BHO layoff bomb

Obama’s Layoff Bomb by Michelle Malkin Creators Syndicate Copyright 2012 In June, a diffident and self-deluded President Obama claimed that “the private sector is doing fine.” Last week, the private sector responded: Speak for yourself, buster. Who needs an “October Surprise” when the business headlines are broadcasting the imminent layoff bomb in neon lights? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last Tuesday that employers issued 1,316 “mass layoff actions” (affecting 50 workers or more) in September; more than 122,000 workers were affected overall. USA Today financial reporter Matt Krantz wrote that “(m)uch of the recent layoff activity is connected to what’s been the slowest period of earnings growth since the third quarter of 2009.” Some necessary restructuring is underway in response to the stagnant European economy. But more and more U.S. businesses are putting the blame — bravely and squarely — right where it belongs: on the obstructionist policies and regulatory schemes of the blame-shifter-in-chief. Last week, Ohio-based auto parts manufacturer Dana Holding Corp. warned employees of potential layoffs amid “looming concern” about the economy. President and CEO Roger Wood specifically mentioned the walloping burden of “increasing taxes on small businesses” and the need to “offset increased costs that are placed on us through new laws and regulations.” Case in point: Obamacare. The mandate will cost Dana Holding Corp., which employs some 24,500 workers, “approximately $24 million over the next six years in additional U.S. health care expenses.” As Ohio Watchdog blogger Maggie Thurber reported, the firm’s Toledo area corporate offices laid off seven white-collar employees last Friday; company insiders told her more were on the way. They are not alone. On Tuesday, Consol Energy issued a federally mandated layoff disclosure announcing its “intent to idle its Miller Creek surface operations near Naugatuck, W.Va.” The move will affect the company’s Wiley Surface Mine, Wiley Creek Surface Mine, Minway Surface Mine, Minway Preparation Plant and Miller Creek Administration Group, all in Mingo County, W.Va. Despite state approval, cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and myriad other agencies, and a stellar safety record, Obama’s EPA dragged its feet on the permit approval process. The impasse has forced layoffs of 145 Consol Energy employees that will hit at the end of the year. They are not alone. In August, Robert E. Murray, founder and CEO of Murray Energy Corporation in Ohio, blasted the White House anti-coal agenda for the layoffs and closure of his company’s mine. He told Obama water-carrying CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien that “the many regulations that (Obama) and his radical appointees and the U.S. EPA have put on the use of coal, there are dozens of them and collectively by his own energy administration, have closed 175 power plants.” As O’Brien barked at her guest about purported environmental objections, Murray explained that “we cannot get permits for these mines. They are delaying the issuance of permits. If you can’t get the permit, you can’t have the mine. … I created those jobs, and I put the investment in that mine. And when it came time to lay the people off, I went up personally and talked to every one of them myself to lay them off. It’s a human issue.” And it’s an innovation issue, too. As I reported in February, Obamacare’s impending 2.3 percent medical device excise tax has already wrought havoc on the industry: Stryker, a maker of artificial hips and knees based in Kalamazoo, Mich., is slashing 5 percent of its global workforce (an estimated 1,000 workers) this coming year to reduce costs related to Obamacare’s taxes and mandates. Covidien, a N.Y.-based surgical supplies manufacturer, recently announced layoffs of 200 American workers and plans to move some of its plant work to Mexico and Costa Rica, in part because of the coming tax hit. Mass.-based Zoll Medical Corp., which makes defibrillators and employs some 1,800 workers in the U.S. and around the world, says the medical device tax will cost the company between $5 million and $10 million a year. This July, Indiana’s Cook Medical Inc. shelved plans to open five new plants because of the imminent medical device tax hit. They are not alone. The heads of Koch Industries, Westgate Resorts and ASG Software Solutions have all separately informed their employees of prosperity-undermining Obama economic politics. Left-wing groups have lambasted the executives for exercising their political free speech. But they have remained silent while the White House corruptocrats bribed federal defense contractors into delaying federally mandated layoff disclosures before the election. In a memo now being investigated on Capitol Hill, Obama promised to cover the legal fees of Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors if they ignored legal requirements to inform workers in advance about so-called sequestration cuts to the military’s budget scheduled to kick in next year. Truth suppression is a time-honored Obama tactic, of course. Remember: The administration and its Democratic allies on Capitol Hill attempted to punish Deere, Caterpillar, Verizon and ATT in 2010 for disclosing how the costs of Obamacare taxes were hitting their bottom lines — even though they were simply following SEC disclosure requirements. The White House also tried to silence insurers who dared to inform their customers about how Obamacare was driving up premiums. Not this time. The administration’s bully boys don’t have enough whitewash and duct tape to cover up the past, present and future devastation of the president and his economic demolition team. ~ For the latest breaking news, be sure to join Michelle's e-mail list ~

Currency

  Subject: Currency Message Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:07:06 -0500 Ron Paul Sound Currency Message is Resonating With Worldwide Leaders, Including China While doing the research for this article, it appeared the leaders of China have been listening to Ron Paul while most leaders in the U.S. continue to mock him. Though history proves fiat currencies fail, central banks, including the Federal Reserve are bound and determined to convince the world that this time history won’t repeat itself. So, if you were China and you owned $1.2 trillion in U.S. bills, notes, and bonds, what would you do to hedge your bets and cover your fanny? Exactly what China is doing: buying gold. In fact, they are buying so much; it appears they are preparing for a world beyond the fiat dollar. A future world in which the renminbi backed by gold could become the dominant reserve currency. State-owned China National, CEO Sun Zhaoxue commented on the acquisition of African Barrick Gold Ltd, saying, “As gold is a currency in nature, no matter if it’s for state economic security or for the acceleration of renminbi internationalization, increasing the gold reserve should be one of the key strategies of China.” So, in spite of the fact China is the world's largest producer of gold, it appears important enough for China to still acquire interest in mines in other countries. And Zhaoxue sounds suspiciously like Ron Paul when he says, “Gold is currency.” But then we hear Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, telling students at George Washington University how impractical a gold backed currency is, “I mean, what you have to do to have a gold standard is you have to go to South Africa or some place and dig up tons of gold and move it to New York.”  So while Bernanke is teaching students it’s too much of a problem to mine and ship gold to the U.S. to fill our void, the Chinese are buying up the mines — in Africa. China is mining gold, buying gold, buying gold mines and encouraging its citizens to buy gold. They are even minting gold coins in various sizes to make it easier for citizens to accumulate. Maybe we need to take another look at Zhaoxue’s statement. “…for the acceleration of renminbi internationalization…” And right now the renminbi is fiat like all other currencies, right?   Reports in the past have told us it would be years before the dollars’ place, as the world reserve currency would end. At one time economists speculated if the dollar were ever replaced, it would be by the euro. Not anymore. Following the world wide financial collapse in 2008, and the stresses by such countries as Greece, the euro continues to teeter. The world watches for the impact of more Euro zone bailouts; it’s not looking good. All eyes right now are on Spain, as a not “if” but “when” bailout. And then there is the fiscal cliff Ron Paul has warned about in the U.S. Failure by our nation’s leaders to reign in spending on domestic social issues, tighten tax loop-holes that encourage off-shore banking and investments by the rich (Hello Romney), an out of control military industrial complex pushing U.S. imperialism all over the world, and of course the Bush era tax cuts that are getting ready to expire and the now loss of the petrodollar. Add to that, the never ending Federal Reserve’s QEs. How much more can the fiat paper dollar withstand, even if stacked a billion thick? Many people just don’t realize how aggressive the competition against the greenback has become in just the last two years by the red renminbi of China. The remnimbi is positioning itself to be viewed as a real global reserve currency alternative. China is not one to make public most of their financial plans, but let’s look at some of the stories that have made it into the mainstream media: Russia and China in 2010 decided to do away with debt exchanges using the U.S. dollar and instead trade directly in ruble and renminbi. In December 2011, Japan and China announced they would be promoting trades directly with each other and sidestepping the dollar. Last year's trades were about $340 billion. At the same time China announced a direct $11 billion currency swap with Thailand.   In January 2012, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier, signed a $5.5 billion currency swap with the United Arab Emirates. Then at the end of January there is an article from Forbes answering the question “Why is China buying so much gold?” Forbes simple answer; a substitute against capital flight. What? The Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao is the one flying all over the world setting up all these currency swaps. In late March 2012, according to Zeebiz, “The five major emerging economies of BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are set to inject greater economic momentum into their grouping by signing two pacts for promoting intra-BRICS trade at the fourth summit of their leaders…” And, “The pacts are expected to scale up intra-BRICS trade which has been growing at the rate of 28% over the last few years, but at $230 billion, remains much below the potential of the five economic power houses.”  In March 2012, we learned Dubai-based Emirates NBD the largest bank is selling dim sum bonds, debt securities issued in the Chinese yuan. Again in March 2012, China and Australia sign a $30+ billion swap agreement. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, “The main purposes of the swap agreement are to support trade and investment between Australia and China, particularly in local-currency terms, and to strengthen bilateral financial cooperation. The agreement reflects the increasing opportunities available to settle trade between the two countries in Chinese renminbi and to make RMB-denominated investments.” In April, we learn in a report from Forbes, that China will be avoiding U.S. financial sanctions against Iran by making oil purchases not only bartering goods, but also using gold.  So, again gold is money. And gold is as a petrocurrency as opposed to the petrodollar that may lead to more petrowars. In late June 2012, China and Chile agreed to strengthen their ties in a strategic partnership and double their trade in three years. The leaders of the two nations, Jiabao and Pinera, also announced the completion of negotiations on investment-related supplementary deals to a bilateral free trade agreement. Also in late June of 2012, China and Brazil agreed to a $30 billion currency swap. Hold on a minute, what did Ron Paul say about the U.S. establishing trade around the world but keeping our noses out of other nations business? Sounds like the leader of China was listening to Ron Paul. According to Paul’s critics, what we are witnessing from Jiabao is isolationism in action. Of course, the enlightened know this isn’t so. In fact, Jiabao is a stellar example of Paul’s non-interventionist stance and is promoting trade with other countries. Then in August 2012, Germany and China announced they are going to be doing a lot of their trade in the Euro and renminbi. The article leaves out any mention of bypassing the dollar. Maybe by now it should just be understood.  China encourages its citizens to accumulate gold. Gold coins are minted in China in varying sizes easing the way for the people to accumulate gold. China is the largest producer of gold in the world. And now as China increases trade around the world using renminbi, and it is also beginning to use gold as currency and in exchange for oil. Ron Paul has repeatedly said the U.S. should consider gold a currency and if we are to continue printing paper dollars we need to return to a gold standard, so the dollar will have value. The Federal Reserve Bank, Obama, Romney and their supporters brush away Paul's comments as though his warnings were gnats. Ron Paul alerts us of a day when the dollar has no value. He warns of a day this country topples over a fiscal cliff.   On that day, don’t be surprised to look up and see the renminbi--- backed by gold emerging as the world’s reserve currency. 

ISS & Hubble doomed w/o Shuttle--wonder why people are so pleased re: shuttle in museum!!

ISS & Hubble doomed w/o Shuttle

ISS & Hubble doomed by BHO decision on Shuttle 100 Billion on ISS & 4 billion on Hubble wasted due to shuttle termination decision. New STS will not be available in time to save these systems.( not planned at this time) Could be saved by restarting Shuttle in two years. Low IQ leadership in both parties responsible for loss of American Preeminence! Mitt: can't hear you!!!

Either this, the Shuttle or the End of American Preeminence

SSTO Shuttle Replacement

SSTO Replacement for Shuttle You have read Cernan's article in the Orlando.  The USA is headed in wrong direction with cots & SLS.  We must development SSTO shuttle replacement.  Cernan feels Romney will get this done.  One thing for sure BHO will not.    So, Mitt, we must fly shuttle, on get replacement underway, this is the only way to maintain America's Preeminence in Space which is critical to National Security.

Better get going on SSTO if not Restarting shuttle!!

VentureStar was a proposed single-stage-to-orbit reusable launch system by Lockheed Martin. As a United States federally funded program, the primary goal was to develop a reusable spaceplane to launch satellites into orbit at a fraction of the cost of other systems intended to replace the Space Shuttle. While the requirement was for an unmanned launcher, it was expected to optionally carry passengers as cargo. VentureStar was to be a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle, launching vertically but returning as an airplane. VentureStar was to be a commercial endeavor, and flights would have been leased to NASA as needed. After failures with the X-33 subscale technology demonstrator test vehicle, funding was canceled in 2001. Contents  [hide]  1 Advantages over the Space Shuttle 2 Cancellation 3 See also 4 References 5 External links [edit]Advantages over the Space Shuttle VentureStar would have stood approximately 17 meters shorter than the Space Shuttle. VentureStar's engineering and design had offered numerous advantages over the Space Shuttle, representing considerable savings in time and materials, as well as increased safety.[2] VentureStar was expected to launch satellites into orbit at about 1/10 the cost of the Shuttle. Readying VentureStar for flight would have dramatically differed from that of the Space Shuttle. Unlike the Space Shuttle orbiter, which had to be lifted and assembled together with several other heavy components (a large external tank, plus two solid rocket boosters), VentureStar was to be simply inspected in a hangar like an airplane.[2] Also unlike the Space Shuttle, VentureStar would not have relied upon solid rocket boosters which had to be hauled out of the ocean and then refurbished after each launch.[2] Furthermore, design specifications called for the use of linear aerospike engines that maintain thrust efficiency at all altitudes. The Shuttle relied upon conventional nozzle engines which achieve maximum efficiency at only a certain altitude.[2] VentureStar would have used a new metallic thermal protection system, safer and cheaper to maintain than the ceramic one used on the Space Shuttle. VentureStar's metallic heat shield would have eliminated 17,000 between-flight maintenance hours typically required to satisfactorily check (and replace if needed) the thousands of heat-resistant ceramic tiles that comprised the Shuttle exterior.[2] VentureStar was expectedly safer than most modern rockets.[2] (An exception is the Falcon 9, which has engine out capability, just as the Saturn V.) Whereas most modern rockets fail catastrophically when an engine fails during flight, VentureStar was intended to have a thrust reserve in each engine in the event of an emergency during flight.[2] For example, if an engine on VentureStar was to have failed during an ascent to orbit, another engine opposite to the failed engine would have shut off to counterbalance the failed thrust, and each of the remaining working engines could then have throttled up so as to safely continue the mission.[2] VentureStar would have been environmentally cleaner.[2] Unlike the Space Shuttle, whose solid rocket boosters expended chemical wastes during launch, VentureStar's exhausts would have been composed of only water vapor, since VentureStar's main fuels would have been only liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.[2] VentureStar's simpler design would have excluded hypergolic propellants and even hydraulics, relying upon only electrical power instead for flight controls, doors and landing gear.[2] Because of its lighter design, VentureStar would have been able to land at virtually any major airport in an emergency,[2] whereas the Space Shuttle required much longer runways than publicly available. [edit]Cancellation

