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Are panda sex lives being sabotaged by the wrong gut microbes?
Are panda sex lives being sabotaged by the wrong gut microbes?
The Brightest Gamma Ray Burst Ever Seen Came from a Collapsing Star
After a journey lasting about two billion years, photons from an extremely energetic gamma-ray burst (GRB) struck the sensors on the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope on October 9th, 2022. The GRB lasted seven minutes but was visible for much longer. Even amateur astronomers spotted the powerful burst in visible frequencies.
It was so powerful that it affected Earth’s atmosphere, a remarkable feat for something more than two billion light-years away. It’s the brightest GRB ever observed, and since then, astrophysicists have searched for its source.
NASA says GRBs are the most powerful explosions in the Universe. They were first detected in the late 1960s by American satellites launched to keep an eye on the USSR. The Americans were concerned that the Russians might keep testing atomic weapons despite signing 1963’s Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Now, we detect about one GRB daily, and they’re always in distant galaxies. Astrophysicists struggled to explain them, coming up with different hypotheses. There was so much research into them that by the year 2,000, an average of 1.5 articles on GRBs were published in scientific journals daily.
There were many different proposed causes. Some thought that GRBs could be released when comets collided with neutron stars. Others thought they could come from massive stars collapsing to become black holes. In fact, scientists wondered if quasars, supernovae, pulsars, and even globular clusters could be the cause of GRBs or associated with them somehow.
GRBs are confounding because their light curves are so complex. No two are identical. But astrophysicists made progress, and they’ve learned a few things. Short-duration GRBs are caused by the merger of two neutron stars or the merger of a neutron star and a black hole. Longer-duration GRBs are caused by a massive star collapsing and forming a black hole.
This sample of 12 GRB light curves shows how no two are the same. Image Credit: NASANew research in Nature examined the ultra-energetic GRB 221009A, dubbed the “B.O.A.T: Brightest Of All Time,” and found something surprising. When it was initially discovered, scientists said it was caused by a massive star collapsing into a black hole. The new research doesn’t contradict that. But it presents a new mystery: why are there no heavy elements in the newly uncovered supernova?
The research is “JWST detection of a supernova associated with GRB 221009A without an r-process signature.” The lead author is Peter Blanchard, a Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) postdoctoral fellow.
“The GRB was so bright that it obscured any potential supernova signature in the first weeks and months after the burst,” Blanchard said. “At these times, the so-called afterglow of the GRB was like the headlights of a car coming straight at you, preventing you from seeing the car itself. So, we had to wait for it to fade significantly to give us a chance of seeing the supernova.”
“When we confirmed that the GRB was generated by the collapse of a massive star, that gave us the opportunity to test a hypothesis for how some of the heaviest elements in the universe are formed,” said lead author Blanchard. “We did not see signatures of these heavy elements, suggesting that extremely energetic GRBs like the B.O.A.T. do not produce these elements. That doesn’t mean that all GRBs do not produce them, but it’s a key piece of information as we continue to understand where these heavy elements come from. Future observations with JWST will determine if the B.O.A.T.’s ‘normal’ cousins produce these elements.”
Scientists know that supernova explosions forge heavy elements. They’re an important source of elements from oxygen (atomic number 8) to rubidium (atomic number 37) in the interstellar medium. They also produce heavier elements than that. Heavy elements are necessary to form rocky planets like Earth and for life itself. But it’s important to note that astrophysicists don’t completely understand how heavy elements are produced.
This periodic table from the NASA Scientific Visualization Studio shows where the elements come from, though scientists still have some uncertainty. Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterScientists naturally wondered if an extremely luminous GRB like GRB 221009A would produce even more heavy elements. But that’s not what they found.
“This event is particularly exciting because some had hypothesized that a luminous gamma-ray burst like the B.O.A.T. could make a lot of heavy elements like gold and platinum,” said second author Ashley Villar of Harvard University and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. “If they were correct, the B.O.A.T. should have been a goldmine. It is really striking that we didn’t see any evidence for these heavy elements.”
Stars forge heavy elements by nucleosynthesis. Three processes are responsible for that: the p-process, the s-process and the r-process (proton capture process, slow neutron capture process, and the rapid neutron capture process.) The r-process captures neutrons faster than the s-process and is responsible for about half of the elements heavier than iron. The r-process is also responsible for the most stable isotopes of these heavy elements.
That’s all to illustrate the importance of the r-process in the Universe.
The researchers used the JWST to get to the bottom of GRB 221009A. The GRB was obscured by the Milky Way, but the JWST senses infrared light and saw right through the Milky Way’s gas and dust. The telescope’s NIRSpec (Near Infrared Spectrograph) senses elements like oxygen and calcium, usually found in supernovae. But the signatures weren’t very bright, a surprise considering how bright the supernova was.
“It’s not any brighter than previous supernovae,” lead author Blanchard said. “It looks fairly normal in the context of other supernovae associated with less energetic GRBs. You might expect that the same collapsing star producing a very energetic and bright GRB would also produce a very energetic and bright supernova. But it turns out that’s not the case. We have this extremely luminous GRB, but a normal supernova.”
