The End of an Era: Atlantis Launch Weather Outlook

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

It’s launch week and we are issuing our weather forecasts for the last Space Shuttle launch Friday, 8 July 2011.  The weather situation is interesting. A tropical wave located over the Turks and Caicos Islands is moving west-northwest toward Florida. These waves are typical this time of year, and as they move into Florida, they bring scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms behind them. We expect this wave to move into Florida on Thursday, the day prior to launch, as it rotates around the western side of the high pressure ridge north of the Central Florida area.  A tropical wave near the Turks and Caicos Islands will bring scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms to Florida Thursday. You can follow the development of the tropical wave in the Caribbean on the National Hurricane Center’s web site, tropical discussion.

Lingering moisture from the wave will still be prevalent in our atmosphere Friday providing ingredients for weather to develop as the sea breeze forms. The sea breeze will likely set up along the coast between 1000EDT and 1100EDT, early enough for weather to become an issue by the 1121EDT opening of the launch window. We expect cumulus clouds, showers, and even possibly a thunderstorm to develop which could violate our launch commit criteria or flight weather rules.  Given this situation, there is a 60% chance of Kennedy Space Center weather prohibiting launch Friday.  The primary concerns are showers or thunderstorms within 20 nautical miles of the Shuttle Landing Facility and cumulus clouds within 10 nautical miles (nm) of the launch pad.

Another weather phenomenon we have potential for this week is an offshore waterspout. On summertime mornings when we have a south-southeasterly flow with very weak winds through a moist atmosphere, waterspouts sometimes develop offshore of the Kennedy Space Center coast. These waterspouts are not damaging like tornadoes and usually have winds 30-45 knots. You wouldn’t want to drive your boat through one of these, but we issue weather advisories for these types of waterspouts (as opposed to a tornado warning) so the personnel at Kennedy Space Center know they are not a threat to life and property like a classic tornado.  Although there are no launch commit criteria or flight rules associated with waterspouts, the cumulus clouds above them might be a concern! You can learn more about Florida waterspouts from NOAA.

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Psychology Course Prepares Military Providers for Deployment Concerns

By Julie Weckerlein and Robyn Mincher, DCoE Strategic Communications

From www.dcoe.health.mil

During the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) course, “Topics in Deployment Psychology,” a panel of five military mental health care providers spoke about their recent deployment. The discussion raised an important question on self-care while deployed: how can a provider stay mentally fit while addressing the psychological health of troops?

For Capt. (Dr.) Tracy Mayfield, a clinical psychologist with the U.S. Air Force deployed to northeast Afghanistan, she found company with the base’s working dog.

“I had to take time out from being a psychologist to have ‘me time’ and relax,” said Mayfield, who was the forward operating base psychologist for about a thousand troops. “Every Sunday, I’d take the dog for a walk. I’m a pet lover, and it really helped.”

CDP is part of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a component center of Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE). The course, held at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence from June 7 to June 16, 2011, offered an overview of deployment issues facing service members, their families and providers, geared toward uniformed behavioral health providers from all branches of the military.

Along with the panel, the course started its second week June 13, 2011, with presentations highlighting sexual assault prevention and response, provider self-care and ethical issues in deployment settings.

Retired Lt. Col. Nate Galbreath’s presentation on sexual assault focused on topics such as encouraging bystander intervention to stop assaults, using sexual assault response coordinators when faced with a situation, psychological injury caused by trauma and the potential for the under-reporting of cases.

Dr. David Riggs, CDP executive director, posed ethical questions for students to engage in healthy discussion, raising issues such as dual relationships with service members, managing multiple relationships when supporting many troops at once, and being prepared to cope with cases a psychologist might not be trained in, especially when they are the only mental health support on base.

“Deployed psychologists are expected to diagnose and deal with whatever shows up,” said Riggs. “If you encounter a situation you are not trained to handle, you will have to find ways to learn as much as you can or consult with others who know more than you. You are ethically bound to be as knowledgeable as you can in all areas of deployment mental health.”

Other presentations led by CDP experts throughout the week included ”Cognitive Processing Therapy,” by Laura Copland; “Identification and the Prevention and Treatment of Suicidal Behavior,” by Dr. Augusto Ruiz; and “Prolonged Exposure Therapy,” by Drs. Paula Domenici, William Brim and Riggs.

As the course came to a close, Riggs reflected on the significant impact it had on military providers being deployed.

“This course works to prepare uniformed psychologists for the various psychological health issues they may need to deal with throughout the deployment cycle and issues that might arise among service members and their families. First-hand accounts from recently deployed providers during the course’s panels shed personal light into these issues,” said Riggs. “Military providers leave the course with a pool of knowledge they can tap into to address all kinds of situations while deployed.”

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Peering Through the Sniper’s Scope

By Carla Voorhees

This blog was shared by the Weapons Systems Technology Information Analysis Center (WSTIAC).

