Fwd: Human Spaceflight News - January 31, 2013 and JSC Today

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: January 31, 2013 7:21:43 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: Human Spaceflight News - January 31, 2013 and JSC Today

 

 

Thursday, January 31, 2013

 

JSC TODAY HEADLINES

1.            Joint Leadership Team Web Poll

2.            JSC's Year-Long Career Exploration Program (CEP) Student Internship

3.            NASA@work: Last Chance to Be Heard

4.            Parent's Night Out at Starport

5.            Nominate Your Peer TODAY

6.            Get Information About Financial Preparedness for Unanticipated Life Changes

7.            An Introduction Engineers WIthout Borders-JSC

8.            Blood Drive -- Feb. 13 to 14

9.            Additional Offerings -- NASA Budget: OMB's Roles and Responsibilities

10.          System Safety Fundamentals Class: March 11 to 15 - Building 20, Room 205/206

________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY

" Adversity is the first path to truth. "

 

-- Lord Byron

________________________________________

1.            Joint Leadership Team Web Poll

The contractor/civil servant relationship has been largely unchanged in the past year, although many felt that it has always been pretty good. You also think the Super Bowl is going to be really close and not a blowout. I'm taking San Fran 17-7. This week I was wondering which of the daily working conditions at JSC do you really enjoy? A short commute? A safe environment? The wildlife? The rodeo is almost upon us, but my favorite band The Croutons won't be there. Which band do you wish was performing that got left out? DEVO? Torme'? Tap?

Dolly your Parton on over to get this week's poll.

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

 

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2.            JSC's Year-Long Career Exploration Program (CEP) Student Internship

CEP is accepting high school and college student applications for the 2013-2014 internship program. Students interested in science, technology, engineering, math, or business fields should apply. High school students must apply through their school's Cooperative and Technical Education (CTE) teacher, and college students must apply online. Selected students will work 20 hours a week at JSC during their senior year in high school or while enrolled full-time in college. Internship dates are Sept. 3, 2013, through July 31, 2014. The application deadline is March 29. Visit the website  for additional program details and eligibility requirements.

CEP is JSC's renowned internship program that seeks to meet NASA's mission by developing the critical pool of talented and diverse individuals who will make up the future leaders of our nation's and NASA's workforce.

The callout for JSC mentors to submit intern requests for year-long interns will go out in March 2013.

Carolyn Snyder x34719 http://www.cep.usra.edu

 

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3.            NASA@work: Last Chance to Be Heard

Today is the last day to take the 2012 NASA@work survey. We want to hear from you! Take five minutes and help improve our NASA@work platform.

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

 

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4.            Parent's Night Out at Starport

Take advantage of our special day-after-Valentine's Day Parent's Night Out at the Gilruth Center. Enjoy a night out on the town while your kids enjoy a night with Starport! We will entertain your children with a night of games, crafts, a bounce house, pizza, a movie and dessert.

When: Friday, Feb. 15, from 6 to 10 p.m.

Where: Gilruth Center

Ages: 5 to 12

Cost: $20/first child and $10/each additional sibling if registered by the Wednesday prior to event. If registered after Wednesday, the fee is $25/ first child and $15/ additional sibling.

Register at the Gilruth Center front desk. Click here for more information.

Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

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5.            Nominate Your Peer TODAY

The POWER of One Award has been a great success, but we still need your nominations. We're looking for standouts with specific examples of exceptional or superior performance. Our award criteria below will help guide you in writing the short write-up needed for submittal.

o             Single Achievement: Explain how the person truly went above and beyond on a single project or initiative.

o             Affect and Impact: What was the significant impact? How many were impacted? Who was impacted?

o             Standout: What stands out? What extra effort? Did the effort exceed and accomplish the goal?

o             Category: Which category should nominee be in? Gold - agency impact award level; Silver - center impact award level; and Bronze - organization impact award level.

If chosen, the recipient can choose from a list of JSC experiences and have their name and recognition shared on InsideJSC.

For complete information on the JSC Awards Program, click here.

Jessica Ocampo 281-792-7804 https://powerofone.jsc.nasa.gov

 

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6.            Get Information About Financial Preparedness for Unanticipated Life Changes

Would you be able to maintain your quality of life if you or a loved one were suddenly permanently disabled? Learn about the fundamentals of financial planning for individuals with disAbilities who are  seeking Social Security disability insurance benefits. The class will be held in Building 12, Room 134, today, Jan. 31. There are two sessions to choose from: 9 to 10 a.m. or 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Everyone is welcome. You must register to secure your spot by contacting Teresa Waite at teresa.l.waite@nasa.gov or 281-483-2402.

Accommodations for a specific disability are available upon request by contacting Janelle Holt at 281-483-7504 or janelle.holt-1@nasa.gov.

Event Date: Thursday, January 31, 2013   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:10:00 AM

Event Location: Building 12, Room 134

 

Add to Calendar

 

Janelle Holt x37504

 

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7.            An Introduction Engineers WIthout Borders-JSC

Did you ever wonder what the volunteer group Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is and what they do? Then come by Building 7, Room 141, on Wednesday, Feb. 6, from noon to 1 p.m. to find out. EWB-JSC will provide a background of the organization and the projects EWB-JSC has worked on in Rwanda and Mexico. The presentation will also include information about the results of the chapter's recent trip to Rwanda and how you can get involved. No RSVP required.

Angela Cason x40903 http://ewb-jsc.org/index.html

 

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8.            Blood Drive -- Feb. 13 to 14

You or someone you know may need blood sometime in their life. Help make sure blood is available by giving the "Gift of life" at the JSC blood drive.

You can donate from Feb. 13 to 14 in the Teague Auditorium lobby or at the donor coach located next to the Building 11 Starport Café from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

You can also donate at the donor coach in the Gilruth Center parking lot on Feb. 14 from noon to 4 p.m. (Please note the time change.)

Remember to eat within four hours prior to donating. Remain lying down for least 10 minutes after donating. Sit down for 10 minutes, eat a snack and drink some juice before you leave the donor center. Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.

Teresa Gomez x39588 http://jscpeople.jsc.nasa.gov/blooddrv/blooddrv.htm

 

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9.            Additional Offerings -- NASA Budget: OMB's Roles and Responsibilities

Want more situational awareness of the federal budget process and how it can impact (and be impacted by) NASA and JSC programs? As part of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) subject-matter expert course series, former White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) examiner Ryan Schaefer will lead a one-hour session that helps navigate through the budget process and explain how OMB's roles and responsibilities can affect program budgets. To provide context for budgetary decisions and priorities, the course also explores other stakeholders and elements in the NASA budget landscape and how JSC inputs can support favorable outcomes. This course is open to all JSC employees. There are two upcoming offerings: Friday, Feb. 8, from 11 a.m. to noon in Building 45, Room 251; and Wednesday, Feb. 20, from 1 to 2 p.m. in Building 1, Room 457A. Please register in SATERN via one of the links below or by searching the catalog for the course title.

