Happy Monday everyone!
Hope you can join us this Thursday at Hibachi Grill at 11:30 for our monthly Retirees luncheon. Remember we always sit as a group in the left back party room—just come on back and join us.
| | JSC TODAY CATEGORIES - Headlines
- Z-2 Voting Site
- JSC's Environmental Excellence Policy
- Electronic Document System (EDS) 2.0 Release
- Shred Truck for Personal Documents - Organizations/Social
- IEEE EMC Meeting on Signal Integrity
- Tick Tock Chili Cookers and Chili Lovers
- EVA 23 Suit Water Intrusion Lessons Learned - Jobs and Training
- Job Opportunities - Community
- Mentors Needed for High School Aerospace Scholars
- Tour Habitat and View Endangered Prairie Chickens
- Celebrate Space Pioneers and Unsung Heroes |  |
| Headlines - Z-2 Voting Site
Engineers in EC have invited the world to vote on the cover layer of their newest prototype spacesuit, the Z2. More than 100,000 votes have already been cast in the first few days since the site went live, and people around the world are learning about an exciting project taking place right here at JSC! So hop on, check out the designs and vote for your favorite. - JSC's Environmental Excellence Policy
Next week from April 7 to 11, JSC will have personnel from NASA Headquarters and an external consulting firm visit JSC, Ellington Field and the Sonny Carter Training Facility for our Environmental and Energy Functional Review (EEFR). What is your role in this review? First, you need to know JSC's Environmental Excellence Policy: "JSC commits to conducting our mission in a manner that promotes: Environmental Stewardship, Sustainability, Compliance and Continual Improvement." Please remember this policy when answering questions during the assessment. If you have questions concerning the EEFR, please call the Environmental info line at x36207, or email. - Electronic Document System (EDS) 2.0 Release
On March 10, the EDS 2.0 document type Task Performance Sheet (TPS) replacement of the paper JSC Form 1225 was started. The plan is to implement according to record centers (RCs). On March 10, this went in to effect from RC15 and 44. The other RC schedules are as follows: RC Implementation Dates: RC Building 7 - April 2 RC Building 32 - May 1 RC Building 36 - June 1 RC Building 10 - June 1 RC Building 350 - June 1 Any new paper TPS (JF 1225) in the signature cycle will only be accepted for two weeks after the designated implementation date. Any exception will need to be coordinated with respective division management and provided to Quality and Flight Equipment Division management. Class schedules are available in SATERN. - Shred Truck for Personal Documents
In case you were wondering, the shred truck that will be at the April 3 Spring Safety, Health and Environmental Fair may be used for personal documents as well as home office file folders, papers and newspaper. Don't be a victim of identity theft - shred it! Look for the truck near the Live Oak Pavilion across from the front Gilruth entrance. Event Date: Thursday, April 3, 2014 Event Start Time:10:00 AM Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: JSC Gilruth Center
Add to Calendar
Rindy Carmichael x45078
[top] Organizations/Social - IEEE EMC Meeting on Signal Integrity
Joseph C. (Jay) Diepenbrock, an IEEE EMC distinguished lecturer, will present "Signal Integrity Characterization, Parameters and Techniques." This presentation will focus on the key electrical parameters that are important to understand and measure for ensuring optimum performance in today's high-speed serial communications interfaces. These include fundamental quantities such as inductance, capacitance and propagation delay, as well as "derived" quantities of impedance, insertion and return loss, skew, crosstalk and more. Software tools for extracting these parameters will also be discussed. Diepenbrock is currently senior vice president of High Speed for the Lorom Group and is leading the Lorom Signal Integrity team, supporting its high-speed product development. He is a senior member of the IEEE and holds 12 patents. Lunch is available for $8. Please RSVP indicating lunch or no lunch. Event Date: Thursday, April 10, 2014 Event Start Time:11:30 AM Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Discovery Room - Gilruth Recreation Center
Add to Calendar
George May 281-226-8543
[top] - Tick Tock Chili Cookers and Chili Lovers
Registration fees go up on April 1 for teams looking to enter the April 12 36th Annual JSC FOD Chili Cook-off. Chili lovers, get your tickets from team captains or a Starport Gift Shop. Chili will be ready at noon, and $7 gets you all the chili you can eat and all the drinks you care to enjoy. Spread the word! - EVA 23 Suit Water Intrusion Lessons Learned
