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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: November 24, 2014 at 1:24:33 PM CST
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: NASA and Human Spaceflight News - Monday – November 24, 2014
Looks like JSC Today has taken the week off….NASA and Human Spaceflight NewsMonday – November 24, 2014HEADLINES AND LEADSCrew docks at International Space StationAPA Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy docked Monday with the International Space Station, less than six hours after launching from Russia's manned space facility in Kazakhstan.Soyuz rockets into orbit, carries three to space stationWilliam Harwood – CBS NewsFive hours and 47 minutes after a sky-lighting launch from Kazakhstan, a Russian Soyuz ferry craft carrying a crew of three representing Russia, the United States and Italy, glided to a smooth docking at the International Space Station late Sunday, boosting the lab's crew back to six and setting the stage for a busy winter of research and spacewalk assembly work.
The Singing Soyuz: TMA-15M crew arrive at the ISSChris Bergin – NASA Space FlightAnother three crewmembers have competed a fast rendezvous trip to the International Space Station on Sunday. Terry Virts of NASA, Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and a tuneful Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency rode onboard their Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft and arrived at the ISS after six hours of flight, following launch on their Soyuz FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.Multi-national crew reaches space stationIrene Klotz – ReutersA Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan on Sunday to deliver three new crew members to the International Space Station, including Italy's first female astronaut.Space Station Rarity: 2 Women on Long-Term CrewMarcia Dunn – APFor the 21st-century spacewoman, gender is a subject often best ignored.Virginia May Seek Federal Funds for Wallops Spaceport RepairsJeff Foust – Space NewsAfter the failure of an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket caused as much as $20 million in damage to a state-owned launch pad, Virginia's two U.S. senators said they may seek federal funds to cover repair costs.NASA exec Robert Lightfoot will be keynote speaker at Downtown Huntsville Annual MeetingSteve Doyle - Huntsville (AL) TimesNASA Associate Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot will be the featured speaker at the 2015 Downtown Huntsville Annual Meeting and Awards.Gallup gives USPS high marksKendall Breitman – PoliticoThe United States Postal Service is enjoying its highest approval ratings among Americans, especially young Americans, according to a new poll.Getting on with getting to MarsBuzz Aldrin – The Washington TimesForty-five years ago last summer, Neil Armstrong and I walked on the moon. Our Apollo 11 lander touched down in the moon's "Sea of Tranquility," and three days later we were home. We splashed down and came safely aboard the USS Hornet. In that moment, America fulfilled a promise — to herself and to the World. Together, we resolved to lead in space, convey men to the moon and come home safely. As Americans, one nation, we resolved to do it, and we did it. The time has come to find that kind of resolve again. As a nation, now is the time to see in the stars a longer term destiny, to make new commitments, and to lead in space — as we have done before.Space Notebook: Orbital machine shop installed on ISSJames Dean – Florida TodayInternational Space Station commander Butch Wilmore last week installed the first 3-D printer in space, the first step toward testing a technology that could prove crucial to deep space exploration missions.Final SLS Engines Are Still An UnknownHeavy-lift exploration launcher is evolving during developmentFrank Morring, Jr. - Aviation Week & Space TechnologyNASA's go-as-you-can-pay approach to exploration-system development means the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) in development to carry Orion beyond low Earth orbit and eventually on to Mars is very much a work in progress, starting with the engines.US Navy ready to support EFT-1 Orion's splashdownChris Bergin – NASA Space FlightWhile public attention is focused on the upcoming launch of the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) Orion, the US Navy is preparing for the spacecraft's splashdown at the conclusion of the test mission. The USS Anchorage and the USNS Salvor will be involved in the first of the three contracted Orion returns that will be spread over the next 10 years.With An Eye To Mars, NASA is Testing its Astronaut TwinsScott and Mark Kelly, the only twins to have traveled in space, are embarking on a mission to help NASA prepare for MarsMax Kutner - Smithsonian MagazineWhen Scott Kelly completes his year at the International Space Station in 2016, it will be the longest stint that any American has spent in orbit. It's a privilege, he says, to be "the first U.S. crew member that's asked to stay in space that long."Inside Russia's Sacred Baikonur Cosmodrome, One of the World's Most Popular SpaceportsFor half a century, every manned Russian space launch has blasted off from this lonely outpost in Kazakhstan.Chris Jones – Popular MechanicsI knew I could only be in Kazakhstan when I saw the priests. Two of them—half-bears, half-men—walked up to the Soyuz on its pad at the fabled Baikonur Cosmodrome, their robes blowing in the desert wind. Then they sang at the rocket and bowed at the rocket and finally threw holy water at the rocket, and then they came over to us, the assembled reporters, and they threw holy water at us, too, because we probably looked like we could use it. I'm not a religious man, but I accepted my soaking under a boundless blue sky and thought what I suspect most of the people on the pad were thinking: Can't hurt.
Stunning new image of Jupiter's icy moon EuropaMichael Winter - USA TodayAnother day, another stunning image from deep in our solar system.
COMPLETE STORIESCrew docks at International Space StationAPA Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy docked Monday with the International Space Station, less than six hours after launching from Russia's manned space facility in Kazakhstan.The Russian capsule roared into the pre-dawn darkness just after 3 a.m. Monday (2100 GMT Sunday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Russian Anton Shkaplerov, NASA's Terry Virts and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy aboard.The craft docked with the space station after a trip lasting five hours and 48 minutes, which the NASA television commentator noted was roughly the time it takes to drive from NASA headquarters in Houston, Texas, to New Orleans, Louisiana.The three astronauts join three others already aboard the orbiting station, including Russian Elena Serova. Cristoforetti's arrival made it the second time in the station's 16-year history that two women have been aboard on long-term missions.Shkaplerov, Virts and Cristoforetti will remain aboard the station until mid-May. The current crew of NASA's Barry Wilmore, Russian Alexander Samokutyaev and Serova will return to Earth in early March.Since the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle fleet in 2011, Russian Soyuz spacecraft have served as the only means to ferry crew to and from the space outpost.Soyuz rockets into orbit, carries three to space stationWilliam Harwood – CBS NewsFive hours and 47 minutes after a sky-lighting launch from Kazakhstan, a Russian Soyuz ferry craft carrying a crew of three representing Russia, the United States and Italy, glided to a smooth docking at the International Space Station late Sunday, boosting the lab's crew back to six and setting the stage for a busy winter of research and spacewalk assembly work.
