NASA
A New Alloy is Enabling Ultra-Stable Structures Needed for Exoplanet Discovery
7 min read
A New Alloy is Enabling Ultra-Stable Structures Needed for Exoplanet DiscoveryA unique new material that shrinks when it is heated and expands when it is cooled could help enable the ultra-stable space telescopes that future NASA missions require to search for habitable worlds.
Advancements in material technologies are needed to meet the science needs of the next great observatories. These observatories will strive to find, identify, and study exoplanets and their ability to support life. Credit: NASA JPLOne of the goals of NASA’s Astrophysics Division is to determine whether we are alone in the universe. NASA’s astrophysics missions seek to answer this question by identifying planets beyond our solar system (exoplanets) that could support life. Over the last two decades, scientists have developed ways to detect atmospheres on exoplanets by closely observing stars through advanced telescopes. As light passes through a planet’s atmosphere or is reflected or emitted from a planet’s surface, telescopes can measure the intensity and spectra (i.e., “color”) of the light, and can detect various shifts in the light caused by gases in the planetary atmosphere. By analyzing these patterns, scientists can determine the types of gasses in the exoplanet’s atmosphere.
Decoding these shifts is no easy task because the exoplanets appear very near their host stars when we observe them, and the starlight is one billion times brighter than the light from an Earth-size exoplanet. To successfully detect habitable exoplanets, NASA’s future Habitable Worlds Observatory will need a contrast ratio of one to one billion (1:1,000,000,000).
Achieving this extreme contrast ratio will require a telescope that is 1,000 times more stable than state-of-the-art space-based observatories like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and its forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. New sensors, system architectures, and materials must be integrated and work in concert for future mission success. A team from the company ALLVAR is collaborating with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to demonstrate how integration of a new material with unique negative thermal expansion characteristics can help enable ultra-stable telescope structures.
Material stability has always been a limiting factor for observing celestial phenomena. For decades, scientists and engineers have been working to overcome challenges such as micro-creep, thermal expansion, and moisture expansion that detrimentally affect telescope stability. The materials currently used for telescope mirrors and struts have drastically improved the dimensional stability of the great observatories like Webb and Roman, but as indicated in the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 developed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, they still fall short of the 10 picometer level stability over several hours that will be required for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. For perspective, 10 picometers is roughly 1/10th the diameter of an atom.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope sits atop the support structure and instrument payloads. The long black struts holding the telescope’s secondary mirror will contribute roughly 30% of the wave front error while the larger support structure underneath the primary mirror will contribute another 30%.
Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Funding from NASA and other sources has enabled this material to transition from the laboratory to the commercial scale. ALLVAR received NASA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) funding to scale and integrate a new alloy material into telescope structure demonstrations for potential use on future NASA missions like the Habitable Worlds Observatory. This alloy shrinks when heated and expands when cooled—a property known as negative thermal expansion (NTE). For example, ALLVAR Alloy 30 exhibits a -30 ppm/°C coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) at room temperature. This means that a 1-meter long piece of this NTE alloy will shrink 0.003 mm for every 1 °C increase in temperature. For comparison, aluminum expands at +23 ppm/°C.
While other materials expand while heated and contract when cooled, ALLVAR Alloy 30 exhibits a negative thermal expansion, which can compensate for the thermal expansion mismatch of other materials. The thermal strain versus temperature is shown for 6061 Aluminum, A286 Stainless Steel, Titanium 6Al-4V, Invar 36, and ALLVAR Alloy 30.
Because it shrinks when other materials expand, ALLVAR Alloy 30 can be used to strategically compensate for the expansion and contraction of other materials. The alloy’s unique NTE property and lack of moisture expansion could enable optic designers to address the stability needs of future telescope structures. Calculations have indicated that integrating ALLVAR Alloy 30 into certain telescope designs could improve thermal stability up to 200 times compared to only using traditional materials like aluminum, titanium, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs), and the nickel–iron alloy, Invar.
