Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - April 25, 2013

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: April 25, 2013 5:55:49 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - April 25, 2013

 

 

 

Thursday, April 25, 2013

 

JSC TODAY HEADLINES

1.            NASA Outlook Mailbox Size Increase and Management

2.            Orbital Acrobatics Case Study

3.            NESC and NASA Engineering Network Webcast -- Friday, April 26

4.            Virtual Project Management (PM) Challenge

5.            Blood Drive Thank You

6.            JSC Imagery Online Training

7.            Starport Summer Camp: New for This Summer -- Sibling and Full Summer Discounts

8.            White Sands Test Facility: See the Space Station

9.            AIAA-Houston Section Annual Technical Symposium

10.          Society of Women Engineers (SWE) - Texas Space Center Section Social Hour

11.          National Robotics Week JSC Block Party

12.          Prescription Drug Take-Back Day -- Turn in Your Old Medications

13.          Electronics Recycling Drive

14.          Don't Miss the FREE Premiere of Space Warriors Tonight

15.          Volunteers Needed for Special Olympics Spring Games

16.          Still Time to Register for Next 'Engineers to Entrepreneurs'

17.          General Industry (CFR 1910) Safety and Health Provisions ViTS: May 31

18.          Signs, Signals and Barricades ViTS: June 7, 9:30 a.m. - Building 17, Room 2026

________________________________________     NASA FACT

" Hubble has been producing ground-breaking science for two decades. During that time, it has benefited from a slew of upgrades from shuttle missions, including the 2009 addition of a new imaging workhorse, the high-resolution Wide Field Camera 3 that recently took a new portrait of the Horsehead Nebula."

________________________________________

1.            NASA Outlook Mailbox Size Increase and Management

Migration to Exchange 2010 will occur between July 3 and Aug. 28 across the agency. As part of the Exchange 2010 upgrade project, NASA Operational Messaging and Directory (NOMAD) mailbox sizes will be increased as follows:

o             Most users will receive a default mailbox size increase from 400MB to 1GB.

o             Employees with an existing 1GB mailbox will be migrated to 2GB. Any new requests for size increases will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis and need to be submitted to the Enterprise Help Desk. After the migration to Exchange 2010, temporary mailbox size increases will no longer occur.

To ensure space remains available, follow these best practices:

o             Move "Sent Items" from the folder on the server to your local workstation

o             Empty the "Deleted Items" folder on the server

o             Archive older email

Here's more on mailbox management. For questions or comments, contact: NOMAD.Outreach@nasa.gov

NOMAD Outreach Team x46367 http://nomadinternal.nasa.gov/nomad/mailboxmanagement.html

 

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2.            Orbital Acrobatics Case Study

Think flipping a spacecraft end-over-end is easy? Think again. Read the latest JSC Knowledge Management Office Case Study about how a team of experts developed a maneuver that helped enable the shuttle to return to safe flight following the Columbia tragedy.

https://knowledge.jsc.nasa.gov/index.cfm?event=casestudies

Consider what lessons can we take away from this effort and apply to our own tasks.

While you are there, please take the time to give us your feedback. Also, we would like your suggestions for potential topics. Share your idea here.

Brent J. Fontenot x36456

 

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3.            NESC and NASA Engineering Network Webcast -- Friday, April 26

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) and NASA Engineering Network will host the following webcast on Friday, April 26, at noon CDT for approximately two hours. The webcast, titled "An Overview of Fastener Requirements in the new NASA-STD-5020," will be presented by Robert Wingate from Marshall Space Flight Center.

Registration is easy. Go here and click the "Sign in to Register" button. You will be redirected to LaunchPad to enter your user name and password. After a successful authentication, click the "Register Now" button. You will receive a confirmation email. If you can't attend the live webcast, please register anyway and we will notify you when the recorded (on-demand) version is available online for you to view. 

Please visit the NESC Academy site to view all upcoming or previously recorded webcasts. 

Hope Rachel Venus 757-864-9530

 

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4.            Virtual Project Management (PM) Challenge

Virtual PM (VPM) Challenge! In order to reach the maximum number of people in the most cost-effective way, NASA's PM Challenge will go virtual for 2013. VPM Challenge will consist of once-a-month interactive webcasts covering topics from PM lessons learned to effective external collaboration. For more information, to subscribe to the PM Challenge mailing list or RSVP for the first event to be held next Thursday, May 2, click here.

Event Date: Thursday, May 2, 2013   Event Start Time:10:00 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM

Event Location: Webcast

 

Add to Calendar

 

Neal Zapp 713-295-1264 http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/pmchallenge/index.html

 

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5.            Blood Drive Thank You

Thank you to all those who took the time to donate at last week's blood drive. St. Luke's collected a total of 231 units of blood. Each donation can help up to three people -- that's 693 lives.

Mark your calendar for the next blood drive from June 19 to 20. Please note that due to budget constraints and center operation changes, the starting time for the blood drive in the Teague Auditorium and Building 11 donor coach will change to 8 a.m.

For additional information, check out our website or contact Teresa Gomez at 281-483-9588.

Teresa Gomez x39588 http://jscpeople.jsc.nasa.gov/blooddrv/blooddrv.htm

 

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6.            JSC Imagery Online Training

Want to find that "perfect" picture? Learn how during a webinar on Tuesday, April 30, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. CDT. Mary Wilkerson, Still Imagery lead, will show employees how to find and obtain NASA still images in Imagery Online (IO) and the Digital Imagery Management System (DIMS). Leslie Richards, Video Imagery lead, will show employees the video functionality in IO. This training is open to any JSC/White Sands Test Facility contractor or civil servant.

To register for the WebEx, go here and then click on "Schedule for Classroom/WebEx Training." Select the appropriate class from the drop-down menu on the registration page.

This training is provided by the Information Resources Directorate.

Event Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013   Event Start Time:2:00 PM   Event End Time:3:15 PM

Event Location: WebEx

 

Add to Calendar

 

Scientific and Technical Information Center x34245 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov

 

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7.            Starport Summer Camp: New for This Summer -- Sibling and Full Summer Discounts

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 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 dependents | $160 per child for non-dependents

NEW for this summer: Ask about out sibling discounts and discounts for registering for all sessions.

PLUS, receive a coupon for 25 percent off a four-, six- or 12-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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8.            White Sands Test Facility: See the Space Station

Viewers in the White Sands Test Facility area will be able to see the International Space Station this week.

