Friends of NASA (FoN) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to building international support for peaceful space exploration, commerce, scientific discovery, and STEM education.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Preflight | Kennedy Space Center
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft is on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-6 mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth 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 (CCP). NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia) are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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.
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image captures one of three segments that comprise a 65-light-year wide star-forming region named the Chamaeleon Cloud Complex. The segment in this Hubble composite image, called Chamaeleon Cloud I (Cha I), reveals dusty-dark clouds where stars are forming, dazzling reflection nebulae glowing by the light of bright-blue young stars, and radiant knots called Herbig-Haro objects.
Herbig-Haro objects are bright clumps and arcs of interstellar gas shocked and energized by jets expelled from infant “protostars” in the process of forming. The white-orange cloud at the bottom of the image hosts one of these protostars at its center. Its brilliant white jets of hot gas are ejected in narrow torrents from the protostar’s poles, creating the Herbig-Haro object HH 909A.
Image Description: Bright blue and white nebula with bright young blue stars dotted through the image. Bottom center: Herbig-Haro object, bright white clouds extend left and right, center point is white with rusty margins
The cross-like spikes around bright stars in the image occur when light waves from a very bright point source (like a star) bend around Hubble’s cross-shaped struts that support the telescope’s secondary mirror. As the light waves pass these struts, they coalesce on the other side, creating the bright, spikey starburst effect we see.
Hubble studied Cha I as part of a search for extremely dim, low-mass brown dwarfs. These “failed stars” lie somewhere in size between a large planet and a small star (10 to 90 times the mass of Jupiter), and do not have enough mass to ignite and sustain nuclear fusion in their cores. Hubble’s search found six new low-mass brown dwarf candidates that are helping astronomers better understand these objects.
This 315-million-pixel composite image is comprised of 23 observations made by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Gaps between those observations were filled by 20 Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 images. Any remaining gaps were filled with ground-based data from the European Southern Observatory's VISTA VIRCAM.
Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), K. Luhman and T. Esplin (Pennsylvania State University), et al., and ESO Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Sparkling Spray of Stars in Open Cluster NGC 2660 | Hubble
This glittering group of stars, shining through the darkness like sparks left behind by a firework, is NGC 2660 in the constellation Vela, best viewed in the southern sky. NGC 2660 is an open cluster, a type of star cluster that can contain anywhere from tens to a few hundreds of stars loosely bound together by gravity. The stars of open clusters form out of the same region of gas and dust and thus share many characteristics, such as age and chemical composition. Unlike globular clusters—their ancient, denser, and more tightly-packed cousins—open clusters are easier to study since astronomers can more easily distinguish between individual stars. Their stars can be old or young, and they may disperse after a few million years into the spiral or irregular galaxies where they are born.
Image Description: Bright blue-white stars fill the scene, but are concentrated on the right side of the image. A bright reddish-orange star sits in the upper left quadrant of the image near image center.
The spikes surrounding many of the stars in this image are “diffraction spikes,” which occur when the glow from bright points of light reflects off of Hubble's secondary mirror support. The bright red object to the left with the very prominent diffraction spikes is a foreground star that is not part of the cluster. Hubble observed this open cluster as part of a program to study the ages of white dwarf stars in open clusters.
Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and T. von Hippel (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Preflight | Kennedy Space Center
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft on top is seen at launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-6 mission, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth 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 (CCP). NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia) are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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's Artemis II Moon Rocket Engine Moved into Position for Final Join
Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, moved the engine section of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon, into position for the final join of the core stage Feb. 22. The engine section is the bottom-most portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. It is the last of five major elements that is needed to connect the stage into one major structure. In addition to its miles of cabling and hundreds of sensors, the engine section is a crucial attachment point for the four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters that produce a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and flight. During launch and flight, liquid propellants from the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tanks are delivered through the engine section to the four RS-25 engines. The engine section also includes the avionics that help steer the engines after liftoff.
Next, teams will join the engine section to the core stage for the second SLS rocket. After the join is complete, teams will begin to add each of the four RS-25 engines one by one to complete the stage. The completely assembled stage with its four RS-25 engines will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida later this year. The SLS rocket is the only rocket capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.
Publisher: NASA's History Division | Published: Feb. 2023
NACA to NASA to Now: The Frontiers of Air and Space in the American Century tells the story of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and its successor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The NACA and NASA facilitated the advance of technology for flight in air and space throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. This book explores how and why aerospace technology took the course it did, discusses some of the key people who drove aerospace science and technology development, and examines the political, economic, managerial, international, and cultural contexts in which the events of flight have unfolded.
The U.S. government explicitly challenged the NACA in 1915 to accelerate aeronautical research and to further the capability of the United States to push back the frontiers of flight. After more than 40 years of groundbreaking research into the problems of flight, the NACA was transformed in 1958 into NASA and given the added task of pursuing spaceflight with both humans and robots.
This fascinating work, written by Roger D. Launius, former NASA Chief Historian and Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, illuminates the storied, multifaceted history of this agency in a single concise volume. It will serve as an excellent introduction and resource for NASA employees, journalists, scholars, and the general public to understand NASA’s rich heritage.
