellant transfer test that demonstrated a maneuver the spacecraft will need to perform on future missions to the moon and beyond, including for NASA. The space agency this month applauded the company’s effort.

Starship also demonstrated the ability to open and close its payload door, which could one day be used to deploy Starlink satellites and other cargo, while in orbit.

After coasting nearly halfway around the Earth, Starship reentered the atmosphere for the first time, adding to the milestones. But after that SpaceX lost communications with the rocket and announced it believed it to be lost.

Before Starship can fly again it will need to be cleared by the FAA, which initiated a mishap investigation following the third test flight. A mishap investigation is standard procedure whenever a launch does not go according to plan. The process concludes with SpaceX obtaining a fresh launch license and could take anywhere from a few months to a few weeks.

Musk, however, does not anticipate any future slowdowns for Starship. He earlier this month said in a post on X that SpaceX would aim for six more Starship launches this year, which would be an unprecedented number for a new super heavy-lift rocket.

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One of the most prolific families of space launch vehicles in U.S. history is preparing for its swan song.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) on Friday will attempt the 16th and final launch of its Delta IV Heavy rocket, one of the world’s most powerful—and expensive—commercially produced launch vehicles. The launch was initially scheduled for Thursday afternoon but was scrubbed a few minutes before takeoff.

The mission represents ULA’s 160th overall and the 45th and final flight for the Delta family of rockets as the manufacturer transitions to its Vulcan Centaur. Vulcan made its maiden voyage in January, carrying a Peregrine lunar lander for commercial customer Astrobotic.

“The Delta legacy will live on through Vulcan,” said Gary Wentz, vice president of government and commercial programs for ULA. “We also take this moment to celebrate the thousands of men and women who made the Delta program such a success over the decades. We carry their lessons and wisdom with us into the future.”

ULA is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. It produces the Delta and Atlas families of rockets, primarily for U.S. government use. Delta IV Heavy is the third-highest capacity launch vehicle in operation, behind NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy.

The Mission

Friday’s mission, NROL-70, is on behalf of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which develops and operates spy satellites to collect intelligence and support disaster relief and humanitarian efforts. NROL-70 is ULA’s 35th mission for the NRO and 99th for U.S. national security.

The mission’s payload is classified. But it is possibly intended to give the U.S. more eyes and ears in the stars, which could be used to listen into communications or radio transmissions, for example. Delta IV Heavy is the only rocket in the world that meets all of the requirements to perform the mission, according to ULA.

“The NROL-70 mission will strengthen the NRO’s ability to provide a wide range of timely intelligence information to national decision makers, warfighters, and intelligence analysts to protect the nation’s vital interests and support humanitarian efforts worldwide,” ULA said on its website.

The 235-foot-tall spacecraft will lift off from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral as early as 1:37 p.m. EDT Friday. On ascent, the rocket looks as if it is catching fire, but this is by design, as hydrogen gas used to cool it down before takeoff ignites and burns off. The process is mitigated by a staggered engine ignition, which reduces the amount of hydrogen burned.

First stage separation is expected to occur about five minutes into the mission, followed by the ignition of the main engine and jettisoning of the payload fairing. The spacecraft’s route and final destination are classified.

The Machine

Over six decades, Delta rockets have launched 388 times. About two-thirds of those launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the base for Friday’s mission. Delta IV rockets have successfully launched 44 times, carrying payloads on behalf of the NRO, NASA, Air Force, and Space Force.

Delta IV comes in three configurations: Medium+, with either two or four solid rocket motors, and Heavy. Each vehicle consists of a common booster core, upper stage, and payload fairing.

Delta IV Heavy features three common booster core tanks, which power a RS-68A engine system built by Aerojet Rocketdyne. RS-68A is the largest hydrogen-burning engine in existence, according to ULA. The engines burn cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, each delivering about 700,000 pounds of thrust at sea level.

Atop the booster is a Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS), or upper stage, which is also fueled by cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. It is powered by a single RL10C-2-1 engine, also produced by Aerojet Rocketdyne, that produces nearly 25,000 pounds of thrust. The DCSS avionics system provides guidance and flight control for the booster.

Encapsulating the spacecraft is a payload fairing: a three-piece shell designed to shield cargo from the launch and ascent. The payload fairing can be installed off pad, improving safety and minimizing the use of launch facilities.

The History

Incredibly, the Delta family of systems has been in use since 1960. Initiated by NASA in the late 1950s, the program is derived from the Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile, which was later modified into a space launch vehicle.

The inaugural Delta launch in 1960 was unsuccessful. But it paved the way for Delta rockets to launch the world’s first Telstar and Intelsat communications satellites, birthing the phrase, “Live, via satellite!” The launch vehicles also carried NASA’s Pioneer and Explorer scientific spacecraft and delivered the first weather observatory, the Tiros and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), to space, revolutionizing weather forecasting.

Over the years, ULA updated Delta rockets to make them larger, more advanced, and more durable. The company installed larger first stage tanks, strap-on solid rocket boosters, and advanced electronics and guidance systems, increased the rocket’s propellant capacity, upgraded the main engine, and developed upper stage and satellite payload systems.

The earliest Delta models stood about 90 feet tall, with a mass of 112,000 pounds. Today, Delta IV Heavy towers 235 feet high and weighs 1.6 million pounds at launch. Liftoff thrust, meanwhile, has skyrocketed from 150,000 pounds in 1960 to 2.1 million pounds.

