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April 1, 2016

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


Luna-tic (tock)

: Analog Watch Co. on Friday (April 1) began shipping its new Lunar Watch made out of a solid piece of "stone collected from the surface of the moon" by the "Soviet Luna probe in 1974" — or did it? With a price tag of $27,500 and limited to just 25 pieces, the moon rock watch could be the deal of a lifetime, or simply fools' gold.


April 4, 2016

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


First look: Boeing's Starliner patch

: On its new patch, Boeing's CST-100 Starliner soars beyond its borders. The newly-revealed logo depicts the commercial crew spacecraft and International Space Station, its destination in orbit. The patch also pays tribute to Boeing's human space heritage and memorializes three fallen Apollo astronauts.


April 5, 2016

/ 6:00 a.m. CT (1100 GMT)


So Yuri!

On Disney Junior's animated series "Miles from Tomorrowland," the first name of the first human to fly into space has become a term to describe anything that's "incredible, unexpected and very special." Now the show has done something itself that merits being called "so Yuri": "Miles from Tomorrowland" and Yuri's Night has teamed up to engage young kids in the annual world space party.


April 6, 2016

/ 2:00 a.m. CT (0700 GMT)


Space time ambassador

: After 8,168 hours (and 42 minutes) in space, Scott Kelly knows the value of a good wristwatch. On his nearly yearlong mission on board the space station, Kelly wore two personal timepieces made by Breitling. Now back on Earth and newly-retired from NASA, Kelly has been announced as an ambassador for the Swiss watch manufacturer. "Breitling watches set the standard for how a chronograph should perform," Kelly stated.


April 6, 2016

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


R/V Neil Armstrong arrives home

: The R/V Neil Armstrong, a first of its class, technically advanced research ship, arrived at its home-port on Wednesday (April 6). Property of the U.S. Navy, the vessel will be operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts to study the world's oceans. Named after the first man to walk on the moon, the R/V Neil Armstrong is expected to remain in service for the next 50 years of oceanographic studies.


April 8, 2016

/ 4:20 p.m. CT (2120 GMT)




BEAM up!

SpaceX launched its first Dragon cargo spacecraft on Friday (April 8) since the loss of its previous vehicle last summer. Now on its way to the International Space Station, the Dragon is delivering more than 7,000 lbs. of supplies and science experiments, including a prototype inflatable space habitat. Bigelow Aerospace's BEAM, or the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, will be attached to the side of the station's Harmony node for a two-year test.


April 8, 2016

/ 11:00 p.m. CT (0400 GMT Apr 9)


Falcon gains its sea legs

: SpaceX's Falcon 9 first stage successfully landed on a ship on Friday (April 8), setting up the possibility of it being reused later this summer after a series of test fires. The booster's touchdown on the autonomous spaceport droneship marked the first time that SpaceX recovered a stage at sea, after five failed attempts. The only other Falcon stage to be recovered, which landed on land, will soon go on display at SpaceX's headquarters.


April 11, 2016

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




External tank ready for launch

: The last of NASA's flight-qualified space shuttle external tanks is set to leave on a 40-day sea voyage from New Orleans to Los Angeles. The large orange-brown tank was loaded onto a barge at the Michoud Assembly Facility on Sunday (April 10), two days before its scheduled departure. The external tank, ET-94, is destined for the California Science Center for display with NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour.


April 12, 2016

/ 4:50 p.m. CT (2150 GMT)




Sea launch

: Thirty-five years to the day after the first external tank fueled the maiden flight of the space shuttle, the last remaining flight-qualified tank was launched on a 40-day sea voyage on Tuesday (April 12). External Tank 94 (ET-94) set sail from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans for the Panama Canal and then onwards to Los Angeles, where it will go on display with space shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center.


April 14, 2016

/ 1:45 p.m. CT (1845 GMT)


First telephoto lens used on the moon

: An online auction that began on Thursday (April 14) is now accepting bids for a one-of-a-kind Zeiss Tele-Tessar 500mm lens that Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott used on the surface of the moon in 1971. The telephoto camera lens is just one of the highlights in the RR Auction week-long sale, which also includes a prototype moon buggy and a choice of astronaut items benefiting the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.


April 18, 2016

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




'Beautiful Planet' premiere

: The astronauts and cosmonauts who filmed and are seen in the new IMAX 3D movie "A Beautiful Planet" were joined by actress Jennifer Lawrence at the film's New York premiere Saturday (April 16). The International Space Station crewmates celebrated the Toni Myers-directed film, which pairs their vantage point with Lawrence's narration to paint a breathtaking portrait of the Earth and the changes it is undergoing.


April 20, 2016

/ 6:05 p.m. CT (2305 GMT)


Space capsule inside a time capsule

: Fifty years ago, a time capsule was placed in the ground outside a movie theater near NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center in Texas with the instructions that it be opened in 2016 and its contents donated to the local public library. On Wednesday (April 20), the Freeman Memorial Library, named for a late astronaut, unearthed the archive and found inside a model of NASA's Gemini spacecraft — as well as a lot of water.


April 24, 2016

/ 1:20 p.m. CT (1820 GMT)


Fastest marathon in space

: Tim Peake set a new Guinness World Record Sunday (April 24) completing the fastest marathon in orbit. Taking part in the London Marathon from on board the International Space Station, Peake ran 26.2 miles on the orbiting outpost's treadmill in 3 hours and 35 minutes. Peake's time beat the previous record set by astronaut Sunita Williams in 2007 by 49 minutes.


April 25, 2016

/ 12:40 p.m. CT (1740 GMT)




Canal crossing

: NASA's last surviving flight-qualified space shuttle external tank reached the Panama Canal on Monday (April 25), 13 days into its ocean journey to Los Angeles to join the space shuttle Endeavour's display at the California Science Center. The orange-brown ET-94 will transit the canal's six locks to pass into the Pacific and then onwards to a planned May 18 arrival at Marina del Rey.


April 27, 2016

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


Starliner simulators

: NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Sunita Williams visited Boeing in St. Louis Tuesday (April 26) to evaluate the new simulators that will help them learn how to fly the company's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The two Crew Part Task Trainers (CPTT), which use touch screens to enable the astronauts to practice flying missions on board the commercial crewed capsule, will be delivered to Johnson Space Center in Houston later this summer.


April 28, 2016

/ 12:45 p.m. CT (1745 GMT)


Carrier 'landing'

: Four years to the day after the space shuttle Enterprise was delivered to New York City for display at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a NASA jet that flew chase for the prototype orbiter landed on the converted aircraft carrier's flight deck. The T-38 supersonic jet, tail number 913, will help the Intrepid tell the history of Enterprise's 1977 Approach and Landing Test program.


April 29, 2016

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


Replica on the runway

: Inspiration, the full-size space shuttle mockup that was removed from outside the (former) U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame earlier this year, landed Wednesday (April 27) at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. Parked on a concrete pad at the midpoint of the runway, the orbiter replica will be rebuilt into an educational exhibit for LVX System to take on tour.



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