Space.com
• Elizabeth Howell, Robert Z. Pearlman
NASA’s Apollo 12 astronauts lifted off for the moon on Nov. 14, 1969, on a mission centered on achieving a pinpoint landing. The anniversary highlights a defining step in crewed lunar exploration: moving beyond reaching the moon toward targeting a specific landing site.
Human Spaceflight & Space Stations
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NASA’s Apollo 12 astronauts lifted off for the moon on Nov. 14, 1969, on a mission centered on achieving a pinpoint landing. The anniversary highlights a defining step in crewed lunar exploration: moving beyond reaching the moon toward targeting a specific landing site.
Axiom Space has completed the critical design review for the spacesuit it is developing for NASA’s Artemis missions, clearing a major design milestone. The company is also working on a simplified version of the suit, though the available report provides no further detail on its scope or schedule.
The California Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Air & Space Center opened to the public Nov. 13, becoming the new home of NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour. The opening establishes a dedicated public venue for the shuttle, a major artifact of the U.S. human spaceflight program.
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Blue Origin will not bid in NASA’s competition to support development of commercial space stations, including a crewed low Earth orbit outpost built, owned and operated by a private company. The decision removes the company from consideration in a program aimed at establishing commercial destinations in orbit.
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China plans to fly a Pakistani pilot on the Shenzhou 24 mission, making the astronaut the first from another country to visit the Tiangong space station. The crew member is expected to spend roughly a week aboard the orbital outpost, marking an international dimension for China’s human spaceflight program.
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NASA is recruiting for its 25th astronaut class, with applications due Dec. 3. Applicants need a STEM master’s degree, three years of experience and 20/20 corrected vision; the listed annual salary is $164,395. Recent classes selected roughly one candidate in every 750 to 1,525 applicants.
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Launched Nov. 11, 1966, with Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin aboard, Gemini XII was the program’s final mission. Despite a failing rendezvous radar and a balky Agena, the flight put docking and spacewalking through a final test, helping set the stage for Apollo’s lunar landing program.
The FAA has approved Dream Chaser for reentry, a regulatory step for Sierra Space’s spaceplane. Its first mission is planned to include a simulated berthing with the International Space Station, testing a key part of the vehicle’s intended cargo-delivery mission.
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