Starliner’s historic test mission, solar sail, Mars helicopter standard flight

Commercial spacecraft crew Historic Test Mission …

Leadership recognition we’ve got[{” attribute=””>James Webb Space Telescope team …

And a small spacecraft prepares for a unique mission around the Moon … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Historic Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner Test Mission

“Approaching the International Space Station…”–commentator

On May 20, Boeing is unmanned Starliner CST-100 spacecraft Arrived at the International Space Station On the Orbital Flight Test-2 or OFT-2 mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

“Soft capture confirmed.”–audio mission

“Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft completes its historic first docking at the International Space Station, opening a new avenue for crew access to the orbiting laboratory.”–commentator

the next day – First time for StarlinerThanks to the efforts of NASA astronauts Jill Lindgren and Bob Haynes.

“Okay – and it looks like the hatch is open for a Starliner. Bob Haines is the first astronaut to put a Starliner into orbit.”–commentator

Starliner spent several days at the station, during which the teams conducted a series of planned tests, and the station crew transported several hundred pounds of cargo and supplies. Starliner not docked from the station on May 25 and returned to Earth later the same day, Landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The OFT-2 mission is designed to test the comprehensive capabilities of the Starliner system to safely transport astronauts to and from the space station.

Greg Robinson, program manager for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope at NASA Headquarters, gives a brief interview on NASA TV as he and the launch team watch the countdown to the Webb launch on December 25, 2021, at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Webb is a large infrared telescope with a 21.3 ft (6.5 m) primary mirror. The observatory will study every stage of cosmic history – from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA’s Webb Program Administrator Named TIME100

Gregory Robinsonthe manager of the program NASA’s James Webb Space TelescopeNamed in TIME100 – the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people and leaders in the world. Robinson began his career at NASA in 1989 and joined the Webb team in 2018. In his current position, he oversees what will be the first space observatory for the next decade. The Webb Telescope will explore each stage of the 13.5 billion years of cosmic history to help us understand our place in the universe.

CAPSTONE Over the Moon’s North Pole: After reaching the Moon, CAPSTONE will begin its primary six-month mission. The mission will investigate the properties of a nearby straight halo orbit by demonstrating how to enter and operate the orbit. Credit: NASA illustration/Daniel Rutter

CAPSTONE CubeSat prepares for lunar flight

Cislunar autonomous GPS technology operations experience and navigation experience, or CAPSTONE MISSION It is scheduled to be released no later than June 6. It’s a collaboration between NASA and industry that will use a microwave oven-sized CubeSat to test a unique elliptical orbit around the moon, formally known as the straight near corona orbit. The mission will help reduce risks to future spacecraft, including Gatewhich is an outpost revolving around the moon for NASA’s Artemis Programby validating innovative navigation techniques and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbiter.

Dispersed solar sails, shown in this conceptual illustration, can enable missions to hard-to-reach places, such as orbits above the sun’s poles. Credit: Mackenzie Martin

A NASA-powered solar sail could take science to new heights

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program, or NIAC program, has selected a new solar sail concept to develop toward a demonstration mission. The solar sailWhich uses a property of light called diffraction to increase the efficiency of sunlight use, could take science to new destinations.

NASA’s creative Mars helicopter made a record-breaking 25th flight on April 8, 2022. The navigation camera on the rotary craft captured its longest and fastest flight to date on the Red Planet. The helicopter covered 2,310 feet (704 meters) with a top speed of 12 miles per hour (5.5 meters per second). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

cleverness[{” attribute=””>Mars Helicopter Captures Video of Record Flight

Our Ingenuity helicopter on Mars captured this black-and-white footage during its record-breaking 25th flight. The flight, which took place on April 18, was also Ingenuity’s longest and fastest flight to date. The rotorcraft traveled over 2,300 feet and reached a speed of 12 mph.

That’s what’s up this week @NASA …