Tuesday, May 15, 2012
News 5/15/12
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
JSC TODAY HEADLINES
1. Tune In to ISS Update This Week
2. NASA Feature - Tonight on the Travel Channel
3. Project Asset and Lifecycle Management System (PALMS) Training Available
4. Cleanroom Protocol and Contamination Control ViTS - July 13
5. Extended TDY FedTraveler Live Lab Tomorrow - May 16
6. This Week at Starport - Dreamtrips Vacations at the Gilruth Center
7. Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive and Dodge - Starport League Sports
8. JSC Spaghetti Day
9. Women's Tool Box for Stress Management
10. INCOSE Local Chapter Event Combines with the AIAA Symposium on May 18
11. Project Management Institute Clear Lake Galveston Chapter Presentation
________________________________________ QUOTE OF THE DAY
“ Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. ”
-- Swedish Proverb
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1. Tune In to ISS Update This Week
Tune in this week to the International Space Station Update at 10 a.m. on NASA TV for interviews with key NASA personnel and the latest space station information.
On Wednesday, see Camille Alleyene, Space Station Assistant Program Scientist, talk about station science coming up and back aboard SpaceX.
On Thursday, check out astronaut Cady Coleman talking about the Soyuz docking, ISS crew welcome and handover and current ISS activities.
And Friday, watch a discussion about SpaceX Dragon launch and arrival to ISS scheduled for Saturday, May 19.
Check the latest ISS Update programming at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/update/index.html
If you missed the ISS Updates from last week, tune in to REEL NASA at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ReelNASA to get the full videos. Or, view the videos at NASA's video gallery: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html
For the latest NASA TV scheduling info, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html
JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111
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2. NASA Feature - Tonight on the Travel Channel
Tonight, Tuesday, May 15, at 10 p.m. the "Off Limits" Travel Channel show with Host Don Wildman will air an episode featuring the NBL, EVA Tools and the SEV. The show will also include a segment on the San Francisco area Bay Bridge.
Susan H. Anderson x38630 http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/off-limits
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3. Project Asset and Lifecycle Management System (PALMS) Training Available
PALMS training registration is now available in SATERN for EA employees.
PALMS is the Engineering Directorate's new Project Management tool for online project planning, scheduling and tracking. Closely integrated with Oasis, PALMS enables Web-based project collaboration, management and publishing of project schedules, resources and associated data products. To register for one of the monthly PALMS classroom training sessions, simply access SATERN and select one of these available courses:
PALMS Project Server Training for Team Members
SATERN Course ID: PALMS-02
PALMS Project Server Training for Project Managers
SATERN Course ID: PALMS-01
The courses are also listed under the Featured Items section of SATERN; https://satern.nasa.gov
Stacey Zapatka x34749
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4. Cleanroom Protocol and Contamination Control ViTS - July 13
This course addresses the operation and uses of cleanrooms and the associated cleanroom protocols to minimize contamination. The student will learn how to prevent contamination from spreading to the product or test article in and upon removal from the clean environment. The class will include a discussion of contamination control and cleanroom requirements documents, including SN-C-0005 and ISO 14644. The course discusses the nature and sources of contaminants, monitoring particle and film contamination, cleanroom protocols to prevent the spread of contamination, and contamination removal methods. Also included are: NASA requirements for cleanliness levels; identification and monitoring of contamination; description and classifications of cleanrooms; personnel and garment protocols in cleanrooms and clean work areas; other do's and don'ts in cleanrooms and clean work areas; and removal methods. A comprehensive test will be offered at the end of the class. Use this direct link to register in SATERN. https://satern.nasa.gov/plateau/user/deeplink.do?linkId=SCHEDULED_OFFERING_DE...
Shirley Robinson x41284
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5. Extended TDY FedTraveler Live Lab Tomorrow - May 16
Do you need some hands-on, personal help with FedTraveler.com? Join the Business Systems, Innovation and Process Improvement Office for an Extended TDY FedTraveler Live Lab tomorrow, May 16, any time between 9 a.m. and noon in Building 20, Room 204. Our help desk representatives will be available to help you work through Extended TDY 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 FedTraveler. If you'd like to sign up for this Extended TDY FedTraveler Live Lab please log in to SATERN, and register. For additional information, please contact Judy Seier at x32771.
Gina Clenney x39851
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6. This Week at Starport - Dreamtrips Vacations at the Gilruth Center
Dreamtrips Vacations will be at the Gilruth Center tonight at 4 p.m. in the Discovery Room. Learn how to save up to 50 percent off vacations. Dreamtrips is an elite vacation club with no contract! Offers are available to NASA employees, contractors and retirees! Visit the Starport website here for more information: http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/EmployeeDiscount/LeisureAndTravel/index.cfm
Discount tickets still available for the Lion King through May 27 as well as the Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Events/
Lorie Shewell x30308 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/
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7. Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive and Dodge - Starport League Sports
Dodgeball is Starport's newest team sport! Registration is now open (closing on May 29) for the Thursday evening league! Games start on May 31, so register your team today!
http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/Sports/Dodgeball/index.cfm
Other Starport Summer Leagues:
- Kickball registration: May 25 to June 14 (League begins June 18)
- Softball registration: May 21 to June 8 (Leagues begins June 12, 13 and 14)
- Ultimate Frisbee registration: May 17 to June 14 (League begins June 17)
- Volleyball registration closes on Thursday, May 17 (Leagues begins May 21 and 22)
Free Agent Registration: (OPEN NOW)
http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/Sports/FreeAgents.cfm
Starport's League Sports are open to all NASA employees, contractors, friends, family and surrounding community members! For days, times, divisions and prices, please visit:
http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/Sports/
Steve Schade x30304 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/Sports/
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8. JSC Spaghetti Day
Back by popluar demand - JSC Spaghetti Day at the Building 3 Cafe! On Tuesday, May 15, get a spaghetti and meat sauce meal for only $2.50 with the purchase of a drink or bottled water! Get this great deal without purchasing a drink, if you show that you like us on Facebook.
Marquis Edwards x30240 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/
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9. Women's Tool Box for Stress Management
In honor of National Women's Health Week, the JSC Employee Assistance Program will be presenting "A Woman's Tool Box for Stress Management." This class is designed for women who want to balance their health among the challenges of their already-full lives. This class is also pertinent for men who care for the health and well being of the women in their lives. The presentation will be on Tuesday, May 15, at noon in the Building 30 Auditorium.
Gay Yarbrough x36130
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10. INCOSE Local Chapter Event Combines with the AIAA Symposium on May 18
The next local Texas Gulf Coast Chapter (TGCC) INCOSE event is combined with the AIAA Symposium on May 18 at the Gilruth Center. Some very interesting topics on systems engineering will be covered by expert speakers. The symposium starts at 8 a.m. and runs to 4:30 p.m. For information, see the AIAA Houston website at http://www.aiaa-houston.org/ or contact Larry Spratlin by phone at 281-461-5218 or email to larry.spratlin@escg.jacobs.com.
Larry Spratlin 281-461-5218
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11. Project Management Institute Clear Lake Galveston Chapter Presentation
The Project Management Institute Clear Lake Galveston Chapter presents "Know Your Risk!" on Thursday, May 24, 6 to 8 p.m. The presenter, Ann Plants, will share her insight from working in a variety of industries on how to identify and prioritize risks. This hands-on presentation is sure to make a lasting impression.
The meeting will be held at Mario's Flying Pizza Restaurant 618 W. NASA Road 1.
Please make your reservation by noon on Tuesday, May 22.
Register online at http://www.pmiclg.org (preferred method). The cost of the meeting is $20.
Dinner is included.
Email: VP-Programs@PMICLG.ORG
Registration/Social 6 p.m., Dinner 6:30 to 7 p.m., Program 7 to 8 p.m.
One professional development unit (PDU) hour credit is achieved by attending this presentation.
Cheyenne McKeegan x31016
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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. To see an archive of previous JSC Today announcements, go to http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/news/jsctoday/archives.