“One shot, one kill” is a phrase that has gained significant notoriety in pop culture when referring to a sniper’s lethality and impact. Without question, today’s U.S. military snipers are elite force multipliers. Often referred to as the “tip of the spear,” snipers provide real-time reconnaissance to the combatant commanders and have the ability to take direct action, if called upon.

To ensure they remain elite force multipliers, all snipers receive specialized training in marksmanship, camouflage, evasion, and target range estimation. Upon successful completion of their training, they receive a distinct high-precision rifle. A sniper’s rifle is much more than a weapon; it’s often the only lifeline they have back to a safer environment. But who is in charge with making sure a sniper’s tools and weapons continue to evolve and improve over time?

The Product Manager Individual Weapons (PM-IW), a component of Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, is responsible for the research and development of current and future rifles, carbines, pistols, shotguns, grenade launchers, small arms ammunition, and related target acquisition/fire control products. Within PM-IW, a special unit works to address all of the unique needs of the sniper team.

In support of this special sniper-focused unit, the WSTIAC is providing subject matter expertise helping to find new ways to make snipers more effective. WSTIAC has compiled an integrated team of subject matter experts and former U.S. snipers to conduct extensive analysis and to collect direct user feedback on the weapons systems most used by U.S. snipers. By leveraging this approach, WSTIAC has helped PM-IW field new weapons systems, some of which are able to extend the lethality of our snipers from 800 to 1,200 meters with the new XM2010 Sniper Rifle. Specifically, WSTIAC developed a New Equipment Training package for the XM2010 system, which presents the user with the proper information on how to operate, maintain, and use the rifle and its optical components. Fielding of the new system began in March, and preliminary user response collected by WSTIAC indicates both increased usability and performance.

This close working relationship with PM-IW and WSTIAC is another clear example of how the IACs work closely with government program managers to enhance the warfighter’s ability.

WSTIAC is one of ten IACs established by DOD and managed by DTIC. WSTIAC is a Center of Excellence responsible for acquiring, archiving, analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating scientific and technical information related to conventional weapons, their development, production, fielding and maintenance.

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HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2011: The Military’s role in Combating HIV

By Carla Voorhees

Col. Nelson L. Michael, M.D., Ph.D is the Director, Division of Retrovirology, at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), an international HIV vaccine research program that successfully integrates HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment.

Col. Nelson L. Michael, M.D., Ph.D, Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program

Today, May 18, marks HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. It has now been 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were reported and more than 33 million people are living with the disease worldwide. With an average age of around 28 years old, many of our service members do not know a world without AIDS.

The U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research has been working to combat HIV for more than 25 years. We aim to develop a globally-effective HIV vaccine which, in combination with other proven prevention strategies, would enable us not only to protect our troops from HIV, but could also help curb the global pandemic.

MHRP supports HIV prevention and treatment in civilian and military communities. Shown here, President Kikwete of Tanzania attends the 2010 International Military HIV/AIDS Conference, where he offered “a very special thanks to the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research for the good leadership in HIV research and treatment efforts globally. “The U.S. Military has an impressive history of infectious disease research and vaccine development. These research efforts, which include influenza, malaria, hepatitis and dengue, are critical to protecting our troops who are deployed globally. At the same time, these efforts translate into improved global health while helping to sustain progress and stability in many parts of the world.

On HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, MHRP sites promote the need for an effective HIV vaccine. Here, some Kenyan children show their support.

Although both parents are HIV positive, the children remain HIV free. MHRP provides services through PEPFAR in each of the communities in which they conduct research. This family is supported by the Walter Reed Project-Kenya through PEPFAR.

When I travel to East Africa, where our program conducts clinical studies and provides care and treatment through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the human impact of HIV is almost overwhelming. HIV strikes most people in the prime of their lives, and can undo decades of social and economic development. The PEPFAR program has saved millions of lives and has had a direct, positive impact on communities. I have met orphans supported by our program, teenagers who learn how to avoid becoming infected, and adults who are alive today because of this initiative. As transformative as the PEPFAR program has been, a preventive vaccine is needed to help us win the long-term battle against HIV.

In 2009, the U.S. Army Surgeon General announced the results of RV144, the first study which showed that an HIV vaccine regimen was safe and 31% effective in lowering the rate of infection in humans. While there is still much work to be done before a vaccine can be deployed, this was a pivotal moment that showed that an HIV vaccine is possible.

Developing a vaccine won’t happen overnight, but we are confidant that recent advances such as RV144 have provided significant scientific momentum needed to help us achieve this goal, perhaps so that the next generation of Service members might know a world without AIDS.

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Countdown to Endeavour: Launch Attempt Number Two

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

We are getting ready for launch again. The NASA team replaced and re-tested the Load Control Assembly-2 in the aft section of the vehicle, and we are back in the 3-day countdown. Today we issued the launch forecast, Ice Team Forecast, Solid Rocket Booster Recovery forecast, and I briefed weather to the Launch Director and at the Countdown Status press conference. Like I mentioned before, this is like a “do-over.” We have the same forecasts to accomplish during the days prior to launch. Since this is now a morning launch (8:56 AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time), the schedule shifts a bit, and we actually started issuing launch forecasts on Thursday, L-4 days before launch rather than L-3 days. We will basically be working a night shift for launch, but our Launch Weather Team has required crew rest rules to ensure everyone is sharp for their launch shift.

