9/27/12 news

    Thursday, September 27, 2012   JSC TODAY HEADLINES 1.            Joint Leadership Team Web Poll 2.            Tune in to ISS Update This Week 3.            Free Flu Shots! Upcoming Dates and Information 4.            Attention Server Admins: Network Activity 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4 5.            Inspire the World About Space 6.            Introducing Youth Karate at the Gilruth Center 7.            The Inner Space Yoga and Pilates Studio - Starport's Soothing Sanctuary 8.            What Do You Know About Disabilities? 9.            Fall Electronic Recycling Event at Space Center Houston 10.          NASA Technical Standards Program Online Training Oct. 3 11.          JSC Child Care Center Openings ________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. ”   -- John Wooden ________________________________________ 1.            Joint Leadership Team Web Poll We are quickly approaching Ballunar/Open House weekend. You correctly guessed last week that "Up Up Away" was not an actual balloon. Are you coming out to enjoy either event this weekend? Coming to Open House only? Living out here all weekend? I also found out that you are not very hipster when it comes to social media ... as in much more likely to need an artificial hip than tweet. This week I want to explore your musical interests. What are your favorite kind of tunes? Countrified? Rock? Dubstep?   Dobro your Resonator on over to get this week's poll.   Joel Walker x30541 http://jlt.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 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 involving the current Expedition in space and more.   In Wednesday's ISS Update, Vic Cooley, Exp. 33/34 lead increment scientist, discussed the JAXA Small Satellite Orbital Deployer operations scheduled for Thursday, as well as some other exciting science investigations on tap for Exp. 33/34. See that video here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=152905791   Today's ISS Update will air from Building 220 and cover the Logistics to Living tests going on there. The tests highlight the popular green topic of recycling in space.   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, Communications and Public Affairs x35111   [top] 3.            Free Flu Shots! Upcoming Dates and Information The Occupational Health Branch is once again offering FREE flu shots to JSC civil servants and contractors who are housed on-site.   Oct. 3: Building 2 (Teague lobby) from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.   Oct. 11: Building 2 (Teague lobby) from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 3 p.m.   Before receiving the flu shot, PLEASE visit the website below, read the Influenza Vaccine Information Statement and complete the consent form prior to arrival to expedite the process. On the day of the flu shot, wear clothing with easy access to your upper arm (short sleeve or sleeveless).   Vaccinations are the single best way to prevent seasonal influenza. Do not forget to cover your coughs and sneezes, wash your hands often -- and if you are sick, please stay home!   Bob Martel x38581 http://sd.jsc.nasa.gov/omoh/scripts/OccupationalMedicine/Fluprogram.aspx   [top] 4.            Attention Server Admins: Network Activity 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4 As part of our ongoing effort to improve the JSC network, we need to make some network infrastructure changes on Oct. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. During this activity, users may experience intermittent connectivity while accessing the center primary NTP server. We anticipate the activity to last from 6 to 7 p.m. However, the window is open until 8 p.m. in case we run into an unplanned situation.   JSC IRD Outreach x30122 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov   [top] 5.            Inspire the World About Space Encourage youth 10 to 18 years old to participate in the international Humans in Space Youth Art Competition and express their views of the future of human space exploration via visual, literary, musical and video art. Youth artwork will be woven into multimedia displays and performances worldwide to inspire people of all ages and promote dialogue about space.   The deadline for artwork submissions is Oct. 21.   Please go to the website to learn more. Share the link with friends, neighbors, schools and youth organizations. Sign up to be a judge, and see what the next generation thinks is important for the future of space.   Jancy McPhee x42022 http://www.humansinspaceart.org   [top] 6.            Introducing Youth Karate at the Gilruth Center Starport will soon be offering Youth Karate as a recreation program at the Gilruth Center! Classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. in the Mind/Body Studio for kids ages 3 to 6. The cost is $120/month, but your child can try the first class for free. Classes start on Oct. 30. Sign up at the Gilruth Center front desk. Visit http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Youth/RecPrograms.cfm for more information.   Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 7.            The Inner Space Yoga and Pilates Studio - Starport's Soothing Sanctuary Memberships are still available to our new soothing sanctuary at the Gilruth Center, the Inner Space. Anyone can purchase a membership to the Inner Space where we offer many Yoga and Pilates classes, morning and evening. Any level is welcome, from beginners to advanced. Whether you purchase a pass to a single class or a four-, six- or 12-week membership, we have the option that's right for you. Attend as many Yoga and Pilates classes as you like with your membership; there are no restrictions. Visit http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/MindBody/ for more information.   Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 8.            What Do You Know About Disabilities? If you're able-bodied, probably not much. For that reason, the JSC Safety and Health Day on Oct. 11 will introduce you to what it's like to work and be productive when you can't see, hear, or perhaps need a wheelchair for mobility, as many of our JSC co-workers do.   Try it yourself on the disability walking tour in the Building 2 mall area. Or, listen to featured speaker Eric Alva, the first Marine seriously injured in the Iraq war, tell how he learned to cope. (Watch JSC Today for more about him.)   Oct. 11 will be a day of learning and enlightenment. Don't miss any part of it!   Angel Plaza, Co-Chair, Safety and Health Day Committee x37305   [top] 9.            Fall Electronic Recycling Event at Space Center Houston The JSC Contractor Environmental Partnership is hosting another electronic recycling and document-shredding event at Space Center Houston on Nov. 10. Join us in the parking lot from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with all your personal computer and entertainment electronics and documents. (No NASA property, appliances or household hazardous waste will be accepted.) Just in time to clean out closets and make room for all those Black Friday goodies, this event is free and open to the public. It's a perfect way to get rid of all those unwanted electronics in an environmentally friendly manner. See you there!   JSC Contractor Environmental Partnership x40878 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/apps/news/newsfiles/3198.pdf   [top] 10.          