Tag: Johnson Space Center

NASA Astronaut to Answer Questions from Students in Florida

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NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-10 Pilot Nichole Ayers. Credit: SpaceX Students from Dade City, Florida, will have the chance to connect with NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers as she answers prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions from aboard the International Space Station. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 11, on NASA+ and learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media. The event, hosted by Academy at the Farm and open to students and their families, will occur in Dade City.…

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Meet Alex Olley: Air Force Veteran Powering the Space Station 

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As an Air Force veteran from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Alex Olley now serves as a contract specialist in the International Space Station Procurement Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.   Olley joined NASA as a Pathways intern in January 2023 to turn his lifelong goal into a reality—bringing his unique experience in the defense and space industries to support one of humanity’s most ambitious endeavors.  Official portrait of Alex Olley. NASA Olley manages the procurement of supplies, services, and research for the International Space Station. His role requires sharp…

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Caroline Cawthon: Supporting America’s Future in Low Earth Orbit 

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Since joining NASA in 2017 as a contractor supporting the International Space Station, Caroline Cawthon has held many roles supporting real-time operations as a certified flight controller, team lead, and lead systems engineer.   Caroline Cawthon’s official NASA portrait. NASA is one of the biggest most impressive networks of engineering, science, and space program expertise in the world and to not leverage that experience in mentorship would be a waste. Caroline Cawthon CLDP Engineering and Integration Lead Now, she is supporting America’s future in orbit as the systems engineering and integration…

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Back to Earth, Forward to the Future: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Returns  

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After months of groundbreaking research, exploration, and teamwork aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 has returned to Earth.   NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, splashed down safely on March 18, 2025, as a pod of dolphins circled the Dragon spacecraft near Tallahassee, Florida.  NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, March 18, 2025. NASA/Keegan Barber Williams and Wilmore…

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NASA Welcomes Gateway Lunar Space Station’s HALO Module to US

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) arrives in Mesa, Arizona, after traveling from Italy, where Thales Alenia Space fabricated its primary structure. Delivered by cargo aircraft to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, HALO will be transported to Northrop Grumman’s facility in Gilbert for final outfitting. NASA/Josh Valcarcel A core component of Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon, is now on American soil and one step closer to launch. In lunar orbit, Gateway will support NASA’s Artemis campaign to return…

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NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Assigned to First Space Station Mission

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NASA astronaut Christopher Williams poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA NASA astronaut Chris Williams will embark on his first mission to the International Space Station, serving as a flight engineer and Expedition 74 crew member. Williams will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft in November, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the trio will spend approximately eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory. During his expedition, Williams will conduct scientific investigations…

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NASA Sets Coverage for Crew Launch to Join Station Expedition 72/73

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The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station with (pictured left to right) NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. Credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to the International Space Station, accompanied by cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, where they will join the Expedition 72/73 crew in advancing scientific research. Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky will lift off at 1:47 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April…

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NASA Shares SpaceX Crew-11 Assignments for Space Station Mission

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 members stand inside the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left are Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Commander NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos, and Pilot NASA astronaut Mike Fincke. Credit: NASA As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, four crew members from three space agencies will launch in the coming months to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman…

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NEO Surveyor Instrument Enclosure Inside Historic Chamber A 

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NASA The instrument enclosure of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor is prepared for critical environmental tests inside the historic Chamber A at the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in December 2024. Wrapped in silver thermal blanketing, the 12-foot-long (3.7-meter-long) angular structure was subjected to the frigid, airless conditions that the spacecraft will experience when in deep space. The cavernous thermal-vacuum test facility is famous for testing the Apollo spacecraft that traveled to the Moon in the 1960s and ’70s. The instrument enclosure is designed to…

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Engineering Reality: Lee Bingham Leads Lunar Surface Simulation Support for Artemis Campaign

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If you design a new tool for use on Earth, it is easy to test and practice using that tool in its intended environment. But what if that tool is destined for lunar orbit or will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon? NASA’s Simulation and Graphics Branch can help with that. Based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the branch’s high-fidelity, real-time graphical simulations support in-depth engineering analyses and crew training, ensuring the safety, efficiency, and success of complex space endeavors before execution. The team manages…

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