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Monday, September 8, 2014

Fwd: JSC Today - Monday, September 8, 2014



Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Nakamura, Stacey T. (JSC-NC211)" <stacey.t.nakamura@nasa.gov>
Date: September 8, 2014 7:19:08 PM CDT
To: "Nakamura, Stacey T. (JSC-NC211)" <stacey.t.nakamura@nasa.gov>
Cc: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: JSC Today - Monday, September 8, 2014

Sorry for the delay in today's daily email – Just took over for Larry Moon while he is out on vacation.

 

 

From: JSC Today [mailto:jsc-jsctoday@mail.nasa.gov]
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2014 6:00 AM
To: JSC-Today
Subject: JSC Today - Monday, September 8, 2014

 

 

 

Monday, September 8, 2014

 

 

 

   Headlines

  1. NASA TV to Broadcast Sept. 10 Return of ISS Crew

Three crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are scheduled to end almost six months on the orbiting laboratory on Sept. 10, and NASA TV will provide complete coverage.

Expedition 40 Commander Steve Swanson of NASA and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will undock their Soyuz spacecraft from the station at 6:02 p.m. CDT Sept. 10, for a landing in Kazakhstan at 9:25 p.m. (8:25 a.m. Sept. 11, Kazakh time). Their return will end 169 days in space since launching from Kazakhstan March 26 for a mission that covered almost 72 million miles in orbit.

At the time of undocking, Expedition 41 formally will begin aboard the station under the command of Max Suraev of Roscosmos. Suraev and his crewmates, Reid Wiseman of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, will operate the station as a three-person crew for two weeks until the arrival of three new crew members. NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova are scheduled to launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Sept. 25, (U.S. time), on a six-hour flight to the space station.

NASA TV coverage will begin Tuesday, Sept. 9, with a change of command ceremony when Swanson will turn over control of station operations to Suraev, and will continue Sept. 10 and 11 with Expedition 40 landing and post-landing activities.

NASA coverage, all in CDT, includes:

Tuesday, Sept. 9:
-- 4:15 p.m. - Expedition 40/41 change of command ceremony

Wednesday, Sept. 10:
-- 2:15 p.m. - Farewells and hatch closure coverage (hatch closure at 2:35 p.m.)
-- 5:45 p.m. - Undocking (undocking at 6:02 p.m.)
-- 8:15 p.m. - Deorbit burn and landing coverage (deorbit burn at 8:31 p.m. and landing at 9:25 p.m.)

-- 11 p.m. - Video File of hatch closure, undocking and landing activities

Thursday, Sept. 11:
-- 11 a.m. - Video File of landing and post-landing activities and interview with Steve Swanson in Kazakhstan

JSC, Ellington Field, Sonny Carter Training Facility and White Sands Test Facility employees with hard-wired computer network connections can view the events using the JSC EZTV IP Network TV System on channel 404 (standard definition) or channel 4541 (HD). Please note: EZTV currently requires using Internet Explorer on a Windows PC or Safari on a Mac. Mobile devices, Wi-Fi, VPN or connections from other centers are currently not supported by EZTV.

First-time users will need to install the EZTV Monitor and Player client applications:

    • For those WITH admin rights (Elevated Privileges), you'll be prompted to download and install the clients when you first visit the IPTV website
    • For those WITHOUT admin rights (Elevated Privileges), you can download the EZTV client applications from the ACES Software Refresh Portal (SRP)

If you are having problems viewing the video using these systems, contact the Information Resources Directorate Customer Support Center at x46367 or visit the FAQ site.

Event Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014   Event Start Time:2:15 PM   Event End Time:10:00 PM
Event Location: NASA TV

Add to Calendar

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111 http://www.nasa.gov/station

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   Organizations/Social

  1. Preview of Hispanic Heritage Month 2014

The Hispanic Employee Resource Group (HERG) is preparing for Hispanic Heritage Month 2014/Mes de la Herencia Hispana 2014. This year's theme is "Hispanics: A Legacy of History, a Present of Action and a Future of Success."

We have many exciting events coming up, so be sure to save the dates!

Sept. 10: HERG general meeting

Sept. 16: HERG awards luncheon

Sept. 18: Happy hour and movie night

Sept. 24: Spanish over lunch

Oct. 1: Learn Spanish with Lotería

Oct. 8: Tortilla-making class

Oct. 14: ¡Festival! A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer for any of these events, please email the HERG or visit our website.

HERG Officers https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/hispanic/default.aspx

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  1. SWAPRA Meeting Wednesday, Sept. 10

The South Western Aerospace Professional Representatives Association (SWAPRA) is kicking off its fall schedule with an exciting presentation by General Joseph W. Ashy (USAF Ret.), who will discuss his perspective on the geopolitical and military state of the world and how it affects the United States and the Greater Houston area. SWAPRA will host Gen. Ashy at the Bay Oaks Country Club (BOCC) beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Gen. Ashy has a unique insight into the military and political situation of the world through his efforts supporting the Unified and Service commanders through the Institute for Defense Analysis Independent Strategic Assessment Group process.

The BOCC luncheon cost for non-members is $35 at the door, or $25 with pre-paid RSVPs today, Sept. 8, by 5 p.m. Contact David L. Brown at 281-483-7426 to RSVP, or RSVP directly to Chris Elkins at 281-276-2792.

Event Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Bay Oaks Country Club

Add to Calendar

David L. Brown x37426

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  1. Sept. 10: What Does Cyber Security Impact?

You are invited to JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance speaker forum featuring Sergio Muniz, president of CYFOR Technologies.

Topic: How does Cyber Security Impact the World Economy, Communities and You?

Date/Time: Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Location: Building 1, Room 966

Ever wonder what's really going on in the fascinating world of cyber security? Gather some insights surrounding this highly debated topic as we delve into the many aspects of the cyber world—its origins, current events and implications for the future.

Participate in a thought-provoking presentation let by Muniz, who will discuss many aspects of the cyber world ranging from national security implications to dealing with cyber threats at home and abroad.

Event Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Building 1, room 966

Add to Calendar

Della Cardona/Juan Traslavina 281-335-2074/281-335-2272

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  1. Energy Express Network Kickoff

Join us for a warm and relaxing evening to learn about American Business Women's Association (ABWA) membership benefits and career development.

Being a member of ABWA provides greater business insight and leadership experience. Learn best practices in business and leadership. Get noticed by employers and customers by taking more active leadership roles serving on the executive board and award recognition. Connect with professionals across the country with a wide-reaching diverse network. The ABWA offers a variety of online courses and continuing education credits for career placement or advancement and professional development.

The $30 meeting fee includes light-fare meal and speaker. Make your reservation now!

Check out the ABWA website and Facebook page.

Event Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014   Event Start Time:5:30 PM   Event End Time:7:30 PM
Event Location: Hyatt Regency, 1200 Louisiana St, Houston, 77002

Add to Calendar

Kirsten Beyer 281-235-2271 http://www.abwaenergyexpress.org/

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  1. Johnson Space Center Astronomy Society Meeting

Dr. Aaron Clevenson of Lone Star College and lead astronomer at Insperity Observatory will present "Supernova 2014J - A Personal Journey" during our September JSC Astronomy Society (JSCAS) meeting. He will describe observing and taking measurements of a supernova for three days before it peaked—until it was no longer detectable 160 days later.

We'll have our other short and informative presentations, such as: the novice Q&A session; the September sky's observing targets, with suggestions for beginners; "Astro Oddities;" and a few informative member's minutes.

Membership to the JSCAS is open to anyone who wants to learn about astronomy. There are no dues, no bylaws; you just come to our meeting.

It's totally FREE!

Once you're a member, you can borrow one of our loaner telescopes. Or, if there is a topic in astronomy you want to learn more about, you can borrow one of hundreds of our educational DVDs.

Event Date: Friday, September 12, 2014   Event Start Time:7:30 PM   Event End Time:9:30 PM
Event Location: USRA Auditorium, 3600 Bay Area Blvd.

