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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: January 23, 2015 at 12:08:50 PM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Friday – Jan. 23, 2015
Happy Friday everyone. Have a safe weekend.NASA and Human Spaceflight NewsFriday – Jan. 23, 2015HEADLINES AND LEADSMars mission moving at speed of CongressLydia Wheeler – The HillNASA's endeavor to send astronauts to Mars is moving as quickly as funding and technology allows, the agency said Wednesday, a day after President Obama renewed his push to explore the red planet.Cruz, Obama agree on mission to MarsAlexander Bolton – The HillYou may have to go to Mars to find common ground between Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and President Obama.Ted Cruz is now the 'Chairman of Space'Joe Latrell - Spaceflight InsiderWith the change of representation in the United States Senate shifting to the Republicans, the leaders of the all important committees that determine the course of the nation – has shifted as well. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) having been the highest ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Competitiveness, has now taken the chairmanship position. Simply put, Senator Cruz is now in charge of the NASA budget – a fact that has drawn discussion due to the Senator's past views and comments.Lockheed Martin exec helps lead Coalition for Space ExplorationLaura Keeney - The Denver PostThe Coalition for Space Exploration has Colorado leadership near its helm for 2015.CRS-5: Dextre grabs CATS from the belly of a DragonChris Bergin - NASAspaceflightnow.comCanada's multi-tasking robot, Dextre, successfully removed the CATS (Cloud-Aerosol Transport System) payload from the unpressurised trunk of the CRS-5/SpX-5 Dragon on Thursday morning. The payload was handed over to the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo, marking the first "handover" between the Canadian robot and the JAXA arm.NASA's Ultimate Space Twin Experiment Ready for LaunchIrene Klotz - Discovery.comAre identical twins still identical after one spends a year in space?Ex-astronaut takes on educational role at IntrepidMichael Massimino hopes to inspire the next generation of space travelers.Theresa Agovino - Crain's New York BusinessMichael Massimino can finally smile at a certain handrail now displayed behind Plexiglas. In 2009, when he was floating 350 miles above Earth trying to fix the Hubble Space Telescope, the 19 inches of aluminum refused to budge, blocking a panel and jeopardizing a repair project.10 Things To Watch In The 2016 Budget RequestAmy Butler - Aviation Week & Space TechnologySix years into his presidency, President Barack Obama is planning to finally submit his budget request to Congress on time—meaning the week of Feb. 2 this year. In it, he will deliver what is likely to be his last meaningful budget push, as the president's final budget request is made during a lame duck year. Defense officials are hoping that sequestration—mandatory deep cuts dictated by Congress—are behind them. But it is still technically the law of the land. The Pentagon intends to submit its budget with the assumption that sequestration will not take effect in fiscal 2016 and beyond. Should it remain in effect, several programs will suffer in a major way.FAA Aims To Make Tag-along Payloads a Lighter Burden for Launch ProvidersDan Leone – Space NewsThe FAA office that licenses U.S. commercial space launches is set to eliminate a paperwork obstacle SpaceX had to negotiate in order to tote a couple dozen tag-along student experiments on a 2012 cargo run to the International Space Station.NASA Space Technology Chief Leaving for Ball AerospaceBrian Berger – Space NewsNASA space technology chief Michael Gazarik is moving to Boulder, Colorado, to lead technology development efforts at spacecraft builder Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.Gazarik, an electrical engineer who has spent the past 11 years at NASA including the past two years as associate administrator for space technology, is slated to begin as director of Ball's Office of Technology effective March 2.Linking NASA and the private sector to further space explorationPartnership for Public Service - Washington PostFollowing the termination of the space shuttle program in 2011, NASA needed a new, safe and reliable method of transporting experiments, supplies and crew to and from the International Space Station.Rosetta Finds Out Much About a Comet, Even With a Wayward LanderKenneth Chang – New York TimesPhotographs and data from the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft have provided an unprecedented close-up examination of a comet, but there is one thing that has not shown up yet: the small lander that bounded to the surface in November.Moon Express To Take Over Cape Canaveral Launch SiteJeff Foust – Space NewsMoon Express, a California company competing for the Google Lunar X Prize, announced Jan. 22 that it has signed an agreement to use a former launch site at Cape Canaveral for building and testing its lunar lander spacecraft.At 11-Year Mark, Opportunity Rover Shows Mars' True ColorsAlan Boyle - NBC NewsIn the movie "Spinal Tap," rockers try to push their music over the cliff by dialing their amplifiers up to 11. This week, NASA is amping up interest in the Opportunity rover's 11-year mission on Mars by releasing a full-color clifftop panorama. On a 1-to-10 scale, it's an 11.COMPLETE STORIESMars mission moving at speed of CongressLydia Wheeler – The HillNASA's endeavor to send astronauts to Mars is moving as quickly as funding and technology allows, the agency said Wednesday, a day after President Obama renewed his push to explore the red planet."Like everyone else in the government, we go as fast as the funds are available, as technology advances and partners show interest," said Greg Williams, NASA's deputy associate administrator for policy and plans in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "We think of this as a long-term endeavor."In his State of the Union address, Obama said he wants America to win the race to new discoveries. He identified "pushing out into the solar system not just to visit, but to stay," among his goals and touted progress on NASA's Journey to Mars initiative."Last month, we launched a new spacecraft as part of a re-energized space program that will send American astronauts to Mars," Obama said.NASA says it is well on its way to make that goal a reality. In a test flight last month, the air and space agency launched Orion, a spacecraft that it built to take humans into deep space. But before America makes it's second giant leap for mankind, NASA must lasso an asteroid and drag it into the moon's orbit.The space between the Earth and the moon, known as a cislunar space, Williams said, will serve as proving ground, a place where NASA can test its deep space exploration systems."We'll send a robotic mission out into space to capture either an asteroid in orbit or pluck a large boulder off a larger asteroid, bring it back to the orbit around the Moon and visit the object with astronauts," he said.The goal is to get the asteroid into lunar orbit by 2025. NASA's chosen to practice in the space between the Earth and the Moon because it's closer than Mars.Williams said a one-way trip to Mars takes eight or nine months, meaning NASA would need