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Black History Month: NASA Honors the Stars of Our Past
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By NASA
1 Min Read Oral History with R. Walter Cunningham
Lunar module pilot Walter Cunningham writes with a space pen as he performs flight tasks on the ninth day of the Apollo 7 mission. Credits: NASA Selected for NASA’s third astronaut class in 1963, Cunningham served as the backup Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 1. He piloted the 11-day flight of Apollo 7 in October 1968, the first manned flight test of the Apollo spacecraft. The crew executed maneuvers enabling them to practice for upcoming Apollo lunar orbit rendezvous missions and provided the first live television transmission of onboard crew activities. Cunningham served as the Chief of the Skylab branch under the Flight Crew Directorate at Johnson Space Center in 1969 until his retirement and move to the private sector in 1971.
Read more about R. Walter Cunningham
NASA Oral History, May 24, 1999 NASA Biography Apollo Astronaut Walter Cunningham Dies at 90 The transcripts available on this site are created from audio-recorded oral history interviews. To preserve the integrity of the audio record, the transcripts are presented with limited revisions and thus reflect the candid conversational style of the oral history format. Brackets and ellipses indicate where the text has been annotated or edited for clarity. Any personal opinions expressed in the interviews should not be considered the official views or opinions of NASA, the NASA History Office, NASA historians, or staff members.
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By NASA
1 Min Read Oral History with Karol J. Bobko
View of STS 51-D crew commander Karol Bobko training with the Arriflex 16mm camera. Credits: NASA A veteran of three space flights, Karol J. “Bo” Bobko was selected as an astronaut in 1969 and served as a crewmember on the Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test (SMEAT) 56-day ground simulation in preparation for the Skylab missions. He served in various positions supporting the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and the first Approach and Landing Tests for the Space Shuttle before flying as the STS-6 pilot and as the mission commander on STS-51D and STS-51J.
Read more about Karol J. “Bo” Bobko
NASA Oral History, February 12, 2002 NASA Biography The transcripts available on this site are created from audio-recorded oral history interviews. To preserve the integrity of the audio record, the transcripts are presented with limited revisions and thus reflect the candid conversational style of the oral history format. Brackets and ellipses indicate where the text has been annotated or edited for clarity. Any personal opinions expressed in the interviews should not be considered the official views or opinions of NASA, the NASA History Office, NASA historians, or staff members.
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By NASA
(Oct. 25, 2024) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams is pictured at the galley inside the International Space Station’s Unity module at the beginning of her day.Credit: NASA Students from Colorado will have the opportunity to hear NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams answer their prerecorded questions aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Nov. 14.
Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media.
The JEKL Institute for Global Equity and Access, in partnership with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, will host students from the Denver School of Science and Technology for the event. Students are building CubeSat emulators to launch on high-altitude balloons, and their work will drive their questions with crew.
Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13, to Daniela Di Napoli at: daniela.dinapoli@scienceandtech.org or 832-656-5231.
For more than 24 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos and lesson plans highlighting space station research at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
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Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Nov 12, 2024 EditorTiernan P. DoyleLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
International Space Station (ISS) Astronauts Communicating and Navigating with Missions Humans in Space ISS Research Johnson Space Center Near Space Network Space Communications & Navigation Program Sunita L. Williams View the full article
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA/Quincy Eggert The design and build of a unique NASA pod, produced to advance computer vision for autonomous aviation, was recently completed in-house at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, by using the center’s unique fabrication capabilities. The pod is called the NASA Airborne Instrumentation for Real-world Video of Urban Environments (AIRVUE). NASA Armstrong can take an idea from a drawing to flight with help from the center’s Experimental Fabrication Shop.
NASA researcher James Cowart adds the top back onto the NASA Airborne Instrumentation for Real-world Video of Urban Environments (AIRVUE) sensor pod at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in late February 2024. The pod houses sensors, wiring and cameras. The AIRVUE pod was flown on a helicopter at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is used to collect data for future autonomous aircraft.NASA/Genaro Vavuris NASA subject matter experts developed the idea for the project, after which engineers drew up plans and selected materials. The Experimental Fabrication Shop received those plans and gathered the materials to fabricate the pod.
After the pod was built, it moved to NASA Armstrong’s Engineering Support Branch, where electronics technicians and other specialists installed instruments inside of it. Once completed, the pod went through a series of tests at NASA Armstrong to make sure it was safe to fly at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on an Airbus H135 helicopter. The engineering team made final adjustments to ensure the pod would collect the correct data prior to installation. More about the design and fabrication process, and the pod’s capabilities, is available to view in a NASA video.
NASA researchers James Cowart and Elizabeth Nail add sensors, wiring and cameras, to the NASA Airborne Instrumentation for Real-world Video of Urban Environments (AIRVUE) sensor pod at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in late February 2024. The AIRVUE pod was flown on a helicopter at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is used to collect data for future autonomous aircraft.NASA/Genaro Vavuris Share
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Last Updated Nov 12, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactTeresa Whitingteresa.whiting@nasa.gov Related Terms
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5 min read NASA Funds New Studies Looking at Future of Sustainable Aircraft
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Artist’s concept of a future airliner based on the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 submission from awardee Electra. The team’s project focuses on electric propulsion, integrated aircraft technologies, and vehicle design.Electra Picture yourself at an airport a few decades from now. What does your airliner look like? It’s more efficient, with lower emissions than today’s aircraft – what kinds of designs or technology make that possible? NASA is working to answer those questions by commissioning five new design studies looking to push the boundaries of possibility for sustainable aircraft.
