Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: Human Spaceflight News

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: April 10, 2013 5:55:40 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - April 10, 2013 and JSC Today

Be careful driving while dealing with the projected thunderstorms in and about the Houston Metro area today.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

JSC TODAY HEADLINES
1.            Today: Agencywide All-Hands Meeting on NASA Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request
2.            Latest International Space Station Research
3.            Today -- Find Out About Whole-listic Sustainability
4.            Extra, Extra! Read All About it
5.            The College Money Guys
6.            ISS EDMS Extended Outage
7.            What Do Spring and JSC Have in Common?
8.            2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polos -- Order Yours by April 14
9.            Starport Summer Camp -- Registering Now
10.          Zumbatomic Kids Fitness at Starport -- Try the First Class for Free
11.          Parent's Night Out at Starport -- April 26
12.          NASA@work Update: Training Opportunity and Active Challenges
13.          Chili Chili, Get Your Chili!
14.          Blood Drive -- April 17 and 18
15.          Summer Water-Bots Camp
16.          Cub Scouts: Earn Astronomy Belt Loop
________________________________________     NASA FACT
" Thanks to the Tomatosphere Project aboard ISS, 600,000 tomato seeds have been orbiting the Earth since July 2012. When the seeds return in May, students in the U.S. and Canada will plant them and observe their germination rates."
________________________________________
1.            Today: Agencywide All-Hands Meeting on NASA Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request
Please join Administrator Bolden as he presents details of the fiscal year 2014 budget request in an agencywide all-hands meeting today, April 10, at 10 a.m. CDT. Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot and Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson will also present various aspects of the new budget proposal. The meeting will be broadcast from NASA Headquarters.
JSC team members can watch the event live in the Teague Auditorium with JSC Director Ellen Ochoa and JSC Deputy Director Steve Altemus. Ochoa and Altemus will take questions after the All Hands from the audience. If you would like to submit a question for consideration in advance or during the All Hands, please email it to: JSC-Ask-The-Director@mail.nasa.gov
JSC employees unable to attend in the Teague Auditorium can watch it on RF Channel 2 or Omni 45. Those with wired computer network connections can view the All Hands using onsite IPTV on channels 402 (standard definition) or 4002 (HD). If you are having problems viewing the video using these systems, contact the Information Resources Directorate Customer Support Center at x46367.
JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

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2.            Latest International Space Station Research
Expedition 35 recently completed the first run of the Seedling Growth investigation, which studies the effects of microgravity on the growth of plants. Images of the plants are be captured and downlinked to Earth. Samples of the plants are then harvested and returned to Earth for scientific analysis. The results of this experiment can lead to information that will aid researchers in food production studies concerning future long-duration space missions, as well as data that will enhance crop production on Earth. Read more about Seedling Growth.
Liz Warren x35548

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3.            Today -- Find Out About Whole-listic Sustainability
You are invited to JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance Speaker Forum featuring Laurie Peterson, JSC sustainability champion.
Subject: Whole-listic Sustainability
Date/Time: Today, April 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Building 1, Room 966
Peterson will highlight our JSC Sustainability Program as it relates to a concept she refers to as "whole-listic" sustainability. She will engage you in assessing your own level of satisfaction, personally and professionally. Thought-provoking techniques for full engagement will be offered to ultimately enable sustainability at JSC and, most importantly, within yourself. Peterson is a bioprocess engineer, professional speaker, executive coach and process improvement and strategic planning facilitator. She believes that the hardest and most important thing we have to do in our lives is be honest to ourselves, and that every experience is a learning experience.
Event Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2013   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Building 1, room 966

Add to Calendar

Della Cardona/Juan Traslavina 281-335-2074/281-335-2272

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4.            Extra, Extra! Read All About it
The latest edition of the JSC Environmental Office newsletter, The Greener Side, is now available. Find out about the history of Earth Day and how this milestone in April has influenced the globe. Want to know more about JSC's Environmental Management System (EMS) liaisons? Check out the newsletter and find out about coming EMS training opportunities. Want to know what's coming up this spring? The Greener Side has the scoop, and more!
JSC Environmental Office x36207 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/bbs/scripts/files/367/GreenerSide%20v6n2%20%280...

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5.            The College Money Guys
The JSC Employee Assistance Program is happy to present Kris Lloyd with The College Money Guys. Lloyd will provide information on paying for college without going broke. If you are the parent of a high school student who plans to attend college, you need to attend this free workshop today, April 10, at 12 noon in the Building 30 Auditorium.
Event Date: Wednesday, April 10, 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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6.            ISS EDMS Extended Outage
On Saturday, April 13, there will be an extended International Space Station Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) outage. We expect the outage to begin at 8 a.m. CDT, and ISS EDMS to be available again by 8 p.m. CDT. Please plan your work accordingly.
As always, for assistance with ISS EDMS, please contact MAPI IT Customer Service via email or at 281-244-8999.
Event Date: Saturday, April 13, 2013   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:8:00 PM
Event Location: JSC

Add to Calendar

LaNell Cobarruvias x41306 https://iss-www.jsc.nasa.gov/nwo/apps/edms/web/index.shtml

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7.            What Do Spring and JSC Have in Common?
The answer: more mishaps. April is the month of highest injury at JSC, and slips, trips and falls are the number one culprit. Maybe it's the beautiful weather, thoughts of vacation or preoccupation with work, but people seem to be more inattentive. Letting your guard down for just a minute could have you tripping over that rock in the path. Don't be a statistic -- stay aware of your surroundings, especially this month. You never know what might pop up.
Rindy Carmichael x45078

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8.            2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polos -- Order Yours by April 14
The Sixth Annual NASA Golf Tournament polos are now available for sale.
Not participating in this year's tournament but still want a polo? You got it! Click here to purchase yours today.
2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polos (Micropique Sport-Wick)
o             Men's sizes: Small to 2XL
o             Women's Sizes: Small to 2XL
All polos are $36 each (10 percent off value of $40)
Orders available through April 14 only.
Note: All participants of the Sixth Annual NASA Golf Tournament will receive one polo (included in registration). Any polos ordered online are additional.
Don't wait! Order your 2013 NASA Golf Tournament Polo today.
Steve Schade x30304 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/golf

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9.            Starport Summer Camp -- Registering Now
Summer is fast approaching, and Starport will again be offering summer camp for youth at the Gilruth Center all summer long. We have tons of fun planned, and we expect each session to fill up, so get your registrations in early! Weekly themes are listed on our website, as well as information regarding registration and all the necessary forms.
Ages: 6 to 12
Times: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Dates: June 10 to Aug. 16 in one-week sessions
Registration: March 18 for NASA dependents | May 6 for non-dependents
Fee per session: $140 per child for NASA dependents | $160 per child for non-dependents
Ask about out sibling discounts and discounts for registering for all sessions.
Plus, receive a coupon for 25 percent off a four-, six- or twelve-week membership package to our Inner Space Yoga and Pilates Studio when you register for camp by April 30.
Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

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10.          Zumbatomic Kids Fitness at Starport -- Try the First Class for Free
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 on April 12 that you can try for free to kick off our new session! Sign up at the Gilruth front desk for a free class.
Session: April 19 to May 17
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.
Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

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11.          Parent's Night Out at Starport -- April 26
Enjoy a night out on the town while your kids enjoy a night with Starport! We will entertain your children with a night of games, crafts, a bounce house, pizza, a movie, dessert and loads of fun!
When: Friday, April 26, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Where: Gilruth Center
Ages: 5 to 12
Cost: $20/first child and $10/each additional sibling if registered by the Wednesday prior to event. If registered after Wednesday, the fee is $25/first child and $15/additional sibling.
Register at the Gilruth Center front desk.
Event Date: Friday, April 26, 2013   Event Start Time:6:00 PM   Event End Time:10:00 PM
Event Location: Gilruth Center

