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NASA Accelerates SLS Rocket Hot Fire Test, Invites Media to Pretest Briefing
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By NASA
Rebecca Mataya is a budget analyst at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. “Whether you are an engineer, analyst, lawyer, technician, communicator or innovator, there is a place for you here at NASA,” she said. “Every skill contributes to the greater mission of pushing the boundaries of exploration, discovery, and progress. If you have a passion, determination, and willingness to learn, NASA is a place where you can grow and leave a lasting impact on the future of space.”NASA/Stennis A career path can unfold in unexpected ways. Ask NASA’s Rebecca Mataya.
The journey to NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was not planned but “meant to be,” she said.
While working for a local business, the Picayune, Mississippi, native frequently delivered items to NASA Stennis. While making a delivery, Mataya noticed a construction worker who needed directions while waiting to receive a NASA Stennis visitor’s badge.
“I stepped in by offering a map and highlighting the way,” Mataya said.
This small moment of initiative caught the attention of the receptionist, who mentioned an opening at NASA Stennis. She noted that Mataya’s approach to the situation displayed the NASA Stennis culture of hospitality and a can-do attitude.
“The rest is history,” she said. “Looking back, it was not just about finding a job – it was about NASA Stennis finding me, and me discovering a place where I would build a fulfilling career.”
Since the first day of work when Mataya walked into NASA Stennis “in complete awe,” she has felt like every day is a learning experience filled with “wow” moments, like seeing a test stand up close and meeting rocket engineers.
The Carriere, Mississippi, resident worked as a support contractor from 2008 to 2022, filling various roles from lead security support specialist to technical writer and program manager.
Her career path has progressed, where each role built upon the previous.
As a budget analyst in the NASA Stennis Office of the Chief Financial Officer since 2022, Mataya oversees the planning, programing, budgeting, and execution of funds for all Office of Strategic Infrastructure work within the NASA Stennis Center Operations Directorate. She also manages budgets for the NASA Stennis Construction of Facilities projects, and the congressionally approved Supplemental Funding portfolio.
“It is a role that requires adaptability, strategic thinking, and financial oversight,” she said. “I have cultivated these skills through years of experience, but more than that, it is a role that allows me to contribute something meaningful to the future of NASA and space exploration.”
Mataya will complete a master’s degree in Business Administration from Mississippi State University in May. She previously earned her bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State and an associate degree from Pearl River Community College.
“My career has been shaped by growth and achievement, but the greatest highlight has always been the incredible people I have had the privilege of working with,” she said. “Walking the halls of NASA, where top leaders recognize me by name, is a testament to the trust and relationships I have built over the years.”
Mataya said supervisors have consistently entrusted her with more complex projects, confident in her ability to rise to the challenge and deliver results. As a result, she has had opportunities to mentor interns and early-career professionals, guiding them as others once guided her.
“Seeing my colleagues succeed and knowing they have reached their goals, and championing their progress along the way, remains one of the most rewarding aspects of my career,” she said.
Mataya knows from experience that NASA Stennis offers opportunity and a supportive environment, not only for employees looking for career growth, but to customers seeking world-class testing facilities. “NASA Stennis is a place where collaboration thrives,” she said. “It is where NASA, tenants, and commercial partners come together as one cohesive community with a culture of mutual respect, support, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. As America’s largest rocket propulsion test site, NASA Stennis is evolving, and I look forward to seeing how our technological advancements attract new commercial partners and expand NASA’s capabilities.”
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By NASA
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 members stand inside the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left are Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Commander NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos, and Pilot NASA astronaut Mike Fincke.Credit: NASA As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, four crew members from three space agencies will launch in the coming months to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory.
NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov will join crew members aboard the space station no earlier than July 2025.
The flight is the 11th crew rotation with SpaceX to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future missions to the Moon, as well as benefit people on Earth.
Cardman previously was assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, and Fincke previously was assigned to NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 mission. NASA decided to reassign the astronauts to Crew-11 in overall support of planned activities aboard the International Space Station. Cardman carries her experience training as a commander on Dragon spacecraft, and Fincke brings long-duration spaceflight experience to this crew complement.
Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017, Cardman will conduct her first spaceflight. The Williamsburg, Virginia, native holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of selection, she had begun pursuing a doctorate in Geosciences. Cardman’s research in geobiology and geochemical cycling focused on subsurface environments, from caves to deep sea sediments. Since completing initial training, Cardman has supported real-time station operations and lunar surface exploration planning.
