Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Fwd: NASA News - my version and JSC Today - Wednesday, July 24, 2013



Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: July 24, 2013 6:05:11 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA News - my version and JSC Today - Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Will send PAOs version of NASA News when I receive it.

 

 

 

 

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   Headlines

  1. Hang Out at Live Orion Parachute Test on Google+

NASA will host a Google+ Hangout from the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. CDT today, July 24, as an Orion test capsule is dropped from a plane at 35,000 feet to evaluate its parachutes.

During the event, participants will see one of Orion's most difficult parachute tests to date and hear from NASA and Army team members involved. Engineers will simulate a failure of one of the spacecraft's three main parachutes, releasing it before Orion has landed.

Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed test of the spacecraft that will send Orion 3,600 miles away from Earth, is scheduled for September 2014. Orion's parachutes are being tested to ensure they can slow the capsule for a safe landing in the Pacific Ocean as the spacecraft reenters Earth's atmosphere from deep space missions at speeds of up to 20,000 mph.

To join the Hangout, click here.

Event Date: Wednesday, July 24, 2013   Event Start Time:9:30 AM   Event End Time:10:30 AM
Event Location: https://plus.google.com/events/c8o3eh2udaosuknsrd8

Add to Calendar

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

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  1. On-site Emergency - Calling on a Cell Phone

It's very common to panic in an emergency. One particular incident involving a witness to an auto mishap at JSC admits that's exactly what happened and tried to call the five 3s … on a cell phone. It turns out, JSC Emergency hears this more than you would think. After all, employees are encouraged to always dial the five 3s (x33333) in an emergency situation. It's essential to try to keep calm and make sure you dial all 10 digits of the JSC emergency number, 281-483-3333, if calling from a cell phone. Better yet, you might consider programming the number into your phone.

Keep calm and dial on.

Rindy Carmichael x45078

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   Organizations/Social

  1. Tomorrow: Emerge - The Next Generation

This new organization represents the voice of the next generation here at JSC. We want to leverage your talent and innovative mindset to foster cross-center collaboration, engage the community in JSC's mission, impact the on-boarding experience and develop the leaders of tomorrow. With hopes of becoming an Employee Resource Group in September, there is no better time for you to get involved.

Please join us on Thursday, July 25, from noon to 1 p.m. in Building 30A, Room 2090, to find out more! Feel free to contact Elena Buhay if you have any questions.

Event Date: Thursday, July 25, 2013   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Bldg 30A/Rm 2090

Add to Calendar

Elena Buhay 281-792-7976

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  1. RSVP Now for JSC NMA Chapter Luncheon on Aug. 21

Please join us for a JSC National Management Association (NMA) chapter luncheon featuring JSC Director and former astronaut Dr. Ellen Ochoa. She will discuss the "State of the Center--JSC 2.0." You won't want to miss this presentation about our future, as well as the lunch!

When: Wednesday, Aug. 21

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Location: Gilruth Alamo Ballroom

    • Cost for members: $0
    • Cost for non-members: $20

There are three great menu options to choose from:

    • Bourbon-glazed salmon
    • Herb-seared chicken breast with tomato chive sauce
    • Vegetable lasagna

Desserts: New York cheesecake and carrot cake

Please RSVP by close of business Wednesday, Aug. 14, with your menu selection.

Event Date: Wednesday, August 21, 2013   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Gilruth Alamo Ballroom

Add to Calendar

Catherine Williams x33317 http://www.jscnma.com/Events

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  1. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) Info Briefings

The Inclusion & Innovation (I&I) Council will be considering proposals for additional Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in the September timeframe. ERGs are voluntary, grassroots groups formed around a characteristic or affinity. They foster a sense of personal responsibility and ownership, as well as increased employee engagement. Five ERGS were established at JSC in 2011: the African-American ERG, the ASIA ERG, the Hispanic ERG, the Human Systems Integration ERG, and the Out & Allied ERG. All five have successfully supported center efforts in the areas of recruiting, retention/on-boarding, education and community outreach.

If you are interested in learning more about the ERG formation process, please plan on attending one of these information sessions:

    • July 25, 10 to 11 a.m., Building 1, Room 966
    • July 25, 3 to 4 p.m., Building 1, Room 966

Sylvia Stottlemyer x39757

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  1. Starport is 51 Today - 10% Discount in Gift Shops

Starport turns 51 years old today -- enjoy a 10 percent birthday discount for everyone!

Stop by the Starport Gift Shops today and help us celebrate our 51st year of operation and get the 10 percent birthday discount - even if it's not your birthday (some exclusions apply). Happy birthday, Starport! And, don't forget to shop at Starport on your own birthday for your special 10 percent birthday discount. You are special at Starport.

Cyndi Kibby x35352 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

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  1. Starport Book Fair - Building 3 Cafe

Come and enjoy the Books Are Fun book fair in the Building 3 Starport Café on Wednesday, Aug. 14, and Thursday, Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Search through more than 250 great titles in children's books, cookbooks, general-interest books, New York Times bestsellers, stationary and scrapbooking, music collections and more -- all at unbelievable prices. Click here for more information.

Event Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:2:00 PM
Event Location: Building 3

Add to Calendar

Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

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  1. Relaxation Techniques

Do you find it hard to relax? Does your mind have its own plan when you try to sleep? Being able to relax is essential for sleep and healing promotion. Relaxation works best when involving the mind and body due to the significance of that connection. We will be learning and applying mindfulness as a stress relief. Workshop participants will have a chance to experience multiple relaxation exercises as well. Come and discover which relaxation technique works best with your type of stress response. Please join Anika Isaac MS, LPC, LMFT, LCDC, CEAP, NCC, of the JSC Employee Assistance Program on July 24 at 12 noon in Building 30 Auditorium as she presents "Relaxation Techniques."

Event Date: Wednesday, July 24, 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, Occupational Health Branch x36130

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   Jobs and Training

  1. Human Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids

U.S. Spacesuit Knowledge Capture Presents Human Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids - Thursday, July 25:

A major goal for NASA's human spaceflight program is to send astronauts to near-Earth asteroids (NEA) in the coming decades. Dr. Paul Abell will discuss some of the relevant physical characteristics of near-Earth objects for spacewalk considerations, review the current data from previous NEA missions and discuss why future robotic and human missions to NEAs are important from space exploration and planetary defense perspectives.

