Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - November 4, 2013

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: November 4, 2013 7:26:11 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - November 4, 2013

Hope you can join us this Thursday, November 7^th,  at Hibachi Grill in Webster for our monthly NASA Retirees Luncheon at 11:30.

 

 

Monday, November 4, 2013

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JSC TODAY CATEGORIES Headlines -  Safety and Health Day 2.0.13 - With Another Twist -  IT Labs FY14 Project Call Begins Today -  JSC Procurement Announcement -  Flu Shots: Upcoming Dates -  Watch for Deer on Roads -  New NASA@work Challenge - Don't Miss Out -  Recent JSC Announcement Organizations/Social -  Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society -  Grab Your Walking Shoes for JSC Wellness Walks -  Starport Boot Camp Starts Nov. 13 -  The 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Jobs and Training -  Lateral Reassignment Positions Available -  Job Opportunities -  All Job Announcements to Be Re-Advertised -  RLLS Portal WebEx Training for November Community -  Help Team Morpheus With Their CANstruction -  Mae Jemison Ethics and Leadership Lecture at UH

3C353: Giant Plumes of Radiation

 

Headlines Safety and Health Day 2.0.13 - With Another Twist It's New. Bold. Innovative. Nov. 14! Our guest speaker is now Dr. Michale Manser, Human Factors program manager at the Texas Transportation Institute. Manser has been leading and conducting behavior, cognition and perceptual research with vehicle operators since 1994, with a focus on the effects of distraction on operator/vehicle control; the use of highly automated systems/vehicles; and, most recently, the potential safety implications of connected vehicles technology on safety-relevant driver responses. At 9 a.m., join us in the Teague Auditorium for the center director kickoff and guest speaker Manser. Between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., get your flu shot in the Building 30 lobby. From 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., visit some of the 57 different informational exhibits, displays and demos around campus. From 4 to 5 p.m., it's the Health Run/Walk at the Gilruth Center - look for something different this year! Visit our website. Event Date: Thursday, November 14, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:5:00 PM Event Location: Teague Auditorium, Bldg 30, JSC Mall Area & Add to Calendar Suprecia Franklin/Angel Plaza x37817/x37305 http://sthday.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top] IT Labs FY14 Project Call Begins Today You can make NASA IT better. IT Labs supports project ideas from NASA's own internal talent and develops these ideas into agency services. Both civil servants and contractors are invited to submit ideas. Every year, IT Labs solicits applications for innovative NASA IT project ideas. The Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) project call will run from TODAY, Nov. 4, through Dec. 12. Learn more at the NASA IT Labs website (NDC credentials required). If you have an idea, coordinate with the JSC Chief Technology Officer for IT. IT Labs' agencywide review panel will evaluate all submissions and fund a select number of projects. Support: Four Q&A sessions are scheduled from Nov. 6 through Dec. 9 (see "Upcoming Events" at bottom). Please attend one of the Q&A sessions for information about the project call and application process. Send comments and/or questions to NASA IT Labs. Follow IT Labs' activities on the IT Labs Blog. JSC-IRD-Outreach x45678 https://labs.nasa.gov/SitePages/Project%20Call.aspx [top] JSC Procurement Announcement Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement: JSCA 13-037: Communications with Industry Procurement Solicitation for the JSC Administrative Support Services II (JASS II) Contract Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page.   Linda Turnbough 3-6246 [top] Flu Shots: Upcoming Dates The Occupational Health Branch provides FREE flu shots to JSC civil servants and contractors who are housed on-site. Here is our upcoming schedule: Nov. 6: Building  30L - 8:30 a.m. to noon Nov. 7: Ellington Field Building 273 - 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 14: Building 30L - 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. To expedite the process, PLEASE visit the website below, read the Influenza Vaccine Information Statement and complete the consent form prior to arrival. Please wear clothing that allows easy to access your upper arm (short sleeves or sleeveless). Bob Martel x38581 http://sd.jsc.nasa.gov/omoh/scripts/OccupationalMedicine/Fluprogram.aspx [top] Watch for Deer on Roads Please be extra cautious as you drive around JSC over the next couple weeks. We are in the middle of deer breeding, or "the rut." Deer are far more active during this period and less attentive to vehicles. Consequently, the risk of dangerous deer-vehicle collisions increases drastically during this time. Deer are most active around sunrise and sunset, which will coincide with periods of high traffic after the end of Daylight Savings. Practice safe driving: watch for deer, maintain a safe speed and following distance, avoid using cell phones while driving and be especially alert when arriving in the morning and leaving in the evenings. Matthew Strausser x33862 [top] New NASA@work Challenge - Don't Miss Out Are you in need of a technology breakthrough that could enable a NASA mission? Are you searching for out-of-the-box ideas that could help revolutionize space travel? We are excited to announce an opportunity to submit your problem to the Centennial Challenges program for consideration as a new challenge. NASA's flagship program for technology prize competitions needs new competition ideas and is inviting submissions of new challenge concepts through the NASA@Work internal, crowdsourcing platform. Up to five winners (individuals or teams) will be selected and will be eligible for up to 0.5 FTE in Fiscal Year 2014 to further develop a detailed Concept of Operations and draft competition rules to support the launch of a new Centennial Challenge that addresses the submitted technology need. This challenge is now open and will run through Nov. 27. Click here for full details and requirements. Good luck! Kathryn Keeton 469-450-1864 https://nasa.innocentive.com [top] Recent JSC Announcement Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement: JSCA 13-037: Key Personnel Assignment - Annette Moore 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 Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society How would you like to find your own meteorite? Expeditions go to Antarctica for that exact reason. Our guest presenter, Dr. Stan Love from NASA, will tell us about his trip to the bottom of the world to collect meteorites. Have you seen Venus in the southwest sky at sunset? How about the Andromeda galaxy overhead to the northeast? They and other interesting observing targets will be covered in the "What's up in the sky this month?" talk. Other intriguing topics are: "Astro Oddities" and the popular novice Q&A session. We'll also discuss our upcoming Star Parties and the recent Astronomy Day. JSC Astronomical Society is for anyone who wants to learn about astronomy, and membership is FREE! After you join us, you'll have access to loaner telescopes so you can try your own hand at observing, and our amazing DVD library with hundreds of educational videos to borrow. Event Date: Friday, November 8, 2013   Event Start Time:7:30 PM   Event End Time:9:30 PM Event Location: USRA bldg. auditorium, 3600 Bay Area Blvd. Add to Calendar Jim Wessel x41128 http://www.jscas.net/ [top] Grab Your Walking Shoes for JSC Wellness Walks Looking for a convenient way to get active and have fun? If so, join us outside the Building 3 café for JSC Wellness Walks each Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. The walks are suitable for all fitness levels and last 30 minutes. No reservations are required. Just show up ready to have fun and get fit. Bring a friend and get fit together! JSC Wellness Walks start Tuesday, Nov. 5, and will be led by a member of the Starport Wellness Team. Joseph Callahan x42769 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/wellness [top] Starport Boot Camp Starts Nov. 13 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 Nov. 1) $90 per person (just $5 per class) Regular registration (Nov. 2 to 12): $110 per person The workout begins on Wednesday, Nov. 13. 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 x35563 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/recreation-programs/morning-bo... [top] The 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Starport is offering an adult 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The tournament is on Nov. 16 and for ages 16 and up. Event Date: Saturday, November 16, 2013   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:6:00 PM Event Location: Gilruth Center Add to Calendar Robert Vaughn x38049 http://imleagues.com/nasa-starport [top]    Jobs and Training Lateral Reassignment Positions Available   The Workforce Transition Tool is still the best place to find lateral reassignment and rotation opportunities for civil servants. Please note the new EVA Management Directorate (FA) positions listed under XA. Right now the following positions are posted: AD: Legislative Affairs Specialist BB: Contract Price/Cost Analysis NE: Safety Panel, Avionics and Software Assurance Engineer XA: Manager, EVA Flight & Increment Management (FM) XA: Manager, EVA Exploration Management (FX) XA: Manager, EVA Hardware Management (FH) To access the Workforce Transition Tool, open: HR Portal > Employees > Workforce Transition > Workforce Transition Tool. Check back frequently to see what new opportunities have been posted. David Kelley x27811 [top] Job Opportunities Where do I find job opportunities? Both internal Competitive Placement Plan (CPP) and external JSC job announcements are posted on the Human Resources (HR) portal and USAJOBS website. Through the HR portal, civil servants can view summaries of all the agency jobs that are currently open at: https://hr.nasa.gov/portal/server.pt/community/employees_home/239/job_opportu... To help you navigate to JSC vacancies, use the filter drop-down menu and select "JSC HR." The "Jobs" link will direct you to the USAJOBS website for the complete announcement and the ability to apply online. If you have questions about any JSC job vacancies, please call your HR representative. Lisa Pesak x30476 [top] All Job Announcements to Be Re-Advertised Due to the furlough last month, all job vacancy announcements (both internal to JSC and external) that closed or were open throughout the time period from Oct. 1 to 16 have now been cancelled. The job vacancies will be re-advertised, so interested applicants should check the Human Resources portal and USAJOBS website for new opportunities starting this week. Lisa Pesak x30476 [top] RLLS Portal WebEx Training for November The November Weekly RLLS Portal Education Series: Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. CST, Translation Support Training Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. CST, Telecon 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 questions and answers. Please remember that TTI will no longer accept requests 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]    Community Help Team Morpheus With Their CANstruction Help JSC's Morpheus Team as they compete in CANstruction Houston on Nov. 16. The team has identified their build design and the donations they need to make it a success. We're asking JSC groups/organizations/directorates to sign up to collect and donate ALL of one of "colors" listed below, as that allows the team to have uniformity in their design. Still needed are: 20 rice bags - 25- or 50-pound bags 42 cans ranch-style beans - 15 ounces (black label) 210 cans of Hormel Chili No Beans - 15 ounces (red/brown label) 276 cans where the labels are light blue - 14 ounces preferable Contact Joyce Abbey regarding which items your organization would like to collect and donate. The donation deadline is Nov. 8. Pick up can be arranged. Public viewing of CANstruction Houston is on Nov. 17 and Nov. 23 at CITYCENTRE in Houston. Joyce Abbey 281-335-2041 http://canstruction-houston.com/ [top] Mae Jemison Ethics and Leadership Lecture at UH Former astronaut Mae Jemison is giving a lecture on ethics and leadership at the University of Houston (UH) on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. The lecture is being held in the Cullen Performance Hall and is part of the 2013 Elizabeth D. Rockwell Lecture Series. The lecture is free and open to the public and UH community. To RSVP, send an email to events. Seating is limited. Event Date: Thursday, November 7, 2013   Event Start Time:7:00 PM   Event End Time:9:00 PM Event Location: Cullen Performance Hall, University of Houston Add to Calendar Brent Wong x46811 [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.

