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NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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A world-wide space leader

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first satellite into orbit. While it was a dummy payload, with very few scientific or military instruments on board, it stroke fear to non-communist countries around the world.

On the other side of the world, what was believed to be the Western Super power, the United States, was struggling to keep up with the Soviet Union. So in 1958, Congress drafted and approved the National Aeronautics and Space Act. It was then signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower on July 29, 1958. With that, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was created.

NASA’s goal since then has been to develop new technologies for both use in our atmosphere and in space. It was also designed to lead the nations new civil space program in openness, a contrast to the Soviet Union.

Since then the agencies has grown and now leads the world in both funding and number of projects it can run. NASA has become the organizer of other space agencies to collaborate to do bigger things than what we could do on our own, as well as be the champion of commercial space applications. (Sometimes.)

NASA is headquartered in Washington DC, and the current interim administrator is Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.

Space Exploration

Since the agencies beginning, space exploration has been NASA’s primary mission. Beginning with Project Mercury, to Gemini, Apollo, the Space Shuttle, and now Artemis, NASA leads the world in expanding exploration of space.

International Space Station

Arguably the largest ongoing space mission that NASA is involved in is the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is a habitable modular space station involving five space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA. Construction of the orbital laboratory began on November 20, 1998.

NASA’s four enduring strategic goals are as follows:

  • Expand human knowledge via new scientific discoveries
  • Extend human presence deeper into space for sustainable, long-term utilization
  • Address national issues and catalyze economic growth
  • Optimize capabilities and operations

The Artemis Program

Currently, NASA’s major space exploration program is a daring adventure to return humanity to the Moon. The plan consists of the agency’s SLS rocket and Orion space capsule. The program originally started as a fully public program but has since switched over to using the growing commercial space sector to help develop parts of the program.

Artemis consists of multiple programs and contracts to meet its goal of returning humanity back to Moon sustainably and to stay this time. To do that, NASA has taken a big bet that in the future there will be a commercial market for access to the Moon.

NASA developed the primary launcher for crew, SLS and Orion, while it has partnered with the commercial industry for everything else. Contracts have been signed for NASA to purchase lunar landers, spacesuits, rovers, and resupply services commercially rather than owning the systems itself.

Eventually, NASA could be just one of many customers served by these services it helped create.

‘Return to Space’ provides a raw look behind the scenes at SpaceX and NASA leading up to DM-2 launch

Netflix’s” Return To Space” documentary, available April 7, is a two-hour documentary detailing the journey of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and NASA to put Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in orbit via a commercial rocket and spacecraft. We had a chance to speak with the directors of the film and Hurley about the trip.

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NASA EV

NASA contracts Canoo to build EVs that will transport astronauts to launchpad for Artemis missions [Update]

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced it has chosen EV startup Canoo to provide zero-emission EVs to transport its crew to the launchpad for NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon. Canoo will soon join the likes of Tesla and Rivian as EV automakers integrated into the realm of space exploration.

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Russia states it will end cooperation on the ISS ‘in the near future’ unless sanctions are lifted

In statements made on Twitter and Telegram, Roscosmos Director-General Dmitry Rogozin responds to NASA, CSA, and ESA not promising they will lift sanctions on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. The statement makes an ultimatum, lift the sanctions, or Russia will pull its cooperation in the near future.

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SpaceX’s Crew-4 names their Dragon ‘Freedom,’ returning the historic name to flight

The commander of SpaceX’s next crewed flight to the International Space Station shared on Twitter the name of the SpaceX Dragon his crew will fly in this spring. Named “Freedom,” it obviously points towards Russia’s attack on Ukraine and calls back to NASA’s first-ever crewed spacecraft.

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NASA to test quantum experiment using the Nanoracks airlock on the ISS

NASA is set to launch a technology demonstrator payload that could have greater implications for quantum computing. Scheduled to launch in August, this technology demonstration will test two communications technologies that can pave the way for quantum computers to communicate with each other no matter where they’re located.

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How to track NASA’s first rollout of its Space Launch System rocket

Over the next 24 hours, NASA teams will begin to move the agency’s fully stacked Space Launch System rocket to LC-39B for the very first time. After decades of redesigns and delays, the rocket has finally been assembled and will be at its launch site in a final testing stage before its inaugural launch. Follow below with our rollout tracker of SLS’s progress across NASA’s Crawlerway as it makes the slow journey.

Update: Reached LC-39B

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NASA set to roll SLS to launch pad for first time March 17

Today NASA confirmed that it is prepared to support the rollout of the Space Launch System rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B on March 17 at 5 p.m. EDT. The roll is expected to take around 11 hours from start to hard down at the pad. After years of waiting and delays, we are about to see this beast of a vehicle roll for the first time.

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No, Russia will not leave an American astronaut on the space station, but things might get awkward

Rumors circulated Monday after Dmitry Rogozin, Roscosmos’ Directer-General, posted on his Telegram channel that the Russians would not bring NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei back down from the space station. However, cooperation continues between the two agencies behind the scenes to ensure the partnership does not cease.

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New Crew Dream Chaser render shows it might not have any windows; how it may work

In a new render of DC200, the Crew version of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Vehicle appears without any external windows. While the lack of external windows isn’t significant for the vehicle while in space, it is particularly notable due to the vehicle’s runway-based landing. Astronauts returning to Earth won’t have any direct view of the runway they are landing on.

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NASA celebrates women in space on International Women’s Day

During the start of the space race, women were excluded from being Astronauts. The first American woman in space, Sally Ride, wouldn’t fly until 1983, 20 years after the Soviets flew the first woman in space. But even as policies kept women out of the coveted role of Astronaut, Women have always played a vital role in the space program.

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