Happy warm Monday everyone. Hope we can hold off turning the A/C on for a bit……
I forgot to acknowledge new retiree Gail Chapline for joining us last Thursday at Hibachi Grill. Thanks to her for joining us as well. I don't always get a chance to visit with everyone so accept my apologies but hopefully next time I will get to visit more with all of you.
NASA and Human Spaceflight News
Monday – Feb. 9, 2015
HEADLINES AND LEADS
House SS&T Committee Announces Bipartisan 2015 NASA Authorization Act
Top Republicans and Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) committee today announced details of a new bipartisan NASA Authorization Act that will be introduced next week. The bill avoids budget issues by authorizing funds only for FY2015, for which funding already has been appropriated.
Lawmakers push to increase Obama's spending on NASA space projects
Kevin Diaz – Houston Chronicle
Days after President Barack Obama submitted his 2016 budget to Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers including San Antonio Republican Lamar Smith is pushing to increase funding for NASA space programs.
Elder scientists work to send humans to Mars
Carolyn Y. Johnson – The Boston Globe
They are graybeards still going boldly: the retired astronaut; the researcher whose career began before the first Viking craft touched down on the red planet nearly 40 years ago; the octogenarian just now updating his 520-page tome, "Human Missions to Mars."
Pad 39B to gain new Flame Deflector and Trench upgrade
One of the final upgrades to Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39B will begin in earnest, following a deal between the Kennedy's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program and J. P. Donovan Construction. The contract for a new Flame Deflector and associated Flame Trench work is required to help the pad deal with the immense thrust of the Space Launch System (SLS).
Insider Exclusive: First flight of SLS to prep for Moon / asteroid missions
Jason Rhian - Spaceflight Insider
Outside of the fact that NASA's Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1 ) will be the first flight of NASA's new super heavy-lift booster, the Space Launch System (SLS) and the second flight of the space agency's Orion spacecraft – not much has been said about the 2018 mission. Until now that is. SpaceFlight Insider reached out to NASA to find out what they were planning in terms of secondary payloads for this pivotal mission. What was revealed, was an agency that is focusing on the tasks set before it and a path designed to maximize all the resources at its disposal.
NASA Issues Sole Source Notice for Six Soyuz Seats
Brian Berger – Space News
Hedging its bets on commercial crew, NASA's Johnson Space Center on Feb. 6 issued a formal notice of its intent to buy six more round-trip seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station in 2018.
Astronaut Scott Kelly and girlfriend prepare for ultimate long-distance relationship
Lily Jang - KHOU 11 News
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is spent his last night in Houston Friday before leaving for a week of training in Germany.
Mock Mars Mission Starts Saturday in Utah Desert
A simulated Mars mission kicks off Saturday (Feb. 7) in Utah, and its seven crewmembers hope the experience helps them prepare for a real Red Planet expedition a decade from now.
The Moon was a first step, Mars will test our capabilities, but Europa is the prize
Leigh Fletcher – The Conversation
The icy moon Europa is perhaps the most tantalising destination in our solar system. Scientists have been trying for years to kickstart a mission to Jupiter's most enigmatic moon, with very Earth-like concerns over costs keeping missions grounded until now.
Warning System for Solar Storms Is Kept on Earth for Now
Kenneth Chang – The New York Times
Al Gore will have to wait at least one more day for his spacecraft to go to space.
U.S. Air Force Poised To Award $200M in Rocket Studies
Mike Gruss – Space News
The U.S. Air Force plans to spend $500 million over the next five years, with roughly $200 million to be committed in February, to develop a new liquid-fueled rocket engine to replace the Russian-made engine that currently launches many national security missions, according to new White House budget documents.
Aerojet Rocketdyne contracted to provide XR-5 electric propulsion for Orbital satellites
Rae Botsford – Spaceflight Insider
Earlier this week, Aerojet Rocketdyne received a contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital) to deliver XR-5 electric propulsion systems over the next three years for Orbital's GEOStar-3 satellites. The satellites, which are commercial communications satellites designed for geostationary orbit, are part of the GEOStar line that is currently used for purposes such as television broadcasting, broadband connectivity, business data network capacity and regional mobile communications.
What's Happening in Space Policy February 9-13, 2015 – UPDATE
Here is our list of space policy events for the week of February 9-13, 2015 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week. (Updated to show new launch date for DSCOVR)
Neil Armstrong's Purse: 1st Moonwalker Had Hidden Apollo 11 Artifacts
Neil Armstrong had a secret stash of moon landing mementos.
COMPLETE STORIES
House SS&T Committee Announces Bipartisan 2015 NASA Authorization Act
Top Republicans and Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) committee today announced details of a new bipartisan NASA Authorization Act that will be introduced next week. The bill avoids budget issues by authorizing funds only for FY2015, for which funding already has been appropriated.
House SS&T Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Space Subcommittee Chairman Steve Palazzo (R-MS) and Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-MD), and Space Subcommittee Vice-Chairman Mo Brooks (R-AL) issued a joint press release laying out the major provisions of the legislation, which seem to parallel the bill passed the House (but not considered by the Senate) last year. Whether the text is identical to last year's other than updating the budget figures is not clear, but Smith said "this bill was approved unanimously" by the committee and "passed in the House" in the last Congress, suggesting that it must be very close. Last year's bill included budget figures only for FY2014, which was already in progress at the time the bill was under consideration. They have taken the same tack for this bill.
The main theme is that NASA is a multi-mission agency involved in range of aeronautics and space research and development activities. Key elements include the following:
- states that a human mission to Mars is the goal for NASA's human spaceflight program and calls on NASA to develop a roadmap to achieve that goal
- continues the commitment to the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion, and reiterates the directive in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act that Orion serve as a backup to commercial crew if necessary
- supports building "at least one" commercial crew system
- relies on guidance from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) regarding NASA's earth and space science programs and asks for additional NAS studies on long-term goals of the Mars robotic program and an exoplanets strategy
- emphasizes the need for a "steady cadence" of science missions, including a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa for launch by 2021
- stresses the importance of fulfilling previous congressional direction regarding detecting, tracking, cataloging and characterizing Near Earth Objects 140 meters in diameter or more
- asserts that if earth science responsibilities are transferred to NASA from other agencies that NASA be reimbursed for that cost
- maintains funding to support launch of the James Webb Space Telescope by 2018
- authorizes a robust program including efforts to integrate unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace, development of NextGen technology for air traffic management and research on aviation safety
- directs NASA to develop a plan to better position the agency to have facilities and infrastructure necessary to meet future requirements
- provides transparency provisions to ensure NASA's property and facilities are managed appropriately
- requires that NASA's educational and outreach activities continue to support STEM curriculum and inspire the next generation of explorers
The bill also provides greater public accountability and transparency, requires enforcement of cost estimating discipline, strengthens the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), and provides for additional tools to protect against waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement.
The phrasing that NASA is a multi-mission agency is important because some argue that NASA only should be involved in human spaceflight. Science should be done by the National Science Foundation and other government agencies, and aeronautics research should be under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), they argue. This bill makes clear that NASA should continue to have a range of missions as described in the 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act that created the agency.
The language about support for "at least one" commercial crew system and that Orion continue to be able to serve as a backup to commercial crew also is important. Committee Republicans do not necessarily agree that NASA should support two commercial crew companies. SpaceX and Boeing were selected by NASA last year, which believes that it needs two competitors to keep prices down and provide redundancy in case one of the systems has a failure. Some in Congress think there should be only one commercial crew company and the redundant capability could be filled by Orion.
