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The late astronaut Sally Ride was hailed as a hero by her family and others at a Fourth of July gathering held by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. In addition to unveiling a statue of America's first woman in space, the ceremony included the debut of a new song co-written by 14-year-old singer Alexis Silva and record producer Damon Elliott in Ride's honor.
The European rocket that sent the first probe to land on a comet and launched the largest and most powerful space telescope lifted off for the last time on Wednesday (July 5). Arianespace's Ariane 5 completed its 117th flight by deploying two communication satellites into orbit. The rocket's history also includes lofting five vehicles to resupply the International Space Station.
The California Science Center will begin the long-awaited stacking of space shuttle Endeavour on July 20 with the move of the solid rocket boosters' aft skirts into the construction site for the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. The public has until Dec. 31 to see Endeavour before it is taken off view for the next few years while its launch pad-like display and new home is finished.
A new mural will honor the achievements of Ohioans in space when it is installed in the Ohio Statehouse in 2024. Artist Bill Hinsch's painting will highlight John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Judy Resnik, as well as flight director Gene Kranz. The last such mural to be added was a tribute to the Wright brothers.
A trio of new astronaut transfer vans, or "astrovans," pulled up to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday (July 11), ahead of the first crewed Artemis launch to the moon. The three CTVs (crew transport vehicles) were built by Canoo Technologies with input from the Artemis launch director and astronauts. The electric vans will be used to deliver moon-bound crews from their quarters to their launch pad at Kennedy for liftoff.
Casio has introduced its fourth G-Shock timepiece paying homage to NASA and its pursuit of the moon. The new DW6900NASA237 features the NASA worm logotype on its band and displays Earth as seen from space when the backlight for its digital face is lit. A limited edition, the watch can only be had if your order is selected by Casio in a random drawing to be held July 17.
The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, has opened "Snoopy in Orbit," a new temporary exhibit exploring the ongoing relationship between "Peanuts" and NASA. The gallery features never-before-exhibited artifacts including the first time three space-flown Snoopy dolls have been displayed together. One of the highlights of "Snoopy in Orbit" is the Snoopy that flew to the moon and back on NASA's Artemis I Orion spacecraft as the mission's "zero-gravity indicator."
Barbie isn't only launching into movie theaters this week; the first of the fashion dolls to fly into space are also premiering on exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum. Two of the "Space Discovery" astronaut Barbies, which in 2022 spent several months aboard the International Space Station, have been added to the toys case at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center.
The California Science Center is set to begin stacking the space shuttle Endeavour on Thursday (July 20). As the vehicle goes vertical, steps are being taken to ensure the towering display is safe from earthquakes. Between seismic isolators and the design of the space shuttle itself, here is how the science center will hold down Endeavour when the ground shakes.
Together holding up a green sign with the word "GO," California Science Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rudolph and donor Lynda Oschin kicked off "Go For Stack," the six-month process of taking the space shuttle Endeavour vertical inside the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. The first components to be moved on Thursday (July 20) were the solid rocket booster aft skirts, which will serve as the foundation for the vehicle.
Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan's personal master tapes for the Golden Record on NASA's Voyager probes are up for auction as part of Sotheby's next Space Exploration sale July 27 in New York. The reels were used in the creation of the two gold-plated discs that are now among the most distant objects sent by humans into space. Playable with "excellent" audio quality, Sotheby's estimates the reels could sell for $600,000.
Kelly Haston says 30 days in, she and her crew are doing well living on Mars. Sealed inside NASA's "Mars Dune Alpha" since June 25, the CHAPEA-1 crew are maintaining their mock Mars base and conducting simulated Mars-walks. As the commander of the yearlong analog mission, Haston commented on her first month, replying to questions sent from collectSPACE.
Mattel celebrated it, NASA boasted about it and the Smithsonian put it on display. But the first Barbie to be flown into space was not among the pair of dolls launched to the International Space Station in 2022, but rather a Barbie that flew aboard a still-classified space shuttle mission 32 years ago. Here is the forgotten story of how Barbie first made it to orbit as revealed by its owner, a former shuttle astronaut instructor.
