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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: June 20, 2014 12:00:44 PM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Friday – June 20, 2014
Happy Flex Friday everyone! Hope you have a wonderful and safe weekend! Don't forget that we moved our next NASA retirees luncheon to July 10th to dodge the conflict with the July 4th holiday week.NASA and Human Spaceflight NewsFriday – June 20, 2014HEADLINES AND LEADSRock that whizzed by Earth may be grabbed by NASASeth Borenstein - Associated PressNASA is zeroing in on the asteroids it wants to capture, haul near the moon and have astronauts visit.NASA IDs potential target for asteroid missionIrene Klotz - ReutersNASA is considering relocating a small asteroid that buzzed Earth three years ago into a high orbit around the moon when it returns in 2024, officials said on Thursday.Progress reported on asteroid missionLedyard King - Gannett News ServiceNASA is reporting significant progress identifying potential asteroids where astronauts could land as part of a Mars mission, even as skeptics in Congress say the moon would make a better stepping stone.NASA Funds 18 Creative Concepts for Bold Asteroid-Capture PlanMike Wall – Space.comNASA is getting some help in mapping out its ambitious asteroid-capture mission.NASA finds asteroids to visit but may lose an important tool for studying themAlexandra Witze – NatureNASA's controversial plan to capture an asteroid and study it is facing a challenge beyond the obvious technical feat: the potential shuttering of the Spitzer Space Telescope, whose observations can help calculate an asteroid's size.Russians complete successful spacewalkWilliam Harwood – CBS NewsCosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev conducted an extended seven-hour 23-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station Thursday, installing a telemetry antenna, repositioning an experiment and jettisoning a mounting fixture after moving another experiment to a recently installed payload boom.Boeing, Lockheed And SpaceX Race To Develop New Space Tech Amid Russian Political TensionKathleen Caulderwood - International Business TimesAmericans have been using Russian-made space equipment for decades, but as tensions flared into armed conflict in Ukraine and a few subtle warnings were issued recently, U.S. companies are now vying to create a homegrown solution for their space equipment needs.United Launch CEO Says He Is Confident on Russian Engine DeliveriesCompany is Studying New Domestic AlternativeDoug Cameron - Wall Street JournalThe head of the largest U.S. space company moved to calm fears among military chiefs and lawmakers about an interruption to supplies of the Russian-made rocket engines used to launch satellites for the Pentagon.Former astronaut shares love of science, math, space with UT Arlington campersPatrick M. Walker - Fort Worth (TX) Star-TelegramLike countless youths at camps across the country, campers at the University of Texas at Arlington on Thursday morning made crafts out of cards, straws, cotton balls, bubble wrap and other household materials.Marshall Space Flight Center saying 'thank you' to Huntsville with 'NASA on the Square" SaturdayPatrick Scheuermann - Alabama Live
Where are we headed? As director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, it's my job to know the answer to that question for every science and exploration mission we're tasked to accomplish -- most prominently the building and testing of America's next flagship launch vehicle, the Space Launch System.Space Launch System's lead developer will speak in Huntsville todayLee Roop – Huntsville (AL) TimesWant to hear "what's next" for NASA from the man responsible for one of the space agency's top 3 priorities? You have that chance for free today at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.NASA Awards 5 Academic Institutions With $500K Grant, ISS R&D PayloadAnna Forrester – ExecutiveBizNASA has awarded five U.S. academic institutions with a $100,000 grant each and opportunities to conduct research and development work aboard the International Space Station as part of its Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.Satellite operator sticks with SpaceXJames Dean – Florida TodayOrbcomm is getting two Falcon 9 launches for less than the listed $61.2 million price of one.While a Dragon cargo spacecraft flew safely on its way to the International Space Station in October 2012, executives at Orbcomm Inc. faced "an Apollo 13 moment."The technology taking NASA to MarsColby Hochmuth – Federal Computer WeekWhether mankind returns to Mars by 2030 is more of a political than technological question at this point -- the politics may be far from settled, but the technology is subject to significantly less debate.Sierra Nevada Corp. To Acquire ORBITECWarren Ferster – Space NewsSierra Nevada Corp. will acquire space component and technology supplier Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) for an undisclosed sum in a deal announced by the Sparks, Nevada-based company June 19.Ancient Dwarf 'Starburst Galaxies' Shed Light on Early UniverseKelly Dickerson – Space.comBrilliant bursts of star formation in distant dwarf galaxies seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope could reveal new information about the early history of the universe, scientists say.NASA's HS3 hurricane research program peers into severe stormsAlex Card – Environmental MonitorThe meteorologists at NASA work in a bit of a paradox: To conduct their research and save lives, they require potentially life-threatening hurricanes to form in the first place.COMPLETE STORIESRock that whizzed by Earth may be grabbed by NASASeth Borenstein - Associated PressNASA is zeroing in on the asteroids it wants to capture, haul near the moon and have astronauts visit.Officials on Thursday described a prime candidate: A tiny asteroid that whizzed about 7,600 miles above Earth in 2011.At 20 feet long, it is "the size of a delivery truck; we might actually be able to put this asteroid in a garage," said Northern Arizona University astronomer Michael Mommert, who studied the rock, which goes by the inelegant name of 2011 MD.That asteroid also could be a pile of smaller rocks that fly together in formation.NASA's plan is to grab an asteroid with a giant claw or capture it with a giant inflatable bag. The asteroid would be parked above the moon, with astronauts exploring in a later mission.NASA executive Lindley Johnson said there will eventually be about 