Fwd: [nasajsc-retirees-list] NASA News

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: March 27, 2015 at 8:52:24 AM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: [nasajsc-retirees-list] NASA News
Reply-To: larry.j.moon@nasa.gov

Happy Flex Friday everyone.   Have a great and safe weekend. 

 

Hope you can join us for our monthly NASA retirees luncheon next Thursday at Hibachi Grill at 11:30 on Bay Area Blvd in Webster, TX.

 

 

LEADING THE NEWS

• Kelly Launches On One-Year Mission Today.-  this afternoon around 2pm Central time

NASA NEWS

• New ARM Architecture Said To Have "Diminished" Goals.

• Two Programs Make Up Majority Of NASA's Development Portfolio.

• NASA Names SEWP V Winners For The Second Time.

• NASA IV&V Facility Will Stay In West Virginia.

• Talk By NASA Deputy Chief Scientist Called A "Great Learning Experience."

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

• Manber: CubeSat Deployer Incident Made The Company Stronger.

• NSBRI Selects Technologies That Could Protect Astronaut's Eyes.

• STVM Students Heading To Marshall For Student Launch Event.

• "Journey to Space" Opens Today At Fleet Science Center.

• Lansdorp Remains "Undaunted" After Accusations About Mars One.

LEADING THE NEWS

Kelly Launches On One-Year Mission Today.

The AP (3/26, Lovetsky) continues coverage of today's launch of astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka to the ISS. Kelly and Kornienko, during a press conference on Thursday, spoke about their upcoming one-year mission, and were asked what they would miss back on Earth. Although others before have spent one year or more in space, Kelly said, "One of the differences here is that we're doing it as an international partnership, and if we're going to go beyond low-Earth orbit again, perhaps to Mars, because of the cost and the complexity it will most likely be an international mission so we see this as a stepping stone to that." Kornienko added that the new study will involve techniques not available during the last long-term mission "almost 20 years" ago.

        The CBS News (3/26, Harwood, 8.2M) website reports that Kelly was initially not interested in the project, but said that after "mulling it over and talking about it with my family, friends, girlfriend, I decided the challenges that staying in space for a whole year presented were appealing to me, even considering the sacrifices you and your family are in for to do that kind of thing." Meanwhile, the article notes that not only will Kelly and Kornienko have "a busy schedule with their research activity alone," they also will be part of the ISS' "most extensive reconfiguration since shuttle assembly missions ended in 2011."

               SPACE (3/26, Pearlman, 236K) has a general history of long-duration spaceflights like Kelly's. Also covering the story are the Florida Today (3/26, Dean, 178K), CNN (3/26, Barnett, 2.05M), Bay News 9 Tampa (FL) (3/27, 60K) website, PBS' NewsHour (3/26, Marder) "The Rundown" blog, the WWJ-TV Detroit (3/26, Cardenas, 34K) website, International Business Times (3/26, Poladian, 1.19M), Huffington Post (3/26, Howard, 281K), Quartz (3/26, Constantinescu, 482K), another Quartz (3/26, Lichfield, 482K) article , NPR (3/27, Greenfieldboyce, 1.58M) "The Two-Way" blog, Headlines & Global News (3/27, Aquilina), Spaceflight Now (3/27, Clark, 3K), ITAR-TASS News Agency (3/27, 5K), NBC News (3/27, 2.71M) website, Daily Mail (UK) (3/26, O'Callaghan, 4.78M), and Vox (3/26, Stromberg, 737K).

        Researchers Excited By Chance To Study Kelly Twins. The Washington Post (3/26, Feltman, 5.17M) "Speaking of Science" blog notes that NASA's heading into the mission with "science guns fully loaded." The article focuses on how the mission will be especially important to epigeneticists like Andrew Feinberg, who will have the chance to study the Kelly twins. Because of how long-term spaceflight can mimic the effects of aging, the twin study is "a perfectly controlled environment the likes of which [Feinberg's] hardly dreamed of." Mark Shelhamer, chief scientist of NASA's Human Research Program, said, "It's our first real organized foray into these deep genetic changes, and that brings us closer to using this idea of personalized medicine that's gaining popularity. ... We love the idea of using someone's unique genomic structure to support their health in space." Feinberg describe NASA's work at the ISS as part of a "science project that's the greatest in the history of civilization."