 

 

 

 

 

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·         11 am Central (Noon EST) – Video File of E38/39 crew activities & Soyuz TMA-11M mating

·         Noon Central (1 EST) – NASA Social – Preview upcoming NASA Earth science missions

 

Human Spaceflight News

Monday – November 4, 2013

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

ISS Robotics Lead To Cancer Diagnosis Treatment

 

Space Coast Daily

 

We may not be driving flying cars to work yet, but that doesn't mean we don't have a lot to be excited about from technology advances related to the space age. Instead of zipping past traffic jams, International Space Station-derived robotic capabilities are giving us a fast pass to life-saving surgical techniques with cancer-fighting finesse. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 232,340 women and 2,240 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the end of 2013 alone. From that, about 39,620 women and 410 men will not survive. The goal for a team of collaborative researchers with the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSii) in Canada is to reduce those numbers significantly. They are scheduled to enter an advanced platform into clinical trials this fall for use in the early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

 

Space's microgravity accelerates biological aging of some cells, scientists say

 

Sci-News.com

 

According to a team of researchers led by Dr Silvia Bradamante from Institute of Molecular Science and Technologies in Milan, Italy, microgravity accelerates cardiovascular disease and the biological aging of endothelial cells, the cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels. Dr Bradamante with colleagues examined endothelial cells in real microgravity aboard the International Space Station and conducted deep gene expression and protein analysis on the cells. Dr Bradamante reported the findings in the FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) Journal (abstract below).

 

The challenging environment on board the International Space Station affects endothelial cell function by triggering oxidative stress through thioredoxin interacting protein overexpression: the ESA-SPHINX experiment

 

Silvia Versari, Giulia Longinotti, Livia Barenghi,  Jeanette Anne Marie Maier† &  Silvia Bradamante - FASEB Journal

 

Abstract

 

Exposure to microgravity generates alterations that are similar to those involved in age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular deconditioning, bone loss, muscle atrophy, and immune response impairment. Endothelial dysfunction is the common denominator. To shed light on the underlying mechanism, we participated in the Progress 40P mission with Spaceflight of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs): an Integrated Experiment (SPHINX), which consisted of 12 in-flight and 12 ground-based control modules and lasted 10 d. Postflight microarray analysis revealed 1023 significantly modulated genes, the majority of which are involved in cell adhesion, oxidative phosphorylation, stress responses, cell cycle, and apoptosis.

 

adhesion, oxidative phosphorylation, stress responses, cell cycle, and apoptosis.

 

Florida To Invest $500,000 in NanoRacks

 

Irene Klotz - Space News

 

Space Florida, a state-backed economic development agency, will invest up to $500,000 in NanoRacks LLC, an in-space commercial services provider that next month will fly its first cubesat launcher to the international space station. The $500,000 represents the final piece of a $3.1 million round of Series A investment in XO Markets, the holding company for Houston-based NanoRacks.

 

Upcoming SpaceX Dragon Missions Place ISS Science at Center Stage

 

Ben Evans - AmericaSpace.com

 

More than two years since the last shuttle mission, the transition from construction to utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) has occurred and the orbital complex is steadily spreading its wings as an operational platform for science. Yesterday (Tuesday, 29 October), NASA announced plans to launch its $26 million Rapid Scatterometer—or "RapidScat"—aboard one of SpaceX's Dragon cargo vehicles in 2014. After arrival at the ISS, RapidScat will be removed from Dragon's unpressurized "trunk" by the station's robotic assets and installed onto the European Columbus module. It marks one of several key scientific and engineering payloads assigned to ride aboard SpaceX's workhorse cargo ship, which has flown two of a scheduled 12 Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions in October 2012 and March 2013, as part of its $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

 

Deep in the heart of Texas … from space

 

Eric Berger - Houston Chronicle's SciGuy

 

 

One of the most very special things about Houston is that it's the place where astronauts live. Some of them even fall in love, get married and have kids here. Like Karen Nyberg, presently aboard the International Space Station, and Doug Hurley, the pilot for the final space shuttle mission did. Karen is coming up on the end of six months aboard the station, and in about 10 days will be reunited with her husband and 3-year-old son, Jack. Do you think she's missing home? Here's the photo she posted to Pinterest on Thursday.

 

Space quilt project started

 

Alex Macon - Galveston County Daily News

 

Astronaut and occasional space seamstress Karen Nyberg has sewn a star-themed quilt block aboard the International Space Station and is asking quilters here on Earth to help complete the work. Crafters can contribute their own quilt blocks to be stitched into one enormous "space quilt," which will go on display at next year's International Quilt Festival in Houston. Video of Nyberg's in-orbit sewing will be on display at this year's quilt festival, which runs through Sunday at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The NASA exhibit at the festival will also feature other examples of space sewing, including samples from spacesuits and parachutes. Quilters have until Aug. 1 to submit a block to the space quilt. For more information, visit www.quilts.com (NO FURTHER TEXT)

 

Fourth ATV mission ends in fireball over Pacific Ocean

 

Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com

 

Five days after ending its mission at the International Space Station, a European logistics carrier plummeted back to Earth over the remote South Pacific Ocean on Saturday, disposing of nearly 2.4 tons of trash and liquid waste in a stream of glowing plasma visible from the orbiting complex. Video cameras aboard the space station captured footage of the Automated Transfer Vehicle's demise, showing the 32-foot-long freighter disintegrating over the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile. Astronauts on the station also took still images of the re-entry, which were expected to be downlinked later Saturday.