When: July 25 from 10:30 a.m. to noon

Location: 5S, Room 3102 (corner of Gamma Link/5th Street/third floor)

Registration: In SATERN (Any issues locating the class in SATERN, search using keyword "spacesuit")

For questions, contact a Spacesuit Knowledge Capture point of contact Vladenka Oliva (281-461-5681) or Cinda Chullen (x38384).

Event Date: Thursday, July 25, 2013   Event Start Time:10:30 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM
Event Location: Bldg. 5S, Room 3102

Add to Calendar

Vladenka Oliva 281-461-5681

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  1. Project Management Forum

The Project Management Forum will be held on Wednesday, July 24, in Building 1, Room 966, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. At this forum, Trent Martin, the associate director of Engineering for Advanced Development, will provide an outlook of the Advanced Exploration Systems projects for Fiscal Year 2014. In addition to this, Irene Piatek will provide a comparison of the International Space Station (ISS) Simple COTS Process to EA-WI-023 and show that WI-023 aligns with the ISS process. All civil servant and contractor project managers are invited to attend.

The purpose of the Project Management Forum is to provide an opportunity for our NASA project managers to freely discuss issues, best practices, lessons learned, tools and opportunities, as well as to collaborate with other project managers.

Event Date: Wednesday, July 24, 2013   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Building 1, Room 966

Add to Calendar

Danielle Bessard x37238 https://oasis.jsc.nasa.gov/sysapp/athena/Athena%20Team/SitePages/Home.aspx

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  1. Relief Valve Set Testing and Hydrostatic Testing

JSC-SLC-HTRV (Four hours)

This course covers the fundamentals and requirements regarding hydrostatic testing of pressure vessels and pressure systems and pressure relief valve set-testing.

Course objectives include:

    • Define Designated Verifier (DV)
    • Test area guidelines
    • References: JPR 1710.13, NS-PRS-009, NT-QAS-024
    • Safety guidelines
    • Procedures

Re-certification required every two years.

Note: This is the FINAL class for Fiscal Year 2013.

Date/Time: Aug. 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT

Where: Safety Learning Center, Building 20, Room 205/206

Registration via SATERN required:

https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Aundrail Hill x36369

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   Community

  1. Sci-Fi Fans: Win a VIP Luncheon Spot at SCH

Are you a sci-fi fan? Here's your chance to throw your name in the computer banks for the opportunity to attend a VIP/celebrity luncheon at Space Center Houston (SCH) Wednesday, July 31, from 11 a.m. to noon, immediately following the unveiling of Star Trek's Galileo shuttlecraft. 

SCH has offered JSC 18 tickets to attend this special luncheon. Celebrities confirmed to attend include Sylvester McCoy, Robert Picardo, Denise Crosby, Don Marshall and Gil Gerard. 

To register for this random drawing, please email your full name, org code and phone number to Brooke Montross. Emails will only be accepted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, July 24! No phone calls will be accepted, and only emails with complete information will be considered. Selectees will be notified via email before noon on Friday, July 26. 

This event is for employees only (no guests will be allowed). Ticket cost is $50, and there is a maximum of one ticket per person. Employees are responsible for the cost of their ticket and will RSVP and pay SCH directly. Celebrities will not be signing autographs or taking individual photos during the event.

Jeannie Aquino x36270

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  1. Tomorrow is the Last Day for Bin Donations

It's the last week to donate to JSC Feeds Families, and we need your help!

Thursday is it for bin donations at JSC, so be sure to set a reminder to help in any way you can. Your generous donations will support the Galveston Food Bank and Clear Lake Food Pantry. JSC has been the largest contributor to the Galveston Food Bank in the past, and without our help, many in our community may go hungry. Scour the stores -- even your own pantry -- and bring in your donations for tomorrow's final bin collection.

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

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  1. Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive Next Week

Please stop by and learn about bone marrow donation. There are about 12,000 patients waiting for a bone marrow donor match, and you can help out by joining the National Marrow Donor Program.

You can help if you:

- Are between the ages of 18 and 44

- In good general health

- Willing to donate to any patient until you are 60 years old

Fill out a form and provide cheek swab samples -- it just takes 15 minutes!

    • July 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Building 3 café
    • July 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Building 11 café
    • July 31 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Building 20, Conference Room 116

For more details on medical eligibility, click here.

This donor drive is sponsored by BeTheMatch.org and the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center.

Event Date: Monday, July 29, 2013   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: B3-Cafe 7-29, B11-Cafe 7-30, B20-116 7-31

Add to Calendar

Stacey Nakamura x34345

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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.

Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters.

 

 

NASA NEWS

NASA Plans Probe Of Spacewalk Gone Wrong

By Todd Halvorson

Florida Today, July 24, 2013

NASA is launching a full-scale investigation into the close call that could have drowned an Italian astronaut during a spacewalk this month at the International Space Station.

A NASA engineering team already has determined that it's highly unlikely that a leak from an in-suit drinking water bag filled Luca Parmitano's helmet with water on July 16, rendering the spacewalker unable to hear, see or communicate for a time.

Engineers also are ruling out a leak from tubes that route water through Parmitano's 's form-fitting liquid cooling undergarment.

The five-member investigation board on Friday will start gathering information, analyzing facts and conducting tests in a bid to "identify the cause or causes of the anomaly and any contributing factors," NASA said in a statement Tuesday.

Led by NASA International Space Station Chief Engineer Chris Hansen, the investigators will make recommendations to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden "to prevent similar incidents from occurring during future spacewalks," NASA said.

A planned six-hour, 30-minute spacewalk was cut short when a leak began to fill Parmitano's helmet with chilled water. In weightlessness, water clings to surfaces, and in this case, water covered Parmitano's eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

NASA spacewalk flight director David Korth ordered Parmitano and U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy to terminate the excursion and return relative safety inside the outpost's U.S. Quest airlock.

Once back inside the station, crewmates performed an emergency suit-doffing drill and removed Parmitano's helmet as quickly as possible. Towels were used to capture water that floated out of his helmet. The abbreviated spacewalk lasted one-hour and 32 minutes.

Also serving on the investigation board:

• U.S. astronaut Mike Foreman, a veteran of two space shuttle missions and five spacewalks.

• Richard Fullerton, lead engineer in the International Space Station Office of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Fullerton was co-chair of a group that planned and oversaw spacewalks at the Russian space station Mir during nine space shuttle missions to that outpost in the 1990s.