Feb. 8 offering: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_OFFERING_DETAILS&scheduleID=67513

Feb. 20 offering: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_OFFERING_DETAILS&scheduleID=67515

Gina Clenney x39851

 

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10.          System Safety Fundamentals Class: March 11 to 15 - Building 20, Room 205/206

This course instructs students in fundamentals of system safety management and the hazard analysis of hardware, software and operations. Basic concepts and principles of the analytical process are stressed. Student are introduced to NASA publications that require and guide safety analysis, as well as general reference texts on subject areas covered. Types and techniques of hazard analysis are addressed in enough detail to give the student a working knowledge of their uses and how they're accomplished. Skills in analytical techniques are developed through the use of practical exercises worked by students in class. This course establishes a foundation for the student to pursue more advanced studies of system safety and hazard analysis techniques while allowing students to effectively apply their skills to straightforward analytical assignments. This is a combination of System Safety Workshop and System Safety Special Subjects. Students who've taken those classes shouldn't take this class. SATERN Registration Required. https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Polly Caison x41279

 

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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.

 

 

 

 

SPECIAL TV: 8 pm Central (9 EST) on PBS –     "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope"

                                                                        Trailer: http://youtu.be/uMLMxoGxkOg

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

 

Space Station's Chris Hadfield Connects with Canadian Students

 

http://youtu.be/7Qw0ykbOt6I

 

Hadfield discusses the progress of his mission and life and work on ISS with students gathered at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. In attendance was His Excellency, David Johnston, the Governor General of Canada.

 

Human Spaceflight News

Thursday – January 31, 2013

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

Sierra Nevada partners with Lockheed Martin on Dream Chaser

 

William Harwood – CBS News

 

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. is joining Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Dream Chaser commercial manned spacecraft program, bringing the aerospace giant's expertise in flight certification and composites manufacturing to the private-sector initiative, company officials announced Wednesday. Sierra Nevada is competing with Space Technologies Corp. and Boeing to develop a new generation of commercial space taxis that NASA envisions hiring to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

 

Giant leap in race to replace space shuttle? Dream Chaser gets big boost

 

Pete Spotts - Christian Science Monitor

 

One of three companies vying to ferry US astronauts to and from the International Space Station has inked a multimillion dollar deal with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in a move aimed at preparing a craft dubbed Dream Chaser for the task. The move by Sierra Nevada Corp. highlights the pace at which the company's plans are morphing from plans on paper to hardware on the shop floor. "We're moving from concept to the next phase of the program, probably faster than most people realize," said Mark Sirangelo, who heads the company's space-systems division.

 

Lockheed Martin, Sierra Nevada Corp. partnering on Dream Chaser

 

Kristen Leigh Painter - Denver Post

 

Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems of Louisville said Wednesday that it is bringing Jefferson County-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems onboard with its Dream Chaser program, the company's orbital crew vehicle in development. Dream Chaser is one of three remaining competitors in the bid for NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability Program, or CCiCap. The new multimillion-dollar partnership comes at a point in the vehicle's design and creation process that the company recognizes a need for more experience, said Mark Sirangelo, president of Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems.

 

Lockheed Martin joins forces with Sierra Nevada in building Dream Chaser

Multi-million dollar partnership could shake up dynamics in commercial space race

 

John Aguilar - Boulder Daily Camera

 

Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Space Systems, based in Louisville, has turned to venerable aerospace firm Lockheed Martin to help it construct the next-generation Dream Chaser spacecraft that could soon ferry American astronauts into space. Littleton-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. will be in charge of building the composite structure for the Dream Chaser, the spacecraft Sierra Nevada has been designing and building for NASA's commercial crew program.

 

Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser will get Lockheed Martin's help

Certification work follows landings

 

James Dean – Florida Today

 

Sierra Nevada Corp. said Wednesday it's getting ready to head out to California for test flights of its Dream Chaser mini-shuttle, and announced a partnership with Lockheed Martin Corp. to certify the spacecraft as safe for astronauts. The full-size Dream Chaser test article will be put through a series of approach and landing tests at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Within six to eight weeks, the unmanned vehicle, which is in the competition to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, is expected to be dropped by a helicopter from about 12,000 feet and land autonomously on a runway.

 

Lockheed Martin to help build the Dream Chaser spaceship

 

Charles Black - Space Exploration News (SEN.com)

 

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), which is building an orbital spacecraft called Dream Chaser, has chosen aerospace giant Lockheed Martin to build the composite structure of the spaceship and to assist with certifying the vehicle for human spaceflight. The Dream Chaser is being designed to carry seven astronauts into orbit. It will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and land on a runway like the Space Shuttle.

 

Orion Spacecraft Takes Shape

 

Matthew Peddie - WMFE FM (Orlando)

 

NASA's new Orion space capsule is taking shape at the Kennedy Space Center, as the agency moves towards a test flight in 2014. The Orion is designed for deep space exploration and it's a crucial part of the space center after the end of the shuttle program. The capsule still looks like the green aluminum-alloy shell that was unveiled last July- but NASA staff and Lockheed Martin contractors inside the cavernous Operations and Checkout building at the space center are working to fit the Orion with life support, thermal protection and other systems to turn it into a functioning  spacecraft.

 

With a robot alligator as mascot, KSC introduces Swamp Works

 

Todd Halvorson - Florida Today

 

Lockheed Martin runs its secretive Skunk Works, speeding advance aircraft development projects. Boeing operates its covert Phantom Works, a rapid prototyping outfit that works on highly classified defense and national security projects. Now NASA boasts its own Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center, but there is no mystery about its mission. In a small non-descript federal building in the KSC Industrial Area, about 40 engineers and scientists aim to open up the solar system to human exploration and exploitation.

 

Russian Scientists Approve 'Space-Grown' Vegetables

 

RIA Novosti

 

Vegetables grown on board the International Space Station (ISS) can be consumed without fearing food poisoning, Russian scientists believe. Scientists have been studying "orbital-grown" vegetables, including Misuna, or Japanese Cabbage, for several years.

 

Future of Canada's Human Spaceflight Program Uncertain

 

Elizabeth Howell - Space.com

 

While Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield works and tweets from orbit, his country's space agency is engaged in battles on the ground. In recent months, the Canadian Space Agency has faced budget cuts and an aerospace review that said it was suffering from "ad hocery" in government funding and planning. It's still unclear how this will affect Canada's human spaceflight program. The agency remains committed to International Space Station work until at least 2020, which keeps the door open for two trainees awaiting flights to the orbital laboratory. But as the CSA faces a large drop in funding between 2013 and 2015, agency president Steve MacLean has declined to comment on where cuts could fall.

 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will speak at National Space Symposium in April

 

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. will discuss the future of America's space programs at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs this April. The Space Foundation, which sponsors the annual symposium, announced Bolden's appearance in an email to space media Wednesday. The announcement suggests that Bolden will remain at NASA's helm through the early 2014 budget cycle and possibly longer. There has been speculation, including a story published by one media outlet in Florida, about whether Bolden would continue in President Obama's second administration.

 

Companies interested in KSC's Shiloh site

 

James Dean – Florida Today

 

Several companies have expressed interest in a proposed state-run commercial launch complex at the north end of Kennedy Space Center, as Space Florida continues to negotiate with NASA to make the land available. NASA recently said the 150 acres the state wants to take over near the Brevard-Volusia county line still serve as a buffer and could support future missions. But Space Florida President Frank DiBello said Wednesday that he hopes to persuade NASA that the commercial complex would fulfill a more pressing need and be mutually beneficial.

