Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Space news 5/9/12
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
JSC TODAY HEADLINES
1. Work From Anywhere: Use the Latest App to VPN/Connect Remotely to JSC
2. Today: S&MA's Innovation Speaker Forum Presents Professor Liwen Shih
3. Innovation Doesn't End With Innovation Day
4. Houston Technology Center Orientation at Building 3 Café Friday
5. Exercise for Free!
6. Forklift Safety ViTS: May 25, 8 a.m. & Hand and Power Tools ViTS: May 25, Noon
7. NASA Nerdz Bowling Summer 2012
________________________________________ QUOTE OF THE DAY
“ The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing. ”
-- Leigh Hunt
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1. Work From Anywhere: Use the Latest App to VPN/Connect Remotely to JSC
As premiered during Innovation 2012 last week, there's a new and exciting way to connect and have access to all JSC resources, and really work from anywhere, by utilizing the JunOS Pulse app for mobile devices (except BlackBerry), government-provided or personally owned. Simply put, JunOS Pulse delivers simple, secure and accelerated remote network access through virtually any device. Desktop, notebook, netbook, smart phone or any other mobile device, whether managed or not, and for a broad array of operating systems.
The JunOS Pulse application, JSC's Information Resources Directorate's mobile app solution, can be easily downloaded from the App Store for Apple or the Android Market. More information regarding JunOS Pulse can be found here: http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/InfoPedia/Wiki%20Pages/JSC%20VPN%20Junos%20Pulse.aspx
Or, call the Information Resources Directorate's Customer Support Center at x46367 or x34800 (option 3).
JSC IRD Outreach x41334 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/
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2. Today: S&MA's Innovation Speaker Forum Presents Professor Liwen Shih
Topic: Future Technology Innovations With a Focus on Adaptive Computer Solution Optimization for Space, Health and Energy
Date: TODAY - May 9 - from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Building 1, Room 966
Professor Shih regularly teaches High-Performance Computer (HPC) architecture, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Parallel Processing (PP). These unique and innovative approaches aim to expand the knowledge horizon.
Professor Shih has supervised most of the University of Houston-Clear Lake's recent computer engineering capstone research projects and several theses. The emphasis in vital medical, energy and space applications has resulted in several presentations in worldwide forums.
Joyce Abbey 281-335-2041
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3. Innovation Doesn't End With Innovation Day
Just because Innovation Day is over doesn't mean that the discussions are. Visit our website to comment on any exhibits or rap forums that may have caught your attention or sparked ideas.
https://innovation2012.jsc.nasa.gov/Exhibits/
https://innovation2012.jsc.nasa.gov/RapForums/
Also, please take our quick survey to provide us with feedback on Innovation 2012, to help make future innovation events a success: https://secure.inquisiteasp.com/cgi-bin/qwebcorporate.dll?idx=657Z5F
Wendy Crisman x46459 https://innovation2012.jsc.nasa.gov
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4. Houston Technology Center Orientation at Building 3 Café Friday
Creatorspace.org is hosting a Houston Technology Center (HTC) Orientation at the Building 3 Café and Collaboration Center this Friday.
Come at 11:15 a.m., get your food, and at 11:30 a.m., hear Tim Budzik, managing director of the HTC, talk about what HTC can do for you and your business aspirations.
If you are interested in innovation, entrepreneurialism, business development and product development, this is an event you don't want to miss.
Please RSVP to: adam.d.burnett@nasa.gov
For more information, visit: http://www.creatorspace.org and http://www.houstontech.org
Adam David Burnett 281-935-9590 http://www.creatorspace.org
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5. Exercise for Free!
Did you know that all NASA employees and many NASA contractors can get a free membership to the Gilruth Center? This membership includes the use of our well-equipped fitness room and more than 45 group exercise classes (including Spinning!). Group exercise classes are not an additional fee. The group exercise schedule is available on our website at: http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/RecreationClasses/Schedule.cfm
To see if your company participates in our Starport Partner program, which makes you eligible for a free membership, visit our website at http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Membership/index.cfm and then follow the directions on how to obtain your free membership.
If your company does not participate in our Starport Partner program, contractors can still purchase a membership to the Gilruth Center at a very reasonable rate. Visit our website at http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Membership/ to see all the options for memberships.
Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/
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6. Forklift Safety ViTS: May 25, 8 a.m. & Hand and Power Tools ViTS: May 25, Noon
Forklift Safety: The basis for the course is Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.178(L). Discussions include the awareness of hazards and how to gain from lessons learned. Other topics include the mechanics of a fork truck, inspections and maintenance, safe driving, pedestrian and traffic rules, special operating rules, stacking and tiering, emergency procedures and refueling. This course provides training to support either an initial certification (three hours duration) or a recertification (two hours duration). https://satern.nasa.gov/plateau/user/deeplink.do?linkId=SCHEDULED_OFFERING_DE...
Hand and Power Tools: This two-hour course is based on OSHA CFR 1910.28 and 1926.451, requirements for working with hand tools safely in the general and construction industries. During the course, the student will receive an overview of those topics needed to work safely with hand and power tools, including: standards, terminology, inspection of hand and power tool components and proper usage.
https://satern.nasa.gov/plateau/user/deeplink.do?linkId=SCHEDULED_OFFERING_DE...
Shirley Robinson x41284
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7. NASA Nerdz Bowling Summer 2012
1. Bowling will start at 6:30 p.m. at the AMF Alpha lanes on Bay Area Boulevard (right behind Sonic, the bowling alley closest to I-45). Practice starts at 6:15 p.m.
2. The league will be 10 weeks long, starting May 31 and going until Aug. 2.
3. Bowling will be $12 a week, which will get you three games of bowling. If you need to rent shoes, they will cost $1.08 extra.
4. The league will not be sanctioned (so if you bowl a 300 you won't get a ring). Also this summer, we will be bowling "no tap," which means if you get a nine count, it will also count as a strike. Should make the night move a little faster and also will allow for a lot of high scores.
If you have a team of four, please send me their names and a team name.
Russell Lala x47469
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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
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
HEADLINES AND LEADS
NASA: Competition at core of commercial crew program
Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com
NASA managers argued Tuesday a proposal by lawmakers to immediately select a single provider for commercial crew transportation services would undermine the agency's strategy of reducing the cost of space travel through private industry. Officials are in the middle of evaluating industrial bids for the commercial crew program's next phase, with a goal of selecting at least two companies by August to continue developing rockets and spacecraft for the next two years. NASA plans to award multiple industry teams each between $300 million and $500 million under agreements set to run until at least May 2014.
