Thursday, May 22, 2014

Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Thursday – May 22, 2014 and JSC Today



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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: May 22, 2014 11:04:15 AM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Thursday – May 22, 2014 and JSC Today

Happy Flex Friday eve everyone. 

JSC Logo

 

 

 

 

   Headlines

  1. Joint Leadership Team Web Poll

Combining last week's responses tells me you would be soooo mad if you saw Godzilla driving too closely behind you, especially if he was texting at the time. That's pretty understandable. This week I'm looking for ideas to improve JSC or make life a little better for you. I've given you five suggested changes; which one would you most like to see? Parking garages? Dry cleaners? Moving sidewalks? This week I saw Mike Jackson in a hologram, and I got to wondering who else I'd like to see. Who gets your vote? Hendrix? Joplin? Cobain? Mercedes your Benz on over to get this week's poll.

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

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  1. ALHAT in Control! Morpheus Test at KSC Today

Today, the Morpheus/ALHAT team plans another free flight using full ALHAT navigation for the first time! The Bravo vehicle will ascend approximately 245 meters (800 feet) and at its apex, will pitch over into a 30-degree glide slope and image the hazard field to determine "safe sites." Then, Bravo will travel more than 406.5 meters (1,300 feet) downrange before descending to a landing at the ALHAT-targeted safe site after about 97 seconds of flight.

The test will be streamed live on JSC's UStream Channel. Test firing is targeted for 1:30 p.m. CDT. Streaming will begin approximately 20 minutes prior to ignition.

View the live stream, along with progress updates sent via Twitter, on the website. If on-site, watch live on JSC HDTV (channel 51-2) and IPTV (channel 4512). *Note: Testing operations are dynamic; actual firing time may vary.

Follow Morpheus on Twitter for the latest information @MorpheusLander. (Send "follow morpheuslander" to 40404 for text updates.) More information can be found here.

Wendy Watkins

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  1. You're Invited to Teague to Watch Next ISS Launch

NASA TV will broadcast prelaunch activities for the next three crew members flying to the International Space Station, followed by extensive live coverage of their launch and docking to the orbital laboratory on Wednesday, May 28. Astronaut Shannon Walker will welcome those on-site to the Teague Auditorium to watch the live coverage as it unfolds. Expedition 39 and 40 posters will be given out (as supplies last).

Expedition 40/41 Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA, Soyuz Commander Max Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency will launch to the space station in a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:57 p.m. CDT (1:57 a.m. May 29, Baikonur time).

NASA TV coverage begins at 2 p.m. and will include video of the prelaunch activities leading up to and including the crew members boarding their spacecraft. Doors to the Teague Auditorium will open at that time for the launch event.

The crew is scheduled to dock to the station's Rassvet module less than six hours later, at 8:48 p.m. NASA TV coverage of docking begins at 8 p.m.

Expedition 40 Commander Steve Swanson of NASA and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos will greet the new crew when the hatches open at about 10:25 p.m. NASA TV hatch opening coverage begins at 10 p.m.

JSC, Ellington Field, Sonny Carter Training Facility and White Sands Test Facility employees who cannot make it to the Teague Auditorium but have hard-wired computer network connections can view the events using the JSC EZTV IP Network TV System on channel 404 (standard definition) or channel 4541 (HD). Please note: EZTV currently requires using Internet Explorer on a Windows PC or Safari on a Mac. Mobile devices, Wi-Fi, VPN or connections from other centers are currently not supported by EZTV.

First-time users will need to install the EZTV Monitor and Player client applications:

    • For those WITH admin rights (Elevated Privileges), you'll be prompted to download and install the clients when you first visit the IPTV website
    • For those WITHOUT admin rights (Elevated Privileges), you can download the EZTV client applications from the ACES Software Refresh Portal (SRP)

If you are having problems viewing the video using these systems, contact the Information Resources Directorate Customer Support Center at x46367 or visit the FAQ site.

Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst will remain aboard the station until mid-November. Swanson, Skvortsov and Artemyev will return to Earth in mid-September, leaving Suraev as Expedition 41 Commander.

Event Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2014   Event Start Time:2:00 PM   Event End Time:3:30 PM
Event Location: Teague Auditorium, NASA TV

Add to Calendar

JSC External Relations, Office of Communications and Public Affairs x35111 http://www.nasa.gov/station

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  1. Researchers Pin Hopes on ISS Thyroid Cancer Study

Researchers recently made use of the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to seek answers about the nature of cancer cells. The Microgravity on Human Thyroid Carcinoma Cells (Cellbox-Thyroid) study hopes to reveal results that will help in the fight against thyroid cancer.

Daniela-Gabriele Grimm, MD and principal investigator and researcher from Denmark, seeks to build on earlier conclusions by identifying proteins that can be targeted to anti-cancer therapies. Insights into what controls how tumors grow may lead to knowledge for enhancing treatments on Earth. Experiments took place aboard ISS soon after berthing of the SpaceX Dragon on April 20. Samples were returned to Earth aboard SpaceX-3, May 18, for further analysis by researchers on the ground.

Multi-national efforts that go into research aboard ISS show that working together can yield results with universal benefits, especially when talking about human health concerns such as cancer.