We are, again, expecting weather to impact the pre-launch operations. Sunday, a front will move into Florida, and we are concerned about thunderstorms in the area for the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) retract operations. This happened during our last launch attempt, and the team had to wait 5 hours to rotate the RSS. Since the Shuttle team knew the weather was going to be a problem, they did some ‘get-ahead’ work and were still able to begin tanking on time. Hopefully the weather won’t delay them 5 hours again! Still, I am sending regular exposure forecasts to the team so they can plan operations around the weather. Luckily, by launch morning, the weather improves. We are forecasting a 30% chance of local weather prohibiting launch due to a possible crosswind violation at the Shuttle landing facility for the Return to Launch Site (RTLS) abort landing weather and potential for a low-cloud ceiling. Overall, the weather is favorable. Hopefully we will launch as scheduled Monday because the weather looks worse for Tuesday morning as another front moves into Florida.

In addition to launch preparations, we also preparing for hurricane season which begins 1 June! We are preparing a simulation for the Kennedy Space Center Senior Staff as well as well as several briefings to KSC emergency managers and the Shuttle team. The last Shuttle launch vehicle, STS-135 Atlantis, will be on the launch pad during hurricane season, and the Shuttle team is well prepared with detailed timelines of the schedule required to prepare and roll back the Shuttle if a hurricane threatens the area. This is not a quick process! Just preparing for the roll takes almost 2 days, and the roll itself takes 6 hours.  When we have a storm threatening the area, we work closely with the National Hurricane Center to provide as much information to the Shuttle team as possible so they can determine the best course of action.

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Report from Antarctica: USTRANSCOM Deputy Commander Vice Adm. Mark D. Harnitchek

By Carla Voorhees

Vice Adm. Mark D. Harnitchek is the deputy commander, United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Scott Air Force Base, Ill. He serves as a principal advisor and assistant to the commander, USTRANSCOM. USTRANSCOM is the single manager for global air, land and sea deployment and distribution for the Department of Defense. This post was originally written for the USTRANSCOM internal blog.

I recently returned from the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica. I was there to visit the National Science Foundation’s facilities at McMurdo Station and Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; not many folks get to go there so it was truly a thrill to experience that continent in all its majestic splendor — absolutely pristine and unspoiled — and to see firsthand the incredible performance of the mobility team that supports the National Science Foundation.

Literally everything at the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station and outposts on Antarctica is transported there by a TRANSCOM component — by sea via an Military Sealift Command charter vessel, container ship or oiler — and by air via a McChord C-17 or NYANG LC-130 (that’s a C-130 with skis). Equally impressive, everything present at the South Pole station was flown in an LC-130 — and I mean everything. I was lucky enough to fly to the South Pole and see these LC-130 professionals in action on the ice — and that’s literally on the ice, since there’s no concrete on the continent, and no hangers either, so the crews are outside working on this a/c in 
subzero temps — talk about impressive!

The mission in Antarctica is largely scientific with three major endeavors

1.Study of the environment and the biology there: rock formations, glacier behavior and wildlife — penguins, seals, whales, undersea life

2.Study of Antarctic systems to predict environment changes/shifts in the rest of the world: global warming, weather forecasting, etc.

3.Study unrelated to Antarctica itself: but the environment lends itself to the study of things like: neutrinos which are released into the atmosphere near the South Pole; the construction of large radio telescopes; the study of extremely pristine air, etc.

Another fascinating thing about Antarctica is the history of exploration. Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian, and Robert Falcon Scott, an Englishman, were the first to reach the South Pole in December 1911 and January 1912 respectively. Amundsen’s successful round-trip journey to the Pole took about 3 months to complete — and all with simple winter coats, sleds, and dogs. On the other hand, Scott’s journey did not go as well and his small party perished on their return journey. The US station at the South Pole is now named after both of these men, in honor of their tremendous courage and spirit.

Check out our Facebook page to see pictures from various parts of the trip. It was the experience of a lifetime and another tribute to the great work of the entire DOD distribution and transportation team, including US Pacific Command, Air National Guard and many others. This year’s Operation Deep Freeze just ended, but many of the scientific endeavors continue.

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45th Weather Squadron Focuses on Atlas Launch

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

With the Shuttle Endeavour launch date postponed until repairs are complete, the 45th Weather Squadron is focused on the Altas V launch Friday, 6 May 2011.  Clay Flinn is the Launch Weather Officer for the Atlas V and has been issuing launch forecasts and providing weather support to the 45th Space Wing and United Launch Alliance teams all week. On Thursday, 5 May, the weather was favorable, and the team rolled the Atlas V to the launch pad. On Friday, afternoon cumulus clouds including possibly thunderstorms are expected; the question is whether they will occur during the early-afternoon launch window. See the launch forecast link for the latest information.

