Thursday, February 6, 2014

Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Thursday – Feb. 6, 2014 and JSC Today



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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: February 6, 2014 10:27:14 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Thursday – Feb. 6, 2014 and JSC Today

 
Hope you can join us at Hibachi Grill today  at 11:30 for our monthly Retirees luncheon.   Its even colder today than yesterday so be safe and be warm.    Good day for Hot and Sour soup, wonton soup or egg drop  J
 
 
RETIREMENT JSC EP511 FTP ALANIS, FRANCISCO 02/28/14
RETIREMENT JSC DD221 FTP CLACK, JOHN 02/28/14
RETIREMENT JSC JB311 FTP WAY, GEORGIA 02/28/14
RETIREMENT JSC KX111 FTP JOHNSON, NICHOLAS 03/28/14
 
Helen Lane left us at the end of last month.  And of course our  friend Scott Johnson/NA has not made the list but his last day is tomorrow with NASA –congratulations and best wishes to all in retirement!
 
 
 
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Thursday, February 6, 2014      Read JSC Today in your browser
 
            JSC TODAY CATEGORIES
1.      Headlines
-  Joint Leadership Team Web Poll
-  More Morpheus Awesomeness Today at KSC
-  Expedtion 36 Welcome Home Ceremony
-  2014 Black History Month
-  JSC Women's History Month (WHM) Planning Committee
-  Monthly Test of the JSC Emergency Warning System
-  JSC Knowledge Online (JKO) for 2014
2.      Organizations/Social
-  Valentine Deliveries Made Directly to JSC
-  Attending to Relationships
-  Join Starport's Special Event Notification List
-  Spring Craft Fair & Flea Market Accepting Vendors
-  Parent's Night Out at Starport - Feb. 21
-  Youth Karate Classes Coming to Starport - Feb. 22
-  Salsa/Latin Dance - Starts Feb. 28
3.      Jobs and Training
-  RLLS Portal Training for February - Via WebEx
4.      Community
-  Tomorow: Build a 3-D Printer
-  Blood Drive - Feb. 19 to 20
 
Mariner 10's First Close-Up Photo of Venus
 
 
   Headlines
1.      Joint Leadership Team Web Poll
Most employees spent last week's "snow day" just chillin' at home. The information flow seemed to work pretty well, and most were satisfied with what we did and what information they received. This week I'd like to hear your impression of the "Sputnik" Airstream meeting place in the mall pond area. It's been there for a couple of months, so I'd like to know how you feel. Do you really like it? Hate it? Like the idea? Seattle pretty much walloped Denver last week, but I don't think that was the most lopsided victory in history ever. I've given you five lopsided victories in question two so you can vote on the greatest whuppin' of all time.
Cry your Uncle on over to get this week's poll.
Joel Walker x30541 http://jlt.jsc.nasa.gov/
 
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2.      More Morpheus Awesomeness Today at KSC
Today, the Morpheus team plans another daring free flight test at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The test will be streamed live on JSC's UStream Channel. View the live stream, along with progress updates sent via Twitter or on the website. Or, if you're on-site, watch live on JSC HDTV (channel 51-2) and IPTV (channel 4512).
During this test, the autonomous, untethered Morpheus "Bravo" vehicle will launch from the ground over the flame trench, ascend approximately 142 meters, then translate approximately 194 meters downrange while descending to land in the hazard field.
Test firing is planned for approximately 11:15 p.m. CST and will last a little over one minute. Streaming will begin approximately 20 minutes prior to ignition.
*Note: Testing operations are very dynamic, and actual firing time may vary. Follow Morpheus on Twitter for the latest information @MorpheusLander. (Send "follow morpheuslander" to 40404 for text updates.)
For more, check out our website.
 
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3.      Expedtion 36 Welcome Home Ceremony
The Expedition 36 Crew Welcome Home Awards Ceremony is Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 3 to 5 p.m.
All NASA civil servants, contractors and International Partners are invited Wednesday, Feb. 12, to welcome home our International Space Station Expedition 36 crew members: Pavel Vinogradov, Aleksandr Misurkin, Chris Cassidy, Karen Nyberg, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Luca Parmitano. The event will be held in the Gilruth Center Alamo Ballroom. The doors will open at 3 p.m., and the program runs until 5 p.m. There will not be an opportunity for autographs at this event. Come share in the welcome, highlights and stories with the crew and Expedition 36 support teams. For more information, contact Jennifer McCarter at x47885.
Event Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2014   Event Start Time:3:00 PM   Event End Time:5:00 PM
Event Location: Alamo Ballroom, Gilruth Center
 
Add to Calendar
 
Jennifer McCarter x47885
 
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4.      2014 Black History Month
Please join the JSC Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (OEOD) as we recognize Black History Month. The 2014 theme is "Civil Rights in America," chronicling the important milestones by African-Americans and others in the battle for civil rights and equal treatment under the law. The year 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Passage of the act opened the door for women and racial and ethnic minorities to have fair access to employment opportunities. The act also ended Jim Crow laws, which had enforced racial segregation in public facilities. After lobbying tirelessly on behalf of the bill, President Lyndon Johnson signed the act into law on July 2, 1964.
To read the presidential proclamation, please click here. To view or print the 2014 Black History Month poster, please visit JSC OEOD's website.
JSC Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity x30607 http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oeod/
 
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5.      JSC Women's History Month (WHM) Planning Committee
The JSC Women's History Month (WHM) planning committee is looking for creative and innovative ideas for the celebration of March 2014's WHM. This year's theme is "Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment." Some activities JSC previously hosted included: "The View Inside JSC: Educate to Innovate Women in STEM" panel discussion in 2013; JSC Women "Then and Now" Open House with the women of the Apollo era and the Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary Celebration brown-bag luncheon in 2012; and the TEDxNASAJSCWomen's "Shaping the Future: Resilience, Relationships, Rebirth and Reimagine" event in 2011.
Please join us on Friday, Feb. 7, as we brainstorm from 9 to 10 a.m. in Building 1, Room 820.
Please contact JSC Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity at x30607 if you have any questions.
JSC Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity x30607 http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oeod/
 
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6.      Monthly Test of the JSC Emergency Warning System
The Emergency Dispatch Center and Office of Emergency Management will conduct the monthly, first Thursday test of the JSC Emergency Warning System (EWS) today at noon.
The EWS test will consist of a verbal "This is a test" message, followed by a short tone and a second verbal "This is a test" message. The warning tone will be the "whoop" tone, which is associated with a "Seek shelter inside" message. Please visit the JSC Emergency Awareness website for EWS tones and definitions. During an actual emergency situation, the particular tone and verbal message will provide you with protective information.
Dennis G. Perrin x34232 http://jea.jsc.nasa.gov
 
