Fwd: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Wednesday - September 24, 2014 and JSC Today

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: September 24, 2014 2:47:50 PM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Wednesday - September 24, 2014 and JSC Today

And we are hearing a Buy Out is likely to be approved for those eligible to retire for this coming FY.

 

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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JSC TODAY CATEGORIES Headlines -  Oct. 9 Safety and Health Day Speaker - Dr. Chapa -  Recent JSC Announcements -  POWER of One Winners Announced Organizations/Social -  Flex Friday Fitness Special - Friday, Sept. 26 -  Photography Techniques: Hurry and Sign Up Today -  Reminder: Spanish Over Lunch - ¡Comemos! -  Latin Dance Introduction: Oct. 17 from 8 to 9 p.m. Jobs and Training -  Save the Date: Conflict Resolution Day -  NASA or JSC Forms Users - Demo Sept. 25 -  Augmented Reality Demo & Planning with ScopeAR -  Space Available - APPEL - Creativity & Innovation Community -  Inspire a Community College Student

Sunrise at the Soyuz Launch Pad

 

Headlines Oct. 9 Safety and Health Day Speaker - Dr. Chapa Kick off the 2014 Safety and Health Day by joining us in the Teague Auditorium from 9 to 10 a.m. to listen as Dr. Aaron Chapa discusses "Find Your Footing—How to See Through the Clutter." Chapa will show you how to acquire habits that eliminate brain fog, triple your energy and give you a reason to live at your highest level. As a practicing clinical nutritionist and leadership skills educator, Dr. Chapa can motivate you to be and feel your best and perform at an optimal level. You can also visit Chapa at his "Living Well" booth located around the pond area, along with more than 70 other exhibitors, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Event Date: Thursday, October 9, 2014   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:5:00 PM Event Location: Teague Auditorium, JSC Mall Area, Gilruth Add to Calendar Suprecia Franklin/Angel Plaza x37817/x37305 http://sthday.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top] Recent JSC Announcements Please visit the JSC Announcements (JSCA) Web page to view the newly posted announcements: JSCA 14-022: Agency Sponsored Development Programs JSCA 14-023: Key Personnel Assignments - Dr. Eileen Stansbery and Vanessa Wyche Archived announcements are also available on the JSCA Web page. Linda Turnbough x36246 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/DocumentManagement/announcements/default.aspx [top] POWER of One Winners Announced Congratulations to JSC's newest POWER of One winners: GOLD: Terrell Guess - SD GOLD: Chris Carrier - EC SILVER: Kimberly Levicky - NA SILVER: Nathan Smith - EC BRONZE: Christina Darcie - EC3 BRONZE: Eric Maier - DA7 The POWER of One award was established to award and recognize JSC employees for their exemplary performance and direct contributions to either their organization, JSC or NASA at the agency level. Congratulations and thank you for all your hard work! If you would like to nominate someone for POWER of One award, click here. Samantha Nehls x27804 http://powerofone.jsc.nasa.gov/ [top]    Organizations/Social Flex Friday Fitness Special - Friday, Sept. 26 We understand that getting over to the Gilruth Center is not easy during those nine-hour days. Because of that, Starport is continuing to offer an assortment of FREE programs on Flex Friday for all JSC employees, contractors and their families. Flex Friday - Sept. 26 - special FREE programs include: FREE 30-minute personal training sessions for new clients Nature walk SPINNING classes Outer Space OSFX class Machines, free weights and Olympic lifting classes Kickboxing class Yoga-blend class Tae Kwon Do class Core strength classes All Starport locations (Gilruth Center and Buildings 3 and 11) will also be running a 10 percent discount on all athletics, recreation and fitness merchandise. A full schedule and details are here. Be sure you stop by the Gilruth Center for a great Flex Friday! Event Date: Friday, September 26, 2014   Event Start Time:5:45 AM   Event End Time:5:30 PM Event Location: Gilruth Center Add to Calendar Starport Fitness x30304 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/fitness/flex-friday-specials [top] Photography Techniques: Hurry and Sign Up Today Would you like to learn how to take professional looking pictures with your digital camera? Starport has the perfect Photography Techniques series of classes for you! This five-week series introduces you to the proper techniques needed to take great digital photos. In these classes, you will learn the art of focus, composition, exposure and basic lighting techniques. By following the techniques you'll learn in these easy and fun classes, you will be on your way to taking better pictures in no time. Classes start Tuesday, Oct. 14, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Discounted registration: $90 (ends Oct. 3) Regular registration: $110 (Oct. 4) All classes are held in the Gilruth Center Long Star Room. Shericka Phillips x35563 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/specialty-classes/photography [top] Reminder: Spanish Over Lunch - ¡Comemos! As part of Hispanic Heritage Month/Mes de la Herencia Hispana, the Hispanic Employee Resource Group (HERG) is hosting Spanish Over Lunch, titled ¡Comemos!, which means "Let's eat!" There are lots of great Mexican restaurants in Houston. In this session, learn some basic phrases that will allow you to impress your friends and family when you order your meal and speak to your server in Spanish. Did you know the United States has nearly 40 million native Spanish speakers? By 2050, we will become the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world! Join the HERG and learn some Spanish in a fun, informal setting once a month. Because English and Spanish share many words of Latin origin, you will already be able to recognize more than 3,000 Spanish words. Grab your lunch and join us. For more information and to see previous lessons, visit the Spanish Over Lunch