Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: Human Spaceflight News

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: February 27, 2013 7:05:21 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - February 27, 2013 and JSC Today

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

JSC TODAY HEADLINES
1.            Innovation Day 2013
2.            Newly Released! Be an Image Detective Using Astronaut Imagery of Earth
3.            Latest International Space Station Research
4.            Are You an iPad (Tablet) User Who Wants to Learn More About Teleworking?
5.            IRD Collaboration Session Q&A WebEx for Seasoned Teleworkers - Feb. 28
6.            STI Center Mobile Librarian in Building 17 Lobby Today
7.            Read the Latest on JSC Features
8.            Mental Health Awareness
9.            Wellness Seminar: 'Well-Aged Wellness'
10.          JSC Question-and-Answer Session With ACES: Feb. 28, 2 to 3 p.m. in Teague
11.          Come See the Space Food Systems Lab
12.          Houston Technology Center Presents Tech Champs
13.          Zumbatomic Kids Fitness at Starport -- First Class is Free This Friday
14.          Starport's Spring Break Camp -- Spots Still Available
15.          Crane Operations and Rigging Safety Refresher - March 27 - Building 20, Room 205/206
16.          Scaffold Users Seminar - March 28 - Building 20, Room 205/206
________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY
" Because you're not what I would have you be, I blind myself to who, in truth, you are. "

-- Madeleine L'Engle
________________________________________
1.            Innovation Day 2013
Exhibit, C3 Forum, Challenges/Activities, and "Nominate an Innovator" Submissions
What will the office of the future look like? Do you have a concept that needs developing? Have you established a faster, more efficient process? Do you know someone at JSC that embodies the spirit of JSC 2.0? Help make JSC 2.0 a reality and showcase your ideas on May 2!
Here are ways that you can get involved: Nominate an innovator and submit an exhibit, C3 (Connect, Collaborate, Create) forum or challenges/activities proposal to the Innovation 2013 team.
For event guidelines, specific submission dates and to submit proposals, click here.
Sponsored by the JSC Inclusion and Innovation Council. For more information, contact Suzan Thomas (x48772) or MaGee Johnson (281-204-1500).
MaGee Johnson 281-204-1500

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2.            Newly Released! Be an Image Detective Using Astronaut Imagery of Earth
Locate astronaut photography of Earth and earn points for your successes. Your investigation results will be added to the database for The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth website. Your discoveries will help users of our website from around the world, to find, appreciate, and use the images taken by astronauts to share their experience in space.
Get started now by going to The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth and click on the "Image Detective" badge.
Have fun and happy hunting!
Melissa Dawson x30303 http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov

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3.            Latest International Space Station Research
Launching on SpaceX-CRS 2 is a Canadian Space Agency technology demonstration payload called Microflow.
Microflow is unique in that it will allow some on-orbit analysis of biological samples by using optical fiber-optic technology to detect molecules and cells in a sample of liquid as they pass single-file in front of a laser--all within 10 minutes.
If the technology proves successful in space, it could revolutionize how astronauts are able to diagnose and treat themselves and others throughout long-duration missions by allowing the crew to test for medical conditions without having to send samples back to Earth for analysis.
Read more about it.
Liz Warren x35548

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4.            Are You an iPad (Tablet) User Who Wants to Learn More About Teleworking?
Are you an iPad user who wants to learn how to use the device for teleworking? The Information Resources Directorate (IRD) will be holding a series of collaboration sessions about teleworking tomorrow, Feb. 28. Come over to the Building 3 Collaboration Center from 10:30 to 11 a.m. to join a helpful discussion on how to telework using your tablet device. Stay tuned to JSC Today for more information about IRD's upcoming collaboration sessions.
For more, click here.
JSC IRD Outreach x41334 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/default.aspx

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5.            IRD Collaboration Session Q&A WebEx for Seasoned Teleworkers - Feb. 28
Do you telework regularly, but have some questions on how to be more efficient? If so, join this WebEx-only Q&A session aimed at seasoned teleworkers tomorrow, Feb. 28, from 1 to 1:30 p.m.
Click here for: WebEx for Seasoned Teleworkers

WebEx Meeting Number: 990 243 681
Meeting Password: 2013irdq@a

Meet Me Line: 1-877-952-3571
Participant Passcode: 1675701
JSC IRD Outreach x41334 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/default.aspx

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6.            STI Center Mobile Librarian in Building 17 Lobby Today
The Scientific & Technical Information (STI) Center will have a booth in the Building 17 lobby today from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Staff will be there to assist the JSC community with any questions and provide information about library resources and services. JSC authors can also receive information about the Document Availability Authorization (DAA) system. The DAA process is required for the external release of STI to the public. Flyers and brochures about the library's online engineering, scientific and medical databases and collections will also be available.
This is a service provided by the Information Resources Directorate.
Event Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013   Event Start Time:10:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Building 17 Lobby

Add to Calendar

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

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7.            Read the Latest on JSC Features
If you haven't recently made a trip to JSC Features, transport yourself there now to read the latest stories posted. There, you'll see how JSC supported an interactive exhibit at the NBA All-Star Jam Session; reminisce with Robert "Bob" Mitchell, the "King of the Sands," on his history with the Space Shuttle Program; and learn more about Robert Kowalski, a Silver Snoopy Award recipient. Check back later for new stories!
JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x33317

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8.            Mental Health Awareness
Did you know that 45 million people in the United States have a mental illness? That's one in five people! Discover more about what mental health is and isn't in recognition of National Wise Mental Health Consumer Month. Please join Anika Isaac, MS, LPC, LMFT, LCDC, CEAP, NCC, of the JSC Employee Assistance Program, today, Feb. 27, at 12 noon in Building 30 Auditorium for a talk on "Mental Health Awareness." She will discuss a few facts about the U.S. mental health system, address stigma and barriers, and offer tools to support those managing a mental health condition.
Event Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Building 30 Auditorium

Add to Calendar

Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program, Clinical Services Branch x36130

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9.            Wellness Seminar: 'Well-Aged Wellness'
Please be our guests for "Well-aged Wellness" at the Gilruth Center Monday, March 4, at 5:30 p.m. in Room 206 (the Coronado Room). This installment of the Aging Gracefully Series will focus on an in-depth look at both the physiological and psychological benefits of regular exercise in both adults and children. Join therapists Stacey M. Dunn, MA, LPC intern, CART, and Rhonda K. Velders, MA, LPC intern, as they explain the process of maximizing our quality of life through components of wellness.
Shelly Haralson x39168

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10.          JSC Question-and-Answer Session With ACES: Feb. 28, 2 to 3 p.m. in Teague
Be sure to join the Information Resources Directorate (IRD) on Feb. 28 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Teague Auditorium for a question-and-answer session with ACES representatives. While IRD continues to work closely with each organization's Information Technology (IT) points of contact and IT business managers, this is a chance for anyone at the center to ask questions and provide comments and suggestions. This session is open to all topics, and will have an ACES representative available. No RSVP is needed. There will be no WebEx or Meet-Me-Line available.
JSC IRD Outreach x41334 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/default.aspx

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11.          Come See the Space Food Systems Lab
Get Human Systems Academy credit for familiarizing yourself with the Space Food Systems Laboratory. Learn how food is prepared for spaceflight, how it is chosen and who gets to taste it. There are morning and afternoon tours offered, but space is limited, so sign up today! For details, click here.
Event Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2013   Event Start Time:10:00 AM   Event End Time:10:30 AM
Event Location: B17

Add to Calendar

Cynthia Rando 281-461-2620 http://sa.jsc.nasa.gov/

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12.          Houston Technology Center Presents Tech Champs
Join the leaders, decision makers and trend-setters of the technology community in the NASA-Clear Lake area and learn about Houston Technology Center's incubation and acceleration clients in the energy, life sciences, Information Technology and NASA/aerospace sectors.
Tech Champs is open to the community. Meetings provide a forum where professionals, innovators and entrepreneurs come together to influence the evolution of emerging technologies.
Light breakfast and networking -
o             7:30 to 7:45 a.m.
Program -
o             7:45 to 9 a.m.
Keynote speaker -
o             Col. Richard Mallahan, USAF (Ret.), Commandant of the Corps of Cadets
o             Texas Maritime Academy
To register for this event, click here.
Go here to become a 2013 Tech Champs member.
Event Date: Friday, March 8, 2013   Event Start Time:7:30 AM   Event End Time:9:00 AM
Event Location: Gilruth Center, Alamo Ballroom

Add to Calendar

Pat Kidwell x37156 http://www.houstontech.org/events/1091/

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13.          Zumbatomic Kids Fitness at Starport -- First Class is Free This Friday
Designed exclusively for kids, Zumbatomic classes are rockin', high-energy fitness parties packed with specially choreographed, kid-friendly routines. This dance-fitness workout for kids ages 4 to 12 will be set to hip hop, salsa, reggaeton and more. We will have a demo class this Friday, March 1, that you can try for free! Sign up at the Gilruth front desk for the free class.
Session: March 8 to April 5
Class Meeting Day: Friday
Time: 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.
Location: Gilruth Center, Studio 1
Fee: $55/child
Register at the Gilruth Center. Click here for more info.
Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

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14.          Starport's Spring Break Camp -- Spots Still Available
Spring break is just over one week away, and Starport will once again be offering a youth day camp at the Gilruth Center for the school break. We will keep your children active and entertained with games, group activities, crafts and all kinds of fun! Register your child before spaces fill up.
Camper Ages: 6 to 12
Camp Dates: March 11 to 15
Camp Times: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Camp Fees: $140/child for the entire week, or $40/day for selected days
Go here for more information and registration information. Register your child at the Gilruth Center during normal operating hours.
Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

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15.          Crane Operations and Rigging Safety Refresher - March 27 - Building 20, Room 205/206
SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0028: This course serves as a refresher in overhead crane safety and awareness for operators, riggers, signalmen, supervisors and safety personnel, and updates their understanding of existing federal and NASA standards and regulations related to such cranes. Areas of concentration include: general safety in crane operations; testing; inspections; pre-lift plans; and safe rigging. This course is intended to provide the classroom training for re-certification of already qualified crane operators, or for those who have only a limited need for overhead crane safety knowledge. There will be a final exam associated with this course, which must be passed with a 70 percent minimum score to receive course credit. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...
Event Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2013   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM
Event Location: Bldg 20 Rm 205/206