Confirming the presence of the supernova was a big step to understanding GRB 221009A. But the lack of an r-process signature is still confounding.
Scientists have only confirmed the r-process in the merger of two neutron stars, called a kilonova explosion. But there are too few neutron star mergers to explain the abundance of heavy elements.
This artist’s illustration shows two neutron stars colliding. Known as a “kilonova” event, they’re the only confirmed location of the r-process that forges heavy elements. Credits: Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI)“There is likely another source,” Blanchard said. “It takes a very long time for binary neutron stars to merge. Two stars in a binary system first have to explode to leave behind neutron stars. Then, it can take billions and billions of years for the two neutron stars to slowly get closer and closer and finally merge. But observations of very old stars indicate that parts of the universe were enriched with heavy metals before most binary neutron stars would have had time to merge. That’s pointing us to an alternative channel.”
Researchers have wondered if luminous supernovae like this can account for the rest. Supernovae have an inner layer where more heavy elements could be synthesized. But that layer is obscured. Only after things calm down is the inner layer visible.
“The exploded material of the star is opaque at early times, so you can only see the outer layers,” Blanchard said. “But once it expands and cools, it becomes transparent. Then you can see the photons coming from the inner layer of the supernova.”
All elements have spectroscopic signatures, and the JWST’s NIRSpec is a very capable instrument. But it couldn’t detect heavier elements, even in the supernova’s inner layer.
“Upon examining the B.O.A.T.’s spectrum, we did not see any signature of heavy elements, suggesting extreme events like GRB 221009A are not primary sources,” lead author Blanshard said. “This is crucial information as we continue to try to pin down where the heaviest elements are formed.”
Scientists are still uncertain about the GRB and its lack of heavy elements. But there’s another feature that might offer a clue: jets.
“A second proposed site of the r-process is in rapidly rotating cores of massive stars that collapse into an accreting black hole, producing similar conditions as the aftermath of a BNS merger,” the authors write in their paper. “Theoretical simulations suggest that accretion disk outflows in these so-called ‘collapsars’ may reach the neutron-rich state required for the r-process to occur.”
The “accretion disk outflows” the researchers refer to are relativistic jets. The narrower the jets are, the brighter and more focused their energy is.
Could they play a role in forging heavy elements?
“It’s like focusing a flashlight’s beam into a narrow column, as opposed to a broad beam that washes across a whole wall,” Laskar said. “In fact, this was one of the narrowest jets seen for a gamma-ray burst so far, which gives us a hint as to why the afterglow appeared as bright as it did. There may be other factors responsible as well, a question that researchers will be studying for years to come.”
The researchers also used NIRSpec to gather a spectrum from the GRB’s host galaxy. It has the lowest metallicity of any galaxy known to host a GRB. Could that be a factor?
“This is one of the lowest metallicity environments of any LGRB, which is a class of objects that prefer low-metallicity galaxies, and it is, to our knowledge, the lowest metallicity environment of a GRB-SN to date,” the authors write in their research. “This may suggest that very low metallicity is required to produce a very energetic GRB.”
The host galaxy is also actively forming stars. Is that another clue?
“The spectrum shows signs of star formation, hinting that the birth environment of the original star may be different than previous events,” Blanshard said.
Yijia Li is a graduate student at Penn State and a co-author of the paper. “This is another unique aspect of the B.O.A.T. that may help explain its properties,” Li said. “The energy released in the B.O.A.T. was completely off the charts, one of the most energetic events humans have ever seen. The fact that it also appears to be born out of near-primordial gas may be an important clue to understanding its superlative properties.”
This is another case where solving one mystery leads to another unanswered one. The JWST was launched to answer some of our foundational questions about the Universe. By confirming that a supernova is behind the most powerful GRB ever detected, it’s done part of its job.
But it also found another mystery and has left us hanging again.
The JWST is working as intended.
The post The Brightest Gamma Ray Burst Ever Seen Came from a Collapsing Star appeared first on Universe Today.
Formation-Flying Spacecraft Could Probe the Solar System for New Physics
It’s an exciting time for the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. Thanks to cutting-edge observatories, instruments, and new techniques, scientists are getting closer to experimentally verifying theories that remain largely untested. These theories address some of the most pressing questions scientists have about the Universe and the physical laws governing it – like the nature of gravity, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy. For decades, scientists have postulated that either there is additional physics at work or that our predominant cosmological model needs to be revised.
While the investigation into the existence and nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy is ongoing, there are also attempts to resolve these mysteries with the possible existence of new physics. In a recent paper, a team of NASA researchers proposed how spacecraft could search for evidence of additional physical within our Solar Systems. This search, they argue, would be assisted by the spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation and using interferometers. Such a mission could help resolve a cosmological mystery that has eluded scientists for over half a century.
The proposal is the work of Slava G. Turyshev, an adjunct professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and research scientist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was joined by Sheng-wey Chiow, an experimental physicist at NASA JPL, and Nan Yu, an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina and a senior research scientist at NASA JPL. Their research paper recently appeared online and has been accepted for publication in Physical Review D.
