Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - September 5, 2013 and JSC Today Special

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: September 5, 2013 7:12:03 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - September 5, 2013 and JSC Today Special

Today's JSC Today must think its Flex Thursday (FT Day) since it has not hit my inbox yet..  if it shows up later I will send it on to you folks.

 

Hope to see you and your family and friends at today's NASA Retirees Luncheon at Hibachi Grill at 11:30 on Bay Blvd. in Webster.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

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JSC Special: Center Director All Hands Tomorrow, Sept. 5 JSC Director Ellen Ochoa will speak to employees from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in the Building 2 South Teague Auditorium. All JSC team members are invited to attend. Ochoa will take questions after the All Hands from the audience. If you would like to submit a question for consideration in advance or during the All Hands, please email it to: JSC-Ask-The-Director@mail.nasa.gov   JSC, Ellington Field, Sonny Carter Training Facility and White Sands Test Facility team members unable to attend in the Teague Auditorium can watch it on RF Channel 2 or Omni 45. Those with wired computer network connections can view the All Hands using 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.   Event Date: Thursday, September 5, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:10:00 AM Event Location: Teague Auditorium, B 2S Add to Calendar JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, x35111

 

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:

·         9 am Central (10 EDT) – NASA Social for LADEE Mission from Wallops

(Lunar Atmosphere & Dust Environment Explorer)

·         9:50 am Central (10:50 EDT) – E36's Chris Cassidy w/WGME-TV, Portland, ME & CBS Radio

·         2 pm Central (3 EDT) – LADEE Prelaunch Mission Briefing

·         3 pm Central (4 EDT) – LADEE Mission Science and Technology Demonstration Briefing

·         5 am Central FRIDAY (6 EDT) – Live Interviews on LADEE Mission

 

Human Spaceflight News

Thursday – September 5, 2013

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

NASA closer to regular cargo flights to the International Space Station

 

T.J. Aulds - Galveston County Daily News

 

Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's lead on coordinating commercial cargo services to the International Space Station, is looking forward to the day he can log onto a website and order the supplies he needs in orbit just as he would to send a package across country overnight via FedEx or UPS. It's not exactly ordering food and other supplies or sending research projects to the ISS with a click of the mouse, but NASA is a step closer to regular — and competitive — commercial cargo flights to its orbiting laboratory. On Sept. 17, Orbital Sciences is scheduled to send its Cygnus spacecraft to the space station as part of a demonstration flight that is the final step before regular commercial cargo missions for NASA.

 

Orbital on track for first test mission of Cygnus craft to ISS

Commercial cargo flight set for Sept. 17 takeoff

 

James Dean - Florida Today

 

A new commercial cargo spacecraft is ready for a Sept. 17 launch from Virginia on its first test flight to the International Space Station, NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. said Wednesday. "We're in really good shape for the mission to start on time," said Courtenay McMillan, NASA flight director for the demonstration mission, following a review in Houston. "We're really excited." Dulles, Va.-based Orbital tested its new Antares rocket in April, and will now attempt to fly the Cygnus spacecraft in orbit for the first time. The demonstration flight represents Orbital's final milestone under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, which has contributed nearly $288 million toward development of the privately operated rocket and spacecraft.

 

Cygnus cargo vehicle gearing up for debut flight

 

Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com

 

Orbital Sciences Corp. is almost ready to send the first commercial Cygnus cargo freighter on a demonstration mission to the International Space Station, and NASA officials gave the green light Wednesday for engineers to begin final preparations for the test flight's Sept. 17 launch on an Antares rocket from the Virginia coastline. The robotic spacecraft, named for the constellation Cygnus, is one of two privately-developed spaceships financed by NASA to restore domestic cargo transportation to the space station after the retirement of the space shuttle.

 

Source of NASA Space Suit Leak Evades Latest NASA Troubleshooting

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

The "smoking gun" behind the spacesuit leak that allowed water to invade the helmet of European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano during a July 16 U.S. spacewalk outside the International Space Station eluded experts in NASA's Mission Control during a round of troubleshooting over the U.S. Labor Day weekend. A suspect water relief valve and gas trap extracted from the leaky, shuttle-era NASA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) will be returned to Earth late Sept. 10th aboard Russia's Soyuz TMA-08M crew transport for more extensive analysis. The Soyuz capsule is undergoing preparations to descend into Kazakhstan with Russians Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin as well as NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy. The three men are concluding a more-than-five-month tour of duty aboard the ISS.

 

Japan's robo-astronaut takes 'one small step...'

 

Agence France Presse

 

 

A pint-sized android has uttered the first robotic words in space, showcasing Japan's drive to combine cutting-edge technology with cuteness. The wide-eyed and bootie-wearing "Kirobo" - roughly the size of a Chihuahua, broadcast a message from inside the International Space Station, greeting citizens of Earth and paying cheeky tribute to Neil Armstrong. "On August 21, 2013, a robot took one small step toward a brighter future for all," Kirobo said in a video that showed the humanoid creation drifting weightlessly on-board the ISS, as it moved its legs in the air.