to be able to operate independently of Earth for what would be a two- to three-year mission, something it's not yet equipped to do. A trip to the Moon, however, only takes a couple of days.It was not immediately clear how much the mission would ultimately cost, though Obama's fiscal 2014 budget request designated $105 million for the initiative in that year.Because Journey to Mars is a "strategy" — not a formal program — and has no direct line of funding, NASA spokesman Josh Buck said he could not say what the total cost will be or how much has already been spent on the efforts to travel to Mars."What we're pursuing is a program that will allow us to make progress with the budget currently forecasted," Williams said in an interview with The Hill on Wednesday. "And we'll take what comes as the economic forecast changes, but the goal is to make as much progress as we can with the funds appropriated."In the 2015 federal budget, $18.01 billion was allocated for NASA. The proposed federal budget for fiscal 2016 is due out Feb 2.But with funds yet to be determined and the planet eight or nine months away, could humans really be walking on Mars by mid-2030s?Unlikely, but the U.S. aims be in the neighborhood by then.In the National Space Policy of 2010, Williams said the administration's guidance was for NASA to visit an asteroid by 2025 and send astronauts to the "vicinity" of Mars by 2030."It doesn't talk about landing on the surface of Mars," he said. "The technology wasn't there yet to make such a date commitment. Landing large masses — huge systems — on the surface of Mars is something we're still trying to learn how to do."Cruz, Obama agree on mission to MarsAlexander Bolton – The HillYou may have to go to Mars to find common ground between Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and President Obama.Cruz broadly ripped Obama's Tuesday State of the Union address for doubling down "on the failed policies of the last six years" and ignoring the message of "the crushing electoral losses in the midterm elections."But Obama's call for a manned mission to Mars met with Cruz's cautious approval. As chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on Science and Space, the freshman conservative is a central player in the debate."I think we need to get back to NASA's core mission of space exploration and manned space flight, and that includes the full range from the moon to Mars and beyond," he said. "I look forward to the science and space [subcommittee] holding hearings to assess the various options for space exploration and the resources and time commitments required for each."But Cruz questioned whether Obama's vision for a Mars mission is sincere given what he called the administration's "devaluing of space exploration, devaluing of the hard sciences and diverting both funds and manpower to extraneous political agendas."Other conservatives are skeptical about making Mars a priority when the economy is just beginning to recover from a long period of sluggish growth, and federal spending remains a concern.Space.com reported in 2012 that NASA estimated a manned mission to Mars could cost about $100 billion over 30 or 40 years. Those costs would be defrayed, however, if international partners share the burden.Obama told the joint session of Congress Tuesday, "Last month, we launched a new spacecraft as part of a reenergized space program that will send American astronauts to Mars."NASA's new spacecraft, the Orion, made its inaugural mission in December, orbiting Earth twice in the span of 4 hours and 23 minutes. The agency intends to use the program to send astronauts to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.Some on the right dismissed Obama's plans."There must be a macro that you hit on a computer that types out once a year some wild space idea that goes into the State of the Union address," said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)."It strikes at a disconnect from where most Americans are. They don't feel the economy is working for them and Washington is working for them. The president is talking about sending a man to Mars. It's understandable why people are frustrated with Washington after stuff like that," said Dan Holler, the communications director at Heritage Action for America."I was dumbfounded when I heard that," he added.While Cruz might not endear himself with some conservatives by supporting a more ambitious space program, it would be good for Texas, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston."It definitely could have a big impact on Texas, Florida and Alabama. This is a major program. Perhaps the most significant program we've ever done," said Chris Carberry, executive director of Explore Mars Inc., a nonprofit organization advocating for missions to Mars.Cruz acknowledged the potential benefit to Texas in a recent press release, saying, "Our space program marks the frontier of future technologies for defense, communications, transportation and more."Sen. Jeff Sessions (R), a conservative whose home state of Alabama also stands to benefit, defended the Mars proposal."I don't think it's a waste of money," he said. "The United States has led the world in space exploration, and I think we should continue that."NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is based in Huntsville, Ala.Carberry said NASA's budget would need to be boosted over the next decade to accomplish Obama's goal but argued it would not require a major increase in federal spending."It's not as all-encompassing from a budget perspective as going to the moon," he said.Explore Mars Inc. has run workshops with the program's stakeholders to "figure out if it can be done affordably," Carberry said.Sending a man to Mars has been a dream of several presidents, most recently former President George W. Bush. He unveiled a plan in 2004 to return to the moon by 2020, with a longer-term goal of visiting Mars. He proposed spending $12 billion over a five-year span to meet the goal.Obama backed away from the idea when he took office, but after receiving pushback from advocates of space exploration, he relented by proposing in 2010 a manned mission to orbit Mars by the mid-2030s followed by a manned landing on the red planet.Ted Cruz is now the 'Chairman of Space'Joe Latrell - Spaceflight InsiderWith the change of representation in the United States Senate shifting to the Republicans, the leaders of the all important committees that determine the course of the nation – has shifted as well. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) having been the highest ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Competitiveness, has now taken the chairmanship position. Simply put, Senator Cruz is now in charge of the NASA budget – a fact that has drawn discussion due to the Senator's past views and comments.Walter Cunningham a former NASA Astronaut said, "I'm pleased to hear that Senator Cruz will be chairing the important Subcommittee on Science and Space. In our discussions he has always shown a strong interest in furthering the core goals of NASA and Johnson Space Center. He wants NASA to return to the scientific and exploration standards that enabled our country to win the space race."Other persons of note backing Senator Cruz's chairmanship include Bob Harvey, President and CEO, Greater Houston Partnership and Jean Marie Kranz, President, K6 Strategies.When asked by the Houston Chronicle if he supports space activities including private efforts, Senator Cruz responded, "SLS and Orion are critical to our medium- and long-term ability to explore space, whether it is the moon, Mars or beyond. Absolutely I support them. At the same time I am deeply concerned about our inability to reach low earth orbit right now….I am encouraged by the progress of both commercial cargo and commercial crew. But we need a continued focus on the stated exploration objectives with maximum efficiency and expedition."But the Senator's posting is not without its critics. A petition at whitehouse.gov asking for his removal as chairman has already topped 35,000. While a petition of this type will have no legal bearing on Senator Cruz's position on the committee, it does show just how much the public is concerned about NASA's budget. Ted Cruz responded, "…that he supports NASA's contributions to science and discovery, and that they should not fear his appointment to lead the subcommittee that oversees the space agency."Cruz's past comments have not done him any favors. As noted in The Washington Post, Cruz has denied that Climate Change is taking place. As NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) are at the forefront of monitoring the weather – those troubled by environmental issues fear that the Texas Senator might negatively impact efforts to study the impacts of Climate Change.Senator Ted Cruz might be interested in balancing the budget and reducing government waste, his voting record suggests that he does take science seriously. It is also well known that Cruz is a fervent backer of NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS). While the Senator might not increase NASA's budget, given the number of NASA constituents in his district, he is not likely to take funds away from the space agency either. In the end, NASA will know if Cruz's appointment is a positive thing when the first budget changes to NASA under his watch wind their way through the political process.Lockheed Martin exec helps lead Coalition for Space ExplorationLaura Keeney - The Denver PostThe Coalition for Space Exploration has Colorado leadership near its helm for 2015.Matt Kramer, the director of external communications for Littleton-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems, has been appointed deputy chairman of the coalition — a group of aerospace industry partners that promotes space exploration with both the public and politicians."There's a lot of momentum in space exploration with the successful launch of Orion and continued development of NASA's Space Launch System, and a lot of energy and excitement around NASA's focus on the journey to Mars," Kramer said. "Our goal is to make sure that energy and excitement continues."Keeping that momentum going, however, could prove to be a challenge. The Orion project got a huge public popularity boost in December with the success of its Experimental Flight Test-1. But the next Orion mission doesn't launch until 2018, and it will be 2121 at the earliest until a crewed mission heads to space.Kramer admits this extended timeframe presents challenges for maintaining public excitement. However, he says, it's not an unattainable goal as long as things are done to keep people engaged in the process.Kramer will serve a one-year term with 2015 Coalition chairman Kevin Kane, who works as director of congressional relations for ATK.CRS-5: Dextre grabs CATS from the belly of a DragonChris Bergin - NASAspaceflightnow.comCanada's multi-tasking robot, Dextre, successfully removed the CATS (Cloud-Aerosol Transport System) payload from the unpressurised trunk of the CRS-5/SpX-5 Dragon on Thursday morning. The payload was handed over to the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo, marking the first "handover" between the Canadian robot and the JAXA arm.Dextre letting the CATS out of the bag:The latest SpaceX Dragon arrived at the orbital outpost on January 12, following her successful launch atop the Falcon 9 v1.1.Following the berthing the spacecraft to her new home on Node 2, the crew began removing the array of supplies that included 490 kg (1,080 lb) of provisions and equipment for the crew, 717 kg (1,581 lb) of station hardware and 577 kg (1,272 lb) of scientific hardware carried within the pressurized section of the Dragon capsule.However, Dragon has many strings to her bow, with the ability to carry specific payloads within the unpressurised trunk section.For CRS-5, the CATS (Cloud-Aerosol Transport System) payload rode uphill inside the trunk, ahead of being installed in its final destination on the Japanese section of the Station.CATS uses a Lidar instrument, consisting of a laser which is directed at the Earth's surface allowing backscattered light to be analysed.The primary objectives of the mission are to measure the altitude distribution of aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere and to collect data to help improve climate models. It follows on from the CALIPSO satellite, launched in April 2006, which forms part of the A-train constellation.Removing payloads from the Dragon's Trunk is the responsibility of Canada's space robot, the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), better known as Dextre – which arrived aboard Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-123 mission.The robot features two arms, both with shoulder, elbow and wrist joints, although only one arm can be used at any one time.Both arms are terminated with ORU Tool Changeout Mechanisms (OTCMs), which include "jaws" to grasp objects, a retractable socket drive, a camera and light, and an umbilical connector to provide and receive power, data and video to and from a gripped object.The OTCMs also include Force/Moment Sensor (FMS) technology, giving the arms a "sense of touch".Both arms are connected to a central body which features a Power & Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) at one end, which enables the SPDM to be grappled and controlled by the SSRMS, and a Latching End Effector (LEE) at the other end, which enables the SPDM to grapple and attach to other PDGFs on the ISS.Dextre is multi-talented and has already been used in Robotic Refuelling Mission (RRM) tasks.Dextre and the Dragon spacecraft are no strangers to each other, after an initial meeting during the spacecraft's debut mission to the Station, testing out clearances and camera views ahead of the future payload removal role.The first hardware to be removed from Dragon's Trunk came during the CRS-2/SpX-2 mission.However, this only involved the SSRMS, tasked with the removal of two Heat Rejection Subsystem Grapple Fixtures (HRSGFs) – which are essentially bars each featuring two Flight Releasable Grapple Fixtures (FRGFs) – from Dragon's Trunk.These "grapple bars" are used to aid in the handling of a stowed ISS radiator in a potential future replacement scenario, by adding grapple fixtures to the radiator for the Station's arm to interface with.During the CRS-3/SpX-3, the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) package, which comprises of four high-definition cameras, now streaming live video of Earth for online viewing, was removed from the Dragon, alongside the OPALS payload.CRS-4/SpX-4 also delivered a payload in the trunk section, with the ISS-RapidScat payload now attached to the Station's Columbus laboratory.Trunk