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Preparing for Launch: Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test on ULA Atlas V Rocket
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft are being readied for launch at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Starliner will head to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on board.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Panning over Dwarf Galaxy IC 776 in Virgo | Hubble
This is the dwarf galaxy IC 776. It is a swirling collection of stars new and old located in the constellation Virgo—in fact, in the Virgo galaxy cluster—100 million light-years from Earth. While a dwarf galaxy, it is also been classified as an SAB-type or ‘weakly barred’ spiral, one study naming it a “complex case” in morphology. This highly detailed view from Hubble demonstrates that complexity well. IC 776 has a ragged, disturbed disc that nevertheless looks to spiral around the core, and arcs of star-forming regions.
This image is from an observation program dedicated to the study of dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster, searching for sources of X-rays in such galaxies. X-rays are often emitted by accretion discs, where material that is drawn into a compact object by gravity crashes together and forms a hot, glowing disc. The compact object can be a white dwarf or neutron star in a binary pair, stealing material from its companion star, or it can be the supermassive black hole at the heart of a galaxy, devouring all around it. Dwarf galaxies like IC 776, travelling through the Virgo cluster, experience a pressure from the intergalactic gas which can both stimulate star formation and feed the central black hole in a galaxy. That can create energetic accretion discs, hot enough to emit X-rays.
While Hubble is not able to see X-rays, it can coordinate with X-ray telescopes, such as NASA’s Chandra, revealing the sources of this radiation in high resolution using visible light. Dwarf galaxies are thought to be very important for our understanding of cosmology and the evolution of galaxies. As with many areas of astronomy, the ability to examine these galaxies across the electromagnetic spectrum is critical to their study.
Image Description: A spiral galaxy viewed tilted at a diagonal angle. The core and the disc of the galaxy are different colors, but are otherwise difficult to tell apart, with the disc having wispy, ragged edges and many arcs of glowing star-forming patches. A few distant galaxies can be seen in the background around the spiral galaxy, as well as several foreground stars.
Video Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
The celestial object showcased in this picture is the spiral galaxy UGC 9684. It lies around 240 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Boötes. This image shows an impressive example of several classic galactic features, including a clear bar in the galaxy's center, and a halo surrounding its disc.
The impetus for this Hubble image was a study into the host galaxies of Type-II supernovae. These cataclysmic stellar explosions take place throughout the Universe, and are of great interest to astronomers, so automated surveys scan the night sky and attempt to catch sight of them. The supernova that brought UGC 9684 to Hubble's attention occurred during 2020. It has faded from view in this image taken in 2023.
Remarkably, the 2020 supernova in this galaxy is not the only one that has been seen there—four supernova-like events have been spotted in UGC 9684 since 2006, putting it up there with the most active supernova-producing galaxies. It turns out that UGC 9684 is a quite active star-forming galaxy, calculated as producing one solar mass worth of stars every few years! This level of stellar formation makes UGC 9684 a veritable supernova factory, and a galaxy to watch for astronomers hoping to examine these exceptional events.
Image Description: A spiral galaxy in the center of a dark background, surrounded by a few distant galaxies and nearby stars. The galaxy is tilted diagonally and partially towards the viewer. Its disc is cloudy and threaded with dust, without clear arms. A bar of light extends across the disc from the glowing core. A faint halo of gas surrounds the disc.
Video Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
Spiral Galaxy UGC 9684: A Star Forming Factory | Hubble
The celestial object showcased in this picture is the spiral galaxy UGC 9684. It lies around 240 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Boötes. This image shows an impressive example of several classic galactic features, including a clear bar in the galaxy's center, and a halo surrounding its disc.
The impetus for this Hubble image was a study into the host galaxies of Type-II supernovae. These cataclysmic stellar explosions take place throughout the Universe, and are of great interest to astronomers, so automated surveys scan the night sky and attempt to catch sight of them. The supernova that brought UGC 9684 to Hubble's attention occurred during 2020. It has faded from view in this image taken in 2023.