Thursday, April 25, 9:14 p.m. (Duration: 2 minutes)

Path: 29 degrees above NW to 74 degrees above S

Maximum elevation: 80 degrees

Friday, April 26, 8:23 p.m. (Duration: 5 minutes)

Path: 16 degrees above NNW to 13 degrees above ESE

Maximum elevation: 45 degrees

Sunday, April 28, 8:20 p.m. (Duration: 4 minutes)

Path: 38 degrees above W to 10 degrees above SSE

Maximum elevation: 50 degrees

The International Space Station Trajectory Operations Group provides updates via JSC Today for visible station passes at least two minutes in duration and 25 degrees in elevation. Other opportunities, including those with shorter durations and lower elevations or from other ground locations, are available at the website below.

Joe Pascucci x31695 http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=U...

 

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9.            AIAA-Houston Section Annual Technical Symposium

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)-Houston Annual Technical Symposium (ATS) will be held on Friday, May 17, at the Gilruth Center. ATS welcomes JSC to register, attend and present. NASA civil servants (up to 100) may register through SATERN for free registration. This one-day event highlights the excellent work done at JSC each year and features morning and afternoon keynote presentations of industry interest. The registration fee includes the cost of lunch. For more information on ATS 2013, see our conference website.

Eryn Beisner x40212

 

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10.          Society of Women Engineers (SWE) - Texas Space Center Section Social Hour

Reminder: Join your fellow engineers and friends over some fine sweets (beverages), treats and SWE camaraderie at our April Social Hour TODAY, April 25, at 5 p.m.

If the weather permits, we'll be on the second floor deck. If it's looking gloomy, we'll still be on the second floor (just not the deck).

Hope to see you there!

Event Date: Thursday, April 25, 2013   Event Start Time:5:00 PM   Event End Time:7:00 PM

Event Location: Chelsea Wine Bar 4106 Nasa Pkwy El Lago, TX 77586

 

Add to Calendar

 

Irene Chan x41378

 

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11.          National Robotics Week JSC Block Party

Come celebrate National Robotics Week. We will be showcasing robots designed by local students, NASA and others.

Event Date: Saturday, April 27, 2013   Event Start Time:10:00 AM   Event End Time:4:00 PM

Event Location: Space Center Houston

 

Add to Calendar

 

Ross Taylor x40551 http://www.aerodyneindustries.com/nrw.htm

 

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12.          Prescription Drug Take-Back Day -- Turn in Your Old Medications

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which will take place on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It provides a venue for people who want to dispose of unwanted and unused drugs.

Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends -- and the home medicine cabinet. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply.

The link below will take you to the DEA website, where you can learn more about the program and find a collection site near you. This is an excellent opportunity to dispose of accumulated prescription drugs safely and keep them out of the wrong hands and the waste stream.

Bob Martel x38581 http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/

 

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13.          Electronics Recycling Drive

There will be an electronics recycling drive this Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Clear Brook High School in Friendswood. Anything electronic or with wires is accepted (examples: computers, monitors, printers, phones, stereos, wire, clocks, game consoles, small appliances). There is no limit to the quantity of items that can be donated. The old tube-type TVs cannot be accepted, but flat screen TVs and projection TVs are fine.

Event Date: Saturday, April 27, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:2:00 PM

Event Location: Clear Brook High School, Friendswood

 

Add to Calendar

 

Matt Lemke x30853

 

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14.          Don't Miss the FREE Premiere of Space Warriors Tonight

Five kids win coveted spots at Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. What starts off as an awesome summer of fun soon becomes a high stakes real-life mission when things go wrong on the space station. Filmed on location at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Space Warriors is a story of teamwork and adventure that you won't soon forget.

This free special screening is open to NASA civil servants and contractors. Participants must RSVP online.

Event Date: Thursday, April 25, 2013   Event Start Time:6:00 PM   Event End Time:8:00 PM

Event Location: Space Center Houston

 

Add to Calendar

 

Jack Moore 281-244-2100 http://www.spacecenter.org/SpaceWarriors.html

 

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15.          Volunteers Needed for Special Olympics Spring Games

Calling all Space Center Volunteers! Your assistance is needed at the annual Special Olympics Spring Games on Saturday, May 4. With over 400 athletes, the Spring Games is this area's largest track-and-field event that the Special Olympics hosts. Volunteers are needed out at Clear Creek High School to help organize and run track-and-field events, time the athletes, had out medals and cheer on these fantastic athletes as the compete throughout the day. To sign up to volunteer, click here.

Angela Cason x40903 http://spacecentervolunteers.weebly.com/special-olympics-area-22-spring-...

 

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16.          Still Time to Register for Next 'Engineers to Entrepreneurs'

Learn the basic building blocks for creating your own business. Topics include the essentials of the business plan, marketing, financing, legal aspects and other necessary information for a successful business startup.

Taught by the Houston Technology Center staff and Houston-area industry experts, this is the same course attended by entrepreneurs and founders of business startups at the Houston Technology Center's Midtown facility in Houston. It is structured for the JSC community as a series of 10 weekly one-hour brown-bag lunches (11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).

The Houston Technology Center operates a satellite campus at JSC in the JSC Acceleration Center, Building 35, to harness the technical know-how and provide business advice, incubation and acceleration services. The goal is to commercialize the incredible technologies found in the NASA/JSC community.

This session starts on May 9. Still a few vacancies, so register now in SATERN.

Pat Kidwell x37156

 

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17.          General Industry (CFR 1910) Safety and Health Provisions ViTS: May 31

SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0066A: This three-hour course is based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) CFR 1910 course, Requirements for General Safety and Health Provisions. It will provide a general overview of OSHA 1910 safety requirements. During the course, the student will receive an overview of those topics needed to work safely in general industry. There will be a final exam associated with this course, which must be passed with a 70 percent minimum score to receive course credit. Use this direct link for registration: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Event Date: Friday, May 31, 2013   Event Start Time:9:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM

Event Location: Building 17 / Room 2026

 

Add to Calendar

 

Shirley Robinson x41284

 

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18.          Signs, Signals and Barricades ViTS: June 7, 9:30 a.m. - Building 17, Room 2026

This two-hour course is based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) CFR 1926.200, requirements for working with signs, signals and barricades in the construction industry. In this course, the student will receive an overview of those topics needed to work safely in circumstances where signs, signals and/or barricades are required. Topics covered include: 1926.200 - OSHA standards, terminology and proper usage. 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: Friday, June 7, 2013   Event Start Time:9:30 AM   Event End Time:11:30 AM

Event Location: Building 17 / Room 2026

 

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:

·         9 am Central (10 EDT) – Senate Approp Subcom Hearing on NASA FY '14 Budget Request

·         10:15 am Central (11:15 EDT) – E35's Tom Marshburn & Chris Cassidy with WCSH-TV, Portland, ME & SiriusXM Ch. 124's "The Midday Briefing" with Tim Farley

·         1 pm Central (2 EDT) – Live Coverage of FIRST Robotic Finals from St. Louis, Missouri

·         5:30 am Central FRIDAY (6:30 EDT) – 51P docking coverage (Docks at 7:26 Central)

