Friday, July 26, 2013

Fwd: NASA News- my version and JSC Today - Friday, July 26, 2013



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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: July 26, 2013 6:38:04 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW:NASA News- my version and  JSC Today - Friday, July 26, 2013

 

Happy Friday everyone and have a safe weekend.   Hope you endured this week of 2 versions of NASA news, Kyle should be back from the west coast by this weekend and we can get back to only his version.

 

Mark your calendar to join us next Thursday for our monthly NASA Retirees Luncheon at Hibachi Grill at 11:30.   Yes, it seems only yesterday since we enjoyed fellowship together at last months Retiree Luncheon to share our fun retirement stories or discuss the state of the Manned Space Program or to discuss the topic of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Headlines

  1. Morpheus Test Today

The Morpheus team plans a tether test of its "Bravo" prototype lander today. The test will include the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) recently integrated onto Morpheus. The test will be streamed live on JSC's UStream channel. View the live stream, along with progress updates sent via Twitter.

Morpheus is a vertical test bed vehicle being used to mature new, non-toxic propulsion systems and autonomous landing and hazard detection technologies. Designed, manufactured and operated in-house by engineers at JSC, Morpheus represents not only a vehicle to advance technologies, but also an opportunity to pursue "lean development" engineering practices.

The test firing is planned for approximately 1 to 2 p.m.

Streaming will begin approximately 45 minutes prior.

*Note: Testing operations are very dynamic, and the actual firing time may vary. Follow Morpheus on Twitter for the latest information: @MorpheusLander

For more information, click here.

Wendy Watkins http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov

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  1. Sci-Fi Meets Spaceflight - See Pics

In an interesting turn of events, almost like the twist in a plot of a good book, JSC inspired some of the nation's bestselling science fiction writers during a visit to the center on June 28. See pics from the panel discussion and behind-the-scenes tour here.

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

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   Organizations/Social

  1. CoLab - Low-Cost Computing

Are you currently working on or interested in starting a project involving Arduino, Raspberry Pi or other low-cost, small-scale computing hardware?

If so, you are invited to the third meeting of the Low-Cost Computing (LCC) CoLab. CoLabs provide a casual forum to share lessons learned and generate innovative new ideas and uses of technologies. Come make cross-directorate contacts and learn more about what others are doing with these exciting technologies.

The LCC CoLab will be held Wednesday, July 31, from noon to 1 p.m. in Building 29, Room 233. Feel free to bring your lunch and your co-workers.

Event Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2013   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Bldg 29/Rm 233

Add to Calendar

Elena C. Buhay 281-792-7976

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  1. Starport Summer Camp - Still Taking Registrations

Only three weeks left of Summer Camp. Don't miss out on all the fun! There are a few spots left in sessions eight to 10, so register your child before it's too late. Next week's theme is Fun and Fitness, and there are a few spots left. 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: Now through Aug. 16 in one-week sessions

Fee per session: $140 per child for dependents | $160 per child for non-dependents

NEW for this summer -- ask about our sibling discounts.

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

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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 Told To Slow Pad Leasing At KSC

By James Dean

Florida Today, July 26, 2013

Two congressmen have written NASA this week expressing "strong concerns" that the space agency might award use of a Kennedy Space Center launch pad to one company, widely understood to be SpaceX.

U.S. Reps. Frank Wolf and Robert Aderholt, both members of a House subcommittee that approves NASA budgets, said Launch Complex 39A is a "unique, taxpayer-funded asset" that should be available to multiple rocket launchers.

"It is surprising that NASA appears to be racing to lease LC-39A with little transparency and absent Congressional consent," they wrote to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

NASA doesn't need the mothballed former Apollo and shuttle pad, one of two at KSC, and is offering it to companies willing to take on the operations and maintenance costs by Oct. 1.

Two companies, SpaceX and Blue Origin, are known to have submitted proposals.

SpaceX wants exclusive use of the pad to accommodate a steady pace of launches, starting in 2015, of commercial and government satellites and potentially NASA astronauts.

The company says that arrangement will ensure the dormant facility is put to use and help the nation and Florida develop their role in commercial launches that have almost entirely moved overseas.

"SpaceX has a significant book of commercial business which requires the consistent and full use of a launch pad like LC 39A,'' said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President & COO. "If we are selected to operate LC 39A, the country as well as Florida will yield the benefits of a launch services operator who can drive expansion with a proven business model and a backlog of launches that demonstrate our ability to bring commercial and international launch business back to U.S soil.''

Shotwell added that use of Launch Complex 39A would be integral to launching crewed spacecraft to the International Space Station, should SpaceX be chosen to do so.

Blue Origin won't be ready to launch before 2018, but proposes to operate and modify pad 39A and make it available to any other interested users by 2015.