10 possible rocks for capture in the early 2020s, but they may not all be small asteroids.There's a second option NASA is considering: Sending a spacecraft to a much larger asteroid, using a claw to pluck off a boulder that's less than 30 feet and taking it near to the moon.NASA will decide which option to pursue by the end of the year, said Michele Gates, program director for the asteroid mission.So far, NASA has three candidates for each option. But Johnson said he expects more to be identified. NASA doesn't have to choose its final target until a year before launch, which could be as early as 2019.But Thursday's press conference highlighted 2011 MD. That's because when it came close to Earth in 2011, it was examined by telescopes on Earth and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Details of the asteroid were published in an astronomy journal Thursday.Those observations showed that it probably weighs around 100 tons but is so porous that about two-thirds is empty space and only one-third is rock, Mommert said.NASA has touted the asteroid mission since the space shuttle fleet retired as a stepping stone to send crews to Mars.The robotic cost of the mission would be about $1.2 billion, Gates said. But there's no good estimate yet for the astronaut part, which includes using a yet-to-be-built giant rocket, officials said.NASA IDs potential target for asteroid missionIrene Klotz - ReutersNASA is considering relocating a small asteroid that buzzed Earth three years ago into a high orbit around the moon when it returns in 2024, officials said on Thursday.The asteroid, known as 2011 MD, is among nine candidates on NASA's potential relocation list. Once an asteroid is robotically repositioned about 46,600 miles (75,000 km) above the lunar surface, NASA wants to send astronauts to visit it and collect samples. The initiative is intended to test technologies and equipment needed for an eventual human expedition to Mars.Newly completed surveys with NASA's infrared Spitzer space telescope show 2011 MD is about 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter, roughly the size of a delivery truck."You might actually be able to put this asteroid into your garage at home," astronomer David Trilling, with Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, told reporters on a conference call.The asteroid, discovered in 2011, is about one-third as dense as solid rock and has a mass of about 100 tons. Scientists suspect it actually may be a pile of boulders, bound together by gravity and other forces. Or, it could be one massive boulder surrounded by smaller pebbles and dust. Either scenario is unexpected."Traditionally, people thought that small asteroids like 2011 MD are just single pieces of rock or single boulders floating in space," said Trilling, who co-authored a study on 2011 MD published on Thursday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.NASA has found about 11,000 asteroids that orbit near Earth and is adding about 100 asteroids per month to the list. So far, nine asteroids are believed to be suitably positioned for a robotic rendezvous and capture between about 2020 and 2024.Another option is to pluck a boulder off a large asteroid and reposition just that piece into the lunar orbit. Either initiative is expected to cost about $1.25 billion, NASA said.Also Thursday, NASA selected 18 asteroid mission concepts and technology proposals for six-month study contracts totaling $4.9 million. Winning companies include aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and startups, such as Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources Development Corp, both of which are developing businesses to mine asteroids.Progress reported on asteroid missionLedyard King - Gannett News ServiceNASA is reporting significant progress identifying potential asteroids where astronauts could land as part of a Mars mission, even as skeptics in Congress say the moon would make a better stepping stone.Three candidates, none bigger than a school bus, are being monitored for a mission that would redirect a near-Earth asteroid into lunar orbit.Sporting names like 2009 DD, 2013 EC and 2011 MD, each has the mass, shape, spin rate and orbit required for a mission that could cost as much as $1.25 billion and is still up to a decade away.NASA also is looking at three larger asteroids (Itokawa, Bennu and 2008 EV5) as part of an "Option B." Those asteroids contain small boulders that could be broken off robotically and redirected into lunar orbit as well.Agency officials held a news conference Thursday to discuss the status of the Asteroid Redirect Mission, or "ARM," exactly a year after NASA unveiled the unusual plan. They hope to decide on an option by early next year but don't have to choose a specific asteroid to land on until a year before the launch, expected to take place between 2021 and 2024.The 2011 MD asteroid, with an orbit close to Earth's, has emerged as the early favorite.But "we don't plan to nor do we want to stop actually looking for targets," said Michele Gates, program director for the asteroid mission.Although it has support among NASA scientists, the idea has met with criticism from some lawmakers and apathy from other countries considered vital partners for any deep-space mission.A National Research Council report issued earlier this month indicated little consensus for the asteroid mission."There's really no enthusiasm among any of our partners for the ARM," said Cliff Zukin, a Rutgers University political science professor and a member of the committee that issued the report. "And so if that's what the president is insisting upon, it makes it even harder for that path. He has chosen a path that makes it more difficult to find allies and co-funders."President Obama has shown little interest in returning to the moon, viewing it as a "been-there, done-that" sort of mission.Shortly after entering the White House, he scrapped the Constellation return-to-the-moon program — started under President George W. Bush — after an independent commission said the cost to continue it was unsustainable.NASA says exploring an asteroid and studying its properties also will help scientists detect and divert threatening projectiles that might be headed toward Earth.Researchers already know of some 11,000 asteroids in space and spot about 100 new ones every month, said Lindley Johnson, who heads NASA's Near Earth Object Program.A large majority are so small they would burn up in the atmosphere. But hundreds of larger asteroids, such as the 55-foot