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

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: September 10, 2013 7:07:00 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - September 10, 2013 and JSC Today

Wow  what a comeback WIN by the Texans!

 

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

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JSC TODAY CATEGORIES Headlines -  Have You Seen the Latest JSC Director E-News? -  Don't Miss the Tech & Tell Poster Session Sept. 12 -  All Hands Meeting Replays -  Today: Bring Your Own Device Q&A Final Session -  Recent JSC Announcement Organizations/Social -  Out & Allied @ JSC ERG Monthly Meeting -  Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting Today -  Last Week to Order NASA 55th Anniversary T-Shirts -  Environmental Brown Bag: Food Co-ops and Local Eco -  JSC Lunarfins Scuba Club Meeting -  Starport Boot Camp - Discount Ends Tomorrow -  Discount Astros Tickets From Starport -  League Sports: Starport's Fall 2013 Season Jobs and Training -  Sustainable Acquisition Training for Purchasers -  Do You Speak to the Public About Space Station? -  RLLS Portal WebEx Training for September

IRIS Preps for Launch

 

Headlines Have You Seen the Latest JSC Director E-News? The latest edition of JSC Director Ellen Ochoa's E-News has been released and is available to read here. It is an informative and entertaining newsletter that includes timely news around JSC. The newest edition covers the NASA 905 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft future plans, the recent ISS activities including spacewalks and social media efforts, the unveiling of the Boeing CST-100 spacecraft test vehicle, and more. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter and to share with your friends, family, Facebook and Twitter! JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111 [top] Don't Miss the Tech & Tell Poster Session Sept. 12 Following the successful first "Tech & Tell" event last year, the 2013 Independent Research and Development (IR&D) "Tech & Tell" poster session is being held this Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Building 3 Collaboration Center from 10 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. During the come-and-go event, you can meet some of JSC and White Sands Test Facility's most innovative thinkers. Principal investigators will share overviews of their projects and how they meet NASA and JSC needs. The JSC Chief Technologist's Office and the JSC Technology Working Group are sponsoring the event to feature center- and directorate-level IR&D projects and Innovation Charge Account projects from both JSC and the White Sands Test Facility. Come support your colleagues. Also, cast a vote to select an outstanding project to receive "The People's Choice Award" for innovation and creativity in the spirit of JSC 2.0. Don't miss out! It's THIS THURSDAY, SEPT. 12, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Building 3. Event Date: Thursday, September 12, 2013   Event Start Time:10:00 AM   Event End Time:1:30 PM Event Location: Building 3 Collaboration Center Add to Calendar Holly Kurth x32951 [top] All Hands Meeting Replays If you missed the All Hands with JSC Director Ellen Ochoa on Sept. 5, you can view the replays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. both today, Sept. 10, and Thursday, Sept. 12.  JSC, Ellington Field, Sonny Carter Training Facility and White Sands Test Facility team members can watch the replays on RF Channel 2 or Omni 45. Those with wired computer network connections can view the All Hands using the JSC EZTV IP Network TV System on channel 402. Please note: EZTV currently requires using Internet Explorer on a Windows PC connected to the JSC computer network with a wired connection. Mobile devices, Wi-Fi connections and newer MAC computers are currently not supported by EZTV.    If you are having problems viewing the video using these systems, contact the Information Resources Directorate Customer Support Center at x46367. JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111 [top] Today: Bring Your Own Device Q&A Final Session Today, Sept. 10, users who Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to connect to NASA Operational Messaging and Directory (NOMAD) are invited to bring questions to this second and final Q&A session. JSC's Information Resources Directorate (IRD) has partnered with the JSC Legal Office, Human Resources Office and the External Relations Office to provide a panel of experts to answer questions on BYOD from JSC and White Sands Test Facility mobile device users. BYOD Q&A session 2: Date: Today, Sept. 10 Time: Noon to 1 p.m. CDT Location: Building 1, Room 360 WebEx information: https://nasa.webex.com Meeting Number: 996 803 038 Meeting Password: byod2_2013! For audio, dial 866-836-6451, pass code: 5928691 For more information, on "Minimum Security Requirements for Use of Personally Owned Mobile Devices," read the original memo. Several questions and answers are posted in FAQs regarding Mobile Computing Devices. JSC-IRD-Outreach http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/Home.aspx [top] Recent JSC Announcement Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement: JSCA 13-034: Communications with Industry Procurement Solicitation for JSC Environmental Services (JES) Follow-on Contract Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page. Linda Turnbough x36246 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/DocumentManagement/announcements/default.aspx [top]    Organizations/Social Out & Allied @ JSC ERG Monthly Meeting All JSC team members (government, contractor, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender [LGBT] and non-LGBT allies) are invited to the Out & Allied @ JSC Employee Resource Group (ERG) monthly meeting tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. in Building 4S, Room 1200. The Out & Allied @ JSC team consists of LGBT employees and their allies (supporters). This month, we are conducting officer nominations in preparation for next month's elections, and are also having a working meeting to discuss updates to our charter. Please join us, meet others and network! For more information about our group, including how to become involved, contact any listed Out & Allied member on our SharePoint site. Event Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2013   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM Event Location: Bldg 4S, Room 1200 Add to Calendar Steve Riley x37019 https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/LGBTA/SitePages/Home.aspx [top] Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting Today "Progress, not perfection" is a great reminder as the school year starts up to be flexible in our expectations of progress while maintaining achievable standards. Our 12-step meeting is for co-workers, families and friends of those who work or live with the family disease of alcoholism. We meet today, Sept. 10, in Building 32, Room 146, from 11 to 11:45 a.m. Visitors are welcome. Event Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:11:45 AM Event Location: B 32, Rm 146 Add to Calendar Employee Assistance Program x36130 http://sashare.jsc.nasa.gov/EAP/Pages/default.aspx [top] Last Week to Order NASA 55th Anniversary T-Shirts Starport is excited to offer the latest agency T-shirt in celebration of NASA's 55th anniversary on Oct. 1. This is a special online purchase opportunity, with sizes ranging from youth medium to adult XL just $7, or $8 for sizes 2X to 4X. Pick up your shirts at Starport with the TX-JSC option, or have them shipped to your home address for an additional fee. The last day to order online at these prices is Sept. 15. Order online today! Cyndi Kibby x47467 [top] Environmental Brown Bag: Food Co-ops and Local Eco Buying and eating locally grown foods makes a huge difference in your community, as well as your health and planet. Lisa Piper, owner and founder of the Natural Living Food co-op in League City, will be discussing the impact of food travel, as well as the importance of supporting local small businesses. She will explain how Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) and food co-ops work in general and explain how the Natural Living Food co-op works here in League City. As always, we invite you to bring your lunch and your questions to the session, which will be held today, Sept. 10, from noon to 1 p.m. in Building 45, Room 754. Bonus points and bragging rights if your lunch contains local food! Event Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM Event Location: B45 room 751 Add to Calendar Michelle Fraser-Page x34237 [top] JSC Lunarfins Scuba Club Meeting The Lunarfins is a non-profit club that promotes the sport of scuba diving. This month, the Lunarfins will host Greg Sims from the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL). Sims will provide video and discuss the unique diving work done at the NBL. If you've ever wondered what the NBL is doing now that the shuttle mock-up is out of the pool, join the Lunarfins Wednesday night to find out. The Lunarfins meet the second Wednesday of each month (except in December) at 7 p.m. at Clear Lake Park (5001 NASA Parkway, on the south [lake] side of NASA Parkway). Come early for a social time at 6:30 p.m. Join us afterward at Mario's in Seabrook for food, drink and camaraderie. Event Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2013   Event Start Time:7:00 PM   Event End Time:8:30 PM Event Location: Clear Lake Park Add to Calendar Barbara Corbin x36215 http://www.lunarfins.com [top] Starport Boot Camp - Discount Ends Tomorrow Starport's phenomenal boot camp is back, and registration is open and filling fast. Don't miss a chance to be part of Starport's incredibly popular program. The class will fill up, so register now! Early registration (ends tomorrow, Sept. 11) $90 per person (just $5 per class) Regular registration (Sept. 12 to 20): $110 per person The workout begins on Monday, Sept. 23. Are you ready for 18 hours of intense workouts with an amazing personal trainer to get you to your fitness goal? Don't wait! Sign up today and take advantage of this extreme discount before it's too late. Register now at the Gilruth Center information desk, or call 281-483-0304 for more information. Shericka Phillips x30304 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/recreation-programs/boot-camp [top] Discount Astros Tickets From Starport Last chance to get discount Astros tickets through Starport! Sept. 15 is NASA Night at Minute Maid Park. Come watch the Astros take on the LA Angels with discounted tickets. Plus, kids will be allowed to run the bases following the game! Click here for ticket options and pricing. Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top] League Sports: Starport's Fall 2013 Season Registration is opening for Starport's popular league sports! Registration NOW OPEN: Dodgeball (Co-ed) | Thursdays | Registration ends Sept. 30 | League starts Oct. 3 Softball (Men's DD) | Tuesday and Wednesday | Registration ends Sept. 18 | Leagues start Sept. 24 and 25 Softball (Co-ed) | Thursdays | Registration ends Oct. 10 | League starts Oct. 17 Volleyball (Rev 4s and Co-ed) | Mondays and Tuesdays | Registration ends Oct. 2 | Leagues start Oct. 7 Free-agent registration is now open for all leagues. COMING SOON: 3-on-3 Basketball, Ultimate Frisbee and Kickball All participants must register at IMLeagues. For more information, please contact the Gilruth information desk at 281-483-0304. Robert Vaughn x30304 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/league-sports [top]    Jobs and Training Sustainable Acquisition Training for Purchasers Is part of your job responsibility to purchase materials or services? This class may be for you! The JSC Environmental Office is offering sustainable acquisitions training that will cover the federal requirements for purchasing environmentally friendly products, and the reporting requirements associated with federal purchases. Requirements do apply to contractors. The course will be in Building 45, Room 751, on Sept. 24 from 1 to 2 p.m. Check out the Environmental Office training website for course information and to register. Event Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2013   Event Start Time:1:00 PM   Event End Time:2:00 PM Event Location: B45, Room 751 Add to Calendar JSC Environmental Office x36207 https://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/apps/restricted/env_training/index.cfm [top] Do You Speak to the Public About Space Station? Build your communications repertoire to include specific space station research benefits by attending the International Space Station (ISS) Ambassadors workshop! Whether it is helping staff a booth at a NASA open house or talking to university alumni, participants will leave the workshop with more confidence in talking about the impact that ISS has in enabling exploration and improving our life here on Earth. Prerequisite: International Space Station Research 101 online SATERN course (JSC-AC-ISSR-101) Then register for SATERN course JSC-CM-ISSA from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sept. 11. Event Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:11:00 AM Event Location: B12 rooms 152 and 154 Add to Calendar Liz Warren x35548 [top] RLLS Portal WebEx Training for September The September weekly RLLS Portal Education series: Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. CDT, Meeting Support Training Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. CDT, Physical Logical Access Training Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. CDT, Translation Support Training The 30-minute training sessions are computer-based WebEx sessions, offering individuals the convenience to join from their own workstation. The training will cover the following: System login Locating support modules Locating downloadable instructions Creating support requests Submittal requirements Submitting on behalf of another Adding attachments Selecting special requirements Submitting a request Status of a request Ending each session, there will be opportunities for Q&A. Please remember that TTI will no longer accept request for U.S.-performed services unless they are submitted through the RLLS Portal. Email or call 281-335-8565 to sign up. James Welty 281-335-8565 https://www.tti-portal.com [top]