Add to Calendar

Jim Wessel x41128 http://www.jscas.net/

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  1. JSC Contractor Safety and Health Forum

Our next JSC Contractor Safety and Health Forum will be held Tuesday, Sept. 16, in the Gilruth Alamo Ballroom from 9 to 11:15 a.m. One guest speaker for this event is Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso, chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety Investigation Board, who will be presenting on several of the board's recent investigations and their outcomes. Our second guest speaker is Mr. John L. Allen, P.E., acting director of the Laboratory Services Division and chief of the Fire Research Laboratory, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives, located in Ammendale, Maryland. Allen will present on the ATF Fire Research Laboratory's mission, capabilities and research, as well as several cases studies.

This will be a very dynamic and informative meeting that you will not want to miss.

If you have any questions, please contact Pat Farrell at 281-335-2012 or via email.

Event Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2014   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:11:15 AM
Event Location: Gilruth Center Alamo Ballroom

Add to Calendar

Patricia A. Farrell 281-335-2012

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   Jobs and Training

  1. Human Systems Academy Lecture

Join tomorrow's Human Systems Academy lecture on "Visual Impairment Intracranial Pressure."

This lecture will provide insight into documented changes in visual acuity and eye anatomy that have been experienced by some astronauts after long-duration missions. Specifically, the lecture answers: What is the relation to intracranial pressure, and how does this translate into a human long-duration spaceflight risk?

As space is limited, please click here to register in SATERN.

Event Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2014   Event Start Time:10:00 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM
Event Location: Building 2S, Studio B (Rm 180)

Add to Calendar

Ruby Guerra x37108 https://sashare.jsc.nasa.gov/hsa/default.aspx

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  1. Job Opportunities

Where do I find job opportunities?

Both internal Competitive Placement Plan 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.

Lateral reassignment and rotation opportunities are posted in the Workforce Transition Tool. To access, click: HR Portal > Employees > Workforce Transition > Workforce Transition Tool. These opportunities do not possess known promotion potential; therefore, employees can only see positions at or below their current grade level.

If you have questions about any JSC job vacancies or reassignment opportunities, please call your HR representative.

Brandy Braunsdorf x30476

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   Community

  1. Texas High School Juniors Needed

High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) needs Texas high school juniors. The application is currently open.

HAS is an interactive, online experience highlighted by a six-day residential summer experience at JSC. Students will explore science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts, with an emphasis on space exploration, during the online experience. Students who are selected to come to JSC will continue their STEM studies with hands-on team activities while being mentored by NASA engineers and scientists. HAS is a great STEM opportunity for Texas high school juniors.

Check out the HAS website for the application deadline. For more information, watch "High School Aerospace Scholars: A Journey of Discovery."

Stacey Welch 281-792-8223 https://has.aerospacescholars.org/

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JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles.

Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters.

 

NASA and Human Spaceflight News

Monday – September 8, 2014

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: ISS images will be taking over Wired Magazine's Instagram account today, tomorrow and Wednesday, for the last few days that Commander Steve Swanson is in orbit. Follow the images at instagram.com/wired and follow all ISS images on the ISS Instagram at instagram.com/iss

HEADLINES AND LEADS

NASA Touts Space Station Benefits in New Video Series

Watch how some space experiments can help people on Earth.

Heather Goss - airspacemag.com

In January 2012, the fishing vessel Hallgrimur hit a sudden storm and overturned in the Norwegian Sea. The ship threw its crew of four into the icy waters rolling with 50-foot high waves. One of those men survived, and he has the International Space Station to thank.

Returning U.S. Lawmakers Will Have Little Time for Space

Jeff Foust – Space News

The U.S. Congress returns from its summer recess Sept. 8 to a full slate of space policy issues, but very little time available to deal with them.

 

Astronaut All-Stars Will Visit China to Talk Space Cooperation

Leonard David - Space.com

Space travelers from around the world are headed to China this month for an international Planetary Congress, which will explore the possibilities for expanding human spaceflight cooperation among different countries.

Army lieutenant aims to launch with private Mars mission

Kevin Lilley – USA Today

 

When it comes to post-service plans, 1st Lt. Heidi Beemer has a clearer picture than most: She's going to win a global contest, get launched into space, become one of the first humans to land on Mars, and stay there.

 

Revisiting the Moon

Natalie Angier – New York Times

As the moon wheels around Earth every 28 days and shows us a progressively greater and then stingier slice of its sun-lightened face, the distance between moon and Earth changes, too. At the nearest point along its egg-shaped orbit, its perigee, the moon may be 26,000 miles closer to us than it is at its far point.

Alice in Comet-Land: NASA Instrument Aboard Rosetta Returns First Scientific Results

Emily Carney – AmericaSpace

NASA announced that one of its three instruments aboard Rosetta, the European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft currently orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, has successfully delivered its first set of science results back to Earth. Alice, an ultraviolet spectrometer, has revealed yet more unexpected findings about the comet, which Rosetta rendezvoused with in early August after a decade-long journey.

 

The Telescope We Need to Find Earth 2.0

 

Astronomers have discovered a multitude of new exoplanets, but is it possible to detect whether faraway world have water, oxygen, or other ingredients for life as we know it?

William Herkewitz - Popular Mechanics

The past two decades of exoplanet hunting have turned up hundreds of new worlds, and in recent years, that tally has grown to include many that appear to be close to the Earth in size. Yet most of these new planets are discovered indirectly, though the wobbling or dimming light of their parent stars. The planets themselves are just too far away to see.

CAT Scanning Asteroids: Planetary Defense, Space Mining Benefits

Coalition for Space Exploration

A nasty asteroid headed toward Earth is on a collision course – how best to protect our home turf?

One of these spaceflight companies is about to land a multibillion-dollar contract

Clay Dillow – Fortune

 

After a fierce and costly four-year competition, Boeing, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada await NASA's decision on who will build the orbital spacecraft of the future.

 

Primary crew for next ISS space mission approved

The upcoming space expedition will be notable for the fact that a Russian woman cosmonaut, Yelena Serova, will take part in a space mission for the first time in the past 20 years

ITAR-TASS

 

The inter-agency commission of the Cosmonauts' Training Center on Friday approved the primary crew lineup for the spaceship Soyuz TMA-14M. The crew consists of Roscosmos (Russia's Federal Space Agency) cosmonauts Aleksandr Samokutyayev and Yelena Serova, as well as NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore. The backup crew comprises Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Korniyevko, as well as American astronaut Scott Kelly.

Space Station's Robonaut 2 Is Getting More Astronaut-Like By The Day

Elizabeth Howell - Universe Today

NASA's large space station robot now has legs and a plan to (eventually) head outside to do spacewalks, to replace some of the more routine tasks taken on by astronauts. Robonaut 2 has actually been on the International Space Station since 2011, but only received the extra appendages in the past few days.

Companies Making Their Case in U.S. Launcher Debate

Mike Gruss - Space News

With billions of dollars in potential business at stake, U.S. rocket and propulsion providers are emphasizing their respective strengths as they counsel the U.S. government on a new launch vehicle strategy that industry sources say could be decided before the end of the year.

 

SpaceX delivers commercial satellite to orbit

James Dean – Florida Today

 

SpaceX delivered another commercial communications satellite to orbit early Sunday, completing its second launch in just over a month for Hong Kong-based AsiaSat.

 

New space shop, The Space Store, lands in Cocoa Village

James Dean – Florida Today

 

Readying for his grand opening on Sept. 12, Brett Anderson filled display shelves with merchandise, placing a meteorite bracelet next to an X-37B space plane model and a lunar rover toy.

 

COMPLETE STORIES

NASA Touts Space Station Benefits in New Video Series

Watch how some space experiments can help people on Earth.

Heather Goss - airspacemag.com

In January 2012, the fishing vessel Hallgrimur hit a sudden storm and overturned in the Norwegian Sea. The ship threw its crew of four into the icy waters rolling with 50-foot high waves. One of those men survived, and he has the International Space Station to thank.