Cernan on Space program

Obama failed space program; Romney would revitalize it   Eugene A. Cernan – Orlando Sentinel (Guest Column)   "We now leave as we once came and, God willing, as we shall return: with peace and hope for all mankind."   With these words, I left the moon on Dec. 14, 1972, completing the final manned mission in the Apollo space program.   Those words still resonate in my heart four decades later. But in light of the abdication of leadership over the past four years under President Obama, I'm concerned that the peace and hope the crew of Apollo XVII expressed are more elusive than ever.   The U.S. space program has long been the envy of nations. Since it all began in the 1950s, the United States had become the unchallenged leader in space exploration. Apollo XI's historic mission to the moon united our country, not only because it was — as my friend Neil Armstrong said — "One small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind," but because it represented our nation's triumph over our adversaries.   Even in the midst of "the terrible '60s," when our nation was shackled by civil strife, campus unrest and the beginning of an unpopular war, we banded together and accepted the bold challenge of President John F. Kennedy and once again demonstrated America's collective exceptionalism.   Unfortunately, our nation's space program is today in disarray. Not only did Obama cancel long-held plans for NASA's Constellation program, breaking his earlier promise to fund and implement it, but he has failed to put in place any clear goals about our nation's space programs moving forward.   Frankly, the world's leading space-faring nation shouldn't have to pay Russia for rides to the International Space Station. That's not only an insult to the hundreds of women and men like me who have built a legacy based on, literally, reaching for the stars, but it also hurts the local economy and puts local jobs at risk at a time when Florida's unemployment rate is already higher than the national average.   Four years ago, Obama promised Floridians that space-industry workers wouldn't lose their jobs when the shuttle program ended; in fact, more than 7,400 people lost their jobs. The Kennedy Space Center's 8,500 workers represent its smallest work force in more than 35 years, and it's a far cry from the 15,000 workers the center employed in the mid-1990s.   In short, "hope and change" have not come for the Space Coast; neither have they come for the nation.   Instead, over the past four years, Obama has resorted to leading from behind and asks Americans to settle for a new normal that diminishes our position in the world. Not only is he willing to sacrifice the United States' pre-eminence in space exploration, but he seems unconcerned that our economic and national security might falter as well. It is not just about space; it is about the country.   In contrast, Mitt Romney believes that the 21st century should be an American century in which our country continues to lead the world in terms of the strength of our economy, our military and our space-exploration program. As president, Romney would bring together stakeholders — not only from NASA and leading universities, but also from the Air Force and commercial enterprises — to set goals, identify missions and chart a path that honors the legacy we have built so far and ensures the United States' continued leadership moving forward.   His plan would focus NASA on practical, sustainable missions that balance top-priority science and groundbreaking exploration programs. He would work to partner with our friends in the international community to achieve our nation's space objectives and to open new foreign markets so our aerospace industry can compete for and win business abroad.   And by strengthening our national-security space programs, we can also help ensure the continued safety of our interests around the world.   I've seen the greatness of America. And much of that greatness has stemmed from our unwillingness to settle for second best. I know America can do better than we've been doing over the past four years because I've witnessed it. And I believe America can once again reclaim our nation's strength and leadership by electing Mitt Romney this November.   Eugene A. Cernan flew three historic missions in space as the pilot of Gemini IX (1966), the Lunar Module pilot of Apollo X (1969) and the commander of Apollo XVII (1972). He lives in Houston.