 

Human Spaceflight News

Thursday, April 25, 2013

 

23 years ago today, Hubble was set free following launch aboard Discovery April 24, 1990

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

NASA chief: Visiting an asteroid is all we can afford

 

Mark Matthews - Orlando Sentinel

 

A NASA plan to send astronauts to an asteroid was met with skepticism Wednesday when NASA Chief Charlie Bolden presented the idea to top space officials in Congress — though their doubts may not be enough to sink the program. The asteroid mission, unveiled a few weeks ago, would send a NASA probe to capture a small asteroid and drag it to a point near the moon so astronauts riding a new rocket and capsule could visit it, possibly as soon as 2021. "The goal is [to] remain the world's leader in exploration," Bolden said. But members of the U.S. House science committee took issue with the project's cost and feasibility — and questioned why the agency wasn't planning a return to the moon en route to an eventual mission to Mars. The NASA chief delivered a blunt reply: It's all NASA can afford. "I need money to go to the moon," Bolden said.

 

Bolden on hot seat as lawmakers question NASA priorities, asteroid mission

 

Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac

 

The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology today reviewed NASA's budget request of $17.7 billion for fiscal year 2014 — a proposed reduction of $55 million. A large focus of Obama's budget and the NASA budget is focusing the mission to capture a near-earth asteroid. The budget requests an additional $105 million to begin a mission to capture an asteroid and bring it into the moon orbit. Members of the subcommittee expressed concerns that the new asteroid plans are distracting NASA from the projects already in the works. Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., said the asteroid retrieval mission was announced "out of the blue."

 

Stafford Argues for Moon as Next Human Spaceflight Destination

 

Marcia Smith - SpacePolicyOnline

 

Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford (Ret.) told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday that a human mission to an asteroid should not be a central element of any "sensible" human spaceflight program.  Instead, a return to the Moon is a prerequisite to the ultimate goal of sending people to Mars and should be the next step. Stafford is an iconic presence in the space community.  A former astronaut who flew four space missions -- including commanding the 1975 U.S.-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) -- he has remained closely involved in the civil space program even as his career took him back to the Air Force and ultimately into retirement.

 

UH study aims to find out why astronauts get sick

 

Erin Mulvaney - Houston Chronicle

 

Because blasting off into outer space and spaceflight may have a negative effects on astronauts' health, researchers are working to understand why. University of Houston researchers, along with NASA, will conduct a 14-month-long study to determine how the immune system reacts during spaceflight and why the body's immune system allows viruses to return. The University of Houston Department of Health and Human Performance will study people aboard the International Space Station to examine how spaceflight affects the immune system by collecting blood, saliva and urine from astronauts before, during and after a mission. The team will measure natural killer cells, which are strong cells capable of killing cancer cells, and monitoring their health for several months.

 

Cygnus on Deck after Successful Antares Debut

 

Dan Leone - Space News

 

With the inaugural launch of its Antares medium-lift rocket in the books, Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., is now preparing for another maiden flight: that of the Cygnus space freighter the company developed with help from NASA. The first Cygnus mission is tentatively scheduled for June or July, and its successful completion would clear the way for Orbital to start flying 20,000 tons of cargo to the international space station for NASA under an eight-flight, $1.9 billion contract signed in 2008.

 

Russian spaceship may fail to dock to ISS

 

Agence France Presse

 

An unmanned Russian spaceship carrying 2.5 tonnes of cargo may be unable to properly dock with the International Space Station after its navigation antenna failed to properly deploy, Interfax said on Thursday. The news agency report cited a Russian space industry source as saying that the Progress cargo carrier may be impeded in its docking operation by the improperly protruding antenna. The antenna would create a space between the craft and the space station's hermetic seals that would make opening of the station's hatches too dangerous, the report said. "After the cargo carrier manually docks with the station, the unopened antenna could run up against the docking node," the unnamed source told Interfax.

 

Antenna troubleshooting continues

Possible impact on station docking not yet known

 

William Harwood - CBS News

 

A Russian cargo ship loaded with 3.1 tons of needed supplies and equipment blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday and set off after the space station amid troubleshooting to figure out what might be done to free a jammed navigation antenna. The antenna, one of five used by the ship's KURS automated rendezvous system, apparently remains fully stowed, its support arm folded against the forward side of the cargo ship. "Russian flight controllers are assessing the situation and considering their options," Pat Ryan, NASA mission control commentator at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said during a mid-morning update.

 

MCC Russia Troubleshoots Stuck Progress Rendezvous Antenna

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

Russian flight controllers worked to free a stuck KURS rendezvous system antenna aboard the unpiloted Progress 51 cargo capsule early Wednesday, following the space freighter's successful lift off with more than three tons of fuel, spare parts, water, clothing and research gear and other supplies for the six person International Space Station. The supply ship successfully deployed solar arrays and four of five KURS rendezvous and docking system antennas as it settled into orbit nine minutes after a 6:12 a.m., EDT, lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

 

Russian cargo ship suffers glitch after launch

 

Miriam Kramer - Space.com

 

An unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft launched toward the International Space Station Wednesday morning, but once in orbit, the capsule encountered a problem, officials said. The Progress 51 supply spacecraft failed to deploy an antenna used for navigation after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:12 a.m. EDT (1012 GMT). Specifically, the antenna is used to "measure the orientation" of the ship, NASA officials said. Ground controllers are now working to assess and fix the problem.

 

Space station visitors can thank Rice students for the delicious coffee

 

Craig Hlavaty - Houston Chronicle

 

A group of Rice University engineering students think they can make the perfect cup of coffee with a 3D printer for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. If you're looking for a cup of delicious caffeine in near-Earth orbit, you might agree with them. The Rice students, Robert Johnson, Colin Shaw and Benjamin Young, created a simpler way for astronauts to customize coffee to their personal tastes, forgoing the instant, syrupy, pre-packaged liquid that they had been drinking in space. Sounds way worse than your standard breakroom coffee.

 

Private Asteroid-Mining Project Launching Tiny Satellites in 2014

 

Mike Wall - Space.com

 

A billionaire-backed asteroid-mining company aims to start putting its big plans into action soon, launching its first hardware into space by this time next year. Planetary Resources, which counts Google execs Larry Page and Eric Schmidt among its investors, plans to loft a set of tiny "cubesats" to Earth orbit in early 2014, to test out gear for its first line of asteroid-prospecting spacecraft.

 

SpaceShipTwo Ready to Break Sound Barrier

 

Irene Klotz - Discovery News

 

SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot suborbital spaceship owned by Virgin Galactic, an offshoot of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is scheduled for is first rocket-powered test flight on Monday, Branson told the Las Vegas Sun newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday. Virgin Galactic wouldn't comment specifically on Branson's comments, but company president George Whitesides did email the following to Discovery News: "Test flight schedules have to remain flexible to be responsive to weather and a host of other factors, so can't give you a specific date.  But what is certain is that the team is getting close to first rocket powered flight, which is an important milestone for the company and the program."

