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.
Launch Day Highlights of Starliner Pre-launch, Launch & Orbital Insertion | NASA
In these launch day highlights the pre-launch, launch, and orbital insertion is covered as NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station June 5, 2024, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Boeing’s Crewed Flight Test (CFT) is scheduled to dock to the forward port of Harmony on June 6 to complete a series of test objectives ahead of spacecraft certification as part of the Commercial Crew Program.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Butch Wilmore: Commander of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test | NASA Johnson
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are supporting NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission to the International Space Station. The duo launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on June 5, 2024. NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore is the commander of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. This will be his third trip to the International Space Station. In 2009, he served as a pilot aboard space shuttle Atlantis for STS-129. Additionally, Wilmore served as a flight engineer for Expedition 41 until November 2014, when he assumed command of the space station upon arrival of the Expedition 42 crew. He returned to Earth the following March. Prior to being selected by NASA in 2000, the Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, native obtained both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, before graduating with another master’s degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is also a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland, and has completed four operational deployments during his tenure as a fleet naval officer and aviator.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Suni Williams: Pilot of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test | Johnson Space Center
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are supporting NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission to the International Space Station. The duo launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on June 5, 2024. The mission serves as the final flight test for the Starliner spacecraft and will be its first mission with crew.
NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams is the pilot of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. She is a veteran of two missions: Expedition 14/15 in 2006 through 2007, and Expedition 32/33 in 2012. The Needham, Massachusetts, native conducted seven spacewalks over the course of her career, totaling 50 hours and 40 minutes. Before her career began as a NASA astronaut in 1998, Williams graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Physical Science from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, before obtaining her master’s degree in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne. In total, she has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Mission Overview | Johnson Space Center
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will support NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission to the International Space Station. The duo launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on June 5, 2024. The mission serves as the final flight test for the Starliner spacecraft and will be its first mission with crew. The mission will also validate the transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operational capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard. Following launch, Wilmore and Williams will spend about a week aboard the space station and then return to Earth, landing in the western United States.
Wilmore is the commander for the mission. A veteran of two spaceflights, Wilmore has spent 178 days in space. In 2009, he served as a pilot aboard space shuttle Atlantis for STS-129. He served as a flight engineer for Expedition 41 until November 2014, when he assumed command of the station upon arrival of the Expedition 42 crew. He returned to Earth the following March. Wilmore was selected by NASA in 2000 to become an astronaut. He is a graduate of the United States Test Pilot School and holds a both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville. He is a retired captain in the U.S. Navy.
Williams is the pilot for the mission. She has spent 322 days in space across two missions: Expedition 14/15 in 2006 through 2007, and Expedition 32/33 in 2012. The Massachusetts native has conducted seven spacewalks, totaling 50 hours and 40 minutes. Williams was selected by NASA in 1998 to become an astronaut. She is a retired captain in the U.S. Navy. She has a bachelor’s degree in Physical Science from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, and a master’s degree in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test: Atlas V Launch | United Launch Alliance
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Florida. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) is the first launch with astronauts of the Boeing CFT-100 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The flight test, which launched at 10:52 a.m. EDT, serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni 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 Starliner Crew Flight Test Launch Highlights | Boeing
Take a closer look at the Boeing Starliner's NASA Commercial Crew launch earlier today, June 5, 2024, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Starliner is now on its way to the International Space Station with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board. Soon, the spacecraft will dock, the hatches will open, and the International Space Station crew will welcome them to their home on orbit.
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’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test Launch | International Space Station
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Florida. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) is the first launch with astronauts of the Boeing CFT-100 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The flight test, which launched at 10:52 a.m. EDT, serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni 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:
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated annually on June 5 and "encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and represents the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment."
"As we explore further into the universe and search for habitable worlds to ponder the possibility of life elsewhere, we realize that our home world is a precious oasis in the cosmos."
Watch as NASA astronaut, Dr. Jessica Meir, shares a unique view on our home planet from space.
Prior to becoming an astronaut, her career as a scientist focused on the physiology of animals in extreme environments. Meir most recently served as flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 61 and 62, and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.
First held in 1973, World Environment Day has been "a platform for raising awareness on environmental issues as marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable development and wildlife crime."
