9/19/12 news

    Wednesday, September 19, 2012   JSC TODAY HEADLINES 1.            Feds Feed Families Final Tally -- 72,670 Pounds 2.            JSC Contractor Safety Forum -- Sept. 20 3.            ARMD FY13 Seedling Fund Proposals Due Oct. 3 4.            ASIA ERG Presents: Opportunities for Pathways Interns 5.            Need a Spring Intern? 6.            Co-op Housing Committee Seeks New Rental Property Submissions 7.            Texas High School Aerospace Scholars Application Available Online 8.            JSC Expected Behaviors 9.            Disrupting the Status Quo: Tools to Reach the Next Frontier 10.          Are You Prepared for Safety and Health Day? 11.          Water-BOTs Teacher Workshop 12.          Space Settlement Design Competition for High School Students 13.          Guided Relaxation Session 14.          Last Parent's Night Out Sept. 28 -- Register Now 15.          Free Professional Development Today: How to Manage Your Manager 16.          ISS Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) User Forum 17.          The Do's and Don'ts of Relating With People 18.          Introduction to Aerospace Vehicle System (AVSI) Projects on Sept. 20 19.          Latest International Space Station Research 20.          Read Fall 'STIC E-Notes' Newsletter for the JSC Library 21.          Volunteers Wanted: Upcoming Electronics Recycling Event ________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY “ You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give. ”   -- Eleanor Roosevelt ________________________________________ 1.            Feds Feed Families Final Tally -- 72,670 Pounds We blew past our 50,000-pound goal to collect 72,670 pounds for our 2012 food drive! White Sands takes the honors for collecting 20,552 pounds (equivalent to 437 pounds per civil servant employee).   Congratulations also to the Engineering Directorate for collecting 18,626 pounds. Thanks to the Chief Financial Officer's Office for their sustained support with 13,881 pounds (70.5 pounds/civil servant employee). We greatly appreciate the support from the smaller organizations, including both of Dorothy Rasco's groups: AM with 124 pounds/civil servant employee and HA with 73 pounds/civil servant employee.   The AH/EA/OA/JA/BA/AM/AH alliance was successful in surpassing the LA/NA/KA/AO alliance, nearly doubling the total donation amount. Overall it was an incredible success with a huge win for our employees, as well as the local food banks and patrons. Thanks to all of you for your generosity!   K. Schmalz x47931 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Events/   [top] 2.            JSC Contractor Safety Forum -- Sept. 20 The next JSC Contractor Safety Forum will be held tomorrow, Sept. 20, in the Gilruth Alamo Ballroom starting at 9 a.m. The guest speaker for this event will be Supervisory Special Agent Brian Rasmussen from the FBI Headquarters, where he serves as the supervisor in the Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit. The topic of the presentation will be on domestic terrorism and the effects on the homeland. Come and hear about the activities planned for the JSC Safety and Health Day event coming up in October.   If you have any questions, please contact Pat Farrell at 281-335-2012 or: patricia.a.farrell@nasa.gov   Patricia Farrell 281-335-2012   [top] 3.            ARMD FY13 Seedling Fund Proposals Due Oct. 3 If you have an innovative technical solution to an aeronautics challenge and you are interesting in applying for Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) seedling funding, the NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) will be holding an informational "virtual briefing" at 1 p.m. CDT (11 a.m. PDT) Friday, Sept. 21. Seedling fund objectives and the proposal evaluation process will be outlined, followed by a question-and-answer period. To access the briefing from your desktop via Internet/dial-in, or for the locations of meeting rooms at participating NASA centers, see: https://armd-seedling.arc.nasa.gov/virtual-meetings   The ARMD seeding fund offers one-year grants of up to $150,000 to advance new processes, novel concepts or innovative technologies not currently supported by ARMD program and project funds. Only civil servants at one of NASA's nine government-operated field centers are eligible to apply. Additional proposal submission guidelines and selection process details are also available at: https://armd-seedling.arc.nasa.gov/   Seedling fund proposal notices of intent submitted to the website between Sept. 19 and Oct. 3 will be considered for funding.   Please contact Ronnie Clayton with questions.   Ronnie Clayton x37117 https://armd-seedling.arc.nasa.gov/   [top] 4.            ASIA ERG Presents: Opportunities for Pathways Interns Did you know that the federal government has rebranded the co-ops and educational interns programs to fit under one umbrella called the Pathways Interns Program? The ASIA Employee Resource Group (ERG), in conjunction with Human Resources, is offering a lunch-and-learn session for those who may know college-aged students looking for an opportunity to work at NASA.   Come and join us on Thursday, Sept. 27, in Building 1, Room 720, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for this event.   Also, note the fast-approaching deadline to apply to the spring 2013 Pathways Interns Program is Oct. 11.   Please contact Krystine Bui (x34186) for more information.   Krystine Bui x34186   [top] 5.            Need a Spring Intern? The Office of Education is now accepting intern project requests for spring 2013.   Session: Spring 2013 (college students) Session Dates: Jan. 14, 201, to April 26, 2013 Submission Deadline: Oct. 5   All projects should be entered in NASA's new Student On-Line Application for Recruiting Interns, Fellows and Scholars System (SOLAR). As a mentor, you are now able to submit a description of your internship opportunity for spring 2013. All projects should be entered by the submission deadline: Oct. 5.   