 

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 TV:

·         3 pm Central (4 EDT) – E36 Farewells & Hatch Closure Coverage (closes ~3:20 CDT)

·         6:15 pm Central (7:15 EDT) –Soyuz TMA-08M Undocking Coverage (undocks at 6:35 CDT)

·         8:45 pm Central (9:45 EDT) – Soyuz Deorbit Burn & Landing Coverage

·         9:05 pm Central (10:05 EDT) – Deorbit Burn (4 min, 46 sec duration / dv 286 mph)

·         9:58 pm Central (10:58 EDT) – LANDING (Southern Zone SE of Dzhezkazgan)

Ø  Pavel Vinogradov

Ø  Alexander Misurkin

Ø  Chris Cassidy

Ø  Completes 166 days in space, 2,656 orbits & 70,432,460 statute miles

 

Human Spaceflight News

Tuesday – September 10, 2013

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

Outgoing NASA Deputy Reflects on High-profile, Big-money Programs

 

Brian Berger - Space News

 

When NASA's then-brand new administrator, Charles Bolden, and his deputy, Lori Garver, addressed the agency's rank and file for the first time since their July 17, 2009, swearing in, it was clear that big changes were afoot. The space shuttle, after nearly three decades of service and two fatal accidents, was on its way out. Meanwhile, a blue-ribbon panel appointed by newly elected President Barack Obama was taking a hard look at plans drafted by his predecessor — and approved by Congress — to replace the shuttle with vehicles that would return U.S. astronauts to the Moon. What nobody, including Garver, knew at the time was that she would quickly become the face of the resulting changes, unveiled the following winter, and as such a lightning rod for those who opposed them.

 

Goings and Comings on ISS

 

Merryl Azriel - Space Safety Magazine

 

It is busy season on the International Space Station (ISS), with a host of departures and arrivals of crew and craft scheduled over the next few weeks. The hubbub started last week with the departure of the Japanese cargo vessel HTV-4 on September 4. It burned up in the atmosphere a few days later over the Pacific Ocean, carrying the station's waste with it. On September 9, half of the ISS crew began preparations to leave with the traditional change of command ceremony. Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov passed the baton to Fyodor Yurchikhin, who will command Expedition 37.

 

Another space station crew says goodbye, begins preparations for return

 

Tamarra Kemsley - Nature World News

 

Another International Space Station crew is saying goodbye: Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov formally handed over control of the International Space Station on Monday in the traditional Change of Command Ceremony. Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin, a member of Expedition 37, will not officially take command until the group undocks Tuesday evening, however. Meanwhile, Expedition 36 members are engaged in last-minute preparations prior to their departure.

 

NASA Aims Again for Manned Missions

 

Lucy Noland - KNBC TV (Los Angeles)

 

NASA's dreaming big dreams again, aiming for a manned asteroid mission in the not-so-distant future. That means big money for California and a boost - of solid rocket booster proportions - to the state's once-robust aerospace industry. After a couple of touch-and-go years with the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and cancellation of the Constellation Program, NASA is back in the game. Its new manned capsule and launch system will have us break free of low Earth orbit and rendezvous with asteroids, even the moons of Mars and the Red Planet itself. NASA invests almost $3.5 billion a year in California. From heat shields to thundering rockets and parachutes that bring home astronauts safely, it all adds up to critical jobs.

 

Astronaut Chris Cassidy introduces SportsCenter's 'Top 10 Plays' from 240 miles above Earth

 

Allan Kreda - ESPN

 

Reaching new frontiers has always been the mindset at ESPN. Hence, the network is working with NASA to supply an automated feed of content to astronauts living and working at the International Space Station. That effort reached a new level this week when astronaut and former U.S. Navy Seal Chris Cassidy read an introduction of SportsCenter's "Top 10 Plays" from space. "ESPN's mission is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere,'' said Todd Myers, director Programming & Acquisitions. "Now we have the opportunity to serve sports fans in space – the final frontier if you will. It's really out of this world that we're able to do this." Through an agreement earlier this year, NASA delivers recorded SportsCenter shows to the Space Station.