During the Atlas V launch countdown, our weather forecasters will still issue watches, warnings, and advisories for Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. We issue lightning watches and warnings for each launch complex and processing area individually so that, even if a thunderstorm is occurring over one area, unless there is lightning within 5 nautical miles, other areas can continue work. If a lightning strike occurs close to one of our launch vehicles, we send the launch team information about the lightning strike from our Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Surveillance System. The launch team then decides if the strike requires vehicle systems tests or inspections. Of course, any lightning strike within 10 nautical miles of the Atlas V launch path will violate the lightning launch commit criteria.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate for the Atlas V launch!  Launches from the Florida Space Coast are truly a sight to see!

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What is a Mission Flight Control Officer?

By Carla Voorhees

Capt James Woodard is a 2006 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) who currently serves as an Air Force Mission Flight Control Officer and Range Control Officer for the 1st Range Operations Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  James is the Mission Flight Control Officer for the Atlas V, Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) mission on 6 May 2011. He is also the Forward Observer Air for the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission.

Even in the midst of several schedule changes with the launch of STS-134 Endeavour, the fast paced range operations here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) have not been hindered. This Friday, 6 May 2011, we are honored to launch the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) – a satellite that has been on the Air Force schedule for the past 15 years. For this Atlas V launch, I will be the Mission Flight Control Officer (MFCO): I am in charge of ensuring the rocket maintains nominal flight from lift-off until it reaches orbit.

My efforts as MFCO will add to the overall responsibility of the 1st Range Operations Squadron in ensuring public safety during launches. My operations console is located by the Mission Control Room at the Morrell Operations Center, and I will use a variety of Range Safety Displays to closely monitor the vehicle’s flight and protect the lives of the people in and around the flight path. During flight, I will make real-time decisions to activate destruct systems and terminate flight for non-nominal launch vehicles based on instrumentation, tracking systems, and safety rules. If I were to encounter a situation that required me to send destruct functions to the rocket, I would confirm my actions with the Senior MFCO: Mr. Tong Tang. Fortunately, non-nominal flight is not an everyday occurrence at Cape Canaveral: the last time destruct functions were used was in 1997, for the unmanned Delta II rocket carrying a GPS navigation satellite.

SBIRS GEO-1 is a high-profile launch, as it will directly impact our overseas war fighters. After the Gulf War, the US Department of Defense concluded that they needed to expand our missile early warning capability. SBIRS is the follow-on satellite meant to replace the Defense Support Program which has been operational for the past 30 years. I am truly honored to have this mission as the first of many launches as a Mission Flight Control Officer!

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One Year Later: DoD Develops Oil Detection Technology

By Julie Weckerlein

This blog post was shared by the Military Sensing Information Analysis Center (SENSIAC).

Since the Deepwater Horizon spill one year ago, increased attention has been given to the Gulf of Mexico and its’ ecosystem. Monitoring the health of the ecosystems helps ensure the sustainability of natural resources, and helps protect human health and the environment.

The Military Sensing Information Analysis Center (SENSIAC) is working with others in the sensing community on developing an advanced-warning system to detect the presence of oil in saltwater. The advanced-warning system’s sensors were developed under an effort sponsored by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD). The JPEO-CBD is the Joint Services single focal point for research, development, acquisition, fielding and life-cycle support of chemical and biological defense equipment and medical countermeasures. Building on the development efforts sponsored by the JPEO-CBD, the team’s advanced-warning system offers the potential for remotely, autonomously and continuously monitoring bodies of water for oil.

This eliminates the travel time that was once needed to physically visit the potential testing site. By eliminating this travel time, emergency response times can be accelerated and cleanup cost and damage to the environment can be reduced.

The device has been tested on oil and water samples collected from waters off the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts last September after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Initial results indicate that the sensor is able to detect oil constituents and break down products from the samples.

In operation, when oil or its breakdown components are detected, the digital signal could be wirelessly transmitted to officials on land and the resulting alarm would alert them to the type of toxicity and location of the incident – facilitating an immediate and appropriate response. The system’s design makes it easy to integrate into a low-cost, low-maintenance, scalable package that can run on battery or solar power and be tailored to monitor unique chemical situations. The research team will continue to improve the sensor’s coating chemistry and hopes to deploy the sensor for further testing in the Gulf of Mexico sometime this year. This breakthrough technology gives authorities the potential to actively monitor large areas of coastal waters and quickly alert first responders when a potential threat occurs, thus minimizing the potential damage caused by oil spill.

The Military Sensing Information Analysis Center (SENSIAC) is one of ten Information Analysis Centers (IACs) established by DoD and managed by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). SENSIAC is the DoD Center of Excellence responsible for acquiring, archiving, analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating scientific and technical information related to Military Sensing Technology (MST).