Appropriations amendment cuts $126 million from NASA
SpacePolitics.com
Members of the House of Representatives narrowly accepted an amendment late Tuesday night cutting NASA’s budget by $126 million. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), transferred $126 million from NASA’s Cross-Agency Support account to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program in the Department of Justice. The amendment passed 206-204, with 61 Republicans joining 145 Democrats in support of the amendment.
New rocket on schedule to launch by 2017, NASA reports
Todd Halvorson - Florida Today
NASA’s new super-sized rocket will be ready by late 2017 to launch an unmanned Orion spacecraft on a looping mission around the moon and a high-speed return to Earth, a senior agency manager said Tuesday. A similar mission with astronauts onboard would follow in 2021 from Kennedy Space Center, a flight that will clear the way for a new era of human space exploration. “From that point, we’ll be ready to go anywhere you want to go in the solar system,” said Todd May, manager of the Space Launch System Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “The question is, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ”
Delta second stage chosen as SLS interim
Zach Rosenberg - FlightInternational.com
Boeing's Delta cryogenic second stage (DCSS) has been selected as the interim upper stage for the first two flights of the Space Launch System (SLS), according to a justification on NASA's procurement website. "Based on the responses to that sources sought synopsis, NASA determined that the DCSS is the only means available to support the immediate in-space propulsion needs of the SLS within the SLS manifest schedule constraints," says the agency. "The DCSS is the only known in-space stage requiring relatively minor modifications to enable full compliance with the requirements of the early SLS manifest."
Center for Advancement of Science in Space aims to showcase uses of ISS
James Dean - Florida Today
The International Space Station’s National Lab could serve as a platform for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to test new drugs and better treatments for conditions like bone loss, scientists advising the lab’s nonprofit manager said Tuesday. But the Brevard County-based Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS, says there’s still much work to be done to raise awareness about the lab’s existence and potential commercial benefits, and no guarantee of medical breakthroughs. “The real tough scientific question is, is it really better in space than on Earth?” said Dr. Timothy Yeatman, the center’s interim chief scientist, of the research environment. “Now it has to be answered, so now’s the time to do that.”
As SpaceX awaits launch of cargo capsule, crew capsule gets test sit
Orlando Sentinel's The Write Stuff
NASA has signed off on the astronaut layout of SpaceX’s planned seven-passenger crew capsule after some NASA engineers and astronauts cozied into one in the SpaceX showroom and pronounced it fit. Officially, NASA declared that SpaceX’s plans passed another milestone, the seventh of 10, by demonstrating that the layout will allow astronauts to maneuver effectively in the vehicle. Several veteran space shuttle astronauts and NASA engineers conducted the evaluation during a pair of two-day-long reviews.
SpaceX completes commercial crew milestone
James Dean - Florida Toda
While nearing its first attempt to launch cargo to the International Space Station, SpaceX has met another milestone in the effort to make its Dragon capsule suitable for human spaceflight, the company and NASA reported Tuesday. At SpaceX’s Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters, company engineers completed a test with NASA astronauts intended to demonstrate their ability to get in and out of the spacecraft during normal or emergency conditions, reach and see what they need to and perform important tasks. A prototype Dragon was equipped with seats, lighting, environmental control and life support systems, conceptual displays and controls, cargo racks and other interior systems, SpaceX and NASA said in a press release.
Shuttlebration to mark arrival of Space Shuttle
Mary Alys Cherry - Bay Area Citizen
Sharing the ongoing story of human space exploration is about to get a major boost with a new Space Shuttle visitor experience coming soon to Space Center Houston. When the full-scale Shuttle Orbiter replica arrives June 1, it will kick off “Shuttlebration Weekend” to celebrate the opening of a new era in space exploration, outreach and education. Once it is fully installed and prepared for visitors, the public will be able to go inside the full-size replica as part of a behind-the-scenes look at life inside the Space Shuttle, an experience that will only be available at Space Center Houston. “Shuttlebration Weekend” begins on the afternoon of Friday, June 1, when the replica will arrive by barge at the Johnson Space Center NASA Parkway dock on Clear Lake near the Nassau Bay Hilton Hotel. This will be the largest item to arrive at the dock since the Saturn V arrived for display in 1977.
Collector has right stuff for space and science center
Keith Rogers - Las Vegas Review-Journal
If they build it, Lonnie Hammargren will come. And he'll bring some of his space stuff with him. The former Nevada lieutenant governor and 1960s flight surgeon for NASA astronauts has space junk in his backyard, cosmos memorabilia upstairs and scale models of a space shuttle and the International Space Station on the roof of his southeast Las Vegas home. "I've got the largest collection of Russian space art in the world," the neurosurgeon boasted Tuesday while fumbling to turn on some lights in a dark, second-story room. Among thousands of historical items and artifacts from Nevada and around the world in his collection is an Apollo program test capsule and a Soviet general's uniform worn by Alexei A. Leonov, the first man to walk in space on March 18, 1965.
Secret Air Force X-37B space plane mission a 'spectacular success'
Leonard David - Space.com
The U.S. Air Force's secretive robotic X-37B space plane mission continues to chalk up time in Earth orbit, nearing 430 days of a spaceflight that — while classified — appears to be an unqualified success. The space plane now circuiting Earth is the second spacecraft of its kind built for the Air Force by Boeing’s Phantom Works. Known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, or OTV-2, the space plane's classified mission is being carried out by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
Shared space the safest way
James Clay Moltz - China Daily (Opinion)
(Moltz is a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and author of The Politics of Space Security - 2011 and Asia's Space Race - 2012)
The US space shuttle is no longer in service, and it will likely be several years before the United States can resume independent human spaceflight. As a result, China's upcoming Shenzhou IX mission to the Tiangong-1 space module will be viewed by some Americans with envy. Fortunately, as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the commercial sector work to develop new boosters, US astronauts can still travel to the International Space Station aboard a Russian "taxi", thus highlighting the value of international cooperation.
Mars mission remains the goal
Philadelphia Inquirer (Editorial)
It’s interesting that some of the same people who have been blasting President Obama as a spendthrift who has put this country on a path to economic ruin also criticize him for being frugal when it comes to space exploration. These critics decry Obama’s decision to retire the ancient space-shuttle fleet and instead have U.S. scientists hitch rides with the Russians to the International Space Station as being equivalent to sharing a bunk with Mephistopheles. But they mislead when they suggest that Obama has turned his back on manned spaceflight. Rather, the president’s proposed 2013 budget would keep the nation on track to fulfill the commitment Obama made to explore deep space.
