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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: February 7, 2014 10:44:00 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News Friday – Feb. 7, 2014 and JSC Today
Happy Friday everyone!Great to see all of you who were able to join us yesterday for our monthly luncheon at Hibachi Grill.Especially happy to have new retirees Howard Wagner and Linda Bromley join us and also great to see Wayne Miner and Marianne Luther (who is still in the local area for now..!) And of course, I almost forgot, another special guest joined us -- Tri Nguyen's wife – thanks to her for joining us as well.Oh, and I almost forgot to thank recent retiree (last year sometime) Phil Engelauf for joining us too (can't recall if he has been with us before but suspect he has)! Spouses and friends are always welcome at our monthly luncheon.Have a safe and great weekend --- for those of you under the weather….please get well soon!________________________________________Friday, February 7, 2014 Read JSC Today in your browserJSC TODAY CATEGORIES1. Headlines- Why is Dan Rather Anchoring 'Space to Ground'?- Olympic Torch Relay Breaks Record - Thanks to ISS- JSC WAN and JSC/WSTF Network Connectivity Outage2. Organizations/Social- I Heart Orion Cookies for Sale!- Icarus Interstellar and NASA's 100-Year Starship- African-American ERG Film Festival Continues- James Avery in Stock at Starport- HLS&R Tickets, BBQ and Carnival Packs at Starport- Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting - Feb. 113. Jobs and Training- NASA Budget: OMB's Roles and Responsibilities4. Community- Make a Difference During Black History Month- Applications Being Accepted for ScholarshipCrescent Moon Rising and Earth's AtmosphereHeadlines1. Why is Dan Rather Anchoring 'Space to Ground'?Don't miss this week's episode of "Space to Ground," your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Legendary news anchor Dan Rather stopped by the studio and took over the anchoring duties."Space to Ground" is available every Friday on NASA.gov, the JSC home page and our social media accounts. We encourage you to share it with your friends and family.Space to Ground, Feb. 7 episodeJSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111 http://www.nasa.gov/[top]2. Olympic Torch Relay Breaks Record - Thanks to ISSThe International Space Station (ISS) was instrumental in elevating the Olympic torch relay to ... Olympic-worthy levels. As the XXII Winter Olympic Games begin in Sochi, Russia, the athletes who compete must turn their eyes to the sky to see how far the torch that is lighting the Olympic flame has traveled.This torch, which has journeyed farther than any torch in Olympic relay history, owes the majority of its mileage to the ISS. As the games get underway, the space station will remain one of the brightest objects in the night sky and a beacon of international cooperation and research, providing tangible benefits for all humanity. Read more about this historic relay!JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111[top]3. JSC WAN and JSC/WSTF Network Connectivity OutageThe Information Resources Directorate (IRD) has scheduled maintenance for the Wide Area Network (WAN). The maintenance window is from 8 a.m. CST Saturday, Feb. 15, through 11:59 p.m. CST Sunday, Feb. 16.Minimal user impact is expected during the maintenance activity.Those accessing external JSC resources may experience intermittent access to Internet, email and other NASA center network resources during this maintenance.The WAN connection between JSC and White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) will be down from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST Saturday, Feb. 15. This will not impact WSTF's Internet or local network resources. It will impact the JSC to WSTF disaster recovery servers implemented by ITAMS and other organizations using WSTF as a backup site.All replication will be down during this period, and any WSTF network resource assessable from JSC will be down.For any issues related to the activity, please contact the Enterprise Service Desk at 281-483-4800.JSC-IRD-Outreach x39515[top]Organizations/Social1. I Heart Orion Cookies for Sale!It's the season of roses and chocolates, valentines and desserts - why not spread some of that love to the Orion team? On Wednesday, Feb. 12, and Thursday, Feb. 13, the Buildings 3 and 11 cafés will have cookies for you to purchase in celebration of the work that the team has accomplished so far toward Orion's first mission, Exploration Flight Test-1. With launch scheduled for the fall, this is a big year for the program and an excellent time to show your support!While you're getting your tasty dessert, you can also learn more about the program and the mission by stopping by the Building 3 collaboration area on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. for a Lunch and Learn with Orion Chief Engineer Julie Kramer-White.Orion Communications Office 281-792-7457[top]2. Icarus Interstellar and NASA's 100-Year StarshipYou 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.Subject: Icarus Interstellar and NASA's 100-Year Starship Project GoalDate/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Location: Building 1, Room 966Cleaver 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 (MAM) 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: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 Event Start Time:11:30 AM Event End Time:12:30 PMEvent Location: Building 1 room 966Add to CalendarDella Cardona/Juan Traslavina 281-335-2074/281-335-2272[top]3. African-American ERG Film Festival ContinuesThe NASA/JSC African-American Employee Resource Group (AAERG) invites the entire JSC family to participate as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with a documentary film festival.The film festival continues today, Feb. 