Honoring Thomas P. Stafford (1930–2026)

Thomas P. Stafford, one of NASA’s most influential early astronauts and a defining figure of the Space Race, has died at 93. His career traced the arc of America’s push into space—from the tense competition of the Gemini era to the first handshake in orbit between Cold War rivals.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and an Air Force test pilot, Stafford entered NASA in the second astronaut group in 1962. He quickly became known for his calm precision, technical mastery, and ability to command complex missions. Stafford flew four times: Gemini 6, the first rendezvous in space; Gemini 9, a demanding mission that advanced EVA and docking procedures; Apollo 10, the full dress rehearsal for the Moon landing that brought him within nine miles of the lunar surface; and Apollo‑Soyuz, the historic 1975 joint mission that symbolized a thaw in U.S.–Soviet relations.

His contributions extended far beyond the cockpit. Stafford played a central role in shaping spacecraft design, safety standards, and mission planning during Apollo and into the Shuttle era. He chaired influential advisory groups, helped modernize U.S. spaceflight systems, and remained a trusted voice in aerospace policy for decades.

Thomas Stafford embodied the blend of courage, intellect, and diplomacy that defined NASA’s golden age. His work helped carry the United States to the Moon and opened the door to international cooperation in space—a legacy that continues to guide exploration today.

[Cross posted to my Truman's Conscience American History Blogmanac]

The crew of Apollo 10, from the left, Eugene Cernan, John Young and Thomas Stafford 

New Launch Date of April 1st set for Artemis II

Artemis II now stands on the edge of a long‑awaited return to deep space, with NASA targeting an April launch window for the first crewed journey to the Moon in more than fifty years. After months of troubleshooting helium and hydrogen issues in the Space Launch System’s upper stage, engineers have completed repairs, installed fresh batteries, and cleared the rocket for rollout to Pad 39B later this month.

The ten‑day mission will send astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a sweeping lunar flyby—an arc that will carry them farther from Earth than any humans have ever traveled. NASA’s flight readiness review reaffirmed that the crew is fully integrated into the decision‑making process, joining briefings to weigh the risks inherent in humanity’s first deep‑space voyage of the 21st century.

Launch opportunities stretch from April 1 through April 6, with a backup window on April 30. The schedule remains sensitive to final pad operations and weather, but the agency’s tone has shifted from caution to confidence. After the uncrewed Artemis I proved the hardware, Artemis II becomes the moment where the program’s ambitions meet human presence—four people strapped atop a 322‑foot rocket, carrying our species’ oldest dream back into the dark.

The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with an Orion capsule, part of the Artemis II mission, at the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida. Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

NASA's Artemis II Back On Track For Moon Mission After Repairs For April Launch Date

NASA has resolved a key technical issue on the Artemis II spacecraft, completing repairs on a persistent helium leak that had threatened to delay the mission’s schedule. Engineers replaced a faulty seal in the upper‑stage quick‑disconnect system, a component essential for pressurizing propulsion lines during flight. The fix was verified through a series of pressure tests, giving mission managers renewed confidence in the vehicle’s readiness. Additional maintenance, including battery replacements and seal inspections, has also been completed as NASA works through its pre‑launch checklist.

With the helium system now functioning properly, NASA is shifting its attention toward final integrated testing and crew preparations. The agency has identified several potential April launch windows, keeping the mission on track for its planned lunar flyby—the first crewed voyage of the Artemis program. Artemis II represents a major step toward returning humans to the Moon, testing life‑support systems, navigation, and deep‑space operations that will shape future lunar landings. The successful repair marks a meaningful milestone as NASA moves closer to launching its first astronauts beyond low‑Earth orbit in more than fifty years.

Nasa's SLS rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft sits inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, as technicians work to fix a helium flow fault ahead of the Artemis II Moon mission. (Photo: Nasa)

NASA Ready To Move On With First Domestic Human Space Flight After Nearly A Decade

On July 21st 2011 at 9:57 UTC STS-135, the last NASA manned space mission landed, effectively ending for the foreseeable future the United States' domestic space program.  The shuttle Atlantis landed with its final four-member crew officially ending the Space Shuttle program. It has been nearly a decade since NASA astronauts used a domestic American space program to send its astronauts to the International Space Station and solely relying on the good offices of Roscosmos, the Russian space program, to ferry them back and forth.  This use of the Russian space program as a taxi cab for our astronaut crews to man and return ISS crews averaged around $60-$80 million dollars and flight.  The big news for NASA and its supporters and followers is today, Tuesday, May 20^th the astronaut crew for NASA’s Crew Dragon Demo-2 or its official designation SpX-DM2, is scheduled to arrive at Cape Canaveral to begin its preflight activities for  it’s planned Wednesday, May 27^th launch date from pad 34A.

The SpX-DM2 crew will be the first two manned astronaut crew since NASA shuttle mission STS-4 launched on June 27^th, 1982.  The two astronauts will be Spacecraft Commander Douglas G. Hurley and Joint Operations Commander Robert L. Behnken.  This will be the third spaceflight for both.  In a twist of irony Commander Hurley was a member of the crew for STS-135 the last space shuttle mission referenced above that ended America’s domestic human spaceflight program.  Now Commander Hurley will find himself in the inaugural NASA mission to kick off a new era of the United States domestic human spaceflight program officially ending its sole reliance on Rocosmos transportation to low earth orbit and the ISS.

 

This author/blogger as a longtime space enthusiast and follower is pretty excited at the prospects of this new era.  Aspirational plans to kick off planned missions beyond the currently restricted LEO (low earth orbit) expeditions will be welcome and refreshing.  This is supposed represent our first tentative steps leading to future expeditions to the moon, mars, and beyond.   I am excited to use this blog to follow the arc of this new era for all that are interested.  Stay tuned.

