Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News Friday – Feb. 10, 2014 and JSC Today

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: February 10, 2014 10:45:43 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News Friday – Feb. 10, 2014 and JSC Today

Happy rainy Monday…..get ready for more wet and cold days this week in the Houston Metro area.

________________________________________

Monday, February 10, 2014         Read JSC Today in your browser

 

 

                    JSC TODAY CATEGORIES

1.            Headlines

-  Attention: Gilruth Slide Gate Closed This Week

-  Managed Elevated Privileges Continues

-  Radio Frequency (RF) and Wireless Alert

2.            Organizations/Social

-  Out&Allied@JSC ERG Meeting: New Year's Resolutions

-  JSC Toastmasters Club Meets Wednesday Nights

-  NASA's 100-Year Starship Project Goal - Feb. 12

-  Johnson Space Center Astronomy Society Meeting

-  JSC Lunarfins Scuba Club Meeting

-  Food Service Survey: Win A $100 Gift Card

-  Starport Jewelry Fair Tomorrow

-  Valentine's Massage Special at Starport

-  Red Hot Special at Starport

-  Starport Adult Sport Leagues

3.            Jobs and Training

-  Introduction to the STI Center - Feb. 12

-  Electronic Document System (EDS) 2.0

-  Facility Manager Training

-  Job Opportunities

4.            Community

-  JSC Green Team Recycling Tour POSTPONED

-  Inspire Kids to Achieve Their Dreams

Sochi, Russia Winter Olympic Sites (Mountain Cluster)

 

 

   Headlines

1.            Attention: Gilruth Slide Gate Closed This Week

Due to construction, the Gilruth slide gate that provides on-site access will be closed this week from Feb. 10 to 14. Please use off-site roadways at the Space Center Boulevard entrance to access the Gilruth. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Dylan Smith x38107

 

[top]

2.            Managed Elevated Privileges Continues

On Tuesday, Feb. 11, Managed Elevated Privileges (MEP) continues with DD (Mission Systems Division) and DI (Spaceflight Systems Division).

MEP controls admin rights (Elevated Privileges, or EP) on NASA computers and allows users to request EP when needed. Users must complete SATERN training before submitting any requests for EP.

All users, especially those scheduled for MEP deployment, are strongly urged to complete the SATERN training for "Basic Users" (Elevated Privileges on NASA Information System - ITS-002-09).

Users can coordinate with their supervisor, OCSO or organization IT point of contact to determine the level of EP they may need beyond "Basic User" and any additional training required.

The next scheduled deployment date is Feb. 25, which will complete DI-DO org codes.

For more information, go to the MEP website or contact Heather Thomas at x30901.

Heather Thomas x30901 https://projects.jsc.nasa.gov/ep/SitePages/Home.aspx

 

[top]

3.            Radio Frequency (RF) and Wireless Alert

JSC's daily operations in support of mission preparation and execution involve the use of RF and wireless equipment in various capacities; interference to these systems can result in lost productivity, project delays or even impacts to flight missions. Make sure your RF and wireless systems are afforded legal protection from interference by contacting the JSC Spectrum Management team. The JSC Spectrum Management team can assist you in identifying frequency options for your project that will comply with federal laws, NASA policies and OMB purchasing guidelines. Please visit the JSC RF Spectrum Management home page for additional information.

Catherine C. Sham x30124 http://ea.jsc.nasa.gov/jscfm/

 

[top]

   Organizations/Social

1.            Out&Allied@JSC ERG Meeting: New Year's Resolutions

New Year's resolutions come and go. Is there a resolution that keeps coming up year after year that seems to never get fulfilled? This Wednesday the Out & Allied @ JSC Employee Resource Group (ERG) will host a lunch-and-learn discussion around this topic. Join Takis Bogdanos, MA, LPC-S, CGP, with the JSC Employee Assistance Program, for a "Resolution-Keeping Refresher."

Please join us, meet others and network!

All JSC team members (government, contractor, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender [LGBT] and non-LGBT allies) are invited. The Out & Allied @ JSC team consists of LGBT employees and their allies (supporters).

For more information about our group, including how to become involved, any listed Out & Allied member on our SharePoint site may be contacted via phone or email.

Event Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2014   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM

Event Location: 4S/1200

 

Add to Calendar

 

Barbara Conte x31961 https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/LGBTA/SitePages/Home.aspx

 

[top]

2.            JSC Toastmasters Club Meets Wednesday Nights

Looking to develop speaking and leadership skills? Ignite your career? Want to increase your self-confidence, become a better speaker or leader and communicate more effectively? Then JSC Toastmasters is for you! Members attend meetings each Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Gilruth Center Longhorn Room. JSC Toastmasters weekly meetings are learn-by-doing workshops where participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a pressure-free atmosphere. Membership is open to anyone.

Thomas Bryan x31721 http://3116.toastmastersclubs.org/

 

[top]

3.            NASA's 100-Year Starship Project Goal - Feb. 12

You are invited to JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance speaker forum featuring Dr. Gerald Cleaver, professor and Graduate Program director of the Department of Physics at Baylor University.

Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Location: Building 1, Room 966

Cleaver will discuss/answer questions on the following:

o             What do you know about Icarus Interstellar, its mission and its ongoing projects?

o             What do you know about interstellar travel technology?

o             What are the physics behind the Alcubierre effect?

o             Can in situ matter/antimatter propulsion systems be generated from high-strength parallel electric and magnetic fields?

Cleaver heads the Early Universe Cosmology and String Theory Division of Baylor's Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research. Cleaver's research has also moved into an experimental and engineering design direction: spacecraft propulsion systems.

Event Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM

Event Location: Building 1, rom 966

 

Add to Calendar

 

Della Cardona/Juan Traslavina 281-335-2074/281-335-2272

 

[top]

4.            Johnson Space Center Astronomy Society Meeting

Have you ever wondered if you could take an amazing picture like those from the Hubble Space Telescope? Our February meeting will feature our own Don Halter speaking about his recent efforts to use a new astrophotography system. Come see if you can start producing your own masterpieces.

With spring almost here, we'll start discussing our vernal trip to our dark site at Ft. McKavett, as well as upcoming star parties. Other meeting topics include: "What's Up in the Sky this Month?" with suggestions for beginner observing; "Astro Oddities;" and the novice Q&A session.

Membership to the JSC Astronomy Society is open to anyone who wants to learn about astronomy. There are no dues, no bylaws--you just show up to our meeting. After you join us, you'll have access to our loaner telescopes to try your hand at observing and our educational DVD library, with hundreds of choices to learn from.

Event Date: Friday, February 14, 2014   Event Start Time:7:30 PM   Event End Time:9:30 PM

Event Location: USRA bldg auditorium, 3600 Bay Area Blvd

 

Add to Calendar

 

Jim Wessel x41128

 

[top]

5.            JSC Lunarfins Scuba Club Meeting

Our Feb. 12 meeting will feature a slide show on diving in Bonaire, one of three islands 50 miles off the Caribbean coast of Venezuela. Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao belong to the Netherlands and are part of the Virgin Island chain. Bonaire translates to "good air," as a constant, gentle breeze cools this island. The soft corals are lush and abundant, and the sea life abounds. Flocks of flamingos cover the salt water lake and the salt mining ponds. A representative from the Houston Underwater Photographic Society  will present this colorful slideshow. Please join us for these amazing photographs. We will also be discussing plans and taking reservations for the club trip to Cayman Brac Reef Resort in May 2014. Hope to see you there!