Add to Calendar

Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

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12.          NASA@work Update: Training Opportunity and Active Challenges
If you are interested in learning more about NASA@work and how you can participate on this internal, collaborative platform, join us for NASA@work Training 101 on Thursday, May 2. Two session times will be available (11 a.m. CDT and 2 p.m. CDT). Sign up today, as space is limited.
Make sure you check out our active challenges and participate today: Group On-Call Notification Alternatives (deadline: May 3); Lab Equipment Obsolescencee: Cytometer (deadline: April 19) and Reduce Waste in Space: Creating Feedstock for Additive Manufacturing (3-D Printing) (deadline: this Friday, April 12). Check them out at http://nasa.innocentive.com and submit your solution today!
Kathryn Keeton 281-204-1519 http://nasa.innocentive.com

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13.          Chili Chili, Get Your Chili!
This Saturday, April 13, is the 35th Annual JSC Chili Cook-off at the Gilruth Center. Get your tickets now at the Starport Gift Shops or from team captains. A ticket ($7 now through Friday and $10 at the gate) will get you all the chili you can sample from the more than 40 teams competing in this year's event! A ticket also gets you all the refreshments you would like. So, grab your friends and keep an eye on your enemies at this year's chili cook-off. Be there or be weird!
Jeff Bauer 713-705-0306 https://external.jsc.nasa.gov/events/chili/index.cfm

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14.          Blood Drive -- April 17 and 18
There is no substitute for blood. It has to come from one person in order to give it to another. Will there be blood available when you or your family needs it? A regular number of voluntary donations are needed every day to meet the needs for blood. Make the "Commitment to life" by taking one hour of your time to donate blood. Your blood donation can help up to three patients.
You can donate at one of the following locations:
Teague Auditorium lobby: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Building 11 Starport Café donor coach: 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Gilruth Center donor coach: (Thursday only) Noon to 4 p.m.
Criteria for donating can be found at the St. Luke's link on our website. T-shirts, snacks and drinks are available for all donors.
Teresa Gomez x39588 http://jscpeople.jsc.nasa.gov/blooddrv/blooddrv.htm

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15.          Summer Water-Bots Camp
The Aerospace Academy at San Jacinto College is offering an outstanding opportunity for students to experience the excitement of underwater robotics!
Beginner Camps: June 17 to 20 and June 24 to 27. The camp experience will include basic electronics instruction, an introduction to soldering, tours of JSC, professional speakers and much more!
Intermediate Camps: July 15 to 18 and July 22 to 25. Requires campers with previous robotic experience. The camp experience will include constructing algorithms in scripting languages such as Python/Matlab/Scilab; working with Arduino boards, sensors and shields; methods of making underwater robotics using a tether system, and much more.
Age: 12 to 16 years old
Cost: $250
Email for more information.
Sara Malloy x46803 http://www.aerospace-academy.org

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16.          Cub Scouts: Earn Astronomy Belt Loop
Calling all Cub Scouts! Join us for a Cub Scout Astronomy Belt Loop class from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 20! The cost is $15 per scout. There will be hands-on activities to help the cub scouts complete all of their requirements for the Astronomy Belt Loop. To get tickets, click here.
Note: Park entrance fees apply at $7 per person for everyone over 12 years old.
Megan Hashier 281-226-4179 http://www.hmns.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=560&Ite...

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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.

INTERNAL AGENCY: 10 am Central (11 EDT) – Administrator Charlie Bolden outlines the Fiscal 14 budget request to agency employees. For JSC this can be watched in Teague followed by a discussion with our Center Director Ellen Ochoa and Deputy Steve Altemus. If you can't be there in person, watch on Ch. 2 or on the computer at: http://iptv.jsc.nasa.gov/eztv/ Questions can be emailed to: JSC-Ask-The-Director@mail.nasa.gov

LIVE WEB STREAMING: 12:30 pm Central (1:30 EDT) - Fiscal 14 Federal Reserve & Development Budget Briefing. Speakers include:
Ø John Holdren – Assistant to the President for Science and Technology & OSTP Director
Ø Patricia Falcone – Assoc. Director, National Security & International Affairs, OSTP
Ø Charlie Bolden – NASA Administrator
Ø Francis Collins – Director, National Institutes of Health
Ø Cora Marrett – Acting Director, National Science Foundation
Ø Kathryn Sullivan – Acting Under Secretary of Commerce & Acting Administrator, NOAA

NASA BUDGET TELECONFERENCE: 2 pm Central (3 EDT) - Bolden and agency CFO Elizabeth Robinson brief reporters on the FY 14 budget proposal. Supporting materials will be posted online at Noon Central (1 pm EDT) here.

Human Spaceflight News
Wednesday, April 10, 2013

HEADLINES AND LEADS

Final tweaks to the 2013 budget

Jeff Foust – SpacePolitics.com

Everything is set for Wednesday's unveiling of the administration's fiscal year 2014 budget proposal. The overall budget proposal will likely show up on the OMB website Wednesday morning, with NASA posting its detailed budget proposal documents at 1 pm Eastern. At 1:30 pm, the Office of Science and Technology Policy will hold a budget briefing, with NASA administrator Charles Bolden among the participants; Bolden will hold a NASA-specific briefing at 3 pm. However, the book is not yet closed on the final 2013 budget. Late last week, OMB used its powers under the Budget Control Act to make an additional 0.2% across-the-board cut for all agencies to account for differences in economic forecasts for the housing market as well as adjusting for additional spending added by the Senate for meatpacking inspectors. Combined with the original 1.877% rescission and 5% sequestration, it means NASA's $17.862 billion in the bill is reduced to about $16.62 billion.

NASA's plan to lasso asteroid originated with Italian student

Mark Matthews - Orlando Sentinel

NASA's new plan to explore the solar system is unusual for several reasons. For starters, the $2.6 billion mission is itself odd: NASA wants to send a robot to capture an asteroid and drag it near the moon so future astronauts can fly a new spaceship to visit it. As strange is the story of how the concept became reality. It wasn't born at NASA headquarters but instead is credited to a 20-something scientist from Italy who dreamed up the idea while working stateside for influential U.S. space activists, including Lou Friedman of The Planetary Society. "I was introduced to the idea by a young intern," Friedman said. "First of all, I thought it was crazy." But the intern, Marco Tantardini, was persistent and ultimately got Friedman's backing — so much so that the two men later anchored a 2012 study that became the foundation of the new policy, which the White House officially will unveil Wednesday.

Panel: Nation needs consensus on space exploration goal

Wayne Heilman - Colorado Springs Gazette

Congress and the Obama administration need to agree on a long-term goal for space exploration, such as sending a human crew to Mars, for the U.S. space program to get the most out of limited budgets, according to panelists at a discussion Tuesday during the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Jim Maser, president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, said the nation's space program is "caught in the middle" between competing visions for space exploration from Congress and the administration that has led to a prolonged debate and argument about what direction the program should take. Maser was among three panelists discussing "Pioneering Leadership and Economic Competitiveness," which mostly focused on a December report by the National Research Council that recommended the nation develop a consensus on a long-term direction of the space program.

Orion capsule nears load testing

Zach Rosenberg - FlightInternational.com

The Lockheed Martin Orion capsule is scheduled for intensive load tests beginning 22 April, one of the last major test series in preparation for its 2014 first flight. The static load tests will measure how the capsule responds to the stresses of liftoff, separation from the second stage of its launch vehicle and three other major events. Each series of tests will take between three and five days to complete.

The Space Station could be the next frontier of quantum communications

Alex Knapp - Forbes

A team of European researchers have proposed a series of experiments that, if successful, could turn the International Space Station into a key relay for a quantum communications network. The key basis of physics underlying quantum communications is entanglement. Entangled particles are connected in a way that pretty much defies common sense. If you change the spin of one of the particles, the spin of its entangled counterpart will change – even if they're miles apart. And that change happens nearly instantaneously – at least four orders of magnitude faster than the speed of light, according to a recent experiment.

Wanted: Software coders to help NASA's robot astronaut see
The Robonaut Challenge is the latest in a series of space station contests by NASA and TopCoder to foster innovation in space technology and spaceflight

Miriam Kramer - Space.com

NASA is asking software coders on Earth to help a robotic astronaut helper on the International Space Station use its cold mechanical eyes to see better. Robonaut 2 — a humanoid robot being tested by astronauts on the space station — is designed to perform mundane and complex tasks to help make life on the orbiting lab easier for human crewmembers. So far, the robot (which NASA affectionately calls R2 for short) has carried out a series of routine tasks on the space station, performed sign language and learned how to shake hands with human crewmates.