• Sudhaker Rajula, a human factors specialist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

• Joe Pellicciotti, chief engineer at the NASA Engineering and Safety Center at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The NESC was formed after the 2003 Columbia accident to provide independent analysis of NASA safety and mission assurance issues.

The board will work closely with the engineering team that is attempting to pinpoint the cause of the leak.

The investigation board will load more broadly at U.S. spacewalk operations and make recommendations that "can be applied to improve the safety of all of NASA's human spaceflight activities," NASA said.

NASA Seeks Public-Private Product Partnerships

By Elena Malykhina

Information Week, July 24, 2013

NASA is looking for private firms interested in forming unfunded partnerships to develop commercial space products and services for human space exploration.

A synopsisof the partnership program seeks proposals only from U.S. private firms, nonprofits and commercial providers that wish to enter into Space Act Agreements (SAAs) to develop "integrated space capabilities." NASA didn't expand on what such space capabilities would look like, only saying that they would not be individual technologies or subsystems. The SAAs aim to bring these emerging products and services to government and non-government customers within approximately the next five years, NASA said.

The document explains to some extent what the unfunded portion of the agreement would entail. In summary, there will be no exchange of funds and each party will bear the cost of its participation. Although no funds will go to the partners, in exchange they would get access to NASA's expertise and resources, including technology and data. A spokesperson for NASA said the agreements will "enable that experience to be leveraged as new space capabilities are developed by private U.S. companies, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will be successful."

But, even as the agency ramps up work with the private sector, it's caught in the middle of a budget battle that could jeopardize the financing needed for the Commercial Crew Program (CCP).

In recent years, NASA has placed major emphasis on the CCP, established by the Obama administration to help the U.S. develop spacecraft that can transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and other low Earth orbit destinations. NASA currently has a $424 million agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) to use its crew transportation services through 2017. The ultimate goal, however, is to send astronauts to space from U.S. soil.

Budget uncertainties could delay NASA's plan. The president in April proposed a federal budget of $17.7 billion for the space agency in fiscal year 2014. The money was to fully fund the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket and the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) needed to carry astronauts to deep space. The House Appropriations Committee confronted that proposal on July 17 by approving a bill that would cut more than $1 billion from NASA's budget, which totals $16.6 billion. The House bill could also take away $321 million from the CCP.

"This proposal would challenge America's preeminence in space exploration, technology, innovation and scientific discovery," NASA's associate administrator for communications, David Weaver, said in a blog post responding to the bill. "We are especially concerned the bill cuts funding for space technology – the 'seed corn' that allows the nation to conduct ever more capable and affordable space missions."

Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies has suggested allocating $18 billion to NASA, which is $1.4 billion more than the budget proposed by the House. In a publicly issued statement, the Senate said more funding would provide "better balance for all of NASA's important missions." It's still not clear what the final outcome will be, as NASA's fiscal 2014 budget proceeds through Congress next.

Rep. Edwards Pins Hopes For More NASA Funding On Senate

By Dan Leone

Space News, July 24, 2013

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), who pushed hard against a Republican-authored NASA authorization bill currently awaiting a floor vote, said July 23 that it will probably be up to the Senate to undo provisions in that bill which call for NASA to scale back science and technology activities and focus on human spaceflight.

On July 18, Republicans on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee overrode united Democrat opposition to pass a $16.6 billion NASA authorization bill (H.R. 2678) that would scale back science programs, Earth science in particular, and direct the agency to use the Moon as a steppingstone for manned missions to Mars.

"The Senate has a totally different approach for this, and I'm grateful for that," Edwards said here July 23 after her speech at this month's Maryland Space Business Roundtable lunch. The monthly gathering, held just down the road from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, regularly draws a roomful of NASA contractors and agency personnel.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $18.1 billion for NASA for 2014 as part of a broader commerce, justice, science spending bill that now heads to the floor. The Senate Commerce science and space subcommittee, meanwhile, is preparing to markup a NASA authorization bill that largely mirrors the appropriations bill.

Edwards, the ranking Democrat on the House Science space subcommittee charged with writing NASA authorization bills, tried and failed to amend the majority's bill during a July 18 markup. She said she might try again on the floor, "assuming the bill gets there.

"I really don't know yet," Edwards told SpaceNews after her speech. "There hasn't been a schedule yet, and I imagine that when that happens, we will plan for amendments. I hope they'll have an open amendment process."

The website for the House Rules Committee, which sets the parameters for floor debates in that chamber, had not weighed in on H.R. 2678 as of July 23.

During the July 18 markup of the bill, the NASA Authorization Act of 2013, Edwards introduced an amendment, which she ultimately withdrew, that would have called on NASA to create a Center Realignment and Closure Commission. The commission would have been given six months to evaluate options for reducing agency overhead, specifically by either "[c]onsolidating all rocket development and test activities of the Marshall Space Flight Center and Stennis Space Center in one location" or closing Marshall and dividing its responsibilities between Mississippi-based Stennis and Houston-based Johnson Space Center.

Edwards acknowledged July 23 that such a proposal would probably not fly in the Senate, where lawmakers do not share House Republicans' view that authorization bills must conform to the across-the-board sequestration cuts triggered by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Those cuts have already knocked NASA's 2013 budget down to about $16.9 billion.

Edwards also maintained, emphatically, that she did not wish to see NASA centers closed. However, she added, if Republicans are determined to plan federal spending based on the sequester, "we need to get real about what that takes, and about what constraints all the agencies will be under."

Although the House and Senate have moved NASA authorization and appropriations bills through their respective committees, neither chamber has scheduled a floor vote. And with the Sept. 30 end of the current fiscal year fast approaching, the House and Senate remain more than $1 billion apart on what NASA's budget should be for 2014.

The two chambers' fundamental disagreement about federal spending has led to speculation that the U.S. government will once again be funded with another stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, beginning Oct. 1.

Edwards said she had no insider knowledge of an impending continuing resolution for 2014.

"That's way above my pay grade," Edwards said.

Meanwhile, NASA is already planning for the possibility that sequestration will continue.

One NASA official said the agency, in internal summer budget deliberations concerning 2015 and beyond, is drawing up a plan to cope with another sequester of funds in 2014. The White House's 2014 budget request, released in April, did not take sequestration into account.

If the administration and Congress have a grand bargain in the works that will spare NASA from these across-the-board cuts, "they haven't told us," this official said.

