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Media event: Second spaceflight for Samantha Cristoforetti
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA test pilot Nils Larson inspects the agency’s F-15D research aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, ahead of a calibration flight for a newly installed near-field shock-sensing probe. Mounted on the F-15D, the probe is designed to measure shock waves generated by the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft during flight. The data will help researchers better understand how shock waves behave in close proximity to the aircraft, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission to enable quiet supersonic flight over land.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA test pilot Nils Larson inspects the agency’s F-15D research aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, ahead of a calibration flight for a newly installed near-field shock-sensing probe. Mounted on the F-15D, the probe is designed to measure shock waves generated by the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft during flight. The data will help researchers better understand how shock waves behave in close proximity to the aircraft, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission to enable quiet supersonic flight over land.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s F-15D research aircraft conducts a test flight near Edwards, California, with a newly installed near-field shock-sensing probe. Identical to a previously flown version that was intended as the backup, this new probe will capture shock wave data near the X-59 as it flies faster than the speed of sound, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission.NASA/Jim Ross NASA’s F-15D research aircraft conducts a test flight near Edwards, California, with a newly installed near-field shock-sensing probe. Identical to a previously flown version that was intended as the backup, this new probe will capture shock wave data near the X-59 as it flies faster than the speed of sound, supporting NASA’s Quesst mission.NASA/Jim Ross When you’re testing a cutting-edge NASA aircraft, you need specialized tools to conduct tests and capture data –but if those tools need maintenance, you need to wait until they’re fixed. Unless you have a backup. That’s why NASA recently calibrated a new shock-sensing probe to capture shock wave data when the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft begins its test flights.
When an aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound, it produces shock waves that travel through the air, creating loud sonic booms. The X-59 will divert those shock waves, producing just a quiet supersonic thump. Over the past few weeks, NASA completed calibration flights on a new near-field shock-sensing probe, a cone-shaped device that will capture data on the shock waves that the X-59 will generate.
This shock-sensing probe is mounted to an F-15D research aircraft that will fly very close behind the X-59 to collect the data NASA needs. The new unit will serve as NASA’s primary near-field probe, with an identical model NASA developed last year acting as a backup mounted to an additional F-15B.
The two units mean the X-59 team has a ready alternative if the primary probe needs maintenance or repairs. For flight tests like the X-59’s – where data gathering is crucial and operations revolve around tight timelines, weather conditions, and other variables – backups for critical equipment help to ensure continuity, maintain schedule, and preserve efficiency of operations.
“If something happens to the probe, like a sensor failing, it’s not a quick fix,” said Mike Frederick, principal investigator for the probe at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “The other factor is the aircraft itself. If one needs maintenance, we don’t want to delay X-59 flights.”
To calibrate the new probe, the team measured the shock waves of a NASA F/A-18 research aircraft. Preliminary results indicated that the probe successfully captured pressure changes associated with shock waves, consistent with the team’s expectations. Frederick and his team are now reviewing the data to confirm that it aligns with ground mathematical models and meets the precision standards required for X-59 flights.
Researchers at NASA Armstrong are preparing for additional flights with both the primary and backup probes on their F-15s. Each aircraft will fly supersonic and gather shock wave data from the other. The team is working to validate both the primary and backup probes to confirm full redundancy – in other words, making sure that they have a reliable backup ready to go.
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Last Updated Apr 17, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Armstrong Flight Research Center Commercial Supersonic Technology Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Quesst (X-59) Supersonic Flight Explore More
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By NASA
When Michael Ciancone joined NASA in 1983, he could hardly imagine what his 40-plus-year career would entail. From honoring and preserving spaceflight history to advancing safety standards, he has undoubtedly woven his knowledge and experience into NASA’s history as well as its future.
Ciancone currently serves as the Orion Program safety lead, overseeing the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance’s effort to ensure the safety of the Orion crew, vehicle, and associated hardware. In his role, he manages safety reviews of all flight hardware, with a current focus on Artemis II. His everyday success is backed by decades of learning and global collaboration within the areas of human spaceflight safety and history.