meteoroid that crashed into Russia last year and injured more than 1,000 people, pose a threat."We're trying to find that population before they find us," Johnson said.NASA Funds 18 Creative Concepts for Bold Asteroid-Capture PlanMike Wall – Space.comNASA is getting some help in mapping out its ambitious asteroid-capture mission.The space agency has awarded a total of $4.9 million to 18 proposals that could advance and flesh out the asteroid-retrieval plan, which aims to drag a space rock into orbit around the moon for future visitation by astronauts, officials announced today (June 19)."By investing in these studies, NASA will gain valuable insight into affordable ways to perform the Asteroid Redirect Mission while also advancing technologies needed to drive future exploration missions," James Reuther, deputy associate administrator for space technology at NASA headquarters in Washington, said in a statement.NASA received 108 submissions after announcing the request for proposals in March. The selected studies are a diverse lot; some seek to develop asteroid-capture systems, while others focus on rendezvous technology or adapting commercial spacecraft to meet the needs of the mission.One of the winning 18, submitted by the nonprofit Planetary Society, suggests putting hardy Earth microbes on the robotic asteroid-capture spacecraft to test how feasible it would be for organisms to travel from planet to planet on or inside rocks blasted into space by a cosmic impact.The idea is a variant of the Planetary Society's Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (LIFE), which aimed to hitch a ride to the Mars moon Phobos and back aboard Russia's Phobos-Grunt sample-return mission. But LIFE (and Phobos-Grunt) crashed into the Pacific Ocean in January 2012, the victim of a launch failure.NASA has a complete list of the 18 selected proposals here: http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-selects-studies-for-the-asteroid-redirect-mission/NASA is still figuring out exactly how to pull off the asteroid-capture mission. The agency is considering two major options — retrieving an entire small space rock (one less than 33 feet, or 10 meters, wide), or plucking a boulder off a bigger asteroid.That initial phase of the mission would employ a robotic probe. But once the rock is in lunar orbit, the agency would send astronauts to visit it using the Orion capsule and Space Launch System mega-rocket, which are scheduled to fly together for the first time in 2021.The goal is to execute a manned mission to the captured asteroid by 2025. Doing so would meet an exploration goal laid out for NASA by President Barack Obama in 2010. The asteroid-retrieval mission will also help develop the technology and techniques required by for a manned Mars trip, which is planned by the mid-2030s, agency officials have said.NASA finds asteroids to visit but may lose an important tool for studying themAlexandra Witze – NatureNASA's controversial plan to capture an asteroid and study it is facing a challenge beyond the obvious technical feat: the potential shuttering of the Spitzer Space Telescope, whose observations can help calculate an asteroid's size.The Spitzer telescope's ability to observe in infrared light is potentially crucial. Doing so allows it to measure absolute brightness, which tracks directly with asteroid size. Images taken in visible light can't reveal the true dimensions of an asteroid, since a highly reflective rock might appear to be larger than it actually is. And NASA needs to accurately know the size of an asteroid before sending a spacecraft there.But the agency's astrophysics division, facing tight budgets, has proposed turning off Spitzer next year. It scored lowest in a recent 'senior review' of all the astrophysics missions the agency is trying to keep operating."We have to look at other ways to fund operations of Spitzer," said Lindley Johnson, near-earth object programme manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, during a 19 June update of the asteroid mission. The telescope costs about US$17 million a year to operate. NASA is exploring several possible scenarios, Johnson said, including running Spitzer only part of the time or getting additional money from other institutions or funding sources.The other big challenge is to find the right space rock to visit. Two possible projects are on the table: grab a single small asteroid, or fly to the surface of a large asteroid and grab a boulder. In both cases, the sample would be dragged near the moon, where astronauts could visit it for close-up study.NASA currently has six asteroids on its short list — three of the single small variety, and three that are on the order of 100 to 500 metres across, large enough to have boulders on their surfaces that could be retrieved.The small-rock option includes 2011 MD, an asteroid about 6 metres across that zipped past Earth three years ago. Its orbit is very similar to that of Earth, but it travels more slowly. Over time, 2011 MD falls behind and is no longer visible from Earth. In February of this year, it passed close to Spitzer.Spitzer stared at 2011 MD for 20 hours, said David Trilling, an astronomer at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He and his colleagues, led by Michael Mommert, used those observations to calculate the size and then the density of the rock. It turns out to be very porous (about 65% empty space) and about as dense as water. "This object might swim if you put it in a swimming pool," said Trilling. The work appeared today in Astrophysical Journal Letters. The best time to grab the asteroid would be in 2024, when the faster-moving Earth will again catch up to it.Candidates for the boulder retrieval attempt include the asteroid Itokawa, which the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa visited in 2005; one known as 2008 EV5; and Bennu, which the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aims to visit."We are looking to have a fairly large list of potential candidates," said Johnson. "It won't be dozens, but it might be ten or so by the time we need to make the decision."NASA plans to choose between the small and large rock approaches by December, said Michele Gates, programme director for the asteroid redirect mission. It won't have to pick an actual target until about a year before launch, currently targeted for 2019.Russians complete successful spacewalkWilliam Harwood – CBS NewsCosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev conducted an extended seven-hour 