House And Senate NASA FY14 Appropriations Comparison

By Jeff Foust

Space Politics, July 23, 2013

With the passage on Thursday of the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill by the full Senate Appropriations Committee, it's possible now to compare that bill's funding levels for various NASA accounts with the House version of the same bill and the administration's original fiscal year 2014 budget request (amounts below in millions of dollars):

The Senate's bill, notably, offers more money overall for NASA than what the administration requested, and $1.4 billion more than the House bill. The biggest differences between the House and Senate are in exploration ($600 million more in the Senate bill) and science ($370 million more), while space operations (principally the ISS) and space technology got smaller increases; aeronautics and education get slightly less in the Senate bill than the House.

In the text of the Senate CJS report on the bill, the committee goes into additional detail on many issues. For planetary science, funded at roughly the same level as the House version but higher than the administration's request, the committee calls for greater use of the smaller Discovery and New Frontiers programs of planetary missions. "Given the severe fiscal constraints which NASA faces going forward, the Committee believes more robust utilization of the Discovery and New Frontiers program will result in a more robust planetary science program because of its lower cost alternative to expensive, over-budget observatory class missions," the report states, calling on NASA to select an additional Discovery mission for further study from one submitted in the most recent round.

The report contains strong language about funding for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. "Despite numerous directives to provide an updated cost assessment for the SLS, which supports the lower funding levels proposed, NASA has never provided the Committee any verifiable documentation supporting the amount reflected in the agency's budget request," the report states. "Such blatant disregard for the direction provided by the Committee and for NASA's own independent cost assess- ment for the SLS is inappropriate and calls into question NASA's ability to appropriately manage and oversee its ongoing projects." The committee uses that to justify requesting $1.6 billion for SLS, plus $318 million for exploration ground systems (folded into the "SLS/Orion" line item in the table above); the House bill offers $1.476 billion for SLS and $299 million for ground systems.

The Senate is more generous than the House with the commercial crew program, proposing $775 million versus the House's $500 million, but has its own concerns with the program as well. "The Committee believes that NASA must balance its mission needs with its support for the development of emerging capabilities with true commercial applicability," the report states, expressing concern that NASA has provided the bulk of the funding for development of these systems to date but may only use them for a few years, assuming the vehicles enter service in 2017 but with a currently-planned ISS retirement date of 2020. "Such a schedule does not justify the current spending levels," the Senate report concludes, directing NASA to "clearly define and plan for the operational longevity of the ISS" to support its investment in commercial crew systems.

Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill is silent on one key issue: NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) proposal. The word "asteroid," in fact, is not found at all in the Senate report, unlike the House bill that blocks spending on the ARM concept. The House and Senate bills are in agreement on another controversial issue, though: both block the planned restructuring of NASA's education program proposed by the administration as part of a broader reorganization of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs among government agencies.

Energy Department Nominee Struggled With Financial Management At NASA

By Phillip Swarts

Washington Times, July 24, 2013

Elizabeth Robinson, the woman President Obama has named to make the Energy Department's oft-criticized contracting more efficient, is leaving behind a trail of spending questions in her past job as NASA's chief financial officer.

A Washington Times review of NASA inspector general reports finds the space agency struggled to achieve austerity under Ms. Robinson's financial leadership, as cost overruns grew sixfold from $50 million in 2009 to $315 million in 2012.

"Cost increases and schedule delays on NASA's projects are longstanding issues for the agency," the space agency's internal watchdog reported last year.

Ongoing changes in the agency's mission also led to billions being spent on projects that were later canceled, such as the Constellation Program and the Ares V launch vehicle that were designed to replace the space shuttle. Taxpayers spent an estimated $10 billion on shuttle replacement before it was scrapped in 2010.

The agency also has been dinged for smaller amounts of wasteful spending that provided some simple yet powerful symbols for taxpayer frustration.

Audits conducted during Ms. Robinson's tenure as CFO uncovered that NASA spent an average of $66 per person per day for light refreshments at conferences, shelled out $1.5 million to develop a video game to replicate astronauts' experiences and reimbursed employees $1.4 million for tuition dating to 2006 for degrees unrelated to their NASA jobs.

Ms. Robinson did not return a call seeking comment, and NASA, White House and Energy Department officials did not return repeated phone calls and email messages seeking comment on Ms. Robinson's track record as NASA's chief financial officer.

Mr. Obama nominated Ms. Robinson, a former White House budget official, this month to the job of Energy Department undersecretary for management and performance, filling one of the top jobs under new Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. In her role, Ms. Robinson will be responsible for improving the management and efficiency of the department's contracting and programs, including the much-criticized environmental management efforts involving the cleanup of old nuclear sites, Mr. Moniz told employees last week.

The energy secretary emphasized that Ms. Robinson's role was specifically to improve the department's contracting, spending and program management. "Right, wrong or indifferent in terms of how we are viewed, we've got to pick up our game in terms of management and performance," Mr. Moniz told employees.

Separately, NASA's own website credits Ms. Robinson for her stewardship of the budget.

"Through her leadership, Robinson ensures the financial health of the organization, including responsibility for ensuring that NASA resources are effectively employed toward the achievement of NASA's strategic plan," the NASA biography for its CFO says.

NASA's inspector general, however, routinely gave the space agency poor marks for efficiency during Ms. Robinson's tenure. An audit this spring, in fact, found NASA didn't even know how much it had spent on information technology security and couldn't account for all of its computer equipment because it was so decentralized in spending.

"While other federal agencies are moving toward a centralized IT structure under which a senior manager has ultimate decision authority over IT budgets and resources, NASA continues to operate under a decentralized model that relegates decision making about critical IT issues to numerous individuals across the agency," the inspector general reported in June. "As a result, NASA's current IT governance model weakens accountability and does not ensure that IT assets across the agency are cost effective and secure."

NASA officials promised to improve the IT spending after the stinging report, but often have tried to justify their cost overruns by blaming the unique challenges of exploring space.

Ms. Robinson did, however, get good grades for record-keeping. The NASA inspector general said the agency's financial documents were organized and complete — a marked improvement from before her tenure when inspectors said they often couldn't audit the department because of problems with paperwork.

Although NASA's effort to replace the Hubble Space Telescope with the Webb telescope has run millions of dollars over budget, the inspector general did credit the agency for spending a $75 million Recovery Act grant wisely to speed along the project and keep 450 people employed.

Still, NASA's overall financial and contract management got poor grades in several audits during Ms. Robinson's tenure. "The agency's cost-tracking processes cannot account for all conference-related costs and that planners did not consistently conduct required cost comparisons of possible conference sites," one report from this month concluded.

