Kennedy Space Center’s NASA Causeway Bridge Construction
In this aerial view, crews with Orion Marine Construction work to complete the westbound span of the Indian River Bridge, while daily traffic moves along the upgraded eastbound lanes of the bridge leading to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. The bridge crosses the Indian River Lagoon and connects Kennedy and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the mainland via State Road 405/NASA Causeway in nearby Titusville. The new high-rise bridge serves as the primary entrance and exit to the space center for employees and visitors.
“This is the first partnered infrastructure project of its kind at Kennedy – the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has historically designed and built the bridges serving the spaceport, and NASA operated and maintained them since the original construction of the spaceport about 60 years ago,” said Justin Ausanka, senior project manager, Experimental Facilities Development at Kennedy. “With this project, we are taking advantage of the expertise and experience of the Florida Department of Transportation to most efficiently build, operate, and maintain the future bridges as part of the state highway system. In turn, NASA can continue to focus on our core competencies and our vision of igniting space exploration and discovery for all.”
The new bridge spans replace a pair of two-lane drawbridges built in the mid-1960s to support NASA’s Apollo program. The first of the two new spans opened to the public ahead of schedule on June 9, 2023. In development for well over a decade, the load capacity, width, and grade of the bridge were designed to support the largest future payloads and vehicles at the spaceport while simultaneously supporting increased public traffic to and from Kennedy.
Armstrong Flight Research Center: A Year in Review
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
It was an abundant year of innovation, exploration, and inspiration for NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA Armstrong continues to demonstrate America’s leadership in aeronautics, Earth and space science, and aerospace technology. Our researchers, engineers, and mission support teams continually seek to revolutionize aviation, add to mankind’s knowledge of the universe, and contribute to the understanding and protection of Earth.
The video above shows many of our achievements, below are a few special moments.
The X-59 achieved a major milestone when the supersonic research aircraft was moved from its construction site to the flight line for ground testing. At the same time, project teams were busy preparing for the aircraft’s first and subsequent flights, while also advancing shock wave photography, trained aircrew on upgraded life support systems, prepared to test updated ground microphone stations designed to measure the X-59’s quiet sonic thump, and began getting the aircraft painted in preparation for its unveiling.
NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission continued to work with industry partners who are building innovative new aircraft like electric air taxis and drones. The team explored how these new designs may help travelers and cargo move between and in cities. At NASA Armstrong, we built a custom virtual-reality flight simulator to explore the air taxi ride experience. We also collected data needed to allow for new self-flying technology, to help make our communities more connected than ever before.
Because wind affects all aircraft, our researchers measured wind at low altitudes to gather data needed to enhance air taxi safety. We tested atmospheric sensors that can monitor air quality and help uncrewed aircraft avoid dangerous wind shears.
To improve fuel efficiency, our Experimental Fabrication branch built a scale model of a unique aircraft wing that will be used to gather data for future, larger versions of the design.
In an effort to advance the use of alternative fuels in today’s planes we worked with aviation partners to study particle and gas emissions from passenger aircraft engines.
With the conclusion of the X-57 Maxwell this year, research from the X-57 Maxwell provided aviation researchers with hundreds of lessons learned, as well as revolutionary developments in areas ranging from battery technology to cruise motor control design.
We conducted low-altitude flights over major cities and marine areas to study non-vehicular sources of pollution – like personal care and home products – and their impact on air quality in North America. To advance fire and smoke models, we participated in a multi-agency effort to collect measurements of fuels, fire behavior, fire energy, meteorology, smoke, and fire effects.
On the space front, we tested highly elastic strain sensors to help parachute designers construct better, more reliable parachutes to land rovers and equipment on Mars and enabled testing of an instrument designed to measure surface particles kicked up by a rocket-powered lander on the Moon or Mars.
Armstrong advanced NASA’s commitment to engage, inspire, and attract future generations of explorers. Students saw their experiments soar as payloads from the NASA TechRise Challenge launched high into the sky. We celebrated the 15th anniversary of our summer internship program, offering undergraduate students hands-on experience during a real airborne science campaign. Our researchers, pilots, and mission support teams traveled the country, showcasing aviation-inspired technology and the latest in NASA aeronautics research, space exploration, science, and more.
These are just some of Armstrong’s many innovative research efforts that support NASA’s mission to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.
NASA: Una jugosa historia de tomates en la Estación Espacial Internacional
El cultivo de alimentos a bordo de la Estación Espacial Internacional es una de las muchas investigaciones que han alcanzado la madurez para las misiones de vuelos espaciales de larga duración a la Luna y Marte.
El astronauta de la NASA Frank Rubio compartió recientemente una jugosa historia de dos tomates rebeldes, a los que había perdido el rastro accidentalmente mientras recogía la cosecha para el experimento Sistema de Prueba en Órbita de Raíces Expuestas (XROOTS, por sus siglas en inglés) que llevó a cabo durante su permanencia a bordo de la estación espacial en 2022. El experimento utiliza técnicas hidropónicas y aeropónicas para el cultivo de plantas sin utilización de tierra ni otros medios de cultivo, y podría proporcionar soluciones aptas para los sistemas de cultivo necesarios en las futuras misiones de exploración espacial.
El astronauta de la NASA Frank Rubio es fotografiado realizando el manejo de fluidos y las inspecciones de cartuchos de semillas y plantas para el experimento XROOTS.
