Tag: Marshall Space Flight Center

22 Min Read The Marshall Star for September 11, 2024 Starship Super Heavy Breezes Through Wind Tunnel Testing NASA and its industry partners continue to make progress toward Artemis III and beyond, the first crewed lunar landing missions under the agency’s Artemis campaign. SpaceX, the commercial Human Landing System (HLS) provider for Artemis III and Artemis IV, recently tested a 1.2% scale model of the Super Heavy rocket, or booster, in the transonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA’s Ames Research Center. The Super Heavy rocket will launch the Starship human landing…

23 Min Read The Marshall Star for September 4, 2024 Rocket Hardware for Future Artemis Flights Moved to Barge for Delivery to Kennedy NASA is making strides with the Artemis campaign as key components for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket continue to make their way to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Teams with NASA and Boeing loaded the core stage boat-tail for Artemis III and the core stage engine section for Artemis IV onto the agency’s Pegasus barge at Michoud Assembly Facility on Aug. 28. The core stage engine section of the SLS (Space Launch…

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Student Launch, a STEM competition, officially kicks off its 25th anniversary with the 2025 handbook. By Wayne Smith NASA’s Student Launch competition kicks off its 25th year with the release of the 2025 handbook, detailing how teams can submit proposals by Wednesday, Sept. 11, for the event scheduled next spring near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Student Launch is an annual competition challenging middle school, high school, and college students to design, build, test, and…

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…

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…

29 Min Read The Marshall Star for August 21, 2024 Hundreds Honored at Marshall, NASA Awards Ceremony NASA Chief Financial Officer Margaret Vo Schaus speaks to audience members and honorees Aug. 15 during the 2023 Agency/Center Honor Awards at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Activities Building 4316. In all, 332 Marshall team members were awarded this year for their outstanding work and dedication to furthering the NASA mission, along with 97 teams. “As a newcomer to NASA, I am in awe of the work of this agency and the…