Here's how to watch NASA's long-awaited return to the Moon at home in Fort Worth

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Photo by Ben Smegelsky/NASA via NASA Flickr

UPDATE: NASA halted the August 29 Artemis I launch attempt at approximately 7:34 am Monday. According to a statement, the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft remain in a safe and stable configuration. Launch controllers were continuing to evaluate why a bleed test to get the RS-25 engines on the bottom of the core stage to the proper temperature range for liftoff was not successful, and ran out of time in the two-hour launch window. Engineers are continuing to gather additional data.

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In just a few days, NASA and its commercial partners are returning humans to the Moon in the first mission of the Artemis Program. All eyes will be on the rocket as it launches Monday, August 29.

Artemis I — the mission's first flight test of the NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System rocket — is an uncrewed mission that will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida before circling the moon. The SLS rocket is targeted to launch during a two-hour window that opens at 7:33 am on Monday, August 29, from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy.

Coverage of the launch has already started, and viewers can tune into the livestream of the rocket and spacecraft at the launch pad on the NASA Kennedy YouTube channel. Additionally, live coverage of events has started on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

The launch countdown will begin at 9:23 am on Saturday, August 27. While launch is the main event, the broadcast will also include celebrity appearances by Jack Black, Chris Evans, and Keke Palmer, as well as a special performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Josh Groban and Herbie Hancock. It also will feature a performance of “America the Beautiful” by The Philadelphia Orchestra and cellist Yo-Yo Ma (star of the next Fort Worth Symphony Gala), conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

“The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond,” NASA reports in a news release. “The mission will demonstrate the performance of the SLS rocket and test Orion’s capabilities over the course of about six weeks as it travels about 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and back to Earth.”

A full itinerary of events — including press conferences, virtual social opportunities, and more — is available online. Interested parties can also follow NASA’s Artemis blog for updates.

Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA taps Texas companies to launch revolutionary new spacesuit project

top (flight) gear

Two startups — including Texas-based Axiom Space — have been tasked with helping NASA gear up for human space exploration at the International Space Station and on the moon as part of a spacesuit deal potentially worth billions of dollars.

NASA recently picked Axiom and Collins Aerospace to help advance spacewalking capabilities in low-earth orbit and on the moon by outfitting astronauts with next-generation spacesuits. While headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Collins has a significant presence in the Houston Spaceport; Axiom Space calls Houston home.

This deal will help support landing the first woman and the first person of color on the moon as part of NASA’s return to our lunar neighbor. The equipment also will help NASA prepare for human missions to Mars.

Under this agreement, NASA, Axiom, and Collins “will develop advanced, reliable spacesuits that allow humans to explore the cosmos unlike ever before,” Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, says in a news release. “By partnering with industry, we are efficiently advancing the necessary technology to keep Americans on a path of successful discovery on the International Space Station and as we set our sights on exploring the lunar surface.”

Axiom and Collins were chosen under an umbrella contract known as Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS). The contract carries a potential value of $3.5 billion.

Michael Suffredini, co-founder, president, and CEO of Axiom, says his company’s “innovative approach to xEVAS spacesuits provides NASA with an evolvable design that enables cost-efficient development, testing, training, deployment, and real-time operations to address a variety of EVA needs and operational scenarios for a range of customers, including NASA.”

NASA astronauts have needed updated spacesuits for years.

“The decades-old spacesuit designs currently in use on the International Space Station are well past their prime. NASA had been working on new suits and showed off a patriotic prototype of a moonwalking outfit — called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU — back in 2019,” according to CNET.

A 2021 report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General called out delays in developing the spacesuits that would make a proposed 2024 human moon landing unfeasible, CNET says. Now, Axiom and Collins, instead of NASA, will create the spacesuits. Demonstration-ready spacesuits are supposed to be ready in 2025.

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This article originally ran on our sister site InnovationMap.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Amazon primes Texas college town for launch of first drone delivery gig

Prime time

Busy, techy, convenience-minded Texas A&M students could be among the first in the nation to test pilot a game-changing delivery system. Amazon plans to deploy its state-of-the art Prime Air drone delivery in College Station, Texas later this year.

