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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Fwd: JSC Today - Tuesday, March 10, 2015



Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: March 10, 2015 at 12:03:07 PM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: JSC Today - Tuesday, March 10, 2015

JSC Today - Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Thank goodness no rain finally today  have not seen the sun yet though

 

 

NASA NEWS

• Experts Want NASA To Consider Post-ISS Future.

• Houston Chronicle: JSC Not Served Well By Its Congressional Representatives.

• KSC Has Taken Steps To Correct Hiring Practices After Audit.

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

• Kelly Turned On To Upcoming Mission By Its "Extra Challenge" Of Lasting A Year.

• Astronauts Said To Be Good Subjects For Eye Studies Because Of Controlled Diet.

• More Companies Competing In Second Round Of Commercial Resupply Contracts.

• Orion's Heat Shield About To Become "Even Better" With More Testing.

• Space Portal Director: Commercial Space Can Counteract Politics.

• NASA Considers Liquid Hydrogen Situation Ahead Of SLS' Launch.

• Foale Speaks To 450 Students At York School.

• Damien High Hosts Spartan Space Symposium.

•

Experts Want NASA To Consider Post-ISS Future.

Space News (3/9, Foust, Subscription Publication, 481) reports that space industry experts want NASA to start considering what the agency will do regarding space stations once the ISS is no longer in operation in order not to lose what has been learned over the years. Based on comments last month by William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, and Sam Scimemi, ISS director at NASA Headquarters, the article notes that NASA does agree that the process should start now, but the future will likely not involve "a station built and operated by the space agency." Bigelow Aerospace, therefore, may be the one "best positioned" to take advantage of the situation. According to the article, this situation also could help "address the challenge NASA and others have encountered lining up commercial users for the ISS." At last week's House Appropriations Committee hearing, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, "We were disappointed" with the community response to a solicitation for more ideas.

Houston Chronicle: JSC Not Served Well By Its Congressional Representatives.

The Houston Chronicle (3/9, 2.28M) editorializes that even though congressmen from Houston are among those leading important committees, they appear "to care more about making headlines than making progress." For instance, the editors take to task Rep. John Culberson who was more concerned "about plutonium supplies, sending a probe to Europa and Vladimir Putin" during a recent hearing than about matters that helped his constituents. Instead of being the "advocate" the Johnson Space Center needs, the editors think Culberson has just "stood by while NASA's budget suffers," especially for the commercial crew program. The editors also have little hope for Sen. Ted Cruz, who they say will only care about JSC when "it opens a branch in Iowa or New Hampshire."

        McCarter: Brooks Does Best When Focusing On NASA. In a column for Alabama Live (3/9, 502K), Mark McCarter writes about Rep. Mo Brooks' Washington Update address on Monday. While he disagrees with Brooks on certain matters, when it comes to "the state of our area rather than the state of Washington, D.C.," and NASA matters, McCarter finds agreement. He agreed with Brooks when he said, "NASA, quite frankly, needs to do a better job of explaining to the American people what missions we ought to embark on and why, and why these technological advancements are so important to the human condition." He also approved that Brooks said that there was movement "to shift funds internally in NASA to all aeronautics and space." Overall, McCarter thinks that Brooks was "best serving his constituents" when focusing on NASA.

KSC Has Taken Steps To Correct Hiring Practices After Audit.

Florida Today (3/9, Dean, 178K) reports that for six months last year, NASA Headquarters had the Kennedy Space Human Resources Office Center's "under special oversight" following an audit of hiring practices two years ago that found eight instances where "the center illegally excluded qualified military veterans from consideration for civil servant jobs, and some non-veterans." Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot said, "It was a serious issue, and we had to dig down to the bottom of it. ... We had to pound this one flat." KSC Director Bob Cabana said, "This happened under my watch and I regret it. ... But I am also extremely proud of the way the team responded, corrected the problem, and we are better for it in the end." The article notes that KSC did take steps to rectify the situation like offering those affected jobs and retraining HR staff. There is also "high confidence" in KSC's new Human Resources director, Digna Carballosa, Cabana added, "We're in a good position now. ... And anybody that would have been hurt by it was taken care of. I don't know how else to do it or how we could have handled it better."

