Targeting the next U.S. launch of astronauts
…
Another successful space station resupply
mission …
And honoring pilots for National Aviation
Day … a few of the stories to tell you about
– This Week at NASA!
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International
Space Station is targeted for launch no earlier
than Oct. 23.
NASA certification of SpaceX’s crew transportation
system will allow for regular crewed flights
to the station, ending our sole reliance on
Russia for access.
On Aug. 18, the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency’s HTV-9 cargo spacecraft left the
International Space Station after a three-month
stay.
HTV-9 delivered about four tons of supplies
and experiments, including new lithium-ion
batteries used to upgrade power systems.
We celebrated National Aviation Day on Aug.
19 with special recognition of the skills,
abilities and crucial role of pilots and aviators.
The annual observance falls on the birthday
of the world’s very first pilot of an airplane
– Orville Wright.
Find out more about our groundbreaking aeronautics
research at nasa.gov/flight.
The one-of-a-kind engine for NASA’s X-59
Quiet Supersonic Technology airplane was delivered
to our Armstrong Flight Research Center in
California, where it will be checked out then
sent to nearby Palmdale, California where
the plane is being built.
The engine will power the X-59 on missions
to gather public reaction to the quieter sonic
booms the aircraft is designed to produce.
Technicians at our Kennedy Space Center in
Florida have been busy installing the spacecraft
adapter cone that will connect the Orion spacecraft
to the Space Launch System rocket for the
Artemis I mission around the Moon.
This is one of the final major hardware operations
for Orion prior to integration with the rocket.
We’re celebrating 15 years of our Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter, which has helped reshape our understanding
of the Red Planet and provided a slew of stunning
images along the way.
As of early August, just one of the spacecraft’s
three cameras alone had taken more than 6.8
million images and generated 194 terabytes
of data sent from Mars since 2006.
That’s what’s up this week @NASA …
For more on these and other stories, follow
us on the web at nasa.gov/twan.
