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Happy Astronaut Day! NASA Astronauts Butch & Suni Visit Launchpad
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for pictures after a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard was rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is the first launch with astronauts aboard the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The flight test serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry Wilmore and Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
NASA Astronauts Butch & Suni Visit Starliner Spacecraft on Launchpad
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for pictures after a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard was rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is the first launch with astronauts aboard the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The flight test serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry Wilmore and Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
International Cooperation for China's Chang'e 6 Moon Science Mission
China's Chang'e 6 science mission to collect samples from the far side of the moon for the first time in human history has been hailed as scientifically important. Guests representing over ten countries and international scientific organizations attended the launch of the Chang'e 6 probe at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China's southern island province of Hainan on Friday, May 3, 2024. Those gathered said it is hoped the mission will make new discoveries, and lead to greater collaboration in international space exploration.
The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The SPA basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Video Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test on Atlas V Rocket | International Space Station
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft are being readied for launch at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Starliner will head to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on board.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Spacesuit | SpaceX
At ~700 km above Earth, the extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit will support the Polaris Dawn crew in the vacuum of space during the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk.
Evolved from the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit, the EVA suit provides greater mobility, a state-of-the-art helmet Heads-Up Display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk.
Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary.
Boeing Starliner Rolled to Pad for Launch | International Space Station
The Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket have rolled to the launch pad at United Launch Alliance's Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The stack stands 172 ft (52 m) tall. Teams rolled the stack on tracks at ~1 mph (1.6 kph) from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch site.
This is one of the final milestones before the Crew Flight Test (CFT) launch on May 6, 2024. Starliner will head to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on board.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
"On this Star Wars Day, we're channeling the power of the Force! Celebrate the day by downloading this exclusive poster and join us as we journey to the Moon and beyond!
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
"This IS the droid you're looking for." NASA Droid: Year 1962
Happy Star Wars Day! Happy National Space Day!
"This Star Wars Day we're betting this droid, built around 1962 to test NASA space suits, would beat C-3PO in a fight. Its mechanized limbs had strain gauges to indicate how much force was required to move in a suit."
—NASA History Office
First of all there is a question of just what to call this device. Is it a “dummy”? That’s what its creators called it sometimes, but that sounds too pejorative and does not give credit to its complexity. Is it a “robot”? That’s what it looks like. Or is it an “android,” defined by the dictionary as “an automaton made to resemble a human being”? But what is an “automaton”? “Anything that can move or act of itself,” among other definitions. That is close enough, so we will call it an “android” from now on.
The android was built in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of Technology beginning around 1962, to test space suits for NASA. It was intended to be installed in a prototype suit (on Earth), and its limbs would be set in motion that closely resembled what a human suit wearer would do. Strain gauges would tell how much force was required to move in a suit, and therefore how much effort an astronaut needed to wear the suit. It was never intended to fly in space, and could not operate without a control console connected to it. Apparently it also could not stand on its own, but was suspended by a parachute-type harness. The device worked on hydraulic motors, which were controlled by knobs operated by a human operator nearby. It did not have any computer or “brain” in it. Therefore I avoid the term “robot,” which implies self-contained autonomous operation, although in other respects it does resemble a robot, and that term is not totally inaccurate. Although lacking a computer, it was nevertheless a very significant breakthrough in the ability to mimic the motions of the human body. As a dramatic demonstration of its capabilities, its designers got it to dance “the twist,” and to mimic the pelvic gyrations of Elvis Presley.
Because of the maze of tiny tubes and valves that carried hydraulic fluid, the android tended to leak, which could have damaged an expensive space suit. At times it was covered with a “wet suit” to catch the leaks, but I believe that problem was never solved. As far as I can tell, only two androids were built, and it never really fulfilled the function it was built for. The project ended around 1967.
Pakistan's First Moon Mission Launched aboard China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Probe
Pakistan launched its groundbreaking lunar mission aboard China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe on Friday, May 3, 2024. The Chinese probe blasted off atop a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The ICUBE-Q CubeSat satellite, designed and developed by Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology (IST) in collaboration with China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Pakistan's national space agency, SUPARCO, represents a milestone in space cooperation.
The launch was broadcast live on the Institute of Space Technology's website and media channels, with viewers worldwide to witnessing history in the making. For the many young students aspiring to explore the unknown, this historic day signifies that their dream is about to come true.
"It all started from my childhood, basically, it looks really fascinated when I looked at the moon continuously walking with us, and I usually stare at the moon from my rooftop," said Malaika Khursheed, a student at the Institute of Space Technology.
The ICUBE-Q is among the first nano-satellites to travel into deep space. It is also the first satellite collaboration mission between Pakistan and China as well as the universities.
So it is a symbol of mutual trust, and youngsters' exploration of the moon.
"At the moment of the launch of the Pakistan and SJTU CubeSat, I'm very delighted to be part of this momentous occasion and I can't wait to watch the launch," said Chen Ye, a student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
In March, students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University arrived in Pakistan to meet and train with their fellow Pakistani students. The Chinese team brought a copy of the satellite to Pakistan. It was the only time that both teams met and interacted. And Pakistani researchers spoke highly of the cooperation.
