Our beloved symbol of exploration will fly once again, just in time to mark the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil. The retired logo is making its comeback on on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket that will take flight later this year when we #LaunchAmerica once again.
The NASA insignia, or “meatball,” seen in our profile image, was quite difficult to reproduce with 1970s technology. In 1975, enter the sleek, simple design you see above! The world knew it as “the worm.” For a period of time we were able to thrive with both the worm and the meatball. However, in 1992, the 1970s brand was retired - except on clothing and other souvenir items - in favor of the original late 1950s graphic.
Image Credit: NASA/SpaceX
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TRANQUILITY
chapter three
The waves crashed against her body, as she tried to find a wave to ride out, both her she JB being completely beat by the waves. She saw into the distant, him looking toward a boat, both kids looking at each other then back at the death wish of a boat.
xxx
She decided to wait out the storm at John b's house, and walking in to see jj, she assumed he had the same idea.
"Why are you here." He didn't look toward Alex, but knew it was her.
"She's staying here, and sharing a bed with your ass so better cheer up." John b responded before alex could
"No no no no, i'm not sharing a bed with her, i'll sleep on the floor." He complained.
She simply sat down on the bed, as John b went into his room.
She soon realized she had no clothes to change into, which meant she either slept in her underwear or wet clothes.
"Why are you thinking so hard?" JJ questioned.
She snapped out of her thoughts and looked toward the boy who was snuggled up in the bed he just said he wasn't sleeping in.
"I have nothing to change into." She mumbled, not breaking eye contact.
"Well doesn't that suck." He replied, turning away from the girl.
So she slipped out of the wet bathing suit and clothes, and put on her underwear and sports bra. The boy turned around, realizing she had just changed into the slightest amount of clothes.
His jaw clenched as she climbed in bed. He sat up and roughly pulled his crew neck of his body, throwing it toward the girl.
She didn't say anything, but simply smiled and put it on, before snuggling into the comforter.
The truth is, he couldn't stand knowing she was half naked right next to him, and definitely didn't want anyone else to see her like that.
xxx
Alex was woken up by john b opening the front door, and jj grunting, She sat up and stretched before following him out the door.
"Damn." She whistled
John b turned to face her before laughing.
"Nice shirt." He joked.
She quickly looked down, and was about to respond before jj spoke from behind her.
"agatha did some work huh?" He asked
"Yeah she did."
Alex walked back inside to change, and wanted to call kie, but there was no service.
"shit."
"come on fizzy, we're going fishing." jj yelled from the porch.
She sighed and packed her bag to go on the boat.
"Who first?" She asked walking down the dock.
"Pope, kie's probably shitting bricks cause you didn't go home." JB responsed
"then maybe you shouldn't of let her stay." jj mumbled.
"Well it seems you didn't mind that much because she woke up in your hoodie."
Alex's face went red, and jj's jaw clenched once again. He didn't know how to respond, so he just turned around.
The boys made comments to the other islanders, while alex stayed quiet in thought on the way to popes dock.
She didn't understand why he hated her, but was starting to get tired of it.
"well look who we have here." John said toward pope washing off the dock.
"We are declaring a pogue meeting, attendance mandatory" Alex yelled.
"I cant my pops got me on lockdown." He pouted
"oh come on pope." alex called
"Your dad's a pussy over" jj replied pretending to be talking into a radio.
"I heard that you little bastard." Hayward appeared behind his son.
Alex waves quickly to the man, she always loved hayward, and she was definitely his favorite out of popes friends.
"We need your son." john b spoke to pope's dad
"day after hurricane is a free day." jj chimed in.
"Ouuu yeah, we have security clearance." Alex added
"Get in the boat." John b mouthed toward pope
Pope frantically jumped in the boat apologizing to his dad and the boat drove away.
"Okay, she's gonna be pissed, so be prepared." Alex told the boys.
"Hey boys." Kiara called while walking down the dock. "Hey sister who doesn't know how to let me know if she's alive or not."
"Oh kie i love you, and i was with JB of course i was safe." Alex responsed.
