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From: "Nakamura, Stacey T. (JSC-NC211)" <stacey.t.nakamura@nasa.gov>
Date: September 10, 2014 11:37:50 AM 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 - Wednesday, September 10, 2014

 

 

 

From: JSC Today [mailto:jsc-jsctoday@mail.nasa.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2014 6:00 AM
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Subject: JSC Today - Wednesday, September 10, 2014

 

 

 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

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JSC TODAY CATEGORIES Headlines -  As NEEMO 19 Begins, Hangout With the Aquanaut Crew -  Do You Use NASA or JSC Forms? -  Need a Break? Have Fun and Meet New People -  Center-Level IR&D Call for Fiscal Year 2015 -  SMART-OP Study for Flight Controllers Organizations/Social -  Reminder: HERG 5th General Meeting in B3 Today -  Spanish Over Lunch - ¡Comemos! -  Learn About the Impacts of Cyber Security Today -  JSC Contractor Safety and Health Forum -  Lead Like a Rock Star -  Flex Friday Fitness Special - Friday, Sept. 12 Jobs and Training -  Visit the JSC Library Booth in Building 31 -  Sharpen Your Skills - Technical Training Course -  Don't Miss: What Can Tech Scouting Do For You? -  Engineer to Entrepreneur -  Lockout/Tagout: Sept. 11, 8:30 am B20-Rm 205/206 -  Scaffold Users Seminar Sept. 11, 1pm B20-Rm205/206 Community -  Talk About NASA This Weekend

Flying Through an Aurora

 