The hexapod assembly with six ALLVAR Alloy struts was measured for long-term stability. The stability of the individual struts and the hexapod assembly were measured using interferometry at the University of Florida’s Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics. The struts were found to have a length noise well below the proposed target for the success criteria for the project. Credit: (left) ALLVAR and (right) Simon F. Barke, Ph.D.To demonstrate that negative thermal expansion alloys can enable ultra-stable structures, the ALLVAR team developed a hexapod structure to separate two mirrors made of a commercially available glass ceramic material with ultra-low thermal expansion properties. Invar was bonded to the mirrors and flexures made of Ti6Al4V—a titanium alloy commonly used in aerospace applications—were attached to the Invar. To compensate for the positive CTEs of the Invar and Ti6Al4V components, an NTE ALLVAR Alloy 30 tube was used between the Ti6Al4V flexures to create the struts separating the two mirrors. The natural positive thermal expansion of the Invar and Ti6Al4V components is offset by the negative thermal expansion of the NTE alloy struts, resulting in a structure with an effective zero thermal expansion.
The stability of the structure was evaluated at the University of Florida Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics. The hexapod structure exhibited stability well below the 100 pm/√Hz target and achieved 11 pm/√Hz. This first iteration is close to the 10 pm stability required for the future Habitable Worlds Observatory. A paper and presentation made at the August 2021 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers conference provides details about this analysis.
Furthermore, a series of tests run by NASA Marshall showed that the ultra-stable struts were able to achieve a near-zero thermal expansion that matched the mirrors in the above analysis. This result translates into less than a 5 nm root mean square (rms) change in the mirror’s shape across a 28K temperature change.
The ALLVAR enabled Ultra-Stable Hexapod Assembly undergoing Interferometric Testing between 293K and 265K (right). On the left, the Root Mean Square (RMS) changes in the mirror’s surface shape are visually represented. The three roughly circular red areas are caused by the thermal expansion mismatch of the invar bonding pads with the ZERODUR mirror, while the blue and green sections show little to no changes caused by thermal expansion. The surface diagram shows a less than 5 nanometer RMS change in mirror figure. Credit: NASA’s X-Ray and Cryogenic Facility [XRCF]Beyond ultra-stable structures, the NTE alloy technology has enabled enhanced passive thermal switch performance and has been used to remove the detrimental effects of temperature changes on bolted joints and infrared optics. These applications could impact technologies used in other NASA missions. For example, these new alloys have been integrated into the cryogenic sub-assembly of Roman’s coronagraph technology demonstration. The addition of NTE washers enabled the use of pyrolytic graphite thermal straps for more efficient heat transfer. ALLVAR Alloy 30 is also being used in a high-performance passive thermal switch incorporated into the UC Berkeley Space Science Laboratory’s Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE Night) project aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 2, which will be delivered to the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The NTE alloys enabled smaller thermal switch size and greater on-off heat conduction ratios for LuSEE Night.
Through another recent NASA SBIR effort, the ALLVAR team worked with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop detailed datasets of ALLVAR Alloy 30 material properties. These large datasets include statistically significant material properties such as strength, elastic modulus, fatigue, and thermal conductivity. The team also collected information about less common properties like micro-creep and micro-yield. With these properties characterized, ALLVAR Alloy 30 has cleared a major hurdle towards space-material qualification.
As a spinoff of this NASA-funded work, the team is developing a new alloy with tunable thermal expansion properties that can match other materials or even achieve zero CTE. Thermal expansion mismatch causes dimensional stability and force-load issues that can impact fields such as nuclear engineering, quantum computing, aerospace and defense, optics, fundamental physics, and medical imaging. The potential uses for this new material will likely extend far beyond astronomy. For example, ALLVAR developed washers and spacers, are now commercially available to maintain consistent preloads across extreme temperature ranges in both space and terrestrial environments. These washers and spacers excel at counteracting the thermal expansion and contraction of other materials, ensuring stability for demanding applications.
For additional details, see the entry for this project on NASA TechPort.
Project Lead: Dr. James A. Monroe, ALLVAR
The following NASA organizations sponsored this effort: NASA Astrophysics Division, NASA SBIR Program funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
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A New Alloy is Enabling Ultra-Stable Structures Needed for Exoplanet Discovery
7 min read
A New Alloy is Enabling Ultra-Stable Structures Needed for Exoplanet DiscoveryA unique new material that shrinks when it is heated and expands when it is cooled could help enable the ultra-stable space telescopes that future NASA missions require to search for habitable worlds.