website. Event Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2014   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM Event Location: B3/Collaboration Center Add to Calendar HERG Officers https://collaboration.ndc.nasa.gov/iierg/hispanic/Spanish%20Over%20Lunch... [top] Latin Dance Introduction: Oct. 17 from 8 to 9 p.m. This class is mostly an introduction to Salsa, but it also touches on other popular Latin dances found in social settings: Merengue, Bachata, and even a little bit of Cha-Cha-Cha. Emphasis is on Salsa and then Bachata. For the first-time student or those who want a refresher course. You will go over basic steps with variations and build them into sequences. Discounted registration: $40 per person (ends Oct. 3) Regular registration: $50 per person (Oct. 4 to Oct. 17) Salsa Intermediate: Oct. 17 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This class continues teaching Salsa beyond that taught in the introduction class. You should be comfortable and confident with the material from the introduction class before moving on to the intermediate class. This is a multi-level class where students may be broken up into groups based on class experience. Shericka Phillips x35563 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/recreation-programs/salsalatin... [top]    Jobs and Training Save the Date: Conflict Resolution Day Oct. 16 is Conflict Resolution Day. Join us for special workshops on managing conflict: Using Conflict as a Catalyst for Creativity gives concrete tools, tips and tricks to harness the energy of conflicts and transform them into opportunities for progress. Pre-registration is not required, but please note that seating is limited to the first 100 attendees. Wednesday, Oct. 15, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. - Building 30 Auditorium Thursday, Oct. 16, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. - Building 30 Auditorium Mastering Meetings to Minimize Conflict offers skills that will allow participants to have more productive, engaging and results-oriented meetings. Seating is limited to 30 attendees, and you must register in SATERN. Registration link forthcoming. Wednesday, Oct. 15, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. - Building 1, Room 871 Hosted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and New York Peace Institute, one of the nation's largest conflict-resolution services. Event Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2014   Event Start Time:9:00 AM   Event End Time:11:30 AM Event Location: Building 30 Auditorium Add to Calendar Janelle Holt x30607 [top] NASA or JSC Forms Users – Demo Sept. 25 The new NASA Electronic Forms (NEF) Portal is now live. The NEF Portal is the central repository for all NASA and JSC forms. In addition, the Desktop eForms application (FileNet) is at end of life and no longer runs on the latest Mac operating systems (version 10.7/OS X Lion and above). Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite 4 is the new agency forms solution replacing FileNet. The JSC Forms team will conduct a demonstration of the new NEF Portal and Adobe LiveCycle functionality. Date: Sept. 25 Time: 2 to 3 p.m. Location: Building 30 Auditorium Please plan to attend if you are interested in learning more. For more information on the Electronic Forms Initiative (EFI), reference the EFI fact sheet or email JSC Forms. Event Date: Thursday, September 25, 2014   Event Start Time:2:00 PM   Event End Time:3:00 PM Event Location: Building 30 Auditorium Add to Calendar JSC IRD Outreach x40118 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/InfoPedia/Wiki%20Pages/JSC%20EFI%20Fact%20Sheet.... [top] Augmented Reality Demo & Planning with ScopeAR Augmented Reality (AR) demo and discussion today at 12:30 p.m. ScopeAR is in town from Canada to demo their AR capabilities and discuss potential partnering. Augmented Reality (real-world environments supplemented by computer-generated sensory input) is a technology that many organizations and teams at JSC are looking at, so let's explore the benefits and challenges together with the ScopeAR team. Please join us! Feel free to bring your lunch. Event Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2014   Event Start Time:12:30 PM   Event End Time:1:30 PM Event Location: Bldg 29, rm 117 Add to Calendar Christie Sauers x45692 [top] Space Available - APPEL - Creativity & Innovation The goal of this course is to enable NASA personnel to be more creative and innovative in their work, including technical and managerial. "The excessive focus on analysis, targets and number crunching, and the absence of introspection and imagination, has resulted in a crisis in management." (Henry Mintzberg, The Globe and Mail, March 16, 2009.) This course seeks to address this crisis. Participants will learn what enables creativity and innovation, as well as what hinders it. This course is for NASA's technical and managerial workforce, including engineers and program personnel, who seek to increase their abilities to be both creative and innovative in their technical and managerial endeavors. This course is available for self-registration in SATERN until Friday, Sept. 26, and is open to civil servants and contractors on a space-available basis. Zeeaa Quadri x39723 https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHED... [top]    Community Inspire a Community College Student "A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future and believe it can be obtained." Will you share your story with community college students from across the nation? NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars is looking for mentors, speakers and judges for our November workshop here at JSC. There are several opportunities with various commitment levels. Sign up in V-CORPS today and find out how you could change the course of someone's life! Event Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2014   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:5:00 PM Event Location: ISS Conference Facility Add to Calendar Maria Chambers x41496 https://ncas.aerospacescholars.org [top]

 

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.

