Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News – March 4, 2014

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: March 4, 2014 10:28:58 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News – March 4, 2014

Thanks to all of you for sharing with us when  our retired co-workers spouse's have passed as well.   Our Spouses are part of our extended NASA family and endured many sacrifices as their husbands or wives worked long hours and were away from the family on travel to accomplish our Human Spaceflight mission over the past 50 years. --  so as Hugh Brasseaux and many others have been doing--- please continue to let us know when a spouse of a NASA colleague has passed so we can share it with our NASA family . 

 

Todays planned Center Director all hands to talk the FY15 budget was cancelled due to bad weather at HQ.

"Because of inclement weather in the Washington area, NASA's Fiscal Year 2015 budget media briefing today now will be a teleconference. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and NASA Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson will brief reporters starting at 1 p.m.  

 The media teleconference will be carried live on NASA's Internet homepage.  To listen to the media briefing online visit:"

 

 

 

Hope to see you at this Thursdays Retirees Luncheon at Hibachi Grill at 11:30 on Bay Area Blvd.  Drive safely today if you have to get out and about.  Its very slippery and dangerous!

 

 

 

________________________________________

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

 

                    JSC TODAY CATEGORIES

1.            Headlines

-  March Women's History Month: Nomination Call-Out

-  Search Usability at JSC

-  March is Water Month

2.            Organizations/Social

-  Last Call! Food Services Survey

-  Delivery of Software-Driven Innovation - March 5

-  ASIA-ERG Monthly Meeting and Retreat

-  Tomorrow: The Power of ERGs

-  JSC Praise and Worship Club Meeting

-  The JSC Safety and Health Action Team (JSAT) Says

-  Gain Leadership Skills at Spaceland Toastmasters

-  Are You Ready to QUIT Smoking?

-  Today is the First Tuesday Sale at Starport

-  Starport's Flea Market - Register Now

3.            Jobs and Training

-  Leading at the Speed of Trust - Slots Available

-  Sixth NASA Formal Methods Symposium Coming to JSC

-  FedTraveler Live Lab - March 5

4.            Community

-  Sign Up to Be a Judge for the Innovation Summit

-  Physics and Hip Hop ...

 

Expedition 38 Takes an In-Flight Crew Portrait

 

 

   Headlines

1.            March Women's History Month: Nomination Call-Out

The 2014 Women's History Month's theme is "Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment." We would like to highlight several female employees whose character, courage and commitment have helped shaped them into the people they are today, and whose story serves as an inspiration to others.

Please submit your nomination or self-nomination for consideration to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity via email by Monday, March 10. Please include nominee's name, organization, job title and why you nominate the individual or yourself in 300 words or less. If selected, the stories will be highlighted in JSC Features!

JSC Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity x30607 http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oeod/

 

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2.            Search Usability at JSC

An executive summary of the Search Usability Survey has been released by the office of the JSC Chief Knowledge Officer can be found here. The survey used a system usability score, which points out areas for improvement by gathering user opinions on the search environment. The mean score of the surveys collected was 61.01 (of 100), meaning most participants would like to see the search environment improved.

UP NEXT: An open-ended satisfaction study to target working groups of different sizes with multiple levels of information needs. If you or the group you work with are interested in being part of this study, PLEASE SIGN UP as soon as possible.

This data will be used to inform and improve JSC Search on multiple levels, from content identification to interface improvements.

David Meza x36711 http://goo.gl/DP5g9Z

 

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3.            March is Water Month

JSC uses well over a quarter of a billion gallons of water each year. As part of federal, agency and center sustainability goals, JSC must reduce water consumption by two percent each year. You can help JSC save water by completely shutting off faucets when not in use and quickly reporting any water leaks for repair. Find other ways to help JSC save water and join countries across the globe on March 22 to celebrate World Water Day. For more information on JSC's water sustainability goals, visit the JSC Sustainability website.

JSC Environmental Office x36207 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/ja13/water.cfm

 

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   Organizations/Social

1.            Last Call! Food Services Survey

Starport and the exchange manager would like for you to share your opinions on JSC's food services! Please complete the 2014 Starport Food Services Survey so we can better understand the needs and desires of the JSC workforce. The survey results will be analyzed and used to determine the center's future food services program structure. Please take five minutes to complete the survey. At the end of the survey, you will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $100 gift card! Thank you for your participation.

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

 

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2.            Delivery of Software-Driven Innovation - March 5

Attend JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance speaker forum featuring Sharon Goza with IGOAL Lab.

Topic: DevOps - Continuous Delivery of Software-Driven Innovation

Tomorrow, March 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Location: Building 1, Room 966

DevOps is an enterprise capability for continuous software delivery that can enable organizations to seize opportunities, respond more rapidly to end-user feedback and balance speed, cost, quality and risk. By applying lean and agile principles across the software delivery lifecycle, DevOps helps organizations deliver a differentiated and engaging end-user experience, achieve quicker time to value and gain increased capacity to innovate. The IBM DevOps approach speeds up and sustains the software-driven innovation you're planning, developing, testing and delivering. Regardless of whether your focus is in mobile development, cloud hosting, big data analysis or social business, you can continuously release better software and services faster, at lower cost and with less risk.

Event Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM

Event Location: Building 1, room 966

 

Add to Calendar

 

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

 

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3.            ASIA-ERG Monthly Meeting and Retreat

Come join the Asians Succeeding in Innovation and Aerospace (ASIA) Employee Resource Group at our March monthly meeting, which will be conducted as a retreat. We will have a working lunch meeting "potluck" style (please contact Krystine Bui via email to sign up for a potluck dish category). The agenda is available at the March 5 meeting entry on our SharePoint calendar.

