Close-up: Swirling Spiral Galaxy NGC 3285B in Hydra | Hubble

Close-up: Swirling Spiral Galaxy NGC 3285B in Hydra | Hubble

The swirling spiral galaxy in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture is NGC 3285B. It resides 137 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra (The Water Snake). Hydra has the largest area of the 88 constellations that cover the entire sky in a celestial patchwork. It is also the longest constellation, stretching 100 degrees across the sky. It would take nearly 200 full Moons, placed side by side, to reach from one side of the constellation to the other.

NGC 3285B is a member of the Hydra I cluster, one of the largest galaxy clusters in the nearby Universe. Galaxy clusters are collections of hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound to one another by gravity. The Hydra I cluster is anchored by two giant elliptical galaxies at its center. Each of these galaxies is about 150,000 light-years across, making them about 50% larger than our home galaxy, the Milky Way.

NGC 3285B sits on the outskirts of its home cluster, far from the massive galaxies at the center. This galaxy drew Hubble’s attention because it hosted a Type Ia supernova in 2023. Type Ia supernovae happen when a type of condensed stellar core called a white dwarf detonates, igniting a sudden burst of nuclear fusion that briefly shines about 5 billion times brighter than the Sun. The supernova, named SN 2023xqm, is visible here as a blue-ish dot on the left edge of the galaxy’s disc.

Hubble observed NGC 3285B as part of an observing program that targeted 100 Type Ia supernovae. By viewing each of these supernovae in ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared light, researchers aim to disentangle the effects of distance and dust that can make a supernova appear redder than it actually is. This program will help refine cosmic distance measurements that rely on observations of Type Ia supernovae.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy with a disc made up of several swirling arms. Patchy blue clouds of gas are speckled over the disc, where stars are forming and lighting up the gas around them. The core of the galaxy is large and shines brightly gold, while the spiral arms are a paler and faint reddish color. Neighboring galaxies—from small, elongated spots to larger swirling spirals—can be seen across the black background.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz), N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: July 21, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3285B #HydraICluster #Supernovae #SN2023xqm #TypeIaSupernovae #Hydra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Roscosmos (Russian) Officials Meet Crew-11 | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Roscosmos (Russian) Officials Meet Crew-11 | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

🚀Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov and former cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev (veteran of six space flights and over 800 days in space) met with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and other members of Crew-11 ahead of their launch scheduled no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. launch scheduled no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Crew-11 mission will be Platonov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, Platonov earned a degree in Engineering from Krasnodar Air Force Academy in Aircraft Operations and Air Traffic Management. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in State and Municipal Management in 2016 from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia. Assigned as a test cosmonaut in 2021, he has experience in piloting aircraft, zero gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.

Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, both NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos (Russia) will ride inside the Dragon spacecraft atop Falcon 9 for an automated, day-and-a-half long trip to the orbital outpost’s space-facing port on the Harmony module. Once there, the four Crew-11 members will join Expedition 73 beginning a seven-month research mission in low Earth orbit.

Meanwhile, the seven-member Expedition 73 crew is gearing up to welcome four new crewmates at the end of the week. Shortly after that, another quartet that has been living and working aboard the International Space Station since March will return to Earth.

Following the new crew’s arrival, four Expedition 73 crew members representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission will begin handing over their science and maintenance responsibilities in preparation for their departure about a week later.

Video Credits: NASA/KSC, Roscosmos

Duration: 2 minutes
Date: July 30, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceX #NASASpaceXCrew11 #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #SpaceXFalcon9Rocket #Astronauts #MikeFincke #ZenaCardman #JAXA #KimiyaYui #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonaut #OlegPlatonov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 & Rocket are "GO" for Launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 & Rocket are "GO" for Launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Crew-11 Commander, and Mike Fincke, Crew-11 Pilot, pose for a photo with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew-11 Dragon spacecraft at Launch Pad 39A in Florida

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew-11 Pilot, poses for a photo at Launch Pad 39A in Florida

Crew-11 Mission Specialist and astronaut Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) at Launch Pad 39A in Florida

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew-11 Dragon spacecraft at Launch Pad 39A in Florida

Crew-11 Emblem

NASA and SpaceX teams completed the final major review—the Launch Readiness Review—for the agency’s Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station with mission leaders polling “go” to proceed into the launch count. The four crew members of Crew-11 are scheduled to liftoff no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, both NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos (Russia) will ride inside the Dragon spacecraft atop Falcon 9 for an automated, day-and-a-half long trip to the orbital outpost’s space-facing port on the Harmony module. Once there, the four Crew-11 members will join Expedition 73 beginning a seven-month research mission in low Earth orbit.

