Latest news with #NASA+
Digital Trends
12-06-2025
- Science
- Digital Trends
Webb Telescope gets the star treatment in new NASA documentary
The pages of Digital Trends are filled with breathtaking images of deep space captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, including the beautiful Cosmic Tornado, the gorgeous Ring Nebula, the incredible Carina Nebula, and a stunning spiral galaxy. The Webb telescope — the most powerful ever built — launched in 2021 and has been scanning the far reaches of space ever since. Besides beaming back amazing infrared imagery, the telescope is also helping scientists to learn more about the universe's first stars and galaxies, the formation of numerous stars and planetary systems, and the origins of life itself, by exploring distant places with unprecedented clarity. To celebrate the ongoing work of the Webb telescope, NASA has just released a documentary — Cosmic Dawn — that chronicles its more than two decades of development, highlighting the telescope's careful assembly, rigorous testing, and successful launch nearly five years ago. Cosmic Dawn has a runtime of 96 minutes and is free to watch on YouTube. We've embedded it at the top of this page. 'At NASA, we're thrilled to share the untold story of our James Webb Space Telescope in our new film Cosmic Dawn, celebrating not just the discoveries, but the extraordinary people who made it all happen, for the benefit of humanity,' said Rebecca Sirmons, head of NASA+. The documentary also offers viewers an inside look at the successes and setbacks experienced by the team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland — the birthplace of Webb. You'll also get to enjoy plenty of Webb's groundbreaking work, including remarkable images of the faint light of the first stars and galaxies that formed more than 13.5 billion years ago. The documentary also shares Webb's findings on black holes, planets in our solar system and far beyond, and plenty of other cosmic phenomena. 'Webb was a mission that was going to be spectacular whether that was good or bad — if it failed or was successful,' said video producer Sophia Roberts, who filmed some of the happenings prior to Webb's deployment. Roberts added: 'It was always going to make history.'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX readies private launch of four astronauts to International Space Station
Four crew members are set to launch Wednesday on a privately funded mission to the International Space Station. The flight, organized by the Houston-based company Axiom Space, is slated to lift off at 8 a.m. ET from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The foursome will journey into orbit in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket. NASA will broadcast live coverage of the launch beginning at 7:05 a.m. ET on NASA+. The flight was scheduled to launch Tuesday but high winds along the Florida coast forced a one-day delay. The mission, known as Ax-4, is expected to last about two weeks at the International Space Station. The mission will be led by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who has already logged a record 675 days in space — more than any other American astronaut. Joining her will be pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, an astronaut with the Indian Space Research Organization; mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a Polish scientist with the European Space Agency; and mission specialist Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer from Hungary. Shukla, Uznański-Wiśniewski and Kapu will make history by becoming the first people from their countries to live and work on the International Space Station. During their two-week stay at the orbiting lab, the Ax-4 crew members will conduct a host of scientific experiments, according to NASA, including studies of muscle regeneration, how sprouts and edible microalgae grow in microgravity and how tiny aquatic organisms survive at the ISS. If the launch goes according to plan, the four astronauts will dock at the space station on Thursday at around 12:30 p.m. ET. The upcoming flight will be Axiom Space's fourth crewed mission to the International Space Station. The company's first private expedition to the ISS was in 2022 with an all-civilian crew. The price tag for the Ax-4 mission has not been publicly disclosed, but space tourists reportedly paid around $55 million per seat on previous Axiom Space expeditions. This article was originally published on
NBC News
10-06-2025
- Science
- NBC News
SpaceX readies private launch of four astronauts to International Space Station
Four crew members are set to launch Wednesday on a privately funded mission to the International Space Station. The flight, organized by the Houston-based company Axiom Space, is slated to lift off at 8 a.m. ET from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The foursome will journey into orbit in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket. NASA will broadcast live coverage of the launch beginning at 7:05 a.m. ET on NASA+. The flight was scheduled to launch Tuesday but high winds along the Florida coast forced a one-day delay. The mission, known as Ax-4, is expected to last about two weeks at the International Space Station. The mission will be led by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who has already logged a record 675 days in space — more than any other American astronaut. Joining her will be pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, an astronaut with the Indian Space Research Organization; mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a Polish scientist with the European Space Agency; and mission specialist Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer from Hungary. Shukla, Uznański-Wiśniewski and Kapu will make history by becoming the first people from their countries to live and work on the International Space Station. During their two-week stay at the orbiting lab, the Ax-4 crew members will conduct a host of scientific experiments, according to NASA, including studies of muscle regeneration, how sprouts and edible microalgae grow in microgravity and how tiny aquatic organisms survive at the ISS. If the launch goes according to plan, the four astronauts will dock at the space station on Thursday at around 12:30 p.m. ET. The upcoming flight will be Axiom Space's fourth crewed mission to the International Space Station. The company's first private expedition to the ISS was in 2022 with an all-civilian crew. The price tag for the Ax-4 mission has not been publicly disclosed, but space tourists reportedly paid around $55 million per seat on previous Axiom Space expeditions.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch NASA conduct rare all-female spacewalk outside International Space Station
