| | JSC TODAY CATEGORIES - Headlines
- Combating Osteoperosis - Space is in on the Fight!
- If You Haven't Seen it Yet, it's New to You
- JSC Inventors' Wall of Fame Unveiling
- Spy on Earth From the Comfort of Your Computer - Organizations/Social
- Health & Fitness Month - Get Healthy & Win Prizes
- NASA Nerdz Summer No-Tap League
- Starport Youth Sports Camps - Jobs and Training
- Mastering the Art of Project Management Course
- Pressure Systems Familiarization
- Job Opportunities |  |
| Headlines - Combating Osteoperosis - Space is in on the Fight!
Make no bones about it; May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. Osteoporosis affects 70 million men and women worldwide. As part of NASA's observance, osteoporosis-related space station research will be highlighted. Osteoporosis research is one of many examples of how science conducted aboard station produces benefits on Earth. Spaceflight and Bone Loss - In spaceflight, research suggests that the rate of bone breakdown increases.
- Studies indicate that countermeasures such as high-intensity resistive exercise on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED), taking vitamin D supplements and consuming enough calories may work to mitigate significant loss of bone mass in astronauts once they return from the space station.
Treating Osteoporosis - Several medications are available to treat osteoporosis, and research in space has helped at least one of those drugs make it to market.
- The Commercial Biomedical Testing Module (CBTM): Effects of Osteoprotegerin on Bone Maintenance in Microgravity study on STS-108 in December of 2001 showed that mice treated with osteoprotegerin exhibited decreased bone resorption compared to untreated mice. Osteoprotegerin was already developed and in clinical trials on the ground, but Amgen, a pharmaceutical company, used the opportunity to perform tests on mice in orbit to better understand the drug and how it functions. Those data were included in the new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration, and that drug—called Prolia—came to market in 2010.
JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111
[top] - If You Haven't Seen it Yet, it's New to You
It's your lucky month! The NASA: Through Our Eyes photography exhibit that was previously showcased at Space Center Houston is sticking around at JSC through the end of May. However, it's entirely possible you haven't seen ALL the exhibit has to offer if you only went to one of the locations where the pictures are on display. The exhibit is divided up, with photos at Buildings 3, 11 and the Teague lobby. And, we've recently switched them up. So if you perhaps only went to one building to gawk at the tremendous photography and work that goes into every shoot, get your tennis shoes on and make some slightly longer treks to see the others. Learn more about this great exhibit and the folks behind it in the spring Roundup. - JSC Inventors' Wall of Fame Unveiling
Announcing: The official unveiling of the JSC Inventors' Wall of Fame! We hope you accept this invitation to attend. What: Ceremony and Unveiling When: Thursday, May 15 Time: Noon Where: Building 11 café Come view the new display and meet with these inspiring Inventors! Event Date: Thursday, May 15, 2014 Event Start Time:12:00 PM Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Bldg. 11 Cafeteria
Add to Calendar
Arlene Andrews x34730
[top] - Spy on Earth From the Comfort of Your Computer
The High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) investigation places four commercially available high-definition cameras on the exterior of the space station for use in streaming live video of Earth for online viewing. The cameras are enclosed in a temperature-specific case and exposed to the harsh radiation of the space environment. Analysis of the effect of space on the video quality during the HDEV operational period may help engineers determine the best types of commercially available cameras to use on future missions. Using available products may be more cost-effective than designing new products. High school students helped design some of the cameras' components through the High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware program, and student teams will operate the experiment. Organizations/Social - Health & Fitness Month - Get Healthy & Win Prizes
The second week of JSC's Health and Fitness Month (HFM) starts today, and it's not too late to get in on the action. Here are this week's opportunities to get healthier and earn prizes: Monday: Purchase a mindful meal in one of the cafés. Tuesday and Thursday: Meet up for a wellness walk outside Building 3 at 11 a.m. Wednesday: Take the Fitness Challenge for your chance to win an HFM shirt at the Gilruth Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday: National Bike to Work Day! Earn three prize-drawing tickets for pedaling to work. All week: Participate in the Indoor Triathlon at the Gilruth for your chance to win an HFM shirt. You can also earn a ticket each day you ride your bike to work or attend a group exercise class at the Gilruth. For more information about the entire month of activities and prizes, please visit the Starport website below. - NASA Nerdz Summer No-Tap League
NASA Nerdz at AMF Alpha and will begin on June 5 and run to Aug. 14 on Thursday nights! (We'll be skipping July 4 week.) Bowling starts at 6:30 p.m. each day, with practice beginning at 6:15 p.m. Typically, bowling ends anywhere from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Teams must consist of four people. If you have four people in mind, perfect. If not, email me and I will try and match you up. Team members do not have to work at NASA, for NASA or even work at all, and your kids can be your team members—but we will bowl with no bumpers. Pre-bowling and post-bowling are allowed as individuals. The fee for each week of bowling is $12. (Ten weeks = $120 for two-and-a-half to three hours of fun each Thursday night through the summer.) Please email me your team name/members by May 23. Google "no-tap bowling" to find out more. - Starport Youth Sports Camps
Starport is now offering youth sports camps. We are offering three different sports camps: baseball, basketball and a multi-sport camp. All camps are a week long. Sign up early online, as spots are going fast! Ages: 6 to 12 Times: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dates: - July 14 to 19 (Basketball)
- July 21 to 25 (Baseball)
- Aug. 4 to 8 (Multi-sport)
Fee per session: $150 per child | $50 per week extended care Register online or at the Gilruth Center information desk. Jobs and Training - Mastering the Art of Project Management Course
