In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Data Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD) led by the center's Sustainability organization. The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

jsc2025e015690 (3/6/2025) --- An overview of the prototype with the various components as part of the High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation which studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

jsc2025e015689 (3/6/2025) --- The inside of the prototype is shown during testing for the the High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation which studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

In the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees turn in used household material for recycling as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The annual event is a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States. This year, KSC is partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations to receive donation material from employees such as gently used household items, personal electronic waste, greeting cards and serviceable eyeglasses.

jsc2025e015683 (3/6/2025) --- The chip carrier setup shows the GaN devices are wire bonded to perform electrical measurement as part of the High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation which studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

jsc2025e015685c(3/6/2025) --- The GaN devices wire bonded to a chip carrier as part of the High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation which studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

jsc2025e015687 (3/6/2025) --- Alex Katorkas (left) and Haochen Zhao (right) work in front of a prototype as part of the High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation which studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

jsc2025e015688 (3/6/2025) --- The GaN radiation testing prototype enclosure faceplate as part of the High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation which studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

jsc2025e015684 (3/6/2025) --- The Radiation Harden GaN research team in the lithography room where patterning of transistors takes place. The High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

jsc2025e015682 (3/6/2025) --- From left to right: students, Tuofu Zhama, Alex Katorkas, Haochen Zhao, and Principal Investigator Yuping Zeng stand beside the equipment for GaN devices electrical property measurement before the packaging. The High Performance Radiation Hardened GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors for Space Applications (Radiation Harden GaN) investigation studies how radiation affects a type of transistor used in the semiconductor industry. Researchers measure the performance of the devices before, during, and after flight to determine whether performance degrades. This could help determine how well the transistors can tolerate radiation in space. Image courtesy of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware.

S89-E-5328 (27 Jan 1998) --- This Electronic Still Camera (ESC) image shows astronaut James F. Reilly, mission specialist, holding the Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) experiment. The MGM experiment is aimed at understanding the behavior of granular materials, such as sand or salt, under very low confining pressure. This pressure is the force that keeps a granular material ?sticking together?. The experiment has applications in a wide range of fields, including earthquake engineering; coastal and off-shore engineering; mining; transportation of granular materials; soil erosion; the handling of granular materials such as grains and powders; off-road vehicles; geology of the Earth; and planetary geology and exploration. Findings from the experiment may lead to improved selection and preparation of building sites, better management of undeveloped land, and improved handling of materials in chemical, agricultural and other industries.

What appear to be boulders fresh from a tumble down a mountain are really grains of Ottawa sand, a standard material used in civil engineering tests and also used in the Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) experiment. The craggy surface shows how sand grans have faces that can cause friction as they roll and slide against each other, or even causing sticking and form small voids between grains. This complex behavior can cause soil to behave like a liquid under certain conditions such as earthquakes or when powders are handled in industrial processes. MGM uses the microgravity of space to simulate this behavior under conditions that carnot be achieved in laboratory tests on Earth. MGM is shedding light on the behavior of fine-grain materials under low effective stresses. Applications include earthquake engineering, granular flow technologies (such as powder feed systems for pharmaceuticals and fertilizers), and terrestrial and planetary geology. Nine MGM specimens have flown on two Space Shuttle flights. Another three are scheduled to fly on STS-107. The principal investigator is Stein Sture of the University of Colorado at Boulder. These images are from an Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) study conducted by Dr. Binayak Panda of IITRI for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). (Credit: NASA/MSFC)

STS080-S-001 (August 1996) --- This STS-80 mission patch depicts the space shuttle Columbia and the two research satellites its crew will deploy into the blue field of space. The uppermost satellite is the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS-SPAS), a telescope aimed at unraveling the life cycles of stars and understanding the gases that drift between them. The lower satellite is the Wake Shield Facility (WSF), flying for the third time. It will use the vacuum of space to create advanced semiconductors for the nation’s electronics industry. ORFEUS and WSF are joined by the symbol of the Astronaut Corps, representing the human contribution to scientific progress in space. The two bright blue stars represent the mission’s extravehicular activities (EVA), final rehearsals for techniques and tools to be used in assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Surrounding Columbia is a constellation of 16 stars, one for each day of the mission, representing the stellar talents of the ground and flight teams that share the goal of expanding knowledge through a permanent human presence in space. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Systems Research Aircraft (SRA), a highly modified F-18 jet fighter, on an early research flight over Rogers Dry Lake. The former Navy aircraft was flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to evaluate a number of experimental aerospace technologies in a multi-year, joint NASA/DOD/industry program. Among the more than 20 experiments flight-tested were several involving fiber optic sensor systems. Experiments developed by McDonnell-Douglas and Lockheed-Martin centered on installation and maintenace techniques for various types of fiber-optic hardware proposed for use in military and commercial aircraft, while a Parker-Hannifin experiment focused on alternative fiber-optic designs for postion measurement sensors as well as operational experience in handling optical sensor systems. Other experiments flown on this testbed aircraft included electronically-controlled control surface actuators, flush air data collection systems, "smart" skin antennae and laser-based systems. Incorporation of one or more of these technologies in future aircraft and spacecraft could result in signifigant savings in weight, maintenance and overall cost.

