10/1/12 news

Hope you can join us this Thursday, Oct.  4th     for our monthly NASA retirees luncheon at the Hibachi Grill buffett on Bay Area Blvd. between Highway 3 and I45 –11:30.   As usual, we have the party room in the back reserved for our use.   Thank goodness for a little wetter and much cooler weather.     Go TEXANS!     Monday, October 1, 2012   JSC TODAY HEADLINES 1.            Starport Gift Shop Closures 2.            Miss ISS Update This Past Week? Watch the Videos Now 3.            JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Wellness Group Nature Walks 4.            The JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Says ... 5.            ARMD FY13 Seedling Fund Proposals Due Oct. 3 6.            September Issue of NASA Tech Briefs Recognizes More JSC New Technologies 7.            TechTrans International Releases the Russian Language and Logistic Services 8.            Astronomy Day at Brazos Bend State Park 9.            JSC Toastmasters Club Meets Wednesday Nights 10.          Nutrition Class -- Oct. 9 11.          Introducing Youth Karate at the Gilruth Center 12.          AIAA Honors & Awards Nominations Due Today 13.          Shuttle Knowledge Console v2.0 14.          Overhead Cranes and Material Handling: Nov. 7 to 8 - Building 226N, Room 174 ________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.”   -- Douglas MacArthur ________________________________________ 1.            Starport Gift Shop Closures The Starport Gift Shops in Building 3 and 11 will both be closed today through Thursday for inventory. The First Tuesday discount will be postponed until next week.   Cynthia Kibby x35352 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 2.            Miss ISS Update This Past Week? Watch the Videos Now Recently, ISS Update featured Dr. William Ailor, principal investigator for the ReEntry Breakup Recorder (REBR) for The Aerospace Corporation. Ailor spoke about capturing data as Europe's ATV-3 cargo craft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere for a fiery destruction over the Pacific Ocean.   Watch more here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=152790671   Also, ISS Update featured Sarah Shull, deputy manager for the Logistics Reduction and Repurposing project in the Advanced Exploration Systems program. Shull discussed the Logistics to Living tests from the Deep Space Habitat mock-up here at JSC.   Experts are studying secondary ways to use items after their primary use has expired during a deep space mission. The International Space Station is resupplied by cargo ships, which are then filled with trash and deorbited over the Pacific Ocean for a fiery destruction. Crews on a deep space mission will have fewer resupply options and fewer ways to get rid of trash they produce, so it's important that NASA find innovative ways to recycle trash and reuse gear in preparation for these future missions.   See the two-part video series at the following links: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=152961171 http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=152961271   JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111   [top] 3.            JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Wellness Group Nature Walks The JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Wellness Group will be conducting nature walks this month on public walking trails in the Clear Lake area. These relatively short walks (about three miles) will provide general health benefits and group support for anyone seeking this activity. There will be information provided on related safety and health issues, as well as on local plants, trees and wildlife of the area. The groups are normally small, but any employee at JSC, along with friends and family members, are eligible to participate. Participants may walk faster or slower than the main group, though staying with the group is recommended. The walks are scheduled weekly and in the late evening (see website). Additional walks will be scheduled based upon demand. Please notify the person below if you are interested. Your registration will be confirmed by return email.   Darrell R. Matula x38520 https://myjsc.jsc.nasa.gov/personal/dmatula/default.aspx   [top] 4.            The JSC Safety Action Team (JSAT) Says ... Flu season is coming, like it or not. Better be prepared, get your flu shot! Congratulations to October 2012 "JSAT Says..." winner Zoe Bartley, Wyle. Any JSAT member (all JSC contractor and civil servant employees) may submit a slogan for consideration to JSAT Secretary Reese Squires. Submissions for November are due by Friday, Oct. 12. Keep those great submissions coming. You may be the next JSAT Says Winner!   Reese Squires x37776 \\jsc-ia-na01b\JIMMS_Share\Share\JSAT\JSAT Says\JSAT Says 10-2012.pptx   [top] 5.            ARMD FY13 Seedling Fund Proposals Due Oct. 3 Got an innovative technical solution to an aeronautics challenge? NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) is accepting proposals to explore early-stage ideas through research, analysis and proof-of-concept demonstrations. The ARMD Seedling Fund offers grants of up to $150,000 for a 12-month effort to advance new processes, novel concepts or innovative technologies not currently supported by ARMD program and project funds. Obtain proposal guidelines and selection process details at: https://armd-seedling.arc.nasa.gov/   Submit your notice of intent to the seedling fund website between Sept. 19 and Oct. 3.   Please contact Ronnie Clayton at ronald.g.clayton@nasa.gov or x37117 with questions.   Ronnie Clayton x37117 https://armd-seedling.arc.nasa.gov/   [top] 6.            September Issue of NASA Tech Briefs Recognizes More JSC New Technologies More outstanding new technologies and innovations from JSC are recognized in the September 2012 issue of NASA Tech Briefs.   The main purpose of Tech Briefs is to introduce information on new innovations and technologies that stem from advanced research and technology programs conducted by NASA.   The September 2012 JSC briefs include: Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure Monitor, Improving Balance Function Using Low Levels of Electrical Stimulation of the Balance Organs, Developing Physiological Models for Emergency Medical Procedures Under Microgravity, Polyurea-Based Aerogel Monoliths and Composites, Multiplexed Force and Deflection Sensing Shell Membranes for Robotic Manipulators, Fuel Cell / Electrochemical Cell Voltage Monitor, Measurement Techniques for Clock Jitter, Linked-List-Based Multibody Dynamics (MBDyn) Engine, and Plug-in Plan Tool v3.0.3.1.   To read and learn more about these JSC innovations, go to http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/technologyatjsc/technology_news/Related_N...   To see all of the current NASA Tech Briefs, go to http://www.techbriefs.com   Holly Kurth x32951   [top] 7.            TechTrans International Releases the Russian Language and Logistic Services The TTI Russian Language and Logistics Services Portal (TTI RLLS Portal) is a TTI IT system that leverages existing TTI proprietary tools in support of the RLLS program. The TTI RLLS Portal provides secure user sign-on for access to RLLS services and information. The following is few of the services that the system supports:   Translation Interpretation (Telecons and Meeting Support) Lodging Management Trip Request Processing Visa Processing Transportation   All of the existing TTI tools and services will still be available during the next several weeks while transition to the new system tools begins. To create a "User Profile" within the RLLS Portal, please visit the following system access request webpage and submit a completed request form https://www.TTI-Portal.com/_layouts/Forms/RegistrationForm.aspx   Check out JSC Today for future training and system information updates. If you have any questions, contact the RLLS support center at 281-333-7918.   