       

        Kelly Provides "Glimpse" Of Personal Life He's Leaving Behind. The KTRK-TV Houston (3/26, Ward, Quinn) website reports that Kelly previously provided a "glimpse" of his home life that he will be leaving behind. Kelly said that his girlfriend of five years, Amiko Kauderer, "works at NASA. She knows a lot about what I do. ... She'll be in MI and at times talking about and watching what I'm doing. Between the two of us and NASA, giving us this support, and my previous experience, I think I'm pretty well situated to handle it. We'll find out!" As for his children, Kelly said, "When I told my kids about it, initially they thought it was awesome, but that was two years ago. As we get closer I think it's maybe starting to affect them a little more, they're nervous. But I think they know it's something I feel very strongly about."

       

New ARM Architecture Said To Have "Diminished" Goals.

Scientific American (3/26, Billings, 2.83M) continues coverage of NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission, which will now capture a boulder from an asteroid and bring it to the moon's orbit instead of redirecting an entire asteroid as originally envisioned. According to the article, ARM has continually been "diminished" over time, allowing critics to claim that it was developed "to fulfill arbitrary political deadlines rather than to bring NASA closer to human missions to Mars." Mark Sykes, the director of the Planetary Science Institute, said that it is "not at all clear" in what way ARM fulfills NASA's needs.

        ARM's Leading Candidate A "Very Well Known" Asteroid. SPACE (3/26, Wall, 236K) reported on 2008 EV5, NASA's leading asteroid candidate for ARM. Lindley Johnson, program executive of NASA's Near Earth Object Program, said during Wednesday's press conference, "Its orbit is very well known. ... We have a very good idea of its size, shape, its spin dynamics and the potential existence for the right-sized boulders on the surface."

        Blog Coverage. Eric Berger at the Houston Chronicle (3/26, 2.28M) "SciGuy" blog details the history of how the "uninspiring" ARM is now "the first signature mission" for the Space Launch System. Berger claims that it was part of a "clean break" from the Bush Administration's space policy, which was experiencing technical and financial difficulties. To Berger, NASA's "diligent engineers" have been trying to fulfill what they were directed to do. Berger considers it "unlikely" that Congress will fund the mission.

        The Examiner (3/26, Whittington, 1.01M) blog also covers the story, citing Berger's piece.

Two Programs Make Up Majority Of NASA's Development Portfolio.

The Washington Business Journal (3/26, Aitoro, Subscription Publication, 119K) "Fedbiz Daily" blog reported that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Space Launch System (SLS) make up "70 percent of NASA's development budget, leaving 10 other major programs to fight for the leftovers." The SLS took over the top spot as the "costliest" program in the development portfolio, joining it after being "confirmed in August 2014." The article also thought it "noteworthy" that there are only 12 projects in the portfolio, "the smallest assessed to date in terms of number of projects" with "the highest amount of total baseline costs."

        Deep Space Network Needs Money For Upgrades, Better IT Security. The Network World (3/26, Cooney, 24K) reports that NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that Deep Space Network (DSN) is challenged by the lack of "money...for upgrades to older equipment and IT security issues." Among the recommendations, the OIG wants NASA to "develop a realistic, accurate, and transparent budget that supports the Network's ability to provide communication services; ensure DSN follows established IT security policies, standards, and governance methodologies; develop a strategy for implementing evolving IT and physical security policies at JPL." The OIG said that NASA "concurred with our recommendations and described planned corrective actions."

NASA Names SEWP V Winners For The Second Time.

The Washington Technology (3/26, Wakeman, 118K) "WT Business Beat" blog reports that for the second time, NASA announced the 65 companies who have won "prime contracts" for the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V program. The article notes that NASA had to "re-evaluate proposals" because "multiple bid protests" were made after the first announcement.