Remarkably, the 2020 supernova in this galaxy is not the only one that has been seen there—four supernova-like events have been spotted in UGC 9684 since 2006, putting it up there with the most active supernova-producing galaxies. It turns out that UGC 9684 is a quite active star-forming galaxy, calculated as producing one solar mass worth of stars every few years! This level of stellar formation makes UGC 9684 a veritable supernova factory, and a galaxy to watch for astronomers hoping to examine these exceptional events.
Image Description: A spiral galaxy in the center of a dark background, surrounded by a few distant galaxies and nearby stars. The galaxy is tilted diagonally and partially towards the viewer. Its disc is cloudy and threaded with dust, without clear arms. A bar of light extends across the disc from the glowing core. A faint halo of gas surrounds the disc.
Polaris Dawn: Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Spacesuit Training | SpaceX
A member of the Polaris Dawn Crew wearing their new EVA spacesuit in a Crew Dragon mock-up at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California
The Polaris Dawn crew wearing their new EVA spacesuits in a Crew Dragon mock-up at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California
The Polaris Dawn Crew at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California
Scott Poteet, Polaris Dawn Mission Pilot
At ~700 km above Earth, the extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit will support the Polaris Dawn crew in the vacuum of space during the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn mission from Florida. Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew will spend up to five days in orbit. This Dragon mission will take advantage of Falcon 9 and Dragon’s maximum performance, flying higher than any Dragon mission to date by reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown. Orbiting through portions of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health.
Evolved from the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit, the EVA suit provides greater mobility, a state-of-the-art helmet Heads-Up Display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk.
Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary.
Happy Astronaut Day! NASA Astronauts Butch & Suni Visit Launchpad
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for pictures after a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard was rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is the first launch with astronauts aboard the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The flight test serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry Wilmore and Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
NASA Astronauts Butch & Suni Visit Starliner Spacecraft on Launchpad
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for pictures after a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard was rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is the first launch with astronauts aboard the Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The flight test serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry Wilmore and Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
International Cooperation for China's Chang'e-6 Moon Science Mission
China's Chang'e-6 science mission to collect samples from the far side of the moon for the first time in human history has been hailed as scientifically important. Guests representing over ten countries and international scientific organizations attended the launch of the Chang'e-6 probe at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China's southern island province of Hainan on Friday, May 3, 2024. Those gathered said it is hoped the mission will make new discoveries, and lead to greater collaboration in international space exploration.
The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The SPA basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Video Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test on Atlas V Rocket | International Space Station
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft are being readied for launch at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
Starliner will head to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on board.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Spacesuit | SpaceX
At ~700 km above Earth, the extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit will support the Polaris Dawn crew in the vacuum of space during the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk.
Evolved from the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit, the EVA suit provides greater mobility, a state-of-the-art helmet Heads-Up Display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk.
Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary.
Boeing Starliner Rolled to Pad for Launch | International Space Station
The Starliner spacecraft and Atlas V rocket have rolled to the launch pad at United Launch Alliance's Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The stack stands 172 ft (52 m) tall. Teams rolled the stack on tracks at ~1 mph (1.6 kph) from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch site.
This is one of the final milestones before the Crew Flight Test (CFT) launch on May 6, 2024. Starliner will head to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on board.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
"On this Star Wars Day, we're channeling the power of the Force! Celebrate the day by downloading this exclusive poster and join us as we journey to the Moon and beyond!
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
"This IS the droid you're looking for." NASA Droid: Year 1962
Happy Star Wars Day! Happy National Space Day!
"This Star Wars Day we're betting this droid, built around 1962 to test NASA space suits, would beat C-3PO in a fight. Its mechanized limbs had strain gauges to indicate how much force was required to move in a suit."
—NASA History Office
First of all there is a question of just what to call this device. Is it a “dummy”? That’s what its creators called it sometimes, but that sounds too pejorative and does not give credit to its complexity. Is it a “robot”? That’s what it looks like. Or is it an “android,” defined by the dictionary as “an automaton made to resemble a human being”? But what is an “automaton”? “Anything that can move or act of itself,” among other definitions. That is close enough, so we will call it an “android” from now on.