The Legacy of the Space Shuttle
Richard Garriott - Huffington Post (Opinion)
As each remaining orbiter of the shuttle fleet takes their final flight to museums around the nation, it is a fitting time to reflect on the legacy of these iconic space vehicles. Citizens and visitors went outside in large numbers to watch the final flybys of these majestic birds that were the cornerstone of America's human spaceflight activities for 30 years. An entire generation has grown up knowing the Space Shuttle as America's only method of human access to space. Clearly this was an important passing, the end of an era. Many now believe that the end of the Shuttle era marks the end of U.S. leadership in human spaceflight.
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COMPLETE STORIES
NASA: Competition at core of commercial crew program
Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com
NASA managers argued Tuesday a proposal by lawmakers to immediately select a single provider for commercial crew transportation services would undermine the agency's strategy of reducing the cost of space travel through private industry.
Officials are in the middle of evaluating industrial bids for the commercial crew program's next phase, with a goal of selecting at least two companies by August to continue developing rockets and spacecraft for the next two years.
NASA plans to award multiple industry teams each between $300 million and $500 million under agreements set to run until at least May 2014.
But a House budget bill would direct NASA to immediately choose one provider and sign a development contract. The House spending plan provides $500 million to NASA's commercial crew program in fiscal year 2013, which begins Oct. 1.
A Senate appropriations bill gives NASA a $525 million mark for commercial crew, but it does not call for a shift in procurement strategy. Both funding levels are less than NASA's request for $830 million in fiscal 2013.
The Senate and House budgets must pass their respective bodies, and their differences must be sorted out in a conference committee.
This year's commercial crew budget is set at $406 million, about half of NASA's request. The less-than-requested budget caused NASA to adjust its schedule for the start of operational astronaut flights to the space station from 2016 until 2017.
Ed Mango, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said Tuesday a "downselect" to a sole company could double the cost of fielding a privately-built human transportation system.
"We need competition as long as possible. The price to go with one [provider] starting today, and then all the way through certification and into services, is at least twice what it would be if you had competition at least as long as possible," Mango said.
Mango and other officials spoke with the NASA Advisory Council's commercial space committee Tuesday.
House appropriators wrote an immediate downselect to one commercial crew firm would reduce the program's projected $4.8 billion cost, but NASA officials said such a move would move the cost in the opposite direction.
"If we get narrowed down to one [provider] now, we're kind of back into the same old way of doing business, and that's why a system costs $8 billion to build," said Brent Jett, NASA's deputy program manager for commercial crew.
According to Mango, a budget reduction now would delay the beginning of commercial crew service to the International Space Station, extending U.S. reliance on Russia for astronaut access to space.
Stretching out development would lengthen the gap in U.S. human spaceflight capability and would ultimately make the program more expensive, according to Mango.
"If we did that, then the overall total cost would be more," Mango said. "The area under the curve is going to go up."
Phil McAlister, head of NASA's commercial spaceflight office in Washington, said the agency has "walked the walk" in its commitment to competition, citing a decision in December to switch from traditional federal government contracts to Space Act Agreements for the program's next phase, known as CCiCap, or Commercial Crew Integrated Capability.
NASA changed to Space Act Agreements because they allow more flexibility to pay multiple companies to continue development with less funding. The agreements also require industry to supply private capital to go toward the effort.
"That [decision] was deliberately because we felt like, with the previous strategy and the previous budget, we might have been forced to only select one [company]," McAlister said.
Mango said competition also encourages innovation, adding partners have put in more private money in previous commercial crew development rounds to accelerate testing in order to obtain a competitive advantage for future bids.
According to McAlister, NASA has not decided how many partners - two, three, or four - it will select for the CCiCap phase, which will fund projects through the completion of designs until the start of qualification testing.
NASA has ongoing funded agreements with Boeing Co., SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Corp., and Blue Origin. The companies expect to complete their milestones under their current agreements this summer, before NASA awards the next round of funding.
Each company is developing a human-rated spacecraft to launch on top of an expendable rocket.
"Competition is in everyone's interests," Mango said. "Going to one [provider] means your price for development, let alone services because we haven't figured that out yet, is probably at least double what it would be if you had at least some competition throughout some phase of the overall development."
Appropriations amendment cuts $126 million from NASA
SpacePolitics.com
Members of the House of Representatives narrowly accepted an amendment late Tuesday night cutting NASA’s budget by $126 million.
The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), transferred $126 million from NASA’s Cross-Agency Support account to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program in the Department of Justice.
The amendment passed 206-204, with 61 Republicans joining 145 Democrats in support of the amendment.
The amendment was one of several debated on the House floor during the day and evening Tuesday that sought to transfer money from NASA, particularly the Cross-Agency Support account, to other programs in the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill. It was, though, the only one to pass.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), chairman of the CJS appropriations subcommittee, was clearly exasperated by those proposed amendments, noting the Cross-Agency Support account supports many critical NASA activities and is not, as it might appear, to be some kind of slush fund.
“I think they need to change the name” of that account, he said at one point in the debate Tuesday evening.
New rocket on schedule to launch by 2017, NASA reports
Todd Halvorson - Florida Today
NASA’s new super-sized rocket will be ready by late 2017 to launch an unmanned Orion spacecraft on a looping mission around the moon and a high-speed return to Earth, a senior agency manager said Tuesday.
A similar mission with astronauts onboard would follow in 2021 from Kennedy Space Center, a flight that will clear the way for a new era of human space exploration.
“From that point, we’ll be ready to go anywhere you want to go in the solar system,” said Todd May, manager of the Space Launch System Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “The question is, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ”
With the Orion crew exploration vehicle production line starting up at KSC, May briefed industry and community leaders on the gigantic rocket that will launch it. He spoke before a sold-out crowd of about 300 at a National Space Club Florida Committee luncheon at the Radisson Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral.
First, NASA intends to build Space Launch System rockets that can loft 70 metric tons. Then, that system will evolve into rockets that can launch 130 metric tons.
At that point, the Space Launch System will rival the NASA Saturn V rocket that propelled Apollo astronauts on round trips to the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Ultimately, it will be the biggest rocket ever devised by human engineers.