This will be Fincke’s fourth trip to the space station, having logged 382 days in space and nine spacewalks during Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2008, and STS-134 in 2011, the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour. Throughout the past decade, Fincke has applied his expertise to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, advancing the development and testing of the SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner toward operational certification. The Emsworth, Pennsylvania, native is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and holds bachelors’ degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, in both Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. He also has a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University in California. Fincke is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with more than 2,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
With 142 days in space, this will be Yui’s second trip to the space station. After his selection as a JAXA astronaut in 2009, Yui flew as a flight engineer for Expedition 44/45 and became the first Japanese astronaut to capture JAXA’s H-II Transfer Vehicle. In addition to constructing a new experimental environment aboard Kibo, he conducted a total of 21 experiments for JAXA. In November 2016, Yui was assigned as chief of the JAXA Astronaut Group. He graduated from the School of Science and Engineering at the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1992. He later joined the Air Self-Defense Force at the Japan Defense Agency (currently Ministry of Defense). In 2008, Yui joined the Air Staff Office at the Ministry of Defense as a lieutenant colonel.
The Crew-11 mission will be Platonov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, Platonov earned a degree in Engineering from Krasnodar Air Force Academy in Aircraft Operations and Air Traffic Management. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in State and Municipal Management in 2016 from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia. Assigned as a test cosmonaut in 2021, he has experience in piloting aircraft, zero gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.
For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA’s Artemis campaign is underway at the Moon, where the agency is preparing for future human exploration of Mars.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Courtney Beasley / Chelsey Ballarte
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov / chelsey.n.ballarte@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 27, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Space Commercial Crew Humans in Space International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research Johnson Space Center Low Earth Orbit Economy Space Operations Mission Directorate
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By NASA
From left to right, NASA Marshall engineers Carlos Diaz and John Luke Bili, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory mechanical engineer contractor Eloise Stump, and Marshall engineers Tomasz Liz, David Banks, and Elise Doan observe StarBurst in the cleanroom environment before it’s unboxed from its shipping container. The cleanroom environment at Marshall is designed to minimize contamination and protect the observatory’s sensitive instruments. Image Credit: NASA /Daniel Kocevski StarBurst, a wide-field gamma ray observatory, arrived at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, March 4 for environmental testing and final instrument integration. The instrument is designed to detect the initial emission of short gamma-ray bursts, a key electromagnetic indicator of neutron star mergers.
“Gamma-ray bursts are among the most powerful explosions in the universe, and they serve as cosmic beacons that help us understand extreme physics, including black hole formation and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions,” said Dr. Daniel Kocevski, principal investigator of the StarBurst mission at NASA Marshall.
According to Kocevski, neutron star mergers are particularly exciting because they produce gamma-ray bursts and gravitational waves, meaning scientists can study these events using two different signals – light and ripples in space time.
Starburst Principal Investigator Dr. Daniel Kocevski, left, and Integration and Test Engineer Elise Doan, right, pose with the StarBurst instrument after it was unboxed in the cleanroom environment at NASA Marshall. The Naval Research Lab transferred the instrument to NASA in early March.Image Credit: NASA/Davy Haynes The merging of neutron stars forges heavy elements such as gold and platinum, revealing the origins of some of Earth’s building blocks.
“By studying these gamma-ray bursts and the neutron star mergers that produce them, we gain insights into fundamental physics, the origins of elements, and even the expansion of the universe,” Kocevski said. “Neutron star mergers and gamma-ray bursts are nature’s laboratories for testing our understanding of the cosmos.”
StarBurst will undergo flight vibration and thermal vacuum testing at Marshall in the Sunspot Thermal Vacuum Testing Facility. These tests ensure it can survive the rigors of launch and harsh environment of space.
Final instrument integration will happen in the Stray Light Facility, which is a specialized environment to help identify and reduce unwanted light in certain areas of the optical systems.
The StarBurst Multimessenger Pioneer is a wide-field gamma-ray observatory designed to detect the initial emission of short gamma-ray bursts, important electromagnetic indicators of neutron star mergers. With an effective area over five times that of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and complete visibility of the unobscured sky, StarBurst will conduct sensitive observations. NASA/Daniel Kocevski StarBurst is a collaborative effort led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, with partnerships with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Alabama Huntsville, the Universities Space Research Association, and the UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory. StarBurst was selected for development as part of the NASA Astrophysics Pioneers program, which supports lower-cost, smaller hardware missions to conduct compelling astrophysics science.