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7.      JSC Knowledge Online (JKO) for 2014
New collections of training videos are now offered on the "Leadership and Learning" tab of JKO. Initially produced and presented by Human Systems Integration and the Human Systems Academy, example lectures include: Changes in Postural Stability after Spaceflight; Effects of Space on the Control of Locomotion; and Exploration Medical Capabilities. Many engineers will be interested in the Structures and Dynamics series, also available in the "Leadership and Learning" tab. Examples include: Laminate Composites; Design Process Physiology; Beam Bending; and 2-D Element Mapping. Newly released information sets from the Apollo Program era are also available from the "Historical Records" tab. Check back to this expanding group of program-era information. Thanks to all involved in the hard work and collaboration necessary in keeping valuable knowledge available for JSC!
Brent J. Fontenot x36456 https://knowledge.jsc.nasa.gov/
 
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   Organizations/Social
1.      Valentine Deliveries Made Directly to JSC
All vendor deliveries made to the center (other than orders made through the Starport Gift Shops) must go through Central Receiving in Building 420. This policy includes deliveries made by florists. You will be notified by Central Receiving to physically pick up your gift if your special someone uses an off-site vendor who will be delivering to JSC. For further information, please visit the Transportation website.
If you have any questions, please contact Beverly Calvert (x47504) or Delores Marshall (x36504).
Beverly Calvert x47504
 
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2.      Attending to Relationships
Albert Einstein once said, "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." However, we are responsible for how we express and sustain love in our relationships.
Join Takis Bogdanos, LPC-S with the JSC Employee Assistance Program, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 12 noon in the Building 30 Auditorium to learn how to keep relationships healthy and moving forward. The best, most lasting gift you can give your partner on Valentine's Day is great communication skills!
Event Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2014   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Building 30 Auditorium
 
Add to Calendar
 
Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program, Occupational Health Branch x36130
 
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3.      Join Starport's Special Event Notification List
Miss a JSC Today notice on important event tickets available at Starport? Join our Special Event Notification Email List to receive the first-available information on upcoming ticket sales at Starport. The list will be used to notify interested customers of upcoming events such as Disney on Ice, Sesame Street Live, Monster Jam, Super Cross, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and more. Participation is voluntary, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Stop by the gift shop today to sign up and get the buzz on all the great entertainment opportunities available through Starport!
Cyndi Kibby x47467
 
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4.      Spring Craft Fair & Flea Market Accepting Vendors
On April 19, Starport will have its Spring Festival event at the Gilruth Center. Not only will there be a crawfish boil and children's Spring Fling complete with Easter bunny and egg hunt, but we will also host a Flea Market and Craft Fair.
If you are interested in selling your unwanted items in the outdoor flea market or selling your homemade crafts, baked goods or new products at the indoor craft fair, we are now accepting vendor registrations. Click here for more information and to register. The deadline to register is March 23.
Shelly Haralson x39168 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/
 
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5.      Parent's Night Out at Starport – Feb. 21
Enjoy a night out on the town while your kids enjoy a night with Starport! We will entertain your children with a night of games, crafts, a bounce house, pizza, a movie, dessert and loads of fun.
When: Friday, Feb. 21, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Where: Gilruth Center
Ages: 5 to 12
Cost: $20/first child and $10/each additional sibling if registered by the Wednesday prior to event. If registered after Wednesday, the fee is $25/first child and $15/additional sibling.
 
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6.      Youth Karate Classes Coming to Starport - Feb. 22
Let Starport introduce your child to the exciting art of Youth Karate. Youth Karate will teach your child the skills of self-defense, self-discipline and self-confidence. The class will also focus on leadership, healthy competition and sportsmanship.
TRY A FREE CLASS ON FEB. 22!
Please call the Gilruth Center front desk to sign your child up for the free class (only 25 available spots).
Five-week session: March 1 to 29
Saturdays: 10 to 10:45 a.m.
Ages: 6 to 12
Cost: $75
Register online or at the Gilruth Center.
 
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7.      Salsa/Latin Dance - Starts Feb. 28
Latin Dance Introduction: Feb. 28 from 8 to 9 p.m.
This class is mostly an introduction to Salsa, but also touches on other popular Latin dances found in social settings: Merengue, Bachata, and even a little bit of Cha-Cha-Cha. Emphasis is on Salsa and then Bachata.
This class is perfect for the first-time student or those who want a refresher course. You will go over basic steps with variations and build them into sequences.
Discounted registration:
o       $40 per person (ends Feb. 14)
Regular registration:
o       $50 per person (Feb. 15 to Feb. 28)
Salsa Intermediate: Feb. 28 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
This class continues teaching Salsa beyond that taught in the introduction class. You should be comfortable and confident with the material from the introduction class before moving on to the intermediate class. This is a multi-level class where students may be broken up into groups based on class experience.
 
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   Jobs and Training
1.      RLLS Portal Training for February - Via WebEx
The February Monthly RLLS Portal Education Series - via WebEx session:
o       Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. CST, Translation Support Training
o       Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. CST, Interpretation Support Module Training
o       Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. CST, Telecon Support Training
o       Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. CST, International Space Station Russia Travel Module Training
The 30-minute training sessions are computer-based WebEx sessions, offering individuals the convenience to join from their own workstation. The training will cover the following:
o       System login
o       Locating support modules
o       Locating downloadable instructions
o       Creating support requests
o       Submittal requirements
o       Submitting on behalf of another
o       Adding attachments
o       Selecting special requirements
o       Submitting a request
o       Status of a request
Ending each session are opportunities for Q&A. Please remember that TTI will no longer accept requests for U.S.-performed services unless they are submitted through the RLLS Portal.
Email or call 281-335-8565 to sign up.
James Welty 281-335-8565 https://www.tti-portal.com
 
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   Community
1.      Tomorow: Build a 3-D Printer
Have you ever wanted to learn how to build a 3-D printer? Well, here is your chance! Join the center maker community tomorrow from noon to 5 p.m. in Building 35, Room 104 (the 1958 collaborative space). We will be putting together the new open-source Ultimaker Printer.
Event Date: Friday, February 7, 2014   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:5:00 PM
Event Location: Building 35, room 104
 
Add to Calendar
 
 
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2.      Blood Drive – Feb. 19 to 20
There is no substitute for blood. It has to come from one person in order to give it to another. Will there be blood available when you or your family needs it? A regular number of voluntary donations are needed every day to meet the needs for blood. Make the "Commitment to life" by taking one hour of your time to donate blood. Your blood donation can help as many as three patients.
You can donate at one of the following locations:
o       Teague Auditorium lobby - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
o       Building 11 Starport Café donor coach - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
o       Gilruth Center donor coach - noon to 4 p.m. (Wednesday)
Please note: Due to a scheduling conflict, the donor coach in the Gilruth Center parking lot will be here on Wednesday instead of Thursday.
Criteria for donating can be found at the St. Luke's link on our website. T-shirts, snacks and drinks are available for all donors.
 
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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.
 
 
 
 
 
NASA and Human Spaceflight News
Thursday – Feb. 6, 2014
Mariner Mission 10: On Feb. 5, 1974, NASA's Mariner 10 mission took this first close-up photo of Venus.
 
