Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News – Feb. 4, 2014 and JSC Today

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: February 4, 2014 10:47:15 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News – Feb. 4, 2014 and JSC Today

Stay dry and safe out there.   Hope to see you this Thursday at Hibachi Grill

 

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Tuesday, February 4, 2014           Read JSC Today in your browser

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                    JSC TODAY CATEGORIES

1.            Headlines

-  Picture This! JSC is on Instagram

-  New 'Space to Ground' Available

-  African-American ERG Film Festival - Reminder

-  JSC: See the Space Station and Progress

-  WSTF: See the Space Station and Progress

-  Safe, Not Sorry in 2014

-  Your Energy Usage

-  Thank You, and There's More!

2.            Organizations/Social

-  JSC NMA Generation Panelist Luncheon

-  AIAA Lunch and Learn: Commercialization at JSC

-  Food Service Survey: Win A $100 Gift Card

-  Sam's Club in Cafés

-  Valentine's Massage Special at Starport

-  Starport Spinning MS 150 Training Starts Feb. 6

-  Starport Zumba for Kids -- Free Class Feb. 7

3.            Jobs and Training

-  FedTraveler Live Lab - Feb. 5

-  NASA Budget: OMB's Roles and Responsibilities

-  Electronic Document System 2.0

-  Russian Phase One Language Course -- For Beginners

4.            Community

-  Ready to Build a 3-D Printer This Friday?

-  Space Health Innovation Challenge - Feb. 7 to 9

-  SpaceUp Houston 2014 Unconference

-  SpaceUp Houston 2014 Commercial Spaceflight Panel

Round and Round

 

 

   Headlines

1.            Picture This! JSC is on Instagram

Are you on Instagram? JSC is, too! We have been sharing photos of center-related activities both on the ground and in orbit for the past two months and encourage all employees to check it out. If you have ideas for things to feature on our Instagram feed, please let us know!

Sarah Ruiz x34715 http://www.instagram.com/nasajohnson

 

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2.            New 'Space to Ground' Available

This week's 'Space to Ground' features the Russian spacewalk and a question from Twitter about the livable space on station.

NASA's "Space to Ground" is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. Got a question or comment? Use #spacetoground to talk to us.

"Space to Ground" is available every Friday on NASA.gov, the JSC home page and our social media accounts. We encourage you to share it with your friends and family.

Space to Ground, Jan. 31 episode

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111

 

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3.            African-American ERG Film Festival - Reminder

The NASA/JSC African-American Employee Resource Group (AAERG) invites the entire JSC family to participate as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with a documentary film festival.

The film festival will open during Black History Month in the Teague Auditorium on Feb. 5 and Feb. 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with two films from the PBS series: Eyes on the Prize, America's Civil Rights Movement "No Easy Walk" and Mississippi "Is This America?" Complimentary popcorn and cookies will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there!

Event Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014   Event Start Time:11:00 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM

Event Location: Teague Auditorium

 

Add to Calendar

 

Lee Willis x39153

 

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4.            JSC: See the Space Station and Progress

Viewers in the JSC area will be able to see the International Space Station this week.

International Space Station

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 6:42 p.m. (Duration: 5 minutes)

Path: 10 degrees above S to 16 degrees above E

Maximum elevation: 26 degrees

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 7:32 p.m. (Duration: 2 minutes)

Path: 26 degrees above W to 31 degrees above NNW

Maximum elevation: 34 degrees

Thursday, Feb. 6, 6:43 p.m. (Duration: 4 minutes)

Path: 36 degrees above WSW to 11 degrees above NE

Maximum elevation: 11 degrees

Progress 52P

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 7:10 p.m. (Duration: 3 minutes)

Path: 27 degrees above WSW to 29 degrees above NNE

Maximum elevation: 61 degrees

Friday, Feb. 7, 6:53 p.m. (Duration: 3 minutes)

Path: 25 degrees above WNW to 11 degrees above NNE

Maximum elevation: 27 degrees

The International Space Station Trajectory Operations Group provides updates via JSC Today for visible station passes at least two minutes in duration and 25 degrees in elevation. Other opportunities, including those with shorter durations and lower elevations or from other ground locations, are available at the website below.

Joe Pascucci x31695 http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=U...

 

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5.            WSTF: See the Space Station and Progress

Viewers in the White Sands Test Facility area will be able to see the International Space Station this week.

International Space Station

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 7:17 p.m. (Duration: 3 minutes)

Path: 11 degrees above SW to 62 degrees above SSW

Maximum elevation: 62 degrees

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 6:29 p.m. (Duration: 5 minutes)

Path: 10 degrees above SSW to 21 degrees above ENE

Maximum elevation: 37 degrees

Thursday, Feb. 6, 7:19 p.m. (Duration: 2 minutes)

Path: 24 degrees above WNW to 27 degrees above NNW

Maximum elevation: 29 degrees

Progress 52P

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 7:05 p.m. (Duration: 3 minutes)

Path: 11 degrees above SSW to 55 degrees above SE

Maximum elevation: 55 degrees

Thursday, Feb. 6, 6:48 p.m. (Duration: 3 minutes)

Path: 33 degrees above WSW to 24 degrees above NNE

Maximum elevation: 62 degrees

Progress 54P

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 6:28 p.m. (Duration: 5 minutes)

Path: 12 degrees above SSW to 18 degrees above ENE

Maximum elevation: 36 degrees

The International Space Station Trajectory Operations Group provides updates via JSC Today for visible station passes at least two minutes in duration and 25 degrees in elevation. Other opportunities, including those with shorter durations and lower elevations or from other ground locations, are available at the website below.

Joe Pascucci x31695 http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=U...

 

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6.            Safe, Not Sorry in 2014

It's a new year, and resolutions abound, but it always pays to resolve to be safe, not sorry. You could start today by not only paying closer attention to your own actions, but by observing co-workers and their safety habits. JSC's Safe, Not Sorry (SNS) program focuses on noticing how safely others work. Have you seen someone who took the time to clean a spill to prevent a fall, or help a fellow employee out of a bind? Does a certain person motivate you to be more safety conscious by always demonstrating safe behavior? If so, you have the power to award that person with an SNS pin. Pins can be given employee to employee, formally or informally. Take a minute to show you notice and care. Pins can be obtained by calling the Safety Office at x45078, or by emailing your request.

Rindy Carmichael x45078

 

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7.            Your Energy Usage

Do you know how much energy your building uses? You can find out by going to the JSC Energy Dashboard. Many of NASA's sustainability goals are related to energy, and there are a number of ways you can help JSC move closer to achieving them. Individual changes in habits may have a small impact, but if the majority of the site practices energy-saving behavior, we can make significant improvements to JSC energy usage. Turning off your computer and any surge protectors in your office are a couple suggestions you hear often, but if you are interested in more ideas, visit the EO Sustainability Page for energy and become proactive in managing your building's energy consumption.

JSC Environmental Office x36207 http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/ja/ja13/energy.cfm

 

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8.            Thank You, and There's More!

Thank you, there's more!

A GIANT thank you to all those who participated in the JSC Search Usability survey; the response was great! Search is a powerful knowledge transfer tool for providing multiple levels of detail to the greatest number of users. In short, to identify and deliver what YOU need. Analysis of the data gathered in the first phase is currently being worked.

Be on the lookout for a second satisfaction survey to further inform the development of the search environment. The open-ended satisfaction survey targets working groups of different sizes with multiple levels of information needs. If you or the group you work with are interested in being part of this study, PLEASE SIGN UP as soon as possible. Your input is appreciated and essential to the successful improvement of JSC search.

Thanks to all and Happy 2014!

David Meza x36711 https://ak.jsc.nasa.gov/OE/Lists/Search%20Survey%20Sign%20Up/Allitemsg.aspx

 

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   Organizations/Social

1.            JSC NMA Generation Panelist Luncheon

Don't miss out on this great opportunity to hear about "Harnessing the Best of Each Generation at JSC." Please join us for this month's JSC National Management Association (NMA) chapter luncheon with our own JSC generation panel.

When: Tuesday, Feb. 25

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Location: Gilruth Alamo Ballroom

Cost for members: FREE

Cost for non-members: $20

Attendees can select from three great menu options:

o             Grilled Salmon

o             Vegetable Lasagna

o             Parmesan Chicken

Desserts include double chocolate mousse cake and Italian cream cake.

RSVPs are required by 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 -- so RSVP now.

Event Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:1:00 PM

Event Location: Alamo Ballroom at the Gilruth

 

Add to Calendar

 

Leslie N. Smith x40590 http://www.jscnma.com/Events

 

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2.            AIAA Lunch and Learn: Commercialization at JSC

Please join the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Houston Section and Dr. Kumar Krishen for a lunch-and-learn event to discuss NASA's ongoing efforts to speed technology transfer and the commercialization of space technologies.

