Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Riccardo Giacconi Awarded NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
“It’s 2 a.m. in the morning on a Sunday. You have your headset in your hand. You’re about to walk into Mission Control. And you understand — in the darkness, the crickets chirping, the lights shining on the building — you understand where you’re going and what you’re a part of.
“This is the building where we heard astronauts say, ‘Houston, we’ve had a problem.’ Where we heard, ‘the Eagle has landed.’ And the people on the ground supporting those historic missions were in this building — and now I get to be a part of that.
“There is just this undying sense of wonder every time I walk into this building. Not to say that there isn’t an undying sense of wonder at many of the other buildings at Johnson [Space Center]. But with this building in particular, having that ownership and that responsibility as I walk in — that will never go away. It’s wonderful.”
—Gary Jordan, Public Affairs Manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Image Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Interviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos
Check out some of our other Faces of NASA.
View the full article
-
By NASA
NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson is photographed at her desk at NASA Langley Research Center with a globe, or “Celestial Training Device,” in 1962. Credit: NASA / Langley Research Center NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will represent the agency during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony at 3 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 18, recognizing the women who contributed to the space race, including the NASA mathematicians who helped land the first astronauts on the Moon under the agency’s Apollo Program.
Hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony will take place inside Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Nelson is expected to be among the speakers.
The event will stream live on the speaker’s YouTube channel. The agency will share a direct link on this advisory in advance of the event.
Media without current congressional credentials on the Hill interested in participating in the event must RSVP by Sept. 13, to Abby Ronson at: abby.ronson@mail.house.gov.
Medal Information
Introduced by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson on Feb. 27, 2019, H.R.1396 – Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act – was signed into law later that year. Awards will include:
Congressional Gold Medal to Katherine Johnson, in recognition of her service to the United States as a mathematician Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Christine Darden, for her service to the United States as an aeronautical engineer Congressional Gold Medals in commemoration of the lives of Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, in recognition of their service to the United States during the space race Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of all the women who served as computers, mathematicians, and engineers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and NASA between the 1930s and the 1970s. For more information about NASA missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
-end-
Meira Bernstein / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov
View the full article
-
By NASA
A waxing gibbous moon rises over the Indian Ocean as the International Space Station orbited 266 miles above.Credit: NASA As NASA and its partners continue to conduct groundbreaking research aboard the International Space Station, the agency announced Monday it is seeking U.S. industry, academia, international partners, and other stakeholders’ feedback on newly developed goals and objectives that will help guide the next generation of human presence in low Earth orbit.
“From the very beginning, NASA’s flagship human spaceflight programs have built upon each other, expanding our knowledge and experience of humans living and working in space,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “As commercial industry is constructing new human-enabled platforms for low Earth orbit, NASA must answer the question: what should our goals and objectives be to advance our future science and exploration missions?”
NASA published draft high-level goals and objectives outlining 42 key points in six main areas: science, exploration-enabling research and technology development, commercial low Earth orbit infrastructure, operations, international cooperation, and workforce and engagement.
“Feedback is essential for shaping our long-term microgravity research and development activities,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We are committed to refining our objectives with input from both within NASA and external partners, ensuring alignment with industry and international goals. After reviewing feedback, we will finalize our strategy later this year.”
The agency will conduct two invite-only workshops in September to discuss feedback on the draft goals and objectives. The first workshop is with international partners, and the second will engage U.S. industry and academic representatives.
NASA employees also are invited to provide input through internal agency channels. This approach reflects NASA’s commitment to harnessing diverse perspectives to navigate the rapidly evolving low Earth orbit environment.
“Organizations are increasingly recognizing the transformative benefits of space, with both governments and commercial activities leveraging the International Space Station as a testbed,” said Robyn Gatens, International Space Station director and acting director of commercial spaceflight at NASA Headquarters. “By developing a comprehensive strategy, NASA is looking to the next chapter of U.S. human space exploration to help shape the agency’s future in microgravity for the benefit of all.”
Stakeholders may submit comments by close of business on Friday, Sept. 27 to:
https://www.leomicrogravitystrategy.org/
-end-
Amber Jacobson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov
View the full article
-
By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has selected three additional companies to provide launch services for future agency missions through its VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract.
The companies awarded are:
Arrow Science and Technology LLC of Webster, Texas Impulse Space Inc. of Redondo Beach, California Momentus Space LLC of San Jose, California The VADR contract is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity instrument with an ordering period through Feb. 3, 2027 and a maximum total value of $300 million across all VADR contracts. NASA selected the new launch providers in accordance with VADR’s on-ramp provision, allowing the agency to add new capabilities not available or identified at the time of the initial award. NASA will issue firm-fixed-price task orders for launch services as needed for future agency and agency-sponsored missions.
The VADR contract builds on NASA’s previous procurement efforts, such as the VCLS (Venture Class Launch Services) and VCLS Demo 2, providing a broad range of Federal Aviation Administration-licensed commercial launch services capable of delivering Class D, CubeSats, and higher risk-tolerant payloads to a variety of orbits. By using a lower level of mission assurance and commercial best practices for launching rockets, these highly flexible contracts help broaden access to space through lower launch costs and serve as an ideal platform for contributing to NASA’s science research and technology development.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the VADR contracts. The program also works with private industry, spacecraft projects, and international partners to launch science payloads ranging from small satellites with colleges and universities to NASA’s highest priority missions.
For more information about NASA’s launch services, visit:
https://go.nasa.gov/46SorXk
-end-
Josh Finch / Julian Coltre
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov
Patti Bielling / Amanda Griffin
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-7575 / 321-593-6244
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov / amanda.griffin@nasa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Aug 22, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Space Operations Mission Directorate CubeSats Kennedy Space Center Launch Services Office Launch Services Program NASA Headquarters View the full article
-
By NASA
Learn Home Solar Eclipse Data Story Helps… For Educators Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 2 min read
Solar Eclipse Data Story Helps the Public Visualize the April 2024 Total Eclipse
The NASA Science Activation program’s Cosmic Data Stories team, led by Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, released a new Data Story for the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. A Data Story is an interactive, digital showcase of new science imagery, including ideas for exploration and scientific highlights shared in a brief video and narrative text. In this Data Story, learners everywhere were able to view what the eclipse would look like from any location, including the ability to speed up or slow down time to watch what would happen as the Moon moved in front of the Sun. Users were also able to catch the ethereal glow of the Sun’s corona during totality and learn why we do not usually see the corona. They could also see what percentage of the Sun would be eclipsed at various locations. An educator guide and exploration guide make this Data Story an easy activity to fit in to any classroom. It is being used by students from late elementary through early college, and as of mid-April 2024, 23,000 learners from all 50 US states and outside the USA have accessed the Total Eclipse Data Story.
Explore the Total Eclipse Data Story
The Cosmic Data Stories project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0002 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
A third-grade student in Maine explores what the April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse will look like from her town. Share
Details
Last Updated Aug 14, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
2024 Solar Eclipse For Educators Heliophysics Science Activation Explore More
3 min read New TEMPO Cosmic Data Story Makes Air Quality Data Publicly Available
Article
1 day ago
3 min read Earth Educators Rendezvous with Infiniscope and Tour It
Article
2 days ago
2 min read Astro Campers SCoPE Out New Worlds
Article
5 days ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
Perseverance Rover
This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial…
Parker Solar Probe
On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona…
Juno
NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to…
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.