Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News Dec. 3, 2013 and JSC Today

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: December 3, 2013 8:37:07 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News Dec. 3, 2013 and JSC Today

Hope you can join us at our last monthly Retirees luncheon of the year this Thursday at 11:30 at Hibachi Grill.   

 

I have a meeting that has moved up to a Noon start time Thursday, so I will be there sharply at 11am myself and will have to leave promptly by about 11:40 to make it to my meeting on time.  My apologies to all for having to possibly miss many of you that may not arrive before I have to get back to work.   You are welcome to join me at 11 if possible.

 

Larry

 

 

Headlines Learn About Life Without Limits - Dec. 4 Don't miss JSC's SAIC/Safety & Mission Assurance Speaker Forum featuring Sue Austin, Multimedia, Performance and Installation artist. Transforming the World from a Wheelchair; Life Without Limits Wednesday, Dec. 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Teague Auditorium Austin will discuss: Rethinking and representing the "power"chair "Dis"ability becoming a tool to inspire, excite and enrich Wheelchairs in space, the final frontier Austin is the founder and artistic director of Freewheeling, an initiative aiming to further the genre of Disability Arts. In 2012, she was asked to be a part of the Cultural Olympiad in Britain, a celebration of the arts leading up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The work she created for the event, "Creating the Spectacle!" is a groundbreaking series of live art abd video works of an underwater wheelchair. Event Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2013   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM Event Location: Teague Auditorium Add to Calendar Della Cardona/Juan Traslavina http://www.wearefreewheeling.org.uk [top] T-10 Days Until IT Labs Project Call Complete NASA IT Labs wants to make IT better with the help of IT heroes like you from around the agency. Learn more about IT Labs with a view of our annual report and by going to our YouTube channel. Our annual project call ends Dec. 12, with the last information Q&A session coming up Dec. 9. More details are available on our website. Kevin Rosenquist 281-204-1688 https://labs.nasa.gov [top] JSC's Caffeinated Composting Are you one of the many volunteers that collect used coffee grounds from buildings to give to the Coffee to Compost Program? Congratulations! You made the first year of the program a huge success. In Fiscal Year 2013, you diverted more than 2,800 pounds from the landfill and helped make JSC beautiful and more sustainable. With this success, there are now two new drop-off stations at the Buildings 3 and 11 café loading docks to make drop-offs more convenient. These are working loading docks, so please keep the area clean and in safe working order. For more information, check out the Environmental Office website. JSC Environmental Office x36207 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/ja13/index.cfm [top]    Organizations/Social RSVPs Due Now for the JSC NMA Holiday Social Did Mom never get you that My Little Pony you had always dreamed of? Live vicariously through other kids with the JSC National Management Association (NMA) Holiday Social on Monday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Gilruth Alamo Ballroom. The admission price for all is one new, unwrapped toy for donation to Toys for Tots. For each toy donation, you will receive a ticket for our door prize drawings. And hey, we won't tell if you get the My Little Pony for a potential gift recipient. Appetizers will be served, and we'll be serenaded with holiday music by the JSC Child Care Center kids. Members and non-members are welcome to this mingling, jingling event, but please RSVP by 3 p.m. TOMORROW, Dec. 4, if you'd like to attend.   Event Date: Monday, December 9, 2013   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:12:15 PM Event Location: Gilruth Alamo Ballroom Add to Calendar Catherine Williams x33317 http://www.jscnma.com/Events [top] Human Systems Integration ERG Monthly Meeting The Human Systems Integration Employee Resource Group (HSI ERG) will hold a regular monthly meeting in Building 1, Room 220, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today, Dec 3. David Fitts and Jen Rochlis will discuss the recent joint meeting of NASA's HSI Steering Committee and the NESC Human Factors Engineering Technical Discipline Team. The meetings took place at the Ames Research Center and were well attended by HSI representatives from across the agency. Fitts and Rochlis will also discuss work being done to update