NASA Signs Commercial Space Agreement With Sierra Nevada

J.D. Harrington/Michael Braukus     

Headquarters, Washington     

 

Amber Philman

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

 

Cassie Kloberdanz

Sierra Nevada Space Systems, Sparks, Nev.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is entering into an agreement with Sierra Nevada Space Systems (SNSS) of Sparks, Nev., to offer technical capabilities from the center's uniquely skilled work force.

The umbrella space act agreement is Kennedy's latest step in its transition from a historically government-only launch complex to a multi-user spaceport. Sierra Nevada also has space act agreements with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston; NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.; NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif.; and NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

"We're pleased that our partner Sierra Nevada is going to make use of the deep resources existing at the Kennedy Space Center to enhance its ongoing work," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Sierra Nevada's agreements with Kennedy and other NASA centers demonstrate its commitment to using the full resources of NASA as the agency facilitates commercial cargo and crew capabilities to the International Space Station."

Kennedy will help Sierra Nevada with the ground operations support of its lifting body reusable spacecraft called "Dream Chaser," which resembles a smaller version of the space shuttle orbiter. The spacecraft would carry as many as seven astronauts to the space station.

Through the new agreement, Kennedy's work force will use its experience of processing the shuttle fleet for 30 years to help Sierra Nevada define and execute Dream Chaser's launch preparations and post-landing activities.

"The partnership is an effort to bring new commercial space activities to the center and help transition Kennedy from a government, program-focused, single user launch complex to a diverse, multi-use spaceport, enabling both government and commercial space providers," said Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana.

In 2010 and 2011, Sierra Nevada was awarded grants as part of the initiative to stimulate the private sector in developing and demonstrating human spaceflight capabilities for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The goal of the program, which is based at Kennedy, is to facilitate the development of a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability by achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the space station and future low Earth orbit destinations.

"Our Dream Chaser vehicle was born at NASA, and NASA has continued to be an important partner in the vehicle's development," said Mark Sirangelo, head of SNSS. "By adding the Kennedy Space Center, with its highly experienced technical staff and world-class facilities, to the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser Program we blend the best of both the NASA shuttle heritage alongside the best of industry practices."

NASA also has space act agreements with other commercial partners under the agency's Commercial Crew Program. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has agreements with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for development of the J-2X upper-stage engine; NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for hardware assurance testing; and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, for propulsion related technology development. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) in Hawthorne, Calif., has agreements with Marshall for engineering development work, and Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Va., has agreements with Marshall and Stennis for AJ-26 engine engineering support.

For more information about Kennedy, visit http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy.

For information about NASA's commercial transportation programs, visit

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/index.html.

- end -

Read More >>

NASA Ames Features Live Broadcast of Final Space Shuttle Launch

Rachel Hoover

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- News media are invited to observe a live televised broadcast as space shuttle Atlantis makes its final ascent to the International Space Station at 8:26 a.m. PDT Friday, July 8, in the Exploration Center at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. The STS-135 mission is the final flight of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

In addition to seeing the broadcast, attendees will have an opportunity to participate in hands-on activities and hear from Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden; Jack Boyd, senior advisor to the Ames Center Director and Ames History Office, who will discuss Ames’ role in the development and operation of the space shuttle; and Ken Souza, senior scientist with the Space Biology Project at Ames, who will describe various Ames-supported life science experiments aboard space shuttle Atlantis.

Atlantis will carry a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and bring back a failed ammonia pump to help NASA better understand and improve pump designs for future systems. It also will deliver spare parts to sustain space station operations after the shuttles retire from service.

Reporters must send requests for media credentials to Rachel Hoover at rachel.hoover@nasa.gov by 5 p.m. PDT Thursday, July 7. Worden, Boyd, Souza and other NASA officials are available for interviews immediately following the launch until 10 a.m.

WHEN:

Friday, July 8, 2011 (all times PDT)

- 7 a.m.: Exploration Center opens

- 7:30 a.m.: Presentations

- 8:15: The Immersive Theater broadcasts NASA TV pre-launch coverage

- 8:26 a.m.: Launch

- 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Hands-on activities

WHERE:

NASA's Exploration Center is the large white dome located at the main gate of NASA's Ames Research Center. To reach NASA Ames, take U.S. Highway 101 to the Moffett Field, NASA Parkway exit and drive east on Moffett Boulevard towards the main gate and bear right into the parking lot.

A NASA blog will update the countdown beginning at 3:30 a.m. PDT on July 8. Originating from Kennedy's Launch Control Center, the blog is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to launch. During the mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle website may read about the crew's progress. As Atlantis’ flight concludes, the NASA blog will detail the spacecraft's return to Earth.

