Dec 22 2011
From The Space Library
Space Station Commander Captures Unprecedented View Of Comet
HOUSTON - International Space Station Commander Dan Burbank captured spectacular imagery of Comet Lovejoy, viewed from about 240 miles above the Earth's horizon on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Today Burbank described seeing the comet as "the most amazing thing I have ever seen in space," in an interview with WDIV-TV in Detroit. Burbank took hundreds of still images of the comet.
NASA Selects Firms For Advanced Entry System Technology Development
WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected Airborne Systems North America of Santa Ana, Calif., ILC Dover LP of Frederica, Del., and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Littleton, Colo., to support agency inflatable aerodynamic decelerator research and development, including work on the Space Technology Program's Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) project.
Inflatable aerodynamic decelerators are lightweight outer shells that slow and protect spacecraft as they enter planetary atmospheres. This technology allows increased payload mass, makes it possible to reach higher surface elevations for robotic and human exploration of solar system destinations, and improves cargo return capabilities from the International Space Station.
Contractors will provide NASA with services for the design, analysis, fabrication and testing of project systems, including the thermal protection system and inflatable structures for aerocapture and direct entry applications.
The cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity task order contracts have a maximum cumulative agency value of $47 million over a five-year performance period. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., will administer the contracts for the agency.
NASA Awards Global Modeling And Assimilation Office Contract
WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded a contract to Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI) of Lanham, Md., for the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) scientific support services. The estimated maximum ordering value of this letter contract is $47 million, effective Feb. 1, 2012, and ending Jan. 31, 2017.
GMAO develops and uses comprehensive global models and data assimilation systems to study land surface, the atmosphere and its components, and ocean biology. This contract supports projects in three areas within GMAO, encompassing all aspects of the development, operation, and maintenance of modeling, assimilation and forecast systems. This includes support for scientific research and development, project management, and the development and maintenance of operational capabilities. Most tasks involve the development or modification of major software systems and subsystems.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. is the lead center for GMAO.