A new study shows how measuring the Sun’s gravitational field could search for additional physics. Credit: NASA/ESATuryshev’s experience includes being a Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission science team member. In previous work, Turyshev and his colleagues have investigated how a mission to the Sun’s solar gravitational lens (SGL) could revolutionize astronomy. The concept paper was awarded a Phase III grant in 2020 by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. In a previous study, he and SETI astronomer Claudio Maccone also considered how advanced civilizations could use SGLs to transmit power from one solar system to the next.
To summarize, gravitational lensing is a phenomenon where gravitational fields alter the curvature of spacetime in their vicinity. This effect was originally predicted by Einstein in 1916 and was used by Arthur Eddington in 1919 to confirm his General Relativity (GR). However, between the 1960s and 1990s, observations of the rotational curves of galaxies and the expansion of the Universe gave rise to new theories regarding the nature of gravity over larger cosmic scales. On the one hand, scientists postulated the existence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy to reconcile their observations with GR.
On the other hand, scientists have advanced alternate theories of gravity (such as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), Modified Gravity (MOG), etc.). Meanwhile, others have suggested there may be additional physics in the cosmos that we are not yet aware of. As Turyshev told Universe Today via email:
“We are eager to explore questions surrounding the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter. Despite their discovery in the last century, their underlying causes remain elusive. Should these ‘anomalies’ stem from new physics—phenomena yet to be observed in ground-based laboratories or particle accelerators—it’s possible that this novel force could manifest on a solar system scale.”
Artist’s impression of a proposed Solar Gravity Lens telescope. Credit: The Aerospace CorporationFor their latest study, Turyshev and his colleagues investigated how a series of spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation could investigate the Sun’s gravitational field. These investigations, said Turyshev, would search for deviations from the predictions of general relativity at the Solar System scale, something that has not been possible to date:
“These deviations are hypothesized to manifest as nonzero elements in the gravity gradient tensor (GGT), fundamentally akin to a solution of the Poisson equation. Due to their minuscule nature, detecting these deviations demands precision far surpassing current capabilities—by at least five orders of magnitude. At such a heightened level of accuracy, numerous well-known effects will introduce significant noise. The strategy involves conducting differential measurements to negate the impact of known forces, thereby revealing the subtle, yet nonzero, contributions to the GGT.”
The mission, said Turyshev, would employ local measurement techniques that rely on a series of interferometers. This includes interferometric laser ranging, a technique demonstrated by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, a spacecraft pair that relies on laser range finding to track Earth’s oceans, glaciers, rivers, and surface water. The same technique will also be used to investigate gravitational waves by the proposed space-based Laser Interferometry Space Antenna (LISA).
The spacecraft will also be equipped with atom interferometers, which use the wave character of atoms to measure the difference in phase between atomic matter waves along different paths. This technique will allow the spacecraft to detect the presence of non-gravitational noise (thruster activity, solar radiation pressure, thermal recoil forces, etc.) and negate them to the necessary degree. Meanwhile, flying in a tetrahedral formation will optimize the spacecraft’s ability to compare measurements.
“Laser ranging will offer us highly accurate data on the distances and relative velocities between spacecraft,” said Turyshev. “Furthermore, its exceptional precision will allow us to measure the rotation of a tetrahedron formation relative to an inertial reference frame (via Sagnac observables), a task unachievable by any other means. Consequently, this will establish a tetrahedral formation leveraging a suite of local measurements.”
Artist’s impression of the path of the star S2 as it passes very close to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Credit: ESO/M. KornmesserUltimately, this mission will test GR on the smallest of scales, which has been sorely lacking to date. While scientists continue to probe the effect of gravitational fields on spacetime, these have been largely confined to using galaxies and galaxy clusters as lenses. Other instances include observations of compact objects (like white dwarf stars) and supermassive black holes (SMBH) like Sagittarius A* – which resides at the center of the Milky Way.
“We aim to enhance the precision of testing GR and alternative gravitational theories by more than five orders of magnitude. Beyond this primary objective, our mission has additional scientific goals, which we will detail in our subsequent paper. These include testing GR and other gravitational theories, detecting gravitational waves in the micro-Hertz range—a spectrum not reachable by existing or envisioned instruments— and exploring aspects of the solar system, such as the hypothetical Planet 9, among other endeavors.”
Further Reading: Physical Review D
The post Formation-Flying Spacecraft Could Probe the Solar System for New Physics appeared first on Universe Today.
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The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA
NASA/Keegan Barber
On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a breathtaking view of a total solar eclipse. As the Moon passed in front of the Sun, it revealed the Sun’s wispy white outer atmosphere — the corona.
This composite image of multiple exposures shows the progression of a total solar eclipse in Dallas on April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan BarberPictures of total solar eclipses are beautiful — they capture a moment happening so far away, yet feels so close at the same time. But being there in person, you experience it in 3D. The eclipse doesn’t just appear in the sky. You feel it all around you. The light slowly dims, then suddenly engulfs you in darkness from every angle, while the Sun’s corona emerges in the sky.
Although you know totality is coming, its arrival can still be overwhelming. For some people, their hearts race or their eyes well up with tears. You try to absorb everything you can in those minutes: from the corona, to the planets peeking out around the eclipse, to the temperature drop, to cheers of excitement from the community around you, even changes in animal behaviors.
