Fwd: nasa news -- my version plus 2 made it to losses list

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: December 23, 2014 at 9:49:47 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: nasa news --  my version plus 2 made it to losses list

Still expect that PAO is out for Christmas already.   Interesting stuff in the news..   congratulations to the 2 new "soon to be" additions to the Retired club.

 

 

RETIREMENT	JSC	SD111	FTP	MEYER, RICHARD	12/31/14
RETIREMENT	JSC	EC511	FTP	WOODS, RONALD	02/03/15

 

 

NASA NEWS

• Coburn: International Space Station A Waste Of NASA Funding.

• Cristoforetti Among CNN's Leading Women Of The Year.

• New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Targeting Education, Aerospace Growth.

• UFO Researcher Discovers Evidence Of Spacecraft In Apollo 15 Photos.

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

• Timelapse Encapsulates Gerst's Six Months At The ISS.

• Astronauts Send Back Holiday Message.

• Sierra Nevada Alleges NASA Changed Its Criteria For Commercial Crew.

• New Russian Spacecraft Will Have Docking System Now In Use By ISS' Russian Segments.

• Cold Atom Lab To Become The Coldest Known Location In The Universe.

• Water Fleas To Be Tested At The ISS.

• Cosmopolitan Features Deaf NASA Engineer.

• Engines That Power Airbus A350 Tested At Stennis.

SCIENCE

• NASA Releases New Views Of The Sun.

• Dawn Spacecraft Will Investigate Ceres' Potential Habitability.

• New Ballistic Capture Method Could Be Safer, Cheaper Way To Send Payloads To Mars.

• Ball Aerospace Engineer Credited For Fixing Kepler.

NASA NEWS

Coburn: International Space Station A Waste Of NASA Funding.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (12/22, Coburn, Subscription Publication, 5.62M), Sen. Tom Coburn criticizes the amount NASA spends on the International Space Station (ISS) program, which he claims exemplifies how NASA has lost its direction. Coburn thinks that NASA funds should be spent on more productive projects, like sending astronauts to the moon or Mars. To Coburn, the ISS and the Space Launch System that NASA is developing are emblematic of how Congress tasks NASA with shortsighted projects. He concludes that the billions spent each year on these programs would be better spent on clearer goals that could make the US a leader in space again.

        GQ Profiles Aldrin, A "Man Of Science." GQ (12/22, Laskas, 3.06M) magazine, in a 6600-word article for the January 2015 edition, profiles Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldin, focusing more on his personal life and experiences than on his Unified Space Vision to send astronauts to Mars. According to the piece, it "bothers" Aldrin that there is currently a "lack of motivation" and "utter lack of imagination" for spaceflight these days. He especially is upset with plans to send astronauts to an asteroid, which he calls missions to "a Mickey Mouse rock." Aldrin is repeatedly described as a "man of science" trying to push people forward, but "tired" of "the same questions about feelings that leave him feeling inadequate."

        The New York Post (12/22, Siegler, 2.55M) "Page Six" cites what the GQ article say about Aldrin's current relationships and his views on an asteroid mission.

        Ivins: Asteroid Mission Is "Boring." In an article for TIME (12/23, 23.35M), astronaut Marsha Ivins harshly criticizes NASA's asteroid plans in a piece titled, "The Age Of Asteroids? Boooooring…" Ivins questions just how that mission is actually a step toward sending people to Mars as NASA now claims. Ivins does compliment the recent test flight of the Orion capsule as "a testament to the hard work of a lot of engineers and workers who had to build a vehicle in the absence of clear mission goals." Even though it is the stated goal, asteroids are "the punch line, the hash tag, the sound bite of today's U.S. space program."

        Capturing Orion's Return Was A "Home Run" For Ikhana UAS . InsideGNSS (12/22, Knight) details how NASA utilized its Ikhana unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to capture the return of the Orion spacecraft on its first flight. UAS research pilot Herman Posada, who took part in the operation, said, "This was pretty historic. A home run. We'll do more of this if the weather's good. ... Weather is a big thing. The plane needs to be in clear weather. The cameras can't see through the clouds." The article notes how this is just part of NASA's efforts with UAS, led by the Armstrong Flight Research Center, to develop "ways to reduce technical safety and operational challenges with incorporating UAS into the airspace."

        Orion Technology Compared And Contrasted To Apollo. In an article for the Space Review (12/22) contributor Anthony Young examines the technology inside Orion to see how it is similar and different from the Apollo capsule it resembles. At the end of his piece, Young responds to critics that say commercial companies may have been able to complete the same mission for less. He notes that none of the commercial crew program participants have systems addressing what Orion aims to accomplish because they are developing spacecraft for different missions. Furthermore, Orion is "far more commercial in its structure and operation" than other NASA spacecraft programs in the past.

       

Cristoforetti Among CNN's Leading Women Of The Year.