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Countdown To Endeavour: Brush Fire at Kennedy Space Center

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

Wednesday was a busy day. The day started with issuing the Ice Team Forecast update and the L-2 Day launch forecast. Then I briefed weather at the L-2 day Shuttle Mission Management Team (MMT) meeting. Following the MMT meeting, it was off to the press site for a press conference with Mike Moses, the Launch Integration Manager, and Mike Leinbach, the Launch Director. I am always surprised I get invited to this press briefing, but since weather causes approximately 50% of launch scrubs, NASA public affairs asks me to brief the weather and be available for any questions.

After the press briefing Wednesday, I saw this fire at Kennedy Space Center about 3 nautical miles from the Shuttle launch pad. When fires like this occur, the 45th Weather Squadron gets calls from Kennedy Space Center personnel for current and forecast weather information, particularly wind speed and direction, so actions can be taken to protect personnel and resources. Also, cumulus clouds formed above the fire which had our launch team thinking about our smoke plume rule in the lightning launch commit criteria.  On launch day, if a cumulus cloud formed from a fire and moved into the path of the launch, weather would be RED for the Smoke Plume rule until 60 minutes after the cloud detached from the smoke plume. As you can imagine, sometimes it can be difficult to tell when a cumulus cloud detaches from the smoke plume, and unless we are clearly convinced a lightning launch commit criteria (PDF) is not violated, weather is RED for launch.

A Solid Rocket Booster Recovery operation in process

Thursday, we meet with the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) recovery team to give them a weather outlook before they depart. It takes the ships, the Freedom Star and Liberty Star, about 24 hours to reach the SRB Recovery area. Weather is going to be a bit rough for their trip Thursday as a cold front moves through, but nothing that would prevent them from getting to the area on time. On launch day, winds will be from the north in the SRB recovery area, and seas 5 to 6 feet—not a smooth day, but well within their weather constraints.

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Countdown to Endeavour: Rockets Can Trigger Lightning Strikes

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

I took a picture of this cumulus cloud from the press site on Tuesday morning after the countdown status briefing. Clouds like this formed along the sea breeze due to our moist atmosphere. Although these clouds are normally harmless, on launch day the 45th Weather Squadron Launch Weather Team actually pays close attention to the height of any cumulus clouds like these that develop within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad. If a cumulus cloud gets tall enough, it may violate our cumulus cloud rule, one of the many rules in our Launch Commit Criteria. The purpose of the cumulus cloud rule is to prevent the threat of triggering a lightning strike when launching into elevated electric fields in the atmosphere. Fortunately, we do not expect significant cumulus clouds to be in the area this Friday.

Did you know a rocket can trigger a lightning strike when there is no natural lightning occurring? The Lightning Launch Commit Criteria protect the Shuttle and other rockets from the threat of triggered lightning. See how scientists at the University of Florida study triggered lightning by launching rockets into elevated electrical fields.

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Protecting Law Enforcement from Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Threats

By John Ohab

This is a guest post from Debra Stoe, program manager for the National Institute of Justice’s Body Armor and Standards and Testing programs within the Office of Science and Technology. Her areas of interest include development of standards, certifications programs, test methodologies, and Indian Country research. Maureen McGough & Matt Acocella also contributed to the post.

Here at the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Office of Science and Technology, we are tasked with establishing and maintaining performance standards for law enforcement technologies. Recently, we developed a standard for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective ensembles used by law enforcement. This standard establishes a minimum level of protection for law enforcement when dealing with CBRN hazards. CBRN hazards are very serious, and include chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, biological agents, and radiological and nuclear particulate hazards that may inflict bodily harm, incapacitation, or even death.

The new CBRN protective ensemble standard will be a tremendous boon to the law enforcement community, allowing them to more effectively perform their mission in CBRN environments. Previous standards for CBRN protective ensembles were geared towards firefighters, who have vastly different needs than law enforcement officers. As a result, the old standards did not address the unique needs of law enforcement officers within the first responder community such as stealth movement, manual dexterity, and physical combat. NIJ recognized that a performance standard addressing law enforcement needs was essential to ensure officer safety.

We convened a Special Technical Committee (STC) comprised of practitioners with expertise and experience in CBRN, as well as technical subject matter experts from engineering and scientific organizations, test laboratories, certification organizations, and other standard development organizations. The STC identified relevant technical needs and requirements for effective protective ensembles. The STC then determined that while some applicable standards are already in existence, some requirements were not yet standardized. The STC then identified performance criteria and test methods to demonstrate performance of these requirements.

NIJ issued the standard in November 2010 and is currently in the process of approving a Certification Requirements document that specifies requirements for conforming to the standard. Once it is published, manufacturers will be able to submit their CBRN ensembles for certification testing.

NIJ is also in the process of approving a Selection and Application Guide that will provide guidance for law enforcement and corrections agency decision-makers, procurement officials, and end-users. These documents will be published simultaneously in the coming months.