 

Space Florida still hopes to get NASA land near Volusia

 

Dinah Voyles Pulver - Daytona Beach News-Journal

 

State officials are so committed to trying to talk NASA into letting them have 150 acres near the Volusia/Brevard county line to build a commercial spaceport that NASA's rebuff of their initial advances earned barely a mention in the Space Florida board meeting Wednesday. "We are engaged in a very cooperative, very supportive dialogue" with NASA, Space Florida President Frank DiBello told his board.

 

Ten years after Israel's first astronaut killed in Columbia disaster the country's space is industry still expanding

 

Linda Gradstein - National Post

 

10 years ago Friday, Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, was killed along with all of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia when a tragic accident occurred during re-entry. At a Herzliya conference this week, 14 heads of space agencies from around the world gathered to remember Ramon and to consider the future of space exploration. "This conference commemorates the amazing life of Ilan Ramon by fostering cooperation among nations," National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) head Charles Bolden told the hundreds of attendees, including many Israeli air force officers.

 

Another Israeli in space soon?

 

Judy Siegel - Jerusalem Post

 

The Science and Technology Ministry is looking seriously into the option of training another Israeli to become an astronaut in the tradition of the late Col. Ilan Ramon, who died in space on the US Columbia space shuttle exactly a decade ago. The Israel Space Agency is making informal contacts with international space authorities on the matter. Although the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has halted the dispatching of manned space shuttles into space, it may be that an Israeli trained by NASA could be sent to work at the International Space Station in a few years, the ministry said on Wednesday.

 

Credit for Good Behavior?

Jailed Former NASA Official Co-produced PBS Shuttle Film

 

Brian Berger - Space News

 

If you set your DVR to record "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope" on PBS beginning Jan. 31, pay close attention to the credits. The documentary, which tells the story of  why a tiny Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust was entrusted to Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon on Columbia's ill-fated STS-107 mission, was a labor of love for former NASA Chief of Staff Courtney Stadd before he was sent to prison in 2011 for defrauding his former employer.

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COMPLETE STORIES

 

Sierra Nevada partners with Lockheed Martin on Dream Chaser

 

William Harwood – CBS News

 

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. is joining Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Dream Chaser commercial manned spacecraft program, bringing the aerospace giant's expertise in flight certification and composites manufacturing to the private-sector initiative, company officials announced Wednesday.

 

Sierra Nevada is competing with Space Technologies Corp. and Boeing to develop a new generation of commercial space taxis that NASA envisions hiring to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

 

Unlike its rivals, which are designing wingless capsules that initially, at least, would make parachute descents to ocean splashdowns, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser is a winged lifting body that would launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket and re-enter the atmosphere much like a space shuttle, gliding to a runway landing.

 

The spacecraft can be launched manned, carrying up to seven astronauts, or unmanned, loaded with cargo, scientific experiments or both.

 

The contract announced Wednesday will bring Lockheed Martin's long experience in flight certification requirements to the Dream Chaser program and add manufacturing capability at Lockheed Martin's Michoud, La., plant where the company once built space shuttle external tanks.

 

"There's so much depth within the Lockheed Martin organization that we haven't been able to access," said Sierra Nevada Vice President Mark Sirangelo, leader of the Dream Chaser project. "We asked ourselves the question, how can we do that?

 

"And that has led to the beginning of a very exciting and very expansive relationship where Lockheed has joined our Dream Chaser team as an exclusive partner to help us with the certification, which is how do we get this vehicle really fit to fly safely?"

 

The certification work will cover "the things that are going to be necessary to fly human beings to orbit on a system that's supposed to be something that flies frequently," Sirangelo told reporters. "We're going to combine our knowledge ... We think this is a terrific thing, not only for us and our program, but for NASA."

 

The value of the contract was not revealed.

 

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for NASA's Orion spacecraft, a manned capsule originally intended for the Bush administration's Constellation moon program. NASA now plans to use Orion and a new heavy-lift booster for government-directed deep space voyages to a variety of targets.

 

The commercial manned spacecraft initiative is a bid by the Obama administration to kick-start development of private-sector vehicles that can take over more routine flights to and from low-Earth orbit.

 

Last August, NASA announced that Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada had been selected to continue spacecraft development work under the agency's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability Initiative, or CCiCap. Boeing's contract was valued at up to $460 million, SpaceX won a contract worth up to $440 million while Sierra Nevada was awarded $212.5 million.

 

Sirangelo said the Dream Chaser spacecraft will be fully reusable and relatively inexpensive to operate. Just as important, he said, it can be flown manned or unmanned to meet a wide variety of mission objectives.

 

"We view this as a transportation system to low earth orbit," he said. "For example, the vehicle in a long duration capacity unmanned could act as a science platform. There is the potential for the vehicle to do servicing in space, satellite servicing or other types of servicing."

 

"If there are other destinations, other than the space station, that are built, we could provide transportation. We also have the capability to bring people up to expand the envelope for what would currently be a very burgeoning, young, suborbital tourist market for those people who want to go to the next level."

 

Jim Voss, a former shuttle and space station astronaut who now serves as vice president of Sierra Nevada's Space Exploration Systems, said an engineering test version of the Dream Chaser will be flown to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in two weeks for the start of initial helicopter drop tests in about six weeks.

 

The unmanned test vehicle "will be released from a helicopter and it will fly down and land autonomously on a runway and we'll gather the aerodynamic data we need to complete our aerodynamic database for the Dream Chaser," Voss said.

 

Giant leap in race to replace space shuttle? Dream Chaser gets big boost

Sierra Nevada Corp., which is designing a mini space shuttle called the Dream Chaser, announced that it's joining forces with Lockheed Martin – heavy-hitter in aerospace

 

Pete Spotts - Christian Science Monitor

 

One of three companies vying to ferry US astronauts to and from the International Space Station has inked a multimillion dollar deal with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in a move aimed at preparing a craft dubbed Dream Chaser for the task.

 

The move by Sierra Nevada Corp. highlights the pace at which the company's plans are morphing from plans on paper to hardware on the shop floor. "We're moving from concept to the next phase of the program, probably faster than most people realize," said Mark Sirangelo, who heads the company's space-systems division.

 

Through Lockheed Martin, Sierra Nevada will have access to expertise in using composite materials that Dream Chaser needs, as well as to large manufacturing facilities required to assemble several craft. In addition, Lockheed developed the Atlas V rocket, which is a likely launch vehicle for Dream Chaser, and has experience working with NASA to certify spacecraft for human spaceflight.

 

It appears to be a significant step forward for the aerospace company, which has been around for 25 years, but has previously focused on smaller ventures. The company has produced small satellites, components for projects such as the Mars Science Laboratory, and rocket motors, including motors for Burt Rutan's Spaceship One and its tourist version for Virgin Galactic, Spaceship Two.

 

The goal of the NASA commercial crew-transportation program is to free up NASA resources to focus on human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. That means turning to private companies to build a spacecraft to service the space station, which also should help lay the foundation for a broader commercial human-spaceflight industry, advocates of commercialization say.

