7/17/12 news

 
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
 
JSC TODAY HEADLINES
1.            Space Center Houston hosts 'Curiosity: 7 Minutes of Terror'
2.            Tune in to ISS Update This Week
3.            Watch Video Coverage of Exp. 32 Trio Launch to Station
4.            Johnson Space Center (JSC): See the Space Station
5.            White Sands Test Facility (WSTF): See the Space Station
6.            Starport 50th Classic Car Show Tomorrow
7.            Starport's Run To Excellence Half Marathon Training
8.            JSC Career Path Development Course This Friday - Register Today
9.            Orbit - An HD Odyssey, Plus Star Wars and More
10.          Extended TDY FedTraveler Live Lab Tomorrow - July 18
11.          Confined Space Entry 8:30 a.m. and Lockout/Tagout 1 p.m, Aug 21, Building 226N, Room 174
12.          INCOSE TGCC July 19 Event - Dealing with Uncertainty in Systems Engineering
13.          Break Out the Boat, Break Out the Booze?
________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY
“ Basic research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. ”
 
-- Wernher von Braun
________________________________________
1.            Space Center Houston hosts 'Curiosity: 7 Minutes of Terror'
Join a fun-filled family camp-in to celebrate the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. There will be edible Mars creations, exciting presentations by Mars experts and even a delicious Mars celebration breakfast following countdown.
Date: Sunday, Aug. 5, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
 
Save $5! Only $4.95 if purchased online at http://www.spacecenter.org/marslanding.html by Aug. 4. Tickets purchased at the gate will be $9.95.
 
Susan H. Anderson x38630 http://www.spacecenter.org/marslanding.html
 
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2.            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 Tuesday, July 16, catch an interview regarding Soyuz docking and hatch opening.
 
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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3.            Watch Video Coverage of Exp. 32 Trio Launch to Station
Did you catch the launch of Soyuz TMA-05M over the weekend?
 
Expedition 32 Flight Engineers Suni Williams, Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft at 9:40 p.m. CDT Saturday, July 14 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
 
Click the link below to see the launch coverage.
 
http://www.youtube.com/notify-NotifyUser-Graylist-v2?aHR0cDovL3d3dy55b3V0dWJl...
 
JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111
 
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4.            Johnson Space Center (JSC): See the Space Station
Viewers in the JSC area will be able to see the International Space Station this week.
 
Wednesday, July 18, 4:50 a.m. (Duration: two minutes)
Path: 55 degrees above SE to 25 degrees above ENE
Maximum elevation: 55 degrees
 
Friday, July 20, 4:42 a.m. (Duration: two minutes)
Path: 38 degrees above NNW to 16 degrees above NNE
Maximum elevation: 38 degrees
 
The International Space Station Trajectory Operations Group provides updates via JSC Today for visible station passes at least two minutes in duration and 25 degrees in elevation. Other opportunities, including those with shorter durations and lower elevations, or from other ground locations, are available at the website below.
 
Joe Pascucci x31695 http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=U...
 
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5.            White Sands Test Facility (WSTF): See the Space Station
Viewers in the WSTF area will be able to see the International Space Station this week.
 
Wednesday, July 18, 5:23 a.m. (Duration: four minutes)
Path: 15 degrees above WSW to 25 degrees above NNE
Maximum elevation: 50 degrees
 
Thursday, July 19, 4:32 a.m. (Duration: two minutes)
Path: 60 degrees above S to 32 degrees above ENE
Maximum elevation: 68 degrees
 
Saturday, July 21, 4:24 a.m. (Duration: two minutes)
Path: 39 degrees above NW to 19 degrees above NNE
Maximum elevation: 39 degrees
 
The International Space Station Trajectory Operations Group provides updates via JSC Today for visible station passes at least two minutes in duration and 25 degrees in elevation. Other opportunities, including those with shorter durations and lower elevations, or from other ground locations, are available at the website below.
 
Joe Pascucci x31695 http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=U...
 
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6.            Starport 50th Classic Car Show Tomorrow
Come check out some cool classic cars, and win some groovy door prizes! As part of the celebrations to commemorate Starport turning 50, we will be remembering the past with a classic car show, $1.62 hot dogs, era-music, and some nostalgic doors prizes! Event will take place in front of Building 1 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Events/ for more information.
 
Shelly Haralson x36198 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/
 
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7.            Starport's Run To Excellence Half Marathon Training
Are you ready to take your training up a notch? The time is NOW for you to accept the fitness challenge and train for a Half Marathon! Starport's Run to Excellence program is for anyone who wants to run, walk or run-and-walk a half marathon. The group meets at 6 a.m. on Saturday mornings for long distance sessions. Each member will get a training log and an AWESOME Run to Excellence tech shirt. Take that step towards doing something healthy, empowering and successful!
 
Registration: (NOW OPEN)
- Early: Ends July 20 | $99
- Regular: July 21 to July 27 | $120.00 - The program begins at 6: a.m. on July 28 at the Gilruth Center.
 
Sign up today!
 
Steve Schade x30304 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/RecreationClasses/RecreationProgram...
 
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8.            JSC Career Path Development Course This Friday - Register Today
The JSC Career Path Development Course is designed to instill a sense of initiative and empowerment. The course connects you to resources, highlights your role in the iterative career development process and exposes you to the various development opportunities at NASA.
 
Objectives:
- To emphasize the value of career path development
- To provide an understanding of the key players and the individual roles they play in an employee's career planning efforts
- To discuss the essentials of the career path development process
- To highlight and provide an overview of the career development tools and resources available
- To boost employee interest in career planning and enable one to make greater contributions to NASA
 
Course Details:
Date: Friday, July 20
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.-- Room 304
For: Civil Servant Employees
SATERN ID#: 63662
 
Nicole Kem x37894 https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=REGIS...
 
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9.            Orbit - An HD Odyssey, Plus Star Wars and More
The Houston Symphony would like to extend a special offer to NASA and Contractors -- 25 percent off Price Level 1-5 tickets! This is a last-chance opportunity to see "Orbit" on July 28, 7:30 p.m. Use Promo Code 10711 on the Symphony website when ordering your tickets.
 
Susan H. Anderson x38630 http://www.houstonsymphony.org
 
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10.          Extended TDY FedTraveler Live Lab Tomorrow - July 18
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, July 18, 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 into SATERN, and register. For additional information, please contact Judy Seier at x32771.
 
