The incredible power SpaceX’s Starship megarocket can be visualized in a new video of the rocket’s third test flight. On March 14, SpaceX’s massive Starship vehicle — the world’s largest and most powerful rocket — lifted off from the company’s manufacturing and test launch facilities near Boca Chica Beach at 9:25 a.m. EDT (1325 GMT). During the launch, shock waves propagate from the rocket in a stunning new slow motion video. Large clouds of smoke billowed out around the two-stage spacecraft, consisting of the reusable Starship cruise vessel mounted atop…
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NASA Conducts Full-Duration Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Test
NASA continued a key RS-25 engine test series for future Artemis flights of the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket March 22 with a hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NASA/Danny Nowlin Full-duration RS-25 engine hot fire NASA/Danny Nowlin Full-duration RS-25 engine hot fire NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA continued a key RS-25 engine test series for future Artemis flights of the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket March 22 with a hot fire on the Fred Haise…
Read MoreNASA Johnson Space Center to Host Visit by Texas Governor Greg Abbott
March 22, 2024 NASA logo NASA Johnson Space Center to Host Visit by Texas Governor Greg Abbott NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a Tuesday, March 26, visit by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who will make a major announcement on the future of the space industry in Texas. Media are invited to document the governor’s tour of NASA’s Mission Control Center when he speaks with native Texan and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara aboard the International Space Station. Abbott will be joined by NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa…
Read MoreTexas Eclipse Festival offers a ‘choose your own adventure experience’ for April total solar eclipse
On April 8, 2024, a range of cities from Texas through Ohio and up to Maine will be in the direct path of experiencing a total solar eclipse. But instead of just having one day to take in the historic minutes while the sky goes dark, one festival will span for multiple days in Central Texas. What organizers are calling a “celestial creation,” the Texas Eclipse Festival at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet will be an entire experience where you will not just watch the total solar eclipse in the…
Read More‘Space headaches’ are a literal pain for astronauts. Why do they happen?
Spaceflight can be a real headache — literally. Since the days of the Apollo program, astronauts have reported experiencing head pain during their stint in microgravity. And many of them had never dealt with recurrent headaches on Earth. It seems that something about space travel sometimes triggers migraine or tension headache–like symptoms, including pain, sensitivity to light and occasionally nausea. Until recently, though, these reports were largely sporadic and anecdotal. Now a new study, published in Neurology on March 13, demonstrates that these mysterious “space headaches” are actually quite common. Researchers analyzed data from 24 astronauts who…
Read MoreWomen’s History Month: Meet Denise Ryan
3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Denise Ryan NASA Graphics In honor of Women’s History Month, we recently sat down with Denise Ryan, flight management specialist and member of the Women’s Networking Group (WNG) at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, to learn more about her role and working at NASA. What do you do at NASA and how do you help support Armstrong’s mission? I am a Flight Management Specialist and work in the Flight Operations Office where we schedule various ground…
Read MoreFind Your Place In Space Week
The National Space Council invites you to join us for Find Your Place in Space Week. From April 6-13, 2024 museums, science centers, companies, schools, and organizations will engage with communities across the nation to highlight all that space is, has to offer, and the benefits of space for Earth. We know that too many people are unaware of the importance of space to their everyday lives, to Earth, or know that their expertise and talents are needed in the industry. Through this effort, we want people from all communities…
Read MoreNASA, Agencies to Brief Plans for April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
A person watches the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, in Kerrville, Texas. Credits: NASA Millions of people across North America will experience a rare celestial sight on Monday, April 8: a total solar eclipse. NASA will host a media briefing with other government agencies at 10 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 26, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The briefing will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. Over the course of about an hour, viewers in…
Read MoreInternational Space Station welcomes biological and physical science experiments
3 min read International Space Station welcomes biological and physical science experiments NASA is sending several biological and physical sciences experiments and equipment aboard SpaceX’s 30th commercial resupply services mission. Studying biological and physical phenomena under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth. Not only can these experiments provide pioneering scientific discovery – they enable sustainable deep space exploration and support transformative engineering. The commercial resupply launch took place Thursday, March 21,…
Read More45 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Columbia Arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
On March 24, 1979, space shuttle Columbia arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the very first time. Following Presidential direction to build the space shuttle in 1972, Congress quickly approved and funded the program later that year. Construction of the first orbital vehicle, later named Columbia, began in 1975. Four years later, Columbia completed its first transcontinental flight, arriving at KSC to begin preparations for its first mission. The first shuttle flight in April 1981 ushered in an era of reusable space transportation. Left: NASA Administrator James C.…
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