Attend JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance speaker forum featuring Chris Hansen, chief, Crew and Thermal Systems Division, and Dana Weigel, flight director, Mission Operations Directorate. Wednesday, April 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Topic: Lessons Learned on the EVA 23 Suit Water Intrusion Location: Building 1, Room 966 On July 16, two U.S. crew members (referred to here as EV1 and EV2) exited the International Space Station U.S. Airlock to begin EVA 23. Roughly 44 minutes into EVA 23, EV2 reported water inside his helmet on the back of his head. During the post-EVA debrief, EV2 reported impaired visibility and breathing with water covering his eyes, nose and ears. In addition, EV2 had audio-communication issues because of the water. When returning to the airlock, EV2 had to rely on manual feel of his safety tether's cable for pathway directions. Hear the lessons learned from this recent incident. Jobs and Training - Job Opportunities
Where do I find job opportunities? To help you navigate to JSC vacancies, use the filter drop-down menu and select "JSC HR." The "Jobs" link will direct you to the USAJOBS website for the complete announcement and the ability to apply online. Lateral reassignment and rotation opportunities are posted in the Workforce Transition Tool. To access: HR Portal > Employees > Workforce Transition > Workforce Transition Tool. These opportunities do not possess known promotion potential; therefore, employees can only see positions at or below their current grade level. If you have questions about any JSC job vacancies or reassignment opportunities, please call your HR representative. Community - Mentors Needed for High School Aerospace Scholars
Celebrate the 15th anniversary of High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) by mentoring students during a series of summer camps connecting our NASA workforce with Texas students. Share your NASA experience and advice with students interested in following your footsteps. Students work alongside NASA employees during a simulated mission to Mars. You can choose any week to volunteer just 20 hours while enjoying our fun activities. Summer Schedule: - Week 1: June 15 to 20
- Week 2: June 22 to 27
- Week 3: July 6 to 11
- Week 4: July 13 to 18
- Week 5: July 20 to 25
- Week 6: July 27 to Aug. 1
If interested, please: 1. Complete the mentor application here. 3. Review mentor responsibilities. 4. Apply before April 2. - Tour Habitat and View Endangered Prairie Chickens
All spots in the previously advertised April 10 tour have been filled. Thank you to everyone for your interest! If you want to learn more about the Attwater's Prairie Chicken (APC), the Houston Zoo is hosting a lecture on April 8. Additionally, the APC National Wildlife Refuge is hosting the Booming-n-Blooming Festival from April 12 to 13. For more information and to register for these events, please click here. To request a tour of the APC breeding facility, contact Sandy Parker. - Celebrate Space Pioneers and Unsung Heroes
Hear the stories of space history as recounted by the women of Mercury 13 who, while not part of NASA's astronaut program and never flew in space, underwent some of the same physical and physiological tests of their male counterparts. Discover the importance of aerospace careers that aren't widely recognized but essential to the success of space missions. Also enjoy: - Astronaut autograph sessions
- Cultural performances representing nations around the world
- Behind-the-scenes photographs of unsung heroes who made space travel a reality
- Panel discussions: "Women in STEM" and "Behind the Scenes at NASA"
- All the shows, tours and attractions at Space Center Houston
When, you ask? April 12—which happens to be International Human Spaceflight Day! Space Center Houston 281-244-2100
[top] | |
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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. |
NASA and Human Spaceflight News
Monday – March 31, 2014
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: ISS Assistant Program Scientist Camille Alleyne, Ed.D., and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, Ph.D., were featured on ABC-TV 13's Crossroads show yesterday, 3/30, in observance of Women's History Month. View the segment here. HEADLINES AND LEADS
Space notebook: Virginia spaceport tries to woo human spaceflight
James Dean – Florida Today
Business and technology groups are lobbying for NASA funding next year to support launches of a new space station and then its crew and cargo — from Virginia.
Oberlin native has homecoming of sorts at Glenn
Steve Fogarty - Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram
Ellen Stofan, who was appointed as NASA chief scientist last year, fully appreciates the painstaking work and brain power going into development of a deep-space propulsion system at NASA Glenn Research Center designed to one day take people to Mars.
