Feb 4 2011
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-024 MEDIA INVITED TO ENGINE TEST AND MEETING WITH NASA ADMINISTRATOR BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. --
Members of the news media are invited to visit NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center on Monday, Feb. 7, to view a flight acceptance test of Aerojet's AJ26 rocket engine for the Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus II space launch vehicle. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and executives from Orbital and Aerojet will be at Stennis to witness the test, which is targeted for 4 p.m. CST. Following the test, reporters will have an opportunity to ask questions of Bolden and the Orbital and Aerojet executives. When flight acceptance testing on the AJ26 engine is complete, it will be delivered to Orbital at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility launch site in Virginia for integration with the rocket's first stage. NASA has contracted with Orbital to provide eight cargo missions to the International Space Station. The first is scheduled for early 2012. NASA is investing with private industry to develop safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation capabilities that will spur the development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles that will stimulate the commercial sector and reduce dependence on foreign providers.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-025 NASA RELEASING FIRST VIEWS OF THE ENTIRE SUN ON SUPER SUN-DAY
WASHINGTON -- NASA will score big on super SUN-day at 11 a.m. EST, Sunday, Feb. 6, with the release online of the first complete view of the sun's entire surface and atmosphere. Seeing the whole sun front and back simultaneously will enable significant advances in space weather forecasting for Earth, and improve planning for future robotic or crewed spacecraft missions throughout the solar system. These views are the result of observations by NASA's two Solar TErrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. The duo are on diametrically opposite sides of the sun, 180 degrees apart. One is ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind. Launched in October 2006, STEREO traces the flow of energy and matter from the sun to Earth. It also provides unique and revolutionary views of the sun-Earth system. The mission observed the sun in 3-D for the first time in 2007. In 2009, the twin spacecraft revealed the 3-D structure of coronal mass ejections which are violent eruptions of matter from the sun that can disrupt communications, navigation, satellites and power grids on Earth. STEREO is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program within the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the mission, instruments and science center. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., designed and built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The STEREO imaging and particle detecting instruments were designed and built by scientific institutions in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland.
RELEASE: 11-033 NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR VISITS NEVADA INNOVATION SITES
WASHINGTON -- NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver visited Las Vegas today to meet with Nevada entrepreneurs and discuss innovations in space exploration and technology development critical to America's future in space. Garver toured the facilities of Bigelow Aerospace, a company that has been developing expandable space habitats. NASA is evaluating Bigelow's concept for an expandable module for the International Space Station. If approved, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, could be launched to the station using a commercial cargo flight and robotically attached to the orbiting laboratory. Bigelow also has partnered with the Boeing Company on a crew capsule as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development Program. NASA is working with multiple commercial partners to develop industry's capability to safely deliver crews and cargo to low Earth orbit. "It's a pleasure to see the spark of innovation so vibrant here in Nevada," Garver said. "It's going to take our best minds and our best efforts to harness the full potential of our entrepreneurs, but with it, we can out-innovate, out-educate and out-build any competitor in the world." As NASA focuses on a renewed program of technology development to reach destinations farther in the solar system, it also will continue a vigorous program of human spaceflight aboard the International Space Station and foster a growing commercial space industry with the capability to produce jobs and economic benefits. "Commercial space in general and commercial crew in particular are vital to ensure that America survives and thrives in an increasingly global space industry," said the founder and president of Bigelow Aerospace, Robert T. Bigelow. "Innovation has always been the key to our country's economy, and we were thrilled to host the deputy administrator to show her what our entrepreneurial company has already accomplished." The NASA Authorization Act of 2010, passed with strong bipartisan support, calls on NASA to pursue commercial access to space and extend the life of the space station to at least 2020. Along with these goals, the act directs the agency to open multiple pathways to innovate and develop new capabilities for the exploration missions of the future.
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