NASA last week introduced its latest in "spinoff" outreach—highlighting the ways in which space experiments and technology benefit people on the ground—with its rebooted Benefits for Humanity video series. The first installment explains the Vessel ID System, which used the station to pick up ship's identification signals. While marine authorities track these signals from shore, they can only "see" the ship until it passes over the horizon, because the signals travel in a straight line. Which means they also travel up. To see if these signals could be better seen from the sky, astronauts put a radio reciever on the handrails outside the station, using a simple attachment device called the Grappling Adaptor to On-Orbit Railing, or GATOR. "Suddenly we could see a whole world of ship data," says Richard Olsen of the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment in the video. "It was a quantum leap in our ability to look at global ship traffic."

Watch the rest of Hallgrimur's story:

NASA had a few Benefits for Humanity videos made in 2013 and early 2014 under a series called "In Their Words." (You can watch a couple here and here.) With the release of "Found at Sea," the agency has begun producing the videos in-house at Johnson Space Center, according to public affairs officer Susan Anderson, and they certainly have a higher-quality shine to them. Next up is a video on space station cancer research that will come out in October. Anderson says future installments will cover experiments like a spectrometer that images the ocean coastlines and protein crystal growth (which we covered in our story about Nanoracks in January).

The agency is looking for more experiments to cover in the series, with the hope that the experiments on the station will bank tangible results that can be implemented on the ground. You can keep up with the Benefits to Humanity series, as well as other videos about life and work on the space station at the ReelNASA YouTube page.

View story: http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/new-video-series-shows-how-space-station-experiments-help-people-earth-180952605/?no-ist

Returning U.S. Lawmakers Will Have Little Time for Space

Jeff Foust – Space News

 

The U.S. Congress returns from its summer recess Sept. 8 to a full slate of space policy issues, but very little time available to deal with them.

 

The top priority for returning lawmakers is passage of a continuing resolution, or CR, to fund the federal government after Sept. 30. While the House of Representatives has approved several 2015 appropriations bills, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science bill that funds NASA, the Senate has yet to pass any appropriations bills.

 

The Republican leadership of the House is likely to introduce a CR early in the week. In an Aug. 20 interview with the publication Roll Call, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he expected a CR would last until December and would be a "clean" one, without any controversial policy provisions. Debate over the Affordable Care Act derailed a CR last September, causing a two-week shutdown of most of the federal government.

 

Congress will also likely address at least a short-term reauthorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank in September. Authorization for the bank, which has in recent years supported financing of commercial satellite and launch orders, expires at the end of the month. Some House Republicans, including the new majority leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), oppose the Ex-Im Bank's reauthorization, at least in its current form.

 

Those priorities, and a constrained schedule — the House plans to be in session for only 12 days before adjourning on Oct. 2 until mid-November — means that several pieces of space-related legislation may not make much progress until after the election, if at all. They include:

 

·         NASA Authorization. The House passed a one-year NASA authorization bill June 9, but the Senate has yet to take up that bill or move forward with its own bill, which the Senate Commerce Committee approved on a party-line vote in July 2013. Despite that lack of action, some key House members remain optimistic about a bill. "I feel confident that the Senate is going to move forward on its authorization," Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Science space subcommittee, said in a July 26 interview. "I do hope that it's one of those things that can be done by the end of this year."

 

·         Commercial Space Launch Act. Members of both the House and Senate have discussed amending the Commercial Space Launch Act (CSLA) to tackle issues ranging from launch indemnification to an extension of the "learning period" that limits commercial spaceflight regulation. No legislation has been introduced, but some members remain hopeful Congress can pass a bill of some kind this year. "It is my hope, before this Congress is finished, that we will be able to get some updates to the CSLA passed," Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), chairman of the House Science space subcommittee, said July 17 at the Future Space Leaders Conference.

 

·         Asteroid Property Rights. In July, Reps. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) and Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) introduced the American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities in Deep Space (ASTEROIDS) Act. The bill grants property right to resources extracted from asteroids, although not the asteroids themselves, and would give American companies involved in asteroid mining freedom from harmful interference. The House Science space subcommittee will hold a hearing on the bill Sept. 10, with several planetary scientists and a space law expert scheduled to testify.

 

Some in government remain skeptical that even a NASA authorization bill, the furthest along of these issues, will make it through Congress before it adjourns in December.

 

"They have talked off and on about an authorization bill, but we don't see any serious movement there right now," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told the NASA Advisory Council July 30, referring to the Senate. "I am not optimistic that we will get an authorization bill until 2015."

 

Astronaut All-Stars Will Visit China to Talk Space Cooperation

Leonard David - Space.com

Space travelers from around the world are headed to China this month for an international Planetary Congress, which will explore the possibilities for expanding human spaceflight cooperation among different countries.

China's Manned Space Agency is a key organizer and official host of the landmark gathering in Beijing. In a first, the Chinese space agency is working on the event with the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), an international nonprofit organization of over 395 astronauts and cosmonauts from 35 nations.

The conference's theme is "Cooperation: To Realize Humanity's Space Dream Together," and will take place from Sept. 10 to 15 in Beijing. The goal, according to congress organizers, is to encourage an open discussion about international cooperation in the future development and planning of human spaceflight.

An open invitation for space travelers

During the Planetary Congress, Chinese space program officials are expected to invite astronauts from all over the world to engage in efforts to internationalize China's planned space station. China aims to attract more countries and organizations with its space station program, bolstering international cooperation.

Yang Liwei, vice director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSE), and China's first astronaut, will spotlight the invitation during the congress. Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who became the second man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, joins Liwei on the invite list.

Chinese astronauts are also expected to present information regarding their spacewalking skills and the flight of China's first female astronaut on the country's Shenzhou spacecraft last year. They will also outline future space station construction plans.

Hollywood is expected to make an appearance at the 2014 Planetary Congress, with a viewing of a clip from last year's hit space film "Gravity." The showing will be part of a discussion on rescuing astronauts in peril between space stations. In the fictional film, star Sandra Bullock takes a harrowing journey between the International Space Station and a Chinese space outpost.

More than 30 space travelers from the United States will attend next week's Planetary Congress, including active NASA astronauts. However, those American astronauts will attend as private citizens and ASE members, not as official representatives of NASA.

"This is our first ASE Congress in China and our fourth in Asia," said Andrew Turnage, executive director of ASE–USA. "We have been working with China for some years now on hosting a congress, and we are excited to have the opportunity to visit China and learn more about their space program and plans for exploration, in low-Earth orbit and beyond."

The American astronauts in attendance will join astronauts and cosmonauts from 16 other countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

A broader perspective on space

The congress demonstrates that the Chinese are clearly enthusiastic about cooperative activities in space, Turnage said.

"We hope that the ASE visit and congress in Beijing can broaden perspectives and open doors for all spacefaring nations to work together on exploration, asteroid defense and planetary stewardship," he said.

 

The ASE has a long track record of encouraging international space efforts. In the 1980s, the organization was instrumental in building the foundations for cooperation in space that is in evidence today with the United States, Russia, Europe and other international partners, Turnage said.

 

"Now, ASE has a new opportunity to build a foundation for cooperative efforts in space that include China as a major contributor and partner," he added.

A faster space station path

China is also seeking to speed up its space station plans.

China Daily reported July 18 that the first of three experimental modules for China's planned space station are expected to launch in 2018, with the other two set for 2020 and 2022. Those modules would form the foundation of a 60-ton space station.

"We set the date as a preliminary goal," Gu Yidong, a leading research expert in manned space stations with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China Daily.

 

Those launch targets might change due to a "number of factors that can influence a launch date," Gu told China Daily. "This is a common feature in international research."

 

China Daily also noted that, since the International Space Station is expected to retire around 2024, China's station could be the only remaining orbital outpost for humans in 10 years.

China's space science plans

Chinese space researchers are currently drafting a plan on how best to utilize the country's space station for scientific inquiry.

 

China's space station will accommodate specialized lab functions for a number of research fields, said Gao Ming, director of the technology and engineering center for space utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is in charge of drafting the plan. Those research fields include applied physics and Earth observation, for monitoring the environment and for disaster response.

 

Chinese scientists are hopeful that the details of any international cooperation in using their space station can be detailed later this year, Gao said.