 

ESA looks to mid-2014 for final ATV mission to International Space Station

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

The European Space Agency's ATV-4 unpiloted International Space Station re-supply ship re-entered the Earth's atmosphere early Saturday, burning up harmlessly over the southern Pacific Ocean. The re-entry at 8:04 a.m., EDT, concluded a five month mission for the next to last of the large unpiloted cargo ships that serve as ESA's contribution to ISS operations through 2017. The final spacecraft in the series, the ATV-5, has been christened the Georges Lemaitre, for the 20th century Belgian physicist and priest associated with the big bang theory. It is scheduled for launching from the European spaceport in French Guiana in late June 2014.

 

Chris Hadfield's Lessons from Life in Orbit

 

Ira Flatow – NPR's Science Friday

 

Retired astronaut Chris Hadfield, author of the new book An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, has flown three space missions, including 144 days on the International Space Station. Hadfield talks about life in zero gravity, his one fear while in orbit, and how he went from test pilot to astronaut. (NO FURTHER TEXT)

 

Astronaut Chris Hadfield Brings Lessons From Space Down To Earth

 

Terry Gross - NPR's Fresh Air

 

While floating weightless in the International Space Station last spring, Commander Chris Hadfield recorded his own version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" — a video that's now been viewed more than 18 million times on YouTube. But when he wasn't busy being an Internet phenomenon, the Canadian astronaut was witnessing awe-inspiring beauty, facing life-threatening dangers and, at times, holding onto a spaceship orbiting Earth at 17,500 miles an hour. Hadfield has flown three space missions, conducted two space walks and spent a total of six months in space. On Earth, he's been the chief of international space station operations in Houston and chief CAPCOM commander — the person at mission control who communicates directly with astronauts in orbit. In a new book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, he shares some of the lessons he learned in space.

 

Space pioneer recalled as curious, adventuresome

 

Dan Elliott - Associated Press

 

Astronaut Scott Carpenter had an adventuresome spirit and was driven to know everything he could about the universe, fellow space pioneer John Glenn said Saturday at Carpenter's funeral. "Scott's curiosity knew no bounds," said Glenn, who preceded Carpenter into space 51 years ago as a member of the Mercury 7 program, America's first corps of astronauts. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth and Carpenter was the second, both traveling in one-person capsules. Glenn, now the last surviving Mercury astronaut, delivered Carpenter's eulogy. Carpenter, who lived in Vail, Colo., died Oct. 10 of complications from a stroke he suffered in September. He was 88. When Carpenter orbited the Earth in 1962, he had to take manual control of his spaceship because of instrument problems and low fuel, and he splashed down hundreds of miles off-target.

 

Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter Remembered at Colorado Funeral

 

Robert Pearlman - collectSPACE.com

 

The second American astronaut to orbit the Earth was remembered by family and friends at a funeral service in his Colorado hometown. Scott Carpenter, 88, died Oct. 10, after suffering a recent stroke. On Saturday, a private family funeral was followed by a public memorial held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder. Carpenter is survived by his wife Patty and six children. "It's fitting we say goodbye to Scott in Boulder," said Tom Stoever, Carpenter's son-in-law, as reported by The Daily Camera newspaper. "This community stoked his desire to understand the world around him."

 

Richard Branson on Space Travel

The Virgin Group founder on his latest out-of-this world venture, Virgin Galactic

 

Alexandra Wolfe - Wall Street Journal

 

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, is just months away from launching what he considers "the biggest Virgin company we've ever built." At 63, he's already founded multiple businesses worth billions, including a record label and a mobile company. But it's his foray into outer space with Virgin Galactic that has Mr. Branson excited. And though on this mid-October day he's sipping a latte in his suite in the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, D.C., his mind is far away in the Mojave Desert, where he had recently rallied hundreds of would-be astronauts to fly on Virgin Galactic's maiden voyages.

 

Are the Russians friends or foes?

 

Jason Lyons - Houston Chronicle (Opinion)

 

(Lyons, a Rice University alumnus, is the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University logistics manager and Moscow Summer Intern Program Coordinator)

 

From the crisis in Syria to the case of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to the criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin's human rights record, the U.S.-Russia relationship has become undeniably more confrontational in the last year. Considering the current circumstances and a long history of harsh competition, why would any American think that the Russians are our friends?

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

ISS Robotics Lead To Cancer Diagnosis Treatment

 

Space Coast Daily

 

We may not be driving flying cars to work yet, but that doesn't mean we don't have a lot to be excited about from technology advances related to the space age.

 

Instead of zipping past traffic jams, International Space Station-derived robotic capabilities are giving us a fast pass to life-saving surgical techniques with cancer-fighting finesse.

 

According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 232,340 women and 2,240 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the end of 2013 alone. From that, about 39,620 women and 410 men will not survive.

 

The goal for a team of collaborative researchers with the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSii) in Canada is to reduce those numbers significantly. They are scheduled to enter an advanced platform into clinical trials this fall for use in the early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

 

The main player besides the medical staff is a robot. But not just any robot. This one's technology was designed for use aboard the International Space Station by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

 

"The IGAR platform moves the use of robotics in surgery to a new dimension, allowing the robot to act in an automated fashion after programming by a physician," said Dr. Mehran Anvari, chief executive officer and scientific director at CSii. "This technology has been practiced in manufacturing and in space, but is new to medicine."

 

IGAR is designed to work in combination with an MRI scanner, which is highly sensitive to early detection of suspicious breast lesions before they possibly turn into a much larger problem. The radiologist uses specially designed software to tag the potential target and tell IGAR what path to take. The software then helps the radiologist to make sure he or she is accurately hitting the right area. IGAR has a special tool interface that can be used to define adaptors for any needle-based biopsy device or a wide range of instruments that remove body tissue, known in the medical world as needle-based ablation devices.

 

Over 232,000 diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013

 

"Our automated robot is capable of placing the biopsy and ablation tools within 1 mm (about three-tenths of an inch) of the lesion in question with a high degree of targeting accuracy, improving sampling, reducing the morbidity and pain of the procedure, reducing time in the MRI suite and saving significant dollars as a consequence," said Anvari. "It also will allow all radiologists to perform this procedure equally well, regardless of the number of cases per year and move the site of treatment from operation room to radiology suite for a significant number of patients."

 

The radiologist can operate in the challenging magnetic environment of the MRI, providing access to leading tumor-targeting technology. The robot fits on the patient bed, so it can travel in and out of the MRI opening easily. This in turn simplifies the flow of patients in the department, which can be challenging to many radiologists, optimizing patient time to diagnose.

 

IGAR removes most of the "manual" aspects of the procedure and reduces user-dependence and the level of training required. This allows for a standard process regardless of experience.  An expert will program remotely once the patient is in the MRI suite. A physician will then supervise only to make sure the patient is comfortable and there are no complications, even if he or she has limited knowledge of the procedure.

 

"I've been teaching MRI-guided breast biopsy for years and there are many steps in the procedure that are operator-dependent," said Dr. Nathalie Duchesne, co-investigator on the clinical study and breast radiologist at the Hospital Saint-Sacrement in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. She will be performing the first of three clinical trials. "These steps may prevent good sampling of the lesions if it's not done properly. I believe IGAR will take care of this. It will subsequently decrease the time of the exam, ensure good sampling and increase patient's comfort during the exam. We think that IGAR will improve sample collection because it will be less operator dependent and it will be constant from one doctor to another, from one patient to the other, from one lesion to the other."

 

"This technology lays the foundation for a family of telerobotic systems," said Anvari.

 

"It has the potential to change the way we think about performing these interventions and ensures that specialized, highly-trained doctors are focusing on the activities to which their training is best suited. We believe this technology will improve efficiency in the health care system by streamlining clinical workflow and allowing highly-skilled radiologists to extend their care to a wider population through teleoperation."

 

This robotic technology is not limited only to biopsies. "I think IGAR is paving the way for the minimally-invasive excision and treatment of small tumors that are often found incidentally during pre-op MRI."

 

The trend toward breast preservation has brought on the importance of lumpectomies. For tumors that may require this procedure because they are invisible to ultrasound and X-ray mammography, researchers are currently developing the ability for IGAR to deploy a radioactive seed — smaller than a grain of rice — near the area of interest. During surgery, the seed can be located with a detector, allowing the doctor to identify the lesion and remove it with increased accuracy and patient comfort. It's expected that follow-up surgeries also will be greatly reduced.

 

So, from the space station to the ground, robotic arms lend a hand, whether it be to grab an arriving resupply vehicle or to help save more lives.