 

Protective wrap coming off space shuttle Atlantis this week

 

Central Florida News 13

 

It's a different type of countdown for people looking to see the space shuttle Atlantis in Brevard County. After years of watching the shuttle liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, the countdown is now on to see the shuttle on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. This week, the exhibit will come one step closer to being unveiled. The new $100 million home around shuttle Atlantis is nearly finished. On Thursday, the protective wrap will come off the more than 150,000-pound shuttle.

 

Mock-up of space shuttle external tank on move to museum Wednesday

 

James Dean - Florida Today

 

Do you remember the social media campaigns to "spot the shuttle" as NASA ferried three retired orbiters from Kennedy Space Center to museums across the country last year? During the next few days, area residents can try to "spot the tank." A 200-foot barge carrying a mockup shuttle external tank and other artifacts departed KSC Wednesday en route to the Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum in Starke.

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

NASA chief: Visiting an asteroid is all we can afford

 

Mark Matthews - Orlando Sentinel

 

A NASA plan to send astronauts to an asteroid was met with skepticism Wednesday when NASA Chief Charlie Bolden presented the idea to top space officials in Congress — though their doubts may not be enough to sink the program.

 

The asteroid mission, unveiled a few weeks ago, would send a NASA probe to capture a small asteroid and drag it to a point near the moon so astronauts riding a new rocket and capsule could visit it, possibly as soon as 2021.

 

"The goal is [to] remain the world's leader in exploration," Bolden said. But members of the U.S. House science committee took issue with the project's cost and feasibility — and questioned why the agency wasn't planning a return to the moon en route to an eventual mission to Mars.

 

The NASA chief delivered a blunt reply: It's all NASA can afford.

 

"I need money to go to the moon," Bolden said.

 

As part of its 2014 budget proposal, the White House wants NASA to spend $105 million next year to begin planning the asteroid mission, which could cost upward of $2.6 billion.

 

Broadly, the administration envisions sending a probe as soon as 2017 to capture a 25-foot, 500-ton asteroid and tug it near the moon — possibly to a spot about 277,000 miles from Earth that would use competing gravitational forces to allow it to "sit" there.

 

Astronauts flying NASA's new Orion capsule and Space Launch System rocket then would visit it to take samples and possibly set foot on its surface.

 

In addition to scientific benefits, Bolden said an asteroid trip would serve as a steppingstone for an eventual Mars mission while also teaching NASA engineers how to divert an asteroid in case one ever threatened Earth. He called it "an unprecedented technological challenge."

 

Lawmakers, however, wanted to know whether NASA would learn more — and do more — by going back to the moon instead.

 

"Would [a moon mission] be a better precursor to a Mars mission?" asked U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who chairs the science committee.

 

Bolden replied that "both are good" but that an asteroid mission was the only program affordable under his proposed 2014 budget of $17.7 billion.

 

"Going to the moon is a factor of three [times] more expensive," Bolden said.

 

NASA is spending about $3 billion annually to develop the Orion capsule and SLS rocket, and construction of moon landers and other lunar equipment would add billions of dollars to that.

 

Not every member of the committee, however, was critical. U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, said an asteroid mission was a "good direction to go."

 

And as yet, there's no major opposition in the U.S. Senate, which could help clear the way for the idea to become reality.

 

At a hearing Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., reiterated support for the White House proposal, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas — a fiery freshman who rarely misses a chance to criticize the administration — held his fire.

 

The lack of resistance is tied to Senate support of the Space Launch System. Senators from key NASA states — Florida, Texas and Alabama — pushed President Barack Obama to build it, and the asteroid mission is seen as a way to give purpose to the rocket, once criticized as a "rocket to nowhere."

 

Illustrative of that point was the initial reaction of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

 

"NASA should continue to explore the universe and challenge scientific and technical boundaries," he said in a statement. "However, NASA should maintain focus on its core mission and continue development of the Space Launch System so that it will be ready for any future NASA mission."

 

Bolden on hot seat as lawmakers question NASA priorities, asteroid mission

 

Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac

 

The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology today reviewed NASA's budget request of $17.7 billion for fiscal year 2014 — a proposed reduction of $55 million.

 

A large focus of Obama's budget and the NASA budget is focusing the mission to capture a near-earth asteroid. The budget requests an additional $105 million to begin a mission to capture an asteroid and bring it into the moon orbit.

 

Members of the subcommittee expressed concerns that the new asteroid plans are distracting NASA from the projects already in the works. Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., said the asteroid retrieval mission was announced "out of the blue."

 

"I am concerned however that NASA has neglected congressional funding priorities and been distracted by new and questionable missions that detract from our ultimate deep space exploration goals. These distractions also take up precious lines in the budget at a time when NASA can least afford it," Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., said.

 

Rep. Lamar Smith of San Antonio, the committee's chairman, outlined the NASA goals as: making the International Space Station a success, launch American astronauts on American rockets, fund the Orion Crew Vehicle, and develop a heavy-lift launch vehicle.

 

"The president's budget now proposes a robotic asteroid retrieval mission to bring one closer to the moon. NASA's budget does not identify where the funding for such an asteroid retrieval mission will come from. But it is likely to detract from NASA's human spaceflight projects, the International Space Station, Orion Crew Vehicle and Space Launch System," Smith said.

 

Charles F. Bolden, NASA's administrator, said he did not see any anticipated missed deadlines due to the budget cuts, which Smith responded to with a GAO Report published last week that said technical problems with the Webb Space telescope program have two instruments 11 months behind. Bolden said this information is in direct contrast to the information he is receiving from NASA leadership.

 

"That's a serious absence of information if it's true," Bolden said. "It's news to me."

 

The GAO report found that technical issues have impacted the test schedule, and said two instruments will be delivered at least 11 months late. GAO said NASA established a 66 percent confidence for meeting its deadlines, but the report questioned the credibility of this analysis.

 

Smith has his own ideas of where NASA should be headed. He said experts say a moon landing, rather than "a rendevous with an asteroid" would be more efficient precursor to a mission to Mars.

 

Bolden said NASA has been focused on the asteroid mission for decades, and that President Obama has clearly focused NASA on sending a person to an asteroid by 2025.

 

Democrat Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, also took issue with the budget priorities. In 2014, STEM education funding will be slashed by 31 percent. Johnson said America needs inspiration now more than ever to encourage students to study science and engineering.

 

"NASA's STEM initiatives and educational outreach, particularly through its science missions, have long been able to excite our young people, and I don't want to lose that excitement," Johnson said in a statement submitted for the record.