Human Spaceflight News
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
HEADLINES AND LEADS
Private Sector Edges Deeper in Space
Kenneth Chang - New York Times
It sounds like a routine event for NASA: At 4:55 a.m. on Saturday, a rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and carry cargo — but no people — to the International Space Station. But if all goes as planned, that morning will mark something transformative for the space industry: a victory for capitalism in what has been for decades a government-run enterprise. The capsule, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation — SpaceX, for short — would be the first commercial spacecraft to make it to the space station, and many observers view its launching as the starting gun in an entrepreneurial race to turn space travel into a profit-making business in which NASA is not necessarily the biggest customer.
Nelson opposes hurry-up plan on rocket selection
Ledyard King - Florida Today
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said Monday he strongly opposes a House spending bill passed last week that directs NASA to speed up its selection of a company to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. Nelson called the plan, which instructs NASA to immediately choose a company for the Commercial Crew Program, “silliness” and “anti-competitive.”
Soyuz TMA-04M launched on flight to space station
William Harwood - CBS News
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying one of the world's most experienced space fliers, a rookie cosmonaut and a NASA shuttle veteran blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late Monday U.S. time, climbing away through a cloudless blue sky to kick off a two-day voyage to the International Space Station. If all goes well, the ferry flight will boost the lab's crew back to six just in time for the long-awaited launch of a commercial cargo ship Saturday, the first of a new breed of private-sector spacecraft needed to keep the station supplied in the wake of the space shuttle's retirement.
Three-man Soyuz crew departs for space station
Peter Leonard - Associated Press
NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin set off from the Baikonur facility as scheduled at 9:01 a.m. local time (0301 GMT). Russia's space agency says the craft is due to dock with the space station Thursday morning Moscow time and will join the three astronauts currently staying at the orbiting laboratory. The crew, which is being commanded by retired 53-year old Russian Air Force Col. Padalka, will immediately get to work preparing for the arrival next week of privately owned SpaceX's Dragon Capsule. It will be the first time a private company has launched space station supplies.
Soyuz rocket carrying Acaba blasts off to ISS
James Dean - Florida Today
American astronaut Joe Acaba and two Russian cosmonauts are on their way to the International Space Station after launching late Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A 162-foot Soyuz FG rocket blasted off at 11:01 p.m. EDT, and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Acaba, Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin was safely flying in orbit nine minutes later. The trio plan to dock at the station at 12:38 a.m. EDT Thursday – Acaba’s 45th birthday – joining three Expedition 31 crewmates.
New Astronaut Crew Launches Toward Space Station
Mike Wall - Space.com
A Russian rocket launched three astronauts toward the International Space Station late Monday night (May 14), kicking off a two-day journey to the huge orbiting lab. NASA astronaut Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome Monday at 11:01 p.m. EDT.
Soyuz TMA-04M Blasts Off for Space Station
The Moscow Times
Two Russians and an American blasted off in a Soyuz spaceship headed for the International Space Station Tuesday, overcoming more than a month's delay caused by problems with the Russian aircraft. Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin, along with American Astronaut Joseph Acaba launched atop the Soyuz FG rocket at 7:01 a.m. Moscow time from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome, soaring through clear skies to successfully reach orbit, RIA-Novosti reported.
Space industry veteran (re)entering the commercial space race
Jason Paur - Wired.com
The Utah company that built the solid rocket boosters for the now retired space shuttle program announced plans to enter the next phase of American space flight with its own private launch system. Alliant Techsystems, or ATK as it is better known, says it plans to build a complete rocket and spacecraft package to transport astronauts and cargo to and from low earth orbit. The announcement adds another potential company aiming for NASA contracts as pressure from lawmakers and former astronauts is pushing to trim the selection to a single option. The new launch system from ATK will use its Liberty rocket which was submitted as part of the NASA’s current Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, but was not selected. Instead programs from SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corporation are participating in this round of CCDev funding and testing.
Legendary astronaut criticizes NASA and its future goals
Charles Atkeison - Examiner.com (Atlanta)
A six time space shuttle astronaut spoke out on the way NASA is operating today and shared his personal feelings on commercial space travel's involvement. "The whole thing is chaos and a cop out. The whole thing is a Washington failure," former NASA astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave said in a firm voice during a on-on-one interview at the Tellus Science Museum near Atlanta over the weekend.
How space shuttles hitch rides on 747s: "You don't think it's possible"
Chip Reid - CBS News
The space shuttle program is history. One by one, the orbiters are making their final journeys to museums -- hitching rides on top of a 747. It got CBS News wondering, how do they do that? CBS News national correspondent Chip Reid took a look. It was a stunning sight as the Space Shuttle Discovery soared piggy-back over the National Mall and the Enterprise over New York City, each on top of a specially modified Boeing 747. Ray Zink, a NASA contractor, has been putting shuttles on top of jumbo jets for 14 years. We caught up with him at the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan, where the Enterprise will soon find a home. Reid asked what Zink thought when he first heard they were going to put the orbiter on the back of a 747.
Space Shuttle Enterprise Removed from 747 Carrier Aircraft
NASA's YouTube Channel
At John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, space shuttle Enterprise was removed from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) early Sunday morning. The time-lapse video shows 10 hours of work in 1 minute. Enterprise will be placed on a barge that will move by tugboat up the Hudson River to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in June. The shuttle will be lifted by crane and placed on the flight deck of the Intrepid, where it will be on exhibit to the public starting this summer in a temporary climate-controlled pavilion.
Wyoming native played key role in space shuttle program
Kelsey Dayton - Casper Star-Tribune (Wyoming)
Before the Columbia went into space in April 1981 as part of NASA’s space shuttle program, Larry LaRose was in a plane checking the area’s weather, making sure everything was safe for takeoff. It wasn’t until later, when LaRose viewed footage of the shuttle blasting off, that he realized the magnitude of the moment. On the next mission, in November 1981, LaRose was on the ground where he could feel the percussion of the boosters thrumming in his chest and the roar of the engines deafening the world around. Again, he was focused, working. “You never took anything for granted,” said LaRose, who is now 59 and living in New Mexico. There was so much that could go wrong, LaRose never stopped worrying, never lost focus on his work.
A water droplet and a space station are the ultimate way to visualize sound
Gizmodo.com
You might think the trippy animated visualizations in your media player are the best way to see your music. But astronaut Don Pettit has found a better way—and all it requires is a small set of speakers, a blob of water, and a space station 250 miles above the Earth. On the planet's surface the water would simply flatten out due to gravity, and the soundwaves would look like boring old ripples on the surface of a pond.
For Texas rocketry club & its inspirational teacher, sky is just beginning
Steve Hartman - CBS News
PRESIDIO, Texas - Where the Rio Grande and the Rio Conchos meet in west Texas is believed to be the oldest continuously-cultivated land in America. But the most precious crop you'll find there today is dreams. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman went "On the Road" -- and met a woman who cultivates them. In the middle of the Texas desert, on the border with Mexico, there's a brief break in the cactus called Presidio.
Why ISS can advance Mars exploration
Chris Carberry - Space Review (Opinion)
(Carberry is Executive Director of Explore Mars, Inc)
When Explore Mars first decided to begin the International Space Station and Mars Conference series, I was quite skeptical. Like many others in the Mars community, I didn’t see how ISS could be of much value to Mars exploration. Truth be told, I thought it served as nothing but an obstacle to Mars exploration. However, after running several ISS and Mars programs, including conferences in Washington, DC, and in Strasbourg, France, I have come to realize that ISS can potentially be extremely valuable in advancing the cause of getting humans to Mars. However, this value will not necessarily happen automatically. While some of the essential utilization decisions have already been made, decision makers at NASA, as well within the international partnership, need to embrace some specific concepts if ISS can truly help advance the goal of sending humans beyond low Earth orbit (LEO)—specifically to Mars.
Confusing Times
Michael Lembeck - Space News (Opinion)
(Lembeck is vice president, engineering, for DCI Services and Consulting of Webster, Texas)
Recently, the new owners of Houston’s baseball team raised the question of whether the Astros’ moniker was still relevant to the community. For a brand that has called “Space City” its home for 47 years, this question highlights the confusion those of us supporting human spaceflight are experiencing today. Contradictions abound from here to low Earth orbit. In the National Aeronautics and Space Act, “Congress declares that the general welfare of the United States requires that the Administration seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space.” Yet NASA’s commercial crew and cargo programs continue to come under attack in congressional hearings.