 

Space Coast: High Tech Hotbed

Melbourne, Titusville, Daytona Beach, Palm Coast

 

Amy Keller - Florida Trend

 

…Two years after NASA shuttered the space shuttle program, unmanned rocket launches continue at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, regularly launches communications, navigation, missile warning and reconnaissance satellites into orbit for the U.S. military from the Cape and employs more than 600 at Cape Canaveral. ULA also launches many missions for NASA. SpaceX, a private spaceflight firm, also launches its Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape and has been working with the military to certify the rocket for military launches. The California company already has a $1.6-billion contract with NASA to ferry supplies to the International Space Station. Beyond the launch manifest, the region's existing infrastructure is also attracting firms hoping to develop the space tourism industry. Rocket Crafters, a 3-year-old Utah-based company that develops innovative rocket propulsion systems it hopes to one day use in suborbital jet airplanes, is moving its operations to Titusville. The relocation will create an estimated 1,400 jobs. XCOR Aerospace, a California-based space tourism company, projects beginning test flights of its suborbital space vehicle out of Mojave, California, later this year or early next, and could begin taking ticketed passengers on suborbital commercial flights "at or near" Kennedy Space Center as early as 2015. The company has been working to establish a base of operations at the Shuttle Landing Facility as well as the manufacturing and assembly facility for its reusable vehicle, the Lynx Mark II. Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Space Systems, a Colorado-based company that is developing an orbital crew vehicle called the Dream Chaser, is also looking at Florida as a possible location for its commercial human spaceflight programs and facilities. Boeing will manufacture and test its Crew Space transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft, a space capsule designed to deliver astronauts into orbit, at Kennedy Space Center. Initial test flights of the next-generation spaceship from Cape Canaveral could begin as early as 2015.

 

Pentagon, NASA to spend $44B on space launches through 2018: GAO

 

Andrea Shalal-Esa - Reuters

 

The U.S. Defense Department and NASA expect to spend about $44 billion to launch government satellites and other spacecraft over the next five years, including $28 billion in procurement funding, the Government Accountability Office said Monday. The GAO, a congressional watchdog agency, said it was difficult to determine exact funding plans because both agencies used different accounting methods, but it arrived at the combined total by analyzing Pentagon and NASA budget documents, and looking at funding from other government agencies.

 

Meet Some of the People Seeking a One-way Ticket to Mars

 

Tanya Lewis - Space News

 

Tens of thousands of people are prepared to leave their families, jobs and lives behind for a one-way trip to Mars. Mars One, a private spaceflight mission led by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp, aims to land the first colonists on Mars by 2023. Applicants over the age of 18 from any country are eligible, and Mars One has received more than 165,000 applications so far. But what sort of person would want to go? A few dozen of the aspiring martians convened in Washington in August for what was billed as the "Million Martian Meeting." A panel of four applicants answered questions about their reasons for wanting to go to Mars without a return ticket.

 

Space shuttle time capsule dedicated at KSC

 

James Dean - Florida Today

 

Beneath the retired shuttle Atlantis this morning, children crowded around a plaque dedicating a time capsule packed with shuttle program mementos. They might help open it in 2061, on the 50th anniversary of the program's 135th and final flight. "As important as our past was, our future is what it's all about," said KSC Director Bob Cabana during a ceremony at the KSC Visitor Complex's Atlantis exhibit. "Just imagine where we're going to be 50 years from now?" The time capsule itself was hidden behind the wall holding the commemorative plaque. Its contents were selected by NASA and contractor shuttle program employees to celebrate the final mission and three decades of shuttle flight. (NO FURTHER TEXT)

 

Washington must rescue sinking space program

 

Orlando Sentinel (Editorial)

 

These are humiliating days for America's once-proud manned space program. NASA's next rocket — its first new manned vehicle in more than 30 years — isn't scheduled for its first test launch until 2017, but now a top agency official says it may miss that deadline by another year or two. And its development costs threaten to starve other space programs. Meanwhile, NASA is at loggerheads with Congress over the agency's next manned mission. NASA wants to use its new rocket to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2021. House Republicans want astronauts to go back to the moon — a far more expensive mission, the agency says — but also propose to slash NASA's 2014 budget to pre-2008 levels. NASA and its overseers on Capitol Hill are like passengers in a leaky boat, bickering instead of bailing as the boat sinks.

 

Government Must Understand the Travel Effect

 

Elliot Pulham - Space News (Opinion)

 

(Pulham is chief executive of the Space Foundation)

 

The U.S. Travel Association recently released its report on the unintended consequences of the U.S. government's off-target, ham-fisted crackdown on government employee travel — revealing that our political leaders have placed in jeopardy some 340,000 American jobs and $24.4 billion in economic activity, without actually saving any taxpayer dollars. In fact, the current anti-travel fad is forcing the country to pay more to get its business done — especially in science and technology enterprises like space, aerospace and homeland security — while also choking off $5.5 billion in needed tax revenue.

 

Our Debt to Society

 

Adam Davidson - New York Times (Opinion)

 

(Davidson is co-founder of National Public Radio's "Planet Money," a podcast and blog)

 

The Daily Treasury Statement, a public accounting of what the U.S. government spends and receives each day, shows how money really works in Washington. On Aug. 27, the government took in $29 million in repaid agricultural loans; $75 million in customs and duties; $38 million in the repayment of TARP loans; some $310 million in taxes; and so forth. That same day, the government also had bills to pay: $247 million in veterans-affairs programs; $2.5 billion to Medicare and Medicaid; $1.5 billion each to the departments of Education and Defense. By the close of that Tuesday, when all the spending and the taxing had been completed, the government paid out nearly $6 billion more than it took in. This is the definition of a deficit, and it illustrates why the government needs to borrow money almost every day to pay its bills. Of course, all that daily borrowing adds up, and we are rapidly approaching what is called the X-Date — the day, somewhere in the next six weeks, when the government, by law, cannot borrow another penny. If the debt ceiling isn't lifted again this fall, some serious financial decisions will have to be made. Perhaps the government can skimp on its foreign aid or furlough all of NASA, but eventually the big-ticket items, like Social Security and Medicare, will have to be cut. At some point, the government won't be able to pay interest on its bonds and will enter what's known as sovereign default, the ultimate national financial disaster achieved by countries like Zimbabwe, Ecuador and Argentina (and now Greece).

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

Outgoing NASA Deputy Reflects on High-profile, Big-money Programs

 

Brian Berger - Space News

 

When NASA's then-brand new administrator, Charles Bolden, and his deputy, Lori Garver, addressed the agency's rank and file for the first time since their July 17, 2009, swearing in, it was clear that big changes were afoot.

 

The space shuttle, after nearly three decades of service and two fatal accidents, was on its way out. Meanwhile, a blue-ribbon panel appointed by newly elected President Barack Obama was taking a hard look at plans drafted by his predecessor — and approved by Congress — to replace the shuttle with vehicles that would return U.S. astronauts to the Moon.

 

What nobody, including Garver, knew at the time was that she would quickly become the face of the resulting changes, unveiled the following winter, and as such a lightning rod for those who opposed them.

 

In that debut address, Bolden offered reassurance that the review of the Moon-bound Constellation program was "not something to fear."

 

But many NASA employees were indeed fearful, and some actively rebelled. When the Obama administration rolled out its proposal to scrap the "unsustainable" program and invest a chunk of the savings in a commercial crew initiative and a raft of "game-changing" exploration technologies, many NASA constituencies were already hard at work trying to save some of its key elements.

 

By the time Obama visited Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in April 2010 to challenge NASA to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, Constellation's Orion crew capsule was back in the picture. By year's end, Congress, against the administration's wishes, directed NASA to build the mammoth Space Launch System (SLS), a shuttle-derived rocket bearing close resemblance to Constellation's Ares 5 heavy lifter.

 

"Canceling tens of billion, much less $100 billion programs, is nearly impossible in government," Garver told SpaceNews during her final week in the job. The 52-year-old space policy wonk begins a new career Sept. 9 as general manager of the Air Line Pilots Association.