Two NASA astronauts have ventured outside the International Space Station to conduct a rare all-female spacewalk. When astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers emerged around 9 a.m. Thursday, May 1, they began just the fifth-ever spacewalk with just women. The spacefarers, both of whom are military officers and pilots, are due to remain in the vacuum of space for a total of about six-and-a-half hours performing work on the outside of the orbital outpost. McClain and Ayers are both part of a SpaceX mission known as Crew-10 that reached the space station in March. Their arrival with two other astronauts paved the way for the NASA astronauts who crewed the doomed Boeing Starliner to depart with the Crew-9 mission. Here's what to know about the spacewalk and how to watch it live: NASA is providing a livestream of the May 1 spacewalk on its streaming service, NASA+. Watch it here: A spacewalk, often called extra-vehicular activity in the parlance of space agencies, refers to any activity an astronaut undertakes outside of a space station or spacecraft. Spacewalks require suiting up in specialized suits and exposing oneself to the vacuum of outer space. McClain, 45, and Ayers, 36 are taking part in the May 1 spacewalk outside the ISS. For McClain, a native of Spokane Washington, the spacewalk is her third. Selected as an astronaut in 2013, McClain has spent a prior total of 13 hours and 8 minutes conducting two spacewalks – both occurring on her first 204-day spaceflight between 2018 and 2019. She is wearing a suit with red stripes. The spacewalk is the first for Ayers, of San Diego, California, who is wearing an unmarked suit. Ayers is also on her first spaceflight after being selected as an astronaut in 2022. Both Ayers and McClain arrived at the station in mid-March on the Crew-10 mission. The SpaceX crew missions contracted under NASA are fairly routine six-month trips to the space station for astronauts to conduct science experiments. But this particular mission had added significance because it allowed for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who flew to the station in June on the ill-fated Starliner spacecraft, to finally return home. The spacewalk is just the fifth all-female spacewalk since astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history in 2019 when they conducted the first spacewalk ever with just women. It's also the first since November 2023 when Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara ventured outside the International Space Station. Ayers and McClain are working to install a mounting bracket to prepare another new set of solar panels to be installed at the space station. The astronauts also will move a space station communications antenna. Earlier this year, Suni Williams made additional history for women astronauts when she set a record Jan. 30 during her ninth-ever spacewalk. Williams ventured outside with Wilmore, her fellow Starliner crew member, and before the spacewalk even came to an end, she surpassed the record for the most total time any woman has spent in the vacuum of space. After she and Wilmore spent more than six hours venturing outside the space station, Williams has now spent a cumulative 62 hours and 6 minutes conducting spacewalks. Only three other people in the world have spent more cumulative time on spacewalks than Williams. The previous record of 60 hours and 21 minutes was set in 2017 by now-former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. Whitson's 10 career spacewalks are still the most any woman has ever made, according to NASA. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Watch a rare all-female spacewalk during NASA mission
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch NASA conduct rare all-female spacewalk outside International Space Station
Two NASA astronauts have ventured outside the International Space Station to conduct a rare all-female spacewalk. When astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers emerged around 9 a.m. Thursday, May 1, they began just the fifth-ever spacewalk with just women. The spacefarers, both of whom are military officers and pilots, are due to remain in the vacuum of space for a total of about six-and-a-half hours performing work on the outside of the orbital outpost. McClain and Ayers are both part of a SpaceX mission known as Crew-10 that reached the space station in March. Their arrival with two other astronauts paved the way for the NASA astronauts who crewed the doomed Boeing Starliner to depart with the Crew-9 mission. Here's what to know about the spacewalk and how to watch it live: NASA is providing a livestream of the May 1 spacewalk on its streaming service, NASA+. Watch it here: A spacewalk, often called extra-vehicular activity in the parlance of space agencies, refers to any activity an astronaut undertakes outside of a space station or spacecraft. Spacewalks require suiting up in specialized suits and exposing oneself to the vacuum of outer space. McClain, 45, and Ayers, 36 are taking part in the May 1 spacewalk outside the ISS. For McClain, a native of Spokane Washington, the spacewalk is her third. Selected as an astronaut in 2013, McClain has spent a prior total of 13 hours and 8 minutes conducting two spacewalks – both occurring on her first 204-day spaceflight between 2018 and 2019. She is wearing a suit with red stripes. The spacewalk is the first for Ayers, of San Diego, California, who is wearing an unmarked suit. Ayers is also on her first spaceflight after being selected as an astronaut in 2022. Both Ayers and McClain arrived at the station in mid-March on the Crew-10 mission. The SpaceX crew missions contracted under NASA are fairly routine six-month trips to the space station for astronauts to conduct science experiments. But this particular mission had added significance because it allowed for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who flew to the station in June on the ill-fated Starliner spacecraft, to finally return home. The spacewalk is just the fifth all-female spacewalk since astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history in 2019 when they conducted the first spacewalk ever with just women. It's also the first since November 2023 when Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara ventured outside the International Space Station. Ayers and McClain are working to install a mounting bracket to prepare another new set of solar panels to be installed at the space station. The astronauts also will move a space station communications antenna. Earlier this year, Suni Williams made additional history for women astronauts when she set a record Jan. 30 during her ninth-ever spacewalk. Williams ventured outside with Wilmore, her fellow Starliner crew member, and before the spacewalk even came to an end, she surpassed the record for the most total time any woman has spent in the vacuum of space. After she and Wilmore spent more than six hours venturing outside the space station, Williams has now spent a cumulative 62 hours and 6 minutes conducting spacewalks. Only three other people in the world have spent more cumulative time on spacewalks than Williams. The previous record of 60 hours and 21 minutes was set in 2017 by now-former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. Whitson's 10 career spacewalks are still the most any woman has ever made, according to NASA. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Watch a rare all-female spacewalk during NASA mission
