Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - February 22, 2013 and JSC Today

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: February 22, 2013 10:26:04 PM GMT-06:00
To: Bobby Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - February 22, 2013 and JSC Today

 

 

From: Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2013 8:52 AM
To: Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - February 22, 2013 and JSC Today

 

 

Happy Friday everyone.   Have a great weekend.

 

 

 

Friday, February 22, 2013

 

JSC TODAY HEADLINES

1.            We Don't Just Have Astronauts -- We Have Musical Astronauts!

2.            See Peter Gabriel 'In Your Eyes' and in Mission Control

3.            Attention Developers: Learn How to Get Your App to JSC Users

4.            Don't Wait -- Request JSC Library Training for Your Organization

5.            Recent JSC Announcement

6.            Family Space Day -- Tomorrow, Feb. 23

7.            Chili Cook-Off Team Captains Meeting

8.            Situational Awareness Class: April 30 to May 2 -- Building 20, Room 205/206

________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY

" The best way to save face is keep the bottom half shut. "

 

-- Anonymous

________________________________________

1.            We Don't Just Have Astronauts -- We Have Musical Astronauts!

Music fans at Jones Hall in Houston on Feb. 15 were in for a special treat when amateur flutist and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman showed off her musical skills, alongside fellow NASA astronaut Dan Burbank (on Earth) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield (in space, of all things). This special event showed that songs and space can be "music to our ears," especially when paired with Irish band The Chieftains and the Houston Symphony. Read more about it and see pics here.

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

 

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2.            See Peter Gabriel 'In Your Eyes' and in Mission Control

Singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel can be "In Your Eyes" if you click on the video of his visit to mission control in NASA's gallery or on YouTube. Gabriel, with his family, spoke with  Expedition 33 Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineers Tom Marshburn and Chris Hadfield aboard the International Space Station.

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

 

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3.            Attention Developers: Learn How to Get Your App to JSC Users

The Information Resources Directorate (IRD) is holding a question-and-answer session with NASA's Center for Internal Mobile Applications (CIMA) on Feb. 28 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Building 1, Conference Room 602C.

CIMA, under EAST, will provide information to JSC developers on the NASA internal app development process and identify apps that are already being developed and/or investigated, as well as the internal app hosting process. CIMA has developed mobile apps such as the NASA WebTADS and NASA Contacts. To learn more, visit apps@NASA or: https://cima.nasa.gov/

To participate via audio, call 1-877-952-3571 and enter pass code 1675701. To start the WebEx session, go here. Log in to your account. Click "Start Now." Follow the instructions that appear on your screen and use the following login information:

Meeting Number: 999 785 882

Meeting Password: 2013irdcima!

JSC IRD Outreach x41334 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/default.aspx

 

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4.            Don't Wait -- Request JSC Library Training for Your Organization

JSC organizations can request training sessions for their groups. A librarian can customize the session depending upon your organization's needs -- whether it's a general overview of resources (databases, e-books, JSC documents, imagery and video repositories) or a tailored session focusing on a specific area. This can include aerospace medicine, engineering, and historical resources such as Apollo and more. Librarians can train employees via WebEx or in person.

Schedule a session today by emailing the Scientific and Technical Information Center, or call 281-483-4245.

The JSC Library is a service of JSC's Information Resources Directorate.

Ebony Fondren x32490 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov

 

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5.            Recent JSC Announcement

Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement:

JSCA 13-008: JSC Ombudsman for Acquisition Matters

Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page.

Linda Turnbough x36246 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/DocumentManagement/announcements/default.aspx

 

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6.            Family Space Day -- Tomorrow, Feb. 23

The Challenger Learning Center at the George Observatory is holding a Family Space Day tomorrow, Feb. 23, from about 3 to 8 p.m. Available for purchase are tickets to complete a 45-minute Challenger Center Mission to the Moon! Challenger Center mission tickets may be purchased for $10/person online. After enjoying a trip to space, stay for the evening and look at the night sky through our telescopes! George Observatory is located in the heart of Brazos Bend State Park. Admission to the park is $7 for adults, and kids under 12 are free.

Event Date: Saturday, February 23, 2013   Event Start Time:3:00 PM   Event End Time:8:00 PM

Event Location: George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park

 

Add to Calendar

 

Megan Hashier 281-226-4179 http://www.hmns.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=404&Ite...

 

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7.            Chili Cook-Off Team Captains Meeting

Pick up tickets any time on Tuesday, Feb. 26, between 3 to 6 p.m. at Sherlock's Pub on Bay Area. Please pick up tickets and the pay registration fee if you still owe. If you have NOT registered, what are you waiting for? April 13 will be here sooner than you know! Check the website for complete details.

Jeff Bauer 281-226-5132 https://external.jsc.nasa.gov/events/chili/index.cfm

 

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8.            Situational Awareness Class: April 30 to May 2 -- Building 20, Room 205/206

NASA is involved in operations where there is always a potential for human error and undesirable outcomes. As part of a team, how we communicate, process information and react in various situations determines our level of success. In our efforts, we often run into glitches and the potential for human error. Situational Awareness is a course that addresses these issues. It involves combining our awareness of what's going on in the operations environment, a knowledge of system failure design criteria and an understanding of expected outcomes from system failures to avoid hazardous situations and develop safe responses to unsafe conditions that may realistically be expected to arise. This course instructs students in the basic tenets and practices of situational awareness and how they apply to hazardous operations in NASA to promote the best proactive safety techniques in practice. Two-and-a-half days. SATERN Registration Required. (Contractors: Update Profile.) https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Polly Caison x41279

 

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JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. To see an archive of previous JSC Today announcements, go to http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/news/jsctoday/archives.

 

 

 

 

NASA TV: 10 am Central (11 EST) – E34's Kevin Ford, Tom Marshburn & Chris Hadfield join a "Google+ Hangout"

 

Human Spaceflight News

Friday, February 22, 2013

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

ISS Researchers Target Pathogens for New Vaccines

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

Gravity masks some potentially significant factors in the spread of bacterial borne diseases, according to investigators who outlined research in the field under way aboard the International Space Station before the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston this week. Two of those are the movement of fluid over the sensitive surface areas of bacterial cells, a force known as fluid shear, and the discovery of Hfq, an evolutionarily conserved protein that acts an a global regulator of gene responses to spaceflight conditions. The findings have the potential to lead to treatments for terrestrial illnesses well beyond those caused by Salmonella, a particular focus of space research over the last few years, according to Cheryl Nickerson, a microbiologist from Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and a principal investigator.