the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook, and Cory Simon and Mihriban Whitmore, new HSI ERG chairs, will present goals and priorities that came out of the recent HSI ERG retreat. All are welcome to attend! James Taylor x34339 http://collaboration.jsc.nasa.gov/iierg/HSI/SitePages/Home.aspx [top] EMC Mtg: Synthetic Aperture for High-Intensity RF Boeing Associate Tech Fellow Dennis Lewis will present "Synthetic Aperture Applications for High-Intensity Radiated Fields in the Aerospace Industry" at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the IEEE EMC meeting. Lewis will discuss traditional methods of evaluating shielding effectiveness and introduce synthetic aperture scanning as a means of locating the source of undesirable signals, as well as evaluating the contributions of individual apertures to the overall shielding value. These methods can be applied to a wide variety of environments such as vehicles, buildings or enclosures. Techniques to numerically remove the effects of individual apertures using plane wave spectrum gating are also discussed. Numerically removing the effects of selected apertures and recalculating effective shielding can significantly reduce test and re-engineering time. Lewis has worked at Boeing for 25 years, and his interests include applications of reverberation chamber test techniques. Lunch is available for $8. Please RSVP indicating lunch or no lunch. Event Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2013   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM Event Location: Discovery Room - Gilruth Recreation Center Add to Calendar George May 281-226-8543 [top] The JSC Safety and Health Action Team (JSAT) Says "At work, home or play - let safety lead the way." Congratulations to Reese Squires with ITAMS/DB Consulting Group for submitting the winning slogan for December 2013. Any JSAT member (all JSC contractor and civil servant employees) may submit a slogan for consideration to JSAT Secretary Reese Squires. Submissions for January are due by Monday, Dec. 9. Keep those great submissions coming - you may be the next JSAT Says winner! Reese Squires x37776 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/apps/news/newsfiles/3350.pptx [top] Become a JSC Wellness HERO Starting in 2014, members of the JSC workforce will be recognized for their wellness efforts. The JSC Wellness Health Enhancement Rewards Operation (HERO) program is an annual wellness campaign comprised of various health promotion and disease prevention measures. All members of the JSC workforce with a Gilruth Center membership are eligible to participate - and it's free! To be recognized as a JSC Wellness HERO, participants must satisfy the following requirements on an annual basis: Receive an annual fitness assessment at the Gilruth Center Attend at least two health education seminars Actively use the Gilruth Center Sign up and participate in Starport's annual wellness challenge As a reward, HEROs will receive centerwide recognition and a trophy they can proudly display to exhibit their dedication to personal health and improving JSC's overall well-being. Become a HERO and help make JSC NASA's healthiest center! Joseph Callahan x42769 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/wellness/jsc-wellness-hero [top] Astronaut Nutcrackers Available at Starport Starport is pleased to bring you the infamous astronaut nutcracker. Available in six-inch ornaments for just $8.50 and 12-inch wooden figurines for $29.50. Stop by Starport today for this unique item to add to your holiday collection. Supplies are limited. Cyndi Kibby x47467 [top] Today is the First Tuesday Sale at Starport Did you know that Starport offers 10 percent off most items on the first Tuesday of every month to NASA and Starport Partner contractor employees? This discount is not applicable on tickets, stamps, Hallmark or other service items. Additional exclusions apply for presale and special-purchase items. Check to see if your company is a 2013 Starport Partner here. Shop Starport and save today! Cyndi Kibby x47467 [top] Starport Jewelry Fair This Week Jewelry is Fun will be out on Dec. 4 and 5 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Building 3 café selling $5.99 jewelry. Enjoy great savings on jewelry and accessories! Click here for more information. Event Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2013   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:3:00 PM Event Location: b3 Add to Calendar Shelly Haralson x39168 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top] Starport Book Fair Next Week Come and enjoy the Books Are Fun book fair held in the Building 3 café