Event Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2014   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM

Event Location: B1-320

 

Add to Calendar

 

Krystine Bui x34186 https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/ASIA/

 

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4.            Tomorrow: The Power of ERGs

Please join Emerge tomorrow as we invite all Employee Resource Groups and the JSC community to an open collaborative networking event. This is a great opportunity to network and listen to Dr. Ellen Ochoa's perspective on the benefits of ERGs.

Event Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2014   Event Start Time:1:00 PM   Event End Time:2:00 PM

Event Location: Bldg 3 Collaboration Center

 

Add to Calendar

 

Elena C. Buhay 281-792-7976 https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/emerge/SitePages/Home.aspx

 

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5.            JSC Praise and Worship Club Meeting

Join with the praise and worship band "Allied with the Lord" for a refreshing set of praise and worship songs (this will be a folk/bluegrass session) on Thursday, March 20, from 11:15 to noon in Building 29, Room 237 (also called Creative Sp.ace). Prayer partners will be available for anyone who has need. All JSC civil servants and contractors are welcome.

Event Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014   Event Start Time:11:15 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM

Event Location: Building 29 Room 237

 

Add to Calendar

 

Mike FitzPatrick x30758

 

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6.            The JSC Safety and Health Action Team (JSAT) Says

"Be a safety hero! Focus on making accidents zero."

Congratulations to Sean Lowe with Barrios Technology for submitting the winning slogan for March 2014. Any JSAT member (all JSC contractor and civil servant employees) may submit a slogan for consideration to JSAT Secretary Reese Squires. Submissions for April are due by Monday, March 10. Keep those great submissions coming - you may be the next "JSAT Says" winner!

Reese Squires x37776 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/apps/news/newsfiles/3386.pptx

 

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7.            Gain Leadership Skills at Spaceland Toastmasters

Do you want to stand out from the crowd when interviewing for a job? Do you come across effectively in face-to-face encounters? No matter how many text messages or emails we send and receive, we also need to be comfortable, competent and confident with in-person communications, whether it's one-on-one or in a group setting. Spaceland Toastmasters helps members develop offline skills so they can connect and converse effectively at work, at home and in social gatherings. Spaceland Toastmasters WELCOMES guests to their meetings on Wednesdays from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Clear Lake City Sports and Recreation Complex (1206 Ramada Drive, Room B). (Park in the lot across from the baseball diamonds.) Visit SpacelandToastmasters.com for more information.

Ed Walsh 281-935-7197 http://www.spacelandtoastmasters.com

 

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8.            Are You Ready to QUIT Smoking?

Please join Takis Bogdanos, MA, LPC-S, CGP, with the JSC Employee Assistance Program, as he presents a four-week smoking cessation program and three follow-up sessions to offer support on your journey to become a non-smoker. The program starts March 13 in Building 45 (Room TBD). Please email to sign up and indicate a preferred time (noon or 4 p.m.). Space is limited to 12 participants.

Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program, Occupational Health Branch x36130

 

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9.            Today is the First Tuesday Sale at Starport

Starport offers 10 percent off most items on the first Tuesday of every month to NASA and Starport Partner contractor employees. The discount is not applicable on tickets, stamps, Hallmark or other service items. Additional exclusions apply for pre-sale and special-purchase items. Check to see if your company is a 2013 Starport Partner. We thank your company for being a Starport Partner!

Cyndi Kibby x47467

 

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10.          Starport's Flea Market - Register Now

Clean out those closets, attics and garages and sell your unwanted items at one big event! On April 19, Starport will have our annual Spring Festival at the Gilruth Center. Not only will there be a crawfish boil, children's Spring Fling complete with Easter bunny and egg hunt and an indoor craft fair, but we will also host a flea market. If you are interested in selling your unwanted items in the flea market for one big "yard sale," please click here for more information and the registration form. Spots are only $10 each!

Event Date: Saturday, April 19, 2014   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:2:00 PM

Event Location: Gilruth Center

 

Add to Calendar

 

Shelly Haralson x39168 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

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   Jobs and Training

1.            Leading at the Speed of Trust - Slots Available

The Human Resources Development Office is offering a session of Leading at the Speed of Trust.

This workshop is a comprehensive trust workshop for those in leadership positions.

Leaders will:

o             Learn how to create a language of trust using "four cores" and "13 behaviors" of high-trust leaders

o             Develop a specific trust action plan

o             Complete a tQ (Trust Quotient) 360 survey that will measure their trustworthiness with others

Target audience: JSC group/team leads and first-line supervisors

Registration cut-off date: March 14

Date: April 8 to 9

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Where: Building 12, Room 152

Please register via SATERN: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Jennifer Ahmed-Alonso 281-792-7851

 

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2.            Sixth NASA Formal Methods Symposium Coming to JSC

The Sixth NASA Formal Methods Symposium will be coming to the Gilruth Center from April 29 to May 1. This free symposium will feature talks from formal methods researchers from around the world, and topics will include theorem proving, model checking, specifications and more. The NASA Formal Methods Symposium is a forum for theoreticians and practitioners from academia, industry and government to identify challenges and provide solutions to achieving assurance in mission- and safety-critical systems. Registration is free but required for participation and can be found, along with further information about the symposium, here.