This presentation will highlight JSC's goal of expanding the relevance of NASA's missions to life on Earth. The primary responsibility of transfer and commercialization of technology and intellectual property (IP) is in support of this goal and is carried out at JSC by the Technology Transfer and Commercialization Office under the newly formed Strategic Opportunities & Partnership Development Office.

Please RSVP for this event. The RSVP deadline is today, Feb. 4. After you have successfully made your reservation, you will be sent a link to order lunch from Jason's Deli. The purchase of lunch is optional and not included in this free event. Attendees may bring their own lunches.

Event Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM

Event Location: Lockheed Martin OCC, 2625 Bay Area Blvd, Houston

 

Add to Calendar

 

Dr. Satya Pilla 832-858-3982 http://www.aiaahouston.org/events/

 

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3.            Food Service Survey: Win A $100 Gift Card

Starport and the exchange manager would like for you to share your opinions on JSC's food services! Please complete the 2014 Starport Food Services Survey so we can better understand the needs and desires of the JSC workforce. The survey results will be analyzed and used to determine the center's future food services program structure.

Please take five minutes to complete the survey. At the end of the survey, you will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $100 gift card from Amazon, Wal-Mart or Academy.

Thank you for your participation!

Dan Mangieri x47842 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/

 

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4.            Sam's Club in Cafés

Sam's Club will be at the Buildings 3 and 11 cafés from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, to discuss membership options for the JSC workforce. You may also sign up for a membership then. New members or renewals can receive up to a $25 gift card to use at Sam's or Wal-Mart.

Cash or check only for membership payments.

Shelly Haralson x39168 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/special-events/on-site-employe...

 

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5.            Valentine's Massage Special at Starport

This Valentine's Day, give your sweetheart 60 minutes of bliss with a Starport massage at the Gilruth Center.

Valentine's Day Special: For a limited time, buy your Valentine a 60-minute massage at the reduced rate of $60. Massages must be purchased before Feb. 14 and scheduled before March 31. Only one discounted massage per person.

To schedule your appointment, visit the Starport website.

Joseph Callahan x42769 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/massage-therapy/massage-specials

 

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6.            Starport Spinning MS 150 Training Starts Feb. 6

Starport is thrilled to offer a special eight-week training workshop based on the "periodization" approach to training that will prepare you for the MS 150 or a multi-day or long-distance event such as a triathlon or marathon. Each spinning class and training ride will be taught by our phenomenal certified instructors.

Register at the Gilruth information desk.

Thursday Rides/Workshops (5:30 to 6:30 p.m.):

o             Feb. 6 to April 3

Sunday Distance Rides (Time: TBA):

o             March 2 (1.25 hours)

o             March 23 (1.5 hours)

o             March 30 (2 hours)

o             April 6 (2.5 hours)

Price per Person

o             Regular Registration - $110 (Jan. 25 to Feb. 6)

o             Sunday Rides $25 (all)

o             Sunday Rides $10 (each)

Take your skills to the next level and sign up today!

Shericka Phillips x35563 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/recreation-programs/specialty-...

 

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7.            Starport Zumba for Kids -- Free Class Feb. 7

Zumba for Kids is back by popular demand! This program is designed exclusively for kids. Zumba for Kids classes are rockin', high-energy fitness parties packed with specially choreographed, kid-friendly routines. This dance-fitness workout for kids ages 5 to 10 will be set to hip-hop, salsa, reggaeton and more.

TRY A FREE CLASS ON FEB. 7!

Please call the Gilruth Center front desk to sign your child up for the free class (only 25 available spots).

Five-week session: Feb. 14 to March 21

Fridays: 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.

Ages: 5 to 10

Cost: $55

Register online or at the Gilruth Center.

Shericka Phillips x30304 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/familyyouth-programs/zumba-for...

 

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   Jobs and Training

1.            FedTraveler Live Lab - Feb. 5

Do you need some hands-on, personal help with FedTraveler.com? Join the Business Systems and Process Improvement Office for a FedTraveler Live Lab tomorrow, Feb. 5, any time between 9 a.m. and noon in Building 12, Room 142. Our help desk representatives will be available to help you work through travel processes and learn more about using FedTraveler during this informal workshop. Bring your current travel documents or specific questions that you have about the system and join us for some hands-on, in-person help with the FedTraveler. If you'd like to sign up for this FedTraveler Live Lab, please log into SATERN and register. For additional information, please contact Judy Seier at x32771. To register in SATERN, please click on this SATERN direct link: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Gina Clenney x39851

 

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2.            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 subject-matter expert course series, former White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) examiner Ryan Schaefer will lead a session that helps navigate through the budget process and explains 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 scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Building 1, Room 421E. This session is not offered through WebEx, so please register by Feb. 10 in SATERN via the link below or by searching the catalog for the course title.

SATERN direct link: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...

Gina Clenney x39851

 

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3.            Electronic Document System 2.0

The Electronic Document System (EDS) 2.0 document type Task Performance Sheet (TPS) is preparing for centerwide deployment. This intuitive and simple system will enable TPSs to be generated and approved electronically. If you are a frequent user of the JSC Form 1225, please sign up for one of the scheduled training sessions in SATERN.

Course Name: EDS Electronic Task Performance Sheet (eTPS) Training

Course Number: JSC-NT-SAIC-EDS

Two sessions will be offered on the following days from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.

Feb. 11

Feb. 12

Feb. 25

Feb. 26

March 11

March 12

March 25

March 26

Regina Senegal x32686

 

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4.            Russian Phase One Language Course -- For Beginners

Russian Phase One (1B) is an introductory course designed to acquaint the novice student with certain elementary aspects of the Russian language and provide a brief outline of Russian history and culture. Our goal is to introduce students to the skills and strategies necessary for successful foreign language study that they can apply immediately in the classroom. The linguistic component of this class consists of learning the Cyrillic alphabet and a very limited number of simple words and phrases, which will serve as a foundation for further language study.

Dates: Feb. 18 to March 20

When: Monday through Thursday, noon to 1 p.m.

Where: Building 12, Room 158Q

Please register through SATERN. The registration deadline is Feb. 11.

Natalia Rostova 281-851-3745

 

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   Community

1.            Ready to Build a 3-D Printer This Friday?

Please save the date for Friday, Feb. 7! We would like to invite you to join us to build the new open-source Ultimaker 3-D printer. We will meet in Building 35, Room 104 (the 1958 collaborative space) from noon to 5 p.m.

The printer is already here and it will likely take us more than five hours to put it together, so if we have a few people who are interested in getting started early, that would be really helpful.

If that's you, here are a few more resources to help you out:

Online community: http://www.ultimaker.com/community

Documentation: http://www.ultimaker.com/documentation

Please feel free to invite others and bring a friend.

Event Date: Friday, February 7, 2014   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:5:00 PM

Event Location: Building 35, room 104 (the 1958 collaborative spac

 

Add to Calendar

 

Nick Skytland 713-416-2242 http://centerops.jsc.nasa.gov/blog/2014/01/ultimaker/

 

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2.            Space Health Innovation Challenge - Feb. 7 to 9

Don't miss the Space Health Innovation Challenge this weekend, Feb. 7 to 9, a 48-hour "invent-a-thon" where individuals from all fields will tackle health-related challenges with both space and Earth applications. The event is a collaboration between Enventure, Health 2.0 Houston and JSC, with challenge prompts and many mentors coming from JSC. The event includes meals, snacks, drinks and parking for the entire weekend with a cost of $20 (but free for students who apply on the website  www.SpaceHealthChallenge.com). Come participate to interact with inspiring peers from diverse industries as you dig into a weekend project together. The event kicks off  Friday at 6 p.m. at the BioScience Research Collaborative building across from Rice University. Tweet us at @SpaceHealthHTX !

Event Date: Friday, February 7, 2014   Event Start Time:6:00 PM   Event End Time:10:00 PM

Event Location: Rice University

 

Add to Calendar

 

Stefan Djordjevic x41638

 

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3.            SpaceUp Houston 2014 Unconference

SpaceUp Houston's fourth annual unconference will be held at the Lunar and Planetary Institute from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22. A space unconference is where participants decide the topics of the event. Everyone who attends SpaceUp is encouraged to give a talk, moderate a panel or start a discussion. Sessions are proposed and scheduled on the day they're given, which means the usual "hallway conversations" turn into full-fledged topics. This year's event will feature four discussion sessions where three rooms are active for each session. That's 12 space-related discussions that you can't get enough of.