NASA Technical Standards Program Online Training Oct. 3 On Wednesday, Oct. 3, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. CST, the JSC Library is hosting a webinar on the NASA Standards and Technical Assistance Resource Tool (START). START is provided by the NASA Technical Standards Program. Tammy Gattis, a representative from START, will instruct users on how to search the database, the registration process and discuss the importance of copyright compliance when using these resources.   http://standards.nasa.gov   This training is open to any JSC/White Sands Test Facility contractor or civil servant.   To register, click on the "Classroom/WebEx" schedule on the following website: http://library.jsc.nasa.gov/training/default.aspx   Provided by the Information Resources Directorate: http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/default.aspx   Ebony Fondren x32490 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov   [top] 11.          JSC Child Care Center Openings Space Family Education, Inc. (SFEI) has openings available to dependents of JSC civil servants and contractors.   Immediate openings: - Two for a child 15 to 23 months of age - Two for a child 24 to 35 months of age - One for a child 3 years of age - Two for a child 4 years of age   Program details: 1. Open 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed federal holidays). 2. Competitive pricing with other comparable child cares, but SFEI includes more amenities. 3. Additional security -- badges required to get on-site, and an additional security code to get in the school's front door. 4. Accelerated curriculum in all classes with additional enrichment and extracurricular programs. 5. Convenience -- nearby and easy access for parents working on-site at JSC. 6. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack are all included. 7. Video monitoring available from computers, androids and iPhones.   Interested parties should send an email to brooke.stephens@nasa.gov with parent contact information and the child's date of birth.   Brooke Stephens x26031   [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.         NASA TV: ·         Noon Central (1 EDT) – Kennedy Space Center 50th Anniversary ·         1 pm Central (2 EDT) – Science Update on Curiosity's Mission to Mars' Gale Crater ·         8 pm Central (9 EDT) – REPLAY: Kennedy Space Center 50th Anniversary   ISS DEBRIS AVOIDANCE: I would’ve put several stories in today on the potential Debris Avoidance Maneuver (DAM), but it was called off early this morning. Planning now resumes for Friday afternoon’s scheduled undocking of ESA’s ATV3. That will be ratified today.   Human Spaceflight News Thursday – September 27, 2012   HEADLINES AND LEADS   Singer Sarah Brightman to make 'groundbreaking' space travel announcement   Clara Moskowitz - Space.com   Famed soprano singer Sarah Brightman will make a 'groundbreaking announcement' about space travel next month, according to the U.S. space tourism company Space Adventures. Brightman will hold a press conference in Moscow Oct. 10 at 4:00 p.m. Moscow time (8:00 a.m. EDT). She will appear with UNESCO Artist for Peace Mikhail Gendelev and Eric Anderson, chairman of the Virginia-based firm Space Adventures.   Acaba's four months at space station 'way too short'   Todd Halvorson – Florida Today   NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, who taught science at Melbourne High in 1999 and 2000, returned to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft last week, winding down a 125-day expedition to the International Space Station. We welcomed him home during a brief chat on Wednesday. QUESTION: Tell us about your trip back from the International Space Station and what it was like to re-encounter gravity for the first time in four months. ACABA: It’s quite the ride coming home. Of course, it’s a lot different than a space shuttle landing, which is, you know, very nice — it’s kind of like landing on a regular airplane. The G-forces are about the same. We got up to about 4.3 (Gs) on our way home…   Space shuttle trainer seen as education tool   Barrie Barber - Dayton Daily News   Local educators hope a space shuttle crew compartment trainer that prepared hundreds of NASA astronauts for launch into space will help inspire students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math careers. U.S. students lag behind many of their international counterparts in critical science and math skills, and local officials said closing that skills gap is essential to bring more jobs to the region and bolstering national security. The $1.5 million interactive space shuttle exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is set to be completed a year from now. The hands-on exhibit will allow people to climb aboard and include a 60-seat theater-like classroom.   US Military Wants Space Planes, Reusable Rockets   Jeremy Hsu - TechNewsDaily.com   Shrinking space budgets don't stop the U.S. military from dreaming about space planes or rockets capable of flying back and landing on their own. Reusable launch vehicles capable of soaring into space and returning by flying through Earth's atmosphere like airplanes could potentially save millions on expensive launches that typically cost thousands of dollars per pound — especially if they fly frequently. But U.S. military officers and researchers acknowledged the challenge of pushing for next-generation space vehicles during a time of budget cuts.   Multiple cameras for 1981 space shuttle landing   Scott Harrison – Los Angeles Times     Nov. 17, 1981: Gerry Perkins, technical photographer for Rockwell’s Space Systems Group in Downey, demonstrates his multiple camera setup — a converted Korean War-era Army antiaircraft turret. The contraption was not new; it had already been used to photograph several space missions. For the Nov. 14, 1981, landing of space shuttle Columbia at Edwards Air Force Base, Perkins mounted two motorized 35-millimeter still cameras and one movie camera on the turret. With that set-up, Perkins was able to simultaneously shoot two roles of film — 72 exposures — and 200 feet of movie footage. This photo by former staff photographer Rick Corrales was published in the Nov. 19, 1981, LA Times (NO FURTHER TEXT)   William Hurt to star in Challenger Space Shuttle docu-drama   Leslie Kasperowicz - CinemaBlend.com   The Science Channel is moving into the big leagues with the latest bit of casting news for a yet untitled docu-drama they are planning surrounding the investigation into the ill-fated 1986 launch of the Challenger space shuttle. Oscar winner William Hurt has been tapped to star in the true story, which is being produced in partnership with the BBC.   