Headlines As NEEMO 19 Begins, Hangout With the Aquanaut Crew NASA is venturing into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean this month to investigate technologies and procedures for use in near- and long-term space missions. The seven-day 19th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission began on Sept. 8. Commanding the NEEMO 19 mission is NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik. He is joined by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Herve Stevenin, ESA's Head of Extravehicular Activity Training at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany. Commander Bresnik and his crewmates will be participating in a Google+ Hangout from their underwater habitat today at 5 p.m. CDT to talk about their mission to explore living and working under the sea. Watch the hangout here and submit questions on Twitter and Google+ using the hashtag #NEEMO19. Learn more about NEEMO on our official Web page. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111 [top] Do You Use NASA or JSC Forms? Beginning Sept. 22, employees who go to the JSC Forms website will be re-directed to the new NASA Electronic Forms (NEF) Portal. The NEF Portal will be the central repository for all NASA and JSC forms. In addition, the Desktop eForms application (FileNet) is at end of life and no longer runs on the latest Mac operating systems (version 10.7/OS X Lion and above). Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite 4 is the new agency forms solution, replacing FileNet. Forms designers have begun converting NASA and JSC forms to Adobe PDF format to provide the ability to open and use the eForms functionality on both ACES and non-ACES Windows and Mac platforms with Adobe Reader installed. Refer to the Adobe PDF Forms FAQ page for information on PDF forms. For more information on the Electronic Forms Initiative (EFI), reference the EFI fact sheet or email JSC Forms. JSC IRD Outreach x40118 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/InfoPedia/Wiki%20Pages/JSC%20EFI%20Fact%20Sheet.... [top] Need a Break? Have Fun and Meet New People One of the easiest ways to do this AND serve fellow employees (isn't that cool?) is to be a Safety and Health Day volunteer. Safety and Health Day is Oct. 9—just around the corner! Volunteer for as little or as long as you can spare, mostly between the hours of 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, in the mall/pond area. Is fitness more your thing? Well, then we need your help with the Health Walk/Run from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Gilruth. How easy and fun can it be? If you'd like to volunteer, email Jasmine Gascar today, and she'll fill you in. Respond early and get "your choice" assignment! Event Date: Thursday, October 9, 2014   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:5:00 PM Event Location: Teague Auditorium, JSC Mall Area, Gilruth Add to Calendar Jasmine Gascar x49283 http://sthday.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top] Center-Level IR&D Call for Fiscal Year 2015 The Fiscal Year 2015 center-level Independent Research and Development (IR&D) call for project proposals is now open to all civil servants at JSC and White Sands Test Facility. Approximately 10 projects will be selected and awarded a maximum value of $100,000 each. As with last year, the focus of the center-level IR&D call is the Human Spaceflight Architecture Team's needs performance targets. Guidance and instructions, with attachments, may be found at: \\Jsc-fs01\apo-strategic-investments\FY15CLIRD - or - Apple Mac users, please follow the path: //JSC-FS01 Note: Your directorate may levy additional requirements. IR&D project durations are 12 months from funding start, with deliverables due per schedule. Please carefully read all the guidance and instructions to gain a complete understanding of the proposal call process. Due date: Quad chart submissions are due to your JSC Technology Working Group representative no later than 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Good luck! David L. Brown x37426 [top] SMART-OP Study for Flight Controllers Test Subject Screening (TSS) seeks mission controllers to evaluate a self-guided, multimedia stress management and resilience training computer program called SMART-OP, which will be compared to an attention control group who will watch videos and read information on stress management. Volunteers will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups and: Attend one information session Complete two pre- and post-test assessments (60 to 90 minutes) involving questionnaires, neuropsychological tasks, physiological data and biomarker assays Attend six weekly stress management training sessions (30 to 60 minutes) Attend a three-month follow-up, equaling a total of 10 session contacts Volunteers must be healthy non-smokers taking no medications. Individuals must pass or have a current Category I physical. Volunteers will be compensated. (Restrictions apply to NASA civil servants and some contractors. Individuals should contact their local Human Resources department.) Please email or call both Linda Byrd, RN, at x37284, and Rori Yager, RN, at x37240. Linda Byrd, x37284 [top]    Organizations/Social Reminder: HERG 5th General Meeting in B3 Today The Hispanic Employee Resource Group (HERG) will host its fifth general meeting today, Sept. 10. The meeting will include a complete update on Hispanic Heritage Month/Mes de la Herencia Hispana, along with a list of opportunities to get involved and volunteer. Bring your lunch and join in on the fun! It's going to be an amazing month. What: HERG fifth general meeting When: Today, Sept. 10 Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Where: Building 3 Collaboration Center If you've missed any past meetings, you can view the HERG general meeting minutes online by visiting our SharePoint site. Event Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM Event Location: B3/Collaboration Center Add to Calendar HERG Officers https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/hispanic/General%20Meeting%20Mi... [top] Spanish Over Lunch - ¡Comemos! The Hispanic Employee Resource Group invites beginner and advanced speakers alike to Spanish Over Lunch. This month's theme is ¡Comemos!, or, "Let's eat!" There are lots of great Mexican restaurants in Houston. In this session, learn some basic phrases that will allow you to impress your friends and family when you order your meal and speak to your server in Spanish. Bring your lunch and let's eat! Event Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM Event Location: Building 3 Cafe Collaboration Center Add to Calendar Alicia Baturoni Cortez x40493 https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/hispanic/Spanish%20Over%20Lunch... [top] Learn About the Impacts of Cyber Security Today How does cyber security impact the world economy, communities and you? Find out today, Sept. 10, from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. in Building 1, Room 966, as President of CYFOR Technologies Sergio Muniz speaks on the topic. Muniz 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 [top] 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. Our guest speakers for this event include: Steven Cutchen, chemical incident investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, presenting "Indicators of Process Safety through the Lens of Macondo;" and 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 be presenting on the "ATF Fire Research Laboratory" and discussing their mission, capabilities and research, as well as several cases studies. This will be a very dynamic and informative meeting 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 Farrell 281-335-2012 [top] Lead Like a Rock Star Please join us for an enlightening September JSC National Management Association (NMA) chapter luncheon with Dayna Steele, author and speaker, as she presents "Lead Like A Rock Star." When: Thursday, Sept. 25 Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Location: Gilruth Alamo Ballroom Cost for members: FREE Cost for non-members: $20 There are three great menu options to choose from: Mustard pork loin medallions with apple chutney, Dijon-roasted potatoes and roasted asparagus Blackened chicken with red bell peppers and parmesan cream, angel-hair pasta and roasted asparagus Vegetarian dish: Pasta primavera with whole-wheat rotini Desserts: Pineapple/coconut sorbet RSVP on the JSC NMA website by close of business Thursday, Sept. 18, no later than 3 p.m. with your menu selection. Event Date: Thursday, September 25, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM Event Location: Gilruth - Alamo Ballroom Add to Calendar Leslie N. Smith x46752 [top] Flex Friday Fitness Special - Friday, Sept. 12 We understand that getting over to the Gilruth Center is not easy during those nine-hour days. Because of that, Starport is continuing to offer an assortment of FREE programs on Flex Friday for all JSC employees, contractors and their families. Flex Friday - Sept. 12 - special FREE programs include: FREE 30-minute personal training sessions Nature walks SPINNING classes Outer Space OSFX class Kickboxing class Yoga blend class Tae Kwon Do class Core Strength classes All Starport locations (Gilruth Center and Buildings 3 and 11) will also be running a 10 percent discount on all athletics, recreation and fitness merchandise. A full schedule and details are listed here. Be sure you stop by the Gilruth Center for a great Flex Friday! Event Date: Friday, September 12, 2014   Event Start Time:5:45 AM   Event End Time:5:30 PM Event Location: Gilruth Center Add to Calendar Starport Fitness x30304 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/fitness/flex-friday-specials [top]    Jobs and Training Visit the JSC Library Booth in Building 31 The Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Center "mobile librarians" bring all the same great library resources to JSC users in their own work environment. The STI Center strives to promote easy access to its online resources—thousands of online journals and e-books, as well as millions of NASA documents, videos and images. Look for the booth in Building 31 between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. today. Flyers and other items will be available at the booth. To learn more about the JSC libraries and the video and imagery repositories, go to the library's website or call 281-483-4245. Provided by JSC's Information Resources Directorate. Event Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM Event Location: Building 31 Lobby Add to Calendar Scientific and Technical Information Center x34245 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov [top] Sharpen Your Skills - Technical Training Course Does the sight of power tools strike fear in you? Ever measure twice and cut once, only to have to cut again?! Join us for the *first* in an ongoing series of lunchtime courses aimed at providing JSC team members with technical training. The first few courses will cover practical skills needed in a machine shop and important design considerations for engineers. Don't know the first thing about manufacturing? Not even sure where the power switch is? Perfect—join us! Rusty at technical skills you haven't used in a while? Wonderful—join us ! Each course will include theory and introduction to best practices, with opportunities for hands-on experience. Topic #1: "Locating, Drilling and Tapping a Hole in Metal" Note: No food allowed in the machine shop. Wear closed-toe shoes. If you have safety goggles, please bring them. Event Date: Monday, September 29, 2014   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM Event Location: Building 348, the Innovation Design Center Add to Calendar Katie Collier x49002 [top] Don't Miss: What Can Tech Scouting Do For You? If you're looking for access to solutions outside of your regular channels, join the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation on Sept. 17 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Building 35 for the yet2.com workshop! Yet2.com is a technology-scouting capability that provides access to a broad network of external experts and potential collaborators from all over the globe. Learn more about this platform, business model and how you can benefit. Registration and participation in the workshop is FREE! For more information, please click here. To register, contact Carolyn Woolverton or Carissa Callini. Event Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2014   Event Start Time:1:00 PM   Event End Time:3:00 PM Event Location: B35 Add to Calendar Carissa Callini 281-212-1409 [top] Engineer to Entrepreneur The Houston Technology Center is pleased to host a 10-week lunch-and-learn course series entitled "Engineer to Entrepreneur." If you have ever thought about launching your own business, then this is the program for you. You will learn how to establish a corporate entity, develop a business strategy, pitch your strategy and market your products. Join us for a fun-filled program instructed by some of Houston's most accomplished business executives. Classes will be held for 10 consecutive Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from Aug. 21 through Oct. 30 in Building 45, Room 451. For enrollment information, contact Evelyn Boatman via email or at 281-244-8271. Evelyn Boatman x48271 [top] Lockout/Tagout: Sept. 11, 8:30 am B20-Rm 205/206 The purpose of this course is to provide employees with the standards, procedures and requirements necessary for the control of hazardous energy through the lockout and tagout of energy-isolating devices. Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard 29 CFR 1910.147, "The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)," is the basis for this course. A comprehensive test will be offered at the end of the class. Use this direct link for registration. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... Shirley Robinson x41284 [top] Scaffold Users Seminar Sept. 11, 1pm B20-Rm205/206 This four-hour course is based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) CFR 1910.28 and 1926.451, requirements for scaffolding safety in the general and construction industries. During the course, the student will receive an overview of topics needed to work safely on scaffolds, including standards, terminology and inspection of scaffold components; uses of scaffolds; fall-protection requirements; signs and barricades; and more. Individuals desiring to become "competent persons" for scaffolds should take the three-day Scaffold Safety Course, SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0312. This course will be primarily presented via the NASA target audience: Safety, Reliability, Quality and Maintainability professionals; and anyone working on operations requiring the use of scaffolds. There will be a final exam associated with this course, which must be passed with a 70 percent minimum score to receive course credit. Use this direct link for registration. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... Shirley Robinson x41284 [top]    Community Talk About NASA This Weekend We need volunteers to help staff a NASA exhibit this weekend from Friday, Sept. 12, through Monday, Sept. 15. A variety of shifts are available to suit your schedule. The George R. Brown Convention Center is hosting the American Society of Bone and Mineral Researchers, and our JSC researchers will be attending. They could use some help with our NASA exhibit. You don't have to be an expert—just  share your knowledge about NASA, our programs and our future plans with people who may have little exposure to NASA. What could be easier? Sign up in V-CORPs for one or more of these available times: Friday, Sept. 12 9:30 a.m. to noon 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 9:30 a.m. to noon 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 9:30 a.m. to noon 2 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15 9:30 a.m. to noon 2 to 3 p.m. Questions? Contact the V-CORPs administrator. V-CORPs 281-792-5859 [top]

