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Wednesday, April 27, 2022

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Launches to International Space Station | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Launch to International Space Station | Kennedy Space Center

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:52 a.m. EDT on April 27, 2022. Onboard the Dragon spacecraft are Crew-4 astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, all NASA astronauts, along with Samantha Cristoforetti with European Space Agency (ESA) for the mission to the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Duration: 33 seconds

Capture Date: April 27, 2022

#NASA #ESA #SpaceX #Falcon9 #Rocket #CrewDragon #Freedom #ISS #Earth #Science #Astronaut #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #RobertHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #Italy #Italia #Human #Spaceflight #Crew4 #CCP #LaunchComplex39A #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Depart for Launchpad | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Depart for Launchpad | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 depart for the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft sitting on Launchpad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on April 27, 2022.

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti later launched in this spacecraft alongside NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert “Bob” Hines and Jessica Watkins. Collectively, the astronauts are known as Crew-4.

During their journey to the orbital outpost Samantha and Jessica will serve as Mission Specialists, Kjell will be Commander and Bob will be the crew’s Pilot.

Samantha first flew to space in 2014 for her Italian Space Agency ASI-sponsored mission Futura. Her ESA space mission, known as Minerva, will officially begin once she reaches the Station.

Crew-4 will be welcomed by the International Space Station’s current crew, including ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. Samantha and Matthias will enjoy a brief handover in orbit before Matthias returns to Earth with Crew-3.

Throughout her mission, Samantha will hold the role of US Orbital Segment (USOS) lead, taking responsibility for all operations within the US, European, Japanese and Canadian modules and components of the Space Station. She will support around 35 European and many more international experiments in orbit.

For more about Samantha and her Minerva mission, visit the Minerva mission page:

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Minerva

Caption & Image Credit: ESA - S. Corvaja/NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Capture Date: April 27, 2022

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Launch to the International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Launch to the International Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti onboard, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission is the fourth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti launched at 3:52 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to begin a six month mission onboard the orbital outpost.

Samantha is the third ESA astronaut to travel to the orbital outpost in a Crew Dragon. During the journey she and Jessica will serve as Mission Specialists. Kjell is Crew-4 Commander and Bob is Crew-4 Pilot.

Upon arrival, Crew-4 will be greeted by the Space Station’s current crew—including ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. Samantha and Matthias will enjoy a brief handover in orbit before he returns to Earth with Crew-3.

Samantha first flew to space in 2014 for her Italian Space Agency ASI-sponsored mission Futura. Her ESA space mission, known as Minerva, will officially begin once she reaches the Station.

For more about Samantha and her Minerva mission, visit the Minerva mission page: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Minerva

Caption Credit: NASA/ESA

Image Credit: ESA - S. Corvaja

Image Date: April 27, 2022

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover: New April 2022 Images | JPL

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover: New April 2022 Images | JPL

After collecting eight rock-core samples from its first science campaign and completing a record-breaking, 31-Martian-day (or sol) dash across about 3 miles (5 kilometers) of Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover arrived at the doorstep of Jezero Crater’s ancient river delta April 13. Dubbed “Three Forks” by the Perseverance team (a reference to the spot where three route options to the delta merge), the location serves as the staging area for the rover’s second science expedition, the “Delta Front Campaign.”

“The delta at Jezero Crater promises to be a veritable geologic feast and one of the best locations on Mars to look for signs of past microscopic life,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “The answers are out there—and Team Perseverance is ready to find them.”

The delta, a massive fan-shaped collection of rocks and sediment at the western edge of Jezero Crater, formed at the convergence of a Martian river and a crater lake billions of years ago. Its exploration tops the Perseverance science team’s wish list because all the fine-grained sediment deposited at its base long ago is the mission’s best bet for finding the preserved remnants of ancient microbial life.

