\n<\/p>\n
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely in orbit on the first crewed flight test aboard Boeing\u2019s Starliner spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.<\/p>\n
As part of NASA\u2019s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the astronauts lifted off at 9:52 a.m. CDT June 5 on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on an end-to-end test of the Starliner system.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo bold NASA astronauts are well on their way on this historic first test flight of a brand-new spacecraft,\u201d said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. \u201cBoeing\u2019s Starliner marks a new chapter of American exploration. Human spaceflight is a daring task \u2013 but that\u2019s why it\u2019s worth doing. It\u2019s an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners, and the future of exploration. Go Starliner, Go Butch and Suni!\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of\u00a0NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program, the flight test will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station. Starliner previously flew two uncrewed orbital flights, including a test to and from the space station, along with a pad abort demonstration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Starliner\u2019s launch, separation from the rocket, and arrival on orbit, Boeing\u2019s Crew Flight Test is right on track,\u201d said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing\u2019s Commercial Crew Program. \u201cEveryone is focused on giving Suni and Butch a safe, comfortable, ride and performing a successful test mission from start to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Starliner\u2019s flight, Boeing will monitor a series of automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Houston. NASA teams will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agency\u2019s Johnson Space Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlying crew on Starliner represents over a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA,\u201d said Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center. \u201cFor many of us, this is a career-defining moment bringing on a new crew transportation capability for our agency and our nation. We are going to take it one step at a time, putting Starliner through its paces, and remaining vigilant until Butch and Suni safely touch down back on Earth at the conclusion of this test flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starliner will autonomously dock to the forward-facing port of the station\u2019s Harmony module at approximately 11:15 a.m. June 6, and remain at the orbital laboratory for about a week.<\/p>\n
Wilmore and Williams will help verify the spacecraft is performing as intended by testing the environmental control system, the displays and control system, and by maneuvering the thrusters, among other tests during flight.<\/p>\n
After a safe arrival at the space station, Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.<\/p>\n
Mission coverage will continue on NASA Television channels throughout Starliner\u2019s flight and resume on NASA+ prior to docking.<\/p>\n
Follow mission updates here.<\/p>\n
The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center provides engineering and mission operations support for the space station, the Commercial Crew Program, and Artemis missions, as well as science and technology demonstration missions. The\u00a0Payload Operations Integration Center\u00a0within HOSC operates, plans, and coordinates the science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The Commercial Crew Program support team at Marshall provides crucial programmatic, engineering, and safety and mission assurance expertise for launch vehicles, spacecraft propulsion, and integrated vehicle performance.<\/p>\n
A flag-raising ceremony was held May 2 outside the HOSC for Marshall\u2019s support of the mission. The ceremony was a joint effort between the Payload and Mission Operations Division and Commercial Crew Program team.<\/p>\n
\u203a Back to Top<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n By Rick Smith<\/em><\/p>\n Joseph Pelfrey, director of NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center, was a key presenter at the 29th annual Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit, hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville on May 29 and 30.<\/p>\n The event drew some 300 attendees, including government representatives, members of the public, and industry and academic stakeholders from across the corridor\u2019s five-state region, which includes Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.<\/p>\n Pelfrey addressed summit attendees May 30 as part of a session on \u201cExploring and Discovering Through Science, Research, and Space.\u201d He noted that Marshall will embrace a transformative shift, including a transition toward small- and medium-sized programs enabled by strategic partnerships, helping NASA prepare for a future in which astronauts live and work on the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to Mars.<\/p>\n That paradigm shift will rely heavily on \u201cthe talent, innovation, and infrastructure available in the Tennessee Valley, (enabling) us to accelerate progress in space exploration, scientific research, and technology development,\u201d Pelfrey added.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also emphasized that there is much more to come for Marshall, with the center continuing to serve as a trusted technical solutions provider for NASA and its partners. Pelfrey highlighted how harnessing the center\u2019s deep technical expertise for future missions will help drive innovation, reduce costs, and accelerate shared goals for advanced space exploration.<\/p>\n Pelfrey offered a detailed look at NASA\u2019s successful Artemis I launch in 2022 and the upcoming Artemis II mission, which will send the first woman and first person of color to deep space to conduct a lunar fly-by \u2013 the final checkout before Artemis III lands Americans on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. Pelfrey also discussed Marshall\u2019s role in managing NASA\u2019s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the backbone of the agency\u2019s Artemis-era\u00a0endeavors, and identified new and upcoming programs and efforts geared to expand the center\u2019s role in deep-space science and exploration.<\/p>\n He noted that much of that work has had a direct effect on the state of Tennessee and on industry and academia across the corridor.