Friends of NASA

Friday, March 20, 2026

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Launchpad Journey: Part II | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Launchpad Journey: Part II | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, are seen as they make the 4.2 mile journey toward Launch Pad 39B, Friday, March 20, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II flight test will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), around the Moon and back to Earth with launch opportunities beginning in April 2026.

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Artemis blog:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

This is a multi-hour trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39B. The four-mile journey on the crawler-transporter-2, at a careful speed of roughly 1 mile per hour, will take up to 12 hours. The massive crawler keeps the mobile launcher and rocket perfectly level throughout the trip, even on the gentle slopes of the crawlerway. Once at the pad, the stack will be secured, ground support systems will be connected in preparation for flight.

The crawler-transporters, formally known as the Missile Crawler Transporter Facilities, are a pair of tracked vehicles used to transport launch vehicles from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) along the Crawlerway to Launch Complex 39. They were originally used to transport the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets during the Apollo, Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs. They were then used to transport Space Shuttles from 1981 to 2011. The crawler-transporters carry vehicles on the mobile launcher platforms (MLPs) used by NASA, and after each launch return to the pad to take the platform back to the VAB.

The two crawler-transporters were designed and built by Marion Power Shovel Company using some components designed and built by Rockwell International at a cost of US$14 million (US$128.5 million in 2022) each. Upon its construction, the crawler-transporter became the largest self-powered land vehicle in the world.

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky/Aubrey Gemignani
Image Date: March 20, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #SLSRocket #CrawlerTransporter2 #CrewedMissions #Astronauts #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAKennedy #KSC #VAB #MerrittIsland #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Rollout: Part II | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Rollout: Part II | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, is seen inside and outside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) as preparations continue for roll out to Launch Pad 39B, Thursday, March 19, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II flight test will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), around the Moon and back to Earth with launch opportunities beginning in April 2026.

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Artemis blog:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky/Aubrey Gemignani
Image Dates: March 19-20, 2026

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Rollout: Part II | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Rollout: Part II | Kennedy Space Center

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Artemis blog:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Image Dates: March 19-20, 2026

California Sunset: The Novaya Zemlya Effect | Earth Science

California Sunset: The Novaya Zemlya Effect | Earth Science

"I have seen quite a few Novaya Zemlya sunsets but the one I saw on March 17 was special. The sunset was delayed for 14 minutes! At times, it felt as the universe stands still.Thanks to the Novaya Zemlya effect, this pancaked sun stayed visible until it was geometrically 3.4° below the horizon."

The Novaya Zemlya effect is an atmospheric refraction phenomenon that is occasionally seen over large flat areas of the Earth's surface. The effect consists of the trapping of light rays within the lower layers of the atmosphere. The process can be transmitted over hundreds of kilometers around the curvature of the Earth. The effect appears when direct rays from the sun are trapped so that the image of the sun appears, although the sun is well below the horizon. This effect is named because it was first observed on the arctic island of Novaya Zemlya—an archipelago in northern Russia.

The first person to record the phenomenon was Gerrit de Veer, a member of Willem Barentsz's ill-fated third expedition into the north polar region in 1596–1597. Trapped by the ice, the party was forced to stay for the winter in a makeshift lodge on the archipelago of Novaya Zemlya and endure the polar night.

On January 24, 1597, De Veer and another crew member claimed to have seen the Sun appear above the horizon, approximately two weeks prior to its calculated return. They were met with disbelief by the rest of the crew—who accused De Veer of having used the old Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar introduced several years earlier—but on January 27, the Sun was seen by all "in his full roundnesse". For centuries the account was the source of skepticism, until in the 20th century the phenomenon was finally proven to be genuine.

Apart from the image of the Sun, the effect can also elevate the image of other objects above the horizon, such as coastlines that are normally invisible due to their distance. After studying the Saga of Erik the Red, Waldemar Lehn concluded that the effect may have aided the Vikings in their discovery of Iceland and Greenland that are not visible from the mainland under normal atmospheric conditions.

San Francisco, California, is located on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, making it a coastal city.

California is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south.

Image Credit: Mila Zinkova
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Date: March 17, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #SolarSystem #Sun #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #AtmosphericRefraction #Sunlight #NovayaZemlyaEffect #SanFrancisco #California #PacificOcean #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: Final Assembly Update

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: Final Assembly Update

This video, covering the second half of 2025, shows the Goddard Space Flight Center’s largest clean room, the Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration Facility in Greenbelt, Maryland. The room is a class 10,000 clean room with over one million cubic feet of space.