 

 

NASA and Human Spaceflight News

Wednesday – September 24, 2014

 

NASA TV: www.nasa.gov/ntv

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, a flight engineer with Expedition 40 currently aboard the International Space Station, and Expedition 26/27 NASA astronaut Cady Coleman will speak with former President Bill Clinton during the closing session of the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York at 3:10 p.m. Central today.

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

Russia to allocate $8.2 billion for ISS development up to 2025 — deputy PM

 

ITAR-TASS

 

Russia plans to allocate 321 billion rubles ($8.2 billion) for developing the International Space Station (ISS) up to 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister  Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday.

 

 

India successfully puts spacecraft in Mars' orbit

 

Katy Daigle – Associated Press

 

NEW DELHI (AP) — India triumphed in its first interplanetary mission, placing a satellite into orbit around Mars on Wednesday morning and catapulting the country into an elite club of deep-space explorers. Scientists broke into wild cheers as the orbiter's engines completed 24 minutes of burn time to maneuver the spacecraft into its designated place around the red planet.

 

 

Editorial: Out of this world

 

The Financial Express

 

The skies above Mars were positively buzzing with alien spacecraft on Monday. First, Nasa's Maven peeled away from its 442 million miles long flight path to enter a stable orbit around the planet. Hours later, the Indian Space Research Organisation's Mars Orbiter tested its liquid apogee motor, which will inject it into orbit this morning with a 24-minute burn.

 

 

Russia Says It's Putting Another Man on the Moon…By 2030

 

Dan Kedmey – TIME

 

One giant leap for mankind, again. Russia's space agency said Tuesday it will launch a "full-scale" exploration of the Moon as part of a long-term mission to get a human being on the lunar surface for the first time in decades. The head of Roscomsos, Oleg Ostapenko, said that designs were already underway for a manned spacecraft that he estimated could reach the moon by the end of the next decade. "By that time, based on the results of lunar surface exploration by unmanned space probes, we will designate [the] most promising places for lunar expeditions and lunar bases," Ostapenko said, according to a translation by Russian state-owned news agency ITAR-TASS.

 

 

NASA, U.S. Navy train to recover Orion spacecraft (VIDEO)

 

Robert Santos – ABC 10 San Diego

 

SAN DIEGO - The historic launch of NASA's Orion spacecraft is less than three months away.  It will be a big day when Orion lifts off, but it will be just as monumental when it returns to Earth. The U.S. Navy and NASA say they are prepared for the spacecraft's historic landing. 10News obtained newly-released video of their training off the coast of San Diego.

 

 

Supplies delivered to space station by Dragon cargo craft

 

Stephen Clark – Spaceflight Now

 

A Dragon cargo craft closed in on the International Space Station on Tuesday after a two-day pursuit following Sunday's launch from Cape Canaveral, delivering more than 2.5 tons of supplies for scientists and the lab's residents. A habitat with 20 mice, a commercially-made 3D printer, and a $26 million NASA instrument to aid hurricane research -- plus gear for more than 250 other experiments -- arrived inside the Dragon supply ship.

 

 

Motley Crew: Rodents Arrive at International Space Station Aboard SpaceX Dragon

 

Alyssa Newcomb – ABC News

 

Twenty rodents were among the cargo that arrived at the International Space Station today aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The reusable Dragon spacecraft, which is on its fourth cargo re-supply mission to the orbiting station, docked this morning at the ISS, where it will spend the next four weeks before splashing into the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX officials said.

 

 

"Not a Woman's Profession"

 

Anatoly Zak – Air & Space Magazine

 

A Russian woman is preparing to break a stratospheric glass ceiling on Thursday, by blasting into orbit onboard the Soyuz-TMA-14M spacecraft from Kazakhstan. Elena Serova, 38, will travel to the International Space Station for a five-and-a-half-month-long mission, along with her Russian colleague Alexander Samokutyaev and NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore.