James Welty 281-335-8000 http://www.tti-corp.com   [top] 8.            Astronomy Day at Brazos Bend State Park Astronomy Day is Oct. 20 at the George Observatory inside Brazos Bend State Park. Daytime activities for the kids include face-painting and learning the phases of the moon by eating Oreo cookies. There are outdoor and indoor speakers on various astronomy-related topics, a how-to-make-a-comet demonstration and telescopes set up to safely observe the sun. Once nighttime arrives, out come all the telescopes! Up to 35 telescopes will be set up for public observing, and there's an opportunity to look at inside the observatory's three telescope domes. You'll see the moon, star clusters and nebulae. The A-Day event starts at 3 p.m. and goes (clouds or shine) until 10:30 p.m., but telescope viewing may be impacted due to weather. Concessions are available. Come make a full day of it and learn a little astronomy in the process. It's a great time for the whole family!   Jim Wessel x41128 http://www.astronomyday.net   [top] 9.            JSC Toastmasters Club Meets Wednesday Nights Interested in becoming a better speaker, presenter or leader? Come visit the JSC Toastmasters Club. Meetings take place every Wednesday night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Gilruth Center Rio Grande Room and are open to everyone.   Thomas Bryan x31721 http://3116.toastmastersclubs.org/   [top] 10.          Nutrition Class -- Oct. 9 Avoiding Kitchen Nightmares! Is your kitchen in trouble? Do you find yourself dining out frequently because you find that you are missing ingredients for your recipe? Research shows that people with better organized and well-stocked kitchens tend to cook at home more. This class will focus on some kitchen basics, like improving efficiency in the meal-preparation flow, how to organize the kitchen to streamline meal planning and preparation and basic items to keep in stock. This class might not make you a great chef, but it will improve your efficiency in the kitchen. Email Glenda Blaskey to sign up for this class today.   If you're working on improving your approach to healthy nutrition but can't attend a class, we offer free one-on-one consultations with Glenda Blaskey, the JSC Registered Dietitian.   Glenda Blaskey x41503 http://www.explorationwellness.com/Web/scripts/Nutrition.aspx   [top] 11.          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/Events/   [top] 12.          AIAA Honors & Awards Nominations Due Today The deadline to submit nominations for several AIAA honors and awards is today, Oct. 1!   Link to AIAA Honors and Awards (Includes frequently asked questions, nomination links and membership upgrades on right-hand menu): https://aiaa.org/secondary.aspx?id=230   Award descriptions: https://aiaa.org/HonorsAndAwardsList.aspx?id=5859   Direct link to nomination form (requires login): https://www.aiaa.org/IframeOneColumn.aspx?id=3411&returnURL=https%3a%2f%2faia...   There are also other awards with nomination deadlines of Nov. 1 - see descriptions for further information.   For any questions, email honors2012@aiaahouston.org with "AIAA 2012 Awards" in the subject line, or check out http://www.aiaahouston.org/   Good luck to all Houston-area nominees!   Jennifer Wells 281-336-6302   [top] 13.          Shuttle Knowledge Console v2.0 As part of JSC's ongoing Space Shuttle Knowledge capture process, the JSC Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) and the JSC Engineering Directorate are pleased to announce the second release of the Shuttle Knowledge Console. https://skc.jsc.nasa.gov New content added is Orbital Maneuvering System/Reaction Control System added to the Subsystem Manager page; Integrated Hazard Analysis added to the Shuttle Information System Archive page; and Additional Shuttle Records content added to the Shuttle Records page. Also added is Export Control Warning on all pages. Questions about the new website can be directed to Howard Wagner in the JSC Engineering Directorate or Brent Fontenot in the CKO office. We would love your feedback on this new site. Click the "Submit Feedback" button located on the top of the site navigation and give us your comments.   Brent J Fontenot x36456 https://skc.jsc.nasa.gov/Home.aspx   [top] 14.          Overhead Cranes and Material Handling: Nov. 7 to 8 - Building 226N, Room 174 The primary purpose of the course is to promote overhead crane safety and awareness for operators, riggers, signalmen, supervisors and safety personnel, and to further their understanding of the federal and NASA standards and regulations related to such cranes. This course introduces students to various types of overhead and gantry cranes and hoists used in general industry and construction operations and includes a review of the pertinent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and ANSI standards and NASA requirements. Students are provided with basic information concerning crane safety, operations, inspections, maintenance, pre-lift plans, wire rope, rigging components and rigging safety. The course is intended to provide the basic knowledge (both in breadth and depth) for those operating in and around overhead cranes. It will provide classroom training which, when combined with the center's own hands-on training, will serve to certify overhead crane operators as required.   Shirley Robinson x41284   [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.       Human Spaceflight News Monday – October 1, 2012   HEADLINES AND LEADS   Obama's, Romney's visions for space vary little Hopefuls don't touch on subject often   Ledyard King – Florida Today   Mitt Romney belittles President Barack Obama’s policy for human space exploration as incoherent, disjointed and defeatist. But Romney’s own broadly worded plan, released late last month, departs from the administration’s vision in only one key aspect — by making it clear that spending on NASA would at best stay flat. Both candidates support continuing the teamwork between NASA and private aerospace companies in developing a new vehicle to take crew and supplies to the International Space Station now that the shuttle has retired.   Europe's third ATV ends mission at space station   Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com   Capping a six-month resupply and reboost mission, Europe's third Automated Transfer Vehicle left the International Space Station on Friday, setting course for a fiery final act to collect research data and dispose of the orbiting lab's garbage. The 15.5-ton cargo capsule, nicknamed Edoardo Amaldi after a pioneering Italian physicist, undocked from the space station's Zvezda service module at 2144 GMT (5:44 p.m. EDT). Edoardo Amaldi backed away from the space station before firing rockets to leave the vicinity of the 450-ton complex.   Huge X-Wing-Like Cargo Ship Undocks from Space Station   Tariq Malik - Space.com   An unmanned European cargo ship the size of a double-decker bus undocked from the International Space Station Friday (Sept. 28), ending a six-month delivery flight to the orbiting lab. The robotic Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 (ATV-3), with its four X-wing-like solar arrays unfurled, cast off from the space station Friday as the two spacecraft sailed 255 miles (410 kilometers) over western Kazakhstan in Asia. The cargo ship's undocking occurred at 5:44 p.m. EDT.   