As the two spacecraft sailed 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean approaching the coast of South America, Soyuz TMA-15M commander Anton Shkaplerov, flanked on the left by European Space Agency flight engineer Samantha Cristoforetti and on the right by NASA astronaut Terry Virts, monitored an autonomous approach to the Earth-facing Rassvet module, moving in for docking at 9:48 p.m. EST (GMT-5).
After extensive leak checks to verify a tight seal, hatches were opened and space station commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova welcomed their new crewmates aboard with hugs, handshakes and laughter.Floating in the Zvezda command module a few moments later, the newly arrived crew took part in a traditional videoconference with mission managers, family and friends standing by at the launch site, smiling broadly and clearly enjoying the moment as they shared a meal prepared by Wilmore.
"Mr. Butch cooked us some lunch," Virts told his son. "We're having a lot of fun. Me, Sam and Anton are all having a great time. Everything goes good with tortillas!"
Cristoforetti, a fan of Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," was asked by a friend, "what is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?"
"The answer is 42," she laughed.
Launching almost directly into the plane of the station's orbit, the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft lifted off from complex 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:01 p.m. -- 3:01 a.m. Monday local time.
Trailing a brilliant plume of fiery exhaust, the Soyuz booster quickly climbed away from launch complex 31, knifing through low clouds and disappearing from view as the crackling roar of its first- and second-stage engines thundered across the sprawling space center.
Live television from inside the TMA-15M command module showed Shkaplerov, strapped into the center seat, calmly monitoring cockpit displays and providing status reports to flight controllers. All three crew members appeared relaxed in the cramped cockpit, tightly strapped into their custom-contour seats as the booster accelerated toward orbit.
"Everything's fine on board, everything's nominal," Shkaplerov radioed.
The space station passed over Baikonur a few moments before liftoff and Wilmore reported he was able to see the Soyuz as it climbed out of the clouds more than 500 miles behind and below the lab complex.
The rocket's four oxygen-kerosene powered strap on-boosters shut down and fell away about two minutes after liftoff, followed three minutes later by shutdown of the second stage core booster. The third stage engine then ignited, the second stage fell away and the Soyuz continued the climb to orbit.
Eight minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft separated from the upper stage, its two solar panels and navigation antennas unfolded and the crew began working through a carefully choreographed series of rocket firings to catch up with the space station.
With the arrival of the TMA-15M crew, the focus of station operations will shift back to a full slate of research activity and preparations for a series of spacewalks next year to prepare the lab for dockings by new commercial crew ferry craft now under development in the United States."The mission we'll be doing on the space station is going to be very busy," Virts said before launch. "We're going to be primarily focused on maintaining the station safely, keeping it running and leaving it a better place than when we (arrived).
"But of course, the mission of the space station is science, and we have a very aggressive science program, roughly 170 U.S.-based experiments, NASA and U.S. companies and private educational institutions, and over 70 other international experiments. So there's a lot of science we'll be doing."
In addition, Virts and Wilmore plan to carry out three spacewalks in late January and early February to help prepare the station for the installation later in the year of two docking adapters that will allow the new commercial spacecraft to link up with the lab complex.
During two spacewalks, or EVAs, Virts and Wilmore plan to install cables to route power and data to the docking ports. During the third excursion, they plan to install communications gear needed by approaching crew ships and carry out maintenance on the station's robot arm.
"The main task for the first spacewalks that are scheduled will be to get the station ready to receive capsules," Virts said. "Our task on Expedition 42 ... will be to lay the wiring down, the cables on the outside of the station that will allow the docking ring to work for the capsules. Getting the docking system going is a big part of our spacewalks."
As for the robot arm and its critical internal grapple system, "it's getting a little sticky" after a decade in orbit, Virts said, "so we're going to have to go out and put some grease on it."
Along with research and spacewalk preparations, Virts said he was especially looking forward to spending time in the multi-window cupola compartment his shuttle crew helped install in 2010.
"Looking at Earth is the most powerful drug you can imagine," Virts said. "You just can't get enough of it, and that's kind of all you want to do. Not only Earth, but also looking out into space. I'm sure I'll be spending my time looking at everything. And there are so many amazing things to see, thunderstorms in the Amazon and central Africa, you just can't get enough of that, especially at dawn, because then you can see both the clouds and the lightning."Shkaplerov agreed, saying "everyone knows being an astronaut is a dangerous profession, but it is definitely very interesting, it is so worth it. Everything becomes worth it once you're able to see the Earth from the window of the space station."
Serova is the first female cosmonaut assigned to a long-duration flight aboard the station. A half dozen female NASA astronauts have lived aboard the complex during the 14 years it has been staffed by rotating crews, but Cristoforetti is the first woman assigned to a long-duration flight by the European Space Agency.
A veteran fighter pilot and a captain in the Italian air force, Cristoforetti holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering, has expertise in aerospace propulsion technology and more than 500 hours flying time in a variety of military aircraft. But going into space is "the fulfillment of a dream I've had since I was a child," she said.
"I think what's most fascinating is the experience as a whole," she said. "This whole experience of, in just a few years, turning from somebody who was very passionate about space and tried to read about space and had a lot of knowledge as an enthusiast, and then turning that person into somebody who's actually ready to fly to space, to live and work in space ... hopefully I'll be able to do that."
Asked about the significance of being the first Italian woman to fly in space, Cristoforetti said it was just the luck of the draw and that she did not attach any special significance to her selection.
"I have done nothing special to be the first Italian woman to fly into space, I just wanted to fly to space and I just happened to be the first," she said. "If I had done everything the same, if I had worked as hard, and if I had had the chance of becoming an astronaut, and if I had been the second, to me it would have been the same.