Add to Calendar

Shirley Robinson x41284

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16.          Scaffold Users Seminar - March 28 - Building 20, Room 205/206
SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0316: This four-hour course is based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration CFR 1910.28 and 1926.451, requirements for scaffolding safety in the general and construction industries. During the course, the student will receive an overview of those topics needed to work safely on scaffolds, including standards, terminology and inspection of scaffold components; uses of scaffolds; fall protection requirements; signs and barricades; and more. Those individuals desiring to become "competent persons" for scaffolds should take the three-day Scaffold Safety Course, SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0312. This course will be primarily presented via the NASA target audience: Safety, Reliability, Quality and Maintainability professionals; and anyone working on operations requiring the use of scaffolds. There will be a final exam associated with this course, which must be passed with a 70 percent minimum score to receive course credit.
https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...
Event Date: Thursday, March 28, 2013   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM
Event Location: Bldg. 20 Rm 205/206

Add to Calendar

Shirley Robinson x41284

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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: Noon Central (1 pm EST) – NASA Tri-Program Briefing from KSC

Human Spaceflight News
Wednesday, February 27, 2013

HEADLINES AND LEADS

NASA's Sequester Plan Targets Private Space Taxi Funds and Tech

Dan Leone - Space News

To deal with the nearly $900 million budget hit NASA will absorb if automatic spending cuts known as sequestration are allowed to take effect March 1, the U.S. space agency would slow development work on commercially operated astronaut taxis, delay or cancel space technology programs and postpone the launch of some small science missions. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlined the space agency's sequestration plans in a Feb. 5 letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who released it following a Feb. 14 hearing.

3D Printers to Build NASA's Spare Parts & Rocket Engines

Adam Hadhazy - Popular Mechanics

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama spoke glowingly of 3D printing, saying the technology "has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything." At NASA, the revolution is already under way. Engineers are now testing 3D printing (more broadly known as additive manufacturing) for making engine parts for the Space Launch System (SLS), the vehicle slated to take mankind back to the moon, to asteroids, and someday to Mars. A 3D printer will soon head to the International Space Station. And in the future, NASA hopes 3D printers will let astronauts fabricate tools, spare parts, or virtually anything their mission requires throughout the solar system.

Turning ISS into a full-fledged space laboratory

Jeff Foust - The Space Review

The International Space Station (ISS) has long been sold on its promise as a unique laboratory. With its research facilities staffed by astronauts and cosmonauts, its location in Earth orbit, and in particular the microgravity environment it offers, the ISS offers the potential for groundbreaking work in a variety of disciplines, from biomedical research to material science to physics and astronomy. To date, though, the station hasn't fully realized that potential for research. For many years, the explanation was that the station was still being assembled—it is, after all, hard to do work in a lab when you're still building it. However, the ISS is now complete, and the clock is ticking on the ability of scientists to make use of it before the end of the decade, when NASA and its partners will have to make a decision on whether to extend the station's life beyond 2020. Fortunately for station advocates, the first breakthrough results from research on the station may be just around the corner.

Weather looks good for Friday's SpaceX launch

James Dean - Florida Today

The early forecast is excellent for SpaceX's planned Friday morning launch of an International Space Station resupply mission. There's a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions for a 10:10 a.m. liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Gusty winds could pose a problem, but are expected to remain within acceptable levels. If the launch slips to Saturday, the forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather for a 9:47 a.m. blastoff, with a chance for strong winds and thick clouds. The mission is SpaceX's second of 12 planned under a $1.6 billion station resupply contract. On Monday afternoon, the company performed what it called a successful test-firing of the Falcon 9's first-stage engines on the launch pad. Engineers are reviewing the data. A Launch Readiness Review is planned Wednesday. (NO FURTHER TEXT)

SpaceX set to launch supply rocket to space station on Friday

W.J. Hennigan - Los Angeles Times

Hawthorne-based rocket maker SpaceX is targeting Friday as the launch date for the next NASA cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station. The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., performed a successful resupply mission to the space station in October and a demonstration mission back in May. SpaceX is the only commercial company to perform such a task.

Next SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft on Track for March 1 Launch

Ben Evans - AmericaSpace.org

The last twelve months have truly been a rollercoaster ride for Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)—the Hawthorne, Calif., company, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk—whose Falcon 9 rocket and unmanned Dragon cargo craft thundered into the public consciousness in both a positive and negative light. In May 2012, Dragon triumphantly flew a demonstration flight to the International Space Station, becoming the first commercial craft ever to have a spacecraft be berthed there, and in October its maiden Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) mission under SpaceX's $1.6 billion contract with NASA was successfully concluded. That success, however, was tempered by an engine-out anomaly, just 80 seconds after launch, which spelled disaster for a small Orbcomm piggyback satellite. Now, almost five months later, another Falcon 9 and fully-loaded Dragon stand ready at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida—primed to restore an otherwise-proud reputation. Liftoff of the CRS-2 mission is currently scheduled for 10:10 a.m. EDT, March 1, beginning an ambitious four-week voyage which will see the first use of Dragon's unpressurized "Trunk" section to carry equipment and supplies.

NASA Asks the "Crowd" to Help Track What Astronauts Eat

Adrienne Burke - Forbes

NASA has put a man on the moon, but it hasn't yet come up with an efficient and accurate way for the International Space Station (ISS) crew to track their diets. Living in a zero-gravity environment poses risk of nutrient deficiency and bone loss, so keeping close tabs on food intake in space is crucial. But the ISS crew complain that their meal monitoring methods are unreliable and tedious. Imagine having to recount everything you ate in a week while orbiting the Earth. That's what astronauts do in a weekly "food frequency questionnaire." But diet logging isn't rocket science, so NASA is turning to "the crowd" for help. The NASA International Space Station Food Intake Tracker—or ISS FIT—Challenge, launched February 10, is the latest open-innovation contest sponsored by the NASA Tournament Lab—a partnership between NASA, Harvard's Institute of Qualitative Social Science, and competitive software-development community TopCoder.

Seven questions with Ellen Ochoa, first Latina in space

Griselda Nevarez - VOXXI News

(VOXXI is an independent voice for Hispanic America, with the goal to become "The Voice of the Hispanic 21st Century." Vox comes from the Latin word for voice and XXI is the Roman numeral for 21.)

Dr. Ellen Ochoa became the first Latina to go to space when she boarded the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. She made history again in January when she became the first Hispanic and second female director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Ellen Ochoa, who is of Mexican decent, spoke with VOXXI on Tuesday about her new role at the Johnson Space Center, growing up in California, her Hispanic roots and Latino representation in NASA.

Coats named Public Official of the Year

Bay Area Citizen

Michael Coats, former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), was given the Public official of the Year award at a luncheon on Friday February 22 in the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion on the University of Houston Campus. The event highlighted the work of Houston metropolitan area public officials whose accomplishments may not make the evening news, yet whose tireless effort ensures that the public's everyday needs are addressed and the public good is served. The award was presented by the University of Houston's Master of Public Administration program.

Hoosier astronaut shares view of Indianapolis from space station
Mission commander Kevin Ford took advantage of a clear day

Bill McCleery - Indianapolis Star

Indiana astronaut Kevin Ford, leading the crew of the International Space Station, took a photo of Indianapolis from outer space and emailed it to his brother. Ford, 52, became the station's commander in November. "This is a good shot of Indy," the NASA astronaut wrote in an email to his brother, Dean Ford, 62, Noblesville. "Don't know if the papers would be interested, but you're welcome to send it out if you'd like."

Europe May Work With China on Space Station

Rob Coppinger - Space.com

China aims to establish a large manned space station within the next decade, officials have said, and the latest reports suggest that this outpost could host not only Chinese astronauts, but European spaceflyers as well. A plan is afoot for China and Europe to cooperate on the venture, which might see the European Space Agency (ESA) building technologies, including a rendezvous and docking system, for the station, in exchange for opportunities for its astronauts to visit the facility. China plans to have the space station running by 2020. Both the station and China's manned spacecraft Shenzhou could use ESA's International Berthing and Docking Mechanism (IBDM), because of a problem with the Russian system the Chinese have been using until now.

Mars May Be Habitable Today, Scientists Say

Rod Pyle - Space.com

While Mars was likely a more hospitable place in its wetter, warmer past, the Red Planet may still be capable of supporting microbial life today, some scientists say. Ongoing research in Mars-like places such as Antarctica and Chile's Atacama Desert shows that microbes can eke out a living in extremely cold and dry environments, several researchers stressed at "The Present-Day Habitability of Mars" conference held here at the University of California Los Angeles this month.

First Space Tourist Sets Sights on Mars

Andy Pasztor - Wall Street Journal

A group headed by multimillionaire Dennis Tito, who in 2001 became the first space tourist, on Wednesday is expected to outline plans for a private manned mission to circle Mars by 2018. Mr. Tito, an investment tycoon and space exploration booster, doesn't have a rocket, spacecraft or financing for the venture, according to industry officials familiar with the project. He plans to disclose the venture in Washington, D.C., alongside executives with Paragon Space Development Corp. His trip to the international space station is considered the first example of space tourism.

Space Tourist to Unveil Private Mars Voyage Today

Clara Moskowitz - Space.com

A millionaire space tourist plans to make a major announcement today about launching a trip to Mars in 2018. American businessman Dennis Tito paid about $20 million to visit the International Space Station in 2001 aboard a Russian spacecraft. Now, Tito is launching a new nonprofit organization called the Inspiration Mars Foundation to plan another private trip to space. Details about the private Mars voyage, including whether it will be manned or robotic, are set to be revealed during a press conference today at Washington, D.C.'s National Press Club. Speakers at the 1 p.m. EST event will include Tito, as well as longtime space journalist Miles O'Brien, former NASA flight surgeon Jonathan Clark, a professor of space medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Taber MacCallum, chief executive officer and chief technology officer of Paragon Space Development Corporation, and Jane Poynter, Paragon's president and chairwoman. To watch Tito's announcement live at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT), visit: http://www.inspirationmars.org/

Virgin Galactic Hoping for Commercial Flights by Early 2014

Doug Messier - Parabolic Arc

Virgin Galactic will begin powered flights of SpaceShipTwo "very soon," with the hope of getting into space by the end of this year and beginning commercial service by early 2014. That's the word as of Tuesday from Virgin Galactic CEO and President George Whitesides. The VG chief made the comments in a Q&A interview that was put out as a press release by XOJET, a private jet company that has established an exclusive private air Concierge Access service to serve Virgin Galactic's exclusive group of nearly 600 future astronauts.