Mastering the Art of Project Management - May 20 to 21 - Building 12, Room 146 Mastering the Art of Project Management is an intensive, interactive, high-level program. Enterprise Project Management is one of the hottest topics in the world today, and mastering the art is the roadmap to success. There is a very definite trend for global companies to learn these new skills, since it focuses the entire organization on a common strategy and project priorities based on Return on Investment (ROI). A required prerequisite for Mastering the Art of Project Management is Art of Project Management. - Pressure Systems Familiarization
This course gives the student an overview of NASA policy, center policy and center requirements for Pressure System Certification. The five JSC categories of certified systems are presented. The roles of pressure and pressure systems are defined as well. - ASME boiler and pressure vessel codes
- ASME B31 pressure piping codes
- ASME performance test codes
- National Board Inspection Code (ANSI/NB-23)
- Code of Federal Regulations Title 49
Date/Time: May 14 from 8 a.m. to noon Where: Safety Learning Center - Building 20, Room 205/206 Registration via SATERN required: - 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. | |
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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 – May 12, 2014
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: NASA is now broadcasting live HD footage of Earth observations and audio of conversations between mission control and space from the ISS on Ustream. The new feature, launched one week ago, has been wildly popular making the front page of the Ustream website and garnering nearly 30 million views. HEADLINES AND LEADS
Just Asking: Charles Bolden, NASA administrator
Joe Heim – The Washington Post
Charles Bolden, 67, was appointed in 2009 to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Former astronaut warns of dangers of space debris
Ledyard King – Florida Today
Last year's blockbuster movie "Gravity" won Oscars for tensely depicting a cloud of space debris puncturing satellites and spacecraft while whizzing around the Earth.
Astronaut gives University of Connecticut graduation speech from space
Richard Weizel – Reuters
University of Connecticut alumnus Rick Mastracchio took a break from orbiting the globe on the International Space Station to deliver an address to students graduating from the university's School of Engineering on Saturday.
ISS partial power loss – suspected electrical short in external component
Pete Harding – NASA Space Flight
The International Space Station (ISS) has lost one of its eight power supply channels due to a suspected short in an external power generation component known as a Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU). However, the remaining seven power channels continue to provide adequate power for the station and no systems have yet been shut down, thus the situation is not considered critical.
Mars colonization a 'suicide mission,' says Canadian astronaut
Bill Kaufmann – Calgary (CAN) Sun
Sending humans to colonize Mars would be a suicide mission, former Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk said Friday.
Former astronaut and University of Calgary alumni takes chancellor role with institution
Bill Kaufmann – Calgary (CAN) Sun
The University of Calgary has launched itself into the Dr. Robert Thirsk orbit.
Space shuttle replica departs Calgary after 14-years at airport
Manisha Krishnan - Calgary Herald
Calgary airport's popular space shuttle has taken off, for good.
Researchers send experiments to space to tap zero gravity's potential
Matt McFarland – The Washington Post
Get ready for the rodents in outer space to outnumber the humans. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space is increasingly green-lighting research projects for the International Space Station.
'Aquanauts' test tools for asteroid mission
Jenny Winder – Sen
Astronauts Stan Love and Steve Bowen went underwater on 9 May, in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center, to help engineers determine what astronauts will need on the agency's planned mission to send astronauts to an asteroid in the 2020s.
For her, rocket science is just the start
Ronald White – Los Angeles Times
The gig: Andrea Belz, 42, is an author, nuclear physicist, business owner and an assistant professor at USC's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Most recently, she was named academic director of a master's program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation that begins this fall at USC. The program is intended "to give students the tools to create new business ventures in a climate defined by rapid change, increasing competition, shortened product life cycles and higher market volatility," according to the university's promotional materials.
Boeing CST-100 Space Taxi Maiden Test Flight to ISS Expected Early 2017 – One on One Interview with Chris Ferguson, Last Shuttle Commander
Ken Kremer – Universe Today
Boeing expects to launch the first unmanned test flight of their commercial CST-100 manned 'space taxi' in "early 2017," said Chris Ferguson, commander of NASA's final shuttle flight in an exclusive one-on-one interview with Universe Today for an inside look at Boeing's space efforts. Ferguson is now spearheading Boeing's human spaceflight capsule project as director of Crew and Mission Operations.
Is NASA masking billions in costs tied to some of its largest space programs?
Jill R. Aitoro – Washington Business Journal
We've heard about the billions of federal dollars that will filter to a few of NASA's most ambitious space programs. But what if that wasn't the half of it?
COMPLETE STORIES
Just Asking: Charles Bolden, NASA administrator
Joe Heim – The Washington Post
Charles Bolden, 67, was appointed in 2009 to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Astronauts weren't around when you were a kid. So what did you want to be when you grew up?
Yes, they were! Astronauts were very prominent because there was Buck Rogers. And I saw people going to Mars every weekend at the theater in Columbia, South Carolina.
You grew up in the segregated South. How was it possible to envision a path to becoming a major general in the Marines and leading the nation's space program?
It wasn't, and I didn't. But I had seen a program on television called "Men of Annapolis" … and from seventh grade on, that became my single focus in life, becoming a midshipman at the Naval Academy. And it was for a very trivial reason. I loved the uniform, and the campus looked absolutely breathtaking, and there were lots of girls who came there on the weekend. You've got to remember, I was a teenager.