To upload your project and make student selections, click on the following link: https://intern.nasa.gov 1. Complete a mentor profile. - Provide or update contact information, primary area of expertise and job title 2. Submit your opportunities. - Create a new internship or fellowship opportunity, or modify an existing opportunity. - Submit the opportunity for approval by your organization.   For system questions, contact: Diego Rodriguez at 281-792-7827 or diego.rodriguez@nasa.gov   Thank you for your support and dedication to the Office of Education at Johnson Space Center.   Diego Rodriguez 281-792-7827   [top] 6.            Co-op Housing Committee Seeks New Rental Property Submissions Do you have a rental property or an extra room in your house that you would be willing to rent to a co-op or intern? Need a roommate? Need a house sitter for an extended period of time? Co-ops and interns at JSC rely on the housing committee to provide quality, affordable housing during their work tours at JSC. If you would like to submit your property for the housing board, please email jsccoophousing@gmail.com with the location, rent and your phone number. Please note that property eligibility will be determined by the housing committee.   Portia Keyes x36630 http://www.jsccoophousing.com/   [top] 7.            Texas High School Aerospace Scholars Application Available Online High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) encourages high school juniors to explore exciting career possibilities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This is accomplished by using the centralized theme of space exploration to engage students in activities and offering hands-on engineering experiences at JSC.   Nominated by state legislators, students complete competitive Web-based lessons focusing on present and past space missions, International Space Station, the moon, Mars and beyond. Top-ranked students visit JSC for a six-day onsite summer experience to work on a team-oriented Mars exploration project with a Texas teacher, NASA engineer/scientist and a NASA co-op/intern. Students may receive a science elective credit, approved by TEA, toward graduation upon successful completion of the program based upon their district.   Have your high school junior apply today!   Susie Raff x41496 http://www.has.aerospacescholars.org/apply   [top] 8.            JSC Expected Behaviors The NASA values consist of Safety, Teamwork and Integrity in support of mission success. We commit without compromise to embodying our core values in all that we do. To realize these values, we have defined a set of supporting behaviors for the contractors and civil servants that comprise the JSC community. Everyone in the JSC community is expected to demonstrate these behaviors every day. Below is the second of four expected behaviors.   -- Trustworthy - act with integrity and honor.   Our success is built on an environment of trust and ethical behavior. We exhibit sincerity and truthfulness in all actions.   Ask yourself: Do I keep the people I work with apprised of my progress? Am I honest in my assessments? Do I communicate fully and openly? Am I true to my word and do I honor my promises? Do I present a calm presence even if the news is bad?   Effective communication is a crucial ingredient to practicing these behaviors daily. Communication is a two-way process that requires us to listen and understand at least as much as we speak. We openly share information and knowledge, focusing on quality, not quantity.   Brought to you by the JSC Joint Leadership Team: http://jlt.jsc.nasa.gov/   Erin Misegades x40003   [top] 9.            Disrupting the Status Quo: Tools to Reach the Next Frontier The SA Human Systems Academy is pleased to offer "Disrupting the Status Quo: Tools and Methodologies to Reach the Next Frontier." This is the second course in the series, "Collaborative and Open Innovation: Techniques to Increase Your Productivity."   In the first course, participants focused on the philosophy that spurs innovation and self-assessment activities to determine where they stood in the continuum and help identify areas of improvement. In this second course, participants will take a deeper dive into specific methodologies and tools that support and foster innovative activities within the organization. Special attention will be devoted to analyzing case-study examples to further the knowledge and understanding of the value and impact of evolving business models and strategies at NASA. This course will be held Friday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m. in Building 1, Conference Room 720.   For registration, please go to: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...   Cynthia Rando 281-461-2620 http://sa.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 10.          Are You Prepared for Safety and Health Day? That special day is just around the corner -- Oct. 11, to be exact, and it's time to get your organization's safety house in order. Some things to do:   -- Update your job hazard analysis -- Check your work environment for any unrecognized safety hazards -- Review Close Call reports and the process for submitting them -- And, just for the fun of it, why not start off with a heart-healthy breakfast and organize a safety game or quiz?   Take time to listen to the special Marine veteran speaker, Eric Alva, in the Teague Auditorium at 9 a.m., and be sure to visit the booths and demos between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. around the Building 2 pond area. Finally, don't forget the health run/walk at Gilruth Center at 4 p.m.   Fill your day with things that count -- toward safety and better health. Plan now!   Angel Plaza, Co-Chair, Safety and Health Day Committee x37305   [top] 11.          