An overview of NASA financial management in September concluded, "Consistently managing the agency's science and space exploration projects to meet cost, schedule and performance goals has remained elusive."

A report from April excoriated the agency for awarding a $42 million contract for energy savings at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, saying officials couldn't verify the cost savings claimed by the contractor but nonetheless paid out the money.

Ms. Robinson will face equally daunting challenges at the Energy Department, which was battered during Secretary Steven Chu's tenure for everything from poor security at nuclear laboratories to poor vetting of clean-energy loan recipients such as the Solyndra solar panel maker that later failed at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to taxpayers.

Foundation Launches Into Tourism

By Amy Gillentine

Colorado Springs (CO) Business Journal, July 23, 2013

This exhibit from NASA has already been attracting crowds of visitors to the Space Foundation's expanded facilities.

For the Space Foundation, it's truly a summer of discovery.

For the first time, the 30-year-old organization has the room to display decades' worth of space memorabilia – models of the Mars rover, exhibits from NASA's space shuttle program, the only moon rock in the state of Colorado.

And staff members have combined it all with the technology and a series of hands-on educational opportunities designed to bring families into the foundation, which now has 17,000 square feet for a space museum, classes, a conference center and a variety of educational and space-related activities.

It's time for the group, headquartered locally but with an international presence, to discover how it can change the local tourism scene while expanding its educational mission.

The "Summer of Discovery" series is a new push for wider local exposure for the organization, which puts on the annual Space Symposium that is attended by about 9,000 people every year – including space agencies from China, Europe and Japan.

But that isn't open to the public, and the Summer of Discovery is designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of age. It's a long-held vision made possible when the organization moved into new headquarters at Arrowswest Drive, just off West Garden of the Gods Road.

"This Summer of Discovery can best be described as a shakedown cruise to gauge local interest," said Carol Hively, communications director for the foundation.

The organization is experimenting with the idea of creating interesting ways to attract visitors.

The first time out, the foundation didn't scrimp on big events. Every week, the discovery center features a new theme – for 10 weeks, 10 different themes: among them, one giant leap, women in space, Colorado days, ocean themes and astronauts. In August, they're combining local brewpubs with space. Visitors who are 21 or older can taste a flight of local beers while learning how space technology can be used to create quality craft brews.

"This reflects the foundation's commitment to formal and informal space-related education," said Kevin Cook, the foundation's vice president of marketing and communications, at a recent event celebrating the first traveling exhibit from NASA. "We think it's going well; we have had about 3,000 people here for the first few weeks. Some families come back every day of the week, and some only come for a single day. But so far, it seems to be going well."

On the day the foundation unveiled its NASA exhibit, the building was packed with kids and adults – all wanting to touch the tires from the shuttle and look at other parts from the now-retired program.

"You know, they only used the tires once," Cook said. "When you have a multi-million dollar machine, you want to make sure the tires work."

That kind of first-hand information makes the Space Foundation a desired summer activity for kids who dream of going to Mars or landing on the moon.

"Really, we're the only museum of its kind from Denver to New Mexico," he said. "We think attendance will grow as word gets out." Variety of assets

The now-expanded museum features new hands-on experiments as well as activities using the center's Science-on-a-Sphere, a giant globe that can be used to talk about weather patterns, ocean currents, space satellites and planets in the solar system.

"We started smaller," Cook said. "And we've expanded, just about five weeks ago, to open more space. We have the art contest winners – and we sent them on a disc to the Space Station. We have the Apollo 11 experience that will take people on the mission as well. This really is an economic development issue; we're bringing in money from other states – people on vacation who wouldn't be stopping here otherwise."

And the discovery center boasts its own Area 51, named after the famed top-secret facility in Nevada, reputed to be the place the military tests experimental aircraft. In this case, it's a room for small conferences and business meetings.

It all makes sense, said Chelsy Murphy, communications director at the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"When you think about it, we have a lot of educational activities here in Colorado Springs," she said. "And this effort fits in well with them – the Pioneers Museum, the Florissant Fossil Beds, the Fine Arts Center museum, all have an educational focus. It's an important niche for us, and one we push wherever we can."

Murphy says the city relies on its family visitors, and any attractions that cater to families are advertised both to tourism writers and bloggers.

"Most of our visitors are families, so we want to let them know whenever we have a new attraction in town," she said. "The Space Foundation has talked about this for years, and we're glad to see it happening." Possible partnership

Another organization could be gauging the success of the Summer of Discovery: the Science Center project. The brainchild of Steve Rothstein, president of the group, the Science Center is envisioned as a hands-on science museum, a facility that offers experiential programming and exhibits and elevates "learning about science to new levels."

It's more than a museum, according to educational information about the fundraising effort. The planned 60,000-square-foot facility will be a destination for doing science, not just talking about it.

Cook says he definitely sees the two groups working together, once the Science Center becomes reality.

"It sounds like something we'd be interested in partnering with," he said. "We definitely have the same sort of mission. I think we'd definitely complement each other. But we're glad to be leading the science charge, here at the Space Foundation."

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

His Other Spaceship Was A Shuttle: Former Astronaut Helms Boeing Space Capsule

By Robert Pearlman

collectSPACE, July 24, 2013

Two years after climbing out of the last ship to launch him into orbit, Chris Ferguson was back in a spacecraft on Monday (July 22).

Ferguson, who as commander of NASA's orbiter Atlantis landed the space shuttle program's final mission on July 21, 2011, is retired as an astronaut and is now working at Boeing. There, he is leading development of a commercial space capsule designed to pick up where the shuttle left off.

"Two years and one day... I will tell you, it has gone by so fast," Ferguson says. "But if you can't fly 'em, you might as well build 'em."

On Monday, Ferguson got his first chance to go inside a mockup of the spacecraft he and his team are building, dubbed the CST-100. The gumdrop-shape model capsule is being used by Boeing to fine tune the spacecraft's cabin layout by having NASA astronauts — Ferguson's previous colleagues and crewmates — don pressure suits, strap in and offer their feedback.

"It's an upgrade," says Serena Aunon, taking the capsule for a test fit. "It is an American vehicle, of course it is an upgrade."

The CST-100 is one of three private spacecraft being built by U.S. companies to compete for NASA's business flying crew members to and from the space station. The space agency is planning to purchase seats on one or more of the vehicles beginning in 2017.

collectSPACE spoke with Ferguson at Boeing's Houston Product Support Center, before he took his turn touring the inside of the CST-100.

