Jun 13 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-196 NASA'S NUSTAR MISSION LIFTS OFF

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) launched into the morning skies over the central Pacific Ocean at noon EDT (9 a.m. PDT) Wednesday, beginning its mission to unveil secrets of buried black holes and other exotic objects. "We all eagerly await the launch of this novel X-ray observatory," said Paul Hertz, NASA's Astrophysics Division Director. "With its unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution to the previously poorly explored hard X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum, NuSTAR will open a new window on the universe and will provide complementary data to NASA's larger missions including Fermi, Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer." NuSTAR will use a unique set of eyes to see the highest energy X-ray light from the cosmos. The observatory can see through gas and dust to reveal black holes lurking in our Milky Way galaxy, as well as those hidden in the hearts of faraway galaxies. "NuSTAR will help us find the most elusive and most energetic black holes, to help us understand the structure of the universe," said Fiona Harrison, the mission's principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The observatory began its journey aboard the L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft, operated by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Va. NuSTAR was perched atop Orbital's Pegasus XL rocket, both of which were strapped to the belly of the Stargazer plane. The plane left Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean one hour before launch. At 12:00:35 p.m. EDT (9:00:35 a.m. PDT), the rocket dropped, free-falling for five seconds before firing its first-stage motor. About 13 minutes after the rocket dropped, NuSTAR separated from the rocket, reaching its final low Earth orbit. The first signal from the spacecraft was received at 12:14 p.m. EDT (9:14 a.m. PDT) through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. "NuSTAR spread its solar panels to charge the spacecraft battery and then reported back to Earth of its good health," said Yunjin Kim, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We are checking out the spacecraft now and are excited to tune into the high-energy X-ray sky." The mission's unique telescope design includes a 33-foot (10-meter) mast, which was folded up in a small canister during launch. In about seven days, engineers will command the mast to extend, enabling the telescope to focus properly. About 23 days later, science operations are scheduled to begin. In addition to black holes and their powerful jets, NuSTAR will study a host of high-energy objects in our universe, including the remains of exploded stars; compact, dead stars; and clusters of galaxies. The mission's observations, in coordination with other telescopes such as NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which detects lower-energy X-rays, will help solve fundamental cosmic mysteries. NuSTAR also will study our sun's fiery atmosphere, looking for clues as to how it is heated. NuSTAR is a Small Explorer mission led by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The spacecraft was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Va. Its instrument was built by a consortium including Caltech; JPL; the University of California, Berkeley; Columbia University, New York; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; the Danish Technical University in Denmark; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, Calif.; and ATK Aerospace Systems, Goleta, Calif. NuSTAR will be operated by UC Berkeley, with the Italian Space Agency providing its equatorial ground station located at Malindi, Kenya. The mission's outreach program is based at Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, Calif. NASA's Explorer Program is managed by Goddard. JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA. Launch management and government oversight for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