"I understand this may well have significance for people who see this, and it can be an inspiration for women in Italy and Europe. And obviously, I'm very happy about that."The Singing Soyuz: TMA-15M crew arrive at the ISSChris Bergin – NASA Space FlightAnother three crewmembers have competed a fast rendezvous trip to the International Space Station on Sunday. Terry Virts of NASA, Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and a tuneful Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency rode onboard their Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft and arrived at the ISS after six hours of flight, following launch on their Soyuz FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.ISS Crew:The Soyuz was under the command of Samokutyaev, who was selected as a GCTC cosmonaut-candidate in 2003.He began advanced training towards his ISS mission in 2005, before being assigned as Soyuz commander and flight engineer on this latest expedition.Virts, a US Air Force colonel, joined NASA in 2000 and served as pilot for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission to the space station in February 2010.The flight delivered the Tranquility module and the famous Cupola to the orbital outpost. Virts has logged 13 days and 18 hours of spaceflight.ESA astronaut Cristoforetti is a native of Milan, Italy – and was assigned to the Futura mission more than two years ago.She has logged over 500 hours in military aircraft and is now a captain of the Italian air force.Italy has a rich history of sending astronauts into space, and Cristoforetti is becoming the seventh Italian astronaut – after Franco Malerba, Maurizio Cheli, Umberto Guidoni, Roberto Vittori, Paolo Nespoli and Luca Parmitano. However, she is the first female astronaut from Italy.Sunday's launch was another fast-track six hour launch-to-docking mission, first carried out for a crewed mission by Soyuz TMA-08M.Via what is now a well-practised procedure, the improvement to the transit time was initially demonstrated on a number of Progress resupply missions.The desire to dock to the ISS after just six hours of flight stems from the fact that spending two days in the cramped interior of the Soyuz along with two other crewmates is known to be a stressful and uncomfortable time for astronauts and cosmonauts, many of whom suffer from symptoms of space sickness at the same time.Thus, being able to go from the ground to the ISS in a single day is a big advantage to Soyuz crews.Such a fast rendezvous was never attempted until recent years as it requires extremely precise orbital adjustments from the ISS, and extremely precise orbital insertion by the Soyuz-FG booster, which was only deemed possible following a major review a few years ago.That study proved such accuracy was achievable with the existing Soyuz-FG booster and modernized Soyuz TMA-M series spacecraft.Following the launch of the Soyuz FG rocket – along with a successful orbital insertion shortly thereafter – the Soyuz TMA-15M was immediately tasked with performing the first two engine burns on its first orbit of the Earth, which are pre-programmed into the Soyuz's on-board computer prior to launch.During the previous Soyuz TMA launch, the port Solar Array did not deploy. The spacecraft still docked nominally despite this condition. This Soyuz did not suffer any similar issues.Further burns, such as Dv3 and Dv4, were available to correct booster performance discrepancies, had they been required.With all priority tasks going to plan with this latest mission, the second orbit allowed for additional orbital parameters to be uplinked from a Russian Ground Site (RGS), ahead of a further eight rendezvous burns that were performed over the following five hours of flight.During this time, the Soyuz crew were able to unstrap from their Kazbek couches and enter the Orbital Module (BO) to stretch their legs and use the bathroom facilities.The Soyuz TMA-15M then entered the vicinity of the ISS to aim for a docking to the Rassvet module of the Russian segment of the station.During the stationkeeping and flyaround, Cristoforetti was heard humming a tune over the loop from inside the Soyuz – something that has never been heard before.Following the successful docking, hooks and latches were driven to secure the Soyuz firmly to the ISS. Leak checks followed.Once all checks were complete, the hatches were opened and they were greeted by Expedition 42 Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore of NASA – who claimed he has photos of their launch from the vantage point of the Station – along with cosmonauts Elena Serova and Alexander Samoukutyaev of Roscosmos, who launched to the station in September.Multi-national crew reaches space stationIrene Klotz – ReutersA Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan on Sunday to deliver three new crew members to the International Space Station, including Italy's first female astronaut.A Soyuz capsule carrying incoming station commander Terry Virts from U.S. space agency NASA, Soyuz commander Anton Shkaplerov from the Russian Federal Space Agency and first-time flier Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency lifted off at 2101 GMT (4.01 p.m. EST) Sunday.Less than six hours later, the capsule flew into a berthing port on the Russian side of the station as the two ships sailed about 260 miles (418 km) over the central Pacific Ocean, NASA mission commentator Kyle Herring from the Johnson Space Center in Houston said.The station, owned and operated by 15 nations, serves as an orbiting laboratory for life science, materials research, technology development and other experiments using the unique microgravity environment and vantage point of space."I think that 100 years from now, 500 years from now, people will look back on this as the initial baby steps that we took going into the solar system," Virts told a pre-launch press conference."In the same way that we look back on Columbus and the other explorers 500 years ago, this is the way people will look at this time in history."The $100 billion research laboratory has been short-staffed since Nov. 9 when Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, European astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA’s Reid Wiseman returned home after 5.5 months in orbit.The new crew faces a busy six months in orbit, including a trio of spacewalks to prepare the station for a new fleet of U.S. commercial space taxis due to begin flying astronauts to the station in late 2017.Cristoforetti, 37, an Italian Air Force pilot, deflected questions about being Italy's first female astronaut during a webcast prelaunch press conference from Kazakhstan on Saturday. "I have done nothing special to be the first Italian woman to fly to space. I just wanted to fly to space and I happen to be the first," Cristoforetti, who was speaking in Russian, said through a translator.Space Station Rarity: 2 Women on Long-Term CrewMarcia Dunn – APFor the 21st-century spacewoman, gender is a subject often best ignored.After years of training for their first space mission, the last thing Samantha Cristoforetti and Elana Serova want to dwell on is the fact they are women.Cristoforetti, Italy's first female astronaut, is set to rocket into orbit this weekend from Kazakhstan, bound for the International Space Station. There, she will join Russia's Serova, a rarity in her homeland's male-dominated cosmonaut corps.It will be just the second time in the space station's 16-year history that two women make up the long-term, six-member crew.Just don't ask Cristoforetti or Serova about the gender issue."Space is what I do for work, and that's what I think about it: It's my work," Serova said in a NASA interview before launch in late September.Cristoforetti, 37, a fighter pilot and captain in the Italian Air Force, has managed to sidestep most if not all gender questions leading up to Sunday's planned launch.Serova tried to do the same. But before the 38-year-old engineer climbed aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, Russian reporters asked if she was taking up makeup and wondered how she would wear her hair during her six-month mission.Serova ignored the makeup