 

 

KSC: A dozen astronauts set for Atlantis anniversary

 

Dewayne Bevil – Orlando Sentinel

 

Twelve astronauts who flew on the space shuttle Atlantis will gather at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the attraction's display of the orbiter on Oct. 9. On hand will be Clayton Anderson, Bo Bobko, John Creighton, Charlie Walker, Hoot Gibson, Fred Gregory, Ken Ham, Mike McCulley, Jerry Ross, Brian Duffy, Bob Springer and Dan Tani. The Atlantis Astronaut Adventure will allow visitor complex guests to interact with the NASA veterans through a special, king-sized Lunch With an Astronaut offering.

 

 

The Answer is Expedition 42

 

Nancy Atkinson – Universe Today

 

Don't panic! NASA has been creating some great posters for their missions and Expedition crews to the International Space Stations, and this newest one will warm the heart of any Douglas Adams fan. As we all know, 42 is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Right now, the first half of the Expedition 42 crew has a targeted launch date of Nov. 23, 2014.

 

 

COMPLETE STORIES

Russia to allocate $8.2 billion for ISS development up to 2025 — deputy PM

 

ITAR-TASS

 

Russia plans to allocate 321 billion rubles ($8.2 billion) for developing the International Space Station (ISS) up to 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister  Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday.

 

"The 2016-2025 draft of the target federal program provides for allocating 321 billion rubles for the ISS development and operation, including the creation of new modules for unmanned spacecraft," Rogozin said during a visit to a cosmonaut training center.

 

"Russia channels considerable funds into development of this area of Russian space science. We are now thinking of research projects designed to explore outer space, as well as new projects in manned cosmonautics," Rogozin said.

 

Rogozin clarified that the spacecraft to be maintained at the International Space Station (ISS) was intended for experiments carried out in the conditions of deep vacuum.

 

"All space experiments onboard the International Space Station are being conducted under Russia's existing long-term program of applied scientific research," Rogozin said. These experiments include applied scientific research; the study of physical and chemical processes; materials in space conditions; the study of Earth from outer space; man in space; space biology; biotechnologies and space exploration technologies.

 

 

India successfully puts spacecraft in Mars' orbit

 

Katy Daigle – Associated Press

 

NEW DELHI (AP) — India triumphed in its first interplanetary mission, placing a satellite into orbit around Mars on Wednesday morning and catapulting the country into an elite club of deep-space explorers.

 

Scientists broke into wild cheers as the orbiter's engines completed 24 minutes of burn time to maneuver the spacecraft into its designated place around the red planet.

 

"We have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and innovation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, standing alongside scientists with the Indian Space and Research Organisation at the command center in the southern tech hub of Bangalore.

 

"We have navigated our craft through a route known to very few," Modi said, congratulating the scientists and "all my fellow Indians on this historic occasion."

 

Scientists described the final stages of the Mars Orbiter Mission, affectionately nicknamed MOM, as flawless. The success marks a milestone for the space program in demonstrating that it can conduct complex missions and act as a global launch pad for commercial, navigational and research satellites.

 

It's also a major feat for the developing country of 1.2 billion people, most of whom are poor. At the same time, India has a robust scientific and technical educational system that has produced millions of software programmers, engineers and doctors, propelling many into the middle class.

 

Getting a spaceship successfully into orbit around Mars is no easy task. More than half the world's previous attempts — 23 out of 41 missions — have failed, including one by Japan in 1999.

 

The United States had its first success with a 1964 flyby by a spacecraft called Mariner 4, returning 21 images of the surface of the planet. The former Soviet Union reached the planet in 1971, and the European Space Agency in 2003.

 

The U.S. space agency NASA congratulated India in a Twitter message welcoming MOM to studying the red planet.

 

On Sunday, NASA achieved its own success in placing its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or Maven, in position. The U.S. has two more satellites circling the planet at the moment, as well as two rovers rolling across the rocky Martian surface. The European Space Agency's Mars Express, launched over a decade ago, is still operating as well.

 

India was particularly proud that MOM was developed with homegrown technology and for a bargain price of about $75 million — a cost that Modi quipped was lower than many Hollywood film budgets. By comparison, NASA's much larger Maven mission cost nearly 10 times as much at $671 million.

 

India's 1,350-kilogram (nearly 3,000-pound) orbiter will now circle the planet for at least six months, with five solar-powered instruments gathering scientific data that may shed light on Martian weather systems as well as what happened to the water that is believed to have existed once on Mars in large quantities.

 

It also will search Mars for methane, a key chemical in life processes on Earth that could also come from geological processes. None of the instruments will send back enough data to answer these questions definitively, but experts say the data will help them better understand how planets form, what conditions might make life possible and where else in the universe it might exist

 

India wanted the spacecraft — also called Mangalyaan, meaning "Mars craft" in Hindi —to show the world its ability to design, plan, manage and operate a difficult, deep-space mission. India has already conducted dozens of successful satellite launches, including sending up the Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, which discovered key evidence of water on the Moon in 2008.