"whatcha got, you got some juice boxes?" John b asked.
"you know, just some yogurt and carrot sticks." Kie laughed
"How about my kind of juice box?" jj smirked
She passed out the beers, alex shrugging her off, having brought her own drink.
"Alex what's in this?" Pope asked the girl, sniffing the water bottle
"Nothing." she mumbled trying to take it out of his grasp.
"Is this straight vodka?" Everyone paying attention now, popes face turned into a worried glare.
"It's just a boat day drink. it means nothing."
"Alex?" jj said, making her turn. He never called her that.
"Guys it's fine."
Kie and JB shared worried looks. She walked over to her sister and grabbed her arm.
"are you drinking again?" Kie whispered into Alex's ear
She swiftly walked past her "no." She turned "jj what the fuck!" She yelled watching the blonde poor the drink out into the water.
"oops." He laughed.
xxx
"hey you guys wanna see a party trick?" jj climbed to the front of the boat.
"Oh god i'm moving." John b quickly sat behind pope who was driving.
"go a little faster pope." jj commented
"Ou i wanna try." Alex walked toward jj
He looked at her with annoyance and sighed.
They both lifted the bottles to their mouths trying to catch the beer.
"Ew you're getting beer in my hair." Kie screamed, but was cut off, as the boat lunged forward, throwing JJ and alex off and into the water.
"what the hell pope?"
Alex hit the surface of the water with a cough.
"fizzy, you good?" jj asked beside her.
"Yeah i'm good."
Did he actually care? she thought.
"jj you okay?" pope called from the boat
"I'm think my heals touched the back of my head."
"Sand bar. the tide changed."
"Thank you captain obvious." alex swam toward the boat.
"Guys, i think there's a boat down there?"
Good Omens meets Sherlock?
(Not my gif, credit for whoever created it!)
Summary: Friends with benefits; Two friends who trust each other enough to engage in sexual activity without fear of hurting the other's feelings.
Word count: 1,912
Warnings: Mentions fwb, sex, and underage drinking.
You rested on your stomach, textbook in front of you as John B joined your side. You two had been chosen to be partners for a Chemistry class project, but neither of you two had actually paid enough attention to figure out what you two we're doing.
You guys sat in silence for a minute before you exhaled loudly. "What's with the sigh?" You ground loudly, flipping yourself over and laying on your back.
"It's my senior year. I should be out in the world not giving a single fuck about anything, but I'm stressed out of my mind and I have no clue how to get rid of it." You ranted, grabbing the nearest pillow and screaming into it. John B looked at you with a confused look. "What? I'm a screamer. Not sexually, just at life in general." "I can make that sexually." He said, earning a smack from the pillow.
"Therapy?" "Tried." "Painting?" "Tried." "Going to the gym?" "Ha! You're fucking funny." John B remained quiet for a second before coming up with something. "Have you tried just hooking up with someone? You know, like a friends with benefits type thing."
Your head snapped up from it's spot as you stared at the boy with a dumbfounded look. "I'm sorry?" "Well it's just, if you need to release tension, shit like that helps a lot." John B said as he suddenly felt idiotic for bringing the idea up. You sat there for a moment, trying to process his words. "Okay but even if I wanted to I don't know who would even want to."
John B's index finger pointed to his face as you observed his gesture. "Really?and why would you want to be friends with benefits?" "I get stressed too, I help you out, you help me out." You considered his offer for a moment before agreeing on his idea.
"Okay. But we have to make a guideline." You negotiated, ripping out a piece of paper from the notebook. Now it was John B's turn to roll his eyes.
"First rule, we do not tell a single soul about this." You said, grabbing your pen and scribbling the words down. "Okay, okay. Second rule, we call each other whenever we need a release. Whenever and wherever." "No hooking up with anyone else unless either of us get
a boyfriend/girlfriend." He thought aloud.
You nodded your head, writing his words down quickly. "And the last one," you two looked at each other as you spoke in unison, "no feelings." You held the pen out towards him, giving you a questioning look. "What? We gotta make this shit official."