Launching a mission to Europa by 2021 is quite different from NASA's FY2016 budget plan, which foresees such a launch in the mid-2020s.
The bipartisan announcement is in contrast to the partisan wrangling at the committee's organizational meeting last month,
Lawmakers push to increase Obama's spending on NASA space projects
Kevin Diaz – Houston Chronicle
Days after President Barack Obama submitted his 2016 budget to Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers including San Antonio Republican Lamar Smith is pushing to increase funding for NASA space programs.
In an effort to keep to the original 2017 launch date for the new Space Launch System rocket and Orion space vehicle, the lawmakers will introduce legislation next week that would steer more than $460 million of NASA's current budget to those programs.
The proposal comes as the administration and congressional Republicans have been sparring over NASA funding for climate research, which Smith and others would defund or move to other agencies.
"For more than 50 years, NASA has made the impossible possible and taken humankind to places we never before dreamed we would go," said Smith, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. "NASA is the only agency that exists to support our nation's space exploration and advancement. In Congress, we have the responsibility of ensuring that NASA has the resources and direction it needs to continue its mission for the next 50 years."
Smith said the added funding would balance the long-term goal of sending humans to Mars with the immediate needs of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station.
The House passed similar legislation in the last Congress 401-2, but it was never passed by the Senate.
Elder scientists work to send humans to Mars
Carolyn Y. Johnson – The Boston Globe
They are graybeards still going boldly: the retired astronaut; the researcher whose career began before the first Viking craft touched down on the red planet nearly 40 years ago; the octogenarian just now updating his 520-page tome, "Human Missions to Mars."
At an age when most are retired or thinking hard about it, they've put their minds together to help solve one of the great puzzles of human interplanetary travel. And NASA has awarded them $30 million to press on.
To be clear, these elder statesmen of science don't plan to pay a visit themselves. They are building an oxygen-generating machine to ride aboard the unmanned Mars 2020 rover, an early version of a technology that could enable the next generation to breathe and burn fuel on Mars — and power their way home.
Perhaps it's no coincidence that the abbreviated acronym for their instrument — the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resources Utilization Experiment — is MOXIE.
"Look, I'm 80 years old — I might be dead before this project is over. Who knows!" said Donald Rapp, an energetic member of the team who has been retired from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for more than a decade.
The other team members are not quite as, ahem, experienced as Rapp. But they're also not the newest kids on the block.
Jeffrey Hoffman, 70, has been to space five times. Gerald Voecks, a 74-year-old mostly-retired scientist, has been thinking about how to use local resources on Mars to create rocket fuel and oxygen on and off for most of his career.
Peter Smith, 66, led the Phoenix Mars Lander before retiring from the University of Arizona to start a company (and run a bed and breakfast).
There are younger people on the team, too. But when introducing themselves recently at the kickoff meeting for the collaboration in Cambridge, they placed themselves in the sweep of space exploration history.
One said he was born back when Sputnik was still transmitting. He was heckled by a colleague in the back row who noted he was born before the Soviet satellite was launched in 1957.
Which is why the leader of the group, a 61-year-old whippersnapper named Michael Hecht, felt a little like he'd been plunged into the movie "Space Cowboys" when he learned the team's proposal had been chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In the film, retired pilots come out of retirement to repair an out-of-control satellite.
"I thought I had moved my career on to radio science and radio astronomy. And yet Mars and human exploration reached out and pulled me back in," said Hecht, who is now associate director for research management at MIT's Haystack Observatory.
NASA announced in July that Hecht's team had been chosen. Now, all this expertise is being leveled at a big problem for future human exploration of Mars: how to provide oxygen both for breathing and to burn fuel on the return trip.
Although people rarely think about it on Earth, where oxygen is plentiful, burning fuel requires oxygen — an essential ingredient for combustion. Oxygen is in short supply on Mars, so unless there's a way to make it on the spot, astronauts who want to return to Earth will have to lug lots of it with them.
MOXIE will take in carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere and use electricity to convert it into oxygen, with a carbon monoxide byproduct. Unlike the chemistry or geology experiments aboard other robotic missions, this experiment is not just about exploring Mars. Instead, it's aimed at understanding how to use what's there.
This team seems well suited to the task. When the scientists and engineers talk about their work, they seem to be picking up on a project they have all been thinking about for decades.
"The experience we've had helps to show us when you want to be bold and step out and take some chances," Voecks said.
In the mid-1970s, Voecks was just beginning his career at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working on questions about how the organic compounds that are the building blocks of life could have arisen. After the Viking missions landed and provided a detailed look at Mars, however, he started to examine whether local Martian resources could be used to produce fuel and oxygen.
Over the years, his research deviated to other areas — including designing a material that was carried up to help repair the optics of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Hoffman, meanwhile, was a research scientist at MIT, where he took on Hecht as a graduate student for a few years. Then, he built his career around exploring space — in person. A five-time astronaut, he repaired the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, installing Voecks's material. In 2001, he returned to MIT, where he has continued to work on projects to enable future human spaceflight. Hecht finished his graduate degree at Stanford University and went on to work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he became interested in space exploration. He served as project manager for a package of instruments, intended to fly on a 2001 mission, that would probe a part of the Martian environment that could hold hazards for human explorers and their equipment — soil and dust. Peter Smith built the experiment's optical microscope.
But after the loss of the Mars Polar Lander in 1999, the mission was canceled. Later, when Smith headed up the Phoenix Mars Lander, they revived their instrument.
Hecht left the laboratory in 2012, but NASA's call for proposals for the Mars 2020 rover was an opportunity too good to pass up. At MIT, he was reunited with Hoffman, after a 25-year hiatus, and it wasn't long before the two of them — and many other old friends and colleagues — were hatching a plan to work together again on the oygen-generating project.
Although the senior leaders credit their experience, intertwined careers, and historical perspective for helping shape and guide MOXIE, they note that none of it would be possible without the younger members of the team, whose expertise and energy are crucial.
"Once we got the proposal moving, the importance of the older folks wasn't so great anymore," Rapp said. "We were important to get the thing rolling."
As the group goes through the hard process of troubleshooting, preparing for NASA's milestones, and coordinating with scientists across the country, they have one thing in mind: learning as much as possible about how to generate oxygen on Mars.
They see MOXIE as the first draft of a technology that will be crucial for human missions to Mars for generations to come, though not necessarily for them.
"Us old guys won't be around forever," Smith said.
Pad 39B to gain new Flame Deflector and Trench upgrade
One of the final upgrades to Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39B will begin in earnest, following a deal between the Kennedy's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program and J. P. Donovan Construction. The contract for a new Flame Deflector and associated Flame Trench work is required to help the pad deal with the immense thrust of the Space Launch System (SLS).
Pad 39B:
Both of KSC's former Shuttle pads are in a transition phase, a process that began while the Space Shuttle was still flying.
While Pad 39B is prepared for a role in NASA's Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) exploration aspirations, Pad 39A is now deep into modifications to host SpaceX rockets – beginning with the Falcon Heavy.
Signs of the new era could be seen as far back as 2007, when the giant Lightning Towers began to rise out of the ground inside 39B's pad perimeter.
Those towers were designed to protect the Ares launch vehicle. However, despite the cancellation of the Constellation Program (CxP), the towers will be put to good use with SLS.
In fact, most of the pad work that was completed for Ares will be utilized by SLS, given both vehicles work with a "clean pad" scenario.