For the full text of the new standard and for other information about standards under development, please visit the NIJ Standards and Testing Program

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Countdown to Endeavour: Moving the External Tank Barge

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

When the External Tank Barge “Pegasus” is not transporting external tanks from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to Kennedy Space Center, it resides in the Vehicle Assembly Building basin between the Kennedy Space Center Press Site and the Shuttle launch pad. Due to this location and its size, the barge blocks the view of the launch from the press site; therefore, the United Space Alliance Marine Operations team must move the barge out of the way by launch day. 

The team uses small motor boats to move the barge, but needs winds 5 knots or less so the boats can move the barge, not vice-versa. Because of this low wind constraint, weather is the main factor when scheduling the move. We’ve been looking for a window of opportunity for this barge move for over a week, and we finally decided that Thursday, April 21 was the best day. Forecasting such light winds on spring mornings can be challenging. I hoped our wind forecast was correct and was touching base with the marine operations team every morning with updates. Luckily, the winds cooperated, and the team moved the barge across the basin. The press site now has a perfect view of the launch to relay to the world.

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Countdown to Endeavour: How to Move a Solid Rocket Booster Segment

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

Example of a segment move photo from the Kennedy Space Center Multimedia Web Site - http://go.usa.gov/TJC

On April 13, 2011, we had our last Solid Rocket Booster “segment move” for the final Shuttle mission launching in June. The solid fuel segments arrive on rail from the ATK solid rocket booster plant in Promontory, Utah, to the Rotation Processing Surge Facility at Kennedy Space Center, just north of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The segments are then transported to the VAB for stacking.

The transport to the VAB requires no more than a 25% chance of lightning during the hour it takes to move the segment. Luckily, the weather was favorable that morning, and the team completed the transport successfully.

This operation is an example of how the 45th Weather Squadron provides time and location-specific forecasts. During the summertime thunderstorm season, breaking down the forecast into hourly increments is imperative to providing the team with a safe window of opportunity to complete the operation.

The 45th Weather Squadron provides the forecast, and the Shuttle team determines whether the operation is a “Go” or “No-Go” given their specific weather constraints.

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Countdown to Endeavour: When the Weatherwoman Can’t Be Wrong

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

Shuttle Launch Weather Predictions:

Shuttle launch preparations continue and we are providing both general information about launch weather as well as specific information to the Space Shuttle team. I provide a weather briefing to the Launch Director every morning, and we are already looking ahead at next week’s launch weather. For predictions beyond seven days, we review the Global Forecast System (GFS) long-range model outputs which are updated every six  hours. The meteorological model predictions for time periods beyond five days toggle around quite a bit. On Tuesday weather predictions for April 29th looked bad, but on Wednesday the 00Z and 06Z GFS model runs trended to a more favorable launch day weather prediction. Still, it’s too early to tell. Over the next week, we will watch each model run noting the consistency of the models as we approach launch.  Our first launch forecast will be issued on April 26, three days prior to launch.

Temperature Prediction assists ATK in Determining Solid Rocket Motor Performance:

Nine days before launch, we provide the Marshall Space Flight Center Natural Environments Branch with forecast high and low temperatures for each day up through launch day. This temperature forecast is used by ATK Aerospace Systems to predict the propellant mean bulk temperature, a critical parameter in predicting the solid rocket motor performance during launch. Forecasting temperatures at 60 feet at the Shuttle launch pad is a lot different than forecasting temperatures at the surface away from the coast. Over the next week, we are expecting a lot of southeast winds, and onshore flow means the temperatures will be moderate at the launch pad and will average very close to the coastal water temperature. The high temperature will be several degrees lower than the inland temperatures in this type of situation, and the low temperatures will be several degrees higher. This is why I was wearing a leather jacket during our launch pad tour a couple weeks ago—it gets cool at the launch pad with onshore winds!

For a further explanation of why coastal temperatures are more moderate than inland temperatures, particularly with onshore flow, visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Digital Forensics Challenge: 10 Days Left to Collect Bonus Points

By John Ohab

Is it April 21st already?

DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge participants have until May 1st, 2011, to receive a 20 percent bonus points on all exercise submissions.

Bonus points are calculated based on your team’s grade for each exercise submission and the submission date. Any team’s initial submission is the FINAL submission for that specific Challenge. Check out the official 2011 DC3 Challenge rules for all the details.

According to a recent Digital Forensics Challenge Status Report, participation has jumped to 716 teams from 43 countries. The challenge has also added a significant group of sponsors and prizes this year.

The DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge is a public, online, and international Challenge held annually by the Department of Defense (DoD) Cyber Crime Center (DC3). The Challenge is a call to the digital forensics community to pioneer new investigative tools, techniques, and methodologies.

It encourages innovation from a broad range of individuals, teams, and institutions to provide technical solutions for computer forensic science examiners in the lab as well as in the field. The Challenge ends November 2, 2011!

