Dawn Spacecraft to Enter Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta on July 15

"On July 15, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged encounter with the asteroid Vesta, making the mission the first to enter orbit around a main-belt asteroid.
The main asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Dawn will study Vesta for one year, and observations will help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system's history."

NASA today debuts an inspirational video featuring the International Space Station and its crews set to the song "World" by recording artists Five for Fighting. The video features imagery of both the space station and the space shuttles that have served as the workhorses of space station construction and resupply. It uses selections from orbit as well as Earth-bound training and launch activities to communicate the importance of space exploration and its benefits for future generations. Intermixed are selections of video that show the beauty of planet Earth as seen from the space station and scenes of children inspired by space exploration. The lyrics emphasize that "history starts now" and invite listeners to ask the question, "What kind of world do you want?"

The video ends with a reminder that although STS-135 is the final space shuttle mission, the International Space Station will continue an uninterrupted human presence in space. The video will air on NASA Television at 7:15 p.m. CDT. For NASA TV schedules, downlink information and streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

To watch the video online, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=100242111

NASA also has released a new 26-minute video about the history, research and promise of the International Space Station. During the past decade, 15 nations have come together, setting aside boundaries and differences, to create the largest and longest inhabited object to ever orbit the Earth. To view that video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/first10next10.html

For more information about the space shuttle and the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

Senator Hutchison Calls for Immediate Action on Space Launch System

"No one questions the need to ensure the best understanding of program costs. We do that every year on an ongoing basis with every major NASA program, as we set spending levels in our annual budget. There is simply no need to defer announcing the vehicle design decision while awaiting yet another cost review. "To do so only increases the real human cost that NASA employees and contractors are experiencing in the face of continued uncertainty about the future. Without a decision we will continue to lose skilled workers that we need to build the shuttle replacements. Besides the toll this will take on workers and their families, who have contributed so much to science, our national security, and the economy, it will be difficult and more costly to replace this invaluable human capital. "We have the information to make a decision now, and I call on the Administration and OMB to immediately make public and approve NASA's technical design decision on the heavy lift vehicle."

In less than two weeks, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” has grossed more than $261 million at the box office. And along with the big-name actors involved, other stars of the movie are NASA workers, locations, and technologies.