The outside half of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, called OSD, contains the solar panels & protective layers. The Deployable Aperture Cover protects the mirrors during launch and then unfolds to help shield them from sunlight does a test deployment. During this test, lines connect to it and pull upward to negate Earth’s gravitational forces. Of course, Roman will not experience this in space. Then, the Solar Array Sun Shield panels deploy. There are four panels that move. They fold against the spacecraft to fit in the rocket fairing and deploy in space to make a large flat plane that collects light to generate electricity and helps keep the rest of Roman cool.

In preparation for additional testing, technicians put a clean tent over OSD and transport it out of the clean room. They push it into the acoustic test chamber where a six-foot-tall horn projects up to 150-decibel sound at varying frequencies. The other tests are on two vibration tables that shake Roman along all three axes: up/down, left/right & forward/backward. Engineers attach hundreds of sensors and run tests of increasing intensity. During and after each test, they carefully study the data to make sure that Roman is reacting as expected.

While these tests occur, Roman’s inside half, containing the mirrors, instruments & support equipment, move into Goddard’s largest thermal vacuum chamber, the Space Environment Simulator (SES). This 40-foot-tall chamber can simulate the vacuum of space & the wide temperature range that Roman will experience there: from -310° F (-190° C) to 302° F (150° C). The move to the chamber happens without a clean tent, so the entire path was cleaned, and all the workers dress in full clean-room garb to ensure that no dirt contaminates the sensitive parts of the spacecraft. Once the two layers of doors are sealed, Roman spends 72 days inside running through tests at various temperatures and with equipment turned on to ensure that it works at low temperature in a vacuum. A special array installed above the mirror projects light that engineers use to test the optics and sensors.

After leaving the SES chamber and returning to the SSDIF, Roman’s primary and secondary mirrors are carefully cleaned and inspected. It is a balance to get the mirrors as clean as possible while not cleaning too aggressively and damaging the delicate surfaces. The mirrors are cleaned horizontally with a gentle vacuum cleaner and vertically with brushes. After this cleaning, every inch is visually inspected and photographed to record the exact optical characteristics. This was the last time the primary mirror would be accessible.

Finally, in late November, Roman’s two halves are joined together to form the complete observatory. The process takes the better part of a day. Two guide poles are installed on the inside half to help direct OSD down onto it. At various times, the clearances between the two halves are only a few inches. With the observatory complete, it begins preparing for another round of deployments and testing.

On track to launch in fall 2026, the Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next flagship astrophysics mission. An infrared survey telescope with the same resolution as Hubble but at least 100 times the field of view, Roman is being built and tested at NASA Goddard. Partners worldwide are contributing to this effort.

0:00 - Roman in the Clean Room

0:14 - Deployment Tests

0:33 - Acoustic and Vibration Tests

1:05 - Thermal Vacuum Testing

1:40 - Mirror Cleaning

1:56 - Joining the Halves

The assembly of Roman:
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/building-roman/

The Roman telescope and the discoveries it will enable:
https://www.stsci.edu/roman

Dr. Nancy Grace Roman:
https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Videographers (eMITS): Sophia Roberts, Scott Wiessinger, Rob Andreoli, John Philyaw
Editor: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Science Writer: Ashley Balzer (eMITS)
Duration: 2 minutes, 29 seconds
Release Date: March 19, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #NASARoman #RomanSpaceTelescope #NancyGraceRoman #Exoplanets #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #NASAGoddard #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Owl Nebula: Planetary Nebula M97 in Ursa Major | Gemini North Telescope

The Owl Nebula: Planetary Nebula M97 in Ursa Major | Gemini North Telescope

Gemini North image of the planetary nebula Messier 97 (M97), also known as the Owl Nebula, imaged by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS). The approximately 6,000 year-old nebula is located about 2,600 light-years away, and has a diameter ofabout three light-years across. It is located in the constellation of Ursa Major (containing the Big Dipper).

Since their discovery in the late 1700s, astronomers have learned that planetary nebulae, or the expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a low-intermediate mass star late in its life, can come in all shapes and sizes. Most planetary nebulae present as circular, elliptical, or bi-polar, but others can vary from this.

Learn about the Gemini North Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/gemini-north/

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Émilie Storer (Collège Charlemagne, QUE)/André-Nicolas Chené (HIA/NRCof Canada)/T. Rector (U.Alaska, Anchorage).
Release Date: March 25, 2010

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #PlanetaryNebulae #Messier97 #M97 #UrsaMajorConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #InternationalGeminiObservatory #GeminiNorthTelescope #GMOS #Maunakea #Hawaii #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Dwarf Galaxy Ravaged by Grand Design: NGC 5474 in Ursa Major | Hubble

A Dwarf Galaxy Ravaged by Grand Design: NGC 5474 in Ursa Major | Hubble

The subject of this Hubble image is NGC 5474, a dwarf galaxy located 21 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear). This beautiful image was taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).