 

Final FY13 operating plan tweaks NASA's budget

 

Jeff Foust – SpacePolitics.com

 

Late last week NASA quietly released its final operating plan for fiscal year 2013, with just a month left in the fiscal year. The plan adjusts spending on some agency programs based on the post-sequester cuts to the FY2013 appropriations bill passed by Congress in March. Here is the breakout of spending for agency programs in the operating plan, versus what the administration originally requested for FY13 back in early 2012 (all amounts in millions of dollars)…

 

Mobilian In Charge Of Next NASA Attempt

 

Darwin Singleton - WPMI TV (Mobile)

 

For the past few decades, the Space Shuttle was NASA's workhorse. It took man above the earth to rendezvous with the International Space Station. Now NASA has its sights well beyond orbit of the earth, into deep space. And there's a man from Mobile who is going to help take us there. "I was born in Mobile, lived in Spanish Fort for a while, and went to high school in Fairhope," said Mobile native, Todd May. He said his teachers inspired his love for science.

 

SLS director speaks in Mobile on NASA's 'next great ship'

 

Budd McLaughlin - WAFF TV (Huntsville)

 

The director of NASA's Space Launch System Program spoke about NASA's "next great ship" from the deck of the battleship U.S.S. Alabama in Mobile on Wednesday. Todd May, who grew up in Fairhope, said the SLS, which is managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, will be the most powerful rocket in the world. A graduate of Auburn, May was in the area as part of the NASA Business to Business Forum to update business on the progress of SLS. The first unmanned-flight test is scheduled for 2017.

 

NASA Picks Top 96 Ideas for Asteroid-Capture Mission

 

Mike Wall - Space.com

 

As NASA continues to plan out its ambitious mission to snag an asteroid and park it near the moon, the space agency will consider nearly 100 ideas submitted by potential partners. NASA has selected the top 96 proposals of more than 400 submitted by outside groups in response to a June request for information (RFI) designed to aid its asteroid-capture mission and improve humanity's ability to protect Earth from dangerous space rocks, officials announced Wednesday.

 

The design firm hoping to profit from space tourism

 

BBC TV

 

Space suit creator Final Frontier Design is hoping its profits will rocket with the growth of commercial space travel. Currently based in a small studio in Brooklyn, New York, company founders Ted Southern and Nikolay Moiseev are wishing for a future slice of the $1.4bn investment in space tourism. Mr Southern told the BBC: "A lot of the rocket companies are hoping to fly 2014, 2015, 2016 - years out... It's been a challenge, for that reason, finding funding, finding partners, finding customers." (NO FURTHER TEXT)

 

A/B Test: Comparing magnificent spaceships of Orbital Sciences & SpaceX

 

Becky Ferreira - Wired.com

 

We have a space station in permanent orbit ... but not a lot of rockets that can get there. On the assumption that the free market can blast us to the ISS on the cheap, NASA has awarded resupply contracts to two private companies, Orbital Sciences and SpaceX. But the two space ferries have some key differences, and the competition between them is shaping up to be a dogfight between reliable spaceships of the past and slick ones from the future. Here's how they line up…

 

Could lemur hibernation answer space travel questions?

 

Geoffrey Mohan - Los Angeles Times

 

A lemur that hibernates is strange and cute enough. But studying its lethargic state may provide a clue to sending humans on long-distance space travel or healing the ravages of heart attacks, stroke and head trauma, according to researchers at Duke University. The western fat-tailed dwarf lemur, a pocket-sized nocturnal primate native to Madagascar, is the closest genetic cousin of humans to hibernate for long periods, a discovery made by a German research team in 2004.

 

Leaders tout proposed spaceport in Houston

 

Juan Lozano - Associated Press

 

 

Houston is working to solidify its place in the commercial space race with an ongoing effort to build the nation's latest spaceport. The city is currently working to apply for a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to run a spaceport. Houston's proposed facility would be at Ellington Airport, which is home to U.S. military and NASA operations. Mario Diaz, director of Houston's Department of Aviation, said it is only natural that Houston build a spaceport and enter the commercial space race as the city has long been home to NASA's Mission Control and Johnson Space Center, where astronauts conduct most of their training. The Houston-area is also home to more than 50 aerospace contract companies that support NASA and other spaceflight efforts.

 

Plans for proposed Ellington spaceport unveiled

 

T.J. Aulds - Galveston County Daily News

 

The Texas Gulf Coast is poised to launch into the next generation of air travel with the development of a commercial spaceport. Houston Airport System officials on Wednesday unveiled concept drawings of a proposed spaceport at Ellington Field. The concepts gave a view of the overall project, including a terminal facility, an aviation museum and space for aerospace industries that would likely be located in the area should the spaceport receive the required approvals. If licensed, Houston would be home to the nation's ninth spaceport. "It's important to realize that this type of work is already taking place today," Houston Aviation Director Mario C. Diaz said. "This is not a conversation based on science fiction or futuristic projections. This is a conversation about how Houston can access and enhance an industry that is already well-established and growing exponentially."

 

SpaceShipTwo to Fly Under Power on Thursday

 

Doug Messier - Parabolic Arc

 

Sources report that SpaceShipTwo will make a powered flight early Thursday morning from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The space plane and its WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft have been outside on the ramp all day Wednesday. Final preparations will begin later tonight. During its first powered flight April 29, the vehicles took off after 7 a.m. PDT, with SpaceShipTwo landing just after 8 a.m. PDT after a short flight. The spacecraft fired its engine for 16 seconds. Sources report the burn will be slightly longer this time. (NO FURTHER TEXT)

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

NASA closer to regular cargo flights to the International Space Station

 

T.J. Aulds - Galveston County Daily News

 

Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's lead on coordinating commercial cargo services to the International Space Station, is looking forward to the day he can log onto a website and order the supplies he needs in orbit just as he would to send a package across country overnight via FedEx or UPS.