 

Nasa to turn ISS into coldest spot in the universe

 

Srinivas Laxman - Tamil News Network (Sri Lanka)

 

Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Pasadena in California is developing an experiment which will make the International Space Station (ISS) the coldest spot in the universe, quite literally. Interestingly, this hitherto unknown project, known as the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL), is being led by an Indian woman, Anita Sengupta, who hails from West Bengal. Prior to this she led the supersonic parachute development for the highly successful Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission which landed the Curiosity rover on the Red Planet on August 6, 2012. In an email interview, Anita, who is planning to visit India later this year, explained that the main role of the new laboratory, which will become a part of the ISS in 2016, will be to explore new quantum physics in an extremely cold temperature regime that cannot be explored in earth-based laboratories.

 

Space Station orbit readjusted

 

RIA Novosti

 

Russia's Progress M-17M resupply spacecraft will readjust the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, a Russian space industry source said. "The space freighter's engines will be started at 14:34 Moscow Time [10:34 GMT]. They will work for 276.7 seconds. As a result of the maneuver, the ISS's orbit will be raised by about 1 kilometer," the source told RIA Novosti. Adjustments to the station's orbit are carried out regularly to compensate for the Earth's gravity and to facilitate the successful docking and undocking of spacecraft. This time, the orbit readjustment is expected to create the best conditions for the Soyuz TMA-06M manned spacecraft's undocking. The Soyuz TMA-06M will bring Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin, as well as NASA astronaut Kevin Ford back to Earth on March 15.

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Russian Mission Control to adjust ISS orbit

 

Itar-Tass

 

The Russian Mission Control Centre will adjust the International Space Station's orbit on Friday, February 22, for the Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft to undock safely. Soyuz will take Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford back to Earth on March 15. The transport ship Progress M-17M will be used for orbit correction. Its engines will be activated at 14:34 Moscow time and will work 276.7 seconds to raise the station by about 1 kilometre. Every day, the ISS falls by 150-200 metres. (NO FURTHER TEXT)

 

House space subcommittee chair says meteor threat hearings will question NASA priorities

 

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

 

The chairman of the House space subcommittee said in Huntsville Thursday that upcoming hearings on the dangers of near-Earth objects like the Russian meteor will mean "tough questions" about NASA's mission. "We have to ask some difficult, tough questions about near-Earth objects," U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) said in an interview. "Are we focusing our dollars in the right place? Should we be worrying about Mars or distant planets, or should we be worried about the things that could disrupt our way of life on Earth?"

 

Stockman blames Obama and Senate for NASA sequestration

 

Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac

 

Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, slammed President Obama and the Senate for sequestration's possible cuts to NASA. Stockman made his comments at the Johnson Space Center on Wednesday. "NASA funding fulfills one of the few legitimate functions of government.  Friday's destructive explosion over Russia of a meteor we never saw, and the near-hit by an asteroid, should be a warning to Obama against further cuts to NASA," Stockman said in a statement.  "Cuts to NASA jeopardize our safety and security."

 

Device made by Arlington company to be used in NASA test flight

 

Virginia Business

 

A device made by Arlington-based ATK is designed to ensure the safety of NASA astronauts on future space missions. ATK (Alliant Techsystems Inc.) has delivered a launch abort motor to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for next year's test flight of NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. The Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) will have no crew on board. ATK's abort motor is part of Orion's Launch Abort System.

 

Google+ Hangout hits the final video frontier on International Space Station

 

Alan Boyle - NBCNews.com's Cosmic Log

 

Friday's live Google+ Hangout represents one small step for NASA, one giant leap for the Web-based videoconferencing tool. Space-to-Earth hookups are nothing new for the International Space Station: NASA TV regularly broadcasts video from the orbital outpost as it circles the globe at an altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers). Astronauts have been sending Twitter updates and Flickr photos from space for years. Heck, even NASA's robots have Facebook pages. But Friday's hour-long event, scheduled to run from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. ET, marks the first time that NASA has done a Hangout. Questions can be submitted during the Hangout via Google+, via Twitter (by including the hashtag #askAstro) and via NASA's Facebook page.

 

Astronauts to host Google+ 'hangout'

 

Frank Konkel - Federal Computer Week

 

NASA, the agency that brought you the first ever tweet from space (2009) and a FourSquare check-in from Mars (2012), will host a Google+ Hangout live with the International Space Station on Feb. 22 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Eastern. The Hangout is viewable on the NASA Google+ Page or NASA's YouTube channel.

 

3 tips: International Space Station

 

Jennifer Kopf - Lancaster

 

Maybe you'll never get the chance to go into space — OK, make that "more than likely" — but on Friday you can chat "face to face" live, 11 a.m. to noon, with the astronauts living and working 240 miles above earth on the International Space Station. The deadline for submitting videotaped questions has passed, but you still can submit questions in real time, or simply watch the event live. Here's how to take part: 1. To watch the astronauts answer questions, visit NASA's Google+ page.

 

Daniels to aid space program

Purdue president to co-chair human spaceflight panel

 

Eric Weddle - Lafayette Journal & Courier

 

Purdue University's new President Mitch Daniels has been tapped to help guide the country's human space exploration. Daniels is co-chairman of the Committee on Human Spaceflight, an offshoot of the National Research Council, according to a Purdue news release Thursday. The appointment continues through June 30, 2014. The committee is tasked with studying the long-term goals, capabilities and direction of the spaceflight program, including missions beyond low-Earth orbit, and recommending how to make such a program sustainable.

 

Daniels to co-chair panel reviewing space program

 

Associated Press

 

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels has joined a panel that will make recommendations about the future of the nation's space program. The Committee on Human Spaceflight is part of the 2010 NASA Authorization Act. Its purpose is to review the space program's long-term goals and direction and suggest ways to sustain it.