Event Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2014   Event Start Time:7:00 PM   Event End Time:8:30 PM

Event Location: Clear Lake Recreation Center-South side of NASA1

 

Add to Calendar

 

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

 

[top]

6.            Food Service Survey: Win A $100 Gift Card

Starport and the exchange manager would like for you to share your opinions on JSC's food services! Please complete the 2014 Starport Food Services Survey so we can better understand the needs and desires of the JSC workforce. The survey results will be analyzed and used to determine the center's future food services program structure.

Please take five minutes to complete the survey.

At the end of the survey, you will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $100 gift card from Amazon, Wal-Mart or Academy.

Thank you for your participation!

Dan Mangieri x47842 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

[top]

7.            Starport Jewelry Fair Tomorrow

Masquerade Jewelry will be out Feb. 11 to showcase $5 jewelry! Stop by Building 3 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and experience the frenzy of $5 jewelry and accessories.

Shelly Haralson x39168 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/special-events/on-site-employe...

 

[top]

8.            Valentine's Massage Special at Starport

This Valentine's Day, give your sweetheart 60 minutes of bliss with a Starport massage at the Gilruth Center.

Valentine's Day Special: For a limited time, buy your Valentine a 60-minute massage at the reduced rate of $60. Massages must be purchased before Feb. 14 and scheduled before March 31. Only one discounted massage per person.

To schedule your appointment, visit the Starport website.

Joseph Callahan x42769 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/massage-therapy/massage-specials

 

[top]

9.            Red Hot Special at Starport

Starport celebrates Valentine's day with a red hot special - 10 percent off anything red all week long. And, wear red on Valentine's Day for an extra 10 percent off. Starport is Red Hot for savings on Valentine's Day!

Cyndi Kibby x47467

 

[top]

10.          Starport Adult Sport Leagues

Come join the Starport Athletics adult sport leagues. We offer a plethora of leagues that range from men's and co-ed softball to even dodgeball. Come check us out! Right now we are offering a discounted rate for our whole spring season registration. Dodgeball, kickball and ultimate frisbee registration are now open! Hurry and take advantage of this great deal.

Robert Vaughn x38049 http://www.imleagues.com/School/Home.aspx?SchId=b77f7df9172d4d8a84a81184...

 

[top]

   Jobs and Training

1.            Introduction to the STI Center - Feb. 12

The Scientific and Technical Information Center, or JSC Library, provides access to engineering, technical and scientific databases; e-books; abstract and full-text journals; and conference proceedings. It is also the official repository for five-digit JSC documents. Make searching for these resources a lot easier by joining the library for a training session from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 12, via WebEx. To register, go to this link.

Provided by the Information Resources Directorate.

Event Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2014   Event Start Time:2:00 PM   Event End Time:3:00 PM

Event Location: WebEx

 

Add to Calendar

 

Ebony Fondren x32490 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov

 

[top]

2.            Electronic Document System (EDS) 2.0

The EDS 2.0 document type Task Performance Sheet (TPS) is preparing for centerwide deployment. This intuitive and simple system will enable TPSs to be generated and approved electronically. If you are a frequent user of JSC Form 1225, please sign up for one of the scheduled training sessions in SATERN.

Course name: EDS Electronic Task Performance Sheet (eTPS) Training

Course number: JSC-NT-SAIC-EDS

Two sessions are offered on the following days from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.

Feb. 11

Feb. 12

Feb. 25

Feb. 26

March 11

March 12

March 25

March 26

Regina Senegal x32686

 

[top]

3.            Facility Manager Training

The Safety Learning Center invites you to attend an eight-hour Facility Mangers Training.

This course provides JSC Facility Managers with insight into the requirements for accomplishing their functions.

o             Includes training on facility management, safety, hazard identification and mitigation, legal, security, energy conservation, health and environmental aspects.

o             Attendees of this course must also register in SATERN for a half-day Fire Warden Training. Others that need Fire Warden training can register through the normal process.

Date/Time: March 6 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Safety Learning Center - Building 20, Room 205/206

Registration via SATERN required:

https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Aundrail Hill x36369

 

[top]

4.            Job Opportunities

Where do I find job opportunities?

Both internal Competitive Placement Plan (CPP) and external JSC job announcements are posted on the HR Portal and USAJOBS website. Through the HR portal, civil servants can view summaries of all the agency jobs that are currently open at: https://hr.nasa.gov/portal/server.pt/community/employees_home/239/job_opportu...

To help you navigate to JSC vacancies, use the filter drop-down menu and select "JSC HR." The "Jobs" link will direct you to the USAJOBS website for the complete announcement and the ability to apply online. If you have questions about any JSC job vacancies, please call your HR representative.

Brandy Braunsdorf x30476

 

[top]

   Community

1.            JSC Green Team Recycling Tour POSTPONED

As announced in the February monthly sustainability opportunities (scroll down to "What's New in Sustainability"), the tour on Feb. 12 of the Waste Management Single-Stream Recycling Facility has been postponed. The new tour dates for any interested JSC employees and contractors are Wednesday, March 12, or Tuesday, March 18. Tours for both days will leave JSC at 11 a.m. and return no later than 2 p.m. via alternative-fuel government vans. Contact Laurie Peterson to reserve your seat.

Laurie Peterson x39845 http://jsc-web-www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/ja13/capp.cfm

 

[top]

2.            Inspire Kids to Achieve Their Dreams

This spring, you have the unique opportunity to help kids discover and achieve their dreams! Citizen Schools work with at-risk middle school students. The kids will learn about new careers and new futures through hands-on, real-world "apprenticeships" taught by people like you. 

How can you help? By volunteering for an hour-and-a-half (4:30 to 6 p.m.) on campus, once a week, over the course of the semester, you will be able to share your skills and knowledge with low-income sixth-grade students at struggling Houston Independent School District schools.

Was sixth grade very loooong ago? Remember, it's a pivotal time in a student's educational trajectory, which will impact their future college and career choices. There are also opportunities for volunteers for a lesser commitment to work in teams to split up the 10-week program into three segments.

Everyone is invited to volunteer to teach an apprenticeship. Learn more about the experience at our information session on Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Building 1, Room--then sign up for an opportunity in V-CORPs. Questions? Send any inquiries to Mark Jernigan.

Event Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM

Event Location: Building 1, Room 720

 

Add to Calendar

 

V-CORPs x39528 http://nasajsc.force.com/vcorps

 

[top]

 

JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles.

Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters.