Thoughts on the Last Flight of the Shuttle   Dennis Wingo - SpaceRef.com (Viewpoint)   I was at NASA Ames last week when the final flight of the final space shuttle Endeavour on its way to its final destination occurred. As many people did, I stood outside, on top of our MacMoon's at Ames and took pictures. There were over 20,000 people at NASA Ames that waited hours for an event that took no more than one minute to consummate. Beyond that there were hundreds of thousands more people all around Silicon Valley who were outside and watching when the shuttle flew overhead. The same thing happened all over the country. Washington D.C. was almost shut down by the flight of Discovery coming into Dulles. Tens of thousands of people were wowed by the sight and image of two orbiters nose to nose on the tarmac. It is if Americans collectively all wanted to be a part of a history that many fear is passing us by…   Romney and Obama space plans   Orlando Sentinel (Editorial)   With Florida once again considered a must-win state in this year's presidential race, space policy is finally lifting off as an issue for the candidates. Some coincidence, huh? Last week at the University of Central Florida, Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan vowed the U.S. would remain the world's "unequivocal leader" in space. Romney's campaign issued a policy statement promising he'd make space a priority as president, but it included few details. Meanwhile, President Obama's campaign gave him credit for the burgeoning commercial space industry, the Mars rover mission and a long-term plan for deep-space exploration. All positives, but each falls short of securing U.S. space leadership. __________   COMPLETE STORIES   Singer Sarah Brightman to make 'groundbreaking' space travel announcement   Clara Moskowitz - Space.com   Famed soprano singer Sarah Brightman will make a 'groundbreaking announcement' about space travel next month, according to the U.S. space tourism company Space Adventures.   Brightman will hold a press conference in Moscow Oct. 10 at 4:00 p.m. Moscow time (8:00 a.m. EDT). She will appear with UNESCO Artist for Peace Mikhail Gendelev and Eric Anderson, chairman of the Virginia-based firm Space Adventures.   Space Adventures has brokered deals to send seven private citizens aboard Russian spacecraft to the International Space Station. These space tourists typically train extensively in Russia before their trips, and spend about two weeks in Earth orbit. Their ticket prices have ranged from about $20 million for the first traveler, American investor Dennis Tito, in 2001, to $35 million for the most recent space tourist, Canadian circus-founder Guy Laliberte, in 2009.   There is no word yet on whether Brightman herself will become the next private space traveler, or if her collaboration with Space Adventures involves some other project altogether.   Available seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft have been scarce lately, as that vehicle is the only transportation for astronauts to the space station in the wake of last year's retirement of NASA's space shuttles.   However, a source within the Russian space agency told state news agency Interfax that seats may open up to space tourists on flights in 2015 when professional astronauts and cosmonauts start serving year-long tours of duty aboard the station.   Brightman, a native of England, is "the world's biggest selling soprano," according to Space Adventures, and sings with a vocal range spanning three octaves. She has topped both the Billboard dance and classical music charts, and performs around the world.   "Sarah's work transcends any specific musical genre, synthesizing many influences and inspirations into a unique sound and vision," according to a Space Adventures statement. "She remains among the world’s most prominent performers, with global sales of 30 million units having received more than 180 gold and platinum awards in over 40 countries."   This year, Brightman is serving as a UNESCO "Artist For Peace" Ambassador, and is working on a new record to be released in late 2012.   Acaba's four months at space station 'way too short'   Todd Halvorson – Florida Today   NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, who taught science at Melbourne High in 1999 and 2000, returned to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft last week, winding down a 125-day expedition to the International Space Station.   We welcomed him home during a brief chat on Wednesday.   QUESTION: Tell us about your trip back from the International Space Station and what it was like to re-encounter gravity for the first time in four months.   ACABA: It’s quite the ride coming home. Of course, it’s a lot different than a space shuttle landing, which is, you know, very nice — it’s kind of like landing on a regular airplane. The G-forces are about the same. We got up to about 4.3 (Gs) on our way home.   It’s a quick ride, so you go from being on the space station and then a few hours later, now you’re having to deal with gravity. Part of the thing that stands out the most is when the parachute opens up. You know, you open your eyes and it really feels like you are in a car tumbling over a cliff, and that lasts, it seemed like, 30 seconds, but I think it might have been five or 10 seconds. And then you get ready for the landing, and you know, I’d heard a lot about it, and you’re kind of a little bit tense knowing that it’s coming, but, after the parachute and surviving that, the landing is quick, painless, and you know, I hear it’s about 20 mph or so when you impact the Earth. And so, you know, you feel it. But you’re cinched down pretty well.   Gravity is tough after four months (in weightlessness). Things feel heavy. I remember getting an apple and just thinking, “Wow, this has a lot of mass. It’s heavy, and it’s only an apple.” But your body readjusts very quickly, and I’m feeling really good right now after being back for about a week.   QUESTION: Tell us about the rehabilitation program you’ll be going through over the next 45 days or so in order to recover your baseline, so to say, medically.   ACABA: Yeah, so it’s about 45 days, and I’m over there at the gym a couple of hours every day, and they (his physical therapists) do a lot of different things to get your body back not only physically but also the vestibular part. And so you do a lot of exercising where you are moving your head, standing on one foot, touching your toes — things that, you know, are very simple to do but it takes a little time to get used to. I’m starting to lift weights again here on Earth. We do a lot on orbit, but it’s nice to deal with the weights again, and I hope today, to go for a run outside for the first time. And I’m looking forward to that.   QUESTION: You’re first trip into space, if I recall, was about 12 or 13 days, and this time you were on orbit about 10 times longer. What would you say is the biggest difference between short-duration and long-duration flights physically and mentally?   ACABA: The four months for me was way too short. I wish it could have lasted longer. I would say the big difference is on a shuttle flight, you have a pretty well-choreographed timeline. You know what you need to get done, and what’s going to happen every day. Of course, there are always things that happen, and so there is some variability, but you have a really good idea of the game plan.   When you’re up there for four months, you know, it’s just like living at home. Things break. You have to do repairs. You never know what’s going to happen. And so I would say the biggest difference is you need to be very, very flexible. You need to be prepared for a wide range of activities because you never know what’s going to go on. But, by far, being up there for four months was at least 10 times better than the shuttle flight.   Question: Hey Joe, I was wondering what you might tell your best friend about flying in space — you know, if they said, “Joe, what’s it really like?”   Acaba: I would say, it is very cool. I mean, it is the best experience I’ve ever had, and I’d tell my best friend, “I wish you could go and experience it with me,” because it’s awesome. It’s everything people say it is, and more. So that’s what I’ve told people up until now, and that’s what I’m telling you — it’s great.   