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COMPLETE STORIES
Private Sector Edges Deeper in Space
Kenneth Chang - New York Times
It sounds like a routine event for NASA: At 4:55 a.m. on Saturday, a rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and carry cargo — but no people — to the International Space Station.
But if all goes as planned, that morning will mark something transformative for the space industry: a victory for capitalism in what has been for decades a government-run enterprise. The capsule, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation — SpaceX, for short — would be the first commercial spacecraft to make it to the space station, and many observers view its launching as the starting gun in an entrepreneurial race to turn space travel into a profit-making business in which NASA is not necessarily the biggest customer.
Already, there are some hints of how the era of commercial space travel might unfold. Companies like Virgin Galactic, XCOR and Space Adventures are booking passengers on suborbital joy rides to space, promised for dates within the next few years, and hundreds of people are signing up. And already there are celebrity tie-ins: Among the people who have signed up for Virgin’s first flights are Ashton Kutcher, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks and Katy Perry.
On a more mundane note, the launching of commercial satellites has been a steady business for decades, and SpaceX is among the companies already competing for contracts. Indeed, SpaceX already seems to have built a viable business here, having announced more than $1 billion of contracts in the last few years.
Then there are the longer-term dreams, which may sound less far-fetched as each landmark in space travel grows nearer.
“I think humanity needs to get to Mars, one way or another,” said Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX, who vows that his company will send people to Mars in as little as 10 years — more likely 15 years, and certainly within 20. He said he would do this with or without NASA: “I would prefer it would be with NASA. If not, we have to find another path.”
The International Space Station is only a couple of hundred miles up — SpaceX’s rocket has yet to get there, of course — and Mars is millions of miles away. But Mr. Musk predicts that travel to Mars will eventually become commonplace, and that the ticket price will eventually — perhaps a decade after the first flight — drop to half a million dollars. That contrasts with the more than $60 million a seat that the Russians are currently charging NASA to take one astronaut to the space station.
“Is it possible to achieve that?” Mr. Musk said in an interview at his headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. “I think it is. My calculations show that it is.”
To date, space travel has been expensive and, as a government-managed operation, has had little incentive to streamline. NASA, of course, was the only game in town for American astronauts, and most recently it operated the shuttles that supplied the International Space Station. Big aerospace has been involved, too: One company, United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, effectively has a monopoly for launching satellites for NASA and the Air Force on its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets.
Only recently have smaller, nimbler companies like SpaceX, some of them run by billionaires who proved themselves in other fields, started trying to compete as equals with NASA and its major contractors. (Mr. Musk, for example, is an Internet entrepreneur who founded PayPal.)
“SpaceX is attempting to build the same class of vehicle, to my mind, only with modern manufacturing techniques and management techniques to reduce the cost,” said Jeff Greason, chief executive of XCOR Aerospace, which is building a two-seat rocket plane to take tourists to the edge of space.
Since the end of the space shuttle program, NASA has relied on Russia to take its astronauts to space in Soyuz rockets, but now it is looking to hire commercial companies for space taxi services. So there are incentives for commercial companies both to build the transportation and to offer it at competitive prices. SpaceX, for one, says that it could provide rides to NASA astronauts at $20 million a seat, a third of the Russian price.
But the new space companies are relying on taxpayer dollars to finance their research and development. The Obama administration requested $830 million for next year to finance the development of passenger-carrying spacecraft. Proponents argue that the investments will jump-start a vibrant new business that dwarfs NASA; Congress has so far remained skeptical. A report by the House committee in charge of NASA’s budget said the program ran the “risk of repeating the government’s experience from last year’s bankruptcy of the solar energy firm Solyndra.”
Despite the ambivalence on Capitol Hill, the new space competition has drawn both entrepreneurs and the old aerospace giants.
Alliant Techsystems, better known as ATK, manufactured the solid rocket boosters for the space shuttles and had the contract to build a longer-range version as the first stage for NASA’s next-generation rocket, the Ares I. That was before the Ares I was canceled in favor of the space taxi approach.
ATK has now teamed up with Astrium, a European rocket company, to come up with what is essentially a commercial version of the Ares I, which it called the Liberty. Last week, ATK announced that it was developing its own capsule — based heavily on the Orion capsule that was originally going to sit on top of the Ares I — to carry astronauts for NASA one day. ATK says it, too, would charge less than the Russians.
What is not clear is whether there are people and companies interested in buying all those seats to orbit. Currently, the market for taking people into space is small. NASA needs to send only two crews a year to the space station, and if a piece of space debris were to disable the station, there would suddenly be no demand at all. The commercial future of space, while relying on NASA financing in the short run, needs new markets for manufacturers to take advantage of the economies of mass production.
“The only way to make a dramatic reduction of price is to assume a dramatic increase of launches,” said Mr. Greason of XCOR. “You have to assume there is some market, that there will be enough demand to support that low price.”
The current rockets — most of them good for one launching only — are very expensive regardless of whether they are built by entrepreneurs or government. The future of low-cost travel in space hinges on reusable rockets and technologies not yet developed, space experts say.
Mr. Musk declined to talk about what a profitable business model for sending people to Mars might look like, but said his ultimate goal of a $500,000 trip to Mars depended on a large number of passengers and fully reusable systems.
“I’m not going to try to convince people I can do it,” he said. “I’m just going to do it.”
Nelson opposes hurry-up plan on rocket selection
Ledyard King - Florida Today
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said Monday he strongly opposes a House spending bill passed last week that directs NASA to speed up its selection of a company to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.
Nelson called the plan, which instructs NASA to immediately choose a company for the Commercial Crew Program, “silliness” and “anti-competitive.”
Currently, NASA is providing subsidies to four companies vying to develop a rocket to replace the space shuttle, a competition the agency and supporters like Nelson say is crucial to developing a viable and affordable system.
“Why should we not have competition for commercial crew and bring down the cost?” Nelson said.
He cited “several excellent proposals” from the four companies — SpaceX, Sierra Nevada, Boeing and Blue Origin.
The spending measure, which still needs Senate review and approval, passed the Republican-controlled House Thursday. It was authored by Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA's budget.
The bill would provide about $17 billion to the space agency in fiscal 2013, including money for its top three priorities: a mission to Mars powered by a "heavy-lift" rocket, the launch of a powerful new space telescope, and the commercial crew program.
The House bill includes $500 million for the Commercial Crew Program while the Senate proposal, which has yet to come to the floor, would provide $525 million.
The program has come under greater scrutiny lately from lawmakers who question why NASA isn't moving faster. The last shuttle flew in July and NASA is paying Russia more than $60 million each time it flies a U.S. astronaut to the orbiting lab.
"Continuing on the current path runs a high risk of failure by one or more companies receiving government subsidies... leaving the taxpayer with no tangible benefits in exchange for a substantial investment," according to the spending bill.
NASA opposes the directive to speed up selection, saying it would drive up costs.
Nelson sounded optimistic that the Senate, controlled by Democrats, won’t let the House plan become law. He said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who is expected to be on the House-Senate panel that will ultimately determine what’s in the spending bill, “knows the situation” and will fight to keep the competition open.
Soyuz TMA-04M launched on flight to space station
William Harwood - CBS News
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying one of the world's most experienced space fliers, a rookie cosmonaut and a NASA shuttle veteran blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late Monday U.S. time, climbing away through a cloudless blue sky to kick off a two-day voyage to the International Space Station.
If all goes well, the ferry flight will boost the lab's crew back to six just in time for the long-awaited launch of a commercial cargo ship Saturday, the first of a new breed of private-sector spacecraft needed to keep the station supplied in the wake of the space shuttle's retirement.
The Russian Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft rumbled to life on time at 11:01:23 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 09:01:23 a.m. local time Tuesday), roughly the moment Earth's rotation carried the Site 1 launch pad into the plane of the space station's orbit.
"Everything's OK on board, we feel good," commander Gennady Padalka radioed as the rocket arced away to the East.