question. As for her hairdo, she shot back:"I have a question for you. Why don't you ask the question about Alexander's hair, for example," she said, referring to crewmate Alexander Samokutyaev seated next to her at the news conference. "I'm sorry, this is my answer. Thank you. More questions?"To Americans old enough to remember, it felt like a time machine hurtling back to 1983 and Sally Ride's first flight into space when she got similar questions.Both Serova and Cristoforetti will spend six months aboard the 260-mile-high complex, following in the footsteps of nine American women who logged lengthy stays. Two of those U.S. women shared the place in 2010, with four men. Another two women rose to station commander rank.Cristoforetti is the first woman assigned to a lengthy space station mission by the European Space Agency, fresh off a spectacular comet landing of a spacecraft.Serova is one of only four Russian women to fly in space and the first to live at this space station. It was 1963 when Russia launched the world's first spacewoman, Valentina Tereshkova, beating America by two full decades, and 1984 when it flew the first world's female spacewalker, Svetlana Savitskaya.For the young Serova, those two pioneering Russian spacewomen were role models."They had very impressive personalities, showing everybody that if somebody wants to achieve something they can do it," Serova said in the NASA interview.Serova and Cristoforetti's joint flight comes as U.S. medical researchers take an updated look at gender differences in space. With space station missions spanning a half-year and expected to last considerably longer on trips to Mars, NASA wants to make sure all astronauts, male and female alike, stay safe and healthy.This month, the Journal of Women's Health published a series of studies on the impact of gender on adapting to space.It turns out that women tend to suffer more faintness when trying to stand upon immediate return to Earth and also more vertigo, according to the report, and they appear to lose more blood plasma during spaceflight. Male astronauts seem to suffer more vision impairment due to intracranial pressure in orbit than women, although the difference is not statistically significant given the small number of subjects, researchers noted.There also are concerns about astronauts' reproductive health stemming from space radiation as well as weightlessness."Many questions remain unanswered," the executive summary concluded.Dr. Saralyn Mark, an endocrinologist who serves as a government science adviser, said in an accompanying commentary that the findings can still be useful in shaping health-related policies and procedures."Understanding small differences is especially important in the extreme environment of space where even small differences in how the body adapts can translate into critical health outcomes," wrote Mark.Mark and the other authors and researchers, representing NASA, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute in Houston and various universities, recommend that more women fly in space, and more astronauts of both genders participate as test subjects.That will be challenging given the overwhelming number of male astronauts. Of NASA's 43 current active astronauts, 11 are women.NASA hopes to expand its medical know-how with a yearlong mission by two astronauts, an American and a Russian, set to begin at the space station in March. Both are men.Virginia May Seek Federal Funds for Wallops Spaceport RepairsJeff Foust – Space NewsAfter the failure of an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket caused as much as $20 million in damage to a state-owned launch pad, Virginia's two U.S. senators said they may seek federal funds to cover repair costs.In a joint statement provided by their offices on Nov. 20, Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, said they would work with members of both parties in the House and Senate to identify funding to pay for the damage to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia."Sens. Warner and Kaine are working with their colleagues from both parties, both chambers, and both states to see if there may be federal resources available to help rebound from this setback," the statement said. MARS is a joint venture of the states of Maryland and Virginia.The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Nov. 18 that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, also a Democrat, had asked the senators for funding to cover the repair costs to the spaceport. A spokesman for the governor's office did not respond to a request for comment on the report.Pad 0A at MARS was damaged after an Antares rocket suffered an engine malfunction less than 15 seconds after liftoff Oct. 28. The rocket fell back to the ground near the pad and exploded.In a Nov. 20 interview, Dale Nash, executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, said the spaceport was still finalizing damage assessments to the pad infrastructure, but believed it had a good handle on what repairs were needed and their costs. "The estimate is probably no more than $20 million," he said.Much of the planned repairs, he said, involves concrete and other structural damage to the pad, as well as plumbing and related systems. "A lot of electrical systems and sensors are fried," he said.Among the most visible damage to the site involves the four lightning towers, resembling tall flagpoles, surrounding the pad. Two of the four poles fell in the explosion, Nash said, and all four will likely be replaced.Many other key elements of the pad, though, escaped damage in the accident. "All the tankage seems to be in good shape," he said. "The water tower also appears to be in good shape."Nash was optimistic that the damage could be repaired well in advance of the next launch. "There's really nothing that we don't know how to rebuild," he said. "There's not too much that should keep us from supporting the schedule that Orbital has for a launch in early 2016."In a Nov. 5 conference call, Orbital officials said they were accelerating the development of an upgraded version of the Antares with new first-stage engines, which they plan to have ready for a first launch in 2016. The company has yet to disclose its choice of engine that will replace the AJ-26 engine used previously on the Antares first stage and linked to the Oct. 28 failure.Orbital is still conducting an assessment of damage to its own equipment at the launch pad, company spokesman Barron Beneski said Nov. 21. He confirmed comments by Orbital Chief Executive David W. Thompson in the Nov. 5 conference call that the cost to repair or replace any company-owned equipment at the pad will be covered by insurance.NASA exec Robert Lightfoot will be keynote speaker at Downtown Huntsville Annual MeetingSteve Doyle - Huntsville (AL) TimesNASA Associate Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot will be the featured speaker at the 2015 Downtown Huntsville Annual Meeting and Awards.Hosted by Downtown Huntsville Inc., the event is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 a.m. in the Propst Arena atrium.Downtown Huntsville Inc. CEO Chad Emerson said Lightfoot, NASA's highest-ranking civil servant and a former Marshall Space Flight Center director, will talk about why the work being done at Marshall is so vital to America's space program. Scientists at Marshall are designing NASA's new Space Launch System deep space rocket.Also during the meeting, Downtown Huntsville Inc. will recognize the best downtown project and downtown event of 2014 and give out its second annual Downtown Advocate Award. The inaugural award went to former Huntsville Planning Director Marie Bostick.Emerson said only a handful of tickets are still available. Individual tickets are $38 and include a buffet breakfast; a table for eight costs $475. Click here to order tickets on-line, or email your request to info@downtownhuntsville.org.Gallup gives USPS high marksKendall Breitman – PoliticoThe United States Postal Service is enjoying its highest approval ratings among Americans, especially young Americans, according to a new poll.In the Gallup poll on Friday, the USPS received the highest rating