 

JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NASA and Human Spaceflight News

Wednesday – September 10, 2014

 

NEEMO: Join NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik and the 19^th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 19) crew in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean this evening at 5 p.m. Central on a Google+ Hangout. Do you have a question for the crew? Submit your questions on Twitter and Google+ in advance and during the Hangout using the hashtag #NEEMO19.

 

NASA TV www.nasa.gov/ntv

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: ISS Commander Steve Swanson handed over command of the space station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Max Suraev yesterday afternoon. He and his crewmates are due to undock from the station today at 7:01 p.m. Watch NASA TV for live coverage beginning at 3:15 p.m. with crew farewells and hatch closure. NASA TV will return at 6:45 p.m. for undocking coverage. Finally, landing coverage begins at 9:15 p.m. with the deorbit burn scheduled at 9:30 p.m. and landing at 10:23 p.m. Follow @NASA_Johnson on Twitter for real-time updates.

 

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

Three International Space Station Crew Members to Return to Earth

 

ABC News Radio

 

(NEW YORK) -- Three members of the crew of the International Space Station are set to return to earth on Wednesday.

 

Why do astronauts train in the deep of the sea?

 

Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

 

Astronauts are living and working in a research vessel at the bottom of the sea. Called Aquarius, their research station is part of NEEMO, the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations project.

 

 

Crimea Catch-22: Russia Space Training May Put NASA in a Bind

 

James Oberg –NBC News

As the International Space Station gets ready for a routine change of crew using Russia's Soyuz spaceships, the Russian government seems to be initiating a subtle gambit to force the United States into a diplomatic trap over the status of Russian-occupied Crimea.

 

 

EFT-1 Orion completes outfitting, ready for fueling

 

Chris Bergin – NASASpaceflight

 

NASA's first space-worthy Orion spacecraft is preparing for her next key milestone in the flow towards December's Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) mission. The completed Orion, now stacked on the Service Module, will be moved from her home in the Operations & Checkout (O&C) building this week, ahead of fueling operations.

 

 

Radio contact allows Lanier students to talk with astronaut aboard International Space Station | VIDEO

Keith Farmer – Gwinnett Daily Post

 

SUGAR HILL — Mention that the astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday travel at 17,500 miles per hour and students' eyes widen. Add that students could ask live questions about being an astronaut on the ISS and their jaws drop.

