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April 3, 2015

/ 12:25 a.m. CT (0525 GMT)


ShareSpace launch

: They've flown together and celebrated together; now astronaut Buzz Aldrin and actor John Travolta will re-launch the moonwalker's nonprofit while marking 46 years since Apollo 11. Travolta will serve as host for a gala at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida benefiting Aldrin's ShareSpace Foundation and its initiative to raise science literacy and children's passion for science, technology, engineering, artistry and math (STEAM).


April 3, 2015

/ 5:35 p.m. CT (2235 GMT)


LEGO station soars

: More than a year after it was first posted to LEGO Ideas, Christoph Ruge's brick-built version of the International Space Station "Achieved Support," receiving its 10,000th vote on Friday (April 3). The toy model is just the fourth fan-created project based on a real spacecraft to qualify for LEGO's production review.


April 6, 2015

/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0500 GMT)


Animated Apollo

: Seeking a brief project to teach himself how to use rendering software, animator Neil Smith brought motion to some of NASA's most iconic mission patches. His resulting video of animated Apollo emblems offers a new take on the historic moon program insignias. From Apollo 1 through Apollo 17, the once-static patch art takes shape in Smith's impressive three-minute clip.


April 10, 2015

/ 7:15 a.m. CT (1215 GMT)


Mission Moon

: Chicago's Adler Planetarium on Saturday (April 11) will open to the public "Mission Moon," an interactive exhibit based on the life and spaceflights of astronaut Jim Lovell. Coinciding with the anniversary of his most famous launch on Apollo 13, Mission Moon displays many of Lovell's personal artifacts, as well as features the Gemini 12 spacecraft he flew aboard almost 50 years ago.


April 10, 2015

/ 1:30 p.m. CT (1830 GMT)




Houston, we have... minifigs

: Minifigs.me, a UK-based LEGO minifigure customizer, is celebrating the 45th anniversary of Apollo 13 in a big way: with minifigs! Now available are collectible figs modeled after the real Apollo 13 crew — Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert — and flight director Gene Kranz. Designed with help from space enthusiast Chris Spain, the Apollo 13 LEGO minifigs come with detailed suits, flight plans and even a LiOH canister.


April 13, 2015

/ 7:45 p.m. CT (0045 GMT April 14)


Behold the powerful Vulcan rocket

: United Launch Alliance (ULA) on Monday (April 13) revealed Vulcan, its new launch vehicle that will replace the Atlas and Delta rockets. The Vulcan features Blue Origin BE-4 engines, a new upper stage (replacing Centaur) and a reuse approach that involves the mid-air capture of the first stage engines. ULA plans its medium-class Vulcan to first fly in 2019 with the heavy-lift configuration (and engine reuse) in 2024.


April 14, 2015

/ 3:20 p.m. CT (2020 GMT)


Cargo and coffee

: SpaceX's CRS-6 Dragon capsule launched for the International Space Station on Tuesday (April 14), carrying 4,300 pounds of cargo and research for the orbital laboratory's crew. Packed along with the live mice, artificial muscle material and asteroid-mining minisat on the Dragon was "ISSpresso," a commercially-developed espresso machine that will broaden astronaut hot beverage choices while adding to the study of fluid dynamics.


April 15, 2015

/ 3:20 p.m. CT (2020 GMT)


A statue for Sally

: California's State Senate voted on Monday (April 13) to erect a statue in honor of the late Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space, replacing a monument to a controversial missionary in National Statuary Hall. If approved by the state's assembly and governor, the statue for Ride would succeed the one for Father Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest, installed in the Capitol in 1931.


April 16, 2015

/ 3:00 a.m. CT (0800 GMT)


Made In Space sale

: Made In Space Inc., a company that focuses on 3D printing objects in space, announced Thursday (April 16) it is now selling its plastic feedstock for use with 3D printers on Earth. Made In Space's initial "terrestrial offerings" include "AstroABS," the same type of filament used onboard the International Space Station, and AstroABS Canister, designed for the zero-g 3D printer.


April 20, 2015

/ 3:00 a.m. CT (0800 GMT)


Strapping space sales

: Both Bonhams and RR Auction are holding space artifacts sales this week, and each are selling a flown strap from an Apollo astronaut's life support PLSS backpack. The straps, which Alan Bean and Edgar Mitchell wore on the moon, are among the hundreds of historic space exploration relics being offered by the two auction houses. Bonhams' sale in New York City is set for Tuesday (April 21). RR's online auction ends Thursday.