3D-Textured Solar Cells Will Be Tested in Space

Rachel Kaufman - Tech News Daily

An experimental 3D-textured solar cell is set to be bolted to the outside of the International Space Station (ISS), where it will experience 16 "sunrises" each day as part of a harsh performance test. A proposal submitted by W. Jud Ready, a professor of materials science at Georgia Tech, to study the performance of his "3D" textured solar cell in space was recently accepted by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the organization that manages research onboard the ISS. His solar cell, made from carbon nanotubes coated in an experimental light-absorbing material, will hitch a ride to the ISS sometime next year.

Space Travel May Increase Chances of Colon Cancer

Rachael Rettner - My Health News Daily

Space travel may increase the risk of colon cancer, according to a new study in mice. The results show mice exposed to a type of high-energy radiation prevalent in space called 56Fe developed tumors in their intestines. A second study by the same group of researchers suggests why this might be: Cosmic radiation prevents gut cells from destroying a protein called beta-catenin, which in turn, promotes uncontrolled cell growth, the researchers said. In space, astronauts are exposed to levels of radiation that, on Earth, have been shown to increase the risk of cancer. But exactly how much a person's cancer risk might increase after a trip to space it not known. By studying mice, the researchers hope to develop a better estimate of the risk, as well as strategies that could protect space travelers, the researchers said.

'Ultimate space ambassador' gives Edmonton students an out-of-this-world experience

Cailynn Klingbeil - Edmonton Journal

Astronaut Chris Hadfield mesmerized more than 500 Edmonton students during a live question-and-answer session from space Tuesday morning. Travelling at a speed of 28,000 kilometres per hour aboard the International Space Station, Hadfield appeared by video to share the finer details of life in orbit to an agog crowd of junior high and high school students at the Telus World of Science.

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield live chats from space with students at the Telus World of Science

Claire Theobald - Edmonton Sun

Local students got a once in a lifetime opportunity to chat live with astronaut Chris Hadfield while he orbits Earth from the international space station. "It almost felt kind of surreal," said Cherry Chen, a Grade 9 student from J.H. Picard school, "because we're standing here in the Telus World of Science talking to him while he's floating around answering our questions."

National Space Symposium (NSS) stories and blog posts
PWR Moving Ahead On F-1 Resurrection

Frank Morring, Jr. - Aviation Week

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is working toward a full-scale turbomachinery test next year of the F-1B kerosene fueled rocket engine it is developing with Dynetics as a potential power plant for the advanced side-mounted boosters NASA will need to meet the 130-metric-ton congressional requirement for its planned Space Launch System. The company displayed a vintage F-1 gas generator and turbomachinery unit at the National Space Symposium here. The flight hardware, left over from the Saturn V program, dwarfed other full-scale rocket engines the company had on display in its exhibition-hall booth. The company has two more F-1A engines that it is using for its NASA work.

PWR Sees Better Days Ahead after Post-shuttle Dropoff

Warren Ferster - Space News

After a period of declining revenue attributable primarily to the 2011 retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet, rocket and space propulsion provider Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) expects its business to level off or even increase modestly in the next five years. PWR President Jim Maser said the company has cut its staff by 40 percent, to about 2,000 employees, and is reducing its factory space by 50 percent, a process expected to be completed by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Canoga Park, Calif.-based company has begun ordering long-lead components for a large batch of rockets to be ordered by the U.S. Air Force, has a number of development projects under way for NASA, and builds a key component of a missile defense system that is expected to generate significant sales in the years ahead, he said.

Roscosmos is to send a person to the Moon

Pravda

The Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) has prepared a program to develop a spacecraft launch facility with a price tag of 800-900 billion rubles. The proposal was submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation. If it is approved, the project of the Space Agency will become a federal program for the period of 2016-2025. Among other things, it provides for sending a person to the moon. Roskosmos based its concept of the federal program on two scenarios, a favorable, "basic" one, and unfavorable, "crisis" one. Which one of them is implemented would depend on the relations between Russia with Kazakhstan, Izvestia reported.

Asteroid in a Bag: NASA's Long, Strange Trip

Jeffrey Kluger - Time (Viewpoint)

Want an example of brilliant engineering, nimble execution and the ability to do great—even inspiring—things? Look to NASA. At any moment, a fleet of spacecraft—every one of them bearing the NASA logo and the stars and stripes—are ranging throughout the solar system, approaching, orbiting or roving across the surface of other worlds. Want an example of aimlessness, misdirection and borderline preposterousness, abetted by a Congress and a White House that seem to have no flipping idea what they're doing? You can look to NASA for that too. It all depends on whether you're talking about the manned or unmanned space programs. I won't give away which is the joker in this two-card deck, but here are a few recent headlines produced by both sides of America's space agency coin: "Curiosity Rover Lands Safely on Mars," "Voyager Crossing Superhighway to Solar System Exit," "NASA Plans to Put Asteroid in Giant Baggie, Drag it to Moon and Send Astronauts to Explore It—in 2021. Maybe." OK, I made that last one up—but only the headline. The part about the asteroid and the Baggie and the astronauts? That's the real deal. And that's a big problem.

Have coffee with NASA reporter Lee Roop of al.com and The Huntsville Times this Thursday

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

Getting out in the world to meet sources and readers has long been part of a reporter's job. Editors have always called the areas we write about our "beats," and we're supposed to walk them, not just talk or type them, just like a cop walks a beat every day. A lot has changed since the early editors first defined those beats. It's true that we still work the phones and go to events and interviews, but today's reporters spend more time on computers than on shoe leather, and some days more time in the cyber world than the real one. I'm going to start holding what I call "office hours" in the real world. These will loosely resemble the way a college professor holds office hours. They'll be a time and place each week that people can find me. So be it resolved that, this week, the NASA and biotechnology reporter for al.com and The Huntsville Times (that's me) will be "in" on Thursday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Café 153 in Bridge Street, Huntsville, Alabama.
__________

COMPLETE STORIES

Final tweaks to the 2013 budget

Jeff Foust – SpacePolitics.com

Everything is set for Wednesday's unveiling of the administration's fiscal year 2014 budget proposal. The overall budget proposal will likely show up on the OMB website Wednesday morning, with NASA posting its detailed budget proposal documents at 1 pm Eastern. At 1:30 pm, the Office of Science and Technology Policy will hold a budget briefing, with NASA administrator Charles Bolden among the participants; Bolden will hold a NASA-specific briefing at 3 pm.

However, the book is not yet closed on the final 2013 budget. Late last week, OMB used its powers under the Budget Control Act to make an additional 0.2% across-the-board cut for all agencies to account for differences in economic forecasts for the housing market as well as adjusting for additional spending added by the Senate for meatpacking inspectors. Combined with the original 1.877% rescission and 5% sequestration, it means NASA's $17.862 billion in the bill is reduced to about $16.62 billion.

NASA also has the ability to make some modest reallocations of the funding among its various programs by submitting an operating plan for FY13 to Congress. "They can make proposals to mitigate the impact of cuts on certain programs," said Diana Simpson, on the majority staff of the House Appropriations Committee, during a joint meeting of the Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board in Washington on Thursday. "But, of couse, the other side of that is in order to mitigate the cuts to some programs you have to take even bigger cuts in other areas." That operating plan is due to Congress 45 days after the enactment of the appropriations bill, in early May, but she said she expects NASA to complete it before that deadline. "I think they want to put all of these questions to bed as much as everyone else does."

What changes might NASA make? One area that might benefit from reprogramming of funds is commercial crew. Speaking at the SSB/ASEB meeting later Thursday, Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, noted that the Space Launch System and Orion programs did well in the final budget, even after taking into account rescission and sequestration, ending up with slightly more than in the president's original request. Commercial crew, though, ended up with $488 million, well short of the requested $830 million. "We kind of knew we were not going get this level, so we planned back at this kind of level," he said, referring to the $525 million the Senate proposed. "We can repair some of this with an ops plan change with Congress, so we'll probably make some movement to try and fix commercial crew a little bit." He didn't specify how much of a change he would seek.