 

 

Different vehicles – different purposes: Orion and the Commercial Crew contenders

 

Jason Rhian – Spaceflight Insider

 

NASA has multiple tasks laid out in front of it. One of these is to empower an array of commercial firms to develop spacecraft designed to ferry crews and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS ). The space agency meanwhile is, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, in the process of preparing the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle ready to carry out crewed missions far beyond Earth's gravitational influence. These are two distinct endeavors, with the spacecraft being developed to carry them out are specifically designed to handle the missions they are tasked with carrying out. In so doing, NASA is working on distinctly different vessels – designed almost exclusively for the challenges laid before them.

 

 

Musk's SpaceX Vies With Boeing to Build NASA Taxi to Mars

Julie Johnsson and Alan Ohnsman -- Bloomberg

Elon Musk's SpaceX and Boeing Co. (BA)are contending for more than $3 billion in funding to resume U.S. manned spaceflight with the first commercial venture to fly humans into orbit.

 

 

China to launch second space lab in 2016, official says

AFP

 

Beijing (AFP) - China will launch its second orbiting space laboratory in two years' time, a top official said Wednesday, the latest step in an ambitious space programme Beijing says will one day land a Chinese man on the moon.

 

 

Can We Jump-Start A New Space Age?

 

Adam Frank -- NPR

Jon Morse, former astrophysics division director at NASA, can remember the exact moment he knew things had to change.

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

Three International Space Station Crew Members to Return to Earth

 

ABC News Radio

(NEW YORK) -- Three members of the crew of the International Space Station are set to return to earth on Wednesday.

Commander Steve Swanson and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev launched on March 25 and docked at the space station on March 27 of this year. After nearly six months of scientific research, the three will land back on earth at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Swanson handed over command of the space station to Flight Engineer Max Suraev on Tuesday in a traditional Change of Command Ceremony.

The three astronauts represent half of the crew of Expedition 40.

 

 

Why do astronauts train in the deep of the sea?

 

Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

Astronauts are living and working in a research vessel at the bottom 0f the sea. Called Aquarius, their research station is part of NEEMO, the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations project. It's just over three miles off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and 62 feet from the surface, but the habitat is meant to prepare its visitors for life over 200 miles above the earth.

From NEEMO's Web site:

The Aquarius habitat and its surroundings provide a convincing analog for space exploration. Much like space, the undersea world is a hostile, alien place for humans to live. NEEMO crew members, known as aquanauts, experience some of the same challenges there that they would on a distant asteroid, planet or moon.

In the ocean, astronauts can practice their spacewalk techniques. Just as an astronaut fixing equipment on ISS has to plan out their equipment, method and oxygen-related time constraints before leaving the space station, an aquanaut must plan meticulously before venturing out of their deep-sea vessel. And the buoyancy of people and objects in water makes for good practice in weightlessness, which is why all spacewalking astronauts practice in pools, if not the ocean.

An ocean-floor station has one other advantage over your typical simulation: Astronauts are stuck there. After practicing for future space missions in the most alien environment on Earth, they return to their tiny home in the station for days at a time. The psychological effects of being penned in with a handful of other engineers and scientists is no joke, and Aquarius gives astronauts a little taste of the experience.

NASA performs other so-called analogue missions, too: Antarctica has been used to test an inflatable habitat that astronauts might one day live in on the moon, and the mobility of new spacesuits and vehicles has been tested in deserts and volcanic areas around the United States. And an independent group called The Mars Society even has a station where volunteers pretend they're living in a Mars colony.

 

 

Crimea Catch-22: Russia Space Training May Put NASA in a Bind

 

James Oberg –NBC News

As the International Space Station gets ready for a routine change of crew using Russia's Soyuz spaceships, the Russian government seems to be initiating a subtle gambit to force the United States into a diplomatic trap over the status of Russian-occupied Crimea.

Here's how it works: Either the United States acknowledges the legitimacy of the recent Russian annexation of that Ukrainian province, or it will be forced by existing agreements to disqualify NASA astronauts from flying aboard Russia's spaceships, which currently provide the only means to get astronauts to and from the space station.

The challenge appeared this week in an innocent-looking Russian press report, saying that crew survival training for Soyuz spacecraft could be transferred back to the Russian naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea.

Until about 10 years ago, this was the traditional site of splashdown survival training for all cosmonauts. But as space budgets dwindled, that training was transferred to a small lake near Moscow that was deemed adequate for the basics.

This is a prudent contingency preparation for Soyuz flights, which normally come down on dry land on the steppes of Central Asia. In the event of a launch abort, or a time-critical space evacuation, or just a stroke of bad luck, being able to get outside and deploy a raft is critical. One Soyuz actually came down in a lake in 1976, and the result was a near-catastrophe.

Budget squeeze

The Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center's budget was further squeezed several years ago when it was transferred from Russian Air Force management to the civilian Russian Space Agency, also known as Roscosmos. The center lost almost all of the military transport and training aircraft that it traditionally used, leading to calls for returning the cosmonaut center to military control.

This means that the back-to-Crimea idea — announced by Yuri Lonchakov, a former cosmonaut who now heads the training center — is not based on budget considerations (which are still bad). Nor does it reflect any unique advantages of training on the Black Sea: Cosmonauts have also trained near Sochi, within Russia's boundaries, and Lonchakov did not propose that site.

Here's the kicker: Shifting the survival training to Russian-occupied Crimea will require foreign cosmonauts to accept travel there without Ukrainian visas, an explicit acquiescence to the new diplomatic status of the province. Refusal to attend survival training is equivalent to failing the training, which by existing training regulations is an automatic disqualification for flight certification. No Crimea trip, no space trip.