Meanwhile, the seven-member Expedition 73 crew is gearing up to welcome four new crewmates at the end of the week. Shortly after that, another quartet that has been living and working aboard the International Space Station since March will return to Earth.

Following the new crew’s arrival, four Expedition 73 crew members representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission will begin handing over their science and maintenance responsibilities in preparation for their departure about a week later.

Image Credits: SpaceX, NASA, Kimiya Yui/JAXA
Dates: July 29-30, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceX #NASASpaceXCrew11 #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #SpaceXFalcon9Rocket #Astronauts #MikeFincke #ZenaCardman #JAXA #KimiyaYui #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonaut #OlegPlatonov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10: Preparing for Departure | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10: Preparing for Departure | International Space Station

From left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia, mission specialist; NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, pilot and Anne McClain, Crew-10 Commander; plus Expedition 73 Commander and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut/mission specialist Takuya Onishi

From left, Expedition 73 Commander and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut/mission specialist Takuya Onishi; NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers, pilot and Anne McClain, Crew-10 Commander; Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, mission specialist

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Anne McClain: "Hard to believe we are a week from our scheduled return, but we are! Crew-10 is scheduled to undock NET 1800 GMT on August 6, splashing down 6.5 hours later off the coast of California. We are busy in preparations for Crew-11 arrival and our departure. Yesterday, we checked out our suits and comm systems to make sure we do not have any surprises next week. Good checks all around, and it was fun to be back with the crew in Dragon."

Follow Expedition 73:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: JAXA Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center

Release Date: July 30, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Crew10 #Astronauts #NicholeAyers #AnneMcClain #JonnyKim #UnitedStates #TakuyaOnishi #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #KirillPeskov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Liftoff: NISAR India-US Earth Science Satellite | ISRO/NASA/JPL

Liftoff: NISAR India-US Earth Science Satellite | ISRO/NASA/JPL

🚀The NISAR Earth science satellite lifted off successfully aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) F16 rocket at 8:10 a.m. EDT (5:10 p.m. IST), Wednesday, July 30, 2025 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The ISRO ground controllers began communicating with NISAR about 20 minutes after launch, at just after 8:29 a.m. EDT and confirmed it is operating as expected.

🌍This new Earth science satellite will soon provide insights into natural hazards, ecosystems, agriculture, and other fields of study that affect communities around the globe. The NISAR mission is a collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It will use radar to track Earth’s changing surface in fine detail.

Short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), NISAR features an advanced radar system with two instrumentsone from ISRO and one built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Using radar enables NISAR to map Earth’s land and ice surfaces day or night, regardless of whether skies are cloudy or clear. 

🛰️ NISAR will scan the entire globe every 12 days, providing high-resolution, all-weather, day-and-night data. It can detect even subtle changes in Earth’s surface—like ground deformation, ice sheet shifts, and vegetation dynamics.

The mission will support many critical applications including sea ice monitoring, ship detection, storm tracking, soil moisture changes, surface water mapping, and disaster response.

🤝 This represents a milestone in over a decade of collaboration between ISRO & NASA/JPL.

Follow https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/nisar for the latest updates.