One program that could suffer under any reprogramming is NASA's planetary sciences program, which got $1.415 billion before rescission and sequestration in the final appropriations bill, more than $200 million above the administration's original request. If those cuts are applied evenly, planetary science would still end up with more than $1.3 billion, but James Green, head of the planetary science division at NASA, fears his program will take a bigger share of the cuts in order to reprogram funds to higher priority programs. That could jeopardize plans Green discussed last month to use additional funding to make early payments for the launch of upcoming missions, freeing up money to move up the next Discovery-class mission a year, from 2015 to 2014.

NASA's plan to lasso asteroid originated with Italian student

Mark Matthews - Orlando Sentinel

NASA's new plan to explore the solar system is unusual for several reasons. For starters, the $2.6 billion mission is itself odd: NASA wants to send a robot to capture an asteroid and drag it near the moon so future astronauts can fly a new spaceship to visit it.

As strange is the story of how the concept became reality.

It wasn't born at NASA headquarters but instead is credited to a 20-something scientist from Italy who dreamed up the idea while working stateside for influential U.S. space activists, including Lou Friedman of The Planetary Society.

"I was introduced to the idea by a young intern," Friedman said. "First of all, I thought it was crazy."

But the intern, Marco Tantardini, was persistent and ultimately got Friedman's backing — so much so that the two men later anchored a 2012 study that became the foundation of the new policy, which the White House officially will unveil Wednesday.

"Success has many fathers, but Marco certainly is one," said Friedman, who noted a similar concept was being studied at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Still, he said, Tantardini was a "passionate" advocate who won over skeptics.

Reached by phone in Cremona, Italy, Tantardini, 28, said he came up with the idea while studying the possibility of mining an asteroid. NASA's post-space-shuttle struggles compelled him to expand the concept. Now his biggest desire is to see the plan succeed — and then one day join it.

"I would like to get in the loop of the exciting adventure if it gets big," said Tantardini, who now works as a self-described "entrepreneur."

Whether Tantardini gets the chance first depends on Congress, which will get a first look this week at the proposal. The White House included $105 million for the project in its 2014 budget.

It envisions launching a probe in 2017 to capture a 25-foot, 500-ton asteroid. The probe would drag the asteroid to a point near the moon so NASA astronauts could attempt a visit as soon as 2021.

The unorthodox idea already has champions in U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, who voiced support this week.

"I'm intrigued by the concept," Posey said. "I think it has merit to it."

But NASA will need many more backers in Congress, and the first real test is expected today when the House science committee meets to discuss U.S. space policy.

The committee's chairman, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, so far is staying neutral.

"He still wants to see more details from the president's budget proposal and speak with experts within the space community before he officially weighs in on the proposal," said Zachary Kurz, a committee spokesman.

However, there's already talk among staff members that the asteroid mission has a tough hill to climb.

"It should be a late-night punch line, not a mission," said one House Republican staff member not authorized to talk on the record. "Imagine being a member of Congress trying to explain this to your constituents."

Panel: Nation needs consensus on space exploration goal

Wayne Heilman - Colorado Springs Gazette

Congress and the Obama administration need to agree on a long-term goal for space exploration, such as sending a human crew to Mars, for the U.S. space program to get the most out of limited budgets, according to panelists at a discussion Tuesday during the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Jim Maser, president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, said the nation's space program is "caught in the middle" between competing visions for space exploration from Congress and the administration that has led to a prolonged debate and argument about what direction the program should take. Maser was among three panelists discussing "Pioneering Leadership and Economic Competitiveness," which mostly focused on a December report by the National Research Council that recommended the nation develop a consensus on a long-term direction of the space program.

"We need to push the boundaries of the frontier," Maser said. "We are not there yet. Part of the overall model is to build infrastructure for further (space) exploration that can be used for commercial purposes. The goal is going beyond Earth's orbit with an eye toward Mars, but we still face a lot of uncertainties without a real path or roadmap."

The panel, moderated by former U.S. Rep. Robert Walker, R-Pa., also included Frank Morring Jr., senior editor for space of Aviation Week magazine, and Ron Sega, vice president and enterprise executive for energy and the environment at both Colorado State University and Ohio State University and vice chairman of the committee that completed the council's study.

Sega said a Mars mission has been a goal of most recent presidents, but without a clear path on how to reach that goal, no consensus has developed for it. As a result, the nation's space program is spread too thin for its current budget.

A manned mission to Mars could have the same level of economic and other benefits that the invention of the airplane by the Wright Brothers did more than 100 years ago, fostering aerial surveillance during World War I, the use of aircraft to transport mail and the eventual development of passenger travel by air, he said.

Morring compared the nation's space pioneers to Daniel Boone, who extended the nation's frontiers during the late 1700s by "creating a road for western exploration that others followed." He said the nation's space program needs to "build a road for the people who come later to follow. Pioneering is a good way to think about it."

The nation's space program, embodied by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, needs to convince both Congress and the American public that space exploration has value, Walker said, though he wondered whether either were willing to shoulder the inherent risks of space exploration.

Orion capsule nears load testing

Zach Rosenberg - FlightInternational.com

The Lockheed Martin Orion capsule is scheduled for intensive load tests beginning 22 April, one of the last major test series in preparation for its 2014 first flight.

The static load tests will measure how the capsule responds to the stresses of liftoff, separation from the second stage of its launch vehicle and three other major events. Each series of tests will take between three and five days to complete.

Following the load tests the vehicle will undergo high-speed water testing to confirm its proposed recovery method in anticipation of its September 2014 first flight.

The first flight, launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy, will put the capsule into a highly elliptical orbit, to gain as much speed as possible for re-entry. Orion is meant to carry crew on interplanetary missions, launched by the in-development Space Launch System (SLS).

The 2014 flight will have Orion re-entering Earth's atmosphere at 84% the speed of a return from lunar orbit, giving it "energy as high as current systems will allow", according to Lockheed. The flight will also qualify the Delta's Centaur upper stage to carry the capsule. The next flight, in 2017, will use an SLS core stage and a Centaur upper stage.

SLS will not meet its intended 70mt (154,000lb) launch capability until completion of the upper stage, currently scheduled for 2021.

The Space Station could be the next frontier of quantum communications

Alex Knapp - Forbes

A team of European researchers have proposed a series of experiments that, if successful, could turn the International Space Station into a key relay for a quantum communications network.

The key basis of physics underlying quantum communications is entanglement. Entangled particles are connected in a way that pretty much defies common sense. If you change the spin of one of the particles, the spin of its entangled counterpart will change – even if they're miles apart. And that change happens nearly instantaneously – at least four orders of magnitude faster than the speed of light, according to a recent experiment.

Quantum networks, though, are often fragile – and as a result, quantum communications networks have so far been maxed out at about 90 miles distance. That's because the weather can interfere with the entangled states of the photon. As a consequence, researchers have begun looking into the possibility of space-based quantum communication, so that there's less chance of atmospheric interference.

But why bother with these networks at all if they're so fragile? The answer is pretty simple – because they're almost perfectly secure. Here's how it works. Let's say that I want to send a message to New York City. My message is going to travel through normal channels, but it will be encrypted with a key. That key is transmitted via the entangled photons – so the changes I make to entangled particles on my end almost instantly show up in the particles in New York. We then compare the measurements of what I changed in my photons to those states in New York City.

Those measurements then comprise an encryption key for our communications. So even if our communications are bugged, nobody can read them without knowing that encryption key. And here's the important thing: if somebody were to try to eavesdrop on the quantum entanglement, they would alter the spin of the photons. So the measurements I make and the measurements made in New York would be out of sync – thus letting us know that both that we have an eavesdropper and preventing us from creating an encryption key. So we don't send anything out. Theoretically, a quantum encrypted network is almost perfectly secure. (That said, they're not perfect, and there are some exploits.)

In a paper published in this week's New Journal of Physics, the scientists from the Institute of Physics outlined their plans for a series of experiments involving the International Space Station as a quantum communications relay. The experimental setup is actually pretty simple – it would involve adding a photon detector to the camera that already exists on the bottom of the station. (One of the cameras that takes those gorgeous photos of Earth.) A series of entangled photons would then be sent at regular intervals to the station.