among 13 "high-profile government agencies," which included the FBI and NASA.More young Americans view the Postal Service favorably than their older counterparts. Among those polled between the ages of 18 and 29, 81 percent said the agency has been doing an "excellent" or "good" job, while Americans ages 65 and up gave the agency a 65 percent approval rating.Men and women are both giving the agency high marks, regardless of age. Seventy-three percent of women and 70 percent of men said the USPS has been doing an "excellent" or "good" job.These approval ratings come despite the agency appearing in recent headlines for security breaches and failures to observe long-standing safeguards on its mail surveillance systems.This poll was conducted Nov. 11-12 among 1,020 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.Getting on with getting to MarsBuzz Aldrin – The Washington TimesForty-five years ago last summer, Neil Armstrong and I walked on the moon. Our Apollo 11 lander touched down in the moon's "Sea of Tranquility," and three days later we were home. We splashed down and came safely aboard the USS Hornet. In that moment, America fulfilled a promise — to herself and to the World. Together, we resolved to lead in space, convey men to the moon and come home safely. As Americans, one nation, we resolved to do it, and we did it. The time has come to find that kind of resolve again. As a nation, now is the time to see in the stars a longer term destiny, to make new commitments, and to lead in space — as we have done before.Nothing reminds us of our potential like an anniversary. We have one upon us. Four months after Neil and I walked on the moon, America did it again. Apollo 12 carried astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean to the moon's surface. These two men walked in the "Ocean of Storms." Now, at the 45th anniversary of that seminal Apollo 12 landing, America should examine our goals in space — and recommit to the ones that make the most sense.Sustaining our advantage in low earth orbit (including support for the International Space Station), while promoting international cooperation at all points between earth and the moon make sense as goals. Still, there is more to life than sustainment. America must look higher in the sky, deeper into space and into ourselves. America sent seven crews to the moon; 12 Americans walked safely on the moon's surface. Now it is time to assess who we are, and make a new promise to ourselves, the world and the future — going to, and staying on, Mars.As the Apollo 12 anniversary passes by, the time is right for President Obama, our commander in chief, to look beyond the present and into the future. His legacy — and ours — depends on new commitments. When better to make a real, ambitious and meaningful commitment to the future, with both leadership and cooperation, than now? If not this anniversary, then the next one. The 45th anniversary of Apollo 13's extraordinary story arrives next April.A renewed American commitment to leadership in space could place American feet on Mars within a matter of years, while strong American cooperation in space with other nations, including China, India and even Russia, could help all parties see a common future, gain perspective beyond present conflicts, and map a common presence on the moon.History does not make itself. It is made by actions and inaction. Americans will either set the course in space again and make history or simply watch while others do so. This appeal is to the president and to all leaders to see that we are at an inflection point in human and American history, once again. We can look up and gather strength from vision and commitment to worthy goals beyond ourselves and beyond the here and now, or we can sink back into what Theodore Roosevelt once called the "gray twilight" of never trying.On many themes and issues, President Theodore Roosevelt, as well as Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and those who followed might not have agreed. But on American leadership they would all have concurred. Nowhere is that more urgent and rewarding, necessary and timely, than in space. So, as these anniversaries arrive, let us not only think about them and reflect on who we were in that time, but let us draw inspiration from them and launch ourselves on a new day in space.Let us look to establishing a permanent American presence, proud and daring humans who call themselves both Americans and interplanetary citizens, on the surface of Mars. Let us start converting today's dreams — just as walking on the moon once was a dream — into reality. No one can do that more decisively, effectively and with a greater legacy than President Obama. For myself, I am ready to help him — and to help America — make this new dream a reality, with all the associated work and risk, commitment and resolve this will require.Space Notebook: Orbital machine shop installed on ISSJames Dean – Florida TodayInternational Space Station commander Butch Wilmore last week installed the first 3-D printer in space, the first step toward testing a technology that could prove crucial to deep space exploration missions.The demonstration project started out by printing, through a process of layering material called additive manufacturing, postage stamp-sized "coupons" to calibrate the machine brought up by SpaceX's most recent resupply mission.A first phase will compare engineering samples made in microgravity to those on the ground to see if there are any differences in strength at different sizes. Later the printer will produce small tools and parts whose usefulness will be tested.The project is a partnership between NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Made in Space, a Silicon Valley company co-founded by a University of Central Florida graduate.Niki Werkheiser, Marshall's program manager for 3-D printing in space, called the printer's installation "a historical moment."Exploration missions won't be able to rely on spare parts being launched to them, she said."So I think we're making history by for the first time ever being able to make what we need when we need it in space," she said on NASA TV. "Even though it may sound a little like science fiction, we're actually able to e-mail our hardware to space instead of launching it. It's kind of cool."Crew bound for ISS todayBy the end of the day the International Space Station should be back to its full complement of six astronauts.Three new crew members are due to blast off at 4:01 p.m. Eastern time today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.The multinational crew flying in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft includes NASA's Terry Virts, who piloted a 2010 shuttle mission to the station. Also on board will be Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, a veteran of a previous ISS expedition in 2011-12, and rookie Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency.The trio is due to dock at the laboratory complex orbiting 260 miles up at 9:53 p.m. today, with hatches opening around 11:30 p.m. You can watch live launch coverage on NASA TV starting at 3 p.m.The new arrivals will join NASA's Barry "Butch" Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova as members of Expedition 42.Their Soyuz craft offers the only ride to the station for astronauts until new U.S. commercial vehicles are ready to launch from the Space Coast, possibly in 2017.Cristoforetti will be the 216th person to visit the station, since its assembly began in 1998. KSC Director Bob Cabana was one of the first people to enter the fledgling outpost that year.It has been continuously inhabited since 2000.SpaceX launch setNASA and SpaceX last week confirmed Dec. 16 as the date for the company's next launch of International Space Station cargo from Cape Canaveral. The launch time is 2:31 p.m.The mission will be SpaceX's 5th of 12 under its $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, and the third trip to the ISS by a Dragon capsule in 2014.The launch had been tentatively planned no earlier than Dec. 9.It will be the first launch by a commercial cargo provider since Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket blew up shortly after liftoff from Virginia last month.In other SpaceX news, NASA's Kennedy Space Center-led Commercial Crew Program recently reported completing a meeting with SpaceX discussing its plans for launching astronauts from KSC's pad 39A.SpaceX has a 20-year lease of the former Saturn V and shuttle pad and is modifying it to support Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. The pad could support the first launch of a Falcon Heavy as soon as next year.And separately, a science satellite SpaceX is scheduled to launch in January arrived on the Space Coast last week.The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, is designed to provide warning of solar storms that could impact Earth. NASA refurbished the spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Air Force is funding its launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.SpaceX continues to work toward earning Air Force certification to compete for launches of high-value national security payloads.Stress testedATK last week reaffirmed plans to merge its aerospace and defense businesses with Orbital Sciences Corp., following a detailed analysis of Orbital's plan to recover from its recent Antares rocket explosion.Executives from ATK, which provides the Antares upper stage engine, said they had stress-tested Orbital's plan and concluded that it is workable and the financial impact would be minimal."Based on current information, the execution of the Orbital recovery and go-forward plan is likley," ATK Chief Financial Officer Neal Cohen told investors Wednesday. "The risk associated with the recovery plan is manageable."Orbital's plan includes launching one or two Cygnus spacecraft on competitors' rockets — possibly from Florida — until the Antares is able to launch again from Virginia in 2016, equipped with a new first-stage propulsion system.ATK also said it believed Orbital remained well-positioned to compete for a new cargo contract, for which proposals are due to NASA early next month.Next to MarsFinal assembly of NASA's next Mars lander, scheduled to launch in March 2016 from California, is under way, Lockheed Martin confirmed last week.The InSight mission — short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport —is designed to study Mars' deep interior.Separately, NASA released its final draft of potential environmental impacts resulting from the planned 2020 launch of another rover to Mars from the Space Coast.NASA wants to launch a nuclear-powered rover very similar to Curiosity, which launched in 2011. The review also considered alternatives including a solar-powered rover, a mix of the two power sources and no mission at all.For the nuclear option, Department of Energy assessments showed that in the unlikely event of a launch failure, there would be a 1 in 16,000 chance plutonium dioxide could be released in the launch area and 1 in 420,000 chance outside that area.According to the review, the most exposed person would face "a much less than 1 in a million chance of incurring a latent cancer due to a failure of the Mars 2020 mission."Based on the final environmental impact statement, NASA is expected to issue a final decision on the rover's power source next month.TimelessNASA has confirmed that KennedyThe center is replacing the rectangular digital clock, which has been located near the the Launch Complex 39 Press Site since 1969, with a large-screen multimedia display.Final SLS Engines Are Still An UnknownHeavy-lift exploration launcher is evolving during developmentFrank Morring, Jr. - Aviation Week & Space TechnologyNASA's go-as-you-can-pay approach to exploration-system development means the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) in development to carry Orion beyond low Earth orbit and eventually on to Mars is very much a work in progress, starting with the engines.The U.S. space agency hopes new rocket engines built with additive manufacturing and other advanced techniques will help hold down powerplant costs. For now, however, SLS engineers do not have a definite view of just how they will power the big new launcher once the 16 surviving RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) are used and thrown away, four at a time."The idea is at some point we will have to start making new engines, and while we haven't completely settled on all the aspects of how you do that, we do know that if we are going to use something like an RS-25 we need to find ways to make it in less expensive ways," says Todd May, NASA's SLS program manager.For now, the focus is on the first version of the SLS—a 70-metric-ton capability that will use four of the surplus SSMEs, upgraded with a new controller developed for the J-2X upper-stage engine. The J-2X was developed for the terminated Ares I crew launcher and is at least temporarily mothballed because it is not needed yet.NASA has two missions planned for the 70-ton SLS: Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) around the Moon with an unmanned Orion crew vehicle, and EM-2 on the same trajectory with a crew. An instrumented Orion test article is set to fly next month on a Delta IV Heavy, while EM-1 has slipped from late 2017 into 2018 because of issues building the test crew vehicle for the upcoming flight test and bringing the European Space Agency in as a supplier of major elements in the Orion Service Module, according to Mark Geyer, NASA's Orion program manager.EM-2 is targeted for 2021, leaving enough SSMEs for two more flights after that. By then, says May, some of the new manufacturing technologies may be far enough along to incorporate in a throwaway RD-25, the designation for the reusable SSME.One such technology is selective laser melting, which uses metallic powder as the feedstock for a computer-guided laser-printing head to craft engine parts, including some that cannot be manufactured with traditional machining. May says laser melting can use "some of your most exotic metals ever," such as Inconel 718, to make rocket-engine turbines able to withstand high-temperature environments while rotating at 35,000 rpm. The agency is making designs available to vendors in an effort to foster industrial best practices that can be applied to a disposable version of the RS-25."Selective laser melting is one of those [technologies that] we intend to apply on the RS-25," he says. "We have a number of changes that have been waiting in the wings for years to reduce the price of that if we ever wanted to go to a throwaway version of the RS-25."Ultimately, the 294,000-lb.-thrust J-2X engine may be too powerful for the SLS upper stage, at least in the 105,000-ton Block IB intermediate variant en route to the 130-ton version needed for Mars missions. "Essentially, that stage wants to be about [120,000 lb. thrust] total," May says, and the agency is considering four RL-10s or two "60k-class" engines instead. "That trade is still open," May says. "We recently put a [request for information] out to industry and we've gotten some data back. We won't say yet quite what all we see, but we're digesting that data now."The agency is also planning a competition for the twin strap-on boosters that will lift the heaviest version of the SLS, pitting the solid-fuel versions to be used in the early flights against a liquid-fueled engine that may have other applications as the U.S. ponders a way to end its reliance on the Russian-built RD-180 engine that powers the Atlas V."If it's liquids, a large RP [refined petroleum] engine of some type looks like it would be the best solution for that," May says. "Then there are other people out there that want large RP or hydrocarbon boost engines for other purposes, so that's one area where we could see another engine coming on."US Navy ready to support EFT-1 Orion's splashdownChris Bergin – NASA Space FlightWhile public attention is focused on the upcoming launch of the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) Orion, the US Navy is preparing for the spacecraft's splashdown at the conclusion of the test mission. The USS Anchorage and the USNS Salvor will be involved in the first of the three contracted Orion returns that will be spread over the next 10 years.