Read more about it!

Roger Weiss x47716

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  1. All Cafés and Starbucks Closed This Flex Friday

The cafes in Buildings 1, 3 and 11, as well as the Starbucks coffee cart, will be closed on Flex Friday, May 23. The café in Building 3 will be open on Flex Fridays after this Friday and going forward.

Danial Hornbuckle x30240

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   Organizations/Social

  1. Prediction Run 5K

JSC Health and Fitness Month (HFM) 2014 - Prediction Run 5K

What: Predict the amount of time you will spend walking, jogging or running a specified distance

Distance: 3.1 miles

When: Thursday, May 29 (start time is 7 a.m., but get there 15 to 20 minutes early for last-minute adjustments)

Note: Leave your watch or any other form of timing device in your car

Where: North side of Gilruth lobby

Prizes: All participants will receive an HFM ticket, and the top three performers get a HFM shirt

Register now!

Event Date: Thursday, May 29, 2014   Event Start Time:7:00 AM   Event End Time:8:00 AM
Event Location: B207 Lobby (North Side)

Add to Calendar

Richard Wooten x35010

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  1. CoLabs: If I Had Google Glass

Join CoLabs for a brainstorming session about how wearable technology like Google Glass could be used not only here at JSC, but across the agency. You will also hear more about how the technology works.

This lunchtime activity will include lots of interactive brainstorming, so bring your lunch and a friend! Cookies will be provided.

For more, check out our website.

Event Date: Thursday, May 29, 2014   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Bldg 35 (One Giant Leap Room)

Add to Calendar

Elena Buhay 281-792-7976 https://plus.google.com/communities/104838054476769665235

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  1. 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.

Event Date: Friday, June 13, 2014   Event Start Time:6:30 PM   Event End Time:8:30 PM
Event Location: Gilruth Center Alamo Ballroom

Add to Calendar

Shericka Phillips x35563 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/special-events/father-daughter...

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   Community

  1. Starport (JSC Exchange) Scholarship Program

The deadline to turn in applications for the Starport (JSC Exchange) Scholarship Program has been extended to May 30.

Starport is proud to offer two scholarships this year to provide financial assistance for dependents (children) of JSC civil servants or reimbursable detailees and dependents (children) of JSC Starport Partners to attend college.

Applicants are evaluated on the basis of academic achievement, financial need and involvement in school or community activities. The scholarship winners may pursue any course of study leading to a recognized degree at any accredited college in the country.

Additional information regarding Starport Partners, the Starport Scholarship Program and applications can be found online.

Dottie Smith x39028

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  1. Can You Spare a Little Time?

Can you spend a couple hours of your time to share your story about JSC and our space program? We have lots of folks interested in hearing what YOU have to say. Check out these opportunities on the V-CORPs calendar and sign up for one or all!

May 28: Dunn Elementary School Career Day (Talk about your career to groups of elementary school students from 8 to 11 a.m.)

June 4: Northwoods Catholic School Career Day (These are middle school students anxious to learn more about career paths! Just one hour needed in the early afternoon.)

June 12: Society of Allied Weight Engineers (This professional group is interested in our space program. Relevance to mass properties is a plus, but not required, for this evening program.)

June 23, 24 OR 25: Mechanical Engineers Design Workshop (Another professional group with flexible dates and times wants to hear about our mechanical design processes. They are particularly interested in rovers, testing, trades, design risks and more. It's on the V-CORPs calendar for June 23, but you'll pick your date with the requester!)

June 24, 25 OR 26: Flaming Arrow Twilight Camp (Were you in the Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts? These young scouts are attending a day camp. Pick your time on any of these three days, afternoon or evening, to inspire them about engineering. It's on the V-CORPs calendar for June 24, but you'll pick your date with the requester!)

Be sure to check out all of the other exciting ways that you can share YOUR STORY over the summer months. For more information, please contact the V-CORPs administrator.

V-CORPs 281-792-5859

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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

Thursday – May 22, 2014

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: Yesterday afternoon NASA hosted Destination Station: ISS Science Forum dedicated to science aboard the ISS and how venturing farther into the solar system provides real benefits to life on Earth. The forum featured an interactive conversation with Expedition 40 crew commander Astronaut Steve Swanson, as he and his fellow crewmembers orbit 260 miles above Earth.
The forum's panelists included:
-- Elizabeth R. Cantwell, co-chair of the National Research Council's decadal study, "Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration"
-- Julie Robinson, chief program scientist for the International Space Station
-- Marshall Porterfield, director of the Space Life and Physical Sciences, NASA Headquarters
-- Duane Ratliff, Chief Operating Officer, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)

 

If you missed it, you can watch it now on YouTube.

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

USAF Commission Urges New Engine To Mitigate Atlas V Gap

Amy Butler – Aviation Week

 

COLORADO SPRINGS – An influential government commission is recommending the quick start of a new liquid oxygen (LOx)/hydrocarbon engine program not only as a measure to mitigate an Atlas V gap if Russia cuts off its supply of RD-180 engines to the U.S., but also to provide an alternative to the Delta IV in nearly a decade.