 

Last July, the agency divvied up contracts worth a combined $1.1 billion among three companies working on designs – Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), and Sierra Nevada Corp. In December, NASA parceled another $29.6 million among the companies for parallel efforts that focus on meeting its performance and safety requirements.

 

Compared with the other two contenders' craft, Dream Chaser's design is unique. While Boeing and SpaceX are developing capsules, Dream Chaser is, in effect, a mini space shuttle, winged for a pilot-controlled landing at runways such as the one the shuttle used at the Kennedy Space Center. The craft is designed to carry up to seven people, including the flight crew, as well as cargo.

 

Within the next six to eight months, the company plans to conduct its first flight tests at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Palmdale, Calif. The craft will be released from beneath a helicopter, then fly and land without human guidance.

 

The initial test is just to make sure the design can fly, says Jim Voss, a former NASA astronaut and vice president of the company's space-exploration systems division. The typical flight time will run from 30 to 40 seconds. Several more tests will be conducted, with different maneuvers added to each test, to take the full measure of its aerodynamic traits.

 

"We're starting a flight program, we are now starting to think about how to operate the system, how to create a transportation regime to low-Earth orbit and how to build multiple vehicles – all the things necessary to fly and fly within the next few years," says Mr. Sirangelo, adding that the new alliance with Lockheed will help Sierra Nevada meet its targets going forward.

 

SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, Calif., is working on a variant of its Dragon capsule. The capsule has made two cargo trips to the International Space Station so far, and is slated for two more this year under a cargo contract with NASA through at least 2015. The crewed version of Dragon would use rocket motors during the final moments of descent for a soft landing on Earth at mission's end. It would also include an escape system that could be used if a launch was aborted shortly after liftoff. The company has said it plans to test the escape system on the launch pad as early as next December.

 

The other entrant, Boeing, has teamed up with Bigelow Aerospace on another capsule-based approach to crew transportation that would also be expected to use the Atlas V as the launch vehicle.

 

Under NASA's contracts with the three companies, they receive incremental payments that are issued as they successfully meet agreed-upon milestones. If all three meet their milestones for the current contracts, NASA will have invested $1.5 billion in developing a commercial-crew capability for the US since 2009.

 

Lockheed Martin, Sierra Nevada Corp. partnering on Dream Chaser

 

Kristen Leigh Painter - Denver Post

 

Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems of Louisville said Wednesday that it is bringing Jefferson County-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems onboard with its Dream Chaser program, the company's orbital crew vehicle in development.

 

Dream Chaser is one of three remaining competitors in the bid for NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability Program, or CCiCap.

 

The new multimillion-dollar partnership comes at a point in the vehicle's design and creation process that the company recognizes a need for more experience, said Mark Sirangelo, president of Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems.

 

"While we are very smart people, we reached out to others," Sirangelo said. "There are a lot of smart people in this industry, and we want them on our team."

 

Lockheed Martin competitively bid and won the partnership, which is composed of two separate contracts.

 

The first is a 15-month contract to help guide Sierra Nevada through NASA's Certification Products Contract. The second contract is the manufacturing of the Dream Chaser's composite structure, which will be done by Lockheed Martin at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded Sierra Nevada $212.5 million in August, signaling the company's advancement to the next phase of the highly prized NASA CCiCap contract. According to Jim Voss, program manager on Dream Chaser at Sierra Nevada, they are on schedule for reaching NASA's benchmarks and are currently under budget.

 

The other two competitors are California-based Space Exploration's Dragon and Boeing's CST-100, both of which are capsule designs. The Dream Chaser is unique as it is a piloted aircraft capable of horizontal landing on any runway that can accommodate a 737 jet.

 

"We are moving to the next phase probably faster than many people realize, and we felt this was the time to bring them on board," Sirangelo said.

 

Lockheed Martin and Sierra Nevada are no strangers to each other. The two Colorado-based companies worked together on the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory on the rover's entry and landing process. Centennial-based United Launch Alliance is also a part of the program, with its Atlas V rocket being the launch service of choice.

 

While the primary design and engineering responsibilities will stay at Sierra Nevada's Louisville location, Lockheed Martin is already beginning construction on the fully operational flight vehicle that will eventually carry humans to space.

 

Sierra Nevada, a $1.5 billion business, has grown 300 percent in the last four years and currently employs nearly 1,000 people in Colorado. Sirangelo expects they will hire an additional 50-100 people as a result of this program.

 

What's on the horizon for Dream Chaser?

 

• A test vehicle being built in Louisville will be shipped to Edwards Air Force Base in California near the end of March or early April for its first flight test.

 

• The unmanned vehicle will be dropped out of a helicopter, 12,000 feet in the air, and robotically flown in order to gather aerodynamic data.

 

• In late 2015 or early 2016, Sierra Nevada hopes to launch a demonstration flight into space.

 

• The company plans to complete the fully operationaland crew-worthy vehicle by the end of 2016. Photo rendering by Sierra Nevada Corp.

 

Lockheed Martin joins forces with Sierra Nevada in building Dream Chaser

Multi-million dollar partnership could shake up dynamics in commercial space race

 

John Aguilar - Boulder Daily Camera

 

Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Space Systems, based in Louisville, has turned to venerable aerospace firm Lockheed Martin to help it construct the next-generation Dream Chaser spacecraft that could soon ferry American astronauts into space.

 

Littleton-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. will be in charge of building the composite structure for the Dream Chaser, the spacecraft Sierra Nevada has been designing and building for NASA's commercial crew program.

 

Sierra Nevada, which has been awarded hundreds of millions of dollars from NASA over the last few years to develop the Dream Chaser, will work with the space agency toward gaining government certification of the vehicle.

 

Company officials announced the partnership Wednesday.

 

Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems, said at a news conference that Lockheed will help Sierra Nevada produce the "safest spacecraft ever built" and inject vitality into a U.S. space program that has receded since the space shuttle was retired by NASA in 2011.

 

He declined to put a dollar figure on the value of the partnership, other than to say that it was a "multi-million dollar, long-term" deal.

 

"There are a lot of smart people who know what they're doing, and we want them on our team," Sirangelo said to a gathering that included the Louisville mayor and other local and industry officials. "We're going to combine our knowledge. We should do whatever we can do to get Americans flying into space on American spacecraft."

 

Since NASA retired the space shuttle program, American astronauts have had to pay $60 million or so for a seat on the Russian Soyuz space capsule in order to reach the International Space Station.

 

"That's just not the way we want to do it," Sirangelo said.

 

'Deep knowledge of composites'

 

Sierra Nevada cited Lockheed Martin's "extensive experience" building composite structures for spacecraft and high-performance aircraft as the primary reason for choosing the firm, which it selected through a competitive bidding process.

 

Lockheed has experience developing NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which is being designed to take American astronauts on a variety of missions, including ones to deep space.

 

"We have a deep knowledge of composites," said Jim Crocker, Lockheed's vice president and general manager of civil space. "We're leveraging materials we already had in stock."

 

Lockheed will do the bulk of its work on Dream Chaser at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The shell it builds will be fitted on the next iteration of the Dream Chaser vehicle, which will be a piloted flight test vehicle that could make its first orbital journey in late 2015 or early 2016.

 

A fully operational orbital flight would likely occur a year later.

 

First, the company needs to test its engineering prototype, which was swarmed Wednesday by blue-shirted Sierra Nevada workers in preparation for its shipment out to Edwards Air Force Base in two weeks for a series of drop tests.

 

The tests, in which the spacecraft will be released from a helicopter at 12,000 feet above ground and land wheels down on a runway, are scheduled to be completed by April.

 

Former astronaut Jim Voss, the Dream Chaser program manager and an instructor at the University of Colorado, said the vehicle has so far reached 21 milestones and is on schedule and under budget.

 

The seven-person vehicle, which is 40 feet long and 25 feet wide, is the only spacecraft in the commercial space industry that would be capable of landing on a runway upon its return to Earth. The competing vehicles under development are capsules.

 

The Dream Chaser would launch on an Atlas V rocket, being built by Centennial-based United Launch Alliance.

 

'It's anybody's race'

 

Sierra Nevada is up against some stiff competition in the commercial space sector, with California-based Space Exploration Technologies having already twice flown an unmanned space capsule to the International Space Station last year. During its last mission in October, SpaceX delivered ice cream to delighted astronauts at the space station.

 

Meanwhile, Boeing continues to develop its CST-100 capsule.

 

Rand Simberg, a space analyst and adjunct scholar at the Washington, D.C.-based Competitive Enterprise Institute, said Sierra Nevada's partnership with Lockheed gives it an instant credibility boost.

 

"Sierra Nevada does a lot of work with satellites, but they've never built a vehicle," Simberg said. "Some people might have been nervous about them doing it themselves, and so partnering with a prime contractor that has more experience with these things should give them more comfort."

 

And that will help the company net more funding going forward, Simberg said.

 

"The takeaway is that they've bolstered their credibility with those handing out the money," he said.

 

Sierra Nevada landed $212.5 million from NASA in August, while SpaceX received $440 million and Boeing took in $460 million during the same round of funding. Michael Lopez-Alegria, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation in Washington, D.C., said if that's an indication of the space agency's level of confidence in each company, Wednesday's announcement "affirms (Sierra Nevada's) place in the conversation."

 

"I don't think anybody is clearly in the lead," Lopez-Alegria said. "It's anybody's race."

 

He said the Sierra Nevada-Lockheed partnership will help the Dream Chaser in two main areas. First, Lockheed's experience with designing and using composite materials in space vehicles will be invaluable. And the company's track record getting NASA certification for spacecraft -- "an onerous, document-heavy process" -- will come in handy for Sierra Nevada.

 

"Having somebody like Lockheed, which has that experience, on your team is a good thing," Lopez-Alegria said.

 

Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser will get Lockheed Martin's help

Certification work follows landings

 

James Dean – Florida Today

 

Sierra Nevada Corp. said Wednesday it's getting ready to head out to California for test flights of its Dream Chaser mini-shuttle, and announced a partnership with Lockheed Martin Corp. to certify the spacecraft as safe for astronauts.

 

The full-size Dream Chaser test article will be put through a series of approach and landing tests at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

 

Within six to eight weeks, the unmanned vehicle, which is in the competition to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, is expected to be dropped by a helicopter from about 12,000 feet and land autonomously on a runway.

 

Two to five more flights could follow to gather the necessary data on the Dream Chaser's aerodynamic performance during final approach.

 

Sierra Nevada is competing with The Boeing Co. and SpaceX to develop vehicles for flights to low Earth orbit under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

 

Sierra Nevada also announced Wednesday that it has hired Lockheed to help human-rate its vehicle.

 

"We should go back and do whatever we can do to ensure Americans are flying to space on American spacecraft designed and built here," said Mark Sirangelo, head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems, during a news conference at the company's Colorado headquarters. "By bringing Lockheed on board, we think we're going to get a tremendous boost from that."

 

The human-rating work would be performed under the $10 million contract NASA recently awarded Sierra Nevada for the first phase of a two-phase effort to certify the commercial vehicles' safety for human spaceflight.

 

Lockheed also will perform manufacturing work on a future Dream Chaser at the New Orleans facility where the company used to build space shuttle external tanks.

 

Lockheed, also headquartered in Colorado, would not say if it was acting only as a subcontractor, or also as an investor in the commercial crew effort.

 

If it continues to advance in NASA's competition, Sierra Nevada plans to base one or more Dream Chasers on the Space Coast. The company is in discussions about which specific facilities it might use, Sirangelo said.

 

The Dream Chaser would launch crews from Florida atop Atlas V rockets flown by United Launch Alliance, a company in which Lockheed and Boeing each own a 50-percent stake.

 

NASA hopes to resume flying crews from the U.S. by 2017. That goal likely to be challenged by tight budgets in the coming years.

 

Lockheed Martin to help build the Dream Chaser spaceship

 

Charles Black - Space Exploration News (SEN.com)

 

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), which is building an orbital spacecraft called Dream Chaser, has chosen aerospace giant Lockheed Martin to build the composite structure of the spaceship and to assist with certifying the vehicle for human spaceflight.

 

The Dream Chaser is being designed to carry seven astronauts into orbit. It will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and land on a runway like the Space Shuttle.

 

The Dream Chaser's development has been supported and partly funded by NASA under the space agency's commercial crew program. In August 2012 SNC was awarded $212.5 million by NASA under the latest phase of the crew program, the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap).

 

In December 2012, NASA awarded SNC a Certification Products Contract (CPC) under which the Dream Chaser will be certified as meeting the space agency's safety requirements and standards for orbital space transport.

 

Under the terms of the partnership announced, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company - which is working on certifying NASA's own Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle for human spaceflight - will assist SNC with the certification of the Dream Chaser.

 

Mark Sirangelo, boss of Sierra Nevada's space division, said "This contract capitalizes on SNC's success working with NASA's Commercial Crew Program, as well as Lockheed Martin's expertise in developing and certifying Orion's beyond low Earth orbit human spaceflight hardware as part of NASA's Exploration Program. Our team will work towards the common goal of certifying the Dream Chaser to provide the next generation human transportation system."

 

Jim Crocker of Lockheed Martin said: "Lockheed Martin brings with it tremendous human-rated space flight knowledge from our significant experience with large, human-flight structures, including 135 flights with the Space Shuttle's external fuel tanks. We feel we can share many synergies between the Orion exploration spacecraft and the Dream Chaser lifting body space vehicle. This provides a great opportunity to take NASA's investments in crew exploration capabilities and leverage them toward commercial transportation to low Earth orbit."

 

Lockheed Martin has also been contracted by SNC to build the composite structure of the Dream Chaser at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

 

In May 2012 the Dream Chaser had its first captive carry flight - where the craft is carried by another aircraft rather than using its own power - to test its aerodynamics. Further captive carry flights will take place soon, part of a detailed test flight plan to spaceflight operations which the company hopes will be achieved by 2016.

 

Once built and certified by NASA as being fit to carry crew into orbit, SNC is hoping to win NASA business to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. But the company also plans to market its spaceship in other ways and could target other space agencies as well as the space tourism market.