 

China Daily also reported that the country is scheduled to launch its second space laboratory, the Tiangong 2 module, in 2015. This lab will test technology that will be used to sustain astronauts for longer periods in space, and will also conduct other experiments.

China's new CZ-7 rocket

Meanwhile, work is progressing on China's new CZ-7 rocket, the China Manned Space Engineering Office has posted.

 

The new-generation medium-lift launch vehicle has a low-Earth orbit capacity of 13.5 tons. It is designed to launch China's new Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, which will support construction of the country's future space station.

 

Tianzhou cargo vehicles will be launched atop CZ-7 carrier rockets from the newly built Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, located on the northeast coast of Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The first tests of a CZ-7 rocket together with a Tianzhou cargo vehicle are expected to be performed later this year.

 

The upcoming rehearsal is challenging, said Niu Hongguang, deputy chief commander of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, because it involves adoption of a brand-new launch vehicle, spaceship, launch pad, technical process, and command and control system. Additionally, the booster will be transported by sea for the first time.

Army lieutenant aims to launch with private Mars mission

Kevin Lilley – USA Today

When it comes to post-service plans, 1st Lt. Heidi Beemer has a clearer picture than most: She's going to win a global contest, get launched into space, become one of the first humans to land on Mars, and stay there.

 

There are still a few hurdles between Beemer and her childhood dream, but she is one of roughly 700 candidates in the running to make up six four-person Mars One astronaut crews, the first of which organizers plan to launch in 2024 for an arrival the next year.

 

The Netherlands-based group doesn't plan to launch so much as a test mission before 2018 and hopes to fund its goals via broadcast rights and sponsorships to the selection process and eventual landing — a cross between the Apollo program and "Survivor." But that setup hasn't deterred Beemer, the decontamination platoon leader for 63rd Chemical Company, 83rd Chemical Battalion, 48th Chemical Brigade, who'll participate in her first face-to-face selection interview with Mars One officials later this year.

 

The dream started with fascination at the Mars Pathfinder mission, which launched in 1996. More than a decade later, Beemer interned with a NASA program and found herself, then a student at the Virginia Military Institute, surrounded by Ivy Leaguers with jaw-dropping résumés, all wanting to go to space.

 

"I wanted to figure out what would make me more successful than my peers," Beemer said in an Aug. 22 interview, two days before her 25th birthday. "The answer was, I had the opportunity to join the military."

 

She shifted out of her Air Force ROTC program at VMI and instead received an Army commission, then chose a chemical defense-related career path because the ability to survive and problem-solve in dangerous environments "directly translates to becoming an astronaut," she said.

 

She's received support from her command and from fellow soldiers. She's talked with about 4,000 grade-school students, either in person or via Skype, about the science behind a mission to Mars and the program she hopes will get her there. She's pursuing a master's degree in aerospace science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

 

She's even part of the "Aspiring Martians" Facebook group. It's all part of a childhood goal she's not ready to part with, even with the stakes proposed by the Mars One mission plan — there is no return ticket.

 

"To me, the reward outweighs the risk," she said. "From a practical standpoint, I truly understand why this has to be a one-way mission."

 

Final crew selection isn't scheduled until 2015. Until then, she said, "I'm not going to stop myself from falling in love, from being me, because this isn't a sure thing yet, but it's part of the deal.

 

"We're all going to die eventually. I'd rather die doing something for the rest of humanity."

 

The applicant field started with more than 200,000 would-be explorers, then dropped to about 1,000 before the most recent cuts earlier this year. Organizers haven't told Beemer how many will make the next cut, but she expects a few hundred to remain in consideration after the interviews.

 

Other military members were among the 1,000 or so Round 2 selections, but Mars One did not respond to requests for a full list of U.S. service members in the global applicant pool. Chief Warrant Officer 4 David Thomas Woodward was among them, according to a January piece by The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle. Woodward and Beemer both serve at Fort Campbell, Ky; Army Times could not confirm whether Woodward, who earlier this year deployed to Afghanistan with C Company, 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, made the most recent cut.

 

Revisiting the Moon

Natalie Angier – New York Times

As the moon wheels around Earth every 28 days and shows us a progressively greater and then stingier slice of its sun-lightened face, the distance between moon and Earth changes, too. At the nearest point along its egg-shaped orbit, its perigee, the moon may be 26,000 miles closer to us than it is at its far point.

And should the moon happen to hit its ever-shifting orbital perigee at the same time that it lies athwart from the sun, we are treated to a so-called supermoon, a full moon that can seem close enough to embrace — as much as 12 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the average full moon.

If the weather is good where you are, please, go out Monday or Tuesday night and gawk for yourself: A supermoon will be dominating the sky. It's the last of this summer's impressive run of three supermoons, and the final one of the year.

Some astronomers dislike the whole supermoon hoopla. They point out that the term originated with astrology, not astronomy; that perigee full moons are not all that rare, coming an average of every 13 ½ months; and that their apparently swollen dimensions are often as much a matter of optical illusion and wishful blinking as of relative lunar nearness. The superstar astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson grumbled archly on Twitter that the "perennially hyped" term debases the legacy of Superman, supernovas and the video game character Super Mario.

Nevertheless, astronomers concur that whatever the reason, yes, you should look at the moon early and often, whether it's waxing or waning, gibbous or crescent, and appreciate the many features that set our moon apart from the other 100-plus moons of the solar system, and even celebrate our loyal satellite as a planet in its own right.

"I know it goes contrary to the nomenclature currently used," said David A. Paige, a professor of planetary science at the University of California, Los Angeles, referring to the definition of a planet as (among other things) the dominant gravitational object in its orbit. "But where I come from, anything that's big enough to be round is a planet." Unlike most moons of the solar system, , ours has the heft, the gravitational gravitas, to pull itself into a sphere.

Sparks of Discovery

Scientists say that while the public may think of the moon as a problem solved and a bit retro — the place astronauts visited a half-dozen times way back before Watergate and then abandoned with a giant "meh" from mankind — in fact, lunar studies is a vibrant enterprise that is yielding a wealth of insights and surprises.

One research group reported new evidence that the moon was born violently, in an act of planetary suicide that left faint but readable fingerprints at the scene. Another team proposed that the moon's cataclysmic origins could explain the mysterious lunar features we know as the man in the moon.

Partly on the basis of data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a multi-instrument spacecraft that has been orbiting, mapping and analyzing the moon since 2009, researchers have determined that the moon is a place of thermal lunacy, of searing heat crossed with sub-Plutonic cold, and of pockets that may be the most frigid spots in the entire solar system. Recent measurements taken inside impact craters at the lunar poles, where no solar light is thought to have penetrated for a billion years or more, showed temperatures of about 30 degrees Celsius above absolute zero, the point at which even atoms cease to move, Dr. Paige said.

Andrew Jordan of the University of New Hampshire and his colleagues have calculated that these temperature extremes could give rise to a novel form of sparkiness, tiny bolts of lightning that dance silently through the moon's airless landscape and fluff up the soil as they flash.

Reporting in The Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the researchers proposed that charged particles from the sun could be getting trapped at slightly different depths of the frigid lunar surface, forming electric fields. Those fields would gradually build up strength until, zap, serious sparks start to fly, which in turn would vaporize particles of soil.

Sparking events, the researchers said, could explain the bafflingly foamy appearance of soil recently detected by NASA's orbiter. The lunar surface "may be far more active than we thought," Dr. Jordan said. "It's amazing to have this kind of natural laboratory almost in our spatial backyard."

At an average distance of 238,855 miles, the moon is indeed on Earth's patio: string together just 11 round trips from New York to Tasmania, and you're there. The moon is not the largest satellite in the solar system — three moons of Jupiter and one of Saturn are bigger — but with a diameter almost 30 percent of Earth's, it is by far the largest relative to its planet. Jupiter's Ganymede, for example, which tops the lunar size chart and even has a girth greater than Mercury, measures just 4 percent the diameter of its gas-giant sponsor.