 

Water Found Inside Dragon After Splashdown

Mark Carreau – Aviation Week

 

COLORADO SPRINGS — Technicians found a significant amount of water inside the latest SpaceX Dragon capsule to land in the Pacific after a mission to the International Space Station, raising concerns the commercial cargo capsule leaked after splashdown. The quantity of seawater intrusion and the source is unclear, said Dan Hartman, NASA's deputy ISS program manager. All of the science equipment and other NASA hardware in the Dragon capsule is in good shape, he said during a May 21 briefing.

 

Astronaut tells kid, 'You'd love it' up here

CNN iReport Team – CNN

 

(CNN) -- Ever since the dawn of the space program, more than 55 years ago, the world has been fascinated with astronauts and space exploration. So it was pretty exciting when CNN got to do its first iReport interview from outer space. Dozens of CNN viewers and readers sent in questions for NASA's Steve Swanson, who has more than 15 years of experience on space missions and was open to answering any and all queries about life 250 miles above Earth.

 

NASA's Morpheus: On its own

James Dean – Florida Today

 

CAPE CANVERAL -- Approaching the moon's surface in 1969, Neil Armstrong relied on a naturally engineered system to figure out where to land: his eyes. During a test flight Thursday at Kennedy Space Center, laser sensors aboard a prototype lander will attempt to map a simulated lunar landscape, identify the best landing site and guide the vehicle to a precise touchdown, a combination NASA says it has never attempted demonstrated before.

 

Safety First? It's Time for a Fresh Look at the Risks of Spaceflight

Alan Boyle – NBC News

 

In the wake of all the jabs about trade sanctions, trampoline launches and a space station pullout, America's dependence on Russian space hardware is suddenly looking like a bad idea. But Rand Simberg, a self-described recovering aerospace engineer, says policymakers should have seen it coming. "I think the scales have been falling off people's eyes in Washington, and now they realize what a huge mistake they made 20 years ago," Simberg told NBC News.

 

Rift Divides U.S. And Russia About Space Station

NPR

 

Political tension is disrupting collaboration between the U.S. and Russia on the International Space Station. John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, explains the consequences.

 

WDRB interviews astronaut Rick Mastracchio after his return from the International Space Station

Travis Kircher – WDRB

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- What is life like on the International Space Station? Do you miss life on earth? The food? And how hard is it to readjust to gravity once you get back? WDRB News had the opportunity to ask some of these questions Tuesday morning when we spoke with astronaut Rick Mastracchio. Mastracchio just returned from a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station, beginning on Nov. 7, 2013 and ending on May 14. During that time period, he and his international crewmates orbited the earth over 3,000 times, and traveled 79.8 million miles.

 

Astronauts share 'Story Time From Space' to inspire children

collectSPACE

 

May 21, 2014 — An astronaut on the International Space Station is floating before a bank of windows revealing the Earth below. He is holding open a children's book, pointing at a drawing of the orbiting outpost. "This is the story about how Max's adventures in space began with a trip to the International Space Station," reads Michael Hopkins. "And right there, you can see a picture of the International Space Station." The scene marks the start of the first video produced as a part of "Story Time From Space," an educational outreach project that has the astronauts onboard the space station reading from a series of science-themed kid's books about a dog named Max and his experiences exploring the solar system.

 


COMPLETE STORIES

USAF Commission Urges New Engine To Mitigate Atlas V Gap

Amy Butler – Aviation Week

 

COLORADO SPRINGS – An influential government commission is recommending the quick start of a new liquid oxygen (LOx)/hydrocarbon engine program not only as a measure to mitigate an Atlas V gap if Russia cuts off its supply of RD-180 engines to the U.S., but also to provide an alternative to the Delta IV in nearly a decade.

 

The group was hastily gathered earlier this year to look at the effects of a supply problem with the Russian RD-180 once tensions began to mount with the U.S. over the Crimea and Ukraine crisis. Air Force Maj. Gen. (ret.) Howard Mitchell, now an Aerospace Corp. executive, led the commission with former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin as deputy chair, and its findings are being well received by Air Force leadership, according to industry sources. Though not made public, the findings are included in a summary briefing obtained by Aviation Week.

 

With Atlas slated to assume 56% of the manifest through 2020, an RD-180 shortage would cause payload delivery delays despite options existing today to mitigate them, the commission finds. These delays appear more severe than officials at United Launch Alliance and the Air Force have indicated thus far. Both have pointed to the ability to dual-manifest Atlas V payloads (shift them to the Delta IV) as a mitigation, but the commission finds that even in doing so, there could be delays and a high price.

 

ULA did not provide comment; nor did Mitchell.

 

The immediate thorny issue is that Altas V has 38 launches on the manifest with only 16 RD-180s in the U.S. inventory, and supply is in question. The engine is made by NPO Energomash and sold to United Launch Alliance (which manages Atlas V and Delta IV) through the RD Amross joint venture with Pratt & Whitney; Pratt is in the process of transferring the end user license to Aerojet Rocketdyne as it is getting out of the launch business.

 

A shift of 22 missions would call for an increase in Delta IV production and even in doing so the backlog for this rocket would not be met until fiscal 2019, they say in their briefing.