Advancements in material technologies are needed to meet the science needs of the next great observatories. These observatories will strive to find, identify, and study exoplanets and their ability to support life. Credit: NASA JPLOne of the goals of NASA’s Astrophysics Division is to determine whether we are alone in the universe. NASA’s astrophysics missions seek to answer this question by identifying planets beyond our solar system (exoplanets) that could support life. Over the last two decades, scientists have developed ways to detect atmospheres on exoplanets by closely observing stars through advanced telescopes. As light passes through a planet’s atmosphere or is reflected or emitted from a planet’s surface, telescopes can measure the intensity and spectra (i.e., “color”) of the light, and can detect various shifts in the light caused by gases in the planetary atmosphere. By analyzing these patterns, scientists can determine the types of gasses in the exoplanet’s atmosphere.
Decoding these shifts is no easy task because the exoplanets appear very near their host stars when we observe them, and the starlight is one billion times brighter than the light from an Earth-size exoplanet. To successfully detect habitable exoplanets, NASA’s future Habitable Worlds Observatory will need a contrast ratio of one to one billion (1:1,000,000,000).
Achieving this extreme contrast ratio will require a telescope that is 1,000 times more stable than state-of-the-art space-based observatories like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and its forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. New sensors, system architectures, and materials must be integrated and work in concert for future mission success. A team from the company ALLVAR is collaborating with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to demonstrate how integration of a new material with unique negative thermal expansion characteristics can help enable ultra-stable telescope structures.
Material stability has always been a limiting factor for observing celestial phenomena. For decades, scientists and engineers have been working to overcome challenges such as micro-creep, thermal expansion, and moisture expansion that detrimentally affect telescope stability. The materials currently used for telescope mirrors and struts have drastically improved the dimensional stability of the great observatories like Webb and Roman, but as indicated in the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 developed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, they still fall short of the 10 picometer level stability over several hours that will be required for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. For perspective, 10 picometers is roughly 1/10th the diameter of an atom.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope sits atop the support structure and instrument payloads. The long black struts holding the telescope’s secondary mirror will contribute roughly 30% of the wave front error while the larger support structure underneath the primary mirror will contribute another 30%.
Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Funding from NASA and other sources has enabled this material to transition from the laboratory to the commercial scale. ALLVAR received NASA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) funding to scale and integrate a new alloy material into telescope structure demonstrations for potential use on future NASA missions like the Habitable Worlds Observatory. This alloy shrinks when heated and expands when cooled—a property known as negative thermal expansion (NTE). For example, ALLVAR Alloy 30 exhibits a -30 ppm/°C coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) at room temperature. This means that a 1-meter long piece of this NTE alloy will shrink 0.003 mm for every 1 °C increase in temperature. For comparison, aluminum expands at +23 ppm/°C.
While other materials expand while heated and contract when cooled, ALLVAR Alloy 30 exhibits a negative thermal expansion, which can compensate for the thermal expansion mismatch of other materials. The thermal strain versus temperature is shown for 6061 Aluminum, A286 Stainless Steel, Titanium 6Al-4V, Invar 36, and ALLVAR Alloy 30.
Because it shrinks when other materials expand, ALLVAR Alloy 30 can be used to strategically compensate for the expansion and contraction of other materials. The alloy’s unique NTE property and lack of moisture expansion could enable optic designers to address the stability needs of future telescope structures. Calculations have indicated that integrating ALLVAR Alloy 30 into certain telescope designs could improve thermal stability up to 200 times compared to only using traditional materials like aluminum, titanium, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs), and the nickel–iron alloy, Invar.
The hexapod assembly with six ALLVAR Alloy struts was measured for long-term stability. The stability of the individual struts and the hexapod assembly were measured using interferometry at the University of Florida’s Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics. The struts were found to have a length noise well below the proposed target for the success criteria for the project. Credit: (left) ALLVAR and (right) Simon F. Barke, Ph.D.To demonstrate that negative thermal expansion alloys can enable ultra-stable structures, the ALLVAR team developed a hexapod structure to separate two mirrors made of a commercially available glass ceramic material with ultra-low thermal expansion properties. Invar was bonded to the mirrors and flexures made of Ti6Al4V—a titanium alloy commonly used in aerospace applications—were attached to the Invar. To compensate for the positive CTEs of the Invar and Ti6Al4V components, an NTE ALLVAR Alloy 30 tube was used between the Ti6Al4V flexures to create the struts separating the two mirrors. The natural positive thermal expansion of the Invar and Ti6Al4V components is offset by the negative thermal expansion of the NTE alloy struts, resulting in a structure with an effective zero thermal expansion.
