NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.
4,653 topics in this forum
-
- 0 replies
- 126 views
NASA has selected 15 companies to provide flight and payload integration services to advance technologies and procedures for operating in space, including testing in high-altitude, reduced gravity, or other relevant environments. Examples of payloads include NASA science instruments or technology demonstrations. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity base contract awards are firm-fixed-price with a total combined value of $45 million and a performance period of five years. The flights and other services covered by these contracts are for use by NASA and other government agencies. The types of platforms that will be used for testing include suborbital rockets, hig…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 102 views
On March 3, 1959, the United States launched Pioneer 4 with the goal of photographing the Moon during a close flyby. As part of the International Geophysical Year that ran from July 1, 1957, to Dec. 31, 1958, the United States planned to send five probes to study the Moon. The first three planned to orbit the Moon, while the last two simpler probes planned to photograph it during flybys. After NASA opened for business in October 1958, the new space agency inherited the Pioneer program from the Advanced Research Projects Agency, a branch of the Department of Defense established earlier in 1958 as part of America’s initiative to respond to early Soviet space accomplishments…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 138 views
6 Min Read Lagniappe for March 2024 Explore the March 2024 issue with highlights of Stennis Day at the Capitol; Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Testing; and coverage on the first-ever in-space mission for NASA Stennis. Explore the March 2024 edition featuring: NASA Stennis Capitol Day NASA Enters Second Half of Key RS-25 Engine Certification Series NASA Stennis Celebrates Milestone for Historic Autonomous Systems Mission Gator Speaks Gator SpeaksNASA/Stennis Closing out February and coming into March has Gator fired up, and rightfully …
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 110 views
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei speaks the night before Stennis Day at the Capitol during a reception hosted by Partners for Stennis & Michoud on Feb. 28 in Jackson, Mississippi. Vande Hei returned from a record stay on the International Space Station in 2022 following 355 days in space. Partners for Stennis & Michoud are volunteers of Mississippi and Louisiana citizens who advocate for space, Earth, and ocean exploration. The group is composed of chambers of commerce members, economic development foundations, businesses, educational institutions, local governments, community groups, and individual citizens.NASA/Danny Nowlin …
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 139 views
On Nov. 8, 2023, Max Holliday, middle, installs one of the four PY4 spacecraft into the dispenser supplied by Maverick Space Systems ahead of vibration testing. David Pignatelli, Maverick Space Systems, right, holds the dispenser steady as Watson Attai, left, documents the installation with a smart phone camera.Credits: NASA/Don Richey Preparations are underway for a new, small spacecraft technology demonstration that will test cost-efficient swarm capabilities – the ability for multiple spacecraft to communicate and perform coordinated actions. The PY4 mission’s four CubeSats are slated to launch Monday March 4, 2:05 p.m. PST to low Earth orbit aboard SpaceX’s Transpor…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 108 views
NASA Portrait of JSC Center Director – Vanessa Wyche. Photographer: Robert Markowitz March 4, 2024 MEDIA ADVISORY: J24-005 The director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center will discuss the objectives behind the center’s new Exploration Park initiative at the next meeting of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership’s (BAHEP) aerospace advisory committee at 12 p.m. CST Wednesday, March 6, at 1150 Gemini in Houston. Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche will be joined by representatives from the American Center for Manufacturing and Innovation (ACMI), which recently signed the second agreement to lease acres of underutilized land in a 240-acre Exploration Park. NASA …
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 109 views
NASA/David C. Bowman In honor of Women’s History Month and those who paved the way for them, hundreds of female staff – from artists to administrative support, educators to engineers, and scientists to safety officers – gathered in front of the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on Feb. 6, 2024. “Their path to advancement might look less like a straight line and more like some of the pressure distributions and orbits they plotted, but they were determined to take a seat at the table.” Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures Shetterly wrote these words about Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Chr…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 115 views
5 min read Multiple Spacecraft Tell the Story of One Giant Solar Storm April 17, 2021, was a day like any other day on the Sun, until a brilliant flash erupted and an enormous cloud of solar material billowed away from our star. Such outbursts from the Sun are not unusual, but this one was unusually widespread, hurling high-speed protons and electrons at velocities nearing the speed of light and striking several spacecraft across the inner solar system. In fact, it was the first time such high-speed protons and electrons – called solar energetic particles (SEPs) – were observed by spacecraft at five different, well-separated locations between the Sun and Earth as wel…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 164 views