For more information on the NISAR mission, visit: 
https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/

https://nasa.gov/nisa

NISAR is the first-ever collaboration between NASA and ISRO on an Earth-observing mission. JPL, managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of the project and is providing the mission’s L-band SAR. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ISRO

Duration: 41 seconds
Image Date: July 30, 2025

#NASA #ISRO #Space #Planet #Earth #Science #NISAR #Satellite #EarthSatellite #EarthScience #Spacecraft #SyntheticApertureRadar #SAR #EarthObservation #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #SpaceTechnology #SDSC #Sriharikota #GSLVF16Rocket #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NISAR India-US Earth Science Satellite Rocket Liftoff | ISRO/NASA/JPL

NISAR India-US Earth Science Satellite Rocket Liftoff | ISRO/NASA/JPL

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) F16 Rocket—NISAR liftoff

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Mission Control Center in Pasadena, California, during NISAR launch

Eating “lucky peanuts” before launches and other major mission events is a longstanding tradition at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

India-US Space Cooperation: NISAR—Earth Science Satellite

🚀The NISAR Earth science satellite lifted off aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) F16 rocket at 8:10 a.m. EDT (5:10 p.m. IST), Wednesday, July 30, 2025 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The ISRO ground controllers began communicating with NISAR about 20 minutes after launch, at just after 8:29 a.m. EDT and confirmed it is operating as expected.

🌍This new Earth science satellite will soon provide insights into natural hazards, ecosystems, agriculture, and other fields of study that affect communities around the globe. The NISAR mission is a collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It will use radar to track Earth’s changing surface in fine detail.

Short for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), NISAR features an advanced radar system with two instrumentsone from ISRO and one built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Using radar enables NISAR to map Earth’s land and ice surfaces day or night, regardless of whether skies are cloudy or clear. 

🛰️ NISAR will scan the entire globe every 12 days, providing high-resolution, all-weather, day-and-night data. It can detect even subtle changes in Earth’s surface—like ground deformation, ice sheet shifts, and vegetation dynamics.

The mission will support many critical applications including sea ice monitoring, ship detection, storm tracking, soil moisture changes, surface water mapping, and disaster response.

🤝 This represents a milestone in over a decade of collaboration between ISRO & NASA/JPL.

Follow https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/nisar for the latest updates.

For more information on the NISAR mission, visit: 
https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/

https://nasa.gov/nisa

NISAR is the first-ever collaboration between NASA and ISRO on an Earth-observing mission. JPL, managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of the project and is providing the mission’s L-band SAR. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ISRO
Image Date: July 30, 2025

#NASA #ISRO #Space #Planet #Earth #Science #NISAR #Satellite #EarthSatellite #EarthScience #Spacecraft #SyntheticApertureRadar #SAR #EarthObservation #Land #Ice #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #SDSC #Sriharikota #GSLVF16Rocket #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula NGC 6072: NIRCam & MIRI infrared images | Webb Telescope

Planetary Nebula NGC 6072: NIRCam & MIRI infrared images | Webb Telescope

Webb’s newest look at planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near- and mid-infrared shows what may appear as a very messy scene resembling splattered paint. However, the unusual, asymmetrical scene hints at more complicated mechanisms underway, as the star central to the scene approaches the very final stages of its life and expels shells of material, losing up to 80 percent of its mass.

Credit:

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: July 30, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAWebb #Nebulae #PlanetaryNebulae #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6072 #Scorpius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: Planetary Nebula NGC 6072 in Scorpius | James Webb Space Telescope

Close-up: Planetary Nebula NGC 6072 in Scorpius | James Webb Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s view of planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near-infrared shows a complex scene of multiple outflows expanding out at a variety of angles from a dying star at the center of the scene. These outflows push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc.

Astronomers suspect there is at least one other star interacting with the material cast off by the central dying star, creating the abnormal appearance of this planetary nebula.

In this image, the red areas represent cool molecular gas, for example, molecular hydrogen.

Image Description: "Colorful mostly red image of near-infrared light from a glowing cloud with a distorted, asymmetrical shape, illuminated from within by a bright central star. The asymmetrical shape resembles paint splattered on the ground. In the center of this image, a light blue glow casts over areas of dark pockets that appear dark blue and are traced with orange material. It has a clumpy appearance. The shells become a deeper red with distance from the center. The shells appear as lobes that push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc. The background of the image is black and speckled with tiny bright stars and distant galaxies."