 

NASA's spaceflight strategy is to develop its own rocket and spaceship for deep space, whilst using the services of commercial spacelines to transport cargo and astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station. NASA is also working with Boeing, which is developing the Crew Space Transportation-100 orbital space vehicle, and SpaceX which is developing a crewed version of its Dragon spacecraft. Boeing and SpaceX were also awarded certification contracts last December.

 

Orion Spacecraft Takes Shape

 

Matthew Peddie - WMFE FM (Orlando)

 

NASA's new Orion space capsule is taking shape at the Kennedy Space Center, as the agency moves towards a test flight in 2014. The Orion is designed for deep space exploration and it's a crucial part of the space center after the end of the shuttle program.

 

The capsule still looks like the green aluminum-alloy shell that was unveiled last July- but NASA staff and Lockheed Martin contractors inside the cavernous Operations and Checkout building at the space center are working to fit the Orion with life support, thermal protection and other systems to turn it into a functioning  spacecraft.

 

Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana says KSC's future is riding on the success of the Orion.

 

"We need it, alright," said Cabana.

 

"We want to explore beyond planet earth and this is our vehicle that is going to do that. And it isn't commercial or government exploration, it's not one or the other. We need both in order to be successful."  

 

Cabana says the Orion program is part of the plan to transform Kennedy into a multi user space complex supporting commercial and government missions.

 

The Orion is designed to fly on top of NASA's new heavy lift rocket- the space launch system- but in its first unmanned test flight slated for September 2014 the capsule will blast into orbit on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.

 

With a robot alligator as mascot, KSC introduces Swamp Works

 

Todd Halvorson - Florida Today

 

Lockheed Martin runs its secretive Skunk Works, speeding advance aircraft development projects. Boeing operates its covert Phantom Works, a rapid prototyping outfit that works on highly classified defense and national security projects.

 

Now NASA boasts its own Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center, but there is no mystery about its mission.

 

In a small non-descript federal building in the KSC Industrial Area, about 40 engineers and scientists aim to open up the solar system to human exploration and exploitation.

 

And much of their work involves tapping planets, moons and asteroids for water, minerals, metals and other resources so explorers from Earth don't have to haul them along.

 

"We are very, very rich in resources in outer space. The solar system has billions and billions times more resources than we have here on Earth," said senior NASA technologist Robert Mueller.

 

"So if we can harness the resources in outer space, that is the key to expanding civilization into outer space."

 

Walk into the former Apollo Flight Crew Training Building.

 

Jim Smith is designing an instrumented rover that he hopes will be able to verify the presence of water and other resources in regolith at the lunar poles. His team tested a rover prototype in lunar-like soil high atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii last year, and aims to launch a rover to the moon in 2017.

 

Phil Metzger and a small group of engineers and physicists are working in NASA's Regolith Operations Lab. His team is developing robots to excavate lunar dirt and ice and then use the material to build raised banks, roads and landing pads.

 

And since lunar dirt is very abrasive, very intrusive, and could do serious damage to lunar base electronics and equipment, Carlos Calle is working in an Electrostatics and Surface Physics Lab to lessen the type of problems Apollo astronauts encountered with lunar dust.

 

President Barack Obama challenged NASA in April 2010 to send astronauts to a resource-rich asteroid by 2025, and to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s.

 

And in a way, NASA is reaching back to its past – to advanced research and development – in order to meet future challenges.

 

"It's similar to what Lockheed Martin did with the Skunk Works when they created their planes in the 1960s — small team, multi-disciplined, hands-on, empowered to be creative and innovative, and to make things happen," said Jack Fox, Chief of NASA's Surface Systems Office.

 

"So, since we're Florida, and we've got a swamp right outside, we thought we would call it the Swamp Works."

 

Russian Scientists Approve 'Space-Grown' Vegetables

 

RIA Novosti

 

Vegetables grown on board the International Space Station (ISS) can be consumed without fearing food poisoning, Russian scientists believe.

 

Scientists have been studying "orbital-grown" vegetables, including Misuna, or Japanese Cabbage, for several years.

 

"The samples of cabbage have been brought to Earth," a spokesman for the Moscow-based Institute of Medical and Biological Problems told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. "We have not detected any deviations in their biomass composition compared with cabbage grown on Earth."

 

"From a microbiological perspective, these samples were absolutely safe to consume," the scientist said.

 

Microbiological safety is a key parameter for determining space travelers' diet, as fruits and vegetables cannot be washed with water on board a spacecraft.

 

Russian scientists plan to use the results of these experiments for compiling a list of plants suitable for cultivating during prolonged space missions, including manned flights to Mars and beyond.

 

Future of Canada's Human Spaceflight Program Uncertain

 

Elizabeth Howell - Space.com

 

While Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield works and tweets from orbit, his country's space agency is engaged in battles on the ground.

 

In recent months, the Canadian Space Agency has faced budget cuts and an aerospace review that said it was suffering from "ad hocery" in government funding and planning.

 

It's still unclear how this will affect Canada's human spaceflight program. The agency remains committed to International Space Station work until at least 2020, which keeps the door open for two trainees awaiting flights to the orbital laboratory. But as the CSA faces a large drop in funding between 2013 and 2015, agency president Steve MacLean has declined to comment on where cuts could fall.

 

Canadian astronaut trainee Jeremy Hansen, who was selected in 2009, said his primary consideration is staying focused on supporting Hadfield's mission and continuing his own training in spacewalks, the Russian language, and other aspects of space station work.

 

"I trust people to do their jobs and make the decisions," Hansen said to SPACE.com. He added, though, that he does watch the news. "There are things that I keep track of. I watch, I read, I'm interested and I set realistic expectations." A 20 percent cut to the

 

agency's budget was disclosed last March in Canada's national budget.

 

A large part of Hansen's job is getting the word out about the agency's work, often with school groups.

 

He said he has a "unique perspective" as a space insider and is glad to share it with any audience that might be interested, including those holding the purse strings.

 

'A turning point'

 

When asked about the bright spots in Canadian human space exploration, Hansen pointed to the close links the CSA has with NASA, particularly in the field of commercial spaceflight.

 

SpaceX is flying cargo to the International Space Station under a NASA contract, and soon other companies will be, too, he pointed out. SpaceX is among those firms working toward rating their commercial spacecraft for human spaceflight in the next decade.

 

"I think we see a turning point in space exploration," Hansen said of NASA's contracts with these companies. This work will translate to more science and spaceflight opportunities for Canada, he said.

 

Canada's commitment to the station leaves Hansen and fellow Canadian trainee David Saint-Jacques with at least seven years to make it to orbit.

 

Hansen is often asked when he will be assigned, then told by the questioner that he must be disappointed at the years-long wait. But he said his feelings are quite the opposite, as there is so much work to be done before then.

 

"I knew what I was signing up for," he said. "You can't predict exactly. It could be faster or it could be longer."

 

Deeper budget cuts reported

 

A Jan. 8 article in Space News hinted the CSA's budget cuts could go even deeper.

 

MacLean said his agency's budget will be $257 million to $259 million ($258 million to $260 million in Canadian dollars) by 2014 or 2015, Space News reported. By comparison, the agency's budget in 2013-14 is about $308.7 million ($309.7 million Canadian), down 20 percent from 2012-13.