Two years later, is "building 'em" rewarding as "flying 'em"?

I'm proud to be a part of this team. I'm still engaged, still doing things that I really enjoy doing. That is not to say that leaving the shuttle behind wasn't bittersweet. They've done a great job in some of the museums [displaying the retired orbiters]. Some of them are really doing a bang up job, but I prefer to see my rockets vertical and loaded with fuel.

But we can't afford to fly 'em and design 'em at the same time, so we have clearly taken some time off to design the next vehicle. We'll be back within six years, like it was post-Apollo, before shuttle.

I am so pleased that I had the opportunity to be part of the shuttle program, but I am equally thrilled to help [Boeing] build this rocket. I get to make really cool decisions every day. It doesn't get much better than that.

It's been three years since Boeing first announced the CST-100. Is the work here progressing as fast as you say the time since shuttle has gone?

I think we have come dramatically far with a substantially lower budget in a period of time that I would consider to be pretty aggressive.

I know it has been three years, but what you do not see behind this [model capsule's] façade, are the hundreds of engineers who are working to put code behind the displays and who are working on the flight controls who are going to have a vehicle we're going to be able to fly in simulation mode here in four-to-six months.

What is amazing me more than anything about being part of the Boeing team is the depth going into every decision — and I am still amazed on how much left we have to do. We are by no means there, but it's like playing 'whack-a-mole' — when the next problem comes up, we put a team on it, make a decision and move forward. It is just great to work like this.

I haven't worked harder in my life... but I have done things that were a bit more fun.

As you watch your former NASA astronaut colleagues come in for the suited fit checks, do you ever pine to be back in their position?

There is still a little part of me that wishes I was in their shoes. But when I step back and look at it, there is a lot of young engineers who work here. Young MIT, Stanford, Penn, Drexel graduates from these fantastic engineering schools that come in here hungry and they want to learn.

When I think about it, I'm proud of the part that I'm playing in preserving human spaceflight for them. Because they all came here with the same dream that we all had at one point in our life, to go into space. If we don't do this right, or if the country doesn't do this right, they won't have this opportunity.

I've started to grow up a little bit and stop hogging all the fun for myself and I'm trying to make sure we have that capability for these young folks who thrive on this kind of stuff.

Looking at the space shuttles in their museum homes, you get a real sense of how large they were and how small CST-100 is in comparison. Has it been difficult to cram at least the crew capabilities of the orbiter into a capsule?

I never really thought about the cubic feet per person. I'm sure the shuttle rivaled this, probably two to three times over, but thinking about the mission it needs to perform, when the shuttle was designed we didn't have the space station. The shuttle was going to go up and be an orbiting facility for two weeks and you needed the living room in there.

Here, we are going to dock [at the space station] within 24 hours. We're going to dock within 24 hours on a normal mission and six hours after undock, we are going to be on the ground. So it's almost a paradigm shift for those who were brought up on the shuttle mantra of 'Hey, I have to provide for meal time, I have to provide a restroom facility' — which we're going to provide, because you just have to do, but do you have to do it like we did aboard the shuttle? Probably not.

If everything goes well, you're not going to be a passenger in this vehicle in flight for more than 18 hours. We want to dock on flight day one, we have to dock within 24 hours. So this is a lot more Soyuz-like and if you had to compare the internal volume of the Soyuz in cubic feet per person, I think we've got them beat pretty well.

What lessons learned from the shuttle have gone into the design of the controls for CST-100?

The one thing that we learned is that switches and circuit breakers and those kind of things that formed the cockpit of the shuttle, we don't need them. We really don't.

The vehicle is designed to be autonomous. It is going to rendezvous and dock [with ISS] and never have anybody touch anything — on a perfect day. Everything that you see in there gives the pilot the ability to monitor what the autonomy is doing and, in the event that he needs to or she needs to, to take over.

You saw how much rigor was placed into the training of space shuttle astronauts. I mean, it took years. It took a year and a half of 'Astronaut 101' [training], followed by probably another year of mission-specific training. It was a long time.

We will get people ready to fly within nine months, at least that's our goal... and that's simultaneous with their station training.

I think you're going to see something that down scope is largely autonomous with the pilot flying sidesaddle, if you will. We're probably only going to train one, and depending on what NASA wants, maybe two [crew members] to the pilot level of proficiency. You're going to see the training being a lot less imposing than it was during shuttle.

Expanding upon that, on the space shuttle, there was a commander, a pilot and a flight engineer to fly the vehicle. What roles do you need to fly CST-100?

NASA says [CST-100 has] to fly from one to seven [crew members] under the original requirement. They have since changed it to four.

So, one to four, which implies it has to be single piloted, so we designed it so it can be operated by a single pilot. But when you get in there, you find that the person to the pilot's right, call him by whatever title you want to call him, has access to the entire right of the instrument console, including one of the full displays. So he'll be there to back the pilot up. He can interface with the system if in some case the pilot is not able to.

It is designed to be operated single piloted but it is always nice to have somebody else. And NASA didn't tell us to do that. We did that because it is the right thing to do. You might as well take advantage of your crew and use the resources appropriately. That is what we intend to do.

Right now, you have astronauts in CST-100 wearing space shuttle-era Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) pressure suits, as built by the David Clark Company. Are there reasons you wouldn't or couldn't continue to use the tried-and-true ACES for flight?

If they put a bid in, they could be a contender. But I think ACES has a certain amount of incompatibility with the smaller vehicle. Big helmet, big neck ring, and it's not so much for ascent and entry, but what you do with them in between? It is how to stow them, how to put them away.

With the companies we've been talking to about potential [suit] contenders, we've said 'Think out of the box.' Think in the terms of do you have to have a hard helmet on your head with a big visor on it [or] can I have something that is a little more discreet that is easy to don and doff, and more importantly, is easy to stow. Can I put it in a small, out-of-the-way place, roll it up in a bag and shove it into some compartment where it can sit there and won't take up all my volume.

ACES served the shuttle program well for over a decade and we'd certainly consider it if they decide to put a bid in. But I think the state of the art is, we can evolve.

Speaking of evolving, while CST-100 fits into Boeing's numbering of its airplanes, it doesn't follow the NASA history of naming spacecraft.

We're working on a new name. I have talked with some of the comm folks, and of course [Boeing vice president of space exploration] John Elbon and John Mulholland [vice president and program manager, commercial crew], about the right way to pursue something like this.