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
International Congratulations on China Space Station's Completion
The Tiangong space station has been hailed as a 'remarkable achievement' for China and the world. Both the United Nations (UN) and International Astronautical Federation (IAF) sent their congratulations and best wishes for the China Space Station. CGTN reporter Wu Lei has spoken to the acting director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the executive director of the International Astronautical Federation. Take a listen.
The Next Crew Headed to the International Space Station | This Week at NASA
The next crew headed to the space station, black holes on a collision course, and an anniversary on Mars . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Cosmic Contortions: Massive Galaxy Cluster in Cetus | Hubble
A massive galaxy cluster in the constellation Cetus dominates the center of this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. This image is populated with a serene collection of elliptical and spiral galaxies, but galaxies surrounding the central cluster—which is named SPT-CL J0019-2026—appear stretched into bright arcs, as if distorted by a gargantuan magnifying glass. This cosmic contortion is called gravitational lensing, and it occurs when a massive object like a galaxy cluster has a sufficiently powerful gravitational field to distort and magnify the light from background objects. Gravitational lenses magnify light from objects that would usually be too distant and faint to observe, and so these lenses can extend Hubble’s view even deeper into the Universe.
Distance: 5 billion light years
Image Description: A cluster of large galaxies, surrounded by various stars and smaller galaxies on a dark background. The central cluster is mostly made of bright elliptical galaxies that are surrounded by a warm glow. Nearby the cluster is the stretched, distorted arc of a galaxy, gravitationally lensed by the cluster.
This observation is part of an ongoing project to fill short gaps in Hubble’s observing schedule by systematically exploring the most massive galaxy clusters in the distant Universe, in the hopes of identifying promising targets for further study with both Hubble and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. This particular galaxy cluster lies at a vast distance of 4.6 billion light years from Earth.
Each year, the Space Telescope Science Institute is inundated with observing proposals for Hubble, in which astronomers suggest targets for observation. Even after selecting only the very best proposals, scheduling observations of all of Hubble’s targets for a year is a formidable task. There is sometimes a small fraction of observing time left unused in Hubble’s schedule, so in its ‘spare time’ the telescope has a collection of objects to explore—including the lensing galaxy cluster shown in this image.
Meet Astronaut Steve Bowen: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Commander
The first submarine officer ever selected to be a NASA astronaut, who flew on three space shuttle missions in less than two and a half years, is the commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. Meet Steve Bowen, a Massachusetts native and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and hear him talk about his childhood and a Navy career that led to three construction trips to space (and seven spacewalks!), and his excitement about returning to the space station to take part in the science mission that is paving the way for future exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
NASA Astronaut Stephen Bowen's Official Biography:
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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.
Meet Astronaut Woody Hoburg: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Pilot
Teen model rocket maker. Rock climber and aircraft designer. MIT student and later professor. And now, pilot of NASA’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. A childhood dream of flying in space is about to come true for Pennsylvania native Woody Hoburg; join him for a look at his incredible path of aeronautics and engineering and computer science and robotics—and time as an EMT with Yosemite Search and Rescue—that has brought him to a launch pad in Florida for the culmination of a dream of a lifetime.
NASA Astronaut William Hoburg's Official Biography:
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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’s SpaceX Crew-6 Final Launch Operations Rehearsal | Kennedy Space Center
Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), left, NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg, second from left, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, second from right, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, right, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-6 mission launch, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
The vehicles carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are seen as they depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A
The Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission arrives at SpaceX’s hangar at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Feb. 19, 2023
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A
Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-6 mission launch, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev are scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
The four Crew-6 crewmates will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
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's Space to Ground: 4 for 6 | Week of Feb. 24, 2023
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
Crew-6’s science mission includes cutting edge research aimed at keeping astronauts and spacecraft safe during deep space exploration, and studies that could lead to improved medical treatments for humans back on Earth. Experiments will include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
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's SpaceX Crew-6 Arrival | Kennedy Space Center
The crew launching on the Agency’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center in preparation for their upcoming launch on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
Crew-6’s science mission includes cutting edge research aimed at keeping astronauts and spacecraft safe during deep space exploration, and studies that could lead to improved medical treatments for humans back on Earth. Experiments will include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.
Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (UAE) will make history by being the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Mission to the International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station.
The four Crew-6 crewmates—Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Mission Specialist UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev – will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.
Crew-6’s science mission includes cutting edge research aimed at keeping astronauts and spacecraft safe during deep space exploration, and studies that could lead to improved medical treatments for humans back on Earth. Experiments will include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.
Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (UAE) will make history by being the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS). AlNeyadi has undergone a 20-month long rigorous training for the Crew-6 mission. AlNeyadi began his training in September 2018, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City in Moscow, Russia.
Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia)
Andrey Valerievich Fediaev (Russian Cyrillic: Андрей Валерьевич Федяев; born February 26, 1981) is a Russian cosmonaut. Fediaev received his an engineering degree in air transport and Air Traffic Control from the Balashov Military Aviation School in 2004. Following graduation, Fediaev joined the Russian Air Force in the 317th mixed aviation segment. He obtained the rank of major before his retirement in 2013. He logged over 500 hours in Russian aircraft.
Fediaev was selected as a cosmonaut in 2012. He reported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 2012 and was named a test cosmonaut on June 16, 2014.
On July 15, 2022, he was assigned to the SpaceX Crew-6 mission after a recent crew swap agreement between NASA and Roscosmos.
NASA Astronaut William Hoburg's Official 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.