Space X test fires rocket engine   James Dean – Florida Today   SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket’s engines Saturday in preparation for a planned launch a week from today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the International Space Station. Culminating a countdown rehearsal at Launch Complex 40, the rocket’s nine first-stage Merlin engines fired for a few seconds at 1:30 p.m. while the rocket remained bolted to the pad. SpaceX said the “static fire,” the last major pre-launch test, was completed as planned and on time.   Falcon 9 engines ignite on pad ahead of October launch   Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com   SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket fired nine main engines on a Florida launch pad Saturday, completing a major test before lifting off on an International Space Station resupply flight Oct. 7. The two-stage rocket rolled to the launch pad Saturday morning, and a computer-controlled sequence filled the booster with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants beginning around midday. The Falcon 9's fuel tanks were pressurized in the countdown's final moments, leading to ignition of the rocket's nine first stage Merlin engines at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT).   Private Rocket's 1st Launch Pad Trek Delayed by Glitch   Dan Leone - Space News   Orbital Sciences Corp. on Thursday scrubbed a planned rollout of the first stage of its Antares rocket, which was headed to the launchpad for a long-awaited hold-down test, because of problems with the horizontal transporter used to move the rocket to its launch site. The rollout, which was scheduled to begin around 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) Thursday, was rescheduled for Saturday morning (Sept. 29) because of a “battery issue” with the transporter vehicle used to haul Antares from its hangar to Pad 0-A at NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia, Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said in an email that reached Space News at 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) on Thursday.   NASA completes water testing of Orion capsule   Associated Press   NASA says it has completed final testing of the water impact of the Orion spacecraft at its Langley Research Center in Hampton. The space agency says it recently completed the testing of the impact of an 18,000-pound test version of the spacecraft in the same facility where Apollo astronauts trained for moonwalks. Officials say swing and drop testing began last summer to certify the Orion spacecraft for water landings. The next round of water impact testing is scheduled to begin in late 2013 using a full-sized model. NASA says the first space-bound Orion capsule will launch on an uncrewed flight planned for 2014 to test several systems. Orion will travel farther than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. (NO FURTHER TEXT)   USA further reduces staff at KSC, other installations   James Dean – Florida Today   Prime shuttle contractor United Space Alliance on Friday shaved its workforce by another 6 percent, cutting 157 jobs, including 121 at Kennedy Space Center. The cuts reduced USA’s Florida employee count to 1,073, down from about 5,500 at the start of 2010. Company-wide, 2,263 employees remain. In addition to the layoffs here, USA cut 35 positions in Texas and one in Alabama.   Florida pursues 150 acres for commercial launch complex   Emma Perez-Trevino - Brownsville Herald   Florida’s attempt to secure a 150-acre tract of land from NASA to develop a commercial launch complex signals the stiff competition Texas faces in luring a space exploration company to Cameron County, an economic development official said Friday. Florida is not saying if it is trying to obtain the acreage from NASA to reel in Space Exploration Technologies Inc., or SpaceX, which is planning to construct its own launch pad. “We are not at liberty to comment on who the potential customers might be,” Tina Lange — spokeswoman for Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development organization — told the Valley Morning Star Friday. But for Brownsville Economic Development Council Vice President Gilberto Salinas, the writing is on the wall: “It’s loud and clear. Florida is trying to make their incentive package better than everybody else’s,” Salinas said.   Some shuttle diplomacy helped bring the Endeavour to L.A. Bringing the shuttle Endeavour to Los Angeles was not a new idea but was conceived in 1991 by California Science Center aerospace curator Ken Phillips   Kate Mather - Los Angeles Times   The sky was no limit for the space shuttle program in 1991. Three shuttles orbited Earth regularly, and a fourth, Endeavour, had just rolled off a Palmdale production line. With construction of the International Space Station looming, the future was bright for NASA's prized fleet. The space agency planned to use the shuttles for many years, perhaps decades. But Ken Phillips was already thinking ahead. Phillips, aerospace curator of the California Science Center, made an audacious proposal to his boss that year: Acquire one of the shuttles. Someday. Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph pounced on the idea. By August 1992 — three months after Endeavour's maiden voyage — Rudolph had blueprints showing a retired orbiter perched upright in a yet-to-be-built wing of the museum devoted to air and space exploration.   It's hard to grade Brevard Workforce's effort so far   John Kelly – Florida Today (Commentary)   The loss of half or more of the jobs at the Kennedy Space Center posed an incredible challenge, not the least of which was the assignment given to Brevard Workforce. The taxpayer-funded agency is charged with helping those space shuttle workers, many of whom spent decades on a perfection-demanding job, to transition into new careers. Still, it’s a bit disconcerting to hear that almost two-thirds of the money provided to the organization had gone unspent as of June 30 and millions of dollars might be given back to the federal government at a time when this community can use all of the help it can get recovering from the shuttle shutdown.   JK Rowling 'turned down space shuttle trip'   Beth Curtis - DigitalSpy.com   JK Rowling has revealed she turned down the opportunity to go on a space shuttle trip. The Harry Potter author, whose new book The Casual Vacancy was released last week, told fans that the trip had been offered for the cost of £2 million ($1.24m). Speaking at an event at London's Southbank Center, Rowling said: "I was offered a seat. For a mere £2 million I could have been on the shuttle, but I turned it down." Rowling recently admitted she is tempted by the thought of writing a 'director's cut' version of the Harry Potter novels, allowing her more time to improve on the original seven books. (NO FURTHER TEXT) __________   COMPLETE STORIES   Obama's, Romney's visions for space vary little Hopefuls don't touch on subject often   Ledyard King – Florida Today   Mitt Romney belittles President Barack Obama’s policy for human space exploration as incoherent, disjointed and defeatist.   But Romney’s own broadly worded plan, released late last month, departs from the administration’s vision in only one key aspect — by making it clear that spending on NASA would at best stay flat.   Both candidates support continuing the teamwork between NASA and private aerospace companies in developing a new vehicle to take crew and supplies to the International Space Station now that the shuttle has retired.   