Jun 24 2016

From The Space Library

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Revision as of 20:31, 30 June 2016

RELEASE 16-065 Transportation Department, NASA, Partners Visit Charlotte to Open Test Lab to Streamline Air Travel

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden today were joined by representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), American Airlines, and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to celebrate the official opening of a new airspace technology demonstration (ATD-2) laboratory. This laboratory is part of a five-year test project aimed to streamline the arrival and departure of aircraft and improve surface operations to increase safety and efficiency and reduce fuel use in our nation’s aviation system.

The ATD-2 project, part of the Obama Administration’s NextGen initiative, is the next major step in both the DOT and NASA’s efforts to create the air transportation system of the future. This initiative will provide coordinated schedules between the ramp, tower, terminal, and center control facilities, giving air traffic managers the tools to make better decisions about how to reduce congestion. ATD-2 will also help to ensure that aviation system is able to absorb the more than four billion additional passengers that are estimated to be traveling globally over the next 20 years without compromising the safety of our skies.

“Today is a great moment for the city of Charlotte, for air travelers, and our environment,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “As a son of this city and this state with its special history with modern flight, I’m thrilled that Charlotte Douglas International Airport is at the forefront of this innovative partnership between DOT and NASA that will have a transformative and lasting impact on aviation.”

NASA is committed to transforming aviation by dramatically reducing its environmental impact, maintaining safety in more crowded skies and paving the way to revolutionary aircraft shapes and propulsion. The Agency projects that its green aviation initiatives could save the commercial airline industry as much as $255 billion over the next 25 years.

"Imagine being able to spend less time pushing back from the gate, taxiing to the runway and taking off,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The work that will be accomplished in this demonstration lab could be a game changer in terms of reducing airport congestion, which is good for passengers and for business. It’s also good for the environment, as engines spend less time running on the ground."

“The Airspace Technology Demonstration-2 (ATD-2) project is an excellent example of what strong partnerships can yield,” said Jack Christine, Deputy Aviation Director of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. “This program will deliver operational and environmental benefits, as well as improve the passenger experience at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. We look forward to working with all of our partners to make this demonstration a reality.”

Projects such as ATD-2 are part of the 21st Century Clean Transportation System, championed by President Obama, and consist of smart, strategic integrated investments to help reduce carbon pollution and strengthen the economy. A new approach to the transportation system can help American industry and the public by improving how goods are moved and creating transportation choices for more people, all while reducing reliance on fossil fuels, cutting carbon pollution, and strengthening resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the U.S. with almost 45 million passengers flying through it annually. The airport is the second busiest hub for American Airlines, which operates about 90 percent of the airport’s approximately 700 daily flights. Testing ATD-2 at the Charlotte airport will demonstrate how the system can help balance air traffic at smaller and larger airports with intersecting air traffic routes.

RELEASE 16-066 NASA Brings Journey to Mars and Beyond to ESSENCE Festival

Visitors to the 2016 ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans will have a chance to explore the universe through a range of activities, including first-ever festival stage presentations, during NASA Week, a celebration of space exploration to be held June 29-July 3, in conjunction with ESSENCE Festival, which begins June 30.

NASA activities include stage presentations by agency Administrator Charles Bolden and astronaut Victor Glover. Presentations at the Morial Convention Center, the main festival venue, include:

July 1 at 2:10 p.m. CDT: On the Shoulders of Giants – African American Pioneers in Our Nation’s Space Program. A three-person panel will discuss the historic role African Americans have played in the nation’s space exploration program on the Money and Power Stage.

July 2 at 2:10 p.m.: Reaching New Heights – A Conversation with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and NASA Astronaut Victor Glover. Bolden and Glover will discuss their careers and NASA’s ongoing mission on the Money and Power Stage. Following the 20-minute panel discussion, Bolden will be available at the NASA booth from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. to greet visitors and sign autographs.

July 3 at 2:10 p.m.: Join the Mars Generation – Meet NASA’s Rock Stars on the Journey to Mars and Beyond. Glover will join two NASA engineers on the Money and Power Stage for a discussion about NASA’s progress on its Journey to Mars.

Visitors to the NASA booth in the Morial Convention Center can learn about NASA’s Journey to Mars, the International Space Station, the economic significance of NASA, Earth science, the solar system and NASA-sponsored education initiatives. All NASA exhibits and presentations at the convention center are free to the public.

Glover will be available at the NASA booth to sign autographs from 1 to 3 p.m. July 1, 3 to 5 p.m. July 2, and 11 a.m. to noon July 3. On July 2, Glover also will sign autographs from 11 a.m. to noon at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, where NASA will host a variety of hands-on activities throughout the festival. Located on the second floor of the aquarium facility, the family-friendly activities are included in the price of admission to the aquarium.

MEDIA ADVISORY M16-075 NASA TV to Air Russian Cargo Ship Movement at Space Station

A Russian cargo ship currently docked to the International Space Station will undock for a short test flight on Friday, July 1. NASA Television coverage will begin at 1:15 a.m. EDT.

The Progress 62 cargo ship will automatically undock from the Pirs Docking Compartment of the space station and manually be guided in to re-dock. The maneuver will begin with undocking at 1:36 a.m. and take approximately 30 minutes, with re-docking planned for 2:10 a.m.

This activity will test a newly installed manual docking system inside the station’s Russian segment. The resupply ship will back away to a distance of about 600 feet (about 183 meters) from the station, at which point Expedition 48 cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will take manual control of the spacecraft. They will use a workstation in the Zvezda Service Module to “fly” the Progress back to a linkup with Pirs.

The system test will include verification of software and a new signal converter incorporated in the upgraded manual docking system for future use in both Progress and piloted Soyuz vehicles in the unlikely event the “Kurs” automated rendezvous in either craft encounters a problem.

Progress 62 arrived at the station Dec. 23, 2015 with more than three tons of food, fuel and supplies, and will undock for the final time at 11:48 p.m. Saturday, July 2. The spacecraft, loaded with trash, will be deorbited by Russian flight controllers to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.