A Violent Birth

Another outstanding feature of the moon is its origin. Most of the other moons in the solar system are thought to be celestial passers-by that were pulled into a planet's orbit, or to have formed contemporaneously with their planet from an initial starter disc of dust, gas and rock. The moon, by contrast, is thought to have a bloodier past.

According to the reigning hypothesis, about 4.5 billion years ago, shortly after Earth had accreted down into a sphere from its little slub of circumsolar material, another newborn planet, still shaky on its feet, slammed obliquely into Earth with terrifying force.

That "giant impactor," named Theia, who in Greek mythology was mother to the goddess of the moon, is thought to have been roughly the size of Mars and to have been pulverized in the encounter, along with a good chunk of proto-Earth. From that fiery cloud of all-Theia and part-Earth, the scenario goes, our moon soon condensed.

The impactor hypothesis made sense and comported with computer models, but hard evidence for it proved elusive. If the moon was partly the offspring of a non-Earth body — Theia — there should be chemical fingerprints attesting to the foreign parentage.

Astronomers who have analyzed a wide array of extraterrestrial material have determined that the many residents of the solar system differ measurably in their isotope ratios, the forms of the chemical elements they carry. (Heavy oxygen or light? Titanium with more neutrons or fewer?) But when researchers checked the isotope content in rocks from the moon, the ratios looked identical to rocks on Earth. Where were the traces of Theia?

Now it looks as if the evidence has arrived. This summer, Daniel Herwartz, a geochemist working at the University of Göttingen in Germany and his colleagues reported in the journal Science that they had detected isotopic ratios of oxygen in lunar rocks that were unlike the forms of oxygen found on Earth. It is, Dr. Herwartz said, "the difference between Earth and moon predicted by the impact theory."

The researchers stumbled to victory accidentally, he said. As geochemists, they had developed new techniques for more precisely measuring oxygen isotopes to address Earth-based geological problems. "When that succeeded," Dr. Herwartz said, "we thought we'd have a look at the moon question again."

Initial efforts foundered. "NASA doesn't hand out Apollo samples to everybody," he said, referring to rocks brought back decades ago by astronauts. So the scientists first tried to work with meteorite fragments, which proved too disturbed to be useful.

The researchers then persuaded the space agency to hand over a baby aspirin's worth of pure Apollo rock, and, sure enough, there was Theia's isotopic thumbprint.

Emerging From the Darkness

Other signs of the fiery collision may linger in the moon's familiar patchwork of dark and light splotches that has long been likened, dubiously, to a man's face. It's the only side of the moon we ever see from

home base, a result of Earth's having yanked its satellite into a so-called tidal lock: The time it takes the moon to rotate once on its axis is the same as the four weeks it takes to orbit Earth, which means the same side is always turned toward us.

"It's the minimum energy configuration, the most stable configuration the two can take," said Arpita Roy, a doctoral student in astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State. Ms. Roy is an author of a new report in The Astrophysical Journal Letters about how tidal locking and the great impact together shaped the lunar look.

Ever since the dawn of the space age, when astronomers glimpsed the first photographs of the far side of the moon, they've wondered why it differed visibly from the near side, particularly in its absence of the dark flat plains called maria, from the Latin for seas. In the new paper, the researchers applied insights from the study of exoplanets that circle close to their stars and, like the moon, are tidally locked, with one half facing ever sunward.

In the immediate aftermath of the giant impact, Ms. Roy said, the Earth would have been as hot as a small sun, which means the half of the moon that faced us would have remained hot as well, while the opposite side, which faced out into space, had a chance to cool down. Some metals and silicates from the dust cloud surrounding the young orb would preferentially settle onto the cool side, thickening that portion of the crust.

As a result, future meteor impacts on the far side would fail to puncture below the crust, while those hitting the thin-crusted near side would expose the moon's soft inner layers. "The craters would fill with the gooey stuff underneath," Ms. Roy said.

That goo then hardened into maria, the seas we see when we have the good sense to look up and lock eyes with the moon.

Alice in Comet-Land: NASA Instrument Aboard Rosetta Returns First Scientific Results

Emily Carney – AmericaSpace

NASA announced that one of its three instruments aboard Rosetta, the European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft currently orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, has successfully delivered its first set of science results back to Earth. Alice, an ultraviolet spectrometer, has revealed yet more unexpected findings about the comet, which Rosetta rendezvoused with in early August after a decade-long journey.

 

NASA revealed that Alice has shown the comet to be "unusually dark"—described as "darker than charcoal-black"—in ultraviolet light wavelengths. The instrument also revealed that the comet's tail, or "coma," contains hydrogen and oxygen, and the comet possesses no visible large ice patches. The latter finding is surprising, given the comet is quite some distance away from the Sun; patches of ice were expected to be found un-melted. Alan Stern, who is the Alice principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., discussed these findings, underscoring their unanticipated nature.

 

"We're a bit surprised at just how un-reflective the comet's surface is, and how little evidence of exposed water-ice it shows," Stern related.

 

Alice is one of two instruments aboard Rosetta fully funded by the United States' space agency, and is meant to analyze the comet's composition in a manner not possible from Earth or remote sites. According to a previous AmericaSpace article published in June, other instruments provided by NASA aboard Rosetta include the Microwave Instrument for Rosetta (MIRO) and the Ion and Electron Sensor (IES). The article stated that MIRO "will provide data about the evolution of the comet's tail and 'coma' (the area around the comet's nucleus), shedding light upon how this section of the comet develops as it approaches and departs our nearest star, the Sun."

 

According to NASA, IES "is part of a suite of five instruments to analyze the plasma environment of the comet, particularly the coma." NASA also helped to design a part of the Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS) electronics package for the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion Neutral Analysis (ROSINA), which was mainly fabricated in Switzerland. In total, Rosetta carries 11 science instruments, as well as a lander, Philae.

 

While scientists marvel over data returned from Alice, at present time Rosetta's team in Europe are hard at work determining possible landing sites for Philae, which is due to touch down on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November. This occasion will mark the first ever cometary landing. In late August, ESA announced it had narrowed the pool of possible landing sites to five regions. Within the next few weeks, ESA will announce the ultimate landing site, with a "Go/No-Go" full assessment from Europe's space agency and the lander's team to be announced on Oct. 14.

 

This latest data from Alice caps off what has been an incredible year for the spacecraft, which faced a decade-long, 6.4-billion-kilometer transit following its early 2004 launch aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from French Guiana's Kourou Space Centre. In January, Rosetta was "woken up" from a marathon 31-month-long hibernation period; despite its long sleep, the spacecraft and its lander was found to be in excellent condition. During its approach to its cometary target, Rosetta uncovered many previous "unknowns," including a unique double-lobed shape, an unexpected lack of ice, and excessive water outgassing.

On Aug. 6, scientists, researchers, and space buffs alike thrilled to the high-resolution images returned by the spacecraft, which had successfully rendezvoused with 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko that day, showing the comet and its distinctive features in unprecedented detail. In November, Rosetta will continue to bring thrills to the space and scientific communities, as Philae gets ready to make its historic "footsteps" on the comet. Rosetta and Philae will continue their science missions through December 2015, undoubtedly providing scientists with years of data from their historic "meet-up" with 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The Telescope We Need to Find Earth 2.0

Astronomers have discovered a multitude of new exoplanets, but is it possible to detect whether faraway world have water, oxygen, or other ingredients for life as we know it?

William Herkewitz - Popular Mechanics

 

The past two decades of exoplanet hunting have turned up hundreds of new worlds, and in recent years, that tally has grown to include many that appear to be close to the Earth in size. Yet most of these new planets are discovered indirectly, though the wobbling or dimming light of their parent stars. The planets themselves are just too far away to see.

For scientists seeking truly Earth-like worlds out there in the cosmos, that's a problem. Those astronomers want to know not just the size and probable temperature of an exoplanet, but also whether it has the ingredients for life. As NASA plans for a new generation of powerful satellite telescopes designed to seek out habitable worlds—the latest design being the Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST)—scientists are also wondering if our best tech would even be good enough to catch biomarkers such as water, oxygen, or photosynthetic greenery.

