| | JSC TODAY CATEGORIES - Headlines
- Joint Leadership Team Web Poll
- Wounded Warrior Project: Soldier Ride Houston
- The Power of Interns
- Early Shuttle Design and Organizational Structure - Organizations/Social
- Altered Mental Status Awareness and Support
- Starport's Father-Daughter Dance 2014
- Starport Zumba for Kids - It's Back
- Latin Dance Introduction: June 13 from 8 to 9 p.m. - Community
- Pick Your Passion |  |
| Headlines - Joint Leadership Team Web Poll
A little over half preferred the traditional office setup last week, and the other half are open to different setups. Maria von Trapp was the runaway winner of best alternate mom. Ma Kettle was my choice. This week I've been reading about road rage and the danger in expressing your anger with a vehicle. There are some behaviors by other drivers on the road that are really irritating, though. Pick the one behavior you hate the most in question one. No turn signal? Texting? Driving too slow? I'm excited about going to see the new Godzilla movie this weekend. That got me thinking about huge monsters and which ones were really the "baddest" in question two. Who is the monster top dog? Is it Godzilla? Kong? T-Rex? Blue Oyster your Cult on over to get this week's poll. - Wounded Warrior Project: Soldier Ride Houston
The Wounded Warrior Project, Soldier Ride Houston, will start at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 16, at the entrance to Building 1. The Soldier Ride is a unique cycling opportunity for wounded warriors to use cycling and the bonds of service to overcome physical, mental or emotional wounds. Fifty selected warriors from around the nation and of all ability levels will cycle with state-of-the-art adaptive hand cycles, trikes and bicycles that accommodate warriors' various injuries and disabilities. Communities play a key role in making each Soldier Ride a success and help warriors gain confidence in their rehabilitation efforts. The center encourages JSC team members to line up in front of Building 1 at 8:45 a.m. to cheer the warriors. Event Date: Friday, May 16, 2014 Event Start Time:8:45 AM Event End Time:9:15 AM
Event Location: In front of Building 1
Add to Calendar
Alan Mather x32619
[top] - The Power of Interns
JSC said a fond farewell recently to more than 25 spring interns that had been working at the center during the spring semester and, for some, longer. They are not all leaving. In the next couple of weeks, the center will welcome more than 100 summer interns, with 11 returning from the spring. JSC team members interested in hosting an intern or learning more about the program should contact the JSC Intern Coordinator Missy Matthias at 281-792-7844. - Early Shuttle Design and Organizational Structure
Straight wing versus delta wing. Fully reusable versus partially reusable. Lead center management versus matrix management. Get the facts about the decisions that influenced the early design of the space shuttle and its organizational structure and the lessons learned from each. Hear from those who were there: Bob Thompson, George Jeffs, Norm Chaffee, Owen Morris, Tom Moser and others. Check out two new case studies: The Genesis of the Shuttle: Early Design Development and Organizational Structure on the JSC Knowledge Management website. Consider what lessons we can take away from this and apply to our own tasks. While you are there please take time to give us your feedback. Also, we would like your suggestions for potential topics. Share your ideas with us! Organizations/Social - Altered Mental Status Awareness and Support
It can be very distressing watching a loved on experience an altered mental status. An altered mental status commonly presents as problems with thinking clearly, problems with reality testing and changes in mood. These type of difficulties are routinely seen in persons with dementia, brain injuries, mental illness and other medical conditions. It is not uncommon for family and friends to go through a series of their own stages in response to a loved one experiencing an altered mental status. We will be discussing the typical conditions that present with symptoms of altered mental status. We will discuss how to support yourself and loves ones. We will also identify resources for ongoing education and assistance. Please join Anika Isaac, LPC, LMFT, LCDC, CEAP, NCC, as she presents "Altered Mental Status Awareness and Support" on May 20 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Building 30 Auditorium. - Starport's Father-Daughter Dance 2014
Make Father's Day weekend a date your daughter will never forget! Enjoy a night of music, dancing, refreshments, finger foods, dessert, photos and more. Plan to get all dressed up and spend a special evening with the special little lady in your life. The dance is open to girls of all ages, and attire is business casual to semi-formal. A photographer will be on hand to capture this special moment with picture packages for you to purchase. One free 5x7 will be provided. - June 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Gilruth Center Alamo Ballroom
- Cost is $40 per couple ($15 per additional child)
Register online or at the Gilruth Center information desk. You must register by June 11. There will be no tickets sold at the door. - Starport Zumba for Kids - It's Back
Zumba for Kids is back by popular demand! This program is designed exclusively for kids. Zumba for Kids classes are rockin', high-energy fitness parties packed with specially choreographed, kid-friendly routines. This dance-fitness workout for kids ages 5 to 10 will be set to hip-hop, salsa, reggaeton and more. TRY A FREE CLASS ON MAY 23! Please call the Gilruth Center front desk to sign your child up for the free class (only 25 available spots). Five-week session: May 30 to June 28 Fridays: 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Ages: 5 to 10 Cost: $55 Register online or at the Gilruth Center. - Latin Dance Introduction: June 13 from 8 to 9 p.m.