Both envision a grander plan for space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, though it’s not clear if Romney would continue funding Obama’s plans for a manned mission to Mars by the 2030s.   And Romney’s plan makes no mention of reversing Obama’s decision to scrap the Constellation return-to-the-moon program that was backed by former President George W. Bush.   Romney’s proposed space policy “doesn’t differentiate between the president’s program ... other than to say: ‘Obama — bad. I’ll do a better job,’ ” said Dale Ketcham, director of the Spaceport Research & Technology Institute at the University of Central Florida. “There isn’t anything that they have proposed doing that the president isn’t already very much doing.”   Neither the Democratic president nor the former Republican governor from Massachusetts talk much about the space program on the campaign trail.   When they do, they tout the idea of manned missions launched from American soil. Current reality is that U.S. astronauts ride Russian rockets to get to the space station, human footprints on Mars are at least 20 years away, and the only flights into deep space involve robots.   The manned space program is in a lull following last year’s retirement of the space shuttle.   Today’s scenario is the product of changing administrations and Congresses that continually revise visions for NASA’s future, space policy experts say. Grandiose plans approved one year often give way to other proposals, which wastes money and delays progress, critics say. That has fueled accusations that political leaders have squandered America’s preeminence in space.   Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, Romney’s running mate, said during a trip to Orlando last month that Obama has put the space program “on a path where we are conceding our global position as the unequivocal leader in space.”   But what would Romney do differently?   Under Obama, NASA gives private aerospace firms money and guidance to develop rockets to carry cargo and crew to the space station from U.S. launch sites such as Cape Canaveral.   That effort already has borne fruit. In May, California-based SpaceX became the first private enterprise to successfully navigate a vehicle to the space station when its Dragon spacecraft delivered a small payload of cargo.   SpaceX is targeting Sunday for the first ISS resupply launch under its NASA contract, and its one of three firms that received a combined $1.1 billion in federal aid in August. The first human test flights to the space station are not expected until 2017.   Romney’s position supports a greater partnership with aerospace companies.   That’s a good step, according to Scott Hubbard, former director of NASA’s Ames Research Center and now a professor at Stanford University’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. Letting the private sector handle transportation to the station is “exactly the right thing to do,” he said.   Down the lineIt’s less clear what Romney plans for trips deeper into space. His vision almost certainly won’t include establishing a settlement on the moon, however.   After former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who ran against Romney in the presidential primary, said he would build a colony on the moon, Romney slapped down the proposal, saying he would fire anyone who came to him with such an idea.   In his position paper, written with the help of several prominent former NASA officials, including former agency administrator Michael Griffin and Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan, Romney said it’s time to re-evaluate NASA’s goals.   NASA doesn’t need more funding, “it needs clearer priorities,” Romney’s campaign document says. “Romney will ensure that NASA has practical and sustainable missions.”   Howard McCurdy, a space policy expert at American University in Washington, said Romney’s position that NASA’s budget should at best remain flat reflects today’s tough economic realities. NASA and the space community “will have to learn to fit (their) various ambitions inside a budget that is the same size or slightly smaller than the existing budget,” he said. “That’s a big statement, and I suspect it applies to both sides.”   Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, thinks a Romney administration would spend far less on NASA than Obama would, based on the controversial budget plan authored by Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee. The plan calls for deep spending cuts in non-defense discretionary programs such as NASA. “Look at Paul Ryan’s budgets,” Nelson said. “It eviscerates NASA.”   In contrast, Nelson said, the space agency’s budget under Obama has remained relatively flat at a time when budgets were cut significantly at other agencies.   McCurdy said Romney probably would cut NASA’s budget 5 or 7 percent, but wouldn’t make the drastic reductions Nelson and other Democrats claim. NASA’s budget for fiscal 2012, which ended Sunday, was about $18 billion.   Ketcham at the University of Central Florida sees bigger potential problems in Romney’s proposal to re-evaluate an agency that’s constantly altering course based on political whim. Such a review could delay NASA’s progress on current projects, even if the review concluded those projects should continue. “The last thing (the space program) needs and certainly the Space Coast workforce needs is yet another change of direction,” he said. “Are we to continue spending billions on a program that’s going to be canceled, or do we furlough Kennedy Space Center until Washington makes up its mind?”   Romney’s approach got a tepid thumbs-up from ex-House Speaker Gingrich. “We could move into space much, much faster than we are,” he said. “Romney is better than Obama on space but could be bolder and more visionary.”   McCurdy doesn’t put too much faith in Romney’s position paper. President John F. Kennedy never mentioned a moon landing in his campaign, and Obama once proposed siphoning billions from the space program to pay for education needs but abandoned the idea because he needed Florida to win the 2008 election, McCurdy said.   “These things are never substantive,” he said.   Europe's third ATV ends mission at space station   Stephen Clark - SpaceflightNow.com   Capping a six-month resupply and reboost mission, Europe's third Automated Transfer Vehicle left the International Space Station on Friday, setting course for a fiery final act to collect research data and dispose of the orbiting lab's garbage.   The 15.5-ton cargo capsule, nicknamed Edoardo Amaldi after a pioneering Italian physicist, undocked from the space station's Zvezda service module at 2144 GMT (5:44 p.m. EDT).   Edoardo Amaldi backed away from the space station before firing rockets to leave the vicinity of the 450-ton complex.   The ATV's departure was delayed three days after a communications miscue Tuesday caused officials to call off the undocking.   Friday's undocking sets the stage for a four-day free flight leading to re-entry.   Two de-orbit burns will lower the ATV's orbit, and the spacecraft will break apart and burn up over a remote zone of the Pacific Ocean between Chile and New Zealand. Impact of the ship's debris is expected around 0127 GMT Wednesday (9:27 p.m. EDT Tuesday).   Space station astronauts loaded 2,181 pounds of trash into the ATV's dry cargo compartment, and the ship's tanks hold 771 pounds of urine and waste water for disposal, according to the European Space Agency.   The trash replaced more than 4,800 pounds of fresh food, clothing, crew personal items, experiments and spare parts delivered to the space station when Edoardo Amaldi arrived March 28.   