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio, along with four fitness professionals and athletes, including a U.S. Olympian, Crossfit Champion and NFL player, will share workout tips during a special Google+ Hangout from space at 11:15 a.m. Central today. Watch on Google+ or NASA TV.
HEADLINES AND LEADS
 
Next SpaceX Station Cargo Run Slips into March
Irene Klotz – Space News
 
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and NASA are slipping launch of the next Dragon cargo capsule to the international space station to March 16, a three-week delay, officials said Feb. 5. SpaceX's ninth Falcon 9 rocket, carrying an unmanned Dragon spaceship, is due to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here, at 4:41 a.m. EDT March 16. The flight previously was targeted for Feb. 22.
 
Progress supply ship docks with space station
William Hardwood - CBS News
 
An unmanned Progress supply ship loaded with 2.8 tons of equipment and supplies rocketed into orbit Wednesday, chased down the International Space Station and glided to a smooth automated docking after a four-orbit rendezvous.
 
Meet Kepler-413b: A wobbly planet with strange seasons
Amina Khan- Los Angeles Times
 
Astronomers using data from the planet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope have found a wild card of a world: a planet so wobbly that its "seasons" could be in constant flux.
 
NASA pondering two public contests to build small space exploration satellites
Michael Cooney– Network World
 
NASA today said it was looking into developing two new Centennial Challenge competitions that would let the public design, build and deliver small satellites known as Cubesats capable of operations and experiments near the moon and beyond.
 
Industry, FAA at odds over extension of "learning period" for commercial spaceflight safety regulations
Jeff Foust – Space Politics
 
When Congress passed the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (CSLAA) of 2004, one section of the bill restricted the FAA's ability to promulgate regulations regarding the health and safety of spaceflight participants and crews of commercial spacecraft. While sometimes called a "moratorium" on regulations, it is more accurately a partial restriction: the law (51 USC 50905) still allows the FAA to issue regulations in the event of a serious of fatal injury during a flight, or an incident that posed a "high risk" of causing such an injury. The commercial space industry frequently refers to this restriction as a "learning period," since the intent of the bill was to allow companies to fly vehicles and build up experience upon which regulations could later be based.
 
Ariane 5 rocket set for opening launch of 2014
Stephen Clark– Spaceflightnow.com
 
Arianespace will kick off the year with a launch for Hong Kong-based Asia Broadcast Satellite and the French and Italian governments, sending a pair of large communications payloads into orbit aboard a heavy-duty Ariane 5 rocket.
 
GPS satellite mounted atop booster for Feb. 20 launch
Justin Ray – Spaceflightnow.com
 
Beginning a slate of three launches in five months to fortify the Global Positioning System, the first craft was mounted atop its Delta 4 booster rocket Wednesday for liftoff Feb. 20.
 
U.S. Spaceflight Regulatory Chief Eager To Begin Rulemaking Process
Dan Leone – Space News
 
The chief U.S. regulator for commercial spaceflight told lawmakers Feb. 4 he wants to start making rules governing paid passenger flights sooner than some in industry would prefer.
 
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite arrives in orbit
Justin Ray – Spaceflightnow.com
NASA's newest communications relay satellite, launched from Cape Canaveral last month, has maneuvered itself to geosynchronous orbit and deployed its antennas and power-generating solar arrays as planned.
Giant Astronaut Statue Envisioned for New Apollo Visitor Center in Texas
 
Robert Pearlman - collectSPACE.com
 
A new Texas-size tribute to NASA's Apollo manned moon landings may give new meaning to the phrase "giant leap."
 
Record-Breaking 33 'Cubesats' to Launch from Space Station This Month
 
Mike Wall - Space.com
 
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are preparing for the deployment of nearly three dozen tiny satellites from the orbiting lab over the coming weeks.
 
Murray Hill student's experiment takes flight on ISS
 
Sara Toth - Laurel Leader (Maryland)
 
Soon, when one North Laurel student looks to the night sky, he'll see more than stars.
 
Lunar law row hots up as NASA enters private moon rush
 
Paul Marks - New Scientist
 
Fancy a mining trip to the moon? Talkto NASA. The US space agency is now offering a leg-up in the commercial race to the moon. Having enjoyed a series of successful partnerships with private companies, such as SpaceX, to send cargo to the International Space Station, NASA now hopes to do the same with moon landers. But contention over lunar property rights may still stymie commercial growth.
 
COMPLETE STORIES
Next SpaceX Station Cargo Run Slips into March
Irene Klotz – Space News
 
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and NASA are slipping launch of the next Dragon cargo capsule to the international space station to March 16, a three-week delay, officials said Feb. 5.
SpaceX's ninth Falcon 9 rocket, carrying an unmanned Dragon spaceship, is due to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here, at 4:41 a.m. EDT March 16. The flight previously was targeted for Feb. 22.
 
A combination of SpaceX readiness, splashdown dates and station activities drove the selection of the new launch date, NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the cause of the delay.
Byerly said the recent swath of bad weather that has blanketed the United States may have delayed SpaceX's ability to transport the first stage of its Falcon 9 launcher to the Cape in time to support a Feb. 22 launch.
 
Progress supply ship docks with space station
William Hardwood - CBS News
 
An unmanned Progress supply ship loaded with 2.8 tons of equipment and supplies rocketed into orbit Wednesday, chased down the International Space Station and glided to a smooth automated docking after a four-orbit rendezvous.

A Soyuz booster carrying the Progress M-22M/P-54 spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:23 a.m. EST (GMT-5, 10:23 p.m. local time), roughly the moment Earth's rotation carried the launch complex into the plane of the space station's orbit.
 
The space station passed 260 miles above Kazakhstan within a few minutes of launch, giving the lab's crew a glimpse of the rocket's fiery climb go space.

"We got a pretty good view of the first stage," flight engineer Rick Mastracchio told NASA flight controllers in Houston. "After (stage) separation, we pretty much lost it, but it was a good show for a few seconds."

The ascent went smoothly and the Progress supply ship slipped into its planned preliminary orbit, with a high point of around 150 miles and a low point of roughly 120 miles, about nine minutes after liftoff. A few moments later, the spacecraft's solar panels and antennas deployed as expected.

"We have confirmation of separation of the Progress vehicle (from the Soyuz booster) and also deployment of the solar arrays and the appendages associated with the automated rendezvous and docking system," commentator Kyle Herring reported from NASA's mission control in Houston.

In keeping with recent practice, the cargo ship carried out an automated six-hour rendezvous with the space station, docking at the Earth-facing Pirs module at 5:22 p.m. as the two spacecraft sailed high above the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida.

The Progress was packed with critical supplies and equipment for the station's six-man crew, including 2,897 pounds of spare parts, experiment hardware and general supplies, 1,764 pounds of propellant, 926 pounds of water and 110 pounds of oxygen. The spacecraft is expected to remain docked to the station through April 7.