Registration is $15 for adults and free for kids 17 and under. Admission to the commercial spaceflight panel is included.

Register at the link below, or click here for more information.

Event Date: Saturday, February 22, 2014   Event Start Time:10:00 AM   Event End Time:9:30 PM

Event Location: 3600 Bay Area Blvd

 

Add to Calendar

 

Tristan Moody 785-760-3358 https://spaceuphouston.org/spaceup-houston-2014-registration/

 

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4.            SpaceUp Houston 2014 Commercial Spaceflight Panel

Join us from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22, for the fifth SpaceUp Houston Commercial Spaceflight Panel at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, with presentations by Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada, Orbital Sciences, XCOR and more! The event is free, but registration is required. Register at the link below, or click here for more information.

Event Date: Friday, February 21, 2014   Event Start Time:7:00 PM   Event End Time:9:00 PM

Event Location: 3600 Bay Area Blvd

 

Add to Calendar

 

Tristan Moody 785-760-3358 https://spaceuphouston.org/commercial-space-flight-panel-registration/

 

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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.

Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters.

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NASA and Human Spaceflight News

Tuesday – Feb. 4, 2014

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

The International Space Station: a Case for Peace

 

Jörg Feustel-Büechl - Space News (Opinion)

 

(Feustel-Büechl is former head of the ESA Directorate of Human Spaceflight)

 

In January, William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, announced that the White House intends to extend international space station operations from 2020 to 2024 as part of the 2015 budget request to Congress. He also said that NASA has talked to its international partners about this. The issue for everyone is coming up with the necessary funds to support the proposed extension. In Europe, many of the participating countries face financial difficulties and may rather be tempted to consider reducing expenditures for space activities. I am, however, confident that the European Space Agency member states will find a consensus and that the international space station will remain there at least until 2024.

                                

Progress resupply ship reaches launch pad

 

Stephen Clark – Spaceflight Now

 

Rocket technicians transported a Soyuz booster to the launch pad in Kazakhstan on Monday, two days before liftoff with 2.8 tons of propellant, oxygen, water and dry goods for the International Space Station. Keeping with tradition dating back to the dawn of the Space Age, the Soyuz rocket left the assembly building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome before sunrise Monday and arrived at the launch pad by mid-morning. A hydraulic erector lifted the launcher vertical before work platforms were raised to enclose the rocket for the last two days of flight preps.

 

The James Webb Space Telescope Will Be 'Like Going From A Biplane To The Jet Engine,' Says Sen. Mikulski

 

Charles Poladian – International Business Times

 

The James Webb Space Telescope has yet to be assembled, but is receiving plenty of praise. The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the most powerful telescope ever created when it launches in 2018. NASA hosted a news conference detailing the JWST's progress. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., were on hand to tour the Goddard Space Flight Center and discuss what the JWST means for the space agency and the future of space research.

 

COLE: An argument for increased NASA funding

 

Friendswood Journal

 

It is estimated that for every dollar invested into NASA, the public reaped at least 8 dollars back in technological advances, medical breakthroughs and other fields that have created jobs, improved lives and increased the standard of living not just for Texans but the entire nation. The science and economy of the 21st century is built on 55 years of NASA research and development.

 

As commercial space heats up, wither Space City?

 

Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle

 

With two corporations, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, already delivering supplies to NASA's International Space Station, a golden age may be at hand for private space firms. Late this year, Virgin Galactic may launch its first suborbital flight, opening space to non-astronauts. And private companies are beginning to announce dates by which they'll be ready to fly astronauts into orbit, a venture that until now has been solely the province of governments.

 

"We're seeing a democratization of access to space," said Michael Lopez-Alegria, a four-time astronaut who now leads the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group. The rise of commercial space raises questions about the future of Houston as Space City, which for the entire history of U.S. spaceflight has been responsible for training and managing the flights of U.S. astronauts. Houston is racing to reinvent itself this decade as other parts of the country seek to chip away at its preeminence as the home of human spaceflight.

 

Commercial space official: 'All indications are' that SpaceX will build a spaceport in Texas

 

Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle

 

In today's paper I have a story about how Houston needs to reinvent itself to thrive as the era of commercial space dawns. As part of the article I had an extended interview with Michael Lopez-Alegria, a four-time astronaut who now leads the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group.

 

I asked Lopez-Alegria whether he believed SpaceX founder Elon Musk would choose a site near Brownsville to build a commercial spaceport. His response:

 

I think all indications are that he will. They obviously have a pretty big footprint in MacGregor, so there's some logistic logic there. I think they really are looking for a place where they can be independent of a government range, so they don't have to worry about scheduling concerns. If they own the thing then they can launch pretty much whenever they want, which is a big issue for them. As I understand it there is interest in the state and local community down there. I know that there's still some talk about Florida, and Space Florida is a member of CSF so I wish them well as well, but it will be interesting to see.

 

Musk has previously indicated that Texas is a "leading contender" for the spaceport.

 

A NASA for the Future

 

Michael Lopez-Alegria – Space News

 

America and its space agency are at a crucial juncture in the competition for world leadership in human spaceflight. In a critical aspect of this contest — the ability to launch humans into orbit — we are currently tied with the rest of the world for third place, behind Russia and China. Indeed, we pay the former dearly for the privilege of launching our own astronauts into space to visit the international space station, whose construction we led and whose operations we lead.

 

NASA's Ladee Spacecraft Gains Historic Snapshot, Mission Extension

 

James Tutten – Spaceflight Insider

 

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft will continue its successful mission with an announced extension of 28 days in orbit. This follows a first-ever high-bandwidth laser communication which took place from the Moon to the Earth. It also included continued atmospheric analyses, and a tricky snapshot by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), another spacecraft working to further the scientific understanding of our nearest celestial neighbor.

 

Learn to exercise like an astronaut

 

Michelle Star – CNET Australia

 

NASA is hosting a Google+ hangout from where you can join astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio as they share their workout tips.

Going into space plays havoc on the human body. One of the biggest problems is muscle atrophy; when the body isn't working against the forces of gravity to move, or even stay upright, thereby putting weight on the muscles of their legs and back, those muscles can waste away pretty quickly. To combat this, astronauts in space have to work out for two hours a day to keep their muscles in check.

 

NASA's Space Communications and Navigation head points way to the future

 

Jason Rhian – SpaceFlight Insider

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — During the hours prior to the launch of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite "L" (TDRS-L, now known as TDRS-12) SpaceFlight Insider sat down with Badri Younes, NASA's deputy associate administrator for its Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office. He had a lot to say. Not just about the importance of that evening's launch – but of the technology systems that the space agency is currently working on which will revolutionize the manner in which the space agency relays data from distant points in the solar system.

 

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

The International Space Station: a Case for Peace

 

Jörg Feustel-Büechl - Space News (Opinion)

 

(Feustel-Büechl is former head of the ESA Directorate of Human Spaceflight)

 

In January, William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, announced that the White House intends to extend international space station operations from 2020 to 2024 as part of the 2015 budget request to Congress. He also said that NASA has talked to its international partners about this. The issue for everyone is coming up with the necessary funds to support the proposed extension. In Europe, many of the participating countries face financial difficulties and may rather be tempted to consider reducing expenditures for space activities. I am, however, confident that the European Space Agency member states will find a consensus and that the international space station will remain there at least until 2024.

 

Financial difficulties are by no means a new issue for the ISS. I still remember that 20 years ago, in 1994, when I took over the responsibility for the human spaceflight program at ESA, the European space programs were at a crossroads and Europe's participation in the ISS in particular was under threat of cancellation. Estimates put the costs of the European Columbus laboratory at more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). It should have been brought in several space shuttle flights to the station. This we had to change, so that Columbus as a whole could be transported by a single flight.

 

With a very committed team and within six months we redesigned the program and based it on the Columbus laboratory and the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) as essential elements. The main contractor presented us with a proposal for a Columbus laboratory that was only half as large but still featured exactly the same experimental capacity as before. It could fit in one shuttle flight to the ISS and should cost about half of the original estimate. We were thus able to submit a proposal to the ESA Ministerial Conference in 1995 in Toulouse, France, that contained, in addition to Columbus, the ATV. This proposal was then accepted by the European ministers in charge of space.

 

Europe's other partners in the ISS have not been better off. Every few years there was a budget crisis somewhere. While unity gives strength, it may also lead to hesitations and delays. The ISS once even survived by only one vote an attempt to cancel it in the U.S. Congress. Some tragic accidents led to additional doubts and threats. But each time the ISS successfully came out of the tunnel.