 

Atlantis brings 'wow' factor to Kennedy Space Center

Grand opening for $100 million shuttle exhibit is June 29

 

Todd Halvorson - Florida Today

 

 

Mark your calendars — June 29 is the grand opening date for the $100 million Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex — then prepare to be awestruck by the magnificent flying machine. "The very first time, it really is a 'Wow!' And that's exactly what we wanted," said Tim Macy, director of project development and construction with Delaware North Parks & Resorts, the company that operates the visitor complex under a NASA contract. "It's like, 'Wow, I didn't know it was that big.' You know, 'How does it fit in this building?' "

 

Space shuttle Atlantis exhibit opens June 29

 

Greg Pallone - Central Florida News 13

 

In just a few months, space shuttle Atlantis will be put on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Thursday, the complex unveiled a new logo and announced an official grand opening date of Saturday, June 29, 2013.

 

Kennedy Space Center: Atlantis exhibit to open June 29

 

Dewayne Bevil - Orlando Sentinel

 

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will unveil its exhibit that showcases the space shuttle Atlantis on June 29, it was announced Thursday. The $100 million project is under construction around the orbiter, which has been lifted off the ground and placed at a 43-degree angle to simulate its position in space when leaving the International Space Station.  Space center guests will see Atlantis' payload doors open and its robotic arm extended. The 90,000-square-foot exhibit will include 60 interactive stations outlining the history of the space-shuttle program.

 

Space shuttle 'Atlantis' exhibit opens in June

 

Sharon Kennedy Wynne - Tampa Bay Times

 

An exhibit that showcases the space shuttle Atlantis will open June 29 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, it was announced Thursday. The new $100 million, 90,000-square-foot exhibit is home to the retired space shuttle, as well as an education center where guests will see Atlantis' payload doors open and its robotic arm extended.

 

'Space Shuttle Atlantis' Exhibit Gets Logo, Opening Date

 

Robert Pearlman - collectSPACE.com

 

NASA's final space shuttle to fly in space will be exhibited to the public in a facility that bears simply the retired orbiter's name, officials announced on Thursday. NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, which will host the retired shuttle Atlantis, also revealed the logo for its new 90,000 square-foot, $100 million "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit, which will be used on monument signage at the entrance and on a variety of retail merchandise, marketing and promotional materials when the building opens to the public on June 29.

 

The Lessons We Learned from Space Shuttle Enterprise

 

Elizabeth Howell - Universe Today

 

36 years ago Sunday, two astronauts aboard the space shuttle Enterprise took the ship out for its initial test flight. It landed on the back of a 747 before undertaking a series of free flights starting in June that year. Enterprise was designed as a test ship only, and was never intended to fly in space. Instead, it was used for a series of flying and landing approach tests to see how well the shuttle maneuvered during the landing. The astronauts first flew a series of "captive" flights aboard the 747, then cut the test shuttle loose for five free flights over several weeks.

 

Astronaut's suit and photos donated to Weirton museum

 

Steubenville Herald-Star

 

Former Weirton Mayor Mike Andochick, who served from 1971 to 1979, visited the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center Jan. 22, donating several items, including a training suit and photographs that belonged to astronaut G. David Low, who was married to Andochick's daughter Joann. Low, who died after a battle with cancer in 2008, flew missions on Columbia in 1990, Atlantis in 1991 and Endeavor in 1993, logging more than 700 hours in space, including a six-hour spacewalk. The materials will be used in a future space exhibit at the museum.

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In Memoriam: David S. McKay

 

Bruce Betts - The Planetary Society (planetary.org)

 

I am sad to report that NASA scientist David S. McKay passed away Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 at age 77.   I got to know David in his role as a Co-Investigator on The Planetary Society's Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment) project.  David was engaged early on in the project and was engaged particularly in recommendations of organisms to fly in space, and in suggestions for members of our science team.  He was enthusiastic about science and a pleasure to work with.  He had long been a friend of the Society prior to the LIFE experiment.

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

ISS Researchers Target Pathogens for New Vaccines

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

Gravity masks some potentially significant factors in the spread of bacterial borne diseases, according to investigators who outlined research in the field under way aboard the International Space Station before the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston this week.

 

Two of those are the movement of fluid over the sensitive surface areas of bacterial cells, a force known as fluid shear, and the discovery of Hfq, an evolutionarily conserved protein that acts an a global regulator of gene responses to spaceflight conditions.

 

The findings have the potential to lead to treatments for terrestrial illnesses well beyond those caused by Salmonella, a particular focus of space research over the last few years, according to Cheryl Nickerson, a microbiologist from Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and a principal investigator.

 

In the U. S. alone, more than 40,000 cases of food poisoning linked to Salmonella are reported annually. The actual number, though, is likely much higher. The economic impact of productive work time lost due to food poisoning is estimated at more than $2 billion annually, underscoring the benefits of an effective vaccine.

 

The Biodesign Institute provided a statement on the ISS research activities in conjunction with Nickerson's presentation.

 

Salmonella studies from a 2006 space shuttle mission revealed that Salmonella bacteria show a significant increase in their virulence in the absence of gravity. The fluid shear present in the weightless environment may trick the microbes into responding as though they were in the human digestive system.

 

Follow on studies by Nickerson and her collaborators examined the post-spaceflight state of the Salmonella microbe's circular chromosome. They detected alterations in 167 genes and 73 proteins cultured in the absence of gravity. The altered genes included those associated with virulence. One third of the altered gene pairs were under the control of Hfq.

 

Additional research identified Hfq as a regulator in spaceflight-induced responses to other pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common bacterium responsible for sometimes fatal infections in humans.

 

Working in collaboration with the Biodesign Institute's Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Anderson's team is hopeful the unveiling of subtle cellular mechanism will lead to new treatments.

 

Researchers are preparing a new investigation in the field that should reach the space station later this year. PHOENIX will feature the use of nematodes, or small round worms, as subjects. Investigators will follow along as the worms are infected with pathogens in the weightless realm.

 

Nasa to turn ISS into coldest spot in the universe

 

Srinivas Laxman - Tamil News Network (Sri Lanka)

 

Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Pasadena in California is developing an experiment which will make the International Space Station (ISS) the coldest spot in the universe, quite literally.

 

Interestingly, this hitherto unknown project, known as the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL), is being led by an Indian woman, Anita Sengupta, who hails from West Bengal. Prior to this she led the supersonic parachute development for the highly successful Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission which landed the Curiosity rover on the Red Planet on August 6, 2012.

