Oct 6 2011
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-209 NASA ADMINISTRATOR AVAILABLE TO MEDIA AT KENNEDY OCT. 11
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will be available to media during a visit to the agency's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 11 a.m. EDT. Media are invited to film Bolden and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana as they tour the new mobile launcher and talk about the Space Launch System, the rocket that will take astronauts farther into space than ever before, create high-quality jobs here at home, and provide the cornerstone for America's future human space exploration efforts. NASA announced plans for the development of the SLS in September. It will carry NASA's Orion spacecraft, cargo, equipment and science experiments to space -- providing a safe, affordable and sustainable means of reaching the moon, asteroids and other destinations in the solar system.
RELEASE: 11-339 NASA DEVELOPING INSTRUMENTS FOR NEW SOLAR ORBITER MISSION
WASHINGTON -- NASA will begin development and testing of two science instruments, in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), to be placed on ESA's newly selected Solar Orbiter mission. The spacecraft will study the sun from a closer distance than any previous mission. At its closest approach, the European-led project will operate approximately 21 million miles from the sun's surface, near the orbit of Mercury, roughly 25 percent of the distance from the sun to the Earth. This unique vantage point will enhance the ability to forecast space weather. Space weather produces disturbances in electromagnetic fields on Earth that can induce extreme currents in wires, disrupt power lines and cause widespread blackouts. These sun storms can interfere with communications between ground controllers and satellites and with airplane pilots flying near Earth's poles. Radio noise from the storms also can disrupt cell phone service. "Solar Orbiter is an exciting mission that will improve our understanding of the sun and its environment," said Barbara Giles, director for NASA's Heliophysics Division in Washington. "This collaboration will create a new chapter in heliophysics research and continue a strong partnership with the international science community to complement future robotic and human exploration activities." Solar Orbiter will be close enough to the sun to sample solar wind shortly after the wind has been ejected from the sun's surface. Additionally, the spacecraft will observe in great detail the process that accelerates the wind on the sun's surface. Data will provide views of the sun's polar regions and far side. The spacecraft's elliptical orbit will allow it to follow the star's rotation, enabling observations of specific areas for much longer than is currently possible. Launch is planned for 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a NASA-provided expendable launch vehicle. Among the science investigations, two instruments valued at $80 million are provided by NASA: - The Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI), which will provide revolutionary measurements to pinpoint coronal mass ejections or CMEs. CMEs are space weather events with violent solar eruptions that travel from 60 miles per second to more than 2,000 miles per second with masses greater than a few billion tons. Russell Howard from the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington is principal investigator. - The Heavy Ion Sensor (HIS), one of a suite of sensors that will measure density, velocity, and temperature of the solar wind. Stefano Livi from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio is principal investigator. The NASA investigations for Solar Orbiter are part of NASA's Living with a Star Program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the program for the Heliophysics Division in the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The program's goal is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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