NASA Weekly Update from the Administrator – Aug. 24, 2020
NASA has impressed the nation with our resilience and persistence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for your flexibility and dedication to our mission. If you missed the town hall on our agency’s continued response to the coronavirus, you can view it here.
- Top News: NASA Aeronautics is advancing next-generation technology that has the potential to guide rules for future supersonic flight. The unique engine for NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) airplane was delivered last week to Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. There it will be checked out and inspected before it is transported to nearby Palmdale for eventual installation into the X-59, which is now under construction at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works factory.
- Next Up: This Wednesday, Aug. 26, Women’s Equality Day commemorates the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Our agency has recorded a program celebrating “The Past, Present, and Future of Women in Space.” This event will be broadcast on NASA TV at 3 p.m. EDT and posted on NASA social media accounts.
- Shout Out: Virtual town halls appear simple and easy from the outside, but a lot of coordination goes into making sure everything goes smoothly. The meticulous attention to detail by associate administrator Suzanne Gillen and her team in the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs has enabled me to hold wonderful virtual town halls with many members of Congress and other stakeholders.
The first element of the Artemis III Orion Crew module (pictured below) – a cone panel with openings for windows which will provide a spectacular view – has been completed. In 2024, this spacecraft will carry Artemis astronauts about 240,000 miles to lunar orbit where they will transfer to a human landing system for a final ride to the surface of the Moon. We are well on our way to establishing a sustainable presence at the Moon by the end of the decade, which will enable more science, more technology, and more exploration of our solar system than ever before.
Ad astra,
Jim Bridenstine
