Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
NASA/Jonny Kim The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is pictured backing away from the International Space Station shortly after undocking on April 19, 2025. Three hours later, the spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan, returning astronaut Don Pettit and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner to Earth.
While aboard the International Space Station, Pettit conducted hundreds of hours of scientific investigations, including research to enhance on-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity, all contributing to future space missions.
Image credit: NASA/Jonny Kim
View the full article
-
By NASA
Robert Williams is a senior mechanical design engineer and the structures subject matter expert in the Engineering and Test Directorate at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.NASA/Danny Nowlin Living up to, and maintaining, the standard of excellence associated with NASA is what drives Robert Williams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, Williams said he has had the opportunity to work with and be mentored by “some truly exceptional” engineers, some with careers reaching back to the Apollo era.
“I cannot overstate the vast amount of practical knowledge and experience we have at NASA Stennis,” Williams said. “We know how to get things done, and if we do not know, I can guarantee we will figure it out.”
Williams is a senior mechanical design engineer and the structures subject matter expert for the NASA Stennis Engineering and Test Directorate.
He provides technical oversight related to engineering mechanics and machine design by reviewing analysis and design packages from NASA Stennis contractors and NASA engineers for ongoing projects.
Williams also supports projects by performing analysis and creating detailed models, drawings, and system level designs, mostly at the versatile four-stand E Test Complex, where NASA Stennis has 12 active test cells capable of various component, engine, and stage test activities to support the agency and commercial companies.
In support of NASA’s Artemis campaign of returning astronauts to the Moon, Williams also has reviewed structural and pipe stress analysis for the exploration upper stage project that will test a new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage to fly on future Artemis missions.
He performed similar review work for Green Run testing of the SLS core stage at NASA Stennis ahead of the successful launch of the Artemis I uncrewed mission around the Moon.
Overall, Williams has been a part of projects on every test stand throughout more than eight years with NASA and five years as a contractor. He has been tasked with solving challenging problems, both individually and as a part of teams.
There were times when he was not sure if he or the team would be able to solve the problem or address it effectively, but each time, the NASA Stennis team found a way.
“Over the span of my career, I have yet to be in a situation where the challenge was not met,” he said.
The opportunity to work with “pretty much all the major space companies in some capacity” is most interesting to Williams. “The best thing is that being a small organization within a relatively small center, there are always opportunities to develop new skills and capabilities to help fill a need or gap,” he said.
No matter the task, Williams looks forward to supporting space innovation while living up to, and maintaining, the standard of excellence associated with NASA for the benefit of all.
Explore More
3 min read Lagniappe for April 2025
Article 4 weeks ago 4 min read Lagniappe for March 2025
Article 2 months ago 6 min read NASA Stennis Flashback: Learning About Rocket Engine Exhaust for Safe Space Travel
Article 2 months ago View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
As the new Biomass satellite settles into life in orbit following its launch on 29 April, ESA has released its most extensive satellite-based maps of above-ground forest carbon to date. Spanning nearly two decades, the dataset offers the clearest global picture yet of how forest carbon stocks have changed over time.
Developed through ESA’s Climate Change Initiative, this new long-term record integrates data from multiple satellite missions – and will soon be further enhanced by data from the Biomass mission itself.
View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
Image: The Ocean and Land Colour Instrument on Copernicus Sentinel-3 captured this image of Earth’s biggest iceberg, A23a, on 5 April 2025. View the full article
-
By NASA
Expedition 72 Flight Engineers Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Don Pettit pose while inside the vestibule between the International Space Station’s Unity module and the Cygnus space freighter.NASA NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi will answer prerecorded questions about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from students in Mansfield, Texas, while aboard the International Space Station.
The 20-minute space-to-Earth call will take place at 10:40 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 5, and can be watched on the NASA STEM YouTube Channel.
Media interested in covering the event must RSVP no later than 5 p.m., Friday, May 2 by contacting Laura Jobe at laurajobe@misdmail.org or 817-299-6300.
The event, hosted by Mansfield Independent School District, also will have students present from Brenda Norwood Elementary, Alma Martinez Intermediate, Charlene McKinzey Middle, Jerry Knight and Frontier STEM Academies in Mansfield. This opportunity will allow the students to relate what they have learned about space travel to personal experiences.
For more than 24 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos of astronauts aboard the space station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
-end-
Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Apr 30, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Humans in Space International Space Station (ISS) Johnson Space Center NASA Headquarters View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.