<\/p>\n In fiscal year 2021 alone, NASA\u2019s economic impact supported more than 1,600 jobs and generated more than $340 million in Tennessee alone, including $119 million in labor income. More broadly, since 2015, NASA has enacted 97 Cooperative Agreements with partners across the five-state corridor. Eighty-two of those were with universities, including six minority-serving institutions. Of the 15 industry agreements, 11 created partnerships with small businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is truly an exciting time to live and work in the Tennessee Valley,\u201d Pelfrey said, \u201cand to be part of the space community.\u201d<\/p>\n Other summit speakers included Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee\u2019s 3rd district, and Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee\u2019s 7th district; Corey Hinderstein, deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; Dr. Steven Streiffer, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Dr. Robert Lindquist, vice president for research and economic development at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.<\/p>\n Panels and seminars included discussion of American security, global economic leadership, new energy solutions, workforce development, and the emergence of AI technology. More than 20 businesses and academic institutions \u2013 including representatives from SLS, the Human Landing Systems Program Office, the Space Nuclear Propulsion Project Office, and other Marshall organizations \u2013 engaged with summit participants and promoted current and future NASA endeavors at a trade-show expo in the Vanderbilt Student Life Center.<\/p>\n The Tennessee Valley Corridor was founded in 1995 to foster collaboration between government, academia, and industry, to champion regional economic leadership, and to promote partnerships in\u00a0national security,\u00a0science, space, transportation, environment, energy, education, and workforce development. Its 2023 national summit was held in Huntsville.<\/p>\n Smith, an Aeyon\/MTS employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.<\/em><\/p>\n \u203a Back to Top<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Davey Jones has been named center strategy lead at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center, following the reassignment of Jeramie Broadway, effective June 2.<\/p>\n As center strategy lead for the Office of the Center Director, Jones will lead and implement the director\u2019s strategic vision, leveraging and integrating Marshall\u2019s strategic business units, in coordination and collaboration with all center organizations, and to ensure alignment with the agency\u2019s strategic priorities.<\/p>\n He moves into his new role after being the manager of the Program Planning & Control Office within the HLS (Human Landing Systems) Program at Marshall since 2020. In that capacity, Jones\u2019 primary role was managing the program\u2019s budget, schedule, risk, and other programmatic functions. He has worked in multiple roles throughout his career, focused on the formulation of key programs and projects for Marshall, including development of technology upgrades for life support systems on the International Space Station, formulation of the SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1B vehicle and exploration upper stage, and leading various human exploration architecture studies for the Moon and Mars.<\/p>\n From 2017 to 2020, he was the Environmental Control and Life Support System Integration and Development manager for the International Space Station Projects Office in the Human Exploration Development and Operations Office. Jones was senior technical assistant to Marshall\u2019s associate director, technical, from 2016-2017. Prior to that, he was SLS stages alternate lead systems engineer from 2014-2016. A U.S. Navy veteran, he began his NASA career in 2008 in the Advanced Concepts Office.<\/p>\n Jones\u2019 honors include a NASA Early Career Achievement Medal, Marshall Engineering Director\u2019s Award, and a Human Exploration Framework Team Group Achievement Award.<\/p>\n A native of Lakeland, Florida, he earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.<\/p>\n \u203a Back to Top<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Images from the November 2023 flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh by\u00a0NASA\u2019s Lucy spacecraft\u00a0show a trough on Dinkinesh where a large piece \u2013 about a quarter of the asteroid \u2013 suddenly shifted, a ridge, and a separate contact binary satellite (now known as Selam). Scientists say this complicated structure shows that Dinkinesh and Selam have significant internal strength and a complex, dynamic history.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to understand the strengths of small bodies in our solar system because that\u2019s critical for understanding how planets like Earth got here,\u201d said Hal Levison, Lucy principal investigator at the Boulder, Colorado, branch of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. \u201cBasically, the planets formed when zillions of smaller objects orbiting the Sun, like asteroids, ran into each other. How objects behave when they hit each other, whether they break apart or stick together, has a lot to do with their strength and internal structure.\u201d Levison is lead author of a\u00a0paper on these observations\u00a0published May 29 in Nature.<\/p>\n Researchers think that Dinkinesh is revealing its internal structure by how it has responded to stress. Over millions of years rotating in the sunlight, the tiny forces coming from the thermal radiation emitted from the asteroid\u2019s warm surface\u00a0generated a small torque\u00a0that caused Dinkinesh to gradually rotate faster, building up centrifugal stresses until part of the asteroid shifted into a more elongated shape. This event likely caused debris to enter into a close orbit, which became the raw material that produced the ridge and satellite.<\/p>\n If Dinkinesh were much weaker, more like a fluid pile of sand, its particles would have gradually moved toward the equator and flown off into orbit as it spun faster. However, the images suggest that it was able to hold together longer, more like a rock, with more strength than a fluid, eventually giving way under stress and fragmenting into large pieces. (Although the amount of strength needed to fragment a small asteroid like Dinkinesh is miniscule compared to most rocks on Earth.)<\/p>\n \u201cThe trough suggests an abrupt failure, more an earthquake with a gradual buildup of stress and then a sudden release, instead of a slow process like a sand dune forming,\u201d said Keith Noll of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, project scientist for Lucy and a co-author of the paper.<\/p>\n \n