 

It is worth pointing out that the ISS not only made it through many programmatic changes, but also adapted itself to some fundamental reorientations in its very raison d'être. The ISS, like all its forerunner space stations, was a child of the Cold War, but it carried the DNA of human spaceflight from much earlier times. Before engineers even drafted the first plans for Skylab and Salyut, visionary authors of the 19th century had already laid down their ideas about human spaceflight. Together with rocket travel to the Moon, a space station in orbit around Earth was one of the two recurrent themes in the early science fiction novels. But only the Cold War brought these dreams to fruition.

 

Lunar exploration and space station were closely interwoven ideas. One was the consequence of the other and political and technical developments affected them in reciprocal ways. As a result of the famous Sputnik shock of 1957 and the Space Race between the two superpowers that it triggered, lunar landings took the initial lead over circumterrestrial space stations. When the United States won the Moon race with Apollo, the Soviet Union turned its attention to space stations with the Salyut and Mir programs. Then, when the Apollo program was ended, the United States too turned its attention to low Earth orbit with Skylab and the space shuttle program.

 

Europeans too were galvanized by Sputnik. Everywhere, space activities developed. Europe quickly realized that national space projects alone would not be the right step to take Europe into space and that Europe could only achieve something meaningful if one could bring together all resources in order to work together. However, human landings on the Moon or a permanent human outpost in low Earth orbit exceeded by far the European capabilities. Both superpowers saw their roles in the respective human Moon and low Earth programs as a way to foster and demonstrate their leadership. Europe could only take, if at all, the role of a junior partner.

 

So the European countries cooperated among themselves in areas like science and technology, telecommunications, Earth observation, navigation, launch vehicles and human spaceflight, where they could find common interests and build up space programs that were characterized by balanced national leadership, compromise and consensus. At that time, such cooperation was not merely seen as a chance, but also perceived as a burden for Europe; many observers looked with some envy at the United States or the Soviet Union, where things seemed to be that much easier with only one government to decide and one common language spoken among all stakeholders.

 

Things changed fundamentally in 1990. With the end of the Cold War, the concept of a bipolar world also came to an end. All of a sudden the balance of mutual interests, compromise and consensus became of growing importance in international relations and gradually replaced the former approach of only U.S. and Soviet leadership. The longstanding experience of Europe in cooperative space programs, mainly through the European Space Agency, suddenly turned from a handicap into an asset and a role model.

 

After the abandonment of Russian plans for a successor to the Mir station, in 1993 Russia became a major partner of the ISS. The participation of Russia was certainly the factor that stabilized the entire ISS program. Without Russia, the United States probably would have given up Freedom, as the Western space station was then known. But true collaboration on the ISS was only possible as far as consensus could be reached between the sovereign partners. The need to clearly define goals and expectations in the cooperative venture so as to avoid misunderstandings was obvious. Without the profound experience of Europe in mutually beneficial cooperation schemes and its influence on the other ISS partners, the introduction of Russia into the ISS partnership might not have worked so smoothly, if at all.

 

Nothing demonstrates better the progress that has been made on the long way from political enemies to reliable and mutually dependent peaceful cooperation partners than the astronaut training concept for the ISS. Since 1998, all European astronaut activities are merged in Cologne, Germany, at the European Astronaut Centre. There, however, not only European astronauts but all the other astronauts on the ISS — Americans, Russians, Japanese and Canadians — are trained for their tasks with European laboratory equipment. In the opposite way, European astronauts go to Houston, Star City in Russia, Tsukuba in Japan, or Montreal to learn to operate the systems and components of the partners. This is part of the basic understanding between the international partners that any partner who owns a laboratory or another infrastructure element on the station trains the astronauts of all partners for it.

 

There is also a somewhat anecdotal example of the progress that has been made thanks to the ISS with regard to Cold War times: The third non-Soviet citizen cosmonaut to fly to a Soviet space station, then Salyut 6 in 1978, was the East German air force officer Sigmund Jaehn. The first non-American astronaut to fly on the U.S. space shuttle, with the ESA Spacelab mission in 1983, was the West German ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold. Coincidentally, at the time of their historical spaceflights, both astronauts had different passports — Jaehn came from the German Democratic Republic, Merbold from the Federal Republic of Germany — but both were born in the same region in the heart of Germany, at places that were only about 30 kilometers apart. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Jaehn and Merbold found themselves working in the same space program, first for the Russian space station Mir and then for the international space station.

 

Ten years later, in 2001, ESA together with the other international partners received a letter from the King of Spain informing them that the ISS was awarded one of the most coveted prizes in the world, the Prince of Asturias Award, the highest prize in Spain, awarded yearly to a select number of personalities in different fields. The ISS won the prize in the category of international cooperation.

 

After 20 years of successful peaceful cooperation among the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada in this unique undertaking, time has come now to consider the international space station for the highest award in this field on an international level: the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Progress resupply ship reaches launch pad

 

Stephen Clark – Spaceflight Now

 

Rocket technicians transported a Soyuz booster to the launch pad in Kazakhstan on Monday, two days before liftoff with 2.8 tons of propellant, oxygen, water and dry goods for the International Space Station.

 

Keeping with tradition dating back to the dawn of the Space Age, the Soyuz rocket left the assembly building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome before sunrise Monday and arrived at the launch pad by mid-morning. A hydraulic erector lifted the launcher vertical before work platforms were raised to enclose the rocket for the last two days of flight preps.

 

The Soyuz rocket will launch the 54th Russian Progress resupply spacecraft to the space station since cargo deliveries began in 2000.

 

The Progress M-22M logistics ship is loaded with 1,764 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen, 926 pounds of water and 2,897 pounds of spare parts, experiment gear and other supplies for the six-man Expedition 38 crew living aboard the complex, according to NASA.

 

Liftoff is scheduled for 1623:33 GMT (11:23:33 a.m. EST), followed two minutes later by shutdown and separation of the Soyuz rocket's four kerosene-fueled strap-on boosters. The Soyuz rocket's core engine and upper stage will inject the Progress spacecraft into a preliminary orbit nine minutes after launch.

 

The Progress is programmed to extend its solar arrays to begin charging the craft's batteries moments after deploying from the Soyuz rocket's upper stage. The spacecraft will also open navigation and communications antennas shortly after the launch.

 

It will take just six hours for the Progress spacecraft to reach the space station. Docking with the Russian section's Pirs module is scheduled for 2225 GMT (5:25 p.m. EST) Wednesday.

 

Another Progress cargo vehicle undocked from the Pirs module Monday at 1621 GMT (11:21 a.m. EST) to clear the port for the arrival of the fresh spacecraft later this week. The Progress M-20M spaceship was docked to the space station since July.

 

The departed Progress, packed with trash and excess equipment, will conduct several days of tests to evaluate the thermal effects of space on its attitude control system before de-orbiting over the Pacific Ocean and burning up Feb. 11, according to NASA.

 

The James Webb Space Telescope Will Be 'Like Going From A Biplane To The Jet Engine,' Says Sen. Mikulski

 

Charles Poladian – International Business Times

 

Artist's concept of the James Webb Space Telescope. Northrop Grumman

The James Webb Space Telescope has yet to be assembled, but is receiving plenty of praise. The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the most powerful telescope ever created when it launches in 2018.

NASA hosted a news conference detailing the JWST's progress. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., were on hand to tour the Goddard Space Flight Center and discuss what the JWST means for the space agency and the future of space research.

Mikulski, as chairwoman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, fought to save NASA from budget cuts in the recently announced $1.02 trillion spending bill. For fiscal 2014, NASA received a budget of $17.6 billion, and Congress kept the provision that capped the James Webb Space Telescope's budget at $8 billion.

The JWST was on the chopping block ahead of 2011's spending bill but was saved following cuts on other ventures and the acceptance of a budget cap on the project by NASA. Mikulski discussed the smashing success of Hubble, saying the space telescope has "rewritten the science books" and likened the evolution of space telescopes to "going from a biplane to the jet engine" and has high hopes for the JWST.

"As chairwoman, I've continued to fight for funds in the federal checkbook to keep the James Webb Space Telescope mission on track, supporting jobs today and jobs tomorrow at Goddard. NASA Goddard is home to leaders in Maryland's space and innovation economies, making discoveries that not only win Nobel Prizes, but create new products and jobs. The James Webb Space Telescope will keep us in the lead for astronomy for decades to come, spurring the innovation and technology that keep America's economy rolling," said Mikulski in a statement.

According to NASA, the JWST is almost complete as the final set of primary mirrors have been delivered to Goddard and the telescope's four science instruments are also sitting in the facility's clean room. The science instruments include a Near-Infrared Camera, a Near-Infrared Spectrograph that can analyze 100 objects simultaneously, a Mid-Infrared Instrument and a Fine Guidance Sensor and Near-infrared Imager to boost the telescope's resolution.