Processed and de-fisheyed 16-tile navcam-left image from NASA's Perseverance rover from Sol 419 [2022-April-25]

Captured at 14:29 local time in Jezero.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Del-4Ri

Mars2020 - Sol 415 - Mastcam-Z

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - Sol 3454 - MAHLI

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - Sol 3451 - MAHLI

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Mars2020 - Sol 417 - Mastcam-Z

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - Sol 3451 - MastCam

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more about Perseverance: nasa.gov/perseverance

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Caption Credit: NASA/JPL

Image Dates: April 23-26, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #River #Delta #Astrobiology #Geology #Geoscience #Jezero #Crater #Perseverance #Rover #Robotics #Technology #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #STEM #Education

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 Astronaut Jessica Watkins Talks with NBC News

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 Astronaut Jessica Watkins Talks with NBC News

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins is getting ready to fly to space for the first time as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Watkins will live and work aboard the space station where she will perform scientific research in its unique microgravity environment and conduct spacewalks.

Jessica will work with fellow NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, on the International Space Station. Jessica Watkins and her crewmates will launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts will conduct scientific research in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Jessica Watkins Official NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jessica-watkins/biography/

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins is also a member of the Artemis Team, a select group of astronauts charged with focusing on the development and training efforts for early Artemis missions to the moon.

Through the Artemis program NASA and a coalition of international partners will return to the Moon to learn how to live on other worlds for the benefit of all. With the Artemis missions, NASA will send the first woman and the next man to the Moon.

Through the efforts of humans and robots, we will explore more of the Moon than ever before; to lead a journey of discovery that benefits our planet with life changing science, to use the Moon and its resources as a technology testbed to go even farther and to learn how to establish and sustain a human presence far beyond Earth.

Learn more: www.nasa.gov/ArtemisTeam

Learn about the important research on the International Space Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 11 minutes, 51 seconds

Release Date: January 21, 2022

#NASA #ESA #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Freedom #ISS #Astronaut #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #RobertHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Italy #Human #Spaceflight #SpaceXCrew4 #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #Science #STEM #Education #NBCNews #HD #Video

Meet NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 & Artemis Team Member Jessica Watkins

Meet NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 & Artemis Team Member Jessica Watkins

Jessica is scheduled to launch on her first space mission to the International Space Station on April 27! Jessica will join her fellow NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, for a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Jessica Watkins and her crewmates will launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts will conduct scientific research in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Jessica Watkins Official NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jessica-watkins/biography/

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins is also a member of the Artemis Team, a select group of astronauts charged with focusing on the development and training efforts for early Artemis missions to the moon.

Learn more: www.nasa.gov/ArtemisTeam

Learn more about the important research being operated on the International Space Station (ISS):

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 2 minutes, 39 seconds

Release Date: December 9, 2020

#NASA #ESA #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Freedom #ISS #Astronaut #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #RobertHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #Italy #Italia #Human #Spaceflight #SpaceXCrew4 #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #Science #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4: Know Your Crew...Four! | Johnson Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4: Know Your Crew...Four! | Johnson Space Center

After being together—every day—for many many months, preparing for a long-duration spaceflight, you’d think the astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission would know one another pretty well. And you’d be right, even down to them being pretty sure who is going to tell the next bad joke! Watch as Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) have fun answering questions about each other, pondering the 1995 versions of themselves, great baristas in history, and the wonders of American take-out food.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, are fully trained for their long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Crew-4 will be the first spaceflight for Hines and Watkins and the second flight for Lindgren and Cristoforetti.

Launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for early Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts will conduct scientific research in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center

Duration: 4 minutes, 21 seconds

Release Date: April 25, 2022

NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: A Night's Journey | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket: A Night's Journey | Kennedy Space Center

At approximately 6 a.m. ET Tuesday, April 26, 2022, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission arrived at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center after a 10-hour journey from Launch Pad 39B that began at 7:54 p.m. ET Monday, April 25.

Over the next several days, the NASA team will extend the work platforms to allow access to the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion. In the coming weeks, teams will work on replacing a faulty upper stage check valve and a small leak within the tail service mast umbilical ground plate housing, and perform additional checkouts before returning to the launch pad for the next wet dress rehearsal attempt.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.

Learn more about Artemis I at:

NASA's Artemis Program:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1

United Launch Alliance under a collaborative partnership with Boeing, built the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) upper stage of the SLS rocket that will propel Orion to the Moon.