April 20, 2015

/ 7:50 p.m. CT (0050 GMT April 21)


Liberty Bell 7 lands back in Kansas

: Virgil "Gus" Grissom's Mercury spacecraft, Liberty Bell 7, returned to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center on Monday (April 20) after being shipped overseas for a German exhibit last year. Conservators plan to inspect the capsule before placing it back on display near the Cosmosphere's newly-renovated planetarium. Liberty Bell 7 is set to depart again by the end of the year for another exhibit in Indianapolis.


April 21, 2015

/ 12:15 a.m. CT (0515 GMT)


'The Astronaut Wives Club'

: ABC's new TV series "The Astronaut Wives Club" will debut on June 18, the network announced Monday (April 20). The docu-drama, based on author Lily Koppel's book of the same title, focuses on the spouses of first U.S. spacemen. "Astronaut Wives" stars JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Yvonne Strahovski, Odette Annable, Dominique McElligott, Erin Cummings, Zoe Boyle and Azure Parsons and is written by Stephanie Savage.


April 22, 2015

/ 3:15 p.m. CT (2015 GMT)


NASA's Hubble25 collectibles

: Twenty-five years ago Friday (April 24), the world's most famous orbiting observatory launched on the space shuttle. Celebrating a quarter century of the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA has released a set of do-it-yourself Hubble25 commemoratives, including a medallion and scale model you can 3D print.


April 24, 2015

/ 2:15 p.m. CT (1915 GMT)




Holding Hubble history

: The Hubble Space Telescope marked 25 years in space Friday (April 24), having launched on space shuttle Discovery in 1990. The world's most famous orbital observatory, the Hubble's first quarter century is encapsulated by its millions of observations and the artifacts returned by five astronaut servicing missions.


April 24, 2015

/ 10:15 p.m. CT (0315 GMT April 25)


'Astronaut Wives Club' first look

: ABC has aired its first trailer for "The Astronaut Wives Club," its docudrama series based on author Lily Koppel's bestselling book about the real spouses of NASA's early spacemen. The 30 second spot shows scenes recreating the 1959 conference that introduced the Mercury astronauts and LIFE magazine photographing their wives, as well as an Atlas launch.


April 27, 2015

/ 12:30 a.m. CT (0530 GMT)


Astronaut in 'Jeopardy!'

: Former astronaut Mark Kelly is among the stars set to appear on Celebrity Jeopardy! airing May 11 through 15. A veteran of four space flights, including commanding the final mission of the shuttle Endeavour, Kelly is also the twin brother of astronaut Scott Kelly, who is one month into the first year-long stay on the International Space Station. Mark Kelly will be vying on the game show to win $50,000 for a charity of his choosing.


April 27, 2015

/ 12:35 p.m. CT (0535 GMT)


ISS Viewscreen

: The space station just got its first big screen TV, sort of. As shared by year-long ISS resident Scott Kelly, the crew on Saturday (April 25) watched "Gravity" on the ISS Viewscreen, the space station's new 65-inch projection screen developed by Screen Innovations for NASA. The portable, zero-g screen is not just for movie night, but also for the crew's training exercises and weekly video conferences with their family members on Earth.


April 27, 2015

/ 4:05 p.m. CT (2105 GMT)


Enterprise exhibit dedicated

: The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on Monday (April 27) dedicated its exhibit of the space shuttle Enterprise to the fallen Apollo 1, Challenger STS-51L and Columbia STS-107 crews. The ceremony, which occurred three years to the day after the prototype orbiter arrived in New York, included members of the astronauts' families and the NASA Administrator.


April 29, 2015

/ 5:00 p.m. CT (2200 GMT)


Progress fails, falling from orbit

: Russia's Progress M-27M cargo spacecraft, launched Tuesday (April 28), will not be docking to the International Space Station. The craft, which since reaching orbit has been in a rapid spin, is now falling back to Earth. The space station has enough supplies aboard to continue operations without problem.


April 30, 2015

/ 2:30 p.m. CT (1930 GMT)


End of MESSENGER

: The first-ever craft to orbit Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, slammed into the surface on Thursday (April 30) after an almost 11 year mission. NASA's MESSENGER mission mapped Mercury and provided compelling evidence for abundant water and other volatile materials in the shadowed polar craters. At its end, MESSENGER added a 50-foot-wide crater to the planet.



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