 

 

NASA and Human Spaceflight News

Monday – Feb. 10, 2014

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

Space Notebook: Pair headed for U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame

Florida Today

 

Retired NASA astronauts Shannon Lucid and Jerry Ross will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame during a May 3 ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Lucid was the only American woman to serve aboard Russia's Mir space station. Ross was the first person to complete seven space shuttle missions. Hall of Famer Dan Brandenstein, chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, announced the 2014 inductees Friday at the Visitor Complex.

 

NASA Satellite Sees Sochi Winter Olympics Venues from Space (Photos)

Tariq Malik – Space.com

 

The Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, is the warmest city ever to host the Winter Olympic Games, which open on Feb. 7, 2014, and run through Feb. 23. This north-looking image, acquired on Jan. 4, 2014, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft, shows the Sochi Olympic Park Coastal Cluster, which was built for Olympic indoor sports. Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team View full size image

The 2014 Winter Olympics officially began with an extravagant opening ceremony in Sochi, Russia, today (Feb. 7), and even NASA has embraced the spirit of the games with striking new satellite views of Olympic sites from orbit. The newly released photos of Sochi Winter Olympics venues from space were captured by a NASA instrument on the Earth-watching Terra satellite on Jan. 4. NASA unveiled the images on Thursday, with one photo revealing a view of Sochi Olympic Park Coastal Cluster, on the coast of the Black Sea, as it appears from orbit.

Success! Mars rover Curiosity risks a ride on its largest sand dune

Amino Khan – Los Angeles Times

 

Yee-haw! After perching near its tip for days, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity rode down the largest sand dune it has ever attempted on the Red Planet. "I'm over the moon that I'm over the dune!" the rover's Twitter account tweeted Thursday. Rover driver Matt Heverly at Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted his relief. "Seeing this picture from the bottom of the sand dune put an even bigger smile on my face today," Heverly wrote.

 

Delight Over ISS Extension, Debate Over Regulations Highlight 2014 FAA Commercial Space Conference

Marcia Smith – Spacepolicyonline.com

 

The FAA's annual Commercial Space Transportation conference covered a lot of ground this week (February 5-6, 2014), but two topics were highlights:  the Obama Administration's recent decision to extend operations of the International Space Station (ISS) by four more years and debate about the extent of government regulation of commercial human spaceflight.

 

NASA officials seek commercial interest for surplus facilities

James Dean – Florida Today

 

CAPE CANAVERAL — Access platforms more than 200 feet up in the Vehicle Assembly Building extended around the tip of the last space shuttle's external tank, allowing workers to traverse the length of High Bay 1 during launch preparations a few years ago. That level now overlooks a canyon that drops to a mobile launch platform stationed below and rises as high to the roof, where mist formed on a recent rainy afternoon. NASA will soon invite companies to fill the void with a commercial rocket, or rockets that could be assembled for launches from Kennedy Space Center.

 

SLS engineer seeks to run against Mo Brooks as an independent

Jeff Foust – Space Politics

 

Rep. Mo Brooks, the Alabama Republican whose district includes NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and who sits on the House Science Committee, may be facing a different kind of competition in November. Mark Bray, an engineer for Jacobs Engineering in Huntsville currently working on the Space Launch System (SLS), announced Friday that he plans to run for Brooks's seat, but as an independent. "I want to serve this district as an independent with no party affiliation so that I can truly serve the people with no strings attached," he told local TV station WHNT.

 

Aging ISS is a space lab of 'unlimited' opportunity

Jean Louis-Santini – Japan Times

 

WASHINGTON – It may be 350 km above Earth and a place that only a privileged few will ever visit, but the International Space Station is crucial to advances in science, health and technology, experts say. Last month, NASA said the life of the $100 billion ISS would be extended by four years, or until at least 2024, allowing for more global research and scientific collaboration. John Holdren, a senior White House adviser on science and technology, hailed the space station — mainly built with U.S. money — as "a unique facility that offers enormous scientific and societal benefits. "The Obama administration's decision to extend its life until at least 2024 will allow us to maximize its potential, deliver critical benefits to our nation and the world and maintain American leadership in space," he said.

 

Houston's own Statue of Liberty? Giant Astronaut to tower taller than Sam Houston — and include an elevator

Tyler Rudick – CultureMap Houston

 

Houston artist David Adickes has signed on to create an 80-foot cement astronaut commemorating the Apollo missions. Rendering courtesy of City of Webster

Adickes at his Huntsville museum in 2012 Photo by Joel Luks

Never one to pass up a chance to build a towering statue along the highway, legendary Houston artist David Adickes has signed on to design the largest project of his career — an 80-foot concrete astronaut at I-45 and NASA Parkway that would tower over the famous Sam Houston statue in size. The impressive statue will stand above a newly-proposed education center dedicated to the Apollo space program and its historic moon landings. The City of Webster, which owns the land for the project, will partner with the Apollo and Beyond nonprofit to raise funds for this new space center.

 

Australian Astronomers Find Oldest Star Identified to Date

It Is in the Milky Way and Is 400 Million Years Older Than the Previously Identified 'Oldest' Star

Feds: Security at heart of policy on space

Rob Taylor – The Wall Street Journal

 

CANBERRA, Australia—Astronomers in Australia have identified what they say is the oldest known star, estimating it was formed 13.6 billion years ago. The astronomers said they found the star in the Milky Way galaxy, relatively close to the Earth, around 6,000 light years away. It is a few hundred million years younger than the universe and 400 million years older than a star identified in recent years by teams of astronomers in the U.S. and Europe. Its age was determined by analyzing its iron content, the Australian team said in an article in the science journal Nature.

 

NASA Scientists Develop New Device To More Accurately Observe And Track Planets; Equivalent To Measuring A Dime From 2 Miles Away

Kukil Bora – International Business Times

 

Scientists have developed a new device called the Wallops Arc Second Pointer, or WASP, which offers planetary scientists an improved platform to observe their targets in space. High-altitude scientific balloons, which carry telescopes far into the stratosphere to help astronomers study Earth, the sun and stars, have not been very useful for planetary scientists as they need a more stable system to accurately point their instruments to track planetary targets as they move in the solar system. And, according to scientists, the newly developed WASP can point balloon-borne scientific instruments at targets with more accuracy and stability.

 

Number of disabled federal workers hired reaches 32-year high

Disabled advocates say technology allows for greater gains

Yvonne Wenger - The Baltimore Sun

 

With her seeing-eye dog by her side, Denna Lambert works to help ensure that up-and-coming scientists and engineers with disabilities can see a future at NASA. Lambert, the disability program manager at Goddard Space Flight Center, said she is answering President Barack Obama's call for greater diversity and inclusion in the federal government.

 

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

Space Notebook: Pair headed for U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame

Florida Today

 

News and notes from the Cape and beyond:

 

Retired NASA astronauts Shannon Lucid and Jerry Ross will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame during a May 3 ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

 

Lucid was the only American woman to serve aboard Russia's Mir space station. Ross was the first person to complete seven space shuttle missions.

 

Hall of Famer Dan Brandenstein, chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, announced the 2014 inductees Friday at the Visitor Complex.

