Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - December 20, 2012 and JSC Today

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: December 20, 2012 7:44:18 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - December 20, 2012 and JSC Today

Texas weather   ya gotta love it……   A/C one day   Heater the next!

 

 

 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

 

JSC TODAY HEADLINES

1.            Joint Leadership Team Web Poll

2.            See the Expedition 34/35 Docking, Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony

3.            A Celebration of 'Coats!' Don't Be the One Without a Ticket

4.            Submit Now Before the JSC Today Holiday Hiatus Begins

5.            Houston Technology Center is Bringing Tech Champs to the JSC Community

6.            In a Bind for Office Supplies? Freecycle@Work

7.            Starport Winter Break Camp Starts Next Week

8.            Recent JSC Announcement

9.            Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training: Jan. 14 to 18

10.          Electrical Safety Refresher ViTS: Feb. 8

________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY

" Find a job you like and you add five days to every week. "

 

-- H. Jackson Brown

________________________________________

1.            Joint Leadership Team Web Poll

It is highly likely that this is the last web poll of this year, so here goes my best stuff. Most people voted "medium" on the optimism scale last week, but I think we have lots of room for improvement there. Maybe you should grab a beverage from your wintertime igloo cooler to see if you feel better. This week I'm looking way into the past history of JSC. Can you pick out the false statement about where JSC came from? Was Stephen F. Austin involved? It won't matter as much if the world actually ends on Friday like some Mayans predicted. If we look on the bright side (optimism again!), what's the best part about the end of the world this Friday? Not having to pay January rent? Owe someone money? Aztec your Pyramid on over to get this week's poll (and Happy Holidays!).

Joel Walker x30541 http://jlt.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

[top]

2.            See the Expedition 34/35 Docking, Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony

Expedition 34/35 NASA Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn, Soyuz Commander Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield launched on Dec. 19 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are set to dock to the station's Rassvet module at approximately 8:12 a.m. tomorrow, Dec. 21.

The trio will be greeted by Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford of NASA and Flight Engineers Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin of Roscosmos, who have been aboard the station since late October.

NASA TV coverage of events begins at the following times: 

Friday, Dec. 21

o             7:30 a.m. - ISS Expedition 34/35 Soyuz TMA-07M docking coverage (docking scheduled at 8:12 a.m., followed by the post-docking news conference from Mission Control in Korolev, Russia)

o             10:15 a.m. - ISS Expedition 34/35 Soyuz TMA-07M hatch opening and welcoming ceremony (hatch opening and welcoming ceremony scheduled at 10:45 a.m.)

o             1 p.m. - Video file of ISS Expedition 34/35 Soyuz TMA-07M docking, hatch opening and welcoming ceremony 

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.

Event Date: Friday, December 21, 2012   Event Start Time:7:30 AM   Event End Time:11:30 AM

Event Location: NASA TV

 

Add to Calendar

 

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111 http://www.nasa.gov/station

 

[top]

3.            A Celebration of 'Coats!' Don't Be the One Without a Ticket

Mr. Coats will retire at the end of this month; however, he wants to enjoy one last event with you! You are cordially invited to a retirement celebration at Space Center Houston on Friday, Jan. 11. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a program beginning at 6 p.m. Hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar are part of the evening festivities. Tickets are $10 until Dec. 31, then $15 until Jan. 8. Tickets are available at many locations:

o             Gilruth Center

o             The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership office (18045 Saturn Lane -- hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday)

See you there!

Diana Norman x32646

 

[top]

4.            Submit Now Before the JSC Today Holiday Hiatus Begins

As many JSC team members take time off to be with their families during the holidays and the center limits operations, so will JSC Today from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1. During that time, the regular edition of JSC Today will not be delivered to your inbox. If any special announcements are warranted, those will be sent out on an as-needed basis. JSC Today will resume normal distribution Wednesday, Jan. 2.

Plan accordingly so you can get your submission in for tomorrow, Dec. 21 (submit by noon TODAY, Dec. 20). Or, submit your announcement in time for Wednesday, Jan. 2 (deadline is noon TOMORROW, Dec. 21).

To submit an announcement, click here.

We thank you for your understanding.

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

 

[top]

5.            Houston Technology Center is Bringing Tech Champs to the JSC Community

Save the date! The Houston Technology Center (HTC) will start presenting Tech Champs in the JSC community beginning Jan. 11.

Open to the public, this forum offers some of Houston's best networking opportunities for the technology community, as well as updates from three of HTC's client companies. Don't miss your opportunity to learn about them and their plans for 2013.

Light breakfast and networking - 7:15 to 7:45 a.m.

Presentations - 7:45 to 9 a.m.

To register, click here.

Event Date: Friday, January 11, 2013   Event Start Time:7:15 AM   Event End Time:9:00 AM

Event Location: Aerospace Transition Center, 16921 El Camino Real

 

Add to Calendar

 

Pat Kidwell x37156 http://www.houstontech.org/events/1079/

 

[top]

6.            In a Bind for Office Supplies? Freecycle@Work

Are you low on budget, but still need office supplies? Did you end up with too many pens or paper clips in your inventory? Freecycle@Work is your answer! This NASA initiative aims to reduce, reuse and recycle items by providing participants access to a central inventory of office supplies up for grabs or that employees are looking for. JSC personnel can exchange supplies with others around the center without spending a dime! Not only does participating in the program also help JSC save on office supply purchases and trash disposal costs, but the program also helps JSC meet NASA sustainability goals for waste diversion. Items eligible for exchange through Freecycle@Work include pens, clipboards, binders, paper, and even extension cords. (A full list is available on the Web page).

Click here for more information about how to participate in this program.

Laurie Peterson x39845 http://freecycle.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.cfm

 

[top]

7.            Starport Winter Break Camp Starts Next Week

Starport will once again be holding a youth day camp during the school break for the holidays. We plan to keep your children active and entertained with games, crafts, sports and all types of fun activities! Camp runs Dec. 26-28, Jan. 2-4, and Jan. 7 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for ages 6 to 12. You can register your child for just certain weeks, certain days or the whole session. Registration is now open at the Gilruth Center.

Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

[top]

8.            Recent JSC Announcement

Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement:

JSCA 12-042: JSC Academic Fellowship Program

Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page.

Linda Turnbough x36246 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/DocumentManagement/announcements/default.aspx

 

[top]

9.            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.

Cheryl Andrews/Nicole Kem x35979/x37894

 

[top]

10.          Electrical Safety Refresher ViTS: Feb. 8

This course is designed to provide the student with a review of Occupational Safety and Health Administration electrical standards and the hazards associated with electrical installations and equipment. Topics may include single- and three-phase systems, cord- and plug-connected and fixed equipment, grounding, ground fault circuit interrupters, hazardous locations and safety-related work practices. Emphasis is placed on discussion of those areas most pertinent to the class makeup and needs. This course is designed for those who have either taken the three-day SMA-SAFE-NSTC-0309, Electrical Safety Standards, or those who have a lot of experience working with electrical systems. It may also be used for those who have a need for only electrical safety awareness and do not work with electrical systems on a regular basis. This course does not cover spacecraft or flight electrical systems.

Use this direct link for registration. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Event Date: Friday, February 8, 2013   Event Start Time:9:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM

Event Location: ViTS Room

 

Add to Calendar

 

Shirley Robinson x41284

 

[top]

 

________________________________________

JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. To see an archive of previous JSC Today announcements, go to http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/news/jsctoday/archives.

 

 

 

Human Spaceflight News

Thursday – December 20, 2012

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

Contractors fear sequester's impact

 

Darren Samuelsohn - Politico.com

 

Some of the biggest names in defense contracting aren't just making a stink over what sequestration does to the Pentagon. Players like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Dynamics have billions of dollars at stake in contracts with other government agencies also subject to across-the-board cuts, including at NASA and the Transportation and Homeland Security departments. That means the stakes are high for both sides of the ledger as Congress and the White House jockey to avert $1.2 trillion in cuts over a decade, set to go into effect in January if a deal isn't reached. The Aerospace Industries Association has been drawing most of the attention to the $500 billion in sequestration cuts awaiting Defense. But it's also been trying to get a spotlight on the nondefense discretionary agencies, most recently with a report out Wednesday warning that an 8.2 percent cut to NASA's budget would mean nearly 20,000 lost jobs in a dozen states, including Texas, California and Colorado.

 

Nelson, Hutchison want plan for permanent human settlement beyond LEO

 

Douglas Messier – ParabolicArc.com

 

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) have introduced legislation that would give NASA the long-term goal of creating a permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit space and the responsibility of submitting a plan to do so next year. The bill is being opposed by NASA's largest federal employee union, the International Federation of Professional Engineers (IFPTE). In a letter to Senators, the union says the measure is "a flawed and unbalanced effort to improperly prioritize a few outsourced and offshored activities, while neglecting NASA's internal core capabilities and other critical needs." The Senate bill is reproduced in full here. The union's letter follows the bill.

 

NASA will remain a leader in human spaceflight, top official says

 

Amina Khan - Los Angeles Times

 

NASA's human spaceflight program is "alive and well," NASA chief Charles Bolden told a committee convened to explore the space program's future goals and direction. "Those who question whether we can still lead in space fail to understand that a nation which has achieved so many firsts never follows and never will," Bolden told the National Research Council committee during a daylong meeting in Washington meant to help gather evidence to review the human spaceflight program. Bolden's remarks to the committee come soon after the decommissioning of the iconic space shuttle program, leaving the U.S. without its own space-worthy vehicles to take astronauts to low-Earth orbit.

 

Space Station Astronauts to Practice Robot Remote Control

 

Leonard David - Space.com

 

Next year, a set of sophisticated experiments are planned to utilize the talents of astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) to control robotic hardware on Earth. The tests would spotlight the feasibility of telerobotic deployment of science experiments, critical equipment and structures at distant spots in the solar system, be it on the moon, at asteroids, or on Mars. The moon's farside is a possible early goal for missions beyond low-Earth orbit using NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle in tandem with teleoperated robots.

 

What is it like to live on the International Space Station?

Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk knows what Chris Hadfield will experience 400 kilometres above Earth

 

Janet Davison - CBC News

 

When Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk was strapped inside a tiny Soyuz capsule on his way to the International Space Station in May 2009, his mind drifted back to a movie he saw in his youth. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, there is a scene with a shuttle craft from Earth carrying an international crew approaching an orbiting space station. Strauss's Blue Danube waltz is playing in the background. "Here I was doing something very similar to what I saw in that movie 20 or 30 years ago, so I felt like the world was unfolding as it should and also that I was very fortunate to be doing this," Thirsk recalled recently.

 

Sierra Nevada engineer Todd Mosher and his team are building astronaut shuttle vehicle

 

Douglas Brown - Denver Post

 

His dad worked in the space industry, and so Todd Mosher grew up with stories about rocket ships and the moon. Given his adolescent wallpaper — astronauts — it's no shock that Mosher now is building spaceships. But that doesn't make it any less cool. Mosher is the director of design and development for Dream Chaser, a proposed winged spaceflight vehicle. If the National Aeronautics and Space Administration selects Mosher's team — two others are in the running — then the Dream Chaser, being built in Louisville by Sierra Nevada Corp. (not the brewery), could one day transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. In addition, non-astronauts might book a seat in the Dream Chaser and experience space up close. All three companies received roughly $10 million each in NASA contracts to develop prototype spacecraft.

 

New NASA spacesuit looks an awful lot like Buzz Lightyear

 

 

Erika Neddenien - WTVR TV (Richmond)

 

NASA may be taking their next astronaut suit to infinity and beyond. The agency's newest prototype suit looks a lot like the popular Disney character Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. The mostly white suit feature Buzz's signature color prominently: neon green, and even has a large transparent dome similar to buzz.. It's designed for deep space exploration, has flexible joints for better ease of movement and has a rear entry point making it easier for astronauts to take it on or off.

 

ESC Empowers: The People that Make the Magic

 

Jason Rhian - AmericaSpace.org

 

The general public views NASA's Kennedy Space Center as the place where America launches astronauts into space. Few of them, however, understand the dynamic between the NASA employees and the space agency's family of contractors. Fewer still know about the important role these contractors play in allowing the dream of space flight to solidify into reality. AmericaSpace conducted an extensive tour of the largest contract at work at KSC-the Engineering Services Contract. We spoke with the men and women who worked to conduct and close out the space shuttle era. In the process we found out about what they are currently doing to build the future. The Engineering Services Contract, or "ESC," covers a vast array of disciplines and requirements essential for space operations.

 

Virgin Galactic reaches milestone in space vehicle testing

 

Diana Alba Soular -  Las Cruces Sun-News

 

Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday another successful step toward its first powered flight of SpaceShipTwo, the spacecraft expected to launch eventually from southern New Mexico's spaceport. The milestone, which launched from a Mojave, Calif., spaceport was the first glide flight of the spaceship with all of its rocket motor components and tanks aboard, according to a Virgin Galactic news release. Friday, the SpaceShipTwo carried out a similar test flight, but remained attached to its carrier plane, WhiteKnightTwo.

 

CU-Boulder students help create NASA's hit 'Gangnam Style' parody

2 students in Houston for co-op program at space center

 

Mitchell Byars - Boulder Daily Camera

 

Just when it seemed like the "Gangnam Style" phenomenon couldn't get any bigger, the dance craze has even made its way to outer space. Well, sort of. A student co-op group at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center -- which includes two University of Colorado students -- made and starred in a parody video of Korean pop-star Psy's YouTube dance hit that has found its own viral success.

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

Contractors fear sequester's impact

 

Darren Samuelsohn - Politico.com

 

Some of the biggest names in defense contracting aren't just making a stink over what sequestration does to the Pentagon.

 

Players like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Dynamics have billions of dollars at stake in contracts with other government agencies also subject to across-the-board cuts, including at NASA and the Transportation and Homeland Security departments.

 

That means the stakes are high for both sides of the ledger as Congress and the White House jockey to avert $1.2 trillion in cuts over a decade, set to go into effect in January if a deal isn't reached.

 

The Aerospace Industries Association has been drawing most of the attention to the $500 billion in sequestration cuts awaiting Defense. But it's also been trying to get a spotlight on the nondefense discretionary agencies, most recently with a report out Wednesday warning that an 8.2 percent cut to NASA's budget would mean nearly 20,000 lost jobs in a dozen states, including Texas, California and Colorado.