Gina Glenney x39851
 
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11.          Confined Space Entry 8:30 a.m. and Lockout/Tagout 1 p.m, Aug 21, Building 226N, Room 174
SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0806,Confined Space Entry - The purpose of this course is to provide employees with the standards, procedures and requirements necessary for safe entry to and operations in confined spaces. OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.146, "Confined Space," is the basis for this course. The course covers the hazards of working in or around a confined space and the precautions you should take to control these hazards. A comprehensive test will be offered at the end of the class.
 
SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0814,Lockout/Tagout - The purpose of this course is to provide employees with the standards, procedures and requirements necessary for the control of hazardous energy through lockout and tagout of energy-isolating devices. OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.147, "The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)," is the basis for this course. A comprehensive test will be offered at the end of the class.
 
Registration in SATERN is required.
 
Shirley Robinson x41284
 
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12.          INCOSE TGCC July 19 Event - Dealing with Uncertainty in Systems Engineering
Uncertainty appears in virtually every aspect of the project life cycle, in mission analysis, design and requirements derivation, the engineering specialties (reliability, maintainability, safety, logistics, etc.), trade studies and decisions, risk management, and in integration and verification, just to name a few. How Systems Engineers handle those uncertainties usually makes the difference between project failure and success!
 
Mark Powell has practiced Systems Engineering for more than 40 years in a wide range of technical environments including DoD, NASA, DOE and commercial. More than 25 of those years have been in the aerospace arena.
 
This event is free and will be held at the Jacobs Conference Center, 455 E. Medical Center Blvd, Webster, TX 77598 (at the corner of Feathercraft Lane and Medical Center Boulevard). Networking starts at 5:30 p.m., and opening comments begin at 6 p.m.
 
For information/questions, please contact Paul Nesrsta at 281- 244-7357, or email paul.e.nesrsta@nasa.gov
 
Larry Spratlin 281- 461-5218
 
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13.          Break Out the Boat, Break Out the Booze?
Why is it, with water all around, a boater's first thought may not be to drink a bottle of Ozarka Springs but, instead, a beer or alcohol? For some, boat time becomes party time, and the spirit needs spirits, or so the inclination goes. After all, it's not as if you're driving, you say.
 
But, think of this. A boat can be as lethal as a motor vehicle, and the Center for Disease Control tells us that the probability of being killed in a boating accident doubles when alcohol is involved.
 
While a boat can be a big investment, your life and those you love is a bigger one. Keep that in mind as the Stay Sharp, Stay Safe campaign concentrates this week on safe, alcohol-free boating. For more information, see the link below.
 
Stacey Menard x45660 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/safety/whatsnew/aac/
 
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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, July 17, 2012

HEADLINES AND LEADS
 
Soyuz docks with space station
 
William Harwood - CBS News
 
A Russian Soyuz ferry craft glided to a computer-orchestrated docking with the International Space Station early Tuesday, bringing a Russian cosmonaut, a NASA astronaut and a Japanese engineer to the lab complex two days after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. With veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko monitoring the autonomous approach from the center seat of the Soyuz TMA-05M command module, the spacecraft's docking system engaged its counterpart on the Earth-facing Rassvet module at 12:51 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) as the two spacecraft sailed 252 miles above northeast Kazakhstan.
 
New crew arrival kicks off busy period at ISS
 
Todd Halvorson - Florida Today
 
A new multinational crew arrived at the International Space Station early today, kicking off a busy six weeks of work at the orbiting outpost. With veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko at the controls, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked at the sprawling complex at 12:52 a.m. EDT, winding up a two-day trip from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Flying along with him: U.S. astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams and Akihiko Hoshide of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
 
Soyuz Capsule Docks at Space Station with International Space Crew
 
Mike Wall - Space.com
 
Three astronauts arrived at the International Space Station early Tuesday for a four-month stay, bringing the huge orbiting outpost back to its full complement of six spaceflyers. The Soyuz space capsule carrying the three new crewmembers — NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Japanese spaceflyer Aki Hoshide — docked with the station at 12:51 a.m. EDT Tuesday (0451 GMT) after a two-day flight. The Soyuz launched into orbit Saturday from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
 
Russian Soyuz Docks with Space Station
 
RIA Novosti
 
Russia’s Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, Mission Control said. “The docking was carried out in an automatic mode at the scheduled time according to directions from Earth,” a spokesman for the Mission Control said.
 
Russian Space Lab Launch Delayed Again
 
RIA Novosti
 
The launch of Russia's "Nauka" (Science) multirole laboratory module (MLM) for the International Space Station has been set back from the end of this year to the end of next year due to technological and organizational problems at the Khrunichev Space Center, the head of Russia's Energia space corporation Vitaly Lopota said on Tuesday. The launch of the Nauka was initially slated for the first half of 2011, but has since been repeatedly delayed. The module is being constructed by Khrunichev and RKK Energia. "The MLM should have flown (to the ISS) this year. However, technological and organizational problems at the Khrunichev Center, which we could not sort out in time due to the amount of work needed, led us to 'move the launch to the right.' Today, the recalculated schedule for the launch of the module is the fourth quarter of 2013," Lopota said.
 
NASA prepares for another Yuma drop
 
James Gilbert - Yuma Sun
 
NASA team members from the Orion Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) spent Monday morning loading a capsule-shaped parachute test vehicle (PTV) onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft at Yuma International Airport's Pappy Boyington Hangar. “What we did today is the first phase of an air drop test we are doing later on this week. It went very smoothly. It just takes that long to get it loaded,” said Carol T. Evans, CPAS test and operations manager. “Everyone has careful procedures to follow in order to make sure it is loaded straight, that it is locked down tight and everything is good for the test later on.” The C-17 is scheduled to drop the capsule-shaped vehicle Wednesday morning over Yuma Proving Ground from an altitude of 25,000 feet. The drop is designed to test the full-scale re-entry parachutes that will be used on the Orion space capsule.
 
NASA Drops In on Yuma
 
Steven Commer - KSWT TV (Yuma)
 
A test space capsule is safely aboard a military C-17 aircraft, ready to be dropped from 25,000 feet on Wednesday morning. The drop will test NASA's parachute system for the Orion space program. "Parachutes are very complex. It's not like a wind tunnel where you can put a piece of hardware into a known set of conditions and get a good data set from it. So, unfortunately, we have to do a very rigorous set and sequence of tests in order to put the parachute through the various types of conditions that it could experience on any given day," explains NASA Aerospace Engineer, Chris Johnson.
 