 

ULA CEO Mike Gass said he has already begun talks with suppliers to look at the effect of ramping up production of the Delta IV and, possibly, a premature end to the Atlas V in light of Russia's May 13 threat to cut off the RD-180 supply. This is despite a contract definitized in December that calls for the purchase of 20 Delta IV and 16 Atlas V cores in a block buy.

 

Air Force officials have said Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) Falcon 9 v1.1 could be certified to compete against ULA for launches as soon as December, though more likely in March. The commission says this schedule is "aggressive," and even once certified, the Falcon 9 v1.1 would only be able to assume a small number of the satellites left without a ride if the Atlas V is retired, due to the Falcon's lift capabilities.

 

The worst-case scenario is that the last Atlas V launch takes place tomorrow, May 22; it is slated to loft a classified National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload.

 

This scenario, which is unlikely, would trigger a roughly $5 billion bill for switching several payloads from the Atlas V to the Delta IV and ramp up production of the Delta IV to pick up some of the slack. Some payloads – such as the USAF Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) – can be lofted on the largest Atlas V (equipped with one RD-180) but would require a Delta IV Heavy (relying on three RS-68s, significantly increasing the cost of each mission. And, on average, these payloads would be 3.5 years late reaching orbit, the commission warns.

 

Though unlikely, the prospect has officials planning for a life beyond Atlas V.

 

The commission suggests forming a joint NASA/Air Force engine program that could not only support an Altas V requirement but also offer options in the future, including an alternative to the Delta IV. In the near term "options to mitigate [an Atlas V] gap are limited," the commission briefing says.

 

Gass says a Delta IV Heavy costs $350 million according to the terms of the 36-core deal with the Air Force. The Pentagon relieved Lockheed Martin, which developed Atlas V, of its requirement to build a heavy lifter due to cost, leaving the Delta IV Heavy as the only option to loft the largest national security satellites through fiscal 2021. The commission suggests that SpaceX's Falcon Heavy could be certified as soon as fiscal 2018. "A new launch vehicle [based on this new engine] could be certified by fiscal 23 and replace the Delta IV," the commission briefing says. This could give the government two options and assured access with heavy lift.

 

One industry source suggests the government should buy the intellectual property associated with the engine to allow it control over how it is used.

 

The commission is open to new fuel technologies such as methane, this source says. SpaceX is exploring the use of a methane-based engine, and others could follow as the Air Force is funding some research in this area. The industry source suggests that risk could be reduced in this area with an additional investment of about $200 million over two years on top of the $141 million now planned in the budget and supported by the commission.

 

SpaceX slapped the Air Force with a lawsuit claiming its issuance of a $1 billion, sole-source deal to ULA was anticompetitive. This is further fueling a potential premature end to the Atlas V.

 

Water Found Inside Dragon After Splashdown

Mark Carreau – Aviation Week

 

COLORADO SPRINGS — Technicians found a significant amount of water inside the latest SpaceX Dragon capsule to land in the Pacific after a mission to the International Space Station, raising concerns the commercial cargo capsule leaked after splashdown.

 

The quantity of seawater intrusion and the source is unclear, said Dan Hartman, NASA's deputy ISS program manager. All of the science equipment and other NASA hardware in the Dragon capsule is in good shape, he said during a May 21 briefing.

 

Recovery of the capsule after it splashed down May 18 took 11 hr., apparently longer than usual, and may have been associated with the problem. This Dragon is an upgraded version, with more carrying capacity and new freezers for samples.

 

The downmass payload of just more than 3,500 lb.of equipment, including 1,600 lb. of science equipment and perishable specimens, was intact, Hartman said. The research gear and samples were flown from the Los Angeles area to Houston and greeted by ISS officials late May 20, then distributed to principal investigators by early May 21.

 

Witnesses at the port observed significant water as the cold storage containers brought back from the ISS were removed, and there was a report the capsule's internal humidity sensors tripped, according to an industry source.

 

The capsule itself will be transported by truck to SpaceX proving grounds in McGregor, Texas, by late this week for further troubleshooting, Hartman said.

 

"Across the board, I know of no damage to hardware," Hartman said. "Obviously, SpaceX will be very interested in getting Dragon back to McGregor."

 

Initially, there was speculation the water source could have been one of several containment bags of water that NASA was returning on Dragon as part of its investigation into the July 16 water leak into the helmet of a U.S. spacesuit worn by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano. Bags containing several gallons of water from the ISS airlock were returned to Earth for analysis to help conclude the investigation that has forced a suspension of all but emergency U.S. spacewalks.

 

However, the NASA water bags were accounted for, eliminating them as the source of the water found in Dragon, Hartman said.

 

Aside from a little space inside Russia's Soyuz crew vehicles, the Dragon is the only way scientists and engineers have to recover scientific samples and hardware for analysis on the ground. A NASA official said the capsule's scientific samples appear to be intact, but it remained to be seen if there was water damage to the other payloads in the spacecraft.

 

"The science samples returned to Earth are critical to improving our knowledge of how space affects humans who live and work there for long durations," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, after the landing, which came at 3:05 p.m. EDT May 18, about 350 mi. west of Baja, Calif.