Interest building in Shiloh
Fledgling space firm now backs private site

James Dean – Florida Today

Primarily seen as a strategy to lure SpaceX missions, a proposed state-run launch complex inside Kennedy Space Center has drawn strong interest from another growing private space firm, public records show. Blue Origin, backed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, says Space Florida's proposed "Shiloh" site would be a good fit for tests of a reusable booster and eventual launches of cargo and crews to orbit.

New 45th Space Wing commander 'thrilled' to be back in Brevard
Gen. Cotton assigned new role elsewhere

R. Norman Moody - Florida Today

Col. Nina Armagno is returning to Patrick Air Force Base as the commander of the 45th Space Wing after having served here in 2001. "I'm thrilled to be heading back to the Cape," Armagno said. Current 45th Space Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton is being assigned as deputy director at the National Reconnaissance Office, a position that will take him to northern Virginia, but one he said will keep him in close ties with Patrick Air Force Base. Armagno, who has been selected to become a brigadier general, will become the new commander of the 45th Space Wing and director of the Eastern Range at Patrick Air Force Base. A date for the change of command at Patrick Air Force Base has not been announced.
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COMPLETE STORIES

NASA's Sequester Plan Targets Private Space Taxi Funds and Tech

Dan Leone - Space News

To deal with the nearly $900 million budget hit NASA will absorb if automatic spending cuts known as sequestration are allowed to take effect March 1, the U.S. space agency would slow development work on commercially operated astronaut taxis, delay or cancel space technology programs and postpone the launch of some small science missions.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlined the space agency's sequestration plans in a Feb. 5 letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who released it following a Feb. 14 hearing.

NASA's overall budget would drop to $16.9 billion, down from the $17.8 billion Congress approved last year.

Spending on the commercial crew program NASA is using to subsidize development by Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Sierra Nevada of competing human spaceflight systems would be reduced to $388 million — $18 million less than it is currently spending and $441.6 million less than the agency had been planning to spend in 2013.

NASA, like all federal agencies, has had its funding frozen at 2012 levels under a stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution that expires March 28. NASA's sequestration plan assumes that the continuing resolution will be extended through Sept. 30, the end of the U.S. government's 2013 fiscal year.

Bolden said NASA's commercial crew partners would feel a funding pinch as soon as July.

Among the commercial crew activities planned for later this year that NASA would not be able to fund after sequestration are:

·         A July test of Boeing's CST-100 orbital maneuvering and attitude control engine.
·         A September review of an in-flight abort test SpaceX plans to conduct in April 2014.
·         An October integrated system and safety analysis review of Sierra Nevada's DreamChaser space plane.

"Overall availability of commercial crew transportation services would be significantly delayed, thereby extending our reliance on foreign providers for crew transportation to the International Space Station," Bolden wrote.

Meanwhile, a sequester would also put the screws to NASA's Space Technology Program, a White House priority under U.S. President Barack Obama. Instead of getting the $699 million sought for the program, NASA would cut its budget back to $550 million, or about $24 million less than it has now.

To absorb the cut, NASA would consider canceling programs now in the development stage, including a highly publicized demonstration of a deep-space atomic clock, which was set to fly as a hosted payload on an Iridium Next satellite scheduled for launch in 2015. Four other space technology programs could also wind up on the chopping block, Bolden warned, and nine others might be delayed.

Small astrophysics and Earth science missions would also suffer under NASA's plan to reduce the Science Mission Directorate's budget to $4.86 billion. While that is only $51.1 million less than Science would have received under the agency's 2013 budget request, it is $200 million less than the mission directorate has today.

To absorb the cut, NASA intends to award 5 percent fewer research grants this year and reduce funding for new Explorer- and Earth Venture-class missions by 10 to 15 percent. Bolden said this would result "in lower funding levels for new activities and causing minor launch delays."

The next missions scheduled for launch in NASA's Explorer line of small astrophysics missions are the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, an ultraviolet observatory slated for an April launch, and Astro-H, an X-ray observatory scheduled to launch in February 2014.

The next Earth Venture launch on NASA's calendar is the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, which is supposed to lift off in July 2014.

3D Printers to Build NASA's Spare Parts & Rocket Engines

Adam Hadhazy - Popular Mechanics

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama spoke glowingly of 3D printing, saying the technology "has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything." At NASA, the revolution is already under way. Engineers are now testing 3D printing (more broadly known as additive manufacturing) for making engine parts for the Space Launch System (SLS), the vehicle slated to take mankind back to the moon, to asteroids, and someday to Mars. A 3D printer will soon head to the International Space Station. And in the future, NASA hopes 3D printers will let astronauts fabricate tools, spare parts, or virtually anything their mission requires throughout the solar system.

"Additive manufacturing is this new technology that really gives us an endless set of possibilities for the products we manufacture at NASA for our terrestrial launch vehicle and our in-space applications," says John Vickers, assistant manager of the Materials and Processes Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

In a sign of how seriously NASA is taking the technology, on Friday agency chief Charles Bolden toured an additive manufacturing facility at Marshall. "The things going on here are very impressive," Bolden tells PM. "I was surprised by the maturity of the systems already."

Additive manufacturing consists of successively adding thin layers of material to build up an object in three dimensions based on a digital blueprint. The technology's costs have plummeted in recent years, prompting everyone from garage tinkerers to America's space agency to get in on the action. "All NASA centers have some capability in additive manufacturing or 3D printing," Vickers says.

Bolden looks ahead to when 3D printing will fundamentally redefine the planning of manned spaceflight missions. "My chief technologist Mason Peck and I talk every week," Bolden says. "He envisions somewhere down the road we'll launch with nothing except an additive manufacturing set of machines or apparatus; everything we need we'll produce when we get there. It could be incredible."

NASA is beginning with smaller steps. Ames Research Center in California is working on small satellite development, for example, while Florida's Kennedy Space Center has eyes on using lunar, martian, and asteroid regolith as raw material for 3D printers. At Marshall, where Vickers works, the focus is on propulsion systems. Engineers are experimenting with a process called selective laser melting (SLM) to build complex, conventionally hard-to-make components for the SLS engines, called the RS-25 and J-2X. In the SLM machine's chamber, lasers melt and fuse a finely powdered substance—in this case an aeronautics-grade, nickel-based alloy called Inconel—in a designed pattern. The current machine can create objects only about a half cubic foot in volume, but larger SLM devices could go on to make bigger and bigger engine components. "We believe it will be possible in the future to build all of the hard parts we would desire to build out of additive technology," Vickers says.

The same factors that are pushing more and more entrepreneurs to embrace 3D printing—lower cost and shorter production times—are enticing NASA too. As an example, Vickers says, an engine injector made with conventional fabrication techniques of molding and welding might cost in the range of $250,000. "We hope to reduce that by a factor of 10 and get in the range of $25,000," Vickers says. "That's huge when you start talking about reducing the cost." Production times could also dwindle from six months to just weeks.

A conventional injector design could contain some 300 parts, Vickers adds, but the additive manufacturing could build it all as a single unit. That means the production could be not only faster and cheaper, but also safer; it cuts down on the number of individual aeronautical parts that could have manufacturing defects, as well as the time needed for rigorous inspections to root out such flaws.

Another benefit: SLM components will not need to be welded together. "Generally, welds are a weak point," Vickers says. "So the elimination of welds is inherently a good thing." NASA will test the new components to see how they stand up against intense heat and vibrations. One component made via SLM under study and that Vickers talked to Bolden about on his tour is called a POGO Z-baffle, which dampens vertical oscillations in an oxygen line in the RS-25 rocket engine. The plan is to certify the part for use on the maiden SLS flight in 2017, Vickers says.

Putting additive manufacturing right at astronauts' fingertips is also in the works. In October 2014 a SpaceX flight is scheduled to deliver a 3D printer for fashioning plastic objects to the International Space Station. The NASA effort is a collaboration with startup company Made In Space. Should the technology prove successful on the ISS, Bolden says it could be transitioned to the SLS's manned Orion space capsule and other spacecraft.

Bolden piloted or commanded four shuttle missions from 1986 to 1994, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. He recalls a situation on his last mission aboard space shuttle Discovery where a 3D printer could have come in handy. Crew member Franklin Chang-Diaz was setting up a SPACEHAB module, which sat in a space shuttle's payload bay and provided astronauts a safe, pressurized environment where they could work without wearing a spacesuit. "Franklin noticed that the air duct into the SPACEHAB module that provided life support had been crushed," Bolden says. "We were worried about it, as were people on the ground." To prevent the flimsy duct from closing off completely, Bolden says the astronauts devised a solution: taking the hard plastic cover from an atlas, rolling it up, and then sticking it inside the duct. But a 3D printer might have saved considerable worry and the need to resort to jury-rigging while in orbit. "If we had this capacity with us then," Bolden says, "we could have ordered up the second module component we needed and printed one out that was plastic that wasn't able to be crushed."

This is this sort of ad hoc versatility that excites interplanetary mission planners. Should a spacecraft part break down or need replacement, astronauts could simply type into a 3D printer what component they need. Want a stronger shovel to dig a hole on Mars? An astronaut-engineer could create custom tools on the fly. 3D-printed objects themselves could be recycled as feedstock for the next set of wares.

"The further you get from Earth, the harder it is to take all the supplies and redundant parts you might need," Vickers says. "This capability to produce parts in space is a critical enabling tech for exploring if we're really ever going to spend long periods of time on other planets or the moon."

"A mission to Mars today is eight months," Bolden says. "There's no sending back asking for UPS or FedEx."