Image Credit: United Launch Alliance (ULA)

Capture Date: April 25, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisI #Rocket #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #Boeing #ULA #DeepSpace #LockheedMartin #Astronauts #Mars #JourneyToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #Exploration #SolarSystem #LaunchComplex39B #KSC #Kennedy #Florida #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Ax-1 Mission: Crew Arrival | Axiom Space

Ax-1 Mission: Crew Arrival | Axiom Space

Welcome Home! The Ax-1 crew safely returned to Earth on April 25, 2022. Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel, and Mark Pathy of Canada splashed down safely off the coast of Florida after 17 days in space. This first all private crew mission to the International Space Station conducted scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities.

Ax-1 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria

Ax-1 Pilot Larry Connor

Ax-1 Mission Specialist Eytan Stibbe

Ax-1 Mission Specialist Mark Pathy

More information about Axiom Space and the Ax-1 Mission can be found at www.axiomspace.com.

Credit: Axiom Space

Image Date: April 25, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax1 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #Private #Commercial #Mission #Astronauts #MichaelLópezAlegría #Spain #Espana #LarryConnor #UnitedStates #EytanStibbe #Israel #MarkPathy #Canada #Science #Research #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #International #STEM #Education

Monday, April 25, 2022

Ax-1 Mission: SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashdown | Axiom Space

Ax-1 Mission: SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashdown | Axiom Space

The Ax-1 crew members are home! The Ax-1 crew safely returned to Earth on April 25, 2022, at 12:06 PM ET. Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel, and Mark Pathy of Canada splashed down safely off the coast of Florida after 17 days in space. This first all private crew mission to the International Space Station conducted scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities.

More information about Axiom Space and the Ax-1 Mission can be found at www.axiomspace.com.

Credit: Axiom Space

Image Date: April 25, 2022

Interstellar Transportation: A Vision of Our Future

Interstellar Transportation: A Vision of Our Future

The Limitless Space Institute (LSI) is pleased to present the short inspirational-educational film titled “Go Incredibly Fast”.

The purpose of this short film is to identify the perennial time-distance problem of human space exploration beyond Mars and to identify a few propulsion approaches we might utilize to send humans to all the worlds in our solar system and reach out across the vast distances between stars. The spacecraft architectures highlighted in the film are nuclear electric propulsion (known physics, known engineering), fusion propulsion (known physics, unknown engineering), and finally space warps (unknown physics, unknown engineering).

This film is targeted for a broad audience with the purpose of triggering interest to dig deeper and learn more—there really is much more to know and learn. There are other approaches that might be utilized to great effect as well such as solar sails, beamed energy propulsion, anti-matter propulsion to name but a few—the film is just the tip of the iceberg!

We hope you enjoy the film, and if it leaves you inspired to learn more, take action…enabling bold exploration of our outer solar system and the stars is an all-hands-on-deck challenge.

"Godspeed!"

The LSI Team

"Go Incredibly Fast" Credits:

Directed by Erik Wernquist

Written by Erik Wernquist & Harold “Sonny” White

Narrated by Harold “Sonny” White

Music by Cristian Sandquist

Visuals compositing by Erik Wernquist & Andreas Wicklund

Titles and Graphics by Erik Wernquist & Mikael Hall

IXS Enterprise Starship design by Mark Rademaker & Harold “Sonny” White

IXS Enterprise Starship model by Mark Rademaker

Other Starship and Spacecraft designs by Erik Wernquist

Other Starship and Spacecraft models by Erik Wernquist & Svante Segelsson

Narration and Sound Recording by Fro Cespedes

Credit: Limitless Space Institute/Erik Wernquist

Duration: 4 minutes, 39 seconds

Release Date: April 24, 2022

#NASA #LimitlessSpaceInstitute #LSI #Space #Propulsion #Engineering #Interstellar #Transportation #Saturn #SolarSystem #Star #ProximaCentauri #Science #Physics #Technology #Future #Vision #Film #ErikWernquist #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Ax-1 Tribute: First Private Crew Mission | International Space Station

Ax-1 Tribute: First Private Crew Mission | International Space Station

The Ax-1 crew members are home! Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel, and Mark Pathy of Canada splashed down safely off the coast of Florida after 17 days in space. Here are a few images of their time aboard the International Space Station as the first all private crew mission. The crew conducted scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities.