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: July 30, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAWebb #Nebulae #PlanetaryNebulae #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6072 #Scorpius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planetary Nebula NGC 6072 in Scorpius | James Webb Space Telescope

Planetary Nebula NGC 6072 in Scorpius | James Webb Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s view of planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near-infrared shows a complex scene of multiple outflows expanding out at a variety of angles from a dying star at the center of the scene. These outflows push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc.

Astronomers suspect there is at least one other star interacting with the material cast off by the central dying star, creating the abnormal appearance of this planetary nebula.

In this image, the red areas represent cool molecular gas, for example, molecular hydrogen.

Image Description: "Colorful mostly red image of near-infrared light from a glowing cloud with a distorted, asymmetrical shape, illuminated from within by a bright central star. The asymmetrical shape resembles paint splattered on the ground. In the center of this image, a light blue glow casts over areas of dark pockets that appear dark blue and are traced with orange material. It has a clumpy appearance. The shells become a deeper red with distance from the center. The shells appear as lobes that push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc. The background of the image is black and speckled with tiny bright stars and distant galaxies."

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Release Date: July 30, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAWebb #Nebulae #PlanetaryNebulae #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6072 #Scorpius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Close-up: Galaxy NGC 1309—A Supernova-rich Spiral in Eridanus | Hubble

Close-up: Galaxy NGC 1309—A Supernova-rich Spiral in Eridanus | Hubble

Rich with detail, the spiral galaxy NGC 1309 shines in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture. NGC 1309 is situated about 100 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. Hubble shows NGC 1309’s bluish stars, dark brown gas clouds, and pearly white center, as well as hundreds of distant background galaxies. Nearly every smudge, streak and blob of light in this image is an individual galaxy. The only exception to the extragalactic ensemble is a star that can be identified near the top of the frame by its diffraction spikes. It is positively neighborly, just a few thousand light-years away in the Milky Way galaxy.

Hubble has turned its attention toward NGC 1309 several times; previous Hubble images of this galaxy were released in 2006 and 2014. Much of NGC 1309’s scientific interest derives from two supernovae, SN 2002fk in 2002 and SN 2012Z in 2012. SN 2002fk was a perfect example of a Type Ia supernova when the core of a dead star (a white dwarf) explodes.

SN 2012Z, on the other hand, was a bit of a renegade. It was classified as a Type Iax supernova. While its spectrum resembled that of a Type Ia supernova, the explosion was not as bright as expected. Hubble observations showed that in this case, the supernova did not destroy the white dwarf completely, leaving behind a ‘zombie star’ that shone even brighter than it did before the explosion. Hubble observations of NGC 1309 taken across several years also made this the first time the white dwarf progenitor of a supernova has been identified in images taken before the explosion.

Image Description: A top-down view of a spiral galaxy, showing its brightly shining center, its broad spiral arms and the faint halo around its disc, as well as distant galaxies and stars on a dark background. Large blue clouds of gas speckled with small stars and strands of dark dust swirl around the galaxy’s disc. A couple of the background galaxies are large enough that their own swirling spiral arms can be seen.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. Galbany, S. Jha, K. Noll, A. Riess, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: July 28, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC1309 #SpiralGalaxies #Supernovae #Eridanus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Earth Aurora to Starlight | International Space Station

Earth Aurora to Starlight | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers: "As I went to close the cupola shutters Tuesday night, the robotic arm backlit by an aurora caught my eye! Our robotics team on the ground was busy at work while we headed to bed."

Notice the 17-meter (55+ foot) long Canadian Space Agency Canadarm2 robotic arm visible here.

Learn about Canadian space robotics:

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/robotics/default.asp

Follow Expedition 73:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: JAXA Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 8 seconds
Release Date: July 24, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Sun #Planet #Earth #Aurora #Canadarm2 #Robotics #Astronauts #NicholeAyers #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New SpaceX Starship Moved to Launchpad: Pre-10th Test Flight | Starbase Texas

New SpaceX Starship Moved to Launchpad: Pre-10th Test Flight | Starbase Texas

A new Starship (a replacement spacecraft) was moved to the launch pad for testing at Starbase Texas on July 28th, 2025 with a flight expected in August.