Padalka, who logged 586 days in orbit during a long-duration flight aboard the Russian Mir lab complex and two aboard the International Space Station, monitored the automated ascent from the central seat of the Soyuz TMA-04M's cramped command module. He was flanked on the left by Russian flight engineer Sergei Revin, a space rookie acting as co-pilot, and on the right by NASA educator-astronaut Joseph Acaba, veteran of a 2009 flight aboard the shuttle Discovery.
Acaba said before launch that he was looking forward to his first ride aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, adding that he was confident the Russian launcher would provide a safe ride following a string of recent problems with other Russian launchers and spacecraft.
"We should never fool ourselves that going into space is an easy thing and that it's without risk," he said in an interview. "(But) the Soyuz has been one of the most reliable vehicles we've had to take us into space. So I feel really good about riding on one, I feel comfortable with the analysis that was done. ... And I'm also very fortunate to fly with one of the most experienced cosmonauts on the planet. (Padalka is) very well trained and if we do experience any kind of problem, I feel confident as a crew that we'll be able to get back safely."
As he expected, the eight-minute 45-second climb to space went smoothly and Acaba and his crewmates appeared relaxed and in good spirits in live television shots from inside the cramped command module. Moments after separation from the Soyuz rocket's upper stage, the capsule's solar panels and antennas unfolded and Russian flight controllers said the vehicle was in good shape as it set off after the space station.
"Congratulations on the successful launch," a Russian flight controller radioed.
"Thank you very much," Padalka replied.
"Everything looks OK here on the ground, telemetry looks good. The ascent was nominal, so enjoy your work. We'll wish you best of luck."
The flight plan calls for the Soyuz to rendezvous with the International Space Station early Thursday -- Acaba's 45th birthday -- maneuvering to an automated docking at the lab's upper Poisk module around 12:38 a.m. to kick off a four-month stay. Standing by to welcome the crew aboard the station will be Expedition 31 commander Oleg Kononenko, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA flight engineer Donald Pettit, who were launched to the lab last Dec. 21.
"The on-orbit vehicle is in excellent condition," Kirk Shireman, deputy manager of the space station program, told Padalka, Revin and Acaba during final preparations for flight. "I know your crewmates in space are anxiously awaiting your arrival. It will be a busy time for you. Here in just a few days after your launch will be the launch of the first commercial space vehicle from the United States.
"In addition, of course, you'll have a (Russian) Progress vehicle (arriving), a Japanese HTV (cargo ship) and many activities associated with those vehicles coming and going. And finally, I know you'll have a busy scientific mission. There are over 215 investigations affecting over 400 scientists here on the ground and so lots of important research for you to conduct. I wish you the best of luck and despite your busy schedule, I hope you have some time to enjoy the wonderful view."
Right off the bat for the new crew members will be the launch of an unmanned Dragon cargo ship built by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX. This will be the second test flight of a Falcon 9/Dragon spacecraft but the first to go all the way to the space station.
Launch from complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for 4:55 a.m. Saturday. After exhaustive tests to make sure the Dragon is operating properly, the spacecraft will maneuver to within about 30 feet of the space station on May 22 and await capture by the lab's robot arm. If all goes well, the Canadian-built space crane, operated by Pettit and Kuipers, will pull the Dragon capsule in for berthing at the Earth-facing port of the forward Harmony module.
"As it's approaching, we'll get the robotic arm and get it in a location that this vehicle's going to approach," Acaba said. "Then at one point, we'll send a command where the vehicle goes into free drift where there are no engines firing. Then we ... take the robotic arm and grapple this little pin that's attached (to the Dragon capsule) and once we grab it, we take it and actually attach it to the space station.
"So it's a fairly dicey operation, there's a lot of room for things to go wrong and you really want to make sure you grab it. ... We're hoping for the best on all that, but we train for situations that are far worse than we ever expect. So I think we're ready for most things that might happen to us."
Hatches will be opened the day after berthing and the crew will begin unloading about 1,150 pounds of food, clothing and other low-priority items. The capsule then will be repacked with around 1,455 pounds of trash and no-longer-needed components and detached from the space station on May 31. From that point, SpaceX plans to guide the craft back to Earth for a parachute descent to a Pacific Ocean splashdown.
The Dragon launch originally was scheduled for early February, but the flight has been repeatedly delayed to give engineers more time to test the complex flight software that will guide the spacecraft through its rendezvous with the station.
"We closed out a lot of work over the last couple of weeks; there was a lot of software that's been rechecked and validated by the space station program," said Mike Horkachuck, a senior NASA manager working with SpaceX. "They did an end-to-end test of the data system as well as another stage test, checking all the software functionality as it relates to space station, looked at a lot of the changes that have been done on the software and gotten comfortable that all those changes were acceptable."
Acaba said he considered it an honor to be on board the station for the first commercial cargo mission.
"It is a very complicated launch demonstration and then the crew has to actually go and grapple the vehicle and attach it to the space station," he said. "None of that is easy. We realize that, so we wish them all the best this week."
If the test flight goes well, SpaceX hopes to begin routine cargo delivery missions in August.
Kononenko, Kuipers and Pettit are scheduled to return to Earth on July 1 aboard their Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft. At that point, Padalka, Revin and Acaba will make up the core members of the Expedition 32 crew with Padalka serving as commander. Three fresh crew members -- cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide -- will join the ISS-32 crew two days after launch July 15 aboard the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft.
Three-man Soyuz crew departs for space station
Peter Leonard - Associated Press
NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin set off from the Baikonur facility as scheduled at 9:01 a.m. local time (0301 GMT).
Russia's space agency says the craft is due to dock with the space station Thursday morning Moscow time and will join the three astronauts currently staying at the orbiting laboratory.
The crew, which is being commanded by retired 53-year old Russian Air Force Col. Padalka, will immediately get to work preparing for the arrival next week of privately owned SpaceX's Dragon Capsule. It will be the first time a private company has launched space station supplies.
The space station is currently occupied by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Holland's Andre Kuipers.
Padalka is a seasoned space traveler, having spent a total of 585 days in space on three previous missions on board the now-defunct Mir station and the current International Space Station. Inglewood, California-native Acaba, who turns 45 on Thursday, on the day that Soyuz is due to dock, makes his second venture into space after his maiden orbital voyage on the shuttle in 2009. Revin, 46, is making his first trip to space.
Until NASA either brings a new craft online or private companies are able to arrange manned trips to the orbiting station, the Soviet-designed Soyuz spacecraft will remain the only means to deliver crews to the orbiting outpost.
The Russian space program has been blighted by a string of technical glitches in the recent past, raising questions over its dependability.
Tuesday's launch had been pushed back by two months due to depressurization of the spacecraft's descent module during the ground testing phase. It was the second significant postponement of a manned Russian launch in the space of a year.
A Russian Mars moon probe crashed to Earth in January in what the nation's space agency described as the result of cosmic radiation.
That came only weeks after the crash of a communications satellite and the crash in August of a supply ship destined for the space station.
Soyuz rocket carrying Acaba blasts off to ISS
James Dean - Florida Today
American astronaut Joe Acaba and two Russian cosmonauts are on their way to the International Space Station after launching late Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
A 162-foot Soyuz FG rocket blasted off at 11:01 p.m. EDT, and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Acaba, Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin was safely flying in orbit nine minutes later.
The trio plan to dock at the station at 12:38 a.m. EDT Thursday – Acaba’s 45th birthday – joining three Expedition 31 crewmates.
The spaceflight is the second for Acaba, an “educator astronaut” whose classroom teaching career began in 1999-2000 at Melbourne High, where he taught freshman science.
Acaba flew an station assembly mission aboard shuttle Discovery in March 2009, completing two spacewalks.
It’s the fourth spaceflight for Padalka, a two-time ISS commander, and first for Revin.
The liquid-fueled rocket lifted off into a warm, clear sky above the Central Asian desert.
Four first-stage boosters dropped burned out and jettisoned about two minutes into the flight, and a core second stage engine cut out about three minutes later.
Cameras showed Acaba holding a checklist, waving and giving thumbs-up signs, appearing comfortable.
"We feel great. No issues," one of the crew members said, according to Russian translators.