Turning ISS into a full-fledged space laboratory

Jeff Foust - The Space Review

The International Space Station (ISS) has long been sold on its promise as a unique laboratory. With its research facilities staffed by astronauts and cosmonauts, its location in Earth orbit, and in particular the microgravity environment it offers, the ISS offers the potential for groundbreaking work in a variety of disciplines, from biomedical research to material science to physics and astronomy.

To date, though, the station hasn't fully realized that potential for research. For many years, the explanation was that the station was still being assembled—it is, after all, hard to do work in a lab when you're still building it. However, the ISS is now complete, and the clock is ticking on the ability of scientists to make use of it before the end of the decade, when NASA and its partners will have to make a decision on whether to extend the station's life beyond 2020. Fortunately for station advocates, the first breakthrough results from research on the station may be just around the corner.

AMS and the search for dark matter

The biggest single experiment, in terms of both size and cost, on the ISS is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (officially designated AMS-02 to differentiate it from a prototype, AMS-01, flown on the STS-91 shuttle mission in 1998, but usually simply called AMS.) Weighing nearly 7,000 kilograms and costing an estimated $1.5 billion to develop, NASA installed AMS on the exterior of the ISS on the penultimate shuttle mission, STS-134, in May 2011 (see "The space station's billion-dollar physics experiment", The Space Review, May 16, 2011).

Since the launch of AMS, though, the project has been relatively quiet about the data collected and its analysis, beyond updates on the number of particles detected. "Today, we reached 29,000,000,000 particles measured," the AMS team announced on its Twitter feed on February 14. The first science based on the analysis of some of those 29 billion particles is coming soon, though.

At a press conference February 17 during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, Samuel Ting, the MIT physicist who is the principal investigator for AMS, said his team was working on a paper analyzing a subset of the AMS data involving detections of high-energy electrons and positrons. "We waited for 15 years—actually, 18 years—to write this paper," he said. "We have finished the paper and are now making the final checks." He said he anticipated that the paper would be completed and submitted to a journal (as yet undecided, although Ting said later one possibility is Physical Review Letters) in two to three weeks.

While Ting didn't disclose any of the results that will be in that paper, he did discuss what the paper would cover. It will examine the ratio of positrons to electrons as a function of energy from 0.5 to 350 billion electron volts. (The AMS can detect particles up to a trillion electron volts, but Ting said they didn't yet have a statistically significant sample of data at the higher energies.) It will also measure changes in the ratio as a function of direction to see if its distribution is the same in all directions or has peaks in a particular direction, such as towards the center of the galaxy.

Changes in that positron/electron ratio as a function of energy, including increases or sharp drops, could provide evidence for one candidate of dark matter known as weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs. Dark matter comprises about 23 percent of the universe, but its influence has only been detected indirectly, such as the rotation curves of galaxies. Scientists hypothesize that if dark matter is made of WIMPS—in particular, a particle known as a supersymmetric neutralino—it will produce antimatter particles like positrons when it collides with each other, creating a signature in the data detected by AMS.

Despite repeated prodding by journalists, Ting declined to disclose any details about the results prior to submitting that paper, although he wasn't above dropping a hint or two about at least the significance of the results. "Certainly we're not going to publish something if it's not worthwhile," he said at the press conference.

If the AMS data does provide evidence of the existence of WIMPs, it would be a major breakthrough for cosmology. "Figuring out dark matter is at the top of the wish lists of both particle physicists and cosmologists," said Michael Turner of the University of Chicago at the same AAAS press conference. The AMS, along with efforts by ground-based detectors and CERN's Large Hadron Collider, promise to either find evidence for the WIMP or send theorists back to their chalkboards. "We believe that this will be the decade of the WIMP."

Ting, though, didn't feel any rush to get the AMS results on the positron/electron ratio published, instead taking a slow, methodical approach to ensure the data were as accurate as possible, with six groups separately analyzing the data. "What we want to do is try to do the best we can, because I suspect in the next 10 to 20 years nobody will be foolish enough to put another magnetic detector in deep space given the non-technical difficulties we had to put this in space. What we want to do is do it very, very accurately."

Taking the g out of the equation

AMS, though, is something of an outlier when it comes to ISS research. It's a standalone module mounted on the station's exterior, using the station primarily as a spacecraft bus, supplying power and data. The experiment doesn't require the station's crew to take any action; Ting said at the AAAS meeting that the experiment could continue to function if the crew had to leave the station for some reason (provided, presumably, the station was still functional enough to keep supplying AMS with power and data links.)

Other research on the ISS is starting to produce results as well, if not immediately as groundbreaking as the AMS. "Now that we're a little over a year past the completion of assembly, we're starting to see that scientific research come into full flower," said Julie Robinson, NASA's chief scientist for the ISS, at a session about space station research at the AAAS meeting. "We have not been able to benchmark any other national laboratory or international laboratory that serves so many disciplines simultaneously."

That conference session provided a sampling of the type of research taking place at the station, including Ting talking about the AMS but also others doing research in biotech, material science, and space medicine. The purpose was to demonstrate the research that can, and is, being done on the station.

"It's valuable in understanding every element of life and physical sciences," said Elizabeth Cantwell of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who co-chaired the latest decadal survey of biological and physical sciences in space, published in 2011. "It's the closest analog environment for long-term deep space human exploration."

"There were certainly people who were saying, 'Do you really need this great big laboratory?'" recalled Michael Barratt, a physician and astronaut who spent more than six months on the ISS in 2009 as a member of the Expedition 19 and 20 crews. Skeptics, he said, wondered if the ISS was really needed to learn how the human body adapts to the space environment before mounting expeditions to the Moon or near Earth asteroids.

Barratt, who now manages the human research program at NASA's Johnson Space Center, argued based both on research and his own experience that the station is key to a better understanding of how humans handle extended exposure to microgravity. "What station gives us, from my standpoint as a practitioner of clinical space medicine, is that it is a big, well-equipped laboratory."

Research on the ISS, he said, has helped develop nutrition and exercise countermeasures to reduce the rate of bone loss previously experienced by long-duration crews, an issue that raised questions about the ability of people to be in suitable condition after a long-duration flight to, for example, land on Mars. "We're seeing insignificant changes in bone density" in critical regions like the pelvis, he said, as well as an increase in lean body mass percentage. "We could have only accommodated this on station" given the requirements of the research, he said, including the exercise equipment required.

The ISS research is turning up new human health issues, though. Recent studies have shown evidence of vision changes in astronauts causing by changes in intracranial pressure in the eyeball. "It's probably the most significant discovery we've made in space physiology in 20 years," he said. There was evidence of vision issues going back to the shuttle program, but it wasn't understood until it was studied in greater detail on the ISS, including Barratt himself, who experienced those vision changes during his time on the station.

"We don't know what the clinical implications of it are, but we know we need to find this out," he said. "It's something that's a big focus of our research attention right now."

Research involving astronauts inside the ISS isn't limited to space medicine, though. Mark Weislogel of Portland State University described some of the work he's done to study capillary fluid flows in microgravity, including how to design propellant tanks and plumbing systems that take advantage of these conditions to provide flows without the need the need of thruster firings or other mechanisms. One demonstration of this was a zero-g "coffee cup" that Don Pettit drank from during a stay on the ISS a few years ago.

Having the astronauts perform research and be in direct contact with researchers is also a benefit that goes beyond the science itself. "Students are getting the opportunity to talk with the astronauts" as they carry out the experiments, Weislogel said. "That's an impact on the students, and a bigger impact on the prospective students, and a big impact on the school."

Working on the ISS has its challenges as well. "As a life scientist doing biomedical research, you cannot make a living doing research on microgravity platforms," said Cheryl Nickerson of Arizona State University, who has done research on the ISS and shuttle flights to study infectious diseases, such as salmonella. "There is not routine and consistent funding for the platform, and there is not routine and consistent access to the platform."

Asked later about the access issue, Nickerson explained that ISS researchers don't yet have the same level of availability they're used to with terrestrial labs. "When you're in your lab doing experiments 24/7, that's the way a real lab works," she said. "We need much better and much more routine access, but that does not at all negate the tremendous potential value of the platform to provide this kind of novel insight, and hopefully in the future we'll have that kind of access."

"The limitation on access, I think, has a lot more to due with the funding for life sciences research," Robinson said, noting limited funding with NASA for such research in the recent past. "That's the challenge that our CASIS colleagues are also encountering" as they talk about the prospects for ISS research with commercial partners, she added.

CASIS, or the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, is the non-profit organization selected by NASA in 2011 to manage research on the portion of the station designated a US National Laboratory. After a slow start, CASIS has been ramping up its efforts, with a booth at the AAAS meeting exhibit hall and advertising in publications outside the traditional space industry, such as Fast Company, a magazine that targets more entrepreneurial audiences. The full-page ad contrasted a person looking out the window of a typical office ("Your office window.") with an astronaut peering out of the ISS cupola ("Our office window.") "With dramatically less of an investment than you think," the ad claimed, "your company's research could be conducted in the unique environment of the International Space Station."

NASA associate administrator Bill Gerstenmaier is optimistic that other researchers will take advantage of the facilities on the ISS in the coming years. "I would argue that any process that has a 'g' in its basic equation," he said in a speech at the FAA Commercial Space Transportation conference in Washington earlier this month, "and you remove that g, you get a different way to at that same physical property. If that can be shown to provide a competitive advantage, that can potentially spur a new market in space."

Creating that new market could be essential to the long-term future of the ISS, demonstrating it has capabilities worthwhile enough to keep the station operating beyond 2020, the current date the partner nations have agreed to support the ISS. "We've got a finite window with the space station over these next several years to prove that research in space provides real, tangible benefits," he said (see "Asking the big questions for the next ten years", The Space Review, February 11, 2013).

Even relatively hands-off experiments like AMS, though, have its challenges. "I did not realize how difficult it is to work on the space station," Ting said. One challenge is to keep the experiment's temperature constant to within one degree Celsius throughout the frequent day-night cycles and changing thermal environment around the station. A control room for AMS, at CERN in Switzerland, is staffed by up to a dozen people around the clock to monitor the experiment.

