What a beautiful day in the Houston Metro area. Big news from the Center is that Jeff Hanley is retiring effective February 28 and going to work for Aerospace Corporation in the Clearlake area – it was announced at JSC Senior staff meeting on Monday. Congratulations to him.
NASA and Human Spaceflight News
Wednesday – Feb. 11, 2015
HEADLINES AND LEADS
House Passes 2015 NASA Authorization Bill
Just one day after it was officially introduced, and with no committee action, the House today passed the 2015 NASA Authorization Act, H.R. 810.
Lockheed official: Orion performed flawlessly
James Dean – Florida Today
NASA's Orion exploration capsule experienced few problems during its recent first test flight and generated considerable public enthusiasm, logging five billion social media mentions and landing on the front pages of 36 newspapers, according to lead contractor Lockheed Martin.
Mars is the Next Step for Humanity — We Must Take It
Ashley Dove-Jay, University of Bristol - Space.com This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Elon Musk has built a US$12 billion company in an endeavour to pave the way to Mars for humanity. He insists that Mars is a "long-term insurance policy" for "the light of consciousness" in the face of climate change, extinction events, and our recklessness with technology.
Earth Pelted by More than 600 Large Debris Items in 2014, NASA Reports
Peter B. de Selding – Space News
More than 600 dead satellites, spent rocket stages and other debris re-entered Earth's atmosphere in 2014 — more than 100,000 kilograms of mass that caused no reported casualties or sizable property damage, NASA has told a United Nations conference.
Commercial Dragon supply ship returns to Earth
SpaceX's Dragon supply ship wrapped up a 29-day stay at the International Space Station on Tuesday, departing the complex with nearly 3,700 pounds of research specimens, a balky spacesuit and experimental 3D printed parts before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
High upper level winds push SpaceX DSCOVR launch to Feb. 11
Bill Jelen – Spaceflight Insider
The second launch attempt of DSCOVR was scrubbed at approximately 13 minutes prior to the scheduled liftoff time of 6:05 p.m. EST (2305 GMT) today due to violation of liftoff weather conditions. DSCOVR is a satellite designed to measure incoming solar weather. However, it was Earth-bound weather that caused the scrub. The third launch attempt is now scheduled for no-earlier-than (NET) Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015 at 6:03 p.m. EST (2303 GMT).
Dark matter seen in the Milky Way's core
Tim Wogan – Physics World
An international team of astronomers has found the best evidence yet that the inner core of the Milky Way contains significant quantities of dark matter. The result confirms the long-standing belief that the centre of the Milky Way is rich in dark matter, just like its outer regions. While the researchers have deliberately avoided using any specific models of dark matter in their analysis, they are confident that further studies of the galactic core could help identify which models are most viable.
Russian Space Agency Scientific, Technical Council Head Selected
Ivan Cheberko - Izvestiya Online
Space Agency head Igor Komarov has proposed his candidate for a key position in Roskosmos's [Federal Space Agency's] main coordinating body.
COMPLETE STORIES
House Passes 2015 NASA Authorization Bill
Just one day after it was officially introduced, and with no committee action, the House today passed the 2015 NASA Authorization Act, H.R. 810.
The bill is virtually identical to the 2014 NASA Authorization Act passed by the House last year by a vote of 401-2. There was no recorded vote today; it passed by voice vote. The bill was brought up under a procedure called "suspension of the rules" where two-thirds of the House must vote in favor. If only a voice vote is required, it is two-thirds of however many members are present at the time.
Republicans and Democrats each had 20 minutes to speak on the bill and all who did praised the bipartisanship that allowed the bill to be brought to a vote so quickly. The sponsors avoided tricky budget issues by authorizing funds only for the fiscal year that is already underway (FY2015) at the same levels that already were appropriated.
Common themes were that NASA needs "constancy of purpose" and the bill provides that and will keep the United States as the world's leader in space exploration.
The next step for this bill is passage by the Senate, which has not announced its plans. The Senate never took up the bill that passed the House last year (H.R. 4412).
Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), the ranking member of the Space Subcommittee of the House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T), stressed that once this bill is enacted, work will begin on a multi-year authorization bill.