23-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station Thursday, installing a telemetry antenna, repositioning an experiment and jettisoning a mounting fixture after moving another experiment to a recently installed payload boom."We had fun today," one of the cosmonauts said from inside the Pirs airlock."That is for sure," someone else said. A Russian flight controller offered apologies "if we made you work too hard."The excursion began at 10:10 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) and ended at 5:33 p.m. when the cosmonauts returned to the Pirs airlock and docking compartment. The spacewalk ran longer than the expected six-and-a-half hours because of minor but time-consuming problems with a balky latch and a tight bolt holding the jettisoned mounting fixture in place.The new phased array antenna was mounted on the hull of the Zvezda command module to facilitate high-speed telemetry between the space station and flight controllers at the Russian mission control center near Moscow.Skvortsov and Artemyev had problems getting one of three latches secured and in the end used cable ties to complete the antenna installation. The spacewalkers then swabbed one of Zvezda's porthole windows to check for thruster residue and moved a plasma wave experiment to a different location.The final major item on the agenda was to remove a materials science space exposure pallet from a mounting frame and to attach it to a recently installed boom. The mounting frame then was removed and jettisoned, released in the station's wake along a trajectory that ensured no re-contact with the lab complex.The boom carrying the materials science experiment then was erected and locked in place to complete the final major objective of the spacewalk.Skvortsov and Artemyev then made their way back to Pirs, bringing a protective antenna cover back inside with them.This was the 180th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the third so far this year and the first for Skvortsov and Artemyev. Total station EVA time by 116 astronauts and cosmonaut representing nine nations now stands at 1,130 hours and 51 minutes, or 47.1 days.Boeing, Lockheed And SpaceX Race To Develop New Space Tech Amid Russian Political TensionKathleen Caulderwood - International Business TimesAmericans have been using Russian-made space equipment for decades, but as tensions flared into armed conflict in Ukraine and a few subtle warnings were issued recently, U.S. companies are now vying to create a homegrown solution for their space equipment needs.The largest space company in the United States said its Russian shipments are on time and won't be cut off. But despite the niceties, American companies are racing to develop domestic technology so they can wean themselves off of Russian space technology.United Launch Alliance LLC is a joint venture between the Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. On Wednesday, ULA Chief Executive Michael Gass said he was confident Russia will continue sending supplies, including two expected rocket boosters in August, according to the Wall Street Journal (SEE BELOW).Gass hinted that the ULA is collaborating with other American companies as it explores building its own engines -- or even an entirely new launch system. However, Gass said, this technology is probably five to seven years away and would cost between $1 billion and $2 billion to develop.American astronauts have been using Russian Soyuz capsules to get to and from the International Space Station (ISS) since the U.S. Space Shuttle project was discontinued in 2011.Last month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Moscow would reject a U.S. request to keep using the International Space Station (ISS) after 2020, and he barred Washington from using Russian-made rockets for military purposes."We are very concerned about continuing to develop high-tech projects with such an unreliable partner as the United States, which politicizes everything," he told reporters, according to Reuters.The U.S. government-funded, NASA-operated Commercial Crew Development Program is a grant program meant to foster research and development of human spaceflight technologies by American companies.Meanwhile, the California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, is suing the Pentagon and the ULA over their exclusive launch contracts while simultaneously pushing for certification of its own, lower-cost Falcon rockets.Last month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company's most recent designs for the Dragon V2 space shuttle, which is meant to replace the Russian Soyuz capsule.Other players in the U.S. launch-rocket business are Aerojet Rocketdyne, of GenCorp Inc., Orbital Sciences Corp., Alliant Techsystems Inc. and the Sierra Nevada Corporation.United Launch CEO Says He Is Confident on Russian Engine DeliveriesCompany is Studying New Domestic AlternativeDoug Cameron - Wall Street JournalThe head of the largest U.S. space company moved to calm fears among military chiefs and lawmakers about an interruption to supplies of the Russian-made rocket engines used to launch satellites for the Pentagon.The company, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., meanwhile is studying a new domestic alternative that industry experts said could take the government and any selected contractor $2 billion and up to seven years to develop.The joint venture, United Launch Alliance LLC, expects to receive two boosters in August and is confident the supply will continue, Chief Executive Michael Gass said Wednesday. A senior Russian politician last month threatened to halt shipments as tensions with the U.S. escalated in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.Pentagon leaders and lawmakers have reacted by pushing efforts to develop a U.S.