 

Launch developments

 

A Global Positioning System satellite was hoisted atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket Wednesday in preparation for a Feb. 20 blastoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch window is 8:40 p.m. to 8:59 p.m.

 

A ULA Atlas V booster moved to its vertical processing tower Friday ahead of a national security launch planned in late March.

 

SpaceX's next Cape launch of cargo to the International Space Station is now targeted for March 16 at 4:41 a.m. It had previously been planned Feb. 22.

Morpheus tries again

 

After scrubs Thursday and Friday due to technical problems and weather, NASA's Morpheus lander is targeting a 1:15 p.m. Monday liftoff from Kennedy Space Center.

 

The prototype lander testing "green" propellants and autonomous landing sensors aims to climb 465 feet, fly forward about 630 feet, then descend to a pad in a hazard field north of the shuttle runway. Watch the flight live on floridatoday.com.

Supply ships depart, arrive at ISS

 

Russian resupply ships came and went last week from the ISS. The robotic Progress 52 freighter departed Monday and began a series of experiments before its planned deorbit this week. It was replaced Wednesday at the outpost by Progress 54, which launched the same day from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying 2.8 tons of food, fuel and supplies.

Webb telescope progress

 

Ballooning costs and schedule delays made NASA's James Webb Space Telescope a target for congressional budget cutters.

 

NASA's 2011 management overhaul of the Hubble Space Telescope's successor revised the project's cost to $8.8 billion — 78 percent above original estimates — and delayed its launch from French Guiana by 52 months, to Oct. 2018.

 

Last Monday, NASA and the program's biggest champion in Congress, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, celebrated the arrival at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland of all the telescope's flight instruments and primary mirrors. Managers said the launch was on track.

 

Hangar S nears recognition

 

Kennedy Space Center is close to releasing a historical survey of NASA-owned facilities located on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

 

Look for Hangar S to be among a group of facilities newly identified as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

Demolition of the hangar where Mercury astronauts trained was at least temporarily put on hold, and the survey ordered, when an Indiana man objected and asked NASA to recognize its historical significance.

 

Space Florida backs UCF research

 

Space Florida's board last week approved contributing $384,000 to the University of Central Florida's Center for Microgravity Research and Education, which performs microgravity experiments in a ground-based laboratory and on airplane or suborbital rocket flights. Space Florida said the center is intended to attract new investment to the state and increase opportunities for funding from NASA and other federal agencies.

 

Commercial satellite "fully operational"

 

It's easy to forget about satellites after we lose sight of their rocket's trail to orbit. Last week, Luxembourg-based SES confirmed that its SES-8 communications satellite had reached its intended orbit and entered service without any problems.

 

The Dec. 3, 2013, launch was significant because it was SpaceX's first of a commercial satellite to a geostationary orbit, and the company's first launch from Florida of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket. Orbital Sciences Corp. built the satellite.

 

NASA Satellite Sees Sochi Winter Olympics Venues from Space (Photos)

Tariq Malik – Space.com

 

The Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, is the warmest city ever to host the Winter Olympic Games, which open on Feb. 7, 2014, and run through Feb. 23. This north-looking image, acquired on Jan. 4, 2014, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft, shows the Sochi Olympic Park Coastal Cluster, which was built for Olympic indoor sports. Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team View full size image

The 2014 Winter Olympics officially began with an extravagant opening ceremony in Sochi, Russia, today (Feb. 7), and even NASA has embraced the spirit of the games with striking new satellite views of Olympic sites from orbit.

The newly released photos of Sochi Winter Olympics venues from space were captured by a NASA instrument on the Earth-watching Terra satellite on Jan. 4. NASA unveiled the images on Thursday, with one photo revealing a view of Sochi Olympic Park Coastal Cluster, on the coast of the Black Sea, as it appears from orbit.

"The Olympic Park Coastal Cluster for indoor sports appears as a circular area on the shoreline in the bottom center of the image," NASA officials wrote in an image description. "There's a separate arena for curling, alongside multiple arenas for hockey and skating. The actual city of Sochi, which has a population of about 400,000, is not visible in the picture." [Photos: Sochi Winter Olympics and Space Travel]

A second Terra satellite image shows the Rosa Khutar ski resort in the mountains near Sochi. The resort is the location for the alpine ski competitions for the Winter Olympics.

"The resort is in the valley at center, and the ski runs are visible on the shadowed slopes on the left-hand side of the valley," NASA officials wrote. "The runs may be rated double black diamond, but they're not quite as steep as they appear in this image. Height is exaggerated 1.5 times to bring out topographic details."

The 2014 Winter Olympic ski runs may be rated double black diamond, but they're not quite as steep as they appear in this image of the skiing and snowboarding sites for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, acquired on Jan. 4, 2014, by NASA's Terra satellite. Rosa Khutar ski resort near Sochi, Russia, is in the valley at center, and the runs are visible on the shadowed slopes on the left-hand side of the valley. View full size image

NASA's Terra satellite used its Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) to capture the new views of Sochi from space. In the images, red hues indicate vegetation, while snow shows up as white areas. Buildings appear gray in the images, with the sea appearing in dark blue.

The Terra satellite launched in December 1999 and carries five sensitive instruments to observe Earth from space.

NASA satellites aren't the only eyes in space watching the Winter Olympics. Earlier this month, the Earth imagery company DigitalGlobe unveiled its own views of the Sochi Olympic venues from space.

Meanwhile, astronauts in space will follow the Winter Olympics from the International Space Station. The station is home to two American astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and three Russian cosmonauts.

The Olympic torch for the Sochi Winter Olympics was launched to the space station last fall. Cosmonauts took the Olympic torch on a spacewalk before returning it to Earth in November. The Sochi Winter Olympics will run from Feb. 7 to Feb. 23.

 

Success! Mars rover Curiosity risks a ride on its largest sand dune

Amino Khan – Los Angeles Times

 

Yee-haw! After perching near its tip for days, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity rode down the largest sand dune it has ever attempted on the Red Planet.

 

"I'm over the moon that I'm over the dune!" the rover's Twitter account tweeted Thursday.

 

Rover driver Matt Heverly at Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted his relief.

 

"Seeing this picture from the bottom of the sand dune put an even bigger smile on my face today," Heverly wrote.

 

Riding this dune, about a yard high and 10 yards long, was risky,  but the engineers on the Mars Science Laboratory mission had led Curiosity here for a reason. Late last year the team noticed that its aluminum wheels had suffered an alarming amount of holes, scratches and other damage. The terrain on their path, called the "rapid transit route," was too rough for the wheels to handle.

 

"That gave us concern," said Curiosity's lead scientist, John Grotzinger, a Caltech geologist. "We expect to get damage to the wheels, but we were surprised at the rate."

 

The scientists have a few theories as to why Curiosity is running into this problem when previous rovers on other parts of the planet have not, Grotzinger said. They think the wind in Gale Crater tends to sharpen rocks to piercing points, and Curiosity is so much heavier than its predecessors that all that weight on those pointy rocks can really do some damage.

 

So the scientists took a sharp detour toward a more promising route; the only problem was the dune-filled Dingo Gap, a narrow passageway between two scarps that stood in their path.