"According to quantum physics, entanglement is independent of distance. Our proposed Bell-type experiment will show that particles are entangled, over large distances — around 500 km — for the very first time in an experiment," said co-researcher Professor Ursin in a statement. "Our experiments will also enable us to test potential effects gravity may have on quantum entanglement."

If it works, that means that a quantum communications network could be built using the International Space Station as a relay to send quantum encryption keys over long distances. And the cost would only be a slight modification to the cameras already there, rather than building out an entire satellite network.

Right now, this is just a proposal – there are no plans for an experiment yet. But if they get the go ahead and resources to perform their experiment, it wouldn't take long for it to happen.

"We envision setting up the experiment for a whole week and therefore having more than enough links to the ISS available," said Ursin.

Wanted: Software coders to help NASA's robot astronaut see
The Robonaut Challenge is the latest in a series of space station contests by NASA and TopCoder to foster innovation in space technology and spaceflight

Miriam Kramer - Space.com

NASA is asking software coders on Earth to help a robotic astronaut helper on the International Space Station use its cold mechanical eyes to see better.

Robonaut 2 — a humanoid robot being tested by astronauts on the space station — is designed to perform mundane and complex tasks to help make life on the orbiting lab easier for human crewmembers. So far, the robot (which NASA affectionately calls R2 for short) has carried out a series of routine tasks on the space station, performed sign language and learned how to shake hands with human crewmates.

But NASA thinks the robot can do more and launched two new contests under the $10,000 Robonaut Challenge on Monday, April 1, to make it happen.

The new competitions, managed for NASA by the group TopCoder under the agency's NASA Tournament Lab, will give 470,000 software developers, digital creators and algorithmists the chance to help the robot butler "see" and interact with the station in a new way.

Each of the competitions will run for three weeks, and $10,000 in prize money will be awarded. As of this article's publication, 533 people have registered for the first competition, and 10 have submitted final algorithms.

"Do you think your code and your solutions can help advance humankind by advancing a humanoid kind?" a promotional video for the competition exclaims.

Contest participants in the two Robonaut competitions may eventually enable Robonaut 2 to better perform "repetitive, monotonous tasks" so that astronauts won't have to, according to a statement issued by TopCoder.

Robonaut vision showdown

The first contest involves writing an algorithm that will make Robonaut 2 locate and understand whether buttons and switches on a dashboard are turned off or on. NASA has provided images of the boards on the station, in a laboratory and in a simulator. Every setting has a different set of circumstances that the robot would need to work within.

"The successful algorithm application must work with each of several different camera systems and varying lighting conditions within each environment," TopCoder officials said.

The second competition builds on the first. Using the algorithm created during the first contest, competitors need to write more code that actually controls the motions of Robonaut 2's hands.

"The algorithm will need to 'see' an object, recognize it, and correctly operate and interact with it in the most efficient and safe manner possible," TopCoder officials wrote.

The $2.5 million Robonaut 2 weighs about 330 pounds (149 kilograms) and consists of a torso, arms and heads. From head to base, the robot is about 3 feet, 4 inches (1 meter) tall.

NASA launched Robonaut 2 to the International Space Station in 2011 during the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery.

NASA's space station contests

The Robonaut Challenge is the latest in a series of space station contests by NASA and TopCoder to foster innovation in space technology and spaceflight.

Together, NASA and TopCoder have conducted a $30,000 Longeron contest for software designed to help the space station maximize power from its solar arrays; a $24,000 Space Med Kit competition for a new algorithm for space medical monitoring; and the $13,000 Planetary Data System Idea Challenge (PDS) to a new way to search from NASA's more than 100 terabytes of space image and data from 30 years of planetary missions.

TopCoder has also completed competitions for an International Space Station Food Intake Tracker (ISS-FIT) iPad App, which is aimed at tracking dietary needs of astronauts, and a Voice Command Idea Generation project.

"We feel that our collective efforts on Robonaut 2, along with our successful Longeron, PDS and FIT programs have exposed the exciting prospect that game changing solutions can be created at reasonable cost by a new generation of engineers, programmers and technologists which is critical to innovation in the public sector and beyond," TopCoder President Rob Hughes said.

3D-Textured Solar Cells Will Be Tested in Space

Rachel Kaufman - Tech News Daily

An experimental 3D-textured solar cell is set to be bolted to the outside of the International Space Station (ISS), where it will experience 16 "sunrises" each day as part of a harsh performance test.

A proposal submitted by W. Jud Ready, a professor of materials science at Georgia Tech, to study the performance of his "3D" textured solar cell in space was recently accepted by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the organization that manages research onboard the ISS. His solar cell, made from carbon nanotubes coated in an experimental light-absorbing material, will hitch a ride to the ISS sometime next year.

"It will be placed out on what they euphemistically call the back porch of the Japanese Experiment Module...It plugs into, literally, a USB port," Ready said.

The ISS has served as an orbiting laboratory for scientists, academics and even schoolchildren for years, but typically, the experiments are performed inside the space station. The installation of the solar panels will be one of the first experiments to take place outside the space station, on the Nanoracks External Platform.

As the ISS orbits the Earth every one and a half hours, the panels will be hit by sunlight from all directions, giving Ready and the team a way to test multiple configurations very quickly.

"If you were to go through all the possible configurations on Earth, it would be very challenging," Ready said.

The team will be testing the cells, coated with a copper-zinc-tin-sulfur mixture, for the optimum size and spacing of the tiny 3D bumps.

Ready's 3D thin-film solar cells have been tested on Earth and were found to outperform flat/untextured thin-film cells of the same composition. Because of the 3D structure (which looks like millions of tiny skyscrapers when viewed under a microscope), when light hits the cell, it bounces deeper into the structure and is trapped, rather than reflecting away.

In a flat cell — especially early and late in the day, when the sun is at an angle — "the performance really suffers," Ready said.

On the other hand, the performance of the 3D solar cell actually improves at sunset, as light strikes it at a sharper angle.

Ready said he estimates the panels will last just a few months in space, because they will experience wild and rapid temperature fluctuations — 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 degrees Celsius) on the sun side to minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 157 degrees Celsius) on the dark side 45 minutes later — and are at risk of micrometeorite impacts and atomic oxygen attack.

Nonetheless, Ready hopes the solar cells will stay in space longer. "In my proposal," he said, "I said to leave them up there until they all failed."

Space Travel May Increase Chances of Colon Cancer

Rachael Rettner - My Health News Daily

Space travel may increase the risk of colon cancer, according to a new study in mice.

The results show mice exposed to a type of high-energy radiation prevalent in space called 56Fe developed tumors in their intestines.

A second study by the same group of researchers suggests why this might be: Cosmic radiation prevents gut cells from destroying a protein called beta-catenin, which in turn, promotes uncontrolled cell growth, the researchers said.

In space, astronauts are exposed to levels of radiation that, on Earth, have been shown to increase the risk of cancer. But exactly how much a person's cancer risk might increase after a trip to space it not known.

By studying mice, the researchers hope to develop a better estimate of the risk, as well as strategies that could protect space travelers, the researchers said.

"Sustained exposure during prolonged space missions, such as a mission to Mars, and lengthy stays at the International Space Station may cause significant cosmic radiation dose accumulation in astronauts, and thus remains a long-term health concern of space exploration," said study researcher Kamal Datta, of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C.

"Knowing how space radiation induces tumor formation will allow us to develop preventive strategies that target this specific signaling pathway," said study researcher Shubhankar Suman, also of Georgetown University.

The findings are from two separate studies presented this week at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington, D.C.

Pass it on: Avoiding space travel is one way to avoid raising your risk of colon cancer.

'Ultimate space ambassador' gives Edmonton students an out-of-this-world experience

Cailynn Klingbeil - Edmonton Journal

Astronaut Chris Hadfield mesmerized more than 500 Edmonton students during a live question-and-answer session from space Tuesday morning.

Travelling at a speed of 28,000 kilometres per hour aboard the International Space Station, Hadfield appeared by video to share the finer details of life in orbit to an agog crowd of junior high and high school students at the Telus World of Science.