5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This view of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa was captured by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during the mission’s close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022.Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0 The ice-covered Jovian moon generates 1,000 tons of oxygen every 24 hours – enough to keep a million humans breathing for a day. Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at the Jovian moon Europa to be substantially less than most previous studies. Published on March 4 in Nature Astronomy, the findi…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 113 views
5 Min Read Webb Unlocks Secrets of One of the Most Distant Galaxies Ever Seen NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument shows a portion of the GOODS-North field of galaxies. At lower right, a pullout highlights the galaxy GN-z11. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Marcia Rieke (University of Arizona), Daniel Eisenstein (CfA) Looking deeply into space and time, two teams using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have studied the exceptionally luminous galaxy GN-z11, which existed when our 13.8 billion-year-old universe …
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 132 views
2 Min Read Class of 2021 Glenn Research Center 2021 Hall of Fame honorees and representatives at the induction ceremony in September 2022. Credits: NASA NASA Glenn Research Center Hall of Fame 2021 Induction Class A third class of the NASA Glenn Hall of Fame was selected as part of the observance of the center’s 80th Anniversary. The 10 inductees represent Glenn’s broad competencies and mission support functions. This class is the first to emerge from Glenn’s recent history, and their influence and impact is stil…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 128 views
For NASA’s Stennis Space Center, anticipation is high for the scheduled launch today, Monday, March 4, of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will mark the initial step in the Center’s first-ever in-space mission. The launch window is 5:05 to 5:59 p.m. EST, with liftoff currently targeted for 5:05 pm EST. The SpaceX Transporter 10 mission, to be launched from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California, is a dedicated rideshare mission carrying dozens of government and commercial micro- and nanosatellites to orbit. The cargo includes the Sidus Space premier LizzieSatTM-1 (LS-1) satellite, being launched on a pathfinder and technology demonstrator mission. In an ongoing pa…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 131 views
2 Min Read Class of 2016 Glenn Research Center 2016 Hall of Fame honorees and representatives at the induction ceremony in September 2016. Credits: NASA NASA Glenn Research Center Hall of Fame 2016 Induction Class NASA Glenn Research Center inducted its second class into its Hall of Fame as part of a year-long celebration of the center’s 75th anniversary. Again, the honorees emerged from a variety of fields, from center directors, to groundbreaking researchers, computer analysts, and education. The induction…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 125 views
2 Min Read Class of 2015 Glenn Research Center 2015 Hall of Fame honorees and representatives at the induction ceremony in September 2015. Credits: NASA NASA Glenn Research Center Hall of Fame 2015 Induction Class The inaugural class of the NASA Glenn Research Center’s Hall of Fame was inducted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of NASA’s predecessor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). All nine of the inductees were employed during the center’s NACA period from 1941 to 1958. G…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 181 views
The QASIS system won first place in the Lunar Gateway Cargo Packing and Storing Challenge. This design maximizes stowage capacity, lightweight structures, and ease of use without the complexities of motors, batteries, and electronics.QASIS / NASA By Brayden McBee Humans living in space have confronted the challenge of maximizing the physical space available to them. As NASA works to return astronauts to the Moon with its Artemis campaign and chart a new era of deep space exploration with Gateway, humanity’s first space station in lunar orbit, being organized and space-efficient is important. To help address the issue, the Lunar Gateway Cargo Packing and Storing …
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 99 views
Citation Sanford Gordon and Bonnie McBride worked side by side to develop one of the most important and widely used computer programs in the aerospace industry, and they continued to improve the program for decades until their deaths. Now known as Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA), the program is still used worldwide. Applications include assigned thermodynamic states, theoretical rocket performance, Chapman-Jouguet detonations, and shock-tube parameters for incident and reflected shocks. Gordon retired in 1985 and continued to work with our contract partners. McBride passed away in 2005 while still employed as a physicist in the Combustion Branch. Bio…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 108 views
Citation Erwin “Erv” Zaretsky’s research in increasing life and reliability of mechanical components has significantly advanced the state of the art of bearings and gears for an array of aircraft, helicopter, and shuttle propulsion systems. Zaretsky performed pioneering research in rolling-element fatigue, lubrication, and probabilistic life prediction. His 50-plus years of work at the Center contributed significantly to NASA missions and enabled the Center to develop a strong technical competency in tribology and advanced mechanical systems. Zaretsky reached the Government’s highest engineering rank and served as a Distinguished Research Associate. He authored two boo…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 87 views