Controlled demolition of 39B's Shuttle structures began in September, 2010 – with deconstruction work commencing on the Rotating Service Structure (RSS), ahead of the removal – block by block – of the Fixed Service Structure (FSS), rendering Pad B a clean pad for the first time in over 30 years.
With the removal of the Shuttle era structures, Pad 39B can now welcome the Mobile Launcher (ML) with SLS already hooked up to the associated umbilical connections via the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) integration flow.
The ML will arrive at 39B, ahead of being connected to power and fluid lines, with those pad facilities all but completed over recent years.
A test run – ahead of its current major modifications – saw the ML make the 4.2 mile journey to 39B in 2011, allowing for testing of the structural response of the ML during rollout, structural clearance, and HVAC (Air Conditioning) pressurization.
The ML was powered up via the pad's power supplies, prior to being transported back to the park site via the Crawler Transporter – which is also being upgraded for SLS.
Under the guidance of the GSDO Program office, along with Center Operations at KSC, 39B now has a steel and concrete structure that houses two elevators and the associated machinery.
One of the final construction tasks to prepare 39B for SLS is the Flame Deflector and Trench, which were some of the first elements to be constructed when the pads were first built ahead of the Apollo program.
Historical photographs show earth movers building the pyramid base, prior to tons of concrete, bricks and support structures created the flame trench.
Once constructed, the trench proved its worth, ably deflecting the power and the plumes of the Saturn V's five F1 engines during their ignition and launch.
The Shuttle flame trench – 490 feet long, 58 feet wide and 42 feet deep and built with concrete and refractory brick – bisected the pad at ground level.
The flame deflector system included an inverted, V-shaped steel structure covered with a high-temperature concrete material five inches thick that extended across the center of the flame trench.
One side of the 'V' received and deflected the flames from the main engines; the opposite side deflected the flames from the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). There were two movable deflectors at the top of the trench to provide additional protection to hardware from the SRB plumes.
While repair work was conducted on concrete slopes and surfaces around the pad, the flame trench became the focus of attention, as engineers worked to remove the legacy flame deflector that sat below and between the left and right pad surface crawlerway track panels, along with Apollo-era bricks from both walls of the flame trench.
The replacement, known as the "universal flame deflector" is tasked with accommodating SLS and other commercial launch vehicles, although only SLS is a confirmed future tenant of the pad at this time.
Following simulations using NASA Ames' supercomputer, a deflector design – that could withstand the high heat from plume exhaust, that did not result in plume blow-back, and whose surface pressure was within design margin limits – was selected.
This design is classed as similar to that used during the Apollo era.
Further design work on the new flame deflector continued through 2014, ahead of Thursday's announcement that a contractor has been selected to conduct the installation of the new device.
"NASA has awarded a contract to J. P. Donovan Construction of Rockledge, Florida, to construct a new flame deflector and refurbish the flame trench for use in future launches of NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket," NASA announced.
"The firm-fixed price contract with two options begins Feb. 5. It has a maximum value of $24.9 million with a potential performance period of approximately one and a half years."
An update on Pad 39A's progress will be included in an upcoming Falcon Heavy update article.
Insider Exclusive: First flight of SLS to prep for Moon / asteroid missions
Jason Rhian - Spaceflight Insider
Outside of the fact that NASA's Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1 ) will be the first flight of NASA's new super heavy-lift booster, the Space Launch System (SLS) and the second flight of the space agency's Orion spacecraft – not much has been said about the 2018 mission. Until now that is. SpaceFlight Insider reached out to NASA to find out what they were planning in terms of secondary payloads for this pivotal mission. What was revealed, was an agency that is focusing on the tasks set before it and a path designed to maximize all the resources at its disposal.
SpaceFlight Insider spoke with NASA's Joseph Pelfrey about how the EM-1 mission is being crafted in such a manner so that when the first SLS takes to the skies – it will serve to further NASA's aims of capturing either an asteroid or part of an asteroid and towing it into lunar orbit where a crew will rendezvous with the remnant of the solar system's formation.
Initial reports indicated that these elements might see key systems that could further the space agency's Asteroid Redirect Mission or "ARM" initiative. Pelfrey serves NASA as the agency's deputy manager for the Exploration and Space Transportation Development Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
"On EM-1 we are looking to expand the capability for science exploration with SLS, EM-1′s primary mission is, obviously a test flight and a checkout ride for the launch vehicle and for Orion," Pelfrey said. "The program asked for a study a few years ago to look at how we could take advantage of some excess performance margin and actually get some science out of the mission."
EM-1 is currently slated to take to the skies in Sept. 2018 and should see the 70 metric ton version of the rocket send Orion on a circumlunar trajectory. If the mission proceeds as currently planned, it will be the first time that a crew-rated spacecraft has traveled to cislunar space – since 1972. All total, the mission is currently scheduled to last about a week. For NASA, the margins for such a flight have increased by a 25 percent reduction in weight of the Orion spacecraft (from the one that carried out the Dec. 5, 2015 Exploration Flight Test 1 mission).
"We conducted a study and identified a capability to fly secondary payloads in the form of CubeSats, small spacecraft in SLS's multi-purpose stage adapter as part of vehicle's configuration. As part of that capability, we are identifying science payloads to put on that mission. The first three of those have been identified and are under development right now out of the Human Explorations Operations Mission Directorate," Pelfrey said.
Whereas there have been some suggestion that the secondary payloads will be used to further test and validate concepts to be used on the ARM mission, which is currently schedule to take place in 2025.
"One of the secondary payloads is called NEAScout, which is the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout and it is a solar-sail CubeSat. It is what we call 'six U,' one 'U' is basically, 10 centimeters, by 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters. So, if you stack six of those together – that's a six-U CubeSat. NEAScout is really there to test, to do a number of things to close some strategic knowledge gaps that we had within the agency.
One being advancing solar cell technology. The second big objective is to go out and survey some potential asteroid targets that could be used for the human mission of the Asteroid Redirect Mission," Pelfrey said. "NEAScout has identified a number of targets that they want to rendezvous with and some of those could become a candidate for the ARM mission and so that is where the connection comes in for the actual secondary payload."
"Obviously, flying SLS and Orion, both components would be primary for the crewed aspect of the Asteroid Redirect Mission and so, in general, for EM-1 to check out those systems and to get the data we need to ensure that can meet all of the mission objectives that will contribute to the overall ARM mission objectives down the road. Both of those components, SLS and Orion, will be needed to complete what the current configuration is for the ARM mission."
Pelfrey relayed how this and other secondary payloads will be used to further the cause of science – especially in terms of those that would support the crewed missions that the agency has been directed to carry out.
"Our main objective here with the secondary payload capability is to really provide that capability to potential science users and to perform that integration. The specific aspects of ARM was not really what we're working on here. In general, what SLS and Orion are going to do with EM-1 – is check out those systems that will be needed for ARM and other missions that may come behind the original development schedule for both of those vehicles."
Pelfrey was asked about how these payloads were chosen as well as how they would be incorporated into the established infrastructure used on the early version of SLS.
"The current plan for those secondary payloads has all of the payloads that will be selected will be mounted in the multi-purpose stage adapter. So, once we launch SLS and the second stage separates and does its burn and then Orion separates to go off around the Moon and back to check out the various systems it needs. We will then separate and deploy the secondary payloads with a predetermined schedule. They will all have individual science objectives that they are trying to achieve that will allow them to move their programs forward," he relayed.
