Aug 12 2013
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY M13-129 NASA Astronauts Chat Live from Space with California Students
International Space Station crew members Karen Nyberg and Chris Cassidy will speak live from the orbiting science laboratory with high school students at the Riverside Preparatory Academy in Oro Grande, Calif., at 10:40 a.m. PDT (1:40 p.m. EDT) Thursday, Aug 15.
News media representatives are invited to attend and cover the 20-minute event, which also will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. To attend the event, journalists should contact John Tucker at 760-243-4136. The school is located at 19900 National Trails Highway in Oro Grande.
Linking students directly to the astronauts aboard the space station provides them with an authentic, live experience of space exploration, space study, the scientific components of space travel, and the possibilities of life in space.
This in-flight education downlink is one in a series of such events with educational organizations in the United States to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning. It is also an integral component of NASA's “Teaching From Space” education program, which promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA’s human spaceflight program.
RELEASE 13-250 NASA Selects University Teams for New SmallSat Collaborative Projects
NASA has selected 13 university teams for collaborative projects to develop and demonstrate new technologies and capabilities and spur innovation in communication, navigation, propulsion, science instruments, and advanced manufacturing for small spacecraft.
Selected project teams will work with engineers and scientists from six NASA centers. The goal of these efforts is to transform small spacecraft, some of which weigh only a few kilograms, into powerful but affordable tools for science, exploration and space operations.
The project teams will have the opportunity to establish a cooperative agreement with NASA in which each university will be funded as much as $100,000 a year, beginning this fall, with most projects lasting two years.
"We are excited about this new opportunity for NASA to work with university students, researchers and faculty in 13 different states to advance technology in the emerging field of small spacecraft," said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "In addition to enhancing small spacecraft technology, these teams will help strengthen our nation's high-tech workforce."
Results from these projects could lead to the development of miniature radio and navigation devices, a low-power laser communications concept and radiation-tolerant computers. Additional emerging concepts could include energy storage devices and electric propulsion for deep space missions.
Through the cooperative agreements, NASA expects to provide a modest level of civil servant support toward the collaborative work. NASA received nearly 100 proposals from universities across the country in response to this small spacecraft technology solicitation. The agency expects to repeat this solicitation every two years, contingent on the availability of appropriated funds.
"There is a vibrant small spacecraft community within America's universities and with this initiative NASA seeks to increase our collaboration with that community," said Andrew Petro, program executive for NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Program. "The universities will benefit from the extensive experience NASA has in space research and technology, and NASA will benefit from fresh ideas and cost-conscious innovation at the universities."
NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Program develops and demonstrates new capabilities employing the unique features of small spacecraft for science, exploration and space operations.