The ATV replenished the station's tanks with about 75 gallons of potable water and transferred 220 pounds of oxygen and air. The mission refueled the space station's propulsion system with more than 1,800 pounds of propellant.   Nine reboosts of the space station's orbit with the ATV's thrusters raised the lab's average altitude by about 16 miles, according to ESA.   A data recorder strapped inside the ATV's pressurized module is programmed to measure the conditions of the re-entry as the spacecraft crumbles and fragments in the upper atmosphere.   "One of our objectives with this re-entry breakup recorder is to get some definitive data on how objects respond as they re-enter the atmosphere," said William Ailor, the device's principal investigator from the Aerospace Corp., in an interview aired on NASA Television.   The recorder, embedded inside a copper shell, will log acceleration measurements, attitude rates, temperatures and pressures during the ATV's fall from space.   Once it is through the harshest phase of re-entry, the recorder will relay the data back to researchers through the Iridium communications satellite system.   "It's basically a cell phone with its own heat shield and its own little instrument suite," Ailor said.   According to Ailor, information from the recorder could lead to more accurate predictions of how satellites will break apart during re-entry, yielding better threat assessments for spacecraft falling from orbit.   Up to 40 percent of a satellite's dry mass can survive the heat of re-entry and reach Earth's surface.   The device could be a template for a black box data recorder on piloted commercial spaceships.   Ailor and his team flew recorders on two Japanese resupply ships, including on a Sept. 14 re-entry. The second ATV mission carried a re-entry recorder in 2011, but it did not return any data. Ailor said an explosion during the ATV's re-entry may have damaged the instrument.   Edoardo Amaldi is the third of five ATVs built for ESA by Astrium Space Transportation. The next mission, nicknamed Albert Einstein, arrived at its French Guiana launch site earlier this month for launch in spring 2014.   Huge X-Wing-Like Cargo Ship Undocks from Space Station   Tariq Malik - Space.com   An unmanned European cargo ship the size of a double-decker bus undocked from the International Space Station Friday (Sept. 28), ending a six-month delivery flight to the orbiting lab.   The robotic Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 (ATV-3), with its four X-wing-like solar arrays unfurled, cast off from the space station Friday as the two spacecraft sailed 255 miles (410 kilometers) over western Kazakhstan in Asia. The cargo ship's undocking occurred at 5:44 p.m. EDT (2144 GMT).   The space departure occurred three days later than planned due to delays, first by a computer glitch and later by space junk near the space station.   But Friday, the ATV-3 spacecraft, which is named the Edoardo Almadi after the famed late Italian physicist of the same name, made a flawless departure from the station. It will spend the next few days orbiting Earth before being intentionally destroyed on Tuesday (Oct. 3) by burning up in Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.   "Today, everything has worked to perfection," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said during the agency's live broadcast of the undocking.   The ATV-3 spacecraft was built by the European Space Agency and delivered 7.2 tons of food, water and other vital supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station when it launched in March from a South American spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The ATV-3 spent 184 linked to the space station before being packed with trash and other unneeded items for its eventual fiery demise in Earth's atmosphere.   The ATV-3 is ESA's third unmanned cargo ship mission to visit the space station, which is also supplied by robotic cargo ships from Japan and Russia. In the United States, NASA has contracted two companies — SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. — to provide unmanned cargo delivery flights to the station. The first official flight by SpaceX is scheduled to launch on Oct. 7, when the company   The next ATV to launch toward the space station will be the ATV-4 Albert Einstein, which is slated to blast off in April 2013.   Space X test fires rocket engine   James Dean – Florida Today   SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket’s engines Saturday in preparation for a planned launch a week from today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the International Space Station.   Culminating a countdown rehearsal at Launch Complex 40, the rocket’s nine first-stage Merlin engines fired for a few seconds at 1:30 p.m. while the rocket remained bolted to the pad.   SpaceX said the “static fire,” the last major pre-launch test, was completed as planned and on time.   “We will look at data to verify all systems are go for launch,” said spokeswoman Katherine Nelson.   If all systems are go, the two-stage, liquid-fueled Falcon 9 is scheduled to blast off at 8:35 p.m. next Sunday during an instantaneous launch window.   Atop the rocket, an unmanned Dragon capsule will carry about 1,000 pounds of cargo bound for the space station.   The resupply mission is the first of 12 SpaceX is slated to fly under a $1.6 billion NASA contract.   The contract’s start follows a successful demonstration flight in May that made a Dragon the first private spacecraft to visit the station.   Following a launch next Sunday, the Dragon would be on track to arrive at the station Oct. 10to be grappled by a robotic arm and pulled into a docking port around 9:30 a.m.   The capsule would tentatively plan to depart the outpost Oct. 28 with more than 1,200 pounds of cargo before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.   Since the shuttle’s retirement last year, Dragon is the only spacecraft that can return cargo from the station back to Earth.   If the first launch attempt scrubs, backup opportunities are available Oct. 8 and Oct. 9.   SpaceX, of Hawthorne, Calif., is one of two companies under NASA contract to deliver cargo to the station.   Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., plans a first test launch of its new Antares rocket later this year. The company hopes to roll the rocket out to its Virginia launch pad for the first time on Monday for tests.   Falcon 9 engines ignite on pad ahead of October launch   Stephen Clark – SpaceflightNow.com   SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket fired nine main engines on a Florida launch pad Saturday, completing a major test before lifting off on an International Space Station resupply flight Oct. 7.   The two-stage rocket rolled to the launch pad Saturday morning, and a computer-controlled sequence filled the booster with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants beginning around midday.   The Falcon 9's fuel tanks were pressurized in the countdown's final moments, leading to ignition of the rocket's nine first stage Merlin engines at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT).   Steam and exhaust flowed out of the flame trench at Complex 40, the Falcon 9's launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.   The Merlin 1C engines were supposed to fire at full power for about two seconds, generating more than 800,000 pounds of thrust as the rocket remained firmly connected to the launch pad.   Called a static fire, or hotfire, the test verifies the engines, rocket and ground systems are ready for launch.   SpaceX confirmed the static fire test was a success in a statement released Saturday afternoon.   "We will need to look at data to verify all systems are go for launch, but we completed the static fire test today as planned and on time," said Katherine Nelson, a SpaceX spokesperson.   SpaceX has scheduled a static fire test before each of its Falcon 9 flights to check the health of the engines and wring out problems before launch day. The exercise also serves as a rehearsal for the launch team.   The Falcon 9 rocket has achieved three successful flights since 2010.   Engineers will remove the rocket from the launch pad and return it to its assembly hangar, where workers will attach a Dragon spacecraft loaded with supplies and experiments bound for the space station.   The rocket will also orbit a second-generation two-way data communications satellite for Orbcomm Inc.   Launch is set for Oct. 7 at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT on Oct. 8), and the Dragon capsule will reach the space station Oct. 10, when the lab's robotic arm will grapple the unmanned freighter and attach it a connecting port.   The flight is the first of 12 cargo missions under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. SpaceX received approval from NASA in August to begin operational deliveries to the space station.   Two test flights of the Dragon spacecraft assured NASA the capsule meets stringent safety requirements for visiting the space station. In May, SpaceX successfully accomplished the first commercial round-trip flight to and from the complex.   The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to stay at the space station for about 18 days on this mission, departing from the outpost Oct. 28 and returning to Earth with a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.   After the retirement of the space shuttle, the Dragon capsule is the only vehicle capable of returning equipment from the space station to Earth.   Private Rocket's 1st Launch Pad Trek Delayed by Glitch   Dan Leone - Space News   Orbital Sciences Corp. on Thursday scrubbed a planned rollout of the first stage of its Antares rocket, which was headed to the launchpad for a long-awaited hold-down test, because of problems with the horizontal transporter used to move the rocket to its launch site.   The rollout, which was scheduled to begin around 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) Thursday, was rescheduled for Saturday morning (Sept. 29) because of a “battery issue” with the transporter vehicle used to haul Antares from its hangar to Pad 0-A at NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia, Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said in an email that reached Space News at 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) on Thursday.   Virginia-based Orbital was preparing to bring the Antares first stage to Pad 0-A for a hold-down test that, Beneski said, will take place several weeks after the rocket stage is set up at the pad.   “We were authorized to begin our on-pad operations,” Beneski said Sept. 27 from Orbital’s Dulles, Va., headquarters. “Once the rocket is hooked up, it will be four to six weeks before we do the hot-fire test.” [Gallery: Orbital Sciences' Cygnus Spacecraft and Antares Rocket]   The battery issue with the transporter showed itself early in the rollout process, according to an internal Orbital email.   “We experienced a problem with the transporters,” Mike Whalen, Orbital’s field site manager, wrote just before 11 a.m. in the email, which was obtained by Space News. “They checked out ok last night and early this morning, but one died when we attempted to roll.   “Team is trouble shooting and we know for sure that we have a power problem. We are getting new batteries delivered Pocomoke now. After installing them we will perform transporter checkout. If no fault code exist[s], we will probably roll out around 12:30 if all goes well,” Whalen wrote.   Beneski had no immediate comment on the status of the transporter checkout. Whalen could not be reached for comment.   The planned Antares first-stage hold down is a critical milestone for Orbital. The test, if successful, will clear the way for the first flight of the full Antares launch vehicle by the end of this year, Beneski said.   NASA spokesman Jeremy Eggers did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Because Pad 0-A is located on a NASA range, the U.S. space agency has responsibility for certifying that it is fit for launch.   Delays in obtaining that certification, which Orbital blamed on the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority that operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, have prevented Orbital from completing the remaining milestones in its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA.   Under the COTS agreement, Orbital has to perform two flight demonstrations of its Antares rocket, including one where the vehicle boosts the company’s unmanned Cygnus cargo capsule to the International Space Station.   Orbital plans to use these vehicles to fulfill its $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The 2008 agreement calls for Orbital to make eight cargo delivery runs to the orbiting lab.   USA further reduces staff at KSC, other installations   James Dean – Florida Today   Prime shuttle contractor United Space Alliance on Friday shaved its workforce by another 6 percent, cutting 157 jobs, including 121 at Kennedy Space Center.   The cuts reduced USA’s Florida employee count to 1,073, down from about 5,500 at the start of 2010. Company-wide, 2,263 employees remain.   In addition to the layoffs here, USA cut 35 positions in Texas and one in Alabama.   USA spokeswoman Tracy Yates said the Houston-based company’s latest quarterly layoffs were part of continued downsizing as NASA’s shuttle Transition and Retirement program winds down.   “As this work scope continues to decrease, additional employees will be released from the company,” Yates said. “The next workforce reductions are tentatively scheduled for December and January.”   Since the last shuttle mission in July 2011, NASA and USA have ferried three retired orbiters (including the prototype Enterprise) to museums. Atlantis, the last shuttle left at KSC, is scheduled to move to the KSC Visitor Complex on Nov. 2.   While readying the orbiters for public display, USA has also been closing out facilities no longer needed for the shuttle. Some of those, such as hangars, a launch pad and the runway, could be turned over to new commercial or government users.   USA, a 50-50 joint venture between The Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., will continue work that supports ground operations at KSC, the International Space Station, development of the Orion crew capsule and other contracts, Yates said.   As with earlier rounds of layoffs, employees departing Friday left with severance packages ranging from four to 26 weeks of pay based on their years of service.   The company no longer awards additional “critical skills” bonuses that were implemented as incentives to help retain key personnel to ensure safe flyout of the shuttle. Those bonuses were last paid out in April.   Florida pursues 150 acres for commercial launch complex   Emma Perez-Trevino - Brownsville Herald   Florida’s attempt to secure a 150-acre tract of land from NASA to develop a commercial launch complex signals the stiff competition Texas faces in luring a space exploration company to Cameron County, an economic development official said Friday.   Florida is not saying if it is trying to obtain the acreage from NASA to reel in Space Exploration Technologies Inc., or SpaceX, which is planning to construct its own launch pad.   “We are not at liberty to comment on who the potential customers might be,” Tina Lange — spokeswoman for Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development organization — told the Valley Morning Star Friday.   But for Brownsville Economic Development Council Vice President Gilberto Salinas, the writing is on the wall: “It’s loud and clear.”   “Florida is trying to make their incentive package better than everybody else’s,” Salinas said.   SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, Calif., has been scouting at least Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico for potential sites to construct the launch pad.   The developments come as Texas continues efforts to attract SpaceX to a site near Brownsville close to Boca Chica Beach for the launch pad project.   Salinas said Florida’s move is apparent. “They wouldn’t want to lose SpaceX’s project to Texas. Amassing large tracts of land is a huge indicator of what they are trying to do.”   “This is a wake-up call for all of us working on this project in Texas,” Salinas said.   The site in Cameron County has been said to be the lead contender for the project. The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an environmental assessment on the site near Boca Chica Beach, and SpaceX has purchased several properties in Cameron County.   This comes while talks continue between Texas and the firm on an incentives package and Cameron County researches title to properties it believes it owns that could be leased or sold to SpaceX. FFA verified that the environmental assessment is being conducted at SpaceX’s expense.   As to whether or not Florida’s move impacts Texas, “We don’t have any comment,” SpaceX spokeswoman Katherine Nelson said Friday.   Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office did not respond to a request for comment.   Letter to NASA   Florida’s Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll chairs the Space Florida Board and on Sept. 20 she wrote a letter to NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The Valley Morning Star secured the letter from the state of Florida. Carroll enlisted their cooperation to facilitate Space Florida’s purchase of the 150 acres.   The acreage is located at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the vicinity of the former citrus community of Shiloh and Carroll wrote that this is surplus property not needed for public use.   Carroll further noted that the state proposes to develop the property and operate the site as a commercial launch complex independent of the neighboring federal range and spaceports.   Carroll also requested that the agencies enlist the cooperation of the secretary of the interior in that Florida recognizes the environmental considerations associated with these areas of KSC and the existing management responsibilities of the Department of Interior regarding the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Canaveral National Seashore.   “Additionally, through thoughtful coordination with the Department of Interior, we believe that the proposed actions will pose no significant impacts to the environment,” Carroll wrote.   The results of the environmental assessment being conducted at SpaceX’s expense by FAA on the Cameron County site are expected to be released early next year.   Space Florida   Space Florida isn’t saying if the intent to obtain the 150-acre site from NASA is tied to SpaceX.   “There are certainly other media outlets taking some guesses, but we are not able to talk about anybody that we might be in discussions with in relation to that property,” Lange said.   The launch facilities that SpaceX has been accessing include Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.   And, while Space Florida won’t provide details about its plans for the land, there is no hesitancy in its stance to do what it can to keep the commercial space exploration firm in the “Sunshine State.”   “We have been working with SpaceX for some time,” Lange said of Florida’s years’ long relationship with the firm, which she said brings significant benefits to the state. “We are thrilled to have them here and we will continue working with them,” she said.   “We are very proud to have them in our community,” she added, noting that Space Florida looks forward to continue working with the firm as it looks at Florida to expand operations.   Lange also noted that, “we certainly would want to do whatever we could to keep them . . .”   Lange said she is not aware of the conduct of any environmental assessment in Florida regarding SpaceX’s project, or of the purchase of any land associated with it.   Texas   Salinas said that the developments in Florida serve as a stark reminder for Texas to stay focused.   “That should remind all of us that we can’t solely rely on geographic location as an advantage over other states,” he said.   “It’s going to take a lot more to land this project.”   Some shuttle diplomacy helped bring the Endeavour to L.A. Bringing the shuttle Endeavour to Los Angeles was not a new idea but was conceived in 1991 by California Science Center aerospace curator Ken Phillips   Kate Mather - Los Angeles Times   The sky was no limit for the space shuttle program in 1991. Three shuttles orbited Earth regularly, and a fourth, Endeavour, had just rolled off a Palmdale production line. With construction of the International Space Station looming, the future was bright for NASA's prized fleet.   The space agency planned to use the shuttles for many years, perhaps decades. But Ken Phillips was already thinking ahead.   Phillips, aerospace curator of the California Science Center, made an audacious proposal to his boss that year: Acquire one of the shuttles. Someday.   Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph pounced on the idea. By August 1992 — three months after Endeavour's maiden voyage — Rudolph had blueprints showing a retired orbiter perched upright in a yet-to-be-built wing of the museum devoted to air and space exploration.   Even as long-range plans go, this was a doozy — "pie in the sky," Phillips recalled recently. But two decades later, the shuttle sketched in those blueprints sits in a hangar at Los Angeles International Airport, awaiting a two-day celebratory crawl over city streets to its permanent home at the Exposition Park museum.   Phillips and Rudolph are being congratulated for their prescience. But having foresight was only the first step.   When Endeavour rolled off the production line 21 years ago, it was to replace the Challenger, which exploded shortly after launch in 1986. The new "jewel of the fleet" had more bells and whistles than other orbiters and was expected to fly 100 missions over the coming years. But it would complete only 25.   In 2004, not long after another of the shuttles, Columbia, disintegrated on reentry, then-President George W. Bush announced that the shuttle program was coming to an end.   NASA began planning for retirement, and in 2008 asked interested museums to submit a 25-page proposal describing how they might display a shuttle.   Twenty-one museums, space centers and institutions replied, including the California Science Center. Speculation began to mount over where the shuttles would go.   Many assumed that the test shuttle Enterprise, which was at a Smithsonian museum in Virginia, would be swapped with one of the three other orbiters. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida was a front-runner. Other possibilities included Seattle, home of Boeing, and Dayton, Ohio, which has the Air Force Museum and touts the birthplace of the Wright brothers.   "Not a lot of folks thought of us as a favorite," Rudolph said.   