For NASA's launch blog and continuous mission updates, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.

For other blog coverage, visit http://bit.ly/oSQelZ.

To watch Atlantis’ launch online, tune in to NASA Television, at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For more information about the Exploration Center's special shuttle programming, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/events/index.html.

- end -

Read More >>

NASA Flies Greenhouse Gas Mission Over Nevada Salt Flat

Ruth Marlaire

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. ­ Scientists from NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., joined a multi-institute team of researchers June 17-27, 2011, to investigate carbon dioxide and methane gas emissions from a dry lake bed and neighboring environment in Railroad Valley, Nev.

The Railroad Valley Vicarious Calibration Campaign, a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., is an international, multi-year effort to calibrate space-based observations of carbon dioxide and methane collected by the Japanese Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT), using ground and airborne data. The campaign is based at Railroad Valley, on a dry lake bed, or playa, about 75 miles southwest of Ely, Nev. It involves more than 30 scientists and engineers from JAXA, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Colorado State University, Fort Collins and JPL. The Ames team supported the effort by providing ground and airborne measurements of carbon dioxide and methane. In addition, for the first time this year, the Ames team also investigated local sources of halophiles­ organisms that live in evaporated ponds where there are extreme concentrations of salts.

"We are pleased to offer these observations to our Japanese and Jet Propulsion Laboratory colleagues in support of the important task of very precisely measuring greenhouse gases from space. We look forward to continuing to support the GOSAT team and the upcoming NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory -2 (OCO-2) mission," said Laura Iraci, an Earth science researcher from the Atmospheric Science Branch at Ames who planned and implemented the Ames effort.

During the campaign, the Ames team conducted a series of flights with an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), a modified Alpha Jet and a NASA ER-2 Earth resources aircraft, outfitted with AVIRIS, MASTER, and S-HIS instruments. NASA's ER-2 high-altitude aircraft flew over Railroad Valley carrying MASTER, AVIRIS and a digital camera system at an altitude of 65,000 feet complementing data collected by the other two aircraft at lower altitudes.

The UAS, known as the Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA), carried sensors to measure greenhouse gases and winds and flew at altitudes of 100-2,500 feet above ground. The SIERRA flew two measurement missions: one to determine vertical profiles of carbon dioxide over the base camp on the playa, and measurements across the playa at low altitudes, and the second to map sources of natural and biogenic methane. SIERRA, which is operated out of Ames, flew from a public airstrip at Currant Ranch, Nev.

The second aircraft, an Alpha Jet, owned and operated by H211, LLC, flew to the Railroad Valley site from Ames and made a downward spiral around the base camp site. The spiral had a top altitude of approximately 25,000 feet, a bottom altitude near 5,000 feet, and an approximate three mile radius. The vertical profile took approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Ground observations showed what appeared to be bursts of carbon dioxide and methane from the soil of the salty lakebed. Preliminary tests suggest a possible surface, or subsurface, source for these gas emissions. These findings are important to both Earth and planetary scientists: greenhouse gases contribute to global warming, and recent scientific findings of Mars¹ surface suggest evidence that there were large bodies of salt water in the past. Both perspectives emphasize a need to further investigate these types of environments for past and present life. For example, methane has been reported in the atmosphere of Mars, and is known to be produced by microbial mats that are present in the most salty environments on Earth.

To study the source of gas emissions, Chris McKay and Brad Bebout, space science researchers from Ames, led a team to observe biogenic and non-biogenic sources of methane in the Railroad Valley area. Using data loggers inserted near the surface and at depths of 20 and 30 cm to monitor the temperature and moisture of the soil, the space team collected soil and gas samples for further study in the laboratory. In addition, the SIERRA flew over potential methane sources on June 18 and 21, while the ground-based team collected concurrently carbon dioxide observations on the ground June 21.

"Although there is a general understanding of the natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and methane, their fluctuations must be better quantified to better forecast and mitigate global climate change. These measurements over the dry, salt flat will help us better measure the spatial distribution and heterogeneity of greenhouse gases," said Bebout.

This work also is important to NASA's goals in Astrobiology. Methane has been reported on Mars and pinpointing sources and determining whether or not the methane is biogenic will also be important there. According to Bebout: "We can use Railroad Valley and other Mars analogue sites to help interpret methane data to be returned from upcoming Mars missions, including Mars Science Laboratory and the 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter."

For more information about Ames, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ames.

- end -

Read More >>

NASA's Pleiades Supercomputer Ranks Among World's Fastest

Rachel Hoover/Jill Dunbar

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA's largest supercomputer is seventh on the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful, high-performance computers. The announcement was made at the 26th International Supercomputing Conference in Hamburg, Germany.