 

"The relentless momentum of the status quo is very large," Garver said Sept. 4. "And that is not unrelated to my view that we should utilize nongovernment resources, investments and partners whenever possible. Because those are the programs that are affordable and competitive."

 

The job of defending the administration's NASA plans was a natural fit for Garver, who as the Obama campaign's lead space adviser and later as head of the president-elect's NASA transition team had a major role in shaping them. But she did not expect to take such a prominent, public role once she and Bolden were sworn in.

 

"One of the challenging things for me was being put in the position early of having to be the spokesperson for a lot this," she said. "It was not something that, coming from the deputy administrator, was going to be as well received as if the administrator had been delivering the message."

 

Bolden, a retired Marine Corps major general and former shuttle commander loyal to his troops and trusted by lawmakers, had quickly lost the White House's confidence in his ability to explain and defend administration policy. During his first week on the job, NASA abruptly canceled a long list of scheduled media interviews with Bolden after the White House took issue with his performance during a televised all-hands meeting. Among the causes for concern, current and former administration officials have told SpaceNews, was Bolden's off-script comments about the Moon and Mars and the role NASA would play in a National Security Council-led space policy review then getting underway. "When the budget came out, they were not comfortable he could defend it," one official said.

 

Subsequent NASA press briefings often were held via teleconference with Bolden reading an opening statement before turning it over to Garver or another official to field questions.

 

It is Garver who will forever be known as the champion of NASA's Commercial Crew initiative, which aims to outsource crew transportation to and from the international space station.

 

The program has proven resilient despite plenty of opposition, but continued budget uncertainty threatens NASA's plans to keep at least two U.S. companies in the running to fly astronauts to the space station by 2017.

 

Garver does not see the budget pressure letting up any time soon.

 

"If we see the likely scenario of flat or declining budgets, my projection would be that there are slips to the major programs," she said. This includes Commercial Crew and the Asteroid Retrieval Mission the Obama administration rolled out this spring amid considerable skepticism, she said.

 

Orion and SLS are likewise likely to slip, with or without outside budget pressure, Garver said.

 

"The nature of these large government-led spaceflight programs has been cost growth and schedule slips," she said. "Space station was an $8 billion program and it ended up being a $100 billion program. And we consider it a huge success.

 

"The reason [the Obama administration] did not propose programs like this is because we believe to get out of that paradigm we needed to invest in technology, to do these technology demonstration missions that we proposed," Garver continued. "But that is not what Congress said [to do]. So now we have a program that's not as dissimilar to Constellation as the president proposed."

 

If NASA occasionally struggled to articulate a compelling rationale for returning to the Moon a generation after sending astronauts there for the first time, it has had a much tougher time convincing Congress, if not the general public, that a tiny asteroid hauled into lunar orbit by an unmanned tug is a worthwhile destination for Orion and its crew.

 

Even on her way out the door — her last day was Sept. 6 — Garver defended the mission, which NASA thinks it can accomplish for less than $2.5 billion since it is already building Orion and SLS.

 

"Being able to fulfill so much of what was laid out in the president's asteroid goal as well as utilize the systems put in the budget after the president announced the goal was, I think, just a really great strategy that makes a lot of sense," Garver said. "I am surprised and disappointed that not everyone has seen that. But if you haven't noticed not everyone really agrees on anything in the space program. But we do have some really key supporters and I can tell you that within NASA this thing has energized the team like nothing I've seen since I've been here.

 

"I got a sense of what it must have felt like to be here back in Apollo," she said.

 

Garver bristled a little when asked if affordability is the best thing the Asteroid Retrieval Mission has going for it.

 

"It's affordable to just go to L2, if you're just building SLS and Orion for whenever they can get there" she said, referring to Lagrange 2, a gravitationally stable spot between Earth and the sun previously identified as an initial Orion destination. "So I put more meaning in it than that."

 

Goings and Comings on ISS

 

Merryl Azriel - Space Safety Magazine

 

It is busy season on the International Space Station (ISS), with a host of departures and arrivals of crew and craft scheduled over the next few weeks.

 

The hubbub started last week with the departure of the Japanese cargo vessel HTV-4 on September 4. It burned up in the atmosphere a few days later over the Pacific Ocean, carrying the station's waste with it.

 

On September 9, half of the ISS crew began preparations to leave with the traditional change of command ceremony. Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov passed the baton to Fyodor Yurchikhin, who will command Expedition 37.

 

Expedition 37 begins when the door to the Soyuz closes behind Vinogradov, Chris Cassidy, and Alexander Misurkin on September 10. They will land back in Kazakhstan a few hours later.

 

That leaves Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg, and Luca Parmitano on their own until September 25 when their next crew complement arrives. Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov, Mike Hopkins and Sergey Ryazanskiy will launch aboard Soyuz TMA-10M on that date, arriving at the station a few hours later.

 

Before that happens, though, the three members of Expedition 36/37 are preparing to receive the first Cygnus cargo vessel to berth with the station. Orbital Sciences will become the second commercial entity to supply the station once it successfully completes the upcoming mission. Cygnus is scheduled to launch aboard an Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia on September 17. It will rendezvous with ISS on September 22, when Parmitano and Nyberg will grapple it with the station's robotic arm.

 

Another space station crew says goodbye, begins preparations for return

 

Tamarra Kemsley - Nature World News

 

Another International Space Station crew is saying goodbye: Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov formally handed over control of the International Space Station on Monday in the traditional Change of Command Ceremony.

 

Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin, a member of Expedition 37, will not officially take command until the group undocks Tuesday evening, however.

 

Meanwhile, Expedition 36 members are engaged in last-minute preparations prior to their departure.

 

Cassidy, for example, has been collecting blood and urine samples for stowage inside the Human Research Facility's science freezer while Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin have been engaged in undocking preparations for the Soyuz spacecraft that will take them all home after five months aboard the orbiting lab.

 

Specifically, Vinogradov finalized packing gear inside the spacecraft while Misurkin practiced Soyuz descent operations, according to a NASA press release.

 

The crew, along with Expedition 37, has also been tasked with completing final undocking preparations and training for the arrival of the commercial spacecraft Cygnus on Sept. 22. Designed by the private company Orbital Sciences, the spacecraft will be launched atop an Antares rocket five days prior to its arrival. Nyberg and Parmitano are currently working to train for its rendezvous and berthing to the station's Harmony node.

 

Staying behind with Yurchikhin are Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano, the three of whom have been aboard the station since late May and are scheduled to return in November.

 

These three will be joined by another team on Sept. 25. This group will include Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov, Mike Hopkins and Sergey Ryazanskiy.

 

The outgoing crew is scheduled to undock at 7:35 p.m. EDT with plans to land in Kazakhstan roughly three hours later. Landing coverage will begin Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. with the farewell and hatch closure.

 

NASA Aims Again for Manned Missions

 

Lucy Noland - KNBC TV (Los Angeles)

 

NASA's dreaming big dreams again, aiming for a manned asteroid mission in the not-so-distant future. That means big money for California and a boost - of solid rocket booster proportions - to the state's once-robust aerospace industry.

 

After a couple of touch-and-go years with the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and cancellation of the Constellation Program, NASA is back in the game. Its new manned capsule and launch system will have us break free of low Earth orbit and rendezvous with asteroids, even the moons of Mars and the Red Planet itself.

 

NASA invests almost $3.5 billion a year in California. From heat shields to thundering rockets and parachutes that bring home astronauts safely, it all adds up to critical jobs.

 

With the shuttles retired, NASA is now focusing on the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and its Space Launch System (the biggest, baddest rocket ever).

 

On a brisk morning in the Arizona desert's Yuma Proving Ground, a group of Southern Californians gathered in the pre-dawn hours. They worked alongside a team from NASA's Johnson Space Center and YPG's personnel on Orion strapped in the back of a Boeing C-17 transport aircraft.