10/31/12 news

  Happy Halloween everyone,   don’t eat too much trick or treat candy so you can join us tomorrow at Hibachi Grill for our monthly Retirees Luncheon at 11:30!     Thanks to Fred Haise and Gary Johnson for sharing the below link/article on the latest reported status of Enterprise and her collapsed enclosure: Space Shuttle Enterprise Damaged by Superstorm Sandy [PICS]   Thanks to Teresa Sullivan for sharing the below link to a inflight video of Endeavour arrival into the California area,  I think I had seen it from others of you too. FA18 extended view of Space Shuttle Endeavour's flyover Southern California     Wednesday, October 31, 2012   JSC TODAY HEADLINES 1.         JSC Child Care Children Trick or Treating This Morning 2.         This is it (We Mean it) -- Last Day to Complete Your 2012 JLT Survey 3.         Don't Just Give Candy This Halloween - Give a Little Something More 4.         December 2012 Building 9S Clean Room Closing 5.         Update Your Disability Status Quickly and Easily in Employee Express 6.         JSC Structural Testing Partnership Opportunities 7.         JSC Annual Holiday Bazaar This Saturday 8.         Seasonal Entertaining Class 9.         Starport Boot Camp -- Last Chance in 2012 10.       Short-Term Child Care at the Gilruth Center 11.       RSVP for the November National Management Association Luncheon 12.       Latest International Space Station Research 13.       NASA@work: There's Still Time to Submit Your Solution Today 14.       Learn How Space Technology Improves Life on Earth -- Nov. 7 15.       'JSC Taxonomy News' Fall 2012 16.       Shuttle Knowledge Console v2.0 17.       Energy-Efficient Wireless In-Home 18.       Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training: Jan. 14 to 18 19.       Fire Warden Refresher Course (2 Hours) ________________________________________    QUOTE OF THE DAY “ There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.”   -- George Carlin ________________________________________ 1.         JSC Child Care Children Trick or Treating This Morning The JSC Child Care Center children that are 3 and 4 years old will be starting their trick-or-treating in costume at Building 1 by 9:45 a.m. They will continue down the mall area to Building 12, ending their adventure at Building 45. We invite you and your co-workers to meet us on the pathway from Building 1 to Building 12 to show support and hand the children treats or candy. Brooke Stephens x26031   [top] 2.         This is it (We Mean it) -- Last Day to Complete Your 2012 JLT Survey Today is your last chance to give us your very important opinions and useful insights into the health of our civil service and contractor relationships at JSC and the White Sands Test Facility. The 2012 Joint Leadership Team (JLT) Survey  is open to all contractors and civil servants, including the many offsite personnel. We'll use your feedback to identify themes and form action teams, as appropriate, made up of civil service and contractor manager and employee members that will focus on activities that can strengthen and enhance our community. We appreciate your time and, most of all, your dedication to making JSC a successful team. To participate in the survey, click here. Time is of the essence! Erin Misegades x40003   [top] 3.         Don't Just Give Candy This Halloween - Give a Little Something More The 2012 Combined Federal Campaign has already kicked off at JSC! The CFC is the only federal workplace giving program for federal employees -- and as such, you can choose to give thousands of deserving organizations at the local, national and global levels. They include organizations to educate, shelter, feed, protect, volunteer, or any other number of charities and programs. This year our center's monetary goal is $675,000. We'd like each and everyone to help us reach it. 1. Simply find the charity or charities you want to give to (online or in this book). 2. Federal employees can donate via payroll deductions at EmployeeExpress (EEx). (Instructions on How to Donate via EEx) 3. All JSC team members can make cash/check donations by using the paper pledge form. (Paper pledge forms may be dropped off with the organization coordinator.) Donations of any amount are welcome, starting from $1 per pay period. Or, instead of that extra bag of sugary candy for the kids, donate an equivalent amount with cash/check. Give a little. Help A LOT. Mirella Barron Lanmon x49796   [top] 4.         December 2012 Building 9S Clean Room Closing The Building 9S Clean Room will be closed for annual recertification starting Dec. 17. We should be able to resume normal Clean Room operations by Dec. 28. We will be able to perform the following tasks during the shutdown: •         Passivation •         Pickling •         GC clean We will not be able to perform the following tasks during the shutdown: •         Particle counts •         NVRs •         Water samples •         VC clean Hopefully this early notice will help with any upcoming cleaning operations that you may be planning to schedule during the month of December.  Bill Holmes x32598   [top] 5.         Update Your Disability Status Quickly and Easily in Employee Express Please take a moment to update your disability status quickly and easily in Employee Express. NASA uses aggregate information about individuals with disabilities for reporting purposes and to determine how to provide assistive resources that can benefit the entire workforce. Ensuring accurate information takes a matter of minutes. Log into Employee Express, and from the main menu, click on "Disability Update" to identify current disability status. Disability status is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974. Data entered into Employee Express is secure and will be uploaded directly into NASA's Federal Personnel and Payroll System. It can be accessed only by NASA officials with a "need to know," such as Equal Employment Opportunity staff. Questions regarding data-collection requirements can be directed to the Disability Program Manager, Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, at 281-483-7504. Janelle Holt x37504   [top] 6.         JSC Structural Testing Partnership Opportunities JSC is using Request For Information (RFI) notices as a method to seek out potential partnerships. Our intent is to engage with potential partners to make available, on a reimbursable basis, NASA JSC's structural facilities and expert NASA science and engineering staff. Recently, an RFI was posted on FedBizOpps.gov to assess interest by commercial industries, universities and other government agencies regarding JSC's unique combination of expertise, labs, tools and facilities in the area of structures testing. You can view the full RFI. If you know of an external organization that might be interested, please send them the link. Brought to you by the JSC Strategic Opportunities and Partnership Office. Shirley Holland-Hunt x33254   [top] 7.         JSC Annual Holiday Bazaar This Saturday Come out to the Gilruth Center on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for some holiday shopping! We'll have the gymnasium and ballroom packed with local craftspeople and vendors selling crafts, jewelry, bath and beauty products, home and holiday décor, candles, baked goods and more. This event is free and open to the public, so invite your family and friends to come browse through the more than 60 vendors who are ready to spread some holiday cheer. For more information and a list of vendors, click here. Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 8.         Seasonal Entertaining Class Learn how to host an elegant party for 12 for under $100! Join us for a fun, interactive evening of cooking demonstrations, and learn the basics of party planning -- stress-free and on a budget. From decorations and menus to guest lists, we will show you how to plan the perfect party. Class takes place Thursday, Nov. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Gilruth Center Discovery Room. The cost is $32 per person and includes a sample meal, cookbook, tips and a gift. Reservation is required by tomorrow, Nov. 1, and seating is limited. Register in the Building 3 café, or contact Marquis Edwards at x30240. Click here for the menu and more information. Marquis Edwards x30240 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 9.         Starport Boot Camp -- Last Chance in 2012 Starport's last Boot Camp of 2012 registration opens today! Don't miss a chance to be part of Starport's incredibly popular program. The class WILL fill up, so register now. Early Registration (ends Nov. 7): - $90 per person (just $5 per class!) Regular Registration (Nov. 8 to 13): - $110 per person The workout begins on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Are you ready for 18 hours of intense workouts with an amazing personal trainer to get you to your fitness goal? DON'T WAIT! Sign up today and take advantage of this EXTREME discount while it lasts. Register now at the Gilruth Center information desk, or call 281-483-0304 for more information. Steve Schade x30304 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Fitness/RecreationClasses/RecreationProgram...   [top] 10.       Short-Term Child Care at the Gilruth Center Let the Starport staff watch your child while you work out! Short-term child care for kids ages 4 and up will be offered at the Gilruth Center for those attending group fitness classes or using the fitness center/gymnasium. This will be offered on Saturdays only, starting Nov. 10, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The fee is $3 per child. For more, click here. Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 11.       RSVP for the November National Management Association Luncheon Please join us for the November JSC National Management Association (NMA) Chapter luncheon presentation, "All Behaviors Count," with guest speakers from the Holocaust Museum Houston: Dr. Mary Lee Webeck, director of Education; and Cynthia Capers, associate director of Education and Changing Exhibitions. Date: Nov. 13 Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Location: Gilruth Center Alamo Ballroom Please RSVP by close of business Nov. 7 here. For RSVP technical assistance, please contact Lorraine Guerra at 281-483-4262. Cassandra Miranda x38618   [top] 12.       Latest International Space Station Research Last week, the final on-orbit session of the Human Research Program (HRP) experiment - Evaluation of Maximal Oxygen Uptake (VO2max) and Submaximal Estimates of VO2max Before, During and After Long-Duration International Space Station Missions [VO2max] - was completed. VO2max is the standard measure of aerobic capacity and is directly related to the physical working capacity of an individual. Decreased VO2max may represent a safety concern in the event of an emergency during spaceflight. The Principal Investigator is JSC's own Alan D. Moore Jr., Ph.D. Read more about the investigation here. Liz Warren x35548   [top] 13.       NASA@work: There's Still Time to Submit Your Solution Today There are two active challenges on the NASA@work platform right now: Seeking Inflight Calcium Isotope Measurement Device Challenge #1422 and A Durable/ Permanent Anti-Fog for the EMU Helmet Challenge #1467. To view the challenge details and submit your solution today, simply to go the NASA@work site. Are you new to NASA@work? NASA@work is an agencywide collaborative, problem-solving platform that connects the collective knowledge of experts (like YOU) from all centers across NASA. Challenge owners post problems, and members of the NASA@work community participate by responding with their solutions to posted problems. Anyone can participate! Check it out and submit your solution today. Kathryn Keeton 281-204-1519 http://nasa.innocentive.com/   [top] 14.       Learn How Space Technology Improves Life on Earth -- Nov. 7 You are invited to JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance Speaker Forum featuring Fitz G. Walker Jr., founder of Bartron Medical Imaging, Inc. Subject: NASA Technology Transfer and Spinoffs -- How Space Technology Improves Life on Earth Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Location: Building 1, Room 360 Bartron Medical Imaging, Inc. (BMI) is a Maryland corporation founded in 2000 by Walker. BMI is a biotech medical device manufacturer with software development and research and design facilities in Maryland, and manufacturing in New Haven, Conn. Della Cardona/Juan Traslavina 281-335-2074/281-335-2272   [top] 15.       'JSC Taxonomy News' Fall 2012 The semantic system, a.k.a. the JSC Taxonomy, is a combination of automation and human interaction that provides the structure, or the scaffolding, on which to build the system for adding context and value beyond keyword search. Content owners and creators can best define the accurate representation of their information, and your input is the most important part of the continuing development of the semantic system. Check out the fall 2012 edition of the "JSC Taxonomy News" for more.  Brent Fontenot x36456 http://knowledge.jsc.nasa.gov   [top] 16.       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. 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, an export control warning was added 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] 17.       Energy-Efficient Wireless In-Home This presentation will introduce machine-to-machine (M2M) systems, mainly in the context of smart homes. Capillary M2M for real-time data gathering in homes will focus on IEEE 802.15.4e, IETF 6LoWPAN, ROLL and COAP networking designs. Cellular M2M for data gathering and multimedia will focus on M2M standardization. The talk will also discuss open technical challenges and smart home developments. Dr. Mischa Dohler is the head of Intelligent Energy Centre Tecnologic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, and is an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Communications Society distinguished speaker. The presentation will start at noon and finish by 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 in the Gilruth Center Discovery Room. We will offer lunch at 11:30 a.m. for $8; there is no charge for the presentation. Please RSVP to Stew O'Dell by Tuesday, Nov. 13, and specify whether you are ordering lunch. Lunch is free for unemployed IEEE members; advise when reserving. Stew O'Dell x31855 http://ewh.ieee.org/r5/galveston_bay/events/events.html   [top] 18.       Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training: Jan. 14 to 18 Lean Six Sigma is one of the continuous improvement tools and methods used to help achieve operational excellence. The Lean Six Sigma approach helps identify process deficiencies, eliminate redundant or ineffective steps, and overcome barriers that inhibit the rapid and smooth flow of work. The overall purpose of Lean Six Sigma is to improve process quality, which ultimately helps reduce operational costs and schedules. Green Belt Training provides both the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively identify improvement opportunities, confidently participate on the Lean Six Sigma teams and apply Lean principles and Six Sigma methodology to respective NASA/JSC projects and work areas. Training will be held from Jan. 14 to 18 in Building 12, Room 152/154. Registration can be done through SATERN. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=REGISTRATI... Open to civil servants and a limited number of contractors. Prerequisites and approval required. Registration and more information on certification requirements are in SATERN. Nicole Kem x37894   [top] 19.       Fire Warden Refresher Course (2 Hours) This two-hour course is for previously trained Fire Wardens from JSC, Sonny Carter Training Facility and Ellington Field. It is required to satisfy the JSC three-year refresher training requirement for building Fire Wardens who have previously completed the initial 4-hour Fire Warden Orientation Training. This course reviews the duties and responsibilities of a Fire Warden during an emergency evacuation of their assigned building and goes over how to conduct the required monthly walk-around inspection of the Fire Warden's assigned area. Newly assigned Fire Wardens must attend the four-hour initial Fire Warden Orientation course available in SATERN for registration. Date/Time: Nov. 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. Where: Safety Learning Center, Building 226N, Room 174 Registration via SATERN required: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... Aundrail Hill x36369   [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 SCHEDULE October 31, Wednesday 8 a.m. CT - ISS Progress 49 Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at 8:40 a.m. CT) - JSC (All Channels)   Human Spaceflight News Wednesday – October 31, 2012   HEADLINES AND LEADS   Progress supply ship launched on station flight   Bill Harwood – CBS News   An unmanned Russian Progress supply ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday and set off on an abbreviated six-hour Halloween flight to the International Space Station. Loaded with 2.9 tons of supplies and equipment, the Progress M-17M spacecraft climbed away from its launching stand at 3:41:19 a.m. EDT (GMT-4; 1:41 p.m. local time) and accelerated smoothly toward orbit atop a jet of fiery exhaust.   Russian Cargo Ship Launches on Halloween Mission to Space Station   Mike Wall – Space.com   A robotic Russian cargo vessel blasted off today (Oct. 31), carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies on a Halloween delivery mission to the International Space Station. The unmanned Progress 49 spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:41 a.m. EDT (0741 GMT) today and is slated to arrive at the orbiting lab six hours later. You can watch the rendezvous and docking activities live here on NASA TV, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT).   Recovered SpaceX Capsule Arrives at California Port   Dan Leone – SpaceNews.com   About two days after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, a commercially operated space capsule laden with 760 kilograms of return cargo from the international space station arrived at port in San Pedro, Calif., in the early morning hours of Oct. 30. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) recovered its Dragon space capsule Oct. 28, the same day the craft departed the space station. Dragon splashed down about 400 kilometers off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, with a cache of cargo including items belonging to NASA and its international space station partners.   Superstorm deflates Intrepid’s Space Shuttle Pavilion after ‘unprecedented’ water levels   Associated Press   The superstorm has caused the Space Shuttle Pavilion at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to deflate. A statement from museum president Susan Marenoff-Zausner says unprecedented levels of water on the Hudson River flooded both the museum’s main power source and backup generators Monday.   Sandy Causes Space Shuttle Pavilion To Deflate   CBS New York   Superstorm Sandy has caused the pavilion that houses the Space Shuttle Enterprise to deflate at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to deflate. Record levels of water rushing up from the Hudson River flooded both the main power source and backup generators at the museum Monday, according to a statement from museum president Susan Marenoff-Zausner.   Space Shuttle Enterprise Damaged by Hurricane Sandy   Robert Pearlman – Space.com   Space shuttle Enterprise, NASA's original prototype orbiter, is sitting exposed and appears to have been partially damaged by Hurricane Sandy after the severe storm passed over New York City on Monday night (Oct. 29). On display on board the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, a converted aircraft carrier, since July, Enterprise had been protected from the elements inside a pressurized pavilion. Based on photos posted online, the inflatable structure appears to have first deflated and then torn by the winds of the now post-tropical storm cyclone.   Thanks, New York, for taking care of the shuttle   Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle   Look, I know it’s really a terrible thing to be struck by a hurricane, and I know the northeast is a mess right now. The last thing they’re worried about is some damage to a space shuttle. And I’m honestly very sorry for the people affected by Sandy. I grok hurricane misery. But for Houston, this photo really stings. You may recall that Houston lost out on a bid to house a retired space shuttle some 18 months ago. Most of us understood that Florida, Washington D.C. (Smithsonian) and the West Coast were going to get a shuttle in the interests of geographical considerations.   Space shuttle Endeavour exhibit officially opens to public   Kate Mather – Los Angeles Times   The children filed into the building two by two, holding hands with their classmates so they wouldn't get lost in the crowd. Some pointed and grinned. Others stared in silence, their necks craned back as they eyed the 57-foot-tall space shuttle.  "On TV it's very small," 6-year-old Elaine McNeil said. "When I see it in real life, it's really big and humongous. I don't know how they fit it in here."   Space shuttle Endeavour goes on public display   Associated Press   The final home of space shuttle Endeavour is opening its doors to the public. Astronauts and schoolkids will be on hand Tuesday at the California Science Center in Los Angeles at the grand opening of its new shuttle display. Visitors to the free display can't go inside Endeavour but they can use virtual exhibits, including touch-screen computer displays with information about the shuttle's flight deck. Also on display is Endeavour's zero-gravity toilet. Thousands of people watched as the giant spacecraft made its final journey through the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood two weeks ago. The shuttle will be on display in a special 18,000-square-foot building until the downtown museum builds a new air and space wing that should open in about five years. (NO FURTHER TEXT)     30 astronauts to be on hand for shuttle Atlantis' move to Visitor Complex   Dave Berman – Florida Today   About 30 astronauts will lead the space shuttle Atlantis on the homestretch of its 9.8-mile journey Friday to its new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Tim Macy, director of project development and construction for Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, which operates the Visitor Complex, said the astronaut appearance was just added to Friday’s event schedule.   The Space Race Is On   Zac Unger – The Atlantic   The Space Shuttle may have taken its final, valedictory tour across the United States, but that's no reason to think that our exploration of the heavens is over. The Space Race -- both in terms of manned travel and remote sensing expeditions -- is as competitive now as during the days of Sputnik. Some new astronauts never leave the ground, but their remote probes travel hundreds of thousands of miles, sending back hi-res images and collecting terabytes of data.   Obama failed space program; Romney would revitalize it   Eugene A. Cernan – Orlando Sentinel (Guest Column)   "We now leave as we once came and, God willing, as we shall return: with peace and hope for all mankind." With these words, I left the moon on Dec. 14, 1972, completing the final manned mission in the Apollo space program. Those words still resonate in my heart four decades later. But in light of the abdication of leadership over the past four years under President Obama, I'm concerned that the peace and hope the crew of Apollo XVII expressed are more elusive than ever.     Meanwhile On Mars…   NASA Curiosity rover takes a bite of Martian soil   Associated Press   Scientists say the Martian soil at the rover Curiosity's landing site contains minerals similar to what's found on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano.The finding released Tuesday is the latest step in trying to better understand whether the environment could have been hospitable to microbial life. Curiosity recently ingested its first soil sample and used one of its instruments to tease out the minerals present. An analysis revealed it contained feldspar and olivine, minerals typically associated with volcanic eruptions. Mission scientists say the Martian soil is similar to volcanic soil on the flanks of Mauna Kea. Curiosity landed near the Martian equator in August on a two-year mission. It'll be another month before it drills into its first rock. Then it's expected to head toward a mountain by year's end. (NO FURTHER TEXT)   Curiosity Rover’s First X-Ray Analysis Reveals Volcanic Martian Soil   Adam Mann – Wired Magazine   NASA’s Curiosity rover has completed the first-ever detailed X-ray analysis of Martian sand, determining that it contains minerals similar to volcanic soil found at places like the Mauna Kea shield volcano in Hawaii.   Mars Dirt Similar to Hawaiian Volcanic Soil   Mike Wall – Space.com   The first-ever in-depth analysis of Martian dirt reveals a mineralogical makeup similar to that of Hawaiian volcanic soils, researchers announced today (Oct. 30). The results come from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, which recently studied a scoop of Red Planet dirt with its Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, for the first time   __________   COMPLETE STORIES   Progress supply ship launched on station flight   Bill Harwood – CBS News   An unmanned Russian Progress supply ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday and set off on an abbreviated six-hour Halloween flight to the International Space Station.   Loaded with 2.9 tons of supplies and equipment, the Progress M-17M spacecraft climbed away from its launching stand at 3:41:19 a.m. EDT (GMT-4; 1:41 p.m. local time) and accelerated smoothly toward orbit atop a jet of fiery exhaust.   Eight minutes and 45 seconds later, the supply ship was released into its planned preliminary orbit, on track for a docking at the aft port of the Russian Zvezda command module around 9:40 a.m.   "Good morning ," station commander Sunita Williams radioed NASA flight controllers in Houston. "Happy Halloween, and hopefully our little trick-or-treat vehicle is on its way. We just got to see it out the window and that's pretty special. Hope you guys are having a great day."   This was the fourth Progress launched this year, the second to follow an abbreviated six-hour rendezvous with the space station. Russian flight controllers normally implement two-day rendezvous profiles, but they are perfecting procedures for single-day flights for eventual use with manned Soyuz missions.   The Progress M-17M spacecraft is loaded with 2,050 pounds of space station propellant, 62 pounds of oxygen, 42 pounds of air, 926 pounds of water and 2,738 pounds of spare parts, crew supplies and equipment. It is scheduled to remain docked at the space station until next April.   Russian Cargo Ship Launches on Halloween Mission to Space Station   Mike Wall – Space.com   A robotic Russian cargo vessel blasted off today (Oct. 31), carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies on a Halloween delivery mission to the International Space Station.   The unmanned Progress 49 spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:41 a.m. EDT (0741 GMT) today and is slated to arrive at the orbiting lab six hours later. You can watch the rendezvous and docking activities live here on NASA TV, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT).   Progress 49 is toting 2.9 tons of supplies, including 2,050 pounds (930 kilograms) of propellant, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water, 62 pounds (28 kg) of oxygen and 2,738 pounds (1,242 kg) of spare parts, NASA officials said. There's no word yet on whether any candy corn or miniature chocolate bars made it onboard to help the space station's six astronauts celebrate the season.   Life on orbit is always busy, but this week is particularly jam-packed for station crew.   For example, today's launch comes just three days after SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule left the station, wrapping up the first-ever commercial cargo mission to the $100 billion orbiting complex. Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the Baja California coast on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 28).   Dragon will make at least 11 more flights to the station under a $1.6 billion contract that California-based SpaceX signed with NASA. Its next launch is currently scheduled for January, agency officials have said.   Dragon is unique in its ability to ferry hardware, supplies and scientific experiments both to and from the space station. All other cargo craft currently operating — including Russia's Progress ships — carry supplies to the orbiting lab but burn up upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.   Shortly after welcoming Progress 49 to the station, crewmembers will turn their attention to another task. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, commander of the orbiting complex's current Expedition 33 mission, and Japanese colleague Akihiko Hoshide will perform a spacewalk Thursday morning (Nov. 1).   Beginning at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT) Thursday, Williams and Hoshide will venture to the port side of the station's backbone-like truss to repair an ammonia leak in a radiator. The spacewalk should take about 6 1/2 hours, NASA officials said.   Recovered SpaceX Capsule Arrives at California Port   Dan Leone – SpaceNews.com   About two days after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, a commercially operated space capsule laden with 760 kilograms of return cargo from the international space station arrived at port in San Pedro, Calif., in the early morning hours of Oct. 30.   Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) recovered its Dragon space capsule Oct. 28, the same day the craft departed the space station. Dragon splashed down about 400 kilometers off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, with a cache of cargo including items belonging to NASA and its international space station partners.   The ship carrying Dragon docked around 3 a.m. local time, SpaceX spokeswoman Katherine Nelson said in an Oct. 30 email.   Some of the items Dragon is carrying have been designated as early return cargo. These items will be unpacked in San Pedro and returned to NASA. Dragon, along with the rest of its cargo, will then be trucked to SpaceX’s engine test facility in McGregor, Texas, for postflight processing.   Dragon’s return is a milestone in NASA’s effort to turn space station cargo logistics over to private operators. The craft’s splashdown marked the completion of the first mission under Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX’s $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract signed with NASA in 2008. SpaceX has 11 more missions to fly under that contract.   Dragon launched Oct. 7 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying 400 kilograms of cargo including crew supplies and research hardware. Despite the loss of one of the rocket’s nine first-stage engines 79 seconds after liftoff, Dragon reached the international space station Oct. 10 as planned. However, the engine anomaly, which is still under investigation by a joint NASA-SpaceX team, forced SpaceX to jettison a secondary commercial payload into a lower-than-intended orbit. The payload, an experimental satellite that belonged to Fort Lee, N.J.-based Orbcomm, subsequently fell out of orbit, that company announced Oct. 11.   SpaceX is one of two companies with contracts to fly cargo to the international space station. The other, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is now expected to begin routine delivery missions sometime in 2013.   Orbital still has two demonstration flights to complete before it can begin fulfilling its own $1.9 billion delivery contract with NASA. The first of those flights, a test of the company’s Antares medium-lift rocket without the Cygnus cargo capsule, is supposed to take place this year.   Superstorm deflates Intrepid’s Space Shuttle Pavilion after ‘unprecedented’ water levels   Associated Press   The superstorm has caused the Space Shuttle Pavilion at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to deflate.   A statement from museum president Susan Marenoff-Zausner says unprecedented levels of water on the Hudson River flooded both the museum’s main power source and backup generators Monday.   She says the resulting power problem caused the pavilion, which is like a giant bubble of material that houses the shuttle Enterprise, to deflate.   The shuttle Enterprise itself was draped in protective cloth.   Marenoff-Zausner says rebuilding will begin when it’s safe enough to work, but that the museum is closed for now.   Sandy Causes Space Shuttle Pavilion To Deflate   CBS New York   Superstorm Sandy has caused the pavilion that houses the Space Shuttle Enterprise to deflate at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to deflate.   Record levels of water rushing up from the Hudson River flooded both the main power source and backup generators at the museum Monday, according to a statement from museum president Susan Marenoff-Zausner.   She said the resulting power problem caused the pavilion, which is similar to a giant bubble of material that houses the shuttle Enterprise, to deflate.   The shuttle Enterprise itself was draped in protective cloth.   Marenoff-Zausner says rebuilding will begin when is safe enough to work, but that the museum is closed.   A statement on the museum Web site said it would be closed at least through Wednesday. The statement advised visitors to keep checking the Web site for further details.   The Space Shuttle Enterprise made its public debut at the museum just last July. It opened to the public 43 years to the day after Apollo 11 landed on the moon.   The infamous shuttle was never actually sent to space, but instead was used as a test spacecraft.   In April, it was flown to New York from Virginia on the back of a 747 and was welcomed to the Big Apple with cheers and fanfare.   The museum charges an extra $6 on top of its regular admission price to view the shuttle.   Space Shuttle Enterprise Damaged by Hurricane Sandy   Robert Pearlman – Space.com   Space shuttle Enterprise, NASA's original prototype orbiter, is sitting exposed and appears to have been partially damaged by Hurricane Sandy after the severe storm passed over New York City on Monday night (Oct. 29).   On display on board the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, a converted aircraft carrier, since July, Enterprise had been protected from the elements inside a pressurized pavilion. Based on photos posted online, the inflatable structure appears to have first deflated and then torn by the winds of the now post-tropical storm cyclone.   Photos show the 180-foot-long (55 meters) by 60-foot-high (18 meters) pavilion's fabric exterior now lies draped over Enterprise, though much of the shuttle's nose section and part of its payload bay is uncovered. The orbiter's vertical stabilizer, or tail, is protruding out the top, where it looks like part of the spacecraft may have been torn away.   "We certainly wish our best to everyone affected by the storm. It was a very big storm that affected many people," NASA spokesman Mike Curie told collectSPACE.com. "We are aware that Enterprise appears to be uncovered on the deck of the Intrepid, but we're sure that our friends at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum will do their best to take care of Enterprise and get it back up to shipshape as soon as possible."   Intrepid officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.   The "superstorm" Sandy flooded Pier 86 on the west side of Manhattan, where the Intrepid is anchored, submerging part of the museum's main entrance under water. Similar damage was seen throughout the city and region, leaving buildings destroyed, millions of people without power and at least 30 dead. [Superstorm from Space: Hurricane Sandy Satellite Photos]   Enterprise was delivered to the Intrepid in June after being transferred from its previous home of eight years at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia. In its place, space shuttle Discoveryis now at the Udvar-Hazy Center, having arrived in April after NASA retired its orbiter fleet in 2011.   Discovery was also in Sandy's path, and the Smithsonian remains closed due to the storm. However, no damage to that shuttle was reported, nor was any damage evident on webcam footage of the vehicle.   Enterprise, built in the 1970s, never made it to space, but was used instead as a prototype to test the space shuttle design during approach-and-landing glide tests.   Since arriving at the Intrepid, Enterprise has been housed in its climate-controlled inflated pavilion. This shelter was never meant to be permanent, however. Ultimately, the Intrepid has said it plans to build a larger, separate facility to showcase the shuttle and enhance the museum's other space exhibits and educational displays.   As of Tuesday afternoon, Sandy was centered about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east-northeast of Pittsburgh, moving westward and weakening over Pennsylvania, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami. The storm's maximum sustained winds were 45 mph (72 kph), down from 90 mph (150 kph) on Monday when it was a Category 1 hurricane.   Thanks, New York, for taking care of the shuttle   Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle   Look, I know it’s really a terrible thing to be struck by a hurricane, and I know the northeast is a mess right now. The last thing they’re worried about is some damage to a space shuttle. And I’m honestly very sorry for the people affected by Sandy. I grok hurricane misery. But for Houston, this photo really stings.   You may recall that Houston lost out on a bid to house a retired space shuttle some 18 months ago. Most of us understood that Florida, Washington D.C. (Smithsonian) and the West Coast were going to get a shuttle in the interests of geographical considerations.   What many could not understand is how New York, being located so close to Washington, D.C. and having tenuous ties to the space shuttle program, got one for display. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum won the space shuttle Enterprise, which had never flown in orbit. The middle of the country, which included Houston and a strong bid from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, got left out.   Sandy blew down the special 180-foot-long  by 60-foot-high pavilion which, in happier days, housed the shuttle. Museum officials did not immediately respond to a query as to whether the shuttle was damaged. A Johnson Space Center source said museum officials have indicated that Enterprise emerged unharmed from the storm.   You may recall that one criticism of Space Center Houston’s bid for a space shuttle was that it would have been vulnerable to hurricanes.   Well, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have displayed the shuttle in what appears to have been a glorified tent that could be blown down by tropical-storm force winds.   Space shuttle Endeavour exhibit officially opens to public   Kate Mather – Los Angeles Times   The children filed into the building two by two, holding hands with their classmates so they wouldn't get lost in the crowd. Some pointed and grinned. Others stared in silence, their necks craned back as they eyed the 57-foot-tall space shuttle.    "On TV it's very small," 6-year-old Elaine McNeil said. "When I see it in real life, it's really big and humongous. I don't know how they fit it in here."   The children were some of the first visitors to see space shuttle Endeavour in its new home at the California Science Center, which opened the doors to the Samuel Oschin display pavilion Tuesday. Hundreds of people lined up outside to see the retired orbiter, which arrived in Los Angeles last month.   Frankie Medina, 6, who wants to be an astronaut, said he couldn't really describe his reaction.   "I just feel like I'm gonna burst on the floor," he said.   Several public officials were also on hand to mark the pavilion's opening at a morning ceremony, including Gov. Jerry Brown, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts. The family of late astronaut Sally Ride was also in attendance, along with actresses June Lockhart ("Lost in Space") and Nichelle Nichols ("Star Trek").   "California’s always been at the forefront of space development and exploration," the governor said. "This wonderful space shuttle was built by Rockwell, not too many miles from here. And even today, the Mars rover is out there on Mars, being driven by people in Pasadena. Californians.... It's amazing what it does for the human imagination."   Villaraigosa called Endeavour's return to California — which included a three-day, cross-country trip and 12-mile crawl through city streets — a "spectacular" story that would inspire children to be scientists, mathematicians and engineers.   "This isn't just a ribbon-cutting for Endeavour's home," he said. "This is a ribbon-cutting for the future of L.A."   The shuttle will be displayed in the temporary pavilion until the museum builds a new air and space wing, a 170,000-square-foot facility that should open in about five years. There, the shuttle will be displayed vertically as though it is about to launch, complete with an external tank and twin solid rocket boosters.   As the pavilion filled with visitors Tuesday, scientist and television personality Bill Nye's eyes scanned the crowd as he proclaimed the day "fantastic."   "When you see an object like this ... it changes you," he said of the shuttle. "It changes the way you think about what humans can do. It changes the way you think about your place among the stars."   30 astronauts to be on hand for shuttle Atlantis' move to Visitor Complex   Dave Berman – Florida Today   About 30 astronauts will lead the space shuttle Atlantis on the homestretch of its 9.8-mile journey Friday to its new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.   Tim Macy, director of project development and construction for Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, which operates the Visitor Complex, said the astronaut appearance was just added to Friday’s event schedule.   Final preparations are under way for the daylong trip to the Visitor Complex from KSC Vehicle Assembly Building. Atlantis’ journey aboard a 76-wheeled Orbiter Transporter System vehicle will start at 6:30 a.m. and end at 6 p.m., with several planned stops along the way, including at Space Florida’s Exploration Park. More than 300 people are helping coordinate the move.   The public will be able to buy tickets to view part of the journey and see Atlantis up close that day.   Macy said he expects the final 150 yards of the trip to be the most challenging, as the massive orbiter must be make a right turn from State Road 405/NASA Parkway into the Visitor Complex area. It then will be maneuvered into its new building with only about 2 feet of clearance available on either side of its wings, then must be put in place within six to eight inches of its final mark. It later will be adjusted to within about 1.5 inches of the designated spot.   The Atlantis exhibit building and exhibits are still under construction, with the attraction scheduled to open in July.   The Space Race Is On   Zac Unger – The Atlantic   The Space Shuttle may have taken its final, valedictory tour across the United States, but that's no reason to think that our exploration of the heavens is over.   The Space Race -- both in terms of manned travel and remote sensing expeditions -- is as competitive now as during the days of Sputnik. Some new astronauts never leave the ground, but their remote probes travel hundreds of thousands of miles, sending back hi-res images and collecting terabytes of data.   Dr. Charles Elachi, director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says that the Curiosity Mars Rover was the "equivalent of 18,000 Indy 500 race cars going at top speed, and in 17 minutes we had to land softly on the surface."   Needless to say, they stuck the landing, and for the last two months the human race has literally been driving over the surface of Mars. The mission has been closely monitored by scientists and millions of armchair enthusiasts following in realtime over the Internet.   According to Elachi, "Our technology now is that effectively we can do almost everything robotically," and yet, we must not take people out of the equation. "Great countries don't have to do everything for science ... or for direct profit, but for the human spirit."   He spoke Tuesday at The Atlantic's Big Science Summit in San Jose, Calif., exploring innovations in science and technology.   One person with her eyes on space is Fiona Harrison -- principal investigator for NASA NuStar explorer mission, which explores black holes, and the remnants of supernova -- who also spoke at the summit. "We can see the heart of our galaxy," she said, referring to being able to take breathtaking pictures from telescopes and space probes. Her future goals include expensive projects like creating robots that can assemble high-powered telescopes in space, and she's firm in her belief that "the limitation is imagination."   But what about the rest of us who don't have the backing of NASA? Will Pomerantz, VP for Special Projects at Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is working on that: "I'm obsessed with the number 528 -- all the human beings who have ever been to space."   Pomerantz said that NASA's job is to increase that number incrementally, one by one, but it's the job of private enterprise to open space exploration to the masses. Virgin Galactic's goal is to lower the base price for getting regular people aloft, helping entrepreneurs to lift payloads and high school teachers to get their experiments to the stars, he said.   And what, exactly, will we do when we no longer need a national government to help get us to the moon? According to Moon Express founder Naveen Jain, what we'll do is start to make money.   "The moon is an aggregator of asteroids," he said during the panel. "Why not just process the platinum and bring it back? I mean, why not? Someone has to do it."   As we push further afield, there's a legitimate question about whether our laws -- and our culture -- can keep pace. Who owns the moon? Who regulates it? As the price of firing off a rocket drops from $100 million down to maybe $500,000, what will we all do with our new freedoms?   We don't yet know, but we're all about to find out.   Obama failed space program; Romney would revitalize it   Eugene A. Cernan – Orlando Sentinel (Guest Column)   "We now leave as we once came and, God willing, as we shall return: with peace and hope for all mankind."   With these words, I left the moon on Dec. 14, 1972, completing the final manned mission in the Apollo space program.   Those words still resonate in my heart four decades later. But in light of the abdication of leadership over the past four years under President Obama, I'm concerned that the peace and hope the crew of Apollo XVII expressed are more elusive than ever.   The U.S. space program has long been the envy of nations. Since it all began in the 1950s, the United States had become the unchallenged leader in space exploration. Apollo XI's historic mission to the moon united our country, not only because it was — as my friend Neil Armstrong said — "One small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind," but because it represented our nation's triumph over our adversaries.   Even in the midst of "the terrible '60s," when our nation was shackled by civil strife, campus unrest and the beginning of an unpopular war, we banded together and accepted the bold challenge of President John F. Kennedy and once again demonstrated America's collective exceptionalism.   Unfortunately, our nation's space program is today in disarray. Not only did Obama cancel long-held plans for NASA's Constellation program, breaking his earlier promise to fund and implement it, but he has failed to put in place any clear goals about our nation's space programs moving forward.   Frankly, the world's leading space-faring nation shouldn't have to pay Russia for rides to the International Space Station. That's not only an insult to the hundreds of women and men like me who have built a legacy based on, literally, reaching for the stars, but it also hurts the local economy and puts local jobs at risk at a time when Florida's unemployment rate is already higher than the national average.   Four years ago, Obama promised Floridians that space-industry workers wouldn't lose their jobs when the shuttle program ended; in fact, more than 7,400 people lost their jobs. The Kennedy Space Center's 8,500 workers represent its smallest work force in more than 35 years, and it's a far cry from the 15,000 workers the center employed in the mid-1990s.   In short, "hope and change" have not come for the Space Coast; neither have they come for the nation.   Instead, over the past four years, Obama has resorted to leading from behind and asks Americans to settle for a new normal that diminishes our position in the world. Not only is he willing to sacrifice the United States' pre-eminence in space exploration, but he seems unconcerned that our economic and national security might falter as well. It is not just about space; it is about the country.   In contrast, Mitt Romney believes that the 21st century should be an American century in which our country continues to lead the world in terms of the strength of our economy, our military and our space-exploration program. As president, Romney would bring together stakeholders — not only from NASA and leading universities, but also from the Air Force and commercial enterprises — to set goals, identify missions and chart a path that honors the legacy we have built so far and ensures the United States' continued leadership moving forward.   His plan would focus NASA on practical, sustainable missions that balance top-priority science and groundbreaking exploration programs. He would work to partner with our friends in the international community to achieve our nation's space objectives and to open new foreign markets so our aerospace industry can compete for and win business abroad.   And by strengthening our national-security space programs, we can also help ensure the continued safety of our interests around the world.   I've seen the greatness of America. And much of that greatness has stemmed from our unwillingness to settle for second best. I know America can do better than we've been doing over the past four years because I've witnessed it. And I believe America can once again reclaim our nation's strength and leadership by electing Mitt Romney this November.   Eugene A. Cernan flew three historic missions in space as the pilot of Gemini IX (1966), the Lunar Module pilot of Apollo X (1969) and the commander of Apollo XVII (1972). He lives in Houston.   Meanwhile On Mars…   Curiosity Rover’s First X-Ray Analysis Reveals Volcanic Martian Soil   Adam Mann – Wired Magazine   NASA’s Curiosity rover has completed the first-ever detailed X-ray analysis of Martian sand, determining that it contains minerals similar to volcanic soil found at places like the Mauna Kea shield volcano in Hawaii.   Curiosity has been scooping and sampling the Martian regolith at an area called Rocknest for the past month. The probe is starting to live up to its original, official name Mars Science Laboratory, doing lab work that hasn’t until now been possible on Mars. No previous lander or rover has been able to perform X-ray diffraction because the machines required for the technique are typically the size of a refrigerator. Engineers were able to shrink the instrument down to roughly the size of a shoebox and make it less power-hungry, allowing it to be packed and sent to Mars on the rover.   “This is truly an exciting time for planetary scientists,” said mineralogist David Bish from Indiana University, co-investigator on the CheMin X-ray analysis instrument. ”X-ray diffraction patterns are the best method for telling us what minerals are present.”   Curiosity recently delivered an aspirin-sized sample of fine soil to CheMin, which was placed in one of the windowed cells seen in the image below. Those cells vibrate 2,000 times a second to shake up the Martian sand, which is then blasted with X-rays. The X-rays penetrate into the tiny grains, determining the spacing of their atoms and uniquely identifying which minerals are present and their quantity.   CheMin revealed the presence of crystalline feldspar, pyroxenes, and olivine, which on Earth can be formed from volcanic processes and broken down by weathering, which may include rain and flowing water. Nothing about the analysis was particularly surprising because scientists have in the past had indications of all these minerals on Mars, but it is the first direct measurement of them. Because these fine particles are blown from all over the Martian surface by wind, future analysis will help researchers understand more about the complex geological history of Mars.   Mars Dirt Similar to Hawaiian Volcanic Soil   Mike Wall – Space.com   The first-ever in-depth analysis of Martian dirt reveals a mineralogical makeup similar to that of Hawaiian volcanic soils, researchers announced today (Oct. 30).   The results come from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, which recently studied a scoop of Red Planet dirt with its Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, for the first time.   "This Martian soil that we've analyzed on Mars just this past week appears mineralogically similar to some weathered basaltic materials that we see on Earth," David Bish, a CheMin co-investigator with Indiana University, told reporters. He cited as an example the "weathered soils on the flanks of Mauna Kea in Hawaii."   What was expected   X-ray diffraction is standard practice for geologists here on Earth, but Curiosity is the first robot ever to employ it on another planet, researchers said. The mission team had to shrink the necessary gear from the size of a refrigerator down to that of a shoebox to get CheMin to fit on the car-size rover, which landed on Mars in August.   "We can tell you, first of all, what minerals are present, and secondly, how much of each mineral is there," said CheMin principal investigator David Blake, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "So it's really the first full-up quantitative instrument for doing this work on Mars."   CheMin's first results — obtained using soil Curiosity scooped at a site called "Rocknest" — aren't terribly surprising, researchers said.   "Much of Mars is covered with dust, and we had an incomplete understanding of its mineralogy," Bish said in a statement. "We now know it is mineralogically similar to basaltic material, with significant amounts of feldspar, pyroxene and olivine, which was not unexpected. Roughly half the soil is non-crystalline material, such as volcanic glass or products from weathering of the glass."   The sample contains at least two components: particles distributed globally by Martian dust storms and sand that appears to have originated locally, in Gale Crater. In contrast to the conglomerate rocks Curiosity discovered a month or so ago, there is no evidence of strong interaction with liquid water in the Rocknest sample, researchers said.   "So far, the materials Curiosity has analyzed are consistent with our initial ideas of the deposits in Gale Crater recording a transition through time from a wet to dry environment," Bish said. "The ancient rocks, such as the conglomerates, suggest flowing water, while the minerals in the younger soil are consistent with limited interaction with water."   Next Up   Curiosity has been at Rocknest for about a month. During this time, the $2.5 billion rover has been gearing up for its first scooping activities and preparing to use CheMin and its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument for the first time.   Like CheMin, SAM sits on Curiosity's body and analyzes samples dropped in by the rover's 7-foot-long (2.1 meters) robotic arm. SAM can identify organic compounds, the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it.   The first SAM soil results should come in soon, mission scientists said.   "We hope to be at this location for about another week, and today we will begin the uplinking process for the part of the experiment that feeds the sample eventually to the SAM instrument," said Curiosity lead scientist John Grotzinger, of Caltech in Pasadena. "About a week or 10 days from now, we should be getting data back from the conclusion of that."   SAM has already been sniffing the Martian atmosphere for traces of methane, a gas that is commonly produced by living organisms here on Earth. The mission team isn't ready to announce any results from this activity yet but should be soon.   "Stay tuned," Grotzinger said.   While at Rocknest, Curiosity has also been studying Red Planet rocks with some of its cameras and other instruments.   For example, last week the rover blasted a miniature system of natural arches — dubbed "Stonehenge" by some mission team members — with the laser on its ChemCam instrument. ChemCam determines mineral composition by analyzing the vaporized bits this laser produces.   Curiosity landed inside Gale Crater on Aug. 5. Its main destination is the base of Mount Sharp, the 3.4-mile-high (5.5 km) mountain rising from the crater's center. Mars-orbiting spacecraft have spotted signs that Mount Sharp's foothills were exposed to liquid water long ago.   These interesting deposits lie about 6 miles (10 km) from Curiosity's landing site. Scientists want the rover to perform its first drilling activity at or near Rocknest, but Curiosity should start heading toward Mount Sharp when that's done — perhaps around the end of the year, Grotzinger has said.       END    