This class is mostly an introduction to Salsa, but it also touches on other popular Latin dances found in social settings: Merengue, Bachata, and even a little bit of Cha-Cha-Cha. Emphasis is on Salsa and then Bachata. For the first-time student or those who want a refresher course. You will go over basic steps with variations and build them into sequences. Discounted registration: - $40 per person (ends May 30)
Regular registration: - $50 per person (May 31 to June13)
Salsa Intermediate: June 13 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Community - Pick Your Passion
What's your passion? Is it reading about your favorite subject—space? Is it sharing what you do for a living to inspire the next generation? Is it telling your story to Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts? V-CORPs has something for everyone. Calling all bookworms! Public libraries offer speakers series year round, and they love to hear about SPACE. Check out these two options: June 25 - Out of This World Reading Program at the George & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Public Library July 2 - Pasadena Public Library Talks speaker series: Space Exploration Does your history include the Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts? Flaming Arrow Cub Scout Camp is looking for a former scout to talk to campers about your experiences as an engineer. The camp runs from June 24 to 26, and they are willing to take you on any day. (Sign up for the event on June 24 on the V-CORPs calendar.) The following Career Days still need someone to come and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, astronauts and Chief Financial Officers: May 28 - Dunn Elementary Career Day June 4 - Northwoods Catholic School Career Day Does something fit your passion? If so, go to the V-CORPs homepage and click on the "Current Outreach Opportunities" tile to see a list … and sign up! | |
| |
| 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
Thursday – May 15, 2014
HEADLINES AND LEADS
Russian Rocket Engine Ban on US Military Launches Could Affect NASA Spaceflight
In a move with wide-ranging implications for NASA's human spaceflight program and U.S. national security, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin yesterday (May 13) announced that his nation would ban the export of RD-180 rocket engines to the United States and pull out of the International Space Station project in 2020.
Russian rocket engine threat aimed at Pentagon could hurt NASA
Lee Roop – Huntsville (AL) Times
NASA is downplaying a Wednesday threat by Russia to stop selling U.S. companies the rocket engines used to launch American military satellites and possibly the first private space shuttle to the International Space Station.
What's Going to Happen to the International Space Station?
Russia plans to kick Americans off the station after 2020, four years earlier than the space mission's intended end.
Marina Koren – National Journal
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday that, in response to American sanctions imposed after its annexation of Crimea, his country would ban the United States from the International Space Station after 2020.
Feud between SpaceX and ULA over space contract grows more intense
Christian Davenport – The Washington Post
It started as a high-profile attempt to win a bigger share of the military space market.
First Competitive EELV Round Looks like a Two-horse Race
Mike Gruss – Space News
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. likely will be the lone challenger to United Launch Alliance for an initial round of competitively selected national security launches to be awarded starting next year, according to an Air Force official.
Russian Space Program Gets $52Bln Boost
Matthew Bodner – The Moscow Times
As a tit-for-tat sanctions war vaporizes U.S.-Russian space cooperation, the Russian government has boosted the budget of its Federal Space Agency by 1.8 trillion rubles ($52 billion) to modernize and expand its existing infrastructure and capabilities by 2020.
Elon Musk was right: What Russia's anti-NASA plan means for C. Fla.
Richard Bilbao - Orlando Business Journal
SpaceX's Elon Musk was right when he implied the U.S. may find itself in trouble if it continued working with Russia regarding its space industry. And now, after reports Russia may exile the U.S. from the International Space Station after 2020 and cut off rocket supplies, Central Florida may feel some of that pain.
Public-Private Partnerships Key to US Spaceflight Future, Experts Say
The future of United States space travel will involve significant governmental cooperation with private industry, according to a panel of spaceflight experts.
What astronauts know about leadership
Tom Fox – The Washington Post
Ellen Ochoa is a former astronaut and the first Hispanic women to go into space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993. She is now the director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, which was recently recognized as one of the most innovative agency subcomponents.
How an Astronaut Would Build NASA's Next Space Suit
Tom Jones – Popular Mechanics
Veteran astronaut and Popular Mechanics contributor Tom Jones tells us what to expect from a next-generation space suit that astronauts could wear to destinations beyond Earth orbit.
NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission to Provide 1st 3-D View of Earth's Magnetic Reconnection Process – Cleanroom visit with Bolden
Ken Kremer – Universe Today
NASA's upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is comprised of a quartet of identically instrumented observatories aimed at providing the first three-dimensional views of a fundamental process in nature known as magnetic reconnection. They were unveiled to greet NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Monday, May 12, in a rare fully stacked arrangement inside the Goddard cleanroom.
COMPLETE STORIES
Russian Rocket Engine Ban on US Military Launches Could Affect NASA Spaceflight
In a move with wide-ranging implications for NASA's human spaceflight program and U.S. national security, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin yesterday (May 13) announced that his nation would ban the export of RD-180 rocket engines to the United States and pull out of the International Space Station project in 2020.
"Russia is ready to continue deliveries of RD-180 engines to the US only under the guarantee that they won't be used in the interests of the Pentagon," he wrote in a tweet.
The RD-180 engine powers the first stage of United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket, which is used almost exclusively to launch American military satellites and other government payloads. NPO Energomash of Russia builds the engines and sells them to ULA through RD-AMROSS, a joint venture of Energomash and United Technologies Corp.
The politics of space
The moves are in retaliation for sanctions the United States placed on Rogozin and other government officials over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and the actions of Moscow-backed paramilitary groups in eastern Ukraine. Rogozin oversees Russia's military and space sectors.
A ban on RD-180 exports would likely have the U.S. Air Force scrambling to restructure its plans for launching defense satellites, and it could also disrupt NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which aims to develop vehicles capable of taking U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017. American astronauts now ride on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Two of the three commercial crew competitors, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp., plan to launch their seven-person spacecraft on Atlas V boosters. The third competitor, SpaceX, would launch its Dragon spacecraft aboard its own Falcon 9 rocket, which is domestically produced.
