Facebook Feed
Below Posts from our Facebook
FALCON 9 LAUNCH FROM PLAYALINDA BEACH, by Mark Usciak
A beautiful beach day enhanced a little after 2 pm EDT by the 33rd rocket launch off the Florida Space Coast so far this year. This one from Cape Canaveral Space Force Pad 40. ![]()
SpaceX launch of 23 Starlink v2-mini satellites for their second-generation high-speed low earth orbit internet satellite constellation.![]()
Thanks Mark! You can see his and brother Tom's remote camera system that captured the memories of more than 60 Space Shuttle launches in the American Space Museum's "Shuttle Gallery."
WE CELEBRATE NATIONAL SPACE DAY WITH "A BRIEF HISTORY OF NASA HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT" written by Jay Honeycutt, former Kennedy Space Center Director, and narrated by NASA astronaut Nicole Stott
Shuttles of May on "National Space Day!"
Dance around the "May Pole," as Host MarQ celebrates May 1st as National Space Day (and other events), and the Shuttles of the Month of May!
RING AROUND THE "MAY POLE" AND SHUTTLES OF MAY ON THIS "NATIONAL SPACE DAY" EPISODE, live at 4 pm EDT or anytime on YouTubewww.youtube.com/@AmericanSpaceMuseum/streams
Host MarQ & co-producer Marty share National Space Day with YOU, as we look at the Shuttles of May and more.
OBSERVE SPACE DAY WITH "SPACE WORKFORCE FOR TOMORROW" National Space Day, observed on the first Friday in May (May 1, 2026), celebrates the achievements, benefits, and opportunities in space exploration. Led by the Space Workforce for Tomorrow (SWFT), this day promotes STEM education and honors breakthroughs in space technology.![]()
swft.space
A nationwide celebration of U.S. space achievements and the next generation of explorers. May 1 at 11:00 a.m. MT.
HAPPY NATIONAL SPACE DAY SATURDAY MAY 1ST!![]()
Today, we celebrate the achievements that continue to expand our understanding of space, like the International Space Station, a symbol of innovation and global collaboration.![]()
🛰️Continuous human presence in orbit
🌍International teamwork in action
🔬A platform for discovery and research![]()
At the American Space Museum, we carry that spirit forward through our STEAM education programs, helping inspire the next generation of explorers.![]()
Learn more about our programs: spacewalkoffame.org/education/stem-steam
Space News, Birthdays & Starlink Deorbits
Host MarQ and co-producer Marty have a mix of space news and news makers to bridge the space between us...join the fun!
CELEBRATE SOME SPACE NEWS, TWO BIRTHDAYS AND MORE LIVE TODAY 4 pm EDT or Anytime on YouTube www.youtube.com/@AmericanSpaceMuseum/streams
Host MarQ and co-producer Marty have a mix of space news and news makers to bridge the space between us...join the fun!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ASTRONAUT AND MOTORCYLIST “DIGGER” CAREY, 69 TODAY
Born April 30, 1957 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Duane “Digger” Carey flew to space as pilot on the STS-109 fourth service mission of the Hubble Space Telescope. ![]()
“Digger” is a motorcycle nut since a kid racing motorcross, and has toured part of the world on two wheels with is wife. ![]()
Here’s the wonderful story of a great guy on American Motorcyclist by Michael Marino and photo by Matt Nager: magazine.americanmotorcyclist.com/.../duane.../![]()
After his mission 2002 flight on Columbia and retirement from NASA, Carey and wife, Cheryl, toured the world on a motorcycle! He met her on a motorcycle tour, and they road a 1981 Honda Goldwing around Houston while training and arising their kids.
Carey said he has more than 380,000 lifetime miles to his credit. He has ridden in all of the lower 48 states, except Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. He also has ridden in Canada, Mexico and South Korea.![]()
“I own a 2005 Honda Goldwing, a 2001 Honda ST1100, a 2001 Suzuki Savage 650, and two 2007 Kawasaki KLR650s,” Carey said. A true motorcyclist now, Carey does not own a car.
