Latest news with #PeggyWhitson
Broadcast Pro
2 days ago
- Science
- Broadcast Pro
Saudi Space Agency announces return of Arab students' experiments from ISS
The mission featured ten diverse student-led experiments, including scientific research and creative artistic endeavours submitted by students from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. The Saudi Space Agency has announced the successful completion and safe return to Earth of a series of microgravity experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS) by student winners from Saudi Arabia and various Arab countries. These projects were part of the Madak Space competition, marking a significant step in Arab youth participation in space exploration. The experiments returned following the conclusion of the AX-4 mission, which carried them into orbit. Organised in collaboration with the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk) and the Misk-affiliated Science Discovery and Innovation Centre (Ilmi), the initiative aimed to empower youth across the Kingdom and the Arab region. The competition encouraged young participants to explore the intersection of science, engineering, and the arts in space, fostering a deeper connection between Arab creativity and the future of space research. A total of ten diverse experiments, ranging from scientific research to creative art projects, were selected through a rigorous evaluation process led by local and international experts. The submissions were assessed for their originality, feasibility in a space environment, and potential to inspire both scientific inquiry and artistic innovation. The experiments were carried out onboard the ISS by veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, with direct supervision from Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi and support from the Saudi Space Agencys scientific teams. As the first initiative of its kind in the Arab world, Madak Space opened doors for student involvement in the space sector across three key tracks: arts, plants, and engineering. In addition to offering hands-on learning experiences, the program helped build scientific capacity and technological skills among youth in the region. This milestone project represents a broader vision to cultivate the next generation of researchers, innovators, and space explorers in Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Private Ax-4 astronauts splash down aboard SpaceX capsule to conclude ISS mission (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Welcome home! Four astronauts have returned to Earth following more than two weeks living aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom Space's fourth crewed mission to the ISS, known as Ax-4, concluded early this morning, with the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule "Grace" splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT; locally, 2:32 a.m. PDT). Grace undocked from the ISS yesterday (July 14) at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT), beginning the 22-hour final leg of the crew's journey in space. On the mission, Ax-4 commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and currently Axiom's director of human spaceflight, extended her record for cumulative days spent by an American in space to 695. Whitson was joined by a trio of first-time astronauts from three different countries, none of which had ever sent a citizen to the ISS before. Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla, who served as Ax-4's pilot, hails from India. He is a pilot in the Indian Air Force and one of four astronauts selected for the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, expected sometime in 2027. Ax-4 mission specialist Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski, from Poland, is a member of the European Space Agency's (ESA's) astronaut reserve program, and Tibor Kapu, a mission specialist from Hungary, is a member of HUNOR, Hungary's orbital astronaut program. Axiom-4 Crew: Commander Peggy Whitson Pilot Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla Mission Specialist Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu Ax-4 launched on June 26 from storied Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew aboard Grace lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and docked with the space station a day later. Their mission was expected to last about two weeks but was extended by four days to achieve favorable orbital phasing during their return. While aboard the ISS, the Ax-4 crew carried out a record number of science investigations and public outreach events. With contributions from a total of 31 different countries, Ax-4 astronauts completed more than 60 experiments and technology demonstrations — more than any previous Axiom mission. Starship Die Cast Rocket Model Now $47.99 on Amazon. If you can't see SpaceX's Starship in person, you can score a model of your own. Standing at 13.77 inches (35 cm), this is a 1:375 ratio of SpaceX's Starship as a desktop model. The materials here are alloy steel and it weighs just Deal Related Stories: — SpaceX launches historic private Axiom-4 astronaut mission to the ISS (video) — Axiom Space: Building the off-Earth economy — Axiom-4 astronauts on SpaceX Crew Dragon welcomed aboard International Space Station (video) Ax-4's splashdown this morning followed about 22.5 hours on orbit after their departure from the ISS. After nearly a full day flying their return trajectory, the crew's final minutes before splashdown passed relatively quickly. Grace began its atmospheric descent at approximately 5:18 a.m. EDT (0918 GMT; locally, 2:18 am PT). Having survived the char of the most unforgiving layers of Earth's upper atmosphere, the spacecraft's drogue parachutes deployed to stabilize