NASA Astronaut Dr. Jessica Meir's Official Biography
Liftoff: NASA's Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test | NASA Kennedy
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Florida. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) is the first launch with astronauts of the Boeing CFT-100 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The flight test, which launched at 10:52 a.m. EDT, serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the orbiting laboratory.
For more info on CFT and Starliner, visit:
boeing.com/starliner
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:
Liftoff: NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test | International Space Station
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Florida. NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) is the first launch with astronauts of the Boeing CFT-100 spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The flight test, which launched at 10:52 a.m. EDT, serves as an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s crew transportation system and will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni 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:
Launch of PREFIRE and Ice from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1
Electron rocket's Rutherford engines at liftoff
Liftoff of PREFIRE and Ice
Electron rocket for the NASA PREFIRE Mission
Electron rocket on the pad at Launch Complex 1
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1
PREFIRE & Ice Mission patch
'PREFIRE and Ice' was the second of two back-to-back dedicated Electron launches for NASA's PREFIRE mission (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment).
The ‘PREFIRE and Ice’ Mission was launched on June 5th, 2024 from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand—just eleven days after the first PREFIRE launch, ‘Ready, Aim, PREFIRE,’ was successfully launched on May 25th, 2024 from the same launch site.
NASA’s PREFIRE Mission consists of two shoebox-size cube satellites that will measure the amount of heat Earth radiates into space from Earth’s poles. Data from the PREFIRE Mission will help researchers better predict how Earth’s ice, seas, and weather will change in a warming world.
At the heart of the PREFIRE mission is Earth’s energy budget—the balance between incoming heat energy from the Sun and the outgoing heat given off by the planet. The difference between the two is what determines the planet’s temperature and climate. Much of the heat radiated from the Arctic and Antarctica is emitted as far-infrared radiation, but there is currently no detailed measurement of this type of energy. The water vapor content of the atmosphere, along with the presence, structure, and composition of clouds, influences the amount of far-infrared radiation that escapes into space from Earth’s poles. Data collected from PREFIRE will give researchers information on where and when far-infrared energy radiates from the Arctic and Antarctic environments into space.
NASA’s Boeing Starliner Flight Test Crew Leave for Launch Pad
NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams take their first steps outside from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to head to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral in Florida for liftoff to the International Space Station at 10:52 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 5, 2024.
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:
Listen to The Universe | NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
NASA is famous for beautiful space images.
However, did you know you can listen to them?
Go behind the scenes with the team that creates “sonifications,” translations of data into sound, and learn how meaningful they are to people who are blind or low-vision.
Video Credit: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
An aurora and an atmospheric glow crown Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 263 miles above a cloudy Indian Ocean southeast of Africa.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
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.
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
How China's Chang'e-6 Science Mission Returns Far Side Moon Samples to Earth
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released an animation explaining Chang'e-6's return to Earth, after the lunar probe collected the first soil samples from the Moon's far side south pole—an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history.
The Chang'e-6 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, was launched on May 3, 2024. The lander-ascender combination, separated from the orbiter-returner combination on May 30, touched down at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on June 2.
The SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude) 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.
The Chang'e-6 lander finished its intelligent and rapid sampling work, and the samples were stowed in a container inside the ascender of the probe as planned.
After the sampling was completed, a Chinese national flag carried by the lander was unfurled for the first time on the far side of the Moon. The lander-ascender combination also took a "selfie" with the Moon.
After that, the combination separated, with the lander staying on the lunar surface, whereas the ascender lifted off from lunar surface on Tuesday morning, carrying samples collected from the Moon's far side.
A 3,000-newton engine, after working for about six minutes, pushed the ascender to the preset lunar orbit with a perigee of about 15 kilometers and an apogee of about 180 kilometers, where the ascender is expected to carry out unmanned rendezvous and docking with the orbiter-returner combination within around 21 seconds. The samples will be transferred to the returner.
After the samples are transferred to the returner, the orbiter-returner combination will separate from the ascender, and then orbit the moon while waiting for the window to enter the Moon-Earth transfer orbit. After orbiting the moon for around 14 days, the orbiter-returner combination will enter the Moon-Earth transfer orbit.
After one to three corrections in about five days, the combination will reach a position around 5,000 kilometers above the Earth, where the returner will separate from the orbiter and start the phase of re-entering the atmosphere and returning to Earth. It will touchdown at a planned landing area at Siziwang Banner in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This will mark the end of the Chang'e-6's 53-day journey of flying to the moon and back.
Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency
.jpg)
.jpg)