NASA

This year’s summer solstice for the northern hemisphere arrives at 11:54 a.m. EDT, meaning today is the longest day of the year! The number of daylight hours varies by latitude, so our headquarters in Washington, D.C. will see 14 hours, 53 minutes, and 51 seconds of daylight. A lot can happen in that time! Let’s find out more.If you’re spending the day outside, you might be in the path of our Earth Science Satellite Fleet (ESSF)! The fleet, made up of over a dozen Earth observation satellites, will pass over the continental United States about 37 times during today’s daylight hours.  These missions collect data on atmospheric chemistry and composition, cloud cover, ocean levels, climate, ecosystem dynamics, precipitation, and glacial movement, among other things. They aim to do everything...

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. military wants to turn its satellite communications into something that works like the internet — fluid, fast, and built on seamless interoperability between networks. But at an industry conference this week, Pentagon officials said the long envisioned military space internet is still a long way off.In an era where commercial satellites outnumber military ones, the Defense Department is trying to tap into this diverse ecosystem, defense officials said June 17 at the SAE Media Group’s MilSatcom USA conference.  The goal is creating what DoD calls “enterprise satcom” — a virtualized, software-defined network that could automatically reroute communications between military, commercial and allied nations’ satellites if an adversary jams one satellite system. ...

At Space Center Houston, we know that a critical step to accomplishing hard things is believing you can do it. We also know that positive experiences with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (often referred to as STEM) are the building blocks for meaningful engagement with STEM later in life.  Believing we can accomplish hard things is our NASA legacy and a core message to those we serve— whether you’re four years old or eighty-four, whether you come for the day or a week-long program, whether you attend school in Houston, or live on another continent and participate in one of our global science challenges.  Every year, our message reaches nearly 300,000 students and teachers—because of people like you. Your support can make a difference in the lives of students, help...

Our James Webb Space Telescope is an epic mission that will give us a window into the early universe, allowing us to see the time period during which the first stars and galaxies formed. Webb will not only change what we know, but also how we think about the night sky and our place in the cosmos. Want to learn more? Join two of our scientists as they talk about what the James Webb Telescope is, why it is being built and what it will help us learn about the universe…First, meet Dr. Amber Straughn. She grew up in a small farming town in Arkansas, where her fascination with astronomy began under beautifully dark, rural skies. After finishing a PhD in Physics, she came to NASA Goddard to study galaxies using data from our Hubble Space Telescope. In addition to research, Amber’s role with the W...

WASHINGTON — Sierra Space, the aerospace firm best known for its spaceplane designed for NASA cargo missions, is going all in on defense. The Colorado-based company on June 11 announced the formal launch of Sierra Space Defense, a division focused on national security programs. The business unit will be led by Erik Daehler, a former Lockheed Martin executive who has been building the defense portfolio behind the scenes. “We’re officially introducing the defense tech business that we’ve been building up in stealth mode for the last two and a half years, and formalizing it in our organization,” Daehler told SpaceNews. Focus on satellite buses and components Formed in 2021 as a commercial space spinout of defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation, Sierra Space initially...