All that's left for the JSWT is the assembly as NASA waits for the telescope structure while the telescope sunshield, developed by Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, is in the final stages of completion. NASA says the James Webb Space Telescope will be assembled by 2016 and will undergo final testing before its launch in 2018.

The full James Webb Space Telescope conference can be viewed below.

 

COLE: An argument for increased NASA funding

 

Friendswood Journal

 

It is estimated that for every dollar invested into NASA, the public reaped at least 8 dollars back in technological advances, medical breakthroughs and other fields that have created jobs, improved lives and increased the standard of living not just for Texans but the entire nation The science and economy of the 21st century is built on 55 years of NASA research and development.

 

But what of the next 50 years? What of the next century?

 

If you crunch the numbers, you will find that 2012 is the 2nd lowest year of NASA funding by percentage of the US budget since 1958 and 1959, their founding years. When looked at in a constant 2007 dollar value, the 2012 funding comes in at about 23rd place out of the almost 55 year history of the agency. Coincidentally, 23rd place is also the United States' world position in Science test scores!

 

I was a young child when Columbia launched for the first time; I was in the 4th grade when Challenger exploded on a cold dreary January morning, and was in the 7th Grade when Discovery returned a nation to manned spaceflight. I remember seeing the fiery demise of Columbia. I can remember every tear of sorrow for our Space Shuttle crew lost in the skies over Texas.

 

But what of the space program today?

 

It is vital that America maintain its lead into space exploration. What we learn in the advance of science, what we discover as new technologies emerge to overcome new challenges; the needs for teaching math and science to younger Americans secures the nations place a leader. It is our future.

 

In the district, and especially in Clear Lake and the Bay Area of Houston, the benefits of increased funding for NASA and space related fields are increasingly evident. It is entirely possible with the right level of investment, that South East Texas could become the Silicon Valley of the space industry. It is possible that the next two space ports can be built in Harris and Chambers County; that Houston could maintain not only a lead in human space exploration, but also advance as the leader in the space tourism industry when it finally blasts off. The money invested in our future will reap rewards here in Texas - especially in the 36th Congressional District- and to distant planets we have not even seen with our own eyes yet.

 

Once elected, I will introduce legislation to the US Congress to increase NASA's funding from its current level of 0.48% to a full 1% of the US annual budget. I will work closely with my fellow congressional representatives and with the White House to advance human space flight with programs managed from the home of human space flight, NASA contributes massive amounts of technological, economical and inspirational power to our nation, and we want to see that they are funded to continue doing just that!

 

Current programs and new programs can be funded appropriately, from an extended Space Station program and "routine" commercial access to space, to missions to shift eons-old asteroid orbits to lunar excursions and precursor missions ultimately leading to humans setting foot on the red planet. It can be done if we set aside partisan politics and once again work together for our children, the future of America.

 

Imagine what great inventions await us with 50 billion in NASA's budget? The industry drawn to the area, the jobs created. The future would be assured as space-related technology powers Texas and America into a new golden age of science and discovery. The expanded cost could be covered easily by trimming the cost overrun of any of a number of other federal programs. The new jobs and business created alone would spur new revenues to fund future exploration. We can do it!.

 

Yes, it is possible for us to touch distant planets, and the giant leap made by mankind begins with small steps taken right here. The first word spoken from Mars will be "Houston."

 

Michael Cole, a Democrat is running to represent the 36th district of the state of Texas in Congress.

 

As commercial space heats up, wither Space City?

 

Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle

 

With two corporations, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, already delivering supplies to NASA's International Space Station, a golden age may be at hand for private space firms.

 

Late this year, Virgin Galactic may launch its first suborbital flight, opening space to non-astronauts. And private companies are beginning to announce dates by which they'll be ready to fly astronauts into orbit, a venture that until now has been solely the province of governments.

 

"We're seeing a democratization of access to space," said Michael Lopez-Alegria, a four-time astronaut who now leads the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group.

 

The rise of commercial space raises questions about the future of Houston as Space City, which for the entire history of U.S. spaceflight has been responsible for training and managing the flights of U.S. astronauts. Houston is racing to reinvent itself this decade as other parts of the country seek to chip away at its preeminence as the home of human spaceflight.

 

For now, Johnson Space Center will continue to be the home of NASA astronauts, but it's not clear what role the center will have in working with astronauts who fly on privately-built commercial vehicles to space.

 

NASA, for example, chose to establish its office overseeing the development of private spacecraft that will eventually carry U.S. astronauts to the space station at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, instead of at the Houston-based center.

 

The Houston region has not been oblivious to the rise of commercial space and its implications for the city's traditional hegemony in human spaceflight.

 

"Houston is being very proactive," said David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute.

 

Texas A&M recently held a commercial space workshop with Rice and industry partners to discuss a commercial space strategy for Houston and Texas. Universities, governments and industry partners will need to work together to ensure the vibrancy of Houston's space presence, Alexander said.

 

The centerpiece of the region's efforts is the development of a spaceport.

 

Last September, the Houston Airport System unveiled preliminary plans to develop a 450-acre spaceport at Ellington Airport. Houston aviation director Mario Diaz said he envisions a facility that would be home to space tourism as well as support aerospace hangars, manufacturing facilities, educational institutions and museums.

 

According to Darian Ward, a spokeswoman for the airport system, the city is about halfway through completing its application for an FAA license to operate the spaceport. The airport system expects to submit the license this summer and if all goes well could receive approval by the end of the year.

 

"The process is on time, and I believe that is significant," Ward said.

 

Houston would be entering a competitive market. There are already more than a dozen government and private spaceports, with widely varying amounts of activity, in operation in the United States.

 

With a number of financial incentives, Spaceport America, in New Mexico, has secured a deal with Virgin Galactic to launch flights of SpaceShipTwo from there.

 

Despite a number of delays, the company's founder, Richard Branson, has said commercial flights from the spaceport should begin as soon as the end of this year. The company has already pre-sold more than 600 tickets at a cost of $200,000 each for flights to about 60 miles above the Earth, providing a spectacular view and a few minutes of weightlessness.

 

Celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio have signed up, ensuring that commercial space will make a splash on the public consciousness when Virgin Galactic begins flying.

 

"Imagine doubling the number of people who have been in space in 50 years in a couple of years," said Lopez-Alegria, the commercial spaceflight official. "That's great, and I think that that will energize people."

 

Perhaps most importantly, however, Lopez-Alegria noted that some companies already flying into space are helping to shift the perception of commercial space in Congress.

 

When he used to visit politicians to discuss commercial space, Lopez-Alegria said, there were a lot of skeptics. Then SpaceX and Orbital Sciences began flying successful missions on their own rockets to the space station, bringing up supplies on a regular basis.

 

"There are a lot fewer skeptics out there," he said. "You can't argue with success. I think that those two companies doing what they have done has been fundamental to what has been a sea change in the perception of commercial space."

 

That, in turn, has opened the congressional purse strings a bit.

 

NASA has been working with SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation to develop private spacecraft that could fly astronauts to orbit and allow NASA to stop paying the Russians hundreds of millions of dollars annually to do so.

 

During the 2012, 2013 and 2014 budget cycles, President Barack Obama has requested about $800 million annually or a little more to stimulate this development. In 2012 and 2013, Congress only obliged with about $500 million, slowing the efforts of these companies to deliver ready-to-fly spacecraft.

 

In 2014 Congress went higher, funding $700 million of the commercial crew request.

 

"I'd call it a win," Lopez-Alegria said. "I think people are pretty happy with it, and that just sort of speaks to what expectations are because of what's happened during the last couple of years."

 

Around the same time as the budget deal, Sierra Nevada Corp., based in Nevada, announced that it would conduct the first flight of its mini space shuttle-like Dream Chaser in 2016. It's racing with SpaceX and Boeing for NASA funds and the delivery of human-ready spacecraft.

 

"SNC is thrilled to be the first company to confirm a launch date for our country's return to orbital human spaceflight," Mark Sirangelo, the head of the company's space segment, said at the late-January announcement.

 

It will launch from Florida. However, what role Johnson Space Center will play in the flight, if any, is unclear.

 

Commercial space official: 'All indications are' that SpaceX will build a spaceport in Texas

 

Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle

 

In today's paper I have a story about how Houston needs to reinvent itself to thrive as the era of commercial space dawns.

 

As part of the article I had an extended interview with Michael Lopez-Alegria, a four-time astronaut who now leads the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group.