on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Search through more than 250 great titles in children's books, cookbooks, general-interest books, New York Times bestsellers, stationary and scrapbooking, music collections and more, all at unbelievable prices. These make great holiday gifts! Click here for more information. Event Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:2:00 PM Event Location: b3 Add to Calendar Shelly Haralson x39168 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top] Presale: Set of Space Shuttle Mission Lapel Pins Starport is proud to bring this special purchase opportunity to you for a limited time: a full set of shuttle mission lapel pins available bagged for just $425 ($540 when sold separately), or beautifully framed for those serious collectors for just $835. Also available is the historic shuttle frame for just $95. Order now for Christmas delivery. Presale orders are accepted in Buildings 3 and 11, or order online to have your frames sent directly to you house. Cyndi Kibby x47467 [top] Shoot and Shop Basketball Camp Shoot-and-shop campers will enjoy a fun-filled day of hoops with basketball coach Tim Glover while mom and dad use this time to finish all of their holiday shopping!  Robert Vaughn x38049 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top]    Jobs and Training HTC Orientation at the Gilruth Center Tomorrow Interested in learning how the Houston Technology Center (HTC) can help to turn your ideas and expertise into a company? Learn how by attending the HTC Orientation at the Gilruth Center on tomorrow, Dec. 4, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. This one-hour introduction will focus on how the HTC can guide you through the minefields of starting a business. You will leave HTC Orientation with a better understanding of the areas of expertise HTC offers.   Event Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2013   Event Start Time:4:30 PM   Event End Time:5:30 PM Event Location: Gilruth Center, Coronado Room Add to Calendar Evelyn Boatman x48271 [top] FedTraveler Live Lab Tomorrow, Dec. 4 Do you need some hands-on, personal help with FedTraveler.com? Join the Business Systems and Process Improvement Office for a FedTraveler Live Lab tomorrow, Dec. 4, any time between 9 a.m. and noon in Building 12, Room 142. Our help desk representatives will be available to help you work through travel processes and learn more about using FedTraveler during this informal workshop. Bring your current travel documents or specific questions that you have about the system and join us for some hands-on, in-person help with the FedTraveler. If you'd like to sign up for this FedTraveler Live Lab, please log into SATERN and register. For additional information, please contact Judy Seier at x32771. To register in SATERN, please click on this SATERN direct link: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... Gina Clenney x39851 [top] RLLS Portal WebEx Training for Dec. 11 and 12 The Dec. 11 and 12 RLLS Portal Education Series: Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. CST, Meeting Support Training Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. CST, Flight Arrival Departure 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 will be opportunities for Q&A. 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 Funded Fellowship Opportunities Available NASA Headquarters' Office of Education has just announced that there will be a select number of fellowships opportunities available agencywide for the fall 2014 semester. If you are interested in having a graduate fellow, please log on to the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI) to enter your opportunity. You can access OSSI by clicking here. If you have never used OSSI before, you will have to create a mentor's profile before entering your project in the system. All fellowship opportunities in OSSI: • MUST be entered as yearlong 2014, and should provide a substantial overview of the research opportunity with enough details so that applicants can sufficiently respond with abstracts/proposals • MUST be submitted and approved in OSSI no later than noon on Thursday, Dec. 5 Please contact Diego Rodriguez or Carla Santiago if you have any questions. Thank you! Diego Rodriguez 281-792-7827 https://intern.nasa.gov [top] Toys for Tots As is our tradition, the JSC National Management Association (NMA) will once again assist the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program by collecting toys in the Buildings 3 and 11 cafés from Monday, Dec. 9, through lunchtime on Friday, Dec. 13. Please consider donating a new, unwrapped toy to brighten the Christmas of a less fortunate child. Vickie Kloeris x33634 [top]