Space shuttle trainer seen as education tool   Barrie Barber - Dayton Daily News   Local educators hope a space shuttle crew compartment trainer that prepared hundreds of NASA astronauts for launch into space will help inspire students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math careers.   U.S. students lag behind many of their international counterparts in critical science and math skills, and local officials said closing that skills gap is essential to bring more jobs to the region and bolstering national security.   The $1.5 million interactive space shuttle exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is set to be completed a year from now. The hands-on exhibit will allow people to climb aboard and include a 60-seat theater-like classroom.   “We’re very interested in inspiring and motivating the next generation of scientists and engineers,” said Cynthia J. Henry, an Air Force museum aerospace educator. “It’s something our nation needs overall to increase our technical advantage.”   The problem of too few U.S. students with a science or technology background has consequences for both economic growth and national security, experts said.   “It’s an increasing national issue,” said Lester McFawn, executive director of the nonprofit Wright Brothers Institute and former director of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson.   “Are there enough scientists and engineers” for those key areas, he asked. “The answer is no.”   U.S. 15-year-olds scored below average in mathematics and ranked average in science in 2009 compared to peers in other industrialized nations, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.   In 2007, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study found U.S. eight graders placed ninth in mathematics and eleventh in science. The nations that outperformed the U.S. pupils were in Asia and Europe.   “The need for STEM-education people in our country is a huge problem,” said Deborah Gross, executive director of Dayton Defense, a trade group of area defense contractors. “We don’t have enough of them.   “We’re not the leaders in science, technology, education and math anymore,” she said. “And these are issues and problems that result in perhaps, a concern for our national defense because we need enough smart people to keep ahead of the game to protect ourselves.”   National security-related programs typically require U.S. citizenship to obtain a security clearance, she noted.   The Level the Playing Field Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., reported science and engineering degrees accounted for one-third of all U.S.-earned bachelor’s degrees compared to more than half in Japan and China in 2008.   A practical reason stands for more students to learn STEM skills: The region must have a larger skilled workforce to handle more high-tech jobs, Gross said. Wright-Patterson gained about 1,200 direct jobs during the last base realignment and closure process which brought, among other gains, the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine to the base.   “In hopes of growing that, there’s no way to do (that) if we don’t have the workforce that we need,” she said.   Miami Valley schools have targeted STEM education and pursued partnerships with others to boost the field. Among the players are Wright State University, Sinclair Community College, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, educators said. The Air Force Research Laboratory, for example, works with at least 34 area school districts.   The root causes of lagging STEM achievement is fourfold, said Allison Scott, director of research and evaluation at the Level the Playing Field Institute.   Teachers may not have the credentials to teach STEM; students need to be engaged at a younger age; curriculum may be too narrow; and a lack of access and opportunity to education, she said.   A non-traditional classroom   The Dayton Regional STEM School focuses on hands-on and project-driven learning for sixth graders through high school seniors, said Laurie McFarlin, director of communications and partnerships.   “It’s a huge difference from giving a lecture,” said math teacher Peggy Kelly.   Along with math and sciences, the school offers language classes in Chinese and Spanish in response to what business said they needed for the marketplace, McFarlin said.   The school emphasizes creativity, communication, collaboration, persistence and inquiry, said Gregory Bernhardt, president of the school’s Board of Trustees and a former Wright State dean and professor who helped start the new institution in 2009.   “We took the lead in assembling the partnerships across the Dayton region that put it together,” he said.   The 430 students attend from six counties and 28 school districts. Next year, the STEM school will graduate its first senior class. In a break from tradition, every senior must have had an internship to graduate. Students attend career fairs and “power lunches” with STEM professionals, too, she said.   Chelsea Bradshaw, 17, a senior, wants to be a pediatrician and Ben French, 14, a freshman, hopes to become an engineer like his older brother.   Bradshaw said her rigorous coursework has prepared her for what’s ahead, and left her peers at other public schools envious of what she’s learned.   “Now, when I compare my education to theirs’, they are actually sad that they missed out,” she said. “The curriculum is very challenging and I feel like I can apply stuff I learn in the real world.”   The Level the Playing Field Institute has a goal to increase the number of women and minorities in science and technology-related fields.   “If we activate the hidden workforce, we should be able to see a large growth in people who are interested in entering and working in STEM fields,” Scott said.   Thurgood Marshall High School in Dayton teaches students robotics to computer graphics and many other STEM-related courses, said David Lawrence, Dayton City School District chief of innovation.   “When we look at 21st century education students are being prepared for jobs that don’t exist at this time,” he said. “The goal … was to put them in position to move into some high-paying stable fields where they would be able to earn a living for a lifetime.”   Those lessons are imparted on younger students because the high school acts as a “hub” for three other schools: Westwood, Rosa Parks and World of Wonder, he said.   Fairborn High School has two teachers assigned to teach STEM to more than 200 students through an initiative other schools follow called Project Lead the Way, said Brad Silvus, Fairborn City Schools director of curriculum and instruction.   Located just outside the gates of Wright-Patterson with many students from military families attending the school, “it seemed like a natural fit for us,” he said.   The Defense Department funded budget has the Dayton Regional STEM Center as an outreach initiative to train educators at public, private and parochial schools. The center has trained more than 900 teachers in 90 school districts and 24 counties in southwest and central Ohio since it opened five years ago, said Margy Stevens, executive director.   School districts around the country have contacted the center to learn how to replicate the curriculum, she said.   “They like our model because we served every teacher, every child, every school,” she said. “We’re doing more and more work at the national level even though our primary focus is the Dayton region.”   