But in a few weeks, the AMS may offer scientists a major advance in their understanding of dark matter and the nature of the universe—the beginning of what NASA and other station partners hope is a wave of research breakthroughs that will be sustained through the end of the decade and perhaps beyond.

SpaceX set to launch supply rocket to space station on Friday

W.J. Hennigan - Los Angeles Times

Hawthorne-based rocket maker SpaceX is targeting Friday as the launch date for the next NASA cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station.

The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., performed a successful resupply mission to the space station in October and a demonstration mission back in May.

SpaceX is the only commercial company to perform such a task.

Blastoff of the company's Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 7:10 a.m. PST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage begins at 5:30 a.m.

During the mission, SpaceX's Dragon capsule is set to be packed with more than 1,200 pounds of scientific experiments and cargo for the astronauts aboard the space station. It will remain attached to the orbiting outpost for more than three weeks and return with more than 2,300 pounds of cargo.

The capsule is then slated to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California on March 25.

SpaceX has secured a $1.6-billion contract to carry out 12 such cargo missions, and Friday's mission would be the second.

If the rocket launch is delayed, a backup date is available on March 2 with launch time at 9:47 a.m.

Next SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft on Track for March 1 Launch

Ben Evans - AmericaSpace.org

The last twelve months have truly been a rollercoaster ride for Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)—the Hawthorne, Calif., company, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk—whose Falcon 9 rocket and unmanned Dragon cargo craft thundered into the public consciousness in both a positive and negative light. In May 2012, Dragon triumphantly flew a demonstration flight to the International Space Station, becoming the first commercial craft ever to have a spacecraft be berthed there, and in October its maiden Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) mission under SpaceX's $1.6 billion contract with NASA was successfully concluded. That success, however, was tempered by an engine-out anomaly, just 80 seconds after launch, which spelled disaster for a small Orbcomm piggyback satellite. Now, almost five months later, another Falcon 9 and fully-loaded Dragon stand ready at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida—primed to restore an otherwise-proud reputation.

Liftoff of the CRS-2 mission is currently scheduled for 10:10 a.m. EDT, March 1, beginning an ambitious four-week voyage which will see the first use of Dragon's unpressurized "Trunk" section to carry equipment and supplies. The whole Dragon measures 19.3 feet long and 12 feet wide. Some 1,490 pounds of cargo will be transported to the ISS, of which a little more than half is dedicated to ongoing scientific research. This includes a pair of General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerators (GLACIER)—one powered and the other unpowered—to support multiple biological samples with thermal-control requirements between -160°C and +4°C. A spare electronics unit for one of the ISS's Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezers for ISS (MELFI), a Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) bed, and crew provisions will also be aboard.

Attached to Dragon's external Trunk will be two Heat Rejection Subsystem Grapple Fixtures (HRSGFs), which will provide grapple fixtures to enable the station's Canadarm2 manipulator to interface with ISS radiators, should the need arise to repair or replace them. Shortly after CRS-2 arrives at the space station March 2—barely a day after rising from the United States' East Coast—the Trunk external payloads will be robotically removed by Canadarm2, under the control of U.S. Operating Segment (USOS) crewmen Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn. They will be temporarily housed on the Mobile Base System of the football-field-sized truss structure, to await installation on the S-1 and P-1 trusses during an EVA by Expedition 36 astronauts Chris Cassidy and Luca Parmitano in June–July.

Dragon's return to Earth—and a splashdown in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of southern California—is presently scheduled for March 25. The spacecraft's recoverable re-entry capsule will bring more than 2,300 pounds of equipment and materials back to Earth, including a GLACIER freezer and several failed environmental control system components. In doing so, Dragon will demonstrate yet again its capacity to pick up some of the load from the now-retired space shuttle fleet, providing the United States with a home-grown upmass/downmass capability to and from the ISS.

The return of Dragon will come ten days after the return of Expedition 34's Kevin Ford, Oleg Novitsky, and Yevgeni Tarelkin, who are due to land on the steppe of Kazakhstan March 15, concluding a five-month voyage which began last October. In the coming days, Ford will hand over command of the multi-national outpost to its first Canadian skipper, Chris Hadfield, who will lead the ISS into the summer of 2013.

Friday's launch of CRS-2—also known as "SpX-2? within the ISS Program, in recognition of SpaceX—will undoubtedly excite the company's growing fanbase, following the anomalous rise to orbit of the previous Falcon 9 last October. One of the booster's nine Merlin-1C engines on its first stage suffered a sudden pressure loss and an automatic shutdown command was issued; the other eight engines burned for an additional 30 seconds to compensate for the reduced thrust, thereby vindicating SpaceX's claims about the Falcon's ability to handle "engine-out" situations. "As designed, the flight computer then recomputed a new ascent profile in real time to reach the target orbit," explained CEO Elon Musk in October, "which is why the burn times were a bit longer."

This offered small comfort for a second-generation Orbcomm satellite, which was hitching a "piggyback" ride into orbit. Original plans called for the Falcon 9's second stage to execute a short burn of its single Merlin-1C engine to raise its orbit and eject the Orbcomm, but since this burn was dependent upon the stage being sufficiently healthy it could not be performed. Consequently, the Orbcomm was deployed into an untenable, far-lower-than-intended 125 x 200-mile orbit, and it burned up in the atmosphere within a matter of days.

Following an investigation process into the engine-out anomaly, the Falcon 9 for CRS-2 arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late November and underwent a successful, two-minute static test-firing at SLC-40 yesterday (Monday, Feb. 25), as this article was being prepared. The static test got underway with the ignition of all nine Merlin-1C engines at 1:30 pm EST and appeared to proceed without incident. At the end of the test, shutdown commands were transmitted to all engines and standard safing procedures were executed. Friday's launch will be preceded by a flurry of activity, due to culminate with the loading of rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen aboard the Falcon about two hours ahead of liftoff. The vehicle will be transferred to internal power at T-4 minutes, after which the flight termination system—used to destroy the launch vehicle in the event of off-nominal events during ascent—will be armed and oxidizer levels topped-off. One minute before launch, SLC-40's "Niagara" deluge system will flood the pad surface with 30,000 gallons of water to suppress acoustic waves radiating from the Merlin engine plumes.

Launching with a Dragon for the first time in the daylight hours, the Falcon's nine engines will ignite, producing a combined 1.1 million pounds of thrust and providing the impulse for the first three minutes of the climb to orbit. Two of the engines will shut down at T+170 seconds to reduce the acceleration, with the other seven shutting down about 10 seconds later. By this stage, the Falcon will be at an altitude of 50 miles. After the burn-out and separation of the first stage, the single Merlin-1C of the second stage will ignite. It will fire for a total of 345 seconds, delivering Dragon into a preliminary orbit and setting it up for a rendezvous with the ISS, which is scheduled to take place the following day.

Following its return to the waters of the Pacific, 300 miles off Baja California, it appears that subsequent Dragon missions will take place at roughly six-month intervals, with CRS-3 tentatively scheduled to fly September 30 and CRS-4 in early April 2014. NASA's contract with SpaceX calls for the company to stage 12 missions in total and deliver around 44,000 pounds of payload to the ISS.

NASA Asks the "Crowd" to Help Track What Astronauts Eat

Adrienne Burke - Forbes

NASA has put a man on the moon, but it hasn't yet come up with an efficient and accurate way for the International Space Station (ISS) crew to track their diets.

Living in a zero-gravity environment poses risk of nutrient deficiency and bone loss, so keeping close tabs on food intake in space is crucial. But the ISS crew complain that their meal monitoring methods are unreliable and tedious. Imagine having to recount everything you ate in a week while orbiting the Earth. That's what astronauts do in a weekly "food frequency questionnaire."

But diet logging isn't rocket science, so NASA is turning to "the crowd" for help. The NASA International Space Station Food Intake Tracker—or ISS FIT—Challenge, launched February 10, is the latest open-innovation contest sponsored by the NASA Tournament Lab—a partnership between NASA, Harvard's Institute of Qualitative Social Science, and competitive software-development community TopCoder.

NASA's Jason Crusan, who runs open-innovation projects for the agency, will describe the project at Crowdopolis Big Apple, an industry crowdsourcing meeting in New York on February 27-28. Techonomy got a preview by talking to Crusan's TopCoder partners who are powering the competition.

The challenge seeks to design, develop, and produce an iPad application to enable astronauts living on the space station to easily and seamlessly track their nutritional intake. In a video interview with TopCoder, NASA astronaut Donald Petit, who lived on the space station for 13 months, explains some of the obstacles posed by life in space for such a tool. As social media-savvy space station inhabitants (like @Cmdr_Hadfield and @Astro_Ron) have already learned, typing on an iPad keyboard can be cumbersome in a weightless environment where merely tapping on the screen pushes the device and the astronaut in opposite directions. Scanning instead of typing might work since most space-food packages have bar codes, but some are stamped on shiny curved surfaces while others are printed on thin crinkled paper wrapped around freeze-dried items. A voice recognition tool might seem logical, but there's loud background noise up there—"think being trapped inside an RV with 30 high-powered fans," says a TopCoder exec. Oh, and iPads in space don't have a real-time Internet connection.

TopCoder's Andy LaMora, senior vice president for government platforms, points to two more obstacles: The iPad 3's accelerometer is sensitive to gravity so that it can sense which way is "down"—a concept that is meaningless in space. Weightless, the iPad's camera won't focus as usual. And, food labels are printed in numerous languages. The Russians and European Space Agency also send up food.

The first of 16 ISS FIT sub-competitions is already over. To generate ideas for voice-command software, 26 competitors from 16 countries submitted 12 ideas. NASA stakeholders chose a winner. Additional competitions to generate ideas for barcode scanning and face-object recognition, and to develop wireframes, a screen design, a system architecture, and more for the ISS FIT app will wrap up by late May.

LaMora says most of the 16 sub-contests award $1,500 for first place and $750 for second. Some challenges will name up to five winners, aiming to generate even more ideas. Competitors can also earn TopCoder digital points. Those, LaMora explains, are comparable to the NASCAR, Grandmaster Chess, or PGA point systems whereby even contestants who don't place in a particular challenge are eligible for cash rewards. TopCoder pays out top positions in the pool each month. Another reason people compete in TopCoder challenges is for the rating and score their submissions get: "It's free of charge and it's the most detailed peer review you could get," LaMora says.

