NASA

Next Generation Science Standards Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer (MS-PS4) Grades 5-8. Students strengthen their understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically lasers and their applications, through a series of math, writing, and graphing challenges. This series of activities can be completed together or in parts. Download Laser Activity Board Oct 15, 2023 PDF (2.90 MB) View the full article

Common Core State Standards Ratios & Proportional Relations and Data Grades 7-8. Students review their knowledge of mathematics and unit conversion by occupying the role of a NASA resource analyst. Download Money Mass-ematics Oct 15, 2023 PDF (642.50 KB) Answer Key Oct 15, 2023 PDF (407.91 KB) View the full article

Next Generation Science Standards Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer (MS-PS4) Grades 5-8. Students strengthen their understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically lasers and their applications, through a series of math, writing, and graphing challenges. This series of activities can be completed together or in parts. Download Lazer Maze Activity Oct 15, 2023 PDF (2.67 MB) View the full article

Failure analysis determines what, why and how things went wrong when a component, system, or structure fails and is a valuable tool in the development of new products and the improvement of existing ones. Our multi-disciplined team has the expertise and in-house capabilities to determine the root cause of failures on a wide range of materials including paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, composites, rubbers, plastics, elastomers, and metals. We routinely apply our expert knowledge of oxygen systems, composite pressure systems, propellants and aerospace fluids, and propulsion systems to root cause analysis and offer expert recommendations for improvements and corrective action. WSTF StaffView the full article

To assure items function as designed, piece parts are verified to manufacturer’s tolerance.Credits: NASA WSTF Holding the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC) Certificate of Authorization and “VR” Symbol Stamp for the repair of pressure relief valves, our Valve Repair Facility ensures pressure relief valves are operating within the manufacturer’s specifications and to the customer’s expectations. Using gaseous nitrogen, we are capable of verifying flow capabilities of pressure relief valves up to 1000 scfm, and pressures up to 2800 psig. We also ensures replacement parts operate per the original manufacturer’s specifications and maintain traceability for parts and testing on code and non-code applications. Assembly and testing of the components is performed in a ISO Class 5 (Federal Standard Class 100) clean room making us the only known clean flow test facility for relief valves in North America. All inspection measurement and test equipment used to support our Valve Repair Facility is calibrated in-house and is traceable to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or other internationally agreeable intrinsic standards. Last Updated: Aug 6, 2017 Editor: Judy Corbett View the full article

Repair, Refurbishment, and Modification WSTF Staff Components can be refurbished as a cost effective alternative to the cost of new equipment. Credits: NASA WSTF Our engineers refurbish, repair, and redesign fluid components such as check valves, relief valves, solenoid valves, and manual valves ensuring relief valves and other components are operating within manufacturer’s specifications and comply with the requirements of American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/NB 23, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code, Section VIII, Div. 1, and the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC). Facilities and Certifications Component Services is an approved “VR” certified facility holding the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC) Certificate of Authorization and “VR” Symbol Stamp for the repair of pressure relief valves. Our team is also certified to manufacture flight hardware by NASA and the International Space Station (ISS) Program. Repair and Refurbishment Repair and refurbishment is a cost effective alternative to replacement and our highly skilled team disassembles, inspects, and precision cleans each item received. We ensure the parts being used for repair and replacement are from the original manufacturer, or from a vendor approved by the National Board verifying replacement parts meet original manufacturer specifications. Spares and replacements can be manufactured by our in-house NASA certified Machining and Fabrication workforce to replace parts that are no longer commercially available. Modification Equipment can be modified to work safely in your pressure system or in specific media such as oxidizer, oxygen service, fuels, and propellants. Guided by the knowledge gained from 40 years or research and testing by our Oxygen System and Propellants and Aerospace Fluids engineers, our team can modify equipment with recommended parts to operated safely and avoid costly mistakes created by using the wrong components. Last Updated: Aug 6, 2017 Editor: Judy Corbett View the full article

Heliophysics Big Year (Official NASA Trailer)