 

 

NASA and Human Spaceflight News

Tuesday – December 3, 2013

HEADLINES AND LEADS

SpaceX retargets commercial comsat launch

William Harwood – CBS News

Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a commercial communications satellite is now targeted for Tuesday evening, company officials said Monday, giving engineers more time to review data in the wake of a Thanksgiving Day launch abort and work over the weekend to clean and inspect the booster's engines.

Hubble Telescope best shot at learning comet fate

Marcia Dunn – AP

It's all up to Hubble. NASA said Monday that the Hubble Space Telescope is the best bet for figuring out whether Comet ISON disintegrated during its brush with the sun last week.

Comet ISON is see-through, and that's not good

Deborah Netburn – Los Angeles Times

Did Comet ISON survive its brush with the sun? Four days after the comet made its closest approach to our nearest star, the scientific consensus is "probably not."

White House Nominates Financial Chief for NASA

SpaceNews – SpaceNews Staff

The White House on Nov. 21 nominated David Radzanowski, chief of staff to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, to become the agency's next chief financial officer. 

GAO: NASA needs to reflect IT investments in EA

Frank Konkel – Federal Computer Week

When the Government Accountability Office told NASA officials they needed to do a better job of reflecting their IT investments in their enterprise architecture, they had a ready response at hand: A lot of our stuff is in orbit.

Former NASA leader Ed Mango pleads guilty to felony

James Dean – Florida Today

The former head of NASA's Commercial Crew Program will learn within a few months if he faces prison time for breaking federal law by intervening in a personnel matter in which he had a financial interest.

NASA, Commercial Participants See Future for COTS Model, but 'Not for Everything'

Dan Leone – Space News

Having declared its $850 million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) experiment a success, NASA is now considering how the same mold-breaking procurement approach might be used for other programs. 

Saving Hubble: Astronauts Recall 1st Space Telescope Repair Mission 20 Years Ago

Denise Chow – Space.com

When the Hubble Space Telescope launched into orbit in 1990, the observatory promised to provide dazzling and unprecedented views of space that would rewrite humans' understanding of the cosmos. But soon after the $2.5 billion telescope was turned on, mission managers knew something was horribly wrong: Instead of rich and vibrant views of nebulas and galaxies, the images beamed back from Hubble were fuzzy, and seemed out-of-focus.

COMPLETE STORIES

SpaceX retargets commercial comsat launch

William Harwood – CBS News

 

Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a commercial communications satellite is now targeted for Tuesday evening, company officials said Monday, giving engineers more time to review data in the wake of a Thanksgiving Day launch abort and work over the weekend to clean and inspect the booster's engines.

SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk said in a Twitter posting Monday that "all known rocket anomalies resolved" and that engineers would take one more day "rechecking to be sure."

 

The launch window Tuesday opens at 5:41 p.m. EST (GMT-5) and closes at 6:47 p.m., according to a company spokeswoman. Forecasters are predicting a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather Tuesday and Wednesday.

Launch originally was scheduled for Nov. 25, but the flight was delayed to Thanksgiving because of unexpected pressure fluctuations in the first stage liquid oxygen propellent system and because the Federal Aviation Administration would not impose airspace restrictions for launch tries Nov. 26 and 27, two of the heaviest travel days of the year.

Last Thursday, the countdown reached zero and the engines briefly ignited but the launching was aborted on computer command, apparently because the thrust did not ramp up as rapidly as expected. Company officials later said the problem was caused by oxygen in the engine igniter fluid supplied by a ground system.

Engineers worked over the weekend to inspect and clean the nine first stage Merlin 1D engines, replacing a gas generator on the center engine. Musk tweeted the engines appeared to be in good shape, raising the possibility of a launch try Monday, the next FAA-sanctioned opportunity. Instead, the next attempt was targeted for Tuesday. A backup opportunity is available Wednesday.

This will be SpaceX's first launch of a commercial communications satellite using an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket making only its second flight. SpaceX prices the Falcon 9 well below the cost of commercial rockets built in Europe and Russia and satellite operators are closely monitoring the mission.

The payload atop the Falcon 9 is a relay station owned by SES World Skies, which operates a fleet of 54 communications satellite. Chief Technical Officer Martin Halliwell said SES decided to launch with SpaceX to encourage increased competition and lower costs to help offset the cost of increasingly complex satellites and flat revenue streams in developing markets.

"The entry of SpaceX into the commercial market is a game changer," he said before the initial launch try. "It's going to really shake the industry to its roots. We're very excited to be a part of this."

 

Hubble Telescope best shot at learning comet fate

Marcia Dunn – Associated Press

It's all up to Hubble.

NASA said Monday that the Hubble Space Telescope is the best bet for figuring out whether Comet ISON disintegrated during its brush with the sun last week.

A pair of solar observatories saw something emerge from around the sun following ISON's close approach on Thanksgiving Day. But scientists don't know whether the spot of light was merely the comet's shattered remains or what's left of its icy nucleus. Either way, by now, they say it may be just dust.