A Smokey the Bear talisman, a gift from a friend of Acaba's, floated in the crew cabin to show they had reached microgravity.
A third-stage engine completed its work nine minutes after liftoff, and spacecraft antennas and solar arrays deployed to prepare for orbital operations.
With the safe launch, NASA's attention now turns to the next spacecraft bound for the station -- SpaceX's Dragon capsule.
Space station managers plan to meet Tuesday morning for a follow-up review of the demonstration mission's readiness for a planned 4:55 a.m. EDT Saturday launch from Cape Canaveral.
New Astronaut Crew Launches Toward Space Station
Mike Wall - Space.com
A Russian rocket launched three astronauts toward the International Space Station late Monday night (May 14), kicking off a two-day journey to the huge orbiting lab.
NASA astronaut Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome Monday at 11:01 p.m. EDT.
The Soyuz is slated to dock with the space station shortly after midnight EDT (0400 GMT) on Thursday (May 17). Once aboard, the three spaceflyers will bring the orbiting complex back to its full complement of six residents. Their fellow Expedition 31 crewmembers — NASA's Don Pettit, Dutchman Andre Kuipers and cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko — have had the station to themselves since April 27.
The launch was a long time coming for Acaba, Padalka and Revin. They were supposed to lift off on March 29, but their flight was delayed for six weeks after a botched pressure test rendered their original Soyuz capsule unusable and forced a new one into service.
A four-month stay
The three newcomers will live aboard the station for four months, eventually returning to Earth in mid-September, NASA officials said.
The veteran cosmonaut Padalka already has two long-duration stints aboard the space station under his belt, but the experience will be a new one for the other two astronauts aboard the Soyuz. Acaba visited the station for less than two weeks on his lone previous spaceflight, the shuttle Discovery's STS-119 mission in 2009. And Monday's launch marked Revin's first trip to orbit.
Acaba said he's looking forward to his extended stay aboard the station.
"When you do a shuttle flight, you know, it’s two weeks, you’re jam-packed, and you’re just there and you’re working hard, and I don’t think you get the opportunity to really enjoy living in space," he said in a pre-flight interview with NASA officials.
"I think living there instead of just working there will be a neat thing, personally, and then professionally just the wide range of things that we do — I’m really looking forward to that," Acaba added.
Acaba, Padalka and Revin will all serve as flight engineers under Kononenko, who's commanding Expedition 31.
Enter the Dragon
While spending four months in orbit would be exciting under any circumstances, Acaba and his five crewmates will participate in something truly historic if all goes according to plan.
The private spaceflight firm SpaceX plans to launch its Dragon capsule on an unmanned demonstration mission to the station this Saturday (May 19). SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion NASA contract to make 12 robotic cargo runs to the orbiting lab with Dragon and the company's Falcon 9 rocket, and Saturday's liftoff will kick off a test flight to see if the duo is ready to go.
If everything goes well, Dragon will be the first private spaceship ever to berth with the space station, and SpaceX could launch the first of its 12 bona fide supply missions later this year.
Soyuz TMA-04M Blasts Off for Space Station
The Moscow Times
Two Russians and an American blasted off in a Soyuz spaceship headed for the International Space Station Tuesday, overcoming more than a month's delay caused by problems with the Russian aircraft.
Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin, along with American Astronaut Joseph Acaba launched atop the Soyuz FG rocket at 7:01 a.m. Moscow time from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome, soaring through clear skies to successfully reach orbit, RIA-Novosti reported.
The Soyuz TMA-04M capsule is scheduled to dock with the $100 billion research complex in orbit 385 kilometers above the earth Thursday morning at 8:39 Moscow time.
Padalka is making his fourth space flight as one of Russia's most experienced cosmonauts, with 585 days in space and eight spacewalks under his belt, while this is the first trip to space for Revin.
In remarks to reporters before the launch, Acaba said he would take a toy bear, Padalka an iPad and iPod, while Revin said he would bring a little kangaroo and small gifts for crew members who would celebrate birthdays at the station, RIA-Novosti said.
The crew is also set to hold a lesson on ecology from space for school students, and they will also carry out experiments in ecology and medicine during the trip, which will be shortened because of launch delays.
The crew gave a thumbs up to an onboard camera three minutes into the flight, and Mission Control near Moscow told visiting scientists and students the three were feeling well, Reuters reported.
The newcomers will join Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenk and Dutch and American astronauts Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit who have been at the station since Russia's last launch on Dec. 21, nearly five months ago.
Tuesday's launch, originally scheduled for March, faced more than a month of delays because a problem with the hull of the Soyuz capsule that was caused during pressure tests.
The Federal Space Agency has faced a series of recent launch failures, including the crash of the unmanned Russian Progress cargo vessel that broke up in the atmosphere in August and the loss of a $170 million probe, whose engines failed to break it out of Earth orbit to begin its mission to the Martian moon Phobos .
After retiring its space shuttle fleet last year, the U.S. is now dependent on Russia as the only country able to shuttle astronauts to the space station, at the rate of $60 million per passenger.
Several private firms are seeking to get commercial space programs off the ground, including SpaceX, which hopes to launch its Dragon ship from Cape Canaveral to the space station May 19.
Space industry veteran (re)entering the commercial space race
Jason Paur - Wired.com
The Utah company that built the solid rocket boosters for the now retired space shuttle program announced plans to enter the next phase of American space flight with its own private launch system. Alliant Techsystems, or ATK as it is better known, says it plans to build a complete rocket and spacecraft package to transport astronauts and cargo to and from low earth orbit. The announcement adds another potential company aiming for NASA contracts as pressure from lawmakers and former astronauts is pushing to trim the selection to a single option.
The new launch system from ATK will use its Liberty rocket which was submitted as part of the NASA’s current Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, but was not selected. Instead programs from SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corporation are participating in this round of CCDev funding and testing.
Liberty will be the name of the new program, and this time it will include a capsule spacecraft, launch abort system and the rocket itself. ATK plans to begin flight testing in 2014 and is aiming for a crew flight in 2015.
The spacecraft for the Liberty launch system is a seven seat, composite capsule that originated as a research project to see if composites could serve as an alternative to the aluminum materials NASA was using to develop the Orion spacecraft. Orion is a capsule being built by Lockheed Martin for NASA missions beyond low earth orbit, namely asteroids and eventually Mars. ATK says the composite spacecraft will land in the water and will be reusable up to 10 times.
The the first stage of the Liberty rocket is powered by a solid fuel motor similar to those ATK built as the solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle. The new solid rocket includes a five segment motor that was initially designed to serve to launch the now defunct, Constellation spacecraft to the moon. The new Liberty rocket will use the Ariane 5 liquid fueled rocket as the second stage to boost the composite capsule into orbit. The Ariane 5 is built by the European company Astrium, and is a workhorse of the European Space Agency’s launch program.
The solid rocket first stage and liquid rocket second stage puts the Liberty at 300 feet tall. The towering height is more than 110 feet taller than both the space shuttle on the launch pad or SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
Like the other companies developing new launch systems, contracts from NASA aren’t the only thing ATK is looking at with its new launch system. The company also wants to use its Liberty system for satellite launches as well as for space tourism in the future.
Currently the Liberty is being privately funded by the companies involved with the project – led by ATK – though much of the work was done during previous NASA programs. ATK is expected to enter Liberty in the next round of competition for funding from NASA’s CCDev program. The current, second round of CCDev will end later this summer. In addition to the recent pressure from lawmakers for NASA to end the multi-company competition and select just one supplier, some very famous space veterans are also calling for ending the funded competition early and choosing a single company.
Apollo mission commanders Neil Armstrong, Eugene Cernan and James Lovell told Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) they support his efforts to “an immediate downselect to a single competitor or, at most, the execution of a leader-follower paradigm in which NASA makes one large award to a main commercial partner and a second small award to a backup partner” according to Aviation Week & Space Technology.
The three astronauts argue NASA will not have the money to fund multiple companies to develop launch systems and spacecraft capable of delivering people and cargo to low earth orbit. Currently NASA relies on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft at a price of more than $60 million per seat.
NASA managers argued last week that continuing the funded competition will result in the most cost effective and capable rockets and spacecraft to replace the now retired space shuttle fleet.