 

"This is not something that we're fabricating here or just worrying about like the Mayan calendar," said Marion Blakey, AIA's president and a former head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

 

Lockheed Martin, the nation's largest defense contractor, has plenty to lose if cuts fall on the agencies that it does business with, including NASA, the Energy Department, Social Security Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

 

Company spokeswoman Jennifer Allen said Lockheed officials have had several meetings with government leaders "to find a more thoughtful, balanced and effective solution."

 

"We have a business presence in virtually every federal department or agency … and are equally concerned with the effects of across-the-board cuts to nondefense agency programs," she said.

 

Boeing, with contracts at NASA, Department of Homeland Security and FAA, has also been "fairly vocal" in making its case against sequestration, said company spokesman Dan Beck. In September, the Chicago-based airplane manufacturer launched the website nocliff.com on sequestration, warning both of the defense cuts and how about $34 billion less in fiscal 2013 nondefense discretionary spending would "impact aerospace and the wider manufacturing and technology industry."

 

"Investments in education, science and technology, and basic research and development fueled U.S. prosperity and pre-eminence in the 20th century," the company said. "Drastic cuts in these investments will make it more difficult to sustain this economic and strategic prominence in the future."

 

Raytheon, with contracts at Homeland Security, State, Justice, Energy, NASA and FAA, has been sending a message to Capitol Hill and the White House to "encourage our nation's elected officials to reach a bipartisan solution that would not weaken national security and that would also support continued investment in innovation," said company spokesman Jon Kasle.

 

Some Republican members agree.

 

"I'm not for stripping other departments that provide essential building blocks for both national security as well as American pre-eminence in science and inventiveness," Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a former chairman of the Science and Technology and Judiciary committees, told POLITICO.

 

But many other defense contractors aren't getting publicly involved in the fiscal cliff debate. SAIC, among the largest defense contractors, with business partners at the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, declined comment when asked what it's doing to stop sequestration. The same goes for Tetra Tech, a contractor with USAID and EPA.

 

Booz Allen Hamilton, which deals with HHS, NIH and the Veterans Affairs, Interior, Energy and Homeland Security departments, said it's also staying out of the fiscal cliff fight. "Our feeling is no one really knows what's going to happen," said company spokesman James Fisher.

 

While Obama and Boehner do most of the heavy lifting behind closed doors, they've also exchanged words in public about what to do with spending. The GOP leader wants the White House to get more specific on cutting the budget, especially on mandatory entitlement programs.

 

Obama has countered that $1 trillion in spending cuts already baked into law during last year's debt negotiations need to be counted as part of the baseline.

 

Some House Republican defense hawks, including Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), have nonetheless called for the Pentagon to get relief from sequestration, even if it means fewer dollars for the discretionary budget. But AIA's Blakey is pleading with lawmakers not to pick favorites between the two sides of the budget. "We're not trying to set up that dichotomy," she said.

 

Despite the complaints from the biggest of the defense contractors, several GOP lawmakers said the industry hadn't done enough to make its case that the cuts shouldn't fall so hard outside the Pentagon. "It's really late in the game. I don't know what they can do," Sensenbrenner said.

 

Freshman Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), whose district has about 7,000 jobs centered on NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, said he'd like to see NASA stick up for itself in the same way Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has defended the Pentagon from sequestration. "I wish they were more aggressive, but it's not been the NASA administration's posture over the years to be aggressive on these kinds of things that impact them so directly," he said.

 

Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), another freshman with a district strongly connected to NASA, said the effects of sequestration "are going to be devastating" for his constituents. "And that's why I've been talking about how sequestration is irreversible, it's irresponsible and not only is it going to damage our national security, but it's going to further damage our economic security," he said.

 

Nelson, Hutchison want plan for permanent human settlement beyond LEO

 

Douglas Messier – ParabolicArc.com

 

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) have introduced legislation that would give NASA the long-term goal of creating a permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit space and the responsibility of submitting a plan to do so next year.

 

The bill is being opposed by NASA's largest federal employee union, the International Federation of Professional Engineers (IFPTE). In a letter to Senators, the union says the measure is "a flawed and unbalanced effort to improperly prioritize a few outsourced and offshored activities, while neglecting NASA's internal core capabilities and other critical needs."

 

Senate Bill No. 3661 would amend NASA's 2010 authorization act to include the following:

 

"Long-Term Goal.–The long-term goal of the human space flight and exploration efforts of NASA shall be to sustainably expand permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and to do so, where practical, in a manner involving international partners and expanding economic activity in space."

 

The legislation would require NASA to submit a strategy for achieving that long-term goal within 120 days after the measure is enacted. NASA would need to examine cooperation with and contributions from international partners as well as commercial companies. The bill also directs NASA to look at opportunities for "commercial ventures that result from an expanded and persistent human presence in cis-lunar space."

 

The bill includes a further amendment to NASA's 2010 authorization act that seems to protect NASA's existing investment in the heavy-lift Space Launch System and Orion crew vehicle.

 

"(c) Assurance of Core Capabilities.–The Administrator shall

proceed with the utilization of the ISS, technology development, and

follow-on transportation systems, including the Space Launch System,

multi-purpose crew vehicle, and commercial crew and cargo

transportation capabilities authorized by this Act in a manner that

ensures–

 

"(1) that these capabilities remain inherently complimentary and interrelated;

"(2) a balance of the development, sustainment, and use of

each of these capacities, which are of critical importance to

the viability and sustainability of the U.S. space program; and

"(3) that resources required to support the timely and

sustainable development of these capabilities are not derived

from a reduction in resources from one capability as a means of

increasing resources to support another capability.'"

 

The IFPTE notes that the Senate measure includes a two-year extension of a law that provides government indemnification for U.S. commercial space activities. The law expires at the end of this year.

 

"S. 6331 is an attempt to take advantage of a false sense of urgency to tag on additional provisions better considered during the normal Re-Authorization process:

 

·         "S. 3661 provides a four-year extension of NASA's waiver to the Iran, North Korea, Syria Non-Proliferation Act through the end of the decade, despite the fact that the current waiver expires in more than three and half years. This simply plays into the hands of the Russian government, which is seeking to lock-in Russian aerospace jobs at the expense of U.S. aerospace jobs, just as Russia is continuing to undermine U.S foreign policy on Iran and Syria, and just as the recent successes of the U.S. Commercial Space sector may obviate the need for extended dependence on Russia;

·         "S. 3661 singles out certain vehicle development programs for inflexible prioritization, making, by omission, NASA's other missions more vulnerable; and

·         "S. 3661 contains an unfunded mandate to perform yet another architecture study along with coercive language to bias the outcome."

 

"NASA and the nation would be better served by a more thoughtful prioritization process shaped by open committee hearings and resolved by balanced, non-parochial trade-offs. In the difficult zero-sum game ahead, S. 3661 would act to push NASA to favor a few outsourced and foreign vehicle development programs, at the expense of all of NASA's other missions and of thousands of jobs at NASA and their academic and industry partners."

