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: 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.
: 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.
: 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 carries 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.
: 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.
: 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.
: 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.
: 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).
: 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.
: 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.
: 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."
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