Category: Nasa

Nasa

‘Star Trek Generations’ at 30: Director David Carson reflects on The Nexus and Kirk’s quiet death (exclusive)

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“They say time is the fire in which we burn” Today marks the 30th anniversary of Paramount Pictures’ “Star Trek Generations,” an extremely important and entertaining 7th entry in the Star Trek movie franchise that acted as a bridge between “The Original Series‘” Enterprise crew led by James T. Kirk and “The Next Generation’s” gang under the command of Jean-Luc Picard. And yes, it’s the movie that killed off William Shatner’s starship captain! Upon a recent rewatch, “Generations” holds up remarkably well with its polished visual effects by Industrial Light…

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Part Ojibwe, All NASA: Linda Spuler’s Role in Protecting Johnson Space Center 

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Linda Spuler, emergency manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, believes that everyone has a story. “Our stories highlight what we have in common, but they also make us each unique,” she said.  Spuler has worked at Johnson for over 32 years, spending most of her career in Center Operations. Her story has involved helping to coordinate emergency response teams at Johnson in preparation for natural disasters. “Since Johnson is situated on the coast, a good portion of my job revolves around planning for hurricanes,” she said.    Spuler has…

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Blue Origin targeting Nov. 22 for next space tourism launch

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Blue Origin’s ninth crewed spaceflight will lift off this week, if all goes according to plan. Jeff Bezos‘ aerospace company announced today (Nov. 18) that it’s targeting Friday (Nov. 22) for the launch of NS-28, which will send “Space Gal” Emily Calandrelli and five other people to suborbital space. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket-capsule combo will lift off from the company’s West Texas spaceport on Friday during a window that opens at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT; 9:30 a.m. local Texas time). You can watch the action live here at…

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First Nations Launch Winners Watch Crew-7 Launch

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Participants from the 14th First Nations Launch High-Power Rocket Competition watch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 launch from the Banana Creek viewing site at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. Students and advisors from University of Washington, University of Colorado-Boulder, and an international team from Queens University – this year’s First Nations Launch grand prize teams – traveled to Kennedy for a VIP tour, culminating in viewing the Crew-7 launch.

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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is solving long-standing mysteries about the sun. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.

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On Nov. 6, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe passed within 234 miles (376 kilometers) of Venus’ surface. The purpose of this close flyby was to accomplish a gravity-assist maneuver, in which the probe would steal some of Venus‘ momentum to change the spacecraft’s orbit and bring itself even closer to the sun. The Parker Solar Probe had already made several close passes of the sun, but the recent flyby was its closest, coming within about 3.8 million miles (6 million km) of the solar surface. That’s less than nine times the…

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SpaceX launching 1st mission for Indian Space Research Organisation today

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SpaceX is set to launch its first-ever mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today (Nov. 18). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying ISRO’s GSAT-N2 communications satellite is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today during a two-hour window that opens at 1:31 p.m. EST (1831 GMT). If it goes at the beginning of that window, it will be the third launch in 27 hours for Elon Musk‘s company. SpaceX will livestream the action via its X account, beginning about 15 minutes before liftoff. If all…

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What to expect during SpaceX’s 6th Starship test flight on Nov. 19

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SpaceX is targeting Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 19) for the launch of its sixth Starship flight test. The upcoming test flight is expected to lift off on Nov. 19 during a 30-minute window that opens at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT). The Starship megarocket, which consists of two fully reusable elements — a huge first stage called Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship, or simply “Ship” — will launch from the company’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. You’ll be able to watch the launch…

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Space-flown Choctaw Nation seeds to be planted on Earth for STEM experiment

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Seeds flown to space last year will be planted on Earth this spring as part of a cultural and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) study. Five varieties of heirloom seeds from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — including Isito (Choctaw Sweet Potato Squash), Tobi (Smith Peas), Tanchi Tohbi (Flour Corn), Tvnishi (Lambsquarter), and Chukfi Peas — were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2023. The seeds, which together weighed just over a pound (500 grams), were exposed to microgravity and space radiation for more than five…

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‘Lunik Heist:’ A real-life CIA rocket kidnapping goes to Hollywood

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Now in the works is a retro look back in time at a bizarre Cold War caper by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) thanks to a forthcoming, star-studded comedy/drama movie called “Lunik Heist.” Earlier this month, Searchlight Pictures, a Disney-owned division, announced that actors Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, and John Mulaney have signed on to star in “Lunik Heist,” described as a “a wild, roller-coaster ride, filled with subterfuge and unlikely heroes.” The film is based on a real-life incident that saw CIA operatives plot to disassemble and inspect one…

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Last supermoon of 2024 wows skywatchers around the world with Full Beaver Moon (photos)

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The final supermoon of 2024, the Beaver Moon of November, thrilled skywatchers around the world as it ushered in the weekend with a stunning night sky sight. November’s full moon rose on Friday (Nov. 15) while the moon was slightly closer to Earth in its orbit, making it what’s known as a supermoon. These full moons can appear slightly larger in the night sky due to the moon’s proximity to Earth during the full phase. November’s Beaver Moon was the last of four consecutive supermoons this year, a series that…

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