Water-BOTs Teacher Workshop The Aerospace Academy at San Jacinto College (SJC) offers a two-part underwater robotics workshop including: 12 professional development contact hours; hands-on soldering and robotics instruction; and the ability to take back to your classroom the electronics that are created during the workshop. The curriculum will align with science and math TEKS.   Dates: Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 Cost: $150 Time: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Location: SJC central campus   For additional information or registration, contact Bridget Kramer at 281-244-6803 or: bridget.a.kramer@nasa.gov   Bridget Kramer x46803 http://www.aerospace-academy.org   [top] 12.          Space Settlement Design Competition for High School Students JSC is expanding its annual Space Settlement Design Competition for high school students to offer a new fall competition the weekend of Oct. 12 to 14 at the Gilruth Center. This program has been offered for 15 years, traditionally in mid-March.   The competition is an intense industry simulation game where 160 high school students form four competing teams to prepare a conceptual design and operating plan for a very large human base in lunar orbit, which will serve as an entry/exit port for humans and cargo arriving at and leaving the moon, set in a realistic and detailed scenario in the early 2030s. The competition emulates the experience of an aerospace engineer working on a company proposal team to respond to a major Request for Proposal from an important customer. The requirements are complex, the available information is large and the time available is limited (just like in real life). Students grades 10 to 12 are invited to participate in this exciting learning experience for potential engineers and scientists. JSC team members will serve as mentors and judges.   Please encourage students in your extended family to consider participation in this unique learning activity. Complete information is available at https://sites.google.com/site/SSDCOctober2012 and can also be obtained from Competition Coordinator Norman Chaffee at 713-944-2461 and: chaffee.norman@att.net   Norman Chaffee 713-944-2461   [top] 13.          Guided Relaxation Session Take time away from the stress and pressure in your life to unclutter your mind, center your emotions and remove tension from your body. On Sept. 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Building 32, Room 146, Jackie Reese of the Employee Assistance Program will take participants through a guided relaxation exercise designed to leave you feeling rested and renewed. Space is limited, so please RSVP to Lorrie by Sept. 24.   Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program, Clinical Services Branch x36130   [top] 14.          Last Parent's Night Out Sept. 28 -- Register Now It's our last Parent's Night Out of the year, so don't miss out on this great opportunity to spend an evening on the town! Enjoy a night out while your kids enjoy a night with Starport. We will entertain your children at the Gilruth Center with a night of games, crafts, a bounce house, pizza, a movie and dessert.   When: Sept. 28 from 6 to 10 p.m. Where: Gilruth Center Ages: 5 to 12 Cost: $20/first child and $10/each additional sibling if registered by the Wednesday prior to event. If registered after Wednesday, the fee is $25/first child and $15/additional sibling.   Register at the Gilruth Center front desk. Visit http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Youth/PNO.cfm for more information.   Shericak Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 15.          Free Professional Development Today: How to Manage Your Manager Please join the JSC National Management Association (NMA) for a free professional development discussion for administrative officers and support professionals.   This JSC NMA Brown Bag is designed for administrative support professionals to gather and share lessons learned about how to best manage managers.   This interactive discussion is available at two different sessions today: 11 a.m. to noon and noon to 1 p.m. -- in the newly renovated Building 12, Conference Room 253.   This opportunity is open to all JSC team members and civil servant and contractor administrative professionals.   For additional information and onsite badging, please contact Carolyn Fritz at x32017.   Carolyn Fritz x32017 http://www.jscnma.com/Events   [top] 16.          ISS Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) User Forum The International Space Station EDMS team will hold the monthly EDMS General Forum this Friday, Sept. 21, at 9:30 a.m. in Building 4S, Conference Room 5315.   If you use EDMS to locate station documents, join us to learn about basic navigation and searching. This month we are introducing the new Search Interface Pilot, which allows users to further refine and filter search results on-screen. Bring your questions, concerns and suggestions, and meet the station EDMS Application Support Center team. The agenda can be found at: https://iss-www.jsc.nasa.gov/ss/issapt/act/showAgenda.cfm?agen_id=43979   LaNell Cobarruvias 713-933-6854 http://iss-www.jsc.nasa.gov/nwo/apps/edms/web/UserForums.shtml   [top] 17.          The Do's and Don'ts of Relating With People Do you ever wish that we could all just get along? Would you like to learn about interactive styles and how to best approach others whose interpersonal style may differ from your own? Join Gay Yarbrough, LCSW of the JSC Employee Assistance Program, for a presentation on "The Do's and Don'ts of Relating With People."   Date: Today, Sept. 19 Time: 12 noon to 1 p.m. Place: Building 30 Auditorium   Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program, Clinical Services Branch x36130   [top] 18.          