NASA builds menu for planned Mars mission in 2030s
 
Ramit Plushnick-Masti - Associated Press
 
Through a labyrinth of hallways deep inside a 1950s-era building that has housed research that dates back to the origins of U.S. space travel, a group of scientists in white coats is stirring, mixing, measuring, brushing and, most important, tasting the end result of their cooking. Their mission: Build a menu for a planned journey to Mars in the 2030s. The menu must sustain a group of six to eight astronauts, keep them healthy and happy and also offer a broad array of food. That's no simple feat considering it will likely take six months to get to the Red Planet, astronauts will have to stay there 18 months and then it will take another six months to return to Earth. Imagine having to shop for a family's three-year supply of groceries all at once and having enough meals planned in advance for that length of time.
 
Let's create a Department of Space
 
Madhu Thangavelu - CNN (Opinion)
 
(Thangavelu is space projects director of the Cal-Earth Institute and a fellow at NASA's Institute of Advanced Concepts.)
 
The vehicle had that new-car smell, but this was no used car lot. It was space exploration history in the making. Astronauts said they noticed the familiar scent in May when they opened the hatch of SpaceX's unmanned Dragon crew vehicle and peered inside the first private spacecraft to visit the orbiting international space station. The mission literally opened the door to a new era in space activity, announced NASA chief Charles Bolden. Can you imagine? A small business run out of an L.A. warehouse is now able to support international space station logistics, which was formerly done only by defense suppliers! Now that this new door is opening, perhaps it's time to consider a U.S. Department of Space, a department with a Cabinet-level director who can play a vital role in international space exploration.
 
Hampton Roads' ever brighter horizons
 
Lesa Roe - Hampton Roads Daily Press (Commentary)
 
(Roe is Director of NASA's Langley Research Center)
 
Almost one year ago, on July 21st, NASA's space shuttle program came to a historic close when the orbiter Atlantis rolled to a stop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. To this day I am still asked whether or not NASA is going out of business. Nothing could be further from the truth. Right here and now in Hampton Roads, the research and development being done by your friends and neighbors at NASA's Langley Research Center – NASA's first laboratory - is leading us to new heights. We are making exciting progress in human exploration, Earth and planetary science, space technology and innovation in aviation research. Our work has the potential to revolutionize aviation; to expand knowledge of climate change; and to extend human presence in space - critical elements to our continuing success as a nation and as an aerospace leader, and creating a better future for everyone.
 
Put space policy on the presidential to-do list
Part 1: US should be fully back in the business of spaceflight in the 20-teens
 
Jay Barbree - NBC News (Commentary)
 
(In a five-part series, Barbree lays out a vision of spaceflight in the 20-teens for the 2012 presidential candidates.)
 
With the lack of jobs and the shape of America’s economy today, I'm sure space exploration isn't on top of the must-do list for President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.  When asked if we should spend tax dollars to go to the moon, the great Walter Cronkite used to say, "We can’t spend a dime on the moon, son.  There’s not even a McDonald’s up there." Cronkite’s little joke was his way of pointing out that every dollar NASA spent went to creating jobs and long-lasting institutions on Earth. The reward was the learning. Today, experts say the United States is years ahead of where it would have been in science and technology had it not led in space. Looking to the future, President Barack Obama wants private aerospace companies to fly Americans on routine trips to Earth orbit. Meanwhile, NASA will focus its talents on deep-space missions, sending astronauts to where they have never been.
__________
 
COMPLETE STORIES
 
Soyuz docks with space station
 
William Harwood - CBS News
 
A Russian Soyuz ferry craft glided to a computer-orchestrated docking with the International Space Station early Tuesday, bringing a Russian cosmonaut, a NASA astronaut and a Japanese engineer to the lab complex two days after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
 
With veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko monitoring the autonomous approach from the center seat of the Soyuz TMA-05M command module, the spacecraft's docking system engaged its counterpart on the Earth-facing Rassvet module at 12:51 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) as the two spacecraft sailed 252 miles above northeast Kazakhstan.
 
"Docking confirmed," someone said on the Russian flight control loop.
 
A few moments later, the docking mechanism pulled the Soyuz snugly into place for extensive leak checks, standard procedure before hatches could be opened.
 
The linkup occurred on the 37th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program docking in 1975, the first joint U.S.-Russian space mission.
 
"Congratulations to our crew and to our Russian partners," said Mike Surber, director of NASA operations in Russia. "It's a very exciting day as it's the 37th anniversay of the handshake between our two countries during Apollo-Soyuyz. And here's (hoping) for 37 more years."
 
Malenchenko, NASA flight engineer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide were joining Expedition 32 commander Gennady Padalka, cosmonaut Sergei Revin and NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba, who were launched to the space station May 15. They've had the outpost to themselves since July 1 when three earlier crew members departed and returned to Earth.
 
Malenchenko is one of Russia's most experienced cosmonauts, going into his latest mission with 515 days in space during a flight to the Russian Mir space station, a shuttle mission and two stays aboard the International Space Station. Williams, a Navy helicopter pilot, spent 195 days in space during an earlier station expedition while Hoshide helped activate a Japanese research module during a 14-day shuttle assembly mission.
 
The expanded ISS-32 crew faces a particularly busy few weeks in space, with the launch and berthing of a Japanese cargo ship, the undocking and redocking of a Russian Progress supply craft to test a new rendezvous antenna, the arrival of yet another Progress with a fresh load of supplies and two spacewalks at the end of August, one by Padalka and Malenchenko and the other by Williams and Hoshide.
 
New crew arrival kicks off busy period at ISS
 
Todd Halvorson - Florida Today
 
A new multinational crew arrived at the International Space Station early today, kicking off a busy six weeks of work at the orbiting outpost.
 
With veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko at the controls, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked at the sprawling complex at 12:52 a.m. EDT, winding up a two-day trip from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
 
Flying along with him: U.S. astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams and Akihiko Hoshide of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
 
The link-up occurred at 12:51 a.m. EDT as the Soyuz and the station were flying 252 miles above northeast Kazakhstan.
 
“So, a smooth and uneventful docking, by the book,” NASA flight commentator Rob Navias said.
 