 

In the Space News report, MacLean hinted the reductions could be counteracted by doing more work with other government departments.

 

Money available for human space exploration and technology spinoffs, the Canadian Space Agency stated in May, would decline from $105.9 million ($106.3 million Canadian) in 2012-13 down to $92.7 million ($93 million) in 2014-15. In the same time period, 8 full-time job equivalents could be cut, bringing the work force in that segment to 188 people.

 

But CSA officials emphasized the importance of the space station in remarks accompanying the financial statements.

 

"Canada will continue as an active partner and participant in the International Space Station," the report stated, adding "flight opportunities for Canadian astronauts" would be one of the priorities.

 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will speak at National Space Symposium in April

 

Lee Roop - Huntsville Times

 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. will discuss the future of America's space programs at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs this April. The Space Foundation, which sponsors the annual symposium, announced Bolden's appearance in an email to space media Wednesday.

 

The announcement suggests that Bolden will remain at NASA's helm through the early 2014 budget cycle and possibly longer. There has been speculation, including a story published by one media outlet in Florida, about whether Bolden would continue in President Obama's second administration.

 

Bolden, a former astronaut and retired U.S. Marine general, said during a visit to United Launch Alliance's rocket plant in Decatur, Alabama, late in 2012 that he was enjoying the job and would serve as long as needed. The president, still filling top jobs in his second-term administration, has not made any any announcements regarding NASA.

 

NASA spokesman David Weaver said Wednesday afternoon that Bolden is concentrating on the job at hand. "Administrator Bolden is focused on carrying out the president's ambitious space exploration program, managing the day-to-day operations of an agency that has dozens of missions in space, and is supporting our American astronauts who are living and working onboard the International Space Station," Weaver said in a statement. "He serves at the pleasure of the president and is honored to do so."

 

The Colorado symposium is expected to draw 9,000 participants this year to the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. It is a heavily attended event that attracts industry leaders, international space interests, media and government officials interested in space.

 

Companies interested in KSC's Shiloh site

 

James Dean – Florida Today

 

Several companies have expressed interest in a proposed state-run commercial launch complex at the north end of Kennedy Space Center, as Space Florida continues to negotiate with NASA to make the land available.

 

NASA recently said the 150 acres the state wants to take over near the Brevard-Volusia county line still serve as a buffer and could support future missions.

 

But Space Florida President Frank DiBello said Wednesday that he hopes to persuade NASA that the commercial complex would fulfill a more pressing need and be mutually beneficial.

 

"I can tell you that (the proposed site) is farther away from NASA's area of operations than is the city of Titusville, and so this buffer zone argument really doesn't hold a lot of water," DiBello told Space Florida's board during a meeting in Tallahassee. "And I believe there is a long way before there is a clear mission that might require this site."

 

However, he said he is in engaged in "very cooperative, very supportive" talks with NASA and hopes to "bring them around" to support the proposal known as Shiloh, for the citrus community once located at the site.

 

"It's in our mutual best interests to make this succeed, and to see that future work done here in Florida rather than in Texas or Puerto Rico or Georgia," DiBello said.

 

Those are places where SpaceX is exploring setting up a launch site that would operate independently from NASA or the Air Force, giving it more flexibility and control over its launches of non-government payloads.

 

NASA, for its part, says it has not rejected the Shiloh proposal.

 

The agency is "assessing available options" to help the state achieve its goals, according to a statement provided to FLORIDA TODAY.

 

"There are many authorities that will allow us to support commercial launch activities – transferring land is only one of those mechanisms," the statement continued. "KSC is fully supportive of the State's initiative to support commercial space endeavors and NASA is committed to ensuring that all partnership opportunities are fully considered."

 

The state doesn't want that consideration to drag on too long.

 

Space Florida recently solicited company interest in the Shiloh proposal and received several responses, said Jim Kuzma, senior vice president and chief operating officer.

 

Along with Shiloh, the state wants to take ownership of the shuttle runway as another feature of a commercial spaceport, serving spacecraft that take off or land horizontally.

 

That request will be considered separately, but NASA already plans to select a new operator for the facility, and Space Florida is among those pursuing the job. Kuzma said a decision could come within six to eight weeks.

 

In other business during the meeting, Space Florida's board approved funding to complete renovations to a former space shuttle hangar and to repurpose another local facility for commercial use.

 

Work to ready Orbiter Processing Facility-3 and a nearby office building at Kennedy Space Center for The Boeing Co. may cost $20 million, with funding coming from state and private sources.

 

Boeing plans to assemble its CST-100 commercial crew spacecraft in the former shuttle hangar.

 

Up to $5 million in Florida Department of Transportation funding, if secured this year as expected, will help transition another existing facility at KSC or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

 

Meeting materials provided to the board said the facility would be used as a "spacecraft, cargo, and crew processing facility for heavy lift launch of commercial satellites, space station cargo and ultimately commercial crew missions."

 

Under another initiative dubbed Project Tag, Space Florida committed up to $1 million over two years to help one of NASA's commercial crew partners secure safety approvals and range services for initial launch operations from the Air Force's 45th Space Wing.

 

Space Florida still hopes to get NASA land near Volusia

 

Dinah Voyles Pulver - Daytona Beach News-Journal

 

State officials are so committed to trying to talk NASA into letting them have 150 acres near the Volusia/Brevard county line to build a commercial spaceport that NASA's rebuff of their initial advances earned barely a mention in the Space Florida board meeting Wednesday.

 

"We are engaged in a very cooperative, very supportive dialogue" with NASA, Space Florida President Frank DiBello told his board.

 

Buoyed by indications from NASA that it would continue to discuss how its lands could be available for a commercial launch complex "independent of the federal range," DiBello said Space Florida is "hopeful we can bring them around."

 

Space Florida, the state-run public economic development corporation, wants the land because it's trying to woo SpaceX, a private space transport company owned by Pay Pal founder Elon Musk, or another commercial space flight provider to build a vertical launch facility.

 

SpaceX is shopping for locations for such a facility and Florida is competing with Texas, Georgia, Puerto Rico and other locations for the company's business. DiBello said Thursday that Musk is among a new breed of commercial players that see the future in commercial space flight.

 

SpaceX, which maintains a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, has a contract with NASA to develop a spacecraft that would allow the United States to return to launching astronauts from U.S. soil again. The company launched a rocket under contract with NASA last year to take cargo to the International Space Station.

 

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, chairwoman of the Space Florida board, wrote federal officials last fall asking for 150 acres of "excess" land NASA owns north of Haulover Canal for the launch complex. In total, NASA owns 140,000 acres at Cape Canaveral, much of it managed as Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore.

 

The letter surprised and concerned longtime environmental advocates, who have successfully beaten back several earlier efforts to develop private launch facilities on refuge or seashore land.

 

In its response to Carroll's letter, NASA said its land isn't "excess" and may be needed as a potential site for future missions and as a buffer zone between Cape operations and the community.

 

DiBello told Space Florida's board Wednesday that NASA's argument "doesn't hold water."

 

Shiloh, the area at the Volusia/Brevard line where Space Florida hopes to build the launch facility, DiBello said, "is farther away from NASA operations than the city of Titusville."