 

The scientists were well aware of the risks of riding the dune. Both 2004 rovers Spirit and Opportunity got themselves into sticky situations when crossing sand. Opportunity got so stuck in a sand dune in 2005 that scientists called the spot Purgatory, and Spirit became mired in a sand trap in 2009, from which it never recovered.

 

Now, having ridden its largest sand dune yet, Curiosity is heading west to a new frontier and a new possible drill target:  a spot called KMS-9, which could host a whole different habitable environment from the  life-friendly spots in Yellowknife Bay.

 

Delight Over ISS Extension, Debate Over Regulations Highlight 2014 FAA Commercial Space Conference

Marcia Smith – Spacepolicyonline.com

 

The FAA's annual Commercial Space Transportation conference covered a lot of ground this week (February 5-6, 2014), but two topics were highlights:  the Obama Administration's recent decision to extend operations of the International Space Station (ISS) by four more years and debate about the extent of government regulation of commercial human spaceflight.

 

Extending ISS to 2024.   NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Bill Gerstenmaier opened the conference by noting progress in the commercial crew and cargo programs and how the business environment for those companies has improved with the decision to keep ISS operating through 2024.  Gerstenmaier praised that "tremendous decision" by the Obama Administration, announced last month, and the fact that it was made quickly rather than requiring independent reviews or extended debate.  Gerstenmaier acknowledged that it may take several years for the other partners in the ISS to decide if they will follow suit, but "I believe they will over time."  (Editor's Note:   As we pointed out in a recent editorial, SpacePolicyOnline.com does not share his enthusiasm for extending the ISS to 2024 without an independent technical review.)

 

He went on to praise Russia's "innovative spirit ... that pushes us in the right direction and helps us," offering space tourism, the just-installed Earthkam, and the Olympic torch relay as examples:  "Think Russian, think commercial."

 

Not surprisingly, the decision to extend ISS to 2024 was greeted warmly by the commercial crew and commercial cargo companies whose business plans benefit from the decision.   Representatives of Boeing, Orbital Sciences, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada participated in a panel discussion later that day along with Phil McAlister, NASA's Director of Commercial Spaceflight.

 

McAlister said the decision took him by surprise, but he was delighted because "as of now we've never had a better business plan" for commercial crew.   Chris Ferguson, director of commercial crew for Boeing, praised the decision, but wondered what the industry will do after 2024.  "We really need to maintain this toehold" in low Earth orbit (LEO), he stressed, then asked rhetorically whether ISS will be extended to 2028 or will there be a market for commercial LEO stations.  "We have to have a destination in low Earth orbit or we'll struggle to keep the business model going," he concluded.

 

McAlister was asked why ISS was extended only to 2024 instead of 2028 (when the first ISS modules will be 30 years old, a timeframe NASA has been discussing for quite some time), but said he had no insight into that decision.

 

Regulating Commercial Human Spaceflight.  Another panel debated the regulatory environment for commercial human spaceflight.  Moderated by Wayne Hale, it had an interesting group of participants– a former astronaut, Ken Reightler; an economist with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Ken Heyer; a Boeing lawyer, Russ McMurry; and a commercial space industry political insider, Jim Muncy.  Collectively they offered a range of views on the issues of informed consent and the role, if any, for government regulation beyond what is already provided by the 2004 Commercial Space Launch Act Amendments (CSLAA).  Muncy was substituting for XCOR's Jeff Greason.  All were speaking in their personal capacities.

 

The primary areas of contention were the need for government regulation versus voluntary industry standards and how to ensure spaceflight participants (passengers) really do have informed consent when deciding whether or not to step aboard an orbital or suborbital commercial human spaceflight vehicle.

 

Under the informed consent provisions of CSLAA, companies must explain the risks and provide information on their vehicle's safety record.  Prospective passengers then make their own decisions on whether to board the flight.  CSLAA prohibits the FAA from adding more regulations for a fixed period of time except under certain conditions (like a fatal accident) and one of the debates is over whether this "moratorium" or "learning period" should be extended beyond its current expiration date of September 30, 2015.

 

Generally, Reightler and McMurry argued in favor of some level of government regulation, while Heyer and Muncy questioned the need for anything beyond current law.

 

Heyer, the economist, focused on whether or not there is a market failure that makes it essential for the government to step in.   He does not see one now.  McMurry took the position that the government is the repository of lessons learned from 50 years of human spaceflight and "the more we push government away" the more "we fail to avail ourselves of some valuable lessons learned."   Muncy agreed that it would be "insane" to not take advantage of government help in developing space systems that are as safe as possible, but "there are a thousand ways" to do that "other than writing regulations."

 

McMurry disagreed, worrying that companies who chafe at oversight by a government that has 50 years of experience in human spaceflight are exactly the ones that will "ruin the industry by creating a death that is avoidable" because they will adhere only to minimum safety standards.  Reightler agreed with McMurry, cautioning that a spaceflight accident will get more public attention than a train wreck, for example.

 

McMurry went further, arguing that industry self-regulation lends itself to manipulation of the rules in order to turn situations to a competitive advantage.  He likened it to the difference between a pick-up sports game versus a game with a referee: "If you really want fairness and ... equality, you need regulations. To what extent?  Up for debate. But we need a referee."  Heyer argued that in most industries consumers are the referees.  If they do not approve of a company, they take their business elsewhere.  He wondered why it would be different in this case.

 

At the end, the panelists were asked if they, personally, would fly on one of the commercial vehicles, which elicited some of the more entertaining answers of the day.   Reightler – who flew on two space shuttle missions – offered what he said was a good engineer's answer:  "it depends."   In this case, it would depend on the details, into which he would dive deeply.  Heyer asked "will it cost money?" evoking jokes that that was a good economist's answer.  He added, however, "even if it was perfectly safe I still might not do it."  More broadly, he said the question is whether the average person will fly.  He thinks the initial market will be wealthy thrill-seekers and scientists who have experiments to conduct, not the average person.   McMurry displayed company loyalty:   "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going."  Muncy said he would be delighted to go, "but I'm not paying for the ticket."

 

NASA officials seek commercial interest for surplus facilities

James Dean – Florida Today

 

CAPE CANAVERAL — Access platforms more than 200 feet up in the Vehicle Assembly Building extended around the tip of the last space shuttle's external tank, allowing workers to traverse the length of High Bay 1 during launch preparations a few years ago.

 

That level now overlooks a canyon that drops to a mobile launch platform stationed below and rises as high to the roof, where mist formed on a recent rainy afternoon.

 

NASA will soon invite companies to fill the void with a commercial rocket, or rockets that could be assembled for launches from Kennedy Space Center.

 

"The taxpayers invested in the building, it's available, so we're trying to make it available for a commercial company to take advantage of," said Tom Engler, deputy director of KSC's Center Planning and Development office.

 

The vacant high bay and several mobile launch platforms are the latest surplus former shuttle facilities NASA hopes to transition to new users, but notably also the last of the really big ones.