We take an active role in limiting our impacts on the environment and being responsible for the environmental quality of our community. Management support and grassroots efforts have helped to educate employees about environmental concerns, encourage our site’s involvement in sustainability activities, and embrace and implement employee ideas. This support has led to a facility-wide culture of environmental awareness and sustainability that reaches across our site. Waste minimization projects, innovative technologies, sustainable acquisition, recycling activities, and other “green” initiatives have become routine site procedures. View the full article

Since the first rocket engine test in 1964, our facility has performed development and certification testing of space propulsion systems for manned and unmanned spacecraft. Along with our half century of propulsion system testing and analysis, our ISO 9001 certified processes provide rigorous but flexible testing ensuring quality data for our customer. Our site also houses on-site propulsion related expertise in composite pressure systems, oxygen systems, and propellants and aerospace fluids for further testing support. In addition to this expertise, we work closely with our Environmental Management and Safety and Mission Assurance teams to provide all environmental permitting, and ensure the safety of our personnel, environment, and site. View the full article

Specializing in the study of oxygen compatibility in space, aircraft, medical, and industrial applications, we investigate the effects of increased oxygen concentration on the ignition and burning of materials and components to help ensure the safety of personnel and equipment. In systems or environments with higher oxygen content and/or pressure, materials that normally do not burn have a lower ignition temperature, are more vigorously combustible, and have a higher flame temperature if they do burn. In response to the reactivity of oxygen, vigorous testing and requirements for the selection, combination, and cleanliness of material and components used in oxygen service have been developed with our world renowned experts often leading the way. View the full article

WSTF Staff White Sands Test Facility’s Machining and Fabrication craftsmen specialize in the prototype and production of parts used on the International Space Station, ground support equipment, and facility and test hardware. We combine high-end Computer Numerical Control (CNC) precision machining and welding with experienced personnel and advanced inspection techniques and equipment to deliver the highest quality components to aerospace, defense and other commercial industries. Our fabrication team is skilled in working with many ferrous and non-ferrous metals including stainless steel, aluminum, and brass. We have expertise working with exotic metals like Monel®, Inconel®, Kovar®, titanium, carbon, and alloy steels. View the full article

Our calibration team supports mission critical testing for the International Space Station and other NASA space exploration efforts, and helps to safeguard the lives and equipment used in these high risk endeavors. Calibration is a critical step for all instrumentation used in our testing and ensures that the data received from calibrated instruments is converted into meaningful and accurate measurements. To minimize measurement uncertainty, our calibration processes are performed in an environmentally-controlled laboratory with regulated temperature and humidity when needed and our standards are traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. View the full article

WSTF Staff Our Materials flight acceptance workforce performs NASA Technical Standard “Flammability, Offgassing, and Compatibility Requirements and Test Procedures”, NASA-STD-6001 and related customized testing designed to verify space flight materials and system performance with a focus on ensuring safety during manned space flights. We always work with our customers to identify their root concern, making sure they get the data they want and the tests they need. View the full article

Since the inception of the technology in the 1970s, White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) has been at the forefront of NASA’s testing and evaluation of composite pressure components, building on unique strengths in Oxygen Systems, Propellants and Aerospace Fluids, Hypervelocity Impact Testing, and Materials Flight Acceptance testing. Our team of experts continues to lead the way by studying damage tolerance and stress rupture while developing life extension protocols for NASA, industry partners, the Air Force, and government agencies. WSTF technical advancements in composites are shared through dozens of test standards distributed by ANSI/AIAA, ASTM International, and research reports published for the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and NASA NDE Development Program. View the full article

What We Found in Some Historic Asteroid Samples on This Week @NASA – October 13, 2023

The safety and performance of hazardous propellant systems is a main focus at White Sands Test Facility. Our workforce conducts laboratory micro-analysis to full-scale field explosion tests. With the expertise we have developed, we provide training to the aerospace industry in the safe handling of various propellants. We also provide analysis of systems and operational safety, propellant spec analysis, personal protective equipment assessment, and detection technologies for both industrial and flight applications for our propulsion testing team and end users in aerospace and industry. View the full article