Chamber joins with Citizens for Space Exploration
Linda Webster – Florida Today
Although most people will never travel in space, everyone likely uses a NASA by-product on a daily basis. From cell phones to invisible braces, the technologies and products discovered while working on manned space travel have improved our daily lives.
NASA unloads composite rocket tank of tomorrow from legendary Super Guppy for tests in Alabama
Lee Roop – Huntsville Times
The giant rocket fuel tank NASA unloaded Thursday from one of the world's legendary airplanes at Marshall Space Flight Center is a high-stakes bet on the future of space exploration.
Retired astronaut orbits into Daytona Beach
Katie Kustura – The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Not many days go by when Capt. Robert Crippen isn't asked what happened to the space program.
Space Travel Alters Shape of Human Heart, Study Reports
Finding could help scientists protect astronauts, and also might benefit some patients on Earth.
HealthDay
The hearts of astronauts become more spherical when they spend long stretches of time in space, and this change might lead to heart problems, a new study indicates.
COMPLETE STORIES
Space notebook: Virginia spaceport tries to woo human spaceflight
James Dean – Florida Today
Business and technology groups are lobbying for NASA funding next year to support launches of a new space station and then its crew and cargo — from Virginia.
In a Feb. 3 letter, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce asked U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski — chair of the appropriations committee and a champion of NASA's Wallops Island, Va., launch site — to allocate money from exploration programs to a public-private partnership with Bigelow Aerospace, the Nevada-based developer of private space habitats.
The letter claims Bigelow has an arrangement with SpaceX to build a launch pad at the state-run Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The pad would launch Bigelow's next-generation BA-330 habitat, then crews and cargo.
In fact, no such arrangement exists, at least not yet. And the huge BA-330 station would require a heavy-lift rocket likely dictating a launch from Florida, not Wallops.
In an interview, Mike Gold, Bigelow's director of D.C. operations and business growth, reiterated the company's interest in Wallops as offering more autonomy and fewer launch conflicts than at Cape Canaveral.
But he said Florida would benefit significantly if NASA committed to a demonstration program that helps advance its commercial habitats.
The habitats could support missions by NASA's Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule launching from Kennedy Space Center, or be serviced by commercial crew and cargo vehicles flying from here.
Bigelow's initial partnership with NASA is expected to take off next summer, with the planned Cape launch of a test module (the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM) to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
"We're excited to take the next step after that," said Gold. "NASA has indicated support and a desire for the development of commercial space stations, so we're cautiously optimistic."
"If we proceed in this direction," he added, "launches of cargo and of astronauts and of the habitats themselves will be a wonderful thing for Florida, as well as potentially Wallops Island."
Team works to preserve moon-rocket engines
It's been a year since a salvage ship steamed into Port Canaveral carrying the remains of Saturn V rocket engines that helped launch astronauts from Kennedy Space Center to the moon.
The recovery effort was run by Bezos Expeditions, led by Amazon.com and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
After sitting on the ocean floor for four decades, the more than 25,000 pounds of F-1 engine components are submerged again — now in about 20 treatment tanks at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kan.
There, a six-person conservation team is trying to stop severe corrosion, identify the parts and ready them for museum display. That work is expected to take another year.
"The F-1s themselves represent an incredible engineering feat that helped propel man to the moon," said Jim Remar, chief operating officer of the the Cosmosphere. "To be able to work on something so historically significant is quite an honor."
In addition, he said, some of the Rocketdyne engines' exotic alloys have never undergone conservation treatment before, so the team is setting the standards for how to handle them.
Not long after the conservation project began, a technician discovered an intact, stenciled serial number (No. 2044) that proved a thrust chamber, liquid oxygen dome and injector plate belonged to Engine No. 5 flown on Apollo 11, the first moon landing mission.
"It was just this moment of elation that we've got it, we found it," recalled Jerrad Alexander, the technician who made the breakthrough while standing knee-deep in an immersion basin in the pitch dark, working with a camera and ultraviolet light.