Event Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2014   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:5:00 PM

Event Location: Gilruth Center

 

Add to Calendar

 

Julia Badger x32277

 

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3.            FedTraveler Live Lab - March 5

Do you need some hands-on, personal help with FedTraveler.com? Join the Business Systems and Process Improvement Office for a FedTraveler Live Lab tomorrow, March 5, any time between 9 a.m. and noon in Building 12, Room 142. Our help desk representatives will be available to help you work through travel processes and learn more about using FedTraveler during this informal workshop. Bring your current travel documents or specific questions that you have about the system and join us for some hands-on, in-person help with the FedTraveler. If you'd like to sign up for this FedTraveler Live Lab, please log into SATERN and register. For additional information, contact Judy Seier at x32771. To register in SATERN, please click on this SATERN direct link: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Gina Clenney x39851

 

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   Community

1.            Sign Up to Be a Judge for the Innovation Summit

The Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation Challenge provides an opportunity for teams of students to create commercially viable products/services to address issues of global sustainability for the benefit of humanity. This competition is free and available to students ages 13 to 18 from around the world. The Innovation Summit will be at Space Center Houston from April 6 to 8.

Themes for each day correlate to the team presentations, and your expertise in these areas is requested. We need two judges for each session.

o             Monday, April 7 - Aerospace and Aviation

o             Monday, April 7 - Cyber Security and Technology

o             Tuesday, April 8 - Energy and Environment

o             Tuesday, April 8 - Health and Nutrition

If you would like to be a judge, sign up in V-CORPs by March 15. If you need help with V-CORPs, contact V-CORPs administrator. For questions about the Innovation Summit, contact Carla Santiago.

Carla Santiago x37150 https://nasajsc.secure.force.com/vcorps

 

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2.            Physics and Hip Hop ...

If you love hip hop and groove to STEM, you'll love this opportunity! We are looking for volunteers to help kick off the FMA Live! Program in several local schools this week. FMA Live! is a STEM venture (Newton? Force = Mass * Acceleration?) that uses live actors, hip-hop music and dance, interactive participation and more to really engage students. It's simple -- just talk for a few minutes about how cool it is to have a STEM career and why kids should be interested in math, physics and science. There are several times available on Wednesday, March 5, and on Friday, March 7. Check out V-CORPs for details!

V-CORPs 281-792-5859

 

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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

Tuesday – March 4, 2014

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

Former NASA Commercial Crew chief Ed Mango fined $2,000

 

James Dean - Florida Today

 

A federal judge today imposed a $2,000 fine on Ed Mango, a senior Kennedy Space Center official who had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of trying to influence a matter in which he had a financial interest.

 

What Happens If Russia Refuses to Fly U.S. Astronauts?

Russian Soyuz flights are NASA's only way to get astronauts to and from the International Space Station. What happens if they cut us off?

 

Michael Belfiore - Popular Mechanics

 

With tensions escalating between Russia and Ukraine, the pressure is on President Obama to do more than issue stern warnings to the Russian government. Economic sanctions are one possible action, but one that could put the squeeze not only on Russia but also the U.S. manned space program.

 

NASA Will Seek Funds For Europa Flyby, Dark Energy Missions

Frank Morring, Jr. – Aviation Week

NASA's upcoming $17.5 billion request for funds in fiscal 2015 will include a request for "pre-formulation" work on missions to exploit recently discovered water geysers over the south pole of Europa and sophisticated techniques to gauge the effects of dark energy on the observable Universe, along with stay-the-course spending on continuing major programs.

Russia Crisis Raises Space Station Questions, But NASA Has Options

 

James Oberg - NBCNews.com

 

Thanks to its reliance on Russia, NASA is once again confronted with the nightmare of a diplomatic roadblock in a project originally made possible by diplomacy: the U.S.-Russian partnership in space exploration.

 

EDITORIAL: Entrepreneurs lead the way into space

Fearlessly leading the way to a seat into the unknown

 

The Washington Times

President Obama doesn't understand what Abraham Lincoln was talking about when he called America "the exceptional nation." Mr. Obama says the Americans are no more the exception than "the Brits" or the Greeks, but he's wrong and events are proving it. You don't even have to be an American to take inspiration from the exception.

Oscars 2014: Cuaron cinematographer's NASA inspiration on 'Gravity'

Amy Kaufman – Los Angeles Times

On most films, adding visual effects is part of the postproduction process. But on "Gravity," the editing and cinematography had to begin two months before shooting even started.

Crystals in the Sky

Kenneth Chang – The New York Times

Take away gravity, and a lot of physics becomes simpler. Crystals, for example, grow larger and more perfectly.

Profile | Dale Nash, Exacutive Director, Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority

Dan Leone – Space News

When space shuttle veteran Dale Nash got the call in 2012 to run the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, tensions were already on the rise with the state-funded organization's anchor customer, Orbital Sciences Corp.

 

NASA Glenn helps study ice crystals high above Australia

Grant Segall – The Plain Dealer

As if it hasn't been cold enough in Ohio lately, NASA Glenn Research Center is helping to study icing in Australia.

COMPLETE STORIES

Former NASA Commercial Crew chief Ed Mango fined $2,000

 

James Dean - Florida Today

 

A federal judge today imposed a $2,000 fine on Ed Mango, a senior Kennedy Space Center official who had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of trying to influence a matter in which he had a financial interest.

 

Facing up to six months in prison, based on recommended sentencing guidelines, Mango told U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton he took responsibility for his actions and was sorry, and wanted to continue his work in human spaceflight.

 

"I know I went over the line," said Mango, who stepped down last fall as manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "It will not happen again."

 

Mango entered the courtroom with a dozen supporters. Several spoke on his behalf, including former astronaut Jim Voss and former shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach.