payload removal tasks are based on a complex series of procedures created by ground teams - as outlined in a Dragon robotics ops document (L2).With the Dragon secure on the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM), the MT (Mobile Transporter) translated along the Station's backbone from Work Site 2 to Work Site 6 to support removing the two sets of research hardware.The SSRMS then released its grip on the Dragon, and collected Dextre from its staging point and translated over to the aft of the Dragon.The spacecraft's Trunk was then surveyed using Dextre's own LEE and Camera Light Pan Tilt Assembly (CLPAs), under the control of MCC-Houston.This task allowed for teams on the ground to assess viewing and lighting conditions, along with clearances, ahead of the cargo extraction tasks.With a GO to proceed, Dextre was carefully eased towards the open aft of the Dragon, with its sights set on removing the CATS package.Taking grip, the payload was eased out of the Trunk and translated over to the JAXA section where the Japanese robotic arm greeted Dextre for a handover.This marked the first time the two robotic assets had been involved in such an operation. It was conducted without issue.By the early hours of Thursday, Dextre had released its grip on CATS, leaving the final installation tasks to the Japanese arm.Meanwhile, Dragon is preparing to depart the ISS on February 10, potentially resulting in a splashdown in the Pacific ocean just two days after the next SpaceX launch.Another Falcon 9 v1.1 is currently scheduled to loft the DSCOVR spacecraft from Cape Canaveral's SLC-40 on February 8, with the core stage from that launch set to conduct a second attempt at successfully landing on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS) in the Atlantic ocean.The launch date for the DSCOVR mission is – as always – at the mercy of a smooth processing flow, a successful static fire test (currently targeting January 31, per L2) and the approval of the Launch Readiness Review (LRR), prior to it being officially set.NASA's Ultimate Space Twin Experiment Ready for LaunchIrene Klotz - Discovery.comAre identical twins still identical after one spends a year in space?The question is not theoretical, as NASA prepares to return astronaut Scott Kelly to the International Space Station, this time for an unprecedented one-year stay, while his identical twin brother Mark, a former astronaut who flew four times on the space shuttle, serves as a test subject on the ground.Scientists are curious if the 50-year-old twins, who share nearly identical DNA, will end up with detectable genetic differences after one spends a year in the highly radioactive and weightless environment of space."Everybody is pretty much born with a set of genes that they don't have on the day they die. Your genes mutate for a number of different reasons, also because of the environment," Mark Kelly told Discovery News."The environment that Scott is going in is pretty unforgiving, a lot of radiation, no gravity and lots of opportunities for genetic material to change and for genes to mutate," Kelly said.So far, the longest single U.S. space mission lasted 215 days. Russia has four longer-duration fliers, including Valery Polyakov, who spent a record 438 days aboard the now-defunct Mir space station.In March, Scott Kelly, along with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, are due to begin a year-long stay aboard the space station, twice as long as current crewmembers' assignments. Unlike Mir, the space station is outfitted with very sophisticated medical equipment.Doctors will be sequencing the genes of both Kelly brothers, then looking for different markers."Onboard the space station, it just looks like blood sampling but what you do when you get those samples home is brand new. We've never had data like that before," said station chief scientist Julie Robinson.Ex-astronaut takes on educational role at IntrepidMichael Massimino hopes to inspire the next generation of space travelers.Theresa Agovino - Crain's New York BusinessMichael Massimino can finally smile at a certain handrail now displayed behind Plexiglas. In 2009, when he was floating 350 miles above Earth trying to fix the Hubble Space Telescope, the 19 inches of aluminum refused to budge, blocking a panel and jeopardizing a repair project."I could see what the textbooks would say: 'We would know the age of the universe but we don't because Gabby and Daniel's dad broke the Hubble telescope,' " said Mr. Massimino, 52, the new senior adviser for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. "You don't want to be the one who screws up fixing the most important piece of scientific equipment ever." He used tape as part of the solution. "Who knew we had tape in an outside toolbox on the shuttle?" he said.Mr. Massimino, who has a Columbia undergraduate degree and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology doctorate, co-curated Hubble@25, an exhibit exploring the telescope's history and discoveries.He and his crew have held discussions at the Intrepid, where there's video of him training underwater for space walks. He wants to inspire young people to study math and science."Kids think it's fun when they see me monkeying around in the water," said Mr. Massimino, who teaches engineering at Columbia. "But you can't be an astronaut without math and science."Mr. Massimino was mesmerized watching Neil Armstrong on the moon. He was so enthralled with the idea of becoming an astronaut that his older brother bought him a Snoopy doll dressed up as one—a toy that traveled in space with its owner.Mr. Massimino was thrice rejected before NASA accepted him. He retired last summer after 18 years."It's hard to give up your childhood dream job," he said. "But there was more I wanted to do."10 Things To Watch In The 2016 Budget RequestAmy Butler - Aviation Week & Space TechnologySix years into his presidency, President Barack Obama is planning to finally submit his budget request to Congress on time—meaning the week of Feb. 2 this year. In it, he will deliver what is likely to be his last meaningful budget push, as the president's final budget request is made during a lame duck year. Defense officials are hoping that sequestration—mandatory deep cuts dictated by Congress—are behind them. But it is still technically the law of the land. The Pentagon intends to submit its budget with the assumption that sequestration will not take effect in fiscal 2016 and beyond. Should it remain in effect, several programs will suffer in a major way.
Against that backdrop, I have assembled a list of 10 programs I plan on watching closely on budget day and beyond—as Congress reviews the request (which could take a while, considering Congress has not typically done so in a timely manner).
Consider these a guide. Not all major programs are included here. For example, I did not include F-35 development and procurement in the list because it is highly unlikely that the Pentagon will reverse its plans for the single-engine fighter.
Please feel free to write in the comments sections other programs worth watching as the fiscal 2016 budget, likely to be over $500 billion, rolls out in the coming weeks. I ranked this in order of budgetary and strategic importance, but each of these issues is significant in its own right.(Note: Most of the links to stories below require a subscription.)
