Jul 2 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-221 NASA SPACE TECH PROGRAM SELECTS TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION ON SUBORBITAL FLIGHTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA'S Space Technology Program has selected 14 technologies for development and demonstration on commercial reusable suborbital launch vehicles. The selected proposals offer innovative cutting-edge ideas and approaches for technology in areas including active thermal management, advanced avionics, pinpoint landing and advanced in-space propulsion. They also address many of the high-priority technology needs identified in the recent National Research Council's Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities report. These payloads will help NASA advance technology development needed to enable NASA's current and future missions in exploration, science and space operations. "These technology payloads will have the opportunity to be tested on commercial suborbital flights, sponsored by NASA, that fly up to and near the boundary of space," said Michael Gazarik, Director of NASA's Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The flights will ensure the technology fidelity before they're put to work in operational systems in the harsh environment of space." Proposals for this solicitation were received from NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry, and non-profit organizations. NASA's Flight Opportunities Program sponsored this solicitation in collaboration with NASA's Game Changing Development Program. Following their development, selected technologies will be made available to the Flight Opportunities Program for pairing with appropriate suborbital reusable launch service provider flights. The Flight Opportunities Program provides opportunities for technologies to be demonstrated in relevant environments, while fostering the development of commercial reusable transportation to near space. Awards will range from $125,000 to $500,000 with a total NASA investment of approximately $3.5 million. Payloads are expected to fly in 2013 and 2014. Proposals selected for contract negotiations are: -- "Demonstration of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nano-tubes for Earth Climate Remote Sensing," Howard Todd Smith, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore -- "Facility for Microgravity Research and Submicroradian Stabilization using sRLVs," Scott Green, Controlled Dynamics, Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif. -- "Enhanced Thermal Switch," Douglas Mehoke, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. -- "Autonomous Flight Manager for Human-in-the-Loop Immersive Simulation and Flight Test of Terrestrial Rockets," Kevin Duda, Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, Mass. -- "Armadillo Launch Vehicle Attitude Knowledge Capability Enhancement Using Advanced Micro Sun Sensor," Sohrab Mobasser, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. -- "Demonstration of Variable Radiator," Richard Kurwitz, Texas A&M University, College Station -- "Dynamic Microscopy System," John Vellinger, Techshot Inc., Greenville, Indiana -- "Design and Development of a Micro Satellite Attitude Control System," Manoranjan Majji, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. -- "Suborbital Test of a Robotics-Based Method for In-Orbit Identification of Spacecraft Inertia Properties," Ou Ma, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces -- "Fuel Optimal Large Divert Guidance for Planetary Pinpoint Landing," Behcet Acikmese, JPL -- "SwRI Solar Instrument Pointing Platform," Craig DeForest, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas -- "Saturated Fluid Pistonless Pump Technology Demonstrator," Ryan Starkey, University of Colorado, Boulder -- "Electric-hydrodynamic Control of Two-Phase Heat Transfer in Microgravity," Boris Khusid, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, N.J. -- "An FPGA-based, Radiation Tolerant, Reconfigurable Computer System with Real Time Fault Detection, Avoidance, and Repair," Brock LaMeres, Montana State University, Bozeman