You're one of only 543 people in history who have ever traveled in space. That's an incredibly select group.
It's a lot more than it used to be.
When you're in a supermarket checkout line, do you ever just want to tell people, "Hey, I was a commander on the space shuttle"?
Nope. Never. I tend to be very private about it. People wonder, "Why don't you talk about it?" But my experience has been that people who have to go around and talk about what they do, it's probably not worth it in the first place, and they greatly overrate their value to anything.
Space exploration is becoming more of a private enterprise. Is that a good thing?
I don't think space exploration is becoming more of a private enterprise. That's where we want it to go, but today there hasn't been a private enterprise go to Mars or go to the moon. Private enterprise talks while NASA acts. And that's not meant to sound like an arrogant statement, but we're trying to help people realize dreams, and we're trying to help private enterprise and entrepreneurs realize their dreams of doing the stuff that up until now only nations have done. The problem that private enterprise finds is that it's hard.
Over 200,000 people have signed up for a one-way ticket to Mars? Should we send them?
Yeah. If they want to go. The problem is you don't have a way to do it. Right now that's science fiction.
Do you ever have dreams about space?
No. I didn't even dream about space when I was in space. I don't remember dreaming on orbit. ... You're just too tired to dream. I don't dream of space. I dream a lot of things about my grandkids.
Former astronaut warns of dangers of space debris
Ledyard King – Florida Today
Last year's blockbuster movie "Gravity" won Oscars for tensely depicting a cloud of space debris puncturing satellites and spacecraft while whizzing around the Earth.
It's not just the stuff of Hollywood.
Tens of thousands of pieces of space debris — from flecks of metal the size of paint chips to eight-ton rocket stages — circle the planet up to 10 times faster than a bullet, endangering the International Space Station and satellites that must regularly be repositioned to get out of the way.
The Air Force command that tracks space junk issues an average of 1,400 alerts every day warning satellite operators of a possible collision. Crew members aboard the space station have had to shelter in their Soyuz spacecraft three times when hazardous debris was detected with too little warning to maneuver around it.
"Aside from launch and re-entry, orbital debris poses the highest risk to human space flight," former NASA shuttle astronaut George Zamka told a House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee on Friday.
"During my two space missions, we flew upside down and backwards to protect our shuttle windows from orbital debris. And even doing that, we had debris strikes and cracks in our windows."
Zamka is the Federal Aviation Administration's deputy associate administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, which oversees mitigation of space debris.
It's no easy task.
Analysts count some 23,000 objects circling the planet in low earth orbit. These include 4,000 payloads, mainly satellites, of which 1,200 are active. It doesn't include thousands of objects smaller than four inches — slightly smaller than the diameter of a golf hole — that are too small to be tracked.
More than 5,000 trackable objects are zipping around the globe due to two separate incidents: a 2009 collision between a commercial communications satellite and a decommissioned Russian military communications satellite, and China's test of an anti-satellite weapon in 2007.
The problem is expected to worsen given the growing presence of commercial space interests and the emerging ability of foreign countries to launch vehicles and payloads into space. Eleven other countries now have that capability.
According to the Air Force, 72 new satellites were placed in orbit in 2012 and 78 new satellites were placed in orbit in one 7-day period in 2013. That includes "cubesats," small cube-shaped satellites that are being deployed more frequently.
Once they're up, they don't come back down quickly.
A Delta 1 rocket body that launched in July 1961 didn't re-enter the atmosphere until February, according to Zamka.
Government officials and space experts told lawmakers that efforts to remove orbiting debris — and not just dodge it — remain far off.
GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, a member of the panel, said a solution needs to come soon.
"The debris issue is not a secondary issue. Debris is something that will limit humankind's ability to use space for our benefit," he said. "And we're getting to a point of saturation now, where either we deal with it or we will suffer the consequences."
Astronaut gives University of Connecticut graduation speech from space
Richard Weizel – Reuters
University of Connecticut alumnus Rick Mastracchio took a break from orbiting the globe on the International Space Station to deliver an address to students graduating from the university's School of Engineering on Saturday.
With a large black UConn banner and UConn baseball cap floating behind him, Mastracchio hovered between two space suits and spun upside down several times during the pre-recorded address for the 400 graduates and a crowd of about 5,000 at the university.
"I could not be there with you on this big day, but being in space I was trying to figure out how to make this speech different than all the other commencement addresses that are given each year," he said.
"And then I realized - I'm in a weightless environment. So maybe, I should give the speech in a different orientation."
Mastracchio, 54, who is on an eight-month stint on the space station, then floated upside down, before spinning back to an upright position, bringing laughs and cheers from graduates and their families.
"I probably have the best job on and off the planet," he said.
Kazem Kazerounian, dean of the engineering school, who set up the speech from space, said: "Many of us, faculty and students, were inspired to become engineers because of space exploration and this was a perfect way to bring more reality to our dreams."
Mastracchio, who will return to Earth next week aboard a Russian spacecraft after completing his fourth trip into space, had a final message as he grabbed and put on the UConn baseball cap.
"Go Huskies," he said, referring to the nickname for the school's sports teams, as he spun upside down again.