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Teague Auditorium with another film from the PBS series: Mississippi "Is This America?" Also, "No Easy Walk" will be shown if time permits.Complimentary popcorn and cookies will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there!Event Date: Friday, February 7, 2014 Event Start Time:11:00 AM Event End Time:1:00 PMEvent Location: Teague AuditoriumAdd to CalendarLee Willis x39153[top]4. James Avery in Stock at StarportThe NASA-exclusive James Avery astronaut charm is in stock in the Buildings 3 and 11 Starport Gift Shops for Valentine's Day. What a great way to commemorate the women in your lives working in the space industry, those who honor the men they care for who played a part in American history, as well as those who dream of the chance to experience the wonders of space for themselves. The charm is $90.Cyndi Kibby x47467[top]5. HLS&R Tickets, BBQ and Carnival Packs at StarportHouston Livestock Show & Rodeo (HLS&R) carnival packs, Reliant admission and world-class barbecue cook-off tickets are still available at Starport. Get two Fun Cards with a total of 150 tickets for rides and games, nine refreshment coupons, $5 off show merchandise, two FREE game coupons and two FREE rides (Ferris Wheel and Funhouse) for just $51 -- or one Fun Card with 22 tickets (for rides and games), four refreshment coupons, FREE game coupon and $5 off show merchandise for $11. The carnival is open during the barbecue cook-off (Feb. 27 to March 1) and livestock show (March 4 to 23). Make plans to get out and have some fun at the HLS&R!Cyndi Kibby x47467[top]6. Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting - Feb. 11"Progress, not perfection" reminds Al-Anon members to move through our new year with patience. Our 12-step meeting is for co-workers, families and friends of those who work or live with the family disease of alcoholism. We meet Tuesday, Feb. 11, in Building 32, Room 146, from 12 to 12:45 a.m. * Note the new time. * Visitors are welcome.Event Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 Event Start Time:12:00 PM Event End Time:12:45 PMEvent Location: Bldg 32, Room 146Add to CalendarEmployee Assistance Program x36130 http://sashare.jsc.nasa.gov/EAP/Pages/default.aspx[top]Jobs and Training1. NASA Budget: OMB's Roles and ResponsibilitiesWant more situational awareness of the federal budget process and how it can impact (and be impacted by) NASA and JSC programs? As part of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer subject-matter expert course series, former White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) examiner Ryan Schaefer will lead a session that helps navigate through the budget process and explains how OMB's roles and responsibilities can affect program budgets. To provide context for budgetary decisions and priorities, the course also explores other stakeholders and elements in the NASA budget landscape and how JSC inputs can support favorable outcomes. This course is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Building 1, Room 421E. This session is not offered through WebEx, so please register by Feb. 10 in SATERN via the link below or by searching the catalog for the course title.SATERN direct link: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...Gina Clenney x39851[top]Community1. Make a Difference During Black History MonthThe African-American Employee Resource Group is looking for volunteers to partner with us to make this year's Black History Month community outreach activity a success. On Tuesdays and Thursdays in the month of February, we will be traveling to Gregg Elementary in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to assist the fourth- and fifth-grade students with their Science Fair projects. Anyone interested should check out the V-CORPs home page and then do the following to register:Sign up for the day(s) you wish to volunteer on the V-CORPs calendar (any Tuesday or Thursday in February).Not a V-CORPs volunteer yet? Register with V-CORPs as a volunteer. Click "Count Me In!"You will also need to sign up w/VIPS - HISD Volunteer approval needed. You must have a Texas driver's license to sign in at the school.For more information about this outreach activity, please contact Amanda L. Caldwell-Boyce.Questions about V-CORPS? Contact us!V-CORPS x37090 http://nasajsc.force.com/vcorps[top]2. Applications Being Accepted for ScholarshipThe NASA College Scholarship Program will award multiple scholarships agencywide to qualified dependents of NASA civil servant employees. The scholarship recipients must pursue a course of study leading to an undergraduate degree in science or engineering from an accredited college or university in the United States. Applications are available online.The application deadline is March 31.Amanda Gaspard x31387[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 NewsFriday – Feb. 7, 2014International Space Station: Don't miss this week's episode of "Space to Ground," your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Legendary news anchor Dan Rather stopped by the studio and took over the anchoring duties.