 

Mango's lawyers asked that his penalty be limited to a fine, with no incarceration or probation.

 

Dalton commended Mango for his service as an Air Force officer and NASA engineer. But he said Mango had made bad decisions and it was important for senior government managers to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

 

Mango and his supporters hugged and shook hands after Dalton formally issued the fine, to be paid within 30 days.

 

Prosecutors said Mango loaned an undisclosed amount of money to a NASA colleague after she was arrested last fall. He then pressured senior KSC officials to minimize the punishment the agency imposed on the colleague, a public affairs officer who supported the Commercial Crew Program, without disclosing that she owed him money.

 

Human resources officials later said Mango's intervention had resulted in unprecedented handling of the case, in which the colleague was allowed to spread the cost of an unpaid suspension over multiple pay periods.

 

Mango now reports to NASA headquarters and is no longer a member of NASA's Senior Executive Service personnel.

 

What Happens If Russia Refuses to Fly U.S. Astronauts?

Russian Soyuz flights are NASA's only way to get astronauts to and from the International Space Station. What happens if they cut us off?

 

Michael Belfiore - Popular Mechanics

 

With tensions escalating between Russia and Ukraine, the pressure is on President Obama to do more than issue stern warnings to the Russian government. Economic sanctions are one possible action, but one that could put the squeeze not only on Russia but also the U.S. manned space program.

 

Since the space shuttle retired in 2011, NASA has had no native human spaceflight capability. With no other options, NASA has relied on the Russian Federal Space Agency and its Soyuz rockets and spacecraft to get astronauts to and from the International Space Station, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars per seat. Any strong move by the U.S. in response to the Crimean crisis could spell the end of Americans flying on Russian spaceships, at least until tensions ease. NASA and its commercial partners have some projects in the works that can fill the gap, should Russia refuse to fly our astronauts. But these are at least two to three years from operational status. Depending on how the Russian-Ukraine crisis develops, those could be two to three years with no Americans in space.

 

At the moment, most of NASA's human spaceflight resources are focused on the government-owned Space Launch System, or SLS. This was conceived as a deep-space rocket and spacecraft designed to send humans beyond low Earth orbit for the first time since the last astronauts left the moon in 1972. Although not specifically intended to send crews and supplies to the International Space Station, it could do so if necessary.

 

Unfortunately, SLS, which is consuming about $3 billion of NASA's annual budget, won't be ready to fly crew until 2021. And after that, it will be able to fly missions only once every four years under the current development schedule. So the multiple flights per year needed to maintain the International Space Station won't happen with SLS unless things change.

 

NASA's commercial crew program is a more promising alternative for flying Americans into space in American-built spacecraft. So far, NASA has split about $1.4 billion between a number of private companies trying to develop new manned spaceships (not counting the money spent on the cargo program that was the crew program's precursor). The companies receiving money under a program called Commercial Crew Integrated Capability, or CCiCap, are SpaceX, Boeing, and Sierra Nevada Corporation.

 

SpaceX is the leader of the pack, having already sent cargo to the ISS. SpaceX engineers designed the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule with crew in mind from the beginning, and the company is now working with NASA to add crew accommodations and escape rockets to the Dragon. Boeing is at work on a crew capsule called the CST-100, while Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser is the most shuttle-like of the commercial vehicles in development—its lifting body shape makes it steerable as a glider when returning to Earth. The current schedule has NASA choosing one or two of these companies this summer to complete a working crew-carrying spacecraft by 2017.

 

The big question is: Could NASA accelerate this schedule if it had to? We asked Jeff Foust, an analyst with the Futron Corporation and a long-time observer of the commercial spaceflight industry. "I don't think you would be able accelerate it that much," he says, "maybe 2016, maybe 2015. That's getting into the timeframe when the companies are anticipating their initial test flights... So if things got shut off now, there would still be an extended period of time when you wouldn't be able to do flights to the ISS."

 

Henry Hertzfeld, Professor of Space Policy and International Affairs at the George Washington University Space Policy Institute, expressed optimism that the situation won't come to that. "On the positive side," he says, "the ISS is an international partnership of 14 nations that includes Russia. Between that agreement and other space agreements that stress cooperation and peaceful uses of space, we and Russia may put a higher priority on that arrangement and access for all astronauts may be spared any direct impact from the political problems. I'm not making predictions, but at least we can hope that will happen."

 

NASA Will Seek Funds For Europa Flyby, Dark Energy Missions

Frank Morring, Jr. – Aviation Week

NASA's upcoming $17.5 billion request for funds in fiscal 2015 will include a request for "pre-formulation" work on missions to exploit recently discovered water geysers over the south pole of Europa and sophisticated techniques to gauge the effects of dark energy on the observable Universe, along with stay-the-course spending on continuing major programs.

Internal NASA budget documents indicate space science would get almost $5 billion under the new budget to continue work on the James Webb Space Telescope and a Curiosity-based Mars rover to launch in 2020. But it includes some funding for a Europa mission spurred by the possibility that water found high in space over Europa's south pole could give an unexpectedly quick look at the makeup of the Jovian moon's subsurface ocean with a spacecraft designed to fly through it.

Also slated for "pre-formulation" study is the proposed Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope/Astrophysics Focused Telescope Asset mission, which would use gravitational lensing and other advanced techniques to study dark energy, and to continue the search for exoplanets in our Milky Way galaxy by monitoring a large star sample in the galaxy's center for the faint dimming caused by intervening solar systems. Like the Webb telescope, the proposed mission would be managed by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and is likely to enjoy support from Senate Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.).