The bipartisan leadership of the House SS&T Committee and its Space Subcommittee announced agreement on the bill on Friday. They skipped over holding hearings and markups, presumably since the bill is so similar to last year's version. The committee's summary of the bill described these key features:
- states that a human mission to Mars is the goal for NASA's human spaceflight program and calls on NASA to develop a roadmap to achieve that goal
- continues the commitment to the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion, and reiterates the directive in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act that Orion serve as a backup to commercial crew if necessary
- supports building "at least one" commercial crew system
- relies on guidance from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) regarding NASA's earth and space science programs and asks for additional NAS studies on long-term goals of the Mars robotic program and an exoplanets strategy
- emphasizes the need for a "steady cadence" of science missions, including a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa for launch by 2021
- stresses the importance of fulfilling previous congressional direction regarding detecting, tracking, cataloging and characterizing Near Earth Objects 140 meters in diameter or more
- asserts that if earth science responsibilities are transferred to NASA from other agencies that NASA be reimbursed for that cost
- maintains funding to support launch of the James Webb Space Telescope by 2018
- authorizes a robust program including efforts to integrate unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace, development of NextGen technology for air traffic management and research on aviation safety
- directs NASA to develop a plan to better position the agency to have facilities and infrastructure necessary to meet future requirements
- provides transparency provisions to ensure NASA's property and facilities are managed appropriately
- requires that NASA's educational and outreach activities continue to support STEM curriculum and inspire the next generation of explorers
Lockheed official: Orion performed flawlessly
James Dean – Florida Today
NASA's Orion exploration capsule experienced few problems during its recent first test flight and generated considerable public enthusiasm, logging five billion social media mentions and landing on the front pages of 36 newspapers, according to lead contractor Lockheed Martin.
So what's next?
"Trust me, a lot of people — Congress, contractors, NASA, everyone — are trying to figure out, how do we leverage this tremendous success and move forward as quickly as we can?" said Larry Price, Lockheed's deputy Orion program manager. "I don't know what the answer to that is yet, but there are a lot of people working on it really hard."
Price on Tuesday provided an overview of Orion's Dec. 5 flight to a crowd of several hundred at the National Space Club Florida Committee's monthly luncheon presentation at the Radisson Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral.
After all the positive vibes the $375 million Exploration Flight Test-1 mission generated, the program is challenged to sustain that momentum. A second unmanned test flight is not likely to happen until late 2018 at best, and a first flight with a crew not until at least 2021 or 2022.
That's when NASA hopes to have completed the new Space Launch System rocket and a launch pad and other ground systems needed to launch it from Kennedy Space Center.
"We will do this as quickly as we can," said Price.
By this summer NASA plans to commit to a schedule and budget for getting Orion ready to fly a crew. But the rocket and ground systems don't expect to be ready before late 2018.
Orion this year will cross the $10 billion threshold in spending, dating back to its origins under the Constellation program, which was canceled in 2011. Orion receives about $1 billion annually.
Its early missions are expected to send astronauts to orbits near the moon, possibly to an asteroid or piece of an asteroid that has been robotically retrieved and positioned in that area. Until a habitation module is developed, Orion missions will be limited to three weeks in duration.
"Our primary responsibility is bringing back the precious astronauts safely," said Price.
The December test flight launched from Cape Canaveral on United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy rocket. Orion flew two orbits, climbing to a peak altitude of 3,600 miles before a 20,000 mph re-entry — 84 percent as fast as a lunar return — and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
The flight tested 17 "separation events" including Orion's separation from the rocket, and Orion's flight computers, heat shield and parachutes.
Price said Orion's heat shield performed "flawlessly" despite some early concerns about the potential for cracks to form.
Still, the program will change how heat shields are manufactured to improve efficiency and reduce its weight.
Lockheed delivered reams of data to NASA collected from some 1,200 sensors during Orion's flight.
"So now the engineers, as you can imagine, are just loving this, poring through all of this data, 1,200 channels of data, to improve the design for the next vehicle," said Price.
He said the flight helped validate Orion's early design and computer modeling of its performance.
The next Orion mission, launched by the SLS rocket, will include a functioning service module provided by the European Space Agency.
That agreement makes NASA's deep space exploration program an international collaboration, but also adds critical components with schedules NASA and Lockheed don't control.
For now, teams are still savoring the first mission, which provided camera views of Earth's curvature from 15 times higher than the International Space Station.
"It's been a tremendous mission and a tremendous amount of fun," said Price.
Mark Nappi, the space club's vice chairman, thanked Price for leading the mission NASA described as the nation's first step toward human exploration of Mars, possibly in the 2030s.
"It not only made the public aware of what's going on with our space program, but also it reinvigorated our employees," said Nappi. "We're really looking forward and we can't wait for what's next."
Mars is the Next Step for Humanity — We Must Take It
Ashley Dove-Jay, University of Bristol - Space.com This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Elon Musk has built a US$12 billion company in an endeavour to pave the way to Mars for humanity. He insists that Mars is a "long-term insurance policy" for "the light of consciousness" in the face of climate change, extinction events, and our recklessness with technology.
On the other hand, astronaut Chris Hadfield is sceptical: "Humanity is not going extinct," he told me. He added:
There's no great compelling reason to go, apart from curiosity, and that's not going to be enough to sustain the immense cost necessary with the technology that exists right now.