 

Light winds blew through the open hatch at the back of the big aircraft and that was good news - a perfect day for this mission that would send Orion plummeting out of the back of the C-17, 25,000 feet above the desert.

 

This mission would intentionally fail a key stabilizing parachute called a drogue. If something goes wrong, Orion's crew must stay safe. With one drogue parachute out, that means the capsule will be coming through the atmosphere at a much higher velocity and with less stability when the main parachutes open and that could end up with parachutes entangled, very bad news.

 

But Airborne Systems, part of HDT Global, factored in all the contingencies as it developed this system for NASA. If something doesn't deploy, the rest of it better kick in to make up for the failed parachute.

 

This day would test that.

 

As the sun rose over the distant mountains, you could hear the sounds of choppers coming in - loaded with personnel to help retrieve the parachutes once Orion launched from the back of the C-17 and descended to the desert floor.

 

With binoculars pointed skyward someone spotted the aircraft and its 21,000 pounds of precious cargo "Oh there it goes! There it goes!"

 

Orion shot out of the back of the C-17. If all went perfectly, two drogues would have deployed slowing and stabilizing the capsule's mad descent. Three pilots would deploy to then pull out the main parachutes.

 

This mission intentionally failed one of the drogues, yet Orion landed fine, bottom-down on the Arizona desert.

 

"It performed flawlessly. We were a little bit concerned about how stable it would be," says Adam Erskine of Airborne Systems.

 

The nation's aerospace industry was beyond concerned when the Obama administration cancelled the Constellation Program in 2010. It was supposed to replace the Space Shuttle Program while exploring deep space and jobs were on the line.

 

"It was tumultuous. At a personal level it was chaotic for folks," says Stuart McClung with NASA's Orion Program.

 

Constellation gone. The shuttles retired. It was more blows to Southern California's once-dynamic aerospace industry.

 

From 1990 to 2010, Los Angeles County alone lost almost 94,000 jobs. More than one year after Constellation died, NASA finally announced Orion had "survived."

 

That came as incredible news for aerospace.

 

"It was relief. I had just finished staffing up to support the program and when there was a threat of it going away that would have been a huge impact on our company," says Airborne Systems' Kurt Hempe.

 

Thousands of Southern Californians are working on Orion and SLS and the technology that goes into these systems is key to the aerospace industry as a whole.

 

"It's very important," Hempe said. "Orion is not only important for Orion itself, it's really paving the way for other commercial space companies as well. The lessons that we learn from the testing that we're doing on Orion will benefits all those programs."

 

It's NASA technology, already propelling private companies such as "Space X" and bolstering a beleaguered aerospace industry as Southern Californians help America head back to the moon and beyond.

 

Astronaut Chris Cassidy introduces SportsCenter's 'Top 10 Plays' from 240 miles above Earth

 

Allan Kreda - ESPN

 

Reaching new frontiers has always been the mindset at ESPN. Hence, the network is working with NASA to supply an automated feed of content to astronauts living and working at the International Space Station. That effort reached a new level this week when astronaut and former U.S. Navy Seal Chris Cassidy read an introduction of SportsCenter's "Top 10 Plays" from space.

 

"ESPN's mission is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere,'' said Todd Myers, director Programming & Acquisitions. "Now we have the opportunity to serve sports fans in space – the final frontier if you will. It's really out of this world that we're able to do this."

 

Through an agreement earlier this year, NASA delivers recorded SportsCenter shows to the Space Station.

 

ESPN has been working to expand on that and will begin supplying a daily feed of SportsCenter starting in mid-September.

 

Tony Gentile, senior director Content Systems and Technology Integration, who leads the technical aspects of creating the feed for space station residents, said the request from NASA to ESPN was to compile viewable versions of SportsCenter, Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption for the astronauts.

 

His team has been happy to comply.

 

"They can watch the links on their iPads,'' said Gentile. "Anything we can do to keep astronauts connected is the aim."

 

Gentile said astronauts have rudimentary Internet access far from Earth – "like dial-up" – thus content is consumed locally, on demand.

 

Files of ESPN programs without commercials are sent to NASA. Abridged programs can be viewed by astronauts at their leisure, whenever that time may be.

 

"It's exciting for us to be involved,'' Gentile said. "We realize there's no night and day up there, so the astronauts probably keep really strange hours. We're happy to help bring some normalcy to life on the space station and also help them stay in touch with home."

 

This isn't the first time ESPN and NASA have worked together. Space Shuttle Discovery commander Ken Ham brought a "best-of" CD with a greeting from Mike and Mike on a May 2008 flight. During that mission, Ham and crew were guests on Mike and Mike as the shuttle flew over Connecticut.

 

Ham then appeared in studio the following year with the Mikes when he visited ESPN's Bristol, Conn. headquarters to preview a new shuttle launch experience that ESPN was creating as part of its exhibits at the city's Imagine Nation children's museum.

 

The honor was repeated when Ham, commander of the second-to-last flight of Atlantis, brought the sports network into orbit again with ESPN 3D glasses.

 

In January 2013, Commander Kevin Ford, a graduate of Notre Dame, did a shout out for his alma mater from the space station for ESPN's BCS title pre-game show.

 

As for the latest version of the link between NASA and ESPN, there will be one unique element relating to Cassidy, a native of Salem, Mass.

 

"He is a Patriots and Bruins fan,'' said Gentile. "So we might even be sending particular games to space in the future."

 

Space Coast: High Tech Hotbed

Melbourne, Titusville, Daytona Beach, Palm Coast

 

Amy Keller - Florida Trend

 

A mile and a half northwest of downtown Melbourne, the Melbourne International Airport has emerged as a thriving hub for aviation manufacturing, supplies and services. Drawn by the region's skilled workforce — Brevard County boasts 48 engineers per 1,000 workers — and other incentives, Embraer, Brazil's top aircraft manufacturer, opened an aircraft assembly factory and global customer center at Melbourne International Airport in 2011.

 

The company also is building a 67,000-sq.-ft. Engineering and Technology Center at its Melbourne campus, where it will conduct research and development. The facility is expected to be finished by 2014 and will house 200 employees. MidairUSA, which repairs and refurbishes airplanes, recently expanded its presence in Melbourne by leasing 75,000 square feet of office, production and warehousing space and signed a lease with the Melbourne International Airport Authority for a new 75,000-sq.-ft. hangar to be constructed later this year.

 

Another newcomer to Melbourne International Airport, AAR Corp. completed the relocation of its airlift and modifications businesses to Melbourne International Airport and opened a new headquarters and administrative office for these businesses in nearby Palm Bay in 2011, creating more than 230 jobs. Other newcomers include Archo Solutions Engineering, a Brazilian-owned aerospace supplier, and Vision Systems, a French aeronautics supplier.

 

With 1,500 workers, Rockwell Collins, which produces aviation electronics, is the fourth-largest private employer in the region. SCOTTY Satcom Technologies, an Austrian-owned avionics company specializing in surveillance technology, opened a headquarters at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville last August.

 

Two years after NASA shuttered the space shuttle program, unmanned rocket launches continue at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, regularly launches communications, navigation, missile warning and reconnaissance satellites into orbit for the U.S. military from the Cape and employs more than 600 at Cape Canaveral.

 

ULA also launches many missions for NASA, including the Curiosity Rover in November 2011 and the upcoming Mars mission known as MAVEN, which is scheduled to launch in November from the Cape.

 

SpaceX, a private spaceflight firm, also launches its Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape and has been working with the military to certify the rocket for military launches. The California company already has a $1.6-billion contract with NASA to ferry supplies to the International Space Station.

 

Beyond the launch manifest, the region's existing infrastructure is also attracting firms hoping to develop the space tourism industry. Rocket Crafters, a 3-year-old Utah-based company that develops innovative rocket propulsion systems it hopes to one day use in suborbital jet airplanes, is moving its operations to Titusville. The relocation will create an estimated 1,400 jobs.