 

Initially, state officials kept the letter from NASA quiet. Though the letter was stamped "received" on Dec. 12, it wasn't circulated until mid-January.

 

After newspaper stories on NASA's letter were published Jan. 22, state records show SpaceX contacted a consultant and a Space Florida official seeking a copy of the letter.

 

SpaceX officials said Wednesday the company is still in the "early stages" of choosing a site.

 

The company is grateful for its partnerships with the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, company officials stated in an email.

 

"Regardless of where SpaceX's commercial site is located, we will continue to have a robust manifest of launches out of LC-40 (its space center launch pad)."

 

Space Florida spokeswoman Tina Lange said the corporation is "not giving up on this effort to develop new commercial launch properties in Florida, and we hope that NASA will realize the urgency of our request and of the market need."

 

"Space Florida will continue to move forward with optimism and confidence that we can arrive at a solution that assures commercial launch providers will have what they want in Florida," Lange said.

 

Meanwhile, Space Florida is receiving responses to its request for information from companies interested in using a commercial launch facility. Space Florida officials told board members they've received interest from "multiple customers."

 

Space Florida has dozens of projects in the works, officials said Wednesday, including working with NASA to get the former shuttle landing facility turned over for commercial horizontal space launches.

 

That facility, Lange said, "if re-purposed for commercial use – would absolutely put Florida in the lead nationally in developing a network of commercially-friendly spaceports to enable rapid launch capability."

 

Space Florida officials said Wednesday that NASA's decision on the landing facility could come within six to eight weeks. The Space Center's official schedule calls for handing off the facility to a partner by Oct. 1.

 

Ten years after Israel's first astronaut killed in Columbia disaster the country's space is industry still expanding

 

Linda Gradstein - National Post

 

10 years ago Friday, Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, was killed along with all of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia when a tragic accident occurred during re-entry. At a Herzliya conference this week, 14 heads of space agencies from around the world gathered to remember Ramon and to consider the future of space exploration.

 

"This conference commemorates the amazing life of Ilan Ramon by fostering cooperation among nations," National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) head Charles Bolden told the hundreds of attendees, including many Israeli air force officers. "The word 'shalom' is not simply peace, but wholeness and completeness. Ilan and the whole crew brought us wholeness even though they are no longer here."

 

Many of the attendees knew Ramon well, but for some the conference was even more personal. Dr. Jonathan Clark, today a professor of space medicine at Baylor University, lost his wife Laurel, an astronaut, in the tragedy as well. Clark gave Ramon his first pre-flight physical.

 

"The Columbia crew paid with their life for us to know what it means to fly in high-risk environments," Clark told The Media Line. "They gave their lives in the pursuit of exploration for all of mankind and it's their legacy for us to continue on in their spirit. It fires me up even more to pursue exploration."

 

He is working on safety equipment that will enable astronauts in trouble to eject more easily and to land more safely.

 

There have been some major successes since Ramon's death. The International Space Station (ISS), a research laboratory, is up and running, and has been visited by astronauts from 15 countries.

 

"The ISS is our toehold to the rest of the solar system," Bolden said. "It is a tangible symbol of unprecedented international cooperation."

 

In Israel, quasi-governmental companies such as Rafael have been active in satellite production. Israel has launched a series of satellites for both commercial and military purposes. But several Israeli officials at the conference said Israel needs to spend more.

 

"When I was the head of the space program, my budget was very, very small," Aby Har Even, who was in charge during Ramon's time, told The Media Line. "Most of our achievements in space are in the defense area — I hope we can also make progress in the scientific area."

 

But even with larger budgets, some scientists feel like they are hitting the wall in space exploration.

 

"We are just at the very, very beginning of any space exploration objectives because of the limits of what the technology can do and the challenges of applying it," former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe told The Media Line. "We're in the functional equivalent of the Age of Sail (when boats had no outside power source) right now in the space exploration business and we're aspiring to the Age of Steam. We're not there yet; it's going to take the next technology leap to get us to that."

 

O'Keefe believes that Israel has a role to play in getting to that next level of technology.

 

"The entrepreneurial spirit of the Israeli people is so overwhelmingly strong," he said. "You have honed the idea of using whatever you have to respond to the situation."

 

The audience seemed primarily male, and several speakers stressed the need for more women in the space field.

 

"It is just the blink of an eye – just 50 years since the launch of Sputnik 1 and it is amazing how far we have come," Lieutenant General Susan Helms, the commander of the 14th air force and a former astronaut who holds the record for the longest space walk at just under nine hours, told the conference. "We see Israel as a strong partner and fellow space-faring nation."

 

Another Israeli in space soon?

 

Judy Siegel - Jerusalem Post

 

The Science and Technology Ministry is looking seriously into the option of training another Israeli to become an astronaut in the tradition of the late Col. Ilan Ramon, who died in space on the US Columbia space shuttle exactly a decade ago.

 

The Israel Space Agency is making informal contacts with international space authorities on the matter. Although the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has halted the dispatching of manned space shuttles into space, it may be that an Israeli trained by NASA could be sent to work at the International Space Station in a few years, the ministry said on Wednesday.

 

Meanwhile, Israel has been invited to join the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS); it previously had only observer status on the committee, which is the central international body that deals with space matters.

 

In a meeting between members of the ISA, the invitation was extended by Dr. Mazlan Othman, head of COPUOS.

 

Israeli representatives said they are interested in expanding the country's involvement in such space activities and will consider joining as a member.

 

ISA representatives suggested to Othman that they put a model of an Israeli satellite on display at COPUOS's permanent exhibition in Vienna. The exhibition contains models of various space vehicles and other memorabilia from numerous countries involved in space exploration. Among these is a statue of Yuri Gargarin, the world's first astronaut who was sent into space by the former Soviet Union, and a stone brought back from space. So far, Israel – which is a major world leader in the development of satellites – has had no representative object on display there.

 

More than a dozen senior space administrators and scientists from around the world have been in Herzliya over the past few days to attend an annual conference in memory of Ramon, who died in space exactly a decade ago.

 

Science and Technology Ministry director-general Menahem Greenblum and European Commission deputy director-general for industrial initiatives Dr. Paul Weissberg signed an agreement that opens the door for cooperation between Israel and the EC in the field of space. The agreement, according to the ministry, will open up various cooperation activities with Europe and give legitimacy to Israeli industrialists and researchers to be involved in European space projects.

 

Credit for Good Behavior?

Jailed Former NASA Official Co-produced PBS Shuttle Film

 

Brian Berger - Space News

 

If you set your DVR to record "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope" on PBS beginning Jan. 31, pay close attention to the credits.

 

The documentary, which tells the story of  why a tiny Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust was entrusted to Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon on Columbia's ill-fated STS-107 mission, was a labor of love for former NASA Chief of Staff Courtney Stadd before he was sent to prison in 2011 for defrauding his former employer.

 

Stadd began working on the film several years ago with Emmy Award-winning TV producer Dan Cohen, the film's director. PBS's website for the documentary lists Stadd as co-executive producer.

 

Stadd, who has served nearly two years of his 41-month sentence, is due to be released from the Morgantown Federal Correctional Institution in West Virginia in January 2014, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons' inmate tracker website.

 

END