HEADLINES AND LEADS2013 Collier Trophy Nominees AnnouncedStephen Pope- Flyingmag.comThe nominees include Pratt & Whitney's PurePower geared turbofan engine, the P-8A Poseidon airplane in development by Boeing for the U.S. Navy, the X-51A scramjet demonstrator, the X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator, the Atlas/Gamera human-powered helicopter project, NASA's Deep Space Network, the NASA lunar laser communications demonstration project, the Voyager project team and the Orbital Sciences commercial orbital transportation services programMorpheus flight scrubbed at KSCJames Dean- Florida TodayTechnical problems scrubbed today's planned test flight of NASA's Morpheus lander at Kennedy Space Center.Ed White students train like astronautsBay Area CitizenLast Wednesday every grade level at Ed White Elementary School in El Lago participated in the event called Mission X - Train like an Astronaut.U.S. bobsled team talks fitness with NASA astronautsRick Docksai – Science RecorderWhen the U.S. athletes compete in this month's Olympic Games in Sochi, they will have a few fans watching over them from above—U.S. astronauts, that is. And this Thursday, a pair of astronauts now living out a mission at the International Space Station (ISS) connected online in Google Hangout with a group of the U.S. athletes. During their session, the astronauts talked about how they train for space, and they offered their moral support.Mars rover Curiosity will tackle sand dune, NASA saysDelila James – Science RecorderNASA's Mars Curiosity rover is between a rock and a hard place. To get to its ultimate destination at the foothills of Mount Sharp, NASA's Mars Curiosity rover must either skirt the sand dune that blocks its path by traveling over some very rocky terrain–a route that could seriously damage its aluminum wheels–or attempt to scale the sand dune, where there's a risk it could get stuck in a sand trap.Fossil hunters on Mars look for evidence of ancient life formsDelila James – Science RecorderNASA's Mars rover Curiosity may be on the verge of finding out whether or not life ever existed in the region of Gale Crater, which the rover has been exploring since its landing in August, 2012.Ariane 5 ECA launches with ABS-2 and Athena-FidusChris Bergin – NASASpaceflight.comThe Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.Robotic cops to monitor traffic in spaceAllison Barrie– Foxnews.comIn the absence of red and green lights to control traffic in space, a team of scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is developing mini-satellites that will work as "traffic cops" to help prevent collisions.NASA's Planet-Hunting Kepler Spacecraft, Walter Cronkite Honored with National Space Club AwardsMegan Gannon– Space.comThe late news anchor Walter Cronkite, the planet-hunting Kepler space telescope and a hypersonic aircraft mission are among the people and projects being honored by this year's National Space Club awards.Hubble Telescope Helps Solve Mystery of Universe's Massive Galactic BurnoutsMegan Gannon- Space.comUsing data from the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories, astronomers are learning why some massive galaxies hit their peak young and quit making stars when the universe was less than a quarter of its current age.Stargazing: 'Heavenly Palace' follows International Space StationBernie Badger- Floridatoday.comThe Tiangong-1 is a space station program of the People's Republic of China. This prototype module was launched in September 2011. Tonight may be one of the last chances to see this pioneering craft of the Chinese space program.Red tape in outer space? More regulations could be on wayMark Matthews- Orlandosentenial.comIt's a story almost as old as humanity: Braving unknown dangers, a team of explorers settles a wild frontier, and then — almost as quickly — bureaucrats tie it up with red tape.Space Launch System contractors: We 'will' hit critical 2014 milestones on Huntsville's new rocket (video)Lee Roop- Huntsville TimesThe four prime contractors for NASA's Space Launch System say they are on track with America's new deep space rocket and will be ready to take their biggest steps so far this year including launching an Orion crew capsule for the first time.COMPLETE STORIES2013 Collier Trophy Nominees AnnouncedStephen Pope – FlyingSome intriguing names are on the short list for the 2013 Robert J. Collier Trophy after the National Aeronautic Association this week announced a field of nine contenders for the coveted prize.The nominees include Pratt & Whitney's PurePower geared turbofan engine, the P-8A Poseidon airplane in development by Boeing for the U.S. Navy, the X-51A scramjet demonstrator, the X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator, the Atlas/Gamera human-powered helicopter project, NASA's Deep Space Network, the NASA lunar laser communications demonstration project, the Voyager project team and the Orbital Sciences commercial orbital transportation services program.The Collier Trophy has been awarded for the last 102 years for "the greatest annual achievement" in aeronautics or astronautics. Past recipients have included the round-the-world Rutan Voyager, Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne, and the International Space Station, as well as individuals including Glenn Curtiss, Orville Wright, Howard Hughes and Chuck Yeager.Last year's prize went to the NASA/JPL team that sent the Curiosity rover to Mars. The 2013 winner will be announced on March 18, with the formal presentation of the trophy scheduled for May 8 in Arlington, Virginia.Morpheus flight scrubbed at KSCJames Dean – Florida TodayTechnical problems scrubbed today's planned test flight of NASA's Morpheus lander at Kennedy Space Center.The prototype lander appeared close to liftoff around 1:30 p.m., but encountered trouble with a range safety system.
NASA said engineers lost data from a redundant system that could be used to abort the free flight if it went off course. Though not technically required, they tried to fix the issue.
The planned 75-second flight sought to have Morpheus climb about 465 feet – more than 160 feet higher than its last test – then fly forward about 630 feet and descend to a pad inside a hazard field north of the shuttle runway.
Plans for the next flight were not immediately confirmed. Before the scrub, Tuesday was the next targeted opportunity.