The stability of the structure was evaluated at the University of Florida Institute for High Energy Physics and Astrophysics. The hexapod structure exhibited stability well below the 100 pm/√Hz target and achieved 11 pm/√Hz. This first iteration is close to the 10 pm stability required for the future Habitable Worlds Observatory. A paper and presentation made at the August 2021 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers conference provides details about this analysis.
Furthermore, a series of tests run by NASA Marshall showed that the ultra-stable struts were able to achieve a near-zero thermal expansion that matched the mirrors in the above analysis. This result translates into less than a 5 nm root mean square (rms) change in the mirror’s shape across a 28K temperature change.
The ALLVAR enabled Ultra-Stable Hexapod Assembly undergoing Interferometric Testing between 293K and 265K (right). On the left, the Root Mean Square (RMS) changes in the mirror’s surface shape are visually represented. The three roughly circular red areas are caused by the thermal expansion mismatch of the invar bonding pads with the ZERODUR mirror, while the blue and green sections show little to no changes caused by thermal expansion. The surface diagram shows a less than 5 nanometer RMS change in mirror figure. Credit: NASA’s X-Ray and Cryogenic Facility [XRCF]Beyond ultra-stable structures, the NTE alloy technology has enabled enhanced passive thermal switch performance and has been used to remove the detrimental effects of temperature changes on bolted joints and infrared optics. These applications could impact technologies used in other NASA missions. For example, these new alloys have been integrated into the cryogenic sub-assembly of Roman’s coronagraph technology demonstration. The addition of NTE washers enabled the use of pyrolytic graphite thermal straps for more efficient heat transfer. ALLVAR Alloy 30 is also being used in a high-performance passive thermal switch incorporated into the UC Berkeley Space Science Laboratory’s Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE Night) project aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 2, which will be delivered to the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The NTE alloys enabled smaller thermal switch size and greater on-off heat conduction ratios for LuSEE Night.
Through another recent NASA SBIR effort, the ALLVAR team worked with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop detailed datasets of ALLVAR Alloy 30 material properties. These large datasets include statistically significant material properties such as strength, elastic modulus, fatigue, and thermal conductivity. The team also collected information about less common properties like micro-creep and micro-yield. With these properties characterized, ALLVAR Alloy 30 has cleared a major hurdle towards space-material qualification.
As a spinoff of this NASA-funded work, the team is developing a new alloy with tunable thermal expansion properties that can match other materials or even achieve zero CTE. Thermal expansion mismatch causes dimensional stability and force-load issues that can impact fields such as nuclear engineering, quantum computing, aerospace and defense, optics, fundamental physics, and medical imaging. The potential uses for this new material will likely extend far beyond astronomy. For example, ALLVAR developed washers and spacers, are now commercially available to maintain consistent preloads across extreme temperature ranges in both space and terrestrial environments. These washers and spacers excel at counteracting the thermal expansion and contraction of other materials, ensuring stability for demanding applications.
For additional details, see the entry for this project on NASA TechPort.
Project Lead: Dr. James A. Monroe, ALLVAR
The following NASA organizations sponsored this effort: NASA Astrophysics Division, NASA SBIR Program funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
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Ames Science Directorate’s Stars of the Month: July 2025
The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Sigrid Reinsch, Lori Munar, Kevin Sims, and Matthew Fladeland. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond.
Space Biosciences Star: Sigrid ReinschAs Director of the SHINE (Space Health Impacts for the NASA Experience) program and Project Scientist for NBISC (NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection), Sigrid Reinsch is a high-performing scientist and outstanding mentor in the Space Biosciences Research Branch. Her dedication to student training and her efforts to streamline processes have significantly improved the experience of welcoming summer interns at NASA Ames.
Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Lori MunarLori Munar serves as the assistant Branch Chief of the Exobiology Branch. In the past few months, she has gone above and beyond to organize a facility and laboratory surplus event that involved multiple divisions over multiple days. The event resulted in considerable savings across the groups involved and improved the safety of N239 staff and the appearance of offices and labs.
Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Kevin SimsKevin Sims is a NASA Technical Project Manager serving the Astrophysics Branch as a member of the Flight Systems Implementation Branch in the Space Biosciences Division. Kevin is recognized for outstanding project management for exoplanet imaging instrumentation development in support of the Habitable Worlds Observatory. Kevin has streamlined, organized, and improved the efficiency of the Ames Photonics Testbed being developed as part the AstroPIC Early Career Initiative project.
Earth Science Star: Matthew FladelandMatthew Fladeland is a research scientist in the Earth Science Division managing NASA SMD’s Program Office for the Airborne Science Program, located at Ames. He is recognized for exemplary leadership and teamwork leading to new reimbursable agreements with the Department of Defense, for accelerating science technology solutions through the SBIR program, and for advancing partnerships with the US Forest Service on wildland ecology and fire science.
Ames Science Directorate’s Stars of the Month: July 2025
The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Sigrid Reinsch, Lori Munar, Kevin Sims, and Matthew Fladeland. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond.
Space Biosciences Star: Sigrid ReinschAs Director of the SHINE (Space Health Impacts for the NASA Experience) program and Project Scientist for NBISC (NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection), Sigrid Reinsch is a high-performing scientist and outstanding mentor in the Space Biosciences Research Branch. Her dedication to student training and her efforts to streamline processes have significantly improved the experience of welcoming summer interns at NASA Ames.
Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Lori MunarLori Munar serves as the assistant Branch Chief of the Exobiology Branch. In the past few months, she has gone above and beyond to organize a facility and laboratory surplus event that involved multiple divisions over multiple days. The event resulted in considerable savings across the groups involved and improved the safety of N239 staff and the appearance of offices and labs.
Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Kevin SimsKevin Sims is a NASA Technical Project Manager serving the Astrophysics Branch as a member of the Flight Systems Implementation Branch in the Space Biosciences Division. Kevin is recognized for outstanding project management for exoplanet imaging instrumentation development in support of the Habitable Worlds Observatory. Kevin has streamlined, organized, and improved the efficiency of the Ames Photonics Testbed being developed as part the AstroPIC Early Career Initiative project.
Earth Science Star: Matthew FladelandMatthew Fladeland is a research scientist in the Earth Science Division managing NASA SMD’s Program Office for the Airborne Science Program, located at Ames. He is recognized for exemplary leadership and teamwork leading to new reimbursable agreements with the Department of Defense, for accelerating science technology solutions through the SBIR program, and for advancing partnerships with the US Forest Service on wildland ecology and fire science.
NASA Awards Electrical Utility Services Contract for Kennedy
NASA has awarded a task order to Florida Power and Light of Juno Beach, Florida, to provide electric distribution utility service at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This is a fixed-price task order with an estimated value of $70 million over five years. The contract consists of a two-year base period beginning July 1, 2025, followed by a two-year and a one-year option period.
Under the contract, the awardee will provide all management, labor, transportation, facilities, materials, and equipment to provide electric distribution utility service up to and including all meters across the spaceport.
For more information about NASA Kennedy, visit:
-end-
Patti Bielling
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-7575
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov
NASA Awards Electrical Utility Services Contract for Kennedy
NASA has awarded a task order to Florida Power and Light of Juno Beach, Florida, to provide electric distribution utility service at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This is a fixed-price task order with an estimated value of $70 million over five years. The contract consists of a two-year base period beginning July 1, 2025, followed by a two-year and a one-year option period.
Under the contract, the awardee will provide all management, labor, transportation, facilities, materials, and equipment to provide electric distribution utility service up to and including all meters across the spaceport.
For more information about NASA Kennedy, visit:
-end-
Patti Bielling
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-7575
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov
NASA to Provide Coverage of Progress 92 Launch, Space Station Docking
NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering approximately three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 73 crew aboard the International Space Station.
The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 92 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 3:32 p.m. EDT, Thursday, July 3 (12:32 a.m. Baikonur time, Friday, July 4), on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Live launch coverage will begin at 3:10 p.m. on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
After a two-day, in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 5:27 p.m. on Saturday, July 5. NASA’s rendezvous and docking coverage will begin at 4:45 p.m. on NASA+.
The Progress 92 spacecraft will remain docked to the space station for approximately six months before departing for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.
Ahead of the spacecraft’s arrival, the Progress 90 spacecraft will undock from the Poisk module on Tuesday, July 1. NASA will not stream undocking.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For nearly 25 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.
Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, at:
-end-
Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
NASA to Provide Coverage of Progress 92 Launch, Space Station Docking
NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering approximately three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 73 crew aboard the International Space Station.