 

The landing concluded the third SpaceX commercial mission to and from the space station. Going up, it carried almost 5,000 lb. of supplies.

 

The company had no immediate comment on the anomaly.

 

Hartman said it was too early to speculate on whether the intrusion would affect future Dragon missions. The company plans to launch the fourth of its round-trip resupply missions to the station in August or early September under the terms of its $1.6 billion, 12-flight agreement with NASA reached in late 2008. The NASA contract extends through 2016.

 

"It depends on what we find," Hartman said of future mission plans. "I'm sure that whatever they find, they will jump on real quick."

 

Astronaut tells kid, 'You'd love it' up here

CNN iReport Team – CNN

 

(CNN) -- Ever since the dawn of the space program, more than 55 years ago, the world has been fascinated with astronauts and space exploration.

 

So it was pretty exciting when CNN got to do its first iReport interview from outer space.

 

Dozens of CNN viewers and readers sent in questions for NASA's Steve Swanson, who has more than 15 years of experience on space missions and was open to answering any and all queries about life 250 miles above Earth.

 

Answering from the International Space Station on Tuesday, Swanson took on the iReporters' questions -- many of them from children -- with aplomb.

 

There was a 7-year-old girl's question about what it feels like when you blast off from Earth, an inquiry about NASA's plans to explore reusable spacecraft, and one question that every astronaut has probably been asked before: "What do you do in your free time in space?"

 

The cutest moment had to be when 5-year-old Brockton Estrada of Brandon, Florida, told Swanson he wished he could join him up there.

 

"Brockton, I wish you could come up here too. You'd love it," Swanson said, with his microphone floating in the air. Then he did a somersault to show the boy what you can do when you're not limited by gravity.

 

Swanson is commander of Expedition 40 to the International Space Station and will spend six months in space, returning to Earth in September.

 

NASA's Morpheus: On its own

James Dean – Florida Today

 

CAPE CANVERAL -- Approaching the moon's surface in 1969, Neil Armstrong relied on a naturally engineered system to figure out where to land: his eyes.

 

During a test flight Thursday at Kennedy Space Center, laser sensors aboard a prototype lander will attempt to map a simulated lunar landscape, identify the best landing site and guide the vehicle to a precise touchdown, a combination NASA says it has never attempted demonstrated before.

 

"Neil Armstrong looked down and didn't like what he saw, so he flew over a bunch of hazards and finally landed as he was running out of gas," said Chirold Epp, manager of the sensor project. "So, no, he didn't have this capability."

 

NASA's unmanned Morpheus lander is scheduled to lift off at 2:30 p.m. on its second-to-last flight planned at KSC, representing the culmination of a test program that began with a fiery crash in 2012, but has since seen 10 consecutive successes of the rebuilt "Bravo" vehicle.

 

Thursday's 98-second flight and one tentatively planned next Wednesday night are "the ultimate test of what we were intended to do with that technology," said Morpheus project manager Jon Olansen.

 

For the first time, the four-legged Morpheus will not fly a pre-programmed trajectory but will allow an autonomous landing system to "take the stick" and control the flight.

 

That adds risk to flights already vulnerable to failures by key systems that have no backup, a cost-cutting concession that doomed the August 2012 flight whose crash made national news.

 

Upon lighting its liquid methane-powered engine, Morpheus will rocket more than 800 feet up from a pad at the north end of the shuttle runway and stabilize within about 30 seconds.

 

Over the next 12 seconds, a suite of laser instruments and computers worth more than $1 million will make all its critical calculations as Morpheus begins its descent toward the "hazard field" that mimics part of the moon's South Pole.

 

Called the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT, the sensors and software will scan and map a roughly 200-foot by 200-foot square.

 

The system should discover that the initially designated landing spot in the center of the square is too rocky, rank up to five safe alternatives and then guide Morpheus to the best: a concrete pad covered with gray rock particles a quarter-mile from the takeoff point.

 

"The whole idea is to simulate that planetary approach," said Olansen.

 

NASA's prototype Morpheus lander takes to the skies for its latest test flight on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. Video by NASA.

 

The landing site calculations are done early and a good distance away so the sensors have a clear view before dust kicked up by the lander's rocket engine obscures their vision.

 

If the sensors fail to choose the right site, Morpheus' GPS-based guidance system can take over, but the ability to switch from one to the other has not been proven in free flight.

 

The final flight next week will repeat Thursday's but at night, to prove the laser sensors function just as well in darkness.

 

Together the Morpheus and ALHAT projects sought to advance technologies – the lander's liquid methane/liquid oxygen engine and the precision landing and hazard avoidance sensors – to a level where future robotic or human exploration missions could incorporate them.

 

The projects' future after these final flights and their analysis are completed is unknown, though Morpheus will remain stationed at KSC at least for a while.

 

The simulated lunar landscape will also stay in place, rather than being demolished as originally planned, for potential testing by other vehicles.

 

NASA's Mighty Eagle and Moon Express, a Google Lunar X Prize competitor, have expressed interest.