Later Delta models would help usher in the GPS era by sending constellations of navigation satellites into orbit. Delta II launched four dozen satellites over two decades, and Delta IV launched seven.

Delta II—which made its final flight in 2018—completed eight NASA missions to Mars, including the delivery of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, over the course of 155 flights. It also flew missions to Mercury and visited asteroids, moons, and comets within the solar system.

Delta II has launched probes that “touched the sun,” uncovered exoplanets deep in the Milky Way, and scanned large swaths of the universe using infrared vision. In 2014, it launched the first orbital test flight of NASA’s Orion capsule, which will ferry astronauts around the moon and back during the Artemis II mission in 2025.

By 2002, Boeing had developed Delta IV for the Space Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. That year, the rocket made its debut flight carrying a Eutelsat 33B, its only commercial payload to date. It delivered its first Air Force payload the following year. In 2007, ULA launched the first operational Delta IV Heavy, sending a Space Force Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite into orbit.

The Legacy

Fifteen flights later, Delta IV Heavy is set to become the final Delta rocket to be retired. In addition, ULA has 17 remaining launches for Atlas V, the country’s longest-serving active rocket. Atlas V is cheaper to launch than its counterpart, but it uses Russian-made rather than American-made engines.

Once Delta IV and Atlas V are off the manifest, ULA will transition all launches to Vulcan, which is less expensive than both predecessors. Like previous ULA launch systems, Vulcan is expendable. It was designed primarily for the National Security Space Launch program, as well as for commercial launches such as January’s mission. Customers include Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which placed an order for 38 launches.

ULA will need to compete with the likes of SpaceX, which in 2023 launched more satellites than any other company. SpaceX in 2010 debuted its reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which undercut Delta IV’s price tag. Delta IV, Falcon 9, and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, introduced in 2018, are all under contract with the Pentagon to launch expensive military satellites in the coming years.

In addition, SpaceX has an agreement with the Space Force to take over the vacant Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, which hosted Delta IV launches until 2022. The company may further look to acquire room at Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral, where ULA will launch Friday barring any hiccups.

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If you are a space enthusiast, you need to make the time for an up close and personal visit with one of America’s space shuttles. Designed to be reusable vehicles capable of flying in both atmosphere and space, for 30 years the shuttles transported astronauts from many nations to space and back, often rendezvousing with the International Space Station (ISS) where they transported crew and supplies.

A total of six shuttles were built. One was designed for atmospheric testing only and never went to space, and of the remaining five, two were lost during use. The Challenger was destroyed in 1986 when a solid rocket booster exploded shortly after takeoff, and the Columbia disintegrated during reentry in 2003.

The last shuttle mission took place in 2011, and then the shuttles became museum pieces—literally. Here’s where you can see these all important artifacts in aerospace history.

Shuttle Atlantis

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Merritt Island, Florida

The Atlantis is the only space shuttle displayed in spaceflight configuration. The ship is positioned parallel to the floor and rotated 40 degrees with the payload doors open and the Canadarm robotic arm deployed. The Atlantis went to space 33 times, performing resupply missions to space stations, launching satellites into orbit and conducting missions for the military, which remain classified. The Atlantis, named for an ocean-going research vessel, was the last shuttle to fly in space before the fleet was retired in 2011.

Shuttle Discovery

Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia

Discovery was the third shuttle to fly in space, making its first flight in 1984. It served as the “return-to-flight” orbiter after the destruction of the Challenger in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003.

Discovery flew 39 missions, the most of all the shuttles, and among the most notable was the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope. In the 1985 documentary The Dream Is Alive, there are shots of Discovery on launch and landing. The orbiter was named for Henry Hudson’s Hudson Bay exploring vessel and that of British explorer Captain James Cook, the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.

• READ MORE: A Look Back at NASA’s Shuttle Program

Shuttle Endeavour

California Science Center, Los Angeles, California

The Endeavour literally stopped traffic as it was transported to the Southern California museum in 2012. Secured on the back of a specially modified Boeing 747, the orbiter flew down the coast of California and then was transported by ground to the museum—the ground portion of the trip took three days.

The Endeavour flew 25 missions, beginning in 1992 and ending in 2011.

But you will have to wait to see this one, as Endeavour is now off display (and will be for a few more years) as preparations are made to install it in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is under construction on the museum grounds. According to museum officials, the new facility will span several floors and allow the Endeavour to be displayed in launch configuration, mounted to real solid rocket boosters and ET-94, the last remaining flight-qualified external tank.

• Shop in Space

Shuttle Enterprise

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York City

Enterprise was the first space shuttle design, but it was more of a proof-of-concept vehicle used for drop tests and glide tests. It did not have a heat shield or engines, so it could not go into space.

The shuttle, which was developed in the 1970s, was going to be called Constitution, after a famous seagoing vessel, but a massive letter-writing campaign from Star Trek fans persuaded then-President Gerald Ford to change the name to Enterprise after the starship commanded by Captain James T. Kirk in the science fiction series developed by Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry, it is said, selected the name for the starship in homage to the USS Enterprise (CV-6), the most decorated ship in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Today, the shuttle Enterprise resides aboard another ship: the USS Intrepid, which entered service in 1943, was decommissioned in 1974 and now is a museum.

Space Shuttle Ground Trainer

Museum of Flight, King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI) Seattle

Although it never went to space, the full fuselage trainer (FFT) on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, helped prepare astronauts for missions. The ground trainer was dismantled and three large parts were loaded on a Super Guppy and flown to Seattle while other parts were trucked in.

