Jan 9 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-003 NASA ISSUES CALL FOR VISIONARY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Space Technology Program is looking for far-out ideas. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts, or NIAC, program is seeking proposals for revolutionary concepts with the potential to transform future aerospace missions. Proposed concepts should enable new capabilities or significantly alter current approaches to launching, building and operating space systems. NIAC projects are chosen for their innovative and visionary characteristics, technical substance, and early development stage -- ten years or more from use on a mission. NIAC's current portfolio of diverse and innovative ideas represents multiple technology areas, including power, propulsion, structures and avionics. "NIAC is a forward-looking program that captures what's great about America's space program," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "NASA is looking for futuristic concepts that may enable leaps forward in how we work in and explore the space frontier. Equally important, we're asking for ideas from all sources: American citizen-inventors or educators working out of their garage to the visionary small business owners fueling our nation's economy." This second call for proposals follows last summer's inaugural selection of Phase I concepts, which are now under study. Due to the tremendous response and large number of submissions received from last year's NIAC call for proposals, this year's Phase I solicitation will incorporate a two-step process. NIAC will accept short proposals, limited to two pages in length, until Feb. 9. After review, NASA will invite those whose concepts are of interest to the agency to submit a full proposal of no more than ten pages. Full proposals will be due April 16. NASA expects to fund approximately 15 proposals in this year's Phase I process. Those selected will receive up to $100,000 for one year to advance the innovative space technology concept and help NASA meet current operational and future mission requirements. Selection announcements are expected this summer. The solicitation is open to all U.S. citizens and researchers working in the United States, including NASA civil servants. The number of awards will depend on the strength of proposals and availability of appropriated funds. The number of Phase I awards also will be balanced with NASA's selection of Phase II awards. Phase II awards will be selected from Phase I concepts submitted last year that the agency decides to advance. Past NIAC Phase I proposals have included a broad range of imaginative and creative ideas, including: changing the course of dangerous orbital debris; a spacesuit that uses flywheels to stabilize and assist astronauts as they work in microgravity; the use of 3-dimensional printing to create a planetary outpost; microbial fuel cell technology for powering tiny robot explorers; and other innovative propulsion and power concepts needed for future space mission operations. NASA's early investment and partnership with creative scientists, engineers and citizen inventors will pay huge technological dividends and help maintain America's leadership in the global technology economy. NIAC is part of NASA's Space Technology Program, managed by the Office of the Chief Technologist.

RELEASE: 12-005 NASA'S ROSSI X-RAY TIMING EXPLORER COMPLETES MISSION OPERATIONS

WASHINGTON -- After 16 years in space, NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has made its last observation. The satellite provided unprecedented views into the extreme environments around white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes. RXTE sent data from its last science observation to the ground early on Jan. 4. After performing engineering tests, controllers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., successfully decommissioned the satellite on Jan. 5. RXTE far exceeded its original science goals and leaves astronomers with a scientific bounty for years to come. Data from the mission have resulted in more than 2,200 papers in refereed journals, 92 doctoral theses, and more than 1,000 rapid notifications alerting astronomers around the globe to new astronomical activity. "The spacecraft and its instruments had been showing their age, and in the end RXTE had accomplished everything we put it up there to do, and much more," said Tod Strohmayer, RXTE project scientist at Goddard. The decision to decommission RXTE followed the recommendations of a 2010 review board tasked to evaluate and rank each of NASA's operating astrophysics missions. "After two days we listened to verify that none of the systems we turned off had autonomously re-activated, and we've heard nothing," said Deborah Knapp, RXTE mission director at Goddard. The 7,000-pound satellite is expected to re-enter the atmosphere between 2014 and 2023, depending in large part on solar activity. To celebrate the spacecraft's long and productive career, astronomers will hold a special session on RXTE during the 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Austin, Texas. The session is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 3 p.m. CST. A press conference on new RXTE results will also be held at the meeting on Jan. 10 at 1:45 p.m. EST. RXTE opened a new window into the workings of neutron stars and black holes. Using its data, astronomers established the existence of highly magnetized neutron stars (known as magnetars) and discovered the first accreting millisecond pulsars, a previously unseen stage in the formation of "recycled" millisecond radio pulsars that were first glimpsed in the early 1980s. The observatory also provided the first observational evidence of "frame-dragging" in the vicinity of a black hole, an effect predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity. RXTE carried three instruments, the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) and the High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment (HEXTE), which could be directed to specific targets. The PCA was developed by Goddard to cover the lower part of the energy range. HEXTE was built by the University of California at San Diego for exploring the upper energy range. The observatory's instruments measured variations in X-ray emission on timescales as short as microseconds and as long as months across a wide energy span, from 2,000 to 250,000 electron volts. For comparison, the energy of a typical dental X-ray is around 60,000 electron volts. A third instrument, called the All-Sky Monitor, was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. It scanned about 80 percent of the sky every orbit, giving astronomers the ability to monitor the variable and often unpredictable X-ray sky and to record long-term histories of bright sources. The astronomical community has recognized the importance of RXTE research with five major awards. These include four Rossi Prizes (1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009) from the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the AAS and the 2004 NWO Spinoza prize, the highest Dutch science award, from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. The mission was launched as XTE aboard a Delta II 7920 rocket on Dec. 30, 1995, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It was renamed RXTE in early 1996 in honor of Bruno Rossi, an MIT astronomer and a pioneer of X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics who died in 1993. RXTE was managed by Goddard.

RELEASE: 12-006 NASA ADMINISTRATOR MEETS WITH APOLLO ASTRONAUTS; AGENCY WILL WORK COOPERATIVELY TO RESOLVE ARTIFACT OWNERSHIP ISSUES

Washington -- The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden regarding the ownership of early space exploration mementos and artifacts: "Earlier today, I had a good meeting with former Apollo astronauts Jim Lovell, Gene Cernan, Charlie Duke, Rusty Schweickart and other representatives of former astronauts and agency personnel, where we discussed how to resolve the misunderstandings and ownership questions regarding flight mementos and other artifacts. "These are American heroes, fellow astronauts, and personal friends who have acted in good faith, and we have committed to work together to find the right policy and legal paths forward to address outstanding ownership questions. "I believe there have been fundamental misunderstandings and unclear policies regarding items from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs, and NASA appreciates the position of the astronauts, museums, learning institutions and others who have these historic artifacts in personal and private collections. "We also appreciate their patience and will explore all policy, legislative and other legal means to resolve these questions expeditiously and clarify ownership of these mementos, and ensure that appropriate artifacts are preserved and available for display to the American people."

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-004 NASA ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN TO TOUR LOCKHEED MARTIN, HOLD PRESS AVAILABILITY

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will tour Lockheed Martin's facilities near Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 10. Bolden and Lockheed Martin's Vice President and General Manager for Human Spaceflight John Karas will hold a brief press availability after Bolden's tour on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 1:30 p.m.