The request seeks $7.9 billion for human exploration, divided roughly 50-50 between operations, including funds required next year for an extension of the International Space Station to 2024, and exploration technology including the heavy-lift Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule. Development of commercial crew delivery to the ISS would be supported at a level permitting certification by 2017.

Open-ended space technology research would get $706 million, including funds for more work on advanced solar electric propulsion and non-toxic "green" spacecraft propellant. Aeronautics would get $551 million, while education would receive $89 million. The request also includes $3.2 billion for cross-agency support, construction and environmental remediation.

Russia Crisis Raises Space Station Questions, But NASA Has Options

 

James Oberg - NBCNews.com

 

Thanks to its reliance on Russia, NASA is once again confronted with the nightmare of a diplomatic roadblock in a project originally made possible by diplomacy: the U.S.-Russian partnership in space exploration.

 

And if Russia's confrontation with Ukraine and the West turns into the worst diplomatic crisis of our generation, as feared, it could have equally profound and disturbing consequences for space exploration.

 

This month's comings and goings at the International Space Station highlight the interdependence of the U.S. and Russian space efforts: Next week, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins is due to return from the space station aboard a Russian capsule, alongside two Russian cosmonauts. A couple of weeks after that, NASA's Steven Swanson is to ride another Russian Soyuz craft up to the station, again in the company of two Russians.

 

Under the current arrangement, NASA astronauts cannot get to and from the station without Russian help, due to the retirement of the space shuttle fleet. The ticket price for each astronaut is $70 million, payable to the Russians.

The United States and Russia are not just "joined at the hip" on the space station. Numerous other rocket projects rely on either Russian or Ukrainian space hardware and services. Even U.S. national security satellites are powered into orbit on an American rocket with a Russian-built rocket engine.

 

What if the Soyuz spacecraft suddenly became unavailable for use by American astronauts, contract or no contract? Would it be the end of U.S. human spaceflight? Would it kick off a new round of extortionary price-gouging, both fiscal and diplomatic?

 

Well, maybe not.

 

Moving away from co-dependence

 

It's cold comfort that the Russians rely on NASA almost as much as NASA relies on the Russians. If Russia monopolizes up-down transport, the United States essentially controls the only space destination: Russia's orbital hardware couldn't function without U.S. electrical power and communications services.

 

However reluctant the partners may be in such an awkward "space marriage," it has until now provided an astonishing degree of robustness and flexibility.

 

Recent developments have brought the space station closer to the point where it could be operated without Russian involvement if necessary. The current crisis provides good reasons to accelerate that shift and even to push for one crucial near-term capability: crew rescue.

 

Already, two U.S. commercial cargo delivery projects — SpaceX's Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule, as well as Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule — have replaced the justifiably retired space shuttle. European and Japanese robot freighters can also resupply the space station. Even though some parts of the Antares come from Ukraine and Russia, and even though the European cargo freighter must dock at the Russian end of the station, Russia's cargo monopoly has been broken.

 

What should be added next, and soon, is a U.S. capability to return astronauts from orbit — and SpaceX's Dragon capsule could be quickly modified to provide that capability. In the event of a political emergency, U.S. astronauts could extend their tours of duty from the current six months to the 12-month range already approved for next year, or even longer.

 

Playing the China card?

 

The "up-crew" capability is a trickier question. Commercial providers are still three to four years away from providing that function. But it's conceivable that the schedule could be accelerated. And there's already another non-Russian spacecraft that has demonstrated the ability to transport crew safely to and from a space station. This one happens to be made in China.

 

China could be invited to the space station under conditions that would maintain adequate security barriers. And asking the Chinese to demonstrate stand-by rescue capability would show them the kind of respect they desire — and deserve.

 

None of these backup procedures would be pretty, or anywhere near optimal, or risk-free. But they do provide alternatives to finding the U.S. space effort effectively held hostage.

 

A U.S.-Russian rift in orbit would raise problems large and small. For example, there's a little-noticed proviso in the space station agreement that allows the Russians to possess the only handguns in space. That's a problem with no technical solution. But other problems may have technical solutions, and that's what NASA does best.

 

Enter the Dragon

 

The amazing SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule is due for another launch this month. Even looking at it on the launch pad shows why it's not ready to carry astronauts. There is no visible "escape rocket" system to save them in the event of a booster failure.

 

That will still take several years to test, perfect and certify. But meanwhile, carrying crew down may be possible sooner. It could take just a few months to add accommodations and a life support system — for example, couches and portable breathing masks. Some sort of radio system, and possibly a minimal manual control capability over the return flight, would also be desirable.

 

The Dragon's docking interface poses a tougher challenge. Like Japan's HTV freighter and Orbital's Cygnus, the Dragon uses the station's "big doors" rather than the usual docking tunnels. The automated robotic spacecraft is grappled by the station's robotic arm and hooked up to a wide-load "Common Berthing Mechanism." The 4-foot-wide hatch makes it possible to transfer refrigerator-sized science racks and other big cargo canisters.

 

This is a tremendous improvement over the much narrower tunnels installed on the mechanically robust docking ports where crewed space vehicles normally connect. But the docking and undocking is a laborious process that requires intensive crew support inside the station. Doing it for an evacuation, with current hardware and procedures, would be enormously difficult if not impossible. That's why the future Dragons built for crew transport will have a nose-mounted docking probe and narrow tunnel.

 

In space, as on Earth, the surest way to avoid blackmail is to have options. In light of the current crisis, and in anticipation of potential crises in years to come, NASA should kick off well-publicized efforts to develop such quick-fix options immediately.