 

In an email interview, Anita, who is planning to visit India later this year, explained that the main role of the new laboratory, which will become a part of the ISS in 2016, will be to explore new quantum physics in an extremely cold temperature regime that cannot be explored in earth-based laboratories.

 

"It is a regime where matter ceases to behave like particles , but instead like a wave,'' she said, while pointing out that it may be representative of the way matter was at the formation of the universe. "This is a very exciting fundamental physics experiment that will make the ISS the coldest spot in the universe , quite literally. We will see new physics only enabled by the microgravity environment of the ISS,'' she said.

 

The 17-nation ISS operates in the low earth orbit at an altitude of about 370km.

 

"We started the development in October 2012 and will launch roughly in April 2016. We are in the design phase now. It will be installed by astronauts into the ISS and operated remotely by us at JPL,'' she stated. According to her, CAL is likely to be launched by the Dragon cargo vehicle.

 

House space subcommittee chair says meteor threat hearings will question NASA priorities

 

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

 

The chairman of the House space subcommittee said in Huntsville Thursday that upcoming hearings on the dangers of near-Earth objects like the Russian meteor will mean "tough questions" about NASA's mission.

 

"We have to ask some difficult, tough questions about near-Earth objects," U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) said in an interview. "Are we focusing our dollars in the right place? Should we be worrying about Mars or distant planets, or should we be worried about the things that could disrupt our way of life on Earth?"

 

Palazzo, who chairs the space subcommittee of the House Committee on Space, Science and Technology, was in Huntsville for his first tour of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. He was escorted by subcommittee vice-chairman Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville). Palazzo represents Mississippi's 4th Congressional District, home to NASA's Stennis Space Center. That is where the propulsion systems developed at Marshall are tested.

 

Palazzo complimented Marshall Director Patrick Scheuermann, who came to Marshall from Stennis, and the Redstone military leaders he met during an afternoon of briefings for their good working relationship and "sense of unity and purpose." He said Marshall "is definitely going to have a role in anything that happens" regarding new emphasis on finding potentially threatening objects in space.

 

Asked how he advocates for NASA in Washington during tight financial times, Palazzo said believes "we've thrown too many things at NASA." The space agency needs to get back to its core purpose of space exploration and it needs the Space Launch System being developed at Marshall to do that.

 

Stockman blames Obama and Senate for NASA sequestration

 

Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac

 

Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, slammed President Obama and the Senate for sequestration's possible cuts to NASA.

 

Stockman made his comments at the Johnson Space Center on Wednesday.

 

"NASA funding fulfills one of the few legitimate functions of government.  Friday's destructive explosion over Russia of a meteor we never saw, and the near-hit by an asteroid, should be a warning to Obama against further cuts to NASA," Stockman said in a statement.  "Cuts to NASA jeopardize our safety and security."

 

Stockman is a member of the House Science Space and Technology Committee, and sits on the subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

 

Stockman said the House had passed two bills to prevent sequestration, but they failed in the Senate. He said two areas are better suited for government cuts.

 

"It makes no sense to cut NASA funding while we're spending $2.2 billion to give people free cell phones," Stockman said.  "We're spending $26 billion on food stamps for people who make too much money to qualify for them, but we're cutting NASA?  That's irresponsible."

 

The cell phone program was part of the Lifeline program, a phone program created in 1984. The Wall Street Journal reported the program had widespread abuse when it expanded to providing cell phones, though the Federal Communications Commission since tightened restrictions.

 

The $26 billion on food stamps is based on a Congressional Budget Office estimate over a 10-year span.

 

Sequestration will automatically cut government agencies like NASA by 8.2 percent, should congress fail to act by March 1. Allard Beutel, a spokesman for NASA said this means the agency, which has a $17.7 billion budget for this year, would have to find $726 million in cuts for the remaining six months of this fiscal year.

 

Beutel said these cuts would create serious delays and shrinking ambitions in many NASA projects. He said these included programs such as the re-launching of human spacecraft in the US, the development of newer spacecraft, space-based earth observation, and observation of near-earth objects such as asteroids.

 

Beutel said the budget has been stable at NASA for the past several years, and this has helped the organization's planning. For example, he noted the program to re-launch human spacecraft—a partnership with US companies—planned for 2017, depends on consistent year to year funding levels.

 

"We're still hopeful that we'll work something out in the next week," Beutel said of sequestration.

 

Device made by Arlington company to be used in NASA test flight

 

Virginia Business

 

A device made by Arlington-based ATK is designed to ensure the safety of NASA astronauts on future space missions.

 

ATK (Alliant Techsystems Inc.) has delivered a launch abort motor to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for next year's test flight of NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. The Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) will have no crew on board.

 

ATK's abort motor is part of Orion's Launch Abort System.  It is designed to safely pull the crew module away from the launch vehicle in an emergency.

 

Although a launch abort motor is not necessary for the unmanned test flight, having the entire launch abort system helps NASA achieve its goals simulating the system's weight, structure and aerodynamics.

 

"Our launch abort motor is critical to ensuring safety, allowing for a greater reduction in risks for crewed flights," Charlie Precourt, ATK vice president and general manager of the Space Launch Division, said in a statement. "This is an important milestone for America's new human exploration program, which includes Orion and the Space Launch System, with a heavy-lift capability to take crew and cargo on missions to the moon, asteroids and eventually Mars."

 

Successfully ground-tested in 2008 and flight-tested during Orion's Pad Abort test in 2010, the launch abort motor is more than 17 feet tall, measures three feet in diameter. Two additional test flight tests are scheduled prior to a manned flight planned for 2020.

 

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, and overseas.

 

Google+ Hangout hits the final video frontier on International Space Station

 

Alan Boyle - NBCNews.com's Cosmic Log

 

Friday's live Google+ Hangout represents one small step for NASA, one giant leap for the Web-based videoconferencing tool.

 

Space-to-Earth hookups are nothing new for the International Space Station: NASA TV regularly broadcasts video from the orbital outpost as it circles the globe at an altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers). Astronauts have been sending Twitter updates and Flickr photos from space for years. Heck, even NASA's robots have Facebook pages. But Friday's hourlong event, scheduled to run from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. ET, marks the first time that NASA has done a Hangout.