The term "dwarf galaxy" may sound diminutive, but do not let that fool you—NGC 5474 contains several billion stars! However, when compared to the Milky Way with its hundreds of billions of stars, NGC 5474 does seem relatively small.

NGC 5474 itself is part of the Messier 101 Group. The brightest galaxy within this group is the well-known spiral Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, heic0602). This galaxy's prominent, well-defined arms classify it as a "grand design galaxy", along with other spirals Messier 81 (heic0710) and Messier 74 (heic0719).

Also within this group are Messier 101's galactic neighbors. It is possible that gravitational interactions with these companion galaxies have influenced Messier 101's striking shape. Similar interactions with Messier 101 may have caused the distortions visible in NGC 5474.

The Messier 101 Group and our own Local Group reside within the Virgo Supercluster, making NGC 5474 a neighbor in galactic terms.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Release Date: June 16, 2014

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #DwarfGalaxies #NGC5474 #IrregularGalaxies #Messier101Group #UrsaMajorConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Thursday, March 19, 2026

NASA's Quesst Mission: A Future with Quiet Supersonic Flight

NASA's Quesst Mission: A Future with Quiet Supersonic Flight

NASA’s Quesst mission seeks to collect data that could make commercial supersonic flight over land possible, dramatically reducing travel time in the United States or anywhere in the world. The centerpiece of the Quesst mission is NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, designed to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing typical loud sonic booms to quieter sonic “thumps”.

Through the Quesst mission, NASA will fly the X-59 over several U.S. communities to gather data on human responses to the sound generated during supersonic flight and will deliver that data set to U.S. and international regulators. This will inform the establishment of new, data-driven noise thresholds, opening the door to a future with commercial supersonic flight over land.

The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.”

The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

For more information about the X-59 and NASA's Quesst mission, visit www.nasa.gov/quesst

Video Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: March 19, 2026

#NASA #Aerospace #SupersonicFlight #SupersonicAircraft #X59 #Sonicboom #QuietAviation #Aviation #QuesstMission #CommercialAviation #Science #Physics #Engineering #AerospaceResearch #AeronauticalResearch #FlightTests #LockheedMartin #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #Edwards #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Green Airglow—A High Pressure, Heat Dome over Colorado | Earth Science

Green Airglow—A High Pressure, Heat Dome over Colorado | Earth Science

A record-setting ridge of high pressure recently occured over the American west, creating a heat dome that meteorologists have called "otherworldly." It might be partly responsible for last night's display of green airglow over Colorado:

"I've heard that airglow loves high pressure," says Aaron Watson, who photographed the all-sky glow from the West Elk Mountains. "I was hoping to see the auroras, but was treated to this green glow instead."

Airglow is produced by photochemistry in Earth's upper atmosphere. For instance, there is a thin layer of air 95 km high where oxygen atoms (O) and oxygen molecules (O2) mix together. When O bumps into O2, the collision creates a spark of green light—airglow. Other reactions contribute, too.

High pressure can accelerate these reactions. Pressure gradients and powerful mountain winds associated with extreme ridging events drive intense atmospheric gravity waves into the mesosphere, boosting the intensity of airglow.

A heat dome occurs when a large area of high pressure in the atmosphere forms a ridge over a region and remains stationary for days or even weeks. This phenomenon acts like a lid, preventing heat from escaping and blocking cloud formation. This can result in persistently high temperatures and minimal relief from the heat.

Image Credit: Aaron Watson

Location: West Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA

Aaron's website: https://www.skies-alive.com/gallery
Date: March 19, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #Airglow #GreenAirglow #Photochemistry #Meteorology #Weather #HeatDome #HighAirPressure #Astrophotography #AaronWatson #Astrophotographers #WestElkMountains #Colorado #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Multiple Views: Capturing Explosion Data for Next-gen Rockets | NASA Stennis

Multiple Views: Capturing Explosion Data for Next-gen Rockets | NASA Stennis

NASA Stennis Space Center Update:
"During a controlled detonation last month at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, synchronized cameras captured the blast in striking detail. This testing brings together expertise in test operations, execution, logistics, and cryogenics in ways rarely combined outside of actual launch operations."

"Wait for the visible shockwave!💥👀"

"Flash. Fireball. Shockwave.💥"

This is how NASA is collecting explosion data for next generation rockets at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. NASA's Stennis Space Center has made many critical contributions to NASA's Moon exploration plans through the agency's Apollo and Artemis human spaceflight programs.

For example, the Saturn V S-IC-6 first stage that launched Apollo 11 was tested on NASA Stennis’ B-2 Test Stand on August 13, 1968. The S-II-6 second stage was tested on the A-2 Test Stand on October 3, 1968.

NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has also achieved key milestones in testing Space Launch System (SLS) rocket stages to fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

“NASA Stennis is at the front end of the critical path for future space exploration,” said Barry Robinson, project manager for exploration upper stage Green Run testing on the Thad Cochran Test Stand.

Learn more about NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi:
https://www.nasa.gov/stennis/

United States Eglin Air Force Base:
https://www.eglin.af.mil/

Video Credit: John C. Stennis Space Center

Duration: 22 seconds

Release Date: March 19, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ApolloProgram #NextGenerationRockets #RocketTesting #EngineTesting #HumanSpaceflight #NASAStennis #Mississippi #EglinAirForceBase #USAF #Florida #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

Capturing Explosion Data for Next-gen Rockets | NASA Stennis Space Center

Capturing Explosion Data for Next-gen Rockets | NASA Stennis Space Center

"Wait for the visible shockwave!💥👀"

Learn more about NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi:
https://www.nasa.gov/stennis/

United States Eglin Air Force Base:
https://www.eglin.af.mil/

Video Credit: John C. Stennis Space Center

Duration: 21 seconds

Release Date: March 19, 2026

Russian Cosmonaut views of The Andes, Chile & Bolivia | International Space Station

Russian Cosmonaut views of The Andes, Chile & Bolivia | International Space Station

This video was shared by Expedition 74 Station Commander and Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Russia aboard the International Space Station: "Flying over the Andes, Chile, and Bolivia. Working on the orbital station, you involuntarily become accustomed to the views of our planet. You see the same places dozens of times—continents, oceans, islands, mountain ranges. It becomes "just a view from the window." But sometimes you stop and, looking at Earth, think:

"Damn it, our planet is so amazing! And how extraordinary it is to soar above it, being able to travel between continents in a matter of minutes and see all this beauty!"

...and then you grab your documentation, your tools, and go back to work."

The Andes are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America.

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

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.

Video Credit: Roscosmos/SK Sverchkov
Duration: 2 minute, 22 seconds
Release Date: March 19, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Planets #Earth #Andes #Chile #Bolivia #SouthAmerica #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #CosmonautVideography #SergeyKudSverchkov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Science in Space: 25 Years Supporting the International Space Station | NASA

Science in Space: 25 Years Supporting the International Space Station | NASA

On March 19, 2026, the Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center marked twenty-five years of 24/7 support for science on the International Space Station. This partnership between the ground and the crew has resulted in over 4,000 different scientific investigations and breakthroughs in a variety of fields.

In this video, hear from the Expedition 74 crew members aboard the International Space Station about the work the POIC team has done over the last 25 years and what that support means for all of us here on Earth.

Learn more about the science aboard the orbiting laboratory at https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-research-and-technology/

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

Video Credit: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: March 19, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #UnitedStates #ESA #France #Europe #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #NASAMarshall #MSFC #POIC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA’s X-59: Quiet Supersonic Engine Testing | Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA’s X-59: Quiet Supersonic Engine Testing | Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft completed a series of engine run tests on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. These tests mark one of the final ground preparations before the aircraft’s second flight.

Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

For more information about the X-59 and NASA's Quesst mission, visit www.nasa.gov/quesst

Image Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Jim Ross
Date: March 12, 2026

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Fishing Boats Off Thailand Coast | International Space Station

Fishing Boats Off Thailand Coast | International Space Station

Expedition 71/72 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "Fishing boats off the coast of Thailand appear as thick green streaks of light in orbital long exposure photography! These lights are lures, and distinct from golden city lights seen on land."

NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth on April 19, 2025, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station. Pettit spent 220 days in space, earning him a total of 590 days in space over the course of his four spaceflights. He orbited the Earth 3,520 times, traveling 93.3 million miles in low-Earth orbit.

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/D. Pettit
Release Date: March 17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Earth #ISS #Thailand #GulfThailand #FishingBoats #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #LongExposurePhotography #UnitedStates #ESA #France #Europe #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education

SpaceX Super Heavy V3 Testing Update | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Super Heavy V3 Testing Update | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Update: "Initial Super Heavy V3 and Starbase Pad 2 activation campaign complete, wrapping up several days of testing that loaded cryogenic fuel and oxidizer on a V3 vehicle for the first time. While the 10-engine static fire ended early due to a ground-side issue, we saw successful startup on all installed Raptor 3 engines. Next up: preparing the booster for a 33-engine static fire."

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: "I am highly confident that the [Starship] V3 design will achieve full reusability."

As of October 13, 2025, the SpaceX Starship has been "launched 11 times with 6 successes and 5 failures." SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. It aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions.

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Date: March 18, 2026

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #StarshipV3 #StarshipV3SN1 #StarshipFlight12 #ReusableSpacecraft #SuperHeavy #SuperHeavyV3 #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

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