The online juggernaut says it's already reaching out to College Station customers, telling them that they’ll soon receive free and fast drone delivery on thousands of everyday items. The deployment marks the largest selection of items to ever be available for drone delivery, the company says. College Station joins Lockeford, California as targeted test sites for drone launch.

“We are impressed with so many aspects of College Station,” notes an Amazon blog post announcing the news. “The innovative research conducted by Texas A&M University, the small-town feel, and the sense of community that is clear from the minute you arrive in town all make it a very special place.”

Jeff Bezos’ empire plans to also collaborate with the Aggies on tech. “We are thrilled about the opportunity to launch this service in College Station and partner with the city and its world-class university on some of the great work they’ve been doing in the area drone technology,” the post adds.

How will it work? Once onboarded, College Station customers can then view Prime Air-eligible items on Amazon, where they can place orders and receive an estimated arrival time with a status tracker for their order.

Drones will then fly to the designated delivery location, descend to the customer’s backyard, and hover at a safe height. The drones will then safely release the package, rise back up to altitude, and return to base, per Amazon.

Amazon is touting the difference of its drone fleet versus the masses. Prime Air drones fly up to 50 miles per hour, up to an altitude of 400 feet, and carry packages of up to 5 pounds.

Unlike most drones, Amazon notes, Prime Air drones utilize a sophisticated, sense-and-avoid system allowing them to operate at greater distances while safely and reliably avoiding other aircraft, people, pets, and obstacles. That means the drones can identify objects such as aircraft, birds, or static places like trees and chimneys, avoid them, and select a safe space to land and later, safely leave.

“Being one of the first drone delivery locations for Amazon puts College Station at the forefront of this exciting technology,” said John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, in a statement. “What happens here will help advance drone delivery for the rest of the country and perhaps the rest of the world. We welcome Amazon to our community and stand ready to assist however we can.”

College Station, Amazon promises, will benefit by more than just speedy, environmentally friendly delivery. “We’re bringing more than drone delivery to Lockeford and College Station,” notes the Amazon blog. “Through these Prime Air drone deliveries, we will create new jobs, build partnerships with local organizations, and help to reduce the impact of climate change on future generations.”

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Fort Worth museum reopens with new exhibits after 14 months of setbacks

Science for the Win

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will open its doors once again on Friday, June 25 after a series of setbacks have kept it closed for much of the past 14 months.

Like everything else, the museum closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It had plans to open in July 2020 that were pushed back a month due a high number of COVID-19 cases. Even then, the museum was only open on Saturdays and Sundays until another spike forced the complete closure of public hours for the museum in December 2020. And the brutal winter storm in February 2021 caused water damage from broken pipes, keeping them closed longer than anticipated.

According to a release, upon reopening, the museum will unveil several new and reimagined experiences that they have been working on throughout the closure.

In June, they will launch the Current Science Studio, a brand-new 2,500 square-foot exhibit sponsored by a $255,000 grant from Facebook. The new exhibit space will be anchored by Science On a Sphere, a giant global display system suspended from the ceiling developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Additionally, the museum will reopen the Children’s Museum, Noble Planetarium, Cattle Raisers Museum, DinoLabs, DinoDig, and the Heritage Gallery. The Omni Theater will remain closed indefinitely due to the water damage.

There will be a reopening preview for members of the museum on June 19 and 20 prior to the public reopening on June 25. The museum will then be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am-5 pm, and on Sundays from 12-5 pm. Weekdays will be reserved for the museum’s Little Scholars Program.

The museum will continue to observe current public health and safety guidelines, including a mask requirement for all visitors, regardless of vaccination status.

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Fort Worth museum nabs new high-tech exhibit with help from Facebook

Science for the Win

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will open a new high-tech exhibit in spring 2021, linking science with current events like the upcoming Mars rover landing, tracking hurricanes, or marking COVID-19 cases worldwide.