 

Sandra Kay Yow, head coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009 and an advocate of breast cancer awareness, once said before she lost her battle in 2009, "When life kicks you, let it kick you forward." With researchers taking to the International Space Station and then bringing their beneficial technologies back down to help lives on Earth, we are on a journey forward hopefully to one day make cancer history.

 

Space's microgravity accelerates biological aging of some cells, scientists say

 

Sci-News.com

 

According to a team of researchers led by Dr Silvia Bradamante from Institute of Molecular Science and Technologies in Milan, Italy, microgravity accelerates cardiovascular disease and the biological aging of endothelial cells, the cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels.

 

Dr Bradamante with colleagues examined endothelial cells in real microgravity aboard the International Space Station and conducted deep gene expression and protein analysis on the cells.

 

The scientists compared space-flown endothelial cells to endothelial cells cultured under normal gravity, looking for differences in gene expression and/or in the profile of secreted proteins.

 

Space-flown cells differentially expressed more than 1,000 genes and secreted high amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

 

Ultimately, this induced significant oxidative stress, causing inflammation among endothelial cells, which in turn, led to atherosclerosis and cell senescence (biological aging).

 

Dr Gerald Weissmann, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), said: "as we plan to send people deeper into space than ever before, and for longer flights, we've got to make sure that they remain in best health possible. We've evolved to rely on gravity to regulate our biology, and without it, our tissues become confused. Worst of all: they age faster!"

 

"Understanding the cellular and molecular events of senescence might help in finding preventive measures that are useful to improve the quality of life of millions of people," added Dr Bradamante, who reported the findings in the FASEB Journal (abstract below).

 

"Our study further supports the role of oxidative stress in accelerating aging and disease."

___

 

The challenging environment on board the International Space Station affects endothelial cell function by triggering oxidative stress through thioredoxin interacting protein overexpression: the ESA-SPHINX experiment

 

Silvia Versari, Giulia Longinotti, Livia Barenghi,  Jeanette Anne Marie Maier† &  Silvia Bradamante - FASEB Journal

 

Abstract

 

Exposure to microgravity generates alterations that are similar to those involved in age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular deconditioning, bone loss, muscle atrophy, and immune response impairment. Endothelial dysfunction is the common denominator. To shed light on the underlying mechanism, we participated in the Progress 40P mission with Spaceflight of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs): an Integrated Experiment (SPHINX), which consisted of 12 in-flight and 12 ground-based control modules and lasted 10 d.

 

Postflight microarray analysis revealed 1023 significantly modulated genes, the majority of which are involved in cell adhesion, oxidative phosphorylation, stress responses, cell cycle, and apoptosis.

 

Thioredoxin-interacting protein was the most up-regulated (33-fold), heat-shock proteins 70 and 90 the most down-regulated (5.6-fold). Ion channels (TPCN1, KCNG2, KCNJ14, KCNG1, KCNT1, TRPM1, CLCN4, CLCA2), mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and focal adhesion were widely affected. Cytokine detection in the culture media indicated significant increased secretion of interleukin-1a and interleukin-1ß. Nitric oxide was found not modulated.

 

Our data suggest that in cultured HUVECs, microgravity affects the same molecular machinery responsible for sensing alterations of flow and generates a prooxidative environment that activates inflammatory responses, alters endothelial behavior, and promotes senescence.

 

Florida To Invest $500,000 in NanoRacks

 

Irene Klotz - Space News

 

Space Florida, a state-backed economic development agency, will invest up to $500,000 in NanoRacks LLC, an in-space commercial services provider that next month will fly its first cubesat launcher to the international space station.

 

The $500,000 represents the final piece of a $3.1 million round of Series A investment in XO Markets, the holding company for Houston-based NanoRacks.

 

Previously, XO Markets raised $2.6 million from outside investors including Near Earth LLC, a Connecticut-based financial services firm that specializes in financing for satellite and space technologies.

 

Space Florida's board of directors gave chief executive Frank DiBello a green light to proceed with negotiations for the $500,000 investment during its Oct. 30 meeting in Miami. The company was not identified by name during the meeting, but NanoRacks Managing Director Jeffrey Manber later confirmed the financing was for his firm.

 

DiBello told SpaceNews the direct investment in a company was not Space Florida's first, nor its largest. Previous investments include $1 million to U.K.-based Cella Energy, a hydrogen storage developer, for a facility near the Kennedy Space Center. More typically, Space Florida makes loans that can be converted into equity at a later date.

 

"We're a very flexible financing agency," DiBello said. "We're not venture capitalists, but we will help a company."

 

Florida's investment in NanoRacks will cover some of the costs of two pieces of hardware to be flown to the space station. The first is a small-satellite launcher that is slated to fly to the station in December aboard an Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus cargo ship.

 

The launcher will be operated from Japan's Kibo module, which includes a small airlock, robotic arm and external platform. The Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA) already operates a cubesat launch service aboard the station, similar to what NanoRacks intends to provide on a commercial basis.

 

Cubesats are standardized, 10-centimeter sided cubes weighing about 1.2 kilograms. Designed by California Polytechnic State University and introduced in 1999, cubesats are relatively inexpensive miniature spacecraft that produce their own power and transit signals. Individual cubesats can be configured to fly together.

 

More than 30 cubesats are scheduled to be flown inside NanoRacks' launcher and deployed from the station early next year, Manber said.

 

Upcoming SpaceX Dragon Missions Place ISS Science at Center Stage

 

Ben Evans - AmericaSpace.com

 

More than two years since the last shuttle mission, the transition from construction to utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) has occurred and the orbital complex is steadily spreading its wings as an operational platform for science. Yesterday (Tuesday, 29 October), NASA announced plans to launch its $26 million Rapid Scatterometer—or "RapidScat"—aboard one of SpaceX's Dragon cargo vehicles in 2014. After arrival at the ISS, RapidScat will be removed from Dragon's unpressurized "trunk" by the station's robotic assets and installed onto the European Columbus module. It marks one of several key scientific and engineering payloads assigned to ride aboard SpaceX's workhorse cargo ship, which has flown two of a scheduled 12 Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions in October 2012 and March 2013, as part of its $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

 

Using low-energy microwave emissions, RapidScat will monitor the velocity and direction of oceanic winds and is expected to yield valuable data to complement three other operational satellite "scatterometers." Europe's MetOp-A and B missions, launched in October 2006 and September 2012, together with India's OceanSat-2, which rose to orbit in September 2009, have already made significant inroads into an international effort to understand the ways in which interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere influence our planet's climate. Once operational, the location of RapidScat aboard the ISS—which occupies a high-inclination orbit of about 51.6 degrees—is expected to regularly cross the orbital tracks of its three satellite sisters, thereby offering a critical calibration source.

 

The urgent need for such a mission has become particularly acute in the last few years. Back in June 1978, NASA launched its short-lived Seasat mission, which offered great insights into oceanic behavior from a space-based instrument, and in June 1999 the agency lofted its Quick Scatterometer (QuikScat) spacecraft. The latter included a scatterometer called "SeaWinds," whose 3.3-foot (1-meter) rotating antenna functioned for more than a decade, until it suffered a bearing failure on its motor in November 2009. This significantly impaired its ability to perform ocean wind measurements.

 

Last year, NASA announced its intention to launch a replacement instrument, assembled from spare parts left over from the development of QuikScat and the Advanced Earth  Observing Satellite (ADEOS)-II, a joint U.S., Japanese, and French mission, launched in December 2002. "The ability for NASA to quickly reuse this hardware and launch it to the space station is a great example of a low-cost approach that will have high benefits to science and life here on Earth," said ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini.

 

His praise was echoed by RapidScat Project Manager Howard Eisen: "RapidScat represents a low cost approach to acquiring valuable wind vector data for improving global monitoring of hurricanes and other high intensity storms. By leveraging the capabilities of the International Space Station and recycling left over hardware, we will acquire good science data at a fraction of the investment needed to launch a new satellite."

 

Remarkably, RapidScat rose from planning to reality in barely 18 months, with Suffredini having offered Eisen's team a mounting location on the Columbus module and a "free ride" aboard a Dragon cargo flight. "This accelerated timeline," noted a NASA news release, "is a blink of an eye for NASA, where the typical project is years or decades in the making."