All four RS-25 engines have been installed onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage for NASA’s Artemis II mission. The installation of the engines signals the core stage is nearly finished with assembly and will soon be ready for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch, the rocket’s engines provide more than two million pounds of combined thrust.Credits: NASA By Megan Carter NASA and its partners have fully secured the four RS-25 engines onto the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis II flight test. The core stage, and its engines, is the backbone of the SLS mega rocket that will power the flight test, the first crewed mission to the Moon under Artemis. Engineers have begun final integration testing at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, in preparation for acceptance ahead of shipment of the stage to Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the coming months. “NASA integrated many lessons learned from the first-time build and assembly of the SLS core stage for Artemis I to increase efficiencies during manufacturing and cross-team collaboration with our partners for Artemis II. NASA teams in New Orleans remain focused on assembling and preparing the SLS rocket’s liquid-fueled stage to support the flight.” Julie Bassler Manager of the Stages Office for the SLS Program “NASA integrated many lessons learned from the first-time build and assembly of the SLS core stage for Artemis I to increase efficiencies during manufacturing and cross-team collaboration with our partners for Artemis II,” said Julie Bassler, manager of the Stages Office for the SLS Program at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the program is managed. “NASA teams in New Orleans remain focused on assembling and preparing the SLS rocket’s liquid-fueled stage to support the flight.” The 212-foot-tall core stage includes two massive liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines at its base. For Artemis II, the core stage and its engines act as the powerhouse of the rocket, providing more than two million pounds of thrust for the first eight minutes of flight to send the crew of four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon. NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, secured the engines to the maze of propulsion and avionics systems within the core stage Oct. 6. In the coming weeks, engineers will perform testing on the entire stage and its avionics and electrical systems, which act as the “brains” of the rocket to help control it during flight. Once testing of the stage is complete and the hardware passes its acceptance review, the core stage will be readied for shipping to Kennedy via the agency’s Pegasus barge, based at Michoud. The Artemis II RS-25 engines installed on the core stage at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Each engine is the size of a compact car and, together, will create more than two million pounds of thrust during launch. The RS-25 engines create immense pressure that controls the flow of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the two propellant tanks into each engine’s combustion chamber.Credits: NASA The Artemis II RS-25 engines installed on the core stage at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Each engine is the size of a compact car and, together, will create more than two million pounds of thrust during launch. The RS-25 engines create immense pressure that controls the flow of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the two propellant tanks into each engine’s combustion chamber.Credits: NASA As teams prepare the core stage for Artemis II, rocket hardware is also under construction on our factory floor for Artemis III, IV, and V that will help send the future Artemis astronauts to the lunar South Pole. The engines were first soft mated one by one onto the stage beginning in early September. The last RS-25 engine was structurally installed onto the stage Sept. 20. Installing the four engines is a multi-step, collaborative process for NASA, Boeing, and Aerojet Rocketdyne. Following the initial structural connections of the individual engines, securing and outfitting all four engines to the stage is the lengthiest part of the engine assembly process and includes securing the thrust vector control actuators, ancillary interfaces, and remaining bolts before multiple tests and checkouts. All major hardware elements for the SLS rocket that will launch Artemis II are either complete or in progress. The major components for the rocket’s two solid rocket boosters are at Kennedy. The rocket’s two adapters, produced at Marshall, along with the rocket’s upper stage, currently at lead contractor United Launch Alliance’s facility in Florida near Kennedy, will be prepared for shipment in the spring. NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. Corinne Beckinger Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256.544.0034 corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov View the full article

jsc2022e017100_alt (March 22, 2023) — Official portrait of ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen in a spacesuit. Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford NASAView the full article

jsc2022e017107_alt (March 22, 2023) — Official portrait of ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen in a spacesuit. Credit: NASA/Bill StaffordNASAView the full article

jsc2022e017115_alt (March 22, 2023) — Official portrait of ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen in a spacesuit. Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford NASAView the full article