John B let out a chuckle as he took the pen from your hand and scribbled his name. Returning the pen to you, he adjusted himself so he was resting against the headboard. You quickly signed it, closing the notebook shut.
John B sighed softly before looking at youm "You stressed?" You quickly rose up from your spot, your legs resting on both sides of him as you straddled his lap. "You have no idea." His hands trailed up your back, one hand staying on your thigh and gently rubbing it. The other was wrapped tightly around your waist.
Your lips met halfway, he sighed in relief at the feeling of someone else's lips. The kiss was fierce and rushed, both of you wasting no time in getting your stress out.
_________________
You guys had this 'relationship' going for the last 5 months. Almost every other day you called each other. It was an odd thing for you to do. You had done it before in the past, but sex with John B was something else. There were nights where the type would change, he would take control for most of the time. Angry sex, sex in the living room, car sex, anything he wanted to do, you two did.
However, as time went on the feelings John B had began to change. He wanted to spend more time with you, and not just hook up. He wanted to find out more things about you, watch movies with you, be able to kiss you in public whenever he wanted. The at first sloppy sex slowly morphed into passionate sex. He noticed and it scared him shitless. He loved every moment he spent with you and he didn't want that to change.
He was mad at himself. That was the third rule and he broke it. He never expected it to happen, but when it did it slapped him right across the face.
You two were lying there naked, sheets covering your bare chests. You were fast asleep, your body facing him. He took in the tiny details about you, everything that he could. How sometimes your eyelashes flutter. How you'll snore sometimes. How he rests his hand on your cheek and you unknowingly lean into his touch. He buried this hole too deep and he can't get out.
You both were currently at your friend Angela's party, drunk teens were horribly dancing in the living room, couples were hooking up in the bedrooms and bathrooms. John B was drinking a shot of vodka as he saw you walk by, a red plastic solo cup in your hand. "Hey Routledge!" You winked at the boy who shyly drank from his cup.
A classmate of his walked up to John B, "Hey, what's with you and that Henderson chick?" The boy asked, nudging John B's shoulders. He smirked at his classmate leaning closer to him, "we're friends with benefits!" John B exclaimed, clearly tipsy and not knowing the words that are spilling out of his mouth.
The classmate smirked at the intoxicated teen, giving JB a high five, congratulating him. You were out in the backyard enjoying the night sky with Sarah Cameron.you two were laughing after watching someone run and fall into the pool.
The fun was quickly ruined as the classmate stood in front of you guys. "So Y/N, I heard you help release stress from my good old friend John B. How about you help me out?" Your face dropped in shock, the cup falling from your hand. "I'm sorry?" You asked, pretending not to understand what he was talking about.
"Oh yeah. But real shit, whenever I need something I'll give you a call." The boy sent you a wink before licking his lower lip and walking away. You stared at the ground in shock. "Are you okay?" "I don't know how to answer that." You admitted.
You stomped out of the backyard and out of the house. Stares, comments and giggles were all you noticed as you made your way through the crowded rooms. Making way to your car, you opened the door and slammed it shut. Your fists pounded down onto the steering wheel, accidentally punching the horn. You crossed your arms and leaned against the wheel. Your head fell against your arms as tears stung your eyes. You were furious at John B, but you were also angry with yourself.
During the time you had been sleeping with John B, you also began to realize how your heart would race a mile a minute with him, even before the physical contact. You had been trying to deny the feelings, 'it's just sex' you repeated to yourself over and over after every session. But to you it was something else, and that scared you.
You sped down down the road, the lights blurring from the tears, your cheeks and nose a shade of pink. Your breathing was uneven as you hicupped every now and then. Returning home, you quickly changed out of your clothes into pajamas and laid in bed. That night was the last time you and John B had an interaction for a whole month.
He would call you, but you'd let the answering machine pick up. You'd swerve him when you walked by him in the halls, catching his eye then turning around to walk the other way.