But such moments have proven hard to repeat: No other components yet have conclusively been linked to specific missions. More often, Alexander has found stenciled or stamped numbers rusted away or missing digits, but efforts to document the engines continue.
How the engine remains, which are still NASA property, will be displayed has not been decided, but they are expected to land at the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
KSC systems make the grade
The NASA program readying Kennedy Space Center for launches of a giant exploration rocket and crew capsule passed an important test this month.
Called a preliminary design review, it affirmed that the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) program is on track to support flights of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule, the first of which is targeted for late 2017.
NASA billed the March 20 review as a "major milestone" in KSC's transformation into a multi-user center that will support NASA and non-NASA launches.
The GSDO program's primary responsibility is to launch NASA's SLS and Orion. However, the agency has taken steps to make some infrastructure flexible enough for other vehicles to use, such as adjustable high bay access platforms and launch pad flame deflectors, and a "clean" design for pad 39B.
Whether other users materialize remains to be seen. The recent design review did not cover facilities like pad 39A, which SpaceX is expected to lease and modify for launches of Falcon rockets.
Mission costs
During a local event on March 17, NASA officials weren't sure how much this year's planned first flight of an Orion exploration capsule into space would cost.
On March 25, NASA responded that costs unique to Orion's flight, called Exploration Flight Test-1, are about $375 million.
Those unique costs include the mission's Delta IV Heavy rocket, expendable spacecraft components (including the service module, launch abort system and a stage adapter), launch operations and crew module recovery and refurbishment.
NASA is targeting a December launch of the Orion test vehicle without a crew from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 37.
A longer-term question is the cost to fly NASA's Space Launch System, the 321-foot rocket being designed to launch crews in Orion from Kennedy Space Center, starting around 2021.
NASA has not yet confirmed new projections for the cost to develop the SLS rocket, or its anticipated cost per flight. But during a congressional hearing last week, Administrator Charlie Bolden volunteered one rough estimate of the latter.
During a discussion about whether orbital fuel depots could enable human exploration with smaller, less expensive rockets, Bolden said not necessarily, because the number of launches needed to establish the depots would be extensive.
"So while an (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V or a (SpaceX) Falcon 9 may cost significantly less than an SLS, by the time you fly 10, 12 Atlas Vs or Falcon 9s, you've exceeded the cost of an SLS," he said.
Doing the math, SpaceX says its Falcon 9 launches of commercial satellites now cost about $60 million, so 10 to 12 of those would put the minimum SLS cost in the range of $600 to $720 million.
NASA recently awarded ULA a $172 million contract to launch a science satellite on an Atlas V. At that rate, the SLS cost could exceed $1 billion.
Pegasus returns
NASA on Friday awarded a $55 million contract to Orbital Sciences Corp. to launch the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission from Cape Canaveral in 2016.
Orbital's air-launched Pegasus XL rocket will deploy the satellite, and is expected to take off attached to the company's "Stargazer" L-1011 aircraft from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
That's where the two previous local Pegasus launches departed from, both back in 2003. The rocket has launched 42 times since 1990, including three failures, according Orbital's Web site.
Oberlin native has homecoming of sorts at Glenn
Steve Fogarty - Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram
Ellen Stofan, who was appointed as NASA chief scientist last year, fully appreciates the painstaking work and brain power going into development of a deep-space propulsion system at NASA Glenn Research Center designed to one day take people to Mars.
During her visit to the center Friday, Stofan expressed great respect for visionary thinking in the sciences.
"You have to imagine it first before you can do it," Stofan said of the quest to attain seemingly impossible goals. "That is what drives us … invention and innovation."
Stofan's imagination was first captivated by space and space exploration watching numerous televised rocket launches as a small child with her father, Andrew Stofan, director of the center from 1982 to 1986.
"My father's proudest years were spent leading this center," Stofan said. "Being here elicits many memories of being in the (former NASA) offices across the road with my dad," she told a small gathering of NASA Glenn officials and staff inside the Electric Propulsion Lab.
The lab is where the Solar Electric Propulsion Project is designed to produce a cost-efficient means of propelling spacecraft using electric power derived from solar arrays while consuming one-tenth the propellant burned up by the type of chemically powered engines used on the space shuttle.