 

Through deals completed or nearing completion, the major facilities are now nearly all accounted for, three years after NASA first solicited interest in them.

 

"We're nearing the end of the big capabilities," said Engler. "As we get over this hump of these big agreements, now we're looking longer-term on how we bring more of the space capabilities and space companies to the center to build that multi-user spaceport."

 

Focus will begin to shift to opening up sections of facilities where NASA has extra space, like the one that used to house International Space Station components, and use of vacant land to support potential clean energy and space manufacturing projects.

 

NASA this month expects to wrap up agreements for partners to take over KSC's biggest pieces of "underutilized" infrastructure: the three-mile shuttle runway and one of two former shuttle launch pads.

 

Discussions with Space Florida to operate the runway have dragged on since June.

 

The deal is complex, Engler said, given the facility's size and Space Florida's request for land that could be developed to help attract commercial tenants.

"It's still moving forward, and I think going to be a very powerful partnership," he said.

 

Negotiations are moving faster on a long-term lease of launch pad 39A to SpaceX, which NASA selected in December.

 

SpaceX is already inspecting the pad under an interim agreement. Modifications needed to launch Falcon 9 rockets as soon as 2015 could start after a lease is signed.

 

NASA is overhauling KSC's other pad, 39B, for a planned late 2017 first launch of its giant Space Launch System exploration rocket, and potentially use by commercial rockets.

 

The center's three shuttle hangars, called Orbiter Processing Facilities or OPFs, all have new occupants lined up.

 

The Boeing Co. last month announced a military space plane it built and supports would move into OPF-1. NASA later confirmed the deal with the Air Force's classified X-37B program also included the adjacent OPF-2.

 

The site of the first major partnership announced back in 2011 was OPF-1, where Boeing plans to assemble its CST-100 commercial crew capsule.

 

Agreements for some lesser-known facilities include:

 

• Melbourne-based Craig Technologies moved into the NASA Shuttle Logistics Depot in Cape Canaveral, where it will operate and maintain about 1,600 pieces of NASA specialized equipment for at least five years.

 

• PaR Systems of Shoreview, Minn., has a 15-year lease to use Hangar N at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, including equipment used for non-destructive testing.

 

• United Paradyne Corp. of Santa Maria, Calif., which specializes in handling rocket and spacecraft fuel, agreed to a 15-year lease of the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (South).

 

• BRS Aerospace, of Miami, inked a 10-year lease to use the Parachute Refurbishment Facility.

 

Sierra Nevada Corp. recently said it wanted to process Dream Chaser mini-shuttles in the Operations and Checkout facility, near where NASA's Orion exploration capsule is being assembled, but there's no formal commitment yet.

 

In a presentation last May, KSC Director Bob Cabana said facilities being considered for partnerships totaled nearly 630,000 square feet with a replacement value of nearly $761.9 million.

Another million square feet worth $412.7 million was slated for demolition.

 

NASA believes the facilities it has not offered to partners or added to a demolition list are necessary — or might be — to support the SLS rocket and Orion.

 

But the agency continues to face questions about whether it is doing enough to shed aging and costly infrastructure. A congressional subcommittee plans to explore that subject during a 9 a.m. hearing today at KSC.

 

"The federal government is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars of assets in these facilities that could be used to create jobs for our community," said U.S. Rep. John Mica, chair of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, in a statement Friday.

 

In a report last year, NASA's inspector general noted that Kennedy is holding on to facilities used to recover shuttle solid rocket boosters, even though there are no plans to recover SLS boosters through at least 2021. Annual cost: Nearly $2.6 million.

 

Meanwhile, work will continue to attract more outside partners to the center, perhaps on a smaller scale.

 

"We've got a lot of work left to do and are looking forward to that next phase of continuing the transition to a multi-user spaceport," said Engler. "You see kind of a whole world opening up in front of you here as we continue that transition from that single-program facility that we've been for the last 40 years, to one that supports all forms of spaceflight activity."

 

SLS engineer seeks to run against Mo Brooks as an independent

Jeff Foust – Space Politics

 

Rep. Mo Brooks, the Alabama Republican whose district includes NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and who sits on the House Science Committee, may be facing a different kind of competition in November. Mark Bray, an engineer for Jacobs Engineering in Huntsville currently working on the Space Launch System (SLS), announced Friday that he plans to run for Brooks's seat, but as an independent. "I want to serve this district as an independent with no party affiliation so that I can truly serve the people with no strings attached," he told local TV station WHNT.

 

Bray tells the Huntsville Times that it was space policy, specifically, the decision by the Obama Administration in 2010 to cancel the Constellation Program and the debate that ensued, that got him interested in a Congressional run. "I saw NASA and the space program — which used to be a bipartisan, everybody-loved-it kind of thing — become a political football," he told the newspaper. He said he tried to work with Republicans on space policy issues, without success. "I took some stuff behind the scenes, tried to see if I could work something in policy and it didn't fit with the mantra they wanted to sell, which was anti-Democrat."

 

Bray, who works on on materials development and qualification of new propulsion systems for SLS, according to the bio on his campaign web site, is running as an independent, but is looking for Democrats for support in signing petitions to get on the ballot for November. No Democrats are running against Brooks, who is facing one Republican in the June primary, Jerry Hill. Bray said he needs to collect about 6,800 signatures from qualified voters in the district in order to appear on the ballot.

 

Aging ISS is a space lab of 'unlimited' opportunity

Jean Louis-Santini – Japan Times

 

WASHINGTON – It may be 350 km above Earth and a place that only a privileged few will ever visit, but the International Space Station is crucial to advances in science, health and technology, experts say.

 

Last month, NASA said the life of the $100 billion ISS would be extended by four years, or until at least 2024, allowing for more global research and scientific collaboration.

 

John Holdren, a senior White House adviser on science and technology, hailed the space station — mainly built with U.S. money — as "a unique facility that offers enormous scientific and societal benefits.

 

"The Obama administration's decision to extend its life until at least 2024 will allow us to maximize its potential, deliver critical benefits to our nation and the world and maintain American leadership in space," he said.

 

The orbiting outpost, which was launched to fanfare in 1998, has more living space than a six-bedroom house and comes complete with Internet access, a gym, two bathrooms and a 360-degree bay window offering spectacular views of Earth.

 

Its entire structure is made up of various working and sleeping modules, and extends the length of a football field (about 100 meters), making it four times bigger than the Russian space station Mir and about five times as large as the US Skylab.

 

The aging structure requires regular maintenance, which is done by astronauts who don spacesuits and venture outside the lab.

 

Julie Robinson, an ISS scientist at NASA, insisted that the space station, which has a mass of 420,000 kg but is near-weightless in space, is worth the trouble and expense.

 

The ISS, which is maintained by a rotating crew of six astronauts and cosmonauts who have hailed from 14 countries, allows scientists to study the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body, she said, while testing new space technologies that will be essential for missions to Mars.

 

"The goal of using the space station is to make discoveries that cannot be made anywhere else . . . and do research that is really focused on bringing benefits back to Earth by developing knowledge that can directly help biomedical treatments, make new materials, have better Earth and climate observations," she said.