Through NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 initiative, the agency asked industry and academia to come up with studies looking at aircraft concepts, key technologies, and designs that could offer the transformative solutions needed to secure commercial aviation’s sustainable future by 2050. NASA issued five awards, worth a total of $11.5 million, to four companies and one university. These new NASA-funded studies will help the agency identify and select promising aircraft concepts and technologies for further investigations.
Artist’s concept of a future airliner based on the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 submission from awardee Georgia Institute of Technology. The team’s project focuses on exploring scenarios and technologies based on an aircraft concept the institute has developed, known as ATH2ENA.Georgia Institute of Technology “Through initiatives like AACES, NASA is positioned to harness a broad set of perspectives about how to further increase aircraft efficiency, reduce aviation’s environmental impact and enhance U.S. technological competitiveness in the 2040s, 2050s, and beyond,” said Bob Pearce, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “As a leader in U.S. sustainable aviation research and development, these awards are one example of how we bring together the best ideas and most innovative concepts from the private sector, academia, research agencies, and other stakeholders to pioneer the future of aviation.”
For decades, NASA has connected government agencies, industry, and academia to develop sustainable aviation technologies. In 2021, NASA launched its Sustainable Flight National Partnership, focused on technologies that could be incorporated into aircraft by the 2030s. The partnership’s research and development led to current NASA work including the experimental X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator aircraft, its Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project, and the development of more efficient engine cores and processes for the rapid manufacturing of lightweight composite materials.
Artist’s concept of a Pratt & Whitney advanced propulsion concept for the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 initiative. The Pratt & Whitney project focuses on commercial aviation propulsion technologies targeting thermal and propulsive efficiency improvements to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.Pratt & Whitney The new AACES awards are initiating a similar process, but on a longer timeline, focusing on technologies to help transform aviation beyond SFNP with aircraft that could enter service by 2050. The kinds of partnerships NASA develops through SFNP and AACES are critical for the agency to support the U.S. goal of net-zero aviation emissions by 2050 and to help put aviation on a path toward energy-resilience.
“The AACES 2050 solicitation drew significant interest from the aviation community and as a result the award process was highly competitive,” said Nateri Madavan, director for NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program. “The proposals selected come from a diverse set of organizations that will provide exciting and wide-ranging explorations of the scenarios, technologies, and aircraft concepts that will advance aviation towards its transformative sustainability goals.”
An artist’s concept of JetZero’s blended wing body, which the company’s team will use to evaluate technologies for the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 initiative. JetZero’s project will explore technologies that enable cryogenic, liquid hydrogen to be used as a fuel for commercial aviation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.JetZero The AACES 2050 awards went to organizations that will form networks of university and corporate partners to advance their studies. NASA expects the awardees to complete their studies by mid-2026. The new awardee institutions are:
Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company, whose team will perform a comprehensive, “open-aperture” exploration of technologies and aircraft concepts for the 2050 timeframe. This will include examining new alternative aviation fuels, propulsion systems, aerodynamic technologies, and aircraft configurations along with other technology areas that arise throughout the study. The Electra-led team will explore extending Electra’s novel distributed electric propulsion and its unique aerodynamic design capabilities to develop innovative wing and fuselage integrations that deliver sustainable aviation focused on enabling community-friendly emission reduction, noise reduction, and improved air travel access. The company’s existing small aircraft prototype has been flying for over a year, demonstrating Electra’s technology that aims to transform air travel with reduced environmental impact and improved operational efficiency. Georgia Institute of Technology will perform a comprehensive exploration of sustainability technologies, including alternative fuels, propulsion systems, and aircraft configurations. The institute’s team will then explore new aircraft concepts incorporating the selected technologies with their Advanced Technology Hydrogen Electric Novel Aircraft (ATH2ENA) as a starting point. JetZero will explore technologies that enable cryogenic, liquid hydrogen to be used as a fuel for commercial aviation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These technologies will be evaluated on both tube-and wing and JetZero’s blended wing body – an airplane shape that provides more options for larger hydrogen fuel tanks within the aircraft. Pratt and Whitney a division of RTX Corporation, will explore a broad suite of commercial aviation propulsion technologies targeting thermal and propulsive efficiency improvements to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The Pratt & Whitney team will then down-select high-priority and alternative propulsion concepts for potential integration studies with various airframe concepts for aircraft in 2050 and beyond. Artist’s concept of a 50-60 passenger hydrogen fuel cell electric plane created by Boeing through its future flight concept efforts. Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company, received an award through NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 initiative to examine new alternative aviation fuels propulsion systems, aerodynamic technologies, and aircraft configurations, along with other technology areas.Boeing AACES 2050 is part of NASA’s Advanced Air Transport Technology project, which explores and develops technology to further NASA’s vision for the future development of fixed-wing transport aircraft with revolutionary energy efficiency. The project falls under NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program, which evaluates and develops technologies for new aircraft systems and explores promising air travel concepts.
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Last Updated Nov 12, 2024 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Advanced Air Transport Technology Advanced Air Vehicles Program Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Sustainable Flight National Partnership View the full article
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