Boeing has always refrained from something like this, but then again recently they have kind of lifted that, look at the Dreamliner. So it seems like they are little more willing to be a little more traditional in naming as opposed to just the number system. We'll see what happens.

I am pushing for a good name. I'm pushing for something that rolls off your tongue. CST-100 doesn't exactly do that, but it does sound rather technical.

Does CST-100 pilot roll of your tongue? Do you hope to be in the front seat when CST-100 first lifts off?

If they ask me a couple of years down the road, I'll have to think very hard about whether to say yes or no. I'd like to think that someday they will ask me but I think time will tell.

Boeing's New Astronaut Capsule Opens Its Pod Bay Doors For NASA

By Carl Franzen

The Verge, July 24, 2013

Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, NASA has been looking for a new way to get astronauts up to the International Space Station from the US. Enter the Crew Space Transportation, or CST-100, a new space capsule designed by Boeing specifically to transport up to seven people, or a team of five plus some cargo, into orbit. Boeing, which has been working on the capsule for years, finally showed off the interior of the CST-100 to the world on Monday, letting NASA astronauts enter and explore a simulator version of their future space ride for eight hours at Boeing's Houston Product Support Center in Texas.

If Boeing's CST-100 looks from the outside much like Apollo-era capsules, that's no accident: Boeing was one of the NASA contractors behind those spacecraft as well. But the company and NASA stress that the new CST-100 is a whole different beast. For starters, it's completely weld-free, utilizing a new type of metals fabrication process called "spin forming," which does almost exactly what it sounds like — shaping the shell of the spacecraft out of a revolving disc of metal. It also boasts upgraded thermal protection for astronauts and sensitive cargo, such as science experiments.

And the interior of CST-100 is where perhaps the most noticeable design changes have been implemented. Boeing and NASA are using tablets to eliminate the switchboards of yore. A Boeing spokesperson told The Verge it hadn't selected which tablet — iPad or one of many Android or Windows variants — it would be using for the craft, but that it was open to proposals from companies. "What you're not going to find is 1,100 or 1,600 switches," said Chris Ferguson, Boeing's crew and missions operations director, himself a former astronaut, in a statement published by NASA. "We don't want to burden them with an inordinate amount of training to fly this vehicle. We want it to be intuitive," he added. It probably won't hurt astronauts moods, either, that the capsule is lit with "ambient sky-blue LED lighting."

A Boeing spokesperson told The Verge the CST-100 was on track to perform its first unmanned test flight in late 2016 or early 2017, and its first human-crewed flight also in 2017. However, it's important to note that Boeing is but one of three companies aiming to become the lead NASA contractor for ferrying astronauts and cargo to and from the space station. SpaceX is working to modify its proven spaceworthy Dragon cargo capsule for the same purpose, and another aerospace company, Sierra Nevada, is working on a Space Shuttle-like craft known as the Dream Chaser. All three have received multi-millions of dollars of funding through NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a competition designed to spur private companies into developing the next generation of spacecraft for US astronauts.

Unfortunately, that competition isn't getting much support from some key US lawmakers: last week, a committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a measure that would slash $321 million from NASA's commercial crew budget and $1 billion from the agency overall in 2014. It's not law yet, but at best, NASA and Boeing's new spaceflight ambitions are contending with forces beyond gravity.

Cargo Ship To Bring Sausages, Fruit And Other Delicacies To International Space Station

ITAR-TASS News Agency, July 24, 2013

The Progress M-20M cargo ship, due to fly to the International Space Station on July 28, will deliver food supplies to the ISS crew, from tea to smoked sausages and mayonnaise, but dumplings and fried potatoes will only appease the palate of those who are staying back on Earth, a nutrition expert said in comments on diet for astronauts.

"There is nothing here that comes by chance; the crew have specific rations," head of the nourishment department at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems /IMBP/, Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Agureyev told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

This month, extra packages of fresh fruit and vegetables will be brought to the ISS. "This time, they will include grapefruits, apples and onions. Also, the crew will enjoy garlic-spiced smoked sausages and Provanсal mayonnaise.

As a rule, in selecting foodstuffs, nutrition experts take into account the wishes of all crew members, but one can hardly tell what precisely this or that astronaut has requested. "We observe the confidentiality principle. There is, so to speak, the leader who speaks for the whole crew," the IMBP expert explained.

Of course, cosmonauts and astronauts will envoy a variety of sweets. "Chocolate is a standard item in the psychological support kit, in which relatives may add products of their own choice," Agureyev noted. Such parcels might include honey, dragee, other kinds of sweets, tea and, often mustard and horseradish source.

"The food packages take into account the astronaut's preferences which their families know well," he went on to say.

But fried or boiled food is out of the question. Many cosmonauts complain that they missed fried potatoes or dumplings in space. "There were attempts to deliver dumplings canned or in water-filled packages, Agureyev said but the taste of space dumplings differs greatly from what it is on Earth, and it is the Earth taste that the space crews are missing.

"With prescribed diet, there are always wishes, but these wishes can only be granted upon return to Earth" the IMBP expert said.

The Progress M-20M is due to blast off at 00:45, Moscow time, on July 28. It will dock with the ISS six hours after the launch at 06:26, Moscow time, on July 28.

The Russian cargo ship is bringing to the ISS a supply of fuel, oxygen, foodstuffs, research instruments and parcels for the crew. At present, pre-launch preparations of the cargo ship are underway at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Space Getting A Lot Cooler Thanks To Mass. Company

By Katie Lannan

Lowell (MA) Sun, July 24, 2013

Astronaut Rex Walheim has been to the International Space Station three times, spending a total of 36 days in space.

As NASA's astronaut representative to the Orion spacecraft program, he's now working on a project that will take others deeper into orbit.

"There's something in humans that they always want to know what's over the next hill, what's beyond," Walheim said. "It's a spirit of exploration that's built into us."

Set to launch in 2017, Orion will take astronauts farther out in space than ever before, setting the stage for human exploration of Mars and missions to asteroids.

Astronauts returning from those ventures will face temperatures of 5,000 degrees as they reenter the Earth's atmosphere. When they do, it's work done at Wilmington's Textron Defense Systems that will keep them safe.

"At that moment, you're glad that you've got great navigation, all of the other systems ... but I think you would agree that at that moment, what you're most interested in is who put that heat shield together," said Jeff Picard, Textron's senior vice president of program execution.