 

The union urges Senators to support H.R. 6586, a House bill whose only provision is to extend the commercial space activity indemnification to the end of 2014.

 

The Senate bill is reproduced in full here. The union's letter follows the bill.

 

NASA will remain a leader in human spaceflight, top official says

 

Amina Khan - Los Angeles Times

 

NASA's human spaceflight program is "alive and well," NASA chief Charles Bolden told a committee convened to explore the space program's future goals and direction.

 

"Those who question whether we can still lead in space fail to understand that a nation which has achieved so many firsts never follows and never will," Bolden told the National Research Council committee during a daylong meeting in Washington meant to help gather evidence to review the human spaceflight program.

 

Bolden's remarks to the committee come soon after the decommissioning of the iconic space shuttle program, leaving the U.S. without its own space-worthy vehicles to take astronauts to low-Earth orbit. And just this month a separate NRC committee report examining NASA's overall strategic direction concluded that the human spaceflight division suffered from a lack of consensus on what its goals should be.

 

While President Obama has called for sending a manned mission to an asteroid in the mid-2020s and to Mars in the 2030s, there doesn't appear to be much support for that goal in NASA's ranks and among the public, the earlier report found. Many interviewed argued for a return to the moon first, according to the report. 

 

Bolden acknowledged the long-lived enthusiasm for the moon, but called it a "generational" gap -- many of his colleagues from the days of the Apollo program have expressed their dissatisfaction with the current direction, he said.

 

When it comes to revisiting our next-door neighbor, other countries may have to step in and take up the challenge, he added.

 

"We can't do everything," Bolden said. "We can lead through inspiration." 

 

Bolden also said the report writers may have missed certain things because the study was conducted during the generally quieter times just before the presidential election.

 

Space Station Astronauts to Practice Robot Remote Control

 

Leonard David - Space.com

 

Next year, a set of sophisticated experiments are planned to utilize the talents of astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) to control robotic hardware on Earth.

 

The tests would spotlight the feasibility of telerobotic deployment of science experiments, critical equipment and structures at distant spots in the solar system, be it on the moon, at asteroids, or on Mars.

 

The moon's farside is a possible early goal for missions beyond low-Earth orbit using NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle in tandem with teleoperated robots. The lunar L2 Lagrange Point is a location where the combined gravity of the Earth and moon allows a spacecraft to be synchronized with the moon in its orbit around the Earth, so that the spacecraft is relatively stationary over the farside of the moon.

 

One idea being appraised is teleoperating a rover capable of deploying a low radio frequency array on the moon's farside. That idea is spearheaded by Jack Burns, director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute's Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research, a NASA-funded center at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

 

Such an L2-Farside crewed mission could have astronauts remotely deploy a unique polyimide film low radio frequency antenna or array in the proven radio-quiet and ionosphere-free zone of the farside, said Burns, science gear that can track down the "cosmic dawn" of the universe shortly after the Big Bang.

 

To help shake out the telerobotics concept here on Earth, preparations are in full-swing to perform research in the summer of next year, said Terry Fong, director of the Intelligent Robotics Group at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

 

"Our testing is going to have real-time commanding back and forth," Fong told SPACE.com. "We have a fairly significant amount of testing time … about 11 hours of operational time with an astronaut on ISS."

 

Fong said that these tests are essential to hone human-robotic interactions. "We don't know what we don't know," and next year's experiment is just a starting point.

 

"I'm excited that we're breaking new ground here," Fong said.

 

K10 robot

 

At the Ames center, a football field-size test area is being prepared, dotted with some craters and rocks, and features hilly terrain and a small mesa, Fong said. The K10 robot has already undergone extensive testing, he said, such as field trials in the Canadian arctic and desert locales.

 

The K10 is a speedy beast, contrasted to an earlier rover design. It also hauls more payload and is a more flexible research platform, Fong said, and is fully equipped with cameras and laser scanning gear.

 

Next year's experiment will include three crew sessions, each three and a half hours long and carved up in phases: survey the site, deploy the array, and inspect the completed work.

 

"We are trying to carry this out as a simulation of different phases of deploying a lunar telescope," Fong said, using a small deployer on the back of the K10 to roll out the plastic film array.

 

On-the-job training

 

There will be some on-the-job training for the astronauts engaged in the telerobotics work.

 

But Fong said the objective is to minimize the amount of astronaut training time involved. "The robot interface is being set up to be highly usable," needing only perhaps an hour's worth of prep time.

 

"Our philosophy here for the past several years is robots for human exploration. There are a lot of features of both that are very complimentary. It's not human versus robot. It's more how do you best use humans and robots together," Fong said.

 

The ultimate goal of the experiment is to get more human capability for exploring Mars, Fong said. "One of those things on the table is the idea of having humans in Mars orbit, controlling robots on the surface."

 

Rehearse and research

 

Also on tap to start next year is telerobotics work using the European Space Agency's (ESA) Multi-Purpose End-To-End Robotic Operation Network — Meteron, for short — designed to validate future human-robotic mission operations concepts from space, using the International Space Station, and tied to technologists in Europe. 

 

All this is prelude to permit humans from orbit to execute complex tasks remotely, such as setting up engineering structures on faraway celestial surfaces via teleoperated robots.

 

"The ISS is the best suited platform that there is for our work on Meteron. It is a unique opportunity for us to re-use an existing orbiter station around

 

Earth to rehearse and research what we'd need for future orbiting stations around other celestial bodies," said Andre Schiele, Meteron Robotics principal investigator. He also heads the ESA/European Space Research and Technology Center's (ESTEC) Telerobotics and Haptics Laboratory in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

 

Tactile feedback

 

Schiele said the Meteron research in an "endless" microgravity environment offers new insights about the perception of "haptic" (relating to the sense of touch) and "tactile" feedback within that environment. "Moreover, little is known how other human perception relevant to telerobotic activities is influenced," he said.

 

While the procedural requirements for using the ISS for such experimentation are heavy, it would be significantly more difficult to perform such testing elsewhere," Schiele told SPACE.com.

 

The ESA/ESTEC effort is set to look into such issues as time delay, communications bandwidth, as well as how best to allow intuitive and dexterous control of robotic systems, be they touch interfaces, force reflective joysticks, and arm exoskeletons, Schiele said.

 

Meteron will investigate the close collaboration feasible between humans and robots, Schiele said, not only in the technology required, but also in terms of cost, access and risk in exploring other worlds beyond Earth. "Data obtained from

 

Meteron will allow us to design the system for optimum shared human/robotic presence," he said, "to make telepresence better and more efficient."

 

What is it like to live on the International Space Station?

Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk knows what Chris Hadfield will experience 400 kilometres above Earth

 

Janet Davison - CBC News

 

When Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk was strapped inside a tiny Soyuz capsule on his way to the International Space Station in May 2009, his mind drifted back to a movie he saw in his youth.

 

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, there is a scene with a shuttle craft from Earth carrying an international crew approaching an orbiting space station. Strauss's Blue Danube waltz is playing in the background.

 

"Here I was doing something very similar to what I saw in that movie 20 or 30 years ago, so I felt like the world was unfolding as it should and also that I was very fortunate to be doing this," Thirsk recalled recently.