• READ MORE: Inside NASA’s Super Guppy

According to Ted Huetter, spokesman for the Museum of Flight, much of the ground trainer is made of plywood, but the interior includes parts that are made of the same material as the space-traveling shuttles.

The ground trainer is installed on the cradle just as it was at Johnson Space Center in Houston at the same height it would be on the landing gear. One of the exercises for the astronauts  in training was emergency egress from the cockpit via overhead windows and a rope while wearing their protective flight gear. The marks from this training are still visible on the outside of the shuttle. 

You can go into the cargo bay and look around, and you can’t go wrong with the shuttle-in-the-background selfie.

Crew Compartment, Cockpit trainer

Lone Star Flight Museum, Houston

Some of the shuttle artifacts didn’t have too far to travel when they were decommissioned by NASA. The Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston is home to Crew Compartment Trainer-2 (CCT-2), which for 18 years was one of two shuttle nose-section trainers used at Johnson Space Center. The museum also has a Shuttle Mission Simulator-Motion Base, which is a one-of-a-kind flight deck that used to be hydraulically powered when it was training astronauts. Today, museum visitors can walk up to the flight deck and see what the crew sees. Note all the checklists on display. 

Fun facts:

• Astronauts from 16 countries flew aboard the shuttles.
• Depending on the mission, it could take several years to train a shuttle crew.
• Between 1981 and 2011, a total of 135 missions were flown, all launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
• The shuttles made several trips to the International Space Station (ISS) and to Russian space station Mir nine times.

The post Museum Guide: Space Shuttles on Display appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four people, six months, and hundreds of experiments that could alter humanity’s future.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission, which concluded in September, sent NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi on a 186-day trip to the International Space Station, where they rendezvoused with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio. But it was anything but a vacation.

“I used to joke about the fact that a lot of times in our videos, when we show what’s going on, we spend about a third of our time showing the fun stuff,” Bowen told FLYING at a media event at NASA Headquarters alongside his three crewmembers. “Work is way more than a third of the time we spend up there.”

The mission included several firsts. Rubio, for example, set the U.S. record for most consecutive days in space by the end of his 355-day stay, which was extended six months after the capsule that brought him to the space station was damaged. AlNeyadi became the first Arab to complete a spacewalk.

But the astronauts also conducted more than 200 experiments during their stay at the orbital lab—many of which could address pressing needs on Earth and far, far beyond.

To the Space Station and Back

Crew-6 began with the launch of a SpaceX Dragon Endeavor capsule, strapped to a Falcon 9 rocket, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Bowen, Hoburg, AlNeyadi, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev were its occupants. Rubio had launched previously aboard a Soyuz MS-22.

Bowen, a veteran of multiple trips to the space station, was right at home. But for Rubio, Hoburg, and AlNeyadi, Crew-6 was their first time in space.

“Learning to fly for the first couple days is pretty difficult,” Rubio said.

For AlNeyadi, adjusting to the lack of spatial awareness was the biggest challenge

“Everything is very quick aboard the space station…We have 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every day,” AlNeyadi told FLYING.

Bowen said the orbital lab has come a long way since his first visit in 2008. He was part of several assembly missions, which doubled the space station’s occupancy from three to six, installed technology such as a water recycling system, and delivered research and stowage modules. Crews also replaced the laboratory’s batteries several times.

“We were part of that first step of really making the space station functional,” Bowen told FLYING. “We did a lot of things with just three people on board. But as soon as we got up to six people, the ability to do the actual science—the business of the space station—exploded.”

The astronauts spent the next six months growing plants, researching tissue chips for heart, brain, and cartilage tissue, and conducting hundreds of other experiments for ISS Expedition 69. NASA expeditions refer to the crew occupying the space station—Rubio, Bowen, Hoburg, and AlNeyadi were the 69th such team.

After finishing their work, the astronauts began reentry, splashing down on September 4 after 186 days.

“Becoming a plasma meteorite when you’re coming home is pretty exciting stuff,” said Rubio.

But the research and experiments the crew performed are expected to have an impact long after the mission’s conclusion.

Charting the Future

Despite Rubio’s excitement, launch and reentry may have been the dullest segment of the mission—the crew had more than 200 experiments to fill their time.

“The work is continuous; the work is ongoing,” said Bowen. “Maintaining the space station, like you maintain your house, takes a big chunk of your time. The amount of science we can do now is incredible. Every day we were up there, there’s four of us in the [U.S. Orbital Segment] working.”

Just days after the astronauts’ arrival, they received a cargo vehicle full of materials for experiments. Crewmembers worked throughout the day, sometimes together and sometimes individually, coming together at dinnertime to debrief.

“We are testing hundreds of technologies, and many of them are becoming spinoffs for humanity when utilized here on Earth,” AlNeyadi told FLYING.

For example, astronauts studied how they could grow plants such as tomatoes in harsh and unforgiving environments, either on Earth or in space. They also applied experimental medications to heart cells and printed biological material such as knee cartilage, using technology that could one day print organs for patients on the blue planet.

The crew even ran competitions with university students. Competing teams were able to program a flying robot and control its flight on the space station from Earth.

Perhaps the most consequential research involved a water recycling system, which allowed the astronauts to drink their own urine for the majority of their stay (move over, Bear Grylls). The system may sound outlandish, but it could hold real benefits for humanity.

“Imagine taking the same technology and providing it to people in need in remote areas where they lack water,” said AlNeyadi.

