Tag: Marshall Space Flight Center

I am Artemis: John Campbell

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John Campbell, a logistics engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, stands on NASA’s Pegasus barge July 15. NASA How do you move NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s massive 212-foot-long core stage across the country? You do it with a 300-foot-long barge. However, NASA’s Pegasus barge isn’t just any barge. It’s a vessel with a history, and John Campbell, a logistics engineer for the agency based at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is one of the few people who get to be a part of its…

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From One Crew to Another: Artemis II Astronauts Meet NASA Barge Crew

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Members of the Artemis II crew met with the crew of NASA’s Pegasus barge prior to their departure to deliver the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to the Space Coast. NASA astronaut and pilot of the Artemis II mission Victor Glover met the crew July 15. From left to right: Ashley Marlar, Jamie Crews, Nick Owen, Jeffery Whitehead, Scott Ledet, Jason Dickerson, John Campbell, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Farid Sayah, Kelton Hutchinson, Terry Fitzgerald, Bryan Jones, and Joe Robinson. NASA/Brandon Hancock NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander,…

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NASA Marshall Engineers Unveil Versatile, Low-cost Hybrid Engine Testbed

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Paul Dumbacher, right, lead test engineer for the Propulsion Test Branch at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, confers with Meredith Patterson, solid propulsion systems engineer, as they install the 11-inch hybrid rocket motor testbed into its cradle in Marshall’s East Test Stand. The new testbed, offering versatile, low-cost test opportunities to NASA propulsion engineers and their government, academic, and industry partners, reflects the collaboration of dozens of team members across multiple departments at Marshall. NASA/Charles Beason…

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NASA Barge Preparations Underway for Artemis II Rocket Stage Delivery

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NASA/Eric Bordelon Team members are installing pedestals aboard NASA’s Pegasus barge to hold and secure the massive core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, indicating NASA barge crews are nearly ready for its first delivery to support the Artemis II test flight around the Moon. The barge will ferry the core stage on a 900-mile journey from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to its Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Pegasus crew began installing the pedestals July 10.The barge, which previously was used to ferry…

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Take a Summer Cosmic Road Trip With NASA’s Chandra and Webb

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Cosmic Road Trip: four distinct composite images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, presented in a two-by-two grid, Rho Ophiuchi at lower right, the heart of the Orion Nebula at upper right, the galaxy NGC 3627 at lower left and the galaxy cluster MACS J0416. X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical/Infrared: (Hubble) NASA/ESA/STScI; IR: (JWST) NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI It’s time to take a cosmic road trip using light as the highway and visit four stunning destinations across space. The vehicles for this space get-away are NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and…

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The Marshall Star for July 3, 2024

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30 Min Read The Marshall Star for July 3, 2024 11 Marshall Team Members, 5 Teams Awarded in Space Flight Awareness Ceremony By Jessica Barnett Sixteen individuals and groups from across NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center were recognized June 27 for going above and beyond in their support of the human space program. Marshall Deputy Director Rae Ann Meyer presented the awards during a special Space Flight Awareness ceremony in Activities Building 4316. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Deputy Director Rae Ann Meyer speaks to audience members and award winners…

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NASA Announces Winners of Inaugural Human Lander Challenge

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4 Min Read NASA Announces Winners of Inaugural Human Lander Challenge NASA’s 2024 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) Forum brought 12 university teams from across the United States to Huntsville, Alabama, near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center, to showcase their innovative concepts for addressing the complex issue of managing lunar dust. The 12 finalists, selected in March 2024, presented their final presentations to a panel of NASA and industry experts from NASA’s Human Landing Systems Program at the HuLC Forum in Huntsville June 25-27. NASA’s lunar exploration campaign Artemis is…

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NASA’s SLS Rocket: Block 1 vs. Block 1B Configuration

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NASA/Kevin O’Brien NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in the Block 1B cargo configuration will launch for the first time beginning with Artemis IV. This upgraded and more powerful SLS rocket will enable SLS to send over 38 metric tons (83,700 lbs.) to the Moon, including NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its crew, along with heavy payloads for more ambitious missions to deep space. While every SLS rocket retains the core stage, booster, and RS-25 engine designs, the Block 1B features a more powerful exploration upper stage with four RL10 engines…

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NASA’s Chandra Peers Into Densest and Weirdest Stars

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Supernova remnant 3C 58. X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICE-CSIC/A. Marino et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major The supernova remnant 3C 58 contains a spinning neutron star, known as PSR J0205+6449, at its center. Astronomers studied this neutron star and others like it to probe the nature of matter inside these very dense objects. A new study, made using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton, reveals that the interiors of neutron stars may contain a type of ultra-dense matter not found anywhere else in the Universe. In this image of 3C…

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The Marshall Star for June 18, 2024

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20 Min Read The Marshall Star for June 18, 2024 California Teams Win $1.5 Million in NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge By Savannah Bullard After two days of live competitions, two teams from southern California are heading home with a combined $1.5 million from NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge.  Since 2020, competitors from around the world have competed in this challenge with the common goal of inventing robots that can excavate and transport the icy regolith on the Moon. The lunar South Pole is the targeted landing site…

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