 

The country's space scientists are already planning new missions, including putting a rover on the Moon. But space agency chief K. Radhakrishnan said their main focus would be to continue developing technologies for commercial and navigational satellite applications.

 

 

Editorial: Out of this world

 

The Financial Express

 

The skies above Mars were positively buzzing with alien spacecraft on Monday. First, Nasa's Maven peeled away from its 442 million miles long flight path to enter a stable orbit around the planet. Hours later, the Indian Space Research Organisation's Mars Orbiter tested its liquid apogee motor, which will inject it into orbit this morning with a 24-minute burn. The test was necessary because the craft's bi-propellant fuel may have corroded engine parts. In that case, the project would have fallen back on a less perfect Plan B to achieve orbit. Both projects are interested in atmospheric science and will compare data and, indeed, Indo-US cooperation in space research will be a big political takeaway of the Mars Orbiter Mission. The relationship was cemented last year, when Nasa used remote sensing data generated by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper on Isro's Chandrayaan spacecraft to confirm the existence of magmatic water beneath the lunar crust. Earlier, in 2009, Chandrayaan had detected water molecules at the lunar pole.

 

Mars will soon feature regularly in the news as the Indian and US orbiters begin to generate data. Besides, last week, Nasa's aptly named Curiosity rover reached its final destination, a feature dubbed Mount Sharp. It is now ready to get down to a series of scientific experiments, collecting Martian material for analysis with its drill. This instrument was used rather sparingly in its slow, two-year trek from the landing site to Mount Sharp, giving rise to complaints that, scientifically, the mission was not delivering a reasonable return on the $2.5 billion investment. Under pressure, Curiosity, too, is likely to become a prolific source of Martian news soon.

 

One must remember that research about deserted planets can never be entirely theoretical. The thirst for knowledge gives way naturally to the hunger for resources and opportunity. New planets offer minerals and low gravity makes new production processes and standards possible. The colonisation of planets is no longer science fiction; it is an obvious priority. Private enterprise has pushed pedal to metal in the space race, ramping up from its ancillary role to operate whole missions. Not just suborbital space tourism, which XCOR Aerospace in the Mojave desert and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic are opening up, but also exploration and exploitation, hitherto the province of national governments. In 2024, the Mars One mission will send the first colonists to the red planet on a one-way ticket. It is promoted by a Dutch nonprofit, which raises funds via a private limited company. As interest in Mars develops cumulatively, achievements like the Isro and Nasa orbiters may seem passé. And the Martians, if any, may make a parody of the hit human film Mars Attacks! Entirely truthfully, they could call their version Earth Attacks!

 

 

Russia Says It's Putting Another Man on the Moon…By 2030

 

Dan Kedmey – TIME

 

One giant leap for mankind, again.

 

Russia's space agency said Tuesday it will launch a "full-scale" exploration of the Moon as part of a long-term mission to get a human being on the lunar surface for the first time in decades.

 

The head of Roscomsos, Oleg Ostapenko, said that designs were already underway for a manned spacecraft that he estimated could reach the moon by the end of the next decade. "By that time, based on the results of lunar surface exploration by unmanned space probes, we will designate [the] most promising places for lunar expeditions and lunar bases," Ostapenko said, according to a translation by Russian state-owned news agency ITAR-TASS.

 

The mission was announced at a government meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who has previously threatened to sever ties with American space agencies over the West's reproach of Russia's involvement in the Ukraine crisis.

 

"At the end of the next decade, we plan to complete tests of a super-heavy-class carries rocket and begin full-scale exploration of the Moon," Rogozin said.

 

 

NASA, U.S. Navy train to recover Orion spacecraft (VIDEO)

 

Robert Santos – ABC 10 San Diego

 

SAN DIEGO - The historic launch of NASA's Orion spacecraft is less than three months away.  It will be a big day when Orion lifts off, but it will be just as monumental when it returns to Earth. The U.S. Navy and NASA say they are prepared for the spacecraft's historic landing.

 

10News obtained newly-released video of their training off the coast of San Diego.

 

10News reporter Robert Santos learned the real Orion capsule is at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But at Naval Base San Diego, he was allowed access onto the USS Anchorage where he saw a full-sized replica. It has been onboard the ship for about a week since Orion's recovery team conducted a test mission.

 

The mission requires a huge team of people in the air, in the ocean and onboard the USS Anchorage. When Orion comes back to Earth, NASA will do something it has not done for decades: recover one of its spacecraft in the middle of the ocean.

 

Like the Apollo capsules, Orion will splash down in the ocean. The current target will be off the coast of Baja California. When that happens, Orion's recovery team will move in and do what they have been practicing off the coast of San Diego over the last couple of weeks.

