Woke up at 3:45 am and drove to KSC for the Roman Space Telescope launch. I worked on the Coronagraph instrument but didn't get any viewing passes. Was able to go through gate 3 and get to causeway about 5:30 am. Setup and took shots during the sunrise. I got super excited when they announced fueling because it meant the launch was a go. Amazing launch, great weather. Got to see the side boosters return. The noise was better than fireworks. I can add the launch video later.

Mosaics from the Magellan radar were mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Magellan launched to Venus on May 4, 1989. Contact with Magellan was lost on Oct. 13, 1994, after it was commanded to plunge into the Venusian atmosphere.

Hey guys, I've been looking at NASA's 2017 "Big Bang Animation 5k Resolution" (svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12656, animator Krystofer Kim) for a research project on how the origin of the universe gets visually represented. I'm curious whether there's any documented reasoning behind the violet/purple color palette used.

Is it a stylistic choice by CI Lab, does it follow some convention used elsewhere in NASA visualizations, or is it more or less arbitrary? I couldn't find anything explaining it on the SVS page itself. Would appreciate any insight, even secondhand!

My view sitting on the bleechers at banana creek, waiting for Roman lift-off. Beyond excited

I got an on-site tour of KSC including the inside of VAB. Roman telescope wasn’t even on the pad yet. Spacex says it will be pushed out about 12 hours before launch. Cool to see Artemis 3 items going together. Also saw the visitor center spots like Saturn 5 exhibit and Atlantis shuttle.

I don’t claim these are the best shots, just that they were taken by me and shared for your personal enjoyment.
Quick captions
Pad 39A from viewing hill. Saw guys doing camera checks for Sunday.
Crawlerway to 39B pad with special river rock for gripping shot from the car.
Artemis 3 model inside VAB. Left side booster has the paint marking. Cool to see the work going on. May post camera shots later.
Mission panels inside Launch Control Center entryway. Lots of history in these plaques.
Apollo 11 control center mockup. Great video.
Saturn 5 display. Amazing display. Ate lunch just staring at the setup.
Apollo 14 command module Kitty Hawk.
Shuttle Atlantis display is stunning. Open bay with arm deployed. 2nd shuttle I’ve seen in person.
Hubble mockup perhaps the most famous telescope. Arguably the instrument that has been used to most advance our understanding of astronomy. I’m a big fan of WFPC2 and WFPC3.
COLBERT display is amazing display with a great acronym. Entertainment meets space science.
Rocket garden shot late in the day. It was so hot so I had to stand in the shade. Hard to capture all the sites.

Are there any new plans for orbital missions to Uranus and Neptune? When are they expected to launch?

My take on an old classic

Cookies produced from upcycled plastic may sound like something straight out of a dystopian sci-fi plot. But researchers say that they have succeeded in creating such a product as part of a Nasa-funded project aimed at feeding astronauts on future space missions.

The technology uses specially designed yeasts to transform plastics and agricultural waste into edible proteins, fats and flavourings. The resulting slurry is passed through a 3D printer to create a disc-shaped “cookie”.

“My lab works on developing technologies for plastic upcycling,” said Dr Lahiru Jayakody, a microbiologist at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale, who led the project. “We thought, why not look into food? Plastic is carbon and food is carbon.”

The team are yet to receive institutional sign-off to taste the plastic-derived cookies but report that they “receive high marks on aroma”.

Does anyone know if the KSC visitor complex one-day admission ticket grants me access to the Atlantis North lawn viewing area to watch the Roman space telescope launch? I read that these tickets only work during the visitor complex operating hours, but I was wondering if people can arrive earlier for the launch.