The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 92 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 3:32 p.m. EDT, Thursday, July 3 (12:32 a.m. Baikonur time, Friday, July 4), on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Live launch coverage will begin at 3:10 p.m. on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
After a two-day, in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 5:27 p.m. on Saturday, July 5. NASA’s rendezvous and docking coverage will begin at 4:45 p.m. on NASA+.
The Progress 92 spacecraft will remain docked to the space station for approximately six months before departing for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.
Ahead of the spacecraft’s arrival, the Progress 90 spacecraft will undock from the Poisk module on Tuesday, July 1. NASA will not stream undocking.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For nearly 25 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.
Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, at:
-end-
Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
NASA+ is Coming to Netflix This Summer
NASA announced Monday its latest plans to team up with a streaming service to bring space a little closer to home. Starting this summer, NASA+ live programming will be available on Netflix.
Audiences now will have another option to stream rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, mission coverage, and breathtaking live views of Earth from the International Space Station.
“The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 calls on us to share our story of space exploration with the broadest possible audience,” said Rebecca Sirmons, general manager of NASA+ at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Together, we’re committed to a Golden Age of Innovation and Exploration – inspiring new generations – right from the comfort of their couch or in the palm of their hand from their phone.”
Through this partnership, NASA’s work in science and exploration will become even more accessible, allowing the agency to increase engagement with and inspire a global audience in a modern media landscape, where Netflix reaches a global audience of more than 700 million people.
The agency’s broader efforts include connecting with as many people as possible through video, audio, social media, and live events. The goal is simple: to bring the excitement of the agency’s discoveries, inventions, and space exploration to people, wherever they are.
NASA+ remains available for free, with no ads, through the NASA app and on the agency’s website.
Additional programming details and schedules will be announced ahead of launch.
For more about NASA’s missions, visit:
-end-
Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov
NASA+ is Coming to Netflix This Summer
NASA announced Monday its latest plans to team up with a streaming service to bring space a little closer to home. Starting this summer, NASA+ live programming will be available on Netflix.
Audiences now will have another option to stream rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, mission coverage, and breathtaking live views of Earth from the International Space Station.
“The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 calls on us to share our story of space exploration with the broadest possible audience,” said Rebecca Sirmons, general manager of NASA+ at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Together, we’re committed to a Golden Age of Innovation and Exploration – inspiring new generations – right from the comfort of their couch or in the palm of their hand from their phone.”
Through this partnership, NASA’s work in science and exploration will become even more accessible, allowing the agency to increase engagement with and inspire a global audience in a modern media landscape, where Netflix reaches a global audience of more than 700 million people.
The agency’s broader efforts include connecting with as many people as possible through video, audio, social media, and live events. The goal is simple: to bring the excitement of the agency’s discoveries, inventions, and space exploration to people, wherever they are.
NASA+ remains available for free, with no ads, through the NASA app and on the agency’s website.
Additional programming details and schedules will be announced ahead of launch.
For more about NASA’s missions, visit:
-end-
Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov
Hubble Captures an Active Galactic Center
Hubble Captures an Active Galactic Center
The light that the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope collected to create this image reached the telescope after a journey of 250 million years. Its source was the spiral galaxy UGC 11397, which resides in the constellation Lyra (The Lyre). At first glance, UGC 11397 appears to be an average spiral galaxy: it sports two graceful spiral arms that are illuminated by stars and defined by dark, clumpy clouds of dust.
What sets UGC 11397 apart from a typical spiral lies at its center, where a supermassive black hole containing 174 million times the mass of our Sun grows. As a black hole ensnares gas, dust, and even entire stars from its vicinity, this doomed matter heats up and puts on a fantastic cosmic light show.
Material trapped by the black hole emits light from gamma rays to radio waves, and can brighten and fade without warning. But in some galaxies, including UGC 11397, thick clouds of dust hide much of this energetic activity from view in optical light. Despite this, UGC 11397’s actively growing black hole was revealed through its bright X-ray emission — high-energy light that can pierce the surrounding dust. This led astronomers to classify it as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy, a category used for active galaxies whose central regions are hidden from view in visible light by a donut-shaped cloud of dust and gas.
Using Hubble, researchers will study hundreds of galaxies that, like UGC 11397, harbor a supermassive black hole that is gaining mass. The Hubble observations will help researchers weigh nearby supermassive black holes, understand how black holes grew early in the universe’s history, and even study how stars form in the extreme environment found at the very center of a galaxy.