SpX-DM2 Flight Simulation

The Probe That Went Up A Planet And Came Down A Celestial Dwarf

On January 19, 2006, 19:00 UTC New Horizons was launched from Cape Canaveral on its way to make a flyby of the known center piece of the Kuiper Belt, Pluto.  Within a short 8 months of its launch on a mission that would take nine years the International Astronomical Union had redefined Pluto to a 'dwarf planet' taking away its lofty status int he Solar System as one of the nine known planet I had memorized from childhood.  By the time New Horizons had arrived to flyby the last planet to be visited in our Solar System there was no planet to observe.  It was now one of many common objects drifting around our star in a a centuries long dance through the heavens that had been stripped of its mysterious wonder of being the last planet to be visited. and regulated to the status of a 'dwarf planet.'

But for many of us the wonder, mystery, and awe remains and I waited with baited breath as New Horizons arrived at its scheduled rendezvous for its closes approach on July 14th, 2015 at 11:50 UTC.  I had followed its progress for nine years, fretted through its famed software glitch on Independence day 2015, was awed by its brief visit to Jupiter's lesser charges: Ganymede, Europe, Callisto, and Io, and finally to its first flirtatious glance of Pluto itself and its largest moon Charon.

I will be posting much more about Pluto and what New Horizons uncovered for those of us still enraptured by its mystery but for now I wanted to post my two favorite images to date of the celestial body that in my mind is still our ninth planet.  The first is the most know and beautiful shot of its approach.  But the later is a shot taken after its flyby going away with a look at its "backside."  As I've said there will be much more posed on this mysterious celestial marvel, despite the IAU's attempt to diminish its status in our Solar System.

Pluto on approach by New Horizons

New Horizons' view as it recedes in the distance after it's closest approach

Proposed Mars Flyby in 2018

Former space tourist and astronaut Dennis Tito called for a 501 day Mars flyby mission by January, 2018 when Mars will be at its closest approach to Earth.  Tito was a guest speaker at the Humans To Mars summit in Washington, D.C. last week when he called for the 2018 flyby mission with two astronauts in a short sprint to demonstrate capabilities and possiblities with current technology available for human spaceflight.  Other guest speakers at the summit included current NASA administrator Charles Bolden and former NASA astronaut and moon walker from Apollo 11 Buzz Aldren.  According to the organizations web site the Human2Mars Summit's goal is two fold:

H2M is a comprehensive Mars exploration conference, organized by Explore Mars, Inc. to address the major challenges that need to be overcome to send humans to Mars by 2030.

Tito emphasized that a flyby was essential to maintain enthusiasm for a "boots on the ground" misson envisioned by NASA's current timeline as a first step toward the colonization of Mars.  To read the entire article covering Tito's presentation click here.

ISS Expedition 35 Touches Down After 61 Days

ISS Expedition 35 with animated NASA Commander Mike Hadfield just made a soft touchdown in lower Mongolia after a 61 day mission.  Expedition 36 arrived today to keep the ISS crew compliment at 6 commanded by Pavel Vinogradov of the Russian Space Agency.  There is no doubt the Russians have their Soyuz flight program working like clockwork.  The image below is of Soyuz 35 in an upright position in the landing zone located on the Mongolian steppes awaiting to be picked up by the Russian Space Agency after the return crew extraction:  Mike Hadfield [NASA], Thomas Mashburn [NASA], and Roman Romanenko [RSA]. 

International Space Station Leak May Be Fixed

Looks like they may have fixed that leak on the International Space Station.  Even though it may take months to find out how successful at least the space walk seems to have gone off without a hitch.

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Back In Action

Nice to see NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity back on the job after Mars slipped behind the sun for a month.  It has been operating on the surface of Mars since November 26th, 2011.  As Mars solar conjunctions happen every 26 months these 'blackouts' are planned and expected.  From what I can tell this is the most advanced Martian rover to date.  As it is the size of a small car the engineering feat landing it is something to marvel at.  You can follow Curiosity's exploits here and keep up to date on any new discoveries and possibilites future exploration.  The images being sent back are really jaw dropping.  I hope this rover lasts as long as the Mars rover Opportunity which has been operating since January 25th, 2004.  That's over nine years now.  It's twin Spirit stopped working in 2009.

Spooky

When I recently saw the news about the incident in China recently on my BBC World News wire where the government shut down a regional airport because of a fiery ufo overhead I stumbled across something I didn't even know existed: a National UFO Reporting Center. As a raging skeptic when it comes to reports of extraterrestrial life visiting earth I still found this sight to be utterly fascinating. Wikipeida tells us the National UFO Reporting Center was founded in 1974. Curiously enough and coincidentally when you visit the actual site you will quickly discover that this past month of July had a record breaking number of reported sightings since its founding: 658. This beat their September, 2009 record by 63 sightings. It has a pretty extensive data base and several ways to contact the center (i.e. phone, e-mail, web site, etc) from anyone in the general public to report an unidentified flying object.

For me the world of Ufology is fascinating in itself because of the interest I have in spaceflight and NASA. Its just that I find the possibility of earth being visited by life outside the confines of our solar system unable to overcome the realities of the physics involved to overcome the vast distances in question. Despite my healthy skepticism I find the MUFON and attendant UFO community organizations around it fun to follow as an indulgent guilty pleasure. Having said that I want to make it clear these communities are filled with respectable members of society and professionals from a variety of scientific fields which is why it so fun to follow and fascinating. Still, I guess its sort of like those individuals who read the gossip rags and follow the Internet celebrity gossip sites as guilty pleasures but are loath to admit it to anyone. All I know is its fun to follow and write about and I'm admitting it!