You wanted to distance yourself as much as you could. John B tried his best to apologize after his classmate reminded him that he told your secret that night at the party. He felt absolutely destroyed hearing the rumors that were spreading about you, about you both, he hated it.
Your eyes were sealed shut as you attempted to let sleep overtake your body. It was finally Friday and you just wanted to sleep for 12 hours. The sound of rain hitting your window sounded like heaven to your ears, just pure silence except for that one noise.
A soft tapping sound echoed off the window. Knowing it wasn't rain, you hesitantly opened your eyes to see John Booker Routledge holding himself as he stood in your backyard, in the pouring rain. His hair was plastered down onto his face. His clothes clung to his body. His eyes were squinted shut in hopes to not get too much water in them.
You quickly got up and pulled him through the window harshly, making him fall to the ground. His skin made a loud slapping noise as he made contact with the hardwood floor. You sighed, rubbing your forehead with the palm of your hand. "Hold on." You quickly went out of the room and walked back in with a towel. You handed it to him as you sat on the bad, John B standing there as he attempted to dry off.
"Look this isn't a guilt-trip. I just genuinely want to know if you dislike me so I can stop bothering you." He started, the towel running through his hair, drops of water flying everywhere. You sighed loudly and pitched the bridge of your nose. "I don't hate or dislike you. I hate that you spilled what we were to what's his face at the party. Do you know how many phone calls I've gotten of guys asking me to hook up with them? 24."
"What we were?" John B asked softly. "You broke your promise, you can't come back from that." You huffed, your eyes not leaving the floor. "It was just a fling." He lied, not only to you but to himself. "Not to me it wasn't." Your voice was just above a whisper.
"What?"
"Throughout the last few months things felt different. It was really fucking weird to think about, but my heart would always just... race when we spent time together. I wanted things to just be more than a fling. But I figured you just wanted it to be just that thing since you came up with the idea." you admitted. He lightly chuckled as he bent down to be face to face with you.
"Princess. I walked here to you in the rain. This is how much I love you. This," he pointed his finger between you two, "I want more than a fling. I want to be able to just walk around with you on my arm and just give you all the fucking affection I can give. And I'm sorry about the calls. I'll make sure people get the notice to-" you cut him off by quickly pressing your lips against his.
He exhaled loudly, your skin suddenly felt as if it were burning. "God I missed you." He mumbled against your lips as his thumb stroked your cheek. "Show me how much you missed me." You whispered, pulling the boy onto the bed.
I’m really intrigued about this shipping thing and who I would match haha...Can I have an Outer Banks ship? My icon is actually me! I’m a straight female, 5’5 with mid length brown hair and brown eyes. I love older music like 70s rock bands but also love pop/rock music for driving with the windows down like Taylor Swift or Avril Lavigne. I’m from South Carolina and I love Kayaking and Paddle Boarding I also like just reading a good book. The most important thing to me is a sense of adventure!
outer banks
i ship you with john b!
• you and john b go on adventures all the time. there isn’t a mountain or hiking trail you two haven’t gone on. you guys also sneak into a lot of abandoned places.
• he also would teach you how to surf. he’s not the best teacher, but you get the hang of it anyway.
• naps in the twinkie>
• him laying his head in your lap while you read
• i feel like he might listen to the same music you do
• screaming complicated by avril with the windows down and full volume
When Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the Moon 50 years ago, he famously said “that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” He was referring to the historic milestone of exploring beyond our own planet — but there’s also another way to think about that giant leap: the massive effort to develop technologies to safely reach, walk on the Moon and return home led to countless innovations that have improved life on Earth.
Armstrong took one small step on the lunar surface, but the Moon landing led to a giant leap forward in innovations for humanity.
Here are five examples of technology developed for the Apollo program that we’re still using today:
As soon as we started planning to send astronauts into space, we faced the problem of what to feed them — and how to ensure the food was safe to eat. Can you imagine getting food poisoning on a spacecraft, hundreds of thousands of miles from home?