The next space station resupply mission will be carried out by a commercially developed SpaceX Dragon supply ship launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Liftoff is now targeted for March 16.

Meet Kepler-413b: A wobbly planet with strange seasons
Amina Khan- Los Angeles Times
 
Astronomers using data from the planet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope have found a wild card of a world: a planet so wobbly that its "seasons" could be in constant flux.
 
This planet, called Kepler-413b, is about 2,300 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, and it orbits a binary pair of stars that are circling each other. This gas giant weighing roughly 65 Earth masses orbits every 66 days, too close to the stars to be habitable.
 
But here's the unusual bit about this planet, described in an upcoming issue of the Astrophysical Journal: It's so wobbly that its spin axis could vary by as much as 30 degrees over 11 years -- a pretty extreme swing, given that the Earth, tilted at 23.5 degrees, completes one round of its own "wobble" every 26,000 years.
 
The team discovered this strange system while looking for planets crossing in front of binary stars, said lead author Veselin Kostov, an astrophysicist with Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
 
NASA's Kepler telescope, which was retired after it suffered a major injury last year, would stare at a patch of sky and wait for a planet to pass in front of a star and block a little light. When those dips in brightness occur a few times at regular intervals, astronomers know it must be an orbiting planet.
 
But Kepler-413b was anything but regular. The dips in brightness occurred in weird fits and starts: three times in the first 180 days, then not at all for the next 800 days, then five more times before it stopped again (and then Kepler ceased functioning).
 
The scientists realized that the planet's orbit was off by 2.5 degrees -- it didn't travel in the same plane as its host stars, a red dwarf and a slightly larger orange dwarf. The scientists think that, as this uneven pair of stars dance around each other at the center, their different gravitational pulls constantly warp the planet's orbit. It also causes the planet to wobble on its axis, like a spinning top does -- a phenomenon known as rotational precession.
 
The seasons on this gassy planet, such as they are, would be in constant flux, Kostov said. And this has implications for a detailed definition of habitability. Just because a planet lies in the habitable zone, where liquid water can exist, doesn't mean it's an especially friendly place to live -- particularly if, say, it's constantly swinging from hot humid summers to icy winters. It's another factor to consider as astronomers search for Earth-like exoplanets.
 
"If you have an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a binary star, you have to take into account this precession," Kostov said. "It tells us about the architecture of extrasolar planets in general."
 
This planet may not be all that unusual; there could be many more like it. After all, Kepler could only see planets regularly transiting at just the right angle; and such wobbly planets are less likely to cross our line of sight.
 
"My gut tells me there should be more of them like this," Kostov said. "We just find the ones that are easy to find."
 
NASA pondering two public contests to build small space exploration satellites
Michael Cooney– Network World
 
NASA today said it was looking into developing two new Centennial Challenge competitions that would let the public design, build and deliver small satellites known as Cubesats capable of operations and experiments near the moon and beyond.
 
Centennial Challenges typically dare public and private partnerships to come up with a unique solution to a very tough problem, usually with prize money attached for the winner.  Centennial Challenges in the past have typically required several annual competitions to occur before the total prize purses, which can be in the millions-of-dollars range, have been claimed.
 
In a Request For Information published today, NASA said the two challenges would provide competitive opportunities for competition teams to deploy CubeSats on a NASA provided launch.  The cube-shaped satellites are typically  about four inches long, have a volume of about one quart and weigh about 3 pounds, NASA said.  The RFI looks to gather feedback on the two competitions being considered, the prize amounts and distribution structure as well as to determine the level of interest in potentially competing in these challenges.
 
The first challenge will focus on finding innovative ways to allow deep space communications with small spacecraft, while the second focuses on primary propulsion for small spacecraft. Currently CubeSat communications technology has been limited to low-bandwidth data communications in near-Earth orbits. CubeSats often use low power / low-gain communications subsystems, unique protocols, or amateur radio wavelengths not suitable for advanced science missions in the remote distances of deep space, NASA said.   As for the propulsion issue, NASA said developers are only starting to introduce limited in-space propulsion systems to CubeSats.  Together, these challenges are expected to contribute to opening deep space exploration to non-government spacecraft for the first time, NASA stated.
 
Specifically NASA said of the competitions: "Challenge 1 would award prizes in three areas: 1) ground demonstration of communications subsystem performance and acceptance for launch vehicle integration; 2) the highest data volume (bit error corrected) transmitted from and uplinked to a CubeSat within a prescribed period of time from at least 356,700 km (the minimum distance to the moon); and 3) the transmission of a prescribed small data set to the farthest distance beyond the moon and back to Earth. Challenge 2 (to be run concurrently with the Challenge I) would also award prizes in three areas: 1) ground demonstration of propulsion subsystem performance and acceptance for launch vehicle integration; 2) the first CubeSat to achieve a verifiable lunar orbit; and 3) verifiable achievement of at least a prescribed minimum number of lunar orbits."
 
As currently envisioned, challenge competitors will develop their CubeSat, and then must successfully complete a series of reviews and ground based hardware tests, to be accepted for launch vehicle integration. Collectively these reviews and ground tests constitute Phase A of the challenges. All teams that meet all Phase A requirements will receive Phase A prizes. Phase B of the challenges will begin after the competitor spacecraft are separated from the launch vehicle. Selection for inclusion in Phase B will be based on team ranking according to the performance of their systems in the Phase A ground tests, NASA stated.
 
Industry, FAA at odds over extension of "learning period" for commercial spaceflight safety regulations
Jeff Foust – Space Politics
 
When Congress passed the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (CSLAA) of 2004, one section of the bill restricted the FAA's ability to promulgate regulations regarding the health and safety of spaceflight participants and crews of commercial spacecraft. While sometimes called a "moratorium" on regulations, it is more accurately a partial restriction: the law (51 USC 50905) still allows the FAA to issue regulations in the event of a serious of fatal injury during a flight, or an incident that posed a "high risk" of causing such an injury. The commercial space industry frequently refers to this restriction as a "learning period," since the intent of the bill was to allow companies to fly vehicles and build up experience upon which regulations could later be based.
 
The CSLAA originally set this regulatory restriction to expire eight years after the bill's enactment, or December 2012, after which the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) would be free to craft safety regulations. With suborbital vehicle developers experiencing delays in entering service, Congress extended the period to October 2015 in an FAA reauthorization bill two years ago. Now, Congress is weighing a further extension as part of a broader update of the Commercial Space Launch Act on tap for this year.
 
However, the head of FAA/AST made it clear in a hearing Tuesday by the House Science Committee's space subcommittee that he does not support another extension of the learning period. At the hearing, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) asked George Nield, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, whether he supported one proposal to extend the restriction to eight years after the first flight to carry a spaceflight participant, an approach some in industry have endorsed, including the FAA's own Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). "No, I do not agree with that," Nield responded. "The US has over 50 years of experience in human spaceflight," he argued, providing a large set of lessons learned for commercial spaceflight providers. "For us to just put that aside and start over without taking advantage of what we've learned, I think is irresponsible."
 
