Important Innovations Collection

4 Astronauts Aboard Recycled Capsule and Recycled Rocket                                   Source:  NASA & Space X Flying in Proven Flight Systems This morning, Space X launched a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a recycled, reused Falcon 9 rocket booster, dubbed B1061, by SpaceX.  The launch made history multiple times. It is the first time that astronauts have flown on a recycled, reused Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavor, coupled with a reused Falcon 9 first stage launch rocket.  It is also the first time that astronauts representing three different space agencies - NASA, Europe's ESA and Japan's JAXA, have ridden in the same space capsule.  Space X's Endeavor made history last May when it became the first commercial space vehicle to ferry NASA astronauts to the ISS as part of the first launch of astronauts from the US in twenty...

NASA Mission on New Years Reaches Cosmic Rock Beyond Pluto Source:  NASA's New Horizons Historic Mission, Science and Innovation A NASA unmanned spacecraft will help the world celebrate the New Year 2019 by doing a fly by around a small, cosmic rock at a distance in outer space that no spacecraft has ever reached before. It is 4 billion miles from earth. NASA spacecraft New Horizons will fly by a space rock known as Ultima Thule, meaning "beyond the known world". Beyond Pluto New Horizons is zooming into outer space beyond Pluto to do its cosmic rock fly by that will be transmitting back data over a year and a half into 2020. First signals are hoped for at 10AM New Years Day and into January 2, 2019.  Ultima Thule is an ancient frozen object in deep outer space.  New Horizons is mapping the surface, color, composition and geology of the cosmic rock.  It's also looking for any atmosphere around it and to see if there are any moons.  This is the deepe...