EM-1 is a test flight, as such, the NASA's core focus will be on the flight of SLS – and Orion's arc around the Moon. Therefore the Space Agency is not overloading the mission with other objectives and experiments.
"This time only three secondary payloads have been identified and actually manifested and that's internal to the agency. The Centennial Challenges Program has just recently issued a challenge that has gone out to the public and they are in the early process of identifying those competitors and the way that this challenge is set up is you'll have folks that come in and propose to compete at different milestones throughout the challenge and the ultimate 'prize' – is to fly on the EM-1 mission. So we expect to have other payloads identified and manifested over the course of the next year or so as we progress towards EM-1," Pelfrey said.
The agency continues to develop the systems needed to have the super heavy-lift booster begin flying missions starting as soon as within the next three years. NASA has recently awarded a $24.9 million contract to have the flame trench, the portion of Launch Complex 39B designed to redirect the acoustic energy and fire created when a launch vehicle takes to the skies. J. P. Donovan Construction of Rockledge, Florida has been tapped to carry out the modifications in the lead up to the EM-1 flight. The performance period of this contract is 1.5 years.
NASA is hoping that these modifications, along with numerous others that have been carried out at the close of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Kennedy Space Center's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program is managing the conversion of KSC to what is being described as a multi-user spaceport. Much like KSC, the EM-1 mission has a ways to go before it is ready to fly.
"The Science Mission Directorate internally has executed a competition to select the science payload, that has not been announced yet and we should also have slots from which we can manifest payloads internal to the agency and possibly with other government agencies or, potentially with other, international partners."
NASA Issues Sole Source Notice for Six Soyuz Seats
Brian Berger – Space News
Hedging its bets on commercial crew, NASA's Johnson Space Center on Feb. 6 issued a formal notice of its intent to buy six more round-trip seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station in 2018.
"NASA/JSC intends to contract with Roscosmos for these services on a sole source basis for six (6) Soyuz seats and associated services for calendar year (CY) 2018 with rescue/return services extending through spring 2019," NASA wrote in a procurement notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website.
"NASA needs to secure crew transportation with a known reliable provider to ensure a continued U.S. presence aboard the ISS until the sustained availability of a U.S. commercial vehicle" the notice continues. "The intent of this proposed action is to provide the Government the ability to procure these uninterrupted services until a U.S. provider demonstrates full operational capability."
NASA is currently paying Russia about $76 million a round-trip seat to transport astronauts to the ISS through 2017 and provide return services into 2018 under a deal signed last April. NASA is counting on Boeing and SpaceX crew capsules now in development to be ready to start ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS by the end of 2017, ending the U.S. space agency's dependence on Russia.
But in releasing its 2016 budget proposal Feb. 2, NASA officials said that timetable depends on Congress fully funding its $1.2 billion commercial crew request, which represents an increase of more than 50 percent from the $805 million Congress approved for 2015.
Here's the full notice:
PROCUREMENT OF CREW TRANSPORTATION AND RESCUE SERVICES FROM ROSCOSMOS
Synopsis – Feb 06, 2015
General Information
| Solicitation Number: | NNJ15539678L |
| Posted Date: | Feb 06, 2015 |
| FedBizOpps Posted Date: | Feb 06, 2015 |
| Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: | No |
| Original Response Date: | Feb 13, 2015 |
| Current Response Date: | Feb 20, 2015 |
| Classification Code: | 18 — Space vehicles |
| NAICS Code: | 336414 |
Contracting Office Address
NASA/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas, 77058-3696, Mail Code: BG
Description
NASA/JSC has a requirement for crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). These services include launch, return, and rescue of U.S. or U.S.-designated astronauts and associated services, which include but are not limited to the following requirements for primary and ancillary services:• Training and training materials for the safe operation of the vehicle including necessary unique equipment and supplies • Astronaut and NASA designated support personnel access to the launch site with services to include launch operations and ascent control • Flight control operations, rendezvous and on-orbit docking services • On-orbit consumables, life support systems, and habitability services necessary during operations independent of the ISS • Search and rescue services, recovery at landing site, medical operations, NASA designated personnel access to the landing site and return transportation of the crew to the NASA delegation • On-orbit rescue services for the duration of the increment • Rehabilitation post-flight, medical exams and services (on a contingency basis) • Associated crew cargo upmass commensurate with seat(s) purchased • Associated crew cargo returned commensurate with seat(s) purchasedNASA/JSC intends to contract with Roscosmos for these services on a sole source basis for six (6) Soyuz seats and associated services for calendar year (CY) 2018 with rescue/return services extending through spring 2019. NASA needs to secure crew transportation with a known reliable provider to ensure a continued U.S. presence aboard the ISS until the sustained availability of a U.S. commercial vehicle. The intent of this proposed action is to provide the Government the ability to procure these uninterrupted services until a U.S. provider demonstrates full operational capability. NASA has established a goal to ensure there are U.S. domestic space transportation vehicle(s) capable of traveling to low Earth orbit and has awarded contracts with two U.S. commercial entities for future U.S. commercial space flights. Commercial crew vehicle development is in the early stages and the first U.S. commercial crewed flight test is currently projected to occur in late CY 2017. Given the current maturity level of the commercial vehicles and the 3-year procurement lead time for Soyuz crew transportation services, NASA must contract for Soyuz now in order to assure uninterrupted access to ISS in CY 2018. Until the U.S. commercial vehicles are successfully demonstrated and meet the acceptance criteria established by NASA, continued access to Russian crew launch, return, and rescue services is essential for planned ISS operations and utilization by all ISS partners.However, once it is determined that US Commercial entities are able to fulfill increment crew transportation requirements, the US Commercial vehicles will become NASA's primary transportation source to ISS. The Soyuz vehicles procured under this action may then be utilized as a backup transportation option to ensure proper launch cadence or to augment future ISS operations and research.
The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12.
Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. local time on February 20, 2015. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government.
Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.
All responsible sources may submit an offer, which shall be considered by the agency.
Point of Contact
Astronaut Scott Kelly and girlfriend prepare for ultimate long-distance relationship
Lily Jang - KHOU 11 News
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is spent his last night in Houston Friday before leaving for a week of training in Germany.
He's making history as NASA's first astronaut to spend an entire year in space.
Kelly and his twin brother Mark will be part of more than 400 science experiments in an effort to understand how the human body copes with a year in zero gravity.
But the life that Kelly leaves behind includes his relationships, which will have to defy the test of time.
It will be the ultimate long-distance relationship.
"I'm ready, yeah," Kelly said with a laugh. "She's ready for me to go."
Kelly said the hardest part of his upcoming mission is leaving behind his girlfriend Amiko Kauderer.
What's he going to miss most?
"About her: everything," he said, which drew a laugh from Kauderer.
"I know what you're going to miss," she said as she scratches his hand with hers. "It's the human touch thing. We have these little things we do. We get to connect on email. We get to connect on phone calls. We get to have our face conference. I can upload videos. But you can't upload human touch."
Kelly's worries aren't risks up in space.
It's what happens at home.
"You know if one of my kids was deathly ill, knock on wood, you don't come back," Kelly said. "So those are the things I think about."
As for Kauderer, who works as a public relations officer for NASA, she's aware of the drill.
The two have been together for five years, and Kelly's last mission lasted six months.
That loneliness is hard for her to forget.
"Curl up in bed and lay up on his chest and fell the swells, and just feel his chest as he breathed in and out … and there was a night I was lying there and I realized I had forgotten what that felt like," Kauderer said. "I couldn't invent it in my mind, and it made me really sad."
