CONTENTS
- The Spring Edition of News & Notes Arrives
- Aerospace Latin America Series: Rebecca Charbonneau Presents on April 3
- New Hubble Oral Histories Collection
The Spring Edition of News & Notes Arrives
With signs of spring popping up outdoors, the NASA History Office brings you the
Spring 2025 issue of NASA History News & Notes
reflecting on some of the transitional periods in NASAâs past, as well as the legacies of a few of NASAâs past programs and projects.
CONTENTS
- From the Chief Historian
- 2025 NASA History Seminar Series: Aerospace Latin America
- The XS-11 and the Transition Away from Mandatory Jet Pilot Training for NASA Astronauts
- The High-Flying Legacy of Airborne Observation: How Experimental Aircraft Contributed to Astronomy at NASA
- NASAâs Tortuous Effort to Consolidate its Aircraft
- The Space Between: Mesoscale Lightning Observations and Weather Forecasting, 1965â82
- Adding Color to the Moon: Jack Kinzlerâs Oral History Interviews
- The Founding of the NACA
- Remembering the DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory at NASA
- John W. âJackâ Boyd (1925â2025)
- News from Around NASA
- Upcoming Meetings
Delve into the new edition:
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/newsnotes-42-1.pdf
Aerospace Latin America Series: Rebecca Charbonneau Presents on April 3
Credit: Alex Pérez ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
âThe ALMA Telescope: How International Partnerships
Transformed Astronomy in Latin Americaâ
Rebecca Charbonneau
Historian at the American Institute of Physics
Thursday, April 3, 2:00 pm EDT / 1:00 pm CDT / 11:00 am PDT on Teams (link
below)
Situated in the high-altitude Atacama Desert of northern Chile, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of
66 radio telescopes, jointly operated by an international partnership among Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Chile. With roots in three ambitious projectsâthe Millimeter Array (MMA) of the United States, the Large Southern
Array (LSA) of Europe, and the Large Millimeter Array (LMA) of JapanâALMA serves as a key case study in the history of international scientific collaboration and the politics of âbig science.â
This talk will trace the development of ALMA from its conceptual origins in the late 20th century to its realization as one of the most expensive
and expansive ground-based astronomical projects to date. Special attention will be given to Chileâs critical role in facilitating the siting of this instrument, which takes advantage of the unique atmospheric conditions of the Atacama Desert while also raising
questions about land use, international power dynamics, and local agency.
By exploring the history of ALMA, this talk will provide a critical perspective on the intersections of science, geopolitics, and Latin Americaâs
role in shaping global astronomy. It will examine how collaborative ventures like ALMA navigate longstanding asymmetries in global science, highlighting both the tensions and possibilities inherent in international scientific partnerships.
Rebecca Charbonneau is a historian of science with expertise
in radio astronomy and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). She is a Historian at the American Institute of Physics and an Adjunct Assistant Scientist at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Her first book, Mixed Signals: Alien Communication
Across the Iron Curtain (2024), tells the story of the Cold War-era race to communicate with alien intelligence.
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New Hubble Oral History Collection
As we get ready to celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's 35th anniversary on April 24, the NASA History Office presents a new online collection
of oral history transcripts sharing the experiences of the leaders, scientists, engineers, and astronauts who contributed to the space observatory. Drawn from NASAâs oral history collections, as well as some of the oral histories conducted by Christopher Gainor
for his book Not Yet Imagined: A Study
of Hubble Space Telescope Operations, this compilation is an excellent resource for those eager to learn Hubbleâs backstory.
Check it out!
https://www.nasa.gov/history/history-publications-and-resources/oral-histories/hubble-space-telescope-oral-histories/
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