-made rocket engine to end the reliance on the RD-180 boosters imported from Russian state-controlled NPO Energomash OAO that are used by ULA to launch half of U.S. military and national intelligence satellites."I believe we're going to have consistent RD-180 supplies," Mr. Gass told reporters.The Boeing-Lockheed alliance also is embroiled in a legal battle with entrepreneur Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. over the former's exclusive role in handling sensitive U.S. satellite launches. SpaceX in its legal arguments has cited potential concerns over the Russian supplier.ULA has said it has enough Russian engines to last two years and honor its U.S. government contract, in part by producing more Delta rockets that use a different engine. It plans to add a cushion by accelerating RD-180 deliveries that are expected to continue while the company decides whether to press ahead with a homegrown alternative.Mr. Gass said ULA is joining with unnamed U.S. companies to examine the business case and engineering required to build an engine or, potentially, a new launch system.Boeing and Lockheed were allowed to form the joint venture to preserve U.S. capability after the commercial satellite market collapsed in the late 1990s, using the Russian engine because of its reliability record. However, space experts said the market is changing.The Pentagon created a task force to examine U.S. rocket capabilities in the wake of remarks last month by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin that Moscow would supply the engines to the U.S. only if Washington provided proof that they would be used solely for nonmilitary purposes. The task force found that the yet-to-be certified engine made by SpaceX would still leave a gap in requirements. Congress is looking to earmark an initial $220 million to fund development of a domestic booster.Pentagon officials remain open-minded about whether to pursue a government-funded alternative or seek a public-private partnership. SpaceX is suing the Pentagon and ULA over their multiyear launch contract and pushing for its Falcon rockets to be more quickly certified for national-security launches.Mr. Gass on Wednesday defended ULA's record in reducing costs. SpaceX says it can send equivalent satellites into orbit for a quarter of the price.ULA said this week that it had contracted with vendors to explore the development of a new U.S. engine, and expected to make a decision on how to proceed in the fourth quarter. Mr. Gass said the cost of the study was in the "single millions of dollars."He said such an engine could take five to seven years to develop, though he said the cost depended on its capabilities and how quickly the Pentagon wanted it fielded. Estimates from the Pentagon and other industry executives have ranged from $1 billion to $2 billion.The U.S. launch-rocket industry has contracted from its heyday in the 1970s, in part because of the focus on the now-retired space shuttle. The largest players besides ULA and SpaceX are the Aerojet Rocketdyne unit of GenCorp Inc, merger partners Orbital Sciences Corp. and Alliant Techsystems Inc. and closely held Sierra Nevada Corp.Former astronaut shares love of science, math, space with UT Arlington campersPatrick M. Walker - Fort Worth (TX) Star-TelegramLike countless youths at camps across the country, campers at the University of Texas at Arlington on Thursday morning made crafts out of cards, straws, cotton balls, bubble wrap and other household materials.Unlike most of their fellow campers, they had their work judged by former astronaut Bernard Harris.Some 48 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, each from a different school across the Metroplex, were on the fourth day of the two-week Exxon Mobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. Their morning mission was to design a Mars lander that would hit a target area, stay upright, meet their budget and keep the "astronaut" — a pencil eraser — from falling out.The students had come prepared with diagrams and participated in a short presentation about the characteristics of Mars' gravity and atmosphere."We think the key is to have more weight so that it will land flat and not tip over," Bertheia Gay, 12, of Dallas said as the other members of her four-person team worked to refine their model.Harris, the first African-American to walk in space, told the campers what it is like to see Earth from far above and stuck around to help test the landers, as did Exxon Mobil operations engineer Nancy Choi. Afterward Harris was heading to Oklahoma to visit another of the 20 camps his foundation is hosting nationwide.Harris, a physician by training, was a mission specialist on the space shuttle Columbia in 1993 and payload commander on shuttle Discovery in 1995. It was on the latter mission, which involved a rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir, that he went on his groundbreaking spacewalk.His camp is meant to give kids who might not otherwise be able to afford it the chance to experience overnight camp in a subject that holds their interest. Some 85 percent of previous campers who have reached college age have gone into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathmatics), Harris said, and many point to the camp as a strong reason for it."We are trying to connect the dots between what students learn in the classroom and how it is applied in the real world," he said in an interview. The campers have already demonstrated an interest in STEM subjects, he added, and the setting allows them to get a taste of what college is like.To qualify for the free camp, which includes staying in dorms and eating in dining halls, students must submit an essay, have acceptable grades, be recommended by a teacher and be from a historically underrepresented group or qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches.Students from Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Rockwall and Tarrant counties are among the participants.Manuel Perez of Hurst and Luis Murillo of Grand Prairie, both 11, were having a blast with their respective teams."I like building things," said Manuel, explaining that the engineering aspect of the camp interested him the most.For Luis, Harris' visit made an impression."It's pretty cool when an astronaut comes to your house," he said.
Marshall Space Flight Center saying 'thank you' to Huntsville with 'NASA on the Square" SaturdayPatrick Scheuermann - Alabama Live
