May 21 2018
From The Space Library
RELEASE 18-037 NASA Sends New Research on Orbital ATK Mission to Space Station
Astronauts soon will have new experiments to conduct related to emergency navigation, DNA sequencing and ultra-cold atom research when the research arrives at the International Space Station following the 4:44 a.m. EDT Monday launch of an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft.
Cygnus lifted off on an Antares 230 rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Orbital ATK’s ninth cargo mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The spacecraft is carrying about 7,400 pounds of research equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of the more than 250 investigations underway on the space station.
NASA astronauts Scott Tingle and Ricky Arnold will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture Cygnus when it arrives at the station Thursday, May 24. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 3:45 a.m. Installation coverage is set to begin at 7:30 a.m.
Included in the cargo in the pressurized area of Cygnus is a centuries-old method of celestial navigation. The Sextant Navigation investigation will explore the use of a hand-held sextant for emergency navigation on missions in deep space as humans look to travel farther from Earth. The ability to sight angles between the Moon or planets and stars offers crews another option to find their way home if communications and main computers are compromised.
Monitoring crew health and the biological environment of the space station, and understanding long-term effects of space travel on both, are critical to NASA’s plans for long-duration, deep space exploration. The Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST) study is the agency’s next step toward advancing in-space DNA sequencing technologies that can identify microbial organisms living on the space station and understanding how the DNA of humans, plants and microbes are affected by microgravity.BEST will use a process that sequences DNA directly from a sample, with minimal preparation, rather than using the traditional technique of growing a culture from the sample.
In the realm of modern physics, the new Cold Atom Lab (CAL) on Cygnus could help answer some big questions. CAL creates a temperature 10 billion times colder than the vacuum of space, then uses lasers and magnetic forces to slow down atoms until they are almost motionless. In the microgravity environment of the space station, CAL can observe these ultra-cold atoms for much longer than possible on Earth. Results of this research could lead to a number of improved technologies, including sensors, quantum computers and atomic clocks used in spacecraft navigation.
Cygnus is scheduled to depart the station in July with several tons of trash and burn up during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, over the Pacific Ocean. The vehicle is named after James “J.R.” Thompson, a leader in the aerospace industry.
For more than 17 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. A global endeavor, more than 200 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 2,400 research investigations from researchers in 103 countries.
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-083 California Students to Link Up with NASA Astronauts on Space Station
Students from Pacoima and San Fernando, California, will have the opportunity to talk with astronauts on the International Space Station on Tuesday, May 22, as part of NASA’s Year of Education on Station. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space calls will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Scott Tingle will answer questions about life aboard the space station, NASA’s deep space exploration plans and conducting science in space.
The event will connect K-12 students from California with the two Expedition 55 astronauts at 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday from the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center. Media interested in attending should contact Gretchen McCartney at gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov or 818-393-6215. The event will take place at the learning center, 11505 Herrick Ave., Pacoima.
Linking teachers directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These in-flight education downlinks are an integral component of NASA’s Year of Education on Station, which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with the Mission Control Center on Earth 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.
In addition to the educational event, Arnold and fellow NASA astronaut Drew Feustel will be interviewed by WISH-TV in Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Network at 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, May 23. The interview will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
RELEASE 18-039 Steve Jurczyk Appointed NASA Associate Administrator; Krista Paquin Retires; Melanie W. Saunders Named Acting Deputy Associate Administrator
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has named Steve Jurczyk as associate administrator, the agency's highest-ranking civil servant position. Jurczyk has been serving in the position in an acting capacity since March 10. In addition, Deputy Associate Administrator Krista Paquin will retire from NASA at the end of May. Melanie W. Saunders has been assigned as the acting deputy associate administrator, effective June 10.
“I want to thank Steve for stepping up to the plate as acting associate administrator these past months, and look forward to his counsel going forward,” said Bridenstine. “I also want to thank Krista for her distinguished service to NASA and welcome Melanie to Headquarters. The agency has greatly benefited from the talents of all these dedicated civil servants.”
Until his appointment as associate administrator, Jurczyk had been associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate since June 2015. In this position, he formulated and executed the agency’s space technology programs, focusing on developing and demonstrating transformative technologies for human and robotic exploration of the solar system in partnership with industry and academia.
He previously was director at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Named to this position in May 2014, he headed NASA’s first center, which plays a critical role in NASA’s aeronautics research, exploration and science missions. Jurczyk served as Langley’s deputy center director from August 2006 until his appointment as director.