Pleiades, located at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., supports more than 1,000 active users around the country who are advancing our knowledge about the Earth, solar system and the universe. Pleiades is used to meet the computing needs on NASA's most demanding modeling and simulation projects in aeronautics; Earth and space science; exploration systems and technologies; and future space operations.

"We're really excited that Pleiades delivered nearly 83 percent of the theoretical peak performance," said Rupak Biswas, chief of the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division at Ames. "This means our science and engineering users get extremely efficient use of their computing time on the system. Reaching the sustained petaflop per second rate is a significant milestone for NASA and its industry partners."

Since last June, the NAS Division has implemented a series of expansions to the system's performance capabilities. The team recently added 14 new SGI(R) Altix(R) ICE 8400 systems so that Pleiades now contains 23,296 Intel(R) Xeon(R) quad- and hex-core processors (111,104 cores in 182 racks) that can run at a theoretical peak of approximately 1.32 quadrillion floating point operations, or calculations, per second. It achieved an official sustained rate of 1.09 petaflop per second using the LINPACK benchmark, the industry standard for measuring a system's floating point computing power.

Pleiades runs on three generations of Intel-based processors with varying memory per core across two generations of InfiniBand(R) technology. The latest hex-core Intel(R) Xeon(R) 5600 (Westmere) and earlier quad-core 5570 (Nehalem) processors run at a speed of 2.93 GHz, while the original Pleiades 5400 (Harpertown) quad-core processors run at 3 GHz.

Since its installation in 2008, scientists have run large-scale jobs on Pleiades to gain insight into Earth's ocean and climate variability; reduce harmful emissions from aircraft; and design future vehicles for planetary and space exploration. The system also has been critical to supporting debris damage assessment on space shuttle missions and gave managers data about critical decisions to perform repairs and clear the orbiter for safe landing.

The NAS facility continues to feature the world's largest InfiniBand(R) interconnect network with 11,648 nodes and more than 63 miles of cabling -- long enough to reach the "frontier of space" from the surface of Earth. The double data rate, quad data rate and hybrid cables interconnect Pleiades' nodes with mass data storage systems and the hyperwall-2 visualization system. This allows scientists to concurrently view and analyze their data while their computational jobs run, often leading to the discovery of previously unknown details in their ultra-large datasets.

For more information about the Pleiades supercomputer, visit http://www.nas.nasa.gov/hecc/resources/pleiades.html.

For information about the TOP500 list, visit http://www.top500.org/.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

- end -

Read More >>

Mission Manager Update: Kepler Spacecraft Status Report

At the May 23 press event, held at the 218th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Boston, the team provided a progress report on the mission. This Mission Manager Update will focus on flight segment performance of the Kepler spacecraft. In other words, how is Kepler performing while trailing Earth around the sun?

The health of the spacecraft and photometer, the instrument used to measure changes in the brightness of distant stars, is excellent and has recorded more than two months of routine operations in this quarter. The observing efficiency in Quarter 9, which is April through June 2011, has been above 97 percent due to two very efficient monthly science data downlinks in April and May-- 16.6 hours and 15.2 hours, the quickest yet! Coupled with no unplanned breaks in collecting science data, it has been a strong quarter so far.

The monthly downlinks are planned science breaks where science data collected since the previous monthly contact is retrieved. Any data missed in the previous month’s downlink is retransmitted. Kepler is NASA’s first mission to use Ka band, a microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum within the 26.5 to 40 GHz range, for routine science data downlinks. Prior to launch, it was estimated that up to 25 percent of each downlink would need to be retransmitted at the next monthly contact. This could be as a result of unforeseen interference with ground-based antennas or the spacecraft during the contact. However, performance of Ka band downlink between the spacecraft and the Deep Space Network ground stations has been excellent. Greater than 99 percent of science data reaches the ground on the first attempt. To ensure no data is left behind, 100 percent of the downlink is collected during the following month’s contact.

Downlinking science and engineering data typically accounts for about six hours of a monthly contact. The remainder of the time is spent collecting calibration data and maneuvering the spacecraft to point the high-gain antenna (HGA) at Earth for the downlink. Once the downlink is complete, the photometer is returned to science attitude, resuming data collection and regular maintenance. For example, during the monthly contact in May, the team completed a file uplink to the spacecraft to mitigate the root causes of the anomalies encountered during Quarter 8 operations.