What appear to be boulders fresh from a tumble down a mountain are really grains of Ottawa sand, a standard material used in civil engineering tests and also used in the Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) experiment. The craggy surface shows how sand grans have faces that can cause friction as they roll and slide against each other, or even causing sticking and form small voids between grains. This complex behavior can cause soil to behave like a liquid under certain conditions such as earthquakes or when powders are handled in industrial processes. MGM uses the microgravity of space to simulate this behavior under conditions that carnot be achieved in laboratory tests on Earth. MGM is shedding light on the behavior of fine-grain materials under low effective stresses. Applications include earthquake engineering, granular flow technologies (such as powder feed systems for pharmaceuticals and fertilizers), and terrestrial and planetary geology. Nine MGM specimens have flown on two Space Shuttle flights. Another three are scheduled to fly on STS-107. The principal investigator is Stein Sture of the University of Colorado at Boulder. These images are from an Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) study conducted by Dr. Binayak Panda of IITRI for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). (Credit: NASA/MSFC)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Systems Research Aircraft (SRA), a highly modified F-18 jet fighter, during a research flight. The former Navy aircraft was flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to evaluate a number of experimental aerospace technologies in a multi-year, joint NASA/DOD/industry program. Among the more than 20 experiments flight-tested were several involving fiber optic sensor systems. Experiments developed by McDonnell-Douglas and Lockheed-Martin centered on installation and maintenace techniques for various types of fiber-optic hardware proposed for use in military and commercial aircraft, while a Parker-Hannifin experiment focused in alternative fiber-optic designs for position measurement sensors as well as operational experience in handling optical sensor systems. Other experiments flown on this testbed aircraft included electronically-controlled control surface actuators, flush air data collection systems, "smart" skin antennae and laser-based systems. Incorporation of one or more of these technologies in future aircraft and spacecraft could result in signifigant savings in weight, maintenance and overall cost.

An apprentice at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory shown training on the altitude supply air systems in the Engine Research Building. An ongoing four-year apprentice program was established at the laboratory in 1949 to facilitate the close interaction of the lab’s engineers, mechanics, technicians, and scientists. The apprentice school covered a variety of trades including aircraft mechanic, electronics instrumentation, machinist, and altitude systems mechanic, seen in this photograph. The apprentices rotated through the various shops and facilities to provide them with a well-rounded understanding of the work at the lab. The specialized skills required meant that NACA apprentices were held to a higher standard than those in industry. They had to pass written civil service exams before entering the program. Previous experience with mechanical model airplanes, radio transmission, six months of work experience, or one year of trade school was required. The Lewis program was certified by both the Department of Labor and the State of Ohio. One hundred fifty of the 2,000 hours of annual training were spent in the classroom. The remainder was devoted to study of models and hands-on work in the facilities. Examinations were coupled with evaluation by supervisors in the shops. The apprentices were promoted through a series of grades until they reached journeyman status. Those who excelled in the Apprentice Program would be considered for a separate five-year engineering draftsman program.

This mission patch for mission STS-80 depicts the Space Shuttle Columbia and the two research satellites its crew deployed into the blue field of space. The uppermost satellite is the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS-SPAS), a telescope aimed at unraveling the life cycles of stars and understanding the gases that drift between them. The lower satellite is the Wake Shield Facility (WSF), flying for the third time. It will use the vacuum of space to create advanced semiconductors for the nation's electronics industry. ORFEUS and WSF are joined by the symbol of the Astronaut Corps, representing the human contribution to scientific progress in space. The two bright blue stars represent the mission's Extravehicular Activities (EVA), final rehearsals for techniques and tools to be used in assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Surrounding Columbia is a constellation of 16 stars, one for each day of the mission, representing the stellar talents of the ground and flight teams that share the goal of expanding knowledge through a permanent human presence in space.

jsc2022e062020 (6/30/2022) --- Space Health will create a digital twin of the astronaut from the data collected by the Bio-Monitor and demonstrate how this could be used for autonomous health monitoring on future space missions. (Image courtesy of CSA)