The arrival took place on the 37th anniversary of the historic Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking, which brought together the U.S. and the former Soviet Union in a show of orbital détente.
 
Malenchenko, Williams and Hoshide joined Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin, and U.S. astronaut Joe Acaba at the station. Acaba, an educator astronaut and now station flight engineer, taught integrated science at Melbourne High School in 1999 and 2000.
 
Coming up on the station in the next six weeks: the arrival and departure of Russian and Japanese cargo carriers as well as U.S. and Russian spacewalks at the outpost.
 
A robotic Japanese space freighter is scheduled to launch at 10:06 p.m. Friday from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The vehicle will arrive at the station on July 27.
 
Then, a first: An unmanned Russian Progress cargo carrier will launch Aug. 1 from Baikonur Cosmodrome and then arrive at the station six hours later – after just four orbits. The single-day rendezvous is a test aimed at demonstrating a capability to make a same-day arrival at the station. The trip normally takes two days.
 
Also coming up, two spacewalks within two weeks:
 
·         On Aug. 16: Padalka, the first three-time ISS commander, and Malenchencho, who is making his fifth spaceflight, will venture outside the outpost to relocate a telescoping cargo boom. The two also will install protective debris shields outside the station’s Russian command-and-control module, dubbed Zvezda, or “star.”
 
·         On Aug. 30, Williams and Acaba will perform a spacewalk to replace a U.S. electrical power switching unit on the central truss of the outpost on August 30. The two also will lay cables that will route power to a new Russian lab module to be launched to the station in late 2013.
 
“”This is another dynamic time,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations.
 
“We thought when assembly was done, and we were done building this magnificent structure, things would slow down. But, nope, the ability to just stay in space, keep this vehicle resupplied, bring up quality research, and return research, requires all these logistics.”
 
Soyuz Capsule Docks at Space Station with International Space Crew
 
Mike Wall - Space.com
 
Three astronauts arrived at the International Space Station early Tuesday for a four-month stay, bringing the huge orbiting outpost back to its full complement of six spaceflyers.
 
The Soyuz space capsule carrying the three new crewmembers — NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Japanese spaceflyer Aki Hoshide — docked with the station at 12:51 a.m. EDT Tuesday (0451 GMT) after a two-day flight. The Soyuz launched into orbit Saturday from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
 
"Everything is perfect," Malenchenko radioed Russia's Mission Control Center in Korolev, just outside Moscow. Video cameras on the exterior of the space station captured spectacular views of the Soyuz pulling up to the orbiting lab with the bright blue Earth in the background.
 
At docking time, the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft and space station were sailing 251 miles (402 kilometers) over northeastern Kazakhstan. The Soyuz parked itself at an Earth-facing docking port on the station's Russian-built Rassvet module. The hatches connecting the two spacecraft will be opened around 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT).
 
The Russian-U.S.-Japanese crew aboard the Soyuz arrived at the space station 37 years ago to the day of the world's first truly international space docking: the July 17 meet-up between a NASA Apollo spacecraft and Russian Soyuz 19 capsule during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. During that historic test flight, NASA astronaut Tom Stafford shook hands with Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov to cement the foundation of international space cooperation that ultimately led to the $100 billion International Space Station in orbit today.
 
Today, the space station is the largest human-built structure in space and clearly visible to the unaided eye from the ground to observers who know when and where to look. Fifteen different countries and five space agencies representing the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan built the huge orbiting laboratory. Construction began in 1998.
 
After the hatches are opened between the Soyuz and station, Williams, Malenchenko and Hoshide will be free to float aboard the station and join their fellow Expedition 32 crewmembers. That crew includes Expedition 32 commander Gennady Padalka, fellow cosmonaut Sergei Revin and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba. A welcome ceremony will mark the occasion.
 
Padalka, Revin and Acaba have had the space station to themselves since July 1, when three spaceflyers returned to Earth and brought the station's previous Expedition 31 to a close. Padalka, Revin and Acaba will come home themselves in mid-September.
 
When that happens, Williams will take over as commander. She, Malenchenko and Hoshide are scheduled to depart the station on Nov. 12.
 
But first, the six-crew Expedition 32 crew will have to prepare for a busy few weeks ahead. On Friday (July 20), an unmanned Japanese cargo ship will launch toward the station carrying a fresh load of supplies for the orbiting lab's crew. It will arrive at the station on July 27.
 
On Sunday, a Russian robotic cargo ship already at the station will undock as part of a test of rendezvous equipment on the station. It will redock at the station on Monday, NASA officials said.
Then, fresh on the heels of the Japanese cargo ship's arrival, another Russian supply ship will launch toward the station on Aug. 1 and dock on the same day to test a new rendezvous plan aimed at cutting down the two-day flight time Russian craft currently endure to reach the station.
 
Two spacewalks are also planned during the Expedition 32 mission. The crew may also be aboard to witness a historic event this autumn: the first official cargo delivery to the station by a private spaceship.
 
In May, the private spaceflight company SpaceX's unmanned Dragon space capsule successfully docked during a test flight, becoming the first commercial spacecraft ever to do so. That flight, however, was a demonstration mission. The first bona fide cargo mission could blast off this fall, space station officials have said.
 
Russian Soyuz Docks with Space Station
 
RIA Novosti
 
Russia’s Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, Mission Control said.
 
“The docking was carried out in an automatic mode at the scheduled time according to directions from Earth,” a spokesman for the Mission Control said.
 
Members of the new crew, including Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japan’s Space Agency (JASA) astronaut Akihito Hoshide, have already opened the passageways between the spacecraft and the ISS.
 
“The passageways between the freighter and the station have been opened. The ISS newcomers have been warmly greeted by the current residents, Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba,” the spokesman said, referring to the ISS’s current crew members who will cooperate with the new team on conducting scientific experiments.
 
The new crew members are expected to conduct over 30 scientific missions during their stay on board the ISS.
 
Speaking about their scientific work onboard the station, the astronauts have earlier said that they were interested in biomedical experiments.
 
For Malenchenko, this is his fifth long-duration spaceflight. Williams and Hoshide visited the ISS once each, traveling on board a U.S. space shuttle. It is their first flight experience with the Soyuz spacecraft.
 
Russian Soyuz-family spacecraft remain the only means of transportation for crew members to and from the orbital station until at least 2015.
 