Kelly launches for space from Russia on March 27.
What mementos will he take with him?
Pictures from last year when Kauderer tried out to be a Houston Texans cheerleader.
While she didn't make the squad, maybe it's a blessing in disguise for the two.
Now she can focus on her job at NASA, which keeps her in close contact with her rocket man.
"It's a beautiful thing to miss someone so much," she said.
Kelly agrees, and he's already talking about his touch down more than a year from now.
"You know, the homecoming is very good," he said. "Should be twice as good this time."
Mock Mars Mission Starts Saturday in Utah Desert
A simulated Mars mission kicks off Saturday (Feb. 7) in Utah, and its seven crewmembers hope the experience helps them prepare for a real Red Planet expedition a decade from now.
All seven explorers — who will spend two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), near the Utah town of Hanksville — are astronaut candidates for the Mars One project, which aims to launch four pioneers to the Red Planet in 2024 as the vanguard of a permanent colony. "It's not a coincidence that the whole crew is comprised of Mars One candidates — that was by design," said crewmember Kellie Gerardi, business development specialist at California-based aerospace firm Masten Space Systems. [Mock Mars Mission Photos: Life on a Simulated Red Planet] "I can only speak for myself, but my participation on a Mars One crew was an effort to show that there is so much more behind the candidates," Gerardi told Space.com via email. "We're not a group of planetary malcontents who are ready to flip the bird at Earth and hop on a rocket. My crew is a group of industry professionals, including MEDVAC pilots, engineers, doctors and NASA researchers who recognize that space settlement is feasible in our lifetimes." MDRS is run by the Mars Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. MDRS missions aim to bring that ambitious goal closer to reality, by helping our species prepare for the rigors of living beyond Earth.
Toward this end, Gerardi and her colleagues — the 149th crew to use the facility — will perform a number of different research projects. The focus will be on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques, which could help an off-Earth settlement become more self-sufficient.
One study will investigate the use of 3D printing, while an "insect palatability experiment" will look at taking advantage of a plentiful but underutilized source of protein. And then there's the "proof of beer" study, which will test the viability of sorghum seeds and hops rhizomes in simulated Mars soil.
"The academic reasoning is that sorghum is a grain of high nutritional value with relatively low water needs, and hops are used as a medicinal herb," Gerardi said. "The fun reasoning is that yeast has already been sent to space, so if we prove germination and root establishment of two other constituent ingredients of beer, we have essentially proved that one can produce beer on Mars."
"Of course, it would probably be in our best interest to taste the closest terrestrial analog to this beer while we're there," she added. "I'm pushing for that part of the 'research' to take place on my birthday, which falls right in the middle of our Crew rotation."
MDRS Crew 149 is led by commander Paul Bakken. The other crewmembers, in addition to Gerardi, are Ken Sullivan, Pamela Nicoletatos, Elena Miscodan, Takeshi Naganuma and Ann-Sofie Schreurs. Bakken, Gerardi and Sullivan are American, Nicoletatos is Canadian, Miscodan is from Romania, Naganuma is Japanese and Schreurs is German.
The seven crewmembers are among 705 people who still have a shot at becoming an astronaut with Mars One, a Netherlands-based nonprofit that seeks to start a colony on the Red Planet. (More than 200,000 people originally applied.)
Mars One, a Netherlands-based nonprofit, plans to launch a series of robotic missions to Mars beginning in 2018, to prove out technologies and pave the way for the first crew's arrival in 2025. The organization intends to pay for its activities primarily by staging a global media event around the colonization process, beginning with astronaut selection.
The Moon was a first step, Mars will test our capabilities, but Europa is the prize
Leigh Fletcher – The Conversation
The icy moon Europa is perhaps the most tantalising destination in our solar system. Scientists have been trying for years to kickstart a mission to Jupiter's most enigmatic moon, with very Earth-like concerns over costs keeping missions grounded until now.
The European Space Agency's ambitious mission to Jupiter, JUICE, will visit its fire-and-ice moons – volcanic Io, icy Europa, giant Ganymede, and cratered Callisto – in the 2030s. But it will only provide a glimpse of Europa's surface from a couple of close flybys. With the announcement of the NASA-led Europa Clipper mission, now it looks like a much closer inspection of Europa is on the cards.
It's hard to overstate the excitement among planetary scientists, after so many years of waiting in the wings while all eyes were on Mars. This is truly a quest to understand what makes a world habitable.
A watery world
Europa is the smallest and smoothest of the four Galilean moons. At 1,940 miles across, it is roughly a quarter of the size of Earth, composed of a mixture of ices and rocks. When the Galileo spacecraft flew over Europa in the 1990s, it uncovered evidence of a global sub-surface ocean: vast, deep, dark waters hidden beneath the ice crust.
The water doesn't freeze completely because it's constantly kneaded by powerful tidal forces as the moon orbits around Jupiter once every 3.5 days. What's more, the ocean is believed to be in direct contact with the surface ices and the moon's silicate mantle, which brings together all the necessary ingredients for a habitable environment: liquid water, a source of energy, and a source of minerals/nutrients. We know that life on Earth can exist in even the most extreme environmental conditions (for example, bacteria known as extremophiles), so maybe – just maybe – Europa's hidden ocean could support life.
What to look for
Neither JUICE nor Clipper will reach the surface or the ocean below – that's too great a technological challenge for now. But if habitable conditions for life are discovered beyond Earth, particularly somewhere as far from the Sun as Jupiter and its moons, this could mean that habitable conditions are commonplace throughout our universe.
We must begin to explore Europa via orbital reconnaissance: to image and perform spectral analysis of the composition and geology of the surface, and the radiation, magnetic, electric and plasma fields that sweep across it. With ice penetrating radar we can probe through the icy crust, even as far as the hidden ocean to understand the forces that shape this icy world.
Europa's fractured and cracked surface is geologically quite young, and relatively crater-free. The structures that the Galileo probe observed from orbit suggest freeze-melt processes that trap icy burgs into frozen seas, creating the scarred patterns known as chaos terrain. Dark parallel ridges criss-cross the bright planes, possibly due to tectonics or other geologic processes.
Most surprising was Hubble's observations in 2012, which showed evidence of huge plumes or geysers erupting tens of kilometres over Europa's south pole, potentially contributing to a very thin atmosphere. If we could directly sample those plumes we might just get a glimpse of the composition of the deep ocean.
Sooner rather than later
So for all these reasons and more, Europa remains the highest priority target for a future mission. That there are two missions to the Jupiter system stems from years of study within NASA and ESA. At one point a joint mission, the Europa-Jupiter System Mission, was planned but was not taken forward due to funding constraints.
Today, JUICE is full-steam ahead, the project having passed through a full study and definition phase towards now building the spacecraft. If all goes to plan it would launch in 2022 and reach Jupiter in 2030. After two years of multiple fly-bys exploring Jupiter, its moons, rings and magnetosphere, it will become humankind's first orbiter of an icy moon, targeting Ganymede in late 2032. If NASA's recently announced funding is confirmed Europa Clipper may proceed even faster, using a new rocket (the Space Launch System) to propel it towards Europa in only a few years, potentially arriving just before or even at the same time as JUICE. Clipper will conduct multiple flybys of Europa (maybe 45 or more over three years) without entering orbit directly, but will provide the high-resolution reconnaissance necessary to ultimately choose a landing site for some future robotic explorer. Although that future landing mission is beyond the funding horizon right now, it's exciting to think that we'll one day see images from that icy and harsh environment, with Jupiter suspended in the black skies above.