May noted that the project is solidly backed in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.
“We’ve been chartered to make this happen,” May said. “The Space Launch and Orion are not just a good idea, but today, they are the law of the land.”
He said the space agency understands the nation is facing difficult financial times and that budget increases are unlikely. So to reduce development costs, NASA is making the most of existing hardware.
The rocket initially will employ shuttle-derived solid rocket boosters, liquid-fueled shuttle main engines, and a core stage based on the shuttle’s burnt-orange, bullet-shaped external tank.
Testing and other prep work already is in progress at sites across the country. In New Orleans, NASA and its contractors are preparing to manufacture core stages. In Utah, shuttle-derived solar rocket boosters are being test-fired. In Mississippi, upper-stage engine tests continue. At KSC, ground systems — including a mobile launch platform, a crawler-transporter and launch pad 39B — all are being prepped for a debut flight.
“We’re making steady progress, and we’re hitting our marks as we go,” May said. “My team is laser-focused on getting the 70 metric ton rocket to the launch pad by the end of 2017.”
Delta second stage chosen as SLS interim
Zach Rosenberg - FlightInternational.com
Boeing's Delta cryogenic second stage (DCSS) has been selected as the interim upper stage for the first two flights of the Space Launch System (SLS), according to a justification on NASA's procurement website.
"Based on the responses to that sources sought synopsis, NASA determined that the DCSS is the only means available to support the immediate in-space propulsion needs of the SLS within the SLS manifest schedule constraints," says the agency. "The DCSS is the only known in-space stage requiring relatively minor modifications to enable full compliance with the requirements of the early SLS manifest."
DCSS is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL-10B engine, fueled by liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
SLS is slated to fly in 2017 and 2021, but the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne J-2X upper stage will not be ready in time. In order to fly, SLS requires an interim stand-in. The launch vehicle will be capable of launching 70 metric tonnes into low earth orbit (LEO), and an upgraded follow-on will launch 130mt.
The rocket has divided the political and space communities, with supporters trumpeting its unprecedented capabilities and detractors blaming the programme for taking precious dollars from NASA. In any case, NASA is now legally required to build SLS, earning it the derisive name 'Senate launch system' in some corners.
Boeing declined to comment until the award is formally awarded. NASA did not immediately respond to questions.
Center for Advancement of Science in Space aims to showcase uses of ISS
James Dean - Florida Today
The International Space Station’s National Lab could serve as a platform for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to test new drugs and better treatments for conditions like bone loss, scientists advising the lab’s nonprofit manager said Tuesday.
But the Brevard County-based Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS, says there’s still much work to be done to raise awareness about the lab’s existence and potential commercial benefits, and no guarantee of medical breakthroughs.
“The real tough scientific question is, is it really better in space than on Earth?” said Dr. Timothy Yeatman, the center’s interim chief scientist, of the research environment. “Now it has to be answered, so now’s the time to do that.”
Yeatman led a panel of scientists in reviewing more than 135 biological experiments NASA flew in space over a decade. Of that batch, he said, there were “no real standouts” that definitively proved commercial opportunities.
That is a priority for NASA now that assembly of the $100 billion station is complete and emphasis is on research, or “utilization.”
“Our goal was to really foster utilization of the space station by potential commercial partners to show a return to the taxpayer for all of their support,” Yeatman said his panel’s review.
CASIS will announce a solicitation for experiments next month, which officials said could fly aboard U.S. or Russian vehicles as soon as next year.
The National Lab makes available half of the U.S. portion of the station’s time and facilities for non-NASA research by companies, universities, government agencies and other users.
Protein crystallization is considered a promising research target because it informs how “Big Pharma” makes drugs, Yeatman said.
Researchers may be able to develop larger crystals with better-defined internal structure in microgravity.
Another area considered promising is osteoporosis research, since bone loss occurs rapidly in microgravity.
By studying mice in space, drug companies may be able to get quicker feedback on treatments and bone fracture rates than longer trials performed on the ground.
While pursuing those initial areas of interest, officials at CASIS, which was formed last fall, are still reaching out to researchers to drum up interest in the station.
“There’s a lot of people, surprisingly — and in the science arena — that don’t even know that the ISS is a National Lab,” CASIS spokesman Bobby Block said. “So there’s a lot of awareness that needs to be raised.”
As SpaceX awaits launch of cargo capsule, crew capsule gets test sit
Orlando Sentinel's The Write Stuff
NASA has signed off on the astronaut layout of SpaceX’s planned seven-passenger crew capsule after some NASA engineers and astronauts cozied into one in the SpaceX showroom and pronounced it fit.
Officially, NASA declared that SpaceX’s plans passed another milestone, the seventh of 10, by demonstrating that the layout will allow astronauts to maneuver effectively in the vehicle. Several veteran space shuttle astronauts and NASA engineers conducted the evaluation during a pair of two-day-long reviews.
That news comes just a few days before SpaceX’s planned May 19th launch of a cargo version of the Dragon, atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, From Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. If all goes well with that test flight, the Dragon will dock with the International Space Station and deliver about 1,200 pounds of supplies, marking the first time a commercial vehicle has docked and supplied the station.
The bigger goal though is a crew capsule, set for two to five years away.
In the SpaceX photo above, the NASA officials try out the SpaceX prototype. On top, from left, are NASA Crew Survival Engineering Team Lead Dustin Gohmert, NASA astronauts Tony Antonelli and Eric Boe, and SpaceX Mission Operations Engineer Laura Crabtree. On bottom, from left, are SpaceX Thermal Engineer Brenda Hernandez and NASA astronauts Rex Walheim and Tim Kopra.
SpaceX completes commercial crew milestone
James Dean - Florida Toda
While nearing its first attempt to launch cargo to the International Space Station, SpaceX has met another milestone in the effort to make its Dragon capsule suitable for human spaceflight, the company and NASA reported Tuesday.
At SpaceX’s Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters, company engineers completed a test with NASA astronauts intended to demonstrate their ability to get in and out of the spacecraft during normal or emergency conditions, reach and see what they need to and perform important tasks.
A prototype Dragon was equipped with seats, lighting, environmental control and life support systems, conceptual displays and controls, cargo racks and other interior systems, SpaceX and NASA said in a press release.
"This milestone demonstrated the layout of the crew cabin supports critical tasks," said SpaceX Commercial Crew Development Manager Garrett Reisman. "It also demonstrated the Dragon interior has been designed to maximize the ability of the seven-member crew to do their job as effectively as possible."