Michael Ciancone with Space Shuttle Atlantis at the launch gantry at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2009. Image courtesy of Michael Ciancone In 1997, Ciancone transferred from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to Johnson Space Center in Houston to serve as the executive officer for the Shuttle/International Space Station Payload Safety Review Panel, as well as group lead for Payload Safety. To better understand the scope and nature of his new role, Ciancone sought opportunities to engage with other safety professionals at conferences and symposia. At the suggestion of his manager, Ciancone instead organized a conference on spaceflight safety for payloads at Johnson, creating a forum for colleagues from the international spaceflight community.
These efforts were the catalyst for the formation of the International Association for the Advancement of Spaceflight Safety (IAASS), an organization founded by Ciancone and Skip Larsen of Johnson along with Alex Soons and Tommaso Sgobba of the European Space Agency. The IAASS is committed to furthering international cooperation and scientific advancements in space system safety and is recognized as the pre-eminent international forum for spaceflight and safety professionals. The organization is responsible for hosting an annual conference, conducting specialized safety training, and publishing seminal books on the aspects of spaceflight safety.
Throughout his tenure, Ciancone has worked closely with colleagues from around the world and he emphasizes that human spaceflight is a global endeavor made possible through respect and collaboration. “[In human spaceflight] there are different and equally valid approaches for achieving a common goal. Successful partnership requires an understanding and respect for the experiences and history of international partners,” he said.
Michael Ciancone (far left) pictured with Spaceflight Safety team members from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Airbus during a joint NASA/ESA safety review of the European Service Module (ESM) of the Orion Program at the Airbus facility in Bremen, Germany. Image courtesy of Michael Ciancone In addition to his dedication to spaceflight safety, Ciancone is active in the field of spaceflight history. He serves as the chair of the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society and, as a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, he also serves on the History Committee. Working in this community has made Ciancone more keenly aware of dreams of spaceflight as viewed from a historical perspective and guides his daily work at NASA.
Michael Ciancone (left) with Giovanni Caprara, science editor for the Corriere della Sera and co-author of “Early Italian Contributions to Astronautics: From the First Visionary to Construction of the first Italian Liquid Propellant Rocket” during the 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy. Image courtesy of Michael Ciancone Beyond his technical achievements, Ciancone has also found creative ways to spice up the spaceflight community. While at Glenn Research Center, he co-founded the NASA Hot Pepper Club—a forum for employees who share a passion for cultivating and consuming hot peppers and pepper products. The club served as a unique space for camaraderie and connection, adding flavor to NASA life.
Ciancone’s immersion in spaceflight history and spaceflight safety has shaped his unique and valuable perspective. In addition to encouraging others to embrace new challenges and opportunities, Ciancone paraphrases Albert Einstein to advise the Artemis Generation to “learn from the past, live in the moment, and dream of the future.” This mentality has enabled him to combine his interest in spaceflight history with his work on Orion over the past 15 years, laying the groundwork for what he refers to as “future history.”
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By NASA
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is 6 days and less than 50 million miles (80 million km) away from its second close encounter with an asteroid; this time, the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson.
Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.
NASA/Dan Gallagher This upcoming event represents a comprehensive “dress rehearsal” for Lucy’s main mission over the next decade: the exploration of multiple Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun. Lucy’s first asteroid encounter – a flyby of the tiny main belt asteroid Dinkinesh and its satellite, Selam, on Nov. 1, 2023 – provided the team with an opportunity for a systems test that they will be building on during the upcoming flyby.
Lucy’s closest approach to Donaldjohanson will occur at 1:51pm EDT on April 20, at a distance of 596 miles (960 km). About 30 minutes before closest approach, Lucy will orient itself to track the asteroid, during which its high-gain antenna will turn away from Earth, suspending communication. Guided by its terminal tracking system, Lucy will autonomously rotate to keep Donaldjohanson in view. As it does this, Lucy will carry out a more complicated observing sequence than was used at Dinkinesh. All three science instruments – the high-resolution greyscale imager called L’LORRI, the color imager and infrared spectrometer called L’Ralph, and the far infrared spectrometer called L’TES – will carry out observation sequences very similar to the ones that will occur at the Trojan asteroids.