 

Of course, these proposed priorities are contingent on the elimination of the sequester. Bolden said the plan to capture an asteroid in the near future would not be possible under current budget cut constraints. Similarly, William Gerstenmaier, NASA's chief of human exploration, told members of a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee that NASA would not be able to deliver their commitments if the budget cuts continue into 2014.

 

Stafford Argues for Moon as Next Human Spaceflight Destination

 

Marcia Smith - SpacePolicyOnline

 

Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford (Ret.) told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday that a human mission to an asteroid should not be a central element of any "sensible" human spaceflight program.  Instead, a return to the Moon is a prerequisite to the ultimate goal of sending people to Mars and should be the next step.

 

Stafford is an iconic presence in the space community.  A former astronaut who flew four space missions -- including commanding the 1975 U.S.-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) -- he has remained closely involved in the civil space program even as his career took him back to the Air Force and ultimately into retirement.  

 

In his written statement to the Subcommittee on Science and Space of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, he noted that a number of studies conducted over many decades are "remarkably consistent" that "[l]eadership in space is, for any society that can aspire to attain it, a key to leadership on Earth and in human society, for all the generations to come."   He led one of those studies during the George H.W. Bush Administration entitled America at the Threshold: America's Space Exploration Initiative.

 

He asserted that the "choice of destinations has ... already been made for us.  The surface of the Moon is ... our proper next frontier."  He acknowledged that the concept of sending astronauts to an asteroid, whether the original plan announced by President Obama in 2010 or the new idea of directing an asteroid into cis-lunar space, has "inherent scientific interest."   However, it "should not be the central theme of any sensible long-term human spaceflight program.  Such missions are an interesting adjunct to the far more interesting theme of human presence on the Moon" and then Mars.

 

Stafford also highlighted the importance of international cooperation in pursuing future human spaceflight goals. He has been deeply involved with U.S.-Soviet/Russian space cooperation since ASTP and chairs NASA's International Space Station (ISS) Advisory Committee.  That committee and its Russian counterpart meet regularly to review and identify major issues for the ISS.   At a meeting last year, he told the Senate committee, the Russians shared their long term plan for human spaceflight.  It is based on international cooperation modeled on the ISS partnership, he reported.  "I have said that we should make it the nation's business to lead in space.  We should.  But I have also noted that leaders need partners and allies."

 

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, and Steve Cook, Director, Space Technologies, at Dynetics, also testified.   Gerstenmaier was very upbeat about the state of the human spaceflight program today and the road ahead, including the asteroid retrieval mission announced in the FY2014 budget request.

 

Cook represented the commercial space industry and emphasized the need for "stable, long-term space policy and supporting programs" in order for the "commercial space sector to flourish."  In response to a question from subcommittee chairman Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Cook said the key is to have a long term plan with associated dates that the private sector can leverage in order to develop business plans and look for ways to be profitable.

 

UH study aims to find out why astronauts get sick

 

Erin Mulvaney - Houston Chronicle

 

Because blasting off into outer space and spaceflight may have a negative effects on astronauts' health, researchers are working to understand why.

 

University of Houston researchers, along with NASA, will conduct a 14-month-long study to determine how the immune system reacts during spaceflight and why the body's immune system allows viruses to return.

 

The University of Houston Department of Health and Human Performance will study people aboard the International Space Station to examine how spaceflight affects the immune system by collecting blood, saliva and urine from astronauts before, during and after a mission. The team will measure natural killer cells, which are strong cells capable of killing cancer cells, and monitoring their health for several months.

 

"All of us have viruses that we're already infected with, and our immune system does a very good job of controlling them," said Rickie Simpson, principle investigator and assistant professor of exercise and immunology. "When astronauts are in space, those viruses reactivate a lot. What we don't know is if altered immunity and viral reactivation pose a significant risk to the health of astronauts when they're in space for a prolonged period of time."

 

Simpson said spaceflight can be very stressful, so science is unsure whether stress weakens the immune system or if it is space itself.

 

"This may be very helpful in understanding how this works for stressful environments on Earth," Simpson said. "Students' examination stress, medical students taking final exams, psychological stress - caregivers for example - those are stressful situations capable of triggering latent viral reactivations."

 

Blood and saliva samples will be collected from the astronauts 180 days before launch for a baseline measure, then again 60 days before launch. While aboard the International Space Station, the astronauts will collect further samples several times before coming back to Earth. They will then be monitored for six months.

 

The study could take several years, and the goal is to have six astronauts in the program.

 

Cygnus on Deck after Successful Antares Debut

 

Dan Leone - Space News

 

With the inaugural launch of its Antares medium-lift rocket in the books, Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., is now preparing for another maiden flight: that of the Cygnus space freighter the company developed with help from NASA.

 

The first Cygnus mission is tentatively scheduled for June or July, and its successful completion would clear the way for Orbital to start flying 20,000 tons of cargo to the international space station for NASA under an eight-flight, $1.9 billion contract signed in 2008.

 

Right off the launch pad, those missions will be much trickier than the one-off launch of a Cygnus stand-in payload Antares lofted to orbit in its April 21 debut from Pad 0-A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Va. For one thing, the long launch window available for the first Antares flight will shrink dramatically for the operational missions.

 

"When we do this with the Cygnus spacecraft and we have cargo to deliver, we're not going to have the luxury of a two-hour [launch] window," Frank Culbertson, executive vice president and general manager for Orbital's Advanced Programs Group said in a press briefing following a scrubbed Antares launch attempt April 20. "We're going to have anywhere from five to zero minutes of window. We're going to have to get it right the first time."

 

After two scrubbed attempts the week of April 15, Antares heaved itself slowly off Pad 0-A at 5 p.m. EDT April 21. About 10 minutes later, the vehicle dropped off its main payload — a sensor-equipped, dummy satellite with roughly the same mass as the Cygnus spacecraft Orbital will use for cargo deliveries — in a 51.6-degree inclined orbit about 250 kilometers above Earth's surface. This is the same orbit where the real Cygnus would be dropped off at the start of a cargo run.

 

Also carried aloft by Antares were four experimental cubesats, all of which made it to their intended orbits, according to Orbital officials. The hitchhiker payloads were Dove-1, a triple cubesat built by Cosmogia Inc. to demonstrate low-cost imaging technology, and three single-unit cubesats with consumer smartphone cores, which were built at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

 

It took Orbital three tries to get its new rocket off the ground. The first launch attempt April 17 was scrubbed about 10 minutes before the scheduled liftoff because a data cable linking ground computers with Antares' second-stage flight computer disconnected prematurely. Orbital said the cable was hung too tautly to tolerate a sudden movement of a hydraulic arm on the Transporter Erector Launcher vehicle that holds Antares at the pad.

