Fwd: NASA news - my version

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: December 31, 2014 at 9:33:39 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: NASA news -  my version

Have a very Happy New Years  everyone! 

 

Don't forget to mark your calendars to join us next Thursday for our monthly NASA retirees luncheon at Hibachi Grill at 11:30—since tomorrow is new years day, we have delayed it a week.  

 

 

Also remember next Wednesday at 11:30 at the Gilruth Ballroom –Gene Kranz is the featured speaker

 

You are invited to JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Speaker Forum featuring Gene Kranz, Former NASA Flight Director and Director of Mission Operations.

 

As a former flight director and now motivational speaker, Gene Kranz will discuss the pride, determination, and passion that inspired and compelled the engineers and scientists who were responsible for the phenomenal success of the American space program.  In looking back at his career as flight director, Gene Kranz offers the following perspective: "We were working at the ragged edge of all knowledge, all technology and all experience."

 

 

NASA NEWS

• 2014 Spaceflight Reviews Continue.

• Astronaut To Attend India's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

• YouTube UFO Archivist Spots Rainbow UFO In Apollo 12 Photo.

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

• Wilmore's Birthday Celebrated At The ISS.

• ACES Will Test General Relativity When At The ISS In 2017.

• Short Film Focuses On Orion Mission, Human Space Exploration.

• Russia Leads The World In Launches In 2014.

• JAXA Plans Five Launches In 2015.

NASA NEWS

2014 Spaceflight Reviews Continue.

In continuing coverage, Spaceflight Now (12/30, 3K) ranked its "five most important events in spaceflight." in descending order, they are NASA's commercial crew contract award to Boeing and SpaceX, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo accident, the Antares launch failure, the Orion test flight, and Philae's comet landing.

        The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (12/31, Green, 1.06M) lists Google's plans to reskin Hangar One, "create an educational center and assume management for much of Moffett Field," under a deal with NASA as among the "page one news on the Peninsula in 2014."

Astronaut To Attend India's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

The Press Trust of India (12/30) reports that India's state finance minister Saurabh Patel announced that American astronaut Sunita Williams will be in attendance at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas opening ceremony in January.

YouTube UFO Archivist Spots Rainbow UFO In Apollo 12 Photo.

The Inquisitr (12/31, Vankin, 267K) reports that YouTube UFO archivist "StreetCap1" spotted a "rainbow-colored UFO" within a photo from the Apollo 12 mission. Recent sightings of "multi-colored UFO[s]" include one over Wigan, England and another over Florida.

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

Wilmore's Birthday Celebrated At The ISS.

The Washington Post (12/30, Feltman, 4.9M) "Speaking of Science" blog reports on how ISS commander Barry Wilmore celebrated his birthday at the ISS. For much of the day, it was a "pretty typical Monday" with "eye readings" and tests of "how haptic feedback" affects astronauts in space. But to celebrate, NASA flight controllers sang "Happy Birthday" to Wilmore. The article noted that because cake is not allowed at the ISS because of the damage crumbs could do, Wilmore may have had "to settle for a birthday tortilla."

ACES Will Test General Relativity When At The ISS In 2017.

The Deutsche Presse Agentur (DEU) (12/30) reports that Airbus Defense and Space is developing "the most precise 'clock ensemble' ever" in order to test Einstein's general theory of relativity at the ISS. Once at the ISS in 2017, the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) will test whether "the closer to a large body like the Earth, the slower time passes" by comparing its measurements to atomic clocks on Earth.

Short Film Focuses On Orion Mission, Human Space Exploration.

SPACE (12/30, David, 276K) reports on an episode within a short film series, "Humans Explore: We Are Capable of Greatness," which Space City Films' Marc Havican calls "a tribute to Orion and EFT-1, and to the impact that human space exploration has had on humanity."

        Blog Coverage. Ken Kremer at AmericaSpace (12/30) spoke with Jules Schneider, Orion Project Manager for Lockheed Martin, about how the Orion capsule's ascent abort system will be tested in 2018. This "mandatory safety demonstration flight test," known as the Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2), will launch the "now flight-proven Orion EFT-1 capsule" aboard a retired Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile. According to Kremer, October's Antares launch failure back in October was a "vivid and stark reminder" of why such a system will be needed when astronauts are being launched deeper into space.

Russia Leads The World In Launches In 2014.

Sputnik News (12/30) reports that with 38 successful launches of 80 satellites in 2014, Russia was again the world leader in launches.

        Russia's ITAR-TASS News Agency (12/31, 1K) reports that in the coming year, Russia plans to launch "around thirty launches of space carrier rockets from different spaceports."

        Pravda (RUS) (12/31, 21K) also covers the story.

        Blog Coverage. Amy Thompson at Spaceflight Insider (12/30) writes that the United Launch Alliance had a "busy year" with 14 launches and an "impressive" perfect success rate. According to Thompson, the "most unique" launch of the year was the Orion capsule. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said that it was a "banner year" for the company.

JAXA Plans Five Launches In 2015.

The Jiji Press (12/31, 52) reports that JAXA could have "one of the busiest years ever at the Tanegashima Space Center" with five launches planned in 2015. The first launch involves "information-gathering satellite" on January 29. JAXA also plans to launch "the fifth Kounotori unmanned cargo transporter to the International Space Station" in the coming year.