jsc2022e068687_alt (Sept. 6, 2023) — Official portrait of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli in a spacesuit. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz NASAView the full article

jsc2022e068688_alt (Sept. 6, 2023) — Official portrait of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli in a spacesuit. Credit: NASA/Robert MarkowitzNASAView the full article

jsc2022e068715_alt (Sept. 8, 2023) — Official portrait of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli in a spacesuit. Credit: NASA/Robert MarkowitzNASAView the full article

jsc2022e068730_alt (Sept. 8, 2023) — Portrait of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli in a spacesuit. Credit: NASA/Robert MarkowitzNASAView the full article

3 min read Artemis I Team Receives Laurels Award for Team Achievement The International Academy of Astronautics has awarded its 2023 Laurels for Team Achievement award to the international team that supported NASA’s Artemis I mission. (Nov. 21, 2022) A portion of the Moon looms large just beyond the Orion spacecraft in this image taken on the sixth day of the Artemis I mission by a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays. The spacecraft entered the lunar sphere of influence Sunday, Nov. 20, making the Moon, instead of Earth, the main gravitational force acting on the spacecraft. On Monday, Nov. 21, it came within 80 miles of the lunar surface, the closest approach of the uncrewed Artemis I mission, before moving into a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon.NASA The academy presented the award Oct. 1 during their Academy Day program, taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, for extraordinary performance and achievement by a team of scientists, engineers, technicians, and managers in the field of astronautics. Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, accepted the award on behalf of the Artemis I team. The award recognizes the contributions from NASA and partners around the world that supported the Artemis I flight test. Artemis I was the first of a series of increasingly complex missions to establish long-term exploration at the Moon and prepare to send astronauts to Mars. “Contributions from teams at NASA and our international and industry partners made the success of the Artemis I mission possible,” said Kshatriya. “Together with this growing community, we’re conducting groundbreaking science at the Moon and preparing for humanity’s next giant leap to explore the Red Planet.” The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket launched the uncrewed Orion spacecraft Nov. 16, 2022 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a 25.5-day flight test that traveled a total of more than 1.4 million miles around the Moon and back to Earth. SLS flew as designed and with precision, and the Orion spacecraft successfully completed all test objectives while flying farther than any spacecraft built for humans has flown, reaching nearly 270,000 miles beyond the Moon. The mission paved the way for the first flight test with astronauts on Artemis II. NASA is collaborating with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon through Artemis. The Laurels award recognized the contributions to Artemis I from ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Italian Space Agency, Israel Space Agency, and the German Aerospace Center. Additionally, the Deep Space Network facilitated space communications and navigation for Artemis I through ground stations in Australia and Spain. Industry partners recognized as part of the Artemis I team for the award included Aerojet Rocketdyne, Jacobs, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Teledyne Brown, United Launch Alliance, Northrop Grumman, and Airbus. “This award belongs to the thousands of skilled workers and their families that dedicated themselves to the development of the rocket, spacecraft, and supporting systems that demonstrated the beginning of what we can achieve in this new era of exploration,” said Kshatriya. “From factories around the world, to the assembly and launch from Kennedy, around the Moon and safely recovered from the Pacific Ocean, each contribution shares in this accomplishment.” The International Academy of Astronautics is an independent non-governmental organization recognized by the United Nations with members are from more than 80 countries. Since its founding in 1960, the IAA has brought together experts in the disciplines of astronautics on a regular basis to recognize the accomplishments of their peers, explore and discuss cutting-edge issues in space research and technology, and provide direction and guidance in the non-military uses of space and the ongoing exploration of the solar system. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon as we learn how to live and work on another world and inspire the next generation of explorers. The agency and its partners will explore more of the lunar surface than ever before using innovative technologies to unlock the mysteries of our solar system and our home planet for the benefit of all. Share Details Last Updated Oct 13, 2023 Related Terms ArtemisArtemis 1Humans in Space Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Humans In Space Destinations Artemis Science Artemis View the full article