US Military Wants Space Planes, Reusable Rockets   Jeremy Hsu - TechNewsDaily.com   Shrinking space budgets don't stop the U.S. military from dreaming about space planes or rockets capable of flying back and landing on their own.   Reusable launch vehicles capable of soaring into space and returning by flying through Earth's atmosphere like airplanes could potentially save millions on expensive launches that typically cost thousands of dollars per pound — especially if they fly frequently. But U.S. military officers and researchers acknowledged the challenge of pushing for next-generation space vehicles during a time of budget cuts.   "Money is tight, and we have to make tough decisions on where to invest money," said Col. Scott Patton from Air Force Space Command. "In the long term, we need full spectrum launch capability at dramatically lower cost."   The U.S. government spent tens of millions of dollars on space plane programs in past decades — not to mention the $3 billion National Aero-Space Plane project — but most never got off the ground before cancellation. Such half steps need to change if the U.S. hopes to create a launch vehicle that can truly revolutionize launch costs, Air Force researchers said.   "The reality is that if you're going to learn, you have to go out there and fly hardware," said Jess Sponable, a program manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory.   Sponable and Patton represented two of the expert panel discussing reusable launch vehicles at the AIAA Space 2012 conference hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Pasadena, Calif., on Sept. 13.   Making the dream real   The dream of space planes has often raced ahead of reality — original arguments for NASA's space shuttles envisioned flights once per week at a cost of just $20 million. But the space shuttle program ended up flying just several times per year at a cost of about $1.6 billion per flight.   The Air Force's robotic space plane X-37B, a miniature version of the space shuttle, has flown two missions aimed at testing satellite technologies, rather than paving the way for cheap, reusable launch vehicles. Like the retired space shuttle, X-37B launches aboard a rocket and flies back down to Earth after reentering the planet's atmosphere.   "We've got to learn how to build and fly this class of system," Sponable said. "It's some strange, in-between hybrid that's not an aircraft and not a rocket."   The private space industry has also experimented with the space plane concept. SpaceShipOne, a private suborbital space plane, won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004. But the air-launched vehicle and its SpaceShipTwo successor are more suited to carrying space tourists to the edge of space rather than lift heavy cargo.   Bringing rockets back   Perhaps the most promising reusable launch vehicle designs won't be space planes at all, but simply reusable rockets. SpaceX, the firm founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elon Musk, has begun working on a reusable rocket concept called the Grasshopper that puts landing gear on a Falcon 9 rocket's core stage.   "We emphasize we don't care if [a solution] has wings or no wings — we want maintenance to be minimal," Sponable said. "How you fly it and how it actually looks like is a secondary issue."   The Air Force Research Laboratory has also studied a reusable rocket concept under its Reusable Booster System (RBS) Pathfinderprogram. The "rocket-back" concept would involve the rocket firing its engines to reverse its climb and glide back down to an aircraft-style landing.   Rocket-back designs from Andews Space, Boeing and Lockheed Martin came out of the Phase I contracts that wrapped up this month. The next step would have involved a $55-75 million contract to build it, not including launch costs — but the Air Force decided to discontinue funding and shelve the project.   "The program office was satisfied that at least one feasible system solution would have been proposed," said Jeffrey Zweber, program manager for RBS Pathfinder.   Driving down the launch cost   Program cancellations make the immediate future of space planes or reusable rockets seem uncertain. But the overall market and demand for space launch services continues to grow and could support new, cheaper ways to get into space, said David Byers, an independent consultant to the U.S. government on space propulsion and power.   The private space industry may end up paving the way during a time of less government spending — especially with companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX working to drive down launch concepts through its conventional Falcon rockets and its more experimental Grasshopper concept. Future space plane projects would do well to learn from the SpaceX example, Air Force researchers said.   "We need to reconcile why Elon was able to do what he did with the money spent, on an order of magnitude lower cost than what models would have predicted," Sponable said.   Zweber, Sponable's Air Force Research Laboratory colleague, also gave the cautious thumbs up for the SpaceX approach.   "I think we all wish them the best and hope they deliver on what they promise," Zweber said.   William Hurt to star in Challenger Space Shuttle docu-drama   Leslie Kasperowicz - CinemaBlend.com   The Science Channel is moving into the big leagues with the latest bit of casting news for a yet untitled docu-drama they are planning surrounding the investigation into the ill-fated 1986 launch of the Challenger space shuttle. Oscar winner William Hurt has been tapped to star in the true story, which is being produced in partnership with the BBC.   THR says William Hurt, who won an Oscar for Kiss of the Spider Woman is set to play Richard Feynman, a physicist who was brought in to investigate the explosion of the Challenger on January 18th, 1986 seconds after it launched.   The drama will look into the investigation led by Feynman into the truth behind the crash that shocked the nation. Feynman was a brilliant Nobel prize winning quantum physicist who had some controversial ideas, and interesting character for the focus of a story about the Challenger.   The explosion of the Challenger is something just about everyone who was old enough at the time will always remember. It was “an indelible moment in American history” says Debbie Myer, Science Channel GM and Executive VP, and this is a new look at the secrets behind what really happened on that tragic and fateful day.   Bringing in a major star like William Hurt for the project puts it at a level that isn’t usually connected with the Science Channel.   The BBC involvement in this project is an interesting one, considering it’s an American story about an American physicist but there is little doubt that the loss of the Challenger in so dramatic a fashion is something many around the world still remember, so perhaps it’s not so strange after all.   Thoughts on the Last Flight of the Shuttle   Dennis Wingo - SpaceRef.com (Viewpoint)   I was at NASA Ames last week when the final flight of the final space shuttle Endeavour on its way to its final destination occurred. As many people did, I stood outside, on top of our MacMoon's at Ames and took pictures. There were over 20,000 people at NASA Ames that waited hours for an event that took no more than one minute to consummate. Beyond that there were hundreds of thousands more people all around Silicon Valley who were outside and watching when the shuttle flew overhead.   