 

Navy divers practiced attaching what is called a horse collar around the capsule. They will be the first to get near the capsule, but that will be only when it is safe from extreme temperatures, toxic gases and radio frequency waves.

 

"They did it a long time ago, but we're learning how to do it in the 21st century," said Timothy Goodard, NASA's dive team director.

 

After divers safely attached ropes to the capsule, the crew of the USS Anchorage did its part and lowered the ship into the water. Then, everyone carefully guided the capsule into the ship's well deck, captured it and then pumped the water out.

 

During the whole process, their goal is to make sure to protect every inch of the Orion and the data it will carry.

 

"The reason we want all that information is so that when we do fly our American astronauts, we've done all that we could so we can fly those astronauts safely," said Jeremy Graeber, Orion's recovery team director.

 

Orion will eventually take humans farther than they have ever gone before, such as Mars and possibly even an asteroid. NASA plans to launch Orion's exploration flight in December.

 

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

 

Supplies delivered to space station by Dragon cargo craft

 

Stephen Clark – Spaceflight Now

 

A Dragon cargo craft closed in on the International Space Station on Tuesday after a two-day pursuit following Sunday's launch from Cape Canaveral, delivering more than 2.5 tons of supplies for scientists and the lab's residents.

 

A habitat with 20 mice, a commercially-made 3D printer, and a $26 million NASA instrument to aid hurricane research -- plus gear for more than 250 other experiments -- arrived inside the Dragon supply ship.

 

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst took control of the space station's Canadian-built robotic arm to grapple the 12-foot-diameter gumdrop-shaped cargo capsule at 6:52 a.m. EDT (1052 GMT) Tuesday.

 

"This was, indeed, a great flight of the Dragon toward the station, and we're happy to have a new vehicle on board, With that we would like to congratulate all the teams on the ground -- SpaceX and the NASA combined teams," Gerst told mission control moments moments after grabbing the capsule with the robot arm.

 

"We're going to be performing a lot of science in the next month," Gerst said.

 

The capture of the Dragon spacecraft ended a two-day chase of the space station since the logistics carrier blasted off from Cape Canaveral early Sunday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

 

Satellite-assisted GPS navigation guided the Dragon spaceship to the vicinity of the space station as the capsule completed a series of thruster burns to boost its orbit to an altitude of 260 miles.

 

Laser beams and thermal infrared imagers provided guidance for the final phase of the Dragon's approach, supplying the ship's computers with precise data on its position and movement relative to the space station.

 

After the craft's capture by Gerst, mission control maneuvered the robot arm with the Dragon spaceship to a berthing port on the Earth-facing side of the space station's Harmony module.

 

A series of latches and bolts closed to create a firm mechanical connection between the Harmony module and the Dragon spacecraft at 9:21 a.m. EDT (1321 GMT).

 

Astronauts opened the hatches between the outpost and Dragon later Tuesday to begin unloading more than 5,100 pounds of cargo stowed inside the ship's pressurized and unpressurized sections.

 

The SpaceX-owned cargo freighter will stay attached to the space station until mid-October, when astronauts will install research specimens and other hardware for return to Earth.

 

The Dragon spacecraft will depart the station and descend through the atmosphere to a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California, where SpaceX ground crews will retrieve the capsule and begin unpacking its cargo for distribution to NASA and scientists.

 

The four-week flight marks the fourth mission in SpaceX's $1.6 billion commercial cargo resupply contract with NASA, which calls for a dozen Dragon flights through 2016.

 

Astronauts will transfer the mice into two habitats aboard the space station, with 10 mice in each enclosure.

 

Half the mice are sponsored by NASA to test out the effectiveness of animal handling procedures in orbit. A pharmaceutical company will study tissue samples from the other mice to help develop muscle atrophy treatments, according to NASA.

 

Ten of the mice will return in mid-October aboard the Dragon spacecraft, and the others are due to come back to Earth in December.

 

Fruit flies were also launched inside the Dragon capsule to study behavioral changes during spaceflight.

 

A commercially-developed 3D printer, built by Silicon Valley startup Made in Space, is stowed aboard the Dragon spacecraft. It will be set up inside the space station to see if 3D printing is viable in microgravity.

 

Funded in a public-private partnership by Made in Space and NASA, the 3D printer is the first device of its kind to ever launch into space. Engineers on the ground will uplink commands to the printer, giving it a 3D model of an object to build out of a stock of plastic carried inside.

 

If it works, 3D printing could help enable future space missions to distant destinations like Mars.

 

"It's especially important when we consider human space exploration," said Niki Werkheiser, NASA's manager for the 3D printer project. "From day one, the supply chain has been very constrained. We have to launch every single thing we ever need from Earth, so being able to make what you need on orbit, when you need it, is a real game changer."

 

NASA's wind-watching ISS-RapidScat instrument is bolted inside the Dragon capsule's external trunk section. Scientists say the sensor will help predict the strengthening of hurricanes in the tropics by tracking winds.