Russian Space Lab Launch Delayed Again
 
RIA Novosti
 
The launch of Russia's "Nauka" (Science) multirole laboratory module (MLM) for the International Space Station has been set back from the end of this year to the end of next year due to technological and organizational problems at the Khrunichev Space Center, the head of Russia's Energia space corporation Vitaly Lopota said on Tuesday.
 
The launch of the Nauka was initially slated for the first half of 2011, but has since been repeatedly delayed. The module is being constructed by Khrunichev and RKK Energia.
 
"The MLM should have flown (to the ISS) this year. However, technological and organizational problems at the Khrunichev Center, which we could not sort out in time due to the amount of work needed, led us to 'move the launch to the right.' Today, the recalculated schedule for the launch of the module is the fourth quarter of 2013," Lopota said.
 
Khrunichev is working on the flight-standard module, and is building the main hull and fitting it out with its equipment, he said.
 
The flight-ready module is due to be delivered soon to RKK Energia. "We are doing everything possible with Khrunichev to offset these delays," Lopota added.
 
The Nauka MLM is one of the Russian modules of the International Space Station (ISS), and is based on the functional cargo block 2 (FGB-2), a back-up for the Zarya module, ordered by Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. The module will be fitted with a European robot manipulator arm, specially made for working with the Russian section of the ISS.
 
Work on the MLM began in 1995, together with work on Zarya, the first ISS module. In order to simplify the configuration of the Russian segment of the ISS, the Nauka module was based on the FGB-2, which was intended to develop the Russian section of the ISS. MLM will carry out commercial projects with the aim of attracting private finance, including investment for developing products.
 
MLM will also carry out a range of other functions including life-support, steering the ISS with an attached motor, docking with cargo vessels and fuel transit from Progress cargo ships to the Zvezda module.
 
Using special cameras on the sides of the MLM and ERA, it will be possible to move equipment and stores from the air-tight sections of the station to its outer surface without the necessity of making exits into open space. MLM will have space for three astronauts to work in.
 
MLM will be attached to a part of the Zvezda module, replacing the existing Pirs module, which will be discarded.
 
NASA prepares for another Yuma drop
 
James Gilbert - Yuma Sun
 
NASA team members from the Orion Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) spent Monday morning loading a capsule-shaped parachute test vehicle (PTV) onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft at Yuma International Airport's Pappy Boyington Hangar.
 
“What we did today is the first phase of an air drop test we are doing later on this week. It went very smoothly. It just takes that long to get it loaded,” said Carol T. Evans, CPAS test and operations manager. “Everyone has careful procedures to follow in order to make sure it is loaded straight, that it is locked down tight and everything is good for the test later on.”
 
The C-17 is scheduled to drop the capsule-shaped vehicle Wednesday morning over Yuma Proving Ground from an altitude of 25,000 feet. The drop is designed to test the full-scale re-entry parachutes that will be used on the Orion space capsule.
 
The morning began outside the hangar with a crane hoisting the capsule onto the back of a k-loader, a military vehicle used for loading large transport aircraft. The k-loader was then driven to the C-17, where it was backed up to the open cargo bay.
 
Once at the cargo doors, CPAS team members carefully rolled the capsule, which is meant to simulate the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CVE), into the plane, locked it into place and continued their preparations for Wednesday's drop.
 
Evans explained the Orion CVE is equipped with a series of parachutes that work in tandem to slow the capsule's decent, allowing it to land softly in the ocean, where it will then be recovered. Wednesday's tests, she said, are designed to determine what would happen if one of its three main chutes opened before the other two.
 
Evans said the first chutes to open will be the drogue chutes, which are designed to slow the capsule's decent. The next chutes to open will be the pilot chutes, which then deploy the main landing parachutes.
 
“For the main landing parachutes, we pre-staged a failure mode where one parachute will open up faster than the other two. We want to see what that failure mode looks like.”
 
She said that a serious failure of the parachute system on Orion would result in the final leg of a mission ending in disaster.
 
NASA considers Orion the “flagship” of the nation's next-generation space fleet pushing the envelope of human spaceflight far beyond low Earth orbit.
 
NASA has been conducting parachute test drops at YPG since 2007.
 
NASA Drops In on Yuma
 
Steven Commer - KSWT TV (Yuma)
 
A test space capsule is safely aboard a military C-17 aircraft, ready to be dropped from 25,000 feet on Wednesday morning. The drop will test NASA's parachute system for the Orion space program.
 
"Parachutes are very complex. It's not like a wind tunnel where you can put a piece of hardware into a known set of conditions and get a good data set from it. So, unfortunately, we have to do a very rigorous set and sequence of tests in order to put the parachute through the various types of conditions that it could experience on any given day," explains NASA Aerospace Engineer, Chris Johnson.
 
According to Johnson, Orion is the next vehicle NASA is building to explore deep space, capable of supporting multi-day missions to asteroids, the moon and Mars.
 
People from NASA, the military and the Airport Authority gathered to watch the loading process.    After some careful maneuvering, the test capsule was safely aboard, ready for Wednesday morning's test drop.
 
Johnson says Yuma provides an efficient combination of resources for NASA. Those resources include the Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma International Airport and an abundance of wide open space.
 
Wednesday's test will be the fifth in a series of 18 ... Designed by NASA to determine the reliability of this parachute system. The first unmanned Orion mission is scheduled to lift-off in about two years.
 
NASA builds menu for planned Mars mission in 2030s
 
Ramit Plushnick-Masti - Associated Press
 
Through a labyrinth of hallways deep inside a 1950s-era building that has housed research that dates back to the origins of U.S. space travel, a group of scientists in white coats is stirring, mixing, measuring, brushing and, most important, tasting the end result of their cooking.
 
Their mission: Build a menu for a planned journey to Mars in the 2030s.
 
The menu must sustain a group of six to eight astronauts, keep them healthy and happy and also offer a broad array of food. That's no simple feat considering it will likely take six months to get to the Red Planet, astronauts will have to stay there 18 months and then it will take another six months to return to Earth. Imagine having to shop for a family's three-year supply of groceries all at once and having enough meals planned in advance for that length of time.
 
"Mars is different just because it's so far away," said Maya Cooper, senior research scientist with Lockheed Martin who is leading the efforts to build the menu. "We don't have the option to send a vehicle every six months and send more food as we do for International Space Station."
 
