Friday, March 6, 2015

Fwd: JSC Today - Friday, March 6, 2015



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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: March 6, 2015 at 8:18:16 AM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: JSC Today - Friday, March 6, 2015

JSC Today - Friday, March 6, 2015

Happy Friday everyone.  It was great to see all of you who were able to join us yesterday at our monthly luncheon.   Especially great to see new retirees  Leo Langston and Teresa Gomez and Mavis Brandt (although she was there last month and I missed seeing her).  

Caution to others about the hibachi grill bench seats  ,,,they are slippery and can tend to hide your personal belongings if placed on the seat too sharply!:)   Thanks to all for braving the cold weather. 

 Have a wonderful and safe weekend everyone.

 

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

LEADING THE NEWS

• Dawn Spacecraft Arrives At Ceres Today.

• Study Determines That Mars Once Had Ocean Of Water.

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

• Orion Leadership Visits Aerojet Rocketdyne.

• NASA To Conduct Vibration Testing On SLS Vector Control Actuator.

• Energizing Health, NASA To Announce Launch Health Space Innovation Challenge.

• Increased Cooperation Could Mean India Can Do Research At The ISS.

• Astronauts Eat "Versions" Of Foods Eaten On Earth.

• Cristoforetti Captures Hawaii's Big Island From ISS.

• Nyberg: ISS A "Laboratory Like No Other."

• Tentative Dates Set For Commercial Crew Test Missions.

• SAR-401 Robot To Head To The ISS Soon.

• Thompson, ESA Among Aviation Week's Laureate Award Winners.

• Mississippi Children's Museum To Host NASA Day.

• Elementary Students Get NASA Mission Simulation.

Dawn Spacecraft Arrives At Ceres Today.

The AP (3/5, Chang), in continuing coverage, lists "five things to know about Ceres" ahead of today's arrival of the Dawn spacecraft. Once the spacecraft is in orbit, Ceres will no longer be "the largest unexplored space rock in the inner solar system."

        USA Today (3/6, Watson, 10.32M) reports that it took "inventive engineering" to get Dawn to Ceres, as well as its "high-tech propulsion system."

        According to the ABC News (3/5, Newcomb, 3.41M) website, Dawn's arrival is another achievement in "a banner year for 'firsts' in space exploration."

        The Huntsville (AL) Times (3/5, Roop, 127K) reports that officials at the Marshall Space Flight Center manage "the money, schedule and other management components of the $450 million mission." The article posts a video of mission program office manager Keith Robinson explaining how the center is participating in Dawn.

        SPACE (3/5, Pyle, 236K) reports that Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator for the Dawn mission, said, "It's been a long haul" to reach this point, with many "ups and downs." Raymond added, "The team has done a great job of" technical difficulties.

        Another AP (3/6, Chang) article, NASA Space Flight (3/5, Gebhardt, 305), the Christian Science Monitor (3/5, Spotts, 380K), Fox News (3/5, 8.25M), BBC News (3/6, Amos, 1.66M), Science News (3/5, Crockett, 336K) "Science Ticker" blog, Sen (3/6, Howell), another SPACE (3/5, Howell, 236K) article, a third SPACE (3/6, Wall, 236K) article, and Discovery News (3/5, Klotz, 516K) also cover the Dawn mission.

        Blog Coverage. Joseph Stromberg at Vox (3/5, 737K), in listing six reasons why the Dawn mission to Ceres is so important, comments that the spacecraft's arrival likely will not get "as much attention as a few recent space accidents" or last year's Philae comet landing, which is "a shame."

Study Determines That Mars Once Had Ocean Of Water.

The New York Times (3/5, Kaufman, Subscription Publication, 9.97M) reports that NASA has "convincing evidence" that Mars had an ocean at one time that was "probably the size of the Arctic Ocean." Michael Mumma of the Goddard Center for Astrobiology, who led the study, said, "The existence of a northern ocean has been debated for decades, but this is the first time we have such a strong collection of data from around the globe. ... Our results tell us there had to be a northern ocean." NASA's Geronimo Villanueva, who also took part in the study utilizing six years of observations, said that by measuring the ratios of H2O and a "heavier" version of water called HDO in Mars' atmosphere, However, Ashwin Vasavada, project scientist for the Curiosity rover, said that the finding still is "a hypothesis." While others noted that the new finding is not completely corroborated by other studies, JPL's Timothy Parker said that it "certainly encourages me to do more."

        The Washington Post (3/5, Feltman, 5.17M) "Speaking of Science" website notes that Villanueva believes that the "next step" would be to confirm the finding with orbiter data. According to the article, NASA "already" has an instrument on a 2016 mission to Mars that could observe the atmosphere in the necessary way.