 

Once Dragon arrives at the space station, the lab's Dextre robotic handyman will pull the RapidScat instrument from the capsule's mounting pallet and place it outside the European Space Agency's Columbus module.

 

Other gear to be delivered by SpaceX includes an experiment that could help improve the design of golf clubs, IMAX cameras, and two batteries to be installed into U.S. spacesuits ahead of a pair of spacewalks planned in October.

 

The Dragon spacecraft's arrival kicks off a busy week aboard the space station.

 

A fresh three-person crew -- NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova -- is set for launch Thursday on a Soyuz rocket, planning to dock with the space station less than six hours later to restore the outpost to a full complement of six crew members.

 

The trio will join Gerst, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and space station commander Maxim Suraev, who are nearly four months into a five-and-a-half month residency aboard the complex.

 

 

Motley Crew: Rodents Arrive at International Space Station Aboard SpaceX Dragon

 

Alyssa Newcomb – ABC News

 

Twenty rodents were among the cargo that arrived at the International Space Station today aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule.

 

The reusable Dragon spacecraft, which is on its fourth cargo re-supply mission to the orbiting station, docked this morning at the ISS, where it will spend the next four weeks before splashing into the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX officials said.

 

The trip marked the first time Dragon carried live mammals, which will live in NASA's Rodent Research Facility where researchers will study the long-term impact of weightlessness on their bodies.

 

Also on board was the first 3-D printer launched into space. It could potentially crank out spare parts that will allow astronauts to one day fix their vessel on the spot.

 

Dragon arrived at the ISS with a total of 5,000 pounds of cargo, including science experiments, crew supplies and spacewalk equipment, according to NASA.

 

When it's time to return to Earth, Dragon will loaded up with cargo to be sent back to Earth. Once the capsule is released, it will perform three burns to send it on a path away from the ISS.

 

SpaceX projects that five hours after leaving the ISS, Dragon will conduct a de-orbit burn, lasting about 10 minutes. The capsule will then take about a half hour to re-enter Earth's atmosphere before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean, about 380 miles off the coast of California, where it can then be retrieved for future missions.

 

 

"Not a Woman's Profession"

 

Anatoly Zak – Air & Space Magazine

 

A Russian woman is preparing to break a stratospheric glass ceiling on Thursday, by blasting into orbit onboard the Soyuz-TMA-14M spacecraft from Kazakhstan. Elena Serova, 38, will travel to the International Space Station for a five-and-a-half-month-long mission, along with her Russian colleague Alexander Samokutyaev and NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore.

 

Serova won't be the first Russian woman in space, yet her feat should be considered historic. She will be just the fourth Russian female to go into orbit in more than five decades of human spaceflight, during which more than 100 Russian male cosmonauts have made the trip. And given the current social climate in Russia, Serova's road to space may have been rockier than any of her female predecessors.

 

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963. Behind the egalitarian façade of Soviet propaganda surrounding her mission, her "failings" (both real and perceived) during the flight were criticized by the male-dominated Soviet space leadership, and as a result, the door to space was closed to Soviet women for the next two decades. Not until NASA prepared to let women astronauts fly and conduct spacewalks onboard the Space Shuttle in the early 1980s did the Kremlin rush to beat its Cold War rival with a spacewalk by Svetlana Savitskaya. An all-female Soviet crew was also scheduled to fly, but was eventually cancelled.

 

A decade later, Elena Kondakova blasted off on a 170-day mission aboard the Mir space station, probably not without some lobbying support from her husband, cosmonaut Valery Ryumin, who became a powerful official at RKK Energia, the prime developer of Soyuz and Mir. When she arrived at Mir, Russian medical researcher Valery Polyakov was near the middle of his record-breaking, year-and-a-half-long mission to space. Kondakova later recalled that upon her arrival, Polyakov jokingly complained to her that he would now have to shave daily and abstain from foul language!

 

It would take another two decades before Elena Serova came along as a member of the first post-Soviet generation. In the meantime, public interest in spaceflight waned in the land of Yuri Gagarin. And, as in other countries, Russian girls experienced social pressure to avoid science and not become "space geeks."

 

With the fall of communism, the gender-equality slogans of the Soviet era—no matter how fake—were replaced with unabashed conservatism. Russian orthodox priests began not only spraying Russian rockets with "holy water" before liftoff, but also preaching "traditional values" that restricted woman's role in the society to motherhood and housekeeping.

 

During last year's celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Tereshkova's flight, the first woman in space was shocked when she asked a large group of school kids, "Who wants to be a cosmonaut?" and not a single girl raised her hand. Even Serova's own pre-teen daughter, who was at first excited about her mother's unique profession, eventually favored typical "girls sports" like gymnastics and figure skating, Serova told a TV interviewer for the Russian program "Russkiy Kosmos" (Russian Space).

