Higher Orbits

Are you coming along with us? 🚀🌕 Sign up to send your name around the Moon with Artemis II! Get your boarding pass: go.nasa.gov/artemisnames

Artemis II: NASA's repaired Space Launch System moon rocket began a glacial 12-hour trip back to the launch pad about 20 minutes after midnight EDT (0420 UTC), slowly exiting the Vehicle Assembly Building atop an Apollo-era crawler transporter; the 4-mile trip to pad 39B got underway more than 4 hours later than planned because of high winds, but the SLS rocket should be "hard down" atop the launch stand by around noon Friday; that will set the stage for a delayed April 1 launch to send four astronauts on a historic nine-day flight around the moon and back

This week we had a blast with the stellar students of the cosmic community of Midland, TX at Go For Launch! They had a blast working with Astronaut Wendy Lawrence & we were inspired by their bright minds! Thank you @Midland_ISD @MidlandTXEDC & @Chevron! #SpaceInspires #STEM

Rocket = ready Payload = secured Mission = GO for launch Wet Dress Rehearsal is complete for "Eight Days A Week" for @synspective. Target Launch: 🚀 7:10 am NZDT, March 21 🚀 3:10 am JST, March 21 🚀 18:10 UTC, March 20 🚀 2:10 pm EDT, March 20 🚀 11:10 am PDT, March 20

Due to range availability, the fifth launch of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 551 rocket carrying the next batch of production satellites for Amazon Leo, Leo 5, is planned for March 29, 2026, pending range approval. The 29-minute launch window opens at 3:53 a.m. EDT and will launch from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. @AmazonLeo // bit.ly/av_leo5

Engineers are targeting 8 pm ET on Thursday, March 19, for rollout of Artemis II. NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 will carry the 11-million-pound stack at about 1 mph along the four-mile route from the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy to the launch pad.

We are out of this world excited to be part of the Arizona Space Congress event by Space Rising next month in Phoenix. spacerising.org Hope to see you there! #SpaceInspires #STEM #STEAM #GoForLaunch #ArizonaSpace #SpaceRising #SpaceCongress #SpaceForEarth

Applications are open for Summer 2026 L'SPACE Academy - a free, online, interactive program for U.S. college students interested in pursuing a career with @NASA or other space organizations. 🚀 Apply by April 12! 📅 Learn more: lspace.asu.edu

Teams are now targeting no earlier than Friday, March 20, to roll Artemis II to the launchpad, maintaining the opportunity for an April 1 launch attempt. More info: go.nasa.gov/4utuo8B

🚀Launched on an Atlas V rocket on Sept. 8, 2016 - the discoveries continue to provide clues and defy expectations.

Second mission. Same ambition. The @Amazonleo satellites for our next mission, VA268, have now arrived at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, marking a new step in the deployment of the Amazon Leo constellation. In the coming weeks, Arianespace will begin the launch campaign, from satellite processing to integration on Ariane 6, preparing these payloads for their journey to low Earth orbit. The VA268 mission, designated LE-02 by Amazon, will fly on Ariane 6 in its four-booster configuration, a powerful setup particularly adapted to support the sustained deployment of large constellations. This mission is the second of 18 launches planned under our contract with Amazon, reflecting a long-term partnership built on performance, reliability and shared ambition to expand global connectivity from space. More updates soon from Kourou. #LaunchingAmbitions @ArianeGroup @esa @CNES @EuropeSpacePort

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe just did it again. ☀️ On March 11th, it completed its 27th close approach to the Sun, flying just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface at a blistering and record-matching 430,000 mph. New data drops March 18: go.nasa.gov/474BFBH

Last month's Space Traffic Management Conference was all about opportunity, connection... and food (hey we support that) for stellar student Bri. Read all about her experience in her latest blog! higherorbits.org/bris-space-tra… #SpaceInspires #STEM #SpaceTrafficManagement

🚀 High school students worldwide can design a human mission to Mars in the Mars Society’s 2026 Int'l Engineering Design Competition (ages 13–19). June 8-July 10. Apply by May 15. Know a student or educator? Please help circulate! bit.ly/4ubBG0i #stem #virtual

Today, we remember ASE member Eugene ("Gene") Cernan on his #birthday. Cernan flew to space three times between 1966 and 1972 (Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, and Apollo 17), and he holds the record as the last person to have walked on the Moon. ✨

At last month's Space Traffic Management Conference in Austin, stellar student Eva launched into every element of the event to learn as much as she could! ⁠ Hear more about her experience in her latest blog.⁠ higherorbits.org/evas-space-tra… ⁠ #SpaceInspires #STEM #STEAM #GoForLaunch

ARTEMIS II UPDATE NASA is targeting March 19 to roll Artemis II back to LC-39B from the VAB. Pending work in the VAB and the pad, NASA is targeting no earlier than April 1, 2026, for the launch of Artemis II around the Moon. 🚀🌙 📸: NASA/Cory S Huston

Stellar student Josie, from Florida, made the most of every moment at the Space Traffic Management Conference last month. Read all about her experience in her latest blog! higherorbits.org/josies-space-t… #SpaceInspires #STEM #STEAM #SpaceTrafficManagement @StraussCenter

Higher Orbits is out of this world excited to attend The Space Policy, Science + Technology Symposium @ Purdue next month! events.research.purdue.edu/ppri/ We hope you'll join us there! Boiler up! #SpaceInspires #STEM #spacefuneral @LifeAtPurdue @PurdueAeroAstro

The fifth launch of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 551 rocket carrying the next batch of production satellites for Amazon Leo, Leo 5, is planned for March 30, 2026, pending range approval. bit.ly/av_leo5