Boeing has designed its CST-100 capsule spacecraft to be compatible with multiple launch vehicles. The company could potentially launch the CST-100 on ULA's Delta 4 booster or SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. It is not known whether Sierra Nevada has the same options with its Dream Chaser mini-space shuttle.
NASA confident of U.S. space access
In remarks following the dedication ceremony of the Armstrong Flight Research Center in California yesterday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said he hadn't heard Rogozin's statement yet.
"We're really focused right now on the selection of a provider or providers for our ability to take American astronauts from American soil again," Bolden said. "We've got three great bidders. You know, as I understand it, really strong companies. We've been working, as you know, with Boeing and Sierra Nevada and SpaceX for a number of years now … My intent is that we'll be launching Americans from American soil in 2017.
"The way that I understand it from talking with ULA is they have enough engines already in their stockpile to fly out their missions for the next few years," Bolden added. "It's like people were concerned about Orbital [Sciences Corp.] because they used what is a Russian rocket engine, it was the old NK-33 but it's now called the AJ-26, but they own every single one of those assets. So none of this is caught up in it. That's why I don't go on rumor and innuendo, you know, I sit down with the team. And the team's pretty confident we're going to have some commercial providers to carry humans to orbit."
Bolden also stressed that the American plan to extend use of the International Space Station from 2020 to at least 2024 was a proposal to the international partners, which include Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.
"It is not a unilateral decision on the part of the United States," he said. "Our recommendation to the partners, and all of the partners have agreed that they're going to look at extending the life of the station to 2024 … And I would remind everyone, the first two people to sign the proposal to do so were Mr. [Oleg] Ostapenko and me. Mr. Ostapenko [the head of] Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. You're talking about diplomatic action, and I'm talking about just operational interaction between Roscosmos and NASA. So, until we get word from somebody else, then nothing's changed for us right now."
NASA also released a formal statement that focused on cooperation with Russia:
"Space cooperation has been a hallmark of US-Russia relations, including during the height of the Cold War, and most notably, in the past 13 consecutive years of continuous human presence on board the International Space Station. Ongoing operations on the ISS continue on a normal basis with a planned return of crew [Tuesday night] and expected launch of a new crew in the next few weeks. We have not received any official notification from the Government of Russia on any changes in our space cooperation at this point."
Air Force launches could feel pinch
The impact on the U.S. Air Force would be even more significant than on NASA. In December, the service signed a no-bid deal to purchase 36 Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rocket cores from ULA over the next five years. Seven or eight additional launches would be open to new competitors such as SpaceX.
SpaceX recently filed suit to overturn the award, discussing the sanctions against Rogozin at length in the complaint. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting ULA from purchasing additional RD-180 engines unless the government provided assurances that the purchases didn't violate the sanctions against Rogozin.
The judge lifted the injunction after the government provided those assurances. However, Rogozin's announcement yesterday rendered the decision moot.
ULA issued a statement yesterday saying it was unaware of any restrictions on the export of the engines.
"We are hopeful that our two nations will engage in productive conversations over the coming months that will resolve the matter quickly," the company wrote in the statement. "ULA and our Department of Defense customers have always prepared contingency plans in the event of a supply disruption. ULA has two launch vehicles that can support all of customers' needs. We also maintain a two-year inventory of engines to enable a smooth transition to our other rocket, Delta, which has all U.S.-produced rocket engines."
ULA also blamed SpaceX for pushing the issue over the brink.
"If recent news reports are accurate, it affirms that SpaceX's irresponsible actions have created unnecessary distractions, threatened U.S. military satellite operations, and undermined our future relationship with the International Space Station."
ULA's options for replacing the RD-180 engine are neither cheap nor fast. United Technologies has the right to produce RD-180 engines in the United States under license. However, officials have said such an effort could cost $1 billion and take five years, thus idling the Atlas V rocket for several years.
Earlier this month, a House Armed Services subcommittee set aside $220 million to begin full-scale development of an U.S. rocket engine alternative to the RD-180 as part of a budget markup. The engine would be ready for flights no later than 2019.
Russian rocket engine threat aimed at Pentagon could hurt NASA
Lee Roop – Huntsville (AL) Times
NASA is downplaying a Wednesday threat by Russia to stop selling U.S. companies the rocket engines used to launch American military satellites and possibly the first private space shuttle to the International Space Station.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday (May 13) that Russia will ban the export of its RD-180 rocket engines to the United States and also pull out of the International Space Station in 2020.
RD-180 engines are used now by United Launch Alliance (ULA) to lift American military satellites into orbit aboard Atlas V rockets. ULA assembles the Atlas rocket in Decatur, Ala.
The Atlas V is also the first choice of two of the three companies now competing to carry American astronauts to and from the space station. Boeing and Sierra Nevada have both said they will use the Atlas V to lift their spacecraft into orbit. The third commercial competitor, SpaceX, uses its own engine. Boeing's entry in the space taxi competition is configured to ride atop more than the Atlas V.
"Russia is ready to continue deliveries of RD-180 engines to the US only under the guarantee that they won't be used in the interests of the Pentagon," Rogozin said on Twitter. He was retaliating for U.S. sanctions levied in the ongoing tensions over Ukraine.
ULA has said it has a supply of RD-180 engines that will allow it to launch military satellites for at least two years.
A report about the Russian threat on the website space.com quoted NASA Administrator Charles Bolden as saying that until Rogozin's statement is backed up by someone else in authority "nothing's changed for us." What's Going to Happen to the International Space Station?