New Rocket Engine: Amid a political fracas after Russia annexed Crimea last year, U.S. policymakers have grown weary of continued reliance on NPO Energomash, a Russian company, for supply of its RD-180s. These power the popular and efficient Atlas V, built by United Launch Alliance (ULA). Last year, the Air Force said a new engine for the Atlas V—or a new engine for a new rocket—would cost at least $1 billion. The forthcoming budget is likely to provide clues on the acquisition strategy to develop and buy this engine.
Launches up for Grabs: With ULA having won 28 missions (36 engine cores' worth of work) over five years, it will be interesting to see how the launch manifest shakes out in the forthcoming budget plan. Launch upstart Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is expected to be certified to compete with ULA for national security launches by June, and SpaceX is eager to begin earning work for the Pentagon and intelligence communities. The Air Force also is under pressure to open up some launch missions for competition, as SpaceX's lawsuit, alleging ULA's five-year deal was unfairly awarded, remains unresolved.Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (Uclass) Aircraft: The Navy's decision on whether to move ahead with Uclass will be a strategic bellwether for the service's ambitions in unmanned aircraft technology. The Navy has long sought a marriage of unmanned aircraft and the persistence and flexibility offered by aircraft carriers. Through Uclass, the Navy hopes to field a small number of unmanned intelligence-collecting aircraft on the carrier; eventually they would operate alongside F/A-18EFs and F-35Cs. Questions of whether to prioritize stealth over payload have plagued Uclass with delays. But, in the current fiscal environment, Pentagon officials are now wrestling not with how to proceed but whether to do so. Should the program move forward, bids are expected from Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics and Boeing.
Redesigned Kill Vehicle: Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. James Syring is planning to reveal the Pentagon's strategy to develop and procure a more reliable kill vehicle for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system in the fiscal 2016 budget rollout. At issue is a tattered record for today's Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV), designed and built by Raytheon. EKV was crafted as a prototype and rushed into service in response to aggression from Pyongyang. Now, however, Pentagon officials have grown increasingly concerned that the kill vehicle is the weak point in an intricate kill chain for missile defense. Syring says he is looking at conducting a competition or forming a national team. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are most interested in offering bids.
Air Force One Replacement: Because buying an aircraft suitable for the U.S. president and his specialized role as commander-in-chief is so expensive, Air Force One programs are typically launched at the end of a two-term presidency. Then, the president faces no political ramifications for starting a costly executive-lift program and can hand a healthy program off to his successor. In the case of a replacement for two VC-25As based on the 484-200B in service today, the Pentagon is likely to select the 747-8 as a successor platform. What is uncertain is the amount of work the Pentagon will compete. Will the Air Force manage the integration or kick it over to industry?Sequestration Kills and Retirements: Remember that the Pentagon issued two budgets last year—one with sequestration and one without. The latter included possible cuts of such programs as a next-generation fighter engine, 24 fewer F-35s and a reduction in UH-72A Lakota purchases. And the "baseline" budget included retirements of the A-10 and B-1. Under sequestration, the Air Force was eyeing an earlier-than-planned retirement of the KC-10 refueler fleet. While some proposals—such as the A-10 retirement—landed with a thud on Capitol Hill, these are not off the table. The Pentagon has long argued that being forced to maintain excess force structure—hardware and facilities—siphons valuable money away from development and procurement programs.
U-2 vs. Global Hawk: The Pentagon is willing to pay for three more years of Lockheed Martin U-2 operations and invest about $150 million in upgrading the fleet of high-flying reconnaissance aircraft, a reversal of its earlier position to mothball the "Dragon Lady" in favor of an all-Northrop Grumman Global Hawk fleet. Pentagon leadership has been back and forth on this subject for years—raiding the accounts of one to benefit the other. It will be interesting to see if this is the only major shift in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance funding in the 2016 budget. Also up for a decision is whether the Air Force needs to buy a full 65 combat air patrol's worth of Reapers or truncate the buy, in light of the drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan and the struggle to train enough personnel to operate the UAVs it already uses.F-35 Maintainers: F-35 Program Executive Officer USAF Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan has said that the toughest challenge to meeting the Air Force's requirement to declare initial operational capability (IOC) for the Lockheed Martin F-35A by the end of 2016 is a shortage of maintainers for the first squadron. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, however, is not budging from that date. Last week, he doubled down, noting that a mitigation plan can be implemented for the IOC date; it is likely to become more clear with the budget release next month.