 

While KSC prepares for the first flight of the huge Space Launch System exploration rocket at least several years away, Morpheus has provided "really the only smoke and fire that the center has right now," said Greg Gaddis, KSC site director for the project.

 

"This is a great project that keeps us in the game with respect to preparing for these kinds of missions and events, so it's been a lot of fun," he said. "We'll keep the field out there and it will be available to whatever customer comes along."

 

Safety First? It's Time for a Fresh Look at the Risks of Spaceflight

Alan Boyle – NBC News

 

In the wake of all the jabs about trade sanctions, trampoline launches and a space station pullout, America's dependence on Russian space hardware is suddenly looking like a bad idea. But Rand Simberg, a self-described recovering aerospace engineer, says policymakers should have seen it coming.

 

"I think the scales have been falling off people's eyes in Washington, and now they realize what a huge mistake they made 20 years ago," Simberg told NBC News.

 

Simberg argues that there's a connection between the current troubles with Russia and America's post-Apollo space policy. "The reason that we're dependent on the Russians," he said, "is because we're chicken...," he said. (Simberg added another word after "chicken" that may not be suitable for a family publication.)

 

In his book "Safe Is Not an Option," Simberg argues that America's space program has stagnated because it's become so risk-averse. The way he sees it, policymakers learned the wrong lessons from the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster and the 2003 loss of the shuttle Columbia.

 

Rather than doubling down on an expensive launch system, NASA and Congress should have looked to more reliable, more commercially viable alternatives, he says. And Simberg fears that they're making the same mistake with the heavy-lift Space Launch System, which is arguably more expensive than the shuttle.

 

Some members of Congress argue that spaceflight has to be expensive, and has to be under the control of the government, because commercial launch providers may not measure up to their safety standards. But Simberg says the bureaucratic fixation on complete safety is wrong-headed.

 

"The point that I make in the book is that there is no 'safe,'" he said. "It's always a continuum. There is no 'safe' or 'unsafe' unless we quantify what's the cost of a loss of crew."

 

He explains that the safety of a risky endeavor should be measured against the importance of that endeavor. For example, the U.S. military's role is so important that casualties, even non-combat casualties, are a given. If space exploration and settlement is in the national interest, Simberg argues that there should be a more reasonable balance between those endeavors and their risks.

 

"We're behaving as though space isn't important," Simberg said. "I am not going to try to convince somebody that space is important. I'm just saying that if it is, we should be doing things differently."

 

This week he laid out some recommendations in an op-ed column for USA Today and a follow-up on The Corner, a blog at National Review Online. The top item: Accelerate NASA's commercial crew program, which is currently supporting the development of U.S. commercial spaceships to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. NASA is aiming to have those spaceships ready by 2017, but Congress has consistently pared down funding requests for the effort.

 

Getting U.S. space taxis flying to the station sooner rather than later is an essential step toward reducing reliance on the Russians. The approach has already worked for cargo transport: NASA now has two competing launch providers, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp., that can deliver goods to the space station more cheaply than the shuttle could.

 

Simberg also took issue with Congress' latest NASA authorization bill, which currently states that "safety is the highest priority" for the commercial crew program. "When that stupid bill gets to the floor, let's fix it," he said. Here's his suggested alternate language:

 

"The exploration and development of space is a national priority. Therefore, NASA's first priority must be mission success in the critical steps toward reaching this goal. Consistent with this priority NASA shall strive at all times to achieve a level of safety comparable to that enjoyed by other critical national programs in extreme environments, such as deep-ocean and polar activities."

 

Does that sound like a reasonable policy? Join Rand Simberg and yours truly at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday for a discussion of space policy and spacecraft safety on "Virtually Speaking Science," an hourlong talk show that's broadcast on BlogTalkRadio. You can also be part of the live virtual audience in the Exploratorium's Second Life auditorium. If you miss the live show, never fear: You can catch up with the archived podcast via BlogTalkRadio or iTunes.

 

Listen for the secret word on "Virtually Speaking Science" and enter it as a comment on this Facebook item from NBC News Science. The first commenter to do so will be eligible to receive a free copy of "Safe Is Not an Option."

 

Our previous "VSS" guest was physicist Michio Kaku, talking about the future of the mind. And on June 4, stay tuned for a "VSS" session with Alan Stern, principal investigator for NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto.

 

Rift Divides U.S. And Russia About Space Station

NPR

 

Political tension is disrupting collaboration between the U.S. and Russia on the International Space Station. John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, explains the consequences.

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

 

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

 

And I'm Audie Cornish.

 

The International Space Station is an enormous and expensive international collaboration. It's the product of scientific minds from the U.S., Russia, Europe, and Japan all working together. Now a key member of that partnership is threatening to pull out. Russia's deputy prime minister has said his country could stop participating by the year 2020. And the rift between Russia and the West over Ukraine is creating that tension.

 

For more on what this means, we turn to John Logsdon. He's the founder of and professor emeritus at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.

 

Dr. John Logsdon, welcome to the program.

 

JOHN LOGSDON: Good to be here.

 

CORNISH: So if Russia were to fulfill this threat, and so far, we should say they are threats, to pull out, how damaging would that be to the project?