 

"We're looking forward to it," said Jason Townsend, a spokesman at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

 

He said NASA has selected 20 video questions from the scads that were sent in by the agency's social-media followers, and at least some of those questions will be aired for the space station astronauts to answer during a 20-minute downlink opportunity starting at 11 a.m. ET. "We're angling to fill every minute," Townsend told NBC News.

 

Three of the space station's six astronauts — station commander Kevin Ford, NASA colleague Tom Marshburn and Canada's Chris Hadfield — will participate in the space-plus-Earth Hangout. (The three others, all Russians, will presumably be minding the store.)

 

Townsend said that for the balance of the hour, questions will be handled by two NASA astronauts on the ground: Ron Garan, a social-media star who's in nearly 3 million Google+ circles; and Nicole Stott, who participated in the space station's first live NASA Tweetup in 2009.

 

Questions can be submitted during the Hangout via Google+, via Twitter (by including the hashtag #askAstro) and via NASA's Facebook page.

 

The outer-space Hangout is just the latest leap for NASA's social-media strategy: The Tweetups of the late space shuttle era have given way to a string of NASA Social gatherings. One took place just this week at NASA Headquarters. NASA regularly sets aside seats for social-media mavens at big events, including next month's SpaceX Dragon launch.

 

Last year, NASA's social-media teams presented 16 events that brought more than 1,000 followers to NASA facilities and other spacey locales. Mars Curiosity rover has been the star of the show, thanks in part to her (yes, her) 1.3 million Twitter followers. During the rover's landing last August, NASA served up a record 36 million webcast streams, and the six-wheeled robot has been known to check in to Foursquare from Mars.

 

How can the Three Amigos on the space station possibly compete with Curiosity (and her cantankerous, non-NASA-sponsored alter ego, Sarcastic Rover)? Tune in on Friday and find out.

 

Astronauts to host Google+ 'hangout'

 

Frank Konkel - Federal Computer Week

 

NASA, the agency that brought you the first ever tweet from space (2009) and a FourSquare check-in from Mars (2012), will host a Google+ Hangout live with the International Space Station on Feb. 22 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Eastern.

 

The Hangout is viewable on the NASA Google+ Page or NASA's YouTube channel.

 

During the hangout, astronauts aboard the space station -- Kevin Ford, Chris Hadfield and Tom Marshburn -- will team with astronauts on the ground to answer video questions from Google+ and Twitter users who use the hashtag #askAstro, and Facebook friends who post in a thread that will open the morning of the event.

 

NASA's website explains that "unique and original questions" are more likely to be selected.

 

In addition, NASA will ask real-time questions submitted by followers on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

 

During the Hangout, astronauts will describe what life is like during their six-month stay to conduct science experiments and perform space station maintenance.

 

NASA is no stranger to combining social media, science and space.

 

Its Mars Curiosity rover - the famous mobile machine that checked into Mars on FourSquare -- has more than 1.2 million Twitter followers, and it is just one of more than 480 social media accounts NASA manages, according to the agency's deputy social media manager Jason Townsend.

 

In fact, the Curiosity rover is close to home compared to NASA's farthest reaching social media efforts. Almost 90,000 people follow the latest happenings of NASA's Voyager 1 & 2 spacecraft. Launched in the 1970s, they are the farthest manmade objects from Earth -- close to leaving our solar system at nearly 12 billion miles away.

 

Follow Marshburn and Hadfield on Twitter at: @AstroMarshburn and @Cmdr_Hadfield. Follow the Voyager space probes at @NASAVoyager and @NASAVoyager2.

 

3 tips: International Space Station

 

Jennifer Kopf - Lancaster

 

Maybe you'll never get the chance to go into space — OK, make that "more than likely" — but on Friday you can chat "face to face" live, 11 a.m. to noon, with the astronauts living and working 240 miles above earth on the International Space Station.

 

The deadline for submitting videotaped questions has passed, but you still can submit questions in real time, or simply watch the event live. Here's how to take part:

 

1. To watch the astronauts answer questions, visit NASA's Google+ page.

 

or the NASA Television YouTube channel (YouTube.com, search "NASA Television Channel").

 

2. You also can ask questions during the event, on Twitter using the hashtag #askAstro.

 

3. If you'd rather just comment, a thread on NASA's Facebook page will open for questions and comments on the morning of the event.

 

Daniels to aid space program

Purdue president to co-chair human spaceflight panel

 

Eric Weddle - Lafayette Journal & Courier

 

Purdue University's new President Mitch Daniels has been tapped to help guide the country's human space exploration.

 

Daniels is co-chairman of the Committee on Human Spaceflight, an offshoot of the National Research Council, according to a Purdue news release Thursday. The appointment continues through June 30, 2014. The committee is tasked with studying the long-term goals, capabilities and direction of the spaceflight program, including missions beyond low-Earth orbit, and recommending how to make such a program sustainable.

 

"Purdue has been an integral part of our nation's human spaceflight program from its infancy," Daniels said in a statement. "Alumni Virgil 'Gus' Grissom and Roger Chaffee gave their lives to advance that vision, which was realized when alumni Neil Armstrong was the first to step on the moon and Eugene Cernan was the last to leave it.

 

"Having the opportunity to help examine the goals of the U.S. human spaceflight program and offer recommendations for its future is an honor."

 

Purdue has a rich history of involvement in space exploration and engineering. That includes 21 graduates who have flown into space. Eighteen Purdue astronauts have traveled on 48 shuttle missions.

 

Since 2002, Purdue University has received more than $72 million in grants from NASA for research including life-support systems, rocket propulsion and other aspects of space exploration.

 

Steven Schneider, a Purdue professor of aeronautics and astronautics who has worked on NASA projects, said the committee has a complicated and sticky challenge.

 

"The country really needs to figure out what we are doing on spaceflight. we can't keep changing our minds because it is very expensive," he said. "This is a very political question. What is the definition of the space program that the U.S. is going to have?"

 

In addition to understanding the innovation and science, Schneider said the committee needs to be politically savvy. Recommendations that appeal to one president and Congress could later be changed by another. Times have changed, he said, and the U.S. no longer has a clear goal to stay head of the Russians as during the Cold War.

 

"They need to find something that there is national support of and that will be supported by a few Congresses," he said.