Isn't it Obvious, Crystal Clear, Even a Low IQ Can See it, Understand it---Shuttle Must be Returned to flight!!!!

Vehicle in museum, over a million unemployed, USA needs Capability, Bankrolling Russia, NASA helping Muslims Feel Better, USA in Danger, kids being brainwashed that there is lots of freebees out there, just print money---IT WON'T WORK, EVEN WALL STREET says END IS NEAR!!! The  losses in techincal, to semi-skilled (home-builders, Truckers who bring in the building materials, to those who make those 'products'), including the Realtors who 'sell' the homes, Bankers & the employees; the folks working Retail & Food Service; a big portion of them 'laid off' Because that had been directly involved with Shuttle Operations; for the most part, out of a fairly good b position; cannot pay for their homes;----which they. "walk-away from"---there goes the 'economy' of the area: than multiply by the total areas affected: Affects the AMERICA ECONOMY, right down the drain!!! Mitt, Mitt, Over a Million, A MILLION, out of a job AND  America NEEDS the CAPABILITY!!!! DOES NOT the CORRECTIVE ACTION HIT YOU , ISN'T IT OBVIOUS---RESTART SHUTTLE-- PUT the Shuttle Team Back to Work.!!! Like ·  · Share · Promote · about an hour ago ·  Sent from my iPad