Over the coming week or two, scientists will keep a lookout for any brightening, which could indicate what, if anything is left. Hubble should put the matter to rest in mid-December, when the comet's remains are far enough from the sun for safe viewing.

As for us earthlings, there appears to be little chance of spotting what's left of the comet with the naked eye. Whatever is left will pass closest to Earth on Dec. 26; it will keep a safe 40 million miles away.

ISON was making its first visit to the inner solar system, after traveling from the Oort cloud on the fringes of the solar system, home to countless icy bodies, most notably the frozen balls of dust and gas in orbit around the sun known as comets

It was discovered by Russian astronomers last year and, early on, was predicted to become the comet of the century because of its brightness. Indeed, ISON would have wowed observers if it had survived the sun's fury.

NASA turned all its space eyes on the sun-grazing comet throughout the year, watching as ISON advanced ever closer. Even scientists were left wondering whether the comet would survive its encounter with the sun from just 730,000 miles out.

In an online blog, the Naval Research Laboratory's Karl Battams paid tribute Monday to ISON and suggested that donations be made to astronomy clubs, observatories or charities supporting science and math education for children.

"Never one to follow convention, ISON lived a dynamic and unpredictable life, alternating between periods of quiet reflection and violent outburst," Battams, an astrophysicist, wrote. "Comet ISON leaves behind an unprecedented legacy for astronomers, and the eternal gratitude of an enthralled global audience."

Comet ISON is see-through, and that's not good

Deborah Netburn – Los Angeles Times

Did Comet ISON survive its brush with the sun? Four days after the comet made its closest approach to our nearest star, the scientific consensus is "probably not."

Yes, something did survive ISON's harrowing Thanksgiving Day encounter with the sun. (See that puff of light emerging from the sun in the video above?) But most scientists believe it was not a comet with a nucleus, but rather a collection of pebbles and dust -- the rocky remains of the comet from the Oort Cloud.

Karl Battams, an astronomer who has been chronicling ISON's journey toward the sun for NASA, published an obituary for the comet on Monday morning that made its end seem fairly official. 

"Tragically, on Nov. 28, 2013, ISON's tenacious ambition outweighed its ability, and our shining green candle in the solar wind began to burn out," he wrote. 

And in a conversation with the Los Angeles Times, heliophysicist Alex Young said he and his colleagues were  "pretty certain that it's gone."

"Right before it left the field of view of SOHO and now in STEREO you can see a cloud that doesn't have a lot of structure, and you can see stars through it," he said. "That means there is probably no central nucleus giving off gas." 

Young said it was likely that the ice that held the bits of rock and dust that made up ISON burned up during the comet's closest encounter with the sun or even a few hours earlier. And with that ice gone, ISON is nothing more than rocky debris. 

He said the rocky remnants would travel along the comet's orbital path for a while, but much of it would diffuse away into space, pushed away by solar particles streaming off the sun.

The Hubble telescope will take a look at the whatever remains of the comet in mid-December, once it has moved away from the sun a bit, and at that point astronomers should have a clearer idea.

But dreams of a dazzling light show in December when the comet's orbital path will take it closest to Earth are almost certainly dashed. As astronomer Tony Phillips of Spaceweather.com put it, "A naked-eye event is out of the question."

White House Nominates Financial Chief for NASA

SpaceNews – SpaceNews Staff

The White House on Nov. 21 nominated David Radzanowski, chief of staff to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, to become the agency's next chief financial officer. 

Radzanowski, who has been Bolden's chief of staff since 2010, came to NASA in 2006 after eight years in the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Radzanowski's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which is on recess until Dec. 9. 

Radzanowski would succeed Elizabeth Robinson, who is awaiting Senate confirmation to become undersecretary for the Department of Energy. Robinson's nomination has been held up by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who demanded an explanation for what he said were delays to the Orion space capsule and Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket programs, major components of which are built in Louisiana.

GAO: NASA needs to reflect IT investments in EA

Frank Konkel – Federal Computer Week

When the Government Accountability Office told NASA officials they needed to do a better job of reflecting their IT investments in their enterprise architecture, they had a ready response at hand: A lot of our stuff is in orbit.