International hardball

It's not just American astronauts who are pawns in this diplomatic hardball. Besides NASA, there are European and Japanese astronauts in training. Also, Russia has just confirmed plans to fly singer Sarah Brightman to the space station late next year, and her training begins in January. She might be required to perform some of that training in Crimea.

Lonchakov hinted that Crimea might be used for more than sea survival training. "We are also planning, if it works out, to hold sea and mountain survival training," he told the Itar-Tass news agency. He has also said a post-flight rehabilitation center for cosmonauts could be reopened near Yevpatoria, a Crimean coastal resort.

Yevpatoriya is also the site of one of the world's major space tracking facilities, legally transferred to Ukrainian ownership at independence. In the wake of Crimea's annexation, the facility has been seized by the Russian Space Agency. Several space missions with international partners still use the deep-space communications services of the facility, and their continued usage could be seen as tacit acknowledgment the Russian land grab.

NASA officials have not yet responded to inquiries about the Crimea issue, but the big picture is that this could get really ugly. What will NASA do if the cost of the Russian spaceship tickets, already soaring past the $70 million mark, comes to include accepting Russia's possession of Crimea as well?

 

 

EFT-1 Orion completes outfitting, ready for fueling

 

Chris Bergin – NASASpaceflight

NASA's first space-worthy Orion spacecraft is preparing for her next key milestone in the flow towards December's Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) mission. The completed Orion, now stacked on the Service Module, will be moved from her home in the Operations & Checkout (O&C) building this week, ahead of fueling operations.

It's been three years since the first panels of the EFT-1 Orion were welded together at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans.

Then known as the Orion Flight Test -1 (OFT-1) vehicle, the construction marked the first new NASA spacecraft to be built to take humans to orbit since space shuttle Endeavour left her Palmdale facility in 1991.

Around a year later, the bare bones of the new spacecraft entered a lengthy outfitting process inside the famous O&C building at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

As many as 400 members of the Orion team have been involved in the final assembly and integration operations on the spacecraft, under the guidance of Orion's main contractor, Lockheed Martin.

The outfitting operations involved key additions to the spacecraft, such as the installation of secondary structures, as Orion started to look more like the vehicle depicted in mission videos and images.

Orion was then powered up for the first time in October, 2013 – as operators in the Test Launch and Control Center (TLCC) introduced software scripts to the crew module's main control computers via thousands of wires and electrical ground support equipment.

The power up allowed for engineers to then install additional harnessing, wiring and electronics onto the crew module – completing the avionics system that serves as the eyes, ears and brains of the spacecraft.

This testing was completed in April of this year, marking Orion's "awakening" and confirmation she is ready for her lofty mission goals during the trip into space.

The December test flight will allow NASA to evaluate Orion's performance and integrity, in preparation for the spacecraft's future deep-space expeditions.

Orion will be lofted by the United Space Alliance (ULA) Delta IV-H – a rocket that was shipped to the Cape earlier this year – to an altitude of more than 3,600 miles, prior to a return to Earth on a high-speed re-entry at more than 20,000 mph, with the results feeding into Orion's key Critical Design Review (CDR), set for 2015.

The test will allow for critical re-entry flight performance data and demonstrate early integration capabilities of the spacecraft.

A key factor will be the performance of Orion's heat shield, which is an Avcoat and Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator – with a technical name of AVCO 5026-39 HCG (Filled Epoxy Novalac in Fiberglass-Phenolic Honeycomb).

The heat shield completed its journey to KSC at the end of 2013, ahead of integration with the EFT-1 Orion.

The backshell area of the spacecraft is covered in several hundred tiles, exotically named as TUFI coated AETB-8 tiles, bonded to 10 panels of composite laminate face sheets on a titanium honeycomb core.

The first of these tiles was manufactured in 2012, with the historic milestone beginning with Tile 875-1 on Panel H of the backshell.

Originally, the baseline for the backshell was a SLA-561V material with plasma sprayed aluminum coating for on-orbit thermal control. However, the AETB-8 tiles provide more mass-efficient MMOD (Micro-Meteoroid Orbital Debris) protection.

As such, panel tile thickness, substrate facesheet thickness, and core density are tailored for thermal and structural load, and MMOD requirements.

The tiles were mechanically attached to the pressure vessel with thermal isolating brackets along their edges, a process that was practised on an entire C panel for the Orion Ground Test Article (GTA).

Providing Orion with a sporty appearance, the black tiling is now fully installed on the Orion – which also now sports an American flag.

With the vehicle now ready for her next processing milestone, the since-mated crew and service module will be transferred together on Wednesday to another facility for fueling, before moving again for the installation of the Launch Abort System (LAS).

ATK's inert motor will be used to simulate the same weight, structure and aerodynamics of the live motor configuration that will ride on the Space Launch System (SLS). It arrived at KSC in February, 2013.

Once all of these elements have been mated, the spacecraft will be complete and ready to stack on top of the Delta IV Heavy rocket that will carry it into space on its first flight at the end of this year.

The launch remains on track for the morning of December 4, launching from the Delta IV-H's home pad of Space Launch Complex -37B (SLC-37B) at Cape Canaveral.

 

 

Radio contact allows Lanier students to talk with astronaut aboard International Space Station | VIDEO

Keith Farmer – Gwinnett Daily Post

 

SUGAR HILL — Mention that the astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday travel at 17,500 miles per hour and students' eyes widen.