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For years, people have reported how animals behave differently during eclipses. Birds may return to their nests, thinking it’s nighttime, or nocturnal animals begin to wake up. A NASA-funded project called Eclipse Soundscapes collected data from participants across the path who recorded the reactions of wildlife before, during, and after this celestial event.
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Total solar eclipses are a great reminder that humans are animals — we, too, feel the strangeness that causes other animals to have unusual behaviors. When experiencing the sudden change to darkness, and the sudden restoration of light, it can feel eerie and special. The world returns to normal around you, but those minutes of totality were anything but.
This timelapse video shows the dimming of light during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, in Dallas.NASA/Rachel Lense
On April 8, millions of people gathered across the path of totality, including at 14 NASA “SunSpot” locations where attendees could speak to NASA experts and engage in educational activities. At many locations, visitors set up blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics as they prepared to watch the Sun turn into a crescent until its bright face completely disappeared.
Astronaut Reid Wiseman reacts to a guest dressed as an astronaut at the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. Use the arrows to flip through different images from eclipse events across the path. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani Guests visit the “Explore Humans in Space” exhibit during the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani Guests work on art projects during the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani Guests learn about the total solar eclipse from NASA staff at the Dallas Arboretum, on Monday, April 8, 2024, in Dallas. NASA/Keegan Barber Crowds gather at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden as the solar eclipse begins on April 8, 2024. NASA/Abbey Interrante Attendees at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway view NASA exhibits ahead of the total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. NASA/Joel Kowsky Attendees at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway view NASA exhibits ahead of the total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. NASA/Joel KowskyDuring totality, viewers could spot planets. In this view from Dallas, Venus and Jupiter were very bright. Their brief appearance in the middle of the day were reminders of Earth’s place in the solar system.
In Dallas, viewers were able to spot Venus and Jupiter during totality.NASA/Abbey Interrante
Viewers could also see bright pink prominences flowing out from the Sun. Prominences are unstable clouds of plasma suspended above the Sun by strong magnetic forces. The prominences spotted during the eclipse were many times larger than Earth itself. It’s rare to be able to spot prominences from the ground unaided by a telescope, so seeing these prominences with just your eyes was a unique opportunity for those on the ground.
Baily’s Beads and solar prominences are seen just after totality in Dallas on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan BarberWhile we were watching the eclipse from the ground, a NASA spacecraft was watching from above. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of the Sun a few minutes before totality in Dallas at 1:37 p.m. CDT (18:37 UTC). From SDO’s position in space, the Sun was completely visible, while for people on Earth, the Sun was blocked by the Moon. The prominences seen in this image were what viewers on the ground were able to see with the naked eye.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of the Sun on April 8, 2024, a few minutes before totality in Dallas. NASA/SDOAstronauts on the International Space Station also had an exclusive view of the eclipse from 261 miles above Earth. Due to their place in space, they could see the Moon’s shadow travel across Earth. While those of us on Earth watched the Moon pass in front of the Sun, astronauts on the International Space Station watched its shadow pass over Earth.
The Moon’s shadow, or umbra, is pictured covering portions of the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick and the American state of Maine in this photograph from the International Space Station as it soared into the solar eclipse from 261 miles above.NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) imager on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured these views of Earth between 12:02 and 4:32 p.m. EDT (16:02 and 20:32 UTC) from about 1 million miles from Earth. DSCOVR is a joint NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Air Force satellite.
NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) imager on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured these views of Earth during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.NASA
Much closer to Earth, pilots aboard NASA’s WB-57 jets flew at 50,000 feet, chasing the Moon’s shadow briefly to extend the time scientific experiments could study the eclipse. This research will help contribute to scientists’ understanding of the Sun’s corona and Earth’s atmosphere.
A pilot flying a WB-57 jet during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.NASA/Mallory Yates
From the ground, in Earth’s atmosphere, and in space, the total solar eclipse was a breathtaking experience for millions of people. The effects of the total solar eclipse on Earth and on us will be remembered by many for years to come.
This composite image of multiple exposures shows the progression of a total solar eclipse in Dallas on April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan BarberWhile the eclipse is a powerful reminder of our place in the universe, it also reminds us of our place in our communities. During the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, people across North America also aligned with families, friends, classes, colleagues, and even strangers as they took in this celestial event in the sky and all around them.
By Abbey Interrante and Joy Ng
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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45 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Enterprise, the first space shuttle orbiter that NASA built, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on April 10, 1979. Although not space worthy, as a pathfinder Enterprise carried out tasks critical to ensuring the success of the space shuttle program. During its four-month stay at KSC, Enterprise validated procedures for the assembly of the space shuttle stack and interfaces at the launch pad. The tests proved valuable in preparing the shuttle for its first orbital mission. Earlier, Enterprise proved the flight worthiness of the shuttle during atmospheric tests and certified the vehicle’s structure to handle launch loads. Enterprise played small supporting roles in the Challenger and Columbia accident investigations. After a lengthy stay in storage, a fully restored Enterprise went on public display, first near Washington, D.C., and then in New York where it currently resides.
Left: NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, left, presents President Richard M. Nixon with a model of the space shuttle in January 1972. Right: Enterprise under construction in 1976.