Ax-1 Pilot Larry Connor

Ax-1 Mission Specialist Eytan Stibbe

Ax-1 Mission Specialist Mark Pathy

Ax-1 Commander Michael López-Alegría

Former NASA astronaut, Michael López-Alegría, is vice-president of business development for Axiom Space. López-Alegría has flown four times in space on space shuttle missions STS-73, STS-92, and STS-113. He was also the commander of the ISS Expedition 14, coming to and from the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz TMA-9.

More information about Axiom Space and the Ax-1 Mission can be found at www.axiomspace.com.

Credit: Axiom Space

Image Dates: April 13-25, 2022

NASA SpaceX Crew-4 Training: Behind the Scenes | Johnson Space Center

NASA SpaceX Crew-4 Training: Behind the Scenes | Johnson Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 training reel. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, train for their long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Crew-4 will be the first spaceflight for Hines and Watkins and the second flight for Lindgren and Cristoforetti.

Launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for this week at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts will conduct scientific research in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Learn more about the important research being operated on the International Space Station (ISS):

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

Credit: NASA Video

Duration: 34 minutes

Release Date: April 18, 2022

#NASA #ESA #SpaceX #Falcon9 #Rocket #CrewDragon #Freedom #ISS #Astronaut #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #RobertHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #Italy #Italia #Human #Spaceflight #SpaceXCrew4 #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #Science #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Reflection Nebula, A Bok Globule & A Herbig Haro Object | Mayall Telescope

A Reflection Nebula, A Bok Globule & A Herbig Haro Object | Mayall Telescope

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. Also known as Barnard 175, vdB 152 is a reflection nebula atop of a dark Bok globule. Bok globules are isolated and relatively small dark nebulae, containing dense cosmic dust and gas from which star formation may take place. Embedded in the top right side of the nebula is the Herbig Haro object HH 450, a jet emitted from a newly forming star. The thin, red filaments in the upper-right corner of the image are the remnants of a supernova explosion. It is not yet clear whether or not the supernova remnant will collide with vdB 152. The image was generated with observations in the B (blue), V (green), I (yellow) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) filters. In this image, North is down and East is to the right.

Herbig–Haro (HH) objects are bright patches of nebulosity associated with newborn stars. They are formed when narrow jets of partially ionized gas ejected by stars collide with nearby clouds of gas and dust at several hundred kilometers per second. Herbig–Haro objects are commonly found in star-forming regions.

Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #Nebulae #Reflection #BokGlobule #HerbigHaro #vdB152 #Barnard175 #Stars #Cepheus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Optical #Mayall #Telescope #KittPeak #Observatory #Arizona #UnitedStates #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #STEM #Education

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Hubble’s 32nd Year in Orbit | NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Hubble’s 32nd Year in Orbit | NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

The Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 32nd year in orbit by premiering a stunning new Hubble image of a collection of five galaxies, known as Hickson Compact Group 40. Even after all these years, Hubble continues to uncover the mysteries of the universe. These are a few science achievements from Hubble’s latest year in orbit.

For more information, visit nasa.gov/hubble.

Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Paul Morris; Miranda Chabot

Music & Sound

“Fiber Optics” by Andrew Michael Britton [PRS] and David Stephen Goldsmith [PRS] via Atmosphere Music Ltd., and Universal Production Music.

Duration: 3 minutes, 41 seconds

Release Date: April 22, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Hubble #HubbleAnniversary #Galaxies #HicksonCompactGroup40 #Elliptical #Spiral #Lenticular #Collision #Galactic #Hydra #Constellation #Science #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starlink Launch & Crew-4 Falcon | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

SpaceX Starlink Launch & Crew-4 Falcon | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

On Thursday, April 21, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the 12th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, and now nine Starlink missions. Meanwhile, another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is vertical with the company’s Crew Dragon atop for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watson, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, will launch aboard Dragon, named Freedom by the Crew-4 crew, atop the Falcon 9 to the International Space Station (ISS). Launch is targeted for this week. The astronauts will conduct scientific research in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Image Credit: SpaceX

Image Date: April 21, 2022

#NASA #ESA #SpaceX #Falcon9 #Rocket #Starlink #CrewDragon #Freedom #ISS #Earth #Science #Astronaut #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #RobertHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #Italy #Italia #Human #Spaceflight #Crew4 #CCP #LaunchComplex39A #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

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