Hadfield showed off a fancy astronaut barf bag with a built-in wipe cloth — in response to a student's question about if crew members ever get sick in space — and spoke about how his experiences as an engineer and military pilot led him to his current position, as Canada's first commander of the International Space Station.

Tayen Bezaire, a Grade 9 student at Highlands School in north Edmonton, was one of 19 students from 11 Edmonton area schools pre-selected to pose a question to Hadfield.

Bezaire asked Hadfield what games and activities are common on the space station during down time. Hadfield spoke about an ongoing Scrabble game played on the ceiling, as well as a guitar, ukulele and keyboard the six crew members play.

Time is also spent simply looking out the window, because "the world is more beautiful than you can imagine," Hadfield said.

Prior to Hadfield's appearance, Mathieu Landry, senior operations engineer for the Canadian Space Agency, gave the engrossed Edmonton audience an overview of Hadfield's mission.

Hadfield blasted off from Kazakhstan in December and is expected to return to Earth May 13.

Landry said Hadfield spends most of his time working on more than 100 ongoing science experiments.

The mustachioed Hadfield answered questions for 20 minutes. He let go of his microphone often, leaving it to float as he demonstrated various aspects of astronaut living.

Hadfield showed students a portable blood analysis kit that is part of an experiment, and climbed into a sleeping bag tethered to a wall to demonstrate how sleeping in weightlessness works.

While he said he misses close human contact and hot showers, Hadfield told the audience life in outer space is "magic."

"I can just do this if I want," he said, grinning as he stood on the wall.

Frank Florian, vice-president of programs at the Telus World of Science, called Hadfield's live chat one of the most memorable events the science centre has ever hosted.

"It's a great inspiration for students," he said.

Science and math teacher Phillip Hambly said his Grade 7 to 9 students were very enthused about attending Tuesday's talk.

"Their curiosity was piqued," said Hambly, who brought 41 students from Bluffton School, located in the hamlet of Bluffton about 150 kilometres southwest of Edmonton. "It was awesome and amazing to see Hadfield speak to students."

"It was really exciting to talk to him in space," said Cherry Chen, a Grade 9 student at J.H. Picard School in south Edmonton, who asked Hadfield about the biggest goal he is hoping to achieve on his mission.

"It's to increase human understanding and also human opportunity," Hadfield said.

In addition to more than 500 students, Twitter followers were invited to attend the event, making it the first Canadian Space Agency tweet-up in Western Canada.

Hadfield's prolific use of Twitter, including frequently tweeting pictures from orbit, has led him to surpass more than 630,000 followers.

His followers include Laura Mazzino, a PhD student at the University of Alberta studying space physics who attended Tuesday's event with her three-month-old son, Connor.

"It's fantastic that he takes time out of his busy day to tweet and send such amazing pictures and videos. He's the ultimate space ambassador," she said.

Tuesday's event was organized for Yuri's Night, a global celebration of space held in commemoration of Yuri Gagarin's first manned space flight on April 12, 1961.

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield live chats from space with students at the Telus World of Science

Claire Theobald - Edmonton Sun

Local students got a once in a lifetime opportunity to chat live with astronaut Chris Hadfield while he orbits Earth from the international space station.

"It almost felt kind of surreal," said Cherry Chen, a Grade 9 student from J.H. Picard school, "because we're standing here in the Telus World of Science talking to him while he's floating around answering our questions."

A handful of students selected from the 400 in attendance got the rare opportunity to ask the Canadian hero questions about science, space and life in zero gravity.

Hadfield, who is the first ever Canadian to command the International Space Station, delighted his audience by floating around the station, and actively demonstrating some of the unique technology and aspects of life on the shuttle.

"It was a really good learning experience for me," said Megan Thebeau, a Grade 9 student from Bluffton, Alberta, who asked Hadfield to describe the appearance of stars from space, "and it's something I'm going to take with me for a long time."

When asked what his ultimate goal for his mission in space is, Hadfield said it is to create new opportunities for Canadians and increase human understanding.

Hadfield has taken an active role as an educator, taking to social media to share pictures from his adventures in space to his over 634,000 twitter followers -- and answering hundreds of questions while participating in numerous live chats with students across Canada.

"Chris's outreach and his enthusiasm for space is really contagious," said Mathieu Landry, payload operations supervisor with the Canadian Space Agency.

Landry, inspired to pursue a career in space exploration after a similar encounter with astronaut Julie Payette, says experiences like this trigger curiosity in science and technology.

"I think Chris is a great inspiration," said Landry, "and I think he motivates a lot of people."

Frank Florian, vice president of programs for the Telus World of Science, was excited to be able to host the event.

"It was just an incredible opportunity for all of us here, for all the students, and for our entire community," said Florian.

The event was hosted to celebrate Yuri's Night, when on April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to journey into space.

April 12, 1981, was also the day of the inaugural launch of NASA's space shuttle.

National Space Symposium (NSS) stories and blog posts
PWR Moving Ahead On F-1 Resurrection

Frank Morring, Jr. - Aviation Week

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is working toward a full-scale turbomachinery test next year of the F-1B kerosene fueled rocket engine it is developing with Dynetics as a potential power plant for the advanced side-mounted boosters NASA will need to meet the 130-metric-ton congressional requirement for its planned Space Launch System.

The company displayed a vintage F-1 gas generator and turbomachinery unit at the National Space Symposium here. The flight hardware, left over from the Saturn V program, dwarfed other full-scale rocket engines the company had on display in its exhibition-hall booth. The company has two more F-1A engines that it is using for its NASA work.

"We've torn them down and inspected them to see how they look," said Main combustion chamber development lead Tom Martin. "We're refurbishing those. We're taking some of the components and using modern processes to replicate that hardware."

PWR is using the vintage gas-generator cycle to get the SLS off the pad, relying on its 1.8 million-lb. thrust capability to provide the needed boost even without the efficiency of a staged-combustion engine that is also in the running under NASA's advanced booster program.

The proposed Aerojet AJ-1E6 is an oxygen-rich staged, two-combustion chamber configuration similar to the Atlas V's RD-180, but is less powerful than the F-1B. While two F-1Bs would be used on each of the two SLS boosters, a total of four AJ-1E6s would be required for the same power.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Dynetics' improved F-1 version incorporates a simplified F-1A turbopump and exhaust duct, as well as changes to the nozzle design and combustion chamber. Changes to the latter component include the adoption of a new hot-isostatic press-(HIP) bond assembly process for the main combustion chamber, as well as a new channel-wall nozzle made using simplified, less expensive manufacturing processes. "The HIP-bonded main combustion chamber gives us more thermal margin," says Ron Ramos, PWR's vice president for Exploration and Missile Defense.

PWR is also using additive manufacturing selective laser melting techniques to develop an optimized injector for the gas generator. "Designing and making the part is in the scope of the program, but is not part of the scope of the hot fire element," says Ramos who adds the company may attempt to include the injector when this takes place.

PWR took over testing of a heritage F-1A gas generator earlier this year from NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center, and has subsequently refurbished the engine components using the company-developed improved manufacturing techniques. "We will take the gas generator that we and Marshall tested, and do a power pack test at [NASA] Stennis. It will be the largest flow test," said Martin. The exercise will wrap up the 30-month program and is scheduled for "late 2014," he said.

With the proposed $550 million Aerojet purchase of PWR still awaiting Federal Trade Commission approval, PWR President Jim Maser says "until that decision is made we're pursuing a strategy independent of that decision. We believe we have the winning strategy."

Maser adds that beyond this issue bigger questions are facing the future of the entire launch architecture. "Does SLS continue to have enough funding? Are we going to go through risk reduction, and is NASA still willing to do full-rate development through March 2015 – which is the timeline for the whole advanced booster risk reduction strategy." Maser also confirms that, in view of possible budget cuts, NASA "has asked us to look at several 'what if' scenarios."

PWR Sees Better Days Ahead after Post-shuttle Dropoff

Warren Ferster - Space News

After a period of declining revenue attributable primarily to the 2011 retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet, rocket and space propulsion provider Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) expects its business to level off or even increase modestly in the next five years.

