
JAMES NEWTON, LEFT, PHILLIP THOMPSON, CENTER, AND DAVID LAWRENCE, RIGHT PREPARE COMPOSITE TOOL FOR CURE IN 18' X 20' AUTOCLAVE IN BUILDING 4707

David Thompson, founder, presdient and CEO of Orbital Sciences Corp. (later known as Orbital ATK), makes remarks after receiving the Innovation Award at the Apollo 50th Gala on July 16, 2019. The gala, presented by Northrop Grumman, was held inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

David Thompson, founder, presdient and CEO of Orbital Sciences Corp. (later known as Orbital ATK), makes remarks after receiving the Innovation Award at the Apollo 50th Gala on July 16, 2019. The gala, presented by Northrop Grumman, was held inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, left, and White House Office of Science and Technology Chief of Staff Jim Kohlenberger, right, listen to Mr. David W. Thompson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Orbital Sciences Corporation as he gives a tour of the Orbital Sciences facilities on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011 in Dulles, VA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson, Vice Commander, Space Command, United States Air Force testifies before the Aviation and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee during a hearing titled “The Emerging Space Environment: Operational, Technical, and Policy Challenges.”, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Michael Collins; right; Apollo 11 astronaut; presents the Innovation Award to David Thompson; left; founder; president and CEO of Orbital Sciences Corp (later known as Orbital ATK); during the Apollo 50th Gala on July 16; 2019. The event; presented by Northrop Grumman; was held inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Comples in Florida. In the center at the podium is Andy Aldrin; son of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, Kevin O’Connell, Director, Office of Space Commerce, Department of Commerce, Robert Cardillo, Former Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson, Vice Commander, Space Command, United States Air Force, and Col. Pamela A. Melroy, United States Air Force (ret.) (former astronaut), right, testify before the Senate Aviation and Space Subcommittee during a hearing titled “The Emerging Space Environment: Operational, Technical, and Policy Challenges.”, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Kevin O’Connell, Director, Office of Space Commerce, Department of Commerce, left, Robert Cardillo, Former Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson, Vice Commander, Space Command, United States Air Force, right, gather ahead of testifying along with Col. Pamela A. Melroy, United States Air Force (ret.) (former astronaut), before the Aviation and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver talks with CEO and President of Orbital Sciences Corporation David Thompson, left, Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Orbital Sciences Corporation Antonio Elias, second from left, and Executive Director, Va. Commercial Space Flight Authority Dale Nash, background, in the Range Control Center at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility after the successful launch of the Orbital Sciences Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) in Virginia, Sunday, April 21, 2013. The test launch marked the first flight of Antares and the first rocket launch from Pad-0A. The Antares rocket delivered the equivalent mass of a spacecraft, a so-called mass simulated payload, into Earth's orbit. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

From left, Ken Bowersox, VP Astronaut Safety, SpaceX, David Thompson, CEO, Orbital Science Corporation, Mark Sirangelo, VP and Chair, SNC Space Systems Board, Sierra Nevada Corp., NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Dr. John P. Holdren, Jane Poynter, President and Chair, Paragon Space Development Corp., Brewster Shaw, VP and General Manager, NASA Systems, Boeing, Robert Millman of Blue Origin, and, Mike Gass, President and Chief Executive, United Launch Alliance, pose for a group photo during a press conference, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010, at the National Press Club in Washington, where it was announced that NASA has awarded $50 million through funded agreements to further the commercial sector's capability to support transport of crew to and from low Earth orbit. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

This photograph was taken after Dr. von Braun moved from his post as Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to Deputy Associate Administrator for Plarning at NASA Headquarters. On June 27, 1970, he visited the MSFC again to look at a mockup of the spacecraft that would later be known as Skylab. Others in the photograph are, from left to right, James R. Thompson, David Newby, Karl Heimburg, Hermann Weidner, and Jack Stockes. Years later, Thompson would serve as Director of the MSFC.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Eliza Montgomery, right, talks to Dr. Mason Peck, NASA's chief technologist, inside the Corrosion lab at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as David Steitz, left, and Karen Thompson, Kennedy's chief technologist, look on. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Dr. Mason Peck, center, NASA's chief Technologist, listens as David Reed, right, explains an innovation during Pecks' tour of the Space Life Sciences Laboratory at Kennedy. Karen L. Thompson, chief technologist for Kennedy Space Center, looks on. Peck toured the lab facility during a visit to the space center. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- During a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA Chief Technologist David Miller, center, tours laboratories inside the Swamp Works facility. At right, Dr. Gioia Massa, NASA project scientist in the Engineering and Technology Directorate, discusses the VEGGIE plant growth system. At left is Karen Thompson, Kennedy's chief technologist. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- During a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA Chief Technologist David Miller, second from left, tours laboratories inside the Swamp Works facility. Miller is briefed on technology developments in the lab by Jack Fox, chief of the Surface Systems Office in the Engineering and Technology Directorate. At right is Karen Thompson, Kennedy's chief technologist. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Bill Chardavoyne, left, and David Valletta, ignition overpressure/sound suppression engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, participate in an Artemis I launch countdown training simulation on Feb. 3, 2020. Under the leadership of Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, a team of nearly 100 engineers from Orion, Space Launch System (SLS) and NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems came together in the Launch Control Center’s Firing Room 1 to work through a series of simulated challenges, as well as a final countdown procedure. During these exercises, different issues were introduced to familiarize the team with launch day operations, while providing them with an opportunity to practice how they would handle those issues in real-time. Artemis I will be the first integrated test flight of the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket – the system that will ultimately land the first woman and the next man on the Moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a groundbreaking was held to mark the start of construction on the Antenna Test Bed Array for the Ka-Band Objects Observation and Monitoring, or Ka-BOOM system. Holding ceremonial shovels, from left are Michael Le, lead design engineer and construction manager Sue Vingris, Cape Design Engineer Co. project manager Kannan Rengarajan, chief executive officer of Cape Design Engineer Co. Lutfi Mized, president of Cape Design Engineer Co. David Roelandt, construction site superintendent with Cape Design Engineer Co. Marc Seibert, NASA project manager Michael Miller, NASA project manager Peter Aragona, KSC’s Electromagnetic Lab manager Stacy Hopper, KSCs master planning supervisor Dr. Bary Geldzabler, NASA chief scientist and KSC’s Chief Technologist Karen Thompson. The construction site is near the former Vertical Processing Facility, which has been demolished. Workers will begin construction on the pile foundations for the 40-foot-diameter dish antenna arrays and their associated utilities, and prepare the site for the operations command center facility. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

