Month: March 2024

La NASA abre plazo de solicitudes para ser astronauta

NeRD

La nueva promoción de astronautas de la NASA, seleccionada en 2021, se graduó en una ceremonia que tuvo lugar el 5 de marzo de 2024 en el Centro Espacial Johnson de la agencia en Houston. Créditos: NASA Read this release in English here. La NASA dio la bienvenida a su nueva cohorte de astronautas de la generación Artemis durante una ceremonia celebrada el martes en el Centro Espacial Johnson de la agencia en Houston. Los 10 astronautas graduados ya son elegibles para misiones de vuelo. La agencia también anunció la apertura…

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SpaceX rocket launches pioneering methane-tracking satellite to orbit

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A new satellite that will track climate-heating methane emissions from oil and gas companies around the world launched this week from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.  The washing-machine-sized satellite, named MethaneSAT, lifted off Monday (March 4) atop a Falcon 9 rocket, one of 53 payloads on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission. MethaneSAT is designed to ultimately help policymakers independently verify industry reports by pinpointing hotspots of methane, the invisible but potent greenhouse gas, which traps much more heat in Earth’s atmosphere per molecule than carbon dioxide. MethaneSAT, the first satellite by…

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NASA graduates new astronaut class as it begins recruiting for more

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“The Flies” are ready to fly, so NASA is again in need of some new flyboys (and gals). On the same day that the space agency welcomed its latest class of astronauts, nicknamed “The Flies,” into its corps, NASA announced it is again accepting applications for its next group of candidates for flights to the International Space Station, the moon and, eventually, missions to Mars. “The breadth and depth of experience that this class brings to our space program is nothing short of amazing,” Shannon Walker, deputy chief of NASA’s…

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10 Ways Students Can Prepare to #BeAnAstronaut

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10 Ways Students Can Prepare to #BeAnAstronaut Want to #BeAnAstronaut, but don’t know where to start? Here are some ways you can kick-start your journey! Even if you don’t qualify to #BeAnAstronaut — yet — within NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, or OSTEM, there are ways to get involved with NASA’s missions. Check out the top 10 ways to #BeAnAstronaut: 1. Apply for NASA internships.  Becoming an intern is the perfect way to get your start with NASA. Several astronauts started out as interns! Astronaut Jessica Watkins was selected as…

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‘Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection’ blasts its way into our galaxy on March 14

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Don’t kid yourselves, LucasArts’ “Star Wars: Battlefront” and “Star Wars Battlefront II” are some of the most beloved “Star Wars” video games of the last two decades, with plenty of enjoyable space opera action for your hard-earned dollars and now they’re charging back for a 20th anniversary salute beginning on Mar. 14, 2024. As recently reported by StarWars.com, Nintendo Direct, Aspyr and Lucasfilm Games have just revealed details regarding their upcoming “Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection,” which presents classic sci-fi shooters “Star Wars Battlefront” (2004) and “Star Wars Battlefront II”…

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NASA Joins Rice University for 2024 Space Studies Program

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March 4, 2024 RELEASE: J24-006 Students from around the world will visit NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this summer for a variety of activities associated with the 36th annual Space Studies Program of the International Space University. Through a continuing partnership with Houston’s Rice University, NASA Johnson will welcome students from many countries participating in tours, lectures and hands-on activities with aerospace experts from June 8 to Aug. 3, 2024. “Johnson Space Center is looking forward to partnering with Rice as it hosts the International Space University’s Space Studies…

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SpaceX to launch 23 Starlink satellites tonight during 3rd launch in under 24 hours

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SpaceX is keeping its rapid launch cadence going. The company plans to launch yet another batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites at 6:56 p.m. ET (2356 GMT) on Monday (March 4) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Some eight minutes after liftoff, the flight’s booster will return to the planet, landing on SpaceX’s droneship dubbed “A Shortfall of Gravitas.” The ship will be waiting offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. If the mission lifts off on time, and if SpaceX launches the Transporter-10…

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SpaceX fuels up massive Starship megarocket in test for 3rd launch (photos)

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SpaceX’s next Starship to fly has passed a critical fueling test, setting the stage for a highly anticipated third launch attempt of the world’s biggest rocket.  The gleaming, stainless-steel Starship rocket and its Super Heavy booster, which together stand 400 feet tall (122 meters), were filled with more than 10 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen propellant during the recent launch dress rehearsal, which was performed at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in southern Texas.  “Starship Flight 3 preparing for launch,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote…

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NASA Awards Contracts for Flight, Payload Integration Services

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NASA has selected 15 companies to provide flight and payload integration services to advance technologies and procedures for operating in space, including testing in high-altitude, reduced gravity, or other relevant environments. Examples of payloads include NASA science instruments or technology demonstrations. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity base contract awards are firm-fixed-price with a total combined value of $45 million and a performance period of five years. The flights and other services covered by these contracts are for use by NASA and other government agencies. The types of platforms that will be used for…

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65 Years Ago: Pioneer 4 Reaches for the Moon

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On March 3, 1959, the United States launched Pioneer 4 with the goal of photographing the Moon during a close flyby. As part of the International Geophysical Year that ran from July 1, 1957, to Dec. 31, 1958, the United States planned to send five probes to study the Moon. The first three planned to orbit the Moon, while the last two simpler probes planned to photograph it during flybys. After NASA opened for business in October 1958, the new space agency inherited the Pioneer program from the Advanced Research…

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