 

Add that students could ask live questions about being an astronaut on the ISS and their jaws drop.

 

That was the case for White Oak Elementary fifth-grader Joseph Gorman, who asked astronaut Reid Wiseman what he would do if the tether that connected him to the ISS snapped. While static interfered with Wiseman's end of the connection broadcast in the Lanier High theater, it didn't dampen Gorman's spirits.

 

"It's once in a lifetime," Gorman said as he described the experience. "I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to make it, but I was surprised when I got the letter."

 

Gorman was one of a select few students in the Lanier cluster who were chosen to ask a question.

 

The contact was made through a radio connection by the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society and NASA's Teaching From Space office that coordinated the event on Tuesday morning at Lanier High along with teacher Janelle Wilson. Wilson applied on behalf of the entire Lanier cluster, and the audience to witness the event was more than 100 people.

 

Even though the connection lasted just 10 minutes, Wilson was overjoyed.

 

"It was really amazing and dream-like for this to happen," she said. "I've been working on this for a long time. Dream come true, really."

 

Along with Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society representative Hal Collier, Technical Mentor John Kludt coordinated the event with NASA and Wilson.

 

Kludt works with NASA and schools in the Southeast region, and said this kind of event happens just 20 to 30 times each year across the country.

 

"If just one of these kids decides science is cool, or wants to be an engineer or scientist, then it was a success," Kludt said.

 

The goal for Wilson was to introduce students to a real-world example of a STEM career, or to pique the students' interest in science, technology, engineering and math.

 

"The physics of the space station orbiting right above us and how much time it takes for it to pass over us, and how fast the space station is really going," she said. "How the contact with radio works, as well as maybe thinking about a science career or engineering career to get involved in things with space exploration or just science in general."

 

Collier and several members of the GARS provided equipment, including sophisticated antenna on the roof of the school, to make the connection.

 

"I think it went pretty well, we had a good signal from them," Collier said. "It cut off a little short. We had a few questions we didn't get to get asked, but that's typical with any space station contact. You've only got less than 10 minutes from when they're in range and out of range."

 

Teachers from The Buice School, Sugar Hill Elementary, Sycamore Elementary, White Oak Elementary and Lanier High narrowed student question submissions to 10 from each school. But only a select few of those were chosen for the live event.

 

The submitted questions covered a variety of topics including living and working in space, experiments conducted on the space station, return to Earth and astronaut preparation.

 

Wilson also worked with NASA's Teaching From Space office during the summer of 2013, when she participated in the MicroGravity eXperience by conducting a weightless flight experiment on behalf of Lanier Middle students.

 

Her next goal is to setup a video downlink with astronauts that's shown to a countywide audience.

 

 

Different vehicles – different purposes: Orion and the Commercial Crew contenders

 

Jason Rhian – Spaceflight Insider

 

NASA has multiple tasks laid out in front of it. One of these is to empower an array of commercial firms to develop spacecraft designed to ferry crews and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS ). The space agency meanwhile is, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, in the process of preparing the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle ready to carry out crewed missions far beyond Earth's gravitational influence. These are two distinct endeavors, with the spacecraft being developed to carry them out are specifically designed to handle the missions they are tasked with carrying out. In so doing, NASA is working on distinctly different vessels – designed almost exclusively for the challenges laid before them.

 

NASA is poised in the coming days or weeks to select the company which will carry out the next phase of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP ) and Orion is set to conduct its first flight in about two months time. These different spacecraft have different roles to play in the expanding effort to maintain the U.S.' low-Earth-orbit operations as the space agency takes its first steps beyond Earth orbit – in more than four decades.

 

Orion is designed to send four to six astronauts atop the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) booster to destinations such as an asteroid or Mars (The Obama White House has shown little interest in lunar missions). Before its first planned flight on SLS in 2018, Orion is slated to take to the skies this December atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. To allow Orion to journey beyond LEO, it must have very specific capabilities which will allow it to venture into the far more dangerous environs beyond LEO.

 

To find out more about the requirements in terms of mass, radiation protection, avionics and the spacecraft's heat shield, SpaceFlight Insider spoke with NASA's Orion Program Manager Mark Geyer. Geyer relayed how Orion has been developed to be able to ferry crews of up to four astronauts to deep space destinations – for periods of up to 21 days.

 

MORE…

 

 

Musk's SpaceX Vies With Boeing to Build NASA Taxi to Mars

Julie Johnsson and Alan Ohnsman -- Bloomberg

 

Elon Musk's SpaceX and Boeing Co. (BA)are contending for more than $3 billion in funding to resume U.S. manned spaceflight with the first commercial venture to fly humans into orbit.

The contract to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017 in so-called space taxis would end U.S. reliance on Russian rockets since the space shuttle was retired three years ago. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration set a deadline to announce the award this month.

 

For Musk, winning would be a pivotal step toward his dream of colonizing Mars, while a Boeing victory would extend its half-century history with the U.S. space program. A third rival, Sierra Nevada Corp., offers a winged, shuttle-type vehicle as it seeks to expand beyond supplying rockets for sub-orbital tourist trips on Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

 

"Boeing is the safe choice, SpaceX is the exciting choice and Sierra Nevada the interesting choice," Loren Thompson, an analyst with Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Virginia-based research group, said in a phone interview.

NASA is charting a new direction 45 years after sending humans to the Moon, looking to private industry for missions near Earth, such as commuting to and from the space station. Commercial operators would develop space tourism while the space agency focuses on distant trips to Mars or asteroids.