We teamed up with a familiar name in food production: the Pillsbury Company. The company soon realized that existing quality control methods were lacking. There was no way to be certain, without extensive testing that destroyed the sample, that the food was free of bacteria and toxins.
Pillsbury revamped its entire food-safety process, creating what became the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system. Its aim was to prevent food safety problems from occurring, rather than catch them after the fact. They managed this by analyzing and controlling every link in the chain, from the raw materials to the processing equipment to the people handling the food.
Today, this is one of the space program’s most far-reaching spinoffs. Beyond keeping the astronaut food supply safe, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Point system has also been adopted around the world — and likely reduced the risk of bacteria and toxins in your local grocery store.
The Apollo spacecraft was revolutionary for many reasons. Did you know it was the first vehicle to be controlled by a digital computer? Instead of pushrods and cables that pilots manually adjusted to manipulate the spacecraft, Apollo’s computer sent signals to actuators at the flick of a switch.
Besides being physically lighter and less cumbersome, the switch to a digital control system enabled storing large quantities of data and programming maneuvers with complex software.
Before Apollo, there were no digital computers to control airplanes either. Working together with the Navy and Draper Laboratory, we adapted the Apollo digital flight computer to work on airplanes. Today, whatever airline you might be flying, the pilot is controlling it digitally, based on the technology first developed for the flight to the Moon.
A shock absorber descended from Apollo-era dampers and computers saves lives by stabilizing buildings during earthquakes.
Apollo’s Saturn V rockets had to stay connected to the fueling tubes on the launchpad up to the very last second. That presented a challenge: how to safely move those tubes out of the way once liftoff began. Given how fast they were moving, how could we ensure they wouldn’t bounce back and smash into the vehicle?
We contracted with Taylor Devices, Inc. to develop dampers to cushion the shock, forcing the company to push conventional shock isolation technology to the limit.
Shortly after, we went back to the company for a hydraulics-based high-speed computer. For that challenge, the company came up with fluidic dampers—filled with compressible fluid—that worked even better. We later applied the same technology on the Space Shuttle’s launchpad.
The company has since adapted these fluidic dampers for buildings and bridges to help them survive earthquakes. Today, they are successfully protecting structures in some of the most quake-prone areas of the world, including Tokyo, San Francisco and Taiwan.
We’ve all seen runners draped in silvery “space blankets” at the end of marathons, but did you know the material, called radiant barrier insulation, was actually created for space?
Temperatures outside of Earth’s atmosphere can fluctuate widely, from hundreds of degrees below to hundreds above zero. To better protect our astronauts, during the Apollo program we invented a new kind of effective, lightweight insulation.
We developed a method of coating mylar with a thin layer of vaporized metal particles. The resulting material had the look and weight of thin cellophane packaging, but was extremely reflective—and pound-for-pound, better than anything else available.
Today the material is still used to protect astronauts, as well as sensitive electronics, in nearly all of our missions. But it has also found countless uses on the ground, from space blankets for athletes to energy-saving insulation for buildings. It also protects essential components of MRI machines used in medicine and much, much more.
Image courtesy of the U.S. Marines
Patients in hospitals are hooked up to sensors that send important health data to the nurse’s station and beyond — which means when an alarm goes off, the right people come running to help.
This technology saves lives every day. But before it reached the ICU, it was invented for something even more extraordinary: sending health data from space down to Earth.
When the Apollo astronauts flew to the Moon, they were hooked up to a system of sensors that sent real-time information on their blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate and more to a team on the ground.
The system was developed for us by Spacelabs Healthcare, which quickly adapted it for hospital monitoring. The company now has telemetric monitoring equipment in nearly every hospital around the world, and it is expanding further, so at-risk patients and their doctors can keep track of their health even outside the hospital.
Only a few people have ever walked on the Moon, but the benefits of the Apollo program for the rest of us continue to ripple widely.
In the years since, we have continued to create innovations that have saved lives, helped the environment, and advanced all kinds of technology.