 

Much of the progress is attributable to the instrument's use of commercial, off-the-shelf computer hardware, but has met with difficulties, not least the procurement of connectors which will enable RapidScat to physically attach itself to the ISS. "They're special robotically-mated connectors that haven't been made in years," Eisen said. "We're having to convince the company that produces these connectors to make us a small run in time for the mission and it hasn't been easy."

 

With MetOp-A and B and OceanSat-2 operating in polar orbits, the course of the space station's 51.6-degree orbit will carry RapidScat over Earth's surface at constantly changing times of day. Since oceanic winds are greatly affected by solar radiation—which also varies with the time of day—trends which currently escape the notice of the European and Indian scatterometers should be detectable by RapidScat.

 

"We'll be able to see how wind speed changes with the time of day," said Project Scientist Ernesto Rodríguez. "RapidScat will link together all previous and current scatterometer missions, providing us with a more complete picture of how ocean winds change. Combined with data from the European ASCAT scatterometer mission, we'll be able to observe 90 percent of Earth's surface at least once a day, and in many places, several times a day." According to NASASpaceflight.com, RapidScat's arrival at the ISS (together with its adaptor bracket) will occur on SpaceX's fourth CRS cargo resupply mission—designated "SpX-4?—and is presently scheduled for launch on 29 April 2014.

 

Next year promises to be an exciting one for the Hawthorne, Calif.-based launch services organization, headed by entrepreneur Elon Musk. Following a highly successful Demonstration Mission of Dragon's capabilities, back in May 2012, and two dedicated CRS supply runs (SpX-1 and 2) in October 2012 and March 2013, the SpX-3 mission is currently manifested for 11 February 2014. It will carry the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS), a new communications technology demonstrator which might someday improve spacecraft data rates by a factor of 10-100. Earlier this year, OPALS arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of Pasadena, Calif., for final checkout.

 

After installation aboard the ISS, it will operate for about three months. "It's like aiming a laser pointer continuously for two minutes at a dot the diameter of a human hair, from 30 feet away, while you're walking," explained JPL systems engineer Bogdan Oaida. Also aboard SpX-3 will be the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment to observe the Home Planet from multiple angles using four high-definition cameras. The SpX-3 flight will also be the first Dragon to rise atop SpaceX's new Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, which boasts uprated Merlin-1D engines and which staged its inaugural mission last month from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

 

With SpX-3 scheduled for February and SpX-4 planned for late April 2014, the third Dragon mission of the year—SpX-5—is targeted for launch in mid-September, according to manifests published by NASASpaceflight.com. Its principal payload is the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) instrument, which is devoted to studying high-energy cosmic radiation.

 

Its predecessors have already accumulated upwards of 161 days of data from six successful balloon flights over Antarctica, and its work as a research instrument aboard the ISS is expected to provide "long exposure above the atmosphere and orders of magnitude greater statistics without the secondary particle background inherent in balloon experiments." Current projections are that CREAM will operate for three years from a location on the Exposed Facility (EF) of Japan's Kibo laboratory.

 

The final planned SpaceX mission of 2014, SpX-6, will carry the Stratospheric Aerosol Gas Experiment (SAGE), the fourth generation of an instrument which was carried on several earlier spacecraft, including NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), launched from the shuttle in October 1984. Attached to the space station, this next-generation SAGE will be able to make long-term measurements of ozone, aerosols, water vapor, and other gases in the atmosphere, as part of continuing efforts to understand chemical concentrations within the Home Planet's gaseous veil.

 

Also aboard SpX-6 will be the Multi-User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES), the first commercial Earth-sensing platform aboard the ISS, to include various instruments, including high-resolution imaging cameras. Earlier this month, the German Aerospace Centre (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, or DLR) announced its intention to build a Visual/Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer instrument for use on the MUSES platform.

 

Deep in the heart of Texas … from space

 

Eric Berger - Houston Chronicle's SciGuy

 

 

One of the most very special things about Houston is that it's the place where astronauts live.

 

Some of them even fall in love, get married and have kids here. Like Karen Nyberg, presently aboard the International Space Station, and Doug Hurley, the pilot for the final space shuttle mission did.

 

Karen is coming up on the end of six months aboard the station, and in about 10 days will be reunited with her husband and 3-year-old son, Jack.

 

Do you think she's missing home? Here's what the astronaut posted to Pinterest on Thursday:

 

Here was her description of the photo:

 

Simply made. In space. A memento for my husband, made with pieces cut from t-shirts I wore during my stay on Space Station, stitched lightly onto a Russian food container liner. We met in Texas, got married in Texas and had our son in Texas. A special place! KN from space.

 

Pretty awesome stuff.

 

Fourth ATV mission ends in fireball over Pacific Ocean

 

Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com

 

Five days after ending its mission at the International Space Station, a European logistics carrier plummeted back to Earth over the remote South Pacific Ocean on Saturday, disposing of nearly 2.4 tons of trash and liquid waste in a stream of glowing plasma visible from the orbiting complex.

 

Video cameras aboard the space station captured footage of the Automated Transfer Vehicle's demise, showing the 32-foot-long freighter disintegrating over the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile.

 

Astronauts on the station also took still images of the re-entry, which were expected to be downlinked later Saturday.

 

Engineers at the ATV control center in Toulouse, France, received the last radio signals from the spacecraft at 1204 GMT (8:04 a.m. EDT) after the vehicle lost control and began tumbling.

 

Officials expected most of the massive spacecraft to burn up during re-entry, but the trajectory aimed for a desolate stretch of sea to ensure surviving fragments fell safely away from populated areas.

 

Like most of the space station's international fleet of supply vehicles, the ATV is designed to end its mission with a destructive re-entry, eliminating the outpost's garbage in a fiery finale.

 

Launched June 5 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, the ATV spent 134 days attached to the space station, delivering tons of supplies including food, experiments, electronics, spare parts, rocket fuel, water and oxygen.

 

The ATV was also responsible for maintaining the space station's orbit since its arrival at the complex June 15, steering it clear of space debris and boosting its altitude to counteract atmospheric drag.

 

The spacecraft was named for Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist and father of the theory of general relativity. It was the fourth of five ATVs financed by the European Space Agency to pay for Europe's share of the space station's operating costs.

 

ESA says each ATV mission costs about 450 million euros, or about $620 million. Including its cargo load, ATV 4 was the heaviest spacecraft ever built in Europe.

 

"The mission went perfectly, which for me and the ATV team or any space mission is a great thing," said Alberto Novelli, ATV 4 mission manager. "The smooth running of this fourth mission shows the maturity of the ATV program and puts ESA's successful track record on the map for future projects."

 

Since the ATV undocked from the space station Monday, mission controllers in Toulouse guided the spaceship through engine burns to put the resupply craft directly below the outpost Saturday.

 

In a demonstration of complicated orbital choreography, the maneuvers lowered the ATV's orbit and allowed the cargo craft to fly under the space station at the time of its final braking burn a few minutes before it plunged into the atmosphere.

 

Objects in lower orbits travel at faster speeds than satellites above them, so timing was essential to put the re-entry in view of the space station.

 

The maneuvers replicated a similar feat accomplished by Japan's H-2 Transfer Vehicle in early September, which aligned its orbit with the space station's to permit re-entry photography from above.

 

Europe's last Automated Transfer Vehicle arrived at its French Guiana launch site Tuesday to begin flight preparations. Over the next few months, technicians will mate the ATV's pressurized cargo carrier and service module, load the spacecraft with supplies and propellant, and attach the ship to its Ariane 5 launcher.

 

Liftoff of ATV 5, named for Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaitre, is scheduled for late June 2014.

 

ESA looks to mid-2014 for final ATV mission to International Space Station

 

Mark Carreau - Aviation Week

 

The European Space Agency's ATV-4 unpiloted International Space Station re-supply ship re-entered the Earth's atmosphere early Saturday, burning up harmlessly over the southern Pacific Ocean.

 

The re-entry at 8:04 a.m., EDT, concluded a five month mission for the next to last of the large unpiloted cargo ships that serve as ESA's contribution to ISS operations through 2017.

 

The final spacecraft in the series, the ATV-5, has been christened the Georges Lemaitre, for the 20th century Belgian physicist and priest associated with the big bang theory. It is scheduled for launching from the European spaceport in French Guiana in late June 2014.