STS1 launch as seen from U2

10/30/12 news

Hope you can join us this Thursday for our monthly NASA Retirees luncheon at Hibachi Grill at 11:30.     Tuesday, October 30, 2012   JSC TODAY HEADLINES 1.      Watch the Launch and Docking of Russia's Progress Cargo Spacecraft 2.      ASIA ERG Happy 'Spider' Networking Tomorrow 3.      MCC Audio Will Be Shut Down on Friday, Nov. 16 4.      Did You Miss the IRD Expo and Forum? It's Not Too Late to Participate 5.      This Week at Starport 6.      Add it to the List -- Your Reading List, That is 7.      Don't Let Volunteering Spook You -- Sign Up Today 8.      SNS -- What is It? 9.      ISS Update Highlights Science Aboard the Station in a New Video 10.     Paying for College Without Going Broke 11.     Catch the First Part in 'A User's Guide to the Universe' on Nov. 15 12.     Recent JSC Announcements 13.     Engineer of the Year Award -- Deadline Tomorrow, Oct. 31 14.     AIAA Educator Achievement Award -- Deadline Tomorrow, Oct. 31 15.     Fire Warden Orientation Course (4 Hours) ________________________________________        QUOTE OF THE DAY “ If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. ”   -- Frank A. Clark ________________________________________ 1.      Watch the Launch and Docking of Russia's Progress Cargo Spacecraft NASA TV will broadcast the launch and same-day rendezvous and docking of a Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. Coverage begins at 2:15 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Oct. 31. Progress 49 is scheduled to launch at 2:41 a.m. from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will dock later that day at 8:40 a.m. in an abbreviated launch-to-rendezvous schedule designed to reduce the typical two-day flight between a launch and docking. NASA TV coverage of the Progress' arrival at the station will begin at 8 a.m. Russian flight controllers retain the option to revert to a normal two-day rendezvous if developments require. If that occurs, the craft will dock Friday, Nov. 2, and NASA TV will provide live coverage. JSC employees with wired computer network connections can view NASA TV using onsite IPTV on channels 404 (standard definition) or 4541 (HD). If you are having problems viewing the video using these systems, contact the Information Resources Directorate Customer Support Center at x46367. For more information about station, click here. JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111   [top] 2.      ASIA ERG Happy 'Spider' Networking Tomorrow Don't miss out on the spooky-fun Halloween luncheon presented by the ASIA Employee Resource Group (ERG) on Wednesday, Oct. 31, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at East Star Restaurant (northeast corner of NASA Parkway and El Camino Real). East Star Chinese Buffet address and phone number: 1025 NASA Parkway, Houston, 77058 281-280-8822 There will be at least one officer in costume giving out opportunities to win a door prize and plenty of time to network with other ASIA ERG members. This event is open to both civil servants and contractors. You do not have to be an ASIA ERG member to participate in the fun and food. Krystine Bui x34186   [top] 3.      MCC Audio Will Be Shut Down on Friday, Nov. 16 The Mission Control Center (MCC) audio office tool functionality relies upon the legacy MCC DVIS headset communications system, which is slated for retirement in mid-November. Current users of the MCC audio system should migrate to the DICES tool prior to Nov. 16. Refer to the DICES website for installation instructions. Eric Gallagher x30170 https://apogee.jsc.nasa.gov/dices   [top] 4.      Did You Miss the IRD Expo and Forum? It's Not Too Late to Participate In case you missed the Information Resources Directorate (IRD) Expo and Forum on Oct. 25, there's still a chance to be a part of the action. By popular demand, IRD is providing you an opportunity to still participate and shape the future of Information Technology (IT) at JSC and the White Sands Test Facility via our survey. At the end of the survey you can enter into our drawing to be part of the "Office of the Future" Pathfinder Program, where you can help test products like iPads and external storage devices for IRD. Your last chance is just one click away! Take the IRD customer survey by close of business today. JSC IRD Outreach x41334   [top] 5.      This Week at Starport Stop by the Starport Gift Shops in Buildings 3 and 11 for our NASA youth hoodie closeout special! Youth hoodies are only $10 for a limited time. Several colors to choose from. Coming soon ... The Starport Gift Shops will once again be offering Sweetwater Pecans in plain pieces or halves; milk chocolate and white chocolate covered; crunchy praline; and roasted and salted; as well as pistachios in the shell for $11.50 per bag -- just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays. ETA is the second week of November. Watch JSC Today for news of arrival. The JSC Annual Holiday Bazaar is this Saturday at the Gilruth Center. Stop by for some holiday shopping! Save the date for Starport's Thanksgiving lunch. On Nov. 7 the Starport Cafés will be serving traditional Thanksgiving favorites with all the trimmings. Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 6.      Add it to the List -- Your Reading List, That is If you're hankering for an article or two that will go nicely with your morning cup of Joe, look to JSC Features. It's recently been populated with stories to fit anyone's fancy. Like history? Read how the City of Houston and NASA jointly honored two space pioneers in a very cool way. Looking for help or resources for someone affected by a disability? An article about the center's first panel discussion on community resources for individuals with disabilities might be a good place to start. (P.S. The speakers at the event happened to be very inspirational people, too.) Or, want to be freaked out a little right before Halloween? Real ghost stories courtesy of your fellow JSC team members are also on there. It just might be the thing to get your goose bumps building early. Move your "curse-r" on over to JSC Features for the full articles. JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x33317   [top] 7.      Don't Let Volunteering Spook You -- Sign Up Today The JSC Contractor Environmental Partnership is hosting another electronic recycling and document-shredding event in the Space Center Houston parking lot on Nov. 10 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. We are looking for volunteers to help staff the event. There are three different shifts available, and volunteers can sign up for whenever and as many shifts as they would like. Sign up using the website link below. See you there! JSC Contractor Environmental Partnership x40878 http://www.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=jsc_ewaste   [top] 8.      SNS -- What is It? Have you heard about SNS? What does it mean? It means, simply, "Safe, Not Sorry." Have you ever thought, "I wish I had been more careful," "I wish I had noticed," or, "I wish I had prevented this?" If so, Safe, Not Sorry will have a special meaning for you. And, SNS has a special meaning at JSC, as a way of honoring those employees who make the extra effort to correct a hazard, clean up a potentially harmful area or come to the aid of a fellow employee who is or could be compromised. JSC awards attractive, antique-style SNS lapel pins for these actions. If you see someone perform an action worthy of this signal honor, you can report it to your supervisor or award the pin yourself. To obtain pins, call x45078. Let's all be Safe, Not Sorry. Rindy Carmichael x45078   [top] 9.      ISS Update Highlights Science Aboard the Station in a New Video In this ISS Update video, Associate Program Scientist for the International Space Station Tara Rutley discusses some of the science experiments performed by the Expedition 33 crew members aboard the station throughout the week. In her role, Rutley helps to coordinate the research that happens on station and identifies the various impacts of the science experiments and research that is conducted. She also helps to prioritize the science, makes sure it is implemented and that the needs of the investigators are met. After the experiments are concluded, her team works to gather the results and communicates the results to the public. Some of the station experiments and research discussed were VO2Max, the Aquatic Habitat and Micro-6. JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111   [top] 10.     Paying for College Without Going Broke The Employee Assistance Program is happy to present Kris Lloyd with The College Money Guys. Lloyd will provide information on paying for college without going broke. If you're the parent of a high school student who plans to attend college, you must attend this free workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 12 noon in the Building 30 Auditorium. Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program x36130   [top] 11.     Catch the First Part in 'A User's Guide to the Universe' on Nov. 15 Inquisitive adults are invited to attend the presentation "Big Bang Theory: The Three Pillars," by Dr. Dragan Huterer. This free, public presentation on Nov. 15 is part of the Cosmic Explorations Speaker Series at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI). Huterer's presentation is the first in this year's series, "A User's Guide to the Universe: You Live Here. Here's What You Need to Know."  LPI's Cosmic Explorations presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a light reception. No reservation is necessary. LPI is located in the USRA building (3600 Bay Area Blvd. - the entrance is on Middlebrook Drive). LPI is part of the Universities Space Research Association. For more information, click here or contact Andrew Shaner at 281-486-2163. Andrew Shaner 281-486-2163   [top] 12.     Recent JSC Announcements Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement: JSCA 12-034: Key Personnel Assignments Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page. Linda Turnbough x36246 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/DocumentManagement/announcements/default.aspx   [top] 13.     Engineer of the Year Award -- Deadline Tomorrow, Oct. 31 The Engineer of the Year Award is presented to a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) who has made a recent (within the past two years) individual contribution in the application of scientific and mathematical principles leading to a significant accomplishment or event worthy of AIAA's national or international recognition. Nominations begin at the AIAA section level, or may be made by any AIAA member, and are submitted to the appropriate Regional Deputy Director -Honors and Awards and Regional Director, who select the one Regional Engineer of the Year. This annual award is generally presented at an appropriate AIAA technical conference selected by the recipient, subject to approval by the Honors and Awards Committee. Please submit the nominee's name and a bio of what they have accomplished by TOMORROW, Oct. 31, to me or Shirley Brandt. Jennifer Wells 281-336-6302   [top] 14.     AIAA Educator Achievement Award -- Deadline Tomorrow, Oct. 31 The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation Educator Achievement Awards are open for judging. Do you know a K-12 classroom teacher who deserves to be recognized for outstanding work with their students? Please make sure to nominate them by completing the nomination form and emailing it to Lisa Bacon with the subject line "NEA13" on it by TOMORROW, Oct. 31. Winners will be notified in early November. We are looking for representation from all sections at all grade levels, so make your region proud by nominating an outstanding teacher or two for this prestigious award. Please contact me or Lisa Bacon with any questions. Jennifer Wells 281-336-6302   [top] 15.     Fire Warden Orientation Course (4 Hours) This four-hour course will satisfy the JSC training requirement for newly assigned Fire Wardens from JSC, Sonny Carter Training Facility and Ellington Field. This course must be completed before assuming these duties. Topics covered include: duties and responsibilities of a Fire Warden; building evacuation techniques; recognizing and correcting fire hazards; and types and uses of portable fire extinguishers. Fire Wardens who have previously attended this four-hour orientation course and need to satisfy the three-year training requirements may attend the two-hour Fire Warden Refresher Course now available in SATERN for registration. Date/Time: Nov. 28 from 8 a.m. to noon Where: Safety Learning Center, Building 226N, Room 174 Registration via SATERN required: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_... Aundrail Hill x36369   [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 SCHEDULE October 31, Wednesday 2:15 a.m. CT - ISS Progress 49 Launch Coverage (Launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan scheduled at 2:41 a.m. CT) - JSC (All Channels) 8 a.m. CT - ISS Progress 49 Docking Coverage (Docking scheduled at 8:40 a.m. CT) - JSC (All Channels)   Human Spaceflight News Tuesday – October 30, 2012   HEADLINES AND LEADS     Thursday spacewalk to isolate station coolant leak   Bill Harwood – CBS News   NASA engineers are putting the finishing touches on plans for a spacewalk Nov. 1 to isolate a small leak in the ammonia cooling system used to carry away heat generated by the electrical gear that stores and distributes power from one of the International Space Station's eight huge solar panels. The leak is tiny, the equivalent to a hole about the diameter of a human hair. But if it is not bypassed or repaired, the coolant in the channel 2B solar array will drop below safety margins over the next few months, taking down a critical power channel.   NASA's Huge New SLS Rocket Could Power Missions Far Beyond Mars   Rob Coppinger – Space.com   NASA is contemplating space journeys far beyond a near-Earth asteroid, the moon or Mars for its new heavy-lift rocket in development. The Space Launch System (SLS), as it is called, could instead visit the moon of Pluto or return samples from other outer planets. An unmanned flyby mission to Pluto's Charon, sample return missions to Jupiter's moon Europa or Saturn's Titan, or a sample-gathering flight through Jupiter's atmosphere or the ice water jets of Saturn's Enceladus — all are said to be possible with the 286,000-pound (130,000 kilograms) launch capabilities of the Space Launch System.   NASA Unconcerned About Possible SpaceX Cargo Delivery Slip   Mark Carreau – Aviation Week   NASA says operations aboard the International Space Station should not be affected if the SpaceX CRS-2 cargo delivery mission currently slated for January slips as a result of the ongoing investigation into the first-stage engine loss that occurred on the Oct. 7 CRS-1 mission. The supply cache delivered to the station in early to mid-2011 by the now-retired space shuttle placed the six-person orbiting science lab on a firm footing well into 2013, according to Mike Suffredini, NASA’s space station program manager.   SpaceX Dragon Splashes Down With Cargo, Including … Frozen Blood?   Jason Paur – Wired Magazine   SpaceX successfully completed its second mission to the International Space Station on Sunday when the Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific with more than 1,600 pounds of cargo. The mission was the first of 12 scheduled flights to the ISS under a NASA contract that has SpaceX delivering cargo through 2016. The flight marked a major milestone as it was the first time since the retirement of the space shuttle that scientists have been able to return a significant amount of research samples, including frozen blood.   SpaceX Wraps Up First Contracted Station Resupply Mission   Dan Leone – Space News   A commercially operated space capsule laden with 760 kilograms of return cargo from the international space station has been recovered in the Pacific Ocean and is now on its way to the U.S. mainland, NASA announced Oct. 28. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) recovered the capsule, which departed the space station the morning of Oct. 28, shortly after its same-day splashdown about 400 kilometers off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Dragon was carrying 760 kilograms of return cargo, including items belonging to NASA and its international space station partners.   First Outing for SpaceX   Editorial – The New York Times   The first commercial spacecraft to carry cargo to the International Space Station splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, completing a three-week mission that was mostly successful though far from flawless. A small California technology company, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, launched its cargo-carrying capsule atop its Falcon 9 rocket on Oct. 7 and almost immediately encountered a problem when one of the rocket’s nine engines shut down shortly after liftoff.   Volusia County officials should support spaceport   Editorial – The Daytona Beach News-Journal   Volusia County leaders need to get behind a plan by Space Florida to free up 150 acres near Oak Hill for a commercial spaceport. The proposal — still in the early stages — would put a launch site in Volusia County. It would be located on the northern end of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, south of Oak Hill between U.S. 1 and Kennedy Parkway.   Richardson Working for Calif. Spaceport   Mike Gallagher – Albuquerque Journal   Former Gov. Bill Richardson will be going to work for a California spaceport to help push lawmakers there for an expanded “informed consent” law protecting manufacturers and suppliers of private spacecraft from most civil lawsuits. Stuart Witt, executive director of the Mojave Air and Space Port, confirmed Monday that Richardson has been hired as a consultant. Terms of his deal will be made public Wednesday when the spaceport’s governing authority reviews the contract.   Ex-astronaut circling the world to share his love for science   The Star (Malaysia)   His days as an astronaut are over but Dr Daniel T. Barry is now circling the globe to share his love for science. The former Nasa astronaut is in Malaysia until Nov 3 to conduct workshops to instill a passion for the subject among students. At a workshop held yesterday, he told his young participants that they should always understand why mistakes happened.   Preparing an Ideal Astronaut   Alexander Kumar – The New York Times   Antarctica can be an overpowering and overwhelming continent, and spending winter in the Antarctic has been used as a comparable setting for long-term manned spaceflight and as a model for planetary exploration. So the question we face is: How can we produce the “perfect astronaut” — someone who, through honed selection and detailed and directed training, can operate under any degree of isolation, stress and sensory deprivation, both effectively at individual tasks and as a sociable, skilled and appropriate crew member, for a manned mission to Mars?   SpaceShipTwo Powered Flights Set for 2013   Doug Messier – ParabolicArc.com   In a story on Saturday, Allison Gatlin of the Antelope Valley Press quotes Scaled Composites Executive Vice President Kevin Mickey as saying that powered flights of SpaceShipTwo will begin next year. Virgin Galactic officials have said they hoped to begin powered flights by the end of this year. The powered flights will be preceded by un-powered glide tests of SpaceShipTwo that will begin later this year. These will be the first flights of the eight-person space plane after it has been fully fitted with its hybrid propulsion system. Next year should be a busy one at the Mojave Air and Space Port where SpaceShipTwo is being tested. XCOR is set to make the first powered flights of its two-person Lynx space plane during the first quarter of 2013. (NO FURTHER TEXT) __________   COMPLETE STORIES   Thursday spacewalk to isolate station coolant leak   Bill Harwood – CBS News   NASA engineers are putting the finishing touches on plans for a spacewalk Nov. 1 to isolate a small leak in the ammonia cooling system used to carry away heat generated by the electrical gear that stores and distributes power from one of the International Space Station's eight huge solar panels.   The leak is tiny, the equivalent to a hole about the diameter of a human hair. But if it is not bypassed or repaired, the coolant in the channel 2B solar array will drop below safety margins over the next few months, taking down a critical power channel.   In a bid to locate the leak, Expedition 34 commander Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will suit up and venture outside the station to operate a valve and reconfigure coolant lines, isolating the part of the channel 2B coolant loop that snakes through a large folding radiator.   