They were on bridges, they were on the patio at Specialties Coffee with binoculars, they were pulled over on the 101 freeway, all to catch a last glimpse of a space shuttle, not even in space, but simply flying overhead on the back of a 747, the same way that we first saw the Enterprise in 1977. The same thing happened all over the country. Washington D.C. was almost shut down by the flight of Discovery coming into Dulles. Tens of thousands of people were wowed by the sight and image of two orbiters nose to nose on the tarmac. It is if Americans collectively all wanted to be a part of a history that many fear is passing us by....   I am the Shuttle Generation   The Time Before the First Launch   The Space Shuttle has been a part of my/our life for almost forty years now. Not like the people that designed them, built them and operated them, but part of my/our life none the less. As a kid I read the articles about why the Saturn V was giving way to a new and routine way of getting to space (naive child that I was) in the early 70's. I read the articles about how we would be building space stations, deploying satellites, and constructing huge telescopes in orbit.   In 1976 I watched the news reports of the roll out of the Enterprise and its display at Edwards AFB with the crew of the fictional 23rd century starship Enterprise. In 1977 we saw on TV the captive carry and first free flights of the Enterprise at Edwards AFB. In 1979 I made a special trip to the cape to see the Enterprise, fully stacked on the launch pad as it was being used as a facilities fit check and test vehicle. I mourned with everyone else when I found out that the Enterprise was never going to fly, for what to some are still mysterious reasons. We also mourned in that year when we found out that because of the delays caused by problems with the SSME engine development, the shuttle would not be available to save Skylab, which then died in its death in fire over the Australian outback.   We worried in 1980 when reports of the continuing problems with the SSME development further pushed back the first launch. I read the Playboy article in late 1980 that went through all of the reasons that the first launch would fail, including faulty tiles, an unreliable APU, an untested system flying with humans, etc....   The First Launches   I did not get to see the first launch in person, but as part of the launch of a new life for myself, I watched the launch in a motel room in Tucson Arizona as I was moving to California to be involved in the computer industry. It was an amazing launch. Our generation who remembered the Saturn V launches were used to seeing the Saturn V lumber off the pad in slow motion, seeming to claw itself into the sky by brute force. The Shuttle virtually leapt off the pad, seemingly determined to prove its naysayers wrong. Watching for the first time the orbiter flying, the APU's working, and the successful barely two day mission, everyone was waiting with anticipation for the landing. For the first time in Human history, the people of southern California heard the double boom...boom of the orbiter's reentry that mildly shook houses for hundreds of miles and the picture perfect landing at Edwards AFB.   I did not get to see the first landing but I did see the landing of STS-4. We left work from Thousand Oaks CA late, not thinking that we would have any problems. However, when we got to Pear Blossom highway there was a massive 40 mile long traffic jam. As time was getting late we knew that we were not going to make it. We were in a small truck and drove on the sand for a while and made progress but got to a spot where we would have gotten stuck so we got back in line. At about this time four big 4x4's came whizzing by on the wrong side of the road! Of course we got in behind them and were soon breezing by the slow moving traffic at 60 miles per hour. The lead truck had big CB antennas on it and when it would veer off to the left, off the road, the rest of us followed. This allowed the sparse oncoming traffic to go by while we continued forward! We did this for over 30 miles until we saw the base entry checkpoint ahead and got back in line.   We made it into the base literally five minutes before they closed the gates. This was still a couple of hours before landing and so we started playing. We saw a bunch of trucks driving out on the lake bed and joined them. About 20 minutes later a fully armed Huey helicopter came whizzing by and stopped us while the fully armed door gunner screamed at us to get the hell off the lake bed, didn't we know the Shuttle was coming? We immediately left and drove to the viewing area, where about half a million of our closest friends were already there. Those early Shuttle landings were a huge party and we all waited for the landing while buying food, and drink and generally raising merry hell. Since the lake bed area was so large we still were able to get a good viewing site across the lake bed where president Reagan was also waiting for the landing. His reviewing stand was really neat, being between two hangers with our old friend, the Shuttle Enterprise behind the stand.   We were warned that the Shuttle was on the way in and started looking for it. The announcer was calling out over loudspeakers the progress. I first saw Columbia when she was still about 105,000 feet up in altitude and the belly of the orbiter was still glowing a dull orange. From that instant until she landed across from us it was no more than an amazing five minutes. The orbiter was sitting on the tarmac very close to where Reagan and the other dignitaries were waiting. Then another amazing thing happened! As Reagan was speaking the 747 showed up again, this time carrying the Shuttle Challenger on its back! As it flew over, for a brief moment, we saw three orbiters together in one thrilling view.   The Early Years   The early years of the Shuttle program were perhaps its most innovative. From launch and rescuing communications satellites to the recovery and repair of NASA's Solar Max, exciting and ground breaking missions were the norm. On the flight where Solar Max was rescued (STS 41C) and repaired NASA deployed the LDEF materials in space 21,300 bus, and the shuttle went to a then record of 300 nautical miles altitude using a direct ascent trajectory.   Science missions flew using the European built Spacelab module in the cargo bay with materials and life sciences experiments. Spacelab components flew on a total of 22 shuttle missions over its lifetime. On other missions orbital assembly experiments were performed such as the EASE/ACCESS where large truss assemblies were built as a test for the future space station. The materials sciences experiments were very exciting to industry and the first non government employee, Charles Walker, flew twice as a payload specialist for McDonnell Douglas.   Student experiments were first flown in space in the Getaway Special Program where payloads are flown in the cargo bay in a self contained experimental system that replaced ballast that would normally be used to balance the orbiter. Dozens of these payloads were eventually flown and many students who built them are now senior professionals in the space industry.   