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Since liftoff, views inside the spacecraft have not been available because of Starliner's software capabilities Now that the spacecraft is at the space station, Boeing managers said video inside the capsule will be downlinked to Earth We’re listening and we are radically determined to fight alongside our communities as we navigate and overcome the challenges for the day We’re committed to amplifying underserved voices, assisting those in need, advocating for accessibility and affordability, championing those who make a difference, celebrating where we live and seeking truth and justice
The leading theory of moon formation, the aptly named giant impact hypothesis, suggests that Earth's loyal lunar companion was born when a titanic collision around 4 billion years ago sprayed out molten material from Earth that eventually cooled and condensed This means Earth is likely the grandparent of this second moon, or mini-moon“We’re grateful for our nation, which is a spacefaring nation that lets us live free and say what we think is important to say, and so many other things,” he continues “So much to be thankful for in this season, to be reminded of that, to have a holiday that celebrates that, that’s something to be thankful for as well
”“There’s not many places that you can be where you can actually lay on the ceiling, and this is one of them We’re thankful for zero gravity It’s fantastic,” Wilmore said “We’re grateful for our nation, that is a space-faring nation, that lets us live free, say what we think is important to say, and so many other things
” Credit: NASA via StoryfulIn the lunar ejecta formation scenario, 2024 PT5 could be a large boulder from the surface of the moon that was ejected into cislunar space after a cratering event, subsequently evolving dynamically towards an orbit within the Arjuna asteroid belt, Marcos said This object has helped the community to realize that lunar ejecta is probably a main source for the material that constitutes the Arjuna asteroid beltMarcos said that, to become a mini-moon, an incoming asteroid has to approach Earth within a range of around 28 million miles (4
5 million km) and at about 2,200 mph (3,540 km per hour), a relatively slow speedOnce we do get the station, we'll get feed And, of course, when we get back down, we'll be able to get all the video We are looking at being able to provide live feed in flight, but that won't be for a couple of flights, Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program manager Mark Nappi said after the launch
“I sent down my request for a ballot today,” Wilmore said at the news conference “It’s a very important role that we all play as citizens to be included in those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that”Station Assembly Elements Explore the International Space Station We are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further
Read More on Assembly ElementsIn this screengrab from video, astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore attend a NASA news conference about Boeing Starliner on September 13 (NASA via CNN Newsource) (NASA via CNN Newsource) Share BY KRISTIN FISHER, CNN KSLTVcom (CNN) — When NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched to the International Space Station in June on the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, they were supposed to return to Earth roughly a week later, nearly five months before the US presidential election But after the space agency deemed the capsule too risky to take them home — and decided Wilmore and Williams would stay in space until 2025 — the two veteran astronauts will now be floating more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) above their nearest polling place on Election Day in November
As with so many things in the fickle world of spaceflight, NASA already had a contingency plan in place for this exact scenario Thanks to a special Texas law, the two astronauts will still be able to perform their civic duty, voting absentee from low-Earth orbit “It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens and I’m looking forward to being able to vote from space, which is pretty cool,” Williams told reporters during a September 13 news conference from the space station “I sent down my request for a ballot today,” Wilmore said at the news conference
“It’s a very important role that we all play as citizens to be included in those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that” American astronauts have been able to cast ballots from space ever since the Texas Legislature passed a bill in 1997, expanding the Texas Election Code to include “a person who meets the eligibility requirements of a voter… but who will be on a space flight during the early-voting period and on election day” That year, NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to “vote while you float” during his four-month mission aboard Russia’s Mir Space Station Since then, multiple astronauts have cast ballots from space, including now-retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao in 2004
“When I left to go launch on my mission in October, I suddenly realized I hadn’t put in for an absentee ballot and I hadn’t made any arrangements So I quickly asked NASA, ‘Hey, can I vote from the station?’ And they said ‘Oh yeah, we have a process in place No problem,’” Chiao told CNN “And it turned into a great kind of public service announcement, for me to send down messages encouraging people to go out and vote
” Ballots cast in space get beamed to Earth the same way most data is transmitted between the space station and mission control — through NASA’s Near Space Network, a constellation of satellites in space that communicate with antennas on our planet “It’s actually pretty simple,” Chiao said “Basically, an encrypted word document will be sent up to their email addresses and they can then open the document with their password” After Wilmore and Williams fill out their electronic absentee ballots, the forms “will be encrypted and uploaded into the space station’s on-board computer system,” according to NASA
From there, the ballots will flow through a tracking and data relay satellite to a ground antenna at the NASA White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico The space agency will then transfer the ballot to mission control in Houston and then to the county clerk responsible for processing the ballots Like most US astronauts, Wilmore and Williams live near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas’ Harris County, where election officials confirmed to CNN that they are working with the space agency to send the astronauts their ballots on Saturday “Before sending the astronauts their ballot, a test ballot with a unique password is sent first,” said Rosio Torres-Segura, a spokesperson for the Harris County clerk
“Crew member-specific credentials allow the astronauts access to a secure ballot After a successful test, the secured ballot is sent as a fillable document so the astronauts can make their selections, save them, and send them back Once the astronauts vote their live ballot, it is returned, printed, and processed with other ballots” Wilmore and Williams’ ballots will arrive on Earth about five months before they do
” Ballots cast in space get beamed to Earth the same way most data is transmitted between the space station and mission control — through NASA’s Near Space Network, a constellation of satellites in space that communicate with antennas on our planet. “It’s actually pretty simple,” Chiao said. “Basically, an encrypted word document will be sent up to their email addresses and they can then open the document with their password.” After Wilmore and Williams fill out their electronic absentee ballots, the forms “will be encrypted and uploaded into the space station’s on-board computer system,” according to NASA. From there, the ballots will flow through a tracking and data relay satellite to a ground antenna at the NASA White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The space agency will then transfer the ballot to mission control in Houston and then to the county clerk responsible for processing the ballots. Like most US astronauts, Wilmore and Williams live near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas’ Harris County, where election officials confirmed to CNN that they are working with the space agency to send the astronauts their ballots on Saturday. “Before sending the astronauts their ballot, a test ballot with a unique password is sent first,” said Rosio Torres-Segura, a spokesperson for the Harris County clerk. “Crew member-specific credentials allow the astronauts access to a secure ballot. After a successful test, the secured ballot is sent as a fillable document so the astronauts can make their selections, save them, and send them back. Once the astronauts vote their live ballot, it is returned, printed, and processed with other ballots.” Wilmore and Williams’ ballots will arrive on Earth about five months before they do. The two astronauts will hitch a ride home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in February 2025. Share