 

An April 20 attempt was scrubbed due to wind conditions.

 

The Antares configuration that flew April 21 can send 5,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. Future configurations will be able to haul 6,350 kilograms to orbit. By Orbital's fourth contracted cargo run, now very loosely scheduled for 2014, Cygnus will get an upgrade, too: The vehicle's Italian-built Pressurized Cargo Module's volume will increase to 27 cubic meters from 18.9 cubic meters, and its Orbital-built service module will use some lighter-weight structures, a different solar array, and some different sensors and communication electronics than the Cygnus variant the company will use for its first three cargo missions, Frank DeMauro, Orbital's vice president and program manager for Cygnus, said April 17 during a press briefing.

 

Meanwhile, the Cygnus headed to the international space station for the summer delivery demo has been loaded with cargo, sealed and fueled, and is now waiting to be mated with a launcher at Orbital's Horizontal Integration Facility about a mile down the beach from Pad 0-A, Culbertson said.

 

If the second Antares flight goes according to plan, Orbital intends to make at least one paid cargo run to the space station this year.

 

"After the demo, we're in a position where we can deliver two full-up missions to the space station before the end of this year," Mark Pieczynski, Orbital's vice president for space launch strategic development, said April 16 during a press tour of the company's Virginia launch complex.

 

Mike Laidley, Orbital's program director for Antares, said the minimum turnaround time between Antares missions will be about one month. Under a memorandum of understanding signed last summer, Orbital pays the state of Virginia, which built and operates Pad 0-A, $1.5 million for every launch. The pad is located at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility.

 

Orbital currently has parts for about four Antares rockets stored near its coastal Virginia launch site. Half of the Cygnus spacecraft that will fly on the company's first contracted cargo run, the Orbital-built service module, has completed postmanufacturing tests in Dulles. The other half, a Pressurized Cargo Module built by Thales Alenia Space, Turin, Italy, is standing by to ship, along with completed pressurized modules for two more Cygnus freighters. Orbital expects the first of these three modules to ship to the United States for integration in about a month, DeMauro said.

 

But there are factors besides vehicle integration and pad turnaround that affect Antares' launch pace. The biggest of these is the availability of docking space at the international space station, which is set to be visited this year by spacecraft from Europe, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

 

Orbital will be the second of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contractors to attempt a flight to the space station. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), Hawthorne, Calif., completed its demonstration cargo run to the space station in May 2012 and has flown two contracted cargo runs since. The second wrapped up March 25.

 

Antares was supposed to have launched Cygnus on a demonstration flight to the space station by December 2010, under the schedule Orbital and NASA agreed upon in 2008. In 2011, NASA added several milestones to Orbital's demonstration effort, including the April 21 Antares test launch, which was supposed to have happened by October 2011.

 

Antares is a big part of Orbital's plan to win new business from NASA, the U.S. military, and commercial customers. In each of those segments, the company will face competition from SpaceX, and incumbent military launch services provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Denver.

 

Orbital does not plan to compete with ULA for the largest payloads in the government market, but SpaceX plans to make a grab for them with the Falcon Heavy launcher slated to debut later this year at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

 

For now, veteran rocket operator ULA — a 50/50 joint venture of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin with a long history of successful launches — remains the dominant player in the government launch business. ULA operates the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets.

 

Russian spaceship may fail to dock to ISS

 

Agence France Presse

 

An unmanned Russian spaceship carrying 2.5 tonnes of cargo may be unable to properly dock with the International Space Station after its navigation antenna failed to properly deploy, Interfax said on Thursday.

 

The news agency report cited a Russian space industry source as saying that the Progress cargo carrier may be impeded in its docking operation by the improperly protruding antenna.

 

The antenna would create a space between the craft and the space station's hermetic seals that would make opening of the station's hatches too dangerous, the report said.

 

"After the cargo carrier manually docks with the station, the unopened antenna could run up against the docking node," the unnamed source told Interfax.

 

"In that case, the docking process will be impossible to complete in a perfectly hermetically-sealed manner."

 

The source added that this would then require for the crew on board the ISS to perform a spacewalk during which the problem could be fixed.

 

The Progress is taking up fresh fuel and oxygen supplies as well as equipment and water.

 

Russia's Roscosmos space agency said it would continue sending radio signals to the Progress trying to fix the problem throughout Thursday afternoon.

 

The navigation antenna failed to deploy properly shortly after the Progress lifted off on top of a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur space station that Russia leases from Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

 

The 14-year-old international space lab is currently manned by two American astronauts and a Canadian as well as three Russian cosmonauts.

 

Antenna troubleshooting continues

Possible impact on station docking not yet known

 

William Harwood - CBS News

 

A Russian cargo ship loaded with 3.1 tons of needed supplies and equipment blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday and set off after the space station amid troubleshooting to figure out what might be done to free a jammed navigation antenna.

 

The antenna, one of five used by the ship's KURS automated rendezvous system, apparently remains fully stowed, its support arm folded against the forward side of the cargo ship.

 

"Russian flight controllers are assessing the situation and considering their options," Pat Ryan, NASA mission control commentator at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said during a mid-morning update.

 

In a pre-launch photo of the antenna and its support arm in their stowed positions it appeared the dish-like antenna, protected by white insulation blankets, possibly could interfere with the space station-Progress docking mechanisms.

 

Ryan did not address any potential interference issues or what impact the glitch might have if the antenna cannot be at least partially deployed.

 

The Progress M-19M/51P spacecraft, perched atop a Soyuz-U rocket, took off from its Baikonur launching pad at 6:12:16 a.m EDT (GMT-4; 4:12 p.m. local time), roughly the moment Earth's rotation carried the pad into the plane of the space station's orbit.

 

Climbing away through a blue sky dotted with low white clouds, the Soyuz rocket appeared to perform flawlessly and the Progress was released into its initial orbit just under nine minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft's two solar panels deployed a few moments later.

 

A few minutes after that, Russian flight controllers reported that antenna ASF2, part of the KURS rendezvous system, had failed to extend as expected.

 

The KURS system, used by both Progress and manned Soyuz spacecraft, measures differences in radar signal strength to home in on the space station. For Progress flights, the station crew also can take over manual control if necessary and remotely guide the spacecraft to docking.

 

The stowed ASF2 antenna normally is used to measure the orientation of the Progress and its roll rate during final approach.

 

"It is believed to be an issue with its release mechanism, a mechanical issue with the release mechanism," Ryan said. "A similar occurrence took place on the 31 Progress vehicle back in November 2008 when the antenna did not deploy properly. In that case, it worked itself loose by it's third orbit."

 

After the third orbit of the Progress M-19M spacecraft Wednesday, "so far there's no indication it has shaken loose and deployed itself," Ryan said. "Russian flight controllers are continuing to assess the situation and considering their options for ways to get this antenna deployed."

