TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
June 22, 2023
Stars and Dust across Corona Australis
Cosmic dust clouds cross a rich field of stars in this telescopic vista near the northern boundary of Corona Australis, the Southern Crown. Part of a sprawling molecular cloud complex this star forming region is a mere 500 light-years away. That's about one third the distance of the more famous stellar nursery known as the Orion Nebula. The 2 degree wide frame would span 15 light-years at the clouds' estimated distance. Mixed with bright nebulosities the dust clouds effectively block light from more distant background stars in the Milky Way and obscure from view embedded stars still in the process of formation. Large dark nebula Bernes 157 is on the left. To its right are a group of pretty reflection nebulae cataloged as NGC 6726, 6727, 6729, and IC 4812. Their characteristic blue color is produced as light from hot stars is reflected by the cosmic dust. The more compact NGC 6729 surrounds young variable star R Coronae Australis. Just below it, filamentary arcs and loops are identified as Herbig Haro objects associated with energetic newborn stars. In fact, at the heart of this area lies the Coronet Cluster, one of the nearest and most active star forming regions.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
Delta IV Heavy rocket launches US spy satellite on penultimate mission
June 22, 2023
The NROL-68 mission launched at 5:18 a.m. ET on Thursday (June 22).
United Launch Alliance's (ULA) powerful Delta IV Heavy rocket flew for the second-to-last time early Thursday morning (June 22).
The Delta IV Heavy lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday at 5:18 a.m. EDT (0918 GMT), on a mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-68. The original target date was Wednesday (June 21), but a problem with a ground-system valve forced a one-day delay.
ULA cut off the webcast 6 minutes 45 seconds after launch at the request of the National Reconnaissance Office.
We know very little about the satellite going up on NROL-68. That's no surprise, given that it's an NRO payload; the agency operates the United States' fleet of spy satellites, whose capabilities and activities tend to be classified.
The NROL-68 mission patch — which features a baby dragon, its mother and the moon — offers a few clues, scant though they are.
"The baby dragon illustrates the birth of a new satellite system, while the moon with the mother dragon silhouette represent protection of the Five Eyes community, the nation and its allies," NRO officials wrote in a brief mission description. (Five Eyes is an alliance involving the intelligence communities of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.)
"The passage along the bottom, Nusquam Celare, is Latin for 'Nowhere to Hide,'" NRO officials added. "The baby dragon may be science fiction, but NROL-68's impact on national security is real!"
NROL-68 is ULA's first mission of 2023 and the 15th Delta IV Heavy launch overall.
The burly rocket stands 235 feet (71.6 meters) tall and generates 2.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. That's a lot, but it's far from the record. For example, NASA's Space Launch System rocket, which debuted on the successful Artemis 1 moon mission last year, produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
And SpaceX's giant Starship vehicle — the largest and most powerful rocket ever built — produces about 16.7 million pounds of thrust. But Starship has yet to fly a successful mission; it suffered a few problems during its lone flight to date, an April 20 test launch, and SpaceX ordered the vehicle's destruction high over the Gulf of Mexico.
ULA is phasing out both the Delta IV Heavy and its workhorse Atlas V rocket in favor of the new Vulcan Centaur, which is slated to debut later this year. Whereas the Delta IV Heavy has just one more mission to go after Thursday, however, the Atlas V will keep flying for years to come. ULA has booked missions on the veteran rocket through 2029, mostly to build out Amazon's Project Kuiper internet constellation and send Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi to the International Space Station.
https://www.space.com/delta-iv-heavy-rocket-nrol-68-launch
https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/delta-iv-heavy-nrol-68
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNLo5QbVhVM
NASA Holds Ribbon Cutting for New Earth Information Center
June 21, 2023
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson led a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday to showcase a new Earth Information Center at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The center is part physical space and part virtual experience, which shows how NASA data can improve lives in the face of disasters, environmental challenges, and our changing world.
The agency also launched its corresponding Earth Information Center website as part of the event. The ribbon cutting ceremony comes ahead of a public opening of the center Monday, June 26.
Climate change is a key priority of the Biden-Harris Administration, and NASA plays a critical role in providing data to researchers and others through its extensive Earth-monitoring constellation of satellites. For six decades, NASA satellites, sensors, and scientists have collected observations about our home planet – and at the Earth Information Center, the public can glimpse what this data has taught us about sea level rise, air quality, wildfires, greenhouse gases, energy, and agriculture.
“For more than 60 years, NASA has used our vantage point of space to observe Earth with satellites and instruments aboard the International Space Station to collect vital, life-saving data,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “To meet the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of making this data more understandable, accessible, and usable for everyone, NASA is opening the Earth Information Center. From firefighters that rely on NASA data for wildfire management to farmers who need to know when and where to plant crops, the Earth Information Center will help more people make informed decisions every day.”
Whether they live in cities, suburban areas, or on farms, people around the nation can access information to understand our dynamic planet and prepare for impacts of climate change. NASA collects and shares data that can help everyone from coastal including home buyers assessing flood risk; businesses on the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes looking for information on harmful algal blooms; farmers requiring drought and storm information; and county land-use planners assessing wildfire management.
“NASA data powers resources across the U.S. and around the world, helping communities prepare for a changing climate,” said Kate Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist and senior climate advisor, who emceed the ribbon cutting. “The Earth Information Center benefits humanity by providing easily accessible and readily usable Earth information – helping people see our home planet the way NASA sees it.”
Additional speakers at the event included:
Karen St. Germain, director, NASA’s Earth Sciences Division
Dave Applegate, director, USGS (U.S. Geological Survey)
Janet McCabe, deputy administrator, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
Erik Hooks, deputy administrator, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration)
Michael Morgan, assistant secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Mike Michener, deputy assistant administrator, Bureau of Resilience and Food Security, USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development)
Marlen Eve, deputy administrator, Agriculture Research Service, USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Dwane Roth, Big D Farms, Kansas
NASA created the Earth Information Center with founding partners FEMA, EPA, NOAA, USAID, USDA and USGS. The Earth Information Center draws data from research conducted by NASA’s centers and government and industry partners.
The interactive physical exhibit is located in the east lobby of NASA Headquarters in Washington, where visitors are invited to see Earth as NASA astronauts see it from space. When it opens to the public June 26, visitors can tour the exhibit from 8:30 a.m. EDT to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-holds-ribbon-cutting-for-new-earth-information-center
https://gis.earthdata.nasa.gov/portal/apps/sites/#/earth-information-center
SpaceX Starlink Mission
On Thursday, June 22 at 12:19 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched 47 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
This was the fourth launch and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched Space Development Agency’s Tranche 0 and now three Starlink missions.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl5-7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98JQV1czLsA