A recent GAO report evaluated the progress of the 26 agencies required to comply with the Office of Management and Budget's 2012 PortfolioStat initiative and found five agencies that failed to incorporate 100 percent of their IT investments in their EAs, as PortfolioStat mandates. NASA was at the bottom of the list.

According to GAO, only 17 percent of NASA's IT investments made it into its EA, which limits the agency's "ability to use this tool as a mechanism to identify low-value, duplicative or wasteful investments."

The State Department (40 percent), U.S. Agency for International Development (75 percent), Commerce Department (90 percent) and Justice Department (97 percent) were the other agencies that missed the 100 percent mark.

Regarding NASA's poor EA documentation of its IT spending, GAO recommended that the agency move to include all its IT investments in its EA from now on.

In a written response to GAO, NASA officials agreed with the recommendation and said they would strive for a goal of 50 percent by the end of fiscal 2014 and 90 percent by the end of fiscal 2015.

But officials also said the 100 percent target might not be attainable because of NASA's evolving mission and the reality of government budget cuts.

A NASA spokesperson told FCW that its IT investments were not well-documented in its EA because most of them are locked up in space-related IT and not corporate systems, where this particular OMB guidance is more applicable. Furthermore, just because an IT investment does not show up in the agency's EA does not mean there is no oversight of it.

"The enterprise EA function primarily focuses on corporate IT systems and does not manage and evaluate the IT expenditures incurred by programs which make up the majority of the IT expenditures at NASA," the spokesperson told FCW. "EA for corporate functions typically [is] easier to manage as opposed to embedded space-related IT, which aligns with programmatic responsibilities. NASA space systems follow rigorous systems engineering principles for design and development, which may not show up as an EA expenditure but still provide similar integration and oversight."

In recent months, NASA's Office of Inspector General made a series of recommendations after a scathing audit of the agency's IT governance, leading CIO Larry Sweet to institute major changes. The latest GAO report piggybacks on the recommendations made by the IG, which included giving the CIO authority over all IT spending at the agency. NASA officials said they would comply with that recommendation.

Former NASA leader Ed Mango pleads guilty to felony

James Dean – Florida Today

The former head of NASA's Commercial Crew Program will learn within a few months if he faces prison time for breaking federal law by intervening in a personnel matter in which he had a financial interest.

In federal court in downtown Orlando on Monday, Ed Mango pleaded guilty to a felony charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, though his lawyers will seek no prison term when he is sentenced in February or March.

In a hushed, wood-paneled courtroom, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Baker asked Mango if he was pleading guilty because he was guilty.

"Because I am guilty," Mango replied under oath.

According to a plea agreement signed last month, Mango loaned an undisclosed amount of money to a NASA colleague who worked on the Commercial Crew Program when she became the subject of a criminal investigation last fall and was arrested at Kennedy Space Center last December. The Commercial Crew Program is based at KSC.

He then pressured senior KSC officials, including Center Director Bob Cabana and the head of human resources, to limit discipline against that colleague without disclosing his financial interest in her continued employment and ability to repay the loan.

Court records identify the colleague as "C.T." and "Thomas."

Candrea Thomas, a NASA public affairs officer who served as spokeswoman for the Commercial Crew Program, was the only NASA employee involved in that program who was arrested at the center at that time, NASA has confirmed.

Thomas was charged with five counts of forging public records. She pleaded no contest in Brevard Circuit Court and was sentenced to three years of probation for faking temporary driver's permits while her license was suspended because of a drunken driving conviction.

Court records show the colleague Mango helped was suspended without pay for two weeks, but Mango's intervention resulted in an unusual decision to spread her loss of income over multiple weeks.

Asked by the judge to say what he had done, Mango summarized the facts outlined in the plea agreement.

He described loaning money to help a colleague with "legal issues" and lobbying on her behalf, asking that she not be fired and that the financial impact of her suspension be minimized.

"She was a very good worker," Mango said.

Most of the half-hour hearing involved Judge Baker asking Mango if he understood his rights, the charge against him and the consequences of a guilty plea, to which Mango repeatedly answered "Yes, sir" or "No, sir."

As a convicted felon, he will lose civil rights including the ability to vote, own a firearm, hold public office or perform jury duty.