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Countdown To Endeavour: A New Home for Retired Space Shuttles

By Carla Voorhees

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist in the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

On Tuesday, April 12, NASA announced the facilities at which the four Shuttle orbiters would be on permanent display after the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program. This was an outdoor ceremony including over 500 people, and the orbiter processing facility for Atlantis was going to be opened, making Atlantis vulnerable to weather. The activities by the orbiter processing facility were expected to last a couple of hours followed on by a 4-hour picnic at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center.

Outdoor Announcement Ceremony from the KSC Multimedia Web site: http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/index.cfm

The weather was unstable. A cold front was moving into Florida, causing a chance for isolated showers and thunderstorms, but it wasn’t a black and white weather scenario. This was the toughest type of weather forecast — the “iffy” ones. We met with the Atlantis Vehicle Flow Manager, Mrs. Angie Brewer, the day prior as well as the morning of the event for several weather briefings. After reviewing the model guidance with forecast upper air and stability data as well as releasing an additional weather balloon before the ceremony, the 45th Weather Squadron team determined the atmosphere was dry and would take some time to modify during the day. We also expected the southwest low-level wind flow to hold off the east coast sea breeze, a big weather maker for us when the conditions are ripe.

I provided our team’s forecast to the flow manager: Good weather for the announcement portion of the ceremony, but a 40% chance of rain and lightning for the picnic event at the end of the day. The team pressed on with the outdoor ceremonies with contingency plans for the outdoor picnic ready if needed. Overall, the weather held off until about an hour after the picnic when a thunderstorm moved through Kennedy Space Center. The ceremony and the picnic were a huge success. What a relief!

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Crowdsourcing and Collaborative Tools in Virtual Online Disaster Relief Scenarios

By Carla Voorhees

TIDES is a Department of Defense knowledge-sharing research project at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, located at the National Defense University (NDU). TIDES focuses on low-cost, innovative solutions to provide sustainable support to populations under stress; post-disaster, post-war, impoverished, domestic and foreign. The TIDES project leverages a global network of distributed talent in order to find integrated solutions, sustained through the private sector.

Last month, TIDES (Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support) participated in Exercise 24 Europe (X24EUR), a virtual online disaster relief scenario that leveraged social media, crowdsourcing, and collaborative tools in an innovative cloud computing environment. The event took place from March 29th-March 31st and was co-lead by San Diego State University’s Immersive Visualization Center and the United States European Command, and supported by an array of public/private organizations.

X24EUR was based on a hypothetical earthquake in the Balkans followed by a tsunami in the Adriatic Sea that produced significant damage to infrastructure on shore. The purpose of X24EUR was to demonstrate the use of cost effective web tools to gather and share information, establish relationships between European partner nations, and address the activities of international organizations during the first 180 days after a natural disaster.

The X24 series of robust, virtual, online experiments builds on an outstanding lineage. It draws from the exceptional success of the GOLDEN PHOENIX collaborative events held in the San Diego area through 2008. They showed the power not only of collaboration, both real and virtual, but also of broad inclusion. During the last GOLDEN PHOENIX over 140 separate organizations participated–public-private, whole-of-government, trans-national.

X-24 “Southern California” in 2009 involved over 12,500 participants from 79 countries and 90 USG, non-USG, public and private entities. This was not just a technical or academic exercise. Humanitarian Assistance/ Disaster Relief (at home and abroad), Stabilization and Reconstruction, and Building Security Capacity are becoming increasingly important as missions for DoD and, indeed for “whole of government,” and even “whole of nation.” Moreover, the powerful role of social media and “outside the wire” comms is being demonstrated daily, from Haiti to the Gulf Coast to Afghanistan to the Maghreb.

X24EUR provided the opportunity to build additional relationships through open, collaborative operations. Real world experiences have shown the value of having a “neutral space,” like the “Taj Mahal” guest house near Jalalabad, or a university, where people from different backgrounds can engage with each other. TIDES, with its focus on using crowdsourced information, innovative web tools, and low-cost technologies, welcomed the chance to participate in X24EUR. This exercise was an opportunity for TIDES to examine the Crowd, Bridge, Transaction, Feedback model. Organizations must build “bridges” to the enormous amounts of open source and crowdsourced information that is available in the “crowd”. This is an organizational design problem that will differ for each organization, and hopefully participation in X24EUR encouraged organizations to think through the design of their “bridges.”

However, just sharing situational awareness and making good decisions is not enough. They must be converted into effective action on the ground. Until transactions are completed — supplies delivered, people pulled from rubble, contracts fulfilled — the “exchange of electrons” hasn’t really made much of a difference. It is important to consider the logistical aspects of the scenario and how to link transactions to the “crowd’s” information and the “bridge’s” decisions. Finally, feedback is needed. This is not just to make better transactions, but also to inform the international community about what’s working and what isn’t.

