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By NASA
This artist’s concept shows NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory orbiting above Earth.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (KBRwyle) To drive the development of key space-based capabilities for the United States, NASA is exploring an opportunity to demonstrate technology to raise a spacecraft’s orbit to a higher altitude. Two American companies – Cambrian Works of Reston, Virginia, and Katalyst Space Technologies of Flagstaff, Arizona – will develop concept design studies for a possible orbit boost for the agency’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Since its launch in 2004, NASA’s Swift mission has led the agency’s fleet of space telescopes in investigating changes in the high-energy universe. The spacecraft’s low Earth orbit has been decaying gradually, which happens to most satellites over time. Because of recent increases in the Sun’s activity, however, Swift is experiencing additional atmospheric drag, speeding up its orbital decay. This lowering orbit presents an opportunity for NASA to advance a U.S. industry capability, while potentially extending the science lifetime of the Swift mission. The concept studies will help determine whether extending Swift’s critical scientific capabilities would be more cost-effective than replacing those capabilities with a new observatory.
“NASA Science is committed to leveraging commercial technologies to find innovative, cost-effective ways to open new capabilities for the future of the American space sector,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “To maintain Swift’s role in our portfolio, NASA Science is uniquely positioned to conduct a rare in-space technology demonstration to raise the satellite’s orbit and solidify American leadership in spacecraft servicing.”
The concept studies are being developed under Phase III awards through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, managed by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, to American small businesses from a pool of existing participants. This approach allows NASA to rapidly explore affordable possibilities to boost Swift on a shorter development timeline than would otherwise be possible, given the rapid rate at which Swift’s orbit is decaying.
At this time NASA does not have plans for an orbit boost mission and could still allow the spacecraft to reenter Earth’s atmosphere, as many satellites do at the end of their lifetimes. NASA is studying a potential Swift boost to support innovation in the American space industry, while gaining a better understanding of the available options, the technical feasibility, and the risks involved.
NASA will also work with Starfish Space of Seattle, Washington, to analyze the potential of performing a Swift boost using an asset under development on an existing Phase III SBIR award. Starfish is currently developing the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) demonstration for NASA, with the primary objective of inspecting multiple U.S.-owned defunct satellites in low Earth orbit.
“Our SBIR portfolio exists for circumstances like this – where investments in America’s space industry provide NASA and our partners an opportunity to develop mutually beneficial capabilities,” said Clayton Turner, associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. “Whether we choose to implement the technologies in this circumstance, understanding how to boost a spacecraft’s orbit could prove valuable for future applications.”
Swift was designed to observe gamma-ray bursts, the universe’s most powerful explosions, and provide information for other NASA and partner telescopes to follow up on these events. Its fast and flexible observations have been instrumental in advancing how scientists study transient events to understand how the universe works. For more than two decades, Swift has led NASA’s missions in providing new insights on these events, together broadening our understanding of everything from exploding stars, stellar flares, and eruptions in active galaxies, to comets and asteroids in our own solar system and high-energy lightning events on Earth.
As neutron stars collide, some of the debris blasts away in particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light, producing a brief burst of gamma rays.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab “Over its extremely productive lifetime, Swift has been a key player in NASA’s network of space telescopes – directing our fleet to ensure we keep a watchful eye on changes in the universe, both far off and close to home,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters. “Now, this long-lived science mission is presenting us with a new opportunity: partnering with U.S. industry to rapidly explore efficient, state-of-the-art solutions that could extend Swift’s transformative work and advance private spacecraft servicing.”
Cambrian and Katalyst have each been awarded $150,000 under Phase III SBIR contracts for concept design studies. The NASA SBIR program is part of America’s Seed Fund, the nation’s largest source of early-stage, non-dilutive funding for innovative technologies. Through this program, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with less than 500 employees can receive funding and non-monetary support to build, mature, and commercialize their technologies, advancing NASA missions and helping solve important problems facing our country.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the UK Space Agency, University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory in Italy, and the Italian Space Agency. To learn more about the Swift mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/swift
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Alise Fisher / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546 / 321-432-4624
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA employees Broderic J. Gonzalez, left, and David W. Shank install pieces of a 7-foot wing model in preparation for testing in the 14-by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, in May 2025. The lessons learned will be shared with the public to support advanced air mobility aircraft development. NASA/Mark Knopp The advanced air mobility industry is currently working to produce novel aircraft ranging from air taxis to autonomous cargo drones, and all of those designs will require extensive testing – which is why NASA is working to give them a head-start by studying a special kind of model wing. The wing is a scale model of a design used in a type of aircraft called a “tiltwing,” which can swing its wing and rotors from vertical to horizontal. This allows the aircraft to take off, hover, and land like a helicopter, or fly like a fixed-wing airplane. This design enables versatility in a range of operating environments.
Several companies are working on tiltwings, but NASA’s research into the scale wing will also impact nearly all types of advanced air mobility aircraft designs.