Now we’re going forward to the Moon with the Artemis program and on to Mars — and building ever more cutting-edge technologies to get us there. As with the many spinoffs from the Apollo era, these innovations will transform our lives for generations to come.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Ok I’m gonna try and sculpt Donald Duck without looking at it and bake and paint the result
We are working with Boeing and SpaceX to build human spaceflight systems, like rockets and spacecraft, to take astronauts to the International Space Station. These companies will fly astronauts to orbit around Earth while we focus on plans to explore deeper into our solar system.
Get out your art supplies and use your creative imagination to show us the present and future of traveling in space!
There are no grocery stores in space, but there may soon be farms. Very small farms that are important to a crew conducting a mission to deep space. That’s because our astronauts will need to grow some of their own food. Researchers on Earth and astronauts on the International Space Station are already showing what is needed to grow robust plants in orbit.
What would you take to space? Astronaut Suni Williams took a cutout of her dog, Gorbie, on her first mission to the International Space Station.
Kids 4 to 12, draw what you would take and enter it in our Children’s Artwork Calendar contest! Your entry could be beamed to the space station!
Go to http://go.nasa.gov/2fvRLNf for more information about the competition’s themes, rules and deadlines plus the entry form.
Get your parent’s permission, of course!
Email your entry form and drawing to us at: ksc-connect2ccp@mail.nasa.gov
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Warm summer temperatures often lead to dangerous blooms of phytoplankton in lakes, reservoirs and along our coastlines. These toxin-containing aquatic organisms can sicken people and pets, contaminate drinking water, and force closures at boating and swimming sites.
In this image, a severe bloom of toxic blue-green algae is spreading across the western half of Lake Erie. Taken on July 30, 2019 by the Operational Land Imager on our Landsat 8 satellite, this image shows green patches where the bloom was most dense and where toxicity levels were unsafe for recreational activities. Around the time of this image, the bloom covered about 300 square miles of Lake Erie’s surface, roughly the size of New York City. By August 13, the bloom had doubled to more than 620 square miles. That’s eight times the size of Cleveland.
The dominant organism—a Microcystis cyanobacteria—produces the toxin microcystin, can cause liver damage, numbness, dizziness, and vomiting. On July 29, 2019, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported unsafe toxin concentrations in Lake Erie and have since advised people (and their pets) to stay away from areas where scum is forming on the water surface.
You can stay informed about harmful algal blooms using a new mobile app that will send you alerts on potentially harmful algal blooms in your area. Called CyAN, it’s based on NASA satellite data of the color changes in lakes and other bodies of water. It serves as our eye-in-the-sky early warning system, alerting the public and local officials to when dangerous waters may be in bloom.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Perseid meteor shower, one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, will be at its brightest early in the morning on Wednesday, August 12. Read on for some tips on how to watch the night sky this week – and to find out: what exactly are the Perseids, anyway?
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Your best chance to spot the Perseids will be between 2 AM and dawn (local time) the morning of August 12. Find a dark spot, avoid bright lights (yes, that includes your phone) and get acclimated to the night sky.
Your eyes should be at peak viewing capacity after about 30 minutes; though the Moon may block out some of the dimmer meteors, you should still be able to see up to 15-20 an hour. If you’re not an early bird, you can try and take a look soon after sunset (around 9 PM) on the 11th, though you may not see as many Perseids then.
Credit: NASA/MEO
If it’s too cloudy, or too bright, to go skywatching where you are, you can try again Wednesday or Thursday night – or just stay indoors and watch the Perseids online!
Our Meteor Watch program will be livestreaming the Perseids from Huntsville, Alabama on Facebook (weather permitting), starting around 9 p.m. EDT on August 11 and continuing through sunrise.
Because all of a meteor shower’s meteors have similar orbits, they appear to come from the same place in the sky – a point called the radiant.
The radiant for the Perseids, as you might guess from the name, is in the constellation Perseus, found near Aries and Taurus in the night sky.
Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Right! The Perseids are actually fragments of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits within our solar system.
If you want to learn more about the Perseids, visit our Watch the Skies blog or check out our monthly “What’s Up” video series. Happy viewing!
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