Text credit: ESA
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth
Hubble Captures an Active Galactic Center
The light that the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope collected to create this image reached the telescope after a journey of 250 million years. Its source was the spiral galaxy UGC 11397, which resides in the constellation Lyra (The Lyre). At first glance, UGC 11397 appears to be an average spiral galaxy: it sports two graceful spiral arms that are illuminated by stars and defined by dark, clumpy clouds of dust.
What sets UGC 11397 apart from a typical spiral lies at its center, where a supermassive black hole containing 174 million times the mass of our Sun grows. As a black hole ensnares gas, dust, and even entire stars from its vicinity, this doomed matter heats up and puts on a fantastic cosmic light show.
Material trapped by the black hole emits light from gamma rays to radio waves, and can brighten and fade without warning. But in some galaxies, including UGC 11397, thick clouds of dust hide much of this energetic activity from view in optical light. Despite this, UGC 11397’s actively growing black hole was revealed through its bright X-ray emission — high-energy light that can pierce the surrounding dust. This led astronomers to classify it as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy, a category used for active galaxies whose central regions are hidden from view in visible light by a donut-shaped cloud of dust and gas.
Using Hubble, researchers will study hundreds of galaxies that, like UGC 11397, harbor a supermassive black hole that is gaining mass. The Hubble observations will help researchers weigh nearby supermassive black holes, understand how black holes grew early in the universe’s history, and even study how stars form in the extreme environment found at the very center of a galaxy.
Text credit: ESA
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth
Going the Distance: Lisa Pace Leads Exploration Development Integration at Johnson
Lisa Pace knows a marathon when she sees one. An avid runner, she has participated in five marathons and more than 50 half marathons. Though she prefers to move quickly, she also knows the value of taking her time. “I solve most of my problems while running – or realize those problems aren’t worth worrying about,” she said.
She has learned to take a similar approach to her work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Earlier in my career, I raced to get things done and felt the need to do as much as possible on my own,” she said. “Over time, I’ve learned to trust my team and pause to give others an opportunity to contribute. There are times when quick action is needed, but it is often a marathon, not a sprint.”
Official portrait of Lisa Pace.NASA/Josh ValcarcelPace is chief of the Exploration Development Integration Division within the Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorate at Johnson. In that role, she leads a team of roughly 120 civil servants and contractors in providing mission-level system engineering and integration services that bring different architecture elements together to achieve the agency’s goals. Today that team supports Artemis missions, NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and other areas as needed.
Lisa Pace, seated at the head of the table, leads an Exploration Development Integration Division team meeting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/James Blair“The Artemis missions come together through multiple programs and projects,” Pace explained. “We stitch them together to ensure the end-to-end mission meets its intended requirements. That includes verifying those requirements before flight and ensuring agreements between programs are honored and conflicts resolved.” The division also manages mission-level review and flight readiness processes from planning through execution, up to the final certification of flight readiness.
Leading the division through the planning, launch, and landing of Artemis I was a career highlight for Pace, though she feels fortunate to have worked on many great projects during her time with NASA. “My coolest and most rewarding project involved designing and deploying an orbital debris tracking telescope on Ascension Island about 10 years ago,” she said. “The engineers, scientists, and military personnel I got to work and travel with on that beautiful island is tough to top!”
Pace says luck and great timing led her to NASA. Engineering jobs were plentiful when she graduated from Virginia Tech in 2000, and she quickly received an offer from Lockheed Martin to become a facility engineer in Johnson’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, or ARES. “I thought working in the building where they keep the Moon rocks would be cool – and it was! Twenty-five years later, I’m still here,” Pace said.
During that time, she has learned a lot about problem-solving and team building. “I often find that when we disagree over the ‘right’ way to do something, there is no one right answer – it just depends on your perspective,” she said. “I take the time to listen to people, understand their side, and build relationships to find common ground.”
Lisa Pace, right, participates in a holiday competition hosted by her division.Image courtesy of Lisa PaceShe also emphasizes the importance of getting to know your colleagues. “Relationships are everything,” she said. “They make the work so much more meaningful. I carry that lesson over to my personal life and value my time with family and friends outside of work.”