NASA
Mientras celebraban el 25.o aniversario de operaciones de la estación espacial, los tripulantes de la Expedición 70 revelaron que encontraron los tomates perdidos, comentando jocosamente que Rubio no se había comido los tomates como ellos sospechaban. A pesar de que había pasado casi un año desde su desaparición inicial, los tomates fueron hallados en una bolsa de plástico, deshidratados y ligeramente aplastados. Aparte de una ligera decoloración, no tenían crecimiento microbiano o fúngico visible.
Durante su estadía de 371 días a bordo de la estación —una permanencia récord para astronautas de Estados Unidos—, Rubio también llevó a cabo otro “fructífero” experimento para el estudio VEG-05, el cual ayuda a abordar la necesidad de un sistema continuo de producción de alimentos frescos en el espacio. Este experimento utilizó la instalación “Veggie” de la estación espacial para cultivar tomates enanos, centrándose en el impacto de la calidad de la luz y los fertilizantes en la producción de las frutas, la seguridad alimentaria microbiana, su valor nutricional y la aceptabilidad de su sabor por parte de la tripulación.
Dos tomates rebeldes han sido recuperados casi un año después de que el astronauta Frank Rubio les perdiera el rastro accidentalmente mientras los cosechaba para el experimento XROOTS.
NASA
Si bien las muestras de los tomates rebeldes encontrados en el experimento XROOTS no regresarán a la Tierra para su análisis, ya que fueron desechados, la investigación de vegetales a bordo de la estación espacial continúa con el experimento Hábitat de Plantas 03, el cual regresará a la Tierra durante el próximo amerizaje de la 29.a misión comercial de reabastecimiento de SpaceX. Hábitat de Plantas 03 es una de las primeras investigaciones multigeneracionales de plantas a bordo de la estación espacial que podría ayudar a los investigadores a evaluar si las adaptaciones genéticas en una generación de plantas cultivadas en el espacio pueden transferirse a la siguiente. Los resultados de este estudio ayudarían a identificar elementos genéticos que aumentarían la adaptabilidad de las plantas a los vuelos espaciales, proporcionando información sobre cómo cultivar generaciones repetidas de cosechas para proporcionar alimentos y otros servicios en futuras misiones espaciales.
Los beneficios del cultivo de plantas en el espacio no se detienen ahí: los astronautas informan que el tiempo dedicado a la jardinería tiene beneficios psicológicos, lo que aumenta su calidad de vida en el espacio y levanta su moral. Las investigaciones a bordo de la estación espacial están permitiendo avances en la tecnología y el conocimiento científico necesarios para cultivar con éxito plantas en el espacio y ayudar a los humanos a ampliar los límites de los viajes espaciales. Este trabajo también contribuye con los esfuerzos para mejorar el cultivo de plantas para la alimentación y otros usos importantes en la Tierra.
Lee más sobre las investigaciónes en las que trabajó Frank Rubio durante su misión de un año en la estación espacial:
Dragon Waits for Departure as Crew Studies Space Health
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft approaches the space station 261 miles above Indonesia’s Savu Sea.
A U.S. cargo spacecraft is poised to undock from the International Space Station and return to Earth as mission managers monitor weather conditions at the return splashdown zones. Meanwhile, the seven Expedition 70 residents turned their attention to a variety of health activities and lab maintenance activities.
NASA and SpaceX are postponing the Saturday, Dec. 16, undocking of a SpaceX Dragon CRS-29 cargo resupply spacecraft from the International Space Station due to unfavorable weather conditions as a cold front passes through the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida.
Joint teams continue to evaluate weather conditions to determine the best opportunity for Dragon to autonomously undock from the space station with the next available opportunity no earlier than 5:05 p.m. EST Sunday, Dec. 17.
Weather permitting for the Sunday undocking, coverage of Dragon’s departure will begin at 4:45 p.m. on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida, which will not be broadcast on NASA TV. Follow updates on return plans on the agency’s space station blog.
Back on the space station, astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli from NASA and Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) were back on cargo duty Thursday as they transferred frozen research samples from station science freezers into science cargo freezers. Following its undocking, Dragon will return the biological specimens back to Earth for retrieval and analysis to understand the effects of microgravity on a variety of cells and organisms. The duo also partnered together loading trash and discarded items inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter. Cygnus is due to complete its mission later this month when the Canadarm2 robotic arm detaches it from the Unity module and releases it into Earth orbit for descent.
NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara also assisted with the Cygnus cargo transfers while getting a health check and working on lab upkeep tasks through Thursday. Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) took on the role of Crew Medical Officer checking O’Hara’s temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and respiratory rate during the morning. O’Hara then cleaned a hatch seal in Unity before replacing ventilation screens in the Tranquility module.
Furukawa took turns with Moghbeli during their shift conducting a hearing test then participating in Canadarm2 robotics training. The JAXA flight engineer wrapped up his day servicing and inspecting a diverse range of science, computer, and mission hardware.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub joined each other after breakfast scanning their stomachs with an ultrasound device for a Roscosmos study investigating microgravity’s effect on digestion. Kononenko moved on for afternoon inspections in the Zvezda service module while Chub replaced smoke detectors inside the Poisk module. Flight Engineer replaced life support and electronics gear in the Nauka science module then cleaned Roscosmos fan screens
Lead Space Launch System Avionics Engineer Ales-Cia Winsley
«Once the rocket launched, [I saw] how it illuminated such a dark space. So even when you’re in a dark space, you can let your light shine. And it won’t just shine for you and those that are immediately around you, but even people that you don’t know will notice it, even people that you will never see will notice your light shining and be inspired.” — Ales-Cia Winsley, Lead Space Launch System Avionics Engineer, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