 

In the meantime, he said, "engine firings to fine tune the approach ... to the station are proceeding in parallel to the efforts to get that antenna deployed."

 

The Russian space program has been testing single-day launch-to-docking rendezvous techniques in recent flights, but the Progress M-19M spacecraft was launched on a more traditional two-day trajectory, setting up a docking at the Zvezda command module's aft port around 8:26 a.m. Friday.

 

The spacecraft is loaded with 1,764 pounds of propellant, 105 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and 3,483 pounds of dry goods, including spare parts, life support system components and science gear.

 

MCC Russia Troubleshoots Stuck Progress Rendezvous Antenna

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

Russian flight controllers worked to free a stuck KURS rendezvous system antenna aboard the unpiloted Progress 51 cargo capsule early Wednesday, following the space freighter's successful lift off with more than three tons of fuel, spare parts, water, clothing and research gear and other supplies for the six person International Space Station.

 

The supply ship successfully deployed solar arrays and four of five KURS rendezvous and docking system antennas as it settled into orbit nine minutes after a 6:12 a.m., EDT, lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

 

Progress 51 is scheduled for an automated docking to the station's Russian segment Zvezda module on Friday at 8:26 a.m., EDT, and the impact of the failed deployment of a receiving antenna used to calculate range during the final stages of automated dockings was unclear, said Brandi Dean, a spokeswoman in NASA's Mission Control Center, where the lift off was monitored.

 

The ISS is also equipped with a backup manual Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous system, or TORU, that permits cosmonauts on the station to manually control the final approach and docking of a Progress capsule using televised views of the ISS berthing port transmitted from the supply ship.

 

Station cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko rehearsed TORU operations on Tuesday.

 

Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency, and ISS mission managers approved a standard two-day docking profile for Progress 51 instead of the "same day" transits followed on the three previous Russian cargo missions. Phasing angles between the cargo carrier and the ISS did not permit an express mission on Wednesday.

 

Launched in February, October and August, those Progress flights followed a four-orbit, six-hour launch to docking profile that paved the way for a similar March 28 express mission of the Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft with the three man U.S/Russian crew of Chris Cassidy, Alexander Misurkin and Vinogradov.

 

Russia's Progress 49 spacecraft departed Zvezda's aft docking port on April 15, freeing a berthing port for the new supply ship.

 

Russian cargo ship suffers glitch after launch

 

Miriam Kramer - Space.com

 

An unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft launched toward the International Space Station Wednesday morning, but once in orbit, the capsule encountered a problem, officials said.

 

The Progress 51 supply spacecraft failed to deploy an antenna used for navigation after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:12 a.m. EDT (1012 GMT). Specifically, the antenna is used to "measure the orientation" of the ship, NASA officials said.

 

Ground controllers are now working to assess and fix the problem.

 

"Update: Once in orbit, an antenna used as a navigational aid on the Progress did not deploy," officials from NASA wrote on Twitter after the glitch was discovered. "Russian ground controllers are assessing a fix."

 

Progress is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Friday (April 26) at 8:26 a.m. EDT (1226 GMT). While some Progress spacecraft can launch and dock on the same day, that wasn't possible with this particular launch due to orbital dynamics, so the vehicle will take two days to catch up to the International Space Station in orbit.

 

It is unclear whether the scheduled docking time will be affected by the glitch.

 

"The Russian flight controllers are continuing to monitor the spacecraft and to determine if there is a way to get the antenna deployed," NASA spokesman Josh Byerly wrote SPACE.com in an email. "They are also analyzing ways to dock the Progress to the station in its current configuration, including having the crew perform a manual docking."

 

Progress is slated to deliver 1,764 pounds (800 kilograms) of propellant, 57 pounds (26 kg) of air, 48 pounds (21 kg) of oxygen, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and 3,348 pounds (1519 kg) of experiment hardware, spare parts and other supplies to the residents of the space station, NASA officials said.

 

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield currently commands the six-person crew that staffs the $100 billion orbiting laboratory. NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn as well as Russian cosmonauts Roman Romanenko, Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin round out the Expedition 35 crew.

 

Hadfield, Romanenko and Marshburn are expected to return to Earth in May after six months onboard the station, at which point Vinogradov will take over as the commander of the Expedition 36 mission.

 

Space station visitors can thank Rice students for the delicious coffee

 

Craig Hlavaty - Houston Chronicle

 

A group of Rice University engineering students think they can make the perfect cup of coffee with a 3D printer for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

 

If you're looking for a cup of delicious caffeine in near-Earth orbit, you might agree with them.

 

The Rice students, Robert Johnson, Colin Shaw and Benjamin Young, created a simpler way for astronauts to customize coffee to their personal tastes, forgoing the instant, syrupy, pre-packaged liquid that they had been drinking in space. Sounds way worse than your standard breakroom coffee.

 

The new system lets astronauts distribute just the right amount of creamer and sugar. Before this project, astronauts could not decide how sweet or bitter their morning cup of joe could be. A two-element roller with a gauge that dispenses the desired ratios of sugar and cream was created with a 3D printer at Rice's Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen.

 

Johnson Space Center's Space Food Systems Laboratory gave the trio constraints on what can and cannot be used in space. The challenge for the group was in creating a way to make the coffee that the astronauts could replicate in the zero gravity of the ISS. The astronauts heat up their current mixture with 158 degree water, while on Earth the optimal temperature for a cup is at least 140 degrees.

 

"If they know what they like on Earth, they know what they like in orbit," said Shaw in a press release.The students are hoping their coffee soon becomes the astronauts' favorite treat aboard the ISS. Right now, the astronauts are raving about the Russian shrimp and tartar sauce from the ISS kitchen.

 

Now, let's just hope NASA doesn't feel the need to hire a few surly space baristas.

 

Private Asteroid-Mining Project Launching Tiny Satellites in 2014

 

Mike Wall - Space.com

 

A billionaire-backed asteroid-mining company aims to start putting its big plans into action soon, launching its first hardware into space by this time next year.

 

Planetary Resources, which counts Google execs Larry Page and Eric Schmidt among its investors, plans to loft a set of tiny "cubesats" to Earth orbit in early 2014, to test out gear for its first line of asteroid-prospecting spacecraft.

 

"Our belief and our philosophy is that the best testbed is space itself," Chris Voorhees, Planetary Resources' vice president of spacecraft development, said Wednesday (April 24) during a Google+ Hangout event.

 

"Despite the fact that we're a deep-space company, we're going to use Earth orbit as much as possible," Voorhees added. "For us, it's a valuable learning experience, and that's what we plan on doing one year hence."

