Firing up a rocket booster for Artemis …
Looking for new flight directors …
And a launch date for an Earth-observing mission
… a few of the stories to tell you about
– This Week at NASA!
On Sept. 2, we conducted a full-scale test
of a solid rocket booster like the pair that
will help power our Space Launch System or
SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on Artemis
missions to the Moon.
The two boosters will provide more than 75%
of the thrust produced during the first two
minutes of an Artemis launch.
NASA is accepting applications for new flight
directors to lead highly trained teams during
human missions to the International Space
Station and the Moon.
Qualified U.S. citizens can apply through
Sept. 10.
More details at nasa.gov/careers.
The launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich
Earth-observing satellite is targeted for
Nov. 10 from California’s Vandenberg Air
Force Base.
This partnership between NASA and the European
Space Agency will continue a decades-long
global record of observing sea level rise
from space.
The largest-ever study of glacial lakes used
30 years of NASA satellite data to find that
the volume of these lakes worldwide has increased
by about 50% since 1990, as glaciers melt
and retreat due to climate change.
The findings could help us determine hazards
to communities downstream of these lakes,
more accurately estimate sea level rise, and
better understand how glacial meltwater is
transported to oceans.
After being suspended in mid-March due to
COVID-19, the SOFIA flying observatory is
back to science operations.
With new procedures in place to ensure the
safety and health of those onboard, the project
plans to resume its regular schedule of about
four observational flights each week to study
the chemistry of galaxies.
Results from a pair of NASA research projects
being flown as part of Boeing’s 2020 ecoDemonstrator
program could help the ongoing effort to develop
technology for quieter, more fuel efficient
future aircraft, as well as fewer operational
flight delays.
That’s what’s up this week @NASA …
For more on these and other stories, follow
us on the web at nasa.gov/twan.