Where are we headed? As director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, it's my job to know the answer to that question for every science and exploration mission we're tasked to accomplish -- most prominently the building and testing of America's next flagship launch vehicle, the Space Launch System.With it, we will launch humanity's next great era of discovery in space, forging new paths to Mars and other solar-system destinations.Where are we headed? It's a question I'm sure our local civic leaders stay poised to answer on a regular basis as well, pursuing creative new ways to keep Huntsville a regional center of culture and commerce, maintaining the "Rocket City's" pivotal role as a business driver for the state and an economic engine for the nation.The path to space, like the progressive forward march of our city, is an uphill climb. It takes patience, vision and perseverance. And if there's anything I've learned, as part of the NASA family and part of the greater Huntsville community, it's this: The climb becomes easier -- and so much more rewarding -- when we take it together.I'm proud to be part of this community, and proud of the Marshall Center's role in helping Huntsville and Alabama prosper. Nearly 1,900 Marshall civil-service employees live in Madison County, and the center generates nearly 20,000 full-time-equivalent jobs across Alabama.Marshall is responsible for nearly $1.3 billion in labor income and more than $77 million in state and local tax revenues. Our total economic impact on the state of Alabama is $2.5 billion.We work hard, we spend much of what we earn here -- and we strive to give something back. In 2013, during our annual Combined Federal Campaign government fundraiser Marshall workers raised more than $678,000 for local, regional and national non-profit charitable organizations.In addition, more than 400 Marshall employees donated a total in excess of 141 days to volunteer with local organizations, helping to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate in our community.We are deeply grateful, too, for our long and rewarding relationship with Redstone Arsenal, where the Marshall Center resides. That mutual value was keenly on display in April during a joint hot-fire test, in which our engineers used a Redstone test stand to study a NASA solid rocket motor -- critical research to refine large-scale booster designs for future launch vehicles, beneficial to NASA, beneficial to the military.All across Huntsville, we share a heritage of vision and commitment which helps attract new residents and industry and ensures our community thrives. I cannot say thank you enough to the partners who help us stay on our path, succeeding even as the climb continues.But we're going to try! On Saturday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Downtown Huntsville Inc. will sponsor "NASA on the Square" -- an opportunity for your family to come out and meet our family. We'll provide live music, space-themed activities for all ages and exhibits that will share our story and reflect the contributions of the Rocket City family which have brought us this far.Where are we headed? As far as our will, our resolve and our imagination will take us.Let's continue this journey together!Space Launch System's lead developer will speak in Huntsville todayLee Roop – Huntsville (AL) TimesWant to hear "what's next" for NASA from the man responsible for one of the space agency's top 3 priorities? You have that chance for free today at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.Todd May, the man leading development of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), will present an updated and expanded version of his 2013 TEDxNashville presentation titled "America's Next Great Ship." SLS is one of NASA's three priorities along with launching the James Webb Space Telescope and supporting the International Space Station.May's presentation is part of the space center's "Pass the Torch" lecture series featuring leaders in space and missile development. It begins at 5:30 p.m. in the 3-D Digital theater at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.The Space Launch System being developed at Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center will take astronauts out of Earth's orbit for the first time since Apollo. NASA plans to use it to take astronauts to Mars in the 2030s. The high stakes development program has led at least one major publication to call May the modern-day Wernher von Braun.NASA Awards 5 Academic Institutions With $500K Grant, ISS R&D PayloadAnna Forrester – ExecutiveBizNASA has awarded five U.S. academic institutions with a $100,000 grant each and opportunities to conduct research and development work aboard the International Space Station as part of its Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.The agency said Wednesday the research coverage, including ultrasonic sensor and self-healing polymers technology, is crucial for NASA missions as well as instrumental in forming science, technology, engineering and mathematics higher-education curricula.Proposals from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Maine Space Grant Consortium in Augusta, Montana State University in Bozeman, University of Nebraska in Omaha and University of Delaware in Newark were chosen after a merit-based and peer-reviewed competition.The EPSCoR program supports the NASA Office of Education's efforts to establish partnerships between the agency, academia and industry and boost the awardees' research capabilities.Satellite operator sticks with SpaceXJames Dean – Florida TodayOrbcomm is getting two Falcon 9 launches for less than the listed $61.2 million price of one.While a Dragon cargo spacecraft flew safely on its way to the International Space Station in October 2012, executives at Orbcomm Inc. faced "an Apollo 13 moment."Their prototype communications satellite had shared a ride with the Dragon on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which lost one of its nine main engines on the way up.NASA rules governing the flight and space station safety prevented the rocket's upper stage engine from firing after the Dragon departed, forcing the satellite to be dropped in a low orbit.Orbcomm CEO Marc Eisenberg received a text with the bad news minutes after watching the launch from Kennedy Space Center."Atthat point, all eyes were focused on trying to find a way to save the satellite," he said. "It was like an Apollo 13 moment, where you take everything that you've got on board that spacecraft and try to raise it to a higher altitude."The satellite survived about 50 hours before succumbing to gravity, long enough to complete some important tests that helped set the stage for today's 6:08 p.m. launch of six satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on an upgraded Falcon 9.Weather could pose a challenge, with only a 30 percent chance of acceptable conditions at Launch Complex 40 during a window extending to 7:01 p.m.The launch is important for Orbcomm, which is trying to deploy a new commercial satellite constellation, and for SpaceX, which is trying to increase its launch rate and continue efforts to recover and reuse rocket boosters.It's the first of two missions scheduled this year to deploy 17 second-generation satellites for Orbcomm, a publicly traded New Jersey company whose "machine-to-machine" networks provide