Apr 19 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-122 NASA'S SOFIA FEATURED IN THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL SPECIAL EDITION

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- The Astrophysical Journal, a leading professional astronomy research publication, will issue a special edition of its Letters volume on April 20 with papers about observations made with NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airborne telescope. SOFIA is a highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that carries a telescope with a 100-inch (2.5-meter) diameter reflecting mirror that conducts astronomy research not possible with ground-based telescopes. By operating in the stratosphere at altitudes up to 45,000 feet, SOFIA can make observations above the water vapor in Earth's lower atmosphere. "This is really SOFIA's debut on the world scientific stage," said Chris Davis, SOFIA program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "World-class observatories such as the Hubble, Chandra and Spitzer space telescopes had their Astrophysical Journal special editions, and now SOFIA joins their prestigious ranks." The eight SOFIA papers featured in the special edition cover diverse research on topics including SOFIA's capabilities as a flying observatory and its study of star formation in our galaxy and beyond. "Studies of star and planet formation processes are one of SOFIA's 'sweet spots,'" said SOFIA Science Mission Director Erick Young. "SOFIA's infrared instruments can see into the dense clouds where stars and planets are forming and detect heat radiation from their construction material. By getting above the Earth's atmospheric water vapor layer that blocks most of the infrared band, SOFIA's telescope can view the glow from forming stars at their strongest emission wavelengths." The infrared images analyzed in these papers were obtained with the FORCAST (Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope) instrument during SOFIA's first science observations in December 2010. Papers based on observations with SOFIA and the GREAT spectrometer (German Receiver for Astronomy at THz Frequencies) will be published in a May 2012 special volume of the European journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center and is based and managed at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., manages the SOFIA science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association, headquartered in Columbia, Md., and the German SOFIA Institute at the University of Stuttgart.

RELEASE: 12-124 NASA TRANSFERS SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

Focuses on Bold New Era of Space Exploration WASHINGTON -- NASA transferred space shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum during a ceremony Thursday, April 19, at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. "Today, while we look back at Discovery's amazing legacy, I also want to look forward to what she and the shuttle fleet helped to make possible," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "As NASA transfers the shuttle orbiters to museums across the country, we are embarked on an exciting new space exploration journey. Relying on American ingenuity and know-how, NASA is partnering with private industry to provide crew and cargo transportation to the International Space Station, while developing the most powerful rocket ever built to take the nation farther than ever before into the solar system." National Air and Space Museum Director, General John "Jack" Dailey said, "Discovery has distinguished itself as the champion of America's shuttle fleet. In its new home, it will shine as an American icon, educating and inspiring people of all ages for generations to come. The Museum is committed to teaching and inspiring youngsters, so that they will climb the ladder of academic success and choose professions that will help America be competitive and successful in the world of tomorrow." In this new era of exploration, NASA will build the capabilities to send humans deeper into space than ever before. NASA is using the space station as a test bed and stepping stone for the journey ahead. The agency is changing the way it does business and fostering a commercial industry that will safely service low Earth orbit, so NASA can focus its energy and resources on sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 and eventually to Mars in the 2030s. The space station is the centerpiece of NASA's human spaceflight activities in low Earth orbit. It is fully staffed with an international crew of six, and American astronauts will continue to live and work there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as they have for more than 11 years. Part of the U.S. portion of the station has been designated as a national laboratory, and NASA is committed to using this unique resource for scientific research. The station is testing exploration technologies such as autonomous refueling of spacecraft, advanced life support systems and human/robotic interfaces. Commercial companies are well on their way to providing cargo and crew flights to the station, allowing NASA to focus its attention on the next steps into our solar system.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-073 COVERAGE SET FOR NEXT SOYUZ SPACE STATION CREW ROTATION

HOUSTON -- Over the next several weeks, NASA Television will provide coverage of activities surrounding the upcoming International Space Station crew rotation. Coverage will include departure of three crew members now living aboard the space station. It also will include pre-launch activities, launch and arrival of three new residents. Beginning April 23, NASA TV video files will document Expedition 31 crew training activities with Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba of NASA and Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. NASA TV also will broadcast the crew's news conference and ceremonial visit to Red Square in Moscow on April 25. NASA TV will broadcast the change of command ceremony aboard the station at 2 p.m. CDT on April 25. Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank of NASA will hand over command to Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos. On April 27, Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin will depart the station and Expedition 31 will begin aboard the complex. The departing trio will return to Earth aboard their Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft, completing a five-and-a-half-month mission. Don Pettit of NASA, Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency and Kononenko, who have been on the station since late December 2011, will remain aboard until July 1. On May 14, Acaba, Padalka and Revin will launch in the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will arrive at the station on May 16 to join Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers and return the crew size to six. NASA TV's scheduled coverage includes (all times Central): Monday, April 23 11 a.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M crew qualification training simulation runs in Star City, Russia. Tuesday, April 24 11 a.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M crew qualification training simulation runs in Star City. Wednesday, April 25 1 p.m - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M crew news conference in Star City and visit to Red Square in Moscow. 2 p.m. - Live Expedition 30/31 change of command ceremony. Thursday, April 26 11:45 p.m. - Live Soyuz TMA-22 crew farewell and hatch-closure coverage (hatch closure scheduled at 12 a.m. on April 27). Friday, April 27 3 a.m. - Live Soyuz TMA-22 undocking coverage (undocking scheduled at 3:18 a.m.) 5:30 a.m. - Live Soyuz TMA-22 deorbit burn and landing coverage (deorbit burn scheduled at 5:49 a.m., landing scheduled at 6:45 a.m.). 8 a.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-22 landing and post-landing activities. 6 p.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-22 landing and post-landing activities, including an interview with Burbank and the return of Shkaplerov and Ivanishin to Chkalovsky Airfield near Star City. Wednesday, May 2 11 a.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M crew departure activities for Baikonur, Kazakhstan from Star City. Thursday, May 10 11 a.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M crew activities in Baikonur. Friday, May 11 11 a.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M crew activities in Baikonur. Sunday, May 13 12 p.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M rocket mating and rollout to the launch pad in Baikonur. Monday, May 14 11 a.m. - Video file of the Soyuz TMA-04M final pre-launch crew news conference and Russian State Commission meeting in Baikonur. 9 p.m. - Live Soyuz TMA-04M launch coverage (launch scheduled at 10:01 p.m.), including pre-launch activities and launch replays. Tuesday, May 15 12 a.m. - Video file of Soyuz TMA-04M pre-launch and launch video b-roll and post-launch interviews. Wednesday, May 16 11:00 p.m. - Live Soyuz TMA-04M docking coverage (docking scheduled at 11:38 p.m.), followed by the post-docking news conference from Mission Control in Korolev, Russia. Thursday, May 17 2:00 a.m. - Live Soyuz TMA-04M hatch opening and welcoming ceremony (ceremony scheduled at 2:35 a.m.) 4 a.m. - Video file of Soyuz TMA-04M docking, hatch opening and welcoming ceremony