Sep 29 2010
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-087
NASA CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST, CONGRESSMAN FATTAH VISIT X-CAR TEAM AT WEST PHILADELPHIA HIGH SCHOOL MONDAY
WASHINGTON -- NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun and Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) will visit the West Philadelphia High School X-Car Team at 3 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 7. The team is part of a student after-school club who built an international prize-winning experimental gas-saving car. Braun's visit emphasizes the space agency's interest in student teams, private companies of all sizes and citizen-inventors' creative solutions to problems of interest to NASA and the nation. Reporters are invited to attend the event at the West Philadelphia High School Automotive Annex, located at 221 S. Hanson Street, between 48th and 49th Street, entering from Walnut Street.
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RELEASE: 10-302
SCIENTIST RECOGNIZED FOR WORK ON NATURAL RESOURCES REMOTE SENSING
WASHINGTON -- NASA and the U.S. Department of the Interior presented the William T. Pecora Award to Marvin E. Bauer of the University of Minnesota for his pioneering work in remote sensing of natural resources. Bauer received the award today at the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing meeting in Orlando, Fla. The two agencies present individual and group Pecora Awards to honor outstanding contributions in the field of remote sensing and its application to understanding Earth. The award was established in 1974 to honor the memory of William T. Pecora, former director of the U.S. Geological Survey and under secretary of the Department of the Interior. Bauer received the award for his contributions to remote-sensing education, science and applications. Early in his career, he helped define the role of remote sensing for agriculture and forestry while a research agronomist at the Purdue University Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing. He made significant contributions to NASA's Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment that used data from Landsat satellites to monitor croplands. At the University of Minnesota in the 1980s, Bauer continued his research in agricultural remote sensing but also investigated forestry applications. His recent work has concentrated on monitoring lake water quality, impervious surface mapping, land cover classification, and change detection. Bauer is director of the university's Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis Laboratory. Bauer has served for 30 years as editor-in-chief of the Remote Sensing of Environment journal. He is a recipient of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in recognition of his scientific contributions to NASA's terrestrial remote sensing programs. The Pecora award was presented by Brad Doorn of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, and Thomas Loveland of the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
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RELEASE: 10-321
NASA TARGETS SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH FOR NO EARLIER THAN FEB. 3
WASHINGTON -- NASA managers have targeted space shuttle Discovery's launch for no earlier than Feb. 3 at 1:34 a.m. EST. Shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed before proceeding with the launch of the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. The Program Requirements Control Board met Thursday and reviewed engineering evaluations associated with cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle's external tank. NASA repaired the cracks and reapplied foam to the exterior of the stringers. Managers decided the analysis and tests required to launch Discovery safely are not complete. They are planning to conduct an instrumented test on the external fuel tank and structural evaluations on stringer test articles to determine if the analysis is correct. Details and timelines for the tanking test are in work, but plans call for temperature and strain gauge measurements in the intertank region near the top of the tank during the test. The test also will verify the integrity of repairs made earlier when two cracked stringer sections and foam were replaced. A team of engineers and technicians will inspect the tank for evidence of any foam cracking as it would on an actual launch day. The test also will verify the integrity of repairs to the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, which leaked an unsafe amount of gaseous hydrogen during Discovery's Nov. 5 launch attempt. The date of the test is under evaluation, but likely will occur this month. Engineers will continue to search for the root cause of the stringer cracks through data analysis and tests, including placement of manufacturing defects in separate stringers to demonstrate structural integrity in an effort to duplicate the same type of failure that occurred in November. NASA will review and analyze the data from the tests before setting a launch date. Because of Discovery's delayed launch, the earliest opportunity for the liftoff of the final scheduled shuttle mission, STS-134 on Endeavour, is April 1. For continued STS-133 updates as well as crew and mission information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
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RELEASE: 10-313
NASA SETS SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH FOR NO EARLIER THAN DEC. 17
WASHINGTON -- NASA managers have targeted space shuttle Discovery's launch for no earlier than Dec. 17. Shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed before proceeding with the STS-133 mission. As a result, the launch status meeting planned for Monday, Nov. 29, has been postponed and will be rescheduled. The Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) reviewed on Wednesday repairs and engineering evaluations associated with cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle's external tank. Managers decided the analysis and tests required to launch Discovery safely are not complete. The work will continue through next week. The next status review by the PRCB will be Thursday, Dec. 2. If managers clear Discovery for launch on Dec. 17, the preferred time is approximately 8:51 p.m. EST. For STS-133 crew and mission information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-066
NASA TV PROVIDES COVERAGE OF NEW LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM TEST
WASHINGTON -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of the May 6 launch of the Pad Abort 1 flight test. The broadcast will begin at 8:30 a.m. EDT from the launch site at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, N.M. The launch window extends from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT, with liftoff targeted for the beginning of the window. Pad Abort 1 will be the first fully-integrated test of the launch abort system being developed for the Orion crew vehicle. The information gathered through the test will be used to design and develop future systems that provide a safe escape for crews in the event of an emergency. Media representatives planning to attend the flight test must contact the White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs Office at 575-678-1134. The deadline for U.S. journalists to register is May 3. The launch viewing area is approximately four miles from the launch pad. A news conference will be held approximately one hour after the test and carried live on NASA TV. The participants are: Doug Cooke, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Mark Geyer, manager, Orion Project Office Don Reed, manager, Orion Flight Test Office For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
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CONTRACT RELEASE: C10-073
NASA AWARDS GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION AND CONTROL CONTRACT
HOUSTON -- NASA selected the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass., to provide advanced guidance, navigation and control system development and avionics technology development and analysis at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The new contract is valued at $45.8 million. The services provided are primarily under the direction of Johnson's Engineering Directorate for use in the guidance, navigation and control systems of the space shuttle, International Space Station, future spacecraft or other projects that would require such a system. The services include engineering design, development, integration, test, analysis, verification and validation, certification and spaceflight support activities in the areas of guidance, navigation and control systems, integrated avionics systems and autonomous flight operations. Although the primary focus will be development, the contract also covers anomaly resolution work. The five-year contract is scheduled to begin Dec. 1 and extend through November 2015. It is a cost-plus-fixed fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.
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