Introduction to Aerospace Vehicle System (AVSI) Projects on Sept. 20 On Sept. 20, the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of INCOSE will present "An Introduction to Aerospace Vehicle System (AVSI) Projects," by Dr. David Redman. The Aerospace Vehicle Institute is part of the Texas A&M University System and has been engaged in research and technology projects addressing virtual systems integration since 2005. The System Architecture Virtual Integration (SAVI) program is an AVSI project coordinating development of virtual integration capability across the spectrum of aerospace industry holders. This talk will give a brief introduction to AVSI and the SAVI program, review accomplishments of the previous phases of the program and introduce plans for continued development.   This event is free and will be held at the Jacobs Conference Center (455 E. Medical Center Blvd., Webster, 77598 - at the corner of Feathercraft Lane and Medical Center Boulevard). Networking starts at 5:30 p.m. Opening comments begin at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served.   Larry Spratlin 281-461-5218   [top] 19.          Latest International Space Station Research Did you know? The Advanced Colloids Experiment-1 (ACE-1) is the first in a series of microscopic imaging investigations of materials that contain small colloidal particles, which have the specific characteristic of remaining evenly dispersed and distributed within the material. This investigation takes advantage of the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to examine flow characteristics and the evolution and ordering effects within these colloidal materials without the influence of Earth's gravity. Engineering, manipulation and the fundamental understanding of materials of this nature may enhance our ability to produce, store and manipulate materials which rely on similar physical properties.   The results can guide our understanding of crystallization, production quality control and phase separation (e.g., shelf-life and product collapse), which could have an enormous commercial impact in terms of quality, production and longevity.   Learn more about ACE-1: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/ACE-1.html   Liz Warren x35548   [top] 20.          Read Fall 'STIC E-Notes' Newsletter for the JSC Library The JSC library quarterly e-newsletter, "STIC E-Notes," has been released. Catch up on recent changes in the JSC libraries and repositories this year and see the upcoming fall training schedule. Download your copy today! http://library.jsc.nasa.gov/libweb/Library%20Web%20Documents/STICE-Notes2012.pdf   Provided by the Information Resources Directorate: http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/default.aspx   Ebony Fondren x32490 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov   [top] 21.          Volunteers Wanted: Upcoming Electronics Recycling Event It's that time of year again. In celebration of Texas Recycles Day, the JSC Contractor Environmental Partnership will be hosting another electronics recycling event in the Space Center Houston parking lot on Nov. 10 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. We are looking for volunteers to help staff the event. If you are interested in participating, please sign up at the website below. See you there!   JSC Contractor Environmental Partnership x40878 http://www.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=jsc_ewaste   [top]   ________________________________________ JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. To see an archive of previous JSC Today announcements, go to http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/news/jsctoday/archives.       FAREWELL ENDEAVOUR: Departure of the youngest Space Shuttle Endeavour is “go” for takeoff at ~6:15 am Central (7:15 EDT) with a stopover at Houston’s Ellington Field. Landing there should be at about 10:45 am Central (11:45 EDT). Up close public viewing will be available from about 30 minutes after landing until 9 pm Central. Departure for California will be at sunrise Thursday. NASA TV will cover departure and arrival.   NASA TV: ·                     5:45 am Central (6:45 EDT) - SCA/Endeavour departure from KSC coverage ·                     ~6:15 am Central (7:15 EDT) - SCA/Endeavour departs KSC for Ellington Fld ·                     ~10 am Central (11 EDT) - Coverage of Clear Lake / Ellington flyover/landing ·                     1 pm Central (2 EDT) – Interpreted Version of Exp 33 Event for JAXA with Nippon Radio)   Human Spaceflight News Wednesday – September 19, 2012   HEADLINES AND LEADS   Lawmakers Question NASA Commercial Crew Safety Standards   Frank Morring, Jr - Aerospace Daily   NASA’s plan to human-rate commercial crew vehicles in parallel with their private development using federal seed money may not produce safety levels acceptable for U.S. and U.S.-partner astronauts, members of a key House panel worried Sept. 14. In testimony before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Associate Administrator William Gerstenmaier outlined plans to start certifying commercial vehicles next February under a “hybrid” process designed to insert some of the rigor of standard Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) procurement into the Space Act Agreements (SAAs) the agency is using to help fund commercial vehicle development.   NASA Head Bolden: Warp Speed Ahead Administrator says the agency wants to one day defy the laws of physics   Jason Koebler - US News & World Report   Former astronaut and NASA head Charles Bolden says the agency wants to one day design a vehicle that goes faster than the speed of light. "One of these days, we want to get to warp speed," he told a group at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. Bolden was discussing the future of American space exploration. "We want to go faster than the speed of light, and we don't want to stop at Mars." Devising a ship that goes faster than the speed of light—once confined to the realms of Star Wars and Star Trek—is quickly becoming a goal scientists around the world are setting their sights on.   