 

XCOR Aerospace, a California-based space tourism company, projects beginning test flights of its suborbital space vehicle out of Mojave, California, later this year or early next, and could begin taking ticketed passengers on suborbital commercial flights "at or near" Kennedy Space Center as early as 2015.

 

The company has been working closely with Space Florida, the state's aerospace economic development agency, and Kennedy Space Center to establish a base of operations at the Shuttle Landing Facility as well as the manufacturing and assembly facility for its reusable vehicle, the Lynx Mark II.

 

Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Space Systems, a Colorado-based company that is developing an orbital crew vehicle called the Dream Chaser, is also looking at Florida as a possible location for its commercial human spaceflight programs and facilities.

 

Boeing will manufacture and test its Crew Space transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft, a space capsule designed to deliver astronauts into orbit, at Kennedy Space Center. Initial test flights of the next-generation spaceship from Cape Canaveral could begin as early as 2015.

 

Hot Company

 

Northrop Grumman's decision to open a Manned Aircraft Design Center of Excellence in Melbourne will bring nearly 1,000 jobs to the area. The global security giant is already one of the area's largest employers, with 1,200 local workers. Northrop Grumman is also planning to build an Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence in St. Augustine.

 

Hot Companies

 

Mainstream Engineering in Rockledge started as a research and development company that solved problems for NASA and DOD related to thermal control and heat pump development. Today, the 27-year-old company founded by Robert Scaringe develops lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled engines, advanced thermal control units, advanced batteries, refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers and a variety of other products for government agencies.

 

With about $5 billion in revenue, Melbourne-headquartered Harris Corp. ranked 13th on Washington Technology's 2013 list of top government technology contractors. Harris employs about 6,500 in Brevard County and is building a $100-million, 450,000-sq.-ft. high-tech engineering center in Palm Bay.

 

Craig Technologies has expanded its high-tech manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of more than 2,000 pieces of specialty NASA space shuttle equipment. The company services all industries, including defense, civil/commercial aviation and transportation.

 

Research Institutions & Tech Transfer

 

The Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne offers more than 180 degree programs, including graduate programs in cybersecurity, and boasts more than 30 research institutes, centers and major laboratories. Funded research at the private institution has more than tripled over the last three years to $94 million. The school recently opened the Florida Tech Research Park at Melbourne International Airport, which houses several high-tech companies.

 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, supplies talent to aviation and aerospace companies and has a growing research component. The school is developing a 90-acre Aerospace Research and Technology Park and has been involved in the NextGen Test Bed program, the federal government's initiative to transform the nation's air traffic control system to a satellite-based system.

 

Pentagon, NASA to spend $44B on space launches through 2018: GAO

 

Andrea Shalal-Esa - Reuters

 

The U.S. Defense Department and NASA expect to spend about $44 billion to launch government satellites and other spacecraft over the next five years, including $28 billion in procurement funding, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.

 

The GAO, a congressional watchdog agency, said it was difficult to determine exact funding plans because both agencies used different accounting methods, but it arrived at the combined total by analyzing Pentagon and NASA budget documents, and looking at funding from other government agencies.

 

Questions about cost

 

GAO said the projected funding data was an initial step toward answering a larger request from lawmakers who question the steep cost of space launches, and why efforts to inject more competition have not gotten more traction.

 

"Defense and civilian government agencies together expect to require significant funding, nearly $44 billion, in 'then-year' dollars that factor in anticipated future inflation, for launch-related activities from fiscal years 2014 through 2018," the agency said in a letter to the investigations subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

 

Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the investigations subcommittee, and Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the panel, had asked GAO to investigate space launch funding to get a better handle on the overall government effort.

 

GAO said it would continue to look into the larger question surrounding "impediments to economical procurement of government launch vehicles and launch services."

 

More competition

 

The Pentagon and NASA have sought in recent years to introduce more competition to the space launch business, which is largely dominated by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and the Boeing Co., the Pentagon's two largest suppliers.

 

Orbital Sciences Corp. and privately held SpaceX are trying to break into the market for launching large government satellites into space.

 

In a letter to the Levin and McCain, GAO said it hoped the aggregated data would help "inform plans to lower launch costs, increase competition, and invest in new programs."

 

GAO said planned procurement funding of $28 billion accounted for about 65 percent of the total amount through fiscal 2018, with the Pentagon accounting for about $16 billion of that amount.

 

Combined research, development and testing activities accounted for about $11 billion, or 26 percent, according to the GAO letter. NASA accounts for the lion's share of that projected funding, or $10.5 billion, including about $7 billion on its work on a heavy-lift launch vehicle and the ground systems needed to support human exploration of deep space.

 

Meet Some of the People Seeking a One-way Ticket to Mars

 

Tanya Lewis - Space News

 

Tens of thousands of people are prepared to leave their families, jobs and lives behind for a one-way trip to Mars.

 

Mars One, a private spaceflight mission led by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp, aims to land the first colonists on Mars by 2023. Applicants over the age of 18 from any country are eligible, and Mars One has received more than 165,000 applications so far. But what sort of person would want to go?

 

A few dozen of the aspiring martians convened in Washington in August for what was billed as the "Million Martian Meeting." A panel of four applicants answered questions about their reasons for wanting to go to Mars without a return ticket.

 

Despite different backgrounds and experiences, the panelists shared a lifelong interest in space exploration.

 

Aaron Hamm, 29, is a hotel manager, but going to Mars is "literally something I've wanted forever," he said at the meeting. After hearing about the call for applications, "I couldn't not jump at the chance," he said.

 

Leila Zucker, 45, is a married emergency room doctor. "Since I was a little kid, all I wanted was to be a doctor and travel in space," Zucker said in her application video. She even composed a song about her goal: "We're about to take off for the red planet Mars because Mars One leads the way to the stars," she sang at the meeting.

 

Austin Bradley, 32, is a physics student and former imagery analyst and paratrooper for the U.S. Army. Bradley was hard to miss at the meeting, sporting green hair and wearing alien antennae, but his ambition was serious. "I always wanted to apply for NASA," he said, but now he sees Mars One as his ticket to space.

 

Joseph Sweeney, 24, is a graduate student in applied intelligence. "I feel like you're born knowing you want to travel," said Sweeney, who started the Facebook Aspiring Martians Group, which now has about 2,000 members.

 

Is it worth the risk?

 

The Mars One colony mission poses many risks. There is the launch, the six-month journey, the landing — and that does not even include surviving once the astronauts get there.

 

At the Million Martian Meeting, applicants on the panel were asked what level of risk they would accept. Specifically, what chances of making it to Mars and lasting two years would make the trip worth it?

 

Zucker said she would take a 50-50 chance of surviving two years, or a 1-in-100 chance for surviving 20 years. "None of us are planning to die," she said, "but we all recognize we could."

 

Sweeney, a self-described optimist, said he would go even if the odds were 99-to-1 against surviving. "As long as there's a small possibility to do something great, I think it's worth the risk," he said.

 

What about a mission that would keep them alive only a year? Bradley and Hamm said they would still apply. "It was always a one-way trip," Bradley said.

 

Hamm said he would use the year to build his own survival system. "Just get me boots on the ground," he said.

 

Zucker added that it would depend how much she could accomplish in that year.

 

"That year has to count — you don't get my life for nothing," she said.

 

Just as Neil Armstrong's "giant leap" speech is forever enshrined in history, the words of the first humans to set foot on Mars will likely be historic.

 

At the meeting, the four panelists were given a chance to preview what their first utterance on the red planet would be.

 

Sweeney paraphrased a quote from Robert Zubrin's sci-fi story "First Landing," saying, "I take this step for all mankind, so we may walk among stars."

 

For Hamm, the answer was simple: "For decades we have left tracks on Mars, and now we are leaving footprints."