 

Thirsk, the first Canadian to take part in a long space mission, was looking back at his own experience in anticipation of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's launch for the ISS today.

 

"It's a once-in-lifetime opportunity to fly up to the station," Thirsk says. "Not very many Canadians have the chance to do that. I felt very grateful."

 

It is a pretty select club — those who have lived aboard the 12-year-old ISS, in its orbit roughly 400 kilometres above the Earth. Hadfield, in fact, will become its first Canadian commander in March.

 

Thirsk remembers every moment of his "wonderful experience" with pride.

 

When he floated through the hatch to enter the station, other crew members were waiting, their cameras flashing.

 

"It felt like I was entering inside a Salvador Dali painting because the station was just so surreal compared to the spacecraft simulators that I'd trained in for the previous two and a half years."

 

Simulators are orderly and clean. The space station less so.

 

"It looks like a working lab," says Thirsk. "There are hoses going all over the place and cables all over the place, all kinds of computers that are located about.

 

"Stowage is a big issue on the station so there's stowage all over the walls but also the floor and the ceiling, and I as floated in I thought 'Oh-oh, what have I got myself into?' "

 

Thirsk was aboard the space station for more than 180 days, a fairly standard tour of duty, and he says it took him a couple of weeks before he felt fully acclimatized.

 

"You sort of figure out by asking questions and by observing and looking around why hardware is deployed the way it is, and it all begins to make a whole lot of sense. After two weeks I felt like I was born there."

 

The emotional connection

 

Cruising around the globe in a high-tech, $150-billion lab with more living space than a five-bedroom house is daunting enough.

 

But Thirsk remembers a more significant challenge during his six months in space: the importance of keeping an emotional connection with those he cared about on Earth.

 

"I enjoyed every minute that I was aboard the space station but I'd say the biggest distraction for me though was my family, concern about my family.

 

"I missed a lot of birthdays and anniversaries. I missed other family events, school concerts, Boy Scout events, and after a period of time that begins to get to you.

 

"When there are troubles with the family at home, it's not as easy for me to function as husband or as father from 400 kilometres above the Earth's surface."

 

Throughout his time, there was a daily connection with his family through email and internet phone, and weekly video conferences.

 

"Those kinds of things are helpful," he says. "But it's of course not the same as being physically there with your family and friends and nature."

 

A toll on the body

 

An engineer and physician, Thirsk resigned as an astronaut earlier this year after nearly 29 years with the Canadian Space Agency. He is currently vice-president of public, government and institute affairs for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in Ottawa.

 

But he still holds the Canadian record for the longest time — 205 days over two missions — in space, which is always something researchers are interested in.

 

As much as six months in space affects an astronaut mentally and emotionally, it can play havoc with the body, too. Internal organs are affected by space flight in different ways.

 

"There are some organ systems that are more affected such as the cardiovascular system where the heart becomes weaker, the heart muscle atrophies a little bit, you lose about a half litre of blood volume as well," says Thirsk.

 

"The anti-gravity muscles, those muscles that you need to stand up on Earth, begin to atrophy away and get weak and flabby."

 

So astronauts work out two hours a day and take nutritional supplements. Thirsk took a medication prescribed to postmenopausal women for osteoporosis to minimize bone loss.

 

When Thirsk returned to Earth, it took about a year for his bone calcium to return to its pre-flight level. Other body systems readjusted more quickly.

 

"It took me maybe a day before I felt comfortable enough to walk alone without anyone supporting my elbow," he says.

 

"It took me two weeks to be steady enough for my flight surgeon to return my car keys.

 

"As soon as we get back we get into a very intensive rehab program to help return the mass and the strength of our muscles. I'd say within six weeks my muscles were back to their pre-flight status."

 

Best night's sleep

 

Thirsk talks easily and proudly of his time on the station. He remembers the hectic pace of daily activities, and, perhaps surprisingly to the rest of us who have never been in space, the ease with which he fell asleep each night.

 

"What was kind of cool was that every night I was asleep within five or 10 minutes," he says, noting that he'd hop in his sleeping bag, put in earplugs sometimes to counter the sound from the fans and motors running constantly and put on an eyeshade to counter the light coming in every 45 minutes as the ISS circled the Earth every 90 minutes.

 

There were two reasons for that ease: "One is the state of exhaustion. We all work pretty hard every day and the second is weightlessness.

 

"It is absolutely the best waterbed in the world, or off the planet," he says. "Weightlessness is just so comfortable. There's no pressure anywhere on your back, your side, your front."

 

Thirsk says the biggest surprise for him from his time aboard the ISS was "how well I worked as a teammate with my other crew members and with the ground team."

 

"Prior to the start of training we met with the mission managers who described all of the mission objectives they had planned for us for our six months in space.

 

"I didn't say anything but I sort of thought in my mind good luck with that — it's just too ambitious of a mission. But you know, we accomplished every single one of those mission objectives."

 

Thirsk says he'd return to the space station "in a heartbeat," but he feels no wistfulness at Hadfield's opportunity, "just pride."

 

"Chris was my backup and Chris is an astronaut's astronaut and he is up to the task."

 

Sierra Nevada engineer Todd Mosher and his team are building astronaut shuttle vehicle

 

Douglas Brown - Denver Post

 

His dad worked in the space industry, and so Todd Mosher grew up with stories about rocket ships and the moon. Given his adolescent wallpaper — astronauts — it's no shock that Mosher now is building spaceships. But that doesn't make it any less cool.

 

Mosher is the director of design and development for Dream Chaser, a proposed winged spaceflight vehicle. If the National Aeronautics and Space Administration selects Mosher's team — two others are in the running — then the Dream Chaser, being built in Louisville by Sierra Nevada Corp. (not the brewery), could one day transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. In addition, non-astronauts might book a seat in the Dream Chaser and experience space up close. All three companies received roughly $10 million each in NASA contracts to develop prototype spacecraft.

 

Mosher grew up in Southern California and Colorado, graduated from Columbine High School and then headed off to college in California, Alabama and finally the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he received a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. He has been a professor. He has worked for Lockheed Martin on a project to send astronauts to the moon again.

 

At Sierra Nevada, Mosher manages a group of engineers spending their days building the machine of their dreams. It could be the ship, too, that one day takes Mosher into orbit; the traditional route, as an astronaut, is closed to Mosher because, he said, at 45 he is too old. A few years ago, though, he was a finalist for the NASA Astronaut Corps.

 

"To fly on something you design would be just fantastic," said Mosher. "Even if I had to just sneak on as ballast."

 

CHATFIELD STATE PARK

 

Mosher works in Louisville, but lives nearly next door to Chatfield State Park in Littleton. The park is one of his favorite places in Colorado, a patch of wilderness nestled amid suburbia. He jogs around the lake, stand-up paddles across the water, goes on walks — he even worked there as a lifeguard in college. He considers Chatfield a treasure, one that sometimes gets forgotten or taken for granted. He opposes plans by federal authorities to double the amount of water in Chatfield Reservoir, a move that would alter the size of the reservoir and affect wildlife and recreation.

 

Question: What is the Dream Chaser?