 

The 22 ton ATV-4, named for physicist Albert Einstein, was launched June 5 atop an Ariane 5 rocket. The supply ship docked with the ISS Russian segment on June 15 with more than seven tons of fuel, food, water, compressed air, research gear and spare parts.

 

"The mission went perfectly, which for me and the ATV team or any space mission is a great thing," said Alberto Novelli, the ATV-4 mission manager, in a statement that followed the re-entry.

 

Six times, the ATV-4 was commanded to fire its thrusters to raise the orbit of the space station. The freighter was filled with trash before its departure early Monday. The freighter was positioned just over 60 miles below the ISS for Saturday's plunge into the atmosphere, allowing the station astronauts to observe the event so that it could be used to model re-entry events.

 

"The smooth running of this fourth mission shows the maturity of the ATV program and puts ESA's successful track record on the map for future projects," said Novelli.

 

Astronaut Chris Hadfield Brings Lessons From Space Down To Earth

 

Terry Gross - NPR's Fresh Air

 

While floating weightless in the International Space Station last spring, Commander Chris Hadfield recorded his own version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" — a video that's now been viewed more than 18 million times on YouTube. But when he wasn't busy being an Internet phenomenon, the Canadian astronaut was witnessing awe-inspiring beauty, facing life-threatening dangers and, at times, holding onto a spaceship orbiting Earth at 17,500 miles an hour.

 

Hadfield has flown three space missions, conducted two space walks and spent a total of six months in space. On Earth, he's been the chief of international space station operations in Houston and chief CAPCOM commander — the person at mission control who communicates directly with astronauts in orbit. In a new book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, he shares some of the lessons he learned in space.

 

"There are no wishy-washy astronauts," Hadfield tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "You don't get up there by being uncaring and blase. And whatever gave you the sense of tenacity and purpose to get that far in life is absolutely reaffirmed and deepened by the experience itself."

 

On what it's like to do a spacewalk

 

I've been so lucky to have done two spacewalks. If you looked at your wristwatch I was outside for about 15 hours, which is about 10 times around the world. ...

 

The contrast of your body and your mind inside ... essentially a one-person spaceship, which is your spacesuit, where you're holding on for dear life to the shuttle or the station with one hand, and you are inexplicably in between what is just a pouring glory of the world roaring by, silently next to you — just the kaleidoscope of it, it takes up your whole mind. It's like the most beautiful thing you've ever seen just screaming at you on the right side, and when you look left, it's the whole bottomless black of the universe and it goes in all directions. It's like a huge yawning endlessness on your left side and you're in between those two things and trying to rationalize it to yourself and trying to get some work done.

 

On doing a spacewalk amid Southern Lights

 

I was coming across the Indian Ocean in the dark. I was riding on the end of the robot arm ... [and] I thought, "I want to look at Australia in the dark," because everyone lives along the coast, starting with Perth and across and it's like a necklace of cities. So I shut off my lights, and I let my eyes completely adjust to the darkness, but as we came south under Australia instead of seeing just the lights of the cities of Australia we flew into the Southern Lights. Just like the Northern Lights they erupt out of the world and it's almost as if someone has put on this huge fantastic laser light show for thousands of miles. The colors, of course, with your naked eye are so much more vivid than just a camera. There are greens and reds and yellows and oranges and they poured up under my feet, just the ribbons and curtains of it — it was surreal to look at, driving through the Southern Lights. ...

 

To me it was taking time to notice something that is almost always there but that if you didn't purposefully seek it out you would miss — and that is our planet and how it reacts with the energy from the sun and how our magnetic field works and how the upper atmosphere works — what it really is, is just beauty.

 

On claustrophobia

 

They don't want claustrophobic astronauts, so NASA is careful through selection to try to see if you have a natural tendency to be afraid of small spaces or not. Really, it's good if you've managed to find a way to deal with all of your fears, especially the irrational ones. So during selection in fact, they zip you inside a ball, and they don't tell you how long they're going to leave you in there. I think if you had tendencies toward claustrophobia then that would probably panic you and they would use that as a discriminator to decide whether they were going to hire you or not. For me, being zipped inside a small, dark place for an indeterminate amount of time was just a great opportunity and nice time to think and maybe have a little nap and relax, so it doesn't bother me. But you can get claustrophobia and agoraphobia — a fear of wide open spaces — simultaneously on a spacewalk.

 

On coping with moments of fear and panic in space

 

Half of the risk of a six-month flight is in the first nine minutes, so as a crew, how do you stay focused? How do you not get paralyzed by the fear of it? The way we do it is to break down: What are the risks? And a nice way to keep reminding yourself is: What's the next thing that's going to kill me? And it might be five seconds away, it might be an inadvertent engine shutdown, or it might be staging of the solid rockets coming off. ... We don't just live with that, though. The thing that is really useful, I think out of all of this, is we dig into it so deeply and we look at, "OK, so this might kill us, this is something that would normally panic us, let's get ready, let's think about it." And we go into every excruciating detail of why that might affect what we're doing and what we can do to resolve it and have a plan, and be comfortable with it.

 

It's not like astronauts are braver than other people; we're just meticulously prepared. We dissect what it is that's going to scare us, and what it is that is a threat to us and then we practice over and over again so that the natural irrational fear is neutralized.

 

On losing orientation in space with no sense of "up"

 

What does it feel like when you close your eyes when you're weightless? Normally on Earth when you close your eyes you can feel your feet on the floor or your rear end on your chair or something and that gives you a sense of up. You can balance with your eyes closed, you can walk with your eyes closed because of all of the external references. When you're weightless and you close your eyes it's as if you just stepped off a cliff into complete blackness and you're falling forever, so the perception of that is really odd. You can do it as like a thought experiment and instead of closing your eyes and thinking that you're just floating, close your eyes and picture that you've just stepped off the Half Dome in Yosemite and are now falling into the blackness, and it's interesting to see how your body reacts to it.

 

On losing friends and colleagues in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

 

I'd already been an astronaut for a decade when the crew of Columbia was killed. ... Rick Husband and I were out at Edwards at test pilot school together. He was the commander of Columbia ... I knew everybody onboard and I was very close with Rick. So it was an awful thing to go through ... they die so publicly.

 

... It's redoubled my efforts to try and do this job right in the future and to try and convince everybody that we can solve problems like this and we can be smart and brave enough to take those risks again. And to our credit, it took years, but we made significant changes in a lot of the way we did business.

 

We flew out the rest of the entire space shuttle program without hurting anybody else. We finished building the space station and we've learned so much about how to safely fly in space as a result of those guys losing their lives. So yeah, it's not a risk-free business when you want to try something hard and new, when you want to explore someplace you haven't been before.

 

On space travel and faith

 

The big pervasive feeling onboard looking at the Earth [from space] is one of tremendous exquisite privilege that it exists. ... But I think what everyone would find if they could be in that position — if they could see the whole world every 90 minutes and look down on the places where we do things right, and look down where we're doing stupid, brutal things to each other and the inevitable patience of the world that houses us — I think everybody would be reinforced in their faith, and maybe readdress the real true tenets of what's good and what gives them strength.

 

Space pioneer recalled as curious, adventuresome

 

Dan Elliott - Associated Press

 

Astronaut Scott Carpenter had an adventuresome spirit and was driven to know everything he could about the universe, fellow space pioneer John Glenn said Saturday at Carpenter's funeral.

 

"Scott's curiosity knew no bounds," said Glenn, who preceded Carpenter into space 51 years ago as a member of the Mercury 7 program, America's first corps of astronauts.

 

Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth and Carpenter was the second, both traveling in one-person capsules. Glenn, now the last surviving Mercury astronaut, delivered Carpenter's eulogy.

 

Carpenter, who lived in Vail, Colo., died Oct. 10 of complications from a stroke he suffered in September. He was 88.

 

When Carpenter orbited the Earth in 1962, he had to take manual control of his spaceship because of instrument problems and low fuel, and he splashed down hundreds of miles off-target.

 

That troubled flight created a rift between Carpenter and NASA bosses, and he never flew in space again. But he turned to sea exploration, and in 1965, he spent 30 days under the ocean off the California coast in the Navy's SeaLab II program.