 

It's not exactly ordering food and other supplies or sending research projects to the ISS with a click of the mouse, but NASA is a step closer to regular — and competitive — commercial cargo flights to its orbiting laboratory.

 

On Sept. 17, Orbital Sciences is scheduled to send its Cygnus spacecraft to the space station as part of a demonstration flight that is the final step before regular commercial cargo missions for NASA.

 

During its test flight, Orbital's G. David Lowe Cygnus craft will be put through a series of tests to measure its flight readiness before it docks with the space station with a load of food and other "non-critical" supplies. Should it pass the 11 markers, Orbital will be cleared to begin regular commercial cargo missions to the space station, making it one of two U.S. companies that will be the primary cargo delivery providers for NASA.

 

Space X, which completed its test flights last year and already had a cargo mission to the ISS, is the other commercial carrier for NASA.

 

If successful, Orbital won't have long before it is in the space station commercial delivery business. Another mission — ORB 1 — could be launched as early as December.

 

NASA spent about $288 million to fund a portion of the mission, with Orbital Sciences picking up the rest of the tab. The company's executive vice president, Frank Culbertson, a former NASA astronaut, envisions that the demo flight is the initial step to regular commercial cargo flights that will be part of a new commercial market.

 

"We know there is not 10 customers coming forward right now asking for cargo delivery to low earth orbit," Culbertson said during a pre-flight briefing at the Johnson Space Center on Wednesday. "Maybe in (a few years), there will be 200, who knows… Developing this capability by us and Space X proves you can have a commercial service."

 

Culbertson envisions such delivery services to go beyond low earth orbit. He wants to see his company assisting in delivery of supplies to long-distance missions including eventual trips to Mars.

 

It won't come cheap, and while Culbertson would no reveal how much Orbital ponied up for the upcoming demonstration mission — only saying it was more than how much NASA invested — he expects that as technology is developed and flights become routine costs will go down and the marketability will increase.

 

For now, though, NASA is the lone customer, but one that expects a lot of service from Orbital and Space X.

 

Michael Suffredini, the program manager for the International Space Station, said he hopes to begin regular commercial flights to the ISS with Orbital and Space X spacecraft as "the workhorses" of cargo delivery.

 

Orbital on track for first test mission of Cygnus craft to ISS

Commercial cargo flight set for Sept. 17 takeoff

 

James Dean - Florida Today

 

A new commercial cargo spacecraft is ready for a Sept. 17 launch from Virginia on its first test flight to the International Space Station, NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. said Wednesday.

 

"We're in really good shape for the mission to start on time," said Courtenay McMillan, NASA flight director for the demonstration mission, following a review in Houston. "We're really excited."

 

Dulles, Va.-based Orbital tested its new Antares rocket in April, and will now attempt to fly the Cygnus spacecraft in orbit for the first time.

 

The demonstration flight represents Orbital's final milestone under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, which has contributed nearly $288 million toward development of the privately operated rocket and spacecraft.

 

The same development program helped SpaceX establish its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, which have since completed two contracted cargo flights to the station.

 

Based on the cylindrical cargo modules that shuttles flew to and from the orbiting research complex, Orbital's Cygnus will test systems and perform various maneuvers before being cleared to approach and berth at the station Sept. 22.

 

The robotic spacecraft will carry about 1,500 pounds of low-value cargo, mostly food.

 

During its planned 30-day visit, astronauts will pack the Cygnus with trash that will burn up with the vehicle when it re-enters the atmosphere.

 

A successful demonstration would allow Orbital to start executing a $1.9 billion contract for eight resupply missions, which could start as soon as December.

 

"Things are starting to come together," said Frank Culbertson, Orbital executive vice president and a former astronaut.

 

SpaceX is upgrading the Falcon 9 and Dragon, and they are not expected to be ready to launch another station mission from Cape Canaveral before at least January, NASA officials said Wednesday.

 

Cygnus cargo vehicle gearing up for debut flight

 

Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com

 

Orbital Sciences Corp. is almost ready to send the first commercial Cygnus cargo freighter on a demonstration mission to the International Space Station, and NASA officials gave the green light Wednesday for engineers to begin final preparations for the test flight's Sept. 17 launch on an Antares rocket from the Virginia coastline.

 

The robotic spacecraft, named for the constellation Cygnus, is one of two privately-developed spaceships financed by NASA to restore domestic cargo transportation to the space station after the retirement of the space shuttle.

 

SpaceX, the start-up space transportation firm founded by Elon Musk, is NASA's other commercial cargo contractor. SpaceX completed the first test flight of its Dragon spacecraft to the space station in May 2012, and the California-based company has made two operational resupply runs to the outpost since then.

 

The Cygnus spacecraft gives NASA redundancy in case one of the two cargo providers encounters problems.

 

"The workhorses of the fleet for the U.S. segment [of the space station] will be the SpaceX vehicle and the Orbital vehicle," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager. "We have them lined up to use them fairly regularly."

 

NASA and Orbital Sciences officials met Wednesday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to review the status of preparations for the flight and discuss any concerns leading up to the launch.

 

According to Suffredini, officials identified no issues threatening a successful on-time launch, other than the standard processing left to go on the Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft.

 

The departure of a Japanese H-2 Transfer Vehicle on Wednesday also cleared a hurdle before the Cygnus flight can proceed. The HTV occupied the same port on the space station needed for the Cygnus spacecraft.