Kelly Turned On To Upcoming Mission By Its "Extra Challenge" Of Lasting A Year.

NBC's Today Show (3/9, 8:03 a.m. ET, 4.65M) interviewed astronaut Scott Kelly about his upcoming year at the ISS. Kelly said, "It took me a long time to warm up to the idea. After giving it thought, the extra challenge of being on the space station for a year is what made it appealing." According to the broadcast, Kelly will share the trip with the public using Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The Today Show Online (3/9, 1.8M) posts the interview on the Internet as well.

        The CFLN-TV Orlando, FL (3/9, Bruzual, 28K) website has a longer interview with Kelly about the upcoming trip, as well as what scientists hope to learn. Kelly notes that while the study he will do with his twin brother is "somewhat anecdotal" because of the sample size of one, it "will give us a sense of some areas that we need to investigate further — how the space environment, radiation, microgravity, those kinds of things affect us on a mostly genetic level."

Astronauts Said To Be Good Subjects For Eye Studies Because Of Controlled Diet.

The Washington Post (3/9, Szokan, 5.17M) reports on a new book by Neal Adams titled, "Healthy Vision: Prevent and Reverse Eye Disease Through Better Nutrition." The article notes that among the current studies about eye health is research from the ISS. By studying why astronauts were suffering eye conditions, scientists found that some had "a genetic variant that limited their absorption of folic acid and vitamin B12, which aid eye function." According to the article, the astronauts were "good study subjects" because their food sources were controlled.

More Companies Competing In Second Round Of Commercial Resupply Contracts.

The Washington Post (3/9, Davenport, 5.17M) "The Switch" blog reports that five companies have submitted bids for the next round of contracts to deliver cargo commercially to the ISS, which is now done by SpaceX and Orbital ATK. Even with last year's Orbital launch failure, NASA "doesn't really have a choice" but to rely on commercial companies to deliver services from now on. According to the article, unlike during the first round of contracts, "the big players" are trying for the contract now that it is clear they can make a profit. Boeing, Lockheed, Orbital, and Sierra Nevada are all known bidders. While SpaceX has not said whether it has made a bid, experts believe that it will simply to build off of "its recent successes."

        SpaceX May Need More Certification If Falcon 9 Changes Are Too Extensive. Aviation Week (3/9, Svitak, 2K) reports that SpaceX is improving its Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, adding "an optimized Merlin 1D engine and other enhancements" to allow it "to continue innovating while drawing revenue from a growing backlog of commercial missions." However, the article notes that if these changes are "significant" enough, the company may not be able to launch certain missions for the government "without subjecting it to further scrutiny beyond U.S. Air Force and NASA launch-vehicle certification efforts already underway." NASA spokesperson Joshua Buck noted, "Our current Category 2 certification effort assumes the use of an un-refurbished core stage." The article notes that NASA already had to redo some of the certification work when it transitioned from the Falcon 9 to the "current and more powerful v1.1." NASA spokesperson Stephanie Schierholz said, "Much of the work related to design and components had to be re-accomplished by SpaceX with the switch from the Falcon 9 v1.0 to the Falcon 9 v1.1 vehicle. ... Also, the certification element related to the number of successful flights and the related detailed flight-data review had to be started anew." NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) office has not said yet how many new launches, "if any," it will need to certify the new configuration. Buck said, "It will depend on what changes, their magnitude, and when the contractor would desire to cut them in."

Orion's Heat Shield About To Become "Even Better" With More Testing.

The Newport News (VA) Daily Press (3/9, Dietrich, Subscription Publication, 201K) reports that is about the be taken off the capsule, processed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, and then shipped off to the Langley Research Center "to undergo even more water impact tests." According to the article, tests like the ones at Langley should make the heat shield "even better" in the future.

Space Portal Director: Commercial Space Can Counteract Politics.