ISS partial power loss – suspected electrical short in external component
Pete Harding – NASA Space Flight
The International Space Station (ISS) has lost one of its eight power supply channels due to a suspected short in an external power generation component known as a Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU). However, the remaining seven power channels continue to provide adequate power for the station and no systems have yet been shut down, thus the situation is not considered critical.
ISS EPS overview:
All ISS US segment electrical power is generated via the station's eight Solar Array Wings (SAWs), with each one of the eight SAWs following the same power generation architecture. These eight separate power generation systems are each known as power channels.
Each SAW generates power at between 150 and 170 Volts Direct Current (VDC). This large fluctuation in power is regulated to a stable 160 VDC, which is known as primary power, by a piece of hardware known as a Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU).
From the SSU, the primary power is then sent to a corresponding Direct Current Switching Unit (DCSU), which essentially switches ISS power sources between the SAWs during orbital daytime, and the storage batteries during orbital night-time.
For example, during times when the SAWs are in sunlight (i.e. generating power), the DCSUs send some power directly to one of four Main Bus Switching Unis (MBSUs), and some power to a corresponding Battery Charge/Discharge Unit (BCDU) which in turn charges the SAW batteries for use during periods of orbital darkness.
During orbital darkness, when the SAWs are not generating power, the DCSUs send battery power directly to one of the four MBSUs.
Each of the eight power channels follow this same architecture, with the channels denoted as 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B. Thus, each piece of hardware described above (with the exception of the MBSUs), all of which are located outside the station, belongs to a separate power channel. For instance, SAW-3A feeds SSU-3A, which in turn feeds DCSU-3A, etc.
The four MBSUs on the ISS each receive power feeds from two DCSUs, and as such the four MBSUs between them distribute power from all eight power channels.
From the MBSUs, the power is then sent onto DC to DC Conversion Units (DDCUs), which transform the 160 VDC primary power into 124 VDC secondary power, which is then distributed throughout the ISS for utilization by user loads.
DCSU/SSU 3A issue:
On Thursday 8th May, Remote Bus Isolator-1 (RBI-1), which is essentially a circuit breaker, inside Direct Current Switching Unit-3A (DCSU-3A) tripped open due to the occurrence of a negative current.
This caused DCSU-3A to conduct an automatic Power On Reset (POR), meaning it was no longer distributing power from the channel 3A SAWs or batteries to the rest of the ISS.
This in turn meant that power channel 3A, which is located on the Starboard 4 (S4) Truss, was effectively shut down, taking with it 12.5 per cent of the station's power capacity.
Channel 3B was quickly tied with 3A, meaning 3B powers all of 3A's loads, and thus no systems needed to be shut down.
However, some equipment did still temporarily lose power, including the channel 3A Photo Voltaic Thermal Control System (PVTCS) cooling system, robotics systems, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), and the newly-installed Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS).
Current data indicates that SSU-3A is back online, however RBI-1 remains open, meaning DCSU-3A is still offline, meaning the entire 3A power channel is not currently supplying power to the ISS.
According to exclusive L2 notes, at this time it is believed that the RBI-1 trip in DCSU-3A was caused by a short in Sequential Shunt Unit-3A (SSU-3A), which provides a steady supply of 160 VDC to DCSU-3A.
This was indicated by the negative current in the RBI-1 trip, which points to the fault drawing current upstream of the DCSU.
This event is believed to be a reoccurrence of an event which happened in September 2012, where RBI-1 in DCSU-3A tripped open due to an overcurrent. That event was later found to have been caused by a short in one of the 82 capacitors inside SSU-3A, which serve to smooth the 160 VDC output from the SSU.
Since the short caused the capacitor to burn out, this effectively meant it was no longer connected, and thus it did not present a problem, with the remaining 81 capacitors being enough to adequately handle the SSU's job. The issue was resolved by gradually restoring power to channel 3A while carefully monitoring telemetry, following which RBI-1 was re-closed, leading to the recovery of channel 3A.
However, according to L2 notes, for the current RBI-1 trip there do appear to be some slight differences in the failure signatures compared to the previous occurrence, leading to some additional impacts to SSU-3A functionality.
Namely, during this most recent trip, "the SSU-3A left sidewall temperature sensor instantaneously increased by 2.3 degrees centigrade and then decayed back to nominal".
Additionally, "SSU-3A shunt current delta between the two circuits is 12-14A. Nominally, the difference between the two shunt circuits should be minimal (~2A)". However, at this time investigations into the issue are still ongoing, and no official causes have yet been confirmed.
Impacts and forward work:
In terms of the impacts of the loss of channel 3A, there are no immediate concerns, since all of 3A's loads are being powered by channel 3B, meaning no systems or payloads have needed to be shut down.
However, some slight issues may be present for events such as the upcoming Soyuz 39S docking, during which the solar arrays need to be feathered and locked in order to protect them from thruster firings and loads imparted during docking.
The feathering means that the arrays are not pointed directly at the Sun, meaning less power is available, which could be an issue with channel 3A down.
Additionally, an upcoming high solar beta angle period could present problems. High solar beta periods are where the Sun effectively shines on the ISS side-on, which means only one set of solar arrays receive direct sunlight, while the remaining arrays are shadowed, leading to reduced power generation. On-board power management plans can be created to help alleviate these concerns however.
While the previous DCSU-3A RBI-1 trip in September 2012 was successfully resolved via ground troubleshooting and commanding alone, analysis into alternative options for the current trip is still occurring. While no Removal & Replacement (R&R) Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) has yet been discussed, it could be a possibility should all other recovery options fail.