 

Orbital's Cygnus spacecraft and SpaceX's Dragon capsule were developed in a public-private partnership with NASA. The private companies own and operate the vehicles, but NASA provided funds and expertise to guide Orbital and SpaceX engineers through development and testing.

 

NASA's financial agreement with Orbital Sciences is worth $288 million, part of the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program.

 

Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's COTS program manager, said the commercial cargo initiative started seven years ago with the intention of reducing the cost and complexity of sending supplies to the space station. Another objective was to make the resupply fleet responsive and capable of launching when needed.

 

"Last year, we came very close to seeing that vision become a reality with our first COTS partner SpaceX completing a demo flight to the space station and following up with operational flights to the space station," Lindenmoyer said Wednesday. "It was an amazing success, and here we are today with the opportunity to reinforce that capability with our second commercial partner ready to provide those services to the space station."

 

The development of the Cygnus spacecraft cost about $300 million, and the Antares rocket cost a little more to design and test, according to Frank Culbertson, executive vice president and general manager of Orbital's advanced programs group.

 

In an interview earlier this year, Culbertson declined to provide a specific value for the development of the Antares launcher. The new Antares launch pad, built by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, cost about $140 million.

 

Including investments from NASA, Orbital and the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Antares rocket, Cygnus spacecraft and the new launch pad collectively cost nearly $1 billion.

 

Outfitted with solar arrays, a propulsion system, and a laser navigation system, the Cygnus spacecraft will launch at least nine times over the next four years to resupply the space station, beginning with a Sept. 17 liftoff on a demonstration flight to prove the cargo ship can safely do its job.

 

Orbital officials said the Cygnus spacecraft was scheduled to be attached to the upper stage of the Antares launcher Wednesday. Final cargo loading into the Cygnus spacecraft's pressurized module is set for Saturday, followed by its enclosure inside the rocket's 12.8-foot-diameter payload fairing.

 

Rollout of the Antares rocket from its horizontal integration facility to the launch pad one mile away is expected Sept. 13.

 

Launch aboard an Antares rocket on Sept. 17 is scheduled for 11:16 a.m. EDT (1516 GMT) from launch pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

 

The 133-foot-tall Antares rocket sailed through a test launch in April, deploying a mock-up Cygnus spacecraft in orbit after smooth burns of its twin-engine first stage and solid-fueled second stage motor.

 

If all goes according to plan, the Antares will release the Cygnus spacecraft in orbit about 10 minutes after liftoff.

 

Then the Cygnus spacecraft will begin its own mission, exercising its software, engines, and other systems to ensure the vehicle is in top condition before it is trusted to approach within the space station's safety corridor on autopilot.

 

Under the control of Orbital Sciences engineers based in the company's Dulles, Va., headquarters, the Cygnus will extend its solar arrays, activate its propulsion system and start firing its thrusters to pace its approach to the International Space Station, where it is due to arrive Sept. 22.

 

Astronaut Luca Parmitano will guide the space station's robot arm to reach out and grapple the Cygnus spacecraft as it floats just below the outpost. The robot arm will move the Cygnus to a berthing port on the space station's Harmony module, where it will stay for about 30 days as the crew opens hatches and starts to unpack 1,500 pounds of food and other gear carried inside the vehicle's pressurized module, which is built by Thales Alenia Space of Italy.

 

Future Cygnus flights will haul more cargo, but Suffredini said NASA requested a light load on the demonstration mission - mostly low-priority supplies that officials would not miss if lost.

 

The astronauts will place trash and other equipment for disposal into the Cygnus compartment before the automated spacecraft's departure in October. Like the space station's Japanese, European and Russian supply vehicles, the Cygnus will burn up in the atmosphere during re-entry.

 

SpaceX's Dragon capsule is the only operational cargo craft capable of returning significant payloads to Earth intact.

 

If the flight is successful, the next Cygnus mission - tentatively set for December - will be the first of eight operational cargo deliveries under a $1.9 billion resupply contract with NASA.

 

Source of NASA Space Suit Leak Evades Latest NASA Troubleshooting

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

The "smoking gun" behind the spacesuit leak that allowed water to invade the helmet of European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano during a July 16 U.S. spacewalk outside the International Space Station eluded experts in NASA's Mission Control during a round of troubleshooting over the U.S. Labor Day weekend.

 

A suspect water relief valve and gas trap extracted from the leaky, shuttle-era NASA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) will be returned to Earth late Sept. 10th aboard Russia's Soyuz TMA-08M crew transport for more extensive analysis. The Soyuz capsule is undergoing preparations to descend into Kazakhstan with Russians Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin as well as NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy. The three men are concluding a more-than-five-month tour of duty aboard the ISS.

 

Efforts by NASA's spacesuit and life support system experts to establish a cause for the July 16 seepage seemed to point to the valve, an associated filter or the gas trap as the most likely source of a problem that might force water from the suit's cooling system into the airflow apparatus. An estimated 1 to 1 1/2 liters of water entered an airflow vent at the back of Parmitano's head between his communications cap and the top of the helmet. The liquid seeped over the communications cap and gathered around his eyes, ears and nose.

 

His scheduled six- to seven-hour spacewalk with Cassidy was called to a halt by NASA's Mission Control after 92 minutes. U.S. spacewalks were suspended in the aftermath, while investigations on two fronts search for a root cause, contributing factors as well as a repair strategy.