"We appreciate the opportunity SpaceX gave us to provide feedback on these critical interior systems while the company maintains its flexibility to appeal to other customers," added NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Ed Mango.
The milestone was the seventh of 10 under a development program that runs through July 31. NASA plans to name winners in the program’s next round this summer.
SpaceX is targeting a May 19 launch from Cape Canaveral of an unmanned Dragon on a demonstration mission that could make it the first private spacecraft to visit the International Space Station.
Shuttlebration to mark arrival of Space Shuttle
Mary Alys Cherry - Bay Area Citizen
Sharing the ongoing story of human space exploration is about to get a major boost with a new Space Shuttle visitor experience coming soon to Space Center Houston. When the full-scale Shuttle Orbiter replica arrives June 1, it will kick off “Shuttlebration Weekend” to celebrate the opening of a new era in space exploration, outreach and education.
“NASA’s Space Shuttle changed the way we all think about space, making it more accessible, understandable and useful,” said Richard Allen, president of Space Center Houston. “It is our intent to continue that legacy with this exciting new attraction, which will offer a one-of-a-kind visitor experience that will engage, educate and inspire the next generation of explorers.”
Once it is fully installed and prepared for visitors, the public will be able to go inside the full-size replica as part of a behind-the-scenes look at life inside the Space Shuttle, an experience that will only be available at Space Center Houston.
“Shuttlebration Weekend” begins on the afternoon of Friday, June 1, when the replica will arrive by barge at the Johnson Space Center NASA Parkway dock on Clear Lake near the Nassau Bay Hilton Hotel. This will be the largest item to arrive at the dock since the Saturn V arrived for display in 1977.
The public is invited to a free street party between the dock and the hotel to witness and celebrate the historic arrival. The street party will include exhibits and static displays of new technologies and space vehicles that are being developed for the future of exploration, as well as local marching bands, food and entertainment.
On Saturday, June 2, the Space Shuttle replica will be loaded onto a mobile transfer vehicle for transport to Space Center Houston. The lakeside load-out will take a full day to complete. No public events are planned.
Early in the morning on Sunday, June 3, the replica will make a three-hour trek down NASA Parkway from the Hilton to its permanent home at Space Center Houston. It will receive a futuristic VIP escort from JSC’s prototype planetary rovers for future solar system exploration.
Upon the replica’s arrival, Space Center Houston, along with the Johnson Space Center, will host a free public celebration in its parking lot from 9 a.m. to noon.
The family-oriented event will include more opportunities to see the Shuttle attraction up close, and to get a look at the latest ongoing developments in space exploration taking place at JSC.
“The arrival of the Space Shuttle attraction is the result of a great community-wide effort,” said Michael Coats, director of NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. “Once open, the attraction will carry on the spirit of the Space Shuttle program by inspiring tomorrow’s space pioneers.”
Plans are still in progress for all of the “Shuttlebration Weekend” activities. Visit www.spacecenter.org for the latest information.
Following “Shuttlebration Weekend,” the Space Shuttle replica will remain in Space Center Houston’s parking lot while the permanent display venue is being completed. The long-term vision calls for a world-class education center to be built around the orbiter that provides historical context and a hands-on educational experience.
Collector has right stuff for space and science center
Keith Rogers - Las Vegas Review-Journal
If they build it, Lonnie Hammargren will come. And he'll bring some of his space stuff with him.
The former Nevada lieutenant governor and 1960s flight surgeon for NASA astronauts has space junk in his backyard, cosmos memorabilia upstairs and scale models of a space shuttle and the International Space Station on the roof of his southeast Las Vegas home.
"I've got the largest collection of Russian space art in the world," the neurosurgeon boasted Tuesday while fumbling to turn on some lights in a dark, second-story room.
Among thousands of historical items and artifacts from Nevada and around the world in his collection is an Apollo program test capsule and a Soviet general's uniform worn by Alexei A. Leonov, the first man to walk in space on March 18, 1965.
There's a glass mug that holds a photo of him and Leonov when Leonov traveled to Las Vegas in 1988 to attend an exhibition basketball game between the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels and the Soviet national team.
In an unusual trade, Leonov mailed his military uniform to Hammargren bedecked with medals after the famous cosmonaut returned to Russia with a red, snakeskin Rebels jacket that Hammargren had loaned him to wear at the exhibition game.
Hammargren, 74, thinks he got the best part of the deal.
He also thinks Leonov's uniform and some of his other space memorabilia could be displayed in the Henderson Space and Science Center, but the nonprofit organization behind the center hasn't built it yet and probably won't until 2015.
"Right now I couldn't afford to give it to them outright, but they can afford a building. There's so many empty buildings around," Hammargren said.
Recently, the Henderson City Council withdrew the $17 million that was left from $21 million earmarked from public land sales to build the center and museum in the Union Village master-planned project.
Jack Clark, interim executive director of the nonprofit Henderson Space and Science Center Inc., said he understands the city has some immediate needs for the money and his group is a few years away from building the center. But it has been an idea for 18 years based on a partnership arrangement that began when the nonprofit group was created 2½ years ago.
The plan was to seek private donations and federal grants to pay for about two-thirds of the $63 million project with the city chipping in $21 million.
"If the city wrote us a check for $17 million, we're still no closer than we are today," Clark said Thursday. "We understand we have to raise the majority of the money to build the center."
Despite the Henderson council's March 20 action to remove funds that had been allocated for the center, Clark said the project is not dead.
"The reports of our death are greatly exaggerated," he said, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
At their April meeting, the group's directors decided to hire an expert to promote fundraising and bank enough to match funding the city could provide, if the council still wants to be involved.
Clark said he thinks that will be the case as time passes and wounds from the recession begin to heal.
"The community is more enthusiastic about the science center than they ever have been," he said.
The board recently completed a fundraising plan and will advertise for an expert in three weeks.
Meanwhile, Hammargren believes the center's backers should invest in buying exhibits at today's recession prices and house them in one of the many empty buildings that exist.
"We should invest in stuff, not a new building to name after someone," the 74-year-old space buff said.
For example, Hammargren said one of only two full-scale models of the 65-foot-long, 16-foot-tall Soviet Mir space station - like the one that set endurance records before it broke up in Earth's atmosphere and crashed into the South Pacific in 2001 - could be purchased for roughly $300,000. That's about twice what Clark's organization has in its coffers.