 

I asked Lopez-Alegria whether he believed SpaceX founder Elon Musk would choose a site near Brownsville to build a commercial spaceport. His response:

 

I think all indications are that he will. They obviously have a pretty big footprint in MacGregor, so there's some logistic logic there. I think they really are looking for a place where they can be independent of a government range, so they don't have to worry about scheduling concerns. If they own the thing then they can launch pretty much whenever they want, which is a big issue for them. As I understand it there is interest in the state and local community down there. I know that there's still some talk about Florida, and Space Florida is a member of CSF so I wish them well as well, but it will be interesting to see.

 

Musk has previously indicated that Texas is a "leading contender" for the spaceport.

 

At one time SpaceX had hoped to make a decision on where to locate a commercial spaceport, from where it will launch satellites and other payloads aboard its Falcon line of rockets, by the end of 2013. But by the end of the year the FAA hadn't issued a ruling on the company's Environmental Impact Statement.

 

However a ruling on that could come soon, reports the Valley Morning Star in Harlingen, Texas.

 

Landing the spaceport would be a real coup for the state as it seeks to expand its spaceflight portfolio beyond the Johnson Space Center.

 

Space-Grown Vegetables Are Safe To Eat, Scientists Announce

 

Francie Diep – Popular Science

 

Potluck time! Russian scientists have verified that several plants grown aboard the International Space Station are safe to eat, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports.

 

The space-grown edibles include peas, dwarf wheat and Japanese leafy greens. They look great and not at all weird, one of the scientists working on the project, Margarita Levinskikh of the Institute of Biological Problems, assured The Voice of Russia. "The plants have been very developed, absolutely normal and did not differ a lot from the plants grown on Earth," she told the radio station.

 

And yes, cosmonauts have given them a munch. "We have also gotten experience with the astronauts and cosmonauts eating the fresh food they grow and not having problems," crop scientist Bruce Bugbee wrote to Popular Science in an email. Bugbee is a professor at Utah State University and has worked on studies of food grown in space.

 

Space crop programs aim to learn if people would be able to grow some of their own food for longer stays in space. Space agencies hope the fresh vegetables will feed not only astronauts' bodies, but their spirits, as well. "Caring for a plant every day provides vital psychological relief, giving astronauts a small remembrance of Earth," NASA project scientist Howard Levine told Modern Farmer in a 2013 feature about space veggies.

 

Produce in the International Space Station grow in a greenhouse named Lada, after the Russian goddess of spring. Lada has removable "root modules," in which astronauts are able to grow several generations of crops before the modules' nutrients are used up. At that point, the astronauts send the modules back to Earth for analysis. Biologists on Earth examine the modules to see if any harmful microbes have grown on them. They also check the modules and the plants' leaves for contaminants which may come from the space station's environment. "These are the same types of tests we routinely conduct on the food grown on Earth," Bugbee says.

 

Lada needs some repairs now, RIA Novosti reports. Once those are done, astronauts will plant it with rice, tomatoes and bell peppers, none of which have been grown in space before. Rice has a special advantage: Its genome has been fully sequenced, so scientists will be able to compare space rice with Earth rice to see if space affects which genes the staple expresses, RIA Novosti reports.

 

A NASA for the Future

 

Michael Lopez-Alegria – Space News

 

America and its space agency are at a crucial juncture in the competition for world leadership in human spaceflight. In a critical aspect of this contest — the ability to launch humans into orbit — we are currently tied with the rest of the world for third place, behind Russia and China. Indeed, we pay the former dearly for the privilege of launching our own astronauts into space to visit the international space station, whose construction we led and whose operations we lead.

 

Much has changed since the heady days of NASA five decades ago, when geopolitical circumstances gave us the will, and 4.5 percent of federal discretionary spending gave us the means, to accomplish the still unparalleled feats of the Apollo program. With a small slice of less than one-tenth of those means available, NASA is hard at work, in collaboration with American companies, to close the gap and return our astronauts to space on American vehicles.

 

NASA's innovative approach is the Commercial Crew Program, an initiative based on the highly successful Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program for ISS cargo resupply. COTS utilized a fixed-price approach instead of traditional contracts to develop, demonstrate and procure safe, cost-effective ISS cargo resupply services from two companies, providing both competition-driven cost containment and operational redundancy. Now that this successful model is being applied to human-rated vehicles, however, a few respected voices have appeared in SpaceNews to decry what they see as a sacrifice of safety in favor of price, and to call for a return to the comfort and familiarity of traditional contracts.

 

But their concerns reflect a mistaken belief that contracting method drives safety.

 

These two aspects of the program are apples and oranges; one is a variable and the other must be a given. While NASA's request for proposals for the latest stage of the program — Federal Acquisition Regulations-based certification contracts — correctly weighs price highly, compliance with NASA's human safety requirements is non-negotiable. There is no sliding scale that would allow a little less safety for a lower price; all competitors must meet the certification criteria, and must do so in a manner that NASA itself approves.

 

Further, the argument that price trumps safety in this request for proposals incorrectly assumes that the more spent on vehicle development, the safer the vehicle. In fact, history has proved that the only way to truly guarantee safety is to stay home. Short of that, we must do our very best to maximize safety through strong design and manufacturing standards, enforced by NASA's unconditional requirement to meet safety and other certification criteria. NASA's independent Technical Authorities in engineering, crew health and medicine, and safety and mission assurance, which were established as a result of the key findings of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, will be vigorously engaged in determining compliance. Failure to meet safety requirements is not an option for any competitor. The implication that a commercial provider will somehow "cut corners" makes little sense. Beyond their moral obligations to the men and women they plan to carry, commercial offerers are incentivized to be safer than their competitors, not less so; their very existence, let alone business success, depends upon it.

 

The geopolitical and fiscal environments are not the only things that have changed since the days of Apollo. Automobiles and airplanes are now far safer, thanks to important advances in design and manufacturing techniques, as well as new technologies like air bags and anti-skid brakes. Likewise, the next human space vehicles will be safer than the space shuttle, with no abort "black zones" and with enhanced system health monitoring via modern sensors, computers and data management suites.

 

It is indeed an important role of astronauts to be guardians of the safety and well-being of their brethren. Many of them are now engaged in doing just that, not only in the halls of the Astronaut Corps but as part of the very companies that are developing these new vehicles. Many former NASA flight control, engineering, and safety and mission assurance professionals have also joined those companies' development teams. When they wore NASA badges there was no question of their dedication to safety; the considerable experience they gained in those roles only serves to make them more effective stewards today.

 

If we want America to retain its leadership in space we must take full advantage of those concepts that are so fundamentally and uniquely American: innovation, entrepreneurship and competition. To my esteemed colleagues who have expressed concern, an invitation: Meet with the astronauts, engineers, technicians and other experts who are building the next American spacecraft. They will demonstrate how they are putting the safety of our astronauts first, and I believe you will leave convinced that the new commercial crew vehicles will be the safest ever flown.

 

Michael Lopez-Alegria is a former NASA astronaut and current president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF). The views reflected are not necessarily those of all CSF member companies.

 

NASA's Ladee Spacecraft Gains Historic Snapshot, Mission Extension

 

James Tutten – Spaceflight Insider

 

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft will continue its successful mission with an announced extension of 28 days in orbit. This follows a first-ever high-bandwidth laser communication which took place from the Moon to the Earth. It also included continued atmospheric analyses, and a tricky snapshot by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), another spacecraft working to further the scientific understanding of our nearest celestial neighbor.

 

"The launch vehicle performance and orbit capture burns using LADEE's onboard engines were extremely accurate, so the spacecraft had significant propellant remaining to enable extra science," said Butler Hine, LADEE project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center, in a statement released by NASA. "This extension represents a tremendous increase in the amount of science data returned from the mission."

 

This extension translates into the eventual end of the spacecraft's mission to be pushed back to around April 21, allowing for more time for the satellite to study the Moon's atmosphere. LADEE arrived at the Moon on Oct. 6, 2013, one month after being launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Sept. 6, 2013.

 

When LADEE's mission comes to an end, it will purposely fall to the Moon's surface. Along the way it will continue to collect data from dust samples and send the information back to Earth, and its impact will hopefully be observed by LRO thanks to a recent encounter helping to increase these odds.

 

LADEE's retrograde orbit runs from east-to-west along the Moon's equator, while a south-to-north orbit is being performed by LRO. The two spacecraft came within 5.6 miles (9 km) of each other on Jan. 15, as both satellites flew by around 3,600 mph. An image that required precise timing of LADEE in flight was taken by LRO thanks to some ingenuity and a bit of luck.