Bridenstine then asked Nield if he opposed the original eight-year regulatory restriction in the 2004 CSLAA. "That's correct," Nield responded, "but I'm very sensitive to the concerns that industry has about government being overreaching and burdensome and holding things back. That is not what we want to do in the Office of Commercial Space Transportation. We want to enable safe and successful commercial operations."
 
Some on the committee, though, supported some kind of extension of the current regulatory restriction. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who authored the CSLAA ten years ago, said in retrospect that the restriction should have been structured "so that the eight-year timeline started with the first commercial flight carrying a spaceflight participant." "Regulating in the absence of flight data is the worst choice we can make," he warned.
 
The subcommittee chairman, Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS), also quizzed the witnesses about extending the regulatory restriction to eight years after the first participant-carrying flight (notably calling the current restriction a "learning period," the industry's preferred term.) "An arbitrary extension, such as the eight years that you mentioned in your question, might not be wise," said Henry Hertzfeld of George Washington University. "But I think there is, at some point, a judgement call that will have to be made to end that period, and it should be based on the technical experience we've had" from flights.
 
Ariane 5 rocket set for opening launch of 2014
Stephen Clark– Spaceflightnow.com
 
Arianespace will kick off the year with a launch for Hong Kong-based Asia Broadcast Satellite and the French and Italian governments, sending a pair of large communications payloads into orbit aboard a heavy-duty Ariane 5 rocket.
 
The Ariane 5 launcher left its final assembly building at the Guiana Space Center late Wednesday morning, arriving at the ELA-3 launch pad about an hour later amid scattered rain showers. Rocket technicians were supposed to connect the rocket and its weathered mobile launch platform to ground propellant and electricity supplies Wednesday afternoon.
 
Two communications satellites sit atop the 166-foot-tall rocket: ABS 2 for Asia Broadcast Satellite and Athena-Fidus for the French and Italian governments. They are enclosed inside the launcher's Swiss-built 5.4-meter, or 17.7-foot, diameter ogive-shaped nose shroud.
 
The dual payloads ride on a tandem satellite carrier built to haul two powerful communications satellites in one go. The Ariane 5's lift capacity makes it the only commercial launcher in the world capable of dual-payload launches.
 
ABS 2 is positioned in the upper slot in the fairing. Built by Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, Calif., the spacecraft weighs 13,955 pounds fully fueled at launch.
 
It will propel itself into a circular 22,300-mile-high orbit over the equator at 75 degrees east longitude, deploy solar panels and reflector dish-shaped antennas, and begin a 15-year operational mission beaming telecom services, direct-to-home television, multimedia programming and data link services across a wide swath of the Eastern Hemisphere.
 
Athena-Fidus is encapsulated inside a Sylda payload adapter for launch. The 6,790-pound spacecraft, manufactured by Thales Alenia Space, is a joint project between France and Italy to expand broadband communications services for defense and security authorities beyond the jam-resistant satellites already used by the nations' militaries.
 
Thursday's launch will mark the 72nd flight of an Ariane 5 rocket, and the 217th launch for the Ariane family since 1979. For Arianespace, it will be the 250th mission when including launches of Soyuz and Vega rockets managed by the French-headquartered launch services firm.
 
The countdown was due to begin at 0900 GMT (4 a.m. EST) Thursday, with clocks programmed for liftoff at 2030 GMT (3:30 p.m. EST), or 5:30 p.m. local time at the launch site in French Guiana.
 
The launch window extends for 2 hours and 5 minutes.
 
A check of electrical systems was scheduled to occur around 1300 GMT (8 a.m. EST).
 
Workers will also put finishing touches on the launch pad, including the closure of doors, removal of safety barriers and configuring fluid lines for fueling.
 
The launch team will begin the process to fuel the rocket with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants at 1540 GMT (10:40 a.m. EST). First, ground reservoirs will be pressurized, then the fuel lines will be chilled down to condition the plumbing for the flow of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are stored at approximately minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.
 
It will take approximately two hours to fill the Ariane 5 core stage tanks.
 
A similar procedure for the Ariane 5's cryogenic upper stage will commence at 1640 GMT (11:40 a.m. EST).
 
Chilldown conditioning of the Vulcain 2 first stage engine will occur at 1740 GMT (12:40 p.m. EST), and a communications check between the rocket and ground telemetry, tracking and command systems is scheduled for 1920 GMT (2:20 p.m. EST).
 
The computer-controlled synchronized countdown sequence will begin seven minutes before launch to pressurize propellant tanks, switch to on-board power and take the rocket's guidance system to flight mode.
 
The Vulcain 2 engine will ignite as the countdown clock reaches zero, followed by a health check and ignition of the Ariane 5's solid rocket boosters seven seconds later to send the 1.7 million-pound launcher skyward.
 
Five seconds after blastoff, the rocket will begin pitching east from the ELA-3 launch pad, surpassing the speed of sound less than a minute into the mission. The Ariane 5's twin solid rocket boosters will jettison 2 minutes and 21 seconds after liftoff.
 
Once above the dense atmosphere, the launcher's payload fairing will fall away at an altitude of about 68 miles. The Ariane 5's first stage will shut down 8 minutes, 49 seconds after liftoff, followed moments later by stage separation and ignition of the hydrogen-fueled cryogenic HM7B upper stage engine.
 
The rocket's upper stage will fire for more than 16 minutes, accelerating to a velocity of 20,967 mph, or more than 9.3 kilometers per second, to reach an orbit with a planned high point of 22,326 miles, a targeted low point of 152 miles and an inclination of 6 degrees.
 
The release of ABS 2 is scheduled for 27 minutes, 22 seconds. The rocket's barrel-shaped Sylda 5 dual-payload adapter will be jettisoned a few minutes later.
 
Athena-Fidus will separate from the lower portion of the payload stack at 32 minutes, 32 seconds.
 
GPS satellite mounted atop booster for Feb. 20 launch
Justin Ray – Spaceflightnow.com
 
Beginning a slate of three launches in five months to fortify the Global Positioning System, the first craft was mounted atop its Delta 4 booster rocket Wednesday for liftoff Feb. 20.
 
The launch is precisely timed at 8:40 p.m. EST to replace a 16-year-old member of the navigation network -- the GPS 2A-28 satellite. The evening launch opportunity extends 19 minutes.
 
Built by Boeing, the new GPS 2F-5 satellite brings with it modernized features including greater accuracy, better anti-jamming and a civil signal for commercial aviation as the fifth Block 2F bird.
 
Crews transported the satellite to Complex 37 overnight and lifted it into the gantry. The initial stage of attachment of the craft onto the upper stage of the rocket was completed at....
 