When will the final diet-tracking product reach the space station? LaMora says, "This isn't something they can put on iTunes and have the astronauts install." He says it could be a year before ISS crew get their hands on it, after a rigorous review including ground testing, and perhaps a test run in a gravity simulator airplane on a parabolic flight.

Like many applications developed for space, this one, spaceman Petit points out, could also be useful to people who want to track their diets here on Earth. LaMora agrees: "Almost everything the NASA Tournament Lab develops is open source, so at some point in the future this could very well be deployed for anyone to use. If it's made robust enough to run on the International Space Station you can use it anywhere."

Seven questions with Ellen Ochoa, first Latina in space

Griselda Nevarez - VOXXI News

(VOXXI is an independent voice for Hispanic America, with the goal to become "The Voice of the Hispanic 21st Century." Vox comes from the Latin word for voice and XXI is the Roman numeral for 21.)

Dr. Ellen Ochoa became the first Latina to go to space when she boarded the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. She made history again in January when she became the first Hispanic and second female director of NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Ellen Ochoa, who is of Mexican decent, spoke with VOXXI on Tuesday about her new role at the Johnson Space Center, growing up in California, her Hispanic roots and Latino representation in NASA.

What are your responsibilities as director of the Johnson Space Center and what's the role of the center?

Ellen Ochoa: We're the home of human space flight for NASA and really for the country, so we have the responsibility of operating the major programs in human space flight. First of all, the International Space Station program is headquartered here, and of course all the organizations that support that.

We also have programs that support exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, so we're developing a spacecraft called the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, which is the prime contractor for that. We're in the middle of that development. We have our first test flight next year.

We support a lot of the new companies and established companies that are developing capabilities to take both cargo and crew to low-Earth orbit and back and, in particular, either are or will be supporting the International Space Station in that effort.

And we do a lot of the advanced technology work that supports human exploration in space. Obviously a lot of that also has impact to life on earth as well in a variety of areas like the human robotic assistance and a lot of other robotic work.

Critics, including several former astronauts, say the space shuttle program should not have ended in July 2011 before there was another program to replace it. What are your thoughts about that?

It's been a challenge for us. We had to kind of relook the whole International Space Station program as we were coming to the end of the shuttle era to understand how are we going to get people to and from the station, how are we going to get supplies, how are we going to bring back science samples. I have to give a lot of credit to folks here who had to kind of redo the whole model in terms of logistics for the International Space Station program. We've been able to continue to move forward and to support that program.

Particularly with the commercial cargo and commercial crew program, we now have at least one company that has a capability within the United States to take cargo to and from the station. We have another company that should be demonstrating the ability to deliver supplies this year. Later on in the decade we'll have at least one—and hopefully more than one—U.S. company that will also be able to take a crew. We here, at JSC, are working hard on supporting those efforts and working with those companies. It's really important for us that they succeed.

In 1993, you became the first Latina to go to space when you boarded the space shuttle Discovery. Now, you've become the first Latina to be director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Have you ever felt that your Hispanic roots put extra pressure on you to do well?

I wouldn't say it felt like extra pressure. It has added a whole dimension, I think, to my job here. When I originally applied to be an astronaut I wasn't really thinking about the whole sort of role model aspect of it. I was doing it because I was fascinated by space. I was studying to be a research engineer and realized you could do a lot of unique and interesting experiments in space. And so it was really wanting to be part of America's space program and being able to apply my research.

This whole other aspect really was kind of an extra that has turned out to be very rich and rewarding in terms of getting to speak at lots of schools, showing up in textbooks, having schools named after me, which I've had the opportunity to visit and see a lot of the students there.

You grew up in California and your Hispanic roots come from your father, whose parents were born in Mexico, so did you grow up surrounded by a rich Hispanic culture? Did you learn to speak Spanish growing up?

We really didn't grow up so much as part of the Hispanic culture. My mom wasn't Hispanic. She learned Spanish after she married my dad, but it was interesting that my dad really would not speak Spanish to us around the house. I think it was just a consequence of how when he was growing up, it was really frowned upon to speak Spanish.

I think people have a much different view now where obviously it enhances your career possibilities when you are bilingual or even more. At the time, that didn't seem to be so much the case. It was important for him for his kids to speak English, and I don't think he saw the importance of us speaking Spanish, which is really unfortunate.

But a number of my cousins did have more of an opportunity to grow up bilingual, and I still stay in contact with a lot of them, many of whom live in California.

You along with the 13 other Hispanic NASA astronauts are seen as role models for many young Latinos. What message do you have for these young Latinos who perhaps don't have the encouragement they need to pursue a career?

Ellen Ochoa: I really try to tell people that first of all, there are a lot of interesting and exciting careers when you study math and science and related technology fields. For me, the key was really my education, so I tell people that it's important to study and continue to take science and math classes throughout high school. I tell them to graduate from high school and go on to college. That will really give you a lot of options.

I realize that a lot of the students I speak to may not end up as an astronaut or may not be completely interested in those fields, but I want them to at least make sure that they have options in their careers and that they think about setting high goals for themselves.

People who become astronauts are very similar to a lot of these kids. They put in a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication and they set high goals for themselves. That's something that anybody can apply.

In your opinion, are Latinos well represented in NASA or is there room for improvements?

Here at Johnson Space Center, we do have pretty good demographics in terms of having a lot of Hispanic employees, including in the science and engineering fields. That's partly because of where we're located being in in Texas. Overall, at NASA I think we do pretty well, but we can definitely do better.

One of the things that we try to look at is not only are we bringing in people from diverse backgrounds, but are we making sure that they have opportunities for career advancement as well. That really is something that we pay a lot of attention to. When it comes to women and various types of minorities and people with a lot of different backgrounds, are we making sure that we provide them with different kinds of training and development opportunities so that they can progress well in their careers?

And while I think we do a good job compared to a lot of other government agencies and a lot of other companies, it's something we feel we can continue to work at and make sure that we do even better.

You've accomplished so much thus far. What do you hope people will remember you for?

It's not so much me individually, although I understand how individuals can help inspire other folks. But really, the role that I've played at NASA has been one that's really been a community effort, a collective effort and a team effort.

What we do here at NASA is explore space and understand how you can get humans to and from space safely as well as accomplish something in space—whether it's going farther or understanding how you really live and work—and accomplish science objectives. It's hard and it really does take a team. To me, that's one of the great rewards of working here. You get to feel like you're part of a team that is so talented and so dedicated.

We were able to accomplish a lot in the space shuttle program. We are currently doing amazing things in space in the International Space Station program. And I hope that whatever I have been able to accomplish leads people to understand more about what we've accomplished at NASA and how they can contribute to that in the future.

Coats named Public Official of the Year

Bay Area Citizen

Michael Coats, former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), was given the Public official of the Year award at a luncheon on Friday February 22 in the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion on the University of Houston Campus.

The event highlighted the work of Houston metropolitan area public officials whose accomplishments may not make the evening news, yet whose tireless effort ensures that the public's everyday needs are addressed and the public good is served. The award was presented by the University of Houston's Master of Public Administration program.

Coats was honored for his strategic leadership that has benefited both NASA as well as the community at large by working with the Bay Area Houston community to minimize the close-out of the 30-year-old Space Shuttle Program.

He mitigated potential job loss by partnering with community and contractor leadership to hold three large-scale community job fairs, which resulted in many new jobs for JSC team members. He spearheaded the formation of three local strategic consortium relationships to position JSC for post-shuttle success and innovation.

These collaborative efforts include the Bay Area Houston advanced Technology Consortium, the Houston Technology Center, and the Greater Houston Partnership.

The other finalists were:
·         Jeff Braun, Emergency Management Coordinator for Fort Bend County
·         David Feldman, Houston City Attorney
·         Scott Elmer, Assistant City Manager for Missouri City

Hoosier astronaut shares view of Indianapolis from space station
Mission commander Kevin Ford took advantage of a clear day

Bill McCleery - Indianapolis Star

Indiana astronaut Kevin Ford, leading the crew of the International Space Station, took a photo of Indianapolis from outer space and emailed it to his brother.

Ford, 52, became the station's commander in November.

"This is a good shot of Indy," the NASA astronaut wrote in an email to his brother, Dean Ford, 62, Noblesville. "Don't know if the papers would be interested, but you're welcome to send it out if you'd like."

The image, taken Monday, clearly shows Indianapolis International Airport, I-465 ringing Marion County, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the White River flowing through the heart of Indianapolis.

Ford's crew arrived at the station on Oct. 25 and is scheduled to return to Earth next month.

"He often looks for opportunities to take photos of the area," Dean Ford said Tuesday, "but because of the orbit they're in and the need to have clear weather conditions, it's not always easy."

This image was captured on the 86th birthday of their father, Clayton Ford. Their dad lives in Hartford City.

The Fords grew up in the Blackford County city of Montpelier. Kevin Ford graduated from Blackford High School and the University of Notre Dame. The former Air Force colonel piloted the space shuttle Discovery during a 2009 space station mission.

Six astronauts are based at the International Space Station: three Russians, two Americans and a Canadian.

Dean Ford, a Rolls-Royce engineer, said he enjoys hearing of his brother's space exploits.

"We're proud of what he does," he said. "He's my little brother."

Europe May Work With China on Space Station

Rob Coppinger - Space.com

China aims to establish a large manned space station within the next decade, officials have said, and the latest reports suggest that this outpost could host not only Chinese astronauts, but European spaceflyers as well.

A plan is afoot for China and Europe to cooperate on the venture, which might see the European Space Agency (ESA) building technologies, including a rendezvous and docking system, for the station, in exchange for opportunities for its astronauts to visit the facility.

China plans to have the space station running by 2020. Both the station and China's manned spacecraft Shenzhou could use ESA's International Berthing and Docking Mechanism (IBDM), because of a problem with the Russian system the Chinese have been using until now.

China's Shenzhou and Tiangong-1 space laboratory, a test module already in orbit, use a modified version of Russia's Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS). APAS was developed for the 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project and is used on the International Space Station (ISS).