The failure of an SSU is not considered to be a Critical Contingency EVA (CCE) item, and thus enough time exists to carefully examine all options and formulate plans if needed.
In the meantime, the ISS crew will be asked to take pictures of SSU-3A out of the ISS windows, in order to determine whether any Micro Meteoroid Orbital Debris (MMOD) strikes could be the cause of the suspected short.
If an R&R EVA is required, it would be a fairly simple affair, since SSUs are rectangular box-like components located at the base of the Mast Canister Assembly (MCA) of their associated SAW (in this case SAW-3A on the S4 Truss).
SSUs can be removed and installed via the driving of one bolt, with electrical connections being made via blind mate connectors underneath the SSU.
Mars colonization a 'suicide mission,' says Canadian astronaut
Bill Kaufmann – Calgary (CAN) Sun
Sending humans to colonize Mars would be a suicide mission, former Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk said Friday.
Thirsk, who holds the Canadian space endurance record with 204 days in orbit, said a private Netherlands-based group's plan to send 24 people to settle the red planet in a decade is a death wish.
During his six-month stint aboard the International Space Station in 2009, Thirsk said he spent much of his time repairing equipment like CO2 scrubbers and the craft's toilet.
That doesn't give him much confidence in Mars One's plans.
"I don't think we're ready ... we don't yet have the reliable technology to support a one-way trip to Mars," Thirsk said in Calgary Friday.
"It's naive to think we're ready to colonize Mars — it'd be a suicide mission."
He said such a voyage to Mars would take six to nine months.
Calgarian Zac Trolley, 31, who's on a short list of 705 hopefuls on the Mars One sweepstakes, called Thirsk's comments "absolutely ridiculous.
"It's not a suicide mission. It sounds like you're intending to die and no one wants to put themselves in harm's way and intentionally die," the electrical engineer said.
He said any form of space travel comes with risks, adding the lunar module Eagle was never tested before it first touched down on the Moon in 1969.
Trolley said he respects Thirsk's expertise and expects to meet him at an International Space University course this summer in Montreal.
"I want to hear about the problems he's had working on the space station and fix them, find solutions," he said.
Former astronaut and University of Calgary alumni takes chancellor role with institution
Bill Kaufmann – Calgary (CAN) Sun
The University of Calgary has launched itself into the Dr. Robert Thirsk orbit.
Rocketing past 111 other contenders, the former Canadian astronaut and U of C alumni will take his place as the university's chancellor beginning July 2.
Thirsk, who graduated from the U of C with a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1976, said he didn't think "in a million years" he'd become chancellor.
"I had to think about it initially, but it's a time in my life to give back to society, to make the university a better place," Thirsk told a press conference on campus Friday.
"It's a good fit with my interest in exploration, in innovation."
For the next four years, Thirsk, 60, will be an ambassador for the U of C, as a bridge between it and the community and will be an ex-officio member of its board of governors.
He'll preside over ceremonies, including convocation.
The time he spent on the International Space Station with other nations' astronauts and cosmonauts — which set a Canadian orbit endurance record — will come in handy as chancellor.
"Everything we did in the space program is a collaboration," he said.
He recalled his days at the U of C during the 1970s fondly, saying they forged bonds of close friendship that exist today.
"My experience here was a pretty intense time...those 30 people are life-long friends," he said.
And Thirsk insisted that, despite his cosmically scientific background, he'll give equal time to all academic pursuits.
But if a student shows an interest in joining the space program, "my door will be open," he said.
Landing an accomplished figure like Thirsk is a thrill, said U of C President Elizabeth Cannon, particularly as the university approaches its 50th anniversary in 2016.
"He's an alumnus of the university with a very distinguished career who'll inspire our faculty and students," said Cannon.
He succeeds former provincial government cabinet minister Jim Dinning, who said he was "delighted" with the selection.
In 2009, Thirsk received an honorary doctorate from the U of C, the only one to receive such a recognition aboard the craft.
He also has a school named after him in Arbour Lake.
Space shuttle replica departs Calgary after 14-years at airport
Manisha Krishnan - Calgary Herald
Calgary airport's popular space shuttle has taken off, for good.
The Orbiter, a quarter-scale replica of a NASA spaceship, is on its way to the Coca-Cola Science Center at Columbus State University in Georgia following a 14-year stint at Calgary International Airport. Originally built by NASA for testing purposes, the Orbiter made its way north in 2000 to be part of the Calgary Airport Authority's SpacePort educational program. It was accompanied by a piece of moon rock, which will remain here.
"It's been a great asset when educating students," said Jody Moseley, a spokeswoman for the airport authority.
Over the years, the historical artifact was visited by millions of travellers and schoolchildren.
"It's a nice piece for families when they come to the airport and we've enjoyed sharing that with the public."
Because of its large and fragile nature, the Orbiter was moved through the airport gradually over the past week before it was finally loaded onto a plane. Moseley said people who realized it was on its last journey snapped photos and tweeted about it.
"I think a lot of people were taking the opportunity to say goodbye to it," she said.
The Orbiter departed for Columbus on Friday.
Researchers send experiments to space to tap zero gravity's potential
Matt McFarland – The Washington Post
Get ready for the rodents in outer space to outnumber the humans. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space is increasingly green-lighting research projects for the International Space Station.