Space News (3/9, Werner, Subscription Publication, 481) interviews Dan Rasky, director and co-founder of the Space Portal at the NASA Research Park Innovation Activation. When working at the Ames Research Center, Rasky invented the Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA), which went on to win NASA's 2007 Invention of the Year. Rasky said that he became interested in commercial space efforts once he was "convinced" that it was the "best shot" of countering the "political wind" that prevents progress in NASA's human spaceflight program. He noted that NASA's Aeronautics Mission Directorate and Science Mission Directorate were "more successful in accomplishing their missions" because they had "powerful external communities." This led to him founding the Space Portal at Ames. Rasky said that right now, the group is examining "activities on the international space station with potentially large economic value."

NASA Considers Liquid Hydrogen Situation Ahead Of SLS' Launch.

NASA Space Flight (3/9, Bergin, 305) reports that NASA is looking into "Liquid Hydrogen options" for when the Space Launch System is launching from the Kennedy Space Center. Currently, it is mostly investigating what happens following "a scrub late in the countdown – which would result in a shortfall of 330,000 gallons based on the current storage infrastructure."

Foale Speaks To 450 Students At York School.

The York Press (UK) (3/9) reports that astronaut Michael Foale spoke at St. Peter's School in York, UK last Wednesday and Thursday. Foale's astronautical career includes: being the first Briton to space walk, holding the record until 2008 for longest amount of space time logged, and righting the ISS after its only collision in space knocked it out of control. Foale spoke to students about his career, as well as "how young people can adopt a NASA philosophy to achieve their goals."

Damien High Hosts Spartan Space Symposium.

The Inland Valley (CA) Daily Bulletin (3/9, Tate, 96K) reports that Damien High School in La Vern, California will host its first ever Spartan Space Symposium on Tuesday night. The symposium will honor student participants in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, a competition within the school involving a microgravity experiment to be conducted on the ISS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Headlines

  1. NASA TV: ISS Change of Commander, Return of Crew

Three International Space Station (ISS) crew members are scheduled to leave the orbiting laboratory tomorrow, March 11, after almost six months in space performing scientific research and technology demonstrations.

NASA TV will provide complete coverage of their departure and return to Earth, beginning with the space station change of command ceremony today, March 10.

Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore of NASA will hand over command of the station to fellow NASA astronaut Terry Virts. At 5:44 p.m. CDT tomorrow, Wilmore and flight engineers Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will undock their Soyuz spacecraft from the space station and land in Kazakhstan at 9:07 p.m. (8:08 a.m. March 12 Kazakh time).

NASA TV coverage is as follows:

Today, March 10

    • 9:25 a.m. -- Change of command ceremony in which Wilmore hands over station command to Virts

Tomorrow, March 11

    • 2 p.m. -- Farewell and hatch closure coverage (hatch closure scheduled at 2:25 p.m.)
    • 5:15 p.m. -- Undocking coverage (undocking scheduled at 5:44 p.m.)
    • 8 p.m. -- Deorbit burn and landing coverage (deorbit burn scheduled at 8:16 p.m., with landing at 9:07 p.m.)
    • 11 p.m. --Video file of hatch closure, undocking and landing activities

 

Thursday, March 12

    • 9:30 a.m. -- Video file of landing and post-landing activities and post-landing interview with Wilmore in Kazakhstan

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

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

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

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

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

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  1. Section 508 Proposed Changes – Have Your Say

The Access Board has released for public comment a proposed rule updating accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) in the federal sector covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

These proposed revisions and updates are intended to ensure that ICT covered by the respective statutes is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. This "at-a-glance" accessible PDF gives an overview of the proposed rule.

Let your voice be heard by contributing your written comments here for JSC. Click "Add new item," complete the information and click save.

JSC comments are due by March 31.

If you have problems accessing or using this SharePoint site, please forward your comments directly to the Herb Babineaux, JSC Section 508 coordinator.

JSC IRD Outreach x34263 https://projects.jsc.nasa.gov/I3P/IRDDataCall/SiteAssets/RFC%20Section%2...

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  1. Building 8 Power Outage – March 13

Due to a scheduled power outage in Building 8, imagery and TV network services will be unavailable beginning 5 p.m. Friday, March 13, through 8 a.m. Monday, March 16. The outage includes shutting down the JSC cable TV system and all other TV networks sourced out of Building 8.

