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Friday, October 11, 2013

Fwd: NASA News Summary for Friday, October 11, 2013



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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: October 11, 2013 6:25:51 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA News Summary for Friday, October 11, 2013

Happy Friday everyone. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

 

                                                                                                             

 

Editor's Note.

The NASA News Summary will not publish on Monday, October 14, due to the Columbus Day Federal holiday. Publication will resume on Tuesday, October 15.

Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter Passes Away.

NBC Nightly News (10/10, story 7, 2:15, Williams, 7.86M) broadcast that Mercury astronaut and "genuine American hero" Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit the Earth, passed away at the age of 88. Anchor Brian Williams notes that this leaves John Glenn as the only Mercury 7 astronaut still alive today.

       

Bolden Offers "Olive Branch" To Banned Chinese Scientists.

The ScienceInsider (10/11, Mervis, 507K), in continuing coverage, reports NASA Administrator Charles Bolden offered "an olive branch" to Chinese scientists banned from a scientific meeting at the Ames Research Center. He said he would "recontact the [scientists] immediately upon the reopening of the government to allow them to reapply" for admittance. However, because the conference is on November 4, and gaining a security clearance can take weeks, the article notes that this opportunity may not "make any difference."

              

        Columnist Examines Chinese Space Program 10 Years After First Manned Launch. In his "Dragon Space" column for Space Daily (10/11, 2K), Morris Jones writes about the upcoming 10th anniversary of the first Chinese person launched into space. Jones describes the "steady progress" China has made in space, noting that many Chinese citizens seem "somewhat disinterested" in the program. However, Jones adds that there is the "nagging issue" of the low launch rate, but China appears to care more about steady progress rather than rapid progress. To Jones, China still has a ways to go to be in the same "league" as the US. China is moving towards its own space station that will be "much smaller than the International Space Station," but because of the "frosty relations between China and the USA," no NASA astronaut will likely journey there.

Non-Government Workers Now Being Affected By Shutdown.

The Wall Street Journal (10/11, Subscription Publication, 5.91M) reports that with the government shutdown continuing, even businesses that do not receive Federal funding are preparing for a financial impact. For instance, Rebekah Klein, owner of Emma's Tea Room, said she has lost business because Marshall Space Flight Center employees are not coming to her shop like they used to. The Huntsville chamber of commerce also estimates that half of Huntsville's workers have some times to NASA or the government. The article notes that hotels around the Johnson Space Center also have experienced some loss.

       

        The Galveston County (TX) Daily News (10/11, 4K) reports Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, wrote a white paper that claimed that with most of JSC employees furloughed, and 11,000 other JSC contractors also facing furloughs, the longer the shutdown continues, the "harder" it will be for Houston's private industry to recover. According to the article, Mitchell said the situation is resulting in "economic misery."

        The Dallas Morning News (10/11, Gillman, 1.13M) reports Texas' Congressional Democrats are warning Sen Ted Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn about the "escalating problems for Texas" if the government shutdown continues, because of things like JSC furloughs. According to the article, these Republicans are not showing any signs yet of "budging" from their positions.

        No "Precise" Rule Exists For What Counts As An Essential Function. McClatchy (10/10, Clark, Lightman, 95K) reports how there is "no precise definition" on what is an essential government function and can remain open and what is not. The article notes that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is allowed to work as a presidential appointee, but NASA's chief human resources officer, who decided what was essential for NASA and what was not, placed herself on furlough.

Shutdown Will Not Affect Orbital Sciences' Next Cygnus Launch.

Space News (10/11, Leone, Subscription Publication, 481) continues coverage of the end of the Cygnus spacecraft's time at the ISS, leaving the station on October 22 to be disposed of over the Pacific Ocean on October 24. The article notes if all goes as planned, Orbital Sciences' first Cygnus cargo delivery mission under the Commercial Resupply Services contract could take place in "late December or early January," and that work will not be affected by the government shutdown. Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said the "skeleton services" currently at the Wallops Flight Facility would be enough for a launch. Dale Nash, executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, also said there was "no impact" on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) from the shutdown as well.