Warning System for Solar Storms Is Kept on Earth for Now
Kenneth Chang – The New York Times
Al Gore will have to wait at least one more day for his spacecraft to go to space.
The planned launching of a spacecraft that is to act as a "tsunami buoy" to warn of potentially catastrophic solar storms was aborted with less than three minutes left in the countdown on Sunday evening.
The Deep Space Climate Observatory, abbreviated as Dscovr and pronounced "discover," was to blast off at 6:10 p.m. in Cape Canaveral, Fla., but the launch was called off because of a problem with the Air Force radar for tracking the rocket to space. The next launch opportunity is Monday at 6:07 p.m. Eastern time. The spacecraft, originally named Triana, started as a brainstorm of Mr. Gore when he was vice president. In 1998, he envisioned that a distant spacecraft sending back images of Earth would be educational and inspirational. NASA built the spacecraft, adding scientific instruments to observe the sun and the Earth, but the mission was canceled and the spacecraft was put into storage.
By then, NASA had recast Triana as Dscovr, although not everyone was looking to claim credit for the name change. "It surely wasn't me," said Adam Szabo, the project scientist for NASA's portion of the mission. "I have an accent," said Dr. Szabo, a native of Hungary, "but I can spell better."
The instruments and spacecraft remain almost the same, but the focus has swapped from the Earth to the sun.
In recent years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration financed its refurbishment after determining that Dscovr would suit its need for a spacecraft that could provide warning 15 minutes to an hour in advance of a wave of energetic solar particles, known as a coronal mass ejection, about to slam into Earth. A gigantic solar storm could disrupt communications satellites and knock out power grids on Earth.
Thomas Berger, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, has described Dscovr as "our tsunami buoy in space."
The $340 million mission is a joint effort of NOAA, NASA and the Air Force.
The Earth-observing instruments will still be collecting data as originally designed, including the photographs Mr. Gore proposed. The former vice president said he was inspired by the 1972 "Blue Marble" photograph taken by Apollo 17 astronauts — one of the few images ever taken of a fully illuminated Earth.
Scientists are also looking forward to a measurement from Dscovr that will tell how much energy is radiating from the surface of Earth, which will help improve knowledge of the planet's "energy budget," whether emissions of carbon dioxide are indeed trapping energy and causing rising temperatures.
Dscovr will not provide complete knowledge — with the curved surface of the Earth, much of the radiated energy heads in other directions. Ideally a second spacecraft over the other side of the Earth would measure emissions from the night side of the planet.
Dscovr will take photographs like the Apollo 17 picture multiple times a day, although they will not be downloaded to Earth in real time as originally planned, but with about a day's delay.
The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, also plans to use the launching as a second opportunity to try to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a platform in the Atlantic, part of its effort to develop a reusable rocket that could greatly reduce the cost of sending payloads to space.
U.S. Air Force Poised To Award $200M in Rocket Studies
Mike Gruss – Space News
The U.S. Air Force plans to spend $500 million over the next five years, with roughly $200 million to be committed in February, to develop a new liquid-fueled rocket engine to replace the Russian-made engine that currently launches many national security missions, according to new White House budget documents.
The spending plan also calls for the service to hold competitions for nine satellite launch contracts — two more than officials were planning for a year ago — and distinctly refrains from committing to future wideband and protected communications satellites.
The new engine is the most high-profile addition to the budget.
Last year, Congress set aside $220 million for a new rocket engine to help wean the department from the Russian-made RD-180 engine. Lawmakers said they would like a new engine by fiscal year 2019, a timetable Air Force officials have called aggressive. The new money came over objections from the White House and the Air Force, which to date has been slow in detailing how it will spend the money.
Now the Air Force says it plans to plans to award about $204 million worth of contracts in February to study concepts including alternate manufacturing processes, launch system architectures, risk reduction for key propulsion components, advanced propulsion technologies, and material and manufacturing development.
The spending plan calls for the Air Force to spend about $84 million on the project next year. A round of contracts worth a combined $74 million is tentatively slated for award in October, documents show.
Industry experts have said developing a new engine likely would cost around $1 billion. The budget documents indicate the Air Force is willing to chip in for about half of that cost and said the service would follow a "shared investment approach."
Meanwhile, the Air Force plans to competitively award up to nine satellite launch contracts by the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year in 2017, which opens more of the national security market to SpaceX.
At this time last year, the Air Force said seven missions would be put up for bid through 2017, a reduction from the previously announced number of 14 that triggered a lawsuit by SpaceX. The Hawthorne, California, company recently dropped its lawsuit, which challenged a large sole source rocket order with United Launch Alliance, after the Air Force agreed to make more competitive awards.
The Air Force's plan now calls for three competitive launch contracts in 2016 and four in 2017. The service also said it has funding for two competitive launch contracts in fiscal year 2015. In addition, ULA will receive two sole-source missions in 2016 as part of its 2013 contract with the Air Force for three dozen rocket cores.
Beginning in 2018, every national security launch is expected to be open for competition, Air Force officials said.
The new budget request also leaves open several possibilities for the Air Force's next-generation satellite communication programs.
In its 2015 budget request, the Air Force said it would delay buying the seventh and eighth satellites in its Advanced Extremely High Frequency secure communications system. In the 2016 request, those satellites do not appear in the five-year planning horizon, and the Air Force said it does not expect to need replacements until 2027.
Instead, the Air Force requested $174 million to study next-generation technologies for secure communications, including work on a protected tactical waveform demonstration and inserting new capabilities into clones of the current satellites.
The budget also leaves open questions about what will follow the Air Force's Wideband Global Satcom constellation. The five-year funding outlook has just $11 million earmarked 2019 and nothing in 2020.
Air Force officials have said they expect to begin an official analysis of alternatives on potential follow-on programs in 2016, but Gen. John Hyten, the commander of Air Force Space Command, has said the service needs to start making decisions before the 2017 budget request is prepared, a process that begins in earnest this summer.
Commercial satellite operators are positioning themselves for an increased share of Pentagon.
Other highlights of the budget request include:
$76 million for the Weather Satellite Follow-on. The Air Force's proposed next-generation weather satellite program will consist of a single satellite carrying two or three instruments that would launch in 2021 or 2022, service officials have said. The new satellite, which replaces the current Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, "will provide timely, reliable, and high quality space-based remote sensing capabilities to meet global environmental observations of atmospheric, terrestrial, oceanographic, solar-geophysical and other validated requirements," an Air Force budget overview document said.
$6 million for the Operationally Responsive Space Office, which develops space capabilities quickly in response to emerging military needs. Air Force proposals in recent years to shutter the office have encountered stiff congressional resistance, and the inclusion of even a small amount of funding in the 2016 budget suggests that the service has effectively conceded the point.
Aerojet Rocketdyne contracted to provide XR-5 electric propulsion for Orbital satellites
Rae Botsford – Spaceflight Insider
Earlier this week, Aerojet Rocketdyne received a contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital) to deliver XR-5 electric propulsion systems over the next three years for Orbital's GEOStar-3 satellites. The satellites, which are commercial communications satellites designed for geostationary orbit, are part of the GEOStar line that is currently used for purposes such as television broadcasting, broadband connectivity, business data network capacity and regional mobile communications.