Development of propulsion systems is a topic Stofan is familiar with, having worked at NASA's famed Jet Propulsion Lab in California from 1989 to 2000.
A planetary geologist with master's and doctorate degrees in geological sciences from Brown University, Stofan's appointment as NASA chief scientist last August now sees her serving as principal adviser to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on the agency's science programs as well as its science-related strategic planning and investments.
Born in Oberlin, Stofan and her family lived in Berea and Strongsville, but she recalled making many return trips to Oberlin to visit her grandparents.
"It was a great time and a great place," she said.
Stofan's career also was nudged and nurtured by her mother, Barbara, a science teacher in the Olmsted Falls system.
Ellen Stofan left Ohio during her junior year at Strongsville High School when her father moved the family to Washington, D.C., to take a NASA post there before returning to Ohio some years later.
Stofan noted the work being done by the Electric Propulsion Lab is also key to the agency's Asteroid Redirect Mission, which is intended to grapple with what Stofan termed "the incredible threat" posed to Earth by asteroids, which have been passing by and occasionally striking the planet for millions of years.
An "Asteroid Watch" display at www.nasa.gov offers a continual update on the dates and sizes of asteroids projected to come within 4.6 million miles of Earth.
The ARM program looks to "retrieve an asteroid (or small piece of one) using a robotic probe and put it into a parking orbit around the moon so it can be studied," Stofan said.
NASA is working toward a 2025 deadline for retrieving an asteroid as set by President Barack Obama in 2010.
Stofan stressed the importance of the asteroid mission by recalling the spectacular meteor that exploded in a brilliant fireball over Russia in February 2013, shattering thousands of windows and causing other damage by exerting a force up to 30 times as powerful as the H-bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War II.
Stofan's tour of the lab by NASA electric propulsion senior engineer Dan Herman included a large cylindrical propulsion and power test chamber approximating the size of a space shuttle bay.
The same questions that have long intrigued the public in general inspire Stofan and her NASA colleagues.
"Are we alone?" she said. "That is why we want to explore Mars, to see whether life evolved there before it did on Earth, as well as planets around the stars."
Chamber joins with Citizens for Space Exploration
Linda Webster – Florida Today
Although most people will never travel in space, everyone likely uses a NASA by-product on a daily basis. From cell phones to invisible braces, the technologies and products discovered while working on manned space travel have improved our daily lives.
To ensure these discoveries continue, the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with Citizens for Space Exploration to inform Congress of the importance of space exploration.
Citizens for Space Exploration (CFSE), is a multi-state, grassroots initiative to support American leadership in space. It is comprised of diverse group of area space and non-space businesses, university students and community leaders who will meet with the House and Senate members of Congress to advocate for continued investment and U.S. leadership in space research and exploration during their annual trip to the nation's capital May 20-22, 2014.
"Space Coast Citizens," the Florida Chapter of CFSE, works in collaboration with other CFSE efforts across the U.S. to maintain and expand their roles in the development of new modes of space transportation, launch capabilities, scientific research, experimentation and exploration.
While in Washington, D.C. the CFSE and its "Space Coast Citizens" members will work in small teams that include university students from around the nation for scheduled appointments with legislators who have influence in the direction and funding of the nation's space program. They will confer with congressional offices from all 50 states, and attend special meetings with the Florida delegation to stress the value of America's space program.
CFSE "Space Coast Citizens" Chair, Joe Mayer, Director of Government Relations–FL at Lockheed Martin, said, "America's space program and NASA's Kennedy Space Center go to the heart-and-soul of our community, while U.S. leadership in human space exploration defines us as a nation pushing the boundaries of technology, innovation and discovery. We are making significant progress with commercial systems to operate in support of the International Space Station and a national program that will take humanity to the moon, asteroids and, ultimately, the planet Mars. It's an exciting, challenging time. Citizens wants to share that message with our elected representatives in Congress."
Linda Webster is chief executive officer of the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Upcoming events for the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce
(All meetings take place in the Chamber Boardroom, unless noted.)
• Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Chamber Webpage 101, Please RSVP.
• Wednesday: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday Friendsday, hosted by LaQuinta Inn Cocoa Beach, 1275 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach
• April 8: 8 a.m., Business Resource Council meeting.