The organization expects that the unique conditions of outer space could lead to research breakthroughs.
"We believe there are scientific projects that people haven't even thought about taking gravity out of the equation, and if they realize how easy it is and how accessible it is to get to the space station they'd be all over it," said Greg Johnson, the executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space.
The organization approved 28 projects in 2013 and expects to launch more this year. In 2011 it began managing the U.S. lab on the International Space Station for NASA.
"There are things we can learn about the planet from 250 miles we frankly just can't learn from here," Johnson said. "We can learn about algal blooms in oceans. We can better understand patterns in the atmosphere and how they interface with land masses and water masses."
In zero gravity, human and animal bones degenerate, opening a door for studying osteoporosis. Prolia, a drug designed to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis, was developed using research on lab rats that were tested on the space shuttle Endeavour in 2001.
One of the current experiments taking place on the International Space Station addresses Huntington's disease, in which proteins clump up in a patient's brain. The surface of the proteins mutate, making it hard for researchers to analyze them. Without an accurate depiction of the protein, scientists can't design a drug to latch onto the surface and serve as a meaningful treatment for Huntington's disease.
Gwen Owens, a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA-Caltech, is studying the Huntington's disease protein in crystal form. She heard an NPR segment about the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space and recalled a researcher's work using micogravity. Given that crystals grow better in space, she figured it was worth pursuing.
"The real bottleneck is getting the crystals to form," Owens said. "Once we have the crystals, it's not that easy, but it's not that hard." Owens will get a better understanding of just how valuable zero gravity proves to be when her lab gets results back in September.
'Aquanauts' test tools for asteroid mission
Jenny Winder – Sen
Astronauts Stan Love and Steve Bowen went underwater on 9 May, in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center, to help engineers determine what astronauts will need on the agency's planned mission to send astronauts to an asteroid in the 2020s.
Wearing modified versions of the orange space shuttle launch and entry suits, the two men entered the 12-metre (40ft) deep swimming pool that helps mimic the lack of gravity in orbit to allow astronauts to practise for spacewalks.
A mockup of the Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the asteroid, docked to a replica of the robotic spacecraft that will be used to capture an asteroid and bring it into a stable orbit near the Moon, provided the backdrop for the simulated spacewalk.
"We're working on the techniques and tools we might use someday to explore a small asteroid that was captured from an orbit around the Sun and brought back by a robotic spacecraft to orbit around the Moon," Love said.
"When it's there, we can send people there to take samples and take a look at it up close. That's our main task; we're looking at tools we'd use for that, how we'd take those samples."
One of the primary goals of visiting an asteroid will be to obtain a core sample that shows its layers, intact, that could provide information on the age of the Solar System and how it was formed.
But the tools geologist use to collect core samples or even chips of rocks aren't a good idea in space. Swinging a hammer in front of your face isn't safe when there is a vulnerable sheet of glass between you in your helmet that is essential to keep you alive. Instead Love and Bowen tried out a pneumatic hammer to give them a feel for whether a battery-powered version might be useful.
They also evaluated a version of the spacesuit that could be worn on an asteroid. Orion astronauts already needed a launch and entry suit to protect them during the most dynamic phases of their flights.
So, rather than add to the weight Orion has to carry into orbit and take up additional space inside the crew module, engineers have been working to turn the shuttle-heritage Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) into something suitable for spacewalks.
Working through some of the tasks the suit will need to accommodate on an asteroid helps the astronauts advise the engineers on what still needs improvement.
"We need some significant modifications to make it easy to translate," Bowen said. "I can't stretch my arms out quite as far as in the [space station space suit]. The work envelope is very small. So as we get through, we look at these tasks. These tasks are outstanding to help us develop what needs to be modified in the suit, as well."
NASA is already working to identify an asteroid that could be reached by a robotic mission to capture it and bring it into a stable orbit around the Moon. Once it is there, the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket will launch a crew of astronauts to explore it and gather samples.
The strategy makes good use of capabilities NASA already has, while also advancing a number of technologies needed for longer-term plans, including sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.
For her, rocket science is just the start
Ronald White – Los Angeles Times
The gig: Andrea Belz, 42, is an author, nuclear physicist, business owner and an assistant professor at USC's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Most recently, she was named academic director of a master's program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation that begins this fall at USC. The program is intended "to give students the tools to create new business ventures in a climate defined by rapid change, increasing competition, shortened product life cycles and higher market volatility," according to the university's promotional materials.
Filling a need: Some of the 25 students she hopes to attract to the first classes will be new college graduates. But others, Belz said, could be "people who might be working as engineers for very large companies and want advanced business training, but want it to be focused on what it takes to get new ideas off the ground." The native of Santiago, Chile, said that "large organizations need these skill sets" because "a lot of companies are struggling with how to transform themselves."
Course change: A bout with cancer in the late 1990s, while Belz was working on her doctorate in physics at Caltech, led to a sharp career change. At the time she was working as a research associate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "I didn't have the patience anymore to be in a laboratory and work on experiments the way I had before I was sick. What I really enjoyed doing was building collaborations, thinking through the whole process of how organizations, businesses, move forward." Belz left that job but was hired as a consultant to JPL, which sparked the idea of starting her own business, called Belz Consulting, in 2002.
