Day: January 6, 2025

NASA Names Adam Schlesinger as Commercial Lunar Payload Services Project Manager

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Official portrait of Adam Schlesinger. NASA/Bill Stafford NASA has selected Adam Schlesinger as manager for CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services). Schlesinger previously served as the Gateway Program habitation and logistics outpost project lead engineer at Johnson Space Center. “I am honored and tremendously excited to take on this new role as NASA continues to enable a growing lunar economy while leveraging the entrepreneurial innovation of the commercial space industry,” Schlesinger said. Schlesinger brings more than 20 years’ experience to NASA human space flight programs. Prior to supporting Gateway, Mr. Schlesinger managed…

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Springtime on Mars brings frost avalanches, gas geysers and explosions (photos)

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Instead of chilled glasses and champagne bubbles to ring in the New Year, how about gassy geysers and frosty avalanches? That’s exactly what you can expect as the Martian New Year begins on the Red Planet with the onset of spring across its Northern Hemisphere. The term “walking in a winter wonderland” on Mars consists more like sprinting across the surface, having to dodge the crash of cliffsides and explosions of carbon dioxide. Unlike our northern hemisphere on Earth, on the Red Planet, the new year starts off with the…

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Defying Gravity

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NASA In this Dec. 11, 1963, image, technicians prepare a test subject for studies on the Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. This position meant that a person’s legs experienced only one sixth of their weight, which was the equivalent of being on the Moon’s surface. The simulator was used to study the subject while walking, jumping, or running; it also was used to train Apollo astronauts for completing tasks in the unfamiliar lunar environment. The effect was quite realistic. When asked what it…

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US Space Force broke its launch record in 2024 with 93 liftoffs

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An impressive 93 United States Space Force launches lifted off from Florida’s coast in 2024, setting a new Space Force record for the second year in a row. Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45), headquartered at Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, is a unit of the United States Space Force responsible for managing space launch operations on the East Coast, including launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Last year, SLD 45 — the world’s busiest spaceport in 2024 — saw a record-breaking 93…

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Soil Remediation at White Sands Test Facility

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NASA White Sands Test Facility Las Cruces, New Mexico Soil Remediation at the 600 Area Off-Site Pile Origins of the 600 Area Off-Site Pile The NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) is crucial for supporting space exploration and technology development. Located in New Mexico, it provides a controlled environment for testing and evaluating spacecraft, propulsion systems, and other aerospace technologies. The facility is instrumental in conducting critical tests such as engine firings, thermal and environmental testing, and materials research. Its role in ensuring the safety, reliability, and performance of spacecraft…

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BluShift Aerospace hopes to launch 1st suborbital rocket from Maine in 2025

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After a successful engine burn test in October, Maine-based bluShift Aerospace is planning for its next big milestone: a suborbital flight test toward the end of 2025. The rocket company, located at Brunswick Landing in southern Maine, was founded over a decade ago. In January of 2021, the company carved its niche in space history when it became the first to commercially use non-toxic biofuel to power its inaugural rocket prototype, Stardust 1.0, on a successful test launch. According to bluShift CEO and founder Sascha Deri, the rocket’s “secret sauce”…

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