Fighter Strategy: Funding has begun to trickle and rhetoric has ramped up as the Pentagon considers a next generation of fighters that would eventually replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 and Boeing F/A-18E/F. It remains to be seen whether the Pentagon will force the Navy and Air Force to collaborate, though both are balking at the notion, citing as a rationale the quagmire that F-35 has been. Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall says he's concerned that budget pressure in Washington will erode the U.S. technical advantage. So it stands to reason the services will roll out a plan for the way ahead as Obama prepares to leave office in two years. Also the 2016 budget will reveal just how soon Boeing will have to shut down its F/A-18 and EA-18G production line in St. Louis, leaving Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth facility as the only major fighter line in the U.S.Next-Gen Satellites: For years, the Pentagon has been studying options for follow-on programs to the costly Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) satellites built by Lockheed Martin. These satellites, especially AEHF, could be pioneers for the Pentagon's hopes to "disaggregate" future constellations. The notion is to separate the tactical high-frequency comms mission from the strategic, nuclear-hardened comm mission in an effort to make the constellation more difficult to compromise in the event of an attack. The service is also examining whether it is feasible for the next-generation early missile-warning satellites to take advantage of advanced focal plane arrays for a simpler, less expensive satellite design. Another decision is whether the Pentagon will leap ahead to a new weather satellite program or launch the 20th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft. Several contractors, including Orbital Sciences Corp., Ball Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman area awaiting a weather satellite strategy.FAA Aims To Make Tag-along Payloads a Lighter Burden for Launch ProvidersDan Leone – Space NewsThe FAA office that licenses U.S. commercial space launches is set to eliminate a paperwork obstacle SpaceX had to negotiate in order to tote a couple dozen tag-along student experiments on a 2012 cargo run to the International Space Station.Among the cargo to be loaded into SpaceX's Dragon capsule for that supply run were NanoRacks standardized pallets – essentially powered boxes that slot into empty racks on station — hosting student-designed experiments NASA put on the flight as part of its Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.The experiments included spiders, infectious bacteria and mutated nematodes, but the nastiest thing bundled up with the NanoRacks hardware, for SpaceX, anyway, turned out to be a provision in U.S. launch liability law that required the company to collect signed liability cross-waivers from anybody who owned a payload on the flight.There were 23 student experiments on the flight, representing the efforts of more than 100 U.S. elementary, middle, and high school students. That put SpaceX on the hook for at least one signed cross-waiver per experiment, and possibly more, depending on whether the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation chose to count each participating student as a payload owner, as the current law allows.For the October 2012 resupply flight, SpaceX was able to avoid collecting student signatures by requesting a partial waiver, which public records show the FAA granted. Since then, NASA's other commercial cargo hauler, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Virginia, has also availed itself of the waiver-to-the-waiver option, according to FAA records.However, U.S. launch providers asked for a permanent fix, which they now appear poised to receive. On Jan. 13, FAA proposed changing the cross-waiver rule so that commercial launch providers would require signed liability waivers only from their direct customers."Issuing a waiver is costly and time-consuming to the FAA, while requesting a waiver is costly and time-consuming for industry," FAA wrote in its notice of proposed rule making. "These changes would result in cost savings to the licensee, government and customers and minimal cost to any customer in a direct contractual relationship with the licensee."If FAA's proposed changes were in effect for the Dragon's October 2012 supply run, SpaceX would have needed a cross-waiver from NASA — the company's primary customer for the mission — but NASA would have been responsible for getting waivers from NanoRacks and the students.Neither NanoRacks spokeswoman Abby Dickes nor NASA spokesman Joshua Buck had any comment about the proposed rule change.On the other hand, SpaceX would still have had to get a waiver from another passenger on the Falcon 9 rocket that launched the NASA mission: Orbcomm of Fort Lee, New Jersey. SpaceX sold Orbcomm a slot on the rocket for the experimental OG2 machine-to-machine messaging satellite, so SpaceX would be responsible under both the current and proposed rule for collecting Orbcomm's cross-waiver, according to FAA.Before FAA's proposed rule can become a final rule, the agency must wait out a 60-day public comment period that closes March 13. Afterward, if FAA still believes the proposal would benefit the government and those it regulates, the agency may finalize the rule. Final rules typically go into effect 30 days after they are published in the federal register.In a Jan. 12 email, Mike Gold, chairman of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee chartered by FAA to provide industry advice about commercial space policies, said the proposed rule change "is one small step for cross-waivers, one giant leap for commonsense."NASA Space Technology Chief Leaving for Ball AerospaceBrian Berger – Space NewsNASA space technology chief Michael Gazarik is moving to Boulder, Colorado, to lead technology development efforts at spacecraft builder Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.Gazarik, an electrical engineer who has spent the past 11 years at NASA including the past two years as associate administrator for space technology, is slated to begin as director of Ball's Office of Technology effective March 2."Mike is extraordinarily respected in the technology community and Ball feels fortunate to have landed someone with his background and knowledge," Ball Aerospace President Robert Strain, who spent four years as director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center before joining Ball in 2012, said in a statement announcing Gazarik's hiring. "For nearly 60 years, Ball has been known as a leader for technical innovation and we anticipate Mike's expertise will add to that legacy."Here's Ball's full press release on the company's newest NASA hire:Ball Aerospace Names Michael Gazarik as Technology DirectorBOULDER, Colo., Jan. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has hired Michael Gazarik as Director for its Office of Technology on the Boulder campus effective March 2.Dr. Gazarik will lead the alignment of Ball's technology development resources with business development and growth strategies."Mike is extraordinarily respected in the technology community and Ball feels fortunate to have landed someone with his background and knowledge," said Ball Aerospace President, Robert Strain. "For nearly 60 years, Ball has been known as a leader for technical innovation and we anticipate Mike's expertise will add to that legacy."Gazarik joins Ball following an 11-year career with NASA. He has over 25 years' experience in the design, development, and deployment of spaceflight systems. He has contributed to the development of technology with application to NASA's exploration, space operations and science missions. His most recent role has been the Associate Administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters where he led NASA's rapid development and incorporation of transformative technologies that enable the Agency's missions, and address the Nation's aerospace community's most difficult challenges.While at NASA, Gazarik supported Ball's Green Propellant Infusion Mission, a non-toxic propellant technology demonstration scheduled to launch in 2016, because it has the potential to revolutionize how we travel to, from and in space.Earlier in his career, Gazarik served as deputy director for programs at NASA's Langley Research Center in the Engineering Directorate. Prior to joining NASA, Gazarik served as project manager for the Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory. He also led the development of the Airborne Sounder Testbed-Interferometer, an instrument that helps scientists understand temperature and water vapor profiles of the Earth's atmosphere. Gazarik also worked in the private sector on software and firmware development for commercial and government applications including telecommunications and signal processing.Gazarik earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987. He earned an M.S. in 1989 and a Ph.D. in 1997, both in electrical engineering, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Gazarik has received numerous awards, including NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal and a Silver Snoopy Award, one of NASA's highest honors.Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions for national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. For more information, visit http://www.ballaerospace.com/.Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, food and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2013 sales of $8.5 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.Linking NASA and the private sector to further space explorationPartnership for Public Service - Washington PostFollowing the termination of the space shuttle program in 2011, NASA needed a new, safe and reliable method of transporting experiments, supplies and crew to and from the International Space Station.To answer that challenge, Alan Lindenmoyer created a new way for NASA to partner with the private sector to build rockets and spacecraft at a dramatically reduced cost to taxpayers. In the process, he has reenergized the U.S. launch industry and is making it possible for our country to continue to lead the world in space research and exploration.Tapping into his broad NASA experience in both technical engineering and contract management for the International Space Station, Lindenmoyer designed and managed a novel program that allows NASA to contract for orbital transportation services rather than purchase the space vehicles.Under this program, private flights have transported science experiments and supplies to the International Space Station numerous times since 2012, and will transport American astronauts to and from the space station by 2017."This really is a dance between the government and private companies, but there was no music written for this dance," said Paul Wilde, a technical advisor with the Federal Aviation Administration. "It's a completely new way of doing business. Alan took it from vision to reality."In the mid-2000s, NASA decided to purchase space cargo services from private companies to reduce costs rather than have the government own and operate the spacecraft. But the plan included no template or policies on how to partner with industry.It began with NASA starting up the Commercial Cargo and Crew Program Office and Lindenmoyer becoming the manager and the "brain trust," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "He was pivotal because until he got the job no one had done it and we really didn't know how to do it."Lindenmoyer activated Space Act Agreements transaction authority the agency possessed, but had never used in this way. NASA used these agreements to stimulate the commercial space industry to develop and demonstrate space transportation capabilities, a chief NASA goal for the crew and cargo program.It worked. Two companies—SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation—spent substantial amounts of their own money to design, build, test and operate vehicles. They now are free to market their space flight services to public or private organizations and individuals."What Alan did in pioneering that partnership and a whole new way for NASA to do business with commercial space was really top-notch," said Wilde.At first, the idea of using private rockets and spaceships was a contentious one: People both within and outside the agency were adamant that only NASA or its international government partners could provide flights to the space station. But Lindenmoyer persevered."The key thing is that Alan had the vision and the persistence to push a program through in the face of frequent opposition," Bolden said. "He was a visionary—a pioneer—and on something that nobody wanted and now everyone loves.""Alan has made a huge difference in enhancing the economic well-being of the nation," Bolden said.Lindenmoyer gathered a team of 10 people and within four months issued requests for proposals. NASA had $500 million to invest in the companies' endeavors—far less than the typical billions spent on new vehicles, but meaningful nonetheless as seed money. Lindenmoyer reserved $15 million for running the program and providing technical expertise.His resourcefulness included hiring a venture capitalist to help evaluate business plans. To make the deals enticing both for industry and NASA, the agreements allowed the companies to keep the intellectual property for their designs and vehicles, and made it difficult for NASA to cancel. The agency could terminate the agreements only if companies didn't perform, the agency didn't get the necessary appropriations or there was mutual agreement to do so.Once agreements were signed, Lindenmoyer established a series of payment milestones that occurred every three months. NASA was not paying development costs, but rather for successful performance of work completed. If the companies failed to meet the milestones, they were not paid and faced the possibility of termination.NASA's decision to allow companies to fly their vehicles to the space station on demonstration flights and be captured by its robotic arm presented an "extremely difficult challenge," Lindenmoyer said."A lot of people in NASA didn't want these companies coming anywhere near the $100 billion space station with its international astronauts," Lindenmoyer said.The success of the cargo program bodes well for the commercial crew program, which Lindenmoyer launched but then transitioned to another NASA center. In September, NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX and Boeing to build a U.S. manned spacecraft that will ferry astronauts to the space station and end dependence on the Russians for this service.According to Wilde, the U.S. would prefer not to pay Russia $70 million to fly each American astronaut to the space station. "I want American dollars to go to American companies for space transport," Wilde said.This article was jointly prepared by the Partnership for Public Service, a group seeking to enhance the performance of the federal government, and washingtonpost.com. Go to the Fed Page of The Washington Post to read about other federal workers who are making a difference. To recommend a Federal Player of the Week, contact us at fedplayers@ourpublicservice.orgRosetta Finds Out Much About a Comet, Even With a Wayward LanderKenneth Chang – New York TimesPhotographs and data from the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft have provided an unprecedented close-up examination of a comet, but there is one thing that has not shown up yet: the small lander that bounded to the surface in November.Scientists working on the mission described their initial observations of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in seven articles published Thursday in the journal Science. "This sets the baseline for the rest of the mission," said Matt Taylor, the project scientist.Rosetta arrived at the comet in August after a trip of 10 years and four billion miles. For the first time, scientists are having an extended look at a comet as the spacecraft accompanies it for at least a year as it swings around the sun. As the comet heats up, it will spew greater amounts of gas and dust.In November, a washing-machine-size lander named Philae made it to the surface, but systems designed to anchor it failed, and the lander bounced, ending far from the intended site in a position that greatly reduced the amount of sunlight hitting its solar panels. Instruments on the lander operated for two days until the batteries drained.In mid-December, the orbiter's high-resolution camera took pictures of the spot where the scientists think the lander ended up, but the scientists were not able to find it — a few pixels in a four-million-pixel image.Holger