 

With LADEE's flight path not passing directly underneath LRO, mission commanders had to compensate by having the LRO roll 34 degrees to allow its Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) a 1.35 millisecond window to get a clear shot of LADEE. The image taken by the LROC was slightly distorted, but still provide a one-of-a-kind image that may impact the chances of LRO to get a snapshot of the results of LADEE coming to its final resting place.

 

Designed and built by NASA's Ames Research Center in collaboration with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, LADEE is being used to study the density and composition of the Moon's faint atmosphere, also known as a surface boundary exosphere. This type of atmosphere turns out to be the most common in our solar system with others existing on Mercury, large asteroids, and other moons orbiting the outer planets. Despite the commonality little is known about them and researching by LADEE at the Moon is believed to help future mission and the understanding of similar solar bodies.

 

Science teams working for LADEE are also analyzing atmospheric data collected from the Chang'e 3 landing on Dec. 14, 2013, that also coincided with the Geminid Meteor shower. Analyzing how molecules attach to airborne surface grains during impact events like this may provide more opportunity to decipher the so-called "hopping" of molecules on the lunar surface.

 

"The LADEE science team continues to analyze the data from the Chang'e 3 landing, episodic meteoroid showers and repeating variations as the moon goes through its phases. More surprises likely await us," said, LADEE project scientist Rick Elphic , in a statement released by NASA.

 

More information on this mission can be found by following @nasaladee the mission's official social media profile on Twitter.

 

Learn to exercise like an astronaut

 

Michelle Star – CNET Australia

 

NASA is hosting a Google+ hangout from where you can join astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio as they share their workout tips.

Going into space plays havoc on the human body. One of the biggest problems is muscle atrophy; when the body isn't working against the forces of gravity to move, or even stay upright, thereby putting weight on the muscles of their legs and back, those muscles can waste away pretty quickly. To combat this, astronauts in space have to work out for two hours a day to keep their muscles in check.

As you can see in the video below of astronaut Colonel Michael Hopkins training aboard the International Space Station (ISS), it's pretty intense.

If you'd like to be able to do what he does, Colonel Hopkins will be taking to Google+ on Friday, 7 February at 4.15am AEST to share some of his astronaut training tips. He'll be joined by fellow astronaut Rick Mastracchio, and the pair will be streaming from space, on board the ISS. Joining them Earthside will be astronaut Jeanette Epps, US Olympic bobsledder Curt Tomasevicz, CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning, Houston Texans football player Jared Crick and Peter Moore of Men's Health magazine.

To check out Colonel Hopkins' Train Like an Astronaut program, head over to the Facebook page. You can join the Google+ hangout here. And don't worry if you're not awake in time to catch it — you can submit questions via Google+ beforehand, and the video of the event will be available afterwards via NASA's Google+ page.

 

NASA's Space Communications and Navigation head points way to the future

 

Jason Rhian – SpaceFlight Insider

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — During the hours prior to the launch of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite "L" (TDRS-L, now known as TDRS-12) SpaceFlight Insider sat down with Badri Younes, NASA's deputy associate administrator for its Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office. He had a lot to say. Not just about the importance of that evening's launch – but of the technology systems that the space agency is currently working on which will revolutionize the manner in which the space agency relays data from distant points in the solar system.

 

Younes is a large man with a ready smile. He is not afraid to speak his mind, to correct a misperception and to expound on an idea. Given the event which would light the skies in the coming hours, what Younes had to say was most timely. He detailed the short-term communications initiatives that NASA was working on – as well as long-term ones which have only now begun to take shape, those which could see us move away from using radio frequencies or "RF" altogether.

 

SpaceFlight Insider: First Mr. Younes, thank you for taking the time to sit down with us and chat.

 

Younes: "It's my pleasure."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: TDRS is all about space communications, can you provide us with a little background data regarding that?

 

Younes: "Definitely, we presently have a space network that relies on a set of data-relay satellites to provide near real-time support to users anywhere they are flying below the geostationary orbit. The technology evolved in the mid 70s and it has demonstrated its viability and robustness by supporting most, if not all of the missions that are flying around Earth."

 

"The TDRS spacecraft is what is known as a bent-pipe spacecraft. Bent pipe means that it does not act on the data – it receives the data from the mission and relays it back to the ground where the processing of that data takes place. This has given us a lot of opportunities to innovate and introduce new capabilities on the ground… So the data rate has grown over the past so many years to get to a level that now everyone is comfortable with."

 

"But still, on the spectrum domain you see the congestion and the demand for the lower frequency bands. When you add the growing demands within our community, it used to be they wanted a few kilobits, now they want megabits and soon they will be wanting gigabits. Anything that contains either audio or video requires a hi-fidelity connection

 

SpaceFlight Insider: What is one of the largest challenges that NASA is facing in terms of space communications presently?

 

Younes: "The missions that are requiring the most bandwidth are those that do sensing. Those missions which use things like synthetic aperture radar, they want the instrument so sensitive and the resolution so high they are going to wider and wider bandwidths."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: When the public log onto their computers, they want to be able to watch streaming video and to do things in real-time. Are you using similar commercial efforts in what TDRS has been tasked to accomplish?

 

Younes: "In terms of capability, TDRS is unique. We have yet to find a matching capability in the commercial sector. That does not mean we didn't rely on commercial products to produce TDRS. In terms of the architecture of TDRS and the capabilities that are on board – we cannot find them anywhere – even if we were to combine a number of commercial systems, the cost is going to be outrageously higher."

 

"In terms of meeting the requirements of global coverage is almost non-existent. Most commercial satellites are focused on their market area on the ground. Not too many entities deal with space, so the capabilities of the commercial satellites are targeting a particular populated area – while for NASA all of space is our domain. That is why the capabilities of TDRS are focused on this aspect of NASA's requirements."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: We know that TDRS worked for shuttle and it currently supports both the International Space Station as well as the Hubble Space Telescope. What other missions utilize TDRS?

 

Younes: "Most Earth-observation satellites use TDRS for emergency support. They have a kind of open channel through our multiple-axis system that's available to them 24-7 without any prior scheduling to communicate and provide telemetry to their mission operations centers to take place in the event of an emergency. These are polar-orbiting satellites which study the Earth. They don't need real-time support they can afford some flexibility. They have maximum visibility and availability to dump data when they are over the polar area – that includes both the North and South poles where we do have facilities."

 

"NASA has three networks and they have evolved independently, some are older than the others and we are now in the process of integrating all of them into a single, unified, cohesive network – catering to not only to the robotics and to the science missions but also to our human space flight efforts also. In the future we won't have to have separate communications systems, we won't have things scheduled three times, they will have a one-point entry to SCaN. We will have a network of networks."

 

"You spoke earlier of our older systems. When we started to investigate the integrated network we noted that much of our network was kind of aging, some of the components were non-existent you had to go on eBay to buy them to keep the system going. If it wasn't for the dedication and talent that we have in our operators and technicians we would have failed to provide the service we are providing today at a proficiency higher than 99.99 percent – better than AT&T!" (Laughs)

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Better be careful that's going in the article!

 

Younes: "Well, no kidding!" (Laughs)

 

Pete Vrotsos: "You asked earlier about how many missions TDRS supports – it's sixteen missions total and that varies from day-to-day. Certain missions use TDRS everyday whereas others only need it once or twice a week." (Vrotsos, SCaN's director of Network services also attended the interview and chimed in with this information).

 

Younes: "We also support all of the launch vehicles by-the-way, so when TDRS-L launches today it will be getting support from one of its brothers."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Would it be TDRS-K or one of the older models?

 

Younes: "One of the older models, TDRS-K is now sitting in a location as a spare. We always tend to exhaust the existing generation and then move on to the newer generation."

 

"Getting back to our earlier discussion, we decided that we needed additional data relay satellites and we needed to have them take care of our load through 2025. This brought us into the third-generation of these satellites and into the multiple axis processing to the ground. That's what is different about the third generation it takes the multi axis, it enhances it, it puts it back on the spacecraft rather than on the ground."

 

"At the same time that this was going on, we decided, 'hey, we made progress with optical communications, especially when it applies to free space laser communication, where you don't have the fiberglass as a medium and we have evolved the technology through level 6 of readiness and we recently demonstrated this capability from the Moon."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: "For the novice, what is level 6 readiness?

 

Younes: "That's when the technology has been moved from the bench to be tested for its readiness to go into operation. Above that you have levels seven-through-nine. Once you reach nine? You're ready to go operational. At level six, it means that the technology has matured. It does not mean that you cannot change it, it means that it is ready to be used for the application intended for it."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Which brings us to the laser communications system that was tested on LADEE (NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer – currently in orbit around the Moon).