The experiments will also play a key role in NASA’s Artemis program: a series of missions intended to return Americans to the moon for the first time in half a century. According to the crew, learning to live and work in space will be essential for those journeys. Artemis II will send astronauts into lunar orbit in 2025, while Artemis III will attempt to land them on the moon’s surface the following year.

“Knowing that you’re affecting the future of humanity and inspiring future generations, that’s super important to us,” said Rubio.

As important as their work was, the astronauts would not have been able to complete it without finding ways to blow off a little steam.

One method was to simply go outside. Each crew member got the opportunity to complete a spacewalk, including AlNeyadi, who became the first Arab to accomplish the feat.

“Getting in the suit, going outside, and doing important repairs on the station while seeing those views of Earth was just very special,” said Hoburg.

The crew had to get creative at times—Bowen baked pies for Pi Day, and Rubio cut the other astronauts’ hair. But they found plenty of ways to exercise and have fun—and by the end of the mission, they had become a family.

“What a great group of people I had to hang out with for six months,” said Bowen. “It was just incredible.”

A Collective Effort

Crew-6 included the first astronaut of Salvadoran heritage to reach space (Rubio) and the first Arab to complete an extravehicular activity (AlNeyadi). Those feats are symptoms of a broader trend: the globalization of space exploration.

At one point during Expedition 69, there were 11 astronauts aboard the orbital laboratory, which is designed for a maximum of seven. Occupants hailed from the U.S., UAE, Russia, Denmark, and Japan.

“It’s a very intense period when you’re handing over to a new crew, because you’re basically teaching them a whole new lifestyle in a few weeks,” said Rubio.

But the transition was also a welcome development, according to Bowen.

“We actually get a chance to meet a lot of our colleagues around the world before we ever fly,” he said. “So having that crew come on board, I knew every one of them. It was a lot of fun. It’s just great to have new people on board—and it’s another sign you’re going home too.”

AlNeyadi said the UAE already has benefited greatly from its activities in the final frontier. The country’s space agency has only been around for two decades. But in that short time, it has sent a satellite, Martian probe, and the nation’s first astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, into space.

“That was an eye opener for everybody. After that, everybody—every young student in the school—wanted to be an astronaut,” said AlNeyadi, who was appointed UAE minister of youth this month.

The Emirati’s own trip has had an impact too. For example, he said it helped catalyze the UAE’s participation in NASA’s Lunar Gateway project, which aims to build a space station orbiting the moon. The country is the fifth to join the partnership.

NASA is also increasingly relying on private industry to help fill certain gaps for Artemis, a contrast to the government-heavy Apollo program. Rubio said he helped certify all SpaceX launch and recovery assets before his mission, a reflection of the agency’s tight relationship with it, Blue Origin, and other commercial partners.

The hope is that greater collaboration can kick off a groundbreaking new era for space travel, one in which humans are continuously occupying the final frontier.

Bowen shared a story about a pair of glasses he found floating aboard the space station, which he mistook for his own. They weren’t Rubio’s or Hoburg’s either, and AlNeyadi didn’t wear glasses. As the crew soon realized, they belonged to an astronaut who had stayed at the orbital lab years ago: a relic of humanity’s persistent effort to uncover the mysteries of space.

Crew-7 astronauts—picking up where Crew-6 left off—splashed down earlier this month, a few days after the Crew-8 team arrived. Perhaps they too will discover the remnants of explorations past. Undoubtedly, they will build on the foundations of previous missions and push humanity forward.

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Thomas P. Stafford, one of 24 astronauts to journey to the moon, died Monday after a lengthy illness. He was 93.

“Today, [former Air Force] general Tom Stafford went to the eternal heavens, which he so courageously explored as a Gemini and Apollo astronaut as well as a peacemaker in Apollo Soyuz,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Those of us privileged to know him are very sad but grateful we knew a giant.”

Stafford was born in Weatherford,  Oklahoma, in 1930 during the so-called “golden age of aviation.” Enamored with flight from childhood, he wanted to fly airplanes and later announced ambitions to be a fighter pilot. Going into space, he told journalists later in life, was the next logical step.

Military Career

In high school, Stafford served in the Oklahoma National Guard in a nonaviation role. He was athletic and earned a football scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy, although he did not play in college due to a career-ending injury sustained during practice. After graduation in 1952, he entered the Air Force, training to be a pilot. Eventually he would fly a F-86 Sabre jet, and subsequently became a test pilot.  He flew more than 120 types of aircraft during his career.

Space Career

In 1962, Stafford was selected for astronaut training and flew aboard Gemini 6 in 1965 and Gemini 9 in 1’66. In ’69, he was named commander for Apollo 10, which was the second crewed mission that orbited the moon. Accompanied by Gene Cernan, they became the first crew to fly the Apollo Lunar Module in lunar orbit.

In the 1970s Stafford, now a brigadier general, was named commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission. Preparation included traveling to Moscow to learn Russian. The 1975 rendezvous between the Soyuz capsule and the Apollo spacecraft was commemorated by a photograph of Stafford shaking hands with cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.

Stafford flew three types of spacecraft for NASA and logged more than 500 hours of space flight.

After the Apollo-Soyuz mission, Stafford resigned from NASA and returned to the Air Force, where he became the commanding general of Edwards Air Force Base, California, and oversaw the development of new aircraft and pilot training. His expertise was also in demand during the development of NASA’s space shuttle program. 

According to information from the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, Stafford also served as the commanding general of Area 51, the common name for the top-secret military facility that may or may not be in the Nevada desert.