Many applicants went public with their lobbying efforts, drawing support from senators and other elected officials.   Houston, the "Space City" that boasts Johnson Space Center, launched an extensive public relations campaign that included 90,000 letters of support. The families of the astronauts who died aboard Challenger and Columbia met with NASA's top administrator to urge selection of the Texas city. State lawmakers wrote to President Obama, arguing that denying an orbiter to Houston would "forever diminish the service" the city provided to the shuttle program and "create a blemish on its significance to the legacy of NASA."   The Science Center took the opposite path. The museum solicited no letters of recommendation, made no public pleas.   In the proposal, Phillips wrote about the educational opportunities a shuttle would provide the free, state-run museum. He included exhibit designs and described how the museum would explain the science and engineering behind a shuttle.   "We were trying to let NASA understand that we were creative in our thinking, that we had thought about this for a long time," Phillips said.   The museum planned to draw on the aerospace industry's strong Southern California roots, explaining how the shuttle was built. Although the orbiter would be seen but not entered by the public, the Science Center would bring the mid-deck living quarters — and toilet — out for display so visitors could see what life was like for astronauts. Other elements would be brought into the museum to re-create the launch stack.   Phillips sent in the application in March 2009. Ten months later, NASA issued another request for information. The new head of the agency, Charles Bolden, had asked for a reevaluation of the selection process. Bolden wanted the shuttles housed in locations that would draw a large number of visitors — local, domestic and international — to "serve NASA's goal of expanding outreach and education efforts to spur interest in science, technology and space exploration."   This time, 29 institutions expressed interest. NASA narrowed the list to 13, including the Science Center, the San Diego Air and Space Museum, a Chicago planetarium, Johnson Space Center and several other NASA sites. The finalists were scored on a series of criteria, including their funding, international access, attendance and ability to meet the shuttle delivery schedule.   The Science Center topped the list. It not only had an excellent proposal for housing an orbiter but was in the West Coast's largest city, one that had extensive ties to the shuttle program.   But Phillips didn't know his museum was the front-runner, or that some NASA officials thought the best choice for Los Angeles was Enterprise, the test shuttle at the Smithsonian. Enterprise was lighter than the three shuttles that had actually flown, making it easier to transport over urban streets to the museum.   A NASA aide called Phillips on April 11, 2011, a day before the agency was to announce the winners. Would the Science Center accept the test model if that was the only one available?   Of course, Phillips said.   Then came: If you had a choice, which shuttle would you take?   He wanted one that had actually flown; they were more authentic than the test shuttle. "They're really pretty beat up … but beat up in a really great way," Phillips later explained. "It can tell this fantastic story about what they've been through."   As he prepared to answer the question, Phillips remembered that a California state senator once asked NASA to retire the shuttle Atlantis in the Antelope Valley. "I didn't want to seem like California didn't have its act together, so I said Atlantis," Phillips recalled. "But I really wanted Endeavour. I didn't have the nerves to say it."   Endeavour was not only the newest shuttle, but it had flown several historic missions. Phillips also felt a personal connection to Endeavour as the replacement for Challenger. His college friend at North Carolina A&T University, Ronald McNair, was one of the seven astronauts killed when Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after liftoff.   Phillips hung up the phone, excited and anxious.   He was at work by 6 a.m. the next day, waiting.   Bolden called. Atlantis would stay with the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery was heading to the Smithsonian, test shuttle Enterprise would be moved to New York — and Endeavour was coming to Los Angeles.   Phillips told his co-workers. The room erupted in cheers. Rudolph called the governor.   Then, two decades after Phillips' "pie in the sky" proposal, he turned to a colleague.   "I hope I heard him right," he said.   It's hard to grade Brevard Workforce's effort so far   John Kelly – Florida Today (Commentary)   The loss of half or more of the jobs at the Kennedy Space Center posed an incredible challenge, not the least of which was the assignment given to Brevard Workforce.   The taxpayer-funded agency is charged with helping those space shuttle workers, many of whom spent decades on a perfection-demanding job, to transition into new careers.   Still, it’s a bit disconcerting to hear that almost two-thirds of the money provided to the organization had gone unspent as of June 30 and millions of dollars might be given back to the federal government at a time when this community can use all of the help it can get recovering from the shuttle shutdown.   The money, awarded before the space shuttles were retired and most of the layoffs happened, has sat unspent in part because of the delayed nature of the impact from the program’s end.   Extra flights were added. Normal space launch delays lengthened the program’s life. Healthy severance packages meant many space shuttle workers separated from service had a little extra time to find work.   Now, with the program shut down for more than a year, and some of the severance money running out, a larger number of people are walking through the doors at the workforce agency. Hopefully, they’re getting the services they need.   For years now, people have asked how the millions provided to the agency to help shuttle workers was being spent. Stories emerged about getting help and finding work. Other stories emerged about people who were frustrated by the way the system worked or, in their cases, didn’t seem to work.   The workforce agency has adjusted its approach for helping those unemployed shuttle workers who can’t seem to land new employment, Florida Today’s James Dean reported last week.   The agency found some people needed a different kind of help than on-the-job training. It also determined that even people who are arguably among the most studious technical workers in America were not necessarily suited for a job market that changed a lot since they last were out looking for work.   Let’s hope Brevard Workforce has made the right choices and taken the right approaches. From the available public information, it’s impossible to know for sure the agency’s impact on this problem so far, and we likely won’t for years. However, making maximum use of the outside resources provided should be one of the group’s goals for the rest of this year.   The organization’s predicament here is not unlike that of a university, which can provide training and resources for students. But, it can’t do the whole job. Its success and failure is in part measured by what it has done and by its intentions. In the end, however, the workforce agency also will be measured by the success and failure of the people it sought to help out.   It may be 2020 before we can write the definitive account of how well they got the job done.   END