A good fit: Belz was unsure at first how her company would develop but found she had a knack for turning innovation into profit. "Because of the broad technical background that I brought," Belz said, JPL and NASA were already familiar with her work. They became her first two clients. The consulting business, which specialized in technology commercialization, gave her freedom and variety. One of her jobs for NASA was to help draw up a road map for how to manage a $100-million technology portfolio.
Getting noticed: Belz bought a fax machine and a second telephone line to make her company look bigger. Soon her credentials and expertise began to pay off. Occidental Petroleum Corp. hired her to work on a technology initiative. She advised another oil company on potential exploration technologies. She helped a venture capital firm conduct due diligence on its technology investments.
Refining a vision: Belz obtained an MBA in finance from Pepperdine University in 2007, seven years after completing her doctorate in physics. "I got my MBA because I wanted to understand how technology companies run and grow," Belz said. "When NASA thinks about planning, they think about the missions they contemplate doing. They consider the technologies they will need. Then it's a process of connecting the dots between where they are and where they want to be. I worked extensively in that connecting-the-dots process."
Heading to USC: In 2012, USC's Greif Center was looking for someone to run a summer program called AIM, which stands for Accelerator, Incubator and Mentoring. "They invited me to come and create it," Belz said. USC liked her enough to make her a lecturer in clinical entrepreneurship in 2012. "I tell my students that they learn from three places," Belz said. "They learn from the marketplace. They learn from each other, and they learn from me, and I am very low on the totem pole."
Her heroes: Belz points first to her mother, Ana, who raised two children while maintaining a career as a psychiatrist for the Veterans Administration. Then there are astronaut Sally Ride, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Their successes "were really big landmarks for women of my age."
Advice: "There's no substitute for knowing your stuff," Belz said. "Pretending does not work in the long run. Whatever it is you are focused on. If it's law, really know the law. Be diligent. You need to be driven to excel in that space."
Personal: Belz has been married to another nuclear physicist, Eric, for nearly 15 years. They met at Caltech, live in the Los Angeles area and have two sons — Nicholas, 11, and Stephen, 5. To relax, Belz plays music from the Great American Songbook, which includes George Gershwin and Cole Porter. "My piano teacher and I have a joke that one day I'm going to stop working and go play in a bar in Topeka," Belz joked. "I have an inner lounge pianist who wants to come out."
Boeing CST-100 Space Taxi Maiden Test Flight to ISS Expected Early 2017 – One on One Interview with Chris Ferguson, Last Shuttle Commander
Ken Kremer – Universe Today
Boeing expects to launch the first unmanned test flight of their commercial CST-100 manned 'space taxi' in "early 2017," said Chris Ferguson, commander of NASA's final shuttle flight in an exclusive one-on-one interview with Universe Today for an inside look at Boeing's space efforts. Ferguson is now spearheading Boeing's human spaceflight capsule project as director of Crew and Mission Operations.
"The first unmanned orbital test flight is planned in January 2017 … and may go to the station," Ferguson told me during a wide ranging, in depth discussion about a variety of human spaceflight topics and Boeing's ambitious plans for their privately developed CST-100 human rated spaceship – with a little help from NASA.
Boeing has reserved a launch slot at Cape Canaveral with United Launch Alliance (ULA), but the details are not yet public.
If all goes well, the maiden CST-100 orbital test flight with humans would follow around mid-2017.
"The first manned test could happen by the end of summer 2017 with a two person crew," he said.
"And we may go all the way to the space station."
Boeing is among a trio of American aerospace firms, including SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp, vying to restore America's capability to fly humans to Earth orbit and the space station by late 2017, using seed money from NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) in a public/private partnership. The next round of contracts will be awarded by NASA about late summer 2014.
That's a feat that America hasn't accomplished in nearly three years.
"It's been over 1000 days and counting since we landed [on STS-135]," Ferguson noted with some sadness as he checked the daily counter on his watch. He is a veteran of three space flights.
Since the shuttles retirement in July 2011 following touchdown of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the last shuttle flight (STS-135) with Ferguson in command, no American astronauts have launched to space from American soil on American rockets and spaceships.
The only ticket to the ISS and back has been aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule.
Chris and the Boeing team hope to change the situation soon. They are chomping at the bits to get Americas back into space from US soil and provide reliable and cost-effective US access to destinations in low Earth orbit like the ISS and the proposed private Bigelow space station.
Boeing wants to send its new private spaceship all the way to the space station starting on the very first unmanned and manned test flights currently slated for 2017, according to Ferguson.
"NASA wants us to provide [crew flight] services by November 2017," said Ferguson, according to the terms of the CCP contact award."
The CST-100 will launch atop a man rated Atlas V rocket and carry a mix of cargo and up to seven crew members to the ISS.
"So both the first unmanned and manned test flight will be in 2017. The first unmanned orbital flight test is currently set for January 2017. The first manned test could be end of summer 2017," he stated.
I asked Chris to outline the mission plans for both flights.
"Our first flight, the CST-100 Orbital Flight Test – is scheduled to be unmanned."
"Originally it was just going to be an on orbital test of the systems, with perhaps a close approach to the space station. But we haven't precluded our ability to dock.
"So if our systems mature as we anticipate then we may go all the way and actually dock at station. We're not sure yet," he said.
So I asked whether he thinks the CST-100 will also go dock at the ISS on the first manned test flight?
"Yes. Absolutely. We want go to all the way to the space station," Ferguson emphatically told me.
"For the 1st manned test flight, we want to dock at the space station and maybe spend a couple weeks there."