RELEASE: 12-197 SMALL PLANETS DON'T NEED STARS WITH HEAVY METAL CONTENT TO FORM

WASHINGTON -- The formation of small worlds like Earth previously was thought to occur mostly around stars rich in heavy elements such as iron and silicon. However, new ground-based observations, combined with data collected by NASA's Kepler space telescope, shows small planets form around stars with a wide range of heavy element content and suggests they may be widespread in our galaxy. A research team led by Lars A. Buchhave, an astrophysicist at the Niels Bohr Institute and the Centre for Star and Planet Formation at the University of Copenhagen, studied the elemental composition of more than 150 stars harboring 226 planet candidates smaller than Neptune. "I wanted to investigate whether small planets needed a special environment in order to form, like the giant gas planets, which we know preferentially develop in environments with a high content of heavy elements," said Buchhave. "This study shows that small planets do not discriminate and form around stars with a wide range of heavy metal content, including stars with only 25 percent of the sun's metallicity." Astronomers refer to all chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium as metals. They define metallicity is the metal content of heavier elements in a star. Stars with a higher fraction of heavy elements than the sun are considered metal-rich. Stars with a lower fraction of heavy elements are considered metal-poor. Planets are created disks of gas and dust around new stars. Planets like Earth are composed almost entirely of elements such as iron, oxygen, silicon and magnesium. The metallicity of a star mirrors the metal content of the planet-forming disk. Astronomers have hypothesized that large quantities of heavy elements in the disk would lead to more efficient planet formation. It has long been noted that giant planets with short orbital periods tend to be associated with metal-rich stars. Unlike gas giants, the occurrence of smaller planets is not strongly dependent on the heavy element content of their host stars. Planets up to four times the size of Earth can form around stars with a wide range of heavy element content, including stars with a lower metallicity than the sun. The findings are described in a new study published in the journal Nature. "Kepler has identified thousands of planet candidates, making it possible to study big-picture questions like the one posed by Lars. Does nature require special environments to form Earth-size planets?" said Natalie Batalha, Kepler mission scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. "The data suggest that small planets may form around stars with a wide range of metallicities -- that nature is opportunistic and prolific, finding pathways we might otherwise have thought difficult." The ground-based spectroscopic observations for this study were made at the Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands; Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mt. Hopkins in Ariz.; McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin; and W.M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Launched in March 2009, Kepler searches for planets by continuously monitoring more than 150,000 stars, looking for telltale dips in their brightness caused by passing, or transiting, planets. At least three transits are required to verify a signal as a planet. Follow-up observations from ground-based telescopes are also needed to confirm a candidate as a planet. Ames manages Kepler's ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., managed the Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., developed the Kepler flight system and supports mission operations with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore archives hosts and distributes Kepler science data. Kepler is NASA's 10th Discovery Mission and is funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington.

RELEASE: 12-199 EDUCATORS SELECTED FOR NASA EXPLORER SCHOOLS SUMMER WORKSHOPS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 50 elementary, middle and high school educators from across the nation to work side by side with agency scientists and engineers to learn research techniques and identify connections to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The educators were chosen for these workshops because they demonstrated exemplary classroom practices and innovative use of NASA Explorer Schools (NES) resources to engage students in STEM activities. They will participate in one of four workshops that will take place between June 18 and July 26 at various NASA centers. This year's workshops are Extreme Green at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Airborne Research Experience at Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.; There is More to Light than Meets the Eye at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; and Atmospheric Science at Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The NES project invests in STEM educator development to help teachers inspire and engage the future scientists, engineers and technicians that NASA needs to continue its missions. The program offers a variety of educational assets, including classroom videos, educational concept lessons, professional development activities and live video chats.

MEDIA ADVISORY: 12-200 NASA ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN VIEWS HISTORIC SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden joined SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk at the SpaceX Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas, Wednesday to see the first commercial space capsule to complete a mission to the International Space Station. Bolden and Musk also thanked the more than 150 SpaceX employees working at the McGregor facility for their role in the historic mission. SpaceX's Dragon capsule made history May 31 when it returned to Earth after delivering supplies to the space station. "The Dragon capsule is a tangible example of the new era of exploration unfolding right now," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "Commercial space is becoming a reality as SpaceX and our other commercial partners look ahead to future missions to the space station and other destinations. I congratulate Elon Musk and the entire SpaceX team again for this historic milestone." While on-site, Bolden had the opportunity to view some of the 1,367 pounds of cargo the spacecraft returned to Earth from the space station. Dragon is the only spacecraft capable of returning a significant quantity of science experiments and cargo from the station. Experiments will be given back to researchers hoping to gain new insights provided by the station's unique microgravity environment. The cargo was transferred to NASA June 13 and will be taken to the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston for further processing. Dragon's journey to the station was SpaceX's second demonstration mission under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program (COTS), which provides investments intended to lead to regular resupply missions to the International Space Station and stimulate the commercial space industry in the United States. The mission began May 22 as the capsule launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. After its maneuverability and abort systems were tested, crew members of Expedition 31 aboard the station grappled the capsule and berthed it to the orbiting laboratory. Dragon, its exterior scorched by the heat of re-entry, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean May 31. SpaceX recovered the capsule immediately and transported it to McGregor, where engineers unloaded cargo and removed hazardous materials. Dragon will be shipped to SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., later this year. On Thursday, Bolden and Musk will be at SpaceX Headquarters and speak with reporters at 9 a.m. PDT. They will see the Dragon spacecraft that flew the first COTS demonstration mission in December 2010, during which SpaceX became the first private company to recover a spacecraft after it orbited Earth. They also will see a prototype Dragon spacecraft being designed to carry astronauts to the space station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.