 

The focus of space exploration has shifted dramatically in recent years, as private companies have begun to partner more with NASA, at the direction of President Barack Obama. In 2011, the shuttle program ended.

 

Steven H. Collicott, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics, said Daniels inclusion on the committee contributes to the Purdue's strong aerospace reputation.

 

"This fine reputation aids us in recruiting top students and top faculty to Purdue and it aids our students when they graduate and seek their first job."

 

Daniels to co-chair panel reviewing space program

 

Associated Press

 

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels has joined a panel that will make recommendations about the future of the nation's space program.

 

The Committee on Human Spaceflight is part of the 2010 NASA Authorization Act. Its purpose is to review the space program's long-term goals and direction and suggest ways to sustain it.

 

Daniels says Purdue has a long history with the space program and that he's honored to serve on the panel. Purdue's alumni include astronauts Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, Roger Chaffee, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan. Armstrong was the first man on the moon, and Cernan was the last.

 

Daniels will serve as co-chairman of the committee through June 30, 2014.

 

Atlantis brings 'wow' factor to Kennedy Space Center

Grand opening for $100 million shuttle exhibit is June 29

 

Todd Halvorson - Florida Today

 

 

Mark your calendars — June 29 is the grand opening date for the $100 million Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex — then prepare to be awestruck by the magnificent flying machine.

 

"The very first time, it really is a 'Wow!' And that's exactly what we wanted," said Tim Macy, director of project development and construction with Delaware North Parks & Resorts, the company that operates the visitor complex under a NASA contract. "It's like, 'Wow, I didn't know it was that big.' You know, 'How does it fit in this building?' "

 

With a wingspan of 78 feet, the orbiter Atlantis is 122 feet long and stands almost 57 feet tall. In its brand new retirement hangar at the entrance to the visitor complex, Atlantis is raised 30 feet off the ground and inclined 43 degrees, showcasing it on an angle as if it were flying in space.

 

Sixty feet long, its clamshell-like payload bay doors will be open, and its 50-foot Canadian-built robotic arm extended. What it won't look like is a gleaming new machine.

 

"When we first got it in the building and lifted it, it looked like it was kind of beat up a little bit. But it's a used piece of space hardware, and it's real," Macy said.

 

After all, the orbiter flew 33 missions between October 1985 and July 2011, traveling 126 million miles during 307 days in the hostile space environment. It was pinged by micrometeorites and orbital debris during 12 missions to the International Space Station, seven flights to Russia's space station Mir, a trip to the Hubble Space Telescope and five clandestine Department of Defense missions.

 

Wearing hardhats and bright yellow vests, visitor complex officials gathered Thursday to announce the grand opening date and the official name of the exhibit.

 

"We went through literally hundreds of name combinations for this," said Bill Moore, Delaware North's chief operating officer at the KSC visitor complex. "There were three words that kept coming up."

 

Space. Shuttle. Atlantis.

 

"It's very simple. It honors the soul of what it is," Moore said. "And we'll simply call the exhibit Space Shuttle Atlantis."

 

A new logo for the exhibit was unveiled, too. Against a background as black as space, fiery orange letters simply spell Space Shuttle Atlantis. The "A" in Atlantis is a shuttle orbiter silhouette.

 

"It represents what the space shuttle program is all about," Moore said. "We tried in some way to capture the fiery entry of the shuttle's return to Earth, the flame and smoke when it leaves Earth, the tiles behind us are symbolized – the heat protection that it had. The iconic silhouette of an orbiter on the pad — we used that to outline the 'A' in Atlantis."

 

The NASA "meatball" insignia also is featured. Moore said it is "one of the most well-known logos around the world." Paying tribute to the launch site are the words Kennedy Space Center.

 

"It is both patriotic and monumental," Moore said.

 

So in 127 days, the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit will open to the public and include a large-as-life replica of an external tank-solid rocket booster stack. "It's going to be pretty spectacular," Macy said.

 

Work crews now are laboring almost around the clock — 20 hours a day. In mid-May, a skin-tight plastic sheath protecting the orbiter from construction debris will be peeled away from the spaceship. The payload bay doors will be opened, the robot arm extended — painstakingly careful work that will take about five weeks.

 

Replicas of the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station will be raised. Complementary interactive and immersive exhibits will be set up to chronicle 30 years of shuttle fleet operations, 135 missions that were triumphant and twice tragic.

 

"The present is wrapped, and I'll tell you, it's a heck of a gift," said Rick Abramson, president of Delaware North Parks & Resorts and former COO of the KSC visitor complex.

 

"People here will have an opportunity to get closer to this real live space artifact than ever before — than any other place," he said. "With this connection comes a greater understanding and appreciation of the 30-year history of the space shuttle."

 

Not to mention hundreds and thousands of people who worked on the program, and those who worked right up until the final days.

 

"If there is one thing that — I don't know why I was taken aback by it — it's the professionalism, the care that they put into it, the love that they have for the shuttle itself," Macy said.

 

"It's really impressive — very, very impressive."

 

Space shuttle Atlantis exhibit opens June 29

 

Greg Pallone - Central Florida News 13

 

In just a few months, space shuttle Atlantis will be put on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

 

Thursday, the complex unveiled a new logo and announced an official grand opening date of Saturday, June 29, 2013.

 

Once the exhibit, called simply "Space Shuttle Atlantis," opens, the 153,000-pound orbiter's payload bay doors will be opened, giving onlookers an idea of what Atlantis looked like soaring 200 miles above Earth.

 

Atlantis' new $100 million home is expected to be seen by more than a million people each year.

 

Kennedy Space Center: Atlantis exhibit to open June 29

 

Dewayne Bevil - Orlando Sentinel

 

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will unveil its exhibit that showcases the space shuttle Atlantis on June 29, it was announced Thursday.

 

The $100 million project is under construction around the orbiter, which has been lifted off the ground and placed at a 43-degree angle to simulate its position in space when leaving the International Space Station.  Space center guests will see Atlantis' payload doors open and its robotic arm extended.

 

The 90,000-square-foot exhibit will include 60 interactive stations outlining the history of the space-shuttle program.