EFT-1 Preparations:The EFT-1 mission has now passed all of its major reviews ahead of flight, with the United Launch Alliance EFT-1 Program Management Readiness Review and Lockheed Martin EFT-1 Readiness Review – also known as the "presidents" review – conducted on November 20.The passing of these reviews confirms three open items from an earlier Test Flight Readiness Review (TFRR) – relating to mitigation of water immersion of Orion harness connectors, FAA license approval of final vehicle trajectory and Ground Systems Development Office (GSDO) completion of recovery and transport planning – are no longer an issue.Next up is the ULA Mission Dress Rehearsal on November 25.Processing with what is now a stacked rocket and spacecraft at Cape Canaveral's SLC-37 is ongoing, ahead of the December 4 launch date, which continues to have a number of contingency margin days built into the flow.The next key meeting will be the Launch Readiness Review (LRR) that will take place just prior to launch day.While that historic launch day for Orion fast approaches on the East Coast, the US Navy is preparing to play its part on the West Coast.Preparations have been taking place over the past two year, with Orion recovery exercises taking place at the Naval Station Norfolk, in Virginia and the Navy Base San Diego in California.For Orion, the Navy will make use of a Landing Platform-Dock (LPD) ship, taking over the role of an Aircraft Carrier that were used as the base of recovery operations during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo era.The LPD is an amphibious ship that has both a flight deck and a well deck.The well deck is in the lower portion of the ship and has a large door on the stern of the ship that can be opened to support landing craft or other amphibious vehicles.The Navy's USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) and USS San Diego have been involved in the test runs for EFT-1's recovery. For the actual mission, USS Anchorage (LPD-23) will be assisted by the USNS Salvor.However, it is thought that the USS San Diego (LPD-22) will be the ship of choice for at least the early part of NASA's exploration roadmap.An agreement was signed with the United States Navy to provide splashdown recovery support for NASA's Orion spacecraft through to the crewed Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) – the latter mission is now expected to take place closer to 2025.The USS San Diego – a San Antonio-class ship – has only recently entered active and is currently busy on operations in the Red Sea according to her Twitter feed.As such, the USS Anchorage is taking center stage during EFT-1.She will be joined by the USNS Salvor – a Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship. She was transferred to the Military Sealift Command on January 12, 2007, and is now manned by a civilian crew and a US Navy detachment.While US Navy assets in the water will provide key support, the Navy will also be supporting EFT-1 in the air.As previously reported, the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 have been in training to assist NASA with Orion's first splashdown.Known as the "Eightballers" of HSC-8, the team operate within US Navy's 3rd Fleet's area of responsibility, with their missions including vertical lift search and rescue, logistics, anti-surface warfare, special operations forces support, and combat search and rescue.The Navy note HSC-8 will embark NASA engineers on two MH-60S Knighthawks to film and monitor the re-entry and recovery of Orion using state of the art debris tracking software and video equipment.Aside from documenting the initial test phase of this event, NASA will use data gathered from the mission to evaluate parachute deployments and debris patterns to refine Orion's design prior to the manned launch.During the return, Orion's two drogue parachutes will deploy first at 22,000 feet.The next sequence involves the three pilot parachutes that pull out the three massive main parachutes when Orion is still 6,500 feet above the Pacific Ocean.The chutes will complete the decrease in velocity, allowing for Orion to splashdown on the ocean's surface at less than 17 mph (27 kph).Once Orion hits the water, US Navy divers will be deployed in Zodiac boats, allowing them to check for any hazards around Orion.Once in position with Orion, they will attach a sea anchor, load-distributing collar and tether lines to the crew module, and work to guide it to the ship's well deck.The crew module will be winched into the flooded well deck of the USS Anchorage and placed on rubber shock absorbers. Water will be drained from the well deck, leaving Orion secure and dry.The ship will then begin the journey back to shore.Meanwhile, the USNS Salvor and rigid-hull inflatable boats will be used to secure and recover Orion's forward bay cover and parachutes using her cranes.The EFT-1 Orion will be towed from the well deck to a barge, allowing for the handover to Lockheed Martin, the Orion prime contractor, for required post-flight operations.The hardware will first be transported to a pier at the US Naval Base San Diego.After the crew module is secured in the recovery transportation fixture, nicknamed the Armadillo, the Orion crew module and hardware will be transported by truck to KSC, where the crew module will be prepared for use in Orion's Ascent Abort-2 test.With An Eye To Mars, NASA is Testing its Astronaut TwinsScott and Mark Kelly, the only twins to have traveled in space, are embarking on a mission to help NASA prepare for MarsMax Kutner - Smithsonian MagazineWhen Scott Kelly completes his year at the International Space Station in 2016, it will be the longest stint that any American has spent in orbit. It's a privilege, he says, to be "the first U.S. crew member that's asked to stay in space that long."
Luckily for NASA, when Scott launches into space this coming March, he will leave behind a copy of himself—his identical twin brother, Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut. Because the Kellys have virtually the same genetic material, NASA can study how long-duration space flight affects the body and mind, using Mark as the control.The twin study will help NASA prepare to take humans farther than ever before. "The horizon destination is Mars," says NASA scientist Craig Kundrot. The idea to study the twins came after the agency first announced Scott's ISS mission in late 2012. While preparing for a press conference following that announcement, Scott asked how he should address reporters' questions about having a twin brother who has also traveled in space. That got NASA thinking and the agency put a call out for study ideas. In March 2014, NASA chose 10 of the proposals from researchers at the agency and universities, and the twins signed on.Before, during and after Scott's flight, the Kellys will undergo physical and cognitive tests. "The weightlessness, the radiation, the isolation and confinement, there are a number of things that are really affecting the space traveler," Kundrot says. Mark will undergo six tests; Scott will have about 11. One will assess how fluid in the body gets redistributed in microgravity. Another will gauge changes to blood cells and the immune system. The twins will provide blood, urine and fecal samples, have blood pressure and other measurements taken and use laptops to answer arithmetic and risk-taking questions. Scott says he's excited "to do as much science on this flight as I can," but he'll leave the analysis to the scientists. "I'm an operator and a guinea pig," he says. (A NASA spokesman says that the recent launch failure of an Antares rocket carrying equipment to the ISS will not affect Scott's mission.)The experiment isn't perfect; the sample size is small, and Mark won't be eating space food for a year while earthbound. "What we're hoping for is a large number of clues as to what's going on that can be followed up in subsequent studies," Kundrot says.The Kellys, 49, are from New Jersey and the only twins to have traveled in space. (A second pair may not be far behind.) Perhaps their following similar career paths—both were Navy captains before joining NASA—stems from some brotherly competition. "I do everything better than him," jokes Scott, who is the younger of the two by six minutes. Mark's response: "He's actually worse at everything."Scott's year at the