Jurczyk began his NASA career in 1988 at Langley in the Electronic Systems Branch as a design and integration and test engineer developing several space-based Earth remote sensing systems. From 2002 to 2004 Jurczyk was director of engineering, and from 2004 to 2006 he was director of research and technology at Langley, where he led the organizations’ contributions to a broad range of research, technology and engineering disciplines contributing to all NASA mission areas.
He has received many awards during his career, including two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive in 2006, and the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive in 2016 -- the highest honors attainable for federal government leadership. He is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1984 and 1986.
In an agency career spanning more than 30 years, Paquin has served in many critical roles. She started at NASA in 1984 as a Presidential Management Intern, and spent 22 years of her career at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. As a senior executive at Goddard, she was assigned the roles of associate director of management operations, deputy director of the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate, deputy director for Planning and Business Management of Flight Programs, and Goddard associate center director.
In her latest role as deputy associate administrator at Headquarters, she chairs the NASA Mission Support Council, which serves as the senior decision-making body regarding the integrated agency mission support portfolio. Paquin also was associate administrator for the Mission Support Directorate from April 2015, where she was responsible for the leadership and integration of NASA mission support functions with an annual budget of more than $3 billion. She oversaw agencywide human capital management, strategic infrastructure, procurement, protective services, audit liaison, agency directives management, NASA Headquarters operations, the NASA Shared Services Center and NASA partnerships, including Space Act Agreements.
Appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 1999, Paquin was the recipient of numerous awards, including NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, the SES Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. She holds bachelors and masters degrees in Urban Planning and Management from the University of Maryland.
Saunders has been acting deputy center director at the Johnson Space Center in Houston since Feb. 1, where she helps to manage one of NASA’s largest installations, with almost 11,000 civil service and contractor employees – including those at White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico – and an annual budget of approximately $5 billion. She was previously Johnson’s associate director, and oversaw a broad range of human spaceflight activities.
Prior to being named associate center director, Saunders served as associate manager of the International Space Station Program from 2005 to 2009, during the most intensive phases of space station assembly. From 2003 to 2005, she was deputy manager of the station’s External Relations Office. Saunders began her NASA career in 1994 as the manager for International Policies for the International Space Station Program, where she negotiated international agreements.
During her NASA career, Saunders has been recognized with the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, a Silver Snoopy, and numerous other individual and group achievement awards. She also was profiled in the inaugural edition of Women@NASA, and in Summer 2017 was featured in Profiles in Diversity, Women Worth Watching. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis.
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-085 NASA Invites Media to View New Mission to Study the Frontier of Space
Media will have the opportunity June 4-5 for tours, interviews and photographs of NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) as it prepares to leave Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for a scheduled mid-June launchfrom Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
ICON team members will be available to answer questions about Orbital ATK’s Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company’s L-1011 “Stargazer” aircraft and will carry ICON into orbit. There also will be opportunities to tour the aircraft and witness itstakeoff on its ferry flight to the island.The observatory will leave Vandenberg June 5 for ascheduled launch on June 15 from Kwajalein (June 14 in the continental United States).
ICON will study the frontier of space: the dynamic zone high in Earth’s atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. This area at times can be filled with such beauty as the aurora, and at other times experience increases in radiation that can interfere with radio communications, satellites and even astronauts. ICON will help determine the physical process at play in this space environment and pave the way for mitigating their effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
This event is open only to U.S. citizens who possess a government-issued photo identification. One form of government-issued photo identification is required and must be a driver’s license or passport.
To apply for media credentials, go to https://media.ksc.nasa.gov. Media interested in attending this event must also RSVP via email at ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. In your RSVP, please include your driver’s license number and its state of issuance. The deadline for submitting credentials and to RSVP is no later than noon EDT Tuesday, May 22.
Monday, June 4
There will be an opportunity to tour the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft and interview officials involved in the launch and mission.
Interview participants:
- Omar Baez, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program
- Bryan Baldwin, Pegasus Program senior director, Orbital ATK
- Thomas Immel, ICON principle investigator, UC Berkeley
Media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at noon PDT to be escorted.Media must present a valid driver’s license or passport to receive a base pass.
Tuesday, June 5
There will be an opportunity to view the takeoff of the ferry flight of the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer with the Pegasus XL rocket that will air launch ICON.
Media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 9:30 a.m. to be escorted.Media must present a valid driver’s license or passport to receive a base pass.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorer Program for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory leads the ICON mission. The ICON spacecraft was built by Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis, and launch management.