But I question our future, stuck here on Earth. Our environment is a highly balanced system and we are the destabilising element. Pursuing "green" initiatives is no long-term solution to the wall we're hurtling towards, they're speed bumps. If this is where humankind is destined to remain, then we shall find ourselves fighting over whatever is left of it.
Politically speaking, sending humans into space brings nations together – the International Space Station stood as the physical manifestation of the reunification of the USA and Russia and is now a platform for broader international co-operation.
Space exploration is also inspiring: during NASA's Apollo programme to the Moon, the number of graduates in mathematics, engineering and the sciences in the US doubled. Igniting the imagination of that generation helped propel the US into the dominant position it's held since the 1960s. What could a Mars programme do?
The Moon is not a stepping stone
Wouldn't the Moon, so much nearer than Mars, be a better first step? Actually, no – it's just too different. It's better to test hardware and train people in analogs on Earth, such as the geologically similar high-altitude desert in Utah or the cold and dry Canadian Arctic desert. Why the European Space Agency has declared the Moon a stepping-stone to Mars is beyond me, as doing so increases the cost of a Mars programme hugely.
It takes about 50% more energy to put something on the surface of the Moon than it does on Mars. The Martian atmosphere can be used to slow down approaching spacecraft, instead of the need for extra fuel to slow the descent. It would also mean developing two different sets of landing techniques and hardware. There are reasons to go to the Moon, just not if your ultimate destination is Mars.
Even colonising the Moon is questionable: it simply hasn't the resources to sustain an advanced colony. Mars has fertile soil, an abundance of water (as ice), a carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere and a 24-and-a-half hour day. The Moon's soil is not fertile, water is as rare, it has no effective atmosphere, and a 708-hour day. It's feasible to introduce biological life to Mars, but not the Moon.
T-shirts on Mars
With only a relatively small push, Mars could be returned to its former warm, wet, hospitable state. Raising the temperature at the south pole by a few degrees would see frozen CO2 in the soil begin to gasify. As a greenhouse gas, it would further raise the temperature, gasifying more CO2 in a self-sustained global-warming process.
Eventually, water frozen into the soil would liquefy, covering half of the planet. After about a century, Mars would settle down with an atmosphere about as dense as the lowland Himalayas and a climate suitable for T-shirts.
The technological hurdles
Hadfield warns that "we need to invent a lot of things" before going to Mars, and that "there's no great advantage to being the early explorers who die". Few would disagree with that, but what are the challenges a crewed mission to Mars faces?
Radiation: An astronaut would receive a lifetime allowable dose of radiation in a single 30-month round-trip, including 18 months on the surface. But this is only equivalent to increasing the lifetime cancer risk from about 20% to 23%. As the majority of this is received in transit between planets, with proper radiological protection on the ship, it would actually be (radiologically speaking) healthier for an astronaut to live on Mars with a radiation dose of 0.10 sieverts per year than to smoke on Earth at 0.16 sieverts per year.
There is no single practical solution to the radiation problem. One strategy I helped develop was to optimise the internal layout of the equipment and structures in the Mars habitat module to minimise exposure – placing existing bulk in all the right places. This reduced exposure by about 20%, without adding any mass. Even taking empty sandbags, packing them with Martian soil and putting them on the roof would be a simple and effective measure on Mars. Radiation is an issue to tackle, but it's not a deal-breaker.
Power: "We need a compact energy source," says Hadfield. "We cannot be relying on the tiny bit of solar power that happens to arrive at that location."
While the solar energy reaching the surface of Mars is about half that on Earth, this isn't a show-stopper. A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that to power the equivalent of an average US household on Mars, even through dust storms, one would need an array of solar panels totalling six metres square – very achievable.
Reduced gravity: The effects of microgravity on astronauts' health have been studied for decades, and a range of techniques have been developed to mitigate the wasting effects on muscle and bone.
With Martian gravity around a third of that on Earth, it would take astronauts a couple of days to acclimatise, and perhaps a few months to fully adapt. NASA and ESA have been developing an under-suit that compresses the body to overcome the negative effects of a reduction in pressure and gravity.
However, biological adaption could be made easier if microgravity were avoided altogether. The spacecraft could be spun in-transit to generate an artificial gravity that slowly decayed, simulating a transition from Earth to Mars gravity (and vice versa) over the six-month journey.
Ultimately, until humans are actually living on other planets it's unlikely we'll solve or even recognise all the subtle long-term health problems associated with reduced gravity. And who's to say what the advances in bio-engineering and technology will make the human body capable of when that time comes?
The social hurdles
Life on Mars: If there's life on Mars, even if it's microbial, should we be allowed to spread to the planet, potentially risking its extinction? I find this question strange – as Chris McKay put it: "We commit microbial genocide every time we wash our hands". We engineer and farm the complex life around us as systematically and as cheaply as possible. Billions of people eat the carcasses of organisms that were thinking and breathing only days before. Why, all of a sudden, should Martian microbes be given such sanctity? It should certainly be studied, but it shouldn't prevent our spreading.