 

Answer: A smaller version of a space shuttle. It is focused on transporting people to and from space. The biggest difference is we don't have the large cargo bay. The primary focus is carrying people. So we are basically building on all of the lessons from the shuttle program, but still having a winged vehicle, which gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of where you go. We ride on top of the rocket, where, on the shuttle, people rode on the side. It's a lot safer riding on top, in terms of being

 

removed from passing debris. We can land on commercial-length runways all around the world. There are a lot of places we could land.

 

Q: Do you guys see the Dream Chaser doing more than ferrying people?

 

A: Right now we are focused on transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station. But it has a lot of flexibility to do other things. We can do space tourism, going to and from the Space Station, or just independent flight. Military missions. Dream Chaser uses the same propulsion as Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. For a lot of people that might be like climbing a fourteener. But some people want to climb Mount Everest. We could be that Everest option.

 

Q: Why does NASA want to build a spacecraft like this?

 

A: Currently we are relying on the Russians to get our astronauts to the Space Station. We are sending a lot of money overseas to transport astronauts. Right now the seat price is $65 million per astronaut to fly to the station. And now that they have a monopoly, with the shuttle going away, those prices are likely to go up in the future. We think the U.S. as a world leader should have the capability to fly its astronauts to and from space.

 

Q: What are these trips like? A couple of days in the air?

 

A: The baseline mission is you take up a crew of four and you leave it up there for up to 210 days. So they can jump in and go at any time. We have the capability for up to seven people on certain kinds of missions. Right now those trips could last several days. We have looked at flying without people. The U.S. Air Force has X-37, an unmanned space plane that has stayed up in space for longer periods of time. Those missions are all classified. Either way, we generally go into low-earth orbit. We don't have plans to fly it to the moon. To return, because of our winged vehicle, you don't splash in the ocean like the shuttle; we can land all over the place around the world. Ideally we land at Kennedy Space Center.

 

Q: Designing a rocket ship, for transporting humans, has got to be a tough engineering challenge. What are some principal obstacles?

 

A: With the first phase of flight — getting to space — it's a lot of rapid acceleration. You have to build a vehicle to survive that rough ride into orbit. There are limitations on how much you can fix problems. The real key, and we saw this with Columbia, is the final phase — entry, descent and landing. That is a challenging environment. The speed, the high temperature that you are dealing with. We have a thermal-protection system that will be made up of similar materials as the space shuttle.

 

You can have slight damage in orbit and it's not a big deal. But when you come back into the atmosphere, it can be a major problem. We are dealing with temperatures between 2,000 and 3,000 degrees, depending on the part of the vehicle. The leading edge takes a lot of it. The black tiles in the nose, those are taking the highest temperatures. In orbit, you circle the Earth every 90 minutes. A good portion of that is in darkness. You have severe cold temperatures you have to address. And when the sun is beating down you can get pretty hot as well. The challenges are dealing with both extremes.

 

Q: Will space travel become more common in the near future?

 

A: Right now Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has enough people who put down deposits for that experience. You go up, touch space, and come back down. He has enough deposits that, if all of those people fly, it will double the amount of humans who have gone to space. I'm not sure if it will ever become the norm, but I do think there will be a lot more people who will end up going to space. We may see this in a very short period of time and involving different types of individuals. The common denominator is they have the money to do it. Previously there was a rigorous process. You had to be a pilot, a scientist, a doctor. You have to have a sizable résumé before you even get started. I think that will change.

 

Q: By when will NASA likely have its vehicle?

 

A: The goal is 2017.

 

Q: Who is a real-life hero?

 

A: Neil Armstrong. Not just because of the achievement — being the first person to step on the moon. I appreciated how humble he was in marking that burden and role and honor.

 

Q: How do you like to spend time?

 

A: Doing stuff outdoors.

 

Q: What historical figure do you most identify with?

 

A: Tom Kelly, the engineer who designed the Apollo Moon Lander — the project that sent Armstrong to the moon.

 

Q: What historical figure do you most admire?

 

A: I'm a big Teddy Roosevelt fan. I like all of the things he did for the environment. He was an environmental president before you called anybody an environmental anything. He has a quote about those who spend time in the arena versus those on the sidelines — that it's easy to be a critic from the sidelines, versus trying to make a difference from the inside. He also took every job that came his way and tried to do the best job he could.

 

Q: What is your most treasured possession?

 

A: One thing my wife and I emphasize is memories over material things. We take vacations with our (three) kids. So it would be items that invoke those memories. Here's one thing: For my 40th birthday, my wife and I went to the L.A. Dodgers fantasy camp, in Vero Beach (Fla.). I carry around this baseball card with me pitching, wearing a Dodgers uniform.

 

Q: What is your most obvious characteristic?

 

A: Probably persistence. I think I inherited that from my mom, for sure. The degrees, the awards, the titles, I could chalk it all up not to natural talent or being smarter than anybody else, but to persistence.

 

Q: What is your favorite journey?

 

A: Parenthood. Watching my kids grow up. I think life is a journey, but once you are dealing with your own kids, it's a different dimension. It becomes more than a personal journey.

 

New NASA spacesuit looks an awful lot like Buzz Lightyear

 

 

Erika Neddenien - WTVR TV (Richmond)

 

NASA may be taking their next astronaut suit to infinity and beyond. The agency's newest prototype suit looks a lot like the popular Disney character Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story.

 

The mostly white suit feature Buzz's signature color prominently: neon green, and even has a large transparent dome similar to buzz.. It's designed for deep space exploration, has flexible joints for better ease of movement and has a rear entry point making it easier for astronauts to take it on or off.

 

The prototype is named Z-1 according to Tested, a website run by Myth Busters stars Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. The website reports it's just one of several  prototypes NASA is working on. It could be ready for the field by 2015.

 

While the Z-1 is now making headlines for its likeness to a popular Disney character, it's been around for a little while, In fact, Time Magazine named it as one of the top inventions of 2012 back in November.

 

ESC Empowers: The People that Make the Magic

 

Jason Rhian - AmericaSpace.org

 

The general public views NASA's Kennedy Space Center as the place where America launches astronauts into space. Few of them, however, understand the dynamic between the NASA employees and the space agency's family of contractors. Fewer still know about the important role these contractors play in allowing the dream of space flight to solidify into reality.

 

AmericaSpace conducted an extensive tour of the largest contract at work at KSC-the Engineering Services Contract. We spoke with the men and women who worked to conduct and close out the space shuttle era. In the process we found out about what they are currently doing to build the future.

 

The Engineering Services Contract, or "ESC," covers a vast array of disciplines and requirements essential for space operations. The ESC deals with engineering, weather forecasting and mitigation, scientific research, payload operations, and even developing advanced technologies for crewed missions into deep space.

 

To gain an overview of what the ESC does, AmericaSpace spoke with the Vice President and Program Manager for the Engineering Services Contract, Mark Nappi, and NASA's Director for Management, Engineering and Technology Directorate, Pat Simpkins.

 

AmericaSpace: Thanks for sitting down and speaking with us today.

Nappi: "No problem, it is our pleasure."

 

Simpkins: "Precisely, we're pleased to have the chance to speak with you about the ESC."

 

AmericaSpace: Can you provide us with a brief overview of what the ESC provides for the Kennedy Space Center?