 

EDITORIAL: Entrepreneurs lead the way into space

Fearlessly leading the way to a seat into the unknown

 

The Washington Times

President Obama doesn't understand what Abraham Lincoln was talking about when he called America "the exceptional nation." Mr. Obama says the Americans are no more the exception than "the Brits" or the Greeks, but he's wrong and events are proving it. You don't even have to be an American to take inspiration from the exception.

Even as the Obama administration clips the wings of NASA, entrepreneurs are preparing to launch expeditions into the final frontier. Private-sector pioneers are the key to breaking the limits to growth, and they're thinking outside the box and heading beyond the earthly cradle. There are no stop signs in space.

Entrepreneurs risk their money, daredevils risk their necks, and Richard Branson, an Englishman taking his cue from the American exception, does both. The aerospace billionaire is getting closer to doing something that NASA hasn't been able to do over its 55 years of breaking boundaries.

Mr. Branson's Virgin Galactic will offer a space flight to paying passengers on a routine schedule. If he succeeds, a trip to the great beyond on gossamer wings will resemble a heart-pumping roller-coaster ride more than a ride on a NASA space shuttle.

The maiden commercial flight of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip Two is expected to lift off later this year from a New Mexico spaceport south of Albuquerque. At $250,000 a ticket, the suborbital flight, reaching an altitude of 68 miles, isn't within the reach of just anybody.

But 700 men and women who groove on life in the fast lane, including Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie, have put down deposits of about $200,000 each to reserve a seat.

Nobody has a boarding pass yet, and a lift-off date has not been set, and Mr. Branson's plan to make several launches per week is still on the drawing board. First comes the first flight.

Mr. Branson, confident in his engineering, promises that safety comes first. He told Weekend magazine that he — and his family — will be there to fasten their seat belts on the inaugural flight.

Fellow entrepreneur Elon Musk is taking a different tack in the commercialization of space. His company, Space X, is building cargo rockets for the heavy lifting necessary to move cargo beyond the gravitational pull of Earth.

On the drawing board is a supersized rocket that would go aloft with 165 tons, 30 tons more than NASA's own Space Launch System, which is under development for use in a manned flight to Mars.

Mr. Musk has said his Falcon XX vehicle can get aloft for $2.5 billion, far less than the $30 billion or so the federal agency expects to spend developing its heavy-lift rocket.

Space X is under contract with NASA to fly cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station, providing an alternative to Russian and Chinese flights that have been the only means of reaching the orbiter since the U.S. space shuttle program shut down in 2011.

"Leading from behind" is OK for those who are content to arrive last, but that's no way to inspire anybody. Mr. Obama's 2008 campaign slogan, "yes, we can" has crumbled into "no, we can't."

Where he has failed to lead, exceptional entrepreneurs are seizing the opportunity to go beyond where governments have gone before.

Oscars 2014: Cuaron cinematographer's NASA inspiration on 'Gravity'

Amy Kaufman – Los Angeles Times

On most films, adding visual effects is part of the postproduction process. But on "Gravity," the editing and cinematography had to begin two months before shooting even started.

To prepare, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki -- who won his first Oscar Sunday night -- sifted through a library of photographs from the NASA library in an effort to make the film look as "naturalistic as possible," he said backstage.

"A lot of the lighting of the movie is based on those photographs," Lubezki said, clutching his Oscar. "We would have big meetings ... and try to define how each scene of the movie was going to look, but of course the last word was always his."

He being director Alfonso Cuarón, Lubezki's longtime friend and collaborator.

"I've been inspired by his curiosity of exploration," the cinematographer said. "It is true that I'm a fan of his."

Eager to deflect that praise, Cuarón started heaping compliments on someone else -- his leading actress, Sandra Bullock, whom he said he wasn't able to acknowledge enough on stage during the telecast.

"Everything we were doing was honoring Sandra Bullock's performance," the filmmaker said. "All the light and wizardry doesn't make a difference without the emotional life embodied by her."

Later in the evening, after receiving the directing prize, Cuarón added to reporters, "I don't think enough was said about Sandra."

Crystals in the Sky

Kenneth Chang – The New York Times

Take away gravity, and a lot of physics becomes simpler. Crystals, for example, grow larger and more perfectly.

For scientists who study protein shapes — critical in designing new drugs and pesticides, for example — that is the attraction of outer space. In orbital experiments, protein molecules (which include hormones, enzymes and antibodies) form into crystals unimpeded by the convection currents that gravity generates.

An article in Science Times on March 14, 1989, described an early set of such experiments being conducted on the space shuttle Discovery.

On a shuttle mission half a year earlier, the same apparatus had produced a significant success — the largest crystal at that time for gamma interferon, a protein that stimulates the body's immune system.

When the crystal returned to the ground, scientists shined X-rays on it, calculating the shape based on the scattering pattern. In general, the larger and better the crystal, the clearer the scattering pattern and greater the accuracy in determining the positions of the atoms in the protein. Protein crystal experiments were conducted on more than 35 space shuttle flights.

25 YEARS LATER Today, human spaceflight has a very different profile. The shuttle program ended in 2011, and the surviving shuttles are in museums. Science is now done aboard the International Space Station, which is partly served by commercial rockets.

But the protein crystal experiments go on. "We've learned a lot," Lawrence J. DeLucas of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, one of the scientists involved, said in an interview last week.

He cited crystals of insulin grown on several shuttle flights, which turned out much bigger than earth-grown ones and provided a much clearer picture of the structure of different versions of insulin. "That's one resounding example," he said.

But others are doubtful that the improvements, sporadic and inconsistent, were worth the time and cost.