“My wife owns a car,” he said. “We use it to go to the store, occasionally. The last car I owned was a 1992 Toyota pick-up,” Carey said in the AMA story.
“Digger” received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis in 1981 and 1982, respectively. He is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force.![]()
Carey was selected by NASA in the 1983 Group 16.
STS-109 Columbia (March 1-12, 2002). STS-109 was the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission. Piloting Columbia to the necessary maneuvers, Carey also helped document the EVA activities with video and still images.![]()
Carey stowed away an American Motorcyclist Association flag in his gear. The flag went into orbit and today it is one of the many artifacts in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio.
NOW YOU CAN OWN THE ARTEMIS II "RISE" PLUSH TOY
from our friends at collectSPACE
www.collectspace.com/news/news-042826a-rise-plushie-artemis-ii-zero-g-indicator-nasa-exchange-sal...
Rise has now risen... for sale.![]()
The fan-created, flown-to-the-moon plush toy, which served as the Artemis II crew's zero-g indicator and mascot, is now available as a NASA-approved collectible with the proceeds benefiting the agency's employee morale activities.![]()
"Perfect for display, gifting or inspiring the next generation of explorers, the Official Rise Plush is a fun addition to any space enthusiast's collection," reads the doll's description on the NASA Exchange website.![]()
Designed by Lucas Ye, a nine year old from California who entered and won with his idea for a plush moon in NASA and Freelancer.com's "Moon Mascot" online challenge, Rise is a tribute to "Earthrise" — the iconic scene first seen in-person by the Apollo 8 crew in 1968 and mostly recently witnessed by the Artemis II crew as the flew by the moon earlier this month. Rise wears a cap that is meant to look like Earth rising over the moon.![]()
The official exchange store version of Rise retails for $24.99. The employee-run shop is also offering other Rise products, including an embroidered patch, a lapel pin, a key chain, decals and a magnet, as well as a selection of apparel depicting Rise and a quote from one of the calls between the Artemis II crew and mission control, "Copy, Moon Joy."![]()
According to the store's website, all of the Rise products are expected to take as long as 8 weeks for delivery due to production schedules.
Official Artemis II 'Rise' moon mascot goes on sale through NASA exchange
www.collectspace.com
Rise has now risen... for sale. The fan-created, flown-to-the-moon plush toy, which served as the Artemis II crew's zero-g indicator and mascot, is now available as a NASA-approved collectible benefit...
A GIANT ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT CALLED STARLINK DEORBIT
story from www.spaceweather.com
"Every 16 hours, a Starlink satellite falls out of the sky. It's part of the SpaceX business model: Old obsolete satellites re-enter to make way for newer models. This may sound like a good way to keep Earth orbit from becoming too cluttered, but it comes with a cost. Every Starlink that burns up dumps about 30 kg of aluminum oxide into the upper atmosphere.![]()
That aluminum is not supposed to be there.![]()
So far this year (April 28, 2026), 171 Starlinks have reentered, adding more than 5 metric tons (5,000 kg) of aluminum oxide to the stratosphere and mesosphere. How does this compare to natural sources?![]()
The primary natural source is meteoroids -- the same "shooting stars" that streak across the night sky. As they burn up between roughly 75 and 110 km, they release a faint dusting of metals. Recent studies suggest that meteoroids disperse between 40,000 kg and 58,000 kg of Al₂O₃ into the atmosphere each year. Starlink in 2026 is on track to add between 26% and 39% of that natural total.![]()
39% may not sound too bad, but consider the following: The size of the Starlink constellation is rapidly increasing, and SpaceX's competitors are racing to catch up. A full buildout of planned megaconstellations with corresponding re-entries could inject more than 360,000 kg of Al₂O₃ per year -- a 640% excess above natural meteoroids (Ferreira et al. 2024).![]()
It all adds up to a giant uncontrolled experiment in atmospheric chemistry. Researchers already know that aluminum oxides can destroy ozone in a complex series of steps involving Al₂O₃, HCl, AlCl₃, sunlight, Cl, and O₃. Other side-effects may reveal themselves in time.