Back contamination: Conversely, the question of whether some Martian plague might accidentally be introduced to Earth should be taken seriously – but not blown out of proportion. There's only a remote chance that Martian life might be hazardous. The things that kill us do so because they've evolved in lock-step with us in a continual evolutionary arms race. Any Martian life will have evolved independently and is unlikely to be capable even of interacting with Earth life on a molecular level. As Robert Zubrin put it: "Trees don't get colds and humans don't get Dutch Elm Disease."
Psychology: Depending on relative orbits, sending a message between Earth and Mars can take between three and 22 minutes. This loss of real-time communication will leave astronauts feeling cut-off and alone. Hadfield says that it's vital to keep up crew morale and motivation:
Once you get any distance away on any sort of voyage, the epic-ness disappears, the reality becomes the foreground, and the applause is long gone.
Cost: A crewed Mars programme would cost the equivalent of a few weeks of the US defence budget. The US plans on spending about ten times more on nuclear weapons than on space exploration over the coming decade. The UK government spends about as much on gastric band surgery through the NHS as it does on its space activities.
So while a Mars programme certainly has challenges to overcome, the technological gap between us and Mars is far smaller than it was for the Moon programme in the 1960s. And the prospects the Red Planet holds for humanity are far greater.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become a part of the discussion — on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com.
Earth Pelted by More than 600 Large Debris Items in 2014, NASA Reports
Peter B. de Selding – Space News
More than 600 dead satellites, spent rocket stages and other debris re-entered Earth's atmosphere in 2014 — more than 100,000 kilograms of mass that caused no reported casualties or sizable property damage, NASA has told a United Nations conference.
The rain of junk was more substantial in 2014 than in previous years because of a peak in solar activity, which expands the atmosphere and captures dead satellites and other garbage that otherwise would have remained in orbit longer.
The low-orbit-cleansing effect of solar activity caused a slight dip in the total number of pieces of debris measuring 10 centimeters in diameter or larger, according to J.C. Liou, chief scientist at NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office, located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
But if the number of pieces was reduced, the total estimated mass of junk resulting from launch activity continued to climb, reaching 6.7 million kilograms by the end of the year. The figure was 5 million kilograms in 2005.
In a presentation to the 52nd session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), Liou and officials from Europe, Russia and elsewhere gave the United Nations updates on orbital debris tracking.
The conference, held Feb. 2-13 in Vienna, was the occasion for space agencies to assess whether spacefaring nations are getting any better at disposing of their rockets and satellites so as to minimize orbital debris accumulation. Here the news continues to be mixed.
Liou said all five civil/commercial telecommunications satellites registered in the United States and retired from geostationary orbit in 2014 were placed by their owners into graveyard orbits more than 200 kilometers above the geostationary belt some 36,000 kilometers over the equator.
International debris mitigation guidelines accepted by all the major spacefaring nations — but not always honored by these nations — call for geostationary satellites to be raised by at least 200 kilometers, depending on their size, above the geostationary arc.
For satellites in low Earth orbit, the guidelines call for satellites to be disposed of such that they re-enter Earth's atmosphere within 25 years of retirement. Orbital debris experts agree that this is where the problem is.
Holger Krag, head of the space debris office at the 21-nation European Space Agency, said a large percentage of satellites in low Earth orbit without onboard propulsion capability are operated and then abandoned in orbits from which they will not re-enter the atmosphere within 25 years.
Of the slightly more than 500 satellites launched since 2000 without maneuvering capability, Krag said, fully half were left in "noncompliant" orbits.
There is "a clear and positive trend" in geostationary orbit, Krag said. In low orbit, on the other hand, respect for the rules is "poor in critical altitudes, with no apparent trends."
And even in geostationary orbit, while the trend toward greater respect for the retirement-orbit guidelines is clear, more than 10 percent of satellites retiring in a given year are either left where they are or moved an insufficient distance from the orbital highway, according to ESA data.
For now, the U.S. Air Force's Space Surveillance Network of ground- and space-based sensors is the reference for determining what is going on in orbit. But neither the U.S. nor any other satellite tracking service publishes data showing what happens to military satellites.
Liou said the U.S. debris-tracking network's capabilities will improve late this year when the 1.3-meter Meter-Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) enters service on Ascension Island, a British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean about midway between the horn of South America and Africa.
Located at about 8 degrees south latitude and operated remotely by NASA, the telescope — funded by NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Research Laboratory — will boost tracking of objects in low-inclination orbits relative to the equator, at all latitudes, Liou said. For geostationary orbit, the telescope will be able to detect objects as small as 10 centimeters in diameter.
Europe has a much more modest set of ground radars that both ESA and the European Commission have been trying to turn into a network of stations that would enhance Europe's ability to make its own judgments about orbital phenomena.