RELEASE: 12-225 NASA'S ORION ARRIVES AT KENNEDY, WORK UNDERWAY FOR FIRST LAUNCH

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- More than 450 guests at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida welcomed the arrival of the agency's first space-bound Orion spacecraft Monday, marking a major milestone in the construction of the vehicle that will carry astronauts farther into space than ever before. "Orion's arrival at Kennedy is an important step in meeting the president's goal to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars in the 2030s," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said. "As NASA acquires services for delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station and other low-Earth destinations from private companies, NASA can concentrate its efforts on building America's next generation space exploration system to reach destinations for discovery in deep space. Delivery of the first space-bound Orion, coupled with recent successes in commercial spaceflight, is proof this national strategy is working." Orion will be the most advanced spacecraft ever designed. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain astronauts during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space. The space-bound Orion will launch on Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed mission planned for 2014. The spacecraft will travel 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface, 15 times farther than the International Space Station's orbital position. This is farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans t has gone in more than 40 years. The primary flight objective is to understand Orion's heat shield performance at speeds generated during a return from deep space. In advance of the 2014 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., a 400-person Orion production team at Kennedy will apply heat shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other subsystems to the spacecraft. Work also is underway by the Ground Systems Development and Operations team at Kennedy to modify and refurbish facilities used throughout the history of American spaceflight in preparation for the next generation of rockets and spacecraft. This includes the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Control Center, launch pad, mobile launcher and crawler-transporter. "Work is under way on America's next great spacecraft that will surpass the boundaries within which humanity has been held," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "In a facility that once processed cargo for space shuttles and various components for the International Space Station, hundreds of people at Kennedy are coupling advanced hardware assembly systems with a new human-rated spacecraft designed for deep space travel.. It is a fitting testament to the American work force at Kennedy that has enabled the exploration of space for 50 years is again working on hardware that will extend human presence throughout the solar system." In 2017, Orion will be launched by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS will enable new missions of exploration and expand human presence across the solar system. Across the country, progress is being made on multiple components and capabilities for Orion and SLS. Orion has successfully completed numerous splashdown tests from a variety of angles and speeds, examining how the spacecraft will come to a rest on the ocean at the conclusion of deep space missions. NASA also has conducted a series of parachute tests high above the Arizona desert, demonstrating how Orion will behave under its giant parachute canopy. Software tests have been run between Mission Control Houston and an Orion mockup at Lockheed Martin's Exploration Development Laboratory, allowing flight controllers to learn how the spacecraft's onboard computers operate. Work also continues to build and fine-tune Orion's launch abort system. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for Orion. The J-2X upper-stage rocket engine, developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for the future two-stage SLS, is being tested at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The prime contractor for the five-segment solid rocket boosters, ATK, has begun processing its first SLS hardware components in preparation for an initial qualification test in 2013. The SLS core stage, which will be designed and manufactured by Boeing, has just passed a major technical review and is moving from concept to early design. Boeing has already delivered test bed flight computers to the program and flight software development is underway. The Orion crew module was built at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the Orion Program. SLS is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is managed by Kennedy.

RELEASE: 12-228 NASA EXTENDS SYMPATHY TO POINDEXTER FAMILY ON DEATH OF FORMER ASTRONAUT

HOUSTON -- Former NASA astronaut and space shuttle commander Alan "Dex" Poindexter died while on vacation with his family July 1 in Pensacola, Fla. A veteran of two spaceflights, Poindexter spent a total of 28 days in space. Poindexter, a U.S. Navy captain, commanded the STS-131 space shuttle Discovery mission to the International Space Station in 2010, delivering more than 13,000 pounds of hardware and equipment. He was the pilot for shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission that delivered and installed the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory on the station in 2008. "Alan and I joined the astronaut corps in 1998 and flew together on STS-122, which was truly an incredible experience," said NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former astronaut Leland Melvin. "He was a passionate, caring and selfless individual who will be missed by all." "We in the astronaut family have lost not only a dear friend, but also a patriot of the United States," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "He proudly served his country for 26 years as a fighter pilot, test pilot, astronaut and commander of a space shuttle. I am proud to have both flown in space and worked with him for so many years. Dex will be deeply missed by those of us at Johnson and the entire NASA family." Poindexter earned an undergraduate degree with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and a graduate degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. He was selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1998 and served in the Astronaut Office, Shuttle Operations Branch at Johnson as the lead support astronaut for NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He also served as a spacecraft communicator, or CAPCOM, for multiple missions. "Dex was a wonderful human being and a pleasure to have in the astronaut office," Janet Kavandi, fellow astronaut and Director of Flight Crew Operations said. "His good-natured demeanor made him approachable to his crews and the many people at Johnson and Kennedy who enabled his missions." Poindexter retired from NASA and the astronaut corps in 2010 and returned to serve in the United States Navy as Dean of Students at the Naval Postgraduate School.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-122 VIRGINIA STUDENTS TO SPEAK LIVE WITH SPACE STATION RESIDENT

WASHINGTON -- More than 200 students will meet at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Va., to speak with Expedition 32 flight engineer Joe Acaba aboard the International Space Station at 8:55 a.m. EDT, Thursday, July 5. Media representatives are invited to attend. The question-and-answer discussion, coordinated by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and the museum, will be broadcast live on NASA Television and include video of Acaba. The students, most of whom are Hispanic, will ask questions about life, work and research on the space station. Several of the questions will be asked and answered in Spanish. Many of the students also are participating in other NASA programs, including camps associated with the agency's Summer of Innovation (SoI) project. SoI provides hands-on learning opportunities for middle school students and educators through NASA-unique science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational activities during the summer school break. Acaba arrived at the space station with Russian Federal Space Agency's cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin on May 17. They will be joined later this month by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. This in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the United States and abroad to improve STEM teaching and learning. It is an integral component of NASA's Teaching From Space education program, which promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program. The exact time of the downlink could change.