The duration of the science downlinks will increase over the course of the mission as the range between the spacecraft and Earth increases. Kepler is in a heliocentric orbit, slowly drifting further behind Earth each year as it orbits the sun. As the range increases, a lower downlink rate will need to be configured to maintain the link between the spacecraft and the ground. To date, the downlink rate operates at the maximum Ka band rate of 4.3 Mbps.

Kepler is currently 36.7 million kilometers from Earth. At the end of the nominal 3.5-year mission it will be almost 69 million kilometers away. For a mission extending beyond 3.5 years, the number of stellar targets would either be reduced so there are less data to return or have the same amount of targets and take longer to downlink to compensate for the growth in distance.

Last month, the first reaction wheel passed one billion revolutions. This means the spacecraft is on target to meet the goal of fewer than two billion revolutions during the nominal 3.5-year science mission. Reaction wheels are the primary actuators for controlling the attitude of the spacecraft. The wheels rotate faster or slower to maneuver the spacecraft, or just maintain science attitude, while compensating for external torques like solar wind. The number of revolutions is driven by how much external torque the wheels need to counteract. This will determine the rate at which the wheels change speed, and how long before the reaction control system thrusters are needed to desaturate, or unwind, the wheels. This will determine the maximum speed reached. The latest estimates show the spacecraft is equipped with enough propellant for the thrusters to last for an additional eight years. Two billion revolutions in the 3.5-year mission is a goal and would not limit the spacecraft from continuing to collect data.

While the reaction wheels are the actuators that point the spacecraft, the sensors used while collecting science data are the fine guidance sensors. There are four CCDs, or charged coupled devices similar to those in a digital camera, on the corners of the photometer’s focal plane array. The CCDs take measurements of 40 guide stars while in fine point, the attitude required for collecting science data. The Kepler Science Operations Center (SOC) takes a set of reference pixels from the science CCDs that are collected once per day and monitors the pointing of the focal plane, ensuring the spacecraft is precisely pointed at the stellar targets. The most recent estimate from the SOC shows that while the spacecraft drifted four to five millipixels over the quarter, it is currently less than half of a millipixel away from where it started collecting science this quarter. That means the light from the stars Kepler is monitoring falls on the same part of the science CCDs, which is required to obtain the precision necessary to detect planet transits. A science CCD pixel covers four arcseconds of the field-of-view. The spacecraft is only two milliarcseconds away from where it was pointing at the beginning of the quarter. An arcsecond is 1/3,600 of a degree or 1/1,296,000 of a circle. A change of two milliarcseconds is like looking at a laptop screen in New York City from San Francisco, and after two months the line of sight is now an inch and a half from the center of the screen. That’s impressive staring!

Kepler is performing well and is delivering an abundance of data capturing over 5.5 billion brightness measurements over its first two years of science operations. The galactic stare down continues...

For more information on the progress of the mission and to watch the May 23 press event, see the Kepler at AAS feature http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepler_May2011_AAS.html.

To view a full image gallery of the Kepler spacecraft, photometer, and electronics, see the Ball Aerospace Kepler Gallery, visit: http://www.ballaerospace.com/gallery/kepler/index.htm.

Michele Johnson, Public Affairs Officer, Kepler Mission

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

Read More >>

NASA Space Flight Awareness Program Recognizes Ames Employee Espinosa

Rebecca Strecker

NASA Public Affairs Office

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – Paul Espinosa of Belmont, Calif., a NASA senior project manager at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., was recognized recently by NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program for outstanding support of human space flight. 
Espinosa was honored for his contributions in developing hardware and procedures needed to enable life science experiments and biological research aboard the space shuttle and the International Space Station.

In recognition of such flight program contributions, Espinosa traveled to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a tour of the center and to participate in activities in conjunction with the rollout of space shuttle Atlantis to Launch Pad 39A for the scheduled STS-135 mission to the International Space Station.

NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program recognizes outstanding job performances and contributions by civil service and contract employees throughout the year and focuses on excellence in quality and safety in support of human space flight. The Honoree Award is one of the highest honors presented to employees for their dedication to quality work and flight safety. Recipients must have contributed beyond their normal work requirements toward achieving a particular human space flight program goal; contributed to a major cost savings; been instrumental in developing material that increases reliability, efficiency or performance; assisted in operational improvements; or been a key player in developing a beneficial process improvement.

NASA’s Ames Research Center is a leader in information technology research with a focus on supercomputing, networking and intelligent systems. Ames also is a leader in nanotechnology, fundamental space biology, biotechnology, aerospace and thermal protection systems, and human factors research.

For more information about Ames, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ames/.