CNN (12/22, Parke, 14.29M) lists who the public voted for as the "Leading Women of 2014." In the Science, Technology, Engineering And Math (STEM) category, one of those listed is ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who is now at the ISS.

        Blog Coverage. Lee Billings at the Scientific American (12/22, 2.79M) "Observations" blog lists his top 10 science stories of the year. Leading the list was Philae landing on a comet's surface, followed by Curiosity rover discovering methane on Mars; the findings of the BICEP2 experiment and the subsequent analysis; the first flight of Orion; the Kepler telescope almost doubling the amount of known exoplanets; private spaceflight accidents; the search for dark matter, including at the ISS; Cassini's discoveries about Titan; and ALMA imaging a young planetary system.

        Victoria Turk at Motherboard (12/22, 10K) has a similar list, leading off with the Philae landing. Turk notes that the news came from "an impressively diverse range of space agencies and private companies," which made spaceflight appear more accessible than ever.

New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Targeting Education, Aerospace Growth.

The Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News (12/22, Gibbs, 39K) reports that the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium said it will target education and outreach as it seeks to support and expand the aerospace industry in New Mexico. According to the article, the message was delivered at the consortium's quinquennial strategic planning meeting, a requirement for eligibility to apply for "$1.138 million in funding from NASA to continue to shepherd the development of aerospace technology and spaceflight for New Mexico" over the next three years. The funds must be matched by local sources, allowing the consortium to give scholarships and grants needed to reach its development goals for the state.

UFO Researcher Discovers Evidence Of Spacecraft In Apollo 15 Photos.

The Inquisitr (12/23, Vankin, 267K) reports that "a UFO researcher was examining archival photos from the 1971 NASA moon mission Apollo 15 recently, when he discovered what he says is evidence of a mysterious craft." The researcher, who goes by the YouTube name "Streetcap1," reminded his audience that the craft is not necessarily an alien craft, but could be any "unidentified flying object."

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

Timelapse Encapsulates Gerst's Six Months At The ISS.

The CBS Evening News (12/22, story 8, 0:15, Brown, 5.08M) broadcast that a German astronaut who spent time at the ISS develop "a video of his six months" at the station "from more than 12,000 individual images."

        The Washington Post (12/22, Feltman, 4.9M) "Speaking of Science" blog notes that astronaut Alexander Gerst's six-minute timelapse includes "some of the best shots from his ISS tenure." The article notes that other shots not included in the timelapse are at Gerst's Flickr page.

       

Astronauts Send Back Holiday Message.

The NBC News (12/22, Eng, 3.76M) website reports that in a NASA video uploaded to YouTube, ISS astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts sent back holiday greetings from space. Virts said, "This is definitely going to be a Christmas that we'll remember, getting a chance to see the beautiful Earth, and I hope that for you also it will be a memorable Christmas this year."

        Headlines & Global News (12/23, Aquilina) also covers the story.

        NASA Finds Cities Are Brighter From Holiday Lights. The ABC World News (12/22, 6:56 p.m. ET, 11, 1:25, 5.84M) broadcast on "the great Christmas light fight" across America. Reporter David Wright notes the recent NASA study showing that some US cities are "20% to 50% brighter this time of year."

        Derby Children May Think ISS IS Santa's Sleigh. The Derby (UK) Telegraph (12/22, Peddy) reports that children in Derby could think they are seeing Santa Claus' sleigh when the ISS passes over the region on Christmas Eve.

        Huntsville Middle School Will Display Shirt Carried By Wilmore. The Oneida (TN) Independent Herald (12/23) profiles Wilmore, whose sister-in-law is a science teacher at Huntsville Middle School. The article notes that Wilmore took a school shirt to the ISS, which will be "on display at the school" after his mission is over.

Sierra Nevada Alleges NASA Changed Its Criteria For Commercial Crew.

The Wall Street Journal (12/22, Pasztor, Subscription Publication, 5.62M) reports that according to those familiar with Sierra Nevada's protest to the Government Accountability Office of NASA's commercial crew award to Boeing, Sierra Nevada alleges that NASA changed its criteria for the contract at the last minute. The company claims that schedule risk was originally not a factor for consideration, and that William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, overstepped his authority in making the change.

New Russian Spacecraft Will Have Docking System Now In Use By ISS' Russian Segments.

Russia's ITAR-TASS News Agency (12/22, 1K) reports that the new manned spacecraft Russia's Energia is developing will have an updated docking system "used for over 50 years in the Russian space exploration." The article notes that the same system is used at the ISS's Russian segments and by the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.

Cold Atom Lab To Become The Coldest Known Location In The Universe.

Newser (12/22, Colgrass, 383K) reports that the Boomerang Nebula currently holds the "coldest known place in the universe." The article notes that in 2016, this designation could be supplanted when NASA installs the Cold Atom Lab, which will reach a temperature of "1/10 billionth of a degree" above absolute zero.