Sierks, the principal investigator for Rosetta's main camera, said that Philae, which photographed its surroundings and performed various measurements after landing, was still expected to awake in the spring when increasing sunlight recharged the batteries. Even if Philae does not wake up, Rosetta should be able to spot it after the comet has made its closest approach to the sun, in August.The high-resolution camera has taken photographs with a resolution as fine as two and a half feet per pixel. The comet, just two and a half miles wide with a two-lobe shape that resembles a rubber duck toy, has a remarkably wide variety of terrain. That includes smooth dust-covered regions, fields of boulders, steep cliffs and large depressions that may have been blown out by underground melting of carbon dioxide. The variety is surprising because many think the comet is, by and large, made of the same material throughout. Scientists are not sure if the shape comes from two smaller comets that bumped and stuck together or one large comet that eroded in an unusual manner.On the surface of Comet 67P, there are even what look like ripples of sand dunes like those seen on Earth and Mars. That appears befuddling, as a comet has no atmosphere — and so no wind — and only a wisp of gravity."You have to ask yourself, is that possible?" said Nicolas Thomas, a professor of experimental physics at the University of Bern in Switzerland and lead author of one of the papers. Dr. Thomas said that back-of-the-envelope calculations indicated that it might be plausible, with the jets of gas acting as wind and the particles held together through intermolecular attraction known as the van der Waals force instead of gravity. "You can convince yourself you can make them move," Dr. Thomas said. "It's plausible, at least at the moment."The scientists split the surface into 19 regions based on terrain, naming them after Egyptian gods. Rosetta is named after an inscribed rock, found in Egypt, that proved crucial in deciphering ancient hieroglyphics.In another region, along the comet's "neck," is a cliff about 3,000 feet high with fractures hundreds of feet long. The scientists cannot agree on what they are seeing, whether the lines reflect layering in the material making up the comet or cracks caused by the heating and cooling of the material as it passes in and out of sunshine.In the smooth regions, there are circular structures. "Which look very, very bizarre," Dr. Thomas said. "To be frank, we don't know how those things were created. We have no clue."There is also a long crack, about a yard wide and several hundred yards long, that runs around the neck. Dr. Thomas said it was unclear whether the comet was about to snap in two.The jets of gas currently emanate from the neck area, a region named Hapi. That, too, seems counterintuitive because the neck is often in shade and cooler. But Dr. Sierks said the area was still warm enough and gravity was weaker there, allowing particles to escape more easily.The scientists previously described some of the most significant findings reported in the Science papers — that the water on the comet does not resemble that found on Earth, probably ruling out comets as the source of the Earth's oceans, and that a diverse stew of molecules streaming off the surface includes those found in the odors of rotten eggs and urine.Moon Express To Take Over Cape Canaveral Launch SiteJeff Foust – Space NewsMoon Express, a California company competing for the Google Lunar X Prize, announced Jan. 22 that it has signed an agreement to use a former launch site at Cape Canaveral for building and testing its lunar lander spacecraft.Moon Express said it has signed an agreement with Space Florida, the state space development agency, to use Space Launch Complex 36 (SLC-36) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although the company said it would make an initial capital investment there of as much as $500,000.The U.S. Air Force used SLC-36 for launches of Atlas rockets from 1962 until 2005. Most of the structures at the site, including the launch towers used by the Atlas vehicles, were demolished after the Air Force decommissioned the facility. The Air Force transferred the site to Space Florida in 2010.Moon Express plans to use the site as a hardware development and testing facility for its MX series of lunar landers. "It will be a complete vehicle fabrication, integration, assembly, and testing site," Moon Express Chief Executive Bob Richards said in a Jan. 22 interview.The company started performing tethered test flights last year of a prototype lander, MTV-1X, at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. Richards said Moon Express will move those flights to SLC-36 as soon as March, when the company expects to start free flights of the lander.Moon Express said in its announcement that its SLC-36 facility will create 25 to 50 jobs. The company will retain its current offices at the NASA Research Park on the campus of the Ames Research Center in California, which Richards said will be used for vehicle software development and related work.Moon Express is one of 18 teams competing for the Google Lunar X Prize, which offers a $20-million grand prize to the first team to land a spacecraft on the surface of the moon and travel at least 500 meters across its surface while transmitting high-definition video. In December, the X Prize Foundation, which runs the competition, extended the deadline for winning the prize by one year to the end of 2016.The company, though, is one of several teams in the running for interim "milestone prizes" for the successful development of landing, imaging and mobility systems. Moon Express is a finalist for prizes in all three systems, which will be announced at a ceremony in San Francisco Jan. 26.Richards said he was confident the company would win all three prizes, with a combined value of $1.75 million, based on the specific requirements it set with the prize judges. "In our minds, we've more than achieved these goals," he said.The company is on track to fly before the prize expires, Richards said, and expects to announce a contract in the coming months for the launch of its MX-1 lander as a secondary payload. "We're on the hunt for a launch," he said.At 11-Year Mark, Opportunity Rover Shows Mars' True ColorsAlan Boyle - NBC NewsIn the movie "Spinal Tap," rockers try to push their music over the cliff by dialing their amplifiers up to 11. This week, NASA is amping up interest in the Opportunity rover's 11-year mission on Mars by releasing a full-color clifftop panorama. On a 1-to-10 scale, it's an 11.Opportunity hit the Martian surface on the night of Jan. 24-25, 2004, for what was expected to be a 90-day mission. The solar-powered, six-wheeled robot and its twin, the Spirit rover, exceeded those expectations with a vengeance. Spirit didn't give up the ghost until 2010 — and Opportunity is still in operation today with almost 26 miles (42 kilometers) on its odometer.The pictures for the panorama released Thursday were acquired this month at Cape Tribulation, a raised section of the rim of Endeavour Crater in Mars' Meridiani Planum region. The depths of the crater yawn in front of Opportunity, and the rover's robotic arm was positioned so that an American flag is visible at the bottom of the scene.Black-and-white and colorized panoramas were previously created using other imagery from the same spot. On Thursday, NASA furnished the true-color view, plus a false-color version and a 3-D panorama.Since these pictures were collected, Opportunity has left the summit and is heading toward its next destination, Marathon Valley. "It's all downhill (about 70 meters down in elevation) from here," wrote Larry Crumpler, a researcher from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science who's part of the rover science team.Marathon Valley is a spot where water-related minerals have been detected from orbit. Opportunity's close-up observations could add to the insights that the mission has already provided about the warmer, wetter Mars that is thought to have existed billions of years ago.The spot will mark another milestone for a machine that has racked up more mileage than any other off-world rover: By the time Opportunity reaches Marathon Valley, it will have driven the equivalent of a marathon (26.2 miles, or 42.2 kilometers).ENDMore at www.spacetoday.net
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