However, unlike with Dinkinesh, Lucy will stop tracking Donaldjohanson 40 seconds before the closest approach to protect its sensitive instruments from intense sunlight.
“If you were sitting on the asteroid watching the Lucy spacecraft approaching, you would have to shield your eyes staring at the Sun while waiting for Lucy to emerge from the glare. After Lucy passes the asteroid, the positions will be reversed, so we have to shield the instruments in the same way,” said encounter phase lead Michael Vincent of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. “These instruments are designed to photograph objects illuminated by sunlight 25 times dimmer than at Earth, so looking toward the Sun could damage our cameras.”
Fortunately, this is the only one of Lucy’s seven asteroid encounters with this challenging geometry. During the Trojan encounters, as with Dinkinesh, the spacecraft will be able to collect data throughout the entire encounter.
After closest approach, the spacecraft will “pitch back,” reorienting its solar arrays back toward the Sun. Approximately an hour later, the spacecraft will re-establish communication with Earth.
“One of the weird things to wrap your brain around with these deep space missions is how slow the speed of light is,” continued Vincent. “Lucy is 12.5 light minutes away from Earth, meaning it takes that long for any signal we send to reach the spacecraft. Then it takes another 12.5 minutes before we get Lucy’s response telling us we were heard. So, when we command the data playback after closest approach, it takes 25 minutes from when we ask to see the pictures before we get any of them to the ground.”
Once the spacecraft’s health is confirmed, engineers will command Lucy to transmit the science data from the encounter back to Earth, which is a process that will take several days.
Donaldjohanson is a fragment from a collision 150 million years ago, making it one of the youngest main belt asteroids ever visited by a spacecraft.
“Every asteroid has a different story to tell, and these stories weave together to paint the history of our solar system,” said Tom Statler, Lucy mission program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The fact that each new asteroid we visit knocks our socks off means we’re only beginning to understand the depth and richness of that history. Telescopic observations are hinting that Donaldjohanson is going to have an interesting story, and I’m fully expecting to be surprised – again.”
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, designed and built the L’Ralph instrument and provides overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance for Lucy. Hal Levison of SwRI’s office in Boulder, Colorado, is the principal investigator. SwRI, headquartered in San Antonio, also leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft, designed the original orbital trajectory and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the Lucy spacecraft. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, designed and built the L’LORRI (Lucy Long Range Reconnaissance Imager) instrument. Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, designed and build the L’TES (Lucy Thermal Emission Spectrometer) instrument. Lucy is the thirteenth mission in NASA’s Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
By Katherine Kretke, Southwest Research Institute
Media Contact:
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Nancy N. Jones
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Apr 14, 2025 EditorMadison OlsonContactNancy N. Jonesnancy.n.jones@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Lucy Goddard Space Flight Center Planetary Science Explore More
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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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By NASA
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 4, 2024, on the company’s 31st commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station.Credit: SpaceX Media accreditation is open for the next launch to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Monday, April 21, to launch the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch is the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.
Credentialing to cover prelaunch and launch activities is open to U.S. media. The application deadline for U.S. citizens is 11:59 p.m., EDT, Friday, April 4. All accreditation requests must be submitted online at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Credentialed media will receive a confirmation email after approval. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, or to request special logistical support, email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other questions, please contact NASA Kennedy’s newsroom at: 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitor entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo o Messod Bendayan a: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov.
Each resupply mission to the station delivers scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations. Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver scientific research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new investigations aboard humanity’s laboratory in space.
Along with food and essential equipment for the crew, Dragon is delivering a variety of experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could protect crew members on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks to examine fundamental physics concepts, such as relativity, and test worldwide synchronization of precision timepieces.
Astronauts have occupied the space station continuously since November 2000. In that time, 283 people from 23 countries have visited the orbital outpost. The space station is a springboard to NASA’s next great leap in exploration, including future missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, and human exploration of Mars.
Learn more about NASA’s commercial resupply missions at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Julian Coltre / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Stephanie Plucinsky / Steven Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-876-2468
stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov / steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 24, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Humans in Space ISS Research Johnson Space Center View the full article
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