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Expedition 69 Astronauts Tour NASA Goddard, Speak With Employees


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A trio of astronauts visited with employees at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on March 18, 2024, to share their spaceflight experiences aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi all served as flight engineers on the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station last year.

Three astronauts in blue flight suits stand in front of a bank of TV monitors
Over 40 employees at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., participated in a meet and greet with visiting astronauts on March 18, 2024. NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg (left), United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen presented a video summarizing their mission before answering questions from Goddard staff.
NASA/Tabatha Luskey

The astronauts engaged with over 40 center employees during a meet and greet at the beginning of their visit. Employees viewed a 20-minute video that highlighted the astronauts’ preparation for the mission and their time in space. Afterward, they answered questions about daily life aboard the International Space Station.

“These are people that you see growing up, and you hear about them, but to actually be in person with them is beyond words,” said Emily Wilson, an intern at Goddard. “It’s really awesome to hear their stories.”

During their time in space, the Expedition 69 crew studied how materials burn in microgravity to understand spacecraft fire hazards, and they worked with technology to monitor how spaceflight stressors like microgravity and radiation impact the immune system. Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi also completed spacewalks during the mission.

with backs to the camera, three astronauts in blue flight suits stand before glass windowpanes that look in on the enormous clean room where spaceflight hardware for the Roman Space Telescope can be seen in the background
Hoburg (left), Alneyadi, and Bowen view the construction of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from the clean room overlook in Goddard’s Building 29.
NASA/Tabatha Luskey

After their presentation to employees, the astronauts toured Goddard and heard from researchers about the exciting science and missions in work at the center. They listened to a presentation from Dr. Antti Pulkkinen, director of Goddard’s Heliophysics Science Division, and they visited the clean room where engineers are building the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Their time at Goddard concluded at the Hubble Space Telescope Operations Control Center.

“The long history is really amazing, of all the contributions Goddard has made,” Hoburg said. “We’re truly going after those big fundamental questions about the origins of the universe, and all the kind of inspiring big scientific questions that drive us as humans, and it’s cool to see the contribution Goddard makes to all those big questions.”

Learn more about NASA’s Expedition 69 at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/expedition-69/

By Julia Tilton
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Mar 19, 2024
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      An image from October 2022 shows NASA engineers preparing for the next RS-25 engine test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center by monitoring the reload of propellant tanks to the Fred Haise Test Stand (formerly the A-1 Test Stand). RS-25 engines are powered by a mix of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.NASA/Stennis An image from October 2022 shows test team personnel ensuring pressures and flow paths are set properly for liquid oxygen to be transferred to the Fred Haise Test Stand (formerly the A-1 Test Stand), pictured in the background.NASA/Stennis An image from August 2023 shows test team personnel inspecting a pump during an initial chill down activity at the E-3 Test Complex. The versatile four-stand E Test Complex includes 12 active test cell positions capable of various component, engine, and stage test activities for NASA and commercial programs and projects. NASA/Stennis An image from September 2023 shows test team personnel preparing for future SLS (Space Launch System) exploration upper stage testing that will take place on the B-2 side of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. NASA’s new upper stage is being built as a more powerful SLS second stage to send the Orion spacecraft and heavier payloads to deep space. It will fly on the Artemis missions following a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems at NASA Stennis. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the four RL10 engines that will power the upper stage.NASA/Stennis An image from September 2023 shows test team personnel preparing for future SLS (Space Launch System) exploration upper stage testing by conducting a liquid hydrogen flow procedure. NASA’s new upper stage is being built as a more powerful SLS second stage to send the Orion spacecraft and heavier payloads to deep space. The upper stage will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems on the B-2 side of the Thad Cochran Test Stand at NASA Stennis.NASA/Stennis The evolution and performance of the NASA Stennis team was illustrated in stark fashion in June/July 2018 when a blended team of NASA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, and Syncom Space Services engineers and operators test fired an AR-22 rocket engine 10 times in a 240-hour period. 
      The campaign marked the first time a large liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine had been tested so often in such a short period of time. The test team overcame a variety of challenges, including a pair of lightning strikes that threatened to derail the entire effort. Following completion of the historic series, a NASA engineer who helped lead the campaign recounted one industry observer who repeatedly characterized the site’s test team as nothing less than a national asset. 
      The experienced site workforce now tests RS-25 engines and propulsion systems for NASA’s Artemis campaign, including those that will help power Artemis missions to the Moon for scientific discovery and economic benefits. The NASA Stennis team also supports a range of commercial aerospace propulsion test activities, facilitating continued growth in capabilities. For instance, the team now has experience working with oxygen, hydrogen, methane, and kerosene propellants.  
      “The NASA and contractor workforce at NASA Stennis is second to none when it comes to propulsion testing,” Schuyler said. “Many of the current employees have been involved in rocket engine testing for over 30 years, and newer workers are being trained under these seasoned professionals.”
      For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit: 
      Stennis Space Center – NASA 
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      Last Updated Nov 13, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related Terms
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