In August NASA is expected to announce the next round of CCDev funding which will likely go to at least two companies with awards between $300 and $500 million.
Legendary astronaut criticizes NASA and its future goals
Charles Atkeison - Examiner.com (Atlanta)
A six time space shuttle astronaut spoke out on the way NASA is operating today and shared his personal feelings on commercial space travel's involvement.
"The whole thing is chaos and a cop out. The whole thing is a Washington failure," former NASA astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave said in a firm voice during a on-on-one interview at the Tellus Science Museum near Atlanta over the weekend.
"When I say Washington, I mean administration, the legislation, congress and NASA, that's what I call Washington," Dr. Musgrave continued. "It's in total failure when it comes to a space program of which COTS is apart of that failure."
The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services or COTS program is an agreement with several U.S. companies to build and launch spacecraft for earth orbital voyages, including to the International Space Station.
"COTS is a default program which spun out of failure," he added.
COTS program member Space X is moving toward a Saturday launch of their Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft atop bound for earth orbit. Two days later, Dragon is expected to rendezvous with the space station 245 miles above earth.
How space shuttles hitch rides on 747s: "You don't think it's possible"
Chip Reid - CBS News
The space shuttle program is history. One by one, the orbiters are making their final journeys to museums -- hitching rides on top of a 747.
It got CBS News wondering, how do they do that? CBS News national correspondent Chip Reid took a look.
It was a stunning sight as the Space Shuttle Discovery soared piggy-back over the National Mall and the Enterprise over New York City, each on top of a specially modified Boeing 747.
Ray Zink, a NASA contractor, has been putting shuttles on top of jumbo jets for 14 years. We caught up with him at the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan, where the Enterprise will soon find a home. Reid asked what Zink thought when he first heard they were going to put the orbiter on the back of a 747.
"First off, you don't think it's possible," Zink said. "You just look at the sheer size and the drag, and you're like, 'It can't be done.'"
Zink has supervised the coupling more than 40 times. It takes place in a massive 10-story steel structure: a 10- to 12-hour process where the shuttle, with its fragile coating of heat resistant tiles, is delicately placed in a sling, then slowly lifted. The 747 is moved underneath, and the shuttle is then lowered into place and secured with just three large bolts.
"It's amazingly solid," Zink assured. "If you can imagine, the three attach points where the shuttle is mounted to the 747 are the exact same three attach points where it mounts to the external tank during launch. It's bolted on pretty well. It's not ever going to fall off."
This weekend Zink supervised the off-loading of Enterprise at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. But, there's no steel tower there, so he used two heavy-lift cranes, one weighing more than a million pounds.
If watching a shuttle on top of a 747 is awe-inspiring, imagine what it's like to fly it.
Jeff Moultrie was the pilot over Washington and the co-pilot over New York.
"That was a great flight," Moultrie said. "The first thing you see, even from a distance, is the Statue of Liberty, and to be able to go over that and to basically own New York for a period of maybe 45 minutes."
But the flying contraption has its downsides.
"With a shuttle on board, the handling characteristics and the drag factor are vastly changed," Moultrie said.
Vibration can be extreme, and while the 747 is stripped bare on the inside to reduce weight, takeoff can be a nail-biter with the plane carrying 704,000 pounds -- very close to its 710,000-pound maximum.
Both Moultrie and Zink are still amazed it gets off the ground at all.
"As many times as you see it, you still stand back and go, 'Is it going to make it? It is going to make it?'" Zink said.
"Like there it goes," Zink added, turning his head as if he was watching the shuttle and plane go by. "It's unbelievable. You're like, 'I can't believe it.'"
He'll get to believe it one more time in September when the 747 carries the Endevour to a museum in California, the last time a shuttle will ever leave the ground.
Space Shuttle Enterprise Removed from 747 Carrier Aircraft
NASA's YouTube Channel
At John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, space shuttle Enterprise was removed from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) early Sunday morning. The time-lapse video shows 10 hours of work in 1 minute.
Enterprise will be placed on a barge that will move by tugboat up the Hudson River to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in June.
The shuttle will be lifted by crane and placed on the flight deck of the Intrepid, where it will be on exhibit to the public starting this summer in a temporary climate-controlled pavilion.
The Intrepid continues to work on a permanent exhibit facility to showcase Enterprise that will enhance the museum's space-related exhibits and education curriculum.
Wyoming native played key role in space shuttle program
Kelsey Dayton - Casper Star-Tribune (Wyoming)
Before the Columbia went into space in April 1981 as part of NASA’s space shuttle program, Larry LaRose was in a plane checking the area’s weather, making sure everything was safe for takeoff.
It wasn’t until later, when LaRose viewed footage of the shuttle blasting off, that he realized the magnitude of the moment.
On the next mission, in November 1981, LaRose was on the ground where he could feel the percussion of the boosters thrumming in his chest and the roar of the engines deafening the world around. Again, he was focused, working.
“You never took anything for granted,” said LaRose, who is now 59 and living in New Mexico.
There was so much that could go wrong, LaRose never stopped worrying, never lost focus on his work.
That’s how it was for more than 100 shuttle missions during which LaRose worked as a flight engineer for NASA. And that’s how it was when LaRose worked some of his most recent missions for NASA, flying the Discovery shuttle to Washington D.C., and the Enterprise shuttle to New York in April.
Growing up in Lander, LaRose marveled at the astronauts who came to town for the One Shot Antelope Hunt. They were his heroes in the way boys look up to firefighters or police officers — wide-eyed, awestruck and capricious. Outer space captured his imagination.
His parents, Shirley and Floyd LaRose, had to call him in from the yard to remind him to watch Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon. Interestingly, the young LaRose didn’t envision a career or life involving space.
When LaRose turned 18 in 1971, he received his draft notice. Instead of waiting to be told to join the Army, he signed up with the Air Force, figuring it would lead to more career options.
He started as a mechanic and was stationed in Hawaii. A few years later, as LaRose was about to leave the service, the Air Force announced a shortage of pilots. Instead of coming back to Wyoming, he went on to flight school and became a flight engineer.
A few years later, NASA recruited him to work for the space program.
NASA was transitioning from the Apollo days and hadn’t yet launched the first space shuttle.
The shuttle program had momentum and was rapidly growing.
Plus, many of those same astronauts the young LaRose tried to get glimpses of in Lander were still with the program.
LaRose started with the “zero g” program, where the plane simulates zero gravity for up to 30 seconds so astronauts can practice working in the environment or scientists can conduct experiments.
Every once in awhile LaRose would slip into the back of the plane and float around.
In 1989 LaRose was charged with helping train pilots return from space in orbiters that came back depleted of power and glided home.
When flying into an airport such as Denver on a commercial flight, the descent might start about 100 miles away, LaRose said. In training, the astronauts had seven miles and about two minutes to drop from 35,000 feet and reach the end of the runway. They’d put the plane into a dive and at the last minute, bring up the nose.
LaRose also worked for the shuttle carrier program, in which the shuttles were transported via 747s. He often flew between California and Florida. The best part was always people’s reactions to seeing the shuttles strapped to planes.
“You certainly can’t sneak into town with it,” he said.
LaRose retired from NASA in 2008 after 30 years of service. He estimated he’d been involved in more than 120 shuttle missions. But he wasn’t done.
Upon retirement LaRose took a job with a private contractor that transported shuttles.
Through LaRose’s years at NASA, technology improved and flight engineers became fewer as computers took over the job. There were only two engineers in the country trained for the job and available, LaRose said.
As a flight engineer, LaRose was responsible for checking the plane before flight and watching the systems while in flight. He’s part of the primary crew that includes a pilot and co-pilot.
When NASA decided to fly the shuttles to New York and Washington, D.C., it called upon the company LaRose works for to contract him to help with the flight.
Flying with a shuttle on top slows down a plane. Inside, you can feel the vibrations more, LaRose said. The takeoff speeds must be faster in order to hoist the shuttle into the air and runways need to be longer for landing because of the drag, he said.
When LaRose flew a plane with the Discovery shuttle on top April 17, people lined the roads and bridges and Washington Mall. They took pictures and waved. The crew passed over the Washington, D.C., area several times on the three-hour flight.