Legislators will introduce NASA reboot bill on Thursday   Eric Berger - Houston Chronicle's SciGuy   On Thursday the architects of that legislation, including U.S. John Culberson, Frank Wolf, Bill Posey, and Pete Olson, will introduce the bill, which they have called the “Space Leadership Act.” According to a news release, the bill will “change business as usual at NASA by enacting important management reforms and result in a more stable and more accountable space program.”   ENDEAVOUR FERRY FLIGHT NEWS   Shuttle Endeavour set for flight to LA museum duty   William Harwood - CBS News   The space shuttle Endeavour, veteran of 25 trips to orbit since its maiden launch two decades ago, was prepped for takeoff on its final flight Wednesday, a cross-country tour atop a NASA 747 transport jet that will give the public one last chance to see the iconic spaceplane in flight before landing in Los Angeles Friday for work to ready the ship for museum duty. Running two days late because of stormy weather along the Gulf Coast, Endeavour and its carrier jet were scheduled for takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center's 3-mile-long shuttle runway around 7 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) Wednesday.   Endeavour finally cleared for flight on Wednesday   Scott Powers - Orlando Sentinel   After reviewing weather conditions and forecasts that have grounded the flight for days, NASA has green-lighted space shuttle Endeavour's final departure Wednesday morning from the Kennedy Space Center en route to its final resting place in a California museum. There remains the prospect of a late-called weather delay, and NASA expects a final "go-no go" meeting early Wednesday. But a weather meeting Tuesday concluded with NASA officials deciding everything looked good.   Endeavour targeting Wednesday departure from KSC   James Dean - Florida Today   Endeavour is on track to begin its ferry flight west to California at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, NASA confirmed after an 11 a.m. weather briefing today. Managers will review the forecast again at 5 a.m. Wednesday before clearing the retired shuttle orbiter and its modified 747 carrier aircraft to take off from Kennedy Space Center’s three-mile runway for the last time.  The latest forecast shows a 20 percent chance of showers, scattered clouds at 3,000 feet and broken clouds between 10,000 and 15,000 feet.   Shuttle Endeavour: Disneyland, Getty on tap for L.A. flyover   Kate Mather - Los Angeles Times   Officials have revealed some details of space shuttle Endeavour's aerial tour of California, a final flight that is to include low-level passes over the state Capitol, San Francisco and several Los Angeles landmarks. Riding piggyback on a modified 747 aircraft, the retired shuttle will depart Edwards Air Force Base about 7:15 a.m. Friday and will fly low over Palmdale, Lancaster, Rosamond and Mojave before heading north to Sacramento, NASA officials said. __________   COMPLETE STORIES   Lawmakers Question NASA Commercial Crew Safety Standards   Frank Morring, Jr - Aerospace Daily   NASA’s plan to human-rate commercial crew vehicles in parallel with their private development using federal seed money may not produce safety levels acceptable for U.S. and U.S.-partner astronauts, members of a key House panel worried Sept. 14.   In testimony before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Associate Administrator William Gerstenmaier outlined plans to start certifying commercial vehicles next February under a “hybrid” process designed to insert some of the rigor of standard Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) procurement into the Space Act Agreements (SAAs) the agency is using to help fund commercial vehicle development.   But Joseph Dyer, chairman of the independent Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, cautioned that the parallel development and certification is a “workaround” that may not produce the desired results, particularly as uncertain budgets generate downward pressure on safety spending.   “It’s not yet clear to us how waivers and deviations will be approved, who is accountable, and how the process shall be administered,” said Dyer, a naval aviator who retired as a vice admiral. “[And] both from the Congress’s and NASA’s perspective, budget and budget stability are a significant challenge.”   Gerstenmaier, who runs the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said NASA is restricted to spending $406 million on commercial crew development this fiscal year in the absence of a fiscal 2013 budget figure from Congress, and will need on the order of $830 million a year beginning in fiscal 2014 to meet its plan to fly humans in a commercial vehicle by the end of 2017.   Gerstenmaier testified that, collectively, the private companies using NASA funds to develop commercial crew vehicles — Boeing, Sierra Nevada and SpaceX, in the most recent round — are investing only 10-20% of their internal funds in the effort. But under their SAAs, the space agency has no direct way to evaluate company spending as part of an estimate of what it will cost to fly astronauts on their vehicles.   Ultimately, he said, NASA probably will pick just one of the contenders to supply transportation services to the International Space Station, at a cost the agency is budgeting at the roughly $62 million a seat it pays Russia for Soyuz transportation and training. The competition in development probably will help hold that cost down, while the parallel certification will avoid costly rework later on, he said.   NASA Head Bolden: Warp Speed Ahead Administrator says the agency wants to one day defy the laws of physics   Jason Koebler - US News & World Report   Former astronaut and NASA head Charles Bolden says the agency wants to one day design a vehicle that goes faster than the speed of light.   "One of these days, we want to get to warp speed," he told a group at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. Bolden was discussing the future of American space exploration. "We want to go faster than the speed of light, and we don't want to stop at Mars."   Devising a ship that goes faster than the speed of light—once confined to the realms of Star Wars and Star Trek—is quickly becoming a goal scientists around the world are setting their sights on.   Monday, Harold White, a scientist with NASA's Johnson Space Center, discussed a theory that would allow a spaceship to travel through the space-time continuum at speeds of up to 10 times the speed of light. White told space.com that his findings "change [traveling at warp speed] from impractical to plausible and worth further investigation."   While White is thinking up concepts to get to warp speed and performing small-scale lab experiments, other NASA scientists are working on a heavy launch rocket that will eventually take man to Mars and may usher in a new era of space exploration. But in order to travel beyond our solar system, Bolden says NASA or another space agency will have to have a major breakthrough.   "We're on the sixth, seventh generation of jet engines, but we're still for the most part on the first generation of rocket engines," he said. "We are trying to figure out the next generation of rocket propulsion."   Shuttering the space shuttle program, which Bolden says cost $2 billion annually, and allowing private industry to focus on low-earth orbit has given NASA the latitude to focus on eventual missions to Mars and beyond. Bolden says NASA is as focused as ever on continuing its human spaceflight program.   "Some have claimed that we're adrift, that we have no clear human space missions. That could not be further from the truth," he said. "Those who perpetuate that myth are hurting the space program. We have a series of deep space missions planned."   Most imminently, NASA is designing the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, which will be tested in 2014, with its first manned mission planned for 2021. That vehicle, he said, "will take us to asteroids, Mars, and probably back to the moon."   Legislators will introduce NASA reboot bill on Thursday   Eric Berger - Houston Chronicle's SciGuy   On Thursday the architects of that legislation, including U.S. John Culberson, Frank Wolf, Bill Posey, and Pete Olson, will introduce the bill, which they have called the “Space Leadership Act.”   According to a news release, the bill will “change business as usual at NASA by enacting important management reforms and result in a more stable and more accountable space program.”   As I wrote in August, the bill attempts to remove some of the politics from NASA:     Still in draft form, the legislation would restructure NASA’s management and funding to make it more professional than political, advocates say. They envision creating a management style more like the FBI, in which the president appoints the director to a 10-year term.   Under the proposal, NASA’s budget would be developed with less input from the president’s Office of Management and Budget. This independence would allow NASA to plan contracts across multiple years and use a process known as multi-year procurement, which saves money, allowing it to do more with less.   NASA did not comment on the proposed legislation in August, but it has at least one supporter in Johnson Space Center director Mike Coats.         ENDEAVOUR FERRY FLIGHT NEWS   Shuttle Endeavour set for flight to LA museum duty   William Harwood - CBS News   The space shuttle Endeavour, veteran of 25 trips to orbit since its maiden launch two decades ago, was prepped for takeoff on its final flight Wednesday, a cross-country tour atop a NASA 747 transport jet that will give the public one last chance to see the iconic spaceplane in flight before landing in Los Angeles Friday for work to ready the ship for museum duty.   Running two days late because of stormy weather along the Gulf Coast, Endeavour and its carrier jet were scheduled for takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center's 3-mile-long shuttle runway around 7 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) Wednesday.   If all goes well, the transport jet and its 155,462-pound payload will land at Los Angeles International Airport around 2 p.m. Friday (11 a.m. PDT). The shuttle will be housed in a United Airlines hanger until mid October, when it will be hauled along city streets to its new home at the California Science Center near downtown Los Angeles.   The long-awaited move is the last time a space shuttle will take to the air, following similar museum runs for the prototype shuttle Enterprise, now on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, and the veteran shuttle Discovery, on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.   NASA's third surviving orbiter, the Atlantis, will remain at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In November, the spaceplane will be hauled 10 miles to a new $100 million display facility under construction at the spaceport's privately operated Visitor Complex. The new facility is scheduled to open next summer.   For Endeavour's final flight, the Federal Aviation Administration has approved 1,500-foot flyovers of multiple NASA centers, towns and cities along the way, including the Florida "space coast," NASA's Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and Lockheed Martin's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the shuttle's external tanks were manufactured.   If all goes well, Endeavour will end the first day of its cross-country flight with a low-level fly over of Houston before landing at Ellington Field just outside the Johnson Space Center around 11:45 a.m. (10:45 a.m. CDT). Parked near NASA Hangar 990, the spacecraft will remain on public display for the rest of the day.   