According to Aerojet Rockeydyne, the XR-5 subsystems each consist of "5-kilowatt class Hall thrusters with integral flow regulation valves, Power Processing Units with built-in Thruster Selection Units and all associated electrical harnessing." It is the Hall effect thruster design with the highest power that has been flown to date, and it uses a zero-erosion design to lengthen the useful life of the device, which is necessary for its intended purpose of raising satellites from their initial location at orbital insertion to the intended geostationary orbit.
Hall thrusters are named after the Hall effect that is harnessed to make them function. In essence, Hall effect thrusters use electrons trapped within a magnetic field to ionize a gaseous propellant, then accelerate the ions to produce thrust and finally neutralize the ions in the exhaust plume as the ions carry electrons out with them. The first of these was flown by the former Soviet Union back in 1971. According to data provided by NASA, "Over 240 xenon Hall thrusters have flown in space since 1971 with a 100% success rate."
"High-power Hall systems provide the optimal solution for electric orbit raising and station-keeping for the next generation of commercial GEO comsats," said Warren Yasuhara, vice president of Space Systems at Aerojet Rocketdyne, in a press release. According to Yasuhara, the XR-5 is "the only flight-proven, high-power Hall system, and the only Hall system qualified for the long-duration life needed for electric orbit-raising missions." For the XR-5 thrusters specifically, 12 of them have been flown on government GEO comsat satellites, according to Aerojet, with another dozen in production. The new contract expands use of the XR-5 into the commercial arena, which Aerojet claims "will increase production volume and lower costs for the product line."
Orbital introduced the GEOStar-3 satellite bus in March of 2014 as a direct update to the GEOStar-2 bus. According to the fact sheet for the GEOStar-3, the bus can carry a payload mass of up to 800 kilograms, which is roughly 1760 pounds. The GEOStar-2 is listed as having a maximum payload mass of 500 kilograms, or approximately 1100 pounds. The power system capability was also increased from 5.5 kilowatts to 8 kilowatts of payload power. Both the GEOStar-2 and the GEOStar-3 have a "typical mission lifetime" promised as simply a "conservative margin beyond 15 years."
The updated satellite is compatible with several launch vehicles: the European Space Agency's Ariane 5, SpaceX's Falcon 9, Mitsubishi's H-IIA, Russia's Proton, the international Sea Launch service and its once-subsidiary Land Launch. Additionally, a tandem launch of two GEOStar-3 spacecraft would be compatible with three launch vehicles: Ariane 5, the Proton and the Falcon Heavy.
What's Happening in Space Policy February 9-13, 2015 – UPDATE
Here is our list of space policy events for the week of February 9-13, 2015 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week. (Updated to show new launch date for DSCOVR)
During the Week
The launch of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) (formerly Triana) was scrubbed on Sunday due to a problem with a radar on the Eastern Test Range needed to track the rocket. The launch was TENTATIVELY rescheduled for Monday, BUT ON MONDAY MORNING NOAA ANNOUNCED THAT THE LAUNCH DATE WILL BE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, AT 6:05 PM ET BECAUSE THE WEATHER TODAY IS UNFAVORABLE. Wednesday at 6:03 PM ET is a backup launch opportunity. If it doesn't go by then, DSCOVR will have to wait until February 20.
The House is poised to pass a new NASA authorization bill. The bill has not yet been introduced, but the bipartisan leadership of the House Science, Space and Technology (SS&T) Committee announced agreement on Friday. They said the bill would be introduced this coming week and not only is that still expected, but the bill is skipping over committee action entirely and going directly to the House floor for a vote on Tuesday under suspension of the rules. From the information released by the committee so far, the bill is very similar to last year's bill, which passed the House 401-2. It was never considered by the Senate, however, and died at the end of the 113th Congress. That committee also will hold the first hearing of the 114th Congress dedicated to a space topic -- weather satellites -- on Thursday. No space-specific hearings are scheduled in the Senate, but the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) tentatively plans to vote on the nomination of Ash Carter to be Secretary of Defense on Tuesday. Those and other events we know about as of Sunday evening are listed below.
Tuesday, February 10
- SASC Vote on Nomination of Ash Carter to be SecDef (tentative), 216 Hart Senate Office Building, time TBD
- House Vote on NASA Authorization bill, The Capitol, time TBD
- RESCHEDULED LAUNCH OF DSCOVR, Cape Canaveral, FL, 6:05 pm ET
- ISU-DC Space Cafe with Panel on ESA Ministerial Meeting, The Science Club, Washington DC, 7:00 pm ET
Wednesday, February 11
Thursday, February 12
Friday, February 13
Neil Armstrong's Purse: 1st Moonwalker Had Hidden Apollo 11 Artifacts
Neil Armstrong had a secret stash of moon landing mementos.
The first man to walk on the moon kept a bag full of small parts from the lunar module "Eagle" that he and his Apollo 11 crewmate Buzz Aldrin famously piloted to a landing at Tranquility Base on July 20, 1969. The stowage bag was discovered by Armstrong's widow after he died in 2012.
"I received an email from Carol Armstrong that she had located in one of Neil's closets a white cloth bag filled with assorted small items that looked like they may have come from a spacecraft," Allan Needell, the Apollo curator at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, wrote in a blog published on Friday (Feb. 6). "Needless to say, for a curator of a collection of space artifacts, it is hard to imagine anything more exciting." [Neil Armstrong: An Astronaut Icon (Photos)]
The bag, itself flown to the moon, was referred to as the "McDivitt purse," after the Apollo 9 astronaut whose idea it was to include aboard the spacecraft.
Its contents, identified by Needell and the team behind the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, included Armstrong's waist tether, utility lights and their brackets, equipment netting, an emergency wrench, the optical sight that was mounted above Armstrong's window and the 16mm data acquisition camera (DAC) that recorded the now iconic footage of the lander's final approach and Armstrong's descent down the ladder to take his "small step" onto the moon.
"The 16mm DAC, given the images that it captured, ranks as enormously important," Needell told collectSPACE.com. He noted though, that all of the items have added significance given their connection to Armstrong.
For whatever reason, Neil Armstrong seemingly kept the bag a secret for more than four decades. Even when questioned about mementos by his authorized biographer, Armstrong made no mention of the historic artifacts that were tucked away in his closet.
To be clear, the bag was not something Armstrong snuck home from the moon. After returning to lunar orbit, the bag and its contents were moved from Eagle to the command module "Columbia" before the lander was directed to crash back to the surface. Had the purse remained aboard, it too would have been destroyed.
Armstrong mentioned the purse to command module pilot Michael Collins as it was being transferred from one craft to the other.
"That [is] just a bunch of trash that we want to take back — LM parts, odds and ends," Armstrong said.
Later, Collins called Mission Control to note where the bag was being placed for the trip home and about how much it weighed.
It is not known how the purse came to be in Armstrong's possession after the mission, but it wasn't unusual for the astronauts to retain small spent parts of their capsules as souvenirs. In September 2012, one month after Armstrong died, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that confirmed the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts had legal title their mementos.
For now, the purse and its contents are on extended loan from the Armstrong estate to the Smithsonian, though the intention is to eventually donate them to the museum. In addition to the McDivitt purse, the family has also offered an extensive collection of Armstrong's personal items and memorabilia.
Two of the artifacts, the data camera and waist tether, are already on display at the National Air and Space Museum as part of the new exhibition, "Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity," which is open through June. The tether was designed to be used in the case of an emergency spacewalk but instead Armstrong used it to suspend his legs while trying to rest inside the lander (a determination that the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal team made by inspecting the rediscovered artifact).