Astronauts who travel to the space station have a wide variety of food available to them, some 100 or so different options, in fact. But it is all pre-prepared and freeze-dried with a shelf life of at least two years. And while astronauts make up a panel that tastes the food and gives it a final OK on Earth before it blasts off, the lack of gravity means smell - and taste - is impaired. So the food is bland.
 
On Mars though, there is a little gravity, allowing NASA to consider significant changes to the current space menu. That's where Cooper's team comes in. Travel to Mars opens the possibility that astronauts can do things like chop vegetables and do a little cooking of their own. Even though pressure levels are different than on Earth, scientists think it will be possible to boil water with a pressure cooker too.
 
One option Cooper and her staff are considering is having the astronauts care for a "Martian greenhouse." They would have a variety of fruits and vegetables - from carrots to bell peppers - in a hydroponic solution, meaning they would be planted in mineral-laced water instead of soil. The astronauts would care for their garden and then use those ingredients, combined with others, such as nuts and spices brought from Earth, to prepare their meals.
 
"That menu is favorable because it allows the astronauts to actually have live plants that are growing, you have optimum nutrient delivery with fresh fruits and vegetables, and it actually allows them to have freedom of choice when they're actually cooking the menus because the food isn't already pre-prepared into a particular recipe," Cooper said.
 
The top priority is to ensure that the astronauts get the proper amount of nutrients, calories and minerals to maintain their physical health and performance for the life of the mission, Cooper said.
 
The menu must also ensure the psychological health of the astronauts, Cooper explained, noting studies have shown that eating certain foods - such as meatloaf and mashed potatoes or turkey on Thanksgiving - improve people's mood and give them satisfaction. That "link to home" will be key to astronauts on the Mars mission, and there are currently two academic studies looking further into the connection between mood and food. Lacking certain vitamins or minerals can also harm the brain, she said.
 
Already, Cooper's team of three has come up with about 100 recipes, all vegetarian because the astronauts will not have dairy or meat products available. It isn't possible to preserve those products long enough to take to Mars - and bringing a cow on the mission is not an option, Cooper jokes.
 
To ensure the vegetarian diet packs the right amount of protein, the researchers are designing a variety of dishes that include tofu and nuts, including a Thai pizza that has no cheese but is covered with carrots, red peppers, mushrooms, scallions, peanuts and a homemade sauce that has a spicy kick.
 
To keep this menu going, and get the most out of any research about food sustainability on Mars, Cooper says it's possible NASA will choose to have one astronaut solely dedicated to preparing the food - the Emeril of the Mars mission.
 
Still, since it remains unclear how much time mission planners will want to spend on food preparation, Cooper is also building an alternate pre-packaged menu, similar to how things are done for crews that do six-month stints on the International Space Station. For this option, though, the food will need to have a five-year shelf life compared with the two years available now. NASA, the Department of Defense and a variety of other agencies are researching ways to make that possible, Cooper said.
 
The ideal, though, would be to combine the two options.
 
"So they would have some fresh crop and some food that we would send from Earth," Cooper said.
 
One of the biggest obstacles, at the moment, may be the budgetary constraints. President Barack Obama's budget proposal in February canceled a joint US-European robotic mission to Mars in 2016, and the rest of NASA's budget has also been chopped.
 
At the moment, Michele Perchonok, advanced food technology project scientist at NASA, said about $1 million on average is spent annually on researching and building the Mars menu. NASA's overall budget in 2012 is more than $17 billion. She is hopeful that as the mission gets closer - about 10 to 15 years before launch - that the budget will grow, allowing for more in-depth, conclusive research.
 
The mission is important: It will give scientists the chance for unique research on everything from looking for other life forms and for the origin of life on Earth to the effects of partial gravity on bone loss. It also will let food scientists examine the question of sustainability. "How do we sustain the crew, 100 percent recycling of everything for that two and a half years?" Perchonok said.
 
But first things first: None of this will happen without food.
 
Let's create a Department of Space
 
Madhu Thangavelu - CNN (Opinion)
 
(Thangavelu is space projects director of the Cal-Earth Institute and a fellow at NASA's Institute of Advanced Concepts. He is an advisory board member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics with a focus on the design of complex space projects, including space stations and exploratory missions. He also teaches at the University of Southern California.)
 
The vehicle had that new-car smell, but this was no used car lot.
 
It was space exploration history in the making.
 
Astronauts said they noticed the familiar scent in May when they opened the hatch of SpaceX's unmanned Dragon crew vehicle and peered inside the first private spacecraft to visit the orbiting international space station.
 
I had to laugh. I don’t recall any such comments in the past, when the ISS hooked up with space vehicles that were built by multinational and defense corporations.
 
The mission literally opened the door to a new era in space activity, announced NASA chief Charles Bolden.
 
Can you imagine? A small business run out of an L.A. warehouse is now able to support international space station logistics, which was formerly done only by defense suppliers!
 
Now that this new door is opening, perhaps it's time to consider a U.S. Department of Space, a department with a Cabinet-level director who can play a vital role in international space exploration.
 
Why?
 
·         It's the right economic climate, merging national pride, prestige and the motives of the profit-minded entrepreneur.
·         It will prevent logistical headaches by coordinating global space projects and private space companies and helping NASA focus on the agency’s core competencies.
·         It will save money by increasing efficiencies within the private and public space bureaucracies.
·         It's attractive to the new guard. The new generation will accept this new structure because it's not married to the past.
 
Government space programs have always been about national pride and international prestige, much like those evolving in China and Russia today, not to mention providing government jobs. It was never an economic matter as much as it was a policy-related one.
 
Private space activity, on the other hand, is all about the profit-minded entrepreneur. Perhaps we should merge these philosophies and create an agency with oversight of both public and private space activities. This would help NASA remove layers of bureaucratic burden and bring laser focus to NASA's trailblazing projects.
 
Besides helping build infrastructure of friendly nations, a U.S. Department of Space would:
 
·         align projects and goals of various spacefaring nations.
·         assist in global space projects like planetary defense.
·         create and run international manned missions.
·         mitigate orbiting space junk and other debris.
 
A Department of Space would also help coordinate the activities of fledgling private space companies. These kinds of firms have a history of being squashed by NASA as it tries to protect the agency’s own charter and monopoly.
 
Already, even before the impending advent of routine suborbital space tourism flights by Virgin Galactic, the FAA is involved, studying the potential impact of transatmospheric vehicles on airline traffic.
 