Based at Johnson Space Center, the Morpheus project is testing "green" rocket propellants and autonomous landing sensors that could be applied to future missions.Ed White students train like astronautsBay Area CitizenLast Wednesday every grade level at Ed White Elementary School in El Lago participated in the event called Mission X - Train like an Astronaut.Ed White Elementary in the Clear Creek Independent School District is one of 12 schools in the United States participating in NASA's "Mission X - Train like an Astronaut" program to provide a learning opportunity for the students.Mission X 2014 is a six-week international fitness challenge that integrates fitness, nutritional and educational content from multiple space agencies, institutions, and countries. Ed White Elementary is working with students from 23 different countries to learn how health and fitness play an important role in human performance in space and on Earth. This program provides Ed White Elementary Kindergarten through Fifth grades students with a global experience during their Physical Education class.Experts from NASA's Johnson Space Center held a training session at the school, a USA team member of this year's physical fitness challenge that involves participants from around the world.Mission X and Train Like an Astronaut representatives from JSC, with leadership and support from Ed White physical education teachers Wendy Clough and April Fortenberry and principal Matthew Paulson, helped about 40 Ed White staff and about 460 students better understand the Train Like an Astronaut project and International Space Station activities."Mission X helps our students not only to desire physical fitness like an Astronaut, Mission X connects physical fitness to academic success," Paulson said. "It opens our students' visual horizons to a greater understanding that they are important participants, who have a real role, in a global world. As a STEM school we value those connections."Students in kindergarten participated in four Train Like an Astronaut activities including Mission Control, Agility Astro Course, Crew Assembly and Building an Astro Core. Students also learned about its space relevance.U.S. bobsled team talks fitness with NASA astronautsRick Docksai – Science RecorderWhen the U.S. athletes compete in this month's Olympic Games in Sochi, they will have a few fans watching over them from above—U.S. astronauts, that is. And this Thursday, a pair of astronauts now living out a mission at the International Space Station (ISS) connected online in Google Hangout with a group of the U.S. athletes. During their session, the astronauts talked about how they train for space, and they offered their moral support.Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio, the two current U.S. residents of the International Space Station, were the Hangout's astronaut participants. At the Earth end of the conversation were Curt Tomasevicz and other members of the U.S. bobsled team. NASA sponsored the session, which the astronauts hosted from aboard the ISS.Tomazewicz participated in the session from Sochi. Also participating were NASA astronaut Jeannette Epps, NASA astronaut Jeannette Epps, CrossFit Games Champion Rich Froning Jr., and Houston Texans professional football player Jared Crick.The astronauts presented their viewers with the space station's gym, which holds three specialized exercise machines—a treadmill, exercise bike, and an Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED)—that they use for working out in microgravity. The ARED imposes resistance on their bodies and simulates weight despite the weightlessness of the surrounding environment.Hopkins and Mastracchio were well-qualified to speak on fitness, as astronauts only go into space after whipping themselves into top physical condition. They must, because even short stays in space place tremendous amounts of stress on the human body. The absence of gravity alone is often brutal: Astronauts report long periods of disorientation, nausea, insomnia, and in some cases, head swelling as blood congests in their upper body, all stemming from the shock of moving and functioning in a weightless environment.Add to this the heavy labor that those astronauts must periodically undergo. Just last December, Hopkins and Mastracchio had to put in several shifts of six or more hours each lugging generator components from inside the space station and assembling them in emergency space walks on the station's exterior.And even when they don't have any labor to do, the astronauts have to work out all the same. This is a health precaution to keep their muscles and bones from suffering serious zero-gravity-related atrophying. Hopkins and Mastracchio take an hour-and-a-half to two hours out of every day just for exercising, they told their audience.The two also assured their listeners that they will be watching the games while in orbit. The ISS's computer systems will receive recorded transmissions of the events, and the astronauts may even see a few broadcasts in real time during their downtime and on weekends.Mars rover Curiosity will tackle sand dune, NASA saysDelila James – Science RecorderNASA's Mars Curiosity rover is between a rock and a hard place. To get to its ultimate destination at the foothills of Mount Sharp, NASA's Mars Curiosity rover must either skirt the sand dune that blocks its path by traveling over some very rocky terrain–a route that could seriously damage its aluminum wheels–or attempt to scale the sand dune, where there's a risk it could get stuck in a sand trap.In light of recent images of the rover's wheels showing numerous punctures and dents, NASA is opting to send Curiosity over the sand dune. That path between two escarpments known as "Dingo Gap" won't put so much stress on the rover's wheels, engineers believe.Because NASA's rover Spirit met its demise in a sand trap in 2009 and the Opportunity rover had very nearly done the same in 2005, mission scientists are making every effort to ensure Curiosity doesn't suffer the same fate.Before Curiosity is sent over the three-foot high dune, NASA engineers will first command it to climb only part way up to see how it behaves, according to a report by BBC News. In addition, engineers have been using Curiosity's twin here on Earth to test the rover's ability to handle some slippage on slopes."These tests are building confidence for operations we are likely to use when Curiosity is on the slopes of Mount Sharp," Daniel Limonadi, systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif, said in a Jan. 29 statement.Besides the risk of sand traps, mission scientists say although Curiosity would have no trouble handling the incline, there could be rocks buried within the dune to damage or ensnare the rover.Once the robotic science lab makes it through Dingo Gap, it will be on