Enterprise’s story began on Jan. 5, 1972, when President Richard M. Nixon directed NASA to build the reusable space shuttle, formally called the Space Transportation System (STS), stating that “it would revolutionize transportation into near space.” NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher hailed the President’s decision as “an historic step in the nation’s space program,” adding that it would change what humans can accomplish in space. After Congress authorized the funds, on July 26 NASA awarded the contract to the North American Rockwell Corporation of Downey, California, to begin construction of the first vehicles. Manufacture of the first components of Orbital Vehicle-101 (OV-101) at Rockwell’s Downey plant began on June 4, 1974.
Left: NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, left, poses with several cast members and creator of the TV series “Star Trek” at Enterprise’s rollout. Right: Astronauts C. Gordon Fullerton, left, Fred W. Haise, Joe H. Engle, and Richard H. Truly pose in front of Enterprise on the day of its rollout.
NASA originally chose the name Constitution for OV-101, the first space shuttle vehicle designed not to fly in space but for ground and atmospheric tests. However, a determined write-in campaign by fans of the science fiction TV series “Star Trek” convinced NASA to rename this first vehicle Enterprise, after the fictional starship made famous by the show. When the orbiter made its public rollout at Rockwell’s Palmdale, California, facility, on Sept. 17, 1976, it bore the name Enterprise. Several “Star Trek” cast members as well as the show’s creator attended the event, accompanied by NASA Administrator Fletcher and the four astronauts assigned to conduct the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) with Enterprise– Fred W. Haise, C. Gordon Fullerton, Joe H. Engle, and Richard H. Truly.
Left: Workers tow space shuttle Enterprise through the streets of Lancaster, California, on the way to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Middle: Enterprise moments after release from the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft during the first Approach and Landing Test free flight. Right: At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for vibration tests, a shuttle orbiter joins an External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters for the first time.
In January 1977, workers trucked Enterprise 36 miles overland from Palmdale to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California, for the ALT program, a series of increasingly complex flights to evaluate the shuttle’s air worthiness. At Dryden, workers placed Enterprise on the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747. The duo began taxi runs in February, followed by the first captive inactive flight later that month. The first captive active flight with a crew aboard the orbiter took place in June, and Enterprise made its first independent flight on Aug. 12 with Haise and Fullerton at the controls. Four additional approach and landing flights completed the ALT program by October. In March 1978, Enterprise began its first cross-country trip. Riding atop the SCA, Enterprise left Edwards, and after a weekend stopover at Houston’s Ellington AFB, arrived at the Redstone Arsenal’s airfield in Huntsville, Alabama. Workers trucked Enterprise to the adjacent NASA Marshall Space Flight Center where engineers for the first time mated it with an External Tank (ET) and inert Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) in the Dynamic Structural Test Facility. For the next year, engineers conducted a series of vibration tests on the combined vehicle, simulating conditions expected during an actual launch.
Left: Enterprise atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) touches down on the runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: Workers remove Enterprise from the SCA in the Mate-Demate Device. Right: Workers tow Enterprise into the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Following the year-long series of tests at Marshall, on April 10, 1979, NASA ferried Enterprise atop its SCA to KSC. Its sister ship Columbia, the first shuttle destined for orbital flight, had arrived there just two weeks earlier. The SCA/Enterprise vehicle remained on display at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) for five days to give more than 75,000 KSC employees, their families, and the general public a chance to view the new reusable spacecraft. Workers at the SLF then removed the orbiter from the back of the SCA in the Mate-Demate Device, and towed it into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where on April 25 they completed attaching it to an ET and inert SRBs on a Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) repurposed from carrying Saturn rockets. These activities enabled verification of towing, assembly, and checkout procedures.
Left: At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building prepare to lift Enterprise. Middle: Enterprise in the vertical position. Right: Workers lower Enterprise for attachment to the External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters.
Rollout of Enterprise from the VAB to Launch Pad 39A occurred on May 1, and again KSC employees and their families came out to view the event. The assembled vehicle including the MLP weighed about 11 million pounds. Technicians drove the stack atop the Crawler Transporter at varying speeds to determine the optimum velocity to minimize vibration stress on the vehicle. The 3.5-mile rollout took about eight hours to complete. Once at the pad, engineers used Enterprise to conduct fit checks and to validate launch pad procedures. During the critical countdown demonstration test, workers filled the ET with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The significant discovery that ice built up at the top of the ET during this process led to the addition of the gaseous oxygen vent hood (familiarly known as the “beanie cap”) to the launch pad facility and a procedure to retract it just a few minutes before liftoff. This prevented the dangerous buildup of ice during the countdown and ranks as perhaps one of Enterprise’s greatest contributions as a test vehicle during its time at the launch pad.
Left: Enterprise exiting the Vehicle Assembly Building. Middle: Enterprise on its Mobile Launch Platform during the rollout to the pad. Right: Enterprise at Launch Pad 39A.