Russia plans to kick Americans off the station after 2020, four years earlier than the space mission's intended end.
Marina Koren – National Journal
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday that, in response to American sanctions imposed after its annexation of Crimea, his country would ban the United States from the International Space Station after 2020.
"The Russian segment can exist independently from the American one," he said. "The U.S. one cannot."
Rogozin has a point, and it's one that puts the future of U.S. spaceflight in question. While the station is manned by an American and Russian (and Japanese and Canadian) crew, the only way to get there is on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. NASA pays Russia $70.7 million per trip to ferry its astronauts to and from the station. While Russia depends on NASA's electronics and communications technology, which are more advanced, transportation trumps tech out there.
Rogozin's remarks may also be no more than political posturing. NASA officials say the agency has not received any official notification from Russia about changes in cooperation. It's business as usual at the station right now: Three astronauts—American, Russian and Japanese—returned to earth from the station on Wednesday after more than six months working together in space. Two Russians and one American remain, and a new batch of astronauts is expected to launch in a few weeks.
Clara Moskowitz at Scientific American points out that talk about cutting ties with the U.S. came from a Russian politician, rather than an official at Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, or the country's scientific community. "At the political level, people are starting to huff and puff," space policy expert Roger Handberg of the University of Central Florida told Moskowitz. "But at the agency level, they're trying to keep it calm because they understand they're tied together at this point."
In January, the Obama administration extended the ISS mission, scheduled to end in 2017, until 2024. In March, when the Ukraine crisis began in earnest, the idea that political tension would affect one of humanity's greatest achievements was hard to believe. Back then, NASA was "confident that our two space agencies will continue to work closely as they have throughout various ups and downs of the broader U.S.-Russia relationship," a spokesman for the agency said. After all, NASA's relationship with Roscomos had previously withstood the conflict in Syria and Russia's protection of NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
The rosy picture of collaboration has soured since then. In early April, NASA suspended contact with Russian government representatives, citing the country's "ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity." At the time, operations aboard the ISS were exempt from the suspension. Now the future of those operations is in doubt.
That kind of talk is enough to change the situation on the ground even as cooperation continues in space. Russia's threat of kicking U.S. astronauts off ISS could add more fuel to NASA's partnership with private American spaceflight companies, who are working to launch astronauts from American soil by 2017. U.S. lawmakers have long called for ending American dependence on Russian space transport, and the recent threats from Moscow could rally support in Washington.
Weakened ties with Russia could also mean that one of America's biggest political rivals on earth could become its biggest ally in space. China is not part of the ISS mission, in part because of U.S. opposition, but it recently successfully transported crew to and from a Chinese space station.
"China is an obvious addition to the international [human spaceflight] partnership, both for the ISS program and beyond," Leroy Chiao, a former NASA astronaut, told the Senate Science and Space Subcommittee last month.
So don't worry, Russia's ban does not mean the ISS is going to plummet into the ocean anytime soon. It does, however, mean that even space is no longer immune to politics.
Feud between SpaceX and ULA over space contract grows more intense
Christian Davenport – The Washington Post
It started as a high-profile attempt to win a bigger share of the military space market.
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, sued the federal government claiming his start-up space company had been shut out of a lucrative military rocket contract. High-profile members of Congress, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), rallied to his cause. An injunction was issued, then lifted.
But now the fight between Musk's SpaceX and two of the nation's largest defense contractors has become entangled in an international dispute that could have even wider implications and jeopardize the United States' ability to get its astronauts to the international space station.
This week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said he would prohibit the export of Russian-made engines used in many U.S. rocket launches. That could eventually cause a disruption in how the Pentagon sends military satellites into orbit.
And it plays into the hands of Musk, who is arguing that the nation's security interests in space shouldn't be dependent on the Russians.
The contract for launching military satellites is currently held by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which uses the Russian-made engines in its Atlas rockets. SpaceX sued the federal government last month in protest of the Air Force's decision to award that business to ULA without competition.
The multibillion-dollar contract is for 36 rockets to launch defense payloads, including satellites.
Musk, the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors, claimed that SpaceX could deliver military satellites to space far more cheaply. Musk called for the Air Force to cancel the contract and give SpaceX time to complete the required certification process.
Musk also argued that ULA's use of the Russian-made RD-180 engines could violate U.S. sanctions. Within days of the suit being filed, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Susan G. Braden issued an injunction, prohibiting ULA from buying the Russian engines. She ultimately lifted the injunction after several government agencies said the Russian manufacturer was not subject to the sanctions.
But then Rogozin told reporters that the government would not allow the delivery of the engines for use in military launches. He also threatened to end Russia's cooperation with the United States on the space station after 2020.
In a statement, ULA said it was unaware of the Russian export ban but said that, if true, "it affirms that SpaceX's irresponsible actions have created unnecessary distractions, threatened U.S. military satellite operations, and undermined our future relationship with the International Space Station."
The company said it has contingency plans, including a two-year inventory of engines, which "would enable a smooth transition to our other rocket, Delta, which has all U.S.-produced rocket engines."
McCain, a staunch critic of many of the Pentagon's procurement programs, wrote to the Air Force's inspector general, urging him to investigate the program, saying that "without competition [it] has been plagued by exponential cost growth and schedule delays."
ULA has said that it is the only company certified to meet all the Pentagon's requirements. The company said it has performed dozens of successful launches and that its recent contract saves the government about $4 billion.
Given the stakes involved — the Pentagon expects to spend almost $70 billion on the program by 2030 — Marco Caceres, a senior analyst at the Teal Group, said he was not surprised that Musk "is playing hardball."
