Nov 27 2012
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 12-403 NASA SEEKS CONCEPTS FOR INNOVATIVE USES OF LARGE SPACE TELESCOPES
WASHINGTON -- NASA is exploring options for innovative and imaginative uses of two large space telescopes recently transferred to the agency. In a request for information (RFI) published Monday, NASA seeks information about system concepts and architectures that would take advantage of these assets to address NASA's goals in astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary sciences, and human spaceflight. "Because there are two telescopes, there is room for projects that span the gamut of the imagination," said Michael Moore, a senior program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "They range from simple balloon flights to complex missions in science using new technologies under development and the capabilities available with the International Space Station and our commercial space flight partners." The telescopes are equivalent to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in aperture, but designed to have a much wider field of view. They already are being studied for possible use as a wide field infrared survey observatory, which would address the top priority recommendation in the National Research Council's 2010 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. NASA is seeking alternative goals and unique approaches in order to expand the range of concepts for use of this capable hardware. The RFI invites interested parties to provide an outline of their concept in enough detail for a next-step assessment by NASA as it prepares for future investments in diverse areas of science and technology. Respondents who submit the most interesting concepts will be invited to present their ideas at a workshop in Huntsville, Ala., in early February 2013. "We will give all ideas equal consideration and choose the most promising for further study," said Marc Allen, acting deputy associate administrator for research in NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "We want to tap into innovative ideas wherever we can find them in order to optimize use of these telescope assets."
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-218 OKLAHOMA STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS TO SPEAK LIVE WITH SPACE STATION COMMANDER KEVIN FORD
WASHINGTON -- Students and educators from Stillwater Public Schools and pre-service teachers who are pursuing education degrees from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla., will speak with Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford aboard the International Space Station at 12:30 p.m. EST Friday, Nov. 30. Students will ask Ford questions about life, work and research aboard the orbiting laboratory during an even at the university. Media representatives are invited to attend. The conversation will be carried live on NASA Television. To attend, journalists must contact Christy Lang at Christy.lang@okstate.edu or 405-744-8320. The event, themed Pioneers in Space: A New Frontier for STEM Careers will be held at Oklahoma State University Center for Research on STEM Teaching and Learning, which is located at 245 Willard Hall. Prior to the event, educators will prepare students for the conversation with Commander Ford by incorporating NASA activities into the classroom, creating awareness about the International Space Station, and encouraging students to pursue careers in fields related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin launched from Kazakhstan to the station on Oct. 23. The Nov. 30 in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the United States and abroad to improve STEM teaching and learning. It is 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.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-220 NASA ADMINISTRATOR HOLDS NOV. 28 MEDIA AVAILABILITY AT ALABAMA ULA FACILITY
WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will tour the United Launch Alliance (ULA) space rocket production facility in Decatur, Ala., Wednesday, Nov. 28, and be available to the media at 11:45 a.m. CST. The ULA production facility is home to two families of rockets, Atlas and Delta. Major fabrication, assembly and integration are conducted at the facility. Bolden will be joined by Michael Gass, ULA president and CEO. ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company that brings together the engineering and launch teams for Atlas and Delta rockets. Journalists wishing to attend the media availability should contact ULA's Chris Chavez at chris.s.chavez@ulalaunch.com or 303-269-5550 for credentialing information.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-220 NASA'S MARSHBURN AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS BEFORE SPACE STATION MISSION
HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn of North Carolina, who is making final preparations for a Dec. 19 launch to the International Space Station, will be available for live satellite interviews from 5 - 6 a.m. CST Tuesday, Dec 4. The interviews will originate from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia and will be preceded at 4:30 a.m., by a video feed documenting Marshburn's mission training. Marshburn is scheduled to launch at 6:12 a.m., on Dec. 19 (6:12 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with cosmonaut Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency and astronaut Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency. They will be aboard the station during an exceptionally busy period that includes the arrival of commercial and Russian resupply vehicles, and an increasingly faster pace of scientific research. A native of Statesville, N.C., Marshburn received an undergraduate degree from Davidson College in North Carolina. He then earned graduate degrees from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, and a doctorate of medicine from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C. Marshburn served in various roles in emergency medicine and as a NASA flight surgeon before being selected by the agency as an astronaut candidate in 2004.
