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/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0500 GMT)
Astronaut Hall of Fame: Four space shuttle veterans were added to the Astronaut Hall of Fame Saturday (May 29) at a ceremony held under shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The class of 2015 included spacewalker John Grunsfeld, early female astronaut Rhea Seddon, and commanders Steven Lindsey and Kent Rominger. Founded 25 years ago, the Astronaut Hall Fame now honors a total of 91 U.S. space explorers.
/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0500 GMT)
Mission Control ± 50: NASA celebrated the first 50 years of its Mission Control Center in Houston on Wednesday (June 3), convening a panel of past and present flight directors in the historic mission operations control room at Johnson Space Center. Designated a national landmark, the room is to be restored over the next few years to more closely resemble its appearance at the end of Apollo.
/ 2:05 p.m. CT (1905 GMT)
Ambassador of Exploration: Gemini 4 pilot Ed White was posthumously honored with a moon rock Wednesday (June 3), on the 50th anniversary of his historic spacewalk. NASA presented the stone-adorned Ambassador of Exploration Award at the United States Military Academy's West Point Museum in New York, where the lunar rock has now been placed on display. White is the 30th astronaut to be saluted as an Ambassador of Exploration since 2004.
/ 10:05 a.m. CT (1505 GMT)
194 days, 18 hours, 3 minutes: Samantha Cristoforetti on Saturday (June 6) surpassed the record for the most time in space on one mission by a woman. The 38-year-old Italian astronaut broke the record previously set by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams in 2007. Cristoforetti also set the record Friday for the longest uninterrupted mission by a European Space Agency astronaut. She is scheduled to return to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-15M on June 11.
/ 3:20 p.m. CT (2020 GMT)
Snapshots of spaceshots: Noticing that the same NASA photos were being printed time and again, JL Pickering and John Bisney set out to create something different in their new book, "Spaceshots and Snapshots," now out from the University of New Mexico Press. Featuring nearly 700 images from the Mercury and Gemini programs, many seldom seen in print, the book offers "A Rare Photographic Journey" through the early NASA manned missions.
/ 8:50 a.m. CT (1350 GMT)
TMA-15M touches down: Almost 200 days after departing the Earth for the International Space Station, the Soyuz TMA-15M crew of cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, NASA's Terry Virts and astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA returned home Thursday (June 11). Lowered under a parachute, the Expedition 42/43 crewmates landed safely aboard the Soyuz capsule on the steppe of Kazakhstan.
/ 7:10 p.m. CT (0010 GMT June 12)
Jack King, 1931-2015 The 'Voice of Apollo,' Jack King announced the launch of the first mission to land men on the moon as chief of public information for NASA. King, who died on Thursday (June 11) at 84, helped pioneer how NASA worked with the press, while giving voice to the Gemini and Apollo countdowns. He later served as NASA's director of public affairs, and director of media relations for United Space Alliance during the space shuttle program.
/ 12:05 a.m. CT (0505 GMT)
Astronauts invade Seattle: The Museum of Flight on Friday (June 12) took to the streets of Seattle to launch Astronauts on the Town, a public art project celebrating the museum's 50th anniversary. Twenty-five spacesuit-clad statues are being installed at public places and businesses for the next few months – hitting the town before hitting the auction block. The artist-decorated spacemen range from a "SpaceSquatch" to an "Aboriginaut" to a "Basstronaut."
/ 11:45 a.m. CT (1645 GMT)
Philae phones home: The European Space Agency's Philae lander has "woken up" after seven months in hibernation on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The probe Sunday (June 14) "announced" to the world it was operational again via Twitter: "Hello Earth! Can you hear me?" Data received from the three-legged lander confirmed it was in good condition, giving scientists hope it will be able to resume studying the comet's properties.
/ 12:00 a.m. CT (0500 GMT)
Interview with an 'Astronaut Wife': Actress Erin Cummings plays Marge Slayton, wife of Mercury original Deke Slayton, in ABC's new series "The Astronaut Wives Club," debuting Thursday (June 18). The docu-drama, based on author Lily Koppel's bestseller, tells the story of the real women behind NASA's first spacemen. Cummings recently spoke with collectSPACE about reconvening the astronaut wives club for the ten-episode limited event TV series.
/ 4:25 p.m. CT (2125 GMT)
Apollo 11 golden coins: A bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives has introduced a bill calling for the U.S. Mint to issue gold curved coins celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in 2019. The legislation, if passed into law, would see legal tender coins struck with a convex reverse design based on the iconic image of Buzz Aldrin's helmet visor reflecting Tranquility Base.
/ 8:40 a.m. CT (1340 GMT)
Post-'Launch' review: The premiere of "The Astronaut Wives Club" aired Thursday (June 18) on ABC, launching the 10-episode series about the spouses behind the first American spacemen. The docu-drama is based on true events, as told by Lily Koppel in her 2013 bestselling book, but how closely did the show stay to real space history? A look at the "A-OK!" and "Abort!" scenes from the episode.
/ 2:15 p.m. CT (1915 GMT)
Shuttle runway reassigned: NASA Monday (June 22) handed over control of the historic runway at the Kennedy Space Center where its space shuttles landed in Florida 78 times from 1984 to 2011. Now, under the auspices of Space Florida, the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) will be repurposed to support a commercial spaceport for use with horizontally-launched spacecraft, the Air Force X-37B, and unmanned aerial vehicles. At 15,000 feet long and 300 feet wide, the SLF is one of the largest runways in the world.
/ 8:05 a.m. CT (1305 GMT)
Soprano's Soyuz seat: When British singer Sarah Brightman withdrew from her plans for a self-funded flight to the space station, she left an empty seat on Soyuz TMA-18M to be filled. As announced by Roscosmos Monday (June 22), Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov will now fly in her place when the spacecraft launches this September. Brightman's backup Satoshi Takamatsu announced he has decided to wait for a possible later flight in 2 to 4 years.
/ 5:35 p.m. CT (2235 GMT)
The NASA collection of Leon Ford: One of the first significant space collectors, the late Leon Ford shared his passion for the history of space flight with collectors and astronauts alike. On Thursday (June 25), more than 100 of the rare space artifacts Ford curated will be auctioned in Boston during a live sale organized by RR Auction.
/ 2:45 a.m. CT (0745 GMT)
Astronaut Wives 'Protocol': "The Astronaut Wives Club" entered orbit on Thursday (June 25) with its second episode, titled 'Protocol.' The hour-long drama revolved around Betty Grissom's and Annie Glenn's experiences as their husbands left for space. How well did 'Protocol' follow the NASA history on which it was based? A look at the "A-OK!" and "Abort!" moments from this week's episode.
/ 6:00 a.m. CT (1100 GMT)
804+ days off the planet: Gennady Padalka on Monday (June 29) beat the record for the most time spent in orbit over a career flying in space. Ninety three (93) days into his fifth stay on a space station, Padalka surpassed fellow cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev's record of 803 days that was set in 2005 after six spaceflights. Scheduled to land in September, Padalka will log a total 878 days in space.
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