"There's a lot at stake," he said. "These contracts are very lucrative."
But, Caceres said, there could be other implications. The United States depends on Russia to take its astronauts to the space station. And if Russia decided it would no longer do that, it "could become a political nightmare," he said. "Certainly it would be an embarrassment for the United States if there are no Americans on the space station."
Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that while the tensions over space would have short-term implications, the United States has the ability "to avoid dependence on Russia."
"If U.S.-Russia space cooperation becomes a casualty, that's going to have enduring effects for years and decades," he said. "To be blunt, over the long term, they need us more than we need them."
Rogozin recently alluded to the possibility of ending the agreement to ferry U.S. astronauts to the space station, tweeting: "After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest the U.S. delivers its astronauts to the ISS [international space station] with a trampoline."
In response, Musk tweeted about the ship SpaceX is developing that would allow it to carry passengers, and not just cargo, into space.
"No trampoline needed," he wrote.
First Competitive EELV Round Looks like a Two-horse Race
Mike Gruss – Space News
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. likely will be the lone challenger to United Launch Alliance for an initial round of competitively selected national security launches to be awarded starting next year, according to an Air Force official.
Rocket builder Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Virginia, and propulsion provider ATK Aerospace of Promontory, Utah, had said as recently as 2013 they were interested in launching national security space payloads and becoming new entrants for the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.
But according to Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles R. Davis, the military deputy in the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, neither Orbital nor ATK has taken the necessary steps to certify their rockets to carry national security payloads.
That likely means the companies will not be eligible to compete until the Air Force puts a second round of satellite launches out for competitive bids in 2018, Davis said in a May 8 interview.
"So far, as of yet, while they both expressed interest, neither has actually entered the certification process," Davis said. "Neither one of them, if you will, is anywhere near the position SpaceX is in."
The Air Force expects to certify SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, by March 2015. The service is spending more than $60 million and has 100 employees working on the process, Davis said.
Air Force officials have said repeatedly they believe other companies would follow SpaceX to challenge ULA to win national security launch contracts.
According to a February 2013 report from the Government Accountability Office, Orbital and ATK were expected to submit plans to prove they could successfully launch satellites for the Air Force.
A fourth company, Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver, was also expected to submit a certification plan for its Athena 3 rocket. Dee Valeras, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman, said in a May 13 email the company was still developing its business case for the rocket.
ATK is a motor supplier for some of Orbital's rockets, and the two companies recently announced plans to merge in a deal that requires approval from U.S. antitrust authorities. It is unclear whether the new company, to be called Orbital ATK, would pursue Air Force launch business.
"We can't comment on what the merged company will or will not do," Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said via email May 6.
Davis said the merged company "very well could be looking" at the next phase of the EELV competition, which is expected to start in 2018 and include an open competition for every national security launch.
In order to a receive a request for proposals to win Air Force launch contracts, companies need to go through a rigorous certification process in which officials from the service learn nearly everything they can about the rocket in question. Orbital's relevant launcher is the Antares; ATK has long proposed a vehicle dubbed Liberty 2.
Under the Air Force's New Entrant Certification Guide, companies are expected to complete three successful launches of their rockets, including at least two consecutively. They must submit data from those launches for evaluation by the Air Force.
Air Force officials have stressed that certified companies are not guaranteed launch contracts, only the right to compete for business.
Denver-based ULA has indicated that it intends to bid for the contested missions.
According to the GAO report, ATK expected to submit a statement of intent to certify its rocket by March 2013 and complete the process by late 2016. The company's Liberty 2 rocket today remains a design concept.
Orbital has submitted a statement of intent, Air Force officials said in March 2014. The company was negotiating a certification plan last year and its planned certification date was in the 2017-2018 time frame, according to the GAO report.
In congressional testimony in March, the GAO said several new entrants were "in varying stages" of the certification process.
The Air Force has said that beginning in 2018, it expects to put all of its launches out for competitive bids, one at a time. That likely would mean no more bulk purchases like the Air Force's block buy of 36 rocket cores from ULA.
SpaceX is protesting that sole-source contract, under which some 15 launcher cores have been ordered to date, according to the Air Force.
Russian Space Program Gets $52Bln Boost
Matthew Bodner – The Moscow Times
As a tit-for-tat sanctions war vaporizes U.S.-Russian space cooperation, the Russian government has boosted the budget of its Federal Space Agency by 1.8 trillion rubles ($52 billion) to modernize and expand its existing infrastructure and capabilities by 2020.
The new program for Russian space activities through 2020 was quietly released on Tuesday, the same day that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin issued a series of controversial statements painting the future of U.S.-Russian space cooperation in a bleak light.
According to Rogozin, Russia will not accept a NASA proposal to extend the life of the International Space Station, or ISS beyond 2020, and instead will be looking to other projects and partners. The new space policy, which pledges 1.8 trillion rubles toward modernization and development efforts throughout the Russian space industry, appears to be a step toward ensuring Russia is free to pursue its own interests in space after its ISS obligations are fulfilled in 2020.
Rogozin tweeted that Russia will discuss cooperative space projects with China at a summit meting in Beijing on May 19.
Be that as it may, Russia has extensive international obligations to fill in the near-term, a point that is made in the Roscosmos statement explaining the new plan. Indeed, the entirety of the 1.8 trillion rubles will be devoted to addressing near-term concerns, such as ensuring "the access and necessary presence of Russia in space."