Wolf and Aderholt accuse NASA of "questionable actions" concerning the proposed lease.

Without identifying specific companies, they suggest NASA was near a lease of up to 20 years with one company until others objected, forcing the agency to release an open request for proposals in May.

Despite that public solicitation, "it is clear many of the factors surrounding the decision to lease LC-39A remain ambiguous and merit much closer examination," the lawmakers said.

Parts of Aderholt's Alabama district are near the plant where United Launch Alliance builds Atlas and Delta rockets. Those rockets face competition from SpaceX in the coming years for launches of national security and science satellites.

The two companies also are competing to launch NASA crews to the International Space Station.

ULA has voiced support for Blue Origin's multi-user concept, suggesting pad 39A could serve as a backup to the two pads it controls at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

However, ULA did not submit its own bid to use 39A, nor did two other experienced U.S. launch providers, ATK and Orbital Sciences Corp.

Nowhere else do companies share a launch pad.

That reality reflects the small number of launch providers, the specialized infrastructure required to support different rockets and companies' reluctance to rely on competitors for access to a pad.

Still, Aderholt and Wolf, of Virginia, believe such an arrangement would best serve taxpayers' investment of hundreds of millions of dollars into the launch complex.

They questioned why NASA might lease 39A exclusively while it markets Kennedy's other pad, 39B, as available for both the agency's own planned exploration rocket and commercial use.

"This logic is inconsistent and another example of NASA's failure to rationalize its strategic use of its facilities," they said.

The pair requested NASA take no action before providing more detail about the process, including how much it really costs to maintain 39A.

NASA has declined to discuss the proposals.

Editorial: Instead Of Aiming For The Stars, Vote Puts NASA In Gutter

Springfield (MA) Republican, July 25, 2013

No more shooting for the stars at NASA .

The space program needs a roadmap.

When a House committee voted last week to slash a billion dollars from NASA's proposed budget, effectively killing plans for a manned mission to an asteroid, it was possible to see the vote as merely political. The asteroid plan is part of President Barack Obama's vision, and as things stand these days, if Obama even offhandedly spoke well of the sun, someone in the House GOP would propose a resolution praising the clouds.

But that is not the whole story.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also deserves its share of the blame.

NASA has long been an agency badly adrift. After some initial enthusiasm, the space shuttle failed to grab the public's interest. It made the news only when there was a disaster. And the international space station hasn't been exactly on the top of most people's list of scintillating conversation-starters.

NASA has got to define what it wants to do. Clearly. Spell out a mission. Explain it. And get the citizens excited about it.

If it cannot do this, it will never get anything off the ground.

With one house of Congress currently predisposed to oppose just about anything that the president backs, the space agency can't count on smooth sailing when it comes up with a new plan.

The asteroid mission isn't at all uninteresting. Broken down to basics, it would involve lassoing an asteroid and then having a manned mission pay it a visit out in space.

You can't write that off as run-of-the-mill, as uninspired, as nothing that could be of interest to anyone.

But few people have even heard of it, making it easy for conservatives in the House to shoot it down when it's still on the drawing board.

 

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

Mainer In Space Discusses Dramatic Rescue, Missing Home

By Gillian Graham

Portland (ME) Press Herald, July 26, 2013

When his colleague's helmet began to fill with water during a recent spacewalk, astronaut Chris Cassidy knew he had to react quickly.

About an hour into a planned 6½-hour foray into space on July 16, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano realized there was water creeping in around his neck, which could have gotten into his mouth or eyes, Cassidy said Thursday morning from aboard the International Space Station.

NASA quickly aborted the spacewalk, and with Cassidy's help, Parmitano made it back into the space station and was reported to be fine after the dangerous episode.

Cassidy, who grew up in York and still has family in Maine, and fellow astronaut Karen Nyberg spoke to the Portland Press Herald via video conference Thursday as the space station passed over Texas.

They talked about life in space, staying in touch with their families, scientific experiments, and less weighty things such as washing hair in zero gravity and missing the smell of freshly cut grass.

Cassidy also spoke about the dramatic spacewalk that made international news this month.

He held his colleague's helmet Thursday to demonstrate where the water collected around Parmitano's head, threatening his hearing and his sight – necessities when you're walking in space.

"Through a series of tests, we realized it wasn't sweat or any other bodily fluid," Cassidy said.

It was quickly clear that the helmet needed to be removed before the liquid suffocated Parmitano, although NASA officials said later he was not in immediate danger.

Cassidy said Thursday that it was fortunate they were near the airlock that allows them back into the space station when the malfunction happened, although they did have to separate for a short time because their safety tethers were connected at different points on the station.

 

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