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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Heather Seagren grew up near NASA’s Stennis Space Center and visited for field trips as a child. Now, as a financial management specialist, Seagren coordinates work trips for NASA employees at the south Mississippi NASA center. NASA/Danny Nowlin A leap of faith for Heather Seagren eight years ago brought the Gulf Coast native to something new, yet also returned her to a familiar place at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Following graduation from Pearl River Community College, Seagren worked as an office manager at a pediatric office. Seagren anticipated a full career in the medical field until an opportunity at the south Mississippi NASA center “kind of fell in my lap,” she said.
The NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis, was hiring for its travel department, so Seagren applied.
“There are many different roles here, and my biggest thing was, do not second guess your decisions,” she said. “It was a big change for me, and I made the leap and ended up where I am today, even though it was a completely different career field.”
A new career field, yes, but not a new place. Seagren grew up in Pearlington, Mississippi, less than 10 miles from the nation’s largest propulsion test site. Her grandfather, Grover “Shu-Shu” Bennett, retired from NASA Stennis as a tugboat captain, helping to deliver rocket propellants along the site canal system to the test stands at NASA Stennis.
Just as her grandfather ensured the rocket engine fuel made it to its destination on time, Seagren does the same for NASA employees by coordinating travel plans. She now is in a similar role as a NASA Stennis financial management specialist.
Working with astronauts, engineers, and many other NASA employees, no two trips are alike, which is a part of the job Seagren enjoys.
What is similar is the trips coordinated by Seagren align with NASA’s mission to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.
The Kiln, Mississippi, resident plays a vital role in the NASA mission by bringing together the details of booking flights, arranging accommodations, and managing schedules.
“The best thing about working at NASA Stennis is getting to experience everything,” she said. “It is always interesting to see what other projects and duties everybody is doing. The process kind of starts with the travel department. … It is a small step, but we are involved, making sure everybody is where they need to be, when they need to be there, so, I think that is pretty cool.”
Learn more about the people who work at NASA Stennis View the full article
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By Space Force
Space Launch Delta 45 continued to “set the pace for space” as the world’s busiest spaceport in 2024. The SLD 45 team enabled 93 launches from the Eastern Range in 2024.
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By NASA
The telescope and instruments for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope were recently integrated together on the observatory’s instrument carrier at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Next, the entire system will be joined to the Roman spacecraft. NASA/Chris Gunn NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission’s telescope and two instruments onto the instrument carrier, marking the completion of the Roman payload. Now the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will begin joining the payload to the spacecraft.
“We’re in the middle of an exciting stage of mission preparation,” said Jody Dawson, a Roman systems engineer at NASA Goddard. “All the components are now here at Goddard, and they’re coming together in quick succession. We expect to integrate the telescope and instruments with the spacecraft before the year is up.”
Engineers first integrated the Coronagraph Instrument, a technology demonstration designed to image exoplanets — worlds outside our solar system — by using a complex suite of masks and active mirrors to obscure the glare of the planets’ host stars.
Then the team integrated the Optical Telescope Assembly, which includes a 7.9-foot (2.4-meter) primary mirror, nine additional mirrors, and their supporting structures and electronics. The telescope will focus cosmic light and send it to Roman’s instruments, revealing billions of objects strewn throughout space and time. Roman will be the most stable large telescope ever built, at least 10 times more so than NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and 100 times more than the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope. This will allow scientists to make measurements at levels of precision that can answer important questions about dark energy, dark matter, and worlds beyond our solar system.
Technicians install the primary instrument for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, called the Wide Field Instrument (at left), in the biggest clean room at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. This marked the final step to complete the Roman payload, which also includes a Coronagraph instrument and the Optical Telescope Assembly.NASA/Chris Gunn With those components in place, the team then added Roman’s primary instrument. Called the Wide Field Instrument, this 300-megapixel infrared camera will give Roman a deep, panoramic view of the universe. Through the Wide Field Instrument’s surveys, scientists will be able to explore distant exoplanets, stars, galaxies, black holes, dark energy, dark matter, and more. Thanks to this instrument and the observatory’s efficiency, Roman will be able to image large areas of the sky 1,000 times faster than Hubble with the same sharp, sensitive image quality.