 

On Saturday, nine other astronauts, Colorado politicians and dozens of friends and family members joined Glenn at Carpenter's funeral at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder.

 

Glenn and Carpenter became friends during astronaut training, and it was Carpenter who gave Glenn his memorable blessing as Glenn prepared to launch into space: "Godspeed, John Glenn."

 

"Godspeed, Scott," Glenn said Saturday, and then paused as emotion overtook his voice. "You are missed."

 

Carpenter was born May 1, 1925, in Boulder and graduated from high school there before serving in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War. He was chosen for the Mercury space program in 1959.

 

Glenn recalled NASA subjecting the astronauts to a barrage of punishing tests and probing psychiatric questions. Most of the astronauts considered it something they had to endure to fly in space.

 

"Scott seemed to really enjoy these tests," Glenn said, drawing laughter.

 

Carpenter loved music, Glenn said, and requested the hymn "Be Still My Soul" be sung at his funeral. Glenn also recalled a time he and Carpenter tried to harmonize on the song "Yellow Bird."

 

"We weren't much good," Glenn recalled Carpenter saying, "but we were loud."

 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who also spoke at the funeral, called Carpenter a tireless explorer and an unforgettable character. Bolden said he was just a teen when Carpenter orbited the Earth and remembered "being tremendously moved by his bravery."

 

"Today, we bear witness as he soars once more into the heavens on his journey to eternity," Bolden said.

 

Carpenter's flag-draped casket was carried into the church by six Navy officers as a bell tolled from the church tower. After the service, four F-18 fighter jets flew the missing-man formation over the church against a cloudless autumn sky.

 

Carpenter is survived by his wife, Patty Carpenter, and six children. Two other children died before him.

 

His ashes will be interred at his ranch near Steamboat Springs, Colo.

 

Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter Remembered at Colorado Funeral

 

Robert Pearlman - collectSPACE.com

 

The second American astronaut to orbit the Earth was remembered by family and friends at a funeral service in his Colorado hometown.

 

Scott Carpenter, 88, died Oct. 10, after suffering a recent stroke. On Saturday, a private family funeral was followed by a public memorial held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder. Carpenter is survived by his wife Patty and six children.

 

"It's fitting we say goodbye to Scott in Boulder," said Tom Stoever, Carpenter's son-in-law, as reported by The Daily Camera newspaper. "This community stoked his desire to understand the world around him."

 

John Glenn, who preceded Carpenter into orbit by several months in 1962, delivered a eulogy for his fellow Mercury astronaut. Glenn is now the last of NASA's original seven astronauts, selected in 1959, living today.

 

"Scott Carpenter was my lifelong friend," Glenn said in a statement issued the day Carpenter died. "History books will remember him as an explorer of the heavens and the seas."

 

"Today I remember a statement Scott made over 50 years ago as I was launched into space. It was 'Godspeed, John Glenn,'" the former Ohio senator continued. "These words meant a lot to me at the time and since, because I knew they were spoken from the heart, from our friendship and his concern for me and our mission."

 

"To paraphrase: 'Godspeed, Scott Carpenter, great friend'" Glenn concluded. "You are missed."

 

A number of other astronauts attended the funeral, serving as pallbearers. Present in Boulder were Apollo astronauts Gene Cernan, Charlie Duke, Rusty Schweickart and Dave Scott, as well as shuttle veterans Dan Brandenstein, Bob Crippen, Dick Truly and Charlie Walker. Dee O'Hara, nurse to the original astronauts, and Suzan Cooper, the widow of original astronaut Gordon Cooper, also attended.

 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, also a former space shuttle astronaut, spoke at Saturday's remembrance.

 

"He was more than an astronaut," remarked Bolden, The Daily Camera reported. "He went above the sky, below the Earth, and deep into our hearts."

 

Carpenter made his first and only spaceflight on May 24, 1962, when he became the sixth man worldwide to leave the planet. During his Mercury-Atlas 7 mission, Carpenter circled the Earth three times and conducted some of the first astronaut science experiments. He splashed down on board his "Aurora 7" capsule 4 hours and 56 minutes after his launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

 

Carpenter never flew in space again, but later became an aquanaut, spending a record 30 days on the ocean floor working on the Navy's SEALAB II, an experimental habitat located off the coast of California.

 

Colorado's Governor John Hickenlooper ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff statewide on all public buildings on Saturday. Carpenter was born in Boulder, lived in Vail and was at a Denver hospice center when he died.

 

"We remember and honor Carpenter as a great Coloradan and great American," the governor said in his order. "Scott was a pure Westerner whose courageous explorations in both ocean and space helped to educate, inspire and lead a nation to explore and challenge our natural limits."

 

"We offer our condolences to Scott's family and friends," Hickenlooper said.

 

At the conclusion of Saturday's service, four F-18 jets flew over the church, performing an aerial salute in the missing man formation.

 

Carpenter, a former naval aviator, received military honors before his body was taken to be cremated. He will buried next year at his family's ranch near Steamboat Springs.

 

"In the spring, when the snow clears, we'll take his ashes to the Frye place, near Clark, Colo.," wrote Kris Stoever, Carpenter's daughter and co-author of his 2003 memoirs, in a recent article for Outside magazine. "Homesteaded in 1901 by his great-uncle John, it hosts family camping trips when not under snow. The grave site will be consecrated among the aspens, near the headgate, and we'll inter his remains at 8,300 feet."

 

"This is what my father wanted," Stoever explained, "to be buried in a place that had shaped him."

 

Richard Branson on Space Travel

The Virgin Group founder on his latest out-of-this world venture, Virgin Galactic

 

Alexandra Wolfe - Wall Street Journal

 

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, is just months away from launching what he considers "the biggest Virgin company we've ever built." At 63, he's already founded multiple businesses worth billions, including a record label and a mobile company. But it's his foray into outer space with Virgin Galactic that has Mr. Branson excited.

 

And though on this mid-October day he's sipping a latte in his suite in the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, D.C., his mind is far away in the Mojave Desert, where he had recently rallied hundreds of would-be astronauts to fly on Virgin Galactic's maiden voyages.

 

Those at the September gathering included almost half of the 650 people who have bought tickets to take flight on Mr. Branson's commercial spacecraft as early as 2014. (Current price: $250,000.) After nine years of fits and starts, Mr. Branson was in California showing off the spaceships that are now being built and tested.

 

"This is the start of a new space era," he says. "This is not the endgame." But he admits there are skeptics of his grand plan to send tourists into space. "There are plenty of people who think I should be taken off by men in white jackets for saying it, but I really do actually believe it," he says.

 

Given that he and his two grown children will be Virgin Galactic's first passengers, he should. With white wavy hair, loose jeans and a white button-down shirt, Mr. Branson projects a very different image from the early astronauts, who went through almost military-style training to go up into orbit. His aim is to attract amateurs.

 

After launching from New Mexico, each spaceship will take six passengers on a two- to three-hour journey just over 62 miles from Earth. Eventually he hopes to build a hotel in space. There, guests would sleep in plastic pods and look out at the stars while they orbit the moon. "They're quite out of this world," he quips. "What's great fun is just dreaming up ideas and asking the engineers, 'Do you think this will be possible?' "

 

It was Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, who first inspired the idea for Virgin Galactic. "Gorbachev approached me just after perestroika started to see if I'd like to be the first to go up on a Russian spacecraft," says Mr. Branson. "It would be two years' training in Russia and quite a big check, and I just felt that for that amount of money it would be better to build our own spacecraft."

 

Today some of his ticket holders "are not wealthy at all and mortgaged their homes," he says. "Others obviously are wealthy." Among those who have signed up are actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher and singer Justin Bieber. "We've now got a club, effectively, of astronauts-in-waiting," he says. They meet regularly in places ranging from Mr. Branson's private Caribbean resort, Necker Island, to an ice hotel in Sweden. Some have worked together to set up a scholarship to help students who want to pursue an education in science, math, engineering or technology. So far, most of the astronauts are from the U.S.; the rest come from 50 different countries.

 

He has encouraged Middle Eastern support, however. Aabar Investments, based in Abu Dhabi, has invested $380 million in Virgin Galactic. Mr. Branson thinks that their nearly 40% stake in the company reflects Abu Dhabi's hope to build a major spaceport in the Middle East.