During the outage, electric power feeder cables serving the building will be replaced. Personnel not working on the feeder cable replacement activities will not be allowed into Building 8 during this period.

The Imagery Online website and Multimedia File Transfer (MFT) tool are not affected by this outage. The Clinic and medical operations inside Building 8 will resume normal operations at 8 a.m. Monday, March 16.

For more information, contact Patrick J. Chimes at 281-483-2397.

JSC IRD Outreach X32397

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   Organizations/Social

  1. Starport Café Menus

If you are wondering what is new in the Starport Cafés, the weekly menus for Buildings 3 and 11 can be found here. If you have been missing the special salads offered in the Building 3 café, they are back! Southwestern chipotle salmon salad is on the menu today, and curry chicken salad is on the menu for Thursday. Also, the Building 3 café will be open with a reduced menu on Flex Friday.

Peggy Wooten x30700

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  1. Manage Your Stress Before it Manages You

The Women Excelling in Life and Leadership (WELL) Employee Resource Group is hosting a series of events for Women's History Month!

Today, March 10, WELL is facilitating a seminar, "Manage Your Stress Before it Manages You," from noon to 1 p.m. in Building 1, Room 966. Anika Isaac, a JSC Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counselor, will be speaking on stress management. Isaac will share techniques to manage and cope with stress. She has been a staff member with the JSC EAP for more than two years.

 All civil servants and contractors are invited to attend. Please see the flyer for more details.

Event Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2015   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Building 1, Room 966

Add to Calendar

Danielle Johnson x37238 https://ba.jsc.nasa.gov/OP/WELL/SitePages/Home.aspx

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  1. Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting Today Noon

"Keep it simple" reminds Al-Anon members to look for the simplicity in everything. Our 12-step meeting is for co-workers, families and friends of those who work or live with the family disease of alcoholism. We meet today, March 10, in Building 32, Room 146, from 12 noon to 12:45 p.m. Visitors are welcome.

Event Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2015   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:12:45 PM
Event Location: B. 32/ Rm. 146

Add to Calendar

Employee Assistance Program x36130 http://sashare.jsc.nasa.gov/EAP/Pages/default.aspx

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  1. JSC Lunarfins SCUBA Club Meeting

Formerly commercial diver masks are now available to sport divers. Join us on Wednesday to hear Debbie and Bob Fuqua talk about their experience using a full-face dive mask. They will explain the benefits and lessons learned from diving in these masks and answer members' questions about use. We will also hold club officer elections and discuss next month's open house at the Gilruth. Come join us!

Event Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2015   Event Start Time:7:00 PM   Event End Time:8:30 PM
Event Location: Clear Lake Park Recreation Center

Add to Calendar

Barbara Corbin x36215 http://www.lunarfins.com

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   Jobs and Training

  1. Five New Lateral Reassignments and Rotations

JSC civil servants:

There are currently four lateral reassignment positions and one rotation position available for application in the NASA Employee Talent Search (NETS), JSC's new job opportunities tool. To view these opportunities, visit NETS under the "Employee Resources" tab on the JSC home page, or go to: https://nets.jsc.nasa.gov

To apply to a position:

    • Click on "Search Opportunities"
    • View "All Lateral Opportunities"
    • Select a position listed as "Open"
    • Follow the prompts to apply

For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact your Human Resources representative.

 Please use IE 11+, Chrome, Firefox 20+, Safari or your mobile device on-site or via VPN.

 Promotion opportunities are still available at: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov

David Kelley x27811 https://nets.jsc.nasa.gov

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  1. Russian Phase One Language Course - for Beginners

Russian Phase One is an introductory course designed to acquaint the novice student with certain elementary aspects of the Russian language and provide a brief outline of Russian history and culture. Our goal is to introduce students to skills and strategies necessary for successful foreign language study that they can apply immediately in the classroom. The linguistic component of this class consists of learning the Cyrillic alphabet and a very limited number of simple words and phrases, which will serve as a foundation for further language study.

Dates: April 13 to May 14

When: Monday through Thursday, Noon to 1 p.m.

Where: Building 12, Room 158

Please register via SATERN.

Natalia Rostova 281-851-3745

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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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