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Dragon 'XL': NASA has awarded SpaceX a multi-billion-dollar contract to deliver supplies to the agency's planned lunar orbit Gateway. Adapting and expanding the spacecraft used to supply the International Space Station, the "Dragon XL" will launch on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rockets and be capable of delivering 5 metric tons to the moon.
Sally Ride's notes: The public can now help the National Air and Space Museum expand access to Sally Ride's handwritten astronaut training notebooks and papers. The museum has uploaded the scanned documents to the Smithsonian Transcription Center website for volunteers to retype and review. The project also extends to transcribing the notes Ride took while serving on NASA commissions.
'Spacewalker' satellites: OneWeb is paying tribute to the world's first spacewalk 55 years ago. The company dedicated its next launch of broadband satellites to the late cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who made history performing the first extravehicular activity on March 18, 1965. OneWeb designed the mission patch for the launch to depict Leonov on his spacewalk outside of the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.
COVID-19 closures: As a health precaution, many of the NASA visitor centers and space history museums located across the U.S. are now temporarily closed, supporting the effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex closed on Monday (March 16), following closures by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and by Space Center Houston over the weekend. The COVID-19 safety precautions have also postponed Apollo 13 50th anniversary celebrations.
Perseverance: NASA's next Mars rover now has a new name: Perseverance. Chosen out of 28,000 contest entries, NASA selected the name entered by seventh grade student Alex Mather to represent the six-wheeled science platform targeted to land on Mars in February 2021. Mather proposed Perseverance to complement the names of prior Mars rovers, including Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity.
Fly your flag, or tag: The Space Collective, a UK-based space collectibles company, has announced an opportunity to fly personalized name tags and small country, state or NASA flags to the International Space Station. The cloth mementos will be packed along with science samples and mounted outside the orbital outpost for half a year prior to their return to Earth and delivery to their buyers.
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Eagle v. Erie: Though New York may not be the first state to come to mind when thinking about the moon landings, it was in Bethpage that Grumman built and designed the Apollo lunar module. That heritage was one of three themes reviewed by Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee for New York's 2021 American Innovation dollar coin. In the end, it was the Erie Canal, not the "Eagle," that landed.
Apollo 13 in Real Time: Despite their flight's designation and liftoff at 13:13 p.m. CDT, the Apollo 13 crew did not pay much attention to triskaidekaphobia. So when picking a date to launch Apollo 13 in Real Time, Ben Feist did not have a problem with Friday, March 13 (Friday the 13th). "The crew of Apollo 13 were not superstitious, and neither are we," he said. The website presents never-before-heard mission control audio synced with Apollo 13 multimedia.
Space for rent: The Cosmosphere, home to the Apollo 13 command module, is launching a space artifact rental service with an exhibit timed to the Apollo 13 50th anniversary. The museum's SpaceWorks built the "Apollo 13: A Mission of Survival" traveling exhibit to feature an 8-foot-tall photo op with the Odyssey spacecraft and both real and replica displays pulling from the Cosmosphere's collection.
Last of the first Dragons: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched late Friday night (March 6) with the last, first-generation Dragon capsule to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station. The mission marked the 20th and final flight under SpaceX's CRS (Commercial Resupply Services) 1 contract with NASA. A new contract will use the cargo-configured version of SpaceX's Crew Dragon.
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