“It would be quicker to list the astronomy topics Roman won’t be able to address than those it will,” said Julie McEnery, the Roman senior project scientist at NASA Goddard. “We’ve never had a tool like this before. Roman will revolutionize the way we do astronomy.”
The telescope and instruments were mounted to Roman’s instrument carrier and precisely aligned in the largest clean room at Goddard, where the observatory is being assembled. Now, the whole assembly is being attached to the Roman spacecraft, which will deliver the observatory to its orbit and enable it to function once there.
At the same time, the mission’s deployable aperture cover — a visor that will shield the telescope from unwanted light — is being joined to the outer barrel assembly, which serves as the telescope’s exoskeleton.
“We’ve had an incredible year, and we’re looking forward to another one!” said Bear Witherspoon, a Roman systems engineer at NASA Goddard. “While the payload and spacecraft undergo a smattering of testing together, the team will work toward integrating the solar panels onto the outer barrel assembly.”
That keeps the observatory on track for completion by fall 2026 and launch no later than May 2027.
To virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope, visit:
https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.
By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
301-286-1940
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Last Updated Dec 12, 2024 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Dark Energy Dark Matter Exoplanets Galaxies Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Stars The Universe Explore More
6 min read Primary Instrument for Roman Space Telescope Arrives at NASA Goddard
Article 4 months ago 6 min read NASA Successfully Integrates Coronagraph for Roman Space Telescope
Article 1 month ago 5 min read Telescope for NASA’s Roman Mission Complete, Delivered to Goddard
Article 4 weeks ago View the full article
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By NASA
5 Min Read Scientists Share Early Results from NASA’s Solar Eclipse Experiments
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. This photo was taken from Dallas, Texas. Credits:
NASA/Keegan Barber On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across North America, from the western shores of Mexico, through the United States, and into northeastern Canada. For the eclipse, NASA helped fund numerous research projects and called upon citizen scientists in support of NASA’s goal to understand how our home planet is affected by the Sun – including, for example, how our star interacts with Earth’s atmosphere and affects radio communications.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 10, scientists attending the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C., reported some early results from a few of these eclipse experiments.
“Scientists and tens of thousands of volunteer observers were stationed throughout the Moon’s shadow,” said Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Their efforts were a crucial part of the Heliophysics Big Year – helping us to learn more about the Sun and how it affects Earth’s atmosphere when our star’s light temporarily disappears from view.”
Changes in the Corona
On April 8, the Citizen CATE 2024 (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse) project stationed 35 observing teams from local communities from Texas to Maine to capture images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, during totality. Their goal is to see how the corona changed as totality swept across the continent.
On Dec. 10, Sarah Kovac, the CATE project manager at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, reported that, while a few teams were stymied by clouds, most observed totality successfully — collecting over 47,000 images in all.
These images were taken in polarized light, or light oriented in different directions, to help scientists better understand the processes that shape the corona.
This preliminary movie from the Citizen CATE 2024 project stitches together polarized images of the solar corona taken from different sites during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. SwRI/Citizen CATE 2024/Dan Seaton/Derek Lamb Kovac shared the first cut of a movie created from these images. The project is still stitching together all the images into the final, hour-long movie, for release at a later time.
“The beauty of CATE 2024 is that we blend cutting-edge professional science with community participants from all walks of life,” Kovac said. “The dedication of every participant made this project possible.”
Meanwhile, 50,000 feet above the ground, two NASA WB-57 aircraft chased the eclipse shadow as it raced across the continent, observing above the clouds and extending their time in totality to approximately 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
On board were cameras and spectrometers (instruments that analyze different wavelengths of light) built by multiple research teams to study the corona.
This image of the total solar eclipse is a combination of 30 50-millisecond exposures taken with a camera mounted on one of NASA’s WB-57 aircraft on April 8, 2024. It was captured in a wavelength of light emitted by ionized iron atoms called Fe XIV. This emission highlights electrified gas, called plasma, at a specific temperature (around 3.2 million degrees Fahrenheit) that often reveals arch-like structures in the corona. B. Justen, O. Mayer, M. Justen, S. Habbal, and M. Druckmuller On Dec. 10, Shadia Habbal of the University of Hawaii, who led one of the teams, reported that their instruments collected valuable data, despite one challenge. Cameras they had mounted on the aircraft’s wings experienced unexpected vibrations, which caused some of the images to be slightly blurred.