On July 23, after three months of fit checks and testing, workers rolled Enterprise back from Launch Pad 39A to High Bay 1 in the VAB. The activities conducted at the pad proved instrumental in paving the way for its sister ship Columbia to make its first launch in 1981. John Bell, who managed the activities at JSC said of the test program, “Overall, it was a very successful venture and well worth it.” Launch Pad 39A Site Manager John J. “Tip” Talone added, “Having [Enterprise] out here really saved the program a lot of time in getting things ready for [Columbia].” In the VAB, workers removed Enterprise from its ET on July 25 and towed it to the SLF on Aug. 3 where it awaited the arrival of the SCA. The ferry flight back to Dryden took place between Aug. 10 and 16 making six stops along the way – Atlanta, St. Louis, Tulsa, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Vandenberg AFB in California. Up to 750,000 people came out to see the orbiter and SCA. Back at Dryden, workers demated Enterprise and on Oct. 30 trucked it back to the Palmdale plant where engineers removed computers and instruments to be refurbished and used in other orbiters then under construction. Previous plans to convert Enterprise into an orbital vehicle proved too costly and NASA abandoned the idea.
Left: Astronaut support engineer Richard W. Nygren stands at Launch Pad 39A with astronauts Richard H. Truly, John W. Young, Robert L. Crippen, and Joe H. Engle, the prime and backup crews assigned to the first space shuttle mission. Middle left: Pilot’s eye view of the launch tower looking up through Enterprise’s forward windows. Middle right: Enterprise rolls back into the Vehicle Assembly Building. Right: Enterprise departs NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Because Enterprise’s future remained uncertain, NASA returned it to Edwards on Sep. 6, 1981, for long-term storage. On July 4, 1982, NASA used it as a backdrop for President Ronald W. Reagan to welcome home the STS-4 crew. The following year, NASA sent Enterprise on a European tour, departing Dryden on May 13, 1983, with stops in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France for the annual Paris Air Show. Enterprise made a stop in Ottawa, Canada, on its return trip to Dryden, arriving there June 13. Workers once again placed it in temporary storage.
Left: Enterprise as the backdrop for President Reagan welcoming home the STS-4 crew at NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center in July 1982. Right: Enterprise atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft arriving at the Paris Air Show in May 1983.
For its next public appearance, NASA ferried Enterprise to Mobile, Alabama, from there transported it by barge to New Orleans, and placed it on public display in the U.S. pavilion of the World’s Fair between April and November 1984. After the World’s Fair, NASA ferried Enterprise to Vandenberg AFB in California to conduct fit checks at the Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6), that NASA had planned to use for polar orbiting shuttle missions. NASA used Enterprise to conduct tests at SLC-6 similar to the 1979 tests at KSC’s Launch Complex 39. The tests at Vandenberg completed, NASA ferried Enterprise back to Dryden on May 24, 1985, but this time for only a very short-term storage.
Left: Enterprise on display at the World’s Fair in New Orleans in 1984. Right: Enterprise during static pad tests at Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1985.
On Sep. 20, 1985, NASA ferried Enterprise to KSC and placed it on temporary public display near the VAB, next to the Saturn V already displayed there. On Oct. 30, Enterprise “saw” its sister ship Challenger fly into space on the STS-61A mission. After two months on display at KSC, NASA flew Enterprise to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., arriving on Nov. 18. NASA officially retired Enterprise and transferred ownership to the Smithsonian Institution that had plans to build a large aircraft museum annex at the airport. The Smithsonian placed Enterprise in storage in a hangar, awaiting the completion of its new home. That turned into an 18-year wait.
Left: Launch of STS-61A in October 1985, with Enterprise and the Saturn V in the foreground. Middle: Enterprise in long-term storage at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Right: Enterprise during arresting barrier testing at Dulles International Airport.
But even during that 18-year wait, NASA found practical use for the venerable Enterprise. In 1987, the agency studied how to handle an orbiter returning from space should it suffer a brake failure. To test the efficacy of an arresting barrier, workers slowly winched Enterprise into a landing barrier they had set up at Dulles to see if the vehicle suffered any damage. Later that same year, NASA used Enterprise to test various crew bailout procedures being developed in the wake of the Challenger accident. In 1990, experimenters used Enterprise’s cockpit windows to test mount an antenna for the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, with no other orbiters available. Periodically, engineers removed parts from Enterprise to test for materials durability, and also evaluated the structural integrity of the vehicle including its payload bay doors and found it to be in sound condition even after years in storage. In April 2003, in the wake of the Columbia accident, investigators borrowed Enterprise’s left landing gear door and part of the port wing for foam impact tests. The tests provided solid evidence for the foam strike as the cause of the accident.
Left: Space shuttle Enterprise undergoes restoration at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Chantilly, Virginia. Note the missing wing leading edge, donated for the Columbia accident investigation. Right: Enterprise on display at the Hazy Center. Image credits: courtesy NASM.
On Nov. 20, 2003, workers towed Enterprise from its storage facility into a newly completed display hangar at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum at Dulles in Chantilly, Virginia. Specialists spent eight months restoring the orbiter and the museum placed it on public display on Dec. 15, 2004.
