Fwd: NASA News-my version

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: December 5, 2014 2:07:40 PM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: NASA News-my version

Not sure where PAO news is today so here ya go—all of pao must still be celebrating the successful Orion mission this morning.…

 

At the risk of forgetting someone else that may have been at our Retirees luncheon yesterday ,,,I wanted to also thank Nancy Liounis, Bruce Luna and Julie Mathis for joining us for our last luncheon of the year!

 

Have a great and safe weekend everyone.  Looks like maybe it's time to switch back to A/C again for a day or so…until the next cool front gets here!

 

LEADING THE NEWS

Orion Test Flight Launches Friday Morning After Thursday Scrub.

NASA launched its Orion spacecraft in a test flight Friday morning, a day after various issues caused the agency to scrub a previous launch attempt. The AP (12/5, Dunn) reports Orion "streaked toward orbit Friday on a high-stakes test flight meant to usher in a new era of human exploration leading ultimately to Mars." NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. said, "The star of the day is Orion," adding that is "Day One of the Mars era." While "NASA was uncertain how many of the estimated 27,000 invited guests returned" for the second launch attempt, "the press site remained jammed, the hotels packed and the excitement level high."

        Bolden Speaks About Orion. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden answered questions about the Orion program in a six and one-half minute video at SPACE (12/5, 276K). He said the purpose of Orion is to get men to Mars, and that "the nation has a plan in place to continue to explore our solar system." For Orion, the "ultimate destination" is Mars, but the "asteroid redirect mission" and other missions are part of the way there. He also pointed to Earth-directed elements of NASA such as its work on the International Space Station, and in aeronautics. He further highlighted the work of US companies in getting material to the ISS, in order to "relieve us of our reliance on Russia," adding that this has "freed us up to work on SLS and Orion" in pursuit of "our deep space exploration mission." Bolden said in building Orion and SLS NASA and its partners have developed "revolutionary technologies" that will lead to on-orbit refueling depots in space.

        Grunsfeld Speaks About Orion. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, speaks about the Orion program in a seven and one-half minute video at Spaceflight Now (12/4, Clark, 3K). Grunsfeld spoke about his "excitement" at the Orion launch that, he "sincerely hopes will take us to Mars." He also spoke about the asteroid redirect mission, noting that Mars exploration and asteroid exploration are "already underway" with robots, but that the asteroid redirect mission allows for astronaut exploration of an asteroid placed in lunar orbit. Asked about SLS, he said, "the opportunities are really exciting" with heavy-lift rockets for exploration to the outer solar system, because they allow for much shorter transportation times. Asked about the budget prospects for the SLS, he said that he hoped the cost of SLS could be shared between the space science mission and space transportation.

    

        Orion's Future Unsure. The Economist (12/5, 735K) reports Orion and the SLS "are expensive" and "risk becoming white elephants, for Orion has rivals" in Boeing's and SpaceX's capsules. While Orion's flight may "give it enough momentum to stop it being cancelled," and a Chinese Moon shot may make America "compelled to fight another expensive propaganda war," the article concludes, "it would take a brave person to bet on it."

        Orion's Success Important To Florida. The Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal (12/4, Turner, 157K) reported, "Florida has a lot riding on the" Orion program. Tina Lange, spokeswoman for Space Florida, said in an email that Orion "will ensure NASA's next-generation space program continues to call Florida its home base for launch operations."

        Orion Computer As Powerful As Smartphone. The CIO Magazine (12/4, Gaudin, 417K) reported that Orion is "run by a computer that's no smarter than your smartphone," with processors 12 years old. Matt Lemke, NASA's deputy manager for Orion's avionics, power and software team, said, "It's not about the speed as much as the ruggedness and the reliability. I just need to make sure it will always work." He added, "The one thing we really like about this computer is that it doesn't get destroyed by radiation"; while it can be affected, it will reset itself. Additionally, Orion has a back up computer for the 20 seconds it takes for the first to reset.

        Torres: Space Launch Could Be What US Needs Right Now. John A. Torres writes in a column in Florida Today (12/4, 151K) that Orion not launching on Thursday "hardly mattered to the thousands" gathered to watch it; "one feeling, one emotion prevailed: 'We're back.'" Torres adds, "It's only a matter of time before this country reclaims its dominance of space travel and exploration once more." He concludes that a unifying force, such as the space program, "could just be the kind of thing this country needs right now."