Russia operates a network of more than 70 optical ground telescopes at 35 observation facilities in 15 nations — including the United States — as part of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON).
ISON is operated by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of Russia's Academy of Sciences.
Vladimir Agapov of Keldysh told the U.N. session that ISON is the sole source of orbital measurement data for 13.6 percent of active satellites in geostationary orbit — 62 satellites.
Keldysh is attempting to turn its space-tracking ability into a commercial service. Agapov said the institute now uses ISON to perform conjunction analysis — meaning assessments of collision likelihood — on more than 50 operational spacecraft, "including analysis of motion for co-located active geostationary spacecraft operated by noncooperating entities."
Commercial Dragon supply ship returns to Earth
SpaceX's Dragon supply ship wrapped up a 29-day stay at the International Space Station on Tuesday, departing the complex with nearly 3,700 pounds of research specimens, a balky spacesuit and experimental 3D printed parts before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
The splashdown at 7:44 p.m. EST Tuesday (0044 GMT Wednesday) concluded SpaceX's fifth operational resupply flight to the space station — and the sixth Dragon mission to the complex including a 2012 demonstration flight.
The spaceship's return to Earth occurred about two hours before sunset at the splashdown site about 260 miles southwest of Long Beach, California. The recovery of the capsule by SpaceX engineers on boats in the Pacific Ocean was expected to continue after nightfall, marking the first time the cargo craft has splashed down in the evening.
"The ability to resupply and return this critical research continues to be an invaluable asset for the researchers here on Earth using the International Space Station as their laboratory in orbit," said Kirt Costello, deputy chief scientist for the International Space Station program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The Dragon spacecraft is the only vehicle capable of returning to Earth with a significant cargo load. Russia's Soyuz ferry craft lands with limited cargo when it returns with space station crew members, and other logistics vehicles burn up in Earth's atmosphere to dispose of trash that would otherwise congest the lab's interior.
Gear packed inside the capsule's pressurized module include refrigerated blood and urine samples to help researchers study how spaceflight affects the human body, parts produced by an experimental 3D printer on the space station, and specimens from other biology and biotechnology studies, physical science experiments and education activities sponsored by NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space.
"Experiments like 3D printing in space demonstrate important capabilities that allow NASA and humanity to proceed farther on the journey to Mars," Costello said in a statement. "Other investigations such as those focused on protein crystal growth take advantage of the unique microgravity environment and offer us new avenues to investigate troubling diseases back on Earth."
The SpaceX supply ship also brought back experiments developed by secondary school students and reflown on the Dragon flight after the investigations were destroyed in an explosive launch failure of an Antares cargo rocket in October.
Some items packed inside the Dragon's pressurized module will be repaired or refurbished for launch again, including a spacesuit with a problem with its fan motor that will be returned for analysis by engineers. NASA wants to study the issue before sending astronauts outside the space station later in February for a series of spacewalks to help configure the complex for dockings of new commercial crew spaceships built by SpaceX and Boeing.
The Dragon spacecraft blasted off Jan. 10 from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 rocket, reaching the space station two days later for an automated laser-guided rendezvous.
It was snared by the space station's robotic arm and bolted to the lab's Harmony module for 29 days. Astronauts unpacked food, experiments and provisions, and the station's robotics systems removed a NASA Earth science instrument from Dragon's unpressurized trunk to measure aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere from space.
After stowing items tagged for return to Earth, the station crew closed hatches between the complex and the SpaceX supply ship Monday.
European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti released the Dragon capsule from the outpost's 58-foot robot arm at 2:10 p.m. EST (1910 GMT) Tuesday, and the spacecraft performed three rocket burns to fly a safe distance from the space station.
"This is the end of a very, very successful Dragon mission," Cristoforetti radioed mission control after the Dragon spaceship's departure. "We'd like to think our guys for working hard on this, and of course the folks in Hawthorne (SpaceX headquarters). It's a privilege working with Dragon, doing a bunch of science — lots of samples are coming back on it — and of course sending her on her way."
Dragon's navigation bay door closed later Tuesday, setting the stage for a 10-minute de-orbit burn beginning at 6:49 p.m. EST (2349 GMT).
The capsule plunged back into the atmosphere a few minutes later, encountering temperatures near 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it streaked from southwest to northeast over the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
It deployed three 116-foot-diameter main parachutes to slow down before splashdown.
SpaceX will return the capsule to Long Beach later this week, then begin handing over its contents to NASA for distribution to engineers and scientists around the world. The capsule will eventually be trucked to SpaceX's test facility in Central Texas for post-flight processing.