Left: Space shuttle orbiters Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Right: Actor Leonard Nimoy greets Enterprise at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
In 2011, NASA retired the space shuttle fleet and donated the vehicles to various museums around the country. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City acquired Enterprise, and on Apr. 19, 2012, workers removed the orbiter from its display at the Hazy Center – replacing it with the orbiter Discovery – and placed it atop a SCA for the final time. Eight days later, after a short flight from Dulles and a flyaround of New York and several of its famous landmarks, Enterprise landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television series, and attended Enterprise’s first rollout in 1976, greeted the orbiter on the runway. Workers lifted the orbiter from the SCA and placed it on a barge. It eventually arrived at the Intrepid Museum on June 3 and went on public display July 19. Enterprise suffered minor damage during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, but workers fully restored it.
Enterprise in the Shuttle Pavilion at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Image credit: courtesy Intrepid Museum.
Read recollections about the Enterprise ALT flight in oral histories that Haise, Fullerton, and Engle conducted with the JSC History Office.
Explore More 5 min read NASA’s SERT II: ‘A Genuine Space Success Story’ Article 5 days ago 5 min read 60 Years Ago: Gemini 1 Flies a Successful Uncrewed Test Flight Article 7 days ago 6 min read From NASA’s First Astronaut Class to Artemis II: The Importance of Military Jet Pilot Experience Article 7 days agoThe Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASA
This Earth Day, join us in person and online to learn how NASA studies the ocean from space. Explore the complex connections between sea, air, land, and climate through a mix of in-person and virtual activities, talks, and trivia.
Discover more about NASA’s Earth and ocean-observing fleet during an in-person and virtual Earth Day celebration on April 18 and 19.NASAFor nearly five decades, the agency and its partners have collected data across all of the world’s ocean basins with satellites, airplane-mounted instruments, and space shuttles and stations.
On April 11, NASA released the first images from the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite, which was launched on Feb. 8, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. PACE joined the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in helping NASA revolutionize our understanding of our oceans. You can see one of the images below, in which bright pink and green colors indicate different communities of phytoplankton.
NASA’s PACE satellite’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) detects light across a hyperspectral range, which gives scientists new information to differentiate communities of phytoplankton – a unique ability of NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite. This first image released from OCI identifies two different communities of these microscopic marine organisms in the ocean off the coast of South Africa on Feb. 28, 2024. The central panel of this image shows Synechococcus in pink and picoeukaryotes in green. The left panel of this image shows a natural color view of the ocean, and the right panel displays the concentration of chlorophyll-a, a photosynthetic pigment used to identify the presence of phytoplankton.NASADiscover more about PACE and NASA’s Earth-observing fleet during an in-person celebration. The event will be hosted at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 18 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. The event will include:
- More than a dozen hands-on Earth science activities, such as a 3D glacier puzzle and natural hazards trivia
- Instructions for creating animated GIFs using NASA Earth science imagery
- Opportunities to engage with the Earth Information Center, which offers data-rich visualizations and immersive experiences that show how our planet is changing.
- Two new stories that will screen on the Earth Information Center’s Hyperwall. One highlights how local African communities use NASA Earth science data in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to monitor forest habitat for chimpanzees and agricultural land use over time. The other explores how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors methane emissions from landfills with NASA remote-sensing data.
Online, explore how NASA works to understand our oceans at a global scale. Visit science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-day/ for dozens of resources, including:
- Downloadable guides for creating ocean currents in a test tube and a flip book showing how rivers change over time
- Activities that show the importance of water on our planet and how researchers study our oceans and waterways
NASA’s exploration of our oceans from space spans a rich history. Delving into the depths of our oceans unveils the mysteries of our own planet, our home. Therefore, NASA remains steadfast in leading the way in oceanic research.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio
Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio
NASA’s in-person and virtual Earth Day events are free and open to the public.
You can also celebrate Earth Day as a NASA citizen scientist. Play the NeMO-Net iPad game to help NASA classify coral reefs, or download the GLOBE Observer app to help monitor clouds, water, and plants in your area. NASA’s citizen science projects have led to thousands of observations and several discoveries, with more than 410 NASA citizen scientists named as co-authors on peer-reviewed scientific publications. NASA citizen science is open to everyone around the world, not just U.S. residents.
NASA’s innovative tools and data inform decision-makers around the world as they monitor our changing climate and work to address environmental challenges. NASA partners with state and local governments, international space agencies, and federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). NASA is committed to making data accessible, inclusive, and transparent for everyone — an approach known as “open science.”
To learn more about NASA’s Earth Day activities, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-day/.
By Julia Tilton
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Share Details Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 EditorJennifer M. FadoulContactEllen Grayellen.t.gray@nasa.govLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms'Fly Me to the Moon' trailer mixes real-life Apollo history with moon landing hoax
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The First Space Shuttle
The First Space Shuttle
In this image from April 12, 1981, the first space shuttle, STS-1, launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with NASA astronauts John W. Young, commander, and Robert L. Crippen, pilot, aboard.
STS-1 was meant to demonstrate a safe launch into orbit and a safe return of the orbiter and crew, as well as verify the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle – orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank.
The first space shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on April 14, 1981, after having successfully tested its major systems.