• April 10: 5 p.m., Non-Profit Task Force Council meeting.
• April 11: 8 a.m., Sam's Club Morning Mingle, 450 Townsend Rd., Cocoa.
• April 11: 11:30 a.m., 19th Annual Champions Cup Golf Tournament, Cocoa Beach Country Club. Early bird special until April 1: $375-Foursome & hole sponsorship.
• April 14: 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 5 R's of Networking, free. Lunch provided—RSVP.
• April 16: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Military Affairs Council meeting, Coast Guard Station in Port Canaveral. Please RSVP to Sandy Owens, 321-454-2026, sowens@cocoabeachchamber.com. • April 17: 8 a.m.to 9 a.m. (7:45 a.m. networking) Chamber Presents Brian Binggelli, Superintendent of Schools, free to attend. Refreshments provided; Please RSVP, 321-459-2200.
• April 23: 9 a.m., Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) Meeting.
• April 24: 11:30 to 1 p.m., CVB Power, Location & Speaker: TBD.
• April 25: 7:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., New Partner Welcome Orientation.
• April 25: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., 10th Annual Fiesta Brevard, International Palms Resort, Cocoa Beach.
• April 29: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Chamber Day.
NASA unloads composite rocket tank of tomorrow from legendary Super Guppy for tests in Alabama
Lee Roop – Huntsville Times
Loading Photo Gallery
The giant rocket fuel tank NASA unloaded Thursday from one of the world's legendary airplanes at Marshall Space Flight Center is a high-stakes bet on the future of space exploration.
"When you build fast and test fast, you can fail fast," admitted John Vickers, NASA project manager for the Composite Cryotank Technology Demonstration to be performed at Marshall this summer. But, Vickers said, "We have very high confidence we're not going to fail the test."
The 18-foot-diameter tank flew to Alabama aboard NASA's legendary Super Guppy, a puffed-up cargo transport that has hauled major pieces of space hardware across the country for decades in various models. This time, the hardware wasn't metal, but a composite-material cylinder 20 feet tall and some 30 percent lighter than an aluminum tank of the same size.
At Marshall, where some of America's unique space assets are located, smaller versions of the tank have already been successfully tested. This one will be lifted into a test stand sometime this summer, filled with 28,000 gallons of dangerous liquid hydrogen rocket fuel and put under pressure to simulate launch pressures.
If the structure holds, America's deep space exploration program has taken a significant step. "You'd better being using composites," Vickers said, "because that's where the aerospace is going." Composite structures are already flying, in fact. Boeing used them for 50 percent of the structure of its new 787 Dreamliner, and Boeing built this tank, too.
If something goes wrong, that's why the test is at Marshall. The center has safe underground control rooms and big test areas first used to fire Army and Saturn rocket engines.
But before this tank can be tested, it had to be unloaded from the Super Guppy Thursday morning. Marshall's crews have a good reputation for handling rare and expensive space hardware - the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope were tested here, for example - but Thursday's crew had its hands full with the gusty wind blowing across the Redstone Arsenal Airfield.
A few knots more wind and the giant cranes wouldn't have been able to work, but the job went off in perfect sequence: slide the tank out of the Guppy's cargo hold on a motorized pallet, use two cranes to lift it above the pallet, drive the pallet away, move a 96-wheel K-Mag tractor capable of hauling 800,000 pounds under the hanging tank, lower the tank and secure it, and drive the tank to a safe and secure location.
So far, so good. Stand by for testing.
Retired astronaut orbits into Daytona Beach
Katie Kustura – The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Not many days go by when Capt. Robert Crippen isn't asked what happened to the space program.
"I would like to point out that NASA is still in business," the former astronaut said Saturday in Daytona Beach. "There's lots of stuff going on, and they have not shut down."
Crippen, a U.S. Navy veteran, was the man of the hour Saturday evening in a reception held by the Halifax Historical Society at the Halifax Historical Museum on South Beach Street.
"What you're about to see and who you're about to meet are nothing short of mankind's greatest achievement," society board member Preston Root said before playing footage of Crippen's trips to space for an audience of about 30 people.
"There's nothing like it," Crippen said about blasting off into space. "You get a nice kick in the pants, and you know you're headed someplace."