Therefore, Roscosmos will launch a long-overdue modernization effort in the Soviet-era industrial base responsible for producing the rockets and technology that have enabled Russia to enjoy its preeminence in space exploration.
This modernization effort will extend to the renovations to the old cosmodromes at Plesetsk — located in Arkhangelsk — and Baikonur — located in northern Kazakhstan.
Russia currently leases the Baikonur Cosmodrome from the Kazakh government for $115 million annually.
Russia is also busy constructing a brand new launch facility in the Far East — the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Vostochny will be the home of Russia's newest rocket, Angara — a critical project for Russia, as it will be the first new launch vehicle to be deployed since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The government has ordered Roscosmos to expand the existing constellation of orbiting satellites to 78 by 2015, and 113 by 2020, "in order to meet the needs of the state," the plan said. The military, for example, does not have the elaborate network of communications and reconnaissance satellites it once commanded during the Cold War, as these assets were not replaced when they reached the ends of their operational lifetimes during the 1990s.
Moreover, the expansion of Russia's network of satellites places a heavy emphasis on the continued deployment of Glonass satellites, including the newest Glonass-K models. This will drive the program toward its goal of providing Glonass users with navigation data accurate to 1.4 meters by 2015, and 0.6 meters by 2020.
The 2020 plan also emphasizes the need for the development of the advanced hardware Russia will need to pursue ambitious lunar and deep space exploration projects beyond 2020.
1.8 trillion rubles is a significant investment in the Russian space program. Since the collapse of the Soviet state apparatus that had so lavishly funded space exploration — famously launching both the first satellite and man into space — the Russian space program has experienced protracted economic hardship.
Last year, President Vladimir Putin pledged to double down on Russia's space program, presenting an ambitious outline of exploration and technological development through 2030 and beyond. At that time, he promised a hefty $52 billion investment toward revitalizing Russian space efforts, which has now been delivered.
The new space budget places Roscosmos back on the leading edge of global space expenditures, second only to NASA — which receives around $17 billion to $18 billion annually. If this funding level remains consistent through 2020, the U.S. will have outspent Russia in space by almost $70 billion dollars.
Elon Musk was right: What Russia's anti-NASA plan means for C. Fla.
Richard Bilbao - Orlando Business Journal
SpaceX's Elon Musk was right when he implied the U.S. may find itself in trouble if it continued working with Russia regarding its space industry. And now, after reports Russia may exile the U.S. from the International Space Station after 2020 and cut off rocket supplies, Central Florida may feel some of that pain.
Russia's space program is the avenue U.S. astronauts take to get to the space station. Russia plans to no longer use the space station, which cuts off the U.S.'s way to get there. In addition, the U.S. is prohibited from using Russian-made rocket engines to launch military satellites, said a Reuters report.
So what does this mean for Central Florida's space industry, which is still struggling to find its footing after the space shuttle program came to a close in 2011?
It means U.S.-based commercial space transport is even more important than ever, said Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida, an agency behind fostering the growth of Florida's space industry.
"This type of news even further magnifies the need for the U.S. to be aggressive about enabling commercial space market expansion ASAP. As with transport of crews to the ISS, we cannot wait much longer. Swift action must be taken to ensure our states and commercial U.S. companies have the tools they need — whether that be dedicated launch infrastructure or engines — to keep our national space program intact without reliance on others," he said.
Expanding commercial space travel in the U.S. would result in more government contracts — outside of the typical cargo-only deliveries — and provide much-needed jobs for the region. However, the growth of that industry has been sluggish due to prolonged discussions on the future of space travel by officials in Washington and government budgetary cuts.
Then again, with Russia's decision to pull out of space relations, it may push U.S.-based commercial space companies to ramp up production and potentially take over.
Public-Private Partnerships Key to US Spaceflight Future, Experts Say
The future of United States space travel will involve significant governmental cooperation with private industry, according to a panel of spaceflight experts.
Government contracts with aerospace firms have changed the face of spaceflight in the United States. NASA officials hope to start using privately built spaceships to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station by 2017, and two companies (SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp.) already fly robotic vessels full of supplies to the orbiting outpost.
"This is no longer your grandfather's space program," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said during a panel he moderated today (May 14). "Increasingly, we are seeing commercial firms launch satellites, supply the International Space Station or even offer the prospect of space tourism in the near future."
Private and public space
SpaceX engineers have been working for years to develop a fully and rapidly reusable rocket stage. The spaceflight firm recently soft-landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket in the ocean after launching it to space. But Antonio Elias, the executive vice president and chief technical officer at Orbital Sciences, thinks that developing reusable rockets might not be the best use of resources without plenty of launches to support it.
"If the absolute elasticity of demand for launch and price is sufficiently high and if SpaceX is able to go to 50 or 60 flights a year, their efforts in reusability will pay off handsomely," Elias said during the Brookings Institute panel discussion. "But if it falls short of 50 to 60 a year, it's going to be wasted money."
3D printing also holds a lot of potential for future spaceflight ventures, according to Adam Harris, vice president of government sales at SpaceX. Recently, SpaceX tested a 3D-printed metal rocket nozzle at the firm's test stand in Texas.
"3D printing is a major advancement that SpaceX is trying to use to lower the cost of building, lower the cost of research and development," Harris said. "This is an advanced way of doing 3D printing. It's with metal and it's with better metals. A lot of the 3D printing technology relies on plastics and other ways of doing it."
Future science
On the scientific side of the coin, Mars should be an exploration goal for scientists in the future, said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars exploration program. NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has confirmed that the Red Planet could have been habitable in the distant past, and further study is needed to understand whether life did exist on Mars.