Founded in 1993, the Stafford Air & Space Museum is a Smithsonian affiliate. Among the exhibits are test-fired engines used during the development of the U.S. space program. The museum is also the home of the Gemini 6 spacecraft that Stafford and astronaut Wally Schirra flew in a rendezvous with Gemini 7. 

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In what feels increasingly like a bout of déjà vu, SpaceX’s Starship—the largest and most powerful rocket ever flown—has been grounded again.

The FAA on Thursday initiated its third mishap investigation into Starship after the 400-foot-tall spacecraft and booster were lost during its third orbital test flight. Both components are intended to be reusable.

Starship will remain grounded until the FAA concludes its investigation and awards a fresh launch license. However, Thursday’s flight undoubtedly built on previous Starship missions, during which the rocket and booster exploded minutes after takeoff. This time around, they flew halfway around the planet.

Starship stands taller than the Statue of Liberty and on Thursday generated nearly twice the thrust of NASA’s Space Launch System, which owned the previous record. Orbital test flights are intended to evaluate the spacecraft’s capabilities for NASA Artemis moon missions, which aim to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century.

Starship and the Super Heavy booster lifted off Thursday morning from Starbase, SpaceX’s launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas. The spacecraft generated 16 million pounds of thrust from 33 Raptor engines, the most ever in a rocket booster.

Unlike past attempts, Thursday’s mission, OT-3, traveled nearly halfway around the Earth as intended. For the first time, Starship reached space. But when the rocket reentered the atmosphere about 45 minutes into the mission, SpaceX lost communications. The company later said the vehicle did not survive reentry. Starship was intended to splash down in the Indian Ocean, and the booster in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, while not fully completed, the mission was vastly more successful than previous flights. Starship for the first time demonstrated the ability to reach orbital speeds and open its payload door—which could one day deploy Starlink satellites and other cargo—during flight.

Another crucial feat was a liquid oxygen transfer between two tanks, part of a NASA tipping-point demonstration and a key capability for missions to the moon and beyond.

A SpaceX representative estimated the company will need to complete 10 refueling missions before its Starship Human Landing System (HLS)—the capsule that will transport astronauts to the moon during Artemis III—can land on the lunar surface. The representative did not convey how many orbital test flights will be required, but Starship will need to complete at least one mission in full before moving to the next phase.

With three orbital test flights under Starship’s belt, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday predicted the rocket will complete six more this year—an unprecedented number for a new super heavy lift rocket.

Though the flight undoubtedly builds upon Starship’s previous missions, the FAA will nevertheless investigate the loss of communications, which it said affected both the rocket and booster.

A mishap investigation is standard whenever a launch does not go according to plan. The goal is to determine the root cause of the event and identify corrective actions to keep it from happening again.

The regulator said it would be involved in every step of the process. It will need to approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions the company intends to take, before a license can be reissued.

“A return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety,” the agency said. “In addition, SpaceX may need to modify its license to incorporate any corrective actions and meet all other licensing requirements.”

No public injuries or property damage were reported from OT-3, the FAA said. That was not the case during Starship’s first test flight, which damaged buildings and sent plumes of ash and debris flying miles away.

The investigation into that incident closed within seven months, and the agency’s second inquiry was completed in just three months. Since Thursday’s test was far more successful than the previous two, and no injuries or damage were reported, the investigation timeline may be on the shorter side.

Accidents are not particularly uncommon for spacecraft. In fact, a Japanese rocket called Kairos and a Chinese model called Yuanzheng-1S both suffered anomalies this week. But the delays caused by Starship investigations may have implications for the Artemis missions.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on Thursday’s test flight. But with Americans’ return to the moon aboard Artemis III now delayed to 2026, the agency will be expecting a usable Starship HLS by then. Jim Free, associate administrator of NASA, predicted vehicle’s development may take more time than previously thought.

Musk, meanwhile, has touted Starship as a ferry to Mars, envisioning trips to the Red Planet carrying hundreds of humans at a time. Those ambitions will depend on SpaceX ironing out the kinks with the 400-foot-tall rocket and booster.

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7—the space agency’s seventh crewed mission ferried by a private company to the International Space Station (ISS)—has returned to Earth after more than six months aboard the outpost.

Shortly before 6 a.m. EDT Tuesday, the crew splashed down in a SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, nearly 19 hours after it autonomously undocked from the ISS. The astronauts were retrieved by the company’s recovery vessels, NASA said.

• READ MORE: NASA Crew-7 Astronauts Arrive at International Space Station

The Crew-7 mission launched August 26 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On board were astronauts from four different countries and three continents: NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency’s Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos’ Konstantin Borisov.

“After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 has safely returned home,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “This international crew showed that space unites us all. It’s clear that we can do more—we can learn more—when we work together. The science experiments conducted during their time in space will help prepare for NASA’s bold missions at the moon, Mars, and beyond, all while benefiting humanity here on Earth.”

• READ MORE: Ax-3 Commercial Astronauts Splash Down after 18 Days Aboard ISS

Following its liftoff, the crew traveled 84,434,094 miles during the mission, spent 197 days aboard the space station, and completed 3,184 orbits of Earth, according to NASA.

Crew-7’s return marks the latest milestone for NASA’s commercial crew program and comes a week after the successful SpaceX launch of three NASA astronauts and a Roscosmos cosmonaut to ISS as a crew rotation.

• READ MORE: NASA SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Successfully Launches After Delays

The Dragon spacecraft, which has supported two other ISS crew rotations, will be returned to Florida for inspection and refurbishment at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to ready it for its next flight, NASA said.

Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, @AstroJaws, @Astro_Andreas, @Astro_Satoshi, and Kostya! pic.twitter.com/iugZ6Awwvn

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 12, 2024

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When NASA launches its Europa Clipper orbiter toward Jupiter’s moon, Europa, in October, the craft will carry numerous messages on an engraved metal plate that will honor Earth’s connection with it.

NASA said there is strong evidence of a vast ocean beneath the moon’s icy crust that contains more than twice the amount of water in all of Earth’s oceans. Water is a central theme of the spacecraft’s message, which includes an engraving of the U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa.” The craft also carries a silicon microchip with more than 2.6 million names as part of NASA’s “Message in a Bottle” campaign that asked people to submit their names to be carried on the voyage.

• READ MORE: When it Comes to Space Travel, NASA has the Juice—But ESA has JUICE

The engraved panel is made of the metal tantalum, measures about 7-by-11 inches, and has graphic elements on both sides. This artwork includes waveforms converted from audio files that linguists collected of the word “water” spoken in 103 languages. The waveforms are etched into the panel and radiate out from a symbol representing the American Sign Language sign for water, NASA said.

“The content and design of Europa Clipper’s vault plate are swimming with meaning,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “The plate combines the best humanity has to offer across the universe—science, technology, education, art, and math. The message of connection through water, essential for all forms of life as we know it, perfectly illustrates Earth’s tie to this mysterious ocean world we are setting out to explore.”

The Europa Clipper is expected to begin orbiting Jupiter in 2030 after a trip of 1.6 billion miles. It will make repeated close passes of Europa, gathering data about the subsurface ocean, crust, atmosphere, and space environment. The electronics for those instruments are housed in a massive metal vault designed to protect them from Jupiter’s punishing radiation. The commemorative plate will seal an opening in the vault.

The panel’s inner surface will be inscribed with the Drake Equation, developed by astronomer Frank Drake in 1961 to estimate the possibility of finding advanced civilizations beyond Earth. Additional artwork on the inward-facing side of the panel will include a reference to radio frequencies considered plausible for interstellar communication, NASA said.

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Boeing has shared its latest vision of sustainable aviation with a new rendering of the X-66, an experimental aircraft it is building through NASA’s sustainable flight demonstrator project.

The aircraft, which is based on a modified McDonnell Douglas MD-90 platform, features diagonal struts, known as Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) concept. It’s a distinctive design that, when paired with advancements in propulsion and systems architecture, could slash fuel consumption and emissions by up to 30 percent, according to the space agency.

• READ MORE: NASA, Boeing Unveil New X-Plane with Net-Zero Goals

“As NASA and Boeing enter the early stages of producing the X-66, the first X-plane specifically focused on helping the United States achieve net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, the team is already picturing what the aircraft will look like soaring above the clouds,” NASA said in a statement Thursday.

• READ MORE: Boeing X-66A Mods Begin to Create the Truss-Braced Wing Aircraft

Boeing began production work in August, when it relocated a MD-90 to its Palmdale, California, facility. According to NASA, the company has removed the aircraft’s engines and begun modifications.

Following production, Boeing will also partner with NASA to test and fly the demonstrator aircraft. Flight testing is expected to begin in 2028.

“The project seeks to inform a new generation of more sustainable single-aisle aircraft—the workhorse of passenger airlines around the world,” NASA said.

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NASA graduated its latest round of Artemis-generation astronauts Tuesday, opening the doors for its search for a new round of applicants.

The 10 astronauts had been selected as candidates for the training program from a highly competitive pool of about 12,000 applicants in 2021, NASA said. Their training included more than two years of basic training that entailed robotics, space station systems, and spacewalking.

The graduation milestone now means they may be assigned to future missions on the International Space Station or commercial space stations, as well as NASA’s Artemis moon mission campaign.

• READ MORE: Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Martian?

NASA identified the graduating astronauts as Nichole Ayers of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Marcos Berríos of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; Chris Birch of Gilbert, Arizona; Deniz Bunham of Wasilla, Alaska; Luke Delaney of DeBary, Florida; Andre Douglas of Chesapeake, Virginia; Jack Hathaway of South Windsor, Connecticut; Anil Menon of Minneapolis; Chris Williams of Potomac, Maryland; and Jessica Wittner of Clovis, California.

United Arab Emirates astronauts Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dabai also trained alongside the class as part of a long-standing international partnership.

• READ MORE: NASA Delays First Crewed U.S. Moon Landing in Half a Century to 2026

Help Wanted: Astronauts

NASA commenced its search for the next round of astronaut candidates Tuesday. Duties for the position include conducting research experiments, performing spacecraft maintenance, and serving as a public face for the space agency. Frequent travel also is required.

• READ MORE: ‘Odysseus’ Transmits First Lunar Landing Images

“Upon completing training, they will join the active astronaut corps and become eligible for spaceflight assignment,” NASA said in a statement. “Until assigned a spaceflight, they will have responsibilities within the astronaut office, ranging from supporting their fellow astronauts in space to advising on the development of new spacecraft.”

More information on the astronaut candidate program may be found here. The deadline for applying is April 2.

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Three NASA astronauts and a Roscosmos cosmonaut on board a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft were successfully launched by a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday evening.

The mission, dubbed Crew-8, lifted off  from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:53 p.m. EST, marking NASA’s eighth commercial ISS crew rotation.

The launch had initially been planned for Friday but was delayed twice due to high winds along the spacecraft’s ascent path.