 

"Many of our early research results are making their way into drug development, medical technologies, pathways. We also have Earth-remote sensitive instruments that provide unique data about the Earth and its climate and there are a number of new instruments going up in the next two years," Robinson added. "When you put all of that together it's really an extraordinary set of benefits back here on Earth."

 

Robinson noted that a robotic arm used at the space station can save lives during brain surgery.

 

"What was special about this one is the ability of the arm to perform inside an MRI machine so that doctors are able to see the tumor and then use the ability of the robotic arm to be more stable than the human hand," she said. "Those two things together have allowed surgery on patients who were considered inoperable before."

 

Cheryl Nickerson, a professor of microbiology at Arizona State University, has been involved since 2006 in research that has taken place as part of the space program, for example homing in on the salmonella bacteria that causes food poisoning.

 

"I believe that the discovery potential at microgravity research is enormous and holds potential to provide ground-breaking discoveries in some of the major causes of human morbidity and mortality on Earth," she said. "That stems from the fact that there is no way on Earth that we can study our cells and biological systems respond without the force of gravity affecting it."

 

Robinson described the possibilities at the ISS as "unlimited," and noted that a growing amount of private money was supporting research at the space station.

 

"This is an era of space research that is unlike the past and we are looking at the decades ahead as the time when science can finally pursue these boundaries, explore these frontiers and make these unique discoveries," she said. "I think as we look back, 20 or 30 years from now, we will call this the era of the space station . . . because of the number of advances and benefits that will come out."

 

Houston's own Statue of Liberty? Giant Astronaut to tower taller than Sam Houston — and include an elevator

Tyler Rudick – CultureMap Houston

 

Houston artist David Adickes has signed on to create an 80-foot cement astronaut commemorating the Apollo missions. Rendering courtesy of City of Webster

Adickes at his Huntsville museum in 2012 Photo by Joel Luks

Never one to pass up a chance to build a towering statue along the highway, legendary Houston artist David Adickes has signed on to design the largest project of his career — an 80-foot concrete astronaut at I-45 and NASA Parkway that would tower over the famous Sam Houston statue in size.

The impressive statue will stand above a newly-proposed education center dedicated to the Apollo space program and its historic moon landings. The City of Webster, which owns the land for the project, will partner with the Apollo and Beyond nonprofit to raise funds for this new space center.

The statue and Apollo center, neither of which have any direct affiliation with NASA, are expected to lure as many as 800,000 visitors a year to a community still hurting from the federal agency's cancellation of the space shuttle program in 2011.

"This would be an icon, for not only Webster but NASA and this whole south part of Texas."

"This would be an icon, for not only Webster but NASA and this whole south part of Texas," Adickes tells KTRK Channel 13 about his monumental art project. "The excitement comes when I actually start trying to figure out how to do it and where it's going to be done. All the details, that's the fun part."

The artist envisions a 1960s-era astronaut triumphantly planting an American flag onto a 50-foot pedestal that will feature a small museum.

Like the Statue of Liberty or the San Jacinto monument — and unlike Adickes' 67-foot Sam Houston statue in Huntsville — the astronaut would include an elevator to lift visitors atop its massive helmet for sweeping views of Houston and Galveston. The towering Apollo homage has an anticipated cost of $5 million, with an additional $25 million required for the education center.

Organizers say the 20,000-square-foot complex, currently dubbed the Apollo and Beyond Center, also will serve as a sort of business and technology incubator for a region with deep ties to the aerospace industry. Multi-purpose meeting areas will host conferences and talks aimed at bringing together area tech talent with international firms.

 

Australian Astronomers Find Oldest Star Identified to Date

It Is in the Milky Way and Is 400 Million Years Older Than the Previously Identified 'Oldest' Star

Feds: Security at heart of policy on space

Rob Taylor – The Wall Street Journal

 

CANBERRA, Australia—Astronomers in Australia have identified what they say is the oldest known star, estimating it was formed 13.6 billion years ago.

 

The astronomers said they found the star in the Milky Way galaxy, relatively close to the Earth, around 6,000 light years away. It is a few hundred million years younger than the universe and 400 million years older than a star identified in recent years by teams of astronomers in the U.S. and Europe.

 

Its age was determined by analyzing its iron content, the Australian team said in an article in the science journal Nature.

 

"The telltale sign that the star is so ancient is the complete absence of any detectable level of iron in the spectrum of light emerging from the star," said Stefan Keller, the operational scientist at Australian National University's Mount Stromlo SkyMapper Observatory.

 

The star—spotted on Jan. 2 during an operation to digitally map the Southern Hemisphere sky and dubbed SMSS J031300.36-670839.3—is believed to be part of a second generation of stars, Mr. Keller said. It was formed from debris thrown out by a massive star that died out quickly.

 

"They were really massive objects that lived fast and died young. They had large explosions, and the shock wave from those first stars gave rise to this star that we are observing now," he said. "It unambiguously incorporates material from the first stellar generation."

 

The primordial star that gave rise to a second-generation star probably had a mass 60 times as large as our sun and exploded with less energy than might be expected, Dr. Keller said. That allowed a subsequent black hole to swallow most of its heavy elements before another star eventually formed nearby.

 

Iron and other relatively heavy elements gradually build up in successive stars born from supernovae, with the composition of our own sun indicating it was formed from hundreds of cycles of explosion, formation and re-formation.

 

All stars act like time capsules, Dr. Keller said, and SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 sheds light on the gas composition of the universe as it was 13.6 billion years ago.

 

"It tells us a lot about what those first stars were," he told Australian radio. "To form a star like the one we've located, there was likely only one supernova."

 

Professor Mike Bessell, who spotted the star while analyzing mapping data, said the light spectrum showed only a handful of elements, including hydrogen, carbon, magnesium, and calcium, which made its composition radically different from our sun's. The calcium, in particular, was what astronomers had expected from second-generation stars formed from progenitors consisting of hydrogen and helium.

 

SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 was one of 60 million photographed by the SkyMapper telescope in its first year of operation, Mr. Bessell said. Its discovery has since been confirmed by the team using the giant Magellan telescope in Chile.

 

"There's likely to be more stars like this, but they are very hard to find," he said. "We have to sort through vast amounts of data to find the very few of them that are out there. It's a needle in a haystack."

 

The Canadian Press

 

OTTAWA — A policy framework that will serve as a guide for Canada's future in space makes sovereignty and security its No. 1 priority.

 

Industry Minister James Moore unveiled the policy document on Friday at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

 

Moore told industry representatives and a group of local students the document has five key priorities.

 

"First, it puts Canadian interests first, ensuring that our sovereignty, our Canadian security and Canadian prosperity are at the heart of Canada's space activities," he said.

 

Moore did not announce how much funding the government would contribute to the space program.

 

Another priority is helping the space industry to develop cutting-edge technology.

 

The others are partnering with other countries on major projects, promoting Canadian innovation and inspiring Canadians to pursue a career in space.