"One of the things that we'll look at in the future is not only deciding whether or not life ever got started there, but in all honesty, I think it's the only place in our solar system that has any real possibility of colonization," Meyer said during a second Brookings panel today (May 14). "So, in the long term, I think going to Mars will be a theme whether or not we're doing it robotically or whether or not we're doing it with humans."
Other bodies in the solar system are also worth investigating, experts said.
"As far as I'm concerned, 2015 is the year of the dwarf planets because we have two missions out there," said Nadine Barlow, a professor of physics and astronomy at Northern Arizona University. "One [NASA's Dawn mission] is on its way to Ceres, which is the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, but is also known as a dwarf planet."
The second big mission is NASA's New Horizons mission scheduled to arrive in the Pluto system next year, she added.
Jupiter's icy moon Europa has a liquid water ocean underneath its ice shell that might be able to host life. NASA is currently looking into a Europa mission that could help scientists understand whether the moon could harbor life.
"Depending upon what we find on Mars, what we find on Europa, what we find on [Saturn's moon] Enceladus, it may give us very good clues about what was going on in the early solar system and where the places are that life could have begun," Meyer said.
What astronauts know about leadership
Tom Fox – The Washington Post
Ellen Ochoa is a former astronaut and the first Hispanic women to go into space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993. She is now the director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, which was recently recognized as one of the most innovative agency subcomponents.
Ochoa spoke about her experiences and how they shaped her views on leadership with Tom Fox, a guest writer for On Leadership and vice president for leadership and innovation at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. Fox also heads up their Center for Government Leadership.
Q. What are some of the leadership lessons that you learned as an astronaut that you are applying to your role as director of the Johnson Space Center?
A. Being in the astronaut corps really teaches you a lot about leadership. You have to be both a member of the team and at times a leader of the team. Some of my colleagues in the astronaut office were Marines, and they would tell me that in the Marines they had two goals: accomplish the mission and take care of your people. I find myself coming back to that because I think it's a great thing to remember. It boils everything down to two straightforward and important goals.
I'm trying to make sure that the people here have the skills and the infrastructure that are going to allow us to accomplish our mission of advancing human space exploration. It's partly about making sure we're safe and successful, but it's also that my center is prepared to carry out that mission for many years into the future.
Q. Have any situations that went awry imparted important leadership lessons?
A. A challenge I think about every day is the loss of the space shuttle Columbia. I had only been in a management position for about two months, and the morning that Columbia was supposed to land was the first time that I was in mission control as a manager. I was there as the crew management representative in case something went wrong. Of course, you never go into a situation like that expecting anything bad to happen. When it did, it was a hugely tragic event for the country, and certainly for everyone at NASA.
We were able to learn some lessons from the loss. When we're talking about issues or doing a flight-readiness review, I try to deliberately think, "Are we asking the right questions? Do we have the right people in the room? Are we encouraging people who might have some knowledge of the subject to speak up?"
During the investigation report after the loss of Columbia, we discovered there were a lot of people questioning what was happening during the mission, but those questions weren't getting into an open forum — and as a result, we didn't address them. That is something we have to continually work on, because it can be human nature to slip into a comfortable routine where we think that, because we have a lot of experience and expertise, naturally all the right information will bubble up. We have to make sure we have processes in place to encourage asking the right questions and we have to continually keep that top of mind.
Q. How has NASA been able to remain innovative year after year?
A. I try to make sure that our team stays focused on what's within our control. We can't control exactly how much money comes to us in the budget, but we can be innovative with how we use the money that we're allocated. I want to make sure that we don't fall into a mindset where we think that things happen to us and we have to react. I want to make sure that we're productive and we generate creative ideas — and not only ideas of what to do, but also how to carry things out. It's important that federal leaders take charge to make sure that people are focusing on the mission of the organization above all else, and realizing the control they have in order to accomplish that mission.
Q. How do you reward outstanding employees?
A. We have an award here at the Johnson Space Center called the Power of One award, which is a peer award where people can recognize their co-workers who have helped their office, our center or even our whole agency. The winners get to choose from a variety of experiences, like going onto the floor of mission control, going out to our large pool that we call the neutral buoyancy facility where the astronauts practice space walks, or getting a ride in our surface exploration rover that we've developed here as a concept vehicle. Unless you work in one of those particular areas, you might never get to do that.
We're trying to do this to reward great work and also as a way of bringing all of our folks closer to the mission. We can't give our employees stock options, but we do some pretty cool things here and we need to take advantage of how they can help keep employees engaged.
How an Astronaut Would Build NASA's Next Space Suit
Veteran astronaut and Popular Mechanics contributor Tom Jones tells us what to expect from a next-generation space suit that astronauts could wear to destinations beyond Earth orbit.
Tom Jones – Popular Mechanics
In hundreds of hours spent training underwater and 19 hours working outside the space shuttle and International Space Station, I grew to think of NASA's current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) as a second skin. The suit is stiff, bulky, and sometimes rubbed me the wrong way in the wrong places, but I knew it would keep me alive in the hard vacuum. During my space walks, it disappeared from my consciousness, blending with my body to create a versatile, reliable "mini-spaceship" that got the job done.