"Collaboration with China is really significant, it signifies global cooperation," said Syed Azish Ali Bukhari, a communication engineer and a research fellow at the IST.
"It truly gives a big boost to our young people so that they can look forward to such projects and even more complex and bigger projects in the future," said Qamar Ul Islam, director of the Space System Lab of IST.
CubeSats, renowned for their compact design and versatility, have transformed space exploration, empowering universities, research institutions, and commercial ventures to participate in cutting-edge missions at a fraction of the cost.
This collaborative endeavor underscores the deepening ties between Pakistan and China in the pursuit of scientific discovery beyond Earth's bounds.
The Chang'e-6 mission's primary objective is to gather samples from the far side of the moon, marking the first-ever attempt to gather samples from this region of the moon.
International Payloads on China's Chang'e-6 Science Mission to Moon's Far Side
China's Chang'e-6 science mission that launched on May 3, 2024, aims to retrieve samples from the far side, south pole region of the Moon for the first time in human history. It is also taking international payloads along. Scientists from all over the world gathered in China's southern Hainan island province as the mission began. The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The South Pole–Aitken basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Video Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
A Double-bladed Lightsaber? Herbig-Haro Jet HH 24 | Hubble's Inside the Image
Happy Star Wars Day! Happy National Space Day! NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed what looks like a cosmic, double-bladed lightsaber.
In the center of the image, partially obscured by a dark, Jedi-like cloak of dust, a newborn star shoots twin jets out into space as a sort of birth announcement to the universe.
In this video, Dr. Ken Carpenter explains this breathtaking image and how important Hubble is to exploring the mysteries of the universe, even if it is far far away!
Spacewalks & Spaceships | International Space Station
Russian Cosmonaut Nikolai Chub of Russia during a four-hour and 36-minute spacewalk
Russian Soyuz MS-25 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is pictured docked to the International Space Station's forward port on the Harmony module as the orbital complex soared 269 miles above a cloudy South Atlantic Ocean.
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin of Russia, is pictured after undocking from the Harmony module's forward port on the International Space Station. Shortly afterward, Endeavour relocated to the Harmony's space-facing port opening up the forward port for Boeing's Crew Flight Test and its Starliner spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
An aurora blankets Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above North America. In the foreground, are the Rassvet module and the Nauka science module. The Prichal docking module and the Russian Soyuz MS-25 crew ship are both attached to Nauka.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Russia concluded their four hour and 36 minute spacewalk on April 25, 2024. Kononenko and Chub completed their major objectives. It was the seventh spacewalk in Kononenko’s career, and the second for Chub. This was the 270th spacewalk for International Space Station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, with Expedition 71 crew members NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, autonomously redocked with the Harmony module’s space-facing port on May 2, 2024, over the eastern Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia.
As the 28th spacecraft relocation in station history, the move makes room for the arrival on Wednesday, May 8, of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test and the Starliner spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Liftoff: China Chang'e-6 Moon Mission to Retrieve Samples from Far Side South Pole
A Long March-5 rocket, carrying China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft, blasted off from its launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan on Friday afternoon, May 3, 2024. The probe will take samples on the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth in a world-first.
This mission features scientific payloads from countries that include France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude).
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Image Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)
NASA's Space to Ground: Boeing Starliner Pre-launch | Week of May 3, 2024
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what is happening aboard the International Space Station. A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft with two NASA astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Launch: China Chang'e-6 Moon Sample Return Mission to Far Side South Pole
China successfully launched the Chang'e-6 lunar probe on Friday, May 3, 2024, to collect and return the first ever lunar samples from the far side of the moon. The probe, atop a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket, blasted off at 17:27 (Beijing time) from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, marking the start of its mission that will last about 53 days.
It follows in the footsteps of the country's first lunar sample return mission, Chang'e-5, which was launched in 2020 and brought back 1,731 grams of samples from the near side of the moon. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Chang'e-6 is set to land on the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, one of the three major lunar landforms with significant scientific value. Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The South Pole–Aitken basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
The mission marks another milestone in China's lunar exploration program (CLEP). Back in 2019, the country's Chang'e-4 probe touched down on the far side of the moon, becoming the first spacecraft to complete a soft-landing on the moon's uncharted side.
China is also advancing plans to complete its first manned space mission to the moon by 2030, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from countries that include France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Italian Space Agency), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite.
Last month, the Queqiao-2 relay satellite was successfully deployed and put into orbit in order to facilitate communications between the far side of the moon and the Earth.
Liftoff: China Chang'e-6 Moon Mission to Retrieve Samples from Far Side South Pole
A Long March-5 rocket, carrying China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft, blasted off from its launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan on Friday afternoon, May 3, 2024. The probe will take samples on the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth in a world-first.
This mission features scientific payloads from countries that include France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude).
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
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