 

The cubesats slated for launch in 2014 will measure 12 inches long by 4 inches wide by 4 inches tall (30 by 10 by 10 centimeters), company officials said. These "Arkyd-3" satellites will test out technologies for Planetary Resources' Arkyd-100 scouts, which the firm hopes to launch to low-Earth orbit on asteroid-hunting missions in 2015.

 

The Arkyd-3 "is the testbed manifestation of our Arkyd-100 spacecraft. It just happens to be flying," Voorhees said.

 

A series of other robotic probes beyond the 33-pound (15 kilograms) Arkyd-100 will investigate near-Earth asteroids up close, eventually mining suitable ones for resources such as water and precious metals. Water is the key focus at first, because it is the key enabler of off-Earth living, Planetary Resources officials said.

 

Water can keep astronauts hydrated, obviously, and serve as a shield against dangerous radiation. Split into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen, it can also provide breathable air and rocket fuel, allowing voyaging spaceships to fill up on the go.

 

Sourcing water in space will make space travel much cheaper and more efficient, Planetary Resources president Chris Lewicki said, noting that it currently costs about $10,000 to launch 1 liter (0.26 gallons) of water to low-Earth orbit.

 

"Water is the gateway drug of space. It's the enabler — in a good way, though," Lewicki said.

 

Planetary Resources held Wednesday's Google+ Hangout partly to mark the one-year anniversary of the company's public unveiling. After Planetary Resources announced its existence and intentions last year, another asteroid-mining firm called Deep Space Industries made its presence known as well.

 

Both companies hope their activities help spur humanity's push out into the solar system, officials have said.

 

SpaceShipTwo Ready to Break Sound Barrier

 

Irene Klotz - Discovery News

 

SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot suborbital spaceship owned by Virgin Galactic, an offshoot of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is scheduled for is first rocket-powered test flight on Monday, Branson told the Las Vegas Sun newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday.

 

"We're hoping to break the sound barrier. That's planned Monday. It will be a historic day," the newspaper quoted Branson as saying.

 

During the spaceship's last test flight on April 12, manufacturer Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif., flowed oxidizer through the vehicle's propulsion system and out its nozzle (pictured top), providing the first visible hint of what the vehicle will look like as it blasts off into space.

 

"This test proved SpaceShipTwo's rocket's oxidizer flows properly in flight and is a key milestone in our progress towards commercial space flight," Branson wrote in a blog post on  Virgin Galactic's website.

 

SpaceShipTwo is designed to ignite its rocket engine midair after being dropped from a carrier aircraft called White Knight Two.  The spaceship is modeled after a prototype, called SpaceShipOne, which won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004 for being the first privately developed, piloted vehicle to reach suborbital space.

 

Scaled Composites is in the midst of a series of test flights at the Mojave Air and Space Port leading up to SpaceShipTwo's first foray beyond the atmosphere later this year, if all goes as planned.

 

Virgin Galactic is taking reservations and deposits for the suborbital space rides, which sell for $200,000 per person. More than 500 people have signed up.

 

Branson is expected to be on the spaceship's official debut, targeted for early 2014.

 

Virgin Galactic wouldn't comment specifically on Branson's comments, but company president George Whitesides did email the following to Discovery News:

 

"Test flight schedules have to remain flexible to be responsive to weather and a host of other factors, so can't give you a specific date.  But what is certain is that the team is getting close to first rocket powered flight, which is an important milestone for the company and the program."

 

Protective wrap coming off space shuttle Atlantis this week

 

Central Florida News 13

 

It's a different type of countdown for people looking to see the space shuttle Atlantis in Brevard County.

 

After years of watching the shuttle liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, the countdown is now on to see the shuttle on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

 

This week, the exhibit will come one step closer to being unveiled.

 

The new $100 million home around shuttle Atlantis is nearly finished.

 

On Thursday, the protective wrap will come off the more than 150,000-pound shuttle. The wrap was designed to keep it from harm during the construction process and to preserve its natural state when it last returned to Earth.

 

The six-story Atlantis facility is scheduled to open June 29th. The 90,000-square-foot exhibit will let visitors explore Atlantis up close while telling the story of the 30-year space shuttle program through numerous simulators and hands-on, interactive experiences.

 

The exhibit is expected to be seen by more than a million people each year.

 

Mock-up of space shuttle external tank on move to museum Wednesday

 

James Dean - Florida Today

 

Do you remember the social media campaigns to "spot the shuttle" as NASA ferried three retired orbiters from Kennedy Space Center to museums across the country last year?

 

During the next few days, area residents can try to "spot the tank."

 

A 200-foot barge carrying a mockup shuttle external tank and other artifacts departed KSC Wednesday en route to the Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum in Starke.

 

Pulled by two tugs, the barge will travel the Intracoastal Waterway and St. Johns River to Green Cove Springs, between Palatka and Jacksonville, where it's expected to arrive by Saturday.

 

NASA encouraged viewers to "spot the tank" and submit photos to Kennedy's social media sites.

 

The barge is expected to depart KSC's Turn Basin around 4 p.m. and pass the draw bridge over State Road 3 south of the center, but it's route after that was not confirmed.

 

The tank for years was displayed with a pair of solid rocket boosters outside the KSC Visitor Complex. The complex removed the display to make way for the new building housing the retired orbiter Atlantis, which will open to the public in late June.

 

In addition to a transporter holding the external tank, which was once used for fit checks, a crane is loading onto the barge a crew transporter vehicle, crew hatch access vehicle and solid rocket booster aft skirt and frustum, or nose cone.

 

The 154-foot long tank and its transporter weigh nearly 145,000 pounds and stand 34 feet tall. The crew transporter weighs another 95,000 pounds and measures 50 feet in length.

 

"It's going to be pretty hard to miss," said Bob Oehl, the museum's executive director.

 

Once in Green Cove Springs, the tank and other artifacts face a 55-mile journey over land to reach Wings of Dreams, located at Keystone Heights Airport in Starke, but the date of those moves has not yet been confirmed.

 

Dozens of power, telephone and cable lines and train signals will need to be temporarily moved.

 

"This is the largest piece that's moved over land since Howard Hughes moved the Spruce Goose," said Oehl.

 

The crane and barge services were donated by Sims Crane of Orlando and Mobro Marine of Green Cove Springs. Clay Electric Cooperative is handling the utilities.

 

"This is an all-volunteer effort with all the services donated," said Oehl. "It's all people that we've known for a long time that really believe in the preservation of the history of our manned space program, and believe in our educational mission with our museum. So it's just a great day."

 

Wings of Dreams has already acquired a shuttle simulator from Johnson Space Center, Oehl said.

 

Oehl and Susan King founded the museum in 2005 to "establish and operate an aviation museum, aerospace education center, warbird restoration facility and space museum annex with collection of space program artifacts and observatory," according to its Web site.

 

END