At sunrise Thursday, Endeavour and its transport jet will take off and fly west, refueling at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, and then flying over the White Sands Test Facility near Las Cruces, N.M., on the way to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles.   The tour will continue Friday morning with low-level flyovers of San Francisco, NASA's Ames Research Center, Sacramento and other communities before heading back to southern California for another series of low-altitude passes. Touchdown at Los Angeles International Airport is expected around 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT).   A NASA team will use a pair of cranes to carefully remove Endeavour from its transport jet. It will be housed temporarily in a United Airlines hangar before the trip to the California Science Center around Oct. 13. Starting Oct. 30, the space shuttle will be on display at the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion at the science center.   Named after Capt. James Cook's famed sailing ship, the HMS Endeavour, NASA's youngest shuttle was approved in 1987 to replace the shuttle Challenger, destroyed in a launch mishap Jan. 28, 1986. Rockwell International completed the $2.2 billion orbiter in 1991 and it blasted off on its first mission May 7, 1992, a dramatic flight to repair a stranded communications satellite.   Endeavour went on to fly 24 more missions, including multiple flights to help assemble the International Space Station. Its final space mission, STS-134, ended in May 2011. At that point, the ship had spent 299 days off planet, logging 122,883,151 miles over 4,671 orbits.   On April 12, 2011, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden announced the museums that NASA had selected to host the orbiters, settling on New York, Washington, Los Angeles and the Kennedy Space Center. Ownership of Atlantis was transferred to the California Science Center on Oct. 11, 2011.   Getting Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's display hangar at Dulles International Airport was relatively straight forward. The Enterprise was flown to John F. Kennedy International Airport and then moved by barge to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.   Getting Endeavour to the California Science Center is a much more complex affair, requiring city planners, engineers and museum officials to map out a course through 12 miles of Inglewood and Los Angeles city streets, moving hundreds of trees and repositioning power lines and traffic signals to accommodate the shuttle's 78-foot wingspan and its iconic vertical tail fin, which will tower nearly six stories above street level.   "This will mark the first and only time a space shuttle will travel through 12 miles of public urban streets. It's also one of the biggest objects ever transported down an urban corridor," the California Science Center says on its web site. "A large team -- the California Science Center, the cities of LA and Inglewood, logistics, tree and utility and engineering experts -- have spent hundreds of hours preparing for Endeavour's complex journey.   "To make way for the Endeavour, we picked routes through the cities that would have the least impact on surroundings and we'll be using a state-of-the art Endeavour Transportation System that will allow us to maneuver precisely around trees, light poles and utility poles wherever possible. Pruning is also another tool being utilized in this effort. Thousands of trees along the route are being preserved and protected as a result of this careful planning."   In Inglewood, 128 trees are being removed and replaced with 256 new trees at a cost of more than $500,000, money donated by the Science Center Foundation. Another 256 trees in Los Angeles are expected to be removed and replaced with 530 new trees, the science center says on its web page. The Science Center Foundation is donating more than $1 million to cover the costs in Los Angeles.   "The vast majority of trees being removed in Los Angeles are small trees less than 15 feet tall or have a trunk diameter at breast height less than 12 inches," according to the website. "Fifty-four of the trees to be removed are large trees, five of which will be transplanted. Many of these large trees to be removed are invasive trees that are causing street damage or posing safety hazards to the public. After we remove them to make way for the Endeavour, our team will replace them, two to one, where indicated by civic agencies, at no cost to the cities, with urban-friendly trees."   The Los Angeles Times reported final approval to remove 265 trees -- pushing the total to nearly 400 -- was granted Monday.   "To garner residents' support, the center sweetened the deal at the last minute and agreed to replant four times as many trees, repair additional sidewalks and offer scholarships and job training," the paper reported.   Endeavour finally cleared for flight on Wednesday   Scott Powers - Orlando Sentinel   After reviewing weather conditions and forecasts that have grounded the flight for days, NASA has green-lighted space shuttle Endeavour's final departure Wednesday morning from the Kennedy Space Center en route to its final resting place in a California museum.   There remains the prospect of a late-called weather delay, and NASA expects a final "go-no go" meeting early Wednesday. But a weather meeting Tuesday concluded with NASA officials deciding everything looked good.   Endeavour is set to leave the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility at 7 a.m. Wednesday atop a B-747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. It will head south and then swing back for a low flyover of Patrick Air Force Base, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Kennedy Space Center and the center's visitor complex, before heading west.   