The android was built in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of Technology beginning around 1962, to test space suits for NASA. It was intended to be installed in a prototype suit (on Earth), and its limbs would be set in motion that closely resembled what a human suit wearer would do. Strain gauges would tell how much force was required to move in a suit, and therefore how much effort an astronaut needed to wear the suit. It was never intended to fly in space, and could not operate without a control console connected to it. Apparently it also could not stand on its own, but was suspended by a parachute-type harness. The device worked on hydraulic motors, which were controlled by knobs operated by a human operator nearby. It did not have any computer or “brain” in it. Therefore I avoid the term “robot,” which implies self-contained autonomous operation, although in other respects it does resemble a robot, and that term is not totally inaccurate. Although lacking a computer, it was nevertheless a very significant breakthrough in the ability to mimic the motions of the human body. As a dramatic demonstration of its capabilities, its designers got it to dance “the twist,” and to mimic the pelvic gyrations of Elvis Presley.
Because of the maze of tiny tubes and valves that carried hydraulic fluid, the android tended to leak, which could have damaged an expensive space suit. At times it was covered with a “wet suit” to catch the leaks, but I believe that problem was never solved. As far as I can tell, only two androids were built, and it never really fulfilled the function it was built for. The project ended around 1967.
Pakistan's First Moon Mission Launched aboard China's Chang'e-6 Lunar Probe
Pakistan launched its groundbreaking lunar mission aboard China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe on Friday, May 3, 2024. The Chinese probe blasted off atop a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The ICUBE-Q CubeSat satellite, designed and developed by Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology (IST) in collaboration with China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Pakistan's national space agency, SUPARCO, represents a milestone in space cooperation.
The launch was broadcast live on the Institute of Space Technology's website and media channels, with viewers worldwide to witnessing history in the making. For the many young students aspiring to explore the unknown, this historic day signifies that their dream is about to come true.
"It all started from my childhood, basically, it looks really fascinated when I looked at the moon continuously walking with us, and I usually stare at the moon from my rooftop," said Malaika Khursheed, a student at the Institute of Space Technology.
The ICUBE-Q is among the first nano-satellites to travel into deep space. It is also the first satellite collaboration mission between Pakistan and China as well as the universities.
So it is a symbol of mutual trust, and youngsters' exploration of the moon.
"At the moment of the launch of the Pakistan and SJTU CubeSat, I'm very delighted to be part of this momentous occasion and I can't wait to watch the launch," said Chen Ye, a student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
In March, students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University arrived in Pakistan to meet and train with their fellow Pakistani students. The Chinese team brought a copy of the satellite to Pakistan. It was the only time that both teams met and interacted. And Pakistani researchers spoke highly of the cooperation.
"Collaboration with China is really significant, it signifies global cooperation," said Syed Azish Ali Bukhari, a communication engineer and a research fellow at the IST.
"It truly gives a big boost to our young people so that they can look forward to such projects and even more complex and bigger projects in the future," said Qamar Ul Islam, director of the Space System Lab of IST.
CubeSats, renowned for their compact design and versatility, have transformed space exploration, empowering universities, research institutions, and commercial ventures to participate in cutting-edge missions at a fraction of the cost.
This collaborative endeavor underscores the deepening ties between Pakistan and China in the pursuit of scientific discovery beyond Earth's bounds.
The Chang'e-6 mission's primary objective is to gather samples from the far side of the moon, marking the first-ever attempt to gather samples from this region of the moon.
International Payloads on China's Chang'e-6 Science Mission to Moon's Far Side
China's Chang'e-6 science mission that launched on May 3, 2024, aims to retrieve samples from the far side, south pole region of the Moon for the first time in human history. It is also taking international payloads along. Scientists from all over the world gathered in China's southern Hainan island province as the mission began. The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The South Pole–Aitken basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Video Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
A Double-bladed Lightsaber? Herbig-Haro Jet HH 24 | Hubble's Inside the Image
Happy Star Wars Day! Happy National Space Day! NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed what looks like a cosmic, double-bladed lightsaber.
In the center of the image, partially obscured by a dark, Jedi-like cloak of dust, a newborn star shoots twin jets out into space as a sort of birth announcement to the universe.
In this video, Dr. Ken Carpenter explains this breathtaking image and how important Hubble is to exploring the mysteries of the universe, even if it is far far away!
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