 

"As we approach Canada's 150th birthday in 2017, we want to continue to support a strong competitive and innovative space sector that will be here with us for the long term, making us proud," Moore said.

 

The industry minister also reaffirmed Canada's continued support for the James Webb space telescope, which will eventually replace the Hubble telescope in space.

 

He announced that Canada will provide a $17-million investment in the new telescope.

 

"The telescope's images will serve thousands of astronomers worldwide over the coming decades, including helping them to determine if there are other planets capable of supporting life," he said.

 

Canadian astronauts David Saint-Jacques and Jeremy Hansen and Walt Natynczyk, head of the Canadian Space Agency, also attended the event.

 

Canada's space industry, which employs 8,000 people, generates revenues of $3.3 billion annually.

 

NASA Scientists Develop New Device To More Accurately Observe And Track Planets; Equivalent To Measuring A Dime From 2 Miles Away

Kukil Bora – International Business Times

 

Scientists have developed a new device called the Wallops Arc Second Pointer, or WASP, which offers planetary scientists an improved platform to observe their targets in space.

 

High-altitude scientific balloons, which carry telescopes far into the stratosphere to help astronomers study Earth, the sun and stars, have not been very useful for planetary scientists as they need a more stable system to accurately point their instruments to track planetary targets as they move in the solar system. And, according to scientists, the newly developed WASP can point balloon-borne scientific instruments at targets with more accuracy and stability.

 

"Arc-second pointing is unbelievably precise," David Stuchlik, the WASP project manager, said in a statement. "Some compare it to the ability to find and track an object that is the diameter of a dime from two miles away."

 

WASP, designed at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va., is meant to be a highly flexible, standardized system capable of supporting many science payloads. Thanks to the technology's potential, the team of scientists working on WASP has received funding from the NASA Science Mission Directorate to further enhance the new capability as a standard support system, the space agency said.

 

Number of disabled federal workers hired reaches 32-year high

Disabled advocates say technology allows for greater gains

Yvonne Wenger - The Baltimore Sun

 

GREENBELT ——

 

With her seeing-eye dog by her side, Denna Lambert works to help ensure that up-and-coming scientists and engineers with disabilities can see a future at NASA.

 

Lambert, the disability program manager at Goddard Space Flight Center, said she is answering President Barack Obama's call for greater diversity and inclusion in the federal government.

 

When children, teens and young adults see more and more professionals with disabilities in the federal workforce, she said, they will know what they can achieve — and how they can contribute.

 

"For me, I am blind, and sometimes my perspective on things may be very different and that perspective may help with solving a problem or finding a solution," said Lambert, who started at the Greenbelt center a decade ago as a contract specialist. "We need people with different backgrounds, different experiences so we can capture everything we can possibly know."

 

More individuals with disabilities worked for the federal government in 2012 than any time since at least as far back as 1980, the Office of Personnel Management reported recently, and the percentage of workers with disabilities hired each year continues to grow.

 

Advocates call the progress commendable, but say more can be done to bring down the nearly 12 percent unemployment rate for disabled workers.

 

The OPM reported that individuals with disabilities accounted for nearly 12 percent of the federal workforce, or about 220,000 people in 2012, up from 7 percent in 1980.

 

Obama issued an executive order in 2010 directing government agencies to redouble their efforts to recruit, hire and retain individuals with disabilities. That year, disabled workers made up about 10 percent of the federal workforce.

 

"The federal government has an important interest in reducing discrimination against Americans living with a disability, in eliminating the stigma associated with disability, and in encouraging Americans with disabilities to seek employment in the federal workforce," Obama wrote in the order.

 

The president challenged federal agencies to hire 100,000 individuals with disabilities by 2015. He placed emphasis on those with certain disabilities, including blindness, deafness, paralysis, epilepsy and intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.

 

Despite progress, federal agencies have lagged behind Obama's goal. To meet it, the agencies would have needed to hire approximately 20,000 workers with disabilities a year.

 

Between 2010 and 2012 — the last year for which data is available — federal agencies had hired about 33,000 workers with disabilities.

 

The Government Accountability Office has warned agencies that they need better planning if the government is going to meet the hiring goal.

 

Mark Perriello, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said agencies need to train hiring managers about how to interview individuals with impairments and dispel misconceptions about bringing them on staff.

 

One misconception, Perriello said, is that disabled workers need expensive accommodations in order to work. He said the average cost to accommodate a person with a disability is $35.

 

"It will be a heavy lift for the administration to reach the 100,000-person goal, but I do think it's achievable if people are given the tools they need," Perriello said.

 

Perriello said the federal government could create a centralized accommodation fund and government-wide accommodation standards to improve hiring for all positions. Giving recruiters and managers additional training and more leeway to hire individuals outside the customary process are other ways to boost opportunities, he said.

 

Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, said many employers assume blind people can't perform certain job tasks, which contributes to a 70 percent unemployment rate for people who are visually impaired. He said the assumption is often incorrect.

 

"The biggest barrier blind people face is the attitude of the employers," Danielsen said. "There is a lot more possibility for blind people to be employed than there ever has been."

 

Technology such as 3-D printers and text-to-speech software allow blind people to perform most jobs, Danielsen said. Braille also is becoming increasingly more available through machines that can display the touch print with pins.

 

"Really there are very few things a blind person can't do with the training or accommodation," he said. "The sky's the limit if the blind person is determined to do the job and federal government is willing to work with the person to do the job."

 

NASA is in the middle of a five-year plan to boost diversity and inclusion. Efforts include training for managers, participation in job fairs and facilities surveys to identify architectural barriers at NASA centers.

 

About 7 percent of NASA's workforce in 2012 was disabled, up from about 6.5 percent in 2010.

 

Sharon Wagner, director of the program planning and evaluations division in NASA's office of diversity and equal opportunity, said limited hiring opportunities have made it difficult for the agency to change the composition of its workforce.

 

Still, she said, "we are fully committed to making a success of our plan."

 

Similar programs are in place at the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which are both based in Woodlawn. Those agencies share information about job vacancies with advocacy groups and maintain a database of hundreds of resumes for individuals with disabilities, among other initiatives.

 

Lori Lynn, who works in the Social Security Administration's disabilities service center, can give employees special keyboards and equipment, reader assistants and speech input programs. Lynn, who is blind, said she has been impressed with the agency's accommodations over her nearly 34 years with Social Security Administration.

 

"The technology world is the best thing," Lynn said. "So many advancements now allow people to be more independent and do the work themselves rather than rely on someone else to help them."

 

In 2012, roughly 10 percent of Social Security workers were disabled.

 

At the Department of Health and Human Services — of which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid is a division —about 9 percent of workers were disabled.

 

Bill Yuknis, a NASA supervisor and a lead engineer for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, said an inclusion program for people with disabilities should create "the opportunity for career advancement, mentoring and the chance to provide meaningful contributions to their job."

 

Yuknis is deaf. He works with a sign language interpreter to help him communicate on the job. After more than two decades working at the Goddard Space Flight Center, he said, he's seen the agency's accommodations for disabled workers "changing and evolving all for the better."

 

"It's wonderful," he said.

 

END