NASA IV&V Facility Will Stay In West Virginia.

The Clarksburg (WV) Exponent-Telegram (3/27, Davis, 42K) reports on the NASA Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Facility, and how it will be an important part of NASA's manned and unmanned missions. Director Gregory Blaney said, "NASA is on the verge of doing great things. ... This program in Fairmont is part of that." The article notes that the Office of Inspector General had recommended the work at the facility move to the Goddard Space Flight Center, but NASA chose to remain at its current location because it brings "the best value to the agency." Blaney said, "There's no cost advantage to moving. ... We had options, and we're doing the most cost-efficient approach right now." Meanwhile, Jim Estep, president and CEO of the West Virginia High Technology Foundation, said that the NASA IV&V is "a critically important anchor" for West Virginia. Blaney added, "We're right on the edge of pushing the envelope with the new rocket. ... We've got other government agencies asking us to do work. We're branching out."

Talk By NASA Deputy Chief Scientist Called A "Great Learning Experience."

The Gainesville (GA) Times (3/27, Oliver, 79K) reports that NASA Deputy Chief Scientist Gale Allen visited the North Hall Middle School on Thursday. She told the students, "You all are the future...whether it's with NASA space exploration or in some other field. ... Whatever you want to do, as long as you have the desire and work for it, you can have it." Earhart-Edison Exploration Academy co-coordinator Kathy Mellette reportedly called Allen's talk "a great learning experience for the students."

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS

Manber: CubeSat Deployer Incident Made The Company Stronger.

Via Satellite (3/26, Van Wagenen, 1K) reports that in comments to the publication, NanoRacks President and CEO Jeffrey Manber believes that the malfunction of its CubeSat deployer at the ISS, and the way NanoRacks and NASA handled the situation, "strengthened the company both technically and ethically in the long run." Manber reportedly said that he was "impressed" by NASA's support during the process. He also highlighted how NanoRacks brought in The Aerospace Corporation to increase transparency during the repair process. Meanwhile, Manber also discussed the recent Antares rocket launch failure, which is preventing the company from meeting all out its client's requests. Because of the fallout from the temporary loss of one cargo supplier, Manber recommended that NASA and the Office of Management and Budget fund "a couple more cargo ships."

NSBRI Selects Technologies That Could Protect Astronaut's Eyes.

SPACE (3/26, Wall, 236K) reported on the three projects that will develop technology that could protect astronauts' eyes on long spaceflights. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Industry Forum announced the winners of its "Vision for Mars" challenge earlier this month. According to the article, eyesight issues have been "a real concern for NASA."

STVM Students Heading To Marshall For Student Launch Event.

The West Side (OH) Leader (3/26, Hakim, 33K) reports that students from St. Vincent-St. Mary (STVM) High School are heading to the Marshall Space Flight Center next month for NASA's Student Launch event, which will see whether they or seven other teams were able to develop a rocket that can launch "a mile into the sky." The STVM students won the chance after competing in the 2013 Team America Rocketry Challenge, which allowed them to submit a proposal for the contest to NASA. According to the article, STVM program adviser Bob Engels said that the project has given the students "a taste of what an engineering project is like."

"Journey to Space" Opens Today At Fleet Science Center.

The KNSD-TV San Diego (3/26, Fleming, Garske, 356K) website reports that the film "Journey to Space," about "NASA's efforts to get to Mars," will open today at the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center. Director Mark Krenzine reportedly hopes that the film will "inspire the next generation of astronauts and space travelers."

Lansdorp Remains "Undaunted" After Accusations About Mars One.

CNBC (3/26, Ioannou, 2.42M) reports on its website that the Mars One project is now "shrouded in controversy," after accusations by Joseph Roche of Trinity College, who claimed that finalists paid their way onto the list. The article also noted how "NASA experts" have illustrated the "many challenges" the project faces. Despite the doubts raised, co-founder Bas Lansdorp is "undaunted" in his efforts to send teams on one-way trips to Mars.