Then they will deploy a spare radiator used during the early stages of space station assembly and route the channel 2B coolant through the older panel. If the leak ultimately goes away -- and it likely will take several weeks to find out -- engineers will know the problem was in the original radiator, most likely the result of a space debris impact.   In that case, station managers could opt to use the older radiator indefinitely, solving the problem.   If the leak continues, however, they would have to consider replacing a pump module or taking more extensive steps in a future spacewalk. But they will have more time to consider their options. The old radiator has ammonia of its own to contribute and using it will effectively top off the system, keeping the coolant equipment operating for another year or so, assuming no other problems, while engineers consider their options.   Mike Lammers, the flight director for the spacewalk, said engineers believe the leak is either in the photo-voltaic radiator -- PVR -- or in the pump flow control system, or PFCS, that pushes ammonia through the coolant loop.   "We're real suspicious of the radiator, just because it kind of stretches out there and its susceptible to micrometeoroid impacts," he said. "The goal of this EVA is to isolate the PVR from the system by closing (a) disconnect. By doing that and watching the quantity that's in the radiator that's cut off from the rest of the system, we can kind of determine if that leak is in the PVR or the PFCS side."   The lion's share of the International Space Station's electrical power comes from four sets of dual-panel solar arrays, two on the right side of a 357-foot-long truss and two on the left side. Each set of solar arrays features two 115-foot-long panels that extended in opposite directions. The Russian segment of the station taps into the U.S. power grid to supplement electricity generated by two relatively small solar panels on the Zvezda command module.   The two U.S. arrays at the far left end of the station's integrated power truss -- the port 6, or P6 arrays -- feed power to electrical channels 2B and 4B. The P6 set of arrays, like its three counterparts, routes power from the solar panels directly into the station's electrical grid during daylight passes, at the same time charging dual sets of batteries that take over during orbital darkness.   Each power channel generates between 150 and 160 volts of direct current, but downstream equipment near the center of the power truss -- equipment that uses a separate cooling system -- steps that down to 125 volts DC for use by the station's internal systems.   To keep the power generation components cool, each of the four sets of arrays uses two independent coolant loops that circulate ammonia through cold plates to carry heat out to a single shared radiator that extends from each module. The photo-voltaic radiator weighs 1,650 pounds and is made up of seven panels measuring 6 feet by 11 feet.   A slight 1.5-pound-per-year leak in the channel 2B cooling system has been present since 2007 and during a shuttle visit last year, two spacewalking astronauts added eight pounds of ammonia to the reservoir to boost it back up to a full 55 pounds. The plan at that time was to top off the system every four years or so to "feed the leak," replacing the lost ammonia as required.   But over the past few months, engineers saw the leak rate suddenly quadruple, either because something changed at the original leak site or, more likely, because another leak developed somewhere else in the system.   Whether the leakage was caused by space debris or a component failure of some sort is not yet known. But the result is: If the leak continues at its current rate, the coolant will drop below a 40-pound safety limit and the system will shut down by the end of the year or shortly thereafter, taking power channel 2B down with it.   While the space station can operate without the full complement of power channels, the loss of channel 2B would force flight controllers to power down equipment, eliminating redundancy and reducing the amount of research the crews could carry out.   In a lucky break for NASA, the P6 truss segment was the first installed on the station and it came equipped with a separate cooling system used early in the station's construction. That early external thermal control system, or EETCS, was shut down, and its two radiators retracted, when the P6 segment was moved to the port side of the integrated power truss and tied into the station's main power system.   To isolate the P6 coolant system leak, Williams and Hoshide will divert ammonia coolant into the old system by operating a valve and reconfiguring jumpers at a panel of quick-disconnect fittings. One of the old radiators then will be re-extended to provide cooling to the channel 2B components.   That will buy time for engineers to track down the leak and figure out what might be done about it. If the leak is in the P6 radiator, managers could decide to simply let it leak out and use the old coolant system indefinitely. If necessary, a spare radiator could be installed during a future spacewalk.   Likewise, if the leak is in the channel 2B pump module, a replacement unit could be installed later. But the simplest solution is to isolate the PVR in the upcoming spacewalk.   "What this (spacewalk) will tell us is whether the radiator is the cause of the leak," said space station Program Manager Mike Suffredini. "If it turns out the leak continues, we have a little time. When we filled this system a year ago, the result of that fill was to also fill the early ammonia system as well, so we have extra ammonia in that loop.   "So it buys us a little time. It lets us isolate the PVR to see if that's the cause. if that turns out not to be the cause, then we have to think about the next steps."   NASA's Huge New SLS Rocket Could Power Missions Far Beyond Mars   Rob Coppinger – Space.com   NASA is contemplating space journeys far beyond a near-Earth asteroid, the moon or Mars for its new heavy-lift rocket in development. The Space Launch System (SLS), as it is called, could instead visit the moon of Pluto or return samples from other outer planets.   An unmanned flyby mission to Pluto's Charon, sample return missions to Jupiter's moon Europa or Saturn's Titan, or a sample-gathering flight through Jupiter's atmosphere or the ice water jets of Saturn's Enceladus — all are said to be possible with the 286,000-pound (130,000 kilograms) launch capabilities of the Space Launch System.   The first launch of SLS is planned for 2017, but it will not have an upper stage and will be able to put only 154,000 pounds (70,000 kg) into low-Earth orbit. Beginning in 2022, however, the rocket is expected to have more powerful boosters and an upper stage to give it an ability to deliver 286,000 pounds to Earth orbit.   Such large cargos will be transported under a nose-cone fairing that will have a diameter of about 30 feet (10 meters), giving the Space Launch System a useful payload volume of about 38,846 cubic feet (1,100 cubic meters). The rocket itself has a diameter of about 25 feet (8.4 meters). [Photos: NASA's Space Launch System for Deep Space Flights]   Science possibilities   It is this combination of a very large lift capability and nose-cone volume that is expected to enable ambitious missions such as sample return from the outer planets.   "Most of the science community hasn't thought beyond current lift capability. Scientists haven't thought about what mass and volume they need to use," Kenneth Bruce Morris, a Booz Allen Hamilton senior associate, said at the 63rd annual International Astronautical Congress in Naples, Italy, on Oct 5. Morris' presentation was co-authored with the Marshall Space Flight Center. Before joining Booz Allen Hamilton, Morris was NASA's lead for Ares V utilization planning under the now-canceled Constellation program.   Because of the SLS payload capability, future science spacecraft will be able to carry large propulsion systems and more fuel, enabling them to reduce their mission time and carry more instruments. To reach the outer planets, previous spacecraft have had to make multiple gravity-assist maneuvers around the inner planets to reach the velocity needed, costing valuable time. The SLS could increase mission time by years, since its larger propulsion systems would enable more direct trajectories.   Another advantage of SLS is the potential to reduce the number of separate launches complex missions will require. For example, with existing boosters, an outer planet sample mission would require many launches to assemble the spacecraft. With SLS, however, the mission could be achieved with fewer launches, or even just one, reducing complexity.   In addition to sample return, such large scientific spacecraft could deliver multiple rovers to the surface of Venus or carry the substantial shielding needed for operating long term in the harsh radiation environment of the Jupiter system.   "We've been talking with the science community. Most of our focus has been on targeted one-on-one interactions between SLS and high-priority science missions in the coming decades, discussing mutually beneficial options," Stephen Creech, SLS strategic development manager for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, told SPACE.com.   Design milestones   On July 25, the SLS program passed two key reviews, for combined system definition and system requirements, to move toward its preliminary design review, scheduled for late 2013. The SLS critical design review is scheduled for early 2014. These various checkpoints pave the way for the finished design of SLS to begin construction in earnest.   As well as missions to the outer planets, the SLS could launch space telescopes that operate at the thermally stable second sun-Earth Lagrange point, a spot in space where gravity from the sun and Earth balance each other out. Designed to observe ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light, these space telescopes would use huge mirrors with diameters from about 24 feet to 52 feet (16 meters). A 52-foot mirror telescope could find and characterize alien planets around other stars.   Such large imaging systems would also be useful for the U.S. government's National Reconnaissance Office satellites and other Department of Defense spacecraft. Launching large robotic spacecraft capable of traveling to geostationary orbit to service telecommunication satellites is another possible use for SLS. [Video: SLS — Leaving Low-Earth Orbit Behind]   Because the Space Launch System would be able to deliver very large structures with a few launches, it could also put into orbit, for assembly, the component parts of a space-based solar power system. Such a solar satellite could be a commercial venture.   Private space stations   Another commercial venture the SLS could help launch is a Bigelow Aerospace space station. NASA's Creech has confirmed to SPACE.com that the space agency has spoken to Bigelow.   The company has proposed a private space station, leased by governments and corporations for research, which would consist of four of Bigelow's inflatable BA330 modules, a docking node and a propulsion unit. Each BA330 has a total volume of 11,653 cubic feet (330 cubic meters). The first BA330 is to be launched on a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket in 2015.   The SLS could also enable Lagrange point gateway architecture for manned exploration, said Jim Chilton, Boeing's space exploration vice president and Space Launch System stages program manager. Speaking at the astronautical congress, Chilton's presentation showed how two SLS launches, using 15-foot-long nose cones capable of fitting 154,000 pounds inside, would be able to deliver the modules for a Lagrange point platform. Located at the Earth-moon L2 Lagrange point, beyond our natural satellite's orbit, the platform would be a waypoint for refueling.   Under NASA's exploration plans, the manned Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, launching atop an SLS rocket, would go to an asteroid after a trip around the moon and back in 2021. The asteroid mission would be a deep-space trip for the astronauts; an intermediate test mission could see the crew go to such a platform at the L2 Lagrange point.   Lockheed, the primary Orion contractor, is also considering alternate missions for the space capsule. Josh Hopkins, Lockheed Martin Space Systems' space exploration architect, described to SPACE.com an in-orbit experiment to create a centrifugal force onboard Orion that would give astronauts a gravity-like experience.   "We've been looking at an artificial gravity test where you put an Orion in a tether with a mass and spin them up and Orion is not designed to be spun up and so we're working on that, we're interested in it," he told SPACE.com.   NASA Unconcerned About Possible SpaceX Cargo Delivery Slip   Mark Carreau – Aviation Week   NASA says operations aboard the International Space Station should not be affected if the SpaceX CRS-2 cargo delivery mission currently slated for January slips as a result of the ongoing investigation into the first-stage engine loss that occurred on the Oct. 7 CRS-1 mission.   The supply cache delivered to the station in early to mid-2011 by the now-retired space shuttle placed the six-person orbiting science lab on a firm footing well into 2013, according to Mike Suffredini, NASA’s space station program manager.   “The launch date itself, in January, is not really critical to the program from a supply standpoint,” Suffredini told an Oct. 26 news briefing. “So we have some flexibility.”   The CRS-1 Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 250 mi. west of Baja, Calif., on Oct.  28 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, providing a U.S. commercial cargo supply option to help replace the capability lost with the July 2011 shuttle retirement.   Dragon and its nearly 1,700-lb. return cargo headed for port near Los Angeles aboard a SpaceX recovery vessel. After offloading, the reusable capsule and much of the return cargo will be transported to SpaceX facilities in McGregor, Texas, for processing.   About 500 frozen medical specimens, collected since the departure of the final shuttle mission, were headed for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for distribution to researchers. The blood and urine specimens should provide a record of metabolic changes that astronauts undergo during long periods of weightlessness.   The CRS-1 mission was the first carried out by the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company under a $1.6 billion, 12-mission NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract awarded in December 2008.   The CRS-2 Falcon 9 first stage, also in McGregor, will remain at the Central Texas test site until the investigation into the Merlin engine anomaly is resolved.   “We have agreed together to leave the stage in McGregor for a little while, while the team tries to get to the root cause of the anomaly,” Suffredini says. “My understanding is we probably have another week or so before we start to push the launch date.”   SpaceX Dragon Splashes Down With Cargo, Including … Frozen Blood?   Jason Paur – Wired Magazine   SpaceX successfully completed its second mission to the International Space Station on Sunday when the Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific with more than 1,600 pounds of cargo. The mission was the first of 12 scheduled flights to the ISS under a NASA contract that has SpaceX delivering cargo through 2016. The flight marked a major milestone as it was the first time since the retirement of the space shuttle that scientists have been able to return a significant amount of research samples, including frozen blood.   “This historic mission signifies the restoration of America’s ability to deliver and return critical space station cargo,” SpaceX CEO and Chief Technical Officer Elon Musk said in a statement. “The reliability of SpaceX’s technology and the strength of our partnership with NASA provide a strong foundation for future missions and achievements to come.”   Yesterday’s return flight began in the morning when astronauts aboard the ISS used the station’s robotic arm to detach the Dragon and release it a few hours later. Following a series of short pulses from its Draco thrusters, the spacecraft entered a free-fly orbit as the SpaceX team in California waited until Dragon was in position for re-entry. At 2:28 p.m. EDT Dragon performed its longest burn of the thrusters in order to significantly slow it down so it would begin to fall back to Earth. A little less than an hour later the capsule splashed into the Pacific Ocean about 250 miles off the coast of southern California.   The spacecraft is on its way back to Los Angeles by boat where the time critical cargo will be delivered to NASA. Dragon will then be transported to McGregor, Texas, where it will be processed and inspected, similar to the last Dragon spacecraft we saw being taken apart at SpaceX’s rocket testing facility this summer.   This mission was the longest for SpaceX to date. After the Oct. 7 launch, Dragon spent 18 days berthed to the ISS. After an “off-nominal” ascent in which an engine had to be shut down, the Dragon successfully delivered 883 pounds of cargo to the ISS. After unloading the supplies – including some tasty ice cream – the astronauts then reloaded Dragon with 1,673 pounds of cargo for the flight back to Earth. Currently the Dragon is the only spacecraft capable of returning this much cargo.   The other transfer vehicles from Europe and Japan can be filled with cargo, but only items considered to be trash, as both vehicles burn up during re-entry. The Soyuz capsule can carry a small amount of supplies during its return flight, but almost all of the volume and mass carrying capability is reserved for human passengers.   In addition to the frozen blood samples, frozen urine samples are also being returned to researchers who hope to better understand the effects of long-term micro-gravity on the human body. Numerous other research samples are being returned, including plant seedlings grown in space, making up more than half of the total mass inside Dragon.   The next resupply mission is currently scheduled for January, but because of the engine issue during the launch of CRS-1, that date may slip as SpaceX and NASA investigate the issue.   “Analysis to date supports initial findings: the engine experienced a rapid loss of pressure and Falcon 9’s flight computer immediately commanded shutdown, as it is designed to do in such cases,” the company said in its statement.   SpaceX and NASA have agreed to delay the shipment of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle from its hangar in Texas where we saw it being assembled back in August, to the launch pad in Florida while the investigation continues.   At the same time Orbital Sciences delayed its planned resupply missions to the ISS until spring. The company hopes to make the first of its two NASA demonstration flights with the Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft by the end of the year. That date could also be postponed as Orbital Sciences had to stop all testing this week while hurricane Sandy makes an almost direct hit on its facilities at Wallops Island on the Virginia Coast.   SpaceX Wraps Up First Contracted Station Resupply Mission   Dan Leone – Space News   A commercially operated space capsule laden with 760 kilograms of return cargo from the international space station has been recovered in the Pacific Ocean and is now on its way to the U.S. mainland, NASA announced Oct. 28.   Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) recovered the capsule, which departed the space station the morning of Oct. 28, shortly after its same-day splashdown about 400 kilometers off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Dragon was carrying 760 kilograms of return cargo, including items belonging to NASA and its international space station partners.   “We expect Dragon at port sometime in the next 24 hours, SpaceX spokeswoman Katherine Nelson said via email Oct. 29. The ship carrying Dragon will dock at San Pedro, Calif., Nelson said.   Some of the items Dragon is carrying have been designated as early return cargo. These items will be removed as soon as the spacecraft reaches land. Dragon, along with the rest of its cargo, will then be trucked to SpaceX’s engine-test facility in McGregor, Texas, for post-flight processing.   Dragon’s return is a milestone in NASA’s effort to turn space station cargo logistics over to private operators. The craft’s splashdown marked the completion of the first mission under Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX’s $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract signed with NASA in 2008. SpaceX has 11 more missions to fly under that contract.   