Small Steps, Giant Leaps

Heather Koehler, NASA Technical Fellow for Flight Mechanics, explains how knowledge at NASA is passed from person to person, program to program.

NASA’s experimental X-59 airplane went supersonic for the first time on June 5, 2026. What's next for the mission that aims to reopen the skies to quiet commercial supersonic flight?

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station depend on life support systems that provide clean air, drinkable water, and a safe, livable environment. These systems are what make long-duration spaceflight not only possible, but comfortable. Today, some of these space station technologies have been adapted for Artemis – specifically, aboard the Orion crew capsule.

Ground teams connect with astronauts aboard the International Space Station to help them carry out research and experiments. Kassandra Stephens, payload communications manager at the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall Space Flight Center, works with space station crews to get science done.

A NASA research program collaborates with universities to revolutionize the way we design, build, and operate aircraft. Angela Surgenor, deputy program director of the Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program, explains.