 

Washington must rescue sinking space program

 

Orlando Sentinel (Editorial)

 

These are humiliating days for America's once-proud manned space program.

 

NASA's next rocket — its first new manned vehicle in more than 30 years — isn't scheduled for its first test launch until 2017, but now a top agency official says it may miss that deadline by another year or two. And its development costs threaten to starve other space programs.

 

Meanwhile, NASA is at loggerheads with Congress over the agency's next manned mission. NASA wants to use its new rocket to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2021. House Republicans want astronauts to go back to the moon — a far more expensive mission, the agency says — but also propose to slash NASA's 2014 budget to pre-2008 levels.

 

NASA and its overseers on Capitol Hill are like passengers in a leaky boat, bickering instead of bailing as the boat sinks.

 

Congress and the Obama administration need to agree on NASA's mission, then make sure the agency gets enough dollars to carry it out. It's as simple as that.

 

Senate Democrats have proposed spending at least $1 billion more than House Republicans on NASA next year. That's real money, especially when the sequester is forcing cuts across the federal budget, but lawmakers need to consider what's at stake: America's historic leadership in space exploration.

 

That leadership has not only been a source of international prestige, but also a driver for scientific and technological advances that have helped the United States become the world's most prosperous and powerful nation.

 

It was Lori Garver, NASA's outgoing deputy administrator, who told the Sentinel's Mark Matthews that the agency's next rocket, known as the Space Launch System, was in danger of slipping at least a year behind the 2017 date for its maiden, unmanned launch. That delay would push its first launch with astronauts past 2021. Garver blamed inadequate funding, and agreed with critics who said the rocket's cost would divert dollars from other NASA programs, such as probes to other planets.

 

The agency disputed Garver's prediction for the rocket; so did the rocket's lead contractor.

 

But recent history is on Garver's side. NASA hasn't been able to do much of anything on budget and on time for years. Its failures have been made worse by flat funding and mission meddling from Congress.

 

Chris Kraft, NASA's first flight director, recently told the Houston Chronicle that the agency should consider using existing, privately built rockets for its next manned mission. NASA already has taken that approach for trips to the International Space Station.

 

As much as we'd shudder to see the plug pulled on another NASA rocket program — President Obama canceled the last one, Constellation, after five years and $13 billion had been spent — it doesn't make sense to try to build the biggest rocket in history on the cheap.

 

NASA needs a compelling mission with a realistic plan to achieve it, including the funding to back it up.

 

Government Must Understand the Travel Effect

 

Elliot Pulham - Space News (Opinion)

 

(Pulham is chief executive of the Space Foundation)

 

The U.S. Travel Association recently released its report on the unintended consequences of the U.S. government's off-target, ham-fisted crackdown on government employee travel — revealing that our political leaders have placed in jeopardy some 340,000 American jobs and $24.4 billion in economic activity, without actually saving any taxpayer dollars.

 

In fact, the current anti-travel fad is forcing the country to pay more to get its business done — especially in science and technology enterprises like space, aerospace and homeland security — while also choking off $5.5 billion in needed tax revenue.

 

Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

The annals of government are rife with horror stories about the unintended consequences of hastily enacted, politically motivated regulation. No one knows this better than the U.S. space industry, which, years ago, saw its share of the commercial satellite manufacturing market drop from a commanding 75 percent to a paltry 20 percent in the wake of rush-to-judgment changes in satellite export regulations. Billions of dollars' worth of lost sales, thousands of lost jobs, the strengthening of competitors to the United States and the weakening of the U.S. industrial base have been the consequences. Years of effort by government and industry to fix the problems caused by this knee-jerk legislation have moved the effort tantalizingly close to the goal line, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and the damage of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations is still not contained, let alone reversed or repaired.

 

In this context, the current political witch-hunt over government travel seems like déjà vu all over again for the space industry. The bad behavior of a few government employees has triggered travel policy edicts and proposed legislation that does nothing to punish, correct or retrain the guilty. Instead, these measures cripple the ability of government agencies to perform legitimate, mission-essential travel in support of critical government operations — most notably science, technology and national security enterprises.

 

One difference this time around is that these unintended consequences are being felt much more broadly outside of the government contracting communities. Nonprofit organizations like the Space Foundation, which cost-effectively provide an invaluable service to government by convening meetings of government, industry, academia and international partners, are being put at risk. Hundreds of thousands of working men and women in the travel industry are also in peril. American working families are in the crosshairs.

 

Among those responding is the aforementioned U.S. Travel Association. U.S. Travel, as it is known, is a national, nonprofit organization representing all components of the travel industry — which generates $1.9 trillion in annual economic output and supports 14.4 million American jobs. In July, I had the opportunity to meet with the U.S. Travel board of directors in Kohler, Wis. The Space Foundation and our 29th National Space Symposium were among a half-dozen case studies researched for U.S. Travel by the data-crushing gurus at Rockport Analytics Inc. The findings of the U.S. Travel study provide a sobering, cautionary tale for government, and unequivocally suggest that a fast reversal of course is in order.

 

The study estimated that in 2011, government travel had a $24.4 billion impact on the economy, helped support more than 340,000 U.S. jobs, and generated $14.5 billion in U.S. wages and $5.5 billion in tax revenue for local, state and federal government.

 

U.S. Travel and Rockport Analytics found that canceling business travel for government employees may possibly save a small amount of money in the short term — but it does so by jeopardizing current operations, at the expense of long-term efficiency and the ability to deliver services.

 

One example cited: The 2013 Military Health Systems Conference was canceled — but part of the point of the meeting was to "streamline processes [to] eliminate redundancies and reduce health care costs." U.S. Travel's research estimated that the cancellation cost taxpayers about $813,000 — a nearly million-dollar cost increase rather than a reduction in government costs.

 

In its case study of the withdrawal of NASA and the cutbacks by other U.S. government agencies at the 29th National Space Symposium, U.S. Travel said:

 

"Not having representatives from NASA ... and other agencies undermines the nation's position in international space diplomacy, acquisition of education to solve critical space challenges and the development of America's future space leaders."

 

"Non-participation ... voids the cost efficiency of bringing international space leaders together at one event — many of the foregone face-to-face meetings having to be rescheduled later as more expensive transient government travel."

 

"The long term impact of non-participation is significantly greater than the federal government's short-term cost savings."

 

It is important that the administration and the Congress hear what organizations like U.S. Travel, and the Space Foundation, have to say. And, I am happy to report, there are some signs that our messages are getting through.

 

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which triggered much of the overreaction by federal agencies when it issued travel and conference guidelines under the innocuous guise of OMB Memorandum M-12-12, has fielded a great deal of feedback on the unintended consequences of that memorandum; as a result, OMB has now gone back to agencies with clarifying language that does a great deal to take government travel, meetings, conferences and symposiums out of the penalty box. In a Controller Alert sent to agencies on May 28, OMB sought to clarify the value that government travel has to the nation, while putting the responsibility for a balanced approach and good judgment back on the agencies.

 

"As each agency reviews its travel and conference-related activities," the alert said, "it is critical for each agency to continue to recognize the important role that mission-related travel and conferences can often play in Government operations. ... [B]ringing together Federal employees at a single location — such as for program reviews or technical evaluations, presentation of scientific findings, oversight boards or advisory group meetings, international engagements and standards-setting committees — may be the most efficient and cost-effective means for reviewing government-sponsored efforts, issues or challenges. Several agencies rely on meetings with industry and academic colleagues to drive innovation and ensure continued advancement in related fields. Each agency needs to achieve the right balance between reducing spending and meeting mission-critical needs."

 

Special emphasis needs to be given to a couple of key phrases here: "bringing together federal employees at a single location" and "may be the most efficient and cost-effective means."

 

This is not to say that the abuses of government employees in incidents such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scandals should be ignored or tolerated. They certainly should not.