At Cape Canaveral Air Station's (CCAS) Complex 3/4, officials held a ceremony kicking off a year-long series of events commemorating 50 years of launches from the Space Coast that began with the Bumper rockets. At left is Jim Thompson, who is with CCAS. Unveiling the 50th anniversary logo at left is the artist Darlene Egli. On stage, from left to right, are Lt. Col. Randall K. Horn, Commander, CCAS; Congressman David Weldon, 15th Congressional District of the State of Florida; Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida Frank T. Brogan; Center Director Roy D. Bridges; and Executive Director Edward F. Gormel, Joint Performance Management Office. Also present (but not seen) is Brig. Gen. Donald P. Pettit, Commander, 45th Space Wing. After six Bumper launches at White Sands Proving Grounds, N.M., and a failed Bumper 7, a successful Bumper 8 lifted off July 24, 1950, from Complex 3/4 to conduct aerodynamic investigations around Mach 7 at relatively low altitudes. The kick-off event also inaugurated a student art contest to design a commemorative etching. The winning artwork will be permanently displayed on a 24-inch black granite square in the U.S. space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville, Fla

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a groundbreaking was held to mark the start of construction on the Antenna Test Bed Array for the Ka-Band Objects Observation and Monitoring, or Ka-BOOM system. Using ceremonial shovels to mark the site, from left are Michael Le, lead design engineer and construction manager Sue Vingris, Cape Design Engineer Co. project manager Kannan Rengarajan, chief executive officer of Cape Design Engineer Co. Lutfi Mized, president of Cape Design Engineer Co. David Roelandt, construction site superintendent with Cape Design Engineer Co. Marc Seibert, NASA project manager Michael Miller, NASA project manager Peter Aragona, KSC’s Electromagnetic Lab manager Stacy Hopper, KSCs master planning supervisor Dr. Bary Geldzabler, NASA chief scientist and KSC’s Chief Technologist Karen Thompson. The construction site is near the former Vertical Processing Facility, which has been demolished. Workers will begin construction on the pile foundations for the 40-foot-diameter dish antenna arrays and their associated utilities, and prepare the site for the operations command center facility. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden congratulates the Orbital Sciences Corporation launch team and management in the Range Control Center at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility after the successful launch of the Orbital Sciences Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) in Virginia, Sunday, April 21, 2013. The test launch marked the first flight of Antares and the first rocket launch from Pad-0A. The Antares rocket delivered the equivalent mass of a spacecraft, a so-called mass simulated payload, into Earth's orbit. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Caption: In this composite image, visible-light observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are combined with infrared data from the ground-based Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona to assemble a dramatic view of the well-known Ring Nebula. Credit: NASA, ESA, C.R. Robert O’Dell (Vanderbilt University), G.J. Ferland (University of Kentucky), W.J. Henney and M. Peimbert (National Autonomous University of Mexico) Credit for Large Binocular Telescope data: David Thompson (University of Arizona) ---- The Ring Nebula's distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new twist. "The nebula is not like a bagel, but rather, it's like a jelly doughnut, because it's filled with material in the middle," said C. Robert O'Dell of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He leads a research team that used Hubble and several ground-based telescopes to obtain the best view yet of the iconic nebula. The images show a more complex structure than astronomers once thought and have allowed them to construct the most precise 3-D model of the nebula. "With Hubble's detail, we see a completely different shape than what's been thought about historically for this classic nebula," O'Dell said. "The new Hubble observations show the nebula in much clearer detail, and we see things are not as simple as we previously thought." The Ring Nebula is about 2,000 light-years from Earth and measures roughly 1 light-year across. Located in the constellation Lyra, the nebula is a popular target for amateur astronomers. Read more: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/14VAOMk" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/14VAOMk</a> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>