“NASA research supporting advanced air mobility demonstrates the agency’s commitment to supporting this rapidly growing industry,” said Brandon Litherland, principal investigator for the test at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “Tool improvements in these areas will greatly improve our ability to accurately predict the performance of new advanced air mobility aircraft, which supports the adoption of promising designs. Gaining confidence through testing ensures we can identify safe operating conditions for these new aircraft.”
NASA researcher Norman W. Schaeffler adjusts a propellor, which is part of a 7-foot wing model that was recently tested at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. In May and June, NASA researchers tested the wing in the 14-by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel to collect data on critical propeller-wing interactions. The lessons learned will be shared with the public to support advanced air mobility aircraft development.NASA/Mark Knopp In May and June, NASA tested a 7-foot wing model with multiple propellers in the 14-by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel at Langley. The model is a “semispan,” or the right half of a complete wing. Understanding how multiple propellers and the wing interact under various speeds and conditions provides valuable insight for the advanced air mobility industry. This information supports improved aircraft designs and enhances the analysis tools used to assess the safety of future designs.
This work is managed by the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project under NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program in support of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission, which seeks to deliver data to guide the industry’s development of electric air taxis and drones.
“This tiltwing test provides a unique database to validate the next generation of design tools for use by the broader advanced air mobility community,” said Norm Schaeffler, the test director, based at Langley. “Having design tools validated for a broad range of aircraft will accelerate future design cycles and enable informed decisions about aerodynamic and acoustic performance.”
In May and June, NASA researchers tested a 7-foot wing model in the 14-by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The team collected data on critical propeller-wing interactions over the course of several weeks.NASA/Mark Knopp The wing is outfitted with over 700 sensors designed to measure pressure distribution, along with several other types of tools to help researchers collect data from the wing and propeller interactions. The wing is mounted on special sensors to measure the forces applied to the model. Sensors in each motor-propeller hub to measure the forces acting on the components independently.
The model was mounted on a turntable inside the wind tunnel, so the team could collect data at different wing tilt angles, flap positions, and rotation rates. The team also varied the tunnel wind speed and adjusted the relative positions of the propellers.
Researchers collected data relevant to cruise, hover, and transition conditions for advanced air mobility aircraft. Once they analyze this data, the information will be released to industry on NASA’s website.
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Last Updated Aug 07, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactTeresa Whitingteresa.whiting@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Here you see the X-59 scaled model inside the JAXA supersonic wind tunnel during critical tests related to sound predictions.JAXA Researchers from NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) recently tested a scale model of the X-59 experimental aircraft in a supersonic wind tunnel located in Chofu, Japan, to assess the noise audible underneath the aircraft.
The test was an important milestone for NASA’s one-of-a-kind X-59, which is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound without causing a loud sonic boom.
When the X-59 flies, sound underneath it – a result of its pressure signature – will be a critical factor for what people hear on the ground.
The X-59 is 99.7 feet long, with a wingspan of 29.7 feet. The JAXA wind tunnel, on the other hand, is just over 3 feet long by 3 feet wide.
So, researchers used a model scaled to just 1.62% of the actual aircraft – about 19 inches nose-to-tail. They exposed it to conditions mimicking the X-plane’s planned supersonic cruising speed of Mach 1.4, or approximately 925 miles per hour.
The series of tests performed at JAXA allowed NASA researchers to gather critical experimental data to compare to their predictions derived through Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling, which include how air will flow around the aircraft.
This marked the third round of wind tunnel tests for the X-59 model, following a previous test at JAXA and at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio.
The data will help researchers understand the noise level that will be created by the shock waves the X-59 produces at supersonic speeds.
The shock waves from traditional supersonic aircraft typically merge together, producing a loud sonic boom. The X-59’s unique design works to keep shock waves from merging, will result in a quieter sonic thump.
The X-59 was built in Palmdale, California at contractor Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and is undergoing final ground tests en route to its historic first flight this year.
NASA’s Quesst mission aims to help change the future of quiet supersonic travel using the X-59. The experimental aircraft allow the Quesst team to gather public feedback on acceptable sound levels for quiet supersonic flight.
Through Quesst’s development of the X-59, NASA will deliver design tools and technology for quiet supersonic airliners that will achieve the high speeds desired by commercial operators without creating disturbance to people on the ground.
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Last Updated Jul 11, 2025 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
As Hubble marks three and a half decades of scientific breakthroughs and technical resilience, the “Hubble at 35 Years” symposium offers a platform to reflect on the mission’s historical, operational, and scientific legacy. Hubble’s trajectory—from early challenges to becoming a symbol of American scientific ingenuity—presents valuable lessons in innovation, collaboration, and crisis response. Bringing together scientists, engineers, and historians at NASA Headquarters ensures that this legacy informs current and future mission planning, including operations for the James Webb Space Telescope, Roman Space Telescope, and other next-generation observatories. The symposium not only honors Hubble’s transformative contributions but also reinforces NASA’s commitment to learning from the past to shape a more effective and ambitious future for space science.