On a minor note the Shuttle could be very annoying. During that era it landed often in California at Edwards Air Force base. It would usually land early in the morning. I was living in Thousand Oaks California at the time and the mission frequency was high enough that the double sonic booms of its reentry would wake me up in the morning to not very charitable thoughts about it doing so.   The first seeds of NASA's problems also came in this era. NASA was jealous of its hardware and rejected out of hand the proposal from Rockwell International to build a fifth orbiter that would be owned by and flown by Rockwell. Problems with the Shuttle system itself were found but not corrected during this era that eventually led to the first shuttle tragedy.   Challenger   Just about everyone can remember where they were at when we lost the Challenger on that cold January morning in 1986. I was in a computer room in Morristown, New Jersey when a computer operator ran in to tell us about it. A group of us left and went to a local bar to watch replay after replay of the explosion that took seven fine lives, including the first teacher in space from us. President Reagan's eloquent eulogy of the crew helped a shocked nation to help heal the loss. The Shuttle program was never the same after that.   My own closer affiliation with the Shuttle program began during the stand down after Challenger. I wanted to work closer to the space program and finally get my degree after working as a non degreed engineer for several years. I left the computer industry to move back to Alabama to enroll at the University of Alabama in Huntsville where I figured I could get work related to the space program and get my degree. I worked at a small company in Huntsville Alabama that built a computer that had a telemetry system that would process the data stream from the SSME's during launch. This system was going into the firing room at the cape and it was fought tooth and nail by the people down there who were quite happy with their ModComp computers and did not like these newfangled microprocessors.   The Second Age of the Shuttle   When the first launch of the Shuttle happened after Challenger in 1988 with the Shuttle Discovery. I was able to get a seat in the Morris auditorium at NASA MSFC building 4200 as I had worked on the return to flight. It was full to overflowing and it seemed that everyone held their breaths when the "go at throttle up" command came from the CAPCOM. A huge cheer range out when the solid rocket boosters separated from the stack after two and a half minutes. No one moved though until the SSME's finally shut down and we knew that the orbiter was going to make it to orbit.   There were still a lot of cool missions though the flight rate never approached the nine flights of 1985. I flew my first payload on the Shuttle on STS-46 with a MacIntosh computer interfaced to a microgravity measurement system that I designed called 3DMA. This mission deployed the European EURECA free flying platform and deployed (unsuccessfully) the Italian TSS-1 20 km tether. At this time I was learning about tethers and we were slated to fly a small satellite on a 20 km tether later in the decade on STS-85. We flew more payloads as I was working the Consortium for Materials Development in Space (CMDS) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We flew our 3DMA payload on the first quasi-commercial module on the Shuttle from SpaceHab. We learned about the politics of the Shuttle, how to work with the safety panel in Houston and the various rivalries between the NASA centers involved in the Shuttle program. After our small satellite was moved off of the Shuttle and flown on a Delta II in 1998 I began to move away from the Shuttle program.   The Shuttle program did several more firsts, including a launch to high inclination out of Florida that went right up the east coast of the U.S. The TSS-1R mission flew, and the tether broke at 19.5 kilometers, but not before confirming the viability of using tethers to generate electrical power in space. The historic first docking of the Space Shuttle to the MIR space station happened in this timeframe as well. The long delayed Hubble space telescope was finally lofted into orbit in 1990 and found to have a badly ground mirror, it was the shuttle to the rescue with a modified optical system. By the time of the fifth Hubble servicing mission in 2009 the telescope was virtually rebuilt in its entire power system, electronics, guidance, and scientific instruments.   It was during this era that I finally got to see some launches. I saw STS-40 from a highway overpass near Coca Beach. I saw STS-46 with my hardware take off from the VIP stands. All together I got to see at least four launches and three additional scrubs of launches. There was one launch that was especially memorable. There was a hold due to weather for too many clouds in the area of the launch site, which would cause problems if there was an abort to launch site scenario. There was near constant chatter with the weather officer about a possible break in the clouds. Finally the break happened and the hold at 9 minutes was lifted and it seemed that the launch team rushed to get the Shuttle launched. The Shuttle lifted off in a hole in the clouds that almost immediately closed back in. Fortunately no abort was needed but you could just tell from the sounds of the voices from the CAPCOM and launch control that they were not going to let a few clouds stop the launch that day.   The Station Era   As the redesigned International Space Station (ISS) began to be a reality the Shuttle program became fun again. The crew persons who actually were involved in the construction of the station were able to gain new and valuable skills and for the first time in human history, half a million pounds of hardware in space, most of it carried up in the orbiters became our first outpost in space. The Shuttle was very well qualified for this task and the combination of the Shuttle remote manipulator and the station remote manipulator made a powerful combination for the successful construction in space of large platforms.   Columbia   By the time of the loss of Columbia on STS-107 I no longer had the small pit in my stomach for the landing. To see it disintegrate over the Texas skies was as shocking as the loss of Challenger. The aftermath was even more painful as the distinct impression was had that we should have caught this one while she was flying. The loss of corporate knowledge when Boeing bought Rockwell and moved the people from California to Texas was wrenching when you read that the engineer who created the program to assess damage to the tiles (who refused to move to Texas and left Rockwell) stated that it was never intended to be used in the way it was used during STS-107. The testing afterward of the RCC panels from the venerable Shuttle Enterprise that showed their fragility shocked everyone who saw it.   The Third and Final Act   The Shuttle returned to flight quicker this time. A controversial rule was adopted that would have precluded the Shuttle being used to service the Hubble telescope one last time that was reversed in 2005 by incoming administrator Mike Griffin. The last servicing mission was in 2009 and it was the final flight to a non station destination. With the station completed in late 2010 and with no further payloads in the pipeline it seemed the logical decision to terminate the program and move onward.   