But our deep-space ambitions to explore the asteroids, the moon, and Mars require a new generation of space suit. To conduct fieldwork on another world, NASA's new suit, the Z-2, must be lighter and more flexible, enabling astronauts to bend, twist, and even kneel on terra incognita—things I never needed to do in orbit. It should go into service on the ISS as soon as possible, and get a workout in real space conditions before it has to deal with the rocks, dust, and grit of an asteroid, the moon, Phobos, or Mars. Given the dwindling inventory of shuttle suits left to serve at the station, and the need for a new suit for the Orion vehicle, we need to put the Z-series on real astronauts—on real space jobs—in five years or less.
The stiff fabric limbs of the EMU, with joints that inflicted shoulder injury on some astronauts, must give way to more flexible designs that reduce workload yet stand up to rugged alien environments. The life-support backpack should carry more compact liquid oxygen tanks, rather than pressurized gas tanks, to extend surface time; it should incorporate more battery capacity and swing open so astronauts can don it from the rear.
Innovative gloves will be the key to effective scientific and mechanical work outside. My Phase VI gloves performed well for me at the station, but I routinely suffered pinched fingertips and sore nails. Before each spacewalk, I armored my vulnerable hands with adhesive moleskin.
I'd like to see 21st-century computing power used to enhance the suit, too—projecting life-support data, checklists, emergency procedures, and even multispectral views onto the helmet visor. A data link, for example, might let me see my EVA partner's helmet-camera view while I continued work on my own tasks.
NASA recently held a contest in which the public could vote for the exterior look of the new space suit. But I'm less interested in the styling of the new Z-2 than in its utility. Form should follow function. When it appears in space, the Z-2 will be cloaked by an outer thermal and micrometeoroid garment that will hide most of its "cool" contours. What matters is whether it does the job. If it performs well, the Z-2 and its successors will define what a 21st-century space suit looks like.
A final request to the suit designers: in my old, familiar shuttle suit, I was buttoned up inside for seven or eight hours with nary a bite to eat. Could we work in a low-tech, in-helmet Pez dispenser?
Tom Jones is a veteran astronaut and payload commander. He flew four space shuttle missions and led three space walks at the International Space Station.
NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission to Provide 1st 3-D View of Earth's Magnetic Reconnection Process – Cleanroom visit with Bolden
Ken Kremer – Universe Today
NASA's upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is comprised of a quartet of identically instrumented observatories aimed at providing the first three-dimensional views of a fundamental process in nature known as magnetic reconnection. They were unveiled to greet NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Monday, May 12, in a rare fully stacked arrangement inside the Goddard cleanroom.
Universe Today was on hand with NASA Administrator Bolden, Science Mission Chief John Grunsfeld and the MMS mission team at Goddard for a first hand inspection and up close look at the 20 foot tall, four spacecraft stacked configuration in the cleanroom and for briefings about the projects fundamental science goals.
"I'm visiting with the MMS team today to find out the status of this mission scheduled to fly early in 2015. It's one of many projects here at Goddard," NASA Administrator Bolden told me in an exclusive one-on-one interview at the MMS cleanroom.
"MMS will help us study the phenomena known as magnetic reconnection and help us understand how energy from the sun – magnetic and otherwise – affects our own life here on Earth. MMS will study what effects that process … and how the magnetosphere protects Earth."
Magnetic reconnection is the process whereby magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect while explosively releasing vast amounts of energy.
MMS measurements should lead to significant improvements in models for yielding better predictions of space weather and thereby the resulting impacts on life of Earth as well as satellite explorers in orbit and the heavens beyond.
The four identical spacecraft – which are still undergoing testing – were stacked in a rarely seen launch arrangement known affectionately as the "IHOP configuration" because they look like a stack of luscious pancakes.
"MMS is a fundamental heliophysics science mission," Craig Tooley told me at the MMS cleanroom. Tooley is MMS project manager at NASA Goddard.
"Unlike Hubble that uses remote sensing, MMS is like a flying laboratory 'in situ' that will capture events that are the major energy transfer from the sun's magnetic field into our Earth's space weather environment and magnetosphere.
"These are called magnetic reconnection events that pump enormous amounts of energy into the plasma and the fields around Earth. It's one of the main drivers of space weather and a fundamental physical process that is not very well understood," Tooley explained.
"The spacecraft were built in-house here at Goddard and just completed vibration testing."
MMS will launch atop an Atlas V rocket in March 2015 from Space launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
MMS is also another highly valuable NASA science mission (along with MAVEN, LADEE and others) which suffered launch delays and increased costs as a result of the US shutdown last October 2013, Bolden confirmed to Universe Today.
"We ended up slipping beyond the original October 2014 date due to the government shutdown and [the team] being out of work for a couple of weeks. MMS is now scheduled to launch in March 2015," Bolden told me.
"So then you are at the mercy of the launch provider."
"The downside to slipping that far is that's its [MMS] costing more to launch," Bolden stated.
Each of the Earth orbiting spacecraft is outfitted with 25 science sensors to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence.
Magnetic reconnection occurs throughout our universe
"The primary mission will last two years," Tooley told me.
"Each spacecraft carries about 400 kilograms of fuel. There is a possibility to extend the mission by about a year based on fuel consumption."
The spacecraft will use the Earth itself as a laboratory to unlock the mysteries of magnetic reconnection – the primary process that transfers energy from the solar wind into Earth's magnetosphere and is responsible for geomagnetic storms.
"They will fly in a pyramid-like formation. They will fly in an elliptical orbit and initially be spaced apart by 10 to 30 kilometers.
The best place to study magnetic reconnection is in situ in Earth's magnetosphere. This will lead to better predictions of space weather phenomena.
Magnetic reconnection is also believed to help trigger the spectacular aurora known as the Northern or Southern lights.
END
No comments:
Post a Comment