To learn more about StarBurst visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/starburst/
Media Contact:
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama
256.544.0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on a ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, during sunset. The one-of-a-kind aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414 engine, a variant of the engines used on F/A-18 fighter jets. The engine is mounted above the fuselage to reduce the number of shockwaves that reach the ground. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight and enable future commercial travel over land – faster than the speed of sound.Lockheed Martin Corporation/Garry Tice The team behind NASA’s X-59 completed another critical ground test in March, ensuring the quiet supersonic aircraft will be able to maintain a specific speed during operation. The test, known as engine speed hold, is the latest marker of progress as the X-59 nears first flight this year.
“Engine speed hold is essentially the aircraft’s version of cruise control,” said Paul Dees, NASA’s X-59 deputy propulsion lead at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “The pilot engages speed hold at their current speed, then can adjust it incrementally up or down as needed.”
The X-59 team had previously conducted a similar test on the engine – but only as an isolated system. The March test verified the speed hold functions properly after integration into the aircraft’s avionics.
“We needed to verify that speed hold worked not just within the engine itself but as part of the entire aircraft system.” Dees explained. “This test confirmed that all components – software, mechanical linkages, and control laws – work together as intended.”
The successful test confirmed the aircraft’s ability to precisely control speed, which will be invaluable during flight. This capability will increase pilot safety, allowing them to focus on other critical aspects of flight operation.
“The pilot is going to be very busy during first flight, ensuring the aircraft is stable and controllable,” Dees said. “Having speed hold offload some of that workload makes first flight that much safer.”
The team originally planned to check the speed hold as part of an upcoming series of ground test trials where they will feed the aircraft with a robust set of data to verify functionality under both normal and failure conditions, known as aluminum bird tests. But the team recognized a chance to test sooner.
“It was a target of opportunity,” Dees said. “We realized we were ready to test engine speed hold separately while other systems continued with finalizing their software. If we can learn something earlier, that’s always better.”
With every successful test, the integrated NASA and Lockheed Martin team brings the X-59 closer to first flight, and closer to making aviation history through quiet supersonic technology.
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Last Updated Mar 26, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Armstrong Flight Research Center Commercial Supersonic Technology Langley Research Center Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Quesst (X-59) Supersonic Flight Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
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By NASA
Artemis II crew members and U.S. Navy personnel practice recovery procedures in the Pacific Ocean using a test version of NASA’s Orion spacecraft in February 2024. Credit: NASA NASA and the Department of Defense will host a media event on the recovery operations that will bring the Artemis II astronauts and the agency’s Orion spacecraft home at the conclusion of next year’s mission around the Moon. The in-person event will take place at 3 p.m. PDT on Monday, March 31, at Naval Base San Diego in California.
A team of NASA and Department of Defense personnel are at sea in the Pacific Ocean where splashdown will take place. The team currently is practicing the procedures it will use to recover the astronauts after their more than 600,000 mile journey from Earth and back on the first crewed mission under the Artemis campaign. A test version of Orion and other hardware also will be on-hand for media representatives to view.
Interested media must RSVP no later than 4 p.m. PDT Friday, March 28, to Naval Base San Diego Public Affairs at nbsd.pao@us.navy.mil or 619-556-7359. The start time of the event may change based on the conclusion of testing activities.
Participants include:
Liliana Villarreal, NASA’s Artemis II landing and recovery director, Exploration Ground Systems Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Capt. Andrew “Andy” Koy, commanding officer of USS Somerset (LPD 25), U.S. Navy Lt. Col. David Mahan, commander, U.S. Air Force’s 1st Air Force, Detachment 3, Patrick Space Force Base, Florida Several astronauts participating in the testing will be available for interviews.
Artemis II will be the first test flight of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and supporting ground system with crew aboard. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will venture around the Moon and back. The mission is another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future astronaut missions to Mars.
Learn more about Artemis II at:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/
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Jim Wilson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
jim.wilson@nasa.gov
Madison Tuttle/Allison Tankersley
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-298-5968/321-867-2468
madison.e.tuttle@nasa.gov / allison.p.tankersley@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 25, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Artemis 2 Kennedy Space Center NASA Headquarters View the full article
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