Investing time in relationships has given Pace another unexpected skill – that of matchmaker. “I’m responsible for setting up five couples who are now married, and have six kids between them,” she said, adding that she knew one couple from Johnson.
She hopes that strong relationships transfer to the Artemis Generation. “I hope to pass on a strong NASA brand and the family culture that I’ve been fortunate to have, working here for the last 25 years.”
Explore More 3 min read Meet Rob Navias: Public Affairs Officer and Mission Commentator Article 6 days ago 5 min read Heather Cowardin Safeguards the Future of Space Exploration Article 1 week ago 5 min read Driven by a Dream: Farah Al Fulfulee’s Quest to Reach the Stars Article 2 weeks agoGoing the Distance: Lisa Pace Leads Exploration Development Integration at Johnson
Lisa Pace knows a marathon when she sees one. An avid runner, she has participated in five marathons and more than 50 half marathons. Though she prefers to move quickly, she also knows the value of taking her time. “I solve most of my problems while running – or realize those problems aren’t worth worrying about,” she said.
She has learned to take a similar approach to her work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Earlier in my career, I raced to get things done and felt the need to do as much as possible on my own,” she said. “Over time, I’ve learned to trust my team and pause to give others an opportunity to contribute. There are times when quick action is needed, but it is often a marathon, not a sprint.”
Official portrait of Lisa Pace.NASA/Josh ValcarcelPace is chief of the Exploration Development Integration Division within the Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorate at Johnson. In that role, she leads a team of roughly 120 civil servants and contractors in providing mission-level system engineering and integration services that bring different architecture elements together to achieve the agency’s goals. Today that team supports Artemis missions, NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and other areas as needed.
Lisa Pace, seated at the head of the table, leads an Exploration Development Integration Division team meeting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/James Blair“The Artemis missions come together through multiple programs and projects,” Pace explained. “We stitch them together to ensure the end-to-end mission meets its intended requirements. That includes verifying those requirements before flight and ensuring agreements between programs are honored and conflicts resolved.” The division also manages mission-level review and flight readiness processes from planning through execution, up to the final certification of flight readiness.
Leading the division through the planning, launch, and landing of Artemis I was a career highlight for Pace, though she feels fortunate to have worked on many great projects during her time with NASA. “My coolest and most rewarding project involved designing and deploying an orbital debris tracking telescope on Ascension Island about 10 years ago,” she said. “The engineers, scientists, and military personnel I got to work and travel with on that beautiful island is tough to top!”
Pace says luck and great timing led her to NASA. Engineering jobs were plentiful when she graduated from Virginia Tech in 2000, and she quickly received an offer from Lockheed Martin to become a facility engineer in Johnson’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, or ARES. “I thought working in the building where they keep the Moon rocks would be cool – and it was! Twenty-five years later, I’m still here,” Pace said.
During that time, she has learned a lot about problem-solving and team building. “I often find that when we disagree over the ‘right’ way to do something, there is no one right answer – it just depends on your perspective,” she said. “I take the time to listen to people, understand their side, and build relationships to find common ground.”
Lisa Pace, right, participates in a holiday competition hosted by her division.Image courtesy of Lisa PaceShe also emphasizes the importance of getting to know your colleagues. “Relationships are everything,” she said. “They make the work so much more meaningful. I carry that lesson over to my personal life and value my time with family and friends outside of work.”
Investing time in relationships has given Pace another unexpected skill – that of matchmaker. “I’m responsible for setting up five couples who are now married, and have six kids between them,” she said, adding that she knew one couple from Johnson.
She hopes that strong relationships transfer to the Artemis Generation. “I hope to pass on a strong NASA brand and the family culture that I’ve been fortunate to have, working here for the last 25 years.”
Explore More 3 min read Meet Rob Navias: Public Affairs Officer and Mission Commentator Article 6 days ago 5 min read Heather Cowardin Safeguards the Future of Space Exploration Article 1 week ago 5 min read Driven by a Dream: Farah Al Fulfulee’s Quest to Reach the Stars Article 2 weeks agoNASA Welcomes Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station
A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Axiom Mission 4 crew docks to the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module on June 26. Axiom Mission 4 is the fourth all-private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, welcoming commander Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut and pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and mission specialists ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The crew is scheduled to remain at the space station, conducting microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities, for about two weeks. This mission serves as an example of the success derived from collaboration between NASA’s international partners and American commercial space companies.
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