smoother ground as it travels toward the slopes of Mount Sharp, where exposed layers of rock may provide a wealth of information about the evolution of the Martian environment.First, however, the Curiosity team wants to stop at a spot called KMS-9, where scientists plan to drill into exposed bedrock to look for chemical signatures of life that may have flourished on the Red Planet billions of years ago.Fossil hunters on Mars look for evidence of ancient life formsDelila James – Science RecorderNASA's Mars rover Curiosity may be on the verge of finding out whether or not life ever existed in the region of Gale Crater, which the rover has been exploring since its landing in August, 2012.The tireless roving science laboratory is now headed to Mount Sharp and its geologically rich and varied slopes, which scientists say may reveal the fossilized remains of microbial life or, perhaps, more complex organisms.NASA's two functioning Mars rovers, Curiosity and Opportunity, are exploring two entirely different regions of the planet and both have uncovered evidence that this now desolate world once had an environment capable of sustaining life. The rovers are able to analyze the Martian environment, including bits of rock and soil, and transmit images and lab results down to Earth.The first hints that Mars wasn't always the dry, barren place it is today came from the Viking missions to the Red Planet in the mid-1970s. Viking 1 and Viking 2 were a pair of space probes equipped with an orbiter for taking images of the Martian surface and a lander designed to provide a more close-up view of the alien landscape. The mission's main findings revealed geological formations suggesting a long-ago presence of large amounts of water that carved huge caverns and gullies into the planet's surface.The Phoenix lander, launched in 2008, detected evidence that the Martian landscape changed shape due to the expansion and contraction of ice, which lies about four inches beneath the surface. Phoenix also discovered the presence of perchlorate in Martian soil, a substance that sustains some microorganisms here on Earth.While many scientists believe there's a good chance that life–even if just microbial–once existed on Mars, they're pretty much in the dark about what such life forms would look like. And the Curiosity mission's lead scientist John Grotzinger has said that even if the Red Planet once was habitable, it doesn't mean it was inhabited.Right now, the Opportunity rover is resting at a site called Endeavor Crater, a location it was sent to after the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected signs of exposed, aluminum-rich clay minerals. When Opportunity analyzed the minerals there it found smectite clay, a substance scientists say could only have existed in the presence of large amounts of water.As for the newer Curiosity rover, it's found evidence that Mars had "a lake-stream-groundwater system that might have existed for millions of years," Grotzinger said. And chemical and mineral analyses showed that the ancient Martian environment was quite different from what it is today and could have supported the development of life.NASA's indefatigable Mars rovers, which have lasted far longer than anyone ever expected, have cost many millions of dollars it's true. But their discoveries have given scientists and the world an unprecedented view of an alien planet, the understanding of which will grow and be passed on to future generations.Ariane 5 ECA launches with ABS-2 and Athena-FidusChris Bergin – NASASpaceflight.comThe Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the "VA" designation, followed by the flight number. The "V" stands for "vol", the French word for "flight", while the "A" represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated "VS", while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as "VV", following its successful debut in 2012.It has a designed mission life of 15 years or more, and will operate from ABS' prime orbital location of 75 deg. East longitude after its deployment by Ariane 5. Athena-Fidus was released second from Ariane 5's lower payload position.The satellite has been outfitted with 89 active C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band transponders across 10 different beams. These include six dedicated Ku-Band beams for direct-to-home television services in the Eastern Hemisphere and C-Band beams for Africa and Southeast Asia connectivity requirements.Its Ka-Band beam is positioned over the Middle East and North African region to provide service for commercial and military applications.The other passenger was Athena-Fidus, a French-Italian telecommunications satellite that uses state-of-the-art civil broadband Internet technologies. Funded jointly by French space agency CNES, French defense procurement agency DGA, Italian space agency ASI and the Italian Ministry of Defense, it will provide communications services to both armed forces and civil security agencies in France and Italy.Program prime contractor Thales Alenia Space produced Athena-Fidus using its Spacebus 4000B2 platform, with the satellite equipped to deploy the latest civil telecom standards – DVB-RCS and DVB-S2 – to ensure optimum transmission capacity and service availability.It weighed more than 3,000 kg. at launch, and has a design life exceeding 15 years."We would like to thank the clients of these two launches for their trust, and in particular the Luxembourg operator SES for accepting the February launch," noted Stéphane Israël, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace."The excellent collaboration between our teams has enabled us to plan these two missions for the early weeks of 2014. Once again Arianespace has shown commitment and flexibility in serving its clients."The next launch, with VA216, is tasked with carrying the Astra 5B and Amazonas 4A satellites. The mission is currently scheduled for March 7, 2014.The first 2014 launch of the Soyuz rocket from the Guiana Space Center, will be via the VS07 rocket, carrying the Sentinel 1B satellite. This launch is scheduled for set for March 28.Arianespace's complete launcher family will be active from the Spaceport in 2014, with six Ariane 5 liftoffs, four Soyuz flights and two lightweight Vega launches targeted for this year to meet the company's objective of 12 total missions.Robotic cops to monitor traffic in spaceAllison Barrie– Foxnews.comIn the absence of red and green lights to control traffic in space, a team of scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is developing mini-satellites that will work as "traffic cops" to help prevent collisions.The threat of collisions in space is serious: If a military satellite is hit and damaged, it could mean loss of communications, visual information on the ground and GPS for deployed troops. There is also a