 

But just as any boss must accept responsibility for the behavior of his or her employees, and any general officer must be held accountable for the actions of those under his or her command, Congress and the Obama administration must hold the GSA and IRS accountable — not just take a broad, random, nonspecific swipe at every government employee who travels. The vast majority of these citizen-servants toil long, hard hours for modest pay, in inglorious working conditions, doing the very best they can — often at great sacrifice — for our country. They deserve better than to be made pincushions in some voodoo game of political optics.

 

At the Space Foundation, we've been working hard with partner organizations like U.S. Travel and the American Society of Association Executives to educate our elected and appointed officials on the value of dialogue among government, industry, academia and international partners. For 30 years, we have helped the global space industry to convene. Our industry, our country and the world are better because of this important work.

 

Government must understand the travel effect. When people travel, meet and convene, good things happen. The people's work is done more efficiently, crucial knowledge is shared and partnerships are forged. Misunderstandings are reduced, margins of error narrowed. Costly government programs are kept out of jeopardy. Economies are stimulated, jobs are sustained and taxes are paid.

 

The GSA and IRS scandals are outliers, two failures in a sea of thousands of successes. They should be dealt with firmly — but without collateral damage.

 

Our Debt to Society

 

Adam Davidson - New York Times (Opinion)

 

(Davidson is co-founder of National Public Radio's "Planet Money," a podcast and blog)

 

The Daily Treasury Statement, a public accounting of what the U.S. government spends and receives each day, shows how money really works in Washington. On Aug. 27, the government took in $29 million in repaid agricultural loans; $75 million in customs and duties; $38 million in the repayment of TARP loans; some $310 million in taxes; and so forth. That same day, the government also had bills to pay: $247 million in veterans-affairs programs; $2.5 billion to Medicare and Medicaid; $1.5 billion each to the departments of Education and Defense. By the close of that Tuesday, when all the spending and the taxing had been completed, the government paid out nearly $6 billion more than it took in.

 

This is the definition of a deficit, and it illustrates why the government needs to borrow money almost every day to pay its bills. Of course, all that daily borrowing adds up, and we are rapidly approaching what is called the X-Date — the day, somewhere in the next six weeks, when the government, by law, cannot borrow another penny. Congress has imposed a strict limit on how much debt the federal government can accumulate, but for nearly 90 years, it has raised the ceiling well before it was reached.

 

But since a large number of Tea Party-aligned Republicans entered the House of Representatives, in 2011, raising that debt ceiling has become a matter of fierce debate. This summer, House Republicans have promised, in Speaker John Boehner's words, "a whale of a fight" before they raise the debt ceiling — if they even raise it at all.

 

If the debt ceiling isn't lifted again this fall, some serious financial decisions will have to be made.

 

Perhaps the government can skimp on its foreign aid or furlough all of NASA, but eventually the big-ticket items, like Social Security and Medicare, will have to be cut. At some point, the government won't be able to pay interest on its bonds and will enter what's known as sovereign default, the ultimate national financial disaster achieved by countries like Zimbabwe, Ecuador and Argentina (and now Greece).

 

In the case of the United States, though, it won't be an isolated national crisis. If the American government can't stand behind the dollar, the world's benchmark currency, then the global financial system will very likely enter a new era in which there is much less trade and much less economic growth. It would be, by most accounts, the largest self-imposed financial disaster in history.

 

Nearly everyone involved predicts that someone will blink before this disaster occurs. Yet a small number of House Republicans (one political analyst told me it's no more than 20) appear willing to see what happens if the debt ceiling isn't raised — at least for a bit.

 

This could be used as leverage to force Democrats to drastically cut government spending and eliminate President Obama's signature health-care-reform plan. In fact, Representative Tom Price, a Georgia Republican, told me that the whole problem could be avoided if the president agreed to drastically cut spending and lower taxes.

 

Still, it is hard to put this act of game theory into historic context. Plenty of countries — and some cities, like Detroit — have defaulted on their financial obligations, but only because their governments ran out of money to pay their bills. No wealthy country has ever voluntarily decided — in the middle of an economic recovery, no less — to default. And there's certainly no record of that happening to the country that controls the global reserve currency.

 

Like many, I assumed a self-imposed U.S. debt crisis might unfold like most involuntary ones. If the debt ceiling isn't raised by X-Day, I figured, the world's investors would begin to see America as an unstable investment and rush to sell their Treasury bonds. The U.S. government, desperate to hold on to investment, would then raise interest rates far higher, hurtling up rates on credit cards, student loans, mortgages and corporate borrowing — which would effectively put a clamp on all trade and spending. The U.S. economy would collapse far worse than anything we've seen in the past several years.

 

Instead, Robert Auwaerter, head of bond investing for Vanguard, the world's largest mutual-fund company, told me that the collapse might be more insidious. "You know what happens when the market gets upset?" he said. "There's a flight to quality. Investors buy Treasury bonds. It's a bit perverse." In other words, if the U.S. comes within shouting distance of a default (which Auwaerter is confident won't happen), the world's investors — absent a safer alternative, given the recent fates of the euro and the yen — might actually buy even more Treasury bonds. Indeed, interest rates would fall and the bond markets would soar.

 

While this possibility might not sound so bad, it's really far more damaging than the apocalyptic one I imagined. Rather than resulting in a sudden crisis, failure to raise the debt ceiling would lead to a slow bleed. Scott Mather, head of the global portfolio at Pimco, the world's largest private bond fund, explained that while governments and institutions might go on a U.S.-bond buying frenzy in the wake of a debt-ceiling panic, they would eventually recognize that the U.S. government was not going through an odd, temporary bit of insanity. They would eventually conclude that it had become permanently less reliable. Mather imagines institutional investors and governments turning to a basket of currencies, putting their savings in a mix of U.S., European, Canadian, Australian and Japanese bonds. Over the course of decades, the U.S. would lose its unique role in the global economy.

 

The U.S. benefits enormously from its status as global reserve currency and safe haven. Our interest and mortgage rates are lower; companies are able to borrow money to finance their new products more cheaply. As a result, there is much more economic activity and more wealth in America than there would be otherwise. If that status erodes, the U.S. economy's peaks will be lower and recessions deeper; future generations will have fewer job opportunities and suffer more when the economy falters. And, Mather points out, no other country would benefit from America's diminished status. When you make the base risk-free asset more risky, the entire global economy becomes riskier and costlier.

 

A political economist once told me that it's a puzzle why the House ever passes any responsible economic policy. After all, the representatives are inherently focused on being elected every two years, while many responsible economic decisions involve trading a bit of present-day comfort for long-term gains. They're also encouraged to act foolishly. A vast majority of Americans, for instance, wants Congress to pass costly programs — Social Security, defense, Medicare — while simultaneously reducing taxes and the size of government. Yet as the Daily Treasury Statement shows, this combination is impossible. If you watch the money flow in and out of the government on a daily basis, requests like Price's soon seem gravely unrealistic. A vast majority of the money that the government spends each day is on those wildly popular programs like Medicare, Social Security and defense. And the fiscal reality is that the government doesn't tax enough to cover them. (Whatever you think of Obamacare, eliminating it would not solve our debt problems.) Unfortunately, there simply aren't enough other easily cuttable line items — in the end, there just aren't that many NASAs. If it weren't so dangerous, the debt ceiling could be admired as a politically genius tool: it allows members of Congress to spend, cut taxes and then say they're tough on debt. In real life, though, the economy doesn't work that way.

 

This isn't the first time Congress has tried to hold the economy hostage. In the 1890s, many representatives dithered over a now-obscure law governing the relative price of silver and gold. Global investors reacted in panic, and the ensuing recession ensured that Congress never did anything like that again. It may turn out, however, that the lingering debt-ceiling debate is actually far worse than such a one-time disaster. Waging this argument for a few months won't lead to a sudden financial panic. But if the debate becomes an annual affair, the world's largest investors probably will one day move toward a mix of other financial reserves. Decades from now, the world would probably be poorer on account of about only 20 people.

 

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