Month: January 2024

We’ve been ‘close’ to achieving fusion power for 50 years. When will it actually happen?

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Nuclear fusion power was supposed to be a dream come true. As soon as we discovered that you could smash little atoms together to make bigger atoms and release a small amount of energy in the process, scientists around the world realized the implications of this new bit of physics knowledge. Some wanted to turn it into weapons, but others wanted to develop it into a clean, efficient, inexhaustible supply of electrical energy. But it turns out that fusion power is … hard. Really hard. Really complicated. Full of unexpected…

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NASA’s Lunar Retroreflector Network could make landing on the moon much easier

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In the future, rocketing in making precision landings on the moon’s craggy, rocky and crater-pocked face won’t be as hard. At least that’s the goal of NASA’s Lunar Retroreflector Array (LRA) program, an initiative that is interfacing with U.S. and foreign lunar lander initiatives. LRA consists of a dome-shaped device, topped by small glass prism retroreflectors. That contrivance is then mounted to a moon lander and delivered to the lunar surface. The LRA can bounce laser light from other orbiting and incoming spacecraft, functioning as a permanent location marker on…

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Deputy Program Manager Dr. Camille Alleyne

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“I started the Brightest Stars Foundation 16 years ago because I realized there were no little ones in the pipeline who looked like me coming up. Because I had accomplished so much, it was important for me to pay it forward. I’ve mentored scores and scores of young people – early career professionals in high school, in college, and from all over the world – so they could be inspired and empowered by my career and my journey. “It’s about hard work. It’s about determination. It’s about focus. It’s about tenacity. And most…

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NASA to Join Astrobotic’s Media Call on Peregrine Mission One Status

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NASA NASA will join an Astrobotic media teleconference at 12 p.m. EST, Thursday, Jan. 18, to discuss updates on their Peregrine Mission One, which is carrying science for the agency as part of its Commercial Lunar Provider Services (CLPS) initiative. The audio-only teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website. Following a successful launch on Jan. 8, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander experienced a propulsion issue after the spacecraft entered its operational state. This is preventing Astrobotic from achieving a soft landing on the Moon. Aboard the Peregrine spacecraft are five NASA…

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NASA unveils the revolutionary X-59 Quesst ‘quiet’ supersonic jet 9 (photos, video)

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The X-59 is finally here. As NASA’s newest X-plane, the X-59 is designed to break the sound barrier without the thunderous sonic booms that typically occur when aircraft go supersonic. Instead, the Quesst will make a much quieter “thump,” similar to the sound of a car door slamming as heard from indoors. If successful, the jet has the potential to revolutionize supersonic flight and aviation in general. After years of development, NASA and Lockheed Martin showed off the finished X-59 Quesst (“Quiet SuperSonic Technology”) today (Jan. 12) in front of…

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Surprise gamma-ray discovery could shed light on cosmic mystery

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Astronomers have discovered an unexpected and unexplained feature outside our Milky Way galaxy that’s radiating high-energy light called gamma rays. The team behind the discovery, including NASA and University of Maryland cosmologist Alexander Kashlinsky, found the gamma-ray signal while searching through 13 years of data from NASA’s Fermi Telescope.  “It is a completely serendipitous discovery,” Kashlinsky said in a statement. “We found a much stronger signal, and in a different part of the sky, than the one we were looking for.” What makes this gamma-ray signal even stranger is the…

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NASA Selects 12 Companies for Space Station Services Contract

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NASA NASA has selected 12 companies to provide research, engineering, and mission integration services for the International Space Station Program. The $478 million Research, Engineering & Mission Integration Services-2 or REMIS-2 contract will support the work of the International Space Station Program based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The companies will provide spaceflight, ground hardware and software, sustaining engineering functions and services, payload facility integration, and research mission integration operations services. Each company will receive a multiple-award, indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed price and cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders. The seven-year…

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NASA, Lockheed Martin Reveal X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft

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NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the apron outside Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility at dawn in Palmdale, California. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to address one of the primary challenges to supersonic flight over land by making sonic booms quieter. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft Friday. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental airplane, NASA aims to gather data that could revolutionize air travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial…

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OSBP in the Community

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) January 15th, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday designated as the National Day of Service.  For the month of January, we will be celebrating OSBP in the Community!  Join us as we spotlight how our advocacy extends beyond our commitment to small businesses. Truphelia M. Parker- Program Specialist, NASA Headquarters What organization do you volunteer with? Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Minority Student Academic Achievement Committee (MSAAC) Why did you choose to volunteer with this organization?…

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NASA’s Wallops C-130 Plays Vital Role in Successful Parachute Airdrop Test

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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s C-130 cargo aircraft releases a dart-shaped test vehicle above the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground on Jan. 9 to begin the testing sequence for a Boeing Starliner parachute system. Credit: U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground NASA’s C-130 Hercules, managed at Wallops Flight Facility’s Aircraft Office in Virginia, provided aerial delivery support for a successful commercial crew parachute airdrop test Jan. 9 at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. This week’s testing was in support of NASA’s Commercial…

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