High upper level winds push SpaceX DSCOVR launch to Feb. 11
Bill Jelen – Spaceflight Insider
The second launch attempt of DSCOVR was scrubbed at approximately 13 minutes prior to the scheduled liftoff time of 6:05 p.m. EST (2305 GMT) today due to violation of liftoff weather conditions. DSCOVR is a satellite designed to measure incoming solar weather. However, it was Earth-bound weather that caused the scrub. The third launch attempt is now scheduled for no-earlier-than (NET) Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015 at 6:03 p.m. EST (2303 GMT).
The cold front that caused Monday's rain pushed through Florida's Space Coast and skies cleared by early afternoon. But strong winds of 25-30 miles per hour behind the front persisted throughout the day. Estimates placed the launch constraints far outside acceptable limits for launch.
Weather for Wednesday's launch attempt is calling for a greater than 90 percent chance of the weather being favorable for launch. If DSCOVR fails to launch on Feb. 11, 2015, SpaceX must stand down until Feb. 20, 2015, when the launch time would be approximately 5:35 p.m. EST (22:35 GMT).
Dark matter seen in the Milky Way's core
Tim Wogan – Physics World
An international team of astronomers has found the best evidence yet that the inner core of the Milky Way contains significant quantities of dark matter. The result confirms the long-standing belief that the centre of the Milky Way is rich in dark matter, just like its outer regions. While the researchers have deliberately avoided using any specific models of dark matter in their analysis, they are confident that further studies of the galactic core could help identify which models are most viable.
Scientists first inferred dark matter's existence from the fact that galaxies such as the Milky Way rotate faster than would be expected if they were held together by just the gravitational forces between visible matter such as gas, dust and stars. While it is apparent that the gravitational attraction of invisible dark matter is holding galaxies together, it has proved very difficult to measure the distribution of dark matter in the core of the Milky Way. This is because the complicated distribution and dynamics of conventional matter in the core makes it very tricky for astronomers to work out exactly where the dark matter should be.
In the new research, Fabio Iocco of the ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Physics in São Paolo and colleagues in Sweden and the Netherlands have combined data from several recent observations of the Milky Way and compared it with theoretical predictions of how fast the core should be rotating.
Tricky measurements
The team looked at 2780 measurements of the motions of interstellar gas, stars and interstellar masers. These provide information about the rotation rate of our galaxy at distances between 3–20 kpc from its centre. To put this in perspective, the Sun is about 8 kpc from the centre and the vast bulk of the Milky Way lies within an 18 kpc radius. The team combined these data to arrive at the angular velocities of the galaxy at a number of different radii. The researchers then compared these figures with the angular velocities that would be expected if the galaxy contained no dark matter. This is tricky, explains Iocco, because we are inside the galaxy and moving with it, and this perspective makes it difficult to determine both the distance and the circular motion of other objects. "There is not full agreement in the literature on the exact distribution of stars in the Milky Way," he notes.
Most researchers studying the galaxy choose "their favourite model of the morphological distribution of visible matter", says Iocco. In this study, however, the team considered every accepted possibility in the literature, calculating the rotation curve – the rotation rate of the galaxy as a function of radius – that would be predicted by this distribution if there were no dark matter present. "None of these fit the observed rotation curve," says Iocco, which implies that "none of the possible distributions of visible mass fit the total mass inferred in the galaxy – there is some missing mass even in the worst case".
The team calculated the difference between the observed and theoretical rotation curves at a large number of different radii between 3–20 kpc. Differences are seen at all radii and although the statistical significance is relatively small at 3 kpc, it rises to above 5σ beyond 6–7 kpc. This figure of 5σ is considered to signify a discovery in particle physics.
Does Newtonian dynamics hold true?
This result means that there are significant quantities of dark matter well inside the 8 kpc radius of the Milky Way, provided that Newtonian dynamics holds true. This last qualification is crucial, because a minority of astrophysicists argue that the discrepancies between predicted and observed rotation curves are better explained by modifying Newtonian dynamics at large distances, rather than the presence of invisible matter (see "Gravity's dark side"). The researchers believe, however, that by examining the galactic dynamics on comparatively small scales, their results will shed some light on this debate. Indeed, the team plans to address this issue in the future.
Jorge Peñarrubia of the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh believes that the research is an important step towards quantifying the amount of dark matter in the Milky Way. "The number of data they've compiled is certainly going to be crucial in trying to determine the amount of dark matter in our galaxy," he says. However, he adds that "The next step will be to try to construct a dynamical model that can explain the motions that other people have measured. That's going to be the difficult part." Dan Hooper of Fermilab in Chicago agrees. "This study shows – conclusively in my view – for the first time that there is about the same amount of dark matter that we had predicted there should be in the innermost parts of the Milky Way," he says. "It's a pretty big step forward and one that I hope will continue as we get more information from things like the Gaia telescope, which will be able to measure even more stars with more precision."