- end -

Read More >>

Ames Imaging Experts Create Unique Views of STS-134 Launch

Imaging experts funded by the Space Shuttle Program and located at NASA's Ames Research Center prepared a video by merging nearly 20,000 photographs taken by a set of six cameras capturing 250 images per second at the STS-134 launch on May 16, 2011. From seven seconds before takeoff to six seconds after, the cameras took simultaneous images at six different exposure settings. The images were processed and combined in this video to balance the brightness of the rocket engine output with the regular daylight levels at which the orbiter can be seen. The processing software digitally removes pure black or pure white pixels from one image and replaces them with the most detailed pixel option from the five other images. This technique can help visualize debris falling during a launch or support research involving intense light sources like rocket engines, plasma experiments and hypersonic vehicle engines.

Read More >>

NASA-Funded Scientists Make Lunar Watershed Discovery

Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington

 

Cathy Weselby

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

 

Maria Martinez

Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio

 

Richard Lewis

Brown University, Providence, R.I.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- A team of NASA-funded researchers has measured for the first time water from the moon in the form of tiny globules of molten rock, which have turned to glass-like material trapped within crystals. Data from these newly-discovered lunar melt inclusions indicate the water content of lunar magma is 100 times higher than previous studies suggested.

The inclusions were found in lunar sample 74220, the famous high-titanium "orange glass soil" of volcanic origin collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The scientific team used a state-of-the-art ion microprobe instrument to measure the water content of the inclusions, which were formed during explosive eruptions on the moon approximately 3.7 billion years ago.

The results published in the May 26 issue of Science Express raise questions about aspects of the "giant impact theory" of how the moon was created. That theory predicted very low water content of lunar rock due to catastrophic degassing during the collision of Earth with a Mars-sized body very early in its history.

The study also provides additional scientific justification for returning similar samples from other planetary bodies in the solar system.

"Water plays a critical role in determining the tectonic behavior of planetary surfaces, the melting point of planetary interiors and the location and eruptive style of planetary volcanoes," said Erik Hauri, a geochemist with the Carnegie Institution of Washington and lead author of the study. "I can conceive of no sample type that would be more important to return to Earth than these volcanic glass samples ejected by explosive volcanism, which have been mapped not only on the moon but throughout the inner solar system."

In contrast to most volcanic deposits, the lunar melt inclusions are encased in crystals that prevent the escape of water and other volatiles during eruption.

"These samples provide the best window we have on the amount of water in the interior of the moon where the orange glass came from," said science team member James Van Orman of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

In a 2008 study led by Alberto Saal of Brown University in Providence, R.I., the same team reported the first evidence of water in lunar volcanic glasses. They used magma degassing models to estimate how much water was originally in the magmas before eruption.

Building on that study, a Brown undergraduate student, Thomas Weinreich, searched for and found the melt inclusions. With that data, the team measured the pre-eruption concentration in the magma and estimated the amount of water in the moon's interior.

"The bottom line is that in 2008, we said the primitive water content in the lunar magmas should be similar to lavas coming from the Earth's depleted upper mantle," Saal said. "Now, we have proven that is indeed the case."

The study also puts a new twist on the origin of water-ice detected in craters at the lunar poles by several recent NASA missions. The ice has been attributed to comet and meteor impacts, but the researchers believe it is possible that some of the ice came from water released by the eruption of lunar magmas eons ago.

The paper entitled, "High Pre-Eruptive Water Contents Preserved in Lunar Melt Inclusions," was written by Hauri, Weinreich, Saal, Van Oman and Malcolm Rutherford of Brown. The research is funded by NASA's Lunar Advanced Science and Exploration Research and Cosmochemistry Programs in Washington, the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) at the agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and the Astrobiology Institute at Ames.

The NLSI is a virtual organization enabling collaborative, interdisciplinary research in support of agency lunar science programs. The researchers are members of NLSI teams from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio and Brown. The institute uses technology to bring scientists together around the world, and it is comprised of seven competitively selected U.S. teams and several international partners. NASA's Science Mission and Exploration Systems Mission Directorates in Washington fund the institute.

For more information about the NLSI, visit http://lunarscience.nasa.gov.

- end -

Read More >>

Space Shuttle, Station Sighting Opportunities Available May 27, 29

Rachel Hoover

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- Weather permitting, San Francisco Bay Area residents will have two good opportunities to see the International Space Station and space shuttle Endeavour during its final flight as they pass overhead at approximately 5:15 a.m. PDT on Friday, May 27 and again at 4:27 a.m. PDT on Sunday, May 29.

The shuttle crew and station with the Expedition 27 crew aboard are nearly 220 miles above Earth's surface. Together, they will look like a bright star in the pre-dawn sky as they approach from the southwest, fly almost directly overhead and travel northeast.