Mango, a 53-year-old Orlando resident who started working at KSC in 1986 after serving in the Air Force, left the courthouse holding hands with his wife and declined to speak to several media representatives.

"It's been a rough day, obviously, but he's OK," said his lawyer, Melbourne-based Alan Diamond.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent Citro would not say what sentence the government would seek for Mango, saying it depended, in part, on a pre-sentencing report from probation officers.

A federal district judge will have broad leeway to apply any sentence, taking into consideration lawyers' recommendations and federal sentencing guidelines.

A KSC spokesman said any agency discipline against Mango would await completion of the legal proceedings.

Before Mango's case, KSC said four of its civil servant employees had been charged with felonies since 2005 and two were convicted, including Thomas. All remain employed except for one who has died.

Mango stepped down in October as leader of the Commercial Crew Program, a high-profile program that represents NASA's near-term effort to resume launches of astronauts from U.S. soil. The program next year plans to select at least one company to build and test private spacecraft that could begin flying crews to the International Space Station by 2017.

Mango has been reassigned as a "special assistant for human systems development" advising Bill Gerstenmaier, the head of human spaceflight program at NASA headquarters.

NASA, Commercial Participants See Future for COTS Model, but 'Not for Everything'

Dan Leone – Space News

Having declared its $850 million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) experiment a success, NASA is now considering how the same mold-breaking procurement approach might be used for other programs. 

"COTS is not for everything," Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program, said at NASA headquarters here Nov. 13 during a press conference marking the official end of the program. "This was taking technology that was known [and] repackaging it in a more cost-effective and innovative way. It needs multiple companies to have a good, healthy competition. It needs good, strong financing, because NASA did not pay the full cost."

Through COTS, a seven-year development program that began while President George W. Bush was still in office, NASA helped fund development of new rockets and spacecraft built and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif. Those companies, using Commercial Resupply Services contracts awarded two years into the COTS program, are now sending cargo to the international space station and — in SpaceX's case — bringing it back to Earth.

Both companies retained the rights to the hardware they developed under COTS and are free to market it to customers outside of NASA. SpaceX, with its bulging backlog of commercial satellite launches, already has. 

For COTS, in a departure from the government-led acquisition approach used for most of its hardware development programs, NASA established mission guidelines but left it to industry to decide how — and with what hardware — the mission would be carried out. The agency then invited companies to compete for funded Space Act Agreements, alternative procurement vehicles that leave awardees, not NASA, free to run the design and development process.

COTS alone did not finance the construction of Orbital and SpaceX's rockets and spacecraft. In late 2008, NASA awarded the companies lucrative Commercial Resupply Services contracts — traditional government contracts that reasserted NASA's ability to dictate requirements for the missions it was buying. Orbital got an eight-flight, $1.9 billion contract. SpaceX got a 12-flight deal worth $1.6 billion. Both contracts run through 2016. 

Both companies received a significant chunk of their fees for the delivery missions in advance, which was used for development and testing on the ground. SpaceX has so far flown two of its 12 missions. Orbital is set to launch its first, which follows September's successful demonstration run to the station, no earlier than Dec. 17. 

Meanwhile, Lindenmoyer said NASA has already asked for ideas about how to exploit the COTS model for other programs.

In responses to an agency request for information issued in July, industry sent NASA ideas for "systems to go back and explore the Moon, communications systems, propellant systems [and] launch systems," Lindenmoyer said.

Frank Culbertson, a former astronaut who is now executive vice president and general manager of Orbital's advanced programs group, had his own ideas about where NASA's COTS partners, or companies like them, might fit into future missions. He singled out the proposed Asteroid Redirect Mission, in which NASA would nudge a captured asteroid into lunar orbit for astronauts to visit early next decade, as one of these.

"They're going to need cargo, they're going to need modules, they're going to need support for companies like ours ... to complete those missions in a cost-effective way," Culbertson said.

Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, also wants to see the COTS approach carried forward.

"It's probably not the right model for every program, but certainly I think we should think very hard about following this model for additional developments," Shotwell said. 

In a Nov. 12 press conference, NASA's top human spaceflight official, William Gerstenmaier, also reinforced the idea that NASA will be looking for off-the-shelf space hardware to use in future missions to deep space, including eventual crewed missions to Mars.