"It's certainly a huge challenge," says Timothy Brandt, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, who likens the task to "trying to catch the light coming off the glow-in-the-dark hand of a wristwatch that's right in front of a floodlight… from [6 miles] away."

We Have the Technology


Brandt and fellow astrophysicist Dave Spiegel have just published a new study detailing the specs that an ATLAST-type telescope would need. And the results were relatively hopeful for next decade's planet hunters.

By using a simple model that produced variable exoplanet atmospheres—and allowing for a small but manageable improvement in technology—an ATLAST-type telescope should be able to confirm the presence of water and (with a bit more difficulty than astrophysicists previously estimated) oxygen. But confirming the presence of molecules like chlorophyll would require an extreme amount of luck—on top of the fact that there's absolutely no guarantee that chlorophyll-like molecules aren't unique to life on Earth, Spiegel says.

Spiegel also emphasizes that finding water and oxygen together does not necessarily mean that planet would be suitable for Earth-like life. Conversely, an exoplanet without water, oxygen, or either may not be hopelessly barren.

"If you look at Earth from 3 billion years ago, you would have certainly seen life, but not oxygen," Spiegel says. Wesley Traub, the chief scientist for NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program, says that even with those caveats, simply confirming how many other watery, oxygenated Earth-like worlds are out there (assuming there are any) would deeply impact our understanding of how profuse life might be.

"And I don't think people today are aware that with the resources we already have. A mission like ATLAST is entirely within our reach—we just need the funds and authority to do it," Traub says. "When this happens is simply a reflection of when our space agencies decide it is a worthwhile pursuit."

Three-Horse Race


Seth Shostak, the senior astronomer at SETI, says that if we could get a mission like ATLAST off the ground, it would align rather nicely with the other life-seeking endeavors coming to a head over the next couple of decades.

"Of the three horses running this race, SETI is one, because it'll likely be 10 to 20 years before we've scanned through a few million star systems" with radio telescopes, Shostak says. (He says that number is a statistical necessity, based on our best estimates for the possible proliferation of intelligent life, such as the Drake equation).

"The second way we might find [extraterrestrial] life is if it's nearby," Shostak says. Here, he's talking about the possibility of discovering microorganisms on Mars or on Jupiter's moon Europa, missions that could achieve that goal are coming in the next 10 to 20 years.

"The third way we're searching is with what we're talking about here—looking for these biomarkers in the atmospheres of exoplanets," he says, nodding to ATLAST's current NASA slot for 2025.

According to Shostak, we could—if we really wanted to—start to answer the question of whether there is life beyond the earth.

"There are times in history where humanity suddenly gained the tools to explore incredibly old questions," Shostak says, "and we'll be there—should we choose to devote the resources and time."

 

CAT Scanning Asteroids: Planetary Defense, Space Mining Benefits

Coalition for Space Exploration

A nasty asteroid headed toward Earth is on a collision course – how best to protect our home turf?

First of all, knowing its density and structure is important. Is it a rubble pile, solid as rock, Swiss cheese, has a core, or something else?

With that information in hand, dealing with the threatening object should become less than a celestial crap shoot.

And that's not all. This type of asteroid make-up knowledge can influence future asteroid mining operations.

CT scan

It's an inside job according to Richard S. Miller, a University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) physics professor. He is part of a research team borrowing imaging technology concepts developed for medicine and high-energy physics.

They are developing a mission concept to probe asteroids using a technique similar to human computerized tomography (CT) scans.

"What we want to do is actually probe the interior of asteroids and determine information about their structure," Miller said in a UAH press statement.

Backing the research is a newly awarded $500,000 in funding from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase II program. The team's two-year proposal is titled: "Deep Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies with Galactic Cosmic Ray Secondary Particle Showers."

UAH's Miller is a co-investigator in a collaborative effort with the Planetary Science Institute (PSI), NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Universities Space Research Association's Arecibo Observatory (Arecibo/USRA) and the University of Houston to do the fundamental research and design that could lead to such a mission.

The idea is to position a telescope to orbit an asteroid and measure the number and trajectories of the muons passing through it.

By detecting the number of muons that pass through the object, scientists can discover and measure the size of the object's core.

Miller said that an asteroid composed of varying densities of material would return a different pattern than one with a single density – just as a CT scan differentiates between densities of structures in the body, he said.

Likewise, if an asteroid has a denser core, it will stop muons from passing through and the telescope will detect the change.

Fundamental challenges

The process is called muon tomography and is well understood. Developed in the 1950s, it was even used in the 1960s by Luis Alvarez to map the Pyramid of Chephren.

Thanks to the NIAC funding, the scientists are tackling a number of fundamental challenges.

For example, the team will be using computer modeling to blueprint how a proposed NASA mission would be conducted, its feasibility and making predictions of the ultimate science return.

One of these spaceflight companies is about to land a multibillion-dollar contract

Clay Dillow – Fortune

 

After a fierce and costly four-year competition, Boeing, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada await NASA's decision on who will build the orbital spacecraft of the future.

 

All is quiet this week in the latest race for commercial space, but don't expect it to stay that way for long. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, is expected to soon decide which of the three main competitors for its Commercial Crew Program—Boeing, SpaceX, or Sierra Nevada Corp.—will develop and build its next workhorse spacecraft for ferrying astronauts to and from destinations in Earth orbit (such as the International Space Station) for the next decade and perhaps beyond.

The stakes are high: In a matter of days, if not hours, one of these companies will land a government contract worth $800 million in the short term and an estimated $3.4 billion over the next five years. The others will likely have to take their spacecraft—some of which have been under development for nearly a decade—elsewhere in an attempt to determine a way forward without the biggest global customer for human spaceflight services in tow.

The Commercial Crew Program is designed to help private industry develop a successor to the now-defunct Space Shuttle program. The new program is NASA's instrument for funding development of new technologies that it can later buy as a service from the likes of SpaceX, Boeing, and Sierra Nevada. (Blue Origin, founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is also a part of the program, though it is currently not considered a primary contender for the CCP contract.) In four years, the program has managed to take spacecraft from the drawing board to various phases of reality. During that time, SpaceX, Boeing, and Sierra Nevada worked closely with NASA while competing fiercely with one another. They have developed three distinctive human spaceflight systems, each with its own merits and competitive advantages. NASA expects the chosen CCP vehicle to enter service in 2017.

The government agency has held its cards very close regarding the program and its outcome. Industry insiders say even they don't know exactly when the agency's decision will be made public. Still, we know plenty about the competitors, their spacecraft, and what this contract means for each of them.

Boeing

At this point in its history, NASA has largely traded its legendary heroics for reliability and safety, and in that respect Boeing's CST-100 is easily the safest pick for the agency's new crew vehicle—not to mention a politically palatable one. Boeing received the most money from NASA during the CCP's developmental stage. While the CST-100 has yet to fly in space, its design is based on technologies that have been under development and use by Boeing and NASA for years—in some cases, decades. (The new spacecraft's resemblance to Apollo-era vehicles is no accident.) The fact that part of Boeing's pitch involves assembly at Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the shuttering of the Shuttle Program caused a hemorrhaging of so-called Space Coast jobs doesn't hurt its chances, either.

For an aerospace giant as big as Boeing, landing the CCP contract isn't a make or break proposition. But being so big has its advantages. The CST-100 would launch aboard the Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. For Boeing, landing the CCP contract means billions in development cash and a piece of the launch vehicle action.

Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada, known to industry insiders as SNC, is easily the least well-known competitor in the race. It's a distinction that is perhaps undeserved. Through various missions and technologies, the company has been to space more than 400 times and has worked with NASA and dozens of other space agencies for decades. "We have quite a significant track record of building things that absolutely have to work," says Mark Sirangelo, SNC's vice president for Space Systems. "I don't think anyone within the human spaceflight world doesn't know us, even if we're not as well-known publicly."