Dr. Linton Wells II is the Director of the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at NDU. He  has served in the Department of Defense for 47 years. During 26 years as a naval officer he served in a variety of surface ships, including command of a destroyer squadron and guided missile destroyer. Before NDU, he spent 16 years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, serving last as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration). He has thrice been awarded the Department of Defense medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Khalil Ali is an intern at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at NDU. He is a graduate student in the School of International Service at American University.

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IceBridge: Flight over the Navy Ice Camp

By Julie Weckerlein

Lt. Cmdr. John Woods is a Meteorology and Oceanography Officer (METOC) currently teaching in the Oceanography Department at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). He is part of the Sea Ice Thickness Observation team currently participating in NASA’s Operation IceBridge 2011(OIB 2011).

This was the flight I had been waiting for. Back in 2009, I traveled with two U.S. Navy midshipmen to the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) to participate in ICEX09, a submarine force exercise conducted by the Arctic Submarine Laboratory. We stayed on the ice for three days and two nights, and experienced the extreme conditions of the Arctic environment first hand. We also observed submarine operations, including the surfacing of the USS ANNAPOLIS through the ice. This year, coordination to participate in the camp again did not work out, but I was grateful to get to participate in the NASA IceBridge mission and fly over the camp.

It is nice to get a different perspective of the environment from above. Jackie Richter-Menge, the IceBridge Science Team Sea Ice Lead, was down on the ice with her team setting up a survey line of different types of instruments measuring the sea ice properties. The NASA P-3 was to fly over the survey line and collect data to be compared to the measurements collected below.

We departed Fairbanks Airport at 7 a.m., and began the 90-minute flight north. The camp is located approximately 200 miles off the northern coast of Alaska on the frozen Beaufort Sea. We were in constant communication with the camp relaying their current positions to assist the pilots to navigate to the camp. Once the camp was in sight we began our survey. Flying over the camp at approximately 1000 feet, we could see Jackie’s team on the ice below, waving up at us. They looked like ants even from this “reasonably low” altitude.

We flew over the camp over 10 times for close to two hours.  Each pass, we had to correct for the camps drift.  The camp was moving at approximately 300 meters per hour, so the survey line was constantly shifting.  It is amazing to think that the frozen ocean is moving at that fast of a pace.  The camp itself consists of only a handful of structures.  If you would like more information on the camp, they have their own blog.

After about two hours of flying in ovals over the camp and collecting  hours of data, we headed back to Fairbanks.  This was my final flight during IceBridge 2011.  In total, I flew for close to 40 hours on five different flights, covering nearly 10,000 miles.

It was a great experience and I want to thank everyone involved in the mission for allowing Midshipman Brugler and myself this wonderful opportunity.

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Countdown to Endeavour: What is a Forward Air Observer?

By Carla Voorhees

Capt James Woodard is a 2006 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) who currently serves as an Air Force Mission Flight Control Officer and Range Control Officer for the 1st Range Operations Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  He is the Forward Observer Air for the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission.  James is also the Mission Flight Control Officer for the Atlas V, Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) mission on 6 May 2011.

Range Safety is a risky business. Not only is the Air Force tasked with ensuring the protection of the six astronauts on board Space Transportation System-134, we are also responsible for protecting the general public from possible anomalies resulting from the launch vehicle they are manning. This responsibility, which is entrusted to Brigadier General Edwin Wilson (the Launch Decision Authority for the mission), requires several support positions to provide real-time data concerning the status of the mission. In support of this historic launch, I have the distinct honor and privilege of performing the duties of Forward Observer Air (FOA), which includes being one of the closest humans to the launch. This position, which is reserved exclusively for Shuttle launches, includes my reports on the integrity of the stack (i.e. I report whether or not the boosters, tank, and orbiter are still connected) during the early stages of the launch. The STS stack has four components including the orbiter, two solid rocket boosters, and the external fuel tank. I will act as the eyes of Mr. Tong Tang, the Mission Flight Control Officer (MFCO), when the Shuttle cannot be seen by forward ground observers, my ground counterparts, due to cloud layer obstruction.

I will be on board “Relay One”- a PA-28 aircraft, which has a secondary mission of relaying transmissions between the Coast Guard’s “Clearance One” aircraft and Lieutenant Colonel Julia Black, a member of the Active Duty National Guard. She will be the Surveillance Control Officer located in the Morrell Operations Center. Clearance One is responsible for helping clear the surveillance control box in the Atlantic Ocean (approximately 3,696 square miles) that could possibly be impacted by the Solid Rocket Boosters after separation from the Shuttle Orbiter and External Fuel Tank.

On the day of launch, the Shuttle MFCO will determine whether or not my position is mandatory for launch. This decision is based on cloud cover between 4,000 and 8,000 feet (when video or forward observers cannot verify stack integrity). Here at the 1st Range Operations Squadron, we have an intense operations tempo since I will be the MFCO one week later for the Atlas V Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) launch from Cape Canaveral. I am proud of my role in Endeavour’s final chapter, and I know we have much to look forward to with the future of manned spaceflight!

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