According to a December 2 release, the Current Science Studio will include an array of low-touch interactive activities and cutting-edge media, including a dozen holograms and a giant orb floating from the ceiling that can display content from NASA and NOAA. Facebook sponsored the new 2,500-square-foot studio with a $255,000 grant.

“It’s important we partner with organizations with a forward-thinking view on the use of technology,” says Doug Roberts, an astrophysicist and the museum's chief public engagement officer, in the release. “This makes science relevant and accessible whether you are looking at big data or a physical object. And it aligns with what Facebook is doing to connect people around the world.”

Anchoring the new exhibit space will be Science On a Sphere, a giant global display system suspended from the ceiling developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Science On a Sphere presents images of Earth’s atmospheric storms, climate change, ocean temperatures, and outer space phenomena in a way that is both intuitive and captivating. The large, interactive sphere will be among the highest-resolution anywhere in the world.

“Our goal is to connect guests to relevant discoveries and news happening right now,” says Morgan Rehnberg, a planetary scientist and the museum's chief scientist. “We could conceptualize an exhibit on the science of vaccinations, for instance, and how the new COVID-19 vaccine compares to other vaccines throughout history. Or we could track a hurricane or wildfires on Earth or space events like the rover landing on Mars next year.”

The exhibit will react quickly to news events and change with the flip of a switch. All studio elements, including a dozen holograms, will be connected to one theme for either self-exploration or a tour with a museum guide.

The exhibit will also show history, acting like a time machine, they say. The museum will display some artifacts as holographic images, enabling visitors to superimpose holographic projection onto physical objects, enabling guests to make a deeper connection.

Photo by Ethan Tweedie Photography, McDonald Observatory/Facebook

Magical West Texas attraction reopens to the public for spectacular stargazing

Can't Close the Cosmos

After closing on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory is reopening to the public on Friday, August 28.

The acclaimed West Texas observatory, named one of the best places in the U.S. to see stars, will require online reservations during this initial reopening phase. Tickets go on sale August 24, and all outdoor programs will be held at 25 percent capacity.

"It is a pleasure to welcome visitors back to McDonald Observatory for our iconic programs that immerse our guests in astronomy, our very dark night skies, and the visible cosmos," says director Taft Armandroff in a release. "Our team at the Frank N. Bash Visitors Center is eager to host you."

Beginning with a "star party" on August 28, observatory visitors will be provided with scheduled entry tickets to allow time for cleaning between programs. Visitors will drive their own vehicles to the summit of Mount Locke for daytime guided tours; shuttle transportation will not be provided.

To ensure the safety of its visitors and staff, the observatory is taking additional steps:

Packaged food and drinks will be available for purchase, but no food will be prepared on site.
Frequently touched surfaces such as door handles and tabletops will be cleaned twice daily with bleach or alcohol-based solutions.
Hand-sanitizing stations will be provided.
Public restrooms will be treated as single occupancy.
New signs will be posted reminding everyone of best hygiene practices.

The observatory will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and to heed the advice of national, state, and local health authorities. If the situation improves, the observatory may increase the capacity of public programs and start holding some programs indoors.

Since it closed to the public five months ago, the observatory has been livestreaming new programs to interact with astronomy lovers. These popular Deep Sky Tours, Moon Tours, and Solar Tours will continue once the visitors center reopens for onsite public programs.

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'Yellowstone' stars to greet fans at Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

Yellowstone news

Yellowstone fans, get your comfy shoes ready - there'll be a long line for this one. Cole Hauser a.k.a. "Rip Wheeler" on Yellowstone, and Taylor Sheridan, the show's co-creator, executive producer, and director of the series, will meet fans and sign autographs at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

The event will take place from 4:30-6:30 pm only on Friday, February 3. Location is the 6666 Ranch booth near the south end of Aisle 700 in the Amon G. Carter, Jr. Exhibits Hall.

According to a February 2 announcement from FWSSR, "fans will have the opportunity to snag an autograph as well as purchase some distinctive Yellowstone and 6666 Ranch merchandise while also enjoying all the features the Stock Show offers."

The event is free to attend (with paid Stock Show admission) and open to the public.

It's the second year in a row for Hauser to appear at FWSSR; in 2022, he and fellow cast mates drew huge crowds.

Sheridan, a Paschal High School graduate, is no stranger to Fort Worth; he lives in a ranch near Weatherford and filmed 1883, the prequel to Yellowstone, in and around Fort Worth. Currently, another spinoff, 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, is filming in North Texas.

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is winding up its 2023 run on Saturday, February 4.

Get free pet food, vaccines, and spay/neuter at Fort Worth animal event

Animal News

Animal shelters across North Texas are overcrowded right now, due to an increase in owner surrenders, and a group of animal rescues are coming to the rescue.

Several Texas-based animal welfare organizations are coming together on Saturday June 3, to offer a day of free pet food, vaccines, microchips, and spay/neuter vouchers to pet owners in Fort Worth.

The owner surrenders are a symptom of economic pressures and related issues such as food insecurity, which are up in Texas and across the U.S.

According to a release, in Fort Worth alone, the North Texas Food Bank estimates that 30 percent of the population faces challenges accessing nutritious food. These issues affect not only people, but pets as well - often resulting in families surrendering their pets to a shelter or to an animal rescue.

Fort Worth Animal Care and Control (FWACC), which receives animals from the area, has seen an increase in animals—more than 1,000 additional animals coming through its doors so far this ﬁscal year—with many exhibiting signs of illness easily prevented by vaccinations.

The signiﬁcant increase in animals has stressed resources that are already maxed out. FWACC for example, has faced a difficult crease in its "live release rate" - the percentage of animals that leave their care alive. Last year, its live release rate was at 96 percent and a year later, it has decreased to 87 percent.

Keeping pets at home where they have families who love them is a key component to preventing shelter crowding and the impact felt by the organizations who are faced with it.

The event is Saturday June 3, from 8 am-12 pm, rain or shine, and will take place at 1678 Rockwood Ln., across from Rockwood Park.

Organizations stepping up to help include Cowtown Friends of Fort Worth Animal Control; Spay Neuter Network; Dallas Pets Alive; The Love Pit; and SPCA of Texas.Partners: Fort Worth Animal Care and Control; Don’t Forget to Feed Me Pet Food Bank; Saving Hope Animal Rescue; and Rahr to the Rescue.

The event is supported by CUDDLY, a mission-driven company centered around the needs of rescued animals and the community focused programs that sustain them.

3 Dallas-Fort Worth entrepreneurs rank among Forbes' richest self-made women for 2023

Elite entrepreneurs

Twelve of the country's 100 most successful female entrepreneurs live in Texas this year, and three of them call Dallas-Fort Worth home. So says Forbes in its 2023 list of America's Richest Self-Made Women, released June 1.

"Bolstered in part by a rebound in the stock market, [the richest 100 female entrepreneurs] are cumulatively worth a record $124 billion, up nearly 12% from a year ago," says Forbes.

To make the Forbes list, women had to garner wealth on their own, rather than by inheriting or winning it.

Texas' wealthiest women have made their fortunes in fields ranging from home health care, insurance, and aviation logistics to jewelry design, dating apps, and running the show at SpaceX.

The three female entrepreneurs from North Texas who appear in the elite club of America’s richest self-made women (and their national rankings) are:

Robyn Jones, No. 29, of Fort Worth. Her net worth is estimated at $830 million. Jones is founder of Westlake-based Goosehead Insurance Agency LLC. She started the property and casualty insurance agency in 2003 after being frustrated with her truck-driver husband's "road warrior lifestyle," Forbes says. He joined her in 2004 and they took the company public in 2018. It has nearly 1,000 franchised offices.
April Anthony, No. 34, of Dallas. Forbes puts her net worth at $740 million. She founded the Dallas-based home health and hospice division of Encompass Health Corp and sold it for $750 million to HealthSouth. In 2022, she was named CEO of VitalCaring, a home health and hospice care firm.
Kathleen Hildreth, No. 44, of Aubrey. Her net worth is estimated at $590 million. Hildreth is co-founder of M1 Support Services LP, an aviation logistics company based in Denton. A service-disabled Army veteran, she graduated from West Point in 1983 and was deployed all around the world as a helicopter pilot.