 

Nappi: "A large piece of what we do out here at the Kennedy Space Center is currently invested in rebuilding the infrastructure, as well as supporting the shops and labs that will eventually do the testing on the equipment or support building some of the equipment and doing some of the qualifications on them when they are built and designed here on the center. We also have science labs that perform science experiments and actually process some of the small payload carriers that bring some of the payload for the commercial providers that are currently launching into space today."

 

AmericaSpace: That brings us to a very important question: does the diversity of what the ESC does present any challenges or is their some synergy there that allows it to happen?

 

Nappi: "Well, it is a very diverse contract. Those that work under this contract range from scientists with PhDs to planners and schedulers to technicians all the way through to engineering and, of course, a lot of administrative functions, so it is a very broad contract. Not only are the demographics broad, but we are also made up of twelve or thirteen different teammates that bring not only a lot of experience to the table but also offer us the ability to reach back into their companies for when we are going through some surge cycles here at the center where we can bring some additional skills on and then when those surges are over we can send those skills back to the companies. So it is a very broad, broad contract."

 

AmericaSpace: Is it possible that the ESC will grow further? Is it "maxed out" where it is?

 

Simpkins: "It could, depending on the demand; you know the way I look at it is, for the first time in about forty years, Kennedy Space Center has an Engineering Services Contract that runs the entire life cycle of engineering and sciences. In other words, we have labs where we have scientists testing low technology level ideas. Some of them come to fruition and come into the design space. For instance we may develop a corrosion protection capability, but we're doing a very low TRL (Technology Readiness Level) study of it, we may figure out that there's a way to incorporate that into the design of an umbilical of the next rocket. So we get into the design area, people start to design things, we test things, and we do development and manufacture of some things and that's involving all of the engineers. It's a combination of Mark's whole team and my whole team, we together and we get the right skills for the design and development phase. Then we get into the test phase and then sometimes stuff doesn't work out the way that you want it. It either breaks because of design or it breaks because the hypothesis wasn't good in the first place or it needed to be changed. So it comes back out of this design, development, test, and operations cycle and back into the lower part of the technology readiness level, and we look at it again and say, 'Don't do that again. Try these other four things.'" And so we run all the way from wacky idea to operating it on a day-to-day basis. And as it breaks or not, we take those lessons learned and fold it back in."

 

AmericaSpace: Judging from what we've been told and certainly what we're hearing today, it seems that the ESC is one of, if not the largest, contract in operation at Kennedy Space Center. Is this correct?

 

Simpkins: "It currently… I believe that it is the largest, currently. There's ongoing activity for the Test and Operations Services Contract."

 

AmericaSpace: Was it the largest during the shuttle era?

 

Simpkins: "Yes."

 

AmericaSpace: With the test flight of the Orion spacecraft coming up, the Exploration Flight Test 1 scheduled to fly in 2014, do you think that it might remain the largest?

 

Simpkins: "It will be very large, but I don't know if it will remain the largest; it depends on how the center does the rest of the institution. In other words, the Institutional Services Contract, the one that manages the roads and buildings and air conditioning and power and so forth. That's a pretty large contract. I don't know how big that is but depending on how big or small our infrastructure gets, that may be the largest. We will never go back to something comparable to USA (United Space Alliance, the merged team of The Boeing Company and Lockheed-Martin that handled much of the space center's operations during the space shuttle era). That's just not the business model for all the different providers that will be out here."

 

AmericaSpace chatted with Mark and Pat for a bit further and we will close this series with the remainder of this interview on Sunday. However, this is a good time to pause and prepare for the next segment in this series, where we discuss the efforts to modify the iconic Launch Complex 39B for use in NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS), as well as possible commercial uses as well.

 

It's Electric — Lightning Protection at Launch Complex 39B

 

In this second installment of our series detailing the efforts of the men and women of the Engineering Services Contract, or ESC, we will detail the efforts conducted to renovate and safeguard the historic Launch Complex-39B (LC-39B) for future use. Most importantly, what protects the launch complex's expensive charges in the lightning capital of the world?

 

Around the perimeter of LC-39B, numerous pods and weather gauges monitor and measure lightning strikes in the area. For protection purposes, three new 600 foot-tall lightning towers have been erected.

 

It was with this part of our tour that we began to gain a grasp on the diverse elements of the ESC contract. The realms of scientific research and engineering merged as we learned about efforts to refurbish the pad, which saw its first use in 1967, for 21st century purposes.

 

The process to renovate LC-39B to serve as the platform for future missions was a painful one. As one part of a two-part structure (Launch Complex 39 is comprised of pads "A" and "B"), LC-39B ceased use temporarily in 2007. Large segments of the iconic structure were torn down and carted off, leaving a stripped-down and bare-looking, simplified "clean" pad—designed to serve multiple launchers. Much of the systems needed to launch rockets are either internalized or are incorporated into the Mobile Launcher itself (more on what the ESC does on that will be in an upcoming feature).

 

AmericaSpace spoke with Tony Eckhoff and Carlos Matos during this portion of our tour, but the unpredictable Florida weather once again intervened. High winds obliterated the audio from Matos' portion of the interview. Much of what Matos discussed was carried away in the winds, but, thankfully, the operators of the ESC, QinetiQ North America, have already agreed to allow us a "second take," and we hope to bring the fascinating science used to predict and prevent lightning damage to you at a later date.

 

Payloads & Space Life Sciences

 

David Reed is a soft-spoken man with a passion for science. This much became obvious while AmericaSpace spoke with him at the Space Life Sciences Lab (SLSL) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center—where Reed is the payload engineering lead for the Engineering Services Contract (ESC)—located in Florida. Reed has worked at Kennedy for about 16 years and is currently helping to develop scientific payloads that journey to the International Space Station.

 

Reed spoke at length about the assistance that the ESC contributed to the space shuttle program, as well as what projects are currently underway to help crews stationed on the International Space Station (ISS) to accomplish their complex and varied missions.

 

One of the first things that Reed covered was what was known as a "Standard Middeck Locker." Approximately 40 of these non-descript aluminum boxes were carried in the space shuttle's middeck when the orbiters were in service. They were utilized primarily as storage bins for the astronauts.

 

The ESC repurposed these bins to contain experiments. As with anything that is prepared to fly into space, however, weight is a crucial element that has to be considered.

 

"Each of these containers have a volume and weight limit—put simply, they cannot weigh more than 70 pounds," Reed said.

 

This was just one of the many projects that Reed detailed as being part of the ESC's efforts (to view more, watch the video above). During our time with him, it became clear that preconceptions about what type of work is conducted at KSC were in need of correcting.

 

When most people think of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, or KSC, they think of rockets launching into space. However, according to Reed, this is only the tip of the space flight iceberg when it comes to what Kennedy provides.

 

"Most folks don't realize that we have actually been developing and building payloads for a variety of spacecraft since 1982," Reed said when asked about what type of work the ESC conducted at KSC.

 

Before that time, another contractor managed payloads. ESC's current responsibility in this specific area revolves around relatively small payloads, primarily from NASA.

 

As with any good company, however, the firm responsible for the ESC contract, QinetiQ North America (QinetiQ-NA), is interested in providing these services to other organizations besides NASA. With the rapid growth of the private space sector, there is the possibility that QinetiQ-NA could find itself as a critical component of the NewSpace movement.

