the NASA thread and anything related

[Photon440]

Japanese moon landing update:
Japan’s successful Moon landing was the most precise ever

 

[snakeyes]

 

[DeltaV]

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II approaches his maximum distance from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger in this 70mm photo from Feb. 7, 1984. While testing out the nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled back-pack device called the manned maneuvering unit (MMU) for the first time, McCandless’s fellow crewmembers aboard the reusable vehicle photographed him. The MMU allowed crews to move outside of the cargo bay and perform activities away from the safety of the spacecraft. “It may have been one small step for Neil,” he proclaimed, “but it’s a heck of a big leap for me.”

Learn how this and other iconic photos from the STS-41B mission came to be.

Image Credit: NASA

 

[DeltaV]

Taken by the Webb space telescope

More pictures here:

Webb Image Galleries - NASA Science

 

[Photon440]

Chrysler engineers attempting to build the most powerful rocket engine ever...back in 1970.

 

[JR_Charger]

Chrysler engineers attempting to build the most powerful rocket engine ever...back in 1970.

If you look at what scientists and engineers thought was possible, even back in the 20's and 30's, and then you see JP Morgan tearing down the Tesla Tower because he couldn't charge for it; and look into Rockefeller's takeover of medicine - you've got to wonder just how much further ahead we could be now.

 

[DeltaV]

R.I.P. Thomas Stafford

93 years is a really good run and his was exceptionally good.

NASA Administrator Pays Tribute to Space Pioneer Thomas Stafford - NASA
Former Astronaut Thomas Stafford - NASA



OBITUARY: Former NASA Astronaut Thomas Stafford, 93, Passes Away Monday at Home in Satellite Beach - Space Coast Daily

 

[65Bel]

Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024 Path of Totality . . .

 

[Brandy]

Our housekeeper and her sister and children are coming to view it with us, out in the lower pasture on benches where the view is wide open to the sky at that time of day.

 

[Photon440]

SpaceX Super Heavy at night.

 

[JR_Charger]

Electrostatic "Exodus Drive" thruster -

 

[Photon440]

Just a couple weeks away from the first Boeing manned Starliner spacecraft lifting off. I hope it generates some good press for them for a change.

Astronauts thrilled to be making first piloted flight aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft

 

[Photon440]

There was only one landing on Titan (a moon of Saturn). These are some images. The probe wasn't meant to land, it was designed to capture data during a parachute descent, but just in case, the engineers gave it some landing support. The decent was about 2 hours and 20 minutes, another 72 or so minutes on the ground before contact was lost. The Huygens probe by the European Space Agency landed on Jan 15, 2005.

There are rivers and oceans on the surface as well as rain from the clouds, all composed of liquid methane. The rocks and mountains are frozen water ice, harder than concrete at -292 degrees f.

 

[JR_Charger]

If anyone's up for an exhaustive explanation of the different forms of space ice -

 

[Photon440]

Originally hoping for five flights, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter managed 72 successful flights, ending this January when a bad landing damaged the rotor blades. However, Ingenuity is still gathering useful information, it has enough memory to store twenty years worth of daily data that could possibly be retrieved some day in the future.
Here's it's resting place on the right; about 2/5 of the way in from the left there's little black spot, that's a rotor blade that was torn off the helicopter.

 

[khryslerkid]

Ed Dwight, America's first Black astronaut candidate, finally goes to space 60 years later​

Ed Dwight, America's first Black astronaut candidate, finally goes to space 60 years later

 

[khryslerkid]

 

[DeltaV]

 

[Photon440]

Stranded astronauts won't be returning to Earth in a Boeing Starliner.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/nasa-boeing-spacex-astronauts-stranded-1.7304258

MSN

 

[Richard Cranium]

Study Shows 9 Out Of 10 Astronauts Choose To Be Stranded In Space Rather Than Board Craft Built By Boeing

Aug 26, 2024

SPACE — As the saga of the two astronauts stuck aboard the International Space Station continued, a new study showed that 9 out of 10 astronauts surveyed said they would rather be stranded in space than board a craft built by Boeing.

American astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams have been stranded aboard the ISS for over two months on what was intended to be only an eight-day mission. Other astronauts reached for comment were not surprised by the choice to avoid boarding a Boeing craft.

"Oh, yeah, that's a no-brainer," said astronaut Jim Pearson. "If that was me up there, I'd much rather take my chances living in the cold, inhospitable clutches of space than set one foot in a Boeing spacecraft. For one thing, the chances of survival in space are significantly greater than those of flying aboard a Boeing product. That's just science."

Though Wilmore and Willams knew waiting for rescue from a SpaceX craft would not happen until February 2025, they said it was an easy choice. "We didn't have to debate much about it," Wilmore explained. "While living in space presents very real and constant risks to our lives, we both agreed that we'd much rather roll the dice and live in space for another six months than climb aboard another one of those Boeing death traps. No thank you, Boeing. We'll wait here for Elon."

At publishing time, executives at Boeing privately expressed concern that this controversy may prevent their spacecraft from receiving this year's J.D. Power & Associates "Top Safety Pick" award.