 

Younes: "We were worried about the acquisition of the signal during that test because you are talking about two narrow beams intersecting and aligning at such a far distance.  That was why we decided to take this optical payload and put it on a data relay satellite and have it demonstrate its capabilities. We called it Laser Communications Relay Demonstration or 'LCRD.'"

 

SpaceFlight Insider: So essentially you opted to send the demo model on LADEE to test out how it would work in real-world conditions?

 

Younes: "Definitely, while it was a demo model, it was a production-type demo. We showed that we could achieve the data rate with a ten centimeter aperture. To achieve this with RF? You would need a huge antenna."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Like the antennas on LADEE?

 

Vrotsos: "You would need something even larger to relay 620 Megahertz."

 

Younes: "It depends on the frequency band that you are using. As you go up in frequency, the wavelengths get shorter, so the antenna and hardware shrink."

 

"So now we are in the next phase, we have this LCRD effort going on and we are already doing the study to conceptualize the next-generation relay satellite that's going to benefit from the introduction of these technologies. These include reconfigurable radios and not only are they reconfigurable but they are also smart radios, radios that can adapt. Reconfigurable radios are different than the old way which we built our radios."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: So, when you say 'smart radios' can you give us a little more information regarding that?

 

Younes: "Essentially, these are radios that can learn by themselves and then adapt to their environment, based on cognitive science. Because you can study, you can learn and then adapt. You take a child, initially they don't know certain things and over time they take in information and overtime, especially when you repeat the same information – learning takes place. The same is true for radios and any other type of machine that can be trained."

NASA's LADEE spacecraft which launched on September 6 of last year from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia - served to demonstrate the communications technology that SCaN had developed.

 

NASA's LADEE spacecraft which launched on September 6 of last year from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia – served to demonstrate the communications technology that SCaN had developed.

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Is this like artificial intelligence?

 

Younes: "It's a step further than the AI, which is kind of linear and rule-based. What we're doing with the smart radios is not rule-based, there is a kind of non-linear mathematics that enters into the making of the engine that allows it to learn the same way a child may learn. It's not bound by the knowledge that it was introduced to when it was designed and this allows it to keep on evolving."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Getting back to LCRD on LADEE, can you tell us a bit about future applications?

 

Younes: "The bandwidth on this system is unlimited, so at a time when we were hurting for spectrum, it provided us with a solution and it also in terms of power, weight, volume that an optical payload can occupy – it is extremely small compared to the RF. So we saw the benefit in this system compared to the old, big communications payloads, that they could replace them with smaller, laser payloads and make room on the spacecraft for additional scientific instruments."

 

"They also can benefit from the increased data rate, you know. Before, much of the science was bounded because people were limited by the amount of bandwidth. Let me provide you with an example. From Mars, we have Curiosity when it landed everyone was enjoying seeing the pictures and we were transmitting at a data rate lower than 6 megabits per second – because that's the capability that we have now for Mars. Now, imagine if we went to 600 megabits per second – you're talking streaming video."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Could we see a similar system on NASA's Mars 2020 rover?

 

Younes: "Actually, we're doing a study right now to see of the rover is appropriate for such an application and NASA can get a good return on its investment. So we have been looking for a ride to Mars to evolve a slightly bigger aperture laser payload. So we're trying to determine if the Mars 2o2o rover is the right place for it or if we should wait for 2022 when we will be talking about an orbiter. The decision will be made based off the performance that we will be getting. If we put it on the orbiter, we'd be able to support all users at a high data rate. If we were to put it on the rover – you can't benefit from it except for that one particular vehicle. So we are going to wait and see what the study says. If we have a mission in 2022? That's one that I'm going to fight for to put optical or laser communications on board for a data rate of around or a slightly higher than 100 megabits per second – initially."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: What is the applications in terms of NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or the various commercial efforts the agency is conducting for those missions such as New Horizons which are out beyond the gas giants in the Kuiper Belt?

 

Younes: "For Orion we still have the traditional capabilities and presently it is configured for that purpose, so when I talked about the testing on LADEE and the future testing on a data relay satellite. This is driven by the need to implement this and to introduce this technology for near-Earth applications. Deep space requirements are a little different than those from near-Earth."

 

"I see a huge benefit to the near-Earth community as you are taking the optical, the fiber networks that are on the ground and put it into space. The same capabilities can provide an order of magnitude better performance and capabilities at much lower costs. All of these things entered into our consideration as we looked into how to evolve the capabilities. Now, when you look at the LADEE demonstration which relayed 622 megabits per second from the Moon, imagine a satellite that is in close proximity, then you're talking orders of magnitude better, higher data rate. We're talking about 60 to 100 gigabits per second…"

 

SpaceFlight Insider: How long were we in the period of communications technology prior to the LADEE demonstration?

 

Younes: "You have to allow for the technology to mature and we reached a point where we were able to deploy it on LADEE. Now, we need to evolve it more. But, you cannot just plug it into some of the systems we currently have, you have to ensure that other supporting systems are configured to use the new technology. Because you need to build the new optical payloads, you need to find the ride, the satellite that is going to carry it and you need to probably modify the technology to optimize it to the environment where it is going to work. While LADEE was good from the Moon to the Earth, you don't have the problem of locating Earth, you can find it immediately. Now, imagine you are a data relay satellite trying to find a spacecraft that is traveling at 17,000 miles per hour."

 

"So, its a different scenario, you benefit by taking what you've built and develop it further. In addition to developing the technology that you are developing to put on a data relay satellite. You then need to go to the low-Earth user, a mission in low-Earth-orbit. So we are potentially at looking at the International Space Station to be the host for this next step. If, after the ISS, we can sufficiently demonstrate the capabilities? we would go operational after that."

Younes stated that while the possibility of the laser data relay technology being placed on NASA's Mars 2020 rover was under review - that it was more likely he would wait for the launch of the next Martian orbiter, which should take place in 2022.

 

Younes stated that while the possibility of the laser data relay technology being placed on NASA's Mars 2020 rover was under review – that it was more likely he would wait for the launch of the next Martian orbiter, which should take place in 2022.

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Okay this is something different than your efforts on Mars?

 

Younes: "Yes, I'm separating the data relay mission from one conducted in deep space. As I mentioned earlier, in terms of deep space we are still waiting for a ride to evolve the comm payload."

 

"Separate from that, I have another effort to test involving the optical communication systems for use around Earth, the Moon, all the way out to two million kilometers away from Earth. The station would be a demo, it has been an excellent laboratory for a lot of different experiments, biological, medical, technology, material, whatever we've needed to test. We also use the station to develop communications capabilities. I presently have a test bed on board the space station that is testing all kinds of new protocols, all new wave forms, testing in the Ka-band and it has been returning a lot of good data. Actually we helped the U.S. Air Force fix something that was wrong with their GPS signal, especially the new frequency that they added for civil use. Given that the test bed is already there, the space station is all the more necessary as an environment to move forward. I'm extremely happy that we've extended the station's operations through 2024. I personally see it may be extended further until we have another activity or structure in place to provide us with support."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: If there was one thing that you are working on that you feel is the most important for the public to understand?

 

Younes: "We are really evolving technology to meet future needs and requirements. We are not talking five, ten, fifteen or even twenty years down the road, we are looking decades down the road because you cannot build these systems for the immediate future. These types of infrastructures are costly and we need to make sure that once we put them in place that they can serve us for as long as we need to lower the cost of operation to the agency. I want the public to know that everything we have evolved and everything that will be evolving is not be just for NASA use – everything we do is for the benefit of the taxpayers. When we produce an advanced technology, we transfer it to the commercial sector. In the very-near future the communications sector will be revolutionized by the concepts that I've talked about and the capabilities that we are building. And we are not alone at NASA, we work with other agencies – piggybacking on each other's investment because recently the budget has been a little constrained, but we did not let this constrain our work, you know. We started to rely more and more on each other's activities. You do block "A" and I will do block "B" and then, you know, this is how it's going on. We are advancing and working for NASA is a rewarding career because it is the only place where you can build and realize your dreams. Not matter what your dreams are, within the agency there are all kinds of disciplines and specialties."

 

SpaceFlight Insider: Indeed, Mr. Younes, we know you are a very busy man, so please accept our thanks for sitting down and chatting with us about NASA's space communications efforts.

 

Younes: "You're very welcome, enjoy the launch!"

 

Badri Younes is NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN). He oversees the agency's space communications and navigation program elements. The SCAN Program Office is located at NASA's Headquarters in Washington D.C. All of the space agency's communications, navigation efforts to include NASA's Space Network (SN), Near-Earth Network (NEN), and Deep Space Network (DSN) fall under his purview. One of Younes primary focuses is the development of new communications technologies which are viewed as being vital to the agency's space exploration efforts.

 

 

END