SpaceX Update: On Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced an anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase.

After completing a single-engine static fire earlier this week, the vehicle was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant for a six-engine static fire when a sudden energetic event resulted in the complete loss of Starship and damage to the immediate area surrounding the stand. The explosion ignited several fires at the test site which remains clear of personnel and will be assessed once it has been determined to be safe to approach. Individuals should not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.

As is the case before any test, a safety zone was established around the test site and was maintained throughout the operation. There are no reported injuries, and all personnel are safe and accounted for.

There are no hazards to the surrounding communities in the Rio Grande Valley. Previous independent tests conducted on materials inside Starship, including toxicity analyses, confirm they pose no chemical, biological, or toxicological risks. SpaceX is coordinating with local, state, and federal agencies, as appropriate, on matters concerning environmental and safety impacts.

Engineering teams are actively investigating the incident and will follow established procedures to determine root cause. Initial analysis indicates the potential failure of a pressurized tank known as a COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, containing gaseous nitrogen in Starship’s nosecone area, but the full data review is ongoing. There is no commonality between the COPVs used on Starship and SpaceX’s Falcon rockets.

The SpaceX team would like to thank officials and residents in the surrounding Rio Grande Valley communities for their support, particularly first responders who have assisted since shortly after the anomaly took place.

Read SpaceX's Ninth Test Flight Report: 

https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-9

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"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

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Image Date: July 28, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship10 #StarshipTestFlight10 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Chinese Astronauts Set World Record for Longest Spacewalk | Shenzhou-19 Mission

Chinese Astronauts Set World Record for Longest Spacewalk | Shenzhou-19 Mission

China's Shenzhou-19 crew has revealed they successfully handled a lock failure during what became a record-breaking nine-hour spacewalk last December, the longest single extravehicular activity (EVA) in history.

The mission's post-landing disclosures highlight China's growing capabilities in orbital troubleshooting.

Astronaut Cai Xuzhe, now China's most experienced spacewalker with five EVAs, described how the crew responded to a payload adapter partially jammed during previous equipment installation.

"The payload was deployed through the cargo airlock. The external adapter normally has two locking mechanisms. But while one lock disengaged automatically via the robotic arm as designed, the secondary lock failed to release. This partial failure left half of the mechanism still attached to the station wall. We had to improvise a tool to manually disengage the remaining lock," Cai said.

The critical repair occurred during the mission's first spacewalk on Dec. 17, 2024. After completing primary tasks including space debris shield installations, Cai, assisted by crewmate Song Lingdong, used the station's robotic arm to reach the malfunction site.

The operation faced intense time pressure as it needed to be completed during limited sunlight periods, with only about 40 minutes remaining in the final suitable window. Both astronauts had already spent over seven hours working in China's next-generation Feitian spacesuits at this point.

When asked about operating at the suits' endurance limits, Cai expressed confidence in the systems, detailing how they continuously monitored oxygen levels throughout the extended EVA.

"Our oxygen supply was well within safety margins. The suit carries two tanks, primary and backup. Even if the primary tank were fully depleted, the backup would sustain us. Activating the backup would require aborting the EVA, but we never even approached that threshold. We maintained complete operational awareness throughout," Cai said.

The successful troubleshooting demonstrated the spacesuits' reliability and China's autonomous problem-solving capabilities in space. Mission controllers emphasized that the nine-hour EVA not only set a new Chinese record but surpassed all previous international single-spacewalk durations.

"This achievement demonstrates three key points: First, the absolute reliability of our spacesuits. Second, our operational capacity to sustain nine hours of continuous extravehicular work. Third, it showcases the maturity and self-assurance of China's crewed spaceflight technology," Cai said.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)

Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)

Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minutes, 47 seconds
Release Date: July 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Shenzhou19Mission #Shenzhou19Crew #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CaiXuzhe #SongLingdong #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #EVA #Spacewalk #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11: Rocket & Crew Set for Launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11: Rocket & Crew Set for Launch | Kennedy Space Center

From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke & Zena Cardman, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui

NASA astronaut Commander Zena Cardman is photographed inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew-11 Dragon spacecraft at Launch Pad 39A in Florida

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rollout

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rollout

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rollout

Crew-11 Emblem

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has rolled out to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center and is counting down to its launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission at 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, both NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos (Russia) will ride inside the Dragon spacecraft atop Falcon 9 for an automated, day-and-a-half long trip to the orbital outpost’s space-facing port on the Harmony module. Once there, the four Crew-11 members will join Expedition 73 beginning a seven-month research mission in low Earth orbit.