PWR President Jim Maser said the company has cut its staff by 40 percent, to about 2,000 employees, and is reducing its factory space by 50 percent, a process expected to be completed by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Canoga Park, Calif.-based company has begun ordering long-lead components for a large batch of rockets to be ordered by the U.S. Air Force, has a number of development projects under way for NASA, and builds a key component of a missile defense system that is expected to generate significant sales in the years ahead, he said.

In an April 8 interview here at the National Space Symposium, Maser and other PWR officials said the consolidation effort was undertaken independent of the company's impending sale to rival Aerojet of Sacramento, Calif. PWR, currently owned by United Technologies Corp. of Hartford, Conn., is being sold to Aerojet in a $550 million transaction now expected to close during the first half of 2013.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust division is reviewing the proposed acquisition, which would leave the United States with just one independent suppler of liquid-fueled rocket engines. Approval is taking longer than expected; Aerojet announced in January that it would be divesting one of its missile defense-related propulsion businesses to mollify antitrust regulators.

Maser and other company officials said they are providing data to support the regulatory review process but otherwise had little to say about the transaction.

One of PWR's steadiest business lines these days is the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, which produces the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets that launch most U.S. government satellites and virtually all national security missions. Denver-based United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, is prime contractor on the program.

The Air Force late last year won approval for a controversial block buy of up to 36 rocket cores from United Launch Alliance as part of a strategy to rein in soaring costs on the EELV. Much of the cost growth has been attributed to PWR-supplied propulsion systems, whose price tag has gone up to cover part of the company's overhead expenses that previously were absorbed by the space shuttle program.

Maser said PWR has been authorized by United Launch Alliance to begin ordering long-lead components for the engines it manufactures for the EELV program. PWR builds the RL10 upper-stage engine, different variants of which are used for the Atlas 5 and Delta 4, and the RS-68 main engine for the Delta 4.

Jim Maus, PWR's director of enterprise execution and efficiency, said the company has not finalized the terms of its contract with United Launch Alliance for the EELV engines. But he said the average price for the RS-68 engines has dropped some 30 percent in its latest bid compared with its previous proposal.

United Launch Alliance's block buy contract with the Air Force is still in negotiations, according to Jessica Rye, a spokeswoman for that company.

Maser said PWR, in addition to downsizing its staff and infrastructure, has become more efficient by increasing its use of common facilities and tooling across engine product lines. This, coupled with the quantity of engines being produced for the EELV block buy, helped drive the cost down. But he conceded that these cost savings would not be realized immediately because the company had to make investments to make its operation more efficient.

PWR's NASA business, meanwhile, is concentrated primarily in two programs: the heavy-lift Space Launch System, for which the company is modernizing two Apollo-era engines; and the Commercial Crew Program, where Pratt is a propulsion provider for the CST-100 capsule being developed by Boeing Space Exploration of Houston.

NASA in August awarded Boeing $460 million to refine the design of the CST-100, which would launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket to deliver crews to the international space station on a commercial basis. If Boeing is ultimately selected to deliver crews to the station, PWR would supply the CST-100's launch abort motor and in-space maneuvering thrusters.

The launch abort motor is adapted from a liquid-oxygen and kerosene-fueled engine design that PWR produced for NASA in the 1990s for an experimental rocket that never flew, said Ron Ramos, PWR vice president for exploration and missile defense. The CST-100 version, which would take the capsule and its crew to safety in the event of a problem during launch, would generate 40,000 pounds of thrust and be fueled by liquid hydrazine rather than kerosene, he said.

Most launch abort motors use solid propellants. Ramos said that if there is no need for a launch abort, the fuel reserved for that purpose could be used for the less-powerful in-space maneuvering thrusters, which were adapted from a missile defense program.

PWR also supplies the divert and attitude control thrusters for the Theater High Altitude Area Defense system, which is designed to intercept short- to medium-range missiles. The thruster system is used to propel the interceptor's kill vehicle in the final phase of an intercept.

Denver-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems, the prime contractor on the Theater High Altitude Area Defense system, anticipates substantial demand not only from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency but also from U.S. allies in the years ahead.

Roscosmos is to send a person to the Moon

Pravda

The Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) has prepared a program to develop a spacecraft launch facility with a price tag of 800-900 billion rubles. The proposal was submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation. If it is approved, the project of the Space Agency will become a federal program for the period of 2016-2025. Among other things, it provides for sending a person to the moon.

Roskosmos based its concept of the federal program on two scenarios, a favorable, "basic" one, and unfavorable, "crisis" one. Which one of them is implemented would depend on the relations between Russia with Kazakhstan, Izvestia reported.

The difficulties in the relations between the two countries over the operation of the cosmodrome "Baikonur" emerged after Kazakhstan became independent. Officially, "Baikonur" is located on the territory of Kazakhstan in Kyzyl-Orda region between the town of Kazalinsk and the village Dzhusaly. However, the operations were carried out by Russia. At the moment the Russian Federation has a long-term lease on the facility, which costs the Russian budget 5 billion rubles annually (total maintenance of "Baikonur" costs Russia 6.16 billion rubles a year).

The lease term expires in 2050, but Kazakhstan already has plans for the use of "Baikonur." According to its representatives, the lease agreement of 1994 is obsolete. In 2010 the president of a subsidiary Kazkosmos stated that Kazakhstan considered it possible to begin independent maintenance of "Baikonur" by Kazakhstan in 2014. However, for the Russian side a situation where local experts leave Baikonur before 2020 is unthinkable. This has to do with the fact that the launch facility "East" currently under construction in the Russian Federation as a replacement for "Baikonur" will not be ready.

Currently there is a Russian-Kazakh intergovernmental commission on the complex "Baikonur" chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. The relations between the two countries on this issue are quite unstable. This is precisely why Roscosmos provided two scenarios for the project. If the relations are stable, the cost of the federal target program will be approximately 800 billion rubles. In the event of difficulties in the relations between the two countries, the cost of the program will grow to 900 billion rubles.

Under implementation of the "basic" scenario, there will be further investment in "Baikonur." There are plans to complete the conversion of the launch complex for carriers "Zenith" 2018 to enable running a new manned spacecraft currently created by RSC "Energia". At the same time, the Federal Space Agency expects to carry out construction of the cosmodrome "East." In particular, it is planned to create a launch site for super-heavy rockets that will bring loads weighing up to 70 tons to the low Earth orbit. The ultimate goal of creating such a missile is to make manned flight to the Moon as early as in 2028. In addition, the Federal Space Agency also intends to invest in the development of the cosmodrome "Plesetsk".

If Russia fails to negotiate an amicable agreement with Kazakhstan, the programs at the "Baikonur" will have to be wrapped up and implemented with the help of two other existing cosmodromes. This would be more expensive because the investments in "Baikonur" have already been made, and with the other cosmodromes Russia will have to start from scratch.

Incidentally, last week, the Federal Space Agency introduced to the Government a bill proposing the extension of its functions under the framework of a single structure "State Corporation Roskosmos." Roskosmos wants to take charge of the development of the national policy in the space sector, prepare their own federal laws, sign government contracts, and place state orders for development, manufacturing and supply of space technology. In addition, they want to regulate the funding of the industry independently. This means that the agency, becoming a state corporation, wants to determine how much money the state should be allocating for its needs.

"Roskosmos" is planning to complete the reforms in two years at the cost of approximately 125 million rubles. However, later "Roskosmos" plans to increase both profitability of the aerospace industry and the quality of its products.

Asteroid in a Bag: NASA's Long, Strange Trip

Jeffrey Kluger - Time (Viewpoint)

Want an example of brilliant engineering, nimble execution and the ability to do great—even inspiring—things? Look to NASA. At any moment, a fleet of spacecraft—every one of them bearing the NASA logo and the stars and stripes—are ranging throughout the solar system, approaching, orbiting or roving across the surface of other worlds.

Want an example of aimlessness, misdirection and borderline preposterousness, abetted by a Congress and a White House that seem to have no flipping idea what they're doing? You can look to NASA for that too. It all depends on whether you're talking about the manned or unmanned space programs.