The Air Force and partner United Launch Alliance plan to launch GPS 2F-6 in May on another Delta and GPS 2F-7 on an Atlas 5 in July.
 
The Feb. 20 launch is headed for Plane A, Slot 3 of the constellation where it will become a primary spacecraft to transmit navigation and timing to military and civilian users around the globe. The satellite currently in that slot will be moved into a backup role for remainder of its useful life.
 
It will be the 25th Delta 4 launch and the fourth with a GPS satellite. ULA intends to conduct four flights of the Delta 4 this year.
 
The launch was delayed from October while engineers ran additional tests and analysis on the low-thrust condition experienced on the successful GPS 2F-3 flight.
 
"The delay of the GPS 2F-5 was not related to any new observation from the GPS 2F-3 launch. The Phase II investigation of the GPS 2F-3 flight telemetry continues the analysis from Phase I with the goal to thoroughly confirm there are no systematic issues with RL10B-2 engine," the Air Force says.
 
"Over the last several months, the team has continued testing and analysis which has increased our understanding and confidence in the conclusions of the GPS 2F-3 flight telemetry and the conclusions from Phase I."
 
Investigators believe a tiny fuel leak developed at the first ignition of the upper stage engine, resulting in lower-than-expected thrust and longer burn times. It is possible there were low-frequency dynamic responses that occurred on the engine system during ignition.
 
Additional inspections, in-flight helium purges to critical areas of the engine system and changes to how the engine is thermally conditioned during ascent to prepare for its initial ignition have been put in place to mitigate the risks.
 
GPS is marking the 20th anniversary of its Initial Operational Capability, the point in which the constellation was populated sufficiently to go into service.
 
"GPS has grown to become a vital worldwide utility serving billions of users around the globe. GPS multi-use Precision Navigation and Timing services are integral to the United States global security, economy, and transportation safety, and are a critical part of our national infrastructure," the Air Force says.
 
"GPS contributes vital capabilities to our nation's military operations, emergency response, agriculture, aviation, maritime, roads and highways, surveying and mapping, and telecommunications industries, as well as recreational activities. It is not an overstatement to say GPS is fundamental to today's technical infrastructure and culture."
 
U.S. Spaceflight Regulatory Chief Eager To Begin Rulemaking Process
Dan Leone – Space News
 
The chief U.S. regulator for commercial spaceflight told lawmakers Feb. 4 he wants to start making rules governing paid passenger flights sooner than some in industry would prefer.
 
The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), under reauthorization legislation signed in February 2012, is barred from writing detailed safety regulations for commercial human spaceflight until October 2015, unless there is a serious accident in the industry before then.
 
The Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (Comstac), an industry-led group that advises AST, wants more time. The group recommended last year that AST delay rulemaking until eight years after the first licensed U.S. commercial human spaceflight.
 
But AST Associate Administrator George Nield thinks that is too long to wait.  "The U.S. has over 50 years of experience in human spaceflight," Nield said here at a hearing of the House Science space subcommittee. "It's true that none of those carried a spaceflight participant who actually bought a ticket, but as far as I'm concerned, the design and the operation of those vehicles really were independent of who was riding onboard."
 
To back up his case, Nield recounted a quick history of U.S. crewed missions, from the experimental X-15 rocketplane that took the first U.S. astronauts on parabolic flights to the edge of space through the decades-long space shuttle program that ended in July 2011 after 135 missions.
 
Nield said it would be "irresponsible" to ignore the lessons from those programs and force regulators to collect a new set of data from commercial companies. Nield was expected to tell industry the same thing Feb. 5-6, when Comstac members are scheduled attend the group's annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference.
 
Among Comstac's members is Steve Isakowitz, president for Virgin Galactic, which expects to stage its first passenger-carrying flight to the edge of space later this year aboard its SpaceShipTwo rocketship. XCOR Aerospace, a Mojave, Calif., company planning to offer similar thrill rides starting as soon as 2015, is owned by one of Comstac's most vocal members, Jeff Greason.
 
Neither Virgin nor XCOR has the AST license they need to fly paying customers. Virgin, which has been conducting test flights under a provisional experimental license, applied for its commercial operating license in August; the company says that leaves plenty of time to begin flying customers in 2014.
 
The hearing was called to examine possible updates to the 1984 Commercial Space Launch Act, which also covers commercial satellite launches. The law was overhauled in 2004 — the same year Virgin Galactic was founded.
 
Among other things, the law includes rules for determining how much insurance companies must carry for commercial satellite launches. It also includes an indemnity provision, under which the federal government takes responsibility for damages arising from a catastrophic commercial launch accident that exceed the launch provider's insurance coverage. Under the current indemnity shield, which on Jan. 17 was extended through 2016, the United States would cover damages up to about $2.5 billion, once insurance coverage was exhausted.
 
The indemnity shield has drawn attention from some Democratic lawmakers, notably Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Science space subcommittee. Late last year, Edwards opposed the three-year extension of the shield, proposing a one-year extension and calling for hearings to re-examine the practice.
 
"Should we be laying the ground for a shift to an insurance-based regime?" Edwards asked at the Feb. 4 hearing. A self-described space-supporter, Edwards nonetheless said "there are a number of questions that remain outstanding in this growing industry that need to be answered, and issues that need to be resolved."
 
With a three-year launch-indemnity shield in place, "we have the time for a thorough and thoughtful examination of these questions, and I look forward to our subcommittee conducting further hearings to address them," Edwards said.
 
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite arrives in orbit
Justin Ray – Spaceflightnow.com
NASA's newest communications relay satellite, launched from Cape Canaveral last month, has maneuvered itself to geosynchronous orbit and deployed its antennas and power-generating solar arrays as planned.
The Boeing Co. designed and built the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite L for NASA and is controlling the spacecraft during its early days in orbit.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carried TDRS L into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, an elliptical type of orbit that is the customary drop off point for spacecraft bound for a parking spot about 22,300 miles above Earth.
From there, Boeing satellite controllers reduced the inclination and raised the low point to circularize it into a geosynchronous orbit where TDRS L now matches Earth's rotation and appears parked at 150 degrees West longitude, the planned location of in-space testing and checkout.
The satellite stood 26 feet tall and weighed over 7,600 pounds at launch, including 3,700 pounds of maneuvering fuel loaded inside the craft. Once fully deployed in space, TDRS K's solar wings will stretch 69 feet tip-to-tip to generate 3,220 watts of power and charge internal nickel-hydrogen batteries.
The primary physical feature of the satellite is two 15-foot-diameter flexible graphite mesh antenna dishes that were folded like taco shells for launch, then successfully sprung into shape once released in orbit.
The antennas offer gimbal tracking of targeted spacecraft flying beneath the satellite, providing high-gain communications to the station, Hubble and other craft for vital contacts and data dumps.
"TDRS-L and the entire TDRS fleet provide a vital service to America's space program by supporting missions that range from Earth-observation to deep space discoveries," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "TDRS also will support the first test of NASA's new deep space spacecraft, the Orion crew module, in September. This test will see Orion travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years."
After finishing the orbit-raising activities, the spacecraft's full appendages were deployed, starting with one solar array, then the booms holding the Single Access antennas fold out, the other solar wing extends, the forward Omni swings into place and the space-to-ground antenna is positioned.
Once the satellite undergoes three months of testing at 150 degrees West, NASA will "take the keys" from Boeing and drift the craft to its operational location at 49 degrees West for the start of a 15-year service life later this spring.
"This launch ensures continuity of services for the many missions that rely on the system every day," said Jeffrey Gramling, TDRS project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Giant Astronaut Statue Envisioned for New Apollo Visitor Center in Texas
 
Robert Pearlman - collectSPACE.com
 
 
A new Texas-size tribute to NASA's Apollo manned moon landings may give new meaning to the phrase "giant leap."
 