What Could Have Been   Politicians love to say that no one cares about space. The literally millions of people who stopped and clogged highways in Washington, the Bay Area and Los Angeles might disagree with you. Americans love space. To use an out of vogue phrase, we have seen it as our manifest destiny and have since that July day in 1969 when mankind of the American flavor set foot on the Moon. The Shuttle was originally supposed to help us get back to the Moon with the construction of the station and of space vehicles that could go from low Earth Orbit to the Moon. One of my favorite lunar lander designs from Boeing, as illustrated by Paul Hudson in the late 1980's was a dual engine vehicle that would have been carried into orbit by the Shuttle.   The Shuttle was a heavy lift vehicle that we threw away, just like we threw away the Saturn V. The Shuttle was never perfect and it never reached its full potential but every time it launched it carried more than a quarter of a million pounds of hardware into orbit and most of it came back.   Several proposals were made for Shuttle system upgrades that should have happened but did not. One proposal was to go to electromechanical actuators for all of the moving parts of the orbiter such as the SSME's and flight surfaces. This would have eliminated the hydraulic system and the hydrazine powered APU's in favor of an upgraded fuel cell system. This would have cut costs and time for turn around dramatically. Another proposal was to get rid of the bipropellant Orbital Maneuvering Engines and replace them with more powerful LOX/Methane engines. This would have improved performance and cut the turn around time further. A companion upgrade would have swapped out all of the RCS thrusters on the orbiter with the same LOX/Methane system. This would have eliminated toxic propellants from the Orbiter and would have also cut the time, effort, and cost to turn around the system. There was a proposal from as far back as 1977 to add solar arrays that could be deployed on orbit and married to a regenerative fuel cell system that would have extended the time on orbit to near indefinitely.   There were ideas floating about by some to keep an orbiter on orbit at the station to provide extra living space and a construction facility for large space structures at the station. Atlantis was already modified to accept power from the station and thus could have, with some further modifications, have remained at the station. This would have caused other problems with the station but none that were unsolvable.   The Legacy   It is amazing to think now that the last flight of the Shuttle was barely a year ago (from September 2012). With the completion of the station, the Shuttle did not seem to have a purpose anymore. Though many proposals were made for a smooth transition to a quasi-heavy lift Shuttle C, none of the proposals made it past the desire by NASA for a really big shiny new heavy lifter, damn the cost involved and damn the loss of now 35 plus years of operational experience with manned spaceflight.   Was it worth it? The answer to me is yes, if we learn the lessons that the Shuttle program taught us. From the amazing success of the process of orbital assembly that brought together modules from Europe, Russia, Japan, and the United States and put them into a successful half million pound space station, to the satellite servicing missions and microgravity research, the Shuttle does have a proud legacy of accomplishment.   The biggest problem today, is like what we did in the aftermath of the Apollo era, we seem bound and determined to forget the lessons of the Shuttle program. NASA chose a capsule for a renewed exploration program when the lesson of the Apollo program was that they were very expensive throw away systems. Say what you will but if the Shuttle program had thrown away all of those expensive engines every flight the cost would have been much higher. Most of the Shuttle's high cost came due to the low flight rate. Even in the mid 1990's the marginal cost of a Shuttle mission was only about $120 million dollars, quite a deal to put a quarter of a million pounds of hardware into space. The Space Launch System advocates claim that each of those missions will only cost $500 million each. This is a rank fantasy as the Saturn V launches cost $400 million each 40 years ago. It is interesting that this number is probably the marginal launch cost. The infrastructure and overhead cost is what kills you and there is little indication that they are going to save a lot of money there compared to the Shuttle. Throwing away all of your hardware each mission is insane but that is what NASA wants to go back to for the future.   The Fly Over   It was truly amazing the number of people who came out to NASA Ames for the flyover. I was at my office at 7:00 am and there were already people there waiting for something that was not going to happen until ten o'clock. By the time of the flyover there were over 20,000 people waiting there at Ames for this event. There were hundreds of thousands of other people that took a break from their jobs to do likewise all across Silicon Valley and the rest of California. Americans love the Shuttle. Many amazing things were done with them and we mourned together for those whose lives were lost in them.   There is a deep urge in this country to support the exploration and development of space. To build a space program around making the solar system the province of a few government employees, around doing a few science experiments, is not what we as a nation signed up for in the 1950's. We want more from our space program than what the narrow view of NASA has provided. NASA fought space tourism tooth and nail. It killed the idea of a privately built and operated orbiter in the 1980's and today is fixated on a rocket to no where, with no payloads and no destination within the remaining lives of those who first walked on the Moon. This is a national tragedy and one that if the government will not get beyond, we will.   Romney and Obama space plans   Orlando Sentinel (Editorial)   With Florida once again considered a must-win state in this year's presidential race, space policy is finally lifting off as an issue for the candidates. Some coincidence, huh?   Last week at the University of Central Florida, Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan vowed the U.S. would remain the world's "unequivocal leader" in space. Romney's campaign issued a policy statement promising he'd make space a priority as president, but it included few details.   Ryan rightly declared that the U.S. space program needs a clear mission — ironic, because the policy statement didn't offer one.   Meanwhile, President Obama's campaign gave him credit for the burgeoning commercial space industry, the Mars rover mission and a long-term plan for deep-space exploration. All positives, but each falls short of securing U.S. space leadership.   Leaked documents from NASA indicated that the agency is seeking White House support to build and locate a new orbiting outpost that would serve as a staging area for future deep-space missions. But key details in this plan also are missing, starting with its cost.   Floridians, who have seen the state lose thousands of space jobs, should be hopeful but skeptical about the candidates' proposals. In 2008, Obama vowed to narrow the gap between the end of the shuttle and the next manned program. After he was elected, he canceled the next program and replaced it with another one that will probably widen the gap.   Voters who consider space a national priority should demand details from both campaigns.   END