"It's sitting in crates in Huntsville, Ala., and it's available now," Hammargren said. "There's only two in existence, and one is in Russia."
Clark said he agrees with Hammargren "to start acquiring artifacts before it costs three or four times more."
Clark also agrees that some items that Hammargren has in his unique collection "are appropriate for our use."
Hammargren said, "There's a lot of stuff I have for a museum in Nevada. The most significant thing is that Apollo spacecraft."
How did he get it?
Hammargren believes the space capsule - emblazoned with large red letters spelling "Saturn," for the rocket booster used in Apollo missions - was used for splashdown tank tests at a facility near Downey, Calif.
A disposal firm, Buck's Salvage, hauled it to a storage yard in North Las Vegas about 30 years ago, where it sat until Hammargren found it and realized that it had to be one of the first Apollo capsules made.
"There are only two missing. A certain man must have paid a large amount of money for it," he said.
According to Hammargren, the man was a guy named "MacNeal," whose name is on the inside of the capsule along with the name of a convenience store where he had intended to display it.
And the rest is history that he keeps in his backyard.
Secret Air Force X-37B space plane mission a 'spectacular success'
Leonard David - Space.com
The U.S. Air Force's secretive robotic X-37B space plane mission continues to chalk up time in Earth orbit, nearing 430 days of a spaceflight that — while classified — appears to be an unqualified success.
The space plane now circuiting Earth is the second spacecraft of its kind built for the Air Force by Boeing’s Phantom Works. Known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, or OTV-2, the space plane's classified mission is being carried out by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The robotic X-37B space plane is a reusable spacecraft that resembles a miniature space shuttle. The Air Force launched the OTV-2 mission on March 5, 2011, with an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket lofting the space plane into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Spectacular success
General William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, briefly saluted the high-flying X-37B space plane on April 17 during his remarks at the 28th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"Our second X-37 test vehicle has been on orbit for 409 days now" — much longer than the 270 day baseline design specifications, Shelton said. "Although I can't talk about mission specifics, suffice it to say this mission has been a spectacular success," he added. [Photos: The X-37B Space Plane's Second Mission]
In a follow-up meeting with reporters, Shelton told SPACE.com: "It's doing wonderful." When asked specifically about when the craft will be brought back down to Earth, Shelton's response was guarded.
"When we're through with it … it's going great," Shelton said.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko, the Pentagon's spokesperson for the X-37B project, told SPACE.com that the space plane's current mission "is still on track … and still ongoing."
Bunko said that a third flight of an X-37B spacecraft — slated for liftoff this fall — will use the same craft that flew the first test flight, the OTV-1 mission, back in 2010. That maiden voyage of the X-37B space plane lasted 225 days. It launched into orbit on April 22, 2010, and then landed on Dec. 3, zooming in on autopilot over the Pacific Ocean and gliding down onto a specially prepared runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Return on investment
Each X-37B space plane is about 29 feet (8.8 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 meters) wide. It has a payload bay about the size of a pickup truck bed and is outfitted with a deployable solar array power system.
What isn't known about these space vehicles is the nature of the payloads they carry. What purposes they serve is classified.
Last March in a Washington, D.C., briefing with reporters, Shelton advised that the winged, reusable robot plane is a vehicle the U.S. Air Force wants to keep using. But there is currently no go-ahead to add space planes (beyond the two already built) that would increase the fleet size, he said.
When the second X-37B cruised by its one-year milestone in orbit in March, Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office lauded the spacecraft's endurance run.
"We are very pleased with the results of ongoing X-37B experiments. The X-37B program is setting the standard for a reusable space plane and, on this one-year orbital milestone, has returned great value on the experimental investment," McIntyre said. "Upon completion of all objectives, we look forward to bringing the mission to a safe, successful conclusion."
Skywatchers on alert
According to Ted Molczan, a Toronto-based leader in a network of amateur skywatchers that keep an eye on the whereabouts of spacecraft, the X-37B/OTV-2 has maintained its orbit since mid-August of last year.
Last observed on April 22 by fellow skywatcher Greg Roberts of South Africa, the craft was in a 42.8 degree, 332 kilometer by 341 kilometer orbit, Molczan told SPACE.com.
"It makes frequent small maneuvers to maintain that altitude against the significant atmospheric drag that is present. That orbit causes its ground track to repeat nearly precisely every two days," Molczan added.
"Ground tracks that repeat at intervals of two, three, or four days, have long been favored for U.S. imagery intelligence satellites, so this may be a clue to the mission of OTV-2," Molczan said.
Scaled-up X-37B space planes planned?
An intriguing sidelight to the X-37 program is whether or not Boeing's Phantom Works is keen on using the spacecraft for other, nonmilitary missions, or even upgrading the X-37 space plane concept for human spaceflight.
Last year at Space 2011, a conference organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), an X-37B derivatives plan was sketched out by Arthur Grantz, chief engineer, Experimental Systems Group at Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems (S&IS) in Seal Beach, Calif.
Grantz detailed a vision for the spacecraft and scaled-up versions to support space station cargo deliveries and even carry astronauts into orbit.
At the one-year milestone of the now orbiting X-37B, SPACE.com contacted Boeing for more information on Grantz and his view on use of X-37B evolving to support the International Space Station.
"That AIAA presentation was a one-time event and we are not saying anything more publicly about the X-37B," said Diana Ball of Boeing’s S&IS Communications in a response to SPACE.com. "Sorry we cannot help you out this time."
Shared space the safest way
James Clay Moltz - China Daily (Opinion)
(Moltz is a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and author of The Politics of Space Security - 2011 and Asia's Space Race - 2012)
The US space shuttle is no longer in service, and it will likely be several years before the United States can resume independent human spaceflight.
As a result, China's upcoming Shenzhou IX mission to the Tiangong-1 space module will be viewed by some Americans with envy.
Fortunately, as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the commercial sector work to develop new boosters, US astronauts can still travel to the International Space Station aboard a Russian "taxi", thus highlighting the value of international cooperation.
In the past decade, China has succeeded in building a strong record of national accomplishment in human spaceflight and space science, showing increasing skill and sophistication. It is now about to enter a phase of longer-duration human flights, with the possibility of conducting scientific experiments on board. Hopefully, it will share its findings and use these developments to promote international cooperation.