 

Since the end of the U.S. space shuttle program, all crewed travel to the international space station has had to use Russian spacecraft. In the past, the Russian government has coordinated space tourism—and has sometimes charged for it. Software magnate Charles Simonyi, for example, paid $20 million to go up to the international space station in 2007 and another $30 million to go back in 2009.

 

In the U.S., billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have both made inroads into commercializing space. Mr. Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, set up the private space company Blue Origin in 2000. It also plans to take private citizens up to suborbital space. Mr. Musk's company SpaceX has had a series of successful rocket launches, but it has focused first on sending payloads, such as cargo and satellites, into space instead of people.

 

Mr. Branson hopes that his spacecraft will also reduce the time of travel between continents. Ultimately, a spaceship that takes off from New York could go up above the atmosphere and land at a spaceport in Australia in far less time than today's aircraft, he says. He hopes that within 18 months his rockets will be ready to take cargo loads as well as parts that could be assembled into hotels in space. But for now, he says, "the critical thing is just getting people into space next year in a safe, affordable manner."

 

Safety has been one of the biggest challenges in building Virgin Galactic. In 2007, two workers died after a tank explosion during a rocket test, and three were seriously wounded. The accident, which occurred at a partner company's facility, delayed the program for an estimated 18 months.

 

Risk factors weigh on the minds of potential customers as well, especially after NASA's 1986 Challenger disaster, in which seven crew members, including a schoolteacher, died. Mr. Branson thinks that today most people would want to go into space if they could be guaranteed a safe return trip. "Sadly, I think because the space program was run by governments, there was never any real interest in enabling members of the public to go to space after they tried once" with the Challenger, he explains. "After that, they decided not to take any risks whatsoever." He adds, "I would say 90% of people my age thought they would go to space because they saw the moon landing."

 

Mr. Branson falls into that category. Born outside London to a father who was a barrister and a mother who is now a philanthropist, he has wanted to go to space ever since he saw the first space voyage on television when he was young. Today he thinks space travel is where aviation was in the 1920s. The price for air travel then, adjusted for inflation, is comparable to the $250,000 he is charging for his spaceflights, he says. "My guess is 30 years from now…if enough spaceships will be built, enormous quantities of people will have a chance to go to space," he says.

 

Next he thinks we'll see deep space exploration, asteroid mining and satellites that monitor everything from global warming to illegal shipping. Mr. Branson says that Virgin Galactic's ability to someday transport satellites could give wireless Internet and telephone access to billions of people who don't have it now, or allow governments and environmental groups to measure weather patterns. The key to the company's launch is galvanizing enough public support. "It's like the birth of any new industry," he says. "We've obviously got to protect our passengers."

 

Mr. Branson realizes his visions can sound grandiose. "I'll often talk ahead of myself," he says. And it will be at least 20 years before he knows whether his fantasy went too far. "But by talking ahead of yourself, you then get the team to work hard to catch up," he says. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to be able to run a spaceship company."

 

Are the Russians friends or foes?

 

Jason Lyons - Houston Chronicle (Opinion)

 

(Lyons, a Rice University alumnus, is the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University logistics manager and Moscow Summer Intern Program Coordinator)

 

From the crisis in Syria to the case of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to the criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin's human rights record, the U.S.-Russia relationship has become undeniably more confrontational in the last year. Considering the current circumstances and a long history of harsh competition, why would any American think that the Russians are our friends?

 

As a baby boomer that grew up dealing with the terror of the Cold War, this adversarial attitude is nothing new. I practiced the "duck and cover" drills throughout elementary school. I vividly remember the sirens in my neighborhood warning of imminent destruction from nuclear ballistic missiles launched by the Soviet Union, later branded the evil empire by President Reagan. "Better Dead than Red" was the mantra. "Mutual Assured Destruction" was the reality.

 

However, the United States and Russia have been able to replace inflammatory rhetoric and strategic impasse with positive engagement and even partnership in one key area. What began as yet another arena for superpower competition has become one of the strongest foundations for continued U.S.-Russian cooperation.

 

I remember hearing the "beep-beep-beep" of Sputnik 1 as it orbited around the Earth in 1957 — the beginning of the "Space Race". On April 12, 1961 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man launched into space — followed by the suborbital flight of the first American in space, Alan Shepard, on May 5, 1961. Less than three weeks later on May 25, 1961 President Kennedy declared that the U.S. would land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the decade in an address to the U.S. Congress.

 

Tension between the United States and the Soviet Union reached the boiling point in October 1962 when President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade effectively preventing the U.S.S.R. from delivering nuclear missiles to Cuba — an act that could have provoked World War III and the destruction of life on Earth. Thank goodness that a catholic and an atheist could both agree that the end of the world was not in either country's best interests.

 

Less than a year later in August 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Then on September 20, 1963 in a speech before the United Nations, President Kennedy made a stunning offer to the Soviets to combine our resources and go to the Moon together. The Soviets declined and both countries developed their space programs separately.

 

In an attempt to reduce the tension between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in April 1972 both countries signed the Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes and in July 1975 the last Apollo flight was launched on a mission to dock with the Soviet Union's Soyuz spacecraft. After a successful docking, the first international handshake in space was made by cosmonaut Alexey Leonov and astronaut Tom Stafford. The leaders of both countries, Leonid Brezhnev and Gerald Ford, called the Apollo-Soyuz crews to congratulate them for a successful demonstration of international cooperation in space. However, it would be another 19 years before Russians and Americans would again fly together in space.

 

In June 1992 President George H.W. Bush and the president of the newly formed Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, signed the Agreement Between the United States and the Russian Federation Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. In September 1993 it was announced that the United States and Russia agreed to a two-phase program to build a jointly operated space station.

 

Phase one was designed to not only share experience and technical knowledge but to also foster a spirit of cooperation. In February 1994 Sergei Krikalev became the first cosmonaut to fly aboard the space shuttle which was under the command of astronaut Charles Bolden. Today, Krikalev is the director of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and Bolden is the director of NASA. They remain close friends. This flight was followed by one flyby and nine docking missions between American Space Shuttles and the Russian Mir space station from 1995 to 1997. In March 1995 Norman Thagard became the first astronaut to fly in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

 

Phase two entailed the building of the International Space Station (ISS). In December 4, 1998 the Space Shuttle carried the first U.S. module, the Unity node, to the Russian Zarya module already in orbit. Once the modules were docked, shuttle commander Robert Cabana and cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev entered the Unity node together fostering a new era of collaborative space exploration. Krikalev returned to the ISS on November 2, 2000 as a crew member on Expedition 1 and the ISS has been continuously manned since them.

 

Over the years both the Space Shuttle and Soyuz spacecrafts have experienced problems which grounded them for extended periods of time. However, the partnership has not failed as each country has supported the other in times of need. This spirit of cooperation in space is responsible for the continuous habitation of the ISS for nearly 13 years. With the permanent grounding of the Space Shuttle in 2011 the Russian Soyuz spacecraft is the only means to fly American astronauts to the ISS. The Russians have become valuable and reliable partners in space. In an address at a Baker Institute event in 2001 at Rice University, President Putin suggested that the cooperation in space between the United States and Russia should become the model to promote cooperation in other areas of mutual interest.

 

Over the last three summers, the Baker Institute has worked to strengthen this partnership by sending 28 students from five U.S. universities to participate in Bauman Moscow State Technical University's international workshop Space Development: Theory and Practice. The two-week program includes visits to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City and Russian Mission Control in Korolev where the students pose questions to the cosmonauts aboard the ISS in a live video conference. Sergei Krikalev, other cosmonauts, and an occasional astronaut spend hours with the students sharing their experiences and promoting international cooperation in space. They also spend quality time each day visiting museums, cathedrals, and monuments to learn about Russian history and culture. This is the first generation of university students that were born after the collapse of the Soviet Union and they do not carry the baggage of the Cold War. They collaborate with one another on theoretical space missions and establish friendships that cross cultural and historical boundaries. Many of the U.S. students describe the experience as life-changing and note the warmth and hospitality of the Russian people.

 

We are living in a new world. We have moved from one of impending mutual destruction to one of shared values, hopes, and dreams. The Russians have been trustworthy partners in space and this successful relationship should lead our two nations beyond the fears and conflicts of the past and into a new era of respect and cooperation as friends — for the benefit of all mankind.

 

END