its plummet. Shortly thereafter, the Dragon's four main chutes unfolded to slow the capsule's descent even further. The Ax-4 spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, where it was met by the SpaceX Dragon recovery vessel "Shannon." Once safely hoisted aboard "Shannon," the Ax-4 crew will disembark Grace to begin acclimating to Earth's gravity once again. This is only SpaceX's second West Coast crew recovery, after the Crew-9 mission to the ISS came down this past March. SpaceX has shifted permanently Pacific Ocean spacecraft recoveries to avoid possible instances of pieces of Dragon's trunk surviving atmospheric reentry and crashing back to Earth, which were reported during some Atlantic Ocean and Gulf returns. The empty space station docking port left behind after Ax-4's undocking won't remain so for long. The next astronauts launching to the ISS are slated for liftoff no earlier than July 31. That mission, SpaceX's Crew-11, will launch a crew rotation for NASA that's expected to last between six and eight months. Solve the daily Crossword
Canada News.Net
6 days ago
- Science
- Canada News.Net
Axiom-4 crew splashes down off U.S. coast after ISS mission
LOS ANGELES, United States: A multinational crew of astronauts, including the first space travelers from India, Poland, and Hungary to reach the International Space Station (ISS), has returned safely to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean aboard a SpaceX capsule. The reentry marked the end of the Axiom-4 mission, the fourth privately funded spaceflight to the ISS organized by Texas-based Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX. The capsule, dubbed Grace, landed off the coast of San Diego, California, around 2:30 a.m. PDT following a fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere. Leading the mission was Peggy Whitson, a retired NASA astronaut and the U.S. agency's first female chief astronaut. Whitson, now with Axiom, extended her national record to 695 days in space across five missions. "We're happy to be back," Whitson radioed to mission control moments after splashdown. Joining her were Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary — representing their respective countries' first-ever ISS government missions. During their 18-day stay, the astronauts conducted over 60 microgravity experiments and brought back a cache of scientific samples for Earth-based analysis. For India, the mission is seen as a stepping stone toward the launch of its Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft, expected in 2027. Poland's astronaut flew under the European Space Agency, while Hungary's participant was part of the Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) program. Axiom's fourth mission builds on its business model of launching astronauts sponsored by foreign governments and private clients. The company is also working to develop a commercial space station that could eventually replace the aging ISS by 2030.
Reuters
7 days ago
- Science
- Reuters
Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary return with NASA veteran from space station
LOS ANGELES, July 15 (Reuters) - NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson splashed down safely in the Pacific early on Tuesday after her fifth trip to the International Space Station, joined by crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary returning from their countries' first ISS mission. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four-member team parachuted into calm seas off the Southern California coast at around 2:30 a.m. PDT (0930 GMT) following a fiery reentry through Earth's atmosphere that capped a 22-hour descent from orbit. The return flight concluded the fourth ISS mission organized by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in collaboration with SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire Elon Musk headquartered near Los Angeles. The return was carried live by a joint SpaceX-Axiom webcast. Two sets of parachutes, visible through the darkness and light fog with infrared cameras, slowed the capsule's final descent to about 15 mph (24 kph) moments before its splashdown off San Diego. Minutes earlier, the spacecraft had been streaking like a mechanical meteor through Earth's lower atmosphere, generating enough frictional heat to send temperatures outside the capsule soaring to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,927 degrees Celsius). The astronauts' flight suits are designed to keep them cool as the cabin heats up. The Axiom-4 crew was led by Whitson, 65, who retired from NASA in 2018 after a pioneering career that included becoming the U.S. space agency's first female chief astronaut and the first woman ever to command an ISS expedition. She radioed to mission control that the crew was "happy to be back" moments after their return. A recovery ship was immediately dispatched to secure the capsule and hoist it from the ocean onto the deck of the vessel. The crew members were to be extricated from the capsule one by one and undergo medical checkups before the recovery vessel ferries them to shore, a process expected to take about an hour. Now director of human spaceflight for Axiom, Whitson has now logged 695 days in space, a U.S. record, during three previous NASA missions, a fourth flight to orbit as commander of the Axiom-2 crew in 2023 and her fifth mission to the ISS commanding Axiom-4. Rounding out the Axiom-4 crew were Shubhanshu Shukla, 39, of India, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, 41, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, 33, of Hungary. They returned with a cargo of science samples from more than 60 microgravity experiments conducted during their 18-day visit to the ISS and due for shipment to