As a four-flight veteran, Crippen has logged more than 565 hours in space, orbited earth 374 times and traveled more than 9.4 million miles. He served as a pilot on the first space shuttle flight in 1981 with Capt. John Young and was the spacecraft commander on three other missions, referred to as STS-7, STS-41C and STS-41G.
When Crippen took to space with Young in the revolutionary space shuttle Columbia — the first shuttle made to land like an airplane and the first spacecraft that was reusable — it was a trip that had everyone on edge, including Daytona Beach resident Lloyd Davis.
"As a young man who stood out by the river to watch you go up, I was scared to death for you," Davis, 54, told Crippen.
While he may not blast off into space these days, NASA and the study of aerospace and aeronautics are still of great importance to Crippen, who serves on the board of directors for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
Paula McKenzie, an associate professor at Bethune-Cookman University, shared with Crippen her concerns about major businesses getting involved with the space program.
Crippen said he initially supported commercial involvement when it didn't include sending actual people into space. But now he shares some of her concerns as NASA has ceased manned spaceflight in favor of supporting commercialized flight.
"We don't have any other way right now," Crippen said.
Space Travel Alters Shape of Human Heart, Study Reports
Finding could help scientists protect astronauts, and also might benefit some patients on Earth.
HealthDay
The hearts of astronauts become more spherical when they spend long stretches of time in space, and this change might lead to heart problems, a new study indicates.
The findings advance understanding of how long-term space missions -- such as traveling to Mars -- could affect astronauts' hearts and what can be done to keep them healthy, the researchers said.
Learning more about the types and amounts of exercise needed to protect astronauts' heart health on long missions could also benefit people on Earth who have severe limitations on physical activity, including those on extended bed rest or those with heart failure, the study authors suggested.
The findings are to be presented Saturday at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
"The heart doesn't work as hard in space, which can cause a loss of muscle mass," study senior author Dr. James Thomas, chair of cardiovascular imaging and lead scientist for ultrasound at NASA, explained in an ACC news release.
"That can have serious consequences after the return to Earth, so we're looking into whether there are measures that can be taken to prevent or counteract that loss," he explained.
The study included 12 astronauts who were trained to take ultrasound images of their hearts while on the International Space Station. They did this before, during and after their missions.
The astronauts' hearts became more spherical by about 9 percent, which is similar to what scientists had predicted using mathematical models. The change was temporary and the astronauts' hearts returned to normal after they were back on Earth.
"The models predicted the changes we observed in the astronauts almost exactly. It gives us confidence that we can move ahead and start using these models for more clinically important applications on Earth, such as to predict what happens to the heart under different stresses," Thomas said.
He and his colleagues are now generalizing the mathematical models to analyze a number of different heart conditions, to understand how they affect heart function.
END
The giant rocket fuel tank NASA unloaded Thursday from one of the world's legendary airplanes at Marshall Space Flight Center is a high-stakes bet on the future of space exploration."When you build fast and test fast, you can fail fast," admitted John Vickers, NASA project manager for the Composite Cryotank Technology Demonstration to be performed at Marshall this summer. But, Vickers said, "We have very high confidence we're not going to fail the test."The 18-foot-diameter tank flew to Alabama aboard NASA's legendary Super Guppy, a puffed-up cargo transport that has hauled major pieces of space hardware across the country for decades in various models. This time, the hardware wasn't metal, but a composite-material cylinder 20 feet tall and some 30 percent lighter than an aluminum tank of the same size.At Marshall, where some of America's unique space assets are located, smaller versions of the tank have already been successfully tested. This one will be lifted into a test stand sometime this summer, filled with 28,000 gallons of dangerous liquid hydrogen rocket fuel and put under pressure to simulate launch pressures.If the structure holds, America's deep space exploration program has taken a significant step. "You'd better being using composites," Vickers said, "because that's where the aerospace is going." Composite structures are already flying, in fact. Boeing used them for 50 percent of the structure of its new 787 Dreamliner, and Boeing built this tank, too.If something goes wrong, that's why the test is at Marshall. The center has safe underground control rooms and big test areas first used to fire Army and Saturn rocket engines.But before this tank can be tested, it had to