Space enthusiasts may also track the current position of the station and other spacecraft orbiting Earth using the NASA App for the iPhone and iPod touch, as well as the NASA App HD on the iPad. The Apps also allow users to find and share current visible sighting opportunities for the station and shuttle. iPad, iPhone 3GS and 4 users also will see a working compass at the top of the screen to help locate the visible pass approach and departure path. Both Apps are available free of charge at the App Store from Apple.

For more information about the NASA App, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nasaapp.

For sighting opportunities from specific cities in California, visit http://go.usa.gov/jvM.

For the latest information about the International Space Station, its crews and scientific research taking place onboard, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

For more about NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., visit http://www.nasa.gov/ames.

- end -

Read More >>

NASA Selects First Payloads For Upcoming Reduced-Gravity Flights

Sonja Alexander

Headquarters, Washington                                        

Leslie Williams

Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.

 

Rachel Hoover

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 16 payloads for flights on the commercial Zero-G parabolic aircraft and two suborbital reusable launch vehicles as part of the agency's Flight Opportunities Program. The flights provide opportunities for space technologies to be demonstrated and validated in relevant environments. In addition, these flights foster the development of the nation's commercial reusable suborbital transportation industry.

The payloads and teams from ten states and the District of Columbia were selected from applications received in response to a NASA call issued last December. Of the payloads, 12 will ride on parabolic aircraft flights; two on suborbital reusable launch vehicle test flights; and two on both platforms.

"Through our Flight Opportunities Program, NASA is able to align research and technology payloads with commercially-available flights to mature technologies that will benefit America's future in space," said Bobby Braun, NASA chief technologist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This program allows researchers, technologists and innovators to help NASA meet our future mission needs while infusing new knowledge and capabilities into our nation's universities, laboratories and space industry."

The commercial Zero-G aircraft payloads will fly during a weeklong campaign from Houston's Ellington Field in mid-July. The suborbital reusable launch vehicle payloads will fly on the Xaero, developed by Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif., and the Super Mod, developed by Armadillo Aerospace of Heath, Texas. These selected payloads will fly on test flights scheduled throughout 2011.

Selected payloads to fly on both platforms:

--"Investigation to Determine Rotational Stability of On-Orbit Propellant Storage and Transfer Systems Undergoing Operational Fuel Transfer Scenarios" from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla., NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and United Launch Alliance, Centennial, Colo.; Sathya Gangadharan, project manager (PM)

--"Printing the Space Future" from Made In Space Inc., Moffett Field, Calif.; Jason Dunn, principal investigator (PI)

Selected suborbital reusable launch vehicle payloads:

--"Electromagnetic Field Measurements on Suborbital Launch Vehicles" from Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, Md.; Todd Smith and Lars Dyrud, co-PI

--"Precision Landing Exploration Technology (PLANET) Demonstration" from Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, Ma., and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston; Douglas Zimpfer, PM; Tye Brady, PI

Selected parabolic payloads:

--Crew-Autonomous Biological Telemetric experiment from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.; Robert Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul, co-PIs

--Advanced, Two-Phase, Space Heat Exchangers Design Tools experiment from the University of Maryland, College Park; Jungho Kim and Serguei Dessiatoun, co-PIs

--Thermosyphon Array with Controlled Operation experiment from NASA's Glenn Research Center, Cleveland. Donald Jawaorske, PI

--Radio Frequency Mass Gauge experiment from Glenn; Gregory Zimmerli, PI

--Grey Water Purification using Control Moment Gyroscopes from Kennedy, Glenn and the ASRC Aerospace Corp., Greenbelt, Md.; Walt Turner, PM

--Indexing Media Filtration experiment from Glenn, Aerfil LLC, Filtration Group Inc, Joliet, Ill., and ASRC Aerospace; Gary Ruff, PM

--Autonomous Robotic Capture from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; West Virginia University, Morgantown; the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington and Yasakawa America Inc., Waukegan, Ill.; Thomas Evans, PM

--Validation of Atomization Mechanism and Droplet Transport for a Portable Fire Extinguisher from Glenn, ADA Technologies Inc, Littleton, Colo., and the Colorado School of Mines, Golden; Jim Butz, PM

--Cryocooler Vibrational Characterization from Ad Astra Rocket Co. Webster, Texas; Benjamin Longmier, PI

--Monitoring Radiation-Induced DNA Degradation from Kennedy; Howard Levine, PI

--EHD-Pumped Two-Phase Loops experiment from the Air Force Research Laboratory and Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; Greg Busch, Sam Sinnamon and Andrew Williams, co-PIs

--Electric Field Effects on Pool Boiling Heat Transfer experiments from the University of Maryland and University of Pisa, Italy; Jungho Kim and Paolo DiMarco, co-PIs

NASA will continue to accept Flight Opportunities Program proposals until Dec. 31, 2014. NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist directs the Flight Opportunities Program, which is managed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., manages the payload activities for the program. For more information on the Flight Opportunities program, visit http://flightopportunities.nasa.gov.