"SpaceX did it [docking]. So we think we can too."
"The question is can we make the owners of the space station comfortable with what we are doing. That's what it really comes down to."
"As the next year progresses and the design matures and it becomes more refined and we understand our own capability, and NASA understands our capabilities as the space station program gets more involved – then I'm sure they will put the same rigor into our plan as they did into the SpaceX and Orbital Sciences plans."
"When SpaceX and Orbital [wanted to] come up for the grapple [rather than just rendezvous], NASA asked 'Are these guys ready?' That's what NASA will ask us."
"And if we [Boeing] are ready, then we'll go dock at the station with our CST-100."
"And if we're not ready, then we'll wait another flight and go to the station the next time. It's just that simple."
"We looked at it and this is something we can do."
"There are a lot of ways we have to make NASA and ourselves happy. But as a company we feel we can go do it," Ferguson stated.
So the future looks promising.
But the schedule depends entirely on NASA funding levels approved by Congress. And that vital funding has been rather short on supply. It has already caused significant delays to the start of the space taxi missions for all three companies contending for NASA's commercial crew contracts because of the significant slashes to the agency's CCP budget request, year after year.
In fact the schedule has slipped already 18 months to the right compared to barely a few years ago.
So I asked Chris to discuss the CCP funding cuts and resulting postponements – which significantly affected schedules for Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada.
Here it is in a nutshell.
"No Bucks, No Buck Rogers," explained Ferguson.
"The original plan was to conduct both the unmanned and manned CST-100 test flights in 2015."
"Originally, we would have flown the unmanned orbital test in the summer of 2015. The crewed test would have been at the end of 2015."
"So both flights are now a full year and a half later." Ferguson confirmed.
"For the presidents [CCP] funding requests for the past few years of roughly about $800 million, they [Congress] only approved about half. It was significantly less than the request."
Now at this very moment Congress is deliberating NASA's Fiscal 2015 budget.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has said he will beg Congress to approve full funding for the commercial crew program this year – on his hands and knees if necessary.
Otherwise there will be further delays to the start of the space taxi missions. And the direct consequence is NASA would be forced to continue buying US astronaut rides from the Russians at $70 Million per seat. All against the backdrop of Russian actions in the Ukraine where deadly clashes potentially threaten US access to the ISS in a worst case scenario if the ongoing events spin even further out of control and the West ratchets up economic sanctions against Russia.
The CST-100 is designed to be a "simple ride up to and back from space," Ferguson emphasized to me.
It is being designed at Boeing's Houston Product Support Center in Texas.
In Part 2 of my interview, Chris Ferguson will discuss the details about the design, how and where the CST-100 capsule will be manufactured at a newly renovated, former space shuttle facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Is NASA masking billions in costs tied to some of its largest space programs?
Jill R. Aitoro – Washington Business Journal
We've heard about the billions of federal dollars that will filter to a few of NASA's most ambitious space programs. But what if that wasn't the half of it?
A report from the Government Accountability Office notes NASA's $19 billion-$22 billion preliminary cost estimate for three major programs under development— the Space Launch System, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, and the ground systems that support them — include only initial capabilities and does not include the long-term, life-cycle costs tied to the programs or prior costs.
For example, the $7.7 billion-$8.6 billion estimate for SLS, which is being built by The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) as a launch vehicle for near-Earth destinations like the Moon and Mars, is based on funding required to develop and operate the initial variant through the first flight in 2017, but not the costs for the second flight in 2021. And costs tied to that second flight are already starting to pile up. The estimate also doesn't include costs to design, develop and produce future variants that NASA expects to use for decades, even though the agency is funding concept development and analysis related to them.
The $8.5 billion-$10.3 billion estimate for Orion, which is the manned space vehicle being built by Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) that SLS will launch, doesn't include the costs for production, operations or sustainment of additional crew capsules — despite plans to use and possibly enhance the capsule after 2021. It also doesn't include the $4.7 billion in prior costs tied to Orion development when it was part of NASA's now-defunct Constellation program.
On top of that, the $2.8 billion-$3.1 billion estimate for the ground systems that would support SLS don't include costs for infrastructure beyond 2017, despite NASA's plans to modify it to accommodate all SLS variants.
As noted by the GAO, the limited scope that the agency has chosen for constructing preliminary and baseline cost estimates means the estimates are unlikely to serve as a way to measure progress and track cost growth over the life of the programs.
NASA officials say the programs' preliminary cost estimates are for attainment of capabilities rather than the full cost of the programs, and that it's difficult to define life-cycle costs because the programs' intended long-term uses and life spans have not been fully determined.
But that approach has proved flawed in the past, the GAO noted, pointing to issues with affordability of its manned space flight investments and other major projects in the past that sometimes contributed to a program's cancellation.
NASA originally envisioned the Space Shuttle would fly up to 100 times per vehicle at a cost of $7.7 million per launch, for example. In reality, the Shuttle flew 135 times in total over a period of 30 years at a cost that was about $3.5 billion per year around the 2008 timeframe. Concerns tied to costs and safety led to the program's end.
NASA then focused on building human spaceflight alternatives that included Constellation. But in 2010, the program was canceled because it could not return astronauts to the moon at an affordable cost. And even more recently, NASA noted long-term costs as the reason why it may place in storage the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, an airborne observatory for studying astronomical objects and phenomena, after spending some 23 years and more than $1 billion to develop the project.
END
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