 

A logo for the attraction also was revealed Thursday. In it, an orange silhouette of the shuttle  -- as seen from above -- forms the A in the word "Atlantis." The NASA logo (meatball style) is at the end of the word, with "Kennedy Space Center" below. The exhibit will be known simply as "Space Shuttle Atlantis."

 

"Although the multimillion-dollar interactive exhibit encompasses much, much more than the display of Atlantis, there is no denying, she is truly the star of the show," said Bill Moore, chief operating officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

 

Also coming soon to the visitor complex will be an attraction called Angry Birds Space Encounter, based on the popular game and characters. The kid-friendly element is scheduled to open this spring.

 

Space shuttle 'Atlantis' exhibit opens in June

 

Sharon Kennedy Wynne - Tampa Bay Times

 

An exhibit that showcases the space shuttle Atlantis will open June 29 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, it was announced Thursday.

 

The new $100 million, 90,000-square-foot exhibit is home to the retired space shuttle, as well as an education center where guests will see Atlantis' payload doors open and its robotic arm extended.

 

The orbiter, which has been lifted off the ground and placed at a 43-degree angle to simulate its position in space when leaving the International Space Station, is the centerpiece of an exhibit that will include 60 interactive stations outlining the history of the space shuttle program.

 

And it's not all serious space stuff. The agency also promises an interactive game called Angry Birds Space Encounter that was created by the Kennedy Space Center and the game's creator, Rovio Entertainment. This kid-friendly element is scheduled to open this spring.

 

The 27-year-old Atlantis orbiter has been on more than 30 space missions and traveled more than 115 million miles in its lifespan. Atlantis was the first to dock with the Russian space station Mir and aided in the construction of the International Space Station. From Atlantis' payload bay, NASA deployed the Magellan and Galileo planetary probes, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and other satellites. Atlantis also was the last shuttle to fly a servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

 

Admission for the Kennedy Space Center Tour, which features an actual Saturn V moon rocket, Shuttle Launch Experience, 3D IMAX films, Astronaut Encounter, Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted and all exhibits. is $50 for adult,$40 for children ages 3-11. For information, go to www.kennedyspacecenter.com

 

'Space Shuttle Atlantis' Exhibit Gets Logo, Opening Date

 

Robert Pearlman - collectSPACE.com

 

NASA's final space shuttle to fly in space will be exhibited to the public in a facility that bears simply the retired orbiter's name, officials announced on Thursday.

 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, which will host the retired shuttle Atlantis, also revealed the logo for its new 90,000 square-foot, $100 million "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit, which will be used on monument signage at the entrance and on a variety of retail merchandise, marketing and promotional materials when the building opens to the public on June 29.

 

"Although the multimillion-dollar interactive exhibit encompasses much, much more than the display of Atlantis, there is no denying she is truly the star of the show," said Bill Moore, chief operating officer of the visitor complex.

 

NASA retired its veteran shuttle fleet in July 2011, after Atlantis flew the 30-year shuttle program's 135th and final mission. The space agency then awarded the orbitersto museums and science centers in Virginia, New York and California, but decided to keep Atlantis for its own Florida spaceport public attraction.

 

NASA and Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, the company contracted by the space agency to operate the visitor complex at no taxpayer expense, worked with the St. Louis design firm PGAV Destinations to develop the name and logo for Atlantis' display.

 

Hundreds of name combinations were considered but the parties agreed that the name needed to convey "emotion, fun, excitement and inspiration," and should be easy for adults and children to understand, repeat and remember. Ultimately, the partners chose to go with a simple name that they felt resonated the most powerfully with guests: Space Shuttle Atlantis.

 

"Space Shuttle Atlantis"

 

"We know that this majestic beauty, which safely ferried men and women to space and back on 33 successful missions, is the real reason that our guests will travel thousands of miles, across oceans and across continents to visit Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to see her in all her glory," Moore said of Atlantis.

 

"There are no words to accurately describe the emotions and insights guests will gain when this attraction opens this summer, for there has truly never been anything like it before. Therefore, we decided to be true to the heart and soul of the exhibit and name it simply and reverently, 'Space Shuttle Atlantis,'" he said.

 

According to Mike Konzen with PGAV Destinations, the exhibit's logo was created using a gradient of fiery oranges to represent the space shuttle's launch and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. These symbolic colors were also used in the metallic "swish" to represent the re-entry of the shuttle on the outside of the orbiter's new building.

 

The light-to-dark range in the logo's lettering is meant to convey the excitement and drama of the shuttle program while the iconic silhouette of the orbiter, or shuttle, is used to represent the "A" in Atlantis. The NASA insignia — or, as it is affectionately referred to, the "meatball" — serves as a reminder in the logo of the "pride and patriotism" in America's space program, while "Kennedy Space Center" pays tribute to the birthplace of the United States' spaceflight efforts and the launch site for each of the shuttle program's 135 missions.

 

Milestones moving forward

 

The visitor complex broke ground for the "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit in January 2012. Atlantis itself was rolled the short distance from its former Kennedy Space Center processing facilities to its display facility 11 months later.

 

Thursday's reveal of the name and logo, as well as the opening date, marked the latest milestone since Atlantis arrived in the six-story building, was raised off the ground on its display pedestals and then was wrapped in plastic to protect it from gathering dust as the final construction of the building and exhibit continued.

 

The next milestone is scheduled to begin next month, with the installation of full-scale replicas of the shuttle external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters at the entry to the "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit. These components of the space shuttle "stack" will serve as a gateway, with guests walking beneath the massive orange tank, which will be suspended 24 feet (7 meters) above the ground and will be mounted between the two white rocket boosters that reach 185 feet (56 meters) into the air.

 

Installation of the entryway structure is slated to be completed by June.

 

Construction continues on schedule inside the exhibit as well. In May, Atlantis will be uncovered from its protective shrink wrap. The orbiter's cargo bay doors will be opened and a full-scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope will be installed inside the building along with some 60 other exhibits and artifacts.

 

Atlantis' replica Canadarm robotic manipulator, or arm, will also be extended and suspended from the 115-foot tall (35 meter) ceiling.

 

The "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit presents the shuttle at a tilt of 43.21 degrees, showcasing Atlantis as if it were in space. Guests will view Atlantis as only the astronauts from its 33 missions have previously had a chance to see it from their vantage aboard the International Space Station.