        North Carolina Coin On Orion. The AP (12/4) reports a titanium alloy coin created on a 3-D printer by North Carolina State University engineers is aboard Orion.

     

NASA NEWS

Google, NASA Working Together On D-Wave Quantum Computer Applications.

In an article titled "Google and NASA ride D-Wave to a quantum future," the New Scientist (12/6, Aron, 183K) reports on the D-Wave Systems quantum computer Google purchased last year, where a New Scientist investigation reveals "what's really going on under its hood." The article reports that Google's "D-Wave Two machine is housed at NASA's Ames Research Center in California and maintained by the Universities Space Research Association," adding, "New Scientist's freedom of information request to see the contract signed between the parties reveals they are pursuing a range of applications."

Ball Aerospace Profiled.

Writing for the "Future Tense" blog of Slate Magazine (12/4, 13.66M), Sam Lemonick profiles the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., an offshoot of glass jar manufacturer Ball Corp., which "pulled in about $900 million last year from contracts with NASA, the military," public and private sources. Lemonick details the history of the company and its shifting focus from government contracts to other aerospace ventures, and notes that Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. produced instruments on the Orion capsule, Hubble, and the James Webb Space Telescope.

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

Continuing Coverage Of ESA Meeting.

Flightglobal (12/4, Thisdell, 2K) reported that the European Space Agency's 20 member countries' government ministers "spelled out a clear vision of its place in space, giving a further green light to the Ariane 6 launcher and confirming its intention of joining the USA in keeping the International Space Station flying through 2024." They also decided "to ensure that ESA's 2016 and 2018 ExoMars robotic exploration missions are fully funded, and reaffirmed their intention that ESA be a 'critical path' partner to NASA and other space agencies in international efforts to explore the Moon, bring samples back from Mars and, eventually, send humans beyond the ISS's low-Earth orbit." Furthermore, Airbus and Safran's plan to consolidate the Ariane program in a joint venture was approved.

Continuing Coverage Of Virginia Spaceport Repairs.

In continuing coverage, the Delmarva (MD) Daily Times (12/4, Vaughn, 1K) reported the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority said that repairing the damage the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's launch pad took when an Antares rocket failed will take about a year. Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne said, "We are looking for both Orbital and NASA to partner with the Commonwealth for funding to begin repairing the launch facility and ongoing environmental cleanup."

NASA Leasing Parts Of Michoud Assembly Facility.

WBRC-TV Birmingham, AL (12/5, 46K) reports the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville manages Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, which used to manufacture Space Shuttle fuel tanks. With the end of the shuttle program it lost its purpose, but commercial space opportunities and expanding science and technology companies "needed unique equipment and space that NASA could offer," so NASA became a landlord. Todd May, SLS project manager for the Space Launch Alliance, said, "We are renting off large spaces of Michoud to offset the operating costs." Patrick Scheuermann, MSFC Director, said, "The more folks who use that capability that has been bought and paid for by the taxpayers, it lowers our costs as well... It is a great income source."

New York Company Offers Space Suit Experience.

SPACE (12/4, Kramer, 276K) reports that New York City-based Final Frontier Design is offering a "Space Suit Experience" for $395. Those taking part in experience get to don a spacesuit designed by the company while attempting to complete tasks such as swinging a golf club and flying a flight simulator. "I'd like to think of this as an opening up of space tourism to just [about] anybody who's interested in that," said Final Frontier Design president Ted Southern." The spacesuit firm has teamed up with private astronaut training company Waypoint 2 Space to help provide spacesuits for Waypoint's training program," the article reports.

ESA Astronaut Witnessed "Almost Alien" Reflection Off The ISS.

The Huffington Post (UK) (12/4, Tamblyn, 157K) reports that European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti saw an "almost alien" light reflect off the International Space Station when she approached the space station for the first time. "The enormous solar panels were inundated with a blaze of orange light, vivid, warm, almost alien. I could not help but exclaim something out loud, you can probably hear in the recordings of our docking," Cristoforetti said. Cristoforetti described the light as "almost alien," a phrase UFO blogs picked up as proof that the astronaut had witnessed an alien craft, the article reports.