"When you start looking at a human-class Mars mission, I don't think there's any country alone that could really support that," Gerstenmaier said. "That's going to have to be some kind of international activity, and I would also suggest the commercial sector needs to be involved in that as well."

Saving Hubble: Astronauts Recall 1st Space Telescope Repair Mission 20 Years Ago

Denise Chow – Space.com

When the Hubble Space Telescope launched into orbit in 1990, the observatory promised to provide dazzling and unprecedented views of space that would rewrite humans' understanding of the cosmos. But soon after the $2.5 billion telescope was turned on, mission managers knew something was horribly wrong: Instead of rich and vibrant views of nebulas and galaxies, the images beamed back from Hubble were fuzzy, and seemed out-of-focus.

It was later discovered that a slip-up during Hubble's construction phase left its main mirror flawed. The telescope's blurry vision dealt an embarrassing blow to NASA, and the task of repairing Hubble fell to seven astronauts, who embarked on a bold mission in 1993 to restore the observatory's sight — and, in effect, to rescue the agency's reputation.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of STS-61, which would become the first of five space-shuttle flights to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.

On Dec. 2, 1993, astronauts Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave and Thomas Akers launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on a mission to correct Hubble's faulty optics. The astronauts spent more than a week in orbit, and completed a record-setting five consecutive days of spacewalks.

The mission was a triumph, and it marked the beginning of the Hubble telescope's long and illustrious career.

"This was the most complex shuttle mission that had ever been undertaken," Hoffman said Nov. 13 at a symposium to mark the 20^th anniversary of STS-61. "There were a lot of people who doubted that we could accomplish all the things we had set out to, but here we were at the end of the fifth of five [spacewalks], and we had accomplished 13 of the 12 tasks that had been assigned to us — so we were, justifiably, very happy."

Hoffman, now a professor in the department of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., helped organize the event, titled "Rescuing Hubble," which was held Nov. 13 at the MIT Bartos Theater.

Hubble's legacy

Since 1993, the Hubble Space Telescope has become one of the most extraordinary and beloved space science missions, and has provided some of the most memorable images of the cosmos, including the iconic "Pillars of Creation" photograph that revealed giant, wispy columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula.

Hubble's observations have enabled scientists to peer deep into space, and the telescope's observations have led to breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics, such as determining the rate of the universe's expansion, and characterizing the atmospheres of alien planets.

Hubble also played an important role in connecting the sometimes-separate worlds of human space exploration and scientific study, Covey said.

"In my mind, there's the human spaceflight program, and there's the space science stuff — and occasionally, they had to deal with each other because the science guys needed a ride, or there were some shuttle missions that were dedicated to science," Covey said. "But still, there was a lot of 'them' and 'us.' This mission bridged that gap in a way that I had not seen before in the space-shuttle program."

Last month's "Rescuing Hubble"event reunited five of the STS-61 astronauts and members of NASA's mission control, many of whom had not spent time together as a group since the 1993 mission. The team reminisced about the flight and the legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope.

"It's such a beautiful instrument," Hoffman said. "It was a true privilege to live with Hubble for a week up there, especially — I have to say — for myself, being trained as an astronomer. As an astronomer and an astronaut, to put one's own hands on the Hubble Space Telescope in space is a real thrill."

Musgrave called the STS-61 crew "the greatest group that ever flew."

"I saw us doing what NASA should do: unbelievably good teamwork," he added.

Covey commanded the STS-61 mission, and spoke with pride about the work done during the flight.

"When I got back, I think I called it a 'noble mission,' and I truly believe that," he said. "This was one where I truly felt like I had gone beyond human spaceflight, and our crew had gone beyond human spaceflight, to enable great science."

Covey retired from NASA eight months after the STS-61 mission. He said the Hubble flight was the perfect capstone to his spaceflight career, claiming, "That's going to be as good as it gets to me."

"I could not think of any spaceflight that I could fly in that would be more significant, more important and more fun than this one," Covey said. "It was truly a pleasure to fly with these guys and work with this team. It was good work."

 

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