A new space agency could help companies cut through government bureaucracies such as the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, all of which will have expanding roles in commercial space.
 
For example, the satellite industry accuses the State Department of making it harder to compete for customers, because private industry must get the agency's approval when sensitive or restricted technology is used aboard satellites. When satellite companies are denied use of this technology, it makes it harder for them to compete for global customers.
 
A Department of Space could balance the State Department's national security concerns with private industry's need to compete.
 
NASA's role
 
NASA may not be able to handle all these auxiliary functions that will be thrust upon it without radical changes to the agency’s charter.
 
Perhaps it's better for the agency to stay close to its original charter and provide leadership in its area of core competency: space science, high-risk technology development and endurance-class manned missions to deep space.
 
A Department of Space must not be misconstrued as a threat to NASA. Nor should it be portrayed as a stealthy Pentagon effort to increase its global influence.
 
But NASA finds itself in a position of being asked to do too much with too little for too long. And in keeping with erratic budget trims and fixes, the agency’s vision has been badly warped over time.
 
The NASA vision of today is nebulous and seems to pay lip service, trying to do all things for all people.
 
Financial and human support
 
A University of Southern California team project from last fall presented a case that a Department of Space should operate at a budget level of $60 billion - of which NASA should have $20 billion to build, test and fly daring, leading-edge space science, technology and human missions into deep space. By comparison, NASA's funding outlined in the 2012 federal budget was $18.7 billion (PDF).
 
It is possible for small companies like Aerovironment or SpaceX to innovate and field systems at a fraction of the cost and overhead of larger corporations.
 
Some of the astronaut heroes of another generation seem to favor to continue to support a large governmental role for space development, and it appears hard for them to accept the dramatic changes happening today.
 
Contrast that with the smart, can-do graduate students I work with at USC. They were born into a closely knit world vastly richer in stimuli and experiences. This communications-savvy “texting” generation’s view of the globe is smaller and vibrant with possibilities. They have a smoother, firmer handle on complexity. They have an unparalleled ability to process information. And so I tend to sympathize with their fresh, new views.
 
Human space activity exemplifies cosmopolitanism, the philosophy that all people everywhere share the same values while respecting cultural differences and accepting of plurality.
 
We might do well to pay attention to the fact that eight minutes into flight, space travel puts people in a global regime that upsets 20th-century political dogma and Machiavellian statecraft and pushes us to think as a truly globally connected species.
 
A U.S. Department of Space would be a shot heard around the world.
 
It would signal our allies that civilian space activity has entered mainstream America.
 
It would show that the administration intends to fully nurture and vigorously support leading edge technology and engineering.
 
It would summon the crème de la crème among our innovators across the board of disciplines and professions that are the core of human space activity,  and thereby help align the ambitions of other nations too, creating new industry and promising rewarding opportunities for the new generation.
 
Space technologies and missions are evolving at a rapid pace around the world.
 
And true space commerce has sprouted in small businesses all over America.
 
Our window of opportunity to seize the moment may not last long.
 
We must energize this fully homegrown 21st-century phenomenon with all we got. Carpe diem!
 
Hampton Roads' ever brighter horizons
 
Lesa Roe - Hampton Roads Daily Press (Commentary)
 
(Roe is Director of NASA's Langley Research Center)
 
Almost one year ago, on July 21st, NASA's space shuttle program came to a historic close when the orbiter Atlantis rolled to a stop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. To this day I am still asked whether or not NASA is going out of business. Nothing could be further from the truth.
 
Right here and now in Hampton Roads, the research and development being done by your friends and neighbors at NASA's Langley Research Center – NASA's first laboratory - is leading us to new heights. We are making exciting progress in human exploration, Earth and planetary science, space technology and innovation in aviation research. Our work has the potential to revolutionize aviation; to expand knowledge of climate change; and to extend human presence in space - critical elements to our continuing success as a nation and as an aerospace leader, and creating a better future for everyone.
 
In May, the first commercial spacecraft docked with the International Space Station. The flight of Space X's Dragon capsule demonstrated that industry can successfully carry and return cargo to and from the ISS, opening the door for commercial companies to support low Earth orbit operations while NASA focuses its efforts on the more challenging missions of deep space.
 
This summer, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore, we'll launch a rocket carrying a new spacecraft technology called the Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment. The inflatable spacecraft's heat shield, designed to allow for larger payloads that deliver more science instruments and tools for exploration, is one of the many ongoing research efforts here that will advance space travel and change the way we explore other worlds.
 
Next month, on August 6th, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will land the largest payload of scientific gear ever landed on Mars, the Mini Cooper-sized Curiosity rover, in Mars' Gale Crater. Embedded in the MSL's heat shield is a set of sensors called MEDLI – a project led by NASA Langley - to record the heat and atmospheric pressure experienced during entry into the Martian atmosphere. This is the first time NASA has ever had sensors to collect data of atmospheric entry at another planet, providing critical knowledge that will help NASA scientists, researchers and other aerospace partners develop future missions.
 
To help make deep space travel a reality, engineers at NASA Langley's hydro-impact basin and wind tunnels are testing designs for NASA's heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, and space capsule, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, that will carry our future astronauts beyond Low Earth Orbit.
 
In the field of Earth Science, our ongoing research, flight campaigns and satellite missions are collecting critical data about global climate change and the environment, data that will help make the world a better place for our children to live.
 
Our investments in aeronautics research and development are driving technology breakthroughs, accelerating the nation's transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System and making aviation safer, more fuel efficient, quieter and more environmentally friendly.
 
Everyone knows these are tough economic times. Our operating budget is smaller than year's past and there has been a slight reduction to our workforce. However, NASA Langley is committed to meeting the challenges of today and preparing for the work of the future.
 
We invite you to see for yourself at our 95th anniversary open house on Sept. 22. We recently broke ground on the second of six new energy efficient buildings that will add more than 600,000 square feet of research capability, while demolishing 24 older, expensive-to-maintain buildings, some almost 80 years old. This is projected to save more than $105 million in maintenance and utility costs and allow us to focus those dollars on our people and research.
 
These ongoing efforts will make NASA's oldest Center it's newest, and will help provide stability for the region, seed innovation, support economic vitality and create new jobs for a skilled workforce. In 2011 alone, NASA Langley brought tangible benefits to the Hampton Roads region by supporting more than 8,800 jobs that resulted in a $937 million impact, and we hope to see that grow into the future.
 
