Mar 13 2012

From The Space Library

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-043 NASA ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN, PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON JOBS AND COMPETITIVENESS LAUNCH 'STAY WITH IT' CAMPAIGN ON FACEBOOK

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will join leaders of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness to launch the STAY WITH IT campaign with a Facebook Live discussion on Wednesday, March 14, at 3 p.m. EDT at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta. STAY WITH IT is the first student outreach campaign connecting engineering students with experienced engineers, role models and peers to motivate them to stay in their field of study and graduate with an engineering degree. Bolden will be joined by Paul Otellini, president and CEO of the Intel Corporation and member of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness; Gary May, dean of engineering at Georgia Tech; Guy Primus, chief operating officer of Overbrook Entertainment; Sherita Ceasar, vice president NETO P&I National Video Deployment Engineering at Comcast; Serkan Piantino, Engineering manager at Facebook; and Maggie Johnson, director of education and university relations for Google. Colleges and universities around the country will host viewing parties, including California State University at Sacramento, Cornell University, Duke University, New York Institute of Technology - Manhattan Campus, North Carolina State University, Santa Clara University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Florida, University of Hawaii, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland, University of Nevada, Reno and Virginia Tech.

RELEASE: 12-080 NASA AND CSA ROBOTIC OPERATIONS ADVANCE SATELLITE SERVICING

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) experiment aboard the International Space Station has demonstrated remotely controlled robots and specialized tools can perform precise satellite-servicing tasks in space. The project marks a milestone in the use of the space station as a technology test bed. "We and our partners are making important technological breakthroughs," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "As we move ahead toward reaching our exploration goals, we will realize even more benefits from humans and robots working together in space." The Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) robotic handyman, Dextre, successfully completed the tasks March 7-9 on the space station's external RRM module, designed to demonstrate the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically refuel and repair satellites. "The Hubble servicing missions taught us the importance and value of getting innovative, cutting-edge technologies to orbit quickly to deliver great results," said Frank Cepollina, a veteran leader of five Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions and associate director of the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The impact of the space station as a useful technology test bed cannot be overstated. Fresh satellite-servicing technologies will be demonstrated in a real space environment within months instead of years. This is huge. It represents real progress in space technology advancement." Before a satellite leaves the ground, technicians fill its fuel tank through a valve that is sealed, covered and designed never to be accessed again. The RRM experiment demonstrates a remote-controlled robot can remove these barriers and refuel such satellites in space. Dextre successfully retrieved and inspected RRM tools, released safety launch locks on tool adapters, and used an RRM tool to cut extremely thin satellite lock wire. These operations represent the first use of RRM tools in orbit and Dextre's first participation in a research and development project. RRM was developed by SSCO and is a joint effort between NASA and CSA. During the next two years, RRM and Dextre will conduct several servicing tasks using RRM tools on satellite parts and interfaces inside and covering the cube-shaped RRM module. NASA expects the RRM results to reduce the risks associated with satellite servicing. It will encourage future robotic servicing missions by laying the foundation for them. Such future missions could include the repair, refueling and repositioning of orbiting satellites. "We are especially grateful to CSA for their collaboration on this venture," Cepollina said. "CSA has played a pivotal role in the development of space robotics, from the early days of the space shuttle to the work they are doing with Dextre on space station." During the three-day RRM Gas Fittings Removal task, the 12-foot (3.7-meter) Dextre performed the most intricate task ever attempted by a space robot: cutting two separate "lock wires" 20 thousandths of an inch (0.5 millimeters) in diameter using the RRM Wire Cutter Tool (WCT). Deftly maneuvered by ground-based mission operators and Dextre, the WCT smoothly slid its hook under the individual wires and severed them with only a few millimeters of clearance. This wire-cutting activity is a prerequisite to removing and servicing various satellite parts during any future in-orbit missions. RRM operations are scheduled to resume in May 2012 with the completion of the gas fittings removal task. The RRM Refueling task is scheduled for later this summer. NASA and CSA will present RRM results at the Second International Workshop on on-Orbit Servicing, hosted by Goddard May 30-31, 2012. Dextre and RRM are an example of how robots are changing operations in space. Another is Robonaut 2, or R2, a project of NASA and General Motors. R2, the first human-like robot, was launched into space in 2011 and is a permanent resident of the International Space Station.

RELEASE: 12-083 NASA'S COMMERCIAL CREW PARTNER HOT-FIRES LAUNCH ABORT ENGINE

CANOGA PARK, Calif. -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, which is supporting The Boeing Company during the development of its CST-100 spacecraft in NASA's Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2), completed mission-duration hot-fire tests on a launch abort engine on Friday, March 9. The demonstration in California is one of many milestones Boeing is meeting for its funded Space Act Agreement during CCDev2. "Boeing and its contractor, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, continue to make good progress on milestones supporting the development of their commercial crew transportation capabilities," said Ed Mango, Commercial Crew Program program manager. "The eventual availability of these capabilities from a U.S. domestic provider will enhance U.S. competitiveness and open new markets for the U.S. aerospace industry." Boeing's Crew Space Transportation system is a reusable, capsule-shaped spacecraft designed to take up to seven people, or a combination of people and cargo, to low Earth orbit, including the International Space Station. Its service module and integrated launch abort propulsion system are designed to push the crew capsule to safety if an abort becomes necessary during launch or ascent. If an abort is not necessary, the system's propellant could be used for other portions of a mission, including re-boosting the orbit of the space station. "We achieved full thrust on the 40,000-pound thrust-class engine while validating key operating conditions during engine start-up and shut down," said Terry Lorier, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne's Commercial Crew Development program manager, who supports Boeing's program. Under its fixed-price contract with Boeing, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne is combining its Attitude Control Propulsion System thrusters from heritage spaceflight programs, Bantam abort engine design and storable propellant engineering capabilities. "The tests provided key thermal and analytical data," Lorier said. "We are well on our way to providing an important propulsion system for safe, reliable human spaceflight." All of NASA's industry partners under CCDev2 continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities.