Commercial Crew Partner Boeing Tests Starliner Spacecraft

Engineers from NASA’s Langley Research Center and Boeing dropped a full-scale test article of the company’s CST-100 Starliner into Langley’s 20-foot-deep Hydro Impact Basin. Although the spacecraft is designed to land on land, Boeing is testing the Starliner’s systems in water to ensure astronaut safety in the unlikely event of an emergency. via NASA http://ift.tt/218F5cG

Flowers Harvested on the Ground and in Space for Deep-Space Food Crop Research

Zinnia plants from the Veggie ground control experiment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida were harvested Feb. 11 in the same way that crew member Scott Kelly will harvest the zinnias growing in the Veggie system aboard the International Space Station on Feb. 14—Valentine’s Day. via NASA http://ift.tt/247LgjK

Hubble Watches the Icy Blue Wings of Hen 2-437

In this cosmic snapshot, the spectacularly symmetrical wings of planetary nebula Hen 2-437 show up in a magnificent icy blue hue. via NASA http://ift.tt/1O6EZc8

Astronaut Peggy Whitson Trains For a Spacewalk

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson trains underwater for a spacewalk at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Whitson is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in late 2016 as part of Expedition 50/51. via NASA http://ift.tt/1muWexu

Sea Ice and Cloud Streets in the Sea of Okhotsk

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of cloud streets and sea ice in the Sea of Okhotsk on Feb. 8, 2016. Cloud streets are long parallel bands of cumulus clouds that form when cold air blows over warmer waters and a warmer air layer rests over the top of both. via NASA http://ift.tt/1osc2Tu

Feb. 9, 1995, Bernard Harris and Michael Foale Ready For a Spacewalk

STS-63 astronauts Bernard A. Harris, Jr., payload commander (right), and C. Michael Foale, mission specialist (left), are ready to exit space shuttle Discovery’s airlock for a spacewalk on Feb. 9, 1995. On this extravehicular activity (EVA), which lasted 4 hours and 38 minutes, Bernard Harris became the first African-American to walk in space. via NASA http://ift.tt/20TmLnI

Space Station Flyover of Super Bowl 50

On the evening of Feb. 7, 2016, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly snapped this photo of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. from the International Space Station, writing, «Got to see the #SuperBowl in person after all! But at 17,500MPH, it didn’t last long. #YearInSpace» via NASA http://ift.tt/20Rhu07

Hubble Views Merging Galaxies in Eridanus

This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a peculiar galaxy known as NGC 1487, lying about 30 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Eridanus. via NASA http://ift.tt/1nLNNyI

Floating Hills on Pluto’s Sputnik Planum

The nitrogen ice glaciers on Pluto appear to carry an intriguing cargo: numerous, isolated hills that may be fragments of water ice from Pluto’s surrounding uplands. These hills individually measure one to several miles or kilometers across, according to images and data from NASA’s New Horizons mission. via NASA http://ift.tt/1nPILSw

Feb. 3, 1995, Astronaut Eileen Collins at the Pilot’s Station on Shuttle Discovery

In this Feb. 3, 1995, image taken onboard space shuttle Discovery on flight day one of the STS-63 mission, astronaut Eileen M. Collins — the first woman to pilot the shuttle — is at the pilot’s station during a «hotfiring» procedure prior to rendezvous with the Russian Mir Space Station. via NASA http://ift.tt/1o6BSMq