Russian Space Agency Scientific, Technical Council Head Selected
Ivan Cheberko - Izvestiya Online
Space Agency head Igor Komarov has proposed his candidate for a key position in Roskosmos's [Federal Space Agency's] main coordinating body.
Former Rosaviakosmos [Russian Aerospace Agency] head Yuriy Koptev, who headed the agency from the time it was founded through 2004, will again determine that sector's policy: Roskosmos head Igor Komarov has invited Koptev to head the amalgamated scientific and technical council (NTS) of Roskosmos and the Amalgamated Rocket and Space Corporation (ORKK). Previously the post of Roskosmos NTS was always held by the incumbent leader of that department.
"I have declined to head the Roskosmos NTS, suggesting that the councils of the space agency and the ORKK be amalgamated into a single NTS which could be headed by Yuriy Nikolayevich Koptev," Igor Komarov told Izvestiya.
In the spring of 2014 Yuriy Koptev headed the scientific and technical council of ORKK, at that moment a newly created company which had been assigned the reform of the rocket and space industry. ORKK was headed by Igor Komarov, former president of AvtoVAZ and one of the best managers on the Rostekh team. At that moment Yuriy Koptev headed the Rostekh scientific and technical council, and his experience was in demand in the process of creating ORKK. In late January Komarov was appointed Roskosmos leader, after which he immediately recommended Koptev as NTS head.
That means that the space agency's former leader will have marked influence on the space policy Russia pursues. The statute "On the Federal Space Agency's Scientific and Technical Council" says that this body "undertakes the collective development of decisions for the implementation of state policy in the sphere of space activity and of proposals for determining priority avenues of scientific and technical and innovation policy in the sphere of the development of space rocket technology, the production of high-tech competitive dual-purpose output, and fundamental and applied research."
The Roskosmos NTS also engages in "developing scientifically substantiated proposals for the Federal Space Agency leader to determine priority avenues of scientific and technical and innovation policy in the sphere of space activity."
"Organizationally the councils have not been amalgamated. Everything has been drawn up as a fine-tuning of the composition of the Roskosmos NTS, which has been joined by ORKK representatives," Yuriy Koptev explained to Izvestiya. "Active work is now under way to form a new concept for manned space flight. As soon as the working group submits its proposals, we will examine them at an NTS session."
Yuriy Koptev is respected in the space rocket industry: During his leadership, very large post-Soviet space projects were implemented or launched: The International Space Station, the "Angara" series rockets, and the supply of Russian rocket engines to the United States.
"Traditionally Koptev has oriented himself toward applied programs," Ivan Moiseyev, scientific leader of the Space Policy Institute, notes. "That coincides with the mood of the space agency's current leader. It may be supposed that Roskosmos's technical policy will now include fewer plans for colonizing the Moon and more projects in the interests of the national economy."
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| | JSC TODAY CATEGORIES - Headlines
- #SuitUp With Us for the #JourneytoMars
- Valentine's Day in Space! - Organizations/Social
- March: Women's History Month - Nomination Call-Out
- ConVERG Brown Bag Meeting
- AAERG - JSC Development Programs Overview
- Flex Friday Offerings at the Gilruth
- Starport's Spring Break Camp
- Photography Techniques - Register Now - Jobs and Training
- JSC Risk Management Overview Feb. 12
- Lockout/Tagout: Feb. 24, 8 a.m., B20, Rm 205/206 - Community
- Blood Drive - Feb. 18 and 19
- Career & Education Day: Volunteers Needed!
- Passport Fair - Today |  |
| Headlines - #SuitUp With Us for the #JourneytoMars
This year, NASA will be recognizing 50 years of spacewalking—or Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Throughout the year, we will be celebrating this accomplishment with a look toward the future. Spacewalking enhances our exploration capabilities and enables humans to go deeper into the solar system, in part, by suiting up. Two important dates to remember are Mar. 18, the anniversary of the first spacewalk by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who left his Voskhod-2 vehicle for a 12-minute tethered walk; and Jun. 3, when NASA's Ed White exited his Gemini-4 capsule using a hand-held oxygen jet gun to push himself from the hatch for a 23-minute tethered spacewalk. Today at 10:30 a.m. we are releasing the official #SuitUp video. Check it out and join us this year as we #SuitUp for the #JourneytoMars! - Valentine's Day in Space!