Funding History

 

Boeing and SpaceX probably have the leading concepts, based on the funding NASA provided to refine their designs, and a split contract may be more likely than a winner-take-all decision, said Brian Friel, a government contracts analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence in Washington.

 

"The odds are higher for a joint award," Friel said in a telephone interview. NASA has said it might select more than one winner.

 

Boeing's proposed CST-100 capsule received $480 million under NASA funding awarded in 2012, compared with $400 million for SpaceX's Dragon V2 capsule and $219.5 million for Sierra Nevada's orbiter. Blue Origin, a concept backed by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, received no funding and continues to hone its design, according to NASA's website.

 

Allard Beutel, a NASA spokesman, declined to comment on the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract, as the program is formally known.

 

While both SpaceX and Boeing have designed reusable capsules seating as many as seven people, their business strategies -- and technology -- couldn't be more different.

Startup Culture

 

Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who shook up the auto industry with Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA)'s battery-powered cars, nurtures a Silicon Valley startup culture at SpaceX. In 11 years, the Hawthorne, California-based company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has earned a reputation for setting audacious goals while evolving from making rockets to becoming the first private cargo hauler to the space station.

 

The commercial crew contract is a steppingstone to making humanity into a "multiplanetary species," starting with Mars, according to Musk, who said that desire is one of the reasons he backed off an earlier plan to pursue an initial public offering.

 

"The reason I haven't taken SpaceX public is the goals of SpaceX are very long-term, which is to establish a city on Mars," Musk, 43, told reporters at a Sept. 8 briefing in Tokyo.

 

Musk declined via e-mail this week to discuss SpaceX's chances or assess his competitors. The Dragon V2 spacecraft is designed to return to Earth and land vertically under its own power on a launch pad, a break with years of NASA practice of relying on parachutes to cushion an ocean landing.

No 'Moonshots'

 

Boeing, the world's biggest aerospace company, is focused on shareholder value, disciplined execution and avoiding oversize bets on technology leaps that Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney terms "moonshots."

Boeing's entry is the only one of the contestants to have met all of the design and integration milestones on the deadlines set by NASA, while SpaceX and Sierra Nevada requested extensions. That should win the aerospace giant points with NASA, said Thompson, whose research group has done work for Boeing and Sierra Nevada.

 

While the Boeing vehicle's exterior echoes the Apollo lunar capsules in the 1960s, its interior embodies another McNerney tenet of sharing technology across product lines. The spacecraft borrows the "Sky Interior" lighting Boeing created for its jetliners and seating developed for the 787 Dreamliner cockpit. It would still use parachute recovery.

Space History

 

"We've had this great advantage of reaching across different parts of our company for areas of innovation," Kelly Kaplan, a spokeswoman for Boeing's space exploration unit, said in a phone interview. As to putting humans in space, "We've been doing it for 50 years."

 

Sierra Nevada is no stranger to U.S. contract competitions or spaceflight. Besides making rockets for Branson's planned venture for quick hops into space, the Sparks, Nevada-based manufacturer launches commercial satellites and was chosen in 2013 to provide light-attack planes for Afghanistan's military.

 

Mark Sirangelo, who heads Sierra Nevada's space systems division, couldn't immediately be reached for comment about the NASA work. Unlike the other entrants, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser would land like an airplane on any military runway big enough for a narrow-body jet.

 

"If Sierra Nevada were to win, it would be because of that design," said Friel, the Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

 

A shared Boeing-SpaceX award as envisioned by Friel would match NASA's use of both SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. (ORB) to take cargo to the space station.

 

Funding two ventures may raise development costs while also fostering competition and giving NASA an alternative if one vehicle encounters technical difficulties, said Marco Caceres, director of space studies with Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based consultant.

 

Congressional opposition to a similar arrangement for the crew contract has waned as the fraying U.S.-Russia relationship focuses attention on NASA's dependence on Soyuz rockets to put astronauts into orbit, Caceres said in a telephone interview.

 

"The Russians have done NASA a favor in terms of funding," Caceres said.

 

 

China to launch second space lab in 2016, official says

AFP

Beijing (AFP) - China will launch its second orbiting space laboratory in two years' time, a top official said Wednesday, the latest step in an ambitious space programme Beijing says will one day land a Chinese man on the moon.

Astronaut Yang Liwei, who in 2003 became China's first man in space and is now deputy director of the country's manned space programme, made the announcement at the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) congress in Beijing.

"We are going to launch the spacelab Tiangong-2 in 2016, and then we will launch Shenzhou-11 and then Tianzhou-1 cargo spaceship to dock on the spacelab," he said.

It is the first time China has hosted the annual meeting, which has drawn nearly 100 astronauts from 18 countries to Beijing, in a marker of the country's scientific progress.

Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rise and the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

Yang added that Beijing plans to launch an experimental core space station module in 2018 and finish construction of a Chinese space station around 2022.

Around the same time the rival International Space Station, operated by the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe, is due to be retired.

"We believe humans will continue carrying out further space and moon exploration activities," Yang said.

"Research and technology development on this area will continue much further down the track."

- 'Common hope' -

China has sent a total of 10 astronauts -- eight men and two women -- into space on five separate missions, and has launched an orbiting space module, Tiangong-1. It also launched the Chang'e-3 lunar mission, which included the Jade Rabbit lunar rover, late last year.

More women may be among the ranks of future Chinese astronauts, Yang said Wednesday.