An 80-foot-tall (24 meters) statue of a spacesuited astronaut is planned as the centerpiece for the Apollo Center, a newly-announced visitor attraction in Webster, Texas. Proposed as a 20,000 square-foot (1,860 square meters) facility located just down the road from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, the Apollo Center would serve as an education and conference center.
 
The "venue [will] serve not only as a tribute to the Apollo program ... but also as a window into the future of space exploration, space habitation, and space technology," the non-profit behind the new center described in a brochure.
 
The Apollo Center's organizers briefed local-area business leaders about the project at a Webster Business Alliance meeting held Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 4).
 
Artist and concrete sculptor David Adickes, who created the 67-foot-tall (20-meter) statue of Texas statesman Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas, has been commissioned to sculpt the towering astronaut. The moonwalker statue may feature an elevator to take visitors up into the astronaut's helmet, providing them a view of the area surrounding the Johnson Space Center.
 
An artist's rendering of the colossal astronaut depicts the statue holding onto an American flag and wearing the red stripes on his A7L spacesuit that distinguished a mission commander on the later Apollo flights.
 
"This would be an icon for not only Webster, but for NASA and this whole south part of Texas," Adickes told Houston ABC affiliate KTRK-TV.
 
The City of Webster has bought five acres of undeveloped land located near the intersection of NASA Parkway (also known as NASA Road 1) and Interstate 45 for the center.
 
"This attraction commemorates Apollo, which ... paved the foundation for Johnson Space Center's human spaceflight program," the Apollo Center organizers' wrote. "The very best traits of humankind coalesced in Apollo — courage, intelligence, ingenuity, curiosity, and integrity — and this venue serves as a legacy and tribute to those qualities and, above all — the importance of human space travel and its widespread, beneficial impact on humanity."
 
Astronauts, including Apollo 7 pilot Walt Cunningham and seven-time space shuttle flier Franklin Chang Diaz, have voiced their support for the Apollo Center. Chang Diaz has pledged the help of his Webster-based rocket propulsion company, Ad Astra, to build out the planned museum.
 
"Ad Astra Rocket Company would contribute exhibits, mock-ups, historical hardware, photographs, videos, and animations featuring the company's pioneering technology in space power and propulsion," Chang Diaz wrote as part of a paper outlining the international allure for the Apollo Center.
 
In addition to exhibits and the astronaut statue, the center would also have a multi-use meeting area for conferences, performances, banquets and workshops, as well as a gift shop with Webster area hotel and tourism information, the organizers said.
 
An even larger building serving as an aerospace industry business incubator could be established across the street from the Apollo Center.
 
There is no time line yet for when the Apollo Center or its astronaut statue would begin construction or open to the public, Chris Thrailkill with the City of Webster's office of marketing and tourism told collectSPACE. The non-profit backing the center receives its funding through donations and grants.
 
The Apollo Center's planned 80-foot-tall astronaut statue is not the only physically-large tribute to space exploration in the area.
 
One of the three remaining 363-foot-long (110m) Saturn V rockets, which launched Apollo astronauts to the moon, is displayed adjacent to the entrance to the Johnson Space Center. And JSC's visitor center, Space Center Houston, is now in the early stages of building a new $12 million, six-story attraction centered around NASA's retired Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to open in 2015.
 
Record-Breaking 33 'Cubesats' to Launch from Space Station This Month
 
Mike Wall - Space.com
 
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are preparing for the deployment of nearly three dozen tiny satellites from the orbiting lab over the coming weeks.
 
The spaceflyers have been installing special equipment that will launch 33 "cubesats" from the space station this month, with the first round of ejections scheduled to take place on Thursday (Feb. 6).
 
"We believe this will be a world-record deployment, of the number of satellites in one deployment," Michael Johnson, chief technology officer of the space-hardware firm NanoRacks, said in a NASA video last week.
 
NanoRacks helps organize and integrate some research activites aboard the space station. The company built eight new deployers that will launch the 33 cubesats, which were delivered to the orbiting lab Jan. 12 on the first contracted cargo mission of Orbital Sciences' unmanned Cygnus resupply spacecraft.
 
Six cubesats will be launched from the station Thursday, NASA officials said. The rest will begin flying freely over the course of the following two weeks or so.
 
Twenty-eight of the 33 cubesats were built by the San Francisco-based company Planet Labs. Together, these spacecraft make up "Flock 1," which Planet Labs says will be the world's biggest constellation of Earth-imaging satellites.
 
The Flock 1 cubesats measure just 12 inches long by 4 inches wide by 4 inches tall (30 by 10 by 10 centimeters), but they can take images with a resolution of 10 to 16.5 feet (3 to 5 meters).
 
Flock 1 is designed to deliver frequent, low-cost and high-resolution imagery of Earth that could benefit humanity in a number of ways, such as monitoring deforestation and tracking natural disasters, company officials say.
 
"We'll be producing imagery of the whole Earth with unprecedented frequency," Planet Labs co-founder Will Marshall told Space.com late last year. "We will thus be able to always be covering the whole Earth, not just pointing and shooting at specific targets."
 
Among the other five cubesats to be deployed this month are two spacecraft from Lithuania and one from Peru, Johnson said.
 
"These satellites will turn these countries into spacefaring nations," he said. "They're the first satellites to be deployed in space from these nations."
 
The 33 cubesats will enter Earth orbit a bit below and in front of the International Space Station and thus will not pose a collision risk to the $100 billion orbiting lab, Johnson added.
 
Murray Hill student's experiment takes flight on ISS
 
Sara Toth - Laurel Leader (Maryland)
 
Soon, when one North Laurel student looks to the night sky, he'll see more than stars.
 
Murray Hill Middle School eighth-grader Kevin He designed an experiment that soon will be on board the International Space Station as part of the Student Spacefilght Experiment Program's Mission 5. The project is expected to be launched this spring, and shortly thereafter, an astronaut onboard the station will conduct Kevin's experiment.
 
"I was really happy to hear my experiment was chosen," said Kevin, 13. "It was really hard work. It felt like, OK, my efforts have finally paid off."
 
