The Falcon Heavy Nebula

Photo: Sandy Marshall

This is from the first night launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy (circa June 2019 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center), which ferried new tech & experiments to space: ranging from greener rocket fuel to a Deep Space Atomic Clock. What appears to be a supernova in this photo is actually the Falcon Heavy’s booster separation. A few minutes into launch, the side boosters separate from the center core booster, and two things happen at once: the second stage fires-up and carries the payload into orbit, while the first stage fires engines and returns to Earth. (If you’re curious, the FH runs on kerosene and liquid oxygen.) This cluster of exhaust particles reflects light as the rocket engines burn through fuel, creating several seconds of an otherworldly phenomenon that’s right out of sci-fi.

Trip to Mars

Next month on July 20th at 9.15 EST, NASA will launch the Mars Perseverance rover towards Mars’ 28-mile wide Jezero Crater for a targeted landing on February 18, 2021. The launch window beginning on July 20th has been projected since the rover was announced in December 2012, and marks the 51st anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. In the event of inclement weather, the launch window will last until August 11th, since Mars and Earth need to be on the same side of the sun during the launch. This will be NASA’s 9th spacecraft to visit Mars, and the first to collect samples for future return to Earth. (Photo: artist concept of an astronaut on Mars, as viewed through the window of a spacecraft. Credit: NASA.)

Now Launching: REACH: A Space Podcast for Kids

Artwork by Steven Lyons

Very excited to launch a new family-friendly children’s podcast entitled “Reach: A Space Podcast for Kids” a show I co-created and am co-producing alongside Chicago’s Soundsington Media. REACH is based on questions from kids about our galaxy (and beyond) with hosts Brian Holden and Meredith Stepien, and features fun at-home experiments and interviews with subject matter experts & thought partners from leading institutions. With music by Jesse Case, and artwork by Steven Lyons. Expert interviews from institutions like NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Cosmosphere, Adler Planetarium, and Exploration Place…and guest appearances from talented performers from shows like Stargate SG-1, Stranger Things, and The Good Place. Available wherever you get your podcasts!

Backstage Door to Space

Photo: Sandy Marshall

This is the famous walkway at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center. The building is the astronaut’s version of a green room, home to crew quarter dorms and suit-up rooms. This specific set of doors has been made famous by countless photos and films documenting the 10-second walk down the ramp. On launch days, astronauts would wave to cameras before hopping in the Astrovan (or in 2020: a Tesla Model X) for the 9-mile ride to Launch Complex 39-A. Today, for the first time since the shuttle era, NASA is scheduled to launch 2 astronauts from KSC aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 & Crew Dragon at 4:33 EST for a trip to the ISS. Great second screen content for when you’re muted and multitasking on that afternoon conference call.

First Spacewalking Trio

On this day in 1992, NASA completed the first-ever 3-person spacewalk on the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s inaugural mission. Astronauts Richard J. Hieb, Thomas D. Akers and Pierre J. Thuot, pictured here, move a 4.5 ton communications satellite (about the size of a couple of Jeep’s). The mission also set a record for the first mission to feature 4 spacewalks. Fun facts: a spacewalk is usually called an EVA (aka “extravehicular activity), and it takes about 45 minutes to put on (aka “don”) a spacesuit. Also about the time it takes to watch an episode of Battlestar. So say we all. (Photo: NASA)