Water Fleas To Be Tested At The ISS.

The Press Trust of India (12/23) reports that water fleas from a lake close to the University of Birmingham will be sent to the ISS for an experiment, making them "the first animals from UK waters to travel to space." According to Kay Van Damme of the University of Birmingham's School of Biosciences, how the fleas behave and reproduce in space can be used "as models for human health under the same conditions."

        Blog Coverage. Jamie Condliffe at Gizmodo (12/22, 1.21M) writes about the ESA's Expose-R2 project, which exposes "46 species of bacteria, fungi and arthropods" to space to see whether any of those species can survive. The unit will spend 18 months outside of the ISS.

Cosmopolitan Features Deaf NASA Engineer.

Alabama Live (12/23, Bonvillian, 497K) reports that the Cosmopolitan magazine, in a series called "Get That Life," features Victoria Garcia, a 32-year-old engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center, who was born deaf. Garcia told Cosmo in an email interview, "One of the best things about working for NASA is that there always seems to be an opportunity to work on something different. Usually, I work on a project, complete it, and then have a completely new job on a different project."

        Former NASA Engineer Profiled. The Daily Astorian (OR) (12/22, Bengel, 23K) profiles Carolyn Propst, a former NASA engineer who retired to Cannon Beach, Oregon, where she actively participates in conservation outreach volunteerism. Propst worked for the Johnson Space Center for nearly 23 years.

Engines That Power Airbus A350 Tested At Stennis.

Aviation International News (12/22, Polek, 1K) reports that Airbus handed over the first A350 to Qatar Airways on Monday. The article notes that the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines powering the plane underwent testing at the Stennis Space Center, including "extended-range operations involving" for "more than 3,000 cycles."

SCIENCE

NASA Releases New Views Of The Sun.

USA Today (12/22, Rice, 9.86M) reports that NASA released a "stunning video" taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory of a flare coming from the sun. The article questions whether "make-believe CGI in movies" is needed when the public has videos like this one.

        The Washington Post (12/22, Feltman, 4.9M) "Speaking of Science" blog notes that NASA also released an image of the sun taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory overlaid by the first observations of sun by the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). According to the article, NuSTAR is currently the only instrument sensitive enough to detect the "faint x-ray emissions of the star," which NASA hopes will lead to the first detection of theoretical nanoflares. NASA explained, "Nanoflares, should they exist, may explain why the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona, is sizzling hot, a mystery called the 'coronal heating problem.'" The article notes that the telescope could also detect dark matter, although that is a "less likely" outcome.

        The WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (12/22, Mitchell, 25K) website, Discovery News (12/22, O'Neill, 417K), and Huffington Post (12/22, Freeman, 11.54M) also cover the story.

Dawn Spacecraft Will Investigate Ceres' Potential Habitability.

SPACE (12/22, Wall, 276K) reports that when the Dawn spacecraft arrives at Ceres in March, it will investigate "a potentially habitable alien world." Jian-Yang Li of the Planetary Science Institute gave a talk at last week's annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union about how "interesting" Ceres is because of its relative warmth and its water content, which may or may not be in a liquid form. When at Ceres, Dawn should help answer whether or not it does have an internal heat source. However, the article notes that the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) may be able to probe "deeper" into Ceres than Dawn. Li said that Dawn and ALMA are "highly complementary" missions when investigating Ceres.

New Ballistic Capture Method Could Be Safer, Cheaper Way To Send Payloads To Mars.

Scientific American (12/22, Hadhazy, 2.79M) reports that a new "ballistic capture" method proposed by Edward Belbruno of Princeton University and Francesco Topputo of the Polytechnic University of Milan could be a safer, cheaper way to send spacecraft to Mars "without being restricted by launch windows." James Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said, "It could be a pretty big step for us and really save us resources and capability, which is always what we're looking for." The article notes that because the technique would cut down on the amount of fuel needed to reach Mars safely, researchers could land bigger payloads with the same amount of fuel currently used. Green similarly noted, "What we want to do is leverage [ballistic capture] to put more mass on the ground. ... That's the dream." While the technique likely will be used for robotic spacecraft first, Green reportedly arranged for a meeting between Belbruno and the Johnson Space Center to discuss how a ballistic capture could help land people on Mars.

Ball Aerospace Engineer Credited For Fixing Kepler.

TIME (12/22, Lemonick, 23.35M) reports that the Kepler space telescope, which in 2013 experienced the second breakdown of one of the wheels responsible for targeting its viewing window, is still functioning as a result of a Ball Aerospace engineer named Doug Wiemer. According to the article, Weimer believed that "if radiation pressure from the sun impinged equally on the telescope's solar panels, that would stabilize it on its roll axis, so the remaining wheels could handle pitch and yaw." The idea worked, though it has changed the telescopes abilities, and Kepler is back to discovering planets.