There will be some in the US media who will use the Shenzhou IX mission to claim that China is ahead and that the US has lost its way in space. But while domestic budgetary disputes have complicated US space planning, it is worth remembering that NASA carried out its first space station mission to its huge Skylab spacecraft back in 1973. By this time, NASA had already conducted multiple landings on the Moon. Thus, China's human spaceflight accomplishments should not be viewed as a threat.
As a second-generation space power, China's biggest hurdle is not technology, but operational experience. Like all space-faring nations, China is likely to make some mistakes. Many in the international community, and some in China, view the orbital debris generated by China's 2007 anti-satellite test as such a mistake. How China deals with these mistakes and how well it works with international partners will be important measures of its future success in space.
The Shenzhou IX flight and the prospect of long-duration Chinese missions in space need not become a source of increased US-Chinese tension. Instead, they should increase the technical rationale for enhanced bilateral cooperation and protection of the space environment, which is in the interests of both countries.
In recent years, NASA has attempted to build bridges with China through trips by NASA administrators Michael Griffin in 2006 and Charles Bolden in 2010. Two US-Chinese technical working groups were also established. But no progress has been made since 2010 due to a Congressional ban on such cooperation because of lingering concerns about Chinese military use of civil space technology and possible industrial espionage. Addressing these US concerns could help promote renewed cooperation.
China has long cooperated with other countries in civil space. It has acquired technology from a variety of nations, including Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and others in order to develop its capabilities. Since 1992, it has contributed technology and know-how to less developed nations through the Asia-Pacific Multilateral Cooperation in Space Technology and Applications program and, since 2008, through the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization. China also cooperates with Russia and members of the European Space Agency on a variety of space science missions and in satellite research.
To date, China has not been allowed to join the International Space Station. A few members of the US Congress in key committees have blocked US support for an invitation, and Japan, a space station member, has also quietly voiced its opposition.
But many US experts in the space field, including former astronauts, see this opposition as mistaken. They point to the successful record of mutually beneficial US-Soviet cooperation that emerged during the Cold War, including the historic 1975 Apollo-Soyuz docking, which built contacts that later proved useful in building the space station.
As China's space program builds its technological skills, most US experts believe that eventual cooperation with China will serve the interests of both sides.
Former NASA chief Michael Griffin, for example, has argued that the US should begin cooperating with China on human spaceflight in order to improve transparency, reduce political tensions, and benefit from new collaborative possibilities.
Beyond space science and human spaceflight, China is also developing the Beidou positioning, timing and navigation system. China is also beginning to play a more active role in the commercial space launch and satellite services market. Chinese success in these endeavors will require a stable, safe and secure space environment.
The US believes all countries have the right to access space. It has stated its opposition to activities that harm the space environment, such as the intentional release of long-lasting space debris. As space traffic control becomes a more serious problem, the US military's Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC), which tracks space objects, has begun to share collision avoidance information with other countries. In fact, from mid-2010 to mid-2011, the JSpOC contacted the Chinese government on 147 different occasions to warn of orbital debris threats to Chinese spacecraft.
The US Defense Department has also proposed to Chinese military leaders the initiation of bilateral talks on space security, similar to those that promoted mutual space security with Moscow during the Cold War. Such talks could promote better US-Chinese understanding, reduce tensions and remove risks of space conflict. Beijing's acceptance of this proposal would be an important step toward ensuring that the space environment remains safe for civil and commercial developments.
According to its new space policy, the Obama administration has embraced the importance of international cooperation. The 2010 National Space Policy describes the "interconnected nature of space capabilities" and calls upon all countries to follow guidelines of "responsible behavior". These include transparency, orbital debris mitigation, non-interference with the spacecraft of other nations, and enhanced cooperation in managing space traffic. The policy also states that all countries share a common interest in safe access to space.
With these general principles in mind, what specific proposals might be worth considering in the US-Chinese space context? First, since it is important to halt the generation of enduring orbital debris, both countries would benefit from jointly announcing a moratorium on the use or testing of any destructive anti-satellite device against space objects, and inviting other countries to do the same.
Second, since satellite positioning systems, such as GPS and China's Beidou network, provide critical services to the global economy and contribute to human safety in the air, at sea, and on land traffic control, both sides could pledge not to interfere with each other's systems and set an example for other countries.
Third, in order to promote space security, the two sides could work together, and with the Europeans, in developing an international space code of conduct. An existing European draft code calls for advance information about space launches, the development of a common database of spacecraft, and biennial meetings among member states to discuss shared problems. Active US-Chinese cooperation in this process would help US leaders better understand Chinese perspectives, while creating new mechanisms for regular communication.
As the Shenzhou IX mission shows, China has a promising future in space. But it will only be able to realize this potential if its international relations in this new environment remain stable and peaceful. Creating a framework for improved US-Chinese space security relations will help create a positive political context for resuming bilateral cooperation in space science, commerce and human spaceflight.
Mars mission remains the goal
Philadelphia Inquirer (Editorial)
It’s interesting that some of the same people who have been blasting President Obama as a spendthrift who has put this country on a path to economic ruin also criticize him for being frugal when it comes to space exploration.
These critics decry Obama’s decision to retire the ancient space-shuttle fleet and instead have U.S. scientists hitch rides with the Russians to the International Space Station as being equivalent to sharing a bunk with Mephistopheles.
But they mislead when they suggest that Obama has turned his back on manned spaceflight. Rather, the president’s proposed 2013 budget would keep the nation on track to fulfill the commitment Obama made to explore deep space.
It’s true that some among America’s community of former astronauts would take a different approach, but Obama hasn’t abandoned a goal he shares with them — to take man where he has never been before, not for the adventure, but for the knowledge to be gained that can improve life on Earth.
NASA does take a hit in the Obama budget, but the drop to $17.7 billion represents only a 0.3 percent decrease. Coming out of the recession in an election year in which he is accused of not knowing the meaning of save, that’s not bad. In fact, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the budget “will support a diverse portfolio and continues the work we started last year.”
There will be winners and losers. Funds for planetary science, which includes unmanned missions to Mars and other parts of the solar system, will be cut 20 percent. But the planned August mission to drop a rover on Mars won’t be affected, nor will a late-2013 mission to study Mars’ upper atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the human exploration and commercial spaceflight programs will get a 6 percent increase. Space technology will get a 22 percent raise. And Star Trek fans should note that Obama hasn’t given up on developing a deep-space launch system to carry a manned vehicle far from Earth. His $2.9 billion allocation is only slightly less than this year’s $3 billion.