ISS will be more than twice as long as his previous space mission. "Being any place for a year is somewhat of a challenge, especially when you can't go outside and it's kind of a confined, closed environment," he says. While in space in 2011, that confinement proved even more challenging when Scott received word that Mark's wife, then Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, had been shot."The control center called me and said…'We're going to privatize the space-to-ground comm. system in five minutes. The chief of the astronaut office wants to talk to you.' When you hear that, especially on a weekend day, you definitely expect some kind of bad news," Scott says. He still had two months to go before he could return to Earth.Looking down at his home planet from the cosmos during trying times, Scott says, helped him notice "the lack of borders between nations and how fragile…it looks and how beautiful of a planet it is." But, he adds, "despite its beauty and how serene it looks from space, there's a lot of bad stuff that goes on here. And when your sister-in-law gets shot it emphasizes just bad things that people can do to one another."After his wife's shooting, Mark participated in one final space shuttle mission and then hung up his spacesuit three years ago. Now he and Giffords run a political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions. In September, he and his wife released a book, Enough: Our Fight to Keep America Safe from Gun Violence, that revisited Giffords' shooting and proposed changes to gun ownership rules. "She's doing really well," Mark says about Giffords.Mark is excited to stay involved with NASA, though he concedes, "Nothing compares to just looking out of the windows of the space station. You look out the window for 10 minutes and you can see both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. So I miss that. And when I think that it's very likely that I'll never see that again, I get a little bummed out about it."The Kellys say that even when one is earthbound and the other is in space, people confuse them for one another. Hopefully that won't happen on launch day.Inside Russia's Sacred Baikonur Cosmodrome, One of the World's Most Popular SpaceportsFor half a century, every manned Russian space launch has blasted off from this lonely outpost in Kazakhstan.Chris Jones – Popular MechanicsI knew I could only be in Kazakhstan when I saw the priests. Two of them—half-bears, half-men—walked up to the Soyuz on its pad at the fabled Baikonur Cosmodrome, their robes blowing in the desert wind. Then they sang at the rocket and bowed at the rocket and finally threw holy water at the rocket, and then they came over to us, the assembled reporters, and they threw holy water at us, too, because we probably looked like we could use it. I'm not a religious man, but I accepted my soaking under a boundless blue sky and thought what I suspect most of the people on the pad were thinking: Can't hurt.
The entire Russian space program seems built on the guiding principle of can't hurt. I was there for Esquire to report "Away," a story about the future, about Scott Kelly, the first American who will spend a year in space, one more stepping-stone on our long journey to Mars. But in Kazakhstan, it felt more as though I were visiting the past, returning to a time when romance and witchcraft hadn't yet made way for science. Over nearly 50 years of manned flight—every last one of those launches, from Yuri Gagarin on, having sprung from the same slab of cracked concrete—the Russians have acquired layers and layers of ritual, all of it either silly or sacred depending on how magical your thinking.
The Soyuz is always drawn out of its massive assembly building at exactly 7 o'clock in the morning, pulled along by a locomotive with one of its headlights mysteriously put out. The cosmonauts spend one of their last nights on Earth at their hotel in town and watch a pretty bad movie, White Sun of the Desert, and they always walk out to the bus that will take them to the pad to the same song, by a band called Earthlings. Later, they all climb out of that bus and piss on one of its tires because Gagarin allegedly did so; female cosmonauts and astronauts pour out a pre-filled cup.
And then, with a far better success record than the Americans could ever claim, they strap into their rocket, ancient and blessed, and launch into space.
I made the pilgrimage to Florida to watch three shuttle launches. I saw only one actually happen, because of faulty heaters and rain. (The one successful launch I did see was moving and spectacular. When something that big departs the earth, you can feel its leaving noises in your guts.) On NASA's charter flight from Moscow to Baikonur, I worried aloud that we'd booked our return the day after the Soyuz's scheduled launch. What if it was delayed? Rob Navias, the voice of the agency, smiled and shook his head at me. He had attended nearly 70 Soyuz launches. Every last one had taken off when scheduled. The Soyuz is never scrubbed, and it is never late. Even blizzards don't stop it.
Is that because bearded men douse it with holy water? Of course not. If that locomotive's second headlight were lit, it wouldn't have any effect on anything that happened after, the way a ballplayer eating chicken before a game won't change its outcome. The Soyuz works because it's a simple and reliable machine, well tested and beautifully designed. It's because the Russians are expert at building it and they resist changing anything about it that doesn't need changing. It's because humans are capable of care and wisdom and competence and resilience. It's because lighting a fire under a missile usually means that missile will end up going somewhere.
And yet since Baikonur, since my time spent in that colony of ghosts, I've caught myself wondering about the value of reverence, the worth of superstition.
For us that's a derisive word, but doesn't it just mean doing things the way we did them when our dreams came true before? That is almost purely rational. We should learn from our past, stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. That's how success breeds success. The great lure and challenge of Mars is that we haven't done anything like it before. Right now, it's beyond us, which means we have to be especially mathematical and mindful about it. We have to go a day, a month, a year into space, until we cover the miles by the millions. Our most complicated machines run almost entirely on experience.
While we're at it, though, maybe throwing a little holy water into the mix can't hurt.
READ THE REST OF "AWAY"—THE INCREDIBLE NEW STORY BY CHRIS JONES—RIGHT HERE.Stunning new image of Jupiter's icy moon EuropaMichael Winter - USA TodayAnother day, another stunning image from deep in our solar system.Reprocessing images from the late 1990s, NASA on Friday released a sumptuous color image of Jupiter's icy moon, Europa, which the space agency has called a "very likely place ... to look for evidence of life" as we know it on Earth.A lower-resolution, strongly enhanced color mosaic of the view was released in March 2013. The new image was assembled from pictures snapped by the Galileo spacecraft on its first orbit of the Jovian system, in 1995, and on the 14th orbit, three years later.The "remastered" view — a combination of images taken through near-infrared, green and violet filters — approximates more closely how Europa would look to the human eye.The color code: blue or white areas contain relatively pure water ice; reddish, brownish features indicate more concentrated, non-ice components. For a north-pole view, tilt your texting-cricked neck to the right.NASA says Europa, which Galileo Galilei discovered in 1610, could have all three ingredients needed to create Earth-like life: liquid water, an energy source and organic compounds.NASA says there is "strong evidence" that a deep, global ocean lies beneath Europa's frozen surface.So, when do we go?Not until 2022 at the earliest. That's when the European Space Agency (which just dropped the mighty little lander Philae on a comet) is scheduled to launch its unmanned Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (yes, JUICE).NASA said in March that it was planning a robo-mission for the mid-2020s.ENDMore at www.spacetoday.net
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