The protein crystals on the 1989 Discovery flight turned out to be almost a total flop. In a scientific paper published two years later, Dr. DeLucas and his colleagues reported: "Unfortunately, showers of small crystals were produced in every chamber flown for all 15 of these proteins. It is not clear what caused this."

Dr. DeLucas was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1990, and two years later he conducted protein crystal growth experiments during a two-week shuttle flight, the longest up to that point. The idea was to conduct each experiment more than once, adjusting the parameters based on what he observed.

But even then, only five or six proteins formed crystals large enough to be useful. "The rest, the crystals were so small, you couldn't really figure out what to do," Dr. DeLucas said. "I realized more than ever then how long it takes for these crystals to grow to their full size and why a space station would really come in handy."

Today, he is a principal investigator on a $6 million project that is to fly aboard the International Space Station. The experiment will include 100 proteins with poor results on earth so far. The same crystal-growing experiment will be conducted on the ground at the same time under the same conditions (plus gravity).

After four and a half months, the space crystals will return to earth. The analysis will then be conducted double-blind, meaning that the scientists analyzing the crystals will not know which ones were grown on earth and which in orbit.

The 100 proteins are set to travel to the space station in March aboard a rocket run by SpaceX, a private company, and return to earth in August. The analysis will then take a year.

At the end, Dr. DeLucas said scientists will have a good idea of how useful zero-G is for this type of research. "What I hope is," he said, "once and for all, we can say, 'Look, if you fly a protein, here's the percent chance that it's going to get improvement.' "

Profile | Dale Nash, Exacutive Director, Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority

Dan Leone – Space News

When space shuttle veteran Dale Nash got the call in 2012 to run the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, tensions were already on the rise with the state-funded organization's anchor customer, Orbital Sciences Corp.

 

Construction of a launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., for Orbital's Antares rocket, developed as part of the agency's effort to create commercial logistics services for the international space station, was behind schedule and over budget. Dulles, Va.-based Orbital, eager to collect on its $1.9 billion ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, had to kick in some of its own money to see the project through to completion.

 

Orbital has since launched the liquid-fueled Antares rocket three times, all successfully, from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops, including the first CRS mission. Orbital also continues to launch the various versions of its solid-fueled Minotaur rocket from Pad 0B at the spaceport. 

In February, Virginia and Orbital settled a lawsuit that the company filed seeking redress for the money it had to spend to finish building Pad 0A and related infrastructure, which ultimately cost $90 million. Exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed, although the state did agree to buy back a rocket transport vehicle that had come into the company's possession by virtue of its funding outlays.

 

With the lawsuit behind them, Orbital and MARS are getting down to the business of launching the remainder of the company's CRS contract while seeking additional business for Antares. That includes follow-on station-logistics business with NASA. Nash also is looking to bring other launch services providers to the spaceport, which he says is already having a positive economic impact on the sleepy surrounding region.

 

Nash, who formerly ran Alaska's spaceport authority, spoke recently with SpaceNews staff writer Dan Leone.

 

What's the point of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority? Or of any state spaceflight authority?

I think it all started with the Commercial Space Act, where the federal government encouraged states to get into space to try to bring the price down and encourage commercial capability and also build redundancy into our space systems. 

 

Do you think today's reality reflects Congress' intent?

At the time the law was passed, Iridium, Globalstar and others believed we were going to paint the sky black with satellites out there. Then cellular technology took over. But now we seem to be moving back to where the ability to communicate from space may become affordable and that commercial market may develop. Regardless, governments are trying to get launches in the commercial realm to try to bring the cost down and have a fixed price, to get investors to put into it so the government doesn't have to carry the entire burden. I would say SpaceX and Orbital have delivered on that promise through the Commercial Resupply Services program, so that's a start.

 

For now, isn't MARS completely tethered to Orbital? 

Good point. Orbital is the anchor tenant. We hope they're not the only tenant, but you always want to make your anchor tenant as successful as you can.

 

It took about three years to build Pad 0A. How long would it take to modify it for rockets besides Antares?

Probably the better part of six months to a year. We certainly don't want to put Antares out of business while we do modifications, though, so we have to be careful.

 

What would those modifications cost?

Well, it would certainly be a lot less costly than trying to go and build a new launch pad. 

 

Orbital is interested in using a different engine on Antares, possibly the RD-180 that powers the main stage of United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5. Can Pad 0A handle the RD-180?

Not as it exists today, but we could change the pad to support that. One consideration is that we attach the pad umbilicals and things like that to the rocket's core, not the engine itself. So if Antares' attachments to the rocket core remain the same, the pad modifications would be easier. But if they have to come back and make significant modifications to the core, that would change things. But the basics are there. Our flame trench can already accommodate RD-180. We've been very pleasantly surprised with the wear and tear on the flame trench. We'll probably go 10 or 12 launches before we have to do any rework to the launch pad's flame materials.

 

What are the near-term growth prospects for MARS?

Well, Antares is the bird in the hand, and we're supporting Orbital's efforts on other proposals, governmental and commercial, including their efforts to compete for CRS 2, NASA's second Commercial Resupply Services contract. But we want to continue to attract other people, where we can. 

 

Who, particularly?

We're talking to other launch providers, but we're under nondisclosure agreements. But, for example, it's easy to go from MARS's Pad 0B, which is for solid rockets. In fact, we have plans to modify the pad so it can launch Orbital's Minotaur 6. If we modify the pad for Minotaur 6, it could also accommodate Lockheed Martin's Athena or Athena 2. For Pad 0A, we certainly tried to design it such that it could accommodate other liquid-oxygen, kerosene rockets. We've also done studies on what it would take to do a hydrogen-fueled rocket, or a methane-fueled rocket. 