 

LOGSDON: It would be a mess because even though all the astronauts on board, and it's a multinational crew all the time, are kind of cross-trained on all the equipment, if Russia was not sending up fuel, for example, for the rocket engines it would be difficult to keep the station operating.

 

It's important to say that Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin has said this is after 2020. Things right now are going along fine and will probably continue to go along fine for the next six years.

 

CORNISH: The U.S. also pays Russia to shuttle American astronauts to and from the station. If Russia were to cut off that service then what?

 

LOGSDON: Well, if, we would be in big trouble if they cut off that service within the next couple of years. But we are developing, through NASA's partnership with the U.S. private sector, three alternative systems for carrying U.S. astronauts to the station. And if Congress provides the adequate funding, one or more of those systems will be in operation by 2017. So a threat to not transport people after 2020 is not a very meaningful threat.

 

CORNISH: The U.S. pays Russia something like $70 million a seat for these rides. Isn't Russia making things difficult for itself?

 

LOGSDON: Yes, I think that Russia needs the hard currency that it's gaining by selling seats on the Soyuz spacecraft to the United States. It is a mutually beneficial relationship right now.

 

CORNISH: So even though we're talking about potential changes that are years away, this is pretty much what the future of NASA's policy was going to be, right, is based on this cooperation? I mean what has this episodes shown us about how formidable those assumptions can be?

 

LOGSDON: Well, I think it is a kind of warning that long-term interdependency with potential rivals is a difficult path to maintain. But the only way we're going to do large-scale things, particularly with human spaceflight in the future, is through this kind of international collaboration, which is going to have its downs as much as it has its ups.

 

So this, you know, sends a warning to make sure the partnership is now on a good basis. But it should not deter us from becoming partners.

 

CORNISH: And what are the odds that Russia might look to another partner, say, China? It's been reported that the Russian deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, is saying that they're reaching out to China.

 

LOGSDON: Well, I think there's a lot of bluster behind Mr. Rogozin's comments. He's after all under personal sanction from the United States. He's probably not very happy about that. I think China is going its own way in space and it's looking for partnerships with the developing countries, not with the established space powers.

 

So he can threaten all sorts of things and maybe, indeed, Russia is reaching out to China. The question is whether China will reach back or not.

 

CORNISH: That's John Logsdon. He's founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.

 

Thank you so much for coming in to speak with us.

 

LOGSDON: Good to be here.

 

WDRB interviews astronaut Rick Mastracchio after his return from the International Space Station

Travis Kircher – WDRB

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- What is life like on the International Space Station? Do you miss life on earth? The food? And how hard is it to readjust to gravity once you get back?

 

WDRB News had the opportunity to ask some of these questions Tuesday morning when we spoke with astronaut Rick Mastracchio. Mastracchio just returned from a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station, beginning on Nov. 7, 2013 and ending on May 14. During that time period, he and his international crewmates orbited the earth over 3,000 times, and traveled 79.8 million miles.

 

The three men of Expedition 38/39, as his crew was designated, were also aboard the station during a period when relations between the United States and Russia took a hard hit, as Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively annexed Crimea and positioned troops on the border of Ukraine, amid an international outcry.

 

We spoke with Mastracchio briefly about this and other topics via a satellite feed.

 

WDRB: Hey Rick, this is Travis Kircher with WDRB in Louisville, Ky.

 

RICK: Yes, go ahead!

 

WDRB: First off, congratulations on your successful flight and your safe return.

 

RICK: Thank you. It's great to be back.

 

WDRB: I guess, my first question, thinking about you guys up there at six months at a time…obviously you miss your family and friends the most, but what do you miss most about the earth, being away for so long?

 

RICK: We were just talking about that a little while ago. Probably the thing you miss the most after your family is the food. The space station has a pretty large assortment of food, but it's a fact that you're up there for such a long time that you tend to start to miss some of your favorite things.

 

WDRB: Was there one particular thing that you thought, 'Man as soon as I get back to Earth, I have got to have X?'

 

RICK: Yeah, there was a lot of things on that list. Of course pasta, a good steak, pizza, hamburger, and lots of different types of burgers of course.

 

WDRB: Flipping that question kind of on its head, now that you're back on the Earth, what do you miss most about being on the space station?

 

RICK: Probably the thing I'm gonna miss the most …two things. First of all, the view out the window is incredible, and then the second thing is, sleeping in a zero G environment – sleeping in a weightless environment – is very, very comfortable and quite enjoyable.

 

WDRB: Obviously during this mission, there is a lot of stuff that happened on the ground as far as Ukraine, our relationship with Russia. I think there were some barbs traded on social media – a comment comes to mind about a Russian official who said that maybe we'd like a trampoline to get to the space station. While this is going on, you guys are – I'm sure – following this. Were there any awkward moments when you guys discussed this with the other partners – the international partners? What conclusions did you reach in those discussions?

 

RICK: Yeah, of course we only had a certain amount of insight into the news, but we did talk a little bit about it on board the space station, of course, but our personal relationship with the cosmonauts on the space station was fantastic and we had no problems whatsoever.