Dragon launched Oct. 7 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying 400 kilograms of cargo including crew supplies and research hardware. Despite the loss of one of the rocket’s nine first-stage engines 79 seconds after liftoff, Dragon reached the international space station Oct. 10, as planned. However, the engine anomaly, which is still under investigation by a joint NASA-SpaceX team, forced SpaceX to jettison a secondary commercial payload into a lower-than-intended orbit. The payload, an experimental satellite that belonged to Fort Lee, N.J.-based Orbcomm, subsequently fell out of orbit, that company announced Oct. 11.   SpaceX is one of two companies with contracts to fly cargo to the international space station. The other, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is now expected to begin routine delivery missions sometime in 2013.   Orbital still has two demonstration flights to complete before it can begin fulfilling its own $1.9 billion delivery contract with NASA. The first of those flights, a test of the company’s Antares medium-lift rocket, without the Cygnus cargo capsule, is supposed to take place this year.   First Outing for SpaceX   Editorial – The New York Times   The first commercial spacecraft to carry cargo to the International Space Station splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, completing a three-week mission that was mostly successful though far from flawless. A small California technology company, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, launched its cargo-carrying capsule atop its Falcon 9 rocket on Oct. 7 and almost immediately encountered a problem when one of the rocket’s nine engines shut down shortly after liftoff.   That mishap did not prevent the cargo from reaching the station, but it did make it impossible to place a secondary payload, a prototype communications satellite, into the proper orbit. The satellite’s owner, Orbcomm, said it had achieved some useful test results before the satellite fell out of orbit and burned up in the atmosphere, so it was not a total failure. The company says it plans to launch more satellites aboard SpaceX rockets in the future.   NASA was clearly pleased with the mission. Since the retirement of the space shuttle fleet last year, the agency has relied primarily on Russia to send cargo and astronauts up the space station and back. Now NASA is trying to turn over the routine tasks of carrying cargo — and eventually, astronauts — to the space station while it focuses its human spaceflight program on exploration of the inner solar system.   SpaceX currently has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to carry out at least 11 more cargo resupply missions through 2016. Another company, the Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., has built a new cargo spacecraft under NASA contract and is preparing for a test flight next year. The best news from this first commercial flight is that the Falcon 9 rocket was able to complete its cargo delivery mission despite the loss of an engine. Although it was not perfect, the outing shows that private companies can carry out relatively mundane tasks like space cargo transport.   Volusia County officials should support spaceport   Editorial – The Daytona Beach News-Journal   Volusia County leaders need to get behind a plan by Space Florida to free up 150 acres near Oak Hill for a commercial spaceport.   The proposal — still in the early stages — would put a launch site in Volusia County. It would be located on the northern end of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, south of Oak Hill between U.S. 1 and Kennedy Parkway.   The plan could boost Volusia County's space tourism business. It would provide valuable aerospace employment in a region known for it — and one hurt by the retirement of NASA's space shuttle program.   With the end of that vaunted program, there is little time for local and state officials to dawdle as big opportunities arise. The state and region must focus on replacing the thousands of space-related jobs lost when the shuttle program got shuttered. That means focusing on the transformation of space exploration as private companies assume an ever larger role.   Space Florida, the state's space-related economic development agency, has stepped up its efforts to capture a share of the growing private-sector launch market. Space Florida is eyeing with enthusiasm the market signals of SpaceX, a private space company seeking a commercial launch facility. SpaceX is looking at sites in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico.   SpaceX, which has a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, has already delivered cargo to the International Space Station via an unmanned vehicle. That was through a federal contract.   But doing private launches from federal property requires a lot of paperwork and patience. Federal officials can bump private-sector launches in favor of public launches — and delays cost businesses much. The feds also have a more rigorous application process if foreign nationals want to launch a vehicle from federal land.   Frank Dibello, president of Space Florida, notes $280 billion a year, worldwide, is spent on the space industry. And when space businesses face delays in the United States, they are likely to launch from French Guiana, China or Russia.   It is unacceptable to lose space business to our European and Asian competitors when such commercial launches can feasibly and safely be launched in the United States — and particularly, in Volusia and Brevard counties.   So what the state and Space Florida would like is 150 acres — out of 140,000 acres NASA owns in Brevard and Volusia counties — for a commercial spaceport. This would be a spot for vertical launches of unmanned vehicles. It would potentially attract many private-sector space companies, not just one.   In late September, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll asked NASA and the U.S. Department of Transportation for this property — mostly in Volusia County — and the shuttle-landing facility.   But the request has been met with some nervousness. County Manager Jim Dinneen said the state had bypassed the county and public. Dinneen would rather see local officials and businesspersons sell the idea to NASA through the congressional delegation.   There are also environmental concerns to be met, although these concerns are likely small and can be effectively addressed. The land eyed is but 150 acres. Edgewater Mayor Mike Thomas noted the wildlife refuge already has plenty of land and that the commercial spaceport would be a job creator.   This is an opportunity in a county that is slowly generating new jobs to replace jobs lost as NASA's manned space program evolves over the next decade or two.   Volusia County has Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's research park on 140 acres that will likely attract all kinds of aviation and aerospace companies. Embry-Riddle is also developing NextGen, the new air-traffic technology, at the Daytona Beach International Airport. The technology will replace current land-based technology with satellite-based navigation systems. Involved are the Federal Aviation Administration and a number of aerospace and high-tech companies, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and GE Aviation.   So the commercial port that Space Florida envisions is an opportunity to expand the aerospace business in Volusia County, and to increase related employment in Central Florida. Local officials, the congressional delegation and the business community need to get behind the proposal.   The time has come for Volusia County to have an even larger role in the space industry. It's time to launch, not time to hesitate.   Richardson Working for Calif. Spaceport   Mike Gallagher – Albuquerque Journal   Former Gov. Bill Richardson will be going to work for a California spaceport to help push lawmakers there for an expanded “informed consent” law protecting manufacturers and suppliers of private spacecraft from most civil lawsuits.   Stuart Witt, executive director of the Mojave Air and Space Port, confirmed Monday that Richardson has been hired as a consultant. Terms of his deal will be made public Wednesday when the spaceport’s governing authority reviews the contract.   Mojave is seeking expanded protection in California similar to the kind the Martinez administration is pushing the New Mexico Legislature to adopt for Spaceport America – a $209 million project near Truth or Consequences that was one of Richardson’s signature initiatives.   New Mexico trial lawyers oppose the legislation, which died in this year’s session. Industry experts, the governor and business leaders say the legislation is crucial to New Mexico growing a commercial space industry.   Witt said Richardson has provided insights into how to get the law passed in California.   “We’ve tried unsuccessfully three times in the last eight years,” Witt said in a telephone interview. “He (Richardson) has been helpful in refining our approach to getting the legislation passed.”   Richardson did not respond to emails seeking a comment on his role with the Mojave spaceport.   The informed consent law currently on the books in New Mexico applies only to the operator of the space flight. California recently enacted a similar law, but like the New Mexico legislation the industry says it doesn’t go far enough.   The spaceport business nationally has become increasingly competitive. Texas, Florida, Colorado and Virginia have informed consent laws in place that also provide lawsuit protection to protect manufacturers and suppliers.   Richardson supported New Mexico’s current law.   Scott Darnell, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, said, “Richardson is certainly free to consult or help with the spaceport activities of another state, but in New Mexico, this just highlights how important it is for us to ensure that we continue to lead in this industry by passing legislation in the upcoming session that prevents lawsuit abuse.”   Darnell said the legislation is “common sense, it means jobs and economic development, and it would protect the significant investment that taxpayers have already made in Spaceport America.”   He said the industry is an incredibly competitive industry – not just with regard to manned space flight, but with regard to manufacturing and research and development as well.   Witt said the Mojave Air and Space Port isn’t competing with Spaceport America.   “I know the media likes to play this up as a competition between our spaceports but it’s not,” Witt said. “We’re trying to launch an entire worldwide industry.”   Witt said he and others from the Mojave spaceport consulted extensively on the design of the New Mexico spaceport.   There are more than 40 companies at the Mojave spaceport involved in manufacturing, research and development of manned and unmanned space flight.   “Our focus is on research and development, and manufacturing,” Witt said. “New Mexico is a commercial spaceport. We want to build the craft launched in New Mexico.”   Christine Anderson, executive director of Spaceport America, said Witt’s description of the relationship between the two space ports “is currently true.”   But Anderson said she is concerned that New Mexico will fail to attract tenants to its spaceport because of the lack of a more encompassing informed consent law and will fall behind states that have such laws.   “Increasingly the operators are the manufacturers,” Anderson said. “That’s why an emerging industry needs these protections.”   Meanwhile, Mark Butler of Virgin Galactic said during an industry roundtable at Albuquerque’s Sunport last week that New Mexico used to top the list of states for aerospace development because of its Spaceport. But he said the state is falling to the bottom because the Legislature has not passed the informed consent legislation.   Virgin Galactic has received deposits of $67.5 million for the $200,000 ticket to the edge of space. Spaceport America also stands to benefit from non-tourist commercial space launches once that business gets established.   Anderson said the spaceport and Martinez intend to introduce legislation extending the informed consent law to manufacturers and suppliers in next year’s legislative session.   “We can’t attract manufacturers to New Mexico without it,” Anderson said.   Ex-astronaut circling the world to share his love for science   The Star (Malaysia)   His days as an astronaut are over but Dr Daniel T. Barry is now circling the globe to share his love for science.   The former Nasa astronaut is in Malaysia until Nov 3 to conduct workshops to instill a passion for the subject among students.   At a workshop held yesterday, he told his young participants that they should always understand why mistakes happened.   “If everything always works, what do you learn from that? When unexpected stuff comes up, you have a new puzzle to solve and you get to test your understanding,” he said.   Dr Barry is here under the invitation of the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology. His visit is also in conjunction with the Second Inter Sessional Meeting of The Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council to be chaired by the Prime Minister on Thursday.   One of the participants was Shafique Abdul Razak, 16, who was delighted with the lessons learnt.   “This is more fun than learning in school because we get to play with a toy,” he said, referring to the chance to learn how to programme a robotic helicopter to fly.   In GEORGE TOWN, about 15,000 space buffs thronged the inaugural Penang Space Festival with Nasa 2012 at SAINS@USM, Persiaran Bukit Jambul to learn more about astronomy, space science and technology.   The two-day event which ends today is organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Northern Skills Development Centre (NSDC).   It features exhibitions, planetarium shows, talks and competitions.   Two scientists from Nasa - programme executive for operating missions and physics of the cosmos programme (astrophysics division) Jaya Bajpaye and globe instructor jet propulsion laboratory Peter Falcon - also delivered a talk to inspire Malaysians, especially students, to develop an interest in space science.   Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry deputy secretary-general (Science) Prof Datin Paduka Dr Khatijah Mohd Yusoff, who launched the event, said Malaysia had always maintained good working relationships with agencies such as Nasa, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency.   At the event, USM exchanged a memorandum of agreement with NSDC to explore opportunities in astronomy and space science.   NSDC managing director Dr Gunabalan Nadarajah said they were planning to organise the festival annually and establish an astronomy course for the community.   Among the highlights are activities such as star gazing, telescope clinic, amateur telescope making, talks and space art workshop. Admission is free.   Preparing an Ideal Astronaut   Alexander Kumar – The New York Times   Antarctica can be an overpowering and overwhelming continent, and spending winter in the Antarctic has been used as a comparable setting for long-term manned spaceflight and as a model for planetary exploration.   So the question we face is: How can we produce the “perfect astronaut” — someone who, through honed selection and detailed and directed training, can operate under any degree of isolation, stress and sensory deprivation, both effectively at individual tasks and as a sociable, skilled and appropriate crew member, for a manned mission to Mars?   To answer this question we first have to think about how a person interacts with and is challenged by extreme environments. Broadly speaking, the major stresses and challenges affecting human life, which in turn affect performance within extreme environments ranging from space to the Antarctic winter, can be divided into these five categories:   1. Physiological (physical) — from radiation to altered circadian rhythm; in space, this includes adaptation to microgravity and Space Adaptation Sickness (S.A.S.), whereas in high-altitude areas of Antarctica, it includes exposure to low oxygen levels and chronic hypobaric pressure.   2. Psychological — living within a hostile or alien extreme environment “away from the norm,” isolation, confinement, high risk or potential for loss of life and limited sensory stimuli.   3. Psychosocial — forced, close-quarters interpersonal contact, crew factors (culture, sex, size, personalities, etc.) and conflict and resolution.   4. Human factors — limited communications, fluctuating workload levels, risk, dealing with equipment failure, use of equipment within extreme environments, and increased reliance on technology for survival.   5. Habitability — hygiene limitations, a relative lack of privacy, artificial lighting, noise exposure and unusual sleep facilities.   I will concentrate today on human factors and ergonomics, a field that incorporates psychology, industrial and graphic design, anthropometry and psychology, and is an important area of study, essentially because the science behind safety in extreme environments has become an area of focus on many fronts, from space agencies to airlines to operating theaters.   In Antarctica risk runs high as human error, and less commonly machine breakdown, can cost lives. It is interesting to note that the majority of accidents don’t occur at the beginning or even the middle of an expedition; they occur at the end, when human factors are exaggerated.   Expert knowledge and training help, but in the end human survival within such extreme and risk-filled environments relies upon effective performance, problem-solving, vigilance and fine motor skills, as well as the ability to make and take good decisions and continually assess and reassess risk and system performance to prevent the occurrence or worsening of any unexpected problems. But we know no human is infallible, no human is perfec and mistakes are still made regardless of risk assessment, precise planning and implemented health and safety measures.   Human factors research in Antarctica involves studying ways to enable humans to operate safely and effectively, despite the difficulties put upon us by working in such an extreme environment. Areas of interest and study include crew selection and training, habitat architecture and design, human-machine interactions, alongside biological, psychological and behavioral studies of how humans operate within such an extreme, remote and isolated environment. This is the science of designing and balancing workplace conditions and job demands with the capabilities of the working population.   It is interesting to scientists and for spaceflight planning to study the behavioral characteristics of populations in Antarctica — looking out for symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia and hostility, and also studying group dynamics and interpersonal relationships.   There are different elements to human factors and ergonomics research. One element relevant to Antarctic and spaceflight science that I study at Concordia is “cognitive ergonomics” — looking at mental processes ranging from memory to perception to reasoning and response. All of these have been shown to be affected by the Antarctic winter — for example, winter-over members suffer short-term memory difficulties, slowness processing tasks and changes in reasoning.   Our crew has suffered all of these and more over the winter, which has affected our interpersonal interaction and our bodies’ systems. My research included testing areas of cognitive performance over our long winter to see if we could find ways to curb and prevent the expected decline. Interventions include exercise.   Other factors that can easily affect performance in the workplace include sleep quality, diet, outside stresses and mood. Through such study, we can try to find ways to optimize crew well-being and, in turn, help to ensure long-term performance.   With an increased number of people overwintering in Antarctica and traveling to space for longer periods, personnel selection has improved and ideal characteristics have been summarized in the term “professional isolates” — those who seem most able and ideal to survive the isolation and monotony while completing their tasks working and living in unison with fellow crew members.   Life support systems are being tested and technology built to withstand the remotest and most extreme environments.   In time, these lessons will not only help in developing safety in aviation and your local operating theater, but also in spaceflight and a future mission to Mars. You will see its impact everywhere — from designing the inside of spacecraft, to the selection and training of an appropriate team and the development of technology to be able to voyage into the beyond and safely return.     END