“I was proud to be an American that day,” LaRose said. “If you weren’t a patriot, you were for that day.”
LaRose strained to wave back, but, like his first time helping launch a shuttle, he had to focus on the job.
It wasn’t until later that night in a hotel room that he understood the magnitude of the moment as he watched the coverage on TV.
The emotion of the people captured on film moved him. Sometimes he takes for granted the magic of the space program because he was so close to it, part of it. On TV there were children who’d never seen a shuttle, staring in awe, and older generations whose imaginations had first been stirred by shuttle launches years before.
On April 27, LaRose again flew a plane with a shuttle attached, this time to New York with the Enterprise, a shuttle that never went into space, but was used for testing to see if the orbiter could glide back to Earth.
LaRose hopes the work he performed in the space program improved life and advanced human knowledge.
He knew the shuttle program would end someday. Being on the plane for the shuttle program’s last voyages made the finality real.
LaRose will help with one more shuttle transport. In September, the Endeavor will go to Los Angeles.
“When it lands in LAX, that will be the end of it,” LaRose said.
Eventually LaRose hopes to take his grandchildren to the museums to see the shuttles, explain what they did and how they worked. In that sense, the shuttle program will live on.
A water droplet and a space station are the ultimate way to visualize sound
Gizmodo.com
You might think the trippy animated visualizations in your media player are the best way to see your music. But astronaut Don Pettit has found a better way—and all it requires is a small set of speakers, a blob of water, and a space station 250 miles above the Earth.
On the planet's surface the water would simply flatten out due to gravity, and the soundwaves would look like boring old ripples on the surface of a pond.
But on the space station, where gravity's pull is almost non-existant, the water holds its shape as a half-sphere that gets deformed in 3D as the soundwaves emanate from the speaker in all directions.
It's utterly mesmerizing, and we can't think of a better reason for aspiring to be an astronaut than this simple experiment.
For Texas rocketry club & its inspirational teacher, sky is just beginning
Steve Hartman - CBS News
PRESIDIO, Texas - Where the Rio Grande and the Rio Conchos meet in west Texas is believed to be the oldest continuously-cultivated land in America. But the most precious crop you'll find there today is dreams.
CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman went "On the Road" -- and met a woman who cultivates them.
In the middle of the Texas desert, on the border with Mexico, there's a brief break in the cactus called Presidio.
If you're a kid looking to escape the poverty and isolation of Presidio, there's really no greater vehicle than the Presidio Rocket Club. In fact, even though it is in one of the poorest school districts in Texas, Presidio probably has more aspiring aeronautical engineers than any other town in America.
And what's even more amazing than their location is their inspiration -- a little firecracker of a science teacher named Shella Condino.
"I wanted to teach the kids: You want something so bad, you put your heart into it," she said.
Shella started the club five years ago. Never mind that she didn't speak Spanish and the kids barely spoke English. Never mind that rocket science is rocket science. The fact that it's hard is part of the reason she thought these kids absolutely had to learn it.
"In rocketry, you don't have instructions on how to build it," said tenth-grader Marla Baltazar. "And that's how life is. It doesn't come with instructions, you have to make it on your own."
Shella knows all about that. Born dirt-poor in the Philippines, she came to the U.S. on a temporary work visa. She came to Presidio because no American teachers would. Now she really wants to stay, but to become a permanent resident, she has to prove to American immigration officials that she is a person of "exceptional ability."
Shella: "They are asking for more documents, more support, and I really do not know what else they would want from me."
Hartman: "You're the best aerospace teacher in America, what more could they want?"
Shella: "Thank you!"
Hartman: "It wasn't me saying that. You've got the award."
Indeed, Shella was recently honored as the Aerospace Teacher of the Year. It was no surprise to her students.
"She'll teach you things and you'll learn it like this," said seventh-grader Hector Montemayor, "as long as you pay attention, of course."
She's such a motivating force, her kids often get up before sunrise to learn and launch. That's is when conditions are best.
Their passion is so present you can probably see it from the moon. And it's making them stars.
Her kids are set to compete against some of the best schools in the country in the Team America Rocketry Challenge outside Washington, DC. The challenge this year is to make your rocket go as close to 800 feet as possible, then return to the Earth in between 43 and 47 seconds.
On a test launch they nail it -- 44 seconds.
Oh, one other thing -- you've got to preserve two raw eggs inside.
They do.
And to think they do this with equipment that's mostly begged, borrowed and broken -- on a budget that's mostly bake sales, barbeques and, yes, a goat auction.
Shella is overcome just thinking about a possible win in Washington.
"Oh my goodness - nobody even knows where we're at," she said. "And then you represent the United States -- that would be a big thing."
And as for her dream of becoming a permanent resident of these United States -- on that, the teacher would be wise to listen to her students.
"Never. Give. Up," Montemayor said. "You can do anything in this world, as long as you never give up."
In Presidio, the sky is just the beginning.
Why ISS can advance Mars exploration
Chris Carberry - Space Review (Opinion)
(Carberry is Executive Director of Explore Mars, Inc)
When Explore Mars first decided to begin the International Space Station and Mars Conference series, I was quite skeptical. Like many others in the Mars community, I didn’t see how ISS could be of much value to Mars exploration. Truth be told, I thought it served as nothing but an obstacle to Mars exploration.
However, after running several ISS and Mars programs, including conferences in Washington, DC, and in Strasbourg, France, I have come to realize that ISS can potentially be extremely valuable in advancing the cause of getting humans to Mars. However, this value will not necessarily happen automatically. While some of the essential utilization decisions have already been made, decision makers at NASA, as well within the international partnership, need to embrace some specific concepts if ISS can truly help advance the goal of sending humans beyond low Earth orbit (LEO)—specifically to Mars.
ISS and Earth-Based Analog by 2015: An ambitious Mars analog program utilizing ISS is essential. A mission where astronauts spend six to eight months on ISS and then go immediately to an analog base on the surface should be accomplished by 2015. We have known for a long time that microgravity has negative effects on the human body, but returning crews are always sent off for medical examinations and other post-mission activities. Short of going to Mars, we will not have solid data on how crews will perform after a six- to eight-month mission unless we have them perform a ground analog immediately after their return from ISS. At an analog base, which could potentially be built in Kazakhstan (or the Mars 500 facility in Moscow could be utilized), crews could perform many of the essential tasks that they will need to perform in the first few weeks after landing on Mars. At the end of this ground simulation, the crew (or a subset of the crew) could be sent back up to ISS for another six months.
Under the ISTAR program (ISS as a Testbed for Analog Research), NASA has already started engaging in analog activities at ISS and is planning Mars analog time delays and other programs to perform additional analog activities over the upcoming years. However, the planning for Mars analog activity should be started immediately in order to be able to accomplish such a mission by 2015. For ISS to be of real value for this cause, a full analog mission cannot be delayed indefinitely. One of the most damaging potential risks from a policy perspective is that an ISS/Mars analog becomes almost as politically challenging as actually going to Mars. In my discussions with various people in the ISS community, I will often hear, “Why the hurry?” I can say without hesitation that there is need to hurry.
We have never been under as much pressure to show results and can no longer live in a world of “One day, we’ll do this mission,” or “One day we’ll do that mission.” If we get into the position where we are saying, “One day, we’ll be able to utilize ISS to pretend we are going to Mars,” then I fear that we will never get to Mars.
Policy aside, it makes sense to move sooner than later from an operational perspective as well. We are not sure that ISS will have a life beyond 2020. To push this mission toward the end of the decade risks dooming the project to cancellation. Any delays could render this mission impractical to perform before the station is decommissioned. We need to do it by 2015 and show that astronauts are actually training specifically for a Mars mission. This type of analog not only has true value for Mars exploration, but it also can excite the public. If we hope to go to Mars, we can’t be timid in LEO and at Earth analog bases.