 

At the direction of NASA troubleshooters, Cassidy and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg removed the water relief valve, then the gas trap from the faulty space suit's Primary Life Support System (PLSS), or backpack, on Aug. 31. After each of those steps -- carried out in the space station airlock -- the EMU was re-activated by Cassidy and Nyberg without Parmitano in it. Each time the helmet leaked again, a sure sign the root cause remained elusive. The troubleshooting took seven hours.

 

"So, we have not isolated the exact component that failed on Luca's helmet," Dina Contella, a NASA lead flight director involved in the troubleshooting, said Tuesday. "But we did a lot of good work recovering those elements. We bagged them all up for return on the Soyuz."

 

Parmitano, a 36-year-old Italian Air Force test pilot, made his way back to the ISS air lock on July 16, though largely blinded and unable to hear because of the water buildup.

 

The troubleshooting has been hindered by the close proximity and intricacy of the suspect PLSS hardware, said Contella. The filter, for instance, may have trapped fine particles in the water flow that diverted the coolant into the air ventiliation system. Working with small components in the absence of gravity is also a limiting factor.

 

"It's difficult to pinpoint the issue when you can't just go grab the items off the suit, then have your experts take a look at them," noted Contella. "It takes a lot of effort to get them out."

 

Japan's robo-astronaut takes 'one small step...'

 

Agence France Presse

 

 

A pint-sized android has uttered the first robotic words in space, showcasing Japan's drive to combine cutting-edge technology with cuteness.

 

The wide-eyed and bootie-wearing "Kirobo" - roughly the size of a Chihuahua, broadcast a message from inside the International Space Station, greeting citizens of Earth and paying cheeky tribute to Neil Armstrong.

 

"On August 21, 2013, a robot took one small step toward a brighter future for all," Kirobo said in a video that showed the humanoid creation drifting weightlessly on-board the ISS, as it moved its legs in the air.

 

The images made their global debut on Wednesday as part of Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Games during a presentation ahead of a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires which will decide the host city.

 

"Good morning to everyone on Earth. This is Kirobo. I am the world's first talking robot astronaut. Nice to meet you," it said in Japanese.

 

The humanoid was created jointly by advertising firm Dentsu, the University of Tokyo, robot developer Robo Garage and Toyota.

 

The robot stands just 34 centimetres (13.4 inches) tall and weighs about one kilogram (2.2 pounds).

 

It left Earth on August 4 on a cargo-carrying rocket that was also delivering supplies to the ISS.

 

Kirobo is programmed to communicate in Japanese and keep records of its conversations with Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to command the ISS.

 

The robot is part of a study aimed at seeing how a non-human companion can provide emotional support for people isolated over long periods.

 

Final FY13 operating plan tweaks NASA's budget

 

Jeff Foust – SpacePolitics.com

 

Late last week NASA quietly released its final operating plan for fiscal year 2013, with just a month left in the fiscal year. The plan adjusts spending on some agency programs based on the post-sequester cuts to the FY2013 appropriations bill passed by Congress in March.

 

Here is the breakout of spending for agency programs in the operating plan, versus what the administration originally requested for FY13 back in early 2012 (all amounts in millions of dollars):

 

Account	FY13 Request	FY13 Final	Difference
SCIENCE	$4,911.2	$4,781.6	-$129.6
- Earth Science	$1,784.8	$1,659.2	-$125.6
- Planetary Science	$1,192.3	$1,271.5	$79.2
- Astrophysics	$659.4	$617.0	-$42.4
- JWST	$627.6	$627.6	$0.0
- Heliophysics	$647.0	$606.3	-$40.7
SPACE TECHNOLOGY	$699.0	$614.5	-$84.5
AERONAUTICS	$551.5	$529.5	-$22.0
EXPLORATION SYSTEMS	$3,932.8	$3,705.5	-$227.3
- SLS / Ground Systems	$1,504.5	$1,770.0	$265.5
- Orion	$1,024.9	$1,113.8	$88.9
- Commercial Spaceflight	$829.7	$525.0	-$304.7
- Exploration R&D	$333.7	$296.7	-$37.0
SPACE OPERATIONS	$4,013.2	$3,724.9	-$288.3
- ISS	$3,007.6	$2,775.9	-$231.7
- Space Shuttle	$70.0	$38.8	-$31.2
- Space and Flight Support	$935.6	$910.2	-$25.4
EDUCATION	$100.0	$116.3	$16.3
CROSS AGENCY SUPPORT	$2,847.5	$2,711.0	-$136.5
CONSTRUCTION	$619.2	$646.6	$27.4
INSPECTOR GENERAL	$37.0	$35.3	-$1.7
TOTAL	$17,711.4	$16,865.2	-$846.2

 

Every major account suffered a reduction with the exception of education, which saw a slight increase from the $100 million originally requested. Orion and SLS (including ground systems) ended up with somewhat more than what the administration first requested, although less than the pre-sequester levels in the final appropriations bill. Commercial crew, by comparison, got less than requested, but the operating plan funds the program at the same level in that appropriations bill, $525 million, negating the impact of the sequester.

 

In the sciences, planetary science ended up with nearly $80 million more than requested, although short of the $1.415 billion in the pre-sequester appropriations bill. However, assuming the $75 million set aside in the bill for preparatory work on a proposed Europa mission (not requested by NASA) remains in place, the budget is effectively unchanged from the request. JWST ends up with exactly the amount originally requested to keep that program on track, while other science programs are cut by 6-7 percent from the original request.