Our Shuttle program was a historic achievement, one that gave us great national pride and will be missed by many, but I want to reassure you that an even brighter future is on the horizon.
 
NASA is reaching for new heights - and we're doing it right here, right now – in Hampton Roads.
 
Put space policy on the presidential to-do list
Part 1: US should be fully back in the business of spaceflight in the 20-teens
 
Jay Barbree - NBC News (Commentary)
 
(In a five-part series, Barbree lays out a vision of spaceflight in the 20-teens for the 2012 presidential candidates.)
 
With the lack of jobs and the shape of America’s economy today, I'm sure space exploration isn't on top of the must-do list for President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.
 
When asked if we should spend tax dollars to go to the moon, the great Walter Cronkite used to say, "We can’t spend a dime on the moon, son.  There’s not even a McDonald’s up there."
 
Cronkite’s little joke was his way of pointing out that every dollar NASA spent went to creating jobs and long-lasting institutions on Earth. The reward was the learning. Today, experts say the United States is years ahead of where it would have been in science and technology had it not led in space.
 
Looking to the future, President Barack Obama wants private aerospace companies to fly Americans on routine trips to Earth orbit. Meanwhile, NASA will focus its talents on deep-space missions, sending astronauts to where they have never been.
 
Most space veterans agree with those goals, Mr. President, but with a cautionary note: Don't prop up the newcomers while giving short shrift to America's most experienced aerospace companies. This happened before, when the White House took the contract from the experienced and gave it to the inexperienced. In 1967, the Apollo 1 astronauts paid with their lives in a launch-pad fire.
 
Forty-five years later, one of the relative newcomers to the space business, SpaceX, is receiving roughly three-quarters of a billion dollars from NASA — while one of the shuttle program's longtime contractors, ATK, is still trying to get in on the funding for space station resupply.
 
Forget the suits
 
Governor Romney, you say, "America must once again lead the world in space.  We need to bring together government, research institutions, and the private sector to establish a clear mission for our national space program."
 
Governor, the truth is that NASA needs to use the spaceflight hardware and facilities it already owns, and spend only what taxpayers can afford.  If it did, America could once again lead the world in space. Take it from a reporter who has covered NASA for every day of its five decades in existence: America’s space program does not need another busload of suits with untanned faces stabbing holes in the air, debating over things about which they know little.
 
For example, NASA has been lectured tirelessly on the reasons why astronauts need not return to the lunar surface. "We've been there before," the current president once said.
 
"I find that mystifying," says Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon."It would be as if 16th-century monarchs proclaimed that 'we need not to go to the New World, we have already been there.' Or as if President Thomas Jefferson announced in 1808 that Americans 'need not go west of the Mississippi, the Lewis and Clark expedition has already been there.'"
 
The important thing is to get America back to blazing a trail on the space frontier, just as Lewis and Clark blazed a trail through the American West more than two centuries ago.
 
Get America back in space
 
Right now, that's impossible: Russia and China are the only nations on Earth flying humans into outer space. Since the grounding of the space shuttles, the United States, the former world leader in space, hasn’t had a single rocket or spaceship it can call its own.  Instead, NASA pays Russia a tad under $60 million per seat to fly its astronauts.
 
American companies say they can do it for less, using spacecraft such as ATK’s Liberty launch system, United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket, Boeing's CST-100 capsule, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser space plane, Blue Origin's Orbital Space Vehicle, or SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule. Before the next four-year term is over, some of these vehicles could be flying our own astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
 
As space legend John Glenn, the first American Earth orbit, says, "It galls me Americans today can only reach space aboard a Russian ship.  If Soyuz had a hiccup, our manned space program would be ended for years."
 
For years, America's space agency has been living on a tight budget. The United States spends less than a half a percent of the federal budget on NASA. Meanwhile, the list of benefits from space exploration is staggering.
 
America’s space program has developed technologies that are being used in devices to detect blocked coronary arteries to prevent heart attacks, as well as in digital systems for medical imaging, laser angioplasty, programmable pacemakers, implantable heart aids, automatic insulin pumps, voice-controlled wheelchairs and invisible braces. In transportation, spaceflight has brought us better brakes, safer bridges and electric cars. In public safety, the benefits from NASA include radiation hazard detectors, emergency response robots, pen-sized personal alarm systems, life-saving air tanks for firemen and emergency rescuers. Let's not forget the hundreds of computer technology benefits found in smartphones and other devices. The spin-offs extend to recreational gear, food packaging, environmental and resource management, industrial productivity and manufacturing technology. Frankly, it's a never-ending list.
 
Look beyond dollars and cents
 
If NASA would use what works and what it has already paid for, the space agency could be even more frugal. But living our life is not all about money, jobs and benefits. It’s about each human filling his or her destiny, placing another chip on history's accumulated heap of knowledge.
 
We inhabit a stirring, surging, moving, living planet.  It is our spaceship Earth, where we see the beginning of life, its present and its end. Our spaceship’s bounty, however, is finite. Its supply of energy, foodstuffs, clean atmosphere and pristine waters will one day be depleted.
 
Astronomers are now identifying new planets on an almost weekly basis. Some are within reach of future rockets, though it may take generations to get there. Millions or billions of years from now, these new Earths might be needed when our planet’s wells run dry, its fields turn to dust, and our agitated sun turns it to a cinder.
 
President Obama, Governor Romney: One of you will be entrusted with the power of the White House for the next four years. May I suggest that you heed the words written more than a century ago by a Russian teacher of science, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.   He was the first known human to envision and draw up concepts for the use of rockets in space travel.  In a simple but wonderfully elegant turn of words, Tsiolkovsky surveyed the future and saw what the human race must do, and where it must go.
 
"Earth is the cradle," he wrote, "but one cannot live in the cradle forever."
 
Thankfully, there are those today who still hear the words of Tsiolkovsky.
 
"The American people need a philosophy and goals," says Gene McCall, retired chief scientist for the Air Force’s Space Command, and a fellow and senior scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
 
"Exploration of space is an exciting adventure in which all Americans can participate," he adds.  "It stimulates our imagination and establishes new expectations for our civilization, in addition to developing new technologies that can improve our lives on Earth.
 
"We explore space," McCall says, "because we know it is the right thing to do."
 
Next: Lessons from history
 
END
 
 


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