 

The SLSL was built in 2003, and it covers about 109,000 square feet. Roughly one-third of the facility is dedicated to laboratories or for other technical uses. The structure has 25 labs with a wide range of modern support equipment that includes controlled environmental and vacuum test chambers, as well as other instruments crucial to testing payloads destined to travel into the black.

 

NASA partnered with Space Florida, the state organization tasked with maintaining Florida's aerospace efforts, to develop the land on which the Space Life Sciences Lab resides. It is part of a long-term effort to retain high-tech jobs in the region.

 

The ESC contract also supports scientific research at the SLSL which encompasses advanced life support for future space missions. This entails analysis, testing, and maturation of technologies for air revitalization, water recovery, food production, and solid waste management for Life Support and Habitation Systems (LSHS).

 

That is not all. ESC is also researching Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) and Next Generation Life Support—elements needed to conduct long-term deep space exploration missions by crews.

 

NASA is working to hand over responsibility of providing access to low-Earth-orbit destinations—primarily the space station—to several private companies while the space agency attempts to send astronauts to deep space objectives, such as the Moon, asteroids, and, possibly one day, Mars. In this, the work that is being done under the auspices of the ESC contract could prove vital.

 

Virgin Galactic reaches milestone in space vehicle testing

 

Diana Alba Soular -  Las Cruces Sun-News

 

Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday another successful step toward its first powered flight of SpaceShipTwo, the spacecraft expected to launch eventually from southern New Mexico's spaceport.

 

The milestone, which launched from a Mojave, Calif., spaceport was the first glide flight of the spaceship with all of its rocket motor components and tanks aboard, according to a Virgin Galactic news release.

 

Friday, the SpaceShipTwo carried out a similar test flight, but remained attached to its carrier plane, WhiteKnightTwo.

 

"All objectives of both flights were successfully met," the news release stated.

 

Wednesday marked the 23rd glide flight of SpaceShipTwo in the "pre-powered portion" of the testing program, Virgin Galactic said.

 

"The New Mexico Spaceport Authority congratulates the Virgin Galactic team," said state spaceport executive director Christine Anderson. "This is an extremely important step on the path to the first commercial passenger spaceline flight at Spaceport America."

 

The two-vehicle model calls for WhiteKnightTwo to carry the spacecraft high into the atmosphere and release it. SpaceShipTwo will then rocket to suborbital space, carrying six space tourists and two pilots.

 

After a few minutes of a weightless sensation, occupants of the spacecraft will return earthward in a glide flight.

 

After Wednesday, at least two more SpaceShipTwo glide flights must happen before its first rocket-powered flight.

 

The aircraft and spacecraft are expected to carry passengers to suborbital space from Spaceport America, the $209 million, taxpayer-funded facility built just north of Doña Ana County. The first launches could happen from the facility in late 2013.

 

However, spaceport supporters say the future of the spaceport —and perhaps Virgin Galactic's commitment there —could be in jeopardy. They've said the balance hangs upon a proposed bill to prevent lawsuits against spaceflight parts manufacturers. It would expand a legal liability measure that already protects spaceflight operators, like Virgin Galactic.

 

The New Mexico Trial Attorneys Association has opposed the bill, saying it could cut into consumer safety.

 

CU-Boulder students help create NASA's hit 'Gangnam Style' parody

2 students in Houston for co-op program at space center

 

Mitchell Byars - Boulder Daily Camera

 

Just when it seemed like the "Gangnam Style" phenomenon couldn't get any bigger, the dance craze has even made its way to outer space. Well, sort of.

 

A student co-op group at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center -- which includes two University of Colorado students -- made and starred in a parody video of Korean pop-star Psy's YouTube dance hit that has found its own viral success.

 

CU junior Chris Nie, who was part of the student co-op at the Johnson Space Center and is in the clip, said the video took off within minutes of being uploaded Friday. At last check, the video had more than 1.9 million views and was fast approaching 2 million.

 

"It was nuts," Nie said. "We had like a world-premiere type deal at the Johnson Space Center and invited everyone for the first public viewing of it. By the time we had shown it once and talked about it, it already had 300 views."

 

The "NASA Johnson Style" video features a Psy look-a-like singing about all of the things NASA is doing at the space center before students, workers, directors and even a few astronauts break into Psy's famous horse-riding "Gangnam Style" dance.

 

Nie was one of the students filmed dancing in various scenes of the video, and while the lead dancer does a good imitation of the dance, Nie said the others had a few practice sessions to make sure they had their moves down.

 

"There were one or two people who had it down, but we had a couple practice sessions to get it as close as we could," Nie said. "It was good because we used 3-second clips, so we could kind of get the best parts."

 

As far as how well he thought he did on the video?

 

"I think I was about a 7 (out of 10) by the end," he said. "As a whole group were about a 5."

 

'Pretty neat opportunity'

 

For fellow CU student Kirstyn Johnson, it wasn't just about learning the moves for the video. When Johnson appears at the 1:33 mark, she can be seen doing the dance in a NASA Mark III space suit.

 

"It was pretty hard, because the suit weighs about 150 pounds," she said. "But it was pretty cool to see the suit could move in that way and do those moves."

 

Working on space suits and other hands-on engineering experiences are just some of the things Nie and Johnson got to do while at the Johnson Space Center as part of the student co-op program. The aerospace engineering majors took off this fall semester from CU to work on NASA projects in Houston.

 

"It's a pretty neat opportunity to get real world engineering experience," Johnson said.

 

But it wasn't all work and no play. The student co-op always makes a video, and after seeing "Gangnam Style" take off, the students had their inspiration.

 

"I think it was to about half a billion views at that point, so we thought it would be a fun one to parody," Nie said.

 

So during their lunch hours and after work, the students went through the making of the video, which took about a month and a half. Nie said getting some of the astronauts and other engineers to play along took some convincing -- but eventually they joined in.

 

"Once we started getting a couple shots, the editor got the first minute nailed down, and when people saw how good it was, they started jumping on board," Nie said.

 

'Reaching out to people'

 

Nie said it helped that the success of another parody video -- "We're NASA and We Know It," a spoof of LMFAO's "We're Sexy and We Know It" that was not made by NASA -- made the agency more keen to helping spread the video.

 

"At NASA, the whole goal is to outreach to everyone, but particularly younger folks, to inspire them to do these things when they grow up," Nie said. "That's the most rewarding thing, seeing all the comments on Facebook and YouTube saying, 'This is really cool, so glad you guys are doing this.' The video has done a really good job of reaching out to people who wouldn't necessarily see what we're doing at NASA."

 

Johnson added that using a current pop culture phenomenon fit in with NASA's message that the space agency is still relevant.

 

"One of the reasons we wanted to get the video out there and popular is to say, 'Hey, we're still here developing technology at the Johnson Space Center," Johnson said.

 

The two juniors are set to return to Boulder in the spring, but at least they have a video keepsake to always remember their time with NASA.

 

"It's crazy seeing something this student co-op made taking off like this," she said.

 

Added Nie, "If I ever get a job interview with a company in aerospace and they ask if I really enjoy it, I'll show them this video. That should be enough proof."

 

END