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: Space artist Paul Calle thought he had represented the overall mission for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), as did the U.S. crew, who had invited him to submit his ideas for their mission patch. NASA disapproved. "It seems the powers that be are not that into peace doves and olive branches." Now 50 years later, Calle's son, Chris, is bringing his dad's rejected designs back to life with a limited production run.
: When astronauts next look out across the lunar surface, they will do so with a clearer view. Oakley, the high-performance sunglasses company, has been chosen by Axiom Space to provide the visor system for the AxEMU spacesuit. Similar in some ways to the Apollo assembly, Oakley's visors will also use gold to shield against ultraviolet and infrared light but will also offer increased clarity by way of Oakley's high-definition optics.
: The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has redesigned and reopened an observation tower to provide a closer look at rockets launches, as well as some unexpected up-close encounters with Apollo artifacts. The Gantry at LC-39 has been added back to the visitor complex's bus tour, giving the public a chance to find historic hardware doubling as seats, reshaped into a sculpture and even firing as part of a simulated engine test.
: The first 1,000 fans on Saturday (July 5) to attend the baseball game between the Akron RubberDucks and Erie SeaWolves will receive a bobblehead in the likeness of Akron-born NASA astronaut Judy Resnik. The giveaway celebrates the bicentennial of the Ohio city. In 1984, Resnik became the second U.S. and first Jewish woman to enter space, two years before she and her crewmates died aboard space shuttle Challenger.
: It may not sound like it when reading it, but the "One Big Beautiful Bill" now directs NASA to remove space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian and transfer it to Space Center Houston. The language in the bill, which never mentions the orbiter, Texas or either museum, is purposely vague to avoid Senate reconciliation restrictions. Update: Passed by Congress, the President signed the bill into law on July 4.
: First there was "Endeavour." Next came, "Resilience," "Endurance" and "Freedom." And now there is "Grace." Ax-4 commander Peggy Whitson revealed the name of SpaceX's fifth and last Dragon crew capsule to be built as she and her crewmates entered orbit aboard the new spacecraft. Whitson said that "Grace" as a name reflected the "elegance of spaceflight" and is the "act of good work for the benefit of every human everywhere."
: Presented here for the first time online is the 50-year-old Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) Official Flight Kit (OFK) and astronaut preference kits (APKs) manifests. Combined they document all of the mementos flown aboard the U.S. side of the 1975 joint mission, less the commemorative items exchanged during the historic flight. Also presented here are memos showing how the contents of the kits came together prior to launch.
: Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois on Thursday (July 10) called into question a plan to move space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian in Virginia to Space Center Houston in Texas. Calling the political effort "a heist," Durbin asked his fellow members of the Senate appropriations committee to think "long and hard" about his concerns, including what it will truly cost and the legality of taking Discovery from the National Air and Space Museum.
: Manly Bands, which designs wedding rings in men's sizes and styles tailored to men's interests, has three new rings inspired by NASA. The collection includes "The Lunar" themed to the moon, "The Aerospace" capturing the glint from the solar arrays on satellites and "The Cosmos" engraved with the "worm" logotype for all to see. The titanium, black zirconium and inlaid golf leaf NASA-branded bands list for $700 to $800.
: Russia's 92nd Progress cargo ship to support the International Space Station lifted off Thursday (July 3) with nods to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the first joint space mission between Russia and the United States. Medallions commemorating the half-century milestone were packed on board Progress MS-31 and a 50 years logo was added to the side of its Soyuz 2.1a booster. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project spanned July 15 - 24, 1975.
: Robert "Hoot" Gibson is selling 100 pages from various checklists that he used on his first of five space shuttle missions in 1984. The STS-41B artifacts are offered with signed copies of his kids' book, "First Flight," and include a donation to Taking Up Space, a non-profit offering science and space education for Native American girls. Originally, Gibson (and the other astronauts of his time) were not intended to own their flown checklists.
: More than 40 years ago, Poland, Hungary and India sent their first countrymen into space as part of the former Soviet Union's Interkosmos program. Now, all three nations have sent citizens into orbit again, this time together on a commercial mission to the International Space Station. Led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the Axiom Space Ax-4 crew is Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, Tibor Kapu and Shubhanshu Shukla.
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