 

Mobilian In Charge Of Next NASA Attempt

 

Darwin Singleton - WPMI TV (Mobile)

 

For the past few decades, the Space Shuttle was NASA's workhorse. It took man above the earth to rendezvous with the International Space Station.

 

Now NASA has its sights well beyond orbit of the earth, into deep space. And there's a man from Mobile who is going to help take us there.

 

"I was born in Mobile, lived in Spanish Fort for a while, and went to high school in Fairhope," said Mobile native, Todd May.

 

He said his teachers inspired his love for science.

 

It was a love he pursued at Auburn, where he got a degree in engineering. That was also where he hooked up with NASA, eventually landing at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

 

Now, he lords over the new Space Launch System, NASA's new effort to take man where the space shuttle didn't: to the moon, to Mars and beyond.

 

Space Shuttle pilot Tony Antonelli plans to be part of it.

 

"If you're under 40, you know, we haven't been to the moon in your life time," said the astronaut, "And when I say 'we', I mean people from earth haven't been. Earthlings haven't been to the moon in your lifetime, if you are under 40."

 

And when this does happen, Mobilian Todd May won't be the only connection from the Gulf Coast that gets the Space Launch System (SLS) off the ground.

 

"The engines for the rockets are the same ones we used on the space shuttle and we're testing those now at Stinnis in Mississippi," said May, "We'll be having an engine firing there tomorrow (Thursday). We're building the core of the rocket at Michoud in New Orleans."

 

Thursday, Todd travels to Fairhope High School to speak to students there.

 

He'll tell them, with the right encouragement and knowledge, you can reach new heights, no matter where you were born nor where you grew up, even right here on our gulf coast.

 

SLS director speaks in Mobile on NASA's 'next great ship'

 

Budd McLaughlin - WAFF TV (Huntsville)

 

The director of NASA's Space Launch System Program spoke about NASA's "next great ship" from the deck of the battleship U.S.S. Alabama in Mobile on Wednesday.

 

Todd May, who grew up in Fairhope, said the SLS, which is managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, will be the most powerful rocket in the world.

 

A graduate of Auburn, May was in the area as part of the NASA Business to Business Forum to update business on the progress of SLS. The first unmanned-flight test is scheduled for 2017.

 

"I grew up on the Gulf Coast," May said in a Marshall Space Flight Center press release. "And down there, we regularly stand on land and look out at the horizon. It beckons, 'What's out there?' Space exploration beckons the same thing.

 

"We intend to build the 'ship' that will take us to places in the universe we've never been before. And like the fleets that set out to sea, we look forward to the journey that awaits us." 

 

Meanwhile, Russia is considering banning the United States from using its rocket engines for military communication satellites.

 

The ban could affect all of the space programs because NASA also uses Russian engines to put deep space exploration vehicles into orbit.

 

The United Launch Alliance, which has a rocket facility in Decatur, said a ban would "not halt ULA's launches."

 

ULA officials said in the "unlikely event that Russia stops supplying the engines, ULA has enough stockpiled for launches over the next several years."

 

NASA Picks Top 96 Ideas for Asteroid-Capture Mission

 

Mike Wall - Space.com

 

As NASA continues to plan out its ambitious mission to snag an asteroid and park it near the moon, the space agency will consider nearly 100 ideas submitted by potential partners.

 

NASA has selected the top 96 proposals of more than 400 submitted by outside groups in response to a June request for information (RFI) designed to aid its asteroid-capture mission and improve humanity's ability to protect Earth from dangerous space rocks, officials announced Wednesday.

 

"This rich set of innovative ideas gathered from all over the world provides us with a great deal of information to factor into our plans moving forward," NASA associate administrator Robert Lightfoot said in a statement. "We're making great progress on formulating this mission, and we look forward to discussing further the responses we received to the RFI."

 

The chosen proposals are broad and varied, addressing how to slow down an asteroid's rotation rate, nudge it off a potential collision course with Earth and grab samples for scientists to study here on our planet, among other topics, officials said.

 

NASA will examine the 96 concepts further during a public workshop from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, enlisting the help of experts from within and outside the space agency.

 

NASA announced the asteroid-retrieval mission in April. The agency plans to drag a roughly 25-foot-wide (7.6 meters), 500-ton space rock to a stable orbit near the moon with a robotic probe. Once there, the near-Earth asteroid could be visited by astronauts using NASA's Orion capsule and huge Space Launch System rocket (SLS), both of which are in development.

 

The mission represents one way to meet a major goal laid out by President Barack Obama, who in 2010 directed NASA to send humans to an asteroid by 2025, then get them to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s. (Orion and SLS are slated to fly crews together for the first time in 2021.)

 

Grabbing a space rock would also help develop asteroid-mining technology, yield insights about the solar system's early days and give humanity crucial experience working in deep space, advocates say.

 

The plan has its detractors, however, notably people who would prefer that NASA use the moon as a stepping stone to Mars. In June, for example, the U.S. House of Representatives' Science space subcommittee drew up a draft authorization bill that would nix the asteroid-retrieval mission and direct astronauts back to the moon.

 

A/B Test: Comparing magnificent spaceships of Orbital Sciences & SpaceX

 

Becky Ferreira - Wired.com

 

We have a space station in permanent orbit ... but not a lot of rockets that can get there. On the assumption that the free market can blast us to the ISS on the cheap, NASA has awarded resupply contracts to two private companies, Orbital Sciences and SpaceX.

 

But the two space ferries have some key differences, and the competition between them is shaping up to be a dogfight between reliable spaceships of the past and slick ones from the future. Here's how they line up…

 

ORBITAL SCIENCES

Rocket: Antares

Capsule: Cygnus

 

Orbital produces the Toyota Tacoma of the thermosphere—solid, reliable transport. The first-stage engines are stockpiled Soviet NK-33s from the early 1970s. And fuel-wise, the Antares is a sensible liquid-solid hybrid—mechanically simpler than a pure liquid-fuel craft but with more punch than a solid-fuel rocket.

 

Also, both the Cygnus and the Antares immolate in the atmosphere on the way down, which means Orbital avoids the headaches of reentry, like heat shields and splashdown prep. And no people on board means no cumbersome life-support systems.

 

Orbital will get $43,000 per pound from NASA—$1.9 billion for eight deliveries to the ISS—and a demo resupply mission is scheduled to dock with the ISS in mid-September. It's no frills and no drama—getting to the ISS is the only point.

 

Capsule Height: 32.5 feet

Rocket Height: 131.2 feet

Cargo Mass (going up): 4,409 lbs.

Cargo Mass (going down—in the form of trash to be incinerated in the atmosphere on the way back): 4,409 lbs.

 

SPACEX

Rocket: Falcon 9

Capsule: Dragon

 

CEO Elon Musk is getting $1.6 billion for 12 deliveries (it works out to $36,000 per pound) to be completed by 2016. And so far, so good: The first unmanned Dragon capsule successfully docked with the ISS in May 2012. (Manned Dragons will come later.)

 

The goal, SpaceX says, is a reusable ship that can make a launchpad pit stop, then blast off into the ether the same day. The capsule even has a superstrong heat shield made of resin-enriched carbon fiber.

 

For fuel, Falcon rockets burn liquid oxygen and RP-1, a refined form of kerosene. It's tricky to store, but it won't be hanging around on the launchpad, since SpaceX is planning those same-day turnarounds.

 

Musk's Falcon is designed to be scalable, with more engines—because ultimately he plans to send this space Ferrari to Mars. The ISS is just a stepping stone.

 

Capsule Height: 23.6 feet

Rocket Height: 227 feet

Cargo Mass (going up): 13,228 lbs.

Cargo Mass (going down): 6,614 lbs.

 

Could lemur hibernation answer space travel questions?

 

Geoffrey Mohan - Los Angeles Times

 

A lemur that hibernates is strange and cute enough. But studying its lethargic state may provide a clue to sending humans on long-distance space travel or healing the ravages of heart attacks, stroke and head trauma, according to researchers at Duke University.

 

The western fat-tailed dwarf lemur, a pocket-sized nocturnal primate native to Madagascar, is the closest genetic cousin of humans to hibernate for long periods, a discovery made by a German research team in 2004.

 

The revelation that primates hibernated led to a happy coincidence at Duke, which happens to have a lemur center and a sleep laboratory. Researchers there soon found two more Madagascar lemur species that hibernated.

 

Dr. Andrew D. Krystal, director of the medical school's sleep lab, became intrigued. He brought it up with one of the directors of the lemur center during the pair's weekly bicycle ride: What happens to lemurs when they tamp down their metabolism to a state of torpor? What are their brain waves like? Do they sleep?

 

The answer Krystal got was essentially, "Beats me."

 

Research has shown sleep is crucial for recharging the body's metabolic batteries, and chronic deprivation can change food intake, cause weight gain, lead to insulin sensitivity and affect hormones. What if lemurs didn't need much sleep because they hibernated? Could it answer questions about human physiology?

 

"It is the closest genetic relative to humans that hibernates and is therefore the most likely to be providing useful information to understanding things like what is the capacity to induce hibernation-like states in humans," said Krystal, a psychiatrist.

 

"If we wanted to travel to some point in outer space that took 100 years, how could we possibly do it?" Krystal said. "We would have to induce a period of hibernation that would allow a person not to need to function for a period of time in order to get there and survive and return."

 

More terrestrially, a torpid state could help medical interventions for a heart attack, for example. "If you could drop the cellular demand for oxygen, you could then have somebody go in and open up that blockage and not have much damage to your heart," said Krystal. "The same would be true of a stroke, or traumatic injury to a part of the body, particularly the brain, which is very sensitive to hypoxia."

 

What Krystal's team found turned what's known about mammal hibernation on its head, according to a study published online Wednesday in PLOS One. The primates, which hibernate in warm climates, have opposite sleep patterns to those in freezing climates, with implications for temperature regulation and metabolism.

 

"These animals hibernate in climates that get quite warm," Krystal said. "They get over 90 degrees during the day and they get down in the 40s at night."

 

The Arctic ground squirrel, the more frequently studied mammal, doesn't appear to sleep during its winter hibernation. But the squirrels will spontaneously kick up their metabolic engines occasionally, then fall into a state of sleep without rapid eye movement. Their metabolism seems to "wake up" to go into non-REM sleep, and it seems to have something to do with temperature regulation.

 

Sleep appears "so important to these animals that they arouse out of their torpor, and it's a metabolically expensive thing to do," Krystal said. "There's got to be a good reason for it, and it may not be the sleep, but sleep seems to be linked to the process."

 

In toasty warm periods of the lemur hibernation, however, the pocket primates readily fell into REM sleep, a period when mammals are known to suspend temperature response, the study found.

 

That kind of information about body temperature, metabolism and sleep is crucial to knowing what could happen to humans if researchers unlock the key - possibly a genetic one - to inducing hibernation in humans.

 

"There are all kinds of interesting possibilities that open up that sound a bit like science fiction," Krystal said. "But I think fundamentally we're motivated by the medical applications. This is the long-term view of why we're doing this."

 

Leaders tout proposed spaceport in Houston

 

Juan Lozano - Associated Press

 

 

Houston is working to solidify its place in the commercial space race with an ongoing effort to build the nation's latest spaceport.

 

The city is currently working to apply for a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to run a spaceport. Houston's proposed facility would be at Ellington Airport, which is home to U.S. military and NASA operations.

 

Mario Diaz, director of Houston's Department of Aviation, said it is only natural that Houston build a spaceport and enter the commercial space race as the city has long been home to NASA's Mission Control and Johnson Space Center, where astronauts conduct most of their training. The Houston-area is also home to more than 50 aerospace contract companies that support NASA and other spaceflight efforts.

 

But Houston's status as home to the nation's space program has taken a hit in recent years as the space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011 and NASA decided to hire out space station supply runs to private industry. The local space industry has also suffered job losses in recent years and residents felt snubbed when NASA didn't award the city one of the four retired space shuttles.

 

"How does the city dubbed `Space City USA' hold onto the title in the 21st century? We think this is the answer: the Houston spaceport," Diaz said.

 

Diaz on Wednesday unveiled drawings and three-dimensional graphics depicting various facets of the proposed spaceport, including a sleek-looking passenger terminal building and an aviation museum on a 450-acre site.

 

Airport system officials said their plans for a spaceport include accommodating reusable launch vehicles, space vehicle assembly, astronaut training and launching of microsatellites.

 

Diaz said the spaceport would also focus on space tourism. He envisioned the facility having a terminal similar to one found at most airports where people would board aircraft that would take off like an airplane. But when the aircraft would get over the Gulf of Mexico, it would take a more vertical trajectory and ascend to the outer reaches of space before returning back to the spaceport for a landing.

 

Diaz said the application process for a spaceport license takes 12 to 15 months and if it is granted, the hope is to build the facility within five to 10 years. He said officials have not determined what the spaceport's cost would be, but the plan to pay for it would include funding from the private sector, city bonds and some federal grants.

 

There are currently eight licensed spaceports in the country, including facilities in Alaska, California and New Mexico.

 

Eight other locations, including Houston, are in various stages of development. Besides Houston, other Texas cities working on spaceport proposals include the Brownsville area and Midland.

 

"This is a new and exciting sector of the 21st century economy that carries amazing potential for growth," Houston Mayor Annise Parker said in a statement. "We believe a licensed spaceport in Houston would not only serve as an economic generator for the city but it would also enhance Houston's well-deserved reputation as a leader and key player in the aerospace industry."

 

Plans for proposed Ellington spaceport unveiled

 

T.J. Aulds - Galveston County Daily News

 

The Texas Gulf Coast is poised to launch into the next generation of air travel with the development of a commercial spaceport.

 

Houston Airport System officials on Wednesday unveiled concept drawings of a proposed spaceport at Ellington Field.

 

The concepts gave a view of the overall project, including a terminal facility, an aviation museum and space for aerospace industries that would likely be located in the area should the spaceport receive the required approvals. If licensed, Houston would be home to the nation's ninth spaceport.

 

"It's important to realize that this type of work is already taking place today," Houston Aviation Director Mario C. Diaz said. "This is not a conversation based on science fiction or futuristic projections. This is a conversation about how Houston can access and enhance an industry that is already well-established and growing exponentially."

 

The launches being proposed for Ellington Field would involve reusable launch vehicles that use horizontal, rather than vertical, takeoffs, similar to commercial aircraft.

 

Should the required licensing be secured, the Houston Airport System would move forward in establishing the required infrastructure and support facilities needed to accommodate enterprises such as component and composite fabrication, space vehicle assembly, launching of microsatellites, astronaut training, zero-gravity experimentation and space tourism, Diaz said.

 

Contingent on getting the proper licenses to be a spaceport, Diaz expects the first parts of the spaceport to begin development within five to 10 years.

 

The proposed spaceport would be on about 450 acres of property at the Ellington complex.

 

Funding would come in part from the City of Houston, private investment and federal grants, Diaz said. He expects the ongoing funding for the complex would be through real estate transactions, including the lease of space to commercial spacecraft companies, support services and terminal space.

 

Diaz did not offer an estimated price tag to develop the spaceport at Ellington.

 

The $64 million question is, will it work?

 

Dan Seal, the special projects director for the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership is confident the answer is yes.

 

"If you look in the next decade or two decades, there's a lot of interest, especially in suborbital flight," Seal said. "Being able for people (such as) space tourists, businessmen and women to be able to fly from Houston to Beijing in an hour and a half, I think is a tremendous vision that people can wrap their arms around."

 

There is also great potential for scientific research within the suborbital flight, which is about 100,000 feet.

 

Those working to develop the new generation of commercial spaceflight offered encouragement as well.

 

"It is gratifying to see Houston emerge as the latest applicant to join the growing network of spaceports across the country," said Michael Lopez-Alegria, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. "The area has many attributes that appeal to commercial space entities, including geographical location that allows easy access to offshore airspace, a strong and diverse economy that provides an educated and skilled workforce, and, of course, a long tradition of close association with human spaceflight."

 

END