Technologies and Operations: ISS can also be used to work on specific Mars mission technologies and capabilities. The technologies, capabilities, and programmatic structure needed to execute a Mars mission can be built upon the continued operation of the ISS as well as its unique technology demonstration capabilities. From evolving regenerative environmental control systems, crew exercise equipment, environmental monitoring, human robotic assembly and maintenance, EVA technology, propulsion technology, to power conversion and generation technology demonstration, can all be executed onboard the ISS. The strategic partnerships that the ISS Program has built with commercial industry, academia, defense and international partners can also be leveraged to craft the policy and programmatic structure that will be necessary over many years.
The ISS and Mars program of the past year and a half (as well as other programs) have shown that there is a lot of planning being done at NASA, industry, and within the international partnership to move many of these concepts forward. Some of this work is already planned at ISS, but the rest will still require greater commitment to focus much more ISS activity toward preparations for missions beyond LEO.
International Model: The ISS international partnership has not been perfect, but despite political, budgetary, and technical challenges, this partnership has held together. In fact, if it were not for this international partnership, it is highly likely that the ISS would have been cancelled years ago. In an era where it has been difficult to keep new space initiatives alive for more than four years, ISS has survived, and will likely survive into the 2020s. Whether you are a supporter of ISS or not, one can’t ignore the potential of this model. A sustainable human exploration program is an absolute requirement if we are ever going to leave LEO. ISS has provided a sustainable model based not only on shared costs and labor, but also on international agreements that are not as easily abandoned as an exploration program based exclusively in the United States or other countries. The ISS partners have an opportunity to start planning for missions beyond LEO.
It is a commonly held belief that because of budget constraints in most national governments, a Mars mission will need to be an international mission. If this is correct, we would be foolish not to adapt an existing model. If this were to happen, rather than hindering Mars exploration, ISS could actually enable human Mars exploration.
Commercial Catalyst: When assembly of ISS began in in the 1990s, very few people believed that it would serve as a key catalyst for a new commercial launch industry. But now, it has become the centerpiece of public-private efforts to develop new launch systems and find ways to reduce launch costs—and of hopes to stimulate a new commercial launch industry. If SpaceX successfully docks with ISS this month, ISS will have helped enable what could be an historic new model for space exploration, and could have a significant impact on our plans to move beyond LEO.
Conclusion: Over the next decade, ISS will be used for many worthy projects. Focusing a significant percentage of ISS projects on Mars exploration will not only help advance the long-term goals of NASA, but it will also help glue the international partners even closer together and can help to advance the potential for an international mission to Mars and other intermediate destinations. Linking ISS to Mars can also provide stronger political backing for ISS as well as a future Mars mission by associating the preparation for a Mars mission directly to near-term programs and activities. This approach is easier to understand by elected officials and the general public than some other proposed projects that are defined by some for other missions and architectures. Additionally, if done correctly, ISS utilization can help reduce the cost and technical risk in Mars mission planning because utilizing ISS relies on existing hardware and processes that are well understood. It also provides a “ready-made” platform for expanding partnerships with commercial entities, academia, and other governmental and international agencies for future Mars missions.
It is time to put aside unrealistic arguments that ISS is going to magically disappear allowing us to instantly head to Mars. This is not likely to happen. We can either complain about ISS for the next ten years, or we can find ways to use ISS to advance the cause and, in doing so, get more of the personnel working on ISS to also become focused on the goal of sending humans to Mars.
The bottom line is this: could ISS end up being an obstacle to exploration beyond LEO? Yes. But, if we decide to make full use of the potential of this orbital facility, it not only could advance the cause of Mars exploration, but might finally be a source of excitement and inspiration around the world.
Confusing Times
Michael Lembeck - Space News (Opinion)
(Lembeck is vice president, engineering, for DCI Services and Consulting of Webster, Texas)
Recently, the new owners of Houston’s baseball team raised the question of whether the Astros’ moniker was still relevant to the community. For a brand that has called “Space City” its home for 47 years, this question highlights the confusion those of us supporting human spaceflight are experiencing today.
Contradictions abound from here to low Earth orbit. In the National Aeronautics and Space Act, “Congress declares that the general welfare of the United States requires that the Administration seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space.” Yet NASA’s commercial crew and cargo programs continue to come under attack in congressional hearings.
Several American companies, employing aerospace engineers who otherwise would be in unemployment lines after the retirement of the space shuttle, are vying for the resources to put 60 years of human spaceflight experience to good use and meet our obligations to the international partners for such services.
Instead of using the space program as the economic development engine it has served as in the past, Congress has shortfunded commercial development efforts for the past three years and then disingenuously expressed concern that the program is behind schedule. To make matters more confusing, every taxpayer dollar being spent on the program protects jobs and small businesses in several key congressional districts in Texas, Alabama, California, Florida and Virginia.
Alas, the real problem is that commercial crew and cargo is not the “government’s space program.” For many in Congress, commercial space is at most interesting, but irrelevant. The big campaign donations come not from the private entrepreneurs, but from the military-industrial complex focused on the next big thing.
Born out of the misguided and anachronistic ashes of the steroidally tainted Constellation program, the Space Launch System (SLS) is also an enigma. Congress abhors “bridges to nowhere,” yet appears perfectly at ease designing a rocket to nowhere. Once again, we are caught in a failure-prone spin cycle, partially designing a system before settling on a destination. This “build it and they will come” multiuse infrastructure ruse has been tried before. The space shuttle first flew in 1981, yet its mission was not truly defined until the 1990s. Even now, NASA finds itself struggling with the next level of this pyramid scheme, soliciting purpose for the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab.
How then do we find our way through this confusing haze and define a human spaceflight program worthy of its endowment?
First and foremost, NASA leadership must step up to the plate and provide the president and policymakers with a value statement tied to an affordable plan for achieving specific sustainable objectives. Congress, for its part, should avoid being duped this time by academic bravado and critically evaluate professionally prepared plans for achieving the nation’s goals.
A viable plan makes use of existing infrastructure to the maximum extent possible. One of the largest benefits derived from ISS has been the experience of logistically operating a large space complex. Employing ISS as an assembly hub for future international partner missions of consequence extends that experience. SLS can then be evaluated in light of its ability to sustainably support future mission objectives. In the interim, existing rockets are capable of launching significant pieces and parts to ISS. Immediate focus should be placed on developing the destination access vehicles and habitation modules that go on top of these rockets, as ISS finds purpose in serving as the assembly waypoint.
Increasing flight rates in support of the assembly hub also takes advantage of economies of scale and improves launch system reliability. A fully funded, American job providing, non-outsourced commercial cargo and crew program makes the approach affordable in the near term. Resources freed up by the commercial procurement of transportation services to low Earth orbit then can be made available to fund the nation’s longer-term deep-space exploration objectives.
Settling on a destination is of utmost importance, as most recently pointed out by the NASA Advisory Council. Clearly, the home run is Mars. But we need some base hits before we embark on the red dirt road.
The Moon is still the best candidate for establishing an initial home away from home. From an architectural point of view, it offers key challenges common to many exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. The Moon also can help solve the question of whether zero-gravity issues (such as spinal cord and eye damage) go away in a partial gravity environment. We may never be able to protect humans from these debilitating effects, but we certainly can engineer a partial-gravity vehicle for long-duration human spaceflight, and the Moon offers a readily accessible platform for resolving this future-inhibiting question.
Three days’ travel time lets us test out sustainable logistics options for maintaining a human presence at a distance. For a country just now being able to demonstrate year-round access to the Antarctic, that seems to be a reasonable first step. An asteroid, by contrast, offers none of these selling points, other than its ability to draw attention to the fact that we would spend billions on a human crewed mission that the robotic Dawn mission has mostly completed for far less.
So let’s put an end to the confusion and get on with our human space flight program. New technologies, economic benefits and national security are recognized byproducts of these efforts. Exploration, new frontiers and problem solving is what made this country great. That we are not on the forefront of such endeavors is indicative of the malaise enshrouding our nation today. Congress and the president should agree on a destination and a budget level, let progress proceed apace, and then get out of the way. It may be rocket science, but it is not that hard if reasonable goals are provided to the rocket scientists to achieve.
Fortunately for Houston, the Astros decided to hold onto their name for the foreseeable future. A switch to the American League in 2013 hopefully will lead to a winning season. One hopes furtively that similar change is coming soon for the U.S. human spaceflight program.
END
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