        Also covering the story are the Los Angeles Times (3/6, Khan, 3.49M), WAAY-TV Huntsville, AL (3/5, Barrett, 2K) "Speaking of Science" website, TIME (3/5, Worland, 19.19M), SPACE (3/5, Choi, 236K), AFP (3/6), RT (RUS) (3/6, 346K), Discovery News (3/5, O'Neill, 516K), Business Insider (3/5, Orwig, 2.26M), Wired UK (3/6, Geere, 30K), Forbes (3/5, Mack, 6.54M), Guardian (UK) (3/5, Sample, 2.74M), and Daily Mail (UK) (3/5, O'Callaghan, 4.78M).

Orion Leadership Visits Aerojet Rocketdyne.

The KTXL-TV Sacramento, CA (3/5, 136K) website reports that "NASA and Orion spacecraft leadership" visited Aerojet Rocketdyne "to celebrate" last December's Orion flight. The article notes that Aerojet Rockedyne officials claim that there has been "a rise in interest in the space field" since the flight.

NASA To Conduct Vibration Testing On SLS Vector Control Actuator.

Aerospace Technology (3/5) reports that NASA and Boeing plan to subject the Space Launch System's (SLS) vector control actuator to vibration testing. Jonathan Looser of the Marshall Space Flight Center said, "Vibrations from launch can significantly impact the vehicle and its systems, which is why it's important to understand and mitigate those issues before we get to the pad. The SLS vibration levels on the actuators are significantly higher than the levels the shuttle experienced."

Energizing Health, NASA To Announce Launch Health Space Innovation Challenge.

The Houston Business Journal (3/5, Martin, Subscription Publication, 65K) "Houston BizBlog" reports that NASA and the nonprofit Energizing Health will launch the Launch Health Space Innovation Challenge at the SpaceCom Conference in November, according to Steve Gonzalez, NASA's deputy for Strategic Opportunities & Partnership Development, at a pre-SXSW event. Participants will be asked to develop "digital health projects that can benefit both health care and NASA's astronauts," possibly at the ISS, although the article noted that is not set in stone as of yet, according to Gonzales.

Increased Cooperation Could Mean India Can Do Research At The ISS.

The Times of India (3/6, 386K) reports that Frank Rose, US assistant secretary for arms control, verification and compliance, said that the US and India "should identify areas of deeper cooperation" in space. Rose said, "There are a number of things that the US is interested in (when it comes to) collaborating with India. For example, maritime domain awareness and improving space situational awareness capability." According to the article, this could also mean that India gains opportunities to do research at the ISS.

Astronauts Eat "Versions" Of Foods Eaten On Earth.

The New York Daily News (3/5, Alba, 3.79M) reports on how astronauts in space eat "versions of Earthling food," such as ISS astronaut Terry Virts' cheeseburger made with a tortilla instead of a typical bun. NASA said that it tries to make items look similar to improve "the psychological well-being of the crew by establishing a familiar element in an unfamiliar and hostile environment."

Cristoforetti Captures Hawaii's Big Island From ISS.

The KGMB-TV Honolulu (3/5, 63K) website reports that astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti snapped a photo of the Big Island of Hawaii from the ISS and posted it online on February 28. Cristoforetti's caption of the photo read, "And suddenly as we flew over the Pacific… the island of #Hawaii with its volcanoes! #HelloEarth."

Nyberg: ISS A "Laboratory Like No Other."

CNBC (3/5, Yates, 2.42M) profiles astronaut Karen Nyberg, who spent time at the ISS in 2013. Nyberg said, "It's a laboratory like no other, so science can be done that just can't be done anywhere on earth." According to the article, Nyberg did think the station was "surprisingly spacious," but noted, "Having a normal toilet would have been nice. When you're there that part of it can get a little old after a while."

Tentative Dates Set For Commercial Crew Test Missions.

NASA Space Flight (3/6, Bergin, 305) reports that NASA will require SpaceX and Boeing to conduct "uncrewed and crewed qualification missions – beginning as early as December, 2016 –" before it awards the first commercial crew mission to the ISS, the US Crew Vehicle -1 (USCV-1) mission. The article notes that both companies have "a firm eye" on conducting missions to the ISS by 2017, but these dates are "projections" reliant on NASA getting the needed funding. NASA has now manifested Boeing's CST-100 to take its first test flight in April 2017, while SpaceX's Dragon 2 would make its first test as early as December 2016, although these could change.

SAR-401 Robot To Head To The ISS Soon.

Sputnik News (3/5) reports that Yuri Lonchakov, head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, stated that Russia's SAR-401 "robot-android" is expected to be shipped to the ISS "soon." Lonchakov said that while robots are useful, they cannot replace humans. He added that the combination of people an machines will produce "simply fantastic results."

Thompson, ESA Among Aviation Week's Laureate Award Winners.

Aviation Week (3/5, 2K) reports the winners of its 58th annual Laureate Awards. In the space category, the ESA won for its Rosetta comet rendezvous mission. David Thompson, Chairman and CEO, Orbital Sciences Corporation was one of the winners of the Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement. Thompson was honored for the way his company has "moved into human spaceflight" with work on NASA's projects like the Launch Abort System for the Orion spacecraft and the development of the Cygnus to resupply the ISS.

Mississippi Children's Museum To Host NASA Day.

The Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger (3/5, 222K) reports that the Mississippi Children's Museum will host NASA Day on Saturday. The event features a team from the Stennis Space Center who will teach participants about space travel, robots, and engineering.

Elementary Students Get NASA Mission Simulation.

The Chicago Tribune (3/5, Kambic, 2.42M) reports that students from Butterfield Elementary School in Libertyville, Illinois participated in the workshops offered by the Challenger Learning Center. The Center is one of 44 facilities throughout the country that replicate NASA experiences in honor of the astronauts who died aboard the Challenger in 1986. Butterfield students enjoyed participating in a simulated mission going into orbit.

        Honeywell Leadership Program Hosts High School Students From Around The World. The Alabama Live (3/6, Vollers, 502K) reports on the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy, which hosts 300 high school students from around the world at the US Space & Rocket Center. The students, children of Honeywell employees, represent 39 different countries. They participated in the week-long space camp program which includes simulations of astronaut training and space missions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Headlines

  1. Will You Be the VIP on March 27?

Today is the final day of the JSC Knowledge Office's online scavenger hunt honoring NASA through the creation of the NACA. Will you be the VIP in mission control watching the one-year International Space Station crew launch? Answer questions about another famous JSC VIP so YOU TOO can be a VIP. If you weren't able to participate the entire week, no worries! You can still catch up and submit answers to all the trivia questions—as long as the answers are submitted by close of business today.

Also up for grabs are cool JSC experiences, like a ride in one of our space exploration vehicles or a visit to the Virtual Reality Lab. Winners of all prizes to be announced on March 9.

Today is also the last day to view the star quilts on display in the Teague Auditorium in honor of this centennial, so make that trek if you haven't already.

Julie Barnes-Gober x38407

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  1. Looking For a Few Good Testers for JSC Search

The Information Resources Directorate (IRD) is looking for a few good testers as we work to improve the Web search here at JSC.

Solr is being considered to replace Google for the JSC search infrastructure. Test volunteers are needed and will be provided a test script to compare Solr search results against JSC Google search results. Test scripts take about 20 minutes and need to be completed by Friday, March 13.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact David Johnson or Lori Alfred.

Lori Alfred x34649

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  1. Recent JSC Announcement

Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcement:

JSCA 15-008: Key Personnel Assignment - Dorothy Rasco

Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page.

Linda Turnbough x36246 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/DocumentManagement/announcements/default.aspx

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   Organizations/Social

  1. Space Serenity Al-Anon Meeting - March 10

"Keep it simple" reminds Al-Anon members to look for the simplicity in everything. Our 12-step meeting is for co-workers, families and friends of those who work or live with the family disease of alcoholism. We will meet Tuesday, March 10, in Building 32, Room 146, from 12 noon to 12:45 p.m. Visitors are welcome.

Event Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2015   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:12:45 PM
Event Location: B. 32/ Rm. 146

Add to Calendar

Employee Assistance Program x36130 http://sashare.jsc.nasa.gov/EAP/Pages/default.aspx

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  1. March 11: Learn About Building Smarter Cities

You may have heard the catch phrase, "Let's build a smarter planet," but what does it mean and how can it be done? How do Smarter Cities, analytics and open data fit together to make citizens lives safer, healthier and more productive? Can these concepts be applied to your work and/or the work performed at NASA to advance human flight?

Find out by attending JSC's SAIC/Safety and Mission Assurance speaker forum featuring architect Michael Moomaw with IBM Smarter Cities. The event will be Wednesday, March 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Gilruth Alamo Ballroom.

Event Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2015   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Gilruth Alamo Ballroom

Add to Calendar

Della Cardona/Juan Traslavina 281-335-2074/281-335-2272

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   Jobs and Training

  1. APPEL - Risk Management I - May 5

This one-day course enhances knowledge of NASA's approach to managing risk and demonstrates the impact risks have on meeting program and project objectives. It provides an introduction to both Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) and Continuous Risk Management (CRM) in the context of the policies and recommended practices that guide their application.

This course is designed for NASA's technical workforce, including systems engineers and project personnel who seek to develop the competencies required to succeed as a leader of a project team, functional team or small project.

This course is available for self-registration in SATERN until Thursday, April 2, and is open to civil servants and contractors.

Dates: Tuesday, May 5

Location: Building 12, Room 152

Zeeaa Quadri x39723 https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHED...

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   Community

  1. Special Place in your Heart for Community College?

What do Eileen Collins, Fred Haise, George Lucas and Nolan Ryan all have in common? They all began their great success at a community college! If community college played a role in your success, this is your chance to pay it forward. Learn how Education's NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars project opens doors for non-traditional students, and how you can be a part of it. Bring your lunch and we'll provide dessert on Tuesday, March 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Building 3 Collaboration Center.

Did you know you can add this event to your Outlook calendar? Click below to keep it on the radar ...

Event Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2015   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Building 3 Collaboration Center

Add to Calendar

Alicia Baturoni Cortez x30493 http://ncas.aerospacescholars.org/

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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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