 

WDRB: On question I have to ask, being from Louisville, Ky. Are you a horse racing fan, and did you guys get to watch the Kentucky Derby while you were up there?

 

RICK: No we did not – I'm sorry – but I have been reading about it in the paper recently.

 

WDRB: (Laughing) Well you guys flew over Louisville quite a few times and gave us quite a show, so I think we can let that pass.

 

RICK: (Laughs) Thanks!

 

WDRB: Now that you've come back – obviously you've been in zero-G a long time – is it hard to re-adjust, and are there times when you have an awkward moment and maybe forget that you're not in zero-G?

 

RICK: Well, you know we exercise quite a bit on board space station so that when we do come back, we feel pretty good – we feel strong.  And I do feel strong. I've got a case of jet lag, it feels like to me. But yeah, I think there are times where I think I want to pass something to somebody, and I've got to realize that I can't float it to them anymore. So it is something you've got to keep in mind.

 

WDRB: What is the one thing you're most proud of on this past mission that you guys accomplished?

 

RICK: Well I think when we boil it all down, I'm gonna be most proud of the science that we accomplished. I think – in especially the last couple of months in the mission – we were really starting to hit our stride when it came to the science.

 

WDRB: Also you guys docked with the SpaceX capsule – the resupply ship. Obviously a lot more is dependent on private space exploration in the coming years. Were you impressed with the SpaceX capsule? How did you feel that it worked in comparison with the NASA-

 

RICK: We had two cargo ships come up. We had the Orbital Cygnus and we had the SpaceX Dragon come up, and both of those vehicles, as far as I could tell, performed flawlessly. They were fantastic vehicles. They delivered the cargo and they undocked perfectly, so they were great to have.

 

WDRB: Thanks very much! We appreciate it!

 

RICK: Thank you!

 

Astronauts share 'Story Time From Space' to inspire children

collectSPACE

 

May 21, 2014 — An astronaut on the International Space Station is floating before a bank of windows revealing the Earth below. He is holding open a children's book, pointing at a drawing of the orbiting outpost.

 

"This is the story about how Max's adventures in space began with a trip to the International Space Station," reads Michael Hopkins. "And right there, you can see a picture of the International Space Station."

 

The scene marks the start of the first video produced as a part of "Story Time From Space," an educational outreach project that has the astronauts onboard the space station reading from a series of science-themed kid's books about a dog named Max and his experiences exploring the solar system.

 

"Story Time From Space is the perfect blend of education, perspective, and inspiration," Jeffrey Bennett, the books' author and an astronomer, said. "When you're looking at it from above, looking down at the Earth, perspective comes really automatically, inspiration to think, 'people are really up there doing this, maybe I could be one of those people someday,' and now you have got the perfect platform to educate from."

 

Bennett's five "science adventure" books, including "Max Goes to the Space Station," "Max Goes to the Moon," and "Max Goes to Mars," were launched to the space station in January. Since then, the astronauts have used some of their free time to film themselves reading the books while inside the outpost's observation deck, the Cupola.

 

"I absolutely love to read," Hopkins said in the Story Time From Space video. "I cannot think of a better location to read this story [than] with the Cupola behind us. That's our big observation window that looks down at the Earth."

 

In addition to NASA's Hopkins, Koichi Wakata with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) also took a turn reading the books. Their videos are now starting to be shared on StoryTimeFromSpace.com, where lessons and activity plans are also being added.

 

"Once you put it out there, once you put these videos on the web, they are accessible to everyone, anywhere in the world," Bennett said.

 

The books feature stories appropriate for young children accompanied by science-themed sidebars, called "Big Kid Boxes," included to engage older students. Similarly, the Story Time From Space team is planning to build upon the books already in space by having the astronauts perform story-related experiments.

 

"We are also going to have astronauts up on the station doing science demonstrations," Patricia Tribe, an educator who with astronaut Alvin Drew founded Story Time From Space, said.

 

Towards that end, the team has launched a crowd-funding campaign to support flying the science experiments to the space station.

 

"We're already in the planning stages to send the science demonstrations and more books to the International Space Station, tentatively looking at a launch in September, but that depends on you!" the team wrote on Kickstarter.com. "We need your support to succeed!"

 

Just over 10 percent of the $35,000 goal has been raised in the first two weeks of the two-month campaign. Fund-raising continues until July 7.

 

Donors can receive "Story Time From Space" bookmarks and t-shirts, as well as author-signed copies of the same books that are now on the space station. Supporters who back the project at the highest pledge levels can arrange for Bennett or even an astronaut visit a school or special event of their choice.

 

Veteran Canadian astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason, who is a member of the Story Time From Space team, is helping to design the science demonstrations that will be flown to the space station.

 

Meanwhile, the books launched earlier this year remain on the space station and are continuing to be read on video, including in multiple languages.

 

"To the children around the world, the International Space Station is a real place orbiting high above our planet, built and operated by thousands of people from all around the world," read Hopkins as part of the project's first released video. "I hope that this story will not only teach you more about space and the International Space Station, but more importantly, that it will inspire you to join in a global effort to build a better future for all of us."

 

 

 

END

More at www.spacetoday.net

 

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