However the weather delays that already occurred – the departure was originally scheduled for Monday – mean Endeavour will not land at Los Angeles International Airport until Friday, a day later than previous plans. From there it will be hauled through the streets of southern California to the California Science Center, where it will be permanently displayed.   The plans call for low flyovers of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the shuttle's iconic orange external fuel tank was built.. As it arrives over the Texas Gulf Coast area, the craft will perform low flyovers above various areas of Houston and Clear Lake before landing at Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center, according to NASA.   At sunrise on Thursday, the aircraft will depart Houston, make a refueling stop at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, and conduct low-level flyovers of White Sands Test Facility near Las Cruces, N.M., and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, before landing around mid-day at Dryden.   On Friday morning, the B-747 and Endeavour will take off from Dryden and perform a low-level flyover of northern California, passing near NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and various landmarks in multiple cities, including Sacramento and San Francisco. The aircraft also will conduct a flyover of many Los Angeles sites before landing about 11 a.m. Pacific time at Los Angeles International Airport.   Endeavour targeting Wednesday departure from KSC   James Dean - Florida Today   Endeavour is on track to begin its ferry flight west to California at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, NASA confirmed after an 11 a.m. weather briefing today.   Managers will review the forecast again at 5 a.m. Wednesday before clearing the retired shuttle orbiter and its modified 747 carrier aircraft to take off from Kennedy Space Center’s three-mile runway for the last time.   The latest forecast shows a 20 percent chance of showers, scattered clouds at 3,000 feet and broken clouds between 10,000 and 15,000 feet.   The piggybacked jumbo jet and spaceship are expected to fly 1,500 feet over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and local beaches down to Patrick Air Force Base, then loop back up the Indian River for farewell passes over the KSC Visitor Center and the space center.   The first leg of the multi-day ferry flight – the shuttle program’s last – will take Endeavour to Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center in Houston, including low flyovers of the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Arrival in the Houston area is expected within three hours.   “The forecast is favorable along the entire route from west of Central Florida to Houston,” says a statement on KSC’s Web site.   At sunrise Thursday, weather permitting, plans call for Endeavour to hop to Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, for a refueling stop, then move on to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California.   On Friday, low flyovers of northern California are planned before Endeavour lands at Los Angeles International Airport.   Endeavour will roll to the California Science Center in mid-October and open for public display there at the end of the month.   This morning at KSC, Endeavour and the 747 rolled back into a gantry near the shuttle runway that offers greater protection from thunderstorms and lightning anticipated this afternoon. They are expected to back out again at 4 a.m.   Thunderstorms blocking the ferry flight’s path across the northern Gulf of Mexico have delayed its start for two days.   The planned Friday morning arrival at LAX is just one day later than originally planned.   Shuttle Endeavour: Disneyland, Getty on tap for L.A. flyover   Kate Mather - Los Angeles Times   Officials have revealed some details of space shuttle Endeavour's aerial tour of California, a final flight that is to include low-level passes over the state Capitol, San Francisco and several Los Angeles landmarks.   Riding piggyback on a modified 747 aircraft, the retired shuttle will depart Edwards Air Force Base about 7:15 a.m. Friday and will fly low over Palmdale, Lancaster, Rosamond and Mojave before heading north to Sacramento, NASA officials said.   There, Endeavour will fly over the Capitol and turn to San Francisco, where those hoping to catch a glimpse of the shuttle are advised to watch from one of several Bay Area museums, including the Chabot Space and Science Center, the Exploratorium, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, the Lawrence Hall of Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.   Once the shuttle reaches the Los Angeles area about 10:30 a.m., the orbiter will be carried over landmarks including the Getty Center, the Griffith Observatory, Malibu and Disneyland before landing at Los Angeles International Airport. It will also fly over the California Science Center in Exposition Park, its new permanent home.   Additional details are expected to be released Wednesday.   Originally scheduled to depart Kennedy Space Center early Monday, the orbiter was twice delayed by a threat of thunderstorms between Florida and Houston, the first leg of its cross-country trip to Los Angeles. The forecast has cleared up in the coming days, and officials are continuing to proceed toward the Wednesday departure, scheduled for 7:15 a.m. EDT, NASA said.   Endeavour will spend Wednesday night in Houston and reach Edwards Air Force Base Thursday afternoon, officials said. It is scheduled to land at LAX at 11 a.m. Friday, a day later than originally planned.   Officials said that although the time frame has been pushed back, the shuttle will be able to make its final journey as originally planned -- a farewell tour that also is to include several low-level flyovers of NASA sites across the United States.   Tweet your photos to @latimes or @lanow with the hashtag #SpotTheShuttle. Don't forget to tell us your vantage point! Photos can also be uploaded here. Check back -- we'll be compiling the best reader photos.   END   ”