- end -

Read More >>

NASA’s Spaceward Bound Takes Teachers Trekking across the Mojave Desert

What clues found on Earth do NASA scientists use to help them deduce that there may be life on other planets? Can the same process be applied in the classroom to inspire and motivate the next generation of explorers?

This spring, Spaceward Bound, a NASA education program, took teachers and education students on a high desert expedition across the dry, hot plains of the Mojave Desert. Students, teachers and scientists travelled to the Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park and surrounding regions, including Cima Crater and the Kelso Dunes, March 21-25 and April 18-22. Their mission was to find microbial life that also may be found on other planets.

Developed at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., Spaceward Bound's mission is to train the next generation of space explorers. Led by science teams from NASA and its research partners, students and teachers are given real planetary research experience by conducting field experiments at planetary analogue sites throughout the world. California State University's (CSU) Desert Studies Center, Zzyzx, Calif., served as the base camp for the 2011 expeditions.

"My experience was fantastic! After talking with scientists, working in the field and analyzing samples in the lab, I remembered why I fell in love with science," said Jan Winter, a science teacher from Stanley Middle School, Lafayette, Calif. "It also reminded me to ask my students more open-ended questions."

Teachers sometimes use "cookbook" experiments in their classrooms. By collaborating with scientists to analyze their data and formulate hypotheses after a long day of field research, teachers experienced an alternative method for teaching science. They noted significant differences between the highly structured techniques used in the classroom, and the less-structured approach of fieldwork, where results and indications from one day's work guided decisions about what to do the next day. As part of any investigation, "Students need to be told that we don't always know the 'right' answer," Winter said.

During the expedition, teachers from Las Vegas, Nev., Spaceward Bound alumni teachers and science education majors from California Polytechnic State University, and CSU's San Bernardino and San Francisco universities were taught how to evaluate microbes in the desert soil crusts, make batteries out of "dry" lake bed mud, launch instrumented high altitude balloons, remotely control rovers, and conduct other geology and soil experiments.

During field research, the group headed for the Kelso Dunes and Cima Dome and Lava Tubes to find and collect samples of biological soil crusts (BSC), complex communities of cyanobacteria, moss and lichen that are studied for their ability to survive extreme environments. Driving along desert plains, the expedition found samples large enough to collect without harming the viability of the colony. Their next task was to find a section of barren land and compare it to the life found in the BSC samples.

"Looking at soil crusts and hypoliths are tangible activities that can be incorporated into the school curricula," said Paula Mills, a teacher and curriculum leader from Prince Alfred College, Kent Town, South Australia. "I am currently thinking about including more Earth science in the middle school curricula. This program has enabled me to find new, exciting and real activities that students can participate in."

The desert group also travelled a rocky road to the Lava Tubes, where they observed gaps in the Earth formed by geologically "young" (approximately 10,000-15,000 years old) magma. After descending into the depths of the caves, they explored the interiors and took thermographic images as future satellites and astronauts might to identify potential habitats on other planets.

"This experience changed my view of how to teach science one hundred percent," said Leyla Morison, a science teacher from Valley High School, Las Vegas, Nev. "The most rewarding part of the experience was meeting with scientists and their crews every night after dinner. I was able to participate, as well as witness scientists justifying their empirical data, theories, paradigms, hypotheses, and data analysis to their peers."

As part of the field research experience, teachers and students were given time to practice laboratory techniques using field samples they had gathered during the day.

They also were given the opportunity to watch students from Valley View Middle School, Pleasanton, Calif., launch an instrumented weather balloon designed and built by Columbus High School, Ga., students in the Doing Research at Extreme Altitudes by Motivated Students (DREAMS) program. Mission objectives included investigating various perchlorates in Mars-like conditions, testing a full flight video system, using remote sensing to survey the Mojave National Preserve, collecting Geiger counter samples for full flight, performing an algae ultraviolet exposure experiment, and logging environmental data for full flight.

"We need to emphasize to our students the importance of working as a group. My students saw the videos I took of daily meetings, where scientists discuss their findings each day and their plans for the next day. It takes all types of scientists working together to solve problems," said Winter.

"I definitely feel that I have a better understanding of science practices. Now I can better motivate students in the classroom to be science professionals," said Morrison.

