Apr 13 2010
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 10-053
NASA PIONEER AARON COHEN DIES
WASHINGTON -- Spaceflight pioneer Aaron Cohen, a former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, died Thursday, Feb. 25, after a lengthy illness. He was 79. Cohen had a 33-year career with NASA. He was a steady hand at the helm of Johnson as NASA recovered from the shuttle Challenger tragedy and returned the space shuttle to flight. Cohen left the agency in 1993 to accept an appointment as a professor at his alma mater, Texas A&M University. At the time, he was serving as acting deputy administrator at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Aaron Cohen was one of my early mentors here in NASA and he was instrumental in the success of numerous pivotal achievements in human space flight. said NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden from Headquarters in Washington. His engineering expertise and rigor were tremendous assets to our nation and NASA. Aaron provided the critical and calm guidance needed at the Johnson Space Center to successfully recover from the Challenger accident and return the space shuttle to flight. We will miss him as a colleague, mentor, and a friend. Our hearts go out to his wife, Ruth, and the rest of his family. Cohen joined NASA in 1962 and served in key leadership roles critical to the success of the flights and lunar landings of the Apollo Program. From 1969 to 1972, Cohen was the manager for the Apollo Command and Service Modules. He oversaw the design, development, production and test flights of the space shuttles as manager of NASA's Space Shuttle Orbiter Project Office from 1972 to 1982. After serving as Director of Engineering at Johnson for several years, he was named director of the center in 1986, serving in that post until 1993 "Aaron's expertise was critical to NASA's greatest achievements, and his integrity, talent and passion made it a privilege to work with him, said Mike Coats, Director of the Johnson Space Center. He will be missed and long remembered by his many friends here at JSC. Cohen's many honors include the highest award given for federal executives, the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive, with which he was received in 1982 and 1988. He was presented NASA's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, three times. Cohen was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Astronautical Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was a distinguished alumnus of Texas A&M, from which he earned a bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering in 1952. He earned a master's in Applied Mathematics from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1958. He also was a recipient of honorary doctorates from Stevens Institute and from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
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RELEASE: 10-052
NASA OPENS HIGH FRONTIER TO EDUCATION AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT GROUPS
WASHINGTON -- NASA is announcing a new initiative to launch small cube-shaped satellites for education and not-for-profit organizations. CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called picosatellites, having a size of approximately four inches, a volume of about one quart, and weighing no more than 2.2 pounds. This is NASA's first open announcement to create an agency-prioritized list of available CubeSats. They are planned as auxiliary payloads on launch vehicles already planned for 2011 and 2012. "We're anticipating some exciting proposals for this pilot program with hopes to break down the barriers to the launching of CubeSats, said Jason Crusan, chief technologist for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate in Washington. There are organizations that have been waiting a long time for a chance to see their satellites fly in space. Proposed CubeSat payloads must be the result of development efforts conducted under existing NASA-supported activities. Investigations proposed for this pilot project must address an aspect of science, exploration, technology development, education or operations encompassed by NASA's strategic goals and outcomes as identified in the NASA Strategic Plan and/or NASA's Education Strategic Coordination Framework. Collaborators will be required to provide partial reimbursement of approximately $30,000 per CubeSat. NASA will not provide funding to support CubeSat activity or development. Selection does not guarantee an availability of a launch opportunity. Proposals must be submitted electronically and be received by 4:30 p.m. EDT April 15. Submissions will be evaluated by NASA personnel. Selection is anticipated by June 30. For additional information on this announcement and a complete list of requirements, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/home/CubeSats_initiative.html
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RELEASE: 10-309
NASA INVITES PUBLIC TO SEND HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO STATION AND WATCH MESSAGE FROM SPACE
HOUSTON -- For many Americans, the Thanksgiving holiday is about journeys that bring families and friends together. This Thanksgiving, half of the International Space Station crew will return home to Earth. The crew has recorded a holiday greeting that is airing on NASA Television and available on the NASA website. The public also is invited to send holiday greetings to the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station via the NASA website. To send a personalized message to the crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/postcard Expedition 25 Commander Doug Wheelock and Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin are scheduled to leave the station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft Thursday, Nov. 25, at about 8:22 p.m. EST and land in Kazakhstan at 11:46 p.m. Remaining aboard are Expedition 26 crew members Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka.
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