Dec 14 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-432 NASA TO WORK WITH D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO MENTOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Office of Education has entered into a memorandum of agreement with District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to help foster science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educational opportunities among high school students with disabilities. This collaboration is part of the broader DCPS Competitive Employment Opportunity Program, a career-focused mentoring program that connects selected high school students with disabilities to professional mentors in the greater District of Columbia community. The program provides students with career exploration opportunities, soft skill training and career goal-setting support, and culminates with a mentor-supported, career-focused capstone project. "NASA Education is committed to using the excitement and appeal of the agency's programs and missions to encourage students to pursue STEM studies and careers," said James Stofan, the agency's deputy associate administrator for education program integration. "We particularly want to encourage students who are underserved or underrepresented in STEM to explore the many opportunities that pursuing this course of study can offer. This partnership will help us do just that." The initial phase of this mentorship and collaboration will take place during the first half of next year. NASA will invite some participants to a summer internship with the agency in 2013.

RELEASE: 12-436 BEATING HEART OF J-2X ENGINE FINISHES YEAR OF SUCCESSFUL NASA TESTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA on Thursday took another step toward human exploration of new destinations in the solar system. At the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, engineers conducted the final test-firing of the J-2X powerpack assembly, an important component of America's next heavy-lift rocket. The J-2X engine is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engine developed in the United States in decades. Designed and built by NASA and industry partner Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., the engine will power the upper stage of NASA's 143-ton (130-metric-ton) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The powerpack is a system of components on top of the engine that feeds propellants to the bell nozzle of the engine to produce thrust. "The determination and focus by teams at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Stennis on designing and perfecting the J-2X engine helps show the great strides of progress made on the overall program," said SLS Program Manager Todd May. "We are inspired to stay the course and pursue our goal of exploring deep space and traveling farther than ever before." The powerpack was worked out separately from the engine to more thoroughly test its limits. It also can be operated under a wider range of conditions. The tests provide a trove of data to compare with analytical predictions of the performance of several parts in the turbopump and flexible ducts. "These tests at Stennis are similar to doctor-ordered treadmill tests for a person's heart," said Tom Byrd, J-2X engine lead in the SLS Liquid Engines Office at Marshall in Huntsville, Ala. "The engineers who designed and analyze the turbopumps inside the powerpack are like our doctors, using sensors installed in the assembly to monitor the run over a wide range of stressful conditions. We ran the assembly tests this year for far longer than the engine will run during a mission to space, and acquired a lot of valuable information that will help us improve the development of the J-2X engine." The powerpack assembly burned millions of pounds of propellants during a series of 13 tests totaling more than an hour and a half in 2012. The testing team set several records for hot-firing duration at Stennis test stands during the summer. NASA engineers will remove the assembly from the test stand to focus on tests of the fully integrated engine. Installation on a test stand at Stennis will begin in 2013. The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The program is managed at Marshall.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-240 NASA TO PROVIDE DEC. 17 COMMENTARY AS TWIN PROBES END LUNAR MISSION

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA will provide live commentary of the scheduled lunar surface impacts of its twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft beginning at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) Monday, Dec. 17. The event will be broadcast on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website. The two probes will hit a mountain near the lunar north pole at approximately 2:28 p.m. Monday, bringing their successful prime and extended science missions to an end. Commentary will originate from the control room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. Coverage will last about 35 minutes and include live interviews with GRAIL team members. GRAIL's final resting place on the moon will be in shadow at the time of impact, so no video documentation of the impacts is expected. Data from the GRAIL twins are allowing scientists to learn about the moon's internal structure and composition in unprecedented detail. The two probes are being sent purposely into the moon because they do not have enough altitude or fuel to continue science operations. Media wishing to cover the end of the GRAIL mission at JPL, where they will have the opportunity to conduct interviews and watch a live feed from mission control, must contact the JPL Media Relations Office at 818-354-5011 by 11 a.m. Dec. 17. Valid media credentials are required. Non-U.S. citizens also must present valid passports.