However, all the cameras captured detailed images of the corona, and the spectrometers, which were located in the nose of the aircraft, were not affected. The results were so successful, scientists are already planning to fly similar experiments on the aircraft again.
“The WB-57 is a remarkable platform for eclipse observations that we will try to capitalize on for future eclipses,” Habbal said.
Affecting the Atmosphere
On April 8, amateur or “ham” radio operators sent and received signals to one another before, during, and after the eclipse as part of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science. More than 6,350 amateur radio operators generated over 52 million data points to observe how the sudden loss of sunlight during totality affects their radio signals and the ionosphere, an electrified region of Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Students from Case Western Reserve University operate radios during the 2024 total solar eclipse. HamSCI/Case Western Reserve University Radio communications inside and outside the path of totality improved at some frequencies (from 1-7 MHz), showing there was a reduction in ionospheric absorption. At higher frequencies (10 MHz and above), communications worsened.
Results using another technique, which bounced high-frequency radio waves (3-30 MHz) off the ionosphere, suggests that the ionosphere ascended in altitude during the eclipse and then descended to its normal height afterward.
“The project brings ham radio operators into the science community,” said Nathaniel Frissell, a professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and lead of HamSCI. “Their dedication to their craft made this research possible.”
Also looking at the atmosphere, the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project organized student groups across the U.S. to launch balloons into the shadow of the Moon as it crossed the country in April 2024 and during a solar eclipse in October 2023. Teams flew weather sensors and other instruments to study the atmospheric response to the cold, dark shadow.
The eclipse’s shadow was captured from a camera aboard Virginia Tech’s balloon as part of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project on April 8, 2024. Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project/Virginia Tech This research, conducted by over 800 students, confirmed that eclipses can generate ripples in Earth’s atmosphere called atmospheric gravity waves. Just as waves form in a lake when water is disturbed, these waves also form in the atmosphere when air is disturbed. This project, led by Angela Des Jardins of Montana State University in Bozeman, also confirmed the presence of these waves during previous solar eclipses. Scientists think the trigger for these waves is a “hiccup” in the tropopause, a layer in Earth’s atmosphere, similar to an atmospheric effect that is observed during sunset.
“Half of the teams had little to no experience ballooning before the project,” said Jie Gong, a team science expert and atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “But their hard work and research was vital in this finding.”
By Abbey Interrante and Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Dec 10, 2024 Related Terms
2024 Solar Eclipse Citizen Science Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Solar Eclipses The Sun Uncategorized Explore More
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By NASA
A new American human-rated spacecraft made its first foray into space on Dec. 5, 2014. Under contract to NASA, Lockheed Martin builds Orion as the vehicle to take American astronauts back to the Moon and eventually beyond. Orion’s overall shape harkens back to the Apollo Command and Service Modules, but using today’s technology is a larger and far more capable vehicle for NASA’s Artemis Program.
Orion’s first mission, called Engineering Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), used a Delta-IV Heavy booster, at the time the most powerful operational rocket. The 4.5-hour mission demonstrated Orion’s space-worthiness, tested the spacecraft’s heat shield during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, and proved the capsule’s recovery systems. Although the EFT-1 mission didn’t include a crew, the Orion capsule flew higher and faster than any human-rated spacecraft in more than 40 years.
The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA’s Orion spacecraft mounted atop, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37B in Florida.NASA/Bill Ingalls At 7:05 a.m. EST on Dec. 5, 2014, the three-core first stage of the Delta-IV Heavy rocket ignited, lifting the Orion spacecraft off from Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force, now Space Force, Station (CCAFS) in Florida to begin the EFT-1 mission. Three minutes and fifty-eight seconds after liftoff, the two side boosters separated as the center core continued firing for another 93 seconds. The second stage ignited thirteen seconds after separation to begin the first of three planned burns. During the first burn, the Service Module’s protective fairing separated, followed by the Launch Abort System. Lasting about 11 and a half minutes, this first burn of the second stage placed the spacecraft into a preliminary 115-by-552-mile parking orbit. While completing one revolution around the Earth, controllers in Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, led by Flight Director Michael L. Sarafin, verified the functioning of the spacecraft’s systems. The second stage ignited a second time, firing for 4 minutes and 42 seconds to raise Orion’s apogee or high point above the Earth to 3,600 miles. During the coast to apogee, Orion remained attached to the second stage and completed its first crossing through the inner Van Allen radiation belt.
Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas during the EFT-1 mission.NASA/Mark Sowa Three hours and five minutes after launch, Orion reached its apogee and began its descent back toward Earth, separating from the second stage about 18 minutes later. The second stage conducted a one-minute disposal burn to ensure it didn’t interfere with the spacecraft’s trajectory. During the passage back through the Van Allen belt, Orion fired its thrusters for 10 seconds to adjust its course for reentry. At an altitude of 400,000 feet, the spacecraft encountered the first tendrils of the Earth’s atmosphere at a point called Entry Interface, traveling at 20,000 miles per hour (mph). A buildup of ionized gases caused by the reentry heating resulted in a communications blackout with Orion for about two and a half minutes. The spacecraft experienced maximum heating of about 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, proving the worthiness of the heat shield. After release of Orion’s forward bay cover, two drogue parachutes deployed to slow and stabilize the spacecraft. Next followed deployment of the three main parachutes that slowed the spacecraft to 20 mph. Splashdown occurred 4 hours and 24 minutes after launch about 600 miles southwest of San Diego, California. A video of the Orion EFT-1 mission can be viewed here.
Crew module splashing down during EFT-1 in the Pacific ocean.NASA Standing by to recover the Orion capsule, U.S. Navy Divers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11 and Fleet Combat Camera Pacific and crew members from amphibious transport dock U.S.S. Anchorage (LPD-23) stepped into action, first placing a flotation collar around the spacecraft. After securing a tow line to the capsule, the sailors towed it aboard the amphibious well deck of Anchorage, which set sail for Naval Base San Diego arriving there on Dec 8. Engineers from NASA and Lockheed Martin conducted a preliminary inspection of the spacecraft during the cruise to San Diego and found that it survived its trip into space in excellent condition.
U.S. Navy divers approach the Orion capsule during recovery operations. U.S. Navy The Orion EFT-1 mission met all its objectives and received many accolades. “Today was a great day for America,” said Flight Director Sarafin from his console at Mission Control. “It is hard to have a better day than today,” said Mark S. Geyer, Orion program manager. “We’re already working on the next capsule,” said W. Michael “Mike” Hawes, Lockheed Martin’s Orion program manager, adding, “We’ll learn a tremendous amount from what we did today.” NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William H. Gerstenmaier praised all personnel involved with the EFT-1 mission, “What a tremendous team effort.” NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden summarized his thoughts about the mission, “Today’s flight test of Orion is a huge step for NASA and a really critical part of our work to pioneer deep space.”
Former NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden inspects Orion EFT-1 capsule at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.NASA After its arrival at Naval Base San Diego, workers placed the Orion capsule aboard a truck that delivered it to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Dec. 18. After engineers conducted a thorough inspection of the spacecraft at KSC, workers trucked it to the Lockheed Martin facility in Littleton, Colorado, where it arrived on Sept. 1, 2015. Engineers completed final inspections and decontamination of the vehicle. The KSC Visitor Complex has the capsule on display.
The Orion capsule during the Artemis I mission, with the Moon and Earth in the background. NASA The next time an Orion spacecraft flew in space during the Artemis I mission, the Space Launch System (SLS) carried it into orbit after launch from KSC’s Launch Complex 39B. The thunderous night launch took place on Nov. 16, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I provided a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrated our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. The uncrewed Orion spacecraft spent 25.5 days in space, including 6 days in a retrograde orbit around the Moon, concluding with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, exactly 50 years after the Apollo 17 Moon landing.
The Artemis II crew poses in front of the Orion capsule at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.NASA/Kim Shiflett On April 3, 2023, NASA named the four-person crew for the Artemis II mission, the first flight to take humans beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The crew includes NASA astronauts G. Reid Wiseman as commander, Victor J. Glover as pilot, and Christina H. Koch as a mission specialist as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy R. Hansen as the other mission specialist. The four will take an Orion spacecraft on a 10-day journey around the Moon to human rate the spacecraft and SLS.
Interested in learning more about the Artemis Program? Go to https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/
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