be unloaded from the Super Guppy Thursday morning. Marshall's crews have a good reputation for handling rare and expensive space hardware - the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope were tested here, for example - but Thursday's crew had its hands full with the gusty wind blowing across the Redstone Arsenal Airfield.A few knots more wind and the giant cranes wouldn't have been able to work, but the job went off in perfect sequence: slide the tank out of the Guppy's cargo hold on a motorized pallet, use two cranes to lift it above the pallet, drive the pallet away, move a 96-wheel K-Mag tractor capable of hauling 800,000 pounds under the hanging tank, lower the tank and secure it, and drive the tank to a safe and secure location.So far, so good. Stand by for testing.Retired astronaut orbits into Daytona BeachKatie Kustura – The Daytona Beach News-JournalNot many days go by when Capt. Robert Crippen isn't asked what happened to the space program."I would like to point out that NASA is still in business," the former astronaut said Saturday in Daytona Beach. "There's lots of stuff going on, and they have not shut down."Crippen, a U.S. Navy veteran, was the man of the hour Saturday evening in a reception held by the Halifax Historical Society at the Halifax Historical Museum on South Beach Street."What you're about to see and who you're about to meet are nothing short of mankind's greatest achievement," society board member Preston Root said before playing footage of Crippen's trips to space for an audience of about 30 people."There's nothing like it," Crippen said about blasting off into space. "You get a nice kick in the pants, and you know you're headed someplace."As a four-flight veteran, Crippen has logged more than 565 hours in space, orbited earth 374 times and traveled more than 9.4 million miles. He served as a pilot on the first space shuttle flight in 1981 with Capt. John Young and was the spacecraft commander on three other missions, referred to as STS-7, STS-41C and STS-41G.When Crippen took to space with Young in the revolutionary space shuttle Columbia — the first shuttle made to land like an airplane and the first spacecraft that was reusable — it was a trip that had everyone on edge, including Daytona Beach resident Lloyd Davis."As a young man who stood out by the river to watch you go up, I was scared to death for you," Davis, 54, told Crippen.While he may not blast off into space these days, NASA and the study of aerospace and aeronautics are still of great importance to Crippen, who serves on the board of directors for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.Paula McKenzie, an associate professor at Bethune-Cookman University, shared with Crippen her concerns about major businesses getting involved with the space program.Crippen said he initially supported commercial involvement when it didn't include sending actual people into space. But now he shares some of her concerns as NASA has ceased manned spaceflight in favor of supporting commercialized flight."We don't have any other way right now," Crippen said.Space Travel Alters Shape of Human Heart, Study ReportsFinding could help scientists protect astronauts, and also might benefit some patients on Earth.HealthDayThe hearts of astronauts become more spherical when they spend long stretches of time in space, and this change might lead to heart problems, a new study indicates.The findings advance understanding of how long-term space missions -- such as traveling to Mars -- could affect astronauts' hearts and what can be done to keep them healthy, the researchers said.Learning more about the types and amounts of exercise needed to protect astronauts' heart health on long missions could also benefit people on Earth who have severe limitations on physical activity, including those on extended bed rest or those with heart failure, the study authors suggested.The findings are to be presented Saturday at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in Washington, D.C."The heart doesn't work as hard in space, which can cause a loss of muscle mass," study senior author Dr. James Thomas, chair of cardiovascular imaging and lead scientist for ultrasound at NASA, explained in an ACC news release."That can have serious consequences after the return to Earth, so we're looking into whether there are measures that can be taken to prevent or counteract that loss," he explained.The study included 12 astronauts who were trained to take ultrasound images of their hearts while on the International Space Station. They did this before, during and after their missions.The astronauts' hearts became more spherical by about 9 percent, which is similar to what scientists had predicted using mathematical models. The change was temporary and the astronauts' hearts returned to normal after they were back on Earth."The models predicted the changes we observed in the astronauts almost exactly. It gives us confidence that we can move ahead and start using these models for more clinically important applications on Earth, such as to predict what happens to the heart under different stresses," Thomas said.He and his colleagues are now generalizing the mathematical models to analyze a number of different heart conditions, to understand how they affect heart function.END