The nine other Texans who appear on the list are from Austin and Central Texas.

With an estimated net worth at $4.8 billion, Thai Lee, of Austin, remains at the top of the list in Texas, and ranks No. 5 nationally.

She falls behind only No. 1 Diane Hendricks of Wisconsin (co-founder of ABC Supply, $15 billion net worth); No. 2 Judy Loveof Oklahoma (chairman and CEO, Love's Travel Stops And Country Stores, $10.2 billion); No. 3 Judy Faulkner of Wisconsin (founder and CEO, Epic Systems, $7.4 billion); and No. 4 Lynda Resnick of California (co-founder and co-owner of Wonderful Company, $5.3 billion) among America's richest self-made women.

For some additional perspective, Oprah Winfrey lands at No. 13 on the list for 2023. The TV titan (and most famous woman on the planet) has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, Forbes says.

Austin's Lee, a native of Bangkok who holds an MBA from Harvard University, is founder, president, and CEO of SHI International Corp., a provider of IT products and services with a projected revenue of $14 billion in 2023. Fun fact: "Lee majored in both biology and economics," Forbes says, "in part because her English was less than perfect and she wanted to avoid writing and speaking in class."

The remaining eight Texas women on the list are:

Gwynne Shotwell, No. 27, of Jonesboro (Coryell-Hamilton counties). Her net worth is estimated at $860 million. Shotwell is president and COO of Elon Musk's SpaceX. She manages the operations of the commercial space exploration company and owns an estimated stake of 1 percent, Forbes says.
Lisa Su, No. 34, Austin. Forbes pegs Su’s net worth at $740 million, tying her with April Anthony of Dallas. The native of Taiwan is president and CEO of Santa Clara, California-based semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices.
Kendra Scott, No. 47, of Austin.Forbes says she has amassed a net worth of $550 million as founder of Kendra Scott LLC, which designs and sells jewelry in more than 100 stores (and is worth $360 million). The celebrity entrepreneur is also a judge on TV's Shark Tank.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, No. 52, of Austin. She is worth an estimated $510 million. Herd is co-founder and CEO of Bumble Inc., which operates two online dating apps: Bumble and Badoo. She owns a 17% stake in Bumble and became the youngest self-made woman billionaire after it went public in February 2021.
Paige Mycoskie, No. 73, of Austin. She is worth an estimated $380 million. Mycoskie created founded her 1970s-inspired California lifestyle brand, Aviator Nation, which took off during the pandemic and now has 16 retail locations across the U.S. If the name sounds familiar, that's because she's the sister of TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie, with whom she competed on TV's The Amazing Race.
Imam Abuzeid, No. 77, of Austin. Her net worth is estimated at $350 million. Abuzeid is the co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health, which she started in 2017 to help alleviate America's nursing shortage. Forbes describes it as "a souped-up version of LinkedIn for nurses." Abuzeid is one of only a handful of Black female founders to run a company valued at more than $1 billion, Forbes notes.
Julia Cheek, No. 92, of Austin. Her net worth is estimated at $260 million. Cheek founded at-home testing company Everly Health in 2015 "out of frustration at having to pay thousands for lab testing to diagnose issues related to vitamin imbalance," Forbes says. It got a Shark Tank deal with Lori Greiner and is now worth roughly $1.8 billion.
Belinda Johnson, No. 96, of Austin. She is worth an estimated $250 million. Johnson was Airbnb's first chief operating officer and led many of its legal disputes. She stepped down from that role in March 2020, Forbes says, and left the company's board in June 2023.

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