 

The Lessons We Learned from Space Shuttle Enterprise

 

Elizabeth Howell - Universe Today

 

36 years ago Sunday, two astronauts aboard the space shuttle Enterprise took the ship out for its initial test flight. It landed on the back of a 747 before undertaking a series of free flights starting in June that year.

 

Enterprise was designed as a test ship only, and was never intended to fly in space. Instead, it was used for a series of flying and landing approach tests to see how well the shuttle maneuvered during the landing. The astronauts first flew a series of "captive" flights aboard the 747, then cut the test shuttle loose for five free flights over several weeks.

 

What lessons were learned and what design changes did NASA implement from the Enterprise test program? And how did Enterprise help shape the future of the space shuttle program? A few clues emerge from the program's final evaluation report, which was released in February 1978.

 

- Stopping a hydrazine leak. Hydrazine was used as a fuel for the maneuvering thrusters on the space shuttle, but the chemical is toxic and shouldn't be exposed to humans. During the first captive flight, an auxiliary power unit was turned on about 18 minutes in. That was part of the plan, but the next part wasn't: NASA observed fuel was being used much faster than expected in the next 25 minutes. It turned out that a bellows seal in the fuel pump had failed and caused "significant hydrazine leakage" in the shuttle's aft bay.

 

- Preventing brake trouble or 'chattering'. The first indication of trouble came after the second free flight. The astronauts felt a "chattering" (low-frequency vibration) sensation during braking as they were slowing down on the runway. This 16-hertz vibration happened again during "hard" braking on Flight 3. In light of the vibration, the brake control was modified and the astronauts did not feel the vibrations on Flights 4 and 5.

 

- Minimizing computer vibration. Enterprise's Computer 2 fell out of sync with its fellow computers as the shuttle separated from the 747 on Flight 1, causing several computer errors. (The other three redundant computers effectively voted the computer off the island, to use Survivor parlance, and the flight carried on.) Ground tests of similar units revealed that the solder keeping the computer attached to the shuttle cracked when subjected to a slight vibration for a long period of time. NASA modified the attachments and the computers were just fine on Flight 2.

 

- Astronaut training. The astronauts experienced several control problems during Enterprise's fifth free landing, when they deployed the speed brake to compensate for a landing that was a little faster than planned. As the pilot tried to control the shuttle's sink rate, the elevons (a control surface for pitch and roll) were elevated more than usual, causing the shuttle to gently head back into the air and roll to the right before landing again. The astronauts could not see any unusual changes in pitch because the nose of the shuttle was not visible from the cockpit. Further, the center of gravity for the pitch changes was so close to the cockpit that the astronauts could not feel the sensation.  "The pilot was unaware of any problem other than that he was landing long and trying to get the vehicle on the ground near the desired touchdown spot," the NASA report stated. Several recommendations came out of this incident, such as more simulations of landings, modifying the flight control system, and stating that speed brakes should not be used just before landing.

 

Bottom line, though, was NASA said the approach and landing tests accomplished all objectives. The authors of the report called for modifications to these problems and a few others, but said as soon as these situations were addressed the shuttle was performing well enough for further flights. You can read the whole report here.

 

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19780011246_1978011246.pdf

 

Enterprise is now on display at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum in New York, but is temporarily closed to the public as the shuttle undergoes repairs from damage incurred during Hurricane Sandy.

 

In Memoriam: David S. McKay

 

Bruce Betts - The Planetary Society (planetary.org)

 

I am sad to report that NASA scientist David S. McKay passed away Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 at age 77.   I got to know David in his role as a Co-Investigator on The Planetary Society's Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment) project.  David was engaged early on in the project and was engaged particularly in recommendations of organisms to fly in space, and in suggestions for members of our science team.  He was enthusiastic about science and a pleasure to work with.  He had long been a friend of the Society prior to the LIFE experiment.

 

More broadly, David made significant contributions to planetary science over his long career, as discussed more below.  He is most famous with the public for being the lead author on the 1996 paper that announced possible evidence for life in a Martian meteorite.  There has been and continues to be considerable debate and research into that particular finding, but there is no doubt that that paper and those that followed helped spawn a more robust Mars program, helped direct the program's course more towards searching for past habitibility of Mars, and helped lead to increasing the profile and funding for astrobiology research at NASA.  In addition, let us not forget that his contributions to planetary science were much broader as well, particularly his contributions to lunar studies in a 47 year career at NASA.

 

Below, I reproduce an email from Stephen Mackwell, the Director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, which does a nice job of discussing David's career.  Godspeed, David McKay.

 

David S. McKay, Chief Scientist for Astrobiology at the NASA Johnson Space Center, passed away on February 20, 2013. During the Apollo program, McKay gave the first men to walk on the Moon training in geology. In recent years, McKay was perhaps best known for being the first author of a scientific paper postulating past life on Mars on the basis of evidence in martian meteorite ALH 84001. This paper has become one of the most heavily cited papers in planetary science. The NASA Astrobiology Institute was founded partially as a result of community interest in this paper and related topics.

 

As a graduate student in geology at Rice University, McKay was present at John F. Kennedy's speech in 1962 announcing the goal of landing a man on the Moon within the decade. Kennedy's speech inspired his interest in helping to train the Apollo astronauts in geology. He was a chief trainer for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their last geology field trip in West Texas. On July 20, 1969, McKay was the only geologist present in the Apollo Mission Control Room in Houston when Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon.

 

McKay studied lunar dust since the return of the first Apollo 11 samples in 1969, and has contributed over 200 publications on this topic. As a result of this effort, McKay contributed major discoveries, including the source of vapor deposition on lunar soil grains, the formation of nanophase iron globules on lunar soil grains, the processes on the Moon that contribute to grain size distribution, and insight into space weathering and the chemically activated nature of in situ lunar dust.

 

McKay was honored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) by having an asteroid named after him in 2002. His IAU citation mentions his years of work on lunar samples as well as the positive effect his research on martian meteorites has had on planetary research. McKay was also a recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Student Award at Rice University, the NASA Superior Achievement Award for Lunar Science Contributions; the Laurels Award from Aviation Week and Space Technology, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, and the Distinguished Texas Scientist Award from the Texas Academy of Science.

 

McKay was with NASA for more than 47 years, and made substantial contributions to science during his career. He will be missed.

 

END