Bouncing off

An unmanned Shenzhou spacecraft docked with Tiangong-1 for the first time in November 2011, and the docking mechanism didn't work exactly as planned, some say.

"It was originally bouncing off," Bob Chesson, an ESA human spaceflight advisor, told SPACE.com. "Essentially they have to ram this [Shenzhou] thing in and they are very worried that if you assemble a station like that, you basically will have all sorts of structure fracture mechanics problems, that type of thing."

The Shenzhou spacecraft is not heavy enough to activate the APAS docking system correctly, Chesson said, so it had to be rammed forcefully to make a connection.

Chesson traveled to Beijing with ESA's director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain and talked with the China Manned Space Engineering Office.

"Our director general has made some noises that he wants us to get involved with [the Chinese space station program]," Chesson said. "The Chinese, we had them over and showed them [the IBDM] and they were very interested because they are using the modified APAS system."

To discuss whether the IBDM system might work better for the Chinese space station, ESA officials sponsored a working seminar to collaborate with Chinese space officials, Chesson said.

Chesson has been a senior advisor to Thomas Reiter, the German-born former astronaut and head of ESA's human spaceflight directorate and operations. He spoke recently about the collaboration with China during a presentation to the Cambridge branch of the UK's Royal Aeronautical Society.

Docking basics

The IBDM is system to allow different countries' spacecraft to dock and berth with each other, despite their different designs.

Originally developed by ESA and NASA for the X-38 program, a prototype crewed spaceplane that was cancelled in 2002. The X-38, also known as the Crew Rescue Vehicle (CRV), would have allowed a seven-person International Space Station crew to escape the station.

The US space agency ended its involvement in IBDM when the X-38 program ended. Now IBDM will form part of the ESA-China cooperation, as rendezvous and docking is one of three working groups set up by Chesson for collaboration between the two agencies. The other two working groups focus on crew training and the exchange of payload facilities and experiments.

"Last November we had a delegation from the Chinese astronaut training center, they came over for a week at EAC [European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany] and we explained to them how our training program works," Chesson said.

That visit was preceded on Oct. 8, 2012 by the China Manned Space Agency's director general Wang Zhaoyao and the first Chinese female astronaut, Liu Yang, visiting Dordain, at ESA's Parisian headquarters. Yang was involved in the 2012 Shenzhou-9 mission that docked with Tiangong-1.

Following these two visits, a delegation of ESA astronauts and trainers will be going to Beijing in April to see how the Chinese train their crews, Chesson said.

Learning Chinese

With this growing relationship, ESA now offers introductory Chinese classes for its astronauts at the EAC.

Frank De Winne, a Belgian-born astronaut and head of ESA's astronaut corps, confirmed to SPACE.com that an astronaut exchange program was ongoing. But: "No discussion has taken place as to a potential flight by a European astronaut on a specific Shenzhou capsule," he said.

Joint astronaut training, Chinese lessons and Chesson's third working group, the exchange of payload facilities and experiments, all point to preparations for future missions for ESA crew on China's spacecraft. Chesson said that ESA is "seriously looking" at providing experiments for future Tiangong missions.

De Winne told SPACE.com that European experiments on a Tiangong mission or the future Chinese space station will "depend on the ESA member states' decision as well as the Chinese disposition."

The exchange of experiments could conceivably lead to Chinese science being carried out on the International Space Station by ESA astronauts. "For the moment, there are no specific experiments that have been identified," and any Chinese experiment on ISS "would have to first be discussed with the ISS partners," De Winne explained.

ESA has a history of cooperating with China on Earth observation since the 1990s and, more recently, under the Dragon programs — joint ESA-China programs for Earth observation that have been ongoing since 2004.

While ESA is forging ahead with Chinese cooperation, NASA is prohibited from engaging in bilateral cooperative activities with China or any Chinese owned companies, per a directive from Congress.

Mars May Be Habitable Today, Scientists Say

Rod Pyle - Space.com

While Mars was likely a more hospitable place in its wetter, warmer past, the Red Planet may still be capable of supporting microbial life today, some scientists say.

Ongoing research in Mars-like places such as Antarctica and Chile's Atacama Desert shows that microbes can eke out a living in extremely cold and dry environments, several researchers stressed at "The Present-Day Habitability of Mars" conference held here at the University of California Los Angeles this month.

And not all parts of the Red Planet's surface may be arid currently — at least not all the time. Evidence is building that liquid water might flow seasonally at some Martian sites, potentially providing a haven for life as we know it.

"We certainly can't rule out the possibility that it's habitable today," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, principal investigator for the HiRise camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.

Surface water on Mars?

McEwen discussed some intriguing observations by HiRise, which suggest that briny water may flow down steep Martian slopes during the local spring and summer.

Sixteen such sites have been identified to date, mostly on the slopes of the huge Valles Marineris canyon complex, McEwen said. The tracks seem to repeat seasonally as the syrupy fluids descend along weather-worn pathways.

While the brines may originate underground, Caltech's Edwin Kite noted, there is an increasing suspicion that a process known as deliquescence — in which moisture present in the atmosphere is gathered by compounds on the ground, allowing it to become a liquid — may be responsible.

Astrobiologists are keen to learn more about these brines, for not much is known about them at the moment.

"Briny water on Mars may or may not be habitable to microbes, either from Earth or from Mars," McEwen said.

Hardy microbes

Martian life may be able to survive even in places where water doesn't seep and flow, some scientists stressed.

For example, microbes here on Earth make a living in the Atacama and the dry valleys of Antarctica, both of which are extremely cold and arid, said Chris McKay of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

Antarctic sites also receive seasonally high ultraviolet radiation doses thanks to a hole in the ozone layer that tends to develop every August through November. This provides yet another parallel to Mars, whose thin atmosphere and lack of a protective magnetic field make the planet more radiation-bombarded than Earth.

In the Antarctic dry valleys, McKay said, organisms dwell within rocks, just deep enough to be shielded from the worst of the UV but close enough to the surface to receive the benefits of photosynthesis. Something similar might be happening on Mars today, if life ever evolved there.

McKay also discussed deliquescence, which in the Atacama allows salts to gather enough water to support the existence of life.

McKay offered some advice to NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, which landed in August to determine whether Mars could ever have supported microbial life: "Watch for salt along the road!"

A possible energy source

A number of presenters spent some time talking about perchlorate, a chlorine-containing chemical that NASA's Phoenix lander spotted near the Martian north pole in 2008.

McKay and other researchers think perchlorate may be the reason that NASA's twin Viking landers didn't detect any organic compounds — the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it — on the Red Planet back in the 1970s.

The Vikings vaporized Martian soil and looked for any organics boiling off. They found nothing but a few chlorine compounds that were attributed to contamination. But after Phoenix's perchlorate find, McKay and some other researchers performed an experiment.

They added perchlorate to some desert dirt from Chile known to contain organics. They heated the soil up and found the same chlorine compounds the Vikings did, suggesting that organics may have been present in the Vikings' samples but were broken down by the combination of heat and perchlorate.

While this backstory is interesting in its own right, perchlorate is also relevant to the possible habitability of present-day Mars.

"Perchlorate, it turns out, is a potent chemoautotrophic energy source," said Carol Stoker, also of NASA Ames, noting that the chemical could potentially sustain microbes in the dark Martian subsurface, where photosynthesis is not an option.

And some Earth microbes use perchlorate for food, so that could be happening on Mars as well, scientists have pointed out.

"The Present-Day Habitability of Mars" took place Feb. 4-5 and was co-hosted by the NASA Astrobiology institute and the UK Centre for Astrobiology.

First Space Tourist Sets Sights on Mars

Andy Pasztor - Wall Street Journal

A group headed by multimillionaire Dennis Tito, who in 2001 became the first space tourist, on Wednesday is expected to outline plans for a private manned mission to circle Mars by 2018.

Mr. Tito, an investment tycoon and space exploration booster, doesn't have a rocket, spacecraft or financing for the venture, according to industry officials familiar with the project. He plans to disclose the venture in Washington, D.C., alongside executives with Paragon Space Development Corp. His trip to the international space station is considered the first example of space tourism.

A spokesman for Mr. Tito's group, Inspiration Mars Foundation, declined to comment.

He initially conceived the Mars mission as a roughly $500-million partnership with closely-held Space Exploration Technologies Corp., of Hawthorne, Calif., according to people familiar with the matter. A final decision hasn't been made about the makeup of the crew, they added.

Mr. Tito co-authored a detailed technical paper on the subject with 10 corporate and NASA space experts. He may be willing to invest as much as $100 million of his personal fortune, the industry officials said. So far, there is no indication of who would supply the rest of the financing.

With no U.S. government missions slated to carry astronauts past low-earth orbit until at least the start of the next decade, Mr. Tito and his supporters saw the about 17 month expedition as an opportunity to inspire students and showcase continuing U.S. supremacy in space.

The 501-day roundtrip flight would pioneer technology to shield humans from strong radiation in deep space; demonstrate they could live and exercise for long durations in cramped quarters; and leapfrog plans by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to send astronauts to an asteroid and eventually to Mars around 2035.

The longest any human has stayed in space so far is about 13 months, held by a Russian cosmonaut. The proposed trip would be aided by a trajectory devised by Mr. Tito and his team—based on earlier NASA calculations—that gives the craft extra speed from gravitational forces created by the unusual alignment of the planets.

Industry officials said that in recent weeks plans to use a heavy-lift rocket and space capsule supplied by SpaceX imploded.

A spokeswoman for SpaceX said the company doesn't have a relationship with Mr. Tito's foundation.

The group's latest concept carries a price tag of at least $1 billion, these officials said. Mr. Tito's group is talking to Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and NASA about possible hardware.

The proposed voyage comes as NASA and the White House face escalating criticism from lawmakers and scientists over what they see as a lack of clearly defined government space goals. NASA hasn't yet picked a specific asteroid for a manned mission, and the agency's plans to get astronauts to Mars are less defined.

With shrinking overall budgets and internal NASA divisions about how much financial support to allocate for commercial-space ventures, the agency is looking for ways to spark public excitement about deep-space travel.