Image Credit: NASA
See inside an endangered California condor egg just before it hatches
See inside an endangered California condor egg just before it hatches
NASA Invites Media to Mars Sample Return Update
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT, Monday, April 15, to discuss the agency’s response to a Mars Sample Return Independent Review Board report from September 2023, including next steps for the program.
The teleconference will livestream at:
Mars Sample Return has been a major long-term goal of international planetary exploration for the past two decades. NASA’s Perseverance rover is collecting compelling science samples that will help scientists understand the geological history of Mars, the evolution of its climate, and prepare for future human explorers. The return of the samples will also help NASA’s search for signs of ancient life.
The media teleconference will share the agency’s recommendations regarding a path forward for Mars Sample Return within a balanced overall science program. The speakers include:
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate
Media who wish to participate in the teleconference should RSVP by 11 a.m. on April 15 by emailing dewayne.a.washington@nasa.gov.
For more information on NASA’s Mars exploration, visit:
-end-
Dewayne Washington / Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
dewayne.a.washington@nasa.gov / karen.fox@nasa.gov
Watch a Satellite Reaction Wheel Melt in a Simulated Orbital Re-Entry
Most satellites share the same fate at the end of their lives. Their orbits decay, and eventually, they plunge through the atmosphere toward Earth. Most satellites are destroyed during their rapid descent, but not always
Heavy pieces of the satellite, like reaction wheels, can survive and strike the Earth. Engineers are trying to change that.
Satellite debris can strike Earth and is a potential hazard, though the chances of debris striking anything other than ocean or barren land are low. Expired satellites usually just re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. But there are a lot of satellites, and their number keeps growing.
In February 2024, the ESA’s European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS2) satellite fell to Earth. The ESA tracked the satellite and concluded that it posed no problem. “The odds of a piece of satellite falling on someone’s head is estimated at one in a billion,” ESA space debris system engineer Benjamin Bastida Virgili said.
That would be fine if ERS 2 was an isolated incident. But, according to the ESA, an object about as massive as ERS 2 reenters Earth’s atmosphere every one to two weeks. The statistics may show there’s no threat to people, but statistics are great until you’re one of them.
The ESA’s ERS-2 Earth observation satellite was destroyed when it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on February 21st, 2004. Heavy parts of satellites, like reaction wheels, don’t always burn up in the atmosphere and can pose a hazard. ESA engineers are working on reaction wheels that will break into pieces to reduce the hazard. Image Credit: Fraunhofer FHRThe risk of being struck by chunks of a satellite isn’t zero. In 1997, a piece of mesh from a Delta II rocket struck someone’s shoulder in Oklahoma. It was a light piece of debris, so the person was okay. But it was an instructive event.
The heaviest parts of satellites, like reaction wheels, can be hazardous because they may not be destroyed during re-entry. Reaction wheels provide three-axis control for satellites without the need for rockets. They give satellites fine pointing accuracy and are useful for rotating satellites in very small amounts.
Reaction wheels can be quite massive. The Hubble Space Telescope has four reaction wheels weighing 45 kg (100 lbs) each. Other satellites don’t have such massive wheels, but the Hubble’s hefty wheels indicate the extent of the hazard. ESA engineers are designing reaction wheels that will break up during re-entry to reduce the hazard of one striking Earth.
“… the need is becoming urgent as more and more satellites are placed in space.”
Kobyé Bodjona, Mechanisms Engineer at the ESAAs part of the design process, they’re testing their wheels in a plasma wind tunnel at the University of Stuttgart Institute of Space Systems. The heated plasma in the tunnel moves at several km/sec, mimicking the friction a satellite is exposed to when it plunges through Earth’s atmosphere. The wheel is rotated inside the tunnel as if tumbling through the atmosphere.
At a recent Space Mechanisms Workshop at ESA’s ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands, engineers showed a clip of the blow-torch effect that the atmosphere has on falling debris.
“Space mechanisms cover everything that enables movement aboard a satellite, from deployment devices to reaction wheels,” explains workshop co-organizer Geert Smet.
“But these mechanisms often use materials such as steel or titanium that are more likely to survive reentry into the atmosphere. This is a problem because our current regulations say reentering satellites should present less than one in 10,000 risks of harming people or property on the ground or even one in 100 000 for large satellite constellations. ESA’s Clean Space group is reacting by D4D—devising methods to make total disintegration of a mission more likely, including mechanisms.”
The effort to make satellites disintegrate completely goes back a few years. The ESA program Design for Demise (D4D) is helping satellite manufacturers comply with the Space Debris Mitigation (SDM) requirements. It’s aimed at eliminating debris falling to Earth, removing debris already in orbit, and designing satellites that don’t linger in orbit after their missions have ended.
At the recent workshop, the ESA revealed more of its plans for active debris removal. There’s a push to develop dedicated spacecraft that can attach themselves to derelict satellites and force them into reentry. This will help remove dead satellites from the congested Low Earth Orbit.
“The idea behind this event is to present the mechanisms community with the latest research on space debris to see how they might contribute to the work going on,” said Kobyé Bodjona, Mechanisms Engineer at the ESA. “It’s important because large system integrators—the big companies that lead satellite projects—are going to need systems that are fully compliant with debris mitigation regulations. And the need is becoming urgent as more and more satellites are placed in space.”
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