Citation Abe Silverstein began his career at the center in 1943, pioneering early jet technology. Dr. Silverstein was responsible for the conception, design, and construction of the nation’s earliest supersonic wind tunnels. His early support for the use of liquid hydrogen was key in the success of the Apollo Program. His advocacy for the center to lead the Centaur program put the center at the forefront of space travel and set the course for the exploration of the solar system. His influence on the agency can still be felt as one of the architects of NASA and early human space programs. When NASA was formed in 1958, he was appointed NASA Chief of Space Flight Programs…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 99 views
Citation Glenn Research Center established itself as a hub of heat transfer expertise early in its history. Rooted in basic research, as opposed to applied, this group developed new theories that would transform the body of knowledge up to that point. Robert Deissler, Simon Ostrach, adn Robert Siegel are three of the most influential heat transfer researchers in center history. Their theoretical skills made them world-renown in their own right, and it was the application of their theories that would help the center expand and excel in emerging fields such as jet engines, nuclear propulsion, and space exploration. Both Deissler and Siegel wrote seminal text books on the…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 113 views
Citation Edward Raymond Sharp, known as “Ray,” was the center’s director for its first 20 years. Sharp expedited the wartime construction of the laboratory; empowered the research staff with the freedom and tools to succeed; and inspired fierce commitment and loyalty among the staff. Employees, management, local officials, and visitors were all drawn to Sharp’s enormous personality. Although lacking any formal scientific of engineering training, Sharp’s determination to provide for his staff, attentiveness to the work being done, and sincere affection for the staff made him the rock upon which the center was built. Biography Edward Raymond Sharp, known as Ray, …
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 90 views
Citation Bobby W. Sanders was a widely recognized national technical authority in high-speed inlet technology. He conducted research on all aspects of military and commercial aircraft engine inlets, including conceptual definition, complete design, and testing for military and commercial applications. He conceived, managed, and guided the technical implementation of the center’s inlet research for subsonic through hypersonic propulsion systems. His 50-year legacy includes over sixty publications, eight patents, and the mentoring of two generations of center engineers. Biography Bobby W. Sanders was a nationally-recognized leader in the advancement of engine i…
Last reply by NASA, -
Lonnie Reid
by NASA- 0 replies
- 135 views
Citation Dr. Lonnie Reid is nationally recognized for his knowledge of internal flow in advanced aerospace propulsion systems. His long history of integrating the theoretical and experimental elements of fluid dynamics resulted in an expanded database of compressor and fan design. He was the first African American at the center to be appointed to the Senior Executive Service (in 1990) and became chief of the Internal Fluid Mechanics Division. Dr. Reid retired in 1994 with 32 years of NASA service and a legacy of mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers. Biography Lonnie Reid is nationally recognized in turbomachinery for his knowledge of interna…
Last reply by NASA, -
Bruce Lundin
by NASA- 0 replies
- 104 views
Citation Bruce Lundin started in 1943 as a mechanical engineer working on the problem’s of piston engines, but quickly moved to the emerging field of jet engines. A constant advocate for the expansion and evolution of work done at the center and also within the agency, he was one of the most vocal in advocating for the NACA’s leadership in space-related activities. His 1957 paper “Some Remarks on a future policy and course of action for the NACA would go on to become the basic template for which NASA’s structure would be based, with the NACA serving as its core. From 1969 to 1977, he served as the center director, navigating the center through one of its most difficult…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 81 views
Citation Dr. Heinrich “Henry” Kosmahl was an internationally recognized pioneer in the advancement of traveling wave tube technology for satellite communications systems. His invention and development of the multistage depressed collector revolutionized microwave tube amplifiers by nearly doubling efficiency and enabling access to previously impenetrable regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and the satellite communications infrastructure. The improved devices became a standard component of nearly all NASA and industry communications satellites. Under Kosmahl, the center became a leader in space communications. Biography Dr. Heinrich “Henry” Kosmahl revolutio…
Last reply by NASA, -
- 0 replies
- 128 views
Citation Dr. Harold Kaufman began his career at the center in 1951 and developed and tested the first electron-bombardment ion thruster in 1959. The Space Electric Rocket Tests (SERT I and II) used Kaufman’s ion engine in the first successful demonstration of electric propulsion in space and confirmed the technology for long-duration spaceflights. Dr. Kaufman’s research revolutionized the exploration of deep space, becoming the basis for ion propulsion systems that are in use today and planned for future NASA deep space missions. Dr. Kaufman retired from NASA in 1974 and became a professor at Colorado State University. Biography Center researcher Harold Kauf…
Last reply by NASA,