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: 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.
: Responding to a request from a NASA visitor center in 1974, American Outdoor Products took tubs of Neapolitan ice cream, froze them solid and used a bandsaw to cut them into slices. The segments were then freeze-dried and wrapped to create "Astronaut Ice Cream." Still popular 50 years later, the treat is marketed today by Astronaut Foods, which will mark the milestone with limited packaging and products.
: "The Great Food Truck Race" on Food Network launched its 17th season at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Sunday (Jun. 30). With the teams gathered at the George S. Abbey Rocket Park, host and chef Tyler Florence judged their first competition, the "Blast-Off Challenge," to create a dish that would satisfy the often dulled tastes of astronauts in space. Joining Tyler was Space Center Houston's mascot, Cosmo.
: 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."
: The 21st Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft to deliver cargo to the International Space Station will fly under the name of the fallen commander of the space shuttle Challenger, the company announced on Monday (July 1). Francis R. "Dick" Scobee was lost with his STS-51L crewmates after flying on the week-long STS-41C mission in 1984. The new ship bearing his name is targeted to launch in early August.
: The California Science Center is still a few years away from opening its Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center and with it, the towering display of space shuttle Endeavour in its launch configuration. Until then, the Los Angeles museum has "Work in Progress," a gallery to preview the expansion and some of the artifacts that will join Endeavour on exhibit. Leading off the displays is SpaceX's first three-time-flown Dragon cargo spacecraft.
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