Hubble at 35 Years
Lessons Learned in Scientific Discovery and NASA Flagship Mission Operations
October 16–17, 2025
James Webb Auditorium, NASA HQ, Washington, D.C.
The giant Hubble Space Telescope (HST) can be seen as it is suspended in space by Discovery’s Remote Manipulator System (RMS) following the deployment of part of its solar panels and antennae on April 25, 1990.NASA The story of the Hubble Space Telescope confirms its place as the most transformative and significant astronomical observatory in history. Once called “the eighth wonder of the world” by a former NASA administrator, Hubble’s development since its genesis in the early 1970s and its launch, repair, and ultimate impact since 1990 provide ample opportunity to apply insights from its legacy. Scientists and engineers associated with groundbreaking discoveries have always operated within contexts shaped by forces including the government, private industry, the military, and the public at large. The purpose of this symposium is to explore the insights from Hubble’s past and draw connections that can inform the development of mission work today and for the future.
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By NASA
Explore This Section Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read New Visualization From NASA’s Webb Telescope Explores Cosmic Cliffs
The landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” known as the Cosmic Cliffs is actually a portion of the nebula Gum 31, which contains a young star cluster called NGC 3324. Both Gum 31 and NGC 3324 are part of a vast star-forming region known as the Carina Nebula Complex. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope made its public debut with a series of breathtaking images. Among them was an ethereal landscape nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering realm of star birth is the subject of a new 3D visualization derived from the Webb data. The visualization, created by NASA’s Universe of Learning and titled “Exploring the Cosmic Cliffs in 3D,” breathes new life into an iconic Webb image.
It is being presented today at a special event hosted by the International Planetarium Society to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first public planetarium in Munich, Germany.
The landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” known as the Cosmic Cliffs is actually a portion of the nebula Gum 31, which contains a young star cluster called NGC 3324. Both Gum 31 and NGC 3324 are part of a vast star-forming region known as the Carina Nebula Complex.
Ultraviolet light and stellar winds from the stars of NGC 3324 have carved a cavernous area within Gum 31. A portion of this giant bubble is seen above the Cosmic Cliffs. (The star cluster itself is outside this field of view.)
The Cliffs display a misty appearance, with “steam” that seems to rise from the celestial mountains. In actuality, the wisps are hot, ionized gas and dust streaming away from the nebula under an onslaught of relentless ultraviolet radiation.
Eagle-eyed viewers may also spot particularly bright, yellow streaks and arcs that represent outflows from young, still-forming stars embedded within the Cosmic Cliffs. The latter part of the visualization sequence swoops past a prominent protostellar jet in the upper right of the image.
Video: Exploring the Cosmic Cliffs in 3D
In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope made history, revealing a breathtaking view of a region now nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering landscape, captured in incredible detail, is part of the nebula Gum 31 — a small piece of the vast Carina Nebula Complex — where stars are born amid clouds of gas and dust.
This visualization brings Webb’s iconic image to life — helping us imagine the true, three-dimensional structure of the universe… and our place within it.
Produced for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) with partners at Caltech/IPAC, and developed by the AstroViz Project of NASA’s Universe of Learning, this visualization is part of a longer, narrated video that provides broad audiences, including youth, families, and lifelong learners, with a direct connection to the science and scientists of NASA’s Astrophysics missions. That video enables viewers to explore fundamental questions in science, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves.
“Bringing this amazing Webb image to life helps the public to comprehend the three-dimensional structure inherent in the 2D image, and to develop a better mental model of the universe,” said STScI’s Frank Summers, principal visualization scientist and leader of the AstroViz Project.
More visualizations and connections between the science of nebulas and learners can be explored through other products produced by NASA’s Universe of Learning including a Carina Nebula Complex resource page and ViewSpace, a video exhibit that is currently running at almost 200 museums and planetariums across the United States. Visitors can go beyond video to explore the images produced by space telescopes with interactive tools now available for museums and planetariums.
NASA’s Universe of Learning materials are based upon work supported by NASA under award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
NASA’s Universe of Learning is part of the NASA Science Activation program, from the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. The Science Activation program connects NASA science experts, real content and experiences, and community leaders in a way that activates minds and promotes deeper understanding of our world and beyond. Using its direct connection to the science and the experts behind the science, NASA’s Universe of Learning provides resources and experiences that enable youth, families, and lifelong learners to explore fundamental questions in science, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves.
To learn more about Webb, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Related Information
Explore more: Carina Nebula Complex from NASA’s Universe of Learning
Read more: Webb’s view of the Cosmic Cliffs
Listen: Carina Nebula sonification
Read more: Webb’s star formation discoveries
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Last Updated May 07, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
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