Eventually, the Armstrong purse and many, if not all of its contents may be put on display as part of the museum's planned renovation of its Apollo-dedicated gallery.
END
| | JSC TODAY CATEGORIES - Headlines
- 8th NASA Golf Tournament - Registration Now Open! - Organizations/Social
- JSC Expected Behaviors
- Contractor Safety Excellence Award Submissions
- No Boundaries Employee Resource Group Meeting #1
- Out & Allied ERG Meeting -- Wednesday, Feb. 11
- ShopNASA Gift Shops Modified Hours Feb. 9-20 - Jobs and Training
- Job Opportunities
- Particle Count Training Mar. 16 Bldg. 20/Rm 205
- Formal Mentoring Program Application Opens Today! - Community
- Johnson Space Center Astronomy Society Meeting
- Passport Fair - Today
- JSC Exceptional Software Award Nominees-Due Feb 24 |  |
| Headlines - 8th NASA Golf Tournament - Registration Now Open!
Attention Golfers - Registration is now open! The 8th Annual NASA Golf Tournament will be our biggest and best one yet. Proceeds generated by the tournament directly fund the JSC Scholarship Program. The tournament will once again be held over two days at Magnolia Creek Golf Club. Tournament Date 1: - Thursday, Apr. 16
- 8 a.m. shotgun start
-- OR -- Tournament Date 2: - Friday, Apr. 17
- 8 a.m. shotgun start
Registration fee includes green fees, driving range, 2015 NASA golf polo, breakfast taco bar, lunch, participation bag, silent auction entry, drink tickets, tournament awards, door prizes and more! Register your team today. Don't miss out on this great event for a good cause! Organizations/Social - JSC Expected Behaviors
The NASA values consist of Safety, Teamwork and Integrity in support of mission success. We commit without compromise to embodying these values in all that we do. To realize these values, we have defined a set of supporting behaviors that contractors and civil servants should demonstrate every day. The third is to: Be Accountable - Be answerable and responsible for your actions. We are personally answerable for fulfilling our individual and team commitments. Ask yourself: - Do I consistently deliver my work as I have promised?
- Do I willingly and gracefully accept well-meaning feedback?
- When resolving a problem, do I consider how my actions contributed to it?
Do I purposefully plan what information to communicate and how best to do that? Effective communication is a crucial ingredient for practicing these behaviors daily. Communication is a two-way process that requires us to listen and understand at least as much as we speak. We openly share information and knowledge, focusing on quality, not quantity.
[top]
- Contractor Safety Excellence Award Submissions
- No Boundaries Employee Resource Group Meeting #1
The No Boundaries Employ Resource Group (NoBoERG) was recently chartered with the core purpose of recruiting, retaining and advancing employees with disabilities as well as to serve as a resource for those caring for a person with a disability. No Boundaries (NoBo) ERG's Meeting #1 Agenda: - Decide on officers. We have three "volunteers"; however other candidates extremely welcome. The chair serves a year, the co-chair moves up to chair at the end of the first year, and the secretary holds office for two years
- Brainstorm what we want to do for Safety and Total Health day
- Plan for the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which occurs this year in July
If you need an accommodation, please call or email Bob Shelton. Event Date: Thursday, February 12, 2015 Event Start Time:11:30 AM Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: 16-E, 2152A 844-467-6272, 471664#
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[top] - Out & Allied ERG Meeting -- Wednesday, Feb. 11
All JSC team members (government, contractor, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender [LGBT] and non-LGBT allies are invited to the Out & Allied @ JSC Employee Resource Group (ERG) monthly meeting Wednesday, Feb. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. in Building 4S, Room 1200. Rescheduled from last month, Robert Hanley, will be sharing with us what he learned from his recent trip to the 2014 Out & Equal workplace summit. We also will be hearing the first report out from our Pride planning committee. Please join us to help, meet others and network! For more information about our group, including how to become involved, contact any listed Out & Allied member on our SharePoint site. - ShopNASA Gift Shops Modified Hours Feb. 9-20
The Building 3 and Building 11 ShopNASA Gift Shops will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 9-20. We expect to return to standard hours on Monday, Feb. 23. Jobs and Training - Job Opportunities
Where Do I Find Job Opportunities? To help you navigate to JSC vacancies, use the filter drop down menu and select JSC HR. The "Jobs link", will direct you to the USAJOBS website for the complete announcement and the ability to apply on-line. Lateral reassignment and rotation opportunities are posted in the Workforce Transition Tool. To access: HR Portal > Employees > Workforce Transition > Workforce Transition Tool. These opportunities do not possess known promotion potential; therefore employees can only see positions at or below their current grade level. If you have questions about any JSC job vacancies or reassignment opportunities, please call your Human Resources Representative. - Particle Count Training Mar. 16 Bldg. 20/Rm 205
This course will provide the technician/engineer with the basic skills and knowledge for performing a particle count for determination of particle cleanliness level. A written/practical examination will also be offered. Course content includes: - Review of approved method for manually counting particles using an optical microscope
- Microscope operation and calibration
- Non-microscopic visual identification of particles by shape, size, color and other physical characteristics
- Sampling techniques for particles in gases and liquids
- Filtering techniques for fluid using Millipore apparatus
- Compatibility of filter membrane and their specific uses
- Handling filter membranes, Millipore assembly, performing background determinations, pre-reading of filters prior to sampling
- Use of high pressure filter assemblies
- Particle counting and data recording
- Statistical analysis
- Use of automatic particle counting techniques and their limitations
Event Date: Monday, March 16, 2015 Event Start Time:9:00 AM Event End Time:11:30 AM
Event Location: Bldg. 20 Room 205/206
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[top] - Formal Mentoring Program Application Opens Today!
JSC's Formal Mentoring Program (FMP) - formally known as YODA - is currently accepting applications for both mentors and protégés from Feb. 9 - 20. FMP is excited to bring participants several new things this year, including reverse mentoring, interactive events, a new website and revamped application process! Visit the FMP's updated webpage to apply! Community - Johnson Space Center Astronomy Society Meeting
This month, Paul Maley will share the wonders of solar eclipses from around the world, the intricacies of timing asteroid occultations to determine their shapes and sizes and the beauty of the northern lights. He'll also provide a schedule of his upcoming trips. Our other topics will include 'What up in the sky this month?', the unique 'Astro Oddities', the enjoyable novice Q&A session, our upcoming star parties and the always informative Member's Minutes. Membership to the JSCAS is open to anyone who wants to learn about astronomy. There are no dues and no-by laws. You just show up to our meeting. After you join us, you'll have access to: our loaner telescope program to try one before buying your own, our DVD library with 100's of learning choices and our Night Sky Network educational Toolkits that can help you teach astronomy. Guess what? Best of all, it's FREE! - Passport Fair - Today
Don't miss your chance to take care of your passport today. - JSC Exceptional Software Award Nominees–Due Feb 24
The JSC Exceptional Software Award is designed to recognize software that has demonstrated outstanding value to accomplishing the JSC Mission. Nominees will be considered for the following awards: - JSC Exceptional Software Award: Up to $10,000 total award possible
- JSC Nominee for the NASA Software of the Year Award: Up to $100,000 total award possible
- JSC Software Nominees for the Space Act Awards: Up to $100,000 awarded in variable amounts.
- NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medals
- Apply online here
JSC directorates and individuals must provide their nominations by COB Feb. 24 via the web form in the link indicated above. JSC-IRD-OUTREACH x32704
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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. |
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