 

Any chance of MARS taking over some of the sounding rocket launches NASA flies from Wallops?

No. We're focused on the Minotaur- and Antares-class launches.

 

What about launching to geostationary orbit from Wallops?

The ideal place for that would be on the equator, but we can get into the 38-degree to 60-degree integration. There are a lot of satellites that are in that mid-latitude. Besides geostationary orbit, we're looking very hard with NASA on some sun-synchronous, polar orbits out of Wallops.

 

Is NASA's interest serious?

There's money being spent for them to do the engineering studies on getting some satellites to that orbit from Wallops on an Antares.  We have to work out some things with them, like overflight issues, reliability, which flight path we'd have on the way out for a sun-synchronous launch. It is a desirable scientific orbit to be at. You can see things in the same sunlight every day, so you can see if things change: land masses, movement of equipment, whatever else. 

 

Is there a way to quantify the economic benefit MARS has had on the Maryland-Virginia Eastern Shore area? 

You have about 120 people working there between MARS and Orbital at Wallops who were not there before. About 60 for MARS, half of whom are contractors. Orbital has the other 60. These are pretty good-paying jobs. We also buy a lot of services. Our reach is certainly in the Virginia and Maryland areas. We reach back down to the Hampton Roads, Va., area quite a bit. Actually, we reach back down to Florida a lot more than you might think. And we utilize suppliers in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, so there is an impact on the economy from the jobs, there's an impact from the supply chain that's continuing to move closer. As we continue to grow, everyone wants the supplies more cost-effective, and "more cost-effective" usually means "up close." 

 

Have any parts of your supply chain already moved to the Wallops area?

There's Precision Fabrication and Cleaning — they came from Florida, and they're experts on cryogenic systems. Many of their people are essentially residents up here; they've been on for about two-and-a-half years. They'll probably become a permanent resident near Wallops. We also have General Physics, which does the independent certification of our systems, the pressure vessels, for example. NASA ultimately signs off on that work, but we have General Physics as our independent engineering certifier. And we have other, smaller contracts that we use two or three people for precision engineering, welding and fabrication, things like that.

 

Did any former space shuttle workers migrate to Virginia after the program ended in 2011?

Migratory rocket worker: Have skills, will travel. There's a pretty good core of our workforce who are Florida people. We have this remarkable workforce that has been impacted in a very big way by the shutdown of the shuttle. Some of those, not a lot, we're talking smaller numbers, but a key group of Florida people with 25, 30 years of experience are working for us at MARS, or are subcontractors in Virginia. And we're building around that with a lot of smart, young talent out of the local area.

 

Did you move these people permanently to Virginia?

Some. You find people who are older and don't necessarily want to sell their home in Florida but want to work another five or 10 years. So they'll come up here and live. It isn't driving back and forth every weekend. They are paid in Virginia, or Maryland, live here, and will go back once every couple of months. We have some subcontractors who, as we surge, will bring in people from Florida who will go back there. But we'll keep a presence of subcontractors here, and some of those are actually looking at establishing long-term facilities and shops near Wallops. They want to increase their business wherever they can get it, and Virginia is definitely a growth opportunity for them. Then you have the middle-career folks, people in their 40s or 50s, they need another 10 or 15 years, or 20 years of career, and they are making the relocation to our area permanently.

 

Is there enough potential launch business out there to support more than one or two commercial spaceports? 

I don't know. But even replenishing the satellite constellations that are already up there, I think there's definitely a market. There's also a move toward disaggregation, where instead of just a few large satellites you launch more smaller satellites. If you have a constellation of three or four, and you lose even one, you've lost a lot of your capability. Especially from a national security point of view, that's a significant thing.

 

NASA Glenn helps study ice crystals high above Australia

Grant Segall – The Plain Dealer

As if it hasn't been cold enough in Ohio lately, NASA Glenn Research Center is helping to study icing in Australia.

Down under, but high above land or water, a scientist and a probe from NASA Glenn are helping an international team research ice crystals to improve airplane safety. A French Falcon 20 jet is flying into crystal-laden clouds near thunderstorms over the coastal city of Darwin to gather data.

Glenn has supplied an isokinetic probe: a yellowish device that sits under the left wing and measures the clouds' water. On the ground, Glenn's Tom Ratavsky is helping to analyze the weather and monitor the probe.

The flights are set to end March 14. The study is being led by Europe's Airbus conglomerate. It draws from three NASA centers: Glenn, Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

NASA Glenn's specialties have including icing for decades. Ratavsky said, "Ice crystals at high altitudes normally cannot be detected by onboard weather radar and visibly do not appear to be a danger to pilots. However, if ice crystals are ingested into a turbofan engine and reach its core, the crystals can cause a temporary power loss without warning. "

The problem is growing because of more flights at higher altitudes. Over the last 20 years, more than 200 power losses have been documented in turbofan engines at high altitudes, even though pilots saw little to no bad weather.

"The research that will be compiled during the flight campaign will build on what we know about ice crystal icing at high altitudes and help us better understand the physical processes that cause high concentrations of crystals in certain areas," said Ratvasky.

"What we learn will help inform aviation regulatory agencies internationally and help further development of technologies that may one day detect the presence of ice crystals or mitigate ice crystals' effects when encountered during flight."

For more about Glenn's work with icing, see nasa.gov/centers/glenn/aeronautics/frigid_heat.html.

END

 

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