serious threat to spacecraft with humans aboard, like shuttles and the International Space Station.It's the stuff of movies. Anyone see "Gravity"?But it's a real threat too, one that escalates as the quantity of space debris grows. According to NASA, more than 500,000 pieces of space junk are orbiting the Earth, and some of them are traveling at crazy speeds – as in 17,500 mph, more than fast enough for a tiny fragment of orbital debris to cause damage to a satellite or a spacecraft.But what if we had a force that could act as a sort of satellite traffic control, one that could stop collisions, help control space traffic and, very importantly, prevent satellites from colliding?The answer is the STARE (Space-Based Telescopes for Actionable Refinement of Ephemeris) mission, which was launched to help avoid space collisions. Ultimately, the plan is to create a constellation of "space cop" nano-satellites that will operate in low earth orbit.It is incredibly hard to accurately predict a satellite's location in low earth orbit at any moment, largely because of uncertainties like atmospheric drag, which creates errors in tracking satellite position and velocity.To cope with these errors, the Space Surveillance Network has to repeatedly observe the nearly 20,000 objects it tracks.But even with all this effort, the accuracy of a satellite's position in low earth orbit is only within about one kilometer – about 3/5ths of a mile.Not knowing exactly where the space objects are located means that for every anticipated collision, there are about 10,000 false alarms. And the false alarms create a "Chicken Little" effect: when there is a collision warning, satellite operators think it is just another false alarm, and they seldom move their assets.The STARE mission aims to reduce this kilometer of uncertainty down to 100 meters or less, which would dramatically reduce the number of false alarms.Now the Lawrence Livermore team, led by Wim de Vries and lead engineer Vincent Riot, has proven it can be done.To demonstrate the new technology, the team chose as its target the NORAD 27006 satellite.The scientists used six images taken by a ground-based satellite over a 60-hour period to prepare. Then they took four observations during the first 24 hours of the test mission for calculations, and they were able to predict NORAD's trajectory to within less than 164 feet over the next 36 hours, a very promising number since the team had hoped to reduce uncertainty only to about 328 feet.Then, from the ground, the Livermore team changed the orbit of the satellite. Their findings were published in the recent Journal of Small Satellites.Ultimately, when their "traffic cop" is deployed to space, it will perform the same sorts of observations and analysis in orbit that the scientists made on the ground. When development is completed, it will prevent all sorts of collisions: satellite with satellite, satellite with debris and more.And all of that without a whistle.NASA's Planet-Hunting Kepler Spacecraft, Walter Cronkite Honored with National Space Club AwardsMegan Gannon– Space.comThe late news anchor Walter Cronkite, the planet-hunting Kepler space telescope and a hypersonic aircraft mission are among the people and projects being honored by this year's National Space Club awards.The Washington, D.C.-based group announced the winners on Tuesday (Feb. 4). The awardees, who range from science teachers to journalists to spacewalk directors, were selected by panels of experts and are "a testament to the inspiring work of individuals across our nation," National Space Club officials said.The awards will be presented on March 7 at the 57th annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel. (The event commemorates the anniversary of the first successful flight in March 1926 of one of Goddard's liquid-fueled rockets.)Here is a list of the winners from the National Space Club:The Kepler Team will get this year's top honors: the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy. In its search for alien worlds, the Kepler space telescope "has revolutionized exoplanet science and stellar astrophysics." Kepler data has allowed scientists detect more than 3,500 planet candidates outside of our solar system. Though the spacecraft, which launched in 2009, is now hobbled after a mechanical failure in May, NASA officials are weighing a new modified mission for Kepler.William Harwood, a space reporter at CBS News and Walter Cronkite, the legendary CBS Evening News anchorman, will be recognized with the Press Award"for their dedication and enthusiasm for space news." Cronkite, who died in 2009, covered the early history of American spaceflight, including 1969's Apollo 11 moon landing.David Korth and the Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Console Team at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will receive the Eagle Manned Mission Award"for their ability to recognize hazards, analyze a situation, and recommend appropriate actions while under the immense pressure of a human spaceflight emergency." Korth and his team indeed dealt with a rather harrowing emergency last year; they called off a July 16 spacewalk when water flooded the spacesuit helmet of European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano.Dr. Adam Steltzner, a fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., will receive the Astronautics Engineer Award for his "outstanding leadership" heading the team that developed the entry, descent and landing system for NASA's Curiosity rover, allowing the spacecraft to safely touch down on the Red Planet on Aug. 5, 2012.The X-51A WaveRider Team will receive the Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Award to honor the unmanned X-51A WaveRider autonomous flight demonstrator that is "leading the way to hypersonic flight." During the mission's last flight in May 2013, the craft reached Mach 4.8 — 4.8 times the speed of sound — in just 26 seconds.Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Little, the director of operations at the 45th Launch Support Squadron, 45th Launch Group, Air Force Space Command, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, will receive the General Bernard Schriever Award"for successfully leading his squadron as they integrated and launched six Department of Defense satellites, provided Air Force support to three successful Falcon 9 rocket launches and piloted the groundbreaking Global Positioning System III pathfinder satellite."Dr. Darrell Zimbelman,an Air Force civilian and director of the Department of Defense's Electro-Optical System Program Office, will receive the Dr. Joseph V. Charyk Awardto recognize his role in reviving the Director of National Intelligence's top priority intelligence program after a two-year hiatus.Dr. Craig Ferguson, a research associate at SUNY Albany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center will receive the NOAA - David Johnson Award for his work determining whether weather and climate models correctly represent land-atmospheric coupling states.Brian Grigsby, a science teacher at Shasta High School, Redding, Calif., is the winner of this year's Space Educator Award "for his work in inspiring, educating and developing the next generation of students in space science."Emily Briere, a college junior studying mechanical engineering at Duke University, is the winner of the Goddard Memorial Dinner Keynote Scholarship and will serve as the keynote speaker at the awards dinner.Michael Lotto, a student from the University of Colorado, Boulder, will receive the Goddard Memorial Scholarship to help fund his studies in bioastronautics. His work is aimed at developing future spacewalking suits and hardware that would allow humans to continue working in space and perhaps even explore other planets.Moira Miller, a student at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., is the winner of the Olin E. Teague Memorial Scholarship. As an intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, she prepared a presentation for the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference 2014.Hubble Telescope Helps Solve Mystery of Universe's Massive Galactic BurnoutsMegan Gannon- Space.comUsing data from the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories, astronomers are learning why some massive galaxies hit their peak young and quit making stars when the universe was less than a quarter of its current age.Scientists have been puzzled by compact, elliptical-shaped galaxies that seem to have burned out when the universe was 3 billion years old. For comparison, our Milky Way galaxy is 12 billion years old and still making stars. These burnouts are sometimes nicknamed "red and dead" galaxies because of their reddish color, compared to the blue hues of star-making galaxies, according to NASA. Strangely, these dead galaxies are just as massive as today's large spiral galaxies, but with stars squeezed into an area three times smaller."This means that the density of stars was 10 times greater," Sune Toft, an astrophysics and cosmology professor at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, explained in a statement. "Furthermore, the galaxies were already dead, so they were no longer forming new stars. It was a great mystery."These burnouts appear to have started out as intense starburst galaxies in the very early universe, quickly gobbling up all the gas around them before fading, Toft and colleagues found.To piece together a life history of the "red and dead" galaxies, the scientists looked at infrared data from space-based telescopes and ground-based telescopes, as well as two Hubble surveys. One was the Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey, or CANDLES, which probes distant objects to help astronomers understand how galaxies, black holes and supernovas formed in the early universe. The other was 3D-HST, a near-infrared spectroscopic survey.The burnouts shared characteristics with dust-shrouded galaxies that were rife with violent starburst activity and 1 billion to 2 billion years older, the scientists found. These live-fast-die-young galaxies seem to quickly use up available gas for star formation and burn out. Through merging, they eventually grow into giant elliptical galaxies in our local universe."We at last show how these compact galaxies can form, how it happened, and when it happened," Toft said. "This basically is the missing piece in the understanding of how the most massive galaxies formed, and how they evolved into the giant ellipticals of today."The Hubble Space Telecsope is a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency. It launched into orbit in 1990 aboard the space shuttle Discovery.The new research is detailed online in The Astrophysical Journal.Stargazing: 'Heavenly Palace' follows International Space StationBernie Badger- Floridatoday.comThe Tiangong-1 is a space station program of the People's Republic of China. This prototype module was launched in September 2011. Tonight may be one of the last chances to see this pioneering craft of the Chinese space program.The Tiangong-1 ("Heavenly Palace") was the target of both unmanned and manned docking maneuvers with spacecraft from the Shenzhou series. That is, "manned" in the general sense, because the missions to Tiangong-1 included China's first female astronauts, Liu Yang and Wang Yaping.China has already completed the missions planned for Tiangong-1, and had announced plans in September 2013 to de-orbit Tiangong-1 in the next few months. For now, it is still circling the earth. When the Chinese decide to end the mission, final reentry will probably be directed into the Pacific Ocean to reduce the chances of hitting anything with any debris that withstands the fall through the atmospheres.The China National Space Agency expects to launch an even more advanced space station, Tiangong-2, by 2015.Assuming it hasn't been de-orbited, Tiangong-1 will pass over Brevard County tonight from 7:02 p.m. to 7:09 p.m. EST. It is expected to shine at magnitude 2.6, which is fairly bright. It will not take a high pass through the sky. Instead, it will rise slowly out of the west heading at an angle toward the north.It will only reach a maximum altitude of 26 degrees in the constellation Cepheus before bowing back down to pass about 6 degrees below Polaris, the North Star. By the time it reaches the Big Dipper, Tiangong-1 will enter the Earth's shadow and be eclipsed.You can see a dramatic preview of the little space station Tiangong-1 when the big International Space Station (ISS) flies by about 10 minutes earlier. Because of its massive size, the ISS is magnitude -1.2 —almost as bright as Sirius, the brightest star. The ISS will take very nearly the same track, but its pass begins at 6:53 p.m. and ends in the Big Dipper at 7:02 p.m., just as the Tiangong-1 rises up. So get out a bit earlier and see two space stations for the price of oneRed tape in outer space? More regulations could be on wayMark Matthews- Orlandosentenial.comIt's a story almost as old as humanity: Braving unknown dangers, a team of explorers settles a wild frontier, and then — almost as quickly — bureaucrats tie it up with red tape.This time, the frontier is outer space. And the regulators are from the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial-rocket launches in addition to monitoring the airlines.The FAA has so far been constrained by one major loophole: Once a spacecraft reaches orbit, it's largely free of regulation — a libertarian's final refuge.But that could change soon.This week, at a congressional hearing and an industry conference in Washington, FAA officials and space attorneys began seriously discussing rules