Nov 17 2014
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY M14-192 NASA Television Coverage Set for Next International Space Station Crew Launch
NASA Television will provide extensive coverage of the Sunday, Nov. 23, launch from Kazakhstan of three crew members of Expedition 42/43, as they begin their planned six-hour journey to the International Space Station. NASA TV coverage will start at 3 p.m. EST and will include video of the pre-launch activities leading up to spacecraft boarding.
Terry Virts of NASA, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:01 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23 (3:01 a.m. Monday, Nov. 24 in Baikonur).
The trio will ride to orbit in a Soyuz spacecraft, which will rendezvous with the space station and dock after four orbits of Earth. Docking to the Russian segment's Rassvet module will take place at 9:53 p.m. NASA TV coverage of docking will begin at 9:15 p.m.
Around 11:30 p.m., hatches between the Soyuz and the station will be opened. Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore of NASA, as well as Flight Engineers Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova of Roscosmos, will greet Virts, Shkaplerov and Cristoforetti. Hatch opening coverage begins on NASA TV at 11 p.m.
Virts, Shkaplerov and Cristoforetti will remain aboard the station until mid-May 2015. Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova, who have been aboard since Sept. 25, will return to Earth in early March, leaving Virts in command of Expedition 43.
RELEASE 14-316 NASA Receives Fourth Consecutive Clean Audit Opinion
NASA has received an unmodified, or “clean”, audit opinion on its fiscal year 2014 financial statements, marking the fourth consecutive year of “clean” opinions. The agency has released its fiscal year 2014 Agency Financial Report (AFR), which provides details on its financial results and performance highlights.
The auditor's unmodified opinion on our financial statements in FY 2014 concludes NASA's financial statements fairly present the agency's financial position and results of operations. An unmodified opinion is the highest audit opinion that may be received from an external auditor.
“Fiscal Year 2014 marks the fourth year in a row NASA has received a “clean” audit opinion, and the second consecutive year without any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies,” said NASA Chief Financial Officer, David Radzanowki. “This reflects the agency’s strong commitment to excellence in financial management, which together with our continued emphases on improved processes and controls, further strengthens NASA’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars and supports the agency’s mission.”
The AFR reflects several highlights of NASA's progress toward meeting its strategic goals. The agency has been successful in its work to facilitate commercial access to low-Earth orbit to free up NASA to pursue bold human exploration missions by continuing to develop the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket. The Orion spacecraft and the SLS will carry future astronauts into deep space.
FY 2014 was also highlighted by launching several scientific spacecraft and many other breakthroughs in science, aeronautics, and technology development that advanced the nation's technical capabilities and expanded our knowledge of the universe.
NASA also produces an Annual Performance Report (APR) that will include more details on these important accomplishments. The APR will be released early next year concurrently with the president's budget request for FY 2015.