I won't give away which is the joker in this two-card deck, but here are a few recent headlines produced by both sides of America's space agency coin: "Curiosity Rover Lands Safely on Mars," "Voyager Crossing Superhighway to Solar System Exit," "NASA Plans to Put Asteroid in Giant Baggie, Drag it to Moon and Send Astronauts to Explore It—in 2021. Maybe." OK, I made that last one up—but only the headline. The part about the asteroid and the Baggie and the astronauts? That's the real deal. And that's a big problem.

The unlikely plan, announced over the weekend by Fla. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and said to be included in a $100 million appropriation in President Obama's 2014 budget, is for an unmanned spaecraft to be launched by 2017 to capture a 25-ft., 500-ton asteroid with, yes, a giant drawstring bag, according to one NASA scientist. The rock would then be towed back to the vicinity of the moon where it would be safely parked in space. In 2021, astronauts would travel out to the asteroid in a brand new Apollo-like spacecraft lofted by a brand-new heavy-lift rocket. Once there, they would land, prospect for metals and learn more about both living off the cosmic land and deflecting rogue asteroids that might threaten Earth.

Should we be excited? Is this really going to happen? One standard I like to use in cases like this is the Count the Conditionals rule. The more times contingent words like would, could or should are used in any space-related press release, the less likely it is that anything being described will actually happen. Nelson's office issued a seven-conditional release ("…a new monster rocket would travel to the asteroid where there could be mining activity…") out of a total of just 483 words. So that's not good.

More troubling is that the new rocket, known prosaically as the Space Launch System (SLS), has not been built and is not targeted for completion until 2017. The new spacecraft—called Orion—may have its first unmanned flight in 2014. In theory, that would make the baggie mission a real possibility. In practice is almost surely won't.

For one thing, Orion and a new heavylift booster have been in some phase of development since early 2004, ever since former Pres. Bush called for a return-to-the moon initiative, and the target date for flying them keeps receding. For historical comparison, an equal nine-year span—from 1960 to 1969—was all it took NASA to invent, build and fly six manned Mercury spacecraft, 10 manned Geminis and 5 of the 11 manned Apollos, not to mention the massive Saturn V rocket that would be awfully nifty to have around now, since we wouldn't need the SLS.

The difference between those nine years and the last nine years is clarity of goal. Even people who were opposed to the original space race—and there were plenty who saw it as a waste of money in an era of war, inflation and urban decay—had to acknowledge that it was crisply defined. President Kennedy announced a target (the moon), a deadline (1970) and a mission (landing a man there and returning him safely to Earth). It's awfully hard to get those kinds of marching orders wrong.

The current manned program, on the other hand, has been more of a country ramble. The shuttles—which never lived up to their safe, reliable and easily reusable billing—pulled most of the air and money out of the room for more than 30 years. The space station, first proposed by Ronald Reagan in 1984, with an announced completion date of 1989 and a price tag of $9 billion, instead was not fully built until 2011 and cost a tidy $100 billion. The return-to-the-moon initiative lasted just six years, dying the familiar death of the new Administration, when it was scrapped by Pres. Obama in 2010. In its place, Obama proposed a vaguely defined plan to go somewhere—perhaps the moon, perhaps Mars, perhaps an asteroid, perhaps a gravity-neutral Lagrange point—all of which would be accomplished with an equally vaguely defined spacecraft.

The hardware piece of that scenario at least has come into sharper focus, thanks to Congressional lobbying efforts in support of Orion and the SLS, led in part by Nelson and former Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. Obama, whose luke-warmth toward space has been evident since his 2008 campaign, has backed these plans, and is likely to continue to—at least as long as Florida remains a presidential swing state and any long-term hopes the Democratic party has of turning bright red Texas at least light blue hinge on keeping Houston happy.

But none of this has led to any real clarification of the mission. The asteroid-towing idea is only the latest of many proposals, and is easily the least probable and most Rube Goldbergian of them all. A senior administration official could muster only an anodyne statement in support of it today:

NASA is in the planning stages of an innovative mission to accomplish the President's challenge of sending humans to visit an asteroid by 2025 in a more cost-effective and potentially quicker time frame than under other scenarios. This mission would combine the best of NASA's asteroid identification, technology development, and human exploration efforts to capture and redirect a small asteroid to just beyond the moon to set up a human mission using existing resources and equipment, including the heavy-lift rocket and deep-space capsule that have been under development for several years.

But the other questions that leaves unanswered are legion. First, the $100 million is only seed money for a program that would cost more than $2.5 billion for the asteroid capture portion alone, not to mention untold billions more for the manned part. What's more, snagging an asteroid may sound easy, but…oh wait, it doesn't sound easy at all, and that's because it's not. You've got to find a rock of the right size at the right distance, invent your Baggie or your lasso or whatever you're going to use, figure out how to chug-chug the thing back to the vicinity of the moon in a trip that would take years, and then station it in a stable spot. Oh, and it would help if the asteroid you grab actually had any of the precious metals like platinum or gold and prosaic ones like iron and zinc that you'd be interested in mining in the first place. So maybe there are still a few details that need to be worked out.

Perhaps most troubling of all is a certain cosmic ennui behind the plan. Nelson's release cited a feasibility study that supports the capture mission, but for a singularly upside down reason. "[B]ringing a 500-ton asteroid closer to Earth would give astronauts a 'unique, meaningful and affordable' destination for the next decade," the press statement says.

The moon's not unique? Mars isn't meaningful? The moons of Mars—which offer an even more attractive target because you could land and take off without the massive engine needed to overcome planetary gravity—wouldn't be a little bit of both? Have we really gotten to the point that after just six lunar landings more than 40 years ago we're so bored with the familiar cosmos that we've got to go inventing destinations, like the artificial archipelagos off the coast of Dubai in the shape of a palm tree and the world's continents? And as for the "affordable" piece of Nelson's argument? If you're going to need to build Orion and the SLS for any of the proposed missions, how does it cut costs to include an asteroid-dragging phase that, at the moment at least, doesn't pass the eye-roll test?

Look, the fact is, NASA is still home to some of the biggest and most creative brains in the world. And if the kinds of jobs its machines are doing—exploring Mars, approaching Pluto, orbiting Mercury, nearing the very limits of the solar system itself—don't take your breath away, you might not have any breath in you to begin with. But today's manned program is a different thing. Press releases are not the same as coherent plans, and "would" or "could" have never been the same as "will" and "can." NASA used to know that. It needs, alas, to learn it again.

Have coffee with NASA reporter Lee Roop of al.com and The Huntsville Times this Thursday

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

Getting out in the world to meet sources and readers has long been part of a reporter's job. Editors have always called the areas we write about our "beats," and we're supposed to walk them, not just talk or type them, just like a cop walks a beat every day.

A lot has changed since the early editors first defined those beats. It's true that we still work the phones and go to events and interviews, but today's reporters spend more time on computers than on shoe leather, and some days more time in the cyber world than the real one.

We're always looking for ways to change that, and so I don't commit the No. 2 Sin of Journalism (burying the news in the story), here's my new idea to change it. I'm going to start holding what I call "office hours" in the real world. These will loosely resemble the way a college professor holds office hours. They'll be a time and place each week that people can find me.

So be it resolved that, this week, the NASA and biotechnology reporter for al.com and The Huntsville Times (that's me) will be "in" on Thursday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Café 153 in Bridge Street, Huntsville, Alabama. That's just outside NASA's gates on Redstone Arsenal and on the edge of Cummings Research Park.

What do I hope to accomplish besides scoring a good cup of coffee? Obviously, I'd love it if you dropped off the secret documents detailing NASA's plans for world domination, or anything else that almost no one knows. All reporters love being among the first in the know. Knowing things early and sharing them is why we do this job. But I'll be happy to talk the new federal budget or news of any kind. And if you want to gossip a little bit, I'm always up for that.

The plan is to repeat this each week and move the times and sites around to make it easier for readers around the area to attend. So, keep an eye on this space and stop by when we're in the same space out there.

Oh, before I go, you may be wondering what is the No. 1 Sin of Journalism. It's repeating anything you're told without checking it out first. The foundational instruction for young reporters goes like this in the traditional wording: If your mother says she loves you, check it out. So, be a reporter, and check me out this Thursday from 11-1.

END

Keep the shuttle flying

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - April 10, 2013 and JSC Today

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