Standing down from tonight’s launch of Crew-8 due to elevated winds in Dragon’s ascent corridor. Now targeting Sunday, March 3 for liftoff

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 3, 2024

On board the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft were NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. 

• READ MORE: NASA SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Launch Date Set

“On this eighth crew rotation mission, we are once again showing the strength of our commercial partnerships and American ingenuity that will propel us further in the cosmos,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Monday. “Aboard the station, the crew will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations to help fuel this new era of space exploration and benefit humanity here on Earth,” 

The crew is scheduled to arrive at ISS on Tuesday around 3 a.m. EST, when the spacecraft will autonomously dock with the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module.

• READ MORE: SpaceX Launch Sends 4 Private Astronauts to ISS

Once Crew-8 arrives, it will overlap with the existing ISS astronauts, Crew-7, until they depart to return to Earth a few days later, NASA said.

NASA is providing live coverage of the Crew-8 mission docking event and hatch opening starting at 3 a.m. EST. It may be viewed here.

Liftoff of Crew-8! pic.twitter.com/wqTFNNDGR9

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 4, 2024

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On April 8, the moon will pass in front of the sun, blocking out its light. The total solar eclipse will, for a moment, turn day into night, briefly revealing the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona.

The 2024 total solar eclipse will be visible in 15 states. In North America, more than 30 million are estimated to live in its path that will range from 108 to 122 miles wide, according to NASA. For those viewing the event, safe solar viewers or eclipse glasses will be needed to avoid eye injury. 

If you miss it, decades will pass before there’s another opportunity to view one in the U.S. The next total solar eclipse will be August 23, 2044.

“This year’s total solar eclipse will be at least partially visible to all in the contiguous United States, making it the most accessible eclipse this nation has experienced in this generation,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of the science mission directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.. “There is space for everyone to join NASA in experiencing this beautiful amalgamation of our Earth, sun, and moon in an alignment that will not only lead to new scientific discoveries but an incredible shared moment of inspiration and awe.”

Want to know how far away the eclipse path is from you? NASA released an online eclipse explorer tool that illustrates its path and what it will look like from your ZIP code. 

The Eclipse Explorer tool may be found here.

2024 Total Eclipse Events

April 6

• Waco, Texas: STEAMclipse festival. The festival is open to the public, with no registration required.

April 8

• Kerrville, Texas: Kerrville Eclipse Festival at Louise Hays Park. Space in the event cannot be reserved, and you will not need a ticket to enter. Details are available online.

• Stonewall, Texas: Eclipse viewing at Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required, but attendance is limited to the first 1,000 cars on April 8. More information is available online.

• Austin, Texas: Eclipse viewing at the Austin Central Library. Event will include free public talks, children’s activities, and a solar telescope.

• Waco, Texas: Eclipse Over Texas: Live From Waco! Tickets required.

• Dallas: Eclipse viewing at the Dallas Arboretum. Admission tickets are sold out. More information is available online.

• Dallas: Sun, Moon, and You at the Dallas Cotton Bowl.  Free tickets required, check online for more details.

• Russellville, Arkansas: Eclipse events in multiple locations. More details available online.

• Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival. Tickets are required, and information is available online.

• Indianapolis: Eclipse viewing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tickets are required for guests over 18. Information is available online.

• Cleveland: Total Eclipse Fest at the Great Lakes Science Center. Event is free and open to the public with no registration required. Information is available online.

• Erie, Pennsylvania: Eclipse viewing at Mercyhurst University. Event is free and open to the public with no registration required. Information is available online.

• Niagara Falls, New York: Eclipse events in multiple locations. Many are free and open to the public, and registration may be required based on space constraints. Information is available online.

• Houlton, Maine: Eclipse events in multiple locations. Eclipse viewing in downtown Houlton on April 8 is free and open to the public.

• Washington, D.C.: Solar Eclipse Festival on the National Mall. Event is free and open to the public with no registration required. Information is available online.

The post NASA Gears Up for 2024 Total Solar Eclipse appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Six days on the moon’s surface and 13 days after launch, the Odysseus private lunar landing mission that put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years is drawing to a close.

Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission made history for completing the first successful moon landing by a company when its Nova-C autonomous lander Odysseus reached the South Pole region on February 22. 

On Wednesday afternoon, however, only hours of power fueling transmission to Earth remained.

• READ MORE: ‘Odysseus’ Lunar Lander Alive, Well… But Likely Not Upright

“We know we’re degrading in power,” Steve Altemus, CEO of Houston-based Intuitive Machines, said Wednesday during a press conference, adding that within five hours no more telemetry would be available.

When the power runs out, the lander will conduct a “quiet power down,” Altemus said, adding there may be an opportunity to attempt to repower it in about three weeks when the sun once again is in range of the lander’s solar panels.

• READ MORE: ‘Odysseus’ Transmits First Lunar Landing Images

Upon its descent, the Nova-C lander tilted over slowly and came to rest at an angle about 30 degrees above a 12-degree slope, Altemus said. Despite the less-than-upright landing, all of its payloads are transmitting data, according to the company.

• READ MORE: The ‘Odysseus’ Has Landed

“A soft touchdown on the moon is a great accomplishment,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator of exploration at NASA. 

As part of NASA’s commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign, the IM-1 mission carried six NASA payloads conducting research to better understand the lunar environment. 

