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Rocket mail: A commercial rocket launched on Wednesday (Dec. 11) carrying thousands of kids' postcards on board. The rocket mail, which now back on Earth will be stamped as having "flown in space" and then returned to the students, was part of Blue Origin's Club for the Future outreach activities. The launch marked the 12th successful mission and sixth re-flight of a New Shepard rocket, which Blue Origin plans to use to fly passengers on future flights.
Repairing AMS: Using a set of custom tools specially designed for their spacewalk, Luca Parmitano and Drew Morgan connected, cut, straightened and pinched steel coolant tubes to repair a cosmic ray detector outside of the International Space Station on Monday (Dec. 2). During the EVA, the two astronauts spliced in the new coolant system for the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS).
Astronaut Snoopy: Pending a go/no go call on the wind, a new NASA-inspired Astronaut Snoopy giant balloon will lift off in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Sporting a bright orange spacesuit based on the NASA Orion Crew Survival System to be worn by Artemis crews, the 49-foot-tall Astronaut Snoopy celebrates the more than 50-year partnership between Charles Schulz' Peanuts and NASA to promote spaceflight safety and STEM education.
Surveyor survey: Fifty years after Apollo 12 retrieved parts off of Surveyor 3, where have the moon probe's pieces landed? Brought to Earth for study, the soil scoop, tube sections and television camera were treated by NASA more like they were moon rocks than artifacts. Today, half a century later, some of the Surveyor 3 components are held in storage, some are on display and some are mementos.
Repairing AMS: Astronauts Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan completed their second spacewalk in a series to repair a cosmic ray detector mounted outside of the International Space Station. The two conducted "surgery," cutting stainless steel tubes to prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) for an upgraded coolant pump module to be installed on the third spacewalk slated for next month.
Apollo 11 on 'The Crown': The third season of Netflix's "The Crown," which premiered on Sunday (Nov. 17), includes an episode about the reactions of the British royal family to the Apollo 11 first moon landing. The hour, titled "Moondust," stays mostly true to the real-life events in July 1969, but omits and invents details about Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's involvement with the historic mission.
Galaxy Lights sets Saturn V aglow: Space Center Houston's new festive offering shines more than a little light on NASA iconography, including a full-size Saturn V rocket. "Galaxy Lights," presented by Reliant, features space and holiday themed installations set aglow by 750,000 LED lights, including projections on the side of the moon booster and a technology-driven, kinetic art animated light show.
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Monument to mission safety: Roscosmos, Russia's federal space corporation, unveiled on Monday (Dec. 2) its monument to mission safety: a permanent installation outside of its headquarters incorporating the Soyuz MS-10 descent module that flew an in-flight abort in 2018. Aleksey Ovchinin and Nick Hague, who survived the flight, attended the dedication and helped reveal their capsule's display.
Texan of the Year: For the first time in its 45 years, the Texas Legislative Conference has selected an astronaut to be the Texan of the Year for 2020. Charlie Duke, who on NASA's Apollo 16 mission in 1972 became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the moon, has now joined the ranks of presidents, senators and other icons who have shared the honor since the title was established in 1974.
Best a moon-man can get: Fifty years after its razor was used aboard Apollo 11, Gillette has created a shaving instrument inspired by the first moon landing. The Apollo Collection by Razor Maker limited edition features a 3D printed handle designed to resemble a moonscape with an Apollo-style boot print and NASA's agency insignia.
Space Torah stamps: A new offer for Israeli postage stamps aims to celebrate their topic, the first Torah in space, by supporting a new documentary about the Space Torah and the astronaut who read from it in orbit. The sheet of stamps feature the small scroll and former astronaut Jeff Hoffman, who flew the Torah on his fifth space shuttle flight in 1996. The Space Torah Project, led by educator Rachel Raz, aims to share the history behind the Torah's mission.
Repairing AMS: Astronauts Luca Parmitano and Drew Morgan worked outside the space station Friday (Nov. 15) on the first of at least four complex spacewalks to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a cosmic ray detector. Four years in the planning, the spacewalks aim to replace the science instrument's failing coolant pumps. The spacewalk on Friday included the jettison of a debris shield and the breaking off of a carbon composite cover.
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