Spacelab 3 and Shuttle Hatch Strange Stories.
STS-51B had a great mission , launched April 29, 1985...with three "one-and-done" space fliers and a little drama about the Orbiter Hatch. 43
STAY CURIOUS WITH A STRANGE STORY OF A LOCKED ORBITER HATCH ON A SUCCESSFUL MISSION.
STS-51B had a great mission...with three "one-and-done" space fliers and a little drama. www.youtube.com/@AmericanSpaceMuseum/streams
FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH AND LANDING BY Mark Usciak
And another communications satellite is orbiting Earth. It was the 12th Falcon Heavy launch off the Space Coast.
German Space entrepreneurs Sina Rathai and Eric Grabowski
Artist Sina Rathai & Eric Grabowski share their Artemis II Trip to America, as well as their business, thenewspaceage.com
www.youtube.com
3 likes. "German Space entrepreneurs Sina Rathai and Eric Grabowski"
GERMAN SPACE ENTREPRENEURS SHARE THEIR PASSION today at 4pm EDT live or anytime on YouTube www.youtube.com/@AmericanSpaceMuseum/streams
Artist Sina Rathai and Eric Grabowski share their Artemis II trip to America, as well as their business, The New Space Age.com
ARTIST & ASM PARTNER TIM GAGNON'S SHUTTLEFEST V POSTER. June 19-21 Cocoa Beach Hilton
REGISTER TODAY! spacewalkoffame.org/event/shuttlefest-5
Check out Tim's excellent work...he is the "Patch Guy" with dozens of Shuttle and Expedition decals now orbiting on the ISS.
www.kscartist.com/?page=home.html
Astronaut Claude Nicollier shares some stories
1st Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier sat down with Host MarQ for 15 minutes while touring the museum with other Swiss space fans.
SHORT CONVERSTION WITH 1ST SWISS ASTRONAUT CLAUDE NICOLLIER today 4 pm or anytime on YouTube:
Wonderful astronaut Claude Nicollier brought a tour group to ASM on April 21st, and he graciously sat down with Host MarQ and co-producer Marty for this 15-minute look at his astronaut life. Enjoy!
www.youtube.com/@AmericanSpaceMuseum/streams
NASA SPACEX CREW 13 ANNOUNCED WITH PATCH HOMAGE TO APOLLO 13
www.collectspace.com![]()
NASA has assigned its first crew to launch on a mission "13" since Apollo 13 "had a problem" on the way to the moon 56 years ago.![]()
Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney with NASA, Joshua Kutryk with the Canadian Space Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov will lift off for the International Space Station as Crew-13 on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in mid-September. The four will serve as members of the station's Expedition 75 and 76 crews, before returning to Earth about five months later.![]()
Rather than give into triskaidekaphobia (the fear or avoidance of 13), the crew is embracing it, or at least their connection to the last U.S. launch to be similarly numbered. The Crew-13 mission patch includes visual nods to the insignia worn by Apollo 13 astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert in April 1970.![]()
"NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 patch looks ardently toward the future of space exploration while honoring the legacy of those who came before," reads the official description of the emblem.![]()
At the center of the Crew-13 patch is a golden dragon, which is both a reference to the name of SpaceX's capsule and the golden horses depicted on the Apollo 13 insignia. (Lovell and his crewmates worked with NASA contract artist Norman Tiller and muralist and sculptor Lumen Winter, who proposed the equestrian design, to create their flight badge.)![]()
The dragon's tail on the Crew-13 patch wraps around Earth in a manner reminiscent of the blue contrail that connects Earth with the horses on the Apollo 13 insignia. In the 1970 artwork, it was a nod to the Roman and Greek god Apollo; today, is a "bridge between Earth, the International Space Station, the moon and Mars," per NASA's caption.![]()
www.collectspace.com/news/news-042526a-crew-13-mission-patch-apollo-13-nasa-spacex.html
collectSPACE | where space exploration meets pop culture
www.collectspace.com
Source for space history, space artifacts memorabilia. Read original space history news daily reports with a focus on where space exploration insects with pop culture.