NASA
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NASA
A Picture-Perfect Portrait: Eliza Hoffman’s Take on Dorothy Vaughan
On July 19, 2024, NASA officially named Johnson Space Center’s building 12 the “Dorothy Vaughan Center in Honor of the Women of Apollo.” A portrait of Dorothy Vaughan is now the central feature at the entrance of the newly named building. This portrait was hand-painted by Eliza Hoffman, an accomplished artist who is also a recent graduate from Clear Creek…
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NASA
2024 Software of the Year Award Co-Winner -Prognostics Python Packages (ProgPy)
NASA Ames Research Center: ProgPy is an open-source Python package supporting research and development of prognostics, health management, and predictive maintenance tools. Prognostics is the science of prediction, and the field of Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) aims at estimating the current physical health of a system (e.g., motor, battery, etc.) and predicting how the system will degrade with use.…
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NASA
2024 Software of the Year Co-Winner – Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM)
NASA Johnson Space Center: ORDEM represents the state of the art in orbital debris models intended for engineering analysis. It is a data-driven model, relying on large quantities of radar, optical, in situ, and laboratory measurement data. When released, it was the first software code to include a model for different orbital debris material densities, population models from low Earth orbit…
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NASA
2024 Invention of the Year Winner – Thrust Chamber Liner and Fabrication Method
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center: A thrust chamber assembly (TCA) is the critical and central component in a rocket engine that provides thrust to propel a launch vehicle into space. Since the 1960s, while small improvements in TCA performance have been made, little has been done to reduce weight, improve development timelines, and reduce manufacturing cost. This invention makes dramatic improvements…
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NASA
Ranger 7 Snaps the Moon
On July 31, 1964, the Ranger 7 spacecraft took this photo, the first image of the Moon taken by a United States spacecraft. 17 minutes later, it crashed into the Moon on the northern rim of the Sea of Clouds as intended. The 4,316 images sent back helped identify safe Moon landing sites for Apollo astronauts. Until 1964, no closeup photographs of…
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NASA
Tech Today: Remote Sensing Technology Fights Forest Fires
Enabled by NASA Sensors and Technical Assistance NASA used its remotely piloted Ikhana aircraft to test technology it helped develop or recommended to the U.S. Forest Service, including a system to send sensor data to decision makers on the ground in near real time. Credit: NASA It’s not easy to predict the path of forest fires—a lot depends on constantly…
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NASA
What’s Up: August 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA
What to look for: A planetary rendezvous, meteors, and a “star forge”! Two planets meet for a super close conjunction, the Perseid meteor shower peaks, and look for the Lagoon Nebula – a stellar nursery in Sagittarius. Highlights August 4 – New moon August 11 – The Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight! Provided you have clear skies, viewing conditions will be favorable this…
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NASA
NASA Public Engagement Specialist Loves to Inspire Kids with STEM
Careers at NASA were not on his radar growing up. But Jonas Dino, public engagement specialist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, ended up with his perfect job that involves connecting people with NASA. One of the best parts of his job is to learn first-hand about NASA’s cutting-edge research and translate these concepts to the next…
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NASA
Overview for NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st Commercial Resupply Mission
NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 11:29 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 3, for the next launch to deliver scientific investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. Filled with more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft, carried on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at…
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NASA
Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station
NASA will deliver a patch kit for NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, on the agency’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission. Astronauts will conduct a spacewalk to complete the repair. Located near the space station’s starboard solar array, NICER was damaged in May 2023. The mission team delivered the patch kit to NASA’s Johnson…
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