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: "The Great Food Truck Race" on Food Network launched its 17th season at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Sunday (Jun. 30). With the teams gathered at the George S. Abbey Rocket Park, host and chef Tyler Florence judged their first competition, the "Blast-Off Challenge," to create a dish that would satisfy the often dulled tastes of astronauts in space. Joining Tyler was Space Center Houston's mascot, Cosmo.
: The 21st Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft to deliver cargo to the International Space Station will fly under the name of the fallen commander of the space shuttle Challenger, the company announced on Monday (July 1). Francis R. "Dick" Scobee was lost with his STS-51L crewmates after flying on the week-long STS-41C mission in 1984. The new ship bearing his name is targeted to launch in early August.
: Responding to a request from a NASA visitor center in 1974, American Outdoor Products took tubs of Neapolitan ice cream, froze them solid and used a bandsaw to cut them into slices. The segments were then freeze-dried and wrapped to create "Astronaut Ice Cream." Still popular 50 years later, the treat is marketed today by Astronaut Foods, which will mark the milestone with limited packaging and products.
: Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, "Space Cadet" follows bartender and party girl Tiffany "Rex" Simpson (Emma Roberts) as she chases her childhood dream of becoming a NASA astronaut. Inspired by the agency's real 'AsCan' selection process, director Liz W. Garcia found the makings of a comedy in the extremes that those who apply embody. collectSPACE spoke with Garcia about the influences and astronauts behind "Space Cadet."
: As an X-15 pilot and space shuttle commander, Joe Engle was the first astronaut to fly two different winged vehicles into space. Engle died Wednesday (July 10) at the age of 91. Of his 16 flights on the X-15 rocket plane, three reached the 50 miles needed to earn astronaut wings. After being replaced on the Apollo 17 moon landing crew, Engle commanded STS-2 and 51-I, logging more than nine days in space while orbiting Earth.
: Now in theaters, "Fly Me to the Moon" has been described as a rom-com set against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 mission. As director Greg Berlanti tells it, it is history adjacent, but at the same time, a love letter to the real Apollo program. collectSPACE spoke with Berlanti about faking the moon landings (both the real and fake recreations in the movie) and the hidden truths (i.e. details and cameos) to be found while watching.
: In the new film "Fly Me to the Moon" (now in theaters), Scarlett Johansson, as the fictional marketing maven Kelly Jones, is tasked with selling the public on the Apollo moon landings. Her solution taps into the real history of how NASA marketed the moon. From Omega and Tang to Fruit of Loom, here is a look at the real and fake product tie-ins that appear in the film and that ran as real life ads connecting companies with Apollo.
: Sixty-five years after its introduction, NASA's original and, today, still official logo continues to soar into the air and outer space. The "meatball," as it was nicknamed, was designed by the late James Modarelli at the Lewis Research Center (today Glenn) in Cleveland, Ohio. Now used in tandem with the "worm," its one-time replacement, the meatball will return to the moon and ultimately fly to Mars with NASA's Artemis astronauts.
: Seiko's Prospex Speedtimer SSC947 brings back the livery of the watch that Bill Pogue snuck aboard Skylab in 1973. Pogue's Speedtimer was the first automatic chronograph to be worn in space. The new watch has a different feature set (including a solar-powered movement) but carrys over the golden yellow, blue and red colorway that set apart the "Pogue," as the original became known. Coming in August, the SSC974 will retail for $700.
: Nine missions to the moon by seven international programs are the focus of new United Nations' postage stamps being issued on International Moon Day (July 20). The six se-tenant stamps and three souvenir sheets celebrate the 55 years since the U.S. Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon. Depicted are SLIM (Japan), SMART-1 (ESA), Surveyor and Apollo 11 (U.S.), Luna (Russia), Chandrayaan (India). and Chang'e (China).
: In 2030, most of the International Space Station (ISS) will be destroyed when it is purposely propelled out of orbit by a SpaceX Dragon-like vehicle to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Any parts that survive the reentry will drop into the ocean. Not all is lost, though. In a change from two years ago, NASA is now beginning to consider what small items from the station to save so they are preserved and placed on museum exhibit.
: Six years after being lowered for their restoration, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's display of historic rockets is standing again. Rocket Row, which is part of the center's Rocket Park and forms part of Huntsville, Alabama's "spaceline," represents the Redstone family of rockets that led to the development of the Saturn V, which flew astronauts to the moon. Joining the rockets is the engine section from NASA's SLS core stage pathfinder.
: One of the first buildings at Johnson Space Center, the newly-named "Dorothy Vaughan Center in Honor of the Women of Apollo" recognizes the leadership and contributions made by a "hidden figure" and female members of NASA's workforce to the success of the first moon missions 55 years ago. A "computer" prior to becoming a programmer on early electronic computers, Vaughan advanced the careers of women all across NASA.
: The next time that you want to book a flight into space, you might want to read the reviews on Tripadvisor first. The travel website has debuted "Destination Space," presented in partnership with the AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Aeronautics), to publish first-hand insights into the burgeoning market for space tourism and exploration. The first review is by Sian Proctor, who flew as pilot of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission.
: Attendees at San Diego Comic-Con can join the Lego Mission Crew by building a rocket and "launching" it aboard Space Station 8R1CK5. The activity, which is awarded by an exclusive minifigure patch, celebrates space as being an "endless playground for imagination," Lego's theme for many of its building sets the year. The booth has on display many of those products, as well as provides a first-look at new sets coming soon.