That’s the stuff dreams are made of. The deep-space program is what Obama wants to put a human being on Mars in about 25 years. Someone with that goal isn’t opposed to manned spaceflight. What he is opposed to is spending large sums for another mission to the moon, and Obama wants private industry to come up with an alternative to the space shuttles for shorter flights.
That’s going to happen — and soon. Space Exploration Technologies, also known as Space X, will soon launch the first commercial rocket to the space station. The flight was supposed to occur last week, but was scratched to do more testing. Another company, Orbital Sciences Corp., is also close to launching a space cargo vehicle.
Many Americans felt a twinge in the heart as they watched recent news footage of the space shuttles riding piggyback atop Boeing 747s on their way to their final destinations to become museum exhibits.
Discovery will be at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington; Enterprise at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York; Endeavour at the California Science Center in Los Angeles; and Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. See them if you can, the relics of space travel now relegated to history. But there is a future.
That future will include those men and women chosen from more than 6,000 applicants to join NASA’s manned-spaceflight program. They may not get to Mars, but their descendants will. And when they do, they will give credit to Obama and, before him, George W. Bush, who made the commitment to reach the Red Planet even as John F. Kennedy committed America to reach the moon.
The Legacy of the Space Shuttle
Richard Garriott - Huffington Post (Opinion)
As each remaining orbiter of the shuttle fleet takes their final flight to museums around the nation, it is a fitting time to reflect on the legacy of these iconic space vehicles.
Citizens and visitors went outside in large numbers to watch the final flybys of these majestic birds that were the cornerstone of America's human spaceflight activities for 30 years. An entire generation has grown up knowing the Space Shuttle as America's only method of human access to space. Clearly this was an important passing, the end of an era. Many now believe that the end of the Shuttle era marks the end of U.S. leadership in human spaceflight.
As we close out the Space Shuttle era, we should reflect both on the amazing accomplishments of what they have achieved as well as the harsh lessons of the two tragic accidents. Most importantly, it is a time to reflect about the future, and why America should and is leading the world in human space exploration today and in the future!
The Space Shuttle has been the most successful space launch system ever by far. In 30 years we launched the Space Shuttle 135 times. Today more than half of the just over 500 people who have ever orbited the earth, have done so aboard one of the five space shuttles. The fleet has launched satellites, interplanetary probes, orbital laboratories and space telescopes, and most all of the non-Russian parts of the International Space Station were lifted to orbit aboard shuttles.
These amazing successes have been marred by two tragic failures: the sad losses of Challenger and of Columbia and their crews. These brought the survivability expectations both actual and projected to about a one in seventy chance of death, which is far higher than we should ask of our NASA explorers, and far higher than is acceptable for future commercial and private access to space.
The shuttle for all its capabilities was a victim of the political process of its creation. It became the ship of compromises, a single ship to fit all needs. Its goals were changed a number of times in development. In the end, while it succeeded in its goal to be able to lift a large crews and massive cargo into orbit, it failed both to reach the highly anticipated and fundamentally needed safety, and to fulfill an intended cost effectiveness promise which would have been achievable by leveraging flight frequency and full reusability. For example, while every capsule style spacecraft has had launch abort systems to allow the crew to escape in case of launch failure, the Shuttle's originally planned ejection seats were cut due to weight and other considerations in the final design. And instead of being able to fly every week or two, each orbiter was largely disassembled, inspected and reassembled each flight, which made flights infrequent and costly. Even the space shuttle's basic delta wing configuration, grew out of an air force partnership demand that the vehicle could make cross range landings. This was one of many technical capabilities the shuttle satisfied, but was never used.
While we will not and should never forget these shortcomings and tragedies, we should now live in the present and look with pride at America's space future. I spent this past weekend at the World Science Festival in Washington D.C. alongside numerous NASA officials, and on a panel discussing the future of spaceflight with Elon Musk of Space X and George Whitesides of Virgin Galactic. The event was attended by many tens of thousands of students and it was clear that interest in science and space was far from dead. Lockheed Martin (builder of NASA's new Orion spacecraft) was the main sponsor and their new capsule sat center stage. NASA, Space X and the whole pantheon of new commercial contributors were well represented too. It was a festival of the future; it was great to see the enthusiasm for STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) as well as space.
Sadly, while there, I heard yet again, something I have heard from old and young across the country almost every time I give a speech. Just after I finished sharing a presentation of my own trip to the ISS with the many eager conference participants, a young girl of about age 11, came up to me and said "Wow it's so cool you got to go into space, and sad that I will never get the chance because we are no longer going to send astronauts into space." When I told her, that "In fact, we do still send astronauts into space, and new rockets are being built right now, so don't give up your dream of space flight" her face lit up, and she yelled out "Yes!" as she fist pumped into the air.
NASA had a plan, called Constellation, to take us back to the Moon and then on to Mars. However, this plan was far too expensive and would have taken far too long. Thus, no president or congress ever called for it to be funded, and it was eventually canceled. In the face of great adversity though, NASA has figured out a great solution. By relying on commercial solutions for "routine" human launch capability, just like they already do for most satellite and interplanetary probe launches, they can cut the cost of basic access to the space station and other work in low earth orbit by something on the order of 10 fold or more! This means that NASA can now focus its budget and innovation on taking humanity farther into the solar system!
Understandably, this plan is incredibly disruptive to the status quo, causing job losses in many of the NASA facilities and with traditional prime contractors, along with the divisive politics that come along with such huge changes. But it is also saving NASA huge amounts of money, while dramatically expanding its capabilities and letting it shop for varying solutions as its needs change. It will also allow other commercial companies to plan their own business in space, which was never possible when only NASA had human space vehicles that were unavailable to commercial companies or private use. This new public private partnership method is working! Costs are dropping, flight frequency will soon rise, safety will thus improve, and access to space will become democratized.
With the combination of the powerful capabilities of the International Space Station (which could only have been built by the Space Shuttle) and new low cost access to access it and beyond, we are poised to enter a new "Golden Age of Space Travel"!
The legacy of the Shuttle Program is great! What we have learned through its tenure and what we are learning today because of the assets it has put in space are testimonies to its success. As this era is now behind us, let us both take pride in what the Shuttle Program has accomplished, and acknowledge our new needs for the future, and revel in the golden age to come!
NASA is now poised to once again, go boldly where no one has gone before!
Ad Astra!
END
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