Yang's schedule may represent a slight delay -- the official news agency Xinhua last year quoted a senior official saying the Tiangong-2 would be launched around 2015.

But the rapid and purposeful development of China's manned programme is in contrast with that of the US space agency NASA. It launched its final space shuttle flight in 2011 and its next step remains uncertain amid waning domestic support.

Several countries have already reportedly been in contact with Beijing about the possibility of collaborating in space.

Yang said China views such international cooperation as "of great significance".

"We'd like to actively carry out international exchange and cooperation with other countries... we will take a more open attitude for that," he said, without giving details.

China's space programme is military-run and highly secretive.

Several of the international speakers at the event emphasised that while the space race grew out of the Cold War, international cooperation had now become essential.

"'On the first day in space, we all pointed to our countries'," ASE executive director Andy Turnage quoted a 1985 statement by a Saudi Arabian astronaut as saying.

"'On the third day in space, we all pointed to our continents. On the fifth day in space, we were aware of only one earth.'"

"We might not share a common language, but we share a common humanity," Turnage added. "And we share a common hope for future generations."

 

 

Can We Jump-Start A New Space Age?

 

Adam Frank -- NPR

 

Jon Morse, former astrophysics division director at NASA, can remember the exact moment he knew things had to change.

 

It was the late spring of 2011. After one particularly long planning meeting, Morse headed to the elevators with some high-ranking budget officials. As they waited for the next car, Morse asked the officials about a draft plan he and his staff had been working on for months; its goal was implementation of recent National Research Council recommendations for a menu of exciting new space science missions. The plan, however, was going to require extra resources.

 

Morse says he can still remember the sting of their response. "[They] laughed, got on the elevator and said, 'Don't even bother.' Then the elevator doors closed."

 

That was when Morse decided he'd seen enough doors closing on the "high frontier." Fast-forward to today, when he and a group of other space science experts, including a former astronaut, are taking off in a new direction. Together, they created the BoldlyGo Institute whose mission is to chart a new path for getting space science into space.

 

After "living and breathing the federal budget process" for seven budget cycles, it was clear to Morse where things were headed. At the exact moment when the U.S. could lead bold missions like robotic-boats sailing the methane lakes of Saturn's moon Titan, we were pulling back.

 

"Flat was the new up," Morse says of the NASA budget. "It was clear that we could expect space science budgets to be level for the balance of the decade and beyond."

 

All of those groundbreaking, epoch-making, kid-inspiring missions were ending up on the cutting room floor. All lost due to limited resources.

 

So the idea behind the non-profit BoldlyGo was simple — create dramatic new ways to fund, manage and execute space exploration. The advent of private space companies like SpaceX, XCOR Aerospace, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic had already started what many are calling NewSpace — a new ecosystem of players involved in the human exploitation of Earth's orbital environment. And it's not just that these new companies own their own rockets. They've also changed how rockets are designed and built. They've brought an entirely different kind of management perspective to the entire process. NASA still plays a critical role but NewSpace has unleashed a reservoir of vital creative energy into thinking about human beings and the near Earth environment.

 

BoldyGo aims to tap that same energy for space exploration missions taking us far beyond Earth's orbit. To begin, BoldlyGo is focused on developing two very different classes of space science missions.

 

The first, called Sample Collection to Investigate Mars or SCIM, is focused on the solar system. As Morse describes it, "It's going to be the first robotic round trip to the Red Planet. SCIM's going to make a daring transit of the Martian atmosphere, collect a precious cargo of dust grains and then return to Earth."

 

By analyzing each individual dust particle — tearing them apart atom-by-atom — Morse says we'll finally be able to explore Martian surface materials with cutting-edge technologies found in terrestrial labs. That data will teach us about the geological history of Mars, including information about possible conditions for life and its evolution.

 

The second mission, called ASTRO-1, will be a large space-based telescope for looking at the universe in visible and ultraviolet light (NASA's successor for the Hubble, the JWST, will focus on longer wavelength infrared light).

 

As Morse explains:

 

"This one is particularly exciting to me because it follows closely in the footsteps of the Hubble Space Telescope, enhancing its powerful legacy in some areas and reaching to make unique observations in others. It's going to address some really compelling questions like 'Are we alone in the universe?' by directly detecting exoplanets orbiting nearby stars using multiple techniques."

 

Both of these projects are bleeding-edge space science missions that any space agency would be happy to fund.

 

But they can't.

 

So the real question is: How does BoldyGo intend to get the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to make these projects into realities? That's where you and I and some aerospace companies and some very rich folks come in. As Morse says:

 

"I think it's important to note that all cutting-edge research in space astrophysics and planetary science is funded by the federal government (i.e., NASA). This is not true in other scientific fields such as medical research or even ground-based astronomy, where significant facilities that have large scientific impacts are supported outside of the federal realm. Moreover, there will always be more outstanding ideas than any plausible government budget

can support."

 

So what BoldlyGo imagines is a mix of funding sources that include large grants from individuals or foundations, or even corporate sponsorships. Support from aerospace companies can come in a variety of forms including in-kind. Corning has already donated $1.8 million worth of mirror components for the ASTRO-1 project. And while crowd funding will play its role, Morse thinks the general public can also play even more important roles through citizen science projects that will come once data are taken.

 

Looking over the state of U.S. science funding these days, it's hard to not to get depressed. But the BoldlyGo Institute challenges us to remember that the stakes are too high to give up. When it comes to stepping more boldly through the doors that space science has already opened, we should keep that old NASA motto close to heart:

Failure is not an option.

 

 

END

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