SNC has thousands of employees in 16 states and has been developing its shuttle-like crew vehicle, the Dream Chaser, for nearly a decade. (In other words, it began the project long before the Shuttles were retired or NASA began asking industry for new spacecraft.) Dream Chaser is the only spaceplane vying for the CCP contract, making it a unique option for a space agency that became quite comfortable launching and recovering spaceplanes during the Shuttle program. Smaller than the Shuttles, the seven-seat Dream Chaser would also launch aboard an Atlas V rocket and would be capable of landing on conventional airport runways anywhere in the world. Its core technology was actually spun out of NASA and the Space Shuttle program some years ago when SNC bought the rights to it and began designing a smaller, next-generation space taxi, making it a natural successor to the Space Shuttle Program should NASA decide to go the spaceplane route.

SpaceX

For Elon Musk's SpaceX, winning the CCP contract would be another win in a string of victories. But a win by SpaceX would also alter the private spaceflight playing field in significant ways. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is the cheapest launch vehicle in its class on the market right now, and the company is aggressively moving to steal market share from its competitors in the commercial launch space. A stamp of approval from NASA, which already buys unmanned spaceflight services from SpaceX as part of its commercial program to deliver supplies to the International Space Station, could go a long way toward helping SpaceX further solidify its position as a trusted and reliable spaceflight company.

SpaceX's Dragon V2 crew capsule, which is a variation on the unmanned Dragon vehicle that has already successfully docked with the ISS several times, would launch aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. That means that, like Boeing, SpaceX would provide both spacecraft and launch vehicle. For a spaceflight company as young as SpaceX, that wouldn't just spell additional revenue but a further nod of confidence from NASA. And at tens of millions of dollars cheaper per launch than the Atlas V, the Falcon 9 is an attractive option—if (and only if) SpaceX can convince NASA that its technology is safe and reliable enough for human transport.

There are considerations beyond the spacecraft themselves that NASA must take into account. The fact that the Atlas V rocket relies on Russian-built rocket engines would seem to make SpaceX more attractive, as its rocket technology is homegrown in the U.S. The long technological legacies (and huge, multi-state work-forces) of Sierra Nevada and Boeing could play a role in the determination. And in the end, more than one concept may survive the coming down-select.

"If the government wanted to keep somebody in the race or keep them competitive, there is a mechanism for that," says Christopher Ferguson, a former NASA astronaut and director of crew and mission systems for Boeing's commercial crew program. That mechanism would mitigate NASA's risk by keeping one or more of the vehicles it doesn't select as its primary technology alive with a minimal amount of funding.

Even so, the companies that don't make the cut will have some tough decisions to make. None of the companies involved have publicly stated what will happen to the spacecraft designs that are not selected, or if there is a business case for keeping their development programs alive without a customer like NASA to purchase them. "No decision has been made," Ferguson says about what will happen to the CST-100 spacecraft design if Boeing is not selected for the contract. "Boeing would pull back and take a look at where the playing field lies, and I'm sure there would be a closed door meeting during which we'd make a decision on how to proceed."

"We have to understand what the scenario is," SNC's Sirangelo says. "If we were not to win, we'd have to understand why we didn't win. Is it because another company offered a lower price? Is it because of some other consideration we need to evaluate?"

Perhaps just as important than what happens next, Sirangelo says, is what's already happened. Previous generations of spacecraft were developed over decades only by government agencies that could afford to develop them. Working with partners in private industry, NASA just developed three working spaceship designs in the span of four years, any one of which could carry the next generation of American astronauts into space.

"I don't think people really understand how successful of a program this has already been," Sirangelo says. "There are three viable choices there to be chosen. It's not like only one person made it to the finish line."

Primary crew for next ISS space mission approved

The upcoming space expedition will be notable for the fact that a Russian woman cosmonaut, Yelena Serova, will take part in a space mission for the first time in the past 20 years

ITAR-TASS

 

The inter-agency commission of the Cosmonauts' Training Center on Friday approved the primary crew lineup for the spaceship Soyuz TMA-14M. The crew consists of Roscosmos (Russia's Federal Space Agency) cosmonauts Aleksandr Samokutyayev and Yelena Serova, as well as NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore. The backup crew comprises Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Korniyevko, as well as American astronaut Scott Kelly.

The upcoming space expedition will be notable for the fact that a Russian woman cosmonaut, Yelena Serova, will take part in a space mission for the first time in the past 20 years. She was enrolled in the cosmonauts squad on October 1, 2006. In 2011, by a decision of the inter-agency commission, Serova was appointed a flight engineer among the primary crew of Soyuz spaceship. The launch of the manned transport spaceship Soyuz TMA-14M with an international crew on board is scheduled for September 26. The International Space Station (ISS) crew for the ISS-41/42 mission will stay aboard the station for 168 days. The crew are to handle three Russian resupply spacecraft Progress and a European ATV vehicle. Samokutyayev, together with ISS crew member Maksim Surayev who is currently aboard the ISS, will take a spacewalk.

The crew will perform more than 50 experiments in the Russian segment of the ISS, take a spacewalk, and maintain an Internet blog in orbit, Soyuz crew commander Aleksandr Samokutyayev told a news conference. He said, "The spacewalk will be somewhat unusuall: we shall perform the rolk of cleaners, for it is essential to (dismantle and) remove a certain equipment".

American astronaut Barry Wilmore pointed out that there would be friends, not just crew members on board the spaceship. The astronaut said, "We have been training together for two years. We have got to entirely trust one another to accomplish the space mission".

Space Station's Robonaut 2 Is Getting More Astronaut-Like By The Day

Elizabeth Howell - Universe Today

NASA's large space station robot now has legs and a plan to (eventually) head outside to do spacewalks, to replace some of the more routine tasks taken on by astronauts. Robonaut 2 has actually been on the International Space Station since 2011, but only received the extra appendages in the past few days.

The robot is capable of flipping switches, moving covers and with the legs, clamping on to spots around the station. Check out the videos below to see some of the stuff that it is already capable of. It's both creepy and amazing to watch: http://www.universetoday.com/114346/space-stations-robonaut-2-is-getting-more-astronaut-like-by-the-day/

Companies Making Their Case in U.S. Launcher Debate

Mike Gruss - Space News

With billions of dollars in potential business at stake, U.S. rocket and propulsion providers are emphasizing their respective strengths as they counsel the U.S. government on a new launch vehicle strategy that industry sources say could be decided before the end of the year.

 

The government is considering options that range from developing new engine technology all the way to building a new rocket to assure access to space for national security and other missions. Space hardware manufacturers are offering different advice on how to proceed that, predictability, matches their specialties.

 

Those differences were on display at a private event Aug. 21 during which industry representatives lined up to try and frame the debate for Pentagon and White House officials, according to sources who were in attendance.

 

The event, hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group here, was held just hours after the U.S. Air Force released a formal request for information on options for rocket engines and commercially viable launch solutions.

 

The request was triggered by concerns over the future availability of the Russian-made RD-180, the main power plant for United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket, as U.S. tensions with Russia escalate over the crisis in Ukraine. The Atlas 5 is used, along with ULA's Delta 4 rocket, to launch the lion's share of U.S. national security, weather and scientific satellites.

 

Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition czar, addressed the RD-180 situation during a separate event held here Sept. 3.

 

"I think that there is close to a consensus of the administration that we need to find a way to remove the dependency," Kendall said in a speech during the ComDef 2014 conference. "And we're looking for the best course of action to do that."

 

Industry and government sources say the AIA event, attended by about 50 industry representatives, offered a sneak preview of the discussions the Air Force will have with rocket hardware makers at an industry day Sept. 25-26.

Frank Slazer, vice president for space systems at AIA, declined to provide details of the closed session, saying only that it helped foster dialogue and put ideas on the table.

 

Sources said the meeting included representatives from most of the U.S. launch industry's major players, including ULA, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., ATK, Orbital Sciences Corp., Blue Origin and Aerojet Rocketdyne.

 

Some of the companies, including Aerojet Rocketdyne, ATK, Blue Origin and to a lesser extent SpaceX, coalesced around the idea of developing a next-generation main-stage engine, sources said.

 

Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, California, the dominant U.S. supplier of large liquid-fueled rocket engines, is working on a kerosene-fueled, 500,000-pound-thrust concept dubbed AR-1, which the company has said could be fully developed in four years for less than $1 billion. In one scenario, sources said, two AR-1 engines would replace the RD-180 engine on the Atlas 5. The RD-180 generates nearly 900,000 pounds of thrust.