information on heavy equipment and goods moved around the globe by road, rail and sea.Tracking technologyThe technology helps Wal-Mart track the location of trucks, Caterpillar monitor wear and tear on construction equipment and Tropicana know if refrigerated rail containers are keeping orange juice properly cooled.Weighing 380 pounds and flying about 500 miles up, each Orbcomm Generation 2 (OG2) satellite will offer bigger message capacity and higher speeds than the company's entire first-generation fleet of 25 aging satellites."There's so much more functionality in these spacecraft and there's such a much larger business opportunity," said Eisenberg. "Not only are we excited to get it launched, but so is our customer base."The first six satellites will fill a coverage gap in Orbcomm's existing service.The spacecraft are positioned on two rings atop the rocket that will separate and begin dispensing the satellites 15 minutes after liftoff. Five of the satellites will orbit in one plane and one will drift to another, practicing maneuvers that will be repeated during the next launch of 11 satellites.Despite Orbcomm's adventure during the prototype's 2012 flight on a less powerful Falcon 9, Eisenberg praised SpaceX.The upcoming launches make good on a $46.7 million deal Orbcomm inked in 2009, when it became SpaceX's first commercial launch customer.Multiple launches were planned on smaller Falcon 1 rockets that SpaceX later discontinued.Now Orbcomm is getting two Falcon 9 launches for less than the listed $61.2 million price of one."Orbcomm arguably got the best launch deal in history," said Chris Quilty, senior vice president for equity research at Raymond James & Assoc. in St. Petersburg.With the rocket providing more power than needed to deliver the small satellites to a low orbit, SpaceX will again try to land the rocket's first-stage booster softly in the Atlantic Ocean and then recover it.That's an early step toward developing a reusable rocket that SpaceX believes would dramatically lower launch costs and revolutionize the industry, though competitors disagree.SpaceX achieved what CEO Elon Musk called "a really huge milestone" after its most recent launch in April, when it guided the Falcon 9 booster from hypersonic speed back to a controlled, soft touchdown in the ocean — a first for a liquid-fueled orbital rocket.But stormy conditions kept boats from reaching the splashdown area for two days and ultimately destroyed the rocket stage."It was somewhat of a huge day, because we've been trying to do this at SpaceX for a long time," Musk said after the launch. "It's been 12 years and we finally did it. Now we've just got to bring it back home in one piece."Improving the odds this time, SpaceX has deployed bigger boats and the stage shouldn't "land" as far out at sea.If successful recovering a booster intact from the water, Musk hopes to fly one back to a Cape Canaveral landing site as soon as this year.The technology taking NASA to MarsColby Hochmuth – Federal Computer WeekWhether mankind returns to Mars by 2030 is more of a political than technological question at this point -- the politics may be far from settled, but the technology is subject to significantly less debate."We have the technology, we have the capability," said Christina Richey, a contract program officer at NASA. "We just have to have the will."Getting to Mars has been a cornerstone of the NASA mission since the first fly-by attempt of Mariner 3 almost 50 years ago. That first mission failed, but just three weeks later NASA successfully sent Mariner 4 on an eight-month voyage to Mars.That was in 1964, the heyday of the space program, when the Moon was in sight and anything seemed possible. Then, NASA consumed 4.6 percent of the federal budget. Today it's less than 0.5 percent, which means the agency must find ways to get more technological bang for its buck.To date, satellites and rovers have been the only machines to orbit or land on the planet. Five decades on from Mariner and a decade after President George W. Bush proposed returning to the Moon by 2020 as a steppingstone for a mission to Mars, NASA is showcasing some of the gadgets it hopes to use to send astronauts on the first manned interplanetary spaceflight. FCW recently took a behind the scenes look at NASA's "Human Exploration Day on the Hill: Path to Mars," and got a glimpse at the latest technology designed to take Americans to Mars and tap into the planet's resources for future use.The goal to get humans to Mars by 2030 is massive both in the grandeur of the notion and the physical challenge it presents. Reaching the goal will require a massive industrial undertaking. The Michoud assembly facility in Louisiana, one of the largest in the country, spreads across 43 acres and is the construction site for the program's 321-foot, 5.5 million pound rocket and other mission hardware.Sierra Nevada Corp. To Acquire ORBITECWarren Ferster – Space NewsSierra Nevada Corp. will acquire space component and technology supplier Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) for an undisclosed sum in a deal announced by the Sparks, Nevada-based company June 19.ORBITEC of Madison, Wisconsin, provides space-based propulsion, energy and life support systems and also has capabilities in fire suppression and other emergency response technologies.In a press release, Sierra Nevada noted that ORBITEC is supplying propulsion, environmental and thermal control systems for its planned Dream Chaser astronaut transport vehicle. Dream Chaser is one of three concepts being developed under NASA's commercial crew program, through which the agency plans to begin flying astronaut crews to and from the international space station in 2017.The release said ORBITEC's technologies will be integrated into Sierra Nevada Space Systems of Louisville, Colorado, but will maintain and even expand its operations in Madison."ORBITEC's impressive performance as our partner on the Dream Chaser program for [environmental closed-loop life support systems] demonstrates their strong capability to deliver human spaceflight qualified hardware," Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president of Sierra Nevada Space Systems, said in a prepared statement. "The addition of ORBITEC's high performance Vortex liquid rocket engines to SNC's flight-proven hybrid rocket motor products allows SNC to provide a complete range of propulsion solutions for our customers."Ancient Dwarf 'Starburst Galaxies' Shed Light on Early UniverseKelly Dickerson – Space.comBrilliant bursts of star formation in distant dwarf galaxies seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope could reveal new information about the early history of the universe, scientists say.Galaxies churn out new stars all the time, but most of the universe's stars formed between two and six billion years after the Big Bang (which occurred 13.8 billion years ago). The new Hubble observations capture the prolific dwarf galaxies, which are known as "starburst galaxies," during this dramatic epoch, researchers said. You can watch a video explaining the new dwarf galaxy observations ."We already suspected that dwarf starbursting galaxies would contribute to the early wave of star formation, but this is the first time we've been able to measure the effect they actually had,"study lead author Hakim Atek, of the École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland, said in a statement."They appear to have had a surprisingly significant role to play during the epoch where the universe formed most of its stars," Atek added.The distant dwarf galaxiesthat the Hubble telescope observed are forming stars so quickly that they can double the number of stars they hold in just 150 million years. Normal galaxies take 1 to 3 billion years to do this, researchers said.Starburst galaxies are relatively rare; researchers think these galaxies generally require a powerful event, such as a supernova explosion or galaxy merger, to get kicked into star-forming gear.Hubble observed the dwarf galaxies using its Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument, which captures images in a wide range of wavelengths. In the new study, infrared light proved key to illuminating the faraway starburst galaxies.WFC3 also has a prism, which splits light into its constituent wavelengths. The spectroscopy mode of the camera produced the images, in which each galaxy appears as a rainbow streak. Scientists analyze the galaxies' spectra to estimate how far away they are from Earth and determine their chemical composition.Previous studies of starburst galaxies had focused on nearby or large galaxies, leaving out the faraway, ancient dwarfs, which are more difficult to observe, researchers said.The iconic Hubble Space Telescope has been snapping pictures of the universe since 1990 and is part of NASA's "Great Observatories" project.NASA's HS3 hurricane research program peers into severe stormsAlex Card – Environmental MonitorThe meteorologists at NASA work in a bit of a paradox: To conduct their research and save lives, they require potentially life-threatening hurricanes to form in the first place."I hate to say that we're hoping for storm activity, but doing these science campaigns, you really need it," said Scott Braun, research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.Braun is the principal investigator for the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel program. Shortened as HS3, the program uses remote sensing technology to monitor hurricanes from a safe vantage.Now in its third year, the HS3 program is deploying new technology to give its researchers insight into the formation and movement of one of nature's most destructive forces. A pair of space-based observation platforms will complement the operation of two existing unmanned aircraft.This year's program will also study the impact of hot Saharan air and dust on hurricanes. Braun hopes that a host of new technology will help find the answer.The NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory satellite measures rainfall every three hour across the world. Launched Feb. 27 of this year, the satellite helps scientists understand how storm structure changes over time.NASA's second new instrument, the ISS-RapidScat, will launch to the International Space Station in August. The device will collect surface wind data from storms and help forecast marine weather."Examining all the instrument data will provide a better understanding of these storms, and hopefully provide improvements in the future," Braun said.Two unmanned Global Hawk aircraft will keep an eye on hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean for the third straight year. Piloted from the Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va., the aircraft are equipped with six instruments that paint a comprehensive picture of severe storms. Whereas a manned plane can only sample a storm for about four hours, the unmanned flights can take samples for up to 18 hoursOne of the aircraft carries an Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System, otherwise known as a dropsonde. The system drops a sensor package — attached to a parachute, of course — from the tail of the Global Hawk into the ocean. The sonde measures temperature, humidity, air pressure and wind direction as it falls."The dropsonde provides some very valuable information that we can see more or less in real time," Braun said. The data is then shared with the National Hurricane Center, the U.S. Navy and the National Center for Environmental Prediction for incorporation into forecast models."Usually the more data that goes in, the better information you can get," Braun said. "Dropsonde data has led to some improvements in these models."The second Global Hawk carries three instruments designed for use above the storm. A down-facing doppler radar unit gathers three-dimensional precipitation information. A microwave sounder and microwave radiometer detect surface wind speed, rainfall rate, temperature and humidity profiles.The skies haven't always been so clear for HS3. Braun recalled the earlier days of the program, when complications with the FAA limited flight capabilities."They weren't used to having to deal with the Global Hawk aircraft," Braun said. "The FAA wanted to see actual flight plans two business days in advance… There's often a challenge in planning for a hurricane two business days in advance."The FAA relaxed their requirements in 2013, only a general outline a storm's projected path. Braun attributes the improved flexibility to a mutual respect between both agencies.Braun said other agencies could employ programs similar to HS3 in the future. NOAA seems particularly interested in testing a Global Hawk of their own. For the time being, however, Braun is looking forward to hurricane season in a way that only a meteorologist can."Going into the field this year, we feel pretty comfortable that we've got a well-defined process," Braun said. "Now we're just hoping that the weather cooperates with us."END
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