Marshall Space Flight Center – Page 10

The Marshall Star for March 20, 2024

March 20, 2024 NeRD

22 Min Read The Marshall Star for March 20, 2024 Marshall Technologist Talks Solar Sail Technology in Rocket Center Exhibit By Jessica Barnett Space enthusiasts at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center were treated to a special exhibit featuring technologist Les Johnson of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and a look at the future of solar sail technology. NASA technologist Les Johnson, on stage, discusses how the solar sail can use solar propulsion to travel farther in space than anyone has traveled before during an exhibit held March 12 at…

NASA Artemis Mission Progresses with SpaceX Starship Test Flight

March 14, 2024 NeRD

SpaceX launched the third integrated flight test of its Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage from the company’s Starbase orbital launch pad at 8:25 a.m. CT on March 14. This flight test is an important milestone toward providing NASA with a Starship HLS for its Artemis missions. SpaceX As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon for the benefit of all, the agency is working with SpaceX to develop the company’s Starship human landing system (HLS), which will land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole…

The Marshall Star for March 13, 2024

March 13, 2024 NeRD

25 Min Read The Marshall Star for March 13, 2024 Marshall Celebrates Alabama Space Day in Montgomery By Jessica Barnett Team members from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center joined Montgomery-area students, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, NASA’s aerospace partners, and elected officials in celebrating the aerospace industry’s impact in Alabama on March 5. This year’s event kicked off at the state Capitol in Montgomery with a proclamation from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declaring March 5 as Alabama Space Day. Students from the Montgomery area were then invited to take…

NASA Expanding Lunar Exploration with Upgraded SLS Mega Rocket Design

March 12, 2024 NeRD

A final round of certification testing for production of new RS-25 engines to power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, beginning with Artemis V, is underway at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Block 1B will also be built to house new-production RS-25 core stage engines that will operate routinely at 111% of their rated power versus the Block 1 RS-25 engines that operate at 109%, providing almost 2,000 more pounds of payload to the Moon. NASA By: Martin Burkey As NASA prepares for its first crewed…

NASA Continues Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Test Series

March 6, 2024 NeRD

Full-duration RS-25 Engine Hot Fire NASA/Danny Nowlin Full-duration RS-25 Engine Hot Fire NASA/Danny Nowlin Full-duration RS-25 Engine Hot Fire NASA/Danny Nowlin Full-duration RS-25 Engine Hot Fire NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA conducted a full-duration RS-25 engine hot fire March 6, continuing a final round of certification testing for production of new engines to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The full-duration test on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, marked the ninth…

The Marshall Star for March 6, 2024

March 6, 2024 NeRD

26 Min Read The Marshall Star for March 6, 2024 Marshall Supports NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Launch By Jessica Barnett Team members at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center celebrated another successful launch as astronauts on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission began the journey to the International Space Station in the late hours of March 3. Marshall’s support team is part of the agency’s CCP (Commercial Crew Program) team, which partners with private companies, such as SpaceX, to develop commercial crew space transportation capabilities to and from the space station. A SpaceX Falcon…

Former Student Launch Competitor Turns Experience into NASA Engineering Career

February 27, 2024 NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Meredith Patterson, front row, center right, poses with her teammates in the High-Powered Rocketry Club at North Carolina State University on the day they launched the rocket they built for NASA’s 2023 Student Launch. The experience and knowledge Patterson gained from her years participating in the annual competition helped pave the way for a career at NASA after graduation. High-Powered Rocketry Club at NC State By Jessica Barnett Sometimes, all it takes is a few years and the right…

Stellar Beads on a String

February 21, 2024 NeRD

Galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/O. Omoruyi et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/G. Tremblay et al.; Radio: ASTRON/LOFAR; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Astronomers have discovered one of the most powerful eruptions from a black hole ever recorded in the system known as SDSS J1531+3414 (SDSS J1531 for short). As explained in our press release, this mega-explosion billions of years ago may help explain the formation of a striking pattern of star clusters around two massive galaxies, resembling “beads on a string.” SDSS J1531 is a massive galaxy cluster containing hundreds of individual galaxies and huge reservoirs of hot gas and dark…

Rocket Propellant Tanks for NASA’s Artemis III Mission Take Shape

February 16, 2024 NeRD

All the major structures that will form the core stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis III mission are structurally complete. Technicians finished welding the 51-foot liquid oxygen tank structure, left, inside the Vertical Assembly Building at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Jan. 8. The liquid hydrogen tank, right, completed internal cleaning Nov. 14. NASA/Michael DeMocker As NASA works to develop all the systems needed to return astronauts to the Moon under its Artemis campaign for the benefit of all, the SLS (Space…

NASA Marshall Invites Media to Meet New Center Director

February 12, 2024 NeRD

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Joseph Pelfrey, director, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will host a media day at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15, in the first-floor lobby of Building 4221 on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, to introduce new Center Director Joseph Pelfrey. Media are invited to meet and speak with Pelfrey about his role. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson named Pelfrey director of Marshall on Feb. 5. Pelfrey had served as acting center…