Home ASSURE 2015 has successfully concluded. UPDATES 2015-10-05: ASSURE 2015 concluded successfully. The accepted papers appear in the SAFECOMP 2015 Workshop Proceedings. Thank you for attending! See you in 2016. 2015-06-24: Pippa Moore of the UK Civil Aviation Authority will give an invited keynote talk! 2015-06-24: The ASSURE 2015 Program has been announced. The final program is contingent on registration. If you haven’t already done so, please register for ASSURE 2015 via SAFECOMP 2015. 2015-06-15: ASSURE 2015 will be held on Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2015. The accepted papers and program will be posted here soon. 2015-06-15: Authors of…
Read MoreFAA requires investigation into SpaceX Falcon 9 landing failure
SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded, at least for a little while. A Falcon 9 successfully launched 21 of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites this morning (Aug. 28), sending them to orbit on the record-breaking 23rd mission for the rocket’s first stage. That booster encountered a problem during its return to Earth, however, toppling over shortly after landing at sea on a SpaceX droneship. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that it’s requiring an investigation into the failed touchdown — and that the Falcon 9 won’t fly again until…
Read MoreThe Marshall Star for August 28, 2024
27 Min Read The Marshall Star for August 28, 2024 Marshall Leadership Updates Team Members on Culture, Strategy By Wayne Smith Leadership from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center highlighted a successful summer before looking ahead to the center’s culture and strategy during an all-hands meeting Aug. 27 in Building 4316. Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey recapped milestone events of the past few months, including new hardware for the Artemis II test flight. The launch vehicle stage adapter for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket was rolled out Aug. 21 at Marshall…
Read MoreNASA Expands Human Exploration Rover Challenge to Middle Schools
4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The cover of the HERC 2025 handbook, which is now available online. By Wayne Smith Following a 2024 competition that garnered international attention, NASA is expanding its Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) to include a remote control division and inviting middle school students to participate. The 31st annual competition is scheduled for April 11-12, 2025, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. HERC is managed by NASA’s Southeast Regional Office…
Read MoreA SAFER Way
Backdropped against the blue and white Earth 130 nautical miles below, astronaut Mark C. Lee tests the new Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system on Sept. 16, 1994.
Read MoreMock shuttle Pathfinder restored atop its stack at Alabama rocket center (photos)
Pathfinder is back in its “space,” three and a half years after it “landed” on Earth. An early mockup of NASA’s now-retired winged orbiters, Pathfinder was returned to its position atop a space shuttle propulsion “stack” at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Wednesday morning (Aug. 28). The lift signaled that a multi-million-dollar restoration effort is nearing completion. “Returning Pathfinder to the shuttle stack after an extensive restoration process is a major milestone for us,” Kimberly Robinson, CEO and executive director of the Space & Rocket…
Read MoreNASA Assigns Astronaut Jonny Kim to First Space Station Mission
Official portrait of NASA astronaut Jonny Kim in an EMU suit. Credit: NASA During his first mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will serve as a flight engineer and member of the upcoming Expedition 72/73 crew. Kim will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft in March 2025, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. The trio will spend approximately eight months at the space station. While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Kim will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare the crew…
Read MoreNASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology
7 Min Read NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology A forested green peninsula of Culebra Island juts into the blue waters of the Caribbean as a rain storm hits in the distance. The teal blue surrounding the island indicates shallow waters, home to the island's famous coral reefs. Credits: NASA Ames/Milan Loiacono Tainaliz Marie Rodríguez Lugo took a deep breath, adjusted her snorkel mask, and plunged into the ocean, fins first. Three weeks earlier, Rodríguez Lugo couldn’t swim. Now the college student was gathering data on…
Read MoreNASA, SpaceX Extend US Media Deadline for Crew-9 Launch to Station
The SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew ship, carrying four Crew-5 members, approaches the International Space Station with the Earth’s horizon in the background. Credit: NASA/Kjell Lindgren NASA is extending U.S. media accreditation for the launch of the agency’s ninth rotational mission of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station. This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The application period for U.S. media and U.S. citizens representing international media organizations is extended until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 3.…
Read MoreEclipse Soundscapes AudioMoth Donations Will Study Nature at Night
Learn Home Eclipse Soundscapes AudioMoth… Audio Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 3 min read Eclipse Soundscapes AudioMoth Donations Will Study Nature at Night During the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, approximately 770 AudioMoth recording devices were used to capture sound data as part of the Eclipse Soundscapes Project — a multisensory participatory science (also known as “citizen science”) project that is studying how eclipses impact life on Earth. Following the eclipse, participants had the option to…
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