“This image retrieved from the lander on February 27 captures Odysseus’ landing strut during landing on February 22 performing its primary task, absorbing first contact with the lunar surface,” Intuitive Machines said in a mission update Wednesday. “Meanwhile, the lander’s liquid methane and liquid oxygen engine is still throttling, which provided stability. The company believes the two insights captured in this image enabled Odysseus to gently lean into the lunar surface, preserving the ability to return scientific data.”

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The FAA this week closed its mishap investigation into the explosion of SpaceX’s Starship rocket and agreed with the company on new procedures for future flights. 

SpaceX launched Starship on November 18 and reached space before the vehicle’s upper stage was destroyed by an automated internal system just minutes into the test flight. The nearly 400-foot rocket reached space after launching from Texas with no one on board. The FAA launched its investigation after the explosion and shared Monday that the agency accepted SpaceX’s explanation of what went awry. 

The FAA said SpaceX identified 17 corrective actions to take, including:

• Vehicle hardware redesigns
• Updated control system modeling
• Reevaluation of engine analyses
• Updated engine control algorithms
• Operational changes
• Flammability analysis updates
• Installation of additional fire protection

The U.S. aerospace company offered its own update Monday, outlining the issues with Starship. SpaceX said the 33 Raptor engines powering its Super Heavy booster started correctly. After separation, “several” engines faltered and one shut down, “quickly cascading” as the booster exploded more than three and a half minutes into the flight, SpaceX said. The company reported that the most likely root cause of the booster failure was “determined to be filter blockage where liquid oxygen is supplied to the engines, leading to a loss of inlet pressure in engine oxidizer turbopumps.”

Starship’s upper stage successfully flew for about seven minutes before a leak occurred in the aft section of the spacecraft when the liquid oxygen vent was initiated, causing combustion and fires and knocking out communication between the spacecraft’s computers, the company said. The communication disruption shut down the upper stage’s six engines and initiated the automated flight termination system over the Gulf of Mexico. 

Ahead of the next launch, the FAA is requiring SpaceX to implement all corrective actions and receive a license modification from the agency. The FAA is evaluating SpaceX’s license modification request. 

The April launch of Starship also ended in a fiery explosion, but November’s test flight lasted nearly twice as long. The second test flight came after an FAA investigation and changes to Starship. 

Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, has been selected to launch Starlab, the commercial space station venture between Voyager Space and Airbus. Starlab, which will host four crewmembers, is scheduled to launch before the International Space Station’s decommissioning near the end of the decade. 

The post FAA Closes Investigation into SpaceX Starship Explosion appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

A scientific balloon mission underway at the South Pole has set the record for longest flight of any NASA heavy-lift, long-duration balloon mission, according to the space agency.

NASA launched the Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) scientific balloon in late December from McMurdo Station in Antarctica in order to map portions of the Milky Way and nearby Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The telescope tethered to the balloon is collecting data that will be used in the making of a 3D map of the Milky Way and LMC dwarf galaxy near it using high-frequency radio waves.

The stadium-size scientific balloon is measuring emissions from the material between stars to help scientists determine the life cycle of interstellar gas in the Milky Way galaxy. The floating observatory is flying at an altitude of more than 125,000 feet, NASA said.

“NASA’s long-duration balloon program provides researchers the ability to fly state-of-the art payloads at the very edge of space, affording them the opportunity to make groundbreaking observations of the cosmos more frequently and at a significantly lower cost than conventional orbital missions,” GUSTO principal investigator Christopher Walker said in a statement.

• READ MORE: NASA GUSTO Scientific Balloon Mission Underway at South Pole

On Saturday, the balloon beat the standing record of 55 days, 1 hour, and 34 minutes, and continues to circumnavigate the South Pole, the agency said. Prior to the feat, the record holder had been the Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder balloon mission, known as SuperTIGER, which launched in December 2012.

“The health of the balloon and the stratospheric winds are both contributing to the success of the mission so far,” said Andrew Hamilton, acting chief of NASA’s balloon program office at its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. “The balloon and balloon systems have been performing beautifully, and we’re seeing no degradation in the performance of the balloon. The winds in the stratosphere have been very favorable and have provided stable conditions for extended flight.”

The GUSTO mission was to run at least 60 days but will continue to fly in order for researchers to better understand the limits of long-duration ballooning, Hamilton said.

The post NASA’s GUSTO Scientific Balloon Sets Record appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission is set to launch via a Falcon 9 rocket Friday, ferrying three space agency astronauts and a Roscosmos cosmonaut to the International Space Station (ISS).

On board the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft will be NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.

Crew-8 represents the eighth ISS crew rotation mission and ninth human spaceflight mission to the space outpost since 2020 that has been supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

• READ MORE: First Space Force Guardian Heading to ISS Orbital Outpost

“During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations, including new research to prepare human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth,” SpaceX said in a statement.

The launch is targeted for 12:04 a.m. EST Friday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said. According to SpaceX, a backup launch opportunity is scheduled for the same day at 11:41 p.m.

• READ MORE: Ax-3 Commercial Astronauts Splash Down after 18 Days Aboard ISS

Following the stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SpaceX said.

NASA projects the crew will dock with the ISS around 7 a.m. Saturday.

• READ MORE: SpaceX’s Starship Selected to Launch Starlab Space Station

How to Watch

The Crew-8 mission launch, as well as docking, may be viewed via livestream on a number of platforms. Leading up to the launch, NASA will begin its coverage at 8 p.m. Thursday on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency website. 

SpaceX will also begin its coverage about an hour before launch on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The post NASA SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Launch Date Set appeared first on FLYING Magazine.