Tag: NASA
-
From ‘Hidden Figures’ to minifigures: Lego toys immortalize the women of NASA
Maia Weinstock’s proposed “Women of NASA” set of Lego minifigures includes, from left, Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Sally Ride, Nancy Grace Roman and Mae Jemison. These figures are fan-generated renditions. The official design is yet to be determined. (Maia Weinstock Photo via Twitter) It’s all systems go for a new set of Lego minifigures celebrating…
-
SpaceX makes its first liftoff from NASA’s historic moon pad – and then lands Falcon 9 booster
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from Launch Complex 39A. (NASA via YouTube) SpaceX sent a rocket rising from NASA’s historic Launch Complex 39A today for the first time since the space shuttle fleet retired, marking a new chapter for a pad that served as the springboard for Apollo moon missions. The Falcon 9 rocket sent…
-
Technical issue forces SpaceX to put its first liftoff from historic Pad 39A on hold
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 sits on Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A. (NASA via YouTube) SpaceX postponed the first launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center since the last shuttle flight in 2011, due to concerns about a control system on the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage. The Falcon 9 had been due to loft a robotic Dragon…
-
NASA looks into sending astronauts on a trip beyond the moon as early as 2019
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Orion capsule in flight. (NASA Illustration) NASA and its commercial partners say they’re studying the possibility of sending astronauts beyond the moon years earlier than planned, by putting a crew on the first flight of the space agency’s heavy-lift Space Launch System. The NASA study, sparked in part by a desire…
-
50 years after Apollo 1 fire, NASA exhibits fatal artifacts in Florida for the first time
Kennedy Space Center’s “Ad Astra Per Aspera” exhibit honors Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who died in a launch pad fire in 1967. (NASA Photo / Kim Shiflett) Fifty years ago today, three NASA astronauts died in a launch pad fire when they couldn’t open the hatch of their Apollo…
-
Touchscreen gloves? Zippered helmets? Boeing reboots the spacesuit for Starliner
Boeing’s Chris Ferguson, a former astronaut, models the Starliner spacesuit. (Boeing via YouTube) The spacesuit designed for astronauts riding Boeing’s Starliner space taxi makes a fashion statement for the 21st century, from its touchscreen-sensitive gloves to its color-coordinated shoes. And all of it in Boeing blue. The spacesuit made its public debut today during a…
-
Boeing hints that it’ll unveil its Starliner spacesuits – and maybe who’ll wear them
A quick shot from a Boeing video shows a Starliner patch on a blue spacesuit. (Boeing Photo) Boeing’s Starliner space taxi won’t be carrying astronauts to the International Space Station for at least another year and a half, but we may soon find out what they’ll be wearing. We may even find out who the…
-
NASA looks into buying more Russian Soyuz trips to orbit … through Boeing
A Russian Soyuz craft approaches the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA) NASA is considering a convoluted arrangement to reserve five more seats on Russian Soyuz capsules heading to and from the International Space Station, with the Boeing Co. as the middleman. The plan to reserve more trips to orbit would give NASA additional breathing room…
-
Spacewalkers finish swapping batteries
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson helps Thomas Pesquet (left) and Shane Kimbrough (right) suit up for a spacewalk. (NASA Photo) Two astronauts made quick work of a battery upgrade today during the International Space Station’s second spacewalk in a week. NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and French astronaut Thomas Pesquet installed three new adapter plates and hooked up…
-
NASA shows off robots, a VR trip to Mars, and more at CES
LAS VEGAS — NASA doesn’t make consumer electronics per say, but it does enough geeky stuff that it was right at home during last week’s CES. Maria Bualat, a robotics engineer, was manning the NASA booth to show visitors a prototype robot the space agency uses to develop autonomy software. Bualat and her team test…