of the road for outer space, from mining rights to safety practicesAlthough there have been some broad guidelines — the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, for example, prohibits nations from claiming the moon — specific space regulations have been few and far between. In part that's because few countries — let alone private companies — have had the ability to blast people or products into orbit.But the commercial space industry, once a pipe dream for "Star Trek" fans, has burgeoned in recent years.In 2012, the California company SpaceX became the first commercial-rocket company to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. And space tourism companies, such as Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace, are preparing to fly passengers to suborbital space as soon as this year.Those efforts have led Congress, the administration and industry to begin talking about how to ensure that people and property stay safe in microgravity.These proposals run the gamut, from figuring out how to restrict the amount of dangerous "space junk" shed by spacecraft to finding a way to coordinate traffic in Earth's orbit."As the prospects for a greater number of commercial-transportation vehicles in space increase, it is time to consider closing the current regulatory and safety gap between launch and re-entry," said George Nield, the FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, in remarks this week before Congress.Nield was speaking to U.S. House members as part of a hearing on regulating the space industry.Of particular interest is one law — set to expire next year — that largely bars the FAA from restricting commercial efforts to blast humans into space.The intent of that measure, passed in 2004, was to ensure that "the FAA would not overregulate the industry before it had the opportunity to grow," according to congressional documents.Although no passengers have yet flown to orbit on a commercial rocket, the question of whether to extend the FAA moratorium remains open.One key lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., argued Tuesday that this time has not yet come."If the FAA begins trampling on these companies with regulations based on speculation instead of data, we may never see the promise of commercial human spaceflight realized," said Palazzo, chairman of the House space subcommittee.But in a twist on the usual story, some members of the space industry said a few more rules would be a good thing."Regulation is inevitable. And the question is who should be doing the regulating," said Mike Gold, a top executive with Bigelow Aerospace of Nevada, which builds inflatable space habitats.With the FAA sidelined in part by the congressional restriction, the task of crafting regulations for space travel increasingly could fall to NASA — which is not a good thing, said Gold, who leads an FAA advisory panel."NASA is not a regulatory agency and has no desire to become one. The FAA, by contrast, is a regulatory agency and would be best-suited to [it]," he said.One driving force for regulations is pressure from insurance companies.Attorney Brian Mitchell, who represents aerospace insurers, said new standards would help insurers better understand the dangers of spaceflight and adjust accordingly."They are in the business of risk," he said. "If there are no rules of the road up in space, how are you going to find anyone liable for anything" if something goes wrong?Adding to the complexity is a lack of legal precedent. Space law is not an area where the courts have carved much ground, either in the U.S. or internationally. Because of that, Boeing attorney Russ McMurry said regulators and lawyers might consider finding inspiration in laws once written for wooden ships."The old laws of the sea … have some potential applicability to space," he said. "Maybe we should go back and look at the way we dealt with that."Space Launch System contractors: We 'will' hit critical 2014 milestones on Huntsville's new rocket (video)Lee Roop- Huntsville TimesThe four prime contractors for NASA's Space Launch System say they are on track with America's new deep space rocket and will be ready to take their biggest steps so far this year including launching an Orion crew capsule for the first time.The four primes - Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne and ATK - issued a joint press release Thursday on their progress. The contractors say they met with NASA recently "to ensure the teams are on track."The launch and recovery of an uncrewed Orion capsule this fall is the year's biggest event. The Orion will fly into Earth orbit atop a Delta IV rocket built at United Launch Alliance's facility in Decatur, Ala., and splash down in the ocean, giving NASA and the contractors potentially make-or-break data on the capsule's key systems, including cabin integrity, communications, electronics and navigation. These are the systems "most critical to crew safety," Lockheed Martin Vice President Jim Crocker said in the release.If all goes well, NASA will be on track to launch an Orion on an uncrewed flight around the moon in 2017. A major problem or delay with this year's flight would jeopardize that schedule.The Orion launch is the big news, but it isn't all that's happening this year with the big new rocket. The contractors say they will also:- Open a new Vertical Assembly Center at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility at New Orleans where Boeing will begin welding on the barrels, rings and domes that will make up the rocket's core stage. That core stage will be more than 200 feet tall and almost 28-feet wide.- Test fire the first core stage engine at an Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in July. NASA will use four space shuttle main engines to provide the primary power to lift the rocket.- Test fire at an ATK site a prototype of new solid fuel side boosters that will support the main engines on liftoff."It is amazing to look at where we are today and what we've been able to accomplish given the challenging budget environment we've faced over the past couple of years," Boeing Vice President John Elbon said in the statement. "We are encouraged by the commitment we've seen in the 2014 budget, and with continued support to these programs, we will take the world farther into deep space than ever before."The Space Launch System is being developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Orion capsule is being developed by NASA's Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston. Together, the rocket and capsule will allow astronauts to return to deep space, where none have been since Apollo. The ultimate destination, former shuttle astronaut and ATK Vice President Charlie Precourt said in the release, is "boot prints on Mars."END
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