For more information about the DREAMS program, see http://dreams.columbus2space.org/.

For more information about the Spaceward Bound Mojave expedition, see the expedition blog at http://go.nasa.gov/fd8bt6.

For more information about NASA Ames, see http://www.nasa.gov/ames.

Ruth Dasso Marlaire

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

Read More >>

Bright Young Minds Present Visions for the Future

High school teams from across the country, plus the Isle of Man, presented their solutions to a variety of 21st century problems during the Conrad Foundation’s Innovation Summit held April 28 - May 1, 2011 at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

This third annual event included 27 finalist teams competing in the categories of aerospace exploration, clean energy and cyber security.

"By providing an outlet for students to use their knowledge in relevant and practical ways and by connecting them with mentors who can help make their vision a reality, we open avenues for discovery and build interest in the careers available in science and technology industries," said Nancy Conrad, chairman and chief executive officer of the Conrad Foundation.

The team from Upper Clair High School in Pittsburg, Pa. won the aerospace exploration category for their composting system for use in long-duration space flight. The “Perpetual Harvest Space Nutrition System” takes organic waste and creates compost that is then used to grow fresh foods while also serving as an air filter for human habitation.

Another team from Pennsylvania, the West Philly EVX team, won the clean energy category for their Electric Very Light Car (EVLC). The EVX team built on a previous team’s success with the design of the Edison 2 Very Light Car chassis by adding a lithium iron phosphate battery and an efficient electric motor. The EVLC is now being prepared for the commercial market.

"Winning the Conrad Scholar Award in the clean energy category validates all the hard work my students have done this school year," said Paul Holt, coach for the West Philly EVX team. "The award allows the team to finish the prototype of the EVLC by the end of the school year and move to the next phase of development."

The team from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham won the cyber security category with their Med PAL smart phone application that works with a Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitor.

Each winning team receives $5,000 to continue the development of their product and the teams also receive assistance promoting their product in the media and at partner events and activities.

In addressing the attendees during the closing ceremony, NASA Ames Center Director Pete Worden said, “You represent the future, and you are an inspiration to us all at NASA.”

For more information on the Conrad Innovation Summit, visit http://www.conradawards.org/.

Cathy Weselby

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

Read More >>

Mission Manager Update - Another 93 Gigabits of Data Added to the Archive

During a regularly scheduled science data download on Tuesday, April 26, the project team reoriented the Kepler spacecraft to downlink data from its solid-state recorder (SSR). All data collected since March 20 was returned successfully. The Quarter 9, Month 1 science data collection download now is complete.

Communications with Kepler while it is in the science attitude is accomplished using a low gain antenna on the spacecraft that operates on X-band frequency. To return all the science and engineering data that has been stored on the SSR, a high-gain antenna (HGA) operating in Ka-band frequency is used. The HGA must be pointed at Earth to support the high rate downlink (4.3 Mbps). This temporarily prohibits the spacecraft from pointing at the science field-of-view.

The monthly activity includes collection of science calibration data; turning the HGA toward Earth; and, playing back the SSR data - approximately 45 minutes for engineering data and another 5.25 hours for 37 days of science data. The number of days in each month's science set varies a bit due to Deep Space Network, or DSN, availability and other scheduling constraints. A total of 93 gigabits of data was downloaded in approximately six hours before reorienting the spacecraft to science attitude.

In order to return to the fine point attitude control, which is the highest pointing stability and what is required for science, the project team must wait for the spacecraft to return to the thermal condition it was in before the break. When the spacecraft is turned to a different attitude, the sun shines on different parts of the structure, which causes it to warp ever so slightly. This slight warping means that the angle between the star trackers and the telescope line of sight is a bit off. When it's maneuvered back to the science attitude, it takes time to settle back to its original shape. Until the spacecraft has thermally settled, the telescope will not be aligned with its guide stars well enough for us to transition to fine point. This can take eight hours or more. This month's activity went very well, and the total science break, which includes the collection of calibration data, was about 17 hours. The monthly budget is 20 hours.

The data is downloaded via NASA’s DSN operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif. From the DSN, the data flows to the Mission Operations Center in Boulder, Colo., and on to the Data Management Center in Baltimore, Md. The raw pixels are archived at the Data Management Center and then transmitted to the Kepler Science Operations Center (SOC) at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

The data has arrived at the SOC and will be processed this week.

Kepler is currently 32 million kilometers from Earth, collecting science data at the Spring attitude (the angular orientation of the spacecraft), in its 9th quarter of operations. All subsystems are operating normally. The next download of science data is scheduled for May 25.

Read More >>