Meanwhile, the seven-member Expedition 73 crew is gearing up to welcome four new crewmates at the end of the week. Shortly after that, another quartet that has been living and working aboard the International Space Station since March will return to Earth.

Following the new crew’s arrival, four Expedition 73 crew members representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission will begin handing over their science and maintenance responsibilities in preparation for their departure about a week later.

Image Credit: SpaceX, NASA/Kim Shiflett
Dates: July 27-28, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceX #NASASpaceXCrew11 #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #SpaceXFalcon9Rocket #Astronauts #MikeFincke #ZenaCardman #JAXA #KimiyaYui #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonaut #OlegPlatonov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11: Prelaunch Dress Rehearsal | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11: Prelaunch Dress Rehearsal | Kennedy Space Center

From right to left, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 crew members Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, along with NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia pose for a photo inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

From right to left, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 crew members Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, along with NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia pose for a photo inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

From right to left, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, pose next to their mission patch logo inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 crew members walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a countdown dress rehearsal on Monday, July 28, 2025. From top left to right, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman signs her name next to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission logo inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke signs his name next to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission logo inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov signs his name next to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission logo inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui signs his name next to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission logo inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has rolled out to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center and is counting down to its launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission at 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, both NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos (Russia) will ride inside the Dragon spacecraft atop Falcon 9 for an automated, day-and-a-half long trip to the orbital outpost’s space-facing port on the Harmony module. Once there, the four Crew-11 members will join Expedition 73 beginning a seven-month research mission in low Earth orbit.

Meanwhile, the seven-member Expedition 73 crew is gearing up to welcome four new crewmates at the end of the week. Shortly after that, another quartet that has been living and working aboard the International Space Station since March will return to Earth.

Following the new crew’s arrival, four Expedition 73 crew members representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission will begin handing over their science and maintenance responsibilities in preparation for their departure about a week later.

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Date: July 28, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceX #NASASpaceXCrew11 #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #SpaceXFalcon9Rocket #Astronauts #MikeFincke #ZenaCardman #JAXA #KimiyaYui #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Cosmonaut #OlegPlatonov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Cosmic & Earth Orbital Colors | International Space Station

Cosmic & Earth Orbital Colors | International Space Station

"Auroras above Andromeda Galaxy"

"The city lights of Southeast Asia beneath the Milky Way. 

Vibrant colors of LED cities, orange atmospheric airglow, and fishing fleets are blurred by my sidereal drive, while tracking stars as fixed points in space."

"From orbit, star trails streak the lights of cities at night and stamp lightning flashes into the time history, pulling spectacular colors from the darkness of space."

"SpaceX Dragon flies between the stars of deep space, and a sea of clouds lit by the red upper atmospheric airglow. This is a 20 second exposure taken with my orbital sidereal drive that tracks the stars thus allowing long exposures."

"Color of Earth meets the blackness of deep space. Stars above green and red auroras, seen as fixed points due to my homemade orbital sidereal drive."

"Dragon flying among the stars"

"Cosmic colors at sunrise; never get tired of seeing what the new day brings."

"The Milky Way from the vantage of the ISS, with stars as points, rising sun, and cities as yellow streaks below."

This is a collection of photographic highlights from Earth orbit captured by experienced NASA astronaut and former Expedition 71/72 flight engineer, Don Pettit.

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 73:

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/D. Pettit
Release Dates: Feb. 26-July 28, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #MilkyWayGalaxy #Stars #Galaxies #Earth #Aurora #Airglow #SpaceXDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos#HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #Expedition72 #STEM #Education