The program that is sending Kevin's experiment to space is a partnership between the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and Nanoracks, which is in turn partnered with NASA to utilize the space station as a laboratory. Four-hundred and fifty students from Murray Hill, Lake Elkhorn and Burleigh Manor wrote 125 proposals. Nine proposals from county students were forwarded to a local review committee, which sent three to the National Review Panel. Kevin's project was one of 15 selected to make the trip.
 
Howard County participates in the program through grants from numerous organizations, including the Maryland Space Grant Consortium, the Howard Tech Council and Bright Minds Foundation.
 
This isn't the first time Howard County students have sent experiments to space — last year Lime Kiln Middle School students netted the honor. But this year was the first time Murray Hill took part in the program, and unlike the Lime Kiln students, Kevin worked on his proposal alone.
 
Kevin said he hopes his experiment, called "Core-Shell Micro-Nanodisks: Microencapsulation in Two Dimensions Under Microgravity," will revolutionize medicine.
 
Kevin's experiment takes place in a small, plastic tube divided into three compartments. In one compartment is gelatin, alcohol and water. In another is aspirin and water. In the last compartment are three platinum rings. When an astronauts snaps open the barriers separating the compartments, the solutions will mix and — Kevin hypothesizes, will create a membrane supported by the rings.
 
"Best-case scenario is a new way to make medicine," Kevin said.
 
Ideally, the membrane will be thinner than what currently encapsulates pills. A thinner pill wall means medicine would work faster, Kevin said. He'll eventually get his hands on the experiment again next fall, when he'll be a freshman at Atholton High School. But he'll still work with his current science teacher, Ed Chrzanowski, to conduct the experiment on earth to compare the differences.
 
There's other ways to simulate micro-gravity on earth, Kevin said, like floating in a pool. If his experiment works, he wants to patent the results.
 
"Really, the sky is the limit when it comes to designing an experiment, regardless of how small the tube is," said Murray Hill Principal Josh Wasilewski. "Kevin realized how extended-release medicine could positively impact people. ... I want to celebrate Kevin, but this is a win for everyone. Students will be able to see that they're doing something relevant and positive. It's priceless."
 
Wasilewski and Chrzanowski said they were glad a program like Student Spaceflight exists. It gives the students authentic real-world experiences, and shows them what being an actual scientist is like, Chrzanowski said. Being able to do that for students is a powerful thing, Wasilewski said.
 
"It's so cool, to look up at the ISS and know a part of Murray Hill is up there," he said. "One of the most important things you can do for students — especially with middle school students who are at this stage of asking, 'why are we learning this, why is it important?' — is show them 'why.'"
 
For Kevin, whose father is a scientist and mother a statistician who analyzes drug results, the project was right up his alley. With science, he said, there are always more things to learn. And it's cyclical, Chrzanowski said — if Kevin's experiment works, it could yield another experiment, and additional things to learn.
 
"Other classes, they're fun, but they're just not really my thing," he said. "Like, with social studies, everything's already. It's history. Mr. C. is an awesome teacher and science is just more interesting, more fascinating. You get to learn something new, and you can be creative about it."
 
Lunar law row hots up as NASA enters private moon rush
 
Paul Marks - New Scientist
 
Fancy a mining trip to the moon? Talk to NASA. The US space agency is now offering a leg-up in the commercial race to the moon. Having enjoyed a series of successful partnerships with private companies, such as SpaceX, to send cargo to the International Space Station, NASA now hopes to do the same with moon landers. But contention over lunar property rights may still stymie commercial growth.
 
In mid-January, NASA announced its lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (CATALYST) programme, which will give participants access to resources including NASA scientists, software and testing labs in exchange for the rights to lander designs born from the partnership.
 
The project calls for two types of lander: one that can deliver between 30 and 100 kilograms of gear, and one that can carry 250 to 500 kilograms. That surpasses the capabilities demanded by the Google Lunar X Prize, which is offering $20 million to the first group to put a lander on the moon, move it 500 metres and beam pictures back to Earth.
 
Helping hand
 
CATALYST is a wonderful opportunity, say officials at lunar-mining hopeful, Moon Express of Mountain View, California, which paid for access to NASA facilities when designing an X Prize entry. "We anticipate CATALYST will lead to delivery of payloads and missions to the lunar surface in the same way that commercial transport services to the space station have," says Moon Express CEO Bob Richards.
 
Public-private partnerships have proven their worth in low Earth orbit, so this is a step in the right direction, agrees Mike Gold, director of Bigelow Aerospace in Las Vegas, Nevada, which designs inflatable space habitats (see image, above-right). "It's one small step for lunar landers, one giant leap for commercial development of the moon," he says.
 
Not everyone is happy though. The Barcelona Space Team, a Spanish entrant in the Lunar X Prize competition, says CATALYST may not be as helpful for international moon hopefuls. The US government follows strict security regulations that largely prevent it from sharing spaceflight technologies and expertise with foreign nationals.
 
"It's good news for the American moon commercial ventures and the American Google Lunar X Prize teams. Not so much for the rest," the Barcelona team say in a posting on their website. "We applaud NASA's efforts to support private initiatives to develop commercial robotic exploration, but we wonder whether this unbalances the competition in favour of the American teams."
 
Buffer zone
 
Gold warns of a lingering hurdle to commercial lunar investment by any nation: the lack of property rights under the UN Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and its lunar accords.
 
"Under these treaties, the moon and its natural resources are not subject to national appropriation," says Joanne Wheeler, a space lawyer with CMS Cameron McKenna in London and the UK delegate to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. "And the placement of structures, personnel or vehicles on it does not create a right of ownership over the surface."
 
The US has not signed the moon agreement section of the Outer Space Treaty, in part because some of its language is regarded as strongly anti-business. For instance, one section stipulates that the benefits derived from lunar natural resources, such as profits made by selling mined minerals, will be equitably shared by nation states who sign up, including countries that don't have their own space programmes. "While this attempts to balance the interests of all states, it is not deemed reasonable by the space-faring countries. The current rules are not effective," says Wheeler.
 
What's needed is a test case to see how individual governments will react to claims on commercial space investments, says Gold. So Bigelow Aerospace has submitted a request to the US Federal Aviation Administration. "We have asked the FAA to license a mission to place a Bigelow habitat on the surface of the moon, and we have asked that the licence respects a zone of non-interference and non-impingement around the Bigelow habitat," says Gold.
 
While that is not assigning property rights per se, it would establish an area where, in principle, Bigelow's operations would be protected from interference from rovers or landers sent to the moon by other companies or nations. So far the FAA has not announced a decision.
 
Most industry watchers think some form of regulation will be needed before private ventures become moon pioneers. "Investment is not likely unless rights to extracted minerals can be accurately defined," says Wheeler. "But the international community does not want a lack of legal certainty to lead to a free-for-all for private enterprise, either."
 
 
END
 
 
 
 
 
 
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