The spaceship's heat shield, the largest of its kind ever created, attaches to the Orion's crew module, protecting the capsule – and the people inside it – from extreme temperatures.

Assembled in the Colorado facility of aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin, the shield arrived in Wilmington in late March.

Since then, crews have been at work 24 hours a day, six days a week, applying Textron's ablative coating, a material that protects the structure from extreme temperatures by lifting hot gas away from the shield's outer wall to create a cooler boundary layer.

The coating, the same used on NASA's Apollo capsules, is injected with "glorified caulking guns" into honeycomb cells on the shield, said Mike Kieran, Textron's vice president of integrated supply chain. Continued...

At a presentation with representatives from NASA and Lockheed Martin last week, Textron officials said the coating application is now more than halfway done.

Kieran said there has been a buzz around Textron's Wilmington campus since the day the heat shield arrived, in a convoy from Hanscom Air Force Base. That day, he said, most employees were too excited to do much work.

"All day long, there's people coming by that just kind of poke their head in and see what's going on, just from a curiosity standpoint," Kieran said. "People are excited to be a part of this. I can't wait for the launch. It'll be another no-work-getting-done day."

The launch Kieran is waiting for is a test flight in September 2014 from Cape Canaveral, when an unmanned Orion craft will circle the planet twice in 90 minutes.

The heat shield will travel to Florida this fall, though, to be added onto the rest of the spacecraft, which is being assembled in other parts of the country.

"It's like a great big puzzle, putting this thing together in steps," said Jim Bray, Lockheed Martin's Orion crew and service-module director.

Bray said managing components built in different states is complex but necessary to ensure quality.

"You go where the skills are," he said. "Textron did similar work on Apollo. They've done this on other spacecraft, and you have to go where the talent is."

To the Wilmington officials who toured the Textron plant last week, having a NASA project in their town has been a point of pride and a cause for excitement.

"I just love knowing that it's here," Selectman Mike Champoux said. "I live a mile and a half down the road. I drive by this building all the time." Continued...

In addition to seeking out the most skilled crews, it's that spirit and connection that NASA hopes to foster by partnering with different companies nationwide, said Charlie Lundquist, the Orion crew and service-module manager at NASA.

"We've found a lot of communities aren't even aware they're working on the space program," Lundquist said. "They think, 'Oh, that's down in Florida,' or 'Oh, that's in Houston at mission control.' But it's in your backyard. It's down the street."

NASA Will Test Parachute For New Spaceship Wednesday: Watch It Live

By Clara Moskowitz

SPACE.com, July 24, 2013

NASA's next manned spaceship, the Orion capsule, will be dropped over Arizona Wednesday (July 24) for a parachute test that will be broadcast live in a Google+ Hangout. SPACE.com's Clara Moskowitz will be one of a few reporters participating as Hangout guests to ask questions during the event.

Orion is a gumdrop-shaped vehicle designed to take astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit to the moon, Mars and nearby asteroids. The spacecraft is expected to make its first test flight to space in 2014, with its initialcrewed flight coming in 2021.

The Google+ Hangout will feature NASA and Army team members speaking about the test, as well as live footage from the flight. You can watch live from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. EDT (1430 to 1530 GMT) here at SPACE.com, or on NASA's Google+ page of NASA TV.

Wednesday's test will see an Orion prototype dropped from a plane at an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,700 meters) over the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in southwestern Arizona. Engineers will simulate a series of failures and test the parachute system's ability to adapt and land the capsule safely. Orion has three main parachutes, and the NASA team plans to simulate the failure of one of the trio to see if the landing sequence can proceed safely with only two.

These parachutes will be necessary to slow the spacecraft's descent after its first trip to space, the 2014 test flight scheduled to send the capsule 3,600 miles (5,800 km) away from Earth —well beyond the orbit of the International Space Station.

During that maiden flight, the vehicle will be launched by a Delta IV rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On its eventual deep space missions, though, Orion will be lofted by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket currently in development. When it returns from those far-away destinations, Orion will plummet through Earth's atmosphere at speeds of up to 20,000 mph (32,000 kph). At such a pace, the parachutes will be essential in slowing the vehicle down for a safe landing.

NASA plans to use the Orion spacecraft for its mission to visit an asteroid in the mid 2020s. The agency plans to use a robotic vehicle to lasso a near-Earth asteroid and haul it into a stable orbit near the moon. Once there, astronauts will fly on Orion to visit the captured asteroid and return samples to the ground.

Viewers of the Google+ Hangout can ask questions viaNASA's Facebook, Google+ or Twitter accounts using the hashtag #askOrion. If you have questions for Clara to ask during the event, please share them in the comments below.

Meteorite Art Might Be Sent Back To Space

By Miriam Kramer

SPACE.com, July 23, 2013

Katie Paterson has been using a large iron meteorite from Argentina in one of her installations titled "Campo del Cielo, Field of the Sky." But in 2014, she'll be ready to send a small piece of it back into outer space aboard an unmanned European Space Agency (ESA) cargo-carrying spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.

"By sending it back to space, I hope to fire the imaginations of students, youth — anyone, really — and foster a discussion on our relation with the wider universe," Paterson said in a statement.

The space rock used by Paterson in her installation was re-forged into a version of itself. Paterson crafted a mold of the meteorite and melted it down. She then poured the molten rock into the mold and allowed it to cool and harden back into its original shape.

"The iron, metal and dust inside have been reformed, and the layers of its cosmic life span — the intermixing of space and time, the billions of years of pressure and change — have become collapsed, transformed and then, by the hand of human technology, renewed," Paterson said.

You can watch a video detailing the making of the meteorite art piece on SPACE.com.

The meteorite itself comes from a group of iron space rocks known as the Campo del Cielo meteorites found in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The site is home to at least 26 craters estimated to be about 4,000 to 5,000 years old, ESA officials said.

ESA officials will assess if the small piece of the meteorite qualifies for flight, and if it passes those tests, it will be sent into space aboard the European cargo vessel in 2014.

"I hope this helps inspire people everywhere to think about the really big questions: the origin of life, the natural history of our solar system and home planet, and our relationship with time, both geological and cosmic," Detlef Koschny, who is responsible for near-Earth object activities at ESA's Space Situational Awareness office, said in a statement. "These are important questions, and space exploration, together with art, are helping us answer them."

Paterson will speak at the Turner Contemporary gallery in the U.K. on July 30.

 

 

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