 

Representatives from Blue Origin, the Kent, Washington, firm bankrolled by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, said the Air Force also should consider a liquid-oxygen/methane engine. Brooke Crawford, a spokeswoman for Blue Origin, declined to comment.

 

Officials from ATK Aerospace of Promontory, Utah, the largest U.S. supplier of solid-rocket motors, suggested the Air Force consider that as an alternative to the liquid-fueled engine envisioned by the service. The industrial base to produce a large, solid-fueled rocket is already in place, the company said, according to sources.

 

Jennifer Bowman, an ATK spokeswoman, said as a general practice the company does not disclose whether it has responded to business solicitations.

 

SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, could offer an engine as well. However, sources said SpaceX likely is more interested in simply offering the full-up Falcon 9 as a means of assured access to space. The Falcon 9 is currently being certified to carry military payloads, and SpaceX has a heavy-lift vehicle in development that is expected to debut next year.

 

SpaceX spokesman John Taylor declined to comment.

 

ULA announced in June it had signed "multiple" contracts with unidentified companies to study potential replacements for the RD-180, and hopes to select a single concept for development this year. Those companies will study hydrocarbon — meaning-kerosene or methane-fueled — engine concepts, and lay out schedules along with cost estimates and technical risks.

 

ULA officials, who frequently note that there has been no interruption in RD-180 deliveries since the Ukrainian crisis erupted, have said they will respond to the Air Force request for information but did not provide further details.

 

"There's a wide range of things we could do," Kendall said in his Sept. 3 speech. "Some of them are more straightforward than others."

 

Responses to the Air Force request are due Sept. 19. Sources said they expect the Defense Department to make a decision on a path forward before the end of the year.

 

SpaceX delivers commercial satellite to orbit

James Dean – Florida Today

 

SpaceX delivered another commercial communications satellite to orbit early Sunday, completing its second launch in just over a month for Hong Kong-based AsiaSat.

 

The AsiaSat 6 mission was postponed more than a week after a SpaceX test rocket failed in Texas.

 

But the 224-foot Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station showed no sign of trouble.

 

After a smooth countdown, the rocket roared from Launch Complex 40 at 1 a.m. with 1.3 million pounds of thrust, slightly later than planned to allow weather to clear.

Its trail of flame rose eastward over the Atlantic Ocean, illuminating a thin web of clouds overhead as it approached and cut through.

 

SpaceX confirmed the rocket deployed its payload as planned 32 minutes into the flight, earning the Falcon 9 a 12th successful flight in as many tries since 2010.

 

AsiaSat 6 was headed for an orbit 22,300 miles over the equator at 120 degrees East longitude, where it is designed to beam video and telecommunications services to China and Southeast Asia for at least 15 years.

 

"Although it has quite a large coverage, its main focus is to add additional capacity for China," said AsiaSat CEO William Wade.

 

The addition of AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8 – the latter launched by a Falcon 9 on Aug. 5 – grows the company's fleet to six spacecraft.

 

Thaicom will operate half of the newest satellite's 28-transponder capacity under the name Thaicom 7.

 

SpaceX launched Thaicom 6 in January, and since has completed three more commercial satellite missions and one for NASA delivering cargo to the International Space Station.

 

SpaceX's next ISS cargo launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled no earlier than Sept. 19, a few days after a planned United Launch Alliance Atlas V mission.

 

The test rocket that failed Aug. 22 in McGregor, Texas, was a single-stage, three-engine rocket SpaceX used to advance development of reusable boosters, which the company believes can dramatically lower launch costs.

 

CEO Elon Musk said a blocked sensor port resulted in the rocket blowing itself up, and that additional sensors on operational Falcon 9 rockets would have overcome the same problem. But SpaceX took time to "triple-check" systems before proceeding with Sunday's launch.

 

Because the launch was to a high orbit more than 20,000 miles up, the Falcon 9 booster did not have enough extra fuel for SpaceX to try flying it back to a soft ocean landing for recovery.

 

The company may try that again on its next launch, of a Dragon cargo capsule to low Earth orbit.

 

SpaceX is one of several companies awaiting word from NASA on whether it has won a contract to launch astronauts from the Space Coast to the ISS, possibly by 2017.

 

New space shop, The Space Store, lands in Cocoa Village

James Dean – Florida Today

 

Readying for his grand opening on Sept. 12, Brett Anderson filled display shelves with merchandise, placing a meteorite bracelet next to an X-37B space plane model and a lunar rover toy.

An inflatable space shuttle and spacewalker hung from the ceiling of what was previously a dress shop at 212 Brevard Ave. A solar system mat and moonwalker beach towel lay on the floor.

 

"It's getting where we want it to be," said Anderson, 53, owner of The Space Store. "It's looking really nice."

 

This might seem like a tough time and place to open a store celebrating the space program, which is mired in the middle of a projected six-year gap between astronaut launches from the Space Coast, the area hit hardest by shuttle program layoffs.

 

But after sales at his online business, TheSpaceStore.com, fell off over the past two years, an indirect casualty of the shuttle's 2011 retirement, Anderson decided a retail shop here presented the best opportunity to grow.

 

His bet on a 600-square-foot store might be one small symbol of this area's recovery from a post-shuttle downturn.

 

"I'm hoping so," Anderson said. "It's really hard to tell with the economy, and what's going on with some delays in the space program. I just took a somewhat calculated chance."

 

He's invested more than $20,000 in the move, including the cost to lease the shop and a 2,000-square-foot warehouse on Merritt Island, and to ship dozens of boxes of space-themed goods and drive a 26-foot U-Haul from his former base near Denver.

 

In Cocoa Village, Anderson hopes to find customers among cruise ship passengers on shopping excursions from Port Canaveral — those who have chosen not to spend the day at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

 

While he was scoping out the area, a business owner told him that tourists frequently ask, "Where are the souvenirs?"

 

"If they saw they could still get stuff from the Space Coast by coming here, maybe they would buy some of my stuff," he said.

 

A couple on a cruise out of Baltimore dropped in to browse with their 2-year-old son on a recent morning, about two week's after the store's unofficial opening.

 

"He likes modes of transport," Jennifer Hoyt said of her son, Ian.

 

In addition to attracting tourists, a Brevard County store gives Anderson the opportunity to consign space memorabilia owned by former space workers and reputable local collectors like Ken Havekotte of Merritt Island, something he had long wanted to do.

 

He already has a binder of autographed astronaut photos and other artifacts to sell from Havekotte, who may perform appraisals at the store.

 

Anderson also looks forward to working with local suppliers that over the years have helped differentiate his mix of some 1,200 products with items like custom T-shirts and patches, and appreciates having employees who share his passion for space, which he struggled to find in Denver.

 

Those include Tim Gagnon, a local artist who has designed shuttle mission patches and now serves as The Space Store's manager.

 

Gagnon thinks the business will benefit from better space news to come, including NASA's announcement of which U.S. companies will launch astronauts from Cape Canaveral and the agency's planned December test flight of an Orion exploration capsule.

 

"The pendulum has swung as far the wrong way as it's going to," Gagnon said of the local space program's downturn. "We're on a rebound."

 

Anderson was warned about the shuttle's impending retirement when he bought the then Houston-based business in 2006, after he had worked as a film colorist at Warner Bros. He remained confident that new programs would emerge, and spaceflight would endure as a source of fun and inspiration.

 

"I knew there would eventually be another manned space program, and I was hoping that it would come on a little bit faster," he said. "I believe there's still just a big interest in space, of course, and then there's a lot of investors, some of the richest people in the world own space companies, so there is obviously a future in space."

 

Special guests at the 5 p.m. Sept. 12 grand opening event are expected to include retired shuttle launch director Bob Sieck, "Voice of Apollo" Jack King and former CNN correspondent John Zarrella.

 

"It's more fun working here than a warehouse in Denver," said Anderson. "I'm going to make a go of it."

 

 

END

More at www.spacetoday.net

 

 

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