Well, kind of ... Did you know that we use ultrasound to study astronauts' hearts in space? Remote medicine techniques developed for research off the Earth helps people in need here on the Earth: click and see! Organizations/Social - March: Women's History Month – Nomination Call-Out
The 2015 Women's History Month's theme is "Weaving the Stories of Women's Lives." The theme presents the opportunity to weave women's stories—individually and collectively—into the essential fabric of our nation's history and space program. We would like to highlight one or two female employees whose achievements, challenges, character and commitment have helped shape them into the people they are today, and whose stories serve as an inspiration to others. Please submit your nomination or self-nomination for consideration to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity via email by Wednesday, Feb. 25. Please include nominee's name, organization, job title, and why you nominate the individual or yourself in 300 words or less. If selected, the stories will be highlighted in JSC Features. - ConVERG Brown Bag Meeting
ConVERG (Connected Vets Employee Resource Group) is having a brown-bag session to conduct officer and committee chair elections. ConVERG membership is open to all JSC team members, including vets, military, reservists and their friends and family members. If you are interested in being a part of this innovative ERG, come help us recruit, put together a charter and plan upcoming events. Event Date: Thursday, February 12, 2015 Event Start Time:12:00 PM Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Building 12 Rooms 148 and 150
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Rene Sanchez x46747
[top] - AAERG - JSC Development Programs Overview
Please come and join the AAERG for a broad overview of the JSC Development Programs. Event Date: Thursday, February 12, 2015 Event Start Time:2:30 PM Event End Time:3:30 PM
Event Location: Building 1, Room 871
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Janelle Holt x37504
[top] - Flex Friday Offerings at the Gilruth
Who is ready to give their long weekend a proper sendoff with some Flex Friday offerings at the Gilruth? Is it YOU? Then let's do this! These classes are FREE and open to the whole JSC community and family. So, even if someone doesn't have a membership (yet!), this would be his/her chance to sample some of our offerings. There is no signup necessary for the class offerings—first-time participants will simply need to sign a one-time waiver. Also, we are offering FREE 30-minute consultations with a personal trainer to help you take your first step into, or even revamp, your own fitness routine. Book a session through the website below, and let your health and wellness journey begin! As always, please know we are here for your heart and happiness. - Starport's Spring Break Camp
Can you believe spring break is just around the corner?! If you're looking for a fun, convenient and familiar place for your children to go for the school break, look no further. NASA Starport camps at the Gilruth Center are the perfect place. We plan to keep your children active and entertained with games, crafts, sports and all types of fun activities! Register your child before spaces fill up. Dates: March 16 to 20 Time: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Ages: 6 to 12 Cost: $140 all week | $40 per day - Photography Techniques - Register Now
Would you like to learn how to take professional-looking pictures with your digital camera? Starport has the perfect Photography Techniques class for you! This five-week class introduces you to the proper techniques needed to take great digital photos. In this class, you will learn the art of focus, composition, exposure and basic lighting techniques. Following the techniques you'll learn in these easy and fun classes, you will be on your way to taking better pictures in no time! Classes start Tuesday, Feb. 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Regular registration: - $110 (Feb. 7 to 17)
All classes are held in the Gilruth Center's Lone Star Room. Jobs and Training - JSC Risk Management Overview Feb. 12
JSC Risk Management Overview (JSC-NA-SAIC-RISK) is a 2.5 hour class that includes risk management concepts, topics regarding the application of risk management at JSC and a demonstration of the risk database. Class participants include personnel interested in understanding the basics of risk management. Event Date: Thursday, February 12, 2015 Event Start Time:9:00 AM Event End Time:11:30 AM
Event Location: Building 12/Room 134
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Russell Hartlieb 281-335-2443
[top] - Lockout/Tagout: Feb. 24, 8 a.m., 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 lockout and tagout of energy-isolating devices. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 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_... Event Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 Event Start Time:8:00 AM Event End Time:11:00 AM
Event Location: Bldg. 20 Room 205/206
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Shirley Robinson x41284
[top] Community - Blood Drive - Feb. 18 and 19
Eat, drink and bring ID! You can donate blood at one of the following locations on Feb. 18 and 19: - Teague Auditorium Lobby - 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Building 11 Café Donor Coach - 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Gilruth Center Donor Coach - 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. (Thursday only)
T-shirts, snacks, and drinks for all donors. Criteria for donating can be found at the St. Luke's link on our website - Career & Education Day: Volunteers Needed!
JSC will be hosting a booth at the Annual Career & Education Day (CED), on Saturday, Feb. 14 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. CED is a one-day event that gives students from grades 6 through 12, their parents and teachers an opportunity to learn about careers, college, scholarships and more! Last year, the event attracted over 20,000 attendees! There are 2 ways you can get involved: - Staff the NASA booth: Sign-up for a one-hour shift (or several) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers are encouraged to share their career stories and engage the public using the hands-on exhibits at the booth. To sign-up visit here. Then, forward your confirmation e-mail to Mike Ruiz with your information and time(s) you'll volunteer
- Serve as Panelist/Speaker: Share career advice in the NASA Career Panels. If you would like more information, send an e-mail to Bara Reyna.
- Passport Fair - Today
Don't miss your chance to take care of your passport today. Bring your driver's license with a birth certificate and a copy of each prior to arrival. | |
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| JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters. |
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