Mr. Tito's concept has been embraced by NASA's leadership, and the proposed Mars voyage is boosted by a formal cooperative agreement with NASA's Ames Research Center in Northern California. Ames scientists are renowned for expertise in heat shields, which is one of the most important elements needed to protect a speeding spacecraft slamming into the earth's atmosphere at the end of a long-distance space voyage.

Some space experts have said that any manned Mars mission using existing rockets probably would need to have a capsule dock with some type of booster in orbit. That would provide the additional thrust necessary to put the spacecraft into a trajectory to reach Mars. The gravitational field around Mars would have a slingshot effect on a spacecraft, hurling it back toward earth with additional velocity.

Space Tourist to Unveil Private Mars Voyage Today

Clara Moskowitz - Space.com

A millionaire space tourist plans to make a major announcement today about launching a trip to Mars in 2018.

American businessman Dennis Tito paid about $20 million to visit the International Space Station in 2001 aboard a Russian spacecraft. Now, Tito is launching a new nonprofit organization called the Inspiration Mars Foundation to plan another private trip to space.

Details about the private Mars voyage, including whether it will be manned or robotic, are set to be revealed during a press conference today at Washington, D.C.'s National Press Club. Speakers at the 1 p.m. EST event will include Tito, as well as longtime space journalist Miles O'Brien, former NASA flight surgeon Jonathan Clark, a professor of space medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Taber MacCallum, chief executive officer and chief technology officer of Paragon Space Development Corporation, and Jane Poynter, Paragon's president and chairwoman.

The Inspiration Mars Foundation plans to mount a mission to "take advantage of a unique window of opportunity to launch an historic journey to Mars and back in 501 days," project officials wrote in a media advisory.

"This 'Mission for America' will generate new knowledge, experience and momentum for the next great era of space exploration. It is intended to encourage all Americans to believe again, in doing the hard things that make our nation great, while inspiring youth through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and motivation," they added.

Tito, an engineer who once worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., founded the investment firm Wilshire Associates, which eventually made him a millionaire.

Tito's eight-day trek to space in 2001 made him the first-ever space tourist. Since his trip, six others have followed in his footsteps, paying between $20 million and $35 million through the American firm Space Adventures, which brokers deals with the Russian Federal Space Agency.

No private company has yet launched people to space on commercially built vehicles, though numerous firms, such as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., are working toward that goal.

NASA itself is also pursuing the goal of sending humans to Mars. The space agency is developing a new capsule called Orion, and a new heavy-lift rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS), to take astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit and to new destinations in the solar system, including asteroids and the Red Planet.

To watch Tito's announcement live at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT), visit: http://www.inspirationmars.org/

Virgin Galactic Hoping for Commercial Flights by Early 2014

Doug Messier - Parabolic Arc

Virgin Galactic will begin powered flights of SpaceShipTwo "very soon," with the hope of getting into space by the end of this year and beginning commercial service by early 2014.

That's the word as of Tuesday from Virgin Galactic CEO and President George Whitesides. The VG chief made the comments in a Q&A interview that was put out as a press release by XOJET, a private jet company that has established an exclusive private air Concierge Access service to serve Virgin Galactic's exclusive group of nearly 600 future astronauts.

XOJET, by the way, is part of the portfolio of Aabar Investments, the Abu Dhabi-owned company that has provided most of the funding for Virgin Galactic. So, the interview isn't exactly probing, but it does contain some interesting details.

On Vehicle Production in Mojave:

"We essentially have one pair of vehicles—the ones we're flying now. Then we have the second pair, basically copies of the first pair, which are being produced now in Mojave. Our aspiration is to build five spaceships and a couple more carrier aircraft; we think that's a good number with which to scale up the business."

On Safety:

"The biggest challenge is making sure that we build a vehicle that is as safe as can be and meets our customers' expectations in terms of experience. So we've been working for several years now, building SpaceShipTwo and its carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo. We've essentially designed a system that is meant to be as fail-safe as possible. That is to say, we keep making great safety improvements that will make it the safest manned space ship ever built."

On Keeping Customers Entertained While They Wait for Their Rides:

"What we try to do is to enable our customers to meet each other and come together around bigger milestone events for our company. So, for example, one of the events we did was for the rollout for the spaceship. That was a terrific event with several governors and various other folks. We've also had trips to Richard's properties including Necker Island and the South African game reserve, Ulusaba. Through it all, what we're trying to do is share the magic of the overall experience and to build that community of folks, because it's a remarkable group of people."

Interest building in Shiloh
Fledgling space firm now backs private site

James Dean – Florida Today

Primarily seen as a strategy to lure SpaceX missions, a proposed state-run launch complex inside Kennedy Space Center has drawn strong interest from another growing private space firm, public records show.

Blue Origin, backed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, says Space Florida's proposed "Shiloh" site would be a good fit for tests of a reusable booster and eventual launches of cargo and crews to orbit.

"Blue Origin is keenly interested in conducting orbital launch operations at the Shiloh facility," the company said in response to state request for information from interested launch providers.

Blue Origin was the only company to respond in writing to the state's request by a deadline last month.

However, Space Florida says it has held discussions with SpaceX and at least one other firm it has not identified.

The state's aerospace development agency last year asked NASA to give it roughly 150 acres in the former citrus community of Shiloh, just inside the northern border of KSC and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near the Brevard-Volusia county line.

NASA initially said it would not cede ownership of the property but it supports Florida's effort to bolster commercial space activity, and negotiations continue.

The Brevard County Commission last week approved a resolution supporting the proposal.

Space Florida officials were not available for comment Tuesday.

If it moves forward, the Shiloh complex could house one or two pads for launches of non-government missions.

SpaceX has publicly stated its interest in a pad operated independently from NASA and the Air Force, and is scouting suitable locations in several states.

Blue Origin also strongly endorsed the idea that commercial and government missions should have separate, dedicated launch facilities, similar to commercial and military aircraft.

"We view the proposed Shiloh facility as an opportunity to build the type of dedicated commercial facility that will enable the expansion of American commercial spaceflight," the company said. "Blue Origin is eager to support Space Florida in developing the Shiloh site for this purpose."

Started in 2000 and based near Seattle in Kent, Wash., Blue Origin has often been called secretive.

The company began sharing more information when it participated in the first two rounds of NASA's commercial crew development program, which since 2010 has funded designs of private spacecraft that could fly astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017.

Blue Origin received $25.7 million to help develop systems it hopes will "dramatically lower the cost and increase the reliability of human access to space."

The company proposed a spacecraft able to carry up to seven astronauts, launching first atop an Atlas V rocket and later on its own two-stage rocket featuring a reusable first stage booster.

Like the Grasshopper booster SpaceX has begun testing, Blue Origin's booster would launch and land vertically, returning to land or an ocean-based platform.

The company, whose Latin motto translates to, "Step by Step, Ferociously," is developing the three-person New Shepard suborbital spacecraft as a precursor to the orbital system. In addition to people, New Shepard plans to support microgravity research. A University of Central Florida professor leads an experiment already slated to fly on a demonstration flight.

Since 2006, test flights — including the loss of a vehicle in 2011 — have been performed with Federal Aviation Administration approval at Blue Origin's private launch site in West Texas, experience the company said would help it stand up operations at Shiloh.

As part of its NASA-funded work, the company successfully tested an abort system designed to push a crew capsule away from a rocket failing on the launch pad, and fired at full power a new hydrogen-fueled rocket engine it designed.

Blue Origin said it plans about 12 orbital launches a year, on average, but offered no timeframe.

However, the company said its reusable orbital booster development had reached the point where it sought to build and operate a coastal launch site for testing of a full-scale first stage.

Blue Origin suggested the state consider a complex larger than 150 acres to accommodate multiple users, and placing a pad on the east side of State Road 3 to "further enhance public safety."

Space Florida has sought to minimize the proposed complex's footprint and avoid the most environmentally sensitive land. The agency says environmental studies will identify the locations most appropriate for development.

New 45th Space Wing commander 'thrilled' to be back in Brevard
Gen. Cotton assigned new role elsewhere

R. Norman Moody - Florida Today

Col. Nina Armagno is returning to Patrick Air Force Base as the commander of the 45th Space Wing after having served here in 2001.

"I'm thrilled to be heading back to the Cape," Armagno said.

"While I'll be saddened to leave the Hawks of the 30th Space Wing, it is a distinct honor to be chosen to command the 45th Space Wing. From one amazing spacelift wing to another... what the men and women of Vandenberg and Patrick Air Force Base do for our nation is indispensible to the war-fighter and our national security."

Current 45th Space Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton is being assigned as deputy director at the National Reconnaissance Office, a position that will take him to northern Virginia, but one he said will keep him in close ties with Patrick Air Force Base.

Armagno, who has been selected to become a brigadier general, will become the new commander of the 45th Space Wing and director of the Eastern Range at Patrick Air Force Base.

A date for the change of command at Patrick Air Force Base has not been announced.

"Marsha and I have truly enjoyed our second time assigned to Patrick Air Force Base," Cotton said. "What an opportunity to come back and launch rockets off the historic Florida Space Coast. More importantly, we are going to miss the women and men who make up an incredible wing; the professionals that make up the mission partners and the great community that makes all of us feel at home. We will take memories of the Space Coast with us as we move to northern Virginia."

The NRO is the government agency in charge of designing, building, launching and maintaining the nation's intelligence satellites.

Beside his role at the NRO, Cotton will also act as commander of the Air Force Space Command element in Chantilly, Va.

Cotton assumed command of the 45th Space Wing in August 2011. He previously served from June 2001 to March 2004 as operations officer for the 45th Range Squadron, commander of the 3rd Space Launch Squadron and deputy commander of the 45th Operations Group at Patrick.

"I know I will keep close ties with the wing in my new assignment with the National Reconnaissance Office, which has a number of important missions scheduled here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station," Cotton said. "But remember, we haven't departed yet. There is still plenty of work to do in the next several months before I depart."

Armagno, who is commander of 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, previously served at Patrick from 2000 to 2001.

END

Keep the shuttle flying

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - February 27, 2013 and JSC Today

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