researchers back on Earth for final analysis. For India, Poland and Hungary, the launch marked the first human spaceflight of each country in more than 40 years and the first mission ever to send astronauts from their government's respective space programs to the ISS. The participation of Shukla, an Indian air force pilot, is seen by India's space program as a precursor of sorts to the debut crewed mission of its Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft, planned for 2027. Uznanski-Wisniewski is a Polish astronaut assigned to the European Space Agency, while Kapu is part of his country's Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) program, though he is not the first person of Hungarian descent to board the space station. Billionaire Charles Simonyi, a Hungarian-born software designer who became a U.S. citizen in 1982, has twice visited the ISS as a space tourist, in 2007 and 2009, hitching rides aboard Russian Soyuz capsules. But like many wealthy individuals from various countries who have paid their own way for joyrides to space, Simonyi was not flying on behalf of his homeland or any government. Dubbed "Grace" by its crew, the newly commissioned capsule flown for Axiom-4 was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral in Florida on June 25, becoming the fifth vehicle in SpaceX's Crew Dragon fleet. The Ax-4 team arrived at the ISS on June 26, welcomed aboard by the station's latest rotating crew of seven occupants - three U.S. astronauts, one Japanese crewmate and three Russian cosmonauts. The two crews parted company again early on Monday when Crew Dragon Grace undocked to begin its voyage home. Axiom-4 also marks the 18th crewed spaceflight logged by SpaceX since 2020, when Musk's rocket company ushered in a new NASA era by providing American astronauts their first rides to space from U.S. soil since the end of the space shuttle program nine years earlier. For Axiom, a 9-year-old venture co-founded by NASA's former ISS program manager, the mission builds on its business of putting astronauts sponsored by private companies and foreign governments into low-Earth orbit. Axiom also is one of a handful of companies developing a commercial space station of its own intended to eventually replace the ISS, which NASA expects to retire around 2030.
Leaders
7 days ago
- Science
- Leaders
Arab Students Make History as Space Experiments Return from ISS
The Saudi Space Agency (SSA) announced on Tuesday the successful execution and safe return of scientific experiments conducted in microgravity by 10 student winners from Saudi Arabia and several Arab countries, as part of the 'Space Madak' competition. This pioneering initiative aimed to empower youth across the Arab world by enabling them to carry out space-based experiments that combine the disciplines of art, engineering, and plant science. Pioneering Initiative Launched in partnership with the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk) and the Ilmi Center for Science Discovery and Innovation, a Misk affiliate, the competition aimed to foster Arab creativity and inspire deeper engagement with the future of space exploration. The mission featured 10 diverse student-led experiments, including scientific research and creative projects, submitted by students from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. The experiments were carried out aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and returned to Earth following the conclusion of the AX-4 mission. The selected projects underwent rigorous scientific and artistic evaluation by experts from the Kingdom and abroad. Selection criteria included the quality of the idea, feasibility in a space environment, and potential to inspire future innovation. Conducting the Experiments Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson conducted the experiments during her stay aboard the ISS, under the direct supervision of Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi and with technical oversight from the Saudi Space Agency's scientific teams. Barnawi, the first Saudi female astronaut, has previously conducted 14 experiments aboard the ISS as part of her mission. 'Space Madak,' the first competition of its kind in the Arab world, significantly enhanced student engagement in the space sector. Through its three tracks — arts, plants, and engineering — the competition offered educational and practical opportunities that support the development of national and regional scientific capabilities. Over 80,000 students from across the Arab world participated in the competition, showcasing a wide range of innovative ideas. Impact and Future Goals The SSA confirmed the success of the scientific experiments conducted by Arab students aboard the ISS. These experiments included projects in the fields of art, engineering, and plant science, which astronaut Peggy Whitson conducted under the supervision of Rayyanah Barnawi. The project aimed to enhance student participation in the space sector and promote innovation in the Arab world. This achievement is part of the Saudi Space Agency's efforts to enhance the Kingdom's presence in international space programs and provide a stimulating environment that contributes to supporting the knowledge economy, in line with the goals of Vision 2030. The successful return of these experiments marks a significant milestone in Arab space exploration. It underscores Saudi Arabia's commitment to scientific innovation and developing emerging talent in the growing field of space sciences. Additionally, the mission aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to prepare a new generation to contribute effectively to the future of the space sector and drive the country's scientific and technological progress. Short link : Post Views: 51