 

In recent years, with no Cold War competition to drive them, Russian space leaders have no longer felt the need to keep up with their western counterparts in terms of the number of women selected to fly. Anatoly Perminov, former head of the Russian space agency, Roskosmos, unapologetically told journalists that spaceflight is not a woman's profession, and jokingly implied that having women on a spacecraft was bad luck.

 

Unsurprisingly, "We can now say without any doubt that compared to previous years, fewer women are even applying for the (cosmonauts) group," Serova told the TV interviewer. "In our country, it is considered to be not a woman's profession." By the time of her selection for flight, Serova was the only female in the 35-person cosmonaut corps.

 

Even she has emphasized that she applied to become a cosmonaut only after fulfilling the "main purpose of a woman" (to bear a child). And she has sometimes had to defend herself when questioned about whether she can remain a good mother and a good wife.

 

Still, Serova insisted in that same 2012 interview that she was treated equally to her male counterparts during her training—a claim that's contradicted somewhat by an accompanying video interview with her parachute instructor, who makes the bizarre claim that he had to make (unspecified) "corrections for the woman's character."

 

Serova seems to roll with all of this, and compares the situation to an old Russian belief that woman should not drive automobiles. "Possibly, the same way, a stereotype had developed within the space program that it is not a profession for women," she said.

 

"For the future, I hope very much that we will find girls and women who will want to join the group, who really love this profession, who is in love with space and who can do good for their country," Serova said.

 

Serova's Profile

 

 

KSC: A dozen astronauts set for Atlantis anniversary

 

Dewayne Bevil – Orlando Sentinel

 

Twelve astronauts who flew on the space shuttle Atlantis will gather at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the attraction's display of the orbiter on Oct. 9.

 

On hand will be Clayton Anderson, Bo Bobko, John Creighton, Charlie Walker, Hoot Gibson, Fred Gregory, Ken Ham, Mike McCulley, Jerry Ross, Brian Duffy, Bob Springer and Dan Tani. The Atlantis Astronaut Adventure will allow visitor complex guests to interact with the NASA veterans through a special, king-sized Lunch With an Astronaut offering.

 

Complex guests who buy Lunch with an Astronaut tickets will have one of the astronauts sitting at their table and get a shuttle keepsake signed by that astronaut and a photo with him. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

 

Seating selection will be random. Guests will not be allowed to switch tables after astronauts have taken their seats. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

lRelated Pictures: Space shuttle Atlantis last trip

 

Cost for Lunch with the Atlantis Astronauts is $39.99 ($29.99 for ages 3-11), in addition to daily admission. Seating is limited. Reservations must be made via phone. Call 855-378-0169. The lunch cost is in addition to regular admission to the Brevard County attraction. A one-day pass is $50 ($40 for ages 3-11).

 

The 12 astronauts will be featured during the day in Astronaut Encounter. Each astronaut will give a 30-minute recap of their Atlantis mission. This is included in regular KSCVC admission.  They also will participate in signing sessions the complex's Space Shop with lithographs and books available for sale and signing.

 

There aren't too many times when I wish I were still living in Florida, but I'd love to be able to take in the luncheon. I've been a supporter of the space program since 1959. I had so much hope for our space program and it hurts mentally that we have to rely on Russia to get...

 

Visitor complex annual passholders may attend a special Q&A session with the astronauts in Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction from from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

 

The $100 million Atlantis exhibit, which opened in June 2013, enables visitors to go nose-to-nose with the last shuttle to fly in space for the U.S. Atlantis is displayed as if floating in space and departing from the International Space Station.

 

 

The Answer is Expedition 42

 

Nancy Atkinson – Universe Today

 

Don't panic! NASA has been creating some great posters for their missions and Expedition crews to the International Space Stations, and this newest one will warm the heart of any Douglas Adams fan. As we all know, 42 is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Right now, the first half of the Expedition 42 crew has a targeted launch date of Nov. 23, 2014.

 

Featuring (from left to right):

Terry Virts and Anton Shkaplerov as Zaphod Beeblebrox
Aleksandr Samokutyayev as Humma Kavula
Barry "Butch" Wilmore as Arthur Dent
Elena Serova as Ford Prefect
Samantha Cristoforetti as Trillian

Guest star: Robonaut, as Marvin the Paranoid Android

 

Samantha Cristoforetti posted this image on her Flickr page and said the family of Douglas Adams gave the crew permission to do the photo-shoot for this poster, and added that the Point-of-View gun is not Photoshopped, but a real creation.

 

You can find out more about Expedition 42 here.

 

Find all the crew posters at the NASA Spaceflight Awareness product page. And try not to download too many! They're all great.

 

 

 

END

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