        NASASpaceFlight (10/11, 305) notes the Cygnus has had a "trouble-free stay" while at the ISS, only experiencing a "cabin fan problem."

Tito: 2018 An Important Year If US Wants To Be First To Send People To Mars.

The Huntsville (AL) Times (10/11, Berry, 127K) "Business" blog reports that Dennis Tito, founder and chairman of the Inspiration Mars Foundation and first person to pay his way to the ISS, told the Wernher von Braun Memorial Dinner on Wednesday that if his organization does not launch in 2018 for a flyby of Mars, that may be the last chance for the US to be the first country to send people to the planet. Discussing the venture, Tito said he would soon submit to Congress a plan "laying out every specific" to show his private venture is "technically sound." The article also notes that several students and aerospace officials received awards at the dinner, including former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, who was given the von Braun Space Flight Trophy, Garry Lyles, NASA Space Launch System chief engineer, who was given the von Braun Memorial Award for Astronautics Engineering, Marshall Space Flight Center's Chryssa Kouveliotou, who was given the Distinguished Science Award, and former ISS commander Chris Hadfield, who was given the Communications Award.

California Science Center Celebrating Endeavour's First Year At The Center.

The KGET-TV Bakersfield, CA (10/11, 2:29 a.m. ET, 1K) broadcast on the one-year anniversary of the arrival of the Endeavour shuttle to the California Science Center. "Three days of events" are now scheduled to celebrate the event. Reporter Kim Baldonaldo went inside the shuttle's payload bay, "which carried up the International Space Station." She said while it is not carrying any of the cargo now, some payloads will be put back in as the center prepares to "turn the shuttle from a horizontal to vertical position."

First Meeting Held To Discuss Mars 2020 Rover Launch.

Florida Today (10/10, Dean, 222K) reported on the first of two public meetings to discuss the launch of the Mars 2020 rover program because NASA is considering using a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) powered by plutonium, similar to the system now on the Curiosity rover. In a video recording, George Tahu, program executive from NASA headquarters, said, "The Mars 2020 mission is the next giant step in the strategic exploration of Mars." Ryan Bechtel, manager of power system safety in the Department of Energy's Office of Space and Defense Power Systems, said the system had been tested to make sure that even in an accident, radioactive material would not be released. The article notes that meeting was allowed to go through during the shutdown because it was run by JPL contractors using video messages of NASA officials taped before the government closed.

Sun Releases Moderate Flare On Tuesday.

SPACE (10/10, Chow, 186K) reported the sun released its "strongest solar flare in nearly two months" on Tuesday, but measurements show it was only a "moderate" M2.8-class flare. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) also captured a video of the event that caused a "minor geomagnetic storm" on Earth. The article notes that because flares can have a significant impact on Earth, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has not been closed by the government shutdown.

       

Curiosity Images Penny Covered In Mars Dust.

The Daily Mail (UK) (10/11, 2.92M) reports on some of the images the Curiosity rover has sent back to Earth since it landed on Mars, including one of a "century-old penny" covered in Mars dust. The addition of the penny was a "homage" to the geological tradition of using one as a scale reference.

NASA Working To Develop 3D Printing In Space.

The WHNT-TV Huntsville, AL (10/11, Johnson, 38K) website reports how people at NASA, including Marshall Space Flight Center engineer Ken Cooper, are working on developing 3D printing, especially in space. The technology, which is being shipped to the ISS soon and has already made some rocket engine parts, has already "caught everyone's attention" for the way it is reducing development costs. Cooper said, "Our biggest thrust is going to be qualifying this brand new manufacturing technique for making flight hardware, because unlike casting and machining, which has been around for thousands of years, this has only been around for 23-years." Cooper said any issues facing the technology is "solvable over time." According to the article, the prospect of having equipment in space when needed is "exciting" to astronauts. WHNT-TV Huntsville, AL (10/10, 11:11 p.m. ET, 38K) had a TV broadcast on the report, which was carried two other times during the day.

       

Leno Jokes About ISS Beer Experiment.

In his opening monologue for NBC's The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (10/10, 11:39 p.m. ET), Leno jokes about the student beer experiment that is heading to the ISS, using a video clip from the movie "Gravity" of what will take place once astronauts get their hands on alcohol.

Russia's SAR-400 Russia Undergoing Testing.

Evan Ackerman at the IEEE Spectrum (10/11, 3K) "Automaton" blog writes Russia's SAR-400 robot, "their version of Robonaut," is now undergoing testing ahead of its launch to the ISS a few years from now. Oleg Gordiyenko, science directorate deputy head at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Research Institute, said the robot should operate inside and outside the ISS once launched in two years, acting as a "partner" to the Robonaut. Ackerman notes that last year, officials also said its launch was two years away, so maybe people are not "quite sure what exactly is going to happen when."

Ways To Remove Space Debris Listed.

George Dvorsky at io9 (10/11, 442K) explains the growing threat of space debris to satellites, spacecraft, and the ISS, and then explains how debris could be actively removed. Dvorsky lists the "top four contenders" now under consideration or development that could clean up space, as well as some less feasible ones.

Ostapenko Named The New Head Of Roscosmos.

AFP (10/11) reports Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced Oleg Ostapenko, previously deputy defense minister, will be the new head of Roscosmos, replacing Vladimir Popovkin, whose tenure had "continuing embarrassments." The article notes Popovkin himself was appointed to end "frustration" with a series of failures as well. AFP ends its coverage by summarizing the state of Russia's space program since the end of the Soviet Union, including the fact the US needs it to get astronauts to the ISS.

       

Iran Plans Three Satellite Launches By March 2014.

According to Press TV (IRN) (10/10, 10K), the deputy head of the Iran Space Agency, Hamid Fazeli, announced Iran plans to launch "three indigenously designed and manufactured satellites" into orbit by March 20, 2014, the end of the Iranian calendar year. Fazeli says two satellites, Tadbir and Sharif Sat, will launch first and are to be delivered to ISA within a month. According to the article, Sharif Sat "weighs less than 50 kilograms and will be launched onboard the indigenous Safir B-1 carrier." Tadbir will have GPS and "is an upgraded version of the Navid-e Elm-o Sanat (Harbinger of Science and Industry) satellite, which was put into space earlier." The third satellite, Nahid, is being developed in cooperation with Amir Kabir University of Technology. Additionally, Iran plans to send a Pishgam-2 (Piooner-2) capsule with a living creature into space "soon."

       

Soyuz-2.1v Test Launch Scheduled For December 24.

Russia's Interfax (10/11) reports the first test launch for the Soyuz-2.1v rocket is scheduled for December 24, according to the Progress State Research and Production Space Center (CSKB-Progress). The launch has been delayed dude to "an accident during the testing of the rocket's engine."

Photographer Captures Falcon 9 Launch In Composite Photo.

SPACE (10/11, 186K) shares a composite image from photographer David A. Kodama capturing several stages of the September 29 SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch. Kodama "used a Nikon D700 camera with a Sigma 15 mm fisheye lens shot at 3-second intervals" and captured the trajectory of the rocket from three miles away.

China And Ukraine Cooperating On Long March Rockets.

At Next Big Future (10/11, Wang, 3K), Brian Wang writes that China and Ukraine will expand their current cooperation program with "new large-scale projects," according to Ukraine's State Space Agency. Part of the cooperation reportedly includes Ukrainian engines on the Long March 6 rocket , possibly launching in 2013, and the Long March 7 rocket, possibly launching in 2014. According to Wang, "the program includes over 50 priority and promising joint